Season 4 - Resolutions

[Ame]

[Source] crazynuto said:

The crowd goes silent, awaiting the King's decision. He hefts his axe up as a few guards force Ryoma to his knees.

"A decision was made by our Council, and that decision is final. It is my duty to cut out the rot that infects this Kingdom. Look on my subjects, this is the fate that befalls all who dare attack our glorious Kingdom."

The axe falls, almost in slow motion, cleaving Ryoma's head off in one fell swoop. A few of the more bloodthirsty crowd members whoop and holler, but a majority remain eerily silent. King Tyronius stands, breathing heavily.

It all happened in slow motion. From the moment the executioner raised their axe, to the moment Cody's head hit the ground.

Like a cracked dam wall failing, all the fatigue, anger, and despair that had been brewing erupted through.

Clairmont fell to their knees, distraught. All eyes had been on the King or Cody, but the second thud of their body seemed to shock all those in the crowd.

Clairmont hadn't noticed the crowds' deafening silence. It was as though they was in a world of their own.

They stared at Cody's detached head, still rolling on the wooden stage, oozing out a thick and macabre crimson substance. It was clear that they had tried to say something, anything. But the words just wouldn't come out.

Clairmont's glaze had turned to the king. Salty raindrops fell, and landed on their robes. They shone in the sunlight, highlighting the quickly-drying blood splatter that had coated them only moment ago.

Something had rolled into their lap. It was Cody's head.

They gently picked it up, and softly adjusted his headpiece, fortunate enough to have been allowed to wear it until his last moment.

Words weakly escaped their mouth as they embraced part of the severed corpse.

^{"...may you find peace,} _{shall Blaiddyd guide you..."}

But their prayer had been cut short. For Clairmont had collapsed, becoming the second body to fall limp on the stage within the minute.

[Nekomaru]

Jul 10, 2024 21:14:27 GMT -6 Ame said:

But their prayer had been cut short. For Clairmont had collapsed, becoming the second body to fall limp on the stage within the minute.

Although hard to leave his sister out there spouting nonsense, a gentleman has a duty he must fulfill. Turning on his heels, Kent will rush to the stage and assist the Pope. Assuming they are as small and frail as they look, he should be able to carry them to the infirmary without issue.

[Ame]

[Source] Nekomaru said:

Although hard to leave his sister out there spouting nonsense, a gentleman has a duty he must fulfill. Turning on his heels, Kent will rush to the stage and assist the Pope. Assuming they are as small and frail as they look, he should be able to carry them to the infirmary without issue.

Clairmont is rather petite, so there are no issues.

Also, you notice that they still have a pulse. They must have fainted from shock.

[verylukely]

[content warning: kinda shitty dude, mature themes]

---

Somewhere far, far away… (But not that far)

It's a dark and stormy night. Possibly the only one The Cactus Land will get all season, maybe all year. An incredibly important day for the territory, considering their water-based troubles as of late.

Lucy Amtrak is in a small, pitch-black library, holding a single flickering candle and leaning against a bookshelf, deep in thought. A clock on the wall shows that it’s the dead of the night.

Knock
Knock
Knock

“Pfft, Come in, Sebastian. There’s no need for such formalities! We have this whole mansion to ourselves now, after all. No more of that pricky green bastard and his entourage of bodyguards."

He opens the door and approaches. They lock hands and share a brief kiss.

“Please, won’t you come to bed, dear? I know you’re married to your work, but you already had a long day, and I heard a certain law recently got repealed…”

He wiggles his eyebrows suggestively.

“I… Sebastian. That sounds lovely, but no. I’m this close to a breakthrough. I can’t have any distractions; time may be of the essence. I think… I think I might be able to bring him back. Or some descendant of him, at least… And I think I have to try.”

Getting out every word feels like pulling teeth. The man pulls away with a start.

“You…! You want to revive that... MONSTER? Are you Kumaing! kidding me? What has he ever done for us, huh? This is... OUR territory to rule! It always has been, always will be. Even when we’re finally rid of him and able to steer things in the right direction, you’re still working yourself half to death to bring him BACK?”

Lucy starts shaking. She’s never felt this kind of pushback before from him. Mostly because she’s always agreed in the past. As the top two advisors, they bonded over their shared hatred for the Cactus Man. But, something inside her changed when the Cactus Man passed. A part of her she didn't know she had, deep beneath the years of built-up resentment. Pity? Love? Hope? There were hundreds of reasons to let him stay dead, and only one good reason to try and save him. Because saving a life was the right thing to do. ... Right?

“He… He was just a child. Even if he was immature… He didn’t deserve to die… We can keep him hidden, we don’t have to tell anybody!”

“And what if they catch wind, huh? Your position in the upcoming election is already slipping! Because that "child" spread that weird propaganda and got everybody in this damn place to hate women! A child that, may I remind you, was probably a hundred years old! If you’re still not able to see reason, I’ll lock you in this damn study you love so much until you do!

A tear drop rolls Lucy’s cheek.

“W- wait, I’m sorry, don’t cr-“

She blows out the candle, grabs a book off the shelf she's already memorized the position of, and uses the darkness to run past him, out of the mansion, and into the night.

“Stop! Lucy, STOP!”

