Note: Pybro2 blazed through the beta read this morning. Thank you especially on short notice because this took a while to figure out where to go with it.

Jun 16, 2024 Edit: Re-ordered the separate chunks of the chapter to try and make it less confusing. Thanks to JustAWriter4 for pointing that out.

Here Blaze was, everything pointed to something being terribly wrong if Knuckles wasn't guarding his Master Emerald on Angel Island like normal. So seeing Silver, her closest friend, at a dire time like this was a relief. She knew that if she could trust anyone, it was Silver, so she asked, "Silver, what's going on?"

Silver came up with a story on the fly, "Knuckles…He's out there fighting Eggman to prevent another world takeover." (Please tell me she buys this!)

Blaze was disturbed. Whatever was going on must be serious if he left Angel Island. So she nodded, "And what are you doing here?"

Silver added, grabbing her hand and cutting off her line of thought while looking around, "Blaze, we need to go! We aren't safe here!"

Blaze was surprised, unsure how to feel about the hand grabbing, but followed him down into the forest. Once done, he spoke, "Good, we should be safe for now!" He then placed an arm on her shoulder, "Now, what brings you out from the Sol Dimension today?"

Blaze was confused. He's very hands on today… She took the moment to confess, "The Sol Emeralds denied my entry into this world, wanting to protect me. But, I was not about to let my friends suffer under-"

Silver dozed out a bit with a fake smile as he listened (blahblahblahRoyalDutiesblahblahblahMyFriendsblahblahblahDoes this girl know how to relax for even a moment. Not that it matters, I got her right where I want her!) before pulling something out from his…Where exactly? He prepared to stab Blaze with a dart, subtly using psychic powers to attempt stab her. But right as he was about to, he found the dart…Wasn't there? (What?! Are you kidding me?!)

Blaze was still talking, "-So I was hoping to save the world and my friends."

Silver faked interest, "Blaze…You're so noble. That's what I love about you…"

Blaze blushed in shock, looking up at him, "...What?"

Silver confessed, "You defied your own security and beautiful, gorgeous, hot gemstones to come out and save us. It must be why we keep meeting, you were meant for me…"

Blaze was starting to sense something was up. She knew Silver better than anyone she knew, except maybe Gardon. And him being this openly flirty with her…It didn't seem right. Still…Maybe he had feelings all along and was simply a little bit shy to confess. So…She needed to ask some more questions first, "Sorry, Silver…That's a lot to process."

Silver was a bit frustrated, (Come on! She should be smitten with me! Calm down Eggman…She'll be yours soon enough.) but insisted with a huge awkward smile, "It took me forever to confess, Blaze. Are you really gonna turn me down?"

Blaze looked at his face…And noticed something was off about his smile. And…no blushmarks? Okay…Now she really needed to get some answers, "Not the time, and you should know that! Where's Sonic right now?"

Silver gave an answer, "He's been brainwashed by Eggman, along with most of his friends. That must be why the Sol Emeralds were afraid of sending you to our dimension." He gained an eager wide smile encompassing his entire face, "At least we're safe and can plan his defeat."

The more Blaze heard from 'Silver', the more she could sense something was clearly not right about him. The story was plausible, and yet that smile…She sensed malice that was very un-Silver behind it. She folded her arms and asked, "How about we go see Sonic and his friends? Follow me off the island and show me!" She began to dash away.

…But was promptly stopped by the psychic powers she knew Silver for all too well. (She's onto me, isn't she? If not, I'll try one last lie) He explained, "You don't understand! These brainwashing devices have taken over his entire island! We take one look and we'll be next! It was that stupid duck that gave him the technology! We go, we're cooked!"

She was suspicious of how he abused his psychic powers. That didn't seem like Silver at all, so she asked to verify, "Do you remember how I helped you with my garden?"

'Silver' looked at her annoyed, "Seriously?! We have a crisis here and you're asking me about stupid plants?!"

And there was the ultimate dead giveaway, Silver loved that garden. To be so dismissive of it meant for certain he was a phony. She bluntly stated, "I don't know who you are, but you aren't Silver!"

Eggman grinned maniacally, malice coming fully out as he tightened his psychic grip subtly to make it hurt, "HAHAHAHAHA! You figured me out! Oh… I underestimated you, my dear Princess! You should see that saps' new face: Pitiable, pathetic, and sad. But…Since you obviously aren't going to come peacefully, guess I'll have to drag you by force!"

He was about to start flying away, but got decked in the back by a stretchy water arm. This blew his concentration, giving Blaze the chance to escape. She made a mad dash, begging in her heart, Sol Emeralds! Please give me your strength! I need to see Sonic and Friends now! As she made it to the shoreline, they came to her call, giving her the power to turn Burning Blaze and leave the island, flying away as fast as possible.

Meanwhile, Eggman was recovering from the punch, looking behind to see the infamous Chaos. He flew away quickly, dodging another few grabs until he was safely out of range. He cursed his luck, "UGH! I was so close! How did she know?! Anyways…Better get back to my base!"

Upon returning to base, Tails and Amy welcomed them back, "Hey guys!" Spoke Tails.

Mighty was carrying Sonic and the tail he was stuck with as Ray alongside gave a high five, "Hey Tails, glad to be back!"

The others came off too. Big went off with Mimic to take him to the hospital bay. Kit followed Cream off, "Mr. Kit's and I are ready to help!"

Tails took a step back, "What?!"

Kit's eye shined, "Eggman took Surge. I'll do whatever you need to get her back."

Tails shrugged uneasily, "Guess that's fine."

Amy looked at her crush, concerned for…their(?) emotional state, "How's Sonic doing?"

Trip looked sad, speaking simply, "Not well…"

Whisper added, "...Sonic's taken what happened hard."

