Sonic GeneX - The Series: Zodiac in Time
Episode 8 - Musical Matrimony Part 2
Note: Sonic the Hedgehog and related characters are (c) SEGA and
Sonic Team. You knew that, right?
GeneX and related fanchars are (c) 2BIT (TheGreatGator), the author.
Kingdom Hearts and related concepts are (c) Disney & Square-Enix.
Previously on Sonic GeneX - The Series...
Rex's team in the past tracked the source of the Doomlings to what would one day become Demon Island. The place was crawling with Doomlings resembling prehistoric creatures. Astra decided to retreat in search of aid, but Rex is hearing voices, and will not stop his march forward...
Gemini, Carrie and Timothy have been imprisoned by the Zodiac Council, and are missing Punchy & Rainbow's wedding day.
Said wedding reached a disaster when Gunner arrived, claiming that the wedding party was harboring the fugitive Copter. Though Copter left with Cancer, Gunner did not leave. During an attack on the wedding by Gunner's forces, Felicia's glass eye was damaged. Seeing her eye injured, she began to slip into madness, her memories as Fera returning to her. Now, armed with the Chaos Cards, Fera seeks revenge upon Punchy for her "demise..."
Now, let's resume this musical tale...
Gemini and Timothy paced their shared cell while Carrie sat with her head against the bars of her separate, psychic-proof cell. They were trying to think of a way out of there. "Maybe they'll open the cell to clean up if one of you kills the other..." Carrie grumbled. "This isn't a joke, Carrie! I'm missing Rainbow's wedding!" Gemini sighed. "Oh, boo...hoo...hoooo ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!!" Gemini and Timothy turned as they heard the mocking laughter of Lospecter, who was carrying a smartphone and starting up a music player on it. "What a tangled web I weave..." the spirit smirked. Gemini stared at him. "How are you here?? What are you talking about!?" she stammered. Lospecter twirled the Chaos Key in his fingers. "This little baby got me here...and set my plan in motion. Ah, but why talk about it...when I can sing of my genius and your downfall!?" he cried, producing a long staff with a microphone on the end, along with a gaudy top hat that he popped onto his head!
"Oooohhh!! You can't beat time, can't stop your fate!
I'm an immortal slime, and you're a snack on my plate!
You thought you could ditch me, but I'm up in yo' head!
Now you'll waste in this cell, and I'll make your world un-dead!!"
Ya ta ta do da, spin 'round dat mic!
Ya ba ba bo ra, tip yo' hat, as ya like!
As this ghost sings and dances,
our heroes fear their chances,
are slippin' away like sand in hourglasses!
"Boy! And, girls! Listen to my gloat!
This is how I scammed ya, got yer goat!
Bouncin' 'cross other worlds, I found another you!
That subservient Gemini told me just what to do!"
Ya ta ta do da, pop through those bars!
Ya ba ba bo ra, they so close yet so fars!
"I learned yo' weakness, loyal to the very end!
You'd defy your own masters, all to save a friend!
So I proffered a hostage, that hapless young fawn...
Then I sat back and waited...for the fates to carry on, ooooooohhh!!"
Ya ta ta do da, spin 'round dat mic!
Ya ba ba bo ra, tip yo' hat, as ya like!
"You can't beat time, can't stop your fate!
I'm an immortal slime, and you're a snack on my plaaaaaate!"
Gemini glares, she don't know what to say,
but her heart feels too desperate, can't let 'em get away!
"My friends are no weakness!! My friends are my power!!
Lospecter, I'll stop you... For all time... Every hour!!!"
As Gemini cried out in protest to oppose Lospecter, desperate to fight back against the fate that he set in motion, knowing that her desire to save her friends would lead her here... As she cried out in determination to end Lospecter's schemes, something incredible happened. To everyone's shock, a pair of shimmering wings erupted from her back, a shockwave blasting from them that shattered the bars holding her and Timothy! Lospecter dropped his mic and picked up his smartphone. "Ah...hehe... And that's the shoooow!" he babbled, floating off through the wall to escape! Timothy stared in awe. "G-gemini... Y-you...you can use magic without your wand!!" he stammered. Gemini looked around in utter shock. "Uh, hey! Care to break me out, too!?" Carrie asked. Gemini ran over. "Morphicadabra!" she cried, turning the bars into a bunch of limp noodles! Carrie shrugged. "Or, you know, an unlocking spell?" she chuckled. Timothy chuckled softly. "Let's find our wands anyway... I can't do magic without mine!" he said. "Right! Then, off to the wedding!" Gemini said, "Then... We finish what we started... Right?" she asked. Timothy and Carrie shrugged. "We'll figure that out later. Lospecter planned for us to get caught." Timothy said. Gemini frowned. "You're right... Maybe we should think it over..." she sighed, wondering how Rex's group was faring in the past...
