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They stare blankly at the sterile white ceiling, the faint beep of a heart monitor beside them. They wonder if they're finally getting what they deserve. If karma is real, it sure has taken a while to catch up.
They take their time going over their mistakes in their mind, going over each one individually, and how each of them led to the next. Like dominoes, almost. Each one justifying the next.
It all started with the fall. They vividly remember it, even though it felt as if it happened so long ago. They had felt the whooshing of the air around them, the sinking feeling in their stomach, and the calmness in their head, along with relief.
Then they woke up in a bed of golden flowers. As many times as this happened, the first will always be the most special. The beginning to an end. Their journey began there, after all.
They remember the end of their first journey. It ended with a reassuring, yet bitter-sweet phone call, and they knew in that moment that they could've done better. When the flower showed up and made them an offer, they took it.
They loaded, and soon got their second ending. They had stood, surrounded by their loved ones, watching the sun as it set. They had a new home, a family. A new life of complete peace and happiness.
But they still weren't satisfied.
It wasn't an easy decision, but every time that they closed their eyes they saw him. A warm, gentle smile on his face, with a golden locket around his neck reading "Best Friends Forever". The one that they couldn't save. Surely they could do better.
RESET
And yet, they did no better than the last time. So they tried again. And again. And again. RESET after RESET, they did everything that they could to find a way. But nothing worked. They had an idea, that perhaps if they learned enough, if they found the outcome of every choice, of every branch, they would discover a way.
After a while, they realized that as hard as they tried, they just couldn't discover every outcome. They couldn't learn everything, the way that they had been doing things. They had an idea that made them sick to their stomach, but they went through with it.
It all started with the frog. A strike of blunt strength with a large stick was enough to dissolve it into dust. They remember feeling tears run down their cheeks, their head and stomach filling with guilt. In a panic, they RESET.
But then they did it again, pushing their own feelings back. All they had to do was find the path to a perfect ending. Everybody forgot their actions, there were no consequences in the long run. This was for the greater good.
Many timelines later, their small spark of violence had escalated into a full blown genocide. After a few kills, it had gotten a lot easier. As they gained more and more LOVE, their emotions became dull and numb, no longer holding them back.
They had expected this timeline to end exactly how those before it had. With them crossing through the barrier, and receiving an angry phone call from people who they had once called friends.
But then something different happened. The short hooded figure at the end of the hallway happened. Rather than an aggressive judgement, he gave them a rather bad time.
It only took one attack the first time. Their heart split into pieces, and they loaded. As they kept trying, they tried to ignore the skeletons words, but after a while they started to bother them. He was counting the number of times that they had died. For the first time in a long time, they felt truly confused.
They died hundreds upon hundreds of times after that. The battle went the same way every time, and yet they did not reset. They were DETERMINED.
On the couple-hundredth time that the skeleton attempted to SPARE them, their anger overtook them. It felt strange, seeing as they hadn't fully felt emotions for a very long time.
So they spoke for the first time in hundreds of timelines. Flustered yet oddly emotional, they told the hooded figure of their true intentions, of their hope for a perfect ending. How every time they RESET, they did something different. All in the search of more knowledge. How they wanted to SAVE everybody.
For the first time since the beginning of their genocide, they felt regret. Regret for murdering and betraying their loved ones, all for the sake of curiosity. They couldn't help as they broke into tears, falling to their knees. They finally allowed themselves to lose their grasp on the worn dagger in their hand, and took relief in the sound of it clattering to the ground.
And for the first time, they accepted the skeletons MERCY.
The previously pupil-less and violent figure suddenly had an expression of sympathy. He stood, arms outstretched, speaking words of forgiveness.
But more often than not, betrayal is answered with betrayal. They died seconds after deciding to give up their murderous path, impaled on several large bones sticking out from the glossy floor.
"If we really are friends.... you won't come back."
RESET
This time they changed their intentions, taking the same pacifistic route as their first few endings. They were unsurprised as their journey ended with them standing on a cliff, looking over the sunset once again.
They only wished that they could feel the same happiness and satisfaction as the first time they got this ending, but they not had a past that, no matter how hard the tried, was unforgettable.
So they stayed behind as their friends left to explore the human world, a place that was so foreign to them. They dangled their legs over the cliff side, gazing peacefully at the sunset and going over their thoughts.
They hadn't felt much surprise when the short, hooded figure materialized beside them. He admitted his distrust of them, and of his assumption that this timeline would soon end as those before it had, with a RESET.
