Chapter 8

Forgiveness and Redemption

After a long walk through the forest, Hawkodile and his friends returned to Falcomodo's cottage. They reached the cottage right before the sun could set. "It's good to be back home." Falcomodo breathed a sigh of relief. "I have to say, Hawkodile, I'm very proud of how far you and your friends have come."

"We couldn't have done it without you, Sensei! We appreciate all that you have done for us!" Hawkodile bowed to his master.

"Think nothing of it! It felt nice to teach action moves to others after all these years." Falcomodo smiled.

The falcon soon turned to the rest of Hawkodile's friends. "It has been an honor meeting you three. I hope you will continue to apply my lessons in the future."

Everyone nodded in agreement. "We will, Sensei!" Dr. Fox spoke up. "I never would have thought that it was possible to use mathematics in fighting."

"Well, I suppose you learn something new everyday. What about you, Richard? Have my lessons helped you as well?" Falcomodo asked.

"It has. At first, I thought it was a bad thing to be invisible, but you taught me that it can help me in certain ways. I can't thank you enough." Richard replied with one last bow.

"Just remember, Richard, being invisible doesn't always have to be a bad thing. You can use its advantages to protect others." the falcon explained.

Puppycorn then walked up to Falcomodo eagerly and asked, "By the way, do you think you can teach me how to do a triple back-flip someday?"

"Maybe next time!" Falcomodo chuckled.

While everyone was saying goodbye to Falcomodo, Hawkodile took notice of Eagleator leaving the forest. "Eagleator, wait!" Hawkodile ran as fast as he could to catch up with his friend. "Were you just going to leave without saying goodbye?"

"I don't think I can stay after all I've done to you and your friends." Eagleator glumly replied. "I've spent so much time obsessing over your shades, I guess I lost my purpose in life."

At that moment, Hawkodile placed a comforting hand on Eagleator's shoulder. "Eagleator, I'm sorry that you weren't chosen to wear the shades, but you don't have to be alone anymore. I'm sure that someone can help set you on the right path."

Having overheard the conversation, Falcomodo stepped forward and said, "He's right! In fact, I think I know just how to help you."

Eagleator then blinked in confusion. "What do you mean, Sensei?"

"How would you like another chance at earning the shades?" Falcomodo offered. "I can train you once again to help you find your purpose. You can finally be redeemed and learn what it's like to be a true action hero. What do you say?"

At first, Eagleator didn't know what to say. He couldn't believe that he was given a second chance after all of the hurt he caused. It took a couple of moments before Eagleator finally made up his mind. "I would be honored, Sensei!"

"Then it's settled. We will begin training early tomorrow morning, so I suggest that you get some rest." Falcmomodo advised before he turned to Hawkodile. "I'm really sorry, Hawkodile, but I guess we will have to postpone our visit to a later day."

"It's fine, Sensei. My friends and I were thinking about returning to the castle anyway." Hawkodile explained.

"I guess this is goodbye then. I wish all of you a safe journey back home." the falcon said before walking back to his cottage. "Come, Eagleator. We have a long day of training tomorrow."

Eagleator was about to follow his sensei into the cottage before Hawkodile called for him. "Hey, Eagleator! Good luck with your training. I know you can do it."

"Thanks, bro!" Eagleator smiled. "I promise that the next time we meet, you will see me wearing those shades!"

"I'm looking forward to it." Hawkodile said.

The two action heroes then pounded their fists together in a fist bump before Eagleator followed his master into the cottage to rest up for his training. At that moment, Unikitty walked over to her bodyguard and said, "I'm so happy that you and Eagleator are friends again."

"So am I." said Hawkodile. "I'm just glad that you are alright."

"That reminds me, I never got a chance to thank you guys for saving me! We should have a celebration at the castle!" Unikitty grinned.

Everyone was happy with Unikitty's suggestion with the exception of Richard. "Princess, don't you think we've had enough celebrations for awhile?" he asked. "We are just getting back, and I think you need to rest."

