Sonic and the rest are © Sega
Tails shuddered as they climbed over yet another piece of rubble. 'S-sonic, this is getting freaky…'
The royal blue hedgehog next to him ruffled the young kitsune's forehead fur. 'Don't worry about it, Tails. Shadow's destroyed the Black Arms, so there won't be any trouble down here.'
They were in the partially destroyed Sapphire City, which had suffered the brunt of the Black Arms' attack. GUN had organized several parties to both search for survivors and attempt to clear up the mess the invasion had left behind. The two Mobians had volunteered to help, and were now making their way through the desolate, eerily silent city.
The orange-furred fox poked at a burnt block of cement as they passed a dirt-smeared body. That person would never see another sunrise. Dark clouds obscured the sky, giving their surroundings a gloomy feel.
All the people who died because of this… Tails suddenly felt depressed. 'Sonic, all this destruction… will it ever end? If it's not Eggman, it's Black Doom, Mephiles, or some other villain- it keeps happening again and again! And the people of Earth just place their faith in teenagers and kids to stop this! What's the point of fighting if the bad guys keep coming again, harder and harder? It's just- just- too much! I mean, I'm just a ten-year old, and already people more than twice my age depend on me for their lives! Every decision I make can decide whether they live or not- it's just too much!' With this, Tails broke into confused, helpless tears.
He felt strong arms pick him up, cradling him, patting his head and shushing him. Through his tears, he could see Sonic, his brother's face smiling comfortingly at him. Silently, he sat down on a broken fragment of a building, letting Tails cry himself out in his lap.
The young fox sniffed and wiped his tears from his eyes. 'I'm so s-sorry, Sonic… You must think I'm such a wimp, now…'
Sonic looked Tails in the eyes seriously. 'Nope, lil' bud. Nobody said it wasn't cool to cry. Besides, you're just a kid, if you didn't cry I'd be worried!' He gave his trademark grin. 'Don't forget, if you ever need to let your feelings out, I'm here for you!'
Tails grinned back at his idol. 'Thanks, Sonic… I wish I was as strong and brave as you, then I'd be able to fight without any doubt or fear!'
'I wouldn't say I fight without fear or doubt.' Sonic gave Tails a playful ruffle on the head. 'Whenever I fight Robuttnik, I'm always afraid that I won't be fast enough, that I'll be just that second late to stop him from harming my friends. Sometimes…' Sonic had an oddly lonely look on his face. 'I even doubt the reason I fight to protect this planet. The citizens don't appreciate me anyway, so why do I fight?'
A strong gust of wind buffeted Sonic's quills around. 'But when I see you, or any other kid playing without a care in the world, I remind myself, that this is what I fight for. If we didn't fight, if Shadow didn't fight, if there was no resistance put up to those who mean to do evil, there would be yet another young person whose dreams would never be fulfilled, who would never be able to fully enjoy life. And I know I would never be able to live with that on my conscience, that I was able to save a person, but didn't.'
The blue hedgehog's eyes were passionate as he spoke, bright with both conviction and determination. 'After all, if our lives are only so short, why waste it away questioning what would have happened if we did this or that? Just do it; even if I won't make a difference in the long run, I wanna make sure that I go out burning bright. I want to be a hero.'
Tails listened, completely captivated, as the howling wind tore aside the clouds, and a golden ray of sunlight fell onto Sonic. It gave him a glowing aura, illuminating his glossy cobalt fur, and his green eyes blazed with the fire within his soul; unquenchable, bright and full of spirit.
Somehow, Tails knew that this was the reason Sonic was his idol. His spirit, so bright and unbeatable, drew others to him easily. He was a true hero, and Tails felt in his heart, right then, that he was glad to be Sonic the Hedgehog's brother.