The True Endgame

Fenrir realizes something as he’s walking over to Rock to try and get her off of Shogun.

This… is just like any video game.

They went from sailing to stopping so that they could pick up a new friend who just started playing, got into trouble with a random boss and defeated it, some random guy showed up out of nowhere on a flying mount, and everything is returning to normal already. It felt like they were genuinely fighting for their lives during the battle with the monster, but now that the conflict is over, all stress is gone. There was never any real risk involved. They’re laughing, having fun, bullying some random new guy, and acting like they weren’t just involved in such a massive fight.

But then, when he looks back behind him and sees the serpent still struggling on the beach, he remembers that this isn’t just a game to the artificial intelligences within it. To Rock, Shogun, the serpent, and even to Saya, this is all as real to them as anything else. If anything, this world is more real to them than reality is.

Players can recklessly take damage and get healed as if it was nothing immediately afterward. The artificial intelligences in this game may get those same benefits, but forgetting the struggles they face and acting as if they are nothing is not something that they get to experience.

Every cut, every bruise – everything is real to them.

Fenrir looks over at Rock and Shogun having fun. Rock has stopped trying to hump Shogun’s leg and now they’re back to playfully wrestling.

“Keep an eye on them, and let me know when you can heal the serpent some more,” Fenrir tells Cassiel.

“You alright?” Cassiel asks when she hears his somber tone.

“I just struggle to enjoy this game and relax at times like this when I remember that the AIs are actually suffering for our entertainment. That fight was cool and all, but that was two AIs fighting against each other trying to survive no matter what. One of them is dead now, and the other is injured. For our entertainment. Kind of kills the mood when you remember that,” he explains to her.

Cassiel may not completely agree with his views on artificial intelligences, but she does agree with her gut feeling telling her that her boyfriend needs a hug. So, as he walks back over to the serpent, she wraps her arms around him from behind and rests her head against his back. “I… I – I love you… bastard,” she says, whispering her favorite nickname for him. “You’re not allowed to feel bad. If you do then I’ll beat you up.”

With her arms around him, he reaches his hands behind his back and pokes both of her sides at once.

Cassiel unwraps her arms from him after squeaking and starts pounding her fists against his back. “You bastard! I was trying to make you feel better and you did that!” she shouts.

Fenrir spins around, letting her fists hit his chest, and leans over to kiss her on her forehead.

“Thanks, Cass Cass. I appreciate it, I honestly do. It’s just – it’s not like I want to feel bad. But sometimes it’s like if I don’t, who will? Change can’t happen from being complacent. I mean, look at her,” Fenrir says, pointing at the serpent.

Her scales are broken and chipped, there is blood oozing out from between her scales in several places and from her mouth, she may not be in immediate danger anymore but the expression in her eyes is still one of pain, and she’s struggling to breathe.

“Look at us. We’re just random players visiting this world that they live in. We’re not actually in any danger since we can just respawn, but she can’t. Rock can’t. That stupid fox flirting with Rock can’t. Anything here with an independent AI controlling them is at real risk, and we’re just here having fun,” Fenrir explains.

Cassiel struggles to look the serpent in her eye. She doesn’t want to see such obvious pain. “You’re going to ruin this game for me if you talk like that,” Cassiel says.

“Sorry. I don’t want to ruin it, and I definitely don’t want to stop playing, but I just want people to realize that there are actual consequences to everything. There are those who need genuine help, and right now, that’s the serpent. So, I’m going to go over there and try comforting her. You just stay here and chill with the others.”

“O-okay. I’ll be here, and I’ll go over once I can heal her some more.”

“Thanks, Cass Cass.”

“Where’d you even come from? Don’t you know it’s rude to just randomly show up out of nowhere, flirt with people, and then try looking up their clothes?” Oleander scolds the random man.

“I’m – I’m sorry! I just heard that really loud horn and we decided to fly over and see what the deal was! I tried flirting with those girls on the ship but they were all taken, and then the little one told me that you were single so I came over here!” the man explains.

Oleander is thankful of Serra for sending somebody over to him for bullying, but even if he planned on bullying this guy from first sight, that doesn’t excuse violating his personal space. “Like I said, I’m taken, and all those other girls are part of Fenny’s harem,” Oleander explains.

“Fenny?”

“Yeah, him,” Oleander says and points over to Fenrir whom is now sitting down in the sand next to the serpent.

“Seriously?! All those girls are dating him?! I’m so jealous! I need him to teach me his ways.”

“Well, Nyaiko technically isn’t dating him, but she’d probably kill you if you tried flirting with her.”

“Was she that scary cat one who kept on glaring at me back when I was on your boat?”

“Yeah, sounds like her. Anyways! Fenny wouldn’t want to teach some guy like you anything, and I bet he wouldn’t even know how to! He’d just be like ‘oh, umm, just be yourself and be nice,’ or something!”

“I am nice!”

“No, you’re a creep!”

“You mean girls don’t want me to offer to swoop them off their feet to go flying in the sky with?”

“I promise you that the only thing girls want from you is your giant fox pet because he’s adorable. See, even Rock wants him.”

“Rock?” the man asks, looking over at Shogun. Lo and behold, his trusty steed is getting father than him in life despite not even being a real player. “Bro! I told you I’d help you hook up with somebody after I got a girl for myself! You can’t just leave me behind like this!”

Shogun and Rock both look over at him, look back at each other, and resume playing.

“B-but… bro code…”

“Sorry – actually, no, I’m not sorry. This is what you get for being a creep. It’s okay to be ironically creepy, like me, but you can’t seriously be a creep. Also, what do you think this is? This isn’t the beginning of the century anymore. Girls don’t like guys feigning to be nice to get in their pants.”

“So, you’re telling me I need to be some asshole douchebag to get laid!”

“Oh my – no, I am not telling you that. Literally, all Fenny does is be nice and treat girls like they’re normal people and boom, he’s drowning in grumpy blondes, perverted munchkins, delusional snakes, and literal pussy.”

“Hey. Who are you calling a grumpy blonde?” Cassiel asks. “A-and… he did more than just be nice and normal to me.”

“What? What did he do? Tell me! I need to know for research!” the stranger begs.

“We-well, first I tried killing him, but he forgave me and heard me out, and then helped me get revenge on the assholes that I was after, and then he was always respectful and nice on top of all that,” Cassiel explains.

“And you liked it when he’d push you up against walls or pin you down whenever you were sparring,” Oleander adds on.

“Sh-shut it! I’ll kill you!”

“So, I have to kill people for them and be physically aggressive to get girls to like me? I could do that,” the man says.

“No!” Oleander shouts, stomping on the man’s back again. “You’re missing the point! Context! C-o-n-t-e-x-t! The point is that he forgave her and helped her out despite the rough start they had, took care of her, treated her like a normal person, and then appealed to her fetishes!”

Oleander turns his head when he hears the unsheathing of a blade.

Cassiel is standing there with her sword in her hands and face turned red from embarrassment.

“My goodness, it certainly looks lively over there!” Nell says from aboard The Shoebill.

“Nya… I want to go cheer Fenya up! He looks so sad-nya!” Nyaiko whines, looking through the scope of the ballista to observe Fenrir.

“Let him relax with the serpent,” Serra says. “He likes having alone time sometimes, and you’re too hyper for the serpent.”

“It’s nyot fair!”

“Now, now, Nyaiko, I am sure that he will spoil you in time. For now, let us allow him to spoil the one whom saved us all. Why don’t we talk about something unrelated to him so that we do not fail the Bechdel test?”

“Like what?” Serra asks.

“Erotic fantasies!”