Sonic seemed to rattle on as Akshi walked with him. It was already strange trying to parse out what Aria had done, but to have run into another Sonic? Something wasn't right at all about this situation.

Why did Shadow feel that way when I grabbed him? he thought. He can't be… could he?

Sonic snapped his fingers in front of Akshi's face. "Hey bud, you feelin' okay? I know it's weird waking up here and not understanding what's happened but—"

"I'm fine, Sonic, just… thinking," the bird replied.

"Whoa, you know my name? I mean, I've been on TV but it's been a while since—"

"No, no, it's... complicated," Akshi replied. "You two still share the same stone. Sunstone, right?"

Sonic narrowed his eyes and adopted a guarded posture. "Who told you? Aria?" he asked. "Only someone like her would know something like that."

Akshi shook his head. "Relax, I'm not with her. I just know you from a different place."

"Another place?" Sonic repeated, relaxing a bit. "We haven't met before, have we?"

"Well, I have, but just not you you…" Akshi began to walk ahead. "I take it you haven't figured out that your "Twin Terrors" aren't from your dimension yet, have you?"

"Shadow said they came from space," Sonic explained, jogging to the bird's side. "I heard nothing about another dimension. I mean… I wouldn't be surprised if they did- I've met up with another me a few times."

Akshi smirked. "There's a lot of useful information I could give you. Or maybe it would be better suited to whoever your superior is? Shadow went off to see someone, perhaps she would—"

"I wish it worked like that," Sonic said. "We're kinda stuck in here. Well, I'm kinda stuck- Shadow's just stuck." He wrung his hands a bit.

Akshi shook his head. "So what I felt was right- he's been broken like me."

"Wait, you're… broken? You don't look broken, though..." Sonic said. "Geez, bud, you must've been wandering around here waiting for search and rescue since—"

"Since I was shattered centuries ago?" Akshi asked. His voice seemed solemn, but he did his best not to let the obvious get to him. "Yeah, no, that ship has sailed. Aria broke me before any of you were born."

"Whoa, really?" the teen asked. "Guess that explains the whole dimensions thing. Oh, but… the Twins! Right, right!" He paused, lightly smacking his forehead. "How did they get here?"

"I don't know, but if they're in your dimension, something must have gone wrong over in mine," the bird said. "You said I couldn't speak to your leader, right?"

"Well, no," Sonic said. "The only one she wants to speak to is him. She… she's got some gripes with me that haven't been fixed yet." His ears folded a bit. "I'm sorta why Shadow broke."

Akshi frowned. "Don't blame yourself, and don't let anyone blame you either. Aria likely saw you two as a threat anyway." He shook his head. "Sorry, maybe that sounded callous. The last time I heard from her, she nearly broke…" His focus shifted. "Rouge, right! Sonic, how did Aria get to Rouge?"

"What do you mean? Rouge likes pretty gems, it's obvious she would have found her eventually," Sonic said, shrugging. "Shadow knew something was wrong with it since he'd had a run-in with Concerto, and even if at first it seemed like just a wish-granting rock, Aria soon showed herself." The blue hedgehog noticed that the bird was shaking. "Um, sir? Are you… okay?"

Akshi felt at the piece of quartz around his neck. "I… this isn't okay. This…" He began to shake and a heavy heat seemed to emanate from within him. The feeling of breaking apart was blooming, and he clutched his arms and held himself tight. "No, not like this, not…"

Sonic's eyes widened at the sight of the bird beginning to panic and he brought a hand to Akshi's shoulder. "Stop that!" he said. His voice was calm but firm as he closed his eyes and gripped harder. "Don't think of that, you'll break!"

Akshi was about to protest, but felt a gentle calm come over his shoulder. It wasn't much- definitely not enough to consume him- but whatever Sonic seemed to be sending him it bled into him slowly like ink through water. "I… I shouldn't have gotten so attached."

Sonic pursed his lips. "Stop beating yourself up for things you can't control. That's not fair to anyone and especially not yourself."

"Why do you care?" Akshi said. "You barely know me."

"Yeah, and I've watched Shadow break apart a dozen times since I woke here. I don't think I can handle seeing another person suffer like that." Sonic shook his head. "All that matters is that you have hope."

