GTA V Story Part 19 · Two Farewells · Endings A and B
Chapters in this story
The grand criminal saga of Los Santos has reached its final station. Under the immense pressure of Devin Weston, Franklin Clinton stands at a brutal crossroads where he must decide the fate of his associates. This part covers the two catastrophic alternative endings the three protagonists may face, as well as Lester's clandestine assignments that occur regardless of the timeline.
Spoiler Notice: This is a 20-part detailed serial explaining the GTA V single-player experience from the introduction to the three endings. This is a commentary rewritten based on in-game events and is not an official novel or script. Simultaneously available missions and choice-based events may vary in chronological order. Heist approaches and Endings A, B, and C are mutually exclusive alternatives and not events that occur sequentially in a single playthrough. Illustrations are AI scene reconstructions referencing the game's characters and locations.
1. Ending A · A Betrayal Named a Wise Choice
While staying at his home in Vinewood Hills, Franklin Clinton receives a visit from Devin Weston. Devin pressures Franklin once again, demanding he eliminate Michael De Santa. At this point, Franklin is faced with a critical decision: kill Michael, kill Trevor Philips, or spare them both. If he chooses the alternative to eliminate Trevor, Franklin immediately calls him, luring him to a vacant lot in El Burro Heights under the guise of wanting to talk in a quiet place.
While heading to the meeting spot, Franklin contacts Michael to reveal Devin's demands and his own plan. He asks for help in dealing with Trevor, but Michael avoids a direct answer, leaving it ambiguous by saying he will watch how the situation unfolds. As Franklin waits at El Burro Heights, Trevor soon arrives on the scene in his pickup truck.
Trevor begins the conversation assuming that Franklin is trying to mediate the rift between him and Michael following the Union Depository job. However, Franklin suddenly draws his weapon on Trevor. He reveals his intent to kill, claiming that Michael is not the problem, but that Trevor's uncontrollable madness will eventually lead everyone to their deaths. Trevor, who always insisted he was only ever truthful, feels deep despair and rage at Franklin's betrayal, calls him a Judas, and speeds away in his truck.
Franklin immediately gets into his vehicle to pursue Trevor. Their chase leads through the highways of Los Santos to the oil fields of Blaine County. During the pursuit, Michael calls Franklin to inform him that he is near the scene and instructs him to drive Trevor into the oil field. As Franklin chases Trevor closely through the oil field, Michael appears in his own vehicle and violently rams the side of Trevor's truck.
Due to Michael's collision, Trevor's truck crashes head-on into a massive fuel tank. A tremendous amount of oil spills from the damaged tank, soaking Trevor's truck and the surrounding ground. Severely injured, Trevor manages to crawl out of the vehicle, but he is enraged upon realizing that Michael and Franklin have colluded to kill him. He crawls on the ground, screaming at the two to shoot him already.
Franklin pulls the trigger toward the oil spilled on the ground. If Franklin hesitates to fire at his old associate, Michael, who is standing nearby, fires instead to ignite the fuel. The fire spreads instantly, engulfing Trevor, who burns in agonizing pain. Soon, the fuel tank explodes along with Trevor's truck and Michael's vehicle, putting an end to Trevor's life.
Walking away from the flames of the explosion, Michael lectures an emotionally shaken Franklin, telling him he needs to grow up. He lists Trevor's numerous flaws to justify their actions as an inevitable choice. The two wish each other well and go their separate ways. Afterward, Lester Crest announces Trevor's disappearance, and the share Trevor was supposed to receive from the Union Depository heist is divided between Franklin and Michael.
In the aftermath of the event, Jimmy De Santa is deeply shocked by the death of Trevor, whom he followed like an uncle, but Michael comforts his son by claiming Trevor was a dangerous person who could have threatened their family. Meanwhile, Franklin reports the completion of the mission to Steve Haines and requests protection, but Haines coldly dismisses him, telling him never to contact him again. Lamar Davis and Tanisha Jackson also contact Franklin to inform him that they are moving on with their own lives, leaving Franklin alone amidst a bitter victory.
