Tails woke up late the next morning, feeling the sun on his face. He rubbed his eyes and looked around, saw that he was in his bedroom. He was pretty sure this wasn't where he had fallen asleep, but no matter how hard he tried to remember, he couldn't recall where he had fallen asleep the night before.
Actually, now that he thought about it, he couldn't remember almost anything from the night before. He could remember being in the forest outside of the city, but now that he thought about it, he was sure that had been a dream. Either way, his memory of it was vague at best.
Tails stretched and hopped out of bed, ready to get some breakfast and start his day. He had a really good idea for an upgrade for his plane, and if he got started on it right away, he was pretty sure he could get it finished within the next day or so.
Tails was surprised to see Sonic in the kitchen, sitting at the table. The blue hero appeared to be deep in thought, so much so that he almost didn't notice Tails when he walked in.
"Uh... M-morning, Tails," Sonic greeted, sounding as though he were scared of being screamed at. This puzzled Tails, but he assumed that Sonic had probably just been up late stopping one of Eggman's schemes or something and was just tired.
"Morning, Sonic," Tails greeted. "When'd you get here?"
Sonic finally looked up at Tails, appearing confused.
"What do you mean?" Sonic asked. "I've been here for months."
Now it was Tails' turn to be confused.
"Really?" Tails asked, reconsidering his plans to work on his plane. After all, if he couldn't even remember that Sonic had been staying with him for so long, that was probably a sign he needed a little time out of his workshop. "Oh... Well, I was thinking of upgrading my plane today, but..."
"You need to fix Metal Sonic," Sonic interrupted, trying to sound stronger than he felt. "Remember?"
"What?" Tails asked, confused. "Why would you want me to do that? Isn't Metal Sonic our enemy? I mean, he's Eggman's robot and all..."
"... He's been trying to help us," Sonic explained, seeming extremely confused, possibly even more so than Tails. "Remember?"
Tails shook his head.
"Why would Metal Sonic try to help us?" Tails asked. "He's Eggman's robot. I thought he was built to destroy you."
Sonic stared at Tails, seeming confused and, Tails noticed, a little scared. Tails wasn't sure how to respond to this, so he headed to the cabinets to see what there was to eat.
"If you want me to fix Metal Sonic, I'll fix him," Tails said. "Does he just need a little repair, or...?"
"He's... off," Sonic said, not sure what to call the state his robot counterpart was in. "He won't turn back on."
"Oh," Tails said. "Then it'll probably take me a while. Unless we can get Eggman to give us Metal Sonic's blueprints, it's going to take me forever just to figure out how he's supposed to work, much less fix whatever's wrong with him."
Sonic was quiet, seeming to have nothing else to say. Tails found some cereal that looked pretty good and grabbed the box, taking it with him over to the refridgerator to make sure he had milk for it.
"Do you think Amy would want to hang out with us today?" Tails asked, grabbing the carton of milk and checking to see if it was still good.
Tails failed to notice the expression of pure horror that had appeared on Sonic's face, busying himself with getting a bowl for his cereal.
"... She... She can't hang out with us anymore," Sonic said, his voice shaking. "D-don't you remember?"
"She can't?" Tails asked. "Why not?"
"... She's not... not here anymore," Sonic said, sounding as though he were about to cry.
"Did she move?" Tails asked, finishing up with making his bowl of cereal and heading toward the table to sit with Sonic.
"She... Tails, how can you not remember?" Sonic asked.
Tails just stared at Sonic, taking in his expression, but unsure of how to respond to it. Sonic looked absolutely horrified, as though there were something he knew that Tails didn't, and Tails tried as hard as he could to think of if he could remember anything that might have to do with it. Something related to Amy, that much was obvious, but Sonic usually didn't get this worked up over her.
"Sonic, it's okay," Tails said. "Whatever it is, it's okay."
Sonic appeared shocked to hear this, which Tails hadn't been planning on. Had he said something wrong?
"Tails, seriously, what's going on?" Sonic asked. "Why are you acting like everything's normal?"
"Did something happen?" Tails asked, trying to recall anything strange that may have happened. All he could remember was working on his plane like he usually did, although if he had failed to notice Sonic had been staying with him for so long, there were probably a few other things he missed out on as well. "I'm sorry. I guess I've been working on my plane a little too much..."
Sonic merely stared at Tails for a moment, as though trying to think of a response.
"... Tails, how old are you?" Sonic asked.
"Eight," Tails said, a little confused why Sonic had asked him his age. "... I didn't miss my birthday, did I?"
Sonic got up from the table as if to leave.
"Where are you going?" Tails asked.
"I... I have something to do," Sonic said, dashing off before Tails could say anything else.
Sonic found himself running around the city, dodging around people on the streets to avoid running into them.
Eight? Sonic thought to himself. He thinks he's still eight?
That was uncomfortable enough on its own, but when Sonic realized that that was the age Tails had been when Esplouge first kidnapped him...
He's acting like it never happened, Sonic thought to himself. He's acting like none of it ever happened. Like everything's normal.
As much as Sonic wanted Tails to finally start acting normal again, this was too much. Acting normal was one thing, but to completely forget everything...
That wasn't normal. There was still something seriously wrong with Tails, even if it wasn't as dangerous as before. Even if Tails stayed this way and never remembered Esplouge again, there was still something horribly wrong with that.
This is beyond just him acting like everything's normal, Sonic thought. It's never been this bad with him. Even when his parents died, he still remembered that they were dead. Even when he acted like everything was okay, he still remembered they were dead.
It was obvious enough that there was something seriously wrong, but what could Sonic do about it? Reminding Tails of Esplouge felt like it would be a bad idea, and after what had happened the night before, Sonic was too scared to ask for anyone else's help.
