A/N: After four to five chapters of fighting, the Resistance can finally relax and celebrate the life G-merl once had. The Gizoid have his life to save the others in the previous chapter. Imperator Ix and the Nocturnus Clan have been defeated, Dr. Eggman is in jail, and the world is at peace again. Let's see what happens to the Resistance as they celebrate a brand new day. This was the last chapter the Infinite's Ruby had the pleasure of editing. I would love to thank her for being by my side for this long. Now, let's not waste anymore time. Let's see what happened to the Resistance.

Suggested Music:

(1) Miss You - Sonic and the Secret Rings OST

(2) His Fate - Sonic and the Secret Rings OST

Without further ado, enjoy the penultimate chapter!


Celebration

The next morning opened on a positive note for Mobius, as the morning began with a television segment hosted by Brenda. The freelance writer from Spagonia was shown in front of the camera, sitting on a velvet red chair. She placed her sunglasses on her face and smiled in front of the live audience and the cameras surrounding her.

"I've come to make an announcement, Shadow the Hedgehog's a-wait a minute, this isn't the right script," she greeted, tossing the old script in the trash. "Welcome to my talk show, I'm Brenda: your friendly neighborhood freelance writer. Today…"

She took off her sunglasses. "I owe a huge apology to a certain team. That team is known as the Resistance. For a while now, I falsely accused them of being criminals because they were housing a wanted terrorist, but I never bothered to look at the real details. So, Commander Tower issued a statement and I quote…

"While the Resistance did house a wanted fugitive, they made up for their actions by providing a logical explanation for their actions. All they wanted to do was show a lost rebel what the world truly meant to them. Isn't that touching? They also helped us combat the return of the ancient echidna city, Nocturne, and one of their proudest members: G-merl, sacrificed his own life for the fate of the world, the people, and his family. We owe our gratitude to G-merl and the Resistance, which leads me to my apology…

"Resistance, I'm sorry for harassing you with yellow journalism. I should have thought twice before I said all those things. You guys have done so much for this planet and I felt selfish for wanting to make myself look good. If there's a way we can start over, that would be nice. Thank you, Resistance. Keep on being way past cool!"


Aboard the Restoration Shuttle that sat on Angel Island, Tails typed on the computer and scanned for any sign of Chaos Energy. He assumed that G-merl would leave behind a trace of Chaos Energy, so that he could be tracked down and possibly located. But sadly, the fox's theory was starting to be proven false. He and Amy scanned the oceans a few times for any traces of G-merl; nothing was found. The fox sighed in frustration, as he rubbed his eyes.

"Tails, don't worry," Amy smiled. "If he's not out there, that's something we're going to need to deal with."

"I know, Amy," Tails replied. "I'm just worried about Cream. She must be so heartbroken."

Suddenly, Sonic, Cream, and Big entered the computer room.

"Permission to come aboard, Captain?" Sonic saluted.

Amy chuckled. "Permission granted."

"So, any luck on finding G-merl?"

"Nope," Tails answered with a saddened tone. "I looked everywhere for traces of Chaos Energy. I thought he'd leave some behind, but nope… we're just going to have to face the facts; G-merl's gone forever… I'm sorry, Cream."

"Don't worry, Mr. Tails," Cream spoke with a soft smile, patting the fox's hand. "It's okay."

"Cream, I gotta ask you something," the fox said again. "When you said those things to Synergy yesterday, did you mean it?"

The rabbit was silent at first before she shared a glance with her Chao. "Of course, I did. As G-merl said, we can't think of Mr. Synergy as a replacement. We just have to think of him as a new addition to the family. When he gets out of jail, Mr. Big, Mother, Cheese, Chocola, and I will be waiting for him. And plus, I want to honor G-merl's legacy by helping out more."

"I know he'll be okay," Big smiled. "I have faith in Synergy. And I want to help too."

Tails and Amy exchanged a glance.

"If that's how you feel, Cream… we respect that," Amy spoke with a smile.

Cream and Big shared a smile.

The fox's frown turned upside down.

