The past you cannot forget or undo,
The future is all we can look forward too.
I wish I could have been there by your side...
For all the times you've weeped and cried.
As the sun rose over Westside Island, a small, double-tailed fox kit slowly limped through the trees, crying softly. His thin, dirty body was covered with bruises and blood trickled from his nose. In his hands, he gently cradled the crushed remains of a small machine. The mocking voices and laughter of the bullies echoed in his ears, along with the sharp clanging of the bat as it slammed against his invention.
Nerd… mutant… two-tailed freak…
The fox, Miles Prower, coughed and whimpered softly as tears spilled from his sky blue eyes; he didn't understand why they were so mean to him. He didn't choose to be born with two tails, and he couldn't help that he liked building and repairing things.
Suddenly his ears pricked at a faint sound that sounded like a strong wind. Before he could figure out what it was, something suddenly zoomed past nearby. Miles hurried after it and stopped on the edge of a small clearing. A blue hedgehog stood there, looking around. After a moment he took off, running so fast he was almost a blur.
"Whoa!" Miles murmured, his aches and growling stomach forgotten. "That guy's cool… where's he going?"
The kit hurried through the foliage in the direction the strange hedgehog had gone, hoping he could keep up. After a while, he emerged on one of the edges of the island. His eyes widened when he saw the blue two-seater plane parked on the cliff.
"Wow!"
Eager to see more, Miles raced up to the plane and scrambled up into the cockpit. He scanned the controls with fascination.
"This thing goes real fast!" he exclaimed, then noticed a box of tools and a few cans of paint on the floor. He picked up the toolbox and started sorting through the contents. A thought slowly came him.
I bet I c'n make it go faster…
Without a second thought, he clambered down to the door leading to the motor and crawled in, examining it and making the necessary adjustments. He didn't know how he knew what to do… it just came to him. After a while he finished with the motor and began working on the chipped, faded paint. He wasn't sure why he was doing this, but he had a strange feeling that he was supposed to.
…
Sonic grinned as he ran through the forest; it would take Eggman a while to recover from the last beating he'd given him, so he had ample time for some relaxation. And now that he had time, maybe he'd finally be able to fix up his plane.
Finally he emerged from the trees into the area where he'd parked the Tornado. He was startled to see a furry orange fox cub balancing on top of it, swiping a brush across the metal surface.
"Hey!" he called. "What do you think you're doing?"
The fuzzball yelped and tumbled backward into the cockpit. Before Sonic could move any closer, the little fox jumped out and half ran, half stumbled into the bushes. Sonic started to follow but noticed the plane out of the corner of his eye. He gaped in surprise; a fresh coat of blue paint covered it.
That pipsqueak did all that?
A tiny sneeze made him back at the bushes to see something creeping toward the cover of the forest.
"Wait a minute!" he called. The figure froze, and even from a distance Sonic could see him shaking. He walked up to the bushes slowly, being careful not to get too close as not to scare him further.
"Hey, kid," he said in a gentle voice. "C'mon out, it's okay."
There was a slight rustling sound, then the little fox peeked through the bushes, still trembling. Sonic knelt on one knee, trying to get a better look.
"It's okay," he repeated. "I'm not gonna hurt you, promise."
"C-c-cross your heart?" piped a small, childish voice.
Sonic couldn't help grinning. He drew an X on his chest with a finger.
"Cross my heart."
Finally, the kit stepped out and Sonic was able to see him clearly.
He was extremely thin, almost emaciated, and his fur was mussed and streaked with dirt, his hands and feet bare. His sky blue eyes were wide and frightened, and his ears were flat against his head. But what really caught Sonic's eye was that the little fox had two tails. He was clutching one in his hands and the other was tucked between his legs.
"S-s-sorry, mister," he stammered. "But when I see a real cool m'chine, I… I can' help it."
Sonic glanced at the plane; there was no denying that it sure looked a lot better.
"Well, I like what you did with the color."
The kit's ears perked, and his eyes seemed to grow a little brighter.
"A-an' I fixed th' engine… t' make it faster."
Sonic stared incredulously at the little cub, who started shaking and held his tail even tighter.
"I-I-I'm s-sorry," he whimpered. "I-i-it works, honest!"
Sonic quickly smiled. The fox was just a little kid… he might as well humor him.
"No, it's okay," he said gently. "Mind if I try it out?"
At the little nod, he hopped in the cockpit and turned on the engine. To his great surprise, it purred on without its customary rattle and revved more powerfully than ever. After turning it off again, he climbed down and stared at the fox. Either this kid was way older than he looked, or he was a genius.
"What's your name, squirt?" he asked.
"M-Miles Prower," the kit said, then scrunched up his face as if he'd bitten something sour. "But I don' like it."
Sonic forced back an urge to laugh at the kid's expression.
"Well," he said thoughtfully. "I can't call you by a name ya don't like. Mind if I give ya a nickname?"
Miles shifted on his feet, then slowly nodded.
"Okay, then," Sonic said. His eyes moved to the little fox's double tails, something that he found absolutely fascinating. "How 'bout I call ya… Tails?"
The kit's ears pricked.
"Really?" he asked, following Sonic's look. "Y'… y' don' think they're bad?"
Sonic frowned in confusion, but shook his head.
"Nah! It looks cool."
He shifted uneasily as the newly named Tails stared at him like he'd grown an extra arm on his head.
"I'm Sonic," he finally said. "Sonic the Hedgehog."