Their apologies meant little to nothing to him, no matter how sincere they really were. They regretted their past actions, and craved forgiveness. The only way to achieve even the slightest bit of forgiveness was to make a promise. A promise that would not easily be broken.
"No more resets."
They weren't sure at first if the skeleton had believed them. After they spoke, his eye sockets had darkened, and he had disappeared into thin air. They sadly gazed at the sunset, wishing there was more they could do to earn his trust.
Over time, it seemed he had finally realized their sincerity. And he showed it, too. With every easy grin directed their way, and every bad pun made to ease their discomfort. Though they never spoke about the past, they both seemed to have let it sit as water under the bridge.
Eventually, they and the skeleton became as good friends as they had been in the first couple of timelines. For years they lived happily, surrounded by friends and family. They never were able to SAVE everybody, but eventually they realized; maybe they didn't have to.
How they ended up in a hospital bed, however, is a rather dull story. Nothing but an unfortunate accident. They'd acquired several injuries, and the doctors weren't very hopeful for them.
They had been told that there was a low chance of them surviving this procedure. The idea hadn't shook them as much as it probably should have. They had died so many times already, after all. But it was different this time. They hadn't SAVED in years. It wasn't as if they could only set back time a couple of days, or weeks. LOADing wouldn't be much different that a full RESET, at this point.
And so one by one, their friends and family had visited them. Their adoptive mother had come in tears, heartbroken at the idea of losing yet another child. They had done their best to reassure her, but really, what could they say?
The next was her adoptive mothers ex-husband. While he was never like a father to them, the two had become good friends over the years, often bonding over cups of tea. He reminded them to, no matter what, stay DETERMINED.
Next was the old Royal Scientist, a good friend of theirs. She was holding back tears and stuttering her words even more that usual. They had given her a hug and reassured her that no matter what, she would have friends and family supporting her.
Next was the old captain of the Royal Guard, a loyal and constant friend that had always been there for them. She shed no tears, but instead expressed her emotions in anger. They had eventually gotten her to calm down, and she had advised them to never stop fighting, that they could survive this. That she believed in them.
Next, the first of the two skeletons. Always tall and loud, but always the best of friends. He obviously tried to stay positive, but he was nearly transparent with his emotions, and it was easy to see how upset he really was. Nevertheless, he encouraged them, telling them that they were one of the strongest people he had ever known, and that surely they could get through this. He told them that he and everybody else fully believed in them, and would always help them in any way that they could.
Finally came the final person. The same short, hooded figure that they had fought so desperately in the last timeline. His face this time, though, showed no anger or craving for vengeance, as it hadn't in a very long time. Instead his expression was grim and he looked tired. They didn't get the same kind of speech they had gotten from the others though. Instead, he said something that they had never expected.
He told them that when they had made their promise, he hadn't believed them. That at the time, he was still full of rage at their betrayal and didn't believe them at all. Over time, however, that changed. They became close friends, together sharing a secret that nobody else knew about, and probably wouldn't want to know about.
Finally, after speaking for a long time, he gave them a very unexpected request. He wanted them to, if they died (which, was, let's face it; very probable), to RESET. His face was full of emotion when he said that he didn't want to lose them, that despite their betrayal in the past, he had forgiven them. He said it would be okay, to relive the past couple of years if it meant them living through them too.
They considered his request for a few moments, but eventually shook their head. They had made a promise, and they would never break it, no matter what. After everything that they had done in the past, they refused to destroy the only thing that had brought them acceptance.
He tried to convince them for a long time, but their decision was unwavering. After a while of one-sided arguing, the skeleton gave up. He should've known the kid wouldn't go for it, their DETERMINATION was too strong. But still, he refused to say goodbye. He refused to accept that this was goodbye. He still held onto the hope that they would change their mind, or maybe that they would even survive on their own.
Eventually, he left.
So now they stare up at the blank ceiling, their decision already made. A part of them is hoping that they will die, if only to make up for their past sins. Several doctors enter the room. It's time.
They feel calm as the place the oxygen mask on their face, emanating anesthetic. They put an IV in their arm, and transfer them onto a different mobile bed, as they start wheeling them to the surgery room.
They know that soon, the world will make them decision for them, will they live, or die? They're rather curious to find out. For the first time, they're refusing to catch themselves if they fall. Why?
They made a promise, after all.