Sonic cracked his fingers. "I hate to ditch you guys, but I'm gonna go out for a run. Everyone's leaving soon, so I'm gonna say goodbye while I can."

"See ya later, Sonic," Amy waved.

"Goodbye, Mr. Sonic," Cream and Big said at once.

"See ya," Tails winked.

Sonic got down in a running position. This run's for you, G-merl.

ZOOM!

The Blue Blur took off at the speed of light. (1)


The fastest thing alive ran down the island until he reached Mushroom Hill Zone. The sun was shining, and a single cloud wasn't in sight. It was a beautiful morning in the zone and Sonic couldn't be any happier. There were no Badniks, no Marauders, no Eggman, no Starline, all that was there were the gorgeous environments and the sound of his two feet running. Jumping onto a set of mushrooms, the hedgehog took to the skies and slid down a tree as if it was a slide.

Sonic ran to the ground and boosted forward, running faster than normal.

Taking a breath of fresh air, the blue hedgehog felt the mild wind blowing against his fur. The temperature was humid for the most part, but the hedgehog was happy that there was some wind whisking against his cobalt blue fur. Closing his eyes and extending his arms, Sonic enjoyed such a fantastic day.

Nothing could possibly interrupt his run.

"Look, guys! There's nothing wrong with Honey and I dating."

Except for that.

Hearing the soft chuckle of Mighty the Armadillo, Sonic stopped and took a right turn down the path.

Emerging from the bushes, he saw that Mighty and Honey were being interrogated by Vector, Ray, and Charmy. Espio sat on a log by the bushes, meditating. He was awakened by the sound of Sonic chuckling.

"Good morning, Sonic."

"Morning, Espio. What's going on here?"

"During the fight on Nocturne, we discovered that Mighty's been in a secret relationship with Honey the Cat."

The blue hedgehog laughed. "Oh, my gosh! That's hilarious! Ray must be so peeved."

"He was more shocked than that. Vector and Charmy have been teasing them since breakfast. I have to admit, I too am curious about their relationship. But I wouldn't brutally tease them like Vector and Charmy are doing. Well, I'll make an innocent joke here and there, but nothing too offensive."

"You're too kind, Espio."

"You make that sound like it's a bad thing?"

"So, let me get this straight," Ray stroked his chin, pacing around the log Mighty and Honey sat on. "You two have been dating for a while and you didn't tell me, Mighty? That means you violated the Bro Code."

"Oh, snap!" Charmy chuckled.

"He's got you, Bro," Vector chimed in.

"Bro Code?" Mighty giggled nervously. "No, no, I didn't violate the Bro Code?"

"Wait, I'm confused," Honey folded her arms. "What's the Bro Code?"

"It's where Mighty and I tell each other everything," Ray replied. "We keep no secrets from each other. Since he kept his relationship with you a secret, that means he violated our code. Why did you do this to me, Mighty?"

"Ray, you know I never did this to hurt you," Mighty smiled, patting his best friend's head. "Really, I meant to tell you. It just never came up."

"But you should always tell your bros everything," Charmy said. "For example, Vector told me that whenever he's alone in the house, he dances in his underwear."

"Charmy, that's you that does that," Vector said.

"Oh… well, you get my picture."

"I'm really sorry, Ray," Mighty apologized humbly. "I should have told you later on. I guess the cat's out of the bag now. Ha-ha, see what I did there? Cat out of the bag?"

Honey glared at her boyfriend.

Mighty rubbed his head. "Sorry."

Sonic and Espio chuckled.

Mighty turned to the Blue Blur. "Let's change the subject. How are you today, Big Blue?"

Sonic stretched his arm muscles. "Not too shabby, Mighty. Just checking up on everyone before they head out."

"How's Cream doing?" Ray inquired.

"She's good. She told me she wants to honor G-merl's legacy by helping out on more adventures. Big wants the same."

"Ay, good for her," Vector smiled. "I just hope my wife-I mean, her mama's cool with it."

Everyone blankly stared at the crocodile.

"What?" he shrugged.

"Anyways," Sonic continued. "Before I head out, Mighty, Ray, it was nice seeing you guys again. I know I called you up for the Sylvania Castle incident, but I'm glad you two came back. Thanks!"

"You're welcome, Big Blue," Mighty winked.

"See ya later, Sonic," Ray waved.

"Goodbye, guys," Sonic ran down the grassy lane. "Catch you on the flip side!"

With the hedgehog taking off like a light, the crocodile took a seat between the armadillo and the cat. "So, let's get serious. How long has this been going on?"

"Oh, if you must know," Honey smiled. "It's actually been two weeks-"

"Two months," Mighty said at the same time. The couple stared at each other before they blushed, giving nervous smiles.

"Okay," Charmy chuckled. "Let's try that again with less lying."

"Or," Espio smirked. "Do you two need time to get your priorities in order?"

"Espio!" the armadillo shouted in annoyance.

Ray and the detectives shared a laugh.

Mighty rolled his eyes, as he and Honey got up from their seat.

"Hate to break up the banter, but Ray and I have to get going," Mighty said. "This world's not going to explore itself, y'know?"

"Aww, you're leaving?" Charmy frowned.

"Sorry, Charmy," Mighty patted the bee's head. "But Ray and I have to get going. We're travelers. We never stay in one place. Like Sonic, we go where our hearts take us."

"Just promise me you'll take me out before you leave," Honey flirted. "You owe me for coming to that big battle."

"Right," Mighty smiled, bestowing a kiss on his girlfriend's cheek. "Come on, Ray. Let's get moving."

"Safe travels, Mighty," Espio shook the armadillo's hand. "Keep in touch."

"I will."

As the armadillo and cat walked down the lane, Ray stayed behind. The couple stopped, seeing that the squirrel was sad. Sharing a glance, Mighty approached his best friend.

"Ray, are you okay? What's wrong?"

"Mighty," Ray rubbed his arm. "Can we actually stay with the Chaotix for a bit longer?"

The three detectives widened their eyes.

"You want to stay?" Mighty asked.

"Yeah," Ray answered. "I may not have known them as long as you did, but I grew close to them throughout this whole adventure. They've shown me kindness and they're really funny. Plus, I've always wanted to know what it's like to be a detective. If it's cool with you, can we stay a bit longer?"

The armadillo glanced at his former teammates and watched their smiles gaze into his eyes. With a soft smile, Mighty nodded and patted Ray's shoulder.

"Of course, Ray," he replied. "There's nothing wrong with catching up with old friends."

The Chaotix gathered around the new trio, shaking their hands and sharing laughs.


The next stop Sonic went by was Azure Lake Zone. Running past the ancient ruins, the hedgehog took a glimpse at the vast wilderness in front of him and increased his speed. As he circulated in a quick motion, he looked to the right and saw Tangle and Whisper chilling by the water's edge, admiring the lakeside. The blue hedgehog smiled and made a sharp U-turn, running towards them. From where he was, he could hear Tangle laughing loudly and Whisper laughing quietly.

"Hey, ladies," Sonic greeted. "About ready to head home?"

"Yeah! No! Maybe so!" Tangle replied. "I miss home and all, but this whole adventure has been awesome! I saved a town from two skunks, I helped locate a friend of yours, I met a former member of an ancient clan, and I fought said ancient clan! This whole experience has been amazing, I don't think I can go back to my old life!"

"Well, you know what they say," Whisper chimed in. "Home is where the heart is."

"Oh, I also have to tell you, Sonic. Whisper here is a total riot! She just told me the funniest joke," the lemur nudged the wolf. "Come on, tell him the one you just told me. It was the one about the toaster! It was hilarious!"

Whisper chuckled softly. "I wish I could, but I have to get going. I'm not going back to your town, Tangle, I'm moving off on my own." She took out the picture of the Diamond Cutters. "I have someone I need to look for."

Tangle nodded. "Right… I understand."

"I guess I'll leave you two alone," Sonic smiled. "Let me know when you're ready to take off. Whisper, thanks for coming with us. I know crowds aren't your thing, but I appreciate you coming along."

"You're welcome," the wolf shook hands with the hedgehog.

