Hello, everyone! This is Umbra the Hedgehog signing back in! Well, now that the first chapter has been finished in a (hopefully) much more satisfying way, we go on to the next one. This is an update that's going to be done in sets of multiple chapters; somewhere around four or five at a time. So, right away, here's the new version of the second chapter.

NOTE:

-I do not own any of the characters featured in this chapter.

Multi-Dimensional Melee!

The next few days were pretty average.

Sonic had decided to forget about returning to Station Square for the moment, as he enjoyed the relaxing atmosphere that Emerald Beach always provided him. All the while, Tails kept on testing the results of the work he had done on his plane, ironing out any wrinkles he might have come across. The blue hedgehog couldn't help but crack a smile every time he saw his friend flying around with it.

Even before they met, Tails idolized him and wanted nothing more than to be as cool as him, having been impressed by his speed, and was quite taken with Sonic's plane, the original Tornado, the moment he laid his eyes on it. Conversely, Sonic didn't pay too much attention to him at first, even after he found out that Tails had been following him for some time. The young fox was much too shy to introduce himself right away, so he figured he could just ignore him and get along with his life.

It wasn't until after they started working together to foil one of Dr. Eggman's earliest schemes that he started seeing him as more than just a random kid. At first, Tails was just following him out of reflex, but during the course of their adventure, he actively began to assist Sonic, who grew to appreciate the fox's determination, as well as his ability to keep up with him, something that no one else had been able to do before, and the fact that he seemed to understand his plane better than he himself did. By the time they had finished, he had grown so fond of him that he officially appointed him as his sidekick.

Over the course of their many adventures together, though, he began to see Tails less like a sidekick and more like the little brother he never had. While the young inventor always seemed to feel he had to prove himself, Sonic made it no secret that he was already very proud of him, and the two knew they could count on each other for anything, no matter how big.

That's why the speedster was certain that he could trust him with what he needed to say.

It was the middle of the afternoon, four days after Sonic and Amy's flight to Emerald Town, and Tails was in his workshop, writing down the results of his latest test flight.

"Okay… all done." He put his pencil down, and then started comparing them to the rest of the notes he had taken over the course of the last couple of days. "Wow, I can't believe it! That's about three times the speed she had before! This is the best day ever!"

Right at that moment, he was startled when he heard someone laughing behind him.

"Show of hands: who didn't see that coming?"

Upon turning around, he was greeted by the figure of his best friend, who seemed rather amused at his reaction.

"Oh…" Tails scratched the back of his head, chuckling awkwardly. "Hey, Sonic."

Sonic started to approach him, with his hands behind his back. "Hey, bud. You done with that yet?"

"Yeah. I was just about to take a break, actually."

"Cool. It's about time you did." He brought one of his hands up to Tails' face, showing him what he was hiding. "I got you a chili dog."

The moment he laid eyes on it, he eagerly accepted it.

"Thanks. I haven't had one of these in a while." He took a moment to inspect it closely. "Wow, extra cheese! You remembered!"

"Heh, how could I forget? It's your second fave." Sonic brought out his other hand, which was holding another chili dog. "And of course, one for me."

Tails laughed for a moment, having already guessed that he'd do that. "So, what's the plan?"

"How's heading to your place sound?" Sonic started twirling his chili dog on his hand, almost like a basketball. "Maybe we'll get lucky and catch a hockey match."

Tails couldn't help but laugh again. "You know, it's funny. Normally, you're pretty neutral about watching sports, but when it's hockey, you always try to be the first in line!"

"Yeah, well, you already know exactly why that is." This time, Sonic laughed right along with him. "C'mon, let's get moving before these babies get cold!"

Some time later…

The two friends were over at Tails' house, sitting on the couch right in front of the TV. Much to their delight, they were indeed able to watch a hockey match. Sonic was so focused on it, and so determined not to miss a thing, that he waited until the half-time to run outside and then come back, bringing more chili dogs for himself and Tails.

Once the game was over, with a score of 9-6 in favor of their team, the two friends were left to cheer loudly at them.

