Back and Forth and Back Again

You awaken in a city. It's a cold, Winter-like day, with dark stormclouds gathering in the sky. You've been here for a few days, sleeping in various alleys, trying to remain hidden. But that can't go on forever, and you know that. You know exactly why you're here. (set: $Weapon to "knife") (set: $Key to false) (set: $Potion to false) [[It's time to go. ->Leaving the City]]

You have all the supplies you need. Food, water, and a small [[$Weapon.->Knife]] The city you're in is surrounded by a massive, protective wall. There's nothing big enough to threaten them, but they do provide a sense of security for residents. [[They're quite tall.->Approaching the Wall]]

You approach the front gate. There's a surprising lack of people here, for what appears to be a normal day. Still, the less people to see you leave, the better. [[The gate's already open, too.->Encounter with Black Knight]]

Just as you reach the gate, you see him, or rather, it. A black suit of armor, brandishing a large greatsword, standing just beyond the wall. You can't run from it, where would you even go? To go back into the city now would be pointless, you'd only be delaying the inevitable. Armed with only a knife, there really is[[ only one thing to do.->Fight Lost]]

[[It's over in seconds.->Failure]]

Pain, all around. You don't quite know where you were struck, only that you feel the rest of your body rapidly fall to numb. [[Fade to white.->Restart]]

You have all the supplies you need. Food, water, (if:$Potion is true)[potion, ]and a [[$Weapon.->Weapon]] The city you're in is surrounded by a massive, protective wall. There's nothing big enough to threaten them, but they do provide a sense of security for residents. [[They're still tall.->Approaching the Wall 2]]

You make your way to the local blacksmith to see about getting a stronger weapon. Perhaps if you had something longer, such as a sword, you would stand a fighting chance. Upon arriving, you see a young boy, roughly around your age, standing behind the counter. You approach, to ask for [[assistance.->The Blacksmith]]

You decide to head to the market, to see if there's anything that can help you escape your bind. [[Could use something to eat, regardless.->Market Stalls]]

Maybe if you wait long enough, the knight will leave. It's a non-zero possibility, however unlikely it is. [[Might as well get something to eat.->Waiting 2]]

There has to be another way out. If not through the gate, why not over the wall, or, perhaps, under it. Yes, that's it, of course. Sewers. Who knows how far off the sewers end, you could get very far, without the knight even knowing you left. [[To the sewers.->Going Down]]

You approach the front gate again. There's an unsurprising lack of people here, just a normal day. [[Only one way out.->Encounter with Black Knight 2]]

There it is again, that black suit of armor, and greatsword. Standing beneath you and the end of this cycle. (if:$Weapon is "knife")[[[Once more.->Fight Lost Again]]] (if:$Weapon is not "knife")[[[No running away.->Mid-Fight 1]]]

You are struck down, same as last time, and feel the world [[fade to white.->Restart]]

You engage the knight in combat, wielding your bright, sword of light. It surprises the knight, as they take a step back for a second. [[Stand guard and wait for their move.->Mid-Fight 2]] [[Strike first.->Fight Lost Again]]

The knight watches you, still wielding the greatsword. Now, they are ready, and they move towards you, aiming to overwhelm you with a powerful overhead slash. [[Guard.->Mid-Fight 3A]] [[Knock the sword away.->Mid-Fight 3B]] [[Strike at the same time.->Fight Lost Again]]

You knock the knight's sword away with your own, and step forwards, victorious. [[Walk beyond the gate.->Fight Won]] [[Make a run for it.->Back to Sleep]]

You guard against the knight's attack, and manage to survive, entirely uninjured. The knight itself backs off, and rests against the gate, as if giving you the opportunity to leave. (if:$Potion is true)[[[Before leaving, offer the knight the golden potion you obtained earlier. It's the least you could do, but it's still something.->Peace]]] [[Walk beyond the gate.->Fight Won]]

A small, steel knife. It's useful for cutting food, although it's not much for a weapon. [[Good for steak. ->Leaving the City]]

(if:$Weapon is "knife")[A small, steel knife. It's useful for cutting food, although it's not much for a weapon. [[Good for steak. ->Leaving the City Again]]] (if:$Weapon is "sword")[A shining, radiant, silver sword. It cleaves through all evils, whether they be real or imaginary. [[A blade of light.->Leaving the City Again]]]

You awaken in a city. It's a cold, Winter-like day, with dark stormclouds gathering in the sky. You've been here before, and you know that. You know exactly why you're here. (if:$Weapon is not "sword")[[[Need a stronger weapon.->Searching for Steel]]] (if:$Potion is false)[[[To the market.->The Market]]] [[It's time to go.->Leaving the City Again]] [[Maybe there's another way out.->Another Way]] (if:$Key is false)[[[It's no use.->Waiting]]]

You decide to get some food, with what little money you have. It's a homely meal, something one would associate with a mother's cooking. [[To the park.->Waiting 3]]

You decide to go to the park, even though it looks as if it will rain soon. There's a single family here. A father, mother, and two sons. The boys are running around, playing on the playground, while the parents watch calmly. [[A nostalgic sight.->Waiting 4]]

Eventually, you decide to leave. Best not to intrude on such a peaceful sight. With nothing else on your mind, you decide to go for a walk by yourself. After all, a walk before the downpour to soothe the soul is comforting. [[Walking on.->Waiting 5]]

You see something. A boy, roughly around your age. You go to get his attention, and he faces towards you. No words leave his mouth. He holds soomething out to you, a small, plain key but before you can grab it, it finally begins to rain, and you feel the world around you [[fade to black.->Restart]] (set: $Key to true)

