author's note: Hey all, I just wanted to take the time to say thank you for reading up to this point. The lame, budding idea from such a long time ago absolutely blossomed from all of your support! And for that, I am thankful. Even if pumping out this chapter was about as hard as it is to put a fussy baby to sleep. Sorry if it's super weird. Happy holidays!
disclaimer: No profits being made.

chronologically speaking…
written by: kaz miller

chapter 10 – honesty

Fast-forward to the postnatal future…

It looked like sleep deprivation was here to stay. Poor Soniti and poor parents. Sonic always made it a point to get at least eight hours a night to keep his tip-top shape. For the first time ever, he was chasing forty-eight. His bundle of joy was being anything but for the past couple of days and she just kept crying.

"Come on, baby," the blue hedgehog mustered up the last of his energy to keep bouncing the kid. "I know you're as tired as we are, so…quit fightin' it!" he paused when she didn't yield. "Please?"

Amy slumped in her seat as her blue counterpart paced around with the tiny bundle in one arm, while the other hand tried to block out the consistent mewling in one ear. The only thing that seemed to calm the child was to take her out for runs, but once all was still again, she would refuse to sleep and fidget endlessly. And Sonic was bone-tired. He could barely stand up. Amy looked over to him sympathetically, knowing her shift was coming right up. Not that them switching allowed the other much sleep…

"I just don't know what to do anymore! We've tried every trick in the book. She's never been this fussy before," the pink hedgehog sighed. She had to start creating her own lullabies!

"In her three-week lifetime? Who knew?" he responded tiredly as he passed her back to her mother. The hedgehogs' eyes widened with anticipation when she seemed to have quieted down during the transition, but she started bawling again. It was a vicious cycle of hope and despair.

"Do you think Tails is working on any baby-calming machines?" Amy whined, dark circles under her eyes. She was repositioning the baby out of habit at this point. Sonic shook his head with half-lidded eyes.

"He probably knows as much about babies as I do about swimming."

"Oh…yeah. Nix." The violet baby's cries grew louder as they both groaned in unison. Amy sank further in her rocker as she continued with her futile soothing attempts. Sonic was ready to nod off before a stream of thoughts struck her.

"Maybe she just has too much stimuli!" she hopped up and shoved the bundle into his startled arms. "That's gotta be it! I'm going to take a walk to get away for a bit. I just remembered that Vanilla said that we can ask her anything! I'll see you in half-an-hour! Make sure you feed her. I guess I should start eating bland stuff! Babies probably like that," she rambled on as she grabbed her coat without hesitation and slammed the door shut. "Love ya!" she called from the outside.

Sonic had been trying to protest during her miniature epiphany before she was already out the door. He could've gotten her all of those things and spoken to Vanilla in a flash! Soniti stopped for a second to catch her sniffles and then began to wriggle in his arms yet again much to his dismay. The crying resumed. Sonic pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Aw, kid. What am I gonna do with you…?"

Amy finally relaxed. As much as she loved her little bugger, and even began to miss her for the (few) hours she would spend asleep, she was admittedly feeling overwhelmed. She couldn't tell Sonic this, though! She knew they were trying their best. It was just their first rough patch. Vanilla promised that it could only get better from here. There were no other pair of parents that would be better suited for Soniti's well-being other than her own.

The new mother approached her door and her eyes narrowed as she closed in on it. It seemed quiet inside. Did Sonic take her out for another run perhaps? He must've been exhausted. She turned the knob gingerly.

"Hello…?"

She poked her head in, and saw no one. Mentally rewarding herself for her bravery, she treaded lightly. If the blue blur had finally gotten her to sleep, it would've been fantastic. But the question was, was it likely?

"Sonic?" she whispered. "I—oh!" the sight she stumbled upon in the nursery was not only relieving, but endearing and quite hilarious. The blue hedgehog was fast asleep with the purple bundle on his stomach inside of her crib. One hand covered most of her tiny body while a leg dangled over the edge of her crib. Soniti wrapped herself around Sonic's thumb entirely. They were both tuckered out. Amy didn't have the heart to wake either. A huge smile spread across her face as she stepped over to the crib and leaned inside.

