X – The Best of Fiends

Sonic's ears pricked up.

"Did you hear that?"

Standing on the stone steps of the local police station, Amy looked around the dark streets before shrugging.

"I didn't hear anything. What was it?"

His ears twitched again, and he held out his hand as if to beckon silence. The sound had almost gone, but the tiny vibrations lingering in his ear drew him towards it.

"Sounded like a gunshot. Think it came from over there."

"Wow, your hearing is really good," said Amy. "You don't think GUN are here, do you?"

Sonic shook his head. "Nah. If it were GUN the whole sky would be on fire. They don't do subtle, that's for sure." He chewed his lip for a moment. "I think we should investigate."

"Sonic!" Amy groaned. "The police station is right there! You're seriously gonna chase after a noise?"

"Call me crazy, but I'm sure it has something to do with Tails. I'm certain it does."

"How can you possibly know that?"

"I don't know..." said Sonic, staring through her. "I can just feel it in my chest. It's like... it's like there's something guiding me, something other than my gut. I'm not sure what it is, but I trust it."

Amy hopped off the stone steps and approached him, taking him by the hands and standing close, looking up with wide, sad eyes.

"Sonic..." she said, her voice heavy with concern, "you felt like this on Angel Island, remember? You said you sensed a presence or something. Then Knuckles got attacked. What if this is another trap? A trick to make you deliver me to the monster, maybe? I know you've always trusted your feelings, but they're your feelings, not someone, or something else's. Listen to your own heart; it's never steered you wrong before."

Sonic took a step back. "I..." Every word from Amy's mouth made perfect sense, but he couldn't shake the feeling from his heart. Though he realised that something might be manipulating him, given what happened to Knuckles, he couldn't bring himself to distrust whatever it was that haunted him. Though it amounted to little more than a funny feeling, that feeling felt so pure and full of good that he couldn't not trust it.

"I'm sorry, Amy," he said, shaking his head. "I have to do this. Please, just trust me."

Amy took a deep breath, exhaling and letting her shoulders slump.

"Okay, Sonic. I trust you. Just... try not to get my soul sucked out, okay? I'm really quite attached to it."

Sonic smiled, taking her by the hand, and they sped off across the town, away from the town centre and out into the suburbs until they arrived at a quiet street with houses backing on to the forest. Sonic stopped in the middle of the street, holding his hand up.

"It was around here somewhere," he said, scanning the houses for any sign of activity. Most sat in total darkness, their drapes drawn closed, but one caught his eye. Further up the street, light poured from a large front window, and the shadowy figures of people moved about within. If he strained his ears hard enough, Sonic thought he heard raised voices.

"Over there," he whispered to Amy. "Let's go."

They dashed over to the house, keeping their heads low and placing their steps precisely to minimise the noise from their footfalls. Creeping across the front lawn they came to the window, where they knelt down out of sight and pressed their ears close, listening carefully.

"-you saw what he was like!" said a male voice. "What was I supposed to do? Invite him in for dinner?"

"You shot a child, Alvin!" wailed a female. "You've killed a little boy!"

Sonic's heart froze, and he moved to stand up. Amy grabbed his hand, holding it tight and looking him in the eye. Sonic stopped rising, but Amy's calming touch couldn't stop the tingle of fear taking hold of him.

"That thing wasn't a little boy!" yelled Alvin. "You saw it with your own eyes! It was a monster, and I was protecting my family like any good father should! Would you have let it eat our little boy? Well, would you, Simone?"

"Of course not!" Simone wailed. "But look at him now! You really think the cops will believe some baloney about a monster when they see this? How will you protect your family when you're rotting in jail? You know what they do to child killers in jail?"

Alvin spoke up again, but Sonic could take it no more. He stood up despite Amy's attempts to hold him down, peeking over the windowsill and looking into the room.

A male and female chipmunk stood towards the rear of the house, through an archway leading to a dining room. They stood facing each other, locked in heated argument and oblivious to his presence. Nearer to the window he saw the living room lit only by the light pouring through the arch, but through the dim he caught sight of another chipmunk; a young boy sitting on the couch holding his knees close to his body, staring wide-eyed at something on the floor.

