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Eternal Angel: Chapter 10

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Tails awoke the next morning feeling surprisingly refreshed. Everything seemed clearer after a good night's sleep that they had the previous day. Although the words of Shadow still echoed in his mind, they had more of a calming effect on him today. Even though he was still angry at Shadow for what he had tried to do back on the Typhoon, he took some measure of comfort in the fact that he had a kindred spirit who could sympathize with him on his situation. The idea that he might yet be able to recover from his loss and be happy again gave him a small bit of hope in what otherwise seemed like a hopeless situation.

As Tails rolled out of bed he decided that he would seek Shadow out today. He hoped that talking with Shadow would help resolve some of the feelings he was still having in his own mind. He quickly found his shoes and socks and put them on, then turned to his closet and opened it. Upon opening his closet he found the grey hoodie that he had worn the day before and reached for it. As he was about to grab it, he hesitated. He began to feel shameful for having to conceal his injured state from his friends, remembering how appalled they had been when they found out. He then looked at his wrists, staring at the self-inflicted injuries he had sustained as a result of his grief. Tails realized that he felt more embarrassed than he did guilty, and proceeded to don the hoodie anyway. He then left his room and proceeded down the stairs and to his living room.

When Tails reached the living room he was surprised to find Sonic sitting on his couch, watching television. He slowly approached his friend from behind; curious as to why he was here so early in the day. Despite his silent treading, Sonic turned his head to meet Tails' gaze, giving him one of his trademark grins upon seeing him.

"Hey buddy! Glad to see you're awake! You doing okay?"

"Um... sure, I guess," Tails replied, confused as to why his friend's demeanor was so pleasant after the events of yesterday.

"You got any plans today?" Sonic asked curiously, "It looks like you're going out."

"I was going to see if I could find Shadow," Tails replied, "I have some things I want to ask him."

"I saw him hanging around the park earlier today," Sonic remarked, "Do you want me to come with you?"

"I would rather go by myself," Tails said politely, "I want to talk to him in private."

"Oh, okay. I guess I'll go hang out with Amy and Knuckles then. Let us know if you need anything."

"Um... thanks," Tails said, slowly making his way over to the door. Before he reached it he was stopped by a comment from Sonic.

"Miss Vanilla wants you to call her today," he said suddenly.

Tails froze. He suddenly grew nervous as he speculated why she would want him to call her. He began to wonder if Sonic had told her about the cuts. "Why?" He asked in a nervous voice.

"Ask her," Sonic said simply.

Tails stood still for a moment thinking about these words. Finally he opened the door and made his way out. "See you later," he called back to Sonic.

"See ya buddy!" Sonic called back. As Tails closed the door, Sonic's pleasant grin fell from his face. He slowly stood up from the couch and made his way to the door himself. As he reached for the doorknob he gave a sigh, worrying about what kind of effect a dark character like Shadow would have on his friend. Heeding Vanilla's words however, he decided it would be best to leave Tails alone with Shadow, and hope that he didn't do any more damage than was already there. Opening the door, he stepped outside and ran towards Amy's house, with a worried expression on his face.

As Tails made his way down the walkway, a thought suddenly occurred to him. He quickly turned around and ran to the back of his house, descending a small slope alongside it. Once there, he walked up to a door in the side of a concrete wall leading to his workshop. He entered the workshop and made his way over to his drafting table, stopping in front of it. Upon the drafting table lay Cosmo's plant, having grown significantly larger in its pot. It had grown big enough that it was now a single large flower bud, about the size of a basketball, surrounded by leaves at its base. Tails smiled as he looked upon his flower; the last thing he had to remember his love by. Although she was no longer here, Tails felt that as long as this plant survived, so would Cosmo in a sense. He also couldn't shake the feeling that she might still return, although he couldn't fathom exactly how.

Tails walked over to the basin in the workshop and grabbed a loose cup he found. Filling it with water, he walked over to the flower and emptied the cup into the soil, making sure it was sufficiently moist. Setting the cup down, he found himself staring at the plant. He then noticed a small crack in the side of the clay pot. This sight began to worry him, as he realized that the plant was outgrowing its pot. Soon, it would have to be transplanted to a more suitable environment. He had already begun drawing up plans for a state of the art Vivarium that he had designed himself, but knew nothing on how to properly transplant plants.

"I'll have to ask Miss Vanilla about that," Tails thought to himself. As he was preparing to leave, he took one last glance at his precious flower, leaning down and gingerly kissing one of the bright pink petals. He then walked toward the door he had entered from, stepping outside and slowly closing it, watching his flower the entire time. As he left the workshop, he began to walk in the direction of the park, hoping that he would find Shadow there.

