"And then, he used the fake chaos emerald to perform chaos control anyway," Tails recalled. "And landed safely."
"Sonic can do everythin'! How'd yah meet the blue bloke anyways?" Marine asked, rolling her eyes. It was a wonder how they were so close, and she wanted details. Not that she was jealous. Not at all.
He fidgeted, and adjusted the red bowtie fastened around his neck. For a moment she thought he wasn't going to speak, but he opened his jaws slowly, but surely.
"Technically, the first time we met was when I fixed his plane, but I didn't stick around long," he began.
Tails held up his handiwork, proudly. The crudely fashioned wrench gleamed in the light, as if to confirm his accomplishment. His moment of reverie was interrupted when the bushes around him rustled dangerously. The hostile scent of fox oozed into his nostrils. He held out his wrench, like one would a knife, and slowly retreated, ears flattened and tails bristling.
Three foxes emerged from the bright summer leaves. Their muzzles were wrinkled with the effort of growling, and their eyes had deadly intent. Their neutral red pelts blended with the forest naturally, while his stood out like a flame in the dark.
"What'cha got there brainiac?" the lead fox snarled.
Tails instinctively clutched the wrench to his chest. "N-nothing."
"That don't look like nothin'," his friend chimed in.
Tails tried to speak, but his heart was caught in his throat and no sound escaped.
The lead fox snatched the wrench from his grip, examining the object in his grubby paws. His companions grinned in the background, ready to carry out his handiwork.
"What do we have here?" he laughed, twirling the wrench in his paw.
"Looks like a wrench, Brick," they sneered.
"Let go of it, it's mine!" Tails cried in a sudden burst of courage.
Brick flung his wrench deep into the forest. He could hear the rustle of undergrowth as it landed. Tails felt hot tears sting his eyelids, and burn down his cheeks. Memories of procuring metal and a hammer without the use of thievery, long hours of watching his creation heat over the fire surged into his vision, and throbbed in his chest.
"Why can't you be like the others, huh?" Brick roared. "You're always here, fiddling with your trash, when you could be helping! We all have to steal food, or else we all starve! Not to mention your freakish… tails."
Tails simply stared at him, emptiness swirling around in his belly.
"You're useless to the group and you're gonna end up getting us all killed," he barked. "So, we're gonna get rid of you."
They advanced menacingly towards him, sharp white teeth gleaming past their jaws. Tails scrambled to turn around, and bolted. The trees were too thick and entangled for him to fly here, and the forest wouldn't offer shelter to his sun-colored fur. The thump of paws on the forest floor approached his ears, and he pushed himself to run faster, ignoring the sting in his lungs.
Patches of blue peeked through the trees, increasing in size the farther he ran. The muffled thumps were closer than ever, almost upon his mutated tails. He used the thrust of a fallen log to hurl himself into the air, his tails instinctively whirling around each other like helicopter blades to carry him into the air.
"He's getting away!"
Tails felt something latch onto him as he ascended, leaving deep scratch marks in his sides as it tried to hang on. He dared to look down, and was confronted with the face of an angry fox. The fox began to lash out at him once more, causing them both to wobble and lurch in the air. Tails flailed wildly, scratching and punching, and landing a good kick that knocked the aggressor back down to the ground.
That skirmish had taken a lot out him, and he knew he was losing altitude. His tails stopped spinning, and he allowed himself to drop from the sky. The tree line was close enough that he could clumsily fall to the ground, clinging on to branches as he bounced and tumbled.
He only allowed himself a second to recover after he hit the ground. His graceful descension made a lot of noise, and those foxes would probably be after him again in a matter of seconds. As he took off again, he could hear growling in the distance. If he could just reach his den, he'd be safe. The entrance was barely bigger than the width of a rabbit hole, so they'd probably just give up. Or try to dig him out.
He stumbled over a twisted root into a meadow at the edge of the woods. Tiny yellow flowers dotted the short grass, and in the peaceful atmosphere he almost forgot that he was running for his life. He had to keep moving, he was an easy target out in the open. He tried to get up, but unceremoniously flopped to the ground. Fatigue inched up his limbs, and he noticed the deep claw gashes that burned like fire down his sides. Fear flared up in his chest, and he started to hastily drag himself across the grass.
"There you are," Brick growled, prowling towards him.
Another fox flanked him, while the third fox limped along behind them. They suddenly stopped their approach, their eyes fixed on something behind him. Turning his head, Tails looked up. A round blue hedgehog loomed over him, glaring at his assailants. A flicker of recognition went off in Tails' mind, and he remembered. A plane was parked haphazardly near the edge of the forest. It looked tattered and ready to fall apart at any moment. He spotted a wrench lying next to one of the wheels. He instinctively started working on it, until it looked good as new. Then the hedgehog appeared out of nowhere. He had dropped the wrench, ready to bolt back into the trees if he were attacked. But the hedgehog didn't attack him. He only made a vaguely thankful comment before disappearing back inside. Tails raced back into the forest in fear that he would reappear with a weapon. At that time, the hedgehog had an expression of vague interest. Now, his eyes were full of blind fury that made Tails want to curl up and disappear.
"Leave him alone," the hedgehog growled.
"Who are you?" Brick barked in surprise.
"I'm Sonic, Sonic the hedgehog," the blue hedgehog replied with a cocky grin.
"Look, Sonic," Brick sneered. "This has nothing to do with you, so why don't you just go back to your pampered city life, and let us deal with this."
Sonic's grin dropped instantly, and he leapt at Brick. Instead of digging claws into Brick's fur, or fastening teeth into his throat, he curled up into a ball, and bowled into him. Brick screeched as he was flung into the foliage at the edge of the meadow. The other two foxes stared at him in horror.
"I have zero tolerance for bullies, and even less tolerance for mobians that mock me," Sonic spat. "So get lost before I make you living pincushions."
The three foxes scrambled back into forest, leaving whimpers and trampled thicket in their wake. Sonic turned and stuck out his hand. Tails hesitantly took it, and Sonic heaved him to his feet.
"You alright?"
Tails lifted his arm to reveal blood staining his bright fur.
"Geez!" Sonic recoiled. "We need to get you to a hospital! You can lean on me if you want"
Tails draped an arm over his shoulder, which Sonic grabbed with one hand. He wrapped his arm around Tails' side, keeping his back upright so he could walk.
"Why did you help me?" Tails wheezed. "You don't even know me."
"Well, you were in trouble... And you fixed my plane," Sonic pouted. "So I helped you. That's what I do."
"Thanks," he muttered gratefully.
"You got any family?"
"...No," he murmured, looking down at his feet.
"Well you do now," Sonic declared. "What's your name kid?"
"Miles Prower," he replied robotically. "Though I prefer Tails."
"Alright Tails, you can be my sidekick."
"Uh...Okay," he replied, staring at Sonic in surprise.
"I was way different back then," Sonic interrupted. "Thanks for putting up with me bro."
Tails jumped, letting out a squeak of surprise. Marine chuckled softly as he regained his composure.
"H-how long have you been standing there?!" he squeaked.
"Since the beginning of the story," he laughed.
"Well, you're welcome for that first thing," Tails tried to growl, but his heart wasn't in it and he laughed.
"An' thanks fer interrupting the story!" Marine interjected.
"Well, I have a new story for you," Sonic piped up. "I'll tell you the story of how I got my shoes!"
"Ugh not that story again," Tails laughed.
As Sonic began his thrilling narrative, Tails' mind wandered to other places. He owed Sonic a lot for everything he'd done. Saving his life was only the start. They'd gone so many places, done so many things, and met so many anthros. His heart fluttered when Marine's name drifted in his mind, but he pushed it away before he could figure out what it meant. He reclined into the fluff of the couch, content to just enjoy the company of those close to him.