A/N: Sorry this is late! The reason this chapter and the last chapter are a little late is because my best friend SuperTailsFan0812, aka Olivia, just got a Discord account last month, and now we're roleplaying in our private server every single day. Maybe one of these days, we can turn it into a fanfiction for everyone to enjoy!
I totally forgot to mention this last chapter, but Olivia's birthday was in late December, and I made her a birthday one-shot. Check it out; it's called Evil Cosmo Arises: A Sonic X Story. And that story is my very first time writing with the Metarex! And please support SuperTailsFan0812! Every review, favorite, and follow encourages her to keep writing and doing what she loves!
I was debating on what to name this chapter. I was originally going to go with "Here We Go Again...", but after talking with Olivia, we decided on "Safe and Sound".
Anyway, this is my second short chapter, and second completely original chapter, because I believe Sonic X season 1 needed a few things explained at the end. I hope you enjoy this epilogue to season 1 of Chaos on Earth: A Sonic X Rewrite!
SuperTailsFan0812
I hope you get well soon, my friend :)
Tails' determination was fun to write. He cares so much for Chris.
Topaz and Rouge were fun to write too, like, they are like sisters to each other.
Sonic assuring Chris that he would rescue him... I really love writing with a determined Sonic.
Yeah... I really wanted to add a heart-to-heart moment between Tails and Chuck. I felt like it was missing from the show.
Thank you :) I wanted to write it from Sonic's head to express emotion even more.
I really wanted to write Tails emotions in this scene. And thank you so much! :) Who do you think I learned my hurt/comfort skills from? ;)
Poor Chris... I would be crying too if I were him.
Awww... I really wanted to include that moment with Tails. It wasn't even in my backlog, but it came to mind when I was chatting with you.
Yeah... I felt like I could possibly make it more emotional, and I think I scored :)
Thank you so much, my dear friend :) Here's the epic finale of season 1!
GuardianDragon98
Thank you so much! And yeah, it occurred to me one day that if the Chaos Emeralds were unstable, they would make Super Sonic unstable too. And that's an honor to say that it's a stroke of genius! :D
Guest
Thank you so much! I wanted to have a flashback sequence to moments in the story to enhance the emotion. I'm happy that I didn't disappoint!
That's actually on my list of stories to check out. I've been so busy with things that I haven't read other people's fanfics, but I will check it out in the near future!
dbehi1
And this battle is going to be amazing...
azzyofhyperdeath
Insert tears of joy emoji here... Anyway, I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter!
CVGWJames
Thank you so much!
dianapinto19041
I do understand where you're coming from, but this is a Sonic X REWRITE, not a Sonic X REBOOT. A reboot would pretty much change a lot of things and make it only half recognizable. However, this is a rewrite, which keeps the core story, but adds some changes here and there to make it better.
Animation Adventures
I'm still adapting the games, but it won't be exactly in the same way the show did. I think you may like the changes and find them interesting.
I wanted to have Sonic have some kind of reaction to GUN nearly shooting down the Egg Fort II with Chris still inside. Even if he didn't go completely dark, it still counts.
I love writing these little moments, even if they're not my specialty, but sometimes filler moments are the best.
Here we go again...!
SX-000
Yeah... Pretty soon, Eggman's gonna be in control of the moon after he fired his super lazer you-know-what at it... That's not gonna be pleasant.
I don't know if Metal Sonic will have an E-Series number, but I will say that E-05 Neo Metal Sonic does have a nice ring to it :)
That was my number one issue to fix from Sonic X when I was writing this story. No way was I going to make Chris stay whiny!
...I love it. I REALLY LOVE your idea! If I do plan on having Infinite appear at some point, I will definitely use your idea! Thank you so much!
Season 1 Epilogue: Safe and Sound
Station Square Dock – Sat May 14; 12:08 AM – Third-person POV
"Long time no see, Chris."
When Chris turned to look up at who was speaking, he was filled with indescribable emotions. He was immediately flooded with relief and joy, but he was also sick with worry. Tears immediately filled his eyes at the sight of the cobalt blue hedgehog standing before him with a reassuring smile on his face.
