November 21st.

Station Square, Mobius.

Sonic's Dimension.

"Ladies and Gentleman, I am proud to announce…that Sonic the Hedgehog has arrived!!"

A great crowd, which had gathered at the base of a giant platform, immediately erupted into cheers, watching as the door of a sleek black limousine opened. About a second later, a red shoe with a single white stripe appeared, and then a blue leg. Finally, Sonic the Hedgehog climbed out of the limousine and into the chaotic world of stardom.

He walked out towards the center of the platform, waving and grinning cockily at the audience, a few girls fainting when he sent a wink in their general direction. Almost instantly, five microphones and about twenty scraps of paper were shoved under his nose, and several reporters started asking him questions all at once. He chuckled, raising his hands and saying, "Please, please. One at a time, one at a time. That way, everyone gets a shot at getting a few words out of this." He raced across the stage at a supersonic pace, causing a group of female civilians in the crowd to cry, "I love you, Sonic!! Ieeee!!!"

Sonic snickered, then ran back to the reporters, one of them instantly asking him, "How difficult was it to defeat the Egg Ship, an arsenal greater than any Doctor Eggman has built so far?"

The blue hedgehog gave a charming smile, replying, "Well, as always, it was a piece of cake. I mean, with these feet, it's just hard to lose." He then turned out to the crowd, shouting, "But, I never could have done it without you guys always cheering me on!"

A hundred more camera flashes went off and a thousand more cheers, as the hedgehog ran backwards across the stage, crossing his arms and closing his eyes, acting as though doing such was the easiest thing in the world. Every single girl in the audience—and several guys, at that—cooed, screaming his name at the top of their lungs.

"Will we expect to see the doctor anytime soon? Or, Sonic, would you think he's gone for good?" a tomcat enquired, passing him the microphone.

Sonic laughed, and took the microphone from him. He spoke strongly and confidently, "It is half past eleven in the evening, and I am most happy to say Doctor Eggman is officially, and eternally, gone for good! Guess he just couldn't take the heat." He winked, running in place and causing a great amount of friction with his feet. In fact, steam started rising from the soles of his shoes, and that just made the audience grow even crazier.

They were chanting his name now, a wave beginning through the crowd, as the hedgehog came up with all sorts of tricks to show off to the crowd. It was never dull, and everyone loved it.

He was a legend.

********

Tails shook his head slowly, disgusted by the image on the television screen. He could hardly believe that the two-faced, cocky-grinned hedgehog depicted was his best friend. Or, at least, he had been. At some point. Now…Tails just wasn't so sure.

He watched as Sonic ran in place again, then signed about a dozen more autographs, several of them in places on female bodies that made Tails turn his head away. He didn't want to watch this anymore. It made him sick.

A sniffle came from behind him, and he turned to find a familiar pink hedgehog, who was wearing a long red dress that fell down to her ankles. Her hair was combed long and wavy, a red bow positioned next to her left ear. A single tear fell from her eye, as she watched the one she had been infatuated with for most of her childhood become corrupted by the media.

"I miss him," she murmured.

Tails sighed. "I know. So do I."

Amy came over the couch, placing her hands on the backrest. Tails could feel her grip the couch tightly. "All this time, I've done everything to support him…we've all done everything to support him…and he just throws it back in our faces." She gritted her teeth, tears filling her eyes and clouding her voice.

Tails was silent, as he continued to watch the stranger on the television screen.

"…I don't think Sonic will be back until late tonight, unless of course he starts sleeping with some of his fan girls," a deep voice concluded.

Tails and Amy averted their gaze to an ebony hedgehog, who was stepping into the room. He had blood red eyes that matched the color of the highlights in his quills, and wore black jeans and a long, black coat. He watched the screen with an emotionless gaze, but his posture seemed tense.

A low sob escaped Amy's lips, and she covered her mouth with her hand. "What exactly happened to him?" She whispered. "A few years ago, Sonic never would have dreamed of acting like this."

Neither Shadow nor Tails answered, even though they both knew the answer.

Blaze had happened.

"I'd just like to say that all of you have been so supportive to me in my life! You've really made my night, you know? Now that Eggman is gone, we can all live in peace again!"

"He sounds like the prime minister," Tails muttered, shaking his head once again.

Amy's lower lip trembled and she shook her head, "I'm going to bed. Good night, Tails..."

"'…Good night."

"Evening, Shadow." The pink hedgehog said.

Shadow nodded his head in acknowledgement, and turned back to the screen when Amy had left. The two males noticed a few words appear onto the lower part of the screen, just below the grinning Sonic. They read "Sonic the Hedgehog. Our hero, and our only hero to be."

