A/N: We're finally here: the true ending of Awakened. We shall see what happens with our heroes and what happens to Synergy. For the first time, a credits song suggestion will be at the bottom of the page. There will also be shout outs to people who have reviewed the story as well as a special dedication to my co-writer, Infinite's Ruby. Without her, this story wouldn't be the way it is. But we'll save that for the end, let's get on with the show, shall we?

Also Response to TheLostEternity: I don't know for sure, but my settings my be hindering you from loading your comments. So, I fixed them just in case. If it was my settings, I apologize for angering you. But I am glad you loved Chapter 39. I may do a Tangle/Whisper spin-off when I get the chance, but for now, let's just get to the conclusion of this one. I hope you enjoy!

Suggested Music:

(1) Green Hill Piano - Sonic the Hedgehog Movie (2020) OST

(2) All Hail Shadow - Shadow the Hedgehog OST

(3) Congratulations - Sonic Unleashed OST

Without further ado, enjoy the ending!

A New Awakening

~Synergy's P.O.V.

It's amazing how four months can pass by. One moment, you're paying for your actions by going to jail. The next thing you know, you've just spent four months of your life as if they were nothing. In other words, they went by in a flash and I was amazed.

To recap, I was tricked by Dr. Eggman and Dr. Starline into thinking that the Resistance were my enemies. They've taken me in, even though I proved to be a pain in their rears and given me a new lease on life. They've shown me most of the world in three days. Gotta say, it's impossible to show someone half the world in three days, but they did it. They did an excellent job! Unfortunately, I was too stupid to realize that both doctors tricked me by showing me an edited video of my creators, The Nocturnus Clan, fighting against my friends. The clan acted like they wanted to return to Mobius peacefully when really, they wanted nothing more than world conquest…

…and I nearly helped achieve that goal.

With the power of all seven Chaos Emeralds, the Master Emerald, and the Warp Topaz, I was able to bring the city of Nocturne back to Mobius, where I merged it with Angel Island. It took the entirety of the Resistance and G.U.N. to thwart Imperator Ix's plans. I was on the losing side until I learned from my former master himself, that he could care less about the people. He only wanted to take over Mobius for his own selfish reasons.

Things got down to the wire when Ix made a fake Chaos Emerald, unlocking an ultimate state.

I helped my friends defeat this monster, and I hoped I would make amends for what I've done by sacrificing myself. I wasn't sure how I was going to do so, but before I could figure it out, a friend of mine gave his own life away for not only his family's sake but for my sake as well.

His name was G-merl.

For a while, I called him Emerl because that's what I used to know him as. But as time grew by, I realized that he wasn't the Emerl I once knew him as. He was someone better. Someone who wouldn't turn his back on anyone, someone with a heart of gold, someone who believed in me even when he had no reason to.

Even though Big and I shared the most interactions, G-merl played a huge role in making me the robot I am today. He and his best friend, Cream helped me understand the definition of humanity, and what it was like to live peacefully.

It's such a shame I threw that away when I brought Nocturne back.

But that was four months ago. Surely, everyone had to have gotten over it by now, right?

Urgh, what am I saying? That sounds selfish of me to say. I deserved to be locked in this cell after everything I've done. From attacking Soleanna to what I mentioned before, I needed to be held accountable for my actions…

…and I did that in four months.

Four months that I thought were going to be lousy, but they turned out better than I thought. I helped out a few guards apprehend a set of unruly prisoners, I had a therapist in the form of Rouge, Omega gave me a series of lectures about using my talents against Dr. Eggman's robots, and Shadow was able to share his backstory.

Turns out Shadow was a villain back then, one who was bent on dominating the world. But after remembering the promise he made to an old friend, he became the agent that he is today.

Even when I'm stuck in prison, I was able to learn more about people.

Unfortunately, I can't do it again. Why? Because today was my last day in G.U.N. custody.

As I sat in my cell, I was reading the same book that one student read to me in Spagonia. When I was there during my three-day adventure, I was able to read the beginning of the story. Now that I've been in jail for the past few months, I was able to finish the book. It was a fantastic read!

I never thought the story of a female chipmunk battling segregation could be such a compelling, nerve-wracking, heartwarming tale? I certainly learned a lot from it.

Inside my cell, I was reading my favorite chapter from the book when I suddenly heard the cell doors open. Assuming it was another fire drill, I lowered the book. Turns out, I was proven wrong.

Rouge the Bat leaned against the door, smiling at me.

"All right, Synergy," she said. "It's time for you to go."

"Already?" I inquired. "Guess time flies when you're reading a good book. Do you mind if I take this with me?"

"Technically, you're not supposed to, but I'll make an exception. Just don't tell Commander Tower… or Shadow for that matter."

I chuckled and got up from my rock-hard bed. Walking out the door, Rouge removed the shackles from my wrists and shook my hand. Together, we walked down the hall. As we walked, I glanced at some prisoners. I formed a friendship with some of them and waved goodbye, hoping they would change themselves for the better. Others, well, let's just say others wanted to rip my arms off.

As Rouge and I walked out of the prisoners' section, we approached Shadow the Hedgehog, who sat there waiting for us.

"Is he all set?" Shadow asked, unfolding his arms.