Fighting their way past incredible odds, Rex's group soon reached the center of this land of demons. There, they came upon a horrifying sight. A massive creature covered in bulging eyeballs, even its writhing tentacles that were extending to choke the life out of them! "This must be it! The leader...the source of the Doomlings!" Monty gasped. As the eye-covered tentacles flailed at them, so began a desperate battle. The creature seemed generally impervious, and evading its many tentacles was proving very difficult. Fortunately, Astra soon arrived with Radia following. "Great Light Gaia! This is...a true monster!" Astra stammered. Radia saw each member of Rex's group separately fending off the tentacles with their Chaos Relics. "Friends! Listen! You must focus! Combine your powers! It's the only way you can stop this monstrosity!" she shouted. Rex slashed through a tentacle, finding two more immediately growing to take its place. "V-very well! Back up, team! We must focus together!" he proclaimed. William began to run circles around the creature with the Chaos Boots to distract it while the others backed up. They focused on the energy within their Chaos Relics and on their common goal...each relic began to glow! Monty fired powerful shots from his fist using the Gauntlets! Luna made a mighty slash with the Claws, creating a shockwave of energy! Bard pointed his key and fired a beam of light! Spiro focused, causing vines to erupt and tangle the creature using his Chaos Crown! Astra took up the Chaos Cards and hurled several at the beast, the cards becoming balls of sacred flame to strike at the creature! Finally, Rex pointed the Chaos Sword and unleashed a wave of Chaos Spears! Their attacks combined and rained upon the Doomling beast, until it roared out and vanished in a giant flash of light! Ceasing their attacks, the team caught their breath before giving a cheer. It was a bit soon to be sure that they'd won, but it seemed like a moment worth celebrating. Gunther crept up behind Radia, shivering. "Is it safe yet?" he babbled. Radia smiled. "I think we'll be safe from now on. The team seems to have this hero thing down, finally!" she said. Bard took out his lute and found a tree stump on the edge of the clearing where they'd fought. "After all this fighting, I think a song is in order! Don't you?" he smiled. "Sure, I'm startin' to love your dumb songs!" Spiro smirked. "Don't call my mate dumb!" Luna growled at him. As they all started to relax, Bard began to play his lute...
"We've been through everything, together we've done it all.
We've faced many enemies, and we've watched each of them fall!
Times have been tough, but after all we've been through,
I know now, in my heart, I can always count on you!"
"We've faced tragedy, we've lost our way, but we kept the faith...
You've walked with me, laughed and cried with me, as we passed through the days...
Our bonds have grown stronger, an unbreakable team!
We walk our path as one, a single shared dream!"
"Now the end is in sight, our triumph is at hand!
Our journey's all but over, no more travels 'cross the land!
It's all been so much, but after all we've been through,
I know forever, in my heart, I can always count on you!"
The team clapped for Bard's song. "That might have been your best song yet!" William smiled. "Err... It was...long." Radia murmured. A few members of the group got a chuckle from that. Rex had a grim look on his face, however. "It is time... You can be everlasting... Join us... Join us!!" He could no longer ignore the voices in his head. Rex calmly walked to Luna, and suddenly struck her head with the hilt of his sword from behind! "R-rex!! What are you doing!?" Bard stammered. Rex took Luna in his arms and began to run from the team. "Try to stop me, and she dies! If you wish for eternal life, however... Meet me at the dragon temple!" he shouted, rushing out of sight. The team was in utter shock. William began to run after Rex straight away. "What are you-?!" Monty shouted. "He's got a point. We've fought death long enough. Eternal life, guys! Eternal LIFE!!" William shouted, clearly taking Rex's side. The others looked at one another nervously. "What's happened to our leader??" Astra stammered. "I dunno. Finally lost it?" Spiro shrugged. Monty stepped forward. "You heard him. We have to get to the dragon temple...if we wanna stop this!" he proclaimed.
