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"Hello?"

"Yes, we need you to come to the hospital right away."

He felt his world shut down, an icy shiver crept down his spine as the world seemed to simultaneously spin and close in on him. The room began to contort and change, the cabinet shrinking down, stretching out, and splitting to turn into two hospital gurneys, the microwave twisting and squishing as it turned into a heart rate monitor, and his pizza melting and bubbling and turning red until it turned into-

He had to look away. He prayed that someone would take it away. He counted to ten before slowly turning back. He was in a hospital room now. Two beds lay in front of him, with two bodies laying on top, covered with two white sheets. He couldn't see the faces, but he knew who they were.

"Can you please identify them?"

He slowly shook his head. "Please don't make me do this."

"We just need you to look, very quickly."

He shook his head again. He couldn't look. Not again.

"Please. We just need a positive ID."

He did his best to swallow past the lump that had formed in his throat as he slowly made his way to the first gurney. His hand trembled as he reached toward the sheet covering the body. He began to sweat profusely. He didn't want to look. He couldn't bear to see it.

He gripped the top of the white fabric. He tried his best to calm his nerves. Just one quick look. Slowly, he began to peel the fabric back. He saw the hair… there was no doubt.

"It's him." He said.

"Please just look at the face."

He turned back to the corpse. He felt tears gather in his eyes. He didn't want to see this. He decided he needed to get it over with quick.

He ripped the sheet back, as if he were ripping off a bandage.

….

My eyes shot open as I automatically began to take some calming breaths. It was dark, night time still it seemed, though, what else was new? My body trembled, but I was used to that. Tears stung my eyes, but I was used to that too. What I wasn't used to was the dull throbbing in my head that seemed to be getting worse. I grunted a bit as I slowly sat up, turning to look at my clock on the nightstand.

Except my clock wasn't there. Nor was my nightstand.

This wasn't my room. It looked like I was in a hospital.

It took a second for my brain to finally kick in, but I quickly recalled everything that had happened to me. The explosion, the kidnapping, getting separated from Jacob…

Jacob…

I looked around the room, hoping for a sign that maybe my brother was somewhere nearby, that maybe he had found his way to where I was.

"...fat chance." I thought to myself. "I can almost guarantee I'm not on Earth anymore… I'm probably light years away from him."

It didn't take long to conclude that my room, and my heart, was empty. I shut my eyes, feeling the tears start to slip down my cheeks now. Jacob was somewhere out there, all alone, probably wondering where I am… was he scared? Was he looking for me? Did he think I was dead? Was he in danger?

I grit my teeth. "Don't think like that." I yelled back at my negative side. "He knows what to do if we get separated. He has Ms. Hannigan's cell phone number. He's probably called her and the police by now." I sighed a bit, letting my jaw relax. "He's safe."

"And alone. Like you are."

I bit my lip to keep it from trembling as my gaze darted around in the dark room. The shadows lurched and slithered around. Things moved in the corners of my eyes. I shot my hand out in a slight panic, quickly searching for some kind of lamp or light source. It took an eternity to find a switch, but as soon as I could, I flipped it. The room was quickly bathed in a warm glow, and I was grateful that I managed to find the switch to the lamp rather than to something that could have been important. I took a few more deep breaths, and quickly wiped my tears. This wasn't the time for moping. I needed to get out of here, then figure out how to get back to my little brother.

Though the first thing I had to do was figure out where "here" was. The room seemed like any hospital room back on Earth. My bed looked pretty standard issue, high railings along the sides with buttons on them to raise and lower certain parts of the bed, as well as a "call" button to get ahold of the nurse. Next to me was the lamp I turned on, resting on a wooden side table. A couple of chairs were drawn up next to the bed, and I noticed a couple more on the other side as well, the rest tucked neatly against the wall underneath a window. A quick glance out confirmed that, yes, it was night. Stars filled the sky, and though I couldn't see the moon itself, I could see the light it cast. Must have been full tonight.

