Author's note: The setting and the situation might be similar to something I've written before, but the topic of this is something I had a very fun time figuring out and experimenting with.

I hope you enjoy!

The painful truth

He didn't know if he was alive. Being conscious should be a relatively ordinary affair, one that defines the realm between the living and the dead. Breathing meant that oxygen went into your nose, into your lungs where he knew something happened, until the air went out of his nose again. His heart would be beating in his chest, pumping blood around his entire body, through his veins, through his being.

Those two factors were included, but he had a hard time knowing if he was doing those two things. He felt squeezed, claustrophobic and cramped, as every limb in his body was currently experiencing what it was like to experience being in a hydraulic press. Movement was limited, something heavy on top of him or between him, he didn't know. The only thing he could think about was how uncomfortable he felt in this airless space.

The normally quick-thinking mind that worked on adrenaline and impulsive instinct had gone quiet, since none of those two emotions could be functioning at this moment. Whatever was happening in this moment, he couldn't see a thing. Was he panicking? He felt more confused than panicked or worried, wondering if this cramped feeling was in his head or was a part of reality.

He figured there was only one way to find out, as he tried to take in a deep breath, inhaling as much oxygen as he could. No air went through his nostrils however, as he came to the realization that his nose was stuffed into his own fur. Understanding that his air supply was limited, that he indeed was alive and currently being pressed together like a panini, he quickly figured out that he had a beating heart as well.

It was pumping in his chest now, feeling as if it was about to spurt out of him, adding to the panic that was starting to settle, his lungs having a mind of their own, as he could feel the need to hyperventilate, try and get at least some oxygen through his nose.

He forced the need away vehemently, forcing every single survival instinct into the corner of his mind and out of his way. Panicking would not help him; a need that was present in every being but was one of the most useless in a situation just like this. As he couldn't take a deep breath to calm himself, he instead tried to get a sense of how he was and what was happening around him.

A wiggle of his fingers was almost impossible, every little limb being unable to move from the pressure, though understood that they were fisted at his forehead. A similar wiggle of toes gave him a sense that his knees were bent, somewhere something hurt, as he came to the realization that he was curled into his blue ball. But he wasn't spinning.

He could feel his heart starting to beat again, could feel the panic edging closer with every second he spent here. He didn't suffer from claustrophobia, but he had never been fond of tight spaces, let alone spaces where he couldn't move.

As his body began to itch with the need to get out of here, he forced himself to make some sort of logical decision, trying to come up with something. However, his body spoke faster than his mind, and before he knew it, he was pushing against the ground with his feet thrusting upwards to get away.

Something hurt badly from the movement, something he couldn't exclaim out loud or express, since the world was turning upside down. He had used more force than firstly calculated, as everything he saw in the next second was a blinding light. He squeezed his eyes shut, something clinking and clanking around him, something sharp next to him, felt instantly the pressure around him releasing.

Air was here, he breathed it in greedily, filling his lungs to their capacities before letting it out again. His ears were flicking, something falling off them, his right foot having a hot, fierce pain that was cascading up his leg. He didn't know what was wrong, where he was or what had happened.

But something wet was landing on his head, trickling down his brow and landing on his nose, a cold tremor raking through his entire body. He squinted his eyes open a little when they stopped stinging, emerald, green orbs opening into a world that seemed nonexistent.

A world filled with nothing but rubble, pieces of cement and asphalt varying in sizes, from small to big, pillars made of metal, beams laying dormant on the ground. Pieces of molten metal were the most dominant material around him, bent into different shapes, curled and blackened at the ends. They came from broken structures, walls and corridors, large rooms from what was still remaining.

Walls made of metal stood back, blackened, and partially melted, creating an imagery of a post-apocalyptic world. The sky above him was dark grey with rainwater falling, decorating the broken and destroyed area, falling without pausing. It felt grey, oddly quiet, resting from an event that had transpired minutes beforehand, something unavoidable and had transformed this landscape into a metal cemetery.

