Well, … now it's time that we … let the vacation begin! :D
Seems like it's only about to be the beginning of a tale of two brothers spending so much brotherly time together!
NOTE: This chapter may contain references to Sonic X.
As Tails constantly spun his tails and propelled himself and Sonic over the ocean towards Angel Island, Sonic wouldn't stop worrying about the huge body of water that seemed only a hundred feet below. Land appeared to be rather far from where they were. If Tails were to wear himself out any minute, Sonic would be a hedgehog panicking for his life.
"I sure hope you still have plenty of energy in those tails of yours, buddy," said Sonic worryingly.
"Don't worry, Sonic," replied Tails reassuringly, "I'm sure we'll be there in no time."
"What makes you say that?" asked Sonic.
"Look up ahead, buddy," said Tails, his eyes fixed on what was ahead of them.
Sonic looked ahead and caught the sight of Angel Island. Mystic Ruins was only just a few miles away from it.
"Just a little more and we'll be there," said Tails.
Sonic sighed in the hope that they would spend hardly anymore time over the ocean.
Tails kept on spinning his namesakes, and he wouldn't stop spinning them until they were over land. He felt a slight pain in them as they had been spinning endlessly for about half of an hour in an effort to keep them over the sea. The weight from having backpacks strapped over their shoulders didn't help much, either.
The fox shut his eyes as his pain grew little by the minute, but Sonic kept his eyes open to guide his little brother to land.
"Just a little further, pal. We're almost there," said Sonic as land became only half of a mile away.
Tails struggled on, panting as he spun his tails. He desperately wanted to stop spinning them now, but he knew he had to keep going just a little longer.
Only a few more seconds before landing; Tails slowed himself down to catch his breath, and the two began to lose height as they came up to the beach.
"Just about there," said Sonic as he bent his knees forward towards the land that lied ahead.
Just as Sonic could see their shadows approaching the sand, Tails stopped spinning his tails, and the two slowly began to fall.
Sonic kept his eyes on their shadows as he braced for that possible impact with water, his worst nightmare.
Tails was panting as he opened his eyes and saw where they were. He gave his tails one last spin to bring their shadows over to the sand, then he finally stopped so Sonic could prepare his feet for the landing.
The two gradually gained speed in their fall as Sonic spread his legs out and brought himself in a position to land on his feet while he clung onto Tails' limbs with his arms.
Tails shut his eyes again while Sonic kept his eyes open, and he watched as the sand approached them from below.
Timing his judgment precisely, the blue hedgehog brought his knees into a crouching position, and his shoes finally touched the ground.
Just as he felt his feet coming in contact with the sand, Sonic stood back up with Tails clinging onto his neck. As the fox felt the air cease to blow swiftly around them, he opened his eyes and found that they had successfully landed on the beach of Angel Island.
"Well, little buddy, you're quite an endurance flier, even without a plane!" commented Sonic.
Tails grinned at his big brother as he kept sitting on the back of Sonic's neck.
"Thanks, pal," the fox replied.
"Anytime, bud," said Sonic as he gripped one hand on Tails' arms and started running up the beach into the jungle.
"Now it's my turn to give my feet some exercise!" chuckled Sonic.
"Heh! I can wait much less for that glimpse at an old home!" replied Tails.
The two grinned at each other as Sonic ran faster than the wind.
As the hedgehog ran around the jungle at his supersonic speed, he felt as if he was having one of the most enjoyable times of his life! It especially felt enjoyable with Tails tagging along on his back!
The hedgehog's speed was so fast that it took them only a few minutes to get from the beach to a place they had known for many years …
Mystic Ruins!
Sonic stopped running as he and Tails looked around the area where Tails formerly called "home". Very little had changed over the last few years; the grass was a little taller, the trees were still blooming in the sunshine and the waterfalls were still glistening beautifully. It almost seemed as if nothing had changed at all.
"Hardly anything's changed around here," said Tails, "Still looks just as I remember it."
"I agree," replied Sonic, "Everything from the trees to the mountains. Just another walk in the park."
The two brothers gazed at everything they could lay their eyes on, enjoying everything that nature had to offer. The air felt so relaxing as Sonic kept a soothed and relaxed Tails on his back, and their surroundings were as quiet as just about any nature park. The only real sounds they could hear were the birds chirping in the distance and Sonic's footsteps on the dirt as he walked.
As the duo held hands, Tails rested his white muzzle on top of Sonic's head, which the hedgehog found rather soothing. He wanted nothing more than to treat his little brother to the most relaxing vacation of his life, and the way Tails rested his head on him told him that they were getting off to a wonderful start.
