Chapter Text
“T-tails...is that really you?”
The young bunny dropped her pistol as a stream of tears rolled down her face. The orange kitsune approached Cream slowly as he opened his arms.
“Yes, Cream…it’s really me.” Standing within inches of the rabbit, the young fox wrapped his arms around her back and let her cry into his furry chest. “It’ll be okay, we’re here now…”
Chuck watched in silence as Tails consoled his Mobian companion. The small, blue creature on her head, with tears forming in their eyes as well, crawled over to Tails’ head and hugged it tightly.
The three continued hugging in silence, save for the soft whimpers of the bunny and the chao. It was only the sound of rapidly approaching footsteps that brought the party back to their senses.
“Oh no, they’re coming back!” Cream exclaimed. “We need to hide.”
“No, it’s too late for that,” Tails replied as he gently pulled himself away from her and balled his hands into fists, a single drop of sweat running down the side of his face. “We’ll need to fight them off.”
“Not quite.”
Tails and Cheese turned to the elder human, who picked up the pistol and put it in his coat pocket before approaching the young bunny and dropping to a single knee. “No time for long introductions, but my name is Chuck, and I’m a friend of Tails.”
“N-nice to meet you, mister,” Cream replied slowly as she wiped the tears from her eyes. Cheese fluttered back to her head.
“Now then,” Chuck picked himself up, brushed off his jacket, and stood between the two Mobians. “Take my hands and follow my lead.” Confused, Tails and Cream complied, clasping the older human’s hands with their own as they marched toward the group of oncoming soldiers. “You didn’t kill any of the guards, right, Cream?”
“Oh, no, no, no, never!” she exclaimed as she raised her free hand to her face. “I knocked one out, though.”
“Good,” Chuck replied with a smile as they got closer to the soldiers. “That’ll make things easier.”
“Halt!” Yelled the armed man at the front of the pack. “We have strict orders to take in the aliens!”
“Now, now,” Chuck replied nonchalantly, “it looks like your orders are outdated. The aliens are coming with me for testing.”
“Now if you excuse us,” Chuck continued as he stepped through the dumbstruck soldiers who formed a path for him, “science awaits! If you impede my progress, I’ll be sure to write a full report to your commanding officer.” The elder human’s intimidating warning was enough to make them shudder, and they dispersed as soon as the human and the aliens were on the other side.
“It’s just up the stairs, Mr. Chuck.” Cream pointed to the nearby staircase.
“Please,” he replied as he gave the young bunny a warm smile, “Mr. Chuck was my father’s name. Just call me Chuck.”
“Okay!” she replied cheerfully.
“Chao, chao!”
“Is…Sonic okay?” Tails asked. His voice was noticeably somber, almost cracking as he dreaded what Cream had to say. After all, if Sonic wasn’t with her, then where was he?
“Sonic?” Suppressed memories of his gunshot wound came rushing back to her. Tears started forming in her eyes once more as she slowly shook her head.
“What happened, Cream?” Tails let go of Chuck’s hand and put his palms on her shoulders. “Please, answer me!” The young bunny kept her head down as a steady stream of tears ran down her face. “S-Sonic…was…sh—”
She was interrupted by the sound of screaming coming from down the hallway.
“Sonic?!” Tails exclaimed as he twisted around and ran forward. “I’m coming, Sonic!”
“Wait, hold up!” Chuck lunged for him, but he barely missed the orange kitsune’s namesakes, instead falling over as his young companion got a head start.
“Are you okay, Chuck?” Cream asked as she put her hand on his arm.
“Yes, I’m fine.” The scientist pulled himself up. “C’mon, Cream, we’ve gotta hurry!”
“Right!” Cream replied as she balled her fists, her muzzle still wet from the tears.
“Chao, chao!” With piercing looks of determination, they followed Tails to the medical wing to find him frozen at the entrance of one of the labs, his mouth agape and his face contorted in terror.
