When Tails Stood

cutegirlmayra

World: Sonic Forces (as far as we know)

Couple: N/A

Premise: Sonic is MIA and separated from Tails. Tails tries his best to lead a unit and they look down on him because of his age, he snaps and goes off to find Sonic on his own, or at least, be useful to the resistance still. He meets Classic Sonic and collapses with emotion.

Prompt:

"It can't be…" Tails's feels his whole body tense up and tighten away from Knuckles, his eyes shake but he closes them quickly to shake his head, his fists… bundled in rage. "I CANT BE! He wouldn't just abaondoned us! Something must be wrong!"

Silver, standing next to Knuckles, slowly bends his head down, and to the side. "I… don't know. But all we can do is fight without him. It's not going to be easy but…. we could use you in his division, Tails. He never was one to lead anyway, he usually went off on his own,-"

"You're acting as though this isn't a big deal..! We have to find Sonic! That should be our top pirority!"

Silver lowered his head again, and Knuckles stepped up this time, looking sorry. "Tails.. I'm worried about him too. But nothing's going to get solved just standing around liek thsi!"

Tails bent his head, "…Nothing's solved without all of us either…" he lightly whispered, before turning around and bending his eyesbrows back, "I… I need a minute…" he stared at the ground, his tails dragging behind him, before departing down another, separating corridor.

"W-what about the unit!" Kuckles leaned forward, before relaxing from the action and stepping back, folding his arms. "He's taking this harder than I thought.."

"..Well, the records say they were best friends… I'm sure you're feeling some remorse, right?"

"…." Knuckles turned around, "He's not dead." he sharply spat out, then looked to the ground, unfolding his arms as if in respect. "Don't talk like he is…" he looked away and walked off too, showing that he missed and worried about Sonic's disappearence just as much as Tails.

But perhaps… knowing he needed to lead more than panic,… he wasn't focusing on it much right now.

—

Tails lead the unit through some heavy rainfall, before waking up in unstabled structures that could crumble over with just one straight line of gunfire.

He stirred from his sleep, before looking over his sleeping men and some on watch.

"Ughh.." he had once again dreamed of the better times… Sonic and him taking on Eggman.. the two of them being enough and more to bring him to less than a threat.

Oh,… how the world has changed.

Armies and forces… he shook his head limply down and rubbed his eyes, just thinking about it.

Infinite… it was all his doing.

Eggman's single most annoyest creation.

He paused to place his sleep-tingled hands on his knees, feeling the pressure of sitting on them, and slowly blinking his eyes before shooting them open and trying to strain them awkae.

But he longed for that dream… it was a happier time… a fun existence… now it was all war and who got left behind…

Sonic would never let anyone get left behind..

"The kid's awake."

It was a low whisper, but Tails's expert hearing was ten-times the radar than a normal human's small ears.

The solder shrugged, looking over his shoudler from sitting on a upper step and hanging his gun by his leg, vertical.

"…He's so young. Compared to Sonic, he sleeps like a baby, and wakes like he's fought the war instead of us."

Tails's eyes widened, his ears shifted as he flinched forward.

"…Yeah… He leads like he's asking, not commanding. He's just a smart kid, not a fighter. He's been covered up in that bunker for technical support, not battle." He took his hat off, rubbing his sweat covered hair, and then lowered the gun over his lap. "Some leader." he spit on the ground, but not at the comment, but chewing on some grass he picked up.

"It'd be better if he was a little wiser with men than with machines."

Tails rose up.

He walked calmly over to the men, though his tight fists suggested otherwise.

"Excuse me."

His eyes were lowered, his jaw clentched, but his demeanour simple looked annoyed. Frustrated, he was about to do something he never thought he could.

The two men looked at eachother, not scared, but wondering if he maybe picked up a thing or two from their discussion.

They scooted over and he sat inbetween them.

He put his elbows to his knees and leaned forward into the gap between his leg.

"…I have… fought before." His eyes bent forward and his words were grave, his eyes back in his dream… but a darker tone… a harsher memory…

"I was there when the world was torn apart… when Metal Snoic tried to take over the world… when Eggman tried to suck the world dry… I've always been by Sonic's side.. I've always had a solution… I've always been fighting some cause or other. My whole life… I've been told I'm one thing or another.. Good for one thing or another… and you know what?"

He tilted his men and stood up, this time, clear anger was upon a very matured warrior's face…

"I wish I could change misunderstandings, ridicules…. all those lies about me would cease if they saw even one memory of the hardships I've faced to defend this world… But today," He shifted with piercing blue eyes to the two men, full of sorrow and no more of a soft soul. "I'm going to be what everyone fears I'll become."

The men stared, there was a shfit that they couldn't predict.

Harsher, crueler, less merciful, Tails snapped in a twinkling of an eye and became what they stated they wanted.

There was no more motivation, only the common goal at hand. No kind word of encouragement, just the logical relaity of what they faced.

The men began to rebel even more now, and soon, Knuckles was trying to get in contact with Tails and find out what was going on.

Looking down at his shaking hand, Tails held the phone and began to realize what he had allowed himself to become.

He could tangibly hold his anger in his hands.. he could feel it there… and tigthened his fingers around it… even though it was invisible to his eyes.

There was weight… so much weight… that it made his hand tremble.

"Send Silver to lead this unit." Tails abruptly broke Knuckles off of his speech to try and help Tails out, but he wasn't listening.

He smashed his anger in his hands, his eyes firece before shifting to the sorrows and misery that lay underneath the fires of scorn and hatred.

They were mourning… and that fueled his forced outrage.

So controlled… no one expected him to be throwing a tantrum at being left alone, on his own, and being forced to an unrealistic expectation for himself.

He knew he wasn't a leader.. he was a friend, an ally, a support.

But he didn't belong at a desk job, not always…

He left with everything he had, his emotions being pushed down until he found some purpose in solo-missions.

He could see why Sonic liked them. In and out. He left viruses and hacked systems of Eggman's forces left and right as he went. it was easier to command a single body then a thousand.

Then… he saw him.

Classic Sonic came flying down from the sky, and stood before him, looking a little confused.

Tails felt everything… everything of being alone and abaononded… he let it out as soon as he realized that at least some verison of Sonic had returned to him… at least… a him.

He fell to his knees, crying out his frustrations and gripping the ground, as Classic Sonic couldn't undestand what was happening, and leaned back, a bit worried…

Tails cried and cried… until Classic got the impression that he wasn't anger at him.. but at not being able to step into that poisition Sonic had left behind for him. He felt like a failure, that he couldn't measure what Sonic had wanted him to be in his absence.

Classic Sonic waited… before Tails dried his tears, befoe walking over… and laying a hand to his shoulder.

A smile.

A thumbs up.

A wink.

Praise for what he could and did do.

That was all Tails need, the approval of what he could do.

Then… with renewed vigor, determination, and his old self restored to him-

Tails stood up.

"Thanks." They stare into one another's eyes. "I really need that…. Partner." he smiled, tilting his head nad closing his eyes, a geniune look of friendship and revival.

(They partner up and off they go to find Modern Sonic! :D )