Au Revoir chooses vengeance (Ending #5: Ciao, Au Revoir)

With Au Revoir's hand inching ever, unwillingly closer toward the pistol, you kept your voice as calm and even as you could, then explained the situation: right now, Madison was still alive somewhere. With Vaarvel's cunning, she might be hidden somewhere impossible to find, but CEDIT had ways of extracting information. As long as Vaarvel remained alive, you could still rescue Madison, who would then clear your names, undoing whatever trap Vaarvel had prepared to ensnare the two of you.

Your message wasn't kept secret from your captor in the slightest, who listened and watched with a cool smirk. "Really, Ciao? I'm the only person in this room who isn't about to die. I applaud you for being such an overachiever, but if you have a way to kill me--" she retorted, keeping her amber-colored eyes locked upon yours.

Here, you interrupted, reaching into your pocket to grab the vial of sleeping powder. This stuff was so potent, breathing in even a small dose would knock a person out quickly. Even simple skin exposure was said to do the trick. Vaarvel's instructions to you and Au Revoir forbid the two of you from doing anything that would hurt her, so long as she faced you from across the table. There was no innate harm, however, in reaching out your fist and ramming the fragile vial into the forehead of her silver mask. You saw her eyes open wide in surprise and her grin invert as tiny, white fragments of glass dust and powder trickled from your closed fist. Although you'd pulled up your jacket to cover your mouth, you could already feel yourself fading, just from the small exposure upon your hand's flesh.

"You crafty bastard... Nathaniel..." Vaarvel muttered, staggering with both hands down upon her desk and her shoulders lurching. You'd never seen her so furious; her fingers, clenched upon the oak, were trembling as she struggled to keep upright. No more coherent words came from her mouth. Her grimace widened and her eyes twitched, before finally, her arms gave out and her head smacked down upon the desk.

You weren't faring much better, but you at least had the foresight to cross one arm beneath your head as it fell. As well as it could, you kept your face angled toward Au Revoir. You hoped that she'd take your words to heart: as long as Vaarvel was a living captive, you still had a chance to find Madison and clear your names. With this, no one had to die.

Your heart leaped in your chest as you saw Au Revoir reach out and grab the back of Vaarvel's head. Upon Au Revoir's fist, the gauntlet simmered, causing heat to warp the air around her hand. You could only imagine what Vaarvel must be feeling; unable to react or to shout in pain, but perhaps still aware that her head was burning. You tried to summon up your voice, to beg her to stop, but no sound came out.

"I know, Ciao. I know you have your plan and I understand it. But I cannot yield to it," Au Revoir explained, not releasing her grip and instead pushing the true Adder Adjutant's face down into the oak, so hard that you could hear the mask on her face cracking. "This is the true service to mankind: I will throw away my career as an agent to destroy the most despicable woman I've ever known, a bitch who pretended to be my ally while serving the world's worst terrorist organization as their leader. With this, Adder will truly be crushed, I'll have my vengeance, and no one will remain who controls me by Bound Blood 100. To see her die will be such a pleasure...!"

You didn't think it sounded as though Au Revoir was deriving any pleasure. Even now, she probably didn't want to kill her ally, who'd been with her from the very beginning of the Goodbye Girls. However, after having her agency robbed from her, after the betrayal, and with the deep hatred she still held for Adder, you imagined that she felt a different lack of control now that she had her tormentor's life in the palm of her hand. There was no other option for her. If your instructions forbid her from killing Vaarvel, they were simply impossible for her to follow.

Seeing the anguished look on her face, she smiled down towards you, her blue eyes still showing a sort of kindness that the rest of her body language and muscle would never match. "Little Ciao... Thank you for giving me this chance, to take my life back and stop Adder. You have done so much for Au Revoir. When we cross paths again, it may be as enemies, but I will never be able to turn my gun upon you. Vaarvel was evil and you are good... For what it matters, I suppose I was evil in her hands and good in yours. Oh, I may even love you. I think it would be worth being hunted down by you, if it meant we meet again in the future." The sweetness of her words was at odds with the terrible sound and scent of her handiwork. Your vision went black, thankfully sparing you a view of what remained of Vaarvel after Au Revoir exacted her vengeance.

Perhaps that beautiful smile on her face was meant as something you could look back on happily, when you remembered this terrible scene that would be your last meeting with her.

As you drifted into slumber, you asked yourself: should you feel happy for Au Revoir? Even if the rest of her life would be spent on the run from CEDIT, she would finally be free of genetic control by any outside forces. In the end, that probably mattered more to her than anything. You thought that you'd be able to explain things in a way that got you back on the board with CEDIT. You hoped Madison would turn up alive. You mourned Vaarvel, who surely must have had a reason for the evil things that she did.

As barbaric as Au Revoir's means were, maybe what she did was for the good of everyone, just as it always had been throughout her whole career. When she recovered, you'd have a drink in her honor, but sadly, without your favorite drinking partner.