ADP fic: Final Blows
Sep. 8th, 2007 05:33 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sylph_ficsSince it's been months, Here is the list of the other ADP fics.
Title: Final Blows
Characters: the DCU
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: Profanity, character deaths, etc
Disclaimer: I wish these guys were mine, they'd be treated better than DC does. But they're not, DC still owns them.
Summary: a black day in Metropolis
Notes:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
merfilly wrote some, I wrote some, the usual list applies.
Slade was looking over the reports from his contacts, finding out just how each prison break had gone. In most cases, the hero response had been adequate. In some... Luthor had bought himself cannon fodder aplenty from those.
He just wondered when and where it would be used.
The answer lay with his daughter, apparently, as she came barging into his office, her blue eye still widely unfocused.
"Tomorrow... Metropolis... midday." She forced out around what she was still seeing.
His lips set in a grim line; that was neither much time to prepare, nor a welcome battleground.
"Gather the others... including our little bird."
`~`~`~`~`
Rose walked in with Dinah, guiding her to the small couch opposite the chairs where the boys were perched. The experienced woman could feel the edge of everything coming to pass, everything on the verge of breaking them out of the holding pattern. She felt Slade's eye brush over her, a question in it when she looked up, and she gave him a slight nod.
She would still face this at his command, if only to save as many of her friends as possible.
"We need to be in Metropolis by morning, ready to fight, ready to handle whatever goes out on the field tomorrow." Slade looked at each and every one of them. "On the side being fronted by Luthor…I prefer to see Luthor, Talia, and Psycho all go down. On the hero side…if Hawkman, Zatanna, or Atom are on the field, they are also to go down." He looked at the boys, at his daughter. "Permanently." He looked at Dinah next. "None of them fall under your deal with me, sister."
"I…yes, Slade." It hurt, it tore at her to acquiesce to this, when she knew what Atom had suffered, how twisted up Zatanna had been, knew that Carter had paid for his with sanity and life already at one time. But when the cost would be so many more of the people she loved //people she'd lost...// it was the only choice she could make.
"Go prep."
`~`~`~`~`
Roy felt his heart clench as he entrusted his Etai Yazi to Black Adam's arms. The dark Marvel would be taking her to Kahndaq, the fallback point for any of them that survived this day. Roy did not want to look at it that way, but the statistics did not bode well for them, when they were the ones in the middle. Slade was determined to punish the hero hubris for having played god all those years ago, but he also intended to be sure that the status quo did not tip toward the megalomaniacs either. They tended to depress the market for his services.
Lian would be safe in Kahndaq; Adam had chosen not to participate in this final battle between Luthor and the heroes, due to his own disgust with both sides. Roy had complete faith that Dick, Dinah, or himself would survive //Dick has to survive, can't live without...// to raise his heart's delight.
`~`~`~`~`
He took his time to acknowledge her, his eye sweeping up her body in a lazy appraisal of how the colors set on her. The orange in the middle of that blue... he was pleased he had chosen to use the design from when they went to Gorilla City together. It suited her smaller frame better than Rose's pattern, made an illusion of height she did not possess. He finally looked up into her bare face, noticing that her hair was freshly blonde, with no hint of black showing.
As soon as she saw his eye meet hers, she threw the mask at him.
"You say I have to be out there, that you have to have the edge of me, in your colors out there," she growled. "Fine! But I will not wear a mask! You want your recognition factor?! That damn thing takes it away. I don't hide my face!" Her rage was simmering at low boil, he decided, the perfect level for what was coming. She then stormed out, to finish helping the boys kit up.
He had offered the mask as a basis for helping to shield her from what she might very well do. He should have known better. For better or for worse, Black Canary owned up to her actions, and in that moment, she had earned his full forgiveness for what her League had done.
`~`~`~`~`
Renegade tensed, hands tightening on the hilts of the blades across his back, looking down at the dynamics of the battlefield. Most of the League, most of the JSA... his heart clenched, and released, as all of his scanning spotted so few of the Titans there. He'd heard how badly the breakout at Alcatraz had gone from Slade's reports, and the struggle in the city against some sort of demons that had been right at its heels... the Titans had been mauled. The ones that were there... he wasn't as close to. Terror washed through him at seeing one in particular, but no, there were enough there to cope with Doomsday...