“Tails, what’s wrong?” Chuck asked. The elder human turned to face the room, understanding exactly what startled his Mobian friend. Inside were two scientists, a woman tending to the injured blue hedgehog and the other smiling maniacally in the corner, a pistol trained on her.
“What the hell is going on here?!” Chuck cried as he stepped into the lab, followed closely behind by Tails and Cream.
“And who the hell are you?” Liam replied, his gun still pointed at Mandy.
“Sonic!” Tails ran to his older brother, who was lying motionless on the medical table, blood stains across his lower belly and stitches covering a fresh wound. “Speak to me, Sonic!” Tears formed in the fox’s eyes as he pulled Sonic’s head up gently with the palm of his hand, but the blue hedgehog wouldn’t respond.
“Unfortunately for you,” Liam declared with an evil grin, “that little rodent won’t wake up for quite some time. He’s lost so much blood, I’m not sure if he’ll be alive by the time we get to the dissection.”
“The what!?” Tails cried as he approached the evil scientist, his fists tightening. “What do you plan on doing to my brother?”
“Oh, your brother, ehhh?” Liam snickered as he trained the pistol on the approaching fox. “Could’ve fooled me.”
Anger started to boil inside the young fox, the image of Sonic’s lifeless body permeating his mind as he focused all his anger on the heartless man before him.
“Do you even know what I’m holding?” Liam asked as he turned the safety off. “I could kill you in a split second with this pistol. If you come any closer, your fate will be far worse than your brother’s.”
“Oh, I don’t think so,” Tails replied with a grin.
“Huh?!” Liam yelled as the orange kitsune whipped his namesake forward and swatted his pistol away. “What is this?” He watched in horror as the seemingly harmless fox returned his confused glare with one of wicked malice, dark shadows growing below his eyes.
“You…hurt…Sonic…so you’re…gonna pay.”
Liam stepped back, now flush with the wall, as the young fox entered spherical form and spun in place, his speed increasing exponentially.
“W-what is he?” Mandy asked out loud, her hand to her mouth in shock. Chuck was equally surprised, having never seen Tails in complete and utter rage.
“T-Tails…” Cream slowly approached the glowing orange sphere, extending her arm out.
“Don’t!” Mandy grabbed her from behind, pulling her back just in time to avoid an orange streak of static electricity. “You could get hurt.” Cream put her arm down and watched in silence, speechless and unable to stop Tails from hurting this madman, even if he deserved it.
“You…will…PAY!!!” Tails yelled as he unleashed his spindash, colliding with Liam and hurling the two through the wall. The evil human’s head was spinning as he registered the sight of the angry fox on top of him, his hands balled into fists. “I’ll make sure you regret everything you’ve done to Sonic!”
Tails pulled back his arm, preparing for a devastating blow to Liam’s face.
“That’s enough!” The sound of Cream’s voice snapped Tails out of his angry rampage. He loosened his fist and stared at the palm of his hand before returning his gaze to the scientist below; his glasses were bent, and he appeared dazed and confused. Finally, the orange kitsune turned around to face Cream, who looked at him with a glare so sharp it could cut steel, all while tears were running down her muzzle. “This isn’t you, Tails! We got Sonic, so now we can leave.”
“Y-yes…” Tails slowly pulled himself off the human, stepping around the young bunny and crawling through the hole in the wall he created. He approached his older brother, who was still unconscious on the lab table with labored breathing, and gently placed his hand on his chest.
“How’s he doing?” Tails asked Mandy.
“H-he’s in stable condition,” she replied, “but Liam only let me do the bare minimum. I patched him up, but he passed out from the pain. I…wasn’t allowed to administer any painkillers or antibiotics. He needs some real medical attention soon.”
“Sonic…” Tails stared at his big bro, tears rolling down his face. “Chuck, will a hospital admit him?” He didn’t take his eyes off Sonic.
Chuck raised his fingers to his chin in thought. “I have a buddy at the Station Square hospital who wouldn’t think twice about helping Sonic, but that’s a long flight.”
