ALTERNATE ENDINGS:

For those who support certain couples, here's what would have happened if you chose a certain pairing...

GO TEAM KNUXADE!

"I think, Rouge," Sonic explained, "That's the most selfless and nicest thing you've ever done for Knuckles."

Rouge closed her eyes and nodded. "Yeah, you're right," she sighed heavily, "It sucks… but I have no one to blame but myself. I didn't treat him right. I have a better shot at stealing the Master Emerald from him for good than I do having something serious between us." She looked back up at the two echidnas. "Shade's not a bad bird herself. I know Red's in good hands with her around."

"You gonna be okay?" Sonic asked.

Rouge looked sweetly at him. "Don't worry about me, Blue," she replied, "I'm tougher than I look. It's not like Knuckles is the ONLY handsome man in the world. There are plenty of fish in the sea. After all, I do have Shadow for a partner."

Sonic couldn't help but chuckle. "You thought getting Knuckles' attention was hard," he joked, "Shadow's going to be a REAL challenge!"

"Yeah, but if it wasn't, it wouldn't be fun, would it?" Rouge winked at you, "Give Knuckles my best."

"Take care, Batgirl," Sonic nodded, and they both parted ways.

Sonic made his way back to Knuckles and Shade. "So what was that about?" the red echidna asked you.

"Oh nothing," Sonic shrugged playfully, "Rouge is just jealous of Shade because she's the one living with you instead of her."

Knuckles twitched his nose in embarrassment. "I didn't think she cared…"

Sonic chuckled. "Well, anyway, I guess you can't wait to raise this island back up, huh?"

"Yeah. I wouldn't be much of a guardian if I kept putting it off."

"I will see you at the shindig next week, right?"

"Believe me, Sonic," Knuckles grinned at his friend, "You're never going to see the last of me, island or not."

Sonic held out his hand. Knuckles took it, squeezing gently as a sign of respect. Then Sonic went in for a buddy hug, but the echidna quick to jump back and give him an odd look. Sonic snapped his fingers. "Darn, almost had you!"

"Nice try," Knuckles muttered, "See you later."

Sonic waved, turned, and headed off the destroyed land and back onto the city street. Knuckles and Shade disappeared further into the wreckage of the island. After walking off a distance, Sonic noticed the crashed island behind him was suddenly engulfed in a green glow. Then, all the pieces of the island started to rise up back into the air. After several hundred feet, the pieces glowed brighter, and after a small greenish flash, the island reappeared as a whole, and continued rising higher.

...

The day of the party came quickly. After a much deserved long rest, Sonic was fully energized for the shindig that Amy had planned at Cream's house.

He, Tails, and Silver arrived, as do the aliens from the Twilight Cage (they had asked to crash at Tails' workshop to avoid hard questioning from the authorities that would try to hound them.) Blaze and Marine were already there, as Cream and her mother offered their home for them to stay at.

Surprisingly, Team Dark had come as well. Sonic had expected Rouge to come, but Shadow and Omega came as a welcomed surprise.

And not long after did Knuckles arrive with Shade. She had with her Ix's former weapon, the golden staff which turned out to be your world's version of the Jeweled Scepter. Shade mentioned that to make up for her past sins, she would safe-guard it on Angel Island to ensure no one else would use it for their own corrupt purposes.

Speaking of Shade, she still had not replaced her upper armor, and was still going around with her black camisole shirt. Sonic couldn't help but question why.

"I'm renouncing the Nocturnus tribe," she replied after being asked, "Maybe a total wardrobe makeover is in order… But for now, I like how I look. The less Maurader, the better."

Knuckles nodded with a smile. "That is a nice look on you…"

Sonic didn't bother hiding your chuckle. "Lucky you, Knuckles."

He twitched his nose, but didn't argue, or even get upset. "Soooo," Sonic pressed on, "You guys getting along well? Planning on saving your species pretty soon?"

Now THAT got Knuckles to blush and grit his teeth. "That's not any of your business, Sonic!"

Shade looked away with a blush of her own, but Sonic noticed she wasn't really upset. If anything, she looked rather welcoming of the idea…

"No really," Sonic continued, "I'm happy for you both. Good luck with each other."

The two stole a glance at one another, and turned away, both blushing a bit. Yup, Sonic knew they were going to be just fine.

"Sonic?"

Speaking of which…

...

GO TEAM KNUXOUGE

Sonic placed an earnest hand on Rouge's shoulder. "I think, Rouge, that you deserve a chance to be happy too," he replied, "And you're not giving yourself a fair shot if you just leave things as they are."

Rouge lifted her head a bit. "You really think so?" she asked.

"You won't know until you give it a try."

Rouge grew a more determined face and nodded. "Better now than never, I suppose," she said as she flapped her wings and hurried back over to Knuckles.

