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Chapter Text

“Sonic, come qui-“ before Tails could finish his sentence Sonic the Hedgehog came running into his workshop. “What took you so long?” He complained.

“I was eating. Meh burger is having a two for six special on their burgers.”

“Doesn’t it normally cost five for two..?”

“Yeah.” Tails blinked, tempted to point out that Sonic, and probably the entire village, was being scammed. But there were more pressing matters at hand.

“Anyways-“ he turned to computer monitor, which had a map of the island pulled up. “I had been working on a device that would allow us to travel to other dimensions, like that time that other Knuckles came here.”

“I’m sensing a “but” coming.”

“But, while I was testing it out there something went wrong and now the machine is broken and I’m picking up strange signals on three different areas of the island.” Sonic glanced at the machine the Tails had been working on. It was smoking still, but nothing seemed wrong. He ran up to it, and almost laughed.

“Um, buddy, was this supposed to be plugged to anything?” The face of shock and embarrassment on Tails’s face was priceless.

“Ugh… okay, name your price.”

“My price to stay quiet about this huh?” Sonic smirked oh so deviously. “Hmm, I’ll think of something, until then, feel free to try and suck up to me to lessen your fate.” Sonic trotted back over to Tails. “So, what is it you need from me my dearest little buddy?” Sonic teased with a cocky grin. Tails growled quietly.

“I need you to head up to the mountains to investigate the signals I’m getting from up there. I already sent Knuckles to the beach  on the other side of the island.”

“Alone?”

“Alone. Amy is out playing that puppy game with Dr. Eggman and Sticks…. Is being Sticks. I will be going to buddy buddy temple where the third signal is coming from.”

“Heh, alright, sounds like it could be fun.” Sonic ran off, returning with a thick coat and snow goggles equipped. “I’ll let you know if I find anything!” And with that he ran off.

“… and he forgot that he could just use the Blue Force One to drive there.” Tails sighed, taking a quick glance at his map before closing him computer and taking off for Buddy Buddy Temple.

~~~

“Hmm, I’m not seeing anything that looks like a weird signal. Then again in movies usually the adventurer monologues a bit before finding clues… hey footprints..!” Sonic noticed very small footprints in the snow. Like really small.

“Hey Tails, any luck yet?” Sonic got no response. “Tails? Can you hear me?”

“Yes.” Sonic felt as though he had never moved as fast as he did im that moment, turning around to look at whoever just spoke behind him. “Down here.” Sonic looked down, and saw a tiny ball of yellow fluff? No wait, that was a two tailed fox kit.

“You… um, have two tails.” He noticed the kit begin fidgeting with his fingers. “N-not that there’s anything wrong with that! I have a friend that has two tails too!” He said quickly, relieved to the the kit go from nervous to interested.

“Really?”

“Yeah, he’s a fox too.” He grinned and looked around, remembering the potentially dangerous signal he was supposed to be looking for. “Say kid, you see anything or anyone else around here?”

“No. I’m looking for my brothers but I can’t find them anywhere.” The kit’s ears drooped sadly. Sonic couldn’t help but find this kit so adorable and fluffy. A double threat indeed. “Can you help me find them mister? Please.” Kneeling down, Sonic scooped the fox kit up.

“I guess I could help you out. And if I don’t im pretty sure I’ll get a hammer to the back of my head later.” The thought of Amy’s wrath after finding out he abandoned a literal child on a snowy mountain made him shudder in utter terror.

“Thank you!” The fox kit shifted a bit, taking off a backpack Sonic just noticed he had. Sonic caught a glimpse inside the backpack, and gulped nervously.

“Thats uh, a lot of toys you got there.”

“Oh, these aren’t toys, they’re my inventions.” The kit whipped out a funny looking gun to show off, accidentally firing it. Sonic’s quills raised in alarm as the poor tree the gun shot blew up. “Oops, sorry.”

“Hehe… um, its okay, but maybe you shouldn’t be playing around with that.” Sonic carefully took the gun away, tucking it away in his quills for safe keeping.

“Aha! Here it is.” The kit took out a tiny device. “I should be able to track their energy signals with this.” Sonic could’ve sworn he heard the kit mumble something about hoping his brothers didn’t need to to use their powers.

“Well when we get down to the village we’ll start looking. Come here, can’t have you freezing or getting left behind.” He unzipped his coat and tucked the kit in, his little head sticking out under his chin. “Comfy?”

“Mhm.”

“Good, now hold on tight, we’re gonna be going fast.”

~~~

“Okay, I have no Idea what I am doing.” Knuckles spoke to himself as he came to a spot. He knew he was on this side of the island for a reason, but what that reason was he couldn’t remember. He knew Tails sent him for something. “Hmm…” he stared out into the ocean.

“Hmm… hey, what are we looking at?” He looked down and saw a little blue hoglet, mimicking his previous motion.

“Uh, I don’t know. I think I’m here to look for something.” The hoglet looked him up and down, then snapped his fingers as an idea came to his head. He opened the cooler and pulled out some grape juice.

“Here, maybe you’re too thirsty to remember.” Knuckles grinned and gladly accepted the juice. He drank it all practically in one big gulp.

“Thanks kid, that was great.” He tried to think, but he was still head empty. “Aw man, I still can’t remember why I’m here… hey whats that shiny thing?” His train of thought quickly shifted as he saw a pretty shiny green thing in the cooler. The hoglet quickly shut the cooler and sat ontop of it.

“W-what shiny thing?” The hoglet tried to play it off.

“Wait theres a shiny thing?” Knuckles asked as he almost immediately forgot about the thing in the cooler.

“Um, nope! Nothing shiny here. But! We were trying to figure out why you’re here.”

“Oh yeah. Well, why are you here?” The hoglet rubbed his chin as he thought.

“Well, I was playing hide and seek with my brothers when I just ended up here. Ugh… of all days for me to not have my rings on me.” Knuckles did his best to absorb the information he had gotten. To his credit he got most of it. “And my phone has no signal so I can’t even call mom or dad.” The hoglet took out a small device from his quills, looking at it with disappointment.

“Oh, I know someone really smart, maybe he can help with that. I’m more of a punching guy, not a smart guy.”

“That sounds perfect! Come on, lead the way! The adventures of Sonic and his new friend, um…” The hoglet looked up at him. “Whats your name?”

“Me am Knuckles.” He watched the hoglet look at him weird, but after a quick head shake he returned to his previous demeanor.

“The adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog and his new friend Knuckles on their quest to find Sonic’s brothers and Knuckles’s friend begins now!- whoa, hey.” The hoglet was very quick to complain when Knuckles casually picked him up.

“Sorry its just, you’re so tiny! And you kinda remind me of one of my friends. He’s blue and called Sonic too.”

“Woah really? Must be a big fan of me then.” Knuckles picked up the cooler and held it in one arm while he let the hoglet get comfortable on his head, grabbing his quills like reins on a horse. “Hya! Onward! Adventure awaits!”

“Yeah!”

~~~

“Fascinating, the energy signals look like they’ve died down… except for this one.” Tails thought aloud as he stood infront of the temple doors to the buddy buddy temple. Whatever was causing the strange signals to show up was inside. Taking a deep breath he stepped inside, yelping as the door closed almost immediately and a trap shot out and tangled him up in netting.

“Well… it could be worse.” He said as he collapsed to the ground. The universe, feeling humorous, decided that things indeed could be worse. Tails sighed as the ground gave way and crumbled beneath him. “And I shouldn’t have said anything.”

As he began to fall he couldn’t help but scream, part of him not wanting to so whatever was in the temple wouldn’t find him, but the other part of him wasn’t too keen on falling to his death.

“Sonic! Knuckles! Amy! Someone help!” He cried out, trying to wriggle himself free so he could fly himself to safety. Nothing he tried seemed to work, and there didn’t seem to be anyone nearby that could help. Or so he thought. His fall was abruptly intercepted in a flash of red.

“Young fox, are you alright?” He looked around, panting heavily as he tried to calm down. “Young fox?”

“Huh?” He looked up. “An echidna..? I thought…” he looked around and noticed he was between the wall and this red echidna, who looked young enough to be classified as a puggle.

“Clearly you are unwell, worry not young fox I will get the both of us out of this booby trap infested dungeon.” Tails blinked. This puggle that looked a lot like Knuckles definitely didn’t act like him.

“I’m okay, just a little shaken up.”

“But you were not shaken, you were falling.” Ah, there was stupidity. No, not stupidity, naivety. “Perhaps that fall has you too startled to think clearly.”

“Yeah, thats what I meant…” he looked around awkwardly. “So, are we going to hand out here or..?”

“Ah, right, apologies. You just bear a great resemblance to one of my brothers.” The puggle commented before starting to climb up, maneuvering Tails to be draped over his shoulder. Tails couldn’t help but gulp when he saw just how high up they were.

“You won’t drop me… right?” He asked hesitantly. He got a distracted noise of acknowledgment. “Okay…” he heard his communicator go off, but couldn’t answer it in his current predicament. He just had to hope that whatever it was wasn’t something important. “So… why are you here..?”

“I could ask you the same thing fox.”

“I was investigating some abnormal signals after one of my machines malfunctioned, not my fault by the way.”

“I was separated from my brothers and simply appeared in this-“

“Temple. This is a temple. Buddy Buddy temple to be specific.” After a few beats of silence Tails spoke up again. “It defies all logic and essentially keeps two individuals trapped inside until they become friends through the temples trials or perish.”

“Hmph, I will not be bested by this temple. I will dishonor this temple.” As if on cue the wall the puggle was climbing on began to rumble and crack.

“That doesn’t sound good.” Tails looked around for any potential saving grace in this situation, but it seemed the puggle had come up with a solution already. Letting go of the wall, the puggle jumped away from the crumbling wall and stretched his arms forward. They began to descend, but slowly. “Whoa… what are you doing? I didn’t think you could fly.”

“I am not flying fox, I am gliding.”

“How?”

“I… do not know. It is just one of my many amazing abilities as the most feared warrior in the galaxy.” Tails looked at the puggle the best he could. He was pretty sure this “most feared warrior” was smaller than him, and younger than him which was definitely concerning.

“What makes you a warrior? Have you fought people before?” The puggle chuckled, but didn’t elaborate and give an actual response. That made Tails all the more uneasy. “Is… is that a yes or a no..?!”

“Don’t worry about it fox.” Tails could hear the smirk the puggle likely had. He smacked his lips and stared down.

“We’re going to be gliding for awhile… wanna play a game?”

“Would I have the fun?”

“Maybe? Its called “Two truths and a lie”. It won’t require any movement other than talking.” The puggle contemplated this proposal.

“How can deceit be fun? Lying does nothing but harm others and is a dishonorable act.” Tails thought on how he should answer, farmulating a delicate response.

“Well you are saying two things that’s true, and when the other person guesses you tell them what was true and what was a lie. Its a bonding thing. Oh! I know.” He cleared his throat. “We can do an example round. Lets see… I am a fox. I am purple. And I have two tails.”

“You are not purple. That is a lie!”

“Correct! I’m not purple. That means you get a point and now, if you didn’t know before, you now know I am a fox with two tails.”

“Interesting… two tails… I think I understand this bonding training now.”

“Good, then it’s your turn. You say two truths and one lie!”

“Very well. The youngest of my brothers hit me with a car, my other brother is a green hedgehog, and I reside with the Lord of Donuts and the Lady or Pretzels.” Tails blinked, trying to figure out what the lie was.

“Um… the second one..? You don’t have a green hedgehog for a brother. He’s blue.”

“That is corrects. How did you know..?”

“I… also have someone like that. Let me guess, his name is Sonic and he runs fast?”

“That is also correct..! Are you a prophet? An oracle perhaps?”

“What no! Well… I know a bit of magic but no I’m none of those things. I just… know someone that’s like that.”

“I see. Well, it is your turn in this game fox.”

“Oh right! Let me think…”

Chapter Text

“Um, mister, I think we’re lost.” Tails spoke up from inside the thick jacket, looking around. It was snowing hard on the mountain, and part of Tails wished there was a creepy cabin with hostile people to dance battle with around the corner. But nope. Just snow and trees. “Maybe we can just pick a direction and go? We’ll end up getting off eventually.”

“Don’t sweat it kid, I know what I’m doing. This mountain is only a few minutes away from the village.” The really big blue hedgehog spoke, giving him a small head pat. Something about this hedgehog, Tails had to admit reminded him of Sonic. From his looks to his speed. “Dang, I can’t see a thing in this snow…”

“We could find shelter and wait out the storm.” Tails offered, checking his device. It couldn’t get reading in the snow, something he made a mental note to fix later. “When the storm dies down we should be able to navigate our way off the mountain.”

“So we have to sit around and wait?” The blue hedgehog sounded repulsed by the very thought of sitting and waiting. “Yeah, no thanks.”

“Well… maybe…” Tails shifted around a bit, emerging from the coat and using his Tails to fly up. “Gimme your hand, I might be able to fly us high enough to see where we need to go.”

“You, uh- won’t I be to heavy for you to life?” The hedgehog hesitated.

“You can’t be any heavier than Knuckles.” He chuckled, grabbing the hedgehog’s hand and flying up. It was difficult. He will admit the hedgehog was definitely heavy, but he managed to fly up with him. Unfortunately he couldn’t make up high enough above the tree line to see much. He let them both gradually fall back down, panting heavily.

“Uh, it was a good try kid.”

“I can try again..! We almost got high enough.” The hedgehog didn’t seem to like that.

“I am not letting you do that again. You’ll hurt yourself.” Oh great, now this hedgehog sounded like Sonic. It wasn’t necessary a bad thing. It just didn’t feel right coming from the stranger. “But, maybe you can fly up by yourself and look around.”

“But I don’t even know what your village looks like.”

“Don’t worry, you literally can’t miss it.” The hedgehog reassured. Then he grinned. “You got this lil bud.” Tails smiled at this.

“Bud..? So, we’re friends?” The hedgehog seemed taken aback by the question.

“Well yeah, sure. Why not?” Tails beamed, tails spinning happily. He jumped up, taking flight.

“I’ll find your village, I promise!” He zoomed upwards, a trail of yellow following him. Once he was high enough he looked around, squinting through the snow. He had to adjust his position in the air every minute or so in an attempt to “Come on… where- Hey! Mr. Hedgehog, I see it!” He called out. He made his way down, looking for his blue friend. He was rightfully concerned when there was no sign of him.

“Mr. Hedgehog..?” He looked around, scared that he had been left behind, or worse, that something had happened to his new friend. “Mr. Hedgehog?!” He called out, walking around the premises.

The sound of talking drew his attention and he made his way to the source. Peeking from behind a tree he saw his friend, but he also saw he was surrounded by crab like robots. And he was talking to someone in a flying egg-shaped device.

He couldn’t make out what they were talking about, all he heard was Sonic, Dr.Eggman, and something about rescheduling a fight? That name, Dr. Eggman. He knew that name. Sonic had called Dr. Robotnik that when they were on top of the tower in San Francisco. And if that blue hedgehog was named Sonic then…

It was like a lightbulb went off in his head. This place, he was in another universe! And this was that universes Sonic, which explained why he had a two tailed friend. That was probably the him of this universe. So then… that could only mean that there was a Dr. Robotnik in this universe. And if he was anything like the Robotnik he knew… he had to get to his brothers! He watched the person fly away, robots following. He felt relieved that his new friend no longer seemed to be in any danger, but that relief was replaced with a new fear. The fear that his brothers weren’t safe.

“Mr Hedgehog!” He called out, emerging from his hiding spot. “I saw the village! Its just that way!”

“Wha- oh, good job kid! I knew you could do it.” He raised his arms, making a grabbing motion as he expected for this bigger Sonic to pick him up like he did before. The bigger Sonic chuckled and scooped him up. “You’re spoiled, you know that?”

“You enable this behaviour.” Tails remarked as he stole the brown handkerchief that was tied around the hedgehogs neck and used it to cover himself. “Now come on. That way!”

“Hmph, okay okay. But you are not keeping my scarf. I mean it.”