Fera ignored any attempt by Sonic, Knuckles or anyone to talk her down, and quickly started tossing Chaos Cards to unleash attacks upon the guests! Some exploded on impact, tossing away Talon, Zipp and anyone else that had gotten too close. More unsettling was that some of the cards landed on the ground and began to form pools of darkness around them. The Tails that Lucky brought with him jumped in alarm as his darkness detector went off. "Oh, dear... Just what we need... Lucky! That wolf is starting to summon Heartless!" he warned. "What the heck's a Heartless??" Punchy asked. "I think I know...and it's not good." Bucky grunted. Shadows, Yellow Operas, Powerwilds and other heartless varieties were emerging from the cards, and Fera seemed pleased by the results as the guests were chased back by them! Lucky leapt into action, his keyblade appearing in his hands as he slashed first at a monkey-like Powerwild as it went for a trembling Tommy! "Whew! Th-thanks...!" he gasped. "Anything for an old pal!" Lucky winked. Whisk flew up and began to shoot fire down at the heartless from her wand as well. "Hey, at least she hasn't called anything big! Gak!!" she gasped as she crashed into something invisible. It was a Stealth Sneak, a heartless chameleon. "Hey! Don't mock usss, beassst!" Vortex hissed, joined by Espio in racing to combat the fiend. Espio tossed some shurikens at the creature, but they seemed to do little damage. "The church will be damaged if we fight in here..." he murmured. Sonic was busy bonking one heartless after another with homing attacks, but he realized this problem as well. "Let's take this outside!" he shouted, racing for the door. "But what about Gunner?" Tails stammered. "Go THROUGH him if ya have to!" Kosmo yelled. Rainbow grabbed Punchy by the hand as they joined the others in rushing for the outside. "Stay close to me, One... I'll keep you calm. Dark One won't get control of you today!" she said. Punchy saw a shadow in their path and kicked it aside. "These things feel like they're trying to goad me into it...but you're right, Rainbow. You'll keep my head on straight!" he smirked. Fera saw her foes escaping and growled. "Oh, running away, Punchy? So unlike you. What happened to that rage! That raw power!! Come on, show me the monster! Finish the job, or I'll finish you!!" she roared, starting to warp short distances as she chased after them! Maybe her powers had gone unused so long that she needed a warm up...the heartless would likely aid her in restoring her dark power to normal quickly, however!
GUN was busy detaining late arrivals to the wedding prior to Fera's attack. Uncle Chuck and Mighty had arrived late, and Gunner was thinking of using them to trade for Copter or something. Shadow seemed displeased with this course of action. "We can't just hold random citizens who have no idea why we're even holding them." he said gruffly. Gunner had his eyes fixed on the church doors. "Why not? Their friends are in our way." he stated. Uncle Chuck had his hands on his hips and a sour look on his face. "Whatever this is, don't try to justify it! You saw us fight alongside you to stop Eggman mere months ago! What'll it take for you to ever trust us?" he snapped. Suddenly, shouts were heard as the church doors opened and the guests fled out, chased by the heartless! "Maybe if you freaks don't bring trouble every time you gather! Robots, round 'em up!!" Gunner ordered. Shadow glared at him before warping away. Lucky, Whisk and their shield-toting Tails companion hung back to fend off the heartless as the others dashed past them. However, Fera warped right past them as well! "Hey! Hold it! You need to stop summoning these things!" Lucky shouted, only for Fera to ignore him and head into the streets while Whisk zapped a powerwild that was about to pummel him! "Focus, Lucky!" she shouted. GUN's robots were heading out to round up the wedding guests, surrounding weaker folks like Tommy, Katie and Bill. Sonic leapt in to knock out some of the beetle robots, but hunters dropped in ready to fire as well! It was then that Shadow appeared between them and grunted. "Chaos Spear!!" He took out the hunters swiftly with several spears to their heads as Sonic landed beside him. "Oooh, Sonic and Shadow working together! What a story! Can I get a statement!?" Katie asked, getting a pad and pen ready. Tommy grabbed her by the arm. "Let's get safe, Kate!!" he groaned. Sonic chuckled softly at Shadow. "Don't say I told you so, Sonic. Let's just deal with this..." Shadow sighed. Meanwhile, Punchy and Rainbow's escape was halted by Fera, who clutched the Chaos Cards tightly and glared at the echidna with her good eye. "Where did you even get that Despair uniform so fast? Eheh..." Punchy babbled. Fera ignored that. "Where are you going, coward? We need to talk about this apparent brainwashing you had me under...and by talk, I mostly mean I talk while removing your head from your body!" she snarled. Rainbow clutched Punchy's hand. "One did nothing to you! Except defend himself from you! Sure, we could have helped you get your memory back, but can you really tell us you wouldn't act this way anyhow!?" she shouted. Fera tossed an exploding card at the pair of them, forcing them back! "Enough! You took everything from me, echidnas!! Now I'll do the same to you!!" she growled.
