Chapter 26 – A Bittersweet Reunion

Eggman Empire Fortress

The battle was still raging on outside.

The Resistance army was still fighting the replicas.

They were all still survived, but the Eggman Empire Army had more replicas appearing from nowhere, outnumbering them.

Just when anyone could think that it would be all over, the replicas…begin to disappear.

Then, they were all gone.

Leaving only the Resistance forces standing alone.

All the soldiers started looking around in shock, murmuring in confusion.

"What?"

"What just…happened?"

"Is it over yet?"

Suddenly, everything flashed white.

When everyone's vision came back to normal, something shiny appeared in the sky.

It was the shattered shards of the destroyed Phantom Ruby.

They dropped to the battlefield, scattering everywhere.

"Wait…" said Knuckles. "Is the Phantom Ruby…destroyed?"

"LOOK OUT!" said Amy, pointing to something else falling from the sky.

All the soldiers looked up to see something.

They quickly got out of the way.

It was the remains of the Death Egg Robots AND the destroyed robots Sonic and the rookies fought.

Wires, broken machines, metal walls and batteries hit the ground, scattering everywhere. They created a huge mess on the battlefield like rain heavily pouring down to flood a city. The sharp bits could have stab someone in the head, but they just brushed through the soldiers with some of them that just mildly scratched their arms or faces. The Resistance were lucky from being buried by the falling rubble.

Finally, everything went silent again.

"What is that…?" said Charmy.

From one of the rubble piles, Sonic's body could be seen. His head was buried in the rubble. He struggled to pull himself out from the pile, pushing his hands against the rubble. He finally managed to gasp for air when his head popped out.

"Sonic!" called Emerald, coming to him. "Are you OK?"

"I'm fine!" said Sonic, smiling despite being dazed. "I'm fine!"

"What happened?" said Shadow.

"I don't really know, but judging by the scene…the Phantom Ruby must be destroyed by now. And Eggman and Infinite are gone!"

Hearing this, the Resistance forces begin to celebrate.

"All right!" said Knuckles. "We won! I knew we can do it!"

The entire Resistance cheered for a job well done and ultimate victory over the Eggman Empire. After all these tough months, they are able to put an end to the war; saving the entire planet and billions of people. Eggman is officially gone from the world, so there is no need to worry about him for now. They never felt this happy before in their lives.

Richard and Mic found Minty who ran up to them and the three got into a big hug. They were crying in happiness and relief that they were OK.


Clay's POV

I don't know what to say.

I was really surprised when Belt let out a huge explosion. Everything went white and the last thing I heard was Eggman screaming.

There was also some kind of glass breaking.

I don't know.

The next thing I know was that I was back in this dark world again.

There was nothing.

No light.

No building.

No color.

No cloud.

No sun.

No moon.

Just a dark world.

I looked around. How come I was back in this again? What happened?

Again, I didn't know why everything was completely…dark. Even thought there was no light, I was able to see my body in full light.

However, for some reason, I felt…safe.

This black world…was where I could hide in and be protected and comforted from those who try to hurt you.

"Clay…"

I turned around. "Who said that?"

"Clay…"

"This is weird," I said. "I thought it's all over! I thought I already went through all the trials."

"It is…"

I froze.

It was coming from my necklace.

The wooden cross was glowing purple.

"Who…?" I said nervously. "Who said that?"

"It's me. The one you know from the beginning."

My eyes widened.

My cross necklace.

T-That means…

"O-Oh my…" I said, shivering. "I…Is this really 'God' or…?"

"I am real, Clay. This is the first time I'm talking to you."

I was quiet for a while.

"W-What do you want now? Why do you want to talk with me now?"

"I have seen the pain everyone had to go through the war. I heard their cries…their pleads for help. I know that the time for war has to end, so I sent you to join the Resistance."

"W-What? Me?! You...but…but I made my own decision to join the Resistance!"

"You did, but that was because I gave you faith. Looking back, I saw you suffering the oppression of the war. I was trying to find someone to deliver everyone out of their fear. I would have chosen Beth or Mecha, but they already made their choice, and the other people in your home town had their fear overpower their better judgement. When I turned to you, I saw that you want your brother back and you would do anything to achieve that goal. So I gave you hope. That's what pushed you to join the Resistance."

I started to shake. "B-But why me? I'm not really worthy. I'm just a kid!"

The voice suddenly shouted. "Who made your powers?! Who made you see properly?! Who made you the ability to fight?! Did I not?!"

I looked down, my ears drooping. "I'm not saying that you made the wrong choice…I just think that I'm just a failure."

"You are not a failure, Clay. NOR a demon. You're just an innocent wolf and that is what I need. It's all thanks to you that the war is over. It's all thanks to you that you saved your brother. It's all thanks to you for helping Mecha turn to faith."

My eyes glowed hearing that. "I…I did do that. Pfft…I'm special, am I?"

"Perhaps…but everyone is special in their own way. You – a normal individual – made the first step to face the danger and save millions of lives. That can encourage others to finally come out in the dark. My faith has been passed to many people like you and this will spread across the world."

I felt a smile creeping onto my face. "Y-Yeah…thank you."

