Sonic Series Fan Fiction ❯ Brothers ❯ Concussion ( Chapter 1 )

"Alright, Tails!" Sonic crowed, high-fiving him. "That's a new record! You've never kept up with me that long before!"

Tails smiled, but he decided that he would prefer to breathe before he celebrated. