White Space and Time

by virtualhedgehogs

Time and space are broken by a mysterious creature. Sonic finds himself in a void where there are portals to various locations and times in his life. Joined by his younger self, as well as his friends, he must restore time by defeating this monster. But it quickly becomes clear that not all is as it seems... "An adventure's no fun if it's too easy!" (A "Sonic Generations" REWRITE)

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White Time and Space: a Sonic Generations Rewrite

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Chapter One: Happy Birthday, Sonic!

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Five years ago …

If it was one thing Sonic the Hedgehog loved about South Island, it was the sheer size of it. No matter how fast he went, he couldn't easily travel from one side of the island to the other in a small amount of time. It was a far cry from his place of birth, Christmas Island.

Of course, the area of South Island he loved the most was the Green Hill Zone. Sonic didn't mind technology—as long as it wasn't made by a certain mad scientist—but sometimes, it was nice to just enjoy good old, peaceful nature.

Unfortunately, that was hard to do when a bunch of robots showed their ugly faces.

"Oh, come on, really?" Sonic groaned as he came across a Motobug, which, upon sight of the blue hedgehog, shot towards him. Sonic leaped up and onto a convenient floating platform above him. He looked down upon the Motobug with contempt. "That Robotnik guy is such a pain. I stop him, what, three, four times? And yet he's still got plenty of these stupid things!"

The hedgehog curled up into a ball and started to spin, leaping up and landing hard on the robot, destroying it almost instantly. Sonic bounced up into the air and landed back on the platform. He watched the little Flicky that had been powering the badnik happily fly away. Sonic sighed, brushing himself off. He wouldn't be as annoyed by these robots if they didn't use innocent animals to power them. Then again, even if they did use another power source, they'd still be causing trouble.

Turning, Sonic scowled at the sight of Buzz Bombers ahead. It made sense he'd see these robots in Green Hill again, he supposed. Either they were ones he had missed before, or Robotnik was back in action. Again.

Giving it some thought, Sonic smirked. He almost hoped that jerk was back. Sonic had been itching for a new adventure ever since leaving Angel Island, after all.

Just before he could take off, a thought occurred to Sonic. Speaking of that adventure, where was his good friend, Tails? The fox had stayed behind at the shores of South Island to do something or other with the Tornado, but wouldn't he have caught up by now? Sonic may have been the fastest on his feet, but Tails could easily catch up by flying!

As if on cue, Sonic heard the familiar sound of Tails' tails spinning. The fox soon joined him on the floating platform, a bright smile on his face. "Hey Sonic! Sorry to keep you waiting!"

"Don't worry about it, l'il bro," Sonic chuckled, ruffling the fox's head a bit. Tails shot him an annoyed look for this, but Sonic just turned and leaped off the platform. "Come on, let's race!"

Tails groaned, "But Sonic! You always win!"

"Well if you're gonna have that attitude about it, of course I will!" With that, Sonic's legs revved up, almost appearing to be a figure-eight, and then he took off. Tails groaned again, but quickly chased after, his tails spinning at max speed.

The duo did not get too far, however, before a resounding BOOM startled them. Sonic and Tails slowed to a stop and looked around, confused.

"Wh-what was that?" Tails asked.

"I dunno," Sonic said, shrugging, "but it's probably nothin'. Maybe a giant robot or something, but we'll take care of it! Right, buddy?"

"R-right!" Tails punched the air, "Let's go get him—!"

This time, the explosion was a lot louder, and they actually felt the effects. A shockwave knocked the two friends down. Dazed, they looked up and ogled at the strange portal in the sky.

"What the heck is that?" Sonic scratched the side of his head in confusion. "Reminds me a little of somethin' you'd see in that weirdo Special Zone …"

Sonic and Tails watched as the area around the portal started to lose its colour, the green hills losing their green until everything was white. This seemed to snap Sonic out of his shock, and his fight or flight instincts kicked in. Normally it would be the former, but whatever was happening, it didn't look like there was anything he could punch.

Just as he grabbed Tails and started revving up another Super Peel Out, a loud roar echoed through the hills. Freezing, he and Tails looked at the portal again—as a single, metallic hand shot out of it, straight towards them.

—

Five years later …

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY SONIC!"

Sonic the Hedgehog, fifteen-turned-sixteen-year-old, grinned at the group that consisted of (most of) his friends, who stood around a picnic table. Atop the table were various gifts, food, and, of course, a cake! All in all, the ideal surprise party, at least for a guy like Sonic. He didn't really ask for much.

"Whoa! Thanks guys, you shouldn't have!" The hedgehog eyed the cake. On it was a symbol that resembled his head, and the words "Happy Birthday, Sonic!" were written under the symbol in blue frosting. He turned his attention to Tails and said, "Man, I had no idea you guys were planning this!" He had, actually. It was hard to keep a secret from him.

Tails rolled his eyes, "Yeah, right. Still, happy birthday, Sonic! I hope you like the gifts!"

"Eh, I'm sure they're great," Sonic shrugged. With his attention on Tails, he wasn't able to avoid Amy Rose, who latched onto him in a tight hug. "Urk …!"