A question popped up in my mind. "Wait…but…but if you heard our cries…why didn't you do something to stop the war in the first place? Why did you ignore us for 6 months?"

I felt the smile in the voice faded away. "You see that the world before the war is currently broken, but people still believe in me. When the war started, I did all I can do by giving people hope and encourage them to save those in need. I heard your cries when you were crying before the Resistance's attack on Metropolis. I was grateful that Sonic was there to help you. I might not always be there when you're down, but I can give you hope and comfort to keep on going. Just know that I NEVER forget about anyone."

I nodded. "So…so you were there for all of us."

The peaceful moment was cut off when something slowly appeared in my sight.

Slowly rising from the ground were…tombstones.

They looked like 3D boxes with transparent walls.

"Oh my lord…" I said.

A low humming noise could be heard. There were…things rising from the tombstone.

They were…people.

Ghosts…actually.

Each of them were in unique colors.

Ranging from adults to children to elderly.

They were…staring at me.

"U-uh…h-h-h-hi…?" I said shyly.

They didn't say anything. They were…smiling at me.

"OK," I said. "What's going on?"

"This is the deceased. Those who passed on, but their lives are eternal."

I gasped.

I came to the conclusion that the people I was seeing…were all the people who died during the war.

Every…single…one…of…them.

Including the Resistance soldiers.

Including children.

I felt sick.

I know that a lot of people were killed, but the sight of this seemed to be the population of the world.

I felt tears stinging my eyes.

"I-I'm sorry," I said.

"Don't cry, Clay. It's OK. They will be OK. They are under my protection and they will have an eternal life in the heavens."

I nodded.

I wasn't sure why I was hearing God's voice and seeing those dead people.

Whether this is an illusion or I am going crazy.

I didn't know if it is a dream or not.

"Go along, Clay. I know you want to meet them."

"OK," I whispered.

I slowly walked towards the tombstones. I felt intimidated by the ghosts who continued to stare at me.

It was…scary.

I hid my face away from them.

However, I stopped when I saw…someone familiar.

I looked up at one of the tombstones where there was a floating ghost. This one was female and she was a dog. She looked like she was in her early 30s.

That means…

I covered my mouth. That was the woman I tried to save during the attack at Forest Tournament Town. The mother I tried to save for her little dog pup. That same person I tried to rescue after she was buried under rubble.

That ghost must have noticed that I was getting worried. She frowned a bit, sadly.

"I-I'm sorry," I said, tears forming in my eyes.

The ghost then smiled and nodded.

I turned away, moving on.

Eventually, I came to the point where there were no tombstones or ghosts in sight. However…I stopped at a large clearing where there was a lone tombstone with a teal ghost facing his back.

I swallowed hardly, but my throat was dry.

I just stared at that ghost until it turned around.

All of a sudden, everything glitched and I saw who that ghost was.

It was a teal wolf with yellow eyes and wore a black/yellow jacket, black leather finger-less gloves and black boots.

However, I could see his injuries.

His clothes were slightly dirtied and his chest was burnt.

It appeared that the burnt parts…were his wounds.

There was a tear in his left ear that appeared to be newly cut, but it wasn't bleeding.

"H-H-Hi there…" said the teal wolf timidly.

I blinked. "Well…h-h-hi there…"

I realized that I was shy like that wolf.

The teal wolf chuckled. "I guess both of us have a lot of things in common."

My eyes widened. "Wait…are you…Finn? The…the person Mecha told me about?"

Finn nodded. "Yeah…that was who I was before."

I looked at his wounds. "Oh my gosh…I'm so sorry about what happened to you…"

"It's fine…" reassured Finn, tears forming in his eyes. "I will be OK now. Thank you…for saving everyone."

"Wait. Is the war over? How do I know that the Phantom Ruby is gone? Is Infinite still around? Is Eggman still alive? Does he have anything else up his-?"

Before I was near to a panic attack, Finn quickly interrupted me.

"Slow down. Slow down. Yes...the war is finally over. Your brother is still alive. The Phantom Ruby is gone. You saved a lot of lives. Including my brother…Mecha."

A smile crept on my face. "I…I can't believe it…"

"Then see it…seeing is believing."

I couldn't help but let out a sob.

"Don't cry," said Finn quietly. "Hell is finally over. Smile because heaven is coming back."

"S-Sorry," I said, wiping my tears. "I'm…I'm just emotional. Everything will be alright for the world now on, right?"

Finn nodded. "Yep…and both of us have so much to see soon. It's worth seeing it now."

At this, everything slowly turned dark.

I just stood there smiling, knowing that everyone is finally saved and the ones who lost their lives can be at peace.


Bubbleum's POV

Stupid pile.

Stupid trash.

Stupid rubble.

WHY CAN'T I GET OUT?!

First I didn't know what happened, but when Belt let out a huge burst of energy, everything went white.

I only recalled hearing Eggman screaming in pain and something shattering into pieces.

It sounded like…glass.

Wait…

Did that mean that…the Phantom Ruby…is destroyed?

The next thing I know was being trapped under rubble. I was upside down and I could feel the cold breeze on my legs. The broken robot parts didn't scratch me, so I was alright.

