You know, I'm feeling nice and have decided to try and catch up on reviews. There are a lot, however, so feel free to scroll to the chapter and start ready. Hope you enjoy!

Gokuu the Carrot: Hello new reviewer! I thought I should respond to you hello since it was from February. I'm so glad you have been enjoying this story and yes. No one would want to jump out of a helicopter.

sonic vs evil: *reads review seventeen times* … I'm confused.

Guest #1: Thanks for editing the curse… I guess. Glad you enjoyed it.

Autumn: Aww… thanks!

SharpDragonKlaw: Yeah, they were a lot of fun to write. But also a lot of work. Hope you enjoy this update.

MelGaminPlays: Don't worry too much about your reactions. I'm sure they are tame compared to my reaction to the new Star Wars trailer. XD

HawkStorm: *dies* This… this right here. This made my day. Here is some candy and hugs for this review. You know, I think you summarized my feelings for Infinity War/Endgame. Someone pinch me, it's only a week away! Hey! I need those characters! *chases after the kidnapped hedgehogs and other various animals*

Shapeshifter 14: Read to find out!

AStoryTellerBook: Holy Chaos… didn't even think of that. Exe is terrifying and would definitely cut someone in half. And technically the Finale is next… it just takes a few chapters.

StarlightSparks: Thanks! Glad you enjoyed. I hope this chapter helps to calm down those screams.

Caisha12: *hugs*

Avengers guest: Yellow! Spider-man as the red wolf thing… yeah, that works. And YES. SILVER IS DOCTOR STRANGE. Cut the check. Now… Captain Marvel. Let's see… I'm thinking Blaze? Maybe Sally? You?

Anonymous human: Yes! Give motivation! Aw… thanks! I have stories like that so it's an honor for someone to feel that way about this story.

Guest #2: Maybe… You'll see!

ultimateCCC: Got that right.

Faso: Bill, you always know how to lighten the mood. Even when half of those references went flying over my head. Also, if the FBI is outside your door, you better hope you did nothing wrong. And because of the length of this story, who knows if it got foreshadowed. I don't even completely remember at this point!

Tails' POV:

Pain.

Flaring pain is the first thing that registered in my mind, starting from the back of my neck then spreading down my spine, through my limbs. Then just as it reached its peak, it flared back down until it was gone. My eyes fluttered open and I found myself looking up at the sky, which was now decorated in stars.

Slowly, I sat up, my vision swimming. Alright, first thing's first- how did I get here?… wherever here was.

Okay… I thought, racking my brains for the blurry swishes of memory that barely made any sense. I went to fight Dark… I was gaining altitude, I nosedived... crashed my plane- sweet Chaos, The Tornado!

I struggled to my feet, wincing at the pain burning through my insides, frantically searching for the remains of my plane. It took only a few seconds for me to register that the still-smoking sea of twisted metal was all that remained of the beloved piece of machinery. One look told me all I needed: there was nothing even left for scrap metal.

Scrap.

Someone moaned from deep within the fog, bringing me back to the present, but there was no one in sight. Had Dark chased everyone away? I must have been knocked unconscious from the crash or something. But why had they left me behind?...

My hands reached up behind my head, fingering the back of my neck for no particular reason. I remembered some sort of pain coming from that area, but everything seemed to be fine. Even the burning sensation inside my chest was beginning to fade.

I hesitantly activated my com, "Hello? Can anyone hear me?"

Static.

Okay… don't panic. They could just be out of range. Or the coms are down.

It took a few minutes for me to maneuver myself out of the remains of The Tornado, especially with the fog setting in. I eventually made it to what I assumed was the edge of the crash site.

"Hello?" I called, squinting to see through the thickening fog. "Is anybody out there?"

No one answered.

I bit down on my lower lip; maybe I should call the General and see if he knew what had happened; I mean, they wouldn't just leave me… right? I dialed GUN's coordinates into my com, holding my breath as I waited for someone, anyone to pick up. Pick up, please, please pick up-

Suddenly, I froze; behind me, someone had groaned.

I whipped around, scanning the clearing for any sign of my friends. Through the fog, I was able to make out something… red.

"Knuckles!" I shouted, running towards him as I felt my face melt into a grin. Thank Chaos I wasn't alone. "Knuckles, over here!"

As I drew closer, something in the back of my mind told me that this was... wrong. I could clearly see Knuckles' silhouette, but the red I had seen was in a different place-

-I stopped short.

