Yo!

While I'm figuring out what to update next, I'm probably going to be uploading a few chapters of this, so I hope you enjoy it. I've been working on it for a while (honestly the prologue is the best part I've written) and there are already a few chapters finished. I just need to edit them, but at least I have some content prepared for the next couple weeks. There are a few other things I've been working on in the background so... if I can't bring myself to update something else, you might be getting a couple new stories for a few weeks. Sorry in advance, but hey at least it's something... right? Maybe...

Ok, hope you enjoy, please leave a review if you do, it really helps and I'll know whether or not to update this in the future... please say you like it, I've wasted so much time on this story already!

~Fortune

Prologue

"This is it."

"Here?"

"Mhm, this was where Tails said Sonic disappeared from. His communicator signal just cut out and just like that, poof, he was gone."

"How long has he been gone?"

"About four days. Tails said he searched around here for ages after his signal went dark. He found nothing, and there were no signs of a struggle or anything. Apparently the two were just talking and halfway through his sentence Sonic was just gone. I don't even understand how something like that happens…"

Shadow hummed in thought. There really was no sign of anything here. No scrapes in the dirt, no bark missing off the trees, not even a single leaf on the floor. This didn't look like the site of anything sinister.

"What exactly do you want me to do then?"

"Well… I was hoping you could focus on Sonic's energy and bring him back. Or maybe you can feel his energy still lingering here or… something…" Rouge trailed off at the look Shadow gave her, "Look, I don't know how this stuff works, ok? Just figure out something, please. Tails is starting to get upset."

Shadow growled something under his breath, "Fine, I'll see what I can do…"

"Shit!"

Red and white sneakers slipped in the mud as the blue hedgehog pushed to stay ahead of his pursuers. Emerald eyes squinted, he could barely see in front of him, and he constantly had to swerve to avoid trees. It was a miracle he hadn't yet run into one or tripped. He pumped his peach arms, hoping that the motion was enough to help speed up his achy legs.

"Careful!"

At his side he could hear the ragged breathing of his companion. They were running out of steam. They wouldn't be able to keep this up for much longer. The rain lashed against them, getting in their eyes and plastering their fur to their hides.

For the briefest of moments, he allowed his gaze to wander to the other hedgehog at his side, making sure he was ok. The hedgehog had pearl-white fur, a fawn muzzle, soft honey eyes and a collar of long fur around his neck and down his chest. He had five quills sticking up from his forehead and two quills on the back of his head, stretching out in long arcs like wings. His eyes were rimmed in a deep black. With every step, his boots squelched against the mud, his legs stained with the dirty splashes they caused. He wasn't wearing gloves, but there was a red, metal band around his wrist. His left shoulder was marred with a deep red smear, the blood dripping down and off his arm with every swing.

The blue hedgehog knew that he looked just as bad as his friend did. He could feel a hot, burning on the side of his neck, not calmed in the slightest by the freezing rain. Where the soaking-wetness of his body was icy and numb, there was a long, thick trail down his neck and chest that was still warm and sticky. The rain was not strong enough to wash it all away. He became aware of the tight metal band around his own wrist, not tight enough to cut into his skin, but enough to stop him from removing it. It wasn't as though he always felt it; he had grown used to the feeling a long time ago, but he resented it. He'd need something powerful to cut the damn thing off, and he fully intended to when he had the opportunity.

The thumping feet of the shouting mobians behind them sounded closer. Were they really getting closer? Or was he simply imagining it out of panic? He grit his teeth and tried to force his body to go faster again. He heard the other hedgehog growl. He wasn't imagining it.

The blue hedgehog spotted the ravine up ahead moments before his friend did.

"Uh… Sonic…"

"I see it."

"How do we…?"

"I don't… I don't know… just keep running."

"Sonic…"

"We have no choice, Silver," he paused, "It's better than going back."

Silver fell silent, but he didn't slow down. He agreed, and how could he not? As the ravine got closer, Sonic tensed his body and sucked in a shuddery breath. He didn't want to die, but he was right, they couldn't go back. He had to face this. He felt Silver move closer, grabbing his hand, squeezing it lightly. He squeezed back. Just before they reached the edge, he forced out a final shout.

"JUMP!"

Sonic felt his feet leave the ground and for a long time he felt weightless. He was surrounded with nothing but air, he couldn't even feel the rain anymore. He couldn't feel the burning in his neck or the aching in his legs, only Silver's grip on his bare hand. A strange peace filled him, making him feel light and calm. He was ready. Closing his eyes, he waited for the impact that would kill him to come.