Tails immediately dropped the tail he was holding and ran up to him, his eyes wide.
"Really? Y' are?" he exclaimed. "I hear people talkin' 'bout you! Do y' really fight tons a' bots? I don' think just one person could, but…"
Suddenly he stopped talking, looking terrified.
"I-I'm sorry!" he gasped, then coughed a few times before shrinking back. "Please don' hit me!"
"Why'd I do that?" Sonic asked, startled. Tails sniffled.
"O-other people do," he said in a small voice. Sonic was confused, until he noticed the bruises under the kit's fur and the dried blood under his nose. He forced himself not to frown, so Tails wouldn't think he was mad at him.
"Well, I won't," he said, then cocked his head. "How old are you, anyway?"
The reply almost made him fall over.
"F-four."
Sonic stared, stunned. How could this kid only be four? The way he talked, you'd have never guessed he was that young. And no four-year-old Sonic knew could work a machine like this.
"Well, uh…" he finally said. "It's gettin' late, so I can take ya home if you want. Unless your parents are around." The kit's sky blue eyes immediately grew misty.
"I don' have a mommy and daddy," he whispered. "I live in th' woods."
By now Sonic was almost in awe of this little fox. His appearance certainly made it easy to tell he'd been on his own for a long time, but how could someone so young possibly do that? But before he could say anything, he heard a loud growling sound.
"So, ya hungry?" he asked. Tails shifted as his muzzle turned pink with embarrassment. Sonic couldn't help chuckling a little.
"Well, guess this is my chance to thank you," he said. "Wait right here, 'kay?"
He zoomed off, leaving Tails looking extremely confused. Within five minutes he was speeding back with an extra large chilidog. If that didn't say thanks, he didn't know what did. When he reached the clearing Tails was sitting on the ground, fiddling with one of his namesakes. Sonic thought he could see him shivering a little, even though it wasn't very cold
Poor guy must still be scared.
"Here ya go," he said.
The kit looked up; when he saw the chilidog, his face lit up as if he'd discovered lost gold and he leaped to his feet.
"Thankyouthankyouthankyou!" he squealed as he snatched it.
Sonic's jaw dropped open as he began scarfing it down; within a few seconds he was halfway through it.
"Whoa, slow down, pal!" he laughed. "You're gonna give yourself a stomachache."
The little fox looked up, licking sauce off his muzzle.
"Sorry," he said. "It's jus' I haven't had anything this big for a… few weeks, I think."
Sonic stared at the kid; if that was true, it was no wonder he was so skinny.
"Really?"
Tails nodded as he finished the last few bites.
"Some people in town used t' give me some food, but then I started gettin' beat up when I tried t' go."
"Why?" Sonic asked, confused. Miles sniffled and glanced behind him at his twin tails with a hateful pout.
"'Cause I'm a 'feek' a nature. I think that means I… wasn' born right n' that means I'm bad for people."
He coughed again and Sonic tightened his hands into fists, wondering who could be heartless enough to treat such a sweet, innocent kid like that.
"Who says that?" he asked. Suddenly a loud voice came from nearby.
"It came from this way! Let's get him!"
Tails began shaking like a leaf, looking completely terrified.
"I-I-I-I gotta go," he stammered, backing away.
"Wait a minute…" Sonic started, but the kit ran toward the forest before he could finish. To the hedgehog's astonishment, he twisted his tails and began spinning them, making himself lift just a slight distance off the ground before he disappeared into the trees. Just a moment later, a group of bigger kids ran into the clearing. They quickly stopped when they saw Sonic, and he recognized them from town. From what little he'd seen, he already didn't like them much.
"Hey, Sonic!" the biggest yelled. "Sorry if that runt was buggin' ya… guess we didn't fix him enough! Where'd he go?"
The hedgehog immediately narrowed his eyes.
"I'm guessing you're the guys who beat him up," he said in a low voice. The bullies heard the threat in it and looked confused.
"Well, yeah," the bigger one said, as if it were perfectly normal. "We don't need a mutant freak like him hanging around."
Sonic clenched his fists, his anger reaching a dangerous level.
"Freak, huh? Just 'cause he's a little different than you, that makes him a freak? I guess that means the fact that I can run at supersonic speed means I'm a freak! Why don't ya go to town on me?"
By now the gang was all looking very uneasy, and the big kid was stammering.
"B-b-but… but you're… I…"
"Save it, I know why!" Sonic snapped. "You'd rather stick to torturing a defenseless four year old kid who can't fight back. You think that makes ya tough? It doesn't! It makes you a coward, and I don't like cowards!"
The gang members began to back away, and he smirked a bit before continuing.
"In fact, they make me mad, and I can tell ya now things don't end well when I'm mad! So get outta here before I show ya!"
The gang scattered and ran, most of them screaming like little girls. Sonic couldn't help laughing, then glanced up at a low rumble. Dark clouds were starting to gather, giving all the signs of an oncoming storm. He quickly raised the roof of the Tornado before hurrying off into the trees. The least he could do was make sure Tails was okay.
My own version of Tails and Sonic meeting; I know it's been done before, but I couldn't resist such a lovely story opportunity! I've tried to combine elements from their meetings in Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog and Sonic X and took inspiration from previous fanfics. Many of them place Tails' age at four, and I decided that was most reasonable. Sonic's can be left up to the reader. The poem at the beginning was found online to give the beginning a little more spice. Apologies if this isn't very good, and I've done my best to be original. God Bless.