Author's note: This is the longest chapter because there were a lot of loose ends that needed to be tied together and I got carried away :3 - there's lots of talking in this one, picking up problems that gets solved that hopefully will make out a joyful ending
But despite that, I wanna give another huugee thank you to Irritable Fabulamancer who proofread this chapter for the finale. Do check out their stories they make some amazing fics!
So, without further ado: Enjoy this last chapter of 'The Unseen One'
What they didn't know
He sat up with a loud yelp, eyes wild and hands shaking. His heart was beating out of his chest, sitting against his ribcage, pumping, and pumping, beating faster than ever before.
Hyperventilation set in after that, as he curled against the wall, bending his legs, and pushed them to his chest and hid his head in his kneecaps, putting his arms around his legs.
"A nightmare. Just a nightmare. A nightmare," he whispered to himself, letting the tears escape and roll down his cheeks, tails curling around him in comfort alone. He was shaking all over, small tremors racking through his body as sweat rolled down his forehead, trying to get his breathing under control.
That was the first step, trying to make himself calm down, curl around and hug himself, concentrating on taking deep breaths or it could get out of control. He stubbornly held his arms around his legs and forced his head to remain hidden, socked toes curling as he hiccupped. It was a common occurrence by now – ever since he had seen Sonic getting thrown to the ground and the hedgehog hadn't gotten up the nightmares had been plaguing him.
Almost every night, for six months, the same outcome in different scenarios, him being left alone in a dark limbo, him seeing Sonic laying completely still on the ground, awfully cold when he put a hand on him. Screams and cries, howling or silence were conjured in his mind, put together with the landscapes of City, mixed with something that reminded him of Emerald Hill and sometimes the Mystic Ruins.
Infinite towering over him, laughing, Sonic being on the ground, silent. Him being left alone by himself, cold and scared, robots appearing out of nowhere, getting hurt or Sonic getting hurt. The same dreams, the same nightmares repeated itself like a curse if he would ever believe such a phenomenon. They had kept him awake at night, making him shake his head after getting over it and search for food in the middle of the night instead of sleeping.
The nightmares had disappeared ever since he had come, ever since he had realized that Sonic was alive. Therefore, this was one that hadn't been expected, since a part of him had hoped that they would stop because of his brother being back. But his mind had other plans.
He could feel his heart starting to calm down after a couple of minutes, his breathing getting easier, though he was still shaking. He left his chin on his knees as he lifted his head, letting out a deep sigh. His night vision eyes could perfectly see the small room he had been occupying ever since he had come here, the socks and gloves dresser behind him and the door to his left. The nightstand still had the white cup, though the dandelions had begun to wither, despite the water they were in.
He sniffed and annoyingly wiped at his face before the tears could wet his knees as well, closing his eyes and shook his head. Just a nightmare. A dumb, stupid nightmare that wasted his time. His quick burst had upset his arm as well, the burn throbbing slightly, despite the ointment partially still there, having been treated hours ago.
He looked at the Miles Electric he had left on the nightstand, tapping a finger on the screen. 3:11 – 3 in the middle of the night. And he wasn't tired anymore.
He both saw and felt his finger still shaking, stubbornly brought his arm back and squeezed his legs to try and make the shaking stop, thinking that it was ridiculous. When he was younger and smaller, he would crawl over to Sonic and either cry until he woke up, if he hadn't woken up because of the fox talking or whimpering in his sleep. A little bit older, and he didn't dare admit it, but he had once woken up from a nightmare when he was six and had walked into Sonic's room at night, crawling into his bed and being comforted until the both of them fell asleep. It was something that Tails knew Sonic had gotten used to when he was smaller, nightmares of the residents from his former home bullying him, torturing his mind, but they had disappeared, and the nightly bed visits had stopped. He still had nightmares before the war, but he had gotten better at getting over them and falling back to sleep, though these were on a greater scale than he could comprehend.
And he didn't want to admit it, but he wanted to find Sonic. Just to – check on him.
He bit his lip, thinking that it was ridiculous, and he knew that the hedgehog was fine, but he had already picked up his sneakers and snuggled his feet into them. He stood up on shaking legs, taking an extra moment to calm himself and get his bearings before he stashed his tablet in a tail and walked over and opened the door.
He squinted his eyes at the hallway lights, since they were never turned off. It was an eerie quietness he stepped into, closing the door behind him as he ran a hand down his face and walked down the corridor. He knew where Sonic's room was, he had needed to get him at one point in regard to a mission, though he had another objective in mind this time. His feet echoed in the hallway, the bunker being quiet from people sleeping and snoring in the rooms he walked past, turning a corner.
No one was here either, as he made it to a door that was the exact same style as his own, frowned at it, sighed, and knocked on it hard, being aware that the hedgehog was sleeping. No answer, though that didn't surprise him the least since he was known to be a deep sleeper. He knocked again, but everything was silent in the other room. He bit his lip and considered just going back to his own bed, although he knew he wouldn't get anything out of it since he wasn't tired, and he could feel his hands still slightly shaking.
"Sonic?" He asked as he turned the knob and lightly opened the door, peeking his head inside. An 'oh' left his lips as the covers had been thrown off, no red and white sneakers with a golden buckle scattered on the floor and no hedgehog either. He was up too.
He closed the door again, thinking where he might be. He could be anywhere since Sonic tended to go wherever he wanted to go when he either couldn't sleep or was checking up on Eggman. It didn't surprise him that he was up, and he instead decided to try his luck at the command room. Even if he wasn't there, then he might get lucky and find that Sonic either had taken a communicator or still had one on him.
