The workshop had never been so crowded.
Every available surface was covered in holographic displays, scattered papers, half-finished inventions, and empty coffee cups. Tails had been working non-stop for the past seventy-two hours, fueled by caffeine, determination, and what Amy described as "concerning levels of hyperfocus."
The team had gathered around the central console: Shadic, Amy, Knuckles, Rouge, and Omega. Even Cream and Cheese had shown up, the young rabbit sitting quietly in the corner with her Chao companion, offering moral support.
"Okay," Tails said, pulling up a massive holographic display that filled the center of the room. "I've been working on this since Shadic told us about the Emeralds being scattered across dimensions. And I think... I think I've figured out how to track them."
The display showed a complex web of interconnected points—hundreds of them, maybe thousands, each one representing a different reality.
That's a LOT of dimensions, Sonic-brain observed.
Finding seven specific points in that mess will be... challenging, Shadow-brain agreed.
"Each Chaos Emerald has a unique energy signature," Tails explained, zooming in on a cluster of points. "When they were scattered during the fusion, they left trails—like breadcrumbs through the dimensional fabric. Those trails have mostly faded, but if I can amplify the residual energy..."
He typed rapidly, and seven points in the web began to glow.
"There. Those are the dimensions containing the Emeralds."
Shadic leaned forward, studying the display. "Only seven? Out of all those?"
"Well, narrowing it down to seven was the EASY part." Tails' expression grew troubled. "The HARD part is figuring out what kind of dimensions they are."
"What do you mean?"
Tails pulled up additional data for each glowing point.
"Dimensions aren't all the same. Some are nearly identical to ours—same people, same places, just with minor differences. Others are completely alien. Different laws of physics, different forms of life, different... everything."
He pointed to the first glowing point.
"This one, for example, appears to be a version of our world where Eggman won. Conquered everything. Built an empire."
The room went quiet.
"Eggman... won?" Amy's voice was small.
"In THAT reality, yes. Sonic and the others failed. Or maybe they never existed at all. The point is, it's hostile territory. Whoever goes there won't be welcome."
Great, Sonic-brain muttered. Our first stop is literally a nightmare dimension.
Focus, Shadow-brain commanded. We've fought Eggman before. This is just... more Eggman.
"What about the others?" Rouge asked, her wings folding against her back.
Tails cycled through the remaining points.
"The second Emerald is in a dimension that appears to be some kind of... wasteland. Post-apocalyptic. Low energy readings, minimal life signs. Could be dangerous, could be abandoned."
He moved to the third.
"This one is weird. REALLY weird. The dimensional signature suggests physics work differently there. Gravity might not exist, or time might flow backward, or... I honestly don't know. My instruments can't get a clear reading."
"Fantastic," Shadic muttered.
"The fourth dimension appears stable. Similar to ours, actually. But there's something blocking my scans—some kind of energy barrier. I can't see what's inside."
"That's not ominous at all."
"The fifth is... concerning." Tails' voice dropped. "The Chaos Energy readings are off the charts. Like, REALLY off the charts. Whatever's in there, it's saturated with power."
That could be useful, Shadow-brain noted. Or incredibly dangerous.
Probably both, Sonic-brain added.
"The sixth dimension appears to be underwater. Like, ENTIRELY underwater. No landmass, no surface, just endless ocean."
"I'm not going to that one," Knuckles said immediately.
"You can't swim?"
"I can swim FINE. I just don't LIKE swimming."
"QUERY," Omega interjected. "WHAT ABOUT THE SEVENTH DIMENSION?"
Tails hesitated.
"The seventh... I couldn't get any readings at all. It's like looking into a void. Something is there—the Emerald's signature is definitely present—but everything else is just... darkness."
The room fell silent.
Saving the creepy void dimension for last, Sonic-brain said. Solid strategy.
We should prioritize based on estimated difficulty, Shadow-brain suggested. Start with the more stable dimensions and work our way up.
"I agree with the voice in my head," Shadic said, then paused. "That sounded less weird in my mind."
"Which voice?" Amy asked.
"Shadow's. He thinks we should start with easier dimensions first."
