A Broken Bond

8a. Reunited

Sonic slowly opens his eyes, his wounds and injuries nowhere to be seen (save for two noticeable scars on his stomach and his left eye that are otherwise unharmful). He sits upright on the table and soon notices Tails, still sobbing and lowering his head. Briefly oblivious to the current situation (as a side effect of resurrection), Sonic addresses Tails, causing him to suddenly lift his head up.

"Tails? W-what's wrong, buddy? Why are you crying?"

Tails stares at Sonic in disbelief for a while. Shortly afterwards, without warning, Tails suddenly embraces Sonic within his arms, tears of guilt (and relief) still streaming down his face. He then sinks his head deep into Sonic's shoulder and, whilst still sobbing and sniffing, starts to speak to Sonic in a meek voice.

"I'm... I'm sorry... none of this is y-your fault... I overreacted and... I misjudged you too... p-please... forgive me..."

Sonic was initially confused. But not long after, his memory comes back to him as he completely realizes the reason for Tails' sorrowful apology. He then warmly smiles as he returns Tails' embrace while gently stroking his head. Knuckles sighs in relief as he witnesses this wholesome moment in the distance.

"There, there. I forgive you. It's alright. Let it all out, bud. I'm here for you."

Tails would continue to cry for a good amount of time; almost half an hour, to be precise. After his tears have run out, Tails and Sonic bid Knuckles farewell (and Sonic's gratitude for rescuing his life) and head back towards the edge of Angel Island where Sonic had landed the Tornado moments ago. The two reunited brothers then fly back home.

The next day, Sonic and Tails' house, 12 PM mid-day. After months of bitter strife, Sonic can finally step foot in his home once again. He is now in his shared bedroom with Tails, jamming on his electric guitar which he hasn't used for quite some time. Not long after, Tails comes into the room, telling Sonic to come down and see what he's prepared.

"Hey, Sonic! Come down to the kitchen, I've got a surprise for you!"

"A surprise? Cool! What is it, Tails?"

"Wouldn't be a surprise if I told you now, would it? Come on, follow me!"

They both head downstairs towards the kitchen where Tails had prepared a feast just for Sonic consisting of half a dozen chili dogs, four thick slabs of pancakes stacked on top of one another and topped with three flavors of ice cream, and a pitcher of soda, all arranged neatly on the dining table.

"I hope you like it! All just for you."

Sonic was pleasantly surprised. "Whoa, way past cool, dude! You made this all by yourself?"

"Yup! Well... to be honest, I had to ask Amy for the recipe for the chili dogs since I've never made them before, hehe. But... what do you think?"

Without hesitation, Sonic quickly takes a seat and grabs a bite of one of the chili dogs. His eyes immediately begin to positively light up with joy from the flavors of his favorite food of all time.

"Aww dude, you nailed it! This is awesome! Thanks so much, bro!"

"No problem! Eat up, it's all for you!"

Tails watched gleefully from the side as he watches Sonic continue to dig into his intensively prepared feast. After a while, Sonic notices Tails just standing there and not taking part in this wonderful delight. He then asks Tails to join in.

"What's the matter, bud? Come on, help yourself out too! I can't possibly finish this all by myself," said Sonic, gesturing Tails to sit next to him.

"N-no thanks... I couldn't possibly," Tails nervously declined.

"Huh? Why? It must've taken a lot of time and effort for you to make all of this. I think it's only fair if you join in."

"No really, I can't. It's my apology to you for... y'know, what's been happening these past couple of months..."

Hearing that, Sonic became flattered. "Aww, you didn't have to, Tails. I forgave you already, remember? Let's just put it behind us."

"B-but I can't! I mean, I almost killed you! What kind of friend am I to do such thing!? I'm starting to get scared of myself... maybe I am a monster..." Tails starts to look sad as he nervously shuffles his foot on the floor while looking down and tightly gripping one of his arms. Seeing this, Sonic gets up from his seat, holds Tails' shoulder, and kneels down to comfort him.

"Hey, come on. Don't be like that. If anything, I should be the one preparing something like this for you. I know how you felt, having to deal with me for all those years. It's not your fault, none of it is. It's all mine. The only reason you acted out like that is because I've been pushing you too far. You're not a monster, Tails. You're a good friend of mine. I know you are. So come on, cheer up, alright? For me?"

"W-well... okay, then..." Hearing that, Sonic gets up and gives Tails a pat on the back.

"Alright, that's what I like to hear! Besides, y'know what they say: chicks dig scars, and I've got two big ones right here to show off to 'em," said Sonic as he points out to two significant scars, one on his stomach and another on his left cheek and eye.

"And by chicks, I hope you don't mean Amy," Tails lightheartedly joked.

"Aww, haha. Come here, you..."

Sonic then playfully locks Tails' head with one of his arms and proceeds to give him a rub on the head with his fist. Tails tries to release himself from Sonic's grasp but couldn't resist and decides to laugh it off instead. It's been quite some time since they both had a friendly banter like this.

"Hahaha, oww! No fair! Stop it!" Tails laughed while wrestling to get out of Sonic's grip.

"Not until you help me finish all this food."

"Ahahaha! Okay, fine! Ow! Let me go!"

After a while, Sonic decides to let go of Tails, allowing him to join Sonic at the table and enjoy the fruits of his own labor.

Half an hour later, the contents of the dining table are cleaned out save for the pitcher of soda. Sonic lets out a burp of satisfaction.

"Phew! That hit the spot. I might even skip dinner tonight! Thanks again, bud. You're the best."

"Don't mention it, Sonic. So, anyway... what else do you wanna do for today?" Tails asked. Sonic then stops to think for a while.

"Well, now that you mention it... I was thinking... I'd like to go on another adventure since I gotta find all the Chaos Emeralds again before good ol' Egghead gets to 'em first. And guess who I'm taking with me this time." Sonic gets up from his chair and extends one of his hands towards Tails, gesturing him to shake it. "You coming along, partner?"

Tails fell silent for a moment. Eventually, he gladly smiles as he shakes Sonic's hand and accepts Sonic's invitation.

"Yup. Good to have you back, partner," said Tails.

"Awesome! Then what are we waiting for? Let's go!"

Despite having just eaten not long ago, Sonic eagerly makes a dash for Tails' hangar where Tails would shortly follow after. Sonic climbs up the Tornado's wings while Tails jumps into the pilot seat to start the propeller, taxi onto the runway, and fly off into the horizon with Sonic standing firmly atop the wings, eager to face whatever challenges await them on their next adventure. And with that, the "Unbreakable Bond" springs back into action.

"Look out, world! 'cause we're back in business!" Sonic shouted atop the Tornado whilst pointing forwards.

"Woohoo! Yeah!" Tails excitedly exclaimed with a fist up in the air.