Hey guys! Obviously this chapter is meant to close off the book, so there's no crazy action. So this is basically a filler chapter, just for fun and to give a nice relaxing closure.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy the final chapter of the story!

• • •

It was a beautiful day. The sun was shining brightly, a soft breeze was blowing against the rustling leaves in the trees, and most importantly, there was no deity that was trying to wipe out all of time and space, and the null space-rift was gone. Everything seemed to be back to normal.

Well, except for Soleanna. The part of Blaze's dimension still remained on Mobius, but that wasn't much of an issue since the princess could easily send that chunk of land and herself back into her own dimension.

For the rest of that afternoon, Sonic and his friends helped the feline round up everyone who was from her dimension to Soleanna so it would be easier to transport everyone home. Luckily the villagers didn't wander off too far, especially since Mobius is unknown territory to them and it would be risky to go far. Even Eggman helped a little with rounding the townsfolk up (with his own strange methods—), and after that, he just left to his base in White Acropolis to brainstorm ideas for his next plan.

Once everyone who lived in Soleanna was back in their respective town, Blaze made one final check. She asked all the citizens to check if all of their families, friends, and neighbors that lived in the city were there. As everyone was checking again, the feline turned to Sonic and his friends, who were standing there with her.

"I can't thank you all enough for your help," the princess lowered her head as if to bow.

"Of course," Sonic smiled. "Why wouldn't I help a good friend of mine?

"And despite the world nearly ending," Tails chuckled, "It was still great to see you again!"

Blaze smiled, grateful for the friends she has. If she hadn't met Sonic before this adventure, who knew if there would even be a world anymore. She couldn't have saved all of time and space on her own.

"Likewise," the feline replied.

She looked at all of the friends before her. Everyone that was in the time space rift— except Eggman— was there, smiling at each other for a job well done. Blaze took a deep breath and cleared her throat.

"Um, as a thank you, I'm inviting you all to the ceremony in my dimension," the princess said, standing in a professional manner.

"Really?" Amy gasped excitedly.

"Of course," Blaze smiled politely, "But if you don't wish to attend, that's alright— though I would like to see you all when we're not dealing with a multiversal crisis."

There were a few chuckles with the princess's last comment.

"I wouldn't miss it for the world," Sonic grinned. "And besides," he lifted the cyan Chaos Emerald, "I'm kinda required to be there."

"Right," Blaze teased, "You don't have a choice."

"I'll definitely be there, hun," Rouge winked. She grabbed Shadow by the arm. "And I'm making sure he comes with."

Shadow rolled his eyes, but a small smile appeared on his face.

"I think it's safe to say most of us will be there," Sonic laughed. "So until then?"

"Yes," Blaze nodded with a smile. "The flame should be fully white by later tomorrow, so maybe arrive at noon."

"Gotcha," the hedgehog nodded.

"Well, until tomorrow, everyone," Blaze waved.

Everyone bid the princess farewell and stepped off the island. Blaze closed her eyes, and the Sol Emeralds swirled round her as the whole city of Soleanna was surrounded by a glowing orange aura. The rest of the friends watched as the island was transported back to the Sol Dimension. The city disappeared in a flash of light, and the bay of Wave Ocean was finally back to its previous state.

While the other Mobians started talking about their own preparations for the ceremony, Silver tapped Sonic on the shoulder. The blue hedgehog turned around with a smile on his face, ready to listen.

"Hey," the white hedgehog laughed nervously. "I know I've apologized already, but I'm still so sorry for all of this. It's all my fault Mephiles was set loose and that I let him manipulate me. I caused a real mess, didn't I? Heheh..."

"Silver," Sonic raised a brow, smirking, "None of this was your fault. If anything, I think you helped prevent the Flames of Disaster. We got the happy ending because you were here to help us face Solaris." The hedgehog began to chuckle. "I would've been permanently dead!"

The two hedgehogs shared a laugh. At least they weren't enemies now.

