akudamax | AKUDAMAX [Ending]

_{[...So it was over.

He could go back home.

Everyone who died could come back to life.

If only death were as cheap in his own world...]}

Edited 2021-09-12 04:34 (UTC)

[* Flowey takes out a stack of papers, making some last-minute adjustments to them before just flopping them onto the ground. He doesn't need them anymore.

* He does notice you approach.]

Howdy! It's been a very interesting four weeks. Here's to the future!

Edited 2021-09-12 04:41 (UTC)

Interesting's one word for it.

[But it was. Interesting. He's worse than he was when he arrived, but at the same time he has a goal in mind. He looks over at Flowey.]

At least it turned you into less of a defeatist, I suppose. Are you still going to try to get your soul back?

...Maybe, but I don't think I need to anymore. I can make my own form of love and compassion and emotions.

I won't tell you that I told you so.

[Damian, you just did.]

...You just did.

Did I? Well, I suppose I did tell you so, objectively.

Hey, it wasn't just you. Liv and those pods also helped out.

[ So. Relatively easy way of bringing back their dead comrades: good. Irrevocable changes to their immortal souls: possibly bad? Ragetti's going to have to do some serious theologizing over that one. Maybe ask Loremaster, now that that's a possibility again. She'd know, right?

But. Not being dead: good. And finding out there's a way to make it back to his own world: really, really good. It balances out. For now.

Ragetti kicks back on the factory floor. He'll leave the sciencey stuff to people who aren't from the 18th century. But if anyone just wants to sit and talk, well, he can do that. ]

Where're ye going? After this's over?

[ He knows his answer to that one. Pintel's waiting. ]

[* ...]

You know... When I first came here, little old me thought I was too dangerous to be around humans... to go to the surface. I was the only one that decided to stay behind in Mt. Ebott. But I've had four weeks to think about things and... despite my Level Of ViolencE, my capacity to hurt other people, basically being the highest imaginable... I think I'm ready.

See, it just all comes down to if you want to be better, if you want to do the right thing, if you recognize your faults and FIGHT against them... Even if I have no SOUL, even if I can't feel love and compassion and emotions... I'll make my own form of them. I've limited myself by staying behind, it's time I travel back to my timeline and see what the surface world has to offer. All of it.

[ And back again, more miserable than ever. Adam may be dressed in his showman outfit, but he's not actually putting on a show this time. ]

... what a waste of a good ending.

[ He means his death, really. As grateful as he is to be out of Kanto, he's not precisely pleased to be back alive.

He's going to hang around and watch everyone else for a little before taking the plunge and leaving, at least. ]

[* Flowey may be doing other stuff, but Adam may see him give a quick glance your way. A moment later, a vine pops up and sets down a Nice Cream next to the Entertainer.]

[* If opened, the wrapper says: "You're super spiffy!"]

[ Unfortunately, Adam is still pretty displeased about their run-in during trial, so the peace offering will go ignored... ]

[* A few minutes later, the Nice Cream gets placed on his lap.]

[What a happy ending for everyone. Teamwork winning the day! The dead coming back to life! Everyone getting a way back home!

It's so perfect, it almost makes him want to puke. But he doesn't let the disgust on his face show as he strolls toward Adam, canting his head at that statement.]

Oh? Most mortals would consider coming back from the dead to be a miracle. Not a fan?

Edited (shhh let me be picky about my wording) 2021-09-12 06:56 (UTC)

[ Belial may be masking his disgust, but for once Adam is absolutely too annoyed to put on a cheerful show. His loathing seeps into his voice unhindered. ]

If this is a miracle, maybe I need to blaspheme harder so God finally casts me out from his protection.

This world is such a drag, it makes even death unsatisfying.

[There's a couple blinks at the sheer venom he's hearing here, but it only lasts for a moment before he bursts out into raucous laughter.]

Is that right? Well, if this world is so dull, then how about dragging it all down with you? That should be enough to tear you away from God, shouldn't it?

Are these people worth the effort?

[ It at least makes him smile to contemplate it for a moment. There always used to be chains around him - a society has rules for advancement and he had to follow them all in carefully calculated little steps. Here, nothing matters. He has run with people to whom such things are insignificant, he has experienced things no other from his homeland could. ]

Are they fun to chase, do they make me forget? They're just as boring and judgmental and vulgar as those I am used to.

Hehe... isn't that all the more reason to give it a go? There's nothing to miss if all you're doing is taking out the trash. So why not give it a try and see how you like it, first? It's not as if you've got anything left to lose, and having a body like this does have its perks.

