A/N: Many thanks to Luv4Knux and Nari (once again) for their reviews. Hoping more of you will join them!

Chapter 21: Final Farewell

Rouge lie quietly in her bed at the medical clinic in Desordia. It was calm in the small room, the walls keeping out much of the buzz outside as patients continued to roll in on stretchers and available doctors and nurses were constantly running past Rouge's door. The city had been liberated for hours, and so many wounded soldiers and civilians were safe to come here and heal or rest.

Looking up at the ceiling from her comfortable bed, Rouge felt anything but settled. So much had changed for her. She sighed as she played back the image of breaking into the treasury, and then of fighting her mother, and then of nearly dying at Ladronella's hands, and finally killing her mother and making her way out of the palace alive. She was still in awe of how she managed to survive the collapse in the dungeon. It had all happened in such a short time, but Rouge could recount everything.

Her mother had activated the bomb just before Rouge broke her neck, so Rouge knew her end was upon her. But she remembered feeling relieved like she had never felt before in all her life. Her mother was dead, and Rouge was free from her commands and threats forever. She knew she would never make it back to Earth alive, but she spent that split second fantasizing about her new life on the planet she called home.

She saw herself moving in with Knuckles in a comfortable apartment just outside of the capital, where together they would plan the rest of their lives. She saw them inviting their friends over and telling them all that she and Knuckles were getting married, and she pictured all of their happy faces as she received hugs from them all and even an awkward, but generous toast from Sonic. She had laughed at that, knowing Sonic would want to say something but not be able to put it in the right words.

At that point, Rouge came out of thought and frowned. Laying there as silent as the walls around her, she immersed herself in why she couldn't be completely overjoyed. She saw Sonic standing by himself as the rest of her friends came to hug her and tell her how glad they were to see her alive. But while she heard them, she wasn't listening so much to them. She could only focus on Sonic, standing there as if his life had no meaning anymore, that everything he loved in the world was destroyed. And Rouge looked around quickly and saw no Blaze around her, and she put the pieces together. Rouge never really knew Blaze that well, but she could see in Sonic's eyes that he was madly in love with her. She had been the first girl in his life to shine through to him, and now she was gone and never coming back. And Rouge felt completely responsible.

Frustrated, Rouge shifted in the bed as her thoughts now turned to her escape from the palace. Once the heavy rocks started caving in, Rouge dove into the small mound of gems that were left on the floor of the treasury. She knew they would not save her, but she felt more comfortable underneath something as the ceiling above her cracked and collapsed. She braced herself as the rocks began to fall, but to her astonishment, nothing landed on her. A couple of small pebbles bounced off her head, but she was not crushed by anything. But she looked up and saw that the noise from above that sounded threatening was much worse than what appeared, and most of the ceiling was still intact, but it would be coming down any minute. Thinking quickly, Rouge waded through the gems to the hatch and jumped down into it. But before falling below the floor, she grabbed the ledge of the hole and let herself dangle there. The hole was small enough to block the large boulders that would crush Rouge, but she would still have to watch out for the smaller ones, for they could still knock her out cold with a hard enough blow to the head.

She remembered feeling a pebble land on her head, and she jolted in bed as it played back through her mind. Instinctively bringing her hand to her head, she continued to go through her escape. At the time, she wasn't even sure if it was even worth it to survive the cave-in. But she knew she had to move if she wanted any hope of getting out in one piece. Going through everything she knew about the palace, Rouge wasn't sure dropping down into the hatch was the best escape route, especially not when it could be tight down there, and if a heavy boulder fell in, she would really be trapped. Just as that thought crossed her, a menacing crack sounded above her, and she pulled herself up to the floor and skidded away from the hatch. It was only then, as a slab from the ceiling fell to cover the hole, that Rouge remembered the jewels still lingering in the treasury. A few of them were left to endure dirt and dust as stones fell and covered the gems and silenced their shine.

Mentally sighing, Rouge knew there was no way of getting the jewels out now by herself. They would have to send the troops over to the palace anyway to collect anything that Ladronella had stolen from the people or that was required to rule the planet. That is, if such things were still intact. Ladronella had certainly made sure she left nothing—or as close to nothing—behind for any of the rebels or heroes to recover. But there had to be some areas that weren't as hard hit by the blast. The troops could come by and get the jewels; she certainly wasn't going to dig around for them. She laughed at the irony of that statement, but then refocused on finding a way out.

Rouge shifted in the bed again. That uneasiness lingered in her mind, and she still felt trapped to some extent. But that fear had been with her ever since Prison Island. That same fear drove her to get out while she still could, otherwise she would die trapped in a dungeon.

