Replacement by Lightning Eyes

Chapter 1: Emotional

"Where are you Sonic?" Tails whispered that question to himself for the umpteenth time.

He was sitting on a bench staring at the path out of the town. Sonic had gone down that path to fight Eggman some time ago but never returned which is the reason why Tails was sitting there. He was waiting for his big brother figures arrival as he had done yesterday, the day before, the day before that and so on. But Sonic never returned, and today officially made it 1 year since he left.

Everybody else thought Sonic had died and even went so far as to hold a funeral for him. Tails refused to go to the funeral because he believed Sonic was alive and on his way back home. In the beginning Amy was right along with Tails but over the twelve months slowly but surely she started believing the others. She turned into a zombie too; not eating, not sleeping, and she missed more days of school than ever before. Everyone knew she was infatuated with Sonic but they didn't expect her to lose herself the way she did.

"Come on." Tails urged as those thoughts invaded his mind. "I know you're coming."

It was getting dark and Tails started to feel raindrops hit his head. He gritted his teeth and refused to take his eyes off the path. As the wind began to blow more thoughts invaded Tails' mind but this time it was his friends' voices telling him the same thing they'd told him before.

He's not coming back…

Grow up, you know he died…

He's dead, and the last time I checked dead things don't come back…

He's gone forever…

I'm sorry Mr. Tails but I think Mr. Sonic isn't going to return…

Accept it and let it go…

Tears welled up in Tails' eyes but he pushed them back, refusing to let one fall. Deep down inside he knew they were right but he wanted so badly not to believe them. Sonic was the fastest thing alive, he was a hero, he was liked by all in spite of his cockiness, and more importantly he was the closest thing to a big brother Tails ever had. How could he just accept it and let it go? He wouldn't…because it wasn't true.

What started as sprinkling from the rain turned into pouring but Tails didn't move. "Sonic where are you? You'd better hurry up; it's raining and you know how much you hate water."

"Denial." A voice said behind him immediately after he said his last word.

Tails didn't turn around even though he wasn't sure who it was. He didn't respond to the person either.

"That's what you're in…denial."

Still no response from Tails. Whoever it was was just trying to deter him.

"Tails…I know it's hard." When they said that Tails knew who it was. "It was hard for me too but I've come to accept it…and I think it's about time you do too."

The tears were getting harder and harder to push back. Finally Tails spoke, his voice thick with many emotions. "…Amy how can I accept something that isn't right? He's not dead; Eggman's just putting up a better fight than usual."

This is usually the point where the others got mad and told Tails to grow up but not Amy, she sympathized with him. In fact she walked around, sat by him and stared down the path as well. She carried an umbrella and held it over both of them. No one spoke for a few minutes.

"Amy…you know he's alive." Tails broke the silence. "The others didn't have a special bond with him like we did so they're quick to believe he's dead…but I know he's not…and you do too."

Amy sighed. "I did Tails…I did. But eventually I looked at the situation closely and realized I was in denial…as you are. It's been a year now, twelve long months, neither Sonic nor Eggman returned and there has to be a reason…maybe they're both dead."

Tails shook his head constantly, refusing to believe her words that made so much sense. "No, no, no…"

"Tails!" Amy shouted suddenly and dropped the umbrella. Lightning flashed across the sky and thunder boomed seconds after it. She grabbed his face and forced his to look at her. She then spoke in a softer tone than before. "He's not coming back."

Tails, wide eyed and surprised, just stared at her. Her skin was paler than her usual pink self, her hair was out of control, and her blue eyes were cold and dead. Her face and her words struck him harder than one of Rouge's kicks could. When Amy saw that he got the point she let him go and faced the path again.

"It's okay to be emotional Tails…but don't do anything stupid." She said softly and picked up her umbrella.

Tails still stared at her as if he was stuck in a trance. The raindrops felt like tiny needles to him but he still didn't move a muscle. Amy looked back at him once more before sighing and heading back to her house.

Tears suddenly poured out of Tails' eyes like a waterfall. All this time wasted waiting for him…missing Sonics only funeral…it was all for nothing…because he was dead…and he wasn't coming back.

All of this was hurting Tails in a pain indescribable. After a few minutes he couldn't take sitting on that bench any longer. He jumped up and headed home, his walking turning into flying in only seconds. When he finally got to his house he immediately ran into his lab where all his inventions were. All his inventions Sonic supported and even tried out. With tears still falling Tails began to get angry. He wasn't sure at what but he didn't care; his anger turned into hostility quickly. With his misplaced anger Tails began destroying everything; all his plans and inventions were being demolished.

"Why? Why? Why?" he shouted repeatedly while destroying.

That's when Tails spotted all his tools in a corner and started for them. He stopped when he saw a picture of himself and Sonic laughing. Where had those days gone? Underneath the picture were various parts that could be used to make something helpful. There was also a piece of Sonics hair near from a machine that caused Sonic to lose all of his hair. Tails looked at the tools, parts, hair and picture again and then got an idea.

He wiped the tears away and grinned. "It's not over, he's coming back."

Tails gathered the items and began to chuckle at the thought of it being over. His chuckle turned into a laugh and Tails began to analyze parts. It was far from over…in fact it was just the beginning.

"I'm going to make Sonic a replacement."

This is just the beginning, trust me. So thanks for choosing my story and reading it. Now all you have to do is review. Make me happy by telling me your thoughts, good or bad! Thanks again!