At the IS Academy, Sonic and his friends explained everything that's going on.
Chifuyu: I can see that you had a good reason to side with the army, Ms. Fall.
Yamada: You did all that to protect your child?
Cinder: The important thing now is that she's safe right here.
Sonic: That's one task done. But now, our deadline is in just a few weeks, so we need to stop the army before they start jumping dimensions.
Ichika: Luckily we got plenty of time to prepare.
Rin: And we got plenty of people here.
Kirito: It's always nice to have more guy friends at my age, Ichika.
Ichika: Glad I'm not alone.
Houki: Yeah. Dan's pretty much the only other guy friend in our group.
Tails: So when should we set off to fight the army?
Everybody thinks about that.
Eugeo: Do you think a week from today will do?
Weiss: I think that will give us plenty of time to prepare.
Knuckles: Totally.
Chifuyu: Then we will go in just a week from today.
Miyuki: I think that will also give us plenty of time to get to know each other.
Asuna: I agree. I hope we can all get along well.
Knuckles: AND it's your chance to get to know the Black Swordsman and Lightning Flash.
Kirito: Okay Knuckles that's enough.
Sonic: Oh! Kirito had another name too!
Ruby: Did he now?
Mighty: At one point, they called him a beater.
Ruby: Beater?
Jaune: What's that supposed to mean?
The Beater lends out a sigh.
Kirito: I was a beta tester before SAO launched. When we all cleared the first floor of Aincrad, I bluffed to everyone saying that I got all the way up to Floor 100, and they called me a beater. It's basically a mix of both beta tester and cheater.
Yang: Cheater? I can't imagine you being someone like that.
Blake: Guessing they were jealous of him.
Asuna: He has his way of intimidating other players just to make them feel jealous.
Tatsuya: I guess it's like that with most gamers.
Leafa: That's probably it.
Pyrrha: Ahem! About the fireworks festival.
Ichika: Oh. That one? We were planning to go there too. We're even bringing Dan and Ran along.
Amy: This'll definitely be quite the group.
Nora: I'll say. There's so many of us here.
Yang: So Ruby. You got your yukata to show off to Oscar?
Ruby: S-Shut up!
Oscar: Wait. What was that?
Ruby: N-N-Nothing! Nothing!
Laura: Well somebody's got a thing for someone.
Emerald: That's exactly what I said.
Two days later, everyone arrives at the fireworks festival.
Sonic: Here we are!
Tails: And just in time. Everyone's here!
Everyone except Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Mighty, Ray, Mercury, Sun, and Neptune are wearing Yukata.
Asuna: Are you ready to see fireworks, Yui?
Yui: Yes I am, Mommy! And I get to see them with you and Daddy!
Kirito: I'm sure you'll love them.
Ichika: Uh... Did that little girl just call you two Mommy and Daddy?
Charlotte: Sacre Bleu! That girl is your daughter?!
Cecilia: How in the world is that possible?! Surely you can't be related by blood!
Asuna: N-No! It's not that! She's adopted!
Erika: You adopted that kid? But you guys are so young!
Amy: We were pretty surprised ourselves when we first discovered that.
Tails: She was an AI in SAO. They both found her in a forest on Floor 22 on their honeymoon without any memories, and then we discovered that she's an AI back in the Black Iron Palace.
Cecilia: I see.
Kirito: She nearly got deleted after getting rid of the Fatal Scythe, but me and Tails saved her. And then he made a replica in the real world to put Yui's core programming in, and here she is now.
Chifuyu: Well, there are some things in this world that we simply can't let go of, whether they're real or not.
Miyuki: I agree. Your daughter is really cute, by the way.
Tatsuya: She seems to have Kirito's black hair and eyes.
Kirito: What?!
Everybody laughs.
Yang: I gotta say, Ruby. You're really pulling it off well in that yukata.
Ruby: R-Right.
Blake: You picked one that suits you the best. Go on. Ask him.
Ruby: O-Okay.
The shy girl with silver eyes walks up to Oscar.
Ruby: So, Oscar. What do you think?
Oscar: Well, I think it looks perfect on you.
Ruby: Really?!
Oscar: Yeah. It looks beautiful.
Ruby: B-Beautiful?!