The rest of the room was fairly standard issue. There was a TV hanging off the baby blue wall in front of me, a wooden table beneath it, a bunch of cabinets and a sink off to the side of that, and a door leading to a personal bathroom. And who could forget the cart with all the monitors and stuff right next to me? I didn't see too many bags of fluids, so I guess I didn't need too many IVs. A good sign, right? I saw that my heart rate was a bit high, but was slowly going down. I followed the wire leading out from it, wondering how they were taking my pulse, before ending at my hand. I smiled… maybe I wasn't so far from home after all. They were using that white clip thing they put on your finger, and a pretty normal looking IV inserted on the top of my hand. I sighed a bit, almost feeling myself relax… it was nice to be in a somewhat familiar place. Not that I had been to many hospitals mind you, but I had seen enough of them to know that-

The yellow Chaos Emerald was in my other hand. I frowned a bit. Had I really been hanging onto it this whole time? I lifted it towards the light to gaze at it again. Still no sign that anything had happened… the Emerald was as pristine as it ever had been before. It still seemed to tremble slightly in my grasp, but beyond that, it didn't seem any different. I shook my head and placed it in my lap. I looked down at myself, noting that I was in a hospital gown and (after a quick check down) not much else. Granted, nothing embarassing was showing, but I still couldn't help but feel just a bit… exposed.

I blushed a bit and tried my best to shoo the thought away as I surveyed the room again. Why was I in the hospital anyway? I shouldn't even be alive right now, and yet… aside from what had become a rather painful headache, and another odd feeling that I could only describe as feeling "musty," I felt fine. I tried to remember what happened during the fall… but the last thing I could remember was… well, it felt like someone had caught me… but even then, falling that fast only to be stopped by someone, that should have, at the least, broken numerous bones, in both mine and the other person's body. I did a quick scan of my exposed limbs, looking for anything to tell me that something was wrong, and found nothing.

"...I bet the nurses know…" I muttered to myself quietly. I reached over and pressed the large red button, a small light coming on above it to let me know that they got the call and that someone would be on their way shortly. It probably only took about three minutes before the door opened and someone walked in.

Now, I had seen robots. I had seen mad doctors who towered above me. I had even seen a freaking rock create an explosion. By this point, you would think that nothing surprised me anymore. But the first time you see a dog in scrubs walk in, on two feet mind you, and address you, it takes a minute to process and take it in. And by the look on his face, he seemed just as surprised to see me, awake that is. I wasn't sure where to look… I mean, he looked exactly like how the guys at SEGA would design a dog… his chocolate eyes were huge, his brown-furred arms and legs were thin, his gloved hands were a bit too big, his body was almost bean shaped… and yet it all looked just fine on him. I could only blink as I watched a small smile spread across his face, and his short tail began to wag behind him.

"You're awake!" He said quietly, though it was easy to tell he was holding back a lot of excitement.

"...y-yeah…" Was all I managed to say back. It struck me that anyone else would have probably taken one look at this guy and maybe freaked out a bit more than I was doing. But… I don't know… I guess, after having watched Jacob play so many games, seen so many Sonic characters, the way he looked was just normal to me. The nurse's floppy ears perked up a bit as he heard my voice.

"How are you feeling?" He asked, walking towards me. He was tall. Not as tall as Eggman, but still, tall for a dog. ...Well, I guess he was taller than pretty much any dog… what I mean was that he had to have been at least five feet tall, though that's a pretty conservative estimate. I guess whenever I imagined these guys in my head, they would usually be about two or three feet tall.

"Um… m-my head hurts…" I finally replied, trying to snap back to reality.

"Does it feel like a migraine?" He asked, sitting in one of the chairs next to my bed. I was able to read his nametag now… Chad.

"N-No, not that bad… it just hurts…" I said quietly, rubbing my temple a bit. Chad nodded and grabbed a clipboard that must have been hanging just below the bed railing, writing something down on it.

