Here, too, it seems my old NWO update thread has passed into archive-dom. Well, it has been a while, but finally NWO is going to be written to conclusion!
I have updated, you see.
Two chapterettes of NWO are now online and ready to read on both my website and on FFN. There's a lot of stuff to draw together and suture up for this climactic chapter. In fact, doing all this will be much harder with NWO than COA. Nonetheless, I will do my best...
Also, for those interested, I wrote up an "Armadas of COA" section of the Armory on my site. To flesh out those lovely battle fleets we don't see nearly enough of.
----------Snip-Pet-----------(from part 1)
A blue streak slashed across the green hills and into the Great Forest.
Here, he had to take it slower, but still made good time. On the way, he went over what he was going to say, how he was going to say it, and to whom. It wouldnt do for anyone unnecessary to know about his problems. It also wouldnt do for anyone to hear about it who would likely spread the information. Not at all. Sonic didnt know what hed do if that happened. He didnt even want to think about it.
He paced himself carefully, and felt the energy begin to wane as he made the approach to Knothole. At least now, with Robotnick dead, and the Eggman Empire destroyed, he didnt have to take the obtuse and curving route that he normally did to keep the formerly hidden city of Knothole just that: hidden. He could head straight in. He ran, at a brisk pace, past Prower Lake formerly Prower Crater, and now half full with water from the underground water aquifer.
Knothole had been heavily damaged in the last battle of the Eggman Wars. Aside from being shelled and shot halfway to hell, it had been flooded and bombed in many places. Many of the residents had left, but others had stayed, and yet others had moved in, and the rebuilding had begun even before the war was proclaimed to be over. The taller buildings were all damaged, many with upper floors blasted away, but many of the smaller structures were standing in one condition or another. Most of the rubble had been removed, bridges and dykes rebuilt, and roads opened up.
Sonic slowed, as he passed Knothole Cemetery.
Here and there, he saw individuals in black, moving to and from headstones and memorial tablets, paying their respects with prayers and burning incense. Sonic didnt normally like to dwell on the deceased, or their resting places. In his opinion, cemeteries were dark, and cold, and forbidding. He had run through the great tomb city of Sandopolis, and knew firsthand that being in the presence of the dead was not salubrious by any definition of the word.
Still.
Moving off course, he walked under one of the cemeterys black arching gateways. They were cast iron, and foreboding, even in the early afternoon. Entering from the east, and heading down one of the cobblestone walkways, he passed by row upon row of fresh graves made for the fallen of the Battle of Knothole, packed tightly side by side like sardines in a can. The mobian graves were all tablets, set into the ground, but the dingo ones were triangular and stuck out. Sonic remembered doing his part then, and had dug several graves himself, sweating in the sun under a sky cleared of trees. It only served to remind him of those unmarked graves, deep in the Forest where only he could find them
He noted a family of dingo, standing silently over one grave: a female and two young children. They were stoic, like statues, but Sonic could see that they were holding hands. Elsewhere, another dingo in dress uniform stood before a grave and saluted. They, and others of their kind, had come a long way to pay their respects. Very few lived in the Kingdom of Acorn, and almost all had heeded the call to the New Territories Miles had promised them in return for their aid.
Sonic felt a little guilty, in that he still thought of the dingo as their some-time enemies. Knuckles had always run afoul of them, and while Sonic had never met any, he had already judged them and found them guilty: they were his enemies by default, and by association. Yet, they had come across the world, heeding a call to arms that the echidna had ignored. They had fought and died, perhaps not out of the goodness of their hearts, but all throughout that last battle, in every grave situation, he had never heard of them backing down, giving up, or doing anything but their sworn duty.
And he couldnt name even one of them buried out there.
Shaking his head, as he entered an older part of the cemetery, he silently wished that the war had been won some other way. So many had died, here and around the world. If only Robotnick had been killed on the first Death Egg, or even the Second one, or at any number of other times or places. If he had been faster, if Knuckles had been faster, if Tails had been faster they could have ended it all, then and there. Instead, it came to this.
In this part of the cemetery, Sonic knew the names on more than a few of the tablets. He saw the grave of his old friend, Tommy, who sacrificed himself to save Sonics life. Tommy had been one of those ordinary mobians, unremarkable in any respect. Perhaps, Tommy had given up his own life, sensing that Sonic was more important in the grand scheme of things? He hoped not. While Sonic was undeniably proud of himself and his accomplishments, he didnt want people to think he valued himself like that. Sonic would have given his life for his friend, for any of his friends.
