Hello everyone! I have nothing to say here other than enjoy the story!
He could remember, what exactly did he remember? The Death Egg, the taunting, his other counterpart, yeah that was clear, what else? A flash of light, something happened in that flash of light, his head hurt but what else happened? Where was he? Where was everyone? His thoughts were clouded in confusion and a huge stress on top of him, however, these feelings washed away in relief when he felt a hand holding tightly onto his. His eyes slowly opened revealing a blurry world that was getting clearer and clearer.
This was his house, he could recognize it anywhere and this was his room, lying comfortably on his car-shaped bed, and next to him?
"Hello Sonic," a voice so familiar and so soothing that Sonic could never mistake it. He looked to his left and there she was, Sally Acorn. Her blue vest and boots, her short red hair, sitting on a chair next to him gently holding his hand with no digital eyes, no mechanical parts or cold hands, it was Sally. And she was beautiful
"Sally?" he couldn't believe what he was seeing, all he did was slowly sit up on the bed wondering if everything was even real "Are you-?"
"It's me Sonic, I'm here, we all are".
Sonic didn't know what to say, everything was so confusing but there was one clear thought. He hugged Sally with all his might, his eyes still not processing the situation but fully embracing it, Sally hugging in return, not wanting to let go either.
"It's okay, it's over".
"But what happened?" he asked still not letting go of the hug.
"You did it, you all did it, you saved the day".
He remembered the battle that transpired.
"What about Super Sonic?" he said breaking the hug "Where is he?"
"It's alright, they said he reverted to a peaceful state- we won Sonic, you're safe now".
He was safe, in fact, they all were, every single one of them was unharmed and Sonic was now getting a grasp on reality and his sighs of relief could not be more immense.
"Sounds like somebody could use a break," said Sally, and Sonic smiled at the remark gently holding her hands. He loved adventures as much as the next supersonic hedgehog but he loved Sally way more.
"I missed ya Sal," he said holding her cheek with one hand and all he could wish for right now was for no one to take this away.
"So did I," she said embracing the affection "You should go out there, they all have been waiting for you too".
"Who's they?" but Sonic already knew that; he got up from the bed and opened the door of his room to head out to the living room only to find a quite confusing image.
The six Sonics were all across the room, Wachowski petting Muttski on his lap sitting on the table, Little Sonic in the kitchen helping Bernadette cook one delicious meal, X taking the entire couch for himself lying down, the rest of them leaning on a wall or sitting on the floor, all listening to Jules who appeared to be in the middle of a great story. They all stopped their activities as soon as the door was open staring directly at both Sally and Sonic.
"Hey! Prime!" Main Sonic jumped from the ground "About time you joined us, your old man was telling us the fun stories".
"He was?" he asked a bit uncertain about which stories he was talking about.
"Yeah!" Wachowski added in excitement "Your dad fought in a war! That's so cool!"
"Yeah, he's the best," Prime thought "How long have you all been here?"
They all looked at each other in awkwardness wondering if everyone knew the exact answer to the question.
"Almost as long as you've been on your car bed, Prime," said Archie Sonic as he approached Prime giving him a shoulder hug and a smirk, Prime looked startled by his actions but Archie quickly understood "Oh, it's okay, I can poke you all I want, no more zapping".
No more zapping? Then whatever they did worked perfectly.
"Also, Little Sonic used your guitar, we figured you wouldn't mind".
Prime saw Little Sonic in the distance confirming that fact with an energetic nod and looked back at Sally.
"You let them inside?" he asked as Sally chuckled.
"You were taking a long time to wake up and well… we all needed a breather," she didn't want to elaborate on that "I'll leave you guys on your own if that's okay".
"Wait!" Prime stopped her from leaving by grabbing her arm but instantly dropped it when he saw everyone watching.
"It's okay Sonic, I'm not going anywhere, besides, I miss New Mobotropolis and I wanna see it again, we'll have plenty of time later".
Right, they were safe. He smiled and Sally returned the smile giving him a quick kiss on the cheek before leaving, leaving the room absolutely speechless as soon as she closed the door. Prime felt the awkwardness around him as all of his counterparts stared at him, all of them with mixed reactions. X was smiling, almost proud, Main and Little Sonic were confused but intrigued, Wachowski was shocked, Boom felt disgusted and Archie had a mix of all of this.
