robowest | [ DEPARTURE ]

Entry tags:

game: end

[ DEPARTURE ]

DEPARTURE

It's time to go.

Most people are on the train by now. Settled into their cabins and among friends and loved ones. There are only three new arrivals left to board and once they do, Hal pulls a conductor's hat out from underneath the bar, tugs it on, and steps around it to the middle of the train. He opens his mouth to talk, voice filling the train.

"It's time to go. Stops happen once a day until everyone's departed and I already have your stopped listed. If you'd like to be prioritized, let me know, otherwise we'll go in order of death. Settle in and enjoy the ride. If there's anything you need, don't hesitate to ask, folks."

This, of course, means that those who died earliest (Manfred, Higekiri) will depart first while those who died latest (Barnham, Damian, Percy) will depart last. There's a stop for everyone, though those who want to get off together are more than welcome to. Hal pulls a notepad and pen out of his pocket later and people will notice that he goes around the train confirming stops with everyone. Whatever feeling Hal may have had to a character back in town isn't noticeable here -- he is simply a robot assigned with a job.

After that, it's all a matter of settling in and enjoying the ride. If that's possible for you, at least.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Nothing. Not like I could tell you not to do your part.

[but he shifts away from percy just enough to give him a gentle thonk on the head before moving back to where he was.]

But you would've had someone on your side so you weren't dealing with it on your own.

I know. You had the Bounty though and that was enough. I wasn't going to burden you guys, too. And anyway...when Hal gave you your job, did he tell you anything would happen if you didn't do it or if you told anyone?

Nope. Most I got was that he probably wouldn't waste much time having me killed if I wasn't going to play, but that was it.

[he points out:] I was going to have to tell people, remember? We didn't know who the other Bounties were.

[but that was it.] —It was different for you though, right?

[There's a miserable sort of nod.]

If I told anyone or refused the job, Annabeth and I would be disqualified and we wouldn't get to go home. You know I have to go home, Noctis. I need to save the world. But I also wouldn't risk Annabeth's life. We have a short lifespan as it is.

...He was a real son of a bitch.

[what appropriate language for a king amirite.]

I know you do. We all do. [well, mostly.] It just doesn't make sense, he put that condition on you, but not us.

Of course it makes sense, Noctis. I would have said no otherwise.

He could've just put those conditions on you not doing the job... not having to keep it from us completely.

And can you guarantee that people wouldn't freak out at the Sheriff for forcing a job on me and then he'd punish them? Look at how many of us were upset about Sara.

He did it to the rest of us, didn't he? [that had roles, even if just bandits.]

Anyway, I'm not talking about "people." I'm talking about us. Me, Milla... Jason. You know we wouldn't have done that.

...Well, I wouldn't. And Milla wouldn't. We may have had to smack Jason around a little.

[That gets a soft laugh at least.]

Don't worry. We're taking him home so hopefully he'll chill a little. [He won't mind if he doesn't either. In the end, he shifts to curl in closer.]

There were a lot of times I wanted to tell you. If this ever happens again I'll bring it up sooner next time.

If he starts getting worked up, tell him I said he needs to cool his head and calm down.

[maybe if jason knows that dad is forever judging his temper, he'll chill out eventually.]

Make sure you do, though. No more of these stupid secrets.

I will. He'll probably even listen to you from universes away. Somehow you have that effect on people. [There's a huff of a laugh.]

I know. No more stupid secrets. I have another world to save...this time I just got a little luckier. I kind of owe you, don't I?

...You sure you don't have me mixed up with someone else?

[he's pretty sure he's always been kind of unassuming and not very helpful in that regard. but... you know, it's fine.]

And you don't owe me anything. Pretty sure it's gotta be the other way around by now.

I could always just be a little biased toward you. That's definitely a possibility. [He's allowed to be biased about the best big bro okay.] But no, I think I'm right.

I owe you because I lied to you. There's no excuse for that no matter what.

I think I'll go with your bias speaking. [he snorts a little, because he thinks that's probably all it has to be.

(he definitely doesn't give himself enough credit.)]

You did it for a good reason. You came out on top in the end and saved us all, right?

[even if the fact that the two people he trusted the most had a combined body count of 10 and he's like "what the fuck" about it...]

"Saved" by hurting everybody. True heroism at its finest. [He's grumbling about it because he doesn't know how to feel, really. But he nods anyway because Noctis has a point.]

...Mr. Barnham told me on Sunday after Will's execution. I agreed to help him so he wouldn't be doing this alone.

[he's not even going to address that first comment when percy knows as well as he does that hurting people was, in fact, the only way to save them.]

...And that's why you were acting weird on Monday. [sorry percy, you tipped him off way too much.]

You knew, right? That Barnham was going to kill me.

...yeah. We'd met with the Sheriff not long before you and I talked. I knew Mr. Barnham was going to do it and what he requested to get the job done. I just didn't know what day it was happening.

...I had a feeling.

[which isn't entirely bad. it gave noct time to prepare himself for it. to write his letters and completely make peace with a fate he wasn't going to be able to fight.

it still sucked, though. percy knew... and didn't tell him, despite the fact that noct was obviously, even if weeks before that, willing to die if that was necessary. he lucked out in making those conclusions himself—otherwise, he may have ended up a lot more troubled by it.]

...Noct what would you have even done if I said Mr. Barnham and I were planning how to kill the rest of the town? Then you're just left waiting for days in dread which...I...probably caused anyway. [Whoops.]

...I messed up anyway didn't I.

...Probably would've kicked both your asses for trying to deal with it without me.

[he nudges percy a bit.]

You both messed up. Spend so much time worrying about keeping the rest of us clean that you end up making everyone worry about you more.

[it goes for percy and barnham; they both wanted the best for everyone but took a really shitty approach to actually accomplishing it.]

I think I was already promised an ass-kicking and you're holding out on me. [Please don't kick his ass right now, Noct, he's tired and miserable but also Noctis is a good egg and he's content this way.] But trust us, we both know we messed up a lot.

I kind of wish I'd told Mr. Barnham about my role earlier so he wasn't dealing with this alone for so long. I wonder how much would have actually changed.

Too tired to kick your ass now. Later.

[probably not really, he's probably not going to make good on that threat. they're both too tired.]

Don't know what would've changed. I've... asked myself the same thing a lot. Since that night, I've been wondering.

[if barnham has told him earlier, if he'd caught barnham in his own lies—would things have changed? would roles have been reversed, if only to put barnham out of his own suffering?

he probably still would have made sure percy was the last left standing, because of his merit—but still. maybe things would have been different.]

Hal seemed to know exactly what was happening, so maybe nothing would've changed about the outcome. The whole "fate" thing. I don't like that as an answer, but it is an answer. Or maybe we just aren't supposed to think much about it. I don't know. I've never been good about just accepting things the way they are.

Maybe. Still kind of hard to believe.

[for a dumb reason, but:]

If he knew everything that was going to happen, how the hell did he let Ash kill his cat?

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