Disclaimer: I don't own Sonic the Hedgehog
A/N: I've sort of lost interest in this story(which is why this chapter is so short) and am thinking about writing something else. It's simply too hard to write with two Sonics and two Tails. It's so confusing for my poor little brain.
Chapter 5
SONIC
Eventually the kicking stopped and it was any wonder if the kid had exhausted himself with all the thrashing or if he simply decided it was no longer worth the effort. It wasn't like he had any chance of breaking free right now and they both knew it. "Hey." Silence began to stretch and proved to be rather unnerving after several minutes, Sonic had to break it. One would think he'd be happy that the little hedgehog had stopped giving him an earful but on the contrary he was actually rather concerned as to why he finally gave it up. "You alright?"
It might have been a stupid question to ask when his younger self had been in two 'boss' battles without any rest in between. He really couldn't be expected to know that though. So when he didn't get a response he bounced the kid under his arm. That certainly got a reaction, a great huff and more kicking. Sonic rose a brow at all this, "you were falling asleep, weren't you?" While he tried to be serious about it amusement had still found its way into his voice. "Look, I'm going to put you down. As long as you give me your word you won't run off."
The kid grumbled something low in response and though he couldn't make out the words he was pretty certain it was something rude. "What was that?" Who would have thought it'd be so difficult to deal with himself. He hardly remembered having acted like this.
"Fine! I said fine!" He was grinding his teeth and making it obvious that he was unhappy with having to agree to this but since he had Sonic still set him on his feet. There was a moment that he looked ready to bolt but his ears eventually flattened against his skull as he stayed put instead. Before Sonic could say anything else to him his younger self glanced off to the side was a small huff, arms crossing over his chest.
With a chuckle Sonic abandoned any further conversation which was fine because they were approaching the small group of mobians, the three of which were discussing their situation with various tones and inputs. "Looks like there is more to this than just visiting places of the past." He gestured down to the smaller hedgehog who was looking utterly miffed.
"I really got to find my brother."
"I told you, we'll find him together." Talk about impatience though he knew he shouldn't be surprised.
"Yeah? And so far all we found is your brother." The kid said, thrusting his hand towards the fox who happened to be staring openly at the two of them as if his whole understanding of the world had just gone topsy-turvy. "Mine might be in trouble. If Robotnik isn't behind this than the real enemy might have gone at him."
"And how do you figure Eggman isn't behind this?" Knuckles cut in.
"You saw that monster Knuckles, doesn't look like one of Eggman's schemes."
"Yeah." Amy added idly, "but didn't he try and use dark gaia so why not some other beast?" While Sonic would like to think the man had enough brains not to pull a ploy like that again, he did have a habit of making the same mistake over and over again. It might be him after all, if not for his younger self saying otherwise.
He glanced down at the small hedgehog who was looking rather bewildered, his voice soft with confusion. "Eggman?" The moment the kid realized that eyes were upon him he snorted. "Robotnik got sucked up by some… monster after I beat him."
If Eggman wasn't behind this than Sonic really had no idea what to expect. He was use to the man being the only real complication in his life- everything else was few and far between. It sounded as if he was the victim here though which threw things out of loop and meant they would eventually have to save him. That was always a bit awkward on both sides but somehow expected. Sonic bet his younger self made some effort to save their foe when he got sucked up, even if it was a rather vain one. He was pretty sure that back than he thought Robotnik deserved everything he got.
Sonic
Why had he agreed to this? That was a question worth pondering for at least a second of this wasted time. He had just wanted to stand on his own and this had seemed to be the only way to get that. Now he had to listen to this group blabber on about things he believed there should be no debate about. He was certain of what he had seen and if not for Robotnik being a snack for that vortex beast than what? Why were they even discussing this?
