Ch 19: End?
"Well, I see that what the Oracle said was true. You really have become stronger," Aleena smiled as she sipped some tea.
"What can I say? It's never a dull moment," Sonic smiled back.
So, while perpetrations were getting set for the victory feast, Sonic was in his mother's quarters for some tea. He never really had quality time with her so this was a perfect opportunity to do so.
"I see it wasn't. Fighting a vicious god to keep it from engulfing the planet with floods to sealing the pieces of the Earth back together. You have been quite busy," Aleena nodded.
Sonic just chuckled as he rubbed his nose.
"But still," she continued with a small frown, "You could have at least let us know that you and Tails were alright. You did not call nor write a letter, leaving your poor mother to believe that her second born died in a tragic accident!"
"Well, uh," Sonic reasoned as he smiled tensely and a sweatdrop formed on his head, "We were on the other side of the galaxy, that and we had no idea how we got there. Even when I discovered my Chaos Control power, I knew I had to stay. If I left, who's gonna deal with Eggman? Sure I have friends who can deal with him, but no one knows Old Man Robotnik like I do."
"Yes," she nodded as she sipped some more tea, "The doctor always knows an opportunity to attack when he sees it. Even if you left Earth for a short moment, it would still be something for him to exploit."
"That's right," Sonic nodded, "Which is why I can't stay."
"I see. That's understandable. Just promise me that you will come back to visit more often."
"Don't worry. I promise."
Aleena smiled as she stood up and walked over to Sonic. Slowly, she bent down and wrapped her arms around him and held him close as her son did the same. "I'm so proud of you Sonic," she whispered, "If your father was here right now, he would be proud as well."
"Thanks a mill, ma," Sonic sighed.
Hidden by the shadow of the doorway, Elise smiled as she heard mother and son reconnect with each other.
********************************************
A few more minutes and Sonic finished his quality time with her. Aleena now sat down in the library and took out a book to read in order to kill some time. If only she could manipulate time like him, now that would be very useful. Too bad he wasn't so sure how it happened. All he knew was that he received his new powers from coming into contact with the Chaos and Master Emeralds.
Speaking of her children, she decided to look through a mental list of how their traits changed since those days. Sonia, her eldest child, is considered the diva and "fashionista" of the group. Sometimes she would be bossy towards her younger siblings, but she loves them dearly. She hated getting dirty for anything and she still does. But that's how girls who were raised in high class societies are like. That's was how she was when she was her age after all. A month after the revolt, all she did was shop with her friends to try and get over the grief. Her friends managed to convince her that become a shopaholic to get over the loss of someone she loves was not healthy.
Manic, her youngest son, was next. Being raised by thieves, he can be quite sly and scheming, but his heart is in the right place. Unlike his elder siblings, he has no real powers of his own and can only use astroprojection and mind control (he rarely uses that one), but it doesn't bother him. He was able to use his wits and cunning to get his bother and sister out of any sorts of trouble. The machines he creates are of great assist as well. He was also an aspiring mechanic and wishes to own a mech shop one day. He would always be seen working on some old cars he finds and would often tune up Sonia's motorcycle, the Street Princess, when she asks.
And last but not least, her middle child Sonic. He's an optimistic boy; he always looked for things to cheer people up and always had a friendly sense of humor. During his time with the Freedom Fighters, he was an S-Class mercenary but a klutz at everything else. He tried unsuccessfully to woo Fiona Fox, each attempt ending in failure. Her brother Charles and an old man they knew prior to the rise of Robotnik taught him about cooking and that talent made him become friends with everyone… mostly. One of his notable weaknesses was the uneasiness he felt whenever he was around women close to his age. One of his best friends who would always keep him on his toes, Princess Sally Acorn, he considers as one of the guys and rarely feels awkward around her, but sometimes does whenever she has the chance to flirt with him. He still has this weakness today, along with the fear of deep water and the fear of losing his friends. Sonic has a sincere heart of gold and is ever loyal to his friends… the qualifications of a prince.
"Um, Your Majesty?" a voice shook Aleena out of her thoughts and found Amy walking up to her. She looked a bit intimidated. This was Sonic's mother and she was the queen after all.
"Yes, child?" she asked.
