Notes: Hi everyone! Happy New Year! I hope you all had a lovely holiday season, as I've had. I promised I'd be back once the new year began, and so I am. I didn't get as much work done on this story as I hoped I would, so don't expect an update once a week, as I simply can't keep up with that. That being said, I really enjoyed writing this chapter and the next, so I hope you'll enjoy reading them!

He was walking down a long, almost impossibly long hallway. It was a fancy hallway, with marble floors, walls a deep red color, and golden chandeliers hanging from the ceiling. The lighting was dim, and he was walking slowly- or running, he couldn't tell. The end of the hallway wasn't coming closer. He felt vulnerable and exposed. He didn't like it. He thought he could feel someone following him, but whenever he turned around, there was no one there. He was all alone. At least, he was alone until he started walking again. Or running. He couldn't tell.

After a while of traversing down the hallway, which was devoid of any doors or windows, he could have sworn that he'd started to hear something. It was very quiet, almost non-existent, but it sounded like a voice. A voice he knew, calling out his name. Only it wasn't his name, the one he'd given himself- it was his old name, the one he shared with thousands of others. "Sonic, Sonic…" the voice called out. He turned around. This time, there was someone behind him, all the way at the other end of the impossibly long hallway. The someone was a royal blue hedgehog, older than him, with brown, styled bangs, dark eyes, and wearing an expensive-looking red cape. The older hedgehog was calling out, "Sonic, Sonic," as blood dribbled from a small, round hole in his forehead.

Scourge shot awake, shivering and yet covered in sweat. His heart was racing, and his lungs were working overtime to supply it with oxygen. "What the hell…" he gasped, wiping the cold sweat from his brow. Was it all just a dream? It seemed plausible, but Scourge wasn't the type of guy who dreamed very often, especially not that vividly. As cliché as it was, he pinched himself to make sure he was awake. The small spark of pain that shot up his arm told him that he was.

Scourge didn't bother wondering about the contents of the dream, as that was the only dream he'd been having over the past few months. The talking and the figure in the distance were both relatively new, though, first appearing only three or four days prior. Scourge wasn't sure who the mysterious figure at the hallway was, or why it was only appearing now; the figure was too far away to make out clearly, and never responded when Scourge asked it a question, only saying "Sonic, Sonic!"

He shook his head. He must've gotten a few screws knocked loose when he got his "birthday punches," that had to be the cause of it. What else could it be? A sign? An omen? Puh-lease.

'Speaking of birthday punches, this sure doesn't look like Zone Jail,' he thought. He was sitting on a worn, yet comfortable couch. He was still wearing his golden inhibitor collar, though his ratty orange jumpsuit had been swapped out for his leather jacket. He looked around the room and caught a glimpse of a photo of Sonic and Tails hanging on the wall. 'Sonic's house.' The events of the previous day suddenly flooded his brain, having been previously suppressed by the aftermath of the weird dream.

Scourge was in Sonic the Hedgehog's house. He was out of prison. He wasn't going to spend the morning being thrown into the floor by his roommate, Smalls. He was sleeping on something other than bedsprings or cement. He could run out the front door and be free.

At least, he could if he weren't still wearing the dreaded collar. He wouldn't get far with it on, and even if he did, he suspected there was some sort of tracker in it.

Still, he had a hard time believing that he was, 1. out of Zone Jail and 2. in the house of his greatest enemy. He almost pinched himself a second time before he realized that he didn't want to wake up from this dream and find himself back behind bars.

"Yo, Sleeping Beauty, you awake yet?" called Sonic from the kitchen. Nope, it wasn't a dream. Scourge rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. He looked at the clock hanging on the wall and saw that it was almost noon. Whoops. He swung his legs over the edge of the couch, stretched his back, and got up. He shuffled, shoeless, into the kitchen, yawning.

"There you are!" Sonic smiled. He was sitting on the kitchen table, redoing the bandages around his chest. "I was wondering if you'd ever wake up."

"Why didn't you just wake me up yourself?"

"Figured you deserved a good night's sleep for once. Plus, you were dreamin' pretty hard there. I don't think I could've woken you up if I tried… Oh, and I wasn't too excited to see what you're like in the mornings."

Scourge shrugged and scratched his short, choppy quills. "Thought so."

"To be honest, I thought you'd be grumpier."

