Alright everybody, double update time! You know the drill by now so let's get going!
Wedgely: Yeah, I wanted there to be some serious whiplash on both ends. It certainly was as bit shocking!
SuperTailsFan0812: Happy late birthday, the chapter had to have been a interesting present.
Obliviblur: Normally he wouldn't be suicidal, but with Tails' memory loss, the emotions he's going through, blaming himself for everything that's happened, and the dream sequence; it was certainly enough to push him over the edge.
TheGameNguyener: I'm sorry to hear about what's happened to you, I hope you're doing better! I'm happy that you like this fic and you've certainly noticed that it's in much more mature territory then most of my fics are. It's something I've wanted to do for a bit, but I'll probably head back to my normal T rated fics after this one! I'm very happy you got to give this fic a look and I hope you'll enjoy!
Let's get started!
Waves
Reconnecting
"We should have known this would happen…"
"Sal, I don't think anybody could have predicted this. You've gotta stop beating yourself up."
"I know, I could have helped him though! He talked with me about this whole thing, how he feels Tails is all his fault. He said he was alright, but I knew he was lying, I just didn't want to push it any more than I already had."
Sally was still somewhat in shock after discovering what she at the time thought to be Sonic's corpse. Even now, knowing that he'd live, it was still taking a considerable toll on her mental state.
Bunnie was very concerned about it as well. Normally, Sally was an anchor for the team, both physically and emotionally. Now, seeing her like this however, made her frightened for the princess's own wellbeing. Something that terrified her as the princess done was the fact that she might end up like Sonic had…
As the two sat in quiet contemplation, the door opened and Rotor peeked his head in.
"How is he?" Sally asked, somewhat dreading the answer.
"He's… Alright, he lost a lot of blood, and I've got his restrained so he doesn't do anything like that again. Tails seems concerned, but he isn't quite sure why, because he still doesn't remember Sonic."
"How's he doing?"
"Tails is fine, he seems a bit more alert with all the commotion."
There was silence for a moment before Rotor continued, "I'll be real with you here. I didn't expect this… Sure I knew this whole thing with Tails would hit Sonic the hardest, who didn't? But this… This isn't what I expected…"
"I don't think anybody saw this Rotor, but we have to make the best of it… Which I know isn't saying much…"
"We'll get through this, do you want to talk with Sonic when he wakes up?"
The princess nodded, and Rotor silently left the room to continue taking care of a few things. Unbeknownst to them, Sonic's unconsciousness wasn't a pleasant one…
Sonic found himself back on Westside during that thunderstorm, as he looked around, he noticed he found it difficult to move. His arms, legs, and neck felt… Trapped, as if something was holding him back. Suddenly, he saw movement in the edges of his vision. "I know you're there!"
The kitsune stepped out of the darkness, his horrific injuries still fully in plain view as his leg muscles strained with each step as blood oozed from his chest cavity. "I believe it… I can't believe you actually did that!" The kitsune started laughing, leaving Sonic rather confused.
"What do you mean!?"
The kit stopped his laughter and let out a few violent coughs, expelling more blood from his mouth. "You wanted it all to stop so badly that you almost killed yourself!"
"It's a dream! Nothing I do here matters!"
"Are you sure about that? Is this a dream?"
"Of course! What do you take me for!?"
The fox shook his head, "You really don't get it do you?" He began, taking a step toward the hedgehog, who was powerless to run away. "You think you're the one in charge here? Look around, I own you! I'm the embodiment of your fear!"
"You don't own me! I understand that you're part of me, but you've never been in charge!"
"Well then, why don't you tell me that later, after you see for yourself."
The world underneath Sonic's feet spun and he found it more and more difficult to stay upright as after a moment he collapsed and everything went white…
The hedgehog groaned and slowly opened his eyes, he tried to sit up but found his arms had been bound to a bed of some sorts. He looked around and instantly recognized Knothole's infirmary, which he thought was odd as he didn't ever remember getting hurt…
Looking down however, his mind was instantly filled with panic. Layers of thick white bandages were wrapped around his chest, with a crimson colored stain directly where he had…
"You're just imagining things Sonic!" He thought to himself, "That was a dream remember!?"
He did remember the dream, but how he got here still remained a mystery, as he took in more of his surroundings. He heard a timid but familiar voice, "Hello? Are you awake?"
He looked over in the direction of the noise and found himself staring into a pair of familiar sapphire eyes across the room. Tails was currently shielding himself with his namesakes as he peeked over the top of them with newfound curiosity.
Sonic wasn't sure what to say, he was here but again, he had no recollection of how he had gotten here… Maybe however, he could use this opportunity to speak with Tails.
"Yeah, I'm up… Not really sure how I got here though?"