Things just never turned out that way.
Over in the Freedom Fighter section, he first saw the statue that dominated that section of the cemetery, erected in honor of the first Freedom Fighter killed in action: Private Scales. One of the last members of a now extinct mobian breed, Scales had been framed as a traitor, back when the first group of Freedom Fighters had organized, just after the coup. Sonic had only a vague memory of him, and didnt remember thinking anything remarkable about the purple snake at the time. But, when push came to shove, Scales not only cleared his name and saved his comrades (despite them all turning on him), but killed the Traitor as well.
The fallout, however, had been dire. The original FFs hadnt truly trusted each other, and instead of bringing them together, it only served to drive them apart. Scales had been accused and found guilty, based only on the word of the Traitor and the ill will towards his breed. That they had acted in such a way disgusted the survivors, and after only a few months they went their separate ways. One rallied the survivors of the Mobian Armed Forces, another founded the Knothole FFs, and another the paramilitary Secret Service.
The next group of Freedom Fighters had consisted of himself, Sally, Tails, Bunnie, Antoine and Rotor. Others had been inducted, but they had been the core. And unlike the originals, they knew and trusted each other implicitly. They had stuck together through thick and thin though, as he thought about it, in the end, hadnt they drifted apart and turned on each other all the same? Bunnie, Antoine and Rotor had sided with Tails in making Knothole their battleground, while he and Sally stood in opposition. Before that moment, Sonic couldnt remember the last time the original FFs had been so divided.
Tails obelisk stood near the Scales Memorial, and in the shadow of the two monuments yet more Freedom Fighters were buried. Most were young, just cadets, thrown into the fight over the last three years. A lot of them had died while Sonic was away in Station Square, and he wondered how many of them would have lived if he had stayed? Or even dropped by, once in a while? He saw a small group by one of the graves he didnt recognize, but focused his attention on another marker one he hadnt visited since he left Knothole, months ago.
Amy Rose.
He touched his hand to the cold marble set into the soft ground, and offered a silent apology. He had known Amy for a long time, really, ever since he rescued her from Metal Sonic years ago, but he had never really known her, not in the sense that he did Sally or even Bunnie. She had been obsessed with him, and followed him everywhere, even to Station Square. He had always considered her something of an irritant, but whenever he had rushed to her rescue, she had taken it the wrong way. He didnt love her. He didnt even know her. He had tried; he had really tried, to just be friends
But Amy hadnt wanted to be friends.
Every invitation, every step in that direction, had been misinterpreted by the pink hedgehog girl. Maybe, just maybe, if he had met her before Sally there could have been something between them, but Sonic doubted it. Sonic liked a good race, but he didnt like being chased, and he especially hated to have his precious private time intruded on. All his friends understood this, why didnt Amy? For a while, near the end, Sonic had tried to get something happening between Tails and her, since he was fairly certain that his two tailed friend felt something for the girl, but in the end they never seemed to connect or even talk all that much.
Still, her death had hurt. Almost as much as
He shook his head sadly, and realized that, at some point, he had at least gotten used to her being there. She had come in handy from time to time, especially when it came to keeping Chris distracted back at Station Square. She had become something of a fixture in his world, finding a place purely out of her own relentless tenacity, and occasionally endearing personality. Supposedly, Shadow had taken her to the Flying City of Helios, and she had perished, along with Tails, when it blew up. As an honorary Freedom Fighter, she had been given an empty casket funeral in a place of repute.
He sometimes wondered if
No. Enough of that. He wasnt here for regrets, or might-have-beens. As self assured as he was, Sonic knew that Tails hadnt been able to save her, and at the end the young kitsune had developed abilities Sonic knew he himself didnt possess. Still, he suspected that the actions of that day, one promise in particular, haunted him in ways he was just barely beginning to grasp.
(continues...)
----
FFN:
http://www.fanfiction.net/~capnchryssalid
My website is linked below in the sig as always.
I'm still following the CAO saga, and I'm pretty damn impressed, as per usual, with your work, Cap'n. I still can't believe what's happening with Sonic's character.
Though, I can't wait to see what Miles and Lara have planned for Charmy.
=D
Thanks Spiner. You should like the next chapterette, then, which is just about done.
I just hope I didn't lose too much of my readership because of this multi-month delay. I haven't gotten even a chapterette review of any sort yet, and I'd some to expect at least one per update. So I'm a bit perturbed; ah, but such is life.
Ive been at it again! Update Time!
