The Bird and the Garden

Second Ending: The Morally Grey

This is the Neutral Ending, or as I sometimes think of it, the Continuation of the Timeline Ending.

Here, Y/N does not forgive Vao for everything he's done. Despite knowing that Salem used his brother as a weapon, Y/N cannot see it in himself to forgive Vao for everything he's done. He blames Vao for even trusting Salem in the first place.

Y/N reverts to how he was back in Atlas, when he began to have trouble protecting his family from himself.

THIS CHAPTER IS NOT CANON! It only shows what would have happened if Y/N had taken a different path.

With all that aside, enjoy.

...

SLASH!

Vao's soul dropped to the ground, choking and gurgling on his own blood. Summer let out a horrified scream, rushing to his side. Y/N was breathing heavily, the dagger still dripping with a fresh taste of blood. He had done it. He had killed Vao's soul. He knew he shouldn't be feeling this happy with himself. He shouldn't be feeling this much pleasure. This intense feeling of victory, like he had just won a very hard game. Ruby looked at him worriedly. Something was wrong. Y/N stepped up to Vao's dying soul, pushing the ghost of his mother out of the way as he began to kick and stab at his brother.

"Die, die, die!" He screamed. "You rotten piece of shit! A failure as a brother! A murderer! Die, ha ha... Die!"

Summer was begging Y/N to stop. But he couldn't. It was addicting. The power he felt, finally murdering the one he once called his family. Even Ruby tried to intervene, but a quick swing of his dagger forced her to back off. Y/N no longer held the look of someone who wanted to do the right thing. He held the look of wrath, of vengeance.

The hero had fallen.

Y/N tried to stab Vao again, this time aiming for his head. But his brother grabbed his arm, stopping him by mere inches. He was smiling, his chest heaving as he fought to breath.

"Th... Thank... You... I-I love... You..." Vao whimpered. But Y/N could only feel disgust and hatred.

"You shut your mouth. I hate you. I hate you more than anything in this world. All I wanted was to see you die. And now I'm finally getting my wish. So scream, Vao! Scream for mercy! Scream for your damned life!" With a cry of murderous glee, Y/N pushed his arm forward, overpowering his brother and slamming the blade through his skull. Vao's eye widened and he twitched, before going still forever. Summer and Ruby were sprinting towards Y/N, trying to get him off Vao. But they never reached him. The world began to crumble away, fading into nothing and leaving Y/N alone in the darkness. The world began to grow bright, and soon he found himself back in the rooftop he had been fighting Vao on.

His soul was dead, but his physical body wasn't. The true Vao was lying on the ground, shaking like a leaf as he puked up the sinister black sludge, staining the stone.

"Au... Auuuhhhh..." He whimpered, clutching his chest. It felt like he had been crushed to a million pieces.

Y/N growled, stomping up to Vao and grabbing him by the hair and lifting him to his feet. He pushed him towards the edge of the roof, exposing him to the battlefield below.

"You see all that, Vao?" He growled. "That's all your fault... My friends are dying because of you... And now I finally get to return the favor... I get the chance to kill you, to get payback for everything you did... Summer, Ruby, Tai, Qrow, Neo... You killed them and so much more without a second thought. And I won't have any when I turn you to ash."