Author's Note: Finally! We have reached the Epilogue and true ending of this story! Sorry that I didn't finish it at Sonic's 30th Anniversary/Birthday last year, but at least it's finally complete!

Hope you enjoy this long-awaited ending!

I do not own Sonic The Hedgehog. All rights belong to Sega. I only own the OCs.


Epilogue: Life Goes On.

Young/Alternate-Sonic's Universe: Five years after the Time Eater's attack...

Five years have passed since that faithful day, and during that time, when Sonic, Tails and Amy returned home years earlier after agreeing to keep their latest adventure a secret, they went through many adventures after that. Including going to Angel Island for the first time after Uncle Chuck got a distress signal due to, surprise surprise, Dr. Robotnik who didn't remember anything about the whole incident, meeting Knuckles who had been tricked by the evil scientist, reuniting with the blue hedgehog's parents on the island which is where they were dropped off and stayed for a while.

Then they had other adventures while slowly befriending the Guardian of the Master Emerald, including meeting new friends like Mighty the Armadillo who along with his best friend Ray the Flying Squirrel joined forces with Knuckles and the Chaotix, stopping Robotnik from using the Phantom Ruby and destroying it and stopping the unbalanced change of seasons, yet none of Sonic's group met Shadow, Rouge or the other world's counterpart parts since they didn't exist in this reality. It saddened them at first, but they decided that it was for the best, so they didn't have to worry about the ARK, the Black Arms, or everything else Sonic's alternate-self had gone through.

At this moment, the now sixteen year old Sonic, much like his alternate counterpart and friend, was once again battling against Robotnik/Eggman alongside Tails, Knuckles who joined in on the adventure, and Amy, who, in years growing up, donned a red and white dress with matching boots, and golden bracelets just like her alternate self, and had just defeated the evil scientist by making peace with a giant dragon who had a thorn on it's foot.

"Ugh...Ngh...!" Sonic grunted as he pulled as hard but gently as possible, with Tails and Amy both attempting to calm the giant beast down as it whimpered, while Knuckles kept watch on the defeated Robotnik to make sure he didn't escape.

"It's okay. Sonic will have the thorn out soon." Tails attempted to reassure the red dragon who moaned and whimpered while trying to hold still.

"There there, it'll be alright. Oh, you poor thing." Amy cooed, gently rubbing it's fine leg. "Did that mean Dr. Eggman force you to do bad things?"

The Dragon, still moaning in pain while surprised by the kindness these young Mobians were treating it, nodded in a whimper.

"Don't worry. The thorn will be out and then you can teach that big bully a lesson." The pink hedgehog reassured.

"Ngggghhhh...There! Got it!" The blue hedgehog finally succeeded in pulling the thorn out of the dragon's foot before tossing it into a nearby bush and smirked at the giant creature. "There ya', go, big guy. Bet you feel good as now."

Feeling the pain subsided, the dragon gave a happy and thankful growl before nuzzling at both Tails and Amy who giggled and laughed, and then gave a thank you kiss by licking Sonic's left cheek.

"W-whoa, hey! Ha ha ha! Down, boy. I love you too." The teenage hedgehog laughed at the tickling sensation.

"Well, colour me impressed, hedgehog. You made friends with a dragon. Not that I couldn't have done it myself." Knuckles remarked, admittedly impressed with how his friendly-rival had helped a giant dragon.

"How did you do that!?" Robotnik/Eggman demanded, shocked and in disbelief.

Sonic just smirked as he answered the evil scientist, while his little brother, self-proclaimed girlfriend, the red echidna and the large creature glared at the human. "I guess you don't remember your fairy tales, Eggman. The Lion and the Mouse is now The Hedgehog and the Dragon."

That only made Robotnik/Eggman furious as he growled, before he snarled and commanded the beast in a rude way. "Burn him up, you big slobbering idiot!"

Unfortunately for him, the dragon wasn't having any of it, as it gently picked up Sonic, Tails and Amy who yelped in a bit of a fright and even nudged the startled Knuckles back with it's tail before using the latter part of it's body to slap and half-bury Robotnik/Eggman into the ground, with the evil scientist screaming in alarm and pain. In agony, humiliation and nervousness, the mad doctor pulled himself halfway out and grinned sheepishly at the furious insulted look from the beast that no longer obeyed him.

"Uh, big nicest slobbering idiot!" He attempted to correct himself...

Only for the dragon to now burn him into crisp with it's flaming breath, leaving Robotnik/Eggman scorched and charred as he coughed and groaned. Sonic and his friends, he along with Tails and Amy being gently put down, burst out laughing at their enemy's unfortunate case of bad luck yet again.

"Looks like you've been overcooked, Egg-Belly!" Sonic taunted teasingly.

"Grr...I hate that hedgehog." Robotnik/Eggman growled, before collapsing face-first and passed out comically.

While everyone continued to laugh, Sonic smiled at his friends which including a giant dragon who gave him it's gratitude, before thinking about everything they have all been through for the past five years. To think that he had become a hero in a short time, saving the world three times, traveling into a place where space and time stood still, having a huge adventure of a life-time, learning new things from his alternate-self and through sadness and fears, with great courage and making new friends, he had been more careful and had also mastered abilities like Boost which took about a month to get right, fully mastering his Homing Attack, and while his adventures were different compared to his counterpart's, the lessons he learned were still enough to prevent such terrible events.

