Chapter Text
“So, how do you like it, Shadow? Is this better?”
A pair of crimson eyes peered back at him from the polished surface of the mirror. An uncertain smile tugged at his pale muzzle.
“… It’s a bit lacking in color,” Shadow murmured, turning his arms over with mild disdain. His stark black and white fur didn’t sit quite right with him. “I’d prefer something less monotone.”
His eyes moved to his hands and feet, both now coated with a film of bright yellow.
He frowned.
“… And why are my hands and feet so bright?”
Sonic stifled a laugh as he stepped up beside him. He clasped his hands behind his back, blue eyes shining brightly with amusement.
“Those are shoes and gloves, silly!” he said with a grin. “I forget you’ve never worn any before. But they’re pretty common with Mobians—and humans, too! It’s all part of the new style!”
Shadow flexed his fingers, still unconvinced. “They look like warning signs.”
“They’re just a prototype,” Sonic said gently. “Everything about this is. I can tweak the colors, the fur patterns, the textures—whatever you need. But I wanted you to see what you liked before we made it final.”
He hesitated, watching the other closely. “You don’t have to look like a hedgehog, you know. Not if you don’t want to. And… you don’t have to change yourself at all, either. Not if it doesn’t feel right.”
Shadow sighed through his nose. Then, softly, he said: “… I do.”
Sonic blinked.
The hedgehog didn’t look at him, instead turning back to his reflection—at the swept-back quills and inky black fur. His non-luminous red eyes with round pupils. The white chest fur was a fluffy mess, spiking in every direction like it couldn’t decide where to settle.
Despite the weirdness of being a blend of black and white, it all looked like a good change. His face practically glowed with happiness.
“All the pictures you showed me… the little animals… They were cute,” he admitted, almost sheepishly. “And hedgehogs can defend themselves with their spikes. It’s practical. I like that.”
Sonic’s smile widened, warm and bright.
“Well then,” he said, hugging him, “we’ll make you the cutest, spikiest, most badass hedgehog out there. Deal?”
Shadow didn’t say anything for a moment. Then, with the tiniest nod, he said, quietly: “Deal.”
“So, this is where the two of you were,” a jovial voice startled them.
Both turned sharply, already looking flustered.
“Professor!”
“Grandfather!”
Gerald Robotnik stood at the doorway, arms crossed and smiling like he’d just walked in on a shared secret. His white coat swayed gently as he stepped further into the lab.
“What?” he said, laughing. “Don’t tell me you thought you could keep this quiet?”
Shadow immediately straightened, eyes wide. “It was my idea,” he said quickly. “I’m the one who wanted to experiment with my appearance. Maria only helped—she’s not responsible for any of this.”
But Sonic waved a hand in protest. “Ah, no, that’s not true—it was my idea! I mean, sure, Shadow wanted a change, but I was the one to build the prototype! It was all me!”
Shadow huffed and shook his head. “That’s not how it happened, Professor. She’s just trying to cover for me—”
“Alright, alright,” he said, amused. “Calm down, both of you. Shadow, I know you didn’t design the tech. There’s no need to lie.”
He took a few slow steps forward, stopping just in front of them. His voice gentled: “May I?”
Shadow’s red blush deepened. But he nodded and shyly raised his wrist.
“Ho? Red blood?” Gerald leaned in with interest, adjusting his spectacles.
His fingers were careful and precise as he examined the wristbands, turning the arms slightly and brushing over the tech. With a glance at Shadow for permission, he gently prodded at the fur near the cuff and tugged the glove just enough to feel the material. It peeled away seamlessly as he moved it, almost as if it were a genuine article of clothing.
“Hmm… remarkable. Adaptive camouflage, with some haptic layering... Is this producing actual fur and fabric? Or—oh, I see—that’s some really intricate holographic masking. Truly fascinating.”
He turned to Sonic, looking equal parts impressed and proud.
“My goodness, this is gorgeous, sweetheart. You’ve outdone yourself. Cloaking technology like this—convincing cloaking—is no easy feat. You’re quite the inventor, aren’t you?”
Sonic pushed blond hair behind his ear, feeling sheepishly pleased. “Well, I had some notes to work from… and Shadow sat through so many tests...”
Gerald smiled knowingly.
“Still,” he said, “why did you two think I wouldn’t approve?”
Sonic and Shadow both looked away.
“… You’ve been busy,” Sonic said.
“… We didn’t want to waste your time,” Shadow muttered.
Gerald shook his head, exasperated but fond. “You two really are something.”
He stepped back, gave Shadow a long, thoughtful look, and then said with real warmth: “You look good, Shadow. More importantly, you look comfortable. That matters more than anything.”
Shadow looked down, then gave a shy smile.
“Thank you, Professor.”
“Well, then. Now that we’re all on the same page, how about I help you two with that project of yours?” Gerald smiled behind his white moustache, eyes crinkling.
Shadow and Sonic exchanged a glance. Then, almost in unison, they both nodded.
“Yes, please!” Sonic said, clapping his hands together with excitement.
“We’d appreciate that,” Shadow added, quieter, but sincere.
Gerald’s smile widened. “Excellent. Let’s get to it, then. First question—what can we improve?”
Both Sonic and Gerald turned to Shadow expectantly.
He blinked, caught off guard by the sudden spotlight. His new ears twitched.
“… The colors,” he said after a moment. “They’re a bit off. Too much white, maybe? The black’s fine, but it’s missing something... I’d like to keep some red.”
Sonic cocked his head. “Not blue?”
Shadow gave him a flat look and shook his head. “Absolutely not. That’s your color, Maria.”
Gerald chuckled under his breath. Sonic giggled, clearly amused by his answer.
Ignoring them, Shadow looked down at his arms, following the white sections with his lips pursed. “My eyes already look red, so… maybe red highlights. Accents. Something to tie it all together. The gloves can be white for the sake of contrast.”
Gerald nodded thoughtfully. “We could run a few simulations, and update the tech so it can produce other hues…”
But before the brainstorming could continue, Gerald’s phone buzzed sharply in his coat pocket.
Sonic and Shadow both stopped mid-thought, glancing at him.
Gerald pulled it out, gave the screen a glance, and calmly turned the device off. The buzzing ceased.
“… Shouldn’t you have answered that, Grandfather?” Sonic asked, a little concerned. “What if it was G.U.N. asking for a report or something important?”
“We already have a meeting scheduled with them this evening,” Gerald said simply, slipping the phone back into his pocket. “They can wait.”
He eased himself down onto a nearby bench, settling beside them with a quiet sigh of contentment. “Now, where were we? Ah—red accents.”
Sonic sat cross-legged on the floor, pulling a tablet toward Gerald. He started explaining the existing customization features, with his grandfather listening attentively. Shadow leaned against the wall, arms crossed as he watched them work with a small smile.
The lab’s lights seemed to soften above them. Gentle conversation filled the space—ideas exchanged, light teasing traded, Gerald nodding along as they brainstormed Shadow’s ideal look.
The meaning of their words faded.
And then, slowly, the memory washed out—colors blurring at the edges, words melting into warmth as everything dissolved into white…
…
…
…?
…!
Sonic stirred awake, eyes blinking open as a streak of sunlight cut across his vision. He groaned, limbs aching and feeling heavy. He shifted slightly as he raised a hand to shield his face.
The Green Emerald pulsed against his back, prompting him to take it out and hold it up against the sunlight.
He squinted through the green glint. “Still sleeping, huh?” he murmured with a yawn.
The Emerald gave no reply, producing just a faint hum in the back of his mind, like the soft ring of a lullaby. He tucked it back into his quills, letting his hand fall into the grass beside him.
Everything hurt.
The blue hedgehog could feel the warmth of the sun, the cool breeze rolling off the nearby lake, and hear the soft, sleepy chimes of Chao breathing all around him. With everything so peaceful, he could almost drift off again.
Almost.
A shadow passed over his face.
He blinked—
—and found a pair of bright green eyes staring down at him.
“WAH—!”
Sonic jerked upright with a startled yelp, sitting bolt upright and sending half a dozen Chao squeaking and tumbling away into the grass. One of them flailed dramatically and rolled into the lake with a splash.
Amy stood over him, grinning as she crossed her arms. “Good morning, sunshine.”
Sonic stared at her, still catching his breath. “Amy! You scared me half to death!”
“You deserved it,” she shot back without missing a beat, hands on her hips. “You've been gone almost a whole day. You can’t just keep vanishing on us like that—and I can’t keep scouring the whole island to find you.”
Sonic rubbed the back of his head, trying to gather his thoughts. “Sorry. I was just… thinking. By the lake.”
Amy’s smirk faded slightly as she looked him over.
Her brow creased. “You’re drenched.”
Sonic glanced down. Oh. Right. His fur was clinging to him in soaked patches, the ends dripping into the grass.
“You always do this,” Amy sighed. “You wander off like you’d rather be anywhere else besides us. I don’t get it—why do I always find you near water?”
Sonic shrugged, still dripping. “I dunno,” he muttered. “Maybe I like swimming before I crash? It helps me think.”
“Sonic, you sink like a rock.”
“Yeah, but if I get out before I run out of air, it’s fine!”
Amy gave him a long, assessing look, then shook her head and reached into her pockets. “Whatever. I came prepared this time.”
She pulled out a towel—clearly meant for him—and tossed it over her shoulder.
“You want help this time, or are you gonna try shaking it off like a dog again?”
Sonic winced. “Okay, first of all, that was one time—”
“Yesterday,” Amy said huffily.
“… Fine,” he muttered, sheepish. “I promise I’m not going to spring that on you again.”
“Good boy,” Amy said, smirking as she walked behind him and unfurled the towel. She knelt down and started blotting the water from his back, being particularly careful around the blue spines.
Sonic let out a low, pleased hum as she worked, his shoulders relaxing. The towel’s warmth, the rhythmic pressure, Amy’s careful hands—it all made him feel safe. Drowsy, even.
“You’re shedding again,” Amy muttered, brushing along his upper back. Bits of fur clung to the towel. “Big time.”
“Tell me about it,” Sonic said with a sigh. “It itches like crazy.”
He could feel her fingers carefully tugging away loose tufts, especially along his sides, where the blue had begun to give way to something else.
“It’s happening so fast,” she said quietly.
“Yeah.” Sonic looked down at his chest. The once-pale fur had thinned, revealing skin beneath—it looked closer to peach than white or light blue now. His arms were doing similarly, the blue fur fading to match.
He rubbed his forearm nervously. “You said it was normal, right?”
Amy worked in silence for a moment, letting her fingers sweep over his shoulders. Then she said, softly: “It doesn’t seem like you’re getting sick. And… technically, it is normal for hedgehogs to shed every now and then…”
“But not at this rate,” Sonic said flatly. The fact that his limbs were aching him was now back at the forefront of his mind. “I’m not gonna sugarcoat it, Amy. I’m starting to get worried.”
“I’m sure it’s nothing,” Amy reassured him. There was a pause as she examined her work. No traces of wet fur remained. “There, all done.”
But Sonic wasn’t listening.
“I can’t help but wonder—am I dying? It’s this how it starts?”
Sonic stared at the flapping birds flying over their heads, sensed the wind running free in his quills and felt something inside of him hurt terribly at the thought of his own mortality. Seven days he’d lived. A week. A rather short life, if his body was beginning to break down already…
It almost felt a bit nostalgic. Huh.
“Hey,” Amy called out to him, turning him around to grip both his shoulders. The pink hedgehog chased his eyes when he averted them, lowering herself to his level to capture all his attention. Meeting his gaze head on, she smiled gently. “It’s going to be alright, you’ll see.”
“What makes you say that?” Sonic asked, feeling sullen.
“Well, for starters—get up for a second, will you?” she said, taking both his hands and gently tugging him to his feet.
Reluctantly, he did so.
Raising to his full height, Sonic blinked—and looked down at Amy.
She was still holding his hands, but—she had to look up at him.
Did she always need to do that?
“… Wait,” Sonic said slowly. “Have you always been this short?”
Amy raised a brow, smirking. “No, genius. You’ve gotten taller.”
Sonic blinked again and glanced down at himself. Now that he was paying attention, his legs did seem longer. His torso, leaner. His arms were not just shedding, but… stretching.