Chris pushed himself onto his hands and knees. Tears were now streaming freely from his eyes. He had no idea how to react.
"It's okay, Chris," Sonic gently said as he stepped forward. "It's okay. No tears. Everything worked out in the end."
Chris was practically hyperventilating through his tears. He was so happy to see his best friend again that he leaped at Sonic and embraced him in a tight hug. Chris sobbed freely into Sonic's shoulder as the hedgehog hugged him back.
As Sonic gently rubbed the boy's back to ease his worries, he thought back to everything that happened that night. It had been the most adrenalin-filled night he had since arriving on this planet. In fact, he seriously thought he was going to die at the hands of Eggman. And yet… Chris saved him.
After Sonic left Chris, he had found himself somewhere in the outskirts of the city, and as he was heading back to the mansion, he happened to see Chris in the fetal position at the harbor, crying his heart out. He knew Chris was going to take it really hard. Truth be told, he was glad for Chris' safe that he could be back to at least say a proper goodbye.
Chris finally broke the hug and sniffled. He was still so very relieved to see Sonic again.
"I-I-I thought… y-you were g-gonna be… g-gone f-forever…" he whispered.
"I thought so too, buddy," Sonic admitted with a somber smile. "But it looks like I'm gonna be staying here a little while longer."
For some reason that Chris did not know, Sonic didn't seem too upset that he was going to be stuck on Earth for quite a bit longer than he had planned, unless he was that good at hiding his true emotions.
Chris looked up at Sonic, wiping his tears away. "Wh-what do you mean…?" he asked.
Sonic smiled. "I'll tell you once we get back home; it's getting really late, and I'm kinda beat." That was a very big understatement. It was the dead of night, and most people should have been asleep by now.
Before Chris knew it, Sonic scooped him up bridal-style, causing him to let out a small gasp. The hedgehog turned around to face the city.
"Hang on tight and close your eyes," he instructed Chris. Then he took off running through the city, leaving behind several flaming wreckages of buildings and emergency vehicles that were just beginning to arrive on the scene.
Thorndyke Mansion – Sat May 14; 12:14 AM – Third-person POV
A few minutes later, Sonic sped into the mansion's driveway and gently set Chris down on the pavement. Home had never been a more welcoming sight for either of them, especially after everything they had gone through that night.
Chris couldn't help but notice that Sonic looked like he was pretty weak. It seemed ironic, considering he had nearly limitless stamina. But now, he looked visibly tired.
"Are you okay…?" Chris asked in concern.
Sonic gave him a small smile.
"I think I'll be okay," he said as he stretched his arms. "Going super really takes a toll on my body. I'm gonna rest easy tonight."
Chris glanced back at the house.
"Um… What about everyone else…?" he inquired. "If you're here… does that mean they're here too…?"
"That sounds about right," he said, before he glanced up at the window of Chuck's lab. A light was on inside. "In fact… they have to be here…"
"Wait, how do you know that?" Chris asked in curiosity.
"Well, I…" Sonic's voice trailed off as he got a new thought. He smiled at Chris. "Only one way to find out, right?"
He walked over to the garage door, with Chris behind him. After turning the handle and pushing the door open, he stepped inside. Chris followed after him, and he was surprised to see that the light was on inside.
What surprised him even more was that the X-Tornado was parked inside the garage. It was heavily damaged, and the smell of smoke lingered in the air, but it was here.
"Well…" breathed Sonic with some relief. "That's a good sign."
Chris felt his heart swelling. The X-Tornado was here! That had to mean Tails, Amy, Cream, and Cheese were all here too!
However, he couldn't help but notice how damaged it looked. He found himself wishing he knew what had caused it.
"Ready, Chris?" he gently whispered.
"R-Ready…!" the boy replied.
Sonic started climbing the stairs to the lab first, and Chris stood at the bottom. He was nervous to see his friends again, and yet he was overly excited. He wasn't quite ready to be overwhelmed by his friends yet.
