There was an attack on the beach.
This week, Eggman's attack featured UniBot, a BurnBot-esque robot equipped with laser eyes. Eggman obviously had decided to pay up on his promise to make such a robot. UniBot was assisted by BeeBots, CrabBots and Motobugs.
"I've got you now, Sonic. No one can escape Uni-bot!" Eggman taunted.
"Uni-bot? What, will he unify all of your robots or something?" Sonic asked, dodging the laser of a BeeBot.
"No," Eggman grinned, then winced as Sonic destroyed the same BeeBot.
"Break my team's unity? Tough luck on that one!" Sonic spindashed another BeeBot that was next to Eggman.
Eggman dodged the pieces, then chuckled, "In a way, but not what you're thinking."
"What am I thinking, Eggbelly?" Sonic asked, taunting.
Eggman growled, but quickly replaced it with a smile.
"That it'll stretch out your team to the point that you can't help each other," he answered, "well, it actually does do that."
Eggman chuckled again, oblivious to the fact that his attack forces were quickly becoming depleted. A litter of broken robots were all over the beach, and more were being added every second.
Sticks threw her boomerang at a BeeBot, destroying it. She caught her boomerang, then turned to the crew.
"He's awfully happy for losing," Sticks pointed out warily, "he must be planning something horrible."
Tails smashed a Motobug with his wrench.
"I agree with Sticks," he paused, "that's scary. What are you planning, Egghead?"
Eggman chuckled again.
"That's for me to know and you to find out," he grinned mischievously, "and as for Uni-bot, let's go through a little test run, why don't we?"
Uni-bot turned to Tails, who was smashing a CrabBot.
"Tails, look out!" Sonic yelled, as Uni-bot shot a laser at Tails.
Tails turned, saw the laser, and turned away to run. His escape went smoothly until he tripped over the broken cannon of the Motobug that he'd destroyed. He hopped back up, but it was too late. The laser made contact, and Tails disappeared.
The group stared at the place that Tails had been a few seconds before. Silence was total, only broken by Eggman.
"Ha ha ha ha ha!" Eggman laughed, " it worked! It actually worked! My plan is in action!"
"What did you do to him?!" Sonic demanded, whipping around to face Eggman.
This wasn't like Eggman, but Sonic was too shocked and worried to notice or care. Blood roared in his ears. All he knew was that something had happened to Tails, and he had a sinking feeling that he'd never see Tails again; or at least not for a very long time.
"Doesn't matter to you, as you'll never see him again! Mwa ha ha ha ha!" Eggman was giddy, laughing out of control.
Sticks jumped up onto the Eggmobile and held her boomerang to Eggman's throat.
"Tell us what you did to him! Now," Her voice was low, and her eyes were burning slits of anger.
On her face an emotion she'd never felt before was clearly shown. Sticks was truly worried, truly cared for Tails; and she meant business.
"Isn't it obvious," Eggman taunted, leaning forward into Sticks' face, "I disianagrated him! Your two-tailed friend is dead."
"What?" Amy asked, aghast.
"That's not possible!" Knuckles said, more confused than angry.
"Actually, it's very possible. Tails is mortal after all. Actually, now it's WAS mortal!" Eggman gloated.
He laughed with such maniacal zeal he could be insane.
"See you later, suckers!" Eggman said after he gained his composure.
He flew off, and his remaining robots with him, leaving the crew shocked, hurt, and alone.
_______________________________________
'He's gone. He's gone for good.'
Sonic was in shock. He'd been in denial for the rest of the day, but now, alone in his shack, the main meaning of what had happened on the beach sunk in. Tails was gone.
"Tails..."
He'd been so young, so energetic. He was brilliant and so, so loyal. So happy, so full of life. Then, it was cut short.
Sonic had never grieved like this before. He'd never cared for anyone like he cared for Tails. His abusive mother had seen to that. They'd been through a lot together.
Tails was the first of Sonic's friends that he'd met.
Sonic let his mind wander to the day Tails entered his life in Metropolis.