He took a half-step back, flexing his fingers in her grip.
“I didn’t even notice…” Sonic muttered, eyes tracing the new length of his arms. He stretched one out, surprised by how much farther it reached than before.
“I figured,” Amy said, her voice soft again. “You were too busy panicking and avoiding everyone to notice the obvious.”
Sonic gave her a flat look.
She laughed, letting go of his hands and patting his arm. “See? I don’t think whatever’s going on with you is a problem. Maybe this change—whatever it is—is a good thing.”
He didn’t answer right away. He looked down at himself again and then turned to watch the lake. His reflection shimmered faintly there.
His appearance was less fluffy than before, that was for certain.
… What was he? A baby hedgehog? Was he going through hedgehog puberty or something like that?
Oh god. He hoped he wasn’t. But, all things considered, it wasn’t the worst-case scenario.
“… Doesn’t feel too bad,” he admitted at last. “It’s just very weird and uncomfortable.”
Amy nodded with a shrug. “Yeah, well. Change usually is.”
Sonic let out a breath. “You really think I’m not falling apart, Amy?”
He hated that this was an actual, valid concern.
Her eyes gleamed with understanding, looking like she was considering hugging him, before she reconsidered at the last second.
“I think,” she said slowly, “that you’re still growing.”
Sonic cracked a small smile, nudging a pebble with his foot. “Yeah, well, I hope I stop eventually. I really don’t wanna be, like… infinitely tall. Can you imagine how awkward that’d be?”
Amy snorted. “You’d be knocking over trees just by trying to stretch. I wouldn’t even be able to see your eyes anymore.”
“Forget that—I'd probably just trip over a mountain and launch myself into orbit.”
She giggled. “At that point, you might as well skip Mobius entirely and go sightseeing on the moon.”
Sonic laughed too, the sound soft and genuine—but it faded quicker than either of them wanted.
Amy tilted her head, her smile gentle and a little relieved. “So… do you feel a little better?”
Sonic hesitated, watching a few stray Chao drifting back toward the lakeside. One of them cooed at him sleepily before curling up in the grass.
Chaos made lazy ripples in the lake.
“I guess,” he said, uncertain. “Still feels weird.”
“Well,” Amy offered gently, “if you still have doubts… you could always talk to Tails. Ask if he’s figured out anything about your DNA.”
That made Sonic grimace.
He lowered himself back to the ground, sitting with his elbows on his knees, idly brushing a hand over his forearm again. More fur came loose, drifting onto the grass like dandelion fluff.
“… Tails doesn’t really want much to do with me lately,” Sonic said quietly.
Amy frowned, kneeling beside him. “Oh, no. That’s not true.”
Sonic looked at her—tired and defensive. His voice came out flat. “Really? And, how do you know that? Are you a mind reader now on top of everything else?”
Smiling, Amy shook her head, then gave a slow, drawn-out: “I know I’m right beeecaaause…” and poked his shoulder. “He talks to me, silly. And he told me he regrets how awkward things have gotten between you two. You two don’t really interact anymore outside of testing, so he’s sad about it.”
Embarrassed, Sonic looked away.
Amy continued, voice softer now. “He doesn’t hate you, Sonic. He’s just… confused. Scared. Maybe a little overwhelmed. But he still cares about you. He just doesn’t know how to say it right now.”
Sonic said nothing. His fingers curled a little in the grass.
Amy nudged him lightly. “So don’t give up on him, okay?”
He gave a small nod.
“I guess I could try to talk to him again…” he trailed off, watching the Chao sleep peacefully.
“Promise?”
Sonic laughed, eyes crinkling merrily as he glanced back at her. “You don’t ever give up, do you?”
Amy grinned. “I’ve been told that’s one of my less desirable qualities.”
“Oh yeah?”
She laughed, twisting a small cluster of pink quills in her hand. “Apparently, I don’t know how to just… let go. Not of people. Not of hope. Not even of the stupid stuff.”
Sonic tilted his head, watching her. “Well,” he said with a small smile, “considering you were trying to cheer me up, I don’t really see the issue.”
Amy smiled back, but it faded just a bit. Her voice dipped lower—more serious and honest. “So, does this mean that you’re gonna stop trying to die alone with the Chao?”
Sonic barked out a laugh—sharp and surprised. Her words were way too dark, way too blunt… and yet, so weirdly funny. He chuckled again, helplessly amused.
Amy continued when he didn’t reply. “Also, you can’t keep avoiding people just because they look at you. Let them. Let them stare.” She reached over and nudged his arm. “Whatever happens, just be around the ones who care about you, Sonic. Don’t pull away. Don’t shut us out.”
Sonic swallowed. Hard. He really couldn’t find the words to reply to that.
But Amy didn’t press. She just sat there beside him, waiting for him patiently.
And after a moment, Sonic murmured, “Okay.”
He allowed her to pull him up again, feeling his cheeks burning as he looked down at the ground. Amy gave his hand a final squeeze before letting go.
Together, they began the walk back to camp, waving to the Chao as they passed. The little creatures chirped happily, bobbing in the sun-dappled shallows, their tiny faces tilted up toward the morning light in pure, contented bliss.
They walked in easy silence for a while—until Amy spoke again.
“You know,” she said, “you getting taller isn’t the only reason I’m sure you’re okay.”
Sonic raised an eyebrow. “No?”
She shook her head, clasping her hands behind her back as they strolled. “I keep getting the Star card every single time I draw my deck lately.”
He blinked. “And that’s… good?”
“It’s more than good,” Amy said with a bright smile. “It stands for hope, healing, and renewal. A symbol of faith and inspiration. When it shows up, it usually means things are shifting in the right direction—that there’s guidance, and that you’re being… well, watched over.”
Sonic tilted his head and repeated: “Watched over?”
She nodded. “Cared for. Like something out there knows where you’re going—even if you don’t. The Star is about clarity, recovery, and trusting the journey. It doesn’t show up unless there’s a reason.”
As they walked, Amy glanced at him again, her smile fading into something more thoughtful. “It wouldn’t make sense for my cards to keep saying things are fine, only for you to suddenly…” She trailed off, frowning. “Well. You know.”
Sonic was quiet for a moment, letting her words hang in the air, his footsteps crunching softly along the trail.