"Hey, Smalls hasn't shown up and kicked the breakfast out of me yet, so it's a good day."

"Good to hear." Sonic finished wrapping himself up and tied the ends of the bandages together to keep it tight. There was really no point to keeping his chest bandaged up at that point, but it make him feel a little better in a security blanket sort of way (though he'd never, ever admit it), and this way no one had to look at his bizarre injury. He got off the table and bounced on his toes to warm up his legs. "Tails should have the first few Emeralds pinpointed soon, so if you're a breakfast kind of guy, I'd get on that."

Just as he said this, the younger Tails flew through the room, the twelve-year-old Sonic at his heels. The two older hedgehogs swore they heard him say something along the lines of "now is not the time to goof around! Give me back my gloves!" as he blew through the kitchen. A few of the chairs and an open box of cereal were toppled over by the rush of wind. The older Sonic shook his head as he picked a chair up off the ground.

"This place wasn't exactly made for six people," he grunted as Zonic passed through, looking for his gun.

"I'll say," Scourge said in response. "Dude, don't look at me, I didn't touch the thing," he told the cop, who went to look downstairs for his weapon. "This place is crowded up the wazzoo." He watched his heroic counterpart stoop down low and clean up the spilled cereal.

A dull thud came from the living room. "I'm okay!" Lil' T said weakly.

Scourge rolled his eyes and walked over to the fridge. His bare feet padded uncomfortably over the cold tile floor. He glanced sideways out the window and saw almost nothing but white outside. It looked like it had stopped snowing, which was good. It was still freezing, though.

He pulled open the freezer and grabbed a box of frozen waffles. He got one out and shoved it in the toaster impatiently. Sighing, he hopped up and took a seat on the counter. What was he doing here? Heating up an Eggo Waffle in his enemy's house, getting ready to save Mobius? He should be trying to conquer Mobius, for crying out loud! That was what he tried to do the last time he was in the Prime Zone, anyway. He closed his eyes and took a breath. Scourge had to remind himself that he couldn't conquer the place if it was wiped from the timeline.

He shouldn't even be thinking about taking over. This was his one chance to start over. He couldn't blow it- at least, not yet. He would have to wait to decide what course of action to take, if he really wanted to go down this path or not...

He was deep in thought until his waffle popped out of the toaster with a loud ding! causing him to jump. His train of thought sufficiently derailed, he plucked the waffle out of its slot and took a bite out of it. The foodstuff was burning hot, but it was without a doubt the tastiest thing that had passed through his mouth in ages. 'Yeah, I think I'll play along for now. As long as I'm not eating prison food, I'll play hero all day,' he thought, savoring the taste.

Just then, Tails- the older one- burst in through the basement door with an excited look on his face and his handheld device, the Miles Electric, in his hands. "I got it!" he shouted, grabbing the attention of everyone in the house. "I found some Emeralds!" He placed the Miles Electric down on the kitchen table and pressed a few buttons on it, activating a hologram of Mobius. The projection of the planet was quite large and spun at a steady pace. Everyone who wasn't already in the room filed in, the young Sonic tugging on one of his shoes as he did so.

"Emeralds?" he sputtered, fixing his sock. "Where?"

Tails highlighted three different areas on the holographic globe. One on Westside Island, one in the middle of the ocean, and one quite close by, in Station Square by the looks of it. "These are the three I've managed to track down so far; and it hasn't been easy, let me tell you. Had to use both the Emeralds we already have, barely got any sleep last night-"

"Jus' tell us where they are!" Lil' T shouted, climbing up on one of the chairs in order to get a better look.

"Fine, fine," the elder fox said with a huff. "Well, the one closest to here is Station Square. Its hard to tell where in Station Square exactly, the storm hasn't been making that part easy. The other two were a little easier to find, but they're pretty far. This one here," he pointed to Westside Island, "is in the Mystic Caves, and this one," he pointed to the blinking dot in the ocean, "is Metal Harbor, you know, G.U.N.'s missile base."

Scourge whistled, his interest piqued. "Missile base, huh?"

"Not today, hotshot," the older of the two Sonics said. "I don't think G.U.N. wants you near their toys after what you tried to do the last time you were here." Scourge merely grumbled in response.

"Speaking of which," Zonic interjected, his arms crossed, "you're sticking with me. I told the warden I'd keep a close eye on you, and I intend to keep my word."