Sonic and Tangle exchanged a fist-bump before engaging in a friendly hug. "Tangle, you were just as awesome! I hope this isn't the last time we meet."

"Likewise. Maybe next time, you and I can race. I wanna see if you can run as fast as I can swing."

"Ha! I accept that challenge. I'll see you ladies later."

"Bye!"

"Goodbye, my friend."

As Tangle and Whisper waved goodbye, they watched the hedgehog leave and they turned to each other. The dynamic duo exchanged soft smiles.

"So… I guess this is goodbye," Tangle rubbed her arm. "I have to say, I'm glad to have met you. I know you and I didn't get off on the right foot at first, but I'm glad I was able to hear your story and become your friend. Well, I think of you as a friend, I don't know you if your feelings are mutual. It's not that I'm assuming they're not mutual, I'm just saying-"

"Tangle, it's okay," Whisper chuckled. "My feelings are mutual. I apologize for being rude to you earlier… I've never had a friend since the Diamond Cutters. I always assumed everyone was there to stab me in the back… but you proved me wrong."

Tangle smiled. "You know, I'm going to miss you. We should exchange numbers. You have a phone, right?"

Whisper shook her head.

"You got a house? We can send letters."

Whisper shook her head.

"Do you have… any living establishment whatsoever."

Whisper shrugged her shoulders.

"Well, we'll have to work something out."

Whisper chuckled. "This has been fun."

"Yeah, it's a shame Team Justice has to come to an end."

"Who said anything about disbanding Team Justice?"

Tangle gasped, feeling a light of hope run through her body. "Does that mean you'll take me on your adventure!?"

"No."

"Aww… so, what did you mean by that?"

The biscotti wolf glanced at her Wisps and reached for her cloak. She took out an object that the lemur gasp…

…it was a mask that looked like her's.

"What is that?" Tangle asked. Her eyes lit up with sparkles.

"This was my old friend, Slinger's mask," Whisper replied. "We would use these to communicate with each other… I figured we could use them to communicate."

"You mean… we can stay close?"

Whisper nodded.

The lemur gently took the mask from the wolf's hand and smiled. A tear flowed down her cheek. She wiped her eye and held out her hand, offering a handshake.

"Whisper… thank you."

But instead of shaking her hand, Whisper leaned in and hugged the ring-tailed lemur. The wolf held on tight, making sure she remembered this day during her travels. Tangle was shocked by this, but she couldn't help but smile. Wrapping her arms and tail around the wolf, she embraced her new best friend in a hug. It certainly was a heartwarming moment between the two of them. All of Whisper's Wisps joined in the hug as well.

Tangle and Whisper had their eyes closed, savoring their last moment.


Sitting on the top of the Restoration Shuttle was Silver the Hedgehog and Blaze the Cat.

The two of them sat alone, talking about their plans to return to where they came from. As they talked, Sonic jumped on top of the ship and jogged towards them. He got in the middle of their conversation.

"Are you sure?" Silver inquired.

"Yes, this is for the best," Blaze replied.

"Hey, guys," Sonic greeted. "Everyone should be leaving soon. Then again, Blaze, you could use the Sol Emeralds to get home. Silver, you can return to the future through… whatever process you use."

"You're right, Sonic," Blaze nodded. "My work is done, and the Sol Emeralds must be returned. But I shall say goodbye to everyone before I do so. I also want to pay my respects to Cream. I know she and G-merl were close."

"I may stay for a little longer," Silver replied. "I know that the Phantom Ruby War and this whole Nocturne thing is over, but I feel like something bad may happen in this timeline. Call me a pessimist, but I'm going to stick around a little longer."

Sonic wrapped his arms around both of his friends.

"Dang it, Silver," the hedgehog teased. "Don't be a Negative Nancy. This means we get to hang out more."

"Yeah, I guess you can say that," Silver chuckled. "If you want to put a positive spin on it."

"He always does," Blaze nodded. "By the way, what's a Negative Nancy? (1s)

Suddenly, a rainbow-colored portal opened beside the trio. Everyone jumped back and got into battle positions.