'Other me, I don't know when my Eggman in this world will learn his lesson or if he'll end up in that place you had been to and saved my parents, your uncle and everybody else, you taught me so much and I never forgot the lessons we learned together. I just wanna say...thanks, pal. One day, we'll have a peaceful life just like you're having. I'll never forget you. Not ever.' Sonic thought to himself, placing a hand to his chest as he thought about his alternate-self who he had seen as an older brother when he had been an eleven year old child.

All in all, despite the fights against Robotnik/Eggman which seem to becoming more and more easier these days, Sonic had a feeling that life will soon get a whole lot better.

More so than he could ever think of.


In the Prison of Evil: Not long after the demise of Cormain and the Time Eater...

With the destruction of both Cormain and the Time Eater, Space and Time had returned to their normal balance, and all portals leading into the White Space had permanently closed up, leaving the villains who attempted to escape trapped and doomed to meet their fates. Those who were slowly becoming remorseful were fading away to either the Underworld or the Afterlife, while others remained and to be either trapped here for all eternity or be devoured by the Executioner who had regained it's senses after almost being overtaken by Cormain himself.

The Octosaurs were kept hard at work to keep new incoming villains in line, which was back to before Space and Time were slowly on the urge of being put into danger, and now everything was back to how it should be.

In the meantime, Soloman, healed from his injuries after departing from Sonic and Tikal, was speaking to his Leader once more in a private meeting.

"My Lord, everything is alright now. Cormain and the Destroyer of Time have been vanquished." The High-Guard reported, bowing and kneeling before the King.

"Excellent. It seems that Sonic the Hedgehog and his young, alternate-self have accomplished and saved us all. They are much stronger than they even anticipated, as did I." The Lord of the Octosaurs nodded, pleased with the results.

Soloman nodded in agreement, smiling warmly. "Yes, Sire. Sonic is indeed the chosen one, and the alternate Time Eater is destroyed as well."

"Good. However, there will be future trials for the other counterparts of Sonic to accomplish and I have a feeling that his journey will continue. A linger of darkness, not as corruptive, will venture into a body of a small creature who admires him far too much that the little one will attempt to...make things more lively. We must be careful." The King informed firmly, knowing that a little bit of darkness can grow.

Despite his concerns, Soloman responded with strong faith. "Sonic will not be alone. He will have friends who will help him, and I sense that his next journey will not be as dangerous as the previous endevours he has experienced. After all, his heart is in the right place. If anyone can save the little one from the lingering darkness, it's him."

The King thought deeply about what his High-Guard meant, and finally smiled warmly himself, nodding in agreement. "Agreed. The Blue Child is very unique. My only regret is that I never made an audience with him, but it is for the best. He has gone through enough already. As for you, my friend. You deserve a much needed rest."

"As you wish, Sire." Soloman bowed his head once more, before standing up and began to make his leave, then paused and asked. "Sire, what of Dr. Eggman and his robotic cohorts?"

"Oh, I wouldn't worry about them, Soloman. They are bored out of their minds while playing a game of cards, and I sense that the doctor will soon be merciful enough to be allowed to pass on for the Afterlife. His final meeting with Sonic, I believe, has made him remorseful to be given that opportunity at least." The King scoffed in amusement.

With Dr. Eggman: In the Prison Cells...

"Got any Kings?" Orbot questioned in boredom as he, Cubot, Bokkun, Decoe, Bocoe and Eggman were all playing Go-Fish with the stack of cards the Octosaur guards were merciful enough to allow them to have, along with boards games like chess, checkers, even Monopoly to pass time.

"Ugh, Go Fish." Eggman grumbled, his chin resting on one hand while the other was holding his own stack of cards. He then growled in irritation. "I'm sick and tired of this stupid game! It's the most boring thing in the whole universe!"

"We could always play stacking cards, doctor." Decoe suggested tiredly.

"It's the same as playing with building blocks, which we don't have." Bocoe pointed out, looking ready to go into sleep mode.

"Oooh...I wish I had a chocolate, strawberry cake and pies right now...Why couldn't we be stranded on Sweet Mountain instead!?" Bokkun wailed and began to cry as usual.

"Because in case you forgot, the Nega-Mother Wisp has swallowed us up and trapped us in this place with no way of escaping! Shut up and keep playing!" The evil scientist growled in frustration.

DONG!

"AAAAAHHHH!" Eggman and his robots screamed in fright, accidentally scattering their cards and huddled against each other when they gazed through the bars of their cell, exclaiming. "What was that!?"

On the other side of the cell corridor's, in another cell were two giant creatures that looked pretty haunting, with one of them playing with a bell that was making the donging noises, a table set up as they were playing chess themselves but were interrupted when Bokkun started crying and Eggman snapped.

"Hey, do you mind? Keep the noise down." One of the monsters asked in annoyance.

An awkward moment of pause.

"Erm...Uh, sorry. Our mistake." Eggman sheepishly replied with a nervous grin.

"Sorry about that..." Bokkun added.

"Sorry." The other four robots chorused.

As silently as they could, the six of them returned to their card game after picking them up and start over. This went on for a good solid of ten minutes until...

"How long as it been since we've been here?" Cubot asked in confusion, scratching the top of his head. "I've lost count."

