Bit by bit, his eyesight returned. It was still too blurry to make out all the shadows surrounding him. He tried to get up. A sharp pain shot through every cell of his body. All the hedgehog could do was groan. It didn't help that he couldn't remember where he was or why he was there. His very last memory was as vague as his vision. "If I could just get up," Sonic whispered as he encouraged himself. After much effort, he was finally able to sit up. He looked at himself. His arms were unscathed and his legs were just fine. In fact his entire body was perfectly normal. So why was he in so much pain? "Ahh, I needa an aspirin...," the rodent groaned some more and held his head. It throbbed horribly to the touch. He closed his eyes and nearly curled up into a ball. Then there was rustling noise, like something was moving through bushes. Sonic quickly uncurled himself and sat straight up. His eyesight was clear and what he saw was quite ugly.

In a clearing surrounded by leafless trees and ash-colored shrubs was where he sat. The rustling sounds echoed throughout the area, keeping the hedgehog from pinpointing were it was coming from. Suddenly, a solid object rammed into the back of his head. "I swear, if you move, I will shoot your filthy brains out all over this clearing," a gruff voiced muttered from behind him. Obviously, the object shoved into the back of Sonic's head was a gun. Whoever was threatening him also didn't appear to be very happy. There was only one way to get out of a situation like this. Swiftly and proficiently, the blue blur got to his feet, turned on a heel and grabbed the offender's gun-toting arm. With his right leg, he kicked him in the head. The hat the offender was wearing flew off, revealing blond locks. As the stranger fell to the floor, Sonic gained a head start and dashed off. His escape was sadly brought to a close. The explosion of two gunshots rang in the air. One bullet missed its target. The other fired straight through his left leg. "GAAAHH!!" the hedgehog shrieked in agony. The shot to his leg and the already existing pain had overloaded his limits. The hero collapsed to the floor. His vision began to blur once again as blood leaked from the bullet wound. His ears picked up the thip-thip-thip of running feet. The stranger who dared to shoot him had ran to his side. The figure rolled him onto his back and started to shake his shoulders. In a pleading voice it shouted, "NO!! I'M SORRY! STAY AWAKE SONIC, IT'S ME!!" As much as he wanted, Sonic couldn't obey. He simply stared into the blue eyes of the stranger and passed out.

...

Unlike before, the hedgehog's eyes shot open this time around. He scrambled to his feet. The excruciating shock of pain in his leg stopped him. The bloodied cloth wrapped around his leg surprised him though. Sonic decided to lie on the floor instead. He stared into the sky. It was darker, like nighttime. The trees around him appeared to be the same before he blacked out. "Whew, how long was I out?" he thought. Before he could think again, the sound of rustling flooded his ears. "Oh God, not again," he nearly choked on his words. Despite the pain, Sonic sprung to his feet. Well at least one foot; his left leg was injured to the point where he had to balance on the other. He checked the area. Just as before, he couldn't tell were the sound was coming from. As he hopped around the small clearing, a figure appeared from the bushes in front of him. Silence fell upon the two. "Wha--You're awake!?" the figure spoke. It was awfully confused. "Yes I'm awake!" Sonic growled. "You think you can just go around shooting innocent people!?"

"I told you, I'm sorry. I regret doing that fully. Just sit back down Son--"

"HOW DO YOU KNOW MY NAME!?"

"I...oh dammit, you don't even know who I am, do you?" the shadow in the brush sighed. It had no other choice but to reveal it's self. Slowly, it stepped out of the dark and into the light of the moon. Sonic trembled as his jaw dropped. He couldn't believe the sight. Standing before him was a dirty blond fox. Around his waist was a black leather belt with a matching gun holster attached to it. He wore a cap on his head and muddy combat boots on his feet. The fox's sad blue-eyed stare made Sonic equally depressed. "....T-Tails!? It's--My God, you're taller than--Wait, YOU shot me!?" the hedgehog couldn't put the pieces together. It didn't make any sense at all. Before he could say another word, the fox ran up to him and hugged him fiercely. The unexpected gesture nearly knocked him over. "It's you, it's really you!" he sobbed onto the hedgehogs shoulder. "But....Tails, what's going on!? Why are you suddenly towering over me!?" Sonic began to asked, but he just so happened to look down. "OH MY GOD, WHERE'S YOUR SECOND TAIL!?!? TAILS CAN'T BE TAILS IF HE DOESN'T HAVE TWO TAILS!!"

"P-Please, stop calling me that...," the fox whispered as he released his friend. "It's Miles."

"But...I don't understand! What the hell happened to you?"

"It's a long story..."

"Oh great, that's just what I needed to hear!"

"Please Sonic, calm down. I need you to ask you a question."

"Oho! I gotta answer your question before you answer all of mine!?" Sonic was thoroughly fed up. After another second of silence, he saw in the fox's eyes that his inquiry was much more important. "Okay, fine. What is it? But I'm telling you now; you better answer me after this!" The fox gave him a small grateful smile and commenced with his question. "Where....where have you been Sonic?" Miles questioned. At first, Sonic gave a blank stare. Then he laughed in his face. "Whoa! What!? I've been right here! I can't possibly go anywhere since you shot--"

"DROP IT ALL READY. YES I SHOT YOU, SO FREAKIN' WHAT!? I SAY YOU DESERVED IT FOR ALL THESE YEARS!"

