Storybook Scrap: Terminis

[RadZakpak]

So I was working on some Storybook outlining stuff, and remembered a short chapter I had written back in April 2018. It was meant to be the Epilogue for Book 4, after the Great War when Primis disappeared from the mound, and would have lived out the rest of their days in peace as the cycle began anew. Obviously with Blood of the Dead in BO4, things have changed quite a bit in the canon, and this chapter wouldn't really fit in now. So I went back and edited it for grammar and improved the wording slightly to be more in-character. Without further ado, I would like to share Book 4's original Epilogue: Terminis:

 

 

 

 

Never had Dempsey seen a day of such beauty through the dusty window frame; Perhaps because he knew it would be one of his last. It took an insurmountable amount of effort for Dempsey to simply walk outside of his cozy wooden home, secluded in an ocean of lush, green grass. Despite all his attempts, Dempsey had grown both mentally and physically weaker. He often found himself forgetting details of his missions of the past, blurring many together.

Due mostly to his declining energy, Dempsey rarely left the house, being forced to recline in the wooden rocking chair Nikolai had crafted for him, as he wasted away into dust. Today was exceptional, however; “Tank” Dempsey felt something in his heart, like a divine signal calling out to remind him that his time is finite. He slipped on his old boots and struggled donning his old uniform, dusting it off and preparing for his walk outside. His arthritic hands shook as he recovered his old recorder and wrapped it around his wrist.

As Dempsey exited the house, he felt the caressing tenderness of the wind at such a perfect temperature on the skin of his aching body. Sunshine gave him a warmth he rarely felt as of late; What a perfect day. He limped his way to the four grave stones planted just a few meters away from the porch. He looked to each grave, somber, remembering his fallen allies; His friends: Takeo, Richtofen, Nikolai. The last gravestone read Dempsey, and beneath it was a hole large enough for him. Dempsey stood for a moment, silent, closing his eyes as the blades of grass covering the graves of the fallen swayed in the wind. He raised his recorder, long-since deactivated as there was no way of powering it; Dempsey knew the day would once come when he must utter this message:

“Wow. Through the battlefields of France, through the siege of Stalingrad, the constant death looming over us; Through the war on the Apothicons, the fucking inter-dimensional apocalypse... and through the final days of our lives, we have been together, side by side, back to back. I remember when we wanted to kill each other; We all had a mission and a cause we believed in. As it turned out, our real mission had yet to start.”

Dempsey began to hack and cough, gripping his ribs before settling down again.

“I never would have thought I could ever think of you as a friend, Edward. You're the one who brought us all together, and for that I couldn't be any more grateful... even if it wasn't your goal. You led us through the dark to reach that end of the tunnel. You did what you believed was right; I know you beat yourself up about that, doing what was right. I wish I would have told you before you went, but... what you were doing was the right thing, for everyone.”

Dempsey coughed lightly, looking to his feet, then to the air trying to find the words.

“I remember your final days. The rest of us knew our own days were numbered, but it didn't really hit home until you died in your sleep. Months before that, you started losing your mind; Well, lost it more than you ever had before. You forgot things; We tried reminding you how we met, about what you had done for the universe; For us. You forgot nearly everything. But you remembered our names, and you knew that we were friends. Those last few weeks being bed-ridden, you lost more and more of your memories... I hated to see you that way, Doc. Just like you, I'm hoping what we did may finally bring an end to the Hell our other selves have brought upon the universe.”

Dempsey looked to Nikolai's grave hanging his head and speaking as if Nikolai were watching over.

“You're a hard book to read, Nikolai. Tak once told me that you were suffering, deep down, worse than from any injury we've ever sustained on the battlefield. He said he saw it in your eyes. It sounded like he was exaggerating, but I began to see it too. You wanted to hide it, keep it hidden away from anyone you considered close. I'll never begin to understand the shit you've been through; The people you've lost. Through all of that, you were still a friend to us. You would have given your life to protect us through every mission we've endured. Even when you didn't trust Richtofen's plans, we stuck together, as a team. You were one Hell of a soldier. I remember, sometime after you built us those chairs and after Richtofen died, you began to open up a little. You told us jokes; I've never seen you smile so much before. You told us what happened; Why you held your past so close. Even on the last day before you passed, you were smiling while you picked apples from the tree outside the house. You told us we were like a family... Then your heart stopped all at once. That's when Takeo and I began making these graves. Both of us later kinda realized you were so happy because you knew the one thing you wanted most was coming soon... a peaceful death. I couldn't be happier for you.”