"You're not the only one, Cubot." The evil scientist groaned, which made him think back to his final confrontation against Sonic, and, surprisingly, their heartfelt farewell as they both knew, given the circumstances, it was the final time in their entire lives. "I have a feeling that Sonic has already managed to escape and return to Mobius. Which is something we'll never go back to ever again."

"Are you feeling homesick, boss?" Orbot asked, curiously and with a surprising tone of sympathy.

"Homesick is an understatement. It was more fun battling Sonic than it is being here. The lucky hedgehog has everything and all I have is all of you, my brilliant mind which is useless in this world, and these games." Eggman sighed, depressed.

"It probably wouldn't make a difference if you ruled Mobius or not, considering you would still be here if you died either way." Bocoe muttered to the side.

"I heard that." The mad doctor grumbled with a glare.

"Maybe things would've been different if you had a different career." Decoe stated, after getting a Five card from Orbot who glared at him in annoyance.

"Yeah, like getting a teaching degree." Cubot suggested.

Eggman thought about it before shrugging despite that it was too late now. "That's not a bad idea. I've always enjoyed telling people what to do."

Yet either way, Eggman knew that he was never going back to Mobius ever again. What he didn't realize was that, due to his final encounter with Sonic the Hedgehog, he would soon be passing on for the Afterlife and finally meet his father for the first time in twelve years, his mother and of course, his grandfather and cousin Maria.

As for his robots...well...Maybe there is such a thing as a silicon heaven.

Back with Soloman and the King of the Octosaurs...

Soloman couldn't help but chuckle with a smirk. "I think we should start introducing the more modern games to keep the evil prisoners from going more insane than they already have come to be."

"That would be an idea." The King chuckled in agreement. "Soloman."

"Yes, sire?"

The leader of the Octosaurs gave him a proud and warm smile, saying. "Very well done...My son."

A little bit surprised by the praise, even though the king had raised him as his own since he was a child all those years ago, to hear it from the leader who had been his lord for a long time, and a father-figure, Soloman nodded in gratitude. "Thank you, my lord."

After bidding a farewell to the Lord, the High-Guard bowed once more before taking his leave, and as he did, he thought about how pure heartened Sonic is, how much the teenage blue hedgehog reminded him so much of Singarina.

'Sonic, you are the guardian of your planet. I have a feeling that your people will live on for many generations to come, and remember your bravery throughout history.' Soloman thought to himself, and about ten minutes later stood outside of the city and gazed up at the sky, relieved to have helped the teenage Mobian. "Thank you. May you and your friends and family live a peaceful life, Sonic the Hedgehog."

While the fate of Soloman and his people were to remain here to guard the Prison of Evil, he was proud to have at least guided Sonic to save all realities.

Now the sixteen year old and all those on Mobius can live in peace.


In the Moebius Dimension: The new Timeline-Three Months after the defeat of Cormain...

Three months rolled by since the timeline in Moebius permanently changed, and for Scourge, Red, Kintobor, Blaze and Silver, who all agreed to never reveal their adventures to anyone, it couldn't be any better. The blue hedgehog never became a villain, but a hero, and lived a normal life at the same time with his brother, and their parents, James and Aleena, who remained unaware of their previous timeline's events, Finivetus never came to this world and Snively never existed. The relationships between Scourge and his family was renewed and he and Red couldn't be any happier, especially with Fiona and now new friends like Kintobor who became a second father to the hedgehog brothers, Blaze, who resumed her duties in guarding the Sol Emearlds, the Moebius versions of Miles Prower and Mighty the Armadillo.

Silver had returned home after a tearful farewell and while he still held a bit of a grudge on Scourge who once again apologized for his misdeeds in the previous timeline, he decided to let it go and found new companionship in the former green hedgehog before departing for a peaceful future he couldn't wait to see.

Now, while it was still taking in getting used to, especially with the dual memories, everybody seemed content with their new lifestyle. At this moment, the now renewed blue hedgehog was on a hill just outside of the city where he, his family and friends lived, taking a break and relaxing.

'I never thought it would come to this. Heh, who would've thunk? Once upon a time, I wanted to rule this planet. Now I want to protect it, with everybody that I've always wanted in the old timeline. Sonic's right; this is much better. Wonder how he and his mini-self are doing?' Scourge thought to himself as he watched the sunset, hands linked behind his head and one leg over the other.

This new life was great. He had a family, he had friends, and he had his girlfriend and they still planned on getting married someday when they were older. Still, there was the linger of guilt for having caused so much trouble and to think that Cormain was behind it all...and the Time Eater...The former Terror of Moebius never got the chance to apologize to it or even say goodbye.

'T.E...I'm sorry. You were a monster, but you had been so kind to me...you let me understand you, and...you saved my life from Cormain and helped me out. I hope you rest in peace, big guy.' The seventeen year old hedgehog thought with sadness, yet knowing it was for the best.

He could only hope that things would be alright, and Scourge knew that the Time Eater was gone. There wasn't a thing he could do about it, but appreciate the new life that he has gotten. The blue hedgehog had lost so much in the old timeline, only to gain a new friend...only to trade that friend for his life again. Then again, the former Terror of Moebius had seen the final look in the Time-Eating monster's eyes before it had been absorbed and destroyed by Cormain.

The final look of forgiveness and goodbye.

