Chapter 3: A Fated Encounter?

Back at the resort, Sonic rushes back wiping off his head from any sweat that would be there.

"Phew, man today sure is pretty toasty today." Sonic says as he sits down near the edge of the swimming pool.

"Sure is. But what's business this time Sonic?" Asked the Red Echidna as he looks at Sonic's direction with him cupping his cheek with his hand.

"Hmmm...Well it seems like Eggman's normal shtick. Though it was a robot rather Egghead himself. Oh and also it managed to steal something, I could've stopped but someone was in trouble and by the time I was done rescuing the lady, the bot escaped." Sonic listed as he kicks back laying on the ground on his back. Tails swims across the pool till he's next to Sonic.

"Know what it stole Sonic? It could something big" Says the young fox as Sonic sits back up.

"Well something about some gizmo to work with the Chaos Emeralds and Dr Starline's Warp Topaz." Tails' eye widen in a enthusiastic manner.

"Ohh! I heard something like that. Something about a theory on how to travel to different dimensions. If Eggman's interested in that theory then he's planning something big!" He explains as Knuckles gets up from his chair.

"Well if he wants the Emeralds he can surely try. He needs all of them right?" Knuckles ask as Sonic as he jumps up to his feet.

"Yeah. What you suggesting Knuckles?"

Knuckles smirks as he crosses his arms.

"How would you say we go on a treasure hunt for them?" Knuckles states as Sonic smirks and gives a big thumbs up.

"Aww yeah! Treasure hunting time!" Sonic exclaiming enthisaticlly as Tangle overhears the conversation.

"Oooo sounds fun can I join?" The Lemur asked very excitedly with a big goofy like grin on her face. Sonic's smirk swiftly shifts with a concerned look on his face.

"Ummm. Sorry Tangle but I'm just gonna go with just Tails and Knuckles. I don't wanna ruin your fun with Amy and the rest." Sonic says showing a nervous smile on his face. Tangle gives Sonic a pouty look she takes a good look into his eyes and quickly understands. She sighs as she goes into the pool. "Fine. But next adventure you're inviting me got it?" Sonic responds with a thumb up with a wink.

"That's a deal then! Well Tails you ready?" As Sonic ask Tails jumps out the pool soaken from head to toe.

"Ready Sonic! Oh excuse me." The Young Two tailed fox says as he shacks all the water off his fur and his fur cartoonishly puffs up then he shakes again and his fur suddenly goes back to normal.

"Ready!" Tails gives a thumbs up as Sonic gives one back.

"Good thing I know roughly where one is. It's not far from my Island as the bridge it connected it to Mystic Ruins has been restored since the Island has lowered its altitude. Before we go though I say we suit up" Knuckles explains as he pulls out his shovel claws. He also brings out Sonic's light speed shoes and bounce bracelet.

"You been holding our old gear all this time?"

Sonic questioned as he puts on the bracelet and the light speed shoes.

"Well I needed something to remember our past adventures after all. Oh uh..Sorry Tails I don't have any of your old gear." Knuckles says while smiling sheepishly.

"No need to worry Knuckles. I have them all back at my workshop. But I can do what they used to do without them now."

The trio then stand side by side. Sonic turns his head in the direction of his closest friends which they respond with smiles from Tails and a smirk from Knuckles but both give a nod to Sonic which the blue Hedgehog can only just smirk.

"Alright! Let's get this party started!" The Blue blur exclaims as he zooms ahead in a blue streak with Tails and Knuckles following after him as a yellow and red streaks respectively as Team Sonic runs out of the city as super sonic speeds.

"Good luck you three" Says Tangle under her breath as the Lemur jumps back into the swimming pool with Amy and Cream playing pool vollyball.

Deep within the Mystic Forest with the wind is blowing a decent breeze, Dr Eggman on his Egg mobile is with the man in the robes but also brought along Metal Sonic.

"The signal for the emerald is close." Said the man on the robe looking at a detector for Chaos Emerald energy. "It should be straight ahead behind the waterfall." The man puts away the detector as the villainous trio advances down the forest.

"Just stick to the plan!" Eggman exclaims as his Egg Mobile propels him foward.

"Yeah, Yeah. I got it! Me and the tool know where we are doing. It's only a matter of if what I said is correct." The man explains as Metal Sonic clenchs it's metallic fists to the "tool" comment but looks back to his creator creating some digtal like sounds as it's method of communication.

"No, as we arranged you will not handle Sonic this time. Stick to the plan." Says the Doctor tugging on his big bushy moustache, just then the three hear a loud bang like sound which it source seems like several kilometres away which they immediately know what the source seems to be.

"It's him. and if I am right he would only bring the other two." The man says as he jist watchs over the direction of the sound of the bang and just then Sonic, Tails and Knuckles arrive with their streaks of blue, yellow and red which suddenly stop, as they stop their acceleration it causes a decent up draft of air which caused the man's robe to flow rapidly and the same goes to Eggman's moustache. The draft slowly subsides as Eggman gently strokes his moustache.

"Ahh Sonic, I was expecting you." The doctor says as he leans foward with his grin with the man in the robes gains a sinister smirk.

"Took you long enough to here." Says the man looking at Sonic dead on the eyes with serious intent while Sonic looks back in minor confusion but keeps his confident smile.