A few minutes later, the two brothers looked ahead and found a small house just off the cliff side. They recognized every feature it had, from the walls and the windows, to the roof and the small chimney.
"Here it is, little buddy," whispered Sonic.
"My old house," said Tails softly, "Looks just the way it was while I was living there. I really miss this place. I recognize everything about it, even to this day."
"Nothing's changed about it since we moved to Bygone," added Sonic.
"Except that I moved everything out of there and spread it around my new house at Bygone," said Tails.
"Everything?" asked Sonic curiously.
"Well, mostly everything," answered Tails, "My tools, … the Tornado planes, … my other belongings, … and even Cosmo's plant. I still have all of that with me in my new house."
"Well, perhaps it wouldn't hurt to go inside at least one more time," said Sonic, "Wanna relive a fond memory, Tails?"
Tails thought of all the times he spent in this house; building his gadgets, upgrading the Tornadoes, watering Cosmo's plant three times a day, and, of course, all of the playful times he had with Sonic while he lived here.
"I guess I could take a step through that door at least one more time," the fox finally answered.
"Okay, buddy," said Sonic gently as he lifted Tails off his back and set him down on his feet.
The two brothers held hands and paused for a moment before they each took a deep breath and walked up to the front door.
"It feels like old times already, just approaching this door," commented Tails.
"Same here, Tails," replied Sonic, "Same here."
The duo stopped right in front of the door and paused again before Tails slowly reached for the doorknob and opened the door.
"Well, … here we go," whispered Tails.
The brothers slowly walked through the doorway and stepped into Tails' former home.
Compared to the extremely natural hillside they had passed through, the house had changed quite a lot. Many of the rooms were now empty since Tails had moved a lot of the stuff out of this house when they moved to Bygone. The living room was down to nothing more than an old sofa that now had cobwebs all over it, and Tails' old TV (he had acquired a newer TV for his Bygone Island home). Even the remote was still sitting right next to it, which caught Sonic by surprise.
"Wow, buddy. You were even generous enough to let this TV set keep its remote," chuckled Sonic.
Tails giggled at Sonic's comment, and the hedgehog gently wrapped an arm around the fox's back to cuddle him as they walked around the house.
They looked to their left and found the fireplace they used to warm up with. They both remembered the many times they sat before the fire, enjoying each others' warm company.
It was in front of this very fireplace where Tails first suggested to Sonic about taking vacations. It was among the many memories in this house they would never forget.
The two walked into the kitchen and found very little differences from when Tails lived here. The old stove and oven were still there, along with the dining table and its chairs.
"Well, Tails, you really were looking to keep this place ready for anyone else who may have wanted to live here," said Sonic.
"Well, I kinda wanted to be more refreshed with my new home," said Tails, "How could I carry these heavy things into my new house when the people at Bygone already had some ready for us?"
"Yeah, that's true," agreed Sonic, "It saves us from having to break our backs with heavyweight furniture."
Tails grinned faintly as they looked at the cupboards above the stove.
"I assume those are empty," guessed Sonic.
"Yeah," answered Tails, "The kitchen equipment came along, too. I washed them, polished them and ensured that they would be as good as new again. Now they look as if they were manufactured only yesterday."
Sonic giggled.
They gazed at the kitchen sink, and the window just above it, which still glowed with sunshine and brightened up the whole room.
"This place really does bring back a lot of memories," said Tails.
"Why don't we look upstairs?" offered Sonic, "You may have had even more memories of your own up there? After all, you used to sleep there."
"Yeah," replied Tails, all the memories floating back into his head, "I really wanna see my old bedroom again."
"Well then, let's go up!" chuckled Sonic.
The hedgehog led the fox over to the stairs, after which Sonic stepped aside and allowed Tails to lead him upstairs.
As Sonic followed Tails from right behind, cobwebs dangled from the ceiling and brushed against them.
Tails coughed as he felt dust sinking into his nostrils.
"Blagh!" he coughed.
"You okay, buddy?" asked Sonic with concern.
"I'm okay, buddy," answered Tails, blowing all of the dust out of his head and rubbing the goggles on his forehead to keep them clean, "This place really has gotten dusty since I abandoned it a few years ago."
"Gee, you're right, Tails," agreed Sonic as he looked at all the cobwebs hanging from the ceiling above the stairs, "This place seems to get too old too fast."
After a few more close encounters with dust and cobwebs, Sonic and Tails finally made it to the top of the stairs and found a few more rooms. One of them was the bathroom, and the other was none other than Tails' old bedroom.
