Yet, there was no mentioning of the gun exploding its fatal bullet into Ike's fragile skull, permanently ending his life. Just before Zephiel could pull the trigger, the door suddenly slammed open with a crash and the police forces of Smashville forced their way into the scene. Some of the men screamed in surprise and hurried away. Most of the police chased after their prey, while the rest tended to the bond captives, freeing their hands.

"Let's move, move, move, move!" Frederick shouted, leading some of the policemen down the hallways like a pack of Arcanine.

"What the—" Zephiel started, before he was tackled to the ground by a certain relative.

"D-Dad!" Ike exclaimed, looking at his father in awe.

"Ike! Get down!" Gawain shouted at his son, who obeyed. "Leave my sons alone!" he growled at Zephiel, who could only fearfully look back at the policeman. "If I catch you putting a single hand on them, you will not hear the end of it!"

With that sentence, Gawain shoved Zephiel onto the ground and quickly handcuffed the evildoer. A few policemen led the mastermind behind the facility out the door. Ike was greatly relieved, yet his heart skipped a beat when Zephiel gave him a glare of hatred before exiting the building.

"Ike! Roy! Did either of the men hurt you and your friends?" Gawain asked, quickly freeing Ike's and Roy's hands.

"No, they didn't." Ike answered, before throwing his arms around Gawain. "Oh, Dad!" he said, tears stinging his eyes. "I... I...!"

"Ike, never do this again." Gawain scolded sternly. "You and your friends aren't experienced enough to handle situations like this."

"I won't do it again." Ike said, burying his face into his father's shoulder. "I won't."

Ike's and Gawain's attention was caught by a small sniffle from Roy, who was kneeling on the ground. Tears of relief and fright were rolling uncontrollably down his face.

"Roy! Are you ok?" Ike asked in fright. Did the men hurt him prior to the rescue?

"Ike... D-Dad..." Roy whimpered as he looked up. "IKE! D-DAAAD!"

Roy began to sob hysterically. Their brotherly and parental instants flickering on like a lightbulb, Ike and Gawain wrapped their arms around the hysterical redhead and gave him a comforting, loving hug.

Hugs were magical healing spells that all humans have. Even in the depths of hopelessness, pain, and sorrow, a single hug could heal a person's wounded spirit. They filled the empty, pained heart with warmth and comfort like a hot drink.

"It's all over, Roy." Ike whispered, trying to soothe Roy. "Don't worry, it's all over."

"I-I-I was so scared!" Roy managed to choke out before resuming crying.

"Shh, it's ok." Gawain said softly to Roy, caressing the younger male's cardinal hair. "Daddy's here now. Ike is here too."

After wailing for a few minutes, Roy finally stopped crying. Sniffing loudly, he shakily stood up and dried his tears with the sleeve of his jacket.

"Ike... Dad..." Roy said softly, his face pink.

"Are you feeling better now?" Ike asked, with a reassuring smile.

"Y...Yes." Roy answered with a small, weak smile.

At the moment, Morgan hurried into the arms of his mother Robin.

"Mom!" he exclaimed, embracing Robin tightly.

"Morgan!" Robin said, hugging her son back. She ran her hand through her son's green-brown hair. "Thank the gods you are safe!"

"Mom, I tried to be a great tactician like you!" Morgan said, blinking away his tears. "I tried to plan a way to rescue Roy. But, it didn't work as planned!"

"Morgan, you need years of practice to be a great tactician." Robin reassumed. "This is your first time, right?"

"I guess..." Morgan answered.

"See?" Robin replied. "This was your first shot at being a tactician! Your first attempt won't be perfect."

"Really?" Morgan asked with wide brown eyes.

"Yes!" Stahl joined in his wife's and son's conversation. "I did not become a policeman overnight. It took me years of training. Well, I'm still pretty average compared to my coworkers, but I'm better than when I first began my training!"

"Oh, Dad!" Morgan said to his father with a smile, giving him a large bear-hug.

After when their hands were freed by the iron bonds, Lucina and Owain hurried to their parents Chrom and Henry.

"D-Dad!" Lucina exclaimed as she and Chrom embraced each other.

"Dad, I... I'm glad that you came!" Owain said to Henry, wrapping his arms around his father.

"Lucina, I'm glad that you are in my arms, alive and well." Chrom said to his oldest daughter. "I don't want anything to happen to you, like what happened to your aunt."

"Dad..." Lucina could only say as she buried her face into her father's shoulder.

"Owain, don't run off like that again, ok?" Henry asked his son.

"I won't." Owain replied, hugging his father back.

"That's good." Henry replied, stroking Owain's blond hair. "I don't want you to have a horrible death before me! Nya-ha-ha-ha!"

