Part VII: Ready, Set, Go!
I need you, I need you, I need you!
I need you to protect me, to hold me, to say it's all okay.
I need you, I need you, I need you!
To spar, to laugh, to play.
I need you, I need you, I need you.
But I'm not ready for you today.
"Sonic, are you sure about this?" Tails leaned against the open doorway of Sonic's house, cuffing and uncuffing his gloves repeatedly in a mixture of nervousness and impatience.
"No." Sonic, just inside the door strapping his shoes to his feet for the first time in a month and a half. "But, I don't have a choice."
"Sure you do. You can choose to call off this dang test!" Tails snapped bitterly. He was trying to hide his worry by being angry, but Sonic could read his little brother like an open book.
"Wrong answer." Sonic sighed deeply, taking in a huge breath of air. He'd finally ceased vomiting uselessly, and now only did so when he tried to eat (even crackers were unsafe now!). This wasn't about to do wonders for his strength, but it meant he could finally rejoin his friends in the fight for freedom. He fixed his sunglasses to his face and stepped out onto the doorstep and into the world.
Being a little feverish yet, he was chilled by the sudden soft wind hitting his body, and he shivered visibly. The sunglasses helped to hide his dilated pupils from the world until he could bear to face the light. Thanks to some cobalt blue fur dye, there was little trace of his sickly fur color, but this false coat was no where near shiny, as dyed fur would never be. The only thing that would make his coat shiny—a nice, filling meal—would have to be put on hold for now.
Sonic worked his muscles, stiff from disuse, and ducked into a running position. Despite all the powers that should've made him unable to stand or walk, he felt energized, fueled by the small boost of being reunited with the wind and grass he loved so dearly. Tails took out a timer.
"Ready? Set…" Tails kept one sparkling blue eye on his older brother, prepared to run in the grass below. Sonic was gripping at the earth in agitation and impatience, waiting for the fateful word to reach him…
"Go!" Tails shouted as he pressed his finger down on the button.
The word was like being released from chains. Sonic pushed his fingers off the grass so hard that the bones cracked and his sneaker-clad feet propelled him forward at breathtaking speeds. He had his instructions: he was to run one mile and report back. Every second counted. Tails was timing him to make sure he was still fast as fast can be.
Now, as you will recall, Sonic's speed increases the less fuel he has in his tank. But the newfound power doesn't last long. After what seemed to him like only a few seconds, his head began to spin as if someone had just put him on a tilt-a-whirl for three hours. He made a sharp turn and doubled back, sniffing for Tails' scent to make up for his lack of direction. He arrived back quicker than Tails could blink and skidded to a halt before the twin-tailed fox.
"So…" Sonic panted, hands on his knees as he looked wearily up to the fox. His vision was still blurry, so he couldn't see Tails' features clearly. "How'd I do?"
Tails looked shell-shocked. "Sonic…" He breathed. "How…? Where…? Why did you…? Uhh…" He realized his stammering got him no where fast. He looked from the stop watch to Sonic. "This thing…" he pointed to the portable stopwatch. "I'm not sure I can use it to be accurate anymore! You got here faster than it takes me to stop and start this thing! Sonic…how?"
Sonic flopped down into the grass and closed his eyes. The world spun behind his eyelids. "I can run really fast when I haven't eaten. The emptier my stomach is, the faster I go. The only problem is…" He yawned despite all else. "It doesn't last long."
"Explain." Tails encouraged.
"Dizzy as all hell." Sonic mumbled. "And if I had gone but a step farther, I woulda passed out."
"I see." Tails was speechless and amazed at this power. He had little else to say, but: "Wow." The fox laughed. "Wow, wow, wow, Sonic! If you put that power to good use, you'd beat your own racetrack record!"
"If I put that…look," Sonic sat up and crossed his legs. "Normally, I'd be able to run two miles, no problem. I'd just be a little dizzy and lose my sense of direction. Heh, not a big deal. This time, I could barely run a single mile! What are you saying?!" He growled deep in his throat. He wasn't too happy about being terribly weak, and the fact that Tails was agitating him and he didn't have food to calm him, his anger was 100% unleashed.
And an angry hedgehog is not a happy hedgehog.
Tails knew he was facing a frontal assault. Sonic's temper became more and more evident the hungrier he became, and much as he might try to restrain it, Sonic was starving and his anger was at its strongest because of this weakness of mindset.
"Easy, easy big brother." Tails cautioned to show both his submission and to make Sonic realize he was getting out of hand.
Sonic caught the tone immediately and put his head in his hands. "Right, sorry. I'm cool, I'm cool." He searched his little brother's ice blue eyes, trying to see into the fox's mind. "What do you want me to do?"
Tails smiled. "Train." He said.