Derek Cooper was a man with little to tell. He was 20 years old, and had very short, messy blonde hair, brown eyes, and peach skin. He wore an unremarkable white button-up dress shirt with long sleeves, blue jeans and red converse-style shoes. At first glance, however, the first thing one would notice about him are his scars. He had a large burn scar that covered most of the top left of his face. He also had a large slash scar that slanted from the top of his left eyebrow, across the bridge of his nose, and all the way down to his right cheek.

He has been told he belongs in a freak show, or in a zoo. Some people even turn their children away from him in public. He has also been told he resembles a certain anime character, a comment he gets tired of hearing.

Despite his scary look, he goes about his life happily. He has a good life, good friends, a very attractive boyfriend, and he was recently assigned to be a field medic in the army. He wouldn't change it for the world.

On this particular day, Derek gleefully treked through his favorite forest. He was exceptionally giddy today, as he had a date with his boyfriend, Clarence, later. He had been looking forward to it for a week.

Derek paused. He had walked through these woods since he was a child. But there was something unusual here. He walked closer to get a better look at what he was seeing.

He couldn't believe his eyes. Before him stood what he can only assume to be a portal. He thought that was all just science fiction! The portal was blue, the border red and pixelated. He reached his hand out to examine it. He felt himself being drawn towards the portal

Derek woke up in a strange place.

He sat up and examined himself. Far in front of his face, he could see a long nose. He looked down. His feet were huge! He looked at his hands. They were... Pastel yellow? He still had his clothes on, so that was good.

He felt at his face. His scars were still there. Around them... Is that fur? This was bizarre. He felt his hair. "Ouch!" He yanked his hand away. Something had pricked his hand!

Using his brilliant mind, he deduced that he was some kind of... anthropomorphic... Porcupine? Hedgehog? One of those two.

"Woah! Tails, who is that?" Came a voice from behind him. Derek whipped his head around.

"I don't know, Sonic! Should I go check?" Came another voice.

"Sure, go ahead Tails, I'll catch up." Said the other voice.

A fox came flying towards him. Flying?

"Hey! Are you okay?" Said the fox.

"..." Derek said nothing. He just looked the fox up and down in awe.

The fox reached out a hand. "Do you need some help up?" Derek looked at the fox's gloved hand for a minute.

Derek took the fox's hand and got on his feet. It felt weird to stand in this new body. "My name is Miles Prower, but you can call me Tails!"

A blue hedgehog came running up. "Hey buddy. You okay?" He said.

Derek nodded. "Where..." He grabbed his head and looked around. "Where am I?"

His surroundings were covered in green grass, palm trees, and flowers. The grass and soil were unnaturally checkered, and the topography was... Very loopy.

The hedgehog, presumably Sonic, spread his arms out. "Welcome to Green Hill zone! This is my favorite place in the world! I'm Sonic, and who might you be?"

"I'm Derek... Derek Cooper..." Derek answered, shaking Sonic's hand. Sonic smiled, shaking his hand back. "It's great to meet you, Derek! You're a hedgehog, right? That must mean you've got some incredible speed in you!"

Derek was confused. "H-hold on... I don't think I belong here... I'm not usually a hedgehog..." Derek explained.

Tails' head perked up. "Oh! You must be from another dimension!" Tails said matter of factly.

Derek stood there, flabbergasted by what he had just heard.

Sonic patted a hand on his back. "Don't worry about it, buddy. Follow us!" Sonic said before speeding off. Derek stood in astonishment.

"Come on, Derek! Just run!" Tails said before propelling himself forward.

Derek took a deep breath. Then he began to run.

He saw his scenery fly by him. He didn't even know it was possible to run this fast! He quickly caught up with Tails. "You having fun, Derek?" Tails asked.

"I... I didn't *pant* even know it was *pant* possible to go this fast!" Derek said.

Sonic turned his head behind him. "Regulate your breathing, Derek! Deep, full breaths!"

Derek smiled and followed Sonic's instructions. This was exhilarating. He approached a loop. He closed his eyes and continued to run, hoping for the best. He opened his eyes to see that he had cleared the loop. He hollered in excitement.

Maybe being stuck here wouldn't be so bad after all.