"Thank you for being the best dad in the world."

Present time: Half an hour earlier…

Sonic feebly fought against Metal's grip around his throat even though he knew he was losing this battle. The edges of his vision were closing in, his lungs burned and he couldn't hear anymore. He couldn't...he had to try everything in his power...but he needed air. Air.

"Let...him...GO!" Amy shouted, putting all of her strength into her running swing. Metal hardly flinched when she whammed the backside of his spiked head. The blunt impact succeeded in vaguely disrupting his sensors.

It slowly turned its head toward her as it closed in on its fatal grip, infuriating the pink hedgehog. She jumped into the air to aim her weight directly onto his face and was surprised when her target was whipped out of her view. He used his free hand to grab her leg in furor as he did to Sonic and slammed her down next to him. Eggman sat forward in surprise as she got ready to hit the mech again.

"Your girlfriend's here, too?" he called out, hoping she wouldn't be too much of a threat. Metal seemed to have a handle on things. "You just don't give up!" The scientist couldn't help but grin when he saw the blue hedgehog's eyes roll shut to the back of his head. Finally! His shining moment! Eggman was ready to cheer, but he pouted when his eyes directed themselves to his poor readings. They were fading fast. He saw that the little girl was suffering unnaturally and quickly made the connection.

"Metal!" Eggman called out abruptly. "...Let him go."

"What?" The metallic hedgehog whipped his head around and sounded viciously annoyed. Amy's face read the same sort of disbelief as she ignored the bleeding from her ankle.

"Just do it!"

Metal slammed the blue hedgehog into the ground out of frustration. Its organic counterpart began gasping for air. Amy immediately got up, ignored the pain that shot through her leg and stumbled to his side to try to ease his transition to normal breathing before he passed out.

"Sonic…Sonic, please wake up…I'm sorry…"

"We cannot terminate them because our power source...would cease to exist," Eggman whined. His readings decreased significantly when Metal was successful at incapacitating the blue speedster, much to his chagrin. Why couldn't good things come without glaring consequence? Orbot popped up from underneath Eggman's seat.

"I thought that's something that would've been obvious?"

"Shut up!" Eggman yelled. Metal lowered its head. The one thing it set out to do…and it couldn't! "Listen, as long as they're trapped, it'll be fine! It'll keep the paradox in limbo and I can carry my plan on as scheduled."

Metal seemed displeased as it focused its burning gaze on the pink and blue heap that lay before him. The doctor's ridiculous and insubstantial plan of recreating his coveted Eggman Empire was just that—pointless. What goal would it achieve aside from basking in one's gluttony and probable world control?

What goal would killing Sonic achieve…?

"Metal..." Amy teared up, none of her sorrow from the agonizing pain in her limbs. Eggman confirmed the truth of Soniti's identity to her, yet he tried to separate father and daughter regardless. And Metal—he knew. Everyone seemed to know but her. "You're...you're heartless," she sobbed.

With his transformation came deeper thought processes. At that point, he knew she wasn't crying because she was in pain. The grief in her eyes suggested otherwise. He dealt major damage to the one person she truly adored. She didn't linger on him for much longer after her declaration and was already back to holding Sonic up, trying to revive the undeserving hedgehog to his former glory. The tears were running down her face, but she wasn't giving up. Her whimpering, gentle coaxes of his name were enough to make anyone else sick...or sympathetic.

Metal almost felt...resentful. He never noted that it was possible to be devoted to something so useless at the time. Sonic was unresponsive but he could sense all of her energy being concentrated on his well-being. Envy. But why? He wanted to destroy Sonic for that reason more than he ever had before.

"Metal—I have a perfect cell for them located in the lower hangar. Throw 'em there and we'll be on our merry way!" Eggman sighed with relief as he threw switches to recalibrate his readings. "The levels are recovering. Everything is almost complete!"

