Work Text:
Ford blinked, his first impressions of this new dimension was that it was bright. The colors were over-saturated and Ford half-wondered if this was some sort of blinding-you-with-high-contrast dimension before his vision finally adjusted. It didn’t help that the last dimension was pretty hard to see in through the shadows that adorned every corner. Ford took another less glaring look around, finding himself in some kind of colorful tropical forest.
But not just any tropical forest, it seemed like, as Ford examined his surroundings further. There were strange structures built into oddly checkered rock, loop de loops and floating platforms, square-ish mountains and impossible corkscrews, everything unnatural but natural at the same time. It was very… interesting, to say the least. Ford spotted glints of several somethings floating and spinning just ahead of him, squinting to see that they were massive gold rings. What… is this place? Ford was only just reaching for one of the strange riches when something whooshed right by him with a strong enough force to spin him right around.
“Whoa, watch out where you’re standing dude!” The blur called out before rushing at an inhuman speed to their unknown destination. Ford blinked, wondering if he saw what he just thought he saw. A split second of something vaguely… animalistic… Ford didn’t know how to react, watching as another creature passed by at almost the same speed but paused at his presence for a few more moments than the previous one did. Enough to see what it was. A little orange anthropomorphic fox with one more tail than Ford expected.
“I’d get out of the area, if I were you!” The fox shouted unhelpfully vaguely before their tails spun like an impossible biological helicopter and sped off in the direction the first creature had gone. Ford had just begun to try calling for the fox to give some sort of explanation before the forest behind him burst into the sound of metal and nature bending to the pressure. Turning, Ford could hardly jump out of the way before a decidedly man-made insect barrelled into him alongside an entire hoard of similar things, knocking him to the side with a painful metal clang. Ow…
“Outta the way, strange man! Whoever you are, you are not getting in my way!” A rotund man with a crazy mustache and a red suit like a bizarre Santa Claus was in some sort of metal contraption, rolling over the environment with big tank-like treads. What in the world was this all about? Ford was reeling and he just barely entered this apparently fast-paced dimension. That colorful tank with the vague shape of some sort of crustacean being driven by some wack-job didn’t look like something Ford wanted to mess with. So he ducked into the foliage with little more than a rustle as another of those animal robots passed by.
The entourage of robots soon passed by, obviously giving chase to those two anthro creatures. Ford didn’t know how they’d succeed, seeing as said creatures were insanely fast for what they were. Perhaps this is a bust and I should think of finding another dimension to travel to. Ford had plenty of dimensions that he stayed in for as quick as he could stand it, nothing useful to gain in his ultimate goal to defeat Cipher. Though sometimes he stayed just to get a break anyway. Whatever, Ford was just about to pull out his trusty transdimensionalizer from his coat when something crashed into his legs.
“Wha-” Ford stumbled backward at the rolling metal beetle, hitting the checkered wall near the path and feeling some kind of metal limb near instantly wrap itself around his torso in a way that made it difficult to move from something that appeared out of thin air. Some kind of robot chameleon. Before he could rip out of the grab, a bright ball of energy hit him square in the chest and made everything go dark.
Waking up to shouts and metal crumpling, Ford shook his head with a loud ringing in his ear. Blinking his eyes at how bright everything was for the second time in less than an hour, he found himself entrapped within the claws of the contraption that evilly cackling round man had rolled past him before and groaned. The ground looked so far down from here, if he wanted to escape he was gonna need a different escape route if he didn’t want to injure himself. Though if he could even escape this claw at all was another matter. Ford’s squirming and hitting didn’t seem to do anything.
“Hey, let’s go get that guy out of Eggman’s grasp!” Ford turned his head as much as it would go, spotting a blue spiky creature reminiscent of a hedgehog in the strangest way as they called for their friend. Must’ve been the one he didn’t get a good look at before, as the orange fox from before was flying overhead with those crazy tails and throwing literal bombs on the machinery below like it was nothing.
“Who are you guys?!” Ford yelled in annoyance, still confused as to how he got into this mess without even trying. A loud laugh Ford came to dread filled his ears, looking over to see that the man operating the contraption was teasing the fox with a remotely controlled arm. Before jabbing at him with a loud and triumphant shout, pulling away something shiny and green from the fox’s… pockets? Did anthro foxes in this world have pockets? The fox shouted indignantly, diving at the arm desperately. Ford grumbled in his tight spot, his question entirely ignored.
But not for too long, the grip the claw had on him entirely loosening as the blue hedgehog crashed through it like a cannonball. Rather recklessly in Ford’s opinion. Though he had no time to think about that, falling to the ground with a painful grunt. Scrambling away into the bushes once more, Ford watched the battle ensue, spotting the hedgehog that had freed him running in for another attack. But his eyes wandered to the other one, the orange fox with two tails. Quite an interesting species, if it was indeed a normal feature for the foxes in this world. I wonder what other earth animals are represented in these anthropomorphic creatures… and how they differ from normal…
“I’m done here, Sonic! I’m going to win this time and I am not giving you another chance to defeat me! Good day!” The round mustachioed man pressed a button and his contraption fell apart to leave him in a floating hover car that was as round as the man himself, before speeding off in some other direction that Ford didn’t really care to follow. Though his animal friends seemed to think differently, panicking at whatever that guy had stolen like it was a weapon of mass destruction. Ford was about to resign himself to the fact that the most interesting creatures he’d seen would start racing after that apparent villain before he heard the orange fox speaking to him.