"I don't think you recognize that I'm trapped here, Sonic," Akshi said.

"I don't think you realize that I don't think that's true," Sonic replied. "There's gotta be a way out for all of us here. For you and for Shadow. For myself. It doesn't make sense that there wouldn't be a way to reverse this."

"I've been stuck here for eight-thousand years without an answer, Sonic," Akshi said. He backed off, feeling the rattling inside himself die down. "Then again, I haven't exactly had that much company since. Not until Aria showed up again," he explained. His thumb cradled his necklace again, and Sonic noticed this time.

"Where'd you get that?" he asked.

"Oh this?" Akshi said. "Um… someone gave it to me…"

Sonic broke a smile again. "Eight thousand years is a long time to not see whoever this "someone" is," Sonic remarked.

"Oh, no, I got this recently," he said. "She... told me I could keep it."

Sonic tilted his head. "You sound starstruck," he said. "Any reason why?"

Akshi coughed and began walking again. "Nothing, it's fine. Hopefully she'll fall asleep soon. Maybe we'll be able to interact, though it'll be hard to tell her dreamscape apart from where we found Aria."

"You mean where Aria chased you?" the hedgehog replied. "Wait, you said "she" again… the same "she"?" he asked.

"Look at you, getting clever," Akshi said, trying not to make eye contact. "Mind showing me a window?"

Sonic nodded. "There's an observatory near here," he said. "Are you gonna answer the question?" he asked. "Is that why you were so upset?"

Akshi slowly nodded back.

Sonic narrowed his eyes and held his head for a second. "Okay, lemme get everything put away right," he said. "The Twins aren't from here, and you aren't from here," he said, walking around a corner.

"Right," Akshi said, following him.

"And you said you've been stuck in here for a long long time," Sonic clarified.

"Yes."

"There's only one person we know with a cityscape as their Dream World, so…" As he scanned his hand on a panel and opened the door to the observation deck, something in his head clicked. "Where the heck would Rouge have met you?" he asked.

Akshi pursed his lips and walked over the glass of the deck. The space of the Dreamscape opened up beneath him, no longer filled with white but rather a series of dreams strung together to form a colorful world below. Nestled in the midst of a large area of plains was Central City, whole and complete.

"Sir?" Sonic asked. "Where did she find you?"

"The desert, I think. I was told later it was right before this vessel went careening towards the planet," he said. "As you can guess, I didn't look quite like myself." He paused. "Wait a second, that's it."

"Huh?" Sonic asked. He walked to the window and leaned against the rail. "What's up?"

"That's why Knuckles could find me," he said. "That's why he found me so quickly. That's… not good."

The door hissed open behind them, and the familiar sight of a black hedgehog was framed in the doorway. "What are you two muttering about? And why hasn't he found his room?" he asked Sonic.

"Shadow, this guy has info on the Twins, I couldn't just let him go to sleep on us." He picked at his ear. "Surprised you could find us this quick."

"That doesn't matter," Shadow said, looking at Akshi with a grim disappointment. "You need to get rest, otherwise-"

"With all due respect, Shadow, I don't think resting is the best option for me," Akshi said. "I pose a danger by staying in place."

"What are you talking about?" Shadow asked.

"He's not just an ordinary citizen, Shadz," Sonic said. "This guy's been kicking around in here for longer than either of us." He pushed off from the rail and walked towards the two of them. "Seriously, hear the guy-"

"Stop talking nonsense, this place was created to trap people, there's nobody who could have been here before us," he said. He glared at Akshi. "If you're filling his head with lies, you're definitely working against us," he said. "Who are you with?"

Akshi frowned. "I'm with nobody, Shadow, I swear," he said. "I got caught in the crossfire because Aria is trying to hunt me down, too!"

"Why would she want anything to do with-"

Akshi frowned and forced all of his limbs outward. A bright green light flashed, and Sonic squinted and grimaced. Shadow tried to stare the bird down, summoning a gold light in one of his hands to form a spear.

"Chaos-" Shadow said, ready to throw his spear. He was cut off though, because as soon as he raised his arm, the bird lunged and forcefully gripped his forehead.