"What? Am I the only one?" Prime asked addressing their thoughts "Don't you have anyone? I don't know, Amy, maybe?"
"Pfft," Boom Sonic retorted "Why would you assume that?" however, X saw him smirking at that statement that he could totally identify with.
"Who's Amy?" Wachowski inquired.
Prime sighed.
"Sorry Prime-boy," Archie continued "We're just not… used to it?" he said trying to speak for everyone as Prime took a few seconds to process how that would go.
"Wow, I- uh, guess I also find that confusing".
"You know me, always look for a new adventure-" Main Sonic said joining Archie in shoulder-hugging Prime.
"Free as the wind, no slowing down," Prime cheekily finished for him "I feel that too... but I guess I can make an exception".
"Aw," Wachowski interrupted "That is so romantic".
"You two look happy together," said X lying on the couch giving his counterpart a thumbs up, and Prime couldn't help but smile under his breath.
"Yeah, yeah, you're both really cute together- I'm really jealous," Boom Sonic sarcastically interrupted given that he didn't want to continue this type of discussion "But are none of you going to ask what just happened?"
"What happened, what?" Wachowski inquired "Sonic got a ki-".
"I mean the thing that happened, you know the thing".
Main scratched his head, X became alerted and Little Sonic paid attention to what Boom said as they all were curious to know what had happened given that their memories were also jumbled. Prime didn't have the most clear idea either but he was the best guide to explain the situation.
"Was that the universe resetting?" Little Sonic left the kitchen and joined the main group.
"It was," Prime confirmed "But it wasn't anything like I've experienced, that place was-… I don't think it was a place".
"But those were your experiences, right?" Wachowski Sonic added, "When I was floating there, I was hearing Tom's voice but some of them were not… did you also hear that?"
"You were floating?"
"You guys were hearing voices?" Archie Sonic asked in curiosity.
"Huh? You guys weren't?" Wachowski was confused. It was weird, Prime and Wachowski remembered a bit more details of the whole ordeal than the rest of the hedgehogs whose details of the event were more of a distant dream than anything, only remembering the very last moments of it and as they looked at each other, they came to the theory as to why that was.
"Is it because we all…" Boom tried to finish that sentence but it was awkward to say it.
"Wait, did we truly… did that?" Little Sonic tried to confirm "Wow".
"What, what happened?" Prime wanted answers.
"Nothing happened!" Archie intervened "Because we managed to undo it by holding hands in that white no-place so it doesn't count".
But Boom Sonic wasn't taking it that well.
"So we did die?" he was somewhat terrified about the realization and Prime even more.
"What?!"
"Yeah, I don't think we made it," X stepped up to explain it "No one did it, really. But the energy in that void… chaos isn't it? The servers are the seven chaos-".
"Chaos is power" Main Sonic continued remembering how that little speech went with Archie joining as well and Prime who mentally repeated the lines.
"-And power is enriched by heart" Prime finished coming to the same realization X had gotten to. A realization that felt like total gibberish to the rest of them.
"Is that something special?" Wachowski asked and Prime was ready to explain it with a confident smile shining across his face.
"Sonic is chaos," said Prime "Destined to save the multiverse, at least that's what they tell me, but the thing is that yeah, I'm pretty special and after what we did then that makes us allspecial. We are all chaos, and if you say that you all failed… then what happened in that void is that we didn't want to fail. We reset the universe".
"So you're saying that we wished the city back? And everyone else?" Little Sonic tried to piece it together.
Prime paused for a second to realize what he said and understand how hard they lost while he lost on his side inside the Death Egg, nevertheless, he tried to follow the conversation.
"In that void, as we... held hands, do you remember the last thought you had?" he asked the group, and there was a moment of thought as they all managed to remember their exact feelings during the event and they quickly realized what Prime was trying to say. They undid the damage because, in simple terms, they wished for it.
And Chaos is power.
"Boys?" Bernadette called from the background holding a plate of chili dogs with all the hedgehog's eyes sparkling in excitement as Bernie handed out the delicious meal to everyone in the room happy that they seemed to enjoy it.
"Is this really the thing we can all agree on?" asked Main Sonic.
"If I had to choose one thing that all of us came together for, I wouldn't choose anything else," Archie said with food still in his mouth.