He just wanted to – hear him, he decided. Yeah. Just wanted to check up on him.
Therefore, he turned on his heel and started walking back up the hallway, heading towards the command room, his behind appendages moving in slow strides. It had only been two days since the Resistance had won, but people had been celebrating or planned on continuing to celebrate once they got up again.
The empty beds around were soldiers who had thrown a party somewhere else since they had the time to do it. They had won, and therefore spending the time together with friends and family was the perfect method of celebrating their victory. He hadn't blamed them, had enjoyed the party he and his friends had held, eating until his stomach was hurting, smiling, and laughing. It had felt good – both to celebrate and laugh again but also to see his friends having fun and finally letting loose.
Knuckles the commander had slowly disappeared, bringing back the grumpy echidna who didn't like parties but had merely joined for the sake of the others wanting him to be there. And Sonic had taken the opportunity to tease him, play party games with him, arm wrestle, bringing him into various random challenges to the hedgehog's dismay since Knuckles had won almost all of them. Tails smiled at the thought, shaking his head, though the memories made him feel warm inside.
It was fun to hang out like they had done back in the old times, before they needed to become serious again and start planning the restoration of the entire world. He had promised himself to get settled back at the workshop before that. He was starting to miss the place.
He easily made it back to the command room, the sensors responding to his movement as the door automatically opened in front of him. He was slightly disappointed to see it empty, the screen still lit and showing him the normal data though the percentages were indicating that the entire world was back into their hands.
He sniffed and frowned at an odd smell, turning his head to look at the apple core he had eaten two days prior sitting on a plate, beginning to slowly rot. He would clean it up in the morning. He walked into the small room, his eyes catching sight of the terminal being closed, though another thing was placed on the table.
Curiously, he walked over to the small flowerpot, an orange flower sprouting there, slightly swaying in the wind he created. He couldn't help but let a smile cross his lips, tapping a finger on one flower petal, thinking that it was most likely Amy who had planted it.
It was almost surreal, being aware that the outside world had forests and jungles partially destroyed due to giant robots, cities left in rubbles and dismay as well as meadows getting flattened and tortured by moving metal. He had seen most of the world by now, the pretty sights he had gotten used to were almost completely gone. But he guessed that everything has a cycle, and at some point, the world would go back to normal. If a flower like this could grow in an underground bunker with metal and brick walls, then their planet could be saved as well.
He left the flower alone as he turned to grab a communicator when something else caught his eyes. Tails raised an eye ridge at the hatch he hadn't paid attention to before, left open, indicating that whoever was down there was most likely still down there.
Perplexed, he walked over to it and looked down at a set of round metal stairs, the path narrow and looked cramped to anybody else who wasn't a 44-pound fox – or less he guessed since he could still feel his ribs against his sides.
He let out a curious hum as he began walking down the stairs, thinking that it back in the day might have been a secret storage room or something of the sorts. He wasn't too up to date with human bunkers. It went longer down than he had first anticipated, walking around in a circle for a bit, before he made it to the bottom in a narrow corridor.
He could already tell that this area was less used, it was more humid and had an earthy smell, despite the brick walls looking dry and more robust. He didn't question it, instead walking forward in the small corridor, seeing a door that was open on the right-hand side at the end. His ears were peaked but he couldn't hear anybody, a part of him thinking that someone might have just forgotten to close the hatch. As he made it to the end however, he turned right through the open door and had to stop in surprise alone.
He had never expected it to be here, haven't even had the time to think about it or consider what Knuckles might have done with it. To find it here though, he would never have imagined.
Crammed into the corner of the room, the Master Emerald itself was shining and lighting the entire room, giving everything a green hue. It looked undamaged, had no scratches and might as well be sitting on the altar. His eyes had gone wide from the sudden sight, turning his head slightly to see the emerald guardian himself sitting crossed legged on a pallet, eyes closed and a blanket on the floor, like he had woken up and decided to meditate.
The moment that he laid eyes on him however, the echidna whipped his head around in alarm, violet eyes wide and made the fox almost want to run back upstairs.
"Tails?" He questioned in perplexity more than anything, blinking with disbelief, but didn't sound mad. "What are you doing here?"
The fox remained for just a bit, realizing that he had walked into a private room of Knuckles' which he had no idea existed. He looked back at the Master Emerald before returning to the guardian.
"The hatch was open," he lamely excused, wondering if he maybe should just go, since he knew perfectly well how Knuckles thought of other people being near the emerald, friends or not. But instead, the guardian blinked at him, letting out a sigh before he turned his head back to his prized possession.
"Then I guess it's fair that you're here," he stated, unfolding his legs, and sat on the pallet, Tails slowly realizing that it looked like a makeshift bed, a pillow sitting against the wall.
He briefly wondered if it hadn't been okay that he was here if the hatch was open or not but decided to ignore the topic since Knuckles letting him be in close proximity to the gem at all was incredible.
"Couldn't you sleep?" He was temporarily surprised by the echidna asking about him but figured that he would rather talk about something else than him being forgetful.
"Sort of," he said, not completely a lie but not the entire truth either. "Couldn't you?"
The guardian looked at him for a bit, before he turned his head back towards the emerald, clearly considering what he should tell him. Tails didn't want to invade his privacy but didn't want to talk to Knuckles about his nightmare either.
"I woke up," the echidna explained, shifting a bit on the pallet. "And wanted to check on it," he simply said, although Tails could easily see it being a lie, but didn't want to prod him into saying that he had been sleeping down here.
"You took it from Angel Island?" He asked, as he dared taking one more step into the room.
He couldn't feel chaos energy like Knuckles and Sonic could, couldn't use the Chaos Emeralds in the same way and hadn't been able to detect any of them from instinct alone. Though, he was still chaos touched in the sense that he could collect rings and use items that required chaos energy to function. Every mobian consisted of chaos energy but some of them were more tuned with it than others – he was more compared to the average mobian but was less compared to his two friends.
He knew he could feel the Master Emerald's energy if he put his hands on it, remembering putting a hand on it when he was a younger cub out of curiosity and feeling the energy in his fingertips. If Sonic hadn't stepped in Knuckles would have thrown him across the island.
Knuckles nodded to his question, nonetheless.
"I figured that it would be vulnerable if I left it there. Here I can at least guard it," he explained, crossing his arms over his chest as he looked at the emerald, seemingly scrutinizing it if you didn't know him any better.
Tails knew that Knuckles took his job as the emerald guardian as the most important thing of his life, and therefore couldn't imagine what else he should have done with it.
An air of awkward silence appeared between them afterwards, Tails not really knowing if he should just walk back up to bed or ask if the echidna knew where his best friend was. He scratched the back of his head in thought, looking at the emerald one more time and back at Knuckles.
"It's crazy that we won," he eventually said, a part of him not really wanting to leave.
The Master Emerald made him feel strangely at ease, his hands having stopped shaking and he felt a lot calmer than when he had been walking upstairs. Knuckles nodded to the comment, looking at the jewel with a thoughtful expression.
"It's good that we won. That tyrant Doctor Eggman did nothing to deserve it," he spat out the fitting nickname of the villain, the frown deepening on his forehead. Tails smirked a bit, putting his hands on his hips.
"I just don't understand how you became the commander." Knuckles let out a scoff at the comment, smiling just faintly.
"Neither do I," he said, as his expression fell a little. "But with both Sonic and you gone, I was the only one left." Tails winced at the outright explanation, but figured that he had started it himself.
Another beat of silence appeared between them, thick and heavy as the guardian merely looked at the emerald. A question appeared in the fox's mind, a part of him not knowing if he wanted the answer to it, though curiosity won out in the end.
"Knuckles?" A questioning 'hmm' came from him. "Did you ever think that I was… – uhm. If I was-"
"Dead?" The blunt question made him look up, the echidna looking at him with the same frown, having guessed correctly what he was going to say.
Their gazes held for a couple of seconds more than what the fox was comfortable with, before the echidna closed his eyes letting out a sigh, looking back at the Master Emerald, as if he were seeking the strength to tell him the answer.
"I didn't know what I should believe. We concluded very quickly that Sonic was gone, but that you were dead as well I – I don't know." Tails could see him biting his lip. "People started saying that you had lost it, you heard it from Silver, and that you had run away to never come back. But I know why you did it, and I know why you didn't want to come back," he continued, letting out another sigh.
"That didn't mean we didn't look for you. We did in the beginning but then Eggman became more and more dangerous and eventually we just – stopped," he admitted. The trained sidekick could hear the regret that sat in his voice from the words, the guardian slumping a bit forward. "But you have no idea how glad I was that the Rookie found you. If he hadn't, I don't know if you would've-" He cut himself off at that point, swallowing something in his throat but shook his head.
"Never mind. You're here now and we won the war," he ended, clearing his throat, and sat upright again, pretending that he had just talked about the weather. Tails knew what he really meant, letting a slightly embarrassing smile cross over his lips, being well aware that he maybe should have sought them out instead of being naïve.
"You're right," he said, thinking that he at least deserved to hear the truth. "I didn't want to come back because, well – because some of the things that people talked about – not all of it but some of it – were true," he said, while he bitterly thought 'is true' instead, since he hadn't escaped from those thoughts just yet.
Knuckles didn't comment on the answer, or look like he had heard it at all, the fox wondering if he maybe should repeat it one more time.
"Why didn't you attack the robot?" Tails blinked in confusion, opening his mouth to ask him to elaborate. "Back in the Central Tower. You could have avoided getting more hurt, but you refused to attack the robot and get away. What happened?"
He wasn't asking this time around, could hear the commander make a brief return, Knuckles turning his head slightly to look at him. He didn't sound mad but not curious either. Tails bit his lip, not really knowing if he could tell him, or rather if his red echidna friend was the right person to say it to. He opened his mouth to say something else than the truth, but instead let out a sigh, his behind appendages slowly resting on the floor. He needed to open up at some point, didn't he?
"I can't Knuckles. Not – not anymore," he said, could feel the shame swarm him, rubbing his left arm "I'm scared that I'll – I'll die." He frowned, and shook his head. "And I know it's stupid because I've always fought the robots, but ever since I saw Sonic die, or I thought that he died, I've just not – not had the courage to," he admitted, looking away since he didn't want to meet Knuckles' gaze, letting out another sigh. There. He told someone. And he might not have been the person in mind, but it felt right.
Silence remained in the small room, the echidna clearly thinking about what he should tell him.
"I understand."
Tails turned his head in utter surprise, seeing the echidna looking into the floor.
"I just didn't know why. But -" he cut himself off, frowned at something before seemingly taking the plunge. "You don't have to be afraid anymore. We're all here for you," he said, swallowed something before he seemingly forced himself to look back at Tails.
"I know you can do it." He wasn't smiling, but he could see the determination in the echidna's eyes, could see the friend that he had been travelling with whenever they were forced to. The normally uptight and harsh guardian turning soft for just a moment. Maybe it was easier with the Master Emerald. Tails opened his mouth to continue but stopped as Knuckles let out a sigh.
"Look, uhm -" He scratched the back of his head. "I'm not good at uhm, this kind of stuff. I think – I think that Sonic's outside somewhere. He likes to hang around near the entrance and look at the stars or something, I don't know. But he should be awake," he said, looking at the floor before he looked up at Tails, the fox almost grinning at the practically begging expression he sent him. He smiled in return.
"Okay, I'll – I'll look for him." He nodded. "Thanks Knuckles." The echidna nodded in return, turning fully back to the Master Emerald, with the air of someone who was done with the conversation.
"Don't mention it kid," he said, as the fox turned around to walk back up the round metallic stairs.
"But stop by the canteen first and find a fruit or something." The fox could do nothing but snicker, being aware what that command meant.
"I will. Goodnight Knuckles." He didn't get a 'goodnight' in return but didn't mind, instead making his way back up the stairs, going around and around. In the command room he gently closed the hatch, in case someone saw it too, letting out a sigh.
Yes. He needed to talk to Sonic.
He knew Delilah wasn't mad because it was him who came with the two plates and the apple core, received nothing but a thank you and got a pear in return, the kind woman telling him that he should remind her to make him a bigger breakfast come morning, and that he should, if not for him or her then for Chaos' sake, go to bed. He had smiled and told her that he would after he had talked with Sonic, where she had confirmed that he was indeed outside, having run by and asked for a hot dog about half an hour ago.
He had thanked her one more time before heading towards the exits, biting down on his pear which was surprisingly delicious, juicy, and soft, but still had a bite to it. He didn't know he had been hungry at all, as the pear restarted his digestive system, making his stomach rumble. It was something he had gotten used to at this point, running around every single day being hungry for six months were something he had learned to ignore.
He would much rather take a rumbling stomach than a hurting one, remembering the deep pits of emptiness, pained tremors raking through it every now and again when he hadn't eaten for an entire day. He shook his head to clear his thoughts, being more than happy that it wasn't the case anymore, taking a bite of his pear just to prove it to himself.
As he neared the end of the hallway, he saw the ladder that went a long way up, the top of it concealed with a heavy hatch. He came over to it, looked up at the tall ladder and the tiny steps before spinning his tails around, hovering in the air. He could just squeeze through the round tunnel the ladder created, reaching the top much faster than if he would have used the steps. His tails weren't sore or hurting anymore, having rested, and healed the last two days.
He realized that he had missed flying, the moment that he reached the top and therefore kept being in the air as he bit down on the pear and used both hands to take hold of the heavy rods that needed to be turned. His right arm protested from the toasted muscles, bit his lip as the tough locks gave in, spinning it around to unlock it.
Letting out a puff of air, he pushed the heavy hatch open, being immediately met with a dark night sky, stars shining down through the foliage from the trees. He flew up and landed as he gently pushed the hatch back into place, not wanting to get bothered by soldiers who would ask around in the morning who slammed the darn hatch.
He didn't trouble himself with locking it since there was no one who could infiltrate it at this point, turning around to make his bearings. The jungle was thick around these parts, the vegetation trying to hide the hatches down to the bunker, dirt hills and stones scattered around to make the area look more natural.
A cold breeze passed by, making him shiver and rub his left arm, his fur not as thick as it used to be because of the malnutrition. But he was working on that. He looked up at the stars above him, a faint smile crossing his lips from the calming sight. Millions and millions of them, shining down on him, speckles of bright lights showcasing him the night sky. That was most likely the only thing that hadn't changed.
He looked ahead again, his night vision working perfectly in these conditions, scanning the jungle trees and the vines, calculating in his head. Sonic loved looking at the night sky from a high place, meaning that he was most likely resting on top of one of the trees. He couldn't fly, so he needed to jump – he was fast and used his momentum, so he needed some space to get around, and the trees needed to have some branches at the top or near the top. None of the trees around him qualified for those conditions and therefore he began walking, behind appendages waving in calm strides as he scanned the jungle around him as he threw the pear core into the jungle.
Not too far from the entrance, he saw a stone that was perfect, following the path with his eyes to another tree branch, a vine, another branch that looked like it had been broken recently before the path disappeared upwards in the thick foliage. He spun his tails around as he ascended into the air, swirling around the thicker clusters of leaves and pushed some of them out of the way, as he made it over the tall trees.
Above the jungle he could see the zone stretching out before him, vines, leaves and gigantic trees making up the façade of the zone he lived in. And only a few feet in front of him he could see a dark blue speck sitting in a tree, leaning across the tree trunk, and sitting on a branch, one leg stretched while the other dangled over a couple of feet down to the ground, hands laced behind his head. Tails smirked from the correct assumption, flying closer to him. It was a testament to how long they had known each other that Sonic didn't react to the sound of his spinning tails, didn't even swirl an ear towards him before the fox talked to him.
"Don't fall down now." Unstartled, the hedgehog turned his head towards him, surprise shining in his emerald green eyes, before it quickly turned to joy, a grin crossing the hedgehog's lips.
"Hey little bro," he greeted, waving a hand towards him as Tails descended just a bit towards him, his tails making the leaves flutter around from the wind, as he settled down on a branch on the opposite side of the trunk Sonic was sitting, letting his feet dangle over the edge.
"Stalking me?" The fox let out a scoff, putting his hands on the branch and getting his balance, looking down at the ground. He briefly wondered if he would have been afraid of heights if he couldn't fly.