"Thanks again, Sonic," Silver said. "Especially for you and Blaze helping me defeat Iblis in the future. I should probably return to there to help repair the damage and all."

"You're not planning to come to the ceremony?" Sonic asked.

Silver blinked twice, his hazel eyes wide.

"I-I... I'm invited?"

"You heard her," Sonic smiled at him. "She's inviting all of us here as thanks. And don't worry about getting back home. I can use Chaos Control, and Tails can help come up with a way for you to get back home and maybe even visit us from time to time!"

The white hedgehog couldn't help but laugh.

"Heh, okay then!" Silver exclaimed. "I guess I should stay here until tomorrow then." He paused, and his smile grew wider. "I'm glad I made some friends, I wasn't expecting that."

Sonic grinned as he nudged Silver with his elbow. "Glad that I metcha too, buddy. Even though you tried to kill me."

Once again, the two hedgehogs chuckled. Silver turned and saw Amy talking to Rouge and Omega.

"Speaking of nearly killing you," the white hedgehog sighed, "There's someone else I've gotta apologize to. Again, thanks for the help!"

Sonic winked at the psychokinetic hedgehog as he walked over to the hero's number one fangirl. Amy noticed Silver coming her way and she smiled nervously. Omega and Rouge turned towards each other and started their own conversation.

"Hi Amy," Silver smiled shyly. "Um, I wanna apologize again for nearly killing Sonic—"

"No no no," Amy shook her head violently, her face a bright shade red. "I'm the one who should be apologizing. I didn't know you were tricked and I immediately assumed you were a bad person! I didn't even bother listening to your side of the story. So you have nothing to be sorry for. I'm sorry that I panicked and lashed out at you."

Silver blinked twice, surprised with her sudden response. He blushed a little bit.

"Ahaha, it's all good..!" He scratched the back of his neck. "Um, I also wanna thank you for being my first friend here, even though you did end up running away from me later, heh."

"Aww, I was your first friend here?" The pink hedgehog beamed, blushing. "I'm glad you consider me a friend of yours!"

While the two hedgehogs talked and Team Sonic also conversed, Shadow looked around, his arms folded, relieved that everything was back to normal. He couldn't help but just barely smile. Had this not happened, he would've been sealed away, possibly dead, if the future that Omega saw in Mephiles's vision was true.

"Glad to see you're happy."

The black hedgehog turned to see Rouge, smirking at him, her other hand in her hip. Omega was just behind her.

"So are you going to that celebration?" Rouge asked. "Because you know what I'm gonna say if you refuse."

"I know," Shadow exhaled. "Either way, I do intend on going."

"Oh?" The white back raised a brow, an interested smirk on her face. "That's quite a surprise. I thought I'd have to drag you there."

A short and light exhale escaped Shadow, as if he chuckled for a second.

"I owe that cat one," he closed his eyes. "She's getting rid of the very being that caused the Flames of Disaster in the bad future. She's ensuring we keep this happy ending."

Rouge smiled at her friend, and then she looked up at Omega. Omega was also glad that this ending happened. If it didn't, like Mephiles told him, he'd end up sealing Shadow away.

"Alright then," the bat nodded, both of her hands on her hips.

"Rouge!" Amy shouted excitedly, joining the trio with the other boys following behind. "We should go shopping for a dress for the ceremony!"

"Yes we should," Rouge grinned. Then an idea popped in her head, and she smiled at the boys mischievously. "You boys are coming with."

"Aha... uhh, I'm gonna pass..!" Sonic chuckled nervously.

"Count me out," Shadow raised his hand slightly.

"Same," Knuckles folded his arms.

"No! You three are coming with!" Amy placed her hands on her hips.