"THERE IS NO 'EASY' IN DIMENSION HOPPING," Omega declared. "ONLY VARYING DEGREES OF DIFFICULTY."
"Thanks, Omega. Very encouraging."
"YOU ARE WELCOME."
Tails cleared his throat. "There's something else. Something I haven't mentioned yet."
"Of course there is," Shadic sighed. "Hit me."
The young fox pulled up a new display—this one showing a device. It looked like a bracelet, sleek and metallic, with a small screen embedded in its surface.
"I've been working on this. I call it the Dimensional Anchor."
"What does it do?"
"Two things. First, it tracks your position in dimensional space. It'll tell you how long you have before the dimension starts rejecting you—like an early warning system."
"That's actually useful."
"Second, and more importantly, it creates a tether back to OUR dimension. When you need to return, you activate the Anchor, and it pulls you home."
Like a dimensional GPS, Sonic-brain observed. Nice.
Practical, Shadow-brain approved. The fox continues to impress.
"There's a catch," Tails continued, because of course there was. "The Anchor needs time to calibrate when you enter a new dimension. About five minutes. During that time, you CAN'T use it to return. If something goes wrong in those first five minutes..."
"I'm stuck."
"You're stuck. At least until the calibration completes."
Five minutes didn't sound like a lot. But Shadic had learned that a LOT could go wrong in five minutes.
"Can I bring anyone with me?" he asked.
Tails shook his head. "The dimensional breach will be unstable enough with just you. Adding more people would increase the instability exponentially. We'd risk tearing holes in reality that wouldn't close."
"So I'm going alone."
"You're going alone."
That sucks, Sonic-brain said bluntly. We work better with backup.
We'll adapt, Shadow-brain replied. We always do.
Amy stepped forward, her expression determined. "We might not be able to go WITH you, but we can support you from here. Tails can monitor the dimensional breach, keep track of your status. We can be ready for when you return."
"And if something goes wrong?"
"Then we find a way to come get you anyway." Amy's eyes blazed. "We're not losing you too, Shadic. Not after everything."
Something warm bloomed in Shadic's chest.
He'd only known these people for a few weeks. But somehow, they'd become... important. Not just allies. Family.
That's what happens when you fight alongside someone, Sonic-brain said softly. You bond.
Shared combat creates trust, Shadow-brain agreed. They've proven their loyalty. We should honor it.
"Okay," Shadic said. "When do we start?"
Tails checked his displays. "The dimensional fabric is most stable at dawn. Something about the way solar energy interacts with Chaos Energy. If we want the safest possible breach, we should do it tomorrow morning."
"Then we have tonight to prepare." Shadic looked around at his team. "Everyone rest up. Eat something. Do whatever you need to do. Because tomorrow, we start hunting Emeralds."
"And we start saving the world," Amy added.
"That too."
The night passed too quickly.
Shadic spent most of it on the roof, watching the stars and trying not to think about everything that could go wrong.
He'd faced Nazo. He'd beaten Eggman's colossus. He'd survived attacks from Omega, Rouge, and Knuckles. He'd learned to control powers that could reshape reality.
But this was different.
This was stepping into the complete unknown. Entering dimensions where the rules might not apply, where enemies he couldn't anticipate might be waiting, where he'd be completely alone.
You're not alone, Sonic-brain reminded him. You've got us.
"You're in my head. That's not the same thing."
It's not nothing, Shadow-brain countered. We may be echoes, but we're still HERE. Still fighting. Still thinking.
"I know. I just..."
He trailed off.
You're scared, Sonic-brain said gently. That's okay. Being scared doesn't make you weak. It makes you smart.
"I thought you never got scared."
Are you kidding? I was scared ALL the time. I just got really good at hiding it.
Fear is a survival mechanism, Shadow-brain added. It keeps you alert. Keeps you sharp. The key is not to let it paralyze you.
Shadic nodded slowly.
"Thanks. Both of you."
Anytime, man.
Don't mention it.
Dawn came too soon.
