After eight long, difficult weeks of fighting, you've finally done it. You've put an end to Neo Metal Sonic's dreams of conquest and with it, you've saved not only this world, but all worlds. Perhaps not everything is wrapped up as neatly as some of you would like, but you've done what you set out to do, and now you can breathe a sigh of relief.
In the hours that follow the immediate aftermath of Neo Metal Sonic's defeat, Tails sets about figuring out how to control the Egg Fleet and recall them to where Neo Metal Sonic had them stationed. Sonic heads out into the city - and then even further beyond - to ensure that the people are starting to regain their senses without anyone to suppress their free will anymore. Knuckles escorts you back to the base, then takes a ring to hop into the Void to let Shadow and Infinite know what's going on.
As for you all? You aren't expected to do any work, because you've done so much today. Take a load off and take the time to rest - you deserve it.
For those of you who can't wait to get home, you're welcome to grab a ring from one of your colorful friends and head straight back, but for those of you willing to take the night off and regroup in the morning, you'll find that said colorful friends have put together a party for you - or, well, they tried their best. The decorations are store-bought (or not) and simple, Sonic seems to have thought confetti is the best way to throw a party and there is so much of it getting showered on all of you the moment you walk into the room, and someone obtained a sheet cake that did not have any sort of message on it, so an awkwardly scrawled message of "THANKS FOR HELP" is written in bright green icing that clashes with the cake's soft pink and red color scheme. An attempt was made.
You're welcome to hang out here - both in the new base and in this world as a whole - for as long as you'd like. Permanently, even, if you don't have any intention of going home. After all, you've more than earned it. Sonic and friends will gladly help you figure out a way to get settled here.
If you do choose to stay for any length of time and head out into the city, you'll find that people are indeed starting to return to their daily lives. They don't really understand - or remember - what happened, but they do recognize you as someone they have some innate fondness for, regardless of how startling your appearance may be to them. The city itself has seen better days thanks to the spread of Eggman's chroma, but thankfully the natural elements are recovering from that just fine. The buildings, streets, and the like will not naturally recover, so it seems Chicago's going to require some pretty intensive rebuilding...
But for the time being, everything is going smoothly, and you've done everything that was asked of you. You're free to return home. If you do, your shard may eventually come loose and simply fall off, ridding you of both the shard and its powers. Or maybe it won't, and you'll have that memory of your time in this world forever, along with the power innate to you and the ones you can activate from your fellow shardbearers whenever you're near each other.
Congratulations, shardbearers. You've done the impossible, and maybe even formed some new bonds along the way.
( Welcome to the final log of Shardbond! With this, you have successfully navigated your way through the Sonic friendship game and no one died! Hooray!!! For this final log, you may do whatever you'd like - if you want to use this to do an immediate aftermath top level, go for it! Party top level? Sure? Post-game top level? Have fun! You want to bring a castmate in and NPC them or have someone else play them? Also cool! Generally speaking, you are now free to do what you will with the setting as a whole - your fuzzy little friends will be hard at work making sure that you all are able to get home and/or get settled just fine, and they'll also be keeping an eye out for one (1) Neo Metal Sonic. And also Infinite, I guess, unless someone wants to take that stray jackal with them but like, no one needs that. )
[ Void Archives will try to track Vakama down before leaving. It's more or less an imperative to them.
Though, the blond after some indeterminate time with their adventures with Jasper (we can leave the amount of months vague, but it was probably more than seven), will try to visit.
No one who got to know the blond well will be able to escape!! ]
[ Void Archives has been mostly not exactly floating around to everyone at the party per say...the reason for that being with everything coming to a close, they're not going to see much point in bothering those they didn't know very well. Or got along well with - they will be prioritizing who to speak with.
And More is one of those people, the blond catching the glance, and they do get excited about what he has to offer. ]
I certainly do.
[ But at the same time, they also raise an old-timey camera they got (one of those insta-print picture ones.) ]
In return, you will receive something from me as well. That sounds like quite the nice exchange, hm~?
