Disclaimer, I do not own Sonic the Hedgehog.
Amadeus sat in his wheelchair, on the front porch of his small house. The small farm sat on the outskirts of a small town. The massive corns fields, old barn, and second workshop portrayed a modest farmer. The average person would have never guessed he was a retired, five star general.
He sighed and puffed on his corncob pipe. His old eye patch was dirty from his daily ride on his tractor. His pant's legs were neatly folded up to the ends of his missing legs. He smiled at his wife when she stepped out the front door.
Rosemary Prower, like her husband was getting up in age and was retired. She was a former politician, which was how they had met so long ago. She was in her favorite red dress today. She was holding two glasses of lemonade.
"I got a letter from Miles yesterday." Rosemary said as she handed him one.
"How is he?" he replied.
"Just fine, he said they were supposed to be coming home in two months." she said.
He looked up and smiled at her. "That's great."
The old couple sat next to each other, quietly, for a long time. The silence was broken by a car. Amadeus leaned forward in his chair to see who it was. His heart dropped when he saw a black car slowly approaching. The old fox unlocked his wheels and rolled to the ramp to meet them.
"Who is it?" Rosemary asked.
"I don't know." he replied. As the car got closer he could see a red echidna and blue hedgehog in it. Both were in military dress uniforms. "No…" he gasped.
"Amadeus?"
When the car was close enough, it stopped and the passenger, the echidna slowly got out. He recognized his uniform and medals. He was a sergeant. The echidna leaned heavily on a cane as he approached. The blue hedgehog slowly got out as well and jogged to catch up to him. When he saw the letter in his other hand, Amadeus felt his heart stop. His worst fear had been realized. Now he was about to get the paperwork.
"Mister and Misses Prower?" he said.
"Y-yes." Rosemary replied, putting her hand on her husband's shoulder, fearing the worst. The echidna slowly handed the letter to the retired general.
"I'm sorry to report. Private Miles Prower has fallen in combat." he said. Almost instantly, Rosemary collapsed. The hedgehog dove to catch her keep her from hitting the gravel. For the first time in years, Amadeus felt his hands shaking as he slowly opened the letter. "He was the bravest soldier I've ever fought with at his age." the sergeant said as the hedgehog fanned the older fox.
When the sergeant, and retired general made eye contact, the sergeant gave a solute. The general quickly returned the gesture, and looked back down at the paper. For the first time since he found out he was a father, he felt a tear roll down his face.
"Is there anything we can do, sir?" the echidna asked.
"No…just…" Amadeus was shaking badly as he tried to absorb what he'd just heard. "Hu…how did he…?" he wanted to know, but he couldn't bare to finish the question. Beside him he heard his wife crying as the hedgehog tried to comfort her.
"Sniper. Took us all by surprise. He nearly took off my leg just before I pegged him. Tails didn't feel a thing." he said slowly, and as soft as he could. Amadeus covered his mouth and began to breathe hard.
"Thank you. That is all." he said, turning his chair to face his wife. He picked her up and embraced her.
"Here is my number, if you need anything, I'll do whatever I can." the echidna held out a card.
It'd been a week since he'd found out the fate of his only son. Amadeus felt numb as he rode his tractor through his corn fields. Rosemary hadn't left the house since. She cried every night, and could barely even cook or take care of herself. Amadeus was used to putting tragedies and troubles out of his mind. To push them away and not let them bother him. But this…this was different.
No matter how he tried to occupy himself, he just couldn't push it away. The last time he'd seen his son's face. The last time he'd hugged him. It felt like a hot iron to his head, but he knew better than to try and ignore it. He knew from experience to push a painful memory away would only become a more hideous one later.
The old war fox suddenly stopped his tractor. He turned it off, and rubbed his face again. Once again, he felt himself crying uncontrollably. He looked back at his house, to the workshop he and his son had built together. Tails had spent so much time in there. He could remember having to go get him and remind him to eat, since he would get so caught up in his inventing.
Why? He thought. Why was he taken from him. Was all his years of fighting and leading countless men to victory not enough? Did he perhaps make a fatal mistake that was now coming back to haunt him?
He rolled up to the workshop, which was always locked. In his hand he held the key. A thing he hadn't touched in two weeks now. Before he only entered it to keep it tidy for when he…but now it burdened him to even look at the key.
He sighed as he reached up, and inserted the key into the lock. He listened to it click as it was unlocked and he opened the door. He rolled in and turned on the lights.
