Aodh Finale
VS Fintan: A Rekindled Flame
| Prologue/Introduction | Table of Contents | Profiles | Non-Gamer Primer |
Open on Hollow Mountains
Aodh and Fintan are standing in the same position as last chapter, the full moon hanging between them in the background.
Aodh: Fintan, this time I won’t run away.
Fintan: You made a mess of the tournament with your indecisiveness, if Hákon had disqualified you when you requested it you wouldn’t be here.
Aodh: But I’m here now.
Fintan: For better, or for worse? It doesn’t matter how hard you try, things will never go back to how they were.
Aodh: I don’t want that. Back then I was selfish and shortsighted, even when I thought I was doing something for someone else, it was about me. I don’t want to be like that anymore.
Fintan: Then what do you want?
Aodh: To be a better person. Someone who can love without being selfish. I want to be at your side again, to treat you the way I should have from the start.
Fintan summons a pillar of flame, Aodh jumps back.
Fintan: You want a second chance?! After everything you’ve done? Let’s see if that resolve can survive a battle. Don’t you dare hold back, because I won’t.
Aodh: As you wish.
Battle Start
This fight has both you and Fintan start with full meter, and doubles all meter gain. Additionally you’ll have to contend with both the sloped terrain of the stage and the exploding flowers that will sprout up. The light from a flower represents the range of its explosion, so you’ll be able to space around it as the timer counts down.
If you’re on the lower ground, you’ll have an easier time using air attacks on Fintan at the cost of having a harder time jumping over him. Only jump over Fintan if you have enough height to go over the range of his anti-airs, which will catch you if you go any lower. When you’re on the higher ground a fireball will do a lot to keep Fintan from jumping.
By this point you should be familiar with most of Fintan’s moves from Eamon and Doran, the main difference is the added strength at the tip. This time getting close is ideal, you want to be at ranges where Fintan doesn’t get maximum damage off of a hit.
Win or lose, this battle will go by fast and hectically. Stick close to Fintan and make the most of your increased meter gain. Once you win, that’s it for Aodh’s story gameplay wise.
Battle End
Aodh and Fintan stand at their round start positions.
Fintan: Even with my sword pointed at you, I can see that you haven’t given up on that second chance. This battle is yours.
Fintan sheathes his sword.
Fintan: I’m sorry, I was unfair to you earlier. After the Bloody Day I wanted to hate you. Yet, no matter what, I couldn’t stop caring about you. It was easier to drown in misery and hatred than move past that day, so seeing you move on enraged me.
Aodh: I deserved to be hated. I sabotaged your reign as much as any of your enemies.
Aodh: If you don’t hate me, then what do you feel towards me?
Fintan: You’re the other half of my soul. Of all the different feelings I have for you, I think love sums them up best, even the anger.
Aodh: I’m sorry that I haven’t been a person worth loving.
Fintan: There’s no changing the past, but I’ve spent enough time dwelling on it. Let’s wander the world together. I don’t want you to be alone.
Fintan: But first, I think you have some obligations to fulfill, champion.
Transition to Grand Festival Hub
It looks the same as before, but with a clear nighttime sky. A full moon hangs in the sky. Aodh, Fintan, and Ciara are on screen.
Text on screen: Later that day.
Ciara: I had given up on us being together again. This still doesn’t feel real.
Aodh: (Not all of us. No, I won’t let the past drag this moment down.)
Aodh: Where should we go once the festival is over?
Fintan: I don’t know. You can fly us anywhere, not even distance is a problem for us.
Eamon walks on screen.
Eamon: Sorry it took me so long, you know how long diplomacy can take. Anyway, what about visiting Lunis sometime? The capital has been revitalized since everything that happened.
Fintan: Seeing the capital again might be painful.
Aodh: Maybe we should, just so we can stop being afraid of it. And maybe us visiting could shut up anyone who tries to say Eamon shouldn’t be king.
Ciara: Did you just suggest doing something for political reasons?
Fintan: I’m surprised too, not even a mention of burning hair.
Aodh: Hey, this is what I get for being considerate?
Fintan: My apologies. It’s good that you can surprise me. It means you’ve grown.
Ciara: Still, it feels like the old days again, doesn’t it? Being at the capital again will hurt, but with all of you there I can bear it.
Eamon: I didn’t realize how much I was imposing on you with my offer. If it’s too much I can meet you somewhere else.
Aodh: No, this is just what I get for leaving you alone in the capital after all of that death and destruction. You didn’t have the choice to run away from it. So it’s time I faced it myself.
Fintan: Then it’s decided. Now we can focus on enjoying the rest of the festival, we have a lot of lost time to make up for.
Aodh, Fintan, Ciara, and Eamon walk off screen together. Doran appears on screen for a moment, then vanishes. The camera pans up to the full moon.
END
Author’s Note
And so Aodh’s story in this project concludes. In a few days I’ll be putting up a thread where you can vote and make your case for which character’s story comes next. If you’re not already subscribed, subscribing can make sure you don’t miss it (unless you’re reading this after the next story already started).
Back to the present, I hope you enjoyed this story. Writing it has been fun for me at least. Any comments you have can help me improve this story with edits and make the next ones even better, even something as simple as naming a part you liked is useful and appreciated.
| Prologue/Introduction | Table of Contents | Profiles | Non-Gamer Primer |
I really enjoyed this! The 'eavesdropping' segments really gives that town or village section of a video game and adds some interesting background detail. The walkthrough-esque sections are an interesting substitution for the player-required aspects of the game and work well in keeping the overall fighting game theme.
As for story itself, I really like Aodh and Fintan and already want to 'play' BBtS 2 just so I can see where they and their friend group end up next!
Since you provide character profiles, I would consider linking directly to a fighter's profile when they first show up in a new story (or at least any stories that you consider suitable for first time readers), just to help ingrain them in our heads and especially when more than one is being introduced at once. I just recently realized Substack lets us link directly to anything we assign a header style to, so such links would save the reader some scrolling around.
Looking forward to story 2!