Temporal Fissure – A Sonic Generations Adaptation

Chapter 1: Make Ripples

Written by Hikami42 – Hikari-san42 and Yami-sama42

Notes: Sorry for the extreme wait on this chapter. Life, multiple computer failures, and other fanfictions have seriously kept us from working on this story. No promises on next chapter, but we'll try to have it up a bit earlier than this one.

Neither one of us have actually written an adaptation before so bear with us during the level portions of this chapter. Most of these level sections were written over eight months ago, so we've gotten better. Next chapters should be better, but for now, just grit your teeth please?

Other than that, please enjoy.

…:Eight Years Before Present:…

He saw the smoke an hour before he touched land.

The ride over from Westside Island had been rough. The sea had been choppy, sending Sonic's knees – and heart – into a wobbly condition, and the way the sky rumbled overhead did nothing for his land-loving psyche. The boat itself wasn't a passenger vessel, equipped mainly for cargo and the occasional livestock, so there was nowhere for Sonic or his other fellow travelers to go to get away from the dark skies. Luckily, the heavens withheld their wet contents from them, and Sonic couldn't help but feel like he was finally hitting a stroke of good luck.

Until, that is, he noticed the dark plume of ash rising from the island in front of the boat. His first thought was that one of the volcanoes in Marble Zone had erupted again, but then he noticed the positioning of the smoke, and he felt his stomach drop.

Green Hill Zone was not prone to fires. Being situated so closely to the ocean, the Zone was one of the wettest Sonic had ever encountered, and therefore was well protected from fires. The water was funneled under the houses constantly – after being distilled of its salts, of course – and could be tapped into with only a moment's notice. There was no formal fire department, instead all of the residents usually banding together to help put out a blaze if a stray lightning bolt struck a home – a rare occurrence, because none of the buildings were taller than a palm tree – or if a cooking accident caused a small flame to spread.

So, it was with a sinking feeling that Sonic stepped off the boat and onto Green Hill soil, coughing slightly as the smoke got thicker. Around him, people were fleeing, but there were no visible flames as of yet. Sonic stopped a passerby – some type of red bird – with a held out hand, and the male skidded to a halt, taking in Sonic's appearance with wide eyes.

"Oh thank Chaos!" The avian Mobian shouted, grabbing the twelve-year-old by the shoulders. "You're here!"

"What's going on here?" Sonic demanded, ignoring pleasantries in favor of quick answers. "Where's the fire?"

The other shook his head and Sonic felt his hopes raise. "No fire." The bird replied quickly, glancing backward. "Smog." The hedgehog's hopes were dashed just as quickly as they had risen. "Dr. Robotnik launched a surprise attack on the Zone, and it was all we could to get away!" He was panting, staring past Sonic's shoulder toward the boat he had just departed. "I have to go. My family's here somewhere; need to get them to safety!" Then, with a flap of his wings, he was gone.

o0o

…:Eight Years Before Present:…

It took Sonic about thirty minutes to get away from the fleeing residents of Green Hill. The people were mainly condensed around the port, trying to stay out of Robotnik's war path, so Sonic quickly decided that taking the fight away from the innocent bystanders was probably the best idea.

So, he jogged away quickly, setting a steady and quick pace. In front of him, the path thinned into a straight line, linear because of the water flowing around the land. Green Hill was more of an island on its own than a Zone in some parts, and this spot was one of them. Sonic gritted his teeth at the water nearby and continued forward. Above him, the smog had cleared from the sky, allowing its true, saturated blue to shine through. Lazily, a few clouds drifted past.

As he ran through the tall green grasses of the Zone, the flowers bouncing lazily in the breeze behind him, Sonic couldn't help but let a bit of relaxation seep into his body. He was running through his home Zone, with no one around to stop him, and he was enjoying himself. Easily, he leapt upward as he spotted some rings hanging above his path. There were only three, but it was enough to get him jazzed and ready to do some serious running. He smiled smugly before rushing forward.

Until, that is, he smashed right into a Motobug.

Sonic went flying backward, the three rings he had previously grabbed ejecting themselves from him and scattering. The small ladybug-like robot rolled toward him on its one wheel, waving its yellow pincers menacingly, its small blue eyes staring him down. Sonic sighed before jumping up and slamming his foot onto the robot, effectively destroying it.

