Chapter Thirty: Yet Another Rainy Day

The day after the apocalypse also started off with a bang. Or several, depending on who you asked.

It was storming outside once more, perhaps even more viciously than last time. No news report was needed this time for everyone to figure out that they should probably stay inside.

However, where that area was varied quite considerably from the usual. Since Sonic had decimated a large portion of the village while being possessed, only a fraction of the homes there were capable of protecting against even the most basic weather. Thus, some of the villagers had gone to live with relatives on the mainland for the time being, while others had been temporarily relocated, Sonic included.

The mayor's office had taken in a couple of families in for now, as had a handful of the villagers with houses that were still standing, including Amy and Knuckles. A handful had even gone to live in vacant rooms in Eggman's fortress, although that was a choice made only by a few brave souls.

Because Tails' house was nowhere near the village, it hadn't even been touched during the destruction, and it wasn't too hard of a task to clear out a handful of Tails' storage spaces to put together makeshift bedrooms to take in some of the displaced villagers.

While two relatively unrelated families had also moved in, Tails had made a space for Sonic as well, separate from the others just in case they still held any animosity towards Sonic for what he'd done to them while possessed. From the first twenty-four hours' worth of experience, though, it didn't seem to be that way- while the parents kept a close eye on their children while he was around and the children seemed afraid to approach him, those feelings were mostly relegated to unease instead of anger, which was a good thing.

Sonic had tried his best to make himself useful while he was around, for since Knuckles was out of the picture (he'd regained some autonomy with his left arm and now was able to move his fingers and even bend it at the elbow to some extent, but he still couldn't lift it or really hold on to anything), he was the muscle of the group, at least for now. He'd spent quite a bit of time helping Tails carry some of his inventions outside (and then being woken up in the middle of the night to get anything water-sensitive back inside before the rain started) as well as setting up places for the temporary residents to sleep. Finally, with a heavy heart, he'd collected those whom he'd killed while possessed and moved them to a cool, enclosed space near the graveyard (which had functioned as a temporary morgue even before all this happened), not wanting them to be savaged by wild animals before their burials.

As for the future, there was to be a funeral service for those who had been killed next week; Amy had secured someone from the mainland to officiate it. They would have started rebuilding the village that day, but the rain had dumped on that plan both figuratively and literally. Finally, while most of the stalls and businesses were at least intact, if not untouched, most weren't ready to open just yet- while there was talk that the general store would be open as soon as the storms stopped, everything else, from Meh Burger to the various stalls that usually dotted the village, were likely to remain closed at least until after the funeral service, if not longer.

Tails, to the surprise of everyone in the house, wasn't coding or tinkering with anything. Instead, he just sat by the window and watched the rain fall, even as Sonic walked up to him.

"Tails," Sonic said as he stopped to look at him, "are you okay?"

"No," Tails said back, "and at this point, I'm not sure if I'm ever going to be okay again."

Sonic knew why, everyone did. It was obvious. "Tails, you have to realize this wasn't your fault. Unless your program was supposed to do all this- and I doubt it was- the reason I became what I did had nothing to do with you."

"Even if that's true," Tails said, "you're not seeing the whole picture. The actual cause might not have been my fault, but everything leading up to it was. It was my fault for making the program to begin with, it was my fault for having weak enough firewalls that the virus could get onto my computer, and it was my fault for not checking to see what was going on with my computer before I started running the program."

As much as Sonic wanted to help Tails, it was pretty hard to argue with his logic there. It always was, which was somehow both the most endearing part of him and the part he got annoyed with most frequently.

"Well, even if that's the case, you have to move on," Sonic said. "I get it, one hundred percent. You feel terrible that all this happened because of something you did, and it makes sense; I'd feel the same way too. But if you let this one event define you over everything else you've done for us, you're never going to stop hurting, and eventually that's going to impact far more people than just you."

"I am moving on," Tails said. "I'm moving on from programming entirely, or at the very least, taking an extended break."

Sonic would have done a spit take if he had anything in his mouth, but instead, it was just an over-the-top double take. "Wait… did I hear that right?"

"Yes, you did," Tails said. "Although I might have overstated it a little, sorry about that. I might not stop entirely for the time being, but I don't want to make anything new until I can analyze what I've already made and fix it. That way, I'll be sure nothing like this can ever happen again, and while it won't have undone any of the damage it's already caused, it'll prevent anyone else from ever being in the same situation as me."

"Now you're talking," Sonic said. "That sounds just like something you'd say. Am I getting to you or was that just coincidence?"

Tails didn't move. "In the end, does it even matter?"

"Not that much, I guess," Sonic said. "Well, I'm going to go check on the others- see how they're doing. I'll be back here in a few."

"Okay," Tails said. "Just tell me if anything seems off."

"I will," Sonic said. Then, without further ado, he stepped out into the pouring rain and darted off towards Amy's house as fast as he could.

