AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hi everyone, I'm back with another oneshot. As some of you may know, I'm a sucker for drama and sad writing. I felt like making a story where I tried my best to bring out heartfelt emotions from readers, even more so than my previous story (The Gift of Life).
This was somewhat of an experimental fanfiction, sort of countering my lighter goofy oneshot focused on Eggman. If you don't enjoy recapping histories or depressing stories, read no further.
Otherwise, enjoy...or don't.
...
I remember a time when I was much younger; so full of myself and confident I was on top of the world. Nothing could keep me down. I hated slowing down, all I needed was a deep breath of a pure breeze, and off to the wind I went. Making my own roads, stopping for no one. People like Eggman want to stop people like me, but even that wasn't going to keep me from soaring. I wanted to prove to myself that I was the top gun, wanted to prove that to everybody. I wanted everyone to know I was leaping star to star.
Who needs friends or teammates when you're already flying? Allies would just slow me down, I would hinder me, hold me back from doing the very best that I could possibly be doing. I was a soloist, independent and real proud of it. Who could go toe-to-toe with me? That's right, nobody. I was the center of the universe, and I'd singlehandedly got myself there.
And then I met you, Tails.
Sonic paused for a brief moment, looking down at the words he'd written on the formerly blank paper. The black ink was dimly illuminated by the orange twilight that bled through the window. The final hour of daylight had begun.
The hedgehog had trouble bringing himself out of bed that morning, just like every other morning for the past few weeks. He didn't seem to radiate that same sense of confidence anymore. Today was the day he'd finally mustered up the will to confront the ailment in his soul, and he sat himself down at his tiny wooden desk and began writing.
He mused quietly for a few moments on what to write next, then went on:
I didn't think very much of you when you first came racing towards me with a big, goofy smile and big obsessing eyes. You were so small, so cute and innocent with your little squeaky voice and swinging locks of hair on top of your head.
It was right after I'd saved your butt from Eggman. I think he was gonna stuff you in one of those animal containers he used to use.
…
"Sonic!" A bright yellow fox squealed in delight as he scampered away from the wreckage along with several other critters.
Turning his head, Sonic saw the fox and smirked a little. It seemed the kiddies were starting to learn about his heroism. "You're welcome, kid."
The twin rotating tails behind the fox amused Sonic. He'd never seen anything quite like it. They were very noticeable too; huge and fluffy with white tufts at the end.
His fanboy skidded to a halt, stopping mere inches away from Sonic. The hedgehog backed a step away chuckling in surprise at the fox's enthusiasm. The child hopped up and down energetically on his tiny feet, beaming up at his idol. "I always hear travelers and townsfolk about all the awesome stuff you do, and now I get to see you! This is SO cool!"
Sonic shook his head with a raised brow shrugging. "Just doing what I do, y'know? Like I said, you're welcome. Go home to mom and dad now though, they're probably worried about y-"
"But I don't, uh...have a mom and dad." The boy admitted, losing a bit of the bounce in his body. "The people at the orphanage in my town take care of me."
"I see..." Sonic said nodding and biting his lip uncomfortably. With just one question, the whole conversation had become awkward now. He felt a little sorry for mentioning parents to a little orphan boy and exceedingly wished to change the subject now. "Wh-What's your name?"
"Everybody calls me Miles, because that's what the caretakers decided to name me. Miles Prower." The fox said putting on a minuscule frown.
"Miles Prower?" Sonic asked as he choked back a laugh while briefly clenching his hand into a fist.
"Yup, and I don't like it at all...I hate it." Miles muttered. He put his hands together behind his back, looking down a little. His eyes stared blankly ahead at Sonic's chest, spacing out.
The hedgehog swallowed his pride for a moment and cocked his head down at Miles. Poor kid doesn't have parents, nor does he even have a name he likes. He didn't have any shoes either, Sonic realized. His little feet were stained with pale dust and had slight traces of mushed green grass around the sides of his feet. He must've come from a very poor orphanage or town.
It was only then that Sonic realized passersby who had come to see the aftermath of his short battle with Eggman were watching him. He looked back down to Miles and thought for a moment before saying, "Hey, how 'bout you come on a little trip with me? Like, a little adventure or something.".
