8-bit fanfics

[mammothtank]

I do believe Mizuko's post has inspired me. I too have a theory about episode 434, and though my story is written in a similar vein, it is quite different. *begins typing*
(after typing) Geez, this has to be my longest post ever.


"Bad Ending?"

The sky, still full of magical energy from the climactic battle, glowed an eerie red, obscured here and there by black clouds. The ground for miles in every direction was barren and cracked, and any life within that radius had been extinguished some time ago. There were, however, five figures near the center of this blotch of destruction, four of which were prone. The fifth, a woman in robes that once shone a beautiful white but were now torn and stained with dirt and blood, knelt beside her fallen foe. This foe, though his dark face and glowing eyes failed to display it, struggled to maintain an even expression. His clothing, like the woman's, was ripped and stained where it used to symbolically boast his awesome might. His body, however, was far more broken than hers. The woman kneeling over him shed a single tear, which sparkled unnecessarily as it fell to the ground. She tightly held his hand in hers, but his grip seemed to be weakening.

The soon-to-be-dead man sighed. "When I look back at my life, I can't help but see an inevitable chain of events." Considering the woman's history, he would have expected her to agree, but he knew that his actions had quite changed her opinion on the matter.

Proving this point, her response was brief: "That's ridiculous."

He rolled his creepy yellow eyes. "Do you truly believe there could have been any other outcome than this?"

It was the woman's turn to sigh. "If you have taught me but one thing, it is that that's not how it works." She took a breath before continuing. "There is no grand story to history. Things just happen; it's the act of looking back on past events that interposes a sense of narrative."

Though the irony of this conversation was beginning to come to light, they pressed onward. "And yet..." The need to cough interrupted his thought. "...here we are, just as we were always going to be. Doesn't that drive you mad?" He punctuated this question with a sneer, which would have been invisible had his teeth not glowed white just then for no known reason. "Don't you hate yourself for it? For never having seen it coming until now?" He spoke with a flourish that was almost unlike him. "Every little thing is so painfully obvious now, isn't it? You know, hindsight and all that? Now that it's too late, you have all the answers, don't you?"

Quite taken aback, the woman found the right words escaping her. "It's not too late," was all she could say.

The glowing eyes softened. "It is for some people."

Looking straight into those eyes, she responded, "Are you trying to goad me?"

"Regardless, you know it's going to end here." The eyes suddenly stopped glowing, as their owner had closed them.

The woman held back her tears. "Just as it was always going to, right?"

One of the glowing eyes put in its final appearance as the man said, "You're catching on." As he exhaled, she felt his hand become limp.

All rational thought left her. She could think of nothing to do but flop down in the dust and cry. The four prone, unmoving figures around her had once been mighty warriors prophesized to save the world from a great evil. They now lay dead before her, three killed at the hands of the fourth, and the fourth by her own. There was now no one left to rescue the world from its imminent peril. Find new warriors? Impossible. Undertake the task herself? She couldn't, for she knew she lacked the wisdom and experience. There was nothing to do but wait as the end drew inexorably nearer...

Presently, she heard a sound. She held her breath and listened intently, and was rewarded when she heard it again: a soft moan, coming from close by. She quickly climbed to her feet, daring to hope -