The thing that I was NOT alright was the fact that I was trapped in a pile of trash. My legs were exposed to the outside, so I was moving them around a lot.

"Help…" I said weakly.

At this, I felt something pulling me out from the rubble and into the victorious battlefield. As I got onto my feet, I saw many piles of rubble and the Resistance celebrating with each other…cheering and help others get up on their feet.

I saw the person who helped me.

It was Gen.

"Bubblegum?" said Gen. "You look like you came out of a bar. Are you alright?"

"I'm alright…" I said slightly dizzy. "Did we…?"

I slowly trailed off to see one of the broken pieces of the Phantom Ruby nearby us. It wasn't glowing and it was grey.

"Oh boy," she said. "Not so invulnerable now, huh?"

I looked back at Gen. "So…all…all of this…it's over?"

The black wolf nodded.

I felt a smile crept onto my face.

The Resistance won.

Eggman lost.

The world is saved.

The war is over.

That was when I saw my Pink Wisp. She was cheering happily and flew towards me, hugging me.

I laughed and returned the embrace.

"Pink!" I said in joy. "You're still alive!"

Pink rolled her eye playfully before nuzzling under my chin.

I looked up to see Sonic yelling loudly among the cheering soldiers. He was jumping up and down, punching his fist in the air.

And then, I remembered something.

Rookie.

Belt.

Mecha.

I hopped off the pile of rubble and searched through the crowd and the mess. Eventually, I found a turquoise tail with a white tip sticking out from one pile of rubble…with his Cyan Wisp playfully brushing the tail. It was wagging up and down.

Sighing in relief, I pulled the unharmed Rookie out.

He was….smiling.

He looked like as if he won the tournament.

I raised an eye. "What's the matter?"

"Nothing," said Rookie.

"You're smiling like an idiot."

"I'm happy. There's no law against that, is there?"

I smiled. "I'm happy that you're still OK."

Rookie chuckled a bit.

I saw Emerald running towards us before grabbing us in a tight embrace. I swear that I saw her ears wrapped around us.

Rookie winced in pain.

"You are AWESOME, you two!" cheered Emerald. "I knew you would do something incredible!"

"My spine…" Rookie gasped for air.

I rolled my eyes playfully. "That's enough or you will damage Rookie's lungs."

Rookie's Cyan Wisp let out a happy chirp before nuzzling into the wolf's chest.

"Hey!" he said, laughing. "I…I'm happy to see you too!"

"But…how come you survived?" I asked Cyan. "Rookie said that you were…"

Before I could finish my sentence, Cyan started talking excitingly. As usual, I didn't understand what she was saying, but seeing her THIS hyper made me feel a bit overwhelmed by her 'motor mouth' (if Wisps have mouths, that is).

From behind Emerald, I saw Sonic and Tails running towards us.

"You're alive!" said Tails.

"Glad to see that you're still OK as well," I said. "We are all made from steel I think."

"Wait," said Rookie. "During that explosion, we were still in Null Space. How did we get out alive?"

I shrugged.

So did Sonic.

"Maybe it's the Phantom Ruby," said Tails. "After it was destroyed, I guessed it must have sent you guys back to the real world."

A dreadful thought came into my mind. "What about Eggman? Where is he?"

"I already checked around the battlefield," said Sonic. "Tails even checked the fortress. We can't find his body."

My face turned pale.

I exchanged worried looks with Rookie.

"That means…" he said.

"Don't worry," said Sonic. "He must be stuck in Null Space. Besides, if he ever comes back, we will still stop him. Just face it; he is no match for all of us."

I smiled.

At this, I saw Sebastian and a Yellow Wisp from the corner of my eyes. They were helping somebody to come out from one of the rubble pile.

"Hold on, Captain!" said Sebastian, pulling the person out.

"Ow…ow…ow…" said the person. "Can't I just have a softer landing for once?"

It was Mecha.

Despite being bruised, he looked OK. His body wasn't gold anymore.

"Geez…" the bird grumbled. "I wish I can stay golden forever."

"You still look dope the way you are," said Sebastian.

"Mecha!" called Rookie.

He looked up to see us coming towards him.

"Guys…" he said. "I'm…"

Rookie rushed up to him and hugged him.

Mecha slightly gasped in surprise.

I was pretty surprised by this as well.

I saw tears of joy coming down Rookie's face, relieved that our friend is still alright.

When he let go, Mecha also had small tears as well.

"I'll admit that this isn't too uncomfortable," he chuckled.

"How are you?" said Sonic.

"I'm fine…just a few minor injuries here or there. But I'll live."

"But…Rookie and Sonic told me that you died," I pointed out. "Infinite stabbed you. He…he even killed Rookie's Wisp."

Mecha's eyes widened in shock. He glanced at the Cyan Wisp before rubbing his eyes, looking a little embarrassed.

"Oh…" he said slowly. "Right…"

"How did you two even survive?" said Sonic.

"Honestly, I don't know. All I know was that I was stabbed in the chest and I blacked out. The next thing I know is that…I was in Null Space. Rookie, your Wisp even was with me for some reason. She was fine as well. I…eh…bumped into another deceased member of the Jackal Squad."

"Another member?" said Sonic.

