Just, what was happening? Dylan brought his eyes up and, for perhaps a sixth time, attempted to take in everything buzzing around him. The thick, cornflower blue, folded cardstock invitation sat in his lap. A blonde dog makeup artist leaned down before him once more, smearing some sort of cold makeup on his face.

Dylan slid his thumb between the folded crease, lifting his neck a slight and closing his eyes. Watching someone smear foundation on his cheeks wasn't appealing. The stuff felt thick. Why did he have to endure this, again? Something about looking proper for the cameras?

After a minute, the woman stepped away to review her makeup palettes. Dylan brought the card up to examine it again: bold, swirled lettering of, "Invitation," spread across the front. Inside, medium, scripted text cordially invited him as the guest of honor as a royal thanks for his courage to cast his desires aside in saving a fellow student, and in so doing, placing himself on display as a hope in bringing humans and mobians even closer together.

The rest of the text was personalized, written in a slightly rounded and very practiced hand, "Dylan, I'm very excited to meet you! Sonic has told me a few wonderful things about you, but I'd love to hear more personally from you. I hope you won't feel unsettled about this whole formal affair Station Square and the Acorn crown are co-hosting together. I'm sure you'll do fine!"

Signed by Princess Sally Alicia Acorn.

Weeks hadn't faded the sick churning in his gut. If anything, now that the evening was squashing him, Dylan was more unnerved than he'd been at Cream's fundraiser. But declining the invitation wouldn't have been possible. Insulting a royal family was far more than merely improper. If this had just been some affair hosted purely by Station Square, he might have been able to find some way to have escaped.

Sally Acorn? Sonic had never mentioned her and he'd never heard of her. There was, however, a familiarity to him concerning the Acorn crest and the reference to Mobotropolis underneath her message.

"Did you want a pinch of blush?" The makeup artist questioned.

Dylan snapped to attention at her voice, "No—no please."

She smiled at his overdone tone of panic, "Then you're done, kid! Get down and go get dressed in the room over there. Then head out to the event coordinators. They'll tell you what to do."

Dylan robotically dropped from the black chair to the cement floor and awkwardly passed by several other makeup stations of mobians and humans sitting in chairs before an entire wall of mirrors. Everyone was in differing stages of having their hair and faces prepped. His own face felt dry, cracked, and he kept fighting the urge not to scratch all the foundation and powder off.

How did girls stand this day in and day out? What a misery.

At the end of the room, Dylan pushed a heavy wooden door open and found himself the immediate focus of a penguin holding dozens of ties on his flippers.

"Oh, are you Dylan?" The penguin questioned.

Dylan cast a nervous glance about, "Yes. What's this room for?"

"Costuming. Outfits. To ensure you look formal enough not to embarrass yourself and disgrace the princess," responded the blubbery one, a bit annoyed at what was obvious. "Stand there and let me see which of these ties matches your fuzzy fur."

Dylan did as he was told. The fashionista penguin progressed to snap tie after tie up before his chest, reflecting a series of expressions and quivering of his mouth in mostly unsure or unsatisfied ways. After an entire minute, he snorted oddly, more closely examining a black tie with dark green arabesques that shimmed from the light. The green was dark enough to be unnoticed straight-on, then a delight from an angle as the deep hue lit up just enough to catch a straying eye.

"This one," the penguin looped it around Dylan's neck and wrenched it tight, tying it all in a matter of seconds. "The rest of you is fine. Sally isn't into super formal starch and all that." He sighed a tad sadly. Then impatiently to Dylan, "Shoo now. Go to the coordinator people! Through that door there."

The pointing of a thick fin was hard for Dylan not to smile at. Clearing his throat, he hurried into yet the next room, which was a massive gymnasium-sized square full of staff and rushing people.

Confused, Dylan hovered along the wall from one end of the room to the other. No one seemed to notice him. The tie was itching his neck and he swallowed.

Then a voice called out, "Hey, Dylan!"

He stopped and rapidly peered about.

In a second, someone patted him on the back and Dylan turned to the right, to Sonic's beaming smile, "Feels like it's been forever, doesn't it?"

The blue teen was also wearing a tie, albeit loose and lopsided, a bold, solid red to match his shoes. He swiveled back and forth a little on his heels, hands behind his back, and leaned in with a devious smirk, "Gonna make a good impression on Sally, eh?"

"I doubt it," Dylan backed to the wall. "Why are you here?"

