『Sontails』Mechanical Remnants

Truth

...!

Sonic bolted upright in bed, instinctively looking around to assess his surroundings. From the interior design, he was clearly back in Tails' Threshold Tower. As he turned his head, he saw Tails sleeping peacefully beside him.

What... what happened to me...? I remember... I was at the Resistance headquarters, but the VEX destroyed it, and everyone—

No, no, NO! That had to be a dream, it must have been a dream! Sonic jumped out of bed and shook Tails awake. The sudden movement startled Tails from his sleep, his hand instinctively reaching for the gun at his waist. But upon seeing Sonic, his eyes shifted from fear to joy: "S-Sonic! You're—you're awake!! Thank goodness, I... I succeeded!"

"What—" Sonic froze for a moment before urgently continuing, "What's going on here?! Everyone—what happened to everyone?? How long has it been?? Did they... did they really...?"

Tails didn't answer, couldn't even meet Sonic's gaze. This only made Sonic more desperate as he grabbed Tails by the shoulders and shook him: "Say something, Tails!! It was just a dream, right?! It had to be just a dream!!"

Tails bit his lower lip and sadly shook his head. The gesture hit Sonic like a thunderbolt.

It wasn't a dream... it was real.

Deep down, Sonic had known everything was real the moment he saw Tails' VEX mechanical arm. He just didn't want to believe it. But Tails had shattered his last fragment of hope.

Everyone was dead... Knuckles... Amy... they were never coming back.

Sonic's arms fell limply to his sides. But suddenly, he grabbed his head violently, pulling at his quills, and let out an anguished scream.

"AAAAAHHHHH!!"

"S-Sonic! Don't!" Tails was terrified—though he'd prepared himself mentally, Sonic's intense reaction exceeded his expectations. Seeing Sonic tearing at his own skin until it bled, Tails rushed to grab his hands: "Stop it, Sonic! You're—you're hurting yourself—"

"How long." Sonic's voice trembled as he turned, his constricted pupils devoid of light.

"Sonic—"

"HOW LONG?!"

Sonic's voice boomed, demanding an answer. Tails flinched: "Two... weeks... you've been unconscious for two weeks..."

Two weeks. Whatever slim chance of survival the others might have had was now completely, irrevocably gone.

"Heh, hehe, hahaha, HAHAHAHA!"

Sonic laughed, his voice full of bitter irony. He covered his face, laughing uncontrollably while tears streamed between his fingers.

"Sonic—"

Tails stood up, calling his name worriedly as he stepped forward to place a hand on his shoulder—"Ack!"

But Sonic violently pushed Tails away. The force sent the unprepared fox stumbling backward, his head hitting the bed frame. After a yelp of surprise came a soft groan. Tails felt a dull pain in his head and instinctively rubbed it to ease the discomfort.

"Everyone is DEAD!" Sonic seemed blind to his own violent action, his face consumed by rage beneath the tears. He shouted at Tails without reason, as if his best friend was nothing but a punching bag: "They're all dead! Every single one! We've lost!! Our resistance meant NOTHING—my life means NOTHING!! Everyone I was supposed to protect is dead!! So tell me, Tails—why did you save me?! Why couldn't you just let me die with them?! WHY?!"

Tails hadn't expected Sonic to ask such a question—no, he had... but he'd prayed it wouldn't happen. But when it did—it was worse than he'd imagined. Sonic had completely broken down, and being accused like this made Tails feel his own grief and frustration building up, rising to his brain and making his nose sting with unshed tears. He struggled to his feet: "But—but how could I just watch you die...? I'm your best buddy... your best sidekick—how could I possibly let you die like that??"