The End...

[strangerpeople]

THE END...

[When the Titled wake up next, it's to void darkness.

There is nearly nothing left after what has happened, save for the blackness. Save for themselves, the Dragonborn and Serana as they hold each other, the Thalmor prisoner (who is clearly in shock), the body of the dragon they had attacked in the distance, the tower in the even further distance...

and an old man, sitting on nothing, clapping wildly.]

Bravo! Bravo!! Encore!! That was just amazing.

[Confetti starts to fill the air. It catches fire mid-way to the..ground. Whatever counts as ground now.]

Nothing like a good old world-ending riot, I always say! You all deserve an award for ending the universe as I knew it. Have some bread!

[Bread that looks like Papyrus' pops into their hands. It smells like chicken and god only knows what it tastes like.]

Go on, have a bite!

[This was probably not what anyone was expecting when the world ended.]

Comments

[socialhacktivist]

Her eyes are burning before she even realize there are tears there. Yusuke's here. He's okay. Her legs are frozen in place, shock plastered all over her face for a long moment before everything just snaps. She runs across the distance and jumps on him; arms tight, squeezing him for dear life.

"...Inariiiiii..."

She's wailing, tears streaming down her cheeks, but it's the happiest she's been since they saved her. "You idiot..." She mutters, weakly pounding his chest. Of everything they've done this... this is the best. They were able to save them. All the uncertainty, all the scares... it was totally worth it.

[pursuitofbeauty]

And then there's Futaba's tiny arms around him and her weight hanging from his torso. At least she can't squeeze as hard as Rubedo, his ribs are still protesting a bit. Yusuke smiles down at her, one arm around her back and the other stroking her hair.

"Yes, I am rather idiotic, aren't I? But you still saw fit to help bring me back." His voice cracks and his vision blurs. Is he... crying? But he never cries, not when Madarame revealed his true colors, not when the uncertainty over his future weighed on his shoulders, not when Akira returned home after all they'd been through together.

But this... it's okay if he cries over a happy miracle.

"I missed you, Oracle. Forgive me for being absent for so long."

[socialhacktivist]

Everything's instantly forgiven in a rush. It had never been a question in the first place. The thought of facing the others after letting him die had plagued her this whole time. Admittedly she'd wished that she could have died instead. Maybe... in the end she was able to make a difference after all. "That's right. A big idiot. But..." Futaba shook her head.

"But you're here now. That's all that matters."

Feeling that too-thin frame in her arms-- that hand on her hair-- it was more comforting than anything else could have been. Any worries she had about rebuilding the world were gone. She'd take on anything now that she had Fox back on her side.

"The team got a little bigger while you were away. I even gave Papyrus and Jr. their own nicknames. Although... I don't think I ever told Jr. about that." He just automatically came into honorary Phantom Thief status on his own. She's just... so glad she can tell Yusuke these things now.

...maybe not the part where she got stupid drunk.

[pursuitofbeauty]

Hugging the tiny girl like this, comforting her... is this what it must be like to have a younger sibling? Yusuke will never know for certain, but this is as close as he can get to it. It's a good feeling.

"I'm certain Akira and the others will accept them readily." Yusuke's smile fades ever so slightly. "Although... Futaba, how much do you remember from our world? Everything came rushing back when I awoke in a dark realm parallel to this one." I have a feeling my memories might extend further than yours now."