The real hero is always a hero by mistake; he dreams of being an honest coward like everybody else.
--Umberto Eco
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It was the next day on Moebius, and everyone was back at Kintobor's tower. Silver had returned to his time after a small word with Sonic. The Freedom Fighters reinstalled the previously stolen Globe Posts. Well, almost everyone was there.
Sitting nearby, Sally, who was holding the remains of Y/n's jacket, and Nicole sat together as they found some comfort in each other's company. They had lost Y/n who had sacrificed himself, someone they had cared about equally.
"Erm... Sally and Nicole, yes?" the two look up to see Kintobor. "I am... sorry for your loss. From what I have heard, you two were rather close to him."
Sally looked up at Kintobor before looking back down. Nicole speaks up for the both of them.
"Thank you, Dr. Kintobor," Nicole tells the Anti-Robotnik. "We both appreciate it."
"You're welcome," Ivo says. "And I believe someone is here to see you two."
The chipmunk and holo-lynx grow confused before footsteps catch their attention. They turn to see Alicia walking up to them.
"Alicia...?" Nicole questions.
"What do you want?" Sally asks her Anti.
"... I am sorry for your loss," Alicia tells the two. "I know how that feels."
Sally looks down at her Anti's hands to see her messing with a ring on her finger.
"Right," she says. "You lost your Y/n, too."
Alicia nods in sadness.
"Even though he was... rough around the edges, he was still human deep down. He cared for us, even if he attacked us at Scourge's order," Alicia states. "He gave me this ring as an apology gift. 'Pretty should be with pretty, right?' he said when he gave it to me. Heheh... He was an insane idiot, but he had a heart. My insane idiot..."
Sally and Nicole look at the Anti-Sally with eyes filled with sadness and sympathy. Then Nicole spoke up.
"I don't think they would want us to fight anymore," she says.
"She's right. It would drag their sacrifice in the dirt," Sally says as she stands up and offers her hand to her Anti. "So for their sake, how about a truce? No more fighting."
Alicia looks down at her doppleganger's hand before she nods and takes it.
"Truce," she says. "For our Y/n's."
Sally nods, determined to make sure Y/n's sacrifice wasn't in vain.
Not too long after, the Globe Posts had been fully reinstalled and activated. Most of the Freedom Fighters have left as Kintobor and Sonic shook hands.
"I can't thank you and your friends enough, Sonic," the doctor tells the hedgehog.
"No sweat, Doc," Sonic assures. "Do you still have him?"
"Yes, and he's still bound," Kintobor states. "He hasn't stirred since you brought him to me last night."
Sally turns to see Amy jumping through the portal. Bunnie and Antoine follow after her, leaving only her, Nicole, and Sonic in that Zone.
"That wraps it up," she says. "Rob was sent home, and we're the last three to go back to Freedom HQ."
"Now... how are we going to break this to everyone else?" Nicole asks with droopy ears.
"I don't know," Sally says, "but we'll figure it out together."
The chipmunk puts a hand on the AI's shoulder. She turns to the princess and smiles with an appreciative nod.
"Well, not quite, Sal," Sonic says as he has an unconscious Scourge over his shoulder. "You two are the last ones to go back. I'm hauling Scourge to the jail in the Parallel Zone. And then I'm getting some answers. Then I'll be right back home. Only take me a few days at most."
"Alright," Sally says as she and Nicole head to the portal. "See you soon."
"See ya," Sonic waves the two off.
And with that, they leave through the portal and back to Mobius.
Timeskip...
Only a few days have passed since the battle on Moebius and Y/n's sacrifice. Sonic has returned since then and everyone has learned off Y/n's death. When Shadow returned from his adventure in another Zone, he was also told of his old friend's death. And he did not take it well.
"N-no... You're l-lying... That's not t-true..." Shadow had said with tears in his eyes. "He can't be dead... H-he can't be..."
During that time back on Mobius, Sally was aided by Nicole in planning a memorial service/funeral for Y/n. They got help from the the Freedom Fighters as well, but it was mostly just them two. And it wasn't going to be something big. There would be no body to place in a coffin and bury, or to cremate. There'll be some pictures of Y/n with flowers, and all the people that were his friends or who just wanted to pay their respects for the fallen hero.
And soon, that day came. Seated in the center of New Mobotropolis, the Freedom Fighters were seated in front of a small stage along with friends of Y/n and those who just wanted to pay respects. On the stage was a wooden podium with a microphone with pictures of Y/n and flowers strewn about, and something cloaked with a tarp stood behind the stage. And no sooner did the service start did Sally walk up on stage and to the podium.
"Hello, everyone. Thank you for coming here today," she greeted the crowd. "It's so nice to see that you all decided to be here. It was... hard for me to get out of my own bed this morning to come here, honestly. It felt painful knowing that I won't ever see Y/n again. I have a feeling a lot of you here have the same thoughts."
No one said anything, but they knew Sally was right. Y/n had all affected them, one way or another by either saving them or by just helping around before his house arrest... and death.
"When he first came to our world, back in Knothole, he was just a scared human who had no idea what he was getting into. Yet he decided to join a war he had no reason to be in. He didn't need to help, but he did," Sally continued with tears forming in her eyes, but she wipes them away. "He was by our side since then, helping us whenever he could. From fighting our enemies, to running errands, and just being a friend to all of us. Even when public opinion split about him, he still fought for all of us."
A tear rolled down the princess' cheek. She took a moment to take in a breath before continuing.
"He was a hero for all of us. He was scared so much and had no reason to be our hero, but he did anyway," the chipmunk wipes away some tears from her eyes, sniffling before turning to grab the tarp. "So this is for him. For Y/n L/n."
She pulled at the tarp, pulling it off of what it was concealing to reveal a statue. But not just any statue. It was a life-size bronze statue of Y/n smiling, pointing forward as he stood on a pedestal, posing like Christopher Columbus. Words were imprinted on the pedestal.
HEROES COME IN ALL SHAPES AND SIZES
Sally used all of her strength not to break down at the sight of the statue. Not like when she saw it for the first time. She took in a breath and turned back to face those gathered for Y/n.
"This statue will serve as a memory for him, to show us all that we can do something to be a hero," Sally said, nearly choking on her tears. "Now, before I break down, I think it's time for someone else to say something."
With that, Sonic had taken Sally's place at the podium. He looked at everyone and then back at the statue of his deceased friend, being reminded of the statue of him that was in Knothole. One that was made after his apparent death after he sacrificed himself to stop the Xorda.
"Well... I don't think I can say as much as Sally did, or say what she said. But I'll try," Sonic turns back to the Mobians. "Y/n was my friend. A close one, too. At first, he was just another person to protect, but then he started protecting us. What a twist, right?"
He chuckled sadly, better at keeping himself from crying than most people. But that didn't mean he didn't want to.
"He was always trying to improve himself, saying all these 'what ifs' like they could change anything. But I guess they did. They made him be a better hero than the day before," the Blue Blur states. "He fought for all of us, every single day, even though all he wanted a normal life. We all did, and we all still do. He fought as hard as us, worked as hard as us, and suffered as much as us. Y/n was a Freedom Fighter, through and through. And I'm not ashamed to call him my friend."
Next up was Shadow. He was possibly one of the ones who were the most shaken from Y/n's death. He befriended him on the Arc with Maria, and now he's gone. He didn't know how to handle it, but he came anyway and stood at the podium.
"... I met Y/n the day after he arrived on Space Colony Arc. He was a nervous kid and I didn't think much of him at the time, but as Maria had us be together, I saw him as a friend. He was one of the few people there that treated me like a person instead of some science experiment," Shadow said. "Then I woke up fifty years later and had no idea who he was. Then when I found out, I realized he was so much stronger and older than back then. He had incredible power, but he had the heart of an old friend of mine. It was like a piece of my life was back, and it was amazing. And then... then I lost him again. And I couldn't do anything about it."
Shadow let out a shaky breath. He did his best to hide his trembling body, trying to stay strong. It was hard, however, but he knew he can handle it.
"But I know that I'll never forget him. Never again," Shadow declared. "Because an old friend taught me this. I'll always have him, as long as he's in my heart."
Shadow had left after that. No one knew why, but maybe it was to cry elsewhere. Or maybe to grieve in private. No one knew, but they did know that he was taking it harder than most.
Next up walked up was Mina Mongoose and her band, along with Ash. The band was setting up instruments and connecting cords as their lead singer walked up to the podium.
"Uh... hi, everyone. How are you...?" Mina immediately cringed at her question. "S-sorry. I'm more used to concerts and its stages and crowds."
Ash suddenly walks up and takes the podium before replacing it with a microphone on a stand. Mina clears her throat and thanks her boyfriend before turning back to the gathering.
"I know that I didn't know Y/n as well as most of you did. That's obvious with what everyone has been saying, but..." Mine took in a breath. "Y/n was a kind person right from when I met him. And I never got to thank him for saving me from Mogul. I don't think Tails and Mighty did, either."
The armadillo and twin-tailed fox both looked down at this. Mina was right. They weren't able to thank him in time.
"So I wanted to make a song as a tribute to him. It's a little different than what I usually do, but I think it still sounds pretty good," the pop star states. "I asked everyone I could think of about Y/n to see what could inspire the song. And then Nicole told me that he liked to watch the clouds, and then comes the song. I hope you all enjoy it. And if you can hear us Y/n, somewhere and somehow, I hope you like it, too. Here's Clouds."
