When Sonic and Phoenix rematerialized they were standing in Knothole Village. Sonic looked around, as if expecting that things had changed in the short time he had been gone. The figure strode with purpose towards the village square until another being stood in their path. It was a figure clad in black carrying a large scythe. It started to move towards Sonic but once it saw Phoenix it stepped to the side with a nod.
"Is that what I think it is?" Sonic asked and Phoenix nodded as they walked.
"He is a Reaper, charged with guiding lost souls back to the afterlife," he explained. "Souls much like you. As I recall that is the same Reaper that took you after using Mokushiroku no Ibuki. For him this is like a slap in the face."
Before Sonic could say anything in response they were already walking down the aisle of animals. Sonic was a bit surprised at the number of people that were there but also relieved. As he walked onto the podium Sonic now noticed the large pyre in the middle. As he examined it the blood drained from his face. There at the very top was his body with a peaceful expression on it, something he hadn't thought possible considering everything he'd done.
"That's...just a little..."
"Unsettling, isn't it?" Phoenix asked, joining him on the stage and walking through Antoine as if he wasn't there at all. "The longer they talk about you the better. That will afford us the time we need to reforge your body and attach your soul to it."
"Wait, what?" Sonic asked, scratching his head. "Reforge what and then do what with my soul? And how did you walk through Ant?"
"We are but souls right now," the figure reminded him. "We can only interact with other souls unless we choose to interact with more." To prove his point he knocked on the wood, causing Antoine to glance back briefly before returning to his speech.
"Is that why I can't hear what Antoine is saying?" Sonic asked, crossing his arms across his chest. "I know it's a little weird but how many opportunities am I gonna have to attend my own funeral?"
"Are you sure you want to hear them talk about the hedgehog who left them for dead? Who left them to join the enemy? Who betrayed their trust and sold them out?"
"How about the friend who gave them their freedom and their home back?" Sonic retorted. "How about the friend who gave his life so that they could live in peace? For all the crap that I've put up with I'd like to think that I've earned a little bit of goodwill around here."
"What about the woman who gave her heart to you? You, who knew that things could never have worked but still pursued it, going so far as to give a piece of your soul to her father. Tell me, does she see you as monster or savior?" Sonic looked over to Sally sitting next to Geoffrey. He could see that she was no longer wearing her engagement ring, a blow that pierced his heart. "Even Sylvanix told you as much, that the two of you were incompatible from the very beginning. Your souls could not harmonize because of who you are."
"Yeah, I remember," Sonic replied gruffly. "Doesn't mean I have to like it." He relaxed, looking back at his body. "Just how long is this going to take?" Phoenix was about to respond when Antoine picked up a torch followed by Uncle Chuck, Rotor, Eric, Dr. Osaka, Geoffrey and Ari.
"Right about now," he said, holding his hand out as the torches lit the pyre. What Sonic saw resembled a bird talon more than a hand, causing him to further wonder just what this thing was. Phoenix blew across his palm, wisps of flame dancing into the pyre. "Now Sonic, you must return to your body just as it is reformed from the ashes. At that moment you will return to the land of the living."
"Why are you doing this for me?" Sonic asked as the flames crawled higher. "What do you get out of this?"
"Entertainment." Phoenix pushed Sonic into the blaze and he passed through the wood and flames without injury. Sonic muttered a curse and closed his eyes, unsure of what would happen next.
"What the hell was that?" Eric asked, staring at the instantly roaring fire. "It's like the fire has a mind of its own."
"It should not have gone up like that," Dr. Osaka agreed. The fire had intensified far quicker than possible and was quickly building to be more than they had prepared for. The villagers and former Freedom Fighters watched as Sonic's body was reduced to ash, many of them uttering prayers of safe passage to the afterlife when a shriek filled the air. They looked up from covering their ears to see the flames form into a massive cross, Sonic's body slowly but surely reconstructing before their eyes. A mass of light traveled up the cross to join with the body and the flames began to twist. A giant flaming bird formed around Sonic with its wings tucked in before spreading them, washing the entire platform in flame and incinerating it. The crowd looked up to see that Sonic's body was on its back unharmed. The ground around him was unharmed except for a large pair of wings burned into the grass .
