A Year Later
It was the anniversary of an important event.
Everyone in Mobius was celebrating the day on which the resistance stopped Eggman on his plans from taking over the world. Unlike his past attempts, in which Sonic didn't have much issues going against the mustached man, thanks to the legion of robots he created, not only did he defeat the blue blur, but also stole the Chaos Emeralds. Those were some arduous months and while it looked like the doctor and his army were invincible, in the end, thanks to their combined efforts, the heroes did what they believed was impossible and put an end to Eggman's reign of terror.
During the week in which all the main members of the resistance discussed their plans to reconstruct Mobius and see how to make it a safer place, Sonic and Amy had the idea of turning the day of Eggman's defeat into a celebration. They explained that while some of them were still affected by those difficult months, with the blue blur revealing that he did a big effort by not being overwhelmed by his fears, they wanted to find a way to make everyone think more about their triumph and not the bad times. Naturally, as all understood the intentions of the two hedgehogs, and with some like Silver, Blaze, Espio and Sticks mentioning that they related to how Sonic felt, all agreed on going forward with the idea.
Lots of changed happened between their last reunion and now: Sonic and Amy finally became a couple, the detective group known as The Chaotix invited Sticks to become a member of their group and Metal Sonic decided to stay on the side of the heroes and cut all ties he had with Eggman, but the change that stood out the most was Rouge herself. Not only did the alluring bat got a new hairstyle, sporting a lock of hair, but she also had a change of attitude. She remained flirty, loving to tease everyone that was close to her with her beauty, but she had a nicer attitude, no longer belittling or making others feel down. Rouge also got rid of her jewel obsession, keeping the true reasons for doing that a mystery even after a year. Seeing her like that made everyone have a hard time believing this was the same bat gal they knew yet, as she looked happy and became someone very helpful, they dropped the idea of this being an act she was doing to get something from them.
Rouge was also looking forward to the celebration, being a topic, she talked about non-stop with Shadow and Omega and after they finished seeing an important issue with the defense organization known as G.U.N, the three heroes went to meet with their friends, with the bat gal happy to see that they arrived in time to help everyone with the preparations. "Glad you could make it!" Amy said in a cheerful tone. In the past, the pretty bat might have shown her discomfort with the positive attitude of the pink hedgehog, but as the two finally got past their differences and became friends, Rouge smiled before asking if she and the other two members of Team Dark could help them.
While Omega went to help The Chaotix and Shadow followed Sonic and Knuckles with bringing the stuff Vanilla and Cream prepared for the night, the alluring bat stayed with the cheerful girl and as she helped her with the tables, she asked who still hadn't arrived. Tangle and Whisper were still with the trip around the world, so while they couldn't come, they still were sending their best regards. Fang, Bark and Jet were in another city and while it would be difficult for them to come, they told them they were going to have their own celebration there. Surge and Kit told Sonic and Amy in advance that the two were taking some time off to take care of an issue they had and would come back after it was solved. As for the rest, while Metal Sonic was busy helping Breezie and the other robots that used to work for Eggman, he decided to accept the invitation, being one of the first ones to arrive. As for the Babylon Rogues, they were preparing for the next Gear Cup, but Wave made a surprise appearance. Rouge was glad to see the bird girl as apart from the two becoming best friends, she was the one who not only knew about her true reasons to change, but also why she was so excited about the celebration.
Amy also mentioned that while it was it's been a while since she talked with Silver, Blaze and Marine, the cheerful girl talked with them before they left and they promised to come to the celebration, with the psychic hedgehog even agreeing in waiting one year in his own timeline so he could share with them about the changes in the place where he lived. Not only they were their close friends, but also an important part of the resistance and while the cat princess and the racoon girl lived in another dimension and the naive hedgehog was from the future, that didn't stop them from coming from time to time to see them.
Once the tables were prepared, with the decorations, plates and the food that was made for that occasion, everyone went to their seats, but instead of eating, everyone wanted Sonic to give a few words about their victory. He was one of the leaders of the resistance and was the one who defeated the evil doctor during their final battle, but the blue blur kept mentioning that it was a team effort and that everyone should talk. Naturally, as everyone continued saying that they wanted to hear him talk and say a speech in honor of their victory, after Amy, Tails and Knuckles told him that would be the right thing to do, he finally obliged and gave them what they wanted.
"Well then, I'll do it," the blue hedgehog said while doing a light chuckle. Although he wasn't as cocky as before, being motivated to change his attitude after Eggman's reign of terror, Sonic still enjoyed when people cheered for him but he made emphasis on this night not being only about him, but about all the heroes that fought against the evil doctor. "I can't believe a year has passed. We thought that it was going to be the same as before, with me easily stopping that mustached doctor, but I was wrong. While we lived through dark times, in the end, we never gave up and today we are celebrating our victory, the day we defeated Eggman as a team. Cheers!"
After everyone cheered and drank from their glasses, the blue blur sat down, but not before thanking his closest friends from motivating him again. Everyone there was waiting for that special occasion from the moment the two hedgehogs talked about the idea, loving to remember their efforts and thinking about how closer they became during that year. They talked with each other, enjoyed the food and were having a great time together, but suddenly, their time of joy was interrupted by a strong wind.
