They had just left the rental store. Sonic carrying a Comedy Chimp movie reel with him, and Tails had an entire bag of candy. The kid loved candy what can he say?

He was excited for movie night. It had been a while since they could all hang out, just the five of them. And besides, he heard there was a cool twist ending.

Eggman ran over to them. "I need your help."

Sonic pointed behind him. "Cartoons are by the counter."

The scientist laughed. "Yes, yes very amusing. But that's not why I'm here."

"What do you want Egghead?"

"Um, funny story, you're gonna get a kick out of this. I was attacking you with my Egg Tank when a freak accident caused an endless time loop!"

Tails spoke up. "There's no such thing as a time loop!"

"That's what I thought, too! Oh, by the way, you're about to choke on that piece of candy."

And he did a second later, just as Egghead said. Small body freezing up.

Sonic started patting Tails' back expecting him to spit it out, but he didn't. The kit fell to the ground holding his neck.

"Tails?!" The hedgehog got behind the fox and pressed his fist between his navel and ribs, the panic setting in. He started pulling upwards and inwards at the kit's chest. He went over everything he knew about helping someone who was choking in his head, which wasn't a lot. They really should have taken that class with Amy.

"Get his legs." Sonic picked the kit up by the chest as Eggman lifted him by the feet. The hedgehog used one hand to hold up the fox's front side and the other to reach into his throat, trying to dislodge the intrusion. But it was too far down, he couldn't reach it.

"Tails, stay with me, buddy!" He flipped the fox so that he was lying on his stomach and had Eggman lift his legs again, patting his back desperately.

After a few minutes of trying Sonic set Tails back down. The kit had stopped coughing. That was bad, right?

By the time the useless village paramedics arrived, the kit wasn't breathing anymore. After five excruciating minutes of the emergency response team striking the kit between the shoulder blades to no avail, they eventually called his time of death.

Sonic begged and pleaded for them to keep going. To save him. The nurse shook his head and told him to check himself. That it was too late.

And it was because as Sonic put his ear against the small kit's chest, he heard nothing.

—————

"Listen Egghead." The normally laid-back hedgehog had grabbed the scientist by the collar, lowering him down to his level. "You better fix this fucking "time loop" so that Tails doesn't die. Or I will find you."

Eggman nodded, still taken aback by the aggression Sonic was showing him.

But despite his best efforts, when Eggman woke up the next day Tails was still gone. The time loop stopped, almost as if its only purpose was to kill off his brother.

And after a few months of grieving things went back to normal. Except for Sonic. Nothing would ever be normal for him again.

—————

"Sonic," Tails had said. "How come when I got what I always wanted more than anything else, everything went wrong?" The kit had been training all day to run as fast as him. But he ended up stepping on some special gum Eggman had invented making him even faster than Sonic. This caused the kit to run off until the gum eventually wore off.

"Sometimes you're just not ready for what you want the most. But I'll bet that you'll grow up and you'll be ready. You may even be as fast as me!" Sonic knew the feeling; he'd gotten what he'd thought he wanted a few times as a kid. Such as his independence, but of course that came at a price: Longclaw.

"I guess, no hurry though?" Yeah, it was true he wanted Tails to be able to keep up with him in battle one day, but he still didn't want the little guy to grow up too fast and not need him anymore.

"But even if you're never as fast as me, you're the greatest ked. You're a great flyer, a great guy, and above all, the greatest friend I could ever hope for."

"Thanks, Sonic!" Then he ruffed the fox's bangs and they went off to their next adventure.

—————

Sonic rolled out of the familiar green couch he'd been sleeping in the last few months. He stared straight ahead of him on the mantle was the urn that held his little brother's ashes, right behind a picture of the two of them on a fishing trip together.

Then he got up and looked at himself in the mirror, he looked like shit. He hadn't brushed his quills or showered in months, he barely ate or even brushed his teeth anymore. But he didn't bother to do that now, he didn't care to. He just collapsed right back onto the Tails' old couch.

