Chapter Text
Something moves in the darkness.
Sonic opens his eyes, and immediately shuts them against the dim yet still harsh fluorescent light. He forces himself to open them again, and as reality slowly fades back in, he finds himself in a stark white room, sitting on a borderline comfortable chair of a hideous shade of green. He soon registers the somber drones and beeps from the array of medical equipment crowding the small room. Several patches and bandages are dotted across his body, covering small wounds that still pinprick his body, but they’re of little concern to him. He’s not the one who’s been admitted to the hospital.
After being located by the Medevac helicopters, the unconscious Tails was rushed to the Knothole Emergency Trauma Center. After putting him into an induced coma, they gave him blood transfusions and IVs to replace the lost blood and nutrients, and put him through several surgeries to extract shrapnel from his body. After stitching up the remaining wounds, they placed him in the room to treat his burns and to monitor how his vitals are recovering from the event. However, even after all of this, Sonic was told that there was a high likelihood that if Tails survived, he wouldn’t be the same due to the trauma and shock his body had received.
His ear twitches once again, as does his heart; there’s movement to his right. He unsteadily stands up on half-asleep legs, and carefully approaches the hospital bed. He could hear the rustling of sheets as the occupant of the bed adjusts their position. For a moment, he just stands there, until a pair of blue eyes return his gaze, seemingly glowing in what little light is available. He can only assume the same applied to him, because only a second later,he hears the very same voice that he was convinced he’d never hear again.
“S…Son-ic… is… is that… you ?”
“Yes, yes it is… ya little sleepyhead,” he jokes, fighting back the tears of joy. He flicks on a bedside lamp. In the light, he takes in the sight he thought he wouldn’t see again. Even though his amber fur was thoroughly cleaned and his cuts were all stitched closed, there’s still plenty of evidence of the ordeal he went through. Bandages tightly wrap the cut in his tail, and a large bandage embraces his torso to apply pressure to two cracked ribs. Bruises litter his battered body, and patches of fur have been shaved clean to make way for catheters, IVs, and electrodes to monitor his vitals.
The two mobians stare into each other’s eyes for a minute before Sonic wordlessly embraces the kit, making sure to avoid jostling the tube and wires. Tails returns the favor, and the teary brothers remain there for a full minute, listening to the beeping of the monitor. Finally, Tails speaks up, crying into his chest.
“I–I never thought I’d ever see y–you again.”
“I… never thought I’d hear your s–weet… sweet little voice again, Miles.”
“I–I feel like I shouldn’t… shouldn’t be alive.”
Sonic tearfully chuckles, “Your doctors agree with you on that. Told me you had like a 25% chance of making it out unharmed.”
They let go of each other for a moment. “How… how long was I gone for?”
“You’ve been out for 3 days.” He glances over at the bedside clock, which reads 4:48 AM. Something doesn’t seem right about Tails waking up from a medically-induced coma at such a weird time. “I’m…”
“You’re what?”
“Nevermind.” I’m worried about him waking up so early. Did something fail?
The fox also decides to look over at the clock. “I guess I’m up early,” he laughs.
“Yeah, I don’t think you were supposed to be up this early.”
Tails shrugs, wincing slightly at a still very sore shoulder. “I think it’s fine. I feel alright.”
“Well you’re also pumped full of painkillers.”
“True.” He grins, “But you know what feelings they can’t kill?” He shuffles to the right and pats the now-empty space beside him.
Sonic abides and tries to sit down on the bed, but his weight pulls the covers taught and Tails whimpers at the pressure against his cracked ribs. Sonic immediately gets off of the bed. “Sorry, buddy. I forgot about that.” The wimpers die down.
“Ow. It’s… okay,” Tails takes a moment to catch his breath, and pulls back the covers. “I guess we’ll do it this way, then.”
Sonic chuckles as he gets in the bed, “It’ll definitely raise some questions with the nurses.”
“Heh, as if what happened didn’t already raise a million questions.”
“Ugh. Tell me about it. I still have what seems like a thousand unreads to go through.”
They both laugh, and Tails crosses his arm behind his head, leaning back so the pillow seems to consume him, “So, speaking of which… what happened while I was away?
Sonic grins and turns up the lamp. “Well, first of all, the world got wind of your piloting skills.” He beams with pride as he reaches into a satchel he set down beside the bed and pulls out a small stack of newspapers and magazines. “You’ve made headlines across Mobius and Earth.”
The kitsune’s eyes grow wide as he scans the cover-page illustrations and amateur photos of his Tornado II in action. Prestigious aeronautical magazines proudly display his beloved plane with captions like High-Flying Hero, Against All Odds, and Prower of the Skies . As he thumbs through the pages, he looks quizzically at his friend. “Wait, how did they get ahold of that telemetry data?”
