What's Been Missing
Tom and Maddie were sitting down on the living room couch, wondering why Sonic had called this family meeting.
The two of them figured it had something to do with his new friends, Knuckles and Tails, as the hedgehog had asked the two of them to give the Wachowski family some space.
Sonic paced back and forth, wearing an exaggerated serious look on his face.
"Ok Sonic… what's up? You called this meeting ten minutes ago and said nothing." Tom said.
"I know I know! Just thinking." Sonic said, waving off Tom's concerns. "… Ok! So! Here's the deal."
He then sped away, and came back with a whiteboard and marker.
He then began drawing, and a second later, a drawing of him Tom and Maddie were on the board.
"Ok, so this is us!" Sonic said, before drawing again.
Now, Tails was there.
"And this, is Tails." He continued. "Tails is a sweet, wholesome little boy who came to this world to warn me about Knuckles. However, now that the fight is done, he has no-where on Earth to live."
He began to draw again, erasing Tails from the board and redrawing him, walking towards a bunch of huts, looking very sad.
"As such, he plans on returning to his village, and we'd only see him whenever he comes to visit." Sonic explained. "A village where he has no friends to speak of, and everyone thinks his extra tail is weird... am I going to fast for you?"
Tom raised an eyebrow.
"You? Being considerate about us not being as fast as you? Wow, this is serious." Tom said with a smirk.
"Of course this is!" Sonic said. "This is for Tails!"
Maddie nodded in agreement.
"Yeah, ok… so what are you suggesting?" She asked.
"Well…" Sonic said, before he began drawing again.
Now, it was Tails, smiling in the window of their house.
"I… was hoping… we could let him stay here?"
Tom and Maddie stayed silent for a moment, and sighed.
"Yeah, should have seen this coming." Tom said. "Look kiddo, as much as we would love for Tails and Knuckles to stay here… I don't think it's possible."
"Huh?! Why not?" Sonic asked. "They'd be so happy here! Plus, we'd all be together to watch over the Master Emerald! You know, like we promised each other!"
"Indeed, we power bumped on it." Knuckles said, suddenly behind Sonic.
Sonic was visibly shocked by the Echidna's sudden appearance, and leapt back in shock.
"WAH! Where'd you come from?!" Sonic asked.
"I heard mention of the Master Emerald, and thought I was needed." Knuckles explained.
"… You heard that?"
Knuckles nodded.
"… From outside?"
"A warrior needs to keep his senses sharp." Knuckles explained. "Plus, I was already inside retrieving two of those water containment fields you use here for me and the fox."
Sonic groaned.
"Water bottles." He explained… again.
"Right."
He then turned to Tom and Maddie.
"Donut Lord and Pretzel Lady. I would be honored to stay here to assist watching over your home and the Master Emerald." Knuckles said. "It is the least I could do for the damage I caused to the house."
He gestured to the giant hole in the wall.
"… I… yeah, we'll talk about that." Maddie said. "Thing is… the concern was more so with Tails."
Sonic looked confused by that.
"Wait, why Tails?" Sonic asked. "You KNOW he'd love to stay!"
"We know… but it's not our, or his call." Tom said. "It's his parents who need to make a decision like that."
Sonic's eyes went wide with realization.
"Oh… that's right." He said. "Geez, he never mentioned them and… I guess I thought he was just an orphan like me and Knuckles."
"Yeah… maybe he can bring them over, and we can talk things out… but I doubt they'd be fine with their son suddenly leaving to live in another world." Tom explained.
Sonic frowned at this, and looked down.
He REALLY wanted Tails to live with them… he liked Knuckles, sure… but he just had this strong connection with the fox. Like… more than a best friend.
It was like they were…
That thought was cut off by Knuckles.
"I do not believe that is a concern." He suddenly said.
Everyone just looked at him confused.
"Uh… what?" Sonic asked. "Why?"
"You're not about to suggest we essentially kidnap him, are you?" Maddie asked.
Knuckles frowned at that, looking offended.
"No, I am not suggesting that." He said. "I truly think that his caretaker's approval is not something that is a concern."
"And why's that?" Tom asked.
Knuckles sat down on the floor.
"Years ago, when my tribe was going off to fight Longclaw in the battle that took their lives, my father told me to stay behind, for my moment had not come yet." Knuckles explained. "I believe he did this in order to spare me of the fate that my tribe met, so that if they all fell, at least I would survive."
He then turned to Sonic.
