Chapter Text
It was growing late.
With every hour that passed Maddie only grew more worried, glancing at her phone screen ever so often- to check for either a message from her family or Robotnik taking over again. But no. Nothing. Not a peep.
Six P.M. rolled around. Seven... eight...
Both Red and Tails seemed to get just as restless as she did. Red was patrolling around the house with Ozzie- his 'guard', as he called it, arms crossed and ready punch- he had almost hit Maddie three times- while Tails was trying to fix his Miles Electric again. Maddie herself distracted herself with all kinds of chores- cleaning the kitchen inside-out at least three times, preparing a fourth bed in their guest room so it was ready, cleaning their room even though there was nothing to clean-
It was around 08:17 P.M. when Tails shouted for them to come back inside.
Maddie dropped the plate she had been scrubbing agresively, and ran. Red was not too far behind her, looking worried instead of angry for once.
Tails looked worried out of his mind as he stared at the portal that had opened inside their living room, his namesakes concerningly still. Red jumped in front of him at once and growled, narrowing his eyes. Eggman wouldn’t have found them, would he?
He relaxed when it was Tom who stepped inside, who was holding a wrongly-twisted right arm.
"Tom!" Maddie cried out with horror, pulling him aside to check it herself out of instinct- before remembering this wasn't a random Mobian she was being presented with, but her husband. "What happened?!"
"This Robotnik is... different." Tom smiled anyway.
Sonic was the second to step through the portal, a huge grin on his face. He ran towards Maddie once he saw her, and hugged her legs. "Mom! You're okay!"
"I am, Blueberry." Maddie patted his quills, looking at the portal when Amy walked through next. She looked more tired than anything, her quills a mess and her hammer being dragged behind her. Still, she waved.
"Hi, Maddie."
"Sonic!!!" Tails giggled and ran over, hugging his older brother once their mother let go. Sonic laughed and picked him up.
Knuckles entered the room next, looking amazed as he held the green emerald in his paws. He nodded at Maddie. "Mother."
The three who had stayed behind stared wide-eyed at the gem. "...What you got there, Knuckles?"
"You mean the portal?" Knuckles turned around with confusion.
It was that moment Blue finally stepped inside, his little brother on his shoulders, arms curled up on his head, and leaning his full body weight against the older one. His tails were curled into one once more, probably to cover the wounds.
"Tails!" Red's face lit up as he swooped the fox away- Tails giggled when the older one held him high and grinned.
"Missed me that much?" He purred, eyes half-lidded. "Of course you did. Bet you couldn't even find proper shelter or defense without-"
Looking around the room, he spotted his counterpart. And shut his mouth with shock. Tails looked awed himself, his namesakes curling up together to mirror the other as he suddenly held onto Sonic much tighter.
"Maddie, Tails, this is-" Blue tried to introduce, but then stopped. Confused, he looked between the two foxes. "Uhm... I guess Yellow?"
"Yellow?" Yellow snapped out of it for a moment.
"What our counterparts named us." Red shrugged, pointing at himself. "Red. Blue. That makes you Yellow."
"Doesn't he look more orange?" Amy asked, glancing at him.
"Nah." Blue collapsed on the couch face-down. "Yellow works fine."
"...You named yourself... after primary colors." Yellow looked more confused than anything, head slightly tilted to the side. A smaller paw tapping his arm made him look, and the echidna set him down.
"Uhm... hi?" Tails waved uncertainly and held out his hand. "Blue told us a lot about you."
"I heard." The older fox grumbled unhappily, not wanting to know just how many embarrassing stories his older brother had shared. He bumped Tails' fist and looked behind. Stunned for a moment. "...I've never seen another fox with two tails before."
Tails flinched at the mention, before realizing what he meant. Slowly, his namesakes uncurled, wagging behind him. "...Me neither." He mumbled, watching with awe as Yellow's tails uncurled too- and immediately winced, making them both rest on the floor. His fur looked messy. And was that blood at the side of his head?
"Oh-" Maddie looked conflicted between checking out Yellow or taking Tom to the hospital, but the man shook his head, nodding it towards the fox. "Help him first. I can wait."
"...Alright." Maddie quickly walked out to a closet, searching for the first-aid kit. "Set him on the couch."
"..." Yellow looked at Blue, who nodded. Seeing he got the green light, the fox sat down without a word. The older sitting right in front of him.