---

Lucy Amtrak is running through the desert. She knows exactly where to go. She stops at a tall cactus with three points, racing the rising sun.

"Okay, okay okay... Come on..."

She pulls out "All About the Cactus Man" and flips it to a bookmarked page. The ink starts to bleed in the rain.

Iconic Quotes of The Cactus Man - Part 17

The Cactus Man once said: "Pwease Wemembew! It's impowtend! A sacwifice of bwood duwing a sunwise fwom somebody who has conswumed at weast two hundwed cacti in fwont of a thwee pwonged cactus will bwing me back fwom the bwink! As wong as it has nowt been a full weason since I dwieded! Heehee!"

A sticky note next to it in blue pen reads: "Remove this and other similar statements from the next edition. If we included everything the cactus man said during his speeches, we would be able to fill a whole book in of itself. The printing press is still a new invention. Of the hundreds of statements he's made about his own existence, none that were verifiable have turned out to be true, there is no reason to waste paper on this drivel. Even if we are technically unable to dispro-."

Lucy quickly slams the book shut, trying to forget that she wrote that herself.

"Please... Let this be the one true thing you ever said..."

She steels herself, then swipes her palm across the cactus in front of her, and lets the blood fall and mix crudely with the water and sand into a disgusting sludge.

She waits with bated breath for a second. Then, a minute. Then, an hour. The rain finally begins to clear."

"Well. That's... that's it then. It's... It's for the best. Of course. Stupid. I'm so stupid."

She turns her back and heads home, with tears in her eyes, but a newfound determination to lead her people.

Time speeds up. Day, night, day, night, day, night.

...

Unbeknownst to anybody, a small cactus sprout begins to slowly grow from the site of the ritual.

[verylukely]

A couple months pass.

It’s Inauguration Day.

The sun beats down hard on the crappy makeshift stadium. They never receiving that funding, so it’s just a bunch of chairs on haphazardly constructed wooden platforms. It looks like a strong wind could knock it over.

Lucy Amtrak is on a couch backstage, looking absent mindedly at a miniature cactus on the table.

Knock

Knock

Knock

“Hey, five minutes until you have to go on.”

Sebastian has taken a role of manager for the campaign. They haven’t talked much about the events of that night, and their relationship has remained strictly professional since.

"Thanks, Seb."

He flashes a thumbs up and starts to slip out.

“You know, um... I really tried. To bring him back, I mean. It wasn’t just a bluff. I did this whole stupid blood ritual trying to bring him back. ... Why did you stick around after that?”

He stops and stands quietly for a long while.

“Lucy. ... It was never your mistake, to choose to be empathetic. It was mine for assuming you were as cutthroat as me. That quality will make an incredible leader.”

She starts to cry, finally feeling able to let it out.

"I... I thought... I was sure that him making me eat all that cacti was because he secretly trusted me to revive him... I should have known he was just being a prick all along..."

"I... don't know what that means. But you're fine now. He's not coming back."

They embrace once more, but this time as just friends.

“Let’s get you out there."

---

Lucy walks out to mixed applause. She won the vote by the slimmest of margins, but she won. Who cares if she'll never be as beloved as the Cactus Man? She will be ten times as good of a leader, even without their damn approval. The months of hard work and sleepless nights had finally paid off.

She holds up a microphone to begin to speak.

But... before she can, the audience begins cheering with uproarious applause

She looks behind her confused, but there's nothing there. Not left, not righ-

Suddenly, A four-foot Cactus Man, twice the height he was before, crashes directly into her, attached to a parachute.

“WOOOOOOOOO! HE’S BACK! I TOLD YOU HE'D BE BACK!”

“THAT’S MY MAN! HE'S ALWAYS PULLING STUNTS LIKE THIS!”

“CACTUS MAN PLEASE SUCK MY TOES!”

His booming voice doesn’t even need a microphone.

“That’s right home slices, it’s me, baby! The one and only CACTUS MAN! Torn apart by a ferocious beast, now rejuvenated from the tubular blood of this very kind donor right here, I have miraculously returned to life! The intelligence of the donor seeped into me has given me newfound intelligence too! We thank her immensely for her temporary leadership, but now the forever reign of the Cactus Man can continue!”

This is the worst moment of Lucy Amtrack’s life. Lucy begins screaming, but her mic has been cut, so nobody hears her.

“And as my first proclamation, I would like to state that I ... respect women now!”

Uproarious female cheers, a few male boos.

“That’s right! I’m a male feminist now! That’s my arc! Cactus Land is entering a new, more accepting, radical age! And now for a word from my top advisor, the coolest cat of them all, Luuuuuucccccccyyyyyyy… Amtrak!”

(Her mic is turned on, and her sobs echo throughout the stadium)

“See? She is so relieved that I’m back that she’s crying! Cactus Man for a thousand more years! Pogs!”

The Cactus Man throws out some cardboard discs, dons a pair of sunglasses and skateboards out of the stadium to a wave of cheers.

Lucy Amtrack enters the fetal position for the next 14 hours.

[Sachi]

Elsewhere, in the midst of his magic performance, in a far away thread, Chibiwizarmon stops. 

He stares off far into the distance. Maybe not that far. They're already in Cactus Land.


"There has been a disturbance in the natural balance of things... A great calamity will befall the Council of Nobles... next season."