𝙎𝙤𝙣𝙞𝙘 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙝𝙚𝙙𝙜𝙚𝙝𝙤𝙜: 𝙉𝙤 𝙒𝙖𝙮 𝙃𝙤𝙢𝙚!

      News of the destruction of the house and the chaos that various creatures were doing in the forests and in the city hit the television. TV news channels discussed all this and the authorities suspected, and also blamed Sonic the Hedgehog himself for all this. And also the major himself appeared on one of the news channels to give a speech on this topic: — Tragedy!... What else can you call it?... Everything this monster doesn’t touch dies... When, you naive people, will you finally understand this?... He only longs for death for each of us... From - even the innocent old man Karl Venikovich Urmontov, also known as Mad Karl, died for him... Although I would give him the nickname Karl the Reasonable... For he was the only one who saw him first and tried to catch him, just like and we... And you didn’t believe him... It was all of you who should have been called crazy, since you can’t think with your heads... Major Bennington was with you and God bless you!

***

      A huge ring in the form of a portal appears on the planet of mushrooms, from which Sonic himself emerges. He comes out with his head down and when the portal closes, coincidentally, Tikal the echidna comes flying out to meet him. — A! You back? Still realized that there is no way to change them? — she asked him rudely. — On the contrary... I was still able to change a couple of them... They even helped me... — Sonic explained. Tikal widened her eyes, not understanding anything, and asked: — Then... Why did you come here desperate? — One of them refused to reform and killed one of my friends. —After a pause, Sonic sits on the ground, clasping his legs with his arms and resting his head on his knees. — It’s all my fault... I shouldn’t have listened to you... They really can’t be changed... Forgive me!... — at the last words he began to cry again. — It's stop to shed tears! All is not lost yet! We can still stop them and return them to their worlds before they destroy your world. You kept Disintegratus there, right? Tikal asked and Sonic nodded. - Great! You just need to return from this planet back to you on Earth and press the button. I'm tired of eating only mushrooms here. — the red echidna explained and after searching Sonic, she tried to find a bag of rings. — I don’t understand, where’s your bag of rings? — I gave it to Tom, and kept only two rings for myself, which I skillfully hid with myself. I spent one to protect myself from the sharp thorns of the demon, and I spent the other to go here, listen to your screams and punishments in my direction. I will never return to Earth again, because there is nothing but trouble from me there. What I don’t undertake, someone always dies through my fault, I couldn’t even correct those aliens from parallel universes. Tikal's eyes widened again and her mouth narrowed. — Not true! You yourself said that you were able to correct some of them. — she reassured the hedgehog, sitting down next to him and hugging him. — So, I was still mistaken... It’s still possible to change them... You just didn’t manage it completely or halfway through you started trying hard... Perhaps you didn’t think with your own head before acting... And maybe because you were alone and there were no friends next to you to help you... — Never mind. — the hedgehog answers whining. — Now I will deservedly be stuck here forever, as I planned from the very beginning. At the same time on Earth Tom and Maddie, hugging Ozzy and Tails on the couch, also watched this news and felt sorry for Carla. And most of all they were worried about Sonic. Where is he now? Neither knows. Near the kitchen, a portal opens in the form of a huge ring and from it Knuckles returns to the house with his head down. — Well? — Tom asks, and Knuckles shakes his head and answers: — I searched the entire planet. He's nowhere to be found. There is a suspicion that he may have left here. — Poor Sonic! And poor Karl! — the fox grabbed both cheeks, and Ozzie lay his muzzle on his lap and squealed quietly. Tom Wakowski could no longer stand it, trying to contain his anger inside himself. He gets up from his chair and approaches the Tikal artifact that was on the table. Tom was preparing to immediately press the button, but Knuckles takes away Disintegratus and prevents Wakowski from pressing the button on the artifact. — Knuckles, give it back! We no longer have any other choice. I'll press the button. — No, Tom. No need! We can't send them all to their deaths, can we? - Knuckles