“Then we’ll have to do as much as we can here, first,” Tails replied, grabbing an antibiotic from the nearby table. “I’m sorry, Sonic, but this is gonna sting.” Taking a dry gulp, the young fox pierced the skin around the stitched wound and injected the medicine.
Sonic’s eyes shot open as he screamed. Chuck held his legs down as Mandy restrained his arms, giving Tails the time and space to finish administering the drug. After what felt like hours, he removed the needle from his brother’s pale, bloodstained belly and applied a bandage. It was also by this time that Sonic calmed down, his wit returning to him as he processed the image of his younger brother tending to his wound.
“T-Tails…is that…you?”
“Yes, Sonic…” The orange kitsune replied, squeezing Sonic’s hand as he tried to suppress the tears. “I’m here, Sonic. Everything’s gonna be okay.”
“Hey, buddy…” The blue hedgehog slowly pulled himself up, groaning from the pain.
“You shouldn’t move yet!” Mandy ordered. “You need more time to heal first.”
“I’m…fine…” Sonic’s gaze returned to Tails’ eyes. “My…little brother…needs me…” The blue hedgehog’s bloodstained, gloved hand slowly approached the kitsune’s muzzle, his finger gently flicking away a tear. “Don’t cry…little…buddy…”
“Sonic…” Tails lost it, tears flowing from his eyes as he hugged his big brother, who was now sitting completely upright on the table. “I missed you, Sonic! I missed you so much.”
“I know…Tails…” Sonic gently wrapped his arms around his weeping brother and patted him on the back. “I…missed you…too…” The blue hedgehog coughed into Tails’ furry chest.
“Are you alright?” Tails gently backed away and gave him a concerned look.
“Heh…never better…” Sonic allowed himself to slide from the table, his feet landing on the tiled floor. His legs started to wobble, however, and he pinwheeled his arms to keep himself upright.
“I got you, Sonic!” Tails grabbed hold of him before he could fall, holding him like a newborn against his chest. “You need to rest while we get you some proper medical care.”
“T-Tails…” Sonic struggled to keep his eyes open. “S-savin’ me again, huh? I’m…p-proud of ya…back at Eggman’s base…you t-turned Super…didn’t you?”
“Yes, Sonic…I did.” Tails nodded, tears freely falling from his face and landing on the blue hedgehog’s torso.
“And you…found me n’ Cream…way out here…”
“Not without the help of some new friends.” Tails winked at Chuck.
“Oh, nah, it was nothing, really…” Chuck replied as he rubbed the back of his head.
“And…” Sonic concluded. “You…took out that…bastard Liam for me…” The blue hedgehog coughed once more. “I owe ya my life.”
“You’ve rescued me and kept me safe countless times, Sonic,” Tails replied. “You took me in, made me your sidekick, rescued me from Eggman, and so much more…” Memories of his stay at the hospital after fighting Robotnik in Seaside City, and the emotional breakdown he suffered at the Master Emerald shrine while trying to fix his Chaos Emerald detector, filled his mind. “It’s going to take a lot more than this to repay you.”
“H-hey…” Sonic nodded his head slowly, a smirk covering his face as he brought his arm up, forming a weak thumbs up. “That’s…what bros…are for, ri-riigh…” The blue hedgehog closed his eyes and dropped his arm, his body now limp against Tails’ chest.
“Sonic!” Tails peered down at his unconscious brother in shock.
“He’s exhausted, Tails,” Chuck noted as he placed a hand on his shoulder. “We need to leave asap.”
“Then let’s go!” Tails replied, determination filling him once more.
The motley crew of humans and Mobians set out, traveling carefully down the stairs and returning to the hangar where the Tornado was safely parked, undisturbed. There was but a single guard stationed nearby, who approached the group before saluting the elder scientist.
“Ahh, the one from earlier!” Chuck exclaimed. “Nice to see your manners have improved.”