"I was young back then, about the same age as the fox." He explained. "And yet, his caretakers allowed him to go on a quest to seek you, to help you in your fight against me, despite knowing that I was the most dangerous warrior in the galaxy."
He then turned back to Tom and Maddie.
"Between this and not speaking of them once since coming here, I believe that they are no longer with us. And if they are, they do not care for his wellbeing."
Sonic looked… very shocked by this.
The first reason was obvious. Tails didn't even have a family to go back to? And even if he did… they might not even care about him?
The thought broke his heart… he knew exactly how that felt for so long.
The second reason…
"Huh, never thought you'd be the one to figure something like that out!" Sonic said. "Call me impressed!"
"If that is what you wish Impressed the Hedgehog." Knuckles said.
And Sonic just looked dumbfounded by that.
"Actually, go back to Sonic. Not impressed anymore."
"Very well." Knuckles said.
While the two of them were having their back and forth, Tom and Maddie were considering Knuckles' words.
"Are you sure? Is there some way we can… you know… make sure that you're right?" Tom asked.
"I do not know how we could do that." Knuckles said. "I am sorry I cannot give you the assurance you need."
"… You could just ask me you know." Tails said, suddenly behind Sonic.
"GEEZ!" Sonic shouted, jumping back a bit. "Gotta put a bell on you guys!"
Tails frowned and crossed his arms.
"I don't like you guys talking about me behind my back…" He said. "Reminds me too much of the village…"
Sonic's heart broke at that moment.
"Oh geez, sorry bud." He said, pulling Tails in for a hug. "That's my fault… I should of let you be here for the talk… I'm sorry."
Tails shook his head.
"It's fine… but you're talking about my parents?" He asked, earning a nod. "Why?"
Tom got up and walked over, before kneeling down.
"Well… Sonic here was asking if we could let you live here with us." Tom explained.
Tails' eyes went wide, and a huge grin appeared on his face.
"R-REALLY?!" He asked. "YES! PLEASE YES!"
"Whoa now! Take it easy!" Tom said. "We were just concerned about what your parents would say about it! We kinda would need their approval for it."
"… Oh… that's why." Tails said. "Uh… it's really that important?"
Tom nodded.
"Yeah, we'd probably get accused of kidnapping otherwise." Tom explained.
Tails just sighed, before saying something very quietly.
"Uh… couldn't catch that bud." Sonic said.
"… I never knew them." Tails repeated. "I'm… pretty sure they abandoned me…"
At that moment, the Wachowski family's hearts all broke.
"Oh bud." Sonic said. "I'm so sorry…"
"Don't be." Tails said. "I never needed them… and you can't miss something you never had, right?"
Maddie wanted to cry at that moment, cry for this poor, precious child.
While it was true, he seemed to be doing well enough on his own, she knew that he was wrong.
Even if he never knew them… there was no way he didn't long to be a part of a family.
She turned to Tom, who nodded, showing he had the same thought.
"Well, you are more than welcome to join our family." Maddie said.
Tails smiled widely, before leaping over and hugging the woman.
"Thank you…" He said. "Oh! I better head back to my hut! Get my things!"
He jumped off the couch and pulled out a ring.
"Sonic, why don't you go with him?" Tom asked. "Help him out."
Sonic smiled at that.
"You got it dad!" He said, before following Tails.
"I shall go as well, my strength may be needed." Knuckles said.
"Actually Red, we need your help here." Tom said, earning the Echidna's attention. "We're thinking the three of you are probably going to share a room, so we're gonna need to move some stuff around up there, think you can help with that?"
Knuckles held his fist up to his chest.
"It would be my honor." He said.
"Ok, then follow me." Tom said as he got up from the couch and began leading Knuckles.
Meanwhile, outside, Tails just tossed one of his rings to create a portal to a wooded area.
The fox then excitedly jumped through, but Sonic lingered a bit.
"… You alright?" Tails asked.
"Y-yeah… just realized something." Sonic said, stepping up to the ring. "We came from the same world… which means that this'll be my first time back since…"
Tails frowned at that.
"Since you lost Longclaw." He finished for Sonic.
"Yeah…"
Tails jumped back through the portal and hugged the hedgehog.
"I'm sorry… you don't have to come if you don't want to." He said.
Sonic shook his head.
"Nah, it's fine… just reminiscing a bit is all." He said. "Now come on! The sooner we get your things, the sooner we can show you just what you've been missing out on this whole time!"