As he did, he missed the flash of light.

The weightless sensation left him, replaced with a sick feeling that made him feel like he was spinning. Was this what dying felt like? He hadn't hit ground yet…

Unnerved, he unconsciously half-curled his body. What was happening? Why did it feel like he was being pulled, pushed, dragged, thrown? His momentum felt wrong, like it was slowing down. The only constant was the feeling of Silver's hand against his own.

Then, momentum came back to him, but instead of falling, it felt different. The next thing he knew he was hitting the ground. In truth, it startled him. He was expecting it, knew it would come, but it still caught him off guard. He yelped, feeling Silver's hand slip away from his own. The impact was not nearly as hard as he was expecting, not nearly as hard as it should have been. He felt himself rolling across the ground as though he'd hit it at an angle. When he finally came to a stop on his stomach the burning in his neck returned. All feeling came back to him, to his arms, to his legs, and he groaned. He cracked open an eye, staring in confusion at the grass tickling his nose. Everything was brighter, dry, warm. Evening…

A black and white shoe with a red metal sole appeared in his vision. It was achingly familiar.

"Faker?"

That voice. That deep, rough voice. Only one person ever called him by that nickname. He hadn't realised how much he had missed that stupid nickname.

"… Shad?"

He was painfully aware of how hoarse and scratchy his own voice was in comparison. Despite the protest of all his limbs, he forced himself to his knees feeling, as he moved, every spot that had smacked against the ground. For a moment he met the burning red eyes of a hedgehog he used to know quite well. Onyx fur, scarlet streaks, upturned quills, white plume of fur, deep fawn muzzle, four distinct golden rings around each limb – inhibitors he reminded himself.

"Thank Chaos, you're back!"

Sonic's ears flicked and he turned his head to see a snow-white bat. Rouge. Her teal eyes, the lids of which were coated in blue eyeshadow, were wide but happy, far more welcoming than Shadow's. She was wearing long, high-heeled white boots with pink cuffs and tipped with pink hearts, elbow-length white gloves with pink cuffs, a black, skin-tight suit and a pink and white heart chest-plate. Her lips were painted pink upon her light peach muzzle. Her large ears, broad, dark-purple wings and distinct fashion sense were all so familiar, comfortingly so.

"Rouge."

He was so disoriented that he wasn't fully processing what was happening. It took his brain far too long to catch up with his body, and when it did it decided to work in reverse. Rouge. Shadow. She said, "you're back." This must be his original dimension. Now that he had established that, how did he get here? One moment he was falling into a ravine, the next he was rolling across a field in his original dimension. Ravine.

Ravine…

Silver! Where was Silver?

Sonic's eyes widened. He swung his head around to his left to find his friend. He found the white hedgehog struggling to his own knees a couple of meters away. When they parted he must have rolled further out. He looked extremely confused as he looked around until his yellow eyes landed on him.

"Holy shit, Sonic! You ok?"

It seemed as though Shadow and Rouge had only just realised that there was another hedgehog here. They looked startled to say the least.

"Yeah… you?" after Silver's nod, he looked back at the other two, "How the hell…?"

"Shadow brought you back," Rouge still seemed to be processing that whatever they'd done had worked, "You look awful."

He wanted to shoot back a sarcastic "thanks," but he couldn't bring himself to. As he sat there on his heels, he saw Silver stand and walk closer in his peripheral vison.

"How exactly did you do that?" Sonic wasn't 100% sure if he could trust his legs to keep him up at the moment and he envied Silver for even trying.

"Chaos Emerald. Tails said you disappeared four days ago and, because he was starting to panic, we agreed to help out…"

"Rouge agreed," Shadow clarified, "I was dragged into this."

He would have snorted had he not been shocked into freezing. Did she say four days ago? Days?

Silver, having known that his friend was from another dimension, stepped in, confused, "What do you mean four days ago? How long does it take you people to notice something like that?"

Rouge frowned, "Who even are you?"

"Sonic's friend. I assume you are too, so don't be so confrontational with me."

Sonic rolled his eyes. Once again, Silver failed to realise that he, too, was being rather snappy. He forced himself to stand and placed a hand on Silver's shoulder.

"Silv, I was talking to my brother before I was taken to your world. He knew I was gone the second I left."

