"I can't believe you were right there on the front lines with Sonic and his friends." Miranda said as she, Heather, and I sipped some juice together.
"Wasn't that, I don't know, terrifying?" Heather asked.
"It was at first, but the more time I spent with Sonic, the less scared I became." I told her. "But you guys played an important part too, you know. You kept us informed and kept our troops in one piece."
"More like put them back together when they got injured, but yeah." Miranda replied.
All of the sudden, my com went off, so I answered it. "Hello?" Who would even be calling me? The Resistance had been disbanded...
"Sabana." Oniisan's voice came over my headset, "I need you to come to HQ. The Commander wants to speak with you."
"Um, wasn't HQ destroyed?" I asked in confusion.
"You know what I mean. Just get over here."
"Hai, hai." I said before signing off. "Sorry girls. We'll have to finish catching up later. Looks like I'm being called into work."
"Already?" Miranda asked in surprise, "But wasn't GUN, I don't know, wiped out?"
"Not exactly. Just captured for the most part." I remarked, "Even so, I haven't the slightest idea why they need me so soon, but I'll be back in a bit." With that I ran off.
I reached HQ--or what was left of it anyway--to find Oniisan waiting with the Commander, Omega, and Rouge-senpai.
"Hey, what's going on?" I asked. Surely we couldn't have a mission already. HQ hadn't even been rebuilt!
"Savannah." The Commander addressed me, "Team Dark was just telling me about your exploits in the war against Eggman."
"Oh! Um..." Was he mad at me? I mean, even though I hadn't used my powers, I had kinda done the opposite of avoiding Eggman's attention.
"You played a crucial role in saving this planet from Dr. Eggman." The Commander continued, "And for that, I am promoting you to a field agent and full member of Team Dark... effective as soon as we are operational again." Wait, what? He was promoting me?!
"Previously you were thought to be unsuited for battle, but your accomplishments in this war have proven that you can meet the ever changing demands of the battlefield." The Commander explained, "I'd be foolish not to make use of your courage, skill, and adaptability from now on."
"Sir, I..." I looked down. I had to be honest, that was just my nature, "When this war began, I was scared. I didn't think I could do anything. That changed when I joined up with the main group. I began to see that just doing what I could was enough, and I found I was far more capable than I'd imagined. Even so... It doesn't change the fact that I did very little until the last week of the war."
Somehow, I've gone and lost my way
All this time, I led myself astray
To my surprise, the Commander put his hand on my shoulder.
"Savannah, in war, there are four kinds of soldiers: Those who flee from battle and abandon their mission, those who only do the bare minimum to help while prioritizing their own survival, those who stand their ground in a losing battle... and finally, those who push their limits and make miracles happen. Even if you were scared at first, you are definitely the fourth kind of soldier. You displayed your skill and prowess in that village you were first sent to two months into the war. You may have stumbled along the way, but you have grown and shown the world who you truly are. Always remember, courage is not the absence of fear; it is the facing of it. You faced your fear, pushed your limits, and made miracles happen. Professor Gerald would be proud of you, I'm sure."
By following your blinding light
And fragile footsteps
"By the way Commander, I have an idea for how to speed up the reconstruction." I said.
"I'm listening."
"Give me one second." I said while turning to look at my brother and communicating my idea to him telepathically. "Dou?"
"Yeah. It should work. Even if it doesn't, I don't think there's any harm in trying." My brother said with a nod.
Though lost within a guideless haze
Looking for a way out of this maze
"What is it?" The Commander asked while raising an eyebrow.
I turned and looked at him, "I think I can use my powers to repair a lot of the damage... but it will require entrusting our secret to a different 'commander.'"
I'll never let a sole regret rain down on me
I will call infinitely
Screaming until they hear me
A couple of days later, Oniisan came to retrieve me and we boarded a train to the Mystic Ruins in order to meet up with Tails-chan at his workshop there. For some reason, Eggman hadn't bothered destroying it.
Once aboard the train, I took a deep breath and clasped my hands to my chest, "Kinchou shiteru." I said quietly.
"Here." Oniisan said, taking out a piece of paper and handing it to me. I looked at the paper, my brow furrowing in confusion.
"Oniisan, what is this?"
"I know you like to sing, so I thought maybe a song would help you to focus your powers. Rouge helped me with it."
"Oniisan..." I said softly.
"It's short, but the words should convey what you want to accomplish, which should help you focus and actually pull it off." Oniisan said, looking up as we arrived at the station, "It's time. Are you ready?"
"As ready as I'll ever be." I replied, standing up and following him to Tails-chan's workshop.
Our breathtaking, endless journey starts at last
Beginning with your cue
It's time to shine, it's waiting for you!
Once we arrived, the young kit flew us to Angel Island in Sonic's plane, the Tornado-I. His own plane, the Tornado-II required a Chaos Emerald, so he couldn't use it right now, but the Tornado-I was basically always parked at his workshop anyway, and Sonic hardly cared if Tails-chan used it. Personally, I wondered why Sonic even owned a plane, but whatever.
We arrived on Angel Island and Knuckles-san nodded to me. He'd already been informed of the plan and had approved of it. Tails-chan had been told too, primarily because he was the only one who could be trusted to bring us here. I took a deep breath, then climbed the stairs of the Master Emerald Shrine. I placed my hand on the Master Emerald and focused my powers, not even paying attention toward the green aura that formed around me. I just focused on what I wanted to do. Within moments, all seven Chaos Emeralds appeared, floating in a circle around the Master Emerald and I. Tails-chan and Knuckles-san looked shocked, but Oniisan had already agreed with my theory that I could summon them using the Master Emerald.