Tails tilted his head in confusion.
"What I've been missing out on?" He asked.
Sonic smiled.
"A family."
Sonic and Tails were zipping through the trees, racing towards the hill where Tails said that his hut was.
Sonic had asked why Tails hadn't just warped them right in front of the house, and apparently, the genius fox had developed anti warping technology, and a ring doesn't work within two miles of his home.
This was something Tails was more than happy to take from his old home, and install into his new one, for security reasons.
'I can't believe how much of a genius this kid is…' Sonic thought. 'But… why make something like that…?'
He decided that his answer to that question could wait, as he was approaching the hut.
"Took you long enough!" Tails said, sitting on the roof. "Thought you were supposed to be the fastest thing alive!"
"I am!" Sonic said, puffing out his chest. "You just have the advantage of being able to fly… plus you knew where to go when I didn't."
Tails laughed a bit at that.
"Yeah, I guess that's true." Tails said.
He then went over to an antenna on the roof, and flipped a switch.
"Ok, so we should be just fine to use rings here now." He said, hopping down from the roof. "I'll take this apart later, let's just grab my stuff and get going."
Sonic sensed a bit of urgency in the fox's voice.
"Hold up, where's the rush?" Sonic asked. "I mean, we have all day don't we?"
Tails looked nervous at that.
"I mean… kinda… I just…" He then grabbed one of his tails. "Don't want the villagers to notice I'm back…"
Ah, that explained it.
Those jerks in the nearby village who thought his namesakes were weird. Made sense he didn't want them to notice he was back.
"Alright, then let's get to work." Sonic said with a reassuring smile.
Tails nodded, and the two went inside.
It was… well, cozy, yet small.
All there really was room for was a workbench, a computer, and a bed.
"So… what are we grabbing exactly?" Sonic asked.
"My tools, some inventions, and my computer." Tails said, rummaging through his workbench. "Not much."
Sonic nodded.
"Ok, you get things ready to move, and I'll help you take it home." Sonic said.
"Right!"
Tails got to work, and began piling everything onto the bed.
Before long, he was done.
"Ok… now let's get out of here before…"
*snap*
Tails' ears perked up at the noise.
"Oh no…"
Looking out the window, he saw a large crowd approaching the hut, with pitchforks and torches.
Sonic walked over and took a look.
"… I take it those are the villagers you didn't want to deal with?" He asked.
Tails nodded.
"I'll… take care of this." He said. "I think they'll be happy to know that I'm leaving forever."
Sonic frowned at that… Did these jerks really hate Tails that much?!
Tails walked over to the door, and headed outside.
Sonic watched from the window, trying to stay hidden.
"Hello mayor… what can I help you guys with today?" Tails asked, facing down the mob.
"YOU!" The man leading the mob shouted. "Where did you disappear to?!"
Tails shrugged.
"There was someone that needed my help, so I left to go help them." Tails explained. "I also found a new home while I was at it, far away from here, so you just gotta let me take my stuff, and you won't have to deal with me anymore."
"Deal with him?" Sonic asked himself.
The mayor just looked angry at this.
"YOUR STUFF?! You mean the possessions you stole from the children in my village!" The mayor shouted.
"No, my stuff. That I put together from what I found in caves." Tails said with a frown. "I keep telling you those kids are lying…"
The mayor just got more angry.
"I'd rather believe their words than yours demon!"
"Demon?!" Sonic asked.
This went FAR beyond thinking his tails were weird!
"And also…" The mayor said, pointing his pitchfork at Tails. "If you think that we're just going to let you leave and curse another village, you have another thing coming!"
Tails looked visibly surprised by this, and began backing away as the villagers were approaching.
"Ok, no." Sonic said, before speeding out of the hut. "What do you jerks think you're doing?!"
The mayor seemed surprised by his sudden appearance.
"Who is this now?!" He asked. "Another demon come to plague our village?!"
"The name's Sonic." Sonic said. "Now, what were you planning on doing with my little buddy here?"
Tails got worried at this.
"Sonic, I said I could handle this…" Tails tried to reason.
"Sorry bud… but I can't just stand aside and watch them try to hurt you." Sonic said with a reassuring smile, before turning back to the mayor. "Now, explain."
The mayor frowned.
"I don't know if you've realized this, but that fox there is a plague!" He shouted. "He's cursed our village! And he'll curse you too!"
Sonic frowned at that.
"Oh yeah? Tell me, what has this so-called curse done exactly?" He asked.
