Tails backed away.
"No…not yet…" Amy looked at Tails with shocked eyes.
"Don't you want him to wake up?"
"Of course I do…but it's just too early. Considering how deep of a coma that was, there's no way to be able to tell the effects on his body and mind." Amy looked as scared as Tails was now.
"I'll go call Manic; he'll want to be here…" Tail nodded distractedly. He was worried out his mind. Sonic was breathing much harder, and his hands were clenched. Is there even the slightest possibility that I'm wrong? I hope so… About 30 seconds later, Manic burst in, dragging Sonia behind him.
"What's going on?"
"I think he's starting to wake up…" Sonia let her head fall into her hands, but Manic rushed forward.
"Will he be okay?" Tail looked back at the screens-they were starting to fall again.
"I…don't know…" Sonic's face had settled a bit, and the heart rate was around his normally. "I think he pushed out of the coma, but now he's just sleeping. He's probably exhausted, physically and mentally. It'll be another 10 hours or so before he wakes up. You can stay here, if you want…" All 3 hedgehogs nodded at the same time.
"All right then, I'll get some cots. Do you want to stay in here?" More nods. "Okay, I was going to stay with him anyway." Tails flew up to the attic, heading straight for his 'camping' section. There were only 3 cots, but he also saw a foldable air mattress. Forgot about that…I'll let Sonia use that one. Throwing the beddings into a bag, he flew back downstairs. Everyone was in the exact same place, looking at Sonic breathing deeply. Tails cleared his throat.
"Ehhem-I got the cots. I found an air mattress too, so whoever wants that can have it." Sonia walked up, then handed the cots to the others.
"I'll take the mattress, okay?" Tails nodded, then pulled a few blankets out of the bag.
"Here, here, and here." He said, tossing them to Manic, Amy, and Sonia, then grabbing one for himself. As he unfolded his cot, his mind was in the clouds.
Will Sonic be okay? Will he even remember this? Ohhh, I need to know! Settling in wasn't easy, but the tired Tails finally managed to drift into an uneasy sleep. The last sound he heard was Manic dialing a communicator.
"Call Knuckles..."
xxx
The next morning, Tail woke up the sun, having forgotten to close the blinds the night before. Manic was snoring lightly, but Sonia was sitting up and rubbing her eyes, talking to Amy.
"So, anything new with you?" Amy shrugged, pulling on one of her boots.
"Not much… I bought a new hair band, got a few chili-dogs from that place down the street. I was going to give them to Sonic, but now…" Tails jumped in, seeing Amy was about to start crying.
"I'm sure he'll still want them. It's been-"Tails checked his watch, but was interrupted by the computer.
Miles- Tails blushed, before turning to the computer.
"Yes? And don't call me that."
Tails, Sonic is waking up.
"Oh my gosh-already? All right…" Tails darted over to the table, where Sonic was rolling over. His eyes were starting to open, but his face was still twisted in pain.
"Sonic? Are you okay?" Sonia pushed her way past Tails, shoving him to the side. "Sonic?"
"Bro…" Manic grabbed Tails and pulled him back next to Sonic. "You all right?" Sonic moaned, curling himself up.
"Ergh..it hurts…" Tails face lit up.
"YOU'RE OKAY!" Sonic's hands flew up to his ears.
"Ouch…Tails, can you tone it down? My head hurts like crazy…" Tails took a step back, blushing a bit.
"I-I'm sorry…I was just excited." Manic put his hand on Sonic's shoulder, helping him sit up.
"Ohhh-thanks Manic." Sonic started rubbing his stomach.
"Tails, do you have anything to eat?" Tails laughed, then gestured to Amy.
"Amy, this is a good time…" Amy smiled, then flounced forward.
"Sonic, I brought you a chilli-dog…" Sonic's face lit up.
" Great! I love you, Amy!" Amy just about fainted. Giggling and blushing, she handed it to Sonic. Sonic held his hand out, the other still on his gurgling stomach. He downed the whole thing in 2 bites-one less then he usually did.