Sonic frowned and ran towards the two of them. "Sir, stop it! You're-" He gasped as a familiar slowness overtook his body. He couldn't speak, but his eyes flicked about normally as he tried to break through to no avail.

Shadow caught the other hedgehog slowing down and jarred his head away. "What the… no way…"

Akshi shook his hand as he tore it away, and as Sonic flopped over he shook his head. "I'm not trying to hurt you but you're threatening me."

Shadow swallowed and carefully pulled the other hedgehog onto his feet before staring down at his hands. "What the heck… what did you... do to me?" he asked. He uncomfortably fiddled with the inhibitors around his wrists.

"I neutralized you," Akshi said. "I don't think those things are gonna work without your powers."

"Well, give them back," Shadow said.

"You'll just fight me instead of listen," Akshi said.

Sonic shrugged. "He's got a point."

Shadow rolled his eyes. "Well, perhaps I don't want to listen when I'm exposed. I can't defend myself like this, it's clearly a-"

Akshi chuckled. "You know, the last time I met with you, you were about as uncomfortable."

Shadow looked around for a moment. "What do you mean? I've never seen you in my life."

"That's because he's from another dimension," Sonic said. "Remember that little buddy of mine? Kind of a similar deal."

Shadow pursed his lips before holding out a pinky. "You return my powers, and I won't attack you," he said, exasperated. "I need answers. My… our captain needs this information."

Akshi smiled and locked pinkies with Shadow, and the surge of energy returned to him, enough to make his knees tremble. "A thousand needles, Shadow."

Shadow nodded with a stern grimace and pulled his hand away. "Answers," he said. "Now."

Akshi nodded. "Alright, well… I'm not from this dimension, and neither were the 'Twin Terrors'. I don't know how they got over to your side, but… of all the problems to come through, it had to be those two."

Shadow frowned. "Why is Aria after you?"

"Because I know how to fight her," Akshi said. "And because she's had it out for me for eight thousand years. Ever since I…" He frowned. "Next question."

The black hedgehog looked at Sonic before continuing. His eyes seemed to soften a bit, and he shuddered a little. "How can you neutralize my powers if you aren't connected to the Terrors? Concerto can block Chaos Control quite easily."

Sonic's eyes lit up. "Oh, oh," he said. "That's interesting."

"What?" Shadow asked.

"I think I get it. He kinda spilled that he knew Rouge, and he also said he was broken," Sonic said. "So his body is somewhere back home for him, and he's stuck here, right? Well, there's only one gem I can think of that your friend seemed to like more than others."

Shadow searched the ground for a moment before his mouth opened slightly. "That's why you said it's dangerous to stay here. Knuckles can sense you because…"

Akshi nodded. "Please, let's not dwell on that discovery. Right now, we need to get moving."

"We?" Shadow said. He beckoned Sonic over.

The blue hedgehog sheepishly grinned. "Sorry, uh…"

"Akshi," he said.

"Right, give us a sec," he said.

There was a series of whispers that Akshi couldn't quite make out as Shadow and Sonic bickered between each other, trying to come up with a solution on short notice. A few times, Shadow's voice raised a bit along with his spines, but Sonic put a hand on his shoulder and closed his eyes again. Shadow gingerly plucked the hand away and squirmed a bit in disgust, and for a second, Akshi faintly heard, "I don't like when you do that."

The two hedgehogs stood up straight and turned to face the bird. "Well," Sonic said. "The good news is that we have decided not to exile you from the ARK."

"And the bad news?" Akshi said.

Shadow sighed. "The bad news is that you're useful to our cause, meaning you're gonna be getting your hands dirty."

"That doesn't sound like bad news," Akshi said. "Sounds like fun, honestly."

Sonic chuckled. "That's what I thought, but Shadow isn't too thrilled to accept help."

"Yeah, figured as much," Akshi said. He walked up to Shadow. "You have every right to consider me untrustworthy. Take your time." He smirked. "Oh, and when you speak to your Guardian again, tell her I said hello."

Shadow's face reddened up in frustration. He turned towards Sonic. "Get him ready, we have to go on a retrieval mission for one of our forces."

"Oh?" Sonic asked. "Who do we have to go get?"