"Didn't we just do that?" said Boom "Right, we all had to come together for that and no one could do without the other?" his tone was asking for some type of confirmation that Archie quickly noticed, rushing to sit next to him.
"Yes, you were pretty good in the fight," he said teasing him, munching on another bite "Nice job, though you definitely needed help more than once".
Boom looked proud of that.
"Meh, I could have handled that guy on my own if my body wasn't as glitchy… You guys were great too I guess, remind me not to do that if I ever go yellow".
"As long as your Knuckles is around," Prime joked "If he had gone Super, he could have definitely won that... you do have a Knuckles, right?".
"Boom's right," Main added "If we were in better condition? No sweat!"
"I also did a lot of stuff…" Little Sonic said with enthusiasm and instantly feeling sorrow "But that guy broke my guitar!"
"Pretty sick guitar," Boom agreed "You fight with instruments? You gotta teach me that one, maybe that way we can put on a show while we kick Eggman's butt".
"Sorry! It is-... was a one-of-a-kind pendant my mother gave us".
"You have a mother too?" asked Wachowski in surprise.
"Who's 'us'?" Main followed.
"Oh, you know… Manic, Sonia, my siblings?"
"Dude, you have a brother and sister?" Prime was also surprised.
"Must be real shocking coming from the guy who has a mom and dad" Boom replied sarcastically with Prime seemingly taking some offense.
"You don't know them either?" Little continued talking to Prime as he assumed it would be him among them who might had some siblings "It's just you?"
"Unless I have a surprise sibling… dad?"
Jules shook his head.
"Don't worry Prime, I don't think we're familiar with those names either, sorry little one," said Main "But I don't think we would have a chance if you hadn't had your necklace".
"Son," Jules interrupted the conversation, all eyes now turning to him "Why do they call you Prime?"
"Oh you know, when you're in a room with six other versions of you then we can't all be Sonic, you know".
"And you named yourself Prime?"
"Yeah, why not? It is the Prime Zone, you know".
"But he's not the main Sonic, he is," Boom Sonic said pointing at Main.
"But I am Prime, I have a friend who likes to call me Sonic Prime, remember?"
"Yeah? Would like to know that friend".
"Aren't you the one who knows everything about everyone by calling yourself Boom and me Archie?" Archie asked in irony to which Boom scoffed at it, making too much sense for his liking.
"Yeah, why didn't I cool name?" Little Sonic complained.
"Grounder" Boom said without much emotion.
"That doesn't feel cool," he crossed his arms.
"Take it or leave it kid,"
"Kid? I'm pretty sure I'm the same age as you!"
Boom scoffed.
"Main is also a pretty boring name, I don't think you're that good at this 'naming your allies' game" Main joked.
"I didn't got a name," said Wachowski, somewhat disappointed by this fact
"I'll get you all better names later, but calling yourself Prime sounds pretty arrogant".
"Weren't you trying to validate your presence a few seconds ago," Prime immediately retaliated "If you're jealous that someone else took the spotlight you can just say it".
"Heh, he was looking for places to shine," Archie added knowing this would annoy Boom.
"And I did! I just brought back a universe remember?" he said now coming face to face with Prime who kept his smile.
"With my help- with everyone's help," he replied "Did you know what chaos was before that?"
"I think you're the one who's jealous".
"Why would I be jealous?"
"I dunno, maybe 'cause I am probably faster than you".
X, Main, and Archie were enjoying every second of it and were pretty much on the edge of their seat seeing this play out, it felt awesome seeing this type of interaction from a third-person view rather than in first person.
"Prove it, tough guy," he said, delivering his final blow.
"Woah, woah!" Wachowski came in to stop them "We just saved the world, I'm sure we can do this later, right?"
Sure they could, a couple more chili dogs wouldn't hurt, after all.
"Son," Jules resumed now that the hedgehogs had calmed down "Wouldn't it have been easier to tell them your real name?"
That caused some stares.
"Woah, woah! Dad, no need to say that because Sonic is my real name".
"You have other names besides Sonic?" Wachowski was baffled.
"I don't, I don't, Sonic is my name- dad!"
"You really are a unique Sonic-not-Sonic" Main joked and now Prime was more than embarrassed at the whole ordeal which meant that Jules had achieved his goal.
"Wait, wait, wait, so do you, like, have a last name- middle name?" Archie was now curious.
"Isn't the middle name 'The'?" Boom completed wondering if he had a different name.
