(Chapter Thirty-Five! The final battle is over...
But every story must end somewhere. Just this chapter and an epilogue, and that's it. The Epilogue will not have an Author's Note, so I will say this now:
Thank You, for sticking through with this experiment to the end. Thank you, Zaru. Thank you, Axel-of-the-Fantasy. Thank you, Michael J.J. Thank you, R0ckNR011. Thank you all for bearing with me for so long.
Also, read the Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann fanfiction, The Moon Is Made Of Honey. It's a brilliant fanfiction that deals with Nia's wish at the end of the series, and really impacted this chapter.
Also, today marks the four-month anniversary of this baby turning up here at EffEffDotNet... And it's reawakened my muse! Looks like it's not my swan song here after all!
See you all real soon!
And thank you so much for reading!)
11:8:3243
Dear Sonic,
I will be marrying Tails today.
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE:
Thank You, Everyone
Cosmo placed her pen down, closing her diary of letters to Sonic.
It was a week now since Tails had rescued her from the Anti-Spiral and saved the universe from stagnating itself to death.
A week and a day since the Möbiankind Annihilation System was deactivated.
Three weeks and a day since the System was activated.
Since she had become the Anti-Spiral Messenger program.
Now, she was done with her diary.
She was finished.
Her right hand began to dissolve into pixels.
She clenched her left hand over it, stemming the flow.
When she removed her left hand, her right was exactly as it was before.
Just a little longer, okay? she said to herself.
'Cosmo?'
Merlina strode in, clutching her staff in her hand. Her hair was in a long braided ponytail.
"Miss Merlina..."
Cosmo bore Merlina no ill will. The former Overmind of the Anti-Spiral had graciously accepted the slings and arrows of Möbian resentment, and decided that one of the first steps she could take to healing would be to weave Cosmo's wedding dress.
'It is nearly time,' Merlina said.
"Yes. It is."
While Merlina helped Cosmo into the newly-woven wedding dress, they spoke about Cosmo's status as a digital Spiral being.
Cosmo said that she & Tails had reached their decision the previous night.
Merlina nodded in resignation at their decision.
'This is a wise decision, Miss Darkoak,' said Merlina, adjusting Cosmo's veil. 'But... will Tails go through with it?'
Cosmo smiled.
"I believe he will."
Merlina smiled back.
'If you do, then I will.'
"Cosmo."
Sally, in a simple black three-piece suit, her ponytail of more than seven years now cut down to a simple shoulder-length style, glared at Merlina as the Avalonian retreated out the door, avoiding Nicole's eye as she passed.
"Wait, Miss Avalon," Nicole said, quietly but sharply.
Merlina stopped, facing the lynx who was once digital. While Merlina was wearing the same purple robes she had when she was President of Avalon, Nicole was wearing a white strapless top, a long white skirt decorated with a gilded cross, wooden sandals, and golden rings on her wrists and ankles.
'So... you and Miss Acorn are...?'
"Yes," said Nicole, the faintest of blushes visible through the brown fur on her face. "But that's not important right now. How did you make that wedding dress so fast? You were certainly not working on it this whole week since you came to Möbius."
Merlina shook her head.
'I asked Miss Cosmo for her measurements the day before yesterday, designed the dress yesterday, and physically rendered it just this morning.'
"Rendered it...?" Nicole's eyebrows raised slightly. "A digital dress?"
Merlina nodded slightly.
'Yes. She is still a digital being, so it seemed only fitting.'
"And... is Tails going to turn her into a flesh-and-blood being during the wedding? It would be simple; I was a program once, remember? Sally programmed me with her preferred personality traits and the information about our planet, but I became a Spiral being in the Super Spiral Universe. So, Tails will make Cosmo a Spiral being again... right?"
But Merlina turned away and walked off, leaving Nicole's question unanswered.
She did not want to lie, or tell an unpleasant truth.
In Cosmo's dressing room, Sally had to smile as she looked up and down Cosmo's dress.
"I have to admit, she did a good job with that, Cosmo. I don't think I've ever seen you prettier."
Cosmo held the bouquet of roses to her chest. Her ring glinted white.
"Thank you, Miss Sally."
She held out her diary.
"Here."
Sally took it, and opened it up to the first page.
"Eighth day of the seventh month, year thirty-two-thirty-six... Dear Sonic... Are you doing well?... (Well, I suppose that is an odd question to ask you...) I have decided to start this journal, because..."