“Hey there! I’m not sure how you got all the way out here, or how neither of us noticed your arrival, but it’s a good thing we were around, huh?” The fox sounded awfully… young for someone who had just finished fighting a dozen robots and Ford was about to ask where his parents were when he noticed the hand outstretched in a gesture of greeting. One that Ford was hesitant to take for a split second before throwing that thought away as insanely paranoid. Come on, this is clearly just a kid, not one of Cipher’s agents… He took it, the other misgiving he had about handshakes baring its teeth as the fox fixated on his hand for far too long. “Whoa, you have fully-formed central polydactyly? That’s so…” Ford squeezed himself tightly and instinctively at the pause after mentioning his anomaly so casually, “...cool. Yeah, it’s really cool…”
“Oh… um, thanks… could I have your name?” Ford asked, almost too quietly as he processed the compliment the fox had given his extra finger. He was used to human kids approximately the same age as this fox being awfully pesky and judgemental when they saw he had one more finger than normal. Especially when he was a kid himself, but that didn’t stop future children he bumped into from staring at the very least.
“Oh, my name’s Miles Prower,” The fox answered lightly, showing off his tails for the next thing he said that stunned Ford into silence, “...but my friends call me ‘Tails’, on account of my twin tails! They’re pretty handy in a bind…”
“You…” Ford found himself reverently looking at Tails’ extra tail, scratching off the idea that the two tails was normal for foxes with his mind spinning a million miles an hour like that hedgehog, his mind simultaneously spinning in a completely different direction at him calling his tails ‘twin’ tails, one a bit more grudging than the first. “...you’re like me… aren’t you?”
“Uh… yeah? Pretty sure I’m the only fox with one more tail than normal on this entire planet…” Tails seemed to curl into himself at the thought, shyly tucking his tails behind himself exactly how Ford tucked his hands behind himself as a kid, before abruptly changing the subject, “Anyway, that blue blur over there is my best friend Sonic! He can tell you all about our history with Eggman and what that jerk stole from us. If you’re planning to stay with us, I mean.”
“He’s the fast one?” Ford watched as the hedgehog completely moved the metal debris from the fight somewhere else within a few blinks of his eyes, becoming dizzy if he stared for too hard or long. Tails nodded with a certain star struckness that felt vaguely familiar. Shaking it off, Ford looked back at the eager fox with a certain expression that seemed to make Tails slightly nervous. “So, um, Tails… You seem pretty young to be fighting… wait, his name’s Eggman? What… kind of name is that?”
“Oh, haha, that’s not really his name… Sonic came up with that as an insult and our ‘good doctor’ decided to reclaim it as his own…” Tails chuckled at Ford’s confusion, and there was that reverence for that Sonic character again, “His name’s really Dr. Ivo Robotnik, but that’s not really important… at least compared to what he stands for.” Tails waved at the hedgehog Ford now knew as Sonic, gesturing at him to come over. “Hey Sonic! Come meet the new guy!”
“Oh, um, I’ll probably be… leaving as soon as I can-” Ford pulled out his transdimensionalizer, freezing at a crunch of metal within his coat that ended with the device falling out of his hand in pieces to the color-saturated grass like it was nothing, “...well that’s not good. I’ll be staying as long as it takes for me to repair this… I guess…”
“I can help with that! Can’t I, Sonic?” Tails addressed Sonic, pointing at the broken device on the ground. Ford didn’t know how to explain that the device was probably too advanced for a fox his age, something meant to travel between dimensions this guy probably couldn’t even comprehend. Though Sonic gave Tails a confident thumbs up and a few words of encouragement. That didn’t mean anything… “This looks like something meant to create rifts between universes in order to traverse through them, if that’s what I think it is. Am I wrong?”
“Actually… no, you’re… you’re exactly right… huh,” Ford had a hand on his chin, reevaluating everything at the revelation that this fox was smarter than at first glance. Sonic gave him a squint, evidently annoyed that his friend’s intelligence was ever visibly doubted. “Who are you again?”
“Still Tails. And this is still Sonic,” Tails showed him off with a flourish of his perfectly white gloved hands, Sonic leaning into it with a cocky grin and pose, “Now that I think of it, I still haven’t gotten your name. Got distracted with talk of Eggman, heh.”
“Stanford Pines. Though I prefer to go by Ford,” Ford waved, a hint of curiosity and analysis in his expression that he didn’t hide as well as he thought he did. Sonic simply stopped and stared. Ford hesitantly put his hand down awkwardly, feeling those green eyes examining it intently.
“Hey, Tails, you didn’t tell me this guy was like you! Extra limb! Well, extra fingers, but… same thing!” Sonic seemed ecstatic at the knowledge, concentrating like he was thinking of something that Ford didn’t particularly feel excited to hear. “You got any nicknames besides shortening your name, Ford? How about Sixes?”
“...I’d rather not be called by my anomaly, if you please,” Ford felt himself stiffen at memories that were only bitter. The last time he’d been called Sixer, it had been by his now archenemy, which had just tainted the association with anything similar. Not to mention that he still didn’t feel great thinking about his twin, who had used it as a term of endearment, shuddering as he remembered being pushed into his own creation like one of those book scientists he’d previously vowed not to become. Sonic and Tails looked at each other and shrugged.
“Okay! We don’t have much time before Eggman gets ahead of us with that emerald, so we’ll probably just run ahead and do that,” Sonic stated, almost too fast for Ford to comprehend. Emerald? Ford didn’t ask, having understood the urgency of the situation, sort’ve, but Sonic answered his question anyway, “He’s got a Chaos Emerald, one of seven magic rocks that can let you do anything in the world and we’re trying to get it back before he gets all seven and destroys the fabric of the universe. Anyway, let’s go Tails!”
“Wait, but what about my… device…?” Ford asked the empty air, as they had sped off once more before he could even start the sentence. Guess I’m just gonna have to fix it myself… shouldn’t be too hard. Ford grumbled as he found a rock to plant himself, the broken transdimensionalizer pieces in his arms. But examining them further led him to discover that the electronic parts were all shot with wisps of smoke emanating from them, something he couldn’t fix with the limited resources he had on hand. Unless he could find somewhere that housed the parts he needed, which didn’t seem possible in this jungle.