“… Can I ask you something?” he said finally. “Do you really trust your cards to always be right?”
Amy shrugged, not breaking stride. “Yeah. Pretty much. Belief is kind of the foundation of magic, you know? Trusting the message is part of what makes the tarot work. I know that the spirits within them want to help me understand the world around me. They’re my friends and allies in all my battles.”
She smiled faintly, then added, “Which brings me to the other point I wanted to make. There’s another card we’ve seen that gives me hope for the best.”
“Oh?” Sonic glanced sideways. “Which one?”
She threw a wink at him. “Back on the Egg Carrier—when I asked you to draw a card? You pulled Temperance. Remember?”
He paused, then nodded slowly.
“It literally means balance,” Amy continued, voice upbeat. “Harmony between extremes. A merging of opposites. It was… kind of perfect for what I was dealing with at the time. And I feel it’s still relevant for you, right now.”
Sonic let out a quiet hum, letting that sit with him. He’d never put much faith in magic or miracles, but Amy’s cards had proven their worth more than once. They were powerful—and strangely precise.
He supposed he could choose to hope, too. Maybe things weren’t as bleak as he’d believed.
And if he really was dying… wouldn’t it be better to make the most of the time he had left?
“… Thanks,” he said at last, his voice quieter. “This actually helped. A lot.”
Amy nodded happily. “Anytime. I bet Tails will confirm what I said.”
Sonic chuckled. “I’m not a betting man, Amy. And the machine couldn’t read my DNA the last time we tried, remember?”
“Yeah, yeah,” she said with a grin. “But you trust me, right?”
He sighed, then smirked. “Alright. If you say so… I’ll trust you.”
The trees began to thin as the path opened into the clearing.
Sonic and Amy slowed as they stepped out into the heart of the camp—no longer just a small campsite, but something more permanent now.
Everywhere they looked, people were working. Makeshift homes built from salvaged wood and badnik scrap rose from the soil, their uneven metal panels catching the light like patchwork armor. Smoke curled lazily from a few chimneys, and voices drifted through the air—laughter, conversation, the clang of metal on metal.
“Wow,” Sonic breathed, taking it all in.
“Yeah,” Amy said, shading her eyes as she scanned the bustling scene. “We’ve been busy.”
The wreckage of Eggman’s forces hadn’t gone to waste. Every badnik torn apart during the battle had been stripped for parts—metal limbs, armor plating, wiring—all reshaped into roofs, support beams, and tools. Even the smaller mobile factories had been dismantled and repurposed within days.
Only the main body of the aircraft Eggman had used to carry the army he’d used in his latest assault remained intact—its bulk looming quietly on the far side of the budding village. Tails had claimed it as his workshop, taking full advantage of all the stuff Eggman had left behind.
Sonic could spot him now, standing near the aircraft's opened hatch, tools in hand as he adjusted something on one of the panels near the entrance. The small fox hadn’t noticed them yet, fully immersed in his work.
Then, a sudden yelp cut through the hum of camp life.
Near them, a badger Mobian stumbled—her foot catching on a buried rock. The bundle of lumber in her arms pitched forward, teetering on the edge of collapse.
Sonic reacted on instinct. “Whoa—look out!”
He lunged forward just as the wood slipped, arms shooting out to catch the topmost planks inches before they could crash onto her foot.
“Oh—wow, that was close. Th—” The badger stopped speaking mid-sentence. Her eyes widened abruptly, and her expression stiffened as she took in his features. It was obvious that she knew who he was.
Sonic’s hands carried the lump of wood easily, but a flicker of uncertainty passed behind his green eyes. His arms wavered between them as she didn’t move to take them back.
Before the silence could stretch too far, Amy stepped in, voice light but firm. “Sticks, seriously,” she said with a sigh. “You’ve got to watch where you’re going. That would’ve crushed your toes.”
“I had it under control, Amy,” the badger—Sticks—grumbled, adjusting her grip and refusing to meet Sonic’s eyes.
The pink hedgehog snorted and took the load from Sonic, nudging it back into the badger’s arms. “Sure, you did. Just try not to trip over rocks next time.”
Sonic turned to go with her, brushing his hands together to get rid of the dust in his gloves—more than ready to move on.
“Wait!” Sticks called out, voice strained under the weight.
They stopped and turned, just slightly.
Sticks was staring right at him now, her grip tightening around the lumber.
“… Thanks,” she said at last. “For catching that. And… for what you did during the battle. Not just now. You saved me.”
The words weren’t loud, but they hit the air like a stone dropped in still water.
Sonic felt the shift in the air around them. Quiet rippled through the people like a wave, conversations dying down as more heads turned to look. Dozens of eyes. Watching him. Whispering.
He could feel their eyes on him, lingering on the bare patches where his fur had fallen away, quietly weighing what they saw and making their own conclusions about him.
His back muscles stiffened.
Still—he gave the badger a lopsided smile as he scratched his cheek, his front remaining easygoing and open. “Hey, it’s all good! No thanks needed.”
Amy stepped in quickly, slipping her hand around his arm to tug him gently to the side. “Come on,” she murmured, voice light. “You’re doing great.”
“Save me,” he whispered back, lips stuck on a stiff smile as multiple eyes tracked them across the site.
“Oh, come on… it’s not that bad…”
“Hey, guys!” came a sudden voice just before a yellow blur nearly tackled them.
Ray the Flying Squirrel skidded to a halt in front of them, arms thrown wide like he was preparing for a hug he barely remembered not to deliver.
“There you are!” he exclaimed, practically bouncing on his toes. “We’ve been looking all over for you two! I’m so glad you’re okay—especially you, blue hedgehog guy! Sonic, right? Man, it’s great to see you again!”
Sonic blinked, caught off guard. “Uh—hey.”
Ray beamed, chattering a mile a minute. “We were all super worried when you disappeared—like, poof! Gone! I figured maybe you were off doing something top-secret and mysterious—or maybe you just needed space, which is totally valid, but still! It’s really good to see you’re not, y’know, dead or anything. Oh! Are you trying out a new haircut or something? Because you look kinda different. And—uh—you missed a few spots! Here and there!”
Before Sonic could figure out how to respond to all that, a firm hand clamped down on Ray’s shoulder.