"What if I said yes?" he mockingly asked, quirking a brow at the hedgehog who merely shrugged his shoulders.
"Then I wouldn't blame ya. I'm good to look at." He couldn't help but giggle, looking straight and understanding why Sonic was here since he could see clusters and clusters of stars in front of him, shining and blinking down at them.
"I'll tell Amy then." The hedgehog took his time to turn his head and look at him incredulously, while Tails winked in mockery.
"You wouldn't dare." If he didn't know any better then he would accept the comment as a threat, instead he shrugged his shoulders in response, sitting a bit back on the branch.
"If it'll make her run after you again then I might." He grinned wide as Sonic threw his hands into the air.
"What is it with you and wanting to make people run after me?" A laugh explained it all, he could see in Sonic's eyes that he was well aware that it was pure banter, giving him a lopsided grin.
"The thought's just fun s'all." Tails shrugged again, the grin still wide on his lips as Sonic pushed himself away from the trunk, sitting properly on the branch and promptly swinging around, his knees holding him in place as he hung upside down, his quills falling and obeying gravity.
"You really know how to make a hedgehog feel unwanted," he stated, before blinking, something else coming to mind. "What time is it?" Tails accepted the sudden random and weird subject change, doing a calculation in his head.
"Around four or something – why?"
"I gotta show you something." Sonic said hastily, reaching out his hands and doing a grabbing motion, easily indicating that he wanted his sidekick to take his hands and fly with him. "It's not far." Tails raised a brow at him, though complied easily enough, jumping off the branch as he spun his behind appendages around, hovering closer to the hedgehog.
"Now what if I just left you there? Take a guess as to how long you would hang there until you fall and get a concussion?" Sonic did the best shrug he could upside-down, the smirk still wide.
"Then blood would rush to my head, I would get woozy and dizzy and die. Not much fun is it?"
Tails knew he was joking around, though he bit his lip from the banter and internally winced, and instead took his hands at the same time that Sonic let go with his legs, not wanting to continue the topic.
He swirled down and around the branches and the trees, following the hedgehog's direction as he carried him along, a vague part of him finding it familiar, not remembering the last time he had carried the hedgehog like this. Most likely months, maybe a year at this point. He frowned as he thought that they were actually close to Sonic's birthday, hadn't even considered such a trivial thing as birthdays ever since this whole mess began.
"There, to the right bud," he was called out of his thoughts, as he descended to the ground, realizing that they were closer to a cliff side. He blinked to make sure that he wasn't dreaming, as he gently put Sonic down on the ground before landing himself, a soft 'wow' escaping out of his lips as his eyes met the sight ahead of him.
The moon was bright yellow in front of him, stars sparkling and blinking, like small grains of salt in the dark abyss. Towards the horizon the first hues of orange and yellow appeared, the warm summer season marking the first specks of the morning visible. The contrast was incredible – orange and yellow, mixed with a purple and dark blue tint, creating a line of pure beauty, the longer your eyes travelled upwards the darker it would get. The stars disappearing in the morning light, the moon being the star of the show. The forest was nothing more than silhouettes, about to get lit up by the return of the sun, engulfing the young fox into tranquility.
"Told ya it looked good." He turned around to look at Sonic who had shrugged his shoulders, and crossed his arms over his chest, a brow raised at his sidekick that spoke volumes of knowing that he was right. Tails could do nothing but shrug, looking back at the sight as another breeze ruffled his fur, being colder on the cliff, a shiver going through him as he rubbed his left arm again.
"It looks better than you," he retorted nonetheless, looking back to watch Sonic stick his tongue out at him, making the sidekick grin. He looked back at the moon one more time, letting out a sigh and feeling at ease.
It was easier to be calmed down with a sight like this and the presence of his family. He had been gone for a long time, though he could feel himself starting to get pieced together again, little by little, just by standing here.
"Tails?" He let out a 'mhm' first, not wanting to take his eyes off the moon, the stars, and the rising sun before he turned his head around to look at Sonic, catching his expression. He was biting his lip and looked like he was hesitating with his question, his eyes softening slightly as he scratched the back of his head, his quills moving with the movement.
"Are you okay?" The question was unexpected, yet oddly wanted. The grin fell on his muzzle, letting out a sigh as he looked into the ground rather than meet Sonic's gaze.
He didn't have an excuse anymore – the world was saved, citizens and innocents had nothing to fear now and there was nothing that required their attention right here and now. He wanted to talk to him, or rather explain himself, though he didn't know what that entailed. But now that Sonic had laid it out for him, he found it very hard to just say 'yeah'. Plus, the silence had lasted for too long for him to be able to say that either way.
"What if – I said no?" he asked, biting his lip, and forcing himself to look up at the hedgehog. The smile that was on his muzzle was hard to ignore, the emerald green eyes attentive and calm, the shoulders shrugging.
"Then I would ask what was wrong and what I could do to help ya," he explained easily, cocking his head slightly to the side. "It's not exactly the first time now is it?"
Tails had to admit that it wasn't, being well aware that before he had disabled the bomb at Station Square he had felt exactly the same. Useless, not worth it, and wondering why he was Sonic the hedgehog's sidekick. He couldn't deny it but didn't want to accept it either.
He had done so much to get rid of those thoughts, had been self-confident for such a long time and believed in himself so much that he thought it was impossible to get back into that state of mind. And yet here he was, proven by the fact that he had been nothing when Sonic had been gone. Or he thought he had. He looked back into the ground, could feel his tails landing on the dirt as he continued rubbing his arm, the cold wind getting to him.
