Disclaimer: I don't own Sonic the Hedgehog.

A/N: I rather like this chapter. Or at least the last two bits.

Also... the modern Sonic levels in the game are far more enjoyable than the classic ones -_-

Chapter 3: Meeting Myself

xxxxSONIC

It was different than his recent memories in many aspects but at the same time the rolling green hills and the endless blue sky never changed. This was the same as the days way back when, at the time he had met his little brother. A lot about it was still clear and crisp in his mind regardless of how many years had passed. It was with this recollection that the scenery came back to life.

Every blade of grass and palm tree, the cool spray from the rush of pounding waterfalls and the bridges that creaked beneath his feet. For just a second he felt as if he was living in that moment once more, at least until he glanced to his side and found himself all alone.

He knew he shouldn't be surprised. It'd been such a long time since him and Tails cruised through this world as a pair. It turned out that the fox didn't have the same love for running as he did and would rather linger in his workshop tinkering with new inventions.

Sonic barreled over the edge of a cliff with little regard at this point- even knowing there was no one here to catch him should the landing turn out to be an unfortunate one. Sharp rocks awaited him below along with churning water but he simply flipped over so he hit the slick surface feet first and slid down along the edge of the stone.

There was really no danger here, despite his inability to swim he could easily flip himself through the air to avoid all threats to his person. That didn't seem to work the same for the person trailing after him though as they had less experience. He hadn't seen the blue ball hit the water but had heard the splash.

For just a second he simply stood there, staring at the churning water before he felt a chill go down his back. A suffocating sensation overcame him that he knew had nothing to do with his current state but was causing him intense discomfort all the same. He sucked down a breath between his teeth as he noticed the small form being pushed about by the current.

In some ways it was like watching himself struggle. Hands scrambling for purchase on each rock that he was slammed into but finding no relief. He hurried to the aid of the smaller hedgehog but failed to make contact as he was sucked beneath the surface once more.

Sonic scanned the water desperately for any sign of what seemed like little more than a memory and fortunately he put himself in the position to do something this time around. When the white glove broke the surface he was there to grab it. "I got you." His free hand gripped at the edge of the rock so they wouldn't both be pulled in and he began to drag the hedgehog out of the water.

For what it was worth this mobian didn't seem too grateful as he appeared far more interested in coughing the water from his lungs than thanking his savior. Uneasy about standing on slick stone with a gagging child in his grasp, Sonic began to make his way towards shore. This only seemed to frustrate the small hedgehog though as he began to kick and squirm as soon as he caught his breath. "Watch the spikes kid." Sonic wasn't all that annoyed by the strikes but those small feet could surprisingly land quite a blow and he would prefer not to be riddled by bruises by the time this was over.

"Let me down!" Not really the response he was expecting but better than silence at least. Sonic gave his shoulders a slight shrug and then set the hedgehog down on his feet as had been demanded of him. At that point, he watched the kid spring several feet away and proceed to stare at him with a look of shock.

There was very little to prepare Sonic for an attack but that didn't mean he couldn't handle it. Ducking under the small 'buzzsaw' before catching the kid by the ankle and(in the process) saving him from another unfortunate dive into the water. And what did he get for his efforts? A kick to the nose.

"Robotnik made you didn't he?" He really didn't remember being this feisty as a child. Or violent but then it might have something to with the fact that he was holding him upside down. That was a decent reason to be angry. "Your one of those robots aren't you? Like Metal."

Sonic was starting to doubt that he was just imagining all this. After facing genies, talking swords and helping aliens… it shouldn't be hard to believe that this might really be his past in the flesh. "Geeze, don't bring up Metal. That guy's nothing but a thorn in my side."

Eyes went blank with confusion.

Before anything could come from it though something plowed into Sonic knocking him backwards several paces and causing him to release his younger self with a pang of pain as the kid slammed head first into the ground. "Ah." He rubbed at his own skull as the two tailed fox hovered in front of him with an angry look that only seemed silly on a toddler.

"Stay away from my brother you big meanie!"

In a way that hurt but Sonic knew this was only a matter of misunderstanding and so shrugged his shoulders and turned to dart off once more. He had to find his own brother after all and those two should be able to handle things on their own, just like him and Tails use to.

xxxxSonic

"That big jerk." Sonic knew the fox was still on about the stranger but he wasn't in the right state of mind to respond.

For a moment sparks flickered to life in front of his eyes as his head collided with the ground and it took him a second or two before he rolled himself back over to his feet. This didn't do much to help his situation though as he felt rather woozy and found himself swaying slightly. "I don't know… he pulled me out of the water Tails." He had to sit back down and so flopped onto his bottom once more. "He didn't have to do that."