It made him feel eerie, a shiver going down his spine from the silence, the dystopia before him making him feel small. He was almost grateful for the rain that was pouring down on him, making a light gray mist hang in the air, almost fogging up his vision before him. It made him feel not as stressed, the cold water cascading down the part of his body that was uncovered from the metal he was currently submerged in.

He looked down, blinking, as his body, down from his waist, was still burrowed in the remains from the structure. Hedgehog instinct was already making him kick and wiggle to get out, when the hot and fierce pain made a return, making him cry out and hiss between his teeth. It was his right foot; he could feel it through his leg as he tried to wiggle it out of the rubble.

He took a couple of deep breaths through his teeth, pulling his left leg out of the rubble. Metal scraped along his thighs and shins, though he hardly felt it, squeezing his eyes shut from the pain. He let out a breath, before he pulled using the muscles in his knee rather than his foot, carefully getting it out of the rubble. Another cry made it through his lips as he yanked it out, sitting down on the ground as he carefully stretched both legs.

He breathed deeply, slowly, letting the painful surges dim to manageable throbs, before he opened his eyes again, looking at the damage. Both legs had minor scrapes, though his right foot was twisted in the wrong way, and he could hardly wiggle his toes.

Broken. Undoubtedly.

He let an annoyed sigh go through his mouth, running a hand down his face. He blinked slowly, looking at his hands in his lap, his gloves tattered and wet, rainwater running down his fingertips and onto the metal ground. His emerald, green eyes merely stared for a second, letting the realization hit, letting the reality slowly pool down on him.

He was alive. A part of him hadn't expected to be alive right now, breathing and feeling pain, looking at the rubble he sat on and listening to the rain as it fell on the ground. His hands were cold, his body shaking from the water and a need to sneeze irritated his nose.

He felt relieved from the notion. Would have sprung onto his feet and been dancing if his foot hadn't signed out from that possible activity. He didn't know what would have happened if he hadn't made it, not knowing what he was going to see or hear, what he was going to experience. It was a mystery he didn't want to find an answer to, merely looked up again, putting a hand on his head.

A slight headache was starting to make its presence known, as he looked over his shoulder. The rest of the base were dormant, the hedgehog currently sitting in the epicenter of where it had happened, being pretty sure that the doctor was gone from this place. Whenever his plans went south, he tended to get away as fast as possible.

It hadn't been a large base but had been a mere factory for another army of Egg Pawns, another structure that the mad doctor had built to make his plans of conquering the world into a reality. It had been nothing, though that nothing had turned into something. An experience he thought would be the last of its kind since it could only happen once. At least to his knowledge.

He cast the thought aside, instead looked away from the structure and rubbed his left temple, as the headache started to increase, feeling thirsty and exhausted.

"Sonic!"

The sudden shout of his name pulled him out of his stupor, blinking into the misty metal landscape. He couldn't see much in front of him, his ears peaking to try and catch the sound again. He knew who the voice belonged to, since he knew he had been here as well. He couldn't see him, however.

"Tails!" He called back uselessly, having no idea which way he should shout, his voice travelling through the mist.

He clung to the fact that he knew his sidekick had a much better hearing than him, and therefore should be able to both hear him and figure out where he was. He didn't know if it was the water getting into his eyes or if his vision was blurry, but he couldn't see much, looking aimlessly into the light grey phenomenon to try and catch sight of an odd color.

It didn't take long, his ears turning when he heard someone scramble on metal, turning his head around towards the noise. There, a few feet away from him, stood his trusty sidekick on a pile of metal, looking around frustrated.

"Tails!" Two ears flicked towards him, before the head followed suit, whipping it towards him, telling the hedgehog that he was in a better shape than him.

Once the fox saw him, he was eager to jump down the small hill, maneuvering around the battle ground and sprinted towards the hedgehog. From his distance, Sonic could see the wet and ruffled fur, unkempt and clumped in different places due to the water, scrapes adoring his body as well. His left knee was bleeding, blood trickling down his leg and into his sock, as the two-tailed fox slid down on his knees in front of the hedgehog.

"Sonic! Are you okay?" His blue eyes were filled with worry, frantically looking over the blue hedgehog to assess the damage himself, moving quickly and desperately.

Sapphire irises quickly travelled down his chest and legs, before stopping at the twisted foot, eyes widened in surprise. "Oh Chaos, I think that's broken," he stated quickly, one hand reaching towards it.

Sonic didn't get to tell him not to touch it, as the fox stopped in hesitation, before pulling back his hand and looking back at the hedgehog.

"Are you okay? Are you breathing? Chest hurting?"

"Tails, Tails, I'm fine. Easy bud," Sonic quickly dismissed, seeing the distress in his eyes, the utter worry making the sapphire blue orbs shaking. "It's okay, I'm fine. I can breathe and my heart's pounding. I'll be alright," he quickly promised, both to him and himself, letting a quick sigh go through his lips.

Tails looked like he didn't want to believe him, eyes still frantically looking back and forth on his face, one hand uselessly lifted towards him. Though, he seemed to let the realization seep in, as the fox sighed in relief, looking down on the ground momentarily. The hedgehog, being glad that his sidekick had decided he wasn't going to die on him right here and now, reached a hand towards him.

"What happened to your-" he didn't get to finish his question when a fist punched him on his left shoulder.

"Ow!"

"Don't do that ever again! Do you hear me?!"

Sonic had been rubbing his hurting shoulder, being utterly surprised from the sudden reaction, when he looked up from the exclamation. The worry was gone and replaced with a deep anger, Tails' brow furrowed deeply, his blue eyes seething, as he hit him on the shoulder again.

"Never look at me, say 'thank you', and push me out of the way! Okay?! Never do that!"

"Alright, alright, Tails stop!" He caught the fox's hand as it was about to hit him a third time, being pretty sure he had given him a purple bruise already.

He had been punched before by his sidekick, that wasn't a rare occurrence, but he usually knew why at the time. Tails' hand was shaking in his hold, the hedgehog looking at him, realizing that his own actions weren't without consequences. The blue eyes were still seething, as if he had betrayed him in some manner, done something that was out of bounds with what the fox thought to be reasonable.

Sonic opened his mouth to question the anger, when it suddenly pooled off Tails' face in the matter of seconds, instead hitched for a breath before flinging his arms around the hedgehog's shoulders, head hidden in the crook of his neck. The air left his lungs from the thrust, the sudden grip around him tight and painful as Tails hitched for another breath. Sonic blinked utterly confused, before carefully wrapping his own arms around the now shaking fox, trying to catch sight of his face.

"Hey – what's with the mood swings litl' bro?" He asked carefully, rubbing a hand up and down Tails' back, despite his glove getting soaked from the action.

His charge swallowed something in his throat, bit his lip and had his eyes squeezed shut before he sighed deeply.

"Sorry," he said muffled, the hedgehog figuring that it covered his actions as well as the pounding on his shoulder.

Sonic hummed in response, accepting the apology as he kept rubbing the fox's back, being relieved that the squeeze was easing as well. He pulled back not long after that, letting out another deep sigh, looking back at the hedgehog. Tails' eyes were red rimmed and puffy, though no tears had left them, was now staring at Sonic again, as if he was wondering why he was here. The hedgehog looked back, letting the silence remain in the air, letting the reality dawn on the both of them for a minute. He broke the silence himself with a shrug of his shoulders.

"Looks like we made it huh?" He asked as casually as he could, forcing a grin on his lips.

The fox's ears flicked, looking at Sonic's twisted foot once more, contemplating something. The hedgehog accepted that he didn't get an answer from his inquiry, instead looked down at Tails' left knee,

"What happened to your knee?" He asked once more, this time around, his charge turned his head towards him, blinked, before he looked down at his mentioned knee.