Amy's state of being seemed fine, as did those of Knuckles and Sticks.

Knuckles had moved in with Amy for the time being to help her with housework while her leg mended (while she merely didn't use it for now, she was scheduled to go to the mainland the next day to get a real cast for it) and they'd taken in another family as well. When he arrived, all seven of them had been camped in the living room watching a decent comedy show. He hadn't stuck around for long, though- he had a brief conversation with Amy and Knuckles before speeding off to Sticks' burrow.

While Sticks had opened up the burrow to anyone who needed to stay, no one besides her appeared to be home when she let Sonic inside. Sticks claimed she had taken in another family- evidenced by the six cots spread on the floor of her living room- but also said that they really only used it as a place to sleep. Unfortunately, Sonic kind of agreed with them; listening to her conspiracy theories for hours on end would get grating and fast.

He would have gone to see Eggman as well, but the ocean was such a bedlam of waves that even with his fortress acting as a breakwater it'd be a risky transition, and with Tails' plane gone and the helicopter having gone back to the mainland, there would be nothing to aid his transport across. Thus, he'd have to settle for a phone call- he made a mental note to try and do just that sometime that afternoon.

When he returned to Tails' house, nothing seemed any different. The rain was pouring as hard as ever, all the blinds were still drawn, no light penetrated outside. However, when he approached the front door so he could get inside, he noticed Tails had left a note on the front door.

It read, "Eggman managed to send me a message somehow, he's found a way to get to the village. As far as I can tell, he's not planning on attacking, but be prepared just in case. I know I'll be."

"I don't know, Eggman rarely comes to the village unless he has some kind of ulterior motive," Sonic said under his breath. "Probably should warn the others to make sure he isn't up to no good."

And just like that, he'd dashed off a second time to the same places, but this time for a vastly different reason.

By the time Sonic had rounded up everyone else and gotten them to the center of the plaza, he and the others thoroughly soaked.

As the group finally stopped moving, lightning flashed overhead, almost immediately followed by a loud crack of thunder. Eggman didn't appear to have arrived yet, for the area was empty except for them.

But after a couple of minutes' worth of waiting, a single beam of light came from somewhere on the horizon, and a cloud of smoke followed not long afterward. Without much of a warning, a fairly large machine seemed to drop from the sky, not fifteen feet from where the group was standing. Then, he slowed down quite a bit and landed on the muddy ground with a noticeable squelching sound.

Then, the smoke stopped, the light shut off, and the top retracted as Doctor Eggman stood up. Besides wearing a ludicrously oversized hat, probably to act as some sort of protection against the rain, it was the same old Eggman the others saw on any normal day.

"Sorry for making such a sudden appearance," Eggman said, "but considering I had no idea if this thing was even going to work, I should consider it lucky that I even got here."

"Okay then," Tails said. "Just two questions. First off, why did you want to meet us now, and secondly, why did you choose to do it here while you know it's pouring rain?"

"I had something important to say, and I wanted to make sure we got away from prying eyes, respectively," Eggman replied.

Sonic didn't seem that impressed. "Well, we're here and I don't think anyone in their right mind would be out in this weather. Speak now or forever hold your peace."

Eggman noticeably gulped, paused for a few seconds, and then continued. "I know I'm probably going to hate myself for saying this, and if Orbot and Cubot were around to hear it I'd never live it down. But I have to do it anyway… thank you for saving my life, both back when this all started and while Metal Sonic was possessed."

The others had no real idea what to make of this. The idea of Eggman expressing gratitude toward anything, especially them, was a concept so alien it actually startled them for a second. Sticks even said, "Wait, are you the real Eggman or some horrific impostor?"

"Nope, it's me in the flesh," Eggman said. "And yes, you heard that correctly. I sincerely have to thank you for what you did to help me. Without you guys helping, not only would I have been dead, but everyone else on this island might have been as well, and even the mainland would have been in grave danger."

"Well, we're the heroes of this world," Sonic said. "We're supposed to do things like that. And you of all people should know this is far from the first time we've had to save the world."

The whole group went quiet for a time after that, nothing but the thunder and rain penetrating the silence. Lightning frequently flashed over their heads, but no one made a move to get out of the rain; most of them barely even flinched. Maybe it was because the thunderstorm seemed like a pathetic threat compared to the one they faced yesterday, or maybe it was because none of them wanted to be the first to leave the others behind. But either way, they all stood there for what felt like quite some time before Eggman finally spoke.

"I probably should go," he said. "Orbot and Cubot are probably annoying the hell out of the people staying there, and I forgot to give them something to do before I left. You won't be seeing me much for a while- all I want to do right now is to rebuild Metal Sonic and properly this time; it won't be the same, but it'll be as close as I can make it. We'll meet again and we might not be on the same side next time, but know that you have my respect, if nothing else."