"If you ever wanted to move back into this house someday, I would assume that taking care of those cobwebs would be the first step," said Sonic.
"If I ever get the feeling that I wanna move back in here, I'd definitely do that first before bringing everything back in," replied Tails, "Bygone may be a nice place to live, but if I ever have to come back here, I'd definitely suggest it."
"Sounds nice," chuckled Sonic, hugging Tails around the back.
As Tails' namesakes wrapped around Sonic for a return hug, the fox turned to their right and looked in through the bathroom door.
Even the stained glass windows over the shower tub looked as if they could do with some cleaning, but they weren't as dusty as the stairs. The sink looked as if there was room for repairs to be done to it.
The two looked to their left and found the most important room in the whole house; Tails' former bedroom, the place where he used to sleep, the place where he would take care of Cosmo's seed, the place where he often sat down and drew sketches for his gadgets, planes and other inventions, many of which were successful and that he still had with him today. Those memories all lied in this very room.
The young fox slowly walked up to his old door and gripped on the knob with one of his twin tails. Sonic stood behind his little brother as he turned the knob, and the door cautiously opened.
Tails walked into the room where he slept, with Sonic right behind him.
The two looked around the room in amazement as more memories came back to them. Sonic would often come here and give Tails some "occasionally playful" wake-up calls. Tails often sat in front of his desk for hours at a time, drawing sketches for his inventions.
Tails gazed at his old bed, which looked almost no different from the day he moved out. His old sheets, blankets and pillows still sat cutely on the mattress (Tails having brought new bed sheets for his Bygone home). The only real difference was a series of dust bunnies sitting on top of the blanket.
"You didn't take your old sheets with you?" said Sonic in astonishment.
"How could I have been able to?" said Tails, "Old memories like these? I'd much rather preserve something like that."
"I thought you had been keeping them in your closet on Bygone or something," added Sonic.
"Nah. You've seen those beds I have in my new house. They came with their own sheets and all that stuff," explained Tails, "At first I was gonna save the old bed for last, but when I found the cool new bed styles that the people at Bygone had to offer, I found that a bed like this was simply the past for me, although I wouldn't mind using it if I still had to."
With the memories still flowing in his head, Tails walked up to his former bed and sat down on his blanket. He blew the dust off the sheets and lied his head down on his old pillow.
"How does it feel, buddy?" asked Sonic, sitting on the bed next to Tails the way he always would.
Tails covered himself up in his old blankets and sighed in warm comfort.
"Feels like it was only yesterday," commented Tails, "It's still as relaxing as it ever has been."
Sonic gently patted his brother on the head and rested on top of him just like the old days.
"I feel as if I'm in the past," whispered Sonic.
"Me, too," sighed Tails, "Just like old times."
"Just like old times."
The two relaxed on the old bed for a few more minutes until Tails finally sat up and yawned as if he had just woken up from a nap.
The twin-tailed fox made his way to the desk, which sat in front of a very familiar window.
Sonic watched his little brother as he sat down in the chair in front of the desk.
"I used to do so much on this very desk," he recalled, "Many of my inventions started off from drawings which I drew on this desk."
He paused and looked at the window where the sunlight was breaking in.
"This window," he continued, "If there's one thing I can remember about this window, … than the sunlight that would break in and brighten up my drawings, … or the way it would wake me up in the morning, …"
Tails stopped again and remembered the most emotional time of his life. It had happened at the end of the Metarex War. He had lost the first romantic love of his life when she sacrificed herself to save the universe, and the fox was left heartbroken and depressed for many months after that, especially since he was the one who had to pull the trigger.
"Cosmo," he whispered as he leaked a tear from his right eye, which Sonic caught sight of.
The blue hedgehog stood up and walked over to the chair where Tails was sitting. He knew what that tear had fallen for.
"I used to care for Cosmo's seed on that windowsill. I miss watching the way the sun would shine on her. Everyday I would water her three times a day. Even after I got over my depression, I would never stop caring for her. Even today, I keep her plant in my new house on Bygone, because I will never stop loving her. I still water her three times a day when I'm home. Once in the morning after breakfast, once in the afternoon after lunch, and once in the evening before I go to bed."
"Which window in your new house do you keep her, buddy?" asked Sonic, hugging his brother.
"She now rests on the windowsill where you could gaze at the ocean. The sun shines over that window during the afternoon hours," explained Tails.