Sonic followed his gaze. A white sheet had been spread out in the centre of the living room, a hasty attempt to cover up the obvious shape beneath it. Even in the low light Sonic recognised the curves and lines of a prone body, though their identity remained concealed by the fabric, and he had no way to be sure who lay underneath it.

Until he saw an orange brush tipped with white peeking out from beneath it.

He dropped down, pressing his back up against the wall, holding his arms against to steady himself. His breathing accelerated until his chest ached, and his eyelids froze open. The thump of his heart shook his whole body, and his head wobbled on his shoulders.

"Sonic?" said Amy, putting her hand on his arm. "Sonic, what's wrong?"

"In there…" He gestured with his head, unable to turn around. "On the floor…"

Amy stood up to peer through the window, dropping down as soon as her eyes cleared the sill, an almost inaudible gasp leaving her lips.

"Oh my goodness," she whispered. "Is it… is it really him?"

"Only one way to be sure. I've got to get in there."

He stood up, heading for the front door. Amy watched him pass, her mouth open in disbelief.

"Are you mad?!" she hissed. "What are you doing?!"

"I need to know, Amy. I've come too far to turn back now."

Sonic leapt onto the front porch, and with a fist clenched tight he pounded on the door, the wood shaking beneath his blows. The voices inside the housed dropped into panic-stricken whispers and hurried accusations.

He struck the door again, the whispers grew harsher before cutting off into silence. Then footsteps grew nearer, their pace deliberate and loud so as to feign confidence. The door creaked open, and the face of Alvin peered out into the night with accusing eyes.

"What do you want? You know what time it is-"

Sonic's foot shot forward, kicking the door open and sending Alvin tumbling onto his back. Sonic stepped over him even as he tried to stand, heading into the living room. Amy ran in behind him, putting herself between Sonic and Alvin.

"I'm really sorry about this!" she said. "He's been under a lot of stress lately."

Alvin pushed passed her, catching up to Sonic, who stood looking down at the sheet-covered shape on the floor.

"Hey, I know you! You're Sonic the Hedgehog! What the heck do you think you're doing barging into my house like this?"

Without saying a word Sonic knelt down and threw back the sheet. A glimpse of what lay beneath it caught his eye and he turned away, closing his eyes as fast as he could. That fleeting glance alone sent shockwaves through him that threatened to split his heart in two; any longer and he feared he might disintegrate.

"You recognise him, do you?!" He said, his voice cracking and wobbling despite the fury behind it. "You know who this is? You realise what you've done?!"

"No!" cried Amy, falling to her knees by the body. "No, it can't be! Please don't let it be him!"

Sonic opened his eyes, fixing Alvin with his stare, channelling all his rage towards him and hoping he might burst into flames just from a look. He rose to his feet, towering over the chipmunk. Alvin backed away as Sonic inched towards him, pulling his son sharply by the arm and putting himself between his wife and child.

"Y-you don't understand. He did not look like that before. He was a... a thing! He attacked us, he... he tried to kill my son, he..." Alvin gulped, taking a step forward and squaring up to Sonic.

"I was only protecting my family!"

Sonic placed his fist in his other hand and cracked his knuckles.

"So am I."

He raised his arm, and Alvin shrank before him, putting his arms across his face. Sonic held his fist in place beside his head, his arm trembling from the tension wound up inside it. His fingers dug into his palm and his breath escaped his nostrils in furious snorts. Any second now his hand would fall and strike Alvin down. Any second now he would lose control.

"Sonic..." said Amy.

"Don't try and stop me, Amy! Don't tell me this isn't 'who I am' or some other bullshit! 'Who I am' died with Tails, and this bastard killed him!"

"But Sonic..."

"SHUT UP!" He roared. Even as he yelled he kept his eyes fixed on Alvin. The tension spread to the rest of his body, and his shaking became uncontrollable. Tears trickled down his cheeks, but he could not let go.

A flash of pink appeared before his eyes. Amy stood between him and Alvin.

"Amy, don't do this..."

"You need to look at the body," she said, pointing behind him.

Sonic shook his head. "I can't."

"Go and look at it. Something's not right here."

He shook his head again, silently mouthing 'no' over and over. Amy rolled her eyes and huffed, then turned around and put her finger in Alvin's face.

"You!" she barked. "Shooty Sheldon! What did you kill him with?"

Alvin looked around her at Sonic, his mouth quivering and the stammered starting syllables of words slipping out.