"You wanna take a stab at this one, Adrian?" Eric asked. Before the lynx could say anything Sonic sat up, taking a deep gasp. Many of the villagers screamed as the formerly dead hedgehog held his head, standing up slowly. "What...the...hell?"
"Will someone please stop the pounding in my head?" Sonic asked, his body still steaming and a hand to his temple. "Oh man, feels like I just had a house dropped on me." He opened one eye to see the entire village staring at him in shock. "What? You guys are acting like you've seen a ghost."
"To say the least," Dr. Osaka said, glancing up and down at Sonic. Sally pushed through the crowd, trying to comprehend what she had heard from the back. When she got to the center her heart skipped a beat. Slowly she walked up to Sonic, staring in his eyes as she tried to tell herself that it was just a cruel dream.
"Is that...really you, Sonic?" she asked quietly.
"Last I checked it was," he said and she hugged him, almost bowling him over. The other villagers quickly joined in, nearly suffocating Sonic. "Okay guys, I get the idea," he yelled over the crowd. "But this 'hog would like to know why you're all so happy to see him."
"You were dead, Sonic," Tails said, tears streaming down his face. "Why wouldn't we be happy to see you?"
"Dead? What's that supposed to-" Sonic stopped as the events in Robotropolis came flooding back. His battle with Kinos, using Mokushiroku no Ibuki, and dying in Sally's arms. He dropped to one knee, the throbbing in his head back with a vengeance.
"We should get you to my hut to make sure that you're okay," Dr. Osaka said. Two villagers helped Sonic up and supported his weight while walking towards the doctor's hut. As they walked away Dr. Osaka noticed a glowing tattoo on Sonic's left shoulder blade that gradually faded to nothing. He shook his head and chalked it up to stress.
The villagers set him down on the exam table before being shooed off by Dr. Osaka. "Aside from the headache how do you feel?" he asked as he took Sonic's pulse and checked his breathing.
"A little warm," Sonic admitted. "And like the biggest jackass on the planet."
"A minor understatement," the lynx said with a smirk. "And that warm feeling is probably from being in a funeral pyre that reduced you to ash. You'll have to tell me how you pulled that one off."
"Wait, you guys did what?!" Sonic nearly yelled. "For crying out loud couldn't you have just put me in the ground?"
"You died a hero's death," Antoine said as he and the other Freedom Fighters walked in. "It was only appropriate that we give you a hero's funeral." Sonic muttered something inaudible under his breath but nodded all the same. "I must ask, simply out of curiosity. What do you remember of the afterlife?"
"Right now? Nothing," Sonic admitted. "It's coming back bit-by-bit but I don't think that I actually passed on to the afterlife."
"That's just a bit odd, sugarhog," Bunnie said. "You sure you're alright?"
"Not really," he said, holding one hand to his head. "Considering what I've put you guys through I deserve the worst that you can give me. Letting you believe for months that I was still fighting for you was as low as it could get."
"You do not need to explain everything now, Sonic," Antoine interrupted. "Right now you just need to rest and recover." Sonic nodded, grateful for the quiet. As the last of the group left Antoine stepped back in and closed the door.
"What's up, Ant?" Sonic asked, standing up and testing his balance.
"There are some of the villagers who wanted to put you on trial before discovering you had died," he explained. "They had dropped the issue, for obvious reasons, but are now asking for the trial once more."
"I come back and get court marshaled. Fan-freaking-tastic," Sonic muttered. "How many villagers?"
"Enough," Antoine continued. "They want to have it as soon as possible." Sonic was silent, running everything through his head.
"Then tell them tomorrow afternoon they'll have the entire truth," he said after a moment. "Any questions they have I'll answer. And I'll accept whatever punishment they want to inflict." Antoine stared at his friend in shock and surprise.