She ran towards the stairs and saw a pile of stones in front of the entrance to the treasury. They weren't anything bigger than Rouge's head, but there were a lot of them. She would need to at least move half of them from the top so she could squeeze out into the corridors. From there, she would have to basically pick a passage and try it to see if it led to the surface. It was then that she brought her hand up and smacked her own forehead. She forgot about the light in the treasury. Rouge turned around and saw its glow dimming as the dust from the fallen stones began to cloud the room. Walking back to the jewel pile, she picked up a gem and waited for the light to move to be over her. It did so, so she turned back to the stairs and walked towards the stone pile. Then—

She stopped and fell backward as a massive boulder plummeted to the floor inches in front of her. Gasping, she began to shake uncontrollably. She was losing her nerve as she realized there was no other way out other than the hatch, and she didn't want to take that chance. But she had no choice. She took the jewel and the light back up to the hatch. Suddenly, the light began swerving back and forth above Rouge's head before speeding towards a wall. Acting quickly, Rouge chased it to the wall and did not flinch as she came within an inch from running right into the stone. Trusting the light, she sprinted right through the illusionary wall. Looking around the small corridor as she ran, Rouge felt guilty for not giving her friends a chance to go this way. It was metal, unlike the rest of the stone dungeon, which made it relatively safe to navigate after the explosion. It was not impenetrable, but it was sturdy enough to keep from crumbling and dropping sudden slabs on one's head. Thinking about her friends now, Rouge prayed they all made it out okay.

The rest of the way was cake compared to what her experience would have been in the stone hallways. This was obviously intended for exactly what Rouge was using it for, and only Ladronella was supposed to have access. Rouge claimed that from her as she sprinted up the steps to the surface. Within a few minutes, she had already slipped the gem into her pocket for fear of dropping it accidentally as she ran, and she made her way into a hallway on the first floor of the palace. Navigating the floor was a bit tricky, but she knew her way around up here, and Rouge was outside in moments.

Rouge rolled over as she stirred from her deep thoughts. But when she turned over, she saw Sonic again, standing there all alone. As much as she felt sorry for him, she wanted to be happy. She had finally freed herself from her mother. She could now live her own life and pursue things she wanted without worrying about things being held over her head. And now she felt guilty for what happened to Blaze. What if she had found the secret path while they were all in there and they all got out alive? She hadn't told anyone about it yet. She hadn't had much of a chance to talk to anyone since she got here.

At that moment, the door to her room opened quietly. One of the Malterrian doctors walked in and smiled at Rouge. "Are you ready for visitors?"

Rouge returned the grin. "Definitely."

"Well that's good," the doctor said, laughing. "Because we couldn't keep this guy out of here for much longer."

Knuckles held back the urge to run in as he walked into the room and over to the side of her bed. He reached down and grabbed her hand delicately. He then bent near her and kissed her cheek.

"How are you doing?" he asked, glad to see her sitting up and awake.

Rouge looked down. "I'm alright," she said. "Not as happy as I thought I would be. You know, especially after what I was able to do."

Knuckles' smile grew solemn. He caught what she was talking about. "Yeah, Sonic's been kind of quiet around the clinic. But I think he's doing all right. It's gonna take some time for him to get over what happened. He needs to be alone for a little while."

"No," said Rouge. "He needs someone to lean on right now. Don't leave him out in the cold, not after he lost Blaze. You should go be with him. He probably needs you more than I do right now."

"I can't talk to him," admitted Knuckles. He looked down as he continued. "How can I tell him I'm sorry when you came out alive for me and Blaze couldn't do it for him? I feel like I don't even deserve to talk to him. I got you back; he's not getting Blaze back."

"I don't think Sonic thinks like that." Rouge looked over to the window of the room. The blinds prevented her from seeing outside, but she was staring at that image of Sonic more than the window. "He understands it's not your fault. Don't beat yourself up over this. It's not like you could have done anything to change it."

"I know, but I can't help holding back my happiness, at least in front of him. I don't want to put him in any more pain than he already is."

"Which is why you need to talk to him. Tell him how you're feeling about the situation. He'll understand, Knuckles. Don't hold yourself back. You thought you lost me, too. Don't you deserve to be happy?"

"Yeah, I guess you're right," he agreed. He bent down and kissed her lips. "You're always so smart." He smiled before walking out of the room again.

Tails rounded the corner of the hall and found Sonic sitting in one of the chairs outside a random hospital room. There weren't any folders or files in the case on the wall beside the door, so Sonic must have felt it was the best spot to just sit in silence and think.

