Archive of Our Own

“What-what’s going on?”

Sonic was transparent. He was feeling foggy and drained. It was like he had woken up from a dream, but it was still playing in his head.

He stood up against a wall. At first, he did not know where he was. After a moment to look around, he saw it was familiar. It looked like Nine’s base, with the paradox prism in all its glory in front of him. It provided various hues of soft lighting around the space. But it was empty. Just a minute ago, everyone was here. Friends and enemies, tensely waiting together, wondering whether the shatterverse would survive.

There was a gasp from somewhere nearby.

Sonic turned at the voice, locating it. Nine walked up to him, in shock.

“Sonic? You’re…feeling alright?”

“Hey there, bud.” Sonic tried to stand up straight and take a step to him. But he couldn’t find his balance. He had to keep leaning on the wall. “I’m great…never better!”

Sonic adjusted his eyes, but his vision was hazy. He saw some rays of light that fell on him. Strangely, they only shone on him, and not the wall behind him. Even when he moved an arm or a leg, the rays moved to cover him. It was almost like he was being projected into a 3-D space.

“But, uh…what’s going on?”

Nine got up close. He observed Sonic for a while, somewhat awestruck.

“Buddy?” Sonic asked.

Nine carefully extended his hand out to Sonic’s side. Sonic watched as he gently felt him. He wasn’t sure what was going on, but let him do what he was doing.

Then, Nine smiled. Sonic saw his genuine happiness and relief.

Suddenly, he wrapped his arms around Sonic in a tight hug. Surprised at first, the hedgehog’s expression softened, and he squeezed Nine back. Sonic treasured each second. It was nice that in his drained state, he could still feel things – not just physically, but in his heart, too.

“You’re gonna be okay, Sonic…”

“I know, Nine. Everyone is.”

He rustled the fox’s hair as Nine pulled away.

“So, uh…what’s happening here?”

“Tch,” Nine intoned like it was obvious. “I’m keeping you alive!”

“Ah…should’ve guessed.” Sonic looked at his semi-transparent body. “So…I gave up my energy…and the prism is…complete?”

“You did, and it is!” Nine said, enthusiasm restrained, but clear. The monumentality of the task was evident with each color of the shards. Every one of them from a different shatterverse. Every one of them requiring them to overcome numerous enemies. Finally, they were together, and safe.

“So, uh…” Sonic looked again at his body, trying to flex a muscle. “Now I’m…”

“This will keep you alive as long as you’re away from your world.” Nine said. “Now that the prism is complete, its energy is effectively limitless. I wasn’t gonna take any chances…so as soon as it was reassembled and had harnessed the energy within you, I programmed it to take us here.”

Sonic looked around. He had déjà vu. “Which is…?”

“It’s just the grim…but I sorta removed part of it from time and space.”

“Huh?”

“You may be aware the prism has great influence over temporal spaces. Your old world is currently in a state of suspension for everyone who was there when the prism was shattered. But if you weren’t shattered, like you or me, we can still roam around and interact with it. Just imagine that, but I did it in a controlled setting to protect both of us.”

“Woah…” Sonic tried to process this. “So does that mean everybody like Thorn or Dr. Deep has a ghost here that repeats the same words, like, ‘You’ll always have a wingman?’”

“I don’t know, maybe…” Nine said, not interested in the question.

“So, why did you do that?”

“To make sure you were alright, and correct any issues with your composition if they arose…but also so we can take our time to think through things. Don’t have to feel pressured or have a bunch of people talking over each other.”

“Good thinking, as usual.” Sonic agreed.

Nine turned to the prism. “Now it’s just a matter of…what to do next…”

Sonic watched him for a little while. Nine kept looking the prism over, hands behind his back.

“We’ve…got everything we need to restore things, don’t we?” Sonic asked. Nine had said as much back a few minutes ago. With the completed prism, it had to be possible.

Nine pointed at a screen. “Look.”

Sonic squinted to make out the symbols on the screen. There was a progress bar, and some kind of image. A loop-de-loop in the grass. He gasped. “Green Hill…”

“The reformation process is underway. It’ll be ready for you once we get out of here.”

“Wow…” Sonic said, shaking his head in amazed disbelief. “It’s…really coming back.”

“Sure is. This is how it should have been from the start. Just you and me, and the prism,” said Nine, gesturing to it. His tone was matter-of-fact. “We don’t have to fight. We can just talk, and work out our needs.”

Sonic nodded again. “Right, yeah...”

“For you, Green Hill. For me, the grim. I’ll make sure there’s a way between the two,” he moved closer, trying to make sure Sonic understood. “On my end, I’ll keep everything running efficiently and make sure the prism is stable. And I’ll build my world.”

“The prism will be…where? Here?”

“Yes, now that it’s complete. I know it was in your world before, but don’t worry, it will function perfectly without it. Next time you return, you’ll be right back where you were – just without the prism around.”

Sonic nodded. “And you’ll be…?”

Nine gave a half-hearted nod. “The grim. It’s…where I said I wanted to live, after all.”

“…Alone?”

Nine gave a brief frown. “I’ll find a way between our two worlds, no problem. I’ll give you upgraded shoes!” he said, the idea suddenly coming to him. “I’ll make some new regulators for myself too. Then we’ll both have access to each other’s worlds. I might have to go to you first to give you the shoes. But we’ll be able to go between our worlds with portals! I’ll just need a little time to test, but with the prism, it should be no problem!”

Sonic wondered for a moment if leaving Nine alone with the prism was alright. But he didn’t have much choice. At least by restoring Green Hill, Nine now seemed to care about worlds other than his own.

“Wow…just…wow, ha-ha! I cannot wait for you to meet some of my friends. They’re all so cool. I mean, there’s obviously Tails, and Amy, and Knuckles, Rouge, Big – wait, you kinda know them. Okay…there’s Vector, and Espio, and Charmy, Blaze, and Silver- oh, and Shadow. You and him would get along. If you ever feel like brooding, hit him up, he’s always down for that!”

Nine had a wry smile on his face. “You’ve got a lot of friends, don’t you?”

