[hider=Tora's Christmas Dream: "Heart to Heart"]
“Cheers!”

A great many voices swelled at once, and a host of cups thrust into the air. Every face held weariness, scarred on the inside and out from the months-long campaign, but today they held joy, too. Enough days had passed since the end to let the numbness fade away and the scars scab over, and now the veterans had gathered to celebrate. They'd come from their chosen homes all over the World of Light, from the cities, villages, remote reaches, and pitstops alike, to this gorgeous terrace atop Lominscuttle Town overlooking the western sea.

Tora drank deep from his glass, emptying the whole thing in one long gulp, his eyes closed to savor the sweet taste. “Aah!” With a smack of his lips he set the cup down, the impact reverberating through the giant ring-shaped table so that everyone else could feel it. Their motions reached him too, thanks to the table's design. It was a reminder that everyone was linked, close together in ways despite how far apart they might seem. Even someone on the opposite side could feel what Tora was doing, and he could feel them. Of all the things he'd designed, it stood out as a particular point of pride to Tora, though of course he treasured a few things more.

Beaming, he looked around. He saw quite the assembly. Several dozen faces, some new and some old. A few from the very beginning, but just as the Master of Masters promised so long ago, none exactly the same as back then. Even with all of her acquired parts uninstalled, Blazermate looked totally different from how he remembered her. Like a next-generation model of a device, versus one that had been in production a few years. Plus, ever since she embraced becoming technoorganic, she'd been alive, too. A big change, one that took a long time to settle in. Tora saw Junior living it up as well, enjoying a meaty feast. Well, he wasn't so junior anymore. With all the spirits he'd taken in, one couldn't say he was the spitting image of his father, but he carried the torch proudly. As Tora looked at the others in turn, he tugged at his whiskers absently. A full two months, and he still hadn't gotten used to the facial hair gained from absorbing both doctors Wily and Light. Or the nose, for that matter, but he tried his best to forget about that. At least Light had helped him maintain his roundness, which Tora was grateful for. All this time, and he was still a Nopon. Still himself.

His eyes fell upon a familiar shape, one that filled his heart with pride and joy every time he saw it. The one and only Poppi, his greatest creation. He remembered with a twinge of embarrassment the first time she accessed her third form—everyone's judgmental stares. But they learned to live with it soon enough, especially with how rarely she ever changed back nowadays, pretty much only for practical purposes. Tora could not deny the metaphor presented by those changes: that she was growing up. While still his Blade, now and forever, she had become her own person through and through. Those days of self-doubt and worries about real or fake were long gone. Sitting there, joking with Daxter with a smile on her face, she displayed a gratifying, confident self-assurance. For his part, Tora couldn't be happier.

A moment later he found himself looking at the sunset. A gorgeous orange against the horizon, it tinged the entire World of Light in yellow and gold. For a while the sunset instilled in him a touch of fear; not only did it remind him of that splendorous nightmare in the Ancestral Farmstead, but it also carried with it a measure of uncertainty. What would the night bring? And the next morning? But here they all were. Alive and well, changed but not undone, able to unconditionally appreciate the beauty of a vivid sun shining upon the endless sea. The sun's glow created a road of glittering white straight below it across the water, a path to the horizon. Tora gave a long sigh, glad for peace and happiness at last.

“Father?”

Tora turned, unaware of how long he'd been staring down at the flawless coast. Poppi stood beside his chair, hands clasped behind her back and that same smile on her face. It still sounded a little strange after all this time, but every time she said that word, his heart became full. There remained no doubt in his mind, no words like 'artificial' and 'unreal'. Like a father he had once created her, his beautiful girl, and here she stood—all grown up, far beyond the point of doubt. Beside her, there stood another familiar face, this one looking a little sheepish. Another machine that appeared human, with spiky brown hair and adventurous eyes above a genial smile. “Meh?” Tora said.

“I wanted you to say hi to Volnutt. You remember him, right?” Poppi put an arm around her companion, pulling the slightly-shorter fellow close. That provoked a very slight furrow of Tora's bushy brows, though he knew it wasn't the first time, since he did remember. Mega Man Volnutt, one of the many 'Mega Men' encountered during the long journey. A nice guy, earnest and spirited, he joined the team in the Ruined Metropolis and soon proved that the heart of a hero resided in that metal body. From the moment he and Poppi met, they'd been fast friends. Something else prodded at Tora's mind, like a snippet of the first half of a conversation, left in stasis some time ago.