On all four walls, countless tools were neatly organized and hanging, ready for use. The counters were clean, but scratched up from use. On the other side of the building was two large doors, which were securely locked. In the middle of the room, rested a large, unfinished airplane. It'd always been Tails's dream to become an ace pilot, but…
"That damned draft!" Amadeus snarled without thinking. Very well, as the war had edged on, the draft had been instated, and a week later, Tails got a letter. He was pulled into the paratroopers. Even Amadeus had tried to convince them that he should be a pilot, but the recruiters wouldn't listen. They needed all the foot soldiers they could get. Even if it meant throwing away good talent.
It was their fault! If they'd've made him a pilot, he'd still be alive. He'd be home with him right now, finishing his Tornado!
Amadeus came to his senses and realized he was heaving, and had been squeezing the key in his hand. He looked down at it, realized that he'd managed to cut through his fur and into his skin. Just as he wiped away a tear, he felt a soft hand on his shoulder again. Rosemary was standing behind him, holding him in her arms. He gently placed his hands on hers.
"I wish I could've been with him." he admitted, his voice shaking.
"I know, I do too." she replied. The old couple held each other again, thinking of their late son.
More time than Amadeus had cared to count had now passed. It was the first long period of days he refused to keep track of. Once again, he sat in his wheelchair, on his front porch. The harvest was over. All the farming that he wanted to do was done. His farmhands would take care of everything else before winter set in.
He sighed as he looked out into the sunset. It'd been so long now. Rosemary was up and about again, but the shine in her eyes he'd known for so many years was gone. He sighed as his mind ran through it all again.
Just as he was getting ready to head in for the day, he heard something. He leaned forward in his chair again to look down his driveway. It was the black car again. The very same one. And he could see the same hedgehog and echidna in the front. But this time, he saw a third figure in the back, but he couldn't see who it was.
He unlocked his brakes, and rolled off his porch to meet them. Whatever reason they had for coming, he wanted them to stay away from his wife and his home.
The car slowly came to a stop. He waited calmly for them, though he had no intention of being hospitable, or at least kind. The two in front got out more quickly than they had before. The echidna stepped to the back, no longer using a cane, and opened the door. The third figure stepped out, dressed in his uniform, a dress hat on his head, and a corporal patch on his shoulder.
Amadeus swore if he wasn't still as hardened as he was, he'd've had a heart attack, right then and there. But he still could barely keep himself from trying to jump out of his chair to hug him.
"TAILS!" he shouted, losing control of himself.
"Hi Dad." Miles replied. Amadeus rolled himself as fast as his old arms could, and nearly rammed him in excitement. Tails bent down to hug him.
"My God, I thought you were dead." he cried happily as he held his son in his arms.
"I thought I was for a long time." Tails replied, hugging him back. "How's Mom?"
Amadeus let go, and turned in his chair. "Ro…" he began to call out, but when he looked, he saw her, standing on the front porch, just as she dropped a vase with a rose in it.
"Tails…" she said weakly. Tails looked at her and took a step forward.
"Mom." he replied. "I'm home."
"Tails!" she bolted for him, faster than Amadeus had seen her run in a while. She hit him so hard, the old fox had to push him back to keep him from falling on him. He could hear her sobbing heavily as she held him. It took Tails a few seconds to recover and hold her in his arms.
"Thank you. Thank you so much," Amadeus pulled the sergeant's hand and shook it harder than he meant to.
"You're welcome, sir. The paperwork is in the mail to pronounce him still alive." he replied, "He's now Corporal Miles Prower."
"I don't know what to say. I just can't thank you enough for this." Amadeus said.
"It's our pleasure, sir." the sergeant looked at him, and gave a solute. Amadeus quickly gave one back. Honestly, he wanted to hug him, but he didn't feel it was proper. "He has two weeks leave before we need him to come back to decide what he wants to do now. We'll come back to give him a ride, if you like."
Amadeus shook his head as Rosemary slowly let Tails go, and looked at him.
"I just can't believe you're back!" Rosemary said. She was so excited she could barely control her hands as she tried to cook.
"So you're a Corporal. That's just under a Sergeant, isn't it?" Amadeus said.
"Yeah. I had got a field promotion after they found me. Sarge said he couldn't believe he was seeing me walking up to him."
"What happened? He told me you were hit by a sniper."
"He hit me here," Tails pointed to his left temple. Very well, he could see a large scar along it. "Bullet skimmed me just deep enough to knock me out, but not kill me. I bled so much, and Sarge was already hit himself, he thought I was dead, and pulled my tag."
"How did you survive?" Rosemary asked, having turned and looked when she heard him talking. Tails hesitated.
"A medic found me." he said, looking down at the table. Amadeus paused as he watched him. He didn't want to say it, but he could tell there was more to the story. "Hey Mom, what are you cooking?" he asked.
