5 Chapter Four- Modern Universe

            Boom Tails watched Modern Tails work on a universe-hopper and sighed. He wanted to help, to even be interested, but he couldn't bring himself to.

            Boom's sigh made Modern look up. He smiled sympathetically.

            "You miss them, don't you," he asked.

            Boom sighed again.

            "Yes," he said.

            This sense of loneliness was overpowering. It sucked the very life out of him. Normally, Boom would be very interested in another universe altogether, asking questions and becoming a general nuisance, but he'd been violently ripped from him friends.

            He wondered if they were as lonely as he was. Did they know what had happened to him? What did Eggman tell them?

            When would he get back?

            Modern went back to his work.  Without looking up, he commented,

             "It was hard enough for me when I still had everyone else when Sonic 'died', I can't imagine being torn from my entire world into another..."

Modern's comment brought Boom back to Earth, and he was not happy about it.

            "No, you can't," Boom said testily.

            Modern stopped and looked up.

            "Sorry, Boom, I didn't mean to...," he trailed off, seeing Boom's expression, and quickly went back to his work.

            He was being completely sincere, but Boom was in a sour mood and snapped at him.

            "Then don't say anything!" Boom said.

            Modern flinched and focused on his work. There was a tense silence for a few minutes, with Modern working on the UH and Boom fuming in the corner. Boom soon became lost in his thoughts again.

            What was Sonic doing right now? How had he reacted? Boom hoped he'd given Eggman a lesson, and his heart ached as he thought of Sonic frantically searching the island for him.

            Then a darker image passed through his mind. Sonic, at Meh Burger, turning to where Boom usually sat to talk to him, then realizing Boom wasn't there, and turning away, trying to hide the single tear running down his cheek.

            Knuckles, sitting alone in Boom's house, on the couch. Eyes closed, tears running down his checks, he held one of Boom's weapons- his wrench.

            Amy, trying to act normal, walking around town, casting glances at the beach then looking away, like the site brought with it pain.

            Sticks, in her burrow, trying to combat obviously strong and resilient feelings, muttering,

            "Get a hold of yourself. You need to be strong for the others. Don't be weak!"

            Boom had no idea where these visions came from, but he somehow knew that's what would happen. It's what was happening. This knowledge emboldened him, and made him determined to get back home. He took a deep breath to apologise to Modern.

            A low sound rattled the machinery. It started soft, then got louder until Boom snapped out of his thoughts, then covered his ears.

            "Modern, turn that off! Sorry if you're mad at me..." he started, fully sincere.

            "I'm not doing anything!" Modern said, his ears covered too.

            The sound got louder, until Boom's ears were ringing.

            "What is that?" he practically yelled.

            Modern shrugged, unable to talk, as the sound was now so loud they couldn't hear anything.

            Modern Sonic came into the workshop and looked at both Tails with concern. He mouthed something, and both looked at him in confusion. Modern shrugged.

            "Don't you hear it?" Boom tried to ask.

            Sonic shook his head and reached for a piece of paper. He wrote (in surprisingly neat handwriting),

            "I can't hear what you hear. Neither can Knuckles or Amy or any of the others that I can tell. All we know is that something is shaking things."

            Modern said something, and Sonic nodded.

            "That makes sense. What can I do to help you guys?"

            Modern said more. Boom raised an inquiring eyebrow at Sonic.

            "He said that he's fine. Are you?"

            "I guess." Boom shrugged.

            "You both sure?" Sonic wanted to make sure.

            Modern nodded, as did Boom.

            "Okay," Sonic left the room.

            Shortly after, the sound was so loud it started to hurt Boom's ears. Soon, the pain was so great, Boom passed out. Modern followed suite a couple seconds later.

_______________________________________

            Modern came to in a white room.

            "What? Am I dead?" he wondered out loud.

            He sat up, holding his head and shaking it to try to get rid of the ringing. Modern looked around. He was alone.

            "Sonic? Knuckles? Boom?" he called.

