Sonic wants to do the disclaimer, just for some fun. So I let him do it. Hope it makes sense. Don't sue me for a bad copyright disclaimer. I have no money.

Sonic glared at me briefly for implying that people can't understand him. He looked back to you. He pointed at himself, then Tails. Then he aimed his finger at me and shook his head. He then picked up a Genesis that was lying around solely for the purpose of this disclaimer, and pointed to the SEGA logo on it. Putting down the most epic of all 90's consoles, he jerked his thumb towards all the fan characters I made up for the story, who were conveniently standing nearby. Sonic pointed towards me again, then shrugged and aimed his finger back at the logo on the Genesis. He gave a thumbs-up for SEGA.

Are you done yet? Okay, nice. We should fix the fourth wall now. Go back into the story. There are only a few paragraphs before it starts. That was fun to write. Should I do that more often? Anyways, reviews and notes!

Dear Oceanera12: Behold the power of italics. Funny, it only happened because I was re-reading the first chapter, and I thought, 'There is no way in 2006 that anybody will understand this.' You should eat a chilli dog some time. They're really good. And I can totally imagine Eggman opening a box in his lair like 'haha, my 1,586,930,472nd evil plan worked!' and Sonic's in there, eating chilli dogs and having no idea what's going on. XD Now I want to make that joke. Well, I'll be sure to work hard. :D

Yay, super fast update! I had quite a lot of time to write today and yesterday, and I didn't have a lot of ideas for Legacy (my main work), so… I ended up working on this instead. It didn't take too long, because I was writing some super intense stuff. I don't know about any of you other fanfiction authors out there, but when I'm writing something really exciting, I almost literally can't stop until I've finished it! So I got this out nice and quickly for you all. Hope you enjoy!

This chapter name is terrible ;-;

Okay. Now this chapter will be very, very interesting. I don't want to spoil anything, because spoilers are evil, but there's a bit of exciting action. Sonic and Tails both learn something new about each other this chapter, and in both cases, it's one of their main defining traits. So this'll really advance the plot a lot. Instead of talking about it, I should let you read this. Ready… GO! *light speed dashes into chapter*

Chapter 5 - Deeper Understanding

Over the next few days, Sonic and Tails settled into a routine together. Sonic showed Tails around his house, so that the fox would be more comfortable there. They did things together. Watching TV, reading comics, going outside and having fun in the surrounding Green Hill Zone. Sometimes they would go out, and slowly Tails became less nervous around going into town. If he was with Sonic, nobody would try to hurt him. It was about four days before something particularly interesting happened.

Sonic had been looking at a piece of paper for quite some time that morning. Tails couldn't resist his curiosity. "What's that?" he asked. The hedgehog showed him what he had been studying. It was a map titled 'South Island'. The map showed a detailed image of the island, with all the Zones separately outlined and labelled. Sonic traced a path across the island with his finger, starting and ending at his house. I'm going to explore South Island on this path. He pointed at Tails and made a 'come' gesture with a questioning expression. Do you want to come with me? The fox smiled excitedly. "That would be so cool!"

They set out through the island. For hours, they explored. Sonic showed Tails all sorts of interesting areas. Zones like Green Hill, Jungle, Star Light, and Marble. Some places were a little dangerous, but they stayed well away from anything that could hurt them, and made it through safely. Sonic remembered his adventures in these places. He could still remember what it had been like, running through the Green Hill Zone with its loops and platforms, dodging fire and outrunning lava in the Marble Zone, avoiding explosives and spikes in the Star Light Zone while using seesaws to get over obstacles. Destroying Badniks and freeing the animals trapped within. Battling Doctor Robotnik's latest evil contraptions. It may not have been fun, exactly, with everything out to get him, but it wasn't something he would avoid doing again, should another evildoer come to cause trouble. It had been… perhaps the best word for it was exciting.