"A friend of yours, if I recall," Shadow said. "Gadget, I think." He quickly shot an angry glare at Akshi before walking to the door. "Don't be late- you have fifteen minutes."

Tails frowned as she felt Sonic gripping her hand. She could feel the nervousness rising. She figured it was fair, but even so, as they approached the door she couldn't help but comment.

"You're acting… kinda weird," she said. "Are you sure you wanna come with? I mean, you could always stay in the Tornado…"

"No way!" Sonic replied, shooting a grin. The corner of his lip twitched slightly, and though Tails noticed, she looked away and smiled.

"Alright then," she said. "As long as you say so." She reached up and grabbed the door handle, but as she went to turn it, there was a quick jostle before the door to Shadow's apartment opened. A familiar pink hedgehog stood there.

Sonic frowned and hid a bit more behind Tails, who could see the look of regret creeping over his face. Meanwhile, Amy's eyes were starstruck at the sight of him. "Oh, Tails!" she said, bounding forward. "Is he for me?"

Sonic's shoulder scrunched as his fangirl came closer. "T-Tails…" he breathed. "Maybe you were- Ummfffgh!"

Amy squealed as she engulfed him in a tight hug. "He's so cute! I can't believe you surprised me like this, this is the best little robot you've ever built!"

Tails frowned. "Um.. Amy…" she said, but it seemed to go unnoticed as the pink hedgehog continued to bear-hug her friend. "That's… why are you even here?"

Sonic kicked and flailed as he was lifted slightly off the ground. Muffled shouts erupted from him, but Amy seemed too busy fawning over her perceived gift as she spoke.

"I got a call to come and watch Blue. Shadow said he had business to attend to, and knowing him I didn't wanna pry, but his sister kept me informed."

The little gray darkling shimmied past Amy. "Oh hi, Watts!" she said. "'Watt' are you up to?"

There was a long muffle from Sonic as his limbs went more slack in defeat, and Tails sheepishly chuckled before she reached up and grabbed the side of Sonic's face and pulled, allowing him to take a deep breath. "Puns aside, I'm well, Blue."

"Ames!" Sonic shouted. "You're gonna kill me, let go!"

Blue's eyes went wide at the blue hedgehog. "Whoa, is that a—"

"No, no he's not a robot," Tails said plainly. "Amy put Sonic down right now, you're gonna crush him."

Amy looked down. "Wait… what?" she asked, looking down at the figure in her arms. "But… if you're not my present…"

Tails frowned as Amy's ears dropped slightly. "I hate to disappoint you Amy, but—"

Sonic yelped as he was crushed against his stalker's chest again, this time with his head thankfully forced to the side. "Amy, wait! You can't be serious right now!"

Amy, suddenly jovial again, tilted her head towards the door before walking inside. "Come on, I have cocoa brewing."

Tails and Blue looked at each other before following their friend inside. Blue closed the door behind her and frowned. "Amy, don't you think the poor boy has suffered enough?"

"Yeah," Sonic said, continuing to struggle as his captor sat down. "This isn't good for my spine, you know… a-any of them, really…"

Amy pouted and casually tossed Sonic to the side of the couch, directly into a pillow. Blue smiled and thanked Amy before clambering up next to him.

"Oh, not you, too," Sonic said.

"Relax," Blue said. "I'm not gonna grab you. Stand up for a second."

"Tails, how did Sonic get even cuter? How'd he get like this?" Amy asked.

"Remember that… thing I was working on?" Tails asked. Her ears began to flatten. "I, um… I think I might have messed it up somehow."

The pink hedgehog sighed and gave her friend a pat on the head. "Don't beat yourself up about it so much. He looks better this way, to be honest- a lot more huggable."

"Amy!" Sonic said, standing up on the couch. Blue stood up right next to him, and he frowned a bit in shock as her eyes met with his. "You're growing bigger by the day, aintcha?" he joked, trying not to make direct eye contact. Blue's eyes burned a bright amber-yellow and seemed to stare deeper than skin-level, and that curious glow struck the blue blur as ravenous, even if he knew that wasn't the case.

"He's not gonna stay like that, Amy, it's only gonna get worse," Tails said. "I don't like thinking about it too much."