The green one feigned a look of betrayal. "But Helmet Head, you don't trust me?" he asked, his voice unnaturally sweet-sounding. Zonic rolled his eyes, while the younger incarnations of Sonic and Tails sent each other confused glances.

"Well," the older Tails said, "there are three Emeralds and six of us. We can split up into teams and get all three at once."

"Divide and conquer. Sounds like a plan!" the smaller Sonic grinned. "How're we splitting it up?"

"Let's mix it up," his older self said. "I'll take little Tails, you take big Tails."

Everyone seemed fine with this setup (except Scourge, who didn't want to be stuck with Zonic), so they got to figuring out who would get which Emerald. Sonic and Lil' T decided to go for the one in Mystic Caves. The other Sonic and Tails took Metal Harbor, and Scourge and Zonic got Station Square. Once everyone was finished getting ready and was fully awake, they prepared to leave. Tails and the younger Sonic took the Tornado after the younger hedgehog spindashed the runway clean. The other dynamic duo took off for the Mystic Caves through a portal opened up for them by Zonic. Once they were gone, the Zone Cop closed their portal and opened up a new one to Station Square.

"Wait," Scourge said, grabbing Zonic's arm as he went to step through the portal.

"What now?"

"You gonna take this collar off of me or what?" he pointed his thumb at the gold collar around his throat. "I'm not going to be able to do anything, including sensing the Emerald with this thing still on, genius."

"Fine," Zonic spat harshly, pulling a small key from his belt. "But if you give me one reason to not trust you-"

"I got it, I got it. I'll be a good boy." At least, he would be until he came up with a half-decent escape plan. Zonic unlocked the collar and pulled it off of his neck. Scourge suddenly felt alive, like he had been sleepy for a whole year and was suddenly wide awake. His eyesight was sharper, his hearing clearer, and a massive weight had been lifted off his legs. It felt like he could finally breathe. He was himself again. He rubbed his neck. There was a sharp indent in his fur from where the collar had been.

The collar was now hooked on Zonic's belt, ready to be pulled out and used again if the situation called for it. "There, happy now? Can we go?" the No Zoner asked impatiently.

"Definitely," Scourge breathed. He was too distracted by how good he felt to remember that he could just run away from Zonic and never come back. He wanted to run, sure, but just for running's sake.

The two hedgehogs stepped through the portal and landed on one of Station Square's many snow-filled streets. "Shit!" Scourge yelped as he landed waist-deep in the snow. He had apparently been so caught up in his collar being taken off that he'd forgotten that there was snow outside. Zonic merely groaned, wondering how on Mobius he'd gotten himself stuck in this mess.

"Yes, its cold out. Can we get a move on?"

"Fine, fine…" Scourge grumbled, climbing out of the snow. The two started to trudge down the streets of the city, Zonic leading the way. The radar that was built into his gauntlet was calibrated to track Chaos Energy, so they followed the signal it was receiving and started making their way through Station Square.

"The signal is coming from in here." Zonic took his helmet off about a half hour later and looked up at the tall tower in front of them, which would have been flashing with bright neon lights had the power not been out. The powerless sign above the entrance to the tower read TWINKLE PARK.

"Oh yeah, there's an Emerald in there, alright. I can feel it," Scourge said, taking note of the barely noticeable jitter of Chaos Energy floating in the air. He wasn't nearly as experienced with the Chaos Emeralds as Sonic was, but he could still sense one if it was close enough.

"Unfortunately," Zonic frowned, "my belt doesn't like Chaos Energy much. It got acclimated to the energy that the first two Emeralds were giving off, but this is new to it. It's not gonna let me teleport OR open up a portal if we're close to a new Emerald. And these doors look like they're frozen shut... We're going to have to find another way into the park."

"I can always spindash 'em open," Scourge suggested.

"Even if you did, the elevator isn't working, so we wouldn't be able to go anywhere. Besides, I'd prefer not to cause any collateral damage today if we can avoid it, thank you."

"Well, can we figure out another way in quickly? My spines are freezing off, here."

"Soooniiic!" came a sudden, high-pitched cry from behind them. Before they could react, a pair of arms snaked their way around the Zone Cop's neck, refusing to let go.

