AN: After completing Prince of Persia for PC and being thoroughly pissed off by it, I've realised the best way to move on is by writing what I think should have happened. This is probably out of character and most people who read this probably will not agree with me. Another thing, this is the only POP game I've ever played so I'm sorry if I've made any mistakes.

Prince of Persia

A Different Ending

After laying the recently deceased Elika on the stone slab the Prince received a vision: Elika's original death followed by her father's sacrifice to bring her back. With that, the Prince knew what he had to do.

Running to one of the large blocks of stone, he climbed to the top and viewed the first tree that could lead to his salvation. He unsheathed his sword and prepared to cleanly slice the pretty tree straight through the middle, thus starting the first of five steps to bring Elika back to him.

But when the Prince's sword was a few inches away from the healthy, unscarred bark he stopped. Did he really know what he was doing? Typical, he was doing what he always did. Rushing into a situation without fully understanding the consequences of his actions. It was this behaviour that had caused the Hunter to trap him and Elika in the Ruined Citadel. The Prince had rushed in to attack, Elika's warning too late to stop the both of them plummeting through the floor. She had been angry with him then, would she be angry at what he was about to do for her?

Replacing his sword in its scabbard, the Prince seated himself at the base of the tree he had been about to cut down, and decided that for once that he would think about his actions.

If he destroyed the four trees outside the temple and the tree inside of the temple, he could do what Elika's father had done: bring her back to life. But then, Ahriman would escape, and the world would be overrun with Corruption, the people would suffocate from the corrupted air if they were not first killed by what remained of Ahriman's army.

Even if the Prince's plan had worked and Elika lived, how long would they have had? A few seconds? A minute? An hour? Long enough for her to yell at him about his stupidity. She had died to seal Ahriman away forever, and the Prince was damned if he was going to let her sacrifice be in vain just so he could selfishly grasp hold of a few more moments together.

With a heavy heart and strangely itchy eyes, he slowly made his way back to the stone slab where he had laid her body. Having picked up a few flowers on the way he put them by her cold side and said his final goodbyes.

Ignoring Ahriman's whispers which were steadily becoming shouts, the Prince walked past the stone blocks that acted as pedestals for the trees he had been willing to destroy, and made his way back where he had come from.

Through the most bitter of ironies, Farah the donkey stood patiently, having waited for her master's return. Checking her over, the Prince found all his food and water, for the most part untouched by time. All his gold was still there, down to the last diamond encrusted earring, small mercies.

And with that, the Prince's adventure finished. Though he had accomplished what Elika wanted, it felt as if they had lost. What did it matter if the world ended? The first women he felt capable of loving was dead and to torment his soul- he could bring her back, if he sacrificed the world.

THE END