He looked at the battered fox plushie he'd been hugging all night. It was missing an eye and had a few too many mysterious stains. Sonic had given it to Tails when he was five. He lifted it straight up into the air and stared up at it.

"I miss you so much, buddy."

He blamed himself. Because it was his fault. They found out after the fact that putting your fingers into a choking person's mouth was not the way to go. And that instead of just patting his back they should have bent him over and struck him five times between the shoulder blades.

They did do their best though, Eggman and him. At least that's what Amy had told him when they last talked about it. She was trying to get him to go to therapy, but he knew he didn't deserve to work through his problems after letting his brother die.

A knock at the front door pulled him from his thoughts. Probably Amy or Egghead begging him to battle him again, it's been weeks since they've had a proper showdown after all. But he didn't care, he didn't answer it, Egghead could destroy the whole village for all he cared.

The door creaked open. "Hey, Sonic," Amy called. "How are you feeling?"

He glared back at her. "Like shit."

She sighed. "I figured."

"What do you want Amy?" He hadn't meant to snap at her, but it was really her fault. She should know better than to interact with a brother murderer.

"…Eggman made something that I think might make you feel better."

"Yeah, what could possibly- "

A familiar young orange-yellow fox appeared next to her. He stared for a few seconds wondering if he lost his mind, before running over and tackling hugging the kit.

The kit lay underneath him breathless for a few seconds before patting his back nervously. "Um…hello there."

—————

"Sonic, was I really that easy to replace?" They had sat together in the grass looking at the sunset after just saving each other in their last battle. Sonic had tried to hire a new sidekick to protect his brother from getting hurt again, but to his chagrin Tails had auditioned for it too and won.

The hedgehog put an arm around his friend. "No buddy. Nothing could ever replace you. I realize that now." The kit leaned back against him.

"Should have realized it sooner." The fox responded with his usual amount of sass.

"Yeah."

—————

As he lay on the kit, hugging and nuzzling and promising to never let anything happen to him again when he realized something was different. He couldn't place it right away. But as he stared at the kit, he saw it.

The small scar Tails had on his chest from crashing the Tornado was gone. All the various nicks, scrapes, and general wear and tear the fox had gotten in battle, lab accidents, and life weren't there. This wasn't Tails.

Sonic stood back up and recoiled from the kit. "What…what is that?"

Amy looked at him and helped the fox back up. "He's- "

Eggman stepped through the door. "It's a biological replica. I made it for you since…you know. And I'm sorry but your friend wasn't around long enough for me to transfer his memories to this new body. But he should still act just like Tails."

"You…you cloned him?!"

"Now you get it! So can things go back to normal?"

"No, it can't! You cloned Tails without even asking me, and now you want me to pretend this thing is my brother?!"

The clone looked between them. "How would we be brothers? We aren't even the same species." Sonic glared at him.

"Get that thing out of here." He started pushing them all out the door.

Amy held her hands up. "Sonic, look…I know it's not exactly ideal. But he's already here. He already made him. So, we might as well take him in. We can't just leave him with Eggman. Look at him. He looks just like our dead friend. We may as well make the most out of this- "

He shut the door in her face.

—————

Sonic was playing volleyball on the beach with his friends. It had been a few months since he'd seen the clone he was around, probably staying at Amy's house, but it avoided him, and he avoided it.

He smiled as he hit the ball back to Sticks; he felt a little better since the incident, got out of bed, cried a lot less, and even ate something. Maybe things would be alright-

The clone wandered nearby, and Amy waved him over. "Come play with us, Tails!"

Sonic's eyes snapped to her. "Don't call it Tails. He is not Tails." Which got him a look from the pink hedgehog in return, but he didn't care.

She looked back at the kit. "Okay then…How about we call you Miles." His real brother would have hated being called that.

"Or how about, the monster." Sonic chimed in but was ignored.

The clone smiled at them. "Miles…yeah I think I'd like that."

—————

"Easy Knux, aim for the couch," Sonic instructed as Knuckles held Miles up and under his jaw, ready to shot put him across Amy's living room. They were having another sleepover, and with nothing really on TV, they were bored.