"You got to be kidding me," Sonic snarled, wiping his nose. "Don't tell me Imperator Ix survived."

Their worst fears didn't come true. Instead of the evil echidna or anything sinister popping out of the wormhole, Marine the Raccoon jumped through the portal with a magical artifact in her hand. It was the Jeweled Scepter: the key that controls the geological activity of the Sol Dimension. The orange raccoon jumped up and took out a wooden sword, ready to fight.

"Hi-ya! You all thought Marine the Racoon was gonna make two measly cameos for this story, eh?" she laughed like a warrior. "Well, guess what? Marine's back for the climax! So, come on! Bring on the Nocturnus Clan!"

Marine waited patiently for bad guys to arrive, but nothing happened. She stood still before she turned to Sonic, Blaze, and Silver.

"G'day, guys," Marine greeted. "Where are the villains? I want a taste of the action!"

Blaze rubbed her head. "Marine… the fight's over. We won."

The raccoon's face went pale. "W-what?... What do you mean the final battle's over!? You're telling me this writer brought me in for the sake of a stupid cameo! Crikey! I can't believe he would do this to me! Let's see if I show up in another one his stories! This is ridiculous! Well, I outta show him!"

Blaze, with a nervous smile, kindly pushed Marine and the Jeweled Scepter into the portal. She closed it and wiped her hands.

"I apologize for that," Blaze said.

"Okay?" Sonic shrugged his shoulders. "I better say goodbye to Knuckles and Shade before we take off. See ya guys later."

"Bye, Sonic!" Silver waved.

"Goodbye, Sonic," Blaze kindly waved.

The blue hedgehog jumped off the ship and took off at the speed of light.


Meanwhile, at Shrine Isle, Knuckles and Shade sat on top of the Master Emerald. The wind stroked against their fur and they were soaking up the shining sun. The sky was bright and blue, and the duo was looking forward to rest and relaxation. Knuckles found himself taking a small nap whereas Shade stayed up and enjoyed the view of the island.

From where she sat, she could see all of the trees and almost all of the landmarks Angel Island had to offer. The orange echidna was relieved to be back with her old friends. Yes, she came back at a time where everything went to chaos, but she was happy that she forgave herself for what happened many years ago.

For years, she kept blaming herself for causing Dr. Eggman to raid the Metropolis while everyone else was in the Twilight Cage. The mad scientist even went as far as to torment her about it, which made her situation worse. But with the help of Knuckles and Elder Scruffy, Shade was back in the game. She chuckled at how loud Knuckles was snoring and leaned back, laying on her side. She watched the sleeping echidna sleep.

"Hey," Shade nudged Knuckles. "If you snore any louder, the Master Emerald's gonna start complaining."

"W-what?" Knuckles woke up from his slumber, registering Shade's joke. "Ha-ha, very funny," he said sarcastically.

Shade laughed, leaning back up. "So… what are you going to do now that the war is over? Dr. Eggman is in jail, Synergy's in G.U.N.'s custody, everything seems fine. What are you going to do?"

Knuckles leaned up too. "Well, unless if Dr. Eggman starts attacking again, I'm gonna stay up here and guard the Master Emerald. It's my duty, after all."

"Understandable."

"What about you? Going back to Windmill Village, I assume?"

"Yes, I will. The band needs me, and the scouts need me too. I can't leave those guys behind."

"Can't blame you," Knuckles smiled. "Listen, Shade."

The orange echidna turned to the red guardian.

"Ever since you left, I've been trying to call you," Knuckles continued. "I told you this, right? Well, when you came back, I've been wanting to ask you something," Shade became nervous. "I was going to ask you if you wanted to-"

"I'm sorry, Knuckles… but I can't."

"Hmm?"

"Knuckles, I consider you a close friend of mine. Yes, I did leave for many years, but I still held you close to my heart. But here's the thing, I don't think I can dedicate myself to a relationship. I think it will be troublesome for both of us. Plus, I'm part of a band and I'm a cub scout leader. I can't manage both of those and a relationship. I'm sorry, Knuckles, but I can't-"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Knuckles laughed. "That's not what I was going to say at all."