That was a lot of blood.

Instinctively, I clapped my hand over my mouth; do not throw up, do not throw up- when something caught my eye: Knuckles was laying in the center of a small lake of what I assumed was his own blood, but there wasn't a scratch on him.

Curiosity got the better of me, and despite how horrifically gross it was, I squished through the bloodsoaked grass to get a closer look. Sure enough, in spite of the fact that he was covered with blood and grass stains, Knuckles looked as if he were in perfect health. Hesitantly, I stretched out a finger and poked him sharply in the chest; he grimaced, clenching his fists.

I sighed in relief. "You're alive! Oh, thank Chaos! Knuckles, what happened?"

Knuckles moaned. His eyes cracked open then slammed shut.

"Come on, Knux!" I poked him again, "What happened? Where is everyone? What happened to Dark? Did we win? Where's Sonic?"

Bleary eyes blinked at me, unfocused. "T-Tails?"

"Yeah...?"

Knuckles sat up, spine straight and eyes wide. "Tails?" he repeated.

"Yeah, who else would it be?" I rolled my eyes, "Do you know another fox with my unique talents?"

And then, as if I couldn't get any more confused, he lunged forward and hugged me.

I stiffened; this was not what I'd been expecting. "Uh… Knuckles?"

"Tails I am so, so, so, so, so, so sorry. I- I- I-" Knuckles choked on his words, unable to continue.

"About The Tornado?" I asked cautiously. "Don't… don't worry about it- I can build another plane, it's not the end of the world-"

Knuckles jerked back, looking me in the face. "Wait... don't you remember?"

"Erm… remember what, exactly?" I frowned.

"Tails…" Knuckles hesitated, studying my face with an uncomfortable level of scrutiny. "There's no easy way to tell you this, but… you… you died."

My mouth fell open slightly; was… was he for real? "I think I would remember dying, Knuckles. Besides, we are clearly not dead. Maybe I just passed out or something. Anyway, I'm fine, no big deal."

"But… Tails, you did die."

"Then by that logic, you would also be dead," I countered. I crossed my arms and raised an eyebrow at the echidna.

To my surprise, Knuckles nodded, shrugging his shoulders. "Well, I am."

I stared at him for a moment, briefly wondering if I was witnessing someone going through what the experts described as 'losing their friggin mind'. "...Knuckles, you are clearly alive."

He shook his head. "Tails, we're dead. Trust me."

"Uh-huh…" I said, starting to feel uneasy. "Yeah, I don't think so. If we were dead, wouldn't we be in… I dunno, heaven? Or we'd cease to exist? Or whatever happens to us when we flippin' die?" I motioned to the scenery around us. "Look around you! We're still in Chaos Valley!"

Knuckles opened his mouth but no words came. He squinted into the fog, clearly stumped. "Well… uh…"

Another moan was heard in the fog. We exchanged looks, slowly inching forward. "Hello?"

"Tails? Is that you?" A blurry figure moved through the smoke before sharpening into focus.

I relaxed. "Oh, it's you, Rouge."

Rouge looked between Knuckles and me, as if unsure of who she was more surprised to see. "I don't mean to sound rude or anything but… what are you doing here? Red I might be able to understand. But you, kid? You oughta get a better lawyer."

"Uh… oh-kay..."

Knuckles glared, "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Well," Rouge started, sounding as casual as if she were talking about the weather. "If you're here, then I must be dead. But if I'm dead, then why am I with you two angels?"

"We're not dead!" I protested.

"I beg to differ," Rouge put her hands on her hips. "I saw Red here get cut in half. That's not something you put a band-aid on and call it good."

"WHAT?" Knuckles shouted, clapping his arms around his middle. I rolled my eyes; what in Mobius was wrong with these two?

"This was after Dark snapped your neck in two, by the way," Rouge continued, examining her nails. "Believe me, kid, you're dead as a doornail."

My hand shot up to the back of my neck; no… no, that couldn't be true. That was impossible.

"Come to think of it, I'm pretty sure I got shot a few times," she pondered, sounding thoughtful as she extended her wings. "But I've never felt better. Funny how that works, huh?"

"You're awfully calm about this," Knuckles seethed, still clutching his stomach. Rouge shrugged.

"Well, how's panicking supposed to help us?" she smirked, tilting her head. "From what I hear, death is kinda permanent. No sense in getting bent out of shape about it."

"We are not dead."

