Chapter 52: Finale Part 3: Towards the Future
"Tangle's log,
Hey, so good news… WE SAVED THE FREAKING UNIVERSE!
The Metarex are history, we got all the Chaos Emeralds back and we are all now on our way home!
Well, almost all of us. We kinda lost track of Shadow… he'll be fine though, I just know it.
Anyways, the craziest thing happened! I GOT A SUPER FORM!
Cosmo was actually about to sacrifice herself, but I came up with a brilliant plan to make it so she didn't have to do that! And it involved Tikal helping me use the Chaos Emeralds to go super!
That being said, Super Tangle doesn't… feel right… I'm still workshopping names, but I think Turbo Tangle might be the one!
Back to Cosmo though… despite my best efforts, we actually almost lost her… see, what happened was…"
"SONIC! TANGLE!" Tails shouted as Tangle was landing back onto the Typhoon.
His incredibly worried look told Tangle that something was terribly wrong.
"What's up?" Sonic asked.
"It's Cosmo! She's…"
That told Tangle all she needed to know, as she quickly rushed over to her friend.
When she got there, she was horrified at what she was seeing…
Cosmo was… wilting?
She looked exactly like a plant would when it was dying… but that shouldn't happen, right?!
"What's going on?!" Tangle asked. "I… I thought that…"
Cosmo, who was struggling to breathe, couldn't give an answer.
"Don't you remember? When a Seedrian enters mover mode, it comes at the cost of their life force…" Eggman suddenly said.
That put everyone in a state of shock…
Despite everything… Cosmo was still going to die?
"No… No! I can't… I won't accept this!" Tails said. "There has to be something we can do… anything!"
"Unless we can restore her life-force, then there is nothing." Eggman said. "If Sonic was still super then it would be possible, however…"
That got Tangle's attention.
"Wait, but I'm still super! Can I do it?!" She asked frantically.
This got everyone to look at her.
"It's… possible…" Sonic said. "But it's tricky. I could only do it cause I have experience with controlling the energy."
"Then walk me through it! Step by step!" Tangle said. "We have to at least try!"
Sonic contemplated this for half a second, and nodded.
"Ok… close your eyes and hold your hands close together." Sonic said.
Tangle complied, closing her eyes and holding her hands close together, but leaving a small gap between them.
"Now… focus… concentrate your power into the center." Sonic instructed, and Tangle complied.
A small, dim light formed in her hands.
"Good… now, focus on what you want… to heal Cosmo." Sonic continued to instruct.
Tangle complied, the light got brighter, and bigger.
"Keep it up… try to put more energy into it as you go…" Sonic said.
Tangle continued this way, before the gap between her hands was completely filled.
"Now! Throw it at her!"
"RIGHT!" Tangle shouted as she threw it at Cosmo with all her might.
It hit its mark, and Cosmo began to glow.
"Please work…" Tangle begged.
When the light cleared, Cosmo was…
Back to normal.
No longer in her matured look, she was back to the way everyone was used to.
And they wouldn't have it any other way.
"What… happened…?" Cosmo said as she tried sitting up, which Tails helped her with.
"Tangle saved you, that's what!" Amy said happily.
Cosmo's eyes went wide, as she looked at Tangle.
Tangle just blew into her thumb to inflate her tail, creating the universe's biggest thumbs up.
Cosmo couldn't help but smile at this.
"Thank you… thank you so much Tangle…"
And Tangle couldn't help but smile as everyone cheered.
"And yeah! That's the story of how I saved Cosmo's life!
Sonic said what he taught me was something called 'Chaos Regeneration.' I have a feeling that will come in handy one day!
Now, onto my super form! It is SO WILD! It's like my whole body turns to rubber, and I can make other things rubber too! It's NUTS!
I was able to grab Final Mova's energy and THROW IT! IT'S CRAZY!
And I have absolutely no idea why it's so different from the others! I mean, I kinda do but… I don't really get it…
How did Knuckles describe it? Oh right! He said…"
"So…" Chris said. "Are we gonna talk about… this?"
He gestured to the now bouncing in place Tangle.
"What's there to talk about? I have a super form! Neat right?" Tangle asked.
"… Do I really have to say it?" Chris asked.
"Tangle…" Jewel said. "I think he means the fact that your super form is… well… very different from the others."