asked, matching Sonic. — Maybe? They deserve it. They killed Carl and destroyed Sonic's psyche, forcing him to leave, possibly, our planet. They will never change. — Wakowski added, and the echidna continues to insist on Sonic’s opinion: — Not true. They can be changed. — How do you know? — Tom asks incredulously, and Knuckles explains: — Tails and I were there and saw everything ourselves. They even helped Sonic a little. We reprogrammed that robot that looked like Sonic, after which he began to help us, and then the alternative Robotnik himself came over to our side and began to help us. Even those two hedgehogs. Black and white changed their characters and came over to our side. True, after what that demon did, they all ran away in all directions. — And one of them, which consisted entirely of water, turned out to be not so bad at all. He even saved me there on the beach when I found him. — Tails added. — Plus, the news says that some people almost got hit by some kind of bull, a huge tsunami, and a blue hedgehog that looks like Sonic but with a scar. That is, these are the ones we haven’t had time to fix yet. About the rest, whom we managed to correct, all they say is that passers-by saw them running past. That is, those whom we have corrected do not wish harm to anyone. Whatever you want, I'm on Knuckles' side. Tails gets up from the couch and stands next to Knuckles. Ozzy also stands next to him, trusting his words, and then Maddie stands up, assuring her husband that they are right, and Tom only hastened to conclusions. The sheriff lowers his head, thoughtful, and picks up a gold ring from a bag on the same table. Looking at the ring, he remembers all the warm and happy moments in his life, when Sonic first appeared in his life and how fun it became with him. Especially when Sonic began to call him father, and he himself, of his own free will, became like a son to him. A tear of joy flows from Tom's right eye. — He said to wait, but... — he sighs heavily. — You're right... I probably jumped to conclusions... How I would like to see him again! After despairing again and turning away, he throws the ring towards the trash can, but suddenly the ring grows larger and opens a portal to some night and dark alley with trash cans. Somewhere far from the portal in this very alley, two dark silhouettes were visible. One of them clearly looked like Sonic, and the other, judging by the skirt, was probably a girl. They stood there and discussed something. — Like this? Don't ring portals only open places that can be imagined in the head or spoken out loud? — asked Tom. — Well, it’s likely that we ourselves don’t know much about the structure of the magic of these rings. — Tails suggested, taking another one of the same from his bag and starting to look at it with a magnifying glass. — It appears that the ring can also open portals to personalities that can be imagined or named. — This second one next to that one isn’t Sonic by any chance? Knuckles asks, pointing his right bone glove at the silhouettes in the alley. — So who else should be there? — Tom answers the question with a question. — Sonic! SONIC!!! — Maddie addressed one of the silhouettes through the portal. — HEY, SONIC!!! — Tom shouted. Both dark silhouettes turned their heads towards the portal, hearing someone from there calling Sonic's name. The Sonic-like silhouette raises its right hand, silently asking if they are talking to him. — YEAH, SONIC, YOU!!! COME TO US!!! — Knuckles shouted. After looking at each other for a second, both silhouettes take each other by the hand and run straight to the portal. Wakowski, Ozzy, Tails and Knuckles, smiling with joy, were glad to see their friend again. Perhaps with that second girlfriend, whom he holds by the hand and leads with him to them. However, once both silhouettes jumped through the portal and found themselves in the Wakowski house in the light, they did not recognize them. And Sonic himself was not the one they knew. This one was somehow different in appearance. Body structure and height seem to be the same. But there were differences. The needles and wool, although they were the same blue, were a little dark. On her feet were red sneakers with a white line and gold clasps on the sides. The peach chest seemed bare, without fur, the arms were also peach-colored and bare to the shoulders. However, he also wore white gloves. And the eyes were generally the same as those of the same aliens from other worlds, like Shadow, Silver, Therios, Scourge and Mephiles. That is, a single oval eye with two pupils, which