"Chronos Control!" Part of him had expected nothing to happen when he tossed the Traveler's Ring, but he was a little disappointed all the same.

"Maybe throughout two hundred years Mobians evolve to use them?" The yellow dog theorised.

Tails Prower went to retrieve the ring. "Maybe. I'm not a doctor but I really wish I got a blood sample from Silver."

"Well, in the meantime, we should try and figure out this Time Travel mystery. I'm sure it's not doing the poor kid any good- not knowing what's real and what isn't."

"Right. What do you think, Cliff?" And the young inventor perched beside the dog at his desk.

"I think you're onto something." He waved a wrench.

Tails rolled out Charles' blueprints. "If we had the real thing I'm sure this'd be easier."

"It's best it stays at Gun, trust me."

"Cliff?"

"Yes?"

"Silver's Mentor...he lied about so much. I don't...I don't really know why. Maybe to protect him?"

"You don't sound like you believe that."

"Because if my theory on Time Travel is true, it's not exactly dangerous. A-actually it's the nicer way round."

"So...?" Cliff encouraged.

"I don't think his Mentor is...I don't think he's on Silver's side. He wanted Silver to buy into the branches for a reason." Tails began scribbling on post it notes, sticking them to the blueprints.

"From what we've discovered, I think it's safe to say I was right. O-on some level. I think there are multiple timelines, Blaze's being one of them, that intertwine over certain events- like Shadow's survival for example- before carrying on. Sometimes it leads to disaster, leading to Future Time Traveler's coming back to try and fix it."

"Sounds fairly concrete to me."

"However, I still think Silver was right with some things. Like, you can't stop a birth. You can't end the beginning. You can only talk about dead timelines too, otherwise chaos ensues."

"Okay. So, with that in mind, why would his Mentor lie?"

Tails chewed his pencil. "He...he must be after something. Which leads to my question I wanted to ask before."

"Oh?"

"If Silver came back here under the belief of what his Mentor told him, h-how long will it be until he shows up too?"

"It depends how long he's been following Silver. He may not be able too. If he followed him to Sol, he's stuck without the Sol Emeralds."

Tails thickly swallowed. "Unless...that's why. He wants to...to do something and needed Silver to go back to a specific point in time."

"You're saying he wants to rewrite something that's going to happen?"

"That's why Silver and Blaze are here. I...I don't think Silver and his Mentor are after the same thing though."

"We should tell your friends when they come home."

"Right."

"I have one qualm about your theory."

"Oh?"

"What happens if these intertwining moments don't happen? It seems if they do, it's mostly a good thing. But let's say, Shadow survives- like here- what happens then?"

"W-well that's why Silver's here, right? To make sure it's fixed."

"And if he can't?"

"I...I can only guess the timeline will try and fix itself."

"So a rewrite? To reverse what was done?"

"Yeah. A...I'd call that a Genesis Wave."

—————

Knuckles hadn't been very responsive to their calls. In the months that followed Christmas Island, he'd returned to Angel Island- becoming, practically, a complete recluse. Rouge, when gifted little breathing time from her Commander duties, would fly out to visit. According to her, the echidna was either mumbling to the Master Emerald, off exploring or reading.

When Sonic heard that, he became greatly concerned for his best friend.

Piloting the Tornado, he made a landing smooth enough Tails would be jealous and helped Amy from the passengers seat. Blaze had given him some weird look beyond his understanding and Amy was rather quick to free her hand (if he thought about it much longer, no one was the wiser). However, he did briefly contemplate why she'd been rather...flustered on the ride over.

"Faker." And Shadow elbowed him as he passed.

Only then did Sonic realise he'd been staring at her. What gives? He did his best to ignore Blaze and Silver sharing a glance all the same, nudging Amy to walk alongside him. They weaved by the forest and stepped out onto a forever luscious meadow- dotted with waving flowers and a soothing Chao Garden. Rouge aimed ahead for the spectacular Master Emerald shrine, but Sonic (at the lowest steps) found himself rooted to the grass.

They whispered and reached and giggled and danced.

Knuckles had said the Master Emerald radiated this calming warmth, but Sonic couldn't recall a time he ever felt that. No. He was always consumed by this unnerving chill whenever near. It was...lonely.

"Faker?"

The Blue Blur jumped before throwing on a smile and facing his rival. "Sup?"

"What are you doing?" Shadow's eyes narrowed, but it was definitely out of curiosity- not scrutiny.

But then why did Sonic feel so much judgement and even...distrust anyway?

"Can...." He thickly swallowed, feeling the disappointing and familiar tightness of his throat.

"Can you feel that?"

Shadow watched him for a tense moment longer prior to facing the Master Emerald. He hummed agreeably and Sonic felt his heart lighten.

"It's warm."

And Sonic sunk. Yeah. Lonely summed it up.

But no one would know better with how he grinned and lightly shoved his rival. "Yup! Pretty comforting, ay?"

No one, but Amy.

She was always good at reading him though, wasn't she?

She stood a short distance behind Shadow, sparkling forest green eyes swimming with concern. It was like she was trying to decipher a riddle. Find the missing puzzle piece. Fix a broken glass vase.

At her side, Silver looked similar. But out of suspicion, not concern. What was worse, Sonic really couldn't blame him.

'You'll take them down with you, in the end.'

If Sonic really was starting to drown, he'd make sure he'd never pull them under with him.

"Yikes!" And Rouge stumbled past the hanging moss and gave a nervous smile.