Silver couldn't help but laugh. As the girls kept pushing for Sonic, Shadow, and Knuckles to join them, the white hedgehog thought about where he'd be now if he hadn't travelled to the past. As much as he hated to admit it, he had to thank Mephiles for what he did. He's the one who made Silver go back in time to fix the future. Of course, he told him the wrong information, but even so, everything turned out well in the end. This is the happiest result he could've asked for— new friends, the demise of a manipulator, and of course, a better future.

• • •

It was around noon the next day. Since the day before, when Soleanna was back in its own respective dimension, the citizens worked hard to help prepare for the festival, as the Flame of Iblis would have to be blown out the next day— not a false alarm this time, thankfully. Other cities visited Soleanna as well, not just because of the ceremony, but also because of what happened three days prior. Soleanna disappeared in a flash, and of course all the news stations wanted to know what happened. Interviewers were coming in left and right, and unfortunately for the townsfolk of Soleanna, they had to take care of them while preparing for the second attempt of the celebration.

Once again, just like she did that night, Blaze got ready for the celebration. She wore the same thing— a beautiful, white slim dress with some gold patterns, a gold necklace that matched her eyes, and white heels with golden details. Even though she didn't like to be fancy, the princess smiled as she looked at herself in the mirror. She wasn't smiling because of her appearance, but rather because she knew that this time, it will be better. The ceremony won't be ruined this time. She knew it— especially since her friends would be there in case anything does go wrong.

She'll be able to save her dimension properly.

Meanwhile, a portal opened up in the forest near the city. From it, several Mobians and a robot hopped out, all nicely dressed for the occasion. Well, the girls were at least fancier.

Amy and Rouge went all out for just this one ceremony. The pink hedgehog wore a lovely yellow a-line dress with pink and white designs along the rim and upper waist. She also put her hair up, showing off a cute ponytail. As for the white bat, she wore a long dark slit one-shoulder dress. Her eyeshadow was a dark pink this time, and she wore studded earrings to match her bracelets and other jewelry.

As for the boys, the girls made them wear nice shirts with a rose clipped onto their chest, as if they were going to some sort of wedding. Of course, Sonic and Knuckles protested the most, but Tails and Silver convinced the two. Even Omega had a rose attached to his metal chest, but because he was so big and also a robot, the girls didn't make him wear anything other than the flower.

As the heroes began to walk towards the city, Silver jogged up to Sonic, who was also in the back of the group.

"I feel kinda awkward being here," Silver whispered to him. "I don't even know her that well, and yet she invited me..!"

The blue hedgehog grinned at him.

"Blaze is trying to open up to more people," he told Silver. "And it seems she opened up to you as well. I mean, we all helped each other save our homes— she did say this was a 'thank you,' heheh."

Silver exhaled and smiled a little. "I guess so."

"Sonic!" Tails shouted from ahead. "You have the Chaos Emeralds, right?"

"You bet!" The blue hedgehog grinned, holding up the cyan one with Mephiles inside.

"Alright, good," Tails beamed. "Then to the castle we go!"

Along the way, the crew could see all the last minute preparations being made. Flags were being hung up, and food stands for the after party were being set up. The large lake in the middle of the city glistened in the sunlight, and people were redecorating the buildings nearby and the shores of the body of water. There was also a large boat, and Sonic recognized it as the same one that Blaze fought Eggman on the first day her city was teleported to Mobius. He smiled, glad that there was no major damage done to the lift.

"Ah! Look how pretty everything is!" Amy geeked out. "Oh, Soleanna decorated like this is gorgeous!"

"It sure is nice when the city's in its own dimension and not ours," Knuckles snickered.

After some time, the Mobians made it to the small castle. While this wasn't Blaze's home city, Soleanna did have an ancient castle that the princess stayed in while she was visiting. The city did have ties to the royal family even from ancient times, after all. The group looked around, examining their surroundings with awe. This is of course because they've never seen Blaze's home dimension, and obviously while saving the world, never got to explore the city of Soleanna.

A servant greeted them, welcoming them inside. She told the heroes that the ceremony will actually take place in a couple hours, but in the meantime, they could enjoy the festivities outside. Before they left to enjoy themselves, the servant also told them the bishop would like to meet the people who helped save the world. And with perfect timing, the bishop, a brown wolf, just walked in. Silver smiled as he recognized him.

"You never came back to tell me our princess is safe, young man," the bishop winked.

"Yeah, I'm sorry about that, so much was going on," Silver laughed. "But it's good to see you, sir!"

"Likewise," the brown wolf smiled. He turned to face everyone else. "I want to thank you all for helping return our city to our world and with capturing Iblis's Flame. Her Highness told me that all of you here before me, heroes from another world, were invited to the celebration as thanks." He bowed. "We are honored to have such guests."

"We're honored to be here, sir!" Amy curtsied.

Everyone else nodded in agreement and bowed in response to Amy's comment. The bishop smiled and bowed as well.

"Also," Sonic stepped up, holding out the Chaos Emerald with Mephiles sealed inside, "We kind of had to come because of this. Should I keep it with me or leave them somewhere safe until the ceremony?"

The old wolf's orange eyes widened a little.

"I'll keep it safe for the time being," the bishop smiled. "I think the princess did tell me about you bringing Mephiles... She also requested that all of you would be on the boat with her during the ceremony. We can run through your positions maybe an hour before it begins."

"Heh, alright," the blue hedgehog grinned, placing the Emerald in the wolf's hands.

"So what time should we be looking out for?" Tails asked.

"If you could come back in maybe around three hours, that would be wonderful," the old wolf told them.

"Will do," Rouge grinned, taking Shadow's and Knuckles's by their arms. "Come on, boys, time to have some fun!"

Knuckles began to protest while Shadow just allowed himself to be dragged at this point. Omega followed them, and Sonic, Tails, Amy and Silver laughed to themselves before they began to walk after them as well.

• • •

Hours after walking around town, eating food, dancing in the town square, and of course enjoying all the other festivities, the crew returned to the castle to go over the ceremony and where everyone will stand on the boat. The bishop said he would stand in front, facing Blaze and everyone else standing behind her. Sonic was to stand not too far behind the princess with the cyan Chaos Emerald, and everyone else would have to make a semicircle around the three up front, holding large candle lit up. Once everyone knew their places, they waited on the boat for Blaze and the other participators for the ceremony to begin. They admired the decorations— and Rouge nearly tried to steal the Sol Emeralds that were sitting atop of the seven pillars, but Knuckles stopped her, super annoyed that she would try to do what she does to him to someone else.

At this time, it was already getting dark. The sunset was gorgeous— the sky was a lovely mix of deep pink, orange, and purple. The boat was decorated beautifully for the occasion, and it was ready to depart into the center lake of the city.

The friends watched the gorgeous view of the lights lit up in the city ahead until they heard steps coming onto the platform. The Mobians turned around and saw Blaze walk on with the bishop and some other people. Her eyes widened when she saw them, and she couldn't help but smile a little. Everyone else was surprised with her outfit. She looked very elegant, and it's not something her close friends would've ever expected her to wear, even if she is royalty.

"Blaze!" Sonic greeted.

"You're so pretty!" Amy geeked out, running over to the feline and hugging her.

Blaze nearly pushed her back, but she accepted the embrace. She wasn't used to sudden physical affection.

"You look lovely too, Amy," the princess smiled. She turned to everyone else. "I'm so glad you all came, it's so nice seeing you all again."

"I told ya," Sonic grinned, "I wouldn't miss it."

"Soleanna looks absolutely stunning with all of its decorations!" Rouge exclaimed. "Your dimension does know how to throw a party."

"I'm glad you are enjoying yourselves," the cat smiled sweetly.

"Thanks for inviting us!" Tails beamed. "It's super cool to see a part of your world!"

"I'm even surprised I was invited," Silver laughed nervously. "But yeah, thanks for the invite..!"