"She told me that…since the Phantom Ruby was heavily damaged, its powers weren't working properly…so when Infinite stabbed me, it didn't kill me, but it sent me to Null Space. It didn't even kill Cyan as well. So…that was how we survived."

BLAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGGGHH!

A loud grumble shook the whole place.

It was coming from Mecha's stomach.

He lifted up his shirt to check if there wasn't any wounds. Luckily, his body was perfectly fine.

"Natheless…the Phantom Ruby still has its effects on my guts," said Mecha. "Best case scenario; I would get diarrhea for three days. Worst case scenario; I would get stomach cancer. I prefer the latter though."

BLAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGGGHH!

He suddenly covered his beak and a burp went through his fingers.

Sonic and Tails chuckled.

I rolled my eyes. "Really. You would be an idiot if you get stomach cancer."

"It's better than needing to go to the toilet every 3 hours," said Mecha. "Besides…I…I rather be dead than being here…"

Sonic raised an eye.

Tails was in shock. "Huh? B-But why?"

Mecha sighed and held his right arm sadly. "It's…it's a personal thing…it's just that…I just can't handle going through what I went through before. Even before AND during the war. I just feel like I'm a mistake so…I see no right for me to keep living...so…I'm not afraid if I get killed. Also…I might as well see Finn again as well as apologising to Zero. I would be much happier if I can make amends with that them. Maybe…maybe the world doesn't need mistakes like me…"

He trailed off, having tears in his eyes. However, he quickly wiped them off. "Who am I kidding? I shouldn't be thinking about how bad my life was or having suicidal thoughts. I…I just…I can't handle this…but why would you care. I'm still a bully…"

That was when his Yellow Wisp nuzzled onto his face in pity. Mecha gently pushed him aside.

"I-I'm sorry," he said. "I…I just…"

I couldn't help but feel sorry for him. I wasn't thinking straight because I leaned in and pulled Mecha in an embrace.

"You are not a bully anymore," I said. "Not the Mecha I knew before."

Mecha looked at me in surprise, speechless. This changed when he smiled and let the tears roll down his cheeks. I felt his arms wrapping around my body, squeezing a little.

"I'm sorry of what happened to Zero," I said sincerity as I let go. "I saw what happened to him."

Mecha frowned and nodded sadly. "Still…I-I'm afraid that I can't change…can I?"

"What happens before – all those sins you did – doesn't matter anymore," I said. "The only thing that matters…is that you deserve to be happy."

There was a glimmer in his hazel brown eyes.

Mecha wiped away his tears. He was about to say something when Sebastian pointed to something.

"Hey guys," he said. "I think there's something Rookie needs to see."

I looked to my right to see Minty trying to pull someone out from another rubble pile.

It was an arm.

With red-orange fur.

Wearing an ice blue glove with a mint green ring.

My heart dropped as I recognized the arm.

Rookie had a look on his face.

He was…stunned.

He slowly walked away from us and made his way to Minty.

To where…his brother is.


Clay's POV

"This…is…unacceptable!" grunted Minty as she kept pulling the arm yet she failed.

"How about you do it a bit more gently?" said Belt's muffled voice from inside the rubble.

"That's too soft. How the heck am I going to take you out if I do it too softly or slowly?!"

"Well, it would take some time to do so…" said Belt, sarcasm dripping in his voice. "Maybe grab a unicorn and tell it to use its powers to free me…urgh…"

I gulped.

I hadn't heard his voice for a long time.

I hadn't seen him for ages and this was my chance to see his face again.

I felt my body tensing up.

I walked up to Minty.

"Let me try," I whispered to her.

"O…K…" said Minty.

"Huh?" said Belt's voice. "Who's this?"

Using my power of levitation, I concentrated and started to lift the debris one by one. I lifted them high and placed them away. When I got rid of the rubble, I found my brother lying on the ground, coughing some smoke out.

My eyes widened.

I couldn't believe that I was seeing my brother again.

In fact, I almost nearly forgot how he look like.

He look the same as he was when he was taken away from me.

Without the glasses obviously.

I was speechless.

I felt nervous.

I slowly walked up to him.

He had his eyes closed, so I grabbed his hand.

"Huh?" he said. "Who is this?"

I pulled him up onto his feet, taking a deep breath. I wanted to say something, but my voice was nearly lost.

I could only blurt out one thing.

"B-Belt…" I stuttered.

Belt gasped.

He slowly opened his eyes.

Even though he was blind without his glasses, I could tell that he could see me.

"C-Clay?" he said.

"It's me," I said quietly.

I didn't know what came over me, but I felt tears rolling down my face. I immediately hugged my brother and started to cry. Belt did the same too, wrapping his arms around me. We were both crying together in relief and happiness. I felt as if God had took off the heavy weight I was carrying the whole time and let me climb up that mountain to the goal. I couldn't help but smile in joy. It was one of the best moments of my life.

It was so…good to see him again. That was what I wanted during the whole war. To be with my brother again.

And I won.

"B-Belt…" I bawled. "I…I'm so sorry that I left you…I should have rescued you when I had the chance, but I ran away! I felt so lonely for the past few months. I don't know what Eggman did to you for the entire war…but I'm so sorry!"

