Chapter 77; same but different

Sonic entered the council room where the entire council, minus Shadow who was ordered to prepare a team for their next mission whatever it was. was waiting anxiously for the news.

"Report quickly" Amy said urgently.

"Everything's under control general. My son defeated the intruders in my dimension. They were the warlord's adopted daughters".

"That's good but how did they infiltrate your dimension? It is locked down. If they have found a way to bypass that.."

"They did general but they didn't share the info. The enhanced wristwatch was destroyed. And the warlord never knew it existed. My dimension and all the ones we have saved are perfectly safe".

"Good. Because we examined the clue you found before saving our skins a couple days ago, and I'll let you know now it's going to be a hell of a ride. The clue is directing us to the xyz dimension again."

"Again? But what about the next dimension on the list?"

"The next dimension is 497. But if you look on the list under the number there are smaller numbers. Under 4 is 2, under 3 is 9 and under 7 is 1.

"Oh my god. But why? Why would the list lead us to the same place twice? Now that I think about it… who even wrote this list? I never asked Sonic 616 this".

"Those questions can be answered later. Right now we need to rendezvous with our ally there."

"All right. I'll go let Shadow know. How many should we bring with us?"

But before Amy could answer Mephiles barged in in a rush.

"GENERAL!" He uttered while breathing heavily.

"My goodness! What happened to you? Why are you here? Wait… ARE WE UNDER ATTACK?"

"No…" he said panting trying to breathe "we have visitors…. from the xyz dimension".

"Visitors?"

"The leader… wishes to speak to 999… she won't talk to Shadow…"

Sonic rushed out of the council chamber. Amy followed him after ending the meeting. They rode the elevator to the ground floor. They asked one of the soldiers where Shadow was and he directed them to the infirmary. Sonic walked inside and saw Shadow and a familiar-looking very beat up girl getting treated for her injuries. Sonic recognized her after 2 seconds of processing the situation.

"Sonia?! Is that you?"

She looked up and saw him.

"Sonic thank god you're here."

"My god. What happened?"

"The warlord….returned to our dimension".

"What?!"

"He… ouch!" she moaned as one of the rebellion's paramedics was removing glass shards from her left hand "he came back… and brought at least half of his army. He hunted us down… He demanded the key again… my second in command… the Tails of my dimension… he covered for us while we escaped… he…. he…"

"Shhh. It's ok. You're safe now" Sonic said as Amy brought Sonia some water. After she drank a bit she continued.

"The men that came with me… we are the last survivors… our dimension is a dead man's land now. The warlord hunted us down with his elite guard. His army killed every living person in my dimension…"

"What a monster" Amy said tearing up.

"He is looking for something. Something that the key I gave you opens. Whatever it is it's in my dimension."

"Wait so you're telling me that the key you gave me was the key to a clue and that this clue exists in your dimension?"

"Yes".

Sonic and Amy locked eyes in deep thought. Sonic turned to Sonia again.

"Then we'll beat him to it. And this time after we run him out we will lock the dimension down".

"No point. There's nothing left there. Amy…." She was about to ask for something but stopped "Which dimension are you from?"

"616. But you can call me general".

"Wait. You're the leader of the rebellion?"

"Yes".

Sonia looked at her in awe.

"That's so cool…. I'm sorry for that. It's just that in my dimension people never took it well that I held the title of the king of duels. Me a woman. They always looked down on me. To think that the leader of the rebellion against a tyrannical warmonger is a woman. It just feels me with awe."

"You're not alone" Amy said hugging her "no one is. We're all in this war together. You can stay here as long as you want."

"I don't wanna just stay here. I want in on the rebellion".

"You got it" Amy said smiling "Shadow will assign you and your men in a team when you get better."

"Thank you. Oh and when you meet face to face with the warlord give him a punch from me" she said to Sonic.

"I will" he said confidently. Shadow followed him and Amy outside.

"That was something" he said "her story moved me".

"All of us" Sonic commented "but we have to think about what we'll about the warlord. Maybe reclaiming the dimension is pointless… but we need to get that clue."

"We will send a scout team there" Amy said "to verify how many enemies are there. Shadow I want you on standby. Send the scouts there and mobilize everyone just in case. Sonic follow me. We have to talk to Silver urgently."