Chaos was erupting in the streets. Gunner seemed to have an endless supply of robots, and there were heartless swarming about to boot. Fortunately, there were heroes everywhere. Rouge and Omega joined Shadow in turning on GUN, and the bat found herself kicking at Guard in midair. "Rrrr... Sorry, sorry... I can't help but obey the boss..." Guard whimpered. "What have you got to be sorry for? I'm the one that's gonna knock you out!" Rouge smirked. As Illusi summoned Wrongos to beat up some heartless, Bucky stood behind him and zapped some GUN hunters. "I still don't like you..." Bucky murmured. "That's fair... That's my daughter fighting our son." Illusi muttered, making Bucky raise an eyebrow. "Don't call him OUR son!!" he snapped. Knuckles was slashing some shadows with the Chaos Claws, growling a bit. "About time these claws pulled their weight!" he huffed. Chet ran by and slashed some more enemies quickly with his natural claws, stopping beside Knuckles before retracting said claws. "...You just did that to piss me off." Knuckles frowned. During all this, Gemini was arriving with Timothy and Carrie. "What on earth...?" she murmured. "Did we cause some time travel oopsie?" Timothy whimpered. "Silver!!" Carrie called, seeing him carrying some GUN beetles with his psychokinesis. "How did you even?? Never mind, lend a hand!" Silver called. Gemini took a deep breath. "Let's see if I can continue to use magic without my wand..." she murmured. However, the Deathbringer suddenly landed in front of her! "Oh, snap!" Carrie yelped. The Deathbringer removed her hood, appealing to Gemini as Libra. "I've been sent to bring you in. You didn't think they wouldn't notice your escape, did you?" she asked. Gemini pouted. "You're not my sister. My sister wouldn't throw me in jail for trying to help people...help everyone!" she protested. Libra looked saddened for a moment. "You think I want this? I don't...have a choice..." she whimpered. "Then why don't I take your choice away?" Turning around, the group saw Aries approaching in his full armor...Copter had returned! "What do you want now?" Timothy stammered. Aries spun his staff and pointed it at Libra. "I'm here to secure Gemini's escape... In exchange for information she saw in the book. Obviously snake-boy's got the book now." he said. Libra charged a deadly bolt in her hand. "Is this worth dying over, Copter? Stay out of this!" she growled. Gemini panted with anxiety, and then shouted at both of them. "No more fighting!! Listen to me!!" she cried, her glowing wings returning! Aries and Libra backed up a step in surprise. "...You've achieved your Divine power..." Libra gasped. Aries clutched his staff. "Good. You can help knock out the Deathbringer..." he grunted. Neither side wanted to listen. A fight seemed inevitable...
A battle in the street, friends turned foes now meet!
Fighting one another until one or all fall in defeat!
Our magic-slinging heroine tries to hold back the fray,
But spells and blasts and bolts fly by, hitting where they may!
Gemini; "Please stop this, my friends, can't you see this isn't right!
I care so much for both of you, don't make me watch you fight!"
Libra; "I can't stop, my master says you both need to pay!
I have no choice, I'll hurt your friend if he stays in my way!"
Aries; "If it's war they want, it's war they will get!
I won't let them hurt you, Gem; I'll crush them all yet!"
A clash! Staff on power! Two fliers fight with their heart!
A flash! A beam of light! Gemini forces them apart!
Not far, wolf and echidna face a meeting of fate!
Darkness charged cards explode around them in a blaze of hate!
Rainbow; "I don't know if she hears me, the good wolf inside!
We became your friends, don't do this! We let your past slide!"
Fera; "Silence, don't try to confuse me! I know who I am!
You can no longer abuse me! Let all of you be damned!!"
Punchy; "Felicia, are you in there? We want our friend back, please!
Your darkness is not welcome! Fera, you just leave!!"
Chaos Avalanche! Punchy fights back, chunks of earth flying at his foe!
Fera crumbles it with dark blasts, the dark power of her hateful woe!
Each side of this battle stays fierce, as allies watch nervous from the side.
From the emotional weight of this showdown, there isn't any place to hide!
Timothy & Carrie; "Gemini, hang in there, don't give in!"
Aries; "I cannot fail anymore, I must always win!"
Silver; "I wish I could help, so much danger in my path..."
Libra; "No force on this earth escapes my deadly wrath!"
Gemini; "I did everything to help you both, can't you seeeeee!?
Sister, Copter... I love you, you're everything to me!"
Illusi; "Fera, calm yourself, there's no reason for your rage!"
Sonic; "Felicia, come back to us, I thought we'd turned this page!"
Fera/Felicia; "You're getting in my head... What's this person inside me!?"
Punchy & Rainbow; "You're not a bad wolf, you and I can plainly see!"
Fera/Felicia; "You can't confuse me...can't lose me... I won't be dumped!!
.....But we're friends, aren't we...? We...still...can...fist bump..."
Holding her head, Fera noticed Sonic approaching her as Punchy, Rainbow and Illusi stood back. She had a clearly confused look on her face. "I... what am I...?" she saw a desperate Sonic extend his fist to her, hoping for the old rookie to come through and return to them. Fera began to lightly smile, and gave him a fist bump. "So...nic... Fancy seeing you here..." she sighed. "Felicia?" Punchy gasped softly. Suddenly, lasers scattered Punchy, Rainbow and Illusi, while Sonic turned only to get tackled aside by Guard! Gunner was heading straight for Fera with hate in his eyes. "Never mind Experiment 2...I've got a score to settle with you!" he snarled. Suddenly, the hate returned to Fera's eye. "So do I!!" she growled, swinging up a Chaos Card at the arm that Gunner was using to pull a gun on her! With a howl of pain and a flash of light, it was seen that the card had become a blade, slicing off Gunner's arm and sending him backing up into the panicked arms of Spy! "G-get me the HELL out of here!!" Gunner wailed. When Punchy, Rainbow and Illusi looked back at Fera, she warped away, this time escaping entirely. A tear dropped from Illusi's eye. "Fera... Not again..." he sniffled. Sonic stood up with a frown as Guard rushed to aid his master. "Felicia... Have we lost you?" he sighed.
The heartless vanished with Fera, and GUN's forces were retreating with Gunner needing medical attention. Aries and Libra were still grappling, though. "I have to protect Gemini...from you!!" Aries growled. "And who will protect her from you? Or Ophiuchus? Or..." Before she could finish, Silver pulled them apart with his psychokinesis. "That's enough! Phew! Glad GUN's out of the way!" he panted. Gemini crossed her arms as both her friends were placed on the ground. "I don't need protecting. You two do, from each other!" she scolded them. They both looked at the ground. "Gemini..." Libra sighed, "...I'm tired of obeying the council. I want to be strong...like you." she sniffled. Aries looked at her and sighed, removing his helmet. He looked conflicted. "I've been a jerk... Truth be told... I kinda wanted to be stronger, too. Like...her." he sighed. Gemini's expression softened. "I'm nothing special, you two." she said. Copter shook his head. "No, you are... Very special. And... I wanted to be strong enough to protect you..." he sighed, "And Punchy and Rainbow, too. Losing my tailband made me feel so weak...so I went to Cancer to get stronger... I'm sorry." he said. Libra held a paper to Gemini. "Take this...the missing page from Bard's book. Change the past, and change everyone's fate. You can save us from going down these dark paths...save Timothy from the Lost Ones...save the future!" she said. Silver crossed his arms, looking uncertain, but Carrie smiled and winked. "After the wedding, of course! And you two are coming, riiight?" she smirked. Copter and Libra nodded, and while everyone started gathering back at the church, Timothy tapped Gemini's shoulder. "...You were right... Copter's a good guy. I'm sorry I doubted your trust in him." he said. Gemini shrugged. "I've been known to make mistakes. No biggie." she smiled.
Everyone seemed a bit down after all that, and the idea of going on with the wedding seemed crazy considering the fact that the police would likely stick around, wanting to get statements from everyone, and news crews might show up to harass them, too. It's not every day Sonic gets in a fight with GUN right in the streets. Sighing in frustration as he sat down, Punchy shrugged. "Maybe we ought to just elope, huh, Rainbow?" he asked. Rainbow shrugged. "Feels a shame, after everyone came here for us..." she murmured. Gemini was standing nearby, looking thoughtful. "Heeey... Timothy, how's your memory?" she asked. Timothy shrugged. "Mind's like a steel trap. Why?" he asked. Smiling, Gemini took Rainbow's hand. "C'mon, you two! I know where we should move this party! We'll get you married yet!" she said. The priest cleared his throat. "I'm not going anywhere. If you don't get married by a priest in a church, understand, it doesn't count." he said in a snooty tone. "Says who?" came the voice of Fred, who stepped over with Adam, Evelyn and Cuthburt following him. Gemini backed up a step. "Ahh... Teacher?? Are you here to...?" she asked nervously. Fred glanced at Copter and Libra who were chatting calmly with Silver, Carrie and Talon nearby. "At times... it can be difficult to reconcile...what one is expected to do, with what is right. But if you all can put it aside to attend this wedding, so can I. And if you need someone to perform the wedding, well... I did become an ordained minister last year." he grinned. Punchy and Rainbow stood up smiling. "Thank you... I have no idea what's going on between all of you, but I'll never forget this!" Punchy said. "WE won't forget it!" Rainbow added, and turned around. "Everyone! Follow me!! We're moving this wedding outta here!"
Gemini led everyone down to Rainbow's old home: Hidden Ruins. Not so hidden anymore, and now ravaged by human archaeologists pillaging the last remnants of her Raisol heritage. It was a sad sight. "This...is a far cry from a church..." Lucky murmured. "You know, we coulda just gone to Shadow Arc!" Zipp remarked. Gemini whispered something into Timothy's ear before addressing the group. "C'mon, guys...trust me! Go ahead, Tim!" she said. Timothy clutched his wand and took a deep breath before waving it broadly. "Memorewindra!!" he spoke, and with his spell, sparkling lights emanated from his wand, traveling throughout the entirety of the Hidden Ruins! Everyone watched in awe as the underground echidna city began to be restored before their very eyes, the sparkling lights erasing the damage and decay and replacing it with shine and splendor! Timothy was giving them a look at what he saw when he visited this place in the past, and Rainbow's face lit up to see her childhood home looking like new! "Welcome, everyone... to Raisol Sanctuary!" Gemini announced! Rainbow suddenly hugged her. "You two win the prize for best wedding present!" she sniffled, "Err... Sorry, Pinky..." she said to Amy, who shrugged it off. "It's beautiful... I... I'm so happy for you!!" she said, starting to cry.
The guests assembled into chairs at the temple where Rainbow used to live, and finally, Rainbow got to walk down an aisle, this time with Illusi by her side to give the bride away. Fred smiled once Punchy and Rainbow were side by side. "Let us begin... Dearly beloved..."
We gather...to celebrate...two hearts combined as one.
Two of a kind, friends to the end, but their path has only just begun.
Yet somehow, they've already been through everything a duo could ever go through!
And now here they stand across from each other, waiting to say, yes I do!
It hasn't been easy getting here, and yet, at the same time it has.
No matter the danger, no matter the test, together they always did pass.
We gather now to celebrate as two hearts join together as one.
Unbreakable bond, lighting the dark, as their journey together's begun...
