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Ep 84. Vampiric Gambits : Finale

9/5/25

Spool and Citrus are standing at a dark corner of the hotel hallway, looking at each other. Outside the windows, the strange green nighttime sky fades into a dark blue. Spool holds a rope made out of tied-together bed sheets, leading up into the ceiling. Citrus, hiding behind the corner, says, You might die, Spool. Spool replies, Is that not usually the case? Citrus answers, I mean, you'll really die, Spool. I erase. Morrigan obliterates. Spool replies, Yeah, I saw. It looked quick and painless. If this works, we live. If I fail, I get an easy way out. Citrus looks afraid, while Spool looks nervous but determined.
Citrus, annoyed, says, I never took you as someone who wants to die. Quite the opposite, actually. Spool, bristling, replies, I don't want to die, I'm just saying. It's not like I'm not trying my best, here. The shot zooms out to show that Spool has turned to look at Citrus, still holding the bed sheets. They continue, And for what, right? My life. Now that I think about it, would it kill you to give me an actual reward for doing this shit? Are we ever leaving? You should pay for my therapy, at least buy me another mimosa!
Citrus, hesitating, answers, You, I, Let's talk about this later. Citrus thinks, What on earth could I actually give you? Then, glaring in annoyance, he thinks, Wait, what the fuck do I care? Citrus is interrupted by Spool suddenly looking down the hallway and shouting, Citrus! She's here!
A crow flies down the hallway towards them, its shadow cast long along the ground. With a hiss and several puffs of smoke, it splits into a whole flock as a dark voice says, There you are. You don't have to run any longer. This is fate.
Citrus hides around the corner, shivering, as Morrigan adds, You are known. Spool, sweating, holds on tightly to the bed sheets, looking up to where they go into the ceiling tiles. Their grip tightens as Morrigan continues, Even if you manage to destroy my sentinels, I will hunt you, to the ends of this earth! The crows all caw noisily as they approach, eyes glowing red in the darkness.
There is a close-up of where Spool and Citrus tied the bed sheets. In the open ceiling, a pipe creaks and bulges, leaking slime into the knot of sheets tied around it. Spool shouts, Citrus! I'm pulling it down now!
With a pull on the bedsheets, the pipe bursts open, blasting the flock of crows with a massive spray of parasite filled slime. Spool backs away as the crows are sprayed, holding their pipe weapon in front of themself defensively.
Offscreen, Spool shouts, Citrus! Citrus can be seen with his eyes squeezed shut, terrified, thinking, It's over. We're both dead. He perks up suddenly, though, as Spool shouts, Look! It's working!
Citrus peeks around the corner, watching in shock. The shot zooms out, showing Spool winding back their pipe for a swing.
A crow, cawing, manages to fly past the spray, its reflection showing in one of Spool's pins as they give it a sadistic grin. Citrus' eyes widen further, breaking out into another cold sweat as he thinks, Spool.
The crow's skull explodes sideways with a loud crack. Spool is seen from Citrus' point of view, shadowed and grinning as they prepare to do the same thing to the other approaching crows.
Citrus' claws scrape up his arms as he watches Spool take out all of the remaining crows, a close-up of them showing the muscle built up in their arms and the blood splattered across their face. Spool, dripping sweat, is surrounded by sparkles.
Citrus, taken aback, thinks, No, as he sees Spool drop their weapon and turn to look at him.
Then, suddenly, Spool has Cupid's wings and bow, expression serene as they notch an arrow.
But the arrow flies, piercing with a shunk sound through Citrus' heart, and his eye.
Citrus, trembling, falls to his knees, completely fine. Spool, oblivious to the fantasy he just saw, gives him a thumbs up and says, You can't believe it, huh? She wasn't so bad.
Sorry I killed your mom, they continue, stepping closer with their pipe held over their shoulders. They hold out a hand to Citrus, not noticing the pile of slime and crow remains beginning to hiss and bubble as they say, Let's find something to eat. Citrus replies, I, I'd like that. Um, Spool, I.
Their conversation is cut off as the pile of residue begins to squelch and shift, causing them both to look towards it in alarm. With a poof sound, two large, mutated crow corpses drop from the ceiling.
Citrus and Spool are allowed only a split second to regret their decisions before one of the crow corpses shrieks to life, more assimilated crows dropping from the ceiling as the first lunges towards them.
Both screaming, Citrus grabs Spool and flies away, back into the stairwell and downstairs.
Spool stares down, freaked out, as they fly over the giant pool of the slime that kept them trapped before, now half frozen. With a fwoosh, Citrus flies them all the way outside, both of them stopping to stare up at the sky.
Up above the building, the sky swirls with dark clouds. Coldwave is beginning.
Wings spreading and breaking the borders of the panel, Spool pulls the drawstring back, aiming it right at the camera, and at Citrus. Citrus, with more intensity, thinks, NO.
FRAGMENTA.png

ID_FRAGMENTA has spawned in the Rings!
A self-replicating, multi-present mass of stolen flesh. They swarm streets and buildings like a writhing tide of spiders, getting into small spaces to assimilate survivors.

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