The shadows were all that remained at the end of ward 6B, and Knuckles hadn't yet found a light.

"Ow!" he screeched, crashing into a random drip and cursing.

Tails' bandaged head silently popped out of the surprisingly warm covers, eyes drowsily looking ahead.

He didn't know why, but he suddenly felt a little faint.

As the two whizzed past the many beds and sleeping patients, they saw a bleak light ahead of them, revealing a separate room with a quaint, coincidentally-placed observation window.

Inside, there was an end table, flowers, a drip, a heart monitor, and a bed, each placed about the room in an organized manner. The flower vase was vibrant with colour, having daisies, pansies, and buttercups lined with a warm, golden light.

Knuckles smiled warmly, assuming someone had been here and left the gift. For that particular reason, he was left to assume Vanilla had been in here too.

His gaze flew to the bed, and his expression softened into a worried one.

"Tails?"

"Huh?" Tails looked up groggily, then instantly perked when he saw the mammal inside.

Curled ears were softly spread across a blank pillow. An orange dress was folded by its side, the patient having a new hospitalized attire. Closed eyes, and nothing but.

Beep… beep… beep…

The fox heard that horrible noise again, and climbed out of the basket, flew to the floor, and made his way towards the door.

Sympathetic, the echidna followed, shaking his head gently as he neared the beeping noise.

Tails was more worried than ever, and with the thought that he could possibly be the sole reason for her comatose status… well, Knuckles was starting to wish he didn't bring the kitsune.

Within moments, said person was stood by the bed, blue orbs intent on shut ones.

"…Cream?" he hoarsely called. "Cream… can… can you hear me?"

A hand fell on his shoulder, a big one. "Tails, you gotta' remember, she's in a coma. She can't exactly answer you."

The kitsune glared at the speaker, personality sturdier than before. "I knew and know that, Knux."

Beep… beep… beep…

There was an awkward silence, hence Tails looking back to the rabbit on the bed.

"Hey, Cream…" he started. "So… uh… how're you doing?"

Knuckles leaned on the wall, folding his arms and closing his eyes as he listened in.

That heart monitor's sounds reached the eight-year-old's ears.

"Guess… guess that was a dumb question…" he trailed. "…Heh…"

He smiled meekly at her sleeping form, eyes somewhat half-lidded and sad. Whilst the smile shone, his expression dulled.

He was lost. He didn't know why, but he simply was. Never once had he had a friend put in intensive care… least of all the cause being his doing…

…His doing…

Vanilla's kind words once more echoed through his head. Yet, no matter how much they could possibly reassure him of the fact that it truly wasn't his fault, the other voices forced him to think otherwise.

Your fault. Your fault. Your fault.

Imagine hearing those words… repeatedly, in your own mind, where it truly doubted your very soul. Imagine being filled with nothing but utter guilt, sadness, and anger… self-hatred… Having it all inside you… Letting it consume you… letting it be the only bitter judgment of your actions…

Tails felt terrible. More than that.

The fact that a young child, who was put in his care… HIS alone… was in front of him, practically on her deathbed and drifting away to a dream world that seemed endless… it haunted him.

…Haunting…

He could briefly picture her spirit doing that very thing to remind him of that exact event… yet, he could not know her to be like that. Cream was kind, as was her mother; her actions like that would be too malicious.

Perhaps… perhaps this merely was… his overactive imagination kicking in. After all, he knew the chances of Cream doing that in the after life were remarkably slim.

He sighed audibly, before looking at his shoes, fists clenching.

He felt so frustrated all of a sudden. One half of him was saying he was responsible, yet the other half wasn't… He wanted to believe Vanilla; he truly did. He wanted to more than anything. Alas, he couldn't, as all those echoing voices, persuasive voices, wouldn't leave him be. They were telling him. Repeatedly.

Your fault! Your fault! Your fault!

It vaguely reminded him of those mocking, childish sounds that were never absent in his earlier youth. Those scornful, horrible insults towards his two, unique tails… In a way, he could imagine his thoughts coming from only them. Long after he had abandoned that life and went on a terrific adventure that always destroyed his doubts, because he knew he was safe.

…Safe… Safe because of Sonic…

Sonic…

Tails didn't even know what to do with him now… Being most honest, he wanted more than anything to put things back to the way they once were.