“Hey, I know…” Sonic acknowledged. “It was tougher to make friends where you came from…”

Nine blinked. “No, really. It’s nice your world is like that. I uh…look forward to checking it out…”

This warmed Sonic’s heart. It seemed about as honest as Nine could make it. Which was to say, he was somewhat forcing it out of himself so Sonic would be happy. Which, all things considered, was a remarkable development for the misanthropic fox.

“It’s a nice place to live,” Sonic said. “Not without problems, but there’s plenty of good there that makes it worthwhile.”

Nine looked at him. “If there’s one thing this whole experience has taught me, it’s that there’s all kinds of worlds in this universe…totally different environments. Some of them seem like great places. Others…are hellish existences. Living in pain, without hope.”

“Oh, uh…” Sonic moved his neck back and forth, then stopped because he felt dizzy. “Yeah, there’s some of that…”

Nine gave a calculated look at the tired part-ghost-hologram that was Sonic. They each studied the other’s face.

Then the fox smiled a little. “You remember…what I said I wanted?”

A small twang passed through Sonic’s chest.

He thought for a moment. “…A place of your own? The grim?”

“A clean slate.”

Sonic swallowed. The rays of light from the prism were making his head murky. He hoped this conversation wouldn’t be too long-winded.

“But it shouldn’t just be for me. With this power, we can set everything right in the universe.” Nine said. “I wasn’t really focused on what was best for the rest of the worlds...until now.”

Sonic gave a tiny, nervous chuckle. “Okay…good to-“

“What’s good can stay, and what’s bad, we can wipe away.”

“S-sure…sounds really…reasonable. But I…”

“We can finally make things how we want them to be!” Nine said, eyes bright. Then, they narrowed. “The way they should be.”

Sonic’s next inhale rattled in his throat. “So are we gonna…hold a vote on exactly what that is?”

Nine took a long time to respond to this. At first, he looked irritated, stealing a glance at the hedgehog. Then, he looked down at the floor, pondering. He scratched his chin. He seemed lost for a little while.

Then, he looked at Sonic, and took a step up to him. “I’m telling you what I’m gonna do…because I want you to understand something…and also because, we’re friends.”

His eyes awaited confirmation. In response, Sonic gave his usual grin. A little, you bet we are smirk. Confident, even a little cocky, but infused with reassurance at their bond. However, with Nine’s words echoing in his head, his grin quickly faded.

“You know what sets the fabric of the universe? Laws.” Nine said, lifting a finger in the air. “The certainty that with any action, there will be a predefined reaction. Their universality allows us to predict, create, and control.”

Sonic’s mouth was slightly agape. His brow raised the tiniest bit.

Nine saw his expression, and clarified. “I’m referring to laws like those of physics, of thermodynamics, of gravitation,” he said. “They’re the foundation for all of life. Without them, I couldn’t set up any of this stuff! I couldn’t build any of my robots, or even my computers. There would be no way to know my calculations would hold up. But since every being and object are all compelled to follow these fundamental laws of the universe, I can determine exactly what will happen before I even build anything! I know what will work.”

“Okaaayyy…” Sonic was dazed in his holographic form, and confused at the science.

Nine tried, “You must know, ‘for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction?’ The third law of physics! It’s a fundamental rule of the universe!”

Sonic took a moment. Then, he emitted a good-natured chuckle. “Right, I’ve heard that one, buddy. Heh, no matter how many times y- er, uh, someone explains it to me, I always forget part of it, so thanks for the refresher! But, um…what does any of this have to do with…”

Nine put up a hand to hush him, signaling he was getting to it. “Which is why we need laws of society…in New Yoke, they were broken. Nothing was predictable. There were no opposite reactions to what anybody did. We can’t let these rules become broken in other parts of the shatterverse.”

“Laws and such, eh? When did you become such a fan of big government?” Sonic asked with a half-grin, somewhat to himself. Sonic’s growing nervous energy kept him rambling. “Actually, I’d be a fan of Big government, if you get me. We’d all just fish all day, and everybody would be chill…”

Nine paid no mind to this. “I want you to understand. We have a huge chance here. There’s so much fighting and desperation in this shatterverse, so many terrible existences. You’ve seen it, I’ve seen it. It’s like the universe is playing a cruel trick by letting them live on like this. We can eliminate away so much suffering…”

Sonic hurriedly tried to fill in the blanks. “…By using the prism to give everybody free chili dogs? And build them all nice homes?”

Nine rolled his eyes. “Pssh…try to create a utopia, and they’d all still find ways to fight. And be miserable. Maybe for a few days things would be different. But then? They’d get used to it. The hedonic treadmill.”

“I prefer not to use treadmills. Like to see new places, and all…”

Nine’s eyes narrowed as he turned away from Sonic. “There is…one way to create lasting behavioral change. Show them consequences.”

Sonic’s voice caught in his windpipe. “Wha-ha-hat are you saying?”

Now Nine looked directly back at Sonic. His eyes contained his usual dispassionate gaze. But Sonic could see within them some kind of desire. A desire for what, Sonic wasn’t sure.

“Remember, you’re getting your world back, Sonic. It’ll be just as perfect as you remember. It’s your world, and your decision,” he assured. However, his tone then shifted, like he knew his next words would bring about some protest. “But…I get to decide what to do with my world. It’s only fair.”

Sonic gulped again. His legs began to feel heavier than they already felt. “Nine…just tell me…what are you going to do with New Yoke?”

Nine tightened the metallic cog around his left wrist. He huffed, and shut his eyes.

Then he looked at Sonic. “Erase it.”

A new wave of faintness washed over Sonic’s partly holographic body. He had trusted Nine over and over and over again…and now, when he thought that they were finally on the same side…

Sonic groaned in agony. “You’ve got to be kidding me, Nine…”

Their friendship had a little rough patch that they had worked out. They weren’t adversaries anymore. The prism was safe and everything could be fixed. Yet Sonic had underestimated the temptation of the power, and the grudges that were still buried somewhere deep within the fox. He had been bad at communicating before, sure, but he assumed keeping everyone alive in New Yoke went without saying.

Now Sonic sputtered, “You said- you said you were going to leave everybody alone!”

“The other worlds of everybody back there, sure. But this is different.”

