Goodbye! :D

I feel like I should apologize to Underground fans? Idk, just enjoy.

And so we return where it all began. Freedom HQ, and even though Metal Sonic had just recently ravaged the place, after everything and everyone came back from the white flash of light, the location was as good as new with nothing out of place. Now, Archie and Prime Tails were discussing a lot of science regarding this multiversal travel, Archie suggested something called Genesis Portals, and Prime was talking about Star Posts and Warp Rings, it was confusing, and how they were even going to go about it and it wasn't clear but eventually they concluded that they might need to mix and match their theories and formulas. At the same time, they wondered how they were going to send everyone back to their respective universes but Boom Tails had a theory.

He explained how in his world, Sonic ran so fast that he ascended to another plane of existence entirely and though it was badly explained, the two foxes understood what he was trying to get at.

"So, are you saying we need to run very fast?" Prime Sonic asked, with him and Sally overseeing their train of thought to which the answer was yes.

"Well, not you, you don't have to go anywhere," his Tails explained "The other ones are who need to run fast".

A grin popped up and yeah… he wasted no time. He told Sally to gather everyone who was still in New Mobotropolis as he would announce it to his fellow counterparts. One quick speeding through the city later, and all the Sonic found themselves in front of the Freedom Fighters' base with three yellow foxes in front of them, all waiting to receive the information.

"Right, so we have a theory," Prime Tails began "Actually Boom came up with it. I mean, with the energy of what we call Star Posts, we believe that if you guys run at a high enough speed, it could create a singularity in the time-space which in turn could theoretically create a… Genesis Portal with the exact properties of your world leading the way back home".

The Sonics didn't look too entertained by this and Tails quickly realized it.

"Walked myself into that one," he said somewhat disappointed.

"I thought it was cool," said Wachowski "Felt real smart, you know?"

"You have to run very fast to get back to your worlds… you know, chaos and stuff," Prime finally clarified "But you have to be very fast, think you guys can do that?"

The smirk on his face was obvious, this was a challenge and his attention was mainly directed at Boom but it was addressed to everyone and Prime Tails could see what he was trying to do.

"Wait! We should wait for everyone else, right?" Tails tried to stop it from happening.

"Don't worry buddy, I'm sure they'll arrive in time".

"A race, Prime? You don't make it subtle" said Main now stretching, getting ready for it.

"He's just hurt for what I said earlier," Boom was very confident about it "I'm ready for it".

"I've done my plenty of races," X joined "Just tell me the finish line".

"Right here".

The three foxes looked at each other in dread.

"This isn't for the portals anymore is it?" asked Archie to his counterparts.

"Nope," Prime Tails replied "Guess we end up as the ones holding the flag".

So it was set, out of nowhere, this wasn't research anymore but a stroke of egos between seven variants of Sonic the Hedgehog, surely it couldn't be more pleasing but that was the situation, the hedgehogs naturally fell into a line all of them stretching and getting ready for a race with the starting line being the Freedom HQ and the finish line would be the Freedom HQ.

On your marks… get set…

"Go!" Boom Tails shouted and in less than a second after he said that, a blow of wind threw the foxes off followed by a loud 'boom' in the distance, a trail of blur and lighting following behind it. All the hedgehogs were gone and it was just three Tails' on their own now waiting for them to get back and actually get to the serious stuff.

"Tails? What was that?" Sally had now returned, having given Nicole the instructions, and had seen everything that transpired.

"I told them to run very fast and they turned it into a race".

There was another powerful gust of wind that they all had to cover from; the first Sonic had finished and it was the one and only… Wachowski, who didn't seem to be aware that he was the first until two seconds later, when Prime caught up, quite surprised that another Sonic was already there.

"Wait I won?!" Wachowski was excited while Prime simply stood in awe.

They were quickly joined by X, very distraught seeing someone had arrived earlier than him, followed by Main and Archie who arrived almost simultaneously, Little Sonic seemingly coming in last.