"Huh? Is it?" Tangle asked, still bouncing as she put her hand up to her chin. "Yeah, I guess it kinda is…"
"It was like you were in an old cartoon…" Chris pointed out.
"Huh… like I said before, it just… kinda felt like I could do those things, so I did them." Tangle said with a shrug.
"Hmmm… Well, maybe it does make sense… for you at least." Knuckles said suddenly.
Everyone looked at him in surprise.
"Explain." Rouge commanded.
"Well, our super forms enhance our strongest attributes." Knuckles explained. "My strength, Sonic's speed, Shadow's control over chaos energy, you get the drill."
"Ok, and?" Tangle asked.
"Well, maybe for you, it was the stretchiness of your tail… and the way that it was enhanced was…"
"By making the rest of my body stretchy and to the MAX!" Tangle said in excitement, again, still bouncing.
Eggman was starting to get annoyed at the bouncing, even from the bridge of his own ship.
"Wait though, that doesn't explain how she's able to do stuff like grab energy and make other things stretchy like that." Tikal said.
"Yeah… maybe she just kinda… accidentally learned to push that power into other things?" Knuckles said, though unsure. "Sorry, just got an explanation for her being stretchy, not the other stuff."
"Well, it's a start." Tails said.
Everyone just nodded in agreement…
"Boing. Boing. Boing. Boing…"
"OK! WILL YOU STOP BOUNCING ALREADY?!" Eggman shouted.
Tangle just smirked at this.
"Aww, is it annoying you?" Tangle asked mockingly.
"YES!"
"Oh, well, since you asked me so nicely…"
"BoingBoingBoingBoingBoingBoingBoingBoingBoingBoing." She started bouncing much faster.
"… So when is her time limit gonna…" Tails started.
At that moment, Tangle's super form faded while she was in mid air, causing her to crash back down to the floor.
Her eyes were now in swirls as flickys circled around her head.
"Why didn't you warn me of the time limit…?" Tangle asked.
"Kinda forgot about it… sorry!" Sonic said.
At that moment though, everyone couldn't help but laugh.
It hadn't really sunk in until then, but now that everything was done…
They really did just save the universe!
"Like I said, it's wild… though it does have a bit of a downside.
I didn't want to say it in front of the others, cause then Eggbreath would know, but… when I got hit, while it's not much, it DID hurt… I think unless I can bounce stuff of my body, I'm not quite invincible like Sonic and Shadow are. Bummer, but I'll take super cool stretchy power over invulnerability!
And yeah! That's just about it! We are actually almost home! So I'll…"
It was at this moment that Tangle noticed something…
She was on the last page of her notebook.
This book that had been a log of… everything that she's been doing since she met Sonic and the others. It was out of space.
Tangle however, smiled.
"I guess it's time for a new chapter of my life… huh?"
Deciding to not dwell on that, she continued to write.
"I guess this is the end of this book, huh? Well, there are still a lot more adventures to be had I'm sure, so I'll probably get a new one. Feels weird to think of though. Eh, I'll figure it out.
There are things to do when we get home before the next adventure, but I can't WAIT for it to start! Well, see you later!
Tangle The Lemur."
Tangle closed the book and took a look at it.
"Heh, pretty beat up huh? Guess that makes sense, since I found you under some bench." Tangle said to herself. "I wonder what you were supposed to be used for before I found you…"
Deciding that it really wasn't important, she placed it in her bag and walked out of her room.
"Almost home… gonna miss this whole space adventure." Tangle said.
"Honestly, I have to agree."
Tangle turned around to see Jewel approaching her.
"Hey, got all your things already?" Tangle asked.
"Yup, it's in the hanger." Jewel said. "I was just heading to the bridge to see the others."
"Yeah, same." Tangle said before the two went walking. "Kinda wild, isn't it?"
"Hm? What do you mean?"
"If the mayor never suggested that we moved out of Spiral Hill… how different would our lives be right now?" Tangle asked.
"Very." Jewel said. "We wouldn't of met the others, seen so many things… learned so much..."
"I never would have found out about what happened to my parents… Cosmo probably would have had to sacrifice herself." Tangle added. "It's just… wild how one decision changed everything for us and everyone else…"
Jewel couldn't help but smile.