Dempsey entered a coughing fit, holding his chest tight and falling to his knees, feeling weak. He looked to Takeo's grave, continuing his message.

“Tak, you were a good man. An honorable one at that. Even when you still vowed allegiance to the Emperor, you were ready to do what was necessary to ensure a better tomorrow. After Nikolai and Edward, we both knew it was nearly our time. Even as we dug our own graves, you kept it together. With the battles I've fought and the lives I've ended, I had trouble handling the thought of the end. You stayed by my side the whole way through. While you could still walk, you'd find flowers and lay them on their graves. When your legs gave out and you had to stay in that chair all day, I remember we'd talk about times before the war; Well, the first one anyway. I was worried my legs would give out at some point and no one would be able to farm for food, but you showed me how to meditate to stow the pain; I imagine I was a pretty fucking horrible student. You taught me about a world I never got to see in all my battles. If only we could have returned home, I would have loved to see it. Weeks ago, you passed away peacefully in your chair, and I buried you with your father's katana. I'd never felt so alone... but coming out here... it's like we're all back, ready to kick some more ass for the fate of the universe.”

Dempsey entered a violent coughing fit, hacking blood onto the grass before wiping his mouth. He crawled to his own grave, lined with a soft woven blanket and holding his father's revolver.

“I am the last of us... but I will be joining you soon my friends. Death is near. I hope what we have done doesn't come back to bite this universe in the ass. Thank God we will all be gone, because if Monty ever found this place, we would have been in a world of shit. Maybe now with us all gone, the children will truly be safe.”

Dempsey lowered his legs into the hole, before resting his head on the blanket Takeo had made. He coughed twice before his chest finally settled. The clouds and the warm, gentle air gave him peace as he closed his eyes one final time.

[Lenne]

It's probably because I am a huge pansy this year, but this made me teary.

 

11 hours ago, RadZakpak said:

“I am the last of us... but I will be joining you soon my friends. Death is near. I hope what we have done doesn't come back to bite this universe in the ass. Thank God we will all be gone, because if Monty ever found this place, we would have been in a world of shit. Maybe now with us all gone, the children will truly be safe.”

Dempsey lowered his legs into the hole, before resting his head on the blanket Takeo had made. He coughed twice before his chest finally settled. The clouds and the warm, gentle air gave him peace as he closed his eyes one final time.

As always, good job, Rad, you Dummkopf. 

 

[anonymous]

Is this one eventually gonna be added? Because after '...I will build my Church' I think this'll be my favourite chapter thus far, if you keep in mind this is the end of everything that has happened: Richthofen and Schuster's friendship, Maxis love for her daughter, all the things you wrote about led to this chapter. The end of our heroes. 

 

I wonder, in due time, how you're going to handle Book 4. Because as we know, the story of Primis can go two ways: the Cycle or the events following Blood.

[RadZakpak]

1 hour ago, anonymous said:

Is this one eventually gonna be added? Because after '...I will build my Church' I think this'll be my favourite chapter thus far, if you keep in mind this is the end of everything that has happened: Richthofen and Schuster's friendship, Maxis love for her daughter, all the things you wrote about led to this chapter. The end of our heroes. 

 

I wonder, in due time, how you're going to handle Book 4. Because as we know, the story of Primis can go two ways: the Cycle or the events following Blood.

The problem is I don’t know where the Dempsey, Takeo, and Nikolai are that were with the Primis Richtofen in Alpha Omega. The original idea for this chapter was made before I knew Richtofen was in the pod in Alcatraz, so I envisioned Primis all dying together after the Great War.

 

There may be a way I could fit this in somewhere since it is based on the Dempsey cipher and we got another one recently.

 

My plan for Book 4 is telling the whole cycle from Primis’ perspective, from Origins to Revelations to the Great War. Then Book 5 will pick up with events that lead to breaking the cycle and Blood of the Dead.