Chapter Two of the COA comic, "Through Fire and Shadow" is now uploaded and online in the gallery section of my website, on Devart, and should soon be up on SVT/sonicverseteam. Here's two pieces from that:
ALSO, I've loaded up a new chapterette of NWO! Below, is the usual snip snip snippet.
-----
Sally took one last look at herself in the mirror, and left for her Court appearance. Replacing her usual vest, she was instead wearing a violet and black gown that flowed down to the floor. Sally had never had to endure anything quite like the experience of putting it on. Even with two attendants, it had taken over twenty minutes to put on to the satisfaction of the matron her mother had assigned to her.
Twice before, in Court, she had to undergo the arduous process of preparation to adhere to her fathers new dress codes for royal audiences. It wasnt that she didnt think the gown itself was beautiful, because it was, with crisscrossing patterns of golden lace over the wine colored layer, and a silver weave to the black layer on top of that, which gave it an ethereal quality. It clung tightly to her to hold itself in place and keep from slipping, since it was designed to leave her shoulders bare. She had been told it was naturally the finest of its kind to be had, perfect for the Crown Princess. So, despite her initial discomfort, it wasnt that she disliked it.
She simply wished it wasnt such a waste of time to put on.
She also wished, less vocally, that the Court would spend less time preening and trying to rekindle the days of Melchoir the Mighty (who had commanded that elaborate clothes were to be worn at Court as part of his decision to modernize mobian society), and more time dealing with the social problems facing the Kingdom. Reform was badly needed, in her opinion. Not that her opinion seemed to count for much with her father anymore, despite her efforts to gain his approval. If anything, her views had made him even less flexible than before in his approaches to governance.
Leaving the dressing room, her two assigned guards for the evening saluted primly. Both were female.
This way, maam.
Sally let them lead her down familiar paths in the Grand Palace. This section of it was all essentially complete, and breathtaking in its extravagance. Despite coming out of a war, labor had been extremely cheap, even highly skilled labor. Ironically, if anything, the kingdom had left the war materially richer than he had begun it. Robotnick had been horribly efficient at excavating veins of resources and stockpiling them. The royal coffers were brimming with salvaged gold, confiscated and expropriated lands, and near state-run industries that had been handed out to political favorites.
It was little surprise how the more distant parts of the Kingdom resented having their wealth stripped to rebuild Mobotropolis, to fill yet more rooms with gold and crystal, train ever more soldiers and pay for their pensions. Worst of all, in her opinion, was that large tracts of the country were once more being handed out to those titled nobles who gained Royal favor (usually through bribes). While this had always been the economic system of much of the Kingdom, a holdover from feudal days, it was mind boggling some of the estates that were being accumulated. Some fiefs were actually thousands of square kilometers in size.
Of course, when she had pointed out that policy was reducing many small land owners into serfs, and cutting the legs out under the minor nobility who formed the basis of commerce, industry, and who even filled out most of lesser command roles in the military, she had been all but shouted down. The economy was doing fine, she had been told. Growth was twelve percent across the board. What was there to worry about? Every month, the treasury grew fatter and fatter.
It wasnt sustainable.
When her father had told her to briefly intern and learn from his Ministers, she had discussed the problem with Preston Dunn, the Minister of Finance, who had only confirmed her own conclusions. However, he had told her that currying favor and building up a power base were also important, and that reform could come later. Dunn had disliked haste, and while he had not agreed with what was being done, he had not resigned either. She could see that he was trying to be a moderating influence on the Court, but she didnt believe he would be very successful in his approach.
Her father should have begun reforms right from the get go, as soon as the Eggman Empire had been destroyed. Instead, he had wasted the opportunity in trying to recreate the past, and assure his own power. It wasnt responsible. It wasnt right. She only hoped there was a Kingdom left to inherit when her time came to sit on the Golden Throne, because she loved both the people and the Kingdom, and she had always believed that they were not mutually exclusive concerns.
She saw Sonic, with his two male escorts, and gave him a little wave in greeting.
You look pretty dolled up there, Sal, he said with a sure smile.
Speak for yourself, she replied, and beamed at how nice he looked. Sonic wasnt one for hygiene, sadly (it didnt help that he was a bit of a hydrophobe), but for Court appearances he had been forced to wash his quills and arrange them. As usual, he had picked out shades of blue to wear: lighter for the mandatory silk shirt, darker for the jacket over it. He seemed a bit uncomfortable, which was to be expected, given that he (like many males) had been used to going around wearing nothing more than shoes and gloves.