"Yeah well, I think was the right decision. I mean, look at all you have accomplished!"
Tangle couldn't help but smile as well.
"Yeah…"
"Ring for your thoughts?" Jewel asked.
"I… still have a promise to keep you know." Tangle said.
This confused Jewel for a moment, before she remembered.
Her promise to Shout.
"Right… we have to find Whisper still." Jewel said. "And we will, with everyone's help."
Tangle couldn't help but smile.
"Right… and Jewel?" Tangle asked.
"Yeah?"
Then, Tangle began to hug her.
"Thanks for sticking with me this whole time."
Jewel smiled and returned the embrace.
"No problem Tangle."
Before long, the group finally reached the planet… only for Eggman, who's ship was providing the power for the journey, to detach said ship from the Typhoon, causing it to crash down violently, pretty much wrecking it.
"I… am gonna DESTROY that jerk the next time I see him!" Tangle said, pulling herself out of the wreckage. "HECK! GIMME THE EMERALDS! I AM DOING IT NOW!"
She then turned around to see Sonic sending said Emeralds away, scattering them across the planet.
"Dude! What the heck?!" Tangle asked. "Why'd you do that?!"
"The emeralds are still pretty drained from the fight against Final Mova." Sonic explained. "Letting them spread around the planet to find a place to recharge is the right thing to do, trust me."
Tangle was about to raise an objection… but stopped.
"Yeah, I guess you're probably right…" Tangle said as she kicked a piece of scrap away. "Kinda feels like those things have a mind of their own, doesn't it?"
Sonic couldn't help but laugh at that.
"Yeah, you got that right." Sonic said.
The two then just looked on as everyone was gathering their bearings and their belongings, before Knuckles, with a bag filled with the shards of the Master Emerald, began to leave with a wave.
"… Hey Sonic?" Tangle started, causing him to turn to her. "Thanks."
Sonic smirked at that.
"Why are you thanking me?" Sonic asked.
"I dunno… for everything I guess. Being so nice to me since day one, showing me the ropes on this whole hero thing… everything."
Sonic couldn't help but laugh at that a bit.
"No need to thank me." He said. "I should be the one thanking you!"
"Huh?"
Sonic turned to her.
"I'll be honest… back when we first met, I wasn't sure why I offered to train you." Sonic said. "The whole 'wise mentor' thing just wasn't my style."
Tangle never really thought about it… but after getting to know Sonic, she realized that he was probably right about that.
"I thought that it might have been me feeling responsible for getting you sent to Chris' world, or maybe I was worried and thought you needed to learn to defend yourself." Sonic explained. "Heck… I even thought I was trying to… redeem myself after what happened with Jewel… I think what made me realize otherwise, was the baseball game of all things."
Tangle tilted her head in confusion at that.
"I seem to remember getting drilled in the head that day… why is that important?" She asked.
Sonic laughed at that.
"It's what you said before you got hit!" Sonic explained. "When you vowed to help us win."
Tangle was even more confused at that.
"It's because that is exactly what I would have said if I was in your shoes." Sonic said with a smirk. "And I can't speak for Tails, but I'm willing to bet he wanted to help you for the same reason."
Tangle was beginning to connect the dots.
"When I saw you… I think I saw a bit of myself in ya." Sonic said. "From there, I guess wanting to help you just… came naturally."
Sonic then turned to her.
"This whole space trip showed me that I made the right choice that day…"
He then turned to Tails, who was talking to Cosmo.
Both of them looking incredibly happy despite the damage to his workshop.
"Cause if it wasn't for you… I don't want to imagine what he'd be going through right now…" Sonic said.
Tangle just nodded at that… it wasn't hard to figure out what would of happened if Tangle didn't step in to stop Cosmo…
Not only would Cosmo of died… but Tails would have been the who'd need to pull the trigger.
And yet, there they were, talking to each other, blushing slightly in the process.
"… Those two are so obvious… yet so oblivious." Tangle said in a deadpanned tone.
Sonic laughed at that.
"You got that right!" He said. "Surprised Amy hasn't tried setting them up on a date yet!"
Tangle smiled at that.
"Well they're both young…" Tangle asked. "Plenty of time for them to figure things out themselves… right?"
"Yup." Sonic said.
Suddenly though, their conversation was interrupted by the sound of… arguing?
