--- ...There is no way to open the bridge between our universes again without manipulating the Paradox Prism... ---. Tails said seriously.

--- And without risking doing anything worse than me ruining it... ---. Complete Sonic with discomfort. --- ...I know I'll sound like Nine but... I tried too hard to get my home and friends back to risk losing them again ---. He commented decidedly.

--- That definitely sounded like something Nine would say... ---. Rebel responded to Sonic's comment.

--- The only difference is that he's not crazy enough to build his own world or Chaos versions of ours ---. Renegade added, still not getting over the fact that Nine had done something like that.

--- What, Chaos versions of us?! ---. Knuckles questioned, looking at Sonic, since he had only mentioned Chaos Sonic.

--- Yes... I omitted that detail to save you the trauma... ---. Sonic looked away. He wasn't referring to the trauma of knowing that they had robotic doubles, but rather, the trauma of knowing what he did to Nine as soon as he saw those robots, especially Tails.

[...]

Sonic was shocked to see himself surrounded by the new creations of his "old friend."

Knuckles, Amy, Rouge and Thorn's bird.

All turned into cold metal casings without their own will.

Now it had happened.

--- You could have accepted my offer Sonic... We could have built a new home together... If you had done that now you would have everything you wanted and much more... Green Hill... Your friends... Me. .. ---. Nine spoke with absolute confidence. --- But no... You had to be the "good guy" in the story... Risking your life for a group of strangers you don't even know and don't even care about ---. He said referring to the group of variants that remained after the golden hedgehog.

--- Don't listen to it Sonic! ---. Sails shouted.

--- He wants you to react! ---. Prim shout.

--- Don't give him that satisfaction! ---. Rusty Rose shouted.

--- Poor fools ---. Nine laughed sarcastically. --- Do you really think he's going to do something to me?... Unlike all of you, I do know him well, I know what he is and what he's not capable of... He won't do anything to me because I remind him of the useless guy of his Dude... Isn't that right Sonic? ---. He questioned returning his gaze to the Super Hedgehog. ---Aren't I your Tails? ---. He smiled mockingly.

That was enough to push him over the edge.

Sonic began to increase the strength of the aura that his super form normally emitted, closing his eyes and fists tightly, as if trying to suppress the rage he felt. However, after a few seconds, slight physical changes began to be noticed in the hedgehog's appearance, its quills rose even higher, becoming sharper, its teeth began to protrude from its mouth, all with the appearance of sharp fangs, and finally, when he opened his eyes, his pupils had turned into red spirals, whose look of death intimidated everyone present, including Nine and his robots.

--- G-G-GRAAAAAAAAH! ---. Sonic let out a loud scream, or rather a war roar, and then punched Nine hard in the face, sending him flying several meters back.

None of those present could anticipate it.

No one expected an outburst of anger of that magnitude.

The rest of the variants watched the scene with a mixture of surprise and fear on their faces, while Shadow did so only with amazement. I had never seen him so angry, even if he had had normal anger, I didn't think he was capable of reaching the point of partially changing his appearance and directly going on the attack without trying to reach a peaceful agreement first. This wasn't Sonic's style, so he was sure there was something else there.

Suspicions that would soon be confirmed when seeing the dissatisfied spiral-eyed hedgehog fly at full speed in the direction where the nine-tailed fox was shot to continue the beating.

--- SONIC! ---. Shadow shouted, hurrying to follow him, he had to prevent him from doing something he would regret once he was conscious.

[...]

He never really imagined having to beat someone up like that, much less his best friend, but Nine had hit him where it hurt the most.

If that was his original intention, he had achieved it and very well.

His only mistake was having the false belief that the hedgehog would be unable to stand up to him or hit him due to his relationship with Tails. A belief that was quickly disproved when Super Sonic's first punch hit his face squarely, followed by many others, too fast for him to even have the chance to dodge or counterattack.

Not even his robots could defend him, as they melted due to the heat that the aura of his transformation released when they tried to hit him to separate him from Nine.

The whole event resulted in something too traumatic for him, an experience that he did not want to relive even in his nightmares but, if it had not been done, right now he would still be without his home or friends and, most likely, being a prisoner of the fox or something much worse.

The sensation of small hands gently taking his face made Sonic abruptly return to reality, meeting the innocent but worried gaze of a certain baby fox, who was taken aback when he saw how the blue one remained completely still and silent for a moment. for a long time, without reacting to the calls for attention that those present made.

--- Ugh~? ---. Baby Nine stammered, looking at the older boy with confusion, as if asking him; "What happen?" or "Are you okay?"