~~~

Sonic snorted as he snapped awake, sitting up and wiping the drool from his cheek. He looked around, noticing his new friend had started carrying him in his arms after he feel asleep. He didn’t even remember falling asleep. Then again after the everything that’s happened the past few weeks he really shouldn’t be so surprised that he was this tired.

“Hey,” he tugged on one of the quills gently. “Are we there yet?”

“Um… are we where?”

“You’re village? Your home? Where ever your friend is?” He watched the echidna pause and think. “You… you forgot where we were going?”

“A little. Don’t worry, I’ll get us where we need to go. As soon as I figure out where we are.” Sonic quirked a brow, not really sure Knuckles could do what he claimed. He may not have known the echidna long but he could tell he wasn’t the brightest. But he was nice, and he means well. Sonic could respect that.

“Oh! Maybe we can play a game to pass the time? I know a bunch of great games.” Sonic grinned, mind already racing with ideas. He pulled out his phone, opening up a new note and making a chart to keep score. “Okay, we can play would you rather, twenty questions, or never have I ever.” The echidna stared at him, brain not understanding the words that just came from his mouth.

“Um, okay lets just play never have I ever. So to play all we do is say things we’ve never done before. And if the other has done it then they lose and the other person gets a point.” He explained. He did have to adjust the rules a little, not wanting to move so Knuckles could have a free hand to play the game. He was comfy.

“Sounds complicated…” Knuckles frowned.

“Don’t worry, we can practice first.” Ah yes, the practice round. Something that came in handy when he was teaching his brothers about earthly games and customs. “Ill start okay? Lets see… Never have I ever… eaten real food before the age of twelve. So im saying that I’ve before I was twelve I didn’t eat real food.”

“W…what did you eat?”

“Garbage from trash cans. Donut lord always had the best trash.” Sonic fondly remembered his first bite of discarded pizza crust.

“… okay I know I’m not smart but it doesn’t take someone of average smarts to know… that’s concerning.” Sonic laughed, brushing off the echidna’s concern.

“Its fine, I eat three square meals a day with my new family now. All it took was a mental breakdown, government agents trying to dissect me, a fun road trip and at least two near death experiences.”

“…” Knuckles took a deep breath. “Are you okay?”

“Hah, am I okay? That’s silly of course I’m okay. Yeah I’m a little worried about my brothers who I don’t know the whereabouts of or if their okay, or if their even on this island… and… maybe I am scared that… this will be like what happened with… Longclaw all over again…” Sonic snapped back into a cheerful demeanor after trailing off a little. “But I’m sure their fine! Im fine. Everything is way past cool yknow?”

“You definitely do not sound okay. You’re clearly traumatized and suffering from the affects of keeping those emotions repressed. And now you’re in a situation that is bringing up these traumatic memories and it’s causing you to gradually spiral. It doesn’t help that you have no means of contacting your support systems, for example your brothers or your parents.” Sonic stared at Knuckles in awe, mouth open in shock. “Clearly repression isn’t the healthy approach to handling these emotions, so perhaps you should try talking about it?”

“I-I… how- what?”

“What? Just because im a meathead doesn’t mean I don’t know my stuff when it comes to mental health. Mental health is important.”

“I guess. Are you sure you’re okay? With me talking about myself that is.”

“Why wouldn’t I be?”

“You barely know me.”

“And you barely know me, but we’re still traveling together.” Sonic opened his mouth to argue but no good argument came to him. “Now come on, tell your Unkie Knuckie what’s going on.” Sonic couldn’t help but giggle at that nickname.

“Well, it all started when I was born.”

~~~

Knuckles looked down at the slowly approaching ground. They were closer to the bottom of the temples pit, the thought of being grounded sounding divine. The fox on his shoulder was lost in thought, something he himself couldn’t afford to do. Their game of truth and deceit had been, admittedly, fun. He had learned much about this fox. However the more he pondered the intel he had gotten, the more a theory of his made sense. What was his theory? That him and his brothers had wound up in an alternate yet parallel realm.

“Um Knuckles?” And while he had grown to trust and care for this fox he had a feeling he was somehow behind this predicament. “Knuckles?” And while he did enjoy the company the fox was a constant reminder of his own brothers, who’s location was unknown to him. And their well being… simply put, he was worried about them. “Knuckles!”

He snapped from his thoughts, fists ready for punching. As he looked around for a threat he noticed something. He was no longer gliding. He was standing on solid ground.

“Oh, we have landed.” He remarked, setting the fox down.

“We landed like five minutes ago. What happened? You were just completely out of it.”

“Your concern is appreciated but unnecessary. I am perfectly fine.” The echidna looked at the fox, still entangled in  nets. “Come, let me see if I can free you.” He raised a fist, red electricity crackling around it.

“Ah! No! No no no, you’re going to kill me if you do that!” The fox got really frantic. This confused Knuckles.

“But I will not be punching you. I will punch the ropes that bind you.”

“Im behind the ropes, you’ll hit me too- ACK!” Knuckles had pretended to listen, taking the moment the fox was distracted as an opportunity to punch the nets. The nets did in fact break, but so did something else. “Ow…”

“Are you alright?” The fox coughed in response. “Okay, perhaps you were right about the dangers of punching you free. I am deeply sorry for the damages I have caused.”

“I-it’s fine… just, just a broken rib or two. It’s not a big deal.” The fox was clearly lying, his face screamed that he was in pain. “It could be worse.” The fox instantly looked horrified as the words left his mouth, and as if the universe itself was against them, things got worse. The temple’s ceiling began to crumble. “I… shouldn’t have said anything.”

“Hmph, worry not fox. I shall get us both out of this temple of buddies and then I shall aid you in the fixing of your skeleton.” Knuckles vowed, lifting the fox up with caution. Regardless of the level of care with which he handled the fox it was clear any little thing caused him pain. “I… really am sorry.” He mumbled as he began running.

“It’s fine, really. This is nowhere near as bad as the time I was crushed by a huge hunk of metal. Or the time my plane was shot down and I crashed.” The fix tried to laugh, but it devolved into a coughing fit.

“I… you truly must be resilient and strong to have survived that.” He commended. “Your friends are very lucky to have someone as strong as you as a friend.” Knuckles slid through an opening, getting the two of them into a new area of the temple that was stable.

“Strong? Me? No no- ugh, ow… I’m just the smart one. I’m not strong.” He raised a brow at the fox, unsure why he thought so little of himself or why he didn’t accept the praise. “Everyone on the team has their role. We have the fast one, the strong one, the… temperamental and the paranoid one. I-Im the smart one.”

“And these “roles” you speak of, you are not allowed to deviate from them?” He watched the fox open his mouth, but then close it. He seemed to take in and process what he had said. “Has none of the others ever been smart? Or fast? Or strong? Regardless of “roles”.”

“I… I mean we have but-“

“Then I see no reason why you can’t be smart and strong.” Knuckles interrupted. He spoke up before the fox could. “No, this is not up for debate. Accept the praise and let us continue our quest through this temple of buddies.”

“… okay… thank you.”

Chapter Text

“Zooey, hey, you see Tails?” Sonic asked, walking up to the vixen, fox kit in securely resting in his arms.

“Tails? No I don’t think I have… but I did see Knuckles. He’s at Meh Burgers with the cutest little hoglet. He looks a lot like you actually.” This got the kits attention. “I see you’ve go yourself a little someone too huh? Who’s this?”

“Hi! I’m T…Taylor. Yep, that’s my name.” Sonic could tell the kid was lying, so could Zooey from the looks of it. But they played along.

“Oh, are you friends with that hoglet? He said his name was Sonar.”

“Aren’t these the names from Amy’s play? Not very original…” Sonic’s comment was ignored in favor of Tails excitedly exclaiming that the mysterious hoglet with Knuckles could be one of his brothers.  “Alright, well if you see Tails let him know we’ll be at Meh Burger okay?”

“Sure thing Sonic. Bye Taylor.”

“Bye Miss Zooey!” The kit waved, smiling. “Come on Mr. Hedgehog, or um… Mr. Sonic. Come on!” Sonic grinned as the kit tugged on his jacket.

“Alright alright.” He ran over to Meh Burger, sliding into a seat next to Knuckles who, as Zooey said, was there eating with a blue hoglet. “Hey Knux, fancy meeting you here.”

“Hey Sonic!” Knuckles spoke, mouth full earning a glare from the hoglet.

“Hey, no eating with your mouth full. You’ll choke.” Knuckles apologized after being scolded. Sonic couldn’t help but laugh.

“Getting reprimanded by a baby? Really Knux? Speaking of babies. He kid, this yours?” Sonic held out the fox kit out by the his scruff, the reaction was instantly.

“Tails!”

“Sonic! I mean- uh… dang it. Guess the fox’s out of the bag huh?”

“… oh right, we were keeping it secret. Um, you guys didn’t hear anything..!” Sonic grinned as he watched his baby self try to convince them they heard nothing, taking his brother while he was at it.

“I mean, I already had my suspicions. Maybe Knuckles was fooled though.” Knuckles, who had been zoned out, turned  to look at him.

“Wha?”

“N-Nevermind.” Sonic patted Knuckles on the shoulder. He didn’t want to hurt his brain with the whole dimensional things going on. “So… if you two are with us, I’m going to guess your third brother… your Knuckles, is with our Tails.”

“That makes logical sense.” The kit said, having the audacity to get snuggled up with his neckerchief. Sonic knew the second it was taken from him he’d never get it back. “Oh boy, hopefully he doesn’t try to give Knuckles a handshake.” Sonic watched his hoglet self wince, rubbing his own hand subconsciously.

“Ooooo yeah, if he does… well I hope he’s okay with not being able to use that hand properly ever again.”

“Is he that much of a brute?” Sonic couldn’t help but ask, stealing a nibble of Knuckles’s burger when he was distracted drinking.

“He’s not a brute. He just doesn’t know his own strength.“

“He knows his strength. He just doesn’t know that he shouldn’t use it all the time.” Sonic nodded. That sounded about right. He put Knuckles’s burger back on his plate before he could notice, holding back a laugh as he watched the echidna realize something was off but being unable to figure out what.

“So, Mr Sonic. Is your Tails like me?”

“I’ll tell ya, you’re Knuckles is not like ours. He’s so intelligent.” Sonic, upon hearing his hoglet self say this, checked his pulse.

“Huh, I’m not dead… do you have a fever or something?” The hoglet huffed, crossing his arms.

“No. And I’m serious. He’s really knowle- knowlegab…” the hoglet turned to Tails. “Whats the word?”

“Knowledgeable?”

“Yes! That one. Your Knuckles is a very smart and caring guy. He’s an amazing listener too!” Knuckles absorbed the praise, grinning cheekily at Sonic. Sonic rolled his eyes, but couldn’t help the fond smile that spread across his face.

“… you’re an okay Sonic.” The fox kit said. “5/10 for letting me keep the neckerchief. “You lose points for scaring me by running off on the mountain.” Sonic gasped, dramatically leaning back.

“Oh how you wound me, and after I carried you in my arms for hours, you toss me aside like trash.” The kids giggled, amused by his dramatic reaction.

“So… should we try to get our Tails and your Knuckles or just sit around goofing off?” Sonic asked, back to his normal demeanor.

“Well… are they anywhere dangerous..?”

“Pfft- nah. Buddy Buddy Temple is a joke. They’ve got this. They’re probably already on their way here as we speak.”

