The day finally came where all of the newcomers would depart. Soldiers cheered while the ferry stopped by and opened up.
Among them was Demi, who once again wore his cloak and mask, trying not to stand out too much. ...she's not here... he thought in slight disdain.
"…what's the matter, Demi?" Crystal suddenly asked, looking at him curiously.
"...nothing." he replied. "I was just thinking about things."
"…thinkin' about what?" Crystal asked, setting her hands on her hips. "No secrets now, Demi…"
"...I was just thinking about what to do from here." Demi said, as he glanced at Crystal.
"Oh?" Crystal grew curious.
Demi nodded. "...I suppose I should try and come to an agreement with the one within me..." he said, "If I could do that... I could grow strong enough to protect those close to me."
"...guess that's wise," Crystal said…then suddenly, someone put their hand on Demi's shoulder. When Crystal saw, she raised her eyebrow at the one who set their hand on Demi's shoulder. "Who're you?"
"…a friend…"
Hearing that voice, Demi glanced behind him.
Oblivion stood there, looking at him. "…I…came to see you off," she said.
Demi blinked; though you couldn't really see it underneath his mask. "...really?"
Oblivion smiled a little bit, blushing. "…yeah…"
Demi actually smiled and blushed as well; though again, the mask concealed that. "...thanks." he said with a nod to her.
Crystal snickered. "Oh, I see…it's THAT kind of friend."
Oblivion turned even redder at that.
Demi turned just as red. "Guh..."
"Don't worry, I won't say nuthin'," Crystal chuckled, "but I gotta say Demi…you've got game to get a girl like her." And Demi turned so red that one could practically see it through his mask at this point. Crystal laughed, and Dax chuckled a little bit. Oblivion blushed even more, but she couldn't help but giggle, herself. Eventually, not even Demi could keep himself from chuckling just a little bit, as he scratched his cheek a bit.
Meanwhile, Cyrene stroked Flamenco's chin with her tail. "I'll only leave for a while, but I'll return…" she chuckled. "Better not flirt with any other girls while I'm gone…"
"Si, you have the word of this toucan's beak…" Flamenco answered.
"And don't worry; I'll keep an eye on 'im, so he doesn't step outta line!" Lin called with a hearty laugh from where she stood.
Cyrene chuckled again, walking away from Flamenco toward the ferry.
When she got aboard, Flamenco sighed. "…I need a break from women…"
Lin gasped a bit. "...d-does that include me?"
Flamenco laughed, "That's not what I meant, Lin."
Lin blinked a bit. "...oh. Okay, then." she chuckled sheepishly.
Not too far from there, Nage was conversing with Ani. "Alright... this is where we part." Nage hummed, as she stretched her hand out to Ani. "Thinking of that prank with ya... that was some of the funniest stuff I've done in a while."
"Oh yeah, definitely!" Ani laughed.
"I'll see if I can come and visit some day! Then we can think of an even BIGGER prank!" Nage laughed.
"I'll hold you to that!" Ani said, smirking.
With a grin, Nage began walking off to the ferry. "I'll see you around, then!" she called.
"See ya!" Ani called with a wave.
Meanwhile, back with Crystal, Dax, Demi and Oblivion, King suddenly approached them; or, to be more specific, he approached Crystal. "...well, I've taught ya all I can. I hope you use those skills well, Crystal!" he said with a nod to her.
"Thanks for the training, King!" She chuckled, raising her fist. "Lightning Bro fist?" and her fist crackled with purple electricity.
Seeing that, King's eyes widened briefly, before he grinned. "I didn't teach you that! You're a quick learner!" And as his own fist crackled with blue electricity, he raised it with intent of giving her that bro-fist.
Sparks crackled when the fists bumped, and Crystal laughed. "Better watch out King! Sometime later in the future I just might come back for a challenge!"
"Well, I'll be waiting! And I'll make sure to throw moves you won't see coming!" King laughed.
Demi chuckled a bit at their enthusiasm.
Finally, all of the soldiers started to get on the ferry now, but when Crystal and Dax headed toward it, Dax hesitated. "…you coming, Demi?" he called back, looking at him and Oblivion.
Demi blinked at that, as he looked from them to Oblivion. "...um..."
Oblivion looked back at Demi silently…eventually she took his hand and held it. "…I'll…see you in the future…" she murmured.