"Sonic? Do you know why the soldiers were talking about me? Why Silver said – what he said?" he asked, looking up again to catch the hedgehog's expression. He shook his head lightly, for the moment letting his sidekick talk. Tails had already pulled his ears into his skull before he had time to stop it.
"They talked about me because they said that I had lost it. That I hadn't returned because I wouldn't do it. And -" He paused, letting out a sigh. "It isn't a complete lie." It was hard admitting it, hard to actually tell his hero and his older brother that he hadn't been completely sane in his brain, or at least hadn't been able to think straight.
He looked up as Sonic let out a sigh of his own, though it wasn't out of annoyance or anything of the sort, more sympathy, the sound of someone who felt sorry more than anything.
"Tails, it doesn't matter what happened back then. That's in the past right? And what's in the past does not -"
Tails frowned mid sentence, shaking his head.
"No, Sonic, you can't tell me that again, because the world suffered from the consequences!"
He had no idea where the anger came from, had no clue why his tails sprung from the ground and whipped agitatedly, and didn't know why he was frowning angrily at his best friend. Neither did Sonic, blinking in perplexity at his sidekick, not understand where the sudden outburst came from either. Pure frustration, a deep anger not aimed at anyone but himself had burst out of him, the entire situation, the entire six months where he had been left alone to nobody but himself in his own pity, in his own grief was yelled out. All of it, all at once.
"I was useless, Sonic." He put a hand on his heart, could feel it beating under his fur, as he could feel his eyes stinging and his throat closing up. "I ran away. I was a coward and ran away once I thought Infinite had killed you. I hid away from everybody and everything and didn't stop to think that it might not be true. I didn't look for you because I just accepted that you were dead and look what happened because of it!" He yelled, despite the tears rolling down his cheeks, despite the utter grief and the utter horribleness he felt because of it.
Telling Sonic was downright admitting it, the supposed sidekick was yelling at his hero and told him that he was useless and pointless, nothing but a shell of a little kid who was a bit smart and knew how to avoid danger. He was nothing but that. Had been nothing but that.
Despite the outburst, and the tears rolling down the eight-year-old's cheeks, Sonic's mouth was open in disbelief, blinking and looking utterly surprised.
"Is that what you think? Do you think that Eggman won because you didn't do anything to stop him?" Tails nodded stubbornly, pointing at himself with his thumb.
"I don't think so, Sonic. I know it's a fact," he sniffed, as his heart was beating out of his chest. He hadn't expected that reaction from Sonic, let alone that he was going to shout something back at him, making him miserable inside because it merely confirmed it. He agreed that he was nothing but a little dumb kid.
The thought disappeared from his mind the moment it had landed there, as Sonic suddenly sped in front of him, so fast he didn't have time to blink, taking hold of the fox's wrists, a stern big brother expression fastened onto his face.
"It's not, Tails. It's not a fact, and you can't think like that. This was not your fault. Nothing that has happened is your fault. Do you hear me? Don't think for a second that you were the reason that Eggman got to take over the world, because it's mine!" He wasn't yelling at him, his voice was merely raised, emerald green eyes blazing with mild anger, though he could tell that it wasn't aimed at him.
His fingers weren't digging into his yellow fur, and he wasn't frowning deeply at him. It was aimed at himself – he could tell. From the fact that Sonic realized that his little brother took the entire blame of the world falling apart onto himself because the hedgehog hadn't been able to fight them.
Tails could see it.
"It's not your fault, don't for a second think that. It's mine. I shouldn't -" He let out a sigh. "I shouldn't have yelled at you and told you to hurry up with the scan or whatever, it wasn't your fault I -" He paused again, his mouth left open as the words got stuck in his throat.
Tails merely looked at him, cerulean orbs clouded over with tears, a blink made them fall down, as he waited for the explanation. He came to some kind of conclusion, the hedgehog's anger suddenly fading away as he looked down at the ground, looking hesitant.
"I was captured and tortured, Tails." He couldn't stop the small gasp in time, his mouth left open in surprise.
Tortured? But – Eggman wasn't like that. He wouldn't do such a thing. How? How was it possible?
"And I'm sorry. I should have escaped from the Death Egg earlier, and I should have joined the Resistance and found you earlier, then none of this would have happened. I'm sorry that you – think that." Sonic bit his lip, his head bowed in shame as one hand let go and scratched the back of his head.
The sidekick, however, was left behind in pure disbelief. Sonic didn't wallow around in self-pity, didn't regret what he had done in the past simply because he could do nothing about it. But here he was standing, the mighty hero of Mobius, saying sorry because he had been tortured by their greatest enemy. He wanted to ask what happened, a part of him now considering whether Sonic was okay, but his expression alone made him falter with the question.
Sonic wasn't a proud person, but he could tell that this was something he most likely would never tell him about. And if he wanted it that way, then it was going to stay that way.
"Hey," he called softly instead, sniffing as another set of tears ran down his face, taking hold of the hand that was on his wrist. "You just said that those things belong to the past, right?" he said with a shrug of his shoulders, letting out a fake smile.
Sonic lifted his head and looked at his sidekick, emerald green eyes looking surprised, though it disappeared as the hedgehog returned the smile, moving his arms and hands and engulfing him into a tight hug.
Tails accepted it without question, his own arms coming around the hedgehog's back and squeezing him, hiding his head in a dark blue shoulder, as another hiccup started a new set of saltwater tears.
