They were stuck in the waiting room, surrounded by sick and injured people. Monitors beeped and keyboards clacked. Coughs and crying babies.
The area was grey, accompanied by rows of foldable chairs. There were many distressed families and friends, waiting for their name to be called or to be fed useful bits of information.
The Wachowskis were one of those families, extremely tired, antsy, bored and silent. Sonic had looped the area five times, entertaining little kids on the way. It reminded him of the young fox who looked up to him, admired him like a world-famous hero.
Tails, the most sweetest loyal soul, incredibly witty, kind, compassionate. He said all of his ideas were brilliant and creative, gave the teenager a reason to showboat his coolness, dismissed all his mistakes. Tails never said no, he didn't get angry, he just followed him around, supportively.
It honestly felt amazing, having someone like that by your side, someone you could always count on, constantly worrying about you, finding everything you do- no matter how sickly stupid- utterly astounding.
Sonic was thinking well and hard about Tails' vent earlier, how the fox explained he was wrongly selfish, too attached, stating his benefits and own gains for finding the hero.
Maybe Sonic was like that. Maybe he needed- wanted the genius to find him, so he could feel good about himself, he sighed, plucking at the cuffs of his gloves.
"HEDGEHOG! GET OVER HERE IMMEDIATELY!" The voice roared across the room, enabling the hedgehog to snap out of his retrospection. He caught his breath, collected his posture, pushed his leg up for cartoonish affect.
In a blur of blue, he made it to his addressor, receiving a punch on his arm. "OW! KNUX-!"
"Okay he is awake and in action." Knuckles turned to both adults, who seemingly approved of the echidna's tactic.
"Thanks big guy. Anyway Sonic, when you were running the globe..." The hedgehog rolled his eyes. "Why did you call me here, if this is just a lecture I'm so gone-"
"Silence fool. Listen!" Knuckles shoved him to Tom. The hedgehog tumbled, accidentally pricking the man in the process.
"Sonic! Ouch!" Tom rubbed at his torso, where the hedgehog peeled himself off, indignant.
"It's not my fault! It's that stupid Knucklehead!" He pointed an accused finger to the buff figure behind him. Knuckles scoffed, eyes lidded.
"I was trying to help, it is not my fault you are so clumsy."
"Boys-" Maddie abutted, reminding the group of her presence.
"I'm clumsy?! Your the one who pushed me into him!" Sonic's voice was laced with venom, posture tensing. His brows knitted into a cross, glaring back at his aggressor.
"Ah, so you are playing the game known as the blame game?! I see, well it was your idiocy which resulted in this dire situation." Knuckles affirmed, fists curling uptight, the hedgehog stomped over to the warrior.
Sonic stood on his toes, nearly touching noses with Knuckles, he washed away any sense of reason. "What the hell did you say?"
"You do not scare me, you are weak and scrawny. Submit now, or you'll end up in the care of the doctors..."
The hedgehog knew what was coming next, this stupid oaf is going to regret his dumb actions. Sonic just waited, for the older boy's mouth open.
"Just." He bawled his fists, a crackling sound forming.
"Like." He fixed his stance, using the own echidna's battle tips to his advantage. His body coursing with electricity, fur frizzing up.
"Tails." He left the floor with a screech, he adopted his spherical form, ignoring the shouts of Tom and Maddie.
He charged into the firm trap of two large fists, containing him adeptly. No, not this time. Sonic manoeuvred his way out, uncurling from his spin attack.
He spat on the gloves.
Knuckles grimaced, loosening his grasp. "That is disgusting!"
"So are you!" He double kicked the warrior in the face, still holding his position in the echidna's comically ginormous palms.
Knuckles growled, biting the shins of his attacker, Sonic winced, feeling the sharp teeth sink in. The hedgehog extracted his legs, his body was in thin air as he plummeted onto the floor tiles.
"You sicko! What are you doing?" Sonic rolled up to his feet, blood forming near the bite mark.
"You have started this complication and I am simply fighting your way.A dishonourable and disgraceful way." Knuckles bumped his fists against each other, red electricity forming on his mass.
"Oh, your on!" He flicked his nose, eyes glowing a vibrant hue.
"STOP!" Tom slipped in between the two, putting his arms out widely. He didn't know how much resistance he would be against two super-charged aliens.
"Outta the way, Tom! Imma teach this shithead a lesson he'll never forget!"
"Sonic! Language!" Maddie joined in, waving the forming crowd away. Some of them were recording, great. This was sure to go viral.
"I don't care! I'm gonna kill him!" Sonic glared at the echidna, Tom still disrupting their battle.
"Oh no, you don't!" Before he could duck under Tom's legs to tear Knuckles apart, his feet weren't really on the floor anymore.
A set of arms wrapped around him, he wriggled, electricity dimming down. He was angry but he didn't want to hurt innocents.
"Maddie! PUT ME DOWN! I'M GONNA-!"
"SONIC! STOP IT!" The woman yelled back, the hedgehog flinched at her reaction.
"I-"
"NO! Just stop! What were you thinking?! Are you actually serious?! I know, you care about Tails but you need to calm down! Everyone's doing the best they can and you're doing this?! Stop, it is not all about you!"
The whole room divided into whispers and chatters, staring at the furious mother and her alien son. She placed him to the floor, he tried to speak.
