Chapter Text
Bang!
Bang, bang!
A fist rammed against the window of a pod in space.
The humanoid figure’s ice blue eyes shook in grief.
‘Charles…!
‘He…why would he die just to save me? If anything, I could’ve gone back! I could’ve…I…’
The person with platinum blonde hair clenched his fist, ramming it back into the window once more.
‘Dang it! I’m the one with the abilities here, why did Charles do that…!’
At last, the figure slumped in defeat.
‘If only…I could change this…if I…’
The figure paused, a thought brewing in his head.
‘Actually, I can still change this, can’t I?’
Henry Stickmin smirked, getting to his feet.
‘I’m done with this world’s tricks. It’s time to do a little payback.’
Henry declared internally, while watching the cloud of smoke dissipate in the distance.
***
“Henry!”
‘Not yet…’
Henry narrowed his eyes, as he was dragged away from the escape pod.
‘Just a bit more…
‘…now!’
As Charles reached out to pull Henry back in and sacrifice himself instead, Henry forcefully pushed him back, and yanked away the Top Hat member’s grip, beginning to fight it out with him.
Charles’ eyes widened in disbelief as he watched Henry, who, for the first time, put himself in inescapable danger instead of others.
However, he quickly snapped out of it, as the escape pod’s doors shut, preparing to launch off without his partner.
Charles’ eyes widened.
“Henry!”
He shouted.
The man in question was still battling with the Top Hat Clan member, giving the pilot a thumbs up before being tackled.
Charles’ expression morphed into despair.
‘He’s gotten himself out of many different seemingly impossible situations, but…there’s no way out of this one. He’ll die!’
As soon as the brown haired figure with red headphones finished his thoughts, the escape pod shot backward, gradually picking up speed.
***
Smack!
Henry hit the Top Hat member, finally leaving him unconscious.
He dusted his hands off as he watched the escape pod he was in just a few minutes ago drifting away.
‘Heh. What a nice parallel, huh?’
He unconsciously smiled, as he watched Charles repeatedly hit the window of the pod, with a grief-stricken expression.
“Self destruction activating in 3…”
“2…”
Henry closed his eyes, awaiting his demise.
“1…”
“0.”
***
Charles stood in a daze, as his emerald green eyes mirrored the scene of the Top Hat base erupting into brilliant orange and yellow clouds.
‘I’m losing him again…? After finally reuniting with him?’
He felt his eyes moistening, and a second later, he felt something wet trickle down his face.
He leaned against the escape pod door.
‘Just why…why would you do that, Henry?’
In doing so, Charles was not able to see a holographic window floating above his head.
[ Error. Player ‘Introverted Lawbreaker’ death has been confirmed, replacing Character ‘Charles Calvin’ death. Reevaluating the ‘Valiant Hero’ ending… ]
[ You have achieved a new ending! ]
[ New ending name: Valorous Thief. ]
[ Unexpected error has occurred. Attempting to fix… ]
[ ….10%…20%…45%…70%…99%…100% ]
[ Character ‘Charles Calvin’ has been upgraded into a player. ]
The system flashed his code name in front of him quickly, before moving on to a new message.
[ Please avoid sharing your true name with other players unless you wish to reveal your identity to them. Note that the System ‘HSC’ is not responsible for the events between players. ]
[ Welcome to the system, new player! We hope you enjoy your time with us! ]