2. Ending B · A Notification That It Is Time
If Franklin chooses the alternative to eliminate Michael De Santa under Devin Weston's pressure, he calls Michael and suggests they meet quietly at the satellite antenna station near Route 68. While traveling to the meeting spot, Franklin contacts Trevor Philips to inform him of his plan to deal with Michael as per Devin's instructions. However, Trevor fiercely condemns Franklin as a traitor, refuses to cooperate, stating he has had enough traitors in his life, and unilaterally cuts off contact.
At night, the two meet at the satellite antenna station. Just before starting the conversation, Michael receives a call from his wife, Amanda, with the happy news that their daughter, Tracy, has decided to go to college. After hanging up, Michael proudly tells Franklin that he has finally achieved a perfect life, having repaired his relationship with his family and secured the film production work he wanted.
However, Franklin, unable to hide his nervousness and anxiety, says there is still unfinished business between them. Michael is initially bewildered, not understanding Franklin's words, but soon realizes the intent to kill in Franklin's demeanor and is horrified. Fearing for his life, Michael immediately gets into his vehicle and flees the scene.
Franklin pursues the fleeing Michael, engaging in a fierce chase along the train tracks. Their pursuit only stops when they reach the Palmer-Taylor Power Station. Getting out of his car, Michael flees onto the complex scaffolding of the power station, pleading that he treated Franklin like a son and looked after him. However, Franklin coldly retorts that they were merely using each other. Michael resists by firing at Franklin, but is eventually driven to the top of the power station's massive chimney.
Cornered on the chimney, Michael demands to know who ordered his death. He makes a final attempt to persuade Franklin, suggesting they join forces against Trevor, who had also tried to kill him. As Franklin climbs the ladder to the top of the chimney, Michael aims his pistol at him and fires. Franklin dodges the bullets by moving around the chimney structure, then approaches Michael from behind, tackling him and disarming him.
A violent struggle ensues between the two, and Franklin pushes Michael hard, causing him to fall over the chimney railing. A precarious standoff follows as Franklin reflexively grabs Michael's hand, which is dangling in mid-air. Michael condemns Franklin for making a completely wrong choice and expresses deep regret that he should have killed Franklin when he first broke into his house.
At this moment, Franklin can choose to let go of Michael's hand or attempt to pull him up to safety. However, even if Franklin tries to save him, Michael headbutts Franklin, forcing him to let go. Ultimately, regardless of the choice, Michael falls into the abyss to the bottom of the power station, meeting a miserable death. Having returned to the ground alone, Franklin leaves the scene and calls Lamar Davis to ask if they can spend some time together.
After Michael's death, Franklin's personal relationships are completely shattered. Trevor cuts all ties with Franklin for betraying Michael, and Jimmy De Santa also blocks contact, resenting Franklin for killing his father. The massive share that Michael was supposed to take from the Union Depository heist is, according to Lester's decision, delivered in full to Michael's surviving family, and Franklin and Trevor have no access to that money whatsoever.
3. The Survivors · Different Aftermaths
The criminal saga of Los Santos reaches two completely different parallel endings depending on the player's choice. Endings A and B are stories of independent world lines, clearly showing how the death of one character impacts the lives of those remaining and the dynamics within Los Santos. Both endings exclude an ideal happy ending where the three protagonists defeat all enemies together, demanding a heavy price of betrayal and loss.
In the world of Ending A, where Trevor Philips is eliminated, Trevor is permanently removed from Los Santos. All of his Blaine County hideouts, businesses, and unique missions become inaccessible. The Vanilla Unicorn strip club remains accessible, but it no longer functions as a safehouse. In a world where the uncontrollable variable of Trevor has vanished, the remaining two find superficial stability.
In Ending A, the surviving Michael and Franklin accumulate massive wealth by absorbing Trevor's share. Michael continues his peaceful daily life with his family and his life as a film producer, and Franklin also solidifies his position as a wealthy criminal. The two exchange friendly messages confirming each other's survival, but their once-tight bond is scattered into their own lives, leaving a bitter aftertaste marked by betrayal.
On the other hand, the world of Ending B, where Michael De Santa is eliminated, depicts a much more isolated and cold reality. With Michael's death, all of his assets, including his Rockford Hills mansion, and his unique missions are completely deactivated in the game. The massive dividend from the Union Depository left by Michael does not go to Franklin or Trevor, but is inherited by his surviving family, including Amanda and the children, under Lester's thorough management.