[Well, honestly this is probably pretty bad advice either way just because being undying doesn't save you from being subjected to pain or suffering, but. Sometimes you need to test the waters to see what people can be pushed to do.]

I think that's because it wasn't really one.

[It kind of sounds like she's I-told-you-soing him, but...Marcille is just framing it hopefully. It isn't over until it's really, truly over.

And even then there's still sometimes room for an epilogue.]

[ Somehow Marcille manages to be one of the more welcome sights right now. Those two weeks in the same house did forge a weird sense of camaraderie. ]

Well, it would have worked better if it was one.

For myself, anyway. Your demise was without much fanfare. Congratulations on escaping it.

[ He does mean that, despite it all. ]

I think I've died in worse ways, but that doesn't make it any less unpleasant.

[And, truthfully, given how easily she was taken off-guard, how stupid she felt for falling for Debbie's tricks to get her vulnerable, she can also say that it was a pretty embarrassing way to go.]

I'm...relieved it wasn't permanent. There's still something I still need to do. [She smiles a little, but there's worry behind her expression.] Couldn't you find something like that, someone who might depend on you?

[Title card: Marcille accidentally encourages a serial killer.]

Sweet Adam, twas not a waste, but your opportunity to give encore.

[Zenos' smile splits wide with his joy for seeing the dancer again.]

I know what feelings wrest your heart now, but know that your return merely gives chance to perform ever more splendidly a second time.

[ It should feel good to see him again and be encouraged in words so perfectly in his own language. He's mostly hollow though.

I know what feelings wrest your heart now. Does he? Does he really? It's hard to believe but it would be a comforting little fantasy. ]

It's not my performance I'm worried about so much as the stage. This one has served its purpose and my own world... is insignificant.

[Such emptiness is something Zenos does know well, and it's why he splays his arms in grand gesture as he says:]

This stage is much too small for you, Entertainer. The masses here do not appreciate you as you are but, your fire, your... passion— I understand it well. Return to Hydaelyn with me, and you will be able to run free to your heart's content.

I will not allow anyone to get between you and your hunt for Eden.

[ Stop, stop, stop, stop. Offering understanding is far too cruel. Offering escape is... it's death without dying, to disappear from his world entirely, never to be found. An eternal question.

Is it worth it? He imagines his aunts, he imagines the people of Okinawa, he imagines everything he's built and built and built... and it feels small, compared to what he's seen. It feels like he truly won't be able to move if he goes back.

'Too small' indeed. ]

What's in it for you?

[ He should put it in flowery language, but this one time he needs to be frank. Nothing is ever unconditional. ]

That makes two of us.

[He's here, he's still alive, and he's not supposed to be alive. What is he supposed to do about that? Especially now that he's given to believe he's functionally immortal, which is possibly one of the last things he'd ever wanted.]

[Gai... is tired. Tired and shaky, and he knows exactly what that means, and for a moment he thinks that the timing couldn't possibly be any more ironic.

Making his way over to the wall, he leans back against it, then slides down into a sitting position. Maybe he'll start feeling something in a little bit, but for now? Yeah, he's just kind of numb. But it could be worse, he supposes. At least he's still in one piece.

For now, he's just going to distract himself by uploading another song to Uto-Uto. The lyrics feel decidedly fitting right about now-- that's his excuse and he's sticking to it.]

[Marcille can't linger long. There are lots of things to figure out, and her party's on a rapidly dwindling time limit.

However briefly and unorthodoxly, however, she and Gai had been partners in crime of a sort. She'd like to make sure he's holding up okay, so she slides her back down the wall to crouch next to him.]

You're more recognizable now. [Then again, she probably is too.]

You did a lot to put a help unravel this plot, whether you were in disguise or out of it.

[He looks up at her, and there's a moment of confusion as to how she could possibly know about his disguise before the slow dawning realization of what she's implying with that.]

... so it was you. You were the one behind that drone.

[Now he actually manages a slight smile.]

I guess I should apologize for dragging you into that and then never even using any of that footage that you recorded.

[Marcille smiles, too.] Weirdest familiar I've ever controlled.

[Way more bells and whistles than the ones she's used to. When it comes to the footage she recorded, though, Marcille waves her hand quickly to dismiss it.]

That's okay. It's probably for the better that it didn't come to that. [And also that he didn't totally choose violence! Things probably couldn't have gotten much worse, but...he chose a different path to his revolution.]

Sorry that was all I could do.

[Damian caught his conversations with Flowey and Olivia. Gai helped him, so part of Damian doesn't want to see that debt go unfulfilled. So he'll approach.]

Fading away doesn't help anyone, you know.