"The me here is a kid." He grinned, even more so at Sonic's offended face. "And so are you and Knuckles. Amy doesn't exist for some reason though."
"So no girlfriend for you to crush on?" Yellow raised a brow, looking smug at the horrified face his older brother made.
"I have no idea what you're talking about."
"So it wasn't you who was panicking about what to get for your and Amy's one year-"
"Shut up." The hedgehog curled up.
"That's what you get for sharing my stories when I wasn't there." Yellow glared at him. Amy looked flattered, walking over to the couch and pressing a kiss on one of the quills.
As Maddie walked back, Knuckles walked out, saying he was gonna put the emerald with the other one, save and sound. Yellow again looked at Blue, who just nodded.
"...Okay." making her choice, Maddie put two fingers on his wrist first, counting his heartbeat. Finding nothing wrong with it, she started feeling around his body. Yellow winced when she touched the side of his head, and she hummed. "How did you get that wound at the side of your head?"
"Plane crash." The casual way he said it made her falter. Yellow frowned. "...What?"
"How did you even-" Amy didn't want to finish that thought and whined, sitting behind the fox and hugging him. Yellow looked even more lost at that and patted her arms.
"I had the emerald?"
"What does that have to do with anything?"
"..." Yellow looked shocked. And slowly turned to Blue. "...You didn't tell them?"
"Tell what?" Now it was Blue's turn to be confused.
Yellow blinked- a look of horror appeared on his face, and he turned to Red. "...You too, Knuckles?" He didn't even react when Maddie started wrapping the side of his head.
Red only narrowed his eyes. "What?"
"...Oh my- are you kidding me?!"
"What?!" Sonic had been about to panic. "Is there something wrong with the emerald? Did the plane damage it?"
"No!" The fox looked like he was about to rip his fur out, turning to both heroes with a shocked and worried expression. "Sonic, Knuckles, the emerald acts on the desire of the user you know that!"
"I-... what?" Tom looked lost... but Tails' entire face lit up.
"I was right?!" He asked with excitement, namesakes wagging and eyes sparkling.
"Hold on- Yellow, honey, could you explain the way your emerald works for us?" Maddie asked while pointing at his tails. "And hand me those? I saw a nasty-looking cut."
"..." Yellow turned to Blue. He nodded. And the fox turned around without hesitation, holding out his namesakes. Maddie gently patted the fur to try and find the wound back, cringing at the amount of fur that had just fallen off.
"The emerald can only be wielded by those who possess chaos energy. On top of that, unless there is force used, the emerald can only respond to its holder. Which is Sonic." The fox grumbled out, wincing when the human found what she was looking for. "Furthermore- the emerald can act out on its user's desires. So if Sonic wanted me to be protected-"
"-as long as you are the one holding the emerald, it will do just that." Tom's eyes widened. "...It saved you?"
"That does explain your injuries... I expected far worse."
"I'm sorry-? Sonic, I explained this to you that time you almost drowned!" Yellow looked offended, turning around- forgetting Maddie was still busy with his tails. "You thought I was dead?"
"...Sonic." Amy's head was lowered low, her quills covering her eyes. Her tone sounded dangerous as she clenched her fist, sounding like she was about to murder someone. The hedgehog gulped.
"I... uhm..."
"And Knuckles! You guard the emeralds!" The fox cried out, blinking rapidly. "You were the one to teach me about them! How did you not know?"
"I..." If the echidna wasn't red already, he would have turned redder than a tomato. He coughed, covering his mouth and refusing to meet anyone's gaze. "...forgot."
"You... forgot." Amy's tone was low, slowly reaching for her pocket.
"Ames, let's talk about this-"
"You knew... that Tails... most likely survived." She pulled out her hammer, which folded out... was it always so big? "But you... forgot."
"Hey, don't look at me!" Blue had the audacity, taking a step back and holding his arms out. "I was concussed! I didn't even know!"
"I'm sorry, you thought I was dead- and your first instinct was to ambush the man with all emeralds minus one after bringing you to wacky world?"
"No need to insult earth..." Tom mumbled.
"The hedgehogs here are the size of ants." Yellow winced when he felt a burning sensation on his tail. Maddie apologized.
"...Just how big are ants on Mobius?!"
"You two." She clenched her weapon even tighter. Both Blue and Red took another step back. "You. Knew. But you. Forgot?"
"I had a concussion!"
"And you broke your leg." Sonic helpfully added.
