Fools.

I stare out at the range, frustration bubbling just beneath my skin.

I pull the trigger, feeling the familiar kick as a hole appears in the paper target. Eight points, heart shot. Deadly.

Sonic stayed inside. Everyone did. Probably didn't even notice I left. Too busy listening to his pretty speeches about teamwork.

Because they're heroes.

I fire again. Nine points. Through an eye, if the image of the jackal brandishing his own gun is to be believed. Ironic.

They make me sick sometimes.

Have they ever lost anyone? Ever lost anything?

I know Sonic hasn't. I can see it in his eyes. I can feel it when we fight. This war is a game to him, and he doesn't play for keeps. Every lost soldier is just a damn detail, and he's never thought about killing anyone. Never thought about how many people have died because of that.

He's never needed to be stronger than he is.

I fire again, taking out the other eye. I grunt in satisfaction. Should have done that to the real one.

The door opens, admitting soft footsteps onto the range before clicking shut.

"Hey, Shadow."

"What do you want, Tails?" I don't turn around. I already thought it was him.

"Just getting some air."

I grunt. A likely story. The little fox would normally be front row to these inspirational speeches. Sonic may look like my blue mirror image, but Tails is his shadow. When he's not skulking around in Sonic's wake, Tails handles the details he can't be bothered with.

Well I'm not a detail, and I'm not interested in speeches. I know who I'm fighting for and it's never been him.

But Tails doesn't say a thing, just sits there with a steaming cup gripped between his hands, staring out across the range with that eternal smile on his fuzzy face.

I shoot. Centre mass. Ten points.

I don't see much of anything in his eyes. I haven't since the latest war started, but I don't look that hard. His placid blue gaze reminds me of you. Of the promise I made.

Of what I lost.

"Do you mind if I try?"

I turn to glare at him, and he stares back, empty eyes and a sweet smile.

"... Fine." I pull my spare pistol out and hold it out to him. He stares at it like it might bite him, hesitating for a few moments before taking it from me. I feel his hand tremble a little. He's probably built more guns than fired them.

"Thanks."

I grunt, shooting again. Eight points. Gut shot. Getting distracted.

Tails presses a button, a fresh target pops up beside mine. The same jackal, gun raised in stationary menace.

Placing his cup on the railing beside him, Tails raises my gun in both hands. Not a bad grip for an amateur. Easy to forget sometimes that this kid has been fighting most of his life.

He yanks the trigger. The recoil almost knocks the little fox over. The shot goes wide, piercing the jackal's shoulder. No points.

"Square your feet."

"Wispons and lasers don't have this much kick." Tails rubs the back of his head with a grin.

I shoot again. Centre mass. On the line between nine and ten. Better.

Tails locks his feet and stretches out both the long tails he's named for, adjusting his grip as he hefts the pistol. He couldn't look more out of place. A kid with a toy.

"How many people have you killed, Shadow?"

I pause. Why do I pause? It can't be to remember, I never kept count in the first place. Would I have paused if you asked me?

"...Why? Scared?"

"Not really." He shoots. This time the shot lands directly on the jackal's knee. He stays steady this time at least. "I like you. You're the second strongest person I know."

"I'm the ultimate lifeform." I snap. "Lock your wrists more."

"Do you know why we have these targets?" Tails doesn't even look at me. The tone of his voice is more weary than judgemental as he takes aim once more, oblivious to my glare.

"Obviously."

He overcorrects, bullet striking the cutout's trigger finger. No points again.

Because the jackal is the enemy.

Because I killed his unit.

Because I didn't kill him.

Tails glances at me with your eyes, dull and empty as the day you died.

"Do you regret it?"

I look back to my target, sending a round into its head. Nine points.

"...Yes."

The fox nods. I wait for his damnation. His anger. The jackal that almost killed Sonic, the jackal that almost conquered the world. Because I killed his unit. Because I didn't kill him. I don't even know which part bothers me. They were in my way, he was beneath my notice. Was it mercy or cruelty?

Does it matter?

Tails sips his tea.

"The strongest person I know never has to regret anything."

And those soft words hurt worse than any fiery condemnation.

Because I know they're true.

As soft as my doppelganger might be, as weak as he is compared to me, he acts with a certainty I don't, and when things go wrong, some combination of dumb luck and raw talent pulls him through all the same. The things he cares about are safe, and everything else… just details.

Would he have lost you?

Could he have saved you?

"I wish I was stronger." Tails whispers into his cup. To himself, not to me, but he looks up suddenly. "I think if I was as strong as you, I could live without regrets."

He turns back to his target and shoots. Head, right between the eyes. Nine points. He shoots again. Centre mass. Ten points. Again, nine. Again, ten, tight V grouping, again, a bullet pierces my target's head, nine points.

"The sights are misaligned. If you come by my lab I'll fix it for you." He turns to me, pistol extended. "Thanks for letting me use it."

I'm almost as hesitant to take it as he was, never looking away from his eyes. Still blue, still you, but cold, hurting... haunted.

"Maybe you should try living without regrets too, Shadow?" His mouth smiles again. "Might help us, next war."

Tails turns away, his twin tails coiling about one another as he grabs his cup.

"I'd best be getting inside again."

I stare at his back, brow furrowed in thought.

"Hey."

The fox paused with the door half open.

"How many people have you killed, Tails?"

Tails turns back to me, his blue eyes empty, his smile sweet.

"I don't know what you're talking about, Shadow."

The door closes behind him and I'm left alone once more as I recall the target sheets, staring at each shot in turn. Thinking of you.

"I wish I was stronger too."

The End

Thanks for reading this alternative look at Shadow the Hedgehog and Tails the Fox.

While the two characters don't spend a lot of time together during the series, the pair have a surprising amount in common in game canon, with Tails' Adventure basically being a cuddlier rendition of Shadow the Hedgehog with more napalm.

Be sure to thank AndTails for me working on this rather than getting out the next chapter of Chaos Calamity, and, as always, I hope you enjoyed reading.

~ Pan