The third dimension was wrong.
Shadic knew it the moment he stepped through the breach. Not wrong like the Eggman Empire had been wrong—that was moral wrongness, societal corruption, evil given form and power. Not wrong like the wasteland had been wrong—that was tragedy, catastrophe, the aftermath of good intentions gone horribly sideways.
This was FUNDAMENTALLY wrong.
Wrong in ways that made his brain hurt just trying to process.
The sky was below him.
No—wait. The sky was EVERYWHERE. Above, below, to the sides. An infinite expanse of swirling purple and gold, dotted with stars that moved in patterns that hurt to look at directly. And he was standing on... something. A surface that felt solid under his feet but looked like crystallized light.
What the ACTUAL— Sonic-brain started.
Don't try to understand it, Shadow-brain interrupted sharply. Your mind isn't equipped. Just accept what you see and move forward.
"Easy for you to say," Shadic muttered. "You're not the one whose eyes are trying to crawl out of his skull."
He took a careful step forward.
The ground rippled like water, but remained solid.
Another step.
This time, the ground stayed still, but HE rippled—his body stretching and compressing in ways that should have been agonizing but somehow felt like nothing at all.
Okay, Sonic-brain said slowly. Okay, this is... this is FINE. We're fine. Everything is fine.
Your denial is unconvincing.
SHUT UP, SHADOW.
The Dimensional Anchor beeped: 4:52.
Good. The Anchor was still working. That meant SOMETHING in this dimension followed rules, even if those rules weren't apparent.
Shadic reached out with his Chaos senses, searching for the Emerald.
The response was... confusing.
The Emerald's signature was everywhere and nowhere at once. It pulsed from a direction that didn't exist, called to him from a place that couldn't be reached by moving forward, backward, or any combination thereof.
"Tails said physics work differently here," Shadic muttered. "He didn't say physics had GIVEN UP."
Try going up? Sonic-brain suggested.
Shadic looked up.
The sky—one of the skies, anyway—stared back at him. Stars blinked in what might have been Morse code or might have been random chance.
He jumped.
And immediately regretted it.
Gravity didn't exist here—or rather, gravity existed in every direction at once, pulling him toward everything and nothing simultaneously. His body tumbled through the non-space, spinning end over end, until he managed to grab onto a passing chunk of crystallized light and anchor himself.
"OKAY," he gasped. "No jumping. No jumping is a RULE now."
We need a different approach, Shadow-brain observed. Physical movement isn't working. Perhaps we should try Chaos Control.
"Teleport to WHERE? I don't even know where the Emerald IS."
You know its signature, Sonic-brain pointed out. You don't need to know WHERE it is—you just need to focus on REACHING it.
That... actually made a weird kind of sense.
In a dimension where space didn't work properly, maybe the solution wasn't to navigate space at all. Maybe it was to ignore space entirely and just... go where he needed to go.
Shadic closed his eyes.
He focused on the Emerald's signature—that erratic, everywhere-and-nowhere pulse that had been taunting him since he arrived. He didn't try to locate it in space. He just... reached for it.
"Chaos Control."
The world shifted.
When Shadic opened his eyes, he was somewhere else.
Still wrong. Still impossible. But differently wrong and impossible.
He was standing in what looked like a library—if libraries were designed by beings who had never seen straight lines and considered gravity a polite suggestion. Bookshelves curved in directions that shouldn't exist, their contents floating freely in the air. The floor was the ceiling was the walls, all at once, depending on how you looked at it.
And at the center of the room, floating serenely in a bubble of stabilized reality, was the yellow Chaos Emerald.
"Oh thank god," Shadic breathed. "Something that makes sense."
He took a step toward the Emerald.
The floor moved.
No—the floor BECAME something else. One moment it was solid crystal, the next it was liquid starlight, the next it was gone entirely and Shadic was falling through an endless void of equations and abstract concepts.
WHAT IS HAPPENING, Sonic-brain screamed.
DON'T PANIC, Shadow-brain commanded. CHAOS CONTROL AGAIN. FOCUS ON THE EMERALD.
"CHAOS CONTROL!"
Another shift.
Shadic was back in the library. The Emerald floated ten feet away.
He didn't move.
Good call, Sonic-brain said weakly. Let's just... not move. Moving is bad.
The dimension is reactive, Shadow-brain analyzed. It responds to physical movement by becoming unstable. We need to find another way to reach the Emerald.
"How? I can't walk. I can't run. I can barely STAND without reality having a breakdown."
Maybe... don't try to move your body?
"What?"
This place doesn't work on physics, right? Physical movement causes problems. So maybe the solution is to move WITHOUT moving.