The team gathered outside the workshop, where Tails had set up the dimensional breach generator. It was an impressive piece of machinery—a ring of metal and crystal about ten feet in diameter, covered in cables and blinking lights.
"The generator will create a stable breach to the target dimension," Tails explained, running final checks on his equipment. "You step through, the breach closes behind you, and the Anchor starts calibrating. Five minutes later, you're locked in and can return whenever you want."
"And if the dimension has hostile physics?"
"The Anchor should protect you from the worst of it. Your Chaos Energy will do the rest. Theoretically."
"Theoretically?"
"I haven't exactly had a chance to TEST this on alternate dimensions, Shadic. You're the guinea pig here."
Great, Sonic-brain said. Love being a guinea pig.
At least guinea pigs are resilient, Shadow-brain offered.
"That's... not as comforting as you think it is."
Amy approached, holding something in her hands. It was a small charm—a silver ring on a leather cord.
"I made this last night," she said, pressing it into Shadic's palm. "It's not magical or anything. Just... something to remind you that we're waiting for you. That you have somewhere to come back to."
Shadic looked down at the charm.
It was warm from Amy's hands. Simple. Meaningful.
"Thank you," he said, slipping the cord over his head. The ring settled against his chest, hidden beneath his fur.
"Don't die," Amy ordered, her eyes glistening. "That's not a request."
"I'll try my best."
Rouge stepped forward next, pressing a small device into his hand. "Communication beacon. It won't work across dimensions, but if there's any Chaos Energy in the area, you can use it to boost your signal. Might come in handy."
"Thanks, Rouge."
"Don't mention it. Just bring back something shiny."
"I'm going for Chaos Emeralds. They're literally shiny."
"Then I expect at least one as a finder's fee."
Knuckles didn't say anything. He just punched Shadic in the shoulder—hard enough to bruise, but not hard enough to send him flying.
"That's for luck," the echidna said.
"You punch people for LUCK?"
"It's an echidna thing."
"PROBABILITY OF SUCCESS: 67.3%," Omega announced. "PROBABILITY OF SURVIVAL: 72.8%. ACCEPTABLE ODDS."
"Thanks, Omega. That's... actually better than I expected."
"I ROUNDED UP."
"Of course you did."
Cream approached last, Cheese floating beside her. The young rabbit looked nervous, her ears drooping.
"Be safe, Mr. Shadic," she said softly. "And come home soon. Cheese and I will make cookies for when you get back."
"Chao chao!" Cheese added, doing a little flip.
Shadic knelt down to her level. "I'll be back before you know it. Save me the biggest cookie, okay?"
Cream smiled. "Okay."
He stood, turning to face the dimensional breach generator.
Tails was ready, hands hovering over the controls. "Target dimension: Eggman Empire. The first Emerald should be somewhere in the capital. I can't get a more precise location—you'll have to search manually."
"Understood."
"Ready?"
Shadic took a deep breath.
Let's do this, Sonic-brain said.
Agreed, Shadow-brain added.
"Ready."
Tails activated the generator.
The ring hummed with power, energy crackling between its components. The air inside the ring began to shimmer, distort, and then—
A breach opened.
It was like looking into another world through a window. Shadic could see a city on the other side—dark, industrial, covered in smog and dominated by massive Eggman-branded towers.
"The breach is stable," Tails reported. "You have about thirty seconds before it starts collapsing. Go!"
Shadic didn't hesitate.
He stepped through.
The transition was... unpleasant.
For a moment, Shadic existed in two places at once—stretched across dimensions like taffy, his atoms screaming in protest. Colors that didn't exist painted the inside of his skull. Sounds that had no source vibrated through his bones.
Then it was over.
He stumbled into the new dimension, gasping for breath, his body reassembling itself in ways he preferred not to think about.
Okay, Sonic-brain said weakly. That was worse than I expected.
Dimensional transition is disorienting, Shadow-brain observed. But we survived. Focus on the mission.
Shadic straightened, looking around.
The city was even worse up close.
Massive buildings stretched toward a sky choked with pollution. Propaganda screens on every corner displayed Eggman's grinning face, accompanied by slogans like "UNITY THROUGH OBEDIENCE" and "THE EMPIRE PROVIDES." Citizens moved through the streets in drab uniforms, heads down, faces blank.