~~~

“Sweet Gaia above we’re gonna die! If I don’t make it… tell my plane I loved her.” Tails started hacking as he finished speaking, hunching into himself in the echidna’s arms.

“Do not lose hope yet fox. We can still escape. You said this temple’s purpose is to force those within to become friends. Why would it kill us if it’s goal is to make us bond?” Tails had to admit, the echidna had a point. Now if only that point would stop the room they were trapped in from filling with water that would be nice.

“Aren’t we friends already? I think of you as a friend.”

“And I you. There must be something specific the temple wishes for us to do.” Tails looked around, trying to see if there was any sort of clue. That’s when he spotted it. Some writing on the wall.

“Knuckles, over there.” He pointed. “That might be a hint.” The echidna nodded and ran the two of them over to the writing engraved in the wall.

“What does it say?”

“Um… When the moment comes that the truth reveals itself, the ultimate sacrifice will cement the bonds forged…” he had to pause to cough. “Different yet the same, who shall take the blame?” Tails looked at Knuckles, hoping he’d have any answers as to what the temples riddle meant, but he looks just as lost as him.

“Truth… Ultimate sacrifice?”

“Blame…” Tails reread the riddle a few more times before it clicked. “I- I think I know what truth needs to be revealed.”

“Well then, go on.” Tails took a deep breath.

“I’m, I’m the reason why you’re here. Why you got separated from your brothers. My machine, I had made a pretty dumb mistake and it malfunctioned and brought you here.” Tails looked down. “I brought you into this universe by accident and I can only hope that the other two signals I saw were your brothers. I messed up and I knew since, like a few hours ago, and I didn’t say anything. I’m… I’m sorry.” Tails could hear the rushing water come to a sudden halt.

“I forgive you.” Tails looked up at the great echidna warrior, who he had been certain would’ve been angry at him. But he wasn’t. “And if I was. Im certain that you’re current injury I caused due to a “pretty dumb mistake” would make us even.”

“I… guess. Wow, now I feel dumb for over complicating things.” Tails gave a strained chuckle. “Well since you’re going to help me recover the least I can do is help you and your brothers get home.”

“That sounds like a fair arrangement. And if you try to back out of it your next injury will not be a mistake.” Tails gulped, the thought of Knuckles actually punching him to hurt him sounding like a death sentence.

“I-I’d never, It would be very dishonorable of me to do that.” This got a smirk out of the echidna. A very quick observation Tails had made was that this Knuckles valued honor and wore his heart on his sleeve. “Hm, the waters gone.” He commented after a few seconds of comfortable silence.

“So it is.”

“I guess now we get to the “Ultimate Sacrifice” part.” Tails said as the wall opened up. Knuckles carried him through the opening and into what was hopefully the last room. Inside was a door sealed shut and a button.

“It would seem that one of us might have to sacrifice themselves as the “ultimate sacrifice” for the other to leave…”

“I’ll do it. I’m hurt anyways. A-And maybe my friends could come for me after you escape..?” Tails was ready to stay behind if he needed to. He was set down near the doorway, and Knuckled cracked his namesakes.

“To leave a friend, a member of your tribe, behind is a shameful act. You aren’t staying here…” Tails gasped as the echidna began to crackle with a red energy, the likes of which he had never seen before. Even his eyes went from a royal purple to a fiery red. “And neither will I!”

Chapter Text

“Hey Sonic.” Sonic, as well as his bigger lankier counterpart turned their heads when they heard their name called. He looked at the pink hedgehog that had sat down and joined them at their table. “Hm? Oh! Who are these adorable little kids? You didn’t tell me you were babysitting today.”

“Hey Ames, uh, no we aren’t babysitting. These two are a version of me and Tails from another universe. Another really… really different universe.” Sonic didn’t miss the glance the bigger him gave them. He had opened up a bit more about himself and his brothers, after Knuckles had asked if he wanted to continue their little impromptu therapy session. Apparently going through things like “near death experiences” and “trauma” were concerning and a “big deal”.

“Have you seen Sticks? I haven’t seen here all day.” Sonic was suddenly paying attention to the conversation again, curious who this Sticks person was.

“She’s probably preparing for the those voomba things to take over the world.”

“Who’s Sticks? And uh, who are you? Are you a hedgehog too? I’ve never seen another hedgehog besides me and … me.” Sonic finally spoke up. Both his counterpart and the pink hedgehog looked him, processing what he’d said.

“Oh, well I’m Amy Rose. Yes, I am a hedgehog. You don’t have a me in your universe?”

“N-No? Not that I know of… Tails, you don’t know an Amy Rose right?” He looked to his little bro, who was enjoying being pet by this universe’s Knuckles, purring away. “I’ll take that as a no. Okay-“

“Well consider yourself lucky.” His counterpart tried to whisper, but with his Amy right next to him it was in vain.

“What do you mean by that?! I’ll have you know I am a valuable member of Team Sonic, like you, Knuckles, or Tails!” Sonic pitied his other self when he saw Amy whip out a huge hammer and start swinging. Luckily, he was a fast thinker.

“Woah! That hammer is so cool! Is it heavy? Is that your weapon? Can I swing it? Pleeeeeease?” He used his cuteness as a weapon, a sacred trick he had passed down to his little brother. It had the desired affects. The anger from Amy went away almost instantly. She was clearly happy with his apparent interest in her and answered his questions. He saw his other self mouth a thank you from the corner of his eye. As Amy began explaining her hammer in an unnecessarily detailed fashion Sonic did his best to listen. He really did. But a familiar flash of red in his peripheral vision stole his attention.

~~~

Knuckles ran into the unimpressive village, holding his new and dear friend carefully in his arms. He had to admit, he had expect more from the village that produced someone like the fox, but he supposed that made the fox all the more impressive. He slowed to a halt, reluctantly accepting that he had pushed himself to his limits to escape the temple of buddies. It took almost every single ounce of power he had to free them both. That temple truly was an adversary unlike any other he had encountered before.

He looked down at the fox in his arms who was unconscious now. Another error on his end had resulted in this. In his blind rage of punching without thinking he had failed to notice a huge chunk of rubble about to crush him until the fix had bravely pushed him aside, taking the blow instead. Fortunately there were no more damages to his skeleton. Unfortunately he likely had one of the concussion things that he had heard Maddie speak of.

“Knuckles!” He heard his name being called out and his head shot to look at the source. He felt a great sense of relief when he saw his brothers sitting with, he squited to make sure he was seeing properly and wasn’t suffering from any injuries making him hallucinate, another him, another Somic, and a pink. “Over here!”

He took a single step towards his brothers, before the weakness took hold and forced him to the ground. He cursed to himself, not sure how he didn’t notice how wobbly his legs had been. Even now his arms could barely hold his friend.

“Knuckles, are you okay?”

“Oh my Gaia what happened to you two!

“Taills! What happened in that temple?!”

Knuckles shut his eyes tightly, not really appreciating being overwhelmed by all the voices crowding him so suddenly.  Luckily for him his brothers noticed this and ushered everyone surrounding him back to give him some space. He took a few deep breaths, an earthly custom one uses to relax.

“Knuckles?” He looked to his youngest tribe member and brother. “Are you two okay?”

“I am… simply drained. That temple was a worthy adversary. As for the fox he has a few broken ribs and has a high probability of having a concussion.”

“How did he get those injuries?” He looked at the bigger Sonic, then sighed.

“I may have accidentally punched him when trying to punch him free of a trap he was ensnared in.”

“And the concussion.”

“Rnock…” he mumbled, eyes starting to feel to heavy to keep open.

~~~

Knuckles jolted awake, heart pounding and all of his instincts screaming to be on guard. The weight of his brothers cuddled up against him grounded him, reassuring him there was no danger, no threat, nothing. He was safe.

“Oh, sorry, didn’t mean to wake you.” He looked up, seeing his other self leaning back. His presence must’ve been what woke him. “It’s just, well my Tails explained me the situation. You’re me. But you look so different.”

“As do you. You must be a great warrior.”

“I wouldn’t say I’m a warrior. I’m just the punching guy.” Knuckles raised a brow at his counterpart. “Um, actually I was wondering. Are you… you know… the last one too?”

“I am.” He looked down grimly. He supposed this should have been expected when meeting another him. “What happened to our race in this dimension? What of the Master Emerald? Or the Chaos Emeralds?” His counterpart rubbed the back of his head, brain probably going into overtime.

“I don’t know… I never knew any other echidna’s. And um, whats a Master Emerald? Chaos emeralds..? I’ve never heard of them.”

“I see…” Knuckles sighed. “I envy you, you grew up without such a burden and responsibility to your- our people.”

“I don’t know what envy means but I’m jealous of you.” Knuckles scoffed, not sure how someone like this Knuckles could possibly be jealous of his life. He gestured for his counterpart to continue. “Well, it’s just, I’m pretty sure you’re people are proud of who you’ve become. Im sure if my people could see me they’d be a shamed that the last of their kind turned out to be… well, stupid.”

Knuckles blinked, brow furrowing. He was expecting some petty reason for his counterparts jealousy. But this? He hadn’t been expecting this.

“Well, if it makes you feel any better, you seem pretty smart to me. And… and im proud that you’re a version of me- woah..!” He tensed as his counterpart practically jumped on him, hugging him. “Um… there there..?”

“I’m glad that you’re a me too… you uh, grew up well even with the responsiblinities.” He chuckled, accepting this attempt at comfort. And after a few seconds the sound of snoring made him accept that he was now holding three sleeping brothers.

Chapter Text

“Sonic, are you sure we should be out here?” Sonic looked down at his little brother, giving a confident smile. Sure him, his Tails and his Knuckles had snuck out but it was for a good reason. While their counterparts in this universe were doing their best to make sure their Tails was okay Sonic and his brothers wanted to look around the village and have some bro time. They had talked about their experiences and arrivals yesterday. Tails seemed to like this universes Sonic, Sonic really liked this universe’s Knuckles, and Knuckles seemed to already consider this universes Tails and Knuckles as brothers and members of their new tribe. He even left the Master Emerald with this universes Tails.

“Don’t sweat it pal. This place is really nice. I met some of the locals yesterday. This is a pretty chill place.”

“But this place is not cold.” Sonic looked at Knuckles, who seemed confused by his expression.

“Don’t worry about it. It’s just a saying.”

“I see.”

“Sonic, you know, I just realised something.”

“What is it little bro?” Sonic looked down at his brother.

“You have two eyes. But this universes Sonic has one big eye…” Both Sonic and Knuckles stared at Tails, unsure how to respond to that observation. Luckily, or maybe unluckily, they didn’t have too much time to ponder this revelation as a swarm of crab and bee like robots surrounded them. Sonic pulled Tails close, making sure he was safe between himself and Knuckles. The ground shook as a huge robot with claws stomped towards them.

“Hohoho! Hello Sonic, hope you’re ready to go up against Burn bot 4.0!” The three looked up, staring between the robot and the man in the floating pod thing. Tails tapped his older brothers.

“I-I think that is this universe’s Dr. Robotnik…” he whispered. “And he must think we’re… we’re his version of us…” Sonic looked at Tails, feeling his heart beat accelerating to beat much faster than normal. Knuckles began to glow and crackle with red energy, every instinct telling him to fight and protect. And Tails was cursing to himself for not having any of his gadgets on him. The Amy girl had taken them all away from him for his own safety. How ironic.

“I think we can take him… or maybe correct him..?” Tails looked at his blue brother who was starting to freak out a bit.

“No… no no, I can’t do this- I can’t…” Tails heard noise and looked, it seemed Knuckles was starting to destroy robots. He frowned, deciding to try his own approach.

“Um, hey Mister, we’re not from this dimension. So it would be very appreciated if you could leave us alone?” Tails was pleasantly surprised when the doctor actually listened to him, calling off the big robot.

“Oh, sorry about that. Man I really need to schedule an appointment with my ophthalmologist…” the doctor said after floating down and getting a better look at them. Tails let out a small breath of relief.

“Its okay. I’m just glad you’re actually being calm and rational about this. Is this a trap or something?”

