Chapter 22 - A Day of Rest
The journey back to Knothole was uneventful, save for Anthony's nearly collapsing from psi
energy depletion at the midpoint from transporting the portal. He needed nearly ten hours of
sleep that night to replenish before the group could continue. Eventually they reached
Knothole the next evening amidst a large crowd and massive fanfare. The Freedom Fighters
welcomed Link and Zelda as Anthony found a place to put the portal entrance. Relieved he no
longer needed to transport it, he decided to join the group but found himself too tired to
function in the festivities so he decided to turn in.
The next morning he woke up to find Sonic and Sally watching him at his sleeping bag, a look of
concern on their faces.
"Morning guys," Anthony said as he tried to shake the cobwebs out of his system. He then
noticed their concerned looks and asked, "Is something wrong?"
"Anth, buddy, you must have really exhausted yourself yesterday," Sonic said.
"What do you mean?"
"Well, seeing as how it's 10 a.m. and you're only JUST getting up..."
"Ten a.m.?!? I was out like a light for FIFTEEN HOURS?!? Cripes, you guys must have REALLY
thought something was wrong!"
"It's alright, Anthony," Sally said. "You probably just overextended your powers and needed a
serious recharge. Maybe we should wait until tomorrow before we head for the Floating Island
so you can recover."
"Good idea," Anthony said. "It will also give me a chance to head to Earth to touch base with
Sharpe about what's happened so far, reassure my parents I'm not dead and will not be if I have
anything to say about it, and even pick up something I might be able to use as a trump in case
Knuckles is not willing to help us."
"Oh yeah?" Sonic asked with a note of interest. "And...what might that be?"
"A piece of fan-fiction about him that might even have YOU feeling sorry for the guy, Sonic!"
"I doubt it," Sonic said with a scowl on his face. "You'd have an easier time trying to..."
"...get you to give up chili dogs, I know, Sally told me. Well, I'd best get cleaned up, I
probably look like Hell after the events of the past days."
Amy soon came running up as Anthony was getting up. "Is Anthony alright?" she asked Sonic.
"I'm fine, Amy," Anthony said, turning towards Amy. "I was just tired from all the psionics I
used yesterday."
Amy breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank Destiny for that! You know, you were so tired you
didn't even notice some of the changes that were made to Knothole while you guys were gone!"
"Huh? What changes...the HELL?!?"
Anthony noticed a large building that was erected near the outskirts of Knothole. It looked
like small version of a roadside motel.
"A new domicile for our friends from Arcadia's outworlds," Sally explained. "This way they
won't have to go back to the portals to rest and they can stay just in case we need their help.
We managed to build it fairly quickly, especially since we had Bass, Protoman, Roll, and Treble
helping. We even have a cot for you in there."
"Awesome...what else you got?"
"A possible permanent cure to robotization," Doctor Light said as he was walking up to the
group. "Doctor Charles told me of the original design flaw of the original roboticizer that
was used, and I think I may have discovered a permanent cure based on that flaw. There's still
some testing that needs to be done, but we are confident it should work."
"DEFINITELY awesome! Anything else?"
Sally looked down and took a serious tone. "I'm pregnant with Sonic's baby."
Everyone except Anthony looked at her in shock and went, "You're WHAT?!?" Anthony just smirked
and said, "Guys, she's pulling your leg, I can sense she's lying."
Sally tried to keep her composure, but lost control and started laughing. "You should have
seen yourselves, it was..."
Sonic looked at her and said, "Sal, that WASN'T funny! What possessed you to do such a
joke?!?"
"Well Anthony asked if there was anything else, and I thought it the perfect setup! You're not
too mad, are you Sonic?"
Sonic smiled an evil grin and said, "No, but you must still be punished..." He then advanced
on Sally and found her most ticklish spots and then tickled her like there was no tomorrow.
Her laughter could be heard all over Knothole.
Anthony shook his head and rubbed the bridge of his nose, and then turned towards Amy and
Light. "I'm going to take a shower...if either of you find out where their brains went, let me
know...."
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"Mr. Bault," Major Sharpe said as Anthony exited the Earth/Mobius portal, "welcome back to
Earth. What have you got to report so far?"