Now he really needed Tails’ help, and at a time that he was busy trying to stop that Eggman fellow. Ford sighed loudly, knowing he could never catch up to those crazy fast animals. Not even as athletic as he’d become. Ford still couldn’t quite process how these creatures could run as fast as they were, though he supposed there was room in the multiverse for dimensions where animals have crazy powers. He shook it off, his goal was more important than worrying over the hows of this world. Perhaps he should try to find where those robots were created. Or just dismantle one of them for parts. The more he thought of it, the more the latter option made more sense than traveling forever for a factory he didn’t even know if he could reach from where he was. So Ford stood up and began to wander the jungle, eyes and ears out for one of those animal shaped robots. He couldn’t see any nearby, an annoying conundrum. The moment he wanted one, there was nothing.
It didn’t matter, Ford took the time to explore his surroundings with a wonder he hadn’t felt in a while. This place was fantastic for fast things like his acquaintances in Sonic and Tails very obviously were. There were obstacles like the previously observed loop de loops, floating platforms, twists and turns that opened to drops that made Ford dizzy to even look down from, and ramps that were impossibly steep. It made it hard to navigate for a relatively normal human like him, but Ford managed. Springs became his friend, hopping on them to reach higher and higher vantage spots. Though his heart stopped almost every time he saw spikes anywhere near his trajectory, taking evasive maneuvers to not get skewered.
“How do those guys manage not to die every time they go as fast as they do out here?” Ford mumbled to himself after a close call with a spike that jabbed him in the foot the moment he stopped moving and making him jump higher than he thought humanly possible. Just find one of those bot things and dismantle it, surely it’ll have something that’ll help you with your problem. Ford didn’t even know if that was true, but he had to do something in that direction or he’d go crazy trying to wait for Tails to come back from stopping Eggman. Those robots were no good anyway, might as well help where he can with that.
He heard whirring up ahead, which was promising when it came to his goal, but it also reminded him not to pull out his gun to fight it as was his initial instinct. He wasn’t about to destroy the parts he was trying to scavenge after all. Ford pulled out a screwdriver he kept for occasions such as this (for getting parts for his ultimate weapon against Bill, obviously) and wielded it like the weapon it would have to be. Ford burst through the bushes to find the promised robot, a small crab that was vaguely similar to the one Eggman was steering just before but without the tank treads. He didn’t know what this Eggman’s obsession with making animal robots to fight animals was all about but he was not about to ask the robot that as he rushed the thing like a total crazy person.
It snapped at him angrily, reminding him of his unpleasant encounter with its giant cousin, before charging up some sort of energy attack from its claws. Oh not that again… Ford deftly dodged the shots as they shot out at him, though his coat definitely got singed. He tackled the thing, holding on as it bucked under his weight. Ford stabbed his screwdriver into the crab’s screws, opening a compartment and ripping out enough wires to stop it from moving in one deft motion. The robot went limp, dropping to the ground and letting Ford examine what he had to work with. Not a… lot…
Ford barely had time to feel disappointed before some little bird flitted out of the shell of the robot like it was escaping a prison, feeling very perplexed at the sight before realizing the implications with a sinking in his stomach. That Eggman guy… did he put animals into the robots? Ford didn’t like that thought, hoping in vain that it was a fluke as he grabbed his energy gun and shot one of the beetles rolling nearby with a preciseness that would keep any animal safe while destroying the thing’s motors. Sure enough, when Ford cracked the case open, a little animal popped out. This time a miniature pig. That’s… a good reason to be fighting Eggman, that was for sure.
“Help!”
Ford heard a familiar voice up ahead, startling into action. Through the trees and strange obstacles he ran, following the calls for help and wishing he was as fast as the hedgehog he just met as he reached a clearing set above almost everything where a terrifying scene was unfolding. Ford just barely glanced at the trouble before he spotted the issue. Tails was being held by his tails by a cackling Eggman, held over an infestation of robots, while Sonic was… nowhere to be found, somehow. Ford didn’t bother with the details, stepping out into the clearing with an authority that didn’t earn him anything but hope from Tails’ scared form as he squirmed in the crazy man’s grip.
“Oh Ford! Glad you’re here! Wait… Wh-what are you doing with that?” Tails’ jubilant expression at Ford’s arrival paled into nervousness as Ford pointed the energy gun at Eggman’s hand and prepared for the shot. Squeezing the trigger, Ford didn’t expect to be tackled by a completely different robot as the shot left the gun. A loud, painful yelp that was very obviously not Eggman’s voice made Ford’s heart stop as he regained his bearings. Dealing with the bot that attacked him with a few shots, Ford looked over to see a sight that filled him with a terrible sense of guilt that sank in as he saw Tails’ utter fear. His shot, instead of hitting Eggman’s hand, had directly hit one of Tails’ tails with an agonizing burn.
“Oh my gosh! I’m so sorry, are you alri-” Ford was cut off yet again in his remorse, but instead of being punched after branding his brother it was by a horrified hedgehog that was apparently driven off the path by some feral robots that had attacked halfway to this spot.
“What happened here?! Tails, are you alright?” Sonic was immediately running up and shoving Eggman to the ground from holding Tails up by his tails, examining the injury on Tails’ tail the moment the fox landed on the ground, “No, you aren’t, little buddy… Did one of those Badniks get you?”