'Well...Guess there's nothing to do about it but to hope for the best. I'll always remember him at least. Just like everybody else in the two other worlds.' Scourge knew that while he felt guilty for the Time Eater despite how much destruction it and Cormain had caused, he would never forget how the former had treated him as a friend. He was grateful for that.

He sighed before closing his eyes as he began to doze off to sleep.

An hour or two later...

"Scourge? Scourge?"

"W-wha?" Blinking his eyes sleepily open, Scourge found himself back on the hilltop where he had fallen asleep, and Red was hovering over him slightly with a concerned expression. Realizing what just happened as he tried to get his tired brain to catch up, the blue hedgehog sat up and rubbed his eyes, tiredly greeting. "Oh, hey there, Red."

Yawning as he rubbed his face, Scourge then noticed that it was twilight now and asked. "How long was I asleep?"

"Probably...as long as you've been up here, maybe?" The eight year old hedgehog shrugged with an awkward smile. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." Scourge shrugged, scretching his arms upward as he gazed over the horizon. "Just dozed off watching the sunset."

Red smiled in relief as he sat next to his big brother, gazing out as well. "Sure is pretty up here, huh?"

"Yep. You can't beat a view like this." The seventeen year old agreed, sighing with a warm smile. The two young hedgehogs were silent for a little while, thinking about everything they had been through, both in the old timeline and in the new timeline, and everything in the White Space. Then, Scourge spoke again. "Hey, Red?"

"Yeah?" The younger hedgehog asked, curiously.

"...Thanks for saving me, in the old timeline, and bringing me back to my senses." The blue hedgehog smiled warmly at his younger brother. "I was wrong about what I said to you. You're a lot more braver than I ever was. I'm really proud of you, li'l bro."

Stunned by the compliment even though in the new timeline and memories he had heard it before, the young red-brown hedgehog's eyes widened, beaming a smile radiant as the sunlight, before Red nodded. "I just wanted you to be happy and us to be like we always have been in the new world, big bro."

"I know. C'mere, you." Scourge brought his younger sibling into a brotherly hug which Red returned with a happy laughter, the two nuzzling onto each other as they were finally back to the way they were, and even better in their new whole lives. "I love you, Red."

"I love you too, Scourge." The eight year old replied.

The two brothers stayed like this for a little while, before noticing that it was getting late and their parents would be worried if they came come after dark. Standing up, Scourge stretched his arms again after helping his little brother up.

"Whaddya, say, bro? Wanna head home?" Scourge asked, his hands on his hips.

"Sure. Mom and Dad would be mad at us if we missed dinner." Red agreed.

The blue hedgehog chuckled. "Man, I missed those old times. This new world is cooler than the old one was. But, some things never change."

"What's that?" The younger hedgehog tilted his head, only to yelp a little as his older brother scopped him up and placed him on his back before he realized what this meant and beamed happily. "Really!?"

"Just like old times." Scourge smirked confidently and with excitement.

"ALRIGHT!" The eight year old cheered, holding onto his big brother who told him to hang on and ran down the hill in high speed, much to Red's delight. "WHEEEEE!"

"YEAH! This is rockin'!" Scourge cheered happily while making sure his younger brother wouldn't fall off.

Red, feeling like his four year old self again, cheered on happily. "Faster, Scourge, faster!"

Also feeling deja vu, a memory that he missed, Scourge's smirk grew. "Faster, you say? Well, alright! Hold on! We're goin' supersonic fast!"

Scourge went faster, leaving a trail of blue blur, much to both hedgehogs' delight as Red squealed in excitement, and the hero of Moebius wooting on, just as excitedly. "WOOOOO!"

While both brothers, as well as their friends, some whom had been the older hedgehog's former enemies, knew that their lives would never be the same again, every single one of them cherished what they still have, and what they had now. Because one thing's for sure, the bleak dark apocalypic future of Moebius was no more.

The future was now forever more brighter than it ever was, and from that point on, Scourge made sure to keep to his promises, for real this time.

He owed Sonic the Hedgehog his life for saving his.

200 Years into the Future: The New Future...

When Silver left the past after sharing an emotional goodbye to all of his friends, he had been half expecting to see nothing had changed despite his dual memories. Instead, when he finally emerged from the portal thanks to Blaze and Kintobor's help for using the Sol Emeralds found to help him travel through time, what he saw made him fully shocked and...bewilderedly amazed.

No longer was the city in ruins, or even on fire. The sky was no longer dark, and there no monsters inhabiting the place. It was very futuristic, buildings bright and tall, standing proudly, hover cars flew in the air and in tunnels made for safer transport like a Future City, the sky was blue, clouds were white and fluffy, the sun was bright and giving light into the world...and there were people! Humans and Moebians alike, just like in the past, only they were all descendents of those in the past.

Just like Silver the Hedgehog himself was.

"I...I don't believe it...This is...this is the future...My home..." Silver half-whispered to himself, at first wondering if this was simply a dream or a hallucination. "It's so alive...just like in the past!"

Rubbing his eyes and pinching himself, which the latter part made him wince in pain, to make sure he wasn't dreaming, the fourteen year old hedgehog then knew there and then that this was real. At long last, the future had changed for the better and the best part is, he was alive. He was here, to live out his life just as he had always wanted. It was a dream come true. Then young Time Traveling Moebian's eyes swelled up with tears as he watched life go by before him. Plus thanks to his new memories, he felt like he was home, right where he belonged now.