"Wow! That was so close, but at the end, they just wouldn't give up!"

"I know. Just for a sec, I thought they were going to lose. Never seen that from them." Sonic leaned against the backrest with a chuckle. "Gotta hand it to the ol' slapshot. Never fails."

Tails chuckled for a moment as well. "Yeah… they're just as good as ever."

As he turned off the TV, the blue hedgehog nudged him with his elbow.

"Well, since that's over, how about we top your second fave with the first?" Then he gently tossed something in his direction. "Christmas came early for you this year, little bro."

Once Tails was able to catch it, though not without difficulty, he took a good look at it… and couldn't even try to contain the smile that grew on his face.

"How did you…?"

Sonic cut him off. "Ever been to one of those fancy restaurants? They've got plates full of mint candy." Then he shrugged. "I just had to pay 'em during the half-time. They even threw in the bag for free."

"Wow… thanks."

"No prob. Anytime."

The hedgehog watched his friend open the bag. He knew just how much the young genius loved mint candy. As soon as he took one of the many pieces and put it in his mouth, his expression was as happy as could be. It turned out exactly as he had imagined it would.

Okay, this is my chance. Here goes nothing.

"Hey, Tails." Sonic nudged him. "I've got something… personal… that I need to discuss with you."

Tails turned to look at him, his expression unchanged. "Sure thing, Sonic. What is it?"

Sonic took a deep breath before turning his head away.

"How long has it been since I gave the old bird that test flight?"

Tails was confused by the odd question. "Um… four days?"

Conversely, Sonic chuckled at this.

"Wow… four days." He turned his attention back over to his friend. "Feels like it was only yesterday. My mind's been racing since then."

"Isn't it always like that?"

The two friends laughed at this for a moment.

"Good one."

"Thanks. Anyway, what were you saying?" Tails asked after they were done, genuinely curious.

Sonic stopped to consider his words carefully, something he had never really done before. "Well…you remember what happened, right? Amy needed a ride and brought some stuff with her?"

"Yeah, I remember. You helped her out and got her a taxi." He took out another piece of candy. "And you said it didn't mean anything. You even laughed when I suggested it might."

"Heh, I was pretty confident that it didn't. I mean, it was for a friend, right?"

The speedster chuckled for a couple seconds, but then his expression changed.

"…Sure wish I still was."

The moment those words were spoken, Tails was taken aback. "Sonic… what are you saying? Are you—"

"No." Sonic replied, interrupting him. "I'm not saying that. At least, I'm pretty sure I'm not."

He made a brief pause, trying to figure out how to express his thoughts, while Tails just looked at him in confusion.

"…I don't know. Is it even possible?" He turned his eyes to the ceiling, apparently in deep thought. "Because I can tell you, I know I've never felt anything like that in my entire life. I mean, Amy's just a friend that I saved from Metal Sonic, right?"

Tails nodded. "I remember that story. It's from before we met. You said there was time travel involved."

"Yeah. Not taking any bets on that happening again." He replied with a brief chuckle. "But ever since then, it's always the same thing with her. I go somewhere, Eggman has some crazy scheme going on, we try to stop him, and she chases me." He followed this comment with a facepalm. "Even when we're being chased by robots, or in the middle of a prison complex, she'll try to squeeze a date or something out of it! It's ridiculous! Half the time, I forget that she has a personality outside of 'Sonic-obsessed'!" He put his hand down and looked at Tails. "You know what I mean?"

The fox just nodded again.

"Well, I thought I had it all figured out… but then that day happened." Sonic sighed.

Tails' curiosity was piqued. "What exactly happened?"

"For once… I actually bumped into Amy by accident." The blue hedgehog leaned against the backrest again. "Y'know, instead of her tackling me, or some other dude who looks nothing like me, but people still mistake him for me for some reason?"

As he spoke, the entire day started replaying in his mind. Meanwhile, Tails was listening intently.