Shade widened her eyes. "Oh… then, what did you-"

"I was just going to ask if you wanted to hang out more often. It's been a while since we've seen each other. I thought maybe we can hang out one day and catch up with each other. Let me tell you, you missed a lot since you were gone."

Shade smiled. "In that case, I'd love to hang out with you. But why wait when we can discuss things now? Tell me something interesting."

"Okay, let me tell you about the time Sonic turned into a Werehog. Holy smokes, it was crazy. So, the story starts with-"

"Ahem!" the voice of the Blue Blur interrupted the conversation. Shade and Knuckles looked to the right and saw the hedgehog standing with his arms folded and his right toe-tapping. He had a heavy smirk on his face.

"Sonic interrupting the story," Knuckles finished.

"Sorry to ruin your date, lovebirds," Sonic chuckled. "Just thought I'd come here and see how you're doing. Hey, Shade, we're taking off soon. Are you coming with us?"

"I would," Shade replied happily, glancing at Knuckles. "But I want to stay here and catch up with an old friend. Maybe some time, I can catch up with all of you."

"That would be cool," Sonic said. "Hey, Knux. Are you gonna come back to Resistance HQ with us? G.U.N.'s helping us rebuild it."

"I'll see it when it's done," Knuckles yawned.

"Speaking of the Resistance," Shade chimed in. "What are you going to do about them? If you stay up here, do you plan on leading the remotely?"

Knuckles was stumped. "Oh, yeah… I took command, didn't I?"

A moment of silence struck the trio.

"Well, tell Amy it's hers," Knuckles smiled. "Even though the war is over and Imperator Ix's been trashed, there's still work to be done. Tell Amy she's the new commander of the Resistance."

Sonic nodded. "Whatever you say, Knux. I'll catch you two later."

"Whatever, get off my island."

Shade chuckled at Knuckles' remark. "Goodbye, Sonic. It was nice seeing you again."

"Likewise, Shade," Sonic winked. "Welcome home."

Running down the shrine's stairs, Sonic waved goodbye to the echidnas before he took off.

Knuckles and Shade sat together, resuming their talk.


Sonic arrived in the Restoration Shuttle's command center. From there, he saw Tails, Amy, Cream, and Big. He approached the four of them and patted the pink hedgehog on the shoulder.

"Hey, Ames," Sonic spoke. "Knuckles says the Resistance is yours."

Amy was stunned by that comment. "What?"

"So, Tails, ready to go?"

"Hold on a second, what did he say?"

"Sure am, Sonic," Tails smiled. "Let's take off!"

"Wait, Sonic," Amy tried to chime in. "What did Knuckles say?"

"Here we go!" Sonic and Tails said together, as the latter kicked the engines on and activated the ship's power supply.


From where Knuckles and Shade were standing, they could see the Restoration Shuttle taking off. Both echidnas jumped up on their feet and felt massive gusts of wind brush against them.

The Restoration Shuttle turned around before it slowly took off from the island. Within a split second, Angel Island was finally left at peace.

The only inhabitants were the two echidnas. Just the way Knuckles wanted it.

But before he could continue the story, he received a call from his Miles Electric.

Without looking at who was calling him, Knuckles pressed the answer button.

"Hello?"

The voice on the other side was Amy…

…an angry Amy.

"KNUCKLES THE ECHIDNA, ARE YOU KIDDING ME!?"


As the heroes moved on the get some rest, Dr. Eggman was trying to cheer up a depressed Dr. Starline. The platypus was a mixture of angry, depressed, and downright annoyed. He didn't expect the Synergy operation to blow up the way it did. He looked over at Dr. Eggman and shook his head, realizing that he wasn't working for a real supervillain. There was a saying that goes Never Meet Your Heroes, it was obvious Dr. Starline didn't take that seriously. He rubbed his hands against his eyes, wondering how long it will take for him to get out of jail. In the meantime, Orbot and Cubot were playing rock, paper, scissors with Rough and Tumble. The skunk brothers kept losing. But the mad doctor was trying to lift the spirits of his lackey.