"Answer me!" said Amy. "What did you use?"

"I... my shotgun... over there," he pointed to the dining table where the shotgun lay. "I use it for hunting..."

"And where did you hit him?"

"In..." he avoided Sonic's gaze. "In the face. B-but I was-"

Amy turned back around to Sonic.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"Tails was shot in the face with a shotgun..."

"Amy, please..."

"So why isn't there so much as a scratch on his body?"

Sonic let his fist drop to his side, his anger dropping out of him, leaving only tension crawling over an empty shell.

"What are you saying?"

"Oh for goodness sake, look!"

She span him around so fast he tumbled forward across the living room floor, landing on his hands and knees, his face inches from Tails' own. Blue eyes stared out from orange fur, lifeless and empty yet somehow piercing into him, draining the remaining scraps of warmth from him and forcing his body to seize up. Even as he felt his heart shrivel to nothing, he could not tear his eyes from that face, the face he never wanted to see like this; robbed of its boundless energy and happiness.

Then he saw it; what Amy had been trying to tell him. Tails' face should have been mangled beyond recognition by a shotgun blast, yet not a single fur sat out of place and no blood covered his features. Apart from its unnerving stillness, his face was as perfect as Sonic always remembered.

His heart burst into life again, and his body awoke. The tiniest sliver of hope entered into him, but it was enough to bring him back from the edge of despair. He span around on his knees, turning to lean over Tails the right way round.

"Tails..." he whispered, shaking the boy's arm. "Tails, are you there? It's me. It's your best bud."

Tails didn't respond, and the sliver of hope began to fade again. Sonic put his head close to Tails' chest, straining his ears for any sound of breath.

"Are you there?"

A hand seized around his throat, crushing his neck between its fingers. Tails looked up at him with a wide grin, his irises transformed into a deep red. Sonic grabbed at the arm holding him, trying to prise it away, but Tails stood up, effortlessly lifting Sonic to his feet. His fur shifted as if blown by an unseen wind, flickering from orange to bright yellow, and flames danced across his body, licking at Sonic and filling his nostrils with the smell of burning flesh. When the boy spoke, two voices left his lips, one deep and rasping that shook the walls, the other sweet and high-pitched, but tinged with the giggling cunning of a child.

"Tails isn't here right now; don't bother leaving a message, 'cos he's never coming back!"

The pressure on his neck forced Sonic to his knees. He fumbled for Tails' arm, trying to wrench it away even as the heat of the flames pushed through his gloves. Burning, strangled breaths desperately clawed at his throat, his vision grew darker and the veins in his eyes crawled at the edges of his sight like growing red roots. Through the pain he kept his eyes fixes on Tails' own, hoping that somehow he could reach him.

Tails' eyes responded by spinning, his irises unravelling into crimson spirals trailing into infinity. He laughed, a booming, demonic laugh that rattled Sonic's heart yet at the same time the effete giggle of a child pulling the legs off a spider. But even as Tails' warped visage disappeared behind his blurred and fading vision, Sonic did not break eye contact. Though he couldn't speak, he focused all his thoughts together, hoping that somehow Tails would hear him.

I believe in you.

Something red flashed across his sight, and the crushing grip of Tails relented. Sonic fell forward, almost coughing up a lung as he fought for every scrap of air he could breathe in. Wiping off his eyes, he looked up to see Tails lying on the floor, and over him stood Amy brandishing her Piko-Piko hammer.

"That's it, you creep!" she yelled. "I don't care if you are Tails; no-one does that to my Sonic and gets away with it!"

She raised the hammer above her head with both hands. Sonic, still on all fours, reached out to her in vain.

"Amy, don't!"

She brought the hammer down so fast it became a blur. But Tails moved even faster, his arm shooting upwards to grab the hammer, stopping it dead. Amy froze, her mouth hanging open. Tails' other hand rose, his fingers splayed, and an invisible shockwave propelled Amy into the air, where she crashed into the ceiling and tumbled onto the floor in a cloud of dust.

Tails stood up, holding the hammer in front of him. With a flick of his wrist it burst into flame, crumbling into black ash in seconds and scattering to the floor. Tails stood over the two hedgehogs as they crawled and gasped for breath, and he held out his arms, daring them to oppose him.

