And so we reach the final chapter of "Nightswimming." I'd like to thank everyone who went out of their way to read, review, and follow, especially you, werewolf lover99. Your consistent support rocks!

Once more, I only own Ozzie, Gabriel, and anyone else SEGA's employees never created.

A shadowy figure dashed through the alleyways of nighttime Apotos, intent on finding his target.

What was his target, one might ask? Well, let's just say being late would not be an option in the hunter's honest opinion.

After all, would you want your best friend to be late to their own wedding?

Still, the unknown runner had to take a breather since he'd been on the move for over an hour by now. He stomped his way over to the blue railing that oversaw the ocean as a streetlight he passed under revealed his appearance.

It was Sonic the Hedgehog—well, the Werehog, to be more precise. He retained this form after the Eggman/Cretacean fiasco ten years ago since his friend Ozzie wished for him to keep it, the mole's way of saying thanks for everything the Azure Wind had done for him. Sonic appreciated the gesture and always liked the werehog anyway, so he decided to hone his other self's abilities with the help of both Ozzie and his uncle Gabriel, who'd made a full-speed recovery upon Cretacean's defeat.

Unfortunately, the villain underground didn't give Sonic and his friends much of a break in the following years, so finding time to practice with his Primal Form turned out to be difficult. Fortunately, he still managed to compensate in mastering certain skills, one of them being the ability to maintain his normal self during the night and vice versa during the day.

With the way Sonic's search had been going so far, however, one could see that training had not accomplished much for him in terms of patience. Just where could that mole be? This felt like searching for a needle in a haystack—a seriously dark haystack.

'It's not like him ta just bail out', he wondered as he settled his gaze on the shimmering waters far below. His sharp-hearing ears suddenly perked up at the sound of someone approaching him from behind. He resisted the urge to chuckle. "Not ta spoil yer fun, buddy, but those surprise tackles don't work as well when I'm like this."

He heard an annoyed sigh before a familiar mole took a spot to his left. After a few moments of silence between them, the werehog eyed the heavyset burrower for a moment in curiosity rather than accusation. "How come you're not at your own wedding?"

Ozzie shook his head and frowned in response, his eyes glazed with tears to Sonic's surprise yet refusing to shed them as he leaned over the railings. He smiled a little when he felt his old friend's huge hand pat his back.

"That overwhelming, huh...?" A wordless nod confirmed everything the werehog needed to know. Sonic looked back to the ocean. "Yeah, I ain't an expert when it comes to marriage either—heck I don't even know the first thing about romance—but listen, it's okay that you're scared. It means you know there's something more important than the fear itself. Not ta come soundin' off like some self-help book but that's the truth..."

Sonic paused to give his friend an encouraging grin. "Besides, I can already tell it's gonna be one heck of an adventure for you guys. You and Ames are gonna do fine. Trust me."

A soft breeze carried over as Ozzie let those words sink in. Eventually, his muzzle melted into a smile at the kind and supportive words. He could always count on Sonic to be understanding.

"Thanks," he whispered softly when he turned to his friend.

"No problem, buddy...," the Blue Blur returned with a sincere smile and a hearty slap to Ozzie's back before stepping away from the railing, "Now come on, we got a wedding ta crash!"

Taking a deep breath first, Ozzie faced his friend with an expression that screamed 'game on'.

Phew! Ozzie and Sonic really cut their arrival close!

Fortunately, all they got for a punishment before Ozzie got ushered to the dressing room by a fussy Vanilla consisted of a couple of questions about where the heck Ozzie had been, glares from mostly Shadow's end, and Amy swearing to chase them right out of the chapel the second she and Ozzie shared their kiss.

Ten minutes after the duo arrived, the traditional melody of "Here Comes the Bride" echoed throughout the hall as Ozzie's wife-to-be walked down the aisle in her lovely snow-white wedding dress, made luminous by the silvery moonlight streaming in from the tall stain-glass windows, luscious red roses in her hands. The crowd gawked in awe at the bride, especially her friends.

