THE END

[mayfield_mods]

You've walked for what feels like ages down the highway as a group- all those who chose uncertain freedom over certain death. Within an hour, Mayfield became a distant speck on the horizon before ultimately fading into the hills and trees. The only sign of the place you've escaped is the sky, which remains an eerie brown even after night falls and you've put Mayfield hours behind you.

Try as you might, it's impossible not to imagine that you've been led into a trap. What if this is all part of some new sick game of Johnson's- or even Zemekis'? It certainly wouldn't be the first time. What if the events of the past few months- saving Annie, Gray's "ghost", Zemekis' apparent death -what if it's all been nothing but the latest in a long tradition of Mayfield's-

These thoughts fade when you see the first sunbeam.

This road isn't like the ones before: the roads that looped endlessly into themselves, inevitably leading back to where they began. This road has an end.

Keep walking forward and you'll find yourself in a new town, both similar to Mayfield and utterly unlike it. The buildings here are crude and unfinished- the streets little better than paved paths of dirt. There are no drones here, no hazmats, no one in sight other than you and your companions. But all of these things are nothing more than trivial details, when compared to what you feel the moment you enter its boundaries.

There's power here- you can feel it in your fingertips. Each and every one of you can, from the most godlike seraph to the most ordinary human: power, faint but unmistakable. The power to build a world, and to destroy it. The same power that's been lorded over you for four years... but now, it's yours to command.

You can create a new life here. It isn't the home you remember- the home you remember, after all, was never yours to begin with. For some of you, that's a blessing. For others, it's a hard truth you'll have to live with. But even though you can't go home, with the power you've been given, it might just be possible to bring home to you. Bits and pieces of it- locations you remember, small creatures from your world- no people, though. That's one power Annie decided not to give you.

The place you've found isn't perfect- there will be work, hard work, and pain. The place you've found is your own: there are no overseers here, no Zemekis, no Johnson. The place you've found may not be paradise- but it's the nearest thing you're going to get.

You've found, at last, a better place to live.

Comments

[riastrad_ridire]

[Flanked by a gray horse on his right and a black one on his left, Lancer simply took a breath and sighed, a content smile on his face. Copies or not, who gave a damn? He was who he was, it was as simple as that. Such minor details didn't matter to him in the slightest.]

Níl caill air, what d'you think? [A question addressed to the two horses; in response the gray one nudged lightly at his master's shoulder. He laughed, raising one hand to either one's head.]

Needs work, yeah. But it ain't bad at all. We'll be fine--always are, ain't we?

[doudemoe]

[You'd think he'd comment on how Lancer can talk to horses, but hey he knew a robot girl who talked to dogs. That Doctor Dolittle shit ain't nothing new to him.]

What do you plan on building first?

[riastrad_ridire]

Hard to say. I wonder if Rin would blow a fuse if I imagined up a castle.

[doudemoe]

I don't see why not. A castle would fit her.

[riastrad_ridire]

Good point. She'd probably yell at me for makin' it too small.

[doudemoe]

Then, we should make it as big as possible.

[riastrad_ridire]

[MINATO DON'T ENCOURAGE HIM OH MY GOD]

Sounds like a pretty good plan to me.

[doudemoe]

[IT'S WHAT HE DOES MAN]

Okay. First we'll have to find the right spot.

[riastrad_ridire]

She'd probably want a fortress on top of a mountain or somethin' stupid like that. Hopefully we can find somethin' on ground level.

[doudemoe]

Yeah. A fortress on a mountain is more fitting of a super villain.

[riastrad_ridire]

Which is why she'd probably want one.

[doudemoe]

But that's so lonely.

[Note he's not denying her being a super villain.]

[riastrad_ridire]

Yeah, well 'common sense' and 'Rin Tohsaka' ain't on great terms, y'know?

[doudemoe]

Someone should intervene then.

[riastrad_ridire]

Hey, hey, don't look at me! She never listens to me anyway.

[gandere]

You could spend less time chatting and more time building my castle. I want a moat too. Full of crocodiles.

[answerer_sword]

Lancer!

[Bazett comes running up to him. It was a great relief to see him happy and healthy.]

...So you and Tohsaka both made it out as well. And your...horses too.

[riastrad_ridire]

Hey, you sound surprised. We're not gonna go down that easy.

[answerer_sword]

I understand, but the last days were hectic and there was at least one woman delivering death threats to Tohsaka.

[A pause.]

So...what do you plan to do now? Besides staying at your Master's side?

[riastrad_ridire]

Yeah, well Rin can handle herself just fine when I'm busy.

[Shrug.]

Hell if I know. Probably gonna have to figure out some way to live around here, huh?

[answerer_sword]

We are likely no longer under Mayfield's housing restrictions. You can live in the same house as your Master.

[Provided Tohsaka would let him stay.]

And you can visit me if you ever...have a disagreement with her.

[riastrad_ridire]

...So pretty much every other day, huh?

[answerer_sword]

It depends. Would she throw you out of the house or give you indications that you are not to spend the night in the same residence every other day?

[riastrad_ridire]

...


We're talking about Rin, yeah? Of course she would.

[answerer_sword]

[Well, it seems that she will have to be prepared to sleep on her couch every other night since she has decided Lancer would have the bed.]

Consider my home your alternate residence.

[Come to think of it, she would have to build a house. So Lancer has a place to sleep if anything.]