The hedgehog stared at him with no expression on his face. However, for a millisecond, he thought he saw the surviving look that Nine had before the first blow, although this was quickly replaced by the innocent look that the baby currently possessed.

Those few fractions of seconds between both visions were more than enough for Sonic to relive that feeling of rage he had felt previously. Fortunately, he was able to control his urges to hit the fox again.

---Sonic? ---. Amy said, placing a hand on the emerald-eyed's shoulder with concern. --- You feel good? ---.

--- ... Yes I am ---. He said shaking his head a little to get those thoughts away. --- ...Just... Can any of you hold it for a moment? ---. He questioned offering Nine.

Without wasting time, Tails took his other self, carrying him carefully, which did not please the youngest, who began to squirm and moan while stretching his arms in Sonic's direction, although fortunately without crying as he did before.

The little fox's childish mind did not understand why this was, he did not understand how, from one moment to the next, the oldest did not want to have him around.

Had I done something that would upset him?

Rebel and Renegade didn't say anything but they knew why he did it. They were there throughout the entire battle, they knew how difficult it was for Sonic to do something like that, it felt like he was hitting the real Tails.

Still, that was a conversation he and his friends needed to have.

--- ... Believe him, if he can't talk openly about it it's because it seriously affects him ---. It was the only thing the bat said to close this topic.

After a few minutes, Sonic managed to stabilize his thoughts and emotions again, he really had to avoid thinking about that while he had Nine around.

--- Sorry about that... ---. He apologized, shaking his head again, just to make sure he had gotten rid of those bad vibes. --- Returning to the topic, as Tails said, we really don't have many options to return to Nine with you... We don't even know where the Paradox Prism ended up after the fusion ---.

---Not to mention that Eggman might still be interested in using him to try to rewrite reality again ---. Amy added.

--- Oh, true! ---. Sonic exclaimed. ---Almost completely forgot, how are things in New Yoke? ---.

--- Quite busy but calm ---. Rebel sighed. --- It feels good to have some peace after so much time in dictatorship ---.

--- With the Council of Chaos out of the game, we all regain our freedom... Now we only worry about finishing cleaning the city of robots and then we will begin to recover the nature that this place originally had ---. Proud Renegade ad.

Hearing that, Sonic couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. He was glad to hear that everyone in that reality was working together to recover what was lost, surely the rest of the universes were doing the same but, with New Yoke being the place most affected by the entire incident with the Prism, it gave him one more reason. of happiness.

If only Nine had been able to understand that before making such an elaborate plan to create his own world isolated from the rest, where, most likely, even he himself knew that it would not fill the emptiness he felt nor give him happiness.

Although.

Maybe all was not lost.

Maybe...

There was still a slight possibility of teaching him that by taking advantage of his baby status.

A crazy idea appeared in his head, one of those that he liked so much.

--- I have it! ---. Euphoric scream. --- It's not too late for Nine! ---.

--- Huh?! ---. Everyone present exclaimed, looking at Sonic in confusion.

What was the reason for such a sudden change in attitude?

--- I know this will sound crazy, and in a way it is, but listen to me... We all know that Nine made mistakes, was selfish, and almost caused a mass genocide of universes, and of course he deserves punishment for all the problems he caused. caused... However... The catalyst reason for all this was the great emptiness he feels, the world hurt him too much and, unfortunately... ---. Sonic stopped for a moment to look at Tails. --- ...He wasn't lucky enough to have someone to offer him a sincere hand and a shoulder to cry on when things weren't going well... ---.

Hearing that, Tails looked away slightly, remembering his childhood days where he was constantly bullied, trying to imagine if the baby fox had gone through something similar or worse.

--- ... With this I do not intend to justify his actions in any way... But... Knowing the origin of everything... Maybe we still have time to help him ---.

--- Get to the point, hedgehog ---. Renegade demanded.

--- Until we find a way to return Nine to New Yoke without risking creating another disaster, we will take care of him and educate him as best we can, taking advantage of his baby status ---. The emerald-eyed man confidently stated. --- Of course, while we also find a way to return it to normal ---.

Hearing that, Renegade and Rebel were stunned. Yes, the hedgehog had a good point and the best intentions in mind but, knowing Nine's nature, it was quite obvious that he wouldn't be very willing to cooperate. Same behavior that his baby version still seemed to retain.

Can someone like that really be redeemed?

Although it wasn't like they had many options to choose from, after all, they were universes apart, so both of them had no choice but to accept Sonic's proposal.

Of course, with conditions involved.