Sonic gathers the six light sticks and puts them in a bag for Dia to carry as they walk to Tails’s workshop. “It’d probably be best if while you’re looking for a new energy source, you hold on to these. I think we’ll be alright without them. If anything, it would just give ol’ egghead a reason to keep coming back and bothering us.”

Dia nods uneasily, “I just hope he doesn’t start to follow me once he finds out that you don’t have them anymore.”

“Knowing him, probably. But when he causes any trouble, we’re always there,” Sonic snickers.

The two arrive at the workshop to find Tails standing next to Dia’s ship, looking completely stumped.

“What’s wrong?” Dia asks. At first glance, the ship looks factory new! It was hard for her to believe that anything could be wrong.

“I’ve managed to patch up all the circuitry and fix up most of the electrical systems, but…” Tails trails off, appearing to get lost in thought.

“Buuuuut?” Sonic responds, likely aware that Tails wouldn’t finish the sentence until prompted again.

“…I haven’t gotten it to actually turn on. If I had the part that Surge and Kit stole, I could repair this in no time. I’m trying to improvise without it, but it seems impossible. I’m sorry, Dia, but it might take a bit longer than expected..” Tails dejectedly lowers his head.

Dia puts her hand on his shoulder. “You don’t have to apologize, you’ve already done more than I could’ve asked for.”

“But not enough to actually make a difference…” Tails sighs.

Hearing the fox’s response, Dia begins to share the same defeated feeling. Then, an idea pops into her head. “If you can’t get my ship to fly, do you think you would be able to build a new one?”

Tails looks back up at her. “I could. But I’m not sure it would do what you need it to. Burstmite isn’t a resource that exists on this planet…”

Before Tails and Dia could discuss the Burstmite issue further, Silver lands in front of them.

“I need everyone to come with me to the Chaos Pillar, right away!”

On the way to the Chaos Pillar, the group gathers Knuckles and Amy. They rush over to find a shocking sight: the ground around the pillar is cracked and many vines and unfamiliar flora are now growing out of it. Shadow is waiting for them as well, arms crossed, with a disapproving glare being the closest the group gets to a welcome from him.

“What’s going on…?” Dia nervously asks, watching the tendrils slowly snake their way from below the pillar.

Shadow turns to Dia, staring at her with a fierceness that unsettles her. “When you mess with power you don’t understand, it tends to mess with you in return.” he growls.

As the black hedgehog grows increasingly irritated, the flowers react to his chaos energy flare-up and grow more wild.

Shadow turns and lifts his foot off the ground, stomping down onto one of the nearby vines.

However, instead of the vine being crushed, Shadow’s foot slams on top of it with a loud CLANK. It sounded like…metal? These are no ordinary plants.

“It seems like dying planets always follow you. Sending you off of ours would be the simplest solution…”

“Dia didn’t know this would happen!” Amy interjects. “What’s going on right now is new to everyone!”

Sonic, seeing an argument brewing, decides to step in. “Shadow, why don’t you take five and chill out before these things get any more out of control? They seem to like that you’re getting all worked up right now.” Letting out an annoyed huff, Shadow quietly goes back to monitoring the plants as Sonic turns to Silver.

“So, how’d you find out this was even happening?”

Silver, who Dia still hadn’t had the chance to talk to very much, was a time traveler. Amy and Sonic had told her that he had come to the present to prevent a future full of fire and destruction.

Could the Chaos Pillar be the reason he came here? She thinks to herself.

“I had been checking on the pillar every day since it first appeared, making sure nothing went wrong. Then, about a week ago, I noticed a strange flower peeking out.” Silver recounts, pointing out the plant in question. “It didn’t look like anything I’d ever seen before, so I told Shadow about it and he started helping me keep an eye on the pillar. For the last few days, nothing else happened, it was always just the lone flower. I don’t know what changed today, but suddenly the ground around the pillar gave way and all of this started spilling out.”

Dia stares at the flower. It appeared normal from a distance, but upon closer inspection, she could tell the “leaves” were made of metal shards and the “vines” were actually wires.

“Eggman…” Sonic says under his breath.

Silver stops Sonic’s thought short, “But that’s the thing, Eggman hasn’t been near the pillar since the fight. Whatever is causing all of this is coming from the pillar itself. When I touched it, the amount of energy reminded me of how it feels when I travel through time. There was something different about it though, almost like it felt conflicted. Seeing all of this, I think the energy has started contaminating our world.” Silver pauses. “Maybe…fixing it is how we stop the planet from falling into ruins.”

The others look at each other, not sure of what to make of Silver’s theory. “But how do we do that?” Amy asks.

“We take it out!!!” Dia abruptly rushes towards the pillar. The only thing she can think about is how it was all her fault. None of this would be happening if she hadn’t planted the pillar in the first place. Maybe she could still undo it, pull it out again, then everything can go back to the way it was.

“You can’t!” Silver steps in front of her, blocking her path. “It’s too late. I think the only way we can stop this now is by going inside the pillar. I know this has all been a lot to take in, but I need you to trust me!”

Dia peers over his shoulder, the persistent rustling sounds ringing in her ears. Behind him, Dia can see the robotic vines continuing to crawl out of the glowing structure. “But what if I screw up again?!”

“You can’t predict the future. You have to adapt. Do your best with the present to protect what’s in front of you.” Silver smiles. In some ways, it reminds her of her first interaction with Sonic. She knows that she can trust him.

Sonic nods his head. “We don’t know what we’ll find inside the pillar. Silver, you should stay here and keep an eye on it. Everyone else, go home and get ready. We’ll meet at Tails’s place in an hour.”

After a brief stop at their home, Dia and Amy make their way over to Tails’s workshop, where Sonic, Knuckles, and Shadow are waiting for him to finish the last of his preparations. As the group does one last check of the shop to make sure they have everything they need themselves, Knuckles approaches Dia.

“I can tell you’re worried, you had that same look on your face when I gave you the light stick before.”

Dia shakes her head to remove the tension in her expression, feeling self-conscious about her anxiety showing so clearly already.

Knuckles laughs, “None of us knew what would happen when you started using them. When I first held it, I had no idea what sort of power it had. For all I knew, it was just a legend. You ended up reigniting the light my ancestors lost all those years ago.”

“T-thats…I-I’m happy to hear that.” Dia stutters. Although she felt proud that she was able to do something so special, the visual of the overgrowth consuming the landscape around the pillar is all she can think about.

Knuckles’s tone softens, “You didn’t make a mistake, Dia, sometimes things just…happen. It can be tough to handle sometimes, but my grandfather always told me that if I ever felt lost, the voices of the past would be there to guide me.”

Although Dia doesn’t completely understand what Knuckles means, she still manages a smile for him, appreciating the sentiment, “Thanks Knuckles, I appreciate the advice.”

Sonic pokes his head into the room, “You guys ready?” He whips his head around, “Tails, are you ready? Amy?” He then zooms up to Shadow and pokes his cheek, “Shadow, I know you’re totally ready. Look at you all cross-armed and sour and fist ready to punch me—WOAH watch it!” Sonic ducks as a fist loudly swishes just above his head.

“I don’t know how you could be messing around at a time like this. We have no idea what this other world could have in store for us!” Shadow snaps.

Unfazed by his friend’s retaliation, Sonic smirks. “I know, I know, but that’s exactly why I’m trying to lighten the mood. There’s no point in being so wound up if we don’t know what we’re in for.”

Shadow rolls his eyes as he walks towards Dia. “If you’re just going to stare like a mindless zombie, you might as well come with me to the pillar, better to be standing around aimlessly there than here.”

He thinks it’ll be easier to keep an eye on me that way. Dia anxiously glances towards Amy, who gives her a nervous smile and a thumbs up. “Don’t worry, we won’t be too far behind!”

Dia turns back to Shadow, staring at her with growing impatience. “O-Okay, s-sure,” she stammers. Grabbing her bag and swinging it over her shoulder, she follows him out of the shop and to his light bike. What is it gonna take for him to trust me for once?!? Doesn’t he understand that I’m just trying to help everyone?!?

When the two arrive, Dia notices that the twisting, overgrown nature of the vines is already starting to become unstable. The roots are now cracking into the soil and it looks like the chaos energy inside is being disturbed.

Shadow shakes his head at the sight, letting out a hiss of disgust. Dia just looks down at the ground in front of her, wishing she was still on vacation.

Silver flies over to them, “It’s getting worse by the minute. We can’t wait much longer!”

“Sonic and the others will be here soon. Did you even come up with a plan?” Questions Shadow.

Silver looks at him puzzled, “I think it’s best if we just wait for everyone, that way you all have the same info.”

“Then write it down for them,” Shadow growls. “I need to know what awaits us before I put my life in danger. I’m not like that blue headache who trusts everything will be okay.”

Silver nods. “I understand, Shadow, but I wouldn’t put you all in harm’s way on purpose. I’ll brief everyone once they get here, alright?”

Shadow clenches his fists, but it’s clear Silver isn’t going to back down. Dia worries that she’s about to watch a fight break out, but instead, Shadow turns away and shuts his eyes. Silver turns his back as well, continuing his vigil over the pillar. Dia takes a seat on a nearby rock, still slightly wary of the tense atmosphere.

As the minutes pass, the silence grows increasingly awkward. All Dia can do is twiddle her thumbs as the other two hedgehogs stand motionless…I hope the others get here soon…

It isn’t long before the rest of the group arrives, reanimating Silver and Shadow. To Dia’s relief, the two hadn’t turned into statues in the meantime.

As the group dismounts from their bikes, Amy glances over at Shadow and Silver. “I hope things didn’t get too exciting while we were away!” She quips as Dia approaches.

“Oh…no…of course not! It was actually a little boring if anything.” Dia sheepishly rubs the back of her head.

“Now that everyone’s here,” Silver explains, “Since we don’t know what we’ll encounter in this other world, let’s stick to a buddy system so we don’t lose track of each other. We don’t want to leave anybody behind while wandering through a place we’re unfamiliar with. I suggest that Sonic and Knuckles pair up. Amy, Dia and I will be a group, and Tails and Shadow—”

“The team that has both you and Dia on is the one I’m joining.” Shadow interrupts, “The strangers from a different planet and a different timeline need to be kept in check.”

“Alright, alright!” Amy intervenes in Shadow’s argument, “You can be on our team, then. Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles? Congrats on being Team Sonic again!”

“YEAH!!!” Team Sonic leap and high-five. Dia quietly watches as the team mesh so easily together, their enthusiasm palpable. She then turns over to her group, who all seem to be avoiding each other.

Amy, however, grabs Dia’s hand, waking her from her thoughts. “Ready?”

“Ready as I’ll ever be…”

“We’re going in!” Sonic calls out. “See you guys there!” The three quickly rush into the pillar before anyone can argue.

“Always needing to be first…” Amy remarks, giving an amused roll of her eyes. She giggles and grabs Dia’s and Silver’s hands, leading them into the pillar. Dia holds her hand out to Shadow, but he ignores it and follows a few steps behind them.