This time, it wasn't me who said it; from out of the mist came a familiar black hedgehog, looking as stoic as ever as he wiped away blots of sticky green liquid from off his arms and face.

Rouge raised an eyebrow. "And you know this because…?"

"I have died before, as you can recall. However, the Guardian and you are correct in the fact that we did die." Shadow peered through the mist as if he were searching for something. "How we returned is the mystery."

Cautiously, I raised my hand. "Uh… hi. Certified genius here. Maybe you can come back from the dead, but last I checked, literally no one else has ever done that. But since we are obviously still alive and breathing-"

"For the last time, Tails, I saw you die!" Knuckles huffed. "And Rouge saw me… y'know!"

"Then we should be dead… right?" Rouge asked warily, glancing between Shadow and Knuckles.

Shadow sighed. "That is what perplexes me."

I went to argue again but was interrupted as a pink blur crashed into Knuckles. He went sprawling, and instinctively I rushed forward to help pull off whatever had attacked him- until I realized that it was kissing him.

It took a moment before Sonia came up for air, clinging to Knuckles for dear life with rivers of tears streaming down her face. "Oh Chaos… oh Chaos, oh sweet Chaos, Knuckles, I… you were… don't ever do that again!"

Knuckles' eyes were wide as dinner plates as if he were unsure whether or not the girl who had just tackled him was really there. His face broke into a grin as he held her face in his hands; Knuckles pulled her into a tight hug, which she responded to by latching onto his neck like she was afraid he'd disappear or something. He gently whispered something to her, mumbling comfort and whatever else you're supposed to do when your girlfriend is bawling her eyes out.

Ugh.

"So…" I cleared my throat. "Should I call GUN, or…?"

Suddenly, something slammed into me from behind and I went sprawling on the ground. My first reaction was panic- then all the dots connected.

Somehow, everyone had been tricked by Dark who had convinced them all that they were dead, and now that we were off our guard, he was going to slaughter us. It all made sense now-

"YOU'RE ALIVE!"

I yelped as I was yanked up from the ground and pulled into a bone-crushing bear hug. Whoever was attacking me started to spin, so they either had terrible balance or were purposely trying to make me dizzy- and they were succeeding. My face was pressed against its chest so that I could hardly breathe; a burst of adrenaline popped out of nowhere and I landed a hard kick to its kneecap- it hissed in pain and its grip loosened, allowing me to break free of its grip. I scrambled backwards, shaking away the dizziness until I'd lost the feeling of lightheadedness and my vision became stable again. The thing I'd kicked away was bent over, clutching its knee and spitting a string of colorful curses.

"...Manic?" I asked, realization and a twinge of guilt beginning to prick at me.

Manic glanced up, still holding onto his bruising knee, but with that haphazard, almost-unsettling grin I had gotten so used to seeing.

"Geez, kid... when did you start wearing steel-toed sneakers?" he wheezed, snickering. I began to mutter an apology, but Manic's attention had already begun to drift over to the rest of the team, his gaze coming to a rest on Sonia. For a moment, he froze; the corners of his eyes began to glisten and his grin was quivering. He let out a high, choked laugh, running his fingers through his quills as he dropped to his knees.

"You're here…" he whispered, tears streaming freely down his face as he continued to laugh. "You're okay! Y-you're okay! You're alive, and I'm alive, and we're both okay, except for like, my knee, it still really hurts, but-but that doesn't matter, you're okay, all of you are okay, b-but how... I saw Dark, he- just- you-"

Sonia turned to Knuckles, her lips turning up in a knowing smirk. Slowly, she stood up and walked to where Manic was babbling.

"-I saw Dark, he like, he just- he killed you, Sonia, and like- I think I got shot? I don't get it, h-how am I not dead, I was dead like- two minutes ago, I know I was, I was being frikkin' judged, I remember it exactly, and I'm pretty sure they were haulin' me off to the bad place, but like… I'm not? I'm not there? And… and… what is even happening anymore-"

Manic was cut off suddenly when Sonia caught him in a tight embrace. He stiffened for a moment, but the tension melted in seconds as he pulled her closer, laughing and crying at the same time and refusing to let her go.

"What in Chaos is going on with you people?" I shouted, throwing my hands up in frustration. "For the last time, we are NOT-"

"SONIC!"

A loud, very familiar shriek tore through the air from somewhere behind me. I whipped around, squinting through the darkly-tinged evening fog; whoever was shouting was… pink. My eyes widened in realization; looking around, the rest of the team seemed to be having the same thought. We exchanged a glance before almost simultaneously sprinting off in Amy's direction.