After a thirty-minute walk, Tails had reached the park where Sonic had seen Shadow earlier that day. As he began to search for the black hedgehog, he could not help but notice the young Mobian children playing here with their parents. He began to wonder how Cosmo would have fitted in among the Mobian people considering her difference in species. Mobians were not particularly accepting of outsiders, and had just barely accepted Chris. This was mostly due to the fact that the only other human they were familiar with was Eggman. Even still, would they have welcomed Cosmo, or rejected her for her differences? These were questions that he realized he might never find the answer to.

Tails searched for almost an hour, but to no avail. He began to grow fatigued and walked over to a tall oak tree, which he sat under to rest. He leaned his head back against the rough bark and closed his eyes, imagining what his and Cosmo's lives would have been like had she not sacrificed herself. He wondered just how long he and Cosmo would have lasted together. Would they have eventually grown apart, or would they have stayed together. He then remembered what she had said before her spirit had moved on. "I'll always love you!" He had heard her say, and in his heart he knew the answer to that question. A small tear began to trickle down his cheek as he continued to think on what could have been.

"Looking for someone?" A voice suddenly said from behind him.

Tails jumped up from where he was sitting, startled by the sudden voice speaking to him. He quickly spun around to face whoever it was that had spoken to him. Tails was surprised when he saw Shadow, propped up against the tree, in the shadow of one of the branches.

"Actually I was looking for you," he said in a small voice.

"I figured," Shadow said in his usual gruff tone, "What do you want, Fox Boy?"

"I... came to ask you for advice," Tails hesitated.

"So what do you want?" Shadow asked again coldly.

"I was wondering... after all this time... do you still miss her?"

"Who?" Asked Shadow.

"Maria."

Shadow went quiet. Tails began to grow nervous at the long duration of silence between the two of them. He then became aware that Shadow's eyes, which were usually sharp and cold, had become soft and distant. After some time of silence, Shadow closed his eyes and let out a deep sigh. "There's not a day that I don't," He said.

"Is it wrong?" Tails asked, looking down and absentmindedly playing with the drawstrings on his hoodie, "You know... what I did?"

"It was stupid," Shadow said shortly.

Tails bowed his head in shame. He sat down at the base of the tree and closed his eyes as small tears began to trickle down his cheeks. Despite his attempts to prevent himself from crying in front of Shadow, he couldn't help the small sobs that escaped his lips as his crying became more fervent.

Shadow briefly glanced down at the grieving fox. Despite the fact that he was not a fan of showing any emotion, he could not help but feel a small measure of pity for the broken fox next to him. He let out a slight groan as he walked over and stood in front of the fox, looking down at him.

"Look kid, I know you miss her. You'll probably miss her the rest of your life. There's nothing wrong with that, but what you've been doing isn't helping anyone, least of all you."

Tails crying grew quieter as he looked up at the black hedgehog in front of him. "What do I do then?"

"Remember her, but don't dwell on it," replied Shadow, "Acknowledge what happened and move on."

"It's not that easy though," Tails said still sniffling a bit.

"I didn't say it would be easy, did I?" Shadow replied in a bit of a sarcastic tone, "Give it some time and it will get easier."

Tails was silent as he thought about what Shadow said. How was he to move on when all of his feelings were telling him not to? He still couldn't comprehend why he shouldn't feel guilty after the horrible thing he had to do. He realized that Shadow was right, however. His harmful antics were not helping his plight, and were surely not helping anyone else. Originally he had thought he was paying for what he did to Cosmo.

"Cosmo wouldn't have wanted this," he realized to himself. His train of thought was suddenly broken when another thought occurred to him. "Hey Shadow, do you think she might come back?"

"What?" Shadow asked in confusion.

"I mean, you and Sonic did use Chaos Regeneration after she died. Sonic gave me a seed that he got from it. I planted it, and it's gotten pretty big. Do you think she might somehow come back from the plant?"

Shadow closed his eyes and groaned, crossing his arms as he did. "While I've never been one to doubt the power of the Chaos Emeralds, I wouldn't get your hopes up."

"So you don't think she'll come back?" Tails asked bowing his head again and beginning to sniffle.

"Don't start that again," Shadow growled, "I said I wouldn't get your hopes up, not that it was impossible."

Hearing this brought a slight smile to Tails' face as he wiped his eyes. "Thanks," he said looking up at the black hedgehog.