"You do know that the penalty for high treason is death," Dr. Osaka said and Sonic nodded. "Very well then. Don't say I didn't warn you." With that Sonic and Antoine headed out of the hut, Antoine to spread the word and Sonic to relax in his and Sally's hut. When he arrived Sally was nowhere to be found. He had been hoping to explain everything to her first but with everything that was going on he couldn't exactly blame her for not wanting to see or talk to him.
"This really can't get much worse," he muttered, sitting on the ground and setting Kaiyō Mujō on his lap. "You still there?" He felt himself being pulled into his inner world and gently landing on the beach.
"I'm always here when you need me, Sonic," she said. "I take it coming back didn't work out quite like you would have expected."
"That's an understatement," Sonic said, lying down on the surf and staring at the clouds. "Now they wanna put me on trial and possibly execute me. I would've been better off just staying dead."
"Do you honestly believe that you would have been happy sitting around for the rest of eternity?" the sword spirit asked as she laid down next to him. "There is another option: you could just leave." Sonic turned to her with a curious expression. "You have fulfilled your obligation as a Guardian. Let someone else take up the mantle."
"You're telling me that you'd wish this life on another animal?" he asked and she nodded. "Why? Everything we do is scrutinized and examined to the point where we can't help for fear of retaliation by...by..."
"Normal animals?" she finished for him. "It's alright to admit that you're different, Sonic. I mean, how many Mobians have a talking sword?" He chuckled at the thought. "So, how much do you actually remember?"
"So far? Up to where I met Sylvanix in person for the first time," he said. "And honestly, I don't think they need to know more than that about me being dead. It's not like I plan on doing it again anytime soon."
"So shouldn't you plan out what you are going to tell them?" she asked. "Time has a way of sneaking up on you in here. You never know just how much time you've spent talking with me." Before Sonic could reply one of the rocks on the cliff face fell, striking the wall three times. He sat up and stared at the cliff, feeling that something was off about the timing. Another rock fell, this one hitting harder and four times before hitting the ground.
By the third set of knocks Bunnie had nearly knocked the door down. Sonic shook his head, trying to snap out of the reverie he'd been in. "Coming!" he yelled. He attached Kaiyō Mujō to his back and stood up, stretching out his stiff limbs. He opened to door to see Bunnie holding two pairs of metal cuffs. "Umm, I think Sally and Antoine would have some major issues with this." Bunnie blinked twice before getting it and her face turned bright red when she did.
"That's NOT what these are for, sugarhog," she said. "Ah'm here to take you to the War Room and the villagers are insisting y'all wear these just in case you try to run off." Sonic began to protest when he noticed that sun was high in the sky. Had he talked with Kaiyō Mujō all night and morning and not even realized it?
"Fine," he muttered, allowing Bunnie to cuff his wrists and ankles before leading him on the shortest but emptiest route to the War Room. Not running was one thing but thinking that they could prevent it infuriated him. When they finally entered he could see that nearly every Freedom Fighter from every village was gathered as well as a large number of civilians. They had set up a form of courtroom overnight and Bunnie led him to the front of the seats. Sonic happened to notice that his parents were noticeably absent and he was more than a little curious to know why.
"I apologize for the restraints, Sonic," Antoine said from the stand. "Many of the animals here thought it best though."
"Don't sweat it, Ant," Sonic replied. He pulled against his wrists and the cuffs dissolved into dust followed by the ones on his ankles. "You're just doing what the village thinks is necessary." Antoine had to hide his smile from the others. He had assumed that Sonic would be capable of something like that so the restraints would mean nothing. To the animals gathered against him though it was a slap in the face, cooperating and then proving that it had all been for naught. "So, should we get this show on the road?"