Shadow, once again, swiped at the situation, "Sheesh, such a drama queen. Almost as bad as Rouge."

Amy revealed her hammer in response, smacking it on her hand, "Shadow, take this seriously please…"

He took out the wispon and went into cube mode, "Two can play that ga-" But it instantly depowered.

The Blue wisp flew out, scolding him, "I TOLD YOU TO STOP USING ME FOR PETTY ARGUMENTS!"

Whisper joined in to the scolding, "Shadow, show my wisps a little more respect please. They're fighting hard not just for you, but for us."

He reluctantly agreed, "Got it…"

Tails noticed Sonic mumble, "I'm Sorry."

Tangle sighed, "He?...'s mumbled that a lot…"

Tails took a look, poking his adoptive brother, "Sonic, wake up!"

This did not yield a wake up call. And furthermore, he noticed a tear on an eye, hands over his mouth in horror.

Shortly after this, Blaze showed up, seeing so many friends in one place. She flew down, landing and exiting her Burning form. She asked concernedly, "What's going on here?!"

Tangle grinned wide, "Blaze! Oh, it's so fire to see you again!"

Blaze smiled, "Hi again Tangle!" Then she noticed, she was counting two different Tangles here, asking, "Wait…Why are there two of her? And why is one unconscious?"

Tangle teased, "Oh, I didn't tell you about my twin 'Entwine'?!" Blaze looked at her unamused, to which she sighed, "Sorry."

Lanolin and Shadow smirked in mild annoyance, they might as well be…

Ray however, geeked out much like Tangle, but Mighty put a hand to keep him back to get serious, "Blaze, was it? Serious answer, that unconscious Tangle is Sonic trapped in her body. Then he was afflicted with Amnesia and became trapped in her identity. It's weird."

Blaze put arms behind her back, griping, "...Again?"

Shadow smirked at that, "Again? His memory is that fragile?"

Then someone invisible elbowed the current wolf, "Please, like you don't know what Amnesia's like, Shadow!"

He was a bit dumbfounded for a moment, before remembering the voice and new swap Eggman had inflicted on his…teammate, "Rouge, just show yourself."

The Chameleon obliged, smirking in a way everyone who knew him knew was blatantly out of character, Mighty noting, "Espi-Oh…Right."

Espio flew down, annoyed, "Abusing my powers like that, not cool."

Rouge smirked, "Let me have some fun with this." That caused the current bat to glare in anger.

Blaze was growing more confused by this chaos, "Okay…So Rouge is swapped with that Chameleon, Shadow with Whisper, Sonic with Tangle, and Eggman with Silver? But…then how is Tangle also Tangle?"

Tangle admitted, "Metal Sonic switched with me, and we upgraded this to Neo-Metal."

Blaze asked, "How is all that possible?"

Tails replied, "Short answer, a weird meteorite that Eggman stole."

Blaze blushed in horror, realizing the potential of that, "Eggman wanted to steal my body, didn't he?"

Gemerl noted, "YOU ENCOUNTERED HIM?" Blaze nodded.

Big replied, "Oh dear, good thing you escaped."

Blaze grew more horrified, but then took a sigh to reassure herself in the face of such a precarious situation, "Let me try something."

She poked the unconscious lemur, who opened his(?) eyes a bit, Blaze going burning, asking the former hedgehog, "Remember this power! Let it remind you of who you were, are, and should be! May the Sol Emeralds' might bring the hero you truly are, Sonic the Hedgehog!"

The lemur smiled and chuckled a bit, "I love a good campfire…" Then it turned to a grimace, "...Not that I deserve one." Then went right back to sleep.

Everyone was concerned at that, Tails suggesting, "Guess we'll try taking him to the Reverie. I've been working on a prototype device similar to what Eggman used to try and take control of it. It should let us talk to Sonic or enter his head."

Blaze sighed, "Then let's go!"

Amy nodded, "Alright then. Let's get him back to Tails' place!"

Mighty joined in, "I'll come too."

Kit and Cream nodded. Gemerl tagged along behind too, keeping his duty of protecting Cream.

Eggman and 'Sonic' were preparing to use the emeralds to enable their super forms. Eggman saw them rise, "This had better work!"

'Sonic' nodded, "You said it, father!"

The emeralds began circling them rapidly. As it did, their bodies reacted in a way neither expected: Instead of growing bright colors, they did the opposite: Their bodies glowing a pitch-black instead. Eggman's bracelets and psychic markings also changed colors, going from the light blue to red, eyes glowing red as well.

'Sonic''s Eyes schlera turned black too, his gloves turned into claws, and he gained an electric aura too.

Both of them grinned maniacally, Eggman declaring, "The world will never again set on the Eggman Empire! From this day forth and forever, I will be known as 'Eternal Eggman'!"

'Sonic' gave his answer, "And I will be 'Overlord Sonic'!"

Eggman facepalmed, "Really? That's just lazy!"

He complained, "It's my choice, let me have it!"

Eggman shrugged, "Fine. Sage, launch the Death Egg! Can't have them snatching that meteor so easily!"

Sage nodded, "Will do, Father."

Reaching Tails' other lab, where Silver was staying now in a spare bedroom, he put the helmet on Sonic and spoke, "Okay, I don't know if this will work, but we can hope."

Tangle asked Tails, "Is there any way I can…connect to this dohicky?"

Tails pondered, "Maybe, but perhaps only if you revert to Neo-Metal's original form."

Tangle smiled, "Okay!" She reformed into Neo-Metal, "Don't worry, I'm still me!"

Tails nodded, "Okay…And…" He plugged her in

Tangle noted, "Woah, I feel-" And she went to sleep.