Ford didn’t have to watch anymore to see that Tails was pointing at him and warbling something that made Sonic look at him with a confusion and concern that hardened into a serious one at the sight of the gun still in Ford’s hand. Ford holstered it in an attempt to seem less threatening, before he noticed Eggman stirring right after his little shove. Ford was about to say something before he saw the glint of a weapon pointing at Tails, unholstering his gun again right away to shoot it out of Eggman’s hand. Ford’s aim was true this time. The weapon scattered out of the dastardly man’s hand. But Tails had fled the scene the moment Ford took the shot, obviously terrified.
“Ho ho ho! if I hadn’t seen you defend that fox, I’d have thought you were on my side, stranger!” Eggman grinned evilly, despite the vulnerable position he’d found himself in with Ford refusing to turn his weapon off of the rotund man that had dared to hurt the animals he had just barely met plus enslaving countless other ones in his robots. Ford growled at the implication that shooting Tails’ tail was anything other than an accident, ignoring the expression of disbelief on Sonic’s face at the scene. “Go ahead, shoot me! Prove to your animal friends just how much of a monster you are. I doubt they don’t already think that of you, with those hands of yours.”
“You will hand over that chaos emerald or I will shoot. I already know I’m a monster,” Ford said coolly, adjusting his weapon as he stepped closer to the man who was still very much lying prostrate on the ground in a way that must be uncomfortable, ignoring how much his words were jabbing him in all the wrong places. Eggman seemed shocked that he knew what a chaos emerald was (vaguely, but Ford wouldn’t tell him that for anything), or that he was still pressing the issue, but Ford didn’t let it faze him. Maybe there was even a hint of fear behind his tinted glasses. Good. Serves him right. “What is it, then?”
Eggman reached for something in his coat, Ford pointing his gun sharper until he saw the jewel poking out of the pocket it had been stashed within. But Ford didn’t let go of his guard, almost thinking himself paranoid before the tricky man tried to switch it for a remote. Ford shot, hitting Eggman’s arm. He howled and finally gave up the emerald for real, tossing it at Sonic before getting to his feet and running away. Ford looked and saw Sonic simply run in the direction Tails had gone, not even sparing a glance at him. Right. I still hurt Tails. And I probably scared him with how easily I shot Eggman, even though it was a non-lethal shot. Throwing the offending weapon into the grass, Ford swallowed thickly and found a rock to sit upon to ponder what just happened.
That was it. Ford had erased all the goodwill he had with those practical kids and all it took was a faulty aim that hurt one of their own in a way that felt like a breach of their similar anomalies. A betrayal of trust. Massaging his temples, Ford wondered how he was supposed to leave this dimension now, not willing to go to Eggman for anything after what he’d just witnessed of that guy’s faulty moral compass, but not having a fox who knew his stuff to help him rebuild his transdimensionalizer. You just ruined everything, like you always do. If you let Sonic save him and get the emerald instead of trying to play the hero in a world you hardly even understand, everything would’ve been fine. Sonic’s the hero here, not you.
Ford took a few deep breaths, trying to ignore the look of absolute horror on Tails’ face when his tail got hurt by the one he thought was going to save him. Oh, I hope I didn’t permanently hurt his tail… Ford wouldn’t forgive himself if that happened. Even then, he didn’t think he’d be forgiven for that awful thing he’d just done to that kid. It didn’t matter that it was an accident, Ford could only imagine that those two would shun him right away the moment he tried to follow them. Ford tried to stop his eyes from watering, but he knew it’s no use. He spent more than a few moments just processing what had went on, wondering where he went wrong.
“Hey.”
Ford looked up miserably to see Sonic, standing just in front of him with the discarded weapon in his hand, held by the barrel. The hedgehog handed the gun back to him, endlessly confusing Ford as he hesitantly took it back and put it back on his belt where it belonged. Looking down at his hands, they were trembling. The extra fingers stuck out like sore… extra fingers. What he did with them was unforgivable, why was Sonic here? Probably to tell me off for hurting his friend or being too brutal with Eggman or something… just wait for it.
“Tails told me you shot him in the tail. Is that true?” Sonic searched his face, probably sensing his guilt just from one look with those soulful green eyes. Ford frowned and nodded after a moment, looking to the ground bitterly and steeling himself. “With your words. What happened out here, exactly? I doubt you shot him on purpose, just look at you moping around like a certain other hedgehog I know. You don’t know him… but pretend you do.”
“I don’t know, I just…” Ford sighed, refusing to meet Sonic’s intense gaze, “I didn’t mean to hit him. Tackled right as I took the shot. I was trying to free him, but look where that got us…”
“Sounds like you’ve got a bad case of the blaming yourself for everything-itis,” Sonic remarked, rather lightly for what it was; Ford could only stare in confusion, “Joking aside, for what it’s worth, I don’t think Tails would be too unwelcome to that explanation. He’s not that much of a grudge holder if he receives an apology and all. Plus, you did make up for it by getting the Chaos Emerald back, even if your method was… a bit intense for what normally goes on around here with him…”
“That’s… reassuring,” Ford couldn’t find much more to say about it, only hoping that Tails would forgive him like Sonic seemed so confident that he would. “How’s… how’s his tail doing?”
“It’s not as bad as it looked at first glance. Just a graze, mostly just hitting the fluff of his fur. He should be back to flying in a week if he lays off of it the entire time!” Sonic assured, sitting next to Ford in a great show of trust for what had just happened, “... mostly he’s just nervous about… you. I’m sure he’ll turn around in time.”
“That… that’s good, that he’s okay, though I don’t really have time. I need to get out of this dimension soon,” Ford looked to the sky, rapidly becoming a sunset with every moment. Was that adventure really that long? Or did Ford just enter this dimension that late? He didn’t know and he found he didn’t care about those specifics. “And I need that device fixed to do that. You both seemed so confident that Tails could fix it, so you can see my conundrum…”
“Do you mind answering something, Ford?” Sonic was quiet, something Ford had learned was not a common occurrence with him. Ford nodded slowly, opening his mind to whatever question this hedgehog might ask him. “What’s pushing you to leave so soon? I mean, don’t get me wrong, I totally get going from place to place as fast as you can, heck I can’t stay in one place for very long! But… this feels different. Like you’ve got a fire poking you in the rear, instead of it being a passion like mine.”