Rings, being a by-product of Chaos Energy, reacted well with Sonic's Chaos adept body. They disappeared when he touched them – being made of only pure energy – and added their power to his own, making him move a tad bit faster and also protecting him from attacks. When hit with any type of projectile or attacked by a robot, the rings cushioned the blow for half a second, saving his life. However, they flew away from him when this happened, leaving him vulnerable until he could grab more.

Cursing himself for his own carelessness, he jumped onto an overhanging platform, and, grabbing a few more rings from a ring box – a capsule that held about 10 rings, collected by the natives – he smirked as they flooded his system.

His euphoria didn't last long, however, when a loud buzzing noise above him alerted him just in time to a Buzz Bomber primed to shoot. It was a wasp-shaped robot, with stripes like a bee's down what would have been its abdomen had it been real, a black thorax, and a red head, also with the tell-tale blue eyes that most of Robotnik's machines had. Its stinger was actually a laser, and it didn't waste any time showing off said laser.

Sonic yelled as he jumped out of the way just in the time, avoiding the hit my millimeters.

The hedgehog grunted, leaping up right as he touched back down again. He curled into a tight ball right as he left the ground, and slammed into the badnik with his quills, cracking it open and sending himself catapulting up and in the air. Somehow, once he reached his apex, he looked down and spotted a cleverly hidden spring in a tree and angled himself toward it. He crashed down onto it, sending himself back up through a line of rings. When his feet touched the grass again, he wasted no time dashing forward.

After running up a very steep hill, he found himself facing one of his worst nightmares: a bridge.

Sonic didn't like the bridges in Green Hill Zone. They had a tendency to break when high speed hedgehogs ran through, trying to send him plummeting to a watery grave. However, he was usually fast enough to run across them before they collapsed completely.

He tested this bridge with his toe, flinching when it started to sink with only a minimal amount of weight. Great, it was a rope bridge with nothing to keep small blue hedgehogs from falling off the sides, and it bowed in toward the middle when he walked on it.

Also, there were Choppers – piranha-shaped 'bots – jumping up and over the bridge, possibly trying to grab nearby innocent Mobians and drag them into the water.

Fantastic.

With a sigh, Sonic curled in on himself before revving into a spindash. The move allowed him to reach a high speed very quickly and would take out any enemies he passed without any problems. It was the safest – and only – way to get across these bridges.

He shot forward, actually hitting a Chopper on his way past, and made it safely past the bridge with no complications. However, he must have miscalculated his speed, as he kept going past the bridges, up a small hill, down the opposite side of that very same hill, and up again, somehow knocking a ring box from a tree. Forgoing the box, he kept moving.

After destroying two Crabmeats – crab-shaped robots that shot missiles out of their claws – he rolled into a tunnel, past a bridge riddled with Motobugs, back into a different tunnel, and was thrown into the sky by a well angled piece of land. He landed on a higher level and rushed forward past the giant stone tikis that dominated the Zone before running right into a red spring.

The spring bounced him across a life-threatening drop, and the hedgehog couldn't help but yell and flip over for flare. He landed on his feet and blasted forward again.

Somehow, in the following chain of events, he ended up in the caves, where the waterfalls cascaded past to fill the underground lakes. He came to a stop right in front of a large cluster of spikes – metal implements of death planted by Robotnik at strategic points throughout the whole Zone – and a swinging platform hanging from the ceiling by a chain of metal rings. Timing it just right, he barely managed to jump onto the platform, the tip of his toe catching on the edge and sending him flailing his way onto the wooden base of the platform, and he placed a hand over his heart out of relief.

Next, he bounced his way back up to ground level with the help of a few springs, and he spindash'd his way through a rock blocking a tunnel. Riding that tunnel all the way to another series of springs and then a set of two full loop-de-loops – which Sonic couldn't help but laugh through as he rushed past. Then up onto some more swinging platforms, jumping across to a higher level, spindashing into a Motobug, catapulting himself up with the use of another spring, and down a large Mobian-made wooden ramp. The ramp curled around a rock formation, making Sonic's head spin as he ran around it. Then, before he could stop himself, he was running across two more bridges. He couldn't help himself; he looked down. His stomach dropped and he gulped, pushing his body faster so there wasn't any possibility of the bridges collapsing.

Using his momentum to run up the curved wall, he bounced up yet three more springs before dropping down and following the swooping path down to the caves that housed almost all of the underground lakes. Here, the sounds of running water, feral birds, and charging robots almost overwhelmed the hedgehog, but he forced himself to concentrate and jump across the swinging platforms. He managed to make it all the way across without falling and avoided the three Crabmeats meant to slow him down.