Tails typed into the console for Ariem carefully, "Amy, Cream, Tails, Sonic, Whisper, Lanolin, and Mighty!"

Then he called Knuckles up, "Hey Knuckles, we're going into the reverie. Wanna help Sonic!"

Knuckles answered, "Sure thing Tails, be t-" But the phone could be heard dropping.

Tails panicked, "Knuckles?! KNUCKLES?!"

Knuckles suddenly was fighting the Mechas alongside Omega and Vector. They had been fully restored, so it was proving a hassle.

Knuckles delivered a punch to his doppelgänger, frustrated, "You dumb sack of bolts. I thought you turned a new leaf!"

He offered no response. Meanwhile, Vector asked Mecha Sonic, "Didn't Eggman abandon you? Why fight for him again?!"

Again, no response, Omega speaking, "EXPLANATION WILL NOT SAVE YOU!" And he continued the heavy artillery. This vicious fight was clearly not going to end very soon.

Back with Tails and their friends, Tails shouted one last time, "KNUCKLES?!"

Sigma spoke up, having been finally freed from Eggman's reprogramming, "FORGIVENESS REQUESTED, MASTER TAILS. IT SEEMS MECHA SONIC AND MECHA KNUCKLES ARE ATTACKING YOUR FRIENDS."

Tails smiled, "Glad to hear you restored, Sigma…Oh crap! But why?"

Then came an answer from a drone megaphone nearby, encoding to his familiar voice, "Surprise?! You didn't think I wasn't going to have an answer to your Echidna friend, did you? I got all 7 of the emeralds now! The test run can't be hindered!"

Blaze announced, "Not if I can help it!"

Eggman laughed, "Like you can take me and the true Sonic alone!"

Blaze's eyes glared, "No, But I can stall you!" She put up a fire tornado barrier.

'Sonic' bragged, "Not like you can stop us! Later, Gotta go fast!"

Sticks got them to focus, "We'll hold them off! You go!"

Kit, Trip, and Gemerl ran outside behind her.

Mighty asked Ray, "You want in?"

He shook his head, giving a hug, "I know you'll do better than I could."

Mighty hugged him back, "Ray, please don't discount yourself. I need you to keep me in line!"

Ray nodded, "Okay Mighty, I'll join too."

Their group prepared to enter the Reverie shortly, Tails adding Ray to the list, then asking, "Ariem, let us in!"

Ariem responded, "Apologies, Tails, but I do not see Sonic here."

Tails sighed, "The lemur laying on my couch."

Ariem replied, "Sure…Request accepted." And they were all put to sleep to enter the Reverie.

The friends who agreed awoke in the Reverie. Tails asked, "Okay, we're in!"

Amy looked around, "This looks familiar." The world around them resembled Green Hill Zone but with dream qualities.

The Dreamweaver greeted them, "Welcome again. What brings you here this time?"

Cream suggested somberly, "We need to see Mr. Sonic!"

Ariem was…Unsure how to respond, "I don't see Sonic here."

Lanolin sighed, "Of course it wasn't going to be that easy…"

Whisper was looking at her hands, and they looked like her normal ones. She smiled. Lanolin smiled softly, "Glad to see you Whisper-..."

Whisper was smiling at first then was concerned, "What?"

Mighty pointed it out, "You have Shadow's Rocket boots."

"AIR SHOES!" Came the shout from a familiar voice.

Amy was baffled, "Shadow, what are you doing here?"

He jumped down, "I dunno, ask the dream sheep or whatever."

Ariem apologized, "You told me to bring in Whisper…"

Tails facepalmed, "I didn't tell you fully what's going on, did I? Oops! But, we need to find Sonic!"

Ariem smiled, "Understood. I will do my best!" So she disappeared from view.

Shadow growled, "I'm going in!" And he disappeared into his mind.

Whisper and Lanolin were concerned, Lanolin suggesting, "Whisper…We might need to keep an eye on him. Can you carry-?"

Whisper had already started skating and picked her up, quickly chasing after Shadow.

Tails looked to his friends, "Guess that leaves us to find Sonic." They began running into it.

Shadow was running around this dreamscape, finding that much of it was surprisingly difficult to navigate. It was like the arc, with all the rails underneath. As he took a brief stop, Whisper and Lanolin weren't far behind, "Shadow, wait!"

Shadow was dumbfounded, "How did?" Then she saw Whisper had her own version of his shoes, "Oh. You know what, you've earned them."

Whisper understood that was a huge compliment coming from him. Whisper requested, "So…What do we do now?"

Lanolin looked around, and spotted what looked like a blue hedgehog. She asked, "Hey…Is that Sonic?"

Shadow looked and confirmed, "Yep!" Whisper already initiated the chasedown. Shadow was a bit annoyed, "Hey! Catching him is my job!"

Lanolin was frustrated, being left alone now. Fortunately, Ariem arrived, "Would you like some help, Ma'am?"

Lanolin looked around, "What?" She spotted the fellow sheep, "Oh…Ariem, was it? Could you help me with roadblocking Sonic?"

She nodded, putting her in a position far down the track. Lanolin took a seat, awaiting the hedgehogs and wolf.

During this chase down, Shadow and Whisper were chasing down the hedgehog. Sonic was focused on speeding through, but could nearly be heard mumbling something.

Shadow smirked, "We've nearly caught him!"

Whisper, meanwhile, asked, "But…What's happening to him?"

His body seemed to be trying to rearrange itself, but he seemed to mumble something. As they got closer, they realized he was saying, "It Isn't! See your true colors!"

After a bit, he returned to his normal form, but clearly worse for wear. Whisper went up to ask, "Sonic…What's going on?"

Shadow shrugged, "Let's keep him in our sight!"