The villain line hit the heroes' and he surged--Deathstroke's hand settled hard on his shoulder. "No. Not yet."
`~`~`~`~`
The battle had been raging for a good fifteen minutes before Deathstroke let his fighters take the field. They would use the chaos of the clash to their advantage. Neither hero nor villain meant much in the way of an obstacle to him. His only goal was to establish a world order conducive to good business, and having either side win full out was not in line with that goal.
He took the middle, Dick on his left and his daughter on his right. Roy would be nowhere but at Dick's side, and Dinah…with all that this was tearing at her, took her responsibility to Rose seriously, flanking her.
Those at that end of the battlefield took note, saw the swirls of orange and blue as the first opponents were met. They heard the shots, saw the bodies that fell, and neither side could believe it. The heroes were almost paralyzed with shock at seeing the orange-and-blue on two people they'd been so desperately searching for, while the villains were in states of near terror as they watched those colors striking apparently indiscriminately.
With the addition of only five people, the entire face of the fight had now changed into something only one man could truly see.
Slade Wilson was pleased.
`~`~`~`~`
Black Canary saw one of their prime targets of opportunity, the diminutive but repulsive Dr. Psycho. She also saw J'onn nearby, and caught the minute flickers of his form that indicated full mental combat. She hesitated a brief moment, knowing that she was about to stain her hands for the first time, that she was going to cause a man's death. It had been made clear just who Slade felt was entirely too dangerous to leave loose once all was said and done. Psycho was one that presented a difficult target, but while he was distracted by a mentalist near his ability…
She glanced sideways, flashed a quick hand sign and did not even wait for acknowledgement. She leaped forward into the field of fire between the two telepaths, and knew the instant she had Dr. Psycho's attention as he invaded her mind, J'onn following in a desperate attempt to push him back out. The familiar feel of the Martian served to bolster her for the three seconds it took of her being vulnerable to all the despicable, misogynist ideas of the perverted mentalist they battled. That third second ticked by, and Dinah was left only with her guilt and the need to scrub her skin head-to-toe from those thoughts, as Psycho's head exploded from a high caliber round.
J'onn withdrew hastily from the mind of a woman who had been friend, confidante, and ally, brutalized by knowing she had purposely lured a man into his death. He could not believe it, had been unable to go past that surface layer of the battle mind Dinah was using. And now, as Slade shifted back to closer targets, Dinah disappeared into the fray, her orange and blue marking her as clearly as the murderous intent he had touched within her as being one of the Fallen.
`~`~`~`~`
The battle still raged; so many on two well-marked sides, and those five playing at both sides, equalizing more than trying to win. Old grudges came to the front, and there were people dead or dying on both sides, most of the fastest occupied with trying to save as many as they could. None of the five wearing blue and orange were unscathed, but it looked as if the battle would soon come to an end, from Slade's perceptions.
Those perceptions were stretched too thin to see in time to intervene as the damnable Batgirl threw herself at Renegade, intent on taking him down for her mentor. Unfortunately, Renegade's own defenses proved too violent, forcing her to fight at levels she had consciously avoided for a couple of years. When the wild Robin, Jason Todd, tried to aid the girl, Outlaw tangled him up, guarding Renegade's back viciously.
The fight between Renegade and Batgirl raged for long minutes, with Slade forging through the remnants of the Secret Society that were trying to drag him down.
Then three things happened, almost at once.
Alexander Luthor fired an antimatter blast--Renegade saw and tried to throw himself into it to protect its target.
Outlaw saw his lover react to protect Slade, turned, and fired a deadly shot, thinking Batgirl was far enough away to risk the distraction.
Batgirl shifted, moving at the edge of her speed in a final bid to take Dick down, attempting to save him, get him away from that psychotic... and wound up hitting him with far more momentum as he spun back to deal with the threat to him, having seen Slade move just enough to avoid the blast.
