SHATTERED IMAGE
Tails shielded his eyes as he began the Tornado's descent, he'd been flying at full speed for almost an hour. Passing over land and sea at a pace he didn't think he'd pushed the Tornado 2 in jet mode to since Dark Gaia had shattered the planet into pieces. The sun had finally begun its descent in the west sending its rays directly into Tails' face.
Squinting Tails looked at the blinking blue dot on the Miles Electric's mapping system. Sonic had been moving in stops and starts in a straight line since Tails had taken off, it was only the fact that he was stopping at all that Tails had been able to close the gap. Finally, though the blue blip halted and seemed to be staying put. He frowned as he pulled up the local map on the Electric, I looked like Sonic had stopped in the middle of a dense woodland, well that was frustrating. He'd have to land on the plains nearby and track Sonic on foot.
That didn't matter though, he'd dive into an active volcano if he had to. 'I'm sorry Sonic.' He thought, 'I promise I want to take it all back.' He'd never meant to take things this far. Never say the what he had. He had to apologise, he needed to apologise.
A sudden alarm from the dash, shocked him from his thoughts. "Unidentified Aircraft, you are intruding in Acorn Airspace. Identify yourself immediately or face the consequ—"
Tails hit the mute button. "Sorry," he murmured guiltily "I've got no time to deal with you." The Tornado's insignia and IFF was known worldwide. Any checks would bring up Sonic's face which was normally enough for any country to let them pass. Hitting the throttle, he directed the Tornado to land on some overgrown grassland.
Tails twitched as the plane touched down, the fur on the back of his neck rising up with a familiar static buzz. "Huh?" Tails looked up slightly puzzled. The sky was clear, not a cloud out there running to the horizon. He smoothed his fur back down, his fur frizzing up like that normally indicated a storm was on its way, yet there was no sign of anything like that coming in.
He swallowed, if a storm was about to roll in, then he needed to get to Sonic more than ever. The last time he'd been alone outside with a storm raging around him, he'd been almost catatonic when Sonic had found him. Tails shivered at the memory, he clenched his fists to try and stop them trembling. "Stupid Astraphobia!" He hissed, shame burning at his cheeks and behind his eyes.
Shaking his head furiously, banishing the memory, Tails grabbed the Electric and leapt out of the cockpit. Spinning his tails he caught a light breeze, drifting to the ground. Tapping a few buttons on the device, an arrow appeared on the screen pointing him the direction of Sonic's Chaos signature. I still read as directing him towards the massive set of trees in front of him.
Tails sighed as he looked up at the trees towering overhead, "Well… I guess it's not much different from back home. But why here? Why stop now?" Questions for later, for now he was going to be stuck on foot unless the treeline opened up further in. 'I guess the walk will help me get my head together.' Taking a deep breath Tails started to make his way towards the towering wall of trees.
Entering beneath the dark canopy Tails' first reaction was to stare, blasted to rubble was the foundations of a house. A fairly large one if his quick estimates of the footprint were correct. Ivy and moss coated the crumbling brickwork, as much younger trees than what surrounded him poked through broken windows and gaping holes. There wasn't much left of it, save for three remaining retaining walls and fragments of rotting wooden flooring.
"What the heck?" Tails whispered aloud. He crouched, looking into the dark gap that had been cut in to the earth where the building had once stood. It was hard to make out with the limited light but Tails could swear he could see something metallic gleaming down there. "You enter a huge dark forest and the first thing you find is a creepy abandoned overgrown building with a dark basement." Tails shivered, icy fingers creeping down his spine. "Yeah, nope! Not dealing with this." He'd had enough nightmares from spying on Sonic's horror movie marathons to know where this was going.
Climbing over a bunch of exposed roots he gave the ruins a wide berth. Maybe he and Sonic could explore it later but for now he had other things to do.
He glanced down at the Miles Electric; Sonic still hadn't moved from position. 'Good. But also concerning,' Tails thought. Sonic rarely ever stood still for this long, except for when he was sleeping. And call him crazy but Tails had the distinct feeling his brother was not taking a nap. Tapping into the local satellite imaging Tails transposed Sonic's beacon on to a real-time image of the forest canopy, from there he calculated the quickest route to reach it considering the uneven terrain. Nodding, satisfied with himself he switched it off, pulling a long strap from the side and slinging it over his shoulder. He didn't want to accidentally break it with a mistimed jump.
"I'm coming Sonic." He whispered, "I'll fix this… somehow." With a brief shake of his tails, Tails squared his shoulders and leaped forward, kicking off a tree trunk and launching himself into the forest brush.
He stared at the tree.
"Déjà vu?"
It wasn't that he'd never seen a tree before, even a large one like this. But Tails couldn't quite recall ever seeing one with a perfectly spherical hole going completely through the centre of the trunk. It wasn't a big hole, just large enough that had been a year or two younger he might have been able to squeeze through it; head, and shoulders first.
'Looks old.' Tails thought to himself. Judging from the way the inner wood was smoothed and weathered, along with the height of the hole in comparison to the ground it had to have been inflicted a good few years ago, maybe seven – seven and a half? '
It wasn't the fact that there was hole that had drawn his attention however, it was that on seeing it he had gotten a tremendous sense of familiarity as he had moved further into the forest. He'd long since left behind the ruined building, yet as he had moved on towards where he'd tracked Sonic the more strangely familiar the woods had become.
