Tails has been forced to fight Sonic, but something holds him back.

What are the end results?

"You really want to lose your life, don't you?" she said. "You would come and see me just to make some empty threats about defeating me and my army? It's hilarious. I can see the uselessness of your actions from a mile away," she began to laugh. "Don't even consider for a quarter of a second that you, Miles "Tails" Prower, can even think about defeating me."

"Shut up, you!" Tails shouted. He thought that maybe by arguing with her, he could maybe catch her off guard long enough to defeat her and rescue his friends from this imprisonment.

"Really? I'm the one who should keep their mouth shut? And why in the world I do that?"

"Because you don't know what will happen!" he said. He blurted it out as fast as he could. He hardly had any evidence to back up his claims about him being able to taste the fruits upon which victory was laid. He had to do something that could verify his chances of winning against this formidable foe.

"I don't know what will happen?" she laughed. "Uh, excuse me, but weren't you the one who was crying like a little baby when you first saw me on the beach? Remember? You didn't even try to defend yourself. You were wide open for me to snatch you up. After that little experience, I would think that you would be a bit smarter than to try to fight me. I don't think that you're ready."

"I am ready! I'll show you!" he called.

Tails reached and pulled from between his arms a specialized arm cannon, capable of firing small beams of antimatter from its nostril, motion-sensor bombs which leave behind a deadly explosion, and a homing missile gun. He took his duffle bag and pushed it aside. He tossed it behind a smoking pile of debris. He knew what he had to do with this, but he just had to wait until the right time. The weapons that he had with were undoubtedly enough to finish the job, but he had to affiliate himself with them correctly. He attached the arm cannon to his hand and shifted to battle stance. He bent his knees, balled his hands, gritted his teeth, and kneeled down slightly as like a leopard waiting to pounce. He felt energy flourish throughout his entire being, and voices that told him never to give up were apparent as well.

"That's it?" Luna said. "That's your little strategy? Did you even think this through? Did you even consider the fact that your actions will forever benefit you in the near future? That means that if you lose, everybody will lose. Did you know that? Tsk, tsk. What a shame."

That statement caught Tails off guard. What did she mean by that? He needed to get an answer. "Hey! What did you mean by that? 'If I lose, everyone loses?' What do you mean?"

"Oh, dear. I've said far too much already. You'll discover in time, my precious little fox. I do believe that it's time for me to depart. In the meantime, I will leave someone here with you to play with," she said. "Sonic!"

"No, not Sonic!" he yelled.

"Yes, Commander Luna?" Sonic said. He spoke in a possessed tone. It sounded like the Sonic he knew was now completely dead and buried. He just sounded like a robot—cold and dead.

"Sonic, I want you to take care of this little pest. He is of no real threat to us. You should be able to destroy him with no problems whatsoever. A parasite cannot stand to exist any longer. You may kill him if you wish."

"Yes, Commander Luna."

"No," he cried. What was happening here? Was this a nightmare? This had to have been a really bad dream, because he didn't hear what he thought he heard. Sadly, every word that was said was as clear as the morning sun. "Sonic, wake up! Please wake up!"

Luna turned her head and snickered. "Do you hear him? He believes that he can actually do something about this. He really believes that the real Sonic is still there. What a fool. I hate to burst you pathetic little bubble, Tails, but your "guardian angel" is dead! Therefore, I suggest that you give up and turn yourself over to me! Otherwise, you will suffer the same fate as these people," she snarled. "It is time for us to leave now."

"No, wait! Come back!"

"You two have fun. Play nice," she joked as she disappeared with the rest of her army members.

Tails was left alone on the dirty, bloodstained streets with Sonic. Tails couldn't believe it. He just could not believe everything that was happening. Everything had suddenly worsened. He couldn't help the fact that this was the day of reckoning. It couldn't be. It was for him, because he had to fight Sonic. His idol. His protector. His friend. He just wanted to break down right there in front of Sonic, to show his emptiness. He wanted to see what Sonic's response would be. But, Sonic already had his response. A blank, devoid response to that devilish snake. He would still feel incomplete even if the angels from Heaven came and took him away. He couldn't leave without Sonic by his side. Nothing that he could possibly say could prevent Sonic from doing his job. His act of mutilation. Tails had to keep telling himself that he was brave and that he could do whatever he set his mind to. He heard it, but he just didn't feel it at this moment in time.