"I can't come see my pal get showered with love? When Sally told me, I couldn't miss it! And, she wouldn't let me miss it, either," he chuckled.

"Sonic!" A boyish voice rose nearby. A set of fast steps approached.

Both hedgehogs in sync turned to the approaching golden-toned, two-tailed fox they both admired. The kid was waving, smiling, but had to keep ducking and stepping aside lest he be stomped by some hastened staff pushing racks of clothes about.

Right as he finished his approach, Amy dashed out next to him, "Guys! Isn't this so cool? Sally sent me an invitation, too!"

Dylan smiled at them both, the two of them displaying the same blue cardstock that he was still holding. Then they stepped in close and, with Sonic, the four shared an embrace.

"Isn't it nuts that Eggman's been so quiet all this time?" Amy questioned in wonder.

Sonic huffed, "I'm not surprised. We totally destroyed his central computer and a bunch of his fleet. Even for Eggman, that'll take a while to recover from."

"Don't take unwarranted credit," dripped in a smooth voice. "It was Rouge who infected his central AI."

"So glad you stick up for me, Shadow," Rouge chuckled under her delighted breath.

She and Shadow strolled leisurely over, the bat in a form-fitting, long purple dress, V-shaped in the front. Chunk crystals adorned both her wrists and filled around her neck. As usual, she wore thick, purple eye shadow and dark red lipstick. Shadow actually wore a maroon tie, but he made no remark about it, even when Rouge ran a flirtatious finger down the front, just to watch Amy react.

The pink hedgehog twitched an eye but she surprisingly kept her grace, "Rouge, I didn't know you were coming!"

"Sorry to disappoint," she smirked. "An event with a princess? Like I'd miss it."

"Miss an opportunity to show off your jewelry," Amy quipped.

Rouge ignored her, "It will be interesting to see what the princess may be wearing!"

By her overly intrigued tone, Shadow passed her a knowing frown, to which she laughed openly over. His grip on her arm looped through his tightened. Amy knew why he had to stick to her like glue, though seeing Rouge purposefully lean her body against Shadow was infuriating.

Dylan broke into the meandering with a surprised, "I didn't know all of you were coming to this! It's sort of ridiculous enough. I didn't do anything to deserve all this attention."

"Just play into it," Sonic reasoned. "Humans and mobians get along pretty good, most of the time, but this kinda thing can only do good. Let it blow over."

At that moment, a tall swan in a long, flowing red gown approached and motioned to them to follow her, "Dylan? I'll take you to your seat now. Your friends have assigned seats, so I'll show them to theirs, too."

Amy slid to Shadow's open side and grabbed his arm, to which he merely glanced at her with a smirk. She made no comment, and Rouge raised her brow with a humored grin, but also let Shadow escort them along. Sonic and Tails follow behind the entire group.

The swan first led them to a set of maroon seats near the stage, which was an overly grand affair Dylan tried not to balk at. The room in question opened up to a broad, domed ceiling fit with a massive, gold-tinkering chandelier. On both sides of it, almost at level with it at the top, fell a twin set of dark oak stairs that wound softly into the shape of an arch. A red carpet had been unrolled between the bottom of the stairs, where a gold-bordered, matching oak podium stood. Several hundred seats stood before it at ready, with quite a few people already filling them.

"Dylan, your seat is up front," the swan motioned for him to follow her.

Dylan gave a weary wave to his friends and trudged after the bird.

Unbeknownst to him, as his back was turned, Flicka silently slid in-between the seats and took an empty one to Amy's right. Rumbling her tail in glee, she leaned forward to stare along the row of mobians: Amy, Shadow, Rouge, Tails, Sonic.

"Hi," she coolly addressed Amy and Shadow. "I'm Flicka. Dylan's girlfriend. I know you, pink girl; but who are you, dark and silent? Shadow, is it?"

Shadow lightly narrowed his eyes at the cat, in boredom and probably something else.

Flicka wasn't fazed, broadening a potentially mischievous smile more, "Dylan thinks very highly of you. I saw you whisk him away some time ago. He hasn't spoken about you to me, really, but I saw how his eyes looked when you were around. You should stick a bit closer to him, I think, more often."

Amy whipped her eyes from the purring cat to her boyfriend, unsure how to respond to any of that, "Uh—you're Dylan's girlfriend? You're so—"

"Lovely, curvy, out of his league?"