They came to an area with grass and dirt like that of the Green Hill Zone. Sonic pulled out his map and pointed to one of the areas, labelled Bridge Zone. Tails looked around at the Bridge Zone. It was a nice place, with its pretty, green grass and emerald-coloured rocks. The mountains to the north of South Island were just visible in the distance, fading into the clear, blue sky. A river was flowing underneath a long bridge, which was old and rickety. The wood was broken in some places, and the ropes on the sides were frayed, but it still looked reasonably stable.

For some reason, Sonic seemed a little nervous around the river. He began to cross the bridge, holding onto the ropes firmly. Tails followed him. The bridge creaked under the weight of both of them.

And then it began to collapse.

Everything happened in a split second. Being right at the end of the bridge, Tails had the time to jump back onto the secure land. Sonic wasn't so lucky. He stood there, frozen, as the wood around his feet fell away. Desperately, he tried to jump to safety, but his speed couldn't save him. Tails caught a glimpse of his friend's terrified expression before he fell. Sonic landed in the river below with a large splash.

Tails looked down over the edge of the cliff. "Sonic!" he shouted, but there was no answer. He couldn't see Sonic. He tried to calm himself. Surely Sonic the Hedgehog of all people would be able to swim. But the hedgehog didn't resurface for a good ten seconds. His head suddenly appeared above the water for a moment, his arms swinging wildly as he tried to stay afloat. He was actually screaming out loud, and his desperate cry for help reached his friend before he slipped under again. That was when it hit Tails - Sonic was drowning.

The fox was barely thinking. He jumped off after Sonic, then remembered that jumping off a cliff into rapid water without a plan was a bad idea. Instinctively, his tails began to spin in a circle, and he started flying. He snapped his fingers. Of course! Tails could do many things, but probably the most amazing of them all was is flight. By spinning around his tails like the blades of a propeller, he could actively fly. It took a lot of energy, but he could fly directly upwards just as well as any bird. He still hadn't flown even once around Sonic. He wanted to keep it a secret, in case his friend found it strange or unsettling. But now wasn't the time to worry about that. This was a matter of life and death.

Beneath the water, Sonic was practically having a heart attack. He hadn't told Tails about it, but he couldn't swim. At all. Whenever he entered water, he sunk like a blue rock. Okay, so it wasn't just that he didn't know how to swim. He was terrified of water, and right now he was convinced that he was going to die. The liquid all around him compressed his chest, making it impossible for him to breathe. His eyes closed as he stopped struggling. He was paralysed with the numbing cold and pure terror. His lungs screamed out for him to breathe, but he couldn't. He sunk closer and closer to the bottom of the watery abyss, certain that nothing could save him.

Suddenly, Sonic was vaguely aware of something around his wrist. A hand. Holding his breath, Tails grabbed his friend firmly and swam to the top. They were deep underwater, and it was hard for him to resist the urge to inhale a breath of water. He couldn't imagine how hard it would be for Sonic. He pushed harder until, finally, a light penetrated the darkness and they came to the surface. Sonic's eyes were still closed, and his chest was barely moving. Ignoring his fear of a worst-case scenario, Tails held on even tighter and started spinning his tails. "Come on, don't fail me now," he muttered under his breath. He pushed Sonic and himself out of the water, and kept flying. The effort required for him to not only keep moving upwards, but also pull somebody else with him, all while waterlogged and weighed down, was exhausting. Tails was barely able to continue pushing himself forwards, but he didn't stop for a second. "Keep going," he told himself. "If you don't, Sonic won't survive. That can't happen."

After the longest ten seconds of his life, Tails finally reached the edge of the Bridge Zone above them. He grabbed onto the cliff face where the bridge had been moments before and held on for dear life. With the last of his already depleted energy, he pulled himself up to dry land, and Sonic with him. Tails quickly shook his whole body to dry himself. Once he was done, he looked at his friend, lying still on the ground next to him. The hedgehog didn't move, and he panicked. "Sonic!" he shouted, shaking his friend. "Wake up!" He pounded frantically on Sonic's chest, hoping that his fists would act as a sort of defibrillator. Still the hedgehog didn't react. Tails was shaking in fear. Had he been too late? "Wake up, Sonic!" he yelled, completely terrified. "Don't be dead, please, don't be dead! Wake up!"

