>>42447600
>[] "How do I use the cure on him?"

>>42447600
>>[] Begin the final battle.
Goodbye meatbags

>>42447781
"It's a series of syringes you all carry on your bodies. Only one needs to be injected for success, but multiple are encouraged nonetheless." Wednesday mentions over the commlink.

With not much else, you all send off on the jets.

Flying towards Iskandir's location at the same base, thoughts still run through your head about this being the final battle. You never knew the man as he was, but you still feel remorse for what he's become, and what you're about to do.

Dropping down on the platform, the area is a relative ghost town. Even the man himself is no where to be seen.

The speakers crackle to life.

"Well, that's how it is, huh? You have the cure, so you want me dead now. I understand that. I understand it so well, in fact, that I prepared for this exact scenario."

"What's your gambit, Iskandir!?" you shout out.

"Simple. I had Friday prep me one of the same Hemoxin missiles that made me the handsome devil I am today. If anyone but the kid tries to fight me, in man-to-man mano-y-mano combat, then I'm going to launch it at the nearest PMC and send that area into a goddamn frenzy that you'll all inevitably be blamed for. Sound fair?"

The party groans, but they know there's no way to get diplomatic with the man.

"...This is for the best. The rest of you probably couldn't handle it."

"Wait, Caesar--" Leonidas says, stopping you and handing you his syringes. Tell and Joan both mirror this. The only one left there is Alexander, glancing at the floor before looking up at you.

"...Please, promise me you'll make it back. I don't care what you are, I care who you are." he says, syringes clutched in his fist.

You nod, and kiss the man you love once more. He reluctantly hands over the syringes and salutes you.

You walk down to the same chamber you fight him in before, except as you make it into the room, the floor depresses until you can hear seawater churning.

"I decided we needed a new venue!"

(cont.)

Calling it now: Tell lied to us to get us to let go of our anger towards Iskandir, and fight him without the burden of our brother's memory or the intent to kill.

Iskandir would be saved not only from the Hemoxin, but also the guilt of the deeds he was brought to perform, by putting him against someone who fights without hatred, and allowing him to experience forgiveness from others.

Meanwhile, we, who have only ever killed for duty, would be spared the regret of having killed someone in anger, and the pain of learning first-hand that revenge will not bring our brother back. We would finally be able to leave the past behind, if only we discovered for ourself that it is far more worthwhile to live for something than to die for something.

Everything that we remember actually happened, but we were so grievously wounded that we had to undergo extensive reconstructive surgery, with cyborg parts filling in everything that was unsalvageable. Due to massive head trauma, we suffered partial memory loss. VR simulation technology was used in the past to provided therapy, as well as slowly integrate us into the team. And now, in reality, the treatment is about to finally be completed.

Everything is going according to plan.

And now that I've posted this, you can't use anything remotely like it without looking like you're ripping me off. EVERYTHING IS GOING ACCORDING TO PLAN.

>>42447948

You glance behind you, seeing the man himself still showboating, dropping the microphone he was projecting with upstairs from earlier.

"After all, variety is the spice of life, and I'm the head chef here."

"Bite me, Iskandir. What's your gambit? Launch the rocket once we're dead?"

"No, no. I really do just want everyone dead by my hand. Impractical? Yes. Enjoyable? Oh my God, yes!" He says with a wicked grin, hopping down from a slightly elevated platform.

"Also, heard about your little identity crisis! Friday gave me the technology to bug your asses, so I sort of took that opportunity."

"What!?"

"Oh, don't bother, you don't have a traitor. It's just some nanomachines bullshit, I fell asleep halfway through the lecture he gave to me about it. Point is, I heard Tell say it to you. Good shit! Had even me fooled."

You grunt, taking out your gladius and shield.

"I'm more of a man than you'll ever be." you say, taking a battle stance.

"Well, I say the man who bleeds most and still walks away from a fight is the one who deserves the right to be 'man'! When hominids fought, and scrapped for food, those who learned to hunt, and forage, and plant, they survived to be called 'men'! Mankind's history is one of survival and bloodshed! Am I not then, the ultimate 'man' for spilling the most blood?"