"Yes general" he said as Shadow left to complete his tasks. They got into the elevator but instead of meeting with Silver they went to the empty council room.

"Won't we meet with Silver?"

"No. I need to ask you if you made the same thought as me when you heard Sonia's story."

"You mean if I was moved?"

"No. Not that. Something is in play here. We're supposed to be following the list ourselves and somehow things keep happening there. Think about it. 1st dimension on the list we find a clue after we go through, or rather around, the warlord's forces. 2nd dimension we find the key Sonia gave you 3rd one we find a clue and capture and execute Manic, 4th they ambush you there and then you come to our rescue, and now today when we are supposed to revisit 749 Sonia comes along and says the warlord is already there. We know for a fact that he doesn't have the list anymore, or even if he has it it's probably in the wrong order as he has never come personally to everywhere we've been…. Damnit I'm getting sidetracked. I'm trying to say that something is pulling the strings in this war. There is no way that every time we are about to venture into a dimension in our search for the clues to the center of the multiverse something happens that bring us in conflict with the warlord. The man could have the list in the wrong order and go to any dimension on it…"

"And yet we keep running into him one way or another" Sonic completed her phrase.

"Exactly! I can't explain it. But I'm sure somehow something is pulling the strings in this war."

"I believe you general but there is no point thinking about it right now. We don' have all the facts. And there is still a long way to go. We need to focus on the problem a t hand."

"Yes. Get the clue before the warlord."

At that moment her coms system went off. Shadow reported that the warlord was in the ruined city Sonic and he had gone to when they first met Sonia. They were digging specifically in the rubble of a blown up house. He also reported that the big part of the army had returned to their base and only the warlord's elite guard was there. With him was also Knuckles 111 the commander of his army. Amy cursed as Knuckles 111 was a very ruthless person but nevertheless ordered Shadow to prepare one third of the soldiers. She and Sonic went to Silver's lab to get ammo for their duel discs and inform him of the news. After learning of the situation Silver gave them a small device that would cut the enemy's coms system to prevent them from calling reinforcements but would only work as long as it wasn't damaged in any way. Afterwards they met with Shadow and the rebellion's forces that would follow.

"We're ready general."

"Good" she said typing the numbers 749 into her wristwatch.

"General?"

"I'll come with you this time. Don't talk back! That's an order."

"….Yes general".

"We'll open the portal 2 blocks away. There is a plaza in front of the house their digging under. We'll fight them there."

Everyone opened their portals merging them into one and walked through it. Once they all passed through they found themselves into the rubble of a shopping mall. Amy ordered a variant of Espio to take a team of 5, go on the roof and set the device that would cut the enemy's comms there and guard it with their lives. After they left the rebellion's forces walked slowly through the ruined streets. Once they reached the edge of the plaza they saw the warlord, Knuckles 111 and their team using excavators and drill to dig through the ground. Amy motioned to Sonic 999 to try and take the shot and kill the warlord. Sonic aimed as carefully as he could but at that moment an underground tunnel collapsed and caused Sonic to accidentally pull the trigger and miss, killing one of the warlord's soldiers. Lord Sonic and Knuckles 111 turned around to look for the attacker. Sonic knowing they had lost their chance motioned to Amy who screamed as loudly as she could.

"FIRE!"

The air whistled around them as if it was alive. The warlord took cover and ordered his forces to attack. His soldiers leaving behind all sense of logic and self-preservation charged at the firing rebellion forces.

"General they are attacking!" Sonic said realizing they would die for lord Sonic.

"Halt your fire! Attack!" Amy screamed and charged along with Shadow who jumped over the wall hiding him. Sonic and the remaining rebels charged as well and all-out battle broke out. Everyone enhanced themselves with the lunar dragon's powers destroying everything in their path. Sonic, in the chaos of the fight saw Shadow dueling Knuckles 111 who was using a dark magician deck. He also saw Amy fighting off enemy soldiers but being overwhelmed. He attempted to run towards her, but caught with the edge of his eye something big coming his way. The warlord punched the ground where Sonic would have been had he kept running creating a small crater. The 2 variants locked eyes, hatred burning in Sonic 111's eyes.

"Your time has come murderer!" he said angrily but calmly.

"Come at me then!" Sonic said taking a fighting stance.

