Al was scared, terrified...he'd finally done ONE good thing, an attempt to at least partially fix his greatest mistake...and he was going to die for it. He'd tried to free Subaru's parents from guilt, and most certainly succeeded but it costed him his sanity.
...And he had no doubt that the ghosts pursuing him intended to kill him. 'And I was going to turn myself in too...oh well...' He couldn't blame them of course, not after what he'd done to them. It would be a justified killing, an eye for an eye as he killed them over blind rage.
'Bad analogy...' Al winced as he glanced at Kazuma, the one that had been the second to die….the man was eyeless. He'd done that.
"You did this…" "We don't forget…" "Al…"
Al quickened his pace as he ran from the angry spirits. 'Where can I go?! ...Wait! The Safe Room!' A crazy grin wormed its way across his face. 'Maybe they can't or won't go in there!'
"Allllll…"
He knew the building's layout by heart, so it was easy enough to find the abandoned room. He raced inside, slamming the door shut and bolted behind him.
Al backed away from the door, smirking gleefully...until the parents slipped through with ease.
Al's panic returned full force. "N-no! S-stay away! Don't touch me!" He stumbled further into the room, trying to escape the ever-tightening circle of the five ghosts.
'Wait, five? But there were six!' Even as the thought slipped across Al's mind, he appeared. Naofumi. The first ghost, eternally crying.
"It's me…"
Al began to shake with fear. "Stay...stay the hell away!"
To his surprise, the five spirits backed away silently...only to block the door. The Marionette Child began to approach…
Al scrambled away, looking around desperately. "G-got to hide!" His wild, blank silver-white eyes fell upon a dark shape. It was a knight outfit, the outfit that was withered and rotted to an dark grey as it lay in a heap by the back wall.
That outfit...it was an all too familiar sight, and something he'd worn many, many times...
"Al…" "You did this…" "We don't forget, Al…"
...He would have to wear it again, it was his only hope.
Al bolted over to the suit, frantically turning the rusty but still operable crank to retract the animatronic endoskeleton. Soon enough, he heard the click of the Springlocks securing.
Al scrambled to get the outfit on, moving quickly and recklessly, wincing as the rusted metal inside the suit scraped his skin...it was a tight fit. Soon all that remained was the head, and it was as he pulled it on that he noticed it.
The ghost's whispers had ceased, they were silent as they stared fearfully at him. Al nearly flinched, suddenly feeling regret. But then he began to snicker, at first quietly, then louder and louder until he was lost in crazed laughter.
Slowly, it died away and Al glared at the ghosts. "Can't hurt me now, can you?! HA! You should be grateful! I FREED YOU!"
The ghost's fear changed to confusion.
The one-armed man pointed at them almost mockingly. "I destroyed those curses for you brats! And the thanks I get is being chased down?!" Al's eyes glittered madly in the shadow of the knight helmet. "You'd still be TRAPPED here if I hadn't dismantled those damn cultists! I may have killed you all, yes-"
The ghosts glared halfheartedly at him.
"-But I've at least attempted to help you now, to free you! You could at least do the same for me!"
Al, lost in his mad ravings, failed to notice the spit flying from his lips to land on the springs in front of his mouth...he didn't even seem to care about the rain pouring down outside and dripping through the gutted roof above…
He finally began to calm down though, after a few deep breaths. Now his angry look had shifted to a saddened one. "I at least regret what I did...hell, I was even going to turn myself in once I-"
Al suddenly went quiet. The ghosts, their expressions had changed again, this time...was that pity…?
Al squinted at them. "Hey, what're you-"
He never got to finish his question.
A single, oh-so-small raindrop sealed the one-armed man's fate as it fell...it almost seemed to happen in slow-motion as it splashed down directly on the main suit.
...All was silent for a moment or two...then Al dimly heard a solitary "twang"...only felt it for a brief second, metal, pressing into his stomach...then...
[PAIN, PAIN, PAIN, SO MUCH PAIN-]
The one armed knight screamed and screeched as the Springlocks simultaneously failed, leaving him to the endoskeleton as it snapped back into place with crushing force...
Pain...agony...it was torturous, n-neverending...h-he couldn't...couldn't get away...how long had it been...? ...Why wouldn't he just DIE?!
[red, Red, REd, RED…!]
It had happened too fast, his arms and legs were utterly broken, the bones snapped like toothpicks, he had no fingers, crushed as they were, and his feet were a shredded mess.
[RED, RED, RED, all he could see was RED…!]
His jaw was pierced through with two sets of metal beams, one eye reduced to a mess of blood and shattered glass…
[RED...RED...endless RED…]
He was choking on blood, so much blood, bubbling up from his ruined throat...spreading around him in an ever-growing puddle of RED...he could hardly breathe, his punctured lungs could only draw in the barest amount of air…
Every breath only caused more pain...every movement agonizing as it jarred his broken body and shredded organs…
[RED...REd...Red...red...how was he not DEAD?!]
Al couldn't stop the anguished tears, couldn't stop the sobs that were forever silenced by the wires that had torn through his throat…
He shivered...cold, oh so cold…
[PAIN...Pain...pain…]
How...how much longer was he to suffer?!
'...W-wait...w-warmth…?' Al shuddered, miming a silent scream at the movement. 'Wh-why...w-warm…?'
He could hardly think for pain...warmth…? What...what could make him warm...? What…? What was that gentle pressure around his shoulders…?
Wait...warmth...pressure? Wa...was...was he being...hugged?
Al wearily opened his remaining, bloodshot eye…
It was the ghosts! They were crowded around him...each and every one, hugging, hugging him close… Were...were they all...crying?
...Yes, tears were shining on their cheeks.
Al's silent sobs became full-fledged cries of grief-and gratitude-amid a fresh wave of tears. He relaxed into the ghost's arms, seeking their gentle, warm embraces…
The whispers returned.
"We...forgive you…" "We'll stay with you." "I'm sorry…"
The ghosts whispered soothing words of forgiveness and remorse...the Naofumi ghost played a calming tune...a lullaby…
Al smiled sleepily, yawning as he hummed in sluggish content. His heartbeat was fading…the pain was gone now, and he was warm...so warm…
With the peaceful smile still on his mangled face, Al finally drifted to sleep, never to wake again… One by one, the ghosts began to fade…
All but one.
Naofumi remained, patiently waiting as he sat beside the bloody Al.
Finally, after the blood had long since dried, another ghostly figure appeared.
It was the man.
With a happy smile, Naofumi stood, wiped his tears, and took the surprised Al's hand. The child gave a gentle tug and grinned up at the man, who slowly smiled in return, his lips moving briefly…
...And then the two vanished, leaving to join the other ghosts…
...Had Al spoken aloud, the Safe Room would have echoed his final words…
"Thank you…"