X chuckled at the situation getting up from the couch finishing his chili dog and heading for the exit.
"Where are you going?" Prime asked.
"You got a beautiful city Prime, or… name-that-isn't-Sonic, and I want to experience it to the fullest before we return home, can't miss a single thing. Thanks a lot, Sonic's parents, you have a great son" One could not identify if that was a compliment or self-praise.
X left the house and closed the door behind him leaving the group in silence, some of them still lingering on the fact that Sonic's name was apparently not Sonic.
"We are returning home now are we?" Archie wanted confirmation.
"We are not dying anymore, are we?" Boom quickly reshaped the question "I'm sure there are more things to do around here than fighting another version of me that's out to kill us, like proving my speed to someone".
"Don't you have your own worlds to go back to?" said Prime "We talked about that a lot and well, we beat Eggman and won, so yeah, you're all good to leave".
"And where is Eggman?" Wachowski inquired and it was probably something that they were all wondering. Prime was thoughtful, stuck in a pause that they all noticed waiting for his response, his mind going back to the last feelings he experienced in that void.
"He's finished," he replied with a confident smile "He'll be back for sure, but it's over for now".
That was a response, but apparently, it was fully over, and it was time to go home now, but at the same time everything felt so sudden, and now that their bodies were feeling better it was natural to want to just go out and explore and surely spending a couple of minutes breathing fresh air before heading home wouldn't hurt anybody.
Especially not more than what they had gone through.
It almost felt as if nothing had happened. The sun was now above the city, the grass was as green as ever and the parks were just as peaceful, and sitting on a bench was Knuckles pondering on everything that had transpired playing with the Warp Ring that was now in his possession, and coming back to life after almost getting his life sucked out of him only to be blown up right after did not bother him, even though it was unpleasant.
"Hey Knux," it was X who materialized next to him comfortably sitting with no previous warning "Feeling better?"
"Heh, I'm just gonna assume you fixed things," Knuckles said trying to start the friendly banter as X simply stared ahead with a little chuckle.
"It's a pretty place to live in, would be a shame to lose it".
Knuckles mind went back to Albion and he knew that X was pointing out that information by the way he looked back at him.
"It is, although I don't live here… but I'm assuming you already knew where to find me".
"I didn't".
Knuckles' reaction demanded elaboration and X extended his hand asking for the Warp Ring.
"I basically use the energy inside a ring, gives me a little juice, and I was able to use that energy during the fight, bet you guys didn't know that".
"A hidden power?"
"Chaos," X continued with confidence, getting closer to the echidna who was now "That's how we brought the city back it seems... I just had to reach out and pull you in".
The message he was giving out to Knuckles was obvious and the echidna was amazed by this information about the Warp Rings containing extra energy that he was not aware of, despite that now that X said it, it made perfect sense.
"Now it's your turn to try it," X tossed the ring back to Knuckles, his smile shining as he laid back on the bench taking a deep breath "Next time, just announce when you're leaving".
A friendly scoff came from Knuckles, that was an action he regretted.
"Yeah, I…" Knuckles couldn't contain himself, launching himself for a hug that even X was not expecting "You have my utmost thanks. Do you think I will be seeing you anytime soon?".
"Waiting won't hurt, will it?" X replied breaking the hug and standing up "Sorry I don't get to stay around for longer, I have a lot of places left to see and I'll be heading home soon, so, see you around… oh, and say hello to her for me, would have loved to stay and meet her".
X dashed off into the distance leaving Knuckles alone.
"I will" With the Warp Ring, a portal was activated that led into Albion where Knuckles would channel this newfound chaos energy into making one wish where the adventure would finally come to an end, the nightmare to be over and for life to continue.
Chris and Tom were sitting in front of a food store, a takeout place to eat and relax, locally known as Uncle Chuck's Diner where they could simply hang out and discuss what had transpired, after all, they were the only humans in all of this and they both had this feeling that this was always something bigger than themselves, Tom more than Chris specially and just like everyone, they were in desperate need of a breather.
"You found Sonic in your house's pool?" Tom asked after hearing some of Chris' stories from his world "Me and my Sonic's first encounter went a little different than that".
"Maybe there's another Chris in this world!" the child said with excitement.