Spindashing once again through a rock blocking a tunnel, he rolled through another loop and right up to a Möbius strip. The narrow piece of land curled up and over itself twice, making Sonic speed up and slow down accordingly to keep himself from flying off. He made it across easily enough however, and used his leftover momentum to keep rushing forward, over the small hills that riddled the path from here.

He ran forward with little obstruction after that, and was almost to the edge of the Zone when something sent the ground into wild convulsions. Sonic's whole world shook and he stumbled, his feet flailing and trying to gain traction again. He threw out his heels in an attempt to slow his run, and stopped a few feet later, before looking around, his brain ticking. "What the…" He trailed off as his search came up empty and he shrugged before starting forward again.

Three steps later, a loud roar shook the world, sending Sonic stumbling forward again. The hedgehog managed to catch himself and he spun around, staring up at some type of… creature. Sonic felt his quills rise in defense and he barred his teeth, small hedgehog incisors glinting in the light.

It was shapeless, more like a blob of darkness than an actual thing. But, it took up no space or time – seemingly like the black abyss of the night sky. As he stared at it, his mind started to spin, as if he couldn't comprehend the depth of the creature. He forced his eyes upward, focusing on something more concrete than the mass of swirling smoke and shadows of its body. It had a mouth of jagged gears, resembling a clock, and its face seemed out of place – too substantial for the gaseous vapors surrounding it.

It emerged from a rip in the blue sky, blowing away clouds and smog as it gripped the sides of the hole and pulled itself out. With a roar, it finally feed itself from the portal and barreled toward him, its knife like fingers splayed and ready to grab.

As it got closer, Sonic felt time slow around him. Slowly, it seemed to reverse, sending his mind into violent paroxysms of confusion. How did he get here? Where was he? What day was it? Who was he? He remembered nothing.

But, somehow, he also remembered everything. His whole life, spinning through his mind as snippets of sound and flashes of images, slipped past his eyes, going backwards in chronology.

There was the boat he had only departed about two hours ago – was it really only two? – with its ogling captain, crew, and passengers. He slipped past them with a wayward flick of his hand, walking with purpose.

The image blurred, turning into something new. He was spinning, a rock flying out of his hand and slamming into the distant floating form of Dr. Robotnik's Egg-O-Matic, sending it exploding into a mass of smoke shaped mysteriously like the doctor's face.

The picture dissolved again, and the memories picked up speed, time trying to fix itself.

"I'm Rosy the Rascal!"

"C'mon Knuckles, show Tails the Master Emerald!"

"Where're we going, Sonic? Angel Island?"

"Just don't show off so much that you forget to look where you're going!"

"See look, I finished it! Isn't it great?"

"Thanks for the help Sonic. The Master Emerald's safe because of you."

"Sky Sanctuary… It's gone…"

"Knuckles, we're not your enemies! Robotnik's playing you like a violin!"

"Now that I've got what rightly belongs to me as Guardian of Angel Island, get off my Island!"

"Sonic, I found something! It looked like an island floating in the sky!"

"Thanks Sonic, because of you, Robotnik won't set foot on Westside Island again."

"Wh-what are you? You're golden!"

"TAILS! C'mon kid! Fly the plane! Your engine's on fire!"

"That's the seventh Emerald! I thought it was just a myth!"

"My name's Miles Prower… I don't like it much though."

"You're a hero Sonic! You've saved South Island!"

"Say goodbye, Sonic the Hedgehog."

"MIGHTY! Look out!"

"I am Doctor Ivo Robotnik and this is where you meet your end, Mobian rats."

"What is that?"

"Bet you can't run over that loop, Sonic."

"I'm Sonic! I'm from Christmas Island! Who are you?"

The memories slowed to a halt as they reached the length of the hedgehog's memory. Sonic gasped, hand over his heart and he jerked his head up toward the creature. The onslaught of memories had taken literal milliseconds, but the monster seemed almost on top of him now. His eyes widened and he was frozen, unable to move as it finally overwhelmed him.

The world went dark.