"Yep, he's ready to go," Rouge replied.

The ebony hedgehog turned to me, holding out his hand. "I never thought I'd say this, but you have been a cooperative prisoner. Stopping a few prison fights, reading books in your cell, keeping quiet at night, you've pretty much proven you can spend some time in here without going crazy."

I chuckled at that remark. "It made me wonder what would happen if Bean was in here."

"Trust me," Rouge tapped my shoulder. "You don't wanna know."

I wondered what she meant by that.

"Well, Synergy," Shadow spoke. "As Rouge said, it's time for you to go."

"Thank you both," I nodded. "Thank you for helping me see the error of my ways. I wish you could have been there during my world adventure four months ago. You would have liked some of my reactions to this world."

"I'm sure we would," Rouge nodded. "Now get out of here. Go have a family or something."

"I'm sure that Sonic and the others are waiting for you," Shadow shook my hand.

I shook my head at Shadow's comment. "Yeah, here's the thing, Shadow… I'm not ready to go back to them yet."

Both agents shared a confused glance.

"Then… where will you go?" the bat inquired.

"Trust me, I have a plan," I replied. "But first… I want to say goodbye."

~Synergy's P.O.V. (Continued)

Two hours of my day went by and I was finally set free from Central City. I took to the skies until I landed safely in the Mystic Ruins. After exploring the jungle for a few minutes, I finally came across a familiar sight…

…Big's cabin.

The place I first visited when Sonic and Metal Sonic awakened me. Big fished me out of the water and helped me get back on my feet. Since then, he and I have been through a wild ride. He was the one who believed in me the most. Well, aside from Cream and G-merl of course. Speaking of the bulky cat, I watched him exit his house with a fishing rod in his hands.

He was going fishing like he always did.

But as he took a seat on his usual spot, he looked to his right and saw me approaching him.

At first, I thought he was going to hurt me, make me pay for what I've done. But instead, he jumped up and ran towards me with open arms.

"Synergy!" he called, as he embraced me with a tight hug.

Even though I don't have lungs, I felt crushed by his warm gesture, but I had to say, it was nice seeing him again after all this time.

I wrapped my arms around him until we finally let go.

"Y-you're free!" Big smiled.

"Yeah… yeah, I am," I replied.

"I'm glad you're out of jail, Synergy. I missed you while you were gone."

"How have you been, Big? Did I miss anything special while I was gone?"

"Nothing much, I've just been fishing and finding Froggy. I don't know how he does it, but he always manages to escape from me. I think he just likes to play around sometimes."

"I'm sure he does."

"I better tell everyone that you're back. That way, you can come to Cream's birthday today."

My eyes widened at that Cream part. "Cream's what day?"

"It's her birthday today."

"What's a birthday?"

"It's a special day where people celebrate the day they were born. There's usually a cake and lots of presents! I always love it when my birthday comes around. I get new fishing rods every year. Come on, Synergy, let's go to Cream's party! I'm sure everyone would love to see you."

As much as I would've liked to join the celebration, I knew I couldn't. I can't face everyone again, not after what I did. I rubbed my hands together and prepared to discuss my plan.

"Big…"

He stopped in his tracks. "What is it, Synergy?"

I nervously rubbed my arm. "I… I can't go to Cream's birthday party."

The cat frowned. "Why not? It's okay if you didn't get her a present."

"It's not that… I can't face everyone again. After everything that happened four months ago, I can't bring myself to see everyone again… that's why I'll be leaving for a while."

Big raised his ears. "You're leaving again? Are you going back to jail?"

"No, no," I said with a chuckle. "I feel that I haven't seen the world in its entirety, which means I don't have a full understanding of humanity. Yes, you and the others took me on a world tour, but that was only half of the world. I feel that if I see the whole thing, I'll be able to get a better grasp of what it means to have a family and loved ones by your side. If I do that… I'll feel better about myself and I'll have the courage to see everyone again."

I paused, letting Big register my words.

"I'm sorry to leave you again, Big," I continued. "It's not out of disrespect, I swear… I'm not ready to see the others again… I hope you can understand."

As I lowered my head in shame, I expected the cat to lash out at me for leaving again. I could hear the voice of him yelling at me in my mind. I waited patiently for that moment to come true. But unexpectedly, the cat patted my shoulder and smiled down at me. I gazed into his yellow eyes and he gave me a soft chuckle.

"I understand, Synergy," he smiled and nodded. "You don't have to see everyone if you don't want to. The last thing I would want is to make you uncomfortable. If you want to go away for a while and see the world, then I support your decision."

If I had a mouth, I would let the biggest smile print on my face.

Opening my arms, I offered the cat one last hug before I said goodbye. He took it and we both embraced each other before it was time for me to leave. Believe me, I didn't want to do this because all I've been wanting to do was fish with my new best friend, but this was something I had to do. If I didn't do this, I would feel nothing but regret. I'm just glad Big understood my choice.

We finally let each other go after a few minutes and I activated my jet boosters, levitating upward.

"Tell everyone I said hello," I waved. "Sayonara, Big."

The cat waved back at me, "Sayonara, Synergy."

With one last farewell, I took to the skies, preparing to escalate on a new world tour.