"I've never been here though," Tails mumbled aloud, reaching out to traced the holes outline. "Why would I—"
"Well, Ah'll be darned. You really are a lil' lumberjack ain'tcha sugah."
Tails flinched, stumbling backwards. "What?" He brought a hand up to his temple, staring at the tree. The voice -which had sounded like a young woman- had seemed to come from within him, bursting past the hazy memories of West-Side island and his first meeting with Sonic, and welling up from deep in the depths of his mind. "Who?"
He blinked and shook his head, this place was dark, creepy and was now messing with his head. A hint of red caught his gaze buried in the grass at the trees roots. Curious he bent down and picked up the object.
It was a ball. Aged, dirty, it was made of rubber and had probably been laying at that spot for years. Tails wrinkled his nose, why would a little kids' toy be out here? There was no sign of civilisation for miles as far as he could tell. He brought it up to his nose sniffing it cautiously. It didn't smell weird, just about what he'd expect for an old abandoned toy.
He eyed it, were those tooth marks on the surface? He turned his head left and right, there was no one else round him save for Flickies chirping in the canopy above. Tails hesitated, Sonic would probably get on at him for what he was about to do, citing how it would make him sick. But Sonic wasn't here now so…
Tails popped the ball into his mouth.
Nothing.
He waited for a second longer, before chuckling. Still nothing, he didn't know what he'd expected. The ball tasted of dirt and grass, and the slight acrid taste of old rubber. He made to spit it out when he stopped. An odd sensation of comforting warmth spread out from his chest. This felt… familiar… comforting?
Tails relaxed, his jaw closing around the ball. A sudden squeak made him jump. Blinking he squeezed the ball again in his mouth. It squeaked.
Despite himself Tails giggled, his ears perking up. It was a squeaky toy. He bit down again and again, laughing as the ball continued to make noise. Had anyone else been around he wouldn't have done it, but for some reason the toy made him want to feel like his actual age for once. When was the last time he'd just played.
"Happy birthday, Miles."
Tails froze. It was a different voice to before; still a woman's yet with an air of authority the other hadn't had. The voice was tender and soft, as if it had been murmured into his ear with complete adoration. For one brief second, he thought he felt a pair of arms wrapping around him, all he could feel was love.
Spitting out the ball he wiped at his eyes, staring at it. "What is this place?"
Unfortunately, rubber balls couldn't talk and as such was incapable of answering his question. Sniffing, he rolled the toy around in his hands, was there some kind of clue to where it had come from on it? The closest thing he could see was what appeared to be the faintest outline of a shield with an acorn emblazoned on it. Everything seemed to bring up more questions.
What was this place? Why had Sonic chosen to come here?! Why did it seem so familiar?!
A sudden rushing sound caught his ears, which perked up and flicked in its direction. Tails snapped back to attention and stared. That had sounded like…
"Sonic?"
Tails ran, feet almost skipping over the dense underbrush. If Sonic was nearby then the answers were almost in his grasp. He could apologise, he could tell Sonic he didn't mean what he'd said about never finding him. They would hug, laugh, Sonic would say it was okay, and Tails would cry a bit. Everything would be back to normal, then… maybe… Sonic would finally tell him the truth.
He could almost imagine it.
"Tails," Sonic would say. "The truth is that… your Mom's alive. She didn't abandon you."
He would gasp and ask where she was and Sonic would tell him, maybe she was waiting for him… or maybe she'd been capture by Eggman and they'd have to rescue her. She'd say she'd been looking for him all these years and she was so proud of him. Maybe that she'd want to take Sonic in as well, and make them family in truth.
"… I mean you should have seen him!"
Tails skidded to a stop. That was definitely Sonic's voice. He looked around, the trees had begun to thin out, letting the last rays of the sun filter in from above. From the sounds of it Sonic was right ahead.
"He's brave, strong, and so, so smart. You wouldn't believe the fires that he's pulled my tail out of, I'm not sure what I'd do without him."
Tails slowed down, catching a glimpse of blue through a gap in the trees. Who was Sonic talking to? He crept closer as he tried to think of how to approach this.
'Maybe creep up behind him and tackle him?' No, Tails winced. The last thing he wanted was to spend the rest of the night pulling blue spines from his chest. He'd been through that once, never again. 'Maybe stand behind him dramatically and wait until he notices me like the in movies.' It sounded cool but could quickly become boring if Sonic was slow on the uptake.
"I wish you could have known him," Sonic's voice was much closer now. "He's becoming something amazing, give him another ten years and I'm sure he'll have surpassed me on every level."
Quietly Tails moved a branch and peaked through to see who Sonic was talking to. The blue hedgehog was kneeling in a surprisingly large clearing. Filled with red flowers it made for an interesting contrast against his blue fur. Following Sonic's gaze though, Tails felt his heart squeeze painfully.
"Oh."
A single pale white grave marker stood alone in the middle of the clearing, and Tails' mind went back to the conversation he'd had with Sonic that morning.