The echidna ignored him as he swung the kit into the air, right at the wall.

"Knuckles!" The hedgehog scolded.

"Relax, he can fly." Sonic rolled his eyes as the kit ran over for Knuckles for him to do it again, and they continued like that until they got bored.

"Pillow fight!" Knuckles screamed as he attacked Sticks with the cushion who respirated by hitting him with her pillow. Miles flew up to them and hit them with an air assault using a pillow.

"Go join them." Amy urged Sonic as they watched the three from where they sat on the couch watching one of her boring shows.

"Nah, I'm good." Sonic lay down, crossing his arms. The clone's existence was bothering him less and less lately, but he still didn't want to play with it. After a while, he soon heard the others yawning and they crowded around the couch.

As the others settled in for the night, Sonic looked through the window, it was coming down hard out there. Thunderstruck in the distance and though he almost expected him to, Miles didn't jump into Sonic's arms. The hedgehog hugged himself and sighed. He would have killed for a fox to jump in his arms right now, but Miles didn't so much as flinch. Amy put a hand on his shoulder. The clone got up from where he was lying on the floor and joined Sonic and Amy on the couch. He looked over at him.

"You know. Tails would always have me hold him when there was a thunderstorm." Why was he telling him this?

Miles looked at him for a second. "Well…I'm not scared of thunder…and I'm not Tails…but you can still hold me if you want."

Sonic hesitated for a second before slowly pulling the kit into his arms, holding him the same way he used to hold his brother. Miles shifted a bit until he was comfortable, then slowly drifted from consciousness.

Sonic hugged the sleeping kit to his chest as he listened to the rain, mind drifting off as well. Maybe this wouldn't be as bad as he thought.

—————

The kit followed him around like a lost puppy since that night at Amy's, something Sonic was still embarrassed about. His friends knew better than to mention it, Sonic almost beat up Knuckles when he poked fun at him for it.

As for Miles, he seemed to think it meant it made them friends. He followed Sonic everywhere he went like a lost puppy. He started sleeping at Tails' house with him, much to Sonic's chagrin. But the hedgehog knew the perfect way to remedy this situation, he duct-taped together two yards sticks and brought them with him wherever he went. Putting it between him and the clone whenever he got too close.

"Six feet away!" He screamed when the kit went to hug him, pulling the yardstick between them. They were having a picnic with their friends at the beach. Amy looked at him and shook her head disapprovingly, but he couldn't care less. They can't replace Tails with that thing. That thing is not Tails.

"S-sorry." The clone backed away. Before Sonic could respond Eggman's robots surrounded the team. They all got into fighting positions and started smashing botniks. Sonic held his arms up and Miles flew over him, grabbing the hedgehog and helping him spin dash right at the Egg Mobile.

"You haven't seen the last of me hedgehog!" As the scientist was launched away from the village.

Right when they all thought the fight was over, a bee bot flies over and shoots his calf. "Ow!"

The hedgehog crouched down on the ground holding his foot. He reached over for Amy, but the others had already gone home. "Oh, come on!" He stumbled back up, ready to limp himself home.

But before he could he felt the kit grabbing him by the arm, then realized what he was doing and back off. Sonic fell back down with a grumble.

"Oh…six feet away sorry."

The hedgehog hesitated and then looked back up at him. "No…no it's okay." And the kit stared at him for a second before going back over to him.

"Thank you…Miles." As he was lifted back off the ground again. The kit smiled up at him, grabbing Sonic's hand and leading him back home. It was the first time he called the clone that, even to his face he called him the monster or it. "Well, I know I can't be him. But I can still be your friend, can't I?"

"Right." Sonic smiled.

—————

"And try to find one with a better twist ending this time." She was still setting up the projector as Knuckles brought out the chairs.

"Got it, Ames." And he set off, the kit at his side blabbering to him about something. She'd asked him to watch him so they could focus on setting up for movie night.