"Pretty sure you remember the reason she was there. Chaos wrecked the place, including her house, but some of her stuff still made it, and she wanted it at her apartment." He grabbed a nearby chili dog as he continued. "That's it. That was the only reason she was at Station Square. For once, she wasn't thinking about me. She didn't even expect to see me there." He started twirling it around, much like he had done with the one he had bought on the way to Tails' workshop. "When she noticed me, she was… calm, gentle, and pleasant. She was already on her way back to Central City, and she didn't make a riot when she spotted me. When she fell out of the Tornado 2, I caught her, and she didn't even try to make a move. I got her a cab in a matter of seconds, and instead of fangirling like crazy…" He stopped twirling it and just looked at it. "…she kissed me in the cheek and thanked me. That's all."

Tails, meanwhile, wasn't sure how to take the situation. Not only was his friend being calm and contemplative, something that he never thought Sonic the Hedgehog would slow down to do, but he could understand why he was doing it now.

"Sonic… do you think that maybe, just maybe…" He placed a hand on the hedgehog's shoulder. "…you really are seeing Amy in a different light?"

Sonic took a bite out of his chili dog before speaking again.

"That's just the thing. I'm not entirely sure it's different." Then he put it down. "I know what I just said about her, but that one day… I don't know… it feels more like it jogged my memory." His eyes turned to the ceiling once again as he said that.

Tails took his hand back. "Really? How so?"

"She spends so much time acting crazy that you forget about it, but… Amy's always been a sweet girl." Much to his friend's shock, Sonic started to smile. "I mean it; from the day we met, she's been kind, friendly and caring. She's no pushover, either, and isn't afraid to stand up for her friends no matter what she's facing. Even when one of them was an Eggman robot, she wouldn't back down for anything." He chuckled at that last part. "Seriously, not even for me."

After thinking about it, the young inventor nodded in agreement. "Yeah, I guess you're right. She's a good friend."

There was a brief, awkward silence after this. Neither one of them knew how to pick up from there.

"So, basically, you don't know how to feel." Tails finally decided that backtracking would help instead.

"I guess. I mean, I'm pretty sure I don't love Amy, but on the other hand, I'm also pretty sure I didn't feel like this before." Sonic scoffed at his own comment. "I've known her for about four years, and it only took four days for things to get weird. Go fig."

Tails just looked at him for a moment, surprised at his reaction.

"…Can I ask you something?" He inquired, to which his friend just nodded. "Why are you telling me this? I mean, why me and not someone else?"

Sonic shrugged. "You're my buddy, my pal, my little bro. I couldn't think of anyone better."

"Oh, um…" Tails paused for a moment, elated at that notion. "That's really nice, but I'm really not the best person to talk to about something like that. I'm still just an 8-year-old, remember?"

"Who else is there?"

At that moment, he gave the hedgehog a deadpan look. "Cream's mom, maybe?"

This caught Sonic's attention.

Not too long ago, during one of Dr. Eggman's many plots, he had made the acquaintance of Cream the Rabbit, a young girl whose mother had been kidnapped. After rescuing her and his friends, they all worked together to foil the doctor's latest evil scheme. In the end, Sonic was able to beat him, and he saved Cream's mother, Vanilla, from falling to her doom. The two were well-liked by most people due to their kindness and polite behavior, and Vanilla in particular was very respected by basically everyone in Sonic's circle of friends, including Sonic himself.

He considered that for a moment… and promptly slapped his own forehead.

"Sheesh, why didn't I think of that? She's an adult with a daughter! She's gotta have a better handle on that kinda thing! And I'd get to check on Gemerl, too!" Then he sighed in frustration. "…That should've been obvious."

Tails shook his head in slight amusement at this, before placing a hand on Sonic's shoulder.

"For what it's worth, I'm glad to know I was your first choice, and it's nice that you trusted me enough to tell me all of that. I know you can sort this out." He had a smile on his face, and his words were completely sincere. "That's not really my specialty, but if you have anything that I can handle, you can ask me again anytime."

This got Sonic to smile as well. He offered Tails a fist, which was soon met with a bump from the young fox's own fist.

"Thanks, big guy."

"Don't mention it, Sonic."

The two friends stayed silent for another moment.