Which made his new ones stand out.
They look she was about to finish when he cut her off.
Like Shadows gloves. I know. And I dont like it, Sonic grumbled, one hand over the others wrist. The gloves themselves were the usual white, but each had a thin golden cord wrapped around the wrist like a bracelet. Still, they looked nice, which was the point, she supposed.
This was the first time Sonic had been invited to Court since the new rules had been passed, and as they walked, Sally hoped it was a sign of favor from her father. She was concerned about both of them, her father and her intended. While Sonic had not been as keen to wander off as he had before coming back from Angel Island, she was acutely aware of his growing anxiety regarding the Chaos Emeralds. It was unfortunate that none of the regular Emeralds had been seen since the destruction of Helios, and that the whereabouts of the Super Emeralds were also a growing mystery. She only hoped that he would be able to overcome whatever problems had come up.
Ah Sal. Um, he interrupted her thoughts, and seemed to be stammering. Quite unlike him. A quick look indicated the source of his nervousness, and confusion. And the blush on his cheeks.
What? Is something wrong? She teased, and moved her shoulders back and forth. The effort he put in looking in a more appropriate direction forced a giggle to her lips.
How does ah. It stay up? I mean keep from falling? He scratched behind his head and looked down at his feet.
Im wearing a corset underneath, she explained, stifling further laughter. I could jump up and down, and it wouldnt slip. Want to see?
Would you hold it against me if I said yes? he asked back, and this time she blushed.
Ive gone years wearing only a vest. Why are they suddenly so interesting?
Thats easy enough to answer! Sonic, now in male territory, regained his confident tone of voice. Clothes sometimes make females look exotic. Also, theres something exciting about opening a present rather than just seeing what youre going to get right from the start.
Sally could see the logic in that, even if it left her a little flushed. It wasnt that she had never thought of sexual matters (not at all that), but Sonic had never really mentioned what he liked or disliked before. While she and Sonic had been intimate before, and she had thought about being with a few other males as well over the years, she wasnt nearly as practiced in using her sexuality as many other females, and not just noblewomen. Rouge came immediately to mind, and even Bunnie was more proficient in it than the Princess of the Kingdom was.
A flood of thoughts came and went, all circulating around that oft-neglected aspect of herself, when the two entered the Royal Audience Chamber, though it was built as a rectangular cross, with the Dais or Throne at the head. At their entrance, the Royal Speaker announced them.
Her Royal Highness Princess Sarah Alicia Jean Marie Bourbon of Acorn, at the request of Her Father the King, the Speaker had to take a breath after all that, but then continued undaunted. The Royal Consort, Sir Sonic of West Island, at the request of His Majesty the King.
Sonic suppressed a groan when he saw who else was present and what they were doing. Sallys father sat on his throne, while her mothers seat went empty. This in itself was a bit unusual, but what was almost as unexpected was an addition to the throne itself: some sort of screen seemed to have been installed, further separating the monarch from those present. Looking closely, Sonic could see his shaded outline, but not much beyond that.
A band to the side was busy playing soft courtly music on a variety of instruments, the current piece having its tone set by a flute. It was pretty much the exact opposite of the sort of music the blue hedgehog preferred. It didnt help that he had no skill in ballroom dancing, and that he couldnt tell a marche from a glisse, much less pull off a proper pirouette. High above their heads, lights reflected softly off a thousand points of crystal bathed the gold hued marble and royal red finery in an ethereal glow.
Source alive, how uncomfortable he felt here!
Sally took his hand, and they went past the King, paying their respects and thanks. Oddly, he didnt reply, but instead waved them off. Sally, at least, knew how to work the room and make use of her time. Sonic contented himself with following, and grabbing a couple of the expensive little foodstuffs offered by wandering servants. Sally, meanwhile, met up with some of the Kings Ministers, and their wives, and then they found Prince Elias and his commoner wife, and Sonic felt a bit less out of place among them given that he and Elias were friends, if not close ones.
More guests arrived to fill out the court, and Sonic tried to find any semi-familiar faces among them. At first there was only Geoffrey St. John, who stood by the Golden Throne like a loyal dog. Sonic looked for Hershey, who he wouldve thought also to be present, but never found her. Many other Secret Service agents were around instead, covering all the entrances and exits, and stationed in pairs all over the place.