"Wait there a moment," Sonic told Chris. "I'll give you the signal when it's time to come up."
Sonic knocked on the trap door a few times before slowly pushing it open.
"We're back, safe and sound!" he called.
"SONIC!" Tails, Amy, and Cream all exclaimed as they ran over to help him inside. Sonic made sure to leave the trap door open. He was all smiles as his friends were enveloping him in a hug. He actually found himself missing Amy's very tight hugs.
"Sonic, we were so worried about you…!" she exclaimed.
"Sonic…" Tails began, but he trailed off because he felt tears of relief in his eyes. "We… we got hurt in the crash, and…"
Sonic smiled. "But you're okay now," he said. "When we were in Chaos Control, I found all of you and healed you in my super form. Now you're all back to full health!"
"Wait!" Amy called. "Where's Chris? Do you know where he is?"
Sonic smiled as he walked back over to the trap door. "Yeah, I brought him back here with me. Hey, come on up, buddy!"
At Sonic's invitation, Chris scrambled up the wooden ladder, and he was immediately overwhelmed when he saw Tails, Cream, and Amy all inside his grandpa's lab. They all shouted his name in excitement and ran over to hug him at the same time. They were like happy puppies. He had never been surrounded with so much love and fur at the same time.
"Chris, you're okay!" Amy exclaimed.
"You're not hurt anymore!" added Tails.
"Mr. Chris, we were so scared for you!" exclaimed Cream.
"Chao-chao chao!" Cheese added in his own two cents.
Chris began to cry happy tears all over again at the sight of his friends. He thought they were all gone forever, but now… it seemed like they were here to stay!
"Let's take it easy on Chris a little, guys," Sonic gently said. "He's had a pretty rough night."
Amy loosened her grip on Chris, before letting go altogether. "You had us all worried to death tonight… almost literally for some of us!" she exclaimed.
"Are you okay…?" Cream asked him.
Chris could only simply nod. He was still very much overwhelmed with everything going on to speak just yet. He was smiling, though.
Even Chuck rose from his chair and walked across the room to give Chris a hug.
"Chris… We all thought you were going to die tonight…" he said. "You have no idea how grateful we are to see you back here."
"I-I was thinking the same thing…" Chris quietly admitted. He shuddered when he thought of everything that had happened to him that night.
"Here, come sit down," Chuck invited as he gestured to his bed in the corner of the room. Chris nodded and walked across the room before sitting down on the bed. At the same time Sonic lounged in his usual spot in the hammock they had set up, and the others took up seats in the beanbags arranged in the room.
Chuck looked from one tired face to the next.
"Where do I begin…?" he wondered. "There was so much that went down tonight that I don't know what to discuss first."
"One thing is for sure," Tails pointed out. "We're gonna have to round up all the Chaos Emeralds all over again if we want any chance of returning back home."
Once again, Chris felt dread at such a prospect. After everything that had happened tonight, they would still have to eventually go back to Mobius. It was still going to happen, but it was merely delayed for a while.
"Wait, I just thought of something!" declared Amy. "Why didn't Chaos Control send us back…? I mean… shouldn't it always teleport us somewhere when it's used…?"
"I wish I knew," Chuck said. "If we are talking logically, not only should it have sent all of you back, but Chris and I would have been sent to Mobius too, along with who knows how many countless other people have been caught up in the blast."
"You're right…" mused Tails as he wrapped his tails around himself like a makeshift blanket.
A sob from Chris caused the human, four Mobians, and Chao to look in his direction. All was quiet in the room now, and Sonic knew exactly what was wrong with him.
"I-It's all my fault…" he admitted with a shaky breath. "Sonic almost died… and… I-I almost died… all because I took the Emeralds to Eggman…"
Chris couldn't even mountain eye contact with anyone in the room. He buried his face in his hands as the full brunt of the consequences of his actions crashed upon his shoulders. All of his friends nearly died all because of him! Tails' plane was ruined, his friends were hurt, and he and Sonic almost died if it weren't for the Chaos Emeralds.