…T…I…M…E…F…R…O…Z…E…

Tick-tock…

Tick… tock…

Ti…ck… To…ck…

Ti…ck… To…c-

o0o

Ti…ck… To…c-

Ti…ck… To…ck…

Tick… tock…

Tick-Tock…

…:Present:…

Tails was running as fast as his legs could take him, momentarily forgetting about his ability to fly in wake of his current situation. He could see his destination in the distance, the lone tree with the lake not far behind it. Sitting harmlessly below the foliage was a table, various objects scattered on its surface. The closer the fox got, the better he could see the shapes of his friends moving to and fro around the simple piece of furniture. He could see Knuckles chatting it up with Rouge; Amy fussing over something with Cream and her little Chao, Cheese, Blaze supervising with a critical eye; Charmy hanging full, brightly colored balloons and streamers in the tree, Vector slowly feeding him the roll of tissue paper rope, Espio handing the little bee a new balloon every few seconds. Covering the table was an assortment of goodies ranging from cupcakes to small cookies to heaping plates of chili dogs.

Tails internally grinned. This was going to be the best party ever.

His ear twitched as he managed to pick up the thunderous drumming of footsteps in the distance. "Guys, hurry up! Get into position! He'll be here any second!"

There was no question as to who 'he' was because Sonic the Hedgehog, international, planet-wide hero and speedy blue daredevil, came sliding to a stop a few feet away from where Tails had been standing mere moments ago. The fox in question had rushed up to the table, shielding one very pivotal item from his older brother's view; the teen looked up at Vector, who stood opposite him on the other side of the counter, and nodded, the crocodile slowly and silently easing the lid off of the box that hid the treasure.

Sonic rolled to the balls of his feet to walk the rest of his momentum off as his bright green eyes roamed over the area. "Hey guys," he greeted once he noticed the group that contained most of his friends in front of him, "What's goin' on?" He studied a nearby balloon with an appreciative eye. "You havin' a party or somethin'?"

Tails glanced at each of the Mobians standing beside him. With a subtle nod the eldest Chaotix, the fox stepped to the side just as he and the others all yelled, "Surprise!" A couple of them even decided to pull out some confetti poppers.

Sonic gave a cheesy grin, forcing a surprised and embarrassed look on his face. Resting a palm on his forehead, he tilted his head to the side a bit. "Aw, you guys…" He smirked and walked up to his little brother, the golden colored one smiling widely. A small chorus of claps in Sonic's honor were given, the hedgehog twitching an ear in response.

He approached the table, taking in the assortment of snacks and sweets and the smiling faces of his friends. He chuckled, gesturing around them. "Nice setup here, guys. Looks great." Several of the others smiled at him in response, straightening up with pride. He stopped in front of the cake and looked down it with a smirk. "This is awesome," he snickered, looking over at Cream, the small rabbit positively bouncing at his approval.

Tails walked up to his side with his own smile on his face. "We've been planning this for like a week, you know," the fox told Sonic with a mischievous twinkle in his eyes.

"So that's why you've been disappearing all the time," Sonic replied, glancing at the fox from the corner of his eyes.

Before the kit had the chance to respond, Amy jumped on Sonic's back, avoiding the quills in only the way a hedgehog could. "Sonic!" she screeched in his ear. "Happy birthday!"

Grimacing, he pushed her off, a somewhat forced smile on his muzzle when he turned to face her. "Hey, Amy. Thanks," he replied, a hand on her shoulder to keep her back.

"Oh, you're welcome, Sonic. We worked hard on this party just for you," she chirped, her eyes gaining a love struck look.

"Heh, well I appreciate it, real–" He was cut off when the girl leapt at him again, her arms out wide. In a split second decision, he put his hand on her forehead to stop her. She jolted and her arms fell to the side in defeat. Still she pushed against his hand and grumbled and whined before sputtering meaningless words to try to get him to let her show him her affection. Ignoring all of this, the hedgehog twisted back around and looked at the fox. "You were saying?" Amy just huffed and turned around to talk to someone else.

"It's kind of impossible to surprise you, Sonic," Tails elbowed the blue one in the side, eyes narrowed. "After all, you are Mr. Unpredictable."

Sonic feigned shock. "No, you totally got methis time!" The hedgehog's eyes widened dramatically before rolling up at the sky, one hand coming to rest on his forehead. His mouth dropped open in theatrical awe and he spread his arms out. "I had no idea!"

Tails laughed, the lighthearted banter too funny to ignore. "Yeah, right!" he agreed, brushing the statement off with a metaphorical hand-wave. His expression melding into one of sincere happiness, he smiled. "Happy birthday, Sonic." The hedgehog just smiled back, his eyes dancing with joy. Tails turned halfway to pull something off of the tabletop. Brandishing the plate in front of him, Tails offered it to Sonic. "A small gift from me to you, the best big brother and fastest blue hedgehog ever. Hope you like it!"