"Yeah he did! You would have drown if he didn't." Tails was missing the point.

"I mean to say if he was such a jerk… he wouldn't have bothered." It was obvious that he hadn't expected much in return except maybe to not have been kicked in the face. Sonic had to admit that was a bit unfair on his part- he'd jumped the bullet before even giving him a chance, "He acted like he knew Metal, he knows your name and he's fast like me…."

Tails stuck up his nose a bit at this, looking sort of hurt. "What are you trying to say? You found your real brother so you are going to leave me now?" He was just talking crazy.

"Tails, I already told you… I'm not going to abandon you. We're family." He thought they got past this topic a long time ago but Sonic supposed the idea of blood relatives might have stirred things up anew. "I don't think he's my brother anyhow. It's just strange that he looks so much like me. He even has the same shoes."

"What's so special about that?"

It was then that Sonic realized he had never explained this to the fox. He sucked down a breath between his teeth as he wished he hadn't mentioned it at all. "An old friend of mine made them especially for me… to withstand the high friction of running at sonic speeds. I don't think there is another pair like them in existence."

Tails ears folded as he looked down at Sonic's feet. "You sure they are the same?"

"Same white stripe, same gold buckles…" What else did Sonic need to say? The shoes clearly hadn't torn apart despite all the running they did to get to this point. That had to mean they were the same. "So Tails I was just thinking… what if that was me?"

The fox shook his head feverishly. "No, no, no. It couldn't have been Sonic. He was too tall and the blue was all wrong." Despite all Tails denial, Sonic could see realization dawning in his eyes. "How could that be you… when your right here?"

That was a good question.

"We better catch up and find out." He hopped to his feet, grabbing Tails' wrist as he started forward at a run.

"How are we going to catch him when he's so much faster than you?" That was quite the stab to Sonic's pride but he knew it was true. However… this other hedgehog seemed to enjoy taking the scenic route so they'd just have to take the shorter one.

"He's not that much faster than me…" Sonic grumbled anyhow causing laughter to bubble out of his little bro. "What's so funny? I'm serious, you'll see… I can catch him easy." There was no way he was going to lose to some older copy.

xxxxTAILS

The first thing to meet his returning consciousness was the vibrant blue color of a certain hedgehog. Tails couldn't help that this was what he noticed before anything else since his brother was standing directly over him with a growing grin. "Ah…" He could feel a bit of a headache forming in the back of his mind and reached a hand up to touch the space between his eyes. "Sonic…" For a second he squeezed them shut, struggling to make some sense of their current situation. "What happened?"

"A giant monster crashed the party." Tails could hear the amusement in his friends voice though he failed to find anything entertaining about this fact. Such unbelievable cold clenching at his very essence and ripping him away… that was a very unpleasant memory. "By the way Tails… I met a younger you here. He nearly plowed me over."

Tails sat himself up and stared at Sonic openly. "How many times did you hit your head?"

The hedgehog's smile faltered slightly, "Well that's not a very nice thing to ask."

"How many times?" He wasn't deterred by Sonic's words and instead repeated the question was a sterner tone.

"I don't know… four… or five…" Sonic shrugged his shoulders carelessly and Tails felt the need to groan at his lack of concern. One of these days the hedgehog would bust something in his brain with the way he was taking blows to the noggin. "I wasn't imagining this though Tails. I've taken harder hits and have still been able to think straight. You know that."

"Define straight?" It could be argued that Sonic was never in his right mind.

"Tails." And now he was starting to sound exasperated, clearly that was enough joking around.

"Alright, alright. I believe you. It just doesn't make any sense."

Sonic clearly wasn't going to give him time to think about that as he soon gave him something else to consider. "Look at where we are Tails." It was nothing special but rather the same place they had been before all this happened but… different. There was an itch at his memory at the sight but it was so distant he couldn't make much sense of it.

"You think we went back in time?"

"I think that's right down our alley, wouldn't you say?" That was true, they'd been through some really weird stuff.

"So what do you think we should do?" Even after all this time, Sonic was still the one that made most of the plans. He always seemed so sure of what needed to be done in any case and Tails didn't want to test his luck just to fail.

"Rescue the others, then find this monster and beat it down." Sonic replied pounding the fist of one hand into the palm of the other before starting forward at an easy pace. "And after that, we finish celebrating my birthday."

Tails grinned broadly, "just like that?"

"Yep." He saw the hedgehog glance back briefly over his shoulder and knew it true. "Just like that."