Miles looked back up at his hero and opened his eyes more widely. "H-Huh? I-I mean, yeah! I'd love to!" His smile returned just as fast as it had disappeared, and he began resuming his little adorable hops again. "Let's go already! I don't wanna wait any longer!"
"Wait! Chill for a second kiddo..." Sonic said as he grabbed Miles' shoulders and kept him still. He looked down at the fox's little feet and said with a warm laugh in his voice, "Let's at LEAST get you some shoes so you don't cut up your feet. I can spare a few rings for a good pair.".
Sonic didn't think it was possible, but somehow, the boy lightened up even more and said with a voice that can only be described as ultimate purity, "...You'd do that...for me?".His voice said it all. His hero, who he practically worshipped, was going to buy him something he never thought his caretakers could scrape together enough money to get him. And it would be at no expense of his.
The hedgehog nodded without hesitation and smiled, patting his head. "Yeah, let's go get you some. Right now." He glanced briefly at observers, who smiled. He heard an emotional "Awwww..." somewhere behind him. Sonic scooped Miles' onto his shoulders, earning a giggle from the fox.
As he walked, he glanced up at his passenger. "So, don't like the name Miles, mm?"
The fox shook his head no firmly and said with a smug smile, "Mm-mm!". His tails wavered like tree branches behind him and brushed against Sonic's back.
The hedgehog went silent for a few seconds before suddenly suggesting, "How 'bout a nickname? I was thinking something like...Tails...yeah, Tails.".
Miles seemed confused at first and cocked his head. "Tails? Why would you call me th-" He stopped speaking and realized the meaning behind the proposed byname. "Oh, I get it."
"But do you LIKE it though?" Sonic questioned as he adjusted the fox more cozily on his shoulders and continued walking.
"It sounds cooler than Miles...I do like it, yeah!" The fox chimed brightly, laughing out of happiness. Sonic smiled with satisfaction and nodded to himself.
"Yeah, Tails...you're Tails now."
…
I didn't ever consider what I'd just started. I didn't know I'd just kicked off the start of a beautiful friendship...I think it's better that I didn't know. That made the process so genuine, so unexpected to me.
For months after that, I was your idol; your knight in shining armor. You followed me around everywhere, remaining by my side long after I thought you would've turned back.
The thing I think surprised me even more than your loyalty was how smart you were.
I had a feeling you were brainy. Everywhere we went, you picked up books, wrote stuff, drew pictures, all those things...at the time, you were way too young to even understand half of what you read...at least I thought so. Apparently, you were a fast learner; picking up stuff left and right. I think you read and wrote better than I could ever hope!
You never stopped surprising and amazing me, Tails. Who expects to walk out of an inn looking for their kid and finding him working on a full sized plane?
…
It only took around ten minutes of searching for Sonic to find Tails on the outskirts of the city they spent a night at. He saw a young kit with recognizable twin tails standing at the propeller of a crude looking plane, working away and totally unaware of his observer's presence.
"Tails!" Sonic said as he came up behind him. The sudden bark of his name made the fox flinch a little and turn his head over his shoulders. Tails saw Sonic and smiled. There were streaks of black grease along his once clean white muzzle and several more streaks splotched unevenly all over his body.
"Hey! Morning!" Tails said as he turned his head back to the propeller, using a wrench to secure it to the front. He pressed his tongue between his lips, occasionally grunting with strain as he worked.
Sonic put his hands on his hips and looked at the crudely built aircraft in wonderment and amusement. "You made this…?"
"Uh-huh." Tails managed to mumble as he winced, twisting his wrist and securing a bolt inside the engine.
"Where'd you even get the stuff to do this dude?" Sonic asked.
"Don't worry about it." was Tails' only response as he grinned and stepped off, admiring his work. From the look of it, the plane was used from junkyard pieces. It looked rather unsafe.
Tails began climbing into the cockpit. Sonic saw him and stepped forward, reaching out to grab his leg and halt him as he said, "Waitwaitwaitwait, hold up!".
But Tails was intent on flying his creation no matter what. He grinned mischievously as he started the plane, and with a loud thundering crack, black fumes immediately began pouring out of the engine as the propellers swerved and spun with rising intensity.
"Hahah! It's working Sonic it's working!" Tails exclaimed in accomplishment as he clutched the control stick in his smudged white gloves. The engine sounded another loud crack as a small flame erupted.
