A/N: Yeah... I've been slacking on this story, huh? After my vacation and mental break, I wanted to get back to this and my other WIPs. I already updated the others and posted a new oneshot, but I knew this one needed a new chapter soon after you know what. In case you don't remember, Tails woke up from a horrific nightmare that's incomparable to what he experienced in the past. Sonic was there in time to comfort him, but how exactly did this lead up to it? That will be answered right now!
Disclaimer: I do not own any rights to Sonic or the characters.
Chapter 9: Phantasmagoria
Sonic didn't even bother paying attention to the speedometer on the Tornado's dashboard, but he was going at nearly the maximum speed possible since he departed West Side Island. Amy's direct call was all the motivation he needed to capitalize on his motto.
"Gotta go fast. Gotta go fast. Gotta go faster, faster... Faster, faster, faster!" he chanted in his head.
Before he knew it, he could peer down below at the glorious Red Gate Bridge, a solid portion of it being fully repaired with the rest all rusted up or broken. Someday, he and the Resistance planned to repair the rest so it'd be stable again. For now, the Blue Blur had his own personal mission to accomplish. Since there wasn't a good spot for a runway, he figured the bridge was his only chance to land the plane safely. He circled around to line up with the pathway. Once he was set up, Sonic carefully descended with the wheels deployed from their compartment. As they made contact with the asphalt concrete, he did his best to avoid running into any debris or obstacles. Plus, the plane wasn't wide enough to destroy the suspension cables. Everything was smooth, until...
"WHOA! OOF!"
The plane's speed was slowly reduced to approximately thirty miles per hour until it came to a complete stop. Sonic accidentally veered the plane into a hole in the road. Luckily, he wore his seat belt, and he didn't get hurt from the accident. His head thrust forward and nearly smashed into the yoke. Nevertheless, the Tornado was stuck on the bridge. He had a feeling Knuckles was going to be more ticked than Eggman finding a stain on his pink pajamas.
"Eh, I'll deal with the damage later," Sonic waved it off as he jumped out of the pilot's seat. "What matters is that my little buddy is found, and he needs me!"
Forming a smirk on his face, he charged and dashed over to the Resistance's headquarters. Assuming everything wasn't part of another case of Virtual Reality, Sonic kept his consistent pace throughout the whole sprint. He was too late to help out Tails when the fox desperately needed support on a couple of occasions. This time, he made sure of himself that he wasn't going to fail. It didn't take too long for Sonic to arrive at the Resistance HQ. Taking out his ID card, he scanned it and entered the base. He quickly bumped into Knuckles and Amy in the computer lab.
"Where is he?" he immediately asked without thinking.
"Gee, we're doing fine, no thanks to you," Knuckles sardonically replied, wiping the dust off his arms.
"Hey, what does that-"
"Where the hell have you been, Sonic?!"
"What? What do you think, Knucklehead? That I daintily skipped through a bed of daisies, prancing through the Mystic Jungle to find a rare amphibian that isn't Big's pet, Froggy?"
"Where are you going with this?" Amy raised an eyebrow.
Sonic scoffed and shook his head. "Never mind. You should know, Knux. Ever since Tails left the surprise party, I went out to find him!"
"And it took you nearly an entire day while we cleaned up after your mess?"
"Actually, we did most of the work. You had to deal with something else," Amy lowered her eyelids.
"You already know what happened," Knuckles grumbled before he refocused on Sonic. "Did you spend half of that time chowing down on meat sticks doused in chili?"
While that may be true, Sonic didn't admit it. He had more important things to handle. "Hey, listen here, Commander Bozo! You guys took six months to even trace my location. I had to deal with so much torture like you wouldn't believe. All of you couldn't even defend against Eggman and his troops! You weren't able to find me after I got wrecked by... Infinite," he mumbled the final word as his clenched fists loosened.
The sudden tone in Sonic's voice made Knuckles' own ire dissolve in a quick second. Yet he was somewhat miffed with his response. "Because we were holding onto the thought that Eggman was telling the truth for once. We seriously thought you were gone."
"Even though I had a feeling you were still alive after his troops stormed the planet, the other half of me was clinging onto hope," said Amy woefully. "But if you alleged that we couldn't defend ourselves for so long while searching endlessly for you, don't you realize how broken we were when Eggman announced you were dead?! If you thought I handled the news horribly, you should've seen the look on my face when I heard Tails was stabbed, regardless if it was a setup! We were all led to the idea that we just lost two of our heroes, yet more importantly two of our best and most trustworthy friends."
