Welcome back, everyone, and welcome to the final chapter/"epilogue". It's been a wonderful ride, but hey, everything must eventually come to an end. So first off, let's see what some of the characters' thoughts are on this whole thing.
Edward: Eh… Even though a lot of the questions either pissed me off or made me upset, I think it'll be bittersweet, watching it end. It was kind of interesting to actually interact with fans, and, to be honest, it was definitely a different experience. So… yeah.
Alphonse: I'll miss all of you! It was so wonderful to answer all these questions from all kinds of incredible people, but now it's time to move on. Thank you for all your questions!
Roy: Hmm… Although the questions were a bit irritating at times, I suppose it was a fun little side-job.
Riza: Agreed, though I admit that I might even miss answering questions. Interacting with fans… Now that was interesting. It was something I had never really imagined myself doing.
Winry: I really did enjoy a lot of this story, so it'll be a bit sad to see it go. Ah, well…
Mei: I enjoyed the ride, especially getting to answer questions with Alphonse… *smiles*
Ling: Can't say I really care too much either way, but it was actually pretty cool getting to talk with the fans. A bit weird sometimes, for sure, but that was what made it fun.
Greed: Darn, never got a hot chick's number while I was here… At least it was cool, seeing the people who admire me. *grins*
Envy: I, for one, am happy that this is all over. It's been irritating, constantly being nagged by humans when I'm busy…
Pride: I'm also glad that it's ending. It was a pain.
Sloth: Zzz… What… a pain…
Gluttony: Aww… I really liked being fed by the reviewers… Thank you for the food, though! *sucks on thumb*
Lust: Eh… I really couldn't care less about this entire thing.
Father: Hmph. I'm glad it's over.
Hohenheim: I really will be sad to see it go, honestly. I enjoyed answering questions and being made to think more in-depth about certain things. I thank you all for the experience.
Armstrong: *weeps loudly* Oh, my DARLING reviewers… It's been a beautiful time, an incredibly AWE-INSPIRING experience! *rips off shirt* I SHALL GIVE YOU ALL THE PARTING GIFT OF A MASSIVE HUG!
Eh… I don't think that's the best idea, Armstrong… But thanks for the honesty, you guys! Speaking of which, I had a poll up asking for people to rate "What Would You Do?" on a scale of 1-10 (1 being the worst, 10 being the best), and here are the results:
1: 10 people
2: 8 people
3: 9 people
4: 1 person
5: 2 people
6: 3 people
7: 4 people
8: 5 people
9: 6 people
10: 7 people
Some pretty varied results, I'd say. Thanks to all the people who voted (and thanks for being honest)!
And, of course, we can't forget a masterlist including every single time that Tucker was killer in the making of this fanfiction.
Implied death by hellhounds and myself (Chapter 8)
Implied death by myself (Chapter 9)
Implied death by hellhounds and myself, grizzly bear attack (Chapter 10)
Reaper Chopped (Chapter 11)
Death by hellhounds, implied death by Barry the Chopper (Chapter 12)
Hit by a car, skull cut open, death by Halloween Cannon, sliced to ribbons, throat slit, eaten by Gluttony, literal acid rain, sliced in half by Excalibur (Chapter 13)
Death by Scar, Crimson Death Web, and shuriken (Chapter 14)
Death by kittens, throat ripped out, fell into vat of boiling lava, torn to shreds by dogs, implied death, Fus Ro Dah'd off a mountain, had missiles, bombs, and a car dropped on him, head smashed in by magic cane, pushed off a cliff, killed by army of rabid hamsters, (forgot to put it in but) killed by manticore, stabbed through with an iron bar multiple times, another implied death (blown up) (Chapter 16)
Eaten by a kraken, soul stolen, heart attack, burned by Roy, killed 60 times, ripped to shreds, stabbed by sword, stabbed by katana, landed on by TARDIS, killed by Slenderman (Chapter 17)
Ran over by TARDIS, roundhouse-kicked into the ground by Alphonse, ripped to shreds by killer bunnies, 'Lavender Town Syndrome', ripped to shreds by three-headed dog, run over by Prius, ripped to shreds by a lynx, fed to giant Venus flytrap (Chapter 18)
Ran over by a train, stabbed with katana, stabbed with knife, killed by Ben (from the creepypasta) (Chapter 19)
Killed by Hydreigon, poisoned, killed by baby turtle, shot, murdered by Envy, repeatedly murdered, vaporized, shot at, fatally yelled at, shredded, Lord of Terror'd to death, hit by several jutsus, and apocalypsed, heart attack, killed by Jeff the Killer, hit by a bus, electrocuted (Chapter 20)
Killed by Russia (Hetalia), blown up by mine turtle, killed by Nightmare, knocked off cliff, toxic gas (Chapter 21)
Soul burned, soul taken by Davey Jones, implied death by Envy (Chapter 22)
Guts ripped out, ripped to shreds by hellhounds, subjected to every previously mentioned death/punishment before being allowed to die, burned (Chapter 23)
Killed by Weeping Angel, killed by Daleks (Chapter 24)
Roasted by Smaug, force-fed sharp, extremely hard cookies (Chapter 25)
Hit by planets, implied death by Slenderman (Chapter 27)
Deconstructed, slashed in chest by Buckbeak, sliced in half by Smaug, turned into chimera (Chapter 28)
Thrown into vat of boiling lava (Chapter 29)
Black dragon spat acid on him (Chapter 30)
Killed by Deadpool (Chapter 31)
Brain deconstructed, trampled by dogs with marshmallows, professionally killed by butler, killed by Dalek (Chapter 32)
Killed by Tracker Jackers, Wyverns, Raveners, and Griffins, killed by Erza Scarlet, stabbed with Master Sword, burned, implied death by Lucemon, killed with a chainsaw, his ashes are used as fireworks (Chapter 33)
Shredded by my fangs, death by being forced to read "My Immortal", torn to pieces by a T-rex, turned into a walrus before being pushed off a cliff over a lake of lava, stabbed with a seraph blade, eaten by a giant wolf, fell on a sword (Chapter 35)
Good lord, that's a lot… And in so many interesting ways, too! ;)
And last but not least… Time to say goodbye.
"So… I guess this is the end, huh?" Edward asks, shoving his hands in his pockets casually. "That's it, we're all done?"
The author dragon nods sadly. "Yeah. You guys all get to go back home, where you belong. Then this pocket dimension you've been staying in for the duration of the story will be wiped from existence."
"Does that mean you won't be… You know, you won't be able to be with us anymore?" Alphonse questions. He's actually feeling a bit emotional; but then, he always did hate goodbyes.
"Don't worry, Al." The author smiles reassuringly. "I'll still be with you, y'know. I'll still write plenty of fanfictions with all you guys. I just… Won't be able to directly interact with you anymore. But thanks for the concern."
The cast gathers together, acknowledging that this would very likely be the last time they would ever all be in one place. Some are tearing up, some are indifferent, and still others are grinning with joy (mainly Tucker). The author watches them all with a faint smile; they had all claimed pieces of her heart in their own right over the years, and it would be painful to send them off… Even though she knew she would still write stories about them.
"Everyone ready?" She asks, distracting herself from her thoughts.
The cast makes sure that, yes, everyone is present, before murmuring their agreement. Goodbyes weren't needed in a situation like this; most of them wouldn't quite know what to say, anyways.
It was time.
The authoress sighs quietly to herself before smiling. "Take care, everyone. Thanks for everything!" She watches for a moment as they wave before her scales ruffle and a wave of energy surges into the air. And then, in the blink of an eye, the characters have all vanished from sight, already back on their way to their rightful world. Then, with no small amount of reluctance, the author releases another surge of energy, causing everything in the pocket dimension to slowly fade away.
She knew she had to leave quickly; she would fade too, if she stayed too long in the rapidly disintegrating dimension. But she lingers for another minute, just watching as her creation ended before her eyes.
As she finally turns and leaves, off to start new stories and continue others, a small, lone tear slides down her cheek.
"Goodbye," she manages quietly. "I'll never forget."
Sorry for the sadness, but I couldn't resist ending my pride and joy in such a way. So for this final chapter, I actually went back and read through every chapter… Let's just say that I found myself cringing during most of the first chapters. (i.e. "Um…", "Ew, did I really write like that?", "Oh my #$%ing god, younger me, just shut up"). Thankfully, I've come a long way since then (has it really been three years already…?). I can't thank all of you enough, those of you who have followed me through this whole thing and the ones who have only recently begun reading/reviewing. You all have made me smile, cheered me up when I was having a bad day, and frankly just warmed my heart. I've changed a lot in these past few years, and to be able to look back on something I started three years ago is absolutely incredible. It was so unbelievably fun to answer questions through the characters of my most beloved anime, and it was even more miraculous to me because I really felt like I was making people happy with my writing. That's just always been my goal from the very beginning, to make people become attached to my writing. Even though I'm ending this fanfiction, I really hope that I can still produce fanfictions that truly make people happy (or other emotions, like if I'm writing angst, horror, romance, etc.). And ever since I've started this story, I think I've matured so much as a writer… thanks to all of you and your support.
Really, I can't say it enough: thank all of you so much. It's been a pleasure.
And, without further ado… I'm off to write more things that I hope people will enjoy. I love you all so much!
FIN