Sonic shifts slightly, “I… honestly I think some reporter looked over my shoulder when I had the laptop extracting the data for the authorities to verify what happened, because unsurprisingly, they weren’t very willing to accept my story.”
“Well it hit the newswires pretty well.” Tails burst out laughing, holding a copy of the Earth-based Air Monthly. “I remember when these guys criticized the concept of a two-tailed fox flying a jet fighter.” he comically lowers his voice, recalling the opinion article in mind from memory, “It is inexcusable that the United Federation Aeronautical Administration allowed for Miles Prower to pilot an armed aircraft in densely populated metropolitan areas without proper radio communication… blah blah blah, we’re boring and long live Eggman.” They both laugh at the impression, and Tails coughs, stacking the magazines off to the side. “We can read these later.” He lies back down next to Sonic, and looks at him. “What did you do while I was out?”
Sonic hesitates, then sighs “Honestly, I didn’t do much. I was flown out to the crash site after you were stabilized, talked to the authorities about what happened and gave them recorder data. I also helped move the materials and information we gathered into temporary storage so it can be shipped home, and just last night arranged for trucks to pick up what’s left of the Tornados and truck them home once they finish their investigation.”
“Sure sounds like a lot.”
“Not for 3 days of worrying whether your best friend is gonna make it.” He brushes his hand through the kit’s head.
“Yeah, that must’ve been horrible.”
“No kidding. At least the others flew in to stop by and wish you well. They offered me a ride home, but I chose to stay here with you.” He chokes and tears up, wrapping a hand across Tails. “It’s…it’s been… so… so hard, Miles. I h–held you… and you were… cold . I was… I was holding the d–dying body of my… the closest, m–most amazing person I kn–know. I was sure it… it was all going to end. I… I missed you, buddy, I–I really d–did.”
More tears fall from both blue and green eyes as the two brothers hold each other.
Sonic continues, “You…you were amazing out there. I’ve… never seen any–anything like it. The a–amount of pain you were willing to p–push past… I almost couldn't believe it. You were so strong, Miles.”
“I–I truly have no idea how I managed to pull off any of th–this. I don’t think we’ll ever know, either.” he hugs Sonic, “I’m… I’m just glad that you were o–okay, Sonic. To..to think that it… we almost didn’t make it… so close to safety…”
Sonic yawns, wiping his eyes. “Yeah, your quick thinking got us out of there. It’s the only reason I’m here with you right now.”
“Honestly, I don’t know if I even thought about it before diving like that. I just pushed on the stick and knew exactly what to do.”
Sonic chuckles. “Aha, that sounds like you have a skill I didn’t know about. Hopefully it won’t be needed again.”
Tails shudders, “Yeah. I never wanna do that again. Just that… dread I felt when you …dropped from the sky… It was terrible.”
“I…I never want to… even think about you having to go through what I did.” Sonic pauses, drawing more tears, “H–holding my own brother, as… as he was d–dying, becoming grad–gradually more and more c–cold? I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy.”
Tails' blackened ears fall to his head as he hugs the hedgehog, "I… I cant even imagine what that was like for you."
Sonic rests his hand over the kit's back, careful to avoid any pressure "I hope you'll only ever have to imagine it, buddy."
Tails chuckles, "I don't even want to imagine it; this has already left enough scars in my memory." He flinches at another stab of pain, "...and my body." He brings up and inspects his stitched-up hand, careful to not disturb - or look at - the catheter plumbed into his wrist.
Sonic leans in towards the injury, "Ouch, I didn't even know about that one."
Tails surprisingly chuckles, "I think this one was from a mixture of a broken engine, broken glass, and broken spirit," he points to counting fingers as he tallies.
Recalling the observations investigators made about the crash site, Sonic puts a hand near one of the burns on the kit's forearm, "Was this from your wing breaking?"
He balls up his fists, pinching the cut. "Yes, lucky bastard got my engine, coolant, and hydraulics in a single shot. It also got my service hatch, which went through the windscreen and into my face. I got burnt by the coolant oil, which eventually put both my guns and lasers out of action.” He huffs. “I can’t believe how terrible my luck was there. First I got sniped by a cannon, then they shot through my rudder and into my shoulder while I was in the middle of a downward spiral , then they got my engine, wing, and coolant in a single shot to the only weakpoint of the Tornado.” He rests his hands on his face in frustration.
Sonic flinches from the sudden change in composure. He puts a hand on a golden shoulder, “Don’t forget, you were also incredibly lucky throughout this whole mess. Almost all of your plans worked perfectly, and you even managed to survive it all. This could’ve very easily gone the other way, Tails. It’s no use focusing on things you couldn’t do anything about.”
“That’s easy for you to say, I just have that whole event just constantly replaying in my head. Just all of that pain and fear and ra–”
“Tails, you’re okay.” Sonic interrupts. It’s obvious how agitating the conversation is for the young fox. "I think this can wait for another time, maybe once we're back home." To lighten the mood, he lightly brushes the back of the kit's unhurt ear, causing it to twitch maddeningly.