Hearing that, Rouge leaned forward to peer around. Upon seeing the cat in golden heels and a dark brown, shimmering, rather low-cut spaghetti strap dress, she lowered her eyes in approval, "Hello there. I'm Rouge. Love that dress, and what you've done with the makeup, girl."

"You do?" Flicka's irises narrowed. "You don't look so bad yourself. Rouge is it? I didn't catch your name that first time when you slammed me to the wall and kidnapped my boyfriend."

"Don't exaggerate. He wasn't your boy then, and I only borrowed him for the afternoon," the bat chuckled. "Care to chat later?"

"Maybe," Flicka was purposefully noncommittal, enticing another delighted chuckle from the slightly older woman.

They settled back as the swan stepped up to the podium. Dylan was sitting at the front center, where she'd placed him, with some guards and a few nobles from Mobotropolis filling the rest of the chairs. Flicka didn't know them. Just that they were important, per their medals and blue and red uniforms and other such pomp she wanted to roll her eyes at.

The swan formally spoke, "Ladies and gentlemen: Princess Sally Alicia Acorn of the House of Acorn, heir to the throne of Mobotropolis!"

Everyone stood, with Dylan following suite. Clueless as he was, he assumed the proper action was to do whatever everyone else as doing, including a round of polite clapping as a slender chipmunk adorned in a pale blue dress of shimmering satin stepped forth to the top center of the floor above. On both her wrists, she wore a set of glistening diamond bracelets, with a thin matching strip of a necklace around her brown neck and long, thin matching earrings. Her hair was slightly curled, framing her face with complimenting body to it. She wore no hair ornamentation. None was necessary.

She raised her hand politely, then silently proceeded to step down the left set of arched stairs, gripping the dress to lift it with much practiced manners. Dylan took her in and dropped his eyes briefly to her dark blue, chunk heel shoes that peaked out from under the dress. When she arrived at the bottom, Sally almost floated to the podium, eyes set straight, head forward. She was regal and he was almost breathless.

Turning, she took a few seconds to take in the guests before her, then lifted a hand, "Greetings everyone! You may all sit."

As one massive unit, everyone slowly dropped to their seats. Dylan barely blinked at the perfection of the princess just steps from him.

"Thank you so much for coming to this event on such a short notice. If any of you know me, you'll know I'd rather not be wearing these kind of clothes, or dealing with these types of affairs; but, this is nothing to deal with for the honor of thanking a boy here who's stepped forth out of the shadow of fear to embrace a new beginning; a new phase of the continuation of our growing friendship between mobians and humans. I must appear like this for these events, but this time I don't mind at all." She let off a self-humored smile that charmed the audience. "Also, as Station Square and the House of Acorn hold a previously-agreed to alliance, it was all the more proper for me to come in person to thank Dylan Marshall for having the courage to use his special abilities to save a life, and in so doing, to present himself to the world."

Her eyes focused on him, making it impossible for Dylan to move in the slightest. A flash of mischief sparkled in her gaze, hinting that, perhaps, while she managed these diplomatic events well, the princess would have preferred to have met him in some less formal situation.

Sally continued, eyes still focused on him, "Thank you, Dylan, for using your ability for good; to save a life. I hope you'll continue to grow stronger and braver; to embrace your friends and be a beacon to help us all—humans and mobians—solve our problems and learn to love each other. Now, I'd like to present you with this gift on behalf of my people and the House of Acorn."

The princess stepped out from behind the podium, a small, silver-wrapped box in her hands, outstretched a slight towards him.

Almost with a jar, Dylan rose to his feet and, the best he could, walked over to her, hoping he wasn't shaking.

"Please, open this a bit later when you have some privacy," Sally instructed.

Intimidated, Dylan bowed forward as he reached for the small package. It was cool and smooth and, as he took it, their fingers brushed. Sally took no outward notice of it. Dylan, though, tried not to blush.

Then, she stepped close before him and dropped her hands on his shoulders.

Dylan couldn't not stare up into her large, blue eyes.

"Thank you," she softly sighed, two simple words not meant for the audience or the journalists. She was speaking personally to him, letting off a smirk he reciprocated, before they both turned to the audience to receive a round of applause. Endless flashes of cameras captured the moment for posterity.

After, Dylan was able to leave the audience hall and he most gladly did so, collapsing in a plush beanie in one of the makeup rooms. Slowly, he pulled the tie loose and set it on one of the many tables to his left. Then, with a clean white cloth, he attempted to smear away as much makeup as he could.

