Nine races to reassemble the Paradox Prism while the Chaos Council aims to reclaim it for themselves, forcing Sonic and Shadow to team up to protect it. However, Nine has his own goals for the Prism, and his trustworthiness is called into question.
Tropes
- Ambiguous Situation: When The Ghosts briefly became normal, were they actually Sonic’s friends, or were they yet another version of Sonic’s friends? All of them look at Sonic when he addresses them, but they don’t call his name. They are confused about the World-Healing Wave, but aren’t confused about their location or Eggman’s absence. The finale later implies that they are indeed shattered characters because otherwise, they and Sonic would have gone back to the cave. However it is possible that the reason why that didn’t happen is because Nine wasn’t supposed to be there.
- Arbitrary Skepticism: The Chaos Council witnesses what appears to be two Sonics, though Dr. Don't reacts with disbelief at there could be alternate versions of the hedgehog. Although Dr. Don't is right, as it's actually Shadow, Dr. Deep points out that multiple Sonics isn't actually shocking after everything that's happened regarding the Shatterverse.
- Attack of the 50-Foot Whatever: In a last-ditch attempt to get the Prism, the Chaos Council unleash their greatest weapon, a massive Eggman comprised of Prism energy, dubbed a Prismatic Titan by Nine. Sonic (while amped on Prism energy) and Shadow can't do anything to it, and it comes very close to getting the shards. It takes Sonic getting a second boost of energy from the shards to finally take it down.
- Big "NO!": Dr. Don't's "Oh, Crap!" reaction when Sonic tricks him into missiling his own ship.
- Breath Weapon: The giant Eggman can attack by shooting energy beams out of his mouth.
- Broken Pedestal: In the end, Sonic becomes this to Nine. Sonic's repeated inability to think about or work on Nine’s desires, ends up angering Nine and confirms what he thought from the beginning: that he can't trust anyone except himself.
- Didn't See That Coming: Against repeated warnings from Shadow and the Rebellion, Sonic has overlooked Nine's more amoral traits since they first met, as he sees him as an extension of Tails—the oldest and closest of all the hedgehog's friends. He is thus caught absolutely off-guard when the fox betrays him and derails the plan. Both Nine and Shadow are irate at Sonic's obliviousness, with the former calling him out on it.
- The Dissenter Is Always Right: Shadow makes it clear he does not trust Nine to actually follow the plan despite Sonic's insistence that they're all on the same side. Nine ultimately turns on them and takes the shards to create his own world, much to Shadow's anger and Sonic's disappointment.
- Doppelgänger Gets Same Sentiment: Nine chews out Sonic for having trouble differentiating him from Tails and acting like they're the same person, assuming Nine will act like his original friend did and not considering the fox's feelings.
- Downer Ending: Nine furiously turns on Sonic, declaring that they are no longer friends, steals the Prism shards, and escapes to another dimension. The sad, betrayed look on Sonic’s face explicitly says it all.
- Eleventh Hour Super Power: Nine charges Sonic up with Prismatic energy, allowing him to go even faster and deal with the onslaught the Chaos Council brings on Sonic and Shadow. While charged up, Sonic glows blue and pink and leaves behind self-aware, talking after-images he talks to and gets into arguments with. Sonic gets a second boost when the Prismatic Titan appears so he can finally take it out, in which his quills have a shining pink energy shrouding them, his eyes also becoming a similar color, and his gloves and shoes are shrouded in cyan energy.
- Et Tu, Brute?: Before their falling-out, Sonic was Nine's Only Friend and Nine, being a counterpart of Tails, was Sonic's go-to person anywhere in the Shatterverse. Both are thus deeply hurt and disappointed to learn their goals weren't the same after all.
- Expendable Alternate Universe: Though Sonic does see the Shatterspace inhabitants as people, Nine points out that he still thinks of them as his original friends and sees Tails as more legitimate than Nine.
- Eye Color Change: Sonic's eyes turn bright pink when Nine imbues him with extra Prismatic energy, but they fade back to green after taking out the Prismatic Titan.
- Face–Heel Turn: Nine turns on Sonic, angry that the hedgehog can't seem to see him as his own person and wanting to create his own perfect reality rather than restore the old one. The episode ends with the fox escaping to The Grim with the shards and declaring he can only trust himself.
- Giant Equals Invincible: The Prismatic Titan is completely unaffected by whatever Shadow and Sonic do at first, even with the latter getting an energy boost courtesy of Nine. It takes a second, more powerful surge of energy for Sonic to finally destroy it in one attack.
- Hope Spot: The Chaos Council are defeated, and for a moment thereafter, Ghost Hill and its inhabitants come to life and they resemble the originals. But moments later, the zone reverts back, followed by Nine betraying Sonic over the Prism and derailing the whole plan.
- Jerkass Has a Point:
- Though he did plan to use the shards for his own goals and makes off with them in the end, Nine was correct about how Sonic never cared about Nine’s desire to live in The Grim. Otherwise, Sonic would have allowed Nine to use the shards in The Grim first before using the shards to fix the Paradox Prism in Ghost Hill or at least offer to help Nine live in The Grim.