"Doctor..." It turned around, confident that Amy wouldn't be able to escape with the dead weight in her current condition. "Find a way to preserve this power so that we can terminate the hedgehog once possible." Amy frowned at his persistence, but remained focused on the unconscious heap underneath her.

"B-but of course, Metal!" Eggman responded more toward the menace in his words than his actual command. "Fantastic thinking. I just have errands of my own to run first."

Metal turned around and pried the pink hedgehog off of the blue one. He held the lifeless one in one hand while the other one violently thrashed about.

"Let us go! Let us go!" she sobbed angrily, hating being captured. She was relieved that no one was dying anytime soon, but she hated that it had to come to this. And Tails was left outside all by himself! To say this was a predicament was an understatement.

She decided right then, she just needed to have faith. Sonic would never let the worst happen no matter what.

After that point...

A young fox boy's eyes fluttered open after a relatively restful sleep. He stretched his limbs to alleviate some of the stiffness from sleeping on rocky ground. He yawned for a minute before the memories of his current circumstances began to flood his head.

"Ugh...Amy? Are you there?" Tails sneezed after having his nose buried in the dirt. He couldn't quite remember where he was and what exactly he was doing. It hit him like a ton of bricks when his blue eyes drifted to his watch.

"ACK! I've been out for an hour? An hour! No no no!" Tails started tearing up in frustration, eyes wide. He promised her thirty minutes! Was Soniti OK? Did she find the remaining Time Stones? "It's not like we have time to lose! I hope Sonic isn't mad..." His eyes darted about when he realized that she also had everything with her. Why did he think that was a good idea? Little Planet was leaving soon.

"I've got to find them, quick!" He ran towards the mechanical whirs as his friends initially did. He was ready to be ready. He suppressed the feeling of dread and let his anticipation trump it. They were going to make this work.

They only had three hours to go.

Back in the cramped cell.

"No way...the future?" the pink hedgehog breathed.

"Yeah."

"No way..." Amy continued to herself demurely.

"Er..." Sonic didn't know what more he could say to convince her.

"S-so…" Amy mumbled as she was suddenly shy, poking her fingers together. "That means…we get…married?" She couldn't look at Sonic when she asked this. She just couldn't. Her heart was racing.

"I-I'd like to think so," Sonic sweatdrop, realizing that came out a lot more romantic than he intended it to. "I mean, what with Soniti existing and all. She couldn't be an accident, right?" A forced, sheepish grin formed on his face. Way to kill it.

"Married…" Amy kept shaking her head, mumbling incoherently. Sonic had no idea how to read her actions at this very moment. His smile dwindled as he braced himself.

"THIS IS THE BEST-WORST NEWS I'VE EVER HEARD!" she squealed as she squeezed him with a strength that rivaled Metal's. Sonic felt himself go limp with pain.

"Amy...you're crush...ing me..."

She bounced back, the grungy prison might as well've been paradise. Her eyes were shining with genuine happiness. She was still processing the news, involuntarily giggling despite her tears. He might as well have told her that he loved her. Amy ogling him didn't ease his already uncomfortable state. He coughed a little as he rubbed his bruised throat.

"B-but what do you mean by 'worst'?"

"Because now I'm helpless to rescue my little one!" she cried suddenly. For a split second, Sonic wished he were unconscious again. However, as hysterical as she was, it was better than her attitude earlier. Sonic couldn't help but blush now that it was out on the open. It meant that all of his efforts to keep her away just didn't work out that way in the end, did they?

"S-so Soniti is really ours? In the future?" she asked again. She loved to hear it from his mouth. Everything down to the little girl's button nose made sense now.

"Yes, Amy…"

At that moment, a force that felt like the inner workings of a vacuum surrounded their being. They both looked around anxiously, wondering what Eggman could probably be up to now. It didn't seem good…

A shred appeared in midair, startling the pair of hedgehogs. A tall blue hedgehog, and an orange fox who was almost his height tumbled out of said tear with the grace of an ice-skating wildebeest, causing Amy to shriek and Sonic to scrutinize. They…were…Sonic and Tails?