"ABSOLUTELY NOT!" They head Amy shout.
The two of them saw Amy looking very upset about something, looked to each other and shrugged, before going over to see what was up.
"Hey! What's with the yelling?" Tangle asked.
"Oh! It's not a big deal, really!" Cosmo said, trying to diffuse the whole situation.
"It is SO a big deal!" Amy shouted. "We were just discussing where Cosmo was gonna live now!"
Tangle tilted her head.
"Ok… and what's wrong with that?"
Jewel stepped in.
"Tails offered to let her stay with him." Jewel said.
"… Ah, I see." Tangle said with a sagely nod. "Yeah, sorry dude, not happening!"
Tails' eyes went wide at that.
"What?! Why not?" He asked.
Sonic got a little nervous at that.
"Uh… well… you see…"
"Duh!" Tangle interrupted. "LOOK AT YOUR HOUSE DUDE!"
She then gestured to the giant pile of rubble that used to be Tails' workshop.
Tails stared at it for a moment, before his eyes went wide.
"OH! Yeah! That's a problem!" He shouted. "Sorry Cosmo…"
"Oh, it's not a big deal, really!" Cosmo said with a smile. "I am happy you offered."
Tails went slightly red at this, and looked away bashfully.
Amy just looked at Tangle with an annoyed look on her face.
"Uh… did I say something wrong?" Tangle whispered to Jewel.
"… I'll explain when we get home."
Home… that's right…
"That's right!" Tangle shouted turning to Cosmo. "You can stay with us!"
Cosmo's eyes went wide at that.
"A-are you sure?" Cosmo asked. "I don't want to impose…"
"Yeah! Totally! Right Jewel?!" Tangle said excitingly looking at Jewel.
Jewel was… a bit annoyed at first that Tangle made the offer without consulting her first… but in the end…
"I… don't see why not… I guess she could use the guest room." Jewel said.
Tangle turned back to Cosmo, a huge grin on her face.
"… Alright." Cosmo said. "That'll be wonderful, thank you!"
Tails had a sigh of relief at that.
"So uh… where am I gonna stay until we build me a new place to live?" He asked.
"And what about me?" Chris added.
Everyone just looked to each other.
"Uh… Cream? Amy? You guys got extra rooms?" Tangle asked. "Cause we only had the one…"
Everyone sweat-dropped.
"Uh… I guess they can stay with me and mother for now… we have plenty of room after all!" Cream said happily.
"Great! Let's get your things over there, then we can throw Cosmo a welcome party!" Tangle said with a cheer.
And everyone joined in.
One Week Later
"So… what did you wish to speak with me about?" Eggman asked.
Tails walked up to him… and placed something on the workbench before him.
"This… is the gem that Cosmo was always wearing." Tails explained. "According to what I saw when Tikal took me to her past… this has the function of preventing her from activating Mover Mode whenever her emotions run out of control…"
"… I see." Eggman said. "Quite fascinating."
Tails nodded.
"As you can see… it was destroyed during that final battle…" Tails said. "I can't stand the idea of her activating Mover Mode by accident while we don't have the Chaos Emeralds around to save her… so I wanted to fix it… however…"
Eggman sighed.
"It's alien technology used to suppress a power we have no understanding of." Eggman said. "That sum it up enough?"
Tails nodded.
"Which is why I am here… Please… help me keep Cosmo safe!" Tails said with a bow.
Eggman stayed silent for a moment, before laughing.
"And what's in it for me?!" He asked.
"… Anything." Tails said.
"… Then keep my other project a secret from your friends, and I'll say we're even." Eggman said. "And don't worry, it's more a gift than anything."
Tails' eyes went wide.
"Ehhh?! Are you sure doctor?!" Bocoe asked.
"You could have asked him to help you with that project! Or to help you with your next scheme!" Decoe asked.
"Yeah! Why are you being so nice to this fox all of a sudden?!" Bokkun asked.
Eggman laughed.
"I guess you can say I owe the little girl a favor, since her power is what saved us all in the end." Eggman said. "I don't like having unpaid debts, so this'll prove sufficient!"
Tails looked at him and smiled.
"Eggman… thank you." Tails said.