"I fell," he lamely explained, as if it was the least of their worries, nothing of importance.

Sonic would have protested, asking him further questions, when Tails looked around instead, looking for something the hedgehog couldn't guess.

"You need to get to Station Square and get that fixed," he then concluded, nodding at the foot again.

Sonic nodded to the statement, biting his lip against the reminder of his limb, another painful surge going through his leg.

"Lean on me," he faced Tails after his sentence, observing as he stood to crouch instead, wrapping an arm around the hedgehog's shoulders, looking at him and waiting for him to be ready.

Sonic blinked at the action, noting how curtly it sounded, before he wrapped his own arm around the fox's shoulders, putting his left foot onto the ground. With the assistant, he only hissed as he was helped onto one foot, letting his right limb float in the air, being well aware that it was going to hurt badly if he put pressure on it.

Tails practically shoved him to his side when he didn't immediately lean on him, making to take the first step through the debris, Sonic jumping along. The fox followed in his painfully slow paste, though the hedgehog was currently concentrating on jumping around molten metal and broken cement and avoiding landing on the ground. Though he highly suspected his sidekick had a good grip on him, feeling as a single large tail wrapped around his waist and pushed him closer to the fox's side, practically all of his weight leaning on him.

He faced him to protest, wanting to say that he might be hurting but wasn't crippled, when he caught his expression. The angry frown was back, not as angry as he was before, but it was definitely evident. Sonic bit his lip, instead looking where he was going.

"So," he tried to fill the air with something, as he jumped over something that looked to be a part of a robot "what happened after I pushed you?" He asked, being well aware that the topic most likely wasn't the best one he could come up with.

Tails faced him slowly, their eyes meeting for a second where blue orbs were looking at him almost disbelievingly, before he looked away again.

"I fell and it exploded. I blacked out, looked around, saw this, looked for you and found you," he explained matter-of-factly, as if he was explaining how the water cycle worked. "What about you?" He continued the conversation, nevertheless, looking down at the ground as he navigated Sonic around a particularly large piece of metal, presumably from a wall that once had stood here.

"Eh, I think I might have gone into a ball, and got buried under all of this. I got out and found out that my foot was hurting, big surprise there, and then I heard ya call for me. You found me and punched me and now we're heading towards the Tornado," he explained, biting his lip against the hiss he wanted to let out, instead turning to look at Tails again.

"Yep," the fox agreed, not looking back at him, merely continued walking with the same frown on his brow, still being mad about it.

Sonic looked away again, jumped over more debris, leaning into the fox's side. He couldn't blame him for being mad. But he didn't understand why he was mad either.

This was how it was supposed to be.

He had always hated the smell of antiseptic. The smell was too strong, stinging in your nose and choked him. Or at least, that's what it felt like.

The entire atmosphere might as well be choking him, as the hedgehog sighed for the umpteenth time that day, staring at the TV in the upper right corner of the room. Some kind of show was turned on, too low for him to actually hear, and therefore had to settle with the subtitles.

He had already been here for too long in his opinion, would much rather be out running right now, despite the fact that his wish was practically impossible to fulfill in his current predicament. Yet another sighed, filled the room.

Given that he was Sonic the Hedgehog himself, he had received a treatment worthy of the president, when Tails had practically carried him inside. Pain medication had been hurled into him, most likely more than necessary, before being headed into x-ray and then surgery since his bones were apparently that messed up.

He knew there was a waiting list for those kinds of procedures, but he figured he had been bumped up to priority one. He wasn't fond of that mentality, knew that everyone was merely thankful for what he did for them, but they could spare the special treatments and free health care, he was just like any other ordinary Mobian who lived their life.

