Songs Included
- Out of Hiding - Bethal Music and Steffany Gretzinger [1]
Chapter 28 – Welcome Back Home
Mecha's POV
I have no idea how long the flight to Central City took. I was sitting in my seat, ignoring the chatter of the soldiers. I couldn't stop thinking about what Sonic said to me.
"Well, if you didn't do anything to stop Infinite from joining Eggman. If you weren't such a BIG FAT JERKY BULLY to everyone in the first place, none of this mess would happened!"
I placed both my hands over my beak. Maybe…maybe Sonic was right. Maybe my actions were the reasons why Zero betrayed me. All I did was run away, wanting to forget everything I had gone through, but the past would catch up to me soon. I didn't care to go back to stop Eggman from making Zero the monster everyone knows. Besides, I still feel that I was responsible for the death of Bubblegum's father. I didn't mean to. I thought again about my nasty actions and words to others.
"I don't think so. You're just a police rookie and rookies are WEAK. You wouldn't improve. Unlike me, you don't know all the moves. Besides, you don't look that strong with that stupid face of yours."
"Well the joke's on you. That's what you get for nearly getting us killed."
"As if anyone cares!"
I remembered what others said about me.
"At…at least I'm not like you! I got to say; I wouldn't be surprised if you still don't have any friends!"
"I really dislike Mecha…if I could…I would ask him why he was doing all those horrible things…but I guess I will never find out because he always so self-centered and self-absorbed in himself!"
"'POOR KID'?! Have you forgotten what he did YESTERDAY?! Didn't you see what he did to his teammates?!"
I sighed and held my head.
"I'm a mistake," I thought.
And then, I remembered.
The things I should have been listening to.
"What your mother said to you was wrong. You are not a mistake. Maybe you are because you are a bully. I want you to be good, but…it's up to you. Please don't…be the bully anymore. You would end up like your mother forever…except worse. You are better than you think you are."
I silently agree to Bubblegum's words. I am NOT a bully and even though I bullied others, I'm not evil like Eggman.
I was just broken and wanted to be free from pain.
I snapped out of my thoughts when the shuttle stopped, shaking the whole room. Through the window, I saw that the shuttle had already landed in the now-fixed G.U.N. HQ.
Shadow turned to me. "Are you alright, kid?"
I sighed. "I'm fine now."
The black hedgehog stared at me for a while. "If there is anything, then-"
"It's OK. I'm not upset with you anymore. It's just that I realize something."
Shadow nodded and walked away. I wished that I get to know him a bit better, but it was already too late. Besides, I needed to move on.
Once the shuttle opened, I immediately grabbed my bag and went out. I looked around to see the large boarding room of the G.U.N. HQ.
It looks fancier than the Resistance HQ.
As I made my way out, I noticed that this place looked like the Resistance base, except that it was bigger. All the walls were made from shiny metal, ranging from dull colors of silver, grey, white and sky blue. It totally look futuristic and a place that should be a spy headquarters instead of an army base.
There were many workers there as well.
I saw some human soldiers passing by. They were all wearing black and blue uniform holding large guns. When some of them looked at me, I winced, feeling weak against them due to how short I am.
Finally, I found a way to get out. The G.U.N. HQ was hidden far away in the mountains. When I got to the exit, a few soldiers offered to give me a ride to the city, but I turned down the offer. Even though I mostly use technology, I prefer to travel by foot.
It was a long journey.
I walked along the long road away from the mountains and into the desert-like place.
The sky was clear and the sun was shining.
Because it was summer in that country, it was extremely hot and humid. I had to wipe my forehead a couple of times.
However, that didn't stop me from slowing down.
…however, there was one thing that stopped me.
It was at this moment when my Yellow Wisp FINALLY decided to wake up.
He flew out of my Wispon and let out a cute yawn, stretching his tentacles around.
"Morning, Yellow," I greeted him. "It's probably not morning now."
My Yellow Wisp looked around…and found out that we were standing in the middle of a long and humid desert.
He was staring at the rocky ground that was…eh…brown and chunky.
Oh dear.
I'm not sure if any of you would know this, but do you know that Yellow Wisps are VERY fond of nature, earth and water?
Yeah…especially MY Wisp.
He started to shake and his eye widened in excitement. A yellow glow surrounded him, nearly turning him into energy. Before I knew it, he went flying around before doving into the ground.
DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDRRRRRTTTT!
I watched as my Wisp drilled through the ground and popped up from the other side. He lied on the floor and rubbed the muddy soil that covered his skin with his tentacles as if he was washing himself with soap. He started chanting as if he was drunk and his eye was shrinking and expanding.
Despite being creeped out, I picked him up.
"H-Hey there, buddy," I said. "You got a bit too much."
Yellow blushed in embarrassment and shook the dirt off.
"Sorry for bringing you out. I should have told you that we left the Resistance HQ. Do you want to go back there?"
He shook his head and let out a squeak.
"Oh. I forgot. You want to stay with me, right?"
He nodded.
"OK then. Just to note that I just want to see an old friend of mine. To see if he's OK. For now, I'll let you play around as long as you stick with me."
Yellow let out a cheer and fluttered around my head before playing in the dirt again. I laughed as I reminded myself to clean him later.
I continued my journey with my Wisp following behind me – while drilling through the ground.
Eventually, I made it to Central City.
It started when I saw that the land changing to green, sights of vegetation. The rocky surface slowly turned to grassy green-lands as I walked along. After a while, trees appeared in my sight. As I continued to walk along the road, I started to see signs that were hanging up for any drivers to see. That was when the tall buildings of Central City appeared in my sight.
I remembered coming to that city before on one of my trips. I quite enjoyed it. I loved what they have there: the streets, the gardens and the scenery. It was like the best American place to be in. Because I hadn't gone overseas for a while, I felt like an outcast.
Especially when walking through the city.
The first thing I did was to grab my Yellow Wisp and walked over to a water fountain. I was surprised that it was intact due to Clay using the prototype power the day before. I thought that some of the buildings would be destroyed.
That turquoise wolf must be very picky of how he wanted things to look like.
As soon as I made my way to the fountain, my Wisp immediately splashed into the water. I helped him clean himself and get rid of the dirt. Once the dirt was washed away from his yellow body, the two of us made our way through the city.
The place was crowded with people. Half of them seemed to be paranoid or depressed, but some of them were…happy. It was kind of weird that there were some people who looked relaxed and casual after a worldwide war.
For some reason, I felt as if...I was at peace. No longer upset. No longer troubled. I felt lighter than before and all my nerves were calmer. I still felt guilty of ending Infinite and that Finn passed away, but since the war was over...it felt as if everything could come back to normal. Well...not everything was normal, but it was enough for me.
I looked out for a specific jackal wearing a green bandanna…I know that sounds stupid – since most people change their clothes everyday – but it was worth a shot finding him. I asked a few people if they saw him.
Some of them told me that Obsidian was at the G.U.N. HQ.
Some said he must be at his own house.
Some just took the question as if it was an offensive question and pushed me aside.
"Dang," I thought after a few nasty glares. "Infinite must have ruined the reputation of jackals, huh? No wonder why this 'September' guy had to break the funk out of Obsidian."
I eventually arrived at a suburban part of the city. Outside of the city was a long street with houses on the sides of the road. They all look surprisingly neat and tidy. Even though there were some rubble and debris dust on them, they looked completely unharmed and were still standing.
When I turned around the corner, I saw a black figure dashing towards me…on a skateboard.
"WATCH OUT!" said the figure.
Too late.
CRASH!
I squawked in pain as the figure smashed into me, sending us tumbling onto the road.
The skateboard went flying in the air before crashing down onto my head.
BUMP!
Why does it have to be me…?
"Ow…" I said.
My Yellow Wisp laughed at this.
"Shut up," I grumbled.
The black figure grabbed my hand before pulling me to my feet.
"Oh my goodness," said the figure. "I'm sorry. Are you OK?"
I couldn't see the figure properly. When I was hit, my vision became blurry. "Yeah…yeah…been through worse…"
"Wait…"
That was when I recognized the voice.
My vision slowly came back.