As the 4 of Tails, Amy, Mighty, and Ray walked into the dream further, they eventually saw Green Hill Zone. But, there was some weird filter blocking their way. Tails was curious, "What's this?" He stuck his hand through, and nothing seemed to happen. "Doesn't seem to be anything…"

Ray grew giddy and declared, "Guess I'll find out!" He got a running start and put on his goggles, only for them to immediately disappear after going through. In fact, his gloves were now all white and his colored eyes were gone.

Mighty giggled, "Ray, you're young!"

Ray grumbled, "Weird…!"

Amy wondered, "Does that mean…" She ran through next, now having her old green dress, blue shoes, white gloves, and Sonic's quill pattern. She was taking this in for a moment, "Sweet! Where'd I put this dress?"

Mighty looked and shrugged, "Guess I'm next…" He jumped through, and his boots, arm band, and fingerless gloves were gone for his shoes and gloves of old. He smirked, "Eh, I like my new outfit more."

Then Tails went through, and barely looked different aside from eyes. He was disappointed, "Aww…I barely look different." Then he refocused, "Anyways, seems like this is an area consisting of Sonic's old memories."

Mighty remembered, "Wait…But wasn't Sonic thinking he was Tangle?"

Amy frowned, "We'll see. I hope not…"

Ariem briefly stopped by, "Tails and…What happened to you guys?"

Amy posed sweetly, "We became our old selves again! Aren't we adorable?"

Mighty grimaced, a bit annoyed, "You already were Amy."

Ray teased, "Was that a flirt?"

Mighty frowned, "You think Amy cares? She's only got eyes for one man!"

Amy eyed seductively, "You know me well!"

Tails asked her, "Ariem, do you have any idea where Sonic is here?"

Ariem checked through, finding who they were looking for and showing footage of…her, "Should be here somewhere. Best of luck you four!"

Amy then remembered, "Uhhhh…Did Cream come with us?"

Ariem quickly answered, "Apologies, but I need her help." Amy nodded, trusting her.

So the Classic-ified quad made a plan, Tails telling, "Mighty and Ray, you go find 'Tangle', I have something I'll need Amy's help with first."

The three of them nodded, splitting up.

Amy was running behind Tails, "Tails, what are you wanting from me?"

Tails explained, "We're going to 'find' Sonic!"

Amy raised an eyebrow, "But…We both know this 'Tangle' is Sonic. How would we do that?"

Tails grinned awkwardly wide, "Uhhhhhhh…" He ran over to touch her quills, and Amy quickly blushed in horror at where this was going, "...NO…You're not telling me to, are you?!"

Tails remained confident, "Sorry…But you're kinda our best hope here."

Amy pouted, "I'm a girl Tails! I don't walk around naked, ever!"

He insisted, "Please Amy, we don't have a better option." And he began crying, "I just want my brother back. Don't you?"

Amy looked down sadly too, crying herself, "You're right." She wiped away the tears, nodding, "I'll do my best, Tails! For Sonic!"

Ray decided to reach the peak of the area, looking around closely. He saw a bit of motion coming from a loop in the distance, kinda like a…That had to be…'Tangle'?! Ray called, "Mighty, I spotted him!"

Mighty heard, "On it, Ray!" The two met up to intercept the old-school lemur.

As they got closer, the iconic tail defining Tangle could be seen. In response, Mighty shouted, "Sonic? Can you hear us?!"

No response, or not until Ray blocked her off. She landed in response. As they looked at her, they saw Tangle's colors and usual tail and clothes, but with black beady eyes.

She greeted them, "Hey bros! I thought you were looking for a Sonic?"

Ray asked, "Actually, we were looking for you."

She looked confused, "Uhhhh…changed your mind?"

Mighty gimaced in concern, "...You really don't remember, do you?"

Then 'Tangle' pulled them in together with her tail to hug them each with one arm, "We're the bestest bros ever! What else matters?!"

Mighty, while blushing at first, had to quickly remind himself, This isn't the real Tangle. Ray noticed Mighty's blush, but figured that it was better not to risk telling their transformed friend.

Mighty asked, "Uhhh...'Tangle', what are you doing?"

She backed off, winking tongue-in-cheek as the tail went back behind her, "Giving you a signature Tangle hug! That's all!"

Ray asked next, "Odd question, but what do you think of Sonic?"

'Tangle' grinned wide, "That handsome devil? So cool! I want to meet him someday! The 'fastest thing alive' meets the 'stretchiest tail around'!" Then she suddenly panicked, "Where is he?! Where am I?! Who am I?!" Then she stopped panicking again as she went to fawning over him with hearts in her eyes and blush stickers to her face and rubbing her cheeks, in a manner that could only be described as Amy-esque, "OhhhhhhHHH! I'd give anything to see him! ANYTHING!"

Ray was whispering in Mighty's ear during this, "Sounds like an identity crisis…"

Mighty nodded, "Okay! We'll help you look him!"

'Tangle' used her tail a bit like a cane to pull them into a running start, "Then what are we waiting for?!" They ran into Green Hill further.

The trio of 'Tangle', Ray, and Mighty. Mighty wanted to keep it light, "Tangle, what's your favorite thing here?"

Tangle laughed, "Isn't it obvious? The S of course! I love rolling down that thing and launching 30 feet into the air!"

Ray wondered, "Can you?"

She smiled, "Of course! Take me to it!" They made it to it, and she tried rolling into a ball. It worked surprisingly well, but the tail still found a way to be a problem: It barely fit in the formation and slowed her down. She came out with barely enough momentum to escape it, unrolling and revealing a frown, "Guess not. Don't know why I'm surprised…"

Mighty talked to her, "What?"

