Part 43: All Bad Things...

C'mon Nagi and Nami, you couldn't even kill everyone in the bar? What kind of omnicidal lunatics are you? <>



Okay, I'm going to be generous and assume the two were having way too much fun stabbing Phidget to notice everyone else in the building.



So where was Sam during all of this?

By the way, this scene plays out exactly the same if you choose Sam to go with you to the castle and Konrad stays behind. Neither of them shows up in this part at all.



So what, Righty can sense power levels now?

Please think about this rationally. I am upset -- more than I've ever been. But I didn't want to add to the body count.

It was your job to protect us, though! You've been doing it for years, Righty! You can't just back down from a fight!

PB -- I know this is difficult for you. But we'd all be dead if we fought back. They have power like I've never seen.

We need to be thankful we escaped. I hope Trish and Caylen did, too. But trust me -- Phidget's not gone yet.



Sure nice of Nami and Nagi to let PB cradle his dead brother before letting them get away.

Remember what Reiyo told us, PB. Rabies has the ability to fix all of this. Right now -- we need to focus on survival.

This will all blow over soon enough. And we'll get to see everybody again. Not just Phidget -- but your Mother, too.

Do you really believe that, Righty?

Yes -- with all of my heart. I know that Rabies can do this.

You're lying.



It's pretty concerning when even the characters themselves are starting to figure out that the dialogue and plot in this game makes no sense.

That's why I don't believe you. And why I think Phidget is really gone. You fear death -- you don't want to die.

You don't truly believe in Rabies. You don't truly believe Reiyo's words. There's a part of you that knows the truth.

You're holding on to a false hope. Just like Phidget's been doing for years! I miss him Righty -- I miss him so much!

And it's all your fault!



Guess we can't make any more Phidget's Dead Mom jokes.

Because now we have a treasure trove of PB's Dead Brother jokes!



That makes one of you.



You think Righty cried when he found out Velasquez's plan to make up for that project was to build a single shitty bar?



Anyway, Rabies apparently witnessed that hugfest in the forest, but he's actually in some abandoned Rust Belt factory.



Hey Nagi, you missed two! Might wanna fix that!



Rabies feels like he's going to get tetanus just by standing around in here.

Rest of the ship -- what does that mean...?

This is my home -- The Terminus. A flagship vessel built by the Federation. Seized with force, by my own hand.

But please -- follow me, Rabies. This room doesn't befit our conversation. It's merely an organic landing pad.

Organic landing pad...?



How many interstellar mailman corpses are probably piled up in a closet somewhere on this ship?

He laughs -- clearly a jab at the dilapidated room. I understand though, it's like getting "beamed up". He must've transferred us both from Terra's surface.

I think you'll find this place beautiful. First impressions can be a damning thing. You must've thought I was ugly at first.

Without even saying so, he starts to leave the room. I have no choice but to follow him with hesitation. I grip my new sword -- ready to use it at any time. But when we exit, I see that it truly is beautiful.



One common theme about this game that I enjoy is how easily impressed Rabies is at everything.

A few computer screens displaying some data? WOW ADVANCED TECH NEVER BEFORE SEEN BY FURRYKIND

I stare in awe as I walk towards Nagi. He's walking fast -- and I don't want to get lost. I have to run to catch up, as his stride is much longer.

I'm taking you to the bridge. I thought it would be more fitting. No doubt you have lots of questions.

I heard what Father told you. But there's a lot more to it than that. Stories are rarely ever one-sided.

We turn a few corners, and I do my best to catch up. Nagi's demeanor is extremely different than I knew. I have some fright within me, from our last meeting. A part of me fears that he might make a sudden move.



After all the shit he's been through, Rabies' name is the only thing he has left.

Father got to you first -- it's a shame. Him and his people made a big impression. You're attached, and less open minded.

I have flashbacks to the first time I visited Terra. Righty got to Kila -- Endymion and Konrad got to me.

But it couldn't be as simple as that. It implies there is no good or evil at play. Nagi attacked the Federation -- he admitted this. And to top it all off, he tried to kill me.

I have a reason for everything I've done. You sat through Father's story, Exodus. I hope you can do the same for mine.



At this point, a conflict being resolved by more words that mean jack shit would be worse than an actual swordfight breaking out.



Like the the doors are going to act like they do in the Star Trek bloopers and try to crush Rabies.



The game has been telling us everything is about to end for, what, the last three chapters?



Here's a question: how does Nagi know how this ship operates at all? Did it come with an instruction manual?



Ah, the yawning abyss. Rabies longs to return to its cold, uncaring bosom.



So, what? Earth and Terra are in a separate reality, but they can still see the actual Federation?

You don't have the technology to escape. Nor the ability to see this far. You're the first Earthling to witness this.

All of those stars -- just out of reach. They're the Federation's core worlds. But what you're seeing is only a memory.

They're so far away, this isn't accurate. That light is millions of years old. We've long since destroyed those worlds.

Honestly, I'm a little conflicted. From here -- they look amazing. But you can see their flaws up close.



I still can't get over how Nagi and Nami apparently depopulated entire worlds by just impaling everyone they came across. Surely there had to be a more efficient method.

But every candle dims into nothingness. And there is also beauty in the darkness. Something that most people hate to admit.

He rests his hand against the window, and snickers. I guess he's overtaken by nostalgia at this sight. What the universe looked like before his onslaught. Then, a moment later -- he turns to me and smiles.



"Indecency"

I didn't know Nagi was a Independent Baptist preacher.

He takes slow steps toward me. I want to ready my blade -- but I won't. I sense sorrow and regret in his words. He wasn't going to attack me, I could tell.

I hate thinking about the past. It stirs up rage within my soul. But do you share the same rage as me?



With the powers you had, you know you could've just made another one, right?

And what would happen to us after that? We'd likely get discarded -- thrown away. We had no purpose other than to listen.

At first -- we didn't know that. We happily made Earth to be perfect. We believed it was our will to do so.

But free will did not exist for us. We were only doing what we were told to. Even if we didn't know it at the time.

We grew curious about our future. That is when we confronted Father. He told us the truth, about everything.



Not really, Nagi. You could've stopped working on Earth any time you wanted.



So you're to blame for Kila! <>

Death, disease, famine -- you name it. He'd slowly watch his mission crumble. His sceptre would be always out of reach.

Nami and myself were able to break free. But we promised that one day we'd return. We'd kill him when his will was broken.

That is when we embarked on our mission. We'd find the leader of the Federation. And we'd kill them -- breaking all shackles.

They'd never be able to do this again. Condemn worlds to their servitude. The reality planes should've been free.



Considering how Velasquez was supposed to be the brightest scientist the Federation had, that's not really a surprise.



How? Why?

As we killed them, we grew stronger. We could convert life into raw energy. Suddenly, our goal became more realistic.

We began traversing all of these worlds. And we saw the Federation's true nature. They could barely sustain their own people.

Their need for new energy was apparent. But none of the planes were successful. The Federation was living its final days.

You might think that we're monsters. But our harvesting was a display of mercy. These people were suffering so much.



Wouldn't it make much more sense and be way less edgy to just form your own interstellar empire, and not make the same fuckups as the Federation?



Just what kind of Federation calls their leader the Imperator?



You do know that like, the Federation would probably have continuity of government plans, right? Stabbing him isn't going to make the Federation magically poof into smoke.

But we saved it for last, Exodus. We wanted The Imperator to suffer, too. Much like Father would be at the same time.

He'd see his Federation fall apart. And when he lost all hope -- he'd die. Then the universe would be truly free.



The orange haze of pollution says otherwise.

They weren't suffering like other worlds. The Imperator obviously did this on purpose. Ensuring that he was able to live happily.

We met with him, and had a long talk. He stood by his morals to the very end. These experiments were for the greater good.

He was civil, which was unexpected. His experiments led to so much suffering. He was the biggest mass-murderer in history.



That doesn't really tell us how you killed him, Nagi. Did you throw him to an angry mob or something?



"With the keys still in the ignition! "

The Federation knew that they were dying. So they no longer sat around waiting. They built a ship capable of reality travel.

They wanted to visit their reality planes. Rather than waiting for them to break free. We seized this ship without hesitation.

That's when we realized what to do next. The Imperator was not the true creator. Something -- or someone, made The Imperator.



Yeah, so, Nagi is a creationist for some reason.

We needed to continue our harvest. But now we could visit the reality planes. We were no longer limited to core worlds.

The power we could gather was infinite. But we'd need every bit of it. We'd be breaking out of the Universe.



You're reading correctly. Nagi and Nami's Grand Plan was and is to find God and stab him.

So we did what we'd been doing forever. We started harvesting the reality planes. Our power grew with each successful harvest.

That's when Terra piqued our interest. There seemed to be a massive power present. And not only that -- it was rapidly growing.

The temptation to harvest Terra was huge. But we decided to save it for last, as well. We'd let the power grow as long as we could.

And grow you did, Exodus. Nami and I harvested the Universe. But somehow -- your power rivaled that.

It would definitely be enough to break free. That's when we decided to come to Terra. Nami was driven by her lust to kill Father.



And look where that got her.

So I let her do it -- even if she died. Her final act would be her own choice. There is nothing more beautiful than that.

I promised I would achieve our goal. That's why we destroyed the "tavern". There'd be no need of it anymore.



It's pretty refreshing after all of Nagi's rationalization for killing billions, he admits that he and Nami just burned down the tavern and killed Phidget because they thought it would be hilarious.



Nagi I see where you're coming from, I really do, but have you considered that killing God might have some slight negative consequences on the stability of the universe?



And then what? Go find SuperGod and kill him?

I'll use their power to start over again. A new beginning for all of existence. Without the suffering I've witnessed.

That is what I was truly made to do. I wasn't meant to make a perfect world. I was meant to make universes of perfection.

And you can help me, Exodus. Your power is vast -- and infinite. You don't need to follow Father's orders.

His dream is less than ideal. his universe would be overpopulated. It would suffer in the exact same way.

He'd have you undo all of my harvesting. Bring back every world, and every life. But that's not such a good thing.



Before you ask, no, we don't get the option to join Nagi no matter how much sense he makes.

Everything would be connected, sure. But would it truly be harmonious? I don't think that's the case, Exodus.

There are worse people than me out there. Father would give them free reign. All in the name of a connected universe.

That's why we destroyed the tavern. There's another way to handle this. Something that works for us both.

Lend me your energy, Exodus. I'll use it to leave this Universe. But I'll close off Earth and Terra.



Sounds good so far.

The worlds will be independent. There will be no more give and take. Terra can become a world of its own.

It won't be connected to Earth anymore. Therefore -- no more "immigration". This will solve all of Terra's problems.

Death will be permanent, Terra will be free. it won't exist solely to hold energy. You can give the citizens true freedom.

This is so much to take in -- I have to stop and think. So Nagi ended up destroying the entire Federation. But it was suffering, so he saw it as a mercy. Now, he wants to see who created this Universe.



What ideals? When the king vomited exposition at us a while ago, he gave us a big spiel on what his big plan was but now why the Federation was worth saving or even why Rabies should give a shit.

I've seen life on Terra, though -- it's not good. Was the rest of the universe truly that bad? Would I be releasing as much suffering as he said? It seems that now, this is a battle of pure ideals.

On one hand, I could guarantee Earth and Terra's safety. If we closed ourselves off, there'd be no risk at all. A connected universe was risky -- but the reward, great. It would also give us an opportunity to advance.

There's no way I could decide this on my own. And I'd have to defeat Nagi to connect the Universe. Otherwise, we'd admit a defeat of our own and hide. We'd live quietly, never know what could've been.

I can see Nagi tremble with unease. I think he expected me to give in to his speech. But there are so many voices in my head, I can't. It's too unclear -- too cloudy to pass judgement.



It's pretty telling to Klace's ability as a writer that when we get to the one choice in the game that actually matters, Rabies freezes up.

I nod -- and tell him I'm sorry. I'd need lots of time to think about this.

It doesn't need to come to that, Exodus. I have a better way to decide everything. A way to let our true selves decide.

He turns his back to me, and returns to the terminal. I see him typing away at it, much harder than before. I sense that he's trying to hide some frustration. Did he really expect to convince me so easily?

After a while, he turns back toward me. The ship starts to move, pushing me back violently. I almost fall down, but grab onto a terminal. As this happens, Nagi gives me an evil smirk.



Nagi has to live with the fact that millions of people revealed their search histories to him right before they died.



Rabies wants what he's always wanted: The Power Crystals and the Holy Maiden. Of course, recent events have revealed that Rabies is the Power Crystals and also probably the Holy Maiden, so things have gotten a little confusing.

He flourishes his blade and holds it out toward me. I instinctively do the same in turn -- facing him. The ship is moving, our destination unknown to me. Nagi keeps that evil grin on his face, ready to kill.

Our destination is Terra -- a crash course. In fact, we'll hit the castle directly. The fallout will obliterate everything.

Let the blade speak of your resolve. If you can defeat me -- then very well. You will make Father's dream a reality.

But if you don't defeat me in time...? We'll crash -- and you'll die. Then I can use your power for myself!



And for no reason, Rabies apparently has super strength.



How does the gear spin on the blade when it's only half a gear basically making up the handguard?

After a moment, he attacks once more in full force. I brace myself, and hold out my blade in defense.

When our swords clash, a white flash flashes before us. Likely this is a reaction to my spinning gear.

Oh no -- the energy is escaping. These blades were not meant to clash! Exodus, tame your gear immediately!

I don't listen to him, and I attack again. I needed this boost if I wanted to win.



Well there's your problem, your sword's got soul leakage.

Don't be foolish! You'll undo all of our work! Then neither of us can achieve anything!

He starts to take a defensive stance. He was afraid of our swords connecting further. He dodges my attacks smoothly -- and with ease. I never thought such a man would display grace.

A part of me wants to stop the gear, but I don't. Now that I've tasted its power -- it's all I need. Perhaps this is what Nagi felt as he used it as well. He continues to evade, so I'll need to switch things up.

Flames start to engulf the windows of the bridge. We must be breaking into the Terran atmosphere. The ship shakes -- I could use this turbulence. Perhaps I'll be able to throw him off guard.



THAT'S BECAUSE RABIES WANTS TO JOIN YOU!

His baiting works -- and I attack full force. But this time I do my best to trick him. In the middle of a slash, I lose my balance. He thinks the shaking of the ship overtook me.

But he was the one who got caught off guard. He tries using my "momentary confusion" to attack me. But like he did before -- I dodge him with ease. I turn around and drive the sword through his back.

...

...



Okay, how was Rabies able to swordfight at all, especially with what I assume is hideously unbalanced sword?

I take a few steps back, my blade left inside of him. The puddle of blood on the floor grows in size. I watch on in awe, expecting him to pass out.

Congratulations, Exodus. You've done it.

You've proven how stupid you truly are.



'For a moment'? Dude could probably shrug off a fucking nuke, and Rabies temporarily thinks underestimating him was a bad idea?

We aren't so quick to hurt, Exodus. We are both born from world stones. I'm surprised you thought it was over.

But now I hold both blades. Infinite power courses through my veins. There's no way you can hope to win this.

He walks toward me, and I retreat in fright. But eventually -- my back hits a wall. This is exactly like the ballroom incident. I look around in panic, trying to find a way out.

No one can save you now. In fact-- why should I even wait? I can unleash your power right now.



About that. There's some weird time travel shenanigans that haven't really been addressed yet. When did Reiyo keep sending Rabies back if Nami and Nagi weren't around to stab him? How is Rabies almost as powerful as Nagi even though he's harvested the entire universe?

I often wondered if there was an afterlife. On the off chance that there is...? Give Father my regards when you see him.

And with that, he plunges both blades inside of me. I scream as I'm pinned to the wall of the Terminus. My vision falters, and I look out the bridge window. The Terran surface grows bigger with each second.

That's the world that wanted your help. You could've saved them, you know. I gave you a perfectly valid option.

But instead -- you chose to fight me. You chose a battle you knew you'd lose. And they will all suffer for it.



For Christ's sakes Nagi, just twist the blade and be done with it.

Souls will continue to travel here. But they will find only Hell. Engulfted in fire -- burning for eternity.

He pushes the blades deeper, and makes the gears spin. I can feel my essence draining faster than ever before. He was right -- I could've agreed with him back then. But now, my last moments alive will be full of regret.

My vision slowly starts to fade. It seems he'll active our power at the last second. At the moment of impact, he'd leave this Universe. I'd die -- and everyone on Terra would suffer forever.



please no



NO



HOW ARE YOU EVEN HERE

YOU GAVE YOUR POWERS TO ACHERON




Why is Nagi just letting this happen?!



Reiyo, he didn't do much better with you.



LESS TALKING MORE STABBING




Couldn't Nagi just punch these two idiots across the room?

Acheron quickly removes the other blade. I fall to the ground, in a puddle of my own blood. But they have both swords -- free to kill Nagi. They stand there, pointing both towards him.

You two -- explain yourselves! I demand you tell me what's going on!

Like you did to all the others you killed? Don't make me laugh -- you don't deserve it. Today, we erase a scourge from the Universe.

Reiyo lunged forward, stabbing Nagi straight through. The larger man stumbles back, groaning in pain.



I just love how, even in the final hour, Rabies still has no fucking agency over the plot.

Couldn't have said it better , myself. You know -- I thought I won the battle. But now I know, -this- is truly the end.

He follows after Reiyo, and stabs Nagi as well. They both look at each other, and give a firm nod. They activate the gears, and Nagi scrams in agony.

You fools -- you can't defeat me! I am the embodiment of death! A force more powerful than anything!

Acheron simply laughs.



So uh, Acheron, how you gonna deal with overpopulation?



There goes Nagi, a true American hero.



Why would they get absorbed in the blades if they're holding it-oh who gives a shit at this point. Nothing makes any sense and it's all petering out in a wet fart.



I hope these two have a plan to deal with the massive spaceship that's about to slam into the planet at relativistic speeds.

It's not over yet, Rabies! It's time to unleash your power! Acheron -- just like we practiced!

They turn and point both swords at me. But I sense no hostility within them. It was finally time to bring this to an end. I'd live out the purpose I was created for.

I'll do this -- for everyone's freedom! No one will get stuck in a cycle of despair!



Why is it this time that getting stabbed with the sword makes Rabies stronger? It certainly didn't help that last few times.



Acheron you are uh, aware of what your new job is, right?



Man, these massive gaping wounds are going to be hard to explain to the insurance company.

Here -- with the ability to change history!

We'll bring about a hopeful future...!



The worst mistake you ever made!




Somehow, some way, telling Kila that maid cafes were a terrible idea, blowing Kila up, and other miscellaneous choices that had no bearing on the plot whatsoever have enabled Rabies to unlock cosmic powers.



And here we are. In the end it's a binary choice where one of the options is only available if you choose the most pointless bullshit in your "choices". It makes no sense, provides no sense of closure, and honestly the ending of goddamn Mass Effect 3 feels more satisfying.

I'm going to showcase both endings, just so you know. First we'll start with the "bad" ending where we close off Earth and Terra, because that is the closet thing to a "good" ending for us.