“No? Trapping and holding one of Sonic’s friends captive for him to rescue is scheduled for next week Tuesday.” Eggman said pulling out a calendar and showing it to him. The kit looked it over, and could confirm.

“You schedule fights?” He found himself asking as he returned the calendar. He somewhat acknowledged Knuckles returning to them after destroying the robots.

“Well yes. It’s the polite way to do things.” The doctor grinned. “What? You don’t scheduled fights with your Eggman?”

“I killed him…” Sonic spoke up, not looking like he was handling this situation very well, mentally at least.

“… yeah he killed him like a few weeks ago. To be fair, the you was not nearly this nice. I mean unless you’re also planning on kidnapping Sonic to try to use as a living battery, or dissecting him. Or if you’re planning to shoot at and almost kill me, leave Knuckles to drown after betraying him and becoming a demigod.” Tails explained, noticing how the doctor looked more and more uneasy and concerned with each word that came from him.

“I would never! I’m a villain, not a monster. I- how old even are you three?”

“Fourteen.” Knuckles grumbled. He heard Sonic mumble his age and relayed it. “He said he’s thirteen.”

“And I’m six.”

“Gaia, you’re literal babies! How- wha… are you okay?”

“Hhah no.” Sonic spoke up. He was starting calm down thanks to Knuckle’s comfort. Or attempt at comfort. “Considering our you nearly crushed me and my parents to death last time we interacted I’m not exactly passing the vibe check right now.”

“Do… do want me to go?”

“…maybe. I haven’t decided yet. I’ll let you know in a sec.” The doctor waited patiently. After a few minutes, once Sonic had calmed down enough that he was no longer sparking or hyperventilating, he gave an answer. “You can stay if you agree to not attack us again.”

“Deal! Hey wanna get kidnapped and watch a movie. I just got this cool movie. I mean I totally have other friends I could invite but, you know.”

“Ha! What sort of fools do you take us for? If you think you can lure us into your lair you’re wrong!” Knuckles growled.

“I have grapes ,mint candies, and chilidogs.”

~~~

“I can not believe I allowed myself to be tempted by such desires. I am ashamed.” Tails and Sonic giggled as their oldest brother at his grapes, head hung low in defeat. Their movie had just finished, Sonic was on his fifth chilidog, Tails was on his tenth tin of mints, and Knuckles was going through grapes like they were going out of style.

“So. How was the movie?” The three looked up at Eggman.

“Not as good as Speed but it was pretty good. Eight out of ten.”

“I liked it! Comedy Chips sidekick was so cool too. Nine out of ten.”

“I… did enjoy the Chip of Comedy’s rival. The warrior, despite how misguided he was, was very admirable and strong.”

“Good, I’m glad you three liked it. Nice to know some version of those three have taste.” Robotnik grinned, pouring himself some evil tea.

“Doctor, if you don’t mind me asking, why do you have foods we specifically love? Not that I’m complaining but I thought you were your version of us’s enemies.” Tails blinked. “That didn’t come out the way I thought it would…”

“Well if you must know my relationship with team sonic is actually more of a frienemy one. We’ll battle it out one day and hangout for game night a few hours later.”

“You have games?!” Tails couldn’t help but laugh. He couldn’t believe that’s what he had taken away from that explanation.

“Of course I do. We can play some if youd li-“

“Boss.” Orbot, or simply Orb as Sonic had nicknamed the robot, entered the room. “Team Sonic is rapidly approaching.”

“They probably think you actually kidnapped these kids.” Cubot, or Cubbie, entered behind Orbot.

“Aw man, those party poopers are already here.”

“I don’t see why they think we’ve been captured. We are more than capable of destroying anything you could possibly throw at us. It would be as easy as crushing a newborns skull.” Knuckles huffed, clearly offended that this universes version of Team Sonic thought they were weak.

“Well, point one, they think of us as weak babies that need protecting. And secondly, have you… crushed a newborns skull before..?”

“…” Knuckles just smirked at at him, slowly slipping a grape into his mouth. “… No.”

“Okay good.”

Chapter Text

Sonic looked down at his smaller self, who was holding his hand and staring at the ocean with the same fear he held for it. They were both in life jackets and floaties about to be dragged into the cold cruel ocean waters. Amy had decided that while the his Tails’s and Doctor Eggman were working on get the cellphone thing working she would teach him and the kids how to swim. The little Knuckles already knew so he was helping Amy in the lessons.

“I’ll book it if you do.” Sonic whispered to his younger self. His smaller counterpart genuinely thought about it  for a second and was about to reply when his Knuckles grabbed him and dragged him into the waters. But his Tails intervened, offering himself as tribute to go in first. As soon as Knuckles let go of Sonic the small fox pounced.

“Go! Save yourselves!” The small fox cried out, holding Knuckles back the best he could. “Tell my mom and dad I loved them!” Sonic gave a grim nod.

“We’ll live on for you!” He shouted before making a run for it, scooping up his younger counterpart while he was at it.

“Sonic get back here!” He heard Amy yell, but he wasn’t about to stop and look back. That was just asking for a hammer to the face.

“Your sacrifice will not be forgotten my dear brother!” His smaller self shouted out to the fox before they were too far away. “I’ll miss him dearly… So where we going?” He asked, dropping the dramatic act quickly.

“As far away from Amy as possible. Oh! I know.” Sonic grinned cheekily. “How would you like to go to Roboken, Robot city in the sky?”

“You had me at “go”. Lets go!” Sonic nodded and made a bee line for the desert canyon. Sure he didn’t know how to fly the ship him and Tails had there but how hard could it be?

~~~

“I have no regrets!” Tails yelped as his older brother wrestled him into submission. “I’d do it again!”

“I apologise for letting my brother and your mate escape Lady Rose. I shall venture out and find them while you begin the teaching ceremony with my brother.” Tails watched Amy go red in embarrassment.

“M-mate?! Haha- what are talking about?!”

“Well I have observed your interactions with this realms Sonic and you display the typical behaviour of a mate or “girlfriend”.”

“What? No no, we’re not, I’m not-“ She was cut off by Knuckles shoving Tails at her. “Hey wait! We’re not together like that!” She shouted after the echidna as he ran away in a blur of red. “Ugh…”

“So… you and Sonic-“

“We’re not dating! Even if he is really hot and cool and funny and-“

“And kind, and caring.” Amy looked at the small fox. “What? I thought we were just listing things we liked about Sonic.”

“Your Sonic or mine?”

“Does it matter?”

“Eh, fair point. So, are you ready to learn how to swim from this elegant woman?” Tails looked at her, then the ocean water. He was a bit nervous, swimming wasn’t exactly something he knew how to do well. His past experiences with water in his home village, specifically being thrown into deep waters and struggling to not drown, weren’t exactly pleasant. “Don’t worry, I won’t let anything bad happen to you, okay?”

“Okay… I trust you.” He made a grabby gesture with his hand, asking for her hand to hold for comfort. She gladly grabbed his hand and walked him into the water until he was waste deep. He whispered a little, holding her hand tighter.

“There there, theres nothing to be scared of. Hmm… oh! I think I know a good motivator. Something to inspire you to be brave and face this challenge head on.” Tails looked up at Amy, ears perked with interest. “Since your Sonic doesn’t know how to swim, and you can’t always guarantee Knuckles will be around, learning how to swim is just learning a new skill you can use to help, and maybe even one day save, your Sonic!” Amy looked down at the kit, feeling a sense of pride when she saw his eyes light up with determination.

“You’re right..! Okay, I’m ready to learn.” He gave a face of adorable determination. Amy gave a thumbs up.

“Thats the spirit! I’ll teach you the simplest way for foxes to learn to swim. The doggy paddle. Just paddle your arms and kick your legs so you stay afloat. Try it.” Tails hesitantly let go of Amy’s hand and did as she instructed. It took a few tries, and she did have to pull him up once or twice, but he eventually got it down.

“I’m doing it! Hehe!” He giggled, swimming around Amy. She clapped for him.

“Great job! Do you think your ready for the deep waters?”

“Hah, no.” With his newfound knowledge of swimming he made a break for it, doggy paddling away to freedom. He didn’t get far before a hand on his Tails stopped him dead in his tracks. “Ah! I’m sorry! Don’t hurt me-“ he yelped, instinctively pulling away from the hand.

“Sorry!” Amy held her hands up like a criminal at gunpoint. “I was trying to grab your leg I swear..! Wait- why did you think I would hurt you?” Tails frowned, looked to the side.

“You have a Tails. You should know…”

“Know what? I don’t think there’s anything specific about his Tails. Do they hurt or something.”

“Or something… what was your Tails never bullied or made fun of because he had two Tails?” Amy thought for a moment. She couldn’t recall anyone in the village having any sort of prejudice against Tails because of his namesakes. He’s never been insecure about the extra tail either.

“No… not that I know of.” She sighed, feeling guilty for bringing up some clearly difficult memories for the kit. “Look, I’m sorry. If you want we can stop for now? Maybe we can have a bit of girl time while Knuckles tracks down those two blue devils.” Tails thought for a moment, looking down at himself.

“Im a boy.” Amy laughed.

“I know. But that does mean we can’t have so girlie fun. We can bake, do some knitting, play dress up… we can have so much fun!”

“I guess… yeah okay. Let’s have some “girl time”.” Amy squealed, grabbing the fox kit and throwing him over her shoulder as she got out of the water. She shook herself dry and started running to her house.

”It’s been so long since someone has wanted to have girl time with me. Sticks never wants to do things like this with me.” She rambled.

”Do you think Knuckles… my Knuckles, is okay? Maybe we should find him first?”

”He’s fine. It’s not like there’s anything dangerous on this island anyways.”

Chapter Text

Knuckles grumbled to himself, arms crossed as he travelled in search of the two blue hedgehogs. Learning to swim was a must, it was vital for survival, and yet both Sonic’s refused to even touch the water. Though… a part of him did understand. After Robotnik had betrayed him, leaving him trapped under rubble as the chamber the master emerald had been held in flooded, he too had a bit of hesitancy when it came to water. He had been certain that he would die there, alone a trapped, a failure to his tribe. But he didn’t. Despite his apparent fear, Sonic faced the water head on and saved him. He wondered if this universe’s Sonic was like that. Never daring to touch the water, but if one if his friends were trapped beneath it he’d be willing to drown trying to save them.

The sound of a twig snapping alerted Knuckles, who raised his fists and surveyed the area. Whatever made that sound was close, he knew it. He looked down, focusing on listening. That is until he saw a shadow approaching his own. A mobian shadow, a threat. Without hesitation he turned around and swung. The mysterious mobian jumped back, just barely missing Knuckles’s fists. The echidna backed up from the threat, taking a second to take in the mystery guys look. He was a hedgehog. Definitely from this universe. He hand black and red quills and a patch of white fluff on his chest. He had rings inhibitors on, something he knew a thing or two about. Whoever this was must be powerful if he had those.

“Who are you?” He demanded, ready to attack or dodge if need be. The hedgehog huffed, glaring at him.

“I am Shadow the Hedgehog, the ultimate lifeform. I am here to destroy the pathetic blue hedgehog. His reliance on “friends” brings shame to all hedgehog kind. And from what I’ve seen, you are one of those friends.” This hedgehog, Shadow suddenly disappeared. When he turned around check his back he was greeted with a kick to the face that sent him tumbling down. “And all those who are friends with that hedgehog must perish.”

“You are wrong Shadow, the ultimate lifeform. You speak a big talk and yet you know nothing of honor and shame.” Knuckles wiped his face, raising his fists. “It is you and your hatred that bring dishonor on your kind.” That hit a nerve, that definitely hit a nerve as Shadow charged at the echidna swinging a punch. Knuckles couldn’t help but notice how similar this hedgehog was to Sonic. Easy to anger…

“Agh!” Shadow growled as Knuckles charged up his fist and decked him in the face. And just like Sonic, once he got riled up and angry he was easy to hit. The only difference was that Sonic fought with his heart, with honor, with passion. Shadow fought for shallow petty reasons. “Hmph… you’re tougher than other stupid Echidna-“ Knuckles didn’t let him continue speaking. He shut up the hedgehog up with a punch to the gut.

“Don’t you dare speak ill of him or any other member of my tribe!” He growled. He watched the hedgehog struggle to stand up. He couldn’t help but ask a question floating around in his head. “Why do you believe Sonic having friends is dishonorable?”

“Because friends are weakness!” Knuckles could tell there was something more, but he wasn’t in any position to pry.

“Very well. Let us test this ideology of yours. You and me, fight, right here right now. You win and I’ll let you Destroy Sonic and his friends. Me included. But!” He smirked. “I win, and you come with me, drop this… brooding loner act, and become friends with the others.” He watched Shadow contemplate this offer.

“And what does this prove exactly?”

“That you are wrong.” Knuckles answered simply.

“Ffffine.” The hedgehog stood up straight, cracking his knuckles as he readied to attack. “You’ll regret challenging me when I’m done with you, assuming I let you live that long.” Knuckles stood at the ready, eyes dead set on his opponent.