"Well… nothing yet." The mayor said. "But our old fortune teller predicted that he will bring a great catastrophe to our village! And that it'll be filled with fire and explosions!"
That REALLY ticked Sonic off.
"So some fortune tells you that the kid is cursed, and that's grounds to run him out of town and treat him like some kind of monster?!" He asked. "He's just a kid!"
"A kid that'll destroy us all!" The mayor shouted. "Now, get out of our way, or we will make you."
The crowd cheered in agreement, and began charging.
A second later, all their weapons were on the ground, the torches were put out, and they were all running into each other.
Sonic had used his super speed to do all of this in that second.
"Wha- what did you do?!" The mayor asked.
"Protect my brother." Sonic said. "Now leave, or else you'll learn why I was once called the blue devil."
That seemed to do the trick, as the crowd began running away, screaming.
Sonic turned to Tails and smiled.
"You alright bud?" Sonic asked.
Tails was shaking, badly.
The reality of what just happened had just sunk in…
"They… were going to kill me…" He breathed out. "Oh my gosh… they were going to KILL ME!"
He was breathing heavily now.
"Hey, hey look at me." Sonic said, kneeling down. "You're fine… we're gonna take your stuff and never come back here, alright?"
Tails nodded, tears forming.
Sonic went inside, grabbed as much stuff as he could carry, and came out.
"You throw the ring, I'll carry everything." Sonic said.
Tails nodded, and threw the ring, opening a warp back to the Wachowski back yard.
The two then stepped through.
"Oh, look who's ba-" Maddie started when she saw the two of them.
Tails' current state cut off that thought.
"Oh my gosh, what happened?!" Maddie asked, rushing over.
"A lot… let me put this stuff down, and let's let Tails get comfortable." Sonic said, walking inside.
Maddie nodded, and lifted Tails up and began hugging him.
"It's okay now… you're safe…" She said softly.
Tails responded by hugging back, sobbing quietly into her arms.
And at that moment, Maddie wanted to destroy whoever put this child in this state.
Before long, everyone was back in the living room.
Sonic had explained what had happened, and everyone was seething at the information.
Knuckles turned around, and was set to leave.
"Where are you going?" Sonic asked.
"To restore the fox's honor." Knuckles explained. "Those villagers shall not get away with this transgression."
Sonic got in his way.
"Out of the way hedgehog."
"Yeah, no." Sonic said. "Calm down… right now we gotta be here for Tails, not go and pick a fight... yet."
Knuckles contemplated this, before looking at Tails.
"… Very well." Knuckles said. "But if he says that he wishes for vengeance, then I shall be providing it."
Sonic nodded, before going and sitting back down next to Tails.
"How you feeling bud?" Sonic asked.
"… Better." Tails said sadly. "Thanks… for saying what you did."
Sonic smiled, before ruffling up his fur.
"No problem little guy! Anything for you!" He said happily.
"… Did you mean it?" Tails asked.
"Huh? Oh the blue devil thing? Yeah, I was ready to open a can of whoop a-"
"I mean… that I was your brother."
Sonic smiled at that.
"Of course bro." Sonic said.
Tails smiled widely at that and tackled Sonic into a hug.
"Whoa!" Sonic said, surprised by the sudden hug.
Tails then separated and looked shy.
"I don't know why… but it made me really happy to hear you call me that…" Tails said.
Sonic smiled sadly at that.
"Well… that's probably because you finally have a family bud." Sonic said. "I felt the same way when Tom and Maddie took me in."
"… Really?"
Sonic nodded.
"You're one of us now kiddo." Tom said.
"And we won't let those jerks hurt you ever again." Maddie added, before smooshing his cheeks. "Seriously, who could want to hurt such a cute, fluffy face!"
Tails began laughing.
"Maddie! Stop it!" He said while laughing.
Sonic smirked, and joined in, tickling him at the sides.
"No can do bud! This is a tradition for when someone in the family is feeling super sad!" Sonic said.
"No it isn't!" Tails shouted between laughs.
"It is now! Exclusively for you!" Sonic replied.
Tails continued laughing, before Tom joined in, hugging his family…
And then even Ozzie joined in, and began licking Tails' face.
"Ewww! Gross!" Tails shouted.
Knuckles watched this, and decided that since he too was now a resident of the household, he would join in on the hugging, and spread his arms out and began to approach.
"Knuckles if you are going to hug us I am gonna have to beg you to be gentle… we REALLY don't need broken spines right now!" Sonic pleaded.