~END OF P.O.V. (1)

Moments later, friends of Cream the Rabbit were gathered outside her house at Floral Forest Village. The rabbit and her mother were shopping around town; Vanilla did this to distract the birthday girl, buying time for everyone to get set.

Vector, Espio, and Charmy placed the party banners on the top of the house.

Tangle, Big, and Blaze prepared the table with snacks and beverages.

Sonic and Knuckles were setting up the music station.

And Amy was making sure nothing was burning to the ground.

"Okay, party streamers?" Amy called.

"Check!" Vector called out. But he hit his finger with a hammer, trying to stick a nail in the house's roof. "Yowch! My pinky finger!"

Charmy laughed and pointed at the crocodile.

Espio rolled his eyes, facepalming.

"Okay then," Amy scrolled through the list on her clipboard. "Sonic, Knuckles! How is the playlist going? You did remember to pick soothing music, right?"

"You mean, this?" Sonic asked, pressing the play button on the console. Out of two large speakers, heavy metal music played across the entire town. (1s) (2)

Everyone in the Resistance and some of the pedestrians shielded their ears, trying to get rid of that horrible sound. Even Sonic and Knuckles were bothered by it.

The only one enjoying the music was Vector. "Yeah! What a funky beat!"

"Turn it off!" Knuckles hollered.

Sonic kept mashing the stop button, but nothing happened. "I'm trying! Nothing's working!"

The blue hedgehog kept pressing the button and nothing was happening.

Everyone, except Vector, covered their ears.

Just then, Knuckles grabbed the console and snapped it in half. The music quickly stopped. (2s)

Sonic released his eyes, looking at a deadly glare from his self-proclaimed girlfriend. He nervously shrugged.

"Okay, that's a no on music," Amy rolled her eyes.

"It's a shame Mighty and Ray couldn't come to the party," Espio commented. "Same with Whisper, Silver, and a few others. This party feels empty, no offense."

"I'm surprised Shade's not coming," Sonic chimed in. "Where is she, Knux?"

"She's off with the cub scouts," Knuckles replied. "She said she wishes she could come, but she has work to do. But she did say she'll stop by later if she has the time."

"Speaking of stopping by," Amy looked through her list. "Where's Tails?"

The kitsune popped out of a tree near Cream's house. "I'm right here!"

The pink hedgehog was frustrated. "What are you doing behind that tree? You're supposed to be helping out with the decorations!"

"I'm sorry, Amy," Tails apologized, running towards her. "I'm working on a project. Don't worry, it's not for me, it's for-"

"Shh! Here comes Cream!" Charmy called.

"Oh, shoot!" Sonic gasped. "Everyone, get down! This is not a drill!"

Everyone ducked below a hiding spot. Vector fell off the ladder he was on, but Espio dragged him to a nearby hiding place.

Vanilla and Cream walked towards their home, noticing a strange change in appearance. Cheese and Chocola shared giggles, as the latter walked forward.

But just when she least expected it, everyone jumped up and shouted, "Surprise! Happy Birthday, Cream!"

Vector blew on an airhorn, nearly blowing out Espio and Charmy's eardrums.

"Aww, you guys," Cream smiled, cupping her hands together.

Sonic rushed towards the cake, ignited a match, and lit the candles. He picked up the cake and everyone walked towards Cream. Before they could sing happy birthday, Tails ran in front and halted their progression.

"Wait, wait, hold on a minute, guys!" the fox called.

Everyone stopped in their tracks.

Tails turned to face Cream. "Before we do cake and presents, I want to take this time and give my birthday present to Cream. Cream, remember you gave me Emerl's biodata chip?"

The rabbit nodded.

"Well, I decided to put that chip to good use."

Tails ran behind the tree and came back in a split second. When he arrived, he was carrying something on a metal dolly. The object underneath was covered by a white sheet. Tails pushed it forward so everyone can see it. Stopping it, the twin-tailed fox smiled and motioned to the sheet.

"Ta-da!" he cheered.

Everyone was confused.

"You gave Cream a white sheet?" Vector inquired. "Not very creative, Tails."

"It's not just a sheet, Vector," Tails smiled. "It's something special."

Yanking the sheet off of the dolly, Tails revealed his glorious invention. Everyone's eyes widened and their jaws nearly dropped to the ground. Sonic, Knuckles, and Amy smiled heavily. Tangle geeked out with amazement. Blaze folded her arms and smiled. Big clapped and laughed. Team Chaotix smiled at the young rabbit. And Vanilla's eyes filled with tears of joy.

Cream was the most starstruck by this beautiful sight. She slowly walked forward, getting a good look at who was in front of her.

Tails stood to the side, allowing Cream to get a good look at…

…G-merl.

The black/yellow Gizoid stood still on the dolly. He was in shutdown mode, so he couldn't react to seeing his little sister after four long months. The Gizoid looked as good as new and he looked exactly like he did before. Nothing about him changed at all. He was the same G-merl as years prior. The twin-tailed fox walked towards the Gizoid, standing next to Cream.

Cheese hovered towards his best friend, smiling.

Cream finally made a move after standing like a stone sculpture. Nobody, especially her, could believe that G-merl was back to the way he was. And they all had Tails to thank for it. The kitsune danced happily, as he rubbed his hands together.