And everywhere—EVERYWHERE—there were robots.
Eggman's creations patrolled every street, monitored every corner, watched every citizen with unblinking optical sensors. They came in all shapes and sizes, from human-sized sentries to massive war machines that loomed over buildings.
This is..., Sonic-brain couldn't finish the thought.
This is what failure looks like, Shadow-brain said grimly. This is the world where we lost.
Shadic felt sick.
These people—these humans and mobians living under Eggman's boot—they could have been HIS people. His friends. His family. If things had gone differently, if Sonic and Shadow had failed...
This could have been their world.
"Focus," he muttered to himself. "Find the Emerald. Get out. Save the breakdowns for later."
The Dimensional Anchor on his wrist beeped softly, displaying a countdown: 4:47.
Four minutes and forty-seven seconds until it calibrated.
He could do a lot in four minutes.
Shadic took to the rooftops, moving as quietly as he could. His speed wanted to EXPLODE, to launch him across the city in an instant, but he forced himself to stay slow. Stay hidden. Every robot had sensors, and he didn't know what would trigger them.
The Emerald should be nearby, Sonic-brain said. I can feel it. Can you feel it?
Shadic concentrated, reaching out with his Chaos senses.
There.
A pulse of energy, distant but distinct. The unmistakable signature of a Chaos Emerald.
It was coming from the center of the city. From the largest tower. From what was obviously Eggman's personal headquarters.
Of course, Sonic-brain groaned. Of COURSE it's in the most heavily guarded building in the entire dimension.
Did you expect it to be easy? Shadow-brain asked dryly.
"I was hoping," Shadic muttered. "Just a little."
He made his way toward the tower, hopping from rooftop to rooftop, avoiding patrol routes and camera sightlines. It was slow going—painfully slow for someone who could break the sound barrier by WALKING—but necessary.
The Anchor beeped again: 2:30.
Two and a half minutes.
Almost there.
Shadic was perched on a building overlooking the tower's main entrance when he heard it.
A voice.
Coming from behind him.
"Well, well, well. What do we have here?"
Shadic spun—
And froze.
Standing on the rooftop, arms crossed, eyes gleaming with cold amusement, was a figure he recognized.
Blue fur. Green eyes. Red sneakers.
But wrong. All wrong.
The blue hedgehog's fur was darker than it should be, almost navy. His eyes held no warmth, no humor, no life—just cold, calculating intelligence. A scar ran down the left side of his face, from ear to jaw. And his sneakers weren't just red—they were stained with something darker.
Something that looked disturbingly like dried blood.
That's..., Sonic-brain's voice was barely a whisper. That's ME.
No, Shadow-brain corrected, his tone sharp. That's not you. That's what you COULD have been. In this world.
The dark Sonic smiled.
It was not a pleasant smile.
"Another dimension-hopper," he said, his voice a twisted echo of Sonic-brain's usual cheerfulness. "How interesting. And judging by your energy signature..." His eyes narrowed. "You're me. Or at least, PART of you is."
Shadic found his voice. "Who are you?"
"Here? I'm the Commander." The dark Sonic spread his arms wide. "Eggman's right hand. The one who crushed the resistance. The one who hunted down every last hero and made sure they could never threaten the Empire again."
No, Sonic-brain breathed. No, that's not... I would NEVER...
This dimension's Sonic made different choices, Shadow-brain said quietly. Or had different choices made for him. We don't know what happened here.
The Commander took a step forward, and Shadic tensed.
"You have something that belongs to the Empire," the dark Sonic said. "I can feel it. That Chaos Energy signature... you're not from here. And you're looking for something."
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"Liar." The Commander's smile widened. "The Emerald. The green one. Eggman keeps it in the tower. Uses it to power the suppression field that keeps the slaves docile. You want it."
Shadic didn't confirm or deny.
"Here's the thing," the Commander continued, circling slowly. "I don't actually care about the Emerald. Or the Empire. Or any of this." He gestured vaguely at the city below. "I serve Eggman because it's CONVENIENT. Because it gives me power, resources, entertainment. But I'm always looking for something MORE entertaining."