"I actually slowed down for you," said Prime, not taking his second placement very well "But- um, good job".

That felt genuine, and the race was officially over, everyone instantly knowing who fell in last place and Prime couldn't help but snicker at the fact. They were gonna have to wait for Boom -and everyone else- to proceed with what Tails originally told them to do.

"Guys?" Sally called out "I'd like to do something first".

Tails' theory was right, and it felt good having a plan that actually worked without any setbacks or complications or anything else that negated it, and now they were all here reunited once again for one final reunion, every hedgehog and every human eager to get back home but bittersweet this good moments lasted for so little time among the grand adventure... Including Boom Sonic who was now leaning against the wall away from pretty much everyone, pissed off about the results of the race. Little Sonic ran around the lab of Freedom HQ with the help of the Star Post energy, opening a purple portal that looked exactly like the one that had transported them all into this dimension in the first place.

"I thought they were supposed to be random" Archie Sonic commented.

"That's what the chaos in your body can do," Archie Tails said also amazed by their discovery.

"This will take me home?" Little asked for some clarification.

"It has no reason not to," Boom Tails tried to ease him "The story already reached the resolution so there wouldn't be anything to expand on".

Very well then, that was supposedly comforting.

"Hey," Prime called out "I don't know how you do it but figured this might come in handy"

He pulled out his guitar and handed it to his smaller counterpart who was shocked at the gift offering, fully accepting it with a grand smile before going through the portal.

"Where's my guitar?" Boom Sonic was leaning against a wall, really pissed off about the race outcome "I play in a band, I should get one too".

"But you already have one, Sonic," his Tails tried to argue "C'mon, you can spin around now".

And so he did, although somewhat begrudgingly which caused the "old" portal to glitch out a bit until it stabilized once again, that was their cue until Tails remembered someone was missing.

"Wait! What about Sticks?"

"She'll find her way, c'mon now".

"Wait!" the fox stopped to look back and he couldn't help himself, rushing in to hug both his counterparts at the same time, an action that he was dying to do ever since he got here but was unable to due to the body-glitching they had been experiencing, eventually letting go and going through the portal.

Tom and Sonic Wachowski decided to go next following the same process, a couple of spins, generate enough energy, portal switches, they can go through; the main difference here was that he didn't need to spin for much longer. He couldn't believe either that this was the final goodbye and as far as he knew, maybe the last time he would experience something like this.

"You guys are so cool," he said taking one last look.

"You're getting there," said Main reassuring him.

"I hope I get to see you around, buddy," he said to Chris who was standing nearby, the kid smiling and agreeing with that sentiment. And with that, he and Tom could finally return home.

The next ones were X and Chris but there was a minor issue and that was they were both heading to two different worlds among themselves so maybe the rules had to apply somewhat differently, right? Except that X's plan involved going back to one world only, Chris' world.

"I already told you Chris," said X "If you want me to stay, I'll stay".

"It's okay, Sonic. I understand… your friends are waiting for you and they need you, I'll be fine, really. It was wrong of me to take you away from them. You have to go" he had a huge smile on his face, and his tone indicated confidence; X could see that and he was proud of it.

"Go out there kid," X said and Chris happily went through the portal disappearing out of view, it wasn't like X was taking it better either, he loved Chris' world, but part of him wanted to stay there and the adventures he spent on it were just as thrilling but just as Chris had said, his friends were important to him so without wasting any second, he dashed through, who knows when his next multiversal journey would start?

Next up was Main but he was a little hesitant to go through, not because of distrust but because he felt he was leaving someone behind.

"Hold up! Guys, I'm coming!" it was Tangle, arriving at the door of Freedom HQ carrying a suitcase and Whisper following her "Hope I'm not too late".

"Tangle!" Main exclaimed "Where have you been? You missed like, an entire fight!"