Knuckles stopped in his tracks.
"… I shall restrain myself then." He said, before going over and, gently, joined in the hug.
"See, he can learn!" Sonic said happily.
Tails just continued laughing.
This was the first time in his life that he felt real, familial love.
"So… this is what I've been missing out on…" Tails said. "… Yeah… I think I get it."
"Glad to see your eyes have been opened to the truth bud." Sonic said. "And really happy that you don't gotta deal with those jerks anymore… what a town of whack jobs!"
Tails laughed at that.
"Oh, they weren't ALL bad!" Tails said. "That fortune teller they mentioned was actually really nice to me!"
That surprised Sonic.
"Wait really?" Sonic asked. "But…"
"She didn't know that the fortune she was reading was about someone my age when she did it." Tails explained. "And when she found out, she felt really bad... she would often come by my hut with food that she made, just to make sure I was eating."
He then got sad.
"But… she left about a year before we met…"
"… Where'd she go?" Sonic asked.
"… She said she read her own fortune, to find out how she'd meet the love of her life." Tails explained. "It said that one day, if she set out into the world, she'd meet him on her travels."
He then looked sad.
"I… wonder if she ever found him."
Sonic then smiled.
"Well, if she's as nice as you said, then I have no doubt that she would… at least, one day." Sonic said. "Uh… what was her name?"
"… Amy, Amy Rose." Tails answered. "Funnily enough, she was a hedgehog, just like you."
Well, that was certainly surprising.
Tom then got a sly look on his face.
"Maybe this 'love of her life' is you Sonic!" Tom said teasingly.
"Ah, no." Sonic said flatly. "Sorry, single life for me! Besides, I never met the girl."
Tom rolled his eyes.
"Sure, whatever you say." He said.
"Back to the topic at hand though… I was thinking about what those jerks said. About the village being engulfed in fire and explosions…" Sonic said before smirking and turning to Tom. "Weren't you saying that the police station confiscated a whole bunch of fireworks recently?"
Tom took a second to contemplate Sonic's words, before smirking.
Sonic was walking up to the group on the top of the hill, and unfolded his chair like he saw in that one gif on the internet.
He then set it down next to Tails and sat down.
"… Did you really have to try five times to get that right?" Tails asked from his well cushioned chair.
"Hey, it's harder than it looks!" Sonic said defensively. "Now then, you ready for some much needed payback?"
Tails just looked worried.
"Are… you SURE we should be doing this?" Tails asked. "What if someone gets hurt?"
"Destiny already decided that it's gonna happen… plus, they brought this onto themselves." Sonic explained. "Also, I don't trust Knuckles to not just sneak out into the night and break all their spines if we don't do this."
"… Alright…" Tails said.
Sonic nodded, before turning to Tom and Knuckles.
"Donut Lord, Knuckles, you know what to do!"
Tom nodded, before lighting the fuse to the giant ball of fireworks that Knuckles was carrying, before the Echidna chucked it into the distance, causing the giant ball to land in the center of town.
They saw some townsfolk approach it, wondering just what it could be, before suddenly the ball exploded, creating a colorful display of fireworks to engulf the entire village.
Meanwhile, the group on the hill were watching, all wearing sunglasses.
"YEAH! TAKE THAT YOU JERKS!" Sonic shouted.
"Fox's honor… restored." Knuckles added.
Tails watched this with a… contemplative look on his face.
At first, he kinda felt bad for all of them… but then, when he remembered everything they did to him, and how much his family wanted to do this for him…
His family… that had a nice ring to it.
So… he began smiling, and stood up in his seat.
"THAT'S FOR ALL THE YEARS OF TORMENT YOU JERKS!" He shouted.
"YEAH!" Sonic shouted, before lifting Tails up and placing him on his shoulders.
The two then began cheering and taunting the village together.
Tom and Maddie watched this and laughed.
Yeah, those two really were brothers now.
The End
Hey all! Bet you weren't expecting something from me so soon huh? Yeah, I wanted to write something short and fun, and with the recent movie trailer release, I wanted to try my hand at something from the movie-verse. So, a nice, fluffy, slightly angsty, family story about how Sonic and Tails really became brothers in this universe, with a little bit of a tease for a potential future story featuring Amy… which I currently don't really have plans for, but hey, maybe in the future.
Not much else to say, follow me on twitter 77Xfire for updates on future stories, and I'll see you soon!