Anthony told of the events up to the present time, and explained that he'll be heading to the
floating island tomorrow to open the last portal. He even told of how well the various heroes
were getting along.
"Excellent! Your efforts are to be well commended, Mr. Bault...or should we call you
Gamemaster now?"
"Actually...I don't mind that now. But, I'd still prefer to be called by my name."
"Very well, Mr. Bault. How are you holding up?"
"It's quite a rush, and I'm not talking about Megaman's dog! I have to be honest...I was
expecting to break down and run for the hills out of pure fear. But, after fighting a few
battles and mastering my powers, that fear seems to have left me. I feel more confident about
what I have to do."
"That's good to hear. Now...I assume you're here for a reason other than to give a report?"
"Yeah...I need to look up a certain fanfic on fanfiction.net I plan to use as a trump in case
Knuckles isn't willing to help us find the Gardenia portal. According to Sonic, he tends to
try to stay apart from the Freedom Fighters' efforts. Hopefully this fanfic will change his
mind."
"What's it about?"
"It's called 'Please Remember Me' by XAgumon. It's, supposedly, Knuckles thoughts about
whether he'll be remembered or not. Hopefully...the thought of being forgotten because his
attitude drives his friends away will change his mind."
"We can look that up and get a printout for you. What else are you going to do?"
"Touch base with my family so they don't think I'm dead...or worse."
"I see...well you should be able to do that from the comfort of your home. Check it out!"
Sharpe pointed to a series of what looked like doorways, but in the middle of each of them was
an event horizon similar to the portals.
"A little something Dr. Light's colleagues created," Sharpe explained, "and had distributed to
each of the Portal locations on Earth, Neo-Earth, Gardenia, and Hylas. They allow instant
transportation between the portal locations in a way similar to the portals themselves. Dr.
Light plans to set them up on Mobius once you open all portals. As you can see, they're marked
with which gate goes to which portal. Your home's portal, the Gardenia one, is the middle
one."
"Awesome! I might even be able to relax at my own home for a while as well. Sally decided to
make this a day of rest for me since I expended a LOT of psionic energy moving the Hylas portal
from Mobara to Knothole. Of course, if I knew these were going to be created..."
"That's alright, you had no way of knowing until now. Go home and relax, Mr. Bault, we'll take
care of finding that fanfiction for you."
"Alright...see you in a few hours, Major!"
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Anthony arrived at his home and was saluted by the portal guards upon arriving. Since the
portal was in his basement, he climbed up a flight of stairs to put some of the clothes he
brought with him in the wash and then climbed another flight of stairs to his room and then sat
down on his bed while dialing a number on his phone. Within seconds he got an answer...
"Yes, get me Mr. And Mrs. Bault's room please...What? They checked out? When?...I
see...alright, thank you..."
Anthony hung up the phone and lay down on his bed. Even though he was wearing his armor, he
didn't care, the feel of lying down on his own bed felt good. He even found himself nodding
off to sleep...only to be waken up with a kiss on the forehead.
"Amy...what was that for?" Anthony said while getting up groggily. "I don't remember doing
anything...MOM?!?"
Anthony saw his mother sitting next to his bed and immediately went to hug her. "Mom, what are
you and Dad doing home early? I thought..."
"We came straight home when we got that call from Sharpe's plane from you. How are you holding
up? One moment..." Anthony's mother then turned and yelled towards the stairs. "BILL!
Tony's here!"
After his father came up and, after hugging his son, sat down to hear what Anthony had to tell
about what's happened so far. Anthony had a lot to tell, including about all the battles he
was in and the new powers he had been mastering. He could sense how frightened his parents
were, but reassured them he wasn't about to do anything stupid that would get him killed.
"...and the wildest thing is, here I am making friends with individuals I thought were just
video game characters, they even treat me like an equal. I'm even getting used to the
'Gamemaster' title and am surprised I haven't collapsed from all this excitement! It's
definitely a rush!"
"Sounds like you are enjoying this, Tony," his mother said, even more concerned. "Don't you
think you should take this a little more seriously?"
"I am taking this seriously! Who said I was enjoying this? The only enjoyment I'm getting is
from working alongside these guys, as for the rest...I'm working on adrenaline from fear.
Still...I kind of feel I need to do this and, for some reason I can't explain, that allows me
to persevere."