The small box was now warm in his hands, for the length of clutching it he'd done so far. It felt solid and he hadn't heard anything moving inside of it. Curious, he was just about to pull the top ribbon loose, when his entire group of friends burst through the door to his right, causing him to gasp.

"Dylan!" Sonic beamed. "Wanna hang out now? We're all gonna get some pizza and chili dogs!"

Like with him, the boys had yanked their ties off. Amy, Rouge, and Flicka were present. Dylan stood, seeing his girlfriend, and she slid over to dare pull him to her side.

As he felt flustered, Dylan then noticed another girl not just at Sonic's side, but quite snugly pressed up against him, too: the princess, in knee-high blue boots, a small, open blue vest, and black sports shorts and matching top. The jewelry was gone, along with her trained public face.

A little smirk rested on her humored lips now, as she snickered at Dylan's befuddled face, "Hey, Dylan, now that the formal stuff's over, we can hang out, right?"

Her tone, her mannerisms were of a familiar among friends, slightly cocky, and Dylan found his muscles relaxing as his tension slacked. Then, he really noticed how Sonic and Sally were holding onto each other and he was again perplexed.

Sonic gave off a laugh, "Sorry, Dylan. I didn't tell you about Sal before. I mean, I did, but not really—the talk we had a while ago—remember? She and I have been going out for a while."

"Yep," Sally poked his chest with a happy hum.

"She's also the leader of the Freedom Fighters—sorta."

"More like a tactician, Sonic," she corrected.

"So humble," Sonic rolled his eyes.

"They tend to go on like this sometimes," Tails shrugged. "So, let's go?"

With a wave from Sonic, everyone fell in line and happy chatter ensued. Shadow and Amy were once more holding hands, more so because she insisted and her iron grip was too much trouble for Shadow to bother trying to shake off.

Rouge slid in to Dylan's left, clearing her throat with, "So, kid, did my wisdom at the restaurant come in handy for you?"

"What?" Dylan gasped.

Flicka questioned, "What wisdom?"

Oh, and how Rouge fluttered her lashes with a low chuckle, "Honey, I educated him on the nuances of successful romantic trysts."

Dylan burst with pink on his cheeks, to both of the females' humored giggling.

Rouge added, "Of stallions and fillies," just to see Dylan bloom with red.

Most of the group enjoyed a round of chuckling at Dylan's expense, then fell into random bits of conversation.

Sonic and Sally took the bunch to a pizza parlor just a few blocks from the large, formal hall they breathed a sigh of relief to exit. Street lamps kept their path clear, as the looming black sky of dense clouds offered no help. In they went, bumping their bodies against the revolving doors, laughing amongst themselves.

"Big booth, please," Sally addressed an awaiting server.

Everyone followed, then slid into the broad arch of cushions and table, and then progressed to pass around napkins, straws, and glasses of water.

Shadow sat at one end, Amy to his right, then Rouge, Flicka, Dylan, Sally, Sonic, and Tails. The group renewed chatter of random things in a natural, familiar way that was altogether too comfortable for Dylan to resist. He sat quietly, just listening, just feeling happy to be where he was, with his still unopened package sitting on the table before him.

During the elapsing minutes, Dylan drifted his eyes around at his friends: Tails would interject with a rapture of glee about something technological, or to reminiscent with his friends about one of the many apparent missions they'd gone on. Sonic ordered two extra large pizzas and four chili dogs, gesticulating through stories of heroism, and mentions of some more people Dylan hadn't yet met.

Rouge chuckled and commented occasionally, elbow on the table, hand to her cheek to listen. Amy was bubbly, gesturing energetically in the conversation. Flicka would poke his knee now and then and roll her eyes at some nonsensical comment.

When Dylan paused on Shadow, those sharp red eyes met his. He didn't blink or look away immediately. The centered stare Shadow gave back to him wasn't meant to intimidate. He acknowledged Dylan, then turned slowly away to something else.

Then, the princess asked, "Dylan, what do you think about joining the Freedom Fighters?"

A pause, Dylan feeling alarmed, "Uh—what's that?"

Sally blinked in surprise, then turned with an accusatory frown at Sonic.

Said hedgehog shrugged, "What? So, I didn't tell him! Like recruitment was at the forefront of my mind when we were dodging badniks and trying not to be scrambled Egg fodder."

Shadow huffed under his breath in amusement.