Lord Sonic attacked with lightning fast speed but Sonic 999 dodged and pushed him back by punching him in the jaw with an uppercut. Lord Sonic used the chance to propel himself with the powers of the dragon and punch Sonic again creating another small crater after Sonic dodged again.

Amy managed to fight off the enemies and saw Sonic and Lord Sonic fighting each other. She tried to engage but was shoved back by Sonic 999. Knowing that he wouldn't win on his own she fought her way to Shadow and joined the duel against Knuckles 111.

Meanwhile seeing Amy, Shadow, Knuckles 111 and the two variants of Sonic who still fought with all their strength a lot of the soldiers from both the rebellion and the warlord's army had stopped fighting and begun spectating the duel and the fight.

Sonic 999 who had begun to tire himself out, managed to get lord Sonic in a headlock and tried to finish him off which caused the latter's soldiers to try and rescue him only to be stopped by the rebellion's forces. Lord Sonic managed to release an energy blast which sent Sonic flying. Right when Shadow and Amy defeated Knuckles 111, lord Sonic tried to one last time jump and punch the fallen Sonic 999. The latter once again dodged but this time the impact proved too strong. The ground collapsed under them sending both Sonic variants down below.

Amy witnessed this in horror and tried to get to Sonic 999 but saw the hole had been completely blocked by the fallen rocks. Shadow approached her only to be attacked by Knuckles 111. Amy kicked Knuckles 111 away and ordered her soldiers to target the enemies and shoot but the enemies did he exact same thing. They all found themselves staring down at one another all pointing the weapons at each other. Amy looked around for a moment and then spoke up.

"It seems like we've reached a dead end".

"I see no dead end" Knuckles 111 answered "we simply open fire and eliminate you. And even if you kill us you will have to deal with the reinforcements."

"No reinforcements will come. We have blocked your coms" Shadow said.

"Heh smart" Knuckles 111 smirked "them we just open fire and go down in a blaze of glory".

"And then what? Your leader is under the rubble. Without him what is the point of your war?"

Knuckles 111 opened his mouth but didn't answer. Amy knew he would react this way.

Meanwhile under the rubble

Sonic was groaning in pain. He had been knocked unconscious by the fall and his body was healing on its own using the power of the lunar dragon. Once he regained his consciousness despite the great pain he remained still and tried to assess the situation to determine if the warlord was near. Then a voice penetrated the silence.

"Wakey wakey" the voice said without any enjoyment in it.

Sonic 999 got up and found himself in a small square room. Lord Sonic was on one of the walls sitting on the ground with his back against the wall. Near him was a small box and piece of paper as well as a small ball of light similar to the one Sonic 999 created during his adventure with Tails 616 .

"Where… where are we?"

"Inside the cavern I was searching for. We probably fell in randomly when the ground collapsed".

Sonic then noticed the box was open. On the box lock was…

"My key!" Sonic whispered in horror.

"Relax. There's nothing to learn from this. I searched for this key and this box for absolutely no reason."

"W-what?"

"It's just nonsense. Read and you'll see."

Sonic crawled close to the warlord cautious in case the latter tried to attack. He picked up the paper and read.

"All for nothing. All for nothing. Freedom is an illusion. Freedom is an illusion. Important but fake, important but fake".

"The same three phrases over and over. Except for the end."

Sonic 999 read the last sentence.

"We need freedom. But it kills us."

"Nonsense" Lord Sonic repeated.

Sonic however felt something familiar while reading these words. He put the paper in his pocket. He then crawled towards the wall to rest his body. He approached the warlord pretending he would sit next to him and punched him. The warlord looked at him in shock.

"What was that?!"

"From the Sonic variant of this dimension" Sonic 999 said and crawled a little bit further away and sat down against the wall.

"Oh yeah. The chick who wouldn't give me the key".

"Chick? She is us from this dimension. We are the same being."

"So? The fact that she is hot doesn't change."

Sonic felt disgusted. He just sat and looked forward into the darkness. But after about five minutes he couldn't take it and asked a question he felt he had to.

"Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why are you doing this?"

"Not talking to you?"

"No you dumbass. Why are you waging war against the multiverse? How can you sleep knowing you are dishing out so much pain to trillions of beings?"

"Why do you think? I want to rule the multiverse."