Sadness and agony were clearly evident from Amy's words that Sonic felt guilty for pinning so much pressure on them. After all, he was the one who couldn't stop Eggman and Infinite. Or rather, you know who. The war only took place because he failed to save his little buddy at the worst possible time and assumed it was just another ordinary fight against Eggman and his allies. The self-reproach was starting to haunt him again as the hedgehog despondently peered down at his shoes.
"You know what, forget what I said earlier. It was uncalled for," Knuckles informally apologized. "Tails returned to HQ while you were still searching. In fact, he confided in me while the rest of our friends picked up the remaining decorations."
"And what did he say?" implored Sonic, desperate to know the answer.
"Well..." The echidna struggled to respond as he stayed true to his word. Tails, and only Tails, was the one to come face-to-face with the hedgehog and explain the meaning behind his frequent absences.
"Knuckles?" Sonic quickly turned to Amy due to his impatience.
Unfortunately, the pink hedgehog was just as clueless, giving Knuckles the old stink eye. "He wouldn't even tell me, Savage, or anyone else."
"Because it's personal to him!" he countered, screaming directly at Amy as her face leaned back and her bangs fluttered from his loud voice.
"Personal in what way? Knuckles, please. I have to know!" Sonic extended his arms out.
"Well, didn't you even hear what I said during my call? Or rather, what I was trying to say?"
"Um... no?" he awkwardly replied, causing Amy to facepalm.
"Sonic, he's currently-" Knuckles swiftly paused himself as he heard something bang from upstairs. He was about to continue his statement until another disturbing noise caught his, Sonic, and Amy's attention.
"What was that?" the pink hedgehog shifted her head all around.
Then, Sonic's ears perked, twitching as an invoked reaction. Somehow, he swore he heard the innocent, soft cries of his brother, muffled by the ceiling and walls that surrounded him. Wherever he was, Tails was in trouble, and he couldn't let him fall from despair.
"Knuckles, where is he?" the hero circled back to his original question.
Shaking his head, Knuckles decided not to fool around and gave him a direct answer. "Up in your shared room."
Without hesitation, Sonic's legs took him straight to the upper floor where his dormitory was located. Knuckles and Amy hurried even though they were far behind. By the time he reached the door, Tails' voice became a little clearer for him to hear. Judging by the tone, it wasn't good at all. Sonic hastily pushed the door open, preventing the knob from smashing into the wall. He became aghast, watching the fox toss and turn underneath the covers.
"No... No, no, no..."
"Tails!" Sonic instantly rushed to the side of his mattress. He tried to shake him out of his nightmare but to no avail. Tails continued to yelp and weep.
"Sonic... S-Sonic... I-" he choked up.
"Tails! Tails, wake up!"
"No... Please! Let me go!"
"TAILS!"
"AAAHHHH!" The comforter slid off the kit's face as he screeched, now sitting upright after his nightmare. He nearly caused the hedgehog to tumble onto the floor. While Sonic regained his composure, he was immediately washed with pity when he spotted nothing but fright written over his sidekick's face.
"Tails! It's okay! I'm right here!"
Sonic watched him slowly move his head until they locked eyes with each other. All of the times he had seen him distraught, none of those instances epitomized the appearance of a dejected, two-tailed fox until now.
"Hey, buddy, no need to be scared. I'm here. You're alright," he calmly soothed him, placing his hand over his shaking shoulder.
"S... S-Sonic?"
"Yeah, it's me, bud," he did his best to smile. Yet it didn't last long as Tails simply sat there like a statue.
Then, the kitsune released a Pandora's box full of tears and fears as he shamefully couldn't keep his emotions in check. As Sonic opened up his arms, Tails shivered as he felt a strong, protective embrace wrapped around his body. He didn't have the strength to hold him. All he did was bury his face deep in Sonic's neck with droplets soaking his friend's arm and shoulder. He had nowhere to run or hide, not like he was going to anyway. He had to confess. But for now, Tails wept unremittingly.
Sonic couldn't care less one bit. Tails needed comfort.
"S-Sonic..." he whimpered.
"I'm here, Tails. I'm not going to hurt you. I would never do that to you."
With the door open, their other friends loitered in the hallway, pressing their ears near the wall without being detected by Tails. For Amy, as much as she wanted to learn about his troubles, she wisely chose not to disturb the moment or invade his privacy.
"Poor Tails..." she sighed in a melancholic tone. "Will you please tell me about his issue now?"
Knuckles, who was kneeling underneath her, glanced up at the hedgehog with a neutral frown. "I think you're about to know sooner than later."
Whatever he inferred, Amy's curiosity got the better of her as she snuck a peek at Sonic, holding Tails for dear life while gently rubbing his back. The kid was an emotional wreck, plagued by his inner thoughts and secrets he withheld from everybody except Knuckles and the medical staff.
Tails knew he can't escape this time. Part of him wanted to stay yet the other half desired to take flight and shield his face from the world. Deep down, however, he wasn't going to bow down from his promise like every other instance. With his best friend right there, it was now time to let it all out. He pulled back from Sonic's clutches, opening his moist eyes to make out a blue, blurry hedgehog with green, apprehensive pupils. Wiping his tears with his gloved hand, the fox sniffled once more and inhaled deeply. Holding his breath for a while, he finally exhaled, a cold and shaky puff blowing directly at Sonic's chest.
Meanwhile, the Blue Blur somewhat quivered as his hands mildly grabbed Tails' arms. He made sure he didn't have a very firm grasp in case he was putting too much pressure on them.
"You feeling better now?" he cautiously questioned.
"Kind of," Tails replied earnestly. "But... how did you know you were hurting me in my dream?"
Sonic blinked. "I... I was?"
Tails sat there quietly, breathing softly from his mouth as he remained unsteady. His azure eyes peered at his lap, completely nervous to elaborate on what he experienced not too long ago.
"To be fair, I sort of mentioned it out of instinct. From the start, I swore to never hurt or abandon you. Yet we all know what went down in Metropolis and the Empire Fortress. But that was because we needed to get you back from your possessed state. The Phantom Ruby had been nothing but chaotic – for us and mostly you."
"More than you know..." the fox murmured.
"What?"
Awkwardly glimpsing up, Tails felt the tears forming once more. He used all of his might and self-control to withstand bawling waterfalls down his cheeks.
"I just couldn't tell you. I was too scared to hear your reaction. But I can't keep fleeing or hiding this burden forever."
"What kind of burden? Tails, you know you can tell me anything that's bothering you, right? I'll help you find a way to stop it."
"The problem is, I can't stop it. They just... happen."
Sonic was still perplexed. "What do you mean?"
The fox failed to contain his falling tears. "The nightmares, Sonic. It happened not too long after we defeated Eggman. And it occurred before we had that talk late in the night. The only purpose of me staying up to tinker with the Miles Electric was a way to keep my mind off the issue. But it usually never works."
"What are these nightmares about?" Sonic dared to ask.
Tails' eyes hovered downward, gazing directly at Sonic's chest where he could see the mostly healed scar on his peach stomach. The physical and lethal reminder caused him to hyperventilate as he shifted his view away. Many memories resurfaced, both the nightmares and the events leading up to the war. The hedgehog quickly responded by sitting beside him, throwing his right arm over his buddy's shoulder and squeezing it for comfort.
"Hey, it's okay, buddy. Take your time. I won't rush you."
Appreciating the support, Tails pressed on. "I could only picture you and everyone else, basically the whole world against me."
The unsettling disclosure made Sonic frown. He did not expect to hear such a thing. But he pinched himself to resist interrupting his speech.
"The most recent nightmare I had featured you, me, and an expanse of disquieting darkness. All I could think about was running away like I usually do, about how weak and childish I was to not stand up for myself. I didn't do jack except cower in fear. By then, I heard your voice."
As much as Sonic hoped his dreamy self would come to the rescue, he recalled the fact he somehow harmed his best friend. Even though it was a dream, experiencing it was tormenting enough for Tails to break down.
"I heard these phrases being spat at me even though you weren't directly nearby. But all of them delivered the same message. Because of my lack of actions, I transformed into Infinite and made your life a living hell for six miserable months. I was called a masochist. A traitor. Even a freak."
"Oh, Tails... I would never say those things to you," Sonic promptly mumbled. He honestly wished he could punch his fake clone in the face right now.
"Of course you wouldn't, Sonic. But this was what I dreamt of. You finally came out of the darkness with the angriest face I've ever seen from you. The main purpose was to plot your revenge against me. Just when you thought you only wanted retaliation against Eggman, the Sonic from my dreams said otherwise. He literally said, 'You see these bruises and scars? You did this to me, Tails. I'll give you something worse than them.' And so..."
Amy lightly gasped as she overheard the dialogue. Similar to Knuckles and Sonic, she couldn't wrap her head around the concept of the blue hedgehog aiming the blame towards his lifelong sidekick. In fact, both Sonic and Tails have been tortured more than anyone else since the Red Gate invasion. Although the thousands of lost lives were just as horrifying to accept.