"Well, I'll go get you something for that." He replied, replacing the clipboard. "You feeling hungry? Thirsty?"

"...maybe just some water, if that's ok?" I looked around a bit before looking back at Chad. "Um… w-why am I here?"

"Oh, uh… let me grab the doctor, she'll explain it to you." He said as he stood. "I'll go get you that water in the meantime. Did you want ice?" I nodded my head. He gave me one last smile (if you've never had a dog smile at you, you're missing out… it's like being filled with rainbows and sunshine) before hurrying out of the room, letting the door softly shut behind him. I shuffled a bit in the bed, trying to find a more comfortable position. It didn't take long before a yellow bird, a hawk if I had to guess, in a white coat walked in, a stethoscope around her neck. Like Chad, she seemed pleasantly surprised to see me.

"So you decided to wake up huh?" She asked, chuckling as she did. She sounded young, early twenties maybe. I briefly wondered if she was really old enough to be a doctor. "We were starting to get a bit worried there for a second." She moved into one of the chairs. "My name's Dr. Mallory Pincock. I was told you had some questions for me?"

"Um, y-yeah…" I stared at her for a moment, still adjusting to the whole talking animals thing. The Doctor was honestly rather pretty, if you didn't think too hard about the fact that you were thinking about a bird in the way you'd think about a human. Her eyes were a pale blue, almost a grey, and her plumage was tied in a ponytail behind her. It didn't really fall in the same way hair would though, it sort of stuck out.

"Well, first, I'd like to ask you a few, if you wouldn't mind." She said as she grabbed the clipboard again. "Like your name and date of birth?"

"Joshua, February 16th, 1996."

"Ok, and is there anyone you'd like us to list as your contacts?"

I frowned a bit and looked down at my lap. "...No one you'd be able to reach I don't think…" The doctor looked at me sympathetically.

"...Well, if it's ok with you, we listed the people that brought you in as your emergency contacts, and they wanted us to call them as soon as you woke up."

"Who brought me in?" I looked back up at her, sitting up just a bit straighter.

"Do you not remember?" She asked, putting her pen on the clipboard. I shook my head.

"Last thing I remember was falling out of an airship." I answered. "I passed out on the way down… that's why I wanted to talk to you, why exactly am I here?"

"What do you mean Joshua?" She asked, taking a quick note.

"I mean, I should be dead, but I feel… well, I feel-"

"Alive?" The doctor offered. "You're quite the opposite of dead. In fact, aside from a couple of scratches, everything about you was just fine, aside from that Emerald being stuck to your hand." She pointed her pen towards my hand only to see that the Emerald was no longer in it, now resting on my lap. Her eyes shot between me, and the Emerald. "H-How did you get it off?"

"...i-it wasn't stuck to my hand when I pulled on it." I replied. "It was completely normal. You mean you couldn't get it off?"

"No, we were planning to get it surgically removed when you woke up!" She replied, gently taking my hand (after getting my permission, of course) and examining it. "...fascinating…" She muttered as she carefully examined my palm in the light. After a few more moments, she chuckled a bit. "Well, I guess I don't need to ask for your permission to get that removed then." She looked back up at me again. "Are you sure you didn't do something different?"

"N-No, I just… took it out of my hand, just like anything else." I shook my head a bit. "N-Now how did I not get hurt at all? I mean… I-I should be dead! Why am I not dead?"

I watched the hawk hesitate for a moment. "...it's… this is a bit odd to explain…" She sighed a bit and replaced the clipboard. "The people that brought you in… they said that they saw you falling from the airship, but that by the time they got to you, you had stopped yourself from falling… sort of." I tilted my head a bit as she continued. "They said you were just floating down slowly, like… like someone was lowering you down on a crane or something."

This certainly left more questions than answers. "H-How?"

"We were hoping you'd be able to tell us." She said, crossing her arms. "Has this happened before?"