He hated not being able to trust him anymore… He hated not being like… well, brothers…

Did he doubt his judgment? …Of course he did… ever so slightly, anyway…

Knuckles had edged him ever so slowly into the right direction of thought.

In all honesty, it made Tails chuckle at how he was the one trying to keep them from fighting. Normally, it was the kitsune trying to separate Knuckles and Sonic…

"Yeah? Well, Knucklehead, maybe you should keep an eye on that emerald of yours! Then it wouldn't go missing all the time, would it, clumsy?"

"CLUMSY? SONIC, YOU—!"

"Guys, guys, cut it out! We haven't got time for this!"


He smiled meekly.

"Heh. My little buddy' good with anything… It's like he's a regular Hawking! The regular whizz-kid!" Sonic stated proudly, grinning.

"Sonic!"

"Aw, c'mon, you know it's true, Tails, ol' buddy! Mind if I take you to a gameshow one day?" he asked, rubbing his little brother's head with a chuckle.


"Well… nice job, Tails. I could use a mechanic… and a friend."

"You really mean it?!"

"You bet!"


"See ya' on the ground, buddy…"

And with that swift motion, he'd pushed him into oddly-shaped train.

"SONIC!"


"Tails? Tails? Buddy? Are you okay?!"

He had heard that voice as soon as his eyes had opened; they'd come face to face with the blue hedgehog and the flaming wreckage of the Tornado.

"Oh, God… Thank God! I thought I lost you, buddy! It's okay; I'm gonna' get you outta' here, and…"


He sighed, frowning again as his gaze moved to Cream's closed eyes.

"Hey, Cream? We're making a big deal about you, y'know… A really big one…" he mumbled. "I mean, since you got loads of friends… I bet they're all w-worried s-sick about you…"

Yeah… worried sick… just like I am…

He blinked, before furrowing his brow.

"Just think about it. When you wake up, you'll get so much free jelly that you'll have a full tummy in a few seconds!" he joked, forcing what seemed to be a weak grin.

His smile faded as the heart monitor reminded him of the severity he had got rid of for that very moment. Something was screaming at him, nagging him… he shouldn't be happy.

No… he wasn't happy anyway.

He was trying to be optimistic for her sake. Being sad wouldn't be any good. He should be hoping. Hoping that she'd fall out of this sleep that went beyond the measures of overtime.

But all he could feel was that overwhelming guilt in his stomach.

Your fault… your fault… your fault…

That's all that ran through his head, and he'd give anything to get it out. But no matter how hard he tried, he simply couldn't… to the point that he started to take those voices more rationally.

"…Cream… You ever get that feeling… that feeling that you're wrong?" he whispered, blue eyes full of nothing but utmost sincerity. He glanced out of the window. "That you've made a really, really, really terrible mistake?"

Silence answered him. Nothing but silence.

Beep… beep… beep…

He frowned.

"Well… I-I-I'm starting to think I have… b-but what do you do about it, huh?"

He breathed in, and then exhaled in a depressed manner.

"…I… I don't know what to do… Cos… well, I don't know that either… It's just…" he stopped, before looking at the flowers on the table. "… Nothing…"

He straightened.

"…Just… just get better…" he uttered. "…P-please, please get better…"

He turned around, his miserable stare seemingly making the flowers nearby wilt lifelessly.

Knuckles looked up, seeing water threatening to break forth from the fox's now closed eyes, seeing his clenched fists, seeing his look of utter guilt and agony.

"Please… PLEASE GET BETTER! PLEASE!"

"Huh?" the echidna blinked, seeing Tails sprawled out across the bed, crushing Cream and wailing.

"I'm… I'm… I'M S-SORRY!" he cried, banging his tightened, weak fists on the sheets, everything disregarded as he wallowed over her. "I'm s-s-sorry! You hear me? I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'M SORRY!"

Your fault… your fault… your fault…

BEEP… BEEP… BEEP…

"Tails, get off her, buddy!"

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

Your fault… your fault… your fault…

"Please, you g-gotta' wake up! I didn't mean to!" he screamed, the sheets muffling his speech as he ignored the red echidna. "Please… PLEASE, PLEASE!"