"I know Sonic already introduced us, but I wish to introduce myself." Amy curtseyed since she was in the presence of royalty. "My name is Amy Rose the Hedgehog. Sonic's future princess." Aleena couldn't help but feel amused. This pink hedgehog had already laid claim on her middle child.
"Tell me, Ms. Rose," Aleena said with a slight giggle, "Do you know anything about Sonic's Super Transformation? What about the fusion hedgehog that defeated Dark Oak?"
"The first time Sonic used his Super Form was like a week after me and Knuckles first met him and Tails," Amy recalled as she thought back, "It was the first time that Eggman had played Knuckles for a fool and stole the Master Emerald. In a desperate situation, Sonic turned gold with the power of the Chaos Emeralds and blew up Eggman's weapon in less than five seconds. From what I've seen, Sonic's speed is increased by 10X, meaning that instead of going at the speed of sound he goes at the speed of light. He becomes almost invincible and he can use his Chaos Powers perfectly. As for that fusion hedgehog… that was a new thing for us too."
"My, such power," Aleena admired.
"I know! He's so cool!" Amy squealed as she clapped her hands on her face and her eyes filled with hearts, "When he saved me from some punks when we first met, I knew from then on that we we're meant to be! And to find out that he's a prince… it's like a fairy tale come to life…"
Aleena smiled serenely. This girl was indeed very passionate about her son. From what he said, after that encounter, she began stalking him and was even desperate to marry him even if they weren't at legal age. At first it disturbed him but Sonic soon found Amy as more than just an obsessive fangirl; she was a kind, loving, gentle, protective and rather attractive girl. It was her personality that made him slowly fall for her… even though he wasn't ready to admit it.
Likewise, the more Amy got to know him, the deeper her affections for him were.
********************************************
Cosmo was leaning over the balcony as she watched over the kingdom. A part of her was depressed and saddened. Her family, her race, they were all gone. She was the last one of her kind now. The loneliness of being the last Petaligan was unbearable; however, she wasn't really alone. She had friends now, lots of friends, and even…
"Hey, Cosmo. You okay?"
Cosmo turned around and found the one she was thinking about walking up to her. "Oh hello, Tails. I was just thinking. Could you join me for a while?"
"Sure. I can do that," he nodded as he walked forward and joined her.
Cosmo looked at Tails with a smile on her face, her cute fangs showing. "I want to thank you again for saving me."
"Ah, it was nothing," Tails said with embarrassed pride in his voice.
"Well, if I may ask, why did you put you're self in harm's way so quickly for me?"
"Huh?" Tails asked as his face slightly turn red. "What do you mean?"
"Well, you were the first one to jump in the way," she continued as she walked forward. The fact that she was taller than him was becoming obvious, "My mother always told me that it means something when a boy does the dangerously unthinkable for you."
"Well… uh… I… uh…" he continued to stammer. Cosmo gently placed her hands under Tails' arms, reeled him in and cooed softly as her face came close to his.
"Shh…. Don't worry. I know." She leaned forward and pressed her lips firmly against his, engaging them in a long, passionate kiss. Her lips tasted sweet, like honey and berries. Tails' entire body was growing weak with rapture, he couldn't hold himself up anymore and his legs sank out from under him, allowing her to actually dip him. After what seemed like forever, they parted.
"So, maybe you could stay with me… on Earth?" Tails asked, his face still red.
"I'd love to. Thank you so much," Cosmo smiled as she brought him into a loving embrace.
"Aww, that's so cute!" Honey smiled as she and Mighty watched from far away.
"Heh, that sure is some puppy love," Mighty nodded with his friendly smile.
"You know, maybe we should follow their example…" Honey grinned, inching a little closer to Mighty.
"Uh… Honey?" Mighty blinked as his face flushed.
"Well, well, looks like your idea worked out, Honey," a cool, feminine voice said. They both turned and found Manic and Zelda standing there.
"So, whach ya up to?" Manic said.
"Aw, nothin'. Just looking after the rascals," Honey said.
"Well in that case," Zelda smiled as she tugged Manic's arm, "Let's leave them to have some private time. We were about to do something and maybe you can join us…"
********************************************
"Is there something troubling you, my lady?" asked the Oracle making Elise turn to him in surprise. She was through the gardens when he arrived. The sudden question had flabbergasted her.