“Ray,” a deep voice said. “Breathe.”
Mighty the Armadillo stepped up behind him, giving Amy and Sonic a nod. “Sorry about him. Sometimes he gets a bit too excited.”
Ray turned, gesturing wildly. “But I didn’t even get to—!”
“We’re not here for a full conversation,” Mighty said, his tone patient but firm. “Just wanted to give you an update, Amy—everyone’s got a roof over their head now. Most of the injured are back on their feet, and… there’s been no new losses. We’ve been lucky.”
Amy’s face softened. “That’s… That’s really good news. Thanks for letting me know, Mighty.”
“Mm.” The armadillo gave her a gentle smile. “Well, we didn’t mean to interrupt. We’ll let you two go now.”
Ray opened his mouth, but Mighty was already grabbing him by the arm. The squirrel flailed slightly as he was turned around.
“But I wanted to ask Sonic something! About the yellow transformation thingy! Like, how come he looked yellow like me when he chopped off Robotnik’s—”
“Ray,” Mighty said, his tone sharpening just a touch. “Let’s go.”
Ray’s protest died on his tongue as he was gently but firmly dragged off, still glancing over his shoulder with wide eyes. “But the dude was glowing! Like, literally glowing!”
“Uh-huh,” Mighty replied, utterly unbothered, already walking him out of earshot.
Amy shot Sonic a sheepish glance. “Hey… I know they’re a lot, but I swear—”
She let her words die when she heard him laugh.
“He’s just so hyper,” Sonic chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck as he watched the duo retreat. “Did someone feed him tons of sugar or is he always like that?”
Amy laughed, visibly relieved. She beckoned him forward. “Nope, that’s just Ray being Ray. Always dialed up to eleven. And don’t even get me started on when Honey’s around. Those two together are practically unstoppable.”
Sonic raised a brow, clearly intrigued. “Honey? Can’t say I’ve met her yet.”
Amy groaned, dragging a hand down her face. “Oh, trust me—you’d know if you had. She’s a loudmouth cat Mobian who won’t let you get a word in once she starts talking. She’ll make sure you know she owns a fashion label. Honestly, I’m convinced she believes everyone’s just one makeover away from perfection.” She shot him a sidelong glance. “If you ever run into her? Run.”
“I’ll keep my distance,” Sonic said with a smirk as they passed a group of Mobians hauling salvaged scrap. “Though… I’ve gotta admit, now I’m kinda curious. Is she really that intense?”
“Only if you’re reaaaally unlucky. It depends on her mood.” Amy huffed, though a smile tugged at her lips. “You’ll either end up buried under tons of fashion trivia or have a totally normal chat. You’ll have to flip a coin every time you try it.”
“I’ll keep an eye out for her,” Sonic said, grinning. “Maybe we’ll be best pals in no time.”
Amy scoffed, barely holding back a laugh behind a cheeky smile. There was no way he’d subject himself to that kind of torture and they both knew it. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
They walked a little further, the path curling closer to the looming remains Eggman’s large hovercraft. The laughter and chatter behind them faded slightly under the soft hum of machinery and the distant clang of metal.
Tails was exactly where they’d spotted him last.
Sonic exhaled slowly, his earlier nerves creeping back in. “... Well. This is the moment of truth, I guess.”
Amy glanced at him, then at the ship ahead. “Don’t be so nervous. Go on! Talk to the kid.”
Sonic picked up the pace, stepping ahead. “Yo, Tails!”
The fox flinched slightly and turned, pulling himself away from the open panel he’d been elbow-deep in. His eyes widened the moment he saw who it was.
“Oh—hey, guys!” he said, wiping his hands on a rag. “Sorry, I didn’t realize—were you two standing there long?”
Sonic shook his head. “Nah. Just got here.”
“So,” he asked, trying to sound casual as he glanced between the two hedgehogs, “what did you guys need help with?”
“The DNA testing, I think,” Amy replied before Sonic had the chance to do so. He squinted at her, and Amy subtly shook her head, as if to say: ‘not yet’. “We wanted to see if there was anything you could tell us about it. Any progress at all would be helpful.”
Tails’ face lit up. “Oh! Perfect timing. I was just going through the results before I came out here. And I think I have good news for you. Sorry it took so long.”
Tails motioned for them to follow, leading the way down a corridor deeper into the Egg Carrier’s interior. The hall was lit by the power lines in the walls, the hum of machinery echoing faintly around them.
As they rounded a corner, a familiar, mechanical voice called out from a nearby chamber.
“FASCINATING. YOU ARE STILL ALIVE, SONIC THE HEDGEHOG.”
Sonic blinked, pausing in the doorway. “Gamma?” He leaned inside, offering a small, uncertain wave. “Uh… hey.”
The robot head—now mounted atop a rotating rig of wires and a mechanical torso—turned to face him with a soft whirr.
“I KNEW THERE WAS A POSSIBILITY THAT YOU MIGHT REMAIN STABLE—UNLIKE THE OTHER NEMESIS CANDIDATES. HOWEVER, I COULD NOT CONFIRM THAT THEORY WITHOUT DIRECT OBSERVATION.”
Amy stepped up beside Sonic, gave Gamma a flat look, then gently nudged him forward by the shoulder.
“No. We’re not doing this right now,” she said firmly. “Come on.”
“But it—”
“Nope.”
“WE WILL TALK LATER,” Gamma called as they left the room.
Once they were out of earshot, Tails blinked and muttered, “That’s the first time I’ve heard it actually speak.”
Amy shot him a look. “Wait—then why is it hooked up to a frame? Are you rebuilding it without making sure it’s safe?”
“I’m not,” Tails said quickly, raising both hands. “I’m with you in this one. I’m not doing anything unless I’m absolutely sure it won’t try to kill us the second I give it limbs.”
He gave Sonic a side glance. “No offense, Sonic. I know you said it was cool with us, but...”
“None taken,” Sonic said with a shrug. “I understand that it’s a bit of a hard sell for you guys. Just give Gamma some time to open up. For a badnik, it seems like a cool dude.”
They followed Tails the rest of the way into the lab. The fox darted ahead to the cluttered workbench, attempting to tidy it—then gave up halfway and swept most of the mess into a corner with a sigh. Wires, tools, and half-finished devices clattered together in a heap.