With that, Eggman threw down the top of his new flying machine and started the engine back up. However, that was when things appeared to go wrong. Because the machine was currently sitting in about four inches of mud, and since Eggman had propelled himself straight up with his liftoff (which was much faster than even he expected), when he launched upwards, mud splattered in a ring around the machine. Most of it landed roughly near where it came from. The rest, however, splattered all over the five onlookers below him, much to their shock (and to those who didn't have time to close their mouths, disgust).

Eggman appeared to have noticed what had happened because instead of flying off, he just hovered in midair for a few seconds before popping the top of his machine back open to look down at what he'd done.

For whatever reason, though, no one seemed to even be mildly annoyed. Instead, he heard the sound of hysterical laughter, punctuated by periodic thunderclaps. Sticks got this the hardest, having doubled over in the mud and nearly suffocating herself in the process. Even Tails was laughing.

"Okay, I don't get this," Eggman yelled down. "What the hell is so funny?"

Sonic managed to choke out his answer between bursts of laughter. "Honestly, that just broke the tension. Even though we might have been on the same side at one point, it just feels really refreshing to have things start to go back to the way they used to be."

"I didn't even mean to do that," Eggman said. Then, he immediately dropped like a stone again, this time not slowing down. Another ring of mud sprayed out from the landing site, drenching the rest of them even more.

"Now that one, that was intentional," he said with a smile. "I'm almost sorry to say this, but I guess old habits die hard."

"No worries," Sonic said. "It's in your nature, and honestly, we kind of enjoy the action. I'll even give you a ten-second head start this time."

"Oh, you are so on," Eggman said, lifting off hard this time to try and get them soaked in mud a third time, but by now they'd grown wary to his tactics and given the machine space. Then, he blasted forwards, leaving the others behind with a shout of "So long, Team Sonic!"

"You wish," Sonic said as he began counting on his fingers.

Once he reached ten, everyone began charging after him, even Amy (although she was being carried by Sonic to ensure she got a taste of the excitement). Soon, Eggman would be in sight again, and what would happen after that was anybody's guess.

They all knew it would take a while for the village to regain the sense of normalcy it had before all this happened. They also knew that no matter what they could do, nothing would be truly the same anymore. However, their somewhat-friendly rivalries with each other appeared to be one of the constants in their lives that didn't change, no matter the circumstances. In terms of their relationship, things were already going back to normal.

And normal was just the way they liked it.

Final Author's Notes:

-I still can't believe this project has gone so far- this is the first major work I've ever written and finished. It might have taken over a year, it might have had a lot of setbacks and a horribly inconsistent updating schedule to boot, and it might still have some problems in spite of all I've done, but in the end, it's still a finished story.

-The most surprising thing about this story (at least to me) was how different it came out from the original inception of the plot. While the core idea was the same in my original draft, a lot of events played out differently. Most noticeably, the original draft was, to be harsh, kind of toothless (Aunt Lina survived, Metal Sonic only had a Disney Death, Knuckles and Rouge never got crippled, the whole "Tails/Metal Sonic getting possessed" subplot never happened, that plan in Chapter Twenty would have worked perfectly instead of backfiring, you get the idea.)

-However, the only idea I had when I started came from the fangame "Sonic-exe: The Nightmare Beginning," which I watched a playthrough of and thought, "Hey, that could make a pretty cool story." So, I set out to write it, and here we are.

-I'd figure out a way to make the curtains fall here, but unfortunately there's no way to do that on this site. Thus, you'll have to settle for me saying goodbye one last time. Thanks for sticking with me all this way, and I hope to see you all again soon.

Review Zone, Final Act:

-Linz2: Thanks, once again, for taking the time to leave a review, and a compliment! It might be a little sad for me now that this is all over, but trust me, it's nice to finally be able to mark this as complete after everything that's gone into it.

-FaithMcKoy: Thanks for taking the time to leave a review, and a compliment! Just like that, it's official: we've hit the end. (For now, at least- I might have a sequel in me. I've got a handful of scattered ideas for it right now, but I don't want to spoil anything yet until I've started writing it.)

Acknowledgements:

-Thank you, Kaleidoscopic Lover (a writer on this very site) for writing "Mirror Image," an incredible Sonic the Hedgehog fanfic I cannot recommend enough. That story alone was enough to inspire me to rewrite the old manuscript for this from the ground up to create this story.

-Thank you, my 11th grade creative writing teacher Mr. P, for helping me sharpen my skills as a writer so creating this was possible.

-Thank you, Mom and Dad, for (mostly) supporting my writing and finding ways to help me get better when I was nothing more than a struggling middle schooler with some interesting ideas but not a lot of talent to show for it.

-And finally, thank you, everyone who read and reviewed this story, for inspiring me to keep going, to push through writer's block, to see this story through to its conclusion at all costs. Every single one of you were incredible, and even though the time has come to say goodbye, with some luck (and a little brainstorming) we'll meet again. I hope you enjoyed this fic, and happy travels!

Thank you all, one final time,
2017tnt