”i will not fail my tribe again.”

~~~

Tails looked out the window of Amy’s house, frowning as he watched the sun setting. He was worried about his brothers. He knew he shouldn’t be, after all Knuckles was a literal warrior and Somic was with… Sonic. Somewhere. He just hoped they were both safe and having fun like he was. Speaking of fun, he got back up and fixed himself up. Amy had gone all out with the girl time. They had facials, did their nails, and even got to talk about dismantling the government. Theoretically of course.

Now Tails was standing by the door, all dolled up with his eyelashes and eyeshadow done, his fur neatly brushed, wearing a red bandana around his neck and rocking a pair of sky blue and white sneakers with orange laces. He was waiting on Amy, who was getting dressed up. She decided the two of them weren’t about to wait around all night worrying over those mean boys after trying and failing to contact her Sonic multiple times. Instead they were going out for the night. She even made dinner arrangements.

Tails had to admit he was both excited and nervous. He already made it a plan to stick to Amy like they were glued together, not wanting to get lost.

He’d already checked in on his other self and Eggman about an hour ago, checking to see if they wanted help with Sonic’s phone. Of course they didn’t, but they had offered to let him stay if he wanted. He didn’t see the need, but did give his other self a stern Wachowski warning to go to sleep at a reasonable time since he was still injured.

“Alright, I’m ready.” Any called out as she left her room, putting a note for the Sonics and Knuckles where they could easily see it. “Ready to have some fun?”

“Y-yes Ms Amy! Um, are you leaving your communicator?” Tails asked, noticing she didn’t have her wrist communicator.

“Yeah, we won’t need it.”

“Oh… okay!” He smiled, grabbing her hand as they left the shack.

Chapter Text

“Give it up Echidna, you can’t win…” Knuckles looked up at his opponent, both of them were batter, bruised, and bleeding after hours upon hours of fighting. He noticed the sun set, and now the sun was rising. Now both him and his opponent were exhausted and beaten. And yet, he refused to stay down, mustering up the strength to stand. The black and red hedgehog did as well.

“I… can’t lose to you…” Knuckles weakly growled, hating how his legs wobbled weakly and his clenched fists trembled. He could bare summon the energy to charge his attacks anymore, but then again neither could Shadow. The jungle area they were fighting in was completely cleared out, looking like he battleground it was. Knuckles was just glad he was able to save a nest of baby birds that Shadow had nearly destroyed.

“And I can’t lose to you either.” Shadow took a few steps towards him before nearly collapsing. Knuckles shakily approached Shadow. “I will not lose my dignity playing friends with those weaklings. Friendship is nothing but weakness..!”

“…” Knuckles swayed, almost falling over. “You lost someone… didn’t you?” Knuckles rasped. Knuckles wasn’t expecting for this to summon a second wind in the hedgehog, but it did. Before he could even register what happened he was on the ground, arms pinned to the ground by the hedgehogs knees while his hands wrapped around his small throat. Not tight enough to suffocate, but tight enough for him feel fear.

“Sh… shut up! You don’t know anything about me, about what I’ve been through!” The hands around his neck slowly tightened.

“Y-you’re right… I don’t. But I do know the pain of loosing someone… everyone you know and love…” his opponent trembled, but not from exhaustion or pain this time. If a few tear droplets fell onto his face from the hedgehog above him, well he didn’t say anything. “And… and I know how hard it can be to move past that pain. How hard it can be to cheerful after losing it all.”

“Quiet!” Shadow snapped, tightening his grip on his neck to the fullest. “You can’t win me over with your stupid sob stories! You can’t change who I am..!” Knuckles started struggling, a natural response to being choked. “I can’t… I can’t change who I am…” Knuckles choked out something, he wasn’t even sure if it was a word of comfort for his enemy or a plea for air. “…”

Knuckles gasped in a deep breath, his lungs greedily demanding air. As soon as the weight if his enemy was off of him he flipped over, body coughing out while trying to breath in. When he finally had the strength to he looked up.

“How did you move on..? Those friends of yours?” Shadow asked, looking stoic despite the tears streaming down his face.

“Not friends… I found a new family. A new tribe. They are my everything, my new purpose. I will never truly replace what I’ve lost… I will never fully heal, but that doesn’t mean I can’t learn to be happy again. That I can’t learn to love again.” Knuckles stood up, cringing at the pain radiating throughout him. “And you can too…”

Knuckles held out a hand to Shadow, an offering of peace, an offering of friendship, of brotherhood. Shadow scoffed, but took ahold of his hand. Knuckles barely had time to react as Shadow collapsed, catching the hedgehog before he could fall.

“Hhah… I guess… your ideology was stronger than mine…” After saying that Knuckles felt the hedgehog go limp and finally give in to his exhaustion. Knuckles slowly fell to his knees, being careful not to hurt Shadow as he too gave in. He could’ve sworn he heard someone familiar as he passed out.

~~~

“Whoo! That was so fun!” Amy cheers as she and Tails entered her shack. She wasn’t too surprised that it was still empty. “Best night of my life…” she yawned, the adrenaline dying down making her tired. She looked back, seeing a very sleepy fox kit holding onto the hem of her dress for support. With a gentle smile she picked the kit up and brought him to her bedroom, placing him on her bed and tucking him in. “You get some rest okay? I’m going to go check on those two geniuses.” The kit nodded tiredly, already well on his way to sleeping.

She wasted no time sneaking out to give him so quiet time. She had to admit, she might’ve pushed a bit to far with the partying. But she was sure he had fun. He was just exhausted. As she exited her house her ear flicked and she sharply turned, staring at a bush she could’ve sworn moved. Chalking it up to being tired she ignored it.

She made he way to Tails’s house, knocking before letting herself in. She wasn’t surprised to see the doctor and Tails eating while while working.

“Oh, hey Amy! Guess what? I almost have a signal that will let Sonic contact his parents on this phone thing.” Tails grinned.

“Ahem… I was the one that made the breakthrough.” Eggman corrected Tails, who rubbed the back of his head shyly.

“Right, sorry.” Tails turned his attention back to her. “You should bring them over.”

“Well… about that… Sonic ran off with himself and the small Knuckles went after them. And Tails spent the night partying with me so…” Amy chuckled nervously. “So I only really know where on of them are… say, where’s Knuckles? Wasn’t he watching that Emerald thing?”

“Oh, he just went out for a walk with it. I think he’s emotionally attached to it.” Tails explained.

“Hmm… I hate to say this… but I have a really bad feeling about this…”

“Oh come on pink hedgehog.” Eggman sighed. “Its Sonic and Knuckles. What could possibly go wrong without me?”

~~~

“Bye Cybros!” Sonic waved to the group of cyborgs as he boarded the ship with his bigger counterpart. With it being a new day his older counterpart had deemed it safe to return without being forced to swim. While Sonic did feel bad for more or less ditching his brothers, but he would make it up to them. “I like Roboken. This place is way past cool.”

“Can you believe it used to be called Morristown?” Sonic’s jaw dropped at the name.

“What?” His bigger counterpart tried to contain a laugh.

“Yup! It was so anti climactic.” He sat in the drivers seat, getting the ship up and running. “So, you have fun?”

“Of course I did! There was so many cool things, and robots, and chilidogs, and the cyborg team Sonic, and-“

“Okay, okay I get it.” Sonic looked at his other self, deciding to ask a question he’d been thinking about.

“Hey, when we leave… are we allowed to come visit?” He asked as the ship started to take off.

“Of course..! Why wouldn’t you be? It’s not like you guys being here has caused any trouble.” He smiled, tail wagging.

“Oh boy, maybe you guys can come to our universe! Just need to be careful with the Government.”

“Speaking of government-“ his counterpart interrupted. “I wonder where Sticks is. She went MIA the day you three kids got here.” Sonic didn’t really know much about this Sticks girl other than what he knew about her cyborg self.

“Hm…” he hummed. The rest of the flight back was relatively quiet, calm. It was nice. This was nice. Aside from the occasional question or comment Sonic was able to sit back and relax. Though he mainly used that time to plan a way to make things up to his brothers.

He didn’t even notice when they landed, only coming back from his thoughts when he was picked up

“Feeling sleepy kid?” He nodded at his counterparts question. Spending all day and night mingling with robots was tiring. “Well don’t you worry. We can both get some shut eye at my pla- ow!” Sonic was suddenly dropped, landing face first into the sand. It wasn’t until he felt his counterpart fall beside him that he got up. He looked him over, panic rising within him. When he saw the cause of his friends sudden action he couldn’t help but gasp, covering his mouth in an attempt to stifle the sound. A dart, with a very familiar red symbol. He reached to take the dart out of his friends leg went a sharp sudden pain. He looked to his arm, and the dart now sticking out of it.

“No… no no..!” He ripped it out, but he knew by the overwhelming drowsiness that it was too late. “No please…” he whimpered, fighting to stay conscious. He saw someone walk up next to him and used what little strength he had to look up at his attacker. His eyes widened at the sight. “It…it can’t be..!”

”Oh, but it is.” Were the last words Sonic hear before his body gave into the welcoming embrace of unconsciousness.

Chapter Text

Sonic opened his eyes groggily, his entire being overheated and lethargic. The sun was beating down on him, and the dryness in the area wasn’t helping. His legs felt like spaghetti and his head was still in a cloud.  Regardless, he pushed himself up, looking around. Something wasn’t right…

“Kid..? Kid! Hey..! Sonic..?!” He called out, frantically looking around. He had to admit calling out his own name was a bit weird. “Come on kid, if this is a joke it’s not very funny!” Despite say this, a huge part of him hoped that he’d hear his smaller selves giggles behind a rock, or see his quills sticking out from a hiding spot. “O-Okay Kid, you got me. You can come out now. Please…” This too yielded no response. His noodle legs gave out on him at the revelation that his other self, a literal baby, was gone. Snatched. Taken. And he was unable to stop it.

A blue light caught his attention, pulling him out if his self pity. He looked, and saw a small blue quill, crackling with energy. One of Sonic Wachowski’s quills. He grabbed it carefully, very glad he wasn’t shocked by it. He stared at it, twirling it between his fingers as he thought. He gripped the quill tightly and gritted his teeth.

He forced himself up to his feet once more, ignoring the wobbling. He couldn’t just sit around moping. He had to do something. And maybe this quill could help. He just needed to get to his friends.

He took a step forward, and instantly fell flat on his face.

Okay, so walking wasn’t going to work. He pulled his arm over to his face, turning on his communicator. As he thought about who to contact he remembered something.

“Knuckles..! Come in.” He waited for a response. And waited. And waited… “Knuckles come on… it’s important!” That normally would get a response from Knuckles if he was busy. But this time there was nothing. He thumped his head on the ground in frustration. His Knuckles had been holding onto the “Master Emerald” thing for the kids, but if someone was going after said kids then they might go after the emerald. Assuming they didn’t already.

“Tails! Come in, we have a situation.”

~~~

Tails groaned, reluctant to wake up. The only reason he was even waking up from his sleep was because he was aware enough to feel cold and uncomfortable. He frowned, trying to move to get comfortable, or at least get a blanket. Reaching around he couldn’t feel a blanket. Or a pillow… or a bed. Confused, he sat up, rubbing his eyes before taking in his surroundings. He was in a small glass containment tube, and in front of him to his left and right were his brothers, unconscious, in tubes similar to his own. Similar, but not exactly the same. His own tube was simple, however Knuckles was heavily reinforced to account for his strength and Sonic’s was reinforced for the electric charge he could easily let out if he runs. And then in the center of the room, in a tube of it’s very own, was the Master Emerald.

He wasn’t sure if he should be scared considering his situation or offended that he was deemed so little of a threat that he got a basic containment tube. He stood up, zooming around his tube. He poked and probed, observed and made note of every little detail, looking for any little flaw he could exploit to escape. After all, if whoever had taken him underestimated him this much, there was a great chance of his tube being escapable.

He bit back a grin and a victory cheer as he spotted his confinements first flaw. A loose screw. He only hid his excitement in case he was being watched. A very likely possibility. To test his theory he feigned defeat, leaning back against against the thick glass of his cylindrical prison and sighed. It took a few moments, but as expected his captor had been watch and was now ready to gloat.

Two figured casually strolled into the room, their eyes dead set on him. He gulped, a bit of fear setting in. He recognized one from his time watching Sonic’s adventures. Agent Stone.

The other however was an odd one. He had a striking resemblance to Dr. Eggman, but everything was different. He carried himself with confidence, dressed in dark formal clothing. He lacked the small glint of kindness Tails would see in the doctor, and he definitely didn’t look like he just wanted to watch a movie and chill.

“I see you’re awake Miles.” Tails frowned a little, the right to use his real name was reserved for his closest friends and family. Not this guy. “I’m sure you’ve noticed by now, but in case you haven’t, you’re completely trapped and at my mercy.”

“Sorry, never heard of you. Why should I be scared again?” Tails snarked back, employing Sonic’s strategy of light taunting. It did the trick as the doctor got angry very quickly.

“I am Lord Eggman! And you’d be wise to fear me, fox.” Tails thought for a moment.

“Okay Lord Eggface, wanna explain why you kidnapped me and my brothers and what you want with us?” He crossed his arms.

“My plans are none of your business.” Lord Eggman huffed.

