Hey everyone! Sorry for such a long wait on this chapter! I was a little busy trying to get Broken on its feet. But we're back to working on our regular schedule!

SuperTailsFan0812: Yeah, stitches without anesthesia is certainly painful to say the least. You'll get to see more Sonic and Tails moments this chapter.

Obliviblur: I'm sorry to hear you knew somebody who went through pain like that, hopefully they're better now. As for the chapter itself, I'm glad that you thought the two of them were cute, and there's going to be a bit more of that soon!

Let's get going!

Waves

Fixing the Past

Tails had gotten much better over the past few days; however, he wasn't really able to move about on his own. He could fly for short amounts of time but he always needed to catch his breath afterward. Seeing him on Sonic's back or shoulders had become a regular occurrence. The kitsune had gotten quite used to his limited mobility, but he decided he would eventually have to begin work on a replacement leg for himself.

The fox was currently in the workshop, contemplating on and working on the designs for his new prosthetic limb. He had been using Bunnie's robotized leg as somewhat of a base, with a few modifications to make it work for his non-robotized body.

As he busied himself with his work, he was unaware of a certain blue hedgehog making his way behind his chair…

"Hey bud!" The hedgehog exclaimed, causing the fox to shoot upright, immediately turning back to the speedster.

"Sonic! Don't do that! You scared me!"

"Just checking in on ya, how's it going?"

"It's fine, I mean, there's a lot of work here. Especially since I only have kind of an idea of what I'm doing…"

"It's alright bud, I'm sure you'll figure it out! You're the smartest Mobian I know!"

The fox blushed slightly at the compliment, "T- Thanks…"

"Is that embarrassment I hear?"

"N- No! I'm not-"

"There it is again! You're so cute when you're embarrassed!"

"Alright, you've got me there…" The kit sheepishly responded.

The speedster lifted the kit underneath the shoulders from behind, "Besides, why wouldn't I want to see my favorite little bro!?"

Sonic's demeanor quickly changed however, as there was no reply to his statement, the kitsune was completely silent, besides from some nervous breathing.

"Tails? Are you-"

Before he could finish, he noticed the kit's wide eyes and pupils, along with his stressed breathing and distant expression. It didn't take a genius to figure out what was happening.

"Tails, it's just a memory. He can't hurt you any more… Tails, can you hear me? Tails!?"

The fox was still unresponsive however as the memory still consumed his brain.

"Let me go!" The kit exclaimed, delivering a kick to the Swat Bot that currently had him held underneath both shoulders.

"How I enjoy watching you squirm," The familiar feel voice of Robotnik began. "It's like music to my ears. Now, I hope you didn't forget what I told you the other day, if you don't tell me what I want, you'll want to die. I'm only going to ask this once…" The scientist made his way over, looking the kitsune directly in the eye. "Where are you and your little group of pests hiding…"

Tails simply glared back at him, "Do you really think I'd just tell you?" They'll come here, and when they do, you'll be sorry!"

Robotnik simply laughed, "Child, I'm not sure you quite understand the gravity of the situation you've found yourself in… I own you now, you will answer to me."

The kit simply growled at the scientist in protest, still squirming against his restraints.

The scientist beckoned the robot over to a small restraining table, "Well then, this is going to be very, very painful…"

As the kitsune started slowly coming back to his senses, he immediately noticed Sonic's concerned expression. "Tails? You alright?"

The kitsune timidly flinched backward, unsure if what he was seeing was still a memory, or what was actually happening. The hedgehog gently reached out to the kit, whom timidly pulled himself closer to the hedgehog, snuggling himself against the speedster.

Sonic quickly returned the gesture, "It's ok bud, he's not going to hurt you."

The kit's eyes and pupils were still wide with fear, his breathing still panicked and raspy. "S- Sonic…"

"Yeah bud?"

"I'm scared…"

"You're alright, I promise, I won't let Robotnik hurt you again."

The hedgehog tried to suppress his anger, the fact that Robotnik had scared a child so much sickened him, once his got his hands on the tyrant, he would pay… He was actually somewhat surprised at the fact that the kit had managed to suppress the memories for so long. The other Freedom Fighters, himself included, had predicted that he would have some type of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, especially with his reactions to being restrained during his surgeries.

The speedster gently ran his hand through the terrified kit's bangs. Stroking them gently to try and help him to relax. "I'm right here bud, just take as long as you need."

"A- Alright… Thanks…"

The kit just sat in the warm embrace for a while, eventually his eyes returned to their normal size, his breathing settled, and his pulse returned to normal.