"No, never…" I replied. "I'm… I don't have any special powers or anything like that, I-" I cut myself off mid-sentence as my gaze fell on the Emerald. I picked it up and stared at it for a moment. "...I be this had something to do with this…"

Dr. Pincock stared at the gem with me for a moment before slowly standing. "...I really don't mean to pry, I'm sorry…" She smiled at me for a bit. "Do you want to go back to sleep Joshua?"

"N-No, thank you Doctor…" I replied, smiling a bit as well. "I-If you have something to get rid of this headache though, I'd appreciate it."

"The nurse should be ready with it as soon as I leave." She gently rested her hand on the bed railing. "Just let me know if you need anything at all." I nodded and gave her a quiet thank you before she walked out of the room, Chad quickly walking in to take her place, a cup of ice water and a couple pills on hand.

"I just called your emergency contacts," He said as he handed me the cup and capsules, "They wanted to know if you were feeling well enough to accept visitors."

I nodded my approval, and he left once again, leaving me to take my medicine in silence. I dropped the small pills into my mouth and swallowed them down, draining the cup of water as I did. I didn't realize how thirsty I was… I set the cup on the nightstand and, after a few moments, did the same to the Chaos Emerald. I adjusted the bed so that I could sit up in it comfortably and rested my head on the pillow, sighing a bit. After everything that had happened, it was nice to finally have a slightly peaceful moment. I still felt some general unease about my brother's situation, but felt reassured in knowing that at least he would be safe at the house. I wished I could say the same for myself… my thoughts began to turn to Eggman. Did he know where I was? Did he still want to destroy me?

I shuddered at the thought. Not only did I have to figure out how to get home, but I had to do it with a maniac on my tail who's out for my blood. I could only pray that, whoever did manage to rescue me, had some good contacts with law enforcement or something. Or even better, if somehow these people knew Sonic the Hedgehog.

"Hey… there's a thought," I thought to myself, "I need to find Sonic. He knows a bunch about the Chaos Emeralds I bet, I'm sure he'll know how I can use them to get back home."

I won't lie, the thought of meeting the Sonic the Hedgehog did make me feel a bit giddy… while I wasn't a superfan like my little brother was, I was still an admirer. Something about his mannerisms, his laid back attitude, the way he treated others… I don't know, I guess I kinda looked up to him, wanted to be a little more like him. Or something… I don't know, maybe I was a little bit of a superfan...

"Focus…" I said to myself. "I need to see Sonic for help, not to be a fangirl. Now, when these people get here, I'll ask them if they know where Sonic is and how to get ahold of him, then I'll just explain my problem, then everything will be-"

"Uh, Josh?" I looked up at Chad, who was just poking his head in from the door. "Sorry, they're here, you ok to have them come in?"

"O-Oh, s-sure, send them in!" I nodded, quickly looking over myself to make sure I looked ok… I hadn't seen myself in a mirror, but I was pretty sure I looked a mess. Chad nodded and spoke to my "emergency contacts" outside. I grew a bit nervous… these people saved my life, what do I tell them? A simple "thank you" just didn't quite seem to cut it in this case… I immediately began to rehearse what I was going to say to them as I heard some soft footsteps move towards the door. "H-hi there…! U-Um, I-I just… I-I can't tell you how grateful I a-"

My mouth remained dangling open as I saw who the emergency contacts were, or at least, who one of them was. My heart skipped a beat, my voice became caught in my throat, as I took in my new guest. He reacted to my sudden gawking with a slight chuckle, as if this was nothing that he wasn't used to… which, considering who it was, I'm not surprised people acted like I did whenever he walked in a room. Emerald-Green eyes looked me over as he placed a hand on his hip, slowly walking closer. His voice was hushed as he spoke, but it was unmistakably his. "Glad to see you're awake."

I don't think I made any noise aside from a choked sort of squeaking sound. I couldn't believe it.

Sonic the freaking Hedgehog was standing in my room.

...and I was wearing nothing but a hospital gown.