Station Square - late afternoon

"Sonic! Sonic!"

Someone was shaking his arm roughly. He groaned, rolling over and holding out a splayed hand. Five more minutes….

"Sonic, you're not taking a nap, you're dying!"

That got Sonic's eyes to open. He wasn't lying on a rooftop or a lounge chair or any of his other favorite napping spots, but on wet asphalt. Above him, stormclouds were rapidly clearing from the sky, above the skyscrapers… skyscrapers still soaked with water, windows shattered….

Everything came rushing back. Chaos, the flooding, the city - Sonic sat up abruptly and immediately choked. He rolled over, coughing furiously, the water he'd swallowed making its way out of his lungs. Someone next to him placed a hand on his back as he coughed and coughed endlessly. It took forever, but finally Sonic was able to take a real breath, and gasped for air, breathing deeply.

He heard Tails sigh with relief next to him. "He's okay."

Sonic looked around. Sitting all around him were all the friends he'd left back on the highway - Tails, Amy, Big, and Knuckles, staring down at him and looking a mixture of concerned and relieved. Amy had tears in her eyes, but she was doing a great job of holding herself together, all things considered.

Sonic raised himself into a sitting position. "What exactly happened?" he said, rubbing the back of his neck.

"After you dealt that last blow, the water started receding," Tails said, pointing out to the ocean. "But before it had finished, we realized that you'd fallen into the water. We wanted to send someone in after you, but…."

"It was too dangerous," Knuckles finished. "The current would have pulled anyone who tried out to sea."

A fate Sonic wouldn't wish on anyone. He shuddered. "So then… how did I…?"

He trailed off. A familiar orange light was glimmering in front of his face, and a brief flash later, Tikal's spirit stood before him once again. Sonic stood, and she gave him a soft smile.

"I saved you," she said. "I couldn't lift you out of the water, but I could keep you from being swept away. With all you've done for me… it was the least I could do."

Sonic noticed Knuckles shuffle a little at her words, looking pensive, and was about to ask him what was up when his eyes widened, staring in shock and horror at something behind him. Sonic whirled.

A puddle left behind by the flood, in the middle of the street, was taking shape in an all-too-familiar manner. Sonic stepped in front of the others, even though he didn't feel in any condition for another fight, as Chaos reformed, taking its original, most basic emerald-less shape.

"It doesn't have the Chaos Emeralds this time," Knuckles said, stepping up beside him and readying his fists. "We can take it!"

But its stance didn't look aggressive to Sonic - it simply stood and stared at them, its green eyes unreadable. Slowly, Sonic dropped his stance, beginning to realize what was happening - what his and Tikal's combined power had truly accomplished.

"I dunno, buddy," he said to Knuckles, returning Chaos' gaze. "Maybe this time it just wants to be friends."

Knuckles gave him his best are-you-kidding-me look, but just then Tikal stepped forward from behind the group. She stared back at Chaos, and her eyes shone with hope.

"My friend?" she said softly.

A chorus of tiny, childlike voices began to echo from the far end of the street. A group of chao were running as fast as they could along the wet asphalt, their miniscule wings flapping madly to keep their balance, heading straight for the group. They crowded around Chaos' feet, "chao chao"-ing in delight.

"These are the chao you were protecting," Tikal said. She reached out a hand to one, and it squeaked happily as though it recognized her, climbing into her palm. She held it out to Chaos, who studied it with its strange green eyes. "They have survived through generations, populating the world, living peacefully with humans. You never failed to protect all of them…."

Chaos' eyes narrowed, but it was in happiness, not anger.

Next to Sonic, Knuckles relaxed, lowering his fists. "It looks like… Chaos has changed again," he said, looking thoughtful. "This time for the better."

Tails stepped up as well. "Sonic, your super state must have neutralized it. I'm sure of it."