Tails hated seeing Sonic like this. His best friend was always optimistic and open. Tails didn't remember ever seeing Sonic sulk. Tails himself was sad to learn of Blaze's death, but he knew his loss was nothing next to Sonic's pain. He walked over and sat in the small cushioned chair next to him.

"Hey Sonic," he said happily, trying to cheer him up. "I heard Rouge is awake. So once she's cleared, we should be able to get going back home."

Sonic let a faint smile break through. "That's good," he said. But his eyes didn't look up at Tails. They hung toward the floor as if there was some extreme weight they carried.

Tails looked down and frowned. He couldn't let Sonic sit here like this. He stood up. "C'mon Sonic," he said. "Let's go see the others."

Sonic slowly stood up. He didn't look miserable. But Tails was having trouble finding any emotions on his face at all. He seemed blank. And this made Tails pick up his pace as he took Sonic to wait with the others.

"Rouge, you have another visitor," said the doctor as he opened the door and walked in. Rouge nodded her head to approve it, and the doctor turned and motioned for Shadow to come in. Rouge smiled lightly when he looked over at her. He walked over to her side and smiled down at her. "How are you feeling?"

"Better," she told him. The doctor walked out the door to give them some privacy.

Something else was nagging at Rouge. "Shadow," she began, but she couldn't find the words.

"It's okay," he said quietly. "I forgive you."

Rouge laughed softly. "You knew what I was going to ask?"

"Well, it was in my mind, too." Shadow looked up at her. "Briefly."

"You know I never meant for that to happen. We're just friends." Feeling bad, she added, "But we're best friends. And we always will be."

"That's good enough for me," he said, laughing lightly. Then he got serious. "But we should probably just not talk about it again. Don't erase it from our minds, but don't dwell on it. It was meaningless."

"Well, I don't think we'll need to worry about that," noted Rouge. "I have Knuckles. And I think you have someone in your sights…."

Shadow shifted out of his stance and blushed. "What are you talking about?"

Rouge gave him that smile that told him she wasn't fooled. "There's someone out there for everyone, Shadow. Even the ultimate life-form."

"Whatever you say." The red didn't leave his face.

Just then, a Malterrian walked into the room. "Pardon the interruption, but do you mind if I could gather all of your friends in here for a moment? I would like to share something with all of you."

"Of course," said Rouge. She wanted to see everyone anyway. "Send them in."

"Great," replied the Malterrian. He walked out of the room, and a moment later, the door opened again and the others all filed in. Tails came in last with Sonic walking in behind him. Rouge cringed for a split second before breaking it and smiling. She made herself be happy to see all of them again.

"Now that you're all here," began the Malterrian. "I would like to start by offering my highest gratitude toward each and every one of you. You have all brought peace and democracy to our planet, and we will never be able to properly thank you for your efforts."

He looked around to catch their reactions. They were all smiling, except for Sonic, who was looking to the floor with a distant smile on his face. It was then that the Malterrian leader took note of the situation. "We are also aware that one of yours was lost during the struggle." Sonic made no sign that he registered what was just said. The Malterrian continued. "While we are not able to return her to you, we would like you to join us in a celebration and memorial ceremony to honor all those who perished in the conflict. We promise to hold a special recognition for your friend."

"Our friend's name is Blaze," stated Rouge rather coldly.

The others looked back at her for a split second. Even Sonic broke out of his stance temporarily to stare at her. They weren't sure to admonish her for being rude or to admire her for her emotion. Uncertain of what to do, they turned back to the Malterrian official. His reaction was apologetic.

"I'm sorry. …Blaze will have a proper memorial at our ceremony. We would be honored by your presence, and I'm sure you would love to come by and pay your respects to Blaze."

The others, feeling guilty, looked at Sonic. They didn't want to put pressure on him to decide, but he knew Blaze better than anyone, and his friends felt he should decide whether or not to attend. If he didn't feel comfortable with it, then they would leave when they were ready.

Catching the glances from the others, Sonic finally spoke. "I'd like that," he said quietly. "I'd like that a lot."

The ceremony was held the following day. Rouge had fully healed by then and was able to attend without assistance. It was held in the center square of Desordia and drew the entire city and nearby areas. Most of the planet was freed, so others from neighboring cities came to pay respects to the soldiers who fought and died for their freedom.

Before all had gathered around the square, Shadow walked over to stand by Sonic. The black hedgehog felt that he should try and cheer Sonic up, although he was almost certain he, of all people, would not be able to do it. But he decided to at least give it a try.

"Sonic," he said. "Are you…alright?"

Sonic sighed. He hadn't changed his expression much since yesterday. "Yeah," he muttered. "I'll be alright."