Tangle paused for a second thinking about what had just transpired.

"Yeah, I think we did…"

"And- Whisper?"

"H'lo," the silent wolf said with her usual kindness and softness but confusing the hedgehog nonetheless to her sudden presence as well as the rest of the room wondering who she was.

"Anyways, are we going home?"

"I think so… you might wanna get back a little" they did and Main did his thing, creating a way to his world and going through it.

And then there were two, although actually there were a lot. An entire team, in fact.

"Your turn," Prime said to Archie and just like the others, he created his respective gateway and had a bit of hesitation before going through it, not out of fear but because like everyone else, saying goodbye was unexpected.

"We've never met any other group of Freedom Fighters like you guys," said Sally "Nice to know there are more like us out there".

"Don't even mention it!" said Bunnie.

"We weren't even aware other versions of us existed so I guess we got a good first impression," Archie Sally said.

"Wait, how are we bringing the Sky Patrol into our world?" asked Archie Tails "Can we make a bigger portal?"

"Already took care of that buddy," Archie Sonic replied "At least that's what I think I did".

"It sounds like you have a great story to tell us," Antoine said noticing Sonic's prideful tone. Eventually, he went into the portal and every one of them followed, Archie Sonic being the very last.

"Until next time, Prime".

"Take good care of them, you're very lucky to have them" Prime replied.

"I will. You're lucky to have her" With that closing statement he went through the portal which glitched for a few seconds and finally closed.

Zone 9-991 - Little Sonic's World

Sonic had arrived back and despite his worries, the portal had worked perfectly just like Boom Tails assured him, he appeared back in front of the Camper Van which meant his siblings had to be close by as well.

"Sonia! Manic!" he called out in excitement looking all around him, it took a few seconds but the calls eventually returned.

"Sonic!" the voices came from the other side of the van and Sonic did not hesitate to run towards them, giving them both a big hug.

"Wow, what's the big idea?" Manic said in confusion breaking up the triple hug.

"Yeah! You got us scared back there! If this was a prank, it was not funny" Sonia added.

"Sorry guys, I wasn't meant to go away for days but-".

"Days?" asked Manic "It felt long but it was not to exaggerate!"

That caused a little pause between the three, Sonic trying to understand what he meant by that, Sonia waiting for one of them to speak up about anything.

"Wait, how long was I away?"

"Like a couple of minutes," Sonia explained "Why? What happened?"

Sonic took a few seconds to register that, not a minute had passed in this world, all the days that expired had no impact on this world at all, this was probably the best type of news he could have received upon returning.

"My son," they all heard a disembodied female voice that they all recognized very well, it was Queen Alena herself "I've seen your actions across these vast worlds and the courage you've shown through it all and I want you to always know that you will never be alone, no matter where you find yourself".

The voice was gone before they could even reply leaving Manic and Sonia with questions but one answer that Sonic had at the moment was the guitar Prime had gifted him, he pulled it out and found out it had completely changed, it was the exact guitar he had but not broken, fully intact without a scratch on it.

"You guys won't believe what just happened!"

Zone 4-012 - Boom Sonic's World

The portal had opened in mid-air which caused Sonic and Tails to immediately faceplant to the floor, Sonic shrugged it off and realized he was back at his house. His very own house, with his little hammock, a lot of space, no pet dogs or anything like that. It was good to be back home.

They stood there for a few seconds looking at each other sitting on the wood floor as Amy and Knuckles arrived shortly after.

"There you are!" said Amy entering the house "Knuckles, I thought you said they weren't here?"

"But they weren't!" the big echidna complained "Or were they?"

"Don't complicate it big guy" said Sonic getting up from the ground and instantly getting back on the hammock.

"Sonic, Eggman is attacking the village! This is no time to rest!"

"Well, tell him to cut it out, I'm sure he can do it tomorrow".

Very well then, they could do that.