Sonic just stood there in battle position watching Tails grovel and cry. He was getting impatient. He was contemplating on whether or not to stay or leave, but since it was Luna's command to stay and fight, that's what he was going to do. "Come on, Tails. Are we going to fight or not?"

Tails couldn't believe what he just heard. Did that possessed Sonic just say Tails' name? That seemed to be the case, but did this soft-spoken voice really remember his best friend, or was it just a hoax? Tails prayed that it wasn't a hoax. He picked himself up and prepared his mind and his heart. He kept saying that the person he was fighting wasn't Sonic. It wasn't Sonic at all. He pulled out his antimatter arm cannon and latched it on his right hand. It locked in place on his hand. His hand was now a part of the cannon. His heart and his mind were now one with each other. "I'm ready."

"Good."

Sonic decided to make the first move. He jumped into the air and fell back down to the surface with a drop kick that almost collided heavily with Tails head, but he missed. While Sonic was in recoil, this was his chance. He began to charge the cannon. He could feel the energy flow throughout his body. Once the cannon was fully charged, he let loose a small atom of antimatter. If he could land a hit on Sonic with just one of these, it would be all over. He really hoped it counted, because he could only fire one of these. Once the bar on the cannon was full, he let loose a small atom of antimatter at Sonic. He saw the antimatter head in his direction. It was getting closer and closer to landing. Just when Tails thought he could raise his head high, Sonic screeched to a halt and ducked, which resulted in the antimatter just barely missing him. The small, yet very powerful, blast flew into the City Hall and completely annihilated it. Nothing remained in that spot. There was nothing but a giant hole where City Hall was. It was unbelievable.

"Darn it!" Tails shouted. "I missed."

"My turn," Sonic said, maliciously.

Sonic decided that his enemy had to be incarcerated, so he decided to use his speed. He revved up his feet and ran in an enclosed circle around Tails. Tails tried to find an opening so he could get out, but he was stuck frozen in that one position around Sonic. It was so hard to keep up with him because of his intense speed. He quickly became disoriented and dizzy. He fell backward, bobbing his head back and forth, trying to regain his composure before he struck.

However, he couldn't do it in time. Sonic went into an ongoing onslaught of attacks against Tails. He performed uppercuts, drop kicks, and a whole slew of other attacks that came at such a rapid pace that it was almost impossible for Tails to attack. This was insane. Tails' soul was absolutely mangled. He tried to tell himself his lesson, but he lost it. His heart and mind were no longer one. It was scary. What could possibly be worse than being violently killed by your best friend? All of these attacks came as fast as lightning. They hurt like fire, and they stung like acid. Sonic's spin dashes were the worst. Every time Tails tried to get away or defend himself, he'd always get ran over and crushed like an insect. Tails constantly asked himself why. Why was this happening to him? It wasn't fair for this to happen. It wasn't fair that that girl was taking over everything, and it wasn't fair that Sonic, his best friend, was a victim in the whole thing. All he could do was blame himself for not trying to stand up for himself at the beach. If he had showed that girl that he wasn't a coward, maybe this wouldn't have happened. But, no, he didn't.

Sonic decided that it was time to get back to Luna and continue the attacks. First, he needed to make sure that Tails couldn't defend himself any longer. He stomped Tails into the concrete and spin dashed all over his body. In all directions—up, down, left, right—Tails was being destroyed. He was dying. Sonic was crushing him. Tails couldn't move. He was nailed down into the concrete. He was being made a fool of. Sonic took his sweet time running over Tails until he remembered that he had to get back to Luna. He ceased and walked away from the battlefield. He teleported into the sky, heading towards her.

Tails was left mashed into the concrete, unconscious and bleeding.

General Shay peeked out from the smoke and dust. It was difficult to see. Once the smoke cleared, all he could see was a giant crater, and three strands of orange hair blowing from a hole in the ground.

"No..."

I hope you enjoyed this chapter. The next two chapters will most definately be a bit tougher than this one. Chapter 20 coming soon.