PoC: Metal!
Metal: Silver!
Silver: Fish…
PoC: Metal!
Metal: Silver!
Silver: …P…
PoC & Metal: !
Silver: P…hish…
Metal: Gah! *Smack* GET YOUR SENSES TOGETHER MAN! The end is nigh!
PoC: Forget it Met… It's no use…PenFullofChaos819 owns his long fic, but not the characters or other Sega-specific objects/references. Teary scenes must've broken him for good…
Metal: …well then! There's only one thing left to do! *Runs into tent*
PoC: ? *Sees a multicolored mutant come back out* YAAAHH! WHAT THE?
?: It is I! Rainbow Duster Metal Mk. VII! I come to bring super happy ravishing sprinkles of utter bliss to your downer gloomy languishing embers of total piss!
PoC: …wow...I...don't know what to say to that.
Silver: *Blinks, rubs eyes*…Metal? PoC? Oooooh! PRETTY! Pre…pretty….col…ors…*faints*
PoC: ^_^'…nice to have everyone back.
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Countdown
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Out…free again…and not a moment too soon.
Stepping out of that clouded prison was not as liberating mentally as it was physically. Then again, his emotional state was not as unstable or unnatural as it had been either.
This fresh power source was neither overpowering nor underwhelming. It was more…real. Still, a good question stuck in his head: Would it be sufficient to face his last foe with? Considering his feet touched the ground humbly instead of soaring with pride, he had cause to doubt. He…hadn't transformed, he was not Super Sonic… No, he was just plain old Sonic the hedgehog, no faster or mightier than when he'd first been catapulted into this world.
"Who cares?" He ultimately shrugged off the discovery and stretched. Though he had expected to be stiff as a board from all that sitting his muscles were completely relaxed. Health and vigor had both somehow found their way back into the battered hero as he affirmed "I've already got everything I need." So, while ignoring the vast power the area still taunted him with, he scoffed "Hey, powerless or not, I've always had great friends I can love, trust, and depend on. And for that alone, there's no one I'd rather be…but ME!"
Gaining a star-like blue glow, Sonic jetted off into the depths of his captor's fort. Progression was obviously fast, yet Sonic took in every detail with caution; especially since his 'room' had been armed with numerous surveillance installments of the conventional sort. It seemed strange to him that any spiritual monster, humanoid or not, would require the use of technology to further their ends, what with them being sublime and all that. Add that detail to the small glimpse he'd gotten of the master's 'true' face and Sonic was sold. He now felt sure that whoever this 'master' moron was, he was in actuality, no more 'divine or demonic' than Eggman back home.
"Pshh…humans. Always playing with things they don't really understand." His chuckle was laced with substantial bitterness. This world may've changed the scene, but the problems remained the same. At any rate, it now occurred to him that priority number one was finding the 'good' doctor again. Having this loony in disguise to deal with would be a lot less taxing with a 'mad' genius on his side.
"Hmm…let's see. Okay, this err…sector or whatever looks sort of promising, so-Wah! Road-block!" The sapphire mobian strained his sneakers to avoid a head-on collision with…something ugly and very blue; not 'cool-blue' like he was, but sickly sky-blue with a touch of disgusting. Getting a better gander at his dirty-cyan speed trap, Sonic's impulsive mind was overcome by a nagging sense of déjà vu. Blue…gooey…creature with…alien-like green eyes?
"No way…" He tried to comment further on the creature's curious shape. Unfortunately he had no such chance, as the hero suddenly found himself surrounded by even more of these 'things'. Maybe this was some kind of bad dream, caused by homesickness or being speed-deprived for too long. But…if not…
…then he was seeing multiple emerald-less Chaos', each glaring him into his coffin.
Something was different about them though. They weren't as gooey as they were…'flame-y'. Each appeared to be encased in some sort of burning ooze that threatened to singe any would-be hedgehog jail breakers. Just one of these would have been more than enough to give the hero cause for pause, but there were at least ten of these freaks! Where had they all come from?
