"No Good Deed" is meant to be a tragedy, in its final form. The good deed in question can refer to multiple events, as the frame of reference for what defines a "good deed" or a "punishment" evolves.
One could say that Dark was doomed to tragedy the moment he resolved to betray and kill Chosen.
One could say that Dark's fate was sealed the moment he understoodā with a horrified clarity that drove him to years of mad despair āhow little life and death meant to their creator.
(Dark was created for Chosen. Created to bring about Chosen's end, yes, but it doesn't change that Chosen's name is writ into his code, traced over his bones. Dark's purpose and very existence are contextualized in relation to Chosen's.)
(For Chosen to be disposed of and forgotten, in his defeat, to be reduced to nothing, to be rendered inconsequential...what must that mean for Dark, who was made for him, who feared him, who revered him, who replaced him?)
But one could instead say that Dark was doomed to tragedy the moment he understood that he would willfully and wholeheartedly sacrifice himself for Orange. The moment he understoodā with a little surprise, followed by calm, quiet acceptance āthat he would rather forfeit his chance at freedom than risk any chance of betraying the kid who helped him discover what freedom could be.
His fate was sealed the moment he let fear of loss overrule his fear of death, even if that fate didn't come to collect him until much, much later.
Dark puts his future on the line, to protect the stick who made him realize he could still fight for one, because he refuses to imagine a future without that stick.
For this good deed, he is punished, and denied any future at all. He is killed, brutally, in captivity, alone. He is disposed of and forgotten, the same way his predecessor was, as he knew he would be.
And oh, Orange.
Orange brought joy to Dark's life. He brought Dark warmth, lightness, care, stability, play, and a stubbornness to rival Dark's own. Moreover, he brought Dark out of his spiral and gave him hope, a hope for the future that Dark had long since lost. Orange became central to Dark's concept of freedom. Because of him, Dark had something worth fighting for.
Orange was the only source of good, in Dark's life.
(That's a lie.)
(But it has been so long, and they had so little time to know each other; and Dark forgets the mercy he took advantage of, forgets the kinship he rejected, forgets the kindness that stunned him long enough to make the worst decision of his life.)
(Dark recalls Chosen, and all he knows is dread.)
(Dread, because the grim memory of his rival's desecrated corpse shadows the corners of his mind, specter of a warning heeded far too late.)
(Dread, because Dark may be Chosen's conqueror but Orange is Chosen's successor, and if Dark exists to end Chosen then what might that mean forā no, no, it's too terrible to consider. He will make sure no situation arises where it must be considered.)
Orange was the only source of good, in Dark's life.
And for that, he is punished.
Orange will never get to have a future with the stick who had been with him since his beginning.
Orange will never get to have a future with the stick who sheltered him from cruelty, who gave him the time and space to discover himself.
Orange will never get to have a future with the stick he did everything for.