Then Sonic heard a familiar name: that of his uncle Chuck, and the four of them went to greet the former robian and great court science advisor. Sir Charles no longer actually held that position, as he had refused it despite the offer of King Max. Sonic had always thought Rotor would assume the position, but the King had chosen someone else from his inner circle. They all exchanged pleasantries, and soon the conversation turned to personal matters which Sonic had only a passing interest in.
He would have preferred to spend his time napping in a tree.
Still, he wasnt here for himself. He was here for Sallys sake.
What must have been well over an hour later, well after everyone had arrived, the Royal Speaker announced that the time had come for the King himself to address the Court as to the reason he summoned them. The music stopped, and after some brief milling about, all the nobles and important persons gave their attention to the shaded mobian who sat upon the Golden Throne.
Loyal Subjects of the Crown of Crowns, of the King of Kings, of the Golden Throne and the Sword of Acorns, King Maxs voice was strong and sure, and it carried and reverberated throughout the great hall. I look down before me, and I see the bulwark of our society. I see the foundation of our greatness and fastness as a nation. I have summoned you to bear witness to my commands for the purpose of putting to rest these troubled times.
Those with open eyes can see the unraveling that is occurring, not just in fringe lands, not just on the Mercian border, but all throughout the Kingdom, and especially in the realms south and west of the Great Forest. A great warrior may die of not just a single wound, but a thousand pinpricks. We shall not permit Mercia to flout our demands, to build up its forces, or to throw off our suzerainty.
We shall not permit smugglers and peddlers of ginger to take advantage of lawlessness in these regions, bringing with them the stench of moral decay. We shall not permit threats to our loyal subjects by former mercenaries or modern day brigands. We shall not permit the rise of unionized workforces, enclaves of socialists or anarchists, or any other organization which would tear down all we have built, fought for, and been given by our ancestors of a dozen generations.
We shall not fail in our devotion to the Source or to our fathers fathers, and so we shall not permit the rise of foreign religions on Our Soil. We shall not permit the rise of Mogulian Cults. We shall not permit the practice of Humanism, in any of its forms. And we shall not permit the heresy of the Ritual Church to lead our people astray. We are the Mystery of the Source Revealed, in the Flesh. For all to see. False Faiths have no place in Our Eyes.
My commands are this, The King finally said, and the crowd murmured in anticipation of his words. There will be no more compromises. The time to negotiate with those we should dictate is past. Only the strongest hand may grasp the reigns of the Kingdom, and only an Iron Fist can hold them. Mine will be that Fist. Mercia has taunted us for the last time. When my ultimatum passes in eleven hours, I will order my soldiers to enter Mercia, and to oust the Grand Duke. He will be brought before me, and he will bow before justice is delivered to him.
There was even more quiet murmuring at that, excited talk about settling accounts. Sally just shook her head. War
Martial Law shall be enforced in all the southern and western Provinces of the Kingdom. The Ministry for the Prevention of Vice and Deviancy has assembled lists of those guilty of disloyalty, in action or intention, and they shall be brought together and they shall know the hand of justice as it closes around their throats. Lastly
Behind the screen, the King hesitated, just a few seconds.
Lastly, there is the matter of succession. As you are all aware, in his great wisdom, Xerxes the Golden decreed that all those to sit upon the Golden Throne were to be male heirs of the male line of the main family, following strictly the dictates of primogeniture. For a time, I had contemplated deviation from that mandate, but I have seen a New Truth. It is that Truth I shall reveal to you all tonight.
More drastically than before, the Kings words had an element of finality and weight to them. While there was no denying the harsh tones and approach towards the problems he had highlighted, what he had said had really not come as a great surprise. Indeed, those present would have been shocked if he had changed the official position and attitude. This, however, had the undercurrent of something very different than the norm.
The Truth is King Maximilian shifted behind the screen that obscured him. That my daughter can not take the Golden Throne. Will not take the Golden Throne.
Father! Sally interrupted, yelling to him with a mixture of anger and worry. What are you saying? That I cannot rule? That I am unfit to rule?!
You are unfit, he replied, voice a deep rumble. Both of you.
Elias recoiled, as if struck. His wife, Meg, clung fearfully to his arm. Sally looked about to say more, to object again, but her voice choked out and she turned away, tears in her eyes. It was that, seeing that, which turned Sonics stomach. He couldnt bear to see her cry, no matter the cause.
How dare you say that about her?! Sonic snarled, taking a step forward to place himself between King and Daughter. Sal here fought for this Kingdom while you were trapped in the Void! We all risked our lives because you had to pick a fight with the overlanders, and when you couldnt win the war yourself, you picked the WORST ONE OF THE LOT to help you!