"Don't be silly, Richard. Having another party is a great way to celebrate our return and I promise this will be the last party for awhile. Please?" Unikitty asked with pleading eyes.

Richard already knew where this was going, so he decided to give in. "Alright." He soon heard the rest of his friends cheer as they hurried back to Unikitty's castle.

The group of friends eventually made it back to the castle, where they celebrated Unikitty's return. Unlike the party from a few days ago, none of the citizens were there because Richard wanted a low-key night. Unikitty felt a little guilty that she couldn't invite anyone, but she was still happy that she was reunited with her friends. While everyone was enjoying the party, Unikitty noticed that someone was still missing.

"Richard? Have you seen Hawkodile anywhere?" Unikitty asked her royal adviser.

"I think I saw him go upstairs, but he has been up there for awhile." Richard explained. This got Unikitty curious, so she decided to fly up the stairs and search for her friend.

Meanwhile, Hawkodile was sitting on the balcony of the castle, watching the sunset. He sat in silence as he thought back to everything that has happened on his journey. Not only has he rescued Unikitty and met up with his sensei after many years, but he was friends with Eagleator once again. Hawkodile should have felt happy, but deep down he still couldn't forgive himself for letting Unikitty get captured. He didn't know how he could apologize to the one person he was supposed to protect.

As if on cue, Hawkodile heard Unikitty behind him. "Hey, Hawkodile."

The action hero turned around to see Unikitty, who looked concerned for her friend. "Oh. Hi, princess." Hawkodile waved before facing the sunset once more.

"Richard told me I might find you up here. Are you feeling alright?" Unikitty asked as she flew right next to her bodyguard.

"Yeah. I'm just a little tired." Hawkodile lied. "It's been a long day. Just go enjoy the rest of the party."

Instead of leaving, Unikitty just stood there. She knew Hawkodile long enough to know that there was something bothering him, and she didn't want to leave until he was happy again. "Hawkodile, do you remember the day when you were Brawl Bot, and I encouraged you to be open with your feelings? You know that you can always be honest with me." Unikitty assured.

Hawkodile knew that if he wanted to feel better he would have to talk about his feelings. Even though he wasn't very good at it, he felt it was worth a shot. He took a deep breath before facing Unikitty. "You're right, princess. I just wanted to apologize to you."

This caused Unikitty to give Hawkodile a puzzled look. "Apologize? I don't understand. You were the one who saved me."

"I was also the one who let you get captured!" Hawkodile sighed. "If I'd known that Eagleator was at the party, I could have stopped him from sneaking into the castle in the first place!"

"But, everything worked out in the end! You have finally reconciled with Eagleator!" the pink cat tried to explain.

"That doesn't excuse the fact that I've failed! I couldn't protect you and now I'm the worst bodyguard ever!" Hawkodile argued as he buried his face in his gloved hands.

Unikitty felt bad for her friend. Despite all the trouble he went through to save her, he still felt like a failure. "You know that's not true, Hawk! You have always been there for me and the others, and we wouldn't know what to do without you."

Hawkodile silently thought about what Unikitty said. "Do you really mean it, princess?" he asked.

"Of course! I couldn't have asked for a better bodyguard or friend!" Unikitty then leaped and gave her bodyguard a hug.

Touched by Unikitty's words, Hawkodile smiled and hugged her back. "Thanks, princess. I'm lucky to have you as a friend."

After the two friends hugged, Unikitty stood up and asked, "So would you like to join our friends downstairs? The party won't be the same without you!"

"You know what? I think I will!" Hawkodile answered. "Lead the way, princess!"

With that, Unikitty gave a cheer as Hawkodile followed her back in the castle. With his journey over, Hawkodile felt at peace for the first time in days. Hawkodile was finally able to forgive himself, and he will continue to use his strength to protect the people he loves.

The End

AN: Well, that's the end of my story. Before I go, I would like to say thank you one more time to everyone who took the time to reading my fanfiction. I'm also considering writing a sequel to this story sometime in the future. Anyway, thanks again and I hope everyone has a Merry Christmas.