Well, folks, here's the fourth chapter. I'm sorry for the science lesson at the start, it's kinda relevant to the story though. This chapter also features the aftermath of the Chaos explosion!

Shadow: Whatever. How was Moreton?

Piss off. My legs hurt, my arms are itchy, and I never want to see sand again. That shit gets everywhere.

Sonic: Don't forget, you owe that guy $10 as well…

Stuff him.

Shadow: But didn't he say…

Stuff. Him.

Sonic: Anyway, Illumini does not own me, Shadow, or anyone else in this story. We belong to SEGA and…

YES! Got you, you little bastard!

Shadow: What.

Mozzies. Goddamn insects. Anyway, on with the story! And to everyone who knows what it is, happy ANZAC day. Lest We Forget.

----------

Time is a funny thing. It is omnipresent, always there, and know matter what you do, you cannot escape it. No one really knows how or when time began, and if, or when, it will end.

Time travel is a very commonly mentioned whenever the subject of chronology is brought up. Physics state that as an object approaches the speed of light, the rate at which time passes for that object slows. For example, a person in a car travelling at 100km/h ages at a slower rate than someone who is walking at 5km/h. The rate at which it does so is incredibly small, though, and thus insignificant. On a larger scale, an person travelling through space at 150,000,000 metres per second (Half the speed of light would age twice as slow as someone on earth). If an object is travelling at the speed of light, 300,000,000 metres per second, then time would stop completely.

This is where things become more relevant. If at the speed of light, time stops completely, then theoretically, wouldn't travelling beyond that speed cause time to reverse? While this is logically feasible, in reality it would be impossible, due to the speed of light widely being accepted as the fastest possible speed.

To be fair, and cut to the chase, experimental physics were probably the last thing on Sonic's mind at the present time.

"June… 1959?" He said skeptically, the fear obvious in his voice.

"Yes. Is that a problem?" Shadow asked, a concerned look upon his face.

Sonic had no answer for the question. His mind wouldn't allow him to speak. It could only concentrate on one thing: He was fifty years in the past. No one that he knew existed yet. Tails, Knuckles, Amy… All just a glint in their parent's eyes. Even he wasn't supposed to exist yet! What if he did something that altered the past, and stopped him from being born? What would happen to him, his friends, the world then?

"Sonic?" Shadow shook the blue hedgehog gently. "Are you alright?"

Sonic gave no verbal response. Instead, he just let out a small, choked whisper, tears beginning to well up in his eyes. Questions were racing through his mind. How did this happen? What was going to happen? Could he get back to his own time? Or would he be stuck here, in the past, for the rest of his days?

Sonic let out a sob as the tears began to fall. He began to breath heavily, the tears falling more rapidly now. He was absolutely terrified. He was stuck, he didn't know what to do, and he didn't know where to go. Shadow saw the fear on his face and grabbed the sobbing hedgehog pulling him into a protective embrace. Sonic rested his head against Ebony's chest, the tears wetting his chest fur. Shadow just ignored his dampening chest, putting all his efforts into comforting the blue hedgehog. He gently stroked the azure quills, whispering soothing words into his ear, gently rocking him back and forth in his lap.

Sonic's sobbing eventually began to soften, and his breathing slowly returned to normal, as he began to fall asleep against Shadow. Shadow continued to hold the blue hedgehog, continuing to comfort him until Sonic's sobbing turned to silent snores. Gently, Shadow stood up, and pulled the sleeping hedgehog up into his chest, being careful not to wake him. He frowned as the blue one fidgeted in his sleep, a few whimpers escaping his mouth. Slowly, Shadow began to walk back to their sleeping quarters. When he arrived back at the bedroom, Shadow walked over to Sonic's bed, and gently laid the sleeping youngster down on the grey quilt. He rested Sonic's on the pillow, before pulling up a chair and sitting down beside him. He continued to watch over the hero as he slept.

After a while, Sonic stirred, and his eyes flickered open, revealing his emerald eyes. His pupils were still glazed over from the crying, and he blinked a few times, adjusting his vision. He noticed a black and red figure sitting beside the bed. "Shadow?" He murmured, as he sat up in bed.

"Yeah, it's me." Shadow assured him, sitting up as well.

"What… Oh Gods…" Sonic gasped, as the revelations from before rushed back to him. He shifted under the sheets, trying to slide out of bed.

