Chapter 1.

Hope

From "Bounty Hunters."

Jedidiah Prower paced the floor in his Office, wondering if his nephew was going to pull through or not. He had learned that the young fox had been found. But what he didn't expect was that his young nephew had been severely injured once again. Jedidiah immediately placed a hand on his head as he set down on a couch that he had within the Office of the Prime Minister. Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. He got up and opened it, and was face to face with none other than his daughter, Fara.

"You okay sweetie?" He asked her.

Fara barely shook her head. "No… not really."

Jedidiah placed a hand on her shoulder. "Come on in."

Fara walked in and sat down in the couch that her father was sitting in just moments ago. Jedidiah sat down right beside her.

Fara eyed her father. "They also found Senator Vaughn's daughter. She's okay. She was able to go home with her parents. Her mother was in tears over seeing her daughter once again. I'm just so glad this is over."

Jedidiah's face immediately grew rueful. "It's not over yet. We're not not out of the woods just exactly yet, either. Don't forget about your cousin."

Fara had tears running down her face already. "I know. Do you think Tails will pull through?"

Jedidiah placed a hand in Fara's. "What type of question is that? Of course he'll pull through. Tails' one tough kid. He's a fighter. He's brave. He's not a quitter.. Tails' a survivor. A survivor, I tell you. So of course, your cousin will pull through."

"Father, I need to tell you something."

"And what is that?" Jedidiah asked her.

Fara cleared her throat, then spoke.

"I'm… I-Im, well… I'm pregnant."

Jedidiah's face went from rueful to genuinely surprised. "What?"

"Yeah… Chad and I are going to have a child." Fara answered.

"Oh my goodness, I'm excited for you both. How long?"

Fara weakly smiled. "Just found out today. Before that, they told me I was pregnant for at least, a couple weeks. I had no clue that I was."

Jedidiah smiled. "Does Chad know?"

"Yeah, he knows. He was with me." Fara said.

"Wow, I mean, that's amazing. Can't wait to be a grandfather."

"And for Mom to be a grandmother." Fara put in.

"That too." Jedidiah said.

"That means that Tails will be a first cousin-"

The Prime Minister stopped speaking as he thought about his nephew. He really hoped that Tails would survive. Currently, the young fox was still in surgery as of now. There was no word yet on how the fox cub was. For all Jedidiah knew, things could really either go good or not so good. He hoped that things went well in the end for Tails. Fara placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Dad? You're alright?"

"Hmm? Yes, I'm fine." Jedidiah answered.

Suddenly, Fara's communicator went off. She immediately answered it.

"Yes? Fara Parell speaking."

"Hey babe, it's Chad here."

Fara weakly smiled. "What's going on with Tails so far?"

She heard her husband clear his throat. Then he spoke.

"Listen, things are… eh, a little, not so good. He's lost a lot of energy. He's flatlined twice. But I'm telling you right now, that kid is one heck of a fighter. He's fighting hard to stay alive right now. Tails is fighting, I mean he's really fighting... for us, after all, it's his battle, not ours. I just wanted to let you know, okay?"

Fara answered him, then she hung up and suddenly starting weeping bitterly. Jedidiah immediately wrapped his arms around his daughter and pulled her in. Then he slowly rocked her back and forth. Pretty soon, he heard himself crying. The two of them, father and daughter, embraced in each other's arms. Hoping that Miles "Tails" Prower would survive…

"All Things New."

"Sonic, you've been staring at that photo of you and Tails for at least, over an hour or so now." Amy said.

Sonic just ignored his friend and continued looking down at the photo he was holding in his hand. The photo he had was a picture of Tails, hanging upside down from a tree. The kid had used his feet as anchors to have a grip around a midsized branch. The young fox was smiling in the photo, and with Sonic right behind him, on the ground, smiling also. Chad Parell had took the photo just a few weeks before they come back to Acadia Island. In the weeks leading up to the current situation, Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Amy, and Sticks, had helped with putting down a terrorist organization known as the Regency. This organization of criminals were responsible for the breakout of a virus that had about wrecked their lives. Sonic remembered him and his friends getting it when they finally were able to put a end to the Regency, and their leader, Caden Andross. Sonic immediately shuddered as he thought about the hawk that had about killed him, Tails, and their friends. After all that, Sonic and his friends were hospitalized, and Tails had almost died, considering that before, the kid had caught the virus two different times before stopping the Regency. The youngster had caught it a third and final time when he and his friends all were purposely exposed to the virus by Andross. After recovering, Team Sonic decided to stay and help Tails' uncle, Jedidiah Prower, expose the Acadian Senate for who they really were. Most of the Senate were loyal members of the Regency, but not all. Dhol Vaughn was a prime example. Vaughn remained loyal to Tails' uncle, and as a direct result, his daughter, Alexandra Vaughn was kidnapped. Team Sonic learned that Vaughn's daughter was being held hostage by a bounty hunter from the Galen Creed that had backstabbed the guild's leader, Winston Khol. This bounty hunter- Jalen Chrome had paid the swashbuckling Acadian Senate a great sum of currency to place bounties on the heads of Team Sonic. And as soon as it went into effect, Tails had been abducted by Chrome's henchmen. And it didn't help that the young fox had witnessed the abduction of Alexandra Vaughn also, hence the second reason why he got kidnapped. After Tails was abducted, the kid had been seriously hurt by Chrome, shot down as a matter of fact. Tails then was in the fight for his life as he struggled to just barely keep on breathing. Knuckles, Amy, Sticks, and Winston's second in command- Vanessa Rolla- had found Tails just in the nick of time. The Acadian Military also helped in the search, due to them being dispatched by the Prime Minister of Acadia Island. And the rest was history. Currently, the four of them; Sonic, Knuckles, Amy, and Sticks were waiting for any news on their young friend. They had heard from Chad that Tails had flatlined twice in the emergency room, but the surgical staff were able to bring him back. And still, the fox cub was in surgery. Chad told them that Tails was fighting hard to stay alive. Sonic and his friends hoped that he would keep on fighting hard.