"Nothing to thank me for," Shadow said coldly.

"Could you do me a favor though? Please don't tell Sonic what I said. I don't want him to think I'm... you know..."

"Why would I tell that faker anything?" Shadow asked in a sarcastic voice.

"Thanks," Tails simply replied, "I have to go. Miss Vanilla said she wanted to talk to me."

"No, one's stopping you," Shadow said.

Tails stood and began to make his way toward the park exit. After only a few steps he heard Shadow mumble something.

"For what it's worth, what I did on the Typhoon... I was wrong," he said quietly.

Tails stopped quickly and turned around, staring at Shadow with a shocked expression. His surprised expression slowly turned into a grin as he looked upon the black hedgehog. Although he wasn't sure, for just a single fraction of a moment, he thought he saw Shadow smirk back at him. The black hedgehog then disappeared in a sudden burst of light. As Tails began to walk toward the park gate again, he briefly turned back and looked where Shadow had been standing. Smiling slightly and shaking his head, he left the park and began to head toward Vanilla's house.

Sonic's thoughts were in disarray as he was walking toward Amy's house. He still could not figure out if leaving Tails alone with Shadow was the right thing to do. Aside from the fact that Shadow's personality was hateful and cold, it had been him who had attempted to murder Cosmo in cold blood in the first place. He simply could not comprehend why Tails would seek Shadow out for help, rather than ask him. He also could not understand how allowing Tails space was helping him. Although he respected Miss Vanilla's wisdom, he was unsure of how allowing him to think about Cosmo would aid his recovery. Even though he tried to heed what Vanilla had told him to do, he sometimes found it difficult not to try and help his little brother. These contradictory thoughts continued to assault him as made his way toward Amy's house.

Sonic came to a sudden stop as he thought he had heard the sound of boots scraping on the cement road he was walking on. He turned around, attempting to locate the source of the sound, but saw nothing behind him. He shook his head and continued walking forward, thinking it was his imagination. As he continued walking, he began to hear the sound again. Thinking someone was following him, he quickly spun around, but only saw the road he had treaded behind him. Sonic began to grow nervous as he cautiously resumed his course to Amy's house. He suddenly began to feel the sensations that usually signaled a nearby Chaos Emerald. He also began to hear the sounds of someone following him again. Sonic spun himself around again, but saw nothing. He began to grow angry as he assumed a fighting stance, with the sensations of Chaos Energy growing stronger around him.

"Whoever's following me, you better come out!" Sonic shouted, clenching his fists. Sonic suddenly found himself flying through the air, shouting in pain as he crashed into the hard concrete road underneath him. As he struggled to his feet he looked up, not surprised to see the black-cloaked figure standing before him. Sonic immediately rolled into a spin dash, blasting his way toward the figure at high speeds.

The figure responded with a blast of telekinetic energy from his palms, sending Sonic flying into the concrete once again. "I thought you would have realized that attack is useless from our last encounter. Perhaps I give you too much credit," the figure said snidely.

"What do you want from us!?" Sonic shouted at the figure, clenching his teeth as he prepared for another attack.

"Don't feign ignorance with me hedgehog! You know exactly what I want!" Shouted the figure angrily.

"You aren't getting the Chaos Emeralds!" Shouted Sonic, jumping toward the tall figure and preparing a high-speed kick.

Stretching out his hand, the figure fired an arching blast of electricity, which Sonic dodged by a mere inch. Sonic landed the kick on what he assumed was the figure's jaw, sending him sprawling backward. The figure made an agile backflip, quickly righting himself from his brief stumble. Sonic quickly spun into a homing attack, launching himself at the dark figure.

Unexpectedly, the figure threw his arms outward, releasing a violent wave of telekinetic energy all around him that sent Sonic flying backward and dented the road beneath him. Sonic once again found himself crashing into the concrete road, skidding across it and coming to a stop.

As he picked himself up, Sonic grabbed his side, yelling in pain. He pulled his hand away from his side, seeing that his glove was almost totally red with blood. He reached up and wiped his nose, which was also bleeding profusely. He suddenly felt himself being levitated off the ground, and began to feel an increasing pressure on his throat. To his horror, he looked up to see the dark figure holding an outward palm, trapping him in a telekinetic chokehold.

"Your overconfidence is your weakness," the figure chuckled.

Sonic attempted to respond, but was finding it increasingly difficult to breath. He then felt the Chaos Emerald, which he had tucked away in his fur, being pulled from his possession.

