MANIPULATED Epilogue; Reflection

Rouge and the others turned around as Sonic walked into the escape pod room. Alone. "Sonic, you did it!" Tails cried, flying forward and embracing Sonic.

"Well, not by myself," Sonic chuckled, hugging Tails back.

"Speaking of which… where's Shadow?" Rouge asked, confused and scared. Sonic's smile fell, he let go of Tails, and he looked down. He shook his head. Rouge put a hand over her mouth, and everyone else looked out the window somberly. "He… saved me on Prison Island. He saved us all right here…" She squeaked, tears rushing to her eyes, then streaming down her face and hands. She quickly joined them in dropping to the floor. "He's gone, isn't he?" Her ears drooped over her eyes.

"There's no way of truly knowing," Eggman stated remorsefully. "Maybe he's alive, maybe not. Either way, I believe he can be happier now." Eggman smiled. "I wouldn't dwell on it. Shadow wouldn't want to have saved us just for us to be miserable."

Sonic approached Rouge, and placed a hand on on her shoulder. "Rouge…" Sonic muttered. "Take this." Sonic handed her one of Shadow's Inhibitor Rings.

"Don't… I don't deserve it. Besides, I think you and Amy need it more than I do," Rouge sobbed.

"Amy? Why would Amy need—?" Sonic looked over to Knuckles. He held Amy in his arms. She was completely knocked out. "Ah… I see. Yo, Knux!" Sonic exclaimed. He gave Knuckles the Inhibitor Rings. "Put these on Amy's wrists. She's… okay, right?"

"She's breathing," Knuckles stated. He placed Amy down and put the Inhibitor Rings on her wrists. She returned to her usual color, but didn't open her eyes. "She should be fine… looks like she really over-exerted herself. She really put her all into helping out."

"I trust you, Knuckles," Sonic said, his eyes full of tears. He wiped them away. Knuckles now appeared flustered. "I really do. Thank you."

"Do you really think that Shadow was created to destroy us all?" Rouge asked Sonic, frustrated at fate itself. "Do you think he meant to kill everyone and everything over these fake memories?!" Sonic sighed.

"They weren't fake at all. He believed in them. Not once was he acting out of hate… he was acting out of love and care for what he believed in. That's what makes it all real," Sonic said. He looked out the window at Erius. His eyes were locked on the very spot that Shadow fell. "He was what he was, Rouge. A brave and heroic hedgehog… who gave his life for us all to have a second chance… Shadow the Hedgehog…" Sonic walked over to Tails. He stopped in place for a second, and turned to Rouge one last time. "Take care of yourself, okay? I have a feeling Shadow would want you to be happy." Rouge smiled a little, unable to speak without sobbing, and looked back at Erius.

"So… what are your plans for after we all go home?" Knuckles asked her. She looked up at him, her face was completely red.

"I think… I'm going to give up this line of work," Rouge replied, calming herself down. "I don't think I can show my face around GUN ever again." She fell silent. "What about you?"

"I'm going back to Angel Island," Knuckles sighed, crossing his arms. "I've been gone too long." He held up the Master Emerald. "I used the Master Emerald energy in the cannon's core to warp it out of the console, now it's time that it goes back to where it belongs."

"Can I… go with you? Back to your home?" Rouge asked, cuddling up to Knuckles.

"So you can steal the Master Emerald?!" Knuckles barked. "Nice try, bat girl!" Rouge grumbled frustratedly, instantly pulling herself away and turning her back to him.

"You're no fun," Rouge pouted.

"Yo, Tails! Almost ready to go back—?" Sonic asked. He lowered his hand from preparing for a high-five when he saw who Tails was talking to. He donned an expression of surprise and confusion.

"As a child, I looked up to my grandfather. He was like a dad to me," Eggman told Tails with a nostalgic tone to his voice. "He would invite me over when my parents were away— which was a lot, mind you—! We would spend days on end in our workshop creating nick-nacks and machines, and he would teach me how to design brilliant… and wonderful… machines!" Eggman took a short break from speaking, and sobbed while he smiled. "Some of the things we built back then were utterly useless! But that never mattered. I still keep some of them around somewhere, because they remind me of those rare good days in my childhood." He wiped his tears from his eyes, letting them soak into his gloves. He then frowned, as realization hit him like a bullet train. "Do you think he really wanted to destroy an entire continent?"

"I can't say," Tails replied. They stared at nothing for a moment. "You knowww, I looked up to you too when I was a kid. I still create machines to this very day because of those days." Eggman turned to Tails with a gross, loud sniffle. "Do you remember our workshop in Mecha Ruins?" Tails asked, laughing. "I think I built my first airplane there! Tell me you remember that!"

"... I do remember," Eggman blubbered, kneeling down and wrapping his arms around Tails. Sonic looked on, smiling. This sight was sweet… with only an aftertaste of bitterness. He scowled.

"Whoa…! Easy there, big guy!" Tails exclaimed, hugging Eggman back a little too. Eggman looked to Sonic, clearly distracted. The color drained from Sonic's face.

"And what are you doing, eavesdropping?" Eggman grumbled, sucking a tear back into his eye. "Can't you tell we're having a moment?"

"Oh, I'm doing nothing… eavesdropping… I'll just be going, now," Sonic stammered at incredible speeds. He zipped to the other side of the room.

"Hey, cheer up!" Eggman laughed. Sonic glanced at Eggman, disgustedly. "Come here, Sonic." Tails smiled Sonic's way.