"Maybe there is but, maybe his life is entirely different from what you would be used to… That's how things work around here it seems… You know, maybe Tom isn't a police officer or he doesn't even live in Green Hills, and not every Sonics are nice heroes who want to be friends".
The reference was subtle but enough for Chris to understand what he meant.
"I thought it could be possible…"
"Maybe it is and we just don't have all the details, he comes from another different world after all".
"I guess so".
There was a somber pause among them as Tom could see that Chris was feeling pretty down.
"Look, kid, I know that all of this is crazy, I have questions I don't think I'll get the answers to and maybe you do too but sometimes things just don't happen the way we expect them to and yeah that sucks but we can always keep going and the way you tackle those surprises at this young age will define the type of person you become. Sonic came into my life and well, now I am in a place that I would never imagine but I am thankful for it".
The following pause indicated that Chris was thinking through what he said. Shortly after Uncle Chuck himself approached the table handing each of them a delicious-looking hamburger, they hadn't ordered anything but Chuck said that it was a gratitude gift for the events during the fight.
And the burgers were delicious.
"I can't believe I piloted a spaceship with one hand," Tom said still recollecting the events "Well, it wasn't just me who did it, I did get some help".
"Wait, your arm- Wasn't it injured?" Chris was just noticing that Tom's arm looked fine enough, with no bandages or anything and Tom was just as surprised at seeing this, it was as if he hadn't even noticed.
"It was like this when I woke up I think".
When they woke up. That was such a weird experience, from his point of view, al he did was land the Sky Patrol far from New Mobotropolis where everyone was unloaded, it was still close but far enough to be considered safe but being so far led to a lot of uncertainty, not capable to know what was happening and for Tom this feeling was even worse. Were they winning or losing? Could he do anything else to help? All of these thoughts culminated in the loudest explosion he had ever heard in his life and in the blink of an eye all that was left was the remains of New Mobotropolis, the walls that surrounded the city barely standing in the aftermath of it.
His first instinct was to run back but it didn't matter, before he could even reach the city, a flash of light engulfed him and everything was over.
When he opened his eyes, he was lying on the ground back in New Mobotropolis with no injuries at all.
"You flew a spaceship?" Chris was amazed by it "That sounds awesome… it feels like all I do is stand in the way of others".
Tom let out a soft smile.
"Chris, you ran headfirst into a battle with no extra speed or strength to help your friend… you're one of the bravest kids I've ever met and that's amazing, really".
Shortly after, they felt a gush of wind blow right past them, and before they knew it, X had arrived at their location.
"Hey, Chris!" the hedgehog called approaching the table "Everything good?"
"Oh hi, Sonic!" Chris was excited to see his friend again "I can't believe you did it!"
"Can't believe it either," he replied looking back at the city lost in thought.
"Are we going home?" Chris wanted some confirmation and Tom was interested in the answer as well since as far as they knew, everything was finished. X smiled rubbing his nose before responding to that.
"Of course!"
The last thing Prime Sally wanted right now was a crowd that wanted to get closer and ask her if everything was alright… and thankfully that was not what was happening, there were a lot of people in their houses, and very little walking around the city as one would expect and this probably since everyone was as affected as the heroes were, so maybe the waves and 'welcome back' would come later and maybe that was for the best, right now all she wished for was feeling the breeze of the air around her and the grass beneath her feet. Spend some time resting near the city's lake she had missed so much.
"Sally?" someone else approached and it spooked her at first but the voice was familiar, too familiar in fact "Sally, did they actually do it?"
She turned around to see who it was and it was no surprise to see her own alternate self standing there, she wouldn't be a bad company. After all, she did want some time alone with herself.
"Hey there".
"Nicole told me I would find you here," she said sitting down next to herself "You did kinda disappeared after everything came back".
Prime Sally chuckled.
"You know, I didn't even know I was back until halfway through on my way".
It was a surreal experience indeed, as soon as the white light dissipated and everything felt like coming back to normal Sally chose to run outside the city and back to the location of the fallen Death Egg, it didn't register that she was fully organic again and once she noticed a wave of emotions washed over her that she had longed to experience for a long time now, freezing in place in shock, this was the proof they had won and all she had to do was to find Sonic. Once she reached the site was met with an empty field with no traces of any type of ship and two blue hedgehogs lying on the ground.