"YEARS!?!"

"YES, DAMMIT YES!! YOU'VE BEEN GONE FOR A LONG TIME SONIC. IN FACT, YOU JUST DISAPPEARED FOR A WHOLE DAMN DECADE!!"

".....What?" the hedgehog answered meekly. He was completely baffled. As he stood speechless, Miles got the chance to settle down. "Do you remember the last fight you were in, Sonic? With Amy, Knuckles and me? We were all after Eggman in the middle of the city, just like how we used to be...," the fox began to tear up. "And somehow, he got the upper hand. Eggman wiped the floor with us, Sonic. The bastard even destroyed the Tornado! A-And I remember waking up in a hospital bed, Cream and her mother at my side. They said Amy was near death, the doctors had to induce a coma to save her. T-Then.....Knuckles came in the room. If you had seen him...you would've thought he'd woken up from the dead! That's just how bad it was. But it wasn't just us, hundreds of people who were unfortunate enough to get caught in our fight were injured, some dead! But what Knuckles said to me that day, it changed my world, and soon enough, everyone's world. He said you were nowhere to be found. The authorities couldn't find you, the government labeled you M.I.A, and not even G.U.N knew where you were! We all thought....you were dead."

".......You're lying."

"Sonic--"

"YOU'RE LYING!!"

"DOES IT LOOK LIKE I'M LYING!?" Miles furiously stomped his foot on the ground. The tears came rushing down his face again. He glanced at the hedgehog, and saw he was tearing up too. "After a year, we finally lost all hope. We settled with the fact that we would never see your face again. But now," Miles paused and laughed nervously. "You're here, standing in front of me, practically unchanged from such a long absence. And all I can ask is how? Or why?"

"You know I can't answer that," Sonic mumbled. His eyes stared down at the floor. For a moment there was an awkward silence between the two. Suddenly, the hedgehog spoke: "If it's been ten years that means your eighteen now, right?"

"Yes. Why?"

"....What's beer taste like?"

"I-I...I don't know, I've never tried it."

"Oh...damn," the hedgehog snapped his fingers in disappointment. All the fox did was smile. His childhood friend hadn't changed at all. "So...are we just gonna stand here or--"

"Oh! No, we have to leave. It's really late; something could be out here in the woods waiting for us." The fox suddenly grabbed his friend. He threw Sonic's arm over his shoulders and waited for him to hop along with his footsteps. Once in sync, they walked together out of the clearing and into the forest. It was much darker here. The hedgehog could hardly see, but Miles seemed to know the path by heart. "Where are we going?" Sonic asked. "Back."

"....Back where?"

"To the others."

"There are people here!?" Sonic was surprised. If anything, most people, human or animal, chose to live in the cities. Very few stayed in the woods. "Not exactly, Sonic," Miles replied. "Things became pretty bad once you were gone. Some people began to believe you disappearing was a government conspiracy. They started rebellions and destroyed the towns and other urban areas. People either left or they were killed."

"How many people are here?"

"Very, very few. Not a lot of them could handle the transition from their city lifestyles. But every now and then, I see two or three people out foraging for food."

"Are the cities alright?"

"To tell you the truth, I haven't seen Station Square or any city for a while. I'm not sure if they're even standing anymore."

"Crap. And all this happened because of a few rebellions?"

"It wasn't just rebellions..."

"Then what was it?"

"Eggman." At the moment, the pair had stumbled into another open area. Just a few steps away from them was the edge of a cliff. As Sonic's eyes traveled over the cliff, his heart sank. A miserable, grey scenery lied ahead of him and his friend. Instead of the once luscious, beautiful trees, nearly all of the wood in the forest was without leaves. The rolling hills were sprinkled with cold, dusty dirt. The sky, now darkened from the night, was a quilt thick with clouds. Even the mountains in the distance seemed like they were sulking. "Not even a week had past after our fight before Eggman attacked again," the fox spoke. "But that time, he went after G.U.N. He only stopped when their forces were severely weakened. After that, he attacked the public in general and it turned into a war. It lasted for weeks, then months, then years. It wasn't until about a few months ago, when less and less attacks occurred, that things began to feel normal. Now all that's left is a wavering sense of security." The hedgehog next to him sighed in distress. "Where is Eggman now?" he asked. "Over there," Miles answered and pointed a finger out into the distance. Very far into the horizon was tall, metallic structure. It stretched out from the north to the south until it dissolved away into the rest of the forest. "He built this wall during the war to manufacture and harbor his troops. I honestly think it encircles the entire planet."

"What the hell does he do in there?"

"I can't say. When there were more people around, he sent out robots to capture them. And every person he caught was put through a series of experiments."

"....Is that what happened to you?" Immediately, the fox cringed. He quickly turned away from Sonic, but it was too late. "I'm sorry! I just thought--"

"I know what you were thinking. It's alright." Minutes passed as they continued to stare at the ominous wall in the distance. After a while, they set out on their journey again, but all Sonic could think of was a way to make things right once more.