Anthony's father was surprised. "Sounds like you are taking this seriously. We're both proud
of what you've done. You've definitely changed as a result of these adventures!"
"Yes," Anthony's mother continued, "you've become more responsible, more willing to do things,
and it sounds like you've made a lot of friends in the process. I won't deny being frightened
for your safety, but...it sounds like Arcadia has been good for you!"
"Yeah," Anthony said with a slight smile on his face. "I guess the phrase is true. What
doesn't kill you can make you stronger, and I'm NOT about to let anything kill me!"
Anthony's parents seemed to be relieved by his confidence, and then his mother said, "Well, no
matter what happens, we're rooting for you. Are you going to be heading back right away?"
"I'm going to relax for a little bit first. You were probably told of the new gates that were
set up between the portal locations, so I can head back anytime."
"Alright," his mother said, "well just tell us when you're going to leave. By the way, I've
got your clothes in the dryer right now."
"Thanks Mom. Oh, by the way, what do you think of my armor?"
Anthony demonstrated the functions of his armor and also showed him the lightsaber weapon he
got from Neo-Earth. "Not bad, huh? Helped me a lot in Neo-Earth and Mobius."
"Neat!" his father exclaimed. "Looks like you're well prepared for any obstacle. Well, we'd
better let you rest..."
Anthony's parents left his room and Anthony returned to his rest. He was surprised at how his
parents didn't try to convince him not to return to Arcadia, knowing what danger he'd been in
and may get in. He decided, despite the morals involved, to use clairaudience to hear what his
parents were saying out of his earshot.
"Bill, we can't let him go back!"
"Honey...Tony is an adult, and he's doing a lot of great things for Mobius right now. He seems
to know the danger involved and seems to be able to handle it."
"But...what if he gets killed...or worse?"
"Toni...I know...I don't want him to go back or get killed either. But from the battles he's
been in already it sounds like he knows how to keep from getting killed, and sounds like these
people are counting on his help. Besides...I don't think Tony would like it if we prevented
him from going...since he seems to want to help these people as well. He almost sounds like
he'd find a way to sneak back even if we tried to physically restrain him."
"This sounds more like my parents," Anthony thought. "I hope I don't upset them too much when
I return..." Anthony then returned to his nap.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
After packing up some clean clothes and saying his goodbyes with a tearful farewell, Anthony
returned to Area 51 via the gate and picked up the fanfiction printout. He then entered the
Mobius portal and headed back towards Knothole.
The sun was starting to set when he made it back, but the village was still in high activity.
Tails and Cleo were playing with Rush and Treble; Megaman, Bass, and Protoman were practicing
their blasters on the archery range; Antoine and Bunnie seemed to be sharing a friendly moment;
King Acorn, Prince Elias, Queen Aleena, and Princesses Zelda, Sally, and Sonia were talking
about future plans for Arcadia; Sonic and Manic were jamming on their instruments; and T-Bone
and David were challenging each other on the Playstation T-Bone brought with him. Anthony was
greeted by Ryan and Chris as he dropped his extra clothes and his armor off at his new sleeping
quarters in the newly built building.
"Get what you needed, Anth?" Ryan asked.
"Yeah..." Anthony said, pulling the printout out of his bag. "Hopefully, this will change
Knuckles's attitude if necessary."
"Can we see?" asked Chris.
Anthony nodded and showed them the printout. Within minutes both of them had a slightly sullen
look on their faces.
"Man..." Chris said, shocked at what he read, "and I thought I was depressed when I first came
here. This...kinda makes me look like I was in a good mood at the time."
"No kidding," Ryan said, then turned towards Anthony. "You think this is necessary?"
"No..." Anthony said. "Hopefully I won't have to use it, but just in case..."
Anthony stopped when he heard the sounds of an ocarina coming from somewhere outside. He then
heard singing, from who he thought was Amy, that went with the ocarina music. It sounded like
a ballad of sorts, one which Anthony was sure he never heard before, and yet it sounded
somewhat familiar...
"That song...either of you know what that is?"
Chris and Ryan shook their heads, and Anthony went to where the music was coming from. He saw
Link playing the song on the Ocarina of Time as Amy sang the vocals, and found a spot to sit
down and watch them perform. Amy noticed this and motioned to Link to stop momentarily.