Shadow just folded his arms and smiled a little bit, as if to also say thanks.

"We appreciate the invitation, Blaze the Cat," Omega said, trying to show gestures of appreciation despite being a robot. "It is an honor."

Blaze just smiled at everyone in return. "I have to thank all of you. My world would've been nearly done for— again— if it weren't for your help. I might have not interacted with all of you, but I know very well that everyone here was involved with helping bring peace and stopping the Flames of Disaster."

"Pardon me for interrupting this reunion," the bishop walked up to them, "But the boat will soon depart. Please grab your candles, Sonic, get the Chaos Emerald, and your Majesty, retrieve the Flame of Iblis."

Everyone got ready for the main event of the ceremony. They gathered the material quickly, and got in their positions. Blaze checked one last time to make sure that the Flame of Iblis was the proper color. Fortunately for her, though, she didn't have to examine too hard, because she felt in her heart that this was the right time. This was the day.

The boat sailed off through the canal and into the main lake, and the people cheered from the banks. There were fireworks ready to be launched, there was music playing, and the dancers on the large boat enhanced the atmosphere.

Blaze began to walk across the boat up to the front with her decorative ceremonial candle in hand, lit with the Flame of Iblis. The cheers became louder. The princess couldn't help but let out a small chuckle. This is the exact same reaction the citizens had right before they were attacked. To think that they weren't cautious after that was quite amusing to the princess. In any other circumstance she would be worried, but this time, she knows everything will be okay.

The Mobians smiled at the feline as she walked past them up to the front. She smiled back at them, glad they were here for her. Sure, she may not be close with any of them except for Sonic and Tails, but she appreciated their presence.

When she made it to the front surrounded by the pillars with the Sol Emeralds and stood with her flame, Sonic did his part and stepped up with the cyan Chaos Emerald. He looked down at it, a large grin on his face.

This is what you get for trying to kill me, Mephiles, the hedgehog thought to himself. Most of my enemies know I'm not that easy to get rid of.

The bishop smiled at Blaze and her friends behind her. He turned to the audience.

"Welcome, welcome citizens of Soleanna and beyond!" He began.

The audience cheered once again. Blaze turned back to face Sonic, and she saw him smile at her and nod slightly, his green eyes twinkling. The princess looked at everyone else, who also gave her nods and smiles. Blaze sighed and smiled back.

"The previous ceremony did not turn out as we'd hoped," the old wolf continued, "But the celebration will not be stopped! Before we begin and end the days of catastrophe once and for all, let us give a warm welcome to the heroes that helped Soleanna return to its world, and helped defeat the evil that threatened to destroy life as we knew it! We are honored to have them celebrate among us! Give it up for the heroes of Mobius!"

As expected, more loud cheers emerged. Sonic smiled and waved at everyone in the crowd, and so did Tails, Knuckles, Amy, and Rouge. Shadow just nodded, Omega couldn't really move too much, and Silver just felt awkward. To be fair, he just met these people, and they've accepted him despite the fact that he wanted to kill Sonic.

It's in the past, Silver, he told himself, Just be happy where you are now... the future is saved, you made some friends, and the one who manipulated you will soon be gone forever.

"As I've said on the first attempt of the ceremony," the bishop continued once the crowed quieted down, "This is the mark of a new day, a new era. This will be a new era of peace and prosperity, with no more destruction, and no more devastation! Princess Blaze, the Guardian of the Sol Emeralds herself, is the chosen one. Once she blows out the Flame of Iblis, the flame that has been causing our suffering for so long, the kingdoms will flourish and spread good fortune across the lands."

And of course, the audience screamed with joy. Blaze once again couldn't help but exhale sharply with a smile on her face. Just like last time, the old bishop of course exaggerated a little, but of course, speeches will always be formatted in such a way to sway the public.

The bishop nodded at the princess. Blaze looked down at the flame, and she felt her heart flutter, feeling the energy of the fire. She knew it was time— the Flame of Iblis must be blown out now.

The princess closed her eyes as she formed her lips into a small O, gently blowing out the flame. The yellow sparks from the flame swirled around in a spiral as they glowed brightly.

Sonic knew this was his cue. Using Chaos Control, he released Mephiles's smoke from the Emerald. The dark mist floated around, but before it could do anything, it was pulled towards the swirling sparks from the blown out flame. They spun around the smoke, creating a large ball of glowing energy what was brighter than the nearly set sun.

Once Blaze felt that the smoke was fully surrounded, keeping her eyes closed, she placed the candle on the floor and began to gracefully wave her arms, bending the fire. The glowing ball began to change shape as she did so, and it also became brighter and brighter as the process continued. Blaze's eyes suddenly shot open, and she thrust her hands out in opposite directions. As she did so, the bright ball of energy shot up into the sky and exploded as a firework. Mephiles was gone. Solaris ceased to exist. The world was safe from ruin after ages of catastrophe.

The princess's eyes widened with such happiness and disbelief. I did it... I actually did it..!

The crowd cheered and clapped, setting off the rest of the fireworks. The bishop gave her a wide smile, tears forming in his eyes. He was very proud of the young princess. The old wolf bowed to her, and welcomed her up front to give a speech of some sort. Blaze took a deep breath, walking forward. She raised her hand to silence the crowd. The noises soon began to lower.

"My dear citizens," she began. "I could not be more grateful for what has happened today. As my good friend and bishop said, this is a new era. But this would not have been possible without my good friends from Mobius. Without them, we could not have tracked Mephiles, found all the Chaos and Sol Emeralds in time, as well as stopping the evil mad scientist from that world that was willing to interfere with our ancient artifacts. I could not be more happy that the first attempt of the ceremony failed, just to have these wonderful people standing here before you all today."

She looked back at smiled at Silver, who's face practically radiated happiness. "There may have been some little misunderstandings along the way," she turned back tot he audience, "But the rocky road led to where we are now— a new era of peace! I am honored to be the princess that was able to bring this fortune to you all. Now let us rejoice and celebrate the festivities tonight!"

Sonic smiled at Blaze as she closed off her speech. The citizens were cheering, and they resumed the music and shot more brilliant fireworks into the sky.

The princess waved to the people, and then she turned back to face her friends. They all blew out their candles and placed them on the ground. Amy rushed over to the feline and hugged her tightly, squealing with excitement for her friend. Though caught off guard, Blaze hugged the pink hedgehog back. Rouge joined the hug, wrapping her arms around both girls, and then Silver, Sonic, and Tails joined. Soon enough, the other boys also joined, and it just became a hug circle with Omega lifting the whole crew hug in a strong and hard hug. The friends all laughed, and they were set down.

Before they all got to enjoying the after party, Blaze looked at Sonic with the most grateful smile. Her golden eyes shined brightly in the light.

"Thank you," she told him.

"Anytime," he grinned, wrapped his arm around her shoulder, taking her to everyone else who was dancing on the boat. "Now let's celebrate the night like we all should, yeah?"

"Of course," Blaze smiled, walking with the blue hedgehog to join Silver and Amy, who were waving at them.

The night was successful. The yearly devastations were over, the evil was stopped, and there was no more threat to the land— that is, until the next adventure begins. But that is a problem for another day.

End.

• • •

Now this is where you'd see the credits, and instead of having something intense or epic playing, I'd want it to be more pretty and peaceful, kind of like Penny Parker from Snapcube's cover of Die Young that was done for the 06 Fandub.

But yeah! It's the end! Thank you so so much for reading! Over a year's work was put into this— and yet I persevered through all the lack of motivation 🤣

Make sure to look at the next chapter for bonus treats for all of you!! It includes concept art, thought processes, and more ^^

Until then, goodbye!!

~ Sweggy