was also covered in the middle by the lower part of the forehead. His girlfriend next to him was also a hedgehog, or rather a hedgehog, since she is a girl, judging by the fact that she wears a red tank top with a skirt. For footwear, red boots with white stripes on the sides. Her arms were also bare to the shoulders, despite the fact that she was also wearing gloves. The needles, or more precisely, the hair on the head, were short and long little tails stuck out to the sides. The hedgehog itself, or more precisely its needles and fur, were pink. The portal behind them closed and disappeared. — Hello. — the other Sonic says, raising his right hand. — Did you called us? — Called, but not you, but their own... We thought that you... — Tails somehow wanted to explain to them, but he didn’t know how and chose to continue to remain silent. — Who are you? — Knuckles asks the other Sonic with bulging eyes. — I'm Sonic. — Another Sonic introduced himself. — It is not true. — Tails didn’t believe it. — I know it’s hard to believe, but in my world, where we came from, I’m Sonic the Hedgehog. Real by the way. — explained the blue hedgehog. — We were walking through the forest hills as usual, fighting with Dr. Eggman and... The day before yesterday... — We suddenly found ourselves here. — the pink she-hedgehog finished. — And who are you? — Tom asked her. — Rose. — she-hedgehog introduced herself, extending her hand to the man. — Amy Rose. Wakowski shakes her hand warmly, but a little fearfully. — So you are the bride and groom in your universe? — What? No. — she-hedgehog waved her off. — Sonic and I are just friends. Well, in the sense of friend and girlfriend. Sonic himself was looking around Wakowski’s house at that time and said out loud to himself: — So, as Tails said, string theory, multiple universes and teleportation... These are all not just theories... But reality? And I thought that Amy and I again ended up on the same Earth where Chris lived and on which if we stayed for a long time, our worlds would unite and time would stop. However, your Earth is not the same. — Is your Sonic so smart? — Tails asked, and Amy answered him: — He’s actually the smartest one among us. It sometimes happens that he always acts first before thinking, but then when he begins to think, and only then acts, then everything works out for him. — Let's check that he's real. — Tom suggested and took out a pistol. —Can you dodge a bullet? — Why shoot at me? Let me just show you what I can do. — explained another Sonic, and as proof, he ran exactly one hundred circles around the kitchen table at supersonic speed in three seconds. He then stood in front of Tom with both arms outstretched. — Well? Are you sure I'm real? — Now yeah. — the sheriff answers. — Yeah. — Maddie agrees. — Wait! So I opened a portal to the wrong Sonic? - Tom immediately realized and took another ring from Tails’ hands. — Well, that is, not to ours. — Then we’ll keep opening it until we find the real one. — Tails suggested. — Come on, sheriff! Tom closes his eyes, trying to remember Sonic himself again and imagine his image. — We're looking for Sonic! — just in case, Tom said and threw the ring next to the TV, opening another portal there too. The portal opened and a railing with a view of the river from San Francisco appeared inside. Probably the portal was opened next to the park, not far from this city. There were two more standing in front of the portal itself. One of them clearly looked like Sonic, and the other one, who was next to him, was a chipmunk. Both of them, unlike their Sonic, were a little shorter in stature, as if they were still children. Sonic also had a peach-colored chest and shoulder-length arms, while the rest was all blue. Even the eyes were the same and the shoes were almost exactly the same. There were even gloves on her hands. The chipmunk had small eyes, an open chest, but covered with fur. She clearly did not wear clothes, like gloves, but she had blue boots. — Are you sure we should go there? — the chipmunk asked her companion in a whisper. — Why not. At the same time, we’ll see what’s there. — the hedgehog answered in a whisper. — Um... Hello? — he greeted hesitantly. — Is it okay that we entered through this?.. And then the portal closed behind them. — Oh, it's already closed. — Are you Sonic? — Maddie asked the new hedgehog. — Yeah. I'm Sonic. And this is Sally. — he introduced himself and his girlfriend. — We saw you here... Hello. — Sally turned her attention to Amy and extended her hand. The hedgehog looked gloomily at the