Just One Moment
For some reason, I have had a weird inspiration to write something tragic… this is something totally new for me, so it will likely seem very odd. Constructive criticism is greatly appreciated, as is general advice and comments. Enjoy!
Death was something everyone could feel. It was wretched, swift, and brutal, tearing at the insides of even the most stoic and hardened person, reducing their physical and emotional barriers, that one wall that stood strong, to a pile of rubble and dust. It is even worse if the body is that of a child.
One could consider being inured to death if it had been witnessed enough. The sight of corpses, stagnant upon the earth, glassy eyes gazing at something they would never see again. If you've seen the dead children, sallow, small, harmless, so easy to break… it doesn't bother you. Oh, no, just another body to bury, another soul set free from the chaos.
Some people would consider it a heartless way to go about living. Others find it the only way to survive… shutting out death, becoming detached from day to day life, the things occurring around them meaningless. By preparing for the worst, always expecting a scream of sorrow or pain, always expecting the tears to flow over the still body of a loved one… nothing could hurt you. You would be immovable, emotionless. You would be as stone.
He closed his emerald eyes, his mind numb from everything. Tears spilled forth onto the ground as he wept, mingling with the rain falling mercilessly upon him. Oh, how he wished to be as stone… how he wished…
"Sonic, please take me with you!" The pink hedgehog begged her sapphire hero.
"Amy, you can't come with us today! Remember, Cream came down with a chill… you have to stay home with her and Vanilla," Sonic informed, rubbing his arms against the cold. The two were waiting for the next train to the Mystic Ruins to arrive at the Station Square train station.
Amy smoothed her water-logged clothes. Instead of her normal red dress, she had opted for a lightweight red coat, an orange sweater, and slim fit blue jeans. She mumbled morosely, "Honestly, she should know better to play hide and seek during a thunderstorm, it's soaking wet."
Sonic cupped her chin, looking into her eyes, "Don't worry Ames. When this is all said and done, how about you and I go to that new diner that opened in Soleanna?"
Amy's jaw settled on the floor. It was impossible. Had Sonic just asked her on a date? Her, his rabid pink stalker, the one who pursued him around in a fan girl chase for his hand in marriage, despite Sonics' attempt to dissuade her? She stumbled over her words, "Um… uh… that sounds great, Sonic!" She finally forced out. Was Sonic just pretending to be annoyed at her all that time, to mask his true feelings?
Her train of thought was disrupted as Tails walked past her, solemn and quiet as if he was going to a funeral. Amy gestured at Tails as he trudged past her, aiming her question at Sonic, "What's up with him?"
Sonic looked at his best friend as he walked past, worried. "I don't know. He's been depressed all week. Maybe a little action today will make him feel better." The door closed as the train slowly rumbled on the tracks to its destination. Sonic waved merrily at the pink hedgehog as the train took off.
Amy waved happily back, ecstatic with glee. With thoughts of Sonic and their upcoming date on her mind, she walked cheerfully out of the train station, whistling. Today wouldn't be so bad after all.
The sky was heavy, overcast. Thunder bristled throughout the sky, assaulting the small band as they trekked towards the launch pad for the Tornado. It consisted of the usual team… himself, the burly red echidna he maintained a friendly rivalry with, Knuckles, and the brilliant two tailed fox who was his best friend, Tails.
The three had chattered amiably enough, despite the weather. It was standard fare: Sonic would insult Knuckles, prompting the latter to get offended and jump for a chance to fight. Tails had been the one to step in and halt Knuckles' tirade, always being sensible and level headed.
"Guys! Come on, cut it out! We don't need this right now…" He proclaimed softly, barely heard above the downpour.
Knuckles brushed the kid off, falling quiet. Tails gazed silently at the ground, watching the rain drops spatter repeatedly at his feet. This uncomfortable silence held for a few moments, until Sonic broke the quiet with a question, "What's the matter, little bro? You've never been so jumpy and nervous before."
The blue eyed fox rubbed his arm in the cold, his eyes locked straight ahead, "I don't know… today doesn't seem right for anything… I just hope we can make it through without too much happening."
Knuckles elbowed his younger companion lightly, trying to cheer him up, "No need to be so glum, kid. Not like all this rain and thunder will change the fact that we're going to win today, like always." His purple eyes sparkled eagerly, but died down when met with the somber orbs of the twin tailed fox. Knuckles turned away, crossing his arms, "Is it just me or is not just the rain that's dismal?"