"So… are you going to talk to her right now?"

Sonic shook his head. "Nah, I think I'm gonna need a moment to think this whole thing over first." He pointed at the main entrance. "I'm just gonna look for a ceiling to rest on."

"Alright." Tails helped himself to another piece of mint candy. "I know I said it's not my specialty, but let me know how it goes, okay? If it's important to you, then it's important to me too."

Sonic smirked at that.

"You got it, Tails." After quickly finishing what was left of his chili dog, he stood up. "Well, see you around, pal."

As he watched him leave, Tails just smiled without another word.

Central City.

The capital of the United Federation, this is where the White House is located, as well as the main base of the Guardian Units of Nations. Among its main draws are a skyscraper with a library and a very famous database, a casino district called Night Babylon, and a highway with the oddly appropriate name of Battle Highway, given that not only is its architecture ideal for a fight, but many a fierce showdown has taken place there.

And by way of what was either a sense of familiarity or just sheer coincidence, Sonic was close to that highway, relaxing on top of a nearby building and looking up at the sky.

Talking to Vanilla… it's a good plan, but what am I gonna tell her? How do you even talk about stuff like this? How do I get her to understand it without looking like an idiot?

He turned his head to the side, and he spotted Amy's apartment, which just so happened to be fairly close to Battle Highway's location. Frustrated, he sighed and sat up.

Why did it have to be this way? Any other day, I'd be cool with Amy hanging around me as long as she took it easy, but now, I can't even bring myself to look at her house without thinking about stuff that I wish I could skip because I don't like hearing about it! How did things get so complicated?

He followed this up with a facepalm.

"It's at times like this that I really wish something exciting would happen…"

Putting his hand back down, he suddenly heard something behind him.

"You just might get your wish."

Right away, he turned around, and he was surprised by what he found.

"…Knuckles?"

Yes, it was his friendly rival, Knuckles the Echidna, and while the fact that he was actually right in front of him right now was surprising to him… it wasn't nearly as surprising as the fact that he didn't exactly look like he was in top shape.

"Hey, who roughed you up, buddy? Did a Flicky steal your grapes?" As concerned as he was, Sonic couldn't stop himself from snarking at him.

Knuckles was not amused. "Where's Tails?"

"Over at his place. Why?"

The echidna then grabbed Sonic's arm. "There's someone on Angel Island messing with the Master Emerald, and I need all the help I can get."

"Oh, that? Why didn't you say so?" Sonic scoffed at him. "No prob! We'll be there in a sec!"

Before Knuckles could even think about responding to that, Sonic jumped off the building, dragging him along for the ride.

"Next stop: Emerald Town!" They had barely touched the ground before the hedgehog sped away… completely unaware that he and Knuckles were being watched.

One trip later…

"You're saying he kicked you out of Angel Island?"

Over at Tails' house, the young fox was busy checking if Knuckles had any serious injuries, while Sonic was slouched in a nearby couch, listening to his two friends.

"Yeah… literally." Knuckles was pretty upset. "He just showed up out of nowhere, said he'd be taking the Master Emerald for himself 'just because he felt like it', and then I tried to fight him off."

Sonic scratched his ear. "Don't tell me you seriously let this guy beat the snot outta you, Knux."

"I didn't." Knuckles turned to him. "I don't know how he did it, but he used the Master Emerald's power to give himself a boost. It's like I was fighting you… but worse."

Tails stepped away from him. "At least he didn't do any permanent damage. You're going to be okay, Knuckles."

"Good." The echidna stood up straight. "Because I'm going for Round Two right now!"

Sonic was quick to follow suit. "You mean we're going for Round Two, buddy."

"I'll get the Tornado 2 ready." Tails was equally quick, making his way to the front door. "Now that I know the adjustments worked, it should get us there in a snap."

The moment he opened it, all three of them were caught by surprise.

"Amy?"

Indeed, the pink hedgehog was standing right outside Tails' house, and it looked like she was just about to knock on the door when he happened to open it.

"Oh, uh… hi, guys." She waved at them, clearly embarrassed by the poor timing.