"Oh, it's nothing at all," she reassured.
"Are you certain?" he pressed on, "That is want your voice says. Your eyes, however, speak differently."
The Princess of Soleanna sighed. There was no hiding from the sorcerer who had centuries of wisdom under his belt. The others weren't around so maybe she could have a private chat with him. "I think… it was my fault that Eggman appeared in the first place."
"Is that so?" he asked, unwavering.
"Silver, Blaze and I went into the past, when he first declared himself ruler of Mobius. I did it to keep the Metarex from damaging the timeline… but it still hurts."
"And this is bothering you? My dear child, that was the beginning of the prophesy. I knew that someone was brave as yourself would begin the mantel."
"Wait a minute… are you saying that you knew?" Elise asked, surprised.
"I have lived for centuries and looked into the gates of the future, it is imperative that I know all," the Oracle said, "It is understandable that you feel responsible for what happened years ago, but we all have our paths to fulfill. After all, if you hadn't created Robotnik, you wouldn't have met your friends. Is that correct?"
"That's what I told Sonic," she answered smiling, "Thank you."
********************************************
The triplets, along with Zelda, Amy, Cosmo, Tails and Mighty, were in Manic's room after the two couples were done with… well, whatever they were doing. Manic's room had very much everything Sonic would put in his room; video games, comic books and things like that. The only difference was that there were machine parts around and a drum set. Sonic was playing a game of catch with Chip while Sonia, Zelda, Amy, Tails and Cosmo watched. Manic and Mighty were playing games.
"Well, I see he hasn't changed. That's good," Zelda remarked.
"Yeah, it's good to see that some things stayed the same after all this time," Sonia nodded with a smile. At least those guys could keep a decent conversation. Soon, Knuckles passed by.
"Hey, Knuckles!" Tails called to get the echidna's attention. "That was like the third time you passed. Something wrong?"
"I… uh…" Knuckles hesitated, "I got lost…"
Sonic snickered at first, and then he fell onto the floor, slapping his hand on the floor as he laughed hysterically. "You?! The Greatest Treasure Hunter on Earth ….got LOST?!"
"Hey….you want a knuckle sandwich?!" Knuckles shouted.
"Catch me if ya can, slowpoke!" he laughed as he dashed out of the room, passing him.
Tails and Amy stared at Knuckles who stood there with his arms crossed and eyes closed. "You're not gonna chase after Sonic?" Tails asked.
"Sonic's not gonna make a fool out of me this time!" Knuckles replied harshly.
Sonic zipped back in front of him, "What if I said that I just doodled all over the Master Emerald?"
"WHAT?! WHY YOU!" Knuckles snapped as he dashed after Sonic in a rage.
Amy sighed, "When will Knuckles learn?"
"Huh?" Cosmo blinked.
"Don't worry about it, Cosmo. Sonic and Knuckles do this all the time. Sonic just irritates him so that he gets Knuckles to chase him around and fight a bit." Tails explained.
"They must really enjoy themselves I imagine," Sonia said.
"Ah huh," Amy nodded.
********************************************
As for Silver and Blaze, they were in the gardens enjoying each other's company. Silver had his head on Blaze's lap as she gently stroked his quills and thumbed his ears. It was times like this that the couple enjoyed. Here, they weren't heroes from the future, they didn't have to worry about Eggman Nega and they didn't have to protect the Chaos and Sol Emeralds. Right now, they were just Silver and Blaze. They were young, in love, and they liked it like that.
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A little bit of more than an hour later, the royal feast was up and ready. Everyone from the Mobotropolis and anyone else who could went there. There was a royal banquet, a royal orchestra, basically everything that a royal party would have. About an hour after the event started, one of the guards came through the doors of and gave the announcement.
"Ladies and gentlemen! Presenting Queen Aleena the Hedgehog the Fifth and her court!"
As the guards played their horns, the queen herself along with Chuck, Bernice, Zelda, Maximillian, Raphael, Cosmo and the Freedom Fighters walked out of the door. Surprisingly absent were her children. They must be getting ready for something.