"Eighty-eight miles per hour! Yeah!" the futuristic-looking dynamic duo exclaimed in unison, high-fiving each other. They awkwardly dusted themselves off as the hedgehogs in captivity gawked between them and the shrinking spacial tear. The taller fox and hedgehog donned what appeared to be futuristic goggles, with athletic tape banded tightly around the ankles and wrists of the blue hedgehog. Their excitement waned quickly when they noticed the pair gaping at them. Things got real strange, real fast.

"Uh...hey look! It's me! And Amy! But I don't look so hot right now," the older Sonic tilted his head. "You two seem to be in a little rut, huh? I thought Soniti was with you…" Everyone just looked at one another. "Oops?"

"Wait…what…? Did Tails talk to you guys?" Sonic asked incredulously. This was the world-famous Sonic the Hedgehog of the future? No wonder Soniti ended up in this mess!

"I dunno, did I?" The goggled fox pointed at himself. "I wonder how far back we really went…wait a minute! That must mean we're in the right spot!"

This could get confusing fast. Then the taller hedgehog looked like something clicked and he pounded his fist into his open palm.

"Oh ho ho! Somebody must've realized something," the future Sonic said, remembering what Tails earlier about a force hindering their progress to travel back to the 'other' side. "I really hope we didn't interrupt any romantic escapades…"

"WHAT?" both hedgehogs yelped. Amy turned to Sonic like a deer caught in headlights. The taller hedgehog chuckled to himself.

"S-Sonic, what's going on? I didn't even wrap my head around the whole 'future' thing yet!" Amy whined, the sudden disruption ruining her perfect moment. Sonic's stunned expression read that of "I have no idea."

"Get a load of this guy," the older hedgehog muttered to Tails, nudging him. His friend let out a hopeless eye roll. The younger blue hedgehog found himself blushing furiously at his older self's gestures.

"You must've finally told her you loved her or something because it lifted the ban on our end! Now we're good to go!"

"I did no such thing!" he hollered.

"Whatever. Don't worry, Amy. I thought you were super cute at this point and just didn't want to admit it," the older Sonic winked. He found himself absolutely hilarious in retrospect. He had no clue how to handle "feelings" other than the desire for thrill, adventure and justice at this tender age. The blue hedgehog gagged as Amy swooned.

"Ohhhh," she giggled. "I like this Sonic..." she swayed, blushing.

"Yeah yeah yeah," Sonic dismissed, waving his hand about. "Enough of that! We've got a problem, remember?" he said as he shot an annoyed look at everyone from inside of the cell. He was far too frustrated and mortified to be bothered by his injuries and used the wall help himself up.

"Sheesh. I don't ever remember being so touchy," the taller hedgehog said thoughtfully. Sonic couldn't decide right then whether he hated his older self or not. Two strong-willed hedgehogs were likely to butt heads, especially if he kept embarrassing himself!

"Yeah. We oughta get you guys outta here," Tails said as he easily sliced through the thick metal bars with a portable laser. He had Eggman's old technology in the bag!

"Look at you two," the taller Sonic crooned. "Cute as a button."

"Shut up," Sonic growled as he helped Amy up. His irritation manifested itself in his glare. His future self put his hands up defensively.

"All right, all right. It's clear you're not in the mood. Sorry, younger self. So where's Soniti?"

The blue hedgehog didn't even want to admit this to himself, but there was no time to waste. "Eggman's got her. Trapped us in here. That's why we need to go. Now."

"That explains the cell. How much does he know?" the taller hedgehog frowned, rubbing his chin. Drat. It just had to get complicated, huh?

"I think he's got a pretty good idea of what's going on."

"He spared us because if he hurt us, that'd hurt Soniti, apparently," Amy piped. "Ow..." Tails noticed her leg and wondered just what sort of trouble they got themselves into.

"Which makes sense. Eggman knows his limits. I'm just pretty amazed we were able to make it with just three of these," the goggled fox pulled three of Little Planet's Time Stones out. Amy's eyes lit up.

"Oh! Tails and I found three of them, too!" she said, patting the colorful child's backpack on her shoulders, staying strong. "So this is why you guys really needed them. Who knew?"