“Are you leaving so soon Professor Chuck?” he asked, eyeing the others accompanying him.
“Yes, we need to get these aliens medical care that simply can’t be provided at this facility.” Chuck shrugged his arms. “You’d think with all the taxpayer dollars streaming into here they’d at least have decent equipment.”
“Anyway,” Chuck concluded as he patted the guard on the shoulder, “just let your superiors know that Professor Chuck has taken the aliens for safekeeping and further study and that they’ll be secured with me. Also…” He pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket and scribbled a note down, handing it to the guard. “Deliver this message to your commanding officer. We’ll be relieving this Liam fellow of his duties.”
“Sir, yes sir!” He replied with another salute before returning to his post.
“Unfortunately, given the limited space in the plane,” Chuck opined as he turned his attention to Mandy, “we’re gonna need to leave you behind. Is that okay?”
“Yes, that’s fine,” she replied. “I’ll play some damage control and file a report with my superiors. Liam’s certainly going to get demoted for this, if not fired and jailed.”
“If my name still has the sway it had back in the day,” Chuck replied with a grin, “that’s an almost guaranteed outcome.” He turned to Tails, who was still clutching the unconscious hedgehog against his now bloodstained fur. “Ready to take flight?”
“Yes.” Tails nodded as he began spinning his rotary namesakes, floating above his aircraft before gently landing in the pilot’s chair. He was followed by Chuck, who climbed up the wing and into the back seat with little issue, Cream, who used her flappy ears to flutter up to the passenger area, and Cheese, who maintained their seat on Cream’s head.
“You guys have enough room back there?” Tails asked as he positioned Sonic awkwardly across his legs. There was just enough width in the cockpit for Sonic’s body to fit.
“Yep!” Cream replied, happily sitting in Chuck’s lap.
“Chao, chao!”
“Alright, time for takeoff.” Starting the ignition sequence, the orange kitsune drove his biplane down the tarmac and took flight. As he established proper altitude, Chuck reached out to his connection at the hospital close to home. After briefing them on Sonic’s general condition, and the time it would take to arrive at the medical facility, the elder human ended the call.
“If Sonic can handle the long trip, I have a bed booked for him. I explained the whole thing, so there shouldn’t be any surprises.”
“Good,” Tails replied as he peered down at his older brother and ran his gloved hand through his quills. “Sonic…We’ll get you fixed up.”
“I promise.”
“Here, just try it,” Knuckles pleaded, a chili dog in either hand.
“No way!” Amy retorted, shaking her head with her arms folded. “That looks way too greasy for me, and we don’t even know if it’s safe for us to eat.”
“…it’s a chili dog,” Knuckles replied unamused. “You know, Sonic’s favorite food?”
“Couldn’t you get some vegetables over at the farmer’s market over there?” Amy pointed across the park to a long row of fresh vegetable vendors.
“Oh…” Knuckles observed the line of humans waiting to purchase bundles of carrots, corn, potatoes, kale, and other produce. “I didn’t consider that.”
“What do you mean ‘I didn’t consider that’?!” Amy yelled. “Can you at least give me the leftover money you found so I can go buy an apple or something?”
“Well, the thing is…” Knuckles stammered as he scratched the back of his head with a chuckle. “I sorta…spent it all.”
“You what!?” Amy was beyond furious. “How did you spend all our money on two chili dogs?!”
“Hey, would you calm down, Amy!?” Knuckles shouted. “I searched for hours and came up with little, okay?”
Amy scoffed. “So much for being an ‘expert treasure hunter’.” She formed air quotes with her gloved fingers for emphasis.
“I’ll have you know,” Knuckles veins started to bulge from his forehead, “that I am an expert in my craft! Besides, I’d love to see you scrounging in the dirt and behind trash cans for money.” The mere thought of having to crawl on the ground in search for misplaced coins made the pink hedgehog withdraw her arguments, instead sighing as she snagged the uneaten chili dog from Knuckles’ other hand and took a large bite.