Shadic blinked.
"That makes absolutely no sense."
Nothing here makes sense! That's the POINT! You're trying to apply logic to a place that doesn't HAVE logic. Stop thinking like a person and start thinking like... I don't know... like CHAOS.
Chaos.
Chaos Energy.
The power that defied natural law, that bent reality to its will, that existed in the spaces between what was possible and what was supposed to be.
Maybe Sonic-brain was onto something.
Shadic stopped trying to move his body.
Instead, he focused on his Chaos Energy—the power that flowed through him like blood, that connected him to the Emeralds, that made him something more than just a fusion of two hedgehogs.
He imagined that energy extending outward. Reaching for the Emerald. Not moving through space, but BECOMING the space between them.
The yellow Emerald pulsed.
Shadic's energy pulsed back.
Slowly, the bubble of stable reality around the Emerald began to expand. It crept across the impossible library, pushing back the madness, creating a path of sanity between Shadic and his goal.
The Emerald was coming to HIM.
Or he was going to IT.
Or both were happening at once and neither was happening at all.
He decided not to think about it too hard.
The bubble reached him. Stability washed over Shadic like a warm bath, and suddenly he could BREATHE again. His thoughts cleared. His vision stopped hurting.
And the yellow Chaos Emerald floated directly in front of his face.
"Oh," he said. "That worked."
THAT WORKED! Sonic-brain cheered. I can't believe that WORKED!
Don't celebrate yet, Shadow-brain warned. We still need to—
"Who are you?"
Shadic spun—or tried to. The bubble of stability limited his movement, keeping him locked in place relative to the Emerald.
A figure emerged from the chaos beyond the bubble.
It was... hard to describe.
Humanoid, sort of. But its proportions were wrong—limbs too long, joints bending in directions that made Shadic's eyes water. Its skin (if it could be called skin) was translucent, showing glimpses of something swirling beneath. And its face...
Its face had no features except a mouth.
A mouth with far, far too many teeth.
"You are not from here," the figure said. Its voice came from everywhere at once—from inside the bubble, from outside, from inside Shadic's own HEAD. "You do not belong."
"Yeah, I figured that out," Shadic replied, trying to keep his voice steady. "I just need the Emerald, and then I'll leave."
"The Emerald belongs to us." The figure drifted closer, its too-long limbs folding and unfolding in patterns that hurt to watch. "It fell from another place. It brought order to our chaos. We have grown... accustomed to its presence."
Great, Sonic-brain muttered. The locals want to keep it.
Negotiation may be necessary, Shadow-brain observed. This being doesn't appear immediately hostile.
"I understand," Shadic said carefully. "The Emerald is valuable. It brings stability to your world. But I NEED it. There's something threatening my dimension—something that will destroy everything if I can't stop it."
"Your dimension is not our concern."
"Maybe not. But if my dimension falls, others might follow. The being I'm fighting—Nazo—he feeds on Chaos Energy. On destruction. On endings. If he wins in my world, he'll grow stronger. Strong enough to reach OTHER worlds. Maybe even yours."
The figure paused.
Its mouth twisted into something that might have been a frown.
"You speak of the Hungry One."
Shadic blinked. "The Hungry One?"
"An entity of consumption. Of endings. It has touched our reality before, long ago. We remember the taste of its presence." The figure's mouth twisted further—definitely a grimace now. "It was... unpleasant."
"That's Nazo. Or something like him. And he's coming back. I'm trying to stop him."
"With the Emeralds?"
"With all seven of them. They're the only way to seal him permanently."
The figure drifted in a slow circle around Shadic, its limbs folding and unfolding thoughtfully.
"You are... unusual," it observed. "Your energy is strange. Familiar but different. Like a chord with an extra note."
That's us, Sonic-brain said. The three-in-one special.
The fusion, Shadow-brain clarified. It's detecting our combined signature.
"I'm a fusion," Shadic explained. "Three beings in one body. It's... complicated."
"Complexity is familiar to us." The figure stopped its circling. "We exist as many-in-one as well. Fragments of a greater whole, scattered across this space, thinking thoughts that overlap and contradict."
"Then maybe you understand. I'm not here to take something from you. I'm here to SAVE things. All things. Including your many-in-one."
Silence.
The chaos beyond the bubble swirled and churned, as if reflecting the figure's internal debate.
Finally, the mouth twisted into something new. Something that might have been a smile, if smiles were made of too many teeth and existential dread.
"We will let you take the Emerald," the figure said. "But you must do something for us in return."
Shadic tensed. "What kind of something?"
"Answer a question. Truthfully. We will know if you lie."
A question. That was it?
