what goes up must come down

[shardmods]

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.

NAVIGATION

Comments

[sacrificialpawn]

[Oscar is considerably the worse for wear when he emerges from the ring, as is par for the course after these little events. There's nothing even remotely unusual about that.

However, where he'd normally be quite vocal about shrugging it off and insisting that he's fine, today he's just... silent, his expression unreadable. Rather than wait around for healing (because he knows Wolfwood is going to be overworked enough as it is), he instead opts to head outside for a smoke and an attempt to clear his head, to try to claw his thoughts back from paths they keep trying to stray down.

He doesn't actually light the cigarette, though. For some reason, he seems more focused on staring at the lighter in his hand as he just flicks it on and off, something distant in those green eyes.

You're probably going to have to speak up if you want to get his attention.]

[saltofthesea]

[ Lark has noticed Oscar is taking all this differently than usual, so after a moment he follows him outside.

...It feels so strange to see Oscar this pensive after 7 weeks of being his roommate. ]

Big Bro?

[sacrificialpawn]

[That familiar voice is enough to jerk him right back to reality. And, just like that, there's a smile on his face as he turns to Lark as if nothing at all had happened.]

There you are. How you doin'? Did Wolfwood fix you up?

[saltofthesea]

I should be asking you that.

[ Like, despite everything Lark feels that he somehow got off relatively okay. In part because of the bug bros tanking for him, granted. ]

[sacrificialpawn]

[Lark, by now you should know that he ALWAYS ends these things covered in blood and 98% of it is his own...]

I'm still standing, aren't I? Coulda been a lot worse.

[... if Basilio hadn't jumped in front of him like that, but he is decidedly NOT thinking about that event in particular right now.]

[saltofthesea]

Mostly 'cause Bas took hits for both of us.

[ It's not like Lark can read minds; he's just stating facts. ]

[sacrificialpawn]

[Oscar's next inhalation catches sharply, almost audibly, and for a moment there's something pained in his eyes.]

I have no idea what that idiot thought he was doin.' I could've taken that hit just fine...

hello :)

[crosswired]

[To see Oscar emerging from one of these massive fights torn to pieces is, in fact, not a surprise. But that he stands so removed, so distant, still peppered with wounds... had he not bothered to speak to someone to be cared for? He took such a beating during that confrontation...

Vakama is careful as he approaches, a hand against Oscar's shoulder as he looks down at him with a worried expression.]

Oscar.

[His expression drifts, a complicated exhaustion, as he looks the young man over with a brief scan of his eyes.]

Even I know you should not be standing out here so with these sorts of injuries.

What is troubling you?

reaches for...

[sacrificialpawn]

[After their conversation the other day, it's not entirely unexpected to hear Vakama addressing him. The gentle hand on his shoulder is a surprise, however, and for the briefest moment his expression flickers between something like shock and guilt before settling itself into a small, quiet smile.

The exhaustion in his eyes doesn't seem to be solely the result of the battle itself.]

There're a lot of people who took worse hits than me. I'm used to this kinda thing, so it's best to let them get patched up first. I don't mind waitin' for a little while.

[Flick, flick. The lighter makes a slight metallic sound each time he lights it, then lets it go back out.]

[crosswired]

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?

[sacrificialpawn]

[His eyes flit in the direction Vakama indicates, one brow arching just slightly. While he's not sure just what the other has in mind, he trusts his judgment, and so it's without any hesitation to speak of that he nods in assent.]

Yeah, sure.

[As for the other part... he purses his lips as if contemplating a response to them. It's certainly not the first time he's heard that exact sentiment expressed, nor will it be the last, yet the strange, uneasy feeling that surfaces in the pit of his stomach at those kind of words never seems to go away.]

To be honest, though, I'm more concerned about some of the others-- the ones who got their heads messed with...

[crosswired]

[Time to go walk to the river, let's go boy.]

Those with shards of green and white, correct? [Says the diamond-shard robot, but y'know. He's dancing around talking about that for the moment.]

I could see that. I trust some will be resilient enough on their own to sort through their feelings, but... it's still a shaking experience for many different reasons. [He thinks of Void Archive's haunted coldness for the rest of the fight, of Viktor's scrambled pleas as he fought it.]