Once the mess was cleared, Tails sat and tapped a few keys on his console. A large monitor flickered to life, casting a pale glow over the room. Several files popped up, and he navigated quickly until he pulled up one labeled with Sonic’s name.
“Okay,” he said, spinning in his chair to face them. “Here’s what I’ve got so far.”
The screen displayed a digital silhouette of Sonic’s body, spinning slowly. Lines of data surrounded it—graphs, waveforms, and readouts scrolling in real time.
“I’ve isolated two main energy sources from the samples you gave me,” Tails explained, pointing to the twin pulses flickering inside the image. “One of them matches the energy signature of Chaos Energy—the same kind you see in the Master Emerald and the Green Emerald.”
“And the other?” Amy asked.
Tails hesitated. “That one’s… trickier to figure out. It’s wild, unpredictable. It responds to Chaos Energy, but it doesn’t behave like it. It’s almost constantly active, which makes it impossible to get a clear read on it. That’s why the DNA scan took me so long to do.”
Sonic tilted his head, arms folded. “That bad?”
“No,” Tails said quickly.
The young fox zoomed in on the DNA chains, tracing the brief but potent bursts of what seemed to be electricity that were jumping from one end to the other, with the nucleotides acting as bridges.
“If anything, it’s doing the complete opposite. It’s helping you, not harming you. I ran a full scan, just in case. There’s no signs of cellular breakdown in anything it touches. Everything’s holding together just fine with this thing running inside you.”
“So, what? This thing is just… vibing in there? Making sure I don’t break apart?”
Tails nodded, shrugging. “That’s my best guess.”
Amy leaned in, eyes scanning the screen. “And the DNA?”
Tails frowned, drumming his fingers against the console. Several nucleotide sequences flickered across the screen, each one highlighted in a different color. The nitrogenous bases varied just enough in composition to suggest they’d come from different sources—and different donors, in this case.
“I can’t cross-reference any of it,” Tails said with a grimace. “Without the original donor DNA, there’s no way to match this to any source. I can maybe guess how many different donors were used—that’s three, if you wanna know—and confirm that they’re all from Mobian hedgehogs… but beyond that, it’s all just guesswork. Sorry, guys.”
Sonic sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. “Don’t apologize. I mean… it makes sense. The quills Eggman used were blown up with the rest of the Egg Carrier. It was worth a shot, though. Short of asking Eggman himself—or digging through his files again—we’ll probably never know what he used to make me.”
“Definitely not Fleetway,” Amy said with a huff, giving him a once-over. “Yeah, I know you went all golden during the fight with Robotnik, but I’m pretty sure that was more about the Master Emerald’s power than anything else—so, it’s kind of like a temporary boost. And outside of that, you had to be possessed by him to take on that form.”
Tails shifted nervously at the reference to the ghosts that had haunted Eggman’s Egg Carrier. He always seemed a bit unsettled with anything remotely supernatural.
Sonic could relate for obvious reasons.
Oblivious to their discomfort, Amy tapped her foot as she thought about the traits all Fleetway clones were reported to have. “Besides, you don’t have the spiral irises we saw in those research notes. I think it’s safe to say he’s not part of you.”
“Why don’t you guys tell me what you found in Robotnik’s notes, and we can figure things out from there?” Tails said.
It was an unspoken agreement between the two hedgehogs that they weren’t going to mention 663-ON to Tails. They began from 9EN-E51S-5 and continued from there.
Tails’ ears flattened as he listened. His fingers flew across the console, inputting each designation and correlating them to what little data he had on file. “Okay, so he wasn’t just cloning you—he was designing you. Custom-building you from whatever he thought would make the perfect version.”
Sonic gave a half-hearted shrug. “Pretty much.”
From there, the discussion turned to theory. They narrowed the source universes down to two likely candidates.
“Alright,” Tails muttered, “if we go by Eggman’s logic… 9EN-E51S-5 was the goal. That version’s what he called his ideal ‘Nemesis.’ The template. So, if he wanted to replicate that, he’d need a base capable of handling all the complications it brings to the mix naturally.”
“That’s where IDW-18 comes in,” Amy added, nodding. “That universe is always under observation, and from what we read, it had the potential as a base to negate the instability of 9EN-E51S-5. It makes sense.”
Tails marked the two confirmed sources in the system with a few keystrokes. “So that’s two. But the third…?”
“That’s the problem,” Sonic muttered, frowning. “There are too many stable options he could’ve picked from. But I can tell you one thing—ADV-93 isn’t one of them.”
Tails blinked. “Really?”
“Yeah,” Sonic said flatly. “Eggman wouldn’t settle for average. He’d want something exceptional—something he could use. That world was… fine. A bit loopy, maybe? But what made that Sonic stand out wasn’t him, it was everything around him. Eggman wouldn’t pick that unless he was desperate.”
“Okay.” Tails scratched it off the list. “That still leaves a few possibilities. OVA-96, SG-1991, U-2014, SX-2003, SP-2022… they’re all relatively stable and viable.”
Amy crossed her arms. “None of them can be verified since they are all only reported as good, but they’d be a solid red herring, in case someone went snooping like we did.”
“Why would Eggman put a red herring for something like this?”
Amy looked at him with a smirk. “Because, eventually, he hoped that one of you would come out and look for answers.”
Tails added a note to the many he'd already made: Third source unknown—likely from stable universe. Possibility of an unlisted candidate: high.
The fox hummed thoughtfully.
“… I hate that we’ll probably never know for sure,” Amy muttered.
Sonic looked at the screen for a long moment. “Yeah. But knowing two out of three’s better than none.”
Tails leaned back with a sigh. “Still. Dimensional engineering, multi-source splicing… Eggman really went all in on making you, huh?”
Sonic snorted softly. “I guess you could say I’m a real piece of work.”
“That was a terrible joke, Sonic,” Amy said with a grimace.
“I have to agree,” a voice drawled from behind.
All three jolted, turning to see Knuckles leaning in the doorway, arms crossed and smirking.
“That was dark as hell,” the echidna added.
“Knuckles?!” Amy frowned. “Have you been standing there this whole time?”
