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He was alone now. Just like he wanted to be. So why, did it feel so wrong? He had everything he had wanted and fought for now. Everyone left him, just like they had promised. He could finally live in peace. So why did he feel so empty inside?
Nine looked around his messed up lab to find an answer to that question. His gaze stopped at the two palm trees he had made some time ago. The ones, that he had made for Sonic.
Sonic. His heart ached, remembering him, the only person who had ever cared about him. His only friend. The one, who he had hurt, maybe even killed.
*Flashback*
The Roses had returned after a while and told everyone, that they had gotten Sonic as far as they could and that Shadow had taken over the rest of the way. They had continued with reporting, that he had entered the gateway, but they couldn’t be sure if he had made it in time. After that, they boarded everyone and gave them a ride to their respective homes.
*Flashback end*
This uncertainty of not knowing, if Sonic even survived or was dead, ate at him. Now the only things that remained of Sonic in the Shatterverse were his memories of him and those palms. Looking at them hurt and made the yearning for his friend almost unbearable. Was that how Sonic had felt all this time? Desperately trying to get his friends and his home back?
Nine couldn’t take this feeling anymore, so he looked away and decided to leave his lab. He needed to get an overview of the current state the Grim was in anyway.
He walked around the barren wasteland the Grim consisted of. This was his home now, the place he had wanted and fought so desperately for. A safe space, where he could live in peace and no one could hurt him. The perfect place for him. At least that was what he had thought. The excitement and love he had once felt for this place were gone. All this empty scenery now did, was emphasize how truly alone he was.
He realized that it had never been this place that had filled him with happiness, but the thought of living together with Sonic, someone who cared about him. Someone, who had shown him what it was like to have a friend. With Sonic gone the whole appeal of the Grim vanished too. Since the Paradox Prism was also gone, he couldn’t even form it the way he had wanted anymore. He couldn’t even create himself a friend, even if that was the only thing he now longed for.
Of course, he could always use the parts of the destroyed robots that were lying around everywhere to do that, but it wouldn’t be the same. He didn’t want an obeying robot as a friend anymore. He wanted someone who chose to be his friend and not because they were programmed to be.
Nine had been walking for a while, his only companion those heavy thoughts that were pulling him down, when he suddenly stopped. His brows wrinkled in confusion. Grass? There, in front of him was a small, lone tuft of grass. Usually, this wouldn’t be a cause for confusion, but considering that the Grim was a wasteland that hadn’t shown any sign of life before, made this discovery extraordinaire. It showed that life could develop here.
He took a step forward to further examine it but halted when his ears started to twitch, picking up a faraway noise. A cry? Did the others leave someone behind? He turned towards the direction the cry came from.
Facing the right direction, Nine suddenly felt some kind of pull. It was as if he was connected to whatever was crying with a thread and someone was lightly pulling on it. It felt strange. But regardless of that feeling, he had to find out the source of the cry. So he followed it.
But with every step that he took, each meter he left behind, that feeling only intensified. An unexplainable and desperate need to reach the source took over him. So he quickened his pace.
The cries got louder, the pulling stronger. He was almost there. And then he abruptly stopped. His eyes widened. He couldn’t believe his eyes. There, in front of him was a full-grown palm tree. It was one thing for a tuft of grass to suddenly appear in this region, but a whole palm? That sounded more like something out of a fairytale than what could happen in reality. Still, it stood proudly in front of him and those cries seemed to originate from it.
Shaking his head to push these thoughts to the back of his mind for now, he focused on the task at hand and slowly approached the palm tree. Once there, he quickly learned that the source of the cries had to be behind the palm. He ought to have seen something in front of it otherwise. So he looked behind it and… His eyes widened again.
“Sonic?”
There, on the ground nestled against the trunk laid a small, blue bundle, that except for the size seemed to look exactly like Sonic. Nine couldn’t believe it. Never would he have guessed, that those cries had been coming from Sonic. Or well, at least a version of him. He didn’t think it possible. Through all his life in New Yoke and his experiences with the other Shatter-Spaces, he never had met or seen someone like Sonic before and figured that he was just one of a kind. So why was there now an alternate version of him? What changed?