It was about a week before Eggman, then Robotnik, attacked the city for the first time. Sonic was a street urchin then, very well known by the people of Metropolis as the nameless blue hedgehog who would always be there in an emergency to help the police or firefighters.
There had been a prolonged robbery of canned chili from a restaurant's food storage, and Sonic had been asked to catch the thief. Sonic agreed and hid among the many cans.
He waited for hours, and eventually fell asleep. He was woken by a soft whooshing sound, and the sound of a can being lifted from another. The thief was here! Sonic opened his eyes and saw the thief for the first time.
It wasn't what he anticipated. He'd expected a thug or a homeless child like himself; the chili was on the highest shelf, so at least someone really tall or using a stool. What he saw was a toddler, a fox cub no more than 3 or 4 years old.
And what was more, the cub had two tails, and was using them like helicopter rotors to reach the chili.
Looking at him, Sonic was sure he'd never seen the cub before. The cub looked like it was living feral, and alone. He was dirty and scratched, and thin, too. Sonic felt bad about confronting him and having to take this food source from him.
Sonic shifted to get a better view. The cub's ear turned, and he jumped. He saw Sonic looking at him, and bolted.
"Wait up!" Sonic called, running after him.
Too late. The cub disappeared through a small hole in the wall close to the ceiling.
Sonic chuckled, remembering his shock at how fast Tails moved. If he'd only had an idea of what would happen because of this encounter. How was he to know, looking at the thin and tattered cub, that he was looking at his best friend 'till the end.
''Till the end.'
After Sonic caught him, and learned his backstory, Tails had promised to stay true 'till the end. That he did.
Why did he have to die now? They'd had some scares, they'd been worried. Sonic knew that, eventually, all of them would die, but why Tails, and why now?
Tails was the youngest of them all, and the most loyal. He was what kept the team together when Steve (Morphius), the shape-shifting robot from another dimension, tried and succeeded to pull the group apart. Tails brought them back together, and saved Sonic's life.
This feeling was worse than the one his mother had given him. The scars from that time were still there, and were being ripped open. He heard her yelling at him,
"Worthless!"
"Unwanted!"
"Devil child!"
"You'll amount to nothing!"
"You'll always be alone, as you're worthless as your father was!"
Sonic winced, then heard Tails' voice,
"You're cool even when you're making a fool of yourself!"
"You're the best, Sonic!"
"That was amazing!"
Then Tails calling out,
"Hey, Sonic, could you help me with something real quick?"
"Um, I got a small problem. Could you come over here?"
Tails didn't think Sonic was worthless. He didn't veiw Sonic as unwanted. He was glad to have Sonic around.
If only there was a way to see him again.
'There is,' a little voice in his head whispered.
Sonic shook his head. What was he thinking? He'd dropped religion a while ago, when he ran from his afore mentioned demented mother.
The voice was persistent.
'You want comfort. There is a way to get it. You know how.'
He hadn't prayed in ages, and again, he wasn't religious. But just to make sure...
Sonic got up and went to Tails' house. It was more private, with a door, and blinds. Once everything was shut, Sonic awkwardly got to his knees.
He tried to remember how to pray. He knew he was just stalling. Sonic got a sudden vision of Tails looking at him with an eyebrow raised, so just started.
"God," he started, then stopped.
'This is ridiculous,' Sonic thought, then, 'Just try.'
"God," he tried again, paused, then mumbled, "never mind."
'Look at you,' he criticized himself, 'Talking to God like there is one. And even if there is a God, why would he care about me, or Tails, or what I'm going through? Well,'
Sonic chuckled softly, it's impossible to not care about Tails. God supposedly knows everything. If God and heaven are real, Tails is there now.
'Just pray. You need it. Just pray,' the thought said.
'No,' Sonic insisted, pushing the thought away, 'it was a dumb idea anyways.'
He did feel a little better though, with the thought Tails might be in heaven. Sonic stood up and was about to leave for his shack, but paused. He looked around the house, reminders of Tails everywhere.
'You know,' he thought, 'I think I'll sleep here tonight.'
Sonic lowered the back of the couch, and, feeling guilty, pulled up the blanket.
He dreamed of Tails.