"Starline," Dr. Eggman smiled. "Starline."

The platypus wanted nothing to do with the doctor. He turned his back to him.

"Come on, Starline, we'll break out of this facility soon," Dr. Eggman continued. "We'll be out of here and we'll continue this Gizoid operation! Hopefully, our next Gizoid won't bring the Nocturnus Clan back. Hey, maybe we can use some of those Elemental Gizoids. We still have some left, don't we?"

Dr. Starline said nothing.

"Tell ya what, Starline," Dr. Eggman wrapped his arm around the platypus. "If we conquer the world, we'll party like it's 1999! We'll play video games, have karaoke dance parties, and we can drink lattes with steamed goat milk! It will be wonderful! You're my best lackey yet, Starline! Don't you want to rule the world with me?"

Dr. Starline slowly turned to the doctor, glaring at him with a death stare.

There were only two words that platypus said to his idol.

"I quit." (2)


In Floral Forest Village, Vanilla was cleaning the dishes when she heard the door open behind her. Grabbing a frying pan, she prepared to face any evil that came into her abode, but it wasn't anything supernatural, it was her own daughter, Cream. The young rabbit still had a saddened look on her face. Even though she wanted to honor G-merl's legacy, she was still heartbroken by the fact he was gone. The family didn't feel the same without him. She let out a low sigh and smiled at her mother.

"Hello, Mother," she greeted.

"Cream, Cheese!" Vanilla breathed with a sigh of relief. She and Chocola ran up to them and showered them with hugs and kisses. "Thank goodness you're safe. I knew you could do it."

"Sorry we didn't come home last night, Mother," Cream said softly. "We slept over at Angel Island with Mr. Knuckles. Although, Mr. Sonic kept kicking Mr. Knuckles in his sleep."

Vanilla laughed before she realized that one of her family members was missing. "Where's G-merl?"

Cream was silent during that question.

Cupping her hands together, she sighed lowly before she closed her eyes. "I'm sorry, Mother… I couldn't save him."

Vanilla gasped. She knew well what happened. From there, she pulled her daughter into the warmest hug she could give. All of her love and affection went into her. Cream hugged her mother back, slowly crying onto her shoulder. Cheese and Chocola looked at the rabbits with gloomy expressions.

"I'm sorry, Cream," Vanilla tenderly spoke. "I know it hurts now, but it will get better as time progresses. G-merl wouldn't want you to be sad, he would want you to remember him for the hero he was. And he would want you to carry on his legacy. He was never fond of seeing you cry."

Cream smiled at the encouragement and closed her eyes again. "Thank you, Mother. I'm going to make G-merl proud."

"Cream… you already did."

Releasing each other, Vanilla got up on her feet. "Here, as a celebration of G-merl's life, we'll go out and get some ice cream. Sound like a plan?"

"Yes, Mother," Cream nodded. "I would like that."

"Good. Just let me grab my wallet and we'll get ready."

"Okay."

The adult rabbit walked away to fetch her wallet and the young rabbit found herself lost in a picture frame beside her. It was a selfie of her, Vanilla, G-merl, Blaze, Sonic, and Tails. Picking it up, she smiled and held the picture close to her.

In a few seconds, she placed the picture back and went to take a seat on the couch, but as she walked away, something fell out of her pocket.

Cheese noticed the object and looked at it. He swooped down and picked it up. Flying towards Cream, he tapped her on the shoulder and handed her the object.

"Oh, thank you, Cheese," Cream gently took the item. "I didn't realize I had-"

After looking at the artifact once more, the rabbit realized that it wasn't just some item that fell on the floor…

…it was Emerl's biodata chip.

Cream suddenly gasped.


A few hours of the day went by and Tails found himself sitting in his workshop. He sat on his chair and let out a heavy yawn. Upon returning home, he was greeted to a robotic creature that looked like a canine/fox hybrid. Its name was T-Pup. The robotic dog jumped up on the fox's lap and licked his owner. Tails laughed and laughed, as he patted the dog's head and rubbed his ear.