"Your favorite. Chili dogs." she said, opening a pack of hotdogs.
"Have you done anything to the plane, Dad?" he asked, looking at him.
"No, just as I promised, I only kept it clean." he said. Now he wasn't telling the whole truth. Since he hadn't been in the shop for nearly two weeks.
"We should go work on it," Tails said, beginning to stand.
"No, let's just stay here and talk, you've been away for so long," Rosemary said. Tails looked at her, and he finally sat down.
"What would you like to talk about?" he asked.
"Have you been writing to Cosmo?"
"No, I lost her new address when I was moving my gear. I had fallen into a river and it got soaked." he said, "How has she been?"
"Good, she usually comes by every other week, but she said she had moved out and had to work nearly everyday to make the down payment on her apartment. She hasn't come by for a while now. You should go see her tomorrow."
"Yeah, I'll do that." he said.
Tails gasped when he woke up, his eyes wild as he quickly sat up. He was sweating hard, and could feel his pajamas now soaked. His nightmares still haunting him as he tried to stand, but felt too weak at first. He looked out his window and saw the brilliant rising sun. It was a beautiful mixture of red and orange over the blanket of mist that settled over the large corn fields.
He slowly caught his breath as he calmed himself down. When he was in control again, he finally got up and stepped toward his door.
The twin tailed fox took a cold shower, and got dressed in his combat uniform. He tucked his pants into his boots, and made sure he looked descent before stepping out of his room.
When he stepped into the kitchen, he found that his parents were still in bed. He looked in the fridge and found some leftovers from last night. He ate only one 'dog, and went outside. He could barely force himself to keep it down. The previous night, he managed to hold his meal down long enough that his mother was in bed before he lost it in the bathroom.
He wasn't sure why, but he could barely keep anything down lately. The doctor told him it was because his stomach was just too used to small, dried out meals and plain water, and he should be able to hold down regular food in a week or so.
As he sat on the front porch, his boots resting in the soft grass that had been freshly cut at least two days ago. He was relieved when he felt his stomach finally settle some time later. He sat there for at least an hour before he heard the door open.
"Oh, you're awake." he heard his father's voice. Tails looked over his shoulder at him.
"Hey," he simply said.
"Your mother's cooking pancakes, if you're hungry." he said.
"No thanks, I ate a hotdog." he replied. There was an awkward silence between them. Tails finally broke it, "I'm gonna check the mail." he stood up.
"Alright, she'll put yours in the fridge if you change your mind." he said as he watched him begin to walk away. Tails slowly began to jog as he started down the long driveway toward their mailbox.
Slowly his mind shifted. Suddenly, he was there again. Running for his life.
"Look out!" Tails heard Sarge's voice from behind him. He looked up as he heard the hissing of artillery. He dove without thinking, to his left just as it exploded way too close to him. The shockwave didn't move him, but he felt like someone had punched him in the stomach. He quickly picked himself up, and felt someone grab his arm and pull him along. He realized it was Sonic.
"There!" he pointed toward the trench they were aiming for as gunfire began to zip all around them. The two dove head first into the trench as more artillery fire slammed all around them. Tails could barely breathe as he felt the air being sucked from him.
"Keep moving!" he heard someone shout. He looked over as Sonic waved for him to follow. It took everything he had to stand again, and move with them, bending over as he held onto his helmet.
Tails had never been so scared in his life. Every bullet and bomb that got close felt like it was aiming for him, chance alone keeping them for their mark. The squad kept along the trench and finally found their way to a dug in bunker. The rest of their squad fell in behind them as they regrouped inside. Several men were lining a firing line and aiming out a short, long window along the front of the bunker.
He gasped when he heard the sickening crackle and one of them fell, his face looking as though it had been pried open, blood going everywhere. It made him want to puke, but he had nothing left to chuck.
"Sergeant," Tails heard a deep, commanding voice. He looked over and saw a black and red hedgehog with a Major's patch on his shoulder, "There are two heavy artillery pits on the other side of the DMZ. When night falls, I want your squad to erase them." he said.
"How do you plan on doing that?" Knuckled replied.
"Here," he pointed at a map that was resting on a wooden table in front of them, "there's a small tunnel here that should lead you right into their trench line."
"What is it used for?"
"Our men dug it yesterday. Only one came back," he said grimly. "I won't lie, I may be sending your men into the frying pan here. But we have to take them out."
"Understood, when do we move out?"
"Dusk's about to hit. You have two hours to prepare. You came earlier than we expected. Just go down stairs, and square your guys away. We're expected to be here for a week."
The two soluted, and parted ways. "Alright marines, we're digging in and going in at dark. Put your stuff away downstairs and get prepped for a sabotage run."