Antoine pounded the gavel twice and three juries took their seats. On his right were the Mobian Freedom Fighters, some from Knothole but most from other villages. On his left were the Robians and behind him was a mix of Robian and Mobian civilians. Antoine had gone out of his way to gather an unbiased jury that was balanced in every way that he and Rosie had been able to think of. "The charges against you are grave, Sonic Hedgehog," he began. "First is your dereliction of duty when you left Knothole. Then we have several reports of false information given to villages to mitigate their attacks against Robotropolis. But worst among these is the charge of high treason for bringing Kinos into our homes and handing us over to him." Sonic stared painfully at Antoine's right arm, a reminder of what Kinos had done. "If the decision was mine alone then I would pardon these crimes, considering what you did in destroying Robotropolis and defeating Kinos giving your life in the process. But that is not the way we want the government to work. Before I ask for your plea I would like to hear from you what happened during your time away from us."
Sonic closed his eyes, debating what he should do. They deserved the truth that much he believed. But he also knew that nothing he said would change their minds about what had happened. "I'll tell you," he said finally, "on the sole condition that I'm not interrupted while doing so. There's a lot of things I did that I'm not proud of and I'd rather not explain what happened and explain myself at the same time." Antoine nodded and Sally turned Nicole on to record what Sonic was about to tell them.
He went through everything. He told them how Kinos had made him the initial offer, catching many of them off-guard. He skipped ahead to when he had left, pointing out that he'd had no intention of threatening Arlo's life but the armadillo had pushed him too far. The plan was to get into a large enough verbal argument that he would leave the village, fed up with being untrusted. Immediately after he had joined Kinos, giving him the location of every Freedom Fighter base as a house-warming gift. This shocked nearly every animal in the room. They were unable or unwilling to believe that he had sold them out so quickly. Releasing the Robians, keeping the SWATbots away from certain raids, that had also been his doing. It was about this time that he had discovered a method of powering the storm that didn't drain his strength away: Power Rings. The rings not only enhanced his speed and abilities but he could also use them to fuel more powerful techniques at no cost to himself. He left out the parts about meeting Arias and the attack on Beech Knoll, mostly because he didn't remember much about the latter and the former wasn't exactly easy to explain.
When he finally finished the sun was getting ready to set in the horizon. He sat down in the provided chair and let out a long sigh. He felt like a massive weight had been lifted from his shoulders. He was relaxed enough to be in a good mood, even considering the situation he was in.
"That is...I cannot imagine..." Antoine said, trying to absorb the story Sonic had just told them. "Was there any time that you felt like helping Kinos was the right thing to do?"
"A couple," he shamefully admitted, dropping his head. "It felt really good messing with your heads after what I was put through. Of course it didn't take long for the guilt to set in after that." He held his head high, staring at each of the juries. "But I have no regrets. I did what was necessary to stop Kinos and give us our home back, even if it is just a giant field right now. I won't apologize for my actions just because a few of you have a stick up your ass that this wasn't done the way you wanted." At this many of the Freedom Fighters smiled. This was the same brash, defiant hedgehog that they had fought alongside for years. "I'm not going to give a plea. I'm at peace with what's happened. So I'm going to leave my fate in your hands and what happens from there is just fallout from our victory." He propped the chair on two legs and put his feet on the table. Antoine glanced at the juries, all of them nodding their heads to say they were ready to pass judgment.
"Of the Mobian Freedom Fighters, how do you rule?" Antoine asked. The foreman, a male dog with chocolate fur, stood up with a scrap of paper in his hand.
"The Mobian Freedom Fighters are unanimous in their decision," he said, opening up the slip. "We vote that Sonic Hedgehog be pardoned of all crimes." There was cheering in the crowd until Antoine called for order.
"And the Robian assembly?"
"We are split," the foreman said, an elderly female fox. "The majority votes that Sonic Hedgehog be punished for his crimes against us." Antoine turned to the mixed villagers when Eric and Alura threw open the doors and ran down the aisle. They were both in full military dress and panting heavily.
"Under the Mobian Articles you cannot try Sonic on any of these charges!" Eric yelled, coming to a stop next to his son. "Article Fourteen, paragraph three, 'All acts of treason committed in wartime can only be judged by the monarch of Mobotropolis'."