With one more unimpressed look at her boyfriend, Sally explained, "The Freedom Fighters are a group Sonic and I started when we were kids to fight against Eggman. Back then he called himself Robotnik. As things got more complicated and we all grew up and realized fighting Eggman wasn't a joke, we recruited hundreds of people. We're pretty strong now, but so is Eggman. Our goal is to completely eliminate his evil schemes from Mobius. Render him unable to do anything evil ever again. It's been several years and we've made a lot of progress, but Eggman always seems to come up with some new, nasty thing."

"Don't join them," Rouge interjected. "You don't want to be some goody two-shoes hero, kid. It's no fun and it doesn't pay well. Just do your baking thing or whatever it is you wanna do."

"Not like you got much appreciation from your job, either," Sonic countered, referring to the whole G.U.N. Project Miracle fiasco.

Rouge only shrugged.

"No stress. Just think about it, Dylan," Sally offered. "Your ability to heal would really come in handy, I think."

Finally, Shadow added a thought, "If you did that, you wouldn't have time to finish your education. I don't think you should pursue the idea anytime soon."

The pizzas arrived and the group ceased much of the discussion to satiate their hunger. Dylan's mind whirled. A princess had invited him to join a group of heroes fighting against Eggman, and probably other evil. It was highly flattering and tingles popped in his fingers and spine. But, he also felt trepidation over the idea. He wasn't a fighter, and Shadow was right that he should finish his schooling. A life of constant running around and saving the day reflected distastefully to him. There was no joy in the idea.

He wanted to open a patisserie, enjoy a daily routine, explore more low-key so-termed normal things that people experienced. Being a Freedom Fighter no doubt meant a constant barrage of what had happened at Fortress Island, and that wasn't what Dylan wanted.

Shadow's words felt more appreciated as he chewed his food and stared off at the table.

But, as he heard Sally talking, Dylan asked her, "How do you manage to be a princess and a Freedom Fighter at the same time?"

She paused, having not expected his question, "Well, I—the two things are so integrated, I just sort of do them at the same time. I have to, of course, go around on diplomatic missions to gain and keep allies for the kingdom, but I also integrate those activities with Freedom Fighter plans. Amy handles some of it for me, too—and so does Sonic."

"We're a pretty solid team," her boyfriend chomped down on his chili dog.

Dylan then asked, "Why'd you honor me today like you did? It really wasn't that big of a deal what I did, especially if I compare it to the years of heroism you all have done. I didn't do it for recognition."

"That's why I did," Sally countered. "And because what you did wasn't obligatory. You reached in someplace deep inside of yourself and you cast away the negative things you felt for someone that had done you wrong. I know about that boy. Sonic told me. And, there's a lot of people that can do special things for some great good, to show the world that doing good at any cost is always worth any sacrifice. I know you could have kept your ability a secret and lived a private life, and now you can't. It's a big deal, Dylan. I wanted to honor your selflessness. And, you and I do share one goal: to end the bad feelings between mobians and humans. I know I can ask you to join me in that."

The diplomatic, royal personality in her had come out during those words. Dylan smiled and nodded. Sally's magnetism was irresistible.

He felt eyes on him and glanced aside, catching a genuine, albeit small nod of approval from Shadow.

Confidence blossomed in Dylan. He gave Sally a smile and so the evening continued on lighter subjects. Not once again did Sally mention or press him about the Freedom Fighters. A couple hours in, they all rose and took their leave, grouping out on the sidewalk.

Sonic and Sally clutched hands and waved, "Bye! We'll be in touch!" They turned to walk off.

Tails unexpectedly hugged Dylan, "There's a big event happening in a while here in Station Square. I attend every year. Will you come with me?"

"Sure," Dylan didn't care what it was. Tails would be there. Good enough.

Amy took her turn to embrace Dylan, "I'll see you soon!"

Rouge just waved, "It was fun to see you again, Dylan. I won't be a stranger!" She fluttered off in the sky.

Amy gave her boyfriend a kiss on the cheek, "Shadow, I'll see you in a couple days, okay?"

The dark hedgehog nodded. They seemed to have some shared plan, with Tails involved, as she and the boy happily skipped away together.

Shadow lingered, eyeing Dylan silently. But, Dylan knew enough of his personality not to be taken with discomfort or uncertainty. This was Shadow wanting to say something, not wanting to fade away into some dark place just yet. They stood, and Shadow didn't speak, and it was sort of funny, when Dylan thought about it.