Sonic felt the danger of the situation and quickly leapt upwards towards Tails, grabbing him and lunging out of the plane much to Tails' chagrin. The two landed and began rolling down the hill as the plane stuttered and puked even more fumes.
At the bottom, Tails lifted his head from the grass with Sonic laying beside him. The two watched as the engine revved loudly and shook the craft uncontrollably in a violent nature before suddenly poofing out a cloud of black smoke and ceasing all movements.
Tails smirked a little and sighed in relief, turning his head to Sonic. "Nothing too bad was gonna happen, Sonic. I was safe the whole t-"
A monstrous boom thudded their ears harshly as the entire plane disappeared in a ball of intensely bright flames, sending the propeller rocketing into the sky like a deadly shuriken star.
When he could hear clearly again, Sonic turned his half lidded eyes towards Tails, who had lowered his head shamefully by now. The fox mumbled weakly, "That uh...clearly wasn't supposed to happen.".
Sonic took a heavy breath of air and shook his head. "Tails, don't do stuff like that again...you could've really hurt somebody, badly."
"I'm sorry Sonic...I just wanted to make something that might've helped you against Eggman someday." Tails explained as he sat up and hugged his knees to his chest, watching his devastated plane burn with gloomy eyes.
Sonic hadn't expected to hear this. He wanted to help in his quarrels with Eggman...there was nothing wrong with that. Tails wanted to prove himself capable of helping the hero out. He just needed a safer way to do that.
"If you wanted to do that..." Sonic began, "...start salvaging stuff from Eggman's robots and machines. Hopefully that'll be a lot safer."
Tails glanced at Sonic and said with a quiet voice lightly streaked with hope, "...Really?".
The hedgehog nodded and patted Tails' shoulder, sighing a bit and smiling to cheer him up. "You bet."
The fox mustered a subtle curve in his lips, smiling and looking back up the hill watching his wreckage burn with Sonic.
…
I think I really started getting attached to you once we defeated Eggman together, once and for all it seemed. A year after your little plane incident, Eggman had his entire floating fortress up in the sky, headed straight for the atmosphere and into space. I wouldn't have even been able to get up there without your newly built plane. Took around the entirety of the year before to build it.
I remember you got scared from the explosion, all the debris and stuff. Your plane got totaled by the wreck, and somehow we both survived the crash. You were real shaken up though, that's what I remember most about the whole thing.
…
Sonic sat beside the destroyed plane with Tails with a look of fatigue on his face. Eggman had narrowly escaped his Death Egg just as it exploded, but it would be long before he ever pulled something as ambitious as this.
He took a big breath of air and breathed out, looking at the sky. Tails trembled as he sat on the ground, rocking lightly with his hands in his lap. He shuddered every now and then, breathing quiet fast breaths.
Sonic looked at him and asked him tiredly, "Thanks buddy...you did good.".
Tails didn't respond. He continued rocking lightly and hugged his knees.
The hedgehog swallowed and sat up straight, asking with a genuine concern in his voice as he put his hands on Tails shoulders, "Hey hey hey hey, what's wrong? Look at me, look at me Tails.".
The kit turned his trembling head to Sonic and felt his lip quiver as he panted and let out a brief subtle squeal of a breath. He was still in shock and felt a need to be taken care of. He tried to speak, but no words would come.
Sonic clearly saw the trouble in his eyes and said soothingly, "It's okay, you're okay Tails." He pointed to himself and assured his friend, "I'm okay too, we're both just fine, alright?".
Tails barely managed to nod and gulped, looking down quickly as his eyes watered up. He felt shameful for shedding tears, and he wished Sonic would stop watching him. It was embarrassing; degrading, in a sense.
Sonic let silence reign for a moment or two before asking with a half smile, "You think I wasn't scared too?".
"Huh…?" Tails mumbled as he glanced at Sonic, wiping his eyes.
Sonic looked out into the distance, cocking his head and nodding to himself about something. "I'm not fearless or anything Tails, I feel scared just like you do...you gotta turn that fear into determination though, or it'll eat your little heart up."
Tails took this into consideration and asked, "Wh-What do you mean, Sonic…?".