"Well, Well Eggman back to your usual shtick and even brought yet another new friend." Sonic says in a confident tone as a breeze that blow around everyone shown with Sonic's spines flow with the wind. Metal Sonic just stares at his organic countpart with some level of rage which starts to rev up the engine on its back seems ready to charge straight at the blue blur, Metal Sonic takes on step forward with a clanking like sound just as the Doctor holds out his arm in front of his machine

"Metal Sonic no! Remember why we are here." The Doctor shouted with some level of seriousness. Metal Sonic just obeys as it's engine cooling down and it's whirring falls on deaf ears.

"So looking for the Emeralds as usual. Not if we stop ya Egghead." Sonic says as he goes for a spin dash towards the doctor however the robed man swiftly jumps in the way of Sonic's spin dash and kicks the blue blur in his ball form which launchs Sonic back to the ground which Sonic bounces off the ground much like a bouncy ball till he lands back on his feet.

"Nice try, but I knew you were gonna do that" The robed man says letting out a small laugh and a smirk, Sonic keeps his confident smile while Tails has a serious expression but also has a hint of concern in his eye with Knuckles is in a boxing combat stance with just aggressive and confident smirk.

"I am off to claim our prize! You know what to do! Metal Sonic, with me!" Eggman shouts out loudly as he presses down on a button on his Eggmobile as it turns a 180 and three jet engines poke out and revs up and propels the Doctor at high speed with Metal Sonic following suit using it's own jet engine on it's back. Team Sonic attempt to chase after the two to prevent them from escaping however the man in the robe goes just as swiftly blocking Sonic's path. "Ah, ah, ah. I don't think so!" The man says inna taunting tone as Tails and Knuckles manage to get past the man turning around with concern over their close friend.

"Sonic!" Exclaims Tails as Sonic quickly looks over at his friends swiftly. "You two go and deal with Metal and Egghead! I'll handle mister mysterious over here and catch up!" Tails and Knuckles nods giving a thumbs up "Just don't get your butt kicked like Infinite did Sonic!" Knuckles says as Tails and himself dash off to chase the doctor and his machine before they reach the emerald.

"Finally, it's just me and you Sonic." The man says with such glee with a big smile on his face.

"You make it sound like we have a bit of history. But I don't know you one bit." Sonic says with a confident smile on his face.

"Actually me and you have tons of history. Well...not you. But more another you." The man explains as he cross his arm. Sonic's smile quickly changes to with a face of utmost confusion.

"Wait what? What are you talking about?" Questioned by the blue Hedgehog as the man smirks.

"Then allow me to answer your question with another question. Has your pal Tails every brought up the Multiverse theory?"

The man asked Sonic which Sonic pounders on it.

"Only once...but I didn't really listen to it."

The man chuckles a bit from the blue blur's response.

"Well to make it quick and snappy. It's a theory where there's tons of multiple universe and each are different. Some are tiny changes while some are bigger. And of course different universes mean different versions of Sonic" As the man explains Sonic's smirk start to come back.

"So there's tons of me? Now that's something I like to hear." Sonic says coolly as the man continues to explain.

"Well yes obviously. I will admit I am from one of these universes that I dub Zones. Not to be confused with the Twilight Zone prison or Warp Zones. Anyways I have been travelling to zone to zone planning to defeat each Sonic I come across. Especially one version. But I want to warm up with you!" He says as he aggressively points at Sonic as Sonic has now a serious expression on his face.

"And you defeated your world's version of me?" Sonic asked with high level of seriousness. The man hears that question and there was a brief momentary pause of silence which breaks as the man bursts out laughing much being told a great joke. The man finishes laughing with him wiping a tear of his eye with a sigh of relief. "Aw man, I was not expecting but I need a good laugh!" The man just laughs a little more. Sonic smirks as he decides to play along.

"Oh yeah? Just what makes it so funny then?" The Blue Hedgehog asked to the man which the man takes another deep breath.

"Cause that's impossible because of one tenny, tiny, itty, bitty detail." The man states as he tugs on his robe and finally takes it off dramatically as it floats up in the air. Sonic's smirk immediately vanish as he sees through his emerald green eyes the man's true identity. A hedgehog just like him with the same way the spines go downwards however his fur is green unlike Sonic's iconic blue. The eye coloured as blue as Sonic's fur or much like the ocean, a flame flame jacket with loose belt straps dangling down with ripped up sleeves up the arms. He also wears a pair of green and black running shoes, he also has red sunglasses which lays on top of his head in front of his triangle ears. And finally two scars on his peach coloured belly area.

"You see, I am my world's version of Sonic!" The green Hedgehog exclaims as he bursts into evil like laughter, leaving Sonic in a state of confusion and shock. "You are what?!" Sonic question with his jaw lowered slightly as he stares at his newly announced counterpart with shock and filled with what seems like millions of questions.

-Chapter 3 Ends-

Author Notes: Hey guys sorry for taking so long to get this done. With the lockdown going on and all that it's that my motivation can be be shot down by lazyness and spending time doing other things. I will hopefully try to get chapter 4 done as soon as I can which I am not sure when but stay tuned.

Little Story Note: Sonic's Light Speed shoes are the ones from Sonic Adventure 1 but has the version of Sonic Adventure 2's Light Speed Dash and also he naturally has the Ancient Light so he has the Light Speed Attack Naturally.

Final Words: And with that I hope you stay tuned for Chapter 4. Till Next time.