“If only Sonic could see you now!” Knuckles laughed as she gave him a grimacing look, although she secretly thought to herself that a chili dog date may be the best way to get his boyfriend’s attention.
Finishing off the rest of their meal, the two left the park and made their way further downtown.
“Isn’t it weird how nobody found our appearance strange at all?” Amy asked as she walked alongside the red echidna.
“I thought the same thing…” Knuckles raised his palm to his chin in thought. “I wonder if it has anything to do with that.” He pointed to the hotel across the street with a bunch of humans dressed up in animal-like outfits loitering around. “Anime Convention” was plastered on the side of the building.
“It doesn’t matter,” Amy replied as she walked past him. “All that matters is that we find Sonic, Tails, Cream, and everyone else so we can figure out how to get home.”
“It may not be that simple,” Knuckles lifted his hands behind his head as he walked, “Chaos Control brought us here, so for us to return home, we’d need to find the Chaos Emeralds again, assuming they came with us to this planet. We’d also need to cause the same type of reaction.” Knuckles recalled the explosion caused by Dr. Eggman’s energy amplifier as he brought a hand to his chin in thought. “Tails could come up with something…”
“I’m sure when we find Sonic, everything will work itself out,” Amy replied with a cheery smile, one that the red echidna returned. Deep inside, though, Knuckles was already feeling homesick, not just because he missed his floating island, but because the Master Emerald was left unguarded. He didn’t let his anxiety show, though, nodding as Amy described, in precise detail, where she and Sonic would spend their upcoming date that, as she emphasized more than once, he promised her.
“Hey, wait,” Knuckles stopped and pointed at the small, red plane flying overhead.
“Is that what I think it is?” Amy asked, sparkles appearing in her eyes at the thought of being reunited with the blue hedgehog once more.
“Only one way to find out…” Knuckles peered around at the tall buildings surrounding him.
I could use my fists to climb up any of these buildings, but I don’t want to leave an imprint. How about…
“Aha!” Knuckles pointed to the auxiliary stairs in the alley between two buildings. He ran across the street, dodging some cars before making his way to the stairs.
“Hey, wait up!” Amy cried as she looked both ways before running after him. Knuckles was generally faster than the pink hedgehog, but her resolve to see Sonic again forced her to keep up with the red echidna, and she was only seconds behind him by the time he reached the top.
“Yep, it’s the Tornado alright,” Knuckles said as he shielded his eyes from the sun like a visor. “I can’t get a good view of who’s in there, but it looks like he has some passengers.” He was about to jump off the building to glide to the next one when Amy tugged at his arm.
“What about me? You know I can’t fly.”
“Hmmmm…” Knuckles thought to himself before the obvious solution came to him, one that made him shudder.
“Okay, you can hitch a ride…” The red echidna squatted down and bent his knees.
“Oh, I don’t know…” Amy twiddled her fingers as she blushed, turning away in embarrassment.
“We don’t have time to argue!” Knuckles’ muzzle was just as flush. “Either you’re coming with me or you’re staying behind.”
“Okay, fine!” The pink hedgehog wrapped herself around his back, her hands clasped together across his chest. “I’m ready to go!” With a simple nod, Knuckles leapt off the building and glided to the neighboring apartment complex. Even with the additional weight of a passenger, he still managed to keep a steady flight, parkouring between buildings with relative ease as he trailed Tails and his biplane.
“Just you wait, Sonic,” Amy declared as she tightened her grip around Knuckles, “We’ll be back together again in no time.”
“Tails…”
Helen sat at her desk, a slice of cheese pizza resting in one hand as she stared at the ceiling in thought. “It’s getting late…I hope you and grandpa didn’t get into any trouble.” Just as the greasy cheese started dripping from her slice, she expertly lifted it above her mouth and took a bite before setting it back in the box to her right. Sipping her can of Dr. Pepper, she wiped the suds from her lips before returning to her homework.