Sonic was about to open his mouth to try to comfort his friend when another moment of dizziness hit him. As his eyes struggled to adjust, he saw Amy's expression blend into a confused mix of worry and excitement, an expression he didn't think was possible on her.

"Oh that's… not good," Blue said, grabbing Sonic's wrist to keep him from falling from his perch. "He shrunk."

"Yeah, he's gonna keep doing that until…" Tail stopped. "Until something, I don't know what."

Amy stood up. "We gotta do something about this!" she said.

Sonic finally had his vision clear again. "Well, not much you can do to stop it, but… that cocoa sounds nice right about now."

Amy sat up and immediately went to grab the cocoa for him, and Tails pulled out the measuring tape again. Blue sighed. "So if he keeps at it he's just gonna disappear?"

"I mean, that isn't exactly correct," Tails said. "It's more like… if he keeps shrinking I won't be able to find him."

"You remembered to grab a jar, right?" Sonic said.

"Shoot," Tails said as she measured. "I spaced… again."

Sonic shook his head. "Relax, I'm sure Shadow wouldn't mind if a piece of Tupperware went missing from his house, right?" He turned to Blue. "You wouldn't happen to know that, would you?"

"Shadow is very particular about his kitchen containers," she said. "I don't think I'd hear the end of it if I gave you a plastic box. But I think I know just the thing…"

She scurried into a nearby room, and as the sound of a few things being thrown gently clattered into the background, Sonic focused on his best pal. "Tails, I hate to admit it, but Amy's right- you shouldn't beat yourself up about this," he said.

"I just don't like these sorts of mistakes," she said. "What if we were in the middle of a big fight with Eggman and something malfunctioned? I could lose you… you could lose me… we could both—"

She jumped a bit as Sonic shakily put a hand on her head, made easier by the fact that he was standing on the couch and she stood on the floor.

"We will get this fixed," he said. "You can count on it."

Tails bit her lower lip. "Promise?"

Sonic thought for a moment. Was this really a promise he could keep? A promise that things would turn out okay? They always did- they had to, right?

He scratched her head a bit. "I promise, sis."

Blue came back from her room carrying a small pink container. "Sorry about the dirt- there were tulip bulbs in there before," she said, handing it over.

"Thanks," Tails said, taking it. She tucked it away before continuing. "I heard Shadow was in a hurry," she added.

"Yeah, that's right," Amy called from the kitchen. "He called me in a hurry and as soon as he saw me down the hall he was gone."

Blue sighed. "I know I'm young, but it wouldn't hurt to let me go on adventures with him," she said.

"Well," Tails said. "They are government-issued missions. I don't think you wanna be tangled up in their mess."

"Just because it's GUN doesn't mean I don't wanna try!" Blue said. "If I get stuck here and you need me, I won't be able to help."

Amy smiled as she brought the cocoa in. "Don't worry, Blue, you'll get your chance. It just takes time and a little luck."

"You say that like you've been sidelined," Sonic said.

"I know I don't always get to play my part out on the field, but that's why I'm here supporting Blue- Shadow can't do what he needs to do if nobody's around to keep this little sugar demon in check." She ruffled Blue's spines and handed her a cup of cocoa. "And you can't stay steady if I don't give you cocoa," she said, handing Sonic his mug.

Sonic pursed his lips and took a long sip. "Homemade?" he asked.

"Yep," the pink hedgehog replied, passing a mug to Tails before settling down on the couch next to her.

The blue hedgehog chuckled. "It's… really good," he said.

"I know how to get to a man's heart, you know," she said with a smirk.

"You don't need to pile it on," Sonic grumbled.

Tails took her cup. "So, Blue, do you know where he went?"

"I thought you weren't giving him his gift," Sonic said.

"I'm not, I'm just trying to avoid him for now. Sylphic said that he was going after someone pretty nasty-sounding," she said.

"Yeah, I heard it too," Blue said. She pointed to the side of her head. "I might have snuck a peek while he was packing light. Hivemind is still intact for… some reason…" Her eyes shifted a bit towards the front door before locking back on Tails. "Watts, I think Syll is right to be worried- what I saw was pretty bad."

"I heard whoever it was outsped Shadow," Tails said. "Is that true?"