"What the?!" the No Zoner gasped, trying to turn his head around to see who his attacker was. As he turned to get a better look, his assailant leaned over his shoulder and planted a kiss right on his lips.

"Don't be so surprised, it's only your beautiful girlfriend Amy Rose, silly!" the kisser giggled. Zonic's face was turning as red as the girl's winter coat.

"A-Amy?" he stammered. He could hear Scourge cracking up on the sidelines. "I'm n-not... I-I mean, I know I l-look like-"

"A police officer? Oh Sonic, how'd you know I love a man in uniform?" the girl cooed. Scourge was rolling on the snowy ground, laughing so hard he could barely breathe. This caught Amy's eye, and she unlatched herself from the blue hedgehog and drew her hammer. "Scourge?! What's he doing here?" she asked, ready to attack the ex-king.

"He's with me," Zonic said, regaining his composure (though he was still red as a lobster). He flattened out the wrinkles in his uniform before whipping out a gold badge. "Captain Zonic the Hedgehog, NZPD. Scourge is... on probation. He's going to be doing a little community service with me today, isn't that right, Scourge?" He got no response, as the green hedgehog was still on the floor.

"But..." Amy turned her focus back to the officer. "You look exactly like Sonic! There's no way you can't be him!"

"Well, considering I'm an alternate version of Sonic, I should certainly hope I look like him. The Sonic you know is already in Mystic Caves by now, all the way on South Island."

"So you're not... And I just kissed... Ohmygosh I'm so sorry! I swear I only did it because I thought you were Sonic! Because, you know, he called yesterday and I told him I was stuck in the city helping people out with this stupid blizzard, and he sounded really disappointed when I told him I couldn't come, and I just- oh nevermind, forget it. I'm really sorry, I won't bother you anymore!" The pink girl bowed her head before turning to leave, embarrassed that she mistook someone else for her Sonic again.

"Actually, wait!" Zonic said after a few seconds. Amy came rushing back, batting her eyelids.

"Yes?" she asked sweetly. Zonic cleared his throat.

"Is there another way into Twinkle Park? We need to get in there, it's urgent."

"...Oh," the girl sounded a bit disappointed, but she quickly hid it. "Sure there is! There's a manhole downtown, in front of the book shop. The tunnel down there should lead you into the park." She said in a hushed voice, "But you didn't hear that from me!" She winked, making Zonic blush again. He picked up his helmet and placed it back on his head, letting the visor obscure his eyes.

"Right. Thank you Miss, we'll handle it from here. Stay safe with all this weird weather, okay? You never know when a branch could come down, or the snow could start up again. Scourge, get up, we're leaving." Scourge wiped a tear from his eye as he got to his feet.

"Yeah yeah, I'm coming. Thanks for that, Amy, I needed a laugh," he said, chuckling. The pink hedgehog scowled.

"Oh, I'll give you a laugh, alright," she growled under her breath, clutching her hammer tight. She swung her weapon around angrily, clipping the green one in the head. "That'll teach you to laugh at Amy Rose!"

ooo

Scourge clutched his sore head as he and Zonic made their way through the underground tunnel leading to the park. He groaned.

"You just had to poke fun at her, didn't you?" Zonic sighed, scanning for Chaos readings with his gauntlet's built-in mini computer.

"I love how this is automatically my fault," the blue-eyed hedgehog muttered. "I'm just glad she didn't bust my shades."

"Oh, Chaos forbid she break your sunglasses." Zonic rolled his eyes. Why did he sign up for this, again?

"Can it, chrome dome. Or do the others have to hear about how you turned as red as Knuckles with a sunburn?"

"I-I did not!"

"Oho, yes you did. You got a crush on Amy or somethin'?"

Zonic's face started to turn red again under his helmet. "What? No, of course not!"

"Must be one of her look-alikes, then. What about the Amy from No-Zone?"

"No, I don't have a crush on Zamy. I barely even know her."

"So who is it then? Don't tell me she's from MY zone... Oh jeez, do you have a crush on Rosy? Seriously?"

"No! Are you kidding? That girl gives me the creeps."

"Yeah, you're not alone there... That chick has issues."

"Agreed. Anyway, I was blushing because she caught me off-guard with that kiss, okay?" Zonic sighed. "Look, we're here, so let's just drop the conversation and focus on the task at hand."