Having been deep in thought, it only now occurred to him that those cries that had led him here, have stopped. He looked down at the Sonic lookalike. Wide, glassy eyes met his gaze. Seems like the size isn’t the only difference between him and Sonic. Instead of the emerald eyes, he had gotten to know these past few weeks, a pair of vibrant light green stared back at him.
Although the cries had ceased, the quivering bottom lip of the kid told Nine that it would be only a matter of time before he would start again. No sooner had he thought about that than the kid began to cry anew. This time it was even louder than before, so Nine grimaced and folded his sensitive ears towards his head to dampen the volume. He stepped towards the kid and crouched down. This action brought him even closer to the loud cries, but if he wanted to help the kid he had to endure it for now.
Nine didn’t have any experience in how to calm down a little kid. He couldn’t even draw on his upbringing for that, since no one had taken care of him. As far as he could remember he had always been alone. He had to survive all on his own. But regardless of his inexperience, he had to try. How hard could it be?
Listening to his instinct, he slowly reached out his right hand and started to carefully pet the kid’s head, while being mindful of his quills. Unfortunately, this didn’t seem to do anything, so he decided to simultaneously comfort him with words. “It’s okay” and “I’m here” were just two examples of what he said. But no matter what he said, nothing seemed to work. What can I do? How can I comfort him?
Suddenly an idea hit him. An idea, that brought a memory from only hours ago back to the forefront of his mind.
Shortly before the Roses had taken Sonic towards the gateway, Nine had hugged him. He never had been a big fan of physical affection, the lack thereof in his life no doubt being the reason for that. The only touch he had known then, had been painful and marked with bad memories. But that changed when he met Sonic. His touches had been warm and comforting. So when Nine himself needed consolation before Sonic had to leave, he instigated that hug. And when Sonic had returned it and held him tightly, a warmth had spread inside him and soothed him.
If a simple hug had been able to calm him down, maybe it would work here too. He at least could give it a try. However given the size and state of the kid, it would have to be a little bit different from the hug he had shared with Sonic. The kid was in no condition to hold onto Nine himself, so he had to approach it differently.
First, he reached his left hand out and placed it under the kid’s knees. Then he moved his right hand, that up until now had been petting the head of the kid, behind his back. Once that was done, Nine slowly stood up. Although he had tried to make the transition from lying on the ground to being lifted as smooth as possible, it still felt sudden for the kid. So the cries raised in volume. He grimaced again at that, but used the through this posture newly gained mobility, to position the kid’s head so that it was leaning on his chest. Thereby he was mindful of the quills, that were still standing out, a clear sign of how distressed the kid was.
With this change in position, the kid was able to feel the warmth of another body. Realizing this resulting closeness and the arms that were wrapped securely around him, the cries abruptly stopped. At least for the most part. There were still some sobs escaping, but it seemed like they were over the worst. Nine sighed in relief at that and his ears were finally able to unfurl themselves from his head.
To take care of the kid’s remaining distress, he instinctively started to rock him. While he did that, he gently talked to him, trying to reassure him even further. And it worked. The sobs stilled and his quills relaxed, losing their sharp edges. The kid seemed exhausted, all this crying had to have taken a toll on him. His eyes were almost completely shut and he fought to stay awake. But a big yawn sealed his fate and so he snuggled up closer to Nine and gave in.
Seeing that Nine released a sigh of relief again while being careful to not wake the kid. He took one last look at the sleeping kid in his arms, before he raised his gaze, planning to ready himself to head home. But before he could do that, he froze at what he saw.
While he had been occupied with the kid, he hadn’t looked around them. So it came as a surprise to suddenly see sprigs of palm trees all around them. Sure, they weren’t much to look at yet, but once they were fully grown it would make a beautiful place. He didn’t know how this was even possible. There was no logical explanation for that. But for now, he had to take it as it was.
Nine stared a moment longer at the sight in front of him before he turned around and began the trek back home. He wasn’t alone anymore. He now had to take care of someone.