Sonic sucked in a bit of his cocoa and began to cough. Amy, in a panic, scooted closer to the blue blur and began carefully patting his back. "Don't breathe too hard or it'll get worse," she softly said.

Sonic finally cleared his throat as Tails raised an eyebrow at him. "What?" he asked.

Sonic frowned. "It's… nothing. I'm not worried about getting outsped, but Shadow?"

"You're… worried about him?" Blue asked.

Sonic prickled a bit. "No, no, I'm sure he can handle himself."

Blue frowned. "Tails, I'd steer clear," she said. "Shadow didn't get outsped for nothing- he got a blade to the chest. Whoever that jackal was," she said, "he's armed."

Tails frowned. "I didn't plan on running into him, but that's not good news to hear. Are you sure he doesn't need backup?" she asked.

"If he needed help, he sure didn't ask me," Blue said with a pout. She poured the entire cup of cocoa into her mouth and swallowed. "Miss Rose, can I have more please?"

Amy pursed her lips. "That's your fifth cup. You need to hold off for another hour or two."

Blue let out a wail, but Amy held firm. Tails and Sonic folded their ears at the sound- it was like a siren in volume. Tails fought hard not to reach her hands up and cover her ears, but Sonic didn't bother with the pretense and shouted with his hands clapped hard against the top of his head.

Blue stopped, and her spines went limp as shame kicked in. "Heh, too loud. Sorry," she said.

Tails nodded, and after a second unfolded her ears. "Try to be a little more careful," she said, digging in her pack. She carefully pulled out a couple of boxes. "Until then, you might be able to entertain yourself with something like this," she said.

As Tails gave Amy her present, the pink hedgehog carefully played with the red ribbon. "Huh," she said. "Can I… open it now?"

"If you like," Tails said. "Sorry it isn't as exciting as what you thought it was."

Amy chuckled. "It's okay, Tails," she said, tearing through the paper. She wrestled the bow off the box and stuck it onto Sonic's head, much to the little hedgehog's chagrin. As he gave her a glare of unamusement, his breath hitched, and his body retracted a bit more as he shrunk.

The pink hedgehog pulled out a small purse. "Um, Tails," she said. "I have like… ten of these. Not that I'm ungrateful, but-"

"Your gift is inside the purse," Tails elaborated.

As Amy undid the latch, a metallic ringing sounded out, sharp and quick, like the ringing in one's ear. She paused and smiled as she reached in and pulled out a tube of lipstick.

"This isn't ordinary lipstick either, is it?" she asked. As she examined the tube, she noticed a green button on the bottom and she pressed it down. She only had a quarter of a second to dodge the mallet end of a giant hammer that unfolded from the tube.

"Tails!" Blue shouted. "That thing is huge! How did you fit that into such a small space?"

"Bit of a patent secret," Tails said. "But I've been experimenting with some effects of hammerspace on top of the ITCH research. It was a side effect of trying to get the size effects to work." She grinned. "Blue, are you gonna open yours?" she asked.

Blue shook her head. "I know you want me to, and I know it's okay, but I wanna wait until the party. I know everyone else is exchanging gifts then."

"Fair enough," Tails said. "Sonic, are you done with your cocoa?"

Sonic nodded. "Blue, Amy... " he said, hopping off the couch. "Thanks."

Amy smiled. "Anytime… but you know that already, don't you?" she asked, getting up and heading towards the kitchen.

Blue smirked. "If you somehow run into Shadow, give him a punch for me, will ya?" she asked. "Can't let that bonehead have all the fun."

Sonic shot her a thumbs up as he went to the door. Tails followed close behind, though her shadow was becoming more and more looming as time went on. Sonic swallowed a bit of bile that had risen in his throat. He'd almost forgotten the situation his curiosity had gotten him into.

"Tails, catch!" Amy said, breaking the momentary silence with a toss of a canister through the air. The fox barely had enough time to grab the red thermos she'd tossed her way.

"What's this?" Tails asked, examining the heavy canister.

"Hot apple cider," Amy replied. "Don't worry, there's nothing you shouldn't be drinking in it. Call it intuition, but I feel it might come in handy."

Tails nodded and tucked the canister into her bag. "Thank you again. See you at the party."

"Stay safe out there, you two!" Blue replied, sending them off with a wave.