"Amy, we were trapped together! And the place exploded because of the emeralds!"
"You two... have three seconds."
"Amy, sweetheart maybe you shouldn't-"
"One."
"Amy, come on- Tails is alright and that's all that counts-"
"Two." She took a step towards them. They stepped back.
"Amy, please, just think about-"
"Three."
Both Mobians screamed as the pink hedgehog charged at them not even a second later, hammer raised and ready to crush them with it. Sonic yelped, quickly hiding behind Tails before Amy tried to get him as well. Maybe. Who knows?
Knuckles walked back upstairs- or rather, ran, their screams having alerted him. "What is happening?! Where is the danger?!" He hysterically asked, ready for battle. It took a second when he saw Amy chasing her boyfriend and best friend down the hall. "...Uhm."
"Should we... do something?" Tom sounded lost, turning to his wife. Maddie looked just as lost, but instead put her attention back to Yellow- who just looked unimpressed.
"Amy please just stop!"
"I'LL CRUSH YOU THE SAME WAY MARIO CRUSHES THOSE GOOMBAS AND TURN YOU INTO FUCKING COINS!"
"Can't we just hide the hammer?" Blue asked, staring at the weapon in fear as Knuckles held it. Both he and Red refused to go near such a dangerous tool. Even worse than the emeralds, almost.
Amy herself had gone to shower, convinced by Maddie that it would hopefully help her calm down. The two other Mobians, however, couldn't rest. Not with danger in every corner.
"Lessons about the emeralds were the first thing I was taught by my tribe." Knuckles mumbled, not listening to either and putting the hammer away on a shelf. "How could you not know the most basic of the lessons?"
"I forgot!" Red defended himself, pointing at Blue. "I lose more brain cells every day I spent with this idiot, she knows that!'
"Hey!" The hedgehog cried out, offended. "Give me some credit!"
"Did you miss the way Tails turned out?"
"I heard that!" Yellow- whose head was now wrapped with bandages, poked his head out of the ceiling- in Sonic and Tails' bedroom with said fox, wanting to see all the weapons he had built.
The echidna, however, only glared. "You crashed your plane on purpose."
"You jumped out of said plane on more than one occasion!"
"And who did I learn that from?"
"Leave me alone." Blue huffed, crossing his arms and impatiently tapping his foot. "I did what I had to do to stop Eggman! Can't blame me for that."
"That is true." Knuckles approved, patting his shoulder.
"...You jumped into a LAKE."
Knuckles removed his hand. "Excuse me?"
"Oh, he did!" Yellow cheerfully confirmed as he went back into the room. Tails offered him one of his pajamas- which he gladly took.
"...I thought you can't swim?" Sonic asked, sitting on his bed but having overheard. From his position in the bedroom, he didn't see the way Blue turned red.
"Oh, he can't." Yellow put the shirt aside, for now. His fur was itchy and uncomfortable. Sonic tried not to look at his now-wrapped tails for too long. "I had to fish him out."
"I pulled him out too, once or twice... three times..." Red counter, frowning. "Four?"
"It's not like I was trying to drown on purpose!"
"So you were trying?" Now it was Tails' turn to look down. The hero grumbled.
"No-"
"Let's not forget you managed to turn yourself into a werehog somehow." Red shrugged. Blue glared daggers at him.
"Oh I'm sorry, is that coming from mister I-got-tricked-by-Eggman-and-then-blown-up-on-day-one?
"I didn't know the man!"
"He was all over the news how did you not know?!"
"Sorry, how are we related again?" Yellow huffed, choosing not to put on the matching pants and folding them up. Tails frowned.
"But... you're not though."
"Hm... maybe that's a good thing."
Silence.
Before Blue suddenly stormed up the stairs, eyes wide. He didn't even bother to get inside the room- he leaned over the floor using his arms and asked with panic. "Who told you that?!"
"That we're not related?" Both foxes looked a bit confused. Yellow crossed his arms, while Tails walked a bit closer.
"Yeah!" The hero looked horrified, gaze shifting to the floor. "You weren't supposed to find out until you were sixteen! I had this plan and everything!"
"You're not related?" Red sounded shocked from downstairs, as if Tails had just revealed the secrets of Angel Island. Yellow pushed past his older brother to look down, raising an eyebrow.
"Knuckles, I'm a fox."
"I'm aware."
"He's a hedgehog."
"What does that have to do with anything?"