"You have already lost all 3 of your children for power. It can't be…"

"All 3? What do you mean? You…. where are my daughters?!"

"They invaded my dimension. I don't know how. My son fought them both at once and beat them. They were then killed in an accident".

The warlord looked as if he wanted to get up and blow Sonic 999's brains out of his skull. But then he just lowered his head.

"My precious princesses… gone too.. I even empowered them with the card I created…"

"You created destiny hero destroy phoenix enforcer?"

"Yes. With my increased power… and now I suppose it's in your son's hands".

"Yes".

"Hmph…. Just wait until we get out of here".

"You lost all 3 of your kids and yet you won't stop. There has to be a reason that's worth it in your eyes. I want to know it so spill it" Sonic kept going.

"….To save the world from humanity."

"Huh? What?"

"You won't understand. No one will".

"Try me" Sonic said.

At the surface

"I propose a truce" Amy 616 said "we want to get Sonic 999 back and you want to get your leader back. If we work together we will rescue them".

"You have a lot of nerve to want to work with us you rebel scum!" Knuckles said in anger.

"Maybe. But if we don't work together we lose our Sonics. And then someone else will take over. At least you trust in your lord Sonic. Will you trust his replacement though?"

"Nobody can replace him!" an enemy soldier yelled.

"See? Your men want him to be saved. So let's call a truce and get them out".

Knuckles 111 weighted his options. He wanted to save his master and friend but if he found out they had stroke a truce with the rebels he would be furious. However the Amy variant in front of him was right. He knew why Sonic 111 waged this war. No one else deserved the power of the true lunar dragon.

"Fine. Truce" he said shaking Amy's hand "Alright men let's get to work! We need to determine where our lord is and if he is alive so we can dig a proper tunnel and save him and 999" he turned to Amy again.

"That doesn't make us friends. Next time we meet after today I will kill you all without hesitation" he said coldly.

"Agreed" Amy said as she gave orders to the rebels to help with the digging of the tunnel.

In the underground room

Sonic 111 looked at 999 with an uncertain look. He then sighed and spoke.

"I wage war to conquer everyone and force them to act as they should. Before I became the duel king in my dimension…. humans had started destroying the environment and disrespecting each other without end. Every day I saw animals being hunted for profit, hate crimes, racism everywhere… and the year before I became duel king, the corruption of societies all over my dimension's globe started being exposed when thousands of cases of sexual harassment 90% of them towards women were exposed. That was when I became duel king. I tried for years to use my influence to change people for the better. But no one listened. The situation grew worse and worse" his eyes had now tears because of the overabundance of emotions but there was a sign of determination there "I used my influence to become a businessman and invested in weapons. I created the weapon system on duel discs and started a following. Soon enough I had conquered my entire dimension, my friends and I brought down the strongest governments of the entire world in a single night. I then enforced the best way of living towards the planet and towards other humans".

Sonic 999 was in utter shock after hearing this story.

"And now finally my dimension is a utopia. The planet has begun healing, the ecosystem is repairing itself and human relationships are so much better. All because I forced some rules for the greater good. And also because anyone who breaks these rules and proven guilty – I wouldn't condemn an innocent person to anything – faces more severe punishments rather than spend some years in jails or pay a fine".

"You kill them?" Sonic 999 asked fearing what the answer would be.

"Not everyone. Only those who have committed crimes so heinous that I can't listen without getting sick. And provided that they don't regret it too".

"How do you know if they regret it or not?"

"I can look into their souls with my power. I can see it. And I tell you honestly... the previous generation was raised like animals… taught that women are only incubators and slaves to the male gender…. And all the stereotypes towards innocents…. I couldn't just let it continue. I took their freedom but gave them security and a much better world. Tell me! How is this war wrong?! I want to conquer everyone so that I can enforce the same simple rules. So that people can live better".

Sonic 999 couldn't process this anymore.

"No… you're lying… if you really respected life and the rights of others you wouldn't have slaughtered everyone in this dimension!"

"I had no choice! They wouldn't let me dig for this…." he said pointing towards the box "the chick variant of us turned everyone against me!"

"Dude! You walked into this dimension armed and with an army and demanded them to surrender! Things may have worked in your dimension because people admired you and because of the swiftness with which you changed things… but you really expect the inhabitants of a parallel universe to welcome you like a god? After you and your army slaughtered so many?!"