"Hi, Anthony!" Amy said. "Did you get what you needed?"
"Yeah...but I can show you guys that later. That song you were playing...what was it?"
"It's called 'The Ballad of the Gamemaster'," Link said. "It was written by Zorin Wayfarer
after Sir Eric's death and was passed along to the other Companions to take with them. It's a
song of remembrance for his deeds."
"Nice. Why don't you keep playing? I wouldn't mind hearing it."
They both agreed and started the song over. The song was very beautiful, and Anthony was
enjoying every part of it. It told of how the Companions met and of the adventures together,
up until the point of Sir Eric's sacrifice. However, Anthony suddenly noticed something near
the end of the song. During the chorus, at a point when Amy was supposed to sing "Sir Eric",
Amy accidentally sang "Anthony". All three noticed this, and Amy started to blush, then ran
off embarrassed.
Link started to follow her, but Anthony stopped him and went to Amy himself. He found her
sitting on her bed looking like she was about to cry again.
"I thought there was more to your feelings toward me," Anthony said as he came in her hut. "Do
you want to talk about it?"
"No..."
"Well, you have to. Amy...as I hinted before, I don't want you clinging to me like you did to
Sonic a while back. It's not normal..."
"I'm...it's not that. I don't feel for you like that."
"Then...what was with that Freudian slip when you were singing back there?"
"It's...just..." Amy said, struggling to get the words out. "I love you..."
"WHAT?!?" Anthony said, slightly shocked. "That's exactly what I'm trying to avoid..."
"Not like that! It's...like the love one would have for family..."
Anthony calmed down, realizing what Amy was saying. He knew the freedom fighters were so tight
knit that they considered themselves like a family. It was the same way with Tails in the way
he called Sally "Aunt" even though they weren't related by blood. Apparently Amy had latched
onto him the same way...
"I...I don't know what to say, Amy. I'm flattered, but, why?"
Amy walked up to Anthony and looked up to him with teary eyes. "It was the way you comforted
me when I had that nightmare. I haven't had anybody do that for me since...since..." Amy was
having trouble finishing the sentence.
But Anthony didn't need to press further. "Since...before you lost your family to
Robotnik...oh, Amy...I'm...sorry. I didn't mean to bring that up..."
"It's *sniff* alright..." Amy said, trying to keep her composure.
Anthony knelt down, expecting her to break down at any minute and said, "It's okay...just let
it go..." Within seconds, Amy was crying on Anthony's shoulder as memories of her lost family
flooded back. Anthony hugged the young hedgehog, hoping to provide what little comfort he
could. Eventually, Amy started to calm down and wiped away her tears, and then whispered a
thank you to the human that comforted her.
"Feel better now?" Anthony asked, and saw Amy nod. He then gave her a light kiss on the
forehead and said, "Good. C'mon, let's go find the others, they're probably getting dinner
ready." Amy then walked out of the hut to go look for the rest of the group.
"Poor kid," Anthony thought to himself as he followed her. He noticed Link was waiting outside
the hut and went up to him.
"I'm guessing you heard everything, huh?" Anthony asked.
"Yeah...poor kid. Hard to believe that happened."
"She's not the only one...Tails also lost his family at a young age, but he had Sally to act as
his 'Aunt' to comfort him. What I just did was the least I could do for Amy, since...I don't
think she's as lucky."
"Boy...now I really feel bad about treating you like I first did in Hyrule..."
"Don't be, you were just protecting Zelda's welfare."
"True, but I still feel I owe you," Link said, extending his hand in friendship. "You're a
great person, Anthony, and...I would be honored to call you a friend."
Anthony shook hands with the Hero of Hyrule, acknowledging and accepting the gesture. He then
turned towards where Amy went and said, "We'd better catch up with Amy. If she spills the
entire story of what just happened, I'll be up to my necks in females thinking I'm the sweetest
thing this side of the Earth/Mobius portal!"
"That's a bad thing?" Link asked.
"Let's just say I'll have a HELL of a time explaining to my parents why I'm getting love
letters from members of the animal kingdom."
The two of them laughed as they headed towards the main part of the village where, as Anthony
suspected, dinner was being prepared.