"I'm home...In the new future..." Silver nearly trembled, tears sliding free as he smiled emotionally before he wiped them away and gazed over the horizon of the beautiful new world he would now live in for the rest of his life. "Blaze, Kintobor, Red, Sonic...Scourge...everyone...Thank you. I never could've have been here without you guys. From now on, I'll live out my life, and make sure that Moebius remains in peace. I promise."

Breathing in the fresh, clean air that wasn't filled with rust, dust, soil and suffocating flames and smoke, Silver then levitated off the ground and flew across the city, taking in the breath-taking sights of his newly transformed home and time, following his new memories to find his parents and greet them for the first time in ages. Parents he never had before, now had and were waiting for him.

He couldn't wait to tell them about all of his adventures and while he knew they wouldn't believe them, at least it would make an interesting story to tell. From what point forward, Silver's life has changed for the better.

Thanks to his friends of the past and alternate realities.


Back in Sonic's Prime Universe: Eight Hours after the defeat of Cormain and the Time Eater...

It had been an exciting and really fun rest of the day and Sonic, his family and friends cherished it to their hearts' content, having fun after going through such a traumatic adventure. It was revealed that, once Sonic's group told his parents what happened to make perfect sense, with Sir Charles revealing that Mobodoon, during the Chaos Control teleportation, ended up on the island which allowed him to sent out a distress signal. Needless to say that Jules and Bernadette had been shocked and emotional to see him, with Sonic's father apologizing profusely, yet was informed that he wasn't to blame.

They all agreed after that to keep this experience a secret and come up with new ideas to ensure no one in Mobius knew the real story, and during that time Uncle Chuck got along so well with Tails and everybody else, including Vanilla who came shortly afterwards with cupcakes, and having a chance to meet the teenage hedgehog's long-lost and newly found uncle, as they all sang the hero of Mobius the happy birthday song.

Now it was getting late as it was time for everyone to head home.

"Happy Birthday, Mr. Sonic. Goodnight." Cream sweetly waved, with Cheese sleepily waving as well. "Bye-bye everyone."

"Night, Cream. See you later, Cheese." Sonic waved back, gently hugging his surrogate little sister who giggled. "Night, Mrs. V."

"Goodnight, Sonic, and Happy Birthday." Vanilla nodded back, before scooping up her daughter and walked away to head home.

"Goodnight, everybody. Thanks for the help." Tails waved.

"See you later." Amy waved.

"See you, Birthday Boy." Knuckles smirked as he and the younger teen, who grinned with a chuckle, shared a bro-fist.

"Thanks, Knuckles. See ya'." The sixteen year old replied with a warm smile.

"Goodbye everybody, Froggy and I are gonna go fishing." Big waved, with his frog friend croaking in response before walking away.

Sun raised an eye-brow, mentally asking himself. 'Doesn't that guy think of anything other than fishing?' He then decided to not ask and left it at that.

"I'll see you later at Westopolis, Sonic. Happy Birthday." Chris waved, while giving a high-give to his hedgehog best friend who laughed.

"Thanks, Chris. I'll see you around." Sonic replied with a thumbs up and wink, which his human best friend returned.

As Sonic, Tails, Amy, Sun, Star, Uncle Chuck, Jules and Bernadette shared their farewells to Knuckles, Chris, Cream and Cheese, Vanilla, Big, Froggy, and the Chaotix who all headed for home, it was only eight of them left as Sonic, Tails' and Sun's parents and uncle, along with the orange hedgehog and his 'girlfriend' would be staying in the two boy's shared house, while Amy would be making her way home as well.

"Hey, Sonic? I hope that you had a good day besides on what happened to us before." Tails spoke up, looking apologetic that the birthday party was almost completely ruined.

"Are you kiddin', Tails? I had a great day! It's the best birthday in my whole life and I'll definitely remember it forever." Sonic pointed out happily, playfully ruffling at the two-tailed cub's head, making his little brother laugh once again.

Everyone else all chuckled at the two brothers' strong bond and were all so happy that not only things were back to normal, but the hero of Mobius had so much fun that he wanted to cherish it forever.

"I'm so happy for you, Sonic." Amy spoke up, before covering up her yawn with her mouth. "Well, I'd better head off home too. I'll see you all later."

The moment Amy spoke and was giving out her goodbyes to other hedgehogs and the nine year old kit, Sonic gazed at her before his eyes widened as he remembered what he wanted to tell her...especially after that kiss he'd given her earlier. Lowering his gaze slightly over that, and given how he really felt about her now, learning the valueable lessons and felt that maybe it was time to slow down a little and grow up, fearing in losing her like Scourge had lost Fiona in the old timeline in Moebius, the cobalt teenager knew there and then he couldn't hold back anymore.

But he felt pretty embarrassed to reveal it with company. One step at the time.

"Amy, hold up." Sonic quickly spoke, making his self-proclaimed girlfriend pause as he gently took hold of her hand, making her glance over her shoulder as he requested, a little sheepishly with a slight blush. "Can I talk to you for a few minutes?"

At first not understanding what her boyfriend meant, the thirteen year old pink hedgehog blinked with an inkling of hope and nodded. "S-Sure, Sonic."

"I'll be with you guys shortly. I just...have something to talk about." Sonic turned to his family and Star who, at first not understanding what he meant, all smiled while trying to hide their knowing expressions and nodded with the adults telling the two teenagers to not take too long which they promised.