"These creeps don't look EXACTLY like the real Chaos to me, but…" He murmured out, noting how 'empty' their eyes seemed. These things looked, in comparison, zombie-ish unlike the very vibrant and wrathful god of destruction himself…or maybe itself. Nevertheless, they certainly didn't lack Chaos' aggression as one by one, each made wobbly strides towards the blue blur.
Sonic disinterestedly stepped back and curled into his protective spinning ball-form. With every second ticking away, he knew he couldn't afford to be stopped here. When his revolutions had reached a certain peak, the hedgehog started to glow with a light teal aura. Releasing this built power sent Sonic on a trip through light-speed, making his every strike too fast to read or counter. Three Chaos clones lost their heads, while another four had their torsos badly 'gelatinized', and finally the last three or so gave up a limb or two. Their fiery 'skin' had reddened Sonic's own, but at least the unpleasant task was finished. Wiping his hands clean of his dirty work, the cocky hero gazed back to savor his opponents' looks of bewilderment.
Sadly, all his grass green eyes met with were the pincer-like hands of a surviving Chaos fake. He quickly scrambled to remove the burning hold, and thus ended up thrown aside for his resistance. Dizzied from the sneak-attack, Sonic nursed his now slightly bleeding noggin to find that his foes, against all logic, looked reformed and completely undamaged. It was at this time that Sonic caught something new about these beasts: They had no cores, or 'brains' like the real Chaos. These things were just walking masses of semi-animated chaos energy, ready to take down anyone or anything that trespassed on their turf. Did this make them weaker than the Chaos he knew? Perhaps, but they didn't seem to stay down as long either.
The time for thinking was over, for now he really was surrounded. If this world had some rings of power, his body might've been able to take a few more hits, but given their sheer numbers, these creatures were bound to beat him regardless.
Sonic hadn't forgotten though… He hadn't forgotten about the people counting on him.
Sick of playing cute with these pawns, the hero's quills stood on end as he growled "Alright, I'm only gonna say this once…" Just then, the bluish-teal aura returned, but this time less temporary than his typical light speed dash. Gritting his teeth with intensity, Sonic shouted "GET OUT OF MY WAY!" and blasted towards the mob of monsters. Whatever power he was protected by, it allowed him to pass straight through his hot-fleshed foes without so much as a scratch. The sensation was not unlike the power of Super Sonic…yet it was…somehow different too.
Heedless of where this strength came from, Sonic screamed down countless narrow and wide passages. Each step brought him closer to a nasty pulse of negative energy, while the amount of foes increased as well. Sometimes, despite his incredible speed, Sonic was forced to halt and clear his path in direct combat. The number of enemies, combined with the ever-growing nausea the negative signals brought, was making Sonic more and more uncomfortable.
"Just what has that psycho been cooking up down here?" He thought aloud as he now drew dangerously close to his goal. Sonic crossed his fingers in hopes that he'd find the master and Robotnik in time to stop this disaster from spreading.
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*With Tikal/Maria/Vector's group*
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Recovery from the recent aerial 'ambush' went smoothly, all things considered. For starters, Amy had barely been knocked off her feet thanks to a certain, perfume-wearing intruder's lightness. Maria admittedly bore some pain when numerous black and maroon quills had poked her uncomfortably. Amazingly enough, Vector was the only one who escaped harm, having been large enough to catch his flying assaulter in the cradle of his arms. On the sidelines, Tikal had noticed another pair of arrivals, one whom she was very bitter about seeing again.
Doing the best she could in her spectral form, the tribal maiden first lifted a red heap of scars and wounds up gently and said "Well done…good and faithful warrior. You deserve your rest…" With that she laid the damaged echidna aside and surveyed the rest of the surprised team.
"Ouch!" the youngest Robotnik yelped "Something sharp landed on…me…?" Her interest in superficial wounds vanished instantly when she noticed a welcoming sight "Sh-Shadow…? You…you're really here?" The dark hedgehog, though equally surprised by this sudden reunion, nodded and embraced her. For him, the anger he previously let burn out of control was greatly eased upon confirming his dear Maria's safety.