The journey back to Knothole was uneventful, save for Anthony's nearly collapsing from psi
energy depletion at the midpoint from transporting the portal. He needed nearly ten hours of
sleep that night to replenish before the group could continue. Eventually they reached
Knothole the next evening amidst a large crowd and massive fanfare. The Freedom Fighters
welcomed Link and Zelda as Anthony found a place to put the portal entrance. Relieved he no
longer needed to transport it, he decided to join the group but found himself too tired to
function in the festivities so he decided to turn in.
The next morning he woke up to find Sonic and Sally watching him at his sleeping bag, a look of
concern on their faces.
"Morning guys," Anthony said as he tried to shake the cobwebs out of his system. He then
noticed their concerned looks and asked, "Is something wrong?"
"Anth, buddy, you must have really exhausted yourself yesterday," Sonic said.
"What do you mean?"
"Well, seeing as how it's 10 a.m. and you're only JUST getting up..."
"Ten a.m.?!? I was out like a light for FIFTEEN HOURS?!? Cripes, you guys must have REALLY
thought something was wrong!"
"It's alright, Anthony," Sally said. "You probably just overextended your powers and needed a
serious recharge. Maybe we should wait until tomorrow before we head for the Floating Island
so you can recover."
"Good idea," Anthony said. "It will also give me a chance to head to Earth to touch base with
Sharpe about what's happened so far, reassure my parents I'm not dead and will not be if I have
anything to say about it, and even pick up something I might be able to use as a trump in case
Knuckles is not willing to help us."
"Oh yeah?" Sonic asked with a note of interest. "And...what might that be?"
"A piece of fan-fiction about him that might even have YOU feeling sorry for the guy, Sonic!"
"I doubt it," Sonic said with a scowl on his face. "You'd have an easier time trying to..."
"...get you to give up chili dogs, I know, Sally told me. Well, I'd best get cleaned up, I
probably look like Hell after the events of the past days."
Amy soon came running up as Anthony was getting up. "Is Anthony alright?" she asked Sonic.
"I'm fine, Amy," Anthony said, turning towards Amy. "I was just tired from all the psionics I
used yesterday."
Amy breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank Destiny for that! You know, you were so tired you
didn't even notice some of the changes that were made to Knothole while you guys were gone!"
"Huh? What changes...the HELL?!?"
Anthony noticed a large building that was erected near the outskirts of Knothole. It looked
like small version of a roadside motel.
"A new domicile for our friends from Arcadia's outworlds," Sally explained. "This way they
won't have to go back to the portals to rest and they can stay just in case we need their help.
We managed to build it fairly quickly, especially since we had Bass, Protoman, Roll, and Treble
helping. We even have a cot for you in there."
"Awesome...what else you got?"
"A possible permanent cure to robotization," Doctor Light said as he was walking up to the
group. "Doctor Charles told me of the original design flaw of the original roboticizer that
was used, and I think I may have discovered a permanent cure based on that flaw. There's still
some testing that needs to be done, but we are confident it should work."
"DEFINITELY awesome! Anything else?"
Sally looked down and took a serious tone. "I'm pregnant with Sonic's baby."
Everyone except Anthony looked at her in shock and went, "You're WHAT?!?" Anthony just smirked
and said, "Guys, she's pulling your leg, I can sense she's lying."
Sally tried to keep her composure, but lost control and started laughing. "You should have
seen yourselves, it was..."
Sonic looked at her and said, "Sal, that WASN'T funny! What possessed you to do such a
joke?!?"
"Well Anthony asked if there was anything else, and I thought it the perfect setup! You're not
too mad, are you Sonic?"
Sonic smiled an evil grin and said, "No, but you must still be punished..." He then advanced
on Sally and found her most ticklish spots and then tickled her like there was no tomorrow.
Her laughter could be heard all over Knothole.
Anthony shook his head and rubbed the bridge of his nose, and then turned towards Amy and
Light. "I'm going to take a shower...if either of you find out where their brains went, let me
know...."
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"Mr. Bault," Major Sharpe said as Anthony exited the Earth/Mobius portal, "welcome back to
Earth. What have you got to report so far?"