Sonic took a deep breath before he stepped over to where they'd been where Tails had choked. It was just six months ago, but he could still feel himself there. He opened the shop door as Miles ran after him inside, giggling.

He got to the move section and ran his hand over the floppy disks.

Comedy Chimp Adventure

Miss Tomatopotamus The Movie

Muckfoot Returns

Tommy Thunder and the Village of Red Stone

Comedy Chimp's All-Stars reunite For One Last Cash Grab 2.

Oh. That last one was Tails' favorite. He picked it up. Guess he knew what they were watching.

Sonic looked around for the kit. The clone shared the same aspiration for sweets as his predecessor. So, it didn't surprise him that he found him in the candy aisle.

Miles was staring at the same candy Tails had been eating when he choked. The hedgehog stood in horror as he saw the kit pick a bag up. He ran over and slapped it out of his hands. "No!" The fox looked surprised at the outburst, then started to tear up, but Sonic didn't care.

He will not watch his brother die again.

—————

The sun was bouncing off the beach into the waves around them. Sticks and Knuckles were at the shore splashing each other. Amy was reading a book. Miles was building a sandcastle. And Sonic was just lying down.

"Whew!" Miles wiped the sweat from his brow as he shook the sand off his fur. "It's hot out here."

"Do you want a popsicle?" If it had been anyone else, they would have told the clone to go in the water. But Sonic didn't encourage anyone to go near the ocean.

The clone looked at him bewildered. "I don't think I've had those before."

"Come on, I'll show you where we keep them." He grabbed Miles' hand and led him into Tails' workshop. As he was taking a popsicle out of the mini freezer, he noticed that the kit found its way to the worktable, picking up a wrench Tails had left behind next to one of his abandoned inventions.

Sonic sped over. "Don't touch that!" He slapped the wrench out of the poor clone's hands. "That isn't yours!"

"It's engraved as 'Miles Prower'!" The kit protested as he looked back down at the tool which had fallen onto the floor. "I'm Miles Prower!" His friends had gotten the name onto the wrench as a Christmas gift last year. The kit was so excited when he got it back, not because of the engraving but because he had thought he lost his baby.

"It belongs to Tails! You aren't Tails!" How dare this fox come in here and try to touch his brother's things!

"Really because people around town keep saying I am! Amy said I am! So, I'm I, or aren't I?! Eggman created me to be your brother, but you won't let me be!" Sonic hadn't heard people do that, at least not around him, but he guessed they knew better than to.

"Because you can't be! You'll never be!" This kid will never be his brother. Why did he ever think it could be any different? Why bother bonding with that thing? Nothing could replace Tails! Nothing!

The clone stood and looked at him in shock with hurt creeping over his face slowly. "At least…at least I'm alive." That does it.

Sonic almost didn't register his body colliding with Miles' as he pulled the monster down to the floor, pinning him down, wrapping his hands around him, squeezing. He felt a kick to the stomach and saw the kit scrambling away but the hedgehog pulled him back, going right back for the throat.

It was so spongy under his fingers. So fragile. So easy to snap.

—————

Light crept into Sonic's eyes as he came into consciousness. He was kneeled over on top of Miles, who was gasping for air.

His heart was pounding. A door swung open. There was yelling and footsteps. Gloved horned paws grasped onto him ripping his hands off the neck of the monster and pinning him to the floor.

Raspy heavy breathing was coming from behind him. He turned his head around as much as he could with Knuckles towering over him.

The clone was being held by Amy, still grasping for breath and starting to cry.

"Shh, it's okay Tails. I got you it's okay."

Sonic stood up; arms still being held back by the echidna. "Don't call him Tails! That thing will never be Tails!"

Sticks looked at him dumbfounded from where she was standing, between Sonic and Tails with Amy defensively.

The kit looked at him for a second from where he was whimpering into Amy's chest. The pink hedgehog held the fox tighter in her arms, terror in her eyes. "Sonic…there…there is something wrong with you."

And she was right. Because as Sonic realized a few seconds later when reality set in, there never was a clone.