(See Prelude for Disclaimer).

~Chapter 8: Loose Ends and Happy Endings~

It was a pretty long, uphill process before life returned to normal for the residents of Green Hills, especially for Sonic and his new family.

After Robotnik's defeat, he had disappeared. No one knew where he was and it was very concerning, but G.U.N. put most of their focus into disposing of his giant robot and helping to fix much of the damage done to the town, saying they would track Robotnik down later.

During that time, Penelope had confronted Commander Walters about what he had done.

"Look, I apologize for everything. As consolation, we'll cover the costs to repair your parent's house and I'll also remove my agents from your university as well. We'll even pay for any of your educational expenses as well", said Walters.

Penelope glared at him before sighing, "Fine. I'll accept the apology and consolation, on the condition that you stay away from me and my family! If you or any of your little puppets come near my parents, my aunt and cousin and/or my brothers ever again, I will end all of you and make it look like an accident! Trust me when I say I mean every word", she said through clenched teeth.

Needless to say, Commander Walters believed every word of the threat and swore to stay away from the Wachowski Family at all costs. He kept his word and within a week's time, Tom and Maddie's house was fully repaired and the destroyed furniture was replaced.

The undercover G.U.N. agents hiding in Penelope's school were removed and Dean Walden apologized to her profusely, saying that Walters had threatened to cut the school's funding if he didn't comply, and he begged her not to drop out because she really was the top student at the university.

Penelope forgave Dean Walden since she knew it wasn't his fault, and she stayed at the university to continue working towards her Master's degree in Robotics. The following month, she had won a medal of excellence at the Young Inventor's Symposium when she presented her hoverboard and the recently repaired EB Unit-1.

There was just one last loose end she needed to tie up before going back to living her semi normal life.

When she went back to school, Harvey and Cheryl had confronted her about why she suddenly up and left, only leaving them a note that read "Family emergency! Had to leave, don't know when I'll be back".

Her family, along with Wade, had came with her back to Massachusetts so she could explain everything to them. She was sitting out in the backyard with Harvey and Cheryl, telling them the whole story.

"Um...sorry dear, but we're having a hard time believing any of this", said Harvey.

"Yes, honey. It's not that we're accusing you of lying, we just don't think we can believe you without any proof that you're telling the truth", said Cheryl.

Penelope smiled, "I figured you'd both say that. Boys, come on out!", she said.

Then, the backdoor opened and out of the house came Sonic, Tails and Knuckles; Harvey and Cheryl didn't know that Wade had came with Penelope along with Tom and Maddie, so they were hiding out in the house because Wade had a spare key and they were waiting for the right moment to come out.

Harvey and Cheryl's eyes widened at the sight of the three young aliens...before the two fainted and fell over.

After they woke up, Wade came out with Tom and Maddie and explained everything. Needless to say, the middle aged couple were shocked beyond belief.

"Can you two please keep this all a secret? No one but the townspeople in Green Hills know about them, even if G.U.N. backed off, I don't want any other creeps coming after them. They're my little brothers, I love them more than anything, I don't want anything bad to happen to them!", said Penelope.

Harvey and Cheryl looked at Sonic, Tails and Knuckles, who were playing with a soccer ball while the adults were all talking to each other; at first, they were stunned by the existence of actual aliens, but watching them play...they didn't see three strange space animals, they saw three innocent little boys.

"As strange as this all is, we understand. We may not have children of our own, but know of the importance of family and how precious children can be", said Harvey.

"Don't worry, dear. We won't tell anyone about this. You and those boys have such a bright future ahead of you, and we would hate for that to be jeopardized by people who would want to ruin your happiness. Just promise to talk to us in person first before you go running off to save the world, we were really worried", said Cheryl.

Penelope smiled appreciatively, "Thank you! Thank you both so much! And don't worry, we don't know where Robotnik is but I have a feeling he won't be coming back after the thrashing we gave him, so I won't be running off again anytime soon. I'm just glad I didn't have work or school during this whole fiasco, now I won't have to explain everything to my boss or fall behind on my school work", she said.

She then stood up and walked over to the three Mobians, telling them everything and sharing a group hug while they laughed joyously.

"She may be an adult, but she's still a child deep down inside", said Cheryl.

"Well, I think that's because, like those three, she didn't get the chance to have a normal childhood. She had to grow up so fast that she couldn't really enjoy being a child, and now that she's an adult, she seems to act more like a kid", said Tom.

"The poor girl, I hope that she can finally live a peaceful and pleasant life now...", said Harvey as they all watched Penelope playing with her three little brothers, smiling happily.

[Time Skip]

"It's truly a beautiful day for baseball here in Green Hills!"

The following weekend, the Wachowski Family were at the baseball field in Green Hills, enjoying a beautiful sunny day by playing a game of baseball.