Anthony told of the events up to the present time, and explained that he'll be heading to the
floating island tomorrow to open the last portal. He even told of how well the various heroes
were getting along.
"Excellent! Your efforts are to be well commended, Mr. Bault...or should we call you
Gamemaster now?"
"Actually...I don't mind that now. But, I'd still prefer to be called by my name."
"Very well, Mr. Bault. How are you holding up?"
"It's quite a rush, and I'm not talking about Megaman's dog! I have to be honest...I was
expecting to break down and run for the hills out of pure fear. But, after fighting a few
battles and mastering my powers, that fear seems to have left me. I feel more confident about
what I have to do."
"That's good to hear. Now...I assume you're here for a reason other than to give a report?"
"Yeah...I need to look up a certain fanfic on fanfiction.net I plan to use as a trump in case
Knuckles isn't willing to help us find the Gardenia portal. According to Sonic, he tends to
try to stay apart from the Freedom Fighters' efforts. Hopefully this fanfic will change his
mind."
"What's it about?"
"It's called 'Please Remember Me' by XAgumon. It's, supposedly, Knuckles thoughts about
whether he'll be remembered or not. Hopefully...the thought of being forgotten because his
attitude drives his friends away will change his mind."
"We can look that up and get a printout for you. What else are you going to do?"
"Touch base with my family so they don't think I'm dead...or worse."
"I see...well you should be able to do that from the comfort of your home. Check it out!"
Sharpe pointed to a series of what looked like doorways, but in the middle of each of them was
an event horizon similar to the portals.
"A little something Dr. Light's colleagues created," Sharpe explained, "and had distributed to
each of the Portal locations on Earth, Neo-Earth, Gardenia, and Hylas. They allow instant
transportation between the portal locations in a way similar to the portals themselves. Dr.
Light plans to set them up on Mobius once you open all portals. As you can see, they're marked
with which gate goes to which portal. Your home's portal, the Gardenia one, is the middle
one."
"Awesome! I might even be able to relax at my own home for a while as well. Sally decided to
make this a day of rest for me since I expended a LOT of psionic energy moving the Hylas portal
from Mobara to Knothole. Of course, if I knew these were going to be created..."
"That's alright, you had no way of knowing until now. Go home and relax, Mr. Bault, we'll take
care of finding that fanfiction for you."
"Alright...see you in a few hours, Major!"
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Anthony arrived at his home and was saluted by the portal guards upon arriving. Since the
portal was in his basement, he climbed up a flight of stairs to put some of the clothes he
brought with him in the wash and then climbed another flight of stairs to his room and then sat
down on his bed while dialing a number on his phone. Within seconds he got an answer...
"Yes, get me Mr. And Mrs. Bault's room please...What? They checked out? When?...I
see...alright, thank you..."
Anthony hung up the phone and lay down on his bed. Even though he was wearing his armor, he
didn't care, the feel of lying down on his own bed felt good. He even found himself nodding
off to sleep...only to be waken up with a kiss on the forehead.
"Amy...what was that for?" Anthony said while getting up groggily. "I don't remember doing
anything...MOM?!?"
Anthony saw his mother sitting next to his bed and immediately went to hug her. "Mom, what are
you and Dad doing home early? I thought..."
"We came straight home when we got that call from Sharpe's plane from you. How are you holding
up? One moment..." Anthony's mother then turned and yelled towards the stairs. "BILL!
Tony's here!"
After his father came up and, after hugging his son, sat down to hear what Anthony had to tell
about what's happened so far. Anthony had a lot to tell, including about all the battles he
was in and the new powers he had been mastering. He could sense how frightened his parents
were, but reassured them he wasn't about to do anything stupid that would get him killed.
"...and the wildest thing is, here I am making friends with individuals I thought were just
video game characters, they even treat me like an equal. I'm even getting used to the
'Gamemaster' title and am surprised I haven't collapsed from all this excitement! It's
definitely a rush!"
"Sounds like you are enjoying this, Tony," his mother said, even more concerned. "Don't you
think you should take this a little more seriously?"
"I am taking this seriously! Who said I was enjoying this? The only enjoyment I'm getting is
from working alongside these guys, as for the rest...I'm working on adrenaline from fear.
Still...I kind of feel I need to do this and, for some reason I can't explain, that allows me
to persevere."
