They had just gotten done saying goodbye to Mighton and Bolts. They were waving goodbye when an evil stare came out from the bushes. The team all went into defense mode preparing for battle, lasers started shooting at them. One beam sneaks up on Tails as he's flying, and he falls to the ground unconscious.
His team gathered around him. "Tails!"
Sonic steps closer and looks the kit over. "Tails buddy? You, okay!?"
The fox groans and gets up. "I'll be fine. Thankfully, I had Wolf Sidekick's autobiography 'Just Settle for Second-best' in my strap. Sonic really needs to talk to him about his role models. He helps the kit up and they continue on their robot adventure. Everything was fine.
But it wouldn't be fine. Because a few weeks after that Tails started complaining about a headache, and the kit never complained, so they knew it was a bad one.
Sonic would sometimes see him clenching his head in the middle of working on something. And no matter how many meds he gave the fox, the headache kept coming back. But they all figured it was from the amount of stress Tails was putting himself through, he was a workaholic after all.
Then the vomiting started. Sonic walked into Tails' house one day to find the kit leaned over his toilet.
"Tails?" The hedgehog helped the sick kit stand back up when he was done. "Are you sick, bud?" He put his hand on his forehead. It was really warm, definitely a fever.
The fox groaned and wiped his snout. "I think so. I'm really tired and I've been throwing up all day."
Sonic's eyes softened as he gestured for the kit to lay in bed. "Rest here bud. Take a break from working for a while, huh?"
"Okay, Sonic."The kit said closing his eyes. That was weird, Tails always insisted on working when he was sick.
The next day going to his brother's house to check up on him, he found him lying down on the couch watching TV, wrapped in a blanket. Sonic pulled the covers off him and looked the kit up and down.
"Hey!" Tails protested.
The hedgehog lifted his brother's arms, yep just as he thought. The kit was getting skinny. Did he have an eating disorder?
Sonic tapped his foot, "Hey ya bud, how 'bout we get some Meh Burger."
The fox yawned. "I don't feel like moving right now."
"I'll go get it for ya." And with that he spun off, coming back with two paper bags for the two of them. Handing one to the kit.
Tails took a tentative bite of his burger. "Thanks."
The hedgehog thought he saw something as the kid took his food, so he grabbed the small arm and looked at it.
"Sonic?"
"Where did you get this bruise?"
The kit looked down at his arm confused, "I don't know?"
"How do you not know? It had to have come from somewhere."
His brother just shrugged. "Maybe one of Eggman's botniks?" He guessed that was possible. But just in case he looked the fox up and down for more bruises. "There's one on your leg too, Tails is someone hurting you?"Sonic felt fury growing in his chest, he was going to kill whoever did this.
"No. I told you I don't know where it came from."
The hedgehog sighed and let it go. "If you say so. Still have a headache?"
"Not as much anymore." Great, that meant he was still getting them.
"Keep resting pal, you'll get better in no time." And for a while, he seemed like the kit was. That was until Tails came to him one night as he was lying in his hammock, he seemed a little scared.
"Sonic is it normal to have red pee?"
Fuck.
—————
None of them enjoyed hospitals. Amy even learned first aid just so they wouldn't have to go to one. But there was only so much the pink hedgehog could do.
Sonic tapped his foot as he sat in the waiting room and looked at the door ahead of him, Tails had gone in there an hour ago and they were still running tests. He would have gone in there with him, but the kit had insisted he could handle it himself.
He should have caught this earlier when the fox was sick with no fever. What kind of lazy guardian is he?
Wait what was he thinking? It will be fine. Tails is young, it's just a cold, he'll bounce back. They always did.
"Sonic the Hedgehog?" A rabbit in a white lab coat looked at him from the door, pulling him from his thoughts. "Can I have a word?"
He followed the rabbit down the hall into a small room with covered windows.
The doctor sat down next to him with a grave look on her face. "We did multiple tests on your brother, and we think we may know the issue. You see when a cell of your bone marrow mutates then multiples, the cells from that original mutation will also have that mutated DNA and spread across the body."
"Wait why are you telling me this?"
"You are Miles' legal guardian, correct?"
"Yes, but what does this have to do with him?"
The doctor sighed. "We still have to do a few tests, but we think Miles might have leukemia."
"Cancer?!"
"Please stay calm Mr. Hedgehog, like I said we are still running some tests. It will be ready in a few weeks. I would refrain from telling your charge until you get the results."
And after the longest two weeks of his life, they got the results in a letter. He ripped it open.
Positive.
—————
"It's not fair Amy! He's just a kid! Eight years old!" They were at Amy's house discussing what to do next. They hadn't even told Tails yet, they weren't sure how. The doctor gave them a pamphlet on how to break the news to a child, but Tails wasn't just any child. He had a three hundred IQ and could deconstruct and reconstruct an airplane. And that made it a hundred times worse.
