-Amy-
I'm terribly worried about Sonic. It's awful, waiting every day for Tails to call and tell me he's getting better. And I'm worried about Tails too. It's been six weeks now, and he's hardly left Sonic's side except when he has to go at night. He looks terrible. His fur's getting all dirty and unkempt. He doesn't seem to care. He's getting thinner, too, and he doesn't sleep enough. His face was always so cheerful, before… now I sometimes hardly recognise him. Even his tails are a mess, and he always keeps them in good condition so he can fly. I'm going to see them both today, Sonic and Tails.
I always get nervous, waiting to get in. But as I round the corner I see that Tails is waiting for me. I walk up to him and ask him,
"How's Sonic?"
"The same - not that it matters to you! You don't care! None of you! You just leave him here!"
The anger and pain in his voice knocks me back a step.
"Tails, of course I care! What else do you think I'm doing here?"
"Oh yeah, you're coming! Sonic's your hero; what else are you gonna do? But you don't stay! Oh no, it's 'Tails, ring me and tell me when he's okay'! You won't even stay with him!" He's flying, somewhat erratically, wobbling from side to side as he hovers. His head's just a little bit higher than mine, so I have to look up at him slightly.
"Tails, I can't stay here all this time! We all have other things we have to do - I can't help Sonic, and nor can you! There's nothing either of us can do, and I don't like it any more than you do, but we have to go on with our lives!" How dare he accuse me of not caring?!
Tails drifts to the ground and starts to cry. I awkwardly put my arms around him and he just cries on my shoulder. Some time later, he stops and looks up.
"You're right, Amy… I can't do anything." This time, there's a kind of desolate acceptance behind his words, and I'm not sure I didn't prefer having him mad at me.
"Come on, Tails." I take his arm and lead him away; he comes passively. "We have to keep living. I'm sure he doesn't want you sitting around just wasting away like this. And who knows - maybe he'll wake up, or we'll find something that can help." I feel a lot older than Tails all of a sudden, and a lot older than I did a few weeks ago. And I'm finding it hard not to refer to Sonic in the past tense… for it's like he's dead.
We have to keep living. It's what Sonic would want.