Sonic grimaced, "But… I'm just so tired Sara. I'm not sure how much longer I can keep this gig going. And today I think I've made a terrible mistake."
Tails shifted to try and get a better view of the grave stone, when he felt something give way under foot with a loud snap. Tails winced as the sound seemed to echo through the clearing, something that made Sonic's own ears twitch atop his head
"Who's there!"
Tails ducked behind a tree at the last second as Sonic gaze snapped in his direction. Chewing at his lip Tails tried to think of an excuse, he'd wanted to apologise but coming out looking as if he'd been spying on a personal moment would be awkward for both of them.
"I know your there, stop hiding!"
Sighing Tails closed his eyes and prepared step away from his hiding spot and face the music.
"I'd never hide from you Sonic, you know that."
Tails froze as a feminine voice rang out clearly in the evening air.
"Sal?" Sonic's voice relaxed. "Wow, long time no see. Man, it's been a while hasn't it."
Curious Tails peaked out from his hiding spot. Sonic was now standing, the look of pain on his face seemingly vanished. He couldn't see the owner of the other voice; she was probably standing just outside his field of view.
"Too long Sonic," the other voice responded. "I'm pretty sure last time I saw you; you were much fluffier than this."
Sonic chuckled, but there was no humour in his voice. "Yeah, well. Me and Chip managed to fix the planet. Turned out I had a fragment of Dark Gaia's essence trapped inside me during that whole thing."
"I see," the voice sounded slightly amused at that piece of information. "You always did have unhealthy eating habits. How is Chip?"
Sonic was silent for a moment, "Gone."
"Oh." She paused awkwardly, "I'm sorry. He seemed like a good—"
"How did you know I was here, Sally?" Sonic interrupted.
The woman chuckled. "Sonic, you created a dozen sonic booms when crossing the border. There are only two people I know who can do that on foot, when Shadow didn't show up to see Elias within five minutes of us detecting him, I knew it was you. And since you didn't show up to say hi to me or Bunnie, it was pretty obvious where you went."
Tails watched as Sonic frowned before turning back to the tombstone, "I see. Guess I've gotten predictable."
Silence reigned for several long moments before the female voice sighed, "Why are you here Sonic? What's happened?"
Sonic spun around, and Tails flung himself back behind the tree before the hedgehog could spot him.
"Happened? What makes you think somethings happened? Sonic's voice attempted to sound bright and upbeat, but Tails could hear the pain he was suppressing and guilt flashed through him once again.
"Something must have for you to have come here; to this place, Sonic." Her voice was filled with sympathy, "You'd never come back to this spot without a reason. And I've known you long enough to recognise when you're holding back your pain."
She paused as if waiting for a jest, or quip in response. Sonic just stood there in stone silence, regret practically etched into his features.
The woman groaned her voice cracking slightly, "Sonic... I can't bare seeing you like this!Sara would have never wanted you to torture yourself like this. Please, just grab Tails and come home! We love you; you don't deserve what you're putting yourself through."
"You know it's not that simple Sal!" Sonic's voice rose to a shout. "As long as Robotnik is still out there bringing Tails back to Acorn will put him in danger!" His words shook as if he was unwillingly forcing them out. "The world tear you apart and drag your family through the mud, if people see you with me like this!" He gestured to himself; a wave of disgust passing across his face as he spoke.
Tails felt his jaw slacken as he listened in. Nothing of what he was hearing was making any sense. Acorn? Sonic bringing him home? Eggman being a threat to him? This Sal person seeming to know him?! Why?! How!? He clapped his hands over his mouth as his breathing quickened. It was… it was too much! Too fast! He couldn't process it.
"I deserve all of this Sal…" Sonic continued, "especially after what I did today."
"Today?" The woman, Sal's voice rose as well. "Sonic, what did you do!?"
Sonic was quiet for a moment before he did something Tails hadn't heard him do for years. Sonic wept. "I lied to him Sally. I looked Tails dead in the eye and lied to him!"
"Sonic?"
"Six years, Sal!" Sonic snapped, silent tears trickling down his face. "I had six years to tell him! I was going to today! I had it all planned out, I'd give him a birthday celebration he wouldn't forget, I pulled out all the stops. Give him time with friends, take him out for a ride in the Tornado to show him the best way to stand on the wing. Then I'd take him to that Spagonian place he likes so much in Station Square, and we'd talk. I'd start from the beginning; I gave him my Medallion for God's sake!" Sonic stopped as he suddenly seemed to take a heavy wheezing breath, his voice shaking.
Tails could feel tears prick at the corner of his eyes, even as tears trickled down Sonic's own cheeks.
"Oh," her voice was gentle, yet indescribably sad. "Oh, Sonic."
"He found her picture Sal; he confronted me about Sara." Sonic choked out, yanking at his quills. "I promised myself I'd tell him everything. I promised! And yet… when the time came… when I had the perfect moment… I… I choked!"
"Sonic." Sally whispered, "you didn't—"
"I ruined everything!" Sonic shouted, interrupting her. "You didn't see his eyes Sal,' I practically destroyed him inside. I broke him, I broke his trust, it hurt him more than any robot of Eggman's ever could!" He let out a brief but hysterical burst of laughter, "I guess Robotnik was right about me in the end! I really am just a coward!"