That must have been what Tikal was doing when she'd joined her power with his. She hadn't been trying to help him fight it - she'd been imbuing every blow with kindness, compassion, love. If anything, it was Tikal who had saved Chaos, not him.

He didn't bother saying this out loud, however.

Tikal turned back to the group. "Thank you," she said, eyes shining with phantom tears. "All of you - thank you so much. I never dreamed something good could come of all this - but because of your help, I have been able to achieve something even better."

Sonic grinned. "No sweat!"

He did so like happy endings.

Tikal's form began to glow white, the light encapsulating the forms of Chaos and the chao. Sonic shielded his eyes, as did the others next to him, and when the light faded, the street was empty save for himself and his friends.

Or perhaps not quite - hovering at the end of the street was a familiar flying vehicle. Eggman was staring down at the scene, too far away for Sonic to discern his expression. But instead of approaching, after a few moments he simply turned and flew off into the distance. Sonic waved cheerfully after him. We'll play again some other time, he thought.

"Where did they go?" Amy said, walking up with Big so that all of them stood in a line, staring out at the ocean visible beyond the end of the street.

"Back into the Master Emerald, I suppose," Knuckles said, and sighed. "Which reminds me. I should be getting back. With everything restored, it's time for me to go."

Amy whirled on him. "Go? But the city still needs our help! Even though the water's gone, the city was still destroyed!"

"Sorry, Amy, but I have my duty." Knuckles began to walk down the street, heading for the city's outskirts, but not without a final parting wave. "Don't worry - I'll make sure to visit from time to time."

"You'd better!" Sonic called out after him, smiling. It had been far too long since the last time, and he wasn't about to count Knuckles out as a close friend.

Then he noticed the doorway of a building nearby, and a face peek out. Citizens of the city were starting to creep cautiously out into the open. More and more appeared, and one of them spotted the group, pointed, and yelled. "Hey! It's Sonic!"

Sonic turned to the others quickly. "Well, I'd stay and help too," he said as people began to run over en masse, "but I think I'll come back later - after the crowds stop trying to mob us. See ya!"

"Sonic!" Tails called after him, but he was already gone - racing up the street, shoes slapping the wet pavement, wind whipping freely in his face, as the sun emerged over the horizon.

Angel Island - night

It was far into the night by the time Knuckles finally got back to the Mystic Ruins. With the damage to the city and coastline, the trains were unable to run, which had meant a long, long walk back. But he was somewhat pleased to find Angel Island still on the ground once he got there. He'd barely stepped back onto its surface when he felt the rumbling that signified its rise once again.

Tikal and Chaos must have been holding it for him.

He was tired, and ached to sleep after such a long day, but he took the walk slowly, enjoying the sights. Out here, one could almost believe that none of the adventures with Chaos had even taken place. Apart from some trampled down grass running to and from Red Mountain, Angel Island remained peaceful, nearly untouched by the events of the past few days.

As the altitude of the island leveled out and the tremors stopped, Knuckles saw the altar in the distance, the Master Emerald still glowing healthy and whole atop its stand. It was only once he reached the altar and walked to the top of the stone steps that he realized that was not the only thing glowing - the slightly shimmering form of Tikal sat cross-legged in front of the emerald, eyes closed.

"Tikal," he said, and her eyes opened. "I thought you would have gone back into the emerald by now."

"No," she said, standing. "I'm not going back into the emerald. Not this time."

"What?"

She stepped closer, smiling sadly. "My friend… I died almost four thousand years ago. My body is gone; only my soul remains on this world. My purpose was to hold Chaos, to prevent him from destroying the world… but he is at peace once again. There is no need for me to remain."

Knuckles felt his heart squeeze.

"But before I left, I wanted you to know. None of this would have been possible without you. And for that, I am forever in your debt."

Knuckles shook his head slowly, shame spreading through him. "No," he said as she gazed at him. "I failed you. You tried to lead me into that temple early on, to warn me, and I ignored you. I turned my back on you. It was Sonic who trusted you enough to follow you in there - I… if it wasn't for me, all of this might not have even happened."