'Tangle' elaborated, "This tail is incredibly freeing, but also feels like a chain sometimes…"

Mighty, sighed. Sensing the misery of his formerly male friend, he put a hand on her shoulder and asked, "Why?"

The lemur frowned, putting her head into her legs, "I don't know."

Then three heard a ball enter the area. It was a blue spiky ball, shooting high into the air. Somehow, this mysterious blue hedgehog stuck the landing!

'Tangle' ran over, starstruck, "Woah! That was incredible! That must have been, like, 30 feet! You're amazing! Almost as amazing as…" She began to panic again, "Wait! Why can't I do that?!"

The blue hedgehog looked at her panic, and asserted her way into it, "Of course you can! You just gotta be true to yourself!"

She asked, "What do you mean?"

The blue hedgehog showed some memories, "Hope this jogs your memory…"

'Tangle' was taking steps back, quaking shock, "Impossible…"

Amy unslicked her hair frolic and put on her dress, returning to normal and ran forward to hug the struggling Lemur, "I know it's hard, you've been robbed worse than we could imagine. You don't have to be Sonic now, we simply want to help you become yourself again…However that will look." Amy cried, "You're the best thing to enter my life. I know they agree!"

Tails showed up to shout, "You know it!"

Ray joined, "Absolutely!"

Mighty teased, "I'll accept you for whoever you are, Bro!"

It was working, as the lemur was remembering more and more of her memories properly, her true body, her-no his awesome feats, and of course, those awesome spikes! But…Nothing changed. She still remained stuck as a younger Tangle. She kept that pain to her- himself, instead teasing, "Ha, that was an elaborate flirting scheme, Amy!"

Amy blushed in frustration, taking a step back to pout, "I went naked, you know!"

Sonic dropped the snark and sincerely spoke, "Thank you. You truly do care for me…"

Tails flew down, "So…What next?"

Sonic smirked softly, "It's not over yet. I know I'm only a piece of this puzzle. We need to find the other parts of me!" He then rounded up Tails, Ray, and Mighty, hugging them with the tail and with with her arms to the extent possible, "Bros forever!"

Amy teased him, "You seem more prone to hugs than normal."

He sheepishly dismissed, "Blame Tangle's hormones...What else could it be?"

Tails shrugged, "Like Sonic's ever not liked to hug me!"

Ray teased, "And he really likes Mighty too!"

They exclaimed, "RAY!"

Ray backed off, "Okay, okay, I'm sorry."Amy teased, "But you didn't hug me?"

Sonic teased back with a wink, "Sorry Amy, can't risk giving you ideas. Now, let's head out for real!"

The fearsome fivesome began leaving this zone. Upon exiting, all except Sonic reverted to their modern appearances. Tails teased, "Ha! We really have grown since then, haven't we?"

Sonic impatiently tapped his foot, before spinning off ahead with the 'Tangle Tumble', forcing them to catch up. Amy prodded, "Did you have to say that?"

Ray pushed, "No…He didn't…"

Tangle found herself in a weird place shortly after this. She took in the sight…If there was one. It just looked like a white void and-

INTRUDER ALERT! INTRUDER ALERT!

Tangle was startled, "What in the world?!"

Before her appeared a weird blue sheep, kinda like Lanolin, "Metal Sonic! Prepare to eject from the-"

Tangle shouted, "Wait! I'm Tangle the Lemur, I was stuck in that robot! Please, I want to help!"

She took a less aggressive but stern approach in response, "If you are not Metal Sonic…Show me your memories!"

Tangle bowed her head, trying to recall some. She recalled the ones most directly proving it, Ariem seeing the events that turned her into Sonic, then Metal Sonic.

Ariem's eyes went wide in horror and concern, "Oh dear…Sorry, Tangle, I take threats seriously. I'm Ariem, guardian of the Reverie."

She scratched the back of her head with the tail, "I understand. Cool to meet another sheep!"

Ariem raised an eyebrow, "Another sheep?"

Tangle continued, "Yeah! My teams' led by Lanolin. Maybe you can meet her!" Next she asked while looking with sunlight blocked by the tail, "Now where's Sonic?"

Ariem frowned, "So that's who that was?" She closed her eyes, "I will take you to…him?" They reappeared in a void, where she saw nothing but a tail burrito, but it looked a little blue. She ran closer and took a look into it shouting, "SONIC?!" The other lemur didn't respond. She ran in quickly, tapping the side of the wrap, "Come on out, don't be shy."

This revealed an exact replica of her, but blue. Right as she hoped it wasn't what she thought, this clone opened her eyes, and they were a vibrant green. Tangle stuttered, "S-S-S-Sonic?"

The transformed lemur reacted with a frown, "I don't see Sonic here…All I see is your twin 'Entwine'…Ha…Some twin I am…"

Tangle looked around and yoinked her depressed clone out of the burrito. 'Entwine' quickly reacted by straightening out her tail, "Is that what you want to be?"

(IT ISN'T!) 'Entwine' looked depressedly at her, "Do I look like Sonic to you?"

(SEE YOUR TRUE COLORS!) Tangle noted the voice's suggestion, "It doesn't matter what's happened, you'll always be Sonic to me!"

'Entwine' gave depressed teeth clench, "Sonic doesn't hurt his friends…"

Tangle raised an eyebrow, "What do you mean?"

She responded, "I stole your identity like it was mine…Like Metal Sonic."

Tangle immediately countered, "Now hold it right there!"

'Entwine' tilted her head, "But…"

Tangle insisted, "No buts…"

Her twin, "Yes butts. I literally rubbed yours in your face!"

Tangle snickered, "Sonic-"

'Entwine' insisted angrily, "Don't call me that!" Then her expression became sadder, "...At least…" Her tail was wrapped around herself once, "Not yet …"

Tangle took a sigh of empathy, "Sister, I did much worse in middle school. I understand, you don't want to be constrained by my gender."