chipmunk, and her thoughts were still spinning: — “This rodent in some parallel universe is Sonic’s friend?... And me?...” — Isn’t this your friend? — said Sonic, who arrived with Sally, looking at Sonic, who was taller than him. He hesitated slightly, trying to find the right answers for the conversation: — Well... I'm a friend, but not theirs. I mean, I’m also from another universe here, just like you. — A! It's clear! — the little one answers him, smiling. — Why are you looking at me like that? — Sally asks she-hedgehog, and she-hedgehog snaps the fingers of her right hand and calls her golden hammer piko-piko to her. She swings it, trying to hit the chipmunk, but the latter manages to dodge and jumps over the hedgehog. Before she could land, Amy extended her right leg and made a spin, thereby tripping Sally and causing her to trip. As she lay on the ground, Amy raised her hammer and prepared to hit her. Luckily, her Sonic stood in her way and stopped her from killing her. — STOP-STOP-STOP!!! — he shouted to her. — Amy, this is not an option. Why are you attacking her? — Why? What I did to you? — Sally asked as her Sonic extended his hand to her and helped her up. — Because... Because... — she-hedgehog collected her words, and then exclaimed. — Because he (points to little Sonic) came with this rodent, and not with another version of me! — Should i'm? — the little hedgehog asked, expressing dissatisfaction. — I don't even know you! — Amy, calm down. — Sonic, who came with her, asked the hedgehog. — You shouldn't be mad because other Sonics are dating other girls. These are other universes. They have different stories and orders. — And yet I was offended. The other Amy probably feels hurt too. — she muttered. — Your Sonic is right. I’m pretty sure there are universes where other versions of you love someone else, like other Sonics love me or you. — Sally interjected, walking up to her hedgehog, who looked at her tenderly. — Yeah exactly! Maybe in some world you are not in love with me, but with, for example... Shadow. — Shadow? Are you serious? — Rose didn’t believe it. — These are my assumptions. No more. And I said this as an example. Other versions of us choose whoever they want. And they don’t need to be told who should be with whom. Do you understand, Amy? Besides, aren't you happy that I started dating you? That we became a couple? — Of course, I'm happy! — Well... You don’t need much. — Sonic said to her, gently hugging the hedgehog. Then the guests were attracted by a little fox clearing his throat. They turned in his direction. — Sorry for interfering... But right now a love drama is somehow not very appropriate. — Tails interjected. — We want to find a friend here. — O! That's why Sally and I were looking for you. — explained little Sonic. — Did you look for we? — everyone, except Sally, asked him in surprise. — Certainly. — Sally confirmed. — You’ll probably be surprised, but we’ve been looking for your Sonic in this universe for two days already. Ever since my Sonic and I got here. — And we immediately realized that we were in another universe, since in ours there has been a war going on for a year now against the ruthless tyrant Robotnik and his servants. Plus, we didn’t meet anyone other than Robotnik and Snively. And in your world, not only is there no war, but there was almost not a single anthropomorphic animal, except for a bunch of people. Then Sally and I immediately realized that this was a different universe. And since this is a different universe, it means that perhaps there must have been another version of me somewhere. And we spent all these two days looking for him. I have a feeling that her... — Sonic paused for a moment. — Need ours help. — Ours? — asked big Sonic. — Well, I mean, not only ours and Sally’s, but yours and Amy’s too. — explained little Sonic. — This is true! — Maddie said, and Ozzy barked smiling in confirmation of her words. — We don't know where to look for him. Previously, he was on Earth with us, but after today's accident... We searched our entire planet Earth. He's nowhere to be found. — Knuckles answers desperately. — And besides us, he has... There is no one else with whom he could live, be safe from the enemies pursuing him and whom he can trust. — Tom explained. — And only us to boot. — Tails added, and the dog lowered his head and whined quietly. — But at first I was his enemy and wanted to kill him, because I was naive and trusted the wrong person. — Knuckles explained. — I understand you. My Knuckles and Eggman had the same thing once upon a time. — adult