While Tails, Sun, Star, and the three adult hedgehogs waited for them at the picnic table packing up the last of their things, Sonic lead Amy further up on a hill as he knew that he had to tell her what he really felt now and hoping that nothing more bad was going to happen.

"Sonic? What is it that you wanted to tell me?" Amy asked softly as soon as they stopped on top of the hill, with the stars twinkling brightly and the moon shining down. Her heart was beating rapidly and her stomach was fluttering with butterflies. This was possibly the most romantic moment she has ever experienced with the blue hedgehog of her dreams.

Feeling nervous, and a little scared since he didn't even rehearse on what he wanted to say, Sonic sighed deeply before he began, gently holding both of his sel-no, his girlfriend's hands into his own. "Amy...A-About that kiss I gave you earlier, when we were trapped in that White Space...I'll be honest with you. There'd been a few times I thought I'd never come back and...after what I saw in that tunnel of the other timelines, I realized something I never thought I'd ever experience."

"What do you mean?" The pink hedgehog asked, tilting her head slightly in concern.

"It was kinda like a just in case I wouldn't get the chance to-to..." The sixteen year old blushed heavily and looked away slightly, struggling to even blurt out his feelings. 'Man, this is harder than I thought. Since when did I began stuttering like this?'

"To what?" Amy demanded, narrowing her eyes suspiciously.

Sonic gulped nervously, breathing in and out to calm his nerves and squeezed his eyes shut. He wanted to say it, he wanted to stay what he had to tell her with all of his heart. After years of denying, most likely due to not being ready, due to being a free spirit and wanting to explore the world, and the fears of his friends and loved ones being used against him by Eggman and/or whoever else would hurt them just to get to him, before he realized that it wouldn't matter because it was his duty to keep them safe.

Now that there were no more potential threats and learning a huge lesson, the blue hedgehog felt it was time to open more even more to the people he loved.

"To..To tell you how much you really mean to me, Ames...!" Sonic felt himself shaking, scolding himself for being so scared right about now. "I don't wanna lose you, ever...! Besides water, and how the Werehog used to frighten me so, nothing scares me more than losing the people I love so much. Like you, Tails, and all of our friends and family. I didn't want to go through the heartbreak of when I had spend ten years without my Uncle Chuck."

"Sonic..." She trailed off softly, her eyes widening to see the boy she loved so much being like this. All this time she had known that he really cared about her, yet most of the time he ran away from her whenever she mentioned dates or anything that was romantic. But ever since the Dark Gaia crisis, Amy saw that Sonic had been opening up a bit more and that losing her, either by death or anger on her part, it would wound his soul than it had been for two months.

Sonic forced himself to look back up to her, and continued. "I'm sorry for taking so long to understand even my own feelings, Amy. I guess I just...wasn't ready, and you and I both know that I'm a free spirit. But that's no excuse on how I treated you, especially when Eggman could've attacked us. That's why I always ran away from you."

"Oh, Sonic..." Amy began to tear up, feeling guilty for rushing things in her overwhelming love when she had failed to understand that he needed space, and he wanted to live freely while at the same time live out his life with her, Tails and everybody else, and the constant nagging fear of Eggman using them against the blue hedgehog terrified the teenage hero.

She sighed and responded. "I'm sorry too, Sonic. I guess I...really was too obsessed with you, because I love you so much. Plus, it doesn't help that I always put myself in danger just to be with you, that I end up being kidnapped anyway when I didn't want to."

"I know. Guess it wouldn't matter if I did reveal my feelings or not, 'cause either way, it wouldn't make much of a difference. I'd still do anything to save you." Sonic smiled in sadness. "But hey, we don't have to worry about any of that anymore. Eggman's gone, and he won't be coming back."

"But what if there are other evil people out there that could attack us, though?" Amy pointed out.

"Then I'll fight them just as I have been fighting those with evil intentions in the past if that ever happens." He declared with determination with a smirk and a wink. "That's nothing new."

When his close friend blinked at his bravery, he sighed. "Maybe it was my pride that got in the way and blocked from opening up like I should've. I think deep in my heart all along, I knew how I felt, I just thought it was because I cared about you as a close friend and a sister."

"You really mean it?" Amy asked, her eyes beginning to sparkle.

Sonic chuckled a little nervously. "Yeah, pretty much, but I wanted to say it for myself. 'Cause, you know, I'm not ready to let the others know about this yet. We should take it one step at time."

A moment of pause before the blue hedgehog thought to himself, gathering up as much courage as he could muster to tell her how he really felt. 'Come on, Sonic. You can do it. Tell her how you really feel, before something else happens. It's now or never.'

"Amy Rose, I...I..." Sonic took another deep breath, and finally spoke the three words he never thought he would ever say to any girl with romance, let alone to the pink hedgehog girl who would drive him crazy over her obsessive love for him. "...I love you."

Hearing those three magical words coming out of the blue hedgehog's mouth was a dream come true for Amy Rose, her eyes swelling up with more tears as she couldn't help herself. She laughed happily and hugged him almost too tightly which made Sonic cringe in discomfort, but then she loosened up a little to make she wouldn't break any bones in his body.

"Oh, Sonic! I've been waiting for years to hear you say that to me!" Amy softly squealed, nuzzling her head onto his chest.