Sonic’s brain scrambled through the scenarios, if he was serious, or if it was some mean-spirited joke. Nine certainly seemed to have a vendetta, and go to extremes for what he wanted. There were no confirmed casualties in their last battle, but Sonic had thought it claimed Sails and Mangey. And what about New Yoke, where Nine had mortally endangered every citizen through some incomprehensible gravity-defying cataclysm, all the while gazing down at the chaos like a cruel deity?

“What happened to doing the right thing?”

“This is the right thing!” Nine insisted. “This will ensure that no one else in the shatterverse gets treated the way I did.”

Sonic coughed. “What?”

“No one has friends in New Yoke. This will be painless…indiscriminate…they’ll just vanish into nothing. In the end, the shatterverse will be grateful.”

“Grateful? Why would they be grateful?”

“Once they see what happens to a world where everyone is a jerk, the other worlds won’t make the same mistakes. And the quality of everyone’s life will improve.”

“Nine…”

“It’s just one miserable world. There are others,” Nine said, uncaring. “Whichever friends you made in New Yoke can just join your world, or whatever, since that seems to be what you were thinking anyway,” he gave a pointed glare at Sonic at this.

Sonic lost some of his grip on the wall behind him and slid forward, before catching himself against a nearby desk to his side. 

“This will keep their fates from worsening in the vacuum created by the absence of each world’s shard,” Nine continued. “There will be peace. Once they see what happens to those who hurt others, they won’t dare try.”

“Ughhh…” Sonic groaned.

At least partially, it seemed like Nine enjoyed watching the effect of his words on the hedgehog. He moved to place his hands on the rim of the container with the prism. He snorted, turning slightly away, then back to Sonic. “No one will bully anyone else. Sounds like something you’d like.”

Sonic shook his head. “Sounds more like the Chaos Council. Punishing everyone indiscriminately? And somebody who can decide that everyone can just…get erased?…Why would I like a place like that?”

“It’s not like I’m gonna make them work for me, or anything!” Nine said, throwing out his hands. “I’m just establishing a threat to keep everyone in line.”

Sonic pinched the bridge of his nose. “Do you remember how everyone was literally just fighting you because of how you…uh, how they disagreed with how you were using the prism? Everyone joined up to stop you, right? Aren’t you just asking for another round of all that?”

Nine shrugged. “The prism is complete. I have your energy. It wouldn’t be a fight.”

Sonic was stopped in his tracks momentarily. He stuttered, “You can’t- how would you feel if you were still living in New Yoke, and somebody suddenly decided to wipe everybody out? No- no warning, no chance for you to plead your case. How would that make you feel?”

Nine shrugged again. “My old life? It would be merciful.”

Sonic’s mouth hung fully open in shock at the candidness with which he said it. Did he seriously believe that? Was he really, really thinking about how he would have felt back then? Or was he so dismissive because it didn’t matter anymore, now that he was in control?

With Sonic not responding yet, Nine continued, “Anyone who lived there probably fantasized about destroying it. The only thing to come out of that city is evil.”

Sonic looked at Nine, trying to see if he understood the irony of that sentence. But he didn’t seem to. Maybe he really believed. Nothing good. No one good. Maybe only someone who could believe that in its entirety could suggest what he was suggesting.

“I know…that there were some people there who treated you badly…but you can’t believe everyone in the city deserves that…” Sonic hoped his next point would land, though it required a level of empathy on Nine’s part that he wasn’t sure was present. “There are regular, normal people there, too.”

“In that city? Be realistic,” Nine said. “For most citizens, it would be what they deserve. For the rest? It would be mercy. Nobody has friends.”

Sonic was exasperated. “Nine, I’m talking about the average citizen, not just-“

“What do you think the average citizen thinks of somebody with two tails, Sonic?!” Nine snapped. “It’s nothing good!”

Nine had suppressed his emotions to this point. But he clearly wasn’t just being driven by rational application of universal laws. Seeing his expression, Sonic’s heart rate increased.

“And I’m not even talking about the ones who would pull on my tails, and make jokes, and kick me until I couldn’t even walk,” Nine continued, tone harsh. “I’m talking about the ones who walk past me on the street…and they just stare at me. And then the ones who look disgusted. Nobody was making them look at me like that. Not the Council. That’s who they are, and what they think of me. I’ve seen it a million times!”

They stared at each other for a moment. Sonic tried to find a rebuttal. “It- er - it, that still doesn’t mean-”

Nine cut him off with a hard wave of his hand. “But what’s worse than that, are the ones who give me pity. They…they just look like they pity me…that they’re…sorry for me…”

The fox became quieter. He looked down.

“…Like there’s something wrong with me…” his voice cracked.

Sonic couldn’t find a thought to hold onto and speak aloud, as they swirled around his head too quickly.

Nine looked back at him, trying to find his voice again. “…But…there’s nothing wrong with me…”

The sentence lingered in the air.

Sonic wished he could have helped him earlier in his life, that he hadn’t been forced by the universe to wait to meet him until the damage was already done. He had told him how he’d helped Tails, his own fox best friend, in his own world. But he hadn’t gotten the chance to do it for Nine. Tails’ fissures were hardly visible now. Nine’s cracks were far deeper, and they were plain to see at the moment.

Sonic took a shuddering inhale. “…Nine, I’m so sorry.”

Nine looked at him. “D-do you understand?”

He was upset, but Sonic still saw that desire in his eyes. Could it be to enact his plans? No, it seemed to Sonic like it wasn’t simply about that. There was a more immediate, present desire.

“I know everyone seems like a jerk in New Yoke,” said the hedgehog, carefully. “But they can change.”

Nine clenched his fists. “You didn’t live there,” he growled.

“I saw it with you. When I first met you, you…well, attacked me…”

“You broke into my house!” Nine responded.

“You use Tails’ passcode! What were the odds of you not being him?” Sonic shot back.

Nine was surprised, then distrustful, and then shaken all in a second.

Sonic kept going. “You only knew fear and hate. But with a little bit of trust and friendship, you changed. I saw you smile. Did you ever do that before we met?”

Nine turned his head away. Sonic couldn’t see his reaction.

“Don’t you think that the others in New Yoke could also start to be friendly if they were shown friendship?”

“You’re naïve…and ridiculous…” Nine said under his breath.