Sonic stared at the 'present' the kit gave him, a chili dog with all of his favorite fixings, swiped the offered treat off the plate and took a huge bite without saying a word. The fox looked at him in slight surprise before the blue one turned back with a thumbs up. "Like it?" He grinned and tilted his head slightly. "I love it!" Tails beamed up at him.

"I wasn't sure what to get you, I never am, but I figured this would do for now," the kitsune told him, setting down the plate. "I got something to give you when we get back to the house, too."

"Aw, you didn't have to do that, bro," Sonic playfully groaned, ruffling the fur on the top of the kit's head. "I'm just happy to spend time with you."

"I wanted to though," Tails replied, blue eyes wide and pleased. "If anyone deserves the best birthday ever, it's you, Sonic."

The blue hedgehog smiled, emerald eyes shining. Before he had the chance to open his mouth to respond, a sudden strong gust of wind bore down upon the party and its attendees. The chili dog held in Sonic's grasp flew away and he looked after it forlornly gloved fingers stretching up for it and feeling empty. As he hung his head in despair, Tails nudged him in the arm.

"Sonic, look!" A blue head lifted at the urgency in the tone. He jolted as he took in the giant black and purple monstrosity that pulled itself out of some sort of portal to float before them, its gaseous body writhing and twisting in the sky. Sharp claw-like finger appendages scratched at the air around it and a grotesque face sneered down at them all viciously. "What is that?" the fox continued, taking a step closer to his older brother.

"Um, ugly," was the first response of the hedgehog's mouth, his eyes wide and confused. He tensed up when it opened a number of other portals, the scenery seen through them somewhat familiar to the hero.

"What's it doing?" Tails muttered, ears lowering as he shrunk down to try to appear smaller.

"I don't know but–" He was cut off when all of a sudden the strong wind from before returned from the opposite direction with enough force to knock everyone off their feet. Several people screamed out in surprise as they were pulled forward and up into the air towards the portals. "What!?" Sonic cried out. "Hey! Stop that! Put them down! You can't have them!"

Tails looked over at Sonic as the hedgehog ran forward. "Sonic, what are you–?" He felt himself rise without any of his own conscious effort and flailed in the air. "What's going on here!?" The blue hedgehog ignored him as he charged the beast with a single-minded focus. When he was close enough, he attempted a homing attack right at its enormous face. Seemingly without effort, the creature batted him away sending him flying. He crashed into the ground behind the tree and rolled to a stop on his stomach.

Tails gasped and stretched a hand out to Sonic as a scream ripped its way from his throat. He couldn't wrap his mouth around any words and was sucked backwards into the final portal against his will. The formless blob of a monster seemed to chuckle in satisfaction as Sonic tried and failed to push himself up, the hedgehog falling back down and losing consciousness.

o0o

…:Tempus Fugit:...

The first thing he saw when he opened his eyes was white. It was blinding and bright and the only thing around him. It surrounded him in an uncomfortable, but soothing blanket and he took a deep breath to steady himself. He pushed himself to his feet, his mind clear and blank. He had no memory of anything… except running. He remembered green fields and vast water systems, dank mechanical warehouses and steel traps of death. He remembered the wind winding through his quills, the ground pounding beneath his feet and the adrenaline pulsing through his veins.

He twisted his head around, eyes struggling to discern anything in the endlessness around him. Finally, he saw a structure of sorts in the distance. He stared at it for a moment before a small voice inside of him pushed him towards it. Blinking once, he swung himself into a jog and ran for the only other thing he could see around him.

When he was close enough, he stopped and examined it, eyes roving the formation. In the middle was a narrow path that led to a small glowing portal that was nestled in a rocky hole cut from the side of a cliff. Curiosity taking over, he stepped through it and was gone in a flash.

He opened his eyes and this time he was surrounded by greens and blues. He smirked and turned his head this way and that, immediately knowing what he had to do.

Sonic ticked off the seconds in his head, counting down from five as a small way to prepare himself for the adventure ahead of him. Once he hit zero, his mind screaming, "Go!" he took off, running at a fast but moderate speed. Ahead of him was a line of rings. He ran through, kicking up the speed into a boost before angling himself to go around a curve in the path. Hitting a set of dash panels at full speed, he was catapulted into the air, a small valley below him. A waterfall fell gently off to the side and he glanced at it before pulling off an air boost and shooting across the gap. He landed and immediately jumped again, curling into a ball to homing attack a chain of four Motobugs.