At this point, the crimson organism was up and about once more, trying to pry Tails' hand from the sheets, therefore causing the child to scream at him, asking him to leave him alone to shriek.

He didn't stop, and if he didn't, someone would be bound to hear him sooner or later.

Knuckles wouldn't stop either. Tails throwing bennies wouldn't help anyone.

"Come… ON… Tails…!" Knuckles muttered behind his clenched teeth.

"No… no, no, no…!" the fox replied, not bunching, hands tight on the sheets, tears soaking it.

"You're gonna' crush her!"

Tails stiffened, before softly letting go of the sheets, his posture weak as he stood up, eyes fraught with nothing but utter sadness and realization.

And, from that moment, sniffles could barely be heard.

"Tails…" the echidna started worriedly. "Don't you get it? What Vanilla said?"

The two-tailed mammal looked up, staring at the wall ahead of him, his arms drooped and in a depressed posture.

He shakily tried to counter it, his panicky breaths beginning once more, "B-b-but…"

"Hey, C'MON! Don't start crying your eyes out again!"

The fox closed his eyes, mumbling under his breath and stopping his sniffles. "…Yeah… I-I-I-I… I remember…"

"Pull yourself together, Tails," the rouge creature advised, his hands on his hips as he scolded Tails like a teacher would a child. "Even Cream wouldn't want to see you like this."

"…You're… you're right…" Tails finalized. "But… I..."

Knuckles narrowed his eyes. "Now, don't start that stuff again! Stop over-using the buts!"

"But, Knuckles…"

"Tails. It'd be nice to not hear you blame yourself over and over again. You act like it really was your fault! And it isn't!"

"But it was… I caused this! I screwed up! I can't e-e-even fly a plane right! I shouldn't have left the wheel… I should've done it m-m-myself! Multi-tasked! And then Cream wouldn't have gone head-first into the w-w-wind-shield!" he yelled, eyes burning with tears as his face grew red. He pointed at Cream. "That s-s-should be me! That should be me in a coma! Not Cream! Me, me, M-M-ME!"

"Tails…" Knuckles growled irritably, failing to keep his patience; he knew for a fact that Tails didn't need any of this self-hatred. "Lemme' ask you… are you the cause for the bad weather?"

Those bright blue orbs turned to him, staring solemnly at his violet eyes. ". . . Yes."

"…What?" asked the guardian, rubbing his dreadlocks.

Tails sadly nodded to confirm his earlier answer. "…I said… 'y-yes,' Knuckles…"


The darkness spilled across the hallway, until a light brightened said place, revealing mechanical walls, and a cold, icy floor.

A blue being trudged through the hallway, his eyes seriously intent on the door ahead. Only his footsteps signaled he was there. Dreaded silence seemed to be his only response, aside from the tapping beneath his body.

Finally, he came to a halt.

The door stood before him, and his green eyes flickered to look at the handle. He rested a hand on i9t for a moment, then, turned it, yet, he stopped. The hand raised, clenched, and then knocked.

A silence dawned across the corridor, and then, a security camera by the door beeped, alerting its master of an intruder.

The door creaked open after several seconds.

"Come in," called a voice.

The hedgehog lifted his head, acknowledging the command, and fully stepping in.

The room was square, holding several different types of weapons and machinery. Bookshelves stood in one corner, while models and blueprints stood in the other. In the northern side, opposite the door, were several televisions depicting high and not-so-high priority areas, and in front of that, was a desk, strangely bent, but still useable. An office chair spun around, revealing an obese, rotund man bearing his trademark mustache.

His hands were tented together, watching the outsider with a sinister grin. "Back so soon?"

In reply, the blue one nodded silently.

"Heh, heh… Well, Sonic," he began, chuckling as he snidely smirked. "I think it would be an ideal time to tell me about your little friend, Tails, now, wouldn't it?"


HELLO, PEOPLES! IMA' BAAAAACKK! :D

I finally got another chapter typed up. I kept putting my story-writing off schedule for some reason… probably because I finally got broadband and I'm getting addicted to the internet… Heh, heh… sorry for the lateness, guys. XD

Anyway, I might be able to write chapters faster now. Fanfiction is on the mind! (:

Hope you're happy with the chapter. L: