Two weeks after the Egg Colossus incident, Shadic's life had become something approaching normal.
Well.
"Normal" for a fusion hedgehog with unlimited power, two dead heroes living in his head, and a growing fanbase that was honestly starting to concern him.
"SHADIC! SHADIC! OVER HERE!"
He was currently standing on the roof of a building in Station Square, trying to enjoy a chili dog in peace. This had proven impossible, because approximately fifty people had gathered in the street below, waving signs and screaming his name.
Some of the signs said things like "THANK YOU SHADIC" and "OUR NEW HERO."
Some of them said things like "MARRY ME SHADIC" and "I WANT TO HAVE YOUR HEDGEHOG BABIES."
One of them, inexplicably, just said "FEET."
I don't want to know what that one means, Sonic-brain said.
I also don't want to know, Shadow-brain agreed. This is one of the rare occasions where ignorance is preferable.
"How did they even find me?" Shadic muttered, taking a bite of his chili dog. "I've been moving at supersonic speeds. I should be untraceable."
"Shadic Tracker app," Tails' voice crackled through the communicator in his ear. "Someone made it three days ago. It uses your Chaos Energy signature to pinpoint your location within a five-mile radius."
"Someone made a STALKING APP for me?!"
"It has four million downloads."
"FOUR MILLION?!"
"You're very popular."
Shadic stared at the crowd below, which had grown by another twenty people in the time it took to have this conversation.
"This is a nightmare."
Aw, come on, Sonic-brain said. Having fans is great! They cheer for you, they make art of you, they—
"One of them made a body pillow of me, Sonic."
...okay, that's a little weird.
"A BODY PILLOW. Of ME. It's for SALE."
The price point is surprisingly reasonable, Shadow-brain observed.
"WHY DO YOU KNOW THAT?!"
Rouge sent me a link. She thought it was funny.
"I hate everyone."
A commotion in the crowd drew his attention. Someone was pushing through—a young girl, maybe ten years old, clutching a piece of paper to her chest. The adults around her parted reluctantly, recognizing that she was on a mission.
She reached the front of the crowd and looked up at Shadic with eyes full of wonder.
"Mr. Shadic!" she called, her voice carrying despite its small size. "Mr. Shadic, can you sign my picture?!"
Shadic looked down at her.
She was wearing a homemade Shadic costume—blue hoodie, red-tipped fabric "quills" attached to a headband, golden bracelets that were clearly just painted cardboard.
His heart did something uncomfortable.
Oh no, Sonic-brain said. She's adorable.
This is... unexpected, Shadow-brain admitted.
"Hold on," Shadic called down. "I'm coming."
He dropped from the roof, landing gently—GENTLY, he'd been practicing—in front of the girl. The crowd surged forward, but something in his expression made them keep their distance.
The girl, however, showed no fear.
"I drew this for you!" She thrust the paper forward. "It's you fighting the big robot! See, that's you, and that's the robot, and those are the explosions!"
Shadic took the picture.
It was... actually pretty good, for a ten-year-old. The proportions were off, and he appeared to have approximately seventeen fingers, but the energy was there. Crayon-Shadic was punching Crayon-Egg-Colossus while Crayon-Explosions filled the background.
"This is great," he said, and meant it.
The girl beamed. "Really?!"
"Really. You've got talent."
"Mom says I should be a doctor, but I want to be an artist! I want to draw heroes! Like you!"
Shadic felt something warm spread through his chest.
Was this what Sonic had felt? This connection to the people he protected? This sense of PURPOSE beyond just fighting?
Yeah, Sonic-brain said quietly. Yeah, that's it exactly.
"Keep drawing," Shadic told the girl. "And keep being brave. That costume you made? That took guts. I'm proud of you."
The girl's eyes went wide and wet.
Then she launched herself forward and hugged his leg.
Shadic froze.
He was being hugged.
By a child.
In front of fifty people with cameras.
Hug her back, Sonic-brain urged. Come on, man, this is a MOMENT.
Brief physical contact is acceptable in this context, Shadow-brain agreed. It would be rude to reject her.
Slowly, carefully, Shadic reached down and patted the girl's head.
"Thank you," she whispered. "Thank you for saving us."
"...you're welcome."
The crowd ERUPTED.
Cheers. Applause. More than a few people openly crying. Someone started a chant of "SHA-DIC! SHA-DIC! SHA-DIC!" that spread through the group like wildfire.
Shadic stood there, a ten-year-old attached to his leg, and wondered how his life had come to this.
This is amazing, Sonic-brain said happily.
This is acceptable, Shadow-brain admitted.
"This is WEIRD," Shadic muttered.
But he was smiling.
Training had become a daily ritual.
Every morning, Shadic would meet the others at a designated location—usually somewhere remote, where his inevitable mistakes couldn't cause property damage—and they would work on different aspects of his abilities.
Today's focus: precision.
"Okay," Tails said, hovering in the Tornado above a canyon that had been converted into a makeshift training ground. "I've set up a hundred targets throughout the canyon. They're going to activate randomly, and you have to hit them WITHOUT hitting anything else. Got it?"
"Got it."
"And by 'hit,' I mean TAG. Light contact. No punching through them, no vaporizing them, no creating craters. Just... touch."
"I KNOW, Tails."
"You said that last time, and you caused a rockslide."
"That was ONE time!"
"It was three times."
"...fine, it was three times."
In your defense, Sonic-brain said, those rocks were really asking for it.
Rocks cannot ask for things, Shadow-brain pointed out.
It's a figure of speech!
It's a stupid figure of speech.
"Both of you, shut up. I'm trying to concentrate."
The first target lit up—a small holographic circle on a cliff face about half a mile away.
Shadic moved.
One week ago, this would have been impossible. He would have overshot, crashed into the cliff, and brought the entire thing down on his head.
Now?
He appeared next to the target, one finger extended, and tapped it gently.
The circle flickered green.
"Target one: success!" Tails reported. "Nice control!"
Another target activated, this one on the canyon floor.
Shadic dropped, adjusting his speed mid-fall, and tagged it with his toe.
Green.
"Target two: success!"
More targets. Faster now. Left, right, up, down, behind him, in front of him—a chaotic dance of holographic circles demanding his attention.
He hit them all.
Every single one.
DUDE! Sonic-brain cheered. Look at you GO!
Your reaction time has improved by 340%, Shadow-brain calculated. And your fine motor control is approaching acceptable levels.
"Approaching ACCEPTABLE?! I just hit a hundred targets without breaking anything!"
Acceptable is not a criticism. It's an acknowledgment of progress.
"It SOUNDS like a criticism!"
That's a personal problem.
Tails landed the Tornado nearby, jumping out with a tablet clutched in his hands. His twin tails were wagging—actually wagging, like a happy dog—which Shadic had learned meant the fox was excited.
"These readings are INCREDIBLE!" Tails gushed. "Your energy output is staying consistent even during rapid movements! You're not leaking excess Chaos Energy anymore! And your spatial awareness has improved by—" He checked the tablet. "—over 500%!"
"Is that good?"
"That's AMAZING! At this rate, you'll have full control within a month!"
Shadic let that sink in.
A month.
A month ago, he'd been... someone else. Someone ordinary. Someone who'd died in the most embarrassing way possible.
Now he was learning to control power that could reshape reality.
Life was weird.
"Don't get cocky," Knuckles called from his position on a nearby ledge. The echidna had been watching the training session with crossed arms and a critical eye. "Speed and precision are one thing. But you still haven't faced a real opponent since Eggman."
"I fought Nazo."
"You fought Nazo while running on instinct and borrowed memories. That's not the same as fighting with YOUR skills. YOUR tactics."
He's got a point, Sonic-brain admitted. We were kind of on autopilot during that fight.
The echidna is correct, Shadow-brain agreed. We've been relying too heavily on inherited reflexes. We need to develop our own combat style.
Shadic frowned. "Okay, so what do you suggest?"
Knuckles grinned.
It was not a reassuring grin.
"Spar with me."
"...what?"
"You heard me. No super speed, no Chaos powers. Just hand-to-hand combat. Let's see what you've got when you can't rely on overwhelming force."
Oh, this is gonna hurt, Sonic-brain predicted.
Agreed, Shadow-brain said. Knuckles' martial arts skills are exceptional. Without our speed advantage, we'll be at a significant disadvantage.
"You're not helping."
I'm being realistic.
Shadic dropped into the canyon, landing across from Knuckles. The echidna had assumed a fighting stance—fists raised, weight balanced, ready to move in any direction.
"Rules," Knuckles said. "No super speed. No Chaos attacks. If you cheat, I'll know."
"How?"
"Because I'll be the one getting atomized."
Fair point.
"Ready?"
Shadic raised his own fists, trying to remember the combat stances he'd inherited from Sonic and Shadow. Sonic's was loose, casual, designed for flowing evasion. Shadow's was rigid, efficient, designed for devastating counterattacks.
He tried to blend them.
It felt awkward.
"Ready," he said anyway.
Knuckles moved first.
The echidna was FAST—not Sonic-fast, but faster than Shadic had expected. His first punch came in low, aimed at Shadic's ribs, and Shadic barely managed to twist away in time.
Block, don't dodge! Sonic-brain shouted. He's going to—
The second punch caught Shadic in the shoulder, spinning him around.
—follow up. Yeah. That.
Shadic recovered, raising his guard, but Knuckles was already inside his defenses. A knee to the stomach. An elbow to the jaw. A sweeping kick that took his legs out from under him.
He hit the ground hard.
"Dead," Knuckles said flatly. "If I was an enemy, you'd be dead."
He's not wrong, Shadow-brain observed.
"I KNOW he's not wrong, that's the PROBLEM!"
Shadic pushed himself up, wiping dirt from his muzzle. His body ached—actually ACHED, which was novel—but more than that, his pride was wounded.
He had unlimited power. He'd beaten Nazo. He'd destroyed the Egg Colossus with his bare hands.
And he'd just gotten demolished by a guy whose main skill was punching things.
"Again," he said.
Knuckles raised an eyebrow. "You sure?"
"Again."
They went again.
And again.
And again.
Two hours later, Shadic was lying in a crater of his own making—not from super speed, just from being thrown repeatedly—staring up at the sky and contemplating his life choices.
"Eighteen knockdowns," Knuckles reported, not even breathing hard. "Three near-submissions. Zero successful counters."
"I hate you."
"That's fine. Hate is a great motivator."
He's right, Sonic-brain admitted. I always fought better when I was annoyed.
Channeling negative emotions into combat effectiveness is a valid strategy, Shadow-brain agreed.
"I don't want to channel negative emotions! I want to NOT GET PUNCHED!"
"Then learn to defend yourself," Knuckles said simply. "You've got the power to destroy anything that threatens you. But power means nothing if someone faster, smarter, or more skilled can get inside your guard."
He extended a hand.
Shadic stared at it for a moment, then grabbed it and let Knuckles haul him to his feet.
"Same time tomorrow?" the echidna asked.
"...yeah. Same time tomorrow."
"Good." Knuckles actually smiled—a rare expression for him. "You're getting better, you know. Your reaction time improved over the session. You just need practice."
"Practice getting beaten up?"
"Practice fighting. The beatings are just a bonus."
I like him, Sonic-brain decided. He's mean, but in a helpful way.
He reminds me of myself, Shadow-brain said. Focused. Driven. Unwilling to accept weakness.
"He reminds YOU of yourself? The guy who punches things?"
I also punch things.
"That's... actually fair."
Later that evening, Shadic sat on the cliff edge near Tails' workshop, watching the stars emerge.
It had become something of a ritual—a quiet moment at the end of each day to process everything that had happened. The training, the fans, the constant adjustment to his new existence.
Tonight, however, he wasn't alone.
"Mind if I join you?"
Amy appeared at his side, two cups of tea in her hands. She offered one to him, and he took it gratefully.
"Thanks."
"Don't mention it."
They sat in comfortable silence for a while, sipping their tea and watching the ocean reflect the fading light.
"You're doing well, you know," Amy said eventually. "Better than anyone expected."
"That's a low bar."
"Maybe. But you're clearing it. That's what matters."
Shadic took another sip of tea.
"Can I ask you something?" he said.
"Sure."
"How did you do it? After Sonic... after he died. How did you keep going?"
Amy was quiet for a long moment.
"I didn't," she said finally. "Not at first. For the first few days, I just... stopped. Couldn't eat, couldn't sleep, couldn't do anything except stare at the wall and wish I could go back in time."
Shadic nodded. He understood that feeling, in a secondhand way. The echoes of grief that Sonic and Shadow had left behind—for each other, for their friends, for the life they'd been forced to leave.
"But then I realized something," Amy continued. "Sonic wouldn't want me to stop. He'd want me to keep fighting. Keep living. Keep being the person he believed I could be."
She looked at Shadic, her green eyes soft but steady.
"You're not him. I know that. But you're carrying his legacy. His hope. And that means something. To me, to Tails, to everyone who loved him."
Shadic didn't know what to say.
She's really something, Sonic-brain murmured, and there was so much emotion in his voice that Shadic almost couldn't bear it.
She is, Shadow-brain agreed quietly.
"I'll try to live up to it," Shadic said finally. "I can't promise I'll succeed. But I'll try."
Amy smiled—a real smile, warm and genuine.
"That's all anyone can ask."
They sat together as the stars came out, two people carrying the weight of lost heroes, finding comfort in each other's presence.
It was peaceful.
It was perfect.
And then Tails' voice crackled through Shadic's communicator, shattering the moment completely.
"SHADIC! We've got a problem! A BIG problem! Get back to the workshop NOW!"
The workshop was in chaos when Shadic arrived.
Tails was frantically typing at his main console, holographic displays flickering around him like panicked fireflies. Knuckles and Rouge were there too, both looking grim. Even Omega, who rarely showed emotion, seemed agitated—his optical sensors cycling through colors in a way Shadic had learned meant the robot was processing something concerning.
"What's going on?" Shadic demanded.
"Look at this." Tails pulled up a display showing a map of the planet. Several points were marked in red, scattered across different continents. "These are Chaos Energy readings I've been monitoring since the Nazo fight. Background radiation, mostly—residue from the battle."
"Okay?"
"They've been GROWING."
Shadic's blood ran cold.
"Growing how?"
"Slowly at first. So slowly I thought it was just sensor drift. But over the past three days, the rate has accelerated." Tails zoomed in on one of the points—a location in the middle of the ocean. "This one has increased its energy output by 4,000% since yesterday."
"That's... not normal."
"That's CATASTROPHIC. Energy doesn't just generate itself. Something is FEEDING these points. And the signature..." Tails' voice dropped. "The signature matches Nazo."
The room went silent.
No, Sonic-brain breathed. No, no, no. We DESTROYED him.
We defeated him, Shadow-brain corrected grimly. The cosmic voice said he would reform eventually. We just didn't expect it to be this soon.
"How is that possible?" Rouge demanded. "Shadic hit him with everything he had! There was nothing LEFT!"
"Beings of pure Chaos Energy don't die like normal creatures," Tails explained, his voice tight. "They disperse. Scatter. Their essence breaks apart and spreads across the Chaos Field—the background energy that permeates everything. Given enough time, they can pull themselves back together."
"How much time?" Knuckles asked.
Tails pulled up more data.
"Based on the current rate of reformation... weeks. Maybe days. The points are converging, drawing energy toward a central location." He highlighted a spot on the map—a familiar mountain range. "Here. The site of the original battle."
Shadic stared at the map.
Nazo was coming back.
The thing he'd killed—DEFEATED—through sheer overwhelming power was pulling itself together, regenerating from nothing, preparing to resume its mission of destruction.
And this time, it would know what Shadic was capable of.
"QUERY," Omega spoke up. "CAN WE DISRUPT THE REFORMATION PROCESS?"
"Maybe." Tails was already running calculations. "If we could disperse the energy concentrations before they converge—scatter them again—it might buy us time. But we'd have to hit all the major points simultaneously. There are seven of them, spread across the globe."
"We've got seven people," Amy pointed out, having arrived during the explanation. "Well, six people and one robot."
"CORRECTION: ONE SUPERIOR ROBOT AND SIX ORGANIC LIFEFORMS."
"Not the time, Omega."
"IT IS ALWAYS THE TIME FOR ACCURATE CLASSIFICATION."
"We can't hit them simultaneously," Tails said, shaking his head. "The energy required to disperse each point is enormous. Most of us could handle one, maybe, but we'd be exhausted afterward. And if we miss even ONE point, it might accelerate the others."
"Then I'll do it."
Everyone turned to look at Shadic.
"You'll do what?" Tails asked.
"All seven points. Simultaneously." Shadic cracked his neck, feeling the power humming beneath his skin. "You said my Hyper form has no upper limit, right? So I hit all seven at once. Chaos Control lets me teleport. I just need to be fast enough."
That's insane, Sonic-brain said. I love it.
The logistics are... challenging, Shadow-brain calculated. But theoretically possible. If we chain Chaos Controls together without pause, we could hit all seven points in under a second.
"That's your plan?" Knuckles looked skeptical. "Teleport around the world punching energy clouds?"
"Got a better one?"
"...no."
"Then that's the plan."
Tails was already pulling up coordinates. "Okay. Okay, if we're doing this, we need to do it RIGHT. I'll program the exact locations into a portable scanner. You'll need to hit each point with enough force to scatter the energy but not so much that you create a feedback loop. Too little and it reforms. Too much and you might accelerate the convergence."
"What's the margin of error?"
"Basically zero."
"Great. Love those odds."
You're being sarcastic, but honestly, zero margin of error is our specialty, Sonic-brain said.
When have we EVER had a margin of error? Shadow-brain agreed.
"That's... actually a fair point."
Rouge stepped forward. "We should go with you. As backup."
"You can't keep up with Chaos Control."
"Then we'll be STATIONED at the points. If something goes wrong, we can buy you time."
Shadic considered it.
Having backup wasn't a bad idea. And if this went sideways—if Nazo reformed faster than expected, or if there were complications he couldn't predict—having friends nearby could make the difference.
"Fine," he agreed. "But if I tell you to run, you RUN. No arguments."
"I don't run from fights," Knuckles growled.
"Then make an exception. Because if this goes wrong, the fight isn't something you can punch your way out of."
For once, the echidna didn't argue.
They deployed within the hour.
The Tornado carried Tails, Amy, and Knuckles to three of the points. Rouge flew to a fourth. Omega rocketed toward a fifth. The remaining two were underwater and in a remote mountain range, respectively—locations only Shadic could reach fast enough.
"Everyone in position?" Tails' voice came through the group communicator.
"Ready," Amy reported.
"Ready," Knuckles echoed.
"AFFIRMATIVE," Omega confirmed.
"Ready," Rouge added.
Shadic hovered above the ocean, staring down at the water that hid one of the energy points. He could FEEL it—a wrongness in the Chaos Field, a tumor of malevolent power that was growing stronger by the minute.
"I'm ready," he said.
"Okay. On my mark, you start the chain. Hit each point with a concentrated Chaos Blast—not too strong, not too weak. You have 0.7 seconds between points before the feedback loops become unstable."
"0.7 seconds. Got it."
"And Shadic?"
"Yeah?"
"Be careful. We just got you. We don't want to lose you too."
Something warm bloomed in Shadic's chest.
"I'll be careful," he promised.
Liar, Sonic-brain said fondly.
Careful is relative, Shadow-brain agreed.
Tails began the countdown.
"Three."
Shadic gathered his power, feeling it build like a storm inside him.
"Two."
He focused on the first point—the one beneath the waves, pulsing with Nazo's reforming essence.
"One."
His fur began to shift, color bleeding away as the Hyper form started to manifest.
"MARK!"
Shadic MOVED.
The world became a blur of light and motion.
He hit the underwater point first, diving through the ocean like it was air, his Chaos Blast detonating against the energy concentration with perfect precision. The malevolent glow scattered, dispersing into the surrounding water.
Chaos Control.
He was in the mountains now, snow vaporizing around him as he appeared and struck. Another blast. Another dispersal.
Chaos Control.
A forest in a distant continent. The trees bent away from the shockwave of his arrival. Strike. Scatter.
Chaos Control.
Chaos Control.
CHAOS CONTROL.
Point after point, he hit them all, his Hyper form blazing like a star as he crisscrossed the globe in fractions of a second. The Chaos Energy required was staggering—more than he'd ever channeled before—but his body handled it. Absorbed it. Transformed it into power.
Seven points.
Seven strikes.
0.7 seconds each.
He appeared at the final location—the original battlefield where he'd fought Nazo—and found... nothing.
No energy concentration.
No reforming essence.
Just empty air and shattered rock.
"Tails," he said, his voice steady despite the exhaustion creeping into his bones. "The seventh point is clear. There's nothing here."
"That's impossible. The readings showed—"
"Wait." Rouge's voice cut through. "I'm seeing something at my point. The energy... it's not dispersing. It's MOVING."
"Moving where?!"
"Toward—" She cut off. "Oh no."
"Rouge?! ROUGE!"
"IT'S ALL CONVERGING! All the dispersed energy—it's pulling toward a single location! The original battlefield wasn't the convergence point—it was a DECOY!"
Shadic's blood ran cold.
A trap, Sonic-brain realized. Nazo set a TRAP.
He knew we'd try to stop his reformation, Shadow-brain analyzed. He scattered intentionally, waited for us to disperse his energy points, and now he's using the chaos of our attack to accelerate his recovery.
"Where?!" Shadic demanded. "Where is he reforming?!"
Tails' voice was grim.
"Station Square. He's reforming directly above the CITY."
Shadic crossed continents in the span of a heartbeat.
He arrived above Station Square to find the sky on fire.
Chaos Energy—dark, malevolent, WRONG—was pouring into a single point above the city's center. It came from everywhere at once, streams of power converging like rivers into an ocean, building something terrible in the heart of the maelstrom.
And at the center of it all, slowly taking shape, was Nazo.
Not the Super Perfect form Shadic had fought before. Not yet. The reformation was incomplete—a shadowy outline of a hedgehog, dark red fur barely visible beneath the swirling energy, yellow eyes flickering in and out of existence.
But he was AWARE.
"Shadic."
The voice echoed across the city, sourceless and everywhere.
"I knew you would come. I knew you would try to stop me. And I knew you would FAIL."
Below, Shadic could see the city in chaos. People running, screaming, fleeing from the apocalyptic lightshow above them. Emergency vehicles trying to organize evacuations. News helicopters circling at what they probably thought was a safe distance.
They were wrong.
"You haven't reformed yet," Shadic said, his Hyper form still blazing white. "You're vulnerable. I can scatter you again—scatter you so far you'll NEVER come back."
"Can you?"
The half-formed figure tilted its head.
"You surprised me before. The fusion. The new consciousness. The power I didn't anticipate. But I've had time to think, Shadic. Time to PLAN. And I've realized something important."
The energy swirling around Nazo began to intensify.
"You're powerful. Perhaps the most powerful being I've ever encountered. But power alone isn't enough. You lack EXPERIENCE. SKILL. The ability to use your strength effectively."
He's stalling, Sonic-brain warned. Every second he talks is another second he reforms.
Then we don't let him finish.
Shadic lunged forward, fist cocked back, rainbow energy blazing around him—
And Nazo MOVED.
Even incomplete, even barely corporeal, the monster was fast. Faster than Shadic remembered. The half-formed body twisted aside, dodging the strike by inches, and a tendril of dark energy lashed out in response.
It caught Shadic across the chest and BURNED.
He rocketed backward, catching himself before he could crash into a building. The wound was already healing—Hyper form regeneration—but the pain lingered.
"You see?" Nazo's voice dripped with satisfaction. "You have power, but you don't know how to USE it. You telegraph your attacks. You overcommit. You leave yourself OPEN."
Another tendril lashed out.
Shadic dodged this time, but barely.
"I spent decades learning to fight, Shadic. Centuries perfecting my techniques. You've had WEEKS. You are a CHILD playing at godhood."
More tendrils. A barrage of them, coming from every direction.
Shadic wove between them, his speed and reflexes pushed to their limits. The city blurred beneath him as he dodged and weaved, trying to find an opening for a counterattack.
There wasn't one.
Nazo's half-formed state should have been a weakness, but he'd turned it into an advantage. He wasn't bound by physical laws anymore. His body was mutable, flexible, capable of attacking from angles that shouldn't have been possible.
We need to break his concentration, Sonic-brain urged. Disrupt the reformation process.
Easier said than done, Shadow-brain replied. He's protecting his core while attacking. We can't reach it without exposing ourselves.
"Then we expose ourselves," Shadic growled.
He stopped dodging.
A tendril slammed into his shoulder. Another caught his leg. A third wrapped around his arm.
They burned. Oh god, they BURNED.
But Shadic pushed through the pain, using the tendrils as handholds, PULLING himself toward Nazo's core.
The monster's yellow eyes widened.
"What are you—"
"CHAOS..."
Shadic's free hand plunged into the swirling mass of reformation energy, grabbing hold of something solid—Nazo's forming essence.
"...BLAST!"
The explosion was cataclysmic.
Rainbow light erupted outward, searing through the dark energy, scattering it across dimensions. Shadic felt reality itself bend around him as his power and Nazo's clashed, the two forces struggling for dominance.
For one eternal moment, they were locked together—light and darkness, creation and destruction, hope and despair.
Then Nazo screamed.
The sound was otherworldly—a shriek of fury and agony that shattered windows across the city. The dark energy dispersed, blown apart by Shadic's assault, streaming away into the void.
But not all of it.
A fragment—a single, concentrated piece of Nazo's essence—broke free from the chaos and rocketed away, disappearing over the horizon before Shadic could react.
Then silence.
Shadic hung in the air, his Hyper form flickering, exhaustion threatening to drag him down. The sky was clear. The malevolent energy was gone.
But Nazo wasn't destroyed.
He'd escaped.
A piece of him, anyway.
That was... intense, Sonic-brain panted.
We prevented immediate reformation, Shadow-brain analyzed. But he'll recover. Slower now, but he'll recover.
"Great," Shadic muttered. "So I bought us time, but the problem isn't solved."
Essentially, yes.
"Fantastic."
Below, the city was still in chaos, but the immediate danger had passed. Emergency services were moving in. The evacuation was proceeding. People were alive who would have died if Nazo had finished reforming.
It wasn't a complete victory.
But it was something.
"Shadic!" Tails' voice crackled through the communicator. "Are you okay?! The energy readings went crazy and then just—STOPPED!"
"I'm okay. Nazo's scattered again, but a piece of him got away. He'll reform eventually."
"How long?"
Shadic closed his eyes, reaching out with his Chaos senses. He could feel it—that distant fragment, weak but determined, already beginning the long process of gathering energy.
"Months, maybe. Longer if we can find a way to track him and scatter him again."
"Then we have time. Time to prepare. Time to get you READY."
Shadic nodded, even though Tails couldn't see it.
Time.
He had time.
Time to train. Time to learn. Time to become the hero this world needed him to be.
And when Nazo came back—because he WOULD come back—Shadic would be ready.
That's the spirit, Sonic-brain said approvingly.
Acceptable, Shadow-brain agreed.
Shadic descended toward the city, toward his friends, toward the life he was still figuring out how to live.
The fight wasn't over.
But for now, he'd won.
And that was enough.
Author's Note: Nazo got scattered AGAIN but he's learning. Shadic won the battle but the war is just beginning. Next chapter: Recovery, reflection, and an unexpected visitor from a dimension Shadic thought he'd left behind forever. (Hint: The cosmic voice has some explaining to do.)