"Chris," came Sonic's voice as he hopped out of his hammock and walked over to Chris' side. He sat down on the bed next to him and gently placed a comforting hand on his back.
"It's not your fault, Chris," he assured his human friend. "You were just trying to do what you thought was right, and… I really commend you for that. But you gotta know that Knuckles isn't really the brightest bulb in the shed…" He looked confused. "Or something like that, I don't know how it goes."
"It's tool," corrected Tails.
"Right," nodded Sonic. "Brightest tool in the shed– That still doesn't sound right, but whatever."
Tails and Cream giggled, and even Chris found himself smiling a little bit at Sonic.
"But yeah… he means well, he's got a big heart… but he's still kind of a knucklehead."
Chris had a small smile, even though he was still very much shaken up from everything that happened to him.
"Chris... We had to take the X-Tornado to find you, and since we didn't have any Chaos Emeralds, we were almost killed out there in an ambush!" scolded Amy.
"Amy, Amy," Chuck chided, looking at her. She tended to get her temper up easily, and he knew Chris didn't need that now.
Amy nodded before looking back at Chris. "I'm so happy you're safe, but don't do that again, okay? One reckless hero is enough to keep us all busy."
"O-Okay…" mumbled Chris, before he looked down. He was very well aware of the consequences his actions had.
"Everything worked out in the end, Chris," Sonic assured. "Not a scratch on any of us. It's like we never went out there."
"B-But… I-It didn't work out, Mr. Sonic…" Cream whimpered. She looked like she was on the verge of crying. "I thought I was going to see my mama again tonight… I… I was so excited… and now…"
She began crying freely, and Amy leaned over to hug her and do her best to comfort her and Cheese.
"We're all in the same boat," she said. "I guess it's going to be a little longer until we can return. But don't worry, you two. We're still gonna have lots of fun adventures together in the meantime!"
"Um… O-Okay, Miss Amy…" replied a reluctant Cream.
"Chao!" added Cheese.
"Hey Tails?" Chuck spoke up, looking at the small orange fox sitting on the beanbag closest to him. "Something on your Miles Electric is going off. It's blinking out of the corner of my eye and it's kind of distracting me."
"Oh, okay!" replied Tails as he immediately got up and walked over, his tails dragging on the floor. He was a little bit tired that night. He picked up his tablet and took a look at it.
"It's a video call," he announced, "from Knuckles!"
"Really?" replied Chuck in interest. "Let's see what he has to say."
To Tails' surprise, when he accepted the call, he could see Knuckles in a state of uncharacteristic emotion. He looked like he could break down in tears at any moment. This was unheard of. Knuckles the Echidna never cried.
"You're on loudspeaker," Tails spoke into his tablet, until he saw Knuckles' emotional expression. "Knuckles, what's the matter?"
As Tails stood on his tiptoes to prop up the Miles Electric on Chuck's desk for everyone to see, he saw Knuckles' expression change to surprise.
"Chris, you're still alive?!" he exclaimed. "But… Eggman told me you died when you fell in the ocean!"
"Wait, what?" exclaimed Sonic, before he regained his composure. "He didn't die, Knux. In fact, he didn't even get wet. It was-"
"Let me guess, you saved him?" said Knuckles.
"Well…" chuckled Sonic. "I did help save him in the end, yeah."
"Knuckles… were you crying…?" Tails asked tenderly.
"Um… I'm a guardian! I never cry!" he exclaimed through his clearly visible tears.
"But I can see your tears, Mr. Knuckles…" Cream pointed out. "Please don't cry…"
"What's the matter…?" Amy asked, her expression softening.
Knuckles gestured all around him. "Look… do you see where I am?" he exclaimed.
Chris and Chuck peered at the screen.
"Um… No, I can't say I do," mused Chuck. "It's a forest of some sort, from what I can see."
"Not just any forest, but-"
The others gasped, interrupting Knuckles. They immediately recognized where he was!
"Y-You're on Angel Island!" realized Tails now that he took a closer look at Knuckles' surroundings. "But how…? There's no way you were sent back without us! If that happened, you wouldn't even be talking with us right now!"