"...I." Sonic opened and closed his mouth, unsure if he should say something or not. "That's... not how DNA works."
"You weren't supposed to know yet!" Blue had crawled inside, miserably laying on the floor on his stomach, distraught. It wasn't the time! He was gonna break it down gently once Yellow was old enough! "And now you feel different and so lost nooooo."
Yellow looked at Blue. Then turned to look at his namesakes, raising them both. Pulling them apart to get a better look, more fur fell out. And turn back to his older brother. "...Sonic."
"I'm the worst brother eeeeeveeeeer!"
"Sonic, my last name is Prower."
"You have a last name?!" Now it was Red's turn to burst inside, looking offended. Then, he narrowed his eyes. "What other secrets have you kept from me?!"
"We're not even the same species!"
"So?!"
"...Just wait till he finds out his first name." Tails mumbled.
"...You know what?" Sonic got up from the bed, all respect for his counterpart gone at this point. Like really? Okay, he wasn't the smartest, he got that, but really? "I'm gonna go hang out downstairs with Donut Lord."
"Take me with you." Yellow groaned, throwing his head up. Looking down when Blue sniffled. "Sonic, you found me in the woods."
"...Yeah. I'm. I'm gonna." Tails himself was speechless, not sure if he should find this sweet or sad. The cub pointed towards the hedgehog. "I'm... gonna go."
"Save yourself." Yellow nodded, turning around to follow. Cringing when he stepped in his fur. Tails noticed.
"Would you want my brush?"
"Please." The older fox looked thankful, lightly scratching his side. The ich was becoming unbearable, he couldn't take it. Besides, these people had been kind- he did not feel like coating their entire house in fur on top of that.
Tails got that feeling. His old home had fur all over the place from the amount of stress he had been in before. And although his comb wasn't needed as many times as before, it was still nice to own one instead of ruining Maddie's.
He found the brush at the back of his drawer- bright red, with golden accents. "You can just brush here if you want- the room is ruined anyway." He giggled. Yellow smiled too. He stared just a bit too long at his counterpart's tails as he climbed down as well, forcing Red to go down so he could get through.
...It was nice to know he wasn't the only one with two tails. Even if it was just some other version of him.
He left his brother to suffer on the floor and sat down on Tails' bed. He pulled his gloves off and started with his arm. And cringed. "...Chaos."
"..." Blue looked up from the ground. His expression softened. "...You can let your guard down, ya know?"
"What guard?" Yellow was unsure if he shouldn't just go outside.
"Come on, bud." The hedgehog got up and stretched his arms above his head until he heard them pop. "The sarcasm, the glares, you're only like that with Eggman. You can drop the act now."
"There's no act."
"Tails-"
"Really, you're worrying about nothing, I just got some small injuries is-"
"Miles."
He shut up at once.
"..." Blue sighed, shoulders slumping, and held out his hand. Without daring to look up, Yellow silently handed him the brush. Then, he sat down on the bed and patted the spot beside him.
"Do we really wanna ruin other me's bed?" Yellow mumbled but sat down anyway. Both of his namesakes curled around Blue without hesitation.
"I'll clean it." The older assured him, pulling the fox so he could lay down in his lap. The younger yelped, but let it happen. Relaxing when he felt the comb on his head, careful of the wound.
He could feel the way the brush combed down his furr, dematting the yellow and orange. Making him feel lighter. It reminded him of when he was little and didn't know how to take care of his fur himself. So Blue would do it for him. He purred softly at the gentle scratches behind his ears, ignoring the chuckle he received.
"It's okay to be scared, ya know." The brush moved from his head down to his neck and back, but the scratches on his ears stayed. "You're still a kid."
"Statistically speaking, you are too." He tried to sound annoyed, but Blue couldn't take him seriously as it sounded more like he was purring than talking.
"There is a difference between fifteen and eight, bud."
Yellow didn't say anything to that.
For a while, they sat in comfortable silence. Blue made sure to comb the orange fur with care, at the same time keeping a lookout for injuries Maddie might have missed. The fox sat perfectly still- the hedgehog would have thought that the kit had long fallen asleep, hadn't he been purring.
It wasn't until he started brushing one of his tails that his little brother asked with a sleepy voice.
"...Sonic?"
"Yeah?"
"You didn't really think I didn't know we're not blood, right?"
Blue snorted. The brush slipped out of his hands as he covered his mouth, struggling to contain his laughter with the way Yellow glared at him.