The ring deposits you all safely outside the base and seals up afterwards. Neo Metal Sonic doesn't chase after you, which is something of a mercy.
What's significantly less of a mercy is the sky - it's gone dark and ominously stormy, though the clouds spark not with lightning, but with that same green Chaos Energy you've been facing this entire fight. Worse still, there are now far, far too many robotic planes filling the sky - the Egg Fleet seems to go on endlessly, as far as you can see. Though perhaps it would be more accurate to call it the Neo Metal Sonic Fleet.
Sonic and friends arrive shortly, looking pretty banged up but otherwise still healthy enough to make it here, though they stare up at the sky with obvious concern.
"O...kay, this is definitely not what any of us were expecting."
"We will have to take the fight to them, it seems."
"Easier said than done, I'm afraid... I'm not sure how to pinpoint their leader's exact location to send you all with a ring..."
A jolt of green lightning flashes across the sky and Neo Metal Sonic's voice rings out.
"I expect to see you onboard my fleet in one week's time. That includes you, my loathsome copy."
It seems you don't really have much of a choice. For now, tend to your wounds and try to regroup; you've earned a break after today.
[He thinks back to a certain day and how the sound of rain had felt so deafening...]
... guess I can't say I haven't done the same thing with you an' some of the others. [...] But that's because I can take the hits better than you all can. Bas knows I'll be fine even if I get hit.
[They've been sharing pain for almost two months by now, after all.]
[He wishes he had his invulnerability. It would be so much easier if they had access to their true powers.]
Physical damage is one thing; we have healers who can help mend wounds. I worry for those who were controlled by Eggman.
[Even if it wasn't the real one. He's not sure how aware of anything the robotic version was. The implications are fairly horrifying, on multiple levels.]
[For a good reason we'll definitely have to talk about one day...]
Oh, is that so? That sounds delightful; perhaps we ought to pop by for a little bit and enjoy the fruits of our labor.
[...]
Though, perhaps we shouldn't stay all night. Get our fill and then return to our quarters and enjoy the calm before the storm to come.
[Her look flicks to Yeager, briefly, but she doesn't disparage him; she can sense the discomfort at least. Maybe they can get away with going back to their room to sleep so he doesn't have to worry.]
At the very least, we're in need of a little alcohol after today...
He sighs, keeping Viktor in his arms for a moment as he starts maneuvering his cane to the side of the bed, the parts to the far end or off the bed entirely, all with the efforts of his thoughts. It comes with an ease that he couldn't have imagined trying when they first arrived here, and without the incredible headache besides.]
If we stay here any longer, we really need to get you some better space for your work, Viktor. [Once he has enough space to work with, he'll guide Viktor to brace against him as Vakama lowers him down out of his arms and onto the bed.]
[Oh, that's a good point, isn't it? Sleeping around others is something that Raven has gotten used to, but he's more than happy to accommodate Yeager.]
Good plan. Our bed's way comfier than the floor, anyway.
[Special thanks to Dorothy for bringing it back to the base!!]
If Fukuda didn't think ta bring any booze, I've got some back in the room ta pick from.
[His next inhalation seems just a bit sharper, a bit more pronounced. In the end, the worst wounds are always the ones you can't see...]
Sayin' it wasn't their fault isn't gonna do much to make 'em feel better about it, even if that's the truth. The only part that's gonna matter to them is the fact that they hurt someone else.
Maybe so. But I do not think our healers find it particularly helpful if we choose to treat things too lightly, no matter what we believe we can handle.
Besides. Given the fight we just had, even with your experience... that was still an enormous amount of strain you were put under. It will put a lot of us at ease if we know you are taking care of yourself, Oscar.
[It's chiding, yes, but he won't push it much farther than that. Instead, he sighs, a clap of that hand against his shoulder before nodding off away from the base, towards the river.]
If you have the energy, would you come with me a moment?
Someone must have created and programmed him originally. But considering everything, it need not have been the doctor. Maybe it was a version of him in some other world.
[Whoever he is, their foe is totally unfamiliar to the Sonic team and has proven capable of interdimensional travel already. The realm of possibilities is broad indeed.
What's certain is that while Viktor may have always related to Dr. Robotnik, Turo has always related more to his mechanical creations, especially the copies he's so fond of making. What separates him from something like Mecha Sonic, or a Shadow android? Luck? What separates him now from their final foe?]
[ The more that they hear their own logical assertions, they more they realize they can barely grasp them. Yes, if they stayed quiet, they might have gone mad. ]
...You're right, I wouldn't have.
[ Their words are sound, even if they feel brittle. ]
Hah...you were the first to say such words. I remember, being surprised, hearing you say that. Even if it would have served you to not even say a single word.
It's a wonder you can still think like that, seeing what happened. [ ... ] I wasn't the only one affected, and yet, you do know a bit of my history. Therefore, I suppose in the end, I wouldn't have been surprised if that changed.
Would you say the same thing, if...
[ They trail off, closing their mouth. What they were about to ask would have invalidated their own words. They had said they won't allow it to happen again, after all. ]
I'd say none of what occurred was anywhere near your fault.
How could you have known?
[ They are logical enough to reach this conclusion easier and swiftly without doubt. There is no way they could have accounted for it; neither can they. Therefore, they could not dare to assign blame. ]
As for our enemy, I can imagine a variety of differing reasons as to why he could be doing this. Such beings made by creators oftentimes have their own motive to rebel or go rogue. But, whatever that is, is an unknown. I suppose we shall have to find out.
Try not to take it too hard. After all, we all made it out alive.
And we certainly can find our way to face him down one more - then defeat him, properly. You do agree that is a possibility, yes?
[ Young ones...certainly need a bit of reassurance. But, this is helpful all around too. ]
[He shakes his head, pulling over one of the desk chairs with his powers and dropping himself down into it a little heavier than normal.]
You know I do not think of you as a burden, Viktor. There is nothing to apologize for.
And if you mean what happened during the fight... [He trails off for a moment, eyes flicking to the floor, before he shakes his head a second time.] I am in no position to argue.
I did not want to see you repeat something that would weight on your heart. Whatever I had to take to make sure that happened... it is worth it, in my eyes, if it made sure you stayed free.
It is...a matter of chasing perfection. In concept, an ideal world requires the removal of all that could be percieved as faults and flaws. But eexpanding the definition of those words then inevitably includes 'everything that causes conflict and suffering', up to and including things like emotion and free will.
On one hand, some driven that far into madness would see it a necessary loss for the sake of their vision of perfection. But...with that gone, there is nothing left. A silent world of nothing but solitude.
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