“I’m thankful Danny brought me my schoolwork today. He’s a good friend.” Spinning a pencil around her fingers, she analyzed the list of math problems in her textbook. “Let’s see…we have to do one through 30, 35, and…42. Oh boy, this is going to be a long night.” With a sigh, the young girl rolled the half-eaten pizza slice and ate it like a burrito, chewing as she balanced the greasy food in one hand and wrote with the other.
Completing a few problems, she looked at her clock. “10 PM? Man, where’d the day go? Sure wish Tails and grandpa would get back…” Taking another sip of her soda, she erased the mistake she made on the last problem before starting again, interrupted by the sound of the front door opening.
“Tails? Grandpa?” The young girl rolled out of her room and toward the entryway to find her father.
“Hey, Helen!” He greeted, giving her a wave before removing his shoes.
“Oh…hey, Daddy,” she replied, sounding disappointed.
“Is something wrong?” he asked as he hung up his jacket.
“Oh, it’s nothing…” She shook her head. “So how was work today?”
“It was fine,” he replied as he dragged himself to the sofa and collapsed, stretching his legs out on the furniture. “Didn’t feel well today?”
“I feel fine!” Helen replied with a smile.
“So you don’t feel sick or anything? You acted kinda strange on the phone earlier, and then you missed your b—”
“I said I’m fine, Daddy, gosh…” she replied with humorous exaggeration.
“All right, sweetie,” Doug said with a smile before taking a whiff of the air. “Hey, do I smell pizza?”
“Oh yeah!” Helen exclaimed. “Come to my room, I have a whole two slices left.”
“You ate almost an entire pizza, all by yourself?”
“Well yeah, I was hungry…” She rubbed her belly in a circular motion.
“You certainly have my appetite, that’s for sure!” The two laughed merrily as the father rolled the daughter to her bedroom and snagged one of the remaining, lukewarm slices.
“So what did you see in the backyard anyway?” Doug asked with a mouth full of food.
“What?” She froze as she remembered why she called her father during his shift.
Should I tell him? About Tails? And the plane? Is now the right time?
“…you okay, sweetie?” Doug titled his head in concern.
“Oh, yeah, I’m fine,” Helen replied with a smile, “just kinda zoned out there a bit.” She yawned. “I need to finish up my homework before bed. Do you know when mom’s getting home tonight?” The clever girl successfully dodged the question.
“Should be soon,” Doug guessed as he grabbed the final slice, “although with her unpredictable schedule, who knows?”
“That’s too bad…” Helen turned away and peered down at her incomplete homework assignment.
“Cheer up, sweetie.” He patted her daughter on the shoulder. “Remember we’re going on that picnic this weekend?”
“Oh yeah!” she replied, her demeanor changing on a dime. “You mean the island with all the pretty flowers?”
“Yep! Should be a nostalgic adventure,” Doug declared, “and my buddy from work’s letting me borrow his boat, so we don’t even have to rent one!”
“That’s great!” She exclaimed, balling her fists in excitement. “I can’t wait to go!”
“Me too!” Doug replied as he began making his way to the door. “I’m gonna turn in for the night. Try not to stay up too late!”
“I’ll try, Daddy.” Helen nodded her head as she waved her father out.
Wow, I can’t believe we’re really going back. It’s been way too long…
She sat back in her wheelchair, spinning a pencil between her fingers as she recalled the sparkling blue water, the bright green grass, and the never-ending sea of beautiful lilies. What she really missed most, though, was the true family time she had with her mom and dad back in the day.
It was with thoughts of her family that she dozed off in her wheelchair, forgetting about Tails and her grandpa, a smile on her face.
I hope you enjoyed the latest chapter! I occasionally post sneak peaks of my stories on the Sonic fanfic Discord server I manage, so if you’re interested in joining, simply click here. :P
Stayed tuned for chapter 7, due out in a few weeks!