"I knew you wouldn't understand. When I take the power of the dragon I will be able to rebuild the dimensions! Bring everybody back! Create a perfect multiverse! And even if I can't… it's a small price to pay for salvation of the rest!"

"You're nuts!"

"Yeah what else is new?" he said and looked away "and what about you?"

"What?"

"How are things in your dimension?"

"Similar to what you described in yours".

"You too have problems then. How come you don't understand me?"

"I do understand! Better that you can imagine! But it's just not right to tell others what to do even if it's for their sake. You think your dimension's residents love you? I'm sure that deep down they despise you. You took away their freedoms. People hate being under someone else!"

Sonic 111 was angry for a moment but then his face completely changed. As if he had an epiphany. He looked at 999 in question.

"I have a question for you" Sonic 111 said.

"What question?"

On the surface

Amy, Shadow and Knuckles 111 used their powers combined to sense under the ground by having one of the drills drill into the ground and hear the vibrations. They were able to locate the underground chamber that both Sonics were inside and determined that both were alive. However that caused a new clash between them.

"They are the room Lord Sonic desperately wanted to get in! What he is looking for is inside! We will have to renegotiate this truce!"

"Excuse me? What has changed?!" Shadow said in anger.

"That now the thing my master desires will also be uncovered. I can't let you walk away with it!"

"And then what? Leave both Sonics down there?!"

"My master won't let you walk away with it!"

Amy looked at him in anger and sighed.

"Fine. I propose we continue the operation to save them. In exchange we will all examine it together. Then you can have it for yourselves."

"General are you crazy?" Shadow tried to interfere but Amy shushed him.

"Do we have an accord?" she asked Knuckles 111.

"…. Yes. Alright men!" he yelled to his soldiers "begin digging! Time is of the essence! They won't have air forever!"

The warlord's soldiers began digging the tunnel and the rebellion's soldiers used their powers to lift the dirt and rocks out of the tunnel. Slowly but steadily they began descending into the depths of the earth.

In the cavern

Sonic 111 looked at Sonic 999 head to toe and fired away his question.

"Did your son become a serial killer?"

"Wait what? How do you know about this?"

"And then you had to alter the timeline?"

Sonic 999 didn't answer but his face was answer enough. The warlord's eyes bulged and he grabbed the sides of his head in shock.

"Oh my god….. we aren't just any variants! Our backstories are the same!"

"What?!"

"Your son became a serial killer and you altered the timeline to save him. Several years after acquiring the Egyptian gods! After entering the spirit world! After getting your powers and redeeming Tails' hatred!"

Sonic 999 couldn't believe his ears.

"It all makes sense now! Our backstories are the same… but we made a different choice. After I saved my son by altering the timeline I realized he was right. The world was evil and corrupted and took it upon myself to change it! While you… you did nothing! You just stayed in your comfort and let the corruption grow!"

"I… I wanted to change things. But in the right way…. not to force others. Change cannot be made by force!"

"Oh but yes it can! My dimension is a utopia because I had the power and forced the change" Sonic 111 said smirking "heh. We're not so different after all"

"I'm nothing like you. You're a murderer".

"You killed 3 people on sheer rage like me. You almost killed your friends like me. And you killed my son. Tell me. How great is the difference between us exactly?"

Sonic wanted to answer but his guilt didn't let him. The warlord took advantage of it.

"You know it in your heart too. The world needs an enforcer to change it. Simple influence won't change a thing. They merely admire you because you are the duel king. An icon. But the one thing they love more than to have an icon… is to see it fail. To be like them. To not be any better than them in reality. They sure found you amusing for years because you entertained them. But I assure you. They will never change on their own. The clash of right versus wrong won't be solved on its own. And in spite of everything you've done and still do for them as I assume you do through your influence" Sonic 111 said with a sinister smirk "eventually they will hate you. So why do you let them do whatever they want? To destroy the planet, other people and themselves?"

Sonic felt he was suffocating. The warlord was reading through him like an open book. There were already haters in his dimension who hated him simply because he pointed at their flaws and tried to show others how a good person really acted. He did feel that they didn't deserve freedom.

"Because… it's the right thing. I have no right to take away someone's choice… even if it for the greater good".