"It's so unfair," Tails finally admitted, "Sonic didn't do all of this by himself. I was there, you were there, all of us were there." Tails turned to Shadow, whose eyes remained on the screen, "It wasn't just Sonic."

"Mm..." Shadow looked towards Tails. "Now you should know fully well that Sonic the Hedgehog is not who you thought he was."


"Several years ago he was," Tails corrected.

"And you know what has happened since those several years ago."

"Yeah, I know," Tails muttered, quietly. His bright blue eyes glanced back at the screen, as he turned off the television. Sonic's grinning face instantly disappeared.

The two watched a blank screen for a second or two, until Tails turned to Shadow, "Where did Marine go?" He asked.

Shadow's ear twitched, though he continued to watch the screen. After another second, he turned to Tails and replied, "I saw her a moment ago."

"Is she here?"

"No," Shadow answered. He took a glance to the window close by, "She went out, though I'm not sure where."

Tails followed Shadow's gaze, and nodded, "Alright. I need to thank her for her help today."

"Yes," Shadow mumbled, though it came out as though he was worried about something.

Tails frowned, confused by the sound of Shadow's tone. He turned around to ask the ebony hedgehog what was wrong, but wasn't surprised when he found Shadow had disappeared.

Tails sighed, and scratched the back of his head, standing up and grabbing his coat. He gritted his teeth, as he opened the door, a rush of cold wind blowing back his fur. It was only November in Mobius, and it was already freezing cold.

He took a glance around, hoping he'd see Marine, but had no such luck. The clock tower not far away told him that it was nearing midnight. He needed to bring Marine back home, if she was still out.

The two-tailed fox was amazed that he could still hear the screams of the crowd, even though the party was being held quite a few blocks away. He could just picture Sonic directing the crowd to dance and scream, as music played in the background. Tails recognized the song as Live & Learn, a favorite of Sonic's.

The selfish bastard. Being this loud at midnight. There was no way mothers would be able to get their children in bed tonight.

Tails exhaled, searching for Marine among the dim lighting of the street lamps. He wished that he could say she hadn't gone far, but knowing Marine, she probably had.

Which, unfortunately, meant that Tails had a while to walk around and think about Sonic, no matter how much he didn't want to. The so-called 'Hero'. What a load of bull. Sonic could never have done it without the help of Shadow, himself, Marine, Knuckles, hell, even Amy…But Sonic still gave himself all the credit, and so did the media. Tails had never once seen his name mentioned in the newspaper, nor had he seen any of Sonic's other "friends."

Sonic was now a very rich man. He lived on his own, in a grand home, with a grand amount of cars, and a grand amount of clothes, and a grand amount of girls following him wherever he went. It was every person's dream. Fame, fortune, and "happiness." But Tails had a hunch that Sonic was far from happy, no matter the cocky smirk on the hedgehog's face.

The vulpine raised his eyes to take a look at the beautiful midnight sky. The stars were glistening through the thick, black blanket and for a moment Tails felt something like peace. A separate sort of peace, that didn't belong here on Mobius, but belonged somewhere else. Somewhere where fame and fortune didn't exist, but happiness did. Tails wished he could escape to that place, if only for a moment. He didn't know how much more of Mobius he could take.

"'Ey, mate? You alroight?"

Tails turned abruptly around, to find the smiling figure of Marine. Once again, he was reminded of how attractive she had become over the years. Sparkling blue eyes and a clever smirk, with not half bad curves.

"I'm fine," he replied. "But, are you? It's awful cold out here, and you're not even wearing a scarf."

Marine snickered, shaking her head and walking up to him. "Tails, of all people, you should know that I 'ate scarves. They blow into yer face, ya know?"

Tails nodded, a slight smile forming on his lips. Marine had a way of cheering him up that no one else had. "Ready to go home, or are we still touring?" He teased her a bit.

Marine glanced around. "Just checking out the night. It's nice, despite the awful racket that drongo's making." She jerked her head towards where Sonic's party was.

"Yeah. Yeah, I know."

The raccoon shrugged, then said, "Wanna get some of that 'ot chocolate stuff? Knuckles told me it was good."

"Sure," Tails replied. "But, here." He took off his gloves, giving them to Marine, whose hands were already starting to look a little blue.

She smiled at him. "Thanks, but you dan't 'ave to."

He placed a hand on her back, gently pushing her forward, and whispering, "Yeah, I do."

She rolled her eyes, but the smile remained on her lips.