"Whoa, whoa, settle down…" Shadow soothed, moving to stroke Azure's spines again. "You need to rest…"

"But… Tails… The world… This…" Sonic continued, the fearful expression returning to his face.

"Shh…" Shadow calmed, pulling the blue hedgehog into a warm hug. Sonic felt his face burn as he did so. He didn't want anyone touching him at this particular time, but for some reason, it felt good when Shadow did it. It felt… Right. He allowed Shadow to hug him, whispering softly into his ear. For some reason, when he was in this position, pressed up against Shadow's soft, fluffy chest, he found it hard to worry about anything. Slowly, he calmed down, a contented look spreading across his face. Shadow released the hug, almost reluctantly, causing Sonic to whimper longingly. He missed Shadow's warmth.

"How are you feeling?" Shadow asked.

"Better…" Sonic mumbled, as he lay back down in bed.

"That's good…" Shadow smiled, pulling the sheets back over Sonic.

"I'm still scared, though… How am I going to get back to my own time?"

Shadow frowned. "I'm not too sure… But Gerald might know. Do you want to go see him in the morning?" He asked

"That sounds good…" Sonic murmured quietly, as he began to fall back to sleep.

"Sleep well, Sonic…" Shadow whispered to the sleeping hedgehog. What he did next shocked him completely. Without thinking, he leaned over Sonic, and gently kissed him on the head. As he pulled back, he blushed heavily. Why did he do that? He knew that he wanted Sonic to feel safe, and comfortable, but that was because he was generally a hospitable person. But this? He didn't know what to make of it at all.

'I don't know… I just want to sleep.' He thought to himself, as he walked over to his own bed and climbed in, falling asleep almost instantly.

----------

"SONIC!" The kitsune screamed into the microphone. It was useless, though. All he could hear through the chamber's feedback speakers was static. He couldn't even see Sonic, the chamber was filling with a blinding white light. Suddenly, the light seemed to die, as a crack was heard. Multiple rays of coloured light flew through the chamber, Tails assumed that it was the Chaos Emeralds separating and spreading themselves around the Earth. Finally, the white light dimmed, and the static began to soften. Tails looked around the chamber, desperately searching for his friend. "Sonic?" He called out once more, as his heart began to race. Was Sonic alright? What if he was hurt? Or knocked out? Or…

Tails shook his head. He didn't want to even consider that possibility. He pressed a button on his control panel, and an door in the wall opened up. The kitsune walked into the niche and pushed a button, the doors sliding shut as the box carried him downwards towards the test chamber. He walked out, and looked around the copper-walled room. It really was in a state. Shattered glass was strewn everywhere, turning the floor deadly. A huge metal pole lay on the floor, both ends of it a mess of twisted steel. The remains of the centre pylons continued to rotate slowly, the hydraulics having been destroyed in the explosion. Tails looked around the chamber, trying to find any sign that his friend was there. But there was nothing. It was almost as if… Sonic had never been there.

Tails raced back upstairs to his lab. He ran over to a computer, and rewound the readings to a minute before the light had disappeared. For about 30 seconds, a red blob moved around the screen, indicating Sonic's body heat. However, after that, it just completely disappeared from the screen. No fading, no cooling, just complete and utter vaporization.

Now, Tails was no expert on the Chaos Emeralds. But he knew enough about their power to deduce a few clues as to what had happened. For a start, he knew Sonic couldn't have been vaporized in the explosion, the Chaos Emeralds did not have the power to convert matter and energy. He also knew Sonic couldn't have been killed in the explosion, the Emeralds were only that powerful when harnessed by a user. Unfortunately, Tails didn't know any more about what could have happened.

But he knew someone who did.

Briskly, he walked over to his phone, and pressed a number on speed dial. It rang a few times before a gravelly voice answered.

"Hello?"

"Knuckles." Tails replied, gritting his teeth. "We have a problem."

----------

Ha-hey! The first kiss scene! Shadow, you cheeky bastard!

Shadow: Hey! It was reflexive! It doesn't mean anything!

Whatever, lover boy…

Shadow: Now, see here…

Sonic: Hey guys, what's going on?

Mr. Perverted over here thinks that I'm in…

NOOO! You'll give the plot away!

Shadow: Fine. Queer…

*Starts typing new story* 'Yes, Mephiles! Harder!' Shadow screamed as…

Shadow: ARGH! I'm sorry, I'm sorry!

Excellent! And please, Read and Review. If you don't, I won't continue the story, and then no one's happy.