Sonic was sitting at a table with a microphone, acting as a sports announcer. Penelope sat on the bleachers waving a baseball flag, EB was hovering by her with a cooler that held drinks and the Master Emerald. Tom and Maddie were out on the field with Tails and Knuckles, the young fox was the catcher and the echidna was at the batting position holding a baseball bat.

"An exciting lineup today with the debut appearance of two new players! On the mound, rookie sensation from across the galaxy, Miles "Tails" Prower, facing off against the powerhouse, Knuckles the Echidna", Sonic announced excitedly.

"Um...I don't understand. Why am I angry at the enemy ball?", asked Knuckles.

"You're not angry. You just want to hit it as hard as you can and then run around the bases", explained Sonic.

"But if my quest ends where I am standing, why run at all?", asked Knuckles.

Sonic facepalmed, "I can't with this guy. Why do I even try?", he said.

"This is just a game. We're out here having fun", said Maddie.

"Just having some fun", said Tom.

"Fun...huh", said Knuckles.

Sonic then zipped over to the starting position, dressed as an umpire. "All right! Give him the heat, Tails!", he said.

"Woo-hoo! Let's go, Tails!", Penelope called out.

"Hope you're ready for my fastball", said Tails.

"Your fastball will be dishonored. And so will you, fox", said Knuckles as he let out a determined growl.

"Easy, guys!", said Maddie.

"Don't think about it too much. Just keep your elbow up, eye on the ball and give it a ride", said Tom.

"A ride? To where?", asked Knuckles.

Tails then used his tails to throw the ball, sending it flying towards Knuckles. "Power bump!", Knuckles shouted as he punched the ball with his fist which sent it flying away, "Victory is mine!"

"Hey, no fair! That shouldn't count", said Tails as Knuckles ran around the bases.

"First base is also mine!", shouted Knuckles.

"I think that was our only ball", said Tom.

"Its okay, Dad! I'll have EB go look for it later", Penelope called out.

"I have conquered the second of the bases!", shouted Knuckles as he kept running around the bases.

"Okay. Who wants ice cream?", said Maddie.

"Knocked the cover off that", said Tom.

"Ice cream, yeah!", said Sonic and Tails.

"Alright, ice cream!", said Penelope as she walked off the bleachers with EB following her.

Knuckles finally made it to the last base, "I am having the fun! What is ice cream?", he said.

"It's a dessert. If you like fun, you're gonna love it", said Sonic.

"Yum. Dessert. Does it have grapes in it?", asked Knuckles.

"No, not usually", said Sonic.

"Well, there is such a thing as grape flavored, but it's not very common. We can see if the ice cream shop has any, and if not, then I can introduce you to chocolate chip cookie dough, Knuckles", said Penelope.

"I'm proud of our little guy", said Tom.

"I really like his new friends, especially the red one. He cracks me up", said Maddie.

"Heck of a swing too", said Tom.

"I'm gonna go bring the truck around, Dad!", Penelope called out as she went to go get the truck. She had already gotten her driver's license when she was eighteen, so Tom trusted her to drive his truck.

Knuckles then picked up Tails, lifting him onto his shoulder. "Come on, fox. Our dessert adventure awaits", he said as he carried Tails over to the truck when Penelope pulled up.

"Good job, guys", said Maddie as Ozzy came running over to her, "You too, baby. Let's go get some ice cream. Come on, come on".

Tom then bent down to chat with Sonic, "I'm happy for you, pal. Got your wingmen. Perfect friends to grow up with", he said.

They both looked to see Tails standing in the back of the pickup, with Penelope moving to sit in the backseat.

"Come on, Knuckles", said Tails.

"My victory chariot!", said Knuckles as he threw himself into the back of the pickup.

Sonic turned to Tom, "I've got a lot more than that…Dad", he said.

Tom smiled proudly, "Race you to the truck. One, two, three, go! No, don't go easy on me. I want your best", he said as he raced Sonic to the truck. Sonic beat him as he slid across the hood over to the back with Tails and Knuckles.

"Sonic, I have just been told they have sprinkles", said Knuckles.

"Ice cream and sprinkles? This is your new destiny", said Sonic.

"What a perfect meal to celebrate my victory over you in base of ball", said Knuckles.

"What?", said Tails.

"I mean, you barely beat me", said Sonic.

Knuckles laughed, "You've never been beaten so hard!", he said.

[Time Skip]

The Wachowski Family were now at the local Ben and Jerry's ice cream shop in town, Tom and Maddie were standing on line waiting to buy the ice cream while their kids waited for them at a table outside.

"Okay, kiddos! Here we go", said Tom as he and Maddie came back with a tray of cups of ice cream.