"Oh man, that tasted great…So, what happened? Why was I out? And why does my stomach hurt so badly?" Tails stepped forward-he was just glad that memory loss of the event was the apparently the only side effect.
"Well…it's kind of a long story…"
"I've got time." So Tail recapped everything that had happened during the past few days, starting with Sonic being DNA switched in the machine, and ending with his self-inflicted coma. Sonic's eyes were wide the whole time, gloves tightly clenched.
"Robotnick will pay." Tails was a bit shocked-Sonic never acknowledged the doctor by his real name-but shook it off.
"So, are you feeling any better?" Sonic shrugged, hopping off the table.
"A bit, but I'm still kind of sore, and hungry." Tails nodded, knowing Sonic could down 10 chili-dogs on a normal day, and he was probably even more ravenous now.
"'I'll go make something…" Before Tails left, he saw Amy squeezing the life out of Sonic.
"Owww-Get off Amy, I'm still sore…" Tails let out a quiet chuckle before closing the door.
In the kitchen, Tails bustled around, trying to be fast.
"Let's see…he likes extra onions and not too much cheese…" Tails muttered to himself distractedly. "There, that should do it for a while.' Tails had gathered 13 dogs onto a big plate, and marched back into the room. Sonic was talking with Manic, and Tails caught the word 'Shadic' twice.
"Sonic, I brought some more dogs, if you're still hungry…" Sonic turned around, smiling.
"Thanks bud." He grabbed the plate his friend was holding out.
"Want one?" Tails shook his head.
"I already had one while they were cooking…Manic?" Sonic's twin grinned.
"Who can resist a chili-dog?" Tails laughed as Manic snatched the plate, grabbing one before handing it back to his brother. Sonic scarfed the dogs, gratefully catching the napkin Tails tossed him. As Sonic enjoyed his meal, Tails turned to Manic.
"So, what were you two talking about?" Manic shrugged.
"Nothing much…I was explaining what I remembered of the fight. He seemed kind of shocked, especially that Shadow agreed to the whole Shadic thing. I was surprised at the time too, so this must be weird for him."
Tails shrugged. "At least it's over…by the way, I heard you calling Knuckles. Did he pick up?"
"Yea…he thought it was weird Sonic broke out of that coma so fast… Oh, and he said he'd come by to check Sonic's chaos levels, to make sure he's okay." Tails nodded-that was good.
"When did he say he'd be here?"
Manic shrugged. "I dunno. He said around 10." Tails glanced at his watch.
"Well, it's 9:30 now. He'll be here pretty soon. We can put away the cots while we wait." Sonic, who had finished eating, caught the tail end of the conversation.
"Knux is going to be here? What for?"
"He's just going to make sure there weren't any lingering side effects. Just checking. He's worried that much chaos energy might have messed up your system." Sonic sighed, then turned to Sonia.
"So, how're things going, sis?" His sister waved her hand dismissively.
"Fine…nothing near as exciting as what you usually do…I got a mani and a facial, but not much else exciting. Of course, seeing you looking dead took a dent out of the day…" Sonic rubbed his temples.
"Geez, this was exciting for everybody, but I can't remember anything…this must be how Shads felt on the Arc…" Suddenly, Sonic's head bolted up.
"What the heck…where did that come from?" Tails dropped his half-folded cot and raced over to Sonic.
"What?" Sonic rubbed his head, right under his ears, which were sticking straight up.
"I suddenly remembered something…but I never lived that…" Tails face took on a concerned look.
"What did you remember?"
"Running-no, being chased. Then, getting knocked out, and waking up in a big container. Then, just-oh no…" Tails started shaking Sonic, who had completely frozen.
"What? What else?" Sonic looked at Tails, eyes wide with fear.
"Maria…I remember the soldiers shooting Maria…" Tails took a step back.
"How can you remember something that happened before you were born? Sounds like something that…" Tails face paled.
"Shadow…would…say…"
xxx
Rate and review, please!