“It’s… complicated.”
“Is there a simple version, then?” Sonic was persistent, Ford must give him that. Ford fidgeted with his hands as he tried to think of a way to explain that wouldn’t further alienate this kind person that Sonic was turning out to be.
“Well… It all started when I was desperate to study a strange town’s weirdness, all the way back in my home dimension almost 25 years ago,” Ford began, trying not to curl into himself at the memories already tormenting him, “I found and summoned a being known as Bill Cipher, under the pretense that he was a muse.”
“Long story short, Bill had me building an interdimensional portal for studying the multiverse… then my assistant fell into it and Bill betrayed me,” Ford sped through the words like it would make them hurt any less than they did, turning away from Sonic as he spoke the worst part of it, “He tricked me into building something that will destroy the universe and all he had to do was make me feel smart… it was so foolish of me…”
“I got pushed into that portal by my own brother and here I am, running through dimensions trying to stop my Bill from destroying everything I love and care about,” Ford finished with a big sigh, watching Sonic process the information anxiously, “Bill’s sorta like your Eggman but about a hundred times worse. More than animals will be affected if he gets his way…”
“That does sound pretty intense…” Sonic finally commented, gears going in his head while Ford watched the sky turn a deep indigo, “You sound like you need a few companions to come with you to defeat that guy! I could help!”
“No, this is my mission. I… wouldn’t know what to do with myself if I put you in Bill’s way. He’s much worse than some fat guy hiding behind robot minions.” Ford immediately wanted to have erased the memory of what he just told Sonic out of pure fear that the hedgehog would insist on coming along to a mission Ford was certain would end up being his last no matter the outcome. “But thanks for the offer I suppose. All I need here is a way to leave. Besides, your world seems to need you more than my goal does. I wouldn’t want to steal you from your home to potentially never get back here.”
“Alright, if that’s what you really think. I won’t force you to take me along, no worries,” Sonic winked, and if Ford was nervous before, he was practically terrified now. Sonic seemed to have sensed his misgiving, laughing out loud. “Really, I won’t. I do have my hands full with Eggman and certain other… eldritch beings… So I guess you’re right about that, dude.”
“Anyway, I’m gonna go see if Tails is still doing fine. Feel free to join if you want, I’ll try not to leave you in the dust!” Sonic was bright as he stood back up with a speed only he could reach, zipping to the treeline to wait for his response. Ford smiled and shook his head before standing up to follow as quick as he could muster with his sadly human frame, idly wondering what he meant by eldritch beings. Must’ve been some crazy adventure…
Ford followed Sonic’s rather patient presence (which was saying a lot, he could see him tapping his foot in instinctive annoyance every time he got close), wondering how he could ever get back Tails’ trust with a small sense of despair at the task.
Just try. That’s all you can do.
Ford pushed forward.
Tails was sitting on a rock overlooking the ocean when Ford had finally made it through the crazy jungle that he now knew was an island. He didn’t acknowledge him, facing the wrong way to even know he was there. Ford saw a bandage wrapped around the injured tail, his heart shriveling into its own guilt at the sight. Looking out at the ocean up to the horizon of moonlit waters, it was very beautiful. Ford felt a pang, remembering his twin’s promise that they’d sail the oceans back home before everything fell apart. Even though going to college was the more realistic option for him, Ford couldn’t help but dwell on what could’ve been.
“You planning on just standing there or do you have something to say to me?” Tails said, with a soft sadness that promoted no confidence that Ford could reach out to him, but he approached anyway. Ford swallowed tightly, before walking up and carefully sitting next to Tails, taking great care to not seem threatening. His gun was being guarded by Sonic back on the path a ways, so there was nothing to be afraid of. Tails didn’t mention the change in position, only shifting slightly so they were on the rock but about as far as they could be from each other.
“I’m so sorry,” Ford said each word slowly, trying to emphasize how much he meant it, “If it helps, I was trying to aim for Eggman’s hand, but my… aim was thrown off. I wasn’t meaning to hurt you. But… no more excuses, just, I’m sorry.”
“I knew it wasn’t on purpose,” Tails stated stiffly, curling up within himself, “I saw that badnik tackle you and everything. It’s just..”
Ford didn’t respond, feeling everything wilt within him as he let Tails explain himself. If he knew it wasn’t on purpose, then… he must be upset at him for a different reason. Ford braced himself.
“Eggman holding me by the tails was giving me flashbacks… to my past,” Tails seemingly melted under the pressure of remembering, holding his head in his hands while his tails drooped to the ground, “You heard me say that my extra tail was rare? Well, it was rare enough for me to be targeted by bullies as a kit. Some would hold me up like that and some would throw rocks at them… it was a whole thing…
“I guess when you accidentally shot my tail, it was almost like those rock-throwing bullies but more painful,” Tails elaborated quietly, making Ford’s heart sink so low as to reach his toes, “I was… scared and even a little mad. I thought you betrayed my trust until I remembered seeing that badnik attack you.”
“I…” Ford didn’t know what to say, the revelation that he’d inadvertently played out Tails’ fears about his past bullies absolutely rocking him to his core. He let out the breath he was holding in a reorienting sigh. “That knowledge brings me great regret, Tails, and I deeply apologize for it. For I have been through remarkably similar as a young child. I understand what that would feel like so innately it pains me to think I could’ve exacerbated your trauma regarding your bullies, accidentally as it may be.
