Theatre Room
This room appears to be a massive theatre. Countless seats litter the room, more than the silly little cast could ever fill. You seem to have come in through the lower entrance, right next to the stage...there looks to be an entrance to the upper floor somewhere, but it's inaccessible for now.
Tarnish: These two are, of course, the last to arrive.
"Greetings, all of you! Do not worry, I have made sure everyone has arrived safely! Me and my new apprentice are ready to seize this day!"
Arsenic: "Tarnish, what the fuck did you do???" Arsenic yells upon seeing him drag the stupid winged fuck back in, keeping them tucked on his shoulder. "...And how are you carrying them so easily?"
Tarnish: "Do you expect a being of pure bane and malice to be weak and inept? Why, I have lifted cars before!"
...Yeah, that was probably a lie. But his strength could not be denied...was Paradi just incredibly light, or...?
Clober: "Nevermind that!! Why did you decide to bring stinky out here?"
The Destroyer: "Because without 'stinky', not everyone would be here. And I need EVERYONE to hand out the cards and show off the new motive!"
Ah shit. Fuck. The prawn is back, twirling onto the stage with reckless abandon. "And now that we all are here, I can begin my wondrous little routine!"
Stranger: ...The realization hit Stranger quickly...a new motive. Once again, The Destroyer was trying to tempt them to commit murder...
...And this time, as he saw the empty space in the crowd made by the absence of Jasper and Bryan, he wasn't sure if that temptation would be avoided this time.
The Destroyer: But without any time to waste, the cards appear again! ...Only fourteen this time, of course. They sprinkle out to all the sinners, each one still so mysterious...
Stranger: A card fell into Stranger's hands, glimmering brightly. He stared at the words it read...
The Loving.
As the card faded away, a new feeling found itself firmly in Stranger's mind...a new sort of softness, that was both alien yet comforting.
...Well, almost comforting. He blushed, unsure what he was exactly feeling, and what that card even did to him...was everyone else now feeling just a bit more lonely, or was it just him?
The Destroyer: "And look who got The Wren this time!"
Destroyer flies over to Paradi, still bound up, and giggles. "Seems like it's your lucky day, Paradi! If you need me for anything, just let me know! A single free-Destroyer help pass!"
Paradi: There's a grin on their face...although they say nothing in response.
Firestarter: Firestarter also receives her card...and instantly, she begins jumping up and down.
"Fuck yeah!! This card was made for me!! That Inferno, baby!!"
She points at everyone else, laughing. "Hear that? Don't mess with me, or I'll be ON FIRE!!"
The Destroyer: "Now, now!" Destroyer cries, fluttering back to its stage. "Don't get too caught up in your cards-- we have a motive to announce, remember?"
Rue: "...And what would that motive be?" He stares.
The Destroyer: "Okaaay, if you want to know that badly..."
It spins and spins and spins...and suddenly, a big old wheel shows up behind it.
"The fans want to know your sins, and I am here to provide! Every day, I get to spin this wheel, and whoever is chosen will have to relive their worst sin for all to see! No holds barred, only judgement and painful memories...unless someone kills, of course, in which case the wheel shall not spin again!"
Seven Stones: His eyes widen. "Hey- Hold on a second--!"
His fists clench, he yells amongst the fearful faces of the others. "We just stopped that winged asshole from doing the same thing on his own time! And you just...make that your new motive!?"
The Destroyer: "I don't decide the motives, you know," It gives a prawnly smirk, "And besides, revealing your sins for all to see is MY job! So that being said...lets do our first spin, shall we?"
Seven Stones: "W-Wait-- already--!?"
The Destroyer: Spin-Spin-Spin...
. . .
The Destroyer: "...Tarnish!"
Tarnish: !!
His carefree exterior vanishes. An unusual feeling appears in his violet eyes....fear. Pure, unadulterated fear.
And suddenly, from the ceiling, a strange sort of hand picks him up like a kitten being snatched by their scruff, and he flies away from view. Paradi is left lying on the ground, a curious expression on their face.
The Destroyer: "Alright, everyone! Open your tablets to watch the show unfold!"
The Memory Chamber
Tarnish: "...What? Where...am I?"
For a moment, there was only darkness. Only nothingness. It was like he was pulled into the void.
Tarnish: And then...there was the sound of fire. Sirens. Light.
He was at the door of his family's mansion, on the countryside right outside of Serpent City.
Tarnish: It was up in flames, burning at the seams.
...The sight and smell was familiar, but so distant...and as policemen began cluttering the mansion's burning entrance, he instinctively ran inside.