The social price Franklin must pay in Ending B is harsh. Trevor is disillusioned by the fact that Franklin betrayed Michael, who was the object of his long-standing love-hate relationship, and severs all ties with him. Jimmy De Santa also turns his back, pouring out deep resentment toward Franklin for taking his father. Ultimately, despite standing at the pinnacle of the criminal world, Franklin is left in total solitude, with nowhere to rely on other than hanging out with Lamar Davis after the sun goes down.
These two alternative endings prove how easily the strange alliance the protagonists had formed can be broken in the face of survival and profit. Depending on the player's choice, someone meets a miserable end in the flames, and someone else on the cold concrete floor. The survivors continue to roam the streets of Los Santos, but they can never return to the days when the three of them conspired and executed grand crimes together.
4. Lester's Other Four Assignments · Stories at the Time of Choice
The assassination assignments that Lester Crest gives to Franklin are optional missions that can be performed at various times depending on the game's progress. These events do not necessarily occur after a catastrophe like Ending A or B, and can be carried out at any time during the period when the three protagonists were actively working, depending on the player's choice. Following the first hotel assassination, the remaining four assignments target the corrupt power brokers of Los Santos.
The Multi-Target Assassination mission is an operation to quickly eliminate four corrupt jurors who were bribed in a class-action lawsuit against the tobacco company Redwood. Franklin tracks the targets across Los Santos within a limited time. He starts by taking out a bodybuilder exercising at Vespucci Beach, followed by an individual enjoying entertainment on a yacht off the coast of Pacific Bluffs, a janitor cleaning windows at the Eclipse Medical Tower, and finally a driver speeding on a motorcycle in Vinewood Hills.
The subsequent Vice Assassination targets Jackson Skinner, the product development head of the IT company Facade. Lester informs Franklin of the fatal weakness that Skinner is selling customer personal information to cyber-terrorists and frequently visits prostitutes in the La Puerta area. Franklin stakes out the scene and watches as the woman in question rejects other customers while waiting for someone. Soon, Skinner appears in his car, picks up the woman, and drives off; Franklin follows them, assassinates Skinner, and leaves the scene.
The target of the Bus Assassination mission is Isaac Penny, a ruthless capitalist who intends to acquire Vapid Motor Company and carry out massive layoffs. Following Lester's advice, Franklin hijacks a public bus and drives Penny's commute route, waiting for him. Penny boards the bus at a stop, complains that the fare has gone up, and then gets off. As Penny begins to flee by stealing a citizen's bicycle nearby, Franklin drives the massive bus, fiercely pursuing him and striking him down along with the bicycle.
The final Construction Assassination is an operation to eliminate Enzo Bonelli, a corrupt real estate developer with mafia ties. Bonelli is a figure who controls construction sites in Los Santos, exploits workers, and engages in intimidation. Franklin infiltrates the downtown construction site in Pillbox Hill and engages in a fierce shootout with Bonelli's armed guards. Reaching the rooftop via the upper floors of the construction site, Franklin unleashes firepower at Bonelli, who is trying to escape in a helicopter, shooting the chopper down.
These four assassination missions clearly show the contradictory aspect of Lester, who criticizes the corrupt power structure of Los Santos while simultaneously using it to accumulate his own wealth. Every time a target is eliminated, the stock prices of related companies fluctuate, and Lester and Franklin take full advantage of this stock market volatility to reap massive profits. These are events that symbolically reveal the dark side of Los Santos, where big capital and crime are closely intertwined.
Missions covered in this part
Something Sensible · The Time's Come · The Multi Target Assassination · The Vice Assassination · The Bus Assassination · The Construction Assassination
Data and Scope of Verification
Written based on the missions and character relationships of the GTA V single-player main game. Rockstar Games is the official game introduction, and Grand Theft Wiki is unofficial fan material used to verify detailed missions. I do not make choices or unreleased scenes into confirmed events, and I do not mix in stories from GTA Online or GTA VI. This is not a professional translation of the original dialogue or reference materials.
Rockstar Games · GTA V Official Game Introduction
Grand Theft Wiki · Something Sensible
Grand Theft Wiki · The Time's Come
Grand Theft Wiki · The Multi-Target Assassination
Grand Theft Wiki · The Vice Assassination
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