The Quintuplets chapter 2

Two days. Two whole days of research had gone by, with no progress made on re-fusing the foxes. And the longer they were separate, the more Sonic picked up on their individual quirks. It was bizarre, Sonic thought, that these five 'quintuplets' had once been the individual Miles Prower.

Sonic thanked whatever fate had preserve Tails' consciousness between his five bodies. If Tails had been no more... it was an existential crisis not worth thinking about.

"Sonic!"

Sonic wheezed as a ball of orange fluff pounced and caught him in a hug, the shorter form of the offshoot known as Squirt clinging desperately to his older brother.

"Woah, hold up little guy!" Sonic looked down into big, frightened blue eyes, noting that Squirt seemed in distress. "What's the matter?"

"It's Blade!" Squirt cried, hugging Sonic closer, "I hurt my arm and now he says he's gonna cut it off!"

"Oh he did, did he?" Sonic muttered. Blade. The 'edgy' fox who seemed to be composed of Tails' darker side. Sonic hummed and reached down, lifting the little fox into his arms. "Come on buddy," He said, "Let's go have a chat with Blade..."

"But he said..."

"He doesn't mean it, let's just go have a word with him! Can I see your arm?"

Sonic looked over Squirt's latest injury, a small graze that had barely even broken the skin, as he carried Squirt into the living room where Blade sulked in an armchair, absently playing some violent video game or another.

"Blade?" Squirt buried his face in Sonic's chest fur as the hedgehog regarded the moody fox, "Are you tormenting Squirt again?"

"It was just a joke, Chronic..." Blade grunted, not looking at the hedgehog, "It's not my fault the little guy's too dumb to understand that."

"Dun't call me dumb!" Squirt squeaked, glaring at his 'brother'.

"You got a serious attitude problem, Blade..." Sonic replied, "Now apologise to Squirt!"

Blade shrugged. "Sorry."

"And mean it!"

Blade looked to the smaller fox with a mock-concerned expression. "Oh, I'm so sorry, little Squirt! How can I ever make it up to you?"

Squirt stuck his tongue out in response, and Sonic sighed. "You know, the sooner we get you guys merged again, the better."

Blade didn't respond, though Sonic could have sworn his mood soured at his statement.

"Guys? Sonic?" The three brothers looked to find another fox, this one Blitz by the body language, standing in the doorway. "We... need a word..."

Sonic looked to Blade, who dropped his controller and left his chair with a huff, slouching after Sonic and Squirt as they followed Blitz through to the kitchen.

Sonic frowned as he entered to find Feather and Doc already there, making for all five component parts of Tails. He looked between them all, concern rising in his chest. "Uh, what's the matter guys?"

"It's... probably better if we sync..." Feather said lightly, fiddling with his hands.

Blade snorted and folded his arms. "I... don't wanna..."

"Come on, Blade!" Blitz said, "It'll be easier if we're Tails again!

For once Blade didn't retort with a sarcastic comment, instead appearing apprehensive.

"Dude..." Sonic said, "You okay?"

Blade hesitated, then swallowed and nodded. "Fine..." he said moodily, familiar scowl descending, "Let's just get this over with..."

All five foxes arranged themselves around the kitchen, relaxing as they prepared to merge once again... then five faces wore identical expressions, movements synced, and five pairs of blue eyes met Sonic's green.

"Sorry Sonic..."

"Blade doesn't like..."

"To sync like this..."

"It's okay, bud!" Sonic replied, doing his best to remind himself that Tails was speaking as an individual right now - albeit an individual spread across five different bodies. "What's the matter? You don't look too happy..."

"Yeah, about..."

"That..."

All five foxes looked at him with the same shared intelligence, shuffling awkwardly in their respective places.

"Sonic..."

"I've done plenty of..."

"Research, and..."

"Well..."

Tails paused, seemingly hesitant to pursue the subject. All five of his shoulders drooped, all ten of his eyes flickering awkwardly over the floor.