"Ack, hey!" Tails giggles, swatting him away from his ear, which continues to move from disturbed hair. "Alright, alright! I agree that it's too sore of a subject to talk about right now, but that’s just annoying ." He gives a playful shove to his snickering brother.
"Can't deny it's an effective way to get your mind off of things."
Tails laughs, "Well there are other ways to do it that don't involve my ears."
Sonic takes a look at the burned ear, carefully inspecting the charred pinna. “I should probably stop anyway, because your other one isn’t looking too hot.”
Tails smirks, “Probably looks like it got too hot.” He yelps slightly at the stinging from the damaged ear. “Gah, that hurts!” He looks at Sonic as he removes the hand from the vicinity of his ear.
“Tails,” Sonic frowns, “I think you should have a look at it yourself.” He leans off the bed, rummaging through a drawer until he pulls out a handheld mirror. "I know it's not your worst injury, but it might be pretty telling as to what weapons they were using against us. I've seen plenty of plasma burns myself, but I haven't seen one like this." He turns back to Tails, "You said this was from a near-miss, right?"
"Yeah? It doesn't feel much worse than most burns I've gotten before."
Sonic hands the mirror to the fox, "Here, have a look."
Tails angles the mirror, carefully moving his ear so he could see the damage. "Ouch. Sonic, you're right; this is worse than normal. The skin's just ruined. It'll heal up, but… ow . I haven't seen a plasma beam do that before."
"Yeah. The doctors also noticed you had a lot of…I think they called it singed … fur on your back."
"Yeah, I remember that. There seemed to be a lot of heat radiating from those beams whenever they got anywhere close to me." He shudders. "Eggman's beams don't really do that, at least not on purpose. There was just a lot more energy in these."
Sonic leans back, "So we both agree that this wasn't an Egghead attack?"
Tails nods. "Everything points in that direction. Even though these were badniks, they were used in ways we've never seen before." He chuckles, "Also if this was Eggman, Bokkun would be here with his bombitor, forcing us to watch some pre-recorded message."
"Yeah, I didn't even think of that."
Tails sits up and finishes his thought, his voice low and dripping with pent-up rage, "Whoever this was simply wanted us dead and out of the way." He does a cut-off motion at his throat. "They wanted to get rid of us in a clean, professional manner, without any fanfare, and move on to whatever wretched plan they have in mind."
Sonic sits up with him, pulling the kitsune close, "Don't worry, buddy. We'll make sure to give that bastard hell." He brings up a clenched fist.
Tails merely yawns, and Sonic succumbs to its viral effects. "We'll cross that bridge when we get there, Sonic. Retribution can wait for a bit." He shuffles back under the sheets, pulling them up to his chin.
Sonic hesitates, "If you want, I can sleep on the chair so I don't distur–"
"No, you're fine to be here with me." He smiles as he turns on his side, "Besides, that chair doesn't look too comfy."
Sonic chuckles, "Yeah, the color of that thing alone is enough to give me night terrors. Bleh, reminds me of those cheesy home improvement shows Ella watched back on Earth." Tails laughs at the remark as Sonic settles back under the covers.
He just lays there for a moment, staring at the ceiling as the monitor continues to indicate Tails' heartbeat. The notion reminds him of something.
"...Tails?"
"Mm, yeah?"
"Can…" He hesitates from slight embarrassment, knowing how silly his request might sound. "Can I… hold your hand?"
The fox looks at him, perplexed. "...Why?"
"I just… want to feel its warmth. There's… something in me that… just wants to make sure you're okay."
"Oh, is this because of... me being hurt?"
Sonic chokes back emotion. "Ye–yeah."
"Sure, Sonic." He rests his hand on Sonic's open palm.
Sonic feels the heat coursing through the hand. He sniffs, God. To think that, just three days ago, I thought I'd never see him alive again, is just… I can't even begin to describe it. I was forced to watch all of that unfold from the sidelines, and the Tails I was able to hold at the end was… cold, almost lifeless. He takes a deep breath. "I… I love you, Miles."
"I love you too, Sonic."
"It's great to have you back." he says simply.
"It's great to be with you again, too." The kit blushes.
Sonic rolls onto his side, facing his brother. "Goodnight, Tails."
Tails turns towards Sonic and curls up as best he can with the constraint of the bandages and tubes. "Goodnight, Sonic." He settles into the pillow, closing his eyes as he gets comfortable.
Sonic closes his eyes as well, but remains awake, listening as the breathing stabilizes and the heart monitor's beeps slow down. Even against the hum of medical apparatus, he can hear the kit's gentle purrs. Eventually, these too fade away, and as he finally lets himself relax into slumber, he whispers, "Sweet dreams, 'lil bro."