Yesterday was pretty much a blur, hardly remembering anything from the anesthesia and the pain medication, having no general idea what had happened. He remembered his friends, Tails who had been by his side all the time, Amy who had visited and almost cried seeing him, Cream and Cheese had made him a card and the Chaotix sent their regards.

Today though, his foot was in a cast, being on less medication than yesterday, the doctors had claimed he had been a very lucky hedgehog with only minor damage done to his chest and his skull. The former he hadn't even thought about though the latter he never had any problems with. He had fallen miles from the sky and landed headfirst without a scratch. Maybe a headache but that was it.

This morning the nurse had kindly asked him if he wanted crutches or a wheelchair for when he got released tomorrow, where he had vehemently asked for crutches, which would at least give him some form of movement. He already hated the fact that he couldn't put any pressure on his foot for another month, maybe even two. Which meant he was stuck doing nothing either way.

The thought had irritated him enough that he just wanted to distract himself from his predicament, trying to concentrate on whatever was happening on the TV. The oximeter was clamping on his finger unpleasantly, and the butterfly needle might be giving him vital fluids, but the needle wasn't comfortable in that regard. Despite needing the fluids.

He glanced to his left, the bedside table being filled up with a vase filled with different colors of lilies, a couple of cards on the table, a small packet of chocolate and a can of chili. He appreciated the kind regards and thoughtful words his friends shared with him, making a small smile appear on his lips. His ears flicked when a knock came to the door, looking towards it.

"Yeah," he allowed, leaning his head back into the pillow, not wanting any more visits from any more nurses today.

When he glanced to see which nurse came inside to disturb him, he was instead relieved to see a certain two tailed fox come inside, closing the door behind him.

"Hey Sonic," he greeted, as he walked towards the medical bed, tails fluttering from behind.

The hedgehog felt lighter from the familiar face, letting a grin come to his lips, being happy to see someone else but medical staff. He glanced down at Tails' left knee, seeing a roll of bandages wrapped around it, though he wasn't limping.

"How're you today? Giving the nurses trouble again?" The sidekick asked patiently, sitting down on a chair next to the bed with a playful grin on his lips.

Sonic was rather glad for the banter, pulling himself up to sit more comfortably in his bed, grimacing as his foot followed the action.

"Not much I think," he admitted, copying the grin on the fox's face. Said fox frowned from the answer, nodding towards the IV fluids by his side.

"If you give them trouble, you'll stay here longer, you know that? The last time you were here, you purposely failed the reflex test for the fun of it," the sidekick helpfully reminded, crossing his arms over his chest. Sonic let out a 'pfft', waving a dismissing hand towards him.

"That was a while ago. Besides, you should have seen the doctor's face, she was so confused!" He chuckled, despite his charge rolling his eyes into the ceiling shaking his head.

Sonic let out a breath from the memory, looking at his foot in the cast. "Not this time bud, I plan on getting as fast out of here as possible," he explained truthfully, turning his head towards the monitor to his right.

He had no idea what the numbers meant on it, but every other hour or so the nurses came and scribbled down what it showed and then left. Tails hummed in agreement, behind appendages whipping.

"Your foot won't heal faster at the workshop," he commented, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees. "Besides, this entire thing shouldn't have happened in the first place," the fox bit his lip, before looking at the ground.

Sonic blinked, letting out a sigh before he looked at his foot again.

He didn't know what other outcome Tails had imagined. There was nothing else that could be done at the moment. He was a hedgehog of action, being impulsive was what he did when he didn't know what to do. He had seen the danger, knew that there was only one way out of it and had acted accordingly.

It had generally been an ordinary affair, another factory they had discovered, another problem they needed to solve. They had sped through the corridors, attacked and destroyed several Egg Pawns in their way, betting for how long this would take, making jokes, and laughing about the matter. Egghead had shown up as usual, telling them about his evil plan, leading them into the giant room in the middle for the epic showdown as usual.