Tikal held up a hand, stopping his rant. "You have guarded this emerald since before you were old enough to remember - alone. You are the last of your line, the last guardian. Chaos approves of you, you know. You've done well."

"I…." He hesitated, dropping his gaze. This was more painful than he had thought it would be. "All this time, I knew nothing about my past, Tikal. You've been the only glimpse - the only chance I've had to learn more of my people…."

She placed a ghostly hand on his shoulder, the pressure faint but warm. "If there's anything I've learned from this adventure, my friend, it's that you must look forward to the future - not mire yourself in the past."

Knuckles nodded slowly, still feeling that point of pain in his chest.

"Knuckles…."

He looked up at her. She was smiling at him.

"With Chaos restored, the emerald no longer needs a permanent guardian. I know that you have worried in the past about who will carry on your duty once you are gone. But Chaos is here, sane once more. You don't need to worry any longer."

Knuckles refrained from asking her how she knew his thoughts in such a way, and instead said, "So… you're saying the emerald is safe now?"

"There will surely be threats to the emerald in the future, and until you too leave this world, I would hope that you would continue to fulfill your role as protector. But it doesn't have to be your only concern. You can… go out. Make friends. Live your life."

He nodded, a pressure point of pain over his heart.

Tikal never dropped her soft smile. "I'm afraid this is goodbye, my friend. I'm… going away to see my family. It's been so long since I've said hello."

Knuckles eyes burned with tears that he would never have let another person see.

She stepped back, her slight form framed by the glow of the Master Emerald. "But Chaos and I do have one last parting gift for you. I hope you appreciate it."

As Knuckles watched, overcome by bittersweet, Tikal's form began to glow, and even though the light hurt his eyes he kept them open until it had faded from view and the only light left came from the emerald and the moon overhead.

His eyes stung. All this time, he had never known the true story of the Master Emerald, of his people. Knuckles sat pensively at the top of the steps and lay back, staring up at the stars twinkling in the clear summer sky above. In a strange way, the shattering of the emerald had led to some good things. He never would have believed it just a few days ago, kneeling in horror at the broken base of the emerald, his island falling underneath him - but even with the damage Station Square had sustained, not all had been bad.

If it hadn't been for Eggman's plot, Chaos would never have had a chance to be restored. And Tikal… Tikal would never have had a chance to move on. They would have been released eventually, he supposed, even without Eggman's assistance, but Knuckles would never have been able to fix the problem by himself. That it had happened here, when Sonic and the others had been so close by….

Well, maybe Knuckles was just that lucky.

He sighed, his eyes drifting closed. It was time to get some sleep. Perhaps tomorrow, he could think more on Tikal's final words to him, but for now….

"Chao chao!"

Knuckles sat straight up, startled. He looked around him for the source of the noise and found himself face to face with a small, chubby chao. It stared up at him from its spot on the altar next to him, big blue eyes boring into his with curiosity.

"Chao?"

"What are you doing here?" Knuckles asked it, scooping it up carefully. It gave a squeak of delight, bouncing happily in his palm.

Then another chao approached from behind the first, and another from the air. Within the span of a minute, Knuckles found himself surrounded by at least a dozen, all making contented noises and snuggling up against them.

This must be what Tikal had meant by a parting gift, he realized - a colony of chao, living by the Master Emerald as they had done thousands of years ago. Keeping him company.

Of all the things he might have expected from Chaos' restoration, this was not one of them.

Knuckles lay back down, being careful not to squash any of the chao, some of whom had climbed up onto his stomach and chest to sleep. He was a little perplexed, but not unhappy. This was definitely not a bad outcome, he decided.

Maybe he would be on this island guarding the Master Emerald forever, maybe not… but either way, he thought contentedly, closing his eyes once again, I don't have to do it alone.