The group enters through the pillar, greeted by the loud crunch of the foliage below as they step into an unfamiliar forest. The Chaos Pillar had dropped them off into what appears to be an abandoned city that has been entirely taken over by the same sort of vines and plants that were coming out of the pillar in their world.

As the group all bring their sights back towards ground level, something else becomes apparent: everyone’s appearances have changed. Their jumpsuits and tech are gone, replaced by outfits with softer fabrics that looked handsewn. Dia notes the dark blues and neon pinks that made up most of her last outfit had now been replaced by more whites and light greens, as if the forest itself had dressed her. Reaching to her side, Dia also notices something even stranger: “The light sticks have changed!” She announces to the surprise of everyone. “They’ve turned into flowers!”

“These transformations are probably a result of the pillar’s energy; a side effect of traveling across dimensions,” Silver adds, adjusting his new green jacket. “It might be for the best. We don’t want to draw any unnecessary attention until we get our bearings.”

“We do fit a little bit better with the environment now, so I guess that shouldn’t be a problem,” Amy comments, doing a little twirl in her new rose-patterned skirt and green boots. “By the way, has anyone seen Team Sonic around?

“Those three don’t even know what they’re after yet and they’ve already disappeared.” Shadow sneers as he looks around. “I doubt they’re even aware that we can’t contact them anymore!”

Amy grabs Shadow’s hand. “I’m sure they’ll be able to take care of themselves. For now, I think we need to figure out what we’re going to do.” She turns toward Silver, “You talked earlier about how you could sense this world’s energy through the pillar. Are you able to feel anything that could tell us where to go?”

“Everything’s a little hazy now that we’re actually here, but maybe if we follow one of these larger roots, it can lead us to a place where I could get a clearer sense.” Silver answers.

After briefly contemplating several different options, Silver goes up and places his hand on one of the roots. He closes his eyes and Dia watches his hand begin to glow. “It’s not much, but the energy coming off of this one feels a bit…different. I think this is the way we should go.”

“What do you guys think?” Amy asks the other two.

“Whatever allows us to end this threat and get out of here faster.” Shadow responds.

“I-If Silver thinks it’s best, I’m not going to question it!” Dia follows.

Amy looks back at Silver and nods, “Then let’s do it.”

Silver nods back at the group and the four make their way into the dense, metal forest.

There is a noticeable tension in the air as the four hedgehogs traverse through the undergrowth. The two girls walk side-by-side, with Silver in the lead. Meanwhile, Shadow trails the group a short distance. Dia had hoped that this journey would be the perfect opportunity to learn and connect with the two, but the former had been too focused while the latter was completely uninterested. Once again, Dia feels glad to have Amy around, who also seems to notice at the same time that the group could use a little energizing.

“I’ve never been in an environment like this before. I’m amazed by how beautiful it is,” Amy remarks, observing the trees and flowers around them. “To think, none of it is real and it’s causing so much harm…”

“Yeah…” Dia replies. Despite the appearance of lush greenery around them, the group hasn’t seen a single sign of life—a giveaway that what they are seeing on the surface is more dangerous than it appears.

Amy turns to Dia, “What about where you came from, Dia? What’s your world like?”

“My world?” Dia is caught off guard by the question, ”But I’ve already told you about—”

Dia cuts herself off mid-sentence, following Amy’s eyes over to Silver, whose ears are pricked up despite appearing completely disengaged. Amy wasn’t asking for her own sake—she wanted to give the other two a chance. If either of them are even paying attention!

Now on the same page, Dia takes a moment to gather her thoughts.

“Do you remember how I told Tails that my ship was made of a material called Burstmite? Well my home, Latonia, is composed almost entirely of Burstmite. The internal layers of the planet are made up of a super-heated version of it, but the closer you get to the surface, the cooler it gets, which is why we’re able to live on top of it. It’s also how we were able to create goods, build vehicles, conduct electricity, or provide anything else our society needed for thousands of years. Even when I was a kid, we were constantly finding new ways to use it and improve our lives. It was so cool!” Dia beams as she recalls the memories of her childhood. “I couldn’t wait to get older and be a part of that. To come up with new inventions! To help change my world!”

Dia’s smile fades as she remembers the next part of the story. “But when I did get older, I never got that opportunity…” Dia pauses for a moment and lets out a long exhale before continuing.

“When I was a teenager, the leaders of Latonia informed everyone that the usable Burstmite, which had always been so plentiful, wasn’t replenishing like it used to. For years we tried to manage it, hoping to ride out what we thought was just a natural part of the planet’s life cycle. It wasn’t the first time that our people experienced a dip like this, though it never lasted long. In that time, I joined the research team. We were hoping to figure out a way to maximize the Burstmite that was available and possibly find new ways to extract it, but every year it just got worse. The new Burstmite that could be used came around in smaller quantities and our society started falling into darkness. Eventually, the team began to realize that the planet itself was dying. It was beyond the imagination of any of the senior members that something like this could happen in such a short time. We eventually got an answer when a researcher discovered deep scars drilled into multiple areas of the planet. Someone had been siphoning the internal Burstmite and by the time we had realized what happened, the culprit was nowhere to be found…”

“That might explain how Eggman became such a problem in the first place…” Amy quietly contemplates.

“We didn’t have the resources to find who did it, but we understood that what Latonia lost had been stolen, which meant bringing back another energy source could revive it. In the end, I was the one entrusted with the mission of finding that energy source and was given the last working ship. I had been searching for a while before it finally gave out and I crash-landed on your world. At first, I thought it was just horrible luck, but then I ran into you guys, other hedgehogs…and started to think…maybe this is where I was meant to be…” Dia ponders.

Amy smiles, “Well, I’m glad that the world you crashed on was ours too, because we’re gonna make sure you get home and help your people no matter what!”

Dia smiles back “Thanks Amy, it means a lot.”

The two walk in silence again for a bit, Dia observing that Silver’s ears are relaxed now that the story is over. Maybe they were listening after all.

“Soooo…” Amy leans in and asks in a low tone, “…what happened?”

“W-What do you mean?”

“Before we arrived at the pillar. C’mon, spill it, I know those two weren’t standing around brooding for no reason.”

Dia nervously peeks behind them to make sure Shadow isn’t too close. She had avoided making eye contact with him the entire time, not wanting to prompt anymore outbursts on his end. She feels like she’s on thin enough ice with him already. “They both had a…disagreement.”

“About what?” Amy asks further.

Dia looks at the ground, “Shadow demanded Silver tell us the plan when we got to the pillar, but Silver wanted to wait for everyone first. Shadow got really angry and looked like he was about to attack him when he kept refusing. I don’t know what I would have done if he did.”

Amy sighs, “That sounds like Shadow.”

“He doesn’t trust me or Silver at all,” Dia grumbles, sensing Shadow’s gaze burning a hole into the back of her head.

Amy gives her a reassuring look, “He’s slow to trust and hard to please. You and Silver both mean well and are doing the right thing, you just have to give him time to realize it. He’ll come around, I promise.”

A short while later, the group makes their way out of the foliage and find themselves in a clearing near a large rock formation. They see several blob-shaped creatures playing amongst the vines.

“Are those…Chao?” Amy asks. “Did they follow us through the pillar?”

The sound of Amy’s voice alerts the Chao and they scatter and hide. One of them, however, gets caught in a nearby vine. The Chao cries out as it struggles to free itself, the vine keeping it in a fierce grip.

“Oh no!” Dia shouts as she steps up to help the poor creature. She only moves forward a few feet before hesitating. But what if I just make things worse again?

Before she can debate herself any further, Amy dashes past her. Leaping in the air and smashing her hammer against the upper portion of the vine, she breaks it and frees the Chao. As Amy lands, the Chao she rescued flies over to her and sings a cheery tune. The other Chao come out from their hiding spots and join in.

“That was amazing!” Dia praises as the others come to join the pink hedgehog, surrounded by her new adoring fans.

“It certainly was! Thank you for saving our little one.” A voice sounds from behind them.

They all turn around and are met with the sight of an orange echidna girl in a skirt made of grass. She reminds Dia of someone. She almost looks like—

“Tikal…?” Amy whispers just loud enough for only Dia to hear.

Tikal?!? That…That can’t be right… Dia thinks to herself. Amy had told her about how a historical figure named Tikal wrote several important texts in Neo-Mobius’s past. She was so influential that Amy even showed off the program created for Neo-Mobian students in which a hologram of her would teach the planet’s history directly. Dia thought she looked so pretty and graceful and wished she had the chance to meet her, but Tikal had died over a thousand years ago.

Or at least, everyone thought she had, but now that same girl was standing in front of the group, as lively as any of them. Dia’s head starts to spin.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen the four of you before. Are you travelers?” Tikal scans the group.

“Y-Yes, we were traveling through those woods over there, following an unusual energy pattern,” Silver steps forward and points in the direction they came from. “That’s how we ended up here. Do you happen to know anything about it?”

Tikal turns her gaze to where Silver is pointing, “That’s strange, I felt a surge of energy coming from that exact direction not too long ago.”

Dia feels everyone tighten up a bit. Silver wasn’t the only one that could sense those types of things. Would Tikal be suspicious of them?

Thinking fast, Silver responds, “My abilities aren’t very strong. I can’t feel anything like that without being in contact with something. I felt the pattern in one of the larger roots and we used that to guide us.”

Tikal doesn’t say anything at first, worrying Dia that Silver’s story would not be enough to persuade her of their ignorance. But Tikal nods her head and continues. It appears to have been convincing enough.

“After it happened, many of these invasive roots grew more rapidly than they ever had before. It’s possible the energy reflected off of them and back to you.” Tikal turns around and draws the group’s attention to a cave-like entrance on the side of the rocks. The robotic vines and plants bordered the perimeter of it, with tendrils disappearing into its depths. Is this…where she lives?!?

“As a token of appreciation, you’re welcome to come rest here in our home before you continue your travels. We have plenty of food to share from our garden and would appreciate the extra hands to help us clear out the new roots, if that’s something you all would be willing to assist us with,” Tikal gestures inside.

Dia’s stomach rumbles. She had been so caught up in the whirlwind of the day that she didn’t realize until now that she hadn’t eaten.

“That sounds wonderful! We would love to!” Amy answers.

Shadow interjects, “Hold on, we don’t have time to—!”

“We haven’t had a chance to rest in hours, Shadow. And it sounds like they could use our help,” Amy pushes back.

“I’m with Amy on this one. I think giving ourselves a break will help us in the long run,” Silver adds.

Shadow scowls, “Fine, but we’re leaving as soon as we’re done. I don’t want us wasting any more time.”

Amy and Silver follow Tikal into the cave with Shadow tailing close behind.

Dia hangs back for a moment, staring into the gaping void in front of her. This isn’t the time to be scared. Not wanting to fall too far behind, she takes a deep breath, reminds herself of how hungry she is and steps into the unknown.

As the group warily navigates the cave, Tikal attempts to put them at ease. “The darkness will only last for a minute. There’s a more cavernous area further along where light comes through. It is much easier to see there.”