“I don’t…give second chances because I’m naïve…” Sonic said quietly. “I do because I’ve seen them work. People can have a change of heart. Even those who want to destroy the world, or die trying. I’ve seen it.”

Nine turned back. He carefully searched for any lies behind Sonic’s expression. Then, he walked a few steps away.

“Maybe that works where you’re from,” Nine said, offering a calmer tone. “Your world is nicer. That’s how you grew up. I understand. But you need to understand my world.”

Now Nine walked away in full. A few paces away from the prism, he stopped. He put a fist beneath his chin, pondering the prism.

Sonic was feeling himself losing steam. In his state, he had to catch his breath every few sentences. Still, he had to talk Nine out of it, so he continued. “This isn’t something you can come back from…it will change you. I mean, taking lives…are you really prepared for what that could do to your conscience?”

Now Nine placed his knuckle on the front of his chin. But there was no consternation in his gaze. He looked sternly back at Sonic, waiting for a few seconds before speaking.

“Do you seriously think I don’t already understand?”

Chills rolled down Sonic’s spine at these words. He backed down from this line of questioning, heaving a sigh. “…We’ve gotta be able to compromise, somehow, buddy-“

“I said I would bring your friends back, too!” Nine said, voice rising. “I’m giving you exactly what you wanted!”

Sonic coughed again, glitching. Suddenly, his elbow phased through the desk he was using for support. A spike of adrenaline made him pull it away, back through the desk, with a yelp.

“Wh-what was that?”

Nine seemed unsurprised. “Oh, there may be small fluctuations in your energy levels. Between the ongoing restoration and the time elapsed since you gave up your energy, it’s nothing unexpected.”

Sonic caught his breath and stared at his arm, making sure it was still physical.

“I’m actually trying to help you, Sonic. You need to learn this to keep your own world safe, too.” Nine had his hands behind his back. Sonic saw his eyes flicker to the floor for the briefest of instants. Then Nine’s voice dropped. “Tell me…do you think my bullies deserve to just keep going on…like nothing happened?”

Sonic and Nine held their gazes on each other. Sonic opened his mouth, but closed it again.

“Do you think that after they punched me…stomped me…pulled on my tails so hard and wouldn’t even let my scars heal before they got ripped up and bled again…they should be allowed to go unpunished?”

It may have been an unconscious action, but Nine’s hand drifted to his back, covered by his shirt, near his tails. He rubbed there for a moment, his focus inward.

Sonic covered his mouth with his hand and looked away to the side. He didn’t want to appear callous or like he didn’t care about his buddy. He wanted to hug him again. But he could not give him any kind of approval. Making this more difficult was the fact that he needed to keep this conversation going. If Nine tuned him out for good, New Yoke’s fate would be sealed.

He prepared for further disagreement, exhausted as he was. “I’m not saying that…I’m just saying the consequences you’re talking about are a little too…permanent. I know that anything, anything you set your mind to is possible with the prism. So, please…can’t we come up with something else?”

Nine’s voice was still low. “…So you don’t think anything permanent should happen…that soon they’ll just be able to forget about it…”

Sonic sighed. “You can have justice without…killing them.”

“That’s meaningless coming from you. I know what you really think about everyone. Like I said before, friends, foes, total strangers…What do you want to do?” Nine stared him down, to see if he would fill in the sentence.

Sonic’s voice shook. “…Save everyone…” he said apologetically.

“You would just let everyone off without consequences,” seethed the fox.

“I-I- don’t deal with everyone the same, Nine-”

“It doesn’t matter! The fact that you think everyone can just get along-“

“That’s not what it’s about! It’s about freedom. Now, whoever stops others from being free? I stop them. But…everyone deserves the chance.”

“And how many chances do they get? Don’t those who repeatedly do wrong deserve punishment? You won’t even say they do. You’re that naïve. Do you think that my bullies stopped because they felt guilty? Because they had a change of heart? No. Some people aren’t like that, Sonic.” Nine’s robotic tails extended to point at Sonic. “They stopped because of a deterrent. Consequences.”

Nine tilted his chin down to view Sonic straight on. Sonic could see him reliving what he had been through. The intensity of it came through in his stance, one hand balled in a fist towards his side, the other hand at his waist with fingers tensed as if clenching something invisible in his palm, his teeth bared.

Sonic shuddered. “At what cost to whoever becomes the threat?”

“Think about not having control of your own life, Mr. Freedom-lover. Wouldn’t you do anything to get it back?”

Up close to him, Sonic felt the perspective of the New Yoke bullies, seeing a timid fox transformed into a monster. For him though, he was unafraid of looking into his eyes for a few extra seconds, and could see the effort it took to put up this front.

They continued to stare at each other. Until Sonic sighed, and a small glitch of power from the prism’s rays made him look away.

It was hard to find a crack in Nine’s arguments. But Sonic had to try anyway. Hate and pain were blinding him to what he really wanted. Hadn’t he wanted a life with Sonic not too long ago, in the grim? That was what he wanted the prism for. Not destroying his home world.

“It’s not your fault, Nine,” Sonic said, filling his words with every ounce of sincerity he could. “None of this…not yet.”

Nine kept his eyes and tails locked on him. “I know…it’s the city’s. And everyone else’s. Including yours.”

The venom of the last two words was further incapacitating. Sonic slouched and looked away.

That wasn’t what he wanted to hear. Another dead end. Another door to Nine’s mind firmly shut.

Nine’s tails retracted. He was still cold, but softened his voice a little. “You have to understand. Some people won’t change no matter how many chances you give them. If you forgive someone undeserving, you’ll get burned.”

Sonic stared back at him. “Look…I’m not saying that you always need to forgive, or give second chances. I'll fight, but if I can afford to give someone a chance, I always will. It’s given me fewer regrets, and more friends.” He looked at Nine to try to get the point across.

Nine took a moment. Then, he chuckled bitterly. “Heh. I get it… It’s been easy for you. You can just give second chances whenever you want because you’re so strong, and fast, and cool, and whatever. They’ll never burn you. What a luxury. But the rest of us? Who can’t outrun everyone, or overcome everything? We can’t live like that. We need there to be order…or we can’t live at all.”

Sonic’s eyes dropped.

“If you were in charge, there would be chaos,” said the fox. “A world without consequences, or laws, or order…is chaos.”

Sonic had heard these kinds of words before. Eggman talked like this all the time. Talk of order, and control, and dismissal of his freedom as chaos…it was familiar.

But this time, the words came from a source terribly close to his heart. From the voice and the learned experiences of his brother, long-lost as he may have been. He felt his stomach twisting up in knots.

Nine took a step closer, resolve steely. “Total freedom is impossible without rules. There were no consequences for my bullies. So I created them myself. And only then was I free. Do you see?”

Sonic looked at him. He saw Nine’s unyielding expression. But he still saw it within him, somewhere deep, that he truly wanted to impart this to Sonic. That this was a valuable lesson for Sonic to learn.

Nine took another step to be right next to him. “Listen to me, Sonic. We can create justice in the whole shatterverse. Once there are rules with consequences, applied fairly…then freedom will exist as well. But only in balance with order. That is the compromise.”

Sonic couldn’t meet Nine’s gaze. His resistance was wavering. His extremities were feeling fuzzy, like static.

He looked back, and saw something else in Nine’s gaze. It was self-serving desire. That was the other feeling that Sonic detected in him. To bend Sonic to his viewpoint. To achieve a mental victory over him. It didn’t seem to matter to Nine how begrudging or under duress Sonic’s agreement came, so long as he got it. The grim wasn’t the only thing he wanted to mold to his liking.

It triggered an extra round of resilience in Sonic. “Still…everyone else in New Yoke?...Is that really ‘equal’ and opposite?”

Nine was annoyed and slightly shocked at Sonic using the laws of physics against him. “...It’s what’s best for the shatterverse.”

“This isn’t best for anyone, not even for you,” Sonic said, retorting quickly. “This won’t end the cycle. I don’t think you care about ending the cycle. I think you just care about trying to make yourself feel good. And this won’t make you feel good.”

Nine talked slightly over this last point. “You don’t get what I want, you never have… Why don’t you understand…” He made very muted back-and-forth movements of his head.

“It’s wrong…I think it’s wrong,” Sonic said, testing something else. “Do you…care what I think?”

Nine’s mouth opened in an exasperated sigh, eyes rolling almost too exaggeratedly. “Do you care what I think? You think the world revolves around you-”

Sonic re-interrupted him. “I just think you could extend…”

“NO, Sonic!” Nine suddenly yelled. “Why should I do what nobody did for me?”

Sonic took another breath. “You’re upset. I want to make sure you don’t do something you’ll regret. My friends do the same for me. This is a moment of anger. It’s not the real you.”

Nine twitched. “You really think that, huh? Still? You’re so confidently, blissfully…wrong!”

He stopped. He drew back slightly. Sonic watched as a shadow fell on his face, and his robotic tails contracted.

More hushed, but just as angrily, Nine continued to talk. “So I help you a few times, you teach me what a high-five is, and I smile once or twice…and just like that, that’s the real me?  No, that’s your old friend from your old world.”

Silence for a few seconds.

Sonic considered this. He thought Nine was blinded by his pain, and that he really wanted friendship. But maybe it was possible that what Nine had been blinded by was friendship, back when he showed the grim to Sonic. Maybe what he really wanted was to take out his feelings on the city that beat him down.

But then why would he take Sonic here when he didn’t have to? Because he wanted him as a friend, even if it was toxic. Just him and Sonic in the grim. That was his first proposition.

Nine half-turned away and examined his gloves. “I’ll give you and him your stupid little perfect lives back…but stop acting like you know me.”

Sonic felt himself fading. He made sure he wasn’t actually phasing through the floor. Maybe Nine was right. Or not. “…If that’s what you think…Mr. Prower.”

Nine’s eyes grew wide and his head twitched up. He caught his breath and stared at the ground, tense.

“Whatever…I’m going to do what I want. Because that’s what the real me does. There’s nothing you can say or do that will change that.” It seemed like he was saying it more to himself, as he still didn’t look at Sonic.

Being what felt like part-ghost, Sonic could feel the energy flowing around him, keeping him alive. It felt like it was flowing in and out of him, he was becoming more aware of it. Some kind of dull sound buzzed in his inner ear. It made him feel hazy.

Nine’s words came through to him. “You say you’re sorry, and that you understand, that everyone deserves second chances…but none of that is true. You want to understand me? Pay attention.”

Sonic croaked, “Please, this is wrong…” But his words barely made it out of his mouth, and may not even have made it to Nine.

Nine turned on his heel to head toward the prism. Sonic took a step and put out his hand, reaching for his shoulder.

His holographic hand passed right through Nine’s shoulder. Sonic stumbled and barely caught himself against the desk, way off balance. He sunk into the desk slowly, then he realized this and pulled himself away, stars dancing in his vision. He gave a horrified look at himself.

Nine, not seeming to notice, went up to the prism, and swiped a few times on a screen below it.

He typed a few things, tapping the screen. Then he looked over at the hedgehog. “It will be fast, and painless. And you’ll know what it’s like for the rest of us, who have to make tough decisions to survive.”

Sonic doubted that. He felt light-headed. He could hear hollow screams in his brain, lives slipping away. He buried his head in his hands, backing his rear end into the desk to hold himself up. “Why, buddy…why is it that I care more about everyone in your world than you…”

“YOU SHOULDN’T! THAT’S THE PROBLEM!” Nine screamed.

Sonic looked up, his hands finding the wall behind him to brace himself.

“Have you been listening?! Everybody really matters to you that much?! All their sad little pathetic lives in New Yoke, you’ve never even met, and you want to keep them suffering?! That’s what you want?!”

Hearing his best friend’s voice chewing him out made Sonic feel unwell. He instinctively tucked his head into his chest.

“Okay, Sonic. Okay, buddy! How about I let them just sit and suffer in the stupid city that the Council built to keep everybody down, and that is now TRASHED because I decimated it when you tried to escape me. What if I do that for you? Maybe I should! I don’t care! They can just suffer more! Maybe I will! Maybe I’ll do that because we’re such good friends.”

Sonic let himself slide down to the bottom of the desk behind him. He crossed an arm over his body. He was otherwise immobile.

After letting this out, Nine panted. He took a deep exhale, resetting himself.