You spit on the ground, getting ready to fight further, slipping a syringe in your shield's hand.

"I think all that makes you is a nutjob with a bloody halberd."

"Not as poetic, but I'll take it!"

He takes out his halberd, spinning it dramatically in circles as he passes it from hand to hand, stopping it and pointing.

"SHOW ME WHAT YOU'VE GOT, CAESARRRRRRRR!"

"ISKANDIRRRRRRRRR!" You roar in reply.

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Fl27wKaGFw)

>[] Go in straight for the syringe!
>[] Play dodging and get hits in then.
>[] Write-in.

>>42448052
nah buddy trust me

ive got something painful in store though

>>42448160
>>[] Play dodging and get hits in then.
Iskander is our bro.

>>42448160
>[] "I bet you're scared being cured of hemotoxin."

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>>42448160
>[] Go in straight for the syringe!
>[] Take a glancing hit to get in close, if need be! The rules for winning have changed - this isn't about killing him any more!
>[] Obligatory banter! Ask him why he's so unwilling to get cured. Is he so insecure in his skills that he's scared to fight without his Hemoxin?

>>42448338
>>42448287

(these ones are close enough so)

You rush at him, holding your shield up front, smashing at him and knocking him off balance, taking the opportunity to stab his neck with the syringe.

"Scared of being cured of Hemoxin? Well welcome to your worst fucking nightmare!"

Iskandir freezes up, falling to his knees. He pants, his whole body heaving.

However, he begins chuckling, getting right back up and decking you.

"That was nothing! That was one little prick! Your whole strategy relied on one single syringe, and it failed, little man." He taunts, grabbing his Halberd and hurling it your way. You dodge the whirling death-stick, but are quickly sideswiped by a one-two punch to the face, knocking you on the ground.

"It's time for Caesar to meet Brutus!" He calls out, holding a hand out with his halberd flying into his grasp.

"Magnetic implants! Lovely things." He says quickly, before raising his halberd to kill you.

>[] Roll!
>[] BLADE STRUGGLE!

>>42448542
>[] Roll!
>[] Attempt a counter attack to lop of one of his limbs

>>42448542
>[] Roll!
Fuck fighting a Hemoxin-enhanced cyborg head-on.

Oh well, it's not like we haven't got a last resort backup plan or anything.

>>42448542
>[] BLADE STRUGGLE!
WE ARE GETTING ONE IN BEFORE THIS SHIT ENDS

>>42448542
>[] Kick out his legs
The bigger they are the harder they fall, and last I checked that huge fucking head of yours was a bit of an eyesore buddy.

>>42448651
youve done it like two times before doe

>>42448651
>>42448640

(for the record, I wanted a blade struggle you bastards)

You roll out of the way, popping up off the ground to slash at his arm. Though you cut deep, VERY deep into the arm, and draw out blood, he merely rips his arm downward, forcing your blade out of it. He then takes his bloody arm and backhands you with it, swinging left-right-left in succession, with you backflipping through each swing to dodge.

You run in, swiftly ducking under another horizontal slash, and stab three times as you run around Iskandir. He makes another swing, this time in a full circle. You power-slide underneath it, using his legs as a pillar to support your swinging arc. Just as you reach full momentum, you reach your gladius up to cut his foot and release, before throwing it back into his chest.

Once the gladius stabs into him, you pull, forcing him to come flying into the wall.

"Ha! Good work, kid! That one hurt!" He calls out, coming out shambling from the wall.

>[] "...Let's finish this like men." (You know where this leads)
>[] Continue as normal.
>[] Write-in.

>>42448959
>>[] Write-in.
Well I have a dick. How about you?

Random OP Q&A:

How long do you think is fitting for this battle to go without the pacing getting sluggish or too quick?

>>42448959
He is missing an arm and a foot now right?