The memories of Cosmo briefly flashed in Tails' head. He remembered all the romantic times he had with her during their "sadly-brief" time together as love interests. Then he turned back to that fatal night that ended the Metarex War, when he reluctantly pulled the trigger to destroy Dark Oak and defeat the Metarex, which also involved killing his love. It left him torn up inside for a very long time. Finally, he remembered when Sonic handed him the seed that Cosmo had left behind, and it broke his young heart. He had placed that seed in a flowerpot the day they returned home, and the seed has been blooming in that same pot ever since, right up to this day.
Sonic gently hugged Tails from behind as the fox sniffled and allowed tears to pour from his eyes in remembrance of all the memories he had here. None could be more emotional to him than watching Cosmo's seed grow on the windowsill.
"I'm sorry, Sonic," said Tails in a sad voice, "Old memories coming back to me."
"It's okay, Tails. I know how emotional it can be to remember those memories," replied Sonic in a gentle whisper.
The hedgehog sat on the chair and set Tails on his lap. Then, together, the two hugged and cuddled each other lovingly as they relaxed in front of the old window that was an important part of Tails' young life. The hedgehog stroked the fox's hair from time to time, and Tails wrapped his twin tails around Sonic as they shared their most memorable moments in this old house where Tails used to call … "home".
"I love you, Sonic," whispered Tails.
"I love you, too, Tails," Sonic whispered back, planting a brotherly kiss on Tails' forehead, earning a happy grin from the fox as the tears continued to trickle down his face in remembrance of their most cherished memories.
"Just like old times," the two brothers whispered together before settling down into cuddly relaxation.
Meanwhile, back on Bygone Island, Amy, Knuckles and Sticks were chilling at Tails' "new" home, looking after the many things the fox now used here. The three all thought about Sonic and Tails, and how nice their vacation was going.
"I wonder how well their vacation's started off?" said Amy.
"We can only guess," replied Knuckles, "After all, they've only been gone for a few hours."
"I miss them already," said Sticks, "I began to miss them once they headed out the door."
"So do we, but at least we can be happy that they're having such a good time together, being the best of brothers," said Amy as she thought happily about them, "Sure, it's not easy being without them for a few days, but I'll bet they're out there somewhere, playing around and having a fun time."
"I'm gonna go check on the workshop," said Knuckles as he stood up and headed for the door, "I'll be right back."
"Okay, Knuckles," replied Amy as Knuckles left the living room through the front door.
The red echidna took a deep sigh to sink in the fresh scent of the outdoors.
"Ah, yes," he said relaxingly, "Nothing like a few minutes to get some fresh air and enjoy the sunshine."
As Knuckles made his way to the workshop, whistling a calm tune as he went, a small mechanical bug with red eyes was sitting on the ground directly ahead of his path, but it was too small for Knuckles to notice.
The bug then made one attempt to move out of the way, but it was too late …
Knuckles stepped right on the bug and smashed it to pieces, but the echidna took no notice. The sound of electrical cracks wouldn't reach his ears, either! Instead, Knuckles simply kept walking over to Tails' workshop to ensure that everything was alright.
The bug was in a million tiny pieces, many of them being too small to be seen without a microscope.
At that same moment, in Doctor Eggman's lair, the evil doctor was screaming furiously …
"NAAAOOOOO!" roared Eggman as he watched his red lens go static before blacking out permanently, "KNUCKLES, YOU COMPLETE IDIOT! YOU JUST HAD TO SPOIL MY FUN OF SPYING ON YOU!"
At that moment, Orbot and Cubot, having heard Eggman's screaming, blasted into the room in panic.
"Is something in need of fixing, boss?" asked Orbot.
"NO, THANK YOU! I HAVE PLENTY OF ROBOTS I CAN DEPLOY TO ATTACK THEM LATER! NOW GET OUT!" yelled Eggman.
Without hesitating, and in fear of being scrapped by their boss unless they didn't obey him immediately, Orbot and Cubot instantly turned around and left the room.
"This plan will not go without a fight, Team Sonic!" shouted Eggman as he walked aimlessly around the room, "Sonic or no Sonic, I'll get my hands on you fools soon! REAL SOON!"
No one heard but him.
So, Sonic and Tails' vacation gets off to a happy and emotional start. I really couldn't think of anything better than this. It's always nice to go back and visit the past for a day.
College is trying to drive me crazy this semester, but I'm trying to hang in there, which I'll have to keep doing for the next 3 ½ months.
Anyways, have a nice Saturday, and I'll see you hopefully soon with the next chapter of Sonic and Tails' wonderful vacation! :)