God, how could he have been so stupid, that radiation from the laser beam probably effected the kit more than he thought. He should have taken Tails to a doctor right then and there. But no, he just had to go battle with a bunch of useless robots.
"I know, but these things happen!"
"Not to us!" The hedgehog sat down on her couch grasping his head, he couldn't hold back the tears anymore. "He's supposed to grow up, have a family, have a life. But now that can't happen!"
"Hey."She grabbed his chin making him look at her. "We'll get through this, okay? Tails is strong. He'll survive."
"I know, you're right." There's still hope.
—————
Sonic could hear Tails' heavy breathing as he carried him to the beach. Amy had set up a picnic for the five of them, decorated with streamers, balloons and everything. They thought it was best for them to tell the kit about his diagnosis while they were all together. The pink hedgehog had already told Knuckles and Sticks, so they knew what to say and how to react.
He carefully set the kit on the blanket, sitting beside him before grabbing a turkey sandwich.
"So…do you guys have any weekend plans?"He asked taking a bite of the sandwich.
Amy coughed at him."Sonic do you have anything you'd like to say to Tails?" God, he dreading this conversation.
He looked at the fox who was already lying down again. "Oh, uh. How's the ham sandwich buddy?"
"Sonic you're stalling."
"Okay, okay." He sighed. "Tails, buddy, we have something to tell you."
"You mean about the cancer?" The four of them all looked at the small kit.
"You knew?"
"You left the diagnostic paper on my coffee table." The fox deadpanned.
"Oh…" The hedgehog rubbed the back of his neck then put his hand on Tails' shoulder reassuringly. "How…how do you feel about it."
"I mean it's scary, but we caught it early, didn't we? So, I should be fine."
Sonic smiled proudly, "That's the spirit buddy!" He pulled his brother closer to him but stopped when the kit winced in pain. "You'll get better in no time." They hadn't really caught it early but why scare his brother more than he had to?
—————
They all went to the hospital together for chemo every week to support Tails. Despite hating needles, the kit stayed very still and held Sonic's hand as the nurse injected him with the medicine. Then to cheer him up the four of them went and got ice cream at the village square, Sonic carrying the fox the whole way.
The group made sure they were all up to date on all their vaccines after that, even Sticks. Amy cooked him something healthy to eat everyday and kept his home extra clean. Sticks made sure his pantry and fridge were stocked with snacks. Knuckles moved the furniture around so it would be easier for the kit to get around. And Sonic, well Sonic helped Tails with his hygiene.
"Okay, buddy it's ready." The hedgehog gently lifted Tails into the bathroom and set him next to the bathtub so he could take his gear off.
"Don't look."
Sonic covered his eyes. "Fine but it's not like you wear clothes." He waited until the fox was underneath the bubbles to look back at him. "I'll be right in the living room if you need anything call me." The hedgehog sat on the couch for a while until he heard the kit call him.
"I can't…I can't keep my head above water." His voice was muffled by the water towards the end of his sentence. Sonic grabbed the distressed Tails and helped him sit up in the tub. He waited until the kit was done to lift him out and dry him off with a towel, then helped him sit down on the toilet before getting a toothbrush and toothpaste ready.
The fox stopped him as Sonic was about to put the brush in his snout. "I can do it." He watched Tails slowly clean his teeth for a few minutes before picking him back up again and setting him on the couch.
He took out a brush and combed the kit's fur. Pretty soon he fell asleep, and the hedgehog smiled down at the purring fox in his lap. Maybe things will be alright after all.
—————
But despite their best efforts the kit's condition didn't improve at all, in fact, he just got worse. He picked at the food Amy begged him to finish. He got out of bed less and less, and when he did get out Sonic winced at the ungodly number of bruises that were growing more and more apparent. Sticks had to carry him to the bathroom after she caught him crawling instead of finding the energy to walk. And they had to do the laundry several times when the kit started getting nosebleeds.
But Sonic stayed hopeful. The hedgehog made sure to go to his friend's house every day to check on the kit and keep his spirits up. In the middle of playing chess with him one day, Amy came over and interrupted him.
"S-sonic, can I talk to you?"Her voice was shaky as if she was about to cry.
The hedgehog set his piece down and patted Tails on the head. "Be right back bud."
And so, they went outside Amy with a grave expression on her face.
"I just got a phone call from the doctor." That's right he had signed paperwork for them to share Tails' medical information with her too. "Tails…Tails cancer progressed to stage four. They want to stop treating him."
"What?! They can't do that! There's still a chance. There has to be. He…"
She grabbed his shoulders, suddenly her voice very firm. "Sonic, do you really want him to spend the rest of his life getting poked with needles."
"Well-l no but…"
"It's over Sonic."