Sonic sprinted up the stairs in the Mystic Ruins as the group closed in on Tails' workshop. Tugging the door open, whose handle had become slick with dew, he motioned his allies inside. Knuckles hurried inside after him, but Tails was slower to arrive. As Sonic closed the door to the workshop, he met his best friends' worried gaze with a confident smile, "Don't worry, Tails. This may just be your fear of storms talking for you. Come on, let's get going."
The inventor followed behind him as Sonic clambered on top of the biplane, standing up on the wings. Knuckles was already up there, waiting impatiently for everything to start. The rain harshly beat down upon his workshop. Tails looked back at the doorway, the normally sunny and clear landscape of the ruins darkened ominously by the deluge of water and gleam of lightning. Sighing, the golden furred fox stepped up into the pilot's seat, turning the ignition for his plane. He could only hope what his best friend had uttered to him was true.
The mission was simple enough: assault Eggman's new floating doom ship, and as always, the maniacal scientist named it the Egg Carrier. But with a roman numeral III tacked on to the end, as if it granted his warship the extra edge.
It had proceeded normally enough: a firefight in the sky, a hasty landing on the bridge of Eggmans' new ship, massacring of the aforementioned rotund scientists' robots, and a confrontation on the bridge of his epic warship.
"Give it up, Eggman!" Sonic declared, thrusting a finger at the round scientist, eager to be done with his arch rival.
"Never! This is the final time you have outwitted me! I will stand this no longer!" A gleam of determination glinted on his black glasses, visible even in the downpour. One gloved hand extended to the sky, as if he would call down lightning to smite his sworn foe. However, no heavenly bolts descended to fry the trio to a crisp.
Footsteps could be heard from behind the evil megalomaniac, even through the sheet of rain. Eggman grinned maliciously, stepping aside to reveal his new creation. As the footsteps drew closer, it became clear what the figure was. His shoes were half red, half white. The robot had a small frame for one of Eggmans' creations, sleek and child like. This creation was a fox, two tailed. Three bangs protruded from his forehead, golden-yellow in color, with blue eyes.
"You must be Sonic!" A voice hailed him. Sonic looked straight into the azure eyes of the figure before him, even though the voice was that of his best friend.
This fabrication possessed the same naïve and childish tone in his voice, as well as the intelligent gaze and the exact same body structure as the young fox. He could have passed off as Tails' twin. He could even pass for Tails, the two looked exactly alike.
Sonic shook his head in skepticism. Had Robotnik figured out how to clone? Or was this some illusion he was seeing due to the rain? How could there be two Tails?
The "new" Tails answered his question for him, "Don't worry, Sonic. Your eyes aren't playing tricks on you. I am your best friend," he strode past the confused blue hedgehog. Sonic hurriedly cast his eyes over in Knuckles direction, looking to him for confirmation, to see if he truly was seeing two Tails. Even though Knuckles masked his surprise with a firm face of indifference, Sonic surmised that the crimson echidna was as startled as he was.
The copy came to a halt in front of his twin, continuing, "I possess everything you have… the same intellect, the same strengths, the same memories… I don't just look like you. I am you." The replica gazed into the eyes of the fox which he was modeled from. It was like looking into a mirror.
"However, I am faster…" without warning, the gloved hand shot forward, encircling the other foxes throat, "stronger…" the other fox lifted Tails up into the air, crushing his windpipe mercilessly with an iron grip, "and evil."
Tails struggled, kicking at the air as he tried to pry the hands of the copy off him. His struggles grew weaker, his brain and body depraved of oxygen. Stars swam through his vision, blurring in vast rainbows of color. He saw one bright crimson flash rise up behind his assailant through the spinning and twirling of lights.
Knuckles smirked as his fist impacted with the back of the replicas' skull. His haughty demeanor quickly turned to one of surprise as a golden blur snatched at his arm, wrenching downward with amazing speed. He felt the bones in his wrist snap almost in two. The replica of Tails tilted his head to the right, turning around. The duplicate smiled at the pained look on the face of his opponent.
"How rude, trying to interrupt our fun. We aren't done yet." With barely a flick of his wrist, Tails flung Knuckles away, as if he weighed no more than a feather. The echidna landed in a crumpled heap, skidding on the surface of the airship before coming to a halt.