The figure was a black jackal with a white Mohawk and a green bandanna.
My beak slowly opened.
"Oh…my…" I said.
It was Obsidian.
His white hair was tipped in green and he was wearing a military green jacket.
"Mecha?" said Obsidian. "What are you doing here?"
My mouth trembled.
I couldn't believe it.
Without second thoughts, I wrapped my arms around Obsidian, nearly sobbing again.
"Ah…" said Obsidian. "It's…it's OK."
"I'm…" I croaked, feeling tears in my eyes. "I'm so sorry…for everything…"
"It's OK," said Obsidian smiling. "We are all safe. That's what matters."
"Not all of us…"
I let go and Obsidian playfully ruffled my hair.
"I…I got a lot to tell you," I said.
Obsidian grinned. "You look like you've been out in the sun for too long. Come along. Tell me all about it."
Bubblegum's POV, Forest Tournament Town, 1/08
It took a day to get us back to Australia. When we touched down, Minty and Tails decided to come along since they needed to talk to Mayor Wills about a few…eh…I wasn't really sure about it, but I think that the Resistance is going to keep in touch with Forest Tournament Town.
We arrived at the town where Emerald and Sebastian reunited with their parents. I was a bit choked up seeing that. Everyone cheered and applauded for our heroics. As usual, Clay hid behind Belt and me while walking through the crowd. He was very shy and tried to scurry away from people. Eventually, there was this kid – who Clay tried to save his mother – who gave him a hug, much to the wolf's surprise.
I barely respond to everyone's cheers. I was just happy that the war was over and I saved the world. I don't need any praises for this. The only thing that makes me prideful is the knowledge that everyone can be safe and I made new friends.
During afternoon, I was walking through the government building, trying to find any police papers I needed to fill in. While doing this, I decided to chew on my pink stick of bubblegum. I found the documents I was required to do and carried them along with my right hand, but I accidentally went into Mayor Wills' office where he finished talking with Belt
Belt just told Mayor Wills about what happened to our parents and put the blame on himself. Mayor Wills decided to let the Colourz brothers stay at the town and let Belt pass his 'crime' scout-free.
Once Belt left, I saw Minty and Tails coming out as well. They stopped when they saw me.
"Hey there, Bubblegum," said Minty with a smile.
"Hi there, Minty," I greeted them. "Hi there, Tails."
The young fox smiled. "What are you doing here?"
"Just getting some documents for my police job," I said. "There are forms I need to fill in."
"Are you still finding them?" asked Mayor Wills from inside. "I can make some copies if you can't find them."
"That's OK. I already found all of them."
Leaving Mayor Wills' office, Minty, Tails and I walked through the hallways.
"So what did you talked about with the mayor there?" I asked them.
"Just some stuff," said Minty.
"It's just getting to know your squad's contacts, addresses and insurances," explained Tails. "It's in case if we need to call you for emergencies and making sure that we will maintain your safety if you helped out at the Resistance again."
I nodded. "That's true. You would need to get some consent."
A question popped in my mind. "Will you guys be OK by now? I mean…the war has its effects on people."
Minty looked away. "…I'm going to see my therapist. I had been alone for a couple of months ever since my squad decreased in numbers."
Tails sighed. "I'm not pretty sure. I planned to spend more time with Sonic and help him overcome his trauma from torture."
I rubbed his hair. "I hope that you will heal and become better soon. You know what I mean."
He smiled in return.
While I was chewing, I blew a bubble. This time, my Pink Wisp popped it.
"Hey!" I said. "Don't spoil the fun."
My Wisp laughed.
I took out my gum. "This one is running out of flavor really quickly. I'll just throw it away."
I threw the pale pink gum across the room and watched it flew over to the garbage bin.
However…not all things go the way you want them to be.
SPLAT!
"EYAAAAAAAAAAHHH!"
I froze.
I recognized that voice.
Minty gasped.
Tails froze.
I gulped.
Not far from us was a trio of teenage girls. One of them was a chipmunk with a fancy dress, another was wearing a white top and the third…
…oh good lord…MY gum was in her HAIR. I knew that person.
That was Jupiter. A snooty rich girl. She is a light pink cat with blue hair that reached her shoulders and wore a blue shirt tied in the middle, dark purple shorts, white gloves with jewel bracelets and black boots.
Again, I saw my gum in her hair.
And she was so TICKED.
"YOU!" she shouted, spotting me.
I shuddered.
Jupiter is another bully…to me that is. As one of the popular girls at school, she would treat almost everyone as trash. She doesn't really say it, but only if those she dislikes goes further enough to upset her. Throwing gum at her hair was bad enough, but I know that Jupiter don't like me because I once tripped her over, breaking her necklace.
Just messing up would be enough to put me into trouble.
"Watch where you are throwing things, you idiot!" she snarled.
I looked away. "S-Sorry. I wasn't looking."
"You should be! Your disgusting gum in my hair now! Are you THAT stupid, freak?!"
The whole world shattered around me.
"What the heck?" whispered Minty.
Tails was trembling.
My Pink Wisp watched in shock.
My mouth twitched. I grabbed my long tail and fiddled it with my free hand nervously.
"I-I said I was sorry!" I said. "Look. Just peel the gum off, wash your hair and no one else will notice. Or just cut it off!"
Jupiter marched right over to me and placed her hands on her hips. "Oh. Just wash it off or cut if off. Do you know that it is NEVER simple? Just take the gum off? It took me hours to make my hair look perfect and you screwed it up! Dirty people like YOU don't know how to take care with their own hair."
I gritted my teeth. "Oh Jupiter. It was just an accident. No need to cry over spilled milk. And besides, nobody cares if your hair is perfect or not."
Whoops.
Big mistake.
I saw a vein popping from Jupiter's head.
"Oh," she said. "So you're saying that I'm not perfect? Huh?"
I sighed. "For God's sake, nobody's perfect and nobody can even stick up to Infinite without acting like a co-!"
I was cut off when she grabbed the collar of my army jacket and pulled me close to her face. I dropped the documents.
"You brat," she hissed. "I can't believe how stubborn you are. Saying that nobody is perfect. I'M perfect. You are NOT. Maybe the reason why you said that is because you're just jealous of me."
I narrowed my eyes. "…jealous?"
"Yeah! You always put up with this weird Goth act by acting broody and all that stuff. Maybe you just want to be special, but you're NOT. Your ponytail signifies this."
I was taken aback. "My hair? I just tied it up! That doesn't mean I'm ugly!"
Slowly, a dark sneer appeared on Jupiter's face. "You say that you don't look ugly. How about I make you look MORE uglier by cutting off your hair!"
My eyes widened. "WHAT?!"
"PIN HER DOWN!"
At this, her two lackeys grabbed me by the arms.
"HEY!" I yelled. "LET ME GO!"
I tried to run, but they were too strong. Jupiter stepped towards me, about to attack.
"HEY!" snapped Minty, standing in front of me. "Leave…her…alone."
"You stay out of this!" yelled Jupiter. "This doesn't concern you."
The mint green hedgehog's only reply was to kicked her lackeys, sending the two girls falling onto the floor. Minty grabbed my hand and pulled me close to her in protection.
"She didn't do anything wrong!" said Minty, hostility in her voice. "She said that it was just an accident, so just forgive her right now!"
"Y-Yeah!" said Tails, trying to act confident. "You have no right to be this violent on someone. What a shameful thing for you to do. You are acting like Infinite."
Jupiter narrowed her eyes. "Pfft. Oh please. I'm nothing like Infinite. Strength is only for boys. Appearances are better! And besides…"
She leaned down to Tails with a scornful look. "…no one would care if you died, two-tailed freak."
I inhaled sharply.
Tails' eyes widened.
The young fox looked…traumatized.
He started to tremble and shake. I thought that he was going to lash out, but he just stared down…trembling. He looked like he was going to cry.
However, my Pink Wisp didn't take this lightly.
She dashed forwards and hit Jupiter in the face.
SLAP!
"OW!" screamed Jupiter. "What the hell?!"
My Wisp angrily ranted at her and crossed her tentacles.