Her eyes widened.
"This is your diary, Cosmo!"
Cosmo nodded.
"And it would make me happiest if you had it, Miss Sally."
Sally looked down at Cosmo's diary, resting a hand on the cover gingerly, as though the book would dissipate. Closing her eyes briefly, she smiled at Cosmo.
"Thank you, but... shouldn't you give this to Tails instead?"
Cosmo inhaled the scent of her bouquet, also digital. Also made for her by Merlina.
"Tails already knows everything that's in my heart."
涙の種、笑顔の花
Tails, in a simple white suit, ran his hand over Emerl's face slowly, gently, the Core Machine set into the cubbyhole beside Freedom.
He gave Emerl one last smile, and slipped his Core Drill into his breast pocket.
Things were going to have to go just right today.
Minutes later, he stood at the gazebo, the other Freedom Fighters standing at attendance. Only those who had been in the Freedom Fighters since the battle against the Helix King were in attendance; Alexis, Nicole, and Cobar were the sole exceptions. Silver was presiding as priest; he had received basic wedding training as the son of High Priest Aurum, and had presided over a few in the past.
Cosmo, followed by Sally & Nicole, strode up the red carpet laid out before her, petals of the nearby cherry blossom trees falling around her.
She stopped next to Tails, smiling brightly at him.
He mirrored her smile.
And Silver began.
"Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today..."
The time passed, and Tails & Cosmo exchanged their vows, and rings were exchanged - Merlina served as ringbearer - and then...
Tails & Cosmo shared their first kiss as husband and wife.
Everyone cheered. Charmy did a loop-de-loop over their heads.
But Sally - holding Nicole's hand - gasped, then the two of them started shouting, but their shouts were drowned out amongst the cheers.
Tails & Cosmo drifted apart, staring into each other's eyes.
The cheers faltered, replaced by murmurs of confusion.
Pixels were trailing off of Cosmo, empty patches of air where skin and dress should have been.
But Cosmo's eyes sparkled with love.
"Thank you, Tails," she said gently.
"I'll never forget you, Cosmo. Even if the universe ends," he replied.
"Don't be silly. It won't end. That's what we all fought so hard for," she smiled, the pixels having eaten away her midsection and half of her legs now, but still she smiled at him.
Tails nodded in consent. "Yeah. You're right," he chuckled.
"We've had a lot of fun together, Tails. It's funny... All I can see right now... is everyone smiling."
"Cosmo..." For a brief moment, Tails's eyes sparkled with grief, but it was quickly buried by a blink.
Cosmo met his eyes. One last time.
"I love you, Tails," she said, the roses on either side of her head wilting and, petal by petal, drifting away in the wind and dissipating into pixels of light.
"Yeah. I love you, too... Cosmo."
Cosmo smiled. One last time...
And then she was gone, nothing left but pixels that faded away in the light of the sun.
klink
The golden ring, set with a white seed-shaped diamond bounced to the ground, landing at Sally's feet.
"Tails..." she murmured, looking up at the gazebo, inside of which was a single two-tailed fox in a suit of white pressed linen, and a silver hedgehog wearing priest's robes and an expression of disbelief.
Silence fell over them. No one could see Tails's expression; he was looking out the opposite end of the gazebo.
Then he looked up, and took a breath - shuddering with sorrow? - and said in a bright, level tone:
"Thank you, everyone. We were very happy together."
Shouts of protest, of confusion and grief rang out.
"Come on, guys," Tails said, waving a hand as everyone quieted down. "We knew this was going to happen. Not just me & Cosmo. We all knew."
"But... it's not fair!" cried Cream, wiping away tears.
Tails still did not turn, but continued, "We knew that defeating the Anti-Spiral meant this would happen."
Shadow folded his arms, the only one not to cheer (not that he was not happy for the marriage), "Cosmo was a virtual being created by the Anti-Spiral." As Shadow said this, glares affixed themselves on Merlina as she strode around the Freedom Fighters. "I think it's a marvel that she lasted as long as she did."
"She was always a very tough girl," Rotor said softly, his head tilted in homage to Cosmo's sacrifice.
"So then..." Charmy spoke up, flitting to the ground. "So why don't you use the Power of the Spiral?"
Tails faced them all now.
And he was smiling.