Those that need to talk will find the ways to talk. All we can do is lend an ear and let them know we are here for them.

[sacrificialpawn]

Yeah.

[And oh, is he ever glad that topaz and sapphire weren't affected, because the thought of a mind-controlled him or Basilio running rampant is a frankly terrifying one. They're the party tanks for a reason, and it's not just because they can soak damage like no one's business.]

An' somehow I don't think that's the kind of thing that just throwin' another party is gonna be able to fix. [Not to mention the fact that after that, he really doesn't have it in him himself to set something like that up again...]

... well, that's what Big Bro is here for. If they wanna talk, I'll be there to listen.

[He smiles, but it definitely doesn't reach his eyes...]

[morningstud]

Oscar?

[They haven't spoken much at all, but sometimes people bond over the most reckless of things. And having someone throw themselves into harm's way to protect him is one of those things. This isn't about owing a favor, either.]

You took quite a blow.

[sacrificialpawn]

[At that, the shadow of a smile flickers onto his face, and he gives a slight shrug. He still isn't quite used to people wanting to thank him for that sort of thing, yet at the same time he doesn't hate it, either.]

I've had worse. Happens when you're a soldier.

[The jagged scar on the side of his face is testament to the truth of that statement, at least.]

You okay after all that?

[morningstud]

I'll manage, I'm sure.

[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.]

[sacrificialpawn]

[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.

[This is one thing he knows painfully well.]

[morningstud]

Indeed. They're still the ones who did it. Even if they had no choice in the matter.

[That is a horror that Lucifer can't even begin to imagine.]

[sacrificialpawn]

Yeah.

[...]

We should keep an eye on 'em, make sure they're doin' okay. I dunno if I have it in me to throw another party like that, but... maybe somethin' similar. Just to get their minds off things.

[ungratefuloz]

[Dorothy's gone and changed back into her casual outfit by the time she goes and looks for everyone she can--she's not expecting to find Oscar out here, admittedly, considering the injuries he took, but...

Well. She can't offer physical healing, but she does have wine and a couple of glasses with her.]

Could I interest you in a vice to share, after today?

[She offers an empty glass to Oscar, if he wants.]

[sacrificialpawn]

[For all of the blood that's on his clothes, Oscar at least seems to be doing well enough on the physical side of things. Whether that's due to adrenaline or simply being used to taking that sort of damage is anyone's guess, though, but he at least doesn't look to be on the verge of collapse or anything similar.

... she probably understands that much well enough in her own way.]

You can interest me in that particular vice any day.

[He'll take the glass with a quiet, tired smile.]

[ungratefuloz]

Glad to hear it, Oscar. Please, allow me.

[Here, she'll get him nice and filled up and just kind of lean on the wall beside him. Company's better for these kind of things, after all.

She'll talk while she fills up her own glass, though.]

How are you holding up, after everything that happened?

[sacrificialpawn]

I'm still standin', so I'd say that counts for somethin.' It coulda been a whole lot worse than it was.

[It's a deflection, but a reasonable enough one that he hopes it will come across as genuine.]

That was pretty hard on all of us, even the ones who weren't takin' all of the big hits.

[ungratefuloz]

It certainly could have, but you do always have a habit of taking quite a bit of punishment during these...

[It isn't annoyed when Dorothy says that much, though. She's gotten somewhat used to it, and she nods her head in agreement as she fills her own glass.]

Indeed. It seems this 'Neo' individual wanted us all to suffer--and he did so quite effectively, unfortunately. Everyone looks so utterly ashen, and yet I cannot blame a single one of them. This was...quite the harsh battle, though we're all alive, thankfully.

...I'm simply hoping we'll be prepared for what comes next week.

[sacrificialpawn]

[That, at least, earns an amused laugh as Oscar takes a sip.]

Wouldn't be much of a soldier if I was lettin' someone else take all the hits for me. Might as well do what I'm good at, right?

[His expression grows a bit more somber as he looks down into his glass, however.]

... to put it bluntly, the worst damage he did wasn't the kind that ends with you bleedin' everywhere. That worries me a lot more than him beatin' people up, 'cause you can't just slap a heal spell on that kinda thing and call it fixed.