"Uh…sorry," said Jupiter sarcastically. "I don't understand anything you say. In fact, I don't understand the filthy language you losers are talking about. You lot don't recognize the importance of beauty and the hateness of deformities."
"THAT'S TAILS YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT!" barked Minty. "He is a hero and one of the greatest members of the Resistance. He saved the world a couple of times and he is an amazing mechanic. The world would like that."
Tails gasped in surprise hearing that. He blushed, smiling a little. "Minty…"
The mint hedgehog wasn't listening. She was looking at Jupiter. "You know. You think that it's funny to mock others for messing up your hair, right?"
Jupiter sneered.
"Well, you won't be laughing when I cut off YOUR hair and kick you out from this world, b-!"
Suddenly, she was cut off when a fist banged into her face. She collapsed onto the floor.
"MINTY!" yelled Tails as he went over to aid the hedgehog.
I looked up…and froze.
It was Zach.
And his posse of bullies.
He was wearing a grey hoodie and blue jeans to obviously hide the scars I gave him.
"Good to see you again, Bubblegum," he snarled.
This is going to take an army to beat them down.
I watched as Jupiter helped her lackeys get up and turned to Zach.
"I got her here," said Jupiter. "As you wish."
"Here's what you get," said Zach, throwing her a ten $100 notes that were wrapped together with a rubber band. "Now step aside."
"But I want to-"
"Don't worry. You will have your part VERY soon. But you will find THIS enjoyable."
Zach turned his attention to me. "Did you miss me?"
"Uh…" I said uncomfortably. "D-Do you remember anything just before you woke up from your coma?"
A frown appeared on his face. "Why yes. Just before I woke up, I had this weird dream of being a world that looked like the inside of a computer and there was you. Before I could go further, I was suddenly forced to wake up. Seeing that, I remembered the person who gave me THOSE wounds in the first place."
He pointed to the scar on his left cheek.
I felt grateful that Addison was able to wipe out his memories of the war.
"Well…that's what you get," I said to him. "It was a good thing that no one TRULY believed in that sick email. It wasn't my fault for losing my friends to Infinite!"
"What?!" said Tails. "Bubblegum? What is this about?"
Zach rolled his eyes. "Oh. Right. That email. I was hoping that everyone will believe that you can't be trusted."
Minty clenched her fists. "You can't do this kind of sick cyber-bullying to her!"
"You can't be around with Bubblegum because you will be dead soon for being sick of her!"
My Pink Wisp and I quickly stopped Minty from lunging forwards.
"Get to the point," I said. "What do you want now? I already paid the price to Mayor Wills. We all suffered enough, but why do you want me to suffer again? What more do you want? Are you lot that ungrateful that I helped save everyone?"
Zach smirked. "I was just harmlessly talking to my friends about that email when you went up and made it personal. How about this time I knocked you out into a coma? Except LONGER!"
I started to shake as Zach glared down at me.
I bumped into the wall behind me.
My Pink Wisp stayed close with me.
"BUBBLEGUM!" screamed Minty.
She and Tails tried to run to me, but Zach ordered his posse to stop them. Two boys held them by their arms, stopping them from running.
Tails just stood there, trembling.
Minty was moving around furiously.
"YOU LET HER GO RIGHT NOW, YOU BULLY!" yelled Minty. "YOU DON'T WANT TO MESS WITH THAT GIRL!
Zach just snickered. "Oh yeah? Bubblegum is just a soft kitty and a failure! I'm sure that she won't win against me."
He turned to me. "However, if you want to fight, I'm sure that the Mayor would want to question your loyalty to the police."
That was when I noticed that Jupiter was holding up a phone. She was probably filming us. I came to the conclusion that if I chose to fight, they could edit it and make it look like that I was the one who started the fight. If Mayor Wills knew, it wouldn't be pretty. I would even lose my role as the police chief.
"So?" snarled Zach. "Have you decided if you want to lash out again…or break down like a coward?"
"Yeah!" sassed Jupiter. "You can just cry like a baby! No one will love a stupid idiot like you!"
I started to shake.
Just when I started to feel comfortable, those jerks came in. Just when I won the war, those jerks came in. Just when I started to take a breath, those jerks came in.
I felt the need to punch them. I was done with their mischief.
I felt anger bubbling my veins. I could take them out easily. Then they would know that bullying me was their biggest mistake of their entire life.
I won't be teased again. I won't be put down again. I won't be…
I remembered.
Mecha.
He…he…
…he was the bully who like to hurt me a lot.
Before the war.
He never gave me a reason why he bullied me.
He just loved to torture me.
Every single time.
However…during the war…when I had to team up with him…
…he isn't what I thought he was.
When I saved those civilians at San Francisco, Mecha sincerely congratulated me and showed some concern for my safety. He didn't show jealousy towards me.
I remembered when Mecha opening about his past and breaking down into tears. Clay and I reached out to him and he changed.
He changed because I was there for him.
He changed because I care about him.
He changed because despite being a bully in the first place, I chose to help him with his insecurities.
And look at him for the good things he did now.
It would be great if Mecha was at my side at the moment…
…but since he was gone…
…there was almost nothing I could do.
I realized that my anger for being mistreated led me to bad consequences.
My intentions to kill put me in grave danger.
Taking revenge will not award me.
…it will just continue.
…I made my decision.
I knew that the only thing I could do was to walk away.
I knew exactly what to do to leave the pain behind.
The one thing that could throw the bullies in a loop.
I took a deep breath. "Zach. I'm sorry for hurting you. I'll not do it again."
Zach huffed. "Yeah. That's what I thought you would-wait, what?!"
He stepped backwards in confusion.
My Pink Wisp babbled at me curiously.
"Don't worry," I told her. "Everything will be OK."
I calmly picked up the documents I dropped on the floor.
Zach, Jupiter and their gang of bullies looked at me in confusion.
"W-What did you say?" sputtered Jupiter.
"I said that I am sorry," I said bluntly. "Sorry that you don't understand what I am trying to tell you, but that's none of my business. I just hope that you have the heart to forgive me."
I turned to Minty and Tails. "C'mon, guys. Let's just go. I'm not feeling comfortable around here anymore."
Minty looked confused.
Tails was shocked.
The two of them finally broke free from the bullies who were holding them and followed me. We turned around and made our way out from the scene.
Zach and Jupiter were stunned, trying to form proper sentences.
"W-What?!" said Jupiter, a look of disappointment went over her face. "You're just going to walk away like a coward?"
"Yeah," I said nonchalantly. "I'm leaving this behind. I'm not a coward, you know. This is for stopping the fights so the past 6 months. No one needs to be hurt again."
Zach lost his cool. "What are you trying to get out of, punk? You must be bluffing this for your own safety, moron!"
Minty turned around. "Hey! She just wants to stop fighting. Even after the war. Let everyone take a break. She didn't even decide to make fun of any of you. Who's the moron now?"
Almost all the boys reacted to this as if it was a savage insult.
"Besides," I said. "Jupiter is recording this. Does the Mayor want to see what you are doing to me?"
Quickly, Jupiter turned off her phone.
Zach was red in the face. "Just you wait, Bubblegum! I'll send more emails out! This is for being a coward and walking out on this!"
"Yeah!" agreed Jupiter. "We already planned! Once we are ready, we will make you look so bad that no one wants to be around you for years! You want that?"
That was when Tails came up with his own trick. "If you do so, I'm more than happy to let the Resistance know about this."
He pulled out a device. "I have been recording this the whole time!"
He pressed the play button.
"What are you trying to get out of, punk? You must be bluffing this for your own safety, moron!"
Zach flinched at the sound of his own voice playing from Tails' device.
The dingo still tried to maintain his menacing persona. "Oh no, you don't! I'll grab that thing from you and crush it!"
Tails smirked. "You can try, but since the video is already saved, it will be in my server. That, you can't get rid of it. I can upload it through media and let the police know that you bullies are using physical AND verbal bullying on an innocent girl."
I smiled, feeling protected for once.
The feeling of giving up faded away.
Jupiter raised a finger at us. "You know that this isn't over!"
"It's over," I said. "I don't want to cause any more trouble. A true police cop NEVER choose to fight out of revenge."