>>42449022

The hand-wrist are still on, but one more good slice would get it cut off.

The foot is a similar situation.

>>42448959
>[] Continue the attempt to disARMhim and don't give him a foot to stand on.

>>42448959
>[] Whip the gladius's chain against the ground
>[] "You wanna keep playing with toys, Conqueror?"

>>42449002
Long as it doesn't go full MGS4 old man arthritis fight you should be fine OP

>>42448959
>[] Continue as normal.
I'm waiting for him to pull out all the stops.

>>42449105
Fuck you, MGS4-old-man-arthritis fight between two cyborgs whose parts are slowly failing even as they try to beat each other to death would be awesome.

>>42449150
NO SHUT UP IM DOING THAT NOW

>>42449150
THIS ANON IS SMART IM PROMOTING YOU TO UH

ANON I RECOGNIZE-STATUS

>>42448997
>>42449073
>>42449105

"Well, I've got a dick, and I'm not even human. How about you? Want to keep playing with toys, 'Conqueror'?"

He grunts, taking out a switch from his pocket and slamming on it to activate it. Suddenly, the floor begins to move away as you realize you aren't just on a platform.

You're on a miniature boat all it's own, leaving the base.

"I wanted a secluded venue for our final clash! Come at me!" He cries out, coming for you. With a quick crouch and a flick of your hand, you whip the gladius out, slicing his foot from his body, causing his to topple over.

Still, from the ground, he grabs your leg, blasting upwards at your knee with The Stingers. You fall to the ground and grapple with him, the two of you rolling on the rocking bed of the ship, punching each other at the intervals.

It's at this time you notice your weapons cascading towards the sea--even the weapons on Iskandir's person have slid off and are going overboard as the boat rocks with the vibrations of your battle.

>[] He was better armed anyways. Let them all fall off.
>[] It's only fitting it ends with fists.
>[] Fuck you, let OP have her wet dream.
>[] Write-in.

>>42449272
>[] He was better armed anyways. Let them all fall off.
>[] It's only fitting it ends with fists.
>[] Fuck you, let OP have her wet dream.
If you insist. He really isn't going to go full FINAL FORM mode, is he?

Is he?

>>42449272
>[] Use more syringes on him

>>42449333
Nah, buddy. He's not Armstrong-ripping-shirts-off.

>>42449272
>[] Fuck you, let OP have her wet dream.

YES! WE SHALL BE MEN! COME AT ME, KING OF CONQUERORS!

Also, you quoted the same person twice

>>42449339
That's a shame. I was waiting for him to go all out so we could inject ourself with the syringes, and eat a hit from him to get him to absorb the cure through our blood, at the possible expense of our own life.

Also, I have to say I didn't expect your wet dream to be two muscular men fisting each other alone atop a speeding boat while your self-insert watches via wireless transmission, but to each their own.

>>42449459
I have sexual peaks, and I have HYPE peaks.

This is a HYPE peak. It's why MGS4 final boss is fucking awesome, why MGR:R final boss is awesome, why Sam's fight is fucking awesome, etc.

Plus, Paisley essentially plays no large part throughout this. she's video chatting with her fiancee gaiz

>>42449333
>>42449383

You shove him off, getting shakily to your feet. He hobbles up on a foot and balances, before charging at you. You grab his arm, using his momentum to slam him on the ground and give an elbow drop to him. He grabs you by the head, punching you repeatedly with his fists, before you get him off of you and get on top of him, punching him and pinning him down.

He rears his head back and headbutts you again, before making for the guard rails for balance. He pauses, holding his stomach.

"Is that all you have in you? I expected better." He says, with another bloody grin.

"Please," you retort, dusting your fists on your hips, "I always save the best for the climax."

Iskandir runs at you, as you run at him. Your fists collide, and you both fall to your knees in exhaustion. Taking one final breath, you both slam your heads into one another's and get to your feet.

"COME AT ME, KING OF MEN!" He says, beckoning you forward with his open palm.

"FIGHT TILL YOUR LAST BREATH, KING OF CONQUERORS!" You shout in turn.