“You said something about a garden earlier. Your home wouldn’t happen to be a Chao Garden would it?” Amy asks.

They work their way through the pitch black, listening intently for the sound of Tikal’s voice. “Why yes, it is. When these plants started to take over everything, my friend and I turned this place into a sanctuary for any lost Chao so we could protect and take care of them.”

“Your friend?” Silver questions.

Light begins to come through as the group near the end of the tunnel. “Yes, Maria and I have lived here together with the Chao for years.”

Shadow stops dead in his tracks, Dia nearly running into him. Amy and Silver swing their heads to him, wide-eyed, as if they expected to see this sort of reaction. But he doesn’t say anything, and after a brief moment, continues to follow the others into the cavern.

“Here we are! Home sweet home.” The cavern is much more vast than the group expected.

“Oh, there she is! On the other side of the garden! I’ll let her know we have company so she can introduce herself.”

As Tikal walks off, Dia focuses in on the direction she’s heading, spotting someone picking fruit in the distance. She has long, blonde hair and a sky blue dress with an ocean blue cape.

The others must’ve noticed too, because the next thing Dia hears is the sound of Shadow growling and Amy pleading, “Shadow, wait!”

Dia turns around just in time to witness Shadow grab Silver by the jacket, “Silver, you have three seconds to tell me what the hell is going on!”

“What are you doing?! You don’t think I’m as confused as anyone else here?!?” Silver exclaims. The silver hedgehog pushes Shadow away and Amy gets in between the two of them. “The best theory I can come up with is that this world, being an alternate dimension of some kind, has alternate versions of the people from our world. The timeline of this world appears to be much different from ours, but it’s possible that there are alternate versions of our friends and even ourselves out there, so we need to be very careful going forward.”

Tikal walks back up to the group with the blonde girl in tow, “Maria, meet our new guests! They’re travelers who volunteered to help us clean up the garden.” Maria’s eyes scan over each of the hedgehogs before abruptly stopping on the last one. “Silly me, I just realized we haven’t properly introduced each other! I am Tikal. What would your names be?”

“Shadow?” Maria asks softly, stepping forward and reaching out towards him as if she is seeing a ghost.

“Yes, Maria…My name is Shadow, but–” Shadow looks down at the ground, as if ashamed to be recognized.

“I can’t believe it. You’re…alive?” With a look of sheer astonishment, Maria takes another step forward, but Tikal’s arm reaches out and blocks the girl from going any further.

“That can’t be possible. You told me that Shadow died years ago. Is this some sort of trick?” The echidna’s gentle demeanor melts away into one of shock and confusion. “Who are you? What do you want with us?” Amy and Silver share a regretful look. Dia knows they have no choice now. They have to come clean.

Amy takes a step towards the two fearful girls, who promptly turn to face the potential threat. “I’m sorry. We haven’t told you the whole story, but we’re…not from around here. This isn’t our world.”

Visible shock goes across both of their faces. “W-What do you mean?” Tikal asks.

“Where we traveled from isn’t anywhere you or anyone else on this planet would have ever heard about.” Silver adds.

“I know that it sounds like a lot, but we really are here to help. If you could please just give us a chance…” By now, Amy is standing in front of Tikal, reaching out and taking the echidna’s hand into hers. “…we promise to explain everything.”

A short time later, Dia finds herself working in the garden, listening to sounds of Chao playing throughout the cavern. Although Tikal and Maria were apprehensive at first, the group told them about the story of the pillar, the energy spike, and the consequences back on Neo-Mobius. Dia could tell that it was hard for the two to take in at first, especially when it came to the news regarding Shadow, but it was enough to earn their trust again. So much so, the latter didn’t hesitate to sit down and work with Shadow just a short distance away.

Dia glances over as the two work quietly, curious if they would try to strike up a conversation now that things have been cleared up. At first, neither seems willing to break the awkward silence. Luckily, Dia doesn’t have to wait very long before Maria works up the courage to speak. “I…I know you’re not the Shadow I knew but…I’m happy to see you again.”

Dia watches as Shadow freezes in place, as if her words have petrified him. What’s wrong with him?!?

Maria continues to work, “You were always there to make me feel safe, even as things were getting worse. The day you protected me, the night you never came back, was the most vulnerable I ever felt. Without you, I’ve had to be strong on my own. Strong for the creatures that need us.”

Appearing to have freed himself from whatever spell he was under, Shadow looks at her somberly.

“But having you here again, even if you’re from another world, it’s…comforting. I remember how I used to feel all those years ago, and…” Maria stops and looks at Shadow with a bittersweet smile. “…it’s nice to know that at least one Maria in the universe gets to feel the same warmth still.”

Tears start welling up in Shadow’s eyes, his expression turns grave as he looks down and mutters, “You don’t know anything…” before quickly getting up and walking away.

“Shadow?! Wait!” Dia shouts, getting up to follow the troubled hedgehog. Has he lost it?!?

Back in the garden, Amy struggles with a fairly large root, “Hey Silver, this one is really stuck in there! Could you come over and help me pull it out?”

“Sure, if you can get these Chao to stop flying all over me!” Silver floats over, lightly pushing away a particularly intrusive Chao.

Having seen what had just occurred, Tikal goes over to console her friend. “I know you wish for it to be, but the connection will never truly be the same. He’s not the Shadow you knew. I’m sorry, Maria.”

“This experience must be overwhelming for him too. I’ll be okay, but Amy and Silver might need your help.” Maria gestures over at the two busy hedgehogs, trying to maneuver around the root while crowded by several curious Chao. Tikal nods her head and leaves to shoo away the nosy creatures. Maria takes the opening to sneak away.

Dia catches up to Shadow just outside of the cave, his back turned to her. He’s practically shaking. “Are you okay?”

“I think it’s time we got going. There’s obviously nothing of value here.” Shadow grumbles.

“Leave? I thought you decided to stay so you could spend more time with Maria. Why are you changing your mind all of the sudden?”

Chaos energy begins to emanate off of Shadow, “Why do you want to continue wasting time?!? It’s like you almost want the situation to get worse back home! Like you haven’t caused enough problems already!”

Inside, Silver and Amy struggle to rip the giant root from the ground. Tikal watches, holding one of the Chao in her arms. “It feels like it’s pretty deep in the ground. We might need to find a way to break this thing down into smaller segments before we can even think about moving it.” Silver notes.

“Maria and I were able to put together a few tools made from the roots themselves in order to compensate for their metal structures. Maybe you can use some of tho—” Tikal jolts as if startled by something.

“What’s wrong?” Amy asks.

“This…energy.” Tikal blankly stares forward. Suddenly, the root begins moving on its own, startling the others and forcing them back.

Dia couldn’t take it anymore, she had been nothing but kind to Shadow after all this time and in return he treated her like nothing but his personal punching bag. How could anybody believe he was a hero?!?

“If the Shadow from here was so kind and caring, then your Maria must be miserable!”

Shadow’s chaos energy intensifies as he lashes out, “Do not say her name!!! My Maria is gone! Long gone! Whoever this is, she’s not her! She will never be her!”

“I…didn’t know that she died…” Maria steps out from the entrance. “I’m so sorry, Shadow.”

“I don’t want your pity!” Shadow seethes. “I want to stop being reminded of my failures!”

“You’re not a failure.” Maria protests.

“It’s not your place to say that!” Shadow spits back.

Dia interjects, “Shadow, please! You have to stop! Everyone told me you were a good guy, but losing control and acting out like this reminds me of something that a villain would—!” Dia interrupts herself as she notices the roots around them growing rapidly. It’s then that Dia has a realization. It’s just like back at the pillar! Shadow’s chaos energy is activating them! But that means—!

Dia snaps her head in the direction of the cave entrance, hearing the sounds of shouting from inside. The ground then begins to tremble, almost knocking her off her feet. “Our friends are in trouble! We need to help them!”

The three charge inside the cave to find the root the others were digging up had grown substantially and was now attacking them.

Dia witnesses as Tikal ushers the Chao away from the root and towards the entrance. Following behind them, Amy protects them by knocking the vines away with her hammer. Silver is in the middle of the garden trying to force back many of the remaining vines, including the larger root, using his telekinesis.

Shadow runs forward creating an energy spear in his hand. “Chaos Spear!” He shouts as he launches the attack at the main root. Instead of damaging it, however, the root appears to absorb it! The vines are now growing even faster. “What?!?” Shadow yells in shock.

Caught off guard by the quickening pace of the plants around them, Dia watches as one of the vines reaches up and snags the bottom of Amy’s leg. The pink hedgehog tries to pull herself loose to no avail.

Amy needs help! Dia steps up to help her, but hesitates again. But what if I get captured too? I’ll only have created more problems, just like Shadow said… Before Dia is pulled any deeper into her doubts, she violently shakes her head. No! I can’t just stand around anymore! I have to do something! Dia starts running, dodging the vines reaching out for her and makes her way to Amy. “Don’t worry Amy! I’ll pull you free!”

On the other side of the cavern, Shadow charges towards the big root and attacks it again, but nothing he does seems to affect it. He’s starting to lose his patience. “Why isn’t anything working?!?”

Suddenly, the cavern begins to shake violently. Pieces of dust and debris begin to rain down on them. “The cave is starting to give!” Silver shouts down at the others. “We can’t stay here much longer!” With the situation rapidly deteriorating, the chunks of rock falling from the ceiling are growing larger. To Silver’s horror, a much larger chunk descends upon a group of Chao trying to escape. “Watch out!” He yells, taking part of his attention away from the vines and grabbing the rock just in time.

Maria runs up to the Chao, corralling them out from under the rock and towards the entrance with Tikal. However, with Silver unable to keep several of the vines in check, they are able to snake their way over to the unsuspecting girl. She lets out a yelp as the vines quickly wrap themselves around her.

“Maria!” Tikal calls out from near the entrance.

As Dia pulls Amy free, another portion of the ceiling falls toward Tikal and the Chao. Unable to grab it, Silver can only shout a warning, “Get out of the way!” as it hurtles down.

Amy darts forward, leaps above the frightened group, and obliterates the rock in one swing.

“Thank goodness!” Dia says to herself. She turns her attention towards Shadow.

His increasing frustration with being unable to destroy the big root causes another energy flare up, which makes the vines tighten around Maria more. “Help!” She cries out. Startled by Maria’s shouts, Shadow turns his attention over to her. His eyes widen and he stops moving altogether, as if in a trance.

Is he thinking about…?

Then, in a burst of speed, Shadow rushes to her aid. “Maria!” In a frenzy, Shadow begins to tear away at the vines, desperately fighting against the continuous growth of them that undo his progress. It doesn’t work. Shadow stops, gripping onto the vines as tears roll down his face, utterly defeated.

Dia runs to his side. “You can’t give up now! We have to help her!”

Shadow won’t look her in the eyes, “I can’t…I never could.”

Dia snaps at him. “Maybe you couldn’t before, but you still can now! Now I need you to get your head on straight so we can figure out a way to free her before the entire cave collapses on us!”