"I am also very intrigued by this device…" Eggman said. "I alone could have figured it out eventually… but with the second smartest being on the planet helping, we'll get it done in no time!"
"Right!" Tails said.
"Then you can ask that little lady out!" Eggman said with a knowing smile.
Tails' eyes went wide, and his face went red.
"I… WHAT?!"
"What? You think I wouldn't notice?!" Eggman said with a smirk.
Tails began looking shy…
"… Don't tell the others…" Tails asked meekly.
"… Fine, whatever… just do it before you regret it." Eggman said. "Now, let's get to work."
Tails nodded.
And so, the two began their project.
One More Week Later
"Ok Cosmo… just a bit further…" Tangle said as she guided Cosmo.
For some reason, Tangle and Jewel had been taking Cosmo around, just trying to keep her away from the house all morning.
It was obvious that they had some sort of surprise in store for her, but the girl just couldn't figure it out…
It became more obvious when they were about to return home, and Tangle slapped a blindfold over her eyes.
"I'm moving, geez, what do you two have planned?" She asked.
"One more second… ok! Take it off!" Tangle said.
Cosmo complied, and took off the blindfold…
And she was amazed.
A garden… and quite a large one.
Half of it was dedicated to new plants to grow and flourish… but the other half was already planted.
"What… is all of this?" Cosmo asked.
Tangle and Jewel looked to each other and smiled.
"Tails' idea." They said together.
Cosmo's eyes went wide, before looking up to see Tails just flying there, she also noticed Amy and Cream hiding behind a tool shed.
"I uh… I told you about how Tikal showed me your past… right?" Tails asked, to which Cosmo nodded. "Well… I remembered the names and appearances of all the other Seedrians on your space colony… so I thought you'd want a garden to… you know… commemorate them."
Cosmo looked over the sea of flowers… and saw that they all looked similar to the others… her family.
Tears began to form in her eyes.
"Ah! Sorry! Gosh I guess that was insensitive huh…?" Tails said sadly as he landed.
Cosmo cut that thought off with a big hug.
"Thank you… thank you so much Tails…"
Tails' face turned completely red, but he returned the hug anyways, wrapping his namesakes around her.
"Oh that's right!" Tails said before reaching into his namesakes. "There's one last part to the gift!"
He pulled out a small box, and placed it in Cosmo's hands.
When she opened it, she saw a small, red gem.
"I… did some research on your old pendant… and I think I managed to recreate the function of preventing an unintentional Mover Mode!" Tails explained. "I don't think any of us want you to do that again so… I wanted to give it back to you."
Cosmo took it and smiled.
"I'll treasure this… always."
Tails' heart melted when he saw this.
"And uh… I have all the data, and well…"
He then began to ramble on, explaining all the science behind Cosmo's pendant.
Tangle and Jewel completely zoned out, and stopped paying attention, but Cosmo was listening intently.
… Whether or not it was because she actually understood what the fox was saying, remains to be seen.
"So in conclusion, I can make more, and smaller versions of it!" Tails said happily. "You know… in case you want to try a different style…"
He got very shy at the end there.
Cosmo smiled widely though.
"I would love that! Thank you Tails!" She said before hugging him again.
Tangle and Jewel watched this with a smile, before Jewel turned to Tangle.
"Didn't you say Chris wanted to talk with you today?" Jewel asked.
Tangle nodded.
"Then go, I'll take care of the rest of things here." Jewel said with a smile.
"… Alright, I'll see you guys later!" Tangle said before grabbing her bike and riding away.
"See you later Tangle!" Cosmo said with a wave.
"If you see Sonic, tell him to meet me at Cream's tomorrow! I picked out a good spot for my new workshop!" Tails said.
"Will do!" Tangle said with a wave.
And with that, Tangle was off.
She had agreed to meet Chris at the now grounded Angel Island, since the human wanted to stop in and see Knuckles.
"Man… things have been quiet since we got back." Tangle said, looking around.
Two weeks since the group returned from their battles against the Metarex, and things were already mostly back to normal.
Construction on Tails and Chris' new homes haven't really started yet. Chris had been apprehensive about picking out a place to build it, and Tails had been busy lately with… something.
Tangle assumed that something was the pendant that he had just gifted Cosmo.