A clicking sound caught Tails' attention, and he turned to look. Alvin had his shotgun pointed squarely at Tail's head.

"I'm warning you," said Alvin, "get out of my house or I'll kill you."

Tails turned his body towards Alvin, and walked towards him with slow, deliberate steps. Alvin took a step backwards, and the gun rattled in his hands.

"I'll d-do it! I'll sh-sh-shoot!"

"Duh-duh-duh-do it then, coward!" Tails mocked, creeping ever closer. "It's thanks to you that I'm finally free to use this body how I want. Tails was keeping me held back until you blasted him unconscious. Now let me show you just what you've unleashed."

He grabbed the shotgun's barrel, and wrenched it upward, twisting the metal with a painful grinding sound. Alvin's hand shook uncontrollably, but he couldn't let go, even as the shotgun glowed white hot and began to melt.

"For Chaos' sake; drop the gun, you idiot!" Amy barked. "Get out of here!"

Alvin jumped back in fright, letting the gun go and staring blankly at Amy.

"Go!" she yelled, waving her arms. "If you want to keep your family safe then run! It's us he wants, take them and go! Go now or he'll kill you!"

Amy's words seem to click, and Alvin quickly ushered his wife and son out of the room, and within moments they had fled out the front door and into the night.

Tails tossed the mangled firearm away, then looked back over his shoulder at Amy, a wicked, predatory grin on his face.

"I'm glad you did that. I was just going to kill them, but I think I prefer it like this. Now they'll spend every waking moment in fear of me. When I find them again, their terror will be so much sweeter."

"Alright, enough," said Sonic, rising to his feet. "Let Tails go now, whatever you are."

"Let Tails go?" The Tails-thing threw back its head and laughed its double-laugh. "Let him go? Oh Sonic; you haven't the first idea of what's happening here, do you?"

"I know that you're some evil thing that's taken control of Tails' body and that you've been making him attack people for some reason. I also know that I'm going to kick your butt right out of his... butt. That sounded weird, but whatever! You're history, pal!"

A flash of light filled the room, and Tails appeared inches from Sonic. Sonic flinched but stood his ground, even as Tails' hot breath washed over him.

"What are you going to do? Do you think you can just beat me up a bit and I'll flee whimpering from Tails' body? There is nothing you can do against me, but there is so much I can do to you."

Sonic squared up to him. "Who are you? What do you plan to do with Tails?"

It laughed again. "Me? I'm nothing but a bad dream. As for Tails, you should really be asking what he plans to do with me."

Sonic took a step back, his words caught in his throat. The Tails-thing tilted his head and smiled.

"You have no idea what you're dealing with. It's not me you should be afraid of. While I'm in control there will be death, there will be destruction, sure, but that's nothing compared to what Tails will do."

"Wait a second..." said Sonic, "I think I've just figured out who you are. You're Super Sonic, aren't you? Or that evil robot version of him. It's just like Tails described."

Super Sonic smirked, a deep chuckle echoing in Tails' chest.

"But I don't understand," Sonic continued. "You're dead; Tails defeated you, and I stopped the one who made you. There's no way you can be possessing Tails."

Super Sonic held a finger up to Tail's temple, twisting his hand in a drilling motion. "You can't kill an idea, especially once it burrows into your mind. Tails has clung onto my memory for so long I've taken on a life of my own. I am born from his fear, and as long as he continues to fear me I will never die."

"That's not right," said Sonic, pointing. "Tails isn't afraid of you. He was the only person brave enough to face you alone and win. He's the bravest guy I've ever met."

Tails' body began to pace around Sonic, and when he spoke he lent in to Sonic's ear, Super Sonic's voice a harsh yet playful whisper.

"Oh, you poor, poor thing. You really believe that, don't you? That sweet little Tails was strong enough in spirit to overcome someone as powerful as me? I wonder if that's just what you want to believe to reinforce your obsessive idolisation of Tails."

"Shut up," growled Sonic. "Don't try and tell me my feelings. Just give me my friend back."

"Let me tell you something about your friend; he is so very afraid of me. More afraid than you can possibly imagine. His every waking moment is consumed by my presence in his mind, and every night he is tormented by the memory of me. He is desperate, so desperate to be rid of me forever, and he will do anything to destroy me. He'll burn this whole world to cinders trying to kill me, but it won't ever be enough. I'll still be here until the very end, sitting with Tails in the ashes of everything he used to love."