Poppi broke into his reverie. “Could we talk in private?” 

[hr]

A few minutes later, the Nopon, the Blade, and the reploid stood by the water's edge, a story down from where the revelry on the terrace continued. A few feet away, the lapping waves separated land from a sea that stretched on forever, but Poppi wasn't looking at the beauty of the western coast. Instead Poppi looked conflicted, like she wanted to say something but couldn't. Only after a time did finally she start to speak. “I asked you something a while back, and you said we'd talk when the war was over.”

Tora nodded slowly. That sounded right.

“So here we are.” Poppi chose her words carefully. “I want...I want to spend my life with Volnutt. To be with him. To travel the World, to adventure, to see everything there is to see...together. I...we wanted to get your blessing.”

Tora held his breath steady. In, out. In, out. He closed his eyes for a moment, then reopened them. They gleamed like metal, steely black and implacable. “Tora cannot give blessing, meh. Cannot give Poppi up. Poppi too important to Tora!”

Wringing her hands, Poppi shook her head. Her cascading lavender hair flicked from side to side. The look on her face suggested that Tora's response was not unexpected, but it did not suggest compliance. “Father, please,” she pleaded. “I know you love me, and I love you too, but I'm not yours to keep. Volnutt is important to me, too. It's time that I walked my own path.”

Tears had formed in her eyes. Tora's, too. He meant to be stern and firm, but here he was, weeping, betraying himself. Somehow he knew his grip couldn't hold. “Poppi, no!” Rubbing his eyes with the back of a wing, he burbled, “Meh, meh, meh! Since creation Poppi has been whole life for Tora. Before, just shut-in loser who fiddle with machines. Poppi let Tora become hero. Poppi gave Tora a family. If Poppi go, Tora will be all alone!”

Poppi shook her head again, then affixed him with her amber gaze. “Father, look around. Look at all your friends. How could you be alone? Your days of being alone are gone. They've been gone forever. You're a hero without me. Just take a moment and think about everything you did! I helped you get where you are, but you don't need me anymore. You're more than Poppi's driver. And I am more than Tora's Blade.” Her creator fidgeted, trying to find the right words to describe what his heart was feeling, but Poppi stepped forward and knelt. She had to get on one knees to be level with Tora, who she now stood so far above. Her arms circled him in a great big hug and squeezed tight. “It's not like I'm disappearing,” she murmured. “We can still see each other. Get together, work together, laugh and cry together.” Tears flowed freely from both pairs of eyes now. “We might not see each other for a while, but we're still connected. Father and daughter. Driver and Blade. No matter how far apart we are.”

Tora remained silent. He was thinking about tables. About feelings that reached reached across great distances.

“Do you understand?”

The Nopon frowned and tugged himself free. Poppi watched him, still kneeling. A long moment passed, with only the murmur of friends and the soft sound of waves breaking on the shore to fill the silence. Then Tora reached a wing forward to wipe away her tears. First one wing, then the other. “Tora understand,” he said, his tone heavy and low. “It been good, long time. But now is time for Poppi to find own way. Live own life. Guess Tora knew all along, even back then maybe, but didn't want accept.” With the other wing he beckoned to Volnutt, who came over and knelt beside them. Tora took him by the hand.

“Young man, Tora is giving Poppi to you. Poppi is most precious thing in world to Tora. You take good care of her.”

Volnutt smiled and nodded his head in determined affirmation. “I will.”

He and Poppi stood. With a squeal of delight, Poppi embraced him, and the two stood like that for a long moment. Then another long moment. Tora didn't see any sign indicating it would stop, so he turned away, sniffing quietly. For a time it had felt as though a piece of him were being carved up, taken away, leaving a gaping hole behind. But the piece he thought he'd lose was still there. It would always be, no matter how far apart from the rest of him. A bond connected it to him that would stretch any distance.

Tora's stomach rumbled, and he started to waddle away, back to the terrace to find friends and food waiting for him. Dimly he sensed that some of them at least had been watching him. So much for a private moment. But he was happy, for himself and for Poppi. As he left, he didn't look back to see the two machines locked in each others' arms. He felt that he didn't need to. Whenever he needed to look, he knew, she would be there. No matter how far.

(1828)
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