>[] Have your boxing sprat with Iskandir.
>[] Play around dodging and look for an opportunity to get rid of his loose arm.
>[] Write-in.

>>42449637
>[] Have your boxing sprat with Iskandir.
I fear we seem to be forgetting the syringes here.

since when were we the king of men

Were beetle right? The one that got captured and smashed his face into a wall?

>>42449682

caesar himself bubby

Plus, we already injected him to no effect.

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>>42449637
>[] Have your boxing sprat with Iskandir.

WE AREN'T EVEN REAL ANYWAYS, WHAT THE FUCK DO WE CARE? COME AND TRY YOUR PUNY TRICKS WITHOUT A FOOT OR A FUCKING ARM, ISKANDIR!

>>42449682
Caesar was the ruler of Rome during the height of it's empire, if memory serves me right. He was also kind of a dick, but I think that's why we have one and he doesn't.

>>42449706
Maybe he just needs a second dose.

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>>42449733
Pic related, NotForAnts edition

>>42449706
He seemed to imply we didn't inject him properly, possibly failing to pierce his bloodstream.

Alternatively, he could require a stronger dosage. Or perhaps the cure simply needs time to spread through his system.

>>42449733
>>42449682

You hurl out a flurry of syringes, three of them sticking in his chest. But his merely tosses them to the side right after, with no effect once more.

You go at him, fist clashing with fist, and a dodge only accompanying another missed blow right after. The two of you are making something akin to a dance of violence, and only slightly does one of you lead.

You land a solid blow to his face, and he recoils. You land another syringe in his neck, before kicking his damaged arm upwards, and then punching it with all your might. The limb severs, and blood drips on the ship as he cries out, but it soon turns to laughter.

"Good! That's very...good..." He rasps now, shambling towards you and throwing his lone fist out, catching you off guard and knocking you against the railing.

"Don't ever count me out! This fight is...until the end, Caesar!" he says.

>[] "...That's how real men fight, isn't it?"
>[] "Would you say...it's the essence of being human?"
>[] Write-in.

>>42449952
>[] "...That's how real men fight, isn't it?"
>[] "After all, here we can play by your rules."
>[] Proceed to let out all our aggression from being told we AREN'T FUCKING REAL in a burst of truly impressive psychosis

>>42449952
>>[] Write-in.
Then join me in death. We shall have a big fight and kill each other with the final blow. That live up to your psychosis?

>>42449952
>>42450010
Sure, why not. It's difficult to write-in when I'm posting from a phone now anyway.

Gonna simul-bump and announce that I'm going to bed for the night, be back in a rough 6-8 hours.

Keep the thread alive, men.

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>>42450562
>going to bed in the middle of the final boss

>>42450620
its 1 in the morning where i am shut up

>>42450652
Stop being in not the same time-zone as me.

SHIT RUSHING IN A BUMP

>>42450010
>>42450042

"...That's how real men fight, isn't it? After all, here, we can play by your rules."

"My rules...?" he questions.

"Join me in death! To the final blow we'll duel!"

"Heh. No, you fool. Whoever drops is the loser. There's no 'joint' death."

As you both come at each other, you find yourselves sapped of energy. You both throw a haymaker at the other, simultaneously. As you react to the other's blow, you rub your jaw and he immediately comes back in, raring to go.

Another round, and another set of haymerks. You stumble, barely catching yourself on the railing as Iskandir struggles to stay standing, but with a determined look between the both of you, you approach each other.

You look in his eyes deeply, and he mirrors you. You clench your fist, and his clenches his.

With everything; your rage at your existence being a lie, your love, your duty to your mission, and deep beneath it all, your spirit goes into your final blow.

And it's a hair's breadth faster than Iskandir's.

You deck him, sending him stumbling across the deck of the ship and making him recoil from the railing, falling to his knees.

"...Ha! You...You truly are...a king among men..."

"Ironic that the king amongst men isn't a man himself. That an artificial man fulfilled the rules of your 'true man'."