"Sorry for hurting you…" He said rather meekly, noting the light scratches she bore. This tender time could not last for long, they knew, as the rest of the team was already frenzied about the new arrivals. Shadow watched as Rouge tried to keep Amy from smashing Knuckles where he sat. Meanwhile, Vector had gotten a slight 'tuning-up' after accidentally catching a prideful Espio bridal-style. Soon after these uncomfortable events were finished, almost every eye set upon the blue figure of liquid fire.
When no one reacted, either out of fear or great restraint, Tikal approached the girl with unexpected aggression "Fancy meeting you here…spirit of the Cyan gem. Tell me, have you come to do your new master's bidding; to kill, or perhaps absorb us? Or worse, maybe you think us foolish enough to lead you right to your puppet vessel?" The newly revealed emerald spirit, or 'Aquamarine', had no direct reply. The rest of the team, chiefly those that had not heard Tikal's story, saw that these two had a bad history, and wisely chose to shut up and back off.
"You submitted to the darkness, not once but twice. I understand my father has done you wrong, but why do you yet follow this wicked master? What has he/she to offer that you would willingly succumb to evil again?" Tikal kept applying pressure, until the 'emotionless' spirit turned away. Whether the ancient echidna had a gift for ridicule, or had just said the right words, Aquamarine was looking very ashamed.
"Mistress Tikal…this was not my choice…" Aqua had somehow found the strength to say "I know what you mobains call 'peer pressure' for that is how I was forced to obey. Our eldest brother holds sway over us, this you know Mistress Tikal. When he drank of the blood your father spilled, our hearts were corrupted as well." Tikal gave the girl a look of disgust and shook her head, making the spirit Aqua say "It wasn't my wish! How much control do you think we have without the Master Emerald? When it was shattered our delicate balance went with it! Not even Chaos, our kind and mighty guardian, could hold the darkness off forever. He too was crushed under it's influence."
After listening to that remark, Tikal lashed out in another rare instance of violence and said "You think I don't know that? You ignorant creature! It was my sacrifice that shattered the final Seal! Did you not see it? Did you NOT see my father break me in front of Chaos?" Aquamarine shuddered slightly at the forcible memory and nodded "Then what? I can only assume that my father used the power to destroy the land. He used the flames of chaos to rip our planet apart. For that…I too share a heavy part of the blame… You…don't need to remind me of my role in this…"
Interestingly, Aquamarine reached out and clasped the hand of her fellow spirit. Put off guard by this gesture, Tikal listened as the chaos spirit spoke "The fault…is not yours. The power was changed, mistreated, and ultimately converted into something else. Your father may've been the cause, but to say he used the power for himself would not be accurate."
When the echidna had no reply for this, Maria stepped in "So then, spirit, or whoever you are, all that we've been taught… Are you…saying everything was a lie?"
Aquamarine offered her attention to the rest of the now curious group "Many of you don't know the real story, and we haven't time to tell it, but for brevity's sake I will say that it was Pachacamac that destroyed your world, but only in a sense." The group looked dumbfounded by her meaning so she explained "Did you forget? The power needs a vessel, and that vessel was, as you might've guessed, Mistress Tikal's father. But to say that he wanted this, to say that he wished for destruction alone, would indeed be a lie. Justice and peace, albeit corrupted by madness and rage, was still his heart's goals."
"But then how…?" Tikal pondered with total confusion "How could he have been swayed? How did the power change him?"
Aqua explained, but showed signs of distress about their surroundings as she spoke "You of all people should know… It's not how the power changed your father, Tikal; it's how your father changed the power." Again, the spirit tilted her head skyward and then blurted out "No…they are coming…"
Several voices roughly asked the same question "Who's coming?"
A set of innocent eyes fell on the dropped chaos-tracking device. Multiple blue readings ominously surrounded it's small bright center. Picking it up, Charmy gulped and said "The monsters are here…"
By some sixth sense or good guess, the bee had spoken truly. Puddles of burning chaos seeped through an open doorway and into their presence. When the large team tried to make a run for it, more of the substance barred their path. When the first arrivals had taken shape, they looked to be vaguely similar to the chimera, but much smaller and lacking any distinct mobian traits. The men of the group, along with Rouge, formed a protective circle around their more defenseless allies.
