If there was one thing Sonic hated the most, it was losing those close to him. And water. But somehow, this time it was okay. He had complete faith in his friends' abilities to keep him alive and not let him drown. And that is what made Sonic so relaxed.

Tails's little boat calmly puffed along the ocean, maneuvering around rocks and sailing over great schools of fish. Sonic watched the waves dance and sparkle in the sunlight. He didn't know how beautiful the sea could be when observed safely. It was wonderful to see how the sun kissed the ocean surface.

Leaning out of the boat, Sonic reached down to lightly skim his hands against the water, with total trust that Shadow's sturdy arms would not let go. The little fishes below leapt out of the sea, catching bugs and floating seeds around the little ship. Pulling back, the young hedgehog laughed as the animals jumped around, creating funny little splashes and reflecting colored specks of light onto the boat's metal exterior.

"Isn't it a wonderful day?" Tails sighed, laying on the deck and absorbing the lovely sun rays.

"Yeah…" Sonic smiled. He flopped next to his friend to help observe the silvery clouds overhead. It was a nice day.

"What do you think, Shadow?" Sonic chirped, raising his head to look at the adult.

Shadow was leaning over the side, peering through the waves at the coral reef below. His gloved hands pushed through the warm water, occasionally brushing against a fish as he admired the scenery.

"I… I didn't know the ocean was so beautiful…" He mumbled, taking in every beam of light and drop of water that was in sight. "This… this is way more spectacular than the postcards."

"Well nothin' tops the real thing!" Sonic giggled. He put his head back on the floor with a happy sigh. Things were just perfect. The waves were gentle and quiet, the sun was nice and comfy, and the birds were happily singing. What was best of all, was that his friends were there with him. Knuckles wasn't much for sailing, spending most of his time on Angel Island on duty, but he had dropped in earlier to say hello. Amy had to help a friend out with a few things, so she had only sent her regards (with a bit of candy). Rouge had only seen Knuckles since the whole adventure, but that was okay. What mattered most, was that Shadow and Tails were here.

At first, Shadow had been apprehensive to attend the little outing. "I haven't gone sailing before" and "are you sure you want me with you?" were the excuses he spouted. But with some convincing, and a little pushing, they got him aboard the boat and rode out to sea. Sonic wished he photographed the adult's first view of the sunrise. The scarlet eyes had dilated at the countless colors that burst through the sky - leaving him absolutely breathless. The young hedgehog had never seen him look so… happy. Not a smile crossed the stern face, yet tearful eyes and slack jaw told Sonic everything he needed to know.

A splash caught Sonic's attention, leading him to dash to the side of the boat and peer over the side. Shadow had dived off. Tails rose off the deck too, searching the water with similar concern. For a few minutes, the ocean was quiet, with only the lapping waves and spraying mists creating noises. Sonic wasn't too worried. After all, the elder had braved waters more dangerous than these.

Splashing, followed by a gasp caught the duo's attention as Shadow surfaced behind them. He clambered onto the boat, dark fur sopping wet with salty seawater as he proudly presented a little thing he found.

"A seashell!" Tails chirped, snatching the item out of the soaked hand. "What a beautiful Crown Conch you found!"

The fox turned it over, delighted to find that no one was home. It really was a beautiful shell. Sonic took it from the younger mobian, peering at it himself and admiring the striped patterns.

"It's amazing down there." Shadow marvelled, twisting the water out of his arm. "There were so many different varieties of coral - and the colors were spectacular."

"Yeah Mystic Ruins has a constant stream of marine biologist, underwater archeologists, and scuba divers." Tails proudly announced, confidently placing his tiny hands on his hips. "I got lucky to build a workshop here."

"I never knew the planet could be so beautiful…" Shadow sighed. The three lowered themselves to the deck, just watching the sky with happiness.

Sonic sighed. It was truly perfect, now that things had died down. The world was calm, the weather was nice, and everybody lived in the end. Shadow finally got to experience the world for what it was, and Tails finally had someone else to talk to. Sonic even had someone whom he could confide in - run to whenever life got tough. It was nice having Shadow around. He brought a sense of security to the two just by being close by.

Sighing contentedly, the Blue Blur closed his eyes and basked in the sun; snuggling close against the wet adult with a smile. Sonic felt completely at ease. Things couldn't be better. There wasn't a thing wrong in the world, and it was glorious. Of course the peace wouldn't last long, there was still evil lurking around of course. But he had to enjoy life while he could.

There was always time for another adventure.

-xxx-

aaand we're done!

in celebration of the completion of this pic, i have uploaded a cover for you guys!
yaaay!

this is the first fanfiction i've ever completed and i'm so happy you guys enjoyed it so much!
the amount of support this recieved was incredible! i never expected anyone to enjoy an idea that i initially thought was really dumb

but you guys pushed me on, saying it was good and getting really invested in the story - it kinda floored me really
when someone said they drew fanart, i lost my mind
never before has someone ever enjoyed any project of mine like this
ever
so to that - i say...

Thank You!

really, it means a lot that you all loved this so much!
i will be crossposting this onto Ao3 as i edit this chapter by chapter, so the guys over there will get the "experience"
the editing will be fixing spelling mistakes, parallelism problems, and unfortunately removing all the little comments at the beginning
once I'm done, even this little note will be gone, so you don't have to put up with it forever

but i think i will take a break before i start again and think about the next fic i might write
i have a lot of ideas (dont be shy to send me some too), but one stands out to me right now

something tells me a story about Silver might interest you guys - especially since you like this fic so much

Thanks again for all the support!
and happy reading!