So the boy came over and took the initiative so Shadow wouldn't have to bother himself by instigating public affection: Dylan gave him a firm hug, to which his senior slowly responded to by actually placing his hands on Dylan's back.

"Thank you for your advice," Dylan broke the hug and stepped back. "I think I am just going to do my thing, like usual, but I hope you'll still teach me all that chaos stuff this summer."

"I will," Shadow responded. He darted his eyes to Flicka, then back to Dylan. "I'll be going."

"Bye!" He waved, and Shadow slid about on his shoes and skated away. A bit of sadness sunk in his heart. Shadow hadn't said whatever it was he'd kept in his chest. And it was a melancholy time when his friends had to go, but with Shadow, the feeling was different. The ache lingered longer, and he missed that specific mobian every day.

As if Flicka sensed his forlorn mood, she slid her arm around Dylan and rubbed her cheek against his, "It's okay. You'll see mister broody some other time. He's immortal, right? So no big deal."

He didn't deny the special way Shadow affected him; just gave her a crooked smile and shrugged, "Here, I'll take you home."

"Just what are—"

Dylan lifted the cat in his arms, "Hold on to me, okay?"

"Oh, are you really gonna do a run with me?" She outright giggled at the idea.

Just so, Dylan took off with the cat and in seconds, very shortly after dropping a frazzled, giddy Flicka at the door of her mother's large house. She pressed a hand to his chest, gathering some wit amidst the frazzled laughing, then swirled on her boyfriend and gave him a kiss.

"That was so fun!" Flicka gasped, and then grabbed him and kissed him again, stumbling back a bit so Dylan slapped his hands on the door behind her to balance them. A little moan escaped her, igniting a flicker of want in Dylan. He pressed her a bit against the wood, reaching into her mouth with his tongue.

The gritty surface of her own tongue greeted him, not at all unpleasant this time. He just wanted to taste her, so delighted himself that she enjoyed how fast he could run. She appreciated him. It had taken her a few days, but she'd also accepted him completely for who he was. Maybe the flippant tone when she'd suggested to be his girl, to see if they'd fall in love hadn't been as slight as he'd thought. She'd used such a tone to hide what she deeply desired.

Dylan gave himself a second to breathe, then he slowly leaned his entire torso against her there in the night, with just a small light above near the door to outline them. If anyone saw, he didn't care. She was running her hands all inside his spines and it felt just so good, that he stopped thinking about it; he just kissed her, and explored her mouth, and pinned her there for what felt like slow, wonderful moments of bliss.

But then she had to break their kiss, yet not without an exhale of surprise and a chuckle, "Wow. Rouge must have schooled you well."

Dylan dropped his forehead on her shoulder, exasperated.

"Hey, I'm just teasing," she pulled one of his quills. "But—I gotta go now. I'll see you at school tomorrow." With a kiss to his cheek, Flicka sashayed into the house and closed the door.

Lightheaded, Dylan jogged for home. That had been his second really intense kiss, and he'd initiated it! That just thrilled him to no end, until he slid as quietly as he could into his house and Isolena, who was sitting at the table sipping tea, glanced up.

"I saw the ceremony on TV," she commented. "Very well done, Dylan."

Nothing else. She'd complimented him! Smile spreading, Dylan hurried to his room and shut the door. The gift. He'd not forgotten. Now, at last alone, he sat down on his bed and carefully tugged the ribbon loose, then peeled a side of the paper off to reveal a plain, black cardboard box.

There was a gold snap at the top. He unclasped it, at first confused when he pulled out a small watch of some type. Wait. It was a communicator, like the ones Sonic, Tails, and the others wore. And beneath it, under layers of tissue paper, Dylan pulled out three power rings.

There was also a note sitting against the inner side of the box. Soberly, he plucked it out and opened it up: "Dylan, please call us anytime you need to. You're an honorary Freedom Fighter now. If you ever need help, just let us know. The power rings are special. I know you'll use them only for important things. This is also me inviting you to visit Castle Acorn anytime you like. You'd be my special guest. See you later!" Signed Sally.

Humbled, Dylan placed the rings and note back in the box and hid it in his bottom right drawer. A princess had invited him to her kingdom. He'd given his girlfriend a deep kiss; and Shadow had accepted a hug from him. Though Dylan felt a bit melancholy, sitting there with just a dim lamp on in his room, he was also genuinely happier than he'd ever felt before. Life was full.