Knuckles: This is one big group. Think we should go our separate ways for now and meet up just before the fireworks start?
Pyrrha: I think that would be a great idea.
Cinder: And it would be perfect for all you couples to have your own time together.
Nora: Let's go Ren! Me and you are spending time together!
She takes his hand and they head off.
Ren: N-Nora! Easy there!
Kirito: Well I guess it's family time.
Asuna: It sure is. Come on, Yui. Let's go.
Yui: Okay!
The family of three sets off.
Pyrrha: Are you ready to go, Jaune?
Jaune: Sure thing.
Jaune and the cereal box girl set off next.
Neptune: Shall we go, Weiss?
Weiss: Of course.
Next goes the Ice Queen and the blue-haired boy.
Sun: Okay Blake. Let's go.
Blake: Sure.
And then the cat girl and monkey boy.
Ruby: So Oscar. Do you want to go somewhere together? Me and you?
Oscar: Oh, uh... Sure. I'd love to.
Ruby: Great! Let's go!
Ruby and Oscar go.
Yang: Heh heh. It's all baby steps but things are starting to go well with those two.
Emerald: Sure seems like it.
Mercury: Well, me and Emerald are heading off too. Later.
Emerald: See ya.
Emerald and Mercury set off.
Kyouji: So Sinon. Is there somewhere you want to go?
Sinon: Why don't we go together?
Kyouji: Oh, sure.
The sniper and playboy doctor set off.
Eugeo: There sure is a lot to check out. What should we check out first?
Alice: I'm not sure. Let's go and see.
The two Underworldians set off.
Snow: I bet they'll have plenty of delicious stuff.
Rain: Then let's go check it out together.
Seven: Uh, don't forget about me!
Mikihiko: So, umm... Mizuki. Should we go together?
Mizuki: Of course!
Erika: Let's go, Leo. You still owe me.
The red-haired magic student grabs Leo's arm.
Leo: Woah! Wait!
Agil: Me and Trish are off.
Amy: Let's go, Sonic! Me and you are together!
The pink hedgehog grabs the blue hedgehog's arm while he sighs.
Sonic: Fine, let's go.
And just like that, they head off into the festival. Finally, Tatenashi holds Ichika's hand.
Tatenashi: Well, we're off, everyone! We'll see you all later!
Houki: Oh no you don't!
Cecilia: Do not even think about it, Tatenashi!
Rin: There's no way we're letting you hog Ichika all to yourself!
Laura: That is my bride and you will not take him from me!
Ichika: Uh... Guys?
Ran: You know, Ichika hardly ever gets to spend time with me, so I think I should take him with me.
Charlotte: Absolutely not!
Kanzashi: Do you know what I think? I think maybe he should choose who to spend time with!
Ichika: HUH?!
Charlotte: That sounds like a brilliant idea! So Ichika, who do you want to go with!
Ichika: Wait wait! Can't we talk about this?
The Girls: No!
Dan: Man, Ichika. How many hearts have you been playing with at the academy?
Lisbeth: That reminds me of a certain someone.
Yang: Wow. Ichika must be the densest guy I've ever seen.
Klein: Seriously?! Man, I thought Kirito was the one who hogs this many girls, but Ichika too?! You guys are so lucky!
Neo: ...
Chifuyu: Believe me. It's like this all the time.
Ichika: C-Can I get a little help here?
Mighty: Nope! You're on your own, pal.
Everybody except for Ichika and the girls in his group head off.
Miyuki: Good luck, Ichika.
Yamada: Don't do anything dumb now!
Ichika: Wait! Guys!
Chifuyu: See you at the fireworks show, little brother.
Ichika: Sis! Come on!
Tails: Later moron!
Knuckles: Have fun with your girlfriends!
Ichika: Guys, come on! Don't leave me here! You have no idea how bad I am at this!
Ray: That's your problem, ya big noob!
Ichika: Oh come on!
Tatenashi: It's time to take responsibility, Ichika.
The boy pilot sighs.
Karen: Unbelievable.
Miyu: I know. So dense.
Suguha: Just like my brother. Except Ichika's probably even more dense.
Philia: You notice that too?
Suguha: Yep.
Cindy: What's going on with Mr. Ichika, Mommy?