“You’ve seen my six fingers. Well, similar to your tails, so did everyone else back home… including the local bullies,” Ford went on, finding no joy in recalling his awful childhood experiences with a fox that seemingly had a familar experience, but feeling like he was almost obligated to after learning of this fox’s plight, “They called me a freak and a mistake. Some beat me up for something I had no control over. I could only wish to find somewhere I belonged. Where I fit in.
“I’m not sure how much of this you relate to, but I get it. I understand how it feels to be outcast for a simple anomaly you were born with. It… defined my life, as I assume your twin tails has defined yours,” Ford finished, breathing heavily as a sheen of tears blurred his vision of the ocean ahead of him, “So I am terribly sorry for bringing up those painful memories in such an awful way. You don’t have to forgive me, I… completely understand.”
“Ford, you’re okay, it wasn’t your fault… but I do forgive you,” Tails replied, his eyes shining at what he had just learned about Ford, “I’m… honestly grateful to know that I’m not alone when it comes to being… the way I was born. Even if it’s not directly the same. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say we were kindred spirits.
“I’m glad I had Sonic to help me out of my situation. I don’t know where I would be if he weren’t around to inspire me,” Tails grew wistful, staring out at the ocean as he described his relationship with Sonic, “He’s like an older brother to me, always so supportive of my inventions and nerdy stuff. Always giving me hope that maybe I am more than my bullies, that I can do everything he can do and more. And he’s a goofball too, always a plus. Did you have anyone like that, back in your home dimension?”
Ford fell silent. Tails’ bond with Sonic was making his heart yearn for something that made his mind swim with conflict. They looked like they were perfectly fine together as brothers, despite not being blood related. Ford didn’t know how to say that his relationship with his actual blood related brother had broken down into dust and bitterness, worrying that it’ll only make this optimistic kid crumble into despair. Perhaps they weren’t kindred spirits like Tails had suggested, the kid was probably around forty-five years younger than him and still had a lot more life experience to live through after all. Ford wouldn’t wish his life on anyone, much less a young fox like Tails evidently was. A young fox you still hurt, regardless of being forgiven.
“Are you… okay?” Tails asked, his previous question unanswered for much too long. Ford sighed, memories of his twin spinning around in his head as he tried to find an excuse not to mention him. But… Tails was so… understanding. He forgave him for accidentally shooting his tail, he listened to him ramble about his own experience with bullying. Wasn’t it only fair to answer him his innocent question? Ford didn’t know. “Is that a… sensitive topic? I’m sorry if it is…”
“Nono, you’re fine. I just find it hard to remember without feeling a bit… bitter,” Ford couldn’t hide the awfulness that had become his and his twin’s relationship even if he tried to highlight the good, “I had a brother back home. He was my… twin. His name was…” Ford gulped tightly as he forced his mouth to form the name he hadn’t spoken in literal decades, “Stanley, or Stan for short. Our father… wasn’t very creative with names…
“If I were to describe him when we were kids, he would be the one thing keeping me from thinking I was utterly worthless,” Ford’s voice quieted to a whisper, memories of bullying that Stan had defended him from circling like sharks, “He… protected me from bullies and comforted me, promising that we’d go sailing around the world when we got old enough.”
“Then what happened?”
“He turned around and broke the invention I entered into my high school’s science fair, right before it was to be judged by my dream college…” Ford deflated, the words that had filled him with such tension finally releasing with the explanation, “He didn’t even tell me about it until it was too late. He betrayed me. Then he got kicked out.”
“Wow… I can imagine how hard that must’ve been… Sonic’s never touched one of my inventions, but my bullies always did…” Tails sighed, placing a hand on Ford’s shoulder with a sad smile, “They always broke them with a laugh. I’m sorry that had to come from your brother… I don’t even want to think of Sonic doing that to me…”
“Heh, well, there was significantly less laughing when he left…” Ford chuckled bitterly, preferring to stare at the ground just before the cliff with a sigh, “I didn’t see him again until I needed him to hide a journal somewhere around a decade later, in which case he decided to pick a fight. Ended up pushing me into a world ending portal I was tricked into building and now I’m here, trying to stop my archnemesis from destroying the world.”
“That’s that Bill guy I overheard you talking about with Sonic, isn’t it?” Tails was quick to surprise Ford in several different ways and he didn’t know how to feel about it, “Yeah, I heard you. I might’ve been… eavesdropping a bit before finding this spot to sit. Sorry about that.”
“It’s okay, spares me having to tell that story twice, huh?” Ford cracked a smile after a tenuous few moments that he didn’t think he would, “I hope you can get my transdimensionalizer fixed soon. I still need to get back to fighting the good fight against Bill Cipher after all.”
“Yep, there should be no problem! If you know how it’s meant to work, then I’ll get something figured out!” Tails tapped Ford on the shoulder with a lightly closed fist, growing comfortable with his presence in a way that Ford hadn’t expected mere minutes before engaging with him. It almost made the fact that he’d need to leave this dimension feel… bittersweet. “Gun mishap aside, you’re a pretty cool guy, Ford. Don’t let your past drag you down from that. Your extra fingers are just as special as my extra tail! And these babies can make me fly, so that’s saying a lot! I only wish you didn’t have to go… we could use someone like you sometimes… I saw how you handled Eggman, that was wicked cool, if more violent than I expected.”
“Oh, thanks. That… that means a lot, coming from the guy I shot with a science-fiction weapon less than half an hour ago,” Ford grinned lightheartedly, feeling a certain kinship with this little fox that he hadn’t experienced in too many years to count. If only I didn’t have the pressing need to leave this place, then maybe… no… Ford didn’t want to dwell on ideas of staying, otherwise he’d be greatly tempted to just do that and he couldn’t do that no matter what his heart was telling him. “I wish I could stay here too, I really do, I just… can’t. Besides, this world doesn’t need a Ford. It’s already got a Tails. And I believe that’s about enough brains for one world, don’t you think?”