Silver blinked, "Huh…" he turned to Rouge again with a slightly apologetic look, "So Sonic really was gone from this world for only four days?"

"Yes… why?"

"Sonic was in my world for four years."

"Wait, years?" Shadow had finally inserted himself into the conversation.

Sonic blinked, "Yeah."

After a few moments of silence, Silver held out his hand to the dark hedgehog and white bat, "I'm Silver, by the way. Sorry for being snappy before. Sonic and I are pretty close."

They each shook his hand. Sonic couldn't help but notice how uncomfortable the atmosphere had gotten between them. What exactly do they do now? Their wounds needed to be tended to, that was definitely a top priority. He was hoping the rain had washed his wound enough to stave of infection, but he'd rather have it looked at, cleaned and covered as soon as possible. He pressed his hand to the side of his neck lightly. The wound felt hot against his palm and he instantly felt the sting shoot across his neck at the contact. He was hoping that the heat wasn't a precursor to infection and was just a result of his cold hands.

Rouge noticed his actions, "Um... we should get you two to Club Rouge. Those wounds don't look too great. You two also look… wet?"

"It was raining," was Sonic's automatic response.

Because Sonic didn't want Silver to be overwhelmed with another Chaos Control, he declined Shadow's offer to take them back to Club Rouge. Instead, they ended up walking there, both Sonic and Silver feeling beat up and exhausted, especially now that the adrenaline from jumping into a ravine had worn off. When they got to the city, however, they brought up the pace a little so that they could avoid being seen. No need to cause a panic with all that blood.

Rouge told them they could stay the night, but there was only one bed free in their apartment. Sonic immediately offered to sleep on the settee and give Silver the bed. His silvery-white friend protested and so they still hadn't come to a decision, both being far too stubborn to back down. With that still undecided, Rouge told Shadow to call Tails and let him know Sonic was fine while she tended to their wounds. Again, Sonic told Rouge to look at Silver's first. When asked how they got them, they both responded with, "things happen," in a flat tone.

'Best keep it vague,' Sonic though, casting a glance at Silver who seemed to have read his mind, 'they don't need to know.'

Sonic ended up taking a shower while Rouge looked over Silver's arm. After he was done, they swapped and Sonic had his neck tended to.

"Tails was relieved to know you were ok. Shadow told him you were staying here tonight."

Sonic sighed, "Good, thank you."

It had only been four days, but he couldn't stand to know that Tails had been worried. He couldn't imagine how panicked he was when he just stopped talking and disappeared…

"You're nineteen now, right?" Rouge asked.

"Mhm."

"You drink?"

"Occasionally."

Rouge chuckled, "You and Silver look like you've had a rough day. How 'bout I pour you a couple of drinks, on the house?"

Sonic's ears perked up. "Really?" then, realising how eager he sounded, corrected himself with, "You don't have to do that…"

"I insist."

Not one to squander an opportunity for a free drink, or any drink, Sonic caved, "Alright. Thanks."

After double checking the patch of gauze she applied to his neck, she told Sonic to wait for her in the living room and they'd go down to the bar with Silver after she bandaged Silver's arm. She hadn't bothered before since he'd still needed a shower, she had mostly disinfected it and checked the wound's severity. She had determined that both were deep enough to require a couple of stitches each but were otherwise fine.

Silver didn't hide how eager he himself was for some alcohol when he was told.

When they walked down into the dark club, some of the dim lights were already on. Shadow was sitting at the bar with a drink already in front of him. When Sonic raised a brow at Rouge, she shook her head with a smirk and slipped behind the bar, gesturing for the other two hedgehogs to take a seat. Sonic unconsciously left a stool between himself and Shadow, and Silver sat down on his other side. He didn't want to upset Shadow because he knew the darker hedgehog did not like him, but he and Silver were also used to leaving gaps between themselves and others in bars anyway – better to avoid everyone when you were like them.

Shadow barely looked up at them when they came in, but Sonic wasn't bothered.

"You guys like anything in particular?" Rouge asked, setting three more pint glasses down on the bar.

After an exchanged look, Silver shook his head and Sonic responded with, "Just whatever is fine."

She nodded and filled up the glasses with amber liquid. Sonic though it looked a lot like honey, though he supposed it wasn't nearly as sweet as the thick, syrupy treat. When all three glasses were poured, Rouge raised her glass.

"To Sonic being home, and you too Silver."