One of them woke up slowly gasping for air, but the other one was immobile on the ground. It was her Sonic, she could recognize him anywhere. She called for him and tried to get him to wake up but to no avail, asking the counterpart to carry him but that wasn't possible due to a 'no contact' they had to do or something so it was up to her to take him back to the one place she knew he would be safe- his house.
"And you're feeling better?" Archie Sally asked.
Prime Sally smiled.
"Better than I've ever felt," there was a long pause of silence among them "Sorry for everything I did to you".
"Girl, seriously, don't even-".
"No," she stopped her, "I know you can say that I didn't do it but I did, I saw all of it, everything I did, all the friends I hurt… it's all on me, I can't escape from that, and believe me I want to, so bad, I thought it would be easy once I was back but it's become worse".
Prime Sally sunk her head in her hands and her counterpart, while she could not understand what she was going through, she could certainly empathize with it. Deeply.
"Sally," Archie Sally held her arm "I grew up where I was expected to become someone who could make the hard choices for everyone else and I was forced into that position much younger than expected where… you know, a little kid having to choose which people to prioritize? Sounds crazy".
"I know" she replied with a soft smile listening to what she said.
"You've been there as well, have you? Well, sometimes I can't even believe what I'm doing but I'm not alone Sally, I never am and neither are you. You have friends and family who are probably waiting to see you again to give you the biggest hug you'll ever receive… Maybe these experiences will never wash away no matter how much we want them to, but you'll never have to face them alone".
Prime Sally stared at her counterpart in silence before giving in to a tight hug that Archie Sally was happy to return.
"And looks like someone can't wait any longer," said Archie breaking the hug and pointing with her head to behind Prime where her Nicole was waiting, naturally she ran up to receive her dearest friend, tears coming from her eyes.
Archie Sally also got a bit emotional, wiping a tear from her eye, and pulling out her own handheld.
"Do you wanna be here as well?" she asked the handheld, waiting for Nicole's response "You should enjoy the view before we head out".
The lynx materialized next to her.
"Apologies, I was just processing many things," Nicole said.
"I think the time for processing is over Nicole, you can feel them now" Sally replied as she held her hand.
"Sally?" her counterpart called "I don't want to interrupt but if you are leaving, would you like me to show you around?"
That was a solid idea, and both Archie Sally and Nicole were thrilled by it, they were dying of curiosity and all the fighting and hardships they went through did not allow them to even take a glimpse of the surroundings, so of course they were gonna go along with it. Both Nicoles decided to take the lead as the four of them set out on the most peaceful adventure ever.
"Can I ask you a question?" Archie Sally asked her Prime counterpart.
"Sure".
"You and Sonic… how did you guys make it work?" it was a personal question and it definitely took Prime Sally by surprise but she was more than happy to share the details.
"I sometimes ask myself that question and I believe we're still working on it, it hasn't been an easy road for sure and you would think we're very different but… it works. Has it been complicated for you?"
"Oh! Me and Sonic are not- we're not really a thing," Archie Sally quickly clarified surprising her counterpart "You know, I don't think I can slow him down, and I can't believe he actually did honestly but… I'm happy it's possible, he literally moved an entire universe to save you".
Prime chuckled as Archie continued.
"And how did you figure it out? That he was the one?"
Prime could feel a second intention coming from that question so she tried to get more details instead.
"Is it someone else?" Archie's blushing indicated that it was "If not Sonic, then who is that someone?"
However, Archie Sally felt pretty embarrassed to answer that question.
"It's okay," Prime continued "Just don't try to repress those feelings, you'll get an answer in due time, trust me".
Why would she not trust herself? The fact that the Sonic and Sally from this world had a history was fascinating to her and she was curious to know more but right now, she was also looking forward to that city tour they were going to do and she was also wanting to head back home and who knows? Maybe one day she could tell Nicole how she truly felt.
Everyone had come to this dimension to help, help their selves, help the world, help a friend or even a villain, they all were willing to sacrifice everything to leave this place better than they found it but unfortunately, some things were not made to be fixed but punching it very hard and Antoine and Bunnie experienced this first-hand. Antoine D'Coolette had asked for permission in the city's hospital to pay a visit to his alternate self, he had a curiosity for this for a long time but their mission did not allow for it, until now. He and Bunnie were allowed to head into the room and the sight was just as bad as described.