A loud crack rang through the air! Tails flinched, leaping to his feet to peer out at the sudden commotion. Sonic was now standing in the middle of the clearing, clutching at his cheek a shocked expression on his face. His eyes, rimmed red with unshed tears were wide open with disbelief.
"Did you just—"
"Sonic Ogilvie Maurice Hedgehog! You listen to me right now!" The other speaker walked towards Sonic; she was still half hidden by the trees. Yet, Tails could now make out chestnut brown fur and what looked like a blue vest. "You have been a lot of things over the years, but a coward is not one of them! Thoughtless? Sometimes. Arrogant? More than occasionally. But a coward? Never!"
Sonic didn't respond, looking completely stunned.
The woman let out a strangled sounding growl before continuing, "I remember a boy who'd lost everything he had. His home, his friends, his parents, siblings, and uncle. And yet he still found the strength in himself to stand up against the mad man who took it all away! Who when the odds were against him never backed down! Who fought against mad men, evil wizards, demons, and so-called gods, all with a smile on his face. Who never gave up hope no how bad things seemed! And despite everything in the world saying that he'd lose, he somehow still won!"
Her voice softened, "A boy who despite his own pain, reached out to a silly, angry little girl and helped her learn to trust again." She laughed gently, "Sonic the Hedgehog a coward? Sonic you are the bravest man I've ever known, and I know you'll find a way to make this right."
Tails could only watch as Sonic seemed to stare into space. The shock slowly faded from his face and he shook his head turning away. "You say it, likes it's easy Sal'."
"You think it's been easy for me?" She said softly, "Forced to watch him grow up from a distance? To be unable to hold him? Unable to tell him how proud I am of him? Sonic, this has never been about either of us, it's about him! He's more than old enough to know the truth!"
Tails felt his heart lurch in his chest, her words striking him like a leaden weight. 'What?' Who was she?! How did she know him! He worked his jaw desperately trying to call out, to leap forward and confront them. But his shaking legs refused move, the words sticking in the back of his throat. A drop of water struck the top of his head, then another, and another. Quickly, the heavens opened with a sudden rush. Freezing water washed over him in cold rivulets. But Tails didn't notice, heart racing his attention was utterly transfixed on what was unfolding before him.
"And just what am I supposed to tell him Sally!?" Sonic shouted, whirling around. His quills flattening against his scalp with the weight of the sudden downpour; "The real reason he's an orphan?! That Sara's gone? That his Mamma is dead and never coming back!" His expression twisted in uncharacteristic disgust and loathing, "That his father is a bastard who abandoned him the second he got a chance!? That West-Side Island wasn't the first time we met!?" He clenched his fists, screwing his eyes shut as he turned away. "That…" his voice shook, "that I'm… the reason his mother is dead…"
All at once the ground seemed to drop away from beneath Tails. A loud rushing sound filled his ears muffling all other noise as the world seemed to tilt on its axis.
'…thereasonhismotherisdeadthereasonhismotherisdeadthereasonhismotherisdead…'
It wasn't true…
...It couldn't be true…
'No… Nononono!' He mentally screamed as he tried to deny what he'd just heard. There had to be a logical reason for Sonic to say that! Something! Anything! Yet no matter how much he wracked his massive brain no other option presented itself.
He barely noticed as the rubber ball he'd still been holding slipped from numb fingers. Smacking against the ground, it bounced with a loud squeak before rolling towards the clearing. He barely heard the impact as he stared blankly ahead.
"What was that?"
"I don't know?"
At that moment the rubber ball rolled itself into Sonic's foot. He blinked as he looked down before snapping his gaze back in Tails' direction. "Okay, that's it! I know your there!" He snapped, his green eyes narrowing furiously. "This is a private party, show yourself and I might go easy on ya!"
"Sonic? That toy, it's…"
Trembling Tails slipped out from behind the tree, it was all he could do to remain standing as he met his brothers gaze.
At the sight of him Sonic's eyes flew open wide, his angry expression quickly morphing into one of horror.
"T-Tails?" He whispered, fearfully. "Bud, what are you… what're you doing here!?"
Tails stared at him, his breathing coming in short rapid bursts.
"Tails?" It was the woman -Sally- again, but her voice barely registered as he kept his eyes fixed on Sonic. Everything felt numb, all thought and emotion suddenly swallowed up by a gigantic void that had opened up inside his chest. "I don't know how much you heard but it's not what you think."
Tails didn't even spare her a glance, taking a step backwards.
Sonic stretched a hand towards him but didn't move, practically rooted to the spot. "Tails, please don't—"
Thunder crashed and lightning flashed.
And without hesitation Tails did the one thing could think of.
He ran.
"Tails!?"
"TAILS!"
WAIT!"
He ran, ignoring the calls for him to stop.
His heart racing as he leapt from tree to tree. He had to move, he had to get back to the Tornado, to get away. The dense forest growth wouldn't slow Sonic down for long. A steady flow of tears streamed down his face mingling with the cold rain. It had all been a lie, everything! The kind smiles, the warm hugs, the constant refrain that they were family. ALL OF IT!