He hit the bridge underneath of him running, building up speed for a boost again before dashing around another curve and jumping to homing attack a fifth Motobug and a Buzzbomber. Using the leftover momentum to land on a red spring, he aimed for the closest rail and began grinding his way across a large, gaping hole. He boosted over them quickly, hitting another curve and knocking into even more Motobugs that stood in the narrow passageway. He ran across more of the red dash panels, the gadgets shooting him up and around a giant loop-de-loop.

When he evened out, he only ran straight for a couple seconds before jumping onto a higher plateau. Bracing himself, he dove up into a red colored Jump Ring that pushed him into another and finally into a Rainbow ring. Grinning like a fool, he twisted and spin in mid-air, striking pose after pose before hitting the ground, a Dash Panel pushing him a bit faster than gravity down an immediate slope.

At the end was a spring; after a three Buzz Bomber Homing Attack chain, he came to his feet again, moving quickly off of the cracked and breaking land only to step onto another Dash Panel that sent him down another hill. Sliding under a wall at the end, he flew over a gap, ran over a floating strip of land, and jumped onto more solid ground. Once again on a straight stretch, he kicked into a boost again, hitting a new Panel that took him forward and then down a slight incline.

Timing his jump right, he landed on a rail, still boosting and that, with a bit of a hop, took him into another Jump Ring duo that spat him out onto another rail, wooden platforms standing below for safety. Holding his arms out for balance, he smiled as the sun beat down on his face and the wind rushed through his quills. The rail ended and he dropped onto a wooden bridge, yet again stepping onto a Dash Panel that sent him up a yellow and rainbow colored Trick Panel.

The ramp shot him up and forward, giving him the time to make a few mid-air half twists and backflips before he went through the falling water of a giant waterfall. Behind it was a tunnel cave that took him deeper into the interior of a small mountain (also known as a large hill) that was filled with rails. He landed in a boost, running in corkscrews around the walls of the tunnel before he came upon the rails. The ceiling of giant cavern at the end was filled with a dark water pit, the liquid discolored and grotesque. Above the rails, the ceiling was adorned with many sharp and deadly looking stalactites, some even giving off the impression that they were going to fall. The cave was wide yet narrow, the rails trailing into darkness.

Shaking off the foreboding he felt upon entering, he landed on the middle rail, keeping his boost even as he switched over to the left rail that led into a Jump Ring and a line of Rings. This moved him to the right most rail and he boosted along that as it twisted and spiraled around the other two rails. At the end was another Jump Ring that moved him back onto the middle rail and the only one from that point on. It was a straight rail that was higher above the water than the rest and led past stalagmites that rose from the bottom.

From behind, he could hear a loud and thunderous splashing sound. As he continued boosting along the rail, he glanced back only to shout in surprise as a giant, menacing Chopper flew out of the water and started chasing him, destroying any and all rails that were in the way. Lowering himself on the rail to move faster, he was propelled upwards by a steep curve in the bar that went straight up into the air. His momentum took him through two more Jump Rings and a Rainbow Ring. He kicked and flipped, his worries about the fish-shaped badnik melting away as he yelled out loud in content before landing and running through what seemed to be the millionth Dash Panel.

At the bottom of the hill, an unassuming rail sat atop the ground, the yellow and green bar tempting him to just jump on it. Smirking with narrowed eyes, he leapt at it, using his arms as pivots to spin himself around in the right direction. He crouched, picking up speed before springing up into the three jump rings lined up at the end. He landed on another rail and from there a third rail, opting to grind his way back up to solid ground rather than jump off the walls of the rift above him. The rail circled around and evened off before dropping him down onto a relatively flat cliff top, the grass even greener than that growing below.

The ground didn't go on for long and two bridges with differing elevations were tacked onto the cliff face. He hopped up onto the first one and then the second before sliding across the taller one, the rocks above having shifted a bit too close to the wooden surface to merely walk under. Coming out on the other side, he found himself on another wooden platform that was merely floating in place. Looking up, he spotted a Crabmeat; aiming himself appropriately, he homing attacked it and the chain of two yellow and black Buzz Bombers, a fourth homing attack giving him the needed momentum to make it through a single jump ring. He landed again, another hill sloping down and bumping back up. He launched himself into a boost, the extra speed pushing him over a gap and onto the next piece of land.