Tails had killed Shadow. From what Sonic knew, Tails had killed Shadow with his bare hands, something which had seemed impossible up until it happened. And from the way Tails had been acting lately, Sonic wouldn't be shocked if he returned home and found Tails talking to Esplouge's dead body as though he were still alive.
And thinking of Esplouge, Tails had slept with his body the night before. He had to have noticed Esplouge's body next to him when he woke up, but if he had seen Esplouge's body, why was he acting like none of it had ever happened?
So all of this, Tails seemingly forgetting everything, was a game. It had to be. There was no way he wouldn't have noticed Esplouge's body next to him when he woke up. He was just pretending so he could mess with Sonic's emotions, to control him.
Sonic stopped running suddenly, staring at the ground at his feet, not really seeing it.
Tails was manipulating him, just like he had been doing since Esplouge died. He had put a new spin on it, but Sonic was absolutely sure at this point that Tails was manipulating him again.
He hadn't forgotten about Esplouge. His mind hadn't reverted back to a point where his life had been peaceful. He knew exactly what had happened, he knew exactly what was going on, and he was pretending not to so he could manipulate Sonic. That had to be the case; nothing else made sense.
There was no way Tails would suddenly forget about someone he had become so obsessed with. There was just no way.
"... You were right," Sonic said, looking up at the sky hollowly. "You were right, Shadow. All of this could have been easier if I had let you... if I had just let you kill him. As much as I hate to admit it, you were right."
Sonic paused for a moment, as though trying to come to a decision.
Everything would be so much easier if Shadow were still alive. The thought of any harm coming to Tails still made Sonic absolutely sick, but something had to be done to stop whatever it was he was planning.
There had to be something other than death. There was no way Sonic would be able to live with himself if anything happened to Tails, but there had to be something he could still do...
And that, Sonic realized, would be a lot easier to figure out of Metal Sonic were still functioning. But with Tails as unstable as he was, Sonic was already worried that Metal Sonic was either never going to be fixed, or that the robot would be used to help Tails bring Esplouge back to life.
And once Esplouge was alive again... That was something Sonic didn't even want to think about.
"... I can't do it," Sonic finally said, sounding defeated. "I can't kill him. You know that. You were just trying to make it easier for me, weren't you? You were going to stop him so I didn't have to, right? I don't know what to do now, Shadow. I can't let him do whatever it is he's planning, but I can't stop him, either."
Sonic looked back to the ground, shaking his head.
It felt like there was nothing more he could do. He couldn't kill Tails, and he certainly couldn't stop him any other way. Tails was winning, and if he wanted to bring Esplouge back to life, Sonic was sure without a shadow of doubt he'd be able to pull it off. And whatever happened after that, whether Esplouge would be just as insane as before or act perfectly normal, it would be a bad thing either way. If Tails was insane, it didn't matter how sane Esplouge would be when Tails eventually brought him back.
Even if Esplouge came back perfectly sane, Tails' insanity would corrupt him, just as his had done to Tails.
"Is... Is that what he's planning?" Sonic asked, looking back up at the sky. "He's... Is he...?"
Is he going to torture Esplouge like Esplouge tortured him?
The thought of that terrified Sonic, but the more he thought about it, the more it made sense. If Tails was as insane as he was, the only reason he'd have to bring Esplouge back would be for...
"... He's going to get revenge," Sonic said to himself, horrified by the mere thought. "Oh my god..."
Was Tails really that sick? Was he really capable of torturing another person?
"He tried to kill me when I started staying at his house permanently," Sonic said, trying to get his thoughts straight. "He..."
If Tails was capable of murder, he was probably capable of torture as well. After all, with how insane Tails had been acting, it wasn't too difficult for Sonic to picture Tails enjoying every second of causing another person pain.
"I can't... I can't let him bring Esplouge back to life," Sonic said. "Especially if I'm right about this. It'd be bad enough having to deal with that psychopath again, but if I'm right about this..."
But what could he do to stop Tails? There was nothing he could do, save from hiding Esplouge's body somewhere Tails would never find it. If Tails was determined enough, he'd find Esplouge eventually anyway, and the thought of even touching the reason Tails was acting this way in the first place...
"It's the only thing I can do," Sonic reasoned with himself. "If I can keep Esplouge's body away from Tails, Tails can't bring him back to life. This way, no one has to get hurt."
Sonic finally raced back home, trying to think of good places to hide Esplouge's body as he ran.
Tails finished up his cereal, set the empty bowl in the sink, and filled it with water, figuring that'd be good enough for now. He was more interested in finding Metal Sonic, seeing what condition the robot was in before deciding how he'd go about fixing him. He found the robot laid out on the couch, looking almost like he was asleep save for the shattered screen that had once served as his eyes.
Tails stared at the robot blankly for a moment, feeling his thoughts drift off to the night before, to the forest...
"Oh, right," Tails said to himself. "That was just a dream." He smiled cheerfully. "I'm going to fix you up like new, okay, Metal Sonic? When you wake back up, you'll be good as new, and then I can break you all over again."
Tails started to laugh.
"Well, I guess I'd have to wait a while before breaking you again," he said. "After all, I still need you to help me bring Esplouge back to life. But once that's done, I will completely fucking obliderate you. And then, and then after that... well, you won't be around to see that, will you?"
Tails climbed on top of Metal Sonic, sitting on the robot's stomach and staring down at him as Esplouge had done to him so many times before.
"I'm going to kill you, Sonic," Tails whispered, smiling. "After I bring my dear little Esplouge back, I'm going to kill you..."
