StH: An Alternate World

Chapter 2

Tails lay unconscious in the middle of the road. People crowded him, talking amongst themselves where he could have come from. A boy stood in the middle, looking down at him with worry.

Suddenly, a voice called out. "What's going on here?"

The people split, and the boy turned to see a cop, the sheriff approaching. Upon seeing his son, the sheriff ran closer. "What's going on?"

The younger didn't say anything but stepped out of the way, letting the sheriff take a good look. "Oh my. . . "

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Beep.

Beep.

Beep.

Darkness. That's all Tails saw. A strange beeping filled his ears. Where was he? As he regained consciousness, he felt pressure on his stomach; something on his back. Bed. He was in a bed. But what about the beeping? He also heard voices. Was that a woman's voice?

Groaning, Tails attempted to open his eyes. Everything was blurry but white. Wait. Was he in a hospital?

More blurry figures appeared and more voices. One sounded familiar. It was coming from the blue blur.

The blue blur became bigger till it stood over him. The fox blinked a few times before his vision became clear. Once he did, he saw he was indeed in a hostel room. That blue blur was a boy. He had light tan skin, and his hair was a cool, yet familiar, blue. His eyes were a piercing green, and his shirt was a light blue tank top with a golden 1 on it. He wore jeans, and his gloves were white, folded over.

"Hey, kid. Are you okay?" He asked.

Tails blinked. He was still a little disoriented, but he recognized that voice. "S-Sonic. . . " The fox's voice was too quiet for the boy to hear, but he did hear something it seemed because he chuckled.

"Me and my dad found you laying in the middle of the road within the center of Green Hills," he said. "You were really banged up."

Tails tried to sit up, but he screamed in pain. All his joints felt as if they had gone through some metamorphosis.

The nurse tried to prevent him from sitting up too fast. "Now, now. You are still a little hurt, so don't overdo it."

The boy with blue hair nodded. Tails groaned and spoke a little louder. "What happened?" He sat up a little slower, rubbing his head. Till it finally clicked. He looked around until his eyes landed on who he thought was his brother. "Wait! Sonic, what happened!?"

The boy was taken aback. He raised an eyebrow. "Whoa! Whoa, buddy! Calm down. How do you even know my name?"

Tails shook his head. "Sonic! It's me! Tails! Something must have happened when Eggman shot his canon!"

The human Sonic blinked, as did the nurse. "I'm afraid you might have hit your head when you fell or something," Sonic chuckled nervously.

Tails's jaw dropped. How could his best friend not remember him!? What was going on!?!

Before anyone could say anything else, the sheriff walked in. "Hey, Sonic. I see the kid is awake."

Sonic looked to the sheriff and nodded, but then his smile faded a little bit. "I think he might have hit his head or something."

Tails shook his head. What happened exactly?

The nurse approached Tails's with a clipboard. "So, you said your name was Tails?"

Tails froze. "Uhhhh. . . " He looked at the human Sonic, then at his hands. Of course, they were thinner. He felt his face, and his fur was more hair and skin. He was human, too. He quickly and discreetly checked once more by waving his hand behind him. Yep. No tails. There is no reason for his nickname. "Uhhh. . . Miles. My name is Miles. I don't know why I said Tails," he chuckled nervously and rubbed his neck.

Sonic blinked at that, confused at the sudden attitude change.

"I guess I did bump my head," Tails said, just going along with it. But internally, he was screaming with worry and confusion. 'What is going on!?!?!'

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The sheriff, who Tails learned his name was Tom, drove away from the hospital. Tails himself sat in the back, rubbing his bandaged arm. Sonic sat next to him, curious. "Soooo, Blondie. Where are you from?"

Tails looked up in surprise. "'Blondie'?"

"You're blond," Sonic said nonchalantly. "Oh, hey, how did you know my name?"

Tails blinked. "Oh, uh. . . it's complicated."

Sonic shrugged. "How complicated can it be?"

Tails laughed. "Trust me. You would think I'm insane!"

"Really?"

"Yes."

Sonic chuckled. "So where are you from?"

"Uh. . . A long way from here," Tails murmured.

Sonic raised an eyebrow but didn't press further. "So what happened? Why were you in the middle of the road?"

Tails shrugged. "I don't know," he winced. "But I hurt really bad."

"You are gonna stay with us until you get better, and we can figure out how to get you home," Tom replied.

Tails nodded gratefully. He turned to Sonic. Looking at him, he did bear some resemblance to the hedgehog, well, except for the fact he was human. Speak of which, why was that?

Tails looked at his hands, at his body. He would have to find a mirror for a better look, but he knew he had become human. Which was odd. He knew he had been chaos-controlled to earth plenty of times before with his friends, but why was he human when this never happened before? And better yet, why was there a human counterpart of Sonic if he didn't come? And if Sonic was here, were his other friends here?

The sound of doors opening broke him out of his thoughts. Tails looked around; they had pulled into a driveway. As Sonic and Tom helped Tails out, a golden retriever ran up to Sonic with his tail wagging. Sonic laughed as he licked him. "Okay, okay! Down, Ozzy!"

Tails looked at the dog and smiled.

A lady with dark skin and a warm smile walked out. "Oh, hey, Mom!" Sonic waved at her.

The woman nodded and looked at Tails. "So, who's this?"

"I'm Miles," Tails nodded.

"Maddie," she held out her hand for him to take it. Tails shook it, but then winced and pulled it back. "Ooh, sorry about that. Here, come inside, and I'll help you get settled on the couch, okay?"

Tails smiled and nodded, following Maddie inside. Tom looked at Sonic, and Sonic looked at Tom. "I'm gonna have to share my room, aren't I?"

Tom looked back towards the house, putting his hands in his pockets. "Yep."