The world you once created inside your dreams
Is brought to life
As now leads you and I across the distant sky
I took a deep breath again and began step two, using the song Oniisan had given me to focus my powers on what I wanted to accomplish.
"Sabana ga kagayake
Chikara wo misero
Toki wo modose
Kako ni modose
Senbu wo kaifukushiro
Toki no kawa wo
Sakanobore
Yumigaerasero
Kako no yume..."
A wave of power shot out of the Chaos Emeralds, and I almost immediately collapsed afterward, though Oniisan caught me.
We'll set out toward that steady light
"Did it work...?" I asked him.
"It sure did, Hun." Rouge-senpai said as she beeped in on Oniisan's com, "It looks like you managed to restore everything back to the way it was before Eggman took over. Well, the buildings anyway. Those who were injured seem to have recovered too."
"Yo-yokatta..." I managed, "I just wish... I could've helped... those who died." I thought back to my squad from two months ago.
"Shh..." Oniisan comforted, "You've done plenty. Otsukaresama, Hikaru. Oyasuminasai."
"Un." I replied before passing out in my brother's arms.
And though our dreams may change
We'll always keep it in our sight
Hey, so bring it on my way!
I slept for an entire day, but when I awoke, I found it was just as Rouge-senpai had said. All of the damage done by the war had been repaired, and those who'd been injured had fully recovered. Oniisan said that the reason I had passed out was due to mental exhaustion from performing such an extreme task, especially since I wasn't used to using my powers outside of training.
Barely visible ahead
Is the hope we're searching for, you said
Nobody knew who was responsible for the sudden restoration of our world, but everyone was celebrating. With our homes restored, we could go back to building our lives. There was a lot of planning going on. A memorial service was being planned to honor those who had fallen in the war, and plans for building an actual memorial park were in the making. Society had begun to heal from the scars of war. I was glad I had helped make that happen.
"Although these scars are meant to heal'
'I'll keep them with me"
At last, there's something I can gain
So for this, I will take all pain and more
And this alone is all I need
It's worth the price
There were also plans to honor all members of the Resistance for their service. Those of us who'd been in the main group were being personally awarded our medals by the President in a ceremony, but everyone was being acknowledged by the government. They ended up having to use a large outdoor stage for the ceremony just to accommodate the entire Resistance. Turns out that 1% of the planet's population is still a lot of people.
Know if you still feel lonely
Inside your perfect story
As in the past, I was asked to sing at the ceremony, to commemorate our victory. The Commander insisted that I was just as much the face of hope to the people of this world as Sonic was right now, so I was careful to select the perfect words for my song.
This sky I have brought to you is only just a taste of something more
Of what's in store
Standing there in front of everyone, I took a deep breath to steady myself. I wanted to convey my feelings, the feelings that everyone was stronger than they believed, and could do anything if they were willing to try.
Even with no end in sight
And though my feet are on the ground
The wind has made me light
And suddenly, I feel spellbound!
A lot had happened, a lot had been lost, but we could heal from the pain of this war.
"The world you once created inside your dreams—Lives on somewhere—It's a future I would like to find and live my life—We are unique, like two bright stars—And in this world, we will be loved for who we truly are—Hey, so bring it on my way! Bring it on my way!"
The finished memorial park was kind of embarrassing by the way. They put up statues of the key members of the Resistance throughout it. There was a statue of Team Dark, Team Chaotix, Knuckles-san, Amy-chan, Silver-san, and Tails-chan, but the embarrassing one was the one of me with the two Sonics. Great. There was no way I could ever be normal again with this in the city. Miranda and Heather had statues too. I'd insisted on it. I would've felt horrible if there was one of me and not them just because I was in the main group. What they'd done was important too! So there ended up being a statue for the key members of each Unit, never mind the memorial wall to acknowledge the fallen.
Let's go find a new adventure
Traveling the world, though I know
In my heart, we may part separate ways
So for a little while more
Can we just stay as we are?
I've put my faith in you and I'll always believe
Also, for some reason, there was a statue of me going up against that false sun. Apparently it had been Sonic's suggestion. He could've asked me first!
The world you once created inside your dreams
Is brought to life
As it now leads you and I across the distant sky
We'll set out toward that steady light
And in this miracle lies the boundary that we will transcend
Once more, it's not the end
The world you once created inside your dreams
Is brought to life
As it now leads you and I across the distant sky
We'll set out toward that steady light
And though our dreams may change
We'll always keep it in our sight
'Til our dreams unite!
So bring it on my way!
Finally got around to fixing this. I couldn't figure out how to translate the song that I originally had in this chapter, so I replaced it with Courage by Amalee, since she allows that. Also, rather than try to translate Savannah's song that she uses to induce her technique with the Emeralds, I just left it in Japanese, so here's the English translation:
Shine, Silk Flower
Show your power
Turn back time
Return to the past
Restore everything
River of time
Flow in reverse
Cause it to be restored
The dream of the past
It is to the tune of "Healing Incantation" from Disney's Tangled. Savannah uses this song to basically induce a wide-scale Chaos Regeneration... however, as Chaos Regeneration does not revive the dead and she used this to restore large-scale collateral damage, it might be more accurate to call this "Chaos Restoration". Either way, she is using her powers in tandem with the Master Emerald to manipulate the flow of time to fix all of the destruction.
Also, yes, I know that Sonic and Shadow used Chaos Regeneration on Cosmo in the Japanese version of Sonic X, but let's be clear: Cosmo was not dead yet when they did that. She is shown standing within the void of light and commenting on the warm and comforting power of the Chaos Emeralds, so she was technically still alive in the sense that her spirit had not passed on yet.