Seems too easy, Sonic-brain said suspiciously.
Nothing is ever easy, Shadow-brain agreed.
"Okay," Shadic said. "Ask your question."
The figure leaned closer.
Its mouth opened wide—wider than should have been possible, revealing rows upon rows of teeth that spiraled inward like a fractal nightmare.
"What do you fear?"
The question hung in the air.
Simple words. Profound implications.
What DO we fear? Sonic-brain wondered. I mean, I was never afraid of much. Speed takes care of most problems.
I feared being alone, Shadow-brain admitted quietly. Being forgotten. Being nothing more than a weapon.
But the figure wasn't asking Sonic or Shadow.
It was asking Shadic.
What did HE fear?
He thought about the Commander—that twisted version of Sonic who had become a monster. He thought about the wasteland—the world destroyed by a hero's failed sacrifice. He thought about his old life, his family, the people who thought he was dead.
But those weren't his deepest fears.
Those were surface-level anxieties, valid but not fundamental.
His REAL fear...
"Failure," Shadic said.
The figure tilted its head.
"Explain."
"I'm not... I'm not supposed to BE here. I was nobody. A regular guy who died in the stupidest way possible. And now I'm supposed to be a HERO. I have all this power, all these memories, all these expectations... and I'm terrified that it won't be enough."
The words poured out, faster than he could stop them.
"I'm afraid that I'll let everyone down. That I'll fail to stop Nazo, and everyone who trusted me will suffer for it. That I'll prove I was never worthy of this body, this power, this LEGACY. Sonic and Shadow were REAL heroes. They earned their abilities through years of fighting, of growing, of BEING who they were. I just... inherited them. And I'm afraid that when it really matters, when everything's on the line, I'll choke. I'll fail. And everyone will realize I was never the right choice."
Silence.
The chaos beyond the bubble had stopped churning. Everything was still.
Dude, Sonic-brain said softly. You never told us any of that.
We should have asked, Shadow-brain admitted.
The figure regarded Shadic for a long moment.
Then its mouth closed, the rows of teeth receding, leaving something almost... gentle.
"Your fear is honest," it said. "And more importantly, it is the fear of one who CARES. Who values the responsibility they carry. Who understands the weight of their role."
"That's... good?"
"That is acceptable." The figure drifted backward. "The ones who fail are those who do not fear failure. They become complacent. Arrogant. They stop growing. But you... you are aware of your weakness. You struggle against it. You STRIVE."
"So I can take the Emerald?"
"You may take it. But remember what you have confessed, Shadic of Three. Let your fear drive you forward, not hold you back. Use it as fuel, not chains."
The bubble of stability around Shadic expanded suddenly, pushing back against the chaos. The yellow Emerald drifted into his hands, warm and solid and REAL.
"We will remember you," the figure said, its form beginning to dissolve back into the madness. "And we will watch. If you fail... if the Hungry One comes for us... we will know who to blame."
"No pressure, right?"
The figure laughed—a sound like breaking glass and distant thunder.
"All the pressure. That is the nature of responsibility."
And then it was gone.
Getting out of the dimension was easier than getting in.
The Emerald's stabilizing influence extended around Shadic like a shield, pushing back the impossible physics long enough for him to reach out with his Chaos senses and find the tether of his Dimensional Anchor.
One Chaos Control later, and he was tumbling back through the breach into the familiar grass of his home dimension.
"SHADIC!"
Hands caught him before he could hit the ground. Amy and Tails, their faces tight with worry.
"What happened?!" Tails demanded. "You were in there for HOURS! The dimensional readings went completely haywire—I couldn't get a lock on your position—"
"Hours?" Shadic blinked. "It felt like maybe... thirty minutes?"
"It's been six hours here," Amy said. "We were starting to think..."
She didn't finish the sentence.
She didn't need to.
Shadic held up the yellow Emerald. "Three down. Four to go."
Tails took the gem, running it through his scanners with shaking hands. "The energy is stable. More than stable—it's ENHANCED. Like it absorbed something from that dimension."
"Probably absorbed some of the chaos," Shadic said. "The whole place was... I can't even describe it. Nothing worked. Nothing made SENSE. I had to solve the problem by NOT solving it, if that makes any sense."
"It doesn't," Knuckles said flatly. He was standing nearby, arms crossed, looking relieved despite his gruff expression. "But you're back. That's what matters."
"MISSION SUCCESS RATE: 42.9%," Omega announced. "PROBABILITY OF OVERALL SUCCESS: INCREASING."
"Thanks, Omega. Very encouraging."
"YOU ARE WELCOME."