Then, rather frighteningly, his mouth curled into a cruel grin. “I’ll do that…on one simple condition…”

The small percentage of Sonic’s brain that was still angling for a deal paid close attention. Nine typed something else at his screen.

Under his breath, Nine said, “All I need to do is…”

Then, he placed his hand against the prism. It glowed more brightly, a white light swallowing the rest of the colors. Nine’s eyes closed, and his strands of hair blew like a breeze was coming from somewhere. A midrange frequency emitted, like some kind of transfer of power was occurring.

The sound stopped. Nine opened his eyes. He tapped on his screen. He looked it over, then popped the screen out of its base, holding it like a tablet.

Sonic was unnerved by the smile playing at Nine’s lips. He heard him saying under his breath, “Heh…incredible…”

He seemed to realize that he was distracted. He took a moment to refocus on Sonic.

“You’re right, Sonic…I really don’t care,” he said. “They can live, or die. Whatever helps you learn.”

Sonic shuddered.

“But you can’t. Save. Everyone.” Nine walked towards him, tablet in hand. “And now…you won’t.”

He held the tablet in front of Sonic’s face. Sonic wasn’t sure what he was looking at. There was a lot of red, some symbols, some images.

Nine went on, “You say everyone deserves freedom…sure, that makes you sound like a hero. But when there are people who keep stealing freedom from others, what, you just let them off with a warning? You’re not a hero. You’re a fool.”

Sonic blinked hard. His voice shook as he averted his eyes. “I'm not always...trying to be a hero.”

Nine continued, “In front of you is the opportunity to prove you understand justice. Is everyone really the same to you, hedgehog? I think you know, deep down, that not everyone deserves freedom after what they do.”

Sonic shut his eyes, grimacing. But he looked back.

The fox pointed at the screen. “This button…is tied to each member of the Council. The prism can see them. Their current forms, heat signatures, unique essence…in their current state, they’re trapped. Like the ghosts of your friends. They can be erased…deleted. Like a line of code.”

Sonic looked at the button at the bottom of the screen, a tab-bar-sized rectangle with rounded edges.

“They’ll vanish into thin air. Instantaneous. Painless…Like they never even existed.” He snapped his fingers. “Like that…”

Sonic looked to his motion, then traced his eyes back over to his. He could take seeing the fox’s face in pain, or anger, even if he didn’t like seeing it often. He had even gotten used to his general cold and uncaring look. But the joy and hunger on his face right now was different. The craving in his eyes was nightmarish to Sonic.

“Same for my bullies. I thought of them, and the prism identified them,” he said, thrilled by the concept. “With such power, you’d think I could have already had it done just now. And I could have. But I’m not going to. It’s going to be you. That is, if you want New Yoke saved.”

Sonic’s eyes moved away. They felt stuck in their spot, out of focus on a wall. He didn’t even blink.

“If you refuse,” said Nine. “If you won’t give them what they deserve…then you are beyond deluded. On top of being reckless. And everyone’s fate will be the same…since you can’t see a difference.”

Be it for vengeance, justice, or to tear down Sonic, the predicament Nine was forcing on him was malicious.

“You can run away from delivering consequences all you like,” the fox said, with an air of finality. “But I know you…you won’t be able to run from your guilt.”

Sonic’s head was spinning.

All this talk about who deserved what, about consequences and freedom, about law and order...He was so close to home. It was tantalizing. Seeing all his friends again. With one action, he would be right on his way.

After several seconds of staring bleakly into space, Sonic looked at him despondently. “…That’s the truth? Just the Council…and your bullies…if I press it? Just them? And not anyone else?”

Nine exhaled sharply. “Correct.”

Sonic looked at the tablet, counting some symbols on the screen. At least a dozen extras.

“…That’s a lot of bullies, pal.”

Nine hardened his lip, somewhat defensively. “It’s just everyone who called me a freak, okay? To my face…or when they knew I could hear…Or they just…Look, they’re the biggest jerks in New Yoke.”

Sonic sighed.

“Enough talk,” Nine said. “Make your choice, Sonic.”

Sonic always wanted everyone to live freely. In his own world, he ensured that by always keeping villains in check, like countering Eggman at every turn. And when, say, his fox friend got picked on by some bullies because of his tails, he was there to teach them a lesson. They had stopped. Eggman hadn’t. But the choice was what mattered.

However, in this broken shatterverse, it was not up to Sonic to choose how to deal with Eggman, or anyone cruel, anyone who was making lives worse for others. It was Nine’s. There was nothing physical he could do to fight back. It was hard enough to keep his head aloft. Fighting back against the cybernetically enhanced fox, who was prismatically buffed to the millionth degree, and whose face and voice were precision-engineered by the shatterverse to make Sonic hesitate and hold back, was out of the question.

All things considered, it was a pretty good deal. Nine thought the citizens of New Yoke’s lives were painful and worthless. Sonic didn’t, and it was a major victory to save them. Sonic may very well have been wrong in his assessment, but he wanted them to at least have a chance. And now it was possible.

But that didn’t make what Sonic had to do any less awful. Nine could easily give him so many ways out with the unlimited power of the prism, but he wouldn’t.

You can’t save everyone.

And he wouldn’t.

The goal shifted to saving as many as he could. Which meant wiping out a few groups of bad individuals. Though for some of them, he had to take Nine’s word at face value.

It made Sonic feel sick. He had successfully dealt with Tails’ bullies in his own world without killing them. Sonic only took this path when there were truly no other outs. Possibilities with these powerful artifacts were always so limitless. This didn’t need to happen.

“It will be painless…and they won’t hurt anyone else…” Nine pushed, noting Sonic’s silent trepidation.

Sonic knew it was Nine’s choice to make, to decide what to do with those who wronged him. He kept telling himself this, but it was undeniable that he would be feeling very guilty if he chose not to press the button, and Nine did what he said with New Yoke. He could prevent it. He could ensure that consequences would come to just the individuals who wronged him, and not everyone in the entire shatterspace.

If he really started bargaining, he could imagine lines of code being re-added when Nine was in a better headspace. But first he had to do it. All it took was one tiny movement. One little push. Sonic was out of energy and options. Sonic, the one who looked for the good in everybody. About to exact someone else’s revenge.

He stared at the button, sorrowfully. His finger was close to it. Nine waited in anticipation.

