"Wake up."
Tails groaned, unable to open his eyes. He tried to move his limbs, struggling against a seemingly heavy weight, then collapsed, giving in.
"I gave you a little something for your resistance. It should paralyze you for quite some time."
Tails moaned, turning his head to the side. He tried to push himself upwards again. This time, a shock from his stomach tore right through his body. He screamed, falling back to the ground. He groaned in pain as he tried to recover from it.
"Oh, I must've forgotten to feed you. Silly me, I forgot you animals eat every once in a while."
Tails felt a boot pushing on his stomach. Tails groaned, his stomach contracting.
"You're a special one, you know that? You're smarter than all of those stupid rodents here. If only you'd cooperated, we would've done great things together…"
The boot pushed in harder. Tails cried out, panting heavily as the pain surged through him.
"I guess I'll just have to do something else with you."
The boot released his stomach. Tails gasped as he rested his head back on the floor, wheezing uncontrollably.
"Useless fox…"
Suddenly, they hear a door smash open.
"Found you, Eggman!"
Tails could only hear the struggle that ensued after. Walls banging. Shouting. Robots stomping. Smashing. The fight slowly fading far away from him.
A moment passed before the altercation died out. Tails heared footsteps returning towards him.
"How can his fat ass run so fast…"
The footsteps stopped just near him. "Hey, are you okay?" A voice asked.
Tails groaned. He tried to move again, but to no avail. He gave up trying, sighing in desperation.
"Gee, I hope it's nothing too serious."
Tails gave a chuckle. Nothing too serious. Suddenly, the pain reappeared from the contraction and he cried out. The voice nearby gasped and took a step back. Tails whimpered, aching, his body completely powerless.
A rested rests on his his, gently stroking it. Tails exhaled in surprise, his muscles slowly relaxing, his breaths becoming softer, calmer.
"There there..." The voice comforted him. "You're going to be just fine."
Tails moaned gently, his body tingling from a warm sensation. He felt his body slowly being picked up and carried away.
Some time passed as Tails was being carried. He sensed the weather changing to a cold, breezing front. Tails shivered heavily from the relentless blizzard.
"Looks like the weather's getting worse. We better get some rest before we continue."
They entered a reverberant location, shielded away from the storm outside.
"This should do it."
Tails is placed gently on a cold, rough floor. He slowly turned his body to the side, his paralysis fading away, his stomach still aching from sickness. To his dismay, he still couldn't open his eyes, his eyesight weak from the constant darkness before. He grunted as his stomach made a grumbling noise, curling up into a ball.
"Hungry, little guy?" The voice asked. Tails whimpered as he slowly nodded in response. He heard a rustling sound, an item being taken out. The voice sighed.
"I only have some biscuits. Would've gotten more had I known that I was going to run into you."
He heard a plastic being unwrapped, the sound slowly approaching him.
"Here. I hope this helps."
Tails felt something gently being placed at his hands. He carefully grabbed it, rubbing his fingers on the rough texture. He slowly pulled it towards his mouth and nibbled on it. A chewy, buttery taste. He continued to bite it until it's been filled into his stomach. He breathed softly as his stomach chruned, his body regaining some of its vigor back.
A while passed, the storm still howling outside. Tails shivered heavily, unable to sleep. He scraped the ground, groaning to himself, unable to fight the cold.
He suddenly felt a pair of arms hugging him, pulling him closer towards a warm chest. Tails gasped softly at the sudden change of temperature. He felt a hand resting on his back, another gently stroking his head. Tails moaned gently, feeling warm and snug inside. He slowly rubbed his cheek on the soft, smooth chest.
Tails clenched his teeth as he struggled to open his eyes, barely managing to do so. A peach colored torso. A blue colored fur. Tails stared at it for a moment before slowly tilting his head upwards. Emerald eyes opened slowly, expressing a gentle smile.
"How are you, buddy?" He asked.
Tails slowly looked down, struggling to speak.
"I'm okay." Tails replied with a weak voice.
"I'm glad." He responded, hugging him closer. Tails felt a warm energy intoxicating him, numbing every tip of his body. He became drowsy and heavy, eventually succumbing to it, slowly closing his eyes. He breathed gently as his memory resurfaced into a dream.
Tails looked down at his device, frowning. A special instrument used to detect chaos emeralds. He wasn't able to get it fixed ever since he accidentally dropped it. He stopped walking and sighed.
"Maybe I'm just not that smart..." He mumbled to himself.
A figure slowly approached him nearby. He looked up towards it. It was a long-moustached man, his hands behind his back, smiling.
"Hello, my name is Doctor Eggman. What's your name?" Eggman curiously asked.
Tails looked at him nervously.
"…Tails." He hesitantly answered.
"Tails, hmm…" Eggman replied. "Interesting name." He stared at his device. "I couldn't help but notice this peculiar gadget in your hands. What is it?"