Sonic looked back at the fox and scooted closer to him. "What do I mean? Listen to this: today was the scariest day of my life so far. Up in space against a crazy scientist with an entire army of killer robots, that's scary stuff...when I was up there, I knew everything down here on Earth was doomed if I lost. You'd be doomed if I lost..."
Tails peered at Sonic, wanting the meaning of his words. "Y-Yeah, I know...wh-why tell me this though?"
"Because I didn't spend my time just being afraid of losing. I used that as my reason to carry on and keep fighting. I'd made up my mind that I wasn't going to lose you no matter what. Get what I'm saying? Turn that fear into courage by telling yourself you WON'T let what you're afraid of happen." Sonic finished as he smiled and hugged Tails in a warm embrace.
The fox sat there in silence, holding onto Sonic as he thought about what he'd just been told. He looked out beyond the horizon as he rested his chin on Sonic's shoulder, and a confident smile appeared on his muzzle.
…
From that day on, I realized we belonged with each other, Tails. You and me, buddy. I was happy to be there for you when you needed me. For when you needed a good laugh on a gloomy day. Or when you needed a shoulder to cry on. For when you felt too shy and insecure to talk to girls, and for when you wanted someone to appreciate and love you.
You made me what I am today, teaching me without either of us even aware of it. I dropped my snarky attitude and became more sociable because of you. You helped me realize that friendships aren't liabilities, but rather the greatest thing that another living being can have.
Sonic stopped writing for a moment to catch his breath. He realized that he'd been holding his breath for a while now, doing his best to contain his emotions. His eyes felt tired and burned lightly with tears as he choked them back and managed to keep moving his pen.
I went with you on an incredible journey through life. I was there for the times we got along…
…
"I love you dude...you're the best, Sonic..." Tails said smiling as he buried his face into Sonic's shoulder as the two hugged. A birthday cake with several glowing candles sat on the table beside them in the dimly lit kitchen.
Sonic nodded his head and closed his eyes smiling as he patted Tails' back. "I love you too buddy..."
…
The pen kept moving, though it trembled in Sonic's hand as he kept writing.
I was there for the times we didn't get along…
…
"I HATE you Sonic! I can help you, but you're too full of yourself to accept ANY help!" Tails yelled angrily as he savagely pushed the hedgehog's hand away and stormed off to his plane to leave Eggman's airship.
Sonic watched him go sadly as he mumbled to himself, "This was too dangerous, I just want you safe, Tails..."
…
I'm so glad we got to share all these experiences together, my life wouldn't have been the same if we hadn't.
That's why it's so hard to say goodbye to you…
I wanted you to not go against Eggman by yourself. I told you you weren't ready, told you that you should never go against him without me by your side. You didn't listen to me, and now…
Sonic stopped writing and grit his teeth as a single tear rolled down his cheek. He lowered his head and softly cried to himself. The pen fell out of his fingertips and lay on the paper.
His grief was overwhelming him again. So badly he wished Tails was there right now, that's all he wanted. Nothing else in existence could help.
After a short two minutes of rest, Sonic raised his head again with a newfound smile on his lips as more tears rolled down his cheeks. He sniffled and crossed out the last line of words he wrote, continuing onward.
It's hard to say goodbye to you, I don't want to. Every fiber of my body is telling me to reach out and never let go, but I have to. It's time. I can't keep waking up every day to this horrible depression.
My heart feels empty without you, Tails...I miss you so much…
I spent the past years of my life looking out for you, helping you grow up and wanting you to have the best life I could give you, and I regret none of it. I'm so happy I bought that little orphan fox his first pair of shoes. I'm so happy I saved that smart kid from hurting himself in his handcrafted plane. I'm so happy that brave hero saved me just as many times that I saved him.
I wish we could've gotten old together. You were too young Tails, life had so much more in store for you, and I was ready to help you see it all…
I've been stumbling around in darkness, trying to find light, or at least someone to share the darkness with…
You would hate to see me like this, I know you would. So that's what I'm gonna try to do; gonna do what you'd want me to do. It's your turn to look after me now, wherever you are.
Sonic paused for a moment and looked out the window at the setting sun. No one knows what comes after death; whether there's an afterlife or something beyond even that concept. He turned back to his paper.
So I finish this epitaph, tribute letter, whatever it is on the promise that I will never forget you. I'll carry on and try to bring the joy that you brought to me to others.
Goodbye, Tails.