"Which means…there's only one more to get!" both Sonics exclaimed excitedly. Amy and tall Tails brightened up. She was infinitely glad their ventures hadn't gone to waste. Who had the upper hand now, Eggman?

"Awesome!" the boys said in unison.

"Do you mind if we look for our Tails, though?" Amy rubbed her arm nervously. "I left him outside because he wasn't doing too well…and I'm pretty sure he's wondering where we are right now."

"I'll help you with that," Tails said. "I'd love to meet myself! Even though…I already know myself. But you know!"

"I know…" Amy smiled. "Whoa!" He swiftly lifted her up, surprising her. It was so strange to have the orange fox who used to be a smaller than her pick her up with relative ease!

"So let's split. You two will be able to keep up just fine with each other," Tails pointed out to both Sonics. "I'll carry you until we can splint your leg, Amy. We'll find, er, me on the way to the last stone!"

"I knew I could count on you, Tails," Sonic flipped his goggles over his head, giving him an appreciative thumbs up. "Myself and I will meet up by Eggman. He won't lay a finger on Soniti as long we're around."

"All right then!" Tails positioned Amy for ideal aerial maneuvers. "Catch you soon! We don't have much time left before it gets really difficult!" he called out as he exited the hangar.

The "present" Sonic felt somewhat conflicted. His older self kept pulling all of the words out of his mouth, and he executed everything with such a collected and calm sort of demeanor despite the dire situation. Like he normally did! But it was him after all! Yet something bothered him terribly so. This was one of his more unique rescues, absolutely—but what was he so worried about? He wasn't exactly pleased with the annoyed feelings bubbling at the surface. It really made him look like a sourpuss.

"Hey, self-buddy," future Sonic turned to his younger self, quickly surveying him. "Can you move all right? What banged you up like that?"

"Metal…" Sonic retorted with a frown, stretching his legs. The taller hedgehog's eyes widened. It kept getting worse! "But what does it matter? I'll be fine. It's Soniti we've gotta worry about in case you forgot." He began to dash towards the surface when a hand grabbed his shoulder to stop him.

"Whoa there," older Sonic halted him, a serious frown falling on his face. "Don't think that I'm not worried about her, bud. I wouldn't have traveled through time if I weren't." Sonic whipped his arm out of his own grip as they narrowed their eyes at each other.

What an arrogant jerk! they both thought.

Back inside of Eggman's base…

"Why have I only been able to find one so far?" Eggman shouted, on the verge of throwing yet another childish tantrum. Things just had to go egregiously wrong, didn't they? He began to think that he should probably start to work failproof measures into his future plans for world domination. But that just meant less mechanical work and more critical thinking! They relocated to a secluded module of his new fortress after they dumped the hedgehogs in the lower cell. Orbot's tolerance of his creator's whining was reaching its limit while Cubot looked on sympathetically.

"D-don't worry, Doctor! If you just believe in yourself, then maybe—"

"Oh, shuuuuut up!"

Metal was fascinated by the child. She was being held against her will, but yet she was such a valuable source of power. Was she aware of the fact? Was this the reason the blue hedgehog kept her? He was far too free-spirited to want to take on the responsibility of this…capsule. Her little hand involuntarily twitched, intriguing the mech.

"He calls you…Soniti."

"Metal!" His observations were brashly interrupted. "I need you to join our first line of defense with the Sonic Interception Squad. You know—in case that insolent blue fool has some sort of back-up plan. We are going to find the rest of those Time Stones without error! The others are probably in their possession!"

Metal soon remembered why he defected to begin with. He hated taking direction from that insolent fool.

On the outer edge of the growing fortress…

Tails carried Amy a great distance. His stamina improved; he never felt the need to create something to assist him with his method of personal flight. He was proud of his natural ability. He was also thrilled that they made it back in time with only minor hitches!

"I'm really glad you guys showed up," Amy spoke up. "I was starting to get really scared, you know."

"It's unfortunate that we won't be able to hang out for too long, though," Tails started. "Us being present with our past selves is a paradox in itself!"