Evil Tails turned his attention back to the feeble flailing of his counterpart. His face was one of his amusement as he watched the struggles of his twin grow ever weaker, "My, my. Over already? You really are weak."
The clone of the young fox pushed his bangs out of his eyes with a dry chuckle, "You would think Master Robotnik's archenemy would know better than to let useless baggage trail along behind. What kind of heroes are you?"
Rain pounded down upon him continuously as Tails lifted a tired gaze to the blue eyes that were observing him. He tried to speak through the iron vice that was cutting through his neck, but his mouth could not move. The evil copy replied to the panicked question in the eyes of his double, "You're asking me why your hero hasn't come to the rescue? You know the answer to that question, don't you? My master programmed me with all the information of his enemies and encounters with them. There was one factor that led to Sonic never having a complete victory over him; you."
"Always getting captured, having your little toys blown up, receiving near fatal injuries more often than not… you know, right? The useless little kid, never a threat, but then again, never a help, either. That is how my master sees you, he always observed you with the most interest as a potential rival. You never tried to do any better with your machinery, you were always reluctant to do anything until the very. last. moment."
"My master always saw the flashes of hate in his eyes whenever you were too slow or too weak. The exasperation and the anger at another one of your failures. You may not have caught them, but my creator did."
The eyes of the copy glinted maliciously, "He always saw how much Sonic hated you."
Sonic clinched his fists in rage, his eyes tearing around for a sight of the Doctor he so despised so that the hedgehog could rip him apart. However, he did not see the familiar egg shaped body wrapped in red and black. The scientist was gone.
A strangled remnant of a sob escaped Tails' mouth, "No… stop it… stop talking…"
"I think, finally, that your 'brother' realized you aren't worth saving."
Tails raggedly tried to draw in breath, tears streaking down his face as he shook his head, "That… that can't be true…" He choked out weakly, the rain and thunder almost completely eclipsing his voice.
The pained and sorrowful eyes that weakly gazed at Sonic through the deluge almost physically hurt him. It was like a stab to the heart.
The kitsune continued the degrading of his captive, "You've always been weak. You've always been in the way. You aren't even skilled at being a good sidekick. All you can do is waste the hours away tinkering in your little workshop, hoping the next failure you concoct will be of some use to your little friends! Not even your family would take care of you!"
Stinging tears started to form in the foxes eyes as the words of his malignant doppelganger struck him. They hurt more than any physical pain.
"What's this? Growing weaker?" Meeting the streaming eyes of his original, the facsimile came to a decision. He cupped his free hand, a swirl of energy forming in the center of his palm. The "new" Tails positioned his hand on the chest of his adversary.
Sonic snapped out of his daze. His best friend was being choked by a look a like! "Why didn't I stop him sooner?" Sonic degraded himself for standing still. As he sped forward, a resolution to stop the new creation rising in his mind, a small feeling ate away inside him. Deep down, this feeling told him he truly hated the child he had treated as a surrogate brother all this time. Because of his weakness, because of his tendency to get captured; all these reasons for loathing swirled inside him. But another feeling rose inside him, this one of deep friendship, trust, and an unbreakable bond. With these feelings causing a tempestuous storm inside him, Sonic prepared for a strike against the being that bore resemblance to his best friend.
He was only off by a second.
The dark duplicate leaned upward, whispering into the ear of the weakened fox, "It seems that those words hurt you most of all, my friend. Allow me to put you out of your misery."
The ball of energy swelled before erupting into a stream of power. Tails was flung away like a rag-doll. The force of the energy beam caused him to roll several times before coming to a stop, his battered body small and fragile as it lay still, pelted by the rain. The ground around him was covered crimson with his own blood, the beam having impacted close range, almost slicing clean through his body.
Tails turned away from the motionless figure behind him, "Living things… they are so very fragile…"
Sonic sank to his knees. His mind was numb as he stared at the still body of his friend. He heard a scream of rage coming from Knuckles, who charged forward recklessly at the carbon copy of Tails. He realized Tails was already dead, or would be very soon.
He was so naïve to believe it would last forever.
I feel a little guilty for killing off Tails, my favorite character. Well, please review, and criticism is welcome. I'll try to get the next chapter up soon. I planned on a one shot, but I realized that would be too long, so this story will probably be 3-5 chapters long. Thanks for reading.