Sonic reassured him. — Well... Does your Sonic at least have a place where he can hide from his enemies... And... Consider it his refuge?... Where does he go to... — To wait out the enemy storm and sort out the inside of your soul. — little Sonic finished for him. — I also once had such a place. The rebels and I are hiding underground in the forests. — And sometimes I just run through open areas in the fields, and at night, when I’m sad or when I miss someone, I always look at the moon in the sky. — added adult Sonic. — The moon is just beautiful in the sky, especially when it’s full. — Agree. — little Sonic added, smiling. Tom and Maddie suddenly remembered that very place and the sheriff said: — Yeah, I think I know where he might be. — he said and picked up a whole bag of rings. At the same time, he took out one of them and threw it into the corridor, saying: — Planet of mushrooms! While the portal from the ring was slowly opening, Sally at that moment turned to Amy and asked her: — What did he say? — Planet of mushons, apparently. — Amy answered erroneously. — By the way... We didn't start our acquaintance quite correctly, so... Let's start over? I'm Sally. Sally Acorn. — the chipmunk again offered her hand for a handshake. — I'm Amy. Amy Rose. — she-hedgehog shook hands with her new acquaintance. — Sorry for attacking you with a hammer... — Okay. Let's forget about this moment and just start our friendship? — Fine. Whatever you say. — Amy agreed, and the two new friends smiled at each other. The portal was opened and an image of the planet of mushrooms appeared. — I never thought that sooner or later I would return there. — Knuckles said to himself. — Are you sure your friend is somewhere there? — asked little Sonic. — Yes. — Maddie answers. They all leave their home by entering through a portal and the portal closes behind them. — This is what that planet of mushrooms looks like. — Tails asked himself in surprise, looking around. — Wait for us here! — Tom asked two Sonics, Amy and Sally, and then went only with Maddie, Ozzy, Tails and Knuckles. They went on reconnaissance, and those four obediently remained in place and waited. For one thing, we decided to talk to each other for a short time. And at that time the real Sonic, together with Tikal, was sitting on the hat of one huge mushroom. They sat, got bored and sometimes felt ashamed about what had happened. They sat like that for about half an hour until Knuckles appeared behind them. — FOUND!!! I FOUND THEM!!! — the red echidna shouted down under the mushroom, and the red echidna and the blue hedgehog raised their heads from what they heard, surprised and not believing their ears that they heard Knuckles’ voice. They slowly turn around and see Tails using his tails to lift Ozzy onto the mushroom cap, holding him by the waist. Tom and Maddie ran towards Sonic himself, sitting down next to him and hugging the hedgehog. — Oh, Sonic! How you scared us! — Maddie said, and Tom turned on his son sternly: — Don’t ever run away from us again, okay! You have been taken away from home without me and you will no longer step foot! — Sorry, dad. — Sonic lowered his head in shame, and Tom calms down and hugs him again, saying: — I'm so glad you're okay. If you died, I would never forgive myself for it. — Hey, is it okay that I also sat here all alone for almost two days? — Tikal asked, and Knuckles looked at her with a frown, walked up to her and wanted to hit her in the face with his fist. The sorceress covered herself by reflex with her hands, preparing for a blow, but the echidna stopped at the last moment and removed her fist. — THIS IS FOR YOU FOR WANTED NEARLY KILLING US BY FORCING SONIC TO GIVE YOU THE MAHINE!!! — he shouted at her. — Forgive me, I was just on nerves. I had no other choice to force Sonic to give it to me. I could do anything to get her back. Even to give up many other people's lives for her sake. And I would sacrifice any life just to get her back, because in the wrong hands she could be in danger. — she explained to them. — What are you doing here? And how did you get here? — Sonic asked them, trying to calm down a little, although he still continued to cry because of that incident. Nevertheless, deep down he was glad to see them. — They were looking for you, what else? — Tails answered the question with a question. — You yourself gave us your bag with teleportation rings. — Tom explained and gave it back to Sonic. — By the way, we didn’t come here alone. You have guests here. — Maddie added and pointed her finger behind her, where