Chapter Text
It was something that has never happened in Westhelm's colosseum before.
Fluixon was killed by Saparata.
Saparata was killed by Fluixon.
Instead of the usual cheer, the audience exploded with "what?!"s.
Today, there were no winners.
And, as much as people celebrated the end of Fluixon's rein of terror, there was also a somber atmosphere present knowing that Saparata did not make it.
Saps was still praised as a hero who gave his life to the cause.
Statues were built of him. Tales were told of him. Nations argued on what land he should be buried.
In the end, they decided that it'd make most sense to have Saparata's resting place be on the island he lived in, near his home. He wasn't a citizen of any nation, after all.
And Flux was.. remembered, too. By the lives he took. By the fear and mayhem he caused.
Except, unlike Saps - no one visited his grave, no one planted flowers on it, in fact - he didn't even have one.
And that should be the end of their intertwined tale, but it's not.
Fluxion woke up. Somehow. Shouldn't he be dead? Well, the rather shaky room he finds himself in doesn't look neither like hell or heaven.
The room is rather bland, there's the bed he's sitting on, a table with two chairs, and a carpet.
He's wearing the same clothes, except they're clean, with no bloodstains or dirt on them. There's not a single scar from any of his injuries.
How.. interesting.
There's a single window. The outside world.. wasn't the same. The landscape was unlike Island two's nor was it like Island one. Very.. snowy.
Luminara might've been the north pole of the archipelago, but the amounts of snow it got during winter was very little.
Oh, and.. they were surrounded by walls? What is this, some kind of prison?
Maybe he misunderstood. Flux stepped outside, just to confirm what he saw-
And immediately regretted it.
He didn't anticipate the snow to be up to his knees.
Even worse, someone had thrown a snowball at him, which ended up hitting Flux right in the face.
He turned to spot the culprit, and it was none other than..
...
Saps?
Fluixon saw red.
He isn't sure how, but in a moments notice, Saps is on the ground and he's pinning him down.
He forgot all about his intuitive to understand how he's alive again. Dealing with Saps takes priority over that.
"Flux?-"
He doesnt reply.
"Come on.. I didn't know it'd hit you in the face, I swear!"
He just stared. Saparata looked just like he did before, with the exception of wearing more weather-appropriate clothes.
A part of Fluixon felt relived. Happy, even. To see Saps alive and well again. The other part of him wanted to end him right then and there.
"What are you doing??" Is he seriously playing dumb right now?
"You know exactly why this is happening." Fluixon finally replied.
"Geez, didn't know you'd take a snowball fight this seriously.."
"That's not what I meant." They're going to finish this fight.
Flux doesn't even have anything on him, but oh well! Bare fists will work just fine, too.
There will be a winner this time. It doesn't matter to Flux who it will be, he just needs to conclude this.
One hit, two hits- aaaaaand Fluixon blacks out. Not because of Saps hitting him back, of course.. actually, he hadn't even tried to fight back.
Flux blacks out because something hit his head, and as he later finds out, it was a bat. From a guard. And now he's in a dirty, cold cell.
Well that sure is a way to spend your morning, isn't it?
He doesn't know what will happen to him afterwards. Will they have a trial for him? Will they just punish him however they see fit? Or maybe they'll take Schpood's shtick and make him fight to the death with someone?
There are no windows in the cell, so Flux isn't sure for how long he'd been out of conscious.
The last thing he'd expect is a visitor. And, Ish, is that Saps?
"Heyyy.. how are you feeling?"
What a foolish question coming from someone who got beat up too. "You were the one who got punched in the face."
"Well, a bat to your head was probably much worse, wouldn't you agree? and if im being honest your punches didn't hurt that much.."
He doesn't reply.
"You're very lucky, I've managed to talk the guard out of giving you.. a much harsher punishment. They said you'll be released tomorrow morning."
By that point, it was crystal clear that this nation does not take criminal offenses lightly. So it was very surprising to Flux that Saps managed to get him out of trouble. Not to mention that he had zero reasons to do so. It should be the opposite. Saparata should want him dead after everything that happened.
"How did you even manage to 'talk them out of it'?"
"What can I say, I'm a great negotiator. Besides, I'd do anything for my friends."
Oh, so that's what it is, hm? Saps is really still holding onto that idea of them being.. friends?
"Is that really what you'd call us?"
"Hmmm? Are you implying we're something more?" Saps comment was accompanied by him blowing a kiss at Fluixion.
Great. Now Flux wants to kill him more than ever.
"What's with the sour face?"
"What about our fight in the colosseum? What about everything else? You still consider me your friend after everything?"
"Fight in the what? What are you-?, oh, oh. I get it. You must've gotten a concussion.. that's okay, Flux, I'll call up a medic for you!"
Well that makes no sense. He knows, he's sure that everything that happened was real - those memories aren't made up. Fluixon can still feel Saparata's blood on his hands.
---
He got released. Saps even escorted him back home.
He isn't sure, but he was blabbing something to him as they walked. But Fluixon didn't listen. He couldn't listen. All of his thoughts were clouded with questions he didn't have an answer to.