“You all looked pretty busy,” he said with a shrug. “Anyway, good to see you again, hedgehog. You weren’t exactly easy to pin down.”
Sonic gave him a flat look. “Funny. Amy didn’t have that problem.”
Knuckles snorted. “Amy’s got tracking experience. Of course she found you first.”
Amy’s phone buzzed sharply in her pocket. She checked the screen, brow furrowing. “I need to take this— you two play nice while I’m gone, or I’m bringing the hammer out when I come back.” She shot them both a stern look before stepping out into the corridor, closing the door behind her.
The moment she was gone, the bickering began.
“You’re one to talk about being hard to track,” Sonic muttered, folding his arms. “You vanish for days, then act like I’m the problem.”
Knuckles shrugged again, unimpressed. “Someone had to check the damage. Hidden Palace took a beating; there was a volcano erupting for days, and the Master Emerald’s been working overtime pulling fragments of the island out of the ocean. I’ve been stuck doing damage control around the clock just to get Angel Island back to what it was.”
Okay, okay, he supposed that was fair—
“Then there was you, too busy running from your problems to stay put in one place.”
“Excuse me?!” Sonic snapped, whirling around to fully face the echidna, sparks of lightning crackling off his spines. “You make it sound like I bailed the second things got hard! I stuck around! I helped bury the dead! Can’t say the same for a certain red bastard who disappeared without a single damn word—!”
Knuckles’ expression hardened, jaw clenched. “My parents were married when they had me, hedgehog. Don’t drag them into this.”
“That’s not what I meant and you know it!” Sonic shot back, voice tense. “This isn’t about your family. It’s about you throwing accusations, like I abandoned everyone.”
Before the tension could rise again, Tails stepped between them, clearly done with this. “Alright—enough! That was out of line, Knuckles. Sonic did help. Just like you did.”
There was a tense beat.
Knuckles exhaled sharply, rubbing the back of his neck. “Fine. Maybe I crossed a line. But this island’s still a mess, and sometimes it feels like I’m the only one trying to fix it.”
Sonic’s glare softened, though didn’t fully disappear. “I get it. We’re all under pressure. Doesn’t mean that being a jerk will win you any points.”
Knuckles gave a brief nod. “I agree. Let’s drop it.”
Tails cleared his throat. “Good. Now—Knuckles, why are you here? This isn’t just about arguing, is it?”
Knuckles shook his head. “No. After I finished restoring Hidden Palace, there was one last thing I needed to test—with Sonic.”
The blue hedgehog tilted his head, eyes narrowing with suspicion. “Don’t tell me you actually repaired that busted mural with Eggman on it.”
Knuckles gave him a flat look. “That’s the one thing I left broken.”
That earned a short, dry laugh from Sonic. “Finally, something we can agree with.”
The echidna nodded and came closer. “That piece of prophecy can stay broken, in my opinion. Anyway, I need to see something. I’ll need your hand for this one, hedgehog.”
The sudden pivot nearly gave Sonic whiplash. “Uh… my what?”
“Just give me your hand.”
Too curious to protest, Sonic cautiously held it out.
Without another word, Knuckles dropped something into his palm. A small, glowing green gem—dense with unmistakable Chaos energy.
The moment the shrunken Master Emerald touched his hand, the reaction was instantaneous.
The powerful emerald vanished into him and a surge of golden energy tore through Sonic’s body. His fingers curled into claws, quills flaring as radiant power crackled along his spine. His feet lifted off the ground, weightless, as his fur blazed like molten light—casting bright, flickering shadows across the lab.
“WHAA—!” Sonic yelped, eyes going wide as the energy surged through him. “Knuckles?! F-Fuck—! A little heads-up would've been nice!”
“I wanted to see it up close,” Knuckles replied, completely unfazed, arms crossed as he studied the Super Form floating in front of him. “It’s just like I thought… You instantly completely transformed as soon as you touched the Master Emerald. There was no delay in that reaction.”
Sonic blinked, still hovering off the ground, his fur glowing with golden radiance, quills flaring with energy. “Wait—what? Isn’t that how it works?”
Knuckles frowned as he examined the transformation in full. “If it were that simple, don’t you think I’d have one by now? I’ve lived alongside the Master Emerald my whole life. I guard it. I’ve bled for it. And yet—nothing. No transformation. Not even once.”
Sonic’s brow furrowed, golden sparks flickering from his fingertips. “But I just touched it.”
“Exactly,” Knuckles said. “That’s the point.”
Tails looked between them, processing fast. “Hold on—what is a Super Form, exactly? Can you explain it to me, Knuckles?”
The echidna didn’t look away from Sonic as he answered. “It’s a rare transformation. One only a few can pull off—usually after absorbing massive amounts of Chaos Energy from Emeralds. It boosts your natural abilities, gives you new ones, and usually makes you damn near invincible. The last one who could pull it off was my Pa—and he only did it once. When he’d pushed himself to such an extreme that the Master Emerald gave him the final boost he needed to finish the fight. For someone to pull this… so easily... It’s practically unheard of.”
Tails turned back to his computer, fingers flying across the keys. “Then Sonic definitely shouldn’t be able to do this just by touching the Emerald… unless his body’s already perfectly attuned to Chaos Energy. Hmmm. Maybe the Chaos Energy that already exists in Sonic’s DNA is making the transformation easier to access?”
Knuckles didn’t have an answer for that.
Tails looked over his shoulder at the floating hedgehog. “Sonic, mind if I take another quill while you’re like this?”
Sonic shrugged midair, the motion causing a ripple in the golden light around him. “Sure, bud. Knock yourself out.”
With practiced ease, the gold hedgehog reached up and plucked one loose. It came free with a faint crackle of light. He floated down just far enough to hand it off to Tails, who took it gingerly with both hands.
“It’s still empowered by the Chaos energy,” Tails muttered, already reaching for a scanner. “Let’s see if this helps us understand what’s happening behind the scenes…”
Sonic hovered back, arms folded loosely as he watched his friend at work.
Knuckles watched as well. He asked Sonic quietly, “What’s fueling it? I mean… that level of power must be coming from somewhere.”
Sonic grimaced. “Rings,” he muttered. “Lots of them.”