“Well, you better hurry, cause I can’t keep this up forever!” Silver interjects.

Dia frantically scans the room, trying to formulate a plan, when something catches her eye. “I see one of those metal hedge trimmers nearby! I can use it to cut out the base from underneath her! You should be able to pull off what’s left a lot easier and without having to worry about it growing back.” Dia instructs.

Shadow nods and Dia reaches over to grab the trimmers. “I’m going to cut them on three! Then you need to start pulling them as quick as you can, got it?!”

“Right!” Shadow responds, readying himself.

“One, two, THREE!”

Dia snips off the bottom, quickly getting up to tear away at the vines on her side. It doesn’t take long before the loosened vines come off and they are able to completely free Maria.

“Are you okay?” Shadow anxiously asks.

Maria smiles, “I am. Thank you, Shadow.”

Shadow smiles back at her, but the moment doesn’t last long. The tremors intensify once more. The room feels like it’s experiencing a full-blown earthquake.

Silver, who now has both hands hoisted up, shouts down to them, “The ceiling can’t hold any longer! It’s about to come down!” Immediately, the cavern starts to crumble and Silver flies down to the three of them. They attempt to run towards the entrance, but it’s too late. Tikal and Amy can only watch as the majority of the ceiling falls on top of them, then silence.

“Dia! Silver! Shadow!” Amy shouts.

“Maria!” Tikal wails. There’s no response.

Tikal trembles as Amy hurries toward the pile, ready to smash them free if she has to. She hopes that it won’t be too late…

As Amy approaches, a movement catches her eye. One of the rocks in the front of the pile shifts forward, then another, then another. Before Amy knows it, the debris begins to tumble forward from the pile, revealing the faces of Dia and Shadow. “You’re okay! What about Silver and Maria?”

The two hedgehogs respond by pushing more debris out of the way, revealing the rest of the group. Tikal dashes to them, overcome with relief. “Maria! Oh, thank goodness!”

“Silver managed to hold together a pocket for us so we didn’t get crushed. We wouldn’t have made it without him.” Dia looks at Shadow with a smirk. Shadow doesn’t say anything, instead continuing his efforts toward clearing away the debris so they could get out. Dia turns back to Amy, “Quite a rocky ending, huh?” All Amy can do is smile.

As the group finishes clearing out some of the mess left from the collapse, they notice that scattered around in the rubble are pieces of robot parts, like arms and legs. “I didn’t see anything like that when we were fighting the plants.” Silver comments.

“What do you think it could mean?” Asks Dia.

“I don’t know, but if they’re related in any way, I’m not sure if I want to find out.” Amy concludes.

The three make their way over to Tikal. Dia notices that the echidna has stopped cleaning as well, her attention drawn elsewhere. As they get close, they hear her say, “Maybe their connection is possible after all…”

Dia didn’t need to look to know what she was talking about. The human and hedgehog sit together in the quiet afternoon sun. Neither are willing to break the comforting silence until Shadow works up the courage to speak.

“Forgive me, Maria. I should never have lashed out at you. You didn’t deserve it. You never deserved it. I’m nothing but a pale imitation of the Shadow you knew—a lesser hero.”

“Oh Shadow, I will always forgive you.” Maria says, placing her hand on top of his. “And you are not lesser. You saved my life just like he would have because you are a hero. That’s what makes you Shadow and that’s why I’ll always believe in you.”

“Maria…” is all Shadow can find to say in response.

“Thank you for being there for me one last time. I wish you could stay and be here with me, but I know your place is with your friends.” Maria continues, looking over toward the others.

Shadow can no longer speak, using all of his willpower to stifle the tears welling up in his eyes.

“Keep fighting for them, just like you did for me…just like you did for her.”

As the two stand back up, Shadow wipes his eyes. “I will, Maria. I promise. I’m going to make things right for this world and make sure you have the future you always deserved!”

The two groups prepare themselves for the next step of their journeys, though Dia can’t help but stare at the remains of what used to be the cave.

“Are you sure you two will be alright? You can always come with us!” Proposes Amy.

“We appreciate the offer, but we need to help these Chao find a new home.” Tikal insists.

“But where will you go?” Silver asks.

The two don’t wait for him to finish his question before they start to head off. “As long as we’re together, we will find our way.”

Home… Dia thinks.

“Good luck on your journey, friends! May the light guide your path.”

The group travels in silence for a bit, Silver leading them along a new energy trail he had picked up on. This part of the forest looks exactly the same as the rest. I’m glad we have Silver with us or we would’ve gotten lost for sure! I hope Team Sonic’s alright…

Before she can worry about them too much longer, Shadow, who had decided to walk towards the front with Silver, comes to a sudden halt.

“I’m sorry…”

Amy and Dia look at each other, perplexed. Silver also stops and turns around.

“Dia. Silver. I…I judged you both unfairly. I was so caught up in questioning whether you belonged with us that I never gave you a chance to prove otherwise. Without you two, I wouldn’t be here… I wouldn’t have saved Maria.”

Amy walks over and takes Shadow’s hand, clasping both of hers around it. “That’s why we’re all here—to help each other when we need it. I know you aren’t part of a team very often, but all of us are working towards the same thing.”

Shadow refuses to meet her eyes. “I put everyone and the mission in jeopardy. Maybe it’s for the best that I’m not a part of any team. Maybe you all would be safer that way.”

Dia appears on the opposite side of Shadow, nudging his arm with her elbow. “We’re not letting you get away from us that easily. Buddy system, remember?”

“I don’t understand. Why are you all so insistent on keeping me around?” Shadow asks, his turn to be confused.

Silver walks over to Shadow. “Because everyone on this team is important. We all have a role to play, including you.”

“And what are those roles going to be?” Shadow questions.

“We don’t know yet, but if it’s one thing I’m sure of…” An unwavering Silver answers, “…it’s that we’ll figure it out together.”

As the evening sun settles on the horizon, the team navigates their way out of the forest once again, finding themselves near an oasis. Dia takes a deep breath of the crisp, cool air, happy to be out of the cramped forest.

“Sonic?!?” She hears Amy shout. Dia turns her head to see him, Tails and Knuckles hanging out in the grass, relaxing with a flock of birds.

“Hey guys!” Sonic waves at them. “Took ya long enough!”

Amy stomps over to the boys. “You couldn’t wait three seconds for us to come through the portal?! Did you ever even notice our communicators disappeared?! You could’ve gotten lost!”

“But we’re all here now right? Besides, we haAHHHHH!” Sonic yowls in pain as Amy grabs him by the ear.

“I’m not your babysitter, y’know? What if you’d gotten hurt?!?” Amy chastises.

“LOOK! I’M SORRY, OKAY? Tails was watching my back and Knuckles was showing us where to go! You’re gonna scare off the Flickies!” Sonic clasps his hands and pleads. Amy relents and lets him go. “You didn’t have to grab so hard…” Sonic gripes, rubbing his sore ear. “Tell her, Tails. We were fine!”

“That’s mostly true. Though we did get distracted searching for a chili dog stand for an hour because Sonic wanted to know if they tasted different here. We looked for energy signatures after that, but then Knuckles wanted to rest here for a bit before we started up again, so we haven’t made as much progress as we hoped.”

Dia looks over at the echidna and realizes something particular about his transformation. Everyone else had more superficial changes to their outfits and belongings, but Knuckles’s cyborg half is completely gone. “Your body! You’re fully Echidna now!” Dia exclaims.

“Yeah,” Knuckles says, rubbing the now organic side of his head. “Fortunately, I seemed to have kept the heightened energy sense it gave me, so I’ve still been able to use it to give us a direction to follow. The problem is that using that sense takes a lot out of me now, so I can’t sustain it for too long.”

Dia is delighted by the news. “You can? Silver has been able to do that too, so maybe you two can work together and help us figure out the source of the energy!”

“It wouldn’t hurt to try,” Silver states as he joins the two. “We still have some daylight, so we probably want to get going as soon as you feel you’ve regained enough of your strength.”

Knuckles gets up. “Don’t let me be the one to hold everyone back. If you’re all ready, then so am I!”

The team follows Knuckles and Silver’s lead through the forest, the two using their combined senses to decide which route is best to take. Even with the both of them, it’s a struggle to navigate through the vines. They are able to find a general direction to follow as the energy traces grow stronger. However, it also becomes harder to pinpoint a specific target to head towards as the amplified energy begins to crowd their senses.

With sunset turning to twilight, navigating through the tangled environment also becomes more difficult. Dia watches her friends stumble through the uneasy footing of the forest, looking back into her bag with the faint hope that the light sticks had reverted back from their floral states. They remain unchanged. At this rate, we won’t be able to go any further once we run out of daylight.

It’s then that Dia hears a crumbling sound below her. Before she has a chance to react, the ground gives way, causing her to tumble down a hillside. As she regains her bearings, Dia hears her friends run over to the spot where she fell from.

“Dia! Are you okay?!” Sonic shouts down from the top of the hill.

“Yeah I’m…I’m fine.” Dia groans, still a bit dazed from her fall. “Luckily the hill wasn’t too tall or I probably wouldn’t b—” Dia stiffens as she finds herself face-to-face with a pair of round, cold eyes. They look lifeless, almost machine-like, as if they belong to a…

“AAAAAHHHH!” Dia screams, crawling backwards as quickly as her body will allow her. Pressed against the foot of the hill, Dia watches Sonic leap down in front of her, ready to face the robotic threat.

“Wait a minute…” The blue hedgehog says in a surprised tone, relaxing his stance. “Hey, Tails! Amy! I think you guys need to come down here and see this!” Sonic calls out. The others promptly hop down to join the two.

Shadow helps Dia to her feet and the team surrounds the robot. From what she can tell, it appears mostly intact, although in noticeably bad shape and wrapped up in vines.

“Is that who I think it is?” Sonic asks Tails, who kneels down next to the robot. The fox wipes away the moss covering the right-hand side of the bot’s metal framing, revealing the numbers “102.”

“Gamma!” Amy gasps.

Sonic can only scratch his head. “But how? I thought he…”

“Remember Sonic, this isn’t our world. This ‘Gamma’ is likely different from the one you met before, though he appears to have met a similar fate.” Silver reminds him.

“I’m not so sure about that!” Tails chimes in. He had already opened up several of the bot’s compartments and was now tinkering with the wiring. “Hey, Knuckles! Could you help me tear the vines off while I see if I can get him turned back on? It looks like his battery might still have a bit of juice left.”

While the two work on getting the bot free and activated again, Dia takes the opportunity to get some context. “You guys know this thing?”

“Only briefly. Gamma was one of Eggman’s.” Sonic states.

“It’s one of Eggman’s robots?!” Dia blurts out.

“He used to be, but then he helped me escape when I was captured during one of Eggman’s plots. Then he sacrificed himself to save me when I was in danger,” Amy adds. “I owe a lot to him.”

Dia nods her head nervously, trying to hide her doubt. But if this version is different, what if it’s still on Eggman’s side? What if turning it back on is a mistake?