Cinder: Heh heh. Oh, don't worry about it.
Chifuyu: Don't worry, everyone. My little brother is dense, but he's a good guy.
Mighty: Come on, guys. Let's go and enjoy the festivities before the fireworks show starts.
Everybody checks out the festival stands in different groups. Some are couples and others are best friends. Some even got to reconvene with each other and play some games like shooting the targets, and more. Some also get to know each other between Ichika, Tatsuya, Ruby, and Kirito's group. They even light up some sparklers. Late at night, the whole gang gathers back together just before the fireworks start.
Sonic: I gotta say. That was pretty fun.
Ichika: It was nice getting to know all your friends, Sonic.
Dan: Yeah. They're all pretty cool if you ask me. Getting to meet you was definitely worth it.
Kirito: Seems like we've gone a long way.
Cinder: Sonic.
Sonic: Yeah?
Cinder: Thank you. For helping me get my girl away from the army.
Sonic: No big deal. It's my specialty.
Cinder: Actually, I should be thanking all of you, for choosing to help me fight back against the army when I couldn't do it before.
Tails: Well, you got all the help you need right here. With this many friends, we're gonna knock them down!
Tatsuya: But we better be cautious. There's no telling what we're up against.
Asuna: Once we're ready, we will fight them. But let's all enjoy ourselves for now.
Yui: Look! It's starting!
The fireworks light up the sky. Everybody watches with smiles on their faces, seeing how beautiful the sight is. Ruby and Oscar's hands get closer to each others, and then they hold on, causing them both to look and gasp with red faces. But after a moment of staring at each other, they both smile and take a look back up at the finale, together. Once the fireworks end, everybody starts heading home.
Tails: That was great! I haven't been to a fireworks show in a long time!
Sonic: Same here. It was cool. We should go to these more often.
Miyuki: I really enjoyed it. Thank you for inviting us.
Tatsuya: Thank you. It was fun.
Sonic: Thank YOU for coming along.
Erika: Any time! You host the best kind of parties.
Penny: This was my first time seeing fireworks like this. I've never dressed in a yukata before.
Weiss: It truly was worthwhile.
Yuuki: It's been years since I've been to a festival. Ever since SAO started, I've been stuck inside that Medicuboid trying to get treated, but now I'm all recovered. My little sister, Aiko, would have loved to see this.
Weiss: You must have been through a lot with your disease.
Yuuki: Yeah. But Asuna, Kirito, Sonic, and all my friends from the virtual world saved me.
Blake: No wonder your reaction time is faster than Kirito's. You've lived in the virtual world longer than him.
Cindy: That was so much fun! The fireworks were so pretty!
Cinder: I'm glad you enjoyed them, sweetheart.
Ruby: Hey, Oscar.
Oscar: Yeah?
The silver-eyed girl's face turns a bit red.
Ruby: I'm glad I could spend time with you.
Oscar: I'm glad as well.
Ruby: Oh, and I made these for you.
She gives him a pack of sweets. His face turns a little red too.
Oscar: Oh, thank you. Thank you very much. So, umm... Do you want to go see a movie some time after our mission?
Ruby: I would love to go with you!
Oscar: Great! I look forward to it. Should we head home together?
Ruby: Oh! Yes!
The two head off. That makes Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Mighty, Ray, Yang, Yuuki, Sun, and Neptune shout while blowing airhorns.
Yang, Yuuki, and The guys: OH YEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAHHHHHH!
Yang: You go, Sis!
Weiss: Well, it seems now they're dating. It's been a process but now everything's good.
Blake: They look like they make the perfect couple.
Rin: Jeez. Those two are making me jealous.
Leafa: You can say that again.
Klein: Man. You couples are so lucky. It stinks that I don't have a girlfriend.
Kirito: Not to mention you tried hitting on Miss Orimura and Miss Yamada.
Agil: Definitely a Klein thing to do.
Klein: Hey come on! You're making me sound like a doofus.
Sinon: Really? You've been a doofus for a long time.
Miyuki: Either way, we all had so much fun today.
Ichika: We should all hang out like this more often.
Sonic: For sure.
Tails: Let's go bowling after we beat the army.
Sonic: Yeah.
Tatsuya: Let's make sure we're prepared before we leave.