"Come on, buddy!" Sonic said gently, reaching out and gently setting a hand on Blade's shoulder, "Talk to me! What's the problem?"

Tails locked eyes with Sonic again, the closer form of Blade turning his head and looking directly into Sonic's.

"All five of my bodies..."

"Are developing unique..."

"Chaos signatures."

Sonic frowned. "Meaning...?"

"Meaning..." Tails continued, talking through Blitz, "The longer I spend split like this..."

"The more individual each body becomes..."

"Meaning I won't be..."

"Able to re-fuse..."

Sonic swallowed hard. "Oh," he said. "What... what happens to you in that case?"

"I can still sync..."

"With no issue..."

"So I'll probably..."

"Retain that ability..."

"But I won't..."

"Ever truly be..."

"My own individual..."

"Again."

Sonic nodded, setting his hands on hips. "So what do we do?"

"I'm going to..."

"Try the experiment..."

"Again..."

"With the new calculations..."

"It's the best bet..."

"To re-merge my component parts."

"Okay buddy..." Sonic replied, "Sounds like a plan!"

"Thanks Sonic..."

"I'm going to..."

"Unsync now..."

"Okay?"

"Sure buddy," Sonic said, "Do what you need."

Tails nodded with all five heads... and then the component foxes released sighs of relief as they un-merged from each other.

"Jeez..." Blitz rubbed his temples, "Talk about disorienting..."

"Sonic, I feel sick..." Squirt moved over to Sonic and snuggled into his fur, a queasy expression over his face.

"Yeah, I can see that little dude..." Sonic rubbed Squirt's head as the small fox cuddled into him. "I guess that takes a lot out of you guys, huh?"

"It's... pretty strange..." Feather said lightly.

"Yeah..." Blitz chuckled, "Do you know how it feels to have five headaches?"

"It's a fascinating ability, however." added Doc.

Blade said nothing, simply scowling and storming out of the kitchen.

Sonic frowned. "What's up with mister Happy?"

Blitz shrugged. "Dunno. He just doesn't like syncing. He won't say why."

Sonic frowned. "Don't you guys like, share a brain?" Sonic said, attempting to grasp the concept of sharing a consciousness.

"We are capable of... hiding certain information from one another, even when we're Tails..." Doc replied, "A possible result of our growing individuality, perhaps."

"And... and I don't like to pry..." Feather added.

"It's complicated!" Blitz shrugged, "I guess we'll never really understand how it works."

"Huh..." Sonic shrugged. "So what's next?"

The four foxes glanced to one another. "We need to prepare the lab," replied Doc, "Shouldn't take more than a few hours..."

"Okay. If you guys need anything, I'm here to help!" Sonic said with a thumbs-up.

"Thanks, Sonic!" said Blitz, offering a thumbs-up of his own before turning back to his 'brothers'. "Okay guys! Let's get to work!"

"Okay, Doc..." Blitz leaned over his twin as the other fox fiddled with the interior of a hastily constructed machine, the device boxy and tripedal, with what appeared to be a large satellite dish pointing to the centre of the workshop, "How far off are we?"

"If you keep getting in my light..." Doc muttered, offering a short and exasperated glance to his counterpart, "It'll take even longer, won't it?""

"Hey, just askin'!" Blitz replied defensively, stepping back and raising his hands defensively, "You're the one who got most of the brains, after all!"

"In your case..." murmured Blade, the moody fox folding his arms and glowering darkly, "that is exceptionally true..."

Blitz gave his dark twin a lopsided grin in response and shrugged. "Least I got all the charm! More than can be said for you, edgy-boy!"

Blade growled beneath his breath and returned to his brooding, his bangs hanging limply as he glared through the floor.

Squirt inspected the machine, sniffing curiously at the dish that was wide as he was tall. "Is this gonna put us back together?"

"Yes..." replied Feather who had taken to caring for the smaller fox while the others had been busy helping Doc in constructing the device, "It will... gather our Chaos energies, and... rebind them into a single person..."