Speaking of him and Cosmo, Tails had finally opened up to everyone about how he had a crush on the girl after some encouraging words from Tikal. Of course though, Cosmo herself still doesn't know, and while it was clear to most members of the group that she felt the same way, it was also equally as clear that she really didn't know it herself.
Amy came to the conclusion that it was because Tails was the first boy she ever met, and that romance was probably a topic that never came up during her days on the Seedrian's space colony.
In the end though, everyone decided it was for the best if she came to terms with everything first, her new life and her feelings for Tails…
Keeping the fact that the girl liked him from Tails was rough, but it was for their own good.
Rouge had fallen off the grid. The last time Tangle saw her she was talking about returning someone's locket, saying that Tangle's attitude might of rubbed off on her.
Shadow still hadn't returned, but they have a feeling it'll happen… eventually. Rouge mentioned that she thinks he'll be making a couple of stops… to honor the resistance members that they were friends with that fell in battle.
There's also a new friend in the group! A uniquely colored chao named Chacola! Apparently the poor thing was injured during the whole forestation thing that was going on while they were fighting Final Mova, and Vanilla nursed him back to health. The chao became attached to her after that, so Vanilla adopted him.
Speaking of the forestation, everyone was surprised to hear that some mercenary group was responsible for holding it back and evacuating the locals, preventing any major injuries.
Tangle really wanted to meet them, and Sonic wanted to thank them for their work.
And of course, Tangle's been searching for Whisper, asking around for any signs of the wolf, to no avail.
They'll have their reunion one day…
As Tangle approached the Master Emerald shrine, she saw Chris talking with Knuckles and Tikal.
That was another thing, Knuckles decided that he wanted to learn more about the Echidnas, so Tikal's been staying with him, and telling him stories from when she was alive.
Tangle was really happy the two of them were bonding… they were pretty much family after all.
So, when she had arrived, she hopped off her bike and approached the two boys and spirit girl.
"Heya! What are you guys talking about?" Tangle asked.
Knuckles gave her a small wave before responding.
"Just house stuff I guess." Knuckles said. "Did you know they have to buy land in his world?"
"Ugh, yeah I did… had to go through that whole ordeal when we were looking for a place to build ours…" Tangle said. "Then we came back here before we even got started building!"
Chris laughed slightly at that.
"I mean really, what's next?! Buying the sky and ocean?!" She asked with a slight laugh.
"THAT'S WHAT I SAID!" Knuckles shouted.
Then everyone began laughing, though Chris' was a bit more nervous than the others.
"Anyways, you wanted my help with something Chris?" Tangle asked.
"Oh yeah, I wanted some help with finding land to build my house." Chris said. "Figured it was about time I got the ball rolling on that."
Tangle nodded.
"Yeah, that's a good idea. Okay! Let's go! I saw this beautiful place not too long ago, and it's not terribly far from where I live so we'd be able to visit each other often!" Tangle said with a smile, before grabbing her bike and walking. "Later Knuckles! Tikal!"
"Bye Tangle!" Tikal said with a wave, with Knuckles giving her a small one.
The two got walking, and began talking.
"Oh yeah!" Tangle said, reaching in her bag. "I JUST got this finished up today!"
She pulled out a notebook.
"A new, complete version of my journal… figured you'd want this instead of that old outdated one you have back home." Tangle said, handing him two copies of her journal. "And a copy for little Haruka too… gosh I wonder what she's up to nowadays…"
Chris just looked sad, as he took the books.
"Hm? Something wrong?" Tangle asked.
"Oh! Uh, nothing! Thanks a bunch!" Chris said frantically. "I'll uh… make sure to give one of these to Haruka when I get home… if I can figure out where she lives…"
Tangle was not very convinced, but by the time she could press for details, a voice called out to them.
"Hey! Human man!" Bokkun said as he landed in front of them and reached in his bag. "I got a message for you!"
Chris immediately leapt behind a rock for cover.
"Oh come on! It's not gonna blow up this time!" Bokkun said, pulling out a small envelope. "See?"
Chris didn't seem too convinced, so Tangle took the envelope and opened it.
"Hey! That's for him not you!" Bokkun said. "There are laws against reading someone else's mail you dummy!"
Tangle just looked to Chris, who gestured for her to keep going.
She opened it up and read it out loud.