Knuckles closed his eyes to try to keep his emotions in check. He was filled with so many conflicting emotions right now.
"I thought I was back on Mobius," he said. "I woke up here on Angel Island; I haven't been here in nine months! But then I looked over the edge of the island, and that's when I saw Station Square - Earth's Station Square!" He took a deep breath, and let it out. "I don't know how to feel about any of this… I mean, yeah, I'm glad to be back, but this isn't Mobius. This isn't my home."
"I know, but we may have to work with what we have," Tails replied.
"Knuckles, is the Master Emerald okay?" Amy asked.
"It's practically untouched this whole time, which is a huge relief," replied Knuckles. "Dusty, but untouched. And the island is floating like it should be."
"So that means the Chaos Emeralds should be under control once again," Sonic said. "Which means no more Chaos Beacons."
"And no more turbulence!" piped up Tails.
"Yeah," nodded Knuckles. "And I forgot to mention something. I consulted the Master Emerald about the vision I had and the dream you had. Tikal said she couldn't say anything about the dream, but about the vision, the two Master Emeralds symbolized two parallel universes in one spot in the universe, which I guess confirms that we're in a parallel universe and that we're a lot farther than home than we thought."
"Okay, that confirms that," Tails replied. "And I didn't even have to do any math!"
However, Knuckles looked down in sadness. "I'm… really sorry about everything. It's… it's all my fault. And Chris, I know you're probably blaming yourself for going along with me, but you shouldn't. It's my stupid idea, and I take all the blame."
"All's forgiven, Knux," Sonic said. "We're all alive, right? No broken bones, no bruises, no burn marks from the Chaos Emeralds. It's all good."
"Hey Knuckles…?" asked Tails. "Did you know I was working on a portal to get all of us home…"
Knuckles stared. Then he blinked. Then he balled up his fists, his face looking more and more frustrated. Then–
"DAAAAAAHHH!" he yelled. Cream was startled and hid behind Amy. Cheese did the same too. Everyone else in the room flinched except for Sonic.
Knuckles took a deep breath. "If I had known that beforehand, I would never have done what I did," he said.
"…Sorry…" whimpered Tails in a small, quiet voice as he held one of his tails close to him and idly played with it.
"Hey, everything worked out, right?" Sonic said with a smile. "We're all here, right…? All we need to do now is get all the Emeralds again and make the magic happen."
"Well, now I'm curious," Knuckles said. "How are you guys still here?"
"Same way as you, I guess," Sonic shrugged. "I felt myself fading out of my super form, and, well… I never lost consciousness, shockingly, as I sometimes pass out after being super. But anyway, the next thing I knew, I was in some part of Station Square. And that's when I realized I was still on Earth."
"We all woke up right here in the lab," Chuck said, before glancing at Tails. "And Tails… he was really excited that the X-Tornado was sent back here."
"It might take a couple days for me to fix it, but I promise, we'll be able to fly it again very soon," the small fox reported.
Sonic nodded. "Good to know. It's not easy knowing we're gonna be here for longer than we planned, but hey…" He smiled. "We can make the best of it!"
"And there are still a few projects I want to work on while I'm here!" added Tails.
"Now hold on," Chuck said, drawing the room's attention back to him. "There's still something no one here has brought up yet." He placed his hands on his legs. "What happened to Dr. Eggman?"
"Your guess is as good as mine," Knuckles responded, before looking somewhere behind him. "I'm still looking at the ruins of Eggman's robot washing up at the harbor. I think they're gonna be cleaning that up for days. Hope there isn't an oil spill…"
He turned back to face the camera.
"But that's not the only thing going on down there. Aside from the dozen or so fires, there's also a heavy police presence, and the GUN helicopters are still in the area."
"And what about Rouge…?" Amy asked, leaning forward in her beanbag.
"Nowhere to be seen," Knuckles shrugged. "I think it's a good thing she's tied up with GUN stuff right now instead of… y'know, trying to rob me blind again." He glanced at Chris. "Hey, Chris? You gotta tell me, how did you even escape that thing? Eggman told me you died, but… you're very much alive."