"Eeeee, happy birthday Sonic!" the pink hedgehog squealed. Sonic was grateful when her grip eased.

"Uh, thanks, Amy," Sonic said. As much as Amy bothered him, she was undoubtedly a good friend—mostly—so he was cool with her. As long as she didn't start chasing him, anyway.

Looking around, Sonic took in the sight of the people who had shown up. There were Tails and Amy, of course. He would have been shocked if they hadn't been there!

The Chaotix—Espio the Chameleon, Charmy Bee, and Vector the Crocodile—were nearby. He had known them even longer than most of his friends, aside from maybe Tails. Vector was arguing with Charmy about something, and Espio just looked Done with a capital "D" with their antics.

Cream the Rabbit, and her constant companion Cheese the Chao, were there. She was chatting with Blaze the Cat, who looked somewhat uncomfortable with the group, although Cream seemed to be keeping her happy, at least. Blaze even gave a rare smile as the rabbit offered her a chili dog.

Rouge the Bat was yet another guest, which surprised Sonic a little, but then again she had always been a bit more consistently friendly with him than Shadow. However, the black and red hedgehog himself was also there, although he was standing apart from the group and not really paying attention to them, as far as Sonic could tell. Perhaps most baffling was Omega's presence, the robot was even wearing a comically small party hat in comparison to his head. Omega was droning on about something, Rouge looking amused as she seemed to try to explain something to the robot, with no avail. Omega probably didn't understand parties.

Then there was Sonic's first 'rival' of sorts, Knuckles the Echidna. He was looking at the cake eagerly, not that Sonic blamed him at all. Every once in a while Rouge would get his attention, but the echidna just waved her off, much to her annoyance. Sonic couldn't help but be amused by this role-reversal of sorts—usually it was Rouge riling up Knuckles, not the other way around.

The final party guest was none other than the international cat of mystery, Big. Sonic didn't know him too well, but Amy and Cream seemed fond of the big guy, and Sonic couldn't bring himself to not like such a laid back and well-meaning dude, so he wasn't going to complain about Big's presence. Still, it was odd to see the cat anywhere other than the Mystic Ruins, at least not without his buddy Froggy running away. The frog sat on his shoulder, however, disproving that as a possible explanation. He was sitting on the ground, near Cream and Blaze.

Sonic raised his hands and clapped, quickly getting everyone's attention. He said, "Seriously, all of you, thanks for coming! I can't remember the last time we all got together like this. And hey, this cake, the presents, it all looks amazing!"

"Oh, of course Mr. Sonic!" Cream beamed at him, "We wanted your birthday to be extra special!"

"Indeed. A sixteenth birthday is something of a milestone," Espio said, nodding at Sonic.

Charmy yelled, "Yeah! Now he can drive! … Uh, wait, why would he want to? I mean, he can run faster than cars anyway!"

Vector snorted, "It's called style, Charmy! You'll understand when you're older!" Charmy just stuck his tongue out. "Why, you little …!"

The chameleon sighed, "Please calm down, you two.'

"Uh, thanks guys, but I think I'll just stick to the Tornado and Extreme Gear for vehicles," Sonic chuckled. "Besides, the only cars fast and cool enough for me are racecars!"

Knuckles snorted, "It'd be just like you to drive through Station Square in one of those."

Sonic grinned, turning to Tails and poking a thumb in Knuckles' direction, "What can I say? This guy gets me!" Tails snickered and Knuckles just rolled his eyes. As grumpy and overly serious as ever, Sonic fondly mused. Hopefully, the party would lighten the Knucklehead up a little over time.

"I NOW UNDERSTAND THE CONCEPT OF A 'PARTY'," Omega droned, "HOWEVER, I DO NOT UNDERSTAND THE IMPORTANCE OF CELEBRATING SOMETHING AS POINTLESS AS A 'BIRTHDAY'. YOU LIVING CREATURES CONTINUE TO BAFFLE ME."

Rouge raised a brow, "And yet you came here, anyway."

"THE BLUE HEDGEHOG IS A VALUABLE ALLY, THEREFORE I SHALL ATTEND AN EVENT THAT IS IMPORTANT IN HIS LIFE," Omega explained. "…ALSO, BOTH OF MY TEAMMATES ARE HERE AND I DO NOT HAVE ANYTHING BETTER TO DO AT THIS TIME." Usually, the most powerful of the E-SERIES robots would be out destroying badniks. However, Eggman had been lying low lately, which meant he was likely up to something.

Sonic shrugged, "Eh, good enough for me." He turned and called out, "Hey, what about you Shadow?!"

Shadow glanced over his shoulder for a moment before turning and walking over to the group, who all watched him, interested in his response. The Ultimate Life Form said, with the utmost sincerity, "Nothing better to do."

Sonic facepalmed. He looked at Rouge and asked, "You sure he isn't actually one of those androids?" Shadow growled at that, but went ignored.

Rouge smirked at him, "Well, he eats and breathes, and I don't think Eggman is that good at making his robots seem alive." She eyed Omega meaningfully.