The crack of bones, the sheer violence of how Renegade fell, crumpling to the bloody ground, caused the few close enough to quickly get away, as Cass realized what had happened. She was vaguely aware of Outlaw //Arsenal?// trying to avenge the fallen man, before being restrained by Ravager and Black Canary //so their psychotic puppet master can take vengeance.//
Slade felt a murderous rage well up inside of him, seeing his perfect apprentice broken at the feet of the same little bitch who had sliced into Rose's throat with her own sword. He moved, aware of Batman struggling to reach them, of the wild Robin gasping for breath where Outlaw had left him. He would kill her, take revenge…
"Slade, he should come back!" Black Canary was saying it for him, for the young man that had nearly struck her in his need to get to Dick, for the life of the girl who had taught her. "Don't start a blood feud with Shiva over this!"
He snarled at that for a moment, but Shiva in this case could mean Cain and the full League of Assassins, more trouble than it was worth, if Canary was right. If his boy, his student, did return to him... if not, he would have time to plan this.
"Outlaw, Take him, GO!" he bellowed, and moved to guard the boy's back as he moved. As soon as she'd released Outlaw, Ravager had moved, and she and Batgirl were locked in combat again--his daughter was the better, this time.
As Outlaw moved with all of his speed off the battlefield, Canary keeping up as best she could, he realized the Bat was almost on he and his daughter... it was time and past to leave this battlefield.
"The debt between your mother and I is cleared," he snarled to Batgirl as he stepped into that fight, catching her to throw her, hard, into the Bat's path--then he caught the whistle in the air of returning fliers, and flicked a sign to his daughter.
Melting into the partially destroyed city wasn't going to be easy... but he'd done more complicated things. All that remained now was to get home, find out if Dick would come back--//if he could possibly come back sane//--and then watch the pieces fall where they would.
If Dick were truly dead, there would be vengeance.
If his lover lived //fate, you cruel bitch...//, they would put their lives together and soon be back in business.
Title: Final Blows
Characters: the DCU
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: Profanity, character deaths, etc
Disclaimer: I wish these guys were mine, they'd be treated better than DC does. But they're not, DC still owns them.
Summary: a black day in Metropolis
Notes:
merfilly wrote some, I wrote some, the usual list applies. Slade was looking over the reports from his contacts, finding out just how each prison break had gone. In most cases, the hero response had been adequate. In some... Luthor had bought himself cannon fodder aplenty from those.
He just wondered when and where it would be used.
The answer lay with his daughter, apparently, as she came barging into his office, her blue eye still widely unfocused.
"Tomorrow... Metropolis... midday." She forced out around what she was still seeing.
His lips set in a grim line; that was neither much time to prepare, nor a welcome battleground.
"Gather the others... including our little bird."
`~`~`~`~`
Rose walked in with Dinah, guiding her to the small couch opposite the chairs where the boys were perched. The experienced woman could feel the edge of everything coming to pass, everything on the verge of breaking them out of the holding pattern. She felt Slade's eye brush over her, a question in it when she looked up, and she gave him a slight nod.
She would still face this at his command, if only to save as many of her friends as possible.
"We need to be in Metropolis by morning, ready to fight, ready to handle whatever goes out on the field tomorrow." Slade looked at each and every one of them. "On the side being fronted by Luthor…I prefer to see Luthor, Talia, and Psycho all go down. On the hero side…if Hawkman, Zatanna, or Atom are on the field, they are also to go down." He looked at the boys, at his daughter. "Permanently." He looked at Dinah next. "None of them fall under your deal with me, sister."
"I…yes, Slade." It hurt, it tore at her to acquiesce to this, when she knew what Atom had suffered, how twisted up Zatanna had been, knew that Carter had paid for his with sanity and life already at one time. But when the cost would be so many more of the people she loved //people she'd lost...// it was the only choice she could make.
"Go prep."
`~`~`~`~`
Roy felt his heart clench as he entrusted his Etai Yazi to Black Adam's arms. The dark Marvel would be taking her to Kahndaq, the fallback point for any of them that survived this day. Roy did not want to look at it that way, but the statistics did not bode well for them, when they were the ones in the middle. Slade was determined to punish the hero hubris for having played god all those years ago, but he also intended to be sure that the status quo did not tip toward the megalomaniacs either. They tended to depress the market for his services.
Lian would be safe in Kahndaq; Adam had chosen not to participate in this final battle between Luthor and the heroes, due to his own disgust with both sides. Roy had complete faith that Dick, Dinah, or himself would survive //Dick has to survive, can't live without...// to raise his heart's delight.