"How are you doing, T-Pup?" the kitsune greeted the dog. "Down, boy! Ha-ha! I missed you too."

T-Pup jumped down when he sniffed something at the door. Barking loudly, he rushed over and started scratching the wooden door.

"Hold on, T-Pup!" Tails jumped up and ran towards the door.

Opening it up, T-Pup greeted the people behind it. They were Cream and Cheese. The latter screamed and hit behind the former's floppy ears, as the rabbit laughed and rubbed the dog's neck.

"Hello, T-Pup," Cream greeted. "Hi, Mr. Tails."

"Hi, Cream," Tails smiled. "What's up?"

"I'm sorry to trouble you, but I found something in my pocket."

"No, you're not troubling me at all. Come on in."

Closing the door, the young Mobians stepped inside the workshop. T-Pup jumped on top of the table, yawned, and took a nap.

"What did you find?" Tails asked.

Before he could finish his sentence, Cream showed him the chip she found. When he saw it again, the kitsune paused every part of his body. His eyes widened and his jaw dropped.

"Cream… is that?"

The rabbit nodded.

She handed the chip to him.

"Where did you get this?" he asked. "I thought Synergy had it."

"I found it in my pocket when I got home."

Tails stared down at the chip one last time, staring at the taped title he placed on it many years ago.

His shocked expression morphed into a smile. (2s)

END OF CHAPTER 39


Since there's only one more chapter left, I guess that means Tails plans to do something with the biodata chip, but what is he planning? I'm sure most of you know the answer considering it's pretty obvious. Anyways, Sonic and the others have taken off on their own whereas Knuckles and Shade stayed on Angel Island. What's going to happen if Tails tells the others about his plan. Find out in the conclusion of Awakened...

"Chapter 40: A New Awakening"


POST-A/N:

For anyone that supports the shipping of KnucklesxShade, I'm sorry to disappoint, but I didn't want that to happen. One, I don't see either characters being involved in a romantic relationship (same applies for Sonic, Shadow, Silver, Tails, Blaze, etc). Two, they don't share much in common aside from the fact they're echidnas. Just because they're the same species doesn't mean they have to date each other. Three, it would feel forced in terms of this story. In this tale, Shade has been MIA for years and she only came back to the group in Chapter 31. If Shade was part of the team from the beginning, there is a possibility I could have made her interested in Knuckles. But as a I said, I can't see her doing that.

IDW Sonic Issue #12 was a big inspiration for this chapter. Obviously, the Silver and Blaze scene is similar to their scene in the actual issue. The Tangle/Whisper and Chaotix scenes are different too. Originally, Shadow and Rouge were going to stick around with the Resistance and have a chat with Sonic, but I didn't want that moment to drag out the chapter. In that scene, Shadow would've said he admried Sonic for having compassion towards Synergy, and Rouge would've made a move for the Master Emerald with Knuckles and Shade chasing her.

Speaking of the Tangle/Whisper scene, that scene can kinda be interpreted as a way of setting up a Tangle/Whisper spin-off. Well, my own version of it to be precise. Since I'm more focused on original content (even though I have two stories on here to finish), I may come back and do some kind of Tangle/Whisper story that follows this one. Who knows? For now, I cannot confirm it will happen.

Response to Guest: If you're thinking Chapter 40's name is epilogue, then no, it's name is shown above.

Response to TheLostEternity: We're all devastated that G-merl is gone, but after seeing the ending of this one, we have to ask... Is G-merl dead? We'll have to see what happens in the final chapter. Super Chaos Battle is an awesome name and I thank you for liking the battle. Even though her brother is gone, Cream had to forgive Synergy for what he did since it wasn't his fault. The Hooligans had to go, it wouldn't be wise for them to stick around. Poor Omega. He'll get better treatment in Atom Bomb (thanks for your review on that, by the way) than he did here. Thank you again for your kind comments.

And that's all I have to say, ladies and gentlemen. Thank you all so much for reading the penultimate chapter. The final chapter shall be up soon. Don't forget to R&R! I'm The Sensational SpiderDom321 and I'll see you next time!

~SD321 (SpiderDom321)