"But Antoine is the monarch!" one of the villagers from the crowd yelled.
"Antoine is Regent right now," Eric replied quickly. "He is not the monarch until he is crowned as such by Crown Royalty, such as Princess Sally."
"And that can't happen until the city is rebuilt and able to stand on their own against threats both foreign and domestic," Alura added. "No matter what the cowards in this room want Sonic cannot be tried until the government is restored." They both turned to Antoine who had been silent the entire time, his hands hiding his smile. He had not wanted to say anything about this, afraid that his friendship with Sonic would be viewed as a liability. But he was extremely glad the two Hedgehogs knew their ancient Mobian law.
"They are correct," he said after a moment. "We cannot hold these charges against Sonic until we have restored our city and government."
"Then throw the bastard in prison!" another villager yelled.
"My orders won't allow that," Eric said. "I've been ordered to place Sonic under Xenodonian command until such time as he can be debriefed by the Senate." The crowd murmured at this. Even the Freedom Fighters looked at each other in confusion. "Sonic was attacked by the leader of Azosarria and it left a brand on him. The Senate is worried that this brand allowed Arias some measure of control over Sonic influencing his actions after leaving Knothole."
"You can't do that!"
"You really want to get in my way?" Eric growled. He took a moment to regain his composure before saying, "I'm offering you a diplomatic way out of this. As of right now Sonic is under my protection, not as a Mobian or his father, but as the Commanding Officer of the Xenodonian Vanguard. Any violence taken against Sonic is violence taken against the nation of Xenodome. If this is going to present an issue to then I will call the city for a full military extraction. And while I'll know what the situation is I doubt that several of the warmongers in Xenodome will be as lenient as me. Besides, I'm sure that the lot of you are ready for another war."
"That will not be necessary," Antoine said, banging the gavel. "Sonic, I am releasing you into the Commander's custody until such time that we can properly hold this trial." He banged the gavel one last time and the crowd dispersed, many of them unhappy at the outcome. After a few minutes Sonic turned to his parents, the three of them the only ones left in the building.
"Where'd you pull that one out of?" Sonic asked his father.
"I didn't have to pull it out of anywhere," Eric replied. "Those are my orders. Originally my job was to recruit you but after Arias used you as a punching bag they changed. Now we need to see if his attack did anything to you."
"Like becoming a giant fireball and coming back from the dead?" Eric scratched the back of his head at that.
"Yeah, I'm gonna leave that bit out," he admitted. "You were in a coma we were pretty sure you weren't waking up from. The funeral pyre was symbolic only. We weren't going to actually put you on it."
"It wouldn't be the worst lie your father has told the Senate this year," his mother said with a smirk. "Anyway, we should get going soon. It's only a matter of time until the villagers that weren't happy start to cause problems."
"You have an hour, Sonic," his father said. "Sorry for the short notice but we need to get moving quickly." Sonic stood there only nodding as he tried to wrap his head around the idea of leaving. He slowly worked his way back to his hut, barely noticing the smell of chili dogs. As he looked up he saw Sally making a batch of chili.
"Sal..." he started, trying to find the words to tell her everything.
"It's...it's okay, Sonic," she said as she poured chili over a set of dogs. "After everything that's happened I figured this would be the least I could do to make up for ignoring you." She handed him a plate which he gladly devoured. "How do you like?"
"Well, it's my recipe so it's a good start," Sonic said between bites. "I don't know what you added but it's good." As they cleared their plates Sonic thought about what to say. He still didn't have anything that sounded believable. She had been in the War Room and heard all the facts but he needed her to know the reasons.
"I know what it is that you want to say," Sally said, interrupting his thoughts. "After hearing everything...Well, to say that it's overwhelming is a bit of an understatement. I think I understand why you did it but being on the receiving end is still a little hard to swallow."
"I never wanted to hurt you," Sonic replied quietly. "I knew after meeting Kinos for the first time that something like this would happen. And considering the damage that Griff did I wasn't left with much of a choice."
