I must be dreaming (Sonic the hedgehog)

Chapter 7

The sun began to set, slowly disappearing behind the hills and after a long and awkwardly silent walk back through the valley, the two echidnas finally caught up with Sonic and the others.
"where the hell have you been?!" demanded Sonic, a frown on his face.
"me?!, where the hell were you?!" Knuckles barked back, crossing his arms as he glared at the hedgehog.
"we thought you'd gotten lost" said Sonic, teasingly. Knuckles frowned at him, then looked away with a huff.
"for your information Sonic.." Knuckles began, now glaring at him again. "the ground gave way under us as we were making our way towards the valley and we both fell in to a nice big, deep hole!... so while you were up here playing around with that mechanical rust-bucket, we were stuck down there trying to find a way back out." he continued in a sarcastic tone.

Amy looked at Brea with a worried expression on her face. "you fell? are you ok?" she asked as she walked over. "I'm fine, just a little shaken. so, what happened to the robot?" replied Brea, smiling.
"he's toast" grinned Amy. "so.. what's up with him?" she asked Brea quietly as they all began walking towards the town.
Brea glanced at Knuckles, now walking ahead of them. "guess I must have pissed him off somehow while we were down there" she said with a shrug.
"I wouldn't worry about it sweety, he's always in a mood" Amy smiled, making Brea giggle as they walked along.


The full moon hung high in the sky, the only sound to be heard was the light breeze catching the curtain as it blew it the window.
Amy and Brea sat quietly together on the sofa, watching the t.v. "boooring" Amy sighed as she flicked from channel to channel, she glanced over at Brea and giggled as she watched her long quiled friend, slowly nodding off.

"I've finally got it!" cried Tails as he burst in to the room, startling both of the girls. "DON'T DO THAT!" yelled Amy, glairing at the twin-tailed fox.
"heh.. sorry Amy, I didn't mean to make you jump... it's just.." Tails babbled, a pink tint on his cheecks.
"just what, pal?" asked Sonic as he walked in to the room, giving Amy a little smirk as he passed her.
"I've finally worked out how Eggman did it.. and I think I can reverse it" Tails replied, grinning proudly as his long tails swished left and right.

Amy looked at him for a moment, a smile growing on her face. "really?" she asked, clapping her hands excitedly.
Tails smiled and nodded, a smile that quickly turned in to a more worried expression. "but... I'll only have one shot at it. Ya see.. if my calculations are correct, the tear between our universes will only last for another twentyfour hours. We only have a day to get it all set and ready, before the tear has finished repairing itself. Once that's happened... that's it" sighed Tails, shaking his head.
"that's it?.. what, as in gone?" Amy asked, a look of alarm on her face. Tails looked at her, nodding. "as in, gone forever" he said quietly.
"well what are we waiting for?! lets do something!" said Amy, dancing about in panic.
"so, Eggman used a rip between our worlds to try to gather energy?" Sonic asked as he stood beside his foxy friend. Tails nodded "and did a lousy job of it too" he replied. "then lets get to it!" Amy grinned, grabbing Brea's hand and jumping up and down. Brea watched her, giggling.


A few hours passed and as Tails made the last adjustments to his strange looking machine, the others gathered around him. All staring at the flickering lights and odd looking nobs, rods and antenna all whirling and spining.
"ok, that's it.. ready to go" he smiled as he stood back, proudly admiring his handy-work.
Amy looked at Brea "you're finally going home" she smiled and hugged Brea tightly.

Brea looked down as Amy let go. "I'm.. I'm gonna miss you guys. I.. I've never really been this happy before.. I.." she babbled, her eyes welling up with tears.
Knuckles watched her as the tears began streaming down her cheecks. "really?" he asked as he moved closer, resting a comforting hand on her shoulder. Brea looked up at him and shook her head.
"I've never really had any friends, never felt so welcomed, so excepted. Not like here" she sighed, wiping the tears from her face.
"don't you have any family back home?" Sonic asked, looking at her curiously. Brea shook her head again. "what, no mum or dad?" Sonic continued, now with a concerned expression on his face.
Brea let out a long sigh then looked up at her strange new friends. "you see.... I.. I was abandoned as a baby. I grew up, bouncing from one childrens home to another, like a ping pong ball. A loner. A hopless cause" she said softly.

Amy glanced at the others, each with a look of shock on their faces. She looked at Brea and a small smile appeared across her lips. "well, you don't have to go... right Tails?" she said looking over at the fox.
"well.. no, if the info I have is correct.. it wouldn't make any damaging differences.. in our world or hers, it's not enough of a shift to inturupt anything" replied Tails.
"well, maybe you really were sent here for a reason" said Sonic, smiling as he looked at Brea. "maybe you were meant to come here, to give you a chance for a better life" he continued, looking at the others for support.
"maybe you're right" said Knuckles, giving Brea a cheecky smirk. making her giggle.
"well, I guess the choice is yours Brea. Only you can decide" Amy smiled and gave Brea a pat on the back.


The group stood watching Brea, anticipating her replie. Brea took a deep breath but before she could open her mouth, a huge crash from outside startled them all.
"what the hell?!" said Sonic as he dashed to the window. "what on mobius was that?" Amy asked as she clung to Brea, protectivly.
"Eggman!" Sonic replied angrily and dashed outside, the rest following close behind him. "hey! Egghead! what's the big idea?!" he yelled, glairing up at the doctor, hovering above them.
"hohoh! so I finally have your attention" Dr. Eggman smirked, giving them a taunting wave.
"yeah, so what do you want this time?" Knuckles grunted, angrily shaking his fist in the air.
"oh, I already have what I wanted" Dr.Eggman scoffed as he revealed a large mechanical claw hanging behind his flying machine.
Looking up, Sonic could see Brea, held tight within the claw's clutches. silent, limp and almost lifeless.
"Brea!.. ooh.. you let her go right now Eggman!" shouted Amy, stomping her foot hard on the ground.
Eggman smirked at the pink hedgehog. "not a chance!" he yelled back, sticking out his tounge as he turned and took off up in to the dark sky and disappeard.
"now what?" asked Knuckles, crossing his arms in frustration. "we go get her, that's what" replied Sonic with an enthusiast smile.