Tarnish: Everything he once knew was being destroyed all around him. Pictures were melting and falling to the floor, destroyed. Furniture and old toys in ruin. And in all of the chaos, as he got to the flight of stairs leading to everyone's bedroom...he smelled it.
Blood.
Tarnish: Panic coated his expression as he raced to the top, seeing the door to his mother, father, and sister's rooms wide open.
His sister was lying dead on the floor of her room, multiple bashes in her back and face. He peeked into the room of his father-- dead in his bed, blood staining the wall behind him.
...And...right, she was the last one...
...His mother.
He ran into his mother's room...and saw her.
As well as a younger version of himself, seething, with bloody fists and feet. His cape, not as old and torn as it is now, flowed on his back. It, too, was covered in blood.
...He realized what that prawn was now showing him, and tears ran down the proud prota's face.
Tarnish: "YOU TOOK EVERYTHING FROM ME!!" His past self shouted at the top of his lungs, sound raw and laced in bitterness. "MY FREEDOM, MY SANITY...WHY!?"
His mother, lying on the floor with a bashed in-leg, only glared at him. "You were always the rat of a child. No good for anything...you never followed the Bandawoot Family order, now look at you, Emily."
...Emily...
That old name rang in his mind, and he felt his entire being ache. He had made himself forget, made himself eliminate the pain-- and now, it had come back.
Instinctively, he tried to grab at his old self-- but his fingers just went right through.
Tarnish: "I TOLD YOU MY NAME!" His old self roared. "I'M...I'M TARNISH. DON'T MAKE ME DO THIS...!!"
...But his mother only sneered. "I don't know who you are. But for your entire life, you were our family's favorite little mistake...our favorite dark secret.
And that's all you'll ever be."
Those were the last words his mother ever spoke. His old self came down upon her with crushing blows from his fists and feet, breaking bones and skin easily. Each blow was impactful and brutal, the gushing noises making Tarnish flinch at the sound...but back then, he remembered...he thought the sound was music to his ears.
Tarnish: ...And when the life faded from his mother's eyes...
...Tarnish saw that his old self wasn't done.
His family was dead, but all of the other hateful, disgusting folk in the countryside weren't. Escaping through the window, he moved on to the next house.
Visions flashed before Tarnish's eyes. Of all of those rich families he destroyed. One after the other...the entire countryside fell to ruin in the span of a few weeks.
Only a year after the incident was the case left closed, the perpetrator never found. Emily Bandawoot was thought to have died with the rest of her family, her body unsalvageable in the fire.
...But the crying boy, with a name he didn't want anymore, who had just watched a lifetime of carnage flash before his eyes...
...Was the missing child, in search of a happiness they were never given and could never find.
And so, became a dark lord.
Theatre Room
Tarnish: ...As if he was dead, Tarnish's limp self was dropped back into the theatre room as if nothing happened. The Destroyer and its wheel had already vanished...leaving no answers to all the burning questions the horrified sinners now had.
Stranger: ...But Stranger was the first to speak, as Tarnish slowly got up from the floor.
"...Tarnish, are you...alright?"
Tarnish: ...He could only somewhat glance back at Stranger.
"Leave me to my lonesome. All of you."
He walked away without a word, leaving it all behind.
Paradi: ...And that's when someone else spoke up.
"...Stranger, untie me."
Lotus: "W-Why would he do that...!?"
Gust: "Gust thinks you would only do bad things if that happened! Stranger, do not!"
Paradi: "Ahh...if you fear me causing a scene with any past events, the motive is already doing that for me..." They give a slight smile.
"I only wish to go talk to Tarnish. I might be able to help someone so...battered."
Stranger: . . .
"...If I let you go, we're going to speak to him together. I don't trust you on your own."
Stranger: He turns around, facing everyone else. "We can't keep them tied forever. If they're going to try causing problems, I'll accompany them to make sure they don't."
Lotus: "...I-If...you say so..."
Seven Stones: "Nggh...guess you're right. Just keep 'em out of my business."
Gust: ...She glares at Stranger, as if carrying some sort of blistering hate that wasn't present moments ago. And yet, she says nothing.
Stranger: ...He carefully unties the knots, slowly letting Paradi free from their bindings. Once Paradi gets to their feet...they don't try to run away. They just...stand there, waiting for Stranger to toss the ropes aside.
Paradi: "Well, my new chaperone, shall we?"
Stranger: "...Fine."
Stranger leads the charge, exiting the theatre room before Paradi does. Paradi follows behind silently.