[... ah. So he overheard. Well, it's not as though it's a huge secret... it's just how things are.]

I've accomplished what I needed to in my world. There's nothing left for me to do.

The world isn't going to miss one sinner.

Well, compared to the rest of us, you don't have much claim to that title. [Not that it's a competition but still, if these monsters are getting second chances, Gai might as well.]

There's other worlds you can go to. Writing yourself off as a sinner without doing anything to balance out the wrong that you've done is a defeatist's attitude.

[Loremaster is here, smiling as she takes notes about everything that has happened, speaking to herself as she does so.]

In the end, it seems I didn't have to do much of anything before a solution worked itself out. A little disappointing, I had just finished sketching a possible portal design that I was sure would work.

[And then, she sees you and grins.]

Oh, hello! How about one more chat before you take off?

[* Flowey is grinning.]

...No. Not one more chat. One more puzzle~.

[There's a pause as Loremaster regards Flowey's words... and then grins back as well to match Flowey's.]

Is that right?

I wasn't lying when I said puzzles were very important to monster culture. I'm more of an amalgamate, but I still lived in the same place as monsters for... well, you've seen the billboard.

Bring it on.

Wonderful! Let's see...

[Loremaster taps on her tablet, and then, a few drones suddenly appear whirring to life around them.]

I'm going to borrow these from Miss Liar for a moment again, though I'm sure she won't mind. After all, puzzles are important tools for communication with others.

[She taps a few more things, and then suddenly, they begin emitting beams of lasers from them. They don't come in contact with Flowey, but as you watch how they move between one another or the lasers switching from being on or off, it'll become clear that it's forming a pattern of some kind.]

Now then, this is a type of puzzle I've used a lot back home that subjects are tested with. I typically have them try to move from one end of the room to another without being hit by the lasers, but they are only given a certain number of... "steps" they are allowed to make, shall we say. For example, one puzzle may have only 13 moves to try to reach the goal without getting hit or disabling the machines creating the lasers. This isn't just taking a step forward, this also counts for any actions such as punching, kicking, taking a step backward, jumping, anything that is consider movement of some kind.

Are you with me so far?

[* Flowey nods. clearly intently listening. Such an interesting concept for a puzzle~.]

Good! So then, for this puzzle, let's see...

I want you to try to reach me from where I'm standing here in only 10 moves. And no cheating via ducking underground and making the entire ten steps where I can't see them, or using your powers to destroy the drones to cross the room unscathed. This will be an easy one to start with as I mostly just want to see how well you study patterns and react accordingly to them first.

How does that sound?

Loremaster. [They weren't exactly friends, but they did part on mostly positive terms and he'd be lying if he said he wasn't relieved to see her.]

How was your stay in the afterlife?

Edited 2021-09-12 08:53 (UTC)

Different than what I am normally used to... what, with being in Hell ordinarily, but in this case it was not the same thing, and thus frustrating since it meant not having my inventions, or Lucy to help me out.

And you? How are you faring now at this juncture?

R-really?

[Liv is suddenly very conscious about how frizzy her hair got in the heat of the "lava". She puts her hands behind her back, frames her shoulders.]

You had an actual spacegate design? This individual target editing is so inelegant, it's nothing like I would have chosen from scratch.

[If Loremaster has any objections to Liv's frizzy hair, she doesn't show it.]

I did. Would you like to see it? I'd be happy to show it to you if you'd like.

Sure!!

[Her shoulders roll as she's not sure whether to move with the tentacles.]

Maybe you'd want to use the monitor on one of the higher terminals...?

[Since there's this crowd on the ground level setting up their coordinates. And also they'd have relative privacy.]

Oh, really? That would be wonderful!

[Two lady scientists getting to discuss portals, and the privacy is certainly a nice bonus.]

Please, lead the way.

[* Flowey posts a selfie of him winking, complete with timestamp and tripcode, also making sure to get a good shot of the background as well.]

Howdy, everyone! It's about time little old me left your world. Now before you write terribly-written hatefics about me, let's do one more round. Ask me anything!

Edited 2021-09-12 06:54 (UTC)

[Damian will watch all of this happen with an expression that's unreadable. Some small smug part of him that can still feel pride is validated by how he was proven correct in virtually all his theories about this world.

But even that's half-hearted. He's tired. He'll raise his tablet and speak into a microphone.]

Case closed. Stand-by for full report. [And then he'll switch it off and continue staring into space.]

AKUDAMAX [Ending]

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UNDERTALE SPOILERS

cw suicidal ideation

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UNDERTALE SPOILERS

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About to head back to my timeline, AMA

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