As small voice in the back of his head yelled at him to take flight, to use the skies to put as much distance between himself and Sonic as possible. But no matter how hard he tried; his twin namesakes refused to spin.
Branches caught him in the face, leaving stinging welts across his cheeks, but no amount of physical pain could compare to what felt like the wrenching hole where his heart used to be. A sudden jerk yanked him backward. Tugged at his shoulder as the strap holding the Miles Electric dug into his fur. Unthinking he continued trying to move, the straining strip giving way with a sudden snap sending him tumbling forward. Suddenly feeling lighter he continued running. He couldn't stop, not even for a second.
'I'm the reason his mother is dead…' The words repeated themselves on a loop in his head; he couldn't believe it! He didn't want to believe it; but the admission had come directly from Sonic's mouth. He felt like he was going to throw up.
'You know this means, don't you?' A familiar voice whispered from the back of his mind.
'No! It's not true!' Tails protested in his head; he ducked under a tree branch that had his reflexes been any slower would have brained him. 'Sonic's not like that! He wouldn't… he couldn't…'
'Then why are we running?' It whispered, 'you heard him. What he said, he's the one! He's why we're alone!'
'NO!' The rain was falling heavier and faster now, it was getting harder to see what was in front of him.
Suddenly a white flash lit the sky above him accompanied by an ear-splitting crash. Tails yelped in sudden terror, his feet tangling up beneath him in the undergrowth sending him crashing to the ground. On instinct he curled up in to a ball and bounced. Quickly picking up momentum he ricocheted between tree trunks and down a sudden steep incline.
Seconds later the his rolled up body burst out of the treeline and into open air. Losing control, he unfurled and slammed hard into the sodden earth rolling to a stop face down in the mud. Just for a moment it was all he could do to breathe, as the sound of rushing water filled his ears. Tensing his jaw Tails tilted his head up and took in his surroundings. He'd burst out of the forest and into what looked to be a wide-open field, he'd rolled up on to the bank a roaring river so bloated with rain it looked fit to burst. With a heartfelt whine he pushed himself up unsteadily to his hands and knees, and stared at the land stretched before him. in his distress he must have taken a wrong turn and missed the Tornado. The plains were pockmarked and scarred by deep furrows in the earth; blackened dead grass and barren craters stared back at him. Signs of a long still healing battlefield, and in the far distance was the outline of a city crumbling in on itself.
Lightning flashed again and Tails collapsed, whimpering as he curled tightly into a ball. Each crash of thunder sending shudders down his spine, his body refusing to move as freezing mud and rain soaked into his fur. Vague memories of howling wind and rain, of thunder crashing in his ears filled his thoughts. A familiar hollowness, a sense of loss, memories of screaming for someone, of a sandy beach and pain. A sudden wall cut off the tendrils of thought. Somehow, he knew that he would only find pain if he tried to break past it.
'… I bet his parents dumped him, couldn't have stand having a freak for a son!'
'Face it brat, no one loved you!'
'Haha, Miles Stunt snout!'
'Twin Tailed Freak!'
'Kitsune!'
'Monster!'
Another crash of thunder tolled above him. He squeezed his eyes shut, biting at his lower lip, the taste of iron flooded his mouth. But he barely registered the pain.
Knuckles had been right; this trip had been a mistake. Did he know? Did he know that Sonic was a…
The logical part of his mind was screaming at him, to look at this rationally, that there were many other explanations for what he'd heard. But a greater part of him refused, a part that yelled for him run, to get as far away from here as possible, the part that told him the truth that his family were never coming for him.
They never had been.
His Papa had … his Mama… Sonic had…
He curled up even tighter. Burying his face in his tails, hot tears trickled down his face as his body shook with sudden sobs. He'd come looking for answers… to apologize for his stupidity, make up for his mistake. And possibly finally get some answers.
But he'd come away with less than he'd had before, he had no family, he had nobody.
He wasn't Tails, little brother, and sidekick to the Hero of Mobius.
He had nothing.
He was… nothing.
He didn't know how long he'd lay there. Icy rain lashed down from the sky, churning the dirt into mud and soaking him to the skin until he felt as numb on the outside as he did on the inside.
His ear twitched at an explosion in the distance, his eyes snapped open. He knew that sound! He'd heard enough times he could recognise it in his sleep. He had to move! He had to get away before—
"TAILS!? Oh, thank God you're okay!" A headful of blue quills stood over him.
Sonic had found him.
Quick as a flash, Tails flipped onto his back and scrambled away. He stared up at the hedgehog, his eyes wide, breathing frantically.
"Whoa! Whoa!" Sonic held up his hands in front of him. The hedgehog was soaked to the bone, his normal voluminous quills plastered tightly against his head and back. His fur darkened from the weight of the water to a deep dark blue, almost black. "Tails," he spoke soothingly. "Man, you gave me a scare back there."
Tails remained silent, body trembling, his heart battering itself against his chest.
"I don't know how much you heard, little guy," he continued soothingly; his green eyes fixed on Tails' blue ones. The look he had was almost achingly tender, "But it's not what you think! I'm so sorry. There're so many things I wish I'd told you sooner. I get that I've made some big mistakes with you, I know. But believe me, I want to make things right between us."
'Liar.'