Chris looked down, fidgeting with his hands. "Um… When I saw Sonic unconscious, I got really mad… like… I never gotten that angry before in my whole life. I… I think there was a lot of adrenalin, because I actually broke the metal things holding me onto the wall all by myself. Um…"
He shuddered at the next memory. Sonic gently patted his back.
"They… th-they tried to put me in the… r-robot thingy…" he recalled.
There were gasps from Tails and Amy.
"Wait, he had a working roboticizer in there this whole time?!" exclaimed Tails. Chris nodded.
"Yeah, I-I guess so… I somehow broke free from the robots, and then I grabbed all the Emeralds out of the machine, and they–"
"You what?!" interjected Chuck, leaning toward in his seat.
"How did you even do that?" asked Tails, looking directly at Chris. "Touching a raw Chaos Emerald can severely burn you, but six… That should have killed you several times over! How did you survive that?!"
"I think Eggman turned off the machine or something…?" Chris said. "The Emeralds burned me really bad, and… I guess I passed out. I don't know how I survived it." He looked at Sonic. "Sonic… how did I end up on the dock? Did you save me…?"
"Nope, that was all Rouge!" replied Sonic with a grin. "She almost got crushed by Eggman's robot, but I turned super and rescued both of you, and she flew you down to the harbor."
Chuck had a small smile. "I don't know Rouge all too well, but I am extremely grateful that she saved my grandson," Chuck said proudly while looking at Sonic.
"It's what I do," the hedgehog shrugged.
"Um… H-How did you heal me, Sonic…?" Chris asked.
Sonic smiled at Chris. "Chaos Regeneration," he explained. "I can only do that when I'm super since it's something that takes all seven Chaos Emeralds to do. It works on flesh wounds, but…" He closed his eyes. "It takes something a bit deeper to mend broken hearts. And I never even thought of what would happen to me when I was super with the Emeralds going all crazy like that… That was scary… and that fight was way harder than it should have been. Otherwise, I would have taken down that robot in ten seconds flat, give or take."
He took a breath, and crossed the room to return to his hammock, and lay back down in it.
"But since Angel Island and the Master Emerald are here… I don't think I'll need to worry about that ever happening again."
"How's my favorite echidna been doing?" cooed a feminine voice as Rouge appeared on the screen, planting a kiss on Knuckles' cheek. Knuckles blushed at this; he did not expect Rouge to show up now of all times!
"Don't even think about touching the Master Emerald," demanded Knuckles. "I have gone nine months too long without it, and I need some time alone with it."
"Aww, you're so touchy," Rouge said. "I'm not here for the Emerald this time, though, I've missed ogling over it and having it around. No, I came to check up on you, Knuckie."
"Rouge…" groaned Knuckles.
"Hey, your wing is all better!" Tails pointed out.
Rouge flapped her once-injured wing once. "The better to fly with, my dear," she responded. "I must thank you for finding and healing me in the middle of Chaos Control, Big Blue."
"Hey, it was nothing," replied Sonic nonchalantly.
"And I can't believe I'm saying this… I gotta thank you for looking out for Chris. He can't fight for himself like we can."
"I had to breach my contract just a little to do it, but it was worth it to save a life," replied Rouge. "Even if I lost all those Emeralds…" she added as an afterthought.
"Yikes…" flinched Knuckles. "Think GUN's gonna pardon you for that?"
"Topaz might, but I can't really say the same for the rest of GUN. They don't really pardon anyone, even for tiny things, and if I'm not lucky… well, at least I get to go back to being a full-time jewel thief."
"If you can manage to get out of prison," Knuckles replied, holding up his hand.
"Oh please, that's the easy part," said an amused Rouge. "But for now, I'm a valuable asset to them. I can uncover juicy gossip about anything at any time."
She winked at the camera as a greeting to everyone in the room.
"I hope you all are having a fantastic night, adrenalin rush and near-death experiences aside," she greeted. "And Sonic… you take good care of that boy, okay? He's all yours."