BWOM!

“There! Back online!” Tails cheers.

The team watches intently as the bot’s green eyes come to life once again. “System restart in progress. Recalibrating.”

Gamma’s body begins to shudder and shake, as if jittering with excitement over being awakened, then abruptly stops.

“Gamma?” Tails leans towards the robot, “Are you there?”

Without responding, the bot unsteadily gets up to its feet, nearly knocking the fox over. Everyone takes a step back and Dia watches as Gamma scans the group, gripping its arm cannon. She worries that her fear has been realized.

“Thank you for locating me, friends. I am overjoyed to see you all have returned.” Gamma addresses the group, letting both arms fall back to his sides.

“Returned?” Amy tilts her head.

“Yes. My memory data indicates that it has been approximately two years since last visual or audio contact. Taking into account the Mobian biological need for continual sustenance and the limited resources available in the region, I had considered the growing possibility that you all had perished.” Gamma states.

The group exchange anxious glances with one another. “Of course we’re alive Gamma, we uh… just got separated is all!” Sonic replies. “We had another mission we had to help out with and couldn’t get back to you ‘til just now. Good to know we weren’t too late!”

“Understood. I hope your mission went successfully and that the data collected will prove serviceable in resolving our primary goal.” Gamma says.

“Well… it might be, but we’ll just have to see.” Sonic says with an awkward chuckle.

“I also have new data of my own that I wish to share back with the village. If we begin traveling immediately, I estimate that we will arrive before dawn.” Gamma adds.

“Village?” Silver asks.

“That is correct. Of course you would not be aware of such a location. I discovered it after your disappearance. The Mobians there have granted me safe haven. I presume they will grant it to you as well once we arrive.”

“Do you think you’d be able to lead us there?” Sonic asks.

“Affirmative. Follow me.” Without waiting for any other questions, Gamma begins to limp away from the group. The clattering noises echo off of the trees as the rusted, worn-down machine parts snap and grind harshly with every uneven step.

“Can’t you fix him?” Amy pleads with Tails.

“I wish I could, Amy, but all of my tools and tech got transformed when we went through the pillar. Getting him activated was the best I could manage and even then, I don’t know how long he’ll stay on. I’m sorry.” Tails sadly explains.

Another loud noise rings out from Gamma and he begins to tilt to one side. Amy runs over and leans against him, keeping him upright. “It’s okay, Gamma. I’ve got you.”

With Amy at his side, Gamma guides the team through the vine-covered woods, keeping them on a more easily traversable path. As long as there’s no more hills! Dia thinks to herself as she shakes off some of the dirt still clinging to her gloves.

“Should we move forward with routine Marup collection while we make our way to the village? They would be eager to find that I had gathered more of the substance.” Gamma asks the team.

“Marup?” Knuckles questions.

“What’s that?” Amy chimes in.

Gamma silently stares at Amy for a moment, his expressionless face unable to conceal to Dia that the look feels almost…inquisitive. “That does not compute with prior memories. You have proven to exhibit extensive knowledge of Marup collection procedures.”

“Oh, um…about that…I—” Amy stammers.

“She’s not asking for us, big guy, she’s trying to ask for those three over there.” Sonic cuts in, pointing at Silver, Shadow and Dia. “They’re too shy to and Amy is just wanting to be a good friend. I assume you know what that’s like, right?”

“I am not capable of feeling this emotion, ‘shyness’. However, it is sensible that these newcomers would not be aware of such a process.” Gamma answers, walking over to a small clearing between the trees.

“Marup is an energy resource produced by the planet. With many remaining resources slowly diminishing, Marup is the easiest to gather in significant quantities. In order to keep their food incubators operating at a satisfactory capacity, the village requested my assistance in daily collection. Due to my extended absence, it would be logical to presume that they will expect a substantial yield of Marup upon my return. The convenience of your arrival could aid me in this.” 

Sonic crosses his arms. “So we’ve got some work to do. How can we help?”

A series of clicks and beeps come from Gamma’s head. His eyes change from green to a light blue color. “Marup has a unique energy signature, commonly found in locations where the vines and roots are scarce.” Gamma details, walking over to a particularly empty spot in the clearing. “Once a signature is located, all that is required is to excavate the resource.” Gamma’s leg joints fold with a series of small screeching sounds before he begins to scoop away the topsoil with his hand. Amy runs up next to him.

“I-I think that’s plenty enough explanation, Gamma! W-We can help take care of the rest from here!” She says with an uncomfortable grin.

Gamma continues to work without pausing, “Negative. It would be best if I demonstrated the complete procedure so that understanding is comprehensive.” Amy takes a step back, wincing a bit as she watches Gamma finish out his dig.

“Gamma’s right. There is a different energy signature! I can sense it.” Knuckles announces, splitting away from the team. “I can sense a couple of Marup sources over there and a few more over there!”

“Same here!” Silver joins in, “The two of us could help point out the spots they’re hidden in, then we can all dig them up together!”

It’s at that moment that Gamma stops and turns to the group holding out his hand, revealing an orb of light. It looks like pure energy in solid form, reminding Dia of the chaos energy she saw back when she ran into Eggman for the first time on Neo-Mobius. “This is Marup. I hope that this will provide the necessary visual guidance for you to proceed.”

As the team continues their trek towards the village, Knuckles and Silver assist the others in identifying Marup locations along the way. It doesn’t take them long to get into a rhythm and before they know it, everyone has already collected a few. Everyone however, except for Amy, who refuses to leave Gamma’s side.

“Gamma…?” Amy starts, “What happened to this world…? Who…Who caused all of this?”

Gamma turns his head towards Amy with another silent stare. “These questions are most peculiar. I hope illness has not diminished your mental faculties.”

“Oh n-no. I think I’ve just been a bit…overwhelmed lately. A refresher on everything would be good for me,” Amy responds with an awkward smile.

Gamma does not reply immediately. Dia wants to believe it’s due to his damaged state, but something tells her the feeling is more…real. “Understood.” Gamma turns his head forward again.

“Four years ago, Doctor Eggman initiated a new plan in his quest for world domination. He planted the mechanical ‘Mother Seed’ in an attempt to destroy Sonic and his allies. While the plant that spawned from it did succeed in overtaking the planet, it was beyond the Doctor’s control. I was created in an attempt to combat this threat, but I was unable to do so before Eggman met his demise at the hands of his own creation. I had failed in my mission.”

“That’s terrible!” Amy puts her hand over her mouth.

Gamma continues, “Affirmative, but all was not lost. As you may recall, you located and convinced me to ally myself with those who were once my creator’s enemies. You gave me new purpose. A new primary objective.” 

“On the day that we…left on our mission. Could you tell me what happened? Is it related to how you ended up like this?” Amy asks.

“Negative. Our last contact took place during an assault on the Mother Seed. Sonic decided it was time for us to test our capabilities in defeating it following successful trials on smaller targets. Initial results were promising, but the Mother Seed had evolved defensive capabilities that we had not accounted for. We found ourselves engaged in battle with remnants of Doctor Eggman’s prior army. One robot removed me from the combat zone. I was successful in destroying it, but by the time I had returned, the area was uninhabited. All that remained was the Mother Seed, for which my own damage-levels were too severe to risk engaging alone.”

Dia feels a shiver go down her spine. Did that mean they…? But she quickly shakes her head, not wanting to think about it.

“My main priorities became search and rescue, which led me to a village. I was treated as a threat initially, but three of the beings there welcomed me, like you once had. One of them was able to provide minor repairs, but it was requested in return that I no longer attempt any further combat. I was given a new objective that I have maintained to this day: protect the village. Even when they were forced to retreat under duress and establish a new home, I traveled with them.”

“Then how did you end up like this?” Dia speaks up, her curiosity gnawing away at her.

Gamma turns his head around and looks at her, before turning it back. “Although my objective was to watch over the citizens of the village, it remained my secondary objective to relocate you all. Whenever it was requested that I collect Marup in the village outskirts, I would take the opportunity to complete both tasks simultaneously. I established a wider perimeter with each attempt, but my calculations were in error as my final trip resulted in an interception with the continuously expanding roots of the Mother Seed. I had been damaged during my escape attempt and became entangled with the vines. As I no longer had the power to free myself, I decided that my long-term survival chances would be increased if I activated sleep mode.”

Tails delivers his haul of Marup to Gamma. “So, the Mother Seed is the source of everything. My memory is a little hazy, but do you remember what weakness we were targeting during our assault?”

“We had hoped that the strength in our numbers would overwhelm the Mother Seed as more indirect attempts had proven unsuccessful. Unfortunately, even if I were to factor in the most optimal result—a swift defeat of the other machines—we did not have the means necessary to overcome the Mother Seed’s defenses,” Gamma replies.

An uncomfortable hush falls over the group. Does that mean it’s all hopeless?

“However, my most recent encounter provided a fortuitous data point. One which may allow us to exploit the weakness in the Mother Seed’s structure,” Gamma divulges.

“What is it?” Shadow implores.

“While navigating around the plant, I passed near an area that triggered my sensors. It appeared to be an intense energy signature flowing outward from the base of the structure,” Gamma details. “As if it were releasing excess energy that it could no longer contain.”

“Waitaminute. Are you trying to tell us that this thing is leaking?” Questions Sonic.

“Affirmative. This ‘leak’ may lead us to a potential opening. From there, it is possible we could access the Mother Seed.”

“So if we can find this access point, we can dig our way straight to it!” Knuckles chimes in.

“And if being able to sense for that energy signature is the key, that means that you, Silver, and Gamma might be able to pinpoint it once we get close enough!” Tails adds.

“That appears to be the most optimal course of action.” Gamma responds.

Sonic pumps his fist, “Alright then, looks like we have a plan! Get Gamma to the village, then we take on the Mother Seed!”

As the last wisps of sunlight disappear from the sky, Dia begins to feel the weight of being on her feet all day, using the last of her energy to make sure she isn’t dragging.

Amy appears to be struggling with the same thing, as while walking with Gamma, she trips and falls forward. Gamma reaches down to help her, “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I just tripped. I’ll be fine,” Amy murmurs.

“We are in the time of day where organic vision diminishes significantly. I will activate ocular lighting to increase sightlines.” Gamma announces as two bright rays of light flash from his eyes.

“No, no, please. It wasn’t a big deal! I’m sure we can manage without it!” Amy insists.

“Negative. My ocular lighting will provide the optimal visual experience for organic lifeforms.” Gamma pushes back. Discouraged, Amy stops walking, letting Gamma take the lead alone and allowing Dia to catch up.

“What’s wrong?” The ruby hedgehog gently grips Amy’s arm.

“I don’t think he understands that he’s using up the little time he has!” Amy sniffles, “Losing Gamma once was hard enough, but now I feel like I’m being forced to watch it happen all over again in slow motion. I don’t know if I can take it!”

“Amy, I know you’re worried about what could happen, but…he’s here with you now, right? This is a second chance to spend time with him and let him help you again. Don’t waste the opportunity twisting yourself into knots from the stress. It seems like you carry enough regret already.”