Thunder boomed overhead and Tails flinched scrambling further away.
Sonic was kneeling at his side instantly, "Whoa, hey! Hey!" He made no attempt to move further, but his body was so tense that his muscles were visible through the peach fur on his arms and chest. "I get it, you're confused. You're hurting and scared. And you've probably got a thousand different questions running through that big head of yours. But I made a promise, that I'd never hurt you, Tails. And I'm not about to start now."
'You know what he really is now.'
Sonic stood up, reaching a hand out to him. "C'mon bud, you're soaked to the bone, filthy, and you're shaking like a leaf out here. Let's get you home and cleaned up. I'll make us up a hot Coco and we can talk. Just talk. You and me. No distractions, no yelling… no more lies. Just the straight up truth, okay?"
'What he's always been!'
Tails' breathing quickened along with his heartbeat, as he stared at the outstretched hand. 'No! He's not… he's not…'
Lighting flashed!
'MURDERER!'
"GET AWAY FROM ME!"
As Tails swung out to slap the hand away, the world seemed to slow down around them. A sudden charged sensation rapidly spread up from the base of his spine and up through his arm.
Sonic barely had time to widen his eyes as a bolt of brilliant yellow energy erupted from Tails' hand! Striking him directly in the chest! Sonic flew backwards head over heels bouncing several times before rolling to a stop.
He didn't get up.
Tails stared at his hand, stunned. What on Mobius had just happened. Gasping, his eyes darted between his hands and his brothers still form.
"Sonic?!" He asked in a small voice. There was no response as smoke arose from a blackened mark on his chest, yellow sparks crackled across blue fur.
"SONIC!"
He wanted to move, he wanted to run to Sonic's side and see if he was okay. He hadn't meant to hurt him. Yet his body remained frozen. The rain continued to fall and Sonic still lay still in the cold mud. Fresh tears fell from his eyes, "no." Tails moaned, his heart seizing in his chest. "No, no, no! Please! I DIDN'T MEAN IT!"
He buried his face in his hands. What had just happened, he'd panicked. He'd just needed a minute to think and then… "Sonic," he whispered, voice cracking slightly. "Please get up! Don't leave me."
"Ugh," a pained groan met his ears. Tails whipped his head from his hands and watched Sonic slowly pushed himself onto all fours. "Did someone get the licence of that truck?"
"Sonic!"
His brother looked at him shakily, with a pained expression. "Tails? How did you…" he trailed off, breathing heavily. His normally strong confident voice was weak and reedy.
He stared at Sonic before letting his gaze drift down to his hands, he swallowed thickly. "I… I don't know?!"
Sonic groaned dropping back down, barely supporting himself. "No. It's too soo— Gah!" He flinched almost collapsing as bolts of yellow energy crackled across his body.
Tails made to leap towards him when lightning split the sky once again. Thunder boomed.
He froze, collapsing in a trembling heap, clutching at his ears. It was too much. The lightning, the thunder. The sound of the rain pouring down. The sound of the jet turbine. It was too much noi—
'Turbine?' Tails ears twitched as he registered the new sound, a low humming noise. The kind that you only got when turbine was running at a high speed. Slowly, Tails cracked his eyes open and looked up, Sonic following his gaze, his painfilled expression quickly warping to one of horror.
A pair of burning red eyes glared down at them, lightning flashed again illuminating a familiar metal blue chassis.
Metal Sonic
"Tails?" Sonic murmured, not letting his eyes leave the murderous machine for a second. "Run."
"What?"
"RUN!"
The desperate tone in his brothers voice triggering something instinctive, Tails unthinkingly jumped into the air namesakes spinning.
It was too late.
Faster than it would take to blink, Metal Sonic crashed into him! Seizing Tails by the arm and wrenching him into the air. Instinctively Tails spun his namesakes like a makeshift buzzsaw but the robotic duplicate was too fast and seized them at root, squeezing hard.
Tails yelped in pain as his tails seized up, the machine quickly crushing him against its chassis in a bear hug.
"NO!" Sonic bellowed launching himself at his robotic double. Metal Sonic sidestepped letting Sonic crash into the mud behind him. As Sonic attempted to rise and fight another crackle of yellow energy swept over his body, sending him to ground with a yelp of pain.
"SONIC!" Tails screamed, as he watched his brother writhe in the mud. He struggled and twisted in Metal Sonic's embrace, trying with all his strength to free himself.
"My, my, my. How disappointing Sonic."
Tails froze in the machine's grip. Metal Sonic had launched a metallic orb into the air which was now projecting a hologram of a very familiar face. "Though… I must admit, watching you get blasted in the face by your little friend here was the most entertainment I've had in a long time."
Sonic raised his head from the ground, narrowing his eyes. "Eggman?" He stared at the glowing face before chuckling to himself. Somehow sounding oddly relieved. "I was wondering when your ugly mug would show up again. I was beginning to think Dark Gaia finally had you scrambled?"
"Ooh hoo hoo, I did so miss your witty retorts Hedgehog," Eggman chortled sarcastically. "However I'm afraid this time I have the upper hand."