            No one in the room. Modern tried to stand up, then fell to his knees with a small yelp, holding his head.

             He shouldn't have tried to stand so soon. His life wasn't in danger, at least not that he knew of, and Modern Sonic wasn't here to encourage him to act fine. He was alone, and, Modern realized when he blinked hard against the pain, in a cell.

            'This looks like the White Limbo in Generations,' Modern thought, 'Or the white in the 'Game Over' screen.'

            The last thought made him reel back.

            'The 'Game Over' screen? Does that mean I'm actually dead?'

            Modern knelt shocked for a moment, before he shook his head.

            'No, otherwise I'd be surrounded by black. This is a cell.'

            The pounding in his head had lessened to a throb. He tried to stand again, and succeeded. He walked, wobbling, to a break in the monotony of white: a bench/bed attached to the wall.

            The one other break was an empty doorway leading to a wall, effectively closing off any exit.

            Modern dimly wondered how he was brought in and how he would be fed. Maybe he wouldn't be.

            Modern also noticed he was unchained except for his tails, which were tied together by a steel rope. For some reason, the rope felt more solid than just steel, though.

            As he sat down, a section of wall opened and a flatscreen TV came out. Modern Eggman's face appeared on the screen.

            "Ah!" Modern yelled, jumping back and banging his head on the wall.

            "Ah!" he whimpered, rubbing the back of his head.

            "Welcome, Tails, welcome to all 11 of you. Now that Modern is here, all of you are locked up in special cages I designed for you, specifically," Eggman said.

            He laughed, and Modern's eyes widened. But Eggman wasn't done.

            "If you are watching this, that means Infinite failed, and I am dead. So, I decided to take a page out of my grandfather's book, and create a revenge plan," he grinned.

            Modern gasped, terrified. But Eggman still wasn't done.

            "I think I'll let you boys talk to each other. But the footage will be carefully monitored. And remember- you are a big part of my plan," Eggman grinned and laughed as the video faded to black.

            The screen split into 12 sections. Modern could see himself in the bottom right corner of the TV, but that was his least concern.

            He was looking at Boom, who was on the right and looked terrible. So did Modern, really, but that wasn't what made him stare. What startled him was that there were two Booms, both next to each other.

            A small brown fox cub on the top, second from the left, cleared his throat, pulling Modern back to Earth.

            "So you're Modern?" he asked.

            "Me?" Modern asked, pointing at himself.

            "Yes you," another brown cub to the left of the first said.

            He was standing, and smiling. He gave a small wave.

            "I'm AoStH (pronounced OH-sith). I'm from the cartoon Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog. I was the first here. The Tails to my right is Sat AM. He's from the cartoon Sonic the Hedgehog. He was second," AoStH introduced.

            Sat AM waved.

            "Are you in order of when you were brought here?" The second Boom asked.

            "Yes." An orange fox around Modern's age said.

            He was in the bottom left-hand corner, so he was the 7th brought in.

"Who are you?" Modern asked, curious.

            "I'm X, from Sonic X." X said.

            Modern nodded, taking note of his face.

            "What about the rest of you?" he asked.

            They went from left to right, starting with Movie, next to Sat AM, from the Sonic the Hedgehog Movie. Classic was next, slightly hurt that Modern hadn't noticed him right away. Then Mania, from Sonic Mania Adventures, then Lego, from the Lego Sonic game, Arche from the Archie Comics, and Comic from Sonic the Comic.

            Modern made note of all of them, and Boom- the one Modern knew was the real one because he'd been with Modern- did too.

            The other Tails who had been here longer explained that the cages' walls were made out of a steel/diamond mixture, and couldn't be broken. They also explained that although right now they weren't chained, that once the cages moved (so that the Tails could be fed), chains made of lasers would contain them.

            Seeing the newcomers' grim expressions, AoStH gave a sorry smile.

            "Better get comfortable," he advised, then affirmed, "you're stuck 'till Sonic gets you out."