Amy nods and quickens her pace to catch up with Gamma again. Dia hopes that what she said had been enough to calm her friend’s anxieties.

“Hey guys?” Knuckles shouts, sounding out of breath. “Do you think we could stop for the night? The Marup search has taken a lot out of me and I don’t know if I can keep this up.”

“Negative.” Gamma protests, “We are approaching the outer edge of the forest. It is best we exit prior to sunrise in order to avoid any unexpected outcomes from remaining among the vines.”

“I agree with Gamma. I don’t think we have time to waste. In fact, we should probably pick up the pace, don’t you think?” Amy asserts.

“It’ll only be a minute, I promise.” insists Knuckles.

“Every minute counts,” Amy looks at Gamma apprehensively. “Are you sure you can’t go just a little further?”

Knuckles waves her off and places his hand on one of the trees to prop himself up, “If we’re close to the end, then you guys go ahead. It won’t take long for me to catch up.”

“But you can’t stay here alone!” Amy pushes back.

“Then I’ll hang back for a moment too. That way he isn’t by himself,” Silver assures. “I also can sense a few more Marup signatures nearby, so I can gather some in the meantime.”

Amy grows increasingly anxious, “But without Gamma lighting the way, how are you going to know where to go?”

“I can remain behind so these two aren’t left in the dark.” Shadow forms a Chaos Spear in his hands. “As long as it’s focused, using chaos energy like this shouldn’t be any trouble.”

Realizing there’s no point in arguing, all Amy can do is sigh before turning to Gamma, “They’re clearly set on this. Let’s just go…”

A few minutes later, the group that decided to stick with Gamma find that, although the path remains fairly straightforward, the forest around them has twisted and contorted into an unfamiliar shape.

“Why has it gotten so creepy all of a sudden?” Amy grimaces, taking a hold of Gamma’s arm and pressing herself against him. “Are you sure this is the right direction?”

“Affirmative. This path is the shortest route out of the—” Gamma is cut off by a ghastly moaning sound. 

The group turns to see a vine that looks significantly larger than all the others around it. Its uncanny movements make Dia’s blood run cold. She can only watch in horror as the vine gradually lowers to the ground, slowly opening to reveal nothing but darkness. After a moment that lasted either a heartbeat or several years, a pair of glowing orange eyes pierce the shadows. Unnerved by the sight in front of them, each of the heroes step back. Unfortunately, Sonic, Tails and Dia realize too late that they did so into a group of vines that restrain them. The three attempt to free themselves as the glowing eyes exit the vine to reveal a dilapidated silver robot.

“Silver Sonic?!” Sonic shouts, still struggling to escape.

Taking a moment to survey the scene, the robot turns its sights on the only one of the group still free: Amy. As it lumbers toward the pink hedgehog, Gamma steps in to block Silver Sonic’s path, only to be swiftly knocked away by the ruthless machine. “Gamma!” Amy shouts. However, she is quickly forced to consider her own well-being when Silver Sonic lunges for her.

The two battle amongst the vines, Dia turning her attention to her own perilous circumstances. She watches as Sonic and Tails fight to break themselves out of the vines’ hold and attempts to pull her own hands loose to no avail.

“Sonic, my tails haven’t been grabbed! I think I could use them to free your legs so you can spin dash out of the vines’ hold!” Tails reveals.

“Sounds like a plan to me, buddy! Let’s do it!” Sonic grins as Tails goes to work.

Meanwhile, Silver Sonic is giving Amy all that she can handle. Even in its broken state, it’s still able to dodge most of Amy’s attacks before countering with a hard hit of its own. Amy is sent sprawling across the ground in front of her friends.

“Amy!” Dia cries out. As the Silver Sonic approaches once again, Amy attempts to stagger to her feet.

“Tails! Hurry!” Sonic urges the fox, who is working as quickly as he can.

“Almooooost…THERE!” Tails shouts, undoing the bind on Sonic’s legs. He begins to spin dash himself free, but it’s too late. Silver Sonic leaps once again towards a dazed Amy, aiming to finish her off.

BOOM!!! An energy blast strikes Silver Sonic square on, scattering pieces of it across the forest floor. The group turns to find out the source of the blast and are met with a surprising revelation. On the other side of the clearing, leaning mostly on one leg, the familiar green eyes of their robotic guide meet Amy’s.

“Oh Gamma…” Amy says in a strained whisper.

“What’s going on? We heard an explosion!” Knuckles calls out as he, Silver, and Shadow emerge from the undergrowth. Seeing Amy on the ground, Knuckles rushes over to her. “Amy! Are you alright?!”

“There was a Silver Sonic inside one of the vines. It attacked me, but Gamma…destroyed it.” Amy states somberly.

Gamma makes his way to Amy while the others free Dia and Tails. “Have you sustained any significant injuries?”

“No, Gamma. I didn’t…t-thank you.” Amy murmurs, looking down at the ground.

“I am appreciative of your gratitude. I am glad to know that you are safe once again.” Gamma responds.

“And I’m glad to have you here to watch out for me.” Amy says, giving him a glowing smile.

The team makes their way through the final stretch of the forest, finally exiting to the sight of a vast field. Dia smiles, grateful to no longer be surrounded by the endless expanse of trees. Suddenly, something catches her eye. In the distance, she sees the outline of small structures at the other end of the field. It could only mean one thing: “The village!” She hollers. “We’ve made it!”

The group celebrates their accomplishment and Dia hears Amy speak to Gamma behind her. “Thank you for helping us. We wouldn’t have done it without you.” But Dia doesn’t hear a response from the robot, only Amy’s voice again, “…Gamma? Gamma!”

CLANG!!! Gamma falls to the ground in a heap. His eyes start to flicker as the group surrounds him. Amy tries desperately to lift him. “C’mon Gamma, get up! Please! We’re almost there!”

“I apologize, but I do not have the capacity to operate any longer. I have utilized the remaining battery available, but I am thankful that it was enough to complete my objective.”

“You…You knew it was running low?” Amy whimpers. “Even when you saved me?”

Gamma’s eyes start to flicker more erratically. “Affirmative. However, given my primary objective, I assessed that it would be a necessary use of my resources despite the potential consequences.”

Amy begins to sob. “But if you die now, you won’t be able to help us stop the Mother Seed! I don’t understand!”

Gamma’s voice begins to cut in and out, “No…My primary objective was the one…I chose…and my chosen objective was to protect those…that matter…to me. My choice…was to help my…friends.”

As he finishes speaking, his chest compartment opens to reveal a shivering Flickie, which Amy takes into her arms and cradles. As the remaining light flickers one last time before going out for good, the only sound left in the air is that of Amy’s grief. Dia grips her and the Flickie in a tight hug.

As the moon reaches its peak over the campsite built on the outskirts of the forest, it seems like things have finally settled down. Amy sleeps with the Flickie near the spot where Gamma had been buried. She had asked the team to stop for the night so she could sit vigil. She eventually became too physically and emotionally drained to keep herself awake. Wanting to make sure Amy rested, Silver offered to take over the vigil in her stead, accidentally waking Dia in the process. Too restless to fall back asleep, she decided to keep the silver hedgehog company, sitting with him just outside the camp.

“You know, I just had a thought.” Dia says as she stares at the shimmering night sky.

“What is it?” Silver asks, turning attention away from his own stargazing.

Dia continues to stare at the sky. “Looking at the stars, I wonder…are they still in all the same places? I know this planet is a different version from the one we left, but has its spot in the universe changed too? I wish I still had my star log…”

Silver gives a small chuckle. “You know, it’s the first time I’ve ever thought about it and I always felt I was pretty good at considering the bigger picture.”

“When you’re forced to look to the stars for answers as much as I have, you sort of have to…” Dia looks down and brushes her hand through the grass. “I’ve spent so much time out there that it’s starting to feel weird being on the ground this long.”

“Ever tried learning how to levitate?” Jokes Silver, who uses his telekinesis to float a small rock in the air in front of them.

A burst of fire erupts in the distance before extinguishing in an instant, alerting both Dia and Silver. They get up to witness a shadowy figure moving across the field. “You see that, right?” Silver asks, tracking the figure’s movement with his eyes.

Dia watches as the figure ignites another flame, “Yeah! Do they know we’re here? Are they threatening us?”

“I don’t know, but I’m gonna find out. Stay here and watch the others.” Silver instructs her as his feet lift off the ground.

“No! You’re not going alone. I’m coming with you. Buddy system.” Dia retorts.

Knowing that he isn’t going to stop her, Silver doesn’t argue and proceeds to lift her into the air with his powers. As they steadily float towards the figure, they realize the figure is maneuvering the field in an uneven pattern, setting fire to vines and melting them away. The attacks appear almost…targeted, like they’re clearing out unwanted weeds in a garden.

“Wait, I know who that is!” Silver exclaims, as the two quicken their pace toward the figure. It isn’t until the hedgehogs are only a few yards away that the figure finally notices their presence. Startled, the figure leaps back, facing them with gritted teeth and an icy stare to match. Now close enough, Dia can finally get a good look at her: a lilac-furred cat with a gem on her forehead and a long ponytail.

“Blaze!” Silver remarks gleefully.

“Who are you?! How do you know my name?!” The dark-clothed cat snarls.

Dia turns to Silver, “Isn’t Blaze one of the princesses from Neo-Mobius?”

Without warning, Blaze throws a fireball at Silver, who dodges out of the way just in time. “WOAH! Blaze! Hold on a second!” He pleads.

Blaze does not relent, throwing several more projectiles at both of them. Silver is able to help Dia avoid most of the attacks while dodging others himself, but cannot keep his concentration long enough to steer her away from one that heads straight for her. Right before it can make contact with Dia however, someone leaps in front of her and kicks the fireball away.

“Couldn’t sleep either, huh?” Silver asks their unexpected back-up, lowering himself and Dia back to the ground.

“Not with you two clamoring all night,” Shadow flatly states, turning his sights towards Blaze. “But it looks like you could use the help.”

Appearing to recognize that she’s outnumbered, Blaze takes a step back from the three hedgehogs, the hostility in her eyes intensifying while the fires in her hands rekindle.

“Blaze, please! You need to calm down. We’re here to help you!”

“I don’t need your help!” Blaze spits, shooting the flames at the ground between them. The grass ignites into a rapidly growing wall of fire, forcing the three back.

“She’s trying to get away!” Shadow warns.

Without hesitating, Silver places a barrier around the fire wall, ending its expansion while slowly snuffing it out. At the same time, Shadow darts around the barrier, catching up to Blaze and cutting off her escape route. Blaze aims a kick at Shadow, who blocks it, then attempts to restrain her. As Silver finishes putting out the flame, Dia notices that a little rock-like being is whimpering in the field, the leaf on the top of its head having been singed. She runs over and takes it into her arms.

“It’s gonna be okay. We’ll get you some help.” Dia whispers in an attempt to comfort the pained creature.

As the cat and black hedgehog drag their fight across the field, Blaze is too distracted to notice Silver coming. He grabs and holds her in place with his powers. “Please! Stop! I told you, we’re not here to hurt you!”