"What do you think?" Tails inquired.

Cream had trouble speaking. "Y-you… you fixed him. You fixed him, Mr. Tails. It's G-merl! It's actually G-merl! I can't believe you fixed him! Thank you, thank you so much, Mr. Tails!"

"Don't thank me yet," Tails chuckled. "Because it gets better."

Tails walked towards the back of the Gizoid, turning him on. "G-merl, awaken."

~G-merl's P.O.V.

"G-merl, awaken."

The first thing I saw was a digital sentence that read, Rebooting Systems: Please Stand By. Once those words went away, I was greeted to something strange. My eyes were looking at the soft, green grass below my feet and I was surrounded by faces… faces that I've never seen before.

Standing close to me were two humanoid animals. One was a young rabbit and the other one was a twin-tailed fox that looked to be around the same age as her. Behind them were other animals I've never seen before. Some of them look familiar, but I couldn't put my finger on it.

There was a blue hedgehog, a red echidna, a fuchsia chameleon, a green crocodile, a bumblebee, a ring-tailed lemur with a ridiculously long tail, a lavender cat, a large, chubby cat, and another rabbit that resembled the other one. Only this was one much older. And I don't want to be rude, but what animal is the pink girl with the red dress on? My systems scanned her and told me that she was a hedgehog.

Really? She didn't look like a hedgehog.

I looked around my environment, scanning my surroundings. I was in some sort of small, cozy village with houses that weren't too big, but weren't too small. I watched pedestrians go about their day and children play in the streets. Thankfully, they were supervised by their parents.

Where am I? What is this place? Who are all of these people sitting in front of me?

Suddenly, one of them spoke.

"Wow, Tails," the blue hedgehog wrapped his arm around the fox. "You really did it! You fixed him!"

Tails? Huh, I guess it makes sense for an animal with two tails to be called… well, Tails. Next thing, you know, the red echidna with the massive fists is gonna be named Knuckles.

"Knuckles," the blue hedgehog turned to the echidna. "What do you think?"

Wow, I meant that last comment as a joke.

"He looks amazing, Sonic," Knuckles patted the hedgehog's shoulder. "Tails, he looks exactly like he did before. What about you, Cream?"

Confused by who was who, I did a quick scan on everyone in the area, logging their names into my memory systems.

Tails, Knuckles, Sonic, Amy, Tangle, Vector, Charmy, Espio, Big, Vanilla, Cheese, Chocola.

It was weird doing this. Not because I didn't know everyone's name, but because these names sound familiar. I swear, I know these people, but at the same time, I can't remember anything.

The last person I scanned was the young rabbit, who was named Cream. Unlike the others, there was something about her that I definitely remember.

"G-merl?" Cream inquired. "It's me, Cream. You're home."

Wait, what did she say? Gemerl? Is that my name? How is that spelled? That made it sound like it was spelled as Gemerl, but it could also be spelled as G-merl. Which one was it?

"Hey, G-merl," Sonic waved. "Long time no see."

What a strange name to call someone. It's like if someone found a diamond, but they couldn't tell if it was a gemstone or an emerald, so they decided to call it Gemerl.

"Hello?" Tangle the Lemur approached me, poking the eye on my head fin. "Mobius to G-merl, are you in there?"

"Stand back, Tangle," Espio kindly pulled her back. "Give him some air."

"Does he not remember anything?" Blaze inquired.

From there, I watched the twin-tailed fox gulp.

"What's wrong, Tails?" Sonic asked.

"C-can I talk to you, Amy, and Knuckles for a sec," Tails nervously rubbed his arm. Sonic called his other two friends over and they entered a conversation. Even though they were whispering, I used my hearing systems to record the interlocutors. They were saying some interesting stuff.

"This is amazing, Tails," Amy smiled. "How did you pull this off?"

"Well, I raided the Final Egg a while back and stole a prototype E-121 Phi unit from Eggman. It was one of the ones he was using for the Elemental Gizoid project," Tails replied. "Cream found Emerl's biodata chip four months ago and I infiltrated the base the day after she gave it to me. Since then, I've spent the past four months rebuilding G-merl. The process was easy… but there was a catch."

The fox paused, which made the others curious.

"What happened?" Knuckles asked.

Tails released a low sigh. "When Cream gave me the chip, I noticed that it was slightly damaged during the fight with Imperator Ix. So, I did my best to fix it, but it was a difficult process. I'm worried that the chip doesn't work, which would mean G-merl's in default mode."

"Default mode?" Sonic raised an eyebrow.

"It means G-merl doesn't remember anything. From his days as Emerl to the time I removed Eggman's programming from him, he won't remember anything… he won't remember us… I'm sorry, Sonic. I failed."

"Hey, don't blame yourself, little bro. We won't know until we try. Maybe he's just getting used to his environment. He'll remember Cream. Here, watch."

Sonic approached me and smiled. "G-merl, scan me. Who am I? Come on, I know you know this."

I scanned the blue hedgehog and replied. "Life Form Identification: Sonic. Species: Hedgehog. Height: Three Feet, Three Inches. Weight: Seventy-Seven Pounds. Alignment: Good."

The blue hedgehog raised an eyebrow. "Okay, that's not the response I was hoping for."