Sonic smiled warmly, feeling his heart leap in happiness as he had finally returned her affections after five years of knowin each other and he hugged her back, gently nuzzling his face on top of her head. "I know, Ames. Sorry that it took me so long."

"It's okay. You're forgiven. Though, I guess I should respect your freedom and wanting to go out, instead of being all fangirl crazy. I mean, I'm used to waiting for you even though I can be impatient. I should respect that until you're, well, ready to really slow down." Amy admitted, lowering her gaze a little as she finally admitted that she couldn't pin him down forever just to do what she wanted the blue hedgehog to do all the time.

"Hey, just say the word and I'll come running." Sonic replied. "Maybe next time when I'm off on an solo adventure somewhere, you can come with me."

"With or without Tails?" The pink hedgehog teasingly asked, making her boyfriend chuckle. "'Cause you know, dates are romantic and I love to spend time with you alone, I have to admit, it's more fun hanging out with our friends."

"Easily arranged, Ames. Easily arranged." The hero of Mobius smirked, as they both moved away slightly while he gently wiped away his, officially, girlfriend's tears. "Just no tears, okay? You know I don't like seeing anyone crying."

"Same goes for you, Sonic the Hedgehog. I love you more when you're your happy-go-lucky, brave, fun, adventurous, super fast and confident self." Amy nodded back.

"I'll do my best, and yeah, I really gotta work up on that again. But you know me; Not the time to give up on anything or anybody." The blue hedgehog agreed sheepishly, and felt the warmth from the thirteen year old Piko Piko Hammer wielding girl's hand caressing him on his left cheek while she giggled softly, feeling much better as she felt warmth from him as well.

The two young lovers smiled warmly, with Sonic finally having admitted his true feelings for Amy, after such an adventure that happened today and in the last five months that him finally open up and see how much his life meant so much to him. His family, friends, speed, freedom and the world that he held deep within his heart, none of that should ever be taken for granted. Without even realizing it, the two hedgehogs' faces slowly inched closer and closer, their eyes sliding closed as they touched their foreheads, nuzzling a bit before their lips softly reached out and for the first time in their lives, met in a soft but passionate kiss.

A kiss of true love that Amy wished for all of her life, and that Sonic never thought would happen but now finally understood what his parents, Sun and Star, and even Scourge and Fiona felt. And he loved it. His love for Amy increased that he would do anything to protect her and make her happy.

Maybe this was Amy's gift for him for his birthday. Either way, Sonic knew that his heart now belonged to her and hers belonged to him.

Unfortunately, it wasn't going to be as one step at the time or secret as he had hoped, because hiding in the bushes nearby, apparently not all of their friends had left as Vector, having suspected something was going on between Sonic and Amy in the White Space, had decided to investigate with Charmy and the reluctant Espio and Knuckles, along with Sun, Star and Tails who, seeing them, tried to stop them and followed but unfortunately for them, they too saw and heard every single thing. Even Rouge had pulled in Shadow into this, with the black hedgehog not interested.

But now seeing Sonic and Amy actually kissing made everyone virtually shocked to see the hero of Mobius actually confessing his love for the girl he tried to avoid for years. Vector was bewildered and possibly very jealous, Knuckles and Tails' eyes both widened in sheer disbelief, along with Espio and Charmy, Star tried hard not to squeal in delight, Sun smirked knowingly, Rouge softly cooed, and even Shadow couldn't believe what he was seeing...

And as luck would have it, their cover was blown when Charmy's nose was tickled by a single little leaf and he sneezed...rather loudly. "A-A-ACHOO!"

Hearing the sneeze snapped both Sonic and Amy out of their kiss and romantic moment, their eyes widening as they pulled away, blushing despite being so happy having their first kiss, and looked into the same direction and saw, to their dismay, was most of their friends who, with Charmy's sneeze, all tumbled out of the bush with yelps. The only ones that didn't crash were Shadow and Star, the latter blushing heavily in embarrassment.

"AH!?" Sonic and Amy both gaped in shock and sheer embarrassment.

"G-Guys!? What're you doing here? I thought you'd gone back home by now." Sonic asked, hoping against hope that they didn't see much despite realizing, much to his dismay, they saw him actually confessing his love to Amy.

"We...saw the whole thing." Sun conceded sheepishly, before smirking. "But I knew you'd confess sooner or later, Blue."

"Sorry, Sonic, but I knew too. I figured out when you tried to distract us earlier before you and the other Sonic went to meet with Sun and fight the giant Werehog to find the Chaos Emerald." Tails apologetically rubbed the back of his head.

"It's about time you opened up, Big Blue. You're really growing up after all." Rouge smirked slyly.

That made Sonic and Amy become even more embarrassed as they both shared a glance with groans, then looked away with heavy blushes with the former groaning. "Oh man...! I was hoping to be ready to tell ya's later."

"Yeah, keep telling yourself that. You might've had me fooled, but you couldn't fool everyone else, except for Charmy...Though I had a feeling you would sooner or later." Knuckles grinned teasingly and even made kissing movements.

"Hey, shut up, you knucklehead!" Sonic snapped, his face almost as pink as Amy's fur and hair colour. "Was this whole thing your idea, or Sun's?"

"Actually, it was Vector's idea. He's the one who dragged us into this." Charmy answered before the red echidna could, with everyone else now giving stern looks at the embarrassed crocodile who stood up.