"Everything alright?" Blaze asked.

"Fi-."

"Come back here, Bat!" Knuckles clambered out after her and Shadow pinched his nose.

"Where'd you get this!" He waved a tremendous fist with the Chaos Emerald prior to freezing on Silver and Blaze.

"It's bad enough Sonic's here, but now I have new reasons for concern? Who are you?"

Amy sweat-dropped. "Calm down, Knuckles! We just need to talk."

———

Knuckles' home was always surprisingly cosy. With lanterns hanging from above, decorated with stretching garlands, beneath the shrine had all he needed. A lofted bedroom with ladder, a library Rouge had previously learned was a new addition, settled underneath. He had an open space of a kitchenette and living room and a bathroom with, as expected, not the greatest plumbing.

"When'd you get this?" Amy asked, dragging a hand across heavy sized books.

"When I began researching." Knuckles stifled a yawn.

Rouge nudged him. "I thought you promised you wouldn't let it affect your sleep so much anymore."

"Did you keep up with that on your end?"

"...That's not the point."

"How do I look?" Sonic peaked down from above, sticking his head between his legs resting on the ladder.

Knuckles frowned. "Give that back."

Amy giggled and straightened the Cattleman. "I think it suits you."

Sonic wiggled his eye ridges, smirking. "Better than ol' Knucklehead?"

The pink hedgehog, despite reddening, grinned back. "Easily."

"Hey!" Knuckles stomped over, snatched his hat and smacked his best friend with it before adorning it.

When the pair began arguing, Blaze stole a glance at Silver and as discreetly as she could, took his hand. He appeared...reminiscent. No. Longing.

"Can we focus? Please?" Shadow groaned.

"Right. You guys wanted to know more about the Chaos Emeralds?"

Rouge smirked. "If you have the knowledge."

———

"So...Shadow has traces of Chaos Energy in his blood?"

"When Abraham Towers gave me my file, that is what it said." The Ultimate Lifeform confirmed.

"Chaos Energy?" Rouge echoed.

"That's what's emitting from the Chaos Emeralds." Knuckles watched the purple one in hand.

"It's in the air. It lives in all of Mobian kind. Their origins aren't known and with so much mystery around them...they were believed to be a myth. Even my...my father would tell them to me and the other children around campfires as stories."

"Just Mobian kind?" Amy asked, resting her head against his shoulder for comfort.

"It's believed that Chaos Energy is how we evolved from wild animals. The Chaos Emeralds were made to keep it under control, really. Whether they came before the Master Emerald or not is unknown."

"So humans don't have it?"

"It's a whole lot rarer to find- but it's possible. I'd bet one of them that's how Eggman's so smart."

"The idea ol' Egghead is boosted by these things is enough to put me off chilli dogs." Sonic complained.

Knuckles chuckled. "Relax. Humans can't use them. N-not naturally, at least. We've seen Eggman force one into completing his plans after all."

"Then what happened to Doctor Harris?" Rouge inquired.

The echidna tightened. "Chaos Energy is more...dormant in humans. Like I said, it's in the air so we all have some amount of it. There's just not enough in humans for it to amount to anything. Even so...it's enough for a Chaos Emerald, when threatened, to attack and take all the energy inside. Y-you aren't dead but honestly? You may as well be. I'd argue it's worse."

"That's...awful." Blaze uttered and Sonic seemed to shrink on himself (ears strained as if listening to something).

"Will she ever wake?" Silver asked.

"I don't know."

"We can fix it." Sonic spoke louder than even he expected- almost like he tried to override something else.

"We always can."

"But I-."

"Tails will find something, I'm sure."

Silver wasn't certain why Knuckles held a rather hostile glint in his eyes. "Let's hope so."

Shadow cleared his throat. "If all Mobians have Chaos Energy, what makes them different to myself?"

"Well, you had unknown elements in your blood too, right? But I...this is the more unbelievable part."

"We've learned Time Travel and multiple Timelines exist- I'm sure we can take it, Knuckie." Rouge assured.

"I think...the Chaos Emeralds are what's allowed you to heal so quickly and have immortality-."

"Obviously."

Knuckles growled. "There was this...belief that certain Mobians had this enhanced level of Chaos Energy. Before echidna's guarded the Master Emerald, the most prominent species were entrusted to do so."

He glanced at four in particular. "Hedgehogs. I'd guess that's why Gerald made you one too, Shadow. But...something happened and the God of Destruction couldn't trust hedgehog kind anymore- so he handed the responsibility to echidna's. My...my ancestors became greedy and tried to take the Master Emerald as their own- leading to the God wiping out almost my entire species."

"Who's this God?" Amy softly asked, resting a hand over Knuckles' mittens.

"His name is Chaos. He would've finished his genocide if it weren't for one echidna making a deal with him. And, she became the first."

"First?" Blaze recited.

"Her name was Tikal. She promised Chaos that no one would hurt the Master Emerald or Chaos Emeralds again. To show her sincerity she sacrificed herself and now lives within the Master with him."

Knuckles met Shadow. "She became the first ever Chaos User. That's what sets you apart from other Mobians, Shadow. Not where you came from. Not your past. Not your lie of a purpose as a weapon. I think you're a Chaos User."

When Shadow paled Sonic spoke up. He'd seemed...distracted. Mind elsewhere. Amy worried he was hearing something they weren't.

"Knucks. What happened that made Chaos so angry all those years ago?"