“Show me what they deserve, Sonic. The Chaos Council…my bullies,” Nine said. “…They called me a- a………freak…”

Another crack in his voice.

Sonic looked up. Nine wasn’t smiling anymore.

It could have been another play on Sonic’s emotions. Sonic didn’t think so, though he couldn’t rule it out. But if it was real, he wanted to say something more. Maybe the chance was still there. If nothing else, he would make sure Nine didn’t hate himself.

Sonic took a deep breath. “Will you let me say my part before I do this?”

Nine’s mouth became a line, and his brow furrowed just the slightest. He nodded and stepped back.

Sonic spoke slowly. “…It’s alright to feel anger. It’s not your fault that you’ve felt this pain. But you and I both know you don’t actually care about everyone treating each other nicely. If you did, you wouldn’t be using hate and fear.”

Nine clearly knew he was in for a minute or so of this, and crossed his arms. He calmed, becoming cold as he returned his gaze.

“Try to get rid of all the bad, and you know you’ll be getting rid of a lot of the good too.” Sonic said. “I saw a lot of evil in New Yoke, but I saw a lot of selflessness. Helping out others without any motivation other than knowing it was the right thing to do, even in the face of danger.”

Whether Nine’s crack had been real or not, Sonic could tell this was not going to work. He didn’t know if he was even listening.

“Sometimes, it’s possible for even really angry, destructive people to change. You know Shadow? He wanted to get revenge on the entire planet. He really did. He lost his best friend in a tragedy, and wanted the whole world to pay. But when he was given the power to make that happen, he chose not to. He chose to save the planet from destruction instead.” Sonic paused. “…He chose to have mercy…because he knew that’s what his friend would have wanted.”

Nine was still busy projecting that he didn’t care, and was just waiting out the hedgehog’s words. His eyes occasionally left Sonic’s to glance around at nothing in particular.

“And that’s how I know who my friends are,” Sonic said. “Like Shadow. When you’ve seen and felt all the bad stuff, and the pain, and you still choose to protect it all. For the good that’s still there. That’s what they do.”

Nine teetered between disinterest and impatience.

“You get that, right? That’s what my friends do,” he repeated. “They protect, and restore, and make things whole. They don’t destroy.”

Nine’s eyes went to him for a second, then left.

“I know not everyone is the same. Even if they seem similar at first. Some people really do want to be selfish, and don’t care if they hurt others, or even go out of their way to make others’ lives worse,” Sonic said. “So…yes, the Chaos Council and your bullies deserve to face consequences. Not the rest of New Yoke. They haven’t earned that. They can’t all be the same to you, right? That’s not fair either.”

Nine waited for a while. Having looked back at Sonic when he mentioned the Council, he continued to stare, face hollow. “So…do it.”

Sonic shut his eyes for a moment. He gave a long, dejected exhale.

He had tried everything. But he could only go down the path Nine laid out for him.

Sonic tapped the button. A tiny noise of confirmation came from the device.

Nine’s small smirk resurfaced. They each looked at the screen.

A moment passed.

Sonic didn’t feel a rush of emotion, in any fashion. Having worked through it in his head just now, he had come to terms with it.

Eventually, Nine exhaled. His eyes moved to Sonic, taking in his demoralized face.

“How…do you feel?” Nine asked.

“Um…not much different. But I guess a little different,” he said, not knowing how much to lay it on.

Nine nodded. “Did you learn something?”

“Yeah there’s…no forgetting…that,” he said, looking to the floor. His glove had phased through it. He gently pulled it back out.

Nine savored Sonic’s words. “You shouldn’t save everyone…should you?”

Sonic picked his eyes back up. He gave a look of mild incredulity, but sighed and went along with it. “...Guess not…”

“You can’t be a hero all the time if you actually want to improve things,” Nine said.

“Never said I was.”

“When the universe needs it…sometimes you just have to get rid of a few bad guys,” Nine said, shrugging. “There’s nothing wrong with it. Sorry it took you so long to get it, but that’s how the rest of us can survive.”

Sonic did not give a response.

“But hey!” Nine said, approvingly. “I didn’t think you’d do it for a second. It’s nice to know that…you’re capable of that. That you do understand, even just a little.”

Nine gave a sincere smile. Sonic did not move his facial muscles.

“It really was the most logical option. But, knowing you…”

The fox smirked to himself, then turned and set the tablet back into the desk, finding a new screen to start typing at.

“More peace, more freedom…” Nine went on. “Preserved by consequences to those who deserve them. You understand me now, don’t you?”

Nine waited for a second, turning more to see if Sonic had something to say, to confirm that he had truly imparted something on the hedgehog with his tactics. When it was clear that Sonic would remain silent with eyes staring forward, Nine shrugged, then turned and typed some more.

Sonic was tired, and not interested in resisting. If Nine wanted to change Sonic’s worldview, then the hedgehog figured he would tell him exactly what he wanted to hear.

“You know Nine…this whole peace-through-consequences thing…you think I should try it?”

Nine’s brow rose, perhaps encouraged by Sonic’s engagement. He tilted his head. “Yeah…I think you should…”

“Huh…” Sonic wondered aloud. “Maybe I don’t need to give second chances to people who are selfish…and hurt others when they could be helping them…”

“I think it’ll improve things,” the fox said with a tiny smirk, still typing, angled slightly away from Sonic. “You’ll find more predictability in your world, I guarantee it. And more freedom to do what you want.”

Sonic gave a shake of his head, looking to the side, thinking back to the past. “…You might be surprised to know what I’ve done, honestly…when there’s no other options…or even when I'm angry enough…I wonder what would happen if I acted on it more often…”

Nine nodded agreeably. “Yeah…hm…It would be interesting, for sure.” He stopped typing and crossed his arms at the thought, leaning back on his robotic tails like they were a chair.

“So from now on, maybe for anyone who I see in my world who’s hurt me, or my friends, or just innocent people…and who wants to take advantage of me giving them second chances…Maybe instead, I’ll give them exactly what you want me to.”

“Heh. Well, you’ll have to tell me how it goes. We could even-”

Nine stopped, and turned fully to face Sonic. He had been staring him down the entire time, something the fox was only now realizing.