Her 'sister' continued, "Doesn't make it right."

Tangle nodded, "Look, Metal Sonic may have replicated your faults, but not your virtues."

That got her counterpart to smirk slightly, "Didn't stop me from falling for myself, remember?!" Tangle looked frustrated at the self-loathing, but then she saw something happen: the clothes changed on her blue counterpart, "This must be what I should wear…"

Tangle asked quickly, "Uh…what? Where did you get that dress?!"

'Entwine' gave a chuckle, "You don't know? I played dressup with Cream. Guess she thought I'd be a great girlfriend to Mighty."

Tangle tried very hard not to laugh, somehow succeeding, "And how did that go?"

'Entwine' gave a snarky recounting, "Have you heard the phrase 'drop dead gorgeous'? Because I certainly did."

Tangle she burst out laughing, making her twin clench her teeth, "Seriously?" But the former Sonic was already showing her memory to Tangle from her eyes.

'Entwine' chuckled, laughing at herself, "Laugh, it's funny. Some girl I make, huh. I failed as a boy hedgehog. I've failed as a girl lemur. What can I do right?

Tangle admitted, "Are you kidding?!" That got her friend's attention. "You played dressup for a girl who wants you to smooch your friend. And you're infinitely funnier and smooth!"

Her twin was still down, "I dunno…You only saw what I showed."

Ariem, having spent enough time analyzing the situation, summoned Cream into the area, her asking, "Miss Ariem, what…Oh! Tangle and…"

The blue lemur suggested, "Entw-"

But Cream had noticed the colors and exclaimed, "Sonic?!"

She looked down in shame, "Maybe..."

Cream was concerned, "Why not?"

Ariem spoke, "How about you tell her all the cool things you've done for the last day with…?"

Tangle suggested, "Entwine."

Cream pondered, "Is he-"

Tangle respectfully suggested, "She, at least currently."

Cream apologized, "Sorry." She went on, "Anyway, we went up an ice cave, rode a train, helped groom, and went to a clothing store! She's so cool!"

Clips of these events were playing as she spoke, showing Tangle glimpses into it. This gave Tangle the context she needed, "Stop being such a drama queen, sis!"

'Entwine' interrupted, "Drama Princess!" She transformed her clothes into Blaze's outfit, "Thank you very much!"

Tangle giggled, hugging her twin, "So you misunderstood, ignored your troubles, and are a bit of a narcissist. Big deal!"

She replied, "What?"

Tangle put her friend a bit back holding both shoulders to look into her eyes, "I don't expect you to be a perfect Tangle, that's me. But you did fine. I'd be proud to call you my sister."

'Entwine' smirked in bemusement, "Is that what you want from me?"

Tangle winked with a smile, "Of course not, you goober! I want you to be whatever makes you happy! So, what do you want?"

Her twin was still somber, but it proved surprisingly hard to answer, taking a step forward to think, "I dunno…Being you for a day has been weirdly liberat-AAAHHHH!" She tripped in her high heels, "Never mind, I feel very trapped in your gender."

Tangle snickered, offering a tail to help her up, 'Entwine' returning to Tangle's outfit instead, "You gonna return to being a hedgehog?"

She tried, but it quickly reverted, "I can't. I literally don't remember what being Sonic was like. It scares me, but it's also like a weight's been lifted from my shoulders, y'know?"

Tangle was starting to really get it. Sonic's spent so long being seen as the hero of the world. She honestly doesn't know how he does, no wonder wearing her face felt so liberating. Still, she knew that her new sister was being strained by her female body, which under amnesia ripped it apart, so she treaded carefully, "I only must ask, do you want to be a girl? Because you can't keep my body."

'Entwine' groaned, "I know who I should be." She moved her current tail in front of herself as she declared, "But I still feel like you. I don't get the luxury of saying I feel like a boy." She sadly blushed, "Because it isn't…" as she felt her hips, "This."

Tangle hugged her fellow lemur, "You're not alone feeling lost, S-Entwine!"

She cried her duplicate's shoulder, "Remember, I'm a robot. I've struggle to feel alive. I never thought I could miss pain, until I started wondering if I could feel anything. You're not the only one missing huge parts of themself, sister."

That made 'Entwine''s eyes go wide, starting to cry herself as she tail hugged her fellow lemur, "Tangle…I had no idea…And now here I am, complaining about losing myself to your dumb girl hormones."

Tangle impressed upon her twin meeting the huge with a hug of her own, "Maybe process your toxic masculinity later. We're struggling together."

Cream cried too, running in to hug the Lemur sisters, "I understand too. I lost my mom and my chao to the Metal Virus, but smiled for my friends! There's no shame in hiding your pain for others' good."

That got through to her, finally understanding where she went wrong. She-no he, Running away from who you are is part of the problem…S…So… Sonic! It's time you Own who you are!-had been running from the truth of who he was and the pain he was feeling. It's one thing when that doesn't affect anyone else, such as with those months of torture by Eggman.

But, when that running away starts to hurt his friends? That's where it's gone too far. He gives his first authentic smile in a while, "Thank you Tangle and Cream. Despite losing my speed, I still ran away from my struggles at the speed of sound. That ends now. I may not be a hedgehog, I don't know if I ever will be again." He did his famous grin again, with a double peace sign via one hand and the tail, "But I am Sonic. It's time I acted-!"

But, then traumatic memories of his disastrous encounters came in.

"Like you can hold me!" "I'm more of a man than you ever were."

And a terrifying vision of what could come:

"IT'S NO USE!"

Tangle began shedding tears of joy, "Glad to have you back, Sonic."