And with that, the Forget Me Knots began to play.
Mina:
"🎶 I fell down, down, down
Into this dark and lonely hole
There was no one there to care about me anymore
And I needed a way to climb and grab a hold of the edge
You were sitting there, holding a rope 🎶"
The mongoose begins to sing as she herself has a guitar in her hands. Her hands strum the guitar as Nicole listens from cyberspace, unable to bring herself to go to the service herself.
Mina:
"🎶 And we'll go up, up, up
But I'll fly a little higher!
Go up in the clouds, because the view's a little nicer
Up here, my dear
It won't be long now
It won't be long now! 🎶"
Sally begins to shed a few tears and wipes them away. Memories played in her mind of her and Y/n together, his smiles shining brightly which made her blush whenever she saw them. Now they just make her want to cry.
Mina:
"🎶 When we get back on land
Well I'll never get my chance
Be ready to live and it'll be ripped
Right out of my hands
And maybe someday
We'll take a little ride
We'll go up, up, up
And everything will be just fine! 🎶"
Everyone else began to remember Y/n and all that he did. All the times he fought for them and was at their side. All the times he had hung out with his friends and trained with Danny to learn about his powers. It all made them want to cry even more.
Mina:
"🎶 And we'll go up, up, up
But I'll fly a little higher!
Go up in the clouds because the view's a little nicer
Up here, my dear
It won't be long now
It won't be long now! 🎶"
As Mina sang, tears began to form in her own eyes. She never had the chance to thank Y/n for saving her life, and from what she was told so many people were touched by the human. It made her sad to know someone so amazing to so many people had died so abruptly.
Mina:
"🎶 If only I had a little bit more time
If only I had a little bit more time with you!
We could go up, up, up
And take a little ride
We'll sit there holding hands and everything will
Be just right
And maybe someday I'll see you again
We'll float up in the clouds and we'll
Never see the end 🎶"
Nicole herself had began to shed her own tears as she sobbed into her knees. The one she had loved had been taken from her out of nowhere, and she couldn't have done anything about it. They had only been together for a few days, and it all ended on the sourest note one could think of.
Mina:
"🎶 And we'll go up, up, up
But I'll fly a little higher!
Go up in the clouds because the view's a little nicer
Up here, my dear
It won't be long now
It won't be long now! 🎶"
And with that, Mina and the Forget Me Knots finished their song. Everyone was crying now, knowing that they'll never see Y/n again or hear his voice. But they'll never forget him. They'll never forget Y/n L/n, a hero that will remembered as a great Freedom Fighter.
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And with that... our story ends. Only Human is over.
New Megaopolis...
In the Eggdome, Eggman was walking into his lab with his nephew. His face was scrunched up in anger as steam was basically blowing out of his eats.
"I can't believe this! One of my greatest creations, and it's all gone!" he declares in anger. "GONE! AND DESTROYED BY A RODENT AMONG ALL THINGS!"
"Well, maybe you should've programmed him to be able to fight Shadow and others besides the Freedom Fighters, Unclen" Snively says. "But, yet again, when do you listen to me?"
Eggman huffs out a breath as he walks forward to a lit up section of the lab. Tubes ran across the floor and to a nearby section of it.
"It's no matter. I still have what I need," he says and holds up a small capsule, opening it up to reveal the Metal Y/n's Power Gem. "Metal Y/n may have been destroyed, but I have all of his programming and everything that made him up inside of this Power Gem."
"What do you mean?" Snively asks his uncle.
"I modified this Power Gem to absorb data and hold an AI that made up Metal Y/n's programming and abilities," Eggman grins and looks at his nephew. "And I'm going to finally use it to finish my biggest project yet."
"Biggest... project?" the smaller Robotnik questions.
"Follow me, Snively."
Snively hesitantly nods and follows his uncle farther into the lab. When they arrived at where Eggman wanted to be, he grinned evilly as Snively looked shocked.
"Is that... what I think it is?" he asks his uncle.
"Indeed, nephew. My greatest creation," Eggman says with a glint in his eye. "Metal Y/n may be powerful, but he is nothing compared to this."
In front of the two was a glass chamber with stasis liquid inside of it. And inside of it was a Metal Sonic with tubes attached to its body. But it barely looked metallic. Instead...
... it looked organic?
"The first ever hybrid Metal Sonic."
The Sonic-lookalike shot open its eyes, revealing them to be emerald green before bleeding into a crimson red color.
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Or... is it?
You want to know how this all goes down? Look out for the sequel, and for the first new issue of the coming spin-off series, Only Human: Into The Y/n-Verse.