"I'm gonna swing by tomorrow to check up on you guys tomorrow," announced Knuckles. "But for tonight, I'm gonna sleep good knowing the Master Emerald is safe…" He glanced uneasily at Rouge. "…well, mostly. Anyway, take care and get lots of sleep."
"Good night~" replied Rouge in a sing-song voice as Knuckles shut off the feed. Tails stood up and turned off the Miles Electric before he set it back down on the desk. He yawned in a cute way as he sat back down in his beanbag.
"Well, that was interesting," Chuck replied, just as Chris' belly growled, and the boy realized he was starving.
Chuck stood up from his chair and stretched a little. "I know it's way past our bedtime, but I think we should all get something to eat before we hit the hay," he said.
"Good luck sleeping tonight," added Amy. "I know I won't."
"Mr. Chuck…?" Cream timidly spoke up. "Do Miss Ella and Mr. Tanaka know… if Chris is…?" She could not finish the sentence.
"No, they don't, Cream," Chuck gently replied. "They only think he went missing, and I think it's a good thing they don't know what really happened."
And this reminded Chris… he lied to everyone, saying he was going to Danny's house because he forgot something… he actually lied to all of his friends because he thought he was doing the right thing! He had to make it right.
"I'm sorry…" Chris said in a low voice, drawing the room's attention to him again. "For stealing the Emeralds… I… I-I really hated it… B-But I kinda felt like I was forced to because of Knuckles… and I was really afraid of what Eggman would do to me if I didn't…"
"Well… you could have told us, and we would protect you with our lives while we dealt with Eggman," Sonic said.
"That's right," nodded Chuck. "We forgive you, and yes, I know it was reckless, but what's done is done. In fact… it's like none of this ever happened." He was also about to say that Chris didn't need a punishment because being captured by Eggman was already punishment enough, but he withheld himself.
"Yeah… but we're back at square one again…" said Tails.
"For now," corrected Chuck. "To quote Sonic, you guys have the 'super power of teamwork', so I know you will find all the Emeralds again soon. Now let's head back to the house. I know it's quite late, but let's have a midnight snack before we head to bed. And there's still plenty of mousse for whoever wants it."
Chris perks up. He didn't get to have any earlier, so now was his chance!
Tails got up first and opened the trap door. He walked down the stairs first, followed by Cream, then Amy and Cheese. Chris and Sonic were next, and Chuck shut off the lights and closed the trap door, as he was the last to leave.
"Hey Chuck?" Sonic asked the aging professor. "Can you give me and Chris a minute? You guys can go on ahead."
Chuck nodded as he and the others walked back to the house. Sonic closed the garage door and gently pulled Chris aside, taking a deep breath.
"Chris… you have no idea how scared I was for you when Knuckles told me Eggman captured you," he said.
"…Sorry…" whispered Chris as he scuffed the ground with his shoe and looked down.
"It's okay, we're cool now," Sonic said with his trademark confident smirk. "You single-handedly foiled Eggman's plan. That was all you, buddy!" he grinned as he patted Chris' back. "All I did was finish the job you started."
"I-I was so scared for you…" Chris admitted as he looked back at Sonic.
"It's all over…" he gently said. "And I promise… I'm gonna do my part to make sure that never happens again. I'm gonna protect you and be your friend… always."
Chris smiled as he bent down and gave Sonic a hug. The blue hedgehog hugged him back, and they spent about a whole minute hugging. Chris missed Sonic so much that he didn't realize he was starting to cry all over again.
"S-Sonic…" Chris admitted as soon as they broke the hug. "I… I want to protect you too."
Sonic smiled. "You already had my back all the way from day one. You could have told your family about me right away, and then I would be forced to run away again. But nope… you gave me a home. You warned me about being seen by your parents and guardians. So yeah… you already got that base covered."
His expression softened to one of curiosity. "Though, there's something you said that's been sticking to me… When I was leaving you in Chaos Control… you said you wished on a shooting star for me… Is that true…?"
This caused Chris to blush a little bit. He did not expect Sonic to bring this up, but then again, Sonic was extremely observant about a lot of things about his close friends, even if he was a little absent-minded sometimes.