He wasn't too sure what happened then – all he had heard was Eggman screaming something about a malfunction and self-destruction and that he had to get out of here. Both of them had been confused, wondering just what was going on when the base had been shaking under their feet. Sonic had frantically looked around to get an answer to their questions, when he had seen the core in the middle, a sort of device that powered the factory, the light getting stronger and stronger.

A sixth sense had activated, warning signals everywhere around him, his body shaking with the realization that this entire place was going to blow. He had whipped his head around, looked at Tails, and had seen a fearful expression all over his usual confident and brave demeanor, silently asking what they should do.

Sonic had looked over his shoulder, seeing as the way they had come was about to be sealed with a door to contain the explosion inside. He hadn't thought or calculated, hadn't figured out any other way as there had only been one way out for one of them.

That's the moment where he had grabbed Tails, looked at him, the only words that could come out of his mouth then was 'thank you' before he had hurled him past the door, as it closed. The last thing he remembered was sprinting behind a wall or something else, it had been metallic, curled into a ball until his ears had been blasted with the sound of the explosion going off.

He had truly believed that had been it, didn't even remember what his final thoughts had been, if he had wondered what they should be. He just remembered shaking and hearing his heart beating in his ears. It was a miracle he was here; the doctors had said so themselves – maybe Chaos really did look over him? He would have to ask Knuckles.

"I just have one question," Sonic slowly turned his head towards Tails, a part of him having expected him to ask about it. He vividly remembered the fox being mad for something he didn't know, and knowing his sidekick for four years, he never had an unanswered question lie, whether it be scientific or not.

"Why did you do it?" He asked, calculated and calm, looking up and making eye contact with Sonic.

His blue eyes were blazing, a small frown on his brow, a determination that shined through and wanted to know the answer. The hedgehog blinked confused, had an idea as to what he meant, but wanted to be sure.

"What?" Tails' eyes darted around his face, before he sighed, biting his lip.

"The... you know-" his tails whipped behind him "the self-sacrificing act," he elaborated, the words leaving his mouth quickly, as if he regretted saying them in the first place.

Sonic nodded nevertheless, confirming what he had suspected. Though, he didn't have a clean answer for him, shrugging his shoulders.

"You know me," he explained, making the fox whip his head at him. "I couldn't really make you stay, could I?"

"You better have a better explanation than that," Sonic blinked from the sudden bitterness that escaped his charge's lips, an anger he hadn't anticipated, one that returned and was familiar.

The hedgehog opened his mouth, having no idea what to say, seeing his tails whipping, seeing the distress and anger that was emitting from him.

"What do you mean?" The hedgehog asked carefully.

"What do I mean? Sonic, you risk your life every single day, you can't tell me that you don't have an explanation as to why!" He asked again, springing up from his chair, hands fisted at his sides.

Sonic read his body language, saw the whipping appendages and shaking hands, saw his eyes filled with a bubbling rage. Tails let out a sigh then, started pacing in the room, throwing his hands every which way they decided to go.

"You've taught me so many things. You've taught me about being brave, being confident and how to believe in myself. You've taught me the values of friendship and how to work together as a team. Is it all just preparation? Is it just so I can prepare for the inevitable to happen?!"

"No!"

"Then why do you do it?!" He yelled, not loud enough for the medical staff to get concerned, but loud enough for the hedgehog to feel it.

The words hung in the air, making the atmosphere tangible and thick, the frustration still clear in the fox. Sonic heard the words, let them swim around in his mind, listened to them again, before he sighed.

He hadn't thought deeply of it, hadn't gone down that philosophical path of why he was ready to sacrifice himself for someone else. He would take the bullet in a heartbeat for a friend, no arguments, no reconsiderations. That was just how it was.

Why he had decided it was like that, he had no proper answer for. Not one that would satisfy Tails, not one that wouldn't make him shake his head and start to counter that thought. It was a deeply rooted nature in the hero of Mobius, something that was as natural as eating a chili dog for lunch.