"Oh..." Squirt's ears drooped a little. Fumbling with his toy plane, he looked to his brother with big blue eyes. "Will it hurt?"

Feather wore a comforting smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. "No, I don't think so..." he replied softly, gently stroking his brother's back for support.

Blade snorted, garnering the attention of the other three unoccupied foxes, though he said nothing.

"Please..." Doc wheezed from below, glaring from behind his safety goggles. "Can I have some quiet so I can concentrate? I assume you all wish to be put back together properly..."

The others fell silent, Blitz observing Doc's work while Feather occupied Squirt, and Blade moodily attempted to ignore his present company.

Soon enough Doc shut the machine's access panel and stood, wiping his brow while retrieving a data pad from the bench. "That should do it..." the fox raised his goggles and his eyes flitted over the screen. "Ready to go."

Blitz frowned. "Shouldn't we wait until Sonic gets back?"

"Yes..." Feather added, "He might want to... well, 'see us off' I guess you could say."

Doc tapped his foot impatiently. "If we spend much longer split," he explained slowly, "The less stable re-fusion will be. We're on a clock here, if you didn't notice."

Blitz wore an unhappy expression, though ultimately he shrugged. "Guess we'll have to explain it ourselves..." A slight smirk wormd its way onto his muzzle. "When we're a 'he' instead of a 'we' again!" Doc sniffed. "Quite." Blitz turned to the others and grinned. "Well, guys! It's been interesting, but I guess it's time to get back where we belong!"

Blade glared, though the petulant scowl didn't quite ring true. "What... now?"

"Yes, now..." Doc replied irritably, "If we wait much longer our individual Chaos signatures will be too incompatible to refuse."

"So there you have it!" Blitz said, "Now or never, edgy-boy! Come on guys, into position!"

Blitz confidently led his comrades into formation before the machine, directly in front of the satellite dish, while Doc tapped away at his data pad, ready to activate the device via remote.

"Is it gonna hurt?" Squirt whispered again, clutching onto his brothers for support.

Blitz and Feather exchanged glances, before Blitz grinned. "No way, little dude! There'll just be a flash, and when we're all back together then... then..." the confident fox faltered. He hadn't thought this far ahead, to tell the truth. Now that he thought about it, he didn't know what it would be like when they were once again a single individual. He looked to Doc for an explanation, but the other fox ignored him as he studied his data pad. Blitz's grin returned, a little less cocksure this time, as he gave Squirt a clap on the shoulder. "Then we'll take a look at the Tornado!" He gestured to the toy plane in the smaller fox's hands, "And eat a buttload o' mint candies, yeah? I think after this we've deserved a treat!"

This didn't quite seem to placate the smaller twin, who looked back to the machine with big blue eyes and snuggled into Feather's side.

"Blade..." Doc said quietly, not looking up from his data pad, "Get into position, please..."

All eyes looked toward the last fox... who had neglected to join his comrades before the machine. Instead, the previously moody fox gaped at the scene before him, fists clenched and eyes like pinpricks, a look of sheer terror pasted over his features.

"Blade..." It was Blitz's turn to speak, raising an eyebrow at his moody companion, "It's time..."

"No..." Blade muttered, shaking his head before glaring at his twin. "No! I'm not going back! You can't make me!"

The others glanced between one another in bewilderment. "Dude?" Blitz said, confusion filling him at Blade's reaction, "What the heck's wrong with you?"

"What's wrong with me?" Blade responded with an incredulous chuckle, "What's wrong with me? I dunno, Blitz, maybe I actually like being my own person!"

So that what this was all about. Blade's reluctance to sync with the others and become Tails, his refusal to recombine...

"Blade..." Blitz wore a bemused expression as he regarded his twin. "We have to go back! This is how it's supposed to be!"

"Feather?" Squirt whimpered, clutching tighter to his brother. "Blade's scaring me..."

