Thus Ashlar entered the world while his father slept. Rebecca was not alone during the process, however; Sally provided a paw to hold and shoulder to cry on. When Rebecca's parents got the news, they drove straight to the hospital and - at last - began the sacred tradition of fussing over their daughter and grandson. Rebecca's dojo students all visited, crowding the maternity ward, bringing gifts and hugs and kisses for both her and Ashlar. They stayed for hours at a time, congratulating her and assuring her that 'Sensei's husband will wake up soon'.

One week passed. During that time, Tails was fast asleep for five days. Sonic stayed with his wife and daughter, both of whom insisted that they watch over Tails. Lazer slumbered serenely for two days. Rebecca and Ashlar had their own bed beside him at that point; she had refused to set foot outside of the hospital as long as her husband was there.

When he awoke, Lazer turned his head to see his wife and child. Though he was a veteran warrior who had supped full of horrors, the moment he looked into his son's bright new eyes - which were the same as his - the weight of the ages slid off his shoulders. He sniffed his son's head and the darkness was gone. His rough paws felt the slight weight of his son and sorrow surrendered her pale throne to the rising sun of joy. He heard the burbling noises Ashlar made and knew peace.

"My son!" Lazer said, causing the springs in his eyes to overflow. "My son."

Meanwhile, Sally nudged Sonic. "Why weren't you that happy when you first saw Paula?"

Sonic kissed his daughter's head, then grinned at his wife. "I'm just a regular guy."

Lazer recuperated in bed, regaling everyone there with the sad story that was Deomorg's former life. Lazer got his sutures removed at the end of the week, then was declared fit to leave hospital.

After seeing his wife and son home, he met the guys outside. They warped back to the battlefield they had left seven days ago.

There was aurora borealis in the sky. They stood rapt, wondering at its myriad colours... then it began to fall all around them. Sonic blinked, looking to the glowing ribbons in the heavens. Tails held out his paws, where sparkling droplets danced among his fingers.

It was raining magic.

"He's gone," Tails said, his brain, muscles and fur still aching with the awful tension of seventeen sleepless days. "No longer do his whispers crawl within my skull."

Lazer tilted his head. There was something on the ground. He knelt, lifting the amulet. It popped open, showing a family portrait of the late Deo, his wife and their three children. They were all smiling.

"You carried this with you all this time."

There was that foreign grief again. Had he not dealt justice? Had he not satisfied the law? Why this strange distress? He closed his fist and, such was his affinity with R'Thrys, the amulet burned in holy flames even though the greatsword was nowhere nearby.

"Welcome to the end."

The ashes dispersed through the air, then mixed with the magic rain, which soaked into the soil. Lazer wiped liquid magic from his eyes, then looked around for the first time since arriving here. He recognised the Singing Mountains in the distance.

"We're in Xadra. More specifically, the epicentre of the blast in Adrax City. The lich... he must have seen what happened here... seen my life story, as I saw his. He was the one who brought us back to Mobius."

Tails gave Lazer a searching look. "He can't come back, right?"

Lazer shook his head. "The Throne's decree is final."

That pensive look was still on Tails' face. Lazer noticed.

"Something else on your mind?"

"Mr. Lazer, when you broke free, your sword was casting both light and shadow. Was it tainted?"

Sonic slouched nearby, but his ears perked up.

Lazer smiled. He placed a reassuring paw on Tails' shoulder and said, "Rebecca explained to me, that darkness was sacred long before sin entered the world."

"Are those plants?"

Both swiveled their heads toward Sonic. He was pointing at small green shoots that blanketed the ground.

Lazer went to them, lost strength in his knees, then sank into the mud. He scooped up a black clod with tiny plants growing out of it.

"They're not undead. They're alive. They're growing. They're healthy. I can feel them across the land!"

While Lazer shed manly tears, Sonic and Tails remembered the previous war with Thanatos, during which R'Thrys burned away the nuclear fog enveloping this country. Its divine fire could destroy anything, even nuclear fallout, but why were these plants here? Surely the flames had purged the soil?

"No way is the magic rain causing this. He didn't have the ability to give life, or heal the living," said Tails.

"Maybe you're wrong," Sonic said. "What do you think, Red?"

He wiped his eyes, cleared his throat. "This is another mystery for me to solve." He found the strength to stand up. "Let's go home. When Rebecca and Ashlar see this..."

"You'll reclaim Xadra! Colonise it!" Tails shouted, happy despite his exhaustion. Such was the boundless energy of youth.

Lazer shrugged. "That idea holds promise, but you guys are our family now. Our home is with you, and everyone else in New Mobotropolis."

"Let's juice," Sonic said, jerking his thumb westward over the ocean.

The trio looked out over the ocean, where the magic rain was making rainbow waves. The sun was setting, casting yellow fire from the horizon. There were flashes of red, blue and orange light, then only the plants remained, the arcane downpour painting their leaves strange colours.

888 THE END 888