For Antoine, it was a confusing sigh, to see his own image lying in a hospital wrapped in bandages with a very faint heart was disturbing, to say the least, and not being able to do anything about it made him feel, well, helpless.
He could only imagine what the Bunnie of this world felt.
"I just wish we could-" he said to Bunnie unable to finish the sentence.
"So do ah," his wife answered "I tried my best and… maybe we aren't meant to, ya know? This is their story".
Antoine stood there thinking about those words and maybe Bunnie was right, maybe they couldn't alter everything no matter how much they wanted to, but if there was any positive impact he could leave then everything was worth it. That gave him an idea.
He took off his sword still in its sheathe, grabbed a piece of nearby paper, wrote a small note along with it, and placed it right next to the lying coyote.
"You're leavin' it behind?" Bunnie seemed surprised by his action.
"Sonic and I agreed to visit some old place of mine when we return, I'll find many swords back home".
Bunnie smiled at that action, for all they knew, the Antoine from this world had many swords as well, just stored somewhere else but if this was the only thing they could leave behind then that was it.
"C'mon," said Bunnie "Let's go home".
.
.
.
'From your friend, Antoine D'Coolette. Take good care of it'.
Tangle definitely couldn't wait to get back home, after all, she was the one that had spent the longest amount of time in this dimension and she had been in this secret team for far too long, a team that definitely had some issues that she wasn't a fan of but at the same time, saying goodbye was always going to be the hardest part, especially when the friends you made were universes apart. And now she was back at Secret HQ's lobby with the rest of the Secret Freedom Fighters where she and Whisper were getting ready to leave as the rest of the team was moving their things around following the impact of the battle
"No, we don't have any secret teams that save the city," the lemur was explaining to Larry Lynx "Although if there was one I don't think I'd realize it".
"I don't think you would," the little lynx came to the same conclusion "I don't think I've ever met someone like you either".
"Yeah, yeah, it's gonna be all sad but this isn't the time for that, we've just won people!" Shard barged into the lobby from one of the rooms along with Silver carrying a suitcase "We stood up against a Super Sonic and the only thing we know is how to punch good… except for the pretty future boy over here".
"Huh?" Silver was right behind him analyzing a piece of paper he had, being alerted by his name being called.
"Seriously, I don't know why we even have a challenge when you can pull the things you do!" Shard continued.
"It's not as easy as it looks!" Silver complained "And I still have much yet to learn".
"Yeah sure," Shard dismissed it and took the paper Silver was holding presenting it to Tangle along with the suitcase "Don't tell the big man but we packed your suit in, and I cooked this so you have some things to take back home".
The piece of paper was a drawing that looked like it was made by a child in the process of learning, it featured all members of the Secret Freedom Fighters along with several colored dots around the Shard depiction.
"You did this?" the lemur and Shard confirmed it with a smirk allowing Tangle to explode in joy rushing in for a hug that almost tackled the poor robot before immediately showing it to Whisper "Look! It's you and it's them!"
The wolf took a quick peek and instantly recognized that the colored dots represented the wisps and you could by the aliens' reaction that they also understood their role in the little drawing.
"When did you have the time to learn how to draw?" Silver inquired but was quickly interrupted by Tangle.
"It doesn't matter, we all look so adorable! I was never planning on forgetting any of you anyway!"
"Yeah, it's gonna be impossible to do that," the robot joked but then turned serious turning his attention to Whisper "Especially you girl, you and your little aliens are sure something… I've come back from the dead before but I would never believe it would come from another world entirely, so yeah".
"That's his way of saying 'thank you'," Tangle corrected as Whisper let out a soft chuckle.
"No problem," she said with a warm smile "Your team needs you".
It was a simple statement but it was enough for Shard to understand her reasoning and he couldn't help but smile back and tilt his head in respect, he really wished they could have spent more time together.
After that, Harvey Who and Elias Acorn entered the lobby to say their goodbyes and share some extra information.
"Tangle," the owl began to talk "Let it be said that I wasn't fond of your approach but I am pleased for all your accomplishments during your time with us".
"That's his way of saying thank you," said Shard with a smirk and Tangle appreciated the intention.
"Tangle," Elias Acorn continued "You and your friend have been of great help to the team and we are forever thankful for what you did. It's a shame you have to leave as I believe you have great potential".
"Aw, c'mon, your highness- I think you're underselling your whole gang, I see potential in all of them!"