"G-merl," Cream chimed in. "Do you remember me?"

From there, I replied, "Name: Cream does not appear to be in this unit's systems. Please specify."

Everyone gasped.

Did I say something bad?

"Please specify mission command or log names into unit's systems," I continued. "Multiple life forms detected. All of them have the alignment of good."

As soon as I said that, Tails' face went pale and he gently faceplanted his hand into his face.

"No… no, no, no," The fox moaned. He felt bad about something, but what was it? He kept talking about stuff that I should remember, but I can't. "I did fail. He doesn't remember anything."

"Hey, hey, hey," Sonic smiled, trying to reassure the young kid. "It's not your fault, Tails. You did your best. The biggest thing you did was bring G-merl back. That's better than nothing, right?"

"Yeah, but I wanted to bring back the real G-merl. Not… this!" the fox leaned down to the young rabbit's level. All she did was stare at me. "I'm so sorry, Cream. You have every right to be mad at me."

The rabbit didn't look angry. Instead, she just blankly stared at me. I was about to ask if she wanted to place her first command into my system, but I was too distracted by her brown eyes. Her jaw was partially dropped, and she wasn't blinking at all. She hadn't made a move since she saw me. Her Chao, Cheese, wondered what was going on.

"Cream?" Amy asked.

Cream stared at me for a few more moments before she smiled, placing her hands behind her back.

"G-merl?" she said. "Would you like to hear your first command?"

"Affirmative," I replied. "What is your first command?"

"Follow me. I want to take you somewhere."

"Command accepted. This unit shall follow the life form known as Cream."

I stepped off of the metal dolly and followed the young rabbit down the village. I couldn't see it, but I can tell that everyone else was following us. We walked down the trail until we entered the forest. As we took a stroll, I could hear murmurs behind me.

"What the heck's going on?" Vector inquired.

"Where are we going?" Blaze added.

"How does he not remember anything?" Tangle questioned.

"Give him time," Espio replied. "He'll remember soon."

"First, let's see what happens here," Knuckles added to the chameleon's reply. "I'm curious about what Cream's up to."

We paced down the forest for a bit until we showed up near a beach.

A beautiful beach with crystal clear water, a sunny sky, and sand that felt as soft as a blanket. Normally, sand would have chunks of rocks, shells, and glass fragments that would send you to the hospital, but this sand was gorgeous. If I really wanted to, I would jump into it and make sand angels. Unfortunately, that wasn't in my programming. As I sucked in the environment, Cream took my hand and we walked towards the water. Part of me thought she was planning to drown me, whereas another half of me thought something else was going to happen. Cream and I strolled down the beach, feeling a tiny splash of waves against our feet. She took me down to the water and we both stopped. Everyone watched us from behind.

"I'm not sure if you remember," Cream smiled. "But this was the beach where I first found you. Mother and I were taking a walk down here before we found you. I didn't want to leave you all alone, so I took you to Mr. Tails and he rebuilt you. You were created by that mean Dr. Eggman, but thanks to Mr. Tails, you became a good guy."

The rabbit paused, letting me soak in the environment.

Now that she said it, this beach did look familiar. The soft sand, the gentle waves of water, all of it seemed familiar.

"If you don't remember, that's okay too," Cream continued. "Mr. Tails shouldn't be mad that he couldn't bring your memories back. Just having you here makes this birthday more special. G-merl… even if you don't remember me, you'll always be my big brother."

Big Brother…

Big Brother…

Big Brother…

Hearing those words again, I was slapped in the face with a tidal wave of memories.

The first memory was me being created by the mad scientist: Dr. Eggman. I was an evil android sent to destroy Sonic the Hedgehog, but I failed and turned against Eggman by stealing the seven Chaos Emeralds. Then, I washed up on the beach after being defeated by Super Sonic and Eggman. Cream and her mother did find me and took me to Tails' workshop, where I was rebuilt into a Freedom Fighter.

More memories popped into my head. Tea time with Cream, learning to ride an Extreme Gear, teaching Cream how to fight, going on adventures with Sonic and Tails, solving mysteries with Team Chaotix, sparing with Knuckles, and everything that I was involved in. But those weren't the only memories I witnessed; I remember things from my predecessor's data: Emerl. From the day Sonic first found me to the day I gave my life for my family.

And finally, I remembered everything that happened four months ago. Meeting Synergy, finding Shade, and using Chaos Control to fight the Nocturnus Clan.

I remember now…

I remember everything…

These weren't just strange animals…

They were my family.

My little sister was standing right next to me, still believing I didn't remember her. I had to do something to reassure her and fast! So, I got down on one knee, turning to Cream, letting out a soft chuckle. Surprised, Cream turned around and widened her eyes. Everyone else had the same expression.

"You wanna know something, Kiddo?" I spoke. As soon as I said 'Kiddo' everyone acted like I was a baby speaking my first word; they were happy. "That day… where you found me by the beach is my personal favorite memory of you and me. That was the day you gave me a second chance at life. You showed me what it feels like to have a family… one that I will always keep hold of. Thank you, Cream. Oh, and one more thing," I opened my arms. "Happy birthday, Kiddo."