"I believe this is mine," said the figure, holding another palm outward to receive the Emerald.

"N-n-o-o," Sonic coughed, only to feel a crushing pressure on his throat. He attempted to cry out in pain, but only managed a week whimper as his breathing became almost impossible.

"I've told you already hedgehog, you can't stop me from obtaining the Emeralds. Why try?" Said the figure, grabbing the cyan Emerald out of the air and placing it within the folds of his cloak. "You shouldn't concern yourself with me right now, however. Rather, that fat scientist that you rival yourself with."

Sonic continued to struggle, but was slowly beginning to lose consciousness. As hard as he tried to fight it he found himself growing more limp with each passing moment.

"Take heed hedgehog. The human boy you have grown so fond of will soon be gone. By the hand of Eggman will he be dispatched."

Sonic's eyes snapped open. He began to panic and struggled to free himself even more as he realized what the figure was saying.

"I would hurry yourself hedgehog. You only have about three minutes." With that, the figure disappeared in a flash of light, dropping Sonic to the ground.

Sonic coughed heavily as he regained his breath. As he struggled to his feet he noticed that the pain in his side was gone. He looked down to notice that he was no longer bleeding. It was as if the wound had never been there at all. He checked his nose, which he found to be in the same state as his side, completely healed. He began to wonder how this was possible, but soon remembered what the figure had said before his departure. Sonic immediately took off in the direction of Eggman's base, with a sonic boom erupting behind him as he broke the sound barrier. He pushed himself harder than he ever had before, giving everything he had to reach his destination in time. He quickly passed Mach two, increasing his speed still, with only one thought on his mind.

"I'M COMING CHRIS!" He yelled into the wind, "HANG ON! I'M COMING!"

Meanwhile, Tails walked up the dirt path leading to the front door of Vanilla's house. He began to feel a certain amount of anxiety as he approached. He was afraid that Vanilla wanted to talk to him about the cuts on his wrists, unsure of what else it might be. Nevertheless, he approached the door and knocked, intending to find out what it was that she wanted.

After a few moments of waiting, the door finally opened, revealing Miss Vanilla with her ever-present welcoming smile on her face.

"Oh, hello Tails! It's good to see you! What brings you by here?"

"Sonic said you asked me to call you. I was already at the park and thought I would stop by. I hope I'm not bothering you."

"Nonsense! You know I'm always happy to have you. Please come in!" Vanilla said stepping to the side, allowing Tails entrance.

"Thanks," Tails said as he entered the house. Vanilla then closed the door behind him and walked toward the kitchen, gesturing for Tails to follow.

"Walk with me to the kitchen. I made some cookies," She said entering the kitchen. Tails followed, still unsure of what Vanilla wanted.

Upon entering the kitchen, Tails was bathed in the scent of sweet chocolate chip cookies. Looking at the table, he noticed a plate of the sweet confections, having been freshly baked. Sitting down at the table, he glumly rested his head in his hand. Ordinarily the sight of Vanilla's cookies would have been irresistible, but somehow they did not appeal to him today. Vanilla pulled up a chair next to the depressed looking fox, looking at him with a sad smile. "Wouldn't you like a cookie dear? I made them in case I had company today."

"No thanks. I'm not hungry," Tails said quietly.

"Oh... all right then," Vanilla said pushing the plate of cookies to the side. Tails let out a depressed sigh as he stared down at the table. Vanilla noticed this and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Are you all right dear? You seem rather down today?"

"It's nothing," Tails lied. By the way she was acting, it seemed to him that Vanilla didn't know about his recent self-harm. He hoped it would stay that way. Vanilla frowned slightly, removing her hand from his shoulder and folding them on the table.

There was a long moment of silence between them. Tails began to shift uncomfortably in his seat as Vanilla stared at the table with her hands folded, seemingly deep in thought. Finally Vanilla looked back up at Tails, a slight smile finding its way back onto her face. "You know," she began, "I just noticed, is that not the hoodie that I bought for you last winter?"

"Uh... yeah," Tails said, caught off guard by the sudden change in subject.

"I believe it's far too warm in here to be wearing that," she said in a caring tone, "Why don't you let me hang it up for you so you don't get too hot?"

"Uh... thanks, but that's okay," Tails said, beginning to grow nervous again.

"Are you sure dear?" She asked.

"Yes, ma'am, I'm good."

Vanilla fell silent again, staring into space as if thinking about something. Tails was also silent, awaiting what she would say next. Finally Vanilla spoke.