Rouge examined Shadic with a critical eye. "You look worse than last time. Whatever happened in there, it took a lot out of you."
"It did." Shadic slumped, suddenly feeling the weight of everything he'd been through. "The dimension was alive, sort of. It talked to me. Asked me questions."
"What kind of questions?"
"Personal ones." Shadic looked away. "I'd rather not..."
"You don't have to explain," Amy said quickly. "What matters is you made it back. You got the Emerald. You're okay."
Was he okay?
Shadic wasn't sure.
The fear he'd confessed to the figure—that deep, gnawing terror of failure—was still there. Still present. But somehow, saying it out loud had made it feel... smaller. More manageable.
Like acknowledging the monster under the bed had robbed it of some of its power.
Hey, Sonic-brain said gently. For what it's worth... I think you're doing fine.
Adequate, Shadow-brain agreed. Given the circumstances.
That's high praise from Shadow, by the way.
It's ACCURATE praise. Don't exaggerate.
Shadic smiled despite himself.
"Thanks, guys."
"Were you talking to the brain-ghosts?" Tails asked.
"Yeah."
"What did they say?"
"They said I'm doing okay." Shadic pushed himself upright. "And they're right. I AM doing okay. Not perfect—not even close. But okay."
Amy helped him to his feet. "That's all anyone can ask for."
"Speaking of which," Rouge said, "the next dimension. When do we go?"
Tails checked his displays. "The fabric needs more time to stabilize. That last breach was... rough. Maybe twenty-four hours before we can safely open another one."
"Then I've got twenty-four hours to recover." Shadic looked at the three Emeralds they'd collected—green, cyan, yellow—sitting in containment fields on Tails' workbench. "And then we do it again."
"Are you sure you're up for it?" Amy's concern was evident. "You just spent six hours in a dimension where physics doesn't work. Maybe you should take a longer break."
"I can't." Shadic shook his head. "Every day I rest is a day Nazo gets stronger. A day closer to his reformation. I have to keep moving."
She's got a point, though, Sonic-brain said. Pushing too hard will just make you sloppy.
But waiting too long gives the enemy time to prepare, Shadow-brain countered.
"Split the difference," Shadic decided. "I'll rest, but I'll also keep training. Light stuff—control exercises, precision work. Nothing that'll drain my energy too much."
"I'll monitor your vitals," Tails offered. "Make sure you don't overdo it."
"And I'LL make sure you eat," Amy added firmly. "You burned through a lot of energy. You need to refuel."
"CALORIC INTAKE RECOMMENDATIONS: 15,000 CALORIES MINIMUM," Omega supplied. "PROTEIN EMPHASIS. CARBOHYDRATES FOR ENERGY RESTORATION."
"That's... a lot of chili dogs."
"I'LL COMPILE A MENU."
"Please don't."
"TOO LATE. COMPILATION COMPLETE."
Shadic sighed, but he was smiling.
This was his life now.
Dimension-hopping, Emerald-hunting, monster-fighting, and being force-fed by robots and friends who cared too much.
He wouldn't have it any other way.
That night, Shadic sat on the cliff overlooking the ocean, watching the stars.
Three Emeralds.
Three dimensions.
Three lessons.
The Eggman Empire had taught him that even heroes could become monsters. That good intentions weren't enough—that choices mattered, that circumstances shaped people, that the line between savior and destroyer was thinner than anyone wanted to admit.
The wasteland had taught him that heroes could fail. That power wasn't a guarantee of success. That sometimes, despite everything, the good guys lost. But it had also taught him that even failed heroes could leave something behind. That sacrifice, even botched sacrifice, could still plant seeds of hope.
And this dimension—this impossible, senseless realm of broken physics and too-many-teeth entities—had taught him something even more important.
That acknowledging his fears didn't make him weak.
It made him honest.
You okay? Sonic-brain asked.
"Yeah," Shadic said. "I think I am."
The next dimension is the one with the energy barrier, Shadow-brain reminded him. The one we couldn't scan. We should prepare for anything.
"I know. But right now..." Shadic took a deep breath, letting the salt air fill his lungs. "Right now, I just want to sit here. Look at the stars. Remember that there's a universe worth saving."
That's... surprisingly poetic, Sonic-brain observed.
"I have my moments."
They sat in comfortable silence—three minds in one body, watching the stars wheel overhead, preparing for whatever came next.
Four Emeralds left.
Four more dimensions to explore.
Four more chances to grow.
Shadic was ready.
Author's Note: Shadic learned that sometimes the hardest battles are the ones you fight inside your own head. Next chapter: The fourth Emerald lies behind an energy barrier that no one can penetrate... except maybe someone who doesn't play by the rules.