You walk. Up a hill. Through buildings. Into a forest. [[Waiting for the rain.->Back to Black]]

You find a stall that stands out among the rest. A bright, golden tent, that people seem to ignore entirely. Approaching it, you see it's manned by a boy, roughly around your age. In front of him, lies a bottle filled with a [[golden liquid.->Elixir]]

Sunlight falls on your face as you open your eyes. Woke up before your alarm. Must mean you're rested enough to have woken up naturally, a rarity in your life. You sit up, and move to check the time. It's not too early, only a little after 7 AM, so you've still got time to rest if you want, or you could get extra work done. You could even go for a walk, the weather's always nice this early. Whatever you do, you'll have time to spare after, so you could even eat something, dare you say, healthy, for once. No need to order something quickly, or wait until dinner to eat. [[''It looks like it's going to be a good day.''->Credits]] (set: $TrueEnding to true)

The knight watches you leave, but does not speak, nor follow. The sky above clears up, and you walk ahead, towards freedom. [[First step towards tomorrow.->Another Day - Ending A]]

You wait out the rain. It takes a while, hours, if not days. Eventually, however, the rain clears up, revealing a bright, blue sky, and a forest, far outside the walls of the city. [[First step towards freedom.->Back to Sleep]]

You wake up to a dark window. "What time is it?", you think, looking over to your clock to check. Right, you covered the clock so you wouldn't have trouble falling asleep. Guess that means you'll have to get up, and check it yourself. Unfortunate, really. It's going to make going back to sleep harder. Against your body's wishes, you force yourself up, just to see the time. "4:37", the digital, white clock reflects back towards your eyes. Great, it's not close enough to your normal wake up time that you can just stay up, but it's not early enough that you're going to feel rested when you actually do wake up. Tired, and slightly annoyed, you adjust your alarm, to give you an extra hour of sleep to make up for the twenty or thirty minutes it'll take you to fall back asleep. After this, you put the books back in place, in front of the clock, and regretfully return to your bed. [[You fall back asleep, eventually.->Into Dreams - Ending B]]

You awaken in a city. It's a cold, Winter-like day, with dark stormclouds gathering in the sky. You've just arrived here, on the run from a knight that you have wronged far too many times to even attempt to count. But you can't run forever, and you know that. You know exactly why you're here. [[''It's time to go.''->Credits]] (set: $EndingB to true)

The knight is taken aback by this act of kindness. Never before has it been offered something like this, by you of all people. In turn, the knight does something you would never have expected out of them either. Moving their arms towards their helmet, they remove it, to reveal a young man, roughly your age, with brown hair, and brown eyes, staring back towards you, a bright, warm smile on his face. You smile back, and offer him your hand, apologizing for all the trouble you've caused him these past few decades. You feel warm rain on your face. [[Next step towards the unknown.->Good Morning - True Ending]]

''Ring, Ring, Ring, Ring.'' A loud, incessant ringing brings you to your feet. Getting up, you quickly roll towards the side of your bed, and make your way to your alarm, shutting it off. Time to get up, no more dreams for now. There's work that has to be done, and there'll always be time to relax again later. You grab one of the many water bottles beside your bed. Most of them are empty, but you like keeping them there, since you "like how they look." That, and, you're too lazy to throw them away. Eventually your mom will get you to do it, so it's not like you need to do it now, anyways. You've got class in a few hours, but it's online, so it's not like you need to do anything special. [[Just another normal day.->Credits]] (set: $EndingA to true)

It's locked, however. You can't open it, and he shrugs his head at the attempt. If only you had the key. (if:$Key is true)[You recall a boy tried to give you a key earlier, but, unfortunately, you couldn't receive it in time. That said, you still reach into your pocket instinctively, not expecting to find anything. Your hand is met with feeling of a cold, metal object, and you pull out the key. [[Open the chest.->Blade of Light]]] (if:$Key is false)[[[Shrug back, and walk away.->Locked Chest]]]

You open the chest, revealing a brilliant, silver sword with a golden hilt. The blacksmith nods at you in approval, and walks away to attend to his work. [[Time to take a stand.->Confidence]]

[[You feel confident in your chances.->Restart]] (set: $Weapon to "sword")

After looking towards it, he grabs the bottle, and hands it to you. You reach to your pockets to pay him, but he shakes his head. [[A sign of hope.->Hope]]

[[The potion is warm in your hands.->Restart]] (set: $Potion to true)

You approach the nearest manhole. This should be the fastest way down, and, luckily, there aren't any other people around, so you can take your dive without worry of getting caught. [[To the underground.->Surprisingly Clean]]

You reach the bottom, and are surprised to find the sewer system entirely clean. There's no waste, or anything of the sort that you would expect. Just a clean, white passage way that leads in one direction, away from the city, far beyond your sight. [[Better get moving.->End in Sight]]

You approach the end of the sewer tunnel, and can see light just ahead. It looks as if it's about to rain soon, however. [[Into the rain.->Restart]] [[Wait out the rain.->Another Way Out]]

As you leave, it begins to rain, as you expected earlier. You feel your head go dim, as the world [[fades to black.->Restart]]

As you state your struggle, the expression on his face changes to one deep in thought. It takes a few minutes for any response out of him. Finally, however, he does respond, albeit, without any words. He takes out a brilliant, gold chest, and lays it [[in front of you.->A Treasure Chest]]

(align:"=><=")[Back and Forth and Back Again A game about coping with the past, and finding the strength to move towards the future.] Endings obtained: (if:$TrueEnding is true)[Good Morning] (if:$EndingA is true)[Another Day] (if:$EndingB is true)[Into Dreams] [[Play Again.->Start]]