There was more silence. Then Tails noticed that Sonic was shaking. The hedgehog opened his eyes, then dragged himself to the edge of the cliff. He leaned over the cliff and threw up, salty water falling back into the river it had come from. Once the water was out of his lungs and stomach, he curled up tightly in a ball of panic. He was somewhat self-conscious with Tails watching him, but he couldn't stop himself from shivering. Terrified tears formed in his eyes. Tails took a step closer. "Are you okay?" he asked with genuine concern. Sonic simply turned away and continued crying and shaking. He didn't want Tails to see him like this.

Taking in deep, shaky breaths, he calmed himself down a little. That was when he realised that the fox was sitting right next to him with a comforting hand on his back. "Don't worry, you're safe," he said kindly. Sonic didn't know why he did it or where it came from. Maybe he was thankful for the help. Perhaps he was still scared, and just wanted some comfort. But whatever the reason, he suddenly wrapped his arms around Tails, leaning his head on the fox's shoulder and still sniffling quietly. Tails seemed surprised at first, but hugged him back. "It's alright. Everything'll be okay."

They sat there for a while in silence. So many times, Sonic had comforted Tails. Now it was his turn to support his friend. After a while, they let go, and he took the opportunity to speak again. "Can't you swim?" he asked. Sonic sighed and shook his head. "Well, that's okay. Lots of people can't swim. And there are way worse things that someone can be unable to do, right?" Tails continued to reassure him. Something clicked in his mind, and he seemed to realise something. "Are you… are you scared of water?" he asked quietly. For a while, Sonic didn't move. Then, slowly, he nodded. He knew that Tails would have to find out at some point, but he was still a little embarrassed about admitting it. However, his friend was very understanding. "It's okay. Everybody's afraid of something. Don't be upset about it."

Sonic finally managed to force a smile. He looked at Tails with an expression that clearly asked, What happened? "Well… the bridge broke, and you fell in. Then I realised that you couldn't swim, so I followed you down and brought you back up here," Tails explained. The hedgehog blinked at him. With confused eyes, he pointed down to the river, then back to the ground around them. How did you get back up here? The fox looked down shyly. "Well… I didn't want to tell you about this, in case you thought it was weird, but… well, I can kind of fly… with my tails. Like this." He demonstrated by whirling his tails around in a circle, until they were going fast enough to propel him up in the air. He rose a metre or so in the air, then quickly stopped and landed back on the ground. Sonic watched, amazed at Tails' ability. He clapped, then gave a thumbs up. That was awesome! Tails smiled modestly. "You really think so?" Sonic nodded, standing up. He shook the water out of his spines. Then he looked Tails in the eye.

"Thank you."

"Y-you're welcome," Tails replied, surprised that Sonic had chosen to speak out loud. "Do you want to go back home now?" he asked. The hedgehog nodded and walked away from the cliff, back to the safety of inland.

The friends walked home together, reaching Sonic's house just as the sunset had begun to turn the sky a brilliant orange. Neither of them said anything about it, but there was a silent understanding between them. The knowledge that the bonds of friendship could overcome fear. That sometimes a secret doesn't have to be that way. That the events of that day had brought them closer. And the acknowledgement of what could have been lost that day, and a mutual sense of gratitude that they were both safe.

And there we have it! This was so adorable. FFFFEEEELLLLLSSSS ;-; I enjoyed writing this. It really advanced the plot. I finally got to show the other side of Sonic's personality. The side that's not fearless and invincible, and when it comes out, can be easily broken. The side that only the Archie Comics got right, but that Sonic Lost World tried to. The side that I shouldn't be comparing to a Modern game, because this is set in the Classic time period. The side that I need to stop needlessly blathering about. Also, I think that a few reviews didn't come through. My account tells me that I have 12, but only 8 are showing up. So if you left a review and I didn't reply to it, sorry! Please leave another one and I'll hopefully get it. Anyways, I'll keep working on this, I hope you liked this chapter, and bye!