`~`~`~`~`
He took his time to acknowledge her, his eye sweeping up her body in a lazy appraisal of how the colors set on her. The orange in the middle of that blue... he was pleased he had chosen to use the design from when they went to Gorilla City together. It suited her smaller frame better than Rose's pattern, made an illusion of height she did not possess. He finally looked up into her bare face, noticing that her hair was freshly blonde, with no hint of black showing.
As soon as she saw his eye meet hers, she threw the mask at him.
"You say I have to be out there, that you have to have the edge of me, in your colors out there," she growled. "Fine! But I will not wear a mask! You want your recognition factor?! That damn thing takes it away. I don't hide my face!" Her rage was simmering at low boil, he decided, the perfect level for what was coming. She then stormed out, to finish helping the boys kit up.
He had offered the mask as a basis for helping to shield her from what she might very well do. He should have known better. For better or for worse, Black Canary owned up to her actions, and in that moment, she had earned his full forgiveness for what her League had done.
`~`~`~`~`
Renegade tensed, hands tightening on the hilts of the blades across his back, looking down at the dynamics of the battlefield. Most of the League, most of the JSA... his heart clenched, and released, as all of his scanning spotted so few of the Titans there. He'd heard how badly the breakout at Alcatraz had gone from Slade's reports, and the struggle in the city against some sort of demons that had been right at its heels... the Titans had been mauled. The ones that were there... he wasn't as close to. Terror washed through him at seeing one in particular, but no, there were enough there to cope with Doomsday...
The villain line hit the heroes' and he surged--Deathstroke's hand settled hard on his shoulder. "No. Not yet."
`~`~`~`~`
The battle had been raging for a good fifteen minutes before Deathstroke let his fighters take the field. They would use the chaos of the clash to their advantage. Neither hero nor villain meant much in the way of an obstacle to him. His only goal was to establish a world order conducive to good business, and having either side win full out was not in line with that goal.
He took the middle, Dick on his left and his daughter on his right. Roy would be nowhere but at Dick's side, and Dinah…with all that this was tearing at her, took her responsibility to Rose seriously, flanking her.
Those at that end of the battlefield took note, saw the swirls of orange and blue as the first opponents were met. They heard the shots, saw the bodies that fell, and neither side could believe it. The heroes were almost paralyzed with shock at seeing the orange-and-blue on two people they'd been so desperately searching for, while the villains were in states of near terror as they watched those colors striking apparently indiscriminately.
With the addition of only five people, the entire face of the fight had now changed into something only one man could truly see.
Slade Wilson was pleased.
`~`~`~`~`
Black Canary saw one of their prime targets of opportunity, the diminutive but repulsive Dr. Psycho. She also saw J'onn nearby, and caught the minute flickers of his form that indicated full mental combat. She hesitated a brief moment, knowing that she was about to stain her hands for the first time, that she was going to cause a man's death. It had been made clear just who Slade felt was entirely too dangerous to leave loose once all was said and done. Psycho was one that presented a difficult target, but while he was distracted by a mentalist near his ability…
She glanced sideways, flashed a quick hand sign and did not even wait for acknowledgement. She leaped forward into the field of fire between the two telepaths, and knew the instant she had Dr. Psycho's attention as he invaded her mind, J'onn following in a desperate attempt to push him back out. The familiar feel of the Martian served to bolster her for the three seconds it took of her being vulnerable to all the despicable, misogynist ideas of the perverted mentalist they battled. That third second ticked by, and Dinah was left only with her guilt and the need to scrub her skin head-to-toe from those thoughts, as Psycho's head exploded from a high caliber round.
J'onn withdrew hastily from the mind of a woman who had been friend, confidante, and ally, brutalized by knowing she had purposely lured a man into his death. He could not believe it, had been unable to go past that surface layer of the battle mind Dinah was using. And now, as Slade shifted back to closer targets, Dinah disappeared into the fray, her orange and blue marking her as clearly as the murderous intent he had touched within her as being one of the Fallen.
`~`~`~`~`
The battle still raged; so many on two well-marked sides, and those five playing at both sides, equalizing more than trying to win. Old grudges came to the front, and there were people dead or dying on both sides, most of the fastest occupied with trying to save as many as they could. None of the five wearing blue and orange were unscathed, but it looked as if the battle would soon come to an end, from Slade's perceptions.