"My friends, as you have known our kingdom as well as our world has been attacked by none other then the ancient Metarex! Fortunately, our prayers have been answered. The Metarex are no more at last and we couldn't have done it with our new friends and allies from a planet that is light-years away. I present to you…..the heroes of the planet Earth!"
As the guards played their horns, Shadow, Silver, Blaze, Knuckles, Rouge, Amy and Cream waving to the cheering crowd.
"And now also residing from planet Earth, Princess Elise III of Soleanna would like to say a few words. If you will, child?"
The crowd cheered as Elise gracefully walked out of door, joining with her friends waving at the crowd. Aleena motioned out of the way to let Elise stand in front of the crew. She took a deep breath and cleared her throat.
"Thank you, madam. I'm sure you are all aware of the revolt that took place one year ago on this planet that took the lives of two people important to you," the citizens nodded. "Well, what you may not know is that those two people had ended up on our planet during that time, along with the nitrous mad scientist, Dr. Ivo 'Eggman' Robotnik. In fact, they are here in this castle as we speak."
The entire crowd gasped. All of them chatted away in surprise and bafflement until Honey whistled them to shut up.
"Dr. Eggman is planning to do the same thing to what he did to all of you to us. However, with the help of Sonic and Tails, we've managed to make sure that his twisted dream doesn't become reality. We are very lucky to call them our friends."
Everyone clapped and cheered after her short speech. Soon, Aleena took the stand again. "Speaking of my children, whom you all know well as the Underground, they will have a performance later on tonight with Ms. Mina Mongoose as a guest singer. I am sure you all know that it has been a very long time since they played together. So, please enjoy the feast!"
"Sonic and his siblings are a rock band too?" Amy whispered to Fiona.
"Yeah, they did a lot of free shows to help people out of depression during Eggman's tyranny. It's really kinda cool."
The speech was over and everyone was enjoying the royal snacks held at the table. Elise was talking with Aleena and Raphael while Blaze was with Sally and Maximillian, Amy with Honey and Zelda, and Cosmo with Cream. Ash and Bark was discussing recon stuff with Shadow and Omega and Rouge was chatting with Fiona and Bunnie. When Tails finally walked in, sure enough he was trampled by lots of people when the say him, saying how they all missed and stuff. Tails just reside himself to that fate.
A bit later, Ash came up to the microphone on the stage, "As promised, here they are! Songoose and the Underground!"
They stage lit up and showed the royal siblings along with Mina and the orchestra were on they stage, ready to entertain. Manic was on the drums while Sonic and Sonia were on the guitar. The audience roared in applause.
"I wonder what song they'll play!" Amy smiled in wonder.
"Well, I just have one thing to say about all this…" Shadow said as he smiled coolly with his eyes closed and arms folded.
"What's that?" Rouge asked. His smile turned into an evil grin as he took out a camera.
"Blackmail."
First Sonia did a small guitar riff, and her bothers followed soon after. The audience cheering as Sonic took the vocals and Mina with the harmonies.
I'll go alone, so I can be in place
breaking away is the wall leading to the dark
My heart of cold, nothing covers up my sorrow
God, I can feel losing many souls
No one really knows he's
Not quite like I used to be
The way you should know me
As a soldier
And then Manic and Sonia joined in.
Trust in me and you can follow, when you're vanishing to your shadow
Why you conflict with you faith?
Finish 'Em Off!
Count on me, you can trust in me
Lets see the try and stop me
All of your scars will be your force
Ride high!
As the song continued, Mina took the main vocals.
If this fate grieves, the mighty still of your heart
Don't be afraid to realize you could be a slayer
Why did you grieve?
There's no answer you wanna know
Though you must stand fast and by yourself
When the morning's rainy, your power will fade away
But when will you know there's a soldier?
Trust in me, and you can follow me when you're vanishing to your shadow
Why you conflict with your faith?
Finish 'Em Off!
Count on me, you can trust in me
Lets see the try and stop me
All of your scars will be your force
Ride high!
As Sonic took the guitar solo, the audience cheered on. The way he played it was completely amazing. "Awesome! I had no idea he could play so well!" Elise squealed.
"Who knew he could sing too," Rouge added, "I never thought he could!"