"You don't really believe it. I ask you. What will you do if you get the power of the true lunar dragon?"

"M-merge it with my soul".

"And then what? Just stay in your comfort while others suffer? You know you want to change it. You have the power to change it. And I have the willpower to change it. To make a perfect multiverse. Just imagine. My vision… and your power… together… we could do anything".

"What?!"

"Just think about it… together we could put an end to this war. Partially take away people's freedom… and create a utopia… with no suffering or hate… can you imagine it… what we could create… or we could destroy… cause the deaths of millions more in a selfish battle again and again and again until we're both dead! Is that really what you want?"

Sonic 999's breath became faster. End suffering. No more pain. A utopic multiverse. His logic of the warlord's crimes was fighting his desire to help spread kindness and good.

At that moment the wall opposite of them was drilled open. Amy Shadow and Knuckles 111 were standing there wearing protective helmets.

"Sonic!" she screamed running towards him and hugging him unexpectedly. Sonic hugged back feeling a little awkward. Knuckles 111 and Shadow approached. Shadow looked at lord Sonic in concealed hatred. Knuckles 111 helped lord Sonic up.

"Are you ok my lord?"

"Yes. A little beat up but ok".

"My lord um.. I assume you want to continue the fight but.. we actually had to strike a truce with the rebels to rescue you… so we have to leave… they offered though to share the contents of this room".

"They can have it. Me and 999 both read it. It's nonsense".

After this exchange they all returned to the surface and prepared to return to their respective dimensions. Lord Sonic and his team left first. He was the last to cross the portal. Before he walked through he looked at Sonic 999 straight in the eyes. He smirked and said loudly.

"Think about it, hero!"

These words echoed in Sonic's head. After their enemies left, the rebels returned to their base. Amy ordered a council meeting and they read the contents of the paper found in the underground room.

"The warlord was right. This is pure nonsense" Tails 616 said after reading

"It can't be it has to mean something. The list sent us there for a reason" Silver said pounding his fist on the table.

"Maybe… but the answer is not visible yet. We have to just follow the list for now" Amy said calmly.

"I agree" Sonic said "we have to hurry along and get one step ahead of the warlord".

"Alright then" Amy said "everybody rest for the day. Tomorrow we continue our mission".

The council meeting ended and everyone returned to their business. Sonic went to his room to rest. And to try and remove the guilt.

Amy caught up to him right outside his room.

"What did the warlord tell you while you two were trapped down there?"

"He tried to tempt me to join him. Unsuccessfully.".

"Oh so this is why he told you to think about it".

"Yeah."

"Well at least all ended well. We got the paper even though it didn't contain anything useful and made it out in one piece".

"True. Anyway sorry general but I'm beat. I'm off to bed for the day".

"Ok rest well" she said smiling and left. Sonic smiled back until she was gone and then entered his room with a heavy heart.

He had lied. That paper spoke his darkest emotions. That freedom was like a drug that hurt people. The reason he had started to believe in the warlord's cause.

He desired a world with no clashes. No hate. Why was it wrong to force some rules? Miles' misguided self was also right. Humans who perform crimes are dealt with very lightly. Redemption doesn't come just by locking someone up. This war was to change this flawed system. And if it went on….

"Cause the deaths of millions more in a selfish battle again and again and again until we're both dead! Is that really what you want?" the warlord's voice echoed in his head.

Sonic stuffed his face in the pillow and tried to cope with his conflicted emotions. It would be a long night.

At the same time while lord Sonic was treated for his wounds back in his stronghold, Amy 111 was by his side mourning her now dead daughters.

"All of our children…. Gone because of that monster.."

"We'll get through it my love. I have already made a plan."

"A plan?"

"Yes. I took your idea. That fool 999 is conflicted. He is a variant of me with the same emotions as me when it comes to the state of the world but chose to respect the freedom of others… he is very conflicted. I can get him to join us."

"What?! You will join forces with that monster?!"

"Of course not honey. I will use his power to conquer the multiverse… and then kill him and his family for what he did to us".

"Diabolical" Amy said with adoration and lust in her eyes.

"Yes. And in case he refuses… let's just say that he will go out entertaining us" lord Sonic said as both he and his wife started laughing like crazy. A sinister evil laugh as they were imagining what they thought to be Sonic 999's irreversible fate.