Those perceptions were stretched too thin to see in time to intervene as the damnable Batgirl threw herself at Renegade, intent on taking him down for her mentor. Unfortunately, Renegade's own defenses proved too violent, forcing her to fight at levels she had consciously avoided for a couple of years. When the wild Robin, Jason Todd, tried to aid the girl, Outlaw tangled him up, guarding Renegade's back viciously.
The fight between Renegade and Batgirl raged for long minutes, with Slade forging through the remnants of the Secret Society that were trying to drag him down.
Then three things happened, almost at once.
Alexander Luthor fired an antimatter blast--Renegade saw and tried to throw himself into it to protect its target.
Outlaw saw his lover react to protect Slade, turned, and fired a deadly shot, thinking Batgirl was far enough away to risk the distraction.
Batgirl shifted, moving at the edge of her speed in a final bid to take Dick down, attempting to save him, get him away from that psychotic... and wound up hitting him with far more momentum as he spun back to deal with the threat to him, having seen Slade move just enough to avoid the blast.
The crack of bones, the sheer violence of how Renegade fell, crumpling to the bloody ground, caused the few close enough to quickly get away, as Cass realized what had happened. She was vaguely aware of Outlaw //Arsenal?// trying to avenge the fallen man, before being restrained by Ravager and Black Canary //so their psychotic puppet master can take vengeance.//
Slade felt a murderous rage well up inside of him, seeing his perfect apprentice broken at the feet of the same little bitch who had sliced into Rose's throat with her own sword. He moved, aware of Batman struggling to reach them, of the wild Robin gasping for breath where Outlaw had left him. He would kill her, take revenge…
"Slade, he should come back!" Black Canary was saying it for him, for the young man that had nearly struck her in his need to get to Dick, for the life of the girl who had taught her. "Don't start a blood feud with Shiva over this!"
He snarled at that for a moment, but Shiva in this case could mean Cain and the full League of Assassins, more trouble than it was worth, if Canary was right. If his boy, his student, did return to him... if not, he would have time to plan this.
"Outlaw, Take him, GO!" he bellowed, and moved to guard the boy's back as he moved. As soon as she'd released Outlaw, Ravager had moved, and she and Batgirl were locked in combat again--his daughter was the better, this time.
As Outlaw moved with all of his speed off the battlefield, Canary keeping up as best she could, he realized the Bat was almost on he and his daughter... it was time and past to leave this battlefield.
"The debt between your mother and I is cleared," he snarled to Batgirl as he stepped into that fight, catching her to throw her, hard, into the Bat's path--then he caught the whistle in the air of returning fliers, and flicked a sign to his daughter.
Melting into the partially destroyed city wasn't going to be easy... but he'd done more complicated things. All that remained now was to get home, find out if Dick would come back--//if he could possibly come back sane//--and then watch the pieces fall where they would.
If Dick were truly dead, there would be vengeance.
If his lover lived //fate, you cruel bitch...//, they would put their lives together and soon be back in business.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
ADP FAN
Date: 2007-09-08 11:11 pm (UTC)please continue
Re: ADP FAN
Date: 2007-09-08 11:13 pm (UTC)Dick doesn't really let go of what's his, though.
Neither does Slade.
Re: ADP FAN
Date: 2007-09-08 11:24 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-09-09 12:01 am (UTC)I love this entire series!
no subject
Date: 2007-09-09 12:02 am (UTC)Glad you enjoyed the long ride with us.
no subject
Date: 2007-09-09 10:51 pm (UTC)And yes, it is... what happens from here, is your choice.
no subject
Date: 2007-09-09 02:05 am (UTC)This was crazy, LOVED the battle scene, the image of Slade's group moving through the fight and making both sides nervous. Poor J'onn, though, in Dinah's head when she finally had to go through with her choice.
While I'd love to read the fallout from this on the heroes' side . . . It's something of a suitable finish, this series beginning and ending in violence.
no subject
Date: 2007-09-09 07:45 pm (UTC)Oh I am very glad the battle scene went well...I don't know about Yena, but the further along this drug out, the more I decided a minimalist view of the actual fight would work.