"I agree," said Tails. "Just stop bothering us and we'll stop bothering you."
"You?!" snarled Jupiter. "Look who is talking you wannabe, edgy *****! You're the one who bothers people!"
A smirk went over my face. "You know that I'm a FELINE, not a canine. Besides, I won't insult anyone too much again."
We walked away and headed over to the exit. I looked behind to see the defeated looks on Zach's and Jupiter's faces.
However, Zach barked out more threats.
"MARK MY WORD!" he screamed. "YOU ARE A FAILURE! YOU WILL ALWAYS BE A FAILURE! YOU'LL SEE! YOU ALL WILL SEE! EVERYONE WILL SEE HOW MUCH OF A SCREW-OFF YOU ARE LIKE YOUR FATHER! EVERYONE YOU SEE WILL DIE WHEN STANDING NEXT TO YOU."
I stopped.
"Perhaps," I said. "But I saved people and there will be times when I lose others. But I know that it won't be my fault on purpose. My father isn't a failure; just a humble father who wants to keep everyone safe and you decide to pick on him for laughs and nothing else."
Zach looked destroyed.
Minty, Tails and I went out of the exit. I quickly closed the door before Zach could yell out a word Tails shouldn't hear.
"Whelp," I said, feeling calmer than before. "That was quick."
Tails was beaming. "Bubblegum…I-I'm impressed about what you did."
I raised my eyes. "You are?"
"I'm surprised that for once you decided to keep your cool and walk away. You didn't lash out again."
"I decided not to. After what happened before with Mecha, I decided to let that slip."
Tails chuckled. "I wish I can be like you…"
I bent down to his level and rubbed his head. "It's OK. You're Sonic's buddy. A great Resistance member. I'm sure that you will have friends that will help you. Even without them, I'm sure that you can avoid being bullying. All you need to do is to shoot out a fair reason why they suck and walk away. One thing that will leave the bullies defenseless."
The young fox nodded.
I noticed Minty's confused look.
"Everything alright?" I asked her.
"I don't know," she said. "You decided to walk away…"
I raised an eye. "Is that an illegal thing?"
"What?! No. It's just that I thought you should beat those suckers."
I shook my head. "No. I don't want to fight anymore. It's not worth it. Especially after the war."
"Yeah…but those bullies said that they will send more emails. Rumors will spread around soon."
I slightly frowned. "They will bother me a little, but…I know that for a fact, I have friends. I still have the Black Squad and the Resistance. Connecting with others."
"It's…it's just that…I thought that…I thought…"
She looked away, shamefully. "I thought that it was important to fight off the bad guys. We're the good guys and it is our job to show the bad guys we are the ones they don't want to mess with. I thought we have to fight fire with fire. You're the police chief now, so…you should know what to do."
I sighed. Minty was still thinking that using actions was the best thing to do.
I looked at my Pink Wisp. She had the same expression as well.
"Tell you what," I said. "Tails. Minty. When you get back to the Resistance HQ, remember this: never agree to fight before reason. Think about the outcomes and balance justice and safety for all. Even if you let the demons torture you, you will know that you can still live through them by accepting those you love. Also, never judge a book by its cover. Some 'bad people' are not who you think they are because…they are just people at the beginning and in the end."
Minty was silent for a while. She had a faraway look in her eyes.
My Pink Wisp stared at me for a while…before nodding in agreement.
Taking a deep breath, Minty finally made her decision.
"OK, Beth. You're right. I'll use words next time. I hope this can lead me to become a better Resistance soldier."
Mecha's POV
…
"Mama. We need to talk…NOW."
"Not now, children. I'm busy at the moment."
"But it's important. We want to walk NOW."
"…ARGH! What is it, Olympia?! Can't you tell that I'm busy?!"
"Sorry, but this is more important than anything else in the world."
"Mama. We are tired of this."
"What do you mean? Be specific for heck's sake!"
"You know what we are referring to. Your screaming. Your beating. More importantly, how you treated Mecha!"
"…what about him? He's not with the family now."
"THAT'S THE FREAKING POINT! You had beat, yelled and disowned him for 10 miserable years! Look at what you did to him! Look at what you turned him into! Even with your back behind, he just puts up with his depression and takes it out on other people! You're just letting people hurt others, yet alone your 'hated' son! Just because he has some brown feathers similar to our father doesn't mean you get to bully him!"
"…is that something I should be concerned about? If he decides to walk off, then that's his own problem! Not mine!"
"Not HIS?! Then who's responsible for making him so heartless? You or us?!"
"Even worse! He went off into that war! We weren't there to say goodbye to him! You didn't care about what happened to him or where he went! He nearly got himself KILLED!"
"But he still lives! He must!"
"Not now, Willow. Back to my point, just after the war ended, he flew off. None of us know where he went or why he didn't return home, but it wouldn't be long before he is KILLED again!"
"Yeah and how would you feel that a son of yours died?"
"So why does that matter? Isn't that how things are supposed to be?"
"It is YOUR responsibility to look out for ALL OF US! It is YOUR responsibility to make sure that we are all safe. It is YOUR responsibility to look out to protect Mecha, but you neglected and bullied him so many times that he would be dead already! And it's all your fault that his young life is gone now! Shame on you!"
"I'm sorry, Mama. I have to agree. You crossed the line too many times."
"…go to your rooms now."
"Stop making these excuses! You don't have the right to think that Mecha's death is nothing! He is our brother! Your son! Just a child!"
"He is just a mistake, Riley! He deserves whatever happens to him."
"T-T-T-T-this is…this is just-! THIS IS EXACTLY WHY NO MAN WILL EVER LOVE Y-!"
"BIG BROTHER! STOP! Please don't say that!"
"But Zero, she has been nasty to us and mostly to Mecha. We need to put some sense into her!"
"I think we should quiet down the yelling. Let's just get to the point before we all blow up."
"JUST GET BACK TO YOUR ROOMS RIGHT NOW! YOU SHUT YOUR SMALL MOUTHS RIGHT NOW!"
"YOU SHUT YOUR MOUTH!"
"Good Chaos…this is never going to end. I'm telling you, Mama. We have enough of this and we can't have the Nism family to continue to be this obnoxious. We need a change."
"…what?"
"I said we need a change. And that's why we all agreed to send you to a mental health facility."
"…you're…you lot are going to send me for counselling, huh?"
"Yep. And I already filled in."
"…but I'm not mentally sick, Olympia…"
"In a way, but I think it's your behavior we all need to work on. Especially after you split up with our father. You have been like this for 15 years and nothing will change if we do something for once. It's time for all of us to become better people."
"…what are you trying to gain? You know this won't bring back Mecha."
"Oh. We just want to make sure that you don't have the urge to STAB ONE OF YOUR CHILDREN. Oh my bad! Infinite did that to Mecha before! Would you do the same?!"
"W-What did you say, Riley?! Did you just say that I'm like Infinite?!"
"Yeah! I just did! Unless you want to say something to our younger siblings, I say that you are no better than Infinite. At least that jackal was one of the first to be kind to Mecha!"
"…"
I didn't know what to say.
Standing on the front porch of my family's house.
My old home.
I thought that I would never see it again, but…
…it would be too soon.
After my trip to visit Obsidian, I made my way back to Australia by plane and I decided to come clean to my own family.
I know that I didn't want to be around them, but…it felt right talking to them.
They need to know that I am still alive.
I raised my hand, about to knock on the front door.
However, I heard my mother kicking over a chair before stomping up the stairs.
"We…we failed," said Nicki's voice.
"Huh?" said Zero's voice (not Infinite) – my younger brother. "What do you mean?"
"We tried to convince Mama to change for once, but…she didn't give as an exact answer."
"It doesn't matter," said Olympia's voice – my older sister. "She didn't complain about going to the mental health facility."
"She is sick," snapped Riley's voice – my older brother. "I want to kick her out of the house for once!"
"That is not right!" cried Willow's voice. "We need her."
"But how can we trust her after everything she did?"
"This is really sad," said Zero. "We can't keep going forward like this."
"We can't," said Olympia. "But the least we can do is get our mother to go see a therapist. All of us also should take anger-management lessons. It's the best we can do, so that we won't lose another member of the Nism family again."
"I just wish that Mecha is here," said Nicki. "That way, we could prove something."
"But he isn't here now, is he?"
"…look," sighed Riley. "I know that we are all supporting Mecha, but I still find it hard to trust him. After he…he did a lot of stupid things and despite earning more money than us, he is like our mother. This…this has been the conflicting thing for all of us. He's gone now…and…"
"But…but…but I want to see Mecha again!" cried Willow. "I miss him!"
"He doesn't deserve to be alone!" exclaimed Nicki. "He's our brother and he's struggling! We can't lose him again!"
"Then it's our fault," sighed Olympia. "His fate is undecided, but it's all because we weren't there for him."
I could hear the sadness in their voices.
Me walking away from them…
…leaving them to suffer…
…this…this…
…this wouldn't happen if I just…
…
I found it hard to knock.
Would they forgive me?
Would they still love me?
Would they care about me?
I knew that what they said was true, but I found it hard to believe. Especially when I hadn't visit them in a while.
I looked up.
I was surprised that my old bedroom window was opened.
Even stranger, there was smoke coming out from it.
My Yellow Wisp noticed this and pointed at it.
"I know," I said.
I decided to see what was burning up there.
I jumped high and grabbed onto the high window porch. My old bedroom was on the second floor, but I can jump high enough to get in.
I went in.
It felt weird going back to my old bedroom.
It was kind of quiet.
And dark.
The only source of light was a burning candle that sat upon a table.
As I slowly walked through the dark room without making a sound, my vision started to adjust to the darkness. My room was lacking any furniture or any items since I cleared all my belongings on the day I moved.
I looked at the table with the candle.
Just behind it, there were a lot of photos glued to the wall. Every single one of them included me when I was younger.
I gasped.
Those photos…my…my brothers and sisters…
…they kept all of them.
Every memory I had with them.
When I was younger.
Before I ran away at the age of 10.
They…they all kept those special memories.
To…to remember me.
They still love me.
I saw one picture. It was a picture of me with a new-born Zero. I was smiling and laughing at that time. It was when I was playing with him while Olympia took the photo.
As I stared at the image of my younger self, I saw how lively I was. The joy in those hazel brown eyes. I was happy to play with my siblings…
…but underneath…I…I was broken by my own mother.
I started to tremble.
My Yellow Wisp looked at me in concern and back at the pictures.
Before I could cry, I heard the door opened.
I quickly turned around.
"…that will just leave us all in a mess," grumbled my mother as she came in. "Now where did I-?"
She stopped when she saw me.
I swallowed hard.
She closed the door behind her.
My heart started to beat rapidly.
I knew that I was screwed.
My mother was here.
She saw me.
In her house.
I wanted to run, but I went into freeze mode.
"W-Who the hell are you?!" she said.
She started stomping towards me. I watched without making a single sound. I noticed how disheveled she looked. Her deep blue feathers were ruffled, her brown eyes were nearly bloodshot, her ponytail was slightly messy and her beige shirt and blue jeans were stained in brown spots.
When she met up with my face, she grabbed my arm and pulled me towards her.
My eyes widened
"What are you doing here?!" she demanded. "If you're going to steal something, then…"
She trailed off. My mother observed my face for a while before stepping back.
"M-Mecha?" she said. "I-Is that you?"
I stayed quiet. I was scared out of my mind and I didn't want to see my mother again. I could only nod at her.
"Weird," she scoffed. "I thought that you were hiding out at the Resistance HQ. Just where the heck have you been?"
As soon as she touched my cheek, I went into hyperventilation. Everything started to twist and turn around me. Everything started to hurt me.
"IT'S JUST A PIECE OF TRASH! WORTHLESS LIKE YOU, MISTAKE!"
"…WHY YOU LITTLE!"
"I TOLD YOU NOT TO SAY A WORD ABOUT YOUR FATHER!"
"I SAID 'GET OUT OF HERE AND GO TO YOUR ROOM'! ISN'T THAT SIMPLE ENOUGH? SORRY IF YOU DON'T GET IT, BUT THAT ISN'T MY BUSINESS! IT'S YOUR FAULT FOR BEING A DEAF MISTAKE! GO TO YOUR ROOM!"
Memories of pain filled my mind. I couldn't take this anymore.
I let out a loud blood-curdling screech and bent down, putting my hands over my head.
"PLEASE DON'T HURT ME!" I screamed, tears rolling down my face.
I was on my knees.
I was trembling badly, waiting for inevitable.
…but it never came.
My mother just sneered in annoyed disgust. "Geez, Mecha! I wasn't even planning to slap you! You're pretty much the coward I knew from before."
To my surprise, she grabbed my shoulders and pulled me up to my feet, a little roughly.
"D-Don't touch me," I said nervously.
I quickly covered my mouth.
My mother opened her mouth. However, for the first time, nothing came out. She tried to say something, but fail. She just looked down, her hazel brown eyes turning dull.
My Yellow Wisp squeaked.
My mother didn't respond.
Slowly, my Wisp poked the blue older bird on the beak, but she barely responded.
I stood there, unable to do anything.
"What do I do?" I thought. "Why is it so hard for me to face up to her again? Am I still so scared of her? Is there also something wrong with my mother now?"
Before I could think further, the door suddenly slammed opened.
"What's going on up there?" said Olympia's voice. "We heard someone screaming and…"
I slowly shifted my eyes to meet all the hazel brown eyes of my brothers and sisters.
They were silent when they noticed me.
They slowly turned to me then to our mother.
And that was when my mother finally gave up.
"Fine," she said in a hush tone. "You win. I don't even care anymore."
She turned around and with a blank look, she made her way out of the room, leaving me alone.
I watched as my siblings all entered the room.
"Mecha…" said Nicki smiling.
"Big brother?" said Willow.
"I-Is that really you?" said Olympia.
"You…you look so different," said Zero.
I stood there, trembling. It was a long time ever since I saw my siblings. With the exception of Nicki, I never get to see my brothers and sisters in 5 YEARS. I refused all their invitations to meet together and avoided them at the best I could. I was separating myself from them.
But to see them again…after ignoring them as a family…
…I felt tears forming in my eyes.
"I-I'm back," was all I could say.
There was a long silence as I stood there…and then…
"MECHA!" cried Willow and Zero in joy.
Before I knew it, I was tackled to the ground by two little birds. I let out a squawk as I hit the ground. Arms wrapped around me in a tight embrace.
"Mecha!" chirped Willow, tears in her eyes. "You're back! I knew that you were going to come back!"
"We thought you were gone already!" said Zero.
It took me a while to come back to my senses. When I finally came to the knowledge that my younger siblings were hugging me, I smiled. I let out a teary laugh before returning the embrace to them.
"Why do you have to always hug me?" I joked.
"Because you deserve it, silly!" said Willow. "It makes you feel better on a bad day, remember?"
I nodded. "Yes. I do remember."
I forced myself to sit up. I looked at Willow. I was quite surprised of how much she had grown. She was slightly a bit taller than the last time I saw her. Her sky blue feathers were vibrant, her hazel brown eyes were still beautiful and she let go off her ponytail, letting her long hair draped over her shoulders. She was wearing a pink dress.
"Brother," she said. "I'm sorry for not being there for you. I wish that I can get you to just stay longer with us or tried to stop you from doing…that thing 5 years ago. It was my fault for having you to leave-!"
"No," I said. "It was my fault. I made the decision to leave. You have nothing to apologize for. I was being a jerk and that is no excuse. I should have stayed instead of trying to run away from all of you."
Willow chirped and snuggled into my chest.
I turned to Zero. Like Willow, he grown a bit. I kind of forgotten that he have cadet grey feathers and I saw that he tied his hair in a man-bun. I noticed how hip he was because he was wearing a black shirt, a silver flashy jacket, violet gloves, black jeans and silver sneakers.
"Bro!" he said. "You did awesome during the war! Nicki told us all about it!"
"Huh?" I said. "She told you the whole thing?"
"Yeah…or at least what Emerald said. It must be pretty difficult. No one would go that far to join the Resistance. I think you did a good job of winning the war!"
I nodded. "Yeah…but…it's hard…in a way…"
I stood up and so did my younger siblings. I was met by my older sister and my older brother who were observing my Yellow Wisp.
"Did he cry a lot?" asked Olympia.
My Wisp nodded.
"Who is this little alien of yours?" asked Riley.
"Oh," I said. "That's my new partner, Yellow. He is a Yellow Wisp."
"Aw!" said Willow as she hugged my Wisp. "He is so cute!"
My Wisp squeaked happily at this.
Riley laughed and ruffled my hair. "I didn't know that you decided to make friends for once!"
I looked away, feeling a little embarrassed. "I-I did…I learnt my lesson for being a bully. I decide to be clean and I made a few friends. Especially that Wisp."
"I got to say. He looks cute…like you."
"Riley!" I complained in a whiny tone.
He laughed.
I got a good look of Riley. His feathers are blue-purple and his hair was tied in a long ponytail, wearing black gloves, a black short-sleeved jacket, a black belt and purple shoes.
"It's good to have you back, brother," said Riley, hugging me tightly.
"Thanks," I said, grinning.
"Hey," said Olympia. "Where is my hug?"
"Ah," said Riley. "Can't forget about your other sisters."
He let me go and Olympia hugged me.
"It's nice to see that you are back, brother," said Olympia.
"I'm sorry for leaving you all," I said as we released each other. "I…I was just upset."
"It's fine. I've decided to make the decision to tell off our mother for the things she did. I assigned her to go to a mental health facility for special therapy lessons."
"I-Is that the right thing to do?"
"She isn't well and her behavior gets worse as time goes by. I can't have her sulking around. We need to find a way to help her."
I nodded. I was kind of glad that my mother was going to see a therapist. After all she did, she REALLY need to take counselling. I don't want her to become a complete monster.
I observed Olympia. Always smart and compassionate like me…except that she is more thoughtful about her actions. As always, she had her hands behind her back. Her feathers are teal and her long hair was tied in a ponytail that reached to her waist. She was wearing a white cotton shirt, white gloves, black trousers and black top shoes.
"I'm sorry about what happened to Infinite," said Olympia. "You know…he's the first friend you made, right?"
I nodded. The memory of me destroying the jackal's ruby came to my mind.
My smile faded.
"Y-Yes," I said, looking away.
"Ahem!"
I whipped my head up to see Nicki walking towards me. She held out her hand, holding a golden phone.
I slapped myself in the forehead. "Oh God…my phone! I forgot about it…"
"You really need to take responsibility of your things, Mecha!" teased Nicki as I grabbed my phone. "You might even lose a diary!"
I grumbled under my breath. I paused for a while and took a deep breath.
"Nicki," I said to her. "I know that this has already passed over for 5 years and you already got over it, but…after all those years…I'm sorry. I should have been more responsible for taking care of you, our family and our team…especially Finn. I know that I tend to hide my feelings, but I STILL care about you. I still feel worried about your safety ever since I pushed you down the stairs. I-I don't expect anything in return."
I trailed off, tears forming in my eyes again. I looked away, feeling ashamed of the horrible things I did before.
Nicki sighed. "I forgive you. All I want is for you to treat me like a brother. To be with us. To help our tournament team. I just want things to be the way they used to be before. When you stayed with all of us. You already made the first step by forgiving Bubblegum and I think it's time you start focusing on friends and family. Can you try again?"
I stared at her for a while.
Being given a second change again, huh?
I know this wasn't the first time I was given a chance to redeem myself and this time, I accepted it.
"I'll try," I said, hugging Nicki.
I saw my Yellow Wisp joining the hug.
"Welcome home, brother," said Nicki with tears of joy.
Clay's POV, 3/08 (at night time)
It would have taken us a long time to find a place to stay, but thanks to Bubblegum, we found a new home.
Belt and I found a new house. It was small, but roomy. It took a long time to move everything from our treehouse to this new home. After those days of carrying and huffing, I was exhausted. From putting all our furniture and belongings into place, I felt as if my job was done.
I slammed onto my bed in my new home. It was a pretty long day and the night time already covered the sky.
"Clay!" called Belt. "Are you ready yet?"
"Uh…yes…just hold on!" I lied.
That was when my Cyan Wisp slapped me in the face.
"OK!" I said. "OK! I'll come down now!"
My Wisp laughed hearing this.
I wasn't ready. Quickly, I leapt from my bed and rushed over to my closet. I grabbed out a dark grey jumper, a black jacket and black track pants to wear.
During Australia in August, it gets cold, people. It was winter here at that time.
I still wore my headphones (this time around the neck), gloves and shoes. My rings were still connected to my wrists, but I wasn't bother by them anymore.
I came out with Cyan to see Belt and his Red Wisp waiting at the door. My brother was wearing a light grey jacket, black jeans and white boots. He still wore his new glasses.
"OK," he said. "Let's go."
We went outside into the busy streets of the town. The entire town had been brought back to life as lights were flashing in the middle. Fireworks could be seen flying into the sky.
"Why the celebration must have started," I said.
"Sure thing," said Belt.
"It's pretty…nice living here. Compared to the forest."
"I wish we were here in the first place."
As we talked, I didn't notice that somebody was behind me. It was Emerald. But the second she grabbed my belt, I quickly turned around. She giggled.
"Emerald!" I growled. "Do you ALWAYS have to pull down my p-?"
ZAP!
I felt a big shock of electricity on my butt.
Immediately, I yelped in pain and turned around.
It was Sebastian holding an electric taser.
"Gotcha, dookie!" said Sebastian.
"Really?" I said
I looked at what Emerald and Sebastian were wearing. Emerald put back on her bright and bubbly costume, but her yellow jacket was zipped up. Sebastian wore his casual outfit.
I looked in front to see Bubblegum coming towards us, wearing a black leather jacket and black tight leggings, leaving her sneakers on. Her Pink Wisp was following behind her.
"Like your new home?" asked Bubblegum.
"It's very nice here," said Belt.
"Bubblegum," I said. "Did you go well as the new Police Chief?"
"It's good!" said Bubblegum. "Earning the highest spot, I'm able to control the police forces of this town. I was given help from the government, so I'll be fine. But I'm not done yet. I still want to make the world a better place, so I'm starting a project that will help our town."
I slightly frowned. "Bubblegum. I found something that popped up in my email. It said that-"
"I know. And this time, I will ignore them."
I was surprised. "W-Why's that? I thought that you couldn't handle the bullying around here?"
Bubblegum laughed. "I was before. However, I found a way to settle the score and leave it be. I did told Zach and Jupiter that I won't bother them again, but they must be really desperate. Zach kept his word, but the email he sent out to the town yesterday looked harmless. Some people would believe it…but I don't think it matters."
I titled my head. "Does it bother you?"
Bubblegum looked straight into my eyes. "What about YOU? Does it bother you that I'm learning to walk away from the bullying?"
I was silent for a while.
Belt sighed. "Bubblegum. Zach and those jerks…maybe we should turn them in."
"No," said Bubblegum. "We don't have to. It won't take long until Mayor Wills know about this. Even so, I doubt that Zach can hurt me again."
I nodded. "OK. I'm…I'm just a little worried about you. After the war, I thought everything will be alright until some jerks decided to torment you again."
Bubblegum's smile brightened up. "I can't be tormented again since I have found a new friend."
I smiled.
"That's good," said Belt. "I'm happy to see that you are OK. You got yourself organised."
I chuckled. "Just like Mecha."
"Speaking of Mecha," said Emerald. "Where is that juicy bird?"
"I saw him today," Sebastian said. "He came back this morning, but he hid in his house the whole time."
"C'mon!" said Emerald. "The party is about to start!"
"It's not technically a 'party'," said Bubblegum.
"Whatever."
"Wait," I protest. "I'll catch up with you guys. I'm going to find Mecha."
Emerald and Sebastian went off.
Belt and Bubblegum just stood in their spots.
"Is it OK if I go with you?" asked Belt.
"Sure," I said.
"I want to see him as well," said Bubblegum. "We don't know what he was going through when he left."
We three went off. It was hard to find which house Mecha lived in. But it didn't take that long.
We stopped at a house that had a fancy looking mailbox with these words: MECHA NISM. Not only the mailbox looked neat, the house looked pretty STUNNING. It looked futuristic and the walls were in a beautiful gold color, completely shiny. The garden had long shades of green-blue with yellow flowers near the walls. There was even a HUGE TELESCOPE on the roof.
It wouldn't be possible for a young teen to have his own house, especially THIS type.
Walking towards the door, I was about to ring the doorbell. But, the door opened.
It was Mecha.
He was dressed differently. Leaving his goggles, shirt, utility belt and sneakers on, he wore a black denim jacket and black ripped jeans. His hair feathers had regrown – no longer had duct tape on them.
"Hey, Mecha," I said.
"Hi Rookie," said Mecha slowly as he pulled up his gloves. I noticed how calm and relaxed he was.
"You know that 'Rookie' is my old name," I said.
"Yeah, but I'm used to that nickname. Also, 'Clay' makes you look a bit clayey."
Mecha snickered a little.
"Mecha," I said annoyed. "I told you. No it doesn't. At least it's better than Rookie. You said that name makes me weak."
Mecha looked embarrassed.
"Yeah…that was how I saw it in the first place," he admitted. "But we're all rookies of the Resistance."
"Anyway, where were you?" asked Bubblegum. "You disappeared."
Mecha looked down. "I'm sorry. I'm…I just feel bad about what happened. I went off because I want to find the remaining surviving member of the Jackal Squad."
"Who was it?" asked Belt.
"Obsidian. Apparently, he gave up his thieving life and now live in Central City. Rouge told me that. He was happy to see me. I explained the whole story to him. He was a bit disappointed that I wasn't able to convince Infinite to stop, but he forgave me. I promised that I'll see him again soon. After that, I decided to see my family. My mother had…became numb around me, but my brothers and sisters were happy to see me. I declared that I won't turn away from them ever again, but it will take time to heal."
"At least you still have your family," said Belt shrugging.
"I still have you guys as friends." Mecha turned to me. "I'm happy for you becoming a hero. You are not a weak wolf anymore."
"True," I said. "But I'm still not as acrobatic or brave like you…"
"Stop. Listen. Don't think like that. You're a good soldier and you're more powerful than I am. Never forget that."
Bubblegum chuckled. "And you are as good as we are now. I'm glad you dropped the bully act."
Mecha nodded. "Again…sorry…for my actions. I'll try to be good…oh, that reminds me, I asked Mayor Wills if we can start the tournament again. I'm giving you a chance to experience it. I'm looking for a new member, so will you join my team?"
"I can't," I said. "Sorry. I joined the Blazers."
"Your loss," said Bubblegum
"I can join your team, Mecha," offered Belt.
"…cool! I can let you in already," Mecha smiled smugly. "Looks like we have a new rivalry going on."
"Let's not call it a rivalry," I chuckled nervously.
"Well, Belt and you are on different teams, so you two will be against each other in the tournament."
"True, but I don't like it to be called a rivalry."
"OK then. I'll give you one piece of advice: never mech any mistakes in the tournament."
Belt and I smiled.
Bubblegum playfully rolled her eyes.
Mecha smiled…but then he frowned.
"You know that I'm still one of the greatest PROS in this town," he said seriously. "By WINNING and TEARING down anyone in my way."
Bubblegum inhaled sharply.
Belt whistled.
I shivered a bit.
I quickly changed the subject. "Anyway, we're heading to the celebration now. You're coming?"
"I'll come," said Mecha. His eyes suddenly widened. "Wait!"
He ran back inside his house and came out. But he was holding something in his hands and he was trembling nervously.
It was a red sword.
Mecha quickly dropped it in front of him.
"What is it?" said Belt.
"That's Infinite's sword," said Mecha. "Obsidian gave it to me, but Belt, you can have it. It's as a birthday gift and a 'thank you' gift for joining my team."
"Thanks," said Belt as he held the sword. "But don't you want it?"
Mecha winced. "No thanks. I'm scared of swords and I don't need any more weapons."
"Anyway," I said. "I remembered I saw you wearing a black and yellow jacket. Where did you put it?"
"Ah. I only wear it as a signature uniform for my team. Nothing else."
He pulled up his gloves again.
"Hey," I said. "Why are you doing THAT?"
There was a sorrowful look in his eyes. "Sorry. It just that…right now…I'm kind of ashamed of my stripes, even worse now."
I gave him a quick hug. "You don't have to be ashamed anymore."
He gave me a small smile.
"Wait a second," said Bubblegum. "Where is your Yellow Wisp?"
My Cyan Wisp, Bubblegum's Pink Wisp and Belt's Red Wisp babbled at this.
Mecha smiled sheepishly. "Oh…right. Be right back. I'll go get him."
He rushed back inside. Since he left the door opened, we could hear what he was saying as he walked through the halls and made his way into one of the rooms.
"Yellow…Yellow? Where are you-? Huh?! WHAT?! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! NO! TURN THAT OFF! YOU'RE GOING TO FLOOD THE WHOLE ROOM"
SPLASH!
"Get back! Stop it! Stop it! Argh…good graphics. That was close. Yellow, when we get back, I need your help to clean this up. Flooded floors are not a good thing."
That was when Mecha and his Yellow Wisp came back into our sight…but they were dripping in water.
Seeing us, Yellow squeaked excitedly. He flew towards us and hovered near my Cyan Wisp and Belt's Red Wisp. They happily hugged each other…and quickly pulled Bubblegum's Pink Wisp, receiving an annoyed eye roll from her.
"Pink," said Bubblegum. "Be nice."
"Argh…" said Mecha as he made his way to the door. "I REALLY need to remember that Yellow is too into dirt and water. If not, he will flood the entire p-CAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAWWW!"
All of a sudden, a large net trapped him and sprung him up to the ceiling.
"Oh my lord!" I said.
"Looks like the booby trap worked THIS time," said Bubblegum.
"Neat," said Belt smiling.
Mecha groaned. "Why does this have to happen to me?"
"Everyone here, I like to take a moment. Tonight, we are celebrating the freedom of the world. The long war is finally over and our lives can be back to normal. But we also have to remember those who lost their souls. Those monsters…they destroyed the most precious things we ever had; our friends and family. They got killed or died, sacrificing themselves. During this war, we hid and they won. But the good were able to stop the Eggman Empire from wiping everyone out. Tonight, we will remember the ones that we loved and lost. Though some of us are by ourselves, we keep on moving on no matter what. Let's pay our respects now by this minute of silence."
The air was dead silence as everything fell quiet at the town square. In the middle was a white platform, its sides covered in flowers. Almost everywhere in the square, there were many wooden bed-like boxes that contained the bodies of the fallen. Each of them were covered by a white blanket with a flag on top.
Every person who lost a loved one came up to one of the caskets and paid respect to the dead.
Belt and I watched solemnly as everyone looked at the coffins. They looked so broken, sad and ruined. Almost all their friends and family are gone. Even though I didn't know the citizens of the town very well, I felt sorry. I couldn't help but cry. Even though those memories didn't shake me too much, I still grieved for all those who died and those people who I saw killed by Infinite.
I saw Bubblegum, Emerald and the latter's family coming up to one of the boxes. It had a picture of that pink fox I saw as a ghost…Addison. I came up to the pink cat and placed my hand on her shoulder. Bubblegum forced an empty smile on her sad face.
I spotted Mecha and his team grieving at one of the coffins. The turquoise bird arrived holding another black and yellow jacket. He stared at the picture of a teal wolf – Finn – on the box for a while before putting the jacket onto it.
I continued to watch many people looking down or breaking into tears, hugging others for comfort. The mood was somber and dark.
I got together with Belt, Emerald and Sebastian as we watched on. My Cyan Wisp was hovering on top of me, bowing her head. As a final farewell, many people lit up candles and placed them around the platform. The screen on one of the towers displayed this:
GONE, BUT NOT FORGOTTEN.