Yet none were more taken back then the groom himself.

Ozzie gazed upon her in sheer reverence, his senses numb. Somehow, the feel of this dreadfully itchy tuxedo and of everyone's eyes watching him had melted away instantly at the sight of the breathtaking angel coming his way. How could he have ever feared the mere thought of being forever united with someone like her?

He had no more time to berate himself for his foolishness when Amy finally arrived at the altar, her jade eyes meeting his russet ones for a moment that felt more like an eternity until the pointed cough of the amused minister brought them back to reality. Both the bride and groom blushed fiercely with bashful smiles as they finally broke their eye-contact and faced the minister, eager to get this ceremony started.

"Now then...may I have the rings?" the Father Gregorio asked as Sonic, who'd been standing off to the side with Knuckles and Tails, dropped the rings he'd been holding into the elder's hand. "Thank you, my boy. Now then..."—he cleared his throat once more and faced the crowd—"Dearest friends and family, we are here to unite this Talpidean man and this hedgehog woman in holy matrimony. Together, they have weathered countless trials and yet have proven that true love can indeed conquer all. And for that, it is only right that they be allowed to continue their journey through life hand in hand."

Father Gregorio turned to Amy first. "Miss Rose, do you take this man to be your faithfully wedded husband to honor, love, and cherish 'til death do you part?"

"You bet I do!" A few folks in the crowd stifled their chuckles at the rose's enthusiasm, as well as Gregorio who then turned to Ozzie.

"And do you, Mr. Burroughs, vow to take this woman as your faithfully wedded wife to honor, love, and cherish 'til death do you part?"

No hesitation preceded Ozzie's answer. "I do."

"Then by the power vested in me, I now pronounce you—"

Ozzie never heard Gregorio finish.

Amy's lips were too fast.

He also never heard the audience's roaring cheers or the joyful sobbing of Cream and the other flower-girls.

He only noticed the softness and wet warmness of Amy's mouth. His arms wrapped around her to deepen the kiss.

'No matter what madness might come our way,' Ozzie vowed during the kiss, 'I'll do everything and anything within my power to make you happy, my dear rose.'

Seven years later...

"...And that, kids, is how your fearless mommy and her darling cutie pie of a husband beat the stuffing out of Eggman and Cretacean!"

Six-year olds Michael and Tori Rose-Burroughs let out a chorus of 'oh' and 'ah' at their mother's tale, especially Michael. Their father, whose wife sat in his broad lap for the whole story, merely rolled his half-lidded eyes and grinned in amusement. Honestly, that woman's bravado could be so cute sometimes.

Speaking of bravado, Amy's tale apparently inspired her son Michael to spring onto his feet and solemnly vow to "be the bestest hero the world has ever known!" He blatantly ignored his sister's confused stare and innocent yet insistent comment on his bad grammar, at which the twins proceeded to enter another one of their arguments.

Amy chuckled at her children's antics while Ozzie merely smiled and marveled at the pair of angels before him. Michael shared his black fur, snout, stubby tail, and underbelly while his green eyes, pointed ears, and general body shape (albeit slightly thick) were undeniably his mother's. Tori, meanwhile, resembled a pink feminine version of her father, with whom she shared her brown eyes, large hands, and hefty build yet inherited her mother's tail and rounded muzzle.

In short, they were absolutely beautiful.

'God, I'm so lucky,' echoed in Ozzie's head as he tightened his embrace on his beloved's waist and continued to watch the kids' adorable squabble. He couldn't believe how far he'd come from those distant days as the lonely, shy little boy that would scamper away from his own shadow.

Now look at him.

So many friends he'd met along the way, so many trials he'd faced and conquered, so many good times he'd had, so many miracles he'd help make...

No, never would he forget who he was, just as he would never forget who he is now.

Once a god, then a pawn, then a loner...

Then a stranger, then a friend...and now a father...

All under one name:

Ozzie Edgar Burroughs.

And so my fellow readers, until we meet again, I bid you all: adieu.