Work Text:
You deal the final blow.
You deal the final blow.
You deal the final blow.
The King is gone.
Your blade strikes against nothing but dust and empty air.
You
keep
striking.
It’s over
It’s over
it’s over it’s over it’s over it’s over it’s over it’s
not
over
yet.
There’s just one more thing
you have to do.
The head housemaiden stands before you.
She looks
happy.
“Mirabelle...!
“Mirabelle, oh, dear one...”
“Where... where are you?”
Mirabelle is not here.
The head housemaiden’s eyes glaze over.
Then, she smiles brightly.
“I’m so proud of you! Look at you! The savior of Vaugarde!!!”
yes
yes
yes
you dealt the final blow. you are the savior of vaugarde. you and you alone.
you feel
“You saved the House, and the whole country of Vaugarde. We all owe you a great debt.”
this is it. this is the end. this is your escape.
you feel
“All... of... you...”
you feel
lost.
“...!!!!!
“Oh... Oh no. Oh no, no, no, no, no...”
you feel a
nonononononono
“Something’s broken, something’s failing, rotting!!!”
you feel a tug on
NONONONONONO
You root yourself in place.
You want to stay here. You want to stay here.
YOU WANT TO STAY ---
You feel a tug on your stomach.
You don’t want
to be here
anymore.
You hold your breath.
You keep your eyes shut.
It isn’t enough.
You can still feel the grass beneath your cloak.
Every
blade
of grass
the same
as always.
You hope Mirabelle doesn’t come.
She doesn’t hate you anymore.
But she should.
They should all hate you.
You should do it all again.
They finally learned
how disgusting you are
and you took that knowledge away from them.
They need to know.
You need to make it more clear this time
that they shouldn’t trust you, they shouldn’t love you, they shouldn’t touch you, they shouldn’t look at you -
maybe that would work
No, nothing will work. There is no happy ending. There is no sad ending. There is no ending at all.
That’s fine. You’re just getting what you deserve. They’re better off without you. It was your own fault, for daring to be by their sides.
[Stardust, are you -- ]
You
tune out
their voice.
It is quiet.
Mirabelle
is not coming.
Loop
is not speaking to you.
It is just you
and the grass
and the sky
and the smell of burnt sugar.
Ah,
blissful peace!
This
is
h a p p i n e s s ~ !
You watch the clouds travel back and forth.
You watch red cracks dance across the sky.
You feel
the wind
blow your hair to the right
and then back
to the left
again.
The same
five
seconds.
You don’t need any more than that.
You don’t
deserve
more
than that.
Madame Odile is in the shop buying items.
Bonnie is near the fields to the east.
Isabeau is at the Favor Tree to the west.
Mirabelle is at the library.
They will be there
forever.
They will never be frozen.
They will never have to fight the King.
They will never have to see your disgusting face again.
You
shut
your
eyes.
[ -- ardust!]
You cover your ears.
shut up shut up shut up shut up
[STARDUST!]
You scream.
SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP
YOU DON’T WANT TO BE SPOKEN TO YOU DON’T WANT TO BE ACKNOWLEDGED YOU DON’T WANT TO EXIST
[It’s Bonnie! They’re in danger -- ]
b o n n i e
Bonnie
is where they usually are.
They are
in a single piece.
They are
not being squeezed to death.
“You lied to me.”
“H-huh? Frin, what are you saying?”
They look
scared ---
“YOU LIED TO ME!”
You tear
at their star-
marked
chest.
“Bonnie is fine. BONNIE IS FINE.
“OF COURSE THEY’RE FINE. I WASN’T THERE TO RUIN EVERYTHING.”
“Stardust - ”
“IS THAT WHAT YOU WANTED TO SHOW ME? I ALREADY KNEW. THEY’RE ALL BETTER OFF WITHOUT ME!”
“I just thought - ”
You claw at their star-studded eyes.
They rear back.
YOU DON’T WANT ANYONE TO LOOK AT YOU
They stumble.
You are
on top of them.
They struggle, but
they are
so weak, so weak, so weak.
You reach for your dagger.
You can’t kill the King in any way that matters.
Anything you do to him is erased.
Anything you do
to any of them
is erased.
Only Loop
would remember
dying.
“Stardust, don’t - ”
That’s the secret, isn’t it?
That’s the secret, isn’t it?
YOU JUST HAVE TO KILL THEM ---
“Sif?”
isabeau
is here.
you
refuse
to look at him.
it doesn’t matter.
you’re fine.
this is fine.
you need him to know
what a monster you are.
what better way is there?
in fact, after loop is gone, you could -
“Sif, what’s happening?!”
you don’t even need to look at him
to know the expression on his face.
you’re fine.
you’re fine.
you’re fine,
but
you don’t
want
this ---
Every
blade
of grass
the same.
Every
breath
of air
the same.
Every
part
of you
the same.
The selfishness
at your core
is immutable.
You know, after all, how disgusting you are.
You know, after all, that they deserve to know it, too.
But the thought of doing that again -
of seeing
their faces
turn to anger and hatred -
It scares you
so much
that you would rather never leave this place at all.
That’s what you thought, but five words was enough for you to leap away and play the hero.
You think about the way that Bonnie and Isabeau looked at you.
And then,
you think
about Loop.
You make the secret hand signal.
“Loop.”
[...]
“It didn’t work.”
[No, it didn’t. I... tried to tell you it wouldn’t.]
“Nothing will work.”
[...]
“Bonnie is... fine. They’re always fine, before I talk to them.”
[...Sorry, stardust. I didn’t know how else to get through to you.]
It was... very effective.
But why
do they need
to get through to you?
[...I’m here to help. You know that.]
They asked to be here.
[Yes.]
Could you... ask to be somewhere else, too?
[...I don’t know if that would be a good idea, stardust.]
You might get attacked by a half-blind idiot.
[You might, yeah. By an absolute blinding idiot.]
And it would take you away from your... from the people you don’t deserve.
Who
did Loop
get taken away from?
[...]
“...I’m sorry, Loop.”
[...Yeah, you should be. Try not to rip out my eyes, okay~? I’ve only got... two of them, after all!]
[And, as for killing me... it wouldn’t help. I can tell you that much.]
“...”
A long silence passes between the two of you.
[So... what now, stardust?]
What, indeed?
It feels like there is nothing left.
But
Mirabelle is waiting for you.
You get up.
You walk north.
You
remember
to smile.