Charmy continued, "You can use it to bring back Cosmo! And not just her! Everyone else that we lost! Sonic! Knuckles!" Charmy's eyes swam with tears. "Molly..."
'Miles is not God, nor should he try to be,' said Merlina, stopping short of the gazebo, not daring to stand anywhere near where Cosmo did.
But Charmy glared at her.
"You did this." He raised his fist, intent to strike. "You did this to—!"
"Stop."
Tails had strode down between Charmy and Merlina, raising a hand calmly. Silver followed behind, closing his father's holy book.
"This is what Cosmo wanted," Tails said simply. "We talked last night..."
"Tails... I want you... to let me die tomorrow. I'm going to let myself pass on, and I want you to let me go."
Tails's eyes nearly popped out of his head, tears spilling like waterfalls down his face.
"Cosmo... Why...? Didn't I promise you...?" he sniffled. "I promised you..." He slammed his fist on the bedpost, snapping it off. "I PROMISED YOU THAT WE'D ALL BE HAPPY ON MÖBIUS!"
"Tails..." Cosmo took Tails's head and rested it on her chest.
"Cosmo... In Super Tengen Toppa Freedom Emerl... I evolved into a pure Spiral being." And for a moment, Tails turned into a fox of golden energy, tears of blood-red energy. His two tails seemed to split into nine while he was an energy being. I COULD BRING you back, as a Spiral being, if you wanted..."
Cosmo looked into his eyes.
"It would be nice, to be with you forever, Tails."
"Then tell me I can, and I will!"
"And then you would bring back Sonic, and Knuckles, and your parents, and everyone else that died?"
"Why not?"
"Then what of our children? Will there be space for them, on Möbius, with all the people who have died brought back from the land of the dead, whether they wanted to come back, or not?"
Tails faltered at this.
"Well... I'd find a world where there is enough space! You and me and our kids can fly around the stars forever!"
"And after that world? And the next?"
Tails had no answer.
"If you just keep bringing back the dead," Cosmo explained, "There will not be enough space for the living. And if you try too hard to create a world where there is enough space.."
"Spiral Nemesis..." Tails mumbled.
"And I do not imagine that the other Spiral races of the universe would appreciate that, Tails," Cosmo added.
"So just bring Cosmo back, then!" Charmy cried exasperatedly. "Just Cosmo, and no one else, then!"
Tails shook his head, smiling sadly.
"Cosmo dealt with that, too..."
"Just you, then. I just bring you back, or turn you into a Spiral being here and now, and - I'm sorry - I won't be able to introduce you to Sonic. Or to my parents."
Tails knew he was grasping at straws now, and knew Cosmo would refuse, but he wanted to hear her explain it in that beloved voice of hers.
"Tails, I was my father's doll, but that was not my choice. It wasn't really me," she said, smiling as though they were wondering what color wallpaper to get. "I was the Anti-Spiral's Messenger program, but that was not my choice, either, and that was not me, either. I could choose to be the harbinger of the Spiral Nemesis, the first to be brought back until the universe is overflowing, but that will not be my choice, for it would not be me. And I would not choose to cheat death by becoming a pure Spiral being like you, because that is not me, either. That is not who I wish to be. I wish to live and love - and die - like everyone else, and unfortunately, my time has come too soon."
"But, Cosmo!" Tails screamed, his eyes becoming tornadoes of gold energy. "I can't live without you! I can't just let you die! Who do you think I saved the universe for?"
"You will never be without me, Tails," she said, stroking his head. "I will always be in your heart. With Sonic, and Knuckles, and everyone else who died so that Spiral life could live." She gave Tails a sad smile. "Like my father. And as for the universe, keep saving it on your own, after I have died. Please do not destroy the universe for me. I do not imagine the Spiral races of the universe would be grateful for your keeping the secret of resurrection for your own usage."
Tails sobbed into Cosmo's chest, the despair at Cosmo's imminent loss falling from his eyes.
"This is my last wish, Tails," she said softly. "I will leave this world, but I will always be in your heart. So, be glad for the times we had together, and... plant seeds, and grow flowers, around the world, with your drill in hand. It is a selfish request, but—"
"It's not selfish," Tails said, and the tears now were tears of joy and gratitude. "It's what I would have done anyway.
"Alright, Cosmo. If you want to go into my heart, then you can."
And he embraced her, tightly.