“My lord, might I suggest some sort of… punishment for the fox? After all no one should get to insult you without consequences.” Tails looked to Agent Stone, the gears in his mind turning. Agent Stone wasn’t talking to Lord Eggman with the same admiration and devotion he did with Robotnik. Furthermore he must’ve told Lord Eggman about him, his brothers, and the Master Emerald. So… why hadn’t the Lord absorbed it like Robotnik did? Unless he didn’t know he could. Unless Agent Stone hadn’t told him he could.

“Hmm, excellent idea Stone. Activate the sound proofing shield, then start him off at 500 volts. One minute breathers every two minutes.” The Lord said before turning his back to him. “I’ll be back in a few hours. Assuming you’re alive by then I’m sure you’ll have learned to fear me.” The Lord walked away proudly, Agent Stone following. As soon as they were out of the room Tails began banging on the glass.

“Sonic! Knuckles! Wake up!” He shouted, noticing a blue forcefield of sorts encase his tube. “No… no-“ he had a very bad feeling about this. Especially with Lord Eggman mentioning volts.

“Come on… Sonic, Knuckles please-“ his attempt to wake up his brothers was interrupted by a strange surreal sensation. It was like everything went black with crackles of white, he could move, he wasn’t even sure he was breathing. If it weren’t for the fact that he could hear the snapping and crackling of electricity around him he wouldn’t have known he was being electrocuted.

When it finally stopped he collapsed flat on the ground, struggling to breath. After a few seconds, when he could finally breath steadily again the excruciating pain of the electrical burns hit him like a truck. His stomach dropped in dread as he realized this was just the beginning.

Chapter Text

“Sonic…”

“Sonic.”

“Sonic!” Sonic jolted awake at the sound of his older brothers voice, beginning to bounce around the tight space he was trapped in. He stopped on the glass wall of his tube shaped capsule prison. Rubbing his nose after the impact he looked around.

“Knuckles..?” He groaned. “What happened..? Where are we?”

“I have no idea. The last thing I remember was fighting Shadow the Ultimate Life form for the honor of my tribe and to defy his beliefs. I won, but this doesn’t exactly feel like victory.” Sonic frowned, looking at the Master Emerald that was in the center of the room.

“Wait… if you’re here, and the Master Emerald is here… where’s Tails?” Sonic noticed Knuckles tense. “What? What is it?” Knuckles pointed to a capsule diagonal to him. It was lit up with electricity. He watched it in anticipation and as soon as the electricity stopped he understood.

“Tails!” Sonic shouted, banging against the thick glass around him. He watched as his little buddy collapsed, fur singed from the shock. “Knuckles, can’t you break out? Do something? Anything?!”

“Right now there’s nothing I can do. My previous battle drained me, if I tried to throw even a single punch it would be weak.” Knuckles crossed his arms. “Right now all I can do is try to recover my strength and energy. Otherwise I’ll just waste the little bit I have.” Sonic huffed, kicking the glass in frustration.

“Any idea how long we’ve been here..?” Sonic asked, slumping against the glass and sliding down to sit. He turned to look away as his little brother was shocked again, ears flattening sadly.

“Well… the fox’s… thing-“ Knuckles didn’t know how to refer to the electrical torture Tails was enduring as. “Lasts about two minutes each. And his breaks almost a minute. If I am correct in my counting I can say I’ve been awake for almost two hours.”

“Two hours?!” Sonic’s heart sank. “We have to to get Tails out of there! We have to get outta here!”

“Sonic we can’t. And even if we did we have no idea where we are, who’s holding us, and what other measures are set in place to keep us here if we do escape. I understand you’re-“

“No you don’t understand! If you did you would be trying to do something!”

“Sonic, we need to think rationally. Lashing out and acting without thinking will not help us.” Knuckles scolded. Sonic wanted to shout in frustration

“I can’t just do nothing!”

“Then what exactly do you plan to?” Both Sonic and Knuckles turned to the door, seeing the darker crueller Dr. Eggman, Lord Eggman. “Not that it matters. There’s nothing you can do.” The Lord laughed, strolling past the hedgehog and echidna, ignoring their questions and demands and walking up to Tails.

“Leave. Him. Alone.” Sonic snarled. He was ignored, which angered him even more. Sonic glanced over, seeing Knuckles silently seethe as the Lord had Tails’s capsule opened.

“So, have you learned your lesson?” Sonic could practically hear the smug smirk in the Lord’s voice. It broke his heart to see his little bro nod, hunched over on the ground and holding a trembling hand to his mouth. “Well, maybe I’d be willing to put an end to your punishment… all you have to do is beg for mercy.” Both Sonic and Knuckles were weakly crackling with energy, their anger triggering their power.

“Hm? Speak up, I can’t hear you.” Tails weakly gestured for the Lord to come closer. “Tch.” The Lord, despite sounding annoyed, leaned closer to Tails. Sonic internally cursed, unable to see any of his brother with the faker Eggman kneeling over him.

His and Knuckles anger was replaced with confusion and a hint of hope in almost an instant as Tails lunged at Lord Eggman, shoving something in his eye.

“You’re mechanic skills are non existent…” he rasped as Lord Eggman fell back, holding his injured eye. “Loose screws aren’t ideal for a containment capsule.”

~~~

Sonic sat, arms crossed as he thought. A lot of revelations had happened since he was carried back to Tail’s workshop. All three of the kids were gone, the Master Emerald and Knuckles were gone, and Shadow was apparently on their side now after little Knuckles beat his butt.

He had given the quill his other self dropped to Tails to hopefully help track them down. Other than that there wasn’t much he could do. And that made him incredibly restless. His foot tapped rapidly on the ground, body so full of energy now that he wasn’t under the effects of the dart he’d been hit with. But Shadow leaning agains the wall to his right and Amy sitting down and trying to hide the fact that she was crying on his left kept him from leaving.

“Tails you… you said that you got that phone thing working right?” He spoke up after being quiet pretty much the entire time since he’s returned. It clearly startled Tails who was intensely working to track down the three kids.

“Oh! Uh- yeah. Why?”

“I want to see it.”

“Okay..?” Tails got up from what he was doing and went to his work desk, handing the phone to Sonic. He took it and turned it on, searching through the icons that had appeared. If Shadow happened to lean over and observe what he was doing he didn’t say anything, and if he angled the phone so Shadow could see better then that was just a coincidence.

Finally he found the icon he was looking for. It had a speech bubble and a red circle on it with a huge number. Once he clicked on it and it loaded he saw that his other self had a barrage of messages from a Donut Lord and Pretzel Lady. He decided to click on the Donut Lord’s messages.

“Sonic where are you right now?”

“You boys weren’t supposed to leave the back yard we talked about this”

“Sonic.”

“Sonic it’s been an hour, come home this instant young man.”

“Please? If you’re out trying to be a hero again we will be having a long talk”

“Im going out to look for you three right now!”

“Sonic Wachowski answer your phone!”

“Look, its dinner time can you boys please just come home? I promise we won’t be mad.”

“Son please just answer so we know you’re okay.”

“The attic window is open for you boys. Please come home.”

“Did we do something wrong?”

“Please whatever’s going on with you three we can help.”

“No one in towns seen you boys. Where are you?”

“We just got home from visiting the G.U.N. HQ, you weren’t there either. Please just send a picture of where you are.”

“I still have your rings and map, you couldn’t have left the planet.”

“We’ll let you boys eat and watch whatever you want for a month just please come home.”

Sonic took a shaky breath, scrolling through the messages was… difficult. With this Donut Lord being his little selfs father he could assume that the Pretzel Lady was him mother. He finally reached the end of the messages, the last one sent being an hour ago.

He stood up with a deep breath and clicked on the camera icon, taking a picture of an empty area in the workshop, and sending it along with a simple message.

“Come with the Pretzel Lady, I’ll explain everything. Come prepared.”

He then sat back down, shut off the phone, and went back to tapping his foot, staring at the empty area in anticipation. It only took a few minutes for something to happen, a golden ring appeared in the spot he’d taken a picture of with two humans stepping out armed with a dart gun and a medical kit.

“Hello Donut Lord, Pretzel Lady… I have good news and bad news.” He said, getting back up and walking over to the two humans, a strange sight considering the only other human he’s ever know is Eggman. “Good new, your Sonic, Tails and Knuckles are in this universe and were safe with us for the past few days. Bad news, someone kidnapped them from us and we haven’t gotten them back yet.”

“Better news!” Tails chimed in, getting everyone’s attention. “I got their signal.”

Chapter Text

Knuckles watches solemnly as Tails weakly struggled to free him. He only had a minute or so before Lord Eggman recovered from the attack and went after him. He looked at Sonic, they both nodded at each other in understanding.

“Tails, you need to go.” Knuckles chose to be the one to say it. “We will be okay. Sonic and I are strong.”

“No- I-I can figure this out… I won’t leave you here, either of you.” Tails desperately clawed at the spot between the glass and the metal of the containment tube.

“Tails, dont worry. You aren’t leaving us.” Sonic spoke up, raising a fist up and pressing it against the glass. Knuckles mimicked Sonic’s action. “You’re just finding another way to get us outta here. We can power bump on it.” Holding back tears Tails nodded, giving Knuckles a power bump through the glass and then running over to do the same with Sonic.

“I promise you, both of you… I’m-I will come back for you. Wait for me…” Sonic gave him a thumbs up of approval. And so, with a look of determination, Tails ran out of the room. Knuckles crossed his arms, smiling a little.

“He will be okay.” He said, whether to assure himself or Sonic it didn’t matter.

“Agent Stone!” Lord Eggman hissed into his wrist communicator, free hand holding his impaled eye. “Mobilize all units, I want that fox found! Dead or Alive.” The Lord glared at Sonic and Knuckles. “And Agent Stone. Begin the energy extraction and transformation.”

“Yes my Lord.” Knuckles could here the Agents voice come from the communicator. He closed his eyes and braced for whatever the energy extraction and transformation would entail, hearing Lord Eggman stomp out of the room. He braced himself for whatever pains were coming. But nothing came. He peeked open an eye, seeing a strange mist humming with life and energy smoking off of him and into a now opened tube above him. It was an odd sensation. Like constant tingles and pins and needles inside his skin, but completely numbness outside. The air around him felt thick, almost like he was underwater struggling to breath. And from the looks of it the same thing was happening to Sonic.

~~~

Tails ran through the maze like corridors, wishing he had even an ounce of strength to spin his tails with and speed up. But he barely had enough energy to breath properly. He looked up, ears flicking as an announcement came over the speakers.

“All units, find and capture that fox! Use lethal force if necessary.” Tails recognized Agents voice over the speakers. He had to admit, he was definitely panicking. He couldn’t find a way out and now he was going to be hunted down by robots. He looked behind him, then back infront. There were no robots yet, so he slowed down, leaning against a wall while he gasped for air. He ended up coughing and gagging, the smell of his own burnt fur and somewhat burnt skin wasn’t exactly pleasant.

He tried to start running again, only to fall to his knees. With the adrenaline rush of escaping dying down, the pain of almost four hours of electrocution came back with a vengeance. Regardless he willed himself up, using the wall for support as he hobbled along. He almost made it to the next turn when something grabbed him.

He struggle weakly at first, slurring what was supposed to be a “You won’t take me alive!”

“Relax kid, I’m on your side.” A female voice, not Amy, spoke. “You must be one of those rascals the other Knuckles was talking about.” Tails was lifted up and brought face to face with a badger dressed in feral rags with a wooden eyepatch over her left eye.

“Huh..? Who..?