Without thinking twice, Cream shed tears down her cheeks and jumped into my arms. She sobbed with happiness, as Cheese danced around my head, sitting on top of my head fin. Everyone else chimed in and started talking about how worried they were when I left them on Angel Island. Sonic and Knuckles told me how awesome I was fighting Ix, Tangle and Blaze shared stories about what they did after that event, the Chaotix told me they almost had a heart attack when I didn't remember anyone, Big, Tails, and Amy welcomed me home, and Vanilla gave me a warm hug.

"We're so glad to have you back, G-merl," Vanilla smiled.

"I'm glad to be home, Ma'am," I nodded. "Thank you… and thank you, Tails."

The twin-tailed fox blushed, chuckling.

As we continued to celebrate, Big paused because he saw something in the distance. Something that made him smile. "Look!"

He pointed onward and we all turned around, amazed by the figure that found us on the beach…

…it was Synergy.

"No way," Tangle gasped.

"Synergy!" Big waved.

"H-hello," the green/blue Gizoid waved nervously. "I hope I'm not interrupting anything."

"You got out of jail?" Charmy inquired. We all approached him. "Did you break out?"

"No, no, I was released by Shadow and Rouge this morning."

"Wow, feels like yesterday you were arrested for your past actions," Vector folded his arms. "I can't believe four months went by."

"Yeah," Synergy said, turning to me. "G-merl, you're okay. I guess it's safe for me to say my plan worked."

"Plan? What plan?" Espio inquired.

To answer his question, I pressed a button on my chest and showcased the fact I had my Emerl chip inside of it. Everyone looked at it and then back at Synergy. Last time they checked; I gave it to Synergy so he could have a family. Upon looking at me one more time, everyone gasped. They realized what Synergy meant…

..well, everyone except for Charmy.

"I don't get it," he said.

Espio whispered it into his ear.

"Oh!... I still don't get it."

Vector and Espio facepalmed.

"What are you doing here, Synergy?" Big asked. "I thought you weren't coming to Cream's birthday."

"I changed my mind," the Gizoid answered. "I didn't want to be disrespectful and miss it. But I didn't realize G-merl would be here. Welcome home, my friend. I also wanted to share something with you guys. This may seem selfish of me to do, but I spoke about it with Big earlier. I need you all to listen to me." (3)

~G-merl's P.O.V. (Continued)

As we walked by to Cream's cottage, Synergy told us about his game plan.

He wanted to go out and explore more of the world. We only showed him part of it four months ago, so he felt that if he saw more of it, he would get a better understanding of humanity and compassion towards others. As he explained, I could tell he was nervous. He felt like he was being selfish by saying this. Why did he think this way, I wasn't sure. But once he was done explaining, we all stopped by the cottage and he turned to all of us.

"That's my plan," he concluded. "I feel that this is a good plan for me, but if you all don't think so, then I understand. But this is something I need to do."

We all exchanged the same glance before turning back to the Gizoid.

"I also wanted to apologize to you, G-merl," Synergy continued. "I know you gave me Emerl's chip because you wanted me to have a family, but the truth is, I wasn't ready to have one. Not after what I did on Nocturne… I couldn't look at you guys the same way I did before, so I did what I thought was right. I apologize for going against you, G-merl. If you don't forgive me, I under-"

"Dude," I stopped him mid-sentence. I slowly approached him and placed my hand on his shoulder. "You did what you needed to do, and I respect you for that. You've redeemed yourself; you saw the error of your ways. And helping Tails rebuild me was the nicest thing you could do for Cream and everyone else. I respect your plan, Synergy. Take as much time as you need to see the world."

"Let me just say it's a big world out there," Vector added. "Do you think you can handle it?"

"I know I can," Synergy nodded.

"May your travels be as fortunate as Mighty and Ray's," Espio shook the Gizoid's hand. "We wish you nothing but the best."

"Bye, bye, Synergy!" Charmy waved. "Bring me back presents!"

"What's a present?" Synergy whispered to me.

"Good luck, Synergy," Tangle high-fived the robot. "Let me know if you see Whisper. Tell her I said hello."

"Keep in touch when you get the chance," Blaze smiled. "I'd love to hear about your discoveries."

"I said it before, but I'll miss you, Synergy," Big said.

"Thanks for helping us destroy Nocturne," Amy shook his hand. "You deserve your freedom, but don't hesitate to stop by Restoration HQ anytime."

"Restoration?" Synergy and I asked.

"Yep! Knuckles handed me the role as Commander of the Resistance, so I changed the name to the Restoration," the pink hedgehog smiled. "But in all seriousness, good luck, Synergy."

"You're gonna need it," Knuckles said.

"We'll see you soon," Tails winked.

"You know, I happen to go on a lot of runs around the world," Sonic fist-bumped Synergy. "Maybe we'll see each other. I've been wanting to challenge you to a race. I beat Tangle in a race a while ago, so I have a feeling I can beat you."

"He's lying," Tangle whispered to Blaze and Amy. "I won by a split second."

All three ladies chuckled.

"Goodbye, Mr. Synergy," Cream gave the Gizoid a hug.

"Goodbye, Cream," Synergy hugged her back.

Finally, it was just the two of us.

I held out my hand. "So long, Synergy."