"I love you so much. I'm so glad I met you."
"Me, too," she said, pulling the blanket over both of them.
Everyone - least of all Charmy - was stunned by the argument that Cosmo had put forward to Tails just the previous night.
'Miss Cosmo did not tell me the full details as I was dressing her up for this, Miles,' Merlina said. 'She really was of strong will, then, to allow herself to pass on when her time has come.'
And she smiled at Tails.
'And you showed me the ultimate test of your will, Miles Prower. You've proven that you have the resolve to restrict your own Spiral Power when necessity allows for it.'
Mighty raised a fist, "Don't you dare say it was a good thing that Cosmo died, you—"
"Let her be, Mighty," Tails said forcefully.
Merlina closed her eyes.
'I truly do regret this, Möbian Spiral races. I wish far more than all of you that Miles & Cosmo could have a long, happy life together. Unfortunately, my race chose her mother to be a carrier of the Messenger program gene, and so it passed to her.
'But think first. Were Miles to bring back Cosmo - and only Cosmo - would there be no small amount of bitterness across the planet that their lost loved ones must stay buried? Would you not have something to say about it?'
People glared, but did not protest. Everyone present had lost someone dear to war and bloodshed, and in all honesty, every one of them would be bitter if Tails only resurrected Cosmo.
"And if only our Freedom Fighter comrades who died were brought back," Tails continued, "People across Möbius would be angry at us for keeping the secret of resurrection, and I'm sure someone would be angry enough to murder me in my sleep for keeping it locked up."
"And, if we were to only bring Möbians back to life...?" asked Espio.
'That would be akin to asking the other Spiral races of the universe to destroy you all,' Merlina answered. 'They would be reacting out of mixed anger at their deceased loved ones being kept dead because of the selfishness of one planet, and fear at the encroachment of the Spiral Nemesis if this persisted. You would all be destroyed - or destroy the universe itself in your desperate bid to defend your unapologetic way of life.
'And if the secret of resurrection were to not be a secret, but as common as a birth... The universe would quickly run out of space for life. And, as Cosmo reasoned, as people utilise more and more Spiral Energy to forcibly create more room for life... the possibility of the Spiral Nemesis becomes more of a question of when? than of if?.'
"Basically," Tails said, "People who are dead are dead. If we bring them back, they'll just get in the way of the next generation. And... Cosmo wouldn't have wanted to come back anyway. She died when she stood against the Anti-Spiral in Tengen Toppa White Seed. Her last wish... I will honor it."
Elias faced Merlina.
"Is resurrection even possible with Spiral Power?"
Merlina faced Elias.
'I would not know,' she said. 'My race is not known for taking risks with Spiral Energy. But I would advise that resurrection remain an impossibility.'
She looked around them.
'I wish you the best of luck in this endeavour. May the flower of the Spiral always bloom.'
And without another word, she departed for regions unknown, her staff leaving a trail of potholes in the dirt.
"She was right," Tails said. "She was always right. Her actions were extreme, to be sure, but she had good intentions. Her and her people."
And he placed something in Charmy's hand as he passed.
Charmy knew what it was.
And his eyes bugged, and his jaw dropped.
Without turning, Tails said, "It's all down to you now, Silver."
Silver looked shocked. "Tails...?"
Tails faced him, a serious look on his face. "You're the Supreme Commander of the New Government, Silver, but I'm just Miles Prower: Tails the Digger." He smiled, unbuttoning his linen jacket. "There's someone right here better suited to traveling the holes that I dug."
Charmy opened his hand. The Core Drill glinted green in the sunlight.
"You can count on me," Silver said sharply, nodding.
Tails cast off his linen jacket, producing his long blue jacket - the one Cosmo had worn in the Super Spiral Universe - and tying it around his shoulder.
Rotor smiled sadly.
"It was fun while it lasted, Tails," he murmured.
"Tails!" Sally called out, tossing Cosmo's ring towards him.
Without turning, Tails caught it, Kukku flitting onto his shoulder.
He was off, to live Cosmo's dream of covering the world with flowers.
But she had gotten a head-start on Tails.
She had planted a seed of tears in his heart.
But she had watered it with the water of love, and Tails knew that one day, that tiny seed of tears would bloom into a big flower of smiles.
And it would be there, in his heart...
Forever more.
And so Miles "Tails" Prower left the Freedom Fighters...
And never looked back.