Sonic clenched his fist. "Never. Tails would never hurt anyone, ever. You're the one causing all this pain, and I'm going to stop you, whatever it takes."

"I'm inside his mind; I see what drives him. He will sacrifice everyone if he has to. Even you."

"Then let him go," said Sonic, staring Super Sonic down. "If you leave him then he won't have to hurt anyone. Let him go and we'll settle this, hedgehog to hedgehog."

"It's Tails who needs to let me go, not the other way around." Super Sonic said. He stooped over, holding his head and letting out a disappointed sigh. "Ah, but look now; the little fella's waking up. A pity, I was looking forward to ripping you apart one layer of muscle at a time. Still, at least I get to watch the fur fly when Tails comes back. Your precious heart is gonna break, Sonic. It's gonna be great."

"The only thing that's gonna break around here is you."

Super Sonic snorted derisively. "I'll see you again real soon, I'm sure."

He closed his eyes, and Tails' body slumped to the floor. His fur faded back to its usual orange and the flames flickered and died. Sonic dashed forward, sliding to his knees and taking Tails into his arms, lifting him up and resting him on the couch.

"Tails?" He whispered. "Tails, can you hear me?"

Tails' eyes opened, and Sonic scooched back an inch when he saw his irises were still blood red, though the spirals had gone. The fox craned his head up to look at Sonic, and when he saw him his face contorted in terror.

"No!" screamed Tails, covering his face with his hands and forcing himself into the back of the couch with his legs and tails pulled tight against him. "Don't look at me! You weren't supposed to see me like this!"

His words became disjointed as he broke down into sobs. Instantly Sonic leapt forward and threw his arms around the hysterical boy, holding him close even through Tails' violent shaking.

"It's alright, buddy. It's alright." Sonic said, gently shushing him. "You have no reason to feel bad. Whatever's happened it's not your fault, it's all him. It's Super Sonic who's to blame."

Tails' trembling subsided, and his sobbing faded away. He grew still until the only movement Sonic could sense was the beating of his heart.

"Tails?"

"No..." whispered Tails. He lifted his head up, revealing eyes glistening with tears and shimmering back into their natural blue. His bottom lip stuck out and quivered, and he looked like he might collapse at any moment.

"It's me. I'm the one who's been hurting people."

Sonic's arms loosened their grip. "Buddy? What are you saying? You wouldn't-"

"I wouldn't?!" Tails snapped, causing Sonic to release him entirely. "That's what I thought before I did! I've betrayed my friends, I've betrayed my principles and I've betrayed you. I don't deserve your pity. I don't even deserve to live after what I've done."

"Don't say that!" Sonic said, pointing a finger, his voice cracking. "Don't ever say that! You'll always have a reason to live, and that reason is that I... that I... you know... I..."

Sonic's throat closed up, and he turned away, changing his aborted words into a frustrated cough.

"Ugh, there must be an explanation for all this. Even if you have hurt people, there must be a reason. You can't just turn bad overnight. It's got to be Super Sonic influencing you"

"Sonic," said Amy, putting a hand on his shoulder. "Why don't we let Tails explain it to us? He can help us fill in the gaps of what's been happening. Then we'll decide what to do."

Sonic brought a hand up to rest on Amy's. "Yes, yes I suppose you're right."

Amy sat down between Sonic and Tails, and Sonic got the feeling from her posture that she sought to set herself up as a barrier between them if things got too tense.

"Okay Tails," she said. "How did this all start? Tell us everything you can."

Tails cleared his throat, making eye-contact with Sonic for the briefest of moments before turning away and staring into the distance.

"Okay," he said, his words heavy, "I'll tell you what happened. But you won't like what I have to say."

"Tails," said Sonic, looking at the side of Tails head and willing him to look his way, "we're trying to help you. You don't have to hide anything from us. We'll always be your friends, no matter what."

Tails slowly turned his head to face him, and when his eyes met Sonic their cold and empty stare chilled him to the bone. When he spoke, the drained monotone of his voice tolled like a funeral bell.

"I'm sorry, Sonic, but after you hear the truth... we won't be friends anymore."

~O~