"Now would be a good time to cut the chit-chat! What's the quickest route out of here?" Shadow didn't enjoy so much as suggesting a retreat, even knowing the risk they faced. Pushed back into a corner, things were on the edge of getting violent. With safety nearly out of the question now, the hedgehog focused his inner powers for battle.
Stepping back from one of beast's taunting swipes, Maria exclaimed "No Shadow, we need to shut this place down! I don't know how he's doing it, but our primary foe is somehow producing these things. We have to stop him and save Julian!" Entertaining the possibility of the doctor being alive, changed Shadow's mind, but it yet didn't resolve the main issue.
"Lovely and all, but which way do we go? We're sort of running out of space here!" Espio couldn't have stated it more plainly. He and the rest of the fighters had held off provoking their enemies until they had plan, but time was running short "Someone better say something soon, or else big eyes here is in for a head-full of pain!" Truthfully, the chameleon was not sure how well his weapons would work; all the more reason for them to make a decision…and fast.
When the time for a blind brawl seemed just about imminent, Aqua chose this inopportune moment to ask "You wish to locate the source of these remnants?" With everyone too frantic to answer her cryptic question, the Cyan stone's spirit said "I'll take your crude, expletive-filled thoughts to be a resounding 'yes'." Pointing towards a simple, silver automated door, the girl told them "This is one such way that might expedite our troubled search for my mad master's obsessive experiments with-Aah!"
The spirit leapt back in surprise after Shadow, in the bluntest manner possible, had sent one of his personalized 'spears' into the aforementioned door "That'll do, professor. That'll do." Was his semi-mocking 'thanks' to her before saying "We four will clear a path ahead while the rest of you take Knuckles and…" As one of the monster's arms descended upon him, the ebony hedgehog obliterated the creature with another spear and shouted "RUN!"
And so the battle/escape was underway. Shadow's bold offensive instantly had him swarmed by four of the bluish monsters. Espio fortunately leapt in and dispatched a pair of them via decapitation, allowing the dark mobian to vanquish the remaining two with his own power. Vector meanwhile brought many hammer-fists down on several, now-pulverized, monsters and then said "Like fire, do ya? Well let's see how well you punks take the heat! EAT THIS!" Opening his wide mouth, the croc let out a stream of dragon-like fire; melting and/or immobilizing several creatures at once. Rouge too, somehow feeling emboldened and energized from her recent transformation, was turning foe after foe into gelatinous waste with many-a well timed kick.
However, the battle was by no means one-sided. Shadow could feel his arms grow increasingly numb after absorbing several skin-scalding gashes. Espio too was in for a surprise when his own shuriken had been reciprocated by his liquid-fire foes. The rogue projectiles proceeded to cut up his right leg's thigh and the same side of his hip/pelvic region(s). Vector found himself literally 'caught by the tail' and insultingly swung head-first into a remarkably sturdy wall. Rouge herself was soon snagged by one of the monsters long arms. Instead of choking her out or tossing her about, the creature placed it's huge hand on, or more like 'around', her head and started to squeeze. Seconds after this, Rouge began having violent hallucinations, eventually causing her to convulse under the stress. Thankfully, Shadow was in time to free her before any permanent damage could be done, but their situation nonetheless remained bleak.
Meanwhile, looking back over her shoulder, Maria watched as Shadow and the others fought desperately. At the same time, one of the unengaged monsters turned eerily around to focus on her. Taking a few silent steps back, the young genius gasped as the beast jumped through the broken doorway…
…and splattered to pieces.
Not single drop of it's fiery skin made contact with her, and from behind it's remains she saw her savior: Shadow. The hedgehog gave her a strange look, a look that made her feel sad and frightened at the same time.
It was almost like he was saying "Forgive me."
She didn't get a chance to ask what was wrong, or reply back at all, before Shadow charged up his innate powers and…caved-in the narrow passage, effectively sealing off the two wings.
Taken to shouting for the moment, the blond Robotnik panicked as her last known family, had just locked himself away or rather…sacrificed himself, again for her safety. Though shaken and now stunned to speechlessness, she tried remain strong. Waiting around now would give those creatures time to find a way through. Even without the urging and comfort from her remaining allies, Maria was already decided.