The two soon reached a small booth, where a sparrow civilian was selling coffee, hot chocolate, and various pastries. The place was practically deserted. Tails assumed that most people were either at Sonic's party, or at home, trying to sleep. Keyword: trying.

Marine ordered herself a hot chocolate from the tired-looking shopkeeper, and Tails merely asked for a water. Marine shot him a look, knowing how much he liked his sweets, and he shrugged, trying to give a grin, but failing.

Clutching their drinks in their cold hands, the pair started their walk home, both of them silently watching the flashing lights coming from Sonic's party and trying to tone out the intense music of Seven Rings in Hand.

"…Wanted to thank you for helping us today," Tails finally said, his eyes on the ground. "I know Sonic doesn't act like it, but we never would have won without you, you know."

She nodded, "'S nothin'. Glad to help."

More silence.

"…Marine?"

"Yeah?"

The fox sighed, coming to a stop, his two tails limply falling to the ground. "Marine, what are we doing?" He asked, his eyes rising to meet hers, their usual brightness turned dull.

She blinked, "Er…well, I'm pretty sure we're headed home, mate. Isn't that what you wanted to do?"

Tails shook his head. "That's not what I mean. I mean, what are we doing? You and I. Together. Like…as a couple," he said.

She raised an eyebrow, still not exactly sure what he meant. "Tails, we're acting the same as anyone else, aren't we? I mean, we're not-" She stopped abruptly, her eyes flashing with sudden understanding. "Yer…yer don't mean you want to-"

He raised his hands, "No, no, no! That's not what I mean." The vulpine shook his head. "It's just…Shadow's said some things, and I'm beginning to think he's right."

Marine placed her hands on her hips, saying, "What? What 'as that drongo told you? Dan't yer listen to him, Tails, tha' hedgehog's got another thing comin'-"

"Marine, think of what we're causing. Giant rifts and holes in time and space. Keeping you from your dimension…we could be causing a disaster." Tails told her, closing his eyes.

The raccoon instantly calmed, blinking slightly. "…Oh. I thought he had…never moind."

She watched the floor again, exhaling. She hated when she and Tails landed on this topic of conversation. It was something neither of them wanted to talk about, and it always ended with them-

"I don't want you to go." Tails whispered. "But, I can't just keep pretending that you can stay here forever. We already sent Blaze back, but just sending her won't keep the universe in check. Shadow says that I need to get rebuilding the machine…that time won't just wait on us."

Marine remained silent, chewing on the inside of her cheek.

"And, no matter how much I postpone it, it's inevitable that I'll build that machine. Shadow will get suspicious, Sonic will get angry, not that I give a shit, anyway, but, I have to keep-"

"Tails."

The fox glanced up, to see Marine looking at him rather…strangely.

"…What?" He asked, raising an eybrow.

"Shut up, will yer?"

For the first time that night, he really grinned. "Yeah. Gladly."

"Good," the raccon smirked. Then she firmly placed her lips on his, and they stayed that way for quite a while.

************

"Tails and that raccoon sure are taking their time." Shadow muttered, glancing at the window.

"Mmm…" The red echidna sitting on the couch a few feet away from him replied.

The ebony hedgehog shook his head, "They're being dangerous. Hell knows what they could be causing between the dimensions."

The red echidna raised an eyebrow. "You really think a rift is being formed? That Marine simply being here could cause something like that?"

"Yes, I do. In fact, I know she can. Don't forget, Knuckles, the energy of the dimensions is Chaos Energy. Which, if you haven't noticed, is something I can control." Shadow replied, still watching the window.

The red echidna sighed. "Then, why don't you do something about the rift? If you can control the energy of the dimensions, why not just fix the rift?"

"…It's not that simple."

"'Course it's not. Nothing's ever that simple, is it?"

Shadow's eyes found the sky, where a million shining stars illuminated Mobius. Somewhere, a girl was watching the sky too, though the stars were different. He wondered what she was thinking.

"No. No, it isn't."

************

Author's Note: This was previously a fiction created by Bureizu za Vampire. However, she lost ideas for the fiction, and so I had the honor of receiving it from her. You'll notice that this chapter was very similar to hers, with a few differences. The story will grow to be even more different than hers, but don't worry, there will still be lots of aspects that are similar.

Please leave a review, as I really want to know if I've done well. I hope I haven't disappointed anyone, especially not you, Bureizu.

Thanks, everyone! :)

~Star

By the way, the main characters shall be Sonic, Blaze, Shadow, Tails, and Marine if you haven't picked up on that already.