Tails looked down at his invention, sighing. He explained how it detected chaos emeralds using their energy frequency, and what had happened to it.
"Oh." Eggman said. "Mind if I take a look?"
Tails looked down at the device, pausing, then handed it over to Eggman. Eggman expressed astonishment, noting its features in detail.
"Ah...!" He exclaimed. "So it uses ultrasonic frequency to detect the chaos emeralds! That's quite the invention..."
Tails stared at him in surprise, taken in by his knowledge.
"Wow...how do you know this?" Tails asked curiously.
"I'm not called a 'doctor' for no reason." Eggman smirked. "Say, you seem like a smart little fox. What do you say we work together? We could fix this little device, and then build new inventions together."
Tails took in a moment before nodding in agreement. Eggman smiled, and guided him back to his lab.
Eggman showed him his laboratory, which impressed Tails. He opened the door to a room and walked inside.
"And here is where I perform all of my tests."
Tails followed behind him, gazing around. His eyes suddenly widened in shock.
The room was filled with animals, all confined in cages. They were screaming, shouting, trying to escape from their prison.
"What is this…?" Tails asked in terror.
Eggman grinned. "Like I said, this is where I do my tests."
"On animals...?!" Tails asked in anger.
"They possess a certain power that is able to run my machines." Eggman explained. "You see, it's been my lifelong dream to take over the world. You would do best in helping me out."
Tails stared at the animals for a while, then scowled back at Eggman, taking a step back.
"No, I won't."
Eggman smirked. "What a shame…" He gestured at the young fox.
Suddenly, two robots grabbed Tails by his wrists. Tails gasped, struggling to break free. Eggman slowly walked towards him and leaned his head closer to his face.
"…and just when we were getting to know each other." He grinned.
Tails gritted his teeth, staring helplessly back at Eggman, his heart pounding in fear.
Tails clenched his fists before slowly opening his eyes. The hedgehog stood nearby, stretching. He noticed Tails and smiled.
"Good morning." He greeted. Tails slowly raised his body upwards, grunting slightly in pain. He noticed that the weather was clear outside.
"Seems like the worst of it is over." The hedgehog continued. "I saw a town not too far from here. They should be able to help you out."
Tails nodded as they prepare to set out again.
It didn't take long before they reached a hospital. They quickly helped Tails regain his lost strength.
His friend stayed with him the whole day, making sure that he was alright. They chatted about everything and anything, sharing laughter and sorrow, everything except their names. An unwritten rule, a fear that they'd separate after that day.
Tails didn't ask for him to stay, even though he wanted to. He never had a friend he could talk so intimately with before.
He slept that night with a newfound peace in his heart.
When Tails woke up, his friend was nowhere to be seen.
He asked if any of the doctors had seen him. They all shook their heads. He spotted a simple note placed carefully beside him.
I'm sorry, but I have to go. That madman is running loose again, and I have to go stop him. I hope you get better soon.
His heart panged in fear. He wanted to see him again, even if it was just one more time. Anything for that gentle warmth. His vigor now restored, he ventured out to find him.
Tails went to forest, sighing. Who knew that finding a hedgehog would be so difficult.
He sat on a log, his head looking down. He heard rumors about a blue haze dashing around here, but so far he found nothing. He began questioning himself after having searched for so long.
Suddenly, he heard leaves rustle nearby. Tails jumped up in fear. He quickly hid behind a tree, hiding away from the potential predator. A moment later, Eggman came out from the trees, laughing.
"That reckless hedgehog!" He roared. "He shouldn't have tried attacking me over the lake! Now he's going to swim with the fishes!"
The doctor fled soon after. Tails' eyes widened.
Oh no...!
Could it be the same hedgehog...?!
His eyes then aimed at where Eggman came from. He quickly rushed towards it. A while later, he appeared at the precipice of a lake. There was no one in sight. Suddenly, he saw a figure come out of the water, its arms flailing around. Tails' eyes widened.
It's him!
The hedgehog desperately tried to remain above water, but to no avail. He immediately sank back down, unable to swim.
I've got to save him!
Tails immediately dashed towards him, and dived into the water. He approached close towards him, and grabbed his arm. The hedgehog looked at him with surprise, having unexpected his presence. Tails pulled him up and back to safety.
Resting at the edge of the lake, the hedgehog coughed and wheezed. Tails rubbed his hand on his back, trying to comfort him.
"Thanks." The hedgehog said. "For a second, I thought I was a gonner."
He then looked up at Tails, smiling, his breaths returning back to normal. The two of them gazed at each other for a moment.
"I thought I was never going to see you again, buddy." The hedgehog said as he hugged him. Tails gasped. He felt the same warmth in his heart again. He slowly hugged him back.
"Me neither..."
A moment later, they both released their grip and looked at each other.
"I'm Tails. What's your name?" Tails asked.
The hedgehog grinned.
"I'm Sonic. Sonic the Hedgehog."