"No, stop. I don't want to hear anything out of you. Just sit down and wait, patiently." She pointed directly to a seat, far from Knuckles' spot.
He lowered his head, sighing, he shrunk into his seat. Maddie's brow furrowed, wondering if she went to far, especially in public. But it was something that had to be done, she needed to put him in his place.
Knuckles and Tom arrived at the scene, the red teenager acting a similar way, he took his spot far from Sonic who was rocking back and forth.
Tom whistled, pinching the bridge of his nose, him and Maddie spoke through looks.
"By the way, Sonic we called you here to tell you that we should be able to see Tails in a couple of hours." Maddie didn't look at him, voice filled with uninvited spite.
The ball of quills, shivered, mumbling an okay.
--
"TAILS! LOOK OUT!"
An immediate crash, he feels horrible, his legs diminished , body disembarked.
He can't see the world properly, something yells for him, laughing. The road, car, house fades away. A crackling noise in the back of his ears.
He falls, hard. Right onto his snout, blood stinging in his nostrils. He grabs his head, shoving his thick bangs from his view.
It's foggy, vision clouded.
"Hello??? Sonic!" He yells through the abyss, his voice echoes. Something glitches, then jitters. There's a giggle , child like.
A bright light emits from above, enlightening the pitch black void. He can't get up, the environment switches.
Suddenly, he's placed in a awfully familiar setting. A house, rickety and battered. He's at the doorstep, shouting.
Everything overlaps itself, he reaches for the leaving mobians, weakly. "Mama! Papa! Come back!"
He sobs messily, wrecked with tears.
The scene changes to his relief , in a flash, now revealing his first foster home experience. He doesn't like this moment in life either. Why here? Anywhere but here...
They don't like him, no body listens to him when tries to make conversation. When he shares his interests or suggests ideas to upgrade the home, they laugh, belittle him. Remind of his place in society, be it physically, verbally or emotionally.
He leaves one night, tired of the family's abusive behaviour towards him. The scene of leaving into a stormy night cripples before his eyes.
Memories, flickering past in his mind, some good, some bad. He's stuck in the centre, namesakes swishing curiously behind him. He can hear the events play out.
"I-I just wanted to play..." a young naive fox, stands at the edge of sandpit watching all the other kids make sand structures. His temporary foster mother prohibits him from joining in. He watches in a spur of tears on a bench as her own biological kids run around the playground.
Another sound washes it away. "Yeah, I have a question!" Snickers build up in the classroom, as the fox takes up his query, fearful of the outcome.
"Why do you have two tails, freak?"
Laughter erupts, sallowing the kit in shame.
It glitches, he's being thrown to the floor by some older kids, for trying to read in the library. They point at the sign, yelling in anger.
"CAN'T YOU READ THE SIGN..?"
More voices overlapping each other, ringing in his ears. His fur pricks up, feeling powerless against the gushing memories.
"Look everyone it's Miles tails Prower!"
"Haha! You fucking nerd!"
"What's wrong with you? WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU?"
"Tsk.. tsk... tsk. Mr. Prower, looks like your chances of winning the town's science's fair have just been ruined."
"Whoa, that guy looks so cool... cool... cool..."
He digs his head in between his legs, floating in void of nothingness. "Stop.. no.. make it stop."
His voice is but a mere whisper, he feels something warm engulf him. It rubs his back, he looks up to face this unknown source of comfort.
"Sonic!"
The hedgehog's face is drowned in darkness, but he can still see a glistening smile. The fox snuggles into the hero's chest. "Thank you, Sonic!"
There's a chuckle, light-hearted. "What for, freak?"
He pauses, processing if he had just heard correctly. Did Sonic say-? No... no.. that doesn't make any-
"Get off me!"
The warmth is distinguished as he is pushed off harshly, smacking into a nonexistent wall. His is jaw numb, he pricks himself with his extracted claws.
"S-sonic? Wha- what?" He hiccups, trying to keep his cool.
A scoff, like the ones he gives Tom and Maddie when it's bedtime, annoyed. He's annoyed. At. Him.
"Seriously, haven't you figured it out now? Dang, I'm getting bored!" His cartoonish yawn echoes through the chasm of nothingness.
"What do you mean?" The fox sniffed, brows furrowed.
Sonic disappeared.
"Sonic!! Where-?"
The hedgehog reappears just behind him, startling the cub.
"Sonic, I'm so confused. What's going on? I'm scared.." he trails off his words, looking into the hero's eyes for reassurance. The emerald eyes didn't have that same sparkle of hope and optimism, they were dull. Lifeless.
"I just want it to stop!"
No response, the hedgehog turns around, spikes directly stuffed in the kit's face.
"Sonic!" He shouts, it's more of a whine.
"Sonic!"
Sonic is gone, he's run off, into the distant void.
"Sonic! Wait! Don't go!!"
A huff, a pant, he wriggles around trying to work out gravity in this hectic world.
"Sonic!! Stop! Please, wait for me! Don't-!"
The sole of his shoes hit the- what seems to be the ground- he spots a blue dot becoming smaller and smaller.
"SONIC! WAIT-- I can't- don't-!"
"DON'T LEAVE ME!"
The darkness around him, eats him whole, as the little fox's bloodcurdling yells become inaudible.