He winced again, glancing down at his glowing form. His black nose wrinkled with discomfort. “I’ve got a decent stockpile stored up in me, but this form chews through ’em like candy. I can feel it eating them and I’m not doing anything.”
Knuckles crossed his arms, frowning. “And you can’t drop the form? At all?”
Sonic shook his head. “Dude, the Master Emerald is in me. I don’t know how to get it out without running dry—last time, it drained everything.”
Knuckles was quiet for a second. Then he took a step forward.
“I think I’ve got an idea. You wanna get it out now?”
“Yeah, that would be… sweet.” Sonic narrowed his eyes. “Dude, why are you coming closer?”
“Hold still,” Knuckles said, rolling his shoulders in preparation for what he was about to do. “It’ll be over in a second.”
“Wait—Knux—what are you doing—?”
The punch connected squarely with Sonic’s chest.
A shockwave of golden light exploded outward, followed by a choked wheeze as Sonic’s breath was knocked clean out of him.
The transformation shattered midair. Sonic dropped like a stone, the Super Form peeling away in sparks and fading light. The Master Emerald hit the floor with a heavy thunk, followed moments later by Greenie, spinning on the floor.
At that exact moment, the lab door swung open.
“Tails, can you show me the map real quick? I need to check—” Amy froze mid-sentence as she realized that something was off. “What in Gaia’s name happened?!”
She rushed to Sonic’s side, where he lay groaning, still struggling to catch his breath.
“Sonic?! Are you okay?” Amy yelled with worry.
Startled by all the noise, Tails whipped around from his terminal, gawking at the sight before him. “What the heck—?! Knuckles, did you just—did you just punch the Super out of him?!”
Knuckles stood over the scattered emeralds, flexing his hand with a grimace. “Worked, didn’t it? Sonic wanted the Master Emerald out and I helped.”
Glaring at the echidna, Amy knelt beside Sonic, steadying him as he coughed. “You okay?”
“Oh, that smarts!” Sonic wheezed, clutching his ribs. “I th-think you dislodged my lungs, Knux!”
Tails blinked at the scene, then looked at the normal blue quill in his scanner. A few seconds ago, it had been bright gold. “The Chaos signature that was boosting Sonic—it’s gone. Completely gone.”
Tails turned to Knuckles, more puzzled than angry. “Wait… you actually knocked the energy out of him?”
“Just outta the hedgehog,” Knuckles said with a shrug.
He crouched beside the scattered Emeralds, picking up the one closest to him. He turned it over in his palm, examining it for a few seconds.
“… This one feels wrong,” he said, his expression unreadable.
Amy froze beside Sonic, who was still coughing on the ground. She glanced down at him and the two shared a glance.
“You’re talking about the Green Chaos Emerald?” Amy asked. “What’s wrong with it?”
Knuckles shrugged as he went down to retrieve the Master Emerald from the ground. He glanced at the other gem again, his eyes examining it carefully. “It feels… full. Like there’s something—or someone—inside it.”
Sonic grunted as he pushed himself upright, wiping at his mouth. He reached out and took Greenie from Knuckles, turning it slowly in his hand. “It feels the same as always to me. You’re saying this isn’t normal?”
“Chaos Emeralds aren’t meant to be alive,” Knuckles said, frowning. “Not even the Master Emerald works that way. Sometimes, spirits take refuge in them—but it’s temporary. Sooner or later, they either find peace… or their will fades.”
“But what about the times where I could hear you speak to it? If it’s not alive, as you say, then why are you doing that?” Amy asked.
Knuckles’ face reddened slightly, and he looked away, looking almost sheepish. “That’s… uh… Well. Even if it’s not technically alive, the Master Emerald can hold echoes—impressions—of the people who’ve touched it. Their thoughts, memories… sometimes more.”
He hesitated, rubbing the back of his neck. “Some of them are my ancestors. Old guardians. I try to… talk with them. When I need their wisdom.”
Sonic peered down at Greenie, feeling like he already knew who was inside. “I’ve been having dreams about a sick girl named Maria,” he said quietly. “She lived on a space colony called the ARK because she had a rare illness—something called NIDS.”
Tails let out a sharp hiss through his teeth. “Oh, that’s a rough one. There’s no cure, and it’s pretty painful. She would’ve suffered a lot down here—but if she was living outside Mobius’s gravitational pull, that might’ve eased the pain of the inflammation a bit. Still… why would she be here now? And inside the Emerald?”
Sonic shrugged. He didn’t know. Asking was out of the question as well. Greenie—Maria?—was still sleeping and she hadn’t tried talking again since the Egg Carrier.
Amy’s phone ran again, causing her to grimace at it.
“What horrible timing,” she said with a curse, bringing it to her ear as she answered it. “Rotor. Now isn’t the most—wait, what? What do you mean that they’re exploding the bases?”
Amy’s expression shifted rapidly as she listened, eyes sharpening with each word.
“… Right. Tails, bring up the World Map. Most recent version.”
Tails didn’t ask any questions. A few quick keystrokes, and the screen’s display shifted. Angel Island’s current orbital path replaced the previous data, the projection showing it steadily crossing the ocean in the northern hemisphere. It drifted just off the south-west coast of Normerca—only a few miles away from the Mystic Ruins. Station Square’s glowing marker wasn’t far off.
Amy scanned it quickly, then gave a firm nod. “Good. Now zoom out. I want these locations marked—doesn’t matter how far apart they are: Mount Mobius, Rocky Jungle, Great Jungle, Westside Island, and South Island.”
Tails blinked at the spread but didn’t hesitate. “On it.”
One by one, red markers began appearing across the globe.
Amy’s lips pressed into a tight line as she stared at the map. “Is that everything that’s been confirmed?”
A pause. Whoever was on the other end of the call spoke again, and Amy’s expression only tightened further with every word.
Amy sighed, eyes scanning everyone present in the room with her. “Rotor, I’m putting you on speaker. It’s safe.”
She tapped the screen, holding the device out.
A male voice crackled to life, warm despite the obvious tension. “Hello? Ah—hey there. You must be Amy’s friends. Wish this could’ve been under better circumstances, but… well, you’ve probably figured that out by now the situation is a bit dire. My name’s Rotor, and I have some bad news to share with you.”