“Tell that to your friend who tried to attack me!” Blaze jerks her head in Shadow’s direction, “Why should I trust anything you have to say!” She hisses at the silver hedgehog, restlessly trying to break herself free of his grasp.

“Because we’re here to stop the Mother Seed!” A worn-out Silver shouts back. Upon hearing this, Blaze stops attempting to free herself, seemingly pacified by the news. “The three of us and our friends back at our camp think we know a way to defeat them. We heard there was a village nearby and came to help.”

Blaze’s expression turns doubtful, almost mocking, “A way to defeat them, huh? Well, good luck with that…” Silver and Shadow look at each other surprised as Blaze continues, “If it was possible to destroy it, don’t you think I would have done so already? If my flames can’t get rid of the Mother Seed, then nothing can! There’s no point! We lost! It’s over!”

The sound of pained crying cuts through the air as Dia walks over to the group, cradling the injured rock creature. “No point, huh?”

Blaze’s eyes widen as she notices the creature’s charred leaf. “Let me go! Put me down, right now!”

With an approving nod from Shadow, Silver releases her. Blaze dashes towards Dia, who places the creature into her outstretched arms. Turning her back to the group, she walks away a bit while cradling the creature. “I’m so sorry, little Koco. This is all my fault.”

“If there wasn’t a point, if we’re as doomed as you say…then why would this Koco’s pain bother you so much?” Dia challenges.

“You and your friends should go back to wherever you came from,” Blaze states blankly. “Nothing but loss will come from trying to defeat that thing…”

“But if we work together, we can stop it. I know we can!” Silver asserts. Blaze doesn’t respond, keeping her back turned to them as she rocks the Koco gently.

Shadow steps forward, “We have a supply of Marup with us back at our camp. We know how important it is, so at least let us bring it to the village. I assume you live there.”

Blaze sighs. “Fine! You can come by tomorrow morning to drop it off, but don’t expect that you’ll make me feel gracious enough to aid you in your lost cause.” With that, she dashes off with the Koco, leaving the hedgehogs alone in the field.

The following morning, the group makes their way to the village, where they catch the attention of the watchguard posted at the entrance. “And who are all you supposed to be?!” The guard challenges, turning his spear towards the heroes.

“Sonic the Hedgehog, fastest thing alive, also most heroic, and most attractive, and—” Shadow places his hand on Sonic’s head and pushes him aside.

“We’re travelers from another part of the region here to offer our supply of Marup in exchange for food and shelter. We don’t plan to stay for long.”

“Well there sure is a lotta ya. How do I know this isn’t some sort of trick?” The guard eyes them all with suspicion.

Dia notices Shadow’s quills tense up a bit as the guard continues to give him a hard time. Of all the times you could, please don’t lose your cool now!

“That’s enough! You can let them in. They’re with me.” The familiar voice of Blaze speaks up behind the guard.

“Oh, great. Friends of yours. That’s realllllly reassuring.” The guard grumbles as he turns around and walks back to his spot.

Blaze glances at him for a moment, but otherwise appears to ignore the targeted complaint. “Our incubators are near the back of the village. Follow me.”

The team follows Blaze’s lead through the village. Unlike almost every other area in this world that Dia had seen, there are very few—if any—vines around. However, the camp itself is worn down and rugged, with many tattered tents and items that appear to be made with makeshift materials. The ground is also almost entirely dirt, lacking the greenery that had defined the world thus far. In spite of the near lifeless setting, the villagers themselves are anything but. Gathering food, putting together tools, playing with their kids, it’s like the issues of the outside world are not a concern here. However, something sticks out to Dia as the team passes by: none of these warm feelings are being reserved for them. In fact, a majority of the villagers appear to be avoiding them. The rest either glare or move out of the way with a look of fear on their faces as the team approaches.

“Is it just me? Or is everyone acting really strange?” Dia whispers to Amy. “Are we that suspicious?”

“I don’t think it’s because of us…” Amy answers.

“Huh?” Dia follows the pink hedgehog’s eyes to the front of the group, landing on Blaze. After watching the lilac cat for a moment, Dia realizes what Amy had meant: everyone’s reactions were targeted towards her. Do they think she betrayed them by bringing us here?

On the other end of the camp, the team reaches the machines that Dia assumes to be the food incubators. Blaze opens up the top hatches for them. “You can drop the Marup off here. In exchange, you can take some of our food—a last meal before you go and get yourselves killed.”

“Thanks for the vote of confidence!” Sonic snidely remarks.

“Look, if we can’t convince you to come with us, can you at least tell us what you know about the Mother Seed? We could use all the info we can get,” Silver asks.

“Why would I waste my time doing that?” Blaze seethes.

“We’re all gonna stick around to eat. It sounds as good a time as any,” Sonic points out.

Blaze growls, “If it gets you out of my hair sooner, then fine! I’ll tell you why you’re so hopeless.”

The team gather their meals and make their way to Blaze’s tent. As they all settle in, Blaze—who had not gotten any food herself prior—notices a fish had been left on her table.

“Secret admirer, huh? How sweet,” snarks Sonic.

“My friend, Big, must’ve dropped this off for me while I was out this morning. I don’t have any admirers in this camp. In fact, he’s the only one in the village that seems willing to acknowledge me at this point…”

Sonic holds his tongue.

Blaze takes a bite of the fish before putting it back down, “As you may already know, when the Mother Seed took over the world, a lot of people were forced into small survivalist communities like this one. However, that never stopped the people in these communities from attempting to defeat it, especially those that had the help of the Seedrian.”

“Seedrian?” Tails echoes softly.

“Yes. In the beginning, Seedrian were seen as the planet’s best chance at ending the robot scourge for good, as they would provide a natural counterbalance to the Mother Seed’s expansion. Unfortunately, even that wasn’t enough, as many people lost their lives in failed attempt after failed attempt to stop it. Eventually the planet’s life force had been so drained away that almost all of the Seedrians died as well. In the end, our community was the one lucky enough to house the Seedrian’s sole surviving member: my friend, Cosmo.”

Dia feels the energy of the room shift as it becomes clear that “Cosmo” must’ve been another friend of   back on Neo-Mobius. Blaze must’ve noticed as well, as she scans the group in front of her with a confused expression. Not wanting to give her a chance to question it, Dia tries to prompt her to keep talking, “You mentioned that all of the other Seedrians had died. What happened to Cosmo?”

Almost instantly, a grave look washes over Blaze’s face. “She was the first to welcome me when I ended up in this community. She, along with an echidna named Tikal and a human named Maria, became my closest friends. When things were difficult, we were always there for each other and the three of us promised that we would protect Cosmo no matter what.”

They know each other?! Dia is stunned. Amy must’ve had the same thought, as she can feel her friend tense up next to her.

“But then one day, Cosmo fell ill, just like the rest of her kind had. Instead of giving us a chance to help her recover, she offered the seeds from her own body before they could wither away along with her. She believed that planting them in place of the Mother Seed’s roots would allow the natural vegetation to overtake the artificial ones and heal the planet. None of us would accept her proposition if it meant guaranteeing her passing, but she went through with it anyways, insisting until her last breath that it was our best chance. We were devastated…” Blaze turns and reaches behind her.

Dia watches Sonic put his arm over the shoulder of a watery-eyed Tails, who wipes his face with his hand. “It would be just like her to do that,” He sniffles. “She was always so selfless.”

Blaze turns back around, holding a small sack in her hands. “After that, I made it my mission to plant Cosmo’s seeds around the forest, but of course…it wasn’t that simple. Every time I did, the seeds would be weeded out and destroyed by the robotic roots, as if they had a defense mechanism specifically designed for it. Even when I tried to burn the area out before planting one of the seeds, it still wasn’t enough time to grow. I…started to lose my patience.”

Blaze holds her arm and looks away from the others, as if ashamed to tell the rest of the story. “I got so frustrated that I decided to take on the Mother Seed on my own. I thought that if I could beat it, I could end things for good. Do right by Cosmo. But like with everything else, I failed her. I was so overcome with anger that I unleashed the most intense fire I could manage, thinking it would burn so hot that even the Mother Seed couldn’t survive. Instead, the flames grew out of control and created a blaze so large that it forced everyone in our village to evacuate. It destroyed everything…except for the Mother Seed.”

A tear starts to form in her eyes that she quickly brushes away with her arm. “Some of the villagers were so frightened by what I did…by me…that they never came with us when we went to find a new home. Tikal and Maria were two of them. They felt like I had lost my way. Everyone who stayed never really looked at me the same again…if they even still looked at me. I think the only reason I’m allowed to stay is because I’m a useful weapon for fighting off the vines and collecting resources. But if I can’t do anything more than waste the last of Cosmo’s memory and scare my friends away, then maybe they’re right. Maybe it’s all I’m good for at this point.”

Sonic stands up defiantly, “So that’s it then, huh? You’re just giving up? That doesn’t sound like a very Blaze thing to do!”

Blaze gives him a perplexed look, “What are you talking about? How would you know anything about what I would do?”

Sonic grins, “You’d be surprised. It’s not like I haven’t met you before.” Blaze stares at the blue hedgehog, completely bewildered.

Shadow sighs and pushes Sonic’s head aside again. “We avoided telling you this earlier because we didn’t want to overwhelm you, but I guess it’s best you know now. We come from a different dimension and our worlds’ troubles are linked. Saving this world possibly means saving our own.”

Sonic pushes Shadow’s head aside in return, “Which meeeeeans we’re gonna stop the Mother Seed no matter what!”

Blaze stares at the two, wide-eyed, likely trying to collect herself after hearing the both of them. “Whether or not you are telling the truth, I told you, even together, we don’t stand a chance!”

“Maybe before we didn’t, but we learned a weakness that could be exactly what we need to take it down!” Silver steps in. Blaze’s expression shifts from shock to worry as the silver hedgehog approaches her. “This could be your chance to make Cosmo’s dream a reality. So what do you say?” Silver reaches his hand out to her.

“Are you ready to save the world?”

As the mid-morning sun rises into the sky, Blaze leads the heroes to the Mother Seed, Silver walking by her side. The hedgehog notices her clutching the sack of seeds tightly, as if they would disappear forever if they left her hands. “I’m sorry about Cosmo. I know it’s hard to lose a loved one.”

“You have no idea what I’ve lost…” Blaze sneers.

“You’d be surprised,” Silver responds. “The time I came from is not the same as the others.”

“Time?” Questions Blaze.

“I come from their future, one where the world has fallen into ruin and fire consumes almost everything. I grew up knowing very few people and even then, many of them died protecting me before I was able to find a way to the past. I hope that one day I’ll find a way to prevent it, no matter what it takes.” Silver adds.

“Fire…” Blaze whispers shamefully.

“It wasn’t because of you. I’ve met the Blaze of their time. She would never have been responsible for something as horrible as what I’ve lived through,” reassures Silver.

“…What is she like?” Blaze asks.