"I know, bud." He let out a huge sigh. "But don't think that you're useless. You're anything but that -"
"How? How, Sonic?!" He almost wailed out, trying to snuggle his head deeper into his shoulder despite it being impossible, a childish part of him wanting to hide since he knew there was no evidence against it.
He took the hedgehog's silence as confirmation, taking in a deep breath and sobbing again, wondering why Sonic was hugging him when he didn't deserve it. It loosened a little, but only for the hedgehog to leave his chin on top of his head, one of his hands starting to draw random patterns on the fox's back.
"A couple of days ago," Sonic suddenly started, "before we found you – there was a group of wisps that came to the base. We had no idea what they were saying but they seemed happy and grateful for something. Then a day later, a squad of soldiers that had been lost came to the HQ and said that they had been trapped in Green Hill but something that looked like me and another mobian had freed them. They didn't know who they were, but they were happy." Another pause, as Tails remembered what he was talking about, sniffing again.
"That was you and the younger me, wasn't it?" Sonic was still drawing on him, still giving him comfort, telling his little brother that he had done something admirable. He let out a sigh in response.
"Yes it was, but that doesn't mean -"
"Then you're not useless." Sonic pulled back, making the fox pull back as well, the hedgehog leaving his hands on his shoulders, being careful of the right one. The smile that was wide on his muzzle was hard to fake. "You're anything but useless Tails. You've done something amazing – you saved people. And aliens. You came up with the plan on how to destroy the Phantom Ruby and you supported the Rookie," he elaborated, his eyes darting around the fox's face, making sure that he listened.
"Don't think so low of yourself. I understand why you didn't come back; you were sad and didn't want to see the others because of it. I don't blame you and neither do the others. You ran away because you thought I was dead. That's okay – you're not to blame for Eggman almost taking the win, you've done nothing of the sorts. You did the opposite – you saved people and aliens in danger and helped us win. You're not useless, you're my sidekick and my little brother. You did perfect," he ended, the smile wide as he wiped a thumb across one of the fox's eyes, removing the water there.
It was replaced immediately, as Tails merely looked at him, a part of him not believing it.
"Really?" Sonic grinned, looking like he was about to chuckle as he pulled him into another hug, squeezing him affectionately.
"Really bro. You did good." Tails had been stiff in his embrace, but his ears perked to hear him say the words, his mind trying to figure out what he was saying. It was – okay?
It was okay that he had run away, had done nothing but hide in the corners of City, crying his eyes out like he was doing now, hiding, and going hungry because he didn't dare walk away? It was okay that he had done that? A part of him wanted to tell him that it was ridiculous and that it wasn't forgivable, but the relief was overwhelming, making him let out another bout of tears, arms curling around the hedgehog's back one more time as he sobbed into his neck.
It was fine – he hadn't been useless; he had done something, and he wasn't a dumb little kid. Sonic didn't think that. He had forgiven him, or in Tails' world he had at least. It sounded convincing either way, accepting of the fact that he indeed was a kid and let himself cry, believing that he had been in deep grief and done nothing but avoid contact because people knew he was a kid who was sad about his older brother being gone.
But they didn't blame him. Then he probably shouldn't blame himself.
"Eeeasy, bud. It's okay," Sonic said softly, drawing patterns on his back again, and merely waited until Tails was good again.
A part of the fox never wanted to let go again, letting himself sob and swim around in the utter relief, in the utter joy of having his big brother back in his hands, and the fact that his actions hadn't been the most pointless on the planet. It was... comforting.
He started to calm down again, his beating heart steadily calming as his breathing got slower, the tears somewhat contained as he merely stayed in Sonic's embrace. It was okay. They were okay. They were fine.
Another breeze passed by them, and despite the hedgehog's warm body he shivered from the cold.
"You freezing?" Sonic asked, as the fox pulled back, wiping at his eyes and nose, the hedgehog leaving a hand on his left arm, frowning at the right one where the burn was recovering.
"A bit," he admitted, feeling the headache that started to sprout from the water and the salt that was missing now, hiccupped once but felt better. Much better.
"Then let's go back. It's getting chilly out," Sonic snickered, throwing an arm over the fox's shoulder, both in comfort and warmth, walking back towards the vault.
Tails busied himself with wiping his eyes and nose so much that he almost didn't notice, his ears back in their position and tails moving calmly. He began feeling tired as well.
At the hatch the hedgehog crouched down and opened it gently, taking hold of either side of the metal ladder and slid down, his feet not touching the steps. The fox snickered as he jumped into the air, flying as he descended and turned around to close the hatch again, feeling a lot lighter already.
"Think you can lock it?" Sonic asked while the fox was in the midst of closing it, using his strength in his left arm more than the right, locking the rods in place.
"I don't have your noodle arms now do I?" Tails mocked, turning around to fly down to watch the hedgehog quirking an amused brow at him.
Though the moment he reached him, he was too late at seeing the mischievous gleam in the hedgehog's eyes, as he suddenly jumped and caught the flying fox around his midriff, didn't stop at the surprised yelp as he was put around the hedgehog's shoulders.
"Sonic, what are you doing?" Tails asked despite laughing, being underneath his best friend's quills, could feel them poking him but that was it as Sonic turned around on his heel and lightly jogged back to the dormitories.
"Just making sure you can still laugh," he smirked, holding him like a backpacker would be holding on to their tent on their back, emerald green eyes shining.
The fox did another snicker and would have kicked him or something, but they were already back at his bedroom door, the hedgehog turning the knob.