four heads appeared on the edge of the cap of a huge mushroom. Two belonging to the two Sonics, Amy and Sally, who looked in surprise at Sonic's double from this reality. They also climbed onto the mushroom cap, appearing to that Sonic in all their glory. Sonic from this universe was at first frightened when he saw them, and even with two doubles of himself, that he began to catch his breath. Little Sonic extended his hand and spoke first. — Hold on you!... My condolences. — Me too! — added adult Sonic with peach hands. — I can well imagine what you’re like now. — No-no-no. Don't tell me you know what I'm like! — Sonic asked with two different eyes of his counterpart with one whole eye and two pupils. — Okay. — he did not argue with him and lowered his hands. — Karl... He died... Through my fault... Vain death... So now I will do the same thing right away that Tikal should have. — said the two-eyed hedgehog and wanted to press the button on the machine that Tom was holding, when suddenly Tikal grabbed his hand and prevented him from doing this. Sonic turned his gaze to her, and she just shook her head. — Sonic! — the little double turned to him. — No need! Stop doing that! — asked Amy. Two-Eyed Sonic looked again at his counterparts, the hedgehog and the chipmunk. — You don’t belong here at all! And you! And you! And even you! So everyone go home! — Sonic added and wanted to press with his other hand, when suddenly Tails grabbed him by that other hand, preventing him from doing this. The fox also shook his head when he turned his gaze towards him. Sonic then looked back at the four guests. — Are these friends from your worlds? Yeah? — We do not know. — Sally answered. — Some of them may be with each of ours, but some may not be one of ours. — Never mind. If you all, Sonic, kill them all there. I have nothing to do with this... This is no longer my problem... And not yours... I don’t care anymore... I’ve had enough... Sorry for dragging you into this too! — added the two-eyed hedgehog, and the adult hedgehog with peach hands spoke: — Because of me and Shadow... Cosmo died... She... In general, she was a friend of my Tails. — My Uncle Chuck died... It was my fault... Evil Robotnik robotized him. — added little Sonic. — My parents. — Sally added, lowering her head. — And because of me... My Sonic almost died several times... Because I always climbed where they didn’t ask. — Rose added, lowering her head and almost cried herself, deciding to express everything: — And at one moment, when my Sonic was in trouble and rushed to save him myself... I couldn’t save him... I only lost consciousness for a second , and when I woke up, Sonic himself saved me once again... But life moved on, I needed... Despite myself, to be for Sonic... Just a friend... I was a naive fool then and always chased him, believing that sooner or later he would love me... At the same time, I always endangered him and myself too... Simply because he never experienced any romantic feelings for me, unlike me for him... But... At some point I lost control of myself... I became cruel... Without brakes... — the hedgehog wipes away her tears and raises her head. — I’m saying all this so that... So that you don’t be like that. — When did Uncle Chuck die? — continued little Sonic. — I was looking for Robotnik himself... I wanted to take revenge on him for my uncle... And I took revenge on him... But it didn’t make me feel any better... I couldn’t free myself for a long time... From this hatred... Two-Eyed Sonic listened to everything carefully. At that moment, he even had thoughts spinning in his head: — Mephiles killed Karl... I want to kill him... Revenge for Karl... Tear him into pieces... But is this a way out, since they tell me that revenge is bad? — after thinking about this, he began to cry again. — I... I still hear the voice of Crazy Karl... I even felt that I was going to die... He insisted that we were doing the right thing. — And he was not mistaken. — Knuckles intervened and Sonic looked at him. — Karl didn’t just die like that. He sacrificed himself for you so that you would live. — He is right. — Tails added. — If you give up on this, give up, or, more simply put, stop your struggle, then it turns out that Karl’s sacrifice was in vain. — If you were in the place of Crazy Karl, you would do the same for him. — added Tikal. — Now that we are with you, are you ready to give up now or will you go to the end? — asked little Sonic. — We will follow you, wherever you go and whatever you plan. — added adult Sonic with peach hands. — Just tell we!