"Hey Chris, I think you might want to come to my base right away… I have a one… way… ticket… home…" Tangle said, her voice trailing off. "One… way?"
She looked to Chris for answers, but he seemed as shocked as she was.
"… We should go." Tangle said.
Chris nodded, and they turned to Bokkun, gesturing for him to lead them to Eggman.
And before long… they arrived.
"Alright Eggy, what's going on here?" Tangle asked.
"Eh? Didn't you say that you wanted to keep your situation a secret boy?" Eggman asked Chris.
"She was with me when I got your letter… so what's going on." Chris said. "I thought you said the Master Emerald shattering would destroy my only way of getting home…"
Tangle turned to him in shock.
"Wait, WHAT?!"
Chris turned to her and nodded.
"… And you still let us go through with that plan…" Tangle said. "I… Chris…"
"Oh save the tears." Eggman said. "I figured out another way, don't worry."
The two turned to him, doubt on their faces.
"Don't get the wrong idea… I did it for fun more than anything." Eggman said. "There is a catch though… you don't have much time."
"… What do you mean?" Chris asked.
"… In three minutes, there will be a perfect planetary and star alignment… that is the only reason why this will work." Eggman explained. "And as that letter implied, this is a one way trip… after those three minutes, you'll most likely never have another chance to cross between worlds again."
Chris and Tangle's eyes went wide.
"Honestly, you got lucky… when you came here there was a similar alignment… it must of been destiny that you were able to come here." Eggman said.
"… Destiny huh…" Tangle said. "Man, I am getting real tired of that word… guess it does have some merit though…"
Chris just looked confused at that.
"What do you mean?" He asked.
Tangle just laughed.
"Just read the journal. I'm pretty sure I wrote about it in there!" She said with a grin. "Now go on! You have a home and family to get back to!"
Chris just looked sad.
"Are… you really sure about this?" He asked. "This… is probably goodbye…"
"No it ain't!" Tangle said. "You… are one of the smartest guys I've ever met Chris… guess those six years really worked out for you huh?"
Chris looked surprised.
"You… finally believe me about that?" Chris asked.
"Always did! I just liked teasing you about it!" Tangle said with a wink. "… You'll figure out a way to come see us again… and if not, I'm sure one day Tails will be able to meet you half way."
She then playfully punched his shoulder with her tail.
"You leave the goodbye's to me… you get home." She said.
Chris wiped some tears out of his eyes and nodded.
"Right."
Tangle took a deep breath, as tears began to form.
"You… you take care of yourself… alright?" She told him.
"… I will… thanks for everything." Chris said.
They shook hands.
"Til we meet again, right?" Chris asked.
"Right!" Tangle said with a sad smile.
And… they pulled in for a hug.
"And thank you Tangle… for everything." He said.
Tangle didn't respond verbally, and hugged him harder.
"… Ok… get going." Tangle said, taking a step back.
Chris nodded, and got into Eggman's device.
And a moment later… it took off. Flying into the sky to take the human home.
Tangle wiped her tears away and turned to face Eggman.
"Thanks… for doing that for him." Tangle said.
"… Now that that's done, we are back to being enemies." Eggman said. "I'll leave the Master Emerald alone until it recovers… but be prepared! Cause my next scheme will be a doozy!"
Tangle gave him a smirk.
"Bring it!" She said as she hopped on her bike and rode away.
She looked up, and watched as Chris disappeared into the sky.
"See you… bud." She said, before focusing on the road ahead.
She had news to spread to the others.
One Week Later
Everyone was… reasonably upset about Chris' departure, but they all understood why he had to do it. They wouldn't forgive themselves if he gave up his one chance to go home for them.
Eggman had, of course, launched an attack the day after, but it was a quick and easy thing to deal with, so it wasn't even worth remembering.
So now, Tangle was sitting at a desk in her room, reading through her journal.
"Heh… I really have been through a lot huh?" She asked herself.
She looked up, and saw the three picture frames on her desk.
One of her and her friends here on Mobius, one of her and Chris and his friends in his world, and one of her and Chris with his family.
So many memories… in what in the grand scheme of things, wasn't so long.
Suddenly, the sound of a plane landing outside broke her out of her nostalgia trip, as she closed her notebook and placed it in the center of her desk.
She rushed downstairs and outside, to see Sonic and Tails, the former sitting on the wing of the Tornado.