Sonic desperately wanted to follow and see what they said, but he had already invaded their personal business as it was… He'd just have to settle standing there and see if could can read their lips!

Rouge approached Knuckles and said something to him. The echidna raised an eyebrow, obviously confused. Sonic couldn't quite make out what Rouge said afterwards, but it got Knuckles pretty irritated and he started yelling. The hedgehog could sort of hear his voice, but it was a tad garbled. Rouge yelled back, but Sonic couldn't really understand her either.

Shade finally got in between the two, and said something to Rouge. The bat twisted away, arms crossed, obviously miffed. Shade then said something to Knuckles, he replied, and the two went back and forth a few times. Finally, Knuckles sighed and approached Rouge. He placed a hand on her shoulder and said something softer to her. She turned around to face him, but Sonic couldn't determine what she was saying.

Knuckles awkwardly looked to the side. It looked like he might have muttered something, but Sonic could barely see his lips move. Whatever it was, it got Rouge to suddenly jump on him and engulf him in a tight hug. Shade watched this all unfold, rather amused.

Rouge said one last parting word to the echidnas, waved flirtatiously, and made her way back to you. "Well?" Sonic asked.

"He didn't believe me at first," Rouge explained, "Thought I was trying to trick him. But Shade of all people convinced him to give me a fair chance. Guess she's not as bad as I thought!"

"And she didn't put up a fight for Knux?"

"I guess she's willing to let him decide for himself, even IF he's the only other echidna left in this world," Rouge replied with a grin, "'Cause let's face it… No matter the species, he and I got some serious sparks between us!"

Sonic chuckled. There wasn't any denying that. He looked back over to Knuckles, who seemed to be glaring at you, as Shade disappeared further into the island. Soon, he turned off and followed her. Sonic turned and headed off the other way.

After walking off a distance, he noticed the crashed island behind him was suddenly engulfed in a green glow. Then, all the pieces of the island started to rise up back into the air. After several hundred feet, the pieces glowed brighter, and after a small greenish flash, the island reappears as a whole, and continues rising higher.

...

The day of the party came quickly. After a much deserved long rest, Sonic was fully energized for the shindig that Amy had planned at Cream's house.

He, Tails, and Silver arrived, as do the aliens from the Twilight Cage (they had asked to crash at Tails' workshop to avoid hard questioning from the authorities that would try to hound them.) Blaze and Marine were already there, as Cream and her mother offered their home for them to stay at.

Surprisingly, Shadow and Omega had come too! Sonic would have expected Rouge to come, but the other two came as a welcomed surprise. He never took them to be party-goers.

And not long after did Knuckles arrive with both Shade and Rouge. Shade had with her Ix's former weapon, the golden staff which turned out to be their world's version of the Jeweled Scepter. Shade mentioned that to make up for her past sins, she will safe-guard it on Angel Island to ensure no one else will use it for their own corrupt purposes.

Speaking of Shade, she still had not replaced the upper armor, and is still going around with her black camisole-shirt. Sonic couldn't help but question why.

"I'm renouncing the Nocturnus tribe," she replied after being asked, "Maybe a total wardrobe makeover is in order… But for now, I like how I look. The less Maurader, the better."

"Remind me to show you what a mall looks like," Rouge smirked, "I could give you a total wardrobe exchange!"

Sonic looked over, noticing Rouge had her arm hooked around Knuckles'. It looks like the echidna was beginning to grow fonder of her company. "So you two been on your first date yet?" he asked slyly.

Knuckles twitched his nose. "This technically IS our first date," he replied.

"Don't worry," Rouge grinned, "I'll make sure to treat him to a REAL night out on the town."

The two walked off, leaving Sonic with Shade alone. He approached the female echidna. "You okay?"

"Why wouldn't I be?" she asked.

"Well, I think I recall you eyeing Knuckles and defending him to your last breath several hundred times…"

Shade chortled and closed her eyes. "There's more to life than finding a soul mate, you know," she replied, "Just because we're both echidnas doesn't mean we're 'destined'. Knuckles should be free to be with whomever he fancies." She looked back up at you, "Though I can't say for sure what it is about Rouge that might attract him. Their relationship beforehand seemed rather… abusive."

"Rouge just has strange ways of showing she cares," you shrugged, "But are you sure you're going to be okay, being with Knuckles on Angel Island? I imagine that's got to be awkward."

"If anything, I'll enjoy the sights," Shade smiled, "It is beautiful, now that it's been formed into one whole island once more."

"Yeah, I've been meaning to drop by and just visit for fun," Sonic said, "But Knuckles might get suspicious."

Shade chuckled. "Well, we'll see if Rouge just might change that."

"Seriously, though," said Sonic, "You're one of us now, Shade. Drop by and visit anytime." He held out his hand as a friendly gesture.

Shade smiled and took his hand, shaking it. "Thank you, Sonic."

"Sonic?"

Sonic turned around and faced Blaze as she was approaching him. "Hey, Blaze," he greeted, "What's up?"

Shade took this as her cue to leave them be and walked off.

...

GIVE YOUR HEART TO BLAZE

"Well, I do care about Amy…" Sonic started.

Amy grinned and held your arm tighter. Blaze gave a soft nod and looked away in defeat.

"But I care about you too," Sonic finished.

Both girls looked back at him in shock. "What do you mean?" Blaze asked.

"Yeah, Sonic!" Amy snapped, "What DO you mean?"

Sonic gulped, bracing for the inevitable hammer smash to his head. "It means, Blaze, whatever you're feeling about me… I feel the same with you."

Blaze stared, wide-eyed, cheeks pinked. "You do?"

Sonic nodded earnestly. "I do."

"Sonic…" Blaze looked him in the eyes, "I… I'm very fond of you. Extremely. In fact, you could possibly say… I love you."

Sonic's smile intensified hearing that. "Same here."

*WHAM!*

There it was, the hammer to the head.

"Auugh!" Sonic yelped, "Amy, that hurt!"

"Yeah, well, YOU hurt me too, Sonic!" the pink hedgehog screamed, "All this time, everything I told you, the way I treated you, I thought POSSIBLY you had an inkling of the same feelings for me! But now you're confessing your love for BLAZE?!"

Sonic rubbed his injured head. "I never really indicated I felt the same way you did…"

"Yeah? Well, NEITHER DID I!"

Sonic stared at Amy oddly.

"REALLY!" she screamed at you, "My heart belongs to Dexter! Remember? My boyfriend?"

"I thought you made him up…"

"I…" Amy grew flustered, "I'm talking about ANOTHER Dexter! The one I really AM dating!"

"Then why are you so upset?"

"Because…" Amy grit her teeth, "Because… I DON'T KNOW WHY!"

She spun around and was about to stomp off… but then backtracked, and came right up to Blaze. Sonic was worried a cat fight would break out, but Blaze kept a cool composure.

Amy didn't attack Blaze, surprisingly, but she did jab a finger into her face. "Listen..!" she growled deeply, "You must be really special if Sonic chose YOU over ME… But so hear me, if I find out you hurt him in any way possible, I WILL come to your world and I WILL beat you so badly you'll BEG for Argus to take me away, are we clear?"

Blaze blinked, but then nodded calmly. "We are. I won't hurt him. I promise."

"Good!" Amy stomped off once more, but stopped halfway and looked back at Sonic. Her anger suddenly turned into confidence. "Your loss, Sonic!" she chimed as she ran off.

The hedgehog scratched his head as he watched her leave, but then he turned his attention back to Blaze as she placed a hand on his shoulder and gazed into his eyes lovingly.

However, before anything else could happen….

"Oy, Blaze!"

'Ugh… Perfect timing, Marine…'

Blaze quickly stepped away, slightly embarrassed. "Uh, yes, what is it, Marine?"

...

"Oy," said Marine, "I reckon it's time for us to lob out."

Blaze stood back up. "Yes," she said, and gave a respectful bow, "Thank you for everything, everyone."

"Take care, mates!" Marine waved excitedly.

Everyone waved back and said their farewells. Sonic, however, stepped forward and planted a big kiss on Blaze's cheek, leaving her (and everyone else in the party) speechless.

Blaze was stunned for a while, but soon got her bearings back, and smiled broadly at you. "I will certainly be seeing you again soon."

"Likewise," he grinned.

Blaze held out the Sol Emeralds in one hand and held up the Jeweled Scepter in the other. An energy glowed from the inner crest of the scepter, and the Sol Emeralds lifted into the air. The artifacts glowed brightly, as then both Blaze and Marine disappeared.

Sonic turned around, suddenly noticing the awkward looks on everyone's faces (except Amy, who looked rather peeved). "What?" he asked, "We're dating now."

There wasn't much response after that, other than maybe a few "Good for you!" and mere shrugs.

...

Finally, it was Silver's turn. He stood up, after having Cream place a flower crown on his head as a farewell gift. The little rabbit and her mother bowed politely at him, and he turned and headed towards Sonic and his friends.

"I guess I'll be seeing you around," he said as he offered his hand, "I can't thank you enough for all you've done."

"We could say the same thing," Sonic replied, shaking his hand, "We would never have made it back home without your help."

"I'd say we're even then," Silver smiled, "Doesn't mean you can't come by if you ever need help again. Especially since we can drop in on each other without the worry of endangering our worlds."

"Ditto," Sonic grinned.

"Give our regards to the Resistance!" Tails smiled and waved.