And now, Sonic just kept staring at the photo in his hand. The one of him and Tails. Amy, quietly, without saying a word, placed a hand on his shoulder.

"And you were just telling me earlier that Tails was going to be alright. And now, you're the one worried about him."

Sonic closed his eyes and weakly smiled.

"I just want him back. It's not fair."

"I get it." Amy said.

Knuckles and Sticks were currently asleep in their chairs within the waiting room.

It had been three hours since they had arrived at the hospital. And all four of them were extremely tired.

"I'm gonna try to get some rest. I would do the same thing if I were you Sonic." Amy said.

"Yeah. Sure." Sonic replied.

Amy grunted a little before making herself comfortable in her chair. Just as she was about to fall asleep, the door to the waiting room clicked, then it opened up, revealing it to be Chad. The silver colored fox walked in and quietly closed the door behind him. He cleared his throat. Sonic and Amy looked up at him.

"Alright. I'm in here to let you all know… he's out of surgery-"

"Is he… okay…?" Amy choked.

"-yes, he survived. But he's not out of the woods yet. It's still too early for the doctors to know if he'll pull through or not. But I'm sure that since he's been placed in Doctor Ram's care, Tails will definitely survive." Chad finished.

Sonic almost immediately broke down and dropped to his knees. Amy and Chad placed their hands on Sonic's now shaking shoulders. Knuckles and Sticks woke up to the commotion that was taking place. Knuckles suddenly screamed.

"Ah! Tails is dead!?"

Amy immediately eyed her friend. "No. He pulled through. But he's still struggling."

Knuckles sighed in relief when he heard the words from Amy. Sticks followed suit, then she and the echidna walked over and placed their hands on Sonic's shoulders. Suddenly, the door of the waiting room opened again and a brown colored marten walked in. Everyone soon stood up looked at her. Amy immediately eyed the nurse and smiled.

"Kim!?"

The nurse smiled. "Yup."

Sonic wiped some tears off of his face. "How is he?"

Kim swallowed. "Well, your friend did pull through surgery, but even then, it's too early to know. It could go either way. But from what you all told me about him, he's a fighter."

They only nodded their heads. Kim then cleared her throat.

"You can go in if-"

Sonic didn't need to hear anything more from Kim. He immediately sped out of the waiting area, but not at full speed. Soon enough, the hedgehog reached the hospital room that Tails was in. Sonic slowly walked in and braced himself for what was coming. The hedgehog saw right away that his best friend had an IV injected into his arm. Tails looked so weak laying there in the medical bed, and with his eyes closed. The kid had a small oxygen feed that led to his nose. His tongue was barely sticking out from his mouth. Tails' bangs were an unkempt mess. But what caught Sonic's attention was the heart monitor. The spikes on the screen were slow, but steady. His breathing sounded labored, but it didn't sound like he was dying. Tails had another needle injected into his arm. Sonic figured it was saline water, to keep the young fox hydrated. Sonic scanned the room for anything that he could sit in. He spotted a soft cushioned chair sitting on the other side of the bed. The hedgehog immediately placed himself in the chair. As soon as he was settled in, Sonic placed a hand in one of Tails' hands and squeezed it tight. Sonic noticed that the young fox was not wearing his goggles, nor was he wearing his gloves. Sonic placed his head down on the pillow, right next to Tails' and softly nuzzled it in brotherly love.

"Tails." Sonic whispered.

"I've never seen you like this before. But I know that you're not a quitter, you're a fighter. You've never backed out of anything before, so why start now? So please, please, snap out of whatever's keeping you from fighting this. Don't do it just for me, do you for your family. Becaue they love you… because I love you."

Well. How's this for the first chapter of "All Things New"? I know that this is too soon, but I just couldn't keep you hanging on with worry. I hope you all absolutely love this story. If you like and love it, please please review. Thanks again. Have a safe 4th of July!

JalcoFox.