"I have to do so many things!" Tails finally outbursts "I have to make a functional dog robot, I can make an artificial intelligence that will help us in battles and maybe I have my parents out there! Sonic, maybe you have parents as well!"

"I'll pass, you have fun" Sonic replied and Tails didn't mind, he ran out of the house in excitement with Knuckles following him in curiosity, all while Amy was more confused than anything.

"Parents? Sonic, are you okay?"

The hedgehog sighed with eyes closed.

"Never been better".

Amy scoffed in doubt but another priority emerged.

"Have you seen Sticks at least?"

Actually, I'll be right back.

.

.

.

Prime Zone - Sonic Prime's World

We return to the New Mobotropolis city where Sticks the Badger was entertaining Mighty the Armadillo and Ray the Flying Squirrel who were sitting on a bench listening to her stories, it wasn't tiring at all, Ray was confused and Mighty was finding it hilarious.

"We could even form our own new Team Sticks!" the badger finished a grand speech.

"You mean us three?" Mighty asked.

"Of course! I don't see why not".

Sorry, Sticks, but that's not gonna happen.

"Huh?" the badger was confused.

I know you can hear me, and I'm sorry but you gotta return to your world, Sonic and Tails already did and they're all waiting for you, so yeah, you gotta go back.

"Is this a joke?"

No, why would it be a joke?

"Because I'm literally evolving my story, you can't cut away!"

Well, this was never your story Sticks, I'm sorry about that… maybe in a sequel if you want, I can make a story focused on you and only you, is that fair? - She was thinking about the proposal.

"Fine," she confirmed "Sorry guys, I gotta return to my very important world"

That was sarcasm and both Mighty and Ray appeared very confused but it was what it was, and all I had to do was open up a plot hole to bring Sticks back where she belonged and close this chapter of the story… All while maybe we open up new ones.

Zone 0-202 - Wachowski Sonic's World

The portal left Sonic and Tom directly in Sonic's room, everything was in its place just as they left it, just the two of them back home longing for some well-deserved rest. They looked at each other with huge smiles that slowly turned into laughter, none of them could believe the things that happened and this was their way of showing how they both felt.

A voice was heard from below that got louder, it was Maddie Wachowski who was calling out for the duo from below the stairs.

"Uh, guys, are you hearing me?"

The boys tried to find a way to answer that without making it awkward.

"No, we were- kinda busy," Tom tried to explain "For how long you were searching for us?"

"I don't know, five, ten minutes, I thought you had even left the house... why?"

Tom took a deep breath and Sonic looked at him who was excited about his response.

"You wouldn't believe us if we told you".

Zone 3-002 - X Sonic's World

"I'm not looking at the moon thinking about him!" Knuckles the Echidna and Rouge the Bat were engaged in a heavy argument at the edge of a cliff during this moment. They had all returned from Chris' world but Sonic was nowhere to be found, in fact, it had been a couple of days now and the hedgehog had not yet appeared which was starting to worry the group.

Sonic was right before Knuckles, surely nothing bad could have happened during that short amount of time, right?

Right.

"Aw, Knuckles," a new voice came from behind them coming out from the woods "Didn't know you liked me like that"

"Sonic!" the echidna was excited but quickly corrected himself into his serious persona "Looks like you've finally arrived".

"What took you so long hedgehog?" Rouge added with her usual sass also being happy for his return.

"Sorry to keep you waiting, got a little sidetracked," he said making his way through them standing at the edge of the cliff "Sorry to interrupt you two, didn't mean to break your lovelynight… And I think I'm needed right now".

Dr. Eggman was in the sky with one of his usual ships terrorizing the place around with his usual antics.

"Guess I returned right on time," a quick stretch and he jumped off the cliff winking at the echidna, leaving a blue blur behind and Knuckles to wonder what had actually happened that he got 'sidetracked'

"At least he picks up on a couple of things," said Rouge in her usual flirtatious voice as she flew away from the scene, Knuckles still processing what Sonic had said.

