Disclaimer: I don't own Sonic the Hedgehog

A/N: Geeze… this is a lot harder than I thought it would be. The characters and the situation… it's a sloppy mix.

Chapter 2: Who Is That

xxxxSonic

White.

That's all there was, seemingly stretching out indefinitely as the ground was lost to the sky.

It was sometimes said that when people die, there is a long tunnel and at the end there's a bright light. Perhaps it was reasonable for Sonic to believe they might have died because of this theory. They'd come here through a long tube that blurred understanding and now they were lost in a void. Seemed like they must be dead but if that was the case, why could he still feel his heart throbbing in his chest?

He still had the fox's wrist in his grip but there was a silence between them that unnerved Sonic. Something might have gone wrong despite him doing his best to keep his brother safe during that 'ride'. His gaze shifted sideways and came to rest upon Tails, who was staring intently out at the scenery. "Sonic… I think I see something…" He seriously had his doubts about that since there really wasn't much to see here but Sonic cast his sights outwards anyhow.

It was then he found his friend leading him forward at a reasonably rapid rate and wondered about the sudden rush. This whole place was making his spine crawl and he had his doubts about exploring when they didn't have the vaguest idea of what was going on. He may have leapt through that portal without thought but he was sort of starting to regret that action now. "There's someone else here."

What if he had somehow landed the two of them in a world of trouble? He didn't want anything bad to happen to his little bro or him either for that matter. It was his birthday for heavens sake, the two of them were suppose to be celebrating not diving nose first into a mess like this. "Why would anyone else be here?"

"Well… maybe they got here like us." Tails suggested with a grin, not the least bit deterred about checking this out. Must be the kid and inventor in him- this was just something new to figure out. "And if it's something bad… we can deal with it easy, right Sonic?"

Needless to say that what was awaiting them hadn't been expected by either of them.

"Sonic…" He suddenly felt as though a vice was squeezing at his chest as his brother said his name. "I… thought you were the only blue hedgehog…" All the hesitation that lined Tails tone was currently gnawing at Sonic's mind. His grip slacked and fell away as his gaze came fixated on the form in front of them.

The quills were darker and longer than his own but undeniably blue.

Sonic was baffled, confusion stabbing into his mind like a hot knife and as such he squirmed uncomfortably upon his feet. If Tails noticed he said nothing about it and simply just walked around to the other side of the downed form. "Are… are they dead?" It was about that point that the figure began to stir. Just as Sonic was about to sum up the guts to prod them with his foot and find an answer for that question.

xxxxSONIC

A groan lifted from low in his throat as consciousness slowly came crawling back, along with the pain. It was a nauseating ache that blurred his vision when he tried to take in the surroundings and convinced him to squeeze his eyes shut almost quickly as he opened them. Some part of him just wanted to just lay here until sleep consumed him once more but reality wasn't on its side, since the memory of those last few minutes of awareness was still on his mind.

From what he'd seen the others were in trouble and so he had to get himself up. Pushing his arms beneath himself, he slowly heaved himself upright with a hard shake of his head. That's when things got weird and he had to wonder if he slammed his noggin harder than he first believed. Last he checked his brother was much taller than this but right now they were at level with each other, despite Sonic still being in a low crouch.

On top of that 'Tails' seemed to have a truly bewildered look on his face. It was as if the fox couldn't believe what he was seeing and that may have very well gone both ways. Most of his past was sort of slurred from the rapid rate of his life but this was(in a way) familiar. "I feel the same way bro."

He didn't have time to dabble in the affairs of insanity and decided to go on his way.

He hardly did more than turn around before a voice convinced him to glance back. "Wha… what are you talking about?" At that moment someone had the fox by the hand, narrowing eyes in suspicion. Sonic was vaguely insulted, or at least he would have been if it wasn't his younger self that was glaring back at him.

Oh man, he just knew he must have scrambled his brains.

"Forget it." Sonic smiled at the pair and knew he should get out of here before things got any stranger and so turned and bolted without another word. Why would he imagine seeing himself? Tails was understandable since he was worried about him right now, but his younger self… that was unexpected.

xxxxTails

That stranger had called him 'bro' in that same certain manner that Sonic always did.

The two of them had the same eyes too- clear green orbs. They'd been softer though.

Did this mean his friend had an older brother that already knew about the two of them? It was so hard to believe but he didn't know what else to think. There was no way time travel would have ever willingly crossed his young mind. It was too outlandish, even after everything the two of them had gone through in their short lives. "He looked a lot like you Sonic."

If his friend knew something about it, would he say? Sonic's brows were currently scrunched together and his ears dipped back so it was obvious that there was something serious on his mind. That didn't mean Tails was prepared for the moment he suddenly ran off though.

Instantly he started spinning his tails in an attempt to keep up but the hedgehog's current pace was nothing to laugh about. It seemed as if he was pushing his limits to catch up with the stranger that was so far ahead of them already. Tails was falling behind and the sudden boom that cracked the sky confirmed that he had no chance of ever making up lost ground.

It was then that he promptly collapsed upon the crest of a tall hill. Gradually his breath returned to him as he sucked a generous amount of air down into his lungs. From here he could behold a very strange sight. Streaks of color were bursting outward from each of the blue specks far ahead of him. Licking out at the grass and the blue cape of sky like the long strokes of a paintbrush. And any splotches of white left by the first hedgehog were filled by the second as he ran in his wake.

Tails scratched behind his ear as he pondered the strange occurrence.

It wasn't really the scenery that bothered him. He had just thought there was no one faster than Sonic...