"Heh, good point."

"I'm right here, you know," Shadow said, more than a bit of annoyance in his voice.

Before Sonic could respond, Tails cleared his throat, "Ah, perhaps we should eat now? I'm sure a lot of us are hungry at this point, especially with all the preparations!"

Everyone nodded their agreement with the fox, and so they all started to enjoy the food. Thankfully there was more than just chili dogs, since there was a lot of variety in terms of taste in the group, but Sonic went right to the pile of chili dogs. Grabbing one, he grinned widely, seeing they were just the way he liked them. "Tails, have I ever told you you're the best?" he asked.

Tails chuckled, "On occasion, yeah."

Before Sonic could begin to gorge himself on the beautifully-made chili dog, a resounding BOOM echoed. The group cried out simultaneously as they were put off balance a bit, the entire area shaking for a few seconds. Sonic instinctively threw his hands up, accidentally throwing the chili dog high into the air, much to his annoyance.

Amy whipped out her Piko-Piko Hammer and yelled, "What in the world was that?!"

Big had fallen over, but somehow managed to get to his feet easily. "Uuhh, I dunno'," he said, scratching one of his ears in contemplation. Nearby, Cream flapped her large ears to float up onto her feet, and Blaze gracefully ascended, brushing herself off.

"That almost felt like an earthquake," Shadow frowned, "but something seems 'off'."

"What do you mean?" Rouge asked.

"SCANNERS ACTIVATED. I AM DETECTING A STRANGE ENERGY OF UNKNOWN ORIGINS AND PROPERTIES."

"Hey, yeah, something does feel a bit weird," Knuckles said. He pulled out the Master Emerald, shrunk somewhat for easy carrying. "And the Master Emerald … it feels like it's warning me of something?"

Sonic really didn't like the sound of any of this. At first he thought it might be Eggman, but then again, the ol' Egghead wasn't the only threat around. For all he knew it was the Biolizard or some other freaky monster thing back for revenge. Then again, Omega probably knew what readings would indicate Chaos Control, but the energy he was detecting was 'unknown'.

Tails pulled out his handheld device, the Miles Electric. Sonic wasn't sure what compelled Tails to use his real name—Miles—in the naming of that device, especially since Tails had made it clear in the past he didn't like his own name very much. Still, the device was very useful on their recent adventures. After a moment, Tails hummed thoughtfully, "Well, I have to concur with Omega here, the energy doesn't seem … hmm, now that I think about it, it's kind of like—!"

A deafening roar interrupted him, and the group all turned to watch as a portal seemed to appear in the middle of nowhere a few yards away. Out of it, a mechanical hand floated out, then another, and then something floated all the way through. It almost looked like a gigantic monstrous face, with floating hands at its sides and no visible arms. Most bizarrely, in the area around it, all the colour seemed to fade away, aside from the creature itself and the purples portal behind it.

"What is that thing?!" Sonic yelled, stepping forward, as if to shield the entire group on his own.

"I-I don't know, it's like nothing I've ever seen before!" Tails said.

"Well, I don't know what it is, but hey. This could be fun!" Sonic grinned viciously and threw himself forward, ignoring a few of his friends' who yelled at him to come back.

The monster seemed to sneer at him as he approached, but the hedgehog didn't flinch. Sonic threw his arms behind him and focused, before creating a sonic boom as he shot forward in a Sonic Boost. Moving faster than the speed of sound he smashed right into the creature—

…

—only for it to catch him in its hand. Sonic yelped as he was lifted up and held in the air by the strange creature. "Wha—how did you…?!" the hedgehog stammered.

The creature ROARED, and swiped it's other arm. More portals materialized, but this time they didn't just float there. These ones created a vacuum that began pulling Sonic's friends towards them.

"WE'RE BEING SUCKED IN!" Knuckles yelled, punching the ground, his spiky namesakes digging into the ground easily and holding him still—for a few seconds, before the vacuum became too powerful and pulled him into one of the portals.

It didn't take long before the others were pulled in, all crying out for help. Even Omega, who was extremely heavy and was one of the last to go—alongside Big and a REALLY stubborn Tails—couldn't stay put for long before the portals overpowered him.

Sonic couldn't do anything. The creature's grip was much too strong, and no matter how much he struggled, he couldn't break free. He even attempted to enter a spin, but that was impossible while being held still. "Let me go already!" Sonic snapped, "And give me back my friends, ya jerk, or I'll kick you into next Tuesday!"

The monster cared not for his threats, and carelessly threw him slightly up and to the side. He landed on the ground face-first (always an unsavory experience). Sonic groaned, feeling drained. What had that thing done to … to—

Without being able to finish his thought, Sonic the Hedgehog faded into unconsciousness, and the world quite literally faded around him.

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A/N: So, this is a thing. A thing that I wrote, in fact. I've written fanfiction before, but it feels like it's been ten thousand years since then. (2010 was ten thousand years ago, right?) Anyway, I kinda fell out of writing completely the past few years, but when inspiration struck, I went with it. I'm not sure how good this will be, but hey, I'm mostly doing this particular project for fun.