'Entwine' then slumped, "You'll have to keep waiting."

Tangle frowned again, "Why?"

'Entwine' admitted, "Remember the weight lifted from my shoulders? Well…Sonic saves the world…" She hugged her tail, "I can't even save myself…"

Tangle saw the scenes playing around them, Tangle understood, "There's more to being Sonic than saving the world. Remember Sonic Man? He embarrassed your body thief just by being the hero he wasn't."

Sonic smiled, "Oh, him. I met him, he's cool, but nobody expects him to save the world. For me, they do. I'll try, but people can't expect me to. Not anymore."

Tangle put a hand on her twins should, "If you can't for the world, could you be Sonic for me? For us?"

She was dumbfounded, "I'm Sorry Tangle, I can't. Even if I have the courage, I don't have the power."

Tangle winked, "Then do what you can. I can't ask for more."

'Entwine' frowned, "Tangle..." Then she smiled back, making a tail thumbs up, "I'll do my best!" He gave a tail around the shoulder to Tangle, "Thank you." Tangle returned the favor.

Cream gushed at the scene, "Awwwww...you do make adorable twins, or a couple, Miss Entwine and Miss Tangle!"

The two of them winked at her with mirror grins simultaneously, "You know we do!" They untangled from each other and began to leave the colosseum. Then they became awkward at the other part, "Wait…You have to suggest that now?!"

Cream scratched the back of her head, "Sorry. Tongue slipped."

Sonic lifted her with the tail, catching her off guard, only to say respectfully, "It's fine, kiddo. You want us to be happy. I admit, romance or not, I hope you're a part of my life until we die, Tangle."

Tangle winked at him, "Same! Despite the messes, meeting you is the best thing that's happened to me! Now let's head on out, tutorial lessons included!" She showed her memories of techniques as they walked on out.

Lanolin was still waiting. It wasn't the most exciting thing, but she'd done worse. She meditated, and while she did, the other sheep re-appeared, "What's your name? Tangle mentioned you…"

She spoke, "Lanolin. She's a talkative one alright. But…If anyone can comfort Sonic at this trying time, it's her. I believe in Tangle."

Ariem winked, "Then you're in luck! They're converging right about now!"

First came Normal Sonic. Upon seeing Lanolin, he came to a skidding stop, "Oh, Hey Lanolin!"

Shadow and Whisper stopped, Shadow declaring, "Of course she did. You think she could outrun us?" He snickered, "Laughable."

Whisper folded her arms, Not wrong, but wow are you rude.

Lanolin nodded, "A bit rude, but you don't beat around the bush. That I respect."

Next came the younger Sonic. He looked at his current self sighing in sadness, who was frowning, "Do you think you're Tangle too?" He shook his head, so Sonic followed up, "Still suffering from her corruption of our memories, huh?"

The old-school lemur nodded, on the verge of crying as he looking down at the ground sadly. He didn't feel like talking anymore, for some reason, but, even now, it still felt off.

Then Tails' crew caught up, panting, "Sonic, buddy, do you have to go so fast!"

He smirked towards them as the tail did a thumbs up.

Mighty laughed, "Always as stubborn as ever. Though…Could you actually tell us what you mean, buddy?"

He thought about it for a few seconds, forming his thoughts to speak and opened his mouth-

Sonic saw his female counterpart, interrupting his younger self before he could speak by putting a finger to his mouth, "Hold that thought for a moment!" The young lemur suddenly frazzled his current lemur tail as his expression showed frustration. He waved, "Hey, 'Entwine'!"

The current lemur sighed, creating a barrier around him and the other lemurs.

The others watched from the outside of this bubble, unable to reach those inside, Lanolin being the first to try, "Guys! What's going on!"

Shadow snarked, "Looks like a Tangle convention to me."

Ray smirked, "Last I checked, that's 1 Tangle and 3 Sonics."

Mighty and Whisper were blushing, as while they knew what was going on in their heads, they couldn't help but see 3 Tangles and one Sonic.

Amy teased them, "All that Tangle is making you two thirsty, huh?"

They were too lost in the moment to say anything. Tails giggled, "I think that's a yes."

Lanolin tried to look to the bright side, listening to the bickering from the outside between the blue hedgehog and lemur, "Wow, that's getting annoying. At least I'm not hearing two Tangles argu-oooooooO?!"

Inside the bubble 'Entwine' groaned, "Hey Sonic."

The hedgehog was starting to panic, glowing pink, "Wait…What have you done?!"

Tangle spoke, "We need to talk, apparently."

The hedgehog's eyes were shrinking, "You don't get it, do you?! Let me ou-ooooOOOHHH!" The hedgehog exploded in blinding pink light.

While this was happening Tangle took a look at the shorter version of herself and went star-eyed, "OMG!" She ran over to hug that one, "I look so cute!"

The other reluctant lemur used his tail to shove her face back, Tangle apologizing, "You don't want to be either, huh…"

The 7 watched in horror as the Male Hedgehog inside began glowing increasingly pink, and was exploding in a blinding flash of pink, leaving him as yet another Tangle clone.

Mighty nearly fainted at this, Tails running back to catch him. Ray teased, "You're love life's awful Tangled up now, huh?"

Mighty admitted, "Yeah."

Whisper shook her head, "I'm done here, let me know how that goes."

Lanolin was shocked, "You want to leave?"

Whisper looked away, "Yeah…That's one too many Tangles for me."

Shadow also growled to begin leaving, "That's 4 Tangles too many for me! Later!"

Lanolin, stunned, questioned, "But…You get to be yourselves here."

They already left the dreamworld before she finished. Lanolin closed her eyes, ready to stand this out until it was over. Lanolin folded her arms, "Hope they finish their argument soon…"

As the glow died down, in place of the hedgehog now stood a blue lemur with green eyes. He looked at his identical twin in contempt, "Ugh, you never think, do you! This is why you became Tangle!"