Those around him quickly stepped back to distance themselves. None could believe what he had said, and in the Kings presence. Sonic just continued, not caring what they thought or felt about what he had to say. The words, once they started, once they had crossed the Rubicon, became a torrent.
And even though it was your fault, YOUR FAULT, the Eggman almost destroyed Mobius, we still saved you! Still brought you back! Still made you King! If not for her, youd still be rotting away in the Void, and everyone here would be dead or roboticized! Sonic swiped his fist through the air, ire rising. Ive listened to you criticize her, disagree with her, even demean her, because you dont like what she had to say! Well, pal; I sure as hell dont like what youre saying right now! And I dont give a @#%$ WHO you are - youd better apologize, right now!!
For a few seconds, there was complete and utter stunned silence.
You! St. John began to say, but before the words had even left his mouth, a slow laughter came from behind the screen. Geoffrey looked in the direction of the King, at where he new stood as a shadowed figure in front of the hidden throne. The skunk immediately shut up and backed off.
The Hero of Mobius disapproves? King Max asked sardonically, and with not a little cruelty. Well. It is fortunate then, than Mobius no longer needs heroes. Much less an ailing commoner such as yourself. Know your place, Hedgehog, or be put into it.
And whose gonna put me in my place? You? Sonic smirked, and shot forward. I dont know what you have behind there, but
Several of the guards moved to try and intervene, but none of them had weapons, and none of them had even a fraction of Sonics speed. Geoffrey St. John, who was both quite fast and nearby, simply stood back and watched. Sonic took the opportunity presented, and jumped towards the throne, grabbing the shades that had been put up to obscure the King.
Then he saw something, and twisted at the last possible second, throwing himself to the side. A long line of blood streaked from his left cheek, just under his eye. He saw a blade, the Sword of Acorn, sticking out of the screen where he had just been. A millisecond slower, a fraction of an inch less, and it would have gone right through his eye and out the back of his head. As Sonic fell to the ground, one hand pulled down the barrier, and other braced himself.
The screen fell from the metal poles that had held it in place around the King.
My daughter lacks the spine to rule. My son lacks the heart. And you you lack the breeding. None of you are fit to wear this Crown. The screen fell, cut in half by the sword that still stuck through it. This slowed it down, however. Only after Max has said it, did the first bit of him become clear. And it was the great crown itself.
Or, it had once been the crown. Now, it seemed more like horns: four of them, one in the front, two to the sides, and one in back, curving out and up, golden metal that had once come together at the top now split apart. It seemed no less than the crown had exploded from the inside. Encrusted gems still glittered amid the gold, reflecting shadows and light.
The crown did not end; rather, it merged into what came next. Looking up, Sonic could see the face, see the familiar features, etched now into steel, and framed by the sharpened edges of what may have once been an expression of determination and fury. The eyes were gone, empty, and in the sockets glowed furious white energy, like lights in a skull. The rest of the body was little different, save that it also mounted the trappings and finery of royalty, the purples and the reds, the gold epaulettes and rope that hung under the right arm, and declared its wearer the master of all he surveyed.
What appeared like a gauntlet was simply an extension of the arm, and on the hand there were two rings. Sonic realized what that meant, just then. The Crown and the Ring of Acorns had both been worn when he had done this to himself, as had his wedding ring. They were a part of him now.
In the audience of assembled nobles, there were gasps.
One female screamed.
Your place is at my feet, with the rest of my subjects, Max continued, as if not noticing that he had been revealed. It is where you were born, and it is where you will die.
.
Well, sirs:
NWO is now done. Check out my updates either on FFN or my site. There will be a sidestory to fit between NWO and the last book, but NWO itself is fin. The last three chapterettes are up and online.
You'll see what Miles had planned at the very end.
Given the freakin' massive size of this update (it is basically like me uploading a new 60 plus page chapter), it is almost impossible to make a snippet that isn't a terrible spoiler or that 'represents' the chapter as a whole. So: If you've been reading or following NWO, check it out. 'Nuff said, I think.
*Breathes a sigh of relief* Finally, NWO is over! Congrats to you, sir, for bringing us another epic story!
EDIT: Just finished reading through it, Cap'n, and once again, your work never fails to impress me. =D
Just a pity that third book is put on hold for your other project. =(
Well, there's still the TFS comic and the between books sidestory with the kitsune and humans.
I'm glad you enjoyed it Spiner! My posting on this board was, at the least,useful in bringing you some entertainment. Which is all the point, really.