"I-" he started, since he knew he couldn't settle for silence. "I don't know Tails. I don't want to see you or anyone else hurt. I would rather it be me than you," he argued, shaking his head from his own words since he knew they weren't enough.

He looked back at the scientific genius, seeing his expression was enough of a confirmation, since the disbelief was plastered across his face. The sidekick sighed, before gesturing towards the TV.

"You know who you are, Sonic. People love you for what you do for them – you run around and ruin Eggman's evil plans, you stay in a burning city and help people to safety, you head out to save people you don't even know. People admire you for it, and they rely on you. What do you think is going to happen if you're just gone one day?" He asked seriously, looking at Sonic once more.

This time around, it was the hedgehog's turn to frown, looking at the TV, looking back at the fox.

"Do you really think I care about that? Dude, I got the best treatment a hedgehog could ask for, but I didn't even ask for it. I don't care about fame or whatever, I just do what I can to save people," he answered, sighed, and looked at his hands. "And besides, if I were to one day, disappear, I know that there's people who can take my place."

"Who?" He looked up from the fox's question, making the hedgehog scoff, waving a hand towards him.

"You, of course! Or Amy, Knuckles or Shadow, heck even GUN could take over for me! I'm not that important."

"But you are! How can you even say that Sonic!" He struck a nerve there, Tails yelling again, emphasizing that what Sonic had said was an ugly lie he had spat in the fox's face.

His hands were shaking even more, the contorted face trying to hide the fact that he wanted to either cry or furrow his brow again, a turmoil of emotions happening on the inside. Sonic knew what he was talking about and what he was referencing, making the hedgehog sigh, realizing he had said the wrong words.

That logically thinking mind was wondering how everybody was going to react if he died, how Eggman was going to react if he disappeared and what mark he would leave on the world if he made his sacrifice. But he knew there was another reason underneath.

He looked up as it was Tails' turn to sigh, walking back towards the chair and sank down into it, looking at his hands in his lap.

"All I'm saying is, what if it had been me who did it? What if I had thrown you out of the room and stayed in there. It hurts you thinking about it doesn't it?" He asked directly then, blinked, before he looked at Sonic.

He didn't even want to think about the thought since it was one of the deepest fears he hadn't shared with anyone. Even thinking about one of his friends dying, maybe his little brother, was too terrifying to even consider, and was something he would never let happen.

"Then you know how I feel," Tails must have seen the uncomfortable expression on his face from the conclusion, looking at his hands, yet another sigh escaping his lips.

Sonic blinked at his action, being once more impressed by his reading skills, though now understood why he was mad. He was mad because he was scared, he had been afraid that Sonic had been dead at that moment, and all the afterthoughts of, if that occurrence would ever happen, had hit him then. And since he didn't know the answers, then the hedgehog should.

He tried to think about it rationally, wanted to try and give him an answer by promising that everyone would take his death lightly and move on, but the truth of the matter was that he couldn't promise him that. Lying to him was out of the option, and therefore he would rather say he didn't know instead. But that answer wouldn't be satisfying either.

He was starting to feel a turmoil of his own, making the hedgehog look at his hands to find some kind of answer to the silence, reflecting upon why he did as he did. Only one answer came to mind.

"The truth is Tails," he started, making the fox turn his head towards him, blue eyes curious. "Is that I'm afraid of it. I'm scared of dying, that is. I don't know what's on the other side or whatever people call it. I don't know what's there and what can happen. Sometimes I imagine that it's Chaos who's just waiting for me, or Tikal or something. But I don't know," he admitted, since the thoughts had passed his mind before in dark nights of contemplation. He just wasn't comfortable thinking about it.

He bit his lip- "…But. It scares me even more to think how afraid you would be. Or Knuckles, or Amy or Cream and Cheese. The thought of you, or anyone else, experiencing being that scared, frightens me even more than the thought of me going through that. I would rather do the sacrifice because then I know you wouldn't be scared from the thought of it. You would be mad at me like you are now, but you would get over that. But I don't know if you can get over the fear," he explained to the best of his ability.