When we finally reached her, Amy was kneeling on the ground, Sonic's limp head cradled in her arms. Her face was puffy and red and sticky with tears as she shook and prodded at him, but no matter what she did, he wouldn't- or couldn't- react.

"Come on, Sonic, open your eyes!" she pleaded, her voice shallow and cracked. "Wake up! Don't you dare leave me again, don't you dare!"

Sonic was blue again. But the blue was... too pale. Like someone had drained the color out of him. For one heart-stopping second, I thought he was dead, but his chest was rising and falling just enough to notice- but it was getting slower. His body was limp, hands laying at his sides and his head lolled back. I took a step forward and almost tripped over a rock- a weirdly shiny rock… and a pure black one at that.

I had to bite my tongue to keep from screaming; The black emerald- or what was left of it- was fractured into hundreds of tiny pieces, scattered across the grass leading to Sonic's lifeless hand.

No-

"Come on, stay with me! Sonic!" Amy buried her face into his chest, digging her fingers into his flesh. "Please! You can't do this again, come on! Get up!"

-there was a shudder.

Amy's head snapped up as Sonic's eyes fluttered open for a fraction of a second. I took an instinctive step forward, too afraid to speak.

"Sonic!" Amy exclaimed. "Oh Chaos, stay awake! We're gonna get you help, I just need you to keep your eyes open."

Sonic's eyes were glossed over and unfocused as his gaze slid from Amy's face to mine. He blinked several times, and something in his eyes told me that he was starting to panic.

I felt someone grab my shoulder; I recognized the touch and immediately knew it was Manic. He stood between me and Sonia, both of them clutching each other for support. I hung back and stayed close to them; the feeling in my gut told me that this was the real Sonic, but… what if this was another one of Dark's tricks? It wasn't like this would be the first.

Sonic's gaze flitted between us, confused. He blinked rapidly for a moment; I could practically see the gears turning in his head. His mouth opened, barely a sliver, and his voice was hardly more than a rasp, but it cut me straight to my core.

"S-Sonia?... Manic…"

I bit down on my bottom lip; don't cry, don't cry, it's not personal, he's not thinking straight, just don't cry-

Sonia let out a broken sob, "M-Maurice, do you know what you've… Maurice?" She clapped a hand over her mouth, burying her face in Manic's shoulder. For once, Manic's expression was totally blank.

Sonic's breath had increased suddenly, desperation clearly written across his face. Amy was cupping his face in her hands and trying to get him to calm down, but nothing helped; out of nowhere, he started twitching violently, startling Amy so much she dropped him. He landed on the ground with a hard thud, his back arched as he let out a final scream before falling totally still.

I think that was when I finally broke.

XXX

Before anyone snaps and screams: "YOU PULLED THE FLIPPIN' RESURRECTION CARD ON US?"

Yes. Yes, we did. Because if we didn't, they'd all be dead. Obviously. And something tells me a lot of you would have hated that because Sonic would have also died from his injuries/crushing depression so… yeah. Also, ending a 50+ chapter fic with "AND EVERYONE DIED, THE END" is even WORSE than the Resurrection Card. And no, we couldn't have just NOT killed them because they were fighting FLIPPIN' DARK WHO HAD ALL SEVEN CHAOS EMERALDS. So NO. THEY WOULD HAVE DIED.

WELCOME TO REALITY.

If we just killed them all, this story would end with Cream and Hope at everyone's funeral, pledging their lives to protect the world in the place of Team Sonic. So… ten-year-old rabbit and a twelve-year-old human girl left alone with no mentors other than General Towers. Oh, and I suppose Omega is there as well. The dynamic trio of the rabbit, the robot, and the overlander. And also the rabbit's mom who unofficially adopts the other two.

That… actually sounds really cool. Consider that an alternate timeline.

Actually, it does. But I think it would be depressing, and we're not aiming for depressing… much.

(Also, it was fun to write each of their reactions to thinking they were dead.)

There's the chapter question! If we hadn't pulled the Resurrection card, would y'all have liked to read the Dynamic Trio? Or are you just glad everyone's okay(ish)? (SPOILERS!)

ANYWAY, sorry this chapter is kind of short, but we wanted to get it out there before starting on the next one (by the way, we have like… less than five chapters left of this story. Anyone else excited?)