Silver doesn’t say anything at first, taking in Blaze’s regretful expression. “She’s the princess of her kingdom. Strong, brave, wise beyond her years. Whenever her people need her, she’s always there to guide them. Without her, I don’t know how I would have managed living in the past as long as I have.”

Blaze looks down at the ground. “If that version of Blaze were here instead of me, I bet the world would have been saved already. Cosmo wouldn’t have had to die.”

Silver sees the tears start to run down Blaze’s face and grabs her hand. “You are the Blaze this world needs right now. It may not seem like it, but you and her are not so different, even if the circumstances are. You’re gonna make things right.”

“You really believe that?”

“With all my heart.”

Blaze smiles, but the moment doesn’t last long before a loud booming noise alerts the heroes. Blaze lets go of Silver’s hand and looks back to the team. “The Mother Seed is close. Everyone stay alert!”

As the group approaches, the towering, plant-like structure of the Mother Seed becomes apparent. “Okay, here’s the plan: Knuckles and Silver? You two look for that leaky energy signature! The rest of us will distract the plants and cover them!” Sonic instructs everyone just in time for the vines to begin reaching out towards them. They all dodge away and Dia watches the echidna and hedgehog split off to begin their search.

Dia and Amy stick together, watching each other’s backs as the vines snake their way over to them. “I see Knuckles over there!” Amy tells her, “We should stay close in case he needs our help!”

“Right!” Dia nods as a line of fire burns the vines in their way.

“I’ve cleared a path for you! Go!” Blaze orders before dashing off to help Sonic, Tails, and Shadow.

Another loud boom rings through the air and Dia witnesses several large vines—much like the one she saw the night prior—lower to the ground. As they open up, several robots step out, including one that looks like another robot version of Sonic. Unlike the grey one from the night before, this one shares the color of the hero it’s replicating. “Oh no, Metal Sonic!” Amy exclaims as it and the other bots go after their friends. “We have to help them!”

“Dia! Amy! Get over here, quick! I think I found it!” Dia hears Knuckles shout. The two race over to him. “I can feel the energy leaking from underneath here. If I’m able to dig my way through, we should run into the Mother Seed!” Knuckles begins to burrow his way beneath the plant, the girls following him as they make their way further and further under the surface. The tunnel grows dimmer with every step, Dia becoming more dependent on the sound of Knuckles’s claws against the dirt for guidance.

SCRRRRRCK!

Knuckles’s claws scratch against something in the dirt. Dia hears him growl in response. “Rocks?!? Alright then. Ladies, I need you to take a few steps back.”

BOOM!

Knuckles smashes the rocks in front of them with a single, powerful punch. Light floods into the tunnel, revealing to the three a large, rocky cavern and the sight of the Mother Seed. Its glowing shell sits in the direct center of it, with roots growing out through the dirt on both ends. Without hesitation, both Amy and Knuckles charge at the seed, battering it repeatedly with their respective hammer and fists.

Dia hears a large screeching sound and notices the vines coming through the ground, going after her two friends. With little time to react and no weapons of her own, Dia grabs the largest rock she can carry. She leaps and slams it down on top of the largest and closest of the vines, setting off several sparks as she crushes it under her.

CRACK!

Dia turns around to see Amy and Knuckles delivering the final blow to the Mother Seed, shattering it into pieces and causing the vines to spasm out. The cavern also begins to shake violently, the structure created by the roots no longer able to hold it together. The three race back through the tunnel towards ground level, weaving around the spasming vines and diving out just in time for it to collapse behind them. “Everyone!” Knuckles yells as loud as he can, “We’ve taken out the Mother Seed! This is our chance!”

Along with Knuckles, Dia begins to hear a litany of other voices, many of which she doesn’t recognize. Looking down at her bag, she realizes that the flowers inside are glowing, just as the light sticks had before. As she reaches to pick one of them up, she hears them repeat the same name over and over again. “Blaze!” She darts her head around until she catches sight of the lilac cat and sprints in her direction.

Some distance away, Blaze is engaged in a difficult battle with Metal Sonic, its speed being enough to keep her on the backfoot as she does all she can to maintain her distance. “Blaze!” She hears, distracting her for just a brief instant, but enough to give Metal Sonic enough time to near-instantly close the gap.

Suddenly, it stops in place, a cyan glow surrounding it. “I’ll take care of this one. Dia needs you right now!” Silver launches the robot away as Blaze bounds towards the ruby hedgehog.

“What is it?” Blaze asks.

“This.” Dia says, out of breath and holding one of the Chaos Flowers out to her, “You need…to take this.”

“A flower? Why is it glowing?” Blaze lifts an eyebrow while staring at the mysterious plant.

“There’s no time! Just listen! If you take it, it will grant you the power you need to defeat the Mother Seed! Trust me!” Dia presses.

“The power…my fire? No…I-I can’t do that, not again!” Blaze steps back and shakes her head.

“Blaze, please! This is your chance to make things right. If you just take this, I promise you it will work out!” Dia pushes the flower towards her. Although hesitant, Blaze takes the flower from Dia. As she does, the flower glows brighter and transforms into a laurel wreath, which she places on top of her head. With a nod to Dia, Blaze leaps up towards the Mother Seed, forming a giant bow and arrow made of pure flame. 

“HAAAAAAAAAA!!!” She screams, launching the arrow at the core of the Mother Seed and causing it to erupt in flames. The inferno grows larger and larger. The vines of the massive plant begin to melt and disintegrate and the robots the others were fighting collapse. It’s mere moments before the entire horizon seems to be breathing fire. Team Sonic, Amy, and Shadow fall back as Blaze lands next to Dia once again. Everyone appears to be accounted for, everyone except…

Where’s Silver?

Suddenly, a huge energy field surrounds the blaze, stopping it from going any further and burning away the rest of the Mother Seed. The two spot him in the air a short distance away and race over. “What are you doing?!?” Blaze shouts at him.

“Silver, you have to let go!” Dia pleads.

“I…I can’t!” States Silver, his troubled eyes focused on the flames. “It’s too intense! If we let this fire rage, what if it doesn’t end?! I can’t let it happen again! I won’t!”

“It will end! It may feel the same, but this world won’t end up like your future did! None of us would ever let that happen!” Dia argues. Silver continues holding the fire in place.

“Silver.” Blaze’s tone softens, “You told me that you believed I was meant to help this world. Please…give me the chance to prove that you were right.”

“I do, I just…” Silver grits his teeth. “I…”

Dia can see the strain growing in his expression as she steps forward, “You wanted to change the world! This is your chance to change theirs!”

“You’re…” Silver sighs, “You’re right.” Conceding, he drops the field and lets the fire consume the remains of the Mother Seed. By the time the three regroup with the rest of the team, the fire has dissipated just as quick as it had started. As they all re-approach the space where the Mother Seed once stood, all that’s left are the charred remains of an empty field, not a single vine in sight.

“It’s…gone!” Blaze whispers in disbelief.

“We did it…” Smiles Silver.

“Yeah, we did! I told you guys we would!” Sonic joyously leaps in the air as the team cheers along with him.

“Wait!” Blaze interrupts, raising her hand up, “There’s one more thing I need to do.” The group follows silently as Blaze makes her way to the center of the clearing, kneeling down in the location where the Mother Seed’s core used to sit. “Please give life to this land once more, Cosmo.” She prays as she takes one of her friend’s seeds and plants it into the ground.

“I’m glad that this area will finally have a chance to heal after everything it’s been through, but I hate that it had to leave such a scar…” Amy comments, looking over the scorched landscape.

Blaze nods her head solemnly and the wreath upon her head begins to glow. The voices Dia had heard earlier call to her again, but the name she hears this time…is her own! “Blaze, may I have the crown? I think there’s something I need to do now.” Blaze removes the wreath and holds it out for her. As Dia takes it, it begins to transform once again, but not back into a flower like the others. As it morphs and changes, Dia starts to recognize the shape. Another staff!

“It’s just like when you fought Eggman!” Says Tails, recalling the battle in which Dia transformed into her super form and sent the villain packing. This time, the purpose of this transformation was different and she realized exactly what she needed to do.

Walking past Blaze and back to Cosmo’s seed, Dia places the top of the staff against the dirt, sending ripples of energy across the ground. Within moments, the burn scars from the battle fade and the grass and trees begin to grow back. In mere seconds, the area appears to have had its recovery sped up by several years. As the process finishes, Dia lifts the staff and looks back at a tearful Blaze, “Maybe there is hope for this world after all.”

As the mid-afternoon sun shines onto the vibrant, green grass, the heroes celebrate with the villagers on the newly regained landscape. Dia watches as Tails, Knuckles, and Amy try to stop Sonic from pestering one of the cooks into making a chili dog for him. Shadow, as usual, lays in the grass alone. Meanwhile, Blaze—in a new and more brightly-colored outfit—talks with Silver. “Thank you for never giving up on me, even when you were reminded of your future…even when I gave up on myself.”

“I’ve had my own doubts over whether I can be the hero others hope I can be, but I’ve learned that sometimes…” Silver takes Blaze’s hand again, “…it just takes having someone in your corner to make you believe.” Blaze gives him a warm smile in response. “I don’t know if we’ll be able to stay very much longer. The portal we came from might close if we don’t go back soon. Will you be okay without us?” Silver asks.

“Knowing that I have the power to fix things, to help this world heal and grow again, I’ll be more than okay.“ Blaze glimmers. “I just hope Maria and Tikal will forgive me when I see them again.”

“I know they will.” Silver smiles affectionately.

Happy to see the two in good spirits together, Dia decides to check on the loner of the group herself. “Festivities too much for ya?” She jokes, sitting down next to Shadow.

Turning his head towards Dia, Shadow doesn’t respond to her poking. “I underestimated you.” He states, before going back to watching the clouds, “You’ve been a valuable part of the team. I’m grateful that you’re on our side.”

Taken aback by the sudden kindness, a flustered Dia looks out across the field, trying to figure out what to say. “Oh! Uh…thank you…Shadow. I never expected something like that out of you!” She smiles and looks back at him, “I’m glad to be on your side too.”

“So, are you two gonna spend the whole party making googly eyes at each other, orrrrrr?“ A familiar voice butts in. Dia isn’t surprised when she sees Sonic standing next to them with a smug look on his face.

“We’re not—!” Shadow starts to respond before being interrupted by the glow of Dia’s staff. Realizing what’s about to happen, Dia runs towards the center of the clearing and plants the staff into the ground. The partygoers watch in awe as the staff is engulfed in light, reaching upwards into the sky and expanding into a second Chaos Pillar.

Dia approaches, marveling at this newest gateway, “These pillars…I wonder…what they mean for us…”

“The universe is a chaotic place. You never know when you’ll find your answer—your purpose. I think it will come when it needs to,” Shadow remarks as he walks up next to her.

“Look on the bright side!” Sonic gets in between and puts his arms around the two. “We may not have any answers yet, but I’m pretty sure we can count on these pillars for one thing!” He says, looking forward with an eager grin on his face.

“A new adventure!”

To be continued…