And the fallout was part of the original plan, but with everything else, I'm not sure this is a 'verse we'd revisit anytime soon.
Thank you for sticking with us despite the long waits.
no subject
Date: 2007-09-09 10:54 pm (UTC)It was so difficult, getting even this far, that going to that part, too... nngh. *headshake*
And very much poor J'onn.
Also, thank you for understanding!!
((My Renegade muse vanished when he realized I was going to kill him.))
no subject
Date: 2007-09-09 07:34 am (UTC)I would have liked to see an actual showdown between Dick and Bruce but this worked out fine for me. I'm glad they played the role of equalizer in the end. Glad this finally got concluded.
no subject
Date: 2007-09-09 07:48 pm (UTC)An actual showdown just would not happen in the time we dealt with...Slade's protective in his own fashion of what is his...down the road, he might have allowed or even encouraged it, though.
Thank you for giving the original inspiration and being patient with us to the end.
no subject
Date: 2007-09-09 10:57 pm (UTC)Mm... that would have been a good thing to work in, but not one Slade would allow then, as Filly said.
And believe us, so are we!!!
no subject
Date: 2007-09-09 03:51 pm (UTC)And some people are in a lot of trouble if Dick can't come back.
(And I really want him to come back)
no subject
Date: 2007-09-09 07:49 pm (UTC)I agree about Dick...but who knows.
no subject
Date: 2007-09-09 10:59 pm (UTC)And yes, yes they are.
(I do too.)
no subject
Date: 2007-09-09 06:06 pm (UTC)Damned glad to see this again, though. I know how hard you two have been struggling with this piece.
no subject
Date: 2007-09-09 07:50 pm (UTC)Lady or the Tiger, in its own way.
And thank you!
no subject
Date: 2007-09-09 11:00 pm (UTC)You would, better than anyone.
ADP FAN
Date: 2007-09-10 08:08 am (UTC)Re: ADP FAN
Date: 2007-09-10 01:09 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-10-15 02:48 pm (UTC)It's always disappointing when a good series ends. Thank you for writing this one :)
no subject
Date: 2007-10-15 06:30 pm (UTC)Thank you for reading up on it, and letting us know what you thought.
no subject
Date: 2007-10-20 05:35 pm (UTC)It was an insanely bumpy, hard ride at times, with awful muses, and thank you for letting us know you enjoyed it!
no subject
Date: 2008-04-19 02:14 am (UTC)Oh, Renegade, Outlaw, your names fit you perfectly, along with your pasts. The linguist in me is bouncing with glee!
It IS the end? SYLPH!!!!!
(fumes)
Well, at least Dick lives. good.
wow. From beginning to end, this was a MUCH better arc than I had expected... not the quality, mind you, I was assured of that, but... yeah, chapter...3? had me very much worried that it was going to be one of those very long, very dark, very depressing fics. While those can be enjoyable at times... This was so much better. There was family, there were bitter fueds, there was anger, there was forgiveness, love and hate. It was beautiful.
I have to go with the funeral as the past chapter and my favorite part.
no subject
Date: 2008-04-19 06:04 pm (UTC)It is the end.
And...well, if you're really patient, I may try to round up the screwed up future bits that might have been based off this verse at a later time.
This thing was a MONSTER to write, and involved many many many cell minutes burned!
Thank you for reading it!
no subject
Date: 2008-04-20 03:31 pm (UTC)Don't the names fit well? It was.. possibly too easy to figure them out. I mean, Renegade is canon... And between Roy's history and his own actions, Outlaw was the only thing that could both fit him and match Dick.
*hugs*
Hey, shhhhh!! We didn't tell people that!
I am glad you enjoyed it, and found it to be a good arc. It was damned dark, but darkness isn't all there is to it, either. We tried to make it real... in several senses, and I'm so glad that to you, at least, we succeeded.
...It still startles me that you think that chapter is your favorite, but.. then it's the piece that caught you the most, so I guess you would...
Thank you again.
no subject
Date: 2009-04-27 12:33 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-04-27 02:28 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-05-07 02:09 pm (UTC)Thank you very much for letting us know you enjoyed the monster that this is, I appreciate it a lot.
By the time it was over... I wanted nothing more than for it to end, it'd taken up entire weeks of my life, but yeah, there is a lot left open.