"I'm scaring you?" Blade cackled as he locked eyes with the smaller fox, Squirt's ears flattening in response, "Look, Blitz! Do you even know what's going to happen to us when we... re-merge? Do you?!" Blade looked truly terrified now, refusing to come anywhere near the machine as it sat there like a mounted weapon, ready to take his life should he stand before it. "Are we... even going to exist when we re-fuse? Is there really gonna be anything of us left?" Blade said, his voice quieter now as he stared accusingly at Blitz, "Or is that it? are we just going to die?

Blitz swallowed, but was cut off by a frightened yelp before he could respond.

"I dun't wanna die!" Squirt cried, looking between his taller bothers with sudden terror in his eyes, "I dun't wanna die!"

"Squirt..." began Feather, stroking at the smaller fox.

"You said we'd be okay!" Squirt shrieked, tears now filling his eyes as he panicked, "You said we'd be okay, Blitz! But I dun't wanna die!"

Blitz didn't reply. Instead, he looked over to Doc and locked eyes with the silent twin. "Doc..." he said quietly, "What is gonna happen to... us after this?"

Doc placed his hands behind his back and wore a neutral expression. "It is a near certainty..." he said evenly, "that we as individuals will cease to be upon reconfiguration. At best, the reformed Tails may display our individual personalities at times, though I suspect our memories and experiences will be combined into one. Or perhaps forgotten altogether."

Blitz glared at him. "You didn't think to mention this?"

Doc frowned, as though asked to describe the colour blue. "None of you even considered this? What did you think would happen?"

Feather hugged Squirt as the smaller fox cried into his chest fur, looking to Blitz for guidance. Blitz had none. For the first time in his brief existence as an individual, he didn't know what to say.

"So there you go..." Blade snorted, "Straight from the professor's mouth..." the fox glowered between each of his brothers, like an innocent defendant regarding his prosecutors. "Well If you all wanna just let yourselves become nothing, then go ahead. But I choose to live."

Blitz swallowed. "Tails didn't ask to be split like this..." he said quietly.

"Yeah, well..." Blade retorted, "I didn't ask to be made, and neither did any of you! But we're here now, and I'm keeping it that way!" with a final dark look, Blade huffed and turned away. "I'm leaving..." he growled, turning tails on his brothers, "Do what you want..."

The others watched their companion storm away, the sullen silence only broken by the clearing of Doc's throat. "If we wish to continue the re-fusion..." he said, not a hint of emotion in his voice, "We all need to be in front of this device, in agreement, within the next two hours."

Blitz sighed. "Jeez..." the fox ran a hand along his forehead, slicking back his bangs. "Why can't things ever be simple?"

"Blade? Blade?"

Blitz wandered through the household, searching for his elusive twin. Blade had stormed off from the workshop and Blitz had offered to go find him and talk, figure out their predicament. But the moody fox could be found nowhere in the house, and Blitz had checked all of his usual spots.

It didn't take him long to find the note left on the kitchen counter.

"Ah, crap..." the fox swept back his bangs as he read, concern for his twin filling his chest.

I'm off. Not going back. Screw you guys. Don't come looking for me.

"Guys?" called Blitz, moving with a purpose back to the workshop, "We got a problem..."

Blade wasn't a little kid. He wasn't. As Tails, he and the others had fought against the forces of Robotnik since they were just four years old, using their peculiar powers to help Sonic. So Blade wasn't just a dumb little kid. He was smart, and he was strong, and he was tough.

So why was he crying?

The fox had stormed from the workshop and made up his mind - he was running away. He'd scribbled down a note before leaving, bolting out the door and into the sky as fast as his tails could take him.

But a short way into his flight, he'd lost heart. Blade was moody, and sulking, but he didn't truly want to leave his twins behind... they were, after all, linked in a very special way.

So he'd made a diversion and found himself sat on the shore, overlooking the very beach he and Sonic had first met. He spent a while alone, just staring out into the lake, sniffling as the sun began to set.

He rubbed at his eyes on the back of an arm. "Stupid..." he muttered to himself, "Stupid..."