Demi looked at Oblivion, before he nodded. "...that's... a promise." he hummed, as he held her hand as well.
Oblivion nodded…then in a sneaky way, she pulled away the mask and kissed him; in a way that no one else could really see the kiss behind the mask.
Course, that didn't change the fact that anyone could just assume what was going on... Crystal grinned. "Woohoo! Go Demi!"
Demi instantly blushed, but he couldn't resist kissing her back, even for just a bit.
Oblivion finally pulled away, putting the mask back on him and clearing her throat in embarrassment, blushing.
Demi did the same, but he still managed a small smile. "...I'll... see you later, then..." And he began walking towards the ferry, though his gaze remained on Oblivion.
"…yeah…" Oblivion responded, watching him climb aboard the ferry.
Now, with everyone aboard the ferry, it slowly began pulling away from the harbor; sailing off. Even so, Demi kept walking along the railing; just so he could look towards Oblivion before she was out of sight.
Oblivion pushed her way past the soldiers to the edge of the docks, keeping her eyes fixed on Demi for as long as possible.
The same went for Demi, as the two kept looking towards each other, until the ferry had gone so far off into the horizon that Oblivion could only see it as a dot.
Even to the point where the soldiers started leaving, Oblivion still stood there on the docks, watching the ferry float away.
Soon, she was the only one standing on the docks, and the ferry had long since vanished over the horizon...
"...what a sight."
Oblivion gave a startled yelp with a jump and spun around.
There, she saw Spiel standing with his arms folded and a smirk across his lips. "...wouldn't have thought that you'd fall in love, Oblivion; never took you for that type." he chuckled.
Standing next to Spiel was Krieg, who had his arms folded as well.
"…uh…well, I…um…" She looked away from him in more embarrassment.
"Oh, you don't need to be shy; there's no need to hide it from me." Spiel chuckled. "...but to think that he didn't stay... could it be that you're gonna take Charon and fly out after him, hm?"
Oblivion swallowed, looking back at him. "…I…don't…I didn't think about that…"
"...oh, is that right?" Spiel hummed. "Then this is that whole 'star-crossed lovers' thing I've heard a bit about." Chuckling, Spiel shook his head. "Well, I won't tell anyone about it, so you don't need to worry about that. And Krieg here's gonna keep quiet about it, too."
Krieg nodded at that.
Oblivion looked slowly at the warthog. "…Krieg…?"
"One of the newcomers." Spiel chuckled. "Now he's staying as my subordinate."
"...he helped me out." Krieg nodded. "I owe him a lot."
"…nice to meet you…" Oblivion greeted, to be polite.
"...likewise." Krieg nodded.
"...well, let's head off." Spiel chuckled. "I figure that Charon's running low on food again, so we should get the usual for him, right?"
Oblivion nodded. "…right…"
"So, did you get the video?" Raider asked, folding his arms.
"Just about." Hex chuckled. "It was hidden in Sonia's house, and with her being out for the day..." With another chuckle, Hex held up the tape that Raider so desired; being snared in one of her tentacles.
Raider grunted…and he took the tape. "…I'm holding a grudge against you for what you did…" he grumbled.
Hex chuckled. "Oh, don't act like you didn't enjoy it." she said with a smirk. "...I just hope that I can get more of that stuff in some time during the new year; that way, I could have so much more fun with so many more people..."
"You drugged me; it doesn't count," he grumbled, snapping the tape in half with his bare hands. "There."
"Well, you got what you wanted; and I did so as well." Hex chuckled, as she prodded Raider's gut with a tentacle. "...but you know... you were really adorable when you were submissive." she mused.
"And you were sick. Still are…" Raider turned with a huff to leave.
"...maybe you could swing by one of these days, if you need to cool off?" Hex chuckled.
"In your dreams…" Raider scoffed, before he left.
"...oh, they'll be good dreams." Hex chuckled, as she slithered off.
"Happy Birthday to you! Happy Birthday to you! Happy Birthday dear Joy! Happy Birthday to you!"
With a cheer all around her, Joy took a deep breath and blew out. All the candles flickered out, and when Joy stopped blowing, there was more cheer around her. She giggled with excitement.
"Man, she's really growing up!" Sonia laughed. "3 years, already!"
"I know, right?" Ani laughed.