"And tell Janae she's gotta be a good girl, or her great-great-great-great-great-great-grandmother's going to say a few words to her!" Vanilla joked while wagging her finger.

Silver chuckled. "I'll mention it."

Out of nowhere, Amy rushed in, grabbing Silver by the waist and hugging tightly. The hedgehog was taken back in shock. "Amy? What're you..?"

"I'll miss you, Silver!" she said as she planted a kiss on his cheek, "Come visit us again real soon, okay?"

Silver blinked, confused, but nodded. Sonic smirked. He knew exactly what Amy was trying to do… But unlike earlier, he was actually okay with the idea of those two getting together now. Whatever happens will happen. And who knows? Maybe they would end up happy together.

Amy released Silver and stepped back. Shade once again lifted the Golden Scepter, and the Chaos Emeralds floated up. As with Blaze and Marine, as well as the aliens, the emeralds and scepter glowed as Silver vanished.

...

GIVE YOUR HEART TO AMY

Sonic looked down at Amy and flashed her a smile. "I guess I care about her more than I let on."

Amy almost fell over in shock at the answer. "Sonic, waitaminute!" she cried quickly, "Are you saying… you LIKE me too?!"

"Well I've ALWAYS liked you," he smirked, "Buuut… I guess I kinda like you the same way you like me."

Amy inhaled deeply, stunned at what she just heard. "You… you mean it?"

"Wow, even YOU can't believe it, can you, Ames?" Sonic chuckled.

"Oh SONIC!" Amy squealed with delight, glomping him tightly and laughing with joy, "I don't believe it! I've dreamt of this moment for so long, I never thought it would actually happen! Oh Sonic I'm so happy, I love you so much!"

Sonic chuckled a bit as he gave her a little hug. He then glanced over at Blaze, still standing there, with a look of disappointment in her face. He frowned a bit and let go. "Hey, listen… Blaze, I-"

She held up her hand. "No, it's okay," she said, "I understand. It makes sense, after all. You have quite a history together. Not to mention I could see the attraction pretty much from the start."

Sonic blinked. "You did?"

Amy grabbed your arm tighter. "See?" she squealed, "Even everyone else can see the romance between us!"

Sonic shyly scratched the back of his head. Wow, if everyone else could see it, maybe he was the only one who was blind to love…

Blaze nodded towards the pink hedgehog. "Amy," she said, "You've got a good man there. Take good care of him. And don't take him for granted."

"Don't you worry, Blaze!" Amy winked, "I'm not gonna let him get away!"

Sonic wasn't quite sure how to describe this feeling… It was a strange mix of excitement with utter fear.

But he liked it!

"Marine, let's go," Blaze called, "It's time to get going."

It wasn't long before the young raccoon, wearing a crown of pretty flowers, ran up, with Cream bringing up the rear. "Hold up, sheila!" Marine cried, "Before we shoot through to home, Cream's got a lil' gift for ya!"

Sonic smiled, as he knew this meant that Cream had given Marine her personal seal of approval with those flower crowns. After all, she only gave them to whom she considered her favorite friends. Amy had many already, as did he. It only made sense that she wouldd give one to Blaze.

Sure enough, Cream presented the cat princess with a crown made of flowers. "Thank you, Cream," she smiled, "This is better than any crown I had ever received."

Cream made a funny "squee" noise of excitement and jumped on Blaze, hugging her tightly.

Soon enough, everyone else started to gather to say their good-byes. Sonic shook Blaze's hand. "See you soon," he nodded.

"Likewise," she smiled, "Take care."

...

Finally, it was Silver's turn. He stood up, after having Cream place a flower crown on his head as a farewell gift. The little rabbit and her mother bowed politely at him, and he turned and headed towards Sonic and his friends.

"I guess I'll be seeing you around," he said as he offered his hand, "I can't thank you enough for all you've done."

"We could say the same thing," Sonic replied, shaking his hand, "We would never have made it back home without your help."

"I'd say we're even then," Silver smiled, "Doesn't mean you can't come by if you ever need help again. Especially since we can drop in on each other without the worry of endangering our worlds."

"Ditto," Sonic grinned.

"Give our regards to the Resistance!" Tails smiled and waved.

"And tell Janae she's gotta be a good girl, or her great-great-great-great-great-great-grandmother's going to say a few words to her!" Vanilla joked while wagging her finger.

Silver chuckled. "I'll mention it."

"Good bye, Silver!" Amy chimed as she clung onto Sonic's arm tightly, "I'm sorry things didn't work out between us!"

Sonic blinked, confused at the statement. Silver just tilted his head, looking as perplexed as him, but then shrugged.

...

A/N: Okay, NOW I'm finished posting... for now...

I'm done posting to the "Golden Path" but later in a seperate entry, I'll post "alternative paths" such as "Team One" and so forth...

Thanks for reading!