Maddie picked up each cup and gave them to whoever asked for them, "Okay. We've got vanilla with sprinkles for Sonic, mint for Tails...Knuckles, I'm afraid they didn't have any grape flavored ice cream, so I thought you'd like strawberry with sprinkles", she said.

As Sonic and Tails happily accepted their cups of ice cream and began eating, Knuckles looked at his with confusion.

"Oh, and here's yours, Penelope. Chocolate chip cookie dough", said Maddie as she gave her daughter the ice cream.

"Thanks, Mom!", said Penelope as she picked up a spoon and started eating.

Knuckles leaned over to her curiously, "Sister, is that the dough of chocolate cookie chip you mentioned? Might I try it?", he asked.

Penelope snickered at how he said the name of the ice cream wrong, then she picked up his spoon and scooped up some of her ice cream with it. "Here ya go, give it a try. And then, why not try the strawberry with sprinkles Mom got you?", she said.

Knuckles took the scoop of chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream and took a bite, his eyes widened in amazement. "Oh my...that is marvelous! Amazing!", he said.

Penelope smiled, "I told you it was good", she said.

Then Knuckles started eating his own ice cream, smiling as he enjoyed the taste. He started eating it much faster, but Sonic had warned him not to eat it too fast or else he'll get brain freeze.

"What is "brain freeze"--!"

Knuckles was cut off when he was struck by a sharp pain in his head, "AHH! What...is...this?!", he winced.

"That's brain freeze. It's a headache you get when you eat cold food too fast, like ice cream. The headache is short and goes away fast, but it's pretty painful", explained Tails.

"Next time, Knux, take it easy. Ice cream is good but you can't enjoy it if you're always getting a headache", said Sonic.

Knuckles nodded as he rubbed his aching head, "I shall remember that...", he muttered before he went back to eating his ice cream, much slower this time.

After having ice cream, the family went to the park to enjoy the rest of their day out. Tom and Maddie sat on a bench while their kids were by the duck pond; Penelope pulled out a packet of crackers from her pocket, she opened it and broke the crackers up into bite sized pieces.

"Here you go, boys. Let's all feed the ducks", she said.

She poured some crumbs into Sonic's hands, Tails' hands and Knuckles' hands. They all bent over by the edge of the pond to give the crackers to the ducks, a mama duck and her ducklings swam up to them to eat the crumbs.

Knuckles couldn't reach them, so he decided to just throw the crackers at the ducks. One of the larger crumbs hit one of the ducklings, so the mother angrily waddled onto the bank and bit Knuckles on his tail.

He let out a shout of pain before Tails scared away the mother duck, she squawked loudly before swimming away with her ducklings. Knuckles sat on the bank, rubbing his sore tail.

"Whoa! Knuckles, you okay?", asked Sonic.

"Yes...but why did the duck do that? I gave it food as I was instructed, why did it attack me?", he asked.

Penelope gave him a sympathetic smile as she gently rubbed his tail to help relieve the pain, "Knuckles...its because you accidentally threw the crumbs at her ducklings. Firstly, you're not supposed to throw the food like that.

"And secondly, she was a mother. She was scared and she was just protecting her baby, a Mom will do anything to protect her children, even if it means she might get hurt", she explained.

Hearing that, Knuckles nodded in understanding.

Just then, they heard sniffling. They turned to see Sonic trying his hardest to hold back his tears, his shoulders shaking slightly.

"Longclaw...", he muttered silently.

"Oh..oh, oh. Sonic, come here", said Penelope as she pulled him towards her in an embrace.

Knuckles looked at him sympathetically, "I never had the opportunity to say this, but I apologize for the actions of my tribe. They hurt you, Sonic, and they are not here to make amends to, so I shall do so on their behalf", he said.

Sonic wiped his eyes and smiled, "No...its okay, Knuckles. Nobody was prepared for what happened that day and, even thought I miss Longclaw, if it wasn't for her I wouldn't even be here. You don't have to apologize, and you don't have to try to make amends, just having you be a part of my family is enough", he said.

"Group hug!", Tails said as they all joined together in a group hug.

After that, they decided to play with a soccer ball for a while; when they got bored with that, they played a game of catch with Ozzy, then had lunch and then played Tag. Soon, the sun went down as night time approached. The Wachowski Family got into the truck and drove back home.

"I'd say today was a pretty good day, don't you think?", said Maddie.

Tom looked into the rearview mirror and smiled at what he saw: Penelope sat in the middle of the backseat, Tails was nestled in her lap and Sonic and Knuckles were sitting on either side of her. All four of them were fast asleep and cuddled up together.

"It sure was, and I wouldn't have it any other way", said Tom.

[The End]

(And thus ends this story, but I'm not done yet. I plan to give this story a bonus chapter based on the "Sonic Drone Home" short that came out recently. So, keep an eye out for that).