Sonic ran up to Tails' side. "What are you doing here?"

"Actually… I was just taking care of my apartment and my stuff, but then I spotted you and Knuckles talking about something." She started stroking one of her arms. "I didn't know where you went after that, so I was going to ask Tails if he knew."

Knuckles began to make his way out. "Well, you found us, but we need to leave now."

"Yeah… another Master Emerald thing." Sonic rolled his eyes with an amused scoff. "Because we haven't had enough of those, I guess."

As the blue hedgehog ran off to catch up with Knuckles, Tails turned to Amy. "Do you want to come with us? If what Knuckles said is true, we could use all the help we can get."

Right at that moment, Amy's face lit up like a Christmas tree.

"A chance to help my friends and spend time with Sonic?" She took out her trusty Piko Piko Hammer, seemingly out of nowhere. "Lead the way, Tails!"

This got a chuckle out of the boy.

She didn't even think about it…

He immediately began to walk away from his house, with Amy following close behind.

"C'mon, Tails!" The two could hear Sonic's voice from a distance. "Let's do this!"

Angel Island.

A floating patch of land more than four thousand years old, home to both Knuckles and the Master Emerald. Not many people have set foot on it, but it's familiar ground to Sonic and his friends, as Dr. Eggman has made more than one attempt to take the Master Emerald for himself and use it for his evil schemes. As its sworn protector, Knuckles has been the one to most frequently oppose him, both out of a sense of duty, and because he knows the island will fall from the sky if he allows the Master Emerald to be stolen.

While he knew that it could also empower others, he had never seen anything like what he had to witness today.

"There he is!"

After finding a safe place to land the Tornado 2, Sonic, Amy and Tails had followed Knuckles to the Altar of the Emeralds, the place that the Master Emerald is usually at. While the gem itself was still in the exact same spot that it was supposed to be, there was some kind of figure standing right on top of it. From the looks of things, it was as if the energy contained within it was reacting to him somehow.

"Hey there, Chuckles!" His tone of voice was strangely familiar. "Back so soon? I was gonna give you an hour!"

Knuckles immediately pointed at him. "I am the guardian of Angel Island, and I will protect the Master Emerald!"

"Yeah, and he's not alone this time!" Amy suddenly chipped in, firmly grasping her hammer with both hands.

The invader laughed at the two.

"Oh, that's a riot, babe! You seriously think that squeaky toy of yours is going to scare me?" He very abruptly stopped. "That's adorable."

Sonic wasn't intimidated in the slightest. "Hey, haven't you heard? Angel Island's invite-only, and you're not on the guest list, pal."

"Always the smart aleck, huh, Blue?" He scoffed. "Even in this backwards universe, you're still as obnoxious as I remember."

Tails took a step forward. "Who are you? Why are you here?"

"Leave it to the brainiac to ask the important questions!"

Right after saying that, the stranger jumped off of the Master Emerald, gaining quite a bit of altitude before landing in front of the group.

"Whoa…" Sonic's eyes widened.

Amy gasped in shock.

The being standing before them was another hedgehog. He resembled Sonic to a frightening degree, but at the same time, he was noticeably different. He had green fur and blue eyes, the exact opposite of Sonic's blue fur and green eyes, along with a pair of slash marks on his torso, and he was wearing a black leather jacket with flame designs on the arms, red sunglasses and green sneakers.

"I'm Scourge the Hedgehog. King of Moebius, slayer of heroes, wooer of babes." He cracked his neck a couple times. "I'm here to make some noise, kids."

He grinned menacingly at them, which revealed that he also had a mouth full of sharp teeth.

"Hail to the King."

Here we go. Another significant alteration, but one that probably works a lot better when you consider what's going to be happening in the future. I feel like this is especially important in light of what's happened with Sonic and the comic industry over the past year or so, so I really hope that it comes across the right way.

Just like before, I hope you feel like the alterations made on this chapter have been worthwhile. Review, if you please, and let me know what you think. I welcome any and all feedback, good or bad, so long as you keep it civil.

This is Umbra the Hedgehog signing off.