After catching all of the members of the facility, everyone was ready to return to Smashville. Zelda volunteered to drive Link, Marth, Red, Samus, Pit, Fox, and Falco back to the police station, while Ike, Roy, Owain, Lucina, and Morgan were driven back by their parents, who worked for the police.

"Hey Dad, I have a question." Ike said to Gawain as the Greil family drove down the street towards Smashville, following the other police cars. "Was it a coincidence that the police managed to arrive at the facility at the right moment?"

"No, it wasn't." Gawain answered as he started the car. "When we could not find you, I tried calling you, only to learn that you left your phone right on the kitchen counter. Being your nosy parent, I turned it on and read a few texts sent from some friends, which had to do with sneaking out and rescuing Roy. I got suspicious, so I reported to my coworkers. Thanks to Robin, we managed to quickly plan an attack on the facility."

Ike looked at Roy, who was seated next to him. The redhead was asleep; his head was resting on Ike's shoulder. After what he had to go through, he deserved a nice, relaxing nap.

"By the way, why did the facility want Roy?" Gawain asked.

Ike slightly jumped at his father's question. The answer was a bit disturbing. "It's kinda creepy..." he began."They were trying to make Roy a perfect human by splitting his head open and putting brain tissue in it. If their plan was successful, they would release him and have him, you know, pass his enhanced genes down. Eventually, his descendants would overcome the current human population and create the perfect utopian society. Creepy, isn't it?"

"Yes, it is." Gawain answered. "It also sounds ridiculous."

"Why?" Ike asked.

"From my experiences, an utopian society can never exist." Gawain explained. "People have their own opinions and views on things, even if they are strictly restricted in expressing them. For example, even if he was tested on and trained to be the perfect human, Roy still escaped from the facility. Why? He did not enjoy his current life. If Roy was truly a perfect human being, he would just remain at the facility and let the men experiment on him."

"I see..." Ike replied.

"Good and evil are like light and shadow." Gawain continued. "They cannot exist without each other. Personally, I think the world is perfect the way it is."

"I agree with you, Dad." Ike smiled.

"I'm glad that you and your friends are unharmed." Gawain added. "Their parents are waiting at the police station for them. If would be terrible if we had to tell one of them that something happened to their daughter or son."

"Everyone's parents are there?" Ike asked. "Their biological ones, right?"

"Yes." Gawain answered. "Well, not in the terms of Link, but everyone else's true parents are there."

Nodding in understanding, Ike looked at Roy and gently stroked his cardinal hair. His cobalt eyes had a slight gleam of sadness.

Upon arriving at the Smashville, Ike and his friends were immediately greeted by their relieved parents. Once when he, Gawain, and Roy stepped out of their vehicle, Ike and Roy were bombarded by a large embrace from Mist and Elena.

"Ike! Roy!" Mist exclaimed, hugging both Roy and Ike tightly. "You're alright!"

"Gawain, Ike, Roy, I'm glad that both of you are safe and sound." Elena said, being releasing her two sons and turning to her husband. She embraced Gawain in relief.

"Hey, I can't let my family down." Gawain said softly to his wife, before landing a soft kiss on her lips.

Once when he was released from Mist's embrace, Ike watched his friends reuniting with their parents. Marth hesitantly and coyly approached his father, mother, and older sister, only to get embraced by all three of them at the same time. Link embraced Rusl, Toon, and Colin. His relieved smile widened when he learned that Uli, his stepmother, had finally given birth to her daughter. Samus, Fox, and Falco, who were embraced and kissed by their parents, waved goodbye to their friends as they got into their parents' cars. Red nearly burst into tears as he embraced both his mother and father. Pit quickly ran into Palutena's arms, nearly knocking her down.

With a smile, Ike turned around to speak to Roy, only to notice that he was gone!

"Roy? Where did he run off to now?" Ike asked Gawain, Elena, and Mist.

"Look." Gawain pointed to Roy, who was timidly approaching Eliwood and Ninian, who was sitting on a bench, watching the teens reuniting with their parents.

Roy bashfully stood in front of his biological parents. He felt a bit awkward, as he only saw Eliwood and Ninian as his teachers, not parents. Also, what if they denied that he was their son?

"Erm... E...Excuse me..." Roy heistantly said, grabbing Eliwood's and Ninian's attention.

"Oh, you must be Roy." Ninian said. She recognized the cardinal red hair and navy blue eyes, a physical trait passed down from Eliwood.

"I... I..." Roy started, tears filling his eyes. "I..."

Ninian and Eliwood stood up from their seat.

"I... I am your missing... son." Roy finally managed to say.

With a gentle smile, Ninian softly cupped Roy's chin and lifted it, so she could get a closer look at his physical appearance. Tears began to fill her ruby-red eyes when she recognized the shape of the navy blue orbs.

"Roy..." Ninian said quietly, embracing Roy tightly. Roy nested the side of his head on his mother's light blue coat. "My... My baby boy..." Ninian blinked away her tears and stroked Roy's cardinal hair.

