Five months had passed since the incident at Westopolis. Well, the second incident. Nack was now dead, and sadly, so was Maria. A month after her passing, her funeral was held, and the former freelancers were all there. Shadow even made an appearance, but he stayed mostly far away until the others had left so that he could say some prayers of his own for her.

Of course, more time had passed since then and it was a happy occasion. Sonic, Tails, and Vector were groomsmen for Knuckles' and Shade's wedding on the beach, and Sonic had won the battle to be the red echidna's best man. He handed over the rings, smiling at Amy, the maid of honour, who was joined by fellow bridesmaids Cosmo and Bunnie. The echidna couple had finished their vows, and the minister smiled.

"Knuckles, do you take Shade-"

"Yes," Knuckles said quickly.

"Shade, do you take Knuckles-"

"Yep!" Shade said.

As they both slid the rings on, the minister chuckled. "Knuckles and Shade, by the power vested in me, it gives me great honour to pronounce you as husband and wife. If you can wait until I say it, Knuckles... you may kiss your bride."

Knuckles dipped Shade for a kiss, and she smiled and kissed back, hugging around his neck. They held on to the embrace for a few moments before breaking it off, with everyone applauding and some even letting out tears. There were several Green Hill Police officers there as well, including Avery who was giving a standing ovation.

"All right, it's time to party!" said Knuckles, turning to rub noses with Shade who giggled.

The group did indeed party, dancing to some wedding songs, with Knuckles and Shade's own personal song being "I Don't Mind" by Defeater. The two would cut the cake as well for some good wedding shots as well as share the cake around. They found out that even the bride and groom figures were made of sugar, so those were eventually eaten as well. Everyone got a piece of cake, had at least one drink in them, and all had a fun time.

There was a calming period not long after Shade threw her bouquet, which was caught by Amy, causing her to shoot a smirk at Sonic. Sonic simply gave a simple nod to his pink girlfriend, silently making a promise to himself to marry her one day. He just didn't know when or how, but that didn't bother him.

As several of the girls were talking to each other, with Shade enjoying a conversation with her fellow bridesmaids, Knuckles took a break away from them. As they'd gotten married on a beach near the coast, it made it easier for Knuckles to find a place to take his shoes off, sitting down by the tide and taking a swig of his beer as he looked to see the sun setting. He was broken from his revelry when he heard a voice next to him.

"You know," said Sonic, "I prefer to watch the sunset with my own girlfriend." He sat down with his own beer, offering it to Knuckles to clink and smile. "Congratulations, my friend."

"That's the... fifth time you've said that?" Knuckles said. "Not the congratulating part. The silently hitting on me by pointing at the sunset part."

Sonic chuckled. "Fine. Me and Amy will stick to eating chocolates and getting fat while we veg out to bad horror documentaries."

"Amy likes horror stuff?" Knuckles asked. "Isn't that bad for her heart?"

"It's just behind the scenes stuff of how they're made," Sonic said. "No cardiac arrest inducing jump scares to be had. It's actually cool how they do the makeup for most of them."

"I'll try and see if I can't get Shade to binge some with me," Knuckles said. "She likes a good spook."

Sonic took a sip of his beer before speaking. "So... I guess we've been skirting around asking that one question."

Knuckles looked to his blue friend. "Which one? The question of where Shadow is right now? The question of what we're going to do after the wedding? Remember, the only reason we got that extra cash was for all of this."

"All of that, yes," Sonic said, to Knuckles' slight frustration. "Look, dude... maybe Shadow had it right by joining Anti-Light."

"You don't know that he fully joined," Knuckles said. "Sure, after Westopolis, he left with Rouge and we haven't heard from him since... unless you've been getting texts from him and haven't told anyone?"

"Not a peep," Sonic shook his head. "He cut off all contact with me. No number or anything. The guy doesn't want to be found."

"What do you want to do about him?" Knuckles asked.

"What the hell can we do?" asked Sonic. "We can't find him. We haven't heard from him in months. He's part of Anti-Light, doing good from a place where he's got fewer restrictions than he did when he was with us."

"Us..." Knuckles looked back at the wedding, smiling. "It's kind of a shame that we won't be able to do what we usually do for another year."

"At least we got this out of it," Sonic said of the wedding. "And also, dude, you got married to the love of your life. I'd say that that's worth it."

Knuckles sighed and nodded. "It just feels off without Shadow, you know? And it feels even worse without... her..."

"She didn't deserve what happened..." Sonic said. "Neither did Lara."

"What about Nack?" Knuckles asked.

"For what he did? Absolutely," Sonic said quickly. "There was a lot of lives taken that day that didn't need to be lost. One that I'm not going to lose any sleep over is that son of a bitch."

Knuckles rose his bottle. "I'll drink to that."

"As will I," Sonic said, clinking the bottles again before they both took a pull of their beer. They sat in silence, turning to their left to see Tails sitting with them as well. "Ah, and here comes the designated driver."

"Actually, me and Cosmo are taking a taxi back to her place," said Tails, showing his own beer bottle. "What are you guys talking about?"