- Nine also is correct when he points out how Sonic does things without considering the consequences. He sadly asks Sonic what he thought would happen to him if Sonic gets his friends back. Sonic’s response shows that he doesn’t realize that Nine might cease to exist.
- Shadow is also proven right about his view on the Shatterverse counterparts, specifically Nine, being untrustworthy. The last scene of the episode shows him sporting an incredibly angry expression to contrast Sonic's more dejected, depressed face.
- Though he did plan to use the shards for his own goals and makes off with them in the end, Nine was correct about how Sonic never cared about Nine’s desire to live in The Grim. Otherwise, Sonic would have allowed Nine to use the shards in The Grim first before using the shards to fix the Paradox Prism in Ghost Hill or at least offer to help Nine live in The Grim.
- Meaningful Echo: When Shadow is telling Sonic that the Shatterverse counterparts of his friends aren't the same people, he remarks "and they're not your real friends". Later, when Nine calls out Sonic for seeing him as a Replacement Goldfish for Tails, he turns away and bitterly adds, "Just not your real friend."
- Mistaken for Related: Played with. The Chaos Council mistake Shadow for a Shatterspace counterpart of Sonic, not realizing the two are not related.Dr Don't: There's two of him!?
- Mythology Gag:
- Sonic rising after his second power-up is framed in a similar manner to his live-action counterpart's in the climax, complete with a closeup of his eyes opening.
- The Chaos Council briefly mistake Shadow to be an alternate version of Sonic, referencing a plot point of Sonic Adventure 2 where Sonic is mistakenly believed to be responsible for what Shadow does due to being hedgehogs and having Super-Speed, and gets taken prisoner by GUN.
- Poor Communication Kills: Sonic's Horrible Judge of Character concerning Nine, Nine's cynical disregard for others, and Shadow being a Terse Talker as usual sets up the misunderstanding that leads to Nine betraying the hedgehogs.
- Sonic explained the plan to Nine in advance, believing that as a counterpart of Tails, Nine would be on board by default. Also, when he previously agreed to visit The Grim with Nine after finishing up in Ghost Hill, Sonic never clarified that it's Green Hill he wants to restore, and when it isn't, he reneges on their deal. Finally, rather than console Nine or allay his fear of erasure, Sonic accidentally infers that the fox isn't a real person; Nine finally snaps on that note and abandons Sonic, taking the Prism with him.
- Nine doesn't tell Sonic about the fifth and final shard (which Nine already obtained as of the previous episode) until after the Chaos Council have been fended off. And while he does raise fair points during their argument, flat-out losing his temper (even before Sonic hits his Berserk Button) wasn't the best way to convey his feelings, and he doesn't bother offering any alternatives.
- While Shadow was right to doubt Nine's reliability, he never elaborates why, consequently failing to convince Sonic until it's too late. Trust issues being an everyday thing with Shadow doesn't help his case, as Sonic lampshades.
- Power Glows: A more advanced version of this, where Nine imbues Sonic with Prismatic Energy directly from the Shards, magnifying his speed to greater levels and making him shimmer with energy. He gets another boost to deal with the Prismatic Titan that Mr. Dr. Eggman summons, where his quills and gear bright shades of magenta and his eyes adopt a similar hue.
- Rivals Team Up: To protect the shards while Nine works on them, Sonic and Shadow work together to fend off the Chaos Council's forces.Sonic: Well, look who couldn't resist a team up!
Shadow: Hardly. Have you seen what happens when you go it alone? - Stealth Insult: Sonic talks with his afterimages but gets annoyed with one suggesting the Chaos Council might have given up fighting, and responds that he'd have to be stupid to think that, which Shadow agrees with. Sonic then realizes exactly what his rival was agreeing with.Sonic: If you believe that, you're even dumber than you look.
Shadow: Finally, a Sonic I can agree with. - Speed Echoes: After getting charged up with Prismatic energy, Sonic moves so fast he leaves behind flickering afterimages. He treats them almost as if they are autonomous individuals, talking to, high-fiving, and even arguing with them.
- Wham Episode: Doubles as Sudden Downer Ending: Nine steals all of the Prism Shards and renounces his friendship with Sonic after he inadvertently infers he isn't real, severely setting back Sonic and Shadow's plans to restore their world.
- What the Hell, Hero?: Nine calls out Sonic for not caring about his desires at all and expecting Nine to follow along with his intentions. Sonic then accidentally insinuates that Nine isn’t real, further angering the fox.Sonic: I assumed after everything we've been through, you'd see things the way I do. Just like the real Tails would.
Nine: I am real! (Beat) Just not your real friend... - Yank the Dog's Chain: A cruel double-whammy. While Nine is assembling the Prism, the Prime versions of Sonic's friends are seemingly momentarily restored along with Ghost Hill. Sonic happily goes to reunite with them, but they revert back to their "ghost" states just as he gets there. Then his falling-out with Nine leads to the latter absconding with the Prism, bumping the Blue Blur and Shadow back to square one.