"I know what you're hiding under those sleeves Tails. You might as well take it off and let me have a look."

Tails suddenly went wide-eyed. She knew. She had known this entire time. He suddenly began to panic, afraid of what her reaction would be. "I-I, uh... I c-can't."

"Tails, let me see," she said in a stern voice.

Tails sat still for a moment, unsure of what to do. He realized that he couldn't hide it anymore. She knew and there wasn't anything he could do about it. Slowly and with shaky hands he reached around and grabbed the back of his hoodie, pulling it over his head. Vanilla gasped and placed a hand over her mouth as he revealed his scarred wrists to her.

"Oh Tails," Vanilla said in shock. Tails pulled his arms closer to his chest in response, attempting to hide them as best as he could. Tears began to trickle down his cheeks as he felt the shame of his own actions come back to him. Vanilla suddenly stood up from her chair and walked quickly to one of the back rooms, leaving a wailing Tails at the kitchen table. After about a minute she came back with a bowl of warm water, a washrag, a bottle of hydrogen peroxide, and a role of gauze. Setting these items on the table, she sat down and gently took Tails' hand. "Here sweetheart, let me clean those up for you."

"NO!" Tails wailed, jerking his hand away from her.

"Dear, those cuts could get infected!"

"I killed Cosmo! I deserve it! I deserve all of it!" Tails continued to wail, waiting for Vanilla to yell at him; waiting for her to tell him how stupid he was for hurting himself and how his feelings about Cosmo's death were all wrong. Squeezing his eyes tightly shut, he awaited the worst.

Tails suddenly felt a pair of warm arms wrap around him. Surprised, Tails opened his eyes to see Vanilla not chastising him, but had rather pulled him into a tight hug, rocking him back and fourth as one would a child. Tails' cries began to ebb, giving way to small sobs as Vanilla soothingly rocked him back and fourth. As Tails' cries dissipated, Vanilla spoke to him in a soft, calm voice.

"Dear, what happened to Cosmo was horrible. I know that being forced to make that decision was difficult for you. I can only imagine how hard this must be for you... but no one deserves to hurt like this. Especially not someone as kind and caring as you."

"After all that I've done though. Killing Cosmo, avoiding my friends, and this," Tails said indicating his injuries, "I don't deserve to be happy. I'm a horrible person!"

"You most certainly are not!" Vanilla said, her voice stern, but still soft, "Just because you are hurting does not make you a bad person. Everyone knows how much you cared for Cosmo, and understand that this has been a difficult last few weeks for you." Vanilla then gently placed her hand under Tails' chin, turning his head so that he was looking directly into her eyes. She spoke softly, with caring in her voice. "You are a good person Miles Prower, and we just want to keep you around for a little longer."

As tears continued to trickle down Tails' muzzle, a small smile began to creep across his face. All the shame he felt, from the time he pulled the trigger, to the cuts on his arms, slowly seemed to fade. He suddenly reached out and wrapped his arms around Vanillas neck, hugging her tightly. "Thank you," he whispered.

"If you ever feel like you are hurting more than you can bear, come and talk to me, or even Cream," Vanilla said, patting him on the back gently, "We love you, and will always be willing to talk to you. Now, will you let me clean those cuts up?"

Tails nodded his head as he whipped the tears from his eyes. Vanilla smiled as she set to work cleaning the cuts on his arms. She started by dipping the washrag in the bowl of warm water and washing off his wrists. Tails gave a slight sigh of relief as he felt the warm water dull the pain of his sore wrists. After having poured peroxide on his wounds, Vanilla proceeded to bandage his forearms with the gauze. When she had finished tending to Tails' wounds she proceeded to offer him a cookie again, which Tails happily accepted this time. She then informed him that she was planning on inviting the whole team over for dinner, and asked if he would like to stay. Tails agreed, and spent the next few hours talking pleasantly with Vanilla while she prepared the meal.

After a few hours, the rest of Team Sonic began to show up. Amy and Cream were the first to arrive, followed by Knuckles. Even Shadow showed up unexpectedly, much to the surprise of the rest of the group. Sonic and Chris did not, however. The team agreed to wait, much to displeasure of Knuckles.

"For the fastest thing alive he sure is late a lot lately," Knuckles complained.

"Be patient Knuckles. I'm sure they will get here soon enough," Vanilla said.

"Where did Chris go, mommy? I haven't seen him all day," Cream asked curiously.

"He left early this morning," Vanilla replied, "He said he was going for a walk. I haven't seen him since. Do you know where he might be Amy?"