"Yeah!" Amy and Cream cheered over the music.
"This is gonna be good," Shadow grinned as continued filming.
No one really knows he's
Just like how I used to be
The way you should know me, as a soldier
Trust in me, and you can follow when you're vanishing to your shadow
Why you conflict with your faith?
Finish 'Em Off!
Count on me, you can trust in me
Lets see the try and stop me
All of these stars, let you
Trust in your days of the warrior when you're vanishing to your shadow
Why you conflict with your faith?
Finish 'Em Off!
Count on me, you can trust in me
Lets see the try and stop me
All of your scars will be your force,
RIDE HIGH!
And as the song ended the crowed cheered loudly. It was good to see the triplets together again after so long
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Days the feast, it was time for Sonic and his Earth friends to return home. Everyone was at the outskirts of Mobotropolis and standing in front of the Blue Typhoon with Angel Island hocked right behind it.
"Wow, dajavu again," Bark snickered lightly.
"I'll say. Totally dajavu," Sonia smiled.
"So you and Tails are going back to Earth, Sonic?" Ash asked.
"Oh yeah, ol' Egghead's headed back there right now. We can't just let him take it over while we're gone," Sonic nodded.
"A wise choice my young friend," the Oracle nodded. "But know this: Robotnik will not be the only enemy you will need to worry about. You and your friends will be called several times to defend the planet when necessary."
"Yeah, like I haven't heard of that one before," Knuckles joked as he rolled his eyes.
"Still, we have to be careful," Cosmo said, "We don't know if we have to face another enemy as strong a Dark Oak."
"I here you," Blaze nodded, "Damn… I'm not going to here the end of it from Marine."
Sally brought Sonic into a friendly headlock, "It was great seeing you again. Hope to see you some other time real soon... Sleeping Beauty."
"I second that, Sal!" Sonic grinned sheepishly as he caught on to what she said. Looks like Fiona told her.
"Yeah, and this time, try to visit more often," Mina smirked. "You can teleport, right? So you don't have an excuse to not see as again."
"Don't worry, we'll be back for visits!" Tails smiled.
"Hey, Sonic…" Fiona said as she stepped up. On her face was a genuine smile.
"Hey! Nice smile!"
"Thanks, someone taught me to cut loose."
Sonic took the pendent from his neck and wrapped it back on Fiona, "Here, you hang on to this."
Fiona's smile widened as she looked at the medallion that had now returned to her. It was no longer there to remind her of what she regretted, but of the time she spent with Sonic and his new friends. "You rock!" she smiled as she caught him in a quick, warm hug. "Now be sure to come back. That mean's you too Tails!" she said as she released him.
"Eggman has almost reached Earth. We must leave," Omega said as he walked into the ship.
"Sonova… well, we may as well leave." Shadow said as he followed.
"Ha ha ha! Well, you youngness stay cool now!" Chuck laughed as he waved. The other Mobians followed suit while saying their own goodbyes.
As Sonic waved, he felt a hand rest on his shoulder. Looking back, he saw his mother with a proud look. "Aw mom!" he cried as she grabbed Sonic and held him close tightly and started giving him the same motherly emotion, kissing all over the face. "Okay, okay, take it easy mom!"
"Will you come back?" she asked as she set him down.
"Don't worry… I'll come back someday. That's a promise!"
And so, the Blue Typhoon took of into the air and out of the planet as the Mobians- not just the Freedom Fighters but everyone of the planet- waved goodbye.
As the ship left the atmosphere, Sonic glanced from his window and saw Tails and Cosmo sleeping together on a chair. Cosmo was sitting on his lap and cuddled Tails' head to her chest while he held her close by his arms wrapped around her waist. He couldn't help but chuckle at the cuteness.
"Hey, Sonic," Elise spoke up as she walked up to him, "You think the Oracle was right? That you guys will probably be called on to save Earth even more from now on?"
"I guess." Sonic replied. "Then again, what makes that so different from how things have always been?"
Elise laughed. "Yeah, good point... but hopefully, it won't be for a while yet. We could all use the rest."
Sonic grinned, looking back to the window. "Maybe, but whenever the call comes, we're gonna take it head on, full speed ahead!"