"Really? Does the paradox have anything to do with Eggman knowing that Soniti was here with us?"

"Absolutely. He's quick to action, I'll give him that."

"I still can't believe it..." she suddenly became quiet. Tails's blue eyes traveled to her shy figure.

"Can't believe what?"

"That Soniti is my daughter! A-and Sonic! Deep down, I always felt that someday, things would turn out better than expected. Then wham!"

Tails chuckled. He remembered Sonic's comical reactions (and fears) to the prospect of parenting. Soniti's arrival was something that came along naturally since the hedgehogs' union. But like any exciting endeavor, it was welcomed with open arms. He smiled widely when he realized just how many people cared for the little tyke.

"I guess you know now that your attempts will no longer be in vain!"

"He didn't tell me right away, you know!" Amy huffed, crossing her arms. "I could kill him for that. But he was so understandably scared, it was kinda cute."

"Scared of your reaction, maybe..." Tails muttered under his breath.

"What was that?"

"No-thing!"

On ground level, younger Tails panted after he smashed some of Eggman's robots from earlier. Sonic or Amy had clearly been through the place already, and a few strays came out just to get in his way. He really hoped he would be able to run into one of them soon. He felt bad enough that he'd fallen asleep on the job already.

"I really hope they're all right…I think the stress was really getting to everyone…"

A strangely-shaped shadow whizzed above his head in that instant, and he looked up. He was a bit taken aback at first because he almost thought he saw…himself? The UFO flew relatively low with cargo in hand. It was definitely a person…

"H…hey!" Tails echoed into the mountainous region. "Wait up!"

A pink hedgehog's ears perked up. "Did you hear that?" Amy asked, looking around. "I think I heard Tails!"

"Really? I've been scanning the area and didn't notice any lifeforms—oh!" He descended quickly with Amy in hand when he finally noticed what she was talking about.

"A-Amy!" Tails exclaimed, not sure what to address the stranger by. "Me!"

"Tails!" the taller one exclaimed, flipping his goggles in a similar manner as his best friend did. "Guys—just to distinguish between the two of us; you can call me…Doctor."

"Whoa!" Tails gawked. "I'm a Doctor?"

"I prefer 'Tails' by far—don't get me wrong," the future genius waved his hands around. "But yep! Dr. Prower is a pretty awesome dude. Academically, of course. I am by no means a pro at splinting legs."

"This is awesome!" Tails couldn't help but squeal. Amy was genuinely happy for his excitement. Not like she doubted his smarts would take him far! He found a rod to place against the girl's injured ankle and began to wrap it tight.

"So were you able to find Eggman and Metal, Amy?" the younger fox asked, most of his concern relieved.

"Oh Tails…that's a story for the ages. Metal's really serious now..." Amy said quietly, remembering Sonic's defeat.

"M-Metal?" Dr. Prower said as he adjusted his lenses. "I didn't know he had anything to do with this…"

"Yeah…" Amy rubbed her arm. "He's Neo Metal, now. Something about Soniti's energy or somesuch…"

"Oh no," younger Tails said. "That's pretty frightening…that must be why he wanted her." The older version of himself pursed his lips as he continued wrapping the pink hedgehog's injured leg. That's also probably why younger Sonic didn't look so hot, he thought to himself. The taller fox looked up at the both of them.

"There's another title I've obtained in our time that I'd really like to keep and that's 'Uncle Tails,'" he said as he completed his minor medical treatment on the pink hedgehog. "If we're going to rescue Soniti, we've gotta get a move on. Sonic'll need all the support he can get since Metal's involved."

"Right!" Amy and Tails agreed. The goggled fox motioned for her to hop on his back and they went forward.

"So, is your Sonic here, too?" Tails asked as they pursued their next target. The older fox nodded.

"That's right! Both Sonics are going for Eggman head on. We just need to find the last Time Stone, and I have a feeling we're going to cross paths sooner than expected. Soniti will be home faster than we can blink after that." Tails nodded in awe. He was elated that his endeavors were not in vain.