"It's time to finish this, together." Running ahead a few paces she took one last look back and smiled with some powerful regret "Sayonara, Shadow the hedgehog. Let's meet again…on the other side."
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*With Shadow's group*
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"Are ya freaking out of your MIND?" The larger reptile screamed so loudly that even his enemies held their ringing heads in pain "Now we have NO way out! NONE! And look at all those hungry freaks, just looking to get a piece of ol' Vector." Oddly enough, the cowardly-spoken crocodile had a smirk plastered on his scaly face all the while.
Grinning faintly at his boss, Espio said "You know Vector… we still have a paycheck riding on this." The ex-ninja brandished a whole new set of short blades and knives, so as to emphasize his eagerness.
Jokingly blowing him off, the croc replied "Oh please! Remember my policy? You know I'm gonna charge foxy triple for all this pest control." Belching out a small plume of fire, he added more confidently "But hey, who says a con-man go inspector can't be an exterminator too? Come on Espy! Let's roast us some goons!" The lumbering mobian charged into the fray, intent on smashing and boiling a few heads.
At the same time, the proud, but smirking, Espio groaned "Don't…call me…ESPY!" He then rushed in after his leader, taking his extra frustration out on his targets for good measure. In his next three strikes, the chameleon had diced several foes to ribbons while darkly musing "Miles…wherever you are, we've got things here. You just make sure…make sure he pays. Make that bastard in charge pays for what he did to her!" In his next sweep, the purple lizard split two targets in a row down the middle.
At the same time, Shadow was keeping his thoughts quiet as he punished his opponents with isolated stabs of chaos energy. Rouge, fighting at his side, spoke for both of them "Together we can get through this." She assured, despite the ever-rising number of foes before them. Seeing his face fall a bit, the bat touched his forearm and again spoke "Shadow, don't try to be a hero… Just…stay safe this time, okay? You can't leave Maria all alone again…"
Shaken, but strangely empowered by that thought, Shadow met her gaze and…smiled. He was yet too focused to give her a proper answer, but something in her advice told him, convinced him, of one thing: He had to live, no matter what.
Regrouped now and surrounded by a small army of the blazing beasts, the heroes gave each other a firm nod of encouragement and charged in.
"For Charmy…" Vector thought whilst incinerating the enemy.
"For Amethyst…!" Espio whispered fervently as he vanished and began sawing through countless beasts.
"For Sonic…and Knuckles." Rouge prayed, toppling one monster into a crowd of four others.
"For Maria! And for all those who suffered!" Shadow shouted, teleporting himself in the middle of a large crowd. When he could feel their dark presence closing in, he drew back and said "I'll make you bleed… Chaos…" Swirling with a night-black aura lined with deep crimson, Shadow snarled as the gold bands around his wrists snapped off.
"BLAST!"
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*With Tails*
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It hadn't taken long to reach his goal. Indeed, it was as if time hadn't moved an inch.
Now the gateway was in front of him, impenetrable, as befits a coward operating from behind the scenes. Part of Tails itched to know just what sort of vile being had been playing them for fools all this time, and eagerly wanted to 'deface' the monster as an act of justice. Simultaneously, another side told him to control his anger; warning him to use it solely on disabling the evil alone. The fox could not tell which was what, for both came from his subconscious. Somewhere in the middle, the vulpine felt sick at the things he was doing, and the things he had done. No amount of vengeance could fully cover those central feelings up.
Conflicted or not, Tails levitated up to the glowing gateway and slammed his fist into it…sadly to no avail. Using what remained of his unstable mind, he examined the outer protection carefully. A quick inspection told him that, behind this barrier, was a very ordinary automatic door. The layer on the outside had been added sometime after this location's construction, or so he assumed. Given the nature of the repulsing field itself, Tails guessed a sort of irregular alternate power source was keeping it active.
