Mario and Sonic: Heroes Unite!

Chapter 100: Heroes United Forever!

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"Wherever darkness can be found, there is always a glimmer of light to show the way. It is a way to balance out the two elements. Light cannot be bright without the shadows, whilst darkness cannot be dim without the contrast of the light."

The voice echoed into their heads. Mario and Sonic slowly awoken, finding themselves floating in a realm full of white, fluffy clouds that surrounded them. The two wondered how they ended up there in the first place.

"These two elements coexist with one another to provide perception, to help give a sense of what is right and wrong. The light is associated with the good in the world. Darkness relates to it's counterpart, evil."

The heroes looked around as they aimlessly floated in the mysterious realm, looking around to see who was talking to them. They saw no one else nearby.

"Hello? Who's there?" Sonic yelled out, cupping his hands together. Suddenly, a bright beam of golden light shone down from above them, piercing through the clouds. As the voice talked, the light flashed in sync with it's words.

"I am the guardian of the realms. I control the connections between worlds." the guardian spoke. It had the soft, soothing voice of a woman. "You are currently floating in the passage between dimensions. A limbo, if you wish to think of it."

"Limbo? Does that mean we're dead?" Mario spoke. Sonic was also surprised. Had they died from the battle back in the Negative Dimension?

"Worry not, as your game is not over." the guardian assured them. "Although, you may have died from the battle within the dark realm, your super forms were able to keep your life forces intact. I was able to recover them in the leftovers of the ruined dimension and create new bodies for the both of you."

"Uhm...thanks." was all Sonic could say. He still had to wrap his head around the fact that he had actually died in battle. He couldn't even remember the pain, if there ever was any. He was grateful that their super forms saved them. "So, do you mind telling us why we are here, oh great voice of this world?"

"I brought you here to properly thank you for your efforts. If it wasn't for the both of you, the Negative Dimension could have consumed all other worlds into darkness." the guardian spoke. "Even if I do control the life and connections between worlds, I cannot directly involve myself in what events happen inside them."

Suddenly, many spheres of lights appeared around Mario and Sonic. Each sphere was a portal and held the life of a world within them. Connecting the worlds together were threads of light, attaching each world to many other worlds. The threads represented a gateway between the worlds and gave the ability to transport beings from one world to another through complex means and share to each other what they offered.

Mario and Sonic floated towards each portal, taking a glimpse of what worlds lied beyond.

One depicted a kingdom that foretold legends of a battle between an elf and an evil-demon. Another depicted a world where beasts controlled by trainers would battle each other. One world showed a group of graffiti skaters, while another contained adventurous monkeys in balls.

"Whoa! I didn't know there were so many worlds other than ours!" Sonic exclaimed, floating from one world to another to see what was held inside.

"What happened to the Negative Dimension?" Mario asked the guardian. On request, a dark, shadowy sphere appeared in front of them, showing what was left of the Negative Dimension. It was smaller than the other worlds, due to the damage it took from the deadly battle.

"All that lies is the dark energy that floats around in the dimension. It is technically nothing at all but a void." the guardian explained. The defeat of Malevo meant that no lifeforms could be created, as he was essentially the dimension's Almighty Being.

"How are we supposed to get back to our worlds?" Sonic asked. The guardian summoned both Mario and Sonic's worlds in front of them. Their worlds had a thick thread of light connecting to each other. In each portal, they could see their homes on the other side. Mario saw the Mushroom Kingdom, while Sonic gazed down on Emerald Town.

"Your worlds share something I have never seen before in other worlds." the guardian began to explain. "A strong connection between your people. The event that transpired these chain of events has strengthened the bond between your worlds."

Mario and Sonic reflected back to the moment they first met. They and their friends grew such a strong bond with each other from their many adventures between both worlds. Collecting Power Stars in Mario's World, collecting Chaos Emeralds in Sonic's world, dominating against Bowser and Eggman in both worlds, enjoying the new sights each world offered that the other could not.

And all this was started from a robot who was bent on possessing limitless amounts of dark energy. He was deceased now, but maybe the heroes should have thanked him for giving them the opportunity to establish their friendships and exciting journeys they took.

"Geez, we sure had a lot of fun, didn't we?" Sonic spoke to Mario, nudging him by the shoulder.

"Yeah, definitely." Mario answered, with a gentle smile.

"It is time for you to part ways," the guardian spoke. Mario and Sonic hesitated and looked at each other, giving saddened looks. Would this be the last time they would see each other? They had just come from the battle of a lifetime, and now they had to part ways? They couldn't even celebrate together with their friends. It was all so sudden, it felt like it was unfair. But they knew that eventually, they had to go their separate ways.

"Well, I guess this is it," Sonic spoke. He gave out a loud sigh. He wished he didn't have to leave his friend. In his past adventures, he'd met with many companions that would come and go. If he was being honest with himself, he never got over those moments where they had to leave. Mario held his hand out to him, offering a final handshake. Sonic grinned and they both shook on it. "I'm going to miss you guys."