"You what!? Vector, were you spying on us!?" Amy demanded, angrily.

"Well, spying is a strong word. It's more of a detective obversation, especially since how you and Sonic been hugging more lately." Vector confessed, then smiled happily as he clasped his hands together. "But hey, look on the bright side! At least you won't have to worry about how to tell us later."

Rather than making the two newly made lovers better, not only was the hero of Mobius even more embarrassed and dismayed, but his girlfriend now had the angry aura surrounding her which quickly frightened him as he flinched with a soft gasp, cringing away slightly in fear of getting hit. The fury radiating on the small pink hedgehog girl along with the angry look on her face was enough to make even Shadow nervous while everyone else flinched in fear with huge sweat drops.

"Vector...Knuckles...YOU RUINED OUR ROMANTIC MOMENT!" Amy screamed, summoning her hammer which was almost as large as the crocodile detective, and she charged with a mighty yell with every intention of hitting them both, as well as Espio and Charmy into next Tuesday. Tails, Sun, Star, Rouge and Shadow quickly moved out of the way to avoid in facing the thirteen year old girl's wrath.

"AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH! RUN!" Vector and Knuckles both screamed as they, Charmy and Espio ran for their lives down the hill with the pink hedgehog chasing after them while swinging her hammer furiously.

"COME BACK HERE! LET ME GIVE YOU SOME MOMENT TO SOFTEN YOU UP!" The pink hedgehog shouted.

"I knew this was a bad idea, but Vector had to go and do this, didn't he?" Star sighed grumpily, her hands on her hips.

"Yeah, for a detective, he sure has problems in keeping his nose out of places where it doesn't belong." Sun sighed in agreement.

"If we are done here, I'm going home, crawl into my bed and pretend this whole day was nothing more than a nightmare. See you around." Shadow responded dryly, waving the others off before skating away with his rocket shoes.

"Yeah, I think I'll get going too. Later." Rouge agreed, deciding that there was enough teasing for the night and flew away.

Tails sighed, feeling bad for spying on his big brother like that even though he was happy that the blue hedgehog had finally opened up to Amy, and approached Sonic who groaned as he buried his face into his hands.

"I can't believe it...I should've just waited until tomorrow or somethin'..." Sonic complained, never having felt so embarrassed and just a few hours before his birthday would end for another year. Even worse, his parents and Uncle Chuck would sure to be asking them questions about this whole thing when he, his two brothers, and the two girls rejoined them.

"It's okay, Sonic. I promise that there won't be anymore teasing if I can help it." The nine year old fox cub reassured, patting his adoptive sibling on the back which made the hedgehog lower his hands to glance at him. "Tell you what; if I find a girl I really like someday, like say, really like, you can tease me all you want as revenge. How's that sound?"

He gave his older brother a wink, which made Sonic smile in appreciation as he knew that while this was going to take a while getting used to, at least he had his friends, especially his best friend/little brother, to watch his back just as he would always do his best to protect them.

"Thanks, Tails." Sonic replied, before smirking playfully. "Though considering this, I think you're in for the head noggin' lecture. C'mere!"

"Ah, hey! Ha ha ha ha ha!" Tails laughed protestingly as the older Mobian pulled him onto a brotherly hug while playfully nogging him on the head and Sonic ignored the younger Mobian's playful protests to let go.

"Noggie noggie noggie!" Sonic playfully said, laughing away while Sun and Star both laughed as well, and Amy was still chasing after Knuckles and the Chaotix.

All unaware that Jules, Bernadette and Uncle Chuck arrived to see what the commotion was about, surprised at first before smiling knowingly judging by Amy's yelling and the other four Mobians begging for mercy, proud of the sixteen year old as he was growing up a little bit more, but they would always be happy for the teenager regardless. The trio smiled before the two finally reunited brothers shared one-arm hugs, watching the younger Mobians in silence.

With a day like this finally over, and a birthday that will never be forgotten, Sonic's life had changed once more for the better and it would continue to change until the day he and everybody around him would all peacefully be joined together in the Afterlife. For now, they enjoyed life in the Living Realm.

Because as they all knew, Sonic the Hedgehog would always cherish everything and everyone he loved the most, and he couldn't wait for the next new day and the days that would come after that with new adventures over the horizon.

THE END

...Yet...

Sonic's Next Adventure Awaits...


A/N: Talk about the longest ending ever written, but at last Sonic's Space-Time Adventure is finally finished! I am sad that it has ended, but glad at the same time. I've decided to make the ending more light-hearted as "Sonic and the Return of the Wisps" is more light-heartened than the previous stories.

Some of the plot points in this epilogue was inspired by one of the episodes of the AOSTH TV series, the fan-made video Sonic in Scared Stupid Part 3, and when Silver returned to the future in the ending of the Metal Virus Saga of the Sonic IDW comics(and the Classic Sonic IDW Seasons of Chaos special). While I am aware that Sonic was never romantic in the games and I'm not a fan of him having a relationship with Sally Acorn(sorry Sonally fans), I kinda always felt that he and Amy had a deeper bond given the Sonic X anime despite him running away from here in the series as well.

Once again, thank you all so much for following the story despite the delays, hiatus, some mistakes and writer's blocks and I will do my best to finish my other stories. Until then, remember that you're never alone and you have friends and family who will be there for you matter where you are, especially in your heart.

See you all in my other stories! Farewell but not goodbye!