[ They're going to be sad...not seeing him again for awhile, probably, and hopefully their actions in the last half of that battle didn't exactly...ruined their close friendship but they are just going to act like it didn't. It's fine. ]
[ Well, it looks like the time for a conclusion is upon everyone. Void Archives will unsurprisingly be hanging on the afterparty after judging the skills in the cake, but being tactful enough to keep their mouth shut. Or maybe it is because they haven't found anyone to talk about it just yet. They probably have a drink on hand, but whatever the case, they are a little more on the quieter side. It's all coming to an end...and, well, they are well aware of what they pulled at the final hour - plus, everyone will be departing.
They don't want to admit that they're going to be disappointed not to see some faces regularly, but at the same time...they imagine they won't be able to deny it. For anyone who dares to approach, Void Archives will have some words: ]
Well, well...it looks like this is going to be the last party we all experience together, hm? Do you have some important words to convey for the Void Archives?
Don't let yourself be saddled with regret on what you didn't say or didn't do, after all~
ii. towards the future (one prompt);
[ Void Archives will be departing at some point, though it's not immediate, because they're not going alone. For those who wish to catch them before they head off with Jasper, and all that jazz, this prompt is for you - their time in city, that is. They can be caught just about anywhere, from the aquarium, to sitting atop a city building at night, no matter how many weird looks they might get. ]
iii. wildcard(multiple potential prompts);
[ There's also the potential prospect of other wildcard shenanigans, but it is entirely up to you for that. They will also at various points be willing to visit people in other worlds - particularly those who make the shortlist of their close friends, because they are more sentimental than they like to appear. ]
[Turo stays for the party, of course. He hasn't really got anywhere else he needs to be; More is here, so there's no rush. They'll doubtless have to work out where they want to start first. For now, though, he seems content to hold up a wall and watch everybody else eat. It's...sort of a lonely feeling. Soon, it's just going to be the two of them. As happy as he is to have More's companionship, it'll be strange for their large group to suddenly be cut down to just a pair. Will they all ever get together again?
If anyone seems interested in talking, he'll ask:]
What do you think you're going to do next?
[The next day is largely spent out in the city. He's never really gone anywhere properly populated before! The mindless Chicagoans hadn't quite seemed to count, but now the city feels really alive. Alive, and also inexplicably fond of him?
He sits a while at an outdoor cafe, ignoring the menu in favor of people-watching. It's rude, he knows, and maybe he'll order something to-go and give it to More later. But these are the sorts of places he best liked watching on the security feeds, back in the crater. He's here now, just like an ordinary person. Even if he can't actually enjoy a coffee or a sandwich...he leans back with a smile, watching both people pass and the fluttering of a passel of nearby pigeons with equal fond interest.
Back at the base, he doesn't really have any personal possessions to pack. He hangs around to watch other people pack instead.]
[Maybe it's a robot thing, but Turo's also sort of enchanted by the idea of hanging out on roofs at night! He'd do it during the day too, but people don't seem to love it? He thinks this may be the lack of flying-type Pokemon around; they aren't used to people being up that high.
He'll sit next to them, leaning forward to watch the streets.]
...when I was still trapped in the crater, I used to watch public-facing security cameras. I'm used to seeing people from above like this.
[For his part, Turo seems to be taking his departure pretty slowly. He hasn't started packing, even if he never collected that many belongings while here anyway; he is just kinda chilling.]
[Of course, Turo will approach Neo sooner rather than later. There's no sense leaving him hanging. It's...nice? That he's getting to hang around for the party? He guesses???]
I'm available to start working on your programming whenever you like. Tails has the proper equipment here, and I think I will be staying in Chicago for a little while longer, at least.
[They don't really have any travel plans yet, after all.]
[He doesn't eat, so there's little reason for his path to cross Tails' while the little fox is handing out food and drink. He'll just have to approach on his own, then, during a quiet moment.]