Silver smiled wide at that. Since Sonic had told him he was from another world, Silver had wanted to go there himself. The world they'd left behind was cruel and neither hedgehog would miss it.

Silver suddenly raised his own glass and shouted out, "To the Up!"

Sonic rolled his eyes and chuckled, raising his own. Then, in sync as though it was practiced many times, both hedgehogs placed their drinks back down, clapped their hands once, smacked the counter with both hands three times; twice fast, a gap, once more. Then, both raised their glasses again and cried out in unison:

"To the Up!"

And began to chug their drinks. Sonic slammed his glass back down with a shout of victory, one fist raised, seconds before Silver finished his own. The white hedgehog coughed and began to laugh.

"How do you even do that every time?"

Sonic burst out laughing with him. He picked his glass back up, looking into it.

"Wow, this stuff's not nearly as strong as dax."

"Yeah, my throat's barely burning," Silver elbowed Sonic in the ribs with a smirk, "Am I allowed to have a second glass of this, Your Majesty?" Silver stressed the last two words with mock malice.

Sonic snorted, "I only said that last time because you tried to hit a Patrol Guard with a chair!"

"I did not! And it was a Town Guard, not a Patrol Guard, anyway. I'm not completely stupid."

"It doesn't matter what Guard it was, and yes you did! Not to mention, you somehow managed to throw it at yourself! How do you even do that?" Sonic was still laughing.

"Oh, shut it, I was drunk. He deserved it," Silver folded his arms over his chest with a huff.

"Mmhmm, he totally deserved that chair you threw at yourself, you're right there!"

"SONIC!"

Silver aimed a slap to the back of his head, but he ducked out of the way in time with a smirk. He knew Silver hadn't put that much behind his swing, but he liked riling up the other.

Rouge frowned, brow creased in confusion, "What is dax?"

The two had forgotten for a moment that they were in a room with two other mobians. Sonic rubbed the back of his neck with a chuckle.

"It's a very cheap, but rather strong alcohol," Sonic explained.

Silver shook his head, "Ah, yes. Truly a drink for the penniless."

"We weren't penniless, we did have money."

"Not a lot. We pretty much pooled our funds and only bought dax."

Sonic shrugged, "It's not like we had anything else to buy."

"True," the white hedgehog sighed, then looked at Rouge, "Anyway… can I have another glass?"

"Silv…"

"I won't down this one," he assured, "Oh, by the way, you did win."

The blue hedgehog smirked, "You're getting the bed then."

"Damn it, fine."

Rouge chuckled and refilled Silver's glass, "Do you want another, Sonic?"

"Nah, I really shouldn't."

Rouge and Silver talked for a while, but Sonic wasn't really paying attention. He let his eyes wander around the club, taking in the dark walls, large speakers set into them and lights that Sonic could imagine changed colour when on. The only lights that Shadow had put on were the ones above the bar which were soft and fairly dim, so Sonic couldn't see all around the whole room. He could make out booths around the outside of the room and several tables scattered around, but he knew there was a dancefloor towards the middle of the room between the bar the other tables. Sonic had been in here before a few times, but had usually stayed away for fear of Rouge spiking his drink. He never used to drink alcohol, hadn't been old enough anyway, and he was never sure if he could fully trust her not to sneak some alcohol into his drink as a joke. Otherwise, he did trust Rouge though. He trusted Shadow too, not that the other talked to him much. He'd never really been close to either though.

Out the corner of his eye, he though he saw Shadow looking his way, but when he turned to look at him, the other was still facing his own drink. He frowned and shook his head. Silver and Rouge were still talking. He wasn't exactly enthusiastic about joining in. Sonic had found that, over the past four years, he hadn't been too bothered about holding many conversations.

He caught himself off guard with a yawn.

He tapped Silver on the arm, "I'm gonna head upstairs."

Silver frowned, "Are you sure?"

"Yeah. Don't drink too much."

Rouge blinked, "There's a blanket in the airing cupboard, and there should be a pillow up there too."

"Ok, thanks. I'll leave the light on so you don't trip or anything," after Rouge sent him a look, he assured, "It won't bother me."

He waved goodnight and made his way upstairs. After finding the blanket and pillow Rouge had mentioned, he curled up on one cushion of the settee and pulled the blanket over himself. His head was pressed up against the arm of the settee and he was curled up as tightly as possible. He listened to the muted sound of Silver and Rouge talking and closed his eyes.