Hang in there, baby, Amy thought to herself. The trio took off.

On the way from the lower hangar to the surface…

"To be honest, I'm a little surprised you let Soniti get captured," the older version of himself said idly as they matched top speed.

"You should be one to talk!" Sonic snapped. "You're never around for her anyway!" The taller hedgehog recoiled a bit and they both put on the brakes. That's it. He was ready to give him his just deserts.

"What...?"

"She hardly gets to spend any time with you because you're never around. It's no wonder all of this happened in the first place," Sonic replied to himself, visibly angry. His hand balled into a fist as he pointed an accusing finger.

"She told you this?"

"No, dude. I just...know..." Sonic stopped and put his hand to his forehead. "I guess I'm...not surprised..."

"Hey..." Sonic placed a hand on his younger self's shoulder. "It's probably gonna be a little crazy for you to fully grasp right now, but…" he interrupted himself to dig deep into his shoe while the normal-aged Sonic looked at him curiously. His face relaxed from its concentrated state as he pulled out a small, weathered photograph that had clearly been through hundreds of thousands of miles.

"Whoa…"

Amy, Tails, Sonic and Soniti were in it. And my, oh my had Amy grown…! Stunning revelation aside, the photo spoke on an impenetrable bond. It was partially obscured by a huge mitt that could only belong to a certain red individual, but the photo retained its charm.

"It's all about trust. Ultimately, they're what keeps me—us—going. In all my travels, I've never met a bunch who have had such unwavering faith in me no matter what." He looked up as the wind blew through his quills, a sensation he knew he would never tire of. "Granted, I have the advantage of ol' Egghead being a washed-up fogey in my time, but I'll be damned if I don't do whatever it is in my power for their well-being. New threats pop up all the time. So even if it means I've gotta pull away sometimes, the fact is that trouble waits for no hedgehog. I have got to protect them."

The moment his older self said that, Sonic just looked down at his feet. It was almost as if his conscience had become real and repeated what he knew deep down. Of course he wouldn't separate himself from his family on purpose...

"But you knew all of that already, didn't you?"

Sonic did understand. This wasn't something he toyed with lightly, even now. He tried to keep positive despite the sad reality of those closest to him. New challenges definitely came with having a family, but he still felt that deep down; maybe his older self hadn't mastered them just yet, even after Soniti was born. The grown-up hedgehog slowly slid his lens over his eyes as he scanned the picture hoping it could maybe tell him exactly how to just…make everything right. He knew he could do better than he had been.

If there was one thing he definitely learned, it's that learning experiences never ceased.

"Like I tell Soniti all the time—" he concluded, shoving the photo back into his sneaker. "Always be the best at whatever you aim to do. You can't go wrong there."

"So…how do they deal without you?"

"Amy and I just trust each other to do our best—" older Sonic poked at his younger self's chest. "That's where it all starts. Foundations of marriage and all that yack. You trust her now, don'cha?"

"Well yeah, but…I've never felt this down about anything before," Sonic admitted. "I guess in part because Soniti's just so darn defenseless."

"I hear ya. Just take into consideration that Amy and I never really had our parents," the older hedgehog shrugged. "So in reality, we're kinda wingin' it! But we've got so much support, I'm confident everything'll turn out just fine. Sometimes you don't realize how much havin' a kid really changes things. The whole 'love' thing, it's…pretty incredible, I've gotta say."

"Yeah?"

"Don't be so hard on yourself, dude—you've gotta remember the fact that Soniti's only a little girl. It's why Ames wanted us to spend a weekend together. But I botched it up anyway, so I understand why you're probably so ticked at me. Or yourself. And for that, I'm really sorry."

He looked toward Eggman's mechanical reserve, frown deepening. "As you know, a hedgehog's gotta do what a hedgehog's gotta do," he said as he flicked his nose with his thumb. "And if that means finding that perfect balance, then so be it! So let's go!"

"Heh. You don't have to tell me twice!" Sonic responded, the feeling of a huge weight being lifted off of his shoulders. They both readied themselves to dash to Eggman's new location.

There were two more hours to go.