“For my friends…my enemies…even anyone who betrays me, I always give an out when I can, or a chance for them to change their mind…” Sonic said. “…Should I stop?”

Nine’s face darkened. He raised his shoulders as he clenched his fists. He was petulant, but stood no chance of matching Sonic’s deathly serious expression.

They stared at each other. Nine’s chest rose and fell quickly. Sonic was a statue.

In the immediate aftermath, Nine seemed to think that they were closer. That now that he had been given those same experiences and understanding, their bond was stronger. This was a bad miscalculation. It had taken Nine lots of effort to get Sonic to understand the merits of his perspective. Sonic’s counterarguments on its demerits were communicated quickly, his closing remarks contained in a straightforward look.

Even if Nine had the prism, and even if he could presumably just take him off his quasi-life support if he wanted, Sonic felt no fear. Having less energy simply made it easier to keep ice in his veins.

Nine evidently decided not to answer. He walked back towards the prism, finding another panel to type at. He worked between multiple panels with his extra tails.

“I’m unfreezing things. You’ll be returned to the grim in your current condition. Don’t waste time in getting back to your world, or you might vanish.”

As he said this, a portal opened in the room. It was a gold ring with darkness inside. But as Sonic craned his neck to look through, he saw the dull hues of the grim.

Nine’s eyes were on the floor. Sonic in one corner of his vision, his screen at the other.

Sonic felt strangely possessed. He found himself walking. But not towards the portal.

As he approached him, Nine saw him, and instinctively drew back. Two of his robotic legs found the top of the desk as if to begin crawling upwards. But Sonic made sure his expression was calm enough to make his intentions clear.

“Nine,” Sonic put a hand on his shoulder, grasping it firmly.

The two exchanged a look. Nine was wordless, parts confused, surprised, and anticipating.

“I told you what my friends do,” said Sonic. “They protect, and they restore. I don’t know when I’ll see you next…but hopefully, the next time we see each other…we’re friends.”

This he said earnestly. But there was a lot behind the words, and an implication in the unsaid. Nine’s eyes at first widened the slightest bit. Then, he looked like he was going to remove Sonic’s hand from his shoulder. But he stopped, and awkwardly placed his hand on his other forearm. He looked angry at his own indecision.

Sonic kept his hand there. He waited for a response.

“…You should get back home…” the fox said. He swiped through a few pages on his screen with his other hand. It was obvious he wasn’t really occupied with them. After another few seconds, he gave an annoyed glance back at Sonic, who finally removed his hand.

Sonic walked in the direction of the portal. He took his time to walk, making sure he could still do it in his state.

About halfway there, he stopped. Nine was using his robotic legs as a chair. His upper body was hunched, dejected. One arm dangled to the floor, while the other scratched his head. It was clear he wasn’t thinking through laws, or problems, or schemes. He was sitting with his feelings, not thoughts.

Sonic had no certainty what would happen in the future. But he had shaken his despair and found new resolve. His hope and worldview were still intact. He walked up to the portal.

He looked at the fox with the extra tails. “See ya around, Nine.”

Nine’s head turned a little bit, before turning it back, as if he hadn’t glanced at him. Sonic stepped through.

“Hey, Tails?”

Sonic was stretched out on the couch of his best friend’s place while he tinkered with a device at his desk.

“Yeah, Sonic?”

Sonic shifted his head up on the arm of the couch. “Do you…do you ever think about…”

He trailed off.

Tails noticed that he had stopped himself. Likely finding this strange, since the hedgehog was rarely hesitant about anything, he turned in his swivel chair to look at him. “Do I ever…think about what?”

Sonic fidgeted with his fingers, not knowing what to do with his hands. He placed them on his stomach, then one on the side of the couch.

“Do you…ever think about your bullies?”

Tails looked down, then to the side, displaying mild consternation. “Um…no, not- not really…”

Neither of them said anything. Sonic also looked down, but then looked at him again to see if he would go on.

Tails looked back up. “Not anymore. Why?”

Sonic took a long inhale. “Just…wondering…if you ever…Or just, what you thought about them…”

“What do you mean?”

“You know…” Sonic waved his hand. “Like…if any of that ever still crossed your mind…if it still…impacts you…”

Sonic didn’t want to be too blunt about it, just in case Tails’ emotions turned for the worse. Digging up the past was way out of the ordinary for the blue blur.

“Well…” Tails said, shaking his head. “I didn’t like anything they did to me. But I don’t worry about them anymore. I mean, I’ve got so many friends now. You, most importantly.”

“Yeah…friends definitely help.”

Sonic almost hated himself for bringing it up, and he didn’t want to push his him into reliving bad memories. Except he did want to keep pushing, because he simply had to know.

“I mean…if you were to see them tomorrow, just randomly…would you…what would you think?...What would you want to…to see?”

Tails needed clarification. “Well…if I just, what, saw them across the street in town?”

“Yeah…”

“I don’t know…” the fox said, thinking. Sonic worried he was confusing him with this topic. “I guess I would hope that they weren’t doing anything rude. Maybe that they were enjoying the weather and not bothering anybody.”

“So, like…you’d want to see them relaxed, and smiling?”

“Yeah…I guess. Isn’t that…the best thing to hope for? That they’ve gotten better and are just living life, and not putting other people down?”

“…Yeah.” Sonic said. “It sure is.”

He sat there for a while.

“I can tell you liked that answer,” Tails said.

“Huh? Why?”

“Because you’re grinning. And besides, I learned it from you, Sonic,” the fox said. His tone suggested he thought Sonic was just fishing for a compliment.

“Hey, I can do my best to teach you…” he said, smiling. “…But it doesn’t matter what I taught you if you don’t actually believe it. And live it.”

Tails was still smiling, but his eyes dropped a little. “…Don’t I?...”

Sonic saw his uncertainty. He hoisted himself off the couch and walked over to him.

“You sure do,” Sonic said, giving his shoulder a tap with his fist. “Each and every day. And that’s why you’re my best buddy in the whole universe.”

They smiled at each other. Sonic gave it a beat, and then kept walking.

He stretched at the doorway. “I’m heading out. Catch you later, Tails.”

“See you, Sonic!”

Sonic took off running as the sun sank behind the rugged terrain of Green Hill.

It was so good to be home again.