I looked down. Belt noticed that the lost look in my eyes.
"You're OK, Clay?" asked Belt, squeezing his Red Wisp gently.
"I'm…I'm OK…" I lied, I wasn't. "…I…I don't know what to do…"
"What do you mean?" said Emerald.
"…they died…they died because of all of this…I-I don't understand why God took them away…they died because of me…if only I wasn't such a coward in the first place…"
I hugged my brother, silently crying. He wrapped his arms around me.
"I-I'm scared…" I said. "…this war…it might be just the beginning…"
"But it already ended, dude!" said Sebastian. "Just chill for once."
Belt quickly gave him a nudge to shut up.
"But what I'm saying is that we already saved the world," continued Sebastian quietly.
I released myself from Belt's embrace and turned to Sebastian. "Do you THINK so? Really? You don't even think there's a SLIGHT chance that Eggman might have survived? Nobody knows what happened to him except the fact that he is in Null Space. No matter how many times Sonic or the Resistance or we defeat him, he won't stop. How do we know that he's…not out there…somewhere…planning…another…invasion…or another war?"
Emerald shook her head. "Because we're here now! We're all together! We're safe."
"But…"
"No buts. Although it was a few days after the war, everything is back to normal. If Eggman survived, he would have tried something by now, don't you think? We have no evidence yet, but we're back home. But you're right. Yet, nobody must seek out for war, but must always be ready for it. We have the Resistance. We have us. It is up to us to guard the Earth against any possibilities of future attacks."
I nodded. "But…all those people…they may be next in line. I…I can't save them all. We may get into another fight and…things may crumble again…"
My voice must had faded into echoes because it was silent at where we were. Belt sighed.
"You still have to keep going…" he said. "No matter how many times the world knocks you down, you ALWAYS have AND will get back up. Look, I might have suffered a lot, but I never stop believing that the war would be over."
His Red Wisp nodded, squeaking softly.
"Don't worry, Clay," said Sebastian. "Whenever there is a problem, we will be right by your side!"
My Cyan Wisp babbled at me as if consoling me.
"Clay…" she said. "You know that Eggman might return, but you know that we will always be ready. I've seen what you did in the bunker for the past 6 months. Bubblegum and Mecha were in the same state as you were, but not on the same level. And now, seeing you guys getting along with each other makes me happy! I would have never joined the Resistance…if it wasn't for Bubblegum's determination for being a cop. I'll admit that I'm not good in everything. We are always reminded of that. If you think that you will always be a failure, what hope do the rest of us have? With shyness, razor-tongues or narcissism manners? Trauma, anger and depression? You still need to fight, Clay. You will ALWAYS fight for our rights. Show them it's our goodness that makes us shine. And no matter what, we will be there for you. That's what makes the world a better place…or what Bubblegum and her father say."
I smiled, hearing this. I remembered what Sonic told me, but I guess that I tend to forget the good things in life.
"T-Thank you, guys…" I said smiling.
"You're welcome," said Sebastian.
Belt came up to me. "Clay…I want to say sorry again for leaving you alone. It must be hard for you to handle the isolation."
"It's fine," I said. "It's all in the past. Let's promise that we will always stick together, OK?"
Belt nodded. "Alright. I promise."
We all stood there in silence. I didn't know what to say next.
However, I realized something.
I looked around to see if I could find Bubblegum and Mecha. I found the former timidly making her way to the middle of the square. Her Pink Wisp was resting on her head. She was talking to a crew of directors – who were in charge of running the event – before they handed her…a microphone ear piece.
Mecha was sitting with his back against a lamp pole, his knees drawn up to his chest. His Yellow Wisp was sitting on his opened hands. He looked numb again.
Before I could sigh, the lights dimmed before they went out.
The entire town was plunged into darkness. [1]
Something played from the speakers.
It was a solo piano piece.
Everyone looked around with looks of confusion and dignity.
"If anyone can hear me," said Bubblegum, using the microphone.
A spotlight slowly shone on her. She looked nervous by this since everyone started looking at her. However, after looking at her Pink Wisp, she started singing slowly.
It was a soft ballad song that I was very familiar with. It was called 'Out of Hiding' and I remembered hearing that song when Belt sang it to me. It was a bittersweet song that told me that there was nothing that could separate me from a person I loved and encourages me to not fear again. Granted that it made me feel sad, making me remember how brutally scarred I was during the war.
As Bubblegum slowly gather enough courage to sing, I could hear her voice. Her voice was so young…beautiful…almost as if she was an angel of God. She looked around as she saw many people coming close to her, mostly children. As the little ones reached out their hands towards her as if she was their savior, she smiled and gave them small embraces.
Around the second verse, she saw me and I gave her a smile, showing that I was proud of her for acknowledging everyone's scars and trying to help those in need. She smiled back, but her smile faded away when she saw Mecha who was just looking away.
When Bubblegum started the second chorus, she walked towards Mecha. This made some people worried. I had to remind myself that not everyone in town trust Mecha because of what he did to others. Despite the many critical whispers of the crowd, Bubblegum slowly walked towards Mecha, but the bird just stood up and tried to walk away, wanting to be away just like how he ran away from his own family.
However, he stopped when Bubblegum gently placed her hands onto his shoulders as if reminding him that he isn't alone. I smiled as I saw Mecha's expression turned from misery to tearful happiness. He smiled and looked at Bubblegum who gave him back the same smile.
As the song came to the bridge part, I turned to Belt. I felt as if I wanted to be near Bubblegum. Near my friend. To show how compassionate I was for her song.
He nodded as if telling me that I am allowed to do what I think was right.
I slowly made a few faulty moves towards Bubblegum as she went back to the middle of the square. I hid my face to make sure that the people around me didn't see me. Through my fingers, I caught Bubblegum's blue eyes staring back at me. She moved a finger towards herself, gesturing me to come to her.
Seeing her made me lose my shyness.
I walked towards her, ignoring the stares I got from people. As I got to Bubblegum, she held her hands onto mine. I smiled at her and she smiled back as she continued to sing. Hearing her voice made me feel calm and know that everything will be alright for once.
I felt like I want to sing as well. I wanted to let others know that they don't have to fear anymore.
I took a deep breath and I used my own young and raspy voice to sing. I sang the outro part, feeling as if everything had been solved. As I did so, I felt hope going through my body. I slowly looked down to see my body slowly turning yellow.
I realized that I could make my body turn yellow, using my Dark Wolf rings.
Bubblegum looked at me with surprise, before singing as well. As she did so, I felt the light of hope being transferred to her. The yellow spread from my hands to her hands, turning her arms to yellow before turning her entire body to a bright yellow.
We held each other's hands as we sang out the rest of the song, our voices mixing in a beautiful ballad, heard through the entire place. I saw everyone looking at us in astonishment and happiness.
As we came to the last note, both mine and Bubblegum's bodies turned back to our original fur colors. I was back to turquoise and Bubblegum turned back to pink. We looked at each other with smiles, feeling happy at last.
There was silence for a while. [1s]
That was…until Mecha started to clap.
I looked at the side to see Belt clapping as well.
That was when everyone joined in, applauding us.
I looked at the crowd, smiling widely. For once, I didn't feel shy to be in the presence of thousands of people.
I smiled at Bubblegum who returned it. We both hugged with no hesitation.
I only wish that this moment can go on forever.
The End
AN: I know that the musical part is a little unusual, but...I like music a lot and I feel like this should end with a nice song for everyone to hear and read. Especially for the characters. The song I used is really good. You should go listen it. I know that it's a Christian song, but it can relate to ANYONE.
The part where Bubblegum have to face Jupiter and Zach is based on a scene in the game Doki Doki Literature Club: Purist Mod. I was trying to find some inspirations on Bubblegum's encounters with bullies, so when looking through the mod's gameplay, I decided to have her threatened by Zach again. It was the time for her to move on and as well for Minty to learn that not everything in about fighting.
BUT, I have one more chapter I made before I can wrap up this story. This take place after the events of this story and cover up some important details.
Thanks for reading this chapter! As always, if you enjoy this story, 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).
See you around soon!