He weakly crawls towards you on his knees and with his one arm.

"No...you're not...fake..." He says, dragging himself.

"I...was the false man. What I've become...heh...it's so far below a man, it's not even a hominid. In my pursuit of being 'man' and advancing...all I went was back."

You stay silent.

"You inherit the spirit of 'man'. No matter how your body came into being, or you gained consciousness..."

He weakly smiles and gives you a thumbs-up.

"You are...'man'...in body, mind, and spirit..."

With a faint raspy deathrattle, the Conqueror falls against the deck of the ship, dead.

>[] ...Salute.
>[] Report in.
>[] Write-in.

>>42453829
>[] ...Salute.
>[] Report in.
>[] Actually check if he is dead

>>42453829
>[] "Don't go giving me last words like that, damn it! I didn't come here to kill you - you don't get to beat me to it, damn you!"
>[] Call for immediate medical extraction - he's not brain dead yet!
>[] Give him your blood, that might stall total cessation of life.
haha fuck that noise

>>42453887
>>42453860

"Don't go giving me last words like that, damn it! I didn't come here to kill you - you don't get to beat me to it, damn you!"

"Angie! He's...I've beaten him, but he's in critical condition!"

"...Have you checked if he's really just dead?"

You grunt, getting down and checking for a pulse.

Nothing.

"I-It could be a fake death pill, or...he's...he's not dead..." You lie to yourself.

You rip a loose bit of plating from the ship, slashing your hand with it and dripping it onto his body, to no avail.

Somehow horrified by the job you knew you had to do, you standing up, and salute with your bloody hand.

"...Mission's completed, Miss Hope."

It's a few lonely hours with his body as you await extraction, and a few more lonely hours as you wait for the helicopters to bring you and his body back.

---

With little fanfare, mostly due to surprise from you having done it, you walk beside the stretcher with Iskandir's body, his glassy eyes fixated on you. You ignore the forever star and keeping walking. While autopsy goes on, you get silent salutes from around the base, but there's an emptiness no matter how much it happens.

You sit in your usual place of calm, the locker room, and almost tickle the notion of sleep...until Angelica comes in.

"Caesar...we just discovered something about Iskandir's corpse. We...We really think you should know."

>[] "Was he fake too? Hmm?"
>[] "Can't be much worse than what you told me."
>[] Write-in.

>>42453931
>[] "Was he pregnant?"

>>42453931
>[] Remain silent. She doesn't need to be prompted to tell you.
he was the one we got most of our spare organs from, wasn't he?

>>42454010

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sny38OdGnAs&list=PLBB804C10D5E712A6&index=27)

You don't say a word.

"As we looked over his body...we found that the cure really did work. All of his showboating and keeping up that persona...I think he was just trying to shield you, and most importantly, himself, from the idea that he had to accept what he'd done under it."

"So he...?"

"The cure really was a success...but he wouldn't have wanted it to be. I think that's just a sign of the man he was..." She says, tracing her thumbs one over the other.

"Don't tell anyone. He...He would've wanted them to know him as a villain rather than a hero in his dying moments." She says.

You slowly nod in agreement.

As she leaves, for the second time in your existence, you feel the sting of tears.

>[] Write-in.

>>42454085
>[] You were created for the purpose of saving Iskandir. Does this mean you failed?
>[] You're not angry at him, really. You stopped being angry at him days ago. If you were honest with yourself, all you feel for him now is a little envy.
EXISTENTIAL CRISIS TIME

>>42454085
>[] Do I even legally exist?

>>42454148

Probably not in the slightest.

>>42454130

You ponder if saving can be opened up for interpretation. Iskandir, if Angie was right, wouldn't have wanted to come back from the Hemoxin for the guilt that would rack him under it. It was best for him to die, right...?

Still, the cold grip of death he felt was at least the proof he was real. Could you feel that?

Do you want to feel it?

