Author's Note: Dear Lord…..did I actually write this? R&R Please

Disclaimer: Sega owns everything Sonic

-Metal Sonic's POV-

As the quip would go, I was not a happy camper.

It had been over a hour since I had been forced to seek shelter behind this waterfall, thirty-three minutes since self repair systems had completed necessary repairs, and there was still no end in sight for this storm.

With nothing else to do, because I dare not risk shutting systems down and risking not being able to leave this place at the earliest moment possible, I was forced to entertain myself by asking questions.

What was Sonic doing now? The fox kit? What about that bat? Had Robotnik received my report or was the storm too severe for it to get through? Was it possible for a machine, even a sentient machine, to go crazy? Because if it was then I was sure that the incessant rumbling from that stupid waterfall would have me making friends with rocks before long.

Unfortunately, these were all questions that I had no way of answering so I instead turned my attention to something more tangible, something that I could use later on. I turned to my internal records of Sonic the Hedgehog.

It was a passing distraction at best, knowing the entirety of it by my metaphorical heart anyway, but I did it anyway.

File Record Number-62391

Sonic the Hedgehog

Further searching on subject has revealed that subject's true name is Olglivee Maurice Hedgehog, but subject has been shown only to respond to being called Sonic, thus this is how he shall be referred. Subject has shown physical abilities that should be impossible for any living organism, namely, accelerating to a speed exceeding 300mph. This suggests that subject is, perhaps, some sort of mutation or a completely new subspecies. Dissection necessary to determine more.

Subject was a relative unknown until a year ago from when this report was written, having lived with a Mr. and Mrs. Lightfoot on Green Hill, as their foster son.

Further information on biological parents have not been acquired.

Subject only became active shortly after his home was added to the Empire, resisting all form of containment, and creating an uprising from the public wherever he went. It was also at this time that GUN staged its own assault on the Empire (see File: 8215) and, at first it seemed unlikely that these to events just happened to coincide, but further evidence has determined that this was indeed the case. Subject managed to reach the Empire's central city Robotropolis, and there caused unwarranted amounts of destruction on all on going projects. Eventually even piercing Master's stronghold itself and confronting him.

In the end, the Empire fractured with its strongest city destroyed, and the general public was led to believe that the Master was destroyed along with it.

-Rouge's POV-

'My, my, things just keep getting more interesting' I couldn't help thinking to myself as I hear what the stranger that the fox boy brought with called himself.

I had decided to stay in this stuffy old building for two reasons. The first being that the boy might return here with the Emerald in tow, which has proven to be true to an extent. And the other that only a fool would dare set foot in this weather, especially if one has wings.

So I had waited in silence, something I excelled at, and had almost let out a involuntary shriek as something suddenly burst in the door, thinking for one horrified moment that that horrible Robot had returned, before realizing that this was not the case.

Blue Hedgehog. Somehow, that had felt familiar, but I hadn't been able to place it. Not as I followed them silently through the corridors, nor as I saw them enter a little nook in the wall, knowing I couldn't follow them in there without being seen. It was only while I was listening to their conversation and the stranger had said his name that it had clicked.

'Sonic the Hedgehog,' I let that name sink in for a minute, knowing what he had done, even if the general public believed otherwise.

He had been the deciding factor in the Empire's fall, not GUN, liked so many believed, and the only reason I knew was that I worked for said organization…….partially.

Any hope I had of retrieving the Emerald had been dashed in an instant, and yet I smiled.

Sonic was here, Robotnik was here, and only she knew the importance of that.

GUN would pay her a fortune.

-Sonic's POV-

For as long as I can remember, people have called me a reckless fool. That I never thought about the consequences of my actions, that I acted on impulse alone.

That isn't completely true. In actuality, I do consider what can happen, but I do it so fast that it seems like I don't.

For example, I knew that there were a thousand reasons I shouldn't try to take care of this little fox kit in front of me, eyes brimming with such emotion to melt even the most cynical of hearts. That chief among those was the fact that I was hardly anymore than a kid myself. Yes, I had thought of these things.

But there was something that trumped all reasons to the contrary, that made all those problems unimportant. Because I was Sonic, and, no matter the consequences, I could not turn down someone who needed my help, never again.

"But, but," stammers the kit, still processing this offer, "why?"

"Because, I know what its like to be alone. Besides," I add with a grin, "You saved my life."

He shakes his head and gives me a look like he thinks I'm just joking again. "I just got you out of the rain," he ventures.

I broaden my grin as I reply, "For me, that's basically the same as saving my life."

He still seems unsure, casting uncertain looks behind for some reason, before finally saying bitterly, "You don't want to be with me. I'm a freak." He all but whispers that last part.

I looked at him in shock, having never heard such bitterness being uttered by such a young mouth. "Your not a freak!"

"I am!" he shouts, and reaches behinds his self and brings his tail into view.

It took me a moment to realize what it was exactly I was seeing, that he held a tail in his hand, but there was still a tail behind him as well. That fact had been hidden by his still partially wet fur. And, despite myself, I couldn't help but quirk an eyebrow at the strange sight.

And during this, the kit is still ranting. "That's what they call me, a freak of nature! They say I should have never been born! That I was a mistake! That my parents hadn't want a freak for a son! That no one would ever want me!" and he drops to the floor then, obviously both mentally and physically exhausted.

It takes me a moment to process the whole of what he had just told me and, as horribly cliché as it is, I ask, "Who says that?"

He looks up from where he had drooped his head and makes a vague, tired gesture with his hand. "Everyone."

I nod my head at that statement and sit myself next to him. We waited there for a minute or two before he eventually breaks the silence, asking quietly, "It's not true is it? My parents gave me a name, they wouldn't do that if they hadn't wanted me, right?" He sounds like he's doesn't even remember I'm there and is just asking himself those questions.

I hug him then, as he murmurs, a blank look in his eyes, "They loved me, didn't they? I'm sure they did, but then why am I alone? Why have I always been alone if they loved me?"

"I'm sure they loved you," I tell him quietly, no more humor, no more jokes, "things just happen. But you don't have to be alone anymore, not anymore. I'm here now."

-Tails POV-

At some point while I was talking to Sonic, I had felt myself remembering things I had long since forgotten. My dad's smile, my Mom's smell, how they would always told me that they would always take care of me, and how, one day, they were just gone.

I went back, deafening myself to the outside world, as I tried to remember why they were gone, what had happened, but it was just out of my reach and no matter what I did I couldn't reach it.

Then I hear a voice that cuts through my trance, "I'm here now." Focusing on that voice, I fight myself back to reality, and, blinking, realize the voice was Sonic's. That he had his arms around me, and I could feel his chest heaving slightly and it took me a moment to realize he was actually crying.

"Sonic?" I ask.

He lets go of me slightly, enough that he can look me in the eyes and confirm the fact that he had been crying, tear streaks below his eyes.

"I'm here," he says, "and I'm not going anywhere."

And I realize that he completely means it. That my tails didn't matter, that I couldn't offer him anything in return didn't matter, all that mattered was that both of us were here now and he wanted to be the brother I had never had.

And I cry then, wholly and completely. Cried for the parents I would never get to know, for all that I had gone through to this point, all the insults, all the pain, and I cried knowing that there was at least one person who loved me for what I am and who I am.