A dash panel sat at the start of a narrower strip of checkered stone, the boost combined with the extra little push making him go faster than before. The rock twisted into a quadruple möbius twist, another dash panel helping over the last two halfway along. A small ramp sent him through the air briefly at the end and he came to him feet quickly, an open strip of land ahead of him. Boosting through more rings and then a trio of Crabmeats, the ground sloped up a little and into a small cavern with a progressively lowering ceiling. Sliding under the small gap at the back, he went straight for a bit, sliding once more but down another hill and through a couple of rocks. Hopping up a small step, he homing attacked a spring, the red bumper sending him straight up.

Atop the cliff was a line of four yellow and black Buzz Bombers. He shot towards the first one, giving it a nice kick once he was close enough before destroying the others. Doubling back slightly, he skipped the giant loop and instead stomped straight down on the flimsy wooden bridge directly below. The wood broke and fell away revealing a dim, but open valley below. He hit the ground, pausing slightly to regain his bearings and look around. A relatively large lake was off the left of the path, the water being fed by a small water fall. The water itself was very calm and clear enough to see the bottom, but Sonic couldn't have cared beyond the fact that it had a very astounding natural beauty. Light shone down through holes in the ground above this secluded hideaway and for a split second Sonic regretted having to leave it behind.

Soon enough, he pushed himself up and forward, running through several rows of rings, the golden beauties empowering him. He went down and then back up a hill, the grass giving away to dirt and then back into grass as the path narrowed out. Lines of fence sat on either side of the grass, presumably to protect passersby from the cliffs to either side. The land twisted and turned, the path not very long at all; before long Sonic was again running along checkered stone. He hadn't taken six steps before he realized that his feet were getting wet. Slowly to a stop, he looked down then back, scowling when he put together than he'd just ran through a puddle of water. Grumbling to himself, a sour look on his face, he trekked more quickly from here, racing swiftly but carefully through the other pools of the offending liquid, their shallow depths showing reflections of the rock ceiling not far above his head.

Truthfully, he had to admit he would have been surprised to not see water on that part of the path. The ground he ran on was nothing more than a cut into the side of a cliff, a constantly misting waterfall somewhere below making the entire area damp and the stone walls slick with vapor. The semi-tunnel didn't last long, however, and soon he was shooting up another Trick Panel, spinning and twisting in the air, hoping that the centrifugal force would dry his shoes a little more quickly. The Panel sent him way up into the air, the ramp perched on an edge a great distance away from the surface of the water below. He ended up going through the middle of giant shuttle loop and onto another strip of flat land.

This new path was wider than before but still had fences to either side, the waterfalls in the distance a good reminder about what would happen if one strayed too far. He shot into another boost, ignoring the dash panels to either side, and opting instead to just push through. He ended up blasting into and destroying another three Motobugs, the red and blue/black metal flying off from impact. He smiled up at the sky, the clear day revitalizing him as he slowed to a stop at the end of the path, a giant golden colored ring spinning slowing at the end. The fence dead-ended here in a strange half-circle shape, the posts on the sides lined with red flowers with large petals. A layer of the ground curved around behind the giant ring, multicolored blooms adorning the bright green grass. Below the flora, waterfalls spilled from inside the rock, a larger and wider fall cutting through the middle of the curving ground. With a sense of accomplishment, he grinned and touched the ring, the red star in the middle flashing as he was warped away from the Green Hill Zone.

o0o

…:Tempus Fugit:…

When he woke, Sonic could still hear the ticking. It was everywhere, in his ears, synchronizing with his heart, regulating his breathing. His mind searched for a source, trying to figure out where he had heard that strange noise before. However, no matter how far he reached, how hard he focused, his brain could not come up with an answer. The sound was foreign, had no synonym in his mind. It was as if he was hearing it for the first time, but he still recognized it, like had he had heard it many times before…

Before? Before what? He knew nothing of before… What was 'before'? His life was at a standstill. He was the exact same with every second that passed. He grew no older, didn't change at all. His quills didn't keep growing; his fur was frozen in that same spot. The only reason his brain understood that time was passing – despite the frozenness that surrounded him – was the soft melody playing above him. The music kept his mind moving, kept it alive, and kept it aware enough to keep his heart beating and his lungs expanding.