"Just the stuff that's happened over the past few months," said Knuckles. "The good, the bad... mostly the good."

"Maria... she was a good person," Tails said. "I bet that she would have been happy to be here..." He swallowed. "I... god, I miss her. I know that we all do, but man..."

"Hey, this isn't the time or the place to get down in the dumps," said Sonic, scooting over to touch his friend's shoulder. "We're here to have a good time. Let's think about the good stuff, okay?"

"Good stuff?" Tails said, a smile threatening his lips. "Like you and Amy being then next people to get married?"

"Oh, come on, you don't believe that superstition, do you?" Sonic asked. "You're a fox of science and logic, after all."

"I'm just saying, it happens," Tails said. "Cosmo's family history is women in her family getting the bouquets and being the next ones up in their groups of friends to get married."

"So that means that you don't want to marry Cosmo before I marry Amy?" Sonic chuckled. "It's not a race, man. And besides, we'll all be busy... I'm presuming."

"Oh, yeah," Tails said. "That's a point. What the heck are you two going to do now?"

Knuckles rose his hand. "I'm going to be an assistant coach for Shade's kickboxing classes. It won't pay a lot and I'll be more of a voice shouting orders, but at least it's something."

Tails nodded. "I might help my parents at the shop. They can't pump out implants for a while, but thankfully the ones that they delivered can still be put into people should they need them. I'll just be doing stuff on cars and such."

"Maybe you could work in the armoury with Vector and his gang?" suggested Sonic. "You could design some sick stuff for the hover-boards."

"That is also a good point," Tails conceded. "But what are you going to do?"

Sonic shrugged. "I got nothing. I'm not much of a teacher, so I can't help Amy out. I can't go back to what we were doing, I'm not going to join Anti-Light... but given my speed, I could always do food delivery. Might get me and Amy some discounts."

"Jade Mountain?" asked Knuckles.

"Either that or a pizza joint," Sonic said. "Hmm... actually, yeah, Jade Mountain. I can deal with the delicious spicy chicken smell more than whatever sicko decided that fruit on hot cheese and tomato sauce was a good idea."

"Looks like you all have your decisions made, then," said a voice.

Sonic looked up and turned to see Rouge, Shadow closely behind her, and he smiled. "I was wondering if you were going to show up."

"How did you even get here?" Knuckles asked. "We couldn't reach you to send you an invite."

"It's a public beach and there's no security here," Rouge said.

"That... that answers my question fairly, yeah."

Rouge giggled. "How's your day been?"

"Well, you know, the usual," Knuckles said. "Except for the getting married to the love of my life part. I don't get to do that every day."

"Who's getting married next?" Rouge asked.

"Amy caught the bouquet," Tails said.

Sonic looked back and forth between the fox and the bat. "Guys, come on."

Rouge chuckled. "And now we know."

"What brings you two out here, anyway?" Knuckles asked.

"Shadow wanted to say hello," Rouge said. "Well... not just that..."

Sonic looked to Shadow, smiling. "It's okay, buddy. We're not going to hurt you. We'll give you a treat if you come over."

Shadow let out a little chuckle as he walked over. "I got my own," he said, lifting a flask. "Do... do you mind if I sit with you guys?"

"Not at all," Sonic said. "So... how have you been holding up?"

Shadow sighed. "About as well as I can. Work with Anti-Light has kept me busy. And... just so you know, I was at the funeral. I just... I couldn't... be there. Not with anyone else. And I'm sorry for that."

"Did you at least say hi to her?" Sonic asked.

Shadow nodded. "Yeah." He cleared his throat. "H-How was the wedding?"

"It was fun," Knuckles said. "I got married. That kinda rocks."

"Congratulations," Shadow said. "Both on that and on your new jobs."

"Same to you," Sonic said. "The new jobs thing, I mean." He took another drink, looking over at Shadow. "So... why are you out here?"

Rouge cleared her throat. "We managed to catch someone from Nack's gang. Beau."

"The guy's just a drug pusher," said Tails. "What could he know about The Black Market?"

"Whatever we can make him tell us," said Rouge. "Some of our people near Westopolis set up a fake drop, and he fell for it."

"He must have gotten desperate after Nack's death," said Sonic. "Who knows what state they're all in up there?"

"If they're officially joining The Black Market, we don't know yet," said Rouge. "We haven't had a chance to question Beau yet."

"Beau's the bottom rung of the ladder, though," Knuckles said.

"That doesn't mean that he doesn't know anything," said Rouge. "There's a chance for something bigger, even out of him."

"We can only hope," said Sonic. "Good luck with all of that."

"We don't need it, but... thanks," Shadow smiled. "So... how long have you got until you have to go back?"

"Probably a while," Knuckles said. "The other guests still have to leave and me and Shade are going to be the last out. Why?"

"Well... you won't see me for a while after this," Shadow said. "They need me to get the information out of Beau, and we know that he's got connections that we need to follow. We don't know where else they'll go, so it'll take a while."

"We don't even know what else he does know," said Rouge. "Then again, that's the point of interrogations, is it not?"