"Finally!" Scourge cried with exasperation. "It reeks in here. I hate sewers, move it!" He shoved the Zone Cop out of the way and charged through the service door with a dimly lit red EXIT sign above it. He burst into the outside and immediately clenched his eyes shut, shielding them from the sudden bright sunlight. Zonic smirked, following the ex-con outside. He had no issue with the sunlight, thanks to his helmet's visor. The heat, however, was another story.

"Wow, I didn't know that it was still summer in here," he said, taking a breath of hot, humid air. "Looks like this place was frozen in time a few days ago, and then with the snow, everyone just didn't notice it."

"Since when does snow take precedence over a theme park that's outside the time stream?" Scourge scoffed. "Mobians need to get their priorities straight."

"You should talk. I could say the same thing about Moebians. Come on, let's get going. I don't want to be here longer than I need to be." Zonic cut in front of him and took the lead, heading towards the center of the park. Scourge followed reluctantly, flipping his sunglasses down over his eyes. Now he was really glad Amy didn't break them with her hammer.

Twinkle Park, aside from a few people frozen in time along with it, was pretty empty. No music playing over the speakers, no sounds of water cascading down from fountains into pools, no screams as patrons rode roller coasters, no birds chirping as they flew by overhead. It was like a snapshot, save for the two similar-looking hedgehogs now exploring the thrill-filled playground.

"Creepy as hell in this place," Scourge grumbled, adjusting the sunglasses resting on his nose. "Especially during the day, I feel like the cops are gonna jump in and haul my ass outta here any second. Couldn't we have come when it's dark?"

The No-Zoner walking beside him looked up from his map of the park and raised an eye ridge at him from beneath his visor. "One: I am a cop, and you're not violating any laws by being here. It's not like we're here to enjoy the attractions anyway. Two: Time is frozen here. It won't get darker, no matter how long we wait."

The green hedgehog hmphed. "Killjoy," he said, raising his arms above his head and cracking his back. "And hey, I can't help but feel paranoid. I haven't been inside a theme park legally in my whole life. I'm not used to walking around in the open like this without a care in the world."

"See, the trick is coming here when time is in motion so you can actually ride the rides and whatnot."

"With other people? You gotta be joking." The Moebian laughed, barring his sharp teeth. He looked up at the medieval-themed decorations surrounding the two as they walked past. There were columns and castle spires cropping up everywhere, the pathways were all cobblestone, and employees were dressed up as squires and magicians and occasionally knights. "Huh, this place might even be cooler than my castle. Maybe."

"If I recall, it's not your castle anymore," Zonic said, removing the main part of his helmet and leaving only the detachable visor and earpiece. It was way too hot for his quills to be shoved inside a tight metal helmet. "Hey, Scourge, enlighten me. Why are you suddenly so willing to help us out? Because normally, you can't stand Sonic Prime or me."

Scourge's ears perked up at the unexpected question. "And why should I tell you that? It's my business, mind your own," he said, glaring sideways at the Zone Cop through his shades.

"Don't forget, you're not free yet, criminal. I can put that inhibitor collar back on you at any time." Zonic detached the collar in question from the back of his belt and swung it around his finger in a manner both playful and threatening.

"I'd like to see you try," Scourge said, scowling at Zonic and running ahead at full speed.

Zonic slapped himself on the forehead in frustration. "Whose idea was it to leave the con with supersonic speed in the hands of Slowpoke Jones the Zone Cop?" He huffed before he took after Scourge, turning off the safety on his laser pistol has he did so.

His boots clomped against the hard cobblestone at what felt like a dreadfully slow pace. He could barely see Scourge anymore, the evergreen speedster moving further and further away with every passing second. He ran straight up one of the park's towers and took a seat on its curved roof. 'He's waiting up? What a little show-off!' the Zone Cop thought.

He made his way to the base of the tower in about a minute, breathing hard but not panting by any means. He slipped off his spatial stabilizer for a moment, his body quickly reorienting itself to No Zone's sideways gravity. He took advantage of this, walking calmly straight up the side of the tower.

"Hey, look who decided to join us," Scourge smirked as Zonic climbed onto the roof of the tower. "Wow, you really are slow as molasses."

"Yeah, I'm not the only one," Zonic breathed, whipping out the inhibitor collar and affixing it to the blue-eyed one's neck before he even knew what was happening.

