Author's Notes

Okay… so "soon" has absolutely no meaning with me. But then, most of my regular readers (are there any of you left? o.o;) have probably figured that out by now. >.>;; But hey, two updates in one year is good for me, right? XD This chappie's longer anyway… which is strange, seeing as how I'm certain I didn't intend it to be when I started… >.>;

I was originally thinking about doing the whole story from Sonic's POV, but then I thought it'd be fun to get more angsty inside more characters' heads. XP I suppose I was inspired by Ardil the Traveler's fic "Only Yesterday" (a MUST-READ). Though I won't claim that mine is executed nearly as well. XP

Review responses:

Shadow's Dark Angel – Far from perfect, but thanks! XP

Chaos Flower – Ripped off his legs? lol! I hadn't thought of that… >.> But no, I'm not quite that mean. XD And yes, it is fairly drastic. And you're close. (grin)

Dragonmaster Kyra- (fears the mallet) o.o;

fornwalt – Thanks! If I don't…? o.o Well here's an update, don't hurt me!

Now, on to…


Chapter 2


It's scary.

Seeing him like this, I mean.

He's so still and silent. So unlike the energetic Sonic I know.

I may never see that Sonic again.

And it scares me.

But I have to be brave. He needs that much from me.

That's why I'm here—to be with him. They tried to make me leave, but I wouldn't. I can't leave Sonic like this…

I'm not even sure how long I've been here. A couple of days, maybe? I'm too tired to remember. I haven't slept much—I don't really want to now.

'Cause every time I fall asleep…

…I hear him screaming.

I don't think I'll ever forget that.

It terrified me. And it still does. I've never heard him scream like that.

And I hope I never will again…

Wait! He moaned! I think he's waking up!

"Sonic?"

He doesn't respond, but I'm sure his eyes are moving slightly behind his eyelids. I place my right hand over his left. "Sonic, can you hear me?"

Yes, his eyes are moving more now! I squeeze his hand, hopeful that everything will be alright. "Sonic…"

He's opened his eyes! "Sonic, you're awake!"

He looks my way, and I can't help but feel joy wash over me. "Tails," he whispers, and my heart leaps again.

"Yeah, it's me." He's back, and suddenly everything seems like it'll be okay. Maybe the doctors were wrong. Maybe he'll be just fine and everything will go back to normal.

A voice in the back of my head tells me I'm being stupid, that there's no way things will be normal again.

But I have to hope… there's always hope…

"How… how do you feel?" I ask him, sounding more uncertain than I wanted to.

He looks back at me and grins after a moment. That smile's always able to lift my spirits. "I'm all right," he responds. "My head feels like it's in space, and my legs kinda hurt, but I'm okay."

Suddenly I'm crashing back to reality. That voice mocks me again. You can't deny it now.

I want to cry, but I won't let myself. Not in front of him.

He's looking at me funny. I stand up before he asks me something and I fall apart. "I promised the others I'd call as soon as you woke up." Ugh, I can't even control my voice! "I'll be right back, okay?"

Sonic nods, and I half-run to the door. Once outside, I continue down the hall toward the nearest payphone. My cheeks are wet. Augh! I'm such a baby! I rub at my eyes with the back of my glove and take a few deep breaths. Come on, pull yourself together!

I insert a few coins into the phone and dial Amy's number. Halfway through the first ring someone answers.

"Hello?" It's Amy, and she sounds pretty anxious.

"Hey, Amy. It's Tails."

"Tails! How's Sonic?"

I grin as I give her the good news. "He's awake!"

I have to pull the phone away from my ear as she starts shouting excitedly. I can just imagine her jumping up and down with joy. Finally, she calms down and I can put the phone back to my ear. "We're on our way!" she speaks breathlessly, and then there's a click as she hangs up.

I laugh a little. Typical Amy. I make my way back to Sonic's room, a little more cheerful now. Amy had the right idea. Sonic's awake, and that's something to be happy about. Reaching his room, I open the door and step inside.

Then I freeze.

Sonic's staring at the ceiling, wide-eyed and frightened.

Frightened.

No… that shouldn't be Sonic at all… never…

The door clicks shut behind me, and Sonic's head jerks in my direction. I jump a little at the sudden movement. He seems to relax when he sees me, though. A little uncertainly, I walk to the chair next his bed and sit back down again. "You okay, Sonic?"

He smiles again, but it looks pained. "I'm fine."

More and more, I'm realizing that he really isn't. But I nod anyway. Then I remember the phone call. "I called Amy. They're all at her apartment. They'll be here--"

I hear the door open behind me and look over my shoulder. Standing there is a frazzled pink hedgehog. "…soon" I finish, dumbfounded at her sudden appearance.

"Sonic!" she cries, and runs over. Instinctively I slide my chair aside—I know her too well to get in her way. Surprisingly, she halts at the bedside and only grabs Sonic's hand. I hear more footsteps behind me. I look over my shoulder again to see that Knuckles and Shadow are here, too.

"That was quick," Sonic says to them. He looks as baffled as I am. I look back over my shoulder and see that Shadow is holding up the green Chaos Emerald. I smile. The wonders of Chaos Control…

"How are you feeling?" Amy asks gently. I look back at her and Sonic.

"I'm alright," Sonic replies. Amy buys it, but I don't. I still don't say anything though.

Knuckles pulls up a chair on the opposite side of the bed from me. "I knew he'd be fine," he says smugly.

"Oh really?" Amy seems to disagree. She seems kinda angry too… "Is that why you decided to use my wall to vent your 'peace of mind'?"

I try to keep from laughing, but Sonic shows no restraint. Knuckles venting on anything is never a good thing. And I can only imagine how Amy would've reacted. Poor Knuckles.

"Aw, Knux. I didn't know you cared!" Sonic teases him. He looks away, trying not to look embarrassed. I smile. This is how things should be.

Sonic looks past the foot of his bed. Shadow's there against the wall. I'd almost forgotten he was here. "So, someone wanna tell me what happened?"

I look back to Sonic and realize that he means how he ended up here. Everyone's quiet for a moment. I doubt anyone wants to think about that. I know I don't…

Knuckles breaks the silence. "You don't remember?"

Sonic seems to think for a moment. "Well, I remember being in Eggman's base. You guys were fighting some badniks, and I was…" His voice trails off, and that same haunted look I saw before creeps back.

A part of me doesn't want him to remember. A part of my mind screams at Knuckles to not say anything. I don't want to see him so frightened or hurt ever again.

Never.

But my thoughts don't stop Knuckles. "You were fighting Metal Sonic."

"M… Metal Sonic," he breathes, eyes widening. He looks frightened again.

No…

Terrified.

I'm scared again.

Scared at seeing him like this.

Because this isn't the Sonic I know.

This isn't the way he should ever be.

It's all wrong!

"Tails, Amy, why don't you see if you can find us some drinks?"

It's Shadow speaking. He looks at us solemnly. I know that's really just an excuse for us to leave—he doesn't want us to be here when he explains everything. I don't want to leave Sonic, but I know we can't stay. When Sonic finds out what happened… I don't think I could bear it. I doubt Amy could, either. I know I'll break down crying, and that'll only hurt Sonic more.

That's why we have to leave.

"Come on," Amy whispers to me. She takes me by the arm and we head for the door.

I don't even have the will to keep my tails off the ground now.

Once we're outside and out of earshot from the door, I can't hold it in any longer.

I cry.

And I cry.

And I cry…


Another cliffie! Or rather, the same cliffie! XD (murdered by readers again) You'll find out what happened to Sonic next chapter, I promise. XP (whenever that will be… >.> ;) Try and guess whose point of view it will be from. XP Baibai!