It wasn't stupid, he knew. He just didn't want to die. He existed now, in a way he hadn't as part of Tails, and he was terrified of losing this newfound autonomy. Terrified at becoming nothing.

Blade's ears twitched as a thrumming sound came from the air, the fox turning to find a bright red biplane flying above. He snorted. Of course, it wouldn't take them long to find him. The lake wasn't too far from the Green Hills workshop, and they were all a part of him...

He sighed and wrapped his tails around himself. No point running now. They'd find him sooner or later.

It was a few minutes before the sound of footsteps caught his attention, and Blade looked to find all four of his brothers assembled behind him. He turned away and pouted. "I guess this is it..." he muttered darkly, glaring at the water. "You've come to drag me back, huh?"

"Actually..." Blitz was the first to speak, tucking his thumbs into his utility belt. "We just came to talk..."

"What's left to talk about?" Blade turned his head slightly, peering over his shoulder. "We go back, we fuse... we die. Seems pretty simple to me."

"Blade!"

Blade wheezed as a small dark orange lump skidded behind him and tackled into a hug, Squirt squeezing him tight from behind. He spun around to find Squirt shuffling around to his side. "I dun't wanna die neither!" Squirt whimpered, obvious tears in his eyes. "I dun't wanna die so... I said I dun't wanna be put back t'gether neither!"

"Huh," Blade huffed, glaring up at Blitz and the others. "Looks like somebody has a bit of sense, after all..."

"We've... spoken, Blade..." said Feather, who timidly approached with ears flattened, "And... um..."

"We're not re-fusing," said Blitz. "It's decided."

Blade's ears perked and his face morphed from moody, to merely bewildered. "Why?" he said, taken aback at the revelation, "I thought you were all about that 'we shouldn't be here' bullcrap?"

"Well... I do like existing, not gonna lie..." Blitz replied with a smirk, "But... we're a whole, right? A team? And if we can't all agree to re-fuse..."

"Then we can't force anyone to do anything they don't want to..." finished Feather, sitting himself gently beside Blade. "Besides..." the effeminate fox continued, "I... am also concerned about what will happen to us if we reform..."

Blade looked to his siblings, recognising the looks in each of their eyes. They, like him... were afraid of becoming nothing. Nothing but a few memories, or symptoms of a personality disorder at best.

He locked eyes with Blitz, who shrugged. "It's like you said..." his twin wore a lopsided grin that didn't reach his eyes, "We didn't ask to be created... but here we are..."

Blade, despite himself, rested an arm around Squirt's shoulders, the little fox pulling himself in tighter. He glanced at Feather, who offered him a soft smile. "And what about you?" he said, turning to scowl at the final quintuplet, who stood with his hands clasped behind his back. "What do you think?"

Doc raised an eyebrow. "I hardly think my opinion matters now, seeing as you all appear to have made your minds up. Besides..." the goggled fox raised his data pad and tapped it with his other hand. "Time is running out. If we were to rebind ourself, we would only have an hour at most to come to that decision."

Blitz's grin wavered, but he clapped a hand on Blade's shoulder just like Sonic would have done to them all when they were Tails. "So..." the confident fox said, "Y'see? I guess we really are gonna stick around after all..."

Beside them, Feather nervously wrapped his hands around himself and flattened his ears, eyes widening in trepidation. "But what about Tails?" he whispered, only now all five were reunited choosing to voice the unspoken concern, "What do we do about Tails?"

The quintuplets glanced between one another as they each pondered the same thing; what were they to do about their sixth 'self'?

"I think it's best..." Blitz said apprehensively, "We come to some kind of agreement..."

Sonic yawned heavily as he entered his and Tails... well, the Tails', shared home. His had been a long day, one of endless running and thinking and visiting Angel Island to visit Knux, and talk about the recent developments with his old friend. He hoped that his new band of brothers had stayed out of mischief, and wondered if they had made any progress on re-fusing themselves.

