There hadn't been many times in Sonic's life when he'd felt the need to be faster.

He was the blur blur, fastest thing alive. The number of things on two feet that could even keep up with him numbered in the single digits, and for most of them it was because Eggman had shoved a rocket engine up their butt.

Sonic raced across the snow, leaving a deep trench behind him as he slipped between trees, keeping half an eye out for any rings as he went.

And one particular ring, clutched in his damp hand for dear life, showed Tails talking to a strange human girl in some forest, his tiny body drenched red with blood as he walked like he was on fast forward in a movie, making Sonic feel slow.

Why wasn't she helping him?

Why couldn't he help Tails? He'd seen the state Tails' arm had been in when he'd emerged from the depths. Blood oozed from every hair, the limb limp and lifeless as he'd pushed it back through. It brought back memories of when the little fox had first followed him on his adventures, shrugging off injuries that would kill any ordinary mobian with a calm smile, always forcing himself to keep pace with Sonic without a word of complaint.

"I just didn't want to slow you down, Sonic."

Even back then he'd worried. Now it broke his heart. He might not have known any better when he was younger, just a kid himself, but he was supposed to be protecting Tails, not relying on a kid who was still two years younger than when he had first started out to save him. Especially not by doing that. He'd felt what it was like slipping his hand through that ring for even a moment, the overwhelming rush of feeling followed by an aching numbness that spread to his shoulder almost instantly. Having to hold that for half a minute would have been torture.

But Tails just didn't care about himself like that, so Sonic had to care enough for the both of them. Even when he couldn't do anything for him but care. All he wanted to do right now was find Shadow, tear this portal out of the ring, drag his buddy back through, lock him in his lab and take away the key until he figured out what was going on with all this creepy stuff and could tell Sonic what needed to be done to fix it.

Sonic grunted in irritation. No, even then he'd be putting all the pressure on Tails. What could he do if it wasn't something he could fix by running or fighting? He snagged a lone ring from between some branches. Why were there so few of them around today? He had enough scrapes and bruises from last night's fight he was still aching all over. Even though thinking about that while Tails was-

Huh. Could he get Tails some rings? It didn't seem too dangerous where he was, but Tails clearly didn't have any, and even one ring could keep him safe in a pinch. Did they not have any over there? Thank Yasuhara he'd been staying out of trouble so far.

Except for his arm.

Sonic grimaced, pushing himself to run faster, eyes peeled for any telltale hint of gold, but he didn't see a single ring, and soon Tails' lab came into view.

"What the?" He skidded to a halt, lip curled in confusion.

Blue and yellow twin turrets tracked his movement from beside the lab entrance, red lights flashing.

Some new badnik design? Had Eggman taken the opportunity to invade the lab overnight?

Sonic braced himself, staring at their brightly painted gun muzzles for the telltale flash for him to dodge... but the turrets' targeting lights flashed green without firing, then, a moment later, blue before slipping beneath the snow with a mechanical whir, metallic doors emblazed with his friend's twin-tailed logo irising shut above them.

"... Huh. That's weird." Sonic peered down at the disturbed snow surrounding the lab for the first time. Was that an arm? Gross. What happened here?

Wait.

"Big! Amy!" Sonic burst in through the unlocked door, stomach in knots.

A soft shushing sound came from the sofa, the tips of orange ears poking out over the top of the back cushion.

"Tails?!" He stumbled back in disbelief, glancing at the ring in his hand where his friend was staring up at him.

The shushing sound came again. Sonic rounded the couch to find his friend in miniature, settled down with a book in his hand and the other stroking the head of Amy Rose where she lay sleeping beside him. Her head rested on one tail, the other draped over her chest like a blanket.

"Good morning, Sonic." Tails smiled at him dreamily, eyeing him up and down. He raised an eyebrow at the ring clutched in Sonic's hand. "Looks like you and I have a great deal to talk about, doesn't it? Wh- wh-" Tails stammered to a halt as Sonic wrapped his arms around his tiny friend's shoulders before hesitantly responding in kind.

"I've missed you, little buddy." Sonic squeezed tighter, hoping some of his feelings might reach through to the fox's older self. "And yeah, this-"

"Wait." Tails pushed him back stiffly, glancing at the hedgehog laying beside him with a frown. "We should take this to another room. She's... had a tough night."

Sonic glanced at his friend - his annoying, stalkerish, friend - her eyes were puffy from crying, and her shirt was stained orange with dried blood and scorched black across her midriff. Now he thought of it, Big was nowhere to be seen.

"... Fine." He turned back to his friend's younger self with a grim nod. "And you're right, little buddy. We've got a lot to talk about."


Big was all by himself when he woke up.

He didn't know why, but that was okay. His friends were busy people with lots to do. They had to save the world.

Big didn't know how to save the world. It was very hard even to save Froggy sometimes.

But Froggy was sleeping, so Big didn't have to save anyone.

So when he woke up, Big had gone fishing.

Big liked fishing very much. It was nice and quiet, and sometimes he caught fish. Fish was good to eat, and eating made Big happy.

He pulled his line, bringing up another fish from the ocean. It was a nice big one. He put the fish into the snow next to him. He would bring those fish back to Tails' house. He hoped Tails was home now. They could eat fish together, and maybe he would be happy too.

Big cast his line into the waves again, watching his lure bob up and down. He looked up at the floating islands while he waited. He hadn't liked fishing up there very much. With fish that bit him, metal fish he couldn't eat, and a box that looked at him, there had been no fish to eat at all.

He really liked his new spinny ball though. It would be good for keeping bugs away next summer. Some boxes might be okay. So long as there were lots of fish.

Big's fishing line went very tight. He grunted as he heaved against it. This was a very heavy fish. But Big had caught a shark once, so that was okay. Slowly he reeled in the fish, feet slipping a little on the icy floor.

This was the strangest fish Big had ever seen. Big white ears, with a tentacle like a squid. It had feet like a person, and lots too many eyes. Most of its eyes were looking at him, even though the fish-person was floppy.

Big shook his head. This wasn't a fish for eating. He removed the hook from its clothes and got ready to throw it back into the water.

Wait. Big stopped to think.

Clothes?