"Now," Sonic said, walking into the room with the fox still over his shoulders, kicking the door closed behind him. "I hope that you've learned your lesson," he said as he was practically thrown onto his bed, yelping in surprise alone, looking back at him.
"Thinking something like that will only make me mad and make you laugh," he winked, making the sidekick roll his eyes into the ceiling, shaking his head at him.
"Are you proud of that one?" he asked, smirking back at the hedgehog, sticking his tongue out at him. The hedgehog's equally pink tongue appeared from the answer.
"If you must know then yes. I am the perfect speaker." He smirked, winking at his sidekick, who did nothing but laugh at the fake statement, being well aware of some of the speeches that had appeared in the past.
Tails let out another deep sigh, blinking, and suddenly yawned, having no idea where the sudden tiredness came from.
"Yeah. Better get some rest bud," Sonic ended, watching as the sidekick took off his sneakers, throwing them onto the floor, almost hitting the hedgehog. "You're gonna need it for later," he said, ruffling the fox's bangs affectionately.
"Goodnight bud," it was only at the moment that he turned around that Tails realized that he was leaving, his ears almost pulled completely into his skull, watching as his older brother turned on his heel.
"Sonic?" He couldn't back out of it now, biting his lip in mild regret, as the hedgehog in question had been reaching for the doorknob, but looked back over his shoulder, a puzzled expression. Tails opened his mouth, a small part of him wanting to say 'never mind' and go to bed. But the other part of him was bigger.
"Do you mind – staying?" he asked, watching as he drew a random pattern on the blanket, mildly regretting his question. Tails looked up for a bit, seeing Sonic's eyes eyeing the bed, as if he were questioning if they both could fit. Either way, he smiled and nodded.
"Sure, bud," he decided, walking back, and sat on the edge of his bed, taking off his shoes.
The eight-year-old could do nothing but smile faintly, moving out of the way as Sonic swung his legs onto the mattress, the space a bit smaller than they originally had thought. Though the fox merely laid on his chest, a hedgehog arm supporting his back as the yellow head rested against a dark blue collarbone, letting out a content sigh. Sonic reached over and took the blanket, pulling it over the both of them as both tails wound around the hedgehog's stomach and waist, warming him as the blanket covered the fox.
It was a long time ago since he had been sleeping against the hedgehog like this, though he hadn't regretted asking. He could feel the hedgehog's heart pumping against his own, being alive and warm.
"So. You sure you're okay now?" Tails craned his head back to look at Sonic who was quirking a brow at him in question. The fox smiled, snuggling a bit closer.
"Yeah I am. Thank you Sonic," he said, paused, and then added "I love you."
The hedgehog chuckled lightly, the hand on his back going back and forth a couple of times.
"Love you too buddy." Tails had already closed his eyes, but the smile that was on his lips widened, as Sonic's hand was still again against his back, hearing him letting out a sigh of content.
It was true, however; he was okay. It wasn't a lie he had told Sonic because he didn't want to keep discussing it, or because he had felt awkward or that he didn't believe him. No, he believed him, and he was more than happy that he had talked to him, and getting those thoughts sorted out.
The attacking he would work on, believing Knuckles when he said that he knew that he could do it. He didn't feel scared anymore, not when he was sleeping against the hero of Mobius, his surrogate older brother and he didn't feel lost anymore.
He wasn't useless and he wasn't a dumb little kid. Well, he might still be a kid, he had been crying for a while, but it was okay. Sonic hadn't blamed him, and he hadn't been mad at him or any of the sorts, no he had been here for him like he knew he would. And he would be here for Sonic if he needed it. They had each other.
Those nightmares could go away now because he had nothing to be afraid of anymore. Now that the world had been saved, and they just needed to do some cleanup job, he felt like the bond was stronger than ever. He had been on an adventure with the younger version of him, only confirming that no matter where he was, no matter how he felt like Sonic was there for him.
Because he was the hero. Because he was the protector of the planet that didn't let anyone down. And especially not his little brother. He was grateful for that. Because he loved him, and they would stick with each other through thick and thin.
They had experienced the worst that could happen. And now he knew that it didn't matter – they were there for each other.
World in pieces or not, they were here.
No matter what.
Author's note: And this - makes the end of 'The Unseen One'
To tell you the truth I'm kinda sad that this has ended. I really enjoyed writing this one, coming up with ideas and working around the emotions and the situations, making this fic much longer than first anticipated
But for those curious: Will I ever make a Sonic Forces rewrite? - I don't count on it. Mainly because, the most interesting parts that I would enjoy writing in a rewrite is actually displayed here. I could go out of my way and think of different scenarios and do other twists and turns but I have so many other stories that is right now more interesting to me (stay tuned ;) )
(The only thing that I would be really interesting in writing about would be the Null Space part because such an interesting concept was skipped over way too fast. But don't get your hopes up)
But either way: I wanna give a special thank you to TheGameNguyener and AndTails for reviewing every single chapter, I really appreciate your support it's awesome reading every review! As well as Singerj199 who took their time and made amazing reviews as well! Thank you so much!
And one last thank you to Irritable Fabulamancer who proofread some of the chapters - do check out all of these guys' stories here on FFN, they make some amazing and downright awesome fics that is definitely worth checking out!
And of course another huge thank you to everybody else who has made a review and took their time to read, favorite or follow this story. I really appreciate it! :D
So yeah - again, thank you so much for the read, I hoped you enjoyed reading as much as I enjoyed writing, and I'll hopefully see you in the next one-shot/fic :)