"I…I'm sorry," wept Belt, rubbing my hair. "I'm sorry for not being honest to you…I'm sorry for not being there when you need me. I don't know how you took it when you were on your own. Please forgive me…Clay!"

"I…I forgive you. I love you so much."

"Me…me too."

We finally released each other. Belt ruffled my hair again.

"Glad that you are happy, Rookie," said Sonic.

I looked behind to see my friends coming up. Belt looked surprised to see them.

"Are you OK?" Bubblegum said.

"I'm more than OK," I said, rubbing my tears.

Bubblegum looked at Belt. "Belt…I…"

Belt rushed over to the pink cat. "B-Bubblegum? Please tell me…was my brother alright for the past 6 months?"

A look of remorse appeared on her face. "He…he really miss you. He isolated himself for 6 months and had constant nightmares. He was struggling with his powers until now. I…I was mean to him when we joined the Resistance because I was frustrated at him. Eventually, I was able to help him. I'm sorry for treating your brother horribly before."

Belt smiled and hugged Bubblegum. "Thank you…for looking after Clay."

Bubblegum smiled, closing her eyes for a while. After a few seconds, Belt released her from his hug.

"'Clay'…huh," said Sonic. "Is that what Rookie is called?"

Belt was astonished seeing the blue hedgehog. "S-Sonic? That's you? What are you…oh…right…I guessed that message I sent went through."

The red wolf turned red-pink, feeling awkward. Sonic shook his hand and then looked at me.

"So that's your name?" said Sonic. "Clay?"

I nodded. "Yes. That's my real name."

"Why didn't you tell us that before?" said Sebastian.

I chuckled nervously and scratched my head. "Like I said before…I'm…uh…I'm not good in socializing."

"Heh," said Mecha smirking. "Now you said about it, I would have thought that you were embarrassed by your name because it is 'clayey'."

Hearing this, Belt looked at Mecha.

Everything suddenly went quiet.

Sebastian quickly tip-toed out from the red wolf's sight. Because my Cyan Wisp, Bubblegum's Pink Wisp and Mecha's Wisp were behind Mecha, they quickly flew away.

I gulped.

Remember Mecha admitting that he tripped Belt over two times?

Something told me that the Light Wolf wouldn't take seeing Mecha again lightly.

"Oh…" said Mecha sheepishly. "Belt! Hey, I mean…how ya been?"

Belt gave him an unamused look as if to say 'I'd been tortured for 6 months and you were a jerk to me before. How do you THINK I had been?!'

"You didn't bully my brother, did you?" said Belt, crossing his arms.

Mecha sighed and looked down. "I'm sorry…"

"Don't worry about him," said Sonic grinning. "We are on all good terms. Even though we had our differences, we were able to work together to make the world a better place!"

Belt gave him a look. "Really?"

Sonic ignored Belt's glare. "Anyway, it's time we cleaned up the mess Eggman left this world in and I'm not talking about those illusions he dreamed up for us! We need to fix the real world we all live in."

"I just hope that the survivors are OK," said Bubblegum.

"Do you think we will be able to build everything back together?" asked Minty with a look of concern. "Eggman has changed the world so drastically. It's all in ruins and everything's nearly wasted. Almost everyone is broke by now. There's not much left to put things back together, unless there is some MAGICAL WAY to rebuild everything."

When she said 'magical way', an idea popped up in my head.

My eyes widened for one second.

I realized that there was one thing to fix the world in an instant

I took out my Phantom Ruby prototype.

Excluding Tails, Bubblegum and Mecha, everyone gasped upon seeing it including some of the Resistance soldiers who noticed us. I noticed that some of them looked like they were about to go into a panic attack, but I raised my hand up in a gesture to settle down.

"What?" said Sonic.

"Is that a…?" said Minty.

"Oh," said Tail, scratching his head. "We didn't tell you about it, huh?"

"That's a bit of a problem…" said Belt.

"What if…" I said. "What if I used this to fix the world?"

"What?!" said Bubblegum and Emerald in unison.

"Tails," I said, looking at the fox. "You said that not only the ruby has the power to make illusions, but make things REAL, right?"

"Yeah," he said. "It can create anything into reality."

"Maybe I can use this ruby to rebuild the entire world and put it back to how it was supposed to be before the war. With that, everyone can live their normal lives easily and no one has to worry about any more threats. Maybe…maybe I can do it at once! Why take about like 2 months when I can use the Phantom Ruby to fix everything in a second?"

"That's a good idea, but…doing it in an instant…there is a side effect."

"…what? A side effect?"

"This is a PROTOTYPE we are talking about! It's not the actual ruby or the final one. I don't know what version that one is, but I don't think you will be able to fix the world in flash with this easily. I don't think you will know how to put things back in order for the entire world. If you can, something might happen to you! It's not stabilized!"

I looked at Tails in shock.

Then at my brother. He looked worried.

I then glanced back at the prototype.

Tails might be right. The prototype might not work or something might happen to me if I was able to fix everything. But the world was in ruins. Cities had been destroyed. A lot of people were hurt. Who knows what other threats are out there that might kill people at that moment?

I took a deep breath.

This wasn't about me.

At least I get to know that the world would finally be restored.

"I'm sorry," I said, lifting the prototype into the air for everyone to see. "…but the Resistance has one last job to do. And it needs to be done TONIGHT."

"WAIT!" screamed Belt. "DON'T DO IT!"

Too late.

I concentrated and a white flash came out of the prototype.

Everything went white

My ears were ringing.

When my vision and hearing came back to normal, I heard a low humming glitching noise.

I looked at my body.

I was almost in a transparent state, glitching on some sides.

I felt a bit powerful.

Somewhat in a ghost form.

I looked down to see the entire Earth.

"Whoa…" I said.

I realized that I must have transferred my conscious into the ruby and came out as a ghost.

But I didn't have time to think about it.

With a thought in my mind, my body moved towards the first country in my mind. This country I saw was partly brown and destroyed areas could be seen. I raised my hands and with a little bit of concentration, red energy started forming on my palms.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.

Concentrating on the power again, I felt a burst of energy coming out from my hands. It flew and struck the country.

A white flash took over.

I growled, feeling pain in my head.

When everything cleared, I saw that the country was…green.

Back to life.

I flew towards one of the areas of the country to see a city.

It was San Francisco.

To my surprise, the entire city was fixed.

Perfect.

Flawless.

Colorful.

There were even signs of vegetation life.

I saw that the electricity, water and gas powers were restored.

It was as if there was no war there!

I smiled.

I was only getting started.

I continued to fly over to other countries using the prototype to fix the world.

From towns to villages to cities to wildlife.

Almost every area on Earth.

I have no idea how long I was doing this for or remembered how I even got into this state. My mind was focused on rebuilding the world, so that everyone could finally be happy. My body floated over many countries as I fixed them back to the way they were before the war. It felt like minutes, hours or days, but I wasn't sure how long I was putting the puzzles back together for. I felt neither hungry nor thirsty. I didn't feel tired, but I had to stop at some points because…my head hurt.

It would occur at random times like it just abruptly happened. I felt like my head banged into a wall. I had to stop and held onto my head. I noticed that my body was glitching at some points, but I didn't bother.

I continued to move on until I reached the last country. Just one blast and the war would finally end.

I was interrupted when a sharp pain hit my head. My hands immediately covered my head as I clenched my teeth and started to growl. Despite wanting to stop the pain, I tried to concentrate. I felt my entire body twitching and convulsing violently, but it wasn't like my bones and flesh were ripped apart. More like my body was on fire. I struggled to breathe properly as my lungs kept flaring up

"W-What is happening?!" I gasped.


Third Person's POV

All of a sudden, Clay froze.

Everyone saw that he was slightly floating in the air.

His whole body was surrounded by a red aura with the prototype reaction in his hand.

His eyes turned…bright white.

"Uh…" said Sonic. "Clay? Earth to Clay!"

Clay's Cyan Wisp waved her tentacle in front of the wolf's face.

Tails placed a finger on Clay's leg and got a short shock.

ZAP!

"Ouch!"

"What's going on with him?" said Knuckles.

"Must be the rebuilding the world I guess," said Minty.

"Uh…guys," said Ash. "You might want to check this out."

He was pointing to the ground. It was…changing color.

"What?" said Sonic.

To the entire Resistance's surprise, they saw the whole battlefield ground turning from grey to brown. The brown color spread throughout the entire landscape, including the mountains. Gradually, the once grey wasteland turned to a healthy earth valley. The fortress remained the same although it was about to shut down soon.

Everyone marveled, seeing the transformation of the land.

"But how?!" said Belt.

"He did it," said Bubblegum smiling. "Clay managed to restore everything back to order."

All of a sudden, a huge shockwave came out from the prototype, blowing everyone to the ground.

"The hell was that?" said Sonic.

When they all got out, they saw Rookie…in a bad state: his body glitching dangerously and his eyes were closed. He was holding onto his head with his free hand in pain.

"What is going on?" said Amy.

"Something's happening to the prototype!" said Espio.

True to his word, the prototype was glitching dangerously as well. Cracks started to appear on the sides of it and the glowing colors were starting to dim.

The whole world started to shake.

The prototype let out an ear-piercing humming noise.

Everyone started to realize that things were going to be HORRIBLE.

"What the heck is going on?!" said Richard.

"Clay is just taking a boo-boo, right?" said Emerald.

"Wrong, you idiot!" said Bubblegum. "It's something else!"

Mecha stepped towards Clay. "Clay. I think that's enough! Something's wrong!"

"He's using too much power!" said Tails. "The prototype is going to break. It's going over its limit. If Clay doesn't let go, the prototype will break or it may disappear. He's not going to make it!"

"WHAT?!" said Belt.

Nearly the whole Resistance started to panic, yelling at Clay to stop. He would be the last person to die from the war.

"Clay!" shouted Minty. "Stop it right now! You're going to get yourself killed!"

Some of the soldiers tried to pry the prototype off Clay's hand using their weapons. However, their bullets and lasers just went through the prototype AND Clay's body.

"It's no use!" said Shadow after an attempt to use his Chaos Spear on the prototype.

"He's going to break!" said Bubblegum.

The prototype cracked more with light coming out. It was about to explode.