His own words sounded convoluted and weird when he had said them out loud. But it was the most truthful answer he could give him.

He loved the adrenaline, he lived in the rush of being a daredevil and jumping down large ravines, jumping out from the Tornado and falling miles from the sky. That's what he lived for. And if he one day screwed up and went over the edge, then he would save the others from making that mistake and save them from the fear.

He didn't know if he could run there, he didn't know if he had some sort of 'living' or movement at all. It was unknown. He hadn't thought this deeply of it before, but the more he thought about it, the more it felt right. He just hoped it was enough of an answer.

He looked back at Tails, but the fox was frowning at his lap, though his brow was furrowed in curiosity more than anger, some sort of question getting resolved in his mind.

"So," he began "It's basically another hero perk, huh?" He clarified, looking back at the hedgehog.

Either he had given up on the thought or accepted his answer as the one, Sonic didn't know, but was rather glad that he had at least given him something that soothed his worries. He shrugged his shoulders.

"Pretty much," he agreed, nodding as well, biting his lip.

A silence remained then, one that was lighter than before, the questions answered despite the equation not being comfortable. Neither of them liked the thought, but the possibility was there. They had been dangerously close this time around.

Sonic looked at Tails, emerald, green eyes observing, seeing the large yellow ears almost plastered to his skull, the biting of his cheek and the hands still shaking in his lap. Well, he knew how to resolve when the fox was afraid of something.

"C'mere bud," the fox looked up from the suggestion, looking at the hedgehog as he scooted over to one side of the bed, hissing through his teeth when the bandaged foot protested with the movement.

He made a motion with his arm that made the fox sigh in defeat, getting up from the chair. Sitting on the edge of the bed and flopping down beside Sonic was exactly what he needed, the big brother could tell, as he wrapped an arm around his shoulders and gently pushed him to his side. Running a thumb back and forth on his arm was the best comfort he could offer in the moment, letting Tails lay beside him and realize that he was still alive, warm, and somewhat well. A sigh soon came from him.

"It can't be helped, can it?" He asked once more, just for confirmation. Sonic let a chuckle pass his lips, shaking his head slowly.

"Well, if it makes you feel any better, I don't plan on doing that ever again," he explained, his eyes lazily glancing at the TV, resisting the urge to yawn as the painkillers started to catch up to him.

The chuckle that came from his little brother made him feel better, turning his head towards him.

"If that was true then I'm a raccoon," the fox argued, shaking his head. "If I'm going to make you try and not kill yourself every day then I would have to tie you down in the workshop," he explained, making the hedgehog laugh.

"You're probably right little bro," he agreed either way, as Tails' eyes drifted towards the TV as well, trying to pay attention.

Before the both of them could get sucked into the program, Sonic ran his hand up and down the yellow arm, gaining Tails' attention, blue eyes looking at him.

"We'll try and be more careful, alright?" He ended lastly, knowing that his friend needed something to hold on to, a half-promise of some kind.

He earned the relieved smile he wanted to see, the fox sighing before he leaned into the hedgehog's side, leaving his head on Sonic's chest.

"That's a deal," he agreed, making the big brother chuckle, before returning his attention back to the television.

The two of them watched whatever program they were shown, laughing at the right moments, discussing what they had actually watched, being glad about each other's company. The incident was just an incident now, something that had happened and might be repeated in the future.

They wouldn't be prepared if the moment occurred, no one would be. But Sonic calmed himself from his thoughts, making a mental note of keeping an eye out for self-destructing power sources at the next Eggman factory.

Because he was going to do this again, his foot would heal, and he would foil every single plan that the mad doctor decided to do. As long as he was alive, he was going to make sure that everybody was safe. His little brother, his friends, the people in the world.

There was no discussion, he was going to keep that promise.

No matter what.