"What do you want, Eggman?" Sonic asked, walking back over. "You want a rematch? You want to steal my power, or something?"

"What? I wouldn't do that. Not right now, at least," Eggman snickered, rubbing his hands together. "I just want to talk. It's been a while since we just talked."

"Yeah, it's kinda difficult when we're sworn enemies," Sonic replied, a smile forming on his mouth. He crossed his arms and hid his face.

"I miss our talks," Eggman mumbled. "I miss when you were my son, I miss the times before you ran away."

"... I can't say I share the sentiment," Sonic replied, shrugging. "Wish I did, but… A. those times sucked, and B. it hasn't even been long enough to miss them."

"It's been just over a year, Sonic," Eggman replied.

"Whaaat?! No!" Sonic denied it. "That's impossible!"

"It actually HAS been more than a year," Tails chuckled. "Time travels faster in Sonic Land, I suppose."

"Comes with the territory of 'fastest thing alive', Tails!" Sonic retorted. The three's collective laughter died down. "Maybe… there'll be a day when you can come around, doc. Maybe there'll be a day where we can go back to the way it used to be." Eggman looked down.

"Don't get used to this," Eggman warned him, running out of the room to hide his ugly crying face. "As soon as things get back to normal, I'll still be trying to take over the world!" Sonic laughed out his nose, and turned to Tails. They stood there, awkwardly. Amy, now awake, crept up on Sonic and tackled him to the floor in a hug. Tails jumped back.

"Sonic! We all did it! We won!" Amy exclaimed. "What were you talking about, over here?"

"Oh… it's nothing," Sonic sighed. "Shadow said something that's been bugging me… He said that he was destined to meet you both."

"That's right… Shadow said I had a destiny to fulfill," Tails recounted. "He said… you were holding me back from it, but I didn't believe him for a second!" Tails smiled, steadfast. Sonic's heart skipped a beat. The entire room turned cold.

"But… that's not right. He also said I was holding Light Gaia back before he and I fought," Sonic argued, his irises shrinking.

"Relax, he was probably just saying nonsense," Amy said. "How would he even know any of this for a fact?"

"Then why did he have this? Isn't this the Mutual Mandolin that Professor Pickle talked about?! One of the seven World Instruments?!" Sonic shouted, holding forward the mandolin Shadow gave him in his final moments. Tails and Amy looked at it in fear. "And Gerald knew about the planet splitting around this time, as well! He said the ARK would crash on the PIECE of the planet below, not the entire planet… Why would he know about all this if he was executed 50 years ago?"

Sonic and Amy looked to Tails, in shock and disbelief. Tails seemed equally frightened as they both opened their mouths to speak. "Tails, are you LIGHT GAIA?!"

…

A figure in a tattered black coat roamed the celebrating streets of Ccino, Spagonia. These people were so happy. They were so happy that the ARK had failed to collide with their neighboring continent. After all, had it actually hit, it would have led to a slow economic death for their country and many more. It could have led to fear and riots across the globe, no matter how fragmented it was at the moment. Besides, even if none of that was a concern, this town was simply compassionate. They would be devastated to see an entire continent get wiped out.

This was a compassion the thing in the tattered black coat could not understand.

It tried its best to sneak by the parade, it tried its best to make its movements look organic. But it failed. People were beginning to become suspicious and curious of it. Children were pulling at its trashy coat, despite their parents trying to keep them away. The walled city was not too familiar with such advanced machinery.

The robot in the coat kept its head down as it ran down a backwater path away from mainstreet, metal clattering through the alleyway. It rose its head, revealing itself to be one of the many children that had harassed it during the parade. "Finally… this will do," the doppelganger said.

It snuck into the university, through the front door and up the stairs. It took care to not make a sound, hovering a little bit above the floor with its shoes' jet thrusters to avoid letting anyone know it was there. This wasn't friendly territory for an Eggman-built machine. From inside one of the offices, it heard mumblings from a TV. Hesitating for a moment, it pressed its ear up to the door the sound came from.

"Due to aiding Sonic the Hedgehog and the Ultimate Lifeform in saving the Federal Continent, the United Federation has gone back on any intent to engage in war with the Eggman Empire for Eggman's terrorist attacks on Prison Island and the moon. However, Eggman is disqualified from coming to the White House and is not being offered any award. At the White House, the other contributors will be awarded with the titles of 'National Heroes'."

"Heroes, you say?" The doppelganger said out loud. Processing its error, it flew behind one of the pillars holding the ceiling up. It prepared for a sound, a door opening, perhaps a loud collective knocking, but…

It didn't come.

Its systems cooled down, and it proceeded to its destination. "Heroes… one by one, they'll all become a number as they fall," the robot estimated. It arrived at its destination. It opened the door to Professor Pickle's lab. It had been completely cleaned up after the supposed raid here. But there was one thing left intact. One thing that neither the GUN soldiers or the university janitors had noticed. A single blue quill underneath the sofa cushion, sparkling in the dark room.

The doppelganger extended a metal claw and picked the quill up, grasping it tightly.

"Sonic the Hedgehog biodata… successfully copied," Neo Metal Sonic said, the blue quill reflecting in his now crackling blue optics.

END OF "SONIC RUNAWAYS: MANIPULATED". JOIN AMY NEXT TIME FOR HER OWN ADVENTURE SET BETWEEN "RESTRAINED" AND "HEXED" IN SONIC RUNAWAYS: "HUNTED"...