Synergy nodded before he shook my hand. "Goodbye, G-merl. You have a wonderful family. Take good care of them."

"I will… will I ever see you again?"

"…only time will tell."

When our handshake concluded, Synergy activated his jet boosters and levitated upward. He turned around and got one last look at all of us. "Sayonara, everyone."

With one last wave, he took to the skies, going off on his solo adventure.

"Sayonara, Synergy," all of us said at the same time.

A moment of silence occurred, as we watched Synergy disappear from our sight. The guy was just like a kid, a kid who was all grown up and ready to see the world. We all watched him fly away before we turned back to the birthday party.

"All right, I'm starving!" Vector clapped his hands. "Let's eat some cake!"

Everyone chatted amongst themselves, as they approached the birthday table.

Everyone except for me.

Cream saw me watching the sky above me. She could tell that was I was concerned about Synergy's safety. He's proven that he can handle the world on his own, but with forces like Dr. Eggman, the Hooligans, and the Deadly Six running amuck, it makes me wonder how well he can handle those situations.

But I had faith in him. He'll be fine.

The young rabbit approached me and gently tugged my arm. "G-merl, are you coming?"

"Hmm?" I replied. "Yes. I'm coming, Kiddo."

Picking up Cream, I carried her in my arms and approached the table, ready to celebrate her birthday.

But before I sign off, let this be a lesson to all of you…

…no matter how lost you may be, you'll always have someone to guide you home. (3s)

END OF STORY

Suggested Credits Music:

Speak with Your Heart - Sonic Colors OST

And just like, it is done. I am astounded that Awakened has finally been completed after two years on FanFiction. It feels like yesterday, I was telling Infinite's Ruby about the dream that inspired this story. Yeah? I said all the way in the beginning that this entire story was inspired by a dream I once had. It was nuts! It's hard to believe that after shutting down my old account and starting over, I was able to overcome my struggles and get back on my feet. Would I consider this story perfect? Absolutely… not. This story obviously has some flaws within it such as the inclusion of the Babylon Rogues and Deadly Six in Chapter 24, I feel I could have gotten rid of them because they're in my other story: Sonic Heroes: The Atom Bomb. I also could have expanded upon some scenes and cut some other scenes out, but you know what, despite that, I am still happy with what I wrote. I know this ending is cliché, but hey, I wanted it to end on a warm-hearted note.

A big reason I wrote this story is because I wanted to show my love for Sonic the Hedgehog and pay homage to the good ol' days of Sonic Unleashed, Sonic Riders, Black Knight, and other games that had characters going through some character development and back when they had personalities. Not that I hate all of the characters' representations in today's generation of Sonic, but I feel they could use improvements (mainly Tails and Shadow). I also wanted to give some underrated characters/classic characters a chance to shine. Like Cream, G-merl, Mighty, Ray, and the Hooligans.

I've always loved Cream. She's a sweet, innocent rabbit who may be too young to fight, but she packs more than a punch. I was glad to see her represented in the current IDW Comics. But why wasn't she in Team Sonic Racing? Too young to drive, I guess.

I've also had soft spots for Mighty, Ray, and the Hooligans. Even though I grew up with the Post-Reboot Archie Comics, I like the personalities of the characters from the Pre-Reboot Comics. I may not have read a lot of them, but from what I've seen,

Mighty has been seen as a pacifist who does help out in combat, Ray is a shy yet hyperactive squirrel with a stutter (hence his codename Jitters from Sonic Universe: Chaotix Quest).

As for the Hooligans, they remained the same throughout both series. I really wish they could be in the current IDW Comics, but because of Iizuka's stupid two worlds crap, that won't happen. They weren't so strict about that during Archie. Why be so strict now? Is it because you don't want a Ken Penders 2.0? What power does he have over Mighty, Ray, and the Hooligans? I thought that dispute was over the echidnas.

Speaking of the echidnas, I've always had a soft spot for Shade and the Nocturnus Clan. I'm gonna get hate for this, but I never liked Julie-Sue and the Dark Legion. Dr. Finitevus is a cool character because of his design, personality, and powers, but that's about it.

Maybe this is because I've known the Nocturnus Clan before I heard of the Dark Legion, but I really like Shade. She could come back if it weren't for that lawsuit. But hey, what's done is done. I've been wanting to put Shade in this story since day one and I feel I did a good job with her characterization. I tried to make her have the brashness of Knuckles, the sense of justice like Shadow, and some of Sonic's sense of humor.

But what do you all think of Shade in this tale? Did I do a good job with her?

Lastly, there's G-merl or Gemerl, as it's spelt in the comics. Man, I've always loved this guy ever since I beat Sonic Advance 3. Why? Because he is pretty much Emerl 2.0. Call me insane, but I've always liked G-merl more than Emerl. G-merl has more of a humorous personality in the Reboot-Archie Comics (having the personality of Shard the Metal Sonic), and I was more than excited to see him in the IDW Series.

Granted, in that series, he doesn't have a Emerl-like personality, but maybe that's a SEGA Mandate thing. I've always wanted to put G-merl in a Sonic FanFiction and I figured this one would be the perfect candidate. Yeah, he's in Sonic Heroes: The Atom Bomb, but this story is more centered around him than that story is. Did I do a good job with G-merl's personality? I researched a lot of Emerl scenes from Sonic Battle and read the comics he's in, so I felt I did good when it came to G-merl's character. Thankfully, Infinite's Ruby was able to help me with that.