The other blue Tangle snarled as he asked, eyebrow raise, "Excuse me?"

Tangle asked, "How?"

The other one sighed, "I don't know exactly when, but I think I started splitting after our traumatic amnesiac gender assignment." He then snarled at her, "You could have admitted to remembering being a boy! Would have saved us a lot of grief!"

This made that lemur stomp her feet, tail frazzling, "Oh, of course! Deny my eyes, my ears, and my senses and declare I'm the opposite gender! That makes perfect sense!"

The newer lemur metaphorically bit back, pointing his new tail, "Maybe if you had, you wouldn't have started crushing on every other guy!"

That flustered the lemur, "Versus you who ran away from it like a coward!"

His prompt rebuttal, "Did I? OR DID YOU JUST IGNORE ME?!"

That got her attention, "That was you?!"

He was looking down at his new appearance, groaning, but then reiterated, "Yep. But you just had to 'Entwine' me in this mess!"

Tangle interjected, "Guys, guys. Please, how about I call the one in control Entwine, and I call the other one Knots, and this adorable little one Tie?"

Sonic shouted, "NO!"

'Entwine' agreed, "Just call him Sonic. He's the one clinging to something we aren't."

Sonic glared, "But we could be."

Tangle inserted herself into the argument again, "You're both suffering from my body. Maybe join together instead of arguing."

The Tangles nodded, they huddled together hugging each other with the tails they'd gained, but nothing was happening, Sonic griping, "I thought that would work! Why isn't it working!"

'Entwine' suggested, "Must not be harmonious enough." She took a step back, "I'm sorry I turned myself into Tangle. I'm sorry you were too."

Sonic apologized too, "I'm sorry I was so harsh. I know we both want to truly be Sonic again. Let's make that a reality." The two of them hugged, Sonic saying, "If we become one, you'd better refind yourself!"

'Entwine' Agreed, "I'll try." The classic version also hugged, becoming part of them too.

Sonic smiled, glad to be back! Tangle then ran in to hug as Sonic dropped the barrier to let his friends in, "I still feel physically wrong, but at least I'm mentally complete!"

Amy ran up to hug Sonic too, "Oh Sonic! I'm happy if you're happy!"

Lanolin congratulated them, "Well done, you guys."

Ray flew up into the sky, "Yay! Great job Sonic!"

Mighty walked up to say, "You'll do great bro, I know it!"

That voice, however, caused Sonic to start blushing up a storm, "Mighty?!" He started moaning, "OooooooooOO!-OW!" He rubbed his cheek.

Lanolin had delivered the smack, "Ogle your boyfriend later."

Sonic blushed brightly and eyes went wide-eyed, requesting, "Lanolin, don't make this weirder please! Now let's leave this place!"

Ariem appeared, "Sorry guys, had to defend from some viruses. Goodbye!"

Outside, the four were fighting robots advancing on the workshop. Blaze kept most out with the Sol barrier, but it couldn't stop them all. So that fell to the quad of Gemerl, Trip, Kit, and Sticks. They were doing mostly fine, but then a big one came from behind the shop. Sticks panicked, "Crap, one is about to strike! We need to-" But then it went silent, falling back.

Gemerl wondered, "HOW?"

Rouge the chameleon appeared, jumping on top of the shop from the bot, "Invisibilty plus GUN gadgets is an interesting combo!"

Espio the bat also showed up, flying, "I'll make do with these." He threw ninja stars at the flying bots, subduing them.

But, things were about to get a lot worse when the dark duo of 'Eternal Eggman' and 'Overlord Sonic' made themselves known. Eggman declared, "Try and stop us now, Princess!" He pulled out everything he could nearby to start beating them down. 'Sonic' also started trying to force his way through. Blaze was worried, Hurry up, guys.

Shadow had already joined the others outside fighting off the robot onslaught. Whisper shortly thereafter woke up, still blushing bright red from the double Tangle wives. She ran to see what was going on. She saw Blaze was trying her best to stop them from the corrupted Super forms of Silver and ran inside, seeing her friends wake up. Lanolin scolded, "Sonic, you have issues."

Tangle defended him, "He's been robbed of his identity for nearly a week. Cut him some slack."

Mighty asked him, "Sonic, when you're back to normal, we need to talk."

Sonic groaned, "Okay Mighty…"

Ray teased, "What, you wanna take him on a date?"

Mighty glared confidently, "Yes, Actually."

Sonic blushed as he awkwardly admitted, tail completely wilted on the floor, "Honestly, I wouldn't mind…If only to sort out my feelings."

Amy winked, "Could I join too?"

Whisper interrupted, "Talk more later, Eggman's here with the Chaos Emeralds!"

Sonic jumped up, "Okay then! No time to lose!"

He ran outside, seeing Blaze still struggling and nearly breaking under their pressure. Sonic thought fast, "Blaze! Trap them in a fire twister above!"

Blaze wondered, "What?"

Sonic insisted, "No time! It's our only hope to reverse this!"

Blaze nodded, "Okay Sonic, I trust you!" She used her powers to try and trap them in one.

Eggman was stunned, "What, how dare you try and trap me you miserable feline!"

'Sonic' agreed, "Like you can hold us!"

It was clearly not going to last, but it didn't need to. Sonic used his borrowed tail to stick it all the way up grabbing his stolen body with the tail. He panicked, "NO! You can't! You're a dumb lemur girl!"

Sonic stayed steadfast, "It's not about what I can do! It's about what my friends can!", asking his friends, "Whisper, Trip! Grab my hands quick!" They ran over quickly and did…