"I haven't seen him or Sonic all day. Do you think something might have happened to them?"

"They're probably fine. Can we eat now?" Knuckles asked impatiently.

"No! We'll wait for everyone to arrive first," Vanilla said slightly annoyed.

Shadow made a slight grunt from the corner he was standing in. Everyone turned their attention toward him, with curious looks on their faces.

"What's so funny?" Knuckles asked sounding irritated.

"Listening to you idiots," Shadow muttered.

"Now that's not very nice Shadow," Vanilla scolded, "Use your manners please."

Shadow rolled his eyes as he turned his head to face the other direction. Tails then spoke.

"Hey Shadow, you never did tell us how you got here. How did you find your way back from the center of the Galaxy?"

Just as Shadow was opening his mouth to speak, the door suddenly burst open. Everyone quickly turned their heads to see Sonic in the doorway, looking run down and distraught. Everyone stared in surprise and confusion at the hedgehog's unexpected entrance.

"Sonic! Where have you been? We were worried about you! Do you know where Chris is?" Vanilla asked slightly panicked.

"Chris is gone," Sonic stated abruptly, "Eggman sent him home."

"WHAT!?" Everyone responded, jumping up from their seats.

"How is that possible!?" Knuckles asked angrily, "He was brought to this world by the Master Emerald, and it's still shattered! It's only just now reformed itself into four pieces!"

"I don't know," Sonic replied shortly as he paced the floor in frustration.

"Did he get turned back into his regular age?" Asked Tails, "I thought his age data was corrupted when the Master Emerald was shattered."

"I don't know," Sonic said again, his temper growing shorter.

"How did you find this out?" Asked Vanilla curiously.

"He told me," Sonic said in irritation.

"Who?" Amy inquired.

"That guy in the black cloak," Sonic clarified, "He attacked me and told me that Eggman was sending Chris home."

There was a long silence as everyone stared at Sonic with open mouths. Sonic let out a deep sigh and walked over to one of the couches, falling back onto it and placing his head in his hands. Slowly everyone sank back into their seats with dejected expressions on their faces as the loss of their human friend became clear.

"Well, at least he will get to see his family again," said Vanilla sadly.

"We... didn't even get to say goodbye," Cream said becoming teary eyed.

"I wish he didn't leave," Amy said sadly, "but I guess he had to go back sometime, huh?"

"I don't care. I'll never forgive Eggman for this," Sonic said with anger.

"Wait, you said that cloaked guy warned you?" Asked Knuckles.

"Yeah, why?"

"Did he-"

"Yes, he took my Chaos Emerald," Sonic said before Knuckles finished his question.

"Damn it! That means we have only one emerald left!" Knuckles said angrily.

"Knuckles! Language please!" Vanilla scolded.

"Why would that guy warn you about Chris?" Amy asked curiously, "How did he know?"

"He seems to know a great deal about us," Shadow commented from the corner where he stood.

"It doesn't matter," Sonic said suddenly, "Chris is gone and we probably won't see him again."

"I'm sorry Sonic," Vanilla said sympathetically, "I know how close you were to the boy."

"Yeah..." Sonic said, his voice distant.

Another silence followed. No one spoke as they quietly mourned the departure of their human friend. The past few weeks had been a difficult ordeal for everyone. Not only had they lost Cosmo, but now Chris as well. Although no one spoke it, the same question lingered in the back of everyone's minds. Had Chris really been sent home, or had Eggman sent him somewhere else? All they could hope for was that Eggman still had a shred of decency toward them that had remained from their fight against the Metarex.

"Why don't we go into the kitchen and eat?" Vanilla asked in a soft voice, "We really shouldn't dwell sad thoughts for too long."

Wearily, everyone rose from their seats and made their way into the kitchen. The sight of the meal Vanilla had prepared lifted everyone's spirits slightly as they looked forward to sharing it with each other. Everyone quietly took their seats and began to fill their plates. Vanilla smiled as she looked upon the group. It warmed her heart to see how close the team had remained, even after the loss and hardships they had gone through. After everyone had served themselves, she sat down and began to fill her own plate.

"Tails dear, I have been meaning to ask you, how is that plant of yours doing?" Vanilla asked in her ever-sweet voice.

"Oh yeah!" Tails said as if remembering something important, "It's gotten huge! The bud is bigger than Cheese!"

"Wonderful!" Vanilla said excitedly, "It's nice to hear it is growing so well!"