As for Knuckles, he held his breath and prayed the dream wasn't as awful as the ones he was told about. They were very startling in his mind, for sure. This one couldn't be worse, could it?
"He got his vengeance. He grabbed me by the neck and strangled me without a trace of remorse. My head was subsequently submerged into the same tank Eggman nearly drowned you in. And through the rippling water, your face remained stagnant and terrifying – like you really wanted to kill me as a final say for the crimes that I've done to you, our friends, and the entirety of Mobius."
"Oh my god..." Sonic softly gasped. Now he truly wanted to destroy his counterpart. In no way, shape, or form did the Blue Blur ever have the intention of committing a heinous, lethal act on him.
"The worst part about it? I've had many other nightmares and hallucinations like that, which included the reason why I hastily left the headquarters and accidentally slapped you with my tails," Tails said shyly, hugging said namesakes with regret.
"And... what did you see?"
"When you announced the surprise party, it only reminded me of your sixteenth birthday. The same day Eggman brought out the water tank in the Death Egg."
Once more, the hedgehog's eyes widened in both shock and agitation. Even Amy was aghast of this news. Knuckles closed his eyes and lowered his head.
A sniffle arose from the former jackal. "I remember it too well. Without a doubt, it was one of the worst days, if not the worst, of your life. Eggman had already done a few punishments before the water tank, yet it doesn't mean they weren't as painful to undergo. Before he and the other clones I created came up to restrain you, Eggman tied me up in a separate room, forcing me to watch the events unfold in front of my eyes. While I didn't react as Infinite, I was begging on the inside to stop the madness. On the security cameras, I watched you suffocate every time your head got dunked beneath the surface. All of the bubbles kept rising and forming as you weren't able to breathe properly. You looked unconscious, and it made me wonder if Eggman would've crossed the line to truly end your life."
Sonic definitely recalled the water as a cruel act of entertainment in his archenemy's eyes. He resented the doctor throughout that moment since Robotnik knew how much he loathed it for specific reasons. But again, he circled back to only being angry at him. He never thought about blaming his buddy since he assumed Tails passed away from a blood-curdling wrench.
"Afterward, I was brought back to reality. I felt a terrible heartache as I couldn't handle the horrific memories. All I could imagine was you and the others berating me. Every single friend turned their backs on me because I betrayed them for becoming Infinite and ruining the world. I was still responsible for causing so many deaths, kidnapping you, and fooling the whole population into believing you were dead. It led to another copy of you, telling me I'm nothing but a pathetic sidekick and a worthless, two tailed-freak. And that's because I am one!"
The waterworks restarted as Tails' compunction was too hard to overcome. His uncontrollable sadness forced him to conceal his face from the utter humiliation he had faced for months. The fox could not stop blaming himself because deep in his heart, he was unable to find solace. Not even Sonic could fully convince him despite all of the conversations they shared prior.
To see him wail with lost hope was discouraging for Sonic as he felt somewhat helpless in the current scenario. He usually came around to convince his friend that everything was going to be fine, no matter what the circumstances may be. Yet this was much different.
"Tails, I'm really sorry," he pulled him closer in his arm. "I never thought your nightmares would amount to this kind of terror. But I swear to Chaos, you need to believe me when I say this again. You are not worthless. You're not even a freak or a terrible sidekick to me."
"But I should've told you sooner," Tails sighed with fresh, salty tears plopping onto his legs. "Instead, I pushed you and everyone else away because I didn't want anyone to be concerned when there were other matters at hand."
"Buddy, after what you've been through, it was arguably worse than my six months in captivity. I wanted to look out for you, especially when the soldiers tried to pin the blame on you."
"I know. You've always put me first in front of many things. It's just... you've done so much for me that I hate having to constantly rely on you for support as my saving grace. I'm sorry, too."
"Hey, don't be. I kinda understand why you didn't feel comfortable opening up to me."
"Now that I did, however, it gets rid of the extra weight on my shoulders. Well, technically, I was a little relieved after explaining it to Knuckles. Nonetheless, I was cowardly to face you since you're the main person I visualize in my dreams."
Sonic slouched with a sick feeling in his gut. "And this happens all the time?"
Drying his eyes with his gloved hands, Tails stretched the side of his lips into an extended frown. While biting his tongue, he quietly nodded at his question.
"How long has this been going on again?"
"At least three weeks ago. It was just after Eggman officially lost the war, too," reminded Tails.
"But why? Why has this been an ongoing thing?"