"I guess that is-".
"Wait, what is gonna happen to you guys?" she asked.
"We have a mission," Harvey said with his firm voice "A mission that has yet to be accomplished. Everyone is adjusting after that confrontation which is why we must always remain alert".
"Right," Tangle said "Almost forgot about that detail".
"Farewell, Agent Spades" Elias finished offering a handshake to which the lemur refused, going instead for a hug that the king reluctantly accepted.
"Farewell?" she asked "I'm getting used to all this dimension stuff so this is more like a 'see you soon'".
See you soon, that was a comforting line for Silver the Hedgehog. This was all still relatively new to him and while he had mentors in his future that were always willing to help him out, the same couldn't be said for friends and this little group was the only people in his life he could genuinely call his friends and by extension, this was the first time he had to same goodbye to someone so close to him.
See you soon? That felt hopeful.
"So… it was nice to work with you Whisper," he said to the wolf.
"Likewise" she replied softly.
"You said you had a Silver in your home…"
"I do".
"Think you can have two Silvers with you?" there was something he wanted to say but didn't know how exactly to say it but that didn't matter, Whisper knew what he meant chuckling at his wording "What? What did I say?"
"I'm going to miss you too Silver," she finished.
See you soon…
Maybe this wasn't the end of the Secret Freedom Fighters where a lemur and a wolf from another world popped their heads in.
The three two-tailed foxes were all gathered together inside Prime Tails' garage and now that they all had time to breathe, they all could actually appreciate the building. While it didn't look anything special, it was a pretty place to spend time for any mechanics-loving fox. It was them that could appreciate this little shack.
"And you said that you can build anything in your workshop?" Prime Tails asked Boom Sonic as he worked alongside Archie Tails on the Tornado on some final fix-ups.
"Yep! Unless I can't of course, but I can always try!"
"Would you say your world features some sort of force that allows you to have certain knowledge on certain things depending on the situation you find yourself in?" The Archie fox proposed his theory he had in mind for a long time now that the other two found it to be a wild assumption "Makes sense doesn't it?"
It didn't but if there was an explanation then the one that made the least sense would be the one that made the most sense.
"Hello?" someone else walked into the warehouse with the three turned to see who it was but only one recognized him.
"Dad!" it was Amadeus Prower who had decided to come and check on his son but it was difficult to tell them apart, however, that wasn't needed. Prime Tails rushed in for a hug that easily indicated which one he was looking for, the other two foxes stood there in awe at what they were seeing, looking at each other as to confirm that it was real.
"Are you okay?" the young fox asked still holding on to the hug.
"I believe I should be asking that question," said the commander as Tails let out a chuckle finally breaking the hug "And these are your friends".
"Right, so um… dad, meet me from another zones, and me from another zones, meet-".
"Your dad?" Archie Tails finished for him "Wow, you… you have a dad".
"It's not like you think it went," Amadeus quickly clarified, understanding what the fox was thinking "But I am now".
There was a pause as both foxes digested the information. Boom Tails analyzing the adult fox; brown fur, military attire, and one tail, was puzzling and admirable at the same time.
"That's great!" Archie Tails said first with genuine excitement, he never had put much thought into it but actually, seeing it? He felt proud of his counterpart and he couldn't be happier about it, Boom Tails was taking it a bit differently.
"You have a dad… do you have a mom as well?"
"Yeah, I do," Prime stated "Is she okay?" he asked his father once again.
"We're all trying to understand what's happening, your mother is no different".
"I understand," his son replied although somewhat disappointed.
"You have a dad!" Boom continued mostly talking to himself "Do I have a dad? Maybe I have a mom… I can't believe it, this is amazing! I gotta tell Zoey! I didn't know that I- woah!"
"You're okay?" Archie tried to calm him down as Amadeus was trying to understand his reaction.
"I am! This could mean I have one as well!"
"You meant that you didn't have one before?"
The phrasing was weird, surely every Tails had a father at one point.
"But maybe if I return home- who knows?" And there he was again, saying things that felt like it had enough sense for anyone to realize what he meant but not enough sense to fully pinpoint exactly what it was. But that didn't matter at the moment.
"So I guess this is it, right son?" said Amadeus.
Tails knew what he was talking about.
"Yeah," he replied "It's over".
We are nearing the end guys. Thank you for sticking for so long.
See you soon!