“Hey, who told you that you could make me emotional over my silly wishes?” Tails laughed, though his eyes didn’t lie with how watery they had become. Ford didn't blame the fox, for his own were wet too. Before he could react, Tails jumped into his arms for a hug. Ford reciprocated with warmth reserved for those that gained his trust, only now realizing how long he'd gone without a hug out here in worlds he didn't truly belong. "I'm glad I could meet you, Ford… I'll get to that invention in the morning and you'll be off! We can handle whatever Eggman throws at us after you got at him, heh."
"That's a plan," Ford smiled at Tails once more, feeling optimistic that things would turn out alright for once in this wonderful strange world. Tails seemed oddly reluctant to let go from the hug, until the sound of impossibly quick footsteps was heard behind them. "Sounds like Sonic's here. Why don't you go talk with him or something?"
"Hey Tails! You guys make up while I was scouting for where Eggman cowered off to?" Sonic asked casually, giving a surprised yelp when Tails rushed up to hug him too, "That sappy, huh?"
Ford vaguely heard Tails describe their conversation as 'enlightening' and 'reconciling in the best way', while he stared out at the ocean all by his lonesome. His hands automatically went to pull out the thing that had been a great way to ground himself on his often terrifying and unreal journey, his photo of him and Stan. Ford sighed, bittersweet. Defeat Bill, then he and everyone else in your home world will be safe, not to mention innumerable dimensions like this one. Then maybe you can atone for your greatest mistake.
"Ring for your thoughts?" Sonic tossed one of those strangely big gold rings in the air and caught it in the same hand with the prowess of an athlete. Ford didn’t know where to start. He didn’t even bother tucking his photo back into his dark coat before Sonic hovered over his shoulder with the coolness of a teenager that he exuded in spades. “That your brother? The one you talked with Tails about?”
“Yes… how did you know?”
“Come on, two kids that look the same on a photo you’re apparently keeping for some reason. Unless you’re a weirdo, one of those kids must be you, right?” Sonic was apparently more observant than Ford gave him credit for. Must be a helpful tool when running at mach speeds, so he doesn’t hit anything in front of him. Ford nodded, about to point himself out before Sonic pointed at him straight away. “The only one with six fingers… Didn’t know twins could have different hands like that, that’s neat.”
“Anomalies are like that sometimes.” Ford remarked, wistfully looking at his hands, “Though I suppose if he had developed them too, they might not have been fully formed like mine. And then the doctor at our birth would’ve likely chopped them off on his hands, but not mine since mine were fully functional… I can’t be certain though, I don’t remember that far back, unfortunately…”
“That’s quite a smart explanation you have there, no wonder Tails grew a liking to ya over the course of an afternoon!” Sonic winked again; Ford didn’t know how to interpret it, “Well, I guess you’re gonna wanna be finding someplace to sleep until morning. Tails is pretty tired, and I’d be willing to bet that you are too!”
“Someplace separate from both of you, if you don’t mind then,” Ford always had misgivings about sleep, ever since he figured out that Bill had betrayed him and could possess him in his sleep. It wasn’t likely that Bill knew where he was to possess him this night, but one could never be too cautious. Especially not when it came to that evil triangle. Sonic looked at him strange, but shrugged ambivalently before rushing off for something. Pillows and a blanket, he found out when Sonic came back a few moments later. Better get comfortable.
Ford stretched out on the cot, staring up at the stars as he tried to drift off. He had sat against a palm tree with the blankets covering him and the pillows supporting his head and neck under as much of the foliage cover as he reasonably could, though clearly that wasn’t enough to completely stop himself from seeing the sky of constellations that he didn’t recognize from a world he didn’t really know all too well. Tomorrow he’d be leaving this dimension. Tomorrow Sonic and Tails would see him off the moment the solution to his broken transdimensionalizer was figured out. Tomorrow it was going to be alright, even if it took longer than he had at first hoped.
Finding a lull in the action, Ford finally drifted off with a strange assurance that Bill wouldn’t attack this night.
Ford woke up hours later feeling more refreshed than he ever had in a long time, despite sleeping against a palm tree with only a blanket and a few pillows to his name from wherever Sonic had gotten them. He wouldn’t be surprised if he’d zipped home and back, if he even had one. It didn’t really matter where he’d gotten them though, Ford was glad he had them regardless. Stretching, Ford got up with little protest. He wandered a few paces, discovering the fox and hedgehog cuddled up under the same tree across a large gap. Jumping across the floating platforms that were definitely there the whole time, Ford made to wake them up. Which was… frighteningly easy. Sonic burst awake as if he hadn’t slept at all while still looking energized and Tails followed soon after.
Ford didn’t even feel the need to rush them, for after the nicest breakfast of a coconut and a… chili dog with all the stuff, Tails went right to figuring out how Ford was meant to leave this dimension entirely. Ford smiled, things were going along nicely. Tails had made an approximation of the device Ford had been using in record time, though using the chaos emerald that Ford had recovered from Eggman in his unorthodox ways to temporarily power it up (until Ford could find a proper power supply somewhere else that wouldn’t throw this world into unbalance with a missing emerald). Something about Chaos Emeralds allowing the user to teleport using ‘Chaos Energy’. Ford would’ve loved to stay and study the phenomenon if he wasn’t under the pressure to stop Bill before he could destroy the fabric of the universe, but the basic stuff was enough to fill an entire page in his makeshift journal.