The hedgehog wandered through the combined workshop/house and entered the living room... to find five foxes, all quietly staring into space.

Sonic raised an eyebrow. "Uh..." he said uncertainly, "Am I interrupting anything?"

As one, the foxes gave Sonic their attention, five pairs of eyes locking on his.

He swallowed, unable to help but feel creeped out by the behaviour, though he understood what was happening. "Synced again, huh?" he said, offering a small grin, "Hi Tails."

"Sonic..."

"We need..."

"To talk."

Sonic raised his hands in a shrug. "Go ahead, I'm all ears!" He smirked. "Well, I guess you're all ears, right?"

In unison, the component foxes folded their arms with an unimpressed look.

Sonic's grin faltered. "Sorry, buddy..."

"Sonic..."

"There's been a major development..."

"In the re-fusion process."

Sonic nodded. "Okay... good news or bad?"

"That's the thing..." Tails replied after a moment's hesitation, speaking through Blitz. "It's..."

"A bit of both," he continued through Feather.

Sonic frowned. "How so?"

"Sonic..."

"The individual Chaos energies..."

"Of my bodies have..."

"Become too unique..."

"To safely re-fuse. Re-fusion..."

"Is now impossible with..."

"The equipment I have to hand."

Sonic folded his arms and wore his most serious expression. "Damn, dude..." he said softly, "There has to be something you can do!"

"Maybe... but..."

"More than that, I think..."

"It's for the best."

"What d'you mean?" Sonic replied, spreading his arms and pleading for an explanation, "You mean you're okay with being split across five different bodies?"

Tails shifted uncomfortably with all his components.

"Sonic..."

"My component bodies..."

"Have developed their own..."

"Unique personalities and..."

"Identities. In every conceivable..."

"Way, they are..."

"Their own people."

Sonic looked between all five pairs of his brother's eyes, struggling to understand. "So what happens to them if you re-fuse?"

"Best case scenario..."

"Each personality..."

"Might manifest itself at different times..."

"In my recomposed form."

"More likely..."

"They become nothing but scattered memories, if even that."

"In effect, they..."

"... Die."

A small smile worked its way onto five different faces. "Five lives for one..." Tails spoke through Squirt this time, the little fox dangling his legs over the edge of the sofa. "Not fair, huh?"

Sonic set himself down on the sofa beside Squirt and released a deep sigh. "But Tails..." he said quietly, looking into the smallest fox's face, "What about you?"

Squirt, looking so much like Tails when he'd been a small cub, gave his big brother a smile. "I'll still be around..."

"I don't think this syncing ability is going away anytime soon..." he spoke as Blitz, moving the body over and resting on the sofa arm.

"And maybe one day..." Feather said now, moving to stand before Sonic with arms folded.

"I can find a way..." Blade spoke up from his usual armchair.

"To create my own body..." Doc said, adjusting his goggles.

"And become my own individual again..." Tails finished through Squirt, still sat beside Sonic. "And then there'll be six of us! But I'm sure you can handle it..."

Sonic shook his head and wore a sad grin, tears forming in his eyes at his brother's ultimate fate, split between five different forms, perhaps for the rest of his life... or lives. "Jeez dude..." he said lightly, "I'd hug ya but..." He gestured around at all five foxes, "I dunno where to start..."

Tails formed a smile on Squirt's face. "I'll handle that..." he said simply, before leaning over and wrapping Sonic in a tight hug.

Next up, he moved through Feather who also joined the embrace. Then directed Blade from his chair to join in. Before long, Tails had enveloped his adoptive brother in a pile of orange fur of slightly varying shades, the blue hedgehog almost consumed by the floof.

Sonic couldn't help but laugh. Despite everything, his brother was at least still there... and now, it seemed, they had five new brothers. Each a part of Tails in their own way, but also individuals, who would have their own lives to lead.

"Okay..." Sonic chuckled, fruitlessly attempting to escape from the overwhelming fluff-pile, "Okay Tails, come on! I need to breathe!"