Anthony's father was surprised. "Sounds like you are taking this seriously. We're both proud
of what you've done. You've definitely changed as a result of these adventures!"
"Yes," Anthony's mother continued, "you've become more responsible, more willing to do things,
and it sounds like you've made a lot of friends in the process. I won't deny being frightened
for your safety, but...it sounds like Arcadia has been good for you!"
"Yeah," Anthony said with a slight smile on his face. "I guess the phrase is true. What
doesn't kill you can make you stronger, and I'm NOT about to let anything kill me!"
Anthony's parents seemed to be relieved by his confidence, and then his mother said, "Well, no
matter what happens, we're rooting for you. Are you going to be heading back right away?"
"I'm going to relax for a little bit first. You were probably told of the new gates that were
set up between the portal locations, so I can head back anytime."
"Alright," his mother said, "well just tell us when you're going to leave. By the way, I've
got your clothes in the dryer right now."
"Thanks Mom. Oh, by the way, what do you think of my armor?"
Anthony demonstrated the functions of his armor and also showed him the lightsaber weapon he
got from Neo-Earth. "Not bad, huh? Helped me a lot in Neo-Earth and Mobius."
"Neat!" his father exclaimed. "Looks like you're well prepared for any obstacle. Well, we'd
better let you rest..."
Anthony's parents left his room and Anthony returned to his rest. He was surprised at how his
parents didn't try to convince him not to return to Arcadia, knowing what danger he'd been in
and may get in. He decided, despite the morals involved, to use clairaudience to hear what his
parents were saying out of his earshot.
"Bill, we can't let him go back!"
"Honey...Tony is an adult, and he's doing a lot of great things for Mobius right now. He seems
to know the danger involved and seems to be able to handle it."
"But...what if he gets killed...or worse?"
"Toni...I know...I don't want him to go back or get killed either. But from the battles he's
been in already it sounds like he knows how to keep from getting killed, and sounds like these
people are counting on his help. Besides...I don't think Tony would like it if we prevented
him from going...since he seems to want to help these people as well. He almost sounds like
he'd find a way to sneak back even if we tried to physically restrain him."
"This sounds more like my parents," Anthony thought. "I hope I don't upset them too much when
I return..." Anthony then returned to his nap.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
After packing up some clean clothes and saying his goodbyes with a tearful farewell, Anthony
returned to Area 51 via the gate and picked up the fanfiction printout. He then entered the
Mobius portal and headed back towards Knothole.
The sun was starting to set when he made it back, but the village was still in high activity.
Tails and Cleo were playing with Rush and Treble; Megaman, Bass, and Protoman were practicing
their blasters on the archery range; Antoine and Bunnie seemed to be sharing a friendly moment;
King Acorn, Prince Elias, Queen Aleena, and Princesses Zelda, Sally, and Sonia were talking
about future plans for Arcadia; Sonic and Manic were jamming on their instruments; and T-Bone
and David were challenging each other on the Playstation T-Bone brought with him. Anthony was
greeted by Ryan and Chris as he dropped his extra clothes and his armor off at his new sleeping
quarters in the newly built building.
"Get what you needed, Anth?" Ryan asked.
"Yeah..." Anthony said, pulling the printout out of his bag. "Hopefully, this will change
Knuckles's attitude if necessary."
"Can we see?" asked Chris.
Anthony nodded and showed them the printout. Within minutes both of them had a slightly sullen
look on their faces.
"Man..." Chris said, shocked at what he read, "and I thought I was depressed when I first came
here. This...kinda makes me look like I was in a good mood at the time."
"No kidding," Ryan said, then turned towards Anthony. "You think this is necessary?"
"No..." Anthony said. "Hopefully I won't have to use it, but just in case..."
Anthony stopped when he heard the sounds of an ocarina coming from somewhere outside. He then
heard singing, from who he thought was Amy, that went with the ocarina music. It sounded like
a ballad of sorts, one which Anthony was sure he never heard before, and yet it sounded
somewhat familiar...
"That song...either of you know what that is?"
Chris and Ryan shook their heads, and Anthony went to where the music was coming from. He saw
Link playing the song on the Ocarina of Time as Amy sang the vocals, and found a spot to sit
down and watch them perform. Amy noticed this and motioned to Link to stop momentarily.