“I’m Sticks, leader of the Rebellion. There are two other rascals here right?” Tails nodded without hesitation. Sticks leaned into her communicator, beginning to run as badniks started to speed at them. “Amy, I got one of the half-pints. Im handing him off to you and going back for the others. Tails, any updates on contacting that other universe?” Tails held onto Sticks for dear life, he may not know her but she seemed like she was trying to help. Knowing that he was in somewhat trustworthy and safe hands, knowing that this Sticks person planned on saving his brothers, he let himself completely relax, not even realizing when he passed out.

~~~

Tom had to admit, when his sons went missing for about three days he hadn’t been expecting for this to be the reason why.  He hadn’t been expecting any of this. Him and his wife were now standing in a workshop, with an alternate version of Sonic and Tails, a pink hedgehog, and a black and red hedgehog.

Maddie was sitting next to the black and red hedgehog, Shadow, making small talk while offering a comforting side hug to Amy.

They both had already assured the mobians that they didn’t blame any of them for what was happening at all, something that none of them seemed to have expected. Amy blamed herself for leaving their Tails alone sleeping which resulted in him being taken, the other Sonic blamed himself for not being alert enough to protect their Sonic, Shadow blamed himself for draining their Knuckles of his energy during their fight which left him vulnerable to be taken, and lastly the other Tails blamed himself for messing up and accidentally bringing their kids to this universe in the first place.

Tom was leaning over the other Sonic and Tails, watching them try to figure out how to get to the signal of their kids. Watching the two he noted the similarities and differences between them and his Sonic and Tails, besides the obvious size and age difference. Out of curiosity, or maybe just parental instincts, he brought a hand up to the other Sonics head and and gently placed it there. Then, ever so carefully, he dug his fingers into the other Sonic’s quills, and began giving him some dad approved scalp massaging pets. The reaction was instant. The other Sonic going from tense and stressed to calm and pliant.

With a grin he brought his other hand up and gently placed it on the other Tails’s head. Tails noticeable flinched at the contact, so Tom employed his favorite tactic to use against his Tails. He moved his hand behind the other Tails’s right ear and began petting him their. Just like with Sonic, the reaction was instantaneous. Tails’s fingers stopped typing and he leaned into the touch with a purr.

“We’ve been at this for awhile now… I think a Wachowski family lunch is in order.” He said, turning to look at Maddie.

“Thats sounds like a great idea.”

Chapter Text

“Alright everyone, some home made cheeseburgers!” Maddie smiled as she served the four Mobians their burgers, then herself and her husband. “Enjoy!” She sat next to Tom and began eating.

“Woah… this tastes amazing!” The other Sonic practically had stars of amazement in his eyes. “Whats your secret.” Maddie giggled, swallowing her bite of burger.

“Sorry, but that’s a Wachowski family secret.” She winked. The other Sonic pouted, continuing to eat.

“No fair…” he frowned.

“Um, Mr. and Mrs. Wachowski.” The other Tails spoke up. “If you don’t mind me asking, how’d you meet your versions of us? We know a bit about how they met each other… smaller me literally hit smaller Knuckles with a police car-“

“He whAt?!” Tom, as well as the other three mobians, sputtered in surprise.

“D…did no one else know that..?”

“No.” Everyone said in unison.

“Oh… well yeah, how’d you um, meet your versions of us?” Tails asked again. Tom looked at Maddie, she had an amused look as she gestured for him to tell the story.

“Well. I was staying home to pack since we were planning to move, Maddie was checking out apartments. Then I heard raccoons messing with the garbage so I went outside to shoo them away-“

“He shot Sonic with my horse tranquilizer and then helped him not get captured by the government.” Maddie interrupted. “Sorry you were being to slow.”

“It was an accident.” Tom defended himself.

“Uh huh, sure.” Maddie smirked. “And then  a few months later Sonic crashed my sisters wedding with an avalanche. Thats when we first met Tails. The poor thing, Robotnik nearly killed him, he was unconscious when we first met. Had only known him for a day and he was already acting like a worried big brother.”

“Sounds about right.” The other Sonic commented.

“And Knuckles, we met him after the fight that ended Robotnik. We did talk too much then but when he was convinced Sonic was different with the power of the emeralds he did warn us, and tried to protect us.”

“What would you do if meet me in your universe?” Shadow chimed in quietly. Tom thought for a moment.

“Depends, but knowing Sonic he’ll try to reason with him, befriend him. And if all goes well and he wants he could become a Wachowski.” Tom replied. Shadow seemed content with that answer, grabbing everyones now empty plates and going to clean them.

“We should get back to work now.” Tails checked his communicator. “It looks like someone’s trying to get in contact. Lets home it the kids.”

Chapter Text

Sonic woke up weak and cold, barely able to keep him eyes open. But he was glad he did open them. He wasn’t in that containment tube anymore. He was on a kinda uncomfortable bed of hay, in a very dim room. Despite feeling uneasy about being in a strange place, that feeling was overshadowed by the relief he felt knowing he was safe.

He shot up, realising something. Yes he was safe, but his brothers. He didn’t know if they were okay, if they were safe. He ended up slumping back onto his back from the pain that shot through him from his movement. His ears flattened as he whimpered.

He was not going to let a little bit of pain get between him and his brothers though. With a bit of difficulty he sat himself back up, looking around the room he was in. The feeling of relief returned as he saw his little and older brother laying in separate beds Knuckles was on his left, Tails was on the right. That landed him nicely in the middle. Carefully, he shifted himself off of the bed towards Tails.

The moment he stood up off the bed he collapsed onto the ground. With a huff he wobbled back up and over to his little brothers bed. With a bit, or rather a lot, of difficulty he managed to grab his brother and get them both to Knuckles’s bed without waking him up. The same couldn’t be said for Knuckles. As soon as Sonic got himself and Tail into Knuckles’s bed Knuckles snapped awake.

“… Sonic?”

“Shhh… Tails is still sleeping…” Sonic shushed. Knuckles groggily looked down at the sleeping fox snuggled up between him and the hedgehog. Knuckles seemed to feel the same relief when his brain processed that both of his brothers were safe with him.

“Where are we..?”

“No idea…”

“Safe?”

“Seems so.”

“Hmph… very well. Once we are well rested we will investigate this place.” Knuckles reached his arm out, making sure he was holding Tails and Sonic close. He was perfectly content, feeling his youngest brother purring quietly while Sonics quills relaxed as he started to drift off.

~~~

“D’awwww… look at them.” Knuckles cooed, having had come in to check on the three kids with the rebellion Sticks. Knuckles’s heart melted at the sight if three little kids cuddled up together.

“Hm, at least the runts are doing some moving. They might recover faster than I thought.” Knuckles properly covered the three up with a blanket. “The two tailed ankle biter was nearly electrocuted to death and the other two squirts were nearly drained drier than the desert sand.”

“Huh… is that why little Sonic and little Knuckles are so…” Knuckles scratched his head, thinking of the word. “Not colorful.”

“Dull. Their pelts aren’t their normal vibrant red and blue. We can only hope it fixes itself.” The rebellion Sticks explained. Knuckles frowned, feeling bad. “Now come on, Tails got in contact with your Tails. Im sure your friends will be happy to see you.”

“Okay..!” Knuckles gave one last look to the kids before following the rebellion Sticks out of the clinical room in the Rebellions Base of Operations.

Chapter Text

“They look so calm sleeping… you never woulda guessed what sort of pain they’ve been through.”

“I hope they’ll be okay… the small Sonic and Knuckles look so…”

”Drained.”

“Shh… one of them is waking up.” Tails registered hearing as he started to wake up. He didn’t really want to get up, he was comfortable and safe. Feeling Knuckles’s strong arms around him and Sonic’s relaxed quills brushed against him, he knew he was at least with his brothers.

Reluctantly he opened his eyes, squinting at the brightness of the room he was in.

“Hey baby, you feeling okay?” He saw a familiar face and felt familiar hands cup his face.

“Mommy..?” He mumbled.

“Yes sweetheart it’s mommy. How are you feeling?” Tails felt himself being maneuvered until Maddie was cradling him in her arms. He snuggled against her, purring.

“Sore… numb… hurts.” He answered, relaxing as Maddie pet him. Tails wanted to ask how she and dad got there, but he could make a few educated guesses.

At some point in the petting Maddie transferred him to Tom to pick up the newly awake Knuckles, who was mumbling something about “avenging his brothers”. Once he was awake enough to remember they were okay he relaxed and let himself be coddled.

Tails almost fell back to sleep, almost. Tom pet a spot that hurt, causing Tails to whine out loudly in pain. Tom almost instantly stopped petting him, settling for just holding him. It took a bit for Tails to relax again, but once he did he began purring, curling up in Tom’s arms.

“I’m the chosen one…” he heard Tom whisper to Maddie, who snickered. Tails let his tails wag happily. Everything seemed to be getting better. Now they could just get the Master Emerald back and go home. What could go wrong?

~~~

Agent Stone stared at the Master Emerald in the containment tube in front of him. Lord Eggman was readying to attack the Rebellion with all their new power now before anyone could recover. While Stone admired this alternate Robotnik’s tenacity, he was nothing compared to the doctor he knew. He was short sighted, narrow minded, and had none of the amazing intellect to back up his status and ego.

Placing a hand on the glass of the tube he grinned. Soon. Soon he’d avenge the doctor, he’ll mame the blue rodent… no, that entire Wachowski family pay. But that was to be done later. For now he needed to act the part he was playing. Help Lord Eggman defeat the Rebellion and that other Sonic, and then when the time was right, take over the operation as he saw fit.

“Agent Stone!” He perked as his name was called over the speakers.

“Soon…” he whispered the the brightly glowing emerald, reluctantly leaving it and making his way to the doctors location.

“You called my Lord?” He asked as he found him in his main control room. The Lord turned to him, sporting an eyepatch to cover the eye that was injured thanks to the small two tailed fox.

“Yes. As you can see the power cores to power my masterpiece are coming along well.”

“But?”

“But I’m still missing one thing. I have the energy from the hedgehog and echidna. But that damned fox slipped through our fingers thanks to that Rebellion. I need him, his energy, to power my greatest machine to date!” Stone nodded, listening intently to Lord Eggman’s rant. “Which is why I need you. You were able to get that little hedgehog for me. So get me that fox. I don’t care what you have to do to get it do, just do it. Understand?”

“Of course my Lord.” He smiled, turning to leave and carry out what the lord had asked of his. On his way out he grabbed a gun that had caught his eye. “My lord, might I take this to help me out? In case anyone gives me… trouble?” The lord didn’t even look, approving his request and waving him off. “Thank you.” He smirked, putting it in his pocket.

~~~

Sonic leaned back, resting his eyes. He was taking the first shift with the kids this night while everyone else was working on plotting how to get the Master Emerald back. Originally Amy had offered to watch them, but he insisted on taking the watch. She was better off helping plan. Besides, he’d probably be bored sitting and listening to all that stuff. And he wasn’t completely alone. Shadow had insisted on joining him as well.

So here he was, sitting on a bed next two shadow, a hoglet, fox kit, and puggle snuggled up to them both, just vibing. It was nice. Though if anyone had told him a week ago this would happen he would’ve thought they were crazy.

“Sonic.” Said hedgehog opened his eyes, humming in acknowledgement to Shadow. “I-before I had thought friends were nothing more than a burden. A weakness. But since I am trying to… be “better” I was hoping you would explain this whole friendship is power concept.” Sonic smirked, rubbing his nose.

“Well Shadow, you’ve asked the right guy. I happen to know a lot about this subject.” Sonic puffed his chest out confidently. “First things first, friendship itself isn’t the power. It’s the urge to protect and care for your friends and family that give you the strength or courage to do things you never thought you could do.” Sonic explained, watching Shadow process the information. “But… im not going to lie to you, friends and family can be a weakness. Someone could use them and their well being against you. Or they could harm or even kill someone you care about. And that will hurt. It may make you feel like giving up or send you into a vengeful rage.”

“How… How would you heal from losing a friend?” Sonic looked at Shadow, the question felt too specific.

“Well, it isn’t an easy process. And there’s no one shoe fits all answer. You just have to try to work through your grief in a healthy way. And hopefully you’ll have others there to support you.” Wrapping an arm around Shadow, Sonic pulled him into a side hug. “And don’t you worry. You have plenty of friends now. Whether you like it or not.” Despite Shadow’s huff and cold shoulder, sonic didn’t miss the small smile on his face.

Chapter Text

A loud bang noise and screaming abruptly woke Sonic up from from his rest, the small hedgehog shooting up. Two things quickly became painfully clear to him. His baby brother was gone, and the black and red hedgehog, Shadow was it?, was on the ground cradling his bigger counterpart. There was a lot of red. He didn’t waste any time getting up and over to Shadow, his big brother right behind him. He must’ve been woken up too.

“What… what happened..?” Sonic asked, scared of the answer. Shadow looked up at him, tears streaming down his face opened his mouth to speak, but all that came out was a chocked sob.

“I will get mother.” Knuckles declared, running out of the room.

“Is he…” Sonic held back tears. “D…dead..?” Shadow didn’t trust himself to answer, instead he maneuvered Sonic’s neckerchief wearing counterpart so he could see for himself. Everything seemed to stop around him when he saw the damage.

Two bullet holes profusely bleeding, one in his chest and the other straight through his head at an angle. His counterpart’s eyes were cracked open, but his eyes were dull, lifeless.

“No…” was all he could say, shaking hands reaching out and carefully resting on his counterparts chest. No breathing… “No… please no…” he whimpered and he leaned his head against his other self’s chest to listen. He was desperately listening for any little beat, anything to give him hope that he was able to be saved. Nothing. There was nothing. He was dead.

This truth made the small hoglet throw himself back and off of his bigger self, hysterically crying. Just like Shadow, he couldn’t find words, only broken sobs came out of him as he curled up in on himself. His own trembling hands clenched at his chest as his little heart began to ache with grief.

“B… brother..? Tails… where..?” Was all he could get out. He hoped his baby brother would come running in with their mom and dad, that they could hold eachother and mourn. But as soon as he heard Shadow begin profusely apologizing for not being able to save him, Sonic knew that wouldn’t happen.

It was too much, this was too much. He took a few rapid and shaky breaths before letting out a heartbroken, bloodcurdling scream. A scream that eventually died down as his voice gave out on him. At least by then others were in the room. His dad was by his side, scooping him up, checking him to see if he was hurt. Once he was done checking him Sonic threw himself at him, weakly gripping at his dads shirt and burying his face into his chest.