"I wasn't too sure about that for a while too! Feels weird right?"
"Yeah, it's super weird…"
"You're Sonic, aren't you?"
"You bet!" The hedgehog responded, trying to put off the emotional turmoil from having Tails not have a clue as to who he was.
"I've heard good things about you! Sally told me you're really fast!"
"They don't call me Sonic for nothing."
"You'll have to show me some time, once I get out of here of course!"
The hedgehog sighed, and Tails noticed his change in demeanor. "What's wrong?"
"It's just… You shouldn't have to do all this…"
"What do you mean?"
"Because you already know me… I'm your best friend Tails, please, just try and remember!"
"I'm sorry, but, I don't know you…"
Sonic, upon hearing this broke down into sobs. Ones so loud in fact, that they attracted the attention of Sally. Whom entered the room and immediately embraced Sonic.
"Thank Chaos you're alive! What were you thinking!?"
"What do you mean?"
"Don't play dumb, we're just happy you're alright!"
The confused look on Sonic's face however, told Sally all she needed to know. "You actually, don't remember how you got here, do you?"
"I'm sorry I don't Sal, I had the weirdest dream and I'm not really sure how I got here…"
"Sonic… You tried to kill yourself…"
This sentence shook the hedgehog to his core, so the Tails in his dream wasn't lying… He really did try and… The hedgehog couldn't even think about it without wanting to throw up. "How long was I out?"
"Hours…"
Sonic could feel the awkwardness in the room, eventually though, Sally needed her questions answered. "Sonic, why did you lie to me?"
"I didn't, I mean…"
"You told me you were better, after we talked about… You know…"
Sonic sighed, "Sal, I'm sorry… I just, couldn't talk about it at the time… I'm going through a lot right now..."
"We understand that, but you need to tell us you want help. We almost lost you! We're all in this together Sonic, we're here for you…"
"I'm just scared…"
"And that's ok! I think we all are, nobody's really sure how this whole thing is going to end up. But none of us are going to be able to deal with this on our own."
Sonic smiled, "Alright, thanks Sal… I think I'm a bit better now…"
"Promise me… That's what you said last time…"
"I promise."
There was silence for a moment before Sally continued, "Alright, I'm trusting you. I know doing what you did isn't something you'd normally consider. There's got to be more going on, but I'll leave you alone for a minute, maybe you could and Tails could catch up."
She quietly removed Sonic's restraints and left the room, leaving the two injured Mobians to themselves. Tails picked up where they had left off. "Sonic, there is one thing, I know I don't have all my memories, and Sally says that being reminded of them can help… So tell me about us, about you, about myself…"
The hedgehog sighed, "Where do I start… You and I both met a long time ago, you didn't have anybody with you, and you didn't know your parents. For a while, you still didn't really trust me… Mostly because you'd been bullied and abused during most of your life. Eventually, you started to warm up to me and we became, family…"
"Like, brothers?"
"Exactly, we've been together for forever now, and I'm not sure what I'd do without you bud… You're my world, and I'm sorry I let this happen to you, I don't expect you to forgive me, but please, I just want my Tails back."
The kitsune unfurled himself from behind his namesakes, locking eyes with the hedgehog. As he did, a sharp piercing pain shot through his temples as another chunk of his memories returned, this time, of his times with Sonic and all the adventures they'd been through. After the pain subsided, he looked up and smiled. "Sonic?"
The hedgehog was instantly up on his feet and threw his arms around the kitsune. "Tails! You're back!"
The kit chuckled, "Yeah! It's good to be back!"
The two sat in an embrace for a while before Tails broke the silence, "Sonic, did you really… You know… Try to-"
"I did bud, I was just… Scared I'd never see you again. Not you physically, but-"
"I get it, but… Sonic, I don't want to stop you from living out your life. Promise me, if something like this ever happens again… You won't do that…"
"I promise bud, I was just scared. I won't do that again."
"Also, Sonic. This wasn't your fault, if anything it's mine, and I'm ok with that. I just wanted to prove to you that I could handle myself… Maybe I need to be a kid a little longer."
"And that's ok! Besides, you're still the smartest kid I know!"
The kit blushed, "Thanks…"
"Now what about we see what we can do about that leg of yours? I think it's about time we got you back up!"
"I'd be fine with that, but Sally says that we're going to be stitching up my chest soon, so maybe after that."
"You got it bud, besides, I don't think the others are going to let me out of here any time soon. So we're going to get some time together."
The kit smiled, "Alright, it's settled then. After this is done," He said gesturing to his chest. "We'll work on it."
Sonic gave him a thumbs up and pulled the kit into a hug again. "Love you bud."
"Love you too."
Alright everyone, that's all for today, let me know your thoughts and I'll see you next time!