"Its roots are getting too big though," Tails continued, "They have already cracked the pot."

"It sounds like it needs to be transplanted," Vanilla replied in a matter-of-fact tone, "Would you like me to help you with that?"

"I was actually going to ask you that," Tails said.

"Absolutely. Whenever it is convenient for you."

"Yeah! It's going to have to get a lot bigger if Cosmo's going to come out of it!" Cream said cheerily.

The table suddenly went silent. Everyone slowly turned their heads and stared at the young rabbit with strange looks on their faces. Sonic however, looked more surprised than he did confused.

"What?" Sonic asked in a sharp tone.

"Well, if Cosmo's going to come back to life, the bud is going to have to get much bigger!" Cream said, not noticing everyone's reaction to her previous statement.

"Cream no," Tails said, shaking his head pleadingly.

All attention then fell to Tails, with Sonic staring at the fox intently. "What is she talking about Tails?"

"Uh... n-nothing Sonic."

Sonic began to grow impatient, knowing that he was being lied to. "Tails, tell me what she means," he said in a harsh tone.

All was silent as everyone stared at Tails with concerned looks on their faces. Tails began to grow nervous as Sonic stared at him with a harsh glair. Finally he spoke, his voice slightly shaky.

"Well... that seed that you gave me, from when you and Shadow used Chaos Regeneration to try and bring Cosmo back... I-I planted it. I thought maybe... If I took care of it... that Cosmo... might... come back." Tails voice trailed off at the end.

Sonic stared at his friend dumbfounded. To think that his friend had deceived himself into believing that Cosmo could come back from the dead tore at his heart. The knowledge that Cream and Vanilla had known this and had never told him made it hurt all the more.

"Now Sonic, please, don't over react," Vanilla said in a quiet voice.

Suddenly something inside Sonic snapped. The stress of having lost two friends was already more than he could bear. The idea that he was also losing his best friend, the one he called brother, was simply too much. He had watched his friend descend from depression, to self-harm. He decided that it was time to put an end to it.

"Tails, Cosmo is dead," Sonic said in a cold voice, "and she's not coming back."

"Yeah, but-"

"NO! I WON'T LET YOU DO THIS TO YOURSELF!" Sonic suddenly stood from his seat, stomping his way over to Tails and standing in front of him. His usual friendly appearance suddenly took on a menacing, imposing persona as he continued to lose control. "COSMO IS DEAD!" He yelled, causing Tails to tremble, "SHE DIED WHEN YOU PULLED THE TRIGGER ON THE SONIC DRIVER!"

Tears began to run down Tails' muzzle as he recalled that fateful day. To hear Sonic remind him was both painful and humiliating. The guilt that he had just begun to suppress welled to the surface and showed itself in his tears.

"YOU'RE LYING TO YOURSELF! SHE IS DEAD! YOU CAN'T COME BACK FROM THE DEAD! I DON'T CARE HOW POWERFUL THE CHAOS EMERALDS ARE! THEY CAN'T BRING BACK THE DEAD!" Sonic then turned and focused his gaze on everyone else. His eyes burned hot with rage. "ALL OF YOU LET HIM BELIEVE THAT SHE COULD COME BACK! IT'S YOUR FAULT THAT HE'S SO MESSED UP!"

"Nicky Maurice Parlouzer! That's enough!" Vanilla said indignantly.

"GET OVER HER TAILS! FIND SOME OTHER GIRL! COSMO WASN'T SO SPECIAL! SHE JUST HAPPENED TO CRASH HERE! YOU NEED TO MOVE ON, BECAUSE SHE'S NOT COMING BACK!!!"

All was quiet. Due to Sonic's laid-back personality, no one could have fathomed that he was capable of such an outburst. As everyone stared in shock Sonic looked down at the little fox before him, looking into his sad eyes. Tears began to pour down his cheeks as he trembled before the blue hedgehog. Sonic instantly knew he had made a mistake. He had felt desperate, but in that desperation he had done more damage than he had thought. All of Tails' hopes had been destroyed in a single, heated debate, by one he called brother.

"Tails..." Sonic said in a barely audible voice, "I... I-I'm"

Tails suddenly jumped up and ran out of the house screaming, his tears forming waterfalls down his face. Shadow immediately took off after him, leaving the others standing in silence. All attention then befell Sonic, who had four pairs of angry eyes beating down on him.

"Nice job," Knuckles said walking toward the door, "You just destroyed your brother. Good luck putting him back together." With that Knuckles left the house, slamming the door behind him.