Sonic nodded. "Well... good luck with it all."

"Thank you," Shadow said. "You know, you... you can still sign up with us. If you want."

"Actually... I think some time off might do us some good," Sonic said. "We'll leave the enforcing of the law to the law enforcers."

"Fair enough," Shadow said. "You know, I still got time before I need to go anywhere."

"Funnily enough, so do any of us," said Knuckles. "Sit with us for a bit."

Shadow nodded at that, sitting with his friends. Rouge took a seat too, and later Amy, Cosmo, and Shade joined them as they talked about their stories from Green Hill Police Academy, all having a laugh about how immature they once were and how they grew to become police officers. Eventually, as it got later, people got up to start leaving, with Shadow turning to his fellow former freelancers.

"So, what will you do now?" Shadow asked.

"Just some normal stuff," Sonic said. "See if we can't get our old jobs back when the time's right. Just wait it out."

Shadow nodded. "You'll figure it out."

"I know," Sonic said, reaching to shake Shadow's hand. "Good luck with your new job."

"You too," Shadow said.

The two broke from the handshake, and all of the couples left to go their separate ways, taking taxis to their respective homes and anticipating what the future would bring as they all went to sleep.

Over at Spring Yard City prison...

Despite how late it was, Jem wasn't sleeping in his cell. He was content with bouncing a ball around against the wall, catching it back. The noise wasn't too loud, but a guard would walk up to his cell and ring his baton against the bars, snapping his fingers.

"Hey! You're supposed to be asleep!" the guard said, whispering harshly.

"I don't feel like it," said Jem. "And besides, it's more fun to watch you get riled up."

"Just get your ass to bed," the guard sighed. "Remember, you don't get visitors. And these bars will stop you from getting out, as will those handcuffs that nullify your implant powers."

"Do you not think that it's a bit overkill for me to still wear these while I'm already in a cell?" Jem asked. "It is very difficult to keep catching this tennis ball back. Thanks for letting me have it, by the way."

"Nobody gave it to you. You stole it from the gym, remember?"

"But how could I have?" Jem smiled, showing his cuffed wrists. "My hands were tied."

The guard was about to speak, but he got a voice on his shoulder mic. He left the hallway so as not to wake up any other prisoners, and after his conversation, he would return to Jem, giving a sigh and slowly opening his cell door as a human walked by.

"You've got a visitor," the guard said.

"Nice to meet you," said the human. He immediately turned and grabbed the guard's baton, wrapping it around his neck until his eyes rolled back. He gave a painful twist to crack the guard's neck, turning to get the key to the cell and opening it up. "Seriously, it's... it's an honour."

"Thank you... I suppose," said Jem. "Who are you?"

"I'm Gerren. I'm guessing that you heard about Nack?"

Jem cocked an eyebrow. "What happened to him?"

Gerren unlocked Jem's cuffs, as well as the ones on his ankles. "He was killed. As was Lara."

"Poor Lara..." Jem said. "And Nack as well, obviously. But if I may ask, why are you helping me?"

"I'm the guard that got him out of Green Hill Penitentiary," Gerren smirked. "And I have a business proposition for you."

"What is it?" Jem asked.

"Not here," Gerren said, gesturing to the guard he just killed. "Can you become a person?"

"I'd rather not to it, but I have the ability."

Jem reached for the guard, exerting some will as he felt his powers coming back some more. His shape shifted and twisted, eventually becoming more humanoid, even copying the clothing. The only thing that made Jem standout were his green eyes, as the guard's were brown. Gerren gave a thumbs up, and the two started to leave the building, Jem tipping his police hat to the secretary as they both made it outside, getting into the car that Gerren brought with them.

"Fast visiting hours," said Jem. "Also very late ones. Do you think that they'll be suspicious about that?"

Gerren shrugged. "He's the only guard who works the night shift and the secretary barely paid any mind to me. I think that we're fine."

"Fair enough..." Jem said. "So... what is this business offer that you were talking about earlier?"

Gerren showed him a file. "Myself and Nack's remaining lieutenants are working with The Black Market. We have been for some time now. We're making slow progress after the trial, as the local law enforcement has been cracking down a bit more."

"The Black Market?" Jem asked. "So... it is real..."

"Are you in?" asked Gerren.

The salamander nodded. "Yes. No hesitation. I'm in." He kept reading through the file that he was given. "Just in time as well. What is this? A new project?"

Gerren smiled. "Something that's going to change the fucking world, my friend. We need your help for it, though."

"Does it have a name?" Jem asked.

Gerren nodded. "Zero Hour."

"Zero Hour..." Jem smiled. "I like the sound of that. I'm all in."

"Good. Now... let's take you to your new home."

And that's it! The whole thing! All done! Next up I'll be posting all of my stuff on AO3, where I have the same name as I do on here. After that, some one-shots I've been holding off on, more Join The Fun and Beauties Of Remnant, a new story, other requests, and at some point... Cyber Riders 3: Zero Hour. Until then, take care, and stay tuned for the next story.