It was now or never. He had gone too far off the deep end. He couldn't turn back from here. With a deadpan stare and a shaky puff, Tails reluctantly turned towards his big brother and uttered three harrowing words that no one should hear.
"The Phantom Ruby."
Instantly, Sonic's eyes widened larger than an inflated balloon. His mind immediately popped as he finally realized the reason underneath it all.
"The Phantom Ruby?" he echoed, unintentionally causing Tails to flinch. "But we already destroyed it! Savage, Raff, and I triple-boosted! The ruby should be nonexistent at this point!"
"And did you completely forget what I just mentioned when I was hospitalized? How the essence of the Phantom Ruby was released after it was demolished from my chest? How the negative energy was transferred to the Phantom Ruby duplicate in his Ultimate Death Egg Robot? How it's possibly lingering around Mobius even though we got rid of both of them?"
To be fair, the Blue Blur concentrated on rebuilding the planet to its former state after Eggman's Empire was overthrown. He completely omitted Tails' anecdote regarding the war's aftermath and the underlying side effects. Worst of all, Sonic was ashamed he never put two and two together.
"This isn't your fault if that's what you're thinking."
Sonic blinked as he refaced his pal, pouting on the edge of his bed.
"Greg and Delilah diagnosed me when I was feeling uneasy. While I originally thought it was a common illness or a minor headache, it turned out to be much worse than I anticipated. Part of the Phantom Ruby's effects still hasn't left my body after you obliterated it. And because we all know what the thing is capable of, all of the recurring nightmares emerged as a result. Sadly, the energy is analogous to a disease – a cancer if you really think about it."
"You don't mean..."
"While it sounds terminal, the consequences of the Phantom Ruby are messing up my head repetitively. They are still affecting my body where I can picture the fake illusions of you. Either you were scolding and harassing me like I was one of your bullying victims, or you were caught up in a state of vulnerability as Eggman obstinately tortures you. I have never found a way to prevent them from plaguing my thoughts, nor did I ever muster up the courage since Greg and Delilah advised me to explain the truth. Yet I was too stubborn. And I'm sorry again."
Tails was not the only one with tears in his eyes. Amy stayed hushed as she soaked in the unbelievable pain he had gone through. The pink hedgehog had a very similar reaction to Knuckles and Sonic's. She couldn't fathom how the nine-year-old kept everything to himself for the sole purpose of him being the only one to handle his personal problem, let alone worry about it.
As for Sonic, there was only one thing he could think of in light of what he learned. He had already done it a couple of times, but he didn't mind repeating his actions. Squeezing his brother tightly for consolation, Sonic didn't let go as they sat together in peace. He gently rocked back and forth like a mother pacifying their crying newborn in the middle of the night. By then, the hedgehog looked up as he noticed Knuckles entering the room with Amy following from behind. Each of them had solemn expressions as they all glanced down at the broken kitsune.
"So, I guess you heard, huh?" Sonic directed his query at Amy.
She simply bobbed her head. Kneeling in front of the kid, she kindly placed a hand on his knee, articulating her sympathy. "Tails, I'm so sorry."
"Thanks, Amy. It means a lot to me."
"Of course. But now that we know, is there any way we can help?"
Sniffling, Tails removed himself from Sonic's embrace to wipe his eyes. "You can try, but I don't know how I can resolve this. The Phantom Ruby has proven to be very controlling and malevolent to overpower."
Suddenly, an idea sparked in Knuckles' brain. "Unless..."
"Unless... what?" Sonic peered up.
"Maybe there is something a little more powerful that can possibly counteract the negative influence. This may sound tacky and out of my mind, especially when I'm the one suggesting it, but it might be crazy enough for it to work."
"And what's that?" Amy wondered. Sonic and Tails were equally curious.
This time, Knuckles mentioned three words of his own. But they were more encouraging than the illusionary artifact. "The Master Emerald."
END OF CHAPTER
With this ending note, I wanted to point out that I had some assistance from my friend, Noonui, who brainstormed a way to integrate the Master Emerald. Since I already used the Chaos Emeralds in a couple of my old stories, I didn't feel like reusing them in Revengeful Resistance or the follow-up. However, I might have something building up that can possibly sort out Tails' dilemma. I would like to thank Noonui for her help! She's written a ton of awesome oneshots, short stories, and long fanfics in the Sonic universe that I would highly recommend reading!
And of course, I thank you all for being patient with this new chapter as I've been dealing with my own personal issues and long breaks. If I don't post another update within the next month, then I hope to see you all again in 2022. Hope you all take care! This is TGN, signing off.