He stopped, facing Shadic directly.
"You're something new. Something INTERESTING. So I'll give you a choice."
"What choice?"
"Fight me." The Commander's eyes blazed with anticipation. "Give me a REAL fight. Something I haven't had in years. If you win, I'll let you take the Emerald and go. I'll even give you a head start before I report the theft."
"And if I lose?"
"Then I turn you over to Eggman, and he dissects you to figure out how dimensional travel works." The Commander shrugged. "Either way, I get what I want."
Shadic's mind raced.
The Anchor beeped: 0:30.
Thirty seconds until calibration.
He could run. The moment the Anchor locked in, he could grab the Emerald and bail. But that would mean leaving this dimension's Sonic alive. Leaving him free to hurt more people, crush more rebellions, serve more evil.
Don't, Sonic-brain said suddenly. Don't fight him for me.
"What?"
This isn't about revenge, or justice, or any of that. This is about the mission. Get the Emerald. Get out. We can't afford to waste time on every wrong we find.
He's right, Shadow-brain agreed reluctantly. Our priority is the Emeralds. This dimension's problems are not ours to solve.
Shadic looked at the Commander.
At this twisted version of the hero whose legacy he carried.
At the monster Sonic could have become.
"No deal," he said.
The Commander's eyes widened with surprise—then narrowed with fury.
"What?"
"I said no deal. I'm not here to fight you. I'm not here to entertain you. I'm here to get what I came for and leave."
The Anchor beeped: 0:00.
Calibration complete.
Shadic felt the tether to his home dimension lock into place, a lifeline stretching across reality.
"If you want to stop me," he continued, "you're welcome to try. But I'm warning you now—you won't like how it ends."
The Commander stared at him for a long moment.
Then he laughed.
It was an ugly sound, devoid of real humor.
"You've got guts. I'll give you that." He uncrossed his arms, dropping into a fighting stance. "But guts aren't enough. Not against me."
He moved.
The Commander was FAST—almost as fast as Shadic at full speed, which should have been impossible. He closed the distance in an instant, fist cocked back for a devastating strike.
Shadic caught it.
The impact sent shockwaves rippling across the rooftop, cracking concrete and shattering nearby windows.
The Commander's eyes went wide.
"What—"
"I told you," Shadic said quietly. "You won't like how this ends."
He squeezed.
The Commander SCREAMED as the bones in his hand compressed, grinding against each other. He tried to pull back, to escape, but Shadic's grip was iron.
"Here's what's going to happen," Shadic said, his voice calm despite the fury burning in his chest. "I'm going to let you go. Then I'm going to get the Emerald. And then I'm going to LEAVE. You're not going to follow me. You're not going to report this to Eggman. You're going to stand here and think about the fact that somewhere out there, there's a version of you who chose to be a HERO instead of a monster."
He released the Commander's hand.
The dark Sonic stumbled back, cradling his injury, eyes blazing with hate and—beneath it—fear.
"This isn't over," he snarled.
"Yes, it is."
Shadic turned and launched himself toward the tower, leaving the Commander behind.
Getting into the tower was almost disappointingly easy.
The security systems were designed to stop normal intruders—humans, robots, the occasional resistance fighter. They were NOT designed to stop a being who could move faster than light and punch through reinforced steel like paper.
Shadic tore through the defenses in seconds, following the Emerald's energy signature up through the tower's levels. Alarms blared. Robots mobilized. But none of it mattered.
He was too fast.
Too strong.
Too ANGRY.
The Commander's face kept flashing in his mind. That twisted smile. Those dead eyes. The casual way he'd talked about crushing rebellions and hunting heroes.
Hey, Sonic-brain said gently. You okay?
"No. But I will be once we're out of here."
Focus on the mission, Shadow-brain reminded him. Emotions can be processed later.
Shadic burst into the tower's central chamber and stopped.
The room was massive—a cathedral of steel and glass, dominated by a machine at its center. The machine hummed with power, energy crackling between its components, and at its core...