"You alright now bud?" Sonic asked.

"Yeah… I'm good… Just, had another memory…"

"That's fine, if you need anything, just know I'm here for you bud."

The kit slowly released himself from the hedgehog's grasp, "Thanks Sonic."

"No problem, I just don't like seeing you afraid like that. You scared me!"

"I- I'm sorry, I-"

"You don't need to apologize, just let me know if something like that happens again."

The fox turned back to his work, trying to still calm his nerves. Sonic was a bit concerned about the kit's mental health, but figured there wasn't anything he could do about it at the moment. He left the kit to his own devices. He quickly tracked down Sally, "Sal, Tails had… An episode…"

"Is he alright!?"

"He's fine, but turns out we were right... There's some trauma there for sure…"

Sally let out a sigh of relief, she was just happy to know he hadn't almost died on them again. As quickly as her fears about that were dispelled however, concern took root. "How's he doing right now?"

"Good… He looked terrified Sal… I didn't know what to do and-"

"If he's fine, that means you did the right thing. Just, give him some time to himself."

Sonic nodded, "I'll try, but… He just looked so scared, I just… I'm not sure if…"

"Sonic, he's ok… Tails is a really tough kid, he'll be alright."

"I hope you're right Sal…"

Sonic made his way out of the room, taking some time to himself to calm down. Several hours later, he peeked into the workshop. "Tails, bud you still doing go-"

He was interrupted by the sound of quiet sniffles, he noticed the kitsune had his head down on the desk, his arms directly below it. His namesakes were curled behind him, he was obviously upset by something.

"Buddy?" Sonic questioned, making his way into the room and over to the desk. "What's wrong?"

"It's just, I'm not going to be able to walk again!" The kit exclaimed, "I just can't figure this out!"

Sonic sat next to the kit, "Bud, you'll figure it out. If anybody can do this, it's you!"

"You're wrong! I'm not smart! I'm just an idiot!"

Sonic was taken somewhat aback by the statement, "What makes you think that?"

"I put you all in danger! It's all my fault that you tried to kill yourself! All because I wanted to prove that I could do things on my own!"

The kit threw himself into the hedgehog's shoulder, sobbing uncontrollably. Sonic wasn't quite sure how to respond, but he suspected that the recent memory and panic attack had somehow caused this. He let the kitsune sob away his thoughts for a bit, at least until his crying died down a bit. After a bit, he spoke. "Tails, what's gotten into you bud? You know you're smart…"

"It's just, this is all my fault! If I hadn't been so stupid then-"

"Tails, look at me."

"N- No…"

"Why not?"

"Because, I'll cry again…"

"That's fine bud, it's ok to cry sometimes."

Tails pulled his head off of the hedgehog's shoulder, looking him in the eye. Tears instantly began to flow as Sonic began.

"Tails, bud, this isn't your fault… You don't need to beat yourself up like this… You're really smart, and deep down, I think you know this isn't your fault… You're too smart for that…"

"Yeah right…"

"I'm serious, you're the smartest kid I've met heck, the smartest Mobian I've met! You've always been a genius since we first met, what about the fact that you fixed my plane? What about all the stuff you've built for us? Do you really think an idiot could do all that?"

The fox wiped some of the tears out of his eyes, "N- No…"

"Then why are you calling yourself one!? You're not an idiot bud. Even if you did get captured by Robotnik, which wasn't your doing. You still never told him what he wanted; I think that's pretty brave if you ask me."

"R- Really?"

"Really bud, none of this is your fault."

"What about you trying to… To…"

"That was my fault, I just wasn't sure what to do, I thought I'd never see you again and that was too much for me… You mean the world to me buddy, and I'm not sure what I'd do without you."

Tails wiped some more tears out of his now bloodshot eyes. "I don't know what I'd do without you either… Thanks Sonic…"

"No problem buddy, you know I hate seeing you upset like that. You've got this bud!" The hedgehog responded, ruffling the kit's bangs in the process.

The kit let out some playful laughter at the gesture, a smile crossing his face. He took off from the seat he was in and dove at the hedgehog, whom was tackled to the floor, the duo laughing the whole way.

Eventually their laughter died down as the two laid sprawled out on the floor. Sonic pulled the kitsune into a hug, "Love ya bud."

"Love you too." Came the response, "But, could you help me back up?"

Alright guys, that's it for today! I hope you all enjoyed! Again, sorry about the long wait. Let me know your thoughts on the chapter in a review or PM! Until next time!