Epilogue: Homecoming

Jewel was sifting through paperwork, before sighing.

Sonic and the others had been gone for nearly a week now, and while they'd made good progress on the restoration efforts during this time, it wasn't going nearly as well had they been around.

Regardless, she carried on, hoping to have some good news for when…

"THEY'RE BACK!" Belle shouted, bursting into the room.

"WAH!" Jewel shouted as she fell over in surprise.

"Oh… sorry Jewel." Belle said, walking over and helping her up off the floor. "But Sonic just called, he and the others are about to land, you should probably get to the landing site to greet them."

Jewel nodded, picking herself up off the floor.

Then, she smiled.

"Well… at least we're gonna have their help now…"

Jewel was waiting at the landing sight, accompanied by Lanolin and Whisper, watching as the Blue Typhoon finished landing.

Shortly after, the door to the hanger opened, revealing a very excited looking Tangle.

"Hey guys! We're back!" She said with a wave and running off the ship, before scooping Jewel up for a hug. "Man I missed you guys!"

Jewel giggled a bit before hugging back.

"We missed you too… I hope you didn't cause too much trouble." She said.

"HA! No, I didn't cause any trouble! In fact! I was a key part of the plan that ended up leading to our victory!" Tangle said as she put Jewel down an pointed her thumb towards herself with a smirk.

Her friends didn't look convinced.

"I don't believe you." Jewel said.

"I can't believe you." Lanolin added.

Whisper just gave her a sad smile.

"Well you should, cause it's true." Sonic said, walking over to the group. "Tangle was a really big help. We're really glad that she came."

Everyone looked surprised at that, and Tangle just put a smug look on her face.

"… Well then, that's good then." Jewel said. "Good work Tangle."

"Heheeeee.." Tangle said, scratching under her nose.

She then looked at Whisper.

Sonic pat her on the back.

"Come on… you were preparing for this during that whole flight…" He said.

Tangle nodded, before walking over to the wolf stiffly.

"I uh… I saw a lot and took a lot of pictures… I wanted to show you and… maybe we could do it over lunch?" She asked nervously.

Whisper was so surprised by this that her eyes opened, stars appearing in them while her wisps all gave her a knowing look.

"Are you… asking me out on a date?" Whisper asked.

Tangle swallowed thickly.

"Y-yeah…" She squeaked out.

Whisper smiled at that.

"I'd love that."

Tangle smiled widely, before lifting Whisper up into the air.

"… About time." Jewel said to Sonic, watching this.

Sonic just watched this with a smile.

Jewel then walked over to Tangle.

"Now, I am happy for the two of you, but Tangle, didn't you promise me something?" Jewel asked.

Tangle nodded, before reaching into her backpack.

She pulled out a large, purple crystal.

"And here is your new museum exhibit! Lavender colored, go figure."

While the wording of that confused Jewel, she soon got her answer when Tail and Cosmo disembarked, with the rest following close behind.

"… Wait, who is this now?" Jewel asked.

Cosmo walked over to Jewel and bowed.

"Greetings, you must be Jewel." Cosmo said before rising. "I am Princess Lavender of the Terrastial Kingdom. After meeting your friends, I have decided to leave my home and come forge a new life here on your planet."

Jewel's eyes went wide.

"P-Princess?!" Jewel said before kneeling. "I-it's an honor!"

Cosmo smiled at that.

"… I also wanted to give you the bill for all the damage Tangle caused."

Everyone heard glass shatter, as Jewel's eyes widened, bloodshot.

She turned to her best friend, who just put her hands up defensively.

"Whoa now! I do NOT know what she is talking about!" Tangle said, clearly scared. "Seriously! I don't!"

"Tangleeeee!" Jewel growled out, her eyes now completely red.

However, she stopped when she heard laughing behind her.

"Oh, I'm just playing around." Cosmo said between laughs. "Yes, I am Princess Lavender… but here, I am known as Cosmo the Seedrian."

She then took Tails' hand into hers.

"Tails' girlfriend."

The three girls not in the know looked… well, completely flabbergasted.

"WHAT?!" Lanolin shouted.

Cosmo laughed at that.

"It's a long story… one that started five years ago if you could believe it." She explained. "Perhaps over a double date?"

"I am not fifth wheeling." Lanolin said flatly.

Tails then smiled.

"We'll find the time. For now though, Cosmo wanted to go and see some old friends, right?" He said.

Cosmo nodded.

"I'm looking forward to getting to know you all!" Cosmo said, before she and Tails turned to leave.

Sonic watched this with a smile on his face.

"Well blue, it's been fun, but I oughta get going. Who know's what Omega's been up to while we've been gone." Rouge said, flying into the air.

"Thanks for the help Rouge!" Sonic said with a wave.

Rouge, with a sizable green gem, took to the sky.

Shadow then walked past Sonic, and held out his hand.

Sonic nodded before placing a Chaos Emerald into it.

"Thanks Shadow."

Shadow nodded, before teleporting away.

And finally, Sage and Metal Sonic approached him.

"I believe the terms included you returning our Chaos Emeralds." Sage pointed out.

Sonic sighed, before producing the two, which Metal Sonic took.

"A deal's a deal… just know that once Eggman's break is done I'm coming to take those. Can't have him holding onto those for too long!" Sonic said with a smirk.

"We'll be ready." Sage said. "Come along brother."

The two turned to leave…

"Hey… thanks a bunch you two. You really were a big help." Sonic said.

Sage turned to Sonic and smiled.