"Clay!" cried Belt, grabbing the prototype. "Stop this right now!"

The turquoise wolf snapped his eyes opened.

Belt suddenly felt powerful.

The two wolves were surrounded by the same red aura.

Clay didn't glitch too much or seem to be in pain.

"What the-?" said Belt.

"What's going on?" said Sonic.

"They…they are sharing the power!" said Tails. "They are both brothers, so their DNA are linked to each other AND the prototype! It's enough to keep Clay stable."

Clay and Belt looked at each other, both their golden eyes met. They both realized what they had to do. They both nodded and Clay closed his eyes to get back into his ghost state.

He gasped as he teleported out from his normal body and into the same ghost body.

Floating in front of the last ruined country of the world.

Forming white energy in his hands, Clay blasted one last white beam at the country.

Everything went white again.

It was all silent.

When Clay opened his eyes, he saw that the country was back to its beautiful green color. He flew down to get a view of one of the villages. To his relief, all the houses and fields were fixed and forming back together. The residents who lived there slowly got out from their hiding places and looked around in confusion at the sight of their home turned back to its original state.

Clay smiled. "The war is finally over-!"

He was suddenly cut off when he felt pain shooting through his head. A loud white flash took over him.

The prototype ceased to exist.


Bubblegum's POV

KABOOM!

I was thrown back as the prototype blew up along with those who were close to those two wolves.

The prototype exploded in bright white lights, sending both Clay and Belt flying onto to the ground sideways.

Belt landed onto the ground with a heavy thud, rolling over. Despite being dazed, pained and dizzy, he was was fine.

Little shards of the Phantom Ruby prototype went flying everywhere, spilling onto the ground. They all glowed red until they turned grey.

"Argh…" I groaned, holding onto my head.

As I got up, I saw my Pink Wisp picking up one of the prototype's shattered pieces. It was…lifeless.

Clay's prototype is ultimately gone.

"Belt!" said Sonic, helping Belt get up. "Are you OK?"

"I'm feeling kind of loopy," said Belt, rubbing his head. "At least I don't feel…"

He trailed off when he saw Clay lying on the ground.

Eyes closed.

Motionless.

Not breathing.

There were red pixels flying over his head.

My heard sank.

No.

No…no…no…

…this…this can't be happening!

"CLAY?!" shouted Belt.

"Oh no…" I said.

Everyone was in uproar.

As all the soldiers started shouting, Mecha and I ran up to Clay's body. Mecha slid onto his knees and placed his invisible ear to the chest.

I saw Cyan flying towards the turquoise wolf and looked at me in worry.

A dreadful look appeared in Mecha's hazel brown eyes.

"Oh no!" he screamed, placing his hands onto the chest. "The prototype gave him a heart attack! It must have clot the arteries or damaged a part of the heart."

He started to perform CPR by doing chest compressions. He did this many times, but there was hardly a pulse from Clay.

I was trembling. I wanted to help, but Mecha told me to stay on the side.

I don't want this.

I don't want another friend of mine die.

"No, no, no!" cried Mecha, tears forming in his eyes again. "I'm not going to lose another friend! Not now!"

I looked around the worried and concerned soldiers. "Does anyone have any defibrillators?"

"Maybe I can use this…" said Mic grinning, holding his Lightning Wispon.

"Don't even think of that!" said Richard, slapping him on the side. "That is a weapon, not a medical equipment!"

Shark made his way through the crowd and slowly walked towards us.

"Let me do it!" said Shark.

"Are you sure?" I said.

"I can control the amount of volts from my powers!" said Shark. "Trust me."

Mecha hesitated, but nodded. "OK then."

Shark bent down to Clay and Mecha stood back.

I squeezed my right arm with my left hand tightly.

"CLEAR!" yelled Mecha.

At this, Shark pressed his hands onto Clay's body.

ZAP!

The turquoise wolf's body jumped upwards. Mecha put his hand on the chest. This time, the pulse was getting weaker.

"We're losing him!" said Mecha. "Clear!"

Once again, Shark used his electricity, causing Clay to jump upwards again.

I bit my lip.

This isn't a pretty sight.

Clay…he is…close to dying…and I'm not ready to go home without him.

I looked around. The soldiers were watching and chatting to each other in worry.

Shark did 10 more attempts to wake Clay up.

That still didn't work, but there was still enough life for Clay to hang onto.

I looked to my side to see Cyan, Pink and Yellow babbling constantly in panic.

I spotted Belt watching hopelessly.

I gave him a sad look, upset by the fact that he was watching this.

If Clay didn't make a move, he would be dead.

Belt's brother.

HIS brother.

HIS dear younger brother.

I lost my entire family and Belt must have lost his as well.

But at this moment, it seemed that he was going to lose the only family he had left.

Belt gritted his teeth in frustration.

He looked down to see his rings and sighed.

Before I could ask him, he walked through the worried crowd and made his way to Clay.

"Guys…" he said, catching Shark's and Mecha's attention.

"What?!" snapped Mecha.

Belt was taken aback for a moment, but noted that Mecha was frustrated.

"Let me try," the red wolf said quietly.

Shark obediently moved away. Mecha just sat there, looking down grimly.

Belt and I exchanged glances.

"You're sure?" I asked.

The red wolf nodded.

Belt went up to Clay and placed his hand over his chest.

A bright light started to form at his palm.

"Whoa…" said Sonic. "What the…?"

Mecha realized where this was going. "The…Light Wolf…"

Belt was using his light powers.

To my surprise, I saw light streaks slowly coming out from his palm and they entered into Clay's body. More bright lights were made from the rings and they kept absorbing into the turquoise wolf's body. It was as if an angel was resurrecting a sinful person.

After 30 seconds, Clay's body stood still.

I came close, putting my hand onto his chest.

I could feel a constant heartbeat.

He was…warm.

My heart skipped a beat.

I looked at Belt. "His…his heart is still beating."

But Belt looked like he was going to cry.

Clay STILL wasn't breathing.

"C-Clay?" whispered Belt. "Please…wake up…don't leave me…"

After a long tense silence, Clay's body started to move up and down calmly.

And then this from his mouth.

"Benji…I can't go to school…the monkeys ate it…"

Belt sighed in both relief and annoyance, and closed his eyes. "That's what you would tell me when I tried to wake you up every morning."

I sighed in relief.

Mecha nearly choked.

The three Wisps next to me cheered in happiness.

Sonic smiled.

"He's OK!" said Sonic. "He will be alright!"

The Resistance cheered hearing this.

We all know that even though Clay was tired, at least he is still breathing.

He can still live a normal life.

Knuckles smiled and turned to the Resistance.

"Alright!" he called. "Let's head back! There are still some things we have to do! We won the war."

Alexia and Shark picked up the sleeping Clay, and carried him to join the departing forces. I just watched, feeling happiness and relief. I thought that I was going to lose a close one, but that day, it was the opposite.

Emerald came up to me. "Well…you got what you wanted."

"W-What do you mean?" I asked.

"You DID make the world a better place."

I was surprised by this comment. This made me smile. "I…I guess so."

I had the thought of my father looking down on me proudly.

"You fulfilled your promise for now," said Emerald. "Is this good enough?"

"No," I said, pausing for a while. "It's better."

Emerald grinned and hugged me.

I hugged her back.

I saw Belt coming to us.

"Let's head back," he said. "We still got a lot of things to do before we head home. There's…still a few things I want to tell to my brother."

I nodded.

Belt smiled and took a step, but nearly tripped over a wire. Emerald and I quickly grabbed him before he could even fall down.

"We will guide you," I said, knowing that Belt was blind. "OK, old man?"

Belt rolled his eyes. "Alright. Help me. Stupid blindness…"

I held onto the red wolf's left arm while Emerald held onto the right arm. We slightly pulled him upwards and then walked on to follow our fellow soldiers.

The Resistance won.

The Eggman Empire lost.

The war ended.

The world can rest in peace.

I suddenly halted and looked behind. Excluding the few soldiers who were helping others get up, I saw Mecha staring at the fortress.

I turned to Emerald. "You help Belt. I'll be right back."

Emerald showed no sign of disturbance and continued to walk with Belt.

I turned around and walked towards Mecha.

"Are you OK?" I asked.

There was a glistening shine in his hazel brown eyes. He appeared…uneasy.

"…I'm sorry about Zero…Infinite…you know what I mean."

Mecha nodded gravely. "OK…I'm…I'm still processing it though."

"He must have meant a lot to you, but at least he can rest in peace."

The turquoise bird turned to me, his goggles shining. "So…we are cool now?"

"Why asking? I thought we already are."

"Just to make sure. I'm a bit unsure…especially after…all of this."

I smiled. "Yeah. We're cool."

"Cool beans," said Mecha.

We turned around and made our way to follow our forces. I stopped for a while to take a look at the fortress.

I just wished I know more about Infinite.

A squeak caught my attention.

I looked in front to see my Pink Wisp along with Cyan and Yellow. They were glowing brightly in victory.

"Things are going to be better, right?" I said to them.

They all nodded.

I continued walking.

No turning back.

Goodbye, Eggman Empire.

We won.


AN: I know what you are thinking: 'Clay using the Phantom Ruby prototype to fix the entire world? That's a risky move!' I know, right? It's probably my biggest 'what-if' ever. At the end of the Sonic Forces game, I didn't really appreciate that even though the war end, it would take a lot of time to fix all the cities and towns. I read a few Sonic Forces stories where they show the aftermath and I feel a little worried about how several people will try to survive after the world. In the end, I decided to cut the leash by having Clay fixing the entire world so that no one will have to work too much after the war. That explains why I made the Phantom Ruby in my universe to actually create objects other than illusions.

I know it's a huge arse pull, but I didn't like the fact that the whole world is still ruined in the end. I don't want to leave it with a seemingly depressing ending for everyone in the world.

As for anyone wondering why I added in 'God's' voice in this chapter...it's because I can. But for now, this voice remains anonymous.

If you enjoy this chapter, be sure to follow or favorite this story, so you can get updates about this story. Make sure to review this chapter on what you think about this chapter. I'm OK of hearing improvements from you (please no flames).

The next two chapters will be the finale, so keep an eye out for them!

Until next time, keep on rocking!