He's been thinking about it all day in the cell, trying to find some, any reason that might explain what had unfolded.
---
Why's he the one aware of their past life?
Why's Saparata the one to have no recollection of it?
How's he even here in the first place?
---
Whatever. Maybe, he could just start anew.. without betraying his best friend, without making all of those traps, without becoming a number one figurative-
Maybe Flux could simply.. live a peaceful life alongside his best friend.
As much of a peaceful life he can have in this dictatorial state.
Or well, an alternative to this would be him gaining his trust and just stab Saps in the back once again-
He's not sure yet which one of these would work out the best for him.
What Fluixon is sure of, though, is that really doing anything infront of these guards is a bad call.
It's definitely a big change from what he's used to.. he can feel that there's eyes on him constantly.
In comparison, even the Covenant felt much less threatening.
---
There's a knock on his door.
Oh Ish, if it's Saparata again he'll -
He opened the door, and..
"...Thomas?"
He wasn't expecting to see one of his allies here. "Hey! Saw ya being dragged around by Saps, he isn't taking you hostage for what we did last time, right?"
"Last time?" He'll need an elaboration on that.
Thomas didn't waste any more time and invited himself in. "The whole making him the scapegoat in your plan to kill half of the island's leaders thing."
"...You remember that?"
"Dude, of course I do! That was pretty fun all things considered." 'Fun' is definitely not the word Flux would use to describe their conspiracy, but alright..
"This is nonsensical. Why doesn't Saps remember then?"
"No idea. Cass doesn't seem to remember either, otherwise she'd probably try to kill us again or something."
Since he's here, Flux can only assume that he suffered the same fate. "You've got caught too, huh?"
"Yup. They found me guilty and had me impaled by a dripstone."
For what may be the second time in his life, Flux felt the urge to apologise. "Sorry." He was the one who dragged them all into this mess, was he not?
Thomas was looking at him like he wasn't exactly believing what he was hearing. "Apologizing? Actually kinda admitting you were wrong? Are you sure you're the same Fluixon I knew?"
Flux rolled his eyes. "You're pushing it. Anyone else in here who's also aware of what happened?"
"Mhmmm, Seraphim, Newkids.. a whole bunch of people, really. And I believe I've heard that there's other members of our gang out there, but we can't really get in touch. Leaving your district is a real challenge unless you have an official permit."
"How tight's the security's here?"
"Ha, knew you'd be interested. We have 24/7 surveillance.. the guards are all armed and don't slack off. And I'm sure you've already seen the walls."
"So, leaving would be quite the challenge.."
"Yeah. There'd been some attempts during the purge, but that didn't end well. Turns out they had guards on the outside that were ordered to KOS anyone who'd try to escape."
"Wait, wait. What purge?"
"So, basically, some times they dont enforce any laws, the guards aren't there to stop you, and you're pretty much free will to steal anything or just massacre a bunch of people."
"Absurd. This is an extremely controlling civilization by all counts, why host such a destructive event? What's the purpose? Are we some sort of rat labs to them?"
"No idea."
Silence.
"Sooooo, what, you're gonna think of some plan?"
"I don't know. Maybe it'd just be better to lay low for a bit."
"Whatever ya say, boss!"
"Loyal as ever, hm?"
Thomas nodded.
"Alright. I need some time to think." Flux started to slightly push him towards the door. "Alone."
"Okay, okay. I'll see ya around."
"Uh-huh."
---
There was a lot more to learn about the place he's found himself in.
The nation of Imperia.
Divided into three districts and the capital.
Saying that it's an unbelievably corrupted state would be an understatement.
It's run by three individuals - President Solev, Vice President Schpood and Head of Cabinet Emanuelo.
Propaganda encouraging patriotism is everywhere here, the speakers play the national anthem mid-day everyday. There's signs and posters everywhere - the lines can differentiate, but it's always the same premise.
Some of the examples read;
"Be proud! You're a citizen of Imperia!"; "Long live our beautiful nation!"; "Imperia values family, traditions, and your obedience to the state!"; "President Solev is always listening... to your feedback!"; "There is no other civilization that can best us!"; "Join our army - bring honour to your family!"
Any signs of a rising rebellion or opposition is brought down immediately, and the members are publicly executed.
Despite other civilizations and nations being mentioned, (never in a good light), none of them are ever named.
Highly isolated, it seems.
There are no independent news sources. All of them are managed, written, and broadcasted by the government.
All in all - it's so bad Flux starts to wonder if this country is based on some dystopian book that the author wrote based off of their nightmare.
Look, Fluixon would say that if he'd have the chance to, he'd make a pretty good dictator - but this? This is too far even for him.
Ultimately, Flux decides that the best course of action here would be to do the opposite of what he did last time. Stay out of trouble (which he technically already failed), follow the rules, and try to not stick out too much.
Otherwise, making enemies here would be.. certainly unwise, considering that there's the purge.
He most definitely already has a target on his back because of everything that happened, he doesn't need any more people hunting him down.