Tails watched as Sonic struggled to his feet clutching at his shoulder, muscles across his body visibly twitching in the light of the projector as energy periodically crackled across him. "Oh, you have do ya? What? You gonna drop your badniks on me? Hate to say it doc, but even like this I could clean the clock of anything you throw at me."
Eggman's holographic visage sneered. "I don't think so. If I wanted to I could order Metal Sonic to drop the boy and tear your throat out."
"Suure you could Egghead," Sonic smirked, rolling his eyes. "If ol' Mets wants to tangle I could go for a round or two. Be a nice warm up before I come to clean your clock."
"It's just as well that I need you alive for now isn't it." Eggman hissed dangerously. Suddenly he seemed to relax, "You know Sonic. We've gone through this whole song and dance for a very, very long time. And quite frankly I'm getting tired of it, so I thought I'd mix things up a little this time."
Sonic wrinkled his nose, his expression sceptical. "Yeah, I don't think so Eggman. So how about you let Tails go right now, and I don't smash the metal faker to pieces again."
Eggman's hologram was silent for a long moment, before he grinned. "Metal Sonic, if you would."
In an instant the robot shifted, flying higher into the air. One hand clasping over Tails' muzzle, clamping his mouth shut, with the other suddenly locking around Tails' throat.
A single sharp metal claw pressed against Tails' pulse. Tails felt his heart stop, a cold sweat breaking out over him as he felt the slight needle like prick against his skin.
"SSRNIC! HRRP!" His cry came out muffled by Metal's grip
"TAILS!" Sonic forced himself to his feet ready to charge his doppelganger.
"Ah, ah, ah Sonic!" Robotnik chortled as single holographic finger appeared to wag at him. "You might be fast but Metal is perfectly capable of giving the fox boy a brand new smile if you take another step."
Lightning flashed across the sky and Tails whimpered as it took everything he hand to remain still, he could feel a slight wetness roll into his fur from where Metal Sonic claw was pressed.
Sonic stilled, bowing his head. His hands clenched tightly at his sides, body trembling. "Eggman, You really don't want to go down this road with me!" He whispered dangerously, his voice somehow managing to carry across the distance between them. "I'm warning you right now." His head snapped up, and Tails felt a sudden shiver run through him. Sonic's green eyes were practically glowing in the dark. "Let. Him. Go."
"Oh I don't think so Sonic!" Eggman's grin widened, almost unnaturally so. "Like I said, we've been playing this game, for a 'long' time. I think it's long past due we brought our little backbencher fully on board… don't you?"
Sonic's eyes widened, before his face contorted into a vicious snarl. "If you lay a finger on him! I'LL—"
"Oh spare me your posturing," Eggman interrupted with a disdainful scoff. "Here's the deal Hedgehog, you have let's say twenty-four hours to collect and bring me the Chaos Emeralds. All of them, if you tarry, then for every hour I don't have the Emeralds in my grasp our little friend here will start losing body parts." He smiled toothily, "starting with those twin appendages he's so proud of."
Sonic stared at him with a mixture of fury and utter disbelief. "Eggman? Are you out of your damn mind!?"
"On the contrary, old friend." Eggman laughed again as Metal Sonic began to float higher into the air, taking Tails with him. "My mind is the clearest it has been for nearly nine years! And if your concerned about finding me, I've brought an old friend along to give you directions."
Sonic tensed, "Why you—"
He was cut off as a huge figure seemed to appear out of the darkness crashing into him, sending him flying in the opposite direction.
"SRRNIC!" Tails screamed through Metal's grip.
"Mecha's been wanting to play with you for quite a while Sonic," Eggman smirked maliciously, as the hulking figure of Mecha-Knuckles clenched its metal fists. Sonic standing back up dazedly. "I hope you can keep him entertained! Now I've have really must go," Metal turned along with the hologram and began to fly away Tails in his grip. "I've got a lot of irons in the fire right now. Remember, TWENTY! FOUR! HOURS! AHAHAHAHA!" The holographic face winked out.
Tails struggled in Metal Sonic's grip watching in horror as his brother grew more distant, Mecha-Knuckles proceeding to launch itself at Sonic, bearing down on him with a flurry of vicious blows. Sonic for his part was dodging skilfully, but whatever Tails had done had severely slowed him down, rather than leaving the red machine in his dust Sonic seemed to be barely avoiding the machines swipes.
Tails twisted and squirmed as much as he could even throwing his head back to attempt to headbutt his captor, only earning himself an aching skull for his trouble. Clasping at the claw around his muzzle he pulled and strained. "Let me go! Let me go, you jerk!" He shouted through a clenched jaw. He spun his tails once again , trying to slice at Metal Sonic's limbs. It only succeeded in freeing his jaw as Metal proceeded to grasp his tails by the root once more squeezing hard. "AARGH!"
"TAILS!" Sonic shouted, fury in his voice. He lashed out with his foot, cracking Mecha-Knuckles across the face, sending it crashing through the tree line. Not giving his opponent a moment to rise, Sonic turned and blasted across landscape after them, accelerating so fast that the river split beneath him. The ground igniting leaving a blazing streak in his wake. "I'M COMING! HOLD ON!"
"HURRY!"