"You mean it was Kinos' intention to get you to join him?" Sonic nodded. "But why? He must have known that it wouldn't work."
"He is...was stubborn, like me," Sonic said. "Just because something shouldn't work doesn't mean to not try." He felt a sting of truth in those words as what Sylvanix and Phoenix had told him came back.
"So then...what about us?" Her question caught him off-guard. "Where did we go wrong?"
"We didn't, Sal. I screwed it up. I should've told you my plan. But I needed to think clearly without worrying about everyone. But I screwed that up too." He scoffed, thinking about his last moments. "I couldn't even die right."
"Don't say that!" Sally cried, grabbing his bicep.
"I died in your arms, Sal," he said unfazed. "That's not something you can just forget." He looked down at his hands, remembering what Sylvanix had told him when he first became a Guardian. It was a fact he was still unwilling to accept. "I'm not gonna stay here, Sal. The old man is taking me to Xenodome and I get the feeling that I'm not gonna be around after that." He turned to look her in the eyes. "I want you to come with me." Sally took a step back, balancing herself on a chair.
"You want me to come with you to Xenodome?" she asked, unsure if she had heard correctly. "Leave Knothole and everyone behind? Are you sure?"
"We've been through so much, Sal," Sonic said. "This will give us the chance at a fresh start. No one judging us, telling us what's proper and what's not. Somewhere no one knows us."
"But like you said, we've been through so much," she said slowly, holding her left ring finger. "It's just...I don't know if I really know you any more, Sonic."
"Is that why you're not wearing your engagement ring?" Sally was silent, confirming what Sonic had seen before coming back. "It's okay. I guess it's just the universe's way of saying 'I told you so'." Sally gave him a questioning look but he waved it off. Before he could say anything else Sally leaned forward, embracing and kissing him with everything she had. After a moment Sonic returned the favor, noticing that it felt nothing like it used to. When they parted even Sally seemed disappointed. Without another word she left with tears forming in her eyes, leaving Sonic to prepare for the trip.
It only took him a few minutes to grab his things and head out the door where the Freedom Fighters were waiting for him. Several villagers were present as well but Sonic knew they could care less about what happened to him at this point. Amy, Bunnie, and Rosie gave him tearful farewells. Tails have him a gold bracelet, "for luck". Dulcy came flying at him (literally) and nearly plowed into him as she gave him the dragon equivalent of a bear hug.
"Here, sonny. This is something Rotor and I put together," Uncle Chuck said after tearfully hugging his nephew. He handed Sonic a small wrist-mounted computer. It was similar to Aurora but much sleeker. "I know you could always use an extra hand. And we don't want you to have something that looks like a hand-me-down. We've dubbed her 'Zeta' and she has at least twice the computing power that Aurora has."
"And this is from Sally," Rotor said, handing Sonic a small memory card. "Not really sure what's on it but she said that you'd be able to understand it." Sonic guy-hugged one of his best friends, unsure if he would ever see him again. Antoine said nothing but saluted his friend and Sonic gladly returned the gesture. When he had worked his way through the procession he was standing at the main bridge leading out of Knothole where his parents were waiting.
"Ready to go, son?" Eric asked. With one last glance at his childhood home Sonic nodded. "Then hold on. This ride gets a bit bumpy sometimes." As Sonic waved one last time the air around them began to crackle and they vanished in a crackle of electricity. The serene forest was replaced by the hustle and bustle of the city. More than a bit shocked at the change Sonic looked around to see that they were at an enormous building that reminded him of the old government buildings in Mobotropolis. Eric pushed the doors open and several humans and Mobians walked out wearing business suits, all of them towering over him like his parents did.
"The sooner we talk to the Senate the better," his mother explained as Sonic tried to get the words out to ask what was happening. "Are you ready to tell them what you told your friends?" After a moment Sonic nodded and they walked into the building. As the doors shut behind them Sonic realized that they weren't just shutting on the outside but also on a chapter of his life.
And a new chapter was waiting for him just ahead...