Speaking of Ruby, I owe her a lot. She has been there for this story since day one and has edited nearly every chapter for the past two years. Thank you so much, Ruby. She also took the time to write her very own Post Author's Note for this story. Ladies and gentlemen, a word from Infinite's Ruby!

Infinite's Ruby: "Well, there it is folks after a little over two years and three months Awakened has finally come to it's conclusion. Shortly after the first chapter was published, I was approached by SD321 who asked if I wanted to coauthor this story and after thinking it over for a while I accepted. Ever since then it's been a real honor just getting to see this story early by editing the chapters as I will say this right now.

Seeing how the story develops with Synergy's character growing slowly over the course of the story there have been moments that have caught me of guard, moments that made laugh and warmed my heart. You've come a long way when it comes to your writing as the moments between the characters felt genuine as I have vague memories of the first TAB and seeing how much Synergy's concept has changed was a great creative twist. One of the big things I greatly enjoyed is the fact since Sonic Chronicles the Dark Brotherhood never got a sequel thanks to Ken Penders this is a fantastic sequel to the Sonic Chronicles mostly because it fleshes out Shade's character development she never received within the canon universe.

With that being said I would like to thank TGN, Alexandria Prime, TheLostEternity SharpDragonKlaw, Ways, MelGamingPlays, The Burning Writer, starfiction123, stephanieeiche10, MysteriousGirl92, Ultimate anarchy, Turquoise Triangle, One Nutty Author, and Zoggerific for leaving reviews and overall just showing support for the story. We'd also like to extend a thank you to every single person who has left either a follow or a favorite or in some cases have both favorited and followed this story. That's all for now since this two year journey has come to an end. Both The Sensational SpiderDom321 and I thank you from the bottom of our hearts thank you for reading this story. We'll see you next time for our different story ideas respectively."

Well said, Ruby. It has been a honor doing this with you

And now, a thank you to people who have reviewed.

TheGameNguyener:Dude, you have been there for me since my struggles in 2018. Thank you for sticking with me for the past few years. You've done so much for me and I was more than happy to do the same for you. I've enjoyed your Sonic Forces rewrite as well as your Mario/Sonic Xovers. I am looking foward to the ending of Revengeful Resistance. I love the way your write Sonic and Tails in that story. Speaking of those two, I am happy you loved the Sonic and Tails scene from Chapter 33: Resistance Locked Up! That was scene was heavily inspired by Revengeful Resistance. Thank you for being here since Day One.

Infinite's Ruby: What can I say? You have done more for me than I can imagine. I had tons of fun exchanging ideas with you and I appreciate you editing almost every chapter in this story. If it weren't for you, this story wouldn't be as cool as it is now. It's all thanks to you. I've enjoyed your stories and I would love to write another story with you someday.

SharpDragonKlaw: Much like TGN, I appreciate you sticking around since the first day. Thank you so much!

Alexandria Prime: Even though I haven't heard from you in a while, I remember you telling me that you've gotten some cases of Writer's Block after your latest Sonic story. Just to let you know, I will always be there to help and I know what it's like to feel the dreaded Writer's Block. But no matter how bad it may be, there's always some form of inspiration waiting to give you an idea. I want to thank you for the support you've given to this story. And I know you loved how Bean was especially. I loved that dude!

TheLostEternity:You have been here since Chapter 30 of Awakened. I want to thank you for looking at every single chapter of this tale as well as Sonic Heroes: The Atom Bomb. Your comments always make my day and I am always happy to see you geek out over funny, action-packed, emotional stuff that happens in the story. Thank you so much for sticking around for this long.

Ways: I apologize for not looking at your Sonic Forces rewrite for a while. I was dealing with some college activities as well as other personal things in my life. But with that said, I want to thank you for checking this, Sonic Heroes: The Atom Bomb, and Superstar Adventure: A Mario Odyssey Rewrite. I am looking foward to the next installment of your Sonic Forces story.

The Burning Writer (formerly Mr. Meme), One Nutty Author, starfiction123, MelGamingPlays, Zoggerific, Guest, MysteriousGirl92, wavyinterlude, TurquoiseTriangle, and Ultimate anarchy: Even though some of you have reviewed more than once and some of you just reviewed once, I was happy to hear your thoughts on the story.

And this is where it ends, folks. I gotta say, it sucks to say goodbye to this story. Ruby and I had a lot of fun writing and I had tons of enjoyment writing down scenes, dialogue conversations, battle scenes, and emotional moments that progress character development. But all good things have to come to and sooner or later. It's better to end it here rather than drag out the story and make it stupid. We wouldn't want that to happen, would we?

Lastly, I would like to thank everyone who left positive reviews and constructive criticism. With over 13,000 views, 169 reviews, 29 favorites, and 29 follows, it warms my heart to know that this story is getting all the love and support it has. Thank you all so much for reading. Don't forget to R&R! I'm The Sensational SpiderDom321 and I'll see you all for my next project! Peace out, web-heads!

~SD321 (SpiderDom321)