Sonic stood shocked. Turning around he faced Cream, who had tears in her eyes and was gripping Cheese tightly. She quickly dashed into her room and slammed the door. Loud sobs could be heard within. Vanilla then walked past him and into the living room, sinking down into her recliner and placing her face in her hand, crying silently.

Sonic bowed his head in shame, then turned to face Amy. Tears began to fill the pink hedgehog's eyes as she stood there. Sonic expected her to run from him in shame as well, but to his surprise, she remained.

"Sonic, how could you?" Amy asked, tears beginning to run down her cheeks.

"I... I'm sorry," Sonic said in a quiet voice.

"What were you thinking?"

"I... I guess I was desperate. I... Cosmo can't come back... I didn't want him to get his hopes up... I guess I went to far..."

"He would have realized she wasn't coming back when the plant didn't turn out to be her. He didn't need you to tell him that."

"I'M SORRY OKAY!" Sonic suddenly snapped. Amy jumped back a bit, but then noticed a single tear fall from Sonic's eye. He quickly wiped it away and faced the other direction, hiding his face from view. "I just want my brother back," he barely whispered.

Suddenly everything became clear to Amy. Tails had not been the only one affected by Cosmo's loss, but Sonic as well. He had been forced to watch as his brother descended into the dark depths of depression, shutting out all happiness and joy from his world. He had also watched as Tails has brought harm to his own body, feeding his despair with every cut to his wrist. It had evidently become too much for him. All he wanted was for his brother to be happy, and in his attempt to force it upon him, he had done more harm than good.

Amy quietly approached Sonic with sympathy in her expression. She slowly wrapped her arms around him from behind, showing tender comfort to the distraught hedgehog. Sonic did not reel back, but instead turned and embraced Amy tighter.

"I'm so sorry Sonic. With all Tails was going through, I didn't realize how this was affecting you."

"This is all my fault. I hurt Tails more than ever."

"We'll get him through this Sonic. We always do."

"Tails shouldn't be alone. He needs company," said a voice from the doorway to the living room.

Sonic and Amy broke their embrace and turned to see Vanilla standing there. Her eyes were red with tears.

"I'll go," Sonic said, slowly walking toward the door.

"No," said Vanilla, stopping Sonic in his tracks, "You need a break Sonic. This has taken its toll on you as well."

"But... this is my fault," Sonic said, "Shouldn't I-"

"You would help Tails more by composing yourself right now," Vanilla said in a soft tone, "Take a rest Sonic."

"But who-"

"I'll watch him," Amy offered.

"Thank you Amy," Vanilla said softly.

As Amy walked toward the front door she turned and gave Sonic a slight smile. She then left, walking in the direction of Tails' house, leaving Sonic alone with Vanilla.

Sonic looked at Vanilla, dreading what she would say to him now that they were alone. "Miss Vanilla... I-"

"Come Sonic, let's talk," she said gently.

"But I-"

"Sweetheart, it's alright. Let's just talk."

Sonic silently nodded and sat down on the couch. As Vanilla seated herself in her recliner, she smiled at him. Sonic smiled slightly back, awaiting whatever condolence Vanilla had to offer.

Mother, Cosmo's boy is in great pain.

Yes Galaxina, I see.

His own brother hurt him. How could he do such a thing?

He is desperate for his brother's well being. What he did was unintentional.

What will happen now?

I don't know my daughter. We must watch, and wait.

Is that all we can do?

Yes, for the time being.

Has Cosmo decided yet?

I believe she is coming to a conclusion.

Is it the right one?

I believe so... yes. I believe so...
© 2012 - 2024 DrFic-PsyD
Comments26
pokemonexpertmaster's avatar
:star::star::star::star::star-half: Overall
:star::star::star::star::star-empty: Vision
:star::star::star::star::star-half: Originality
:star::star::star::star::star-half: Technique
:star::star::star::star::star: Impact

I very like this mainly because Sonic acts a little bad in a way.


Vision: You can see Sonic's and Tails' point of view at this situation but Amy should have been mad in my opinion.



Originality: I like the idea of Sonic trying to comfort Tails but I like that he over does it like in everything else that he does.



Technique: I love the way you write it and how you make it feel so real and exiting.



Impact: It had the best impact ever because Sonic yelled at Tails so harshly it created a wedge to separate them and the Shadow part was very nice how Tails could relate to Show with a feeling of how that loss can feel like.

Over all this is very good and one of the best moving and emotional fan fiction ever! Hope you enjoy and agree.
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