"May we have the rings, please?" Charmy flitted over to hand Punchy and Rainbow their rings. "Hehe, so 'Knuckles', how ya gonna wear your ring with those big 'ol gloves?" he teased. Punchy rolled his eyes and removed a glove to show his fingers. "He...has fingers!!" Knuckles gasped, "...I can't remember the last time I saw my fingers!" Sonic sighed and shook his head. "We get it Knux, those Claws are stuck. Boo hoo." Rainbow chuckled and removed her own glove to imitate Punchy, and they slipped their rings onto their bare fingers. Fred chuckled softly. "By the power vested in me, I now pronounce you echidna and wife. You may kiss the bride." he smiled. Punchy blushed, and Rainbow giggled. "Don't get shy on me now... Pu-" As she was about to speak his name, Punchy grabbed her and kissed her deeply and passionately, dipping her in his arms as the witnesses clapped. "Mazel Tov!" Bucky shouted. "Hey, Punch, you stopped her from saying it!" Copter snickered. As the kiss ended, Punchy stroked Rainbow's hair and smirked. "Call me that in private, okay? Hehe, we don't gotta change everything about our relationship!" he winked. Rainbow giggled. "Whatever you say, One!"
And so, they had a bit of a party to celebrate the finally wedded couple! Amy was a little bummed that the caterer couldn't find them, but Bill had them covered with some Neon Tavern drinks at least. "So, uh, how long does this spell last, Timmy?" Rainbow asked after a bit. "Uhhh..." he mumbled, glancing at Gemini, "It's permanent. It's a very powerful spell, but it only works if the user's memory is recent...or particularly strong." she said. Punchy scratched his head. "I wonder if we can move back down here?" he said. Ridley stepped over to answer that. "Legally, Rainbow's family has a claim on this land. When it was just Rainbow it was easy for the government to just trample her, but with Violet on board and you married into things, you could make a louder case." he said. Vortex was nearby chatting with Whisk. "Sssso... Video gamesss? Medieval kingdomsss? Are you sssure you have to go back to that...?" he asked. Whisk nodded. "We still haven't found the Sonic for our other Tails friend. Not to mention Zeke is making a mess out there." she said. "I'm surprised he didn't crash the wedding!" Lucky added, "Hey, are they bringing in the wedding cake!? Sweeet!!" he cheered, rushing over to Vector who was carefully carrying it. Uncle Chuck was talking to Mighty, as well. "Glad you're doin' well." Chuck murmured. "Yup, things are looking up now that I'm back in touch with 'ol Ray..." Mighty smirked. Sonic walked by and smiled. "Heeey, how are the roomies?" he asked. Chuck shrugged. "Mighty moved out a while ago, Sonic. It's kinda lonely. Lemme know if you're ready to move back in!" he said. Sonic nodded, looking at Tails for a moment. "It's lonely for Tails, too, Unc... I'm not sure where to go..." he sighed. Gator and Big were arguing as they walked up to Rainbow. "It's pronounced booo-cuay!" Gator murmured. "That doesn't sound right... Flowers for the bride to throw!" Big said, handing them to Rainbow. "Oh! This part! Okay, girls!! I'm gonna toss the bouquet!!" she announced. Amy pushed past a number of girls including Shade and Blaze as she tried to get a prime spot to catch it. "I'm next!! Finally, Sonic's gonna marry me!" Amy said excitedly. Sonic spit his drink and raced to the scene as Rainbow was tossing the bouquet. He sped Amy far away, and instead it was Whisk who found the flowers falling right into her arms, even though she wasn't much trying for them! "I...uhh...whaaaa?" she gasped. Vortex and Lucky both looked at her awkwardly, then at each other.
The party would eventually wind down, and everyone would head their separate ways. Copter and Libra would go back to their dark masters. Gemini would return to the past. Lucky would return to his own quest, and Punchy and Rainbow would begin their honeymoon. All of this while Gunner and Fera contend with their own fates. But these are stories for another day. For now, our song is sung...
To be continued...
"Sow a seed in the ground and let it know,
It's something special.
Let it bloom, let its flowers ever bloom.
Many friends, gather as emotions grow,
And great power starts to flow!
You, have not lost a thing,
Whatever may come,
The light of hope is always shining there in your heart.
You've not lost a thing,
Whatever you do,
Just know that your tomorrow will be waiting for you.
Never have to give up,
Wherever you go,
Know inside that you will never be there alone.
Haven't lost anything,
Whatever may come,
The light of hope is always shining there in your heart." - The Light of Hope, Sonic Forces