Even after Eggman's tenure as the evil ruler of Mobius, there was one thing that was still there as thanks to one machine he created, the weather changed and, in the end, they got a longer winter than usual. Tails tried to make it stop, but after countless attempts that went nowhere, the smart fox decided to stop, believing that nature itself might fix it. Nonetheless, seeing the way the wind was blowing was still alarming and because of that, some like Knuckles and Shadow got up from their chairs and looked around. "You think this has something to do with Eggman?" The dark hedgehog asked while looking at Sonic and Amy. As far as they knew, the mustached man was in exile and it seemed that he didn't have any intentions of coming back, but it still was a possibility as he always returned with a plan. While everyone waited to see if the wind would stop, Espio noticed something glowing close to one of the nearby tables.
"What's that?" The purple chameleon's question made everyone look at where he was pointing and they noticed that a cyan orb materialized itself and was becoming bigger. This was all Sonic needed to do to give his friends the signal to be prepared, with him moving in front of the glowing orb and preparing to go against whatever came out of it. As he was joined by Tails, Amy, Knuckles and Shadow, the orb became a portal and an orange robot jumped out of it and landed on one of the tables. The heroes believed that he was there to fight, but instead, the android eyed them before looking back at the portal and running as fast as he could. It was puzzling, his demeanor was strange yet it was easy to notice that he was escaping from something and it didn't take long for someone else to come out from the same portal.
Instead of a robot, who appeared was a mysterious traveler that was wearing a light brown ragged cloak that covered his body and most of his face except for his pale muzzle and also had a pair of gloves. The encounter was different this time, with him looking at everyone before noticing that one of the tables was destroyed, giving him the answer that the android was there. "Where did he go?" He asked in a calm yet serious tone. Everyone still was in shock, still trying to process what happened, but as Charmy and Sticks looked at each other, the two pointed in the direction where the orange robot went. Nodding his head to the bee guy and the badger gal and thanking him for giving him the information he needed, the cloaked guy ran towards the same direction the android went. The heroes still were without a clear answer, some were still trying to process what happened yet, as this still could be related to Dr. Eggman, everyone got up from their seats and followed the traveler.
The pursuit went for a while, with the two running around the forest until they stopped in the middle of a frozen lake. The robot believed that his pursuer wouldn't follow him there, but to his dismay, the mysterious traveler continued to move towards him. As a last resort, the android took a risk and used the ray gun he was carrying, pointing it at the guy with the ragged cloak to scare him, but as that didn't work either, he pulled the trigger, only for his pursuer to also avoid the ray. He panicked as nothing would stop the traveler and as he shot one last time, the cloaked guy jumped and punched him.
It quickly became a battler for who could get control over the gun first, wherever one was close to get it, the other would punch or push him away. As the heroes looked at the two fighting, some like Sonic and Rouge wondered if it would be correct to go and help or separate them. Their doubt about if one of them was working for Eggman made them unsure about that decision, but as they continue to think about what to do, the orange robot avoided one of the attacks of his pursuer before trying to get the gun, only for the guy with the ragged cloak to get the upper hand and pushed him away before taking control over the ray gun. In a last attempt, the fallen robot tried to talk with his pursuer, reminding him about what would happen if he pulled the trigger. "Do you think I'm alone? They'll be coming for you!" the cloaked guy remained silent. He knew what the android was talking about yet, he remained firm, not feeling intimidated by his comments as he instead moved the gun closer.
"I'll be waiting then," the mysterious traveler said before pulling the trigger, shooting the orange robot's head. Everything came too fast and while he finally stopped the one he was chasing, the guy with the ragged cloak needed one moment to calm down. He was so concentrated on stopping the android that he failed to notice that the group of heroes followed him and saw everything from their battle for the gun to the moment where he shot the orange's robot head. Just like him, they were shocked, unsure about if their decision to follow the two was a good idea.
"What have you done?!" Knuckles yelled while taking a step forward. Him and the rest didn't know anything about the cloaked guy yet, seeing the way he acted, the guardian felt that he would be someone who might cause some havoc and even hurt them. Soon everyone started agreeing with the idea and were ready to attack if it was necessary, but as the red echidna's comment caught the traveler's attention, he looked back and showed them that he wasn't there to fight them. He looked at the robot's body one last time, put the ray gun next to him as it ran out of power and couldn't be used anymore and turned around.
The cloaked guy understood that his sudden entrance and his battle with the android gave everyone that idea of he might do the same to them, but that was far from the truth. As he remained standing, instead of explaining what was he doing there or why he was chasing the orange robot, he took a single step forward, moved his hand up and carefully held his cloak. "I'm sorry, it wasn't my intention to disturb any of you," he stated in a calm yet unmotivating tone before showing who he was. Once again, everyone was at a loss of words as they expected him to be someone who worked for the evil doctor, but instead, it was someone from their past who was not only their friend, but was also part of the resistance against Dr. Eggman.
"It…it can be…" Rouge said under her breath as she couldn't believe that the mysterious traveler was none other than Silver himself. What started as a night of celebration took a turn thanks to their discovery and the fact that it was still a mystery why the psychic hedgehog was chasing the orange robot and what made him act like that, with some even wondering if this was really Silver or someone trying to pass as him. There were a lot of emotions that night, from good to bad ones, but now, the important thing of that night wasn't going back to the celebration.
It was getting to know what happened to the hedgehog that used to be naive.