"What do you think we were doing?!" Knuckles shouted to the winds, slowly realizing what the other two already had.

-X-

Meanwhile, on another earth entirely, Nelson and Lindsey Thorndyke had been looking for his runaway son for quite a while now but all of the trails had gone cold and no one knew where Chris Thorndyke could have possibly gone. But eventually, they thought of a place that Chris would go.

An old cabin in the woods, a special place for the family that only they would know about, they refused any additional help understanding that this was becoming a personal matter and that Chris required some help that only they could give. When the duo reached the location, they saw their son standing on the edge of the docks in front of the wide lake; the child staring at a distance contemplating the beauty of the place.

Chris noticed someone else had arrived and turned around to see who it was. The sight of his parents was calming and soothing and made him forget the hardships he just went through. He was happy.

Zone 1-991 - Main Sonic's World

Sonic, Tangle, and Whisper popped up in the same place they had come from, Spiral Hill Village was just at a distance, and nothing around them insinuated any passage of time and now that they had returned home, Tangle could finally express herself.

"That. Was. Amazing!" she said surprising the hedgehog and the wolf "Sonic, you'll never guess what I did!"

Whisper smiled, she knew that she was going to tell the full story to Sonic right here and now and she was definitely going to enjoy it but first, she grabbed the suitcase and decided to rest on a tree to inspect the gifts fully. The black and grey suit Tangle wore, the little drawing Shard made, and finally, a suit Leeta and Lyco had made for her which was a typical dress for the wolf twins, one that they were more used to, that they wanted to share with their new wolf friend. It was very tribal-like, reminiscent of the group Whisper had met when she arrived in that world.

It definitely wasn't her style but she would gladly accept the gift and who knows when it could be useful.

Zone 3-102 - Archie Sonic's World

"-And then I saw a hand in this big void, next thing I remember was that we were all running pretty fast… Did you know I brought ourselves back to life?" Sonic was explaining to the Freedom Fighters who were all reunited in the lobby of the Sky Patrol, the ship now resting in the woods of Mystic Ruins "Yeah, so basically every Sonic has Chaos Energy and we used that to wish everything back to normal".

"Fascinating," Antoine had been interrupting the story trying to banter with the hedgehog but was now fully immersed in it.

"Yeah, I don't think I want to experience that again," said Amy.

"It wasn't bad," Sally added "It just… didn't feel right? Better than having a metallic body, for sure".

The room went silent and all eyes fell on the chipmunk leaving an awkward silence.

"Sally, I don't think you've mentioned that to anyone" Nicole stated from her handheld, Sally just realizing this fact.

"A metallic body?" Sonic was the first one to question it "You mean that-?"

"Yeah, it happened," she said finally admitting to the fact "Sorry, we barely had time to talk about it before Super Sonic decided to rain a fight on us… You two also disappeared for quite a while".

She was clearly referring to Antoine and Bunnie who showed a hint of hesitation in telling their side of the story.

"We met the other Bunnie," said Bunnie "It wasn't a pretty image".

"Unluckily, we had to share room with ze other Sonic" Antoine finished trying to steer away the conversation from the key details.

"Boom?" Sonic asked, "Yeah, he was entertaining. What a mess... I would like to know the details of your stories".

"We know that this mission was exhausting for everyone, we should all get a rest," Sally said standing up "But we're back, we're together and that's all that matters. We're the Freedom Fighters, are we not?"

Sure they were. Through the highs and lows, they would always remain, fighting off everyone who challenged them and everyone who posed a threat to the world, where no matter how much they got down, they always got back up. No matter what hardships they might face, they always had each other to rely on and nothing could ever change that.

Because they were the Freedom Fighters.

"I wonder what happened with Super Sonic though," said Tails.

One chapter left fellas! Did you caught the little references on the zone titles? See you soon, we only have one chapter left to go!