“So, guess this is goodbye…” Ford said once the portal between dimensions was finally fine-tuned after a few troubleshoots. Looking over to his newfound friends, Ford saw the emotion in their eyes. Sonic was stoic, simply smiling at him with a wave that told him he was welcome back anytime. Not like I’ll ever be returning here… While Tails… Tails was barely keeping it together. Something about finding someone who understood your insecurities so innately and simply got you felt so… special. And now they had to part.
“Are you really sure you need to go? I’m sure I could create something that would help you keep up with us…” Tails stared at the portal with visible regret, like he wished he didn’t have to create such a thing for Ford. Ford nodded slowly and deliberately, allowing the young fox to run up and give him one last embrace. “I know I’ve got Sonic and everything, but… meeting you was so… cool. I never knew there was somebody out there that knew me so well without even knowing me, you know? That doesn’t really make sense though, does it?”
“Believe me, it does make sense. I felt… similarly, to say the least,” Ford pulled out of the hug to hold his six-fingered hand out for a gesture he hadn’t used since childhood, “High Six?”
“High Tails!” Tails whirled around and whacked Ford’s outstretched hand with his tails in a way that felt oddly touching. Their anomalies meeting for the last time. Ford grinned as Tails finished the motion with a proper high six as well. A secret handshake that couldn’t be repeated. Ford felt his heart swell with gratitude that he met Tails and his older brother figure in Sonic. And he could tell that Tails felt the same. Now all that’s left was to walk into the portal he’d been meaning to enter a whole day before. Ford didn’t expect it to be so hard as he hesitated right outside the exit to this dimension, looking back at Sonic and Tails with a final wave before stepping into the portal to wherever it would take him next.
Ford would never forget those two, if he had anything to say about it.
Ford walked into the living room of the house he never thought he’d ever return to, trying not to remember how reckless Stanley had been in bringing him here as he saw Dipper and Mabel playing on some sort of gaming console. The last video game thing he’d experienced in his home world before being portaled was largely just Pong while he was in college, his work in researching Gravity Falls meaning he didn’t really bother with the actual latest releases of the early eighties. Video games had evidently largely improved since then, the scene on the tv bright and colorful.
About to walk past with only a wave to the preoccupied twins, Ford caught sight of the characters on screen with a double take. Was that…? Examining further, Ford discovered something that made him start reeling from memories of friends he never thought he’d see again in a form that made his heart and mind hurt for he didn’t know what to think of them being mere video game characters. He stared at the blue hedgehog and the orange fox for way too long, gathering attention from even the twins who were playing their game contentedly.
“Uh, you okay, Grunkle Ford?” Mabel asked, Tails on screen pausing his movement as she took the time to watch Ford’s face flicker in a variety of different emotions. Sonic sped on ahead until Dipper caught on to the oddity that was Ford’s reaction, in which he sped right into a spike trap and lost all his rings with a little groan from the boy. Ford looked at it further, seeing that the world they were in was slightly different than the one he’d visited. Lighter greens and different patterns on the walls. It was weird. “Hello? Earth to Ford?”
“Oh, um, sorry… I just…” Ford didn’t know how to say the next words without feeling insane for it. Dipper and Mabel watched intently, waiting for his explanation patiently. “One of the worlds I visited on the other side of the portal was… exactly like this, with minor differences. Even down to those two characters. Sonic and Tails, am I right?”
“Wait, WHAT?!” Both twins shouted in unison, practically jumping out of the couch to give Ford all of their attention, gladly sacrificing the game to the ten minute timer if only to learn what the heck their great uncle meant by that. Ford scratched his neck awkwardly, but soon had them hooked with a story of adventure and bonding before too long. Dipper and Mabel seemed to be completely entranced by the fact that their favorite characters were real in a dimension out there in the multiverse, though Ford wasn’t quite sure if they didn’t just think he was only trying to bond with them in his strange way by relating to their game. It didn’t matter.
“So Tails helped me leave that dimension, our lives crossing for a day that I’ll never forget,” Ford finished, sitting in the chair they’d been using to play their game. Dipper and Mabel hugged him and Ford decided nothing was better. He slightly wished these kids could’ve met Sonic and Tails for real, instead of being left to believe they were just video game characters on a screen. Ford somehow knew they’d love them. He’d just have to settle with sharing what he knew about them, for nothing would make him risk it all for that. But he did have one thing that might convince them for real, something he’d tucked into his pocket. Fur from Tails’ tails as he wacked them against his hand. Pulling it out, they were awed, the bright orange and white unmistakably Tails’.
“That… that’s just… wow… I can’t believe Sonic and Tails are real!” Dipper exclaimed as he daintily held the tuft of fur Ford had handed him. Mabel petted the tuft she’d been given with her eyes alight with joy.
“In a way, yes,” Ford took the fur back into his pocket, looking at the title screen of a game directly called ‘Sonic the Hedgehog 2’ with Sonic and Tails sitting in a unique emblem over a background of pixelly beauty, “They’re just video game characters in our world. But as I’ve demonstrated, there is a dimension out there where they are living breathing beings.”
“Oh, that makes my brain hurt… but it’s still so cool!” Dipper joined in with Mabel in being excited about the newfound knowledge, convincing Ford into watching them play a run of the game and switching off every once in a while to give him a turn. Ford, though he still had wider concerns about Bill, decided to humor them this once as they started a new one. Ford genuinely smiled at seeing his one-day friends again, even though they were just pixels on a screen in this dimension.
I hope you’re still doing okay in your dimension, Tails.
The moment Ford thought it, he knew that that wonderful little fox was doing just fine. Somehow he was as confident as if he personally witnessed him being okay.
So Ford played the game, his mind satisfied with the stimulation of it and his heart warming at the memories in his mind of that sweet little fox and his best friend. He felt happy at telling Dipper and Mabel the story behind meeting those colorful and interesting characters.
It was a story for the ages.