"We may be enemies, but that is only when Father launches his plans to conquer the world." Sage said. "Otherwise, I would like to think of you and Tails as friends."

Sonic nodded at that.

"Right, friends."

Metal Sonic just looked at Sage.

"Brother says he still hates you and only helped because father told him to."

Sonic laughed a bit at that.

"Yeah, that's what I figured." He said. "Kick your butt next time Metal!"

Metal Sonic ignored him and shot off into the distance.

"She's weird… but I kinda like Sage." Amy said.

"Yeah, she's cool." Sonic said. "Anyways, I'm gonna get out of here, later!"

And with that, Sonic sped off into the distance, eager to find his next adventure.

"Oh my gosh! Mr. Tails what happened to you?!" Cream shouted when she saw Tails.

Vanilla rushed over and gasped when she saw the bandages on Tails' face and arm.

"Oh, just had to get a little… more involved than usual during our recent mission in space." Tails said, rubbing the back of his head. "Don't worry, it's nothing serious."

"Oh yeah, I heard you all went into space for something." Vanilla said. "Well, I'm glad you got home safely."

Tails smiled.

"Yeah, it was touch and go for a bit, but we came out of it better than we went in to be honest." Tails explained. "In fact… we bumped into an old friend that wanted to see you Cream!"

Cream tilted her head, confused.

That confusion turned to absolute shock when Tails lowered his namesakes, revealing that Cosmo was standing behind him that whole time.

"Hello Cream! I'm back!" She said with a smile.

Cream and Vanilla just stared at her in shock, before Cream screamed and tackled Cosmo into a hug.

"COSMO! IT'S COSMO! YOU'RE ALIVE!" She screamed.

Cosmo laughed as she returned the embrace.

"I'm sorry I didn't come back sooner Cream… It's a long story." Cosmo explained.

"As long as you're back… and you NEVER do that again!" Cream commanded. "Do you have any idea how sad we all were?!"

Cosmo looked sad at that.

"Yes… Tails already filled me in." She said sadly. "And I promise, I won't be making any sacrifices again."

"Good." Cream said, continuing to hug her friend. "You know… Tails was sadder than anyone."

Cosmo laughed at that.

"Oh, I know."

"… I think he really likes you." Cream said with a wink.

"Now Cream…" Vanilla started.

"Already one step ahead of you Cream." Tails said before pecking Cosmo on the cheek.

Cream's eyes went wide at that.

"… YOU MEAN I MISSED IT?!"

Tails and Cosmo burst out laughing.

"Guess so! Sorry, it just happened so fast!" Cosmo said.

"Well come inside! I want ALL the details!" Cream said, grabbing Cosmo and Tails' hands and dragging them inside.

The couple continued to laugh as they were dragged along.

That Night

Tails opened the door to his workshop, a smile on his face.

It was really nice to see his friends so happy to see Cosmo.

When they had told Cream that Cosmo was a princess now, she nearly passed out from the excitement of it. They agreed to spend more time together so Cosmo could tell her more about it.

Knuckles thought he was seeing a ghost at first, but he was uncharacteristically ecstatic to see the girl. He also gave Tails a big pat on the back when he found out the two of them were dating.

Chris was pretty shocked. They don't have the opportunity to go and visit often, and they suddenly showed up with Cosmo in tow, so it was understandable.

As for where Cosmo was now, they decided that it would be for the best for the girl to stay with Amy until she found her own place to live. They thought sharing a home was… well, it was a bit too early for that.

When he dropped her off at Amy's house, Amy reminded Tails that her birthday was actually coming up soon. She said the party would be taking place on some train and have a murder mystery theme about it. It seemed like a fun time.

She also informed Tails and Cosmo that they'd need detective outfits for this, since their roles in the murder mystery were going to be Co-Detectives, so they decided to go shopping tomorrow.

Tails walked into his plant room, and filled the watering can.

It had been over a week since he watered them, so he needed to make sure they got watered right away.

However… halfway through, he stopped.

"Oh my gosh… how did I not think about this until now…"

Ten Years Later

Tails laid back into his bed with a smile on his face.

It had been a very fun day, as it was the day that Cosmo had moved in with him, something they finally agreed on not too long ago, during Cosmo's birthday.

It was a big step in their relationship, and he was excited for it…

That being said, they were absolutely NOT going to stay in the same room... they still weren't ready for that.

Still though… he slowly closed his eyes, and drifted off to sleep, excited for what the next day would bring…

…

…

That answer came a lot earlier than he thought, as a loud crash coming from the ground floor of his home made him jolt awake just a few hours later.

He quickly grabbed his newly rebuilt arm-cannon, and ran out into the hallway.

Cosmo then came peeking out from her room next to his.

"D-Did someone break in?" She asked. "Why?!"

"That's what I'm about to find out." Tails said.

If word got out about Cosmo moving in with him that day, and someone was breaking in to attack her… they would have to get through him.

He then slowly crept his way down the stairs, with Cosmo following not too far behind.

When they got to the ground floor though, and saw just WHAT it was that made that noise… they were absolutely stunned.

They always knew that this could happen one day… in fact, they hoped it would…

Just not this soon.

"… AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

To Be Continued

Yup, we doing a sequel… eventually.

I have a plan for what I want to do with this sequel… just not the how yet. It'll happen, just need some time is all.

Also, you KNOW I had to get Cream's reaction to everything happening in here somewhere. Aside from Chris, she's the only member of the X Crew that wasn't really in this story.

Not much more to say, other than please look forward to the sequel, titled "Ray of Sunshine."

See you then!