"…urrrgh." He grunted, his voice sounding more disturbingly multi-layered than ever. The emanation of darkness was right on the other side, and yet still out of his reach. Problematic as this was, the main danger came from Tails himself. With a goal in mind, it was easier to keep his three-sided mental warfare in check. Given too much time to himself, Tails started hearing them; the voices, each one shouting out something different. One tormented him by calling him a murderer, a coward, and also encouraged his submission. The other tried to comfort him, telling him to be calm and that it forgave him. But neither brought him true comfort, as both increased his inner pain enormously. The third voice kept whimpering and sobbing, saying it was scared, and that it missed someone. The three rang in his ears and throbbed in his head, until Tails was finally shouting for them to be quiet. They didn't listen; they kept right on speaking as he screamed for their silence.
Vulnerable and crumpling from the pressure, Tails didn't see the swarm of blue creatures surrounding him. The snaked their way up, closer and closer until one was in range to strike. Stretching out it's arm, which was wreathed in abnormal aqueous flame, edge of the monster's claws sank into the fox's back…
…then suddenly, the creature's torso exploded.
Shifting back to the slightly injured fox, the other monsters stepped away from his exposed rifle. A shock of physical agony had been just enough to snap Tails temporarily back into the 'real world' again. Taking advantage of this narrow window of clarity, the fox continued to brandish his weapon at the multitude of foes. Each one of these 'things' gave off an energy not unlike the field he was barred by. Perhaps…if he was to extinguish them all…
Factually, he didn't know if dispatching these beasts would have any effect on the barrier, but a limited plan was better than no plan at all. Besides, the choice was taken out of his hands when several dove at him at once.
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*Elsewhere*
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No…no…NO!
…
…escaped? He had…ESCAPED?
That did it, just what was happening to his plans? First the revived spirits fail to destroy his band of hostages, then that same group goes unaffected by the chaos, and now…now even the blue one is free and likely headed right for him! What…what had he done wrong? Had he chosen the wrong vessel? No, he'd translated the texts correctly… It clearly stated that one must harbor an immensely positive spirit, which then could be mixed with a profoundly negative influence to unleash the total power of chaos. Going off that theory, his recent choice had been a spectacular match. This fake/other Sonic fit the ideal candidate's description perfectly, didn't he? Well DIDN'T HE?
Then why hadn't that imbecile doctor's experiment worked?
Angered far past reasonable levels, the phantom controller used some minor chaos manipulation to destroy the now useless monitors. It had all been for naught…all his hard work had been ruined. How many risks had he taken just so this ugly world could be cleaned up? Yet against all the rising odds the master had prevailed. He had conditioned his subject down to the very last detail, to make sure he would accept the darkness willingly. And now…all was lost…
…
…
…no.
…
He…would not…
After coming all this way, he would not admit failure so easily.
Reapplying his screening mantle, the master was once more on the move. This time, he would give the accurate dose of negative chaos…personally. Yes…it was a terrible risk, a risk that might very well cost him his sanity…and possibly his life too. However, no one said cleansing a world full of evil would be a bloodless task. And he was willing to spill all of his own if it meant true peace would finally arrive.
"Cancel the world's negative energy with an equally negative force…and what will be left behind?" The master displayed the amount of planetary chaos he'd absorbed thus far. Pleased with the results, he stepped out of his chambers, and sealed the door for good "Oust the evil and then only good can be left behind. Good is the state of things working properly, without flaw. By cutting out the deadwood, I will be allowing righteousness to flourish. I will do what no beast, man, or god has ever done before."
Having left his quarters, the master then gathered up a number of colored gems. Eerily enough, each one was dull and dark in appearance…almost lifeless.
"Let us drown this world in darkness." He spoke disturbingly to the stones "Then your power may wash away the evil forever…"
"This will be…the ultimate experiment."
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End of Chapter Forty-eight
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I almost didn't update this week, given how swamped I am (yes AGAIN XD). I have a requested project and some other odds and ends to finish up, but I hope this chapter will keep everyone busy 'til next update. I worry about it's error-freeness, due to my current rush :\
I know…I've been really bad about not putting in any commentary lately. Despite that, I wanted to let everyone know that my sister-in-law is very comforted by your collective prayers/support. Yes, Dominic's family is still struggling, but that's something only God and time can fully mend. Still, I feel extremely fortunate to have such kind and thoughtful reviewers. So once again, thank you everyone, and may God bless each and every one of you.
Until next time.