"Hey! Eggman's at it again… of course." Sonic said, before standing up and reaching out his hand. "You down for another adventure?"
Tangle turned around, and saw Jewel and Cosmo standing there, the former of which nodding, as if urging her to go.
Tangle smiled and turned back to Sonic.
"As if you even have to ask!"
She then pulled her tail back, before slapping the end of it into Sonic's hand before he pulled her onto the wing.
"Ok! Then let's GO!" Sonic said as Tails took off.
And as they flew off into the distance, a single beam of light shone through the window, shining down on a little, beat up notebook on Tangle's desk.
And this… was only the beginning of Tangle's dream.
End of Act 1
After over three years… it is finally over.
I want to thank you all so much not only for reading this far, but for dealing with that massive hiatus I took. I never want to do that again. Throughout that break, I always thought back to this story, and always told myself that I HAD to finish it one day. And I am so glad that I at least got to give you all an actual ending to Act 1.
Now then, I think this is obvious, but I need a break. Not nearly as long as the last one, don't worry, but I need one. I think the biggest reason is that I actually need to refresh myself on the plot and level design of the first game we will REALLY be covering in Act 2, Sonic Heroes… and of course, that means playing it… eh, I only need to do two of the stories I think to really get what I need for it, so I should be fine lol.
That being said, my aim is to start Act 2 at the beginning of November. The main reason for this is that Shadow the Hedgehog will be the second game we cover in that story, and I want to make sure I got all the details from Shadow Generations before I write that, and may even want to incorporate elements from that into Sonic Heroes, but we'll see. THAT BEING SAID! If I finish writing Heroes beforehand, I'll be starting then, but we'll see.
Act 2's update schedule will be different from Act 1's btw… but I'll go more into that once we get there. To put it simply though: There will be breaks between the games I cover. I think that's the best way to do a story like that.
Also, in case this isn't completely obvious, Act 2 will be a separate story, just to keep things a bit more organized.
As for this chapter, I wanted to do my best to cover up any loose ends I could, between where Cosmo lives now, her pendant being repaired and so on. I DID consider making a whole little plotline about having the part of her brain that Dark Oak took over removed, or make it so it was a device that couldn't be disabled without an actual brain surgeon going in there… but I figured that'd make this drag on too long.
Are there any other loose ends…? I mean… there might be ONE that hasn't been tied up… involving a character some people have been asking about… but I wonder when that'll happen? Eh, not too long I don't think… you'll see.
Anyways, thanks again for reading, and I'll hopefully see you soon for Act 2, which will start with a recap, and then a quick dive into Sonic Advance 3! See you then!
…
…
…
"It would seem that Sonic and his friends are back, along with that alien girl." The lion said.
"Think she's trustworthy?" The ocelot asked.
The wolf interjected.
"Tangle decided to let her live in her house… if she trusts the girl that much, then she's a good person." She said. "I can guarantee that."
The lion smiled.
"Good enough for me… still, it's a good thing Sonic came back about the same time as the Doctor." He said.
"Tell me about it… could you imagine what would have happened if Eggman showed up before him?" The octopus asked. "That whole mess with the forest was already annoying…"
"Oh relax, we took care of it just fine!" The ocelot said before turning towards the monkey. "Ain't that right?"
The monkey laughed. "Yeah, and I kept telling you that it would be fine. Have some faith in my powers!"
"Hmph…" The octopus said before crossing his arms. "What about you? That old friend of yours is really making a name for herself."
The wolf couldn't help but smile at that.
"She was… always the energetic one of us." She said. "Also the biggest trouble magnet I've ever seen."
"… You want to see her, right? Why don't you?" The Ocelot asked.
"Too early… if Eggman gets clued in on us, it'll make later missions more difficult." She said. "As much as I want to see her… I'd rather just wait and let it happen by chance... and I'm sure it will."
"… Ok Whisper… whatever you say." The Lion asked. "Ok, Eggman's back, so that means that break time's over! Let's get out there and make a difference!"
"Right!" Everyone said, grabbing their respective weapons.
Whisper walked over to her rifle, and smiled.
"I'll see you soon… Bestie." She said to herself as she flung the rifle over her shoulder, and followed her team out of the room.
To Be Continued in Act 2