He couldn’t help but feel like maybe this was just his curse, forced to watch loved ones die and being unable to do anything about it. First Longclaw and her sacrifice to save him when he was much much younger. And now his alternate self, dead trying to save his baby brother from being taken.

~~~

Tails limply hung by the scruff of his neck as he was carried back to the fortress that had imprisoned him and his brothers, the place he’d been nearly electrocuted to death in. He wanted to scream, to bite, to kick, to get away, but his kit instincts wouldn’t let him move when held like this. At least it couldn’t keep him from crying, a steady stream flowing from his eyes. And rightfully so. He was terrified. Being woken up by being forcefully ripped away from his brothers, watching Agent Stone shoot Sonic when he tried to get him back, Shadow trying to stop Stone from leaving as well, Sonic throwing himself between the two, taking a bullet to the head for him. And then Stone just whisked him away, leaving with him like nothing had happened.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity he was dropped down into a new reinforced containment tube and sealed in. He jumped to his feet quickly, putting his hands on the glass and looking around. There were three orbs in the room he was in, two of which were glowing brightly with blue and red energy. The third was empty, but hooked up to his own tube. It didn’t take a genius to figure things out. Those two orbs had his brothers energy, that Lord Eggman needed for whatever reason, and now he wants his energy since he couldn’t get it before.

Speak of the devil, Lord Eggman entered the room, congratulating and dismissing Agent Stone. Tails backed away as best as he could in his confinement, a sight that clearly amused Lord Eggman, who he noticed was wearing an eye patch now. Because of him. He gulped nervously, knowing he was likely going to pay for his actions.

There was no verbal gloating, just a menacing grin before speaking into his communicator and activating the thing he was trapped in. Ordering it to drain him dry.

“No wait, please don’t do this..!” He pleaded, knowing it was futile. If anything Lord Eggman enjoyed the fact that he was now at his mercy, that he thought if he begged he’d be spared. As the machine began to do it’s thing, taking his essence and filtering it into the orb, Tails took some comfort in the fact that it was painless. A small comfort, but a comfort nonetheless.

When Lord Eggman finally left him alone Tails tried to find a way out. But Lord Eggman had learned his lesson from last time, there were no faults to exploit in the containment tube. No loose screws or line walls. Nothing. He was trapped. He was going to die there.

~~~

Shadow stood outside the Rebellion base, quills swaying in the wind. It was raining, as if the sky itself was mourning with everyone. There only one hope left that everyone clung to. That someone the Master Emerald, a gem capable of turning thoughts into pure power according to the young echidna, would be able to bring Sonic back. There were no guarantees, but if it had a chance to work then that’s all that mattered.

He looked down, fidgeting with the object he’d been holding for the last hour or so. A small gun that had fallen out of Sonic’s quills. A powerful little thing. Perfect for what Shadow planned on doing.

“You can’t go after him alone you know.” Shadow turned, seeing his Knuckles leaving the Rebellion base. He narrowed his eyes.

“Why not?” He huffed.

“Because I’m going after him too. We may as well go together.” That answer surprised Shadow. He’d been expecting a “You can’t do this alone” or a “It’s too dangerous”. But it seemed like he was wrong. A pleasant surprise.

“Very well. You may come with me. But know I plan on showing those damn egomaniacs the same “mercy” they showed Sonic. Don’t get in my way.” Shadow clenched the little gun in his hand.

“Sonic wouldn’t really approve of killing out of revenge.” Shadow rolled his eyes at Knuckles’s comment, mentally preparing for the nonsense about being the better person that was sure to come out. “Luckily I’m not Sonic.” He felt a hand on his should and looked. The echidna’s expression was… different than normal. He’d clearly been crying, that much was obvious. But there was something else. An anger lying beneath his normal head empty gaze. “Just make sure I can get at least one punch in before you finish the job.”

“Gladly.” Shadow smirked.

Chapter Text

The atmosphere of the room was disheartened, that much was clear. The members of the Rebellion were trying their best to adjust their plan to infiltrate Lord Eggmans fortresses without Sonic, something easier said than done. The little Knuckles and Amy were with them, eager to assist however they could. Tom and Maddie were doing their best to console their son, assuring their little Sonic that they’d find Tails, that they’d do everything they could to save the other Sonic. Sonic himself wasn’t handling things well. The only person handling things worse than the hoglet was Tails, who had balled himself up in a corner isolating himself from everyone.

Amy was doing her best to focus on and contribute to the planning, wanting to do something, anything to distract herself from think about Sonic. About how she’d never even gotten the chance to tell him she loved hi-

“Hey, your guyses plan is great and all, but that Eggman and that Rock guy aren’t there anymore.” Amy snapped out of her thoughts at the sound of her voice. She turned around, a smile managing to creep onto her face.

“Sticks!” She ran over, hugging her friend tightly. “You’re soaked! Where have you been?! Its been days, you’ve missed so much- I, What happened?” Amy couldn’t contain her questions. Sticks didn’t seem to mind.

“Well, I was out for my weekly survival training when I saw this government agent lookin’ guy. Naturally, I followed him. I wasn’t about to let him put micro tracking doohickeys in our water supply.”

“Naturally.”

“I followed him through this big ring and into this universe. I’ve been hiding in their vents and stealing their food. It drove the Rock guy crazy when his latte’s went missing.” Sticks laughed to herself. “I was going to leave when I saw the Rock guy bring in some fox kit.” That got the little Knuckles and little Sonic’s attention.

“Did you see where the fox kit was taken?” The little Knuckles asked, walking up to Sticks. She thought for a moment.

“No. I tried lookin’ but I almost got caught sneakin around. I wasn’t about to get caught and turned into a robot or something.”

“I see.”

“But… before I left I noticed that they were leaving with this green crystal thing and three orbs. One blue, one red, and one yellow. I was going to stay and look for that kit with them gone but then I saw Knuckles and that Shadow guy walking in.” Sticks explained.

“Knuckles? But Knuckles is…” Amy looked around. “Not… here. Oh…”

“So, what did I miss over here?” Sticks asked, getting a good look around.

“Well… There are three younger versions of Sonic, Tails and Knuckles here from another universe. Um, theres that emerald which is really powerful. Oh and Sonic is… dead.”

“… I leave for FIVE days, and all that happens?!”

~~~

“In here!” Tails weakly opened his eyes at the sound of a familiar voice. He saw two blurry figures rush towards to tube he was still encased in. One figure was red, the other black. “Hold it from behind, I’ll punch it open.” Tails listened and watched as the black figure went around and held his tube while the red figure punched at the glass around him. He heard a “thunk!” As the red figure punched, but the glass didn’t shatter. It didn’t even crack.

“Knuckles..?” His frail voice managed to ask, a trembling hand reaching out and touching the glass trapping him.

“Hold on little dude, we’ll get you out.” Knuckles gave him a reassuring smile before punching at the glass again,still nothing.

“Damn it.” Shadow hissed, kicking at the tube in attempt to break it. Nothing happened. Tails smiled sombrely at their attempts to save him.

“Knuckles… Shadow… please, I beg of you… you have to go… Eggman and Stone they’re-“ he paused to catch his breath. “You have no idea the power they have. You have to stop them… for everyone living in this universe… and every other.” Tails held back tears. “Please…”

“No… No! We won’t leave you!” Shadow shouted, hands pressed against the glass.

“Please promise me… you’ll look out for my brothers for me..? Mommy and daddy too… I just-” Tails let out a wet chuckle. “I just want them to be happy… that’s all I really want. . .” Tails felt the darkness take hold, lulling his eyes closed. His hand slid dow the glass, he felt to weak to pull his hand away.

“No, hey, stay awake little dude.” Knuckles called out as the fox kit closed his eyes, going limp. “… shhhhhhhhhhhhoot! Shoot! The gun. Shoot the thing. Maybe-“

“I might hurt him if I do that.”

“Well either way he’s hurt. Would you rather him be hurting im there or out here?”

“… fuck you got a point. Okay, get back, im going to shoot the top off.” Knuckles nodded, diving for cover behind some machinery. Shadow pulled the small gun from his quills, aiming it at the top to the tubes, where tubing met machine, and pulled the trigger. A beam of yellow light shot out of the little gun, absolutely destroying the top of the tube. Knuckles didn’t hesitate to lean over and scoop the kit up and out.

“Warning! Containment Breach of Prisoner. Initiating Self Destruct in T-minus 10… 9…”

“Oh shoot, we gotta get out!” Knuckles scrambled with the kit.

“8… 7…” Shadow nodded, jumping up and extending his arms and legs out, his ring inhibitors slipping off.

“6… 5… 4…” Shadow scooped up both the echidna and the kit.

“3… 2…”

“Chaos Control!” Shadow shouted, teleporting the three of them out of the fortress, with only a second to spare.

Chapter Text

“Leader Sticks, you wanted to speak with me?” Knuckles asked, looking up at the fierce rebellion leader, the one who he had vague memories of being saved by. She had had her Knuckles come get him so they could talk in private.

“Yes. I did.” Knuckles stood at attention as rebellion leader Sticks walked up to him. “I’m not going to sugarcoat things with you. Things are bleak and there’s a very low chance that we can win. Low, but not zero.” She put a hand on his shoulder.

“You speak as if we’re about to go into battle.” Knuckles commented.

“We are. Lord Eggman is already rapidly approaching this main land in something big and powerful. Luckily, we have a plan. We’ll be distracting Lord Eggman while you, my Knuckles, my Tails, and the other Tails sneak around from behind and infiltrate. It’s our best bet.” Knuckles hummed thoughtfully. “Hopefully Shadow and the other Knuckles have your Tails and can meet up with us for extra support. Your Sonic and Parents are going to stay back in the village as a last line of defense.”

“There’s only one problem. That other Tails… he isn’t in the best state of mind right now. I doubt he can muster the will to move let alone fight.”

“And that’s why I need you to lift him up, encourage him to gather the strength to fight. Be that someone that pushes him.”

“Why me?” Knuckles couldn’t help but feel like someone else would be more qualified for this task. “Why not have his Amy or Sticks provide the encouragement?”

“Because you are the one that’s going to be with him on the battle field… and Amy and other me are going out to prepare the village for the attack. You know, getting people to safety and stuff.” Knuckles looked down, thinking. Before finally nodding. “Aaaand you kinda know what he’s going through right now. With your Tails being missing and possibly not alive.” Sticks was being realistic, something Knuckles could appreciate.

“Very well. I’ll see what I can do.” Knuckles saluted Sticks before leaving to find Tails. Er well the other Tails. Look it’s getting harder to differentiate characters without calling them “Boom Tails” and stuff okay?! “Hey, stay on script.” Knuckles chastised no one. “Ugh that was… weird.” Knuckles shook his head before continuing through the rebellion base.

He finally found the fox, still curled up in the corner of the meeting room. Taking a deep breath Knuckles approached him, sitting besides him. This wasn’t going to be easy, but Knuckles was going to do things as he always did. Directly.

“… Fox, it is me.” The goggle wearing Tails didn’t respond, so Knuckles continued. “I apologize for interrupting your time of sorrow, I understand that you are suffering a great loss. I know that grief all too well. But we can’t let the doctor of stone get away with what he has done.” The other Tails shifted slightly, now able to look at Knuckles from his curled up position. “But I can’t- We can’t do this without everyone working together. Without out you.”

“… I- I don’t know if I can help…”

“You can. And you will.” Knuckles said, leaving no room for debate. He scooped the fox up and started to head out.

“H-hey! Put me down.”

“No. I need you. We all need you. Sonic needs you.”

~~~

“Ugh…” Knuckles groaned, holding his head. Teleporting hadn’t been the funnest experience, especially when it had been so sudden. It took him a while to get his bearings, the first thing to ground him being the small light grey fox, formally a vibrant yellow kit. “Kid? Hey…” he took a moment to check the kit over, feeling an indescribable feeling that was a combination of relief and joy when he felt the admittedly weak pulse of the kit. Blinking away happy tears he looked around, excited to tell Shadow that the small Tails was okay. Or at the very least, alive.

But that’s when he noticed something. Shadow was gone. This confused him at first. He knew Shadow had picked him up when he teleported them to safety. And he vaguely remembered being held after being teleported. But now? Now he was sitting on the forest floor with a drained kit in one hand, not a single clue as to where he was or where Shadow went. He was alone. Well. Not completely alone-

“Huh?” He noticed something. A note stuck to his chest. He took it and opened it. He looked it over, taking out a pair of reading glasses to better see. “Hm… oh wait… I can’t read…” he frowned, tossing the glasses away and putting the note in his dreads. He’d show it to someone who could read later.

As he started to get up a huge rumbling that shook the ground nearly made him topple over. He was barely able to stay standing. He clung to a tree and waited for the rumbling to stop, but it didn’t. It grew. And with it a shadow that loomed over the whole island.

And then it stopped. The deafening sound of the island quaking, the intense shaking, it all just stopped. The only thing that remained was the darkness that something was causing. Something big. Knuckles slowly unlatched himself from the tree, checking the fox kit quickly before looking up to see what was going on.

“Oh Sugar Honey Iced Tea…” he swore as he stared up at the huge Eggman themed robot that towered over the island. It was hard to see much of it from so far down and away, but he could make out the Eggman face of the robot, as well as the glowing red eyes, and green core at its center. The Master Emerald no doubt. Knuckles was about to start running towards the huge mech when he remembered his frail little friend. He was in no condition to be in a battle field. But there wasn’t exactly anyone around to care for him.

“The others can hold their own for a bit. Once you wake up we’re gonna go over and kick some Eggman butt. Okay kid?” He didn’t wait for a response, he knew he wasn’t going to get one.