Phantom

II

***

Tails sat in his room, sorting a few things out. He'd transformed the dirty room into a little workshop, with a large desk, fairy lights strung across the ceiling, and a bed to one side.

It wasn't much, but it felt a little more like home.

And across from him was a spare room, one that he convinced himself his brother was in, just napping. Or perhaps just reading. Or messing with his electric guitar.

The fox had placed the few belongs that Sonic had brought with him in there.

The headquarters itself was an old, dusty, rickety building that had been abandoned years ago.
Perfect for a secret base.

"Tails?" The cub's ears flexed at the sound of Silver outside his door.

Of course, the hedgehog from the future has come to help them, on behalf of the world in 200 years time.

The door creaked open, Silver smiling gently.

"Hey there," He smiled gently, holding something in his hands, the cub squinting through tears to see what the item was, "I heard that you're having a harder time then the rest of us,"

The light grey hedgehog walked over to the cluttered desk, placing the item on the it,
"So I got you a little buddy,"

Tails could now clearly see the tiny plant placed in a rather large plant pot.
The plant was a flower, with lots of white to pink to purple tiny petals.

"She's a Cosmo," Silver explained, "I figured you needed something to help you, and plants are really good for therapy," he started to info-dump, "She needs good care, Tails. And I think you're the perfect fox for the job"

The yellow-orange fox smiled through ugly tears, "Thanks Silver,"

But then, to Tails' surprise, he got down to his ear.
"Hey look, between you and me, I think he's still here,"

Tails gasped. He understood, but how? He'd seen him die, he remembered feeling for a heartbeat before that mystery figure had snatched him away.

He had been cold, lifeless, still.

GONE.

"H-how?" He darent ask that question.
"In the future, there's no mention about Sonic dying in a war. According to legend, he passes peacefully and 'his spirit swims with the star dragons', whatever that means,"

Silver walked towards the door, "Just, don't take my word for it, okay?" And then, with that being said, he vanished.

***

Sonic gasped as Infinite sharply picked him up from the floor.
"Maybe next time you'll think before you speak," he pushed his face back to the floor, leaving him to bleed.

He laid there, certain Tails would come and rescue him. He'd saved the fox multiple times, even when he was certain he was gone.
Surely Tails wouldn't give up so easily, right?

He started tending to his cuts the best he could, but that was mostly impossible without anything to stop the relentless bleeding.
Looking at himself, his bright blue was stained red in places, and whatever areas wasn't, he could see that his fur had turned a sickly blue color, no longer having that heroic deep shine to it. It had even began to fall out, leaving small patches of skin exposed.