Author's Notes
Last part! Yay! Two updates in two days! Double-yay! But this chapter is very short, so that's why. n.n; Just a little humor and a little sweet sappiness to wrap things up!
Epilogue
Fists and feet flew, each blow precisely calculated to maximize impact without permanently damaging the target. Oh, how satisfying it was to strike at that wretched face again and again without fear of repercussion! How invigorating it was to vent his frustrations on this ingenious device!
How amusing it was to imagine his true Master in its place.
"Metal Sonic!"
The robot froze mid-swing, his processor halting abruptly as though struck by something large and solid (his self-preservation protocols quickly squashed the image of his Master that popped up at that thought). Slowly he turned his head toward the voice. There, standing in the doorway was a rather irate-looking Dr. Eggman.
"What, exactly," the bulbous man growled, "do you think you are doing?"
Caught between his murderous-looking Master and the bobo-doll duplicate that still bobbed back and forth incriminatingly, only one thought crossed Metal's processor.
Scrap!
It was quiet, dark—but not completely so. It was fortunate that on this Christmas Day the full brightness of the moon shone through the abandoned lab's windows. Shadow stood there, observing both moon and Earth as he had so many times before with Maria. He looked around at the darkened lab, picturing in his mind the garland strung around the door, the wreath over the window, the tiny fake tree on the Professor's desk.
He allowed himself to be lost in those memories for a few minutes before turning back to the window. He opened the box he was carrying and removed its contents—three Luna Blossoms bound together with a red ribbon. Gently, he set the flowers down on the windowsill. The light of the moon spilled over them and, true to the old woman's word, the white flowers seemed to glow just as brilliantly. Shadow smiled softly, lightly touching the luminescent petals. "Merry Christmas, Maria, Professor."
Setting the empty box down, he pulled out the other item he carried and leaned his back against the window. "You used to always read stories to me, Maria. Now I want to share this one with you. A… friend," he smiled at the word, "gave it to me."
And so he began to read, under the ethereal light of the moon.
The End
Author's Notes
It's finished! It's finally finished! I actually finished a non-oneshot story! Hurray :D Thank you to all of my readers and reviewers, especially those who stuck around despite my slow-as-molasses updates. n.n; I hope you've enjoyed it!
Sadly, this will be my last posting here for a long while, as I'll be leaving for 18 months. So sorry to those who are waiting for updates on my other stories! n.n; I'll hopefully still have the motivation to continue them when I get back...
Thank you all again for your time and attention. n.n