The green Chaos Emerald.
It floated in a containment field, its light pulsing gently, seemingly unaware of the horror it was powering.
"There you are," Shadic breathed.
He approached the machine, studying its construction. The containment field was strong—designed to hold the Emerald indefinitely, to drain its power for the Empire's use.
But Shadic was stronger.
He reached through the field, ignoring the energy that burned his fur and scorched his gloves, and wrapped his fingers around the Emerald.
Power surged through him.
The Emerald recognized him—recognized the Chaos Energy he carried, the legacy of Sonic and Shadow that defined his existence. It WANTED to be freed.
Shadic pulled.
The containment field shattered.
Alarms screamed louder. The machine began to collapse. Throughout the tower, suppression systems failed as their power source vanished.
And in the city below, thousands of citizens suddenly found themselves free from the mental fog that had kept them docile for years.
Shadic didn't stay to watch.
He activated the Dimensional Anchor, felt the tether pull tight, and let it drag him home.
The transition was just as unpleasant the second time.
Shadic stumbled out of the breach and collapsed on the grass outside Tails' workshop, the Chaos Emerald clutched in his hand, his body shaking with exhaustion and residual rage.
"SHADIC!" Multiple voices called his name.
Hands helped him up. Faces swam into view—Amy, Tails, Knuckles, Rouge, Omega.
His friends.
His family.
"I got it," he managed, holding up the Emerald. "One down."
Tails took the gem reverently, his eyes wide with wonder. "You did it. You actually did it."
"How do you feel?" Amy demanded. "Are you hurt? What happened? You were only gone for twenty minutes, but the dimensional readings went CRAZY—"
"Twenty minutes?" Shadic blinked. "It felt longer."
"Time flows differently across dimensions," Tails explained. "What felt like an hour to you was only twenty minutes here."
Huh, Sonic-brain said. That's going to be disorienting.
Useful information for future expeditions, Shadow-brain noted.
Shadic let himself be fussed over, let his friends check for injuries and demand explanations. He told them about the Eggman Empire, about the oppressed citizens, about the dark Sonic who called himself the Commander.
He didn't tell them about the rage he'd felt.
About how close he'd come to doing something he couldn't take back.
That was for him to process. Alone.
"One Emerald down," Knuckles said, eyeing the green gem in Tails' hands. "Six to go."
"Six more dimensions," Rouge added. "Six more chances for things to go wrong."
"PROBABILITY OF COMPLETE SUCCESS: 34.7%," Omega announced. "BUT PROBABILITY OF PARTIAL SUCCESS: 78.2%."
"Partial success?" Amy frowned. "What does that mean?"
"IT MEANS WE MAY NOT RETRIEVE ALL SEVEN EMERALDS. BUT WE WILL LIKELY RETRIEVE ENOUGH TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE."
"That's not good enough," Shadic said, his voice firm. "We need ALL of them. That's the only way to seal Nazo permanently."
He pushed himself to his feet, ignoring the protests from his aching muscles.
"When can we go for the next one?"
Tails checked his instruments. "The dimensional fabric needs time to stabilize after a breach. At least twelve hours before we can safely open another one."
"Then we have twelve hours to prepare." Shadic looked at the green Emerald, watching it pulse with quiet power. "And then we do it again. And again. And again, until we have all seven."
That's the spirit, Sonic-brain said approvingly.
Acceptable determination, Shadow-brain agreed.
Amy put her hand on Shadic's shoulder.
"You don't have to do this alone, you know. Even if we can't go WITH you, we're here. We're supporting you. We're waiting for you."
Shadic covered her hand with his own.
"I know. And that's what's going to get me through."
He looked up at the sky—the familiar sky of his adopted home—and felt something settle in his chest.
One down.
Six to go.
And somewhere out there, Nazo was slowly reforming, waiting for his chance at revenge.
The race was on.
Author's Note: Shadic met evil Sonic and didn't like him. Shocking. Next chapter: The second Emerald lies in a post-apocalyptic wasteland, and Shadic discovers that not all survivors are grateful to be saved.