"Can I go now?" His voice was dry and not the least bit polite on the grounds that he didn't really feel that he needed permission. This was grinding at his nerves but not quite as much as the older Tails staring at him. Now he was starting to feel like a freak. A small huff slipped out of him as the fox moved closer to him and while he was pretty sure he was the older one here, he was still shorter. "Yea? Can I help you?"
"You're really Sonic right? You're really here?" The fox didn't even wait for an answer before grabbing one of his ears and giving it a tug that caused his head to jerk sideways as a yelp of surprise escaped him. He really didn't understand what this was suppose to prove so while he tolerated it (as he had Amy tackling him) he wasn't happy with the treatment. "Wow. This is great. I never thought timelines could cross like this."
He didn't get why he was so excited, they were in a mess here.
"Right. It's really great, can I go now um…" His thoughts lapsed momentarily as he tried to figure out how to address himself. "Older me? I really need to find my-"
"SONIC!" Oh, never mind because at that very moment his brother was approaching. So much for escaping this meeting with purpose. Now they'd probably never let him go willingly. "I was waiting for you but you never came. What happened?"
"I got dragged here by my future self."
The two foxes noticed each other right then and simultaneously said: "hey". His brother rushed to meet his older self and discuss thing he would probably never personally understand. So much for having a conversation with him right now. With a roll of his eyes Sonic started off only for the other hedgehog to cut across his path and start walking backwards in front of him.
"How about you and me work together?" He was thinking about kicking him right now but to be fair his current exhaustion was messing with his head. Like a little kid that was denied a nap- he was feeling rather cranky and he just wanted to be left alone. "We'll be able to save to others faster."
"Others?" He glanced backwards at the group and didn't understand- everyone he knew was already their. "What others?" His tone lost some of his edge as curiosity took its place.
"Our other friends." His older version explained as they approached what appeared to be a tunnel. If he looked closely he swore he could see the lines on the road beneath their feet. What was this? His gaze lifted to what he assumed was the sky line among all the white. Looked like it might be buildings. "Come on." All the sudden the taller hedgehog was taking off and he struggled to pick up speed as quickly as the other had.
It was no use, his legs felt like rubber and he soon fell behind. That was when something odd happened- his older self came back for him despite already being miles ahead. "Come on kid." Not only that he kneeled down in front of him expectantly and when Sonic didn't move the hedgehog continued on. "At this rate your going to fall over. Do us both a favor and climb on."
His ears folded slightly with disbelief. Usually he would be insulted but it was true that at this rate he would probably be tripping all over himself. Still, it took him a moment to suck up his pride and clamber on. At least there was no one around to see him accepting a piggyback ride.
He tightened his arms around the other hedgehog's neck and huffed softly to himself. "Gonna be hard to destroy robots like this."
"I'll just go around them." It seemed so easy when he said it like that.
"What about the animals inside?"
"Eggman stopped using them as a power source a couple years back." They'd started forward, defying gravity as speed increased and feet breezed across the side of a building- shattering window panes. It was a result that both of them ignored as they worked on forming an understanding between their two lives. "Now he mainly uses chaos drives."
Sonic decided not to ask about that and instead focused on a different little fact. "Why do you keep calling Robotnik Eggman?" That was a stupid, if not childish name to call someone.
"That's the only thing he listens to anymore." The older hedgehog said with a bit of a dry edge before grinning. "But he does look a bit like an egg doesn't he?"
While that was true it was still- "dumb, that's like calling us Spikehog. Or Tails, well…" Oh wait, now that he thought about it a lot of them were named after physical traits. He could hear his counterpart chuckling behind his teeth and kicked his foot into his back.
"Ow." That certainly stopped his laughter. "Did you have to do that?" Sonic was glad he had struck when he did because a moment later his ride was springing across the tops of flashing bots. "I didn't name him that anyhow, if that's what your thinking. He vanished for a year and when he showed back up he told me: 'I'm the Eggman'. Where ever he went he must have left some of his sanity there." He could believe that if not for the fact that he already felt he was off his rocker.