"W-what? Hey!" Scourge gasped, clawing at the device around his throat. He could practically feel his speed, agility, strength, everything being sapped away. "Get this thing off me!"

"Not until I'm confident that you won't run off," Zonic frowned. His face was dead serious. He wasn't about to take any more crap that day.

"But-"

"No buts. I'm the authority here, and what I say goes."

"Okay, Mr. Authority, how the hell am I gonna get down from here if I can't run or jump down? Hm?" Scourge asked, tapping his foot impatiently. Zonic thought about it for a minute. He had just ended up trapping Scourge on top of the tower, as there was no way the Zone Cop could carry him down. He growled in exasperation.

"Fine, but the next time you run off like that, I won't hesitate to shoot you, got it?" he said harshly, unlocking the collar and yanking it off.

"A bit hostile, are we?" Scourge grumbled, rubbing his neck. "It's not like I was trying to run away. I waited for you, didn't I?" He took a deep breath as he felt his super speed come back to him. He hated the Zone Cops' inhibitor collars with a passion. He shuddered just thinking about how weak they made him, how vulnerable he felt. It wasn't his favorite feeling in the world, that was for sure. He jumped down off of the tower and onto the ground, Zonic following close behind.

"Well it's not like I don't have my reasons for not trusting you," the cop grunted as he landed back on the ground, turning his attention to the scanner in his gauntlet. He was really wishing that sensing Chaos Energies had been part of his training right about then. He grumbled to himself: "Okay, there's a signal coming from northeast of here... But that can't be right, we just came from there, didn't we? Jeez, this park is horribly designed."

"Hey, maybe you should just let me lead the way," Scourge said with a shrug. "I mean, this is a lovely first date and all, very romantic, but you've just been sending us in circles. Not to mention the fact that, uh, I can actually sense Chaos Emeralds near by." He shoved his hands into his pockets and scoffed under his breath. "Poser."

Zonic did a double take. "Poser? I'm just as much a Sonic as you are- even more so, seeing as you've mutated!"

"You wish. I'm the Sonic the Hedgehog at his full potential. But you- do you even have any special abilities?"

"What?!" the No Zoner spat.

"Yeah! You can't run, you can't tap into Chaos Energies. You're just a wannabe!" Scourge said, jamming a finger into the cop's chestplate.

"I'm a wannabe?" Zonic yelled back, taking a step forward. "I'd watch that mouth of yours, Snot, or maybe you're forgetting who the hell convinced the warden to let you out on probation."

"I knew you'd play that card, so predictable. Is that all you've got? Really?"

"You know what? Fine. Take the lead, I don't even care." Zonic grabbed a folded up park map from a nearby kiosk and shoved it at Scourge's chest. "Take it, you navigate if you think you'll be that much better at it." The green hedgehog ripped the map out of the officer's hands, looked at it, and then shoved it right back.

"Forget it," he said, scowling. "I don't need your damn map, I'll find the Emerald on my own. You got a problem with that, too bad."

Zonic crossed his arms. "Yeah, not if I find it first."

"Is that a challenge?"

"You could call it that, yeah. Whoever gets back here with the Chaos Emerald first wins."

"Wins what, helmet head?"

"I dunno. Whatever you want, I don't really care."

"Alright. If I win, you have to do whatever I say for a whole day. Foot rubs, praise and worship, bowing down to me, the works," Scourge said with a smirk. Zonic clicked his tongue.

"Okay. And if I win, you have to spend an entire day hanging out with Lil' T," the Zone Cop smirked back.

"What? No way, I don't do kids."

"I don't do worship. We got a deal or not?" Zonic stuck out his hand, waiting for the Moebian to shake it. Scourge made a face before gripping the hand with his own.

"Deal. I hope you're good at massages, sucker!" he said with a laugh before he sped off.

Notes: Well that was fun, right? I told you that Zonic and Scourge would be here to stay. And we got a guest appearance from Amy Rose, too! I love Amy, I wish she was more fun to play as in the games. Sonic Team likes to botch her and make her look like a total idiot :/ Anyway, we'll find out what comes of Zonic and Scourge's bet next time! Thank you all for sticking with me through that hiatus, and thanks for sticking around in the future, too. I read and appreciate every review I get! Have a rockin' 2014, guys!