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. )
[Yes, Turo gets the implication! Pretty good, for him; implication has never been his strong suit.]
That does sound nice, doesn't it? There do still seem to be plenty of them - I'll make sure to gather some too. We'll probably come back here between trips.
That's a shame, that would have been useful. Is there some magic to it? [He doesn't see why it would be necessary - Pokemon clearly doesn't have laws of aviation - but he knows that's the sort of thing that's been cut off for others.]
It's because I'm a celestial. There's more to my abilities, but none of them are things I have access to here. It's quite strange, and I don't have an explanation for it.
It still must have been disconcerting. I would have been put off if I couldn't...I don't know, connect wirelessly to things anymore.
[Or something like that? He doesn't really have powers, but there are certainly elements of his biology (technology?) that allow him to do things a human couldn't. It would be weird to lose those.]
It is... disquieting. Though given how many of us are not human, I suppose it wasn't an unusual situation, among our group.
[He stretches his hand out, staring at it.]
There are other things, too. The lack of my gift, and the lack of my devilface. Though given our opponents, the fear of Hell might not have been all that useful.
What else would you call it? Can a human really create something like that, through technology?
[If he had a soul, it would have been created by some...what? Function of his sapience? Whatever it is, it was a result of the Professor's actions - everything about him was.]
What is a soul at all, if there are sapient species without them?
[He's not totally sure he sees the difference. If it's emergent - well, Turo's still the man who programmed something capable of developing an emergent soul, isn't he?]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
party
[But he grins.]
I'll be taking quit a large quantity of rings home with me, however. There are quite a few people I wish to stay in contact with.
[He's not quite touchy-feely enough to come right out and say one of them is Turo, but he's already indicated as much so he doesn't need to.]
no subject
That does sound nice, doesn't it? There do still seem to be plenty of them - I'll make sure to gather some too. We'll probably come back here between trips.
no subject
[Because he wants to keep in contact with his friends, without a doubt.]
no subject
[He hadn't really known if that was just a normal phenomenon around here? It seems a little...wild...to be a thing that just happens.]
no subject
It would be much easier if I could use my wings, but I suppose I won't complain about exercise.
no subject
no subject
[And he just. Pops them out.]
Unfortunately, I cannot fly with them in this world.
no subject
[SHIT HE SURE DOES]
That's a shame, that would have been useful. Is there some magic to it? [He doesn't see why it would be necessary - Pokemon clearly doesn't have laws of aviation - but he knows that's the sort of thing that's been cut off for others.]
no subject
[He shakes his head.]
It's because I'm a celestial. There's more to my abilities, but none of them are things I have access to here. It's quite strange, and I don't have an explanation for it.
We did fine without my gift, I suppose.
[Though he still wants to complain about it.]
no subject
[Or something like that? He doesn't really have powers, but there are certainly elements of his biology (technology?) that allow him to do things a human couldn't. It would be weird to lose those.]
no subject
[He stretches his hand out, staring at it.]
There are other things, too. The lack of my gift, and the lack of my devilface. Though given our opponents, the fear of Hell might not have been all that useful.
no subject
[He says like that's a normal thing to say and not some kind of self-deprecation bomb]
no subject
...I can say with complete assurance that you have a soul.
[He's quite serious.]
no subject
I don't think something like that could just be generated programmatically.
no subject
[He repeats it with a sigh.]
I could not tell you how souls come about, only that they exist.
Demons do not have souls.
[This clearly isn't a judgement thing; he's just stating a fact. His best friend is a demon, and he cares for her deeply.]
As a result, they cannot change. They also cannot feel emotion. You can. As can the other inorganic life we've met.
no subject
[If he had a soul, it would have been created by some...what? Function of his sapience? Whatever it is, it was a result of the Professor's actions - everything about him was.]
What is a soul at all, if there are sapient species without them?
no subject
[And they can gain souls, though Lucifer doesn't know that at his canonpoint.]
You have the capacity to change.
no subject
no subject
no subject
[At least, it is for humans and Pokemon. Animals are presumably similar.]
But do you really believe a human is capable of creating an artificial soul?
no subject
Your soul has nothing to do with your creator, no more than a human soul has to do with my father.
no subject
[He's not totally sure he sees the difference. If it's emergent - well, Turo's still the man who programmed something capable of developing an emergent soul, isn't he?]
no subject
[...but...]
I don't think it matters, where your soul came from. It's yours, and yours alone.
no subject
...thank you. It's...certainly interesting to know that I do have one, regardless of how it came about.