"Y-Yeah… I did…" he responded quietly. "I did it because I was lonely…" He took a shaky breath. "M-My dad couldn't come home again that night… and… I-I had no friends…" He paused for a moment to parse his words. "I'm sorry, that was probably a little childish."
Sonic smiled. "Not at all," he reassured. "Wishing on a star is not something a lot of Mobians do, but who knows… if word spreads to Mobius that you wished for friends, it could change really soon. Think of it… you could actually start a whole new tradition on Mobius! How cool would that be? Then you would be famous!"
"I-I'm already famous, Sonic!" Chris laughed. "I mean… I don't know how I would handle being famous on another planet or anything…!"
"You'll do just fine!" teased Sonic. "Besides, you got me on your side."
Chris smiled. He was so very grateful that Sonic was alive now, and he had another chance to talk with him like he was doing right now.
"S-Sonic… th-thank you so much… f-for literally falling into my life that night…" Chris felt close to crying again. "I honestly feel like that made my life complete."
Sonic gently ruffled Chris' hair, causing the human boy to giggle.
"That's what friends are for!" he said. "You're a very special kid, Chris. From what I saw, there aren't a lot of rich kids in this world who are as kind, and caring, and well-behaved as you are. That's the thing I like about you." He gave him a thumbs-up. "Never stop being you, because that's the only you you can be."
Arm in arm, Sonic and Chris strolled back toward Thorndyke Mansion. It was dark except for a few lights on in the living room, dining room, and kitchen. It was such a welcome sight after all the trauma everyone had gone through over the past five hours.
As Sonic was telling Chris that they would hit the hay after a good meal, Chris looked up just in time to see a shooting star darting across the night sky.
A/N: And that officially concludes the first season of Chaos on Earth: A Sonic X Rewrite! This story has been such a blast to write so far, and I am so happy that you all enjoy it as much as I do writing it!
I do have a confession to make, though... Originally, this story was going to take an entirely new turn starting with this chapter. I was going to have Tikal appear to Super Sonic and tell her that Sonic and his friends can't go home again because they're been cloned. I would have also had Chris stay 12 forever, and have Matt replace Chris for the Metarex Saga, which means he would leave Sonic and appear in front of... Sonic...
The core of this plan is because I didn't want Sonic and his friends to return home any more than Chris did. And then one night, I realized how absurd, ridiculous, and illogical that was, and I thought, "What do I have to lose by sending Sonic home and aging Chris up six years?" To make up for it, I want to have an epilogue after Season 3.
So Knuckles' vision and Chris' dream were actually helping to lead into this preliminary change. Originally the two Master Emeralds meant that there would actually be two Master Emeralds: one on Mobius, and one on Earth. The "Two exist where one should" part in Chris' dream meant the same thing: that there would be one Sonic on Mobius, and one on Earth. I'm so glad I changed this before I went any further with the whole "Sonic getting cloned" thing.
So there will be one Sonic, one Master Emerald, Chris will turn 18, and Matt will not replace him in the Metarex Saga. All is good once again. Crisis averted!
I want to thank each and every one of you for helping to keep this story going for over two years, as well as helping me to reach 135 favorites, 137 follows, 218 reviews, and well over 54,000 views! Those are really crazy numbers!
I especially want to thank GuardianDragon98, The Green Seer, Animation Adventures, and SuperTailsFan0812 for being my top readers and supporters! Without you and everyone else, this story would not be possible! Thank you all so much!
Like I mentioned before, I will be putting Chaos on Earth starting now so I can finish updating the previous chapters, especially 1-13. When that is done, I will begin work on Season 2! I estimate that the hiatus will last about 2 months, just like the last one. And you can check my progress on my profile page.
When I release new chapters, I will post them first on Archive of Our Own, but you will need an account to read it early, as it's early access! And then a week later, I will repost it here.
So with all that being said, have a way past cool 2021, and I will see you again with the next chapter in just a couple months as we kick off Season 2 and the Chaos Saga! Don't miss it!