A/N: Alright, here's the last chapter! Hope you all liked this story. I've already started my next one. I don't know when I'll start posting it, but I will let you in on a few details. First of all it's gonna be similar to My Song, I'll focus on multiple relationships, and I'm going to be using some new characters. So that's something to look forward too!

Chapter 22

"Dad!" Lilly jumped on Knuckles back. "Found you!"

"Yes you did. Great job Lilly." He wrestled with her until he had her in his arms. He had become quite use to the name dad. He and Lilly had come to an understanding of their new father-daughter relationship. It had been almost six months since Rouge's death. Knuckles still remembered it as if it were yesterday. How he had held her in his arms, when she finally passed, her body had simply dematerialized into bright lights and vanished. Knuckles assumed it was how all guardians disappeared after dying.

"Are you okay?" Lilly was sitting in his lap.

"Yeah, I'm fine." he smiled.

"You're thinking about her aren't you?" Lilly looked up at him.

Knuckles lowered his head slightly. "Yes. I was."

"It's okay dad. I miss her too." She hugged his neck.

Knuckles stood up with her on his shoulders. "Come on. I'm sure Marley and Anna have dinner ready."

"I'm glad we were able to move here." Lilly smiled. Her hand slipped on to a small chain around Knuckles neck. Connected to it was a small green emerald. "I still can't believe you were able to shrink the Master Emerald to this size."

After Rouge's death, Knuckles had taken Lilly to live on Angel Island, but after about a month Knuckles had began to realize that even though Lilly was happy, if she remained on Angel Island forever then she might never know the things that Knuckles wanted her too. He wanted her to know friendship, love, and of the happiness that was beyond that little island. He knew that she could never have these things if she lived her entire life alone with him. So Knuckles found away to shrink the Master Emerald. He took the gem along with Lilly to the world below. In this way, Knuckles could still protect the stone and give Lilly the kind of life Rouge would of wanted her to have.

"About time you two got back." Anna was standing in the front door of the shop.

"Sorry we're late." Knuckles said as he let Lilly down off his shoulders.

"Oh you're fine." Marley stepped out with his hands behind his head. "Young people are never on time, you know that Anna."

Anna rolled her eyes. "Oh hush up and get ready for dinner." She took Lilly in to get ready as well.

Knuckles sighed looking over his shoulder. The town had come back to life the past month or two. It was quite now with all the people closing up shop and going home for dinner. He looked up at the sky. It was orange and red with the setting of the sun. He closed his eyes.

"I love you Knuckles."

Rouge's voice echoed in his head. He often replayed that sound in his mind. Going back to that precious moment in time. But lately he'd been hearing her voice constantly as if that were all he could think about. He couldn't understand why, but he didn't complain, it was almost like having her closer to him. "I wish you really were here Rouge...you'd finally be completely happy, and have everything you ever truly wanted."

Knuckles rolled over in his bed. His eyes opened slowly. He could see out the window and the mid day sun had already risen. Knuckles had found himself sleeping in a lot lately. He rose and rubbed the back of his head, and then walked down stairs. Anna was just sending off some kids who had bought some candy. "Good morning sleepy head." She smiled. "Bout time you got up."

"Hope Marley isn't to mad at me for sleeping in again." Knuckles stretched.

"Nah," Anna smiled. "With the town all a buzz again there's plenty of workers to be had at the mill now." She laughed. "Matter of fact, when you are late it gives them some work to do." Knuckles smiled and followed her into the kitchen where she fixed him some lunch. "Oh by the way Lilly is out with some friends." Anna told him.

"She sure is making a lot of those." He smiled as he drank a little coffee.

"Yes, I'm so glad that someone like you and Rouge took her as your daughter." She smiled.

"What!" Knuckles spat out his coffee looking up at her. "Y-You mean you knew that she wasn't mine and Rouge's biological child?"

Anna laughed. "Did you think Marley and I were blind or something?" She smirked. "Even we know that an echidna plus a bat doesn't equal a panther." She refilled his coffee cup. "But you needed a cover story back then right?"

Knuckles nodded. "Yeah, but how did you know that?"

"I honestly didn't know that was what it was until you came back here a few months ago and explained everything to Marley and me. But I remember how lovingly Lilly looked at you both and I knew she longed to call you mother and father so I just gave her a reason." She smiled.

Knuckles sighed happily. "Guess that's a mothers intuition huh?"

"Nothing better." She picked up his now empty plate.

Knuckles spent the rest of the day helping out at the mill and after the mill had closed for the day he decided to take some time for himself. He walked down through the trees. He was trying to enjoy the subtle joys of life that he use to really appreciate on Angel Island, like the sunset, the smell of summer and trees, and the sound of free running water. He slowly made his way down to a stream. It was clear and bright. He bent down looking at his reflection. He stared for a long time. Suddenly he narrowed his eyes. He could of sworn for a moment he saw Rouge looking back at him. He sighed. Try as he might perhaps even these small things reminded him of Rouge. "Don't get me wrong...I love you...but I can't keep thing of you like this..." He looked back at the water and saw her face again. He yelled and hit the water letting his palms land on the bottom of the riverbed. "Please...Rouge...I-I can't take it..." He looked up to the other side of the stream. His eyes went up the small hill there and rested on the crest. "What...?" In the bright rays of light, he could of sworn he saw Rouge standing there. He pulled his hands from the water and rubbed his eyes. "H-How can this be..."

"If you really are that tired of me, I can leave." Rouge folded her arms and pretended to pout. "And here I was thinking that you had been missing me."

"R-Rouge," Knuckles jumped to his feet. "I-Is it really you?"

"Don't tell you me you were expecting another girl?" She put her hands on her hips smiling.

"Rouge!" He jumped across the river and ran to her. He took her in his arms swing her around. "I-It really is you! You're alive!" He lower her and kissed her deeply.

She blushed when he finally released her. "I guess you did miss me after all."

"Of course I did you dummy!" His anger was really relief. "If you haven't been dead then where have you been? Why haven't you come back until now? Why have you been letting Lilly and I worry all this time? What-"

Rouge placed a hand over his mouth. "I'll be happy to explain if you could just be quite for one minute." She said with a slightly annoyed look on her face.

He pulled her hand from his mouth. "Alright." He agreed letting his hand lower, but he kept hers clutched gently in his grip almost as if he feared she might disappear if he released her.

"You see I really did die and then I came back to life." She began.

~~Flashback~~

Rouge was sitting by the bluest and clearest river she'd ever seen. She was leaning on her knee as she sighed. "I miss them..." She looked at her feet. Her body was glowing with a soft pale yellow light. She had become rather use it. All the others in this afterworld had the same glow.

"Rouge."

"hum?" She turned to see Nova. "Hey Nova..." She rested her head back on her knees.

"Come with me Rouge." She said putting her hand on her shoulder.

"Nova I'm really not in the mood..."

"Just come on." She pulled Rouge up by her arm. "This is important and it wasn't easy."

"What is it?" Rouge said as Nova pulled her along.

"You'll see." Nova lead her to the only building structure in the entire world. It was a large meeting place for all the past guardians.

When Rouge entered she was standing in the middle of a circle. She was surrounded by the past guardians of the Tokda Stone. "What's going on?" She asked as she looked at Nova who was standing at the head of the circle.

"Rouge," Nova stepped forward. "You are the ultimate guardian."

"What?" Rouge looked around at all the other guardians. "You were all great guardians, if anything you were all way better than me. None of you ever let the stone fall into evil hands like I did." She sighed. "You didn't let that monster escape."

"No we didn't." Nova put her hand on Rouge's shoulder. "But none of us could defeat the stone like you did."

"What?" Rouge suddenly looked up.

"Every one of us scarified out entire lives to that stone. We gave up everything we wanted and loved to protected it, and this went on for so many centuries. None of us could ever destroy the stone, all we did was keep it safe and allow it to live on and destroy each new life of every guardian from the beginning. But not you." Nova dropped her hands to her side and nodded to Rouge in approval. "You destroyed the stone and now every being born with guardian blood will no longer be forced to be a slave to the Tokda Stone. We are all free."

Rouge smiled. "I never realized..."

"It's because of all that you have done, that we have come to this decision." Nova smiled.

"Come to what decision?" Rouge blinked.

"We are sending you back."

"What!" Rouge gasped looking at Nova wide eyed. "B-But how can you do that?"

"You see for most of us we died of natural causes, not because we were killed and so we all have a very small amount of life left in our bodies. We have decided to give these small fragments of existence to you and together they should be enough to restore to you a full life."

Rouge felt so moved by all the past guardians surrounding her. Though she had only met them a few months ago she felt that she had always known them, each and everyone. It must of been because they shared the same bond. The guardian blood that once ran through their vanes had also ran in hers. "Y-You would do that for me?"

"Yes, because you did the impossible. You destroyed the stone." She then smiled. "And unlike the rest of us you did not give up your loved ones. You used that love to empower you and make you stronger. You miss them and they miss you. You deserve to go back." Nova looked around at her brethren and they all nodded in agreement. "You're going home."

~~End Flashback~~

"And so they gave you a new life?" Knuckles was sitting next to Rouge as they rested by the edge of the stream.

"Yes, and now we can finally be together." She looked at him. "We can be together always."

"And we will be." He leaned closer so his forehead rested against hers. "I promise."

"Good." She smiled. "Because I promised my fellow guardians that I wouldn't waste their generous gift." She kissed his cheek. She smiled at Knuckles blush. "So did the munchkin miss me too?"

Knuckles nodded. "Yeah she did. She might even have missed you more than me at times."

"Well then," She lifted from the ground and opened her wings. She lighted down on the other side of the stream. "Let's not keep her waiting." She smiled.

"Right."he jumped the river and followed.

"This is going to be really fun."

"Hum?" Knuckles looked over at her as they walked.

"We have a lot of firsts ahead of us." She had her hands behind her back.

"Firsts?" He stopped walking out of pure curiosity.

She nodded and looked at him with a sweet smirk. "Oh yeah," She continued to walk. "You know," She looked over her shoulder at him. "Lilly asked for a little brother or sister in prayers all the time. That's the first thing we're going to have to work on."

"W-What?" He was blushing madly.

Rouge winked at him. "I'll Make you a deal," She turned toward the direction of the town once again. "Whoever can get back first gets to pick the name." She suddenly took off running.

"R-Rouge!" Knuckles yelled. "Hold it! You can't just," He took off after her, his voice full of cute temper. "ROUGE!"

- END -