—————
After Amy left, Sonic found himself pacing back and forth in front of Tails' door. His world was spinning, he stepped into the grass, and he couldn't breathe. He leaned over and lost his lunch.
Then he got up and wiped his mouth. How was he supposed to explain to his best friend, his brother, that they didn't expect him to make it to his next birthday? He had one job as Tails' guardian and that was to protect and care for him until after he was eighteen, after that even. But he failed. He failed his brother.
He took a breath and opened the front door. Tails was lying on the couch. It was now or never. "Hey ya bud."
"Hey, Sonic." The kit was looking at a new brochure of Coco Island he'd just gotten in the mail. "Coco Island just opened a new summer resort."
"Oh…that's…cool." He was struggling to keep his voice even.
The kit looked back at him. "Maybe once I get better, we can go visit?"
Sonic put on a wobbly smile and just managed a "Mhhmm."
Tails stared at him for a few minutes."Sonic…I'm not going to get better, am I?"
And just like that the dam broke. The hedgehog sat down, feeling tears welling up in his eyes.
"I'm so sorry Tails. I'm so sorry. I tried. I really tried."
"I know. It's okay." The kit put his hand on Sonic's arm and smiled up at him reassuringly, "It's no one's fault."
But that just made it worse. The hedgehog covered his head with his paws and started sobbing. He felt yellow fur press into his skin as the kit pulled his body around Sonic, who respirated by doing the same. And he just let it out against the top of his brother's head, his brother who he wouldn't have for a lot longer.
They stayed like that for a while, holding each other until they fell asleep.
—————
"I'm sorry I got sick Sonic." Sonic had decided to set up camp early that day. The kit was starting to sniffle, and he knew what that meant. Besides he was getting a little irritated from traveling all day, maybe a little rest was what they both needed.
"Hey, don't sweat it ked, these things happen."He patted the fox's head a few times reassuringly.
"You're not going to throw me away now since I'm broken, are ya?" Tails kicked his foot back and forth a few times, he had a look on his face that made Sonic want to cry.
"What?! No way bud, I'd never do that. Face it you're stuck with me for good." He winked down at the fox.
Tails smiled up at the hedgehog before coughing a few more times.
"Don't worry pal, you'll get better in no time. I'll make sure of it." And with that, he put a thermometer in Tails' mouth. This was going to be a long next couple of days.
—————
"I can't go in there, Ames. I can't see him like that he's just so…" In the past few months, Tails' condition has only gotten worse. And as it did Sonic found himself going to visit his brother less and less. But he knew from Amy that the kit was struggling to stay awake most of the time. And when night fell, he was afraid to fall asleep in case he didn't wake up again.
"I know, I know Sonic. But Tails is in there scared. He needs us to be strong right now." He knew she was right. So, he wiped his eyes and took a deep breath.
"Okay, okay I'm ready."And so they locked arms and entered Tails' house together.
Sticks and Knuckles were playing paper football with the kit on the couch. Tails flicked one at Knuckles's head who smiled down at him in response.
The hedgehog's eyes scanned over the fox, he didn't look scared to him, at least not right now. People assumed that Tails was cowardly, but Sonic knew the truth, he was just a kid. But right now, the kid couldn't look braver.
Sonic looked around at the rest of his friends as they all crowded around and fussed over the yellow-orange fox, and he could feel what they were thinking. He didn't have a lot of time left.
There was talk about putting Tails into a Pediatric hospice, but after really sitting down and talking, they realized they couldn't do that to the kit. He deserved to die somewhere familiar, around people who cared and knew him before the sickness.
Sonic grabbed the paper football from the floor and handed it to the fox. The kit took it back happily and flicked it at the hedgehog's forehead, giving him a mischievous smile. The hedgehog did it back to him, gently, and they continued like that until Amy finished making dinner. Grilled chicken and potatoes with Chaos Cola, Tails' favorite, and some chocolate mints for dessert.
After dinner, Sonic noticed the kit struggling to keep his eyes open, still afraid to go to sleep.
Sonic sat down and rubbed gentle circles into Tails' hand. "It's okay bud, I'm here."
Amy stood beside them, putting a hand on Sonic's shoulder. "We're all here." And they were, the group had all gathered around the kit on the couch and the floor. The kit smiled up at them and slowly closed his eyes, squeezing Sonic's hand weakly.
They'll make it to Coco Island, Sonic promised himself as he was dozing off. He owed that at least to his younger brother.
But when he opened his eyes, Tails was no longer with them.
—————
Something was poking his side. He turned over and groaned, opening his eyes to see the yellow-orange fox beside him. "You good Sonic? You fell asleep on my couch again."
He got up. "Oh... I'm fine."
"Are you sure because- "He interrupted the fox with a tight hug. Tails paused for a second before hugging back.
"Are you sure you're okay?"
Sonic nuzzled the top of the kit's head. "Yeah, I'm fine now."