Here it is, the remake of my first ever fanfic, 'A Friend In Need Is a Friend Indeed'. Thank you for the patient wait. Those of you who are new, there is no need to read the first version, as I've decided to diverge from that story's plot to make it more coherent.
Before we begin, I have to talk about how the story will be different:
1. Only flashbacks of the team coming together will be written in first person past tense. The rest of the story will shift into third person past tense. I've realised I have a sorry time writing in first person perspective, so the change will make it easier for me to write better and longer chapters.
2. The properties of Sonic's affliction have been changed. The progression will be largely similar to the other version, but they will result in something different.
3. Many story elements were tweaked.
4. I made it a goal to improve the characters to make them less OOC, and I made special focus on Shadow with this since his portrayal was way off. The only OOC one you should expect is Sonic, but if anyone else is off, please let me know.
5. This one will mainly star Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Amy, Shadow, and to a lesser extent, Silver and Rouge. Other characters such as the Chaotix, Blaze and Cream are toned down as they really didn't have a purpose in the last story other than just being there for the sake of being there.
6. I eased up a bit on the Sonamy.
7. The story will most likely be longer than last time.
I want to improve this story to the best of my ability, and I hope my efforts show. Without further adieu, here is the remake of 'A Friend In Need Is a Friend Indeed'. The current update schedule for this story is once every two weeks, due to other fics and me starting college.
Chapter 1- Spike
To this day, I still have no idea what compelled me to go back to Future City that night. Perhaps it was the feeling of nostalgia, or some other invisible or mental force telling me I needed to go. I don't care what it was. I'm just glad I ended up going back, nonetheless, because the events that happened were a twist of fate.
It was a warm Tuesday night, at around eleven o'clock. I was on a 'quick' shopping trip for tools (mostly because extended use had busted them up badly) and only one tool shop was open that time of night that had what I needed... in a town two cities over from where I lived. The surrounding area was eerily quiet, and I'm not ashamed to admit I was scared. Yeah, I know what you're thinking.
'But Tails, can't you just fly out of danger?'
Fair point, but you'd be surprised what fear can do to a guy. Sometimes, it can make me forget my two namesakes exist. Granted, only lightning can consistently do that, but still.
I would have called it a night and started the trek back to my home hours ago. It wasn't that long a flight back, after all, but I didn't want to come back the next morning for a shop that was so far into the busy downtown area, especially during the day. Too many people riding their Extreme Gear like lunatics and messing up both land and air traffic. I just wanted to get the whole thing over with now.
After a good twenty minutes of walking around aimlessly in the near empty city, with only the blindingly lit billboards capable showing me the directorial signs, I had finally found the shop I was looking for, right at the corner across the street. I flew across since the coast was clear and I was in a rush, and landed right at the front door.
To my complete and utter dismay, it was closed. And from the lights still on in the back from what I could see, I just missed closing.
"You've GOTTA be kidding me…" I groaned, pressing my forehead against the door in frustration. Finally calling it a night, I was gonna turn back then and there when I heard a weak moan coming from nearby. My ears perked and swiveled around, trying to find the source. I deduced it must have come from a nearby alley, and I started to slowly walking around and combing through each along the strip until I found my answer. Not four alleys away from the shop did I find the source.
"Sonic…?" I asked in disbelief, and went running to the trash bin my friend was lying down in front of. I crouched next to him and he looked at me blearily, his eyes dull and unfocused.
By closer inspection, he was in a pretty bad state. One of his arms lie limp and broken by his side. He twitched periodically, and a few harsh coughs erupted from him. He muttered something under his breath. Something I couldn't make out because his words were slurring badly. His fur was matted and caked in something purple, sticky, and strong smelling. One small whiff and I knew exactly what it was.
"Mega Mack…" I said under my breath. It had to be Dr. Eggman's doing; only he had any sort of access to the toxic compound. I had to get the stuff off of him as soon as possible, so I reached for the water bottle I had packed and dumped it onto him, having very little options. The water grew warm in my bag, but the air managed to chill it and help Sonic come back to his senses.
"Tails…?" He said to me drowsily, still trying to come around.
"C'mon, we need to get you to the hospital." I tried helping him up, but he vigorously squirmed and shook his head when I did so. I had forgotten he's not the most comfortable around hospitals. His senses mixed with the high amount of doctors play havoc with him and make him hyper alert. You could easily blame Eggman for this.
"Then where am I supposed to take you? You need to get the rest of that Mega Mack off of you ASAP!"
He muttered something else into my ear before starting a fast track into unconsciousness. An address. HIS address.
He spent so much time living with me when I still lived in Future City that I had completely forgotten he had his own place.
He had no idea how late it actually was, long since ignoring the clock and instead focusing on his important work: reading energy spikes.
All over the city, Tails had detected unexplained spikes of Chaos energy, unrelated to any activity usually created by the Chaos Emeralds. This Chaos energy was different than what the emeralds normally created. It felt foreboding. Black. Sinister in a fashion.
Negative.
Negative Chaos energy, unlike positive, is no laughing matter. This particular type in large quantities is capable of warping minds, turning those with negative emotions into rampaging juggernauts or powerful monsters. Only people who can properly control the power isn't corrupted by it in some way, whether it be disposition or form enabling them.
The energy around the world is usually perfectly mixed, the mix coming undone when an excessively good or evil entity is present. The fact that negative outweighs positive is a bad sign.
And that was Tails' purpose at the end of the day: Trying to figure out the source of the spike so he and his friends could be properly prepared. It wouldn't be pretty when he found the source, certainly, but at least they would be ready.
He heard a knock at the door and found it was four in the morning, causing him to groan exhaustedly
"Tails, I know you're still up. I can see the lights from the other side of the hall," Sonic's equally tired voice could be heard saying from the other side. "Can you let me in for a minute?"
What else was Tails to do? He couldn't just turn his best friend down. Not again after Tails shooed him away so many times in just that day. The hedgehog was only worried, after all. After a pause, Tails pressed the button to his lab door and let Sonic in, who looked like he had just woken up from a deep sleep. Tails felt guilty that his work was keeping Sonic up, but he had to do was needed to be done.
"So, uh… how's it coming?" Sonic started awkwardly.
"Not so great. I ruled out all other cities in the world but this one, and I still have no leads. All I know is that there's a large spike and it's bothering me." Sonic nodded in understanding, yawning a little.
"Well if you know it's here then shouldn't it be easier to find?" Tails shook his head for an answer.
"Not exactly," the fox went on, "Because it's in a confined area, it makes it harder to pinpoint an origin. If I just keep looking for a little longe-"
"I don't think so, man," Sonic said, crossing his arms and chuckling to himself softly. "At the rate you're going, we're all gonna be tired in the morning. Knux and Shads are already down in the living room cause the lights are so bright and they aren't too happy about it. You're probably gonna hear it from them the next time they see ya." The echidna and black hedgehog were clearly fighting over the couch down there and it didn't sound like one of them would quit any time soon.
"Leave it to Sonic to warn me about my obvious death sentence." Tails thought with a shudder.
The two of them winced when they heard a decidedly feminine growl of frustration from down the hall.
"Make that Knuckles, Shadow, AND Amy now. I'm not saying you HAVE to quit, but…"
"It's alright, pal. You're right; I should probably call it a night." Sonic smiled in relief as Tails shut him computers off and the house became blissfully dark again. The fox followed Sonic out of the room and finally everyone could get some shut-eye.
Unfortunately, because Tails' computers were off, they didn't pick up how the spike concentrated directly outside their house.