At any other time Tails might have found it ironic to say that to Sonic, but right now he was to terrified out of his mind to even think of it. Thunder boomed overhead. Tails forced his eyes shut, ears flattening at the sound, "SAWNIC!"
Metal Sonic turned its head, apparently recognising that the time for leisure was over and throttled into high gear. Soaring high into the air the machine blasted in the opposite direction, a sonic boom rippled through the air behind them. Tails flinched, gritting his teeth as his body bore the brunt of the impact, breaking the sound barrier outside of a cockpit wasn't a pleasant experience. It often felt like one was getting pummelled by a thousand fists at once. When he was smaller Sonic had always tried to shield him from the painful toll it took when they passed that limit, Metal Sonic however didn't seem to share that concern.
A second sonic boom seemed to echo below them as if in response.
Hesitantly Tails cracked an eye open and gaped. The ground was illuminated for miles around as a glowing blue bullet ripped across the landscape just behind them. Sonic was illuminating the ruins of a city below them, shattered buildings crumbling around him. Too far to make out any detail all Tails could make out was the blue light zooming up buildings and dashing from roof top to roof top as they collapsed. Thick streaks of blue lightning crashed through the air to the ground, each one sending Tails senses reeling as he tried to repress the flare ups of terror.
The blue light sped towards a palatial looking complex at the centre of the city. A great curved spire at its centre pierced the sky only a few dozen feet below them. Tails instantly grasped what Sonic was going to do, at his current velocity combined with the spires angle it would launch him into the air. If Metal maintained his current direction, it would lead to Sonic closing the distance between them within seconds.
A tilt of the head signalled Metal Sonic had noticed this as well. But rather than changing direction it shifted its grip on him again, this time pinning Tails' tails between his back and its chassis. "You're not going to get away with this Metal!" Tails snapped, as its grip tightened, "Sonic will stop you not matter what!"
The machine ignored him, and stretched out its arm. For the first time Tails realised that Metal Sonic's limbs seemed rather a bit more bulky than the machines usual somewhat skeletal appearance. The reason for which quickly became apparent as the free limb suddenly morphed into a distinct barrel shape and began to whine at a high pitch.
"TAILS!"
Tails felt his eyes widen at the familiar voice behind them, he didn't get a chance to scream out a warning as Metal whirled around to face Sonic.
Time seemed to slow down as Tails took in the glowing blue figure of Sonic. A indescribable look of fury was etched into his features as he flew towards them, his irises blazing with green light. A look that barely had time to vanish as Metal shoved its new arm canon into his face. A deafening roar and blinding flash followed, Sonic's figure seeming to vanish in the light.
And then it was over, blinking spots from his eyes Tails could only watch as Sonic's limp body fell smoking from sky.
"NO!"
Tails stared in disbelief, as Sonic's body vanished into the city below.
"Priority One: Hedgehog," Metal Sonic said, speaking for the first time. "Neutralised."
The rain continued to fall.
"No." Tails whispered. "No. No. Nononoo!" He threw himself forward in Metal's grip, "SONIC!" He couldn't believe it! He wouldn't believe it! Sonic couldn't be gone!
Throwing himself backwards again, Tails thrashed from side to side in Metal Sonic's clutches. "LET GO OF ME! LET GO!"
Shifting its arm back to normal, Metal only tightened its grip on him. "Cease resisting. Doctor Robotnik has authorised force to be used if necessary." It said in a cold clinical tone.
Tails didn't care and threw himself back and forth trying to loosed the grip on him. "NO! LET GO OF ME! SONIC!" Lightning and thunder crashed above them and for the first time Tails found he didn't care. Nothing mattered if his brother was… was – he couldn't finish the thought. Twisting and turning he managed to free an arm and reached up to grab at the machines face. His fingers scrabbled attempting to find something, an edge or gap anything he could pry at with his claws.
"Force authorised, subduing subject." Metal's eerily calm voice said, as the machine raised an arm.
"NO!" Tails snapped, "You let me go, now!" A familiar feeling crackled up his spine and the same yellow energy that he had hit Sonic with earlier suddenly erupted from his fingers once more.
Metal let out a long inmobian shriek as the energy crackled across its head. Its red eyes suddenly flashing ones and zeros as its body jerked in the air.
"ERROR! ERROR! CHAOS ENERGY DETECTED! COMPENSATING! COMPENSATING! UNABLE TO COMPENSATE! OVERLOAD DETECTED! REVERTING TO POWER GEM BACK UP! HURTS! HELP MEMEMEMEME!" Metal's voice crackled, switching from a robotic monotone to a painfully familiar imitation of the person he'd been modelled on.
Tails snarled, he didn't know what he was doing but if it helped him avenge Sonic then he didn't care. "HURTS DOES IT!? GOOD!" He shouted, thunder and lightning crashed around them but for the first time in Tails' life he found he didn't care. Everything seemed so distant. He'd come to make up for his mistake, to apologize but now Sonic was… was… the rain crashing down on him washed away the tears before they had a chance to fall. It was his fault, his fau—
Sudden sharp pain exploded at the back of his skull, stars burst outbehind his eyes, as thunder split the sky around them once more.
As darkness swallowed his vision, he almost swore he could hear the voice of a woman screaming.
'MILES! DON'T LET GO!'