The twelve year old sat up slowly, forcing himself to ignore the ticking. He turned his head side to side slowly, assessing his neck for injuries. When everything seemed fine, he forced his eyes open, flinching back almost as soon as his lids were cracked. The whiteness that greeted him as so bright, it was nearly blinding. There was no definite light source, just a natural radiance from everywhere. The light was harsh, like artificial bulbs, not warm like the sun. It was cold, uninviting, and unrelenting. It filled every crevice and hole, casting everything into sharp reality. The shadows were where his brain expected them to be, as if placed there by his psyche and not the slanting rays of the light source.

He was surrounded by nothingness. All he could see in every direction was white. It stretched on for miles and miles, farther than his brain could fathom or understand. In the distance, there was a small dot, nothing more than a smudge from this distance. But still, it wasn't white, and that gave him a faint hope.

Hopping to his feet, the small light blue hedgehog dropped his dark eyes to his feet, analyzing his shoes. They were scuffed, but otherwise unhurt, and he heaved a sigh of relief. Stretching out his left leg, he reached over with his right arm to grab his toe, feeling his calf burn with the familiar stretch. The right side was next, and he shook out his hands afterwards, feeling his wrists pop.

Once he deemed himself successfully stretched, he wasted no time starting forward at a light jog. His breathing even, he tried to calculate how long it would take him to reach the black smudge. At his top speed, he could easily traverse oceans in minutes, but there was no way of telling how far away the dot was. With a sigh, he pushed himself faster, tucking his arms into his sides. His feet blurred underneath him and the wind whipped viciously at his quills, trying to slow him down. He didn't let it though, instead pushing himself even faster, enjoying himself for the first time in a long time.

This white place may have been a desolate wasteland, but it was wide open – something Sonic hadn't seen in a while. He could have spent all of his time running around this place without a care. No one to run into, no buildings to avoid, and no evil doctors trying to take over the world.

He shook his head, focusing instead on the black dot. It had grown into more of a black shape now, with clear outlines. The height of the object was visible now, seemingly smaller than Sonic himself. He squinted his dark eyes, trying to force his brain to figure out what he was looking at.

It took about two more minutes for Sonic to reach his black smudge. The thing was revealed to be a person, a very familiar person at that.

Golden fur, dark eyes, and two tails, Sonic thought he was seeing things. The little fox was sitting on the ground, facing away from Sonic and he was shivering slightly, no doubt crying. He was lost, a five-year-old kid with no idea where he was, and Sonic felt his heart wrench painfully. He rushed forward, ignoring the way the wind pushed back at him, and was next to his kid brother in seconds. He scooped up the child, pulling him into a rough hug.

The kit squeaked, all of the air rushing out of his lungs as he was squeezed. "S-Sonic?!" He gasped, staring up at his twelve-year-old friend. His eyes scanned the young face, categorizing every curve and tone of color. His eyes widened, and he smiled. "Sonic!" He threw himself into the embrace, smiling hugely. "What're you doing here?! I thought I was all alone! Oh thank Chaos!" He buried his face in Sonic's chest. "I thought I'd never see you again…"

"Tails," Sonic answered, smiling as well, "you don't know how glad I am to see you!" He rubbed his hand on the fox's head, feeling the springy bangs through his gloves. "How'd you get here?"

The fox leaned back in Sonic's hold, looking up at him. "There was this huge thing that scooped me and Knuckles right off of Angel Island." He replied, screwing his small face into an unhappy expression. "It was dark and huge and seemed to slow down time. I remembered everything that had ever happened to me! Then, I blacked out, and I was floating in some weird white space like this, except I couldn't move. Then, I was here, in this spot. I was so scared Sonic…" He trailed off. "What about you?"

"Same." Sonic answered shortly, looking around. He placed the fox on the ground. "What do you think this place is?"

Tails shrugged, latching himself to the hedgehog's side. "I dunno, but it's really weird. There's a clock ticking somewhere, but I can tell that time's stopped."

"Hm…" Sonic hummed, digging a pinky into his ear. "That's a clock?"

"Duh." Tails replied, smiling. "You know what a clock is…" He trailed off, seeing the look on Sonic's face. Instead of addressing it however, he changed the subject. "What do we do now?"

Sonic hooded his eyes with his hand, staring forward. "Nowhere to go but forward," so saying, he took a step, pulling the fox attached to his side with him, "and hope for the best."

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