Jill smiled cutting up the cake so that everyone else could have a piece. Joy was the first one to receive her piece of cake and she took a bite out of it immediately. "Yummy!" Joy exclaimed.
"Kekeke; hope you like it!" Ripper said with a chuckle, as he got his own slice.
"It certainly looks delicious." Miser said with a smile, as she got a slice as well.
"...hm." Chuckling, Queen allowed the others around the table to take slices of their own.
"…three years old already…in some ways I just can't really believe it," Hunter remarked, taking a slice of his own.
"The years just fly by," Ani added when she got a slice. "…that means it's been almost four or five years since I saw the boys last! That's a long time!" Then Ani stopped. "…uh, I mean…" She looked at Jill. "I didn't mean to…"
Jill smiled a little and shook her hand at Ani, telling her that she wasn't offended.
"...well, maybe one of these days..." Sage hummed, before she glanced at Jill. "...well... if you feel ready... maybe we could pay them a short visit?"
Jill half smiled a little…nodded lightly. She wasn't ready now…but someday…
Joy looked curiously at all of them. "Who're ya talkin' 'bout?"
"Oh, nobody Joy," Hunter said. "You'll get to meet them someday too…"
"...but for now, let's eat." King said with a chuckle. "This cake's making me hungry just looking at it!"
"You won't get full from just eating cake." Queen remarked with a slight smile, before she finally took a slice. "You'll just end up with a stomach-ache."
"This is GOOD!" Ani said with a smirk after a bite.
"Kekekeke! Really good!" Ripper added with a laugh.
"It's heavenly!" Miser said with a wide smile. "I need this recipe for later!"
"Yeah, who made this cake?" Hunter asked.
"Jill did it." Sage shot in, as she took a bite of the cake; still smiling brightly. "All on her own, to boot."
Wide eyes went to Jill. "Really?" Ani said, still with her big smirk.
Jill blushed a bit, while eating her cake.
"I suppose working in a malt shop has its own rewards," Hunter chuckled.
"You can say that again." Queen nodded.
"Alright; I call dibs on the next slice!" King laughed, as he had already finished his slice.
"King, you ought to wait for the others to finish as well!" Sonia said with a slight laugh.
"Yeah, and you might get a stomach ache like Queen said," Hunter added.
"Ache-smache! I'm having another one too!" Ani laughed.
Queen simply chuckled. "...no changing your minds, huh..." she mused in a bemused tone.
"Nope!"
Jill would've chuckled if she could…and after she finished her own slice, she couldn't help but get lost in thought again… Joy was three years old now…that meant that it had been almost five years since those events long ago…five years that she had lost her voice…five years when she last saw…
…Metal.
She looked over at Joy, smiling when she saw bits of cake on the little ewe's cheeks while she still ate her first slice slowly in appreciation. Jill never thought she'd be here like this after so many years later…
…if it got her here in a matter of five years…just what could the future have in store for her?
"...are you gonna have another slice, Jill?" Sonia inquired, as she looked at Jill with a smile.
Jill shook her head in reply. One slice was good enough for her.
As night began creeping up along the horizon one evening, most people would head off to sleep at this moment in time. Not only the soldiers of Safe Haven, but also the citizens of many other cities. Westopolis, Station Square, and so many others; even those living in remote areas such as the Mystic Ruins were going to sleep at this hour...
...even in a lone, desolate city known as Metropolis...
"...another day ends." With a low sigh, he stumbled tiredly through the halls. Having spent this day, like so many others, trying to see what effects that transformation had on his body, with little to no success, he was absolutely exhausted...
...which would be more than enough incentive for him to make his move...
He could practically feel that being pounding at his skull, and tearing at his body from within. There didn't pass a moment where he didn't expect the vampire to forcefully knock him out, just so he could have more than one shot at escaping his prison per day...
...but he persevered.
Because he needed to protect everyone from that kind of threat.
Stepping into his room, where he saw that familiar bed lying in wait for him, he trudged over to it, and collapsed on top of it. As his cybernetic eye slowly began shutting off, he closed his organic eye as well. He was ready for whatever he would have to face...
"...do your worst... Deity Novagod." Metal Sonic uttered, the moment he fell asleep.
Little did he know, that the following morning, this mundane existence would come to an end...
And you guys know where that takes off from :D