"Hi, Anthony!" Amy said. "Did you get what you needed?"
"Yeah...but I can show you guys that later. That song you were playing...what was it?"
"It's called 'The Ballad of the Gamemaster'," Link said. "It was written by Zorin Wayfarer
after Sir Eric's death and was passed along to the other Companions to take with them. It's a
song of remembrance for his deeds."
"Nice. Why don't you keep playing? I wouldn't mind hearing it."
They both agreed and started the song over. The song was very beautiful, and Anthony was
enjoying every part of it. It told of how the Companions met and of the adventures together,
up until the point of Sir Eric's sacrifice. However, Anthony suddenly noticed something near
the end of the song. During the chorus, at a point when Amy was supposed to sing "Sir Eric",
Amy accidentally sang "Anthony". All three noticed this, and Amy started to blush, then ran
off embarrassed.
Link started to follow her, but Anthony stopped him and went to Amy himself. He found her
sitting on her bed looking like she was about to cry again.
"I thought there was more to your feelings toward me," Anthony said as he came in her hut. "Do
you want to talk about it?"
"No..."
"Well, you have to. Amy...as I hinted before, I don't want you clinging to me like you did to
Sonic a while back. It's not normal..."
"I'm...it's not that. I don't feel for you like that."
"Then...what was with that Freudian slip when you were singing back there?"
"It's...just..." Amy said, struggling to get the words out. "I love you..."
"WHAT?!?" Anthony said, slightly shocked. "That's exactly what I'm trying to avoid..."
"Not like that! It's...like the love one would have for family..."
Anthony calmed down, realizing what Amy was saying. He knew the freedom fighters were so tight
knit that they considered themselves like a family. It was the same way with Tails in the way
he called Sally "Aunt" even though they weren't related by blood. Apparently Amy had latched
onto him the same way...
"I...I don't know what to say, Amy. I'm flattered, but, why?"
Amy walked up to Anthony and looked up to him with teary eyes. "It was the way you comforted
me when I had that nightmare. I haven't had anybody do that for me since...since..." Amy was
having trouble finishing the sentence.
But Anthony didn't need to press further. "Since...before you lost your family to
Robotnik...oh, Amy...I'm...sorry. I didn't mean to bring that up..."
"It's *sniff* alright..." Amy said, trying to keep her composure.
Anthony knelt down, expecting her to break down at any minute and said, "It's okay...just let
it go..." Within seconds, Amy was crying on Anthony's shoulder as memories of her lost family
flooded back. Anthony hugged the young hedgehog, hoping to provide what little comfort he
could. Eventually, Amy started to calm down and wiped away her tears, and then whispered a
thank you to the human that comforted her.
"Feel better now?" Anthony asked, and saw Amy nod. He then gave her a light kiss on the
forehead and said, "Good. C'mon, let's go find the others, they're probably getting dinner
ready." Amy then walked out of the hut to go look for the rest of the group.
"Poor kid," Anthony thought to himself as he followed her. He noticed Link was waiting outside
the hut and went up to him.
"I'm guessing you heard everything, huh?" Anthony asked.
"Yeah...poor kid. Hard to believe that happened."
"She's not the only one...Tails also lost his family at a young age, but he had Sally to act as
his 'Aunt' to comfort him. What I just did was the least I could do for Amy, since...I don't
think she's as lucky."
"Boy...now I really feel bad about treating you like I first did in Hyrule..."
"Don't be, you were just protecting Zelda's welfare."
"True, but I still feel I owe you," Link said, extending his hand in friendship. "You're a
great person, Anthony, and...I would be honored to call you a friend."
Anthony shook hands with the Hero of Hyrule, acknowledging and accepting the gesture. He then
turned towards where Amy went and said, "We'd better catch up with Amy. If she spills the
entire story of what just happened, I'll be up to my necks in females thinking I'm the sweetest
thing this side of the Earth/Mobius portal!"
"That's a bad thing?" Link asked.
"Let's just say I'll have a HELL of a time explaining to my parents why I'm getting love
letters from members of the animal kingdom."
The two of them laughed as they headed towards the main part of the village where, as Anthony
suspected, dinner was being prepared.