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Sonic the Hedgehog: Heads or Tails

Epilogue: Aftermath

Robotnik was angry. So angry that he hadn't said anything. And Snively knew it.

What the diminutive human also knew was that; a) Robotnik's plan of putting his nephew in charge in case the plan failed had paid off and b) the plan was about to reach the stage where the venting began...supposedly. Because while the scientist was angry, he seemed too caught up in his anger right now to do anything except clutch his robotic fist. Maybe...just maybe...if he could slip away, without catching the madman's attention...

"Come here, Snively..."

Oh no...

The assistant stopped and turned slowly to face his master. Staring into his baleful red eyes. In turn, those eyes stared back into his, as if boring through to what some mobians called a soul.

"Snively? I said come here..."

"Ah...al...alright," the assistant stammered, slowly moving forward as if he himself possessed a soul, and Robotnik was the one who would burn it. Slowly...surely...

"Gak!"

Snively spluttered as Robotnik burst out of his command chair with a speed the tub of lard didn't seem capable of possessing. One hand clutched around his neck, the other playing back the footage from Bomber One...it wasn't clear what Robotnik was trying to do bar kill him, and even then it remained to be seen whether that was a primary or secondary objective.

"Can't...breathe..."

"Snively..." the doctor rasped as he let the footage play out. "What just happened?"

"We...lost...the battle...?"

"No Snively...what...happened?" Robotnik repeated, loosening his grip slightly, but only to get his point across rather than out of compassion. "With Bomber One. What did it do?"

"It...went AWOL, sir?"

"And how?" Robotnik asked.

"I...I don't know..."

"Speculate..."

Snively wasn't sure where this was going. Robotnik was furious about the outcome of the attack, but it seemed that Bomber One's retreat had him even more aggravated. Did he hold his nephew responsible for this, or was he actually going somewhere with his interrogation?

"I...I can't say for certain," Snively began. "But I would imagine that the buzzbomber's AI became sophisticated enough that it...saw a chance for freedom. And it took that chance."

"Indeed..." Robotnik mused. "Took it after being defeated. Abandoned me. Betrayed me. It flapped its wings and flew off into the sunset."

"Actually sir, sunset isn't for another-..."

"Keep this in mind, Snively..." Robotnik snarled. "Keep Bomber One in mind. Because unlike him, your wings are but legs and arms. They keep you on the ground...keep your hopeless little mind where it belongs, in the midst of failed plans and attempts at command and control."

"Sir, I don't..."

"Watch where your wings take you Snively..." the scientist whispered. "Or I'll break them..."

And with that Robotnik stormed off, even leaving Cluck behind.

Rubbing his neck and deciding to put his own schemes on the backburner for now, Snively wasn't sorry for that.

After battle, it was up to the commander as to whether mourning or celebration came first. This time though, Sally didn't have to make such a decision.

True, the catapults had been destroyed. True, some mobians had suffered some nasty wounds. But overall, the defence of the Great Forest was more successful than any of them could have imagined. And as celebrations rippled through Knothole, as food and drink flowed freely, Sally didn't think there was anything to mourn at all.

An exception, of course...

Being the good monarch that she was, Sally shooed the voice away and shook yet another one of her fellow citizen's paws. She knew the Freedom Fighters couldn't always count on being this lucky. But for now, she was determined to enjoy it. To forget the past and future and concentrate on the present.

Now if the people will just let me do that...

"Yo Sal! What's shakin'?"

Sonic being a case in point. But as she turned to face him, the princess didn't seem to mind as much as she thought she would.

"Well, let's see..." Sally began. "The catapults are destroyed. I've got a headache coming on, and you're hogging all the chilli dogs."

"So?" Sonic asked between mouthfuls of the things. "You don't even like them."

"That's not the point! You've got to share!"

"Ah, sure. Share among the commoners, leave everything to the royalty." He scoffed down another chilli dog. "Keep it in mind Sal. If you keep this up the people of the forest will unite, casting aside their chains...or something...and..."

"You've got no idea what you're talking about do you?"

"Yeah...not a clue."

And he scoffed down another chilli dog to prove it.

Sally smirked as everything from cheese to mustard dripped down on the forest floor. She was tempted to chastise her 'subject' on this-granted, this was a celebration, but Knothole was sustained on subsistence agriculture and had little in the way of luxury foodstuffs. Still, she couldn't bring herself to do it. Not yet at least. Not in front of everyone else who expected the poster boy and girl of their land to be united. The type of unity that had them slowly making their way away from the crowds in conversation.

"So, anyway..." Sally began. "I'll admit, you did great work today. But..."

"Thanks," Sonic answered, having finished his last 'dog. "What about yesterday?"

"What about it?"

"Well wasn't I great yesterday too?"

"Hmm...so-so."

"So-so?"

"Is that an echo?"

"Well what about the day before yesterday?"

"What about it?"

"Well, was I great, or so-so?"

"I don't remember the day before yesterday."

"Well, I do, and I was great."

"No you weren't, you didn't even show up!"

"But you said you didn't remember!"

Sally sighed. Sonic smirked. And somewhere back in the crowds, there was the sound of Antoine exaggerating his deeds, Tails flying through the air and Rotor and Bunnie discussing mechanics.

And enjoying this rare victory, briefly casting aside thoughts of the struggles that lay ahead, Sally Acorn wouldn't have had it any other way.

The End

A/N

Early update, but as I'll be out of contact from Saturday to Friday over the coming week, thought I might as well post the epilogue now that I have the time.

There isn't too much to address in this chapter itself IMO, though there are a few tidbits for those who are interested. After writing the previous chapter, I did toy with making a last-minute addition to the story and give Bomber 1 some kind of closing scene. As mentioned earlier, I did kind of get attatched to the OC, and while I always intended for him/it to go AWOL in light of the pilot's story, I will admit that it probably isn't as good as it could be. On the other, I really wanted the end of this story to have a 'feel good' vibe. SatAM and other stories I've written have had their share of bittersweet endings, but in this case, I thought it would be best to have a straight happy ending (hence the lack of casualties in the earlier battle). Bomber 1's story however, would not have ended happily. In the end, it would come down to one ending or the other.

In the end, I decided to stay the course. I'm wary of OC's stealing the spotlight from canon characters, and I felt the story itself had to take precedence over personal whim.

So, that's that. Enjoyed writing this, and I'm pleased with the reception it got. Thanks to everyone who read and, if so inclined, reviewed. I currently have one other Sonic the Hedgehog story on my 'to write' list (The Mobius Chronicles), but not only is that really just a collection of oneshots, but is very far down the beaten path. By way of shameless plugging, my current writing focus is on an Interstellar Marines story titled Predators. Um...past cool?