Everything tells you, 'no, of course not'...and yet you envy the fact that died knowing he was real. Despite his encouraging last speech, you still can't help but feel undermined in every other manner possible.

>[] Contemplate next move...in life, period.
>[] Write-in.

>>42454474
>[] What is a man? What is he, if he does not know his past?
>[] Even if you've come here from nowhere - if nothing else, the blood you've shed is the only thing you truly know for real. Once you've washed away all your anger, that you can't keep all your regrets of the life that might have been.
>[] Even if your memories are false, the feelings you felt when you fought with your life on the line are warm and pure. You fought not with anger or hatred, but with forgiveness and a sense of duty.
>[] And you emerged the last man standing, here. You realize, even if you were living in ignorance for the whole of your short life, on a certain level, you think, you knew it had to be this way.
>[] And now you have a duty to carry on for Iskandir and all the rest who've returned to ashes. You need to find yourself now - freedom is calling - and you have to follow your own path to justice. Time to leave them all behind.
kek we really can't into existential crisis can we

>>42454882
Um, yeah.
This.

>>42454474
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lGf2b1H91JA

>[] If we were created to kill... no, "save" Iskandir, then what does that mean now?
>[] Are we truly useless at this point?
>[] Must one king carry on the sins of his predecessor, or has Rome been relieved of its madness?
>[] To what extent are we even truly alive if we no longer have a purpose in life?
>[] Should we even discuss these emotions of hollow envy with the others, or keep it to ourselves?

Truly, war has changed

>>42456311
>>42455703
>>42454882

You grab your things, your few measly possessions of the world.

You're not like them. It's no question of angst, or self-loathing. You simply don't fit in with them, and you're not a man like they are. Something eating at you says that you have to figure that one out on a sabbatical by yourself.

You pass out the door exiting SAFEHAVEN, when you're stopped suddenly.

"...You're just going to leave?" Angie asks.

"Not leave. Just...disappear for a while."

"Promise you won't get wrapped up in Hemoxin and I won't get a creepy phone call?"

"Yeah. Something like that." you respond.

"...Can't you at least say something to Alexander?"

You bite your lip.

"If you love something, let it go, eh? Isn't that the addage? For some reason, that one's in my memory." you reply.

Angelica stays silent, before waving you off.

"Please, seriously, check in with us sometime. We get worried about these things." she says.

"...Yeah."

You walk out into the setting sun, as Iskandir's words run through your mind of 'the true man'.

Something tells you, no matter what, the question will get it's answer in due time.

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bmDakhg45rk)

END OF CHAPTER 8.

END OF SEASON TWO.

>ideafagging for season three when
>something something anon content

>>42456591
What-if scenarios like if Isk stayed with LOKUST or something.

>>42456591
I kind of want to play a MG villain.
Named Nero.

>>42456733
Hell yeah vilian time!

>>42456733
Ironically Caesar is more like Nero than Caesar, from what I remember of history.

I'm hoping for next season to be either Caesar as a world wanderer realizing that Isk actually didn't really "stop" LOKUST since, last I checked, Spider and VI are still wandering around doing shit; or a what-if where Isk stayed with them.

>>42456591
I suppose it was to be expected from a quest based on MGR:R that despite playing a nerd with a head for tactics, we'd beat Isk with a fistfight instead of out-keikakuing him.


Season 3 involves our new character hearing about a wandering cyborg soloing the fortresses of African warlords and bringing relief to random villages, before disappearing into the night.

We're a mercenary hired by one such warlord to assassinate him.

As it turns out, Caesar has been investigating mass transactions between these warlords and an as-yet-unnamed arms-dealer-cum-information-broker, who has been supplying these warlords and their militias anonymously with advanced weapons and cyborg technology to stir up an African civil war.

He's just about run out of new tech to supply to the ever increasingly-demanding warlords, but it just so happens that his web of contacts has caught wind of this revolutionary new enhancement called Hemoxin...

>>42457324
>cum-information-broker
That intel is in high demand, is it?

>>42457324
...

M-Maybe...

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>>42458296