[He's at least not too hard to track down! His room's already been cleaned up with the only things still present being his weapon resting against the empty bed, a small folded stack of notes tightly bound in twine, and a cloth bag to hold the masks and tools he had come to Chicago with.
Vakama himself is in whatever they've made into their entertainment room, rearranging part of the bookshelf to slip his own notebooks into line.]
[They step out from the ring. Wow, this scene looks weirdly familiar!
The beach stretches for what seems like forever. The sun rises high in the sky with the sound of strange seabirds and wildlife.
To their right is a staircase with shallow steps, clearly meant for much smaller legs, that lead up a steep rocky incline to a strange machine. Void Archive will recognize the telescope.
To their left, far in the distance, the sand tapers into dark stretches of volcanic rock, the smell of ash and smoke faint in the air.
Directly in front of them is lush jungle, untamed.
There are no signs, no docks, no boats. Were there not crude paths shaped into the ground of the underbrush, one might think this entire island still deserted.]
[Lucifer is practically beaming when he catches sight of Viktor with a man he's never seen before. One glance at the two of them tells Lucifer everything he needs to know about the stranger.]
You did not tell me you had such a handsome significant other.
[Why didn't you tell the nosy devil about your partner, Viktor??]
[ wolfwood, unsurprisingly, will want to rather quickly upon all the dust settling and where it’s comfortable for people to be parting ways (if they are). because, despite everything, wolfwood needs to return home as there is something very important that he needs to do—something that he was in the middle of. though, he will be polite enough to stay long enough to either to personally hand out or leave the small animal carvings that he made earlier in the week in one of the centralized areas of the base.
of course, to make sure that there is no confusion as to what animal goes to which person, he’ll have carved the name of the person each animal was intended for. example: tails, sonic, knuckles, shadow (yes, even him), and infinite (sorry redd)—all get a small wooden animal to match what they are. …just with a few of the details better to match them. a black and red hedgehog for shadow, a fox with two tails for tails… (a silver cat for infinite because that made more sense to wolfwood).
feel free to catch in the act of his Great Escape or as he handing out (or leaving behind) the animal carvings. ]
wildcard-ish & light/vague spoilers in links ( aka this exists bc i cannot write vash but still enjoy your epilogue for him )
[ while there’s no chance in hell that wolfwood would ever allow anyone to stay any amount of time in his home, for anyone who wants to sneak a peek (via ring) and see what he has been up to after he’s gone and left, they’ll find him attached to a certain man in a long red coat with spikey hair. feel free to realize that it’ll be the same man who haunted wolfwood during the less than stellar times.
regardless of how much time has passed from when wolfwood bid his farewell and checking up on him, he’ll always be seen with the man in the red coat. whether it’ll be in the literal sense (the man in the red coat holding onto wolfwood) or in the figurative sense (the two of them riding together on a motorcycle), they’ll be attached to the hip and enjoying each other’s company.
and it'll be the happiest and most relaxed wolfwood has ever seen.
now, for the people who want to check up on him soon after parting ways, then they’ll run into a bit of a situation. should anyone be compelled to call out to him (and/or disturb the moment), they are more than welcomed to try it. however, his attention will solely be on the person next to him. if it’s intentional or not who’s to say, but don’t worry, the person next to him has better manners. he’ll have the decency to wave at anyone who tries to get wolfwood’s attention with an open and friendly smile on his face before apologetically shoving them away from the ring’s entrance with feathers(?).
sorry, you may not bother them while they are on their “honeymoon”. ...but is it really a “honeymoon” if it goes on for years? :thinks: ]
We have always been more focused on our work than defining the nature of the term 'partner' in any detail. Then there was the near end of the world complicating matters.
But, well. Little point in lingering on a decade of missed opportunity.
I'll be staying and helping Fukuda keep an eye on him.
[In much lighter spirits than usual, Viktor shrugged and tilted his head in the direction of the killer robot hedgehog.]
I can't thank you enough. There is no way I would be able to understand his programming well enough to influence his directive, not on short notice like this.
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