"Mom..." Roy replied.

After being released by Ninian's hug, Roy turned to Eliwood. Eliwood tried to blink his tears away, as he wanted to stay strong for his son. Yet, his effort was futile. Roy caught a small tear rolling down his father's cheek.

"Roy, I'm sorry." Eliwood apologized, hugging Roy.

Roy curiously looked up at Eliwood. "For what?" he innocently asked.

"For failing to save you from the facility." Eliwood answered shakily. "I... I shouldn't had worked for the facility in the first place! I just wanted to find a way to save lives. I didn't know it would eventually turn into this."

Roy snuggled against Eliwood's dark blue coat.

"I just wanted you to live a normal life, not be a guinea pig for fifteen years!" Eliwood continued. "I—!"

Roy interrupted Eliwood. "It's ok, Dad." he reassured with a soft smile. "I'm ok now, see?"

Eliwood nodded. "Roy?"

"Yes?" Roy asked.

"Your late grandfather loved you until the moment he died." Eliwood answered.

Roy smiled. "Mom? Dad? I love you."

"We love you too." Ninian said.

At that moment, as he watched the reunited family, Ike began to feel a conflict between his emotions. He felt happy for Roy, Eliwood, and Ninian however, he strangely felt sorry for himself. He had just lost his stepbrother, who was now just a close friend. His heart suddenly felt half-empty. Noticing these negative feelings, Ike tried to stay happy for Roy. He was just being selfish, again.

"Ike? What's wrong?" Mist asked, noticing tears filling her older brother's eyes. "Are you crying?"

Ike quickly blinked his tears away. "No, nothing's wrong. I'm just being selfish again. I should feel happy for Roy, not sorry for myself."

Elena set a gentle hand on Ike's shoulder. "It's ok, Ike. It's normal to feel like this."

Ike nodded and sniffed. Unable to bottle his emotions, he quickly buried his face into his hands and began to cry. Feeling the same way as her brother, Mist hugged Ike and wept softly. The two were close to Roy like a magnet and paper clip.

"Don't worry, you'll see each other at school, right?" Elena reassured.

Ike and Mist nodded. "Y...Yes." Ike replied, wiping his tears.

Roy, who was embracing Eliwood, noticed Ike and his family walking to their car. He froze, as he felt a sorrowful, solemn atmosphere emitting from them, especially from Ike and Mist.

Who did he belong with? The family who brought him into this world, or the family he first met and bonded to? As he asked himself the question, Roy tightly clutched Eliwood's hand, who released him from his embrace and looked at him worriedly. The older male then looked at direction his son was gazing at and spotted the Greil Family leaving.

Roy quickly looked away from the Greil Family. No, he did not belong with them anymore! He was not their son! He belonged with the Pherae family! They were the ones who brought him into this world! He could not abandon them again after being separated from them for years!

Eliwood looked at the Greil Family, Roy, and then Ninian, who looked back at him. The husband and wife nodded at each other, indicating that they were thinking the same thing.

Much to Roy's surprise, Eliwood suddenly released his hand and walked behind him. Roy looked at him, his navy blue eyes full of awe and a hint of confusion.

"Come on, Roy." Eliwood only said with an encouraging smile. "Your family needs you!"

Roy then looked at Ninian, who simply smiled and nodded in approval. Without wasting a single second, he began to rush towards the Greil Family, just as they were getting in their silvery car. "Mom! Dad! Ike! Mist!" he exclaimed, as the air whistled in his ears and his heart pumped excitedly.

Ike, who was shocked and a bit confused, jumped out of his seat and quickly got out of the car. "Roy!" he shouted, opening his arms.

With a small cry, Roy ran into Ike's arms and hugged him tightly. Ike returned the embrace and began to stroke his cardinal hair. Mist, who was watching the scene, got out of the car and joined the embrace. Elena just stood nearby and smiled. A little confused, Gawain looked at Eliwood and Ninian, who simply smiled. He nodded back in understanding.

Ike had never felt this much joy in his life. His lips curved into a large smile as tears of happiness rolled down his face. Although the world had its ups and downs, it was still a wonderful place to live in.

Author's Notes: Teehee, I think I trolled everyone with the last chapter! Well, at least Ike didn't die!

Here's the official last chapter of this story! The fanfic is finally completed! Hooray! And yes, my unit aka Robin married Stahl in Awakening, so... yeah. This pairing should not cause any problems.

The next fanfic is the sequel to Hollow, The Surface's Shadow! I know that everyone who read Hollow was dying for the sequel. I'm already finished with the first chapter so, it might be uploaded either over the weekend or next week depending on my mood.

Story Questions:

What is the best part of the story? The worst part?

If you were Roy, would you stay with the Greil family or the Pherae family?

Do you think Eliwood and Ninian did the right thing?