"Don't worry. Maybe one day we'll cross paths again." Mario said, attempting to cheer Sonic up. The two could only hope they would. If fate determined it, maybe one day they would see each other again. "Say goodbye to the others for me, okay?"

"Yeah, no problem. Do the same for me, will you?"

"Don't worry. I promise."

Mario and Sonic let go of each others hands and floated towards their respective worlds. As they entered, they both gave a thumbs-up to one another, which was the last thing they would see as they returned to their worlds. Once the heroes were gone, the thread of light that provided the connection between their worlds was cut and destroyed by the guardian.

The worlds became permanently disconnected from each other.

"It is for the best that they do not know." the guardian spoke. She knew the heroes would have understood her decision, even if it would greatly disappoint them. A tragic event like this could not happen again, and to ensure it wouldn't, she needed to cut ties between their worlds forever. She decided to keep them oblivious to the fact and leave them in bliss and hopes of seeing each other again.

His friends were surprised to the hero's return. Mario's body was found floating within the lake beside Peach's Castle. It had been a week since their friends last saw him enter the Negative Dimension to fight for their lives, and they assumed he was dead.

Mario slowly awakened. He was in a bed within Peach's Castle. Around him were all his friends who helped fight in the war. They were all relieved to see him wake up.

"I'm so glad you're okay Mario! I thought we'd never see you again." Peach cried out to him, hugging him by his side. She gave him a kiss on the forehead, which prompted Mario to smile widely.

"I've got to hand it you brother, I had a feeling you'd come back. Nothing could stop a fellow like you!" Luigi exclaimed, giving out a small chuckle as he lightly punched Mario's shoulder. "So what happened to Sonic and the others?"

"I'm sure they are safe back in their world." Mario softly spoke. Suddenly, they heard the sound of a large propellor outside. Looking out the bedroom's window, the heroes saw one of Bowser's airships floating out from the balcony. Mario panicked, jumping out from the bed and headed outside to the courtyard, with the others following closely behind him. Reaching the courtyard, Mario was surprised to see a huge, pink cake with white frosting being carried underneath the airship by a big claw. It dropped the cake on the ground, causing it to crush it's bottom, ruining it's perfect form and instead leave it a toppling mess.

"Noo! The cake!" Bowser shouted angrily, looking over the airship's side and seeing the mess below. He jumped down in front of the cake and stomped in fury. "Junior! I told you to be careful when lowering the cake!"

"Oops! Sorry papa!" Junior apologized as he jumped down beside him. Mario could only look at the two baddies in confusion. What the heck was going on? Bowser noticed the perplexed look on the plumber and simply grinned.

"Well, if it isn't the pipe lover? Enjoyed the nap of yours?" Bowser roared. He walked up to Mario and gave him an intimidating look, only to suddenly give him a big hug, squishing Mario in his arms. "Hah! I knew that you'd conquer that stupid dragon, you being persistent and all."

"Okay, Bowser, let him go before you squeeze him to death." Luigi called to him, causing him to drop Mario on the ground. Luigi helped him up and began to explain. "You see, after the whole war we had between the Destroyers, the Mushroom Kingdom and the Koopa Troops have formed a temporary truce. We thought it was best after what everyone's been through recently."

"Don't expect to see me act like this again. Once tomorrow comes, I'm going back to being my old, evil self! So enjoy it while it lasts, plumber!" Bowser growled, before heading over back to the cake mess. Mario simply smiled. It would have felt weird seeing Bowser be "nice" to them everyday. He wouldn't have it any other way.

"What are you guys waiting around for? The cake is right there. Let's dig in!" Yoshi exclaimed, running up to the cake and cannon-balling into it, spilling frosting everywhere on the ground.

"Wait! We don't have plates or forks!" Donkey Kong told them. Wario laughed at him and slapped him by the shoulder.

"Who needs those when you've got hands! You're a gorilla, I thought you were an expert on this!" Wario exclaimed, jumping into the cake as well and taking a huge bite out of it. Donkey Kong simply shrugged and joined them. The others charged forward and began to eat the cake. They wouldn't let a big treat go to waste!

"After we eat, we are going to have a magnificent fireworks display tonight." Peach said to him, grabbing Mario's hand and leading him to the cake while everyone else was digging in. "Besides, we deserve a day to relax after all we've been through."

"Of course." Mario said. He took the moment to look up to the bright, sunny sky and wondered how Sonic and his friends were doing. After many adventures, the heroes had the chance to celebrate their victory and live peacefully for the time being.

But it didn't feel complete without the presence of the other heroes to share the moment with.

He slowly opened his eyes, welcomed by the looks of his friends. They had found Sonic washed up along the shore of Emerald Beach. He was taken into Cream's home and watched over until he awoke. They had waited anxiously for Sonic to return, and began to lose hope once the days passed, but his friends were extremely happy to have found his body.

"Hello there, Mr. Sonic." Cream greeted him, along with Cheese, who floated above him. Sonic laid in her bedroom and looked around, realizing he was back home. Standing with Cream were Tails and Amy.

"Sonic! I knew you would come back! I just knew it!" Amy cried out to him, giving him a hug. Sonic didn't fight back and simply accepted the gesture. She could see from her eyes that she had been crying for him. "The others thought you were gone forever, but I kept hope that you'd come back, and you did!"

"It's sure great to see you're okay. I was sort of worrying I'd never see you again." Tails spoke, giving a smile. Sonic grinned back and patted him on the shoulder. Out of the blue, Tails gave a hug to Sonic. "It wouldn't be the same without you."

"It's okay buddy, I'm here now." Sonic said, soothing them with the sound of his voice. He got up from the bed and asked about the others. Tails explained they had returned back to their respective places. Knuckles was back on Angel Island, resuming his duty as it's guardian. Shadow and Rouge resumed with their jobs back in Neo Prison Island. Silver returned to his time line, while Blaze went back to her dimension, bringing along the Jeweled Sceptor with her. Team Chaotix was back to solving cases, as usual.

"They're busy right now and couldn't come at the moment. But while you were knocked out, we managed to get a get-well-soon card for you and have everyone sign it." Cream said, handing Sonic a plain, white card. He opened it and inside were the various signatures of his friends. In the middle was a message, simply saying: "To our favourite blue blur, we grant our best wishes. Never stop running!". Sonic smiled. It was a simple gesture, but it was a meaningful one.

"What about Dr. Eggman? What's he up to now?" Sonic asked, gently placing the card into his pockets. His friends shrugged. The last time they had seen him was after the war was over and the Negative Dimension rift in the sky disappeared. As they waited in the battlefield for Sonic to return, Eggman began to leave with Orbot and Cubot. He left the heroes with a few last words.

"He'll be back. I just know it."

"What happened to Mario? Luigi? Yoshi? Peach?" Cream suddenly asked, her eyes filled with wonderment. The room was silent for a moment, until Sonic simply shrugged.

"They're back home where they belong."

"Will we ever get to see them again?" Amy asked. Sonic sighed. He remembered the few last words Mario told him, about how they would cross paths again eventually. Was he certain with those words? Did he simply say them to ease the goodbye? Sonic could only hope that they would see each other again.

The war was over. Everything was back to normal. Well, sort of. The only thing that felt missing was the presence of Mario and the others. He knew that they were back safely in their world, but their goodbyes seemed so abrupt. Their friends didn't even get the chance to say farewell to one another. Only Mario and Sonic did. It felt a little unfair, but knowing that they were okay was a good enough closure.

"So guys," Sonic spoke, suddenly having a cheerful expression on his face. He pointed to the door. "Want to head to Empire City? I'm craving some of their chili-dogs right now!"

Days turned into weeks. Weeks turned into months. Time continued to go on. The heroes resumed with their lives after the crossover of their worlds. Nothing had really changed. Their duties were the same as ever. New adventures popped up from time to time and the heroes would tackle it with open-minds. The bad guys would come up with more diabolical plans and the heroes would thwart them as usual. It was a daily routine that they were always used to.

But some nights, the heroes would look up into the sky and remember the good times they had with each other. They missed the moments they shared and hoped that one day they would come together once again and relive those joyous times. Even if they yearned for it, they were grateful for the opportunity to meet each other and work together. But they couldn't grieve over the past, but instead look forward to the unexpected future and see what other great adventures awaited them. The best assurance they could bring to themselves was that their other friends were enjoying their lives to the fullest in their worlds, and they would want the same for them.

Even if they never saw each other again, their friendships that bonded them, their hardships they faced together, the memories they would hold onto and cherish, united the heroes forever!

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The End!

A/N: There you go. The final chapter of this epic story. Short and sweet!

I cannot believe this story has been going on for more than THREE years! I remember the day I got the idea of writing a Mario and Sonic crossover. I had a majority of it planned out, but I had my doubts on whether I could actually do it. There were moments through the development where I became overwhelmed and almost abandoned this story, but for some reason, the guilt of not finishing would come back to me and gave me the determination to finish this!

This may be the one and only Mario and Sonic crossover I do. And I would be okay with it. I've told the story I wanted to tell. I put in as much life that I could with the interactions between the Mario and Sonic universes. I feel like this is the best I could do with this crossover idea alone.

But that doesn't mean I'm finished making stories about these characters! ;)

I greatly appreciate all the support you fellow readers have given me! If it wasn't for you, I may have never pulled through with this story. Your readership has been a huge help and motivation! To those of you who have stuck from the very beginning to the end, I cannot show how much I am thankful to your commitment! Finally, I can put this story to rest and begin new ones!

Bye for now! :D

-Azurixx

~I do not own any Mario or Sonic related material. They are the property of Nintendo and Sega, respectively~