#(close enough? That villain sure is distressed so im counting it)

[hurtmyfavsthanks]

Whumptember day 20

“We can’t all win” Failure | City in ruin | Boot on throat

Content warning: implied mass murder

Villain couldn’t tear their eyes from the burning city.

It looked like something from a disaster film. Cars were burning, buildings were crumbling, and everything seemed covered in a thick layer of ash. The world was silent, and that was far worse than any screaming could ever be.

 Villain stood, utterly numb, on the last building left standing. Besides them stood the person responsible. 

“You were right about this city,” Hero said, voice horace. They sounded close to tears. They didn’t avert their eyes from the destruction. “It was corrupt down to its roots. I hadn’t wanted to believe it, but you were right the entire time.”

Villain’s throat was too dry to respond. They felt like they couldn’t breathe. 

“I tried for years to ignore what you were exposing. I pretended you were just cherrypicking a few bad actors, that the problem was surface level and easily solved. I was wrong,” Hero shook their head, eyes distant. “But you were wrong too. You can’t threaten and blackmail that kind of issue away. That level of corruption can’t just be cleaned up. You have to pull it out. Burn the fields, wipe the slate clean and try again.”

Hero’s head turned to face Villain, and the sudden movement was enough to jerk Villain from their stupor. For the first time, Villain looked at Hero. Their once white uniform was stained with blood, traces of it spattering their face. Hero’s eyes were filled with tears, full of grief, and yet Villain couldn’t see a hint of regret. 

“You were always trying to improve this city, even when they called you a monster for it. You understand what it means to make something truly good, and you were trying to show the world that,” Hero gestured to the destruction around them. “There’s nothing in the way now. We can do something great here,”

There was no bitterness in Hero’s expression. No anger, no resentment. There was only hope, burning and genuine, the look of a hero looking forward to a better future. 

It terrified Villain. 

Hero outstretched a bloody hand to Villain. They smiled, soft and sincere, as the world burned around them. “You’ll help me, right? We can make a better city.”

Villain knew what they should have done. They should have lashed out, refused to work with a mass murderer and stand on what few morals they had left. They should have fought back.

But they didn’t. They didn’t dare to. Instead, Villain took Hero’s hand without a word.