"You'll get through it," Shadow assured him. "I know one thing like this isn't gonna keep Sonic the Hedgehog from being the ever-cheerful hero the world knows and loves."

Shadow laughed a little bit to try and soften what he had just said, for he was afraid that he may have just understated Blaze's death to Sonic's face. But Sonic didn't see it that way—at least he didn't appear to be offended. He just simply nodded. "Yeah," he smiled slightly.

Shadow, feeling he did all he could do for him, nodded himself. He put his hand on Sonic's shoulder. "I'm sorry," he said sincerely. "You'll get through it."

Then Shadow left him to think alone while he walked over to join Rouge, Knuckles, and Tikal. They were standing in one small group near Tails, Amy, and Cream. But when Sonic moved to join that group, they all gathered together and moved to the front of the crowd. They were getting ready to start the ceremony.

There was initially a moment of silence and prayer for the lost soldiers and civilians. All in the procession let their minds dive deep into thoughts of lost loved ones or friends that gave their lives so that their comrades could live on. Sonic, of course, could only think of Blaze. All he could think of was the last time he held her hand. It had felt so light and delicate in his own hand, and it was the most beautiful feeling in the world. He cherished it for all that it was worth and continued to replay their last moment together over and over in his head. He was not going to forget her, even if he had to think of only her for the rest of his existence. It was all he had left. And knowing that brought tears to his eyes. He held most of them back, trying to save them for the actual memorial, where he would have to say goodbye and finally lay her to rest.

After a moment, the silence was cut by the priest in charge of the event. He began with a few speeches written by surviving comrades about courageous soldiers who helped to ensure freedom for all. He read poems submitted by a few eloquent Malterrians. There was always at least one being in the audience who was crying out loud, but it certainly never distracted from the ceremony. They all felt each others' pain and sympathized with those who also lost friends and family. But Sonic and his friends could only think of Blaze and her memory. They could only think of the legacy she would leave behind and how she would be remembered as one of Earth's greatest heroines.

Finally, after memorials had been given for the soldiers who lost their lives, the priest called on all who stood there to remember the life of a hedgehog from Earth named Blaze. The priest spoke of how passionately she cared for her work and her role in life. Sonic was able to smile through the fog in his eyes as he listened to the priest talk about the girl he had given everything to. The priest then went on to mention how Blaze worked with the heroes from Earth to liberate Malterr and how she aided in the destruction of Ladronella and her evil that had gripped the planet for so long.

Finally, Blaze was remembered as a close friend to all those who knew her. She always put her life on the line for those she cared about, and she never let them make the sacrifices she herself had made in the end. She sought only the peace and happiness for all peoples in the universe, and that was evident in her drive to find Earth's international jewel thief, who turned out to be Ladronella through her own daughter, Rouge. Blaze was key in helping to bring democracy to a planet that begged for it and deserved it, and she made sure others were around to enjoy it. She would never be forgotten on Malterr. They would celebrate her life, along with all the others who were lost that day, once every year on Malterr. The priest then acknowledged the group in front of him and asked them to come forward and appear before the crowd. They did so slowly and somberly, but smiled as all those in the square applauded their ascent up the stairs to the platform and podium. Sonic was overwhelmed, both crying and smiling as the people of Malterr cheered him and his friends.

"The people of Malterr would like to let Blaze be a symbol of our eternal unity between planets and cultures," said the priest. "We hope that when you return to your planet, you will tell them of us and that we would like to establish formal ties between our great societies. Through this, we shall help to establish universal democracy and closer relationships between planets."

Rouge spoke for the group. "We promise to honor your request. And we thank you for everything you have done for us. I think I speak for all of us when I say that Blaze would truly appreciate all of this. I know that she is smiling down on us, and she is certainly happy for everything that has been accomplished. We will miss her."

She looked back at her friends, and they all nodded. Sonic, still emotional and unable to speak, smiled and nodded at Rouge. Rouge smiled back at him, then turned back to the priest. "I think we are ready now to return to our home."

The priest smiled. "Very well then. Please know that you are always welcome to stay with us. We would be honored by your visit. We hope to see you again someday."

The crowd applauded loudly again as the heroes walked back down into the crowd. Parting like the Red Sea, the Malterrians made a path for the heroes as they walked slowly but confidently through the crowd and back to their ship in the hangar.

A/N: I know I said Ch 21 would be the last one. Well...it's not. When I finished Ch 21, it was on its 17th page on Word with 8100 words, and I think you all would have beaten me if I kept it that long, so I divided it up into 2 chapters. I promise Ch 22 is the last one. Seriously.