Chapter Text
Taking a deep breath in-
-then letting a big exhale out-
-another deep breath in-
-another exhale out-
-breath in-
-exhale out-
-in-
-out-
Nine checks the time.
He’s not sure how long he’s been sitting here, in this universe, waiting for the nausea and anxiety to lessen enough so that he can breathe without issue. The portal device sat a few inches away from when he nearly threw it off, desperate not to damage it as he raked his hands through his fur. His knees were pressed into his chest that they cracked and popped when he extended them. He sighs.
The device shows he’s been in this universe, Universe 331, for over two hours now. Strange it…it didn’t feel like it. It feels like minutes since he saw-
He swallows as his throat closes a bit. His breath wavers and he can feel a shiver run through his spine.
Since he saw what could’ve happened if he continued to blindly follow his wants.
Did that Sonic even hear him? Did he notice Nine was there? Or- or was he too far gone to not be autonomous anymore? Almost fully ab- ab- absorbed by the Prism to no longer be himself.
Where was that Universe’s Nine? Was he out there helping what happened?
Or was he the cause of it?
He’s not sure if he wants to know.
A big, rotten, terrible feeling fills his chest as something dawns on him. He had gotten close to killing Sonic. If Nine had gotten his way, what would have happened to the hedgehog? Would he have been erased from existence entirely? Would he reappear in Green Hill? Would…would the Prism recreate him…?
Or would the Prism have made what was left of Sonic part of it. It’s new vessel, something that couldn’t easily get shattered or used or taken or stored or abused or -
A tear falls down the side of his face as he feels the ugly emotion start to bubble up with his breathing.
Oh chaos- he nearly killed Sonic . He nearly killed him and the hedgehog let him- he let Nine take the energy that was keeping him stable and almost died . All because he wanted to save the Shatterverse and its people. People who were all warped counterparts of his actual friends, even a warped counterpart of his enemy . He saved them all and nearly lost his life because of it.
Sonic stood up for him, even when they were enemies.
Nine returns to the same huddled position from before, and stares out into the forest. He counts the leaves on a plant. Watches dewdrops fall from the sky to the ground. Listens to the soft breeze as it flows past.
He wonders if Sonic forgot him.
This whole time, Nine told himself he wouldn’t be surprised if Sonic forgot him. And yet…he gets a feeling that isn’t true.
Sonic remembers people. For the good and the bad. The Shatterverse may have been confusing and ultimately terrifying in the beginning for him but he learned. He remembered the names of all the alternate versions of his friends, his enemy, and the worlds they’re from.
He remembered Nine when most people told him to forget.
Maybe…maybe a trip back wouldn’t be terrible. At least to thank him. Nothing else.
But only after he’s found a home. Somewhere he could return to.
Yeah…sounds like a plan.
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He decided to explore where he ended up. He figured he should at least find somewhere to stay the night, since Universe 330 had…put an edge on any further traveling right now. Plus, it had been a few days since he found a safe universe. He’s pretty sure the Universe where he met King Arthur Sonic was the last, fully safe place he was in. With no threat of otherworldly events or evils tearing apart the land.
He periodically scanned the area as he went, but practically picked up almost nothing of importance. The animals lived in peace around here, he even spotted what Mobians called “Chao” in one area. They had tried to get him to play with them (at least, he thinks they did) but he sped past. In every scan, he kept seeing a strange energy source come up on the reader. Despite the last time he picked up a strange energy source- that ended up being a Dark Gaia fragment, this was different. After examining the readings a bit more, this new energy source put off the exact opposite of the Gaia Fragments.
Which hopefully meant no evil energy monsters.
As he gets close, he starts seeing evidence of ruined villages and stone structures. Mobians lived here at one point. Based on what he sees, it was time that wiped them out. Trees start to part as the ground becomes more stone than soil. Nine figures the stone pathways also lead to the energy source. He wouldn’t be surprised if it was worshiped by the people here.
Soon he sees the sky overhead, and the stone path leads out to a wider one. The area is more open, and other small pathways split from it. He looks left to see the pathway not get very far, practically disappearing into the jungle again. To his right-
…A giant emerald?
He blinks before lifting his arm to scan it. No yeah, that's where the energy readings have been coming from. He looks at it again.
The emerald sits at the top of a column of stairs, in what must have been its temple at some point. Old, weathered pillars rise up alongside it. The emerald shines a bright green in the sunlight, though something tells him the light is from something else entirely.
He…knows this emerald. At least he thinks he does. It’s definitely from Sonic’s history- maybe something related to the Chaos Emeralds he’s heard about? Actually- yeah! There was an eighth one right? Well, not an eighth Chaos Emerald but another important one. This one was here to manage? Right, to manage the other emeralds if they fell into the wrong hands. But what was it-
The Master Emerald!
Right, that was how Sonic met the original version of Renegade, Knuckles the Echidna. He takes a few steps closer to the stairs but pauses. There was something else to this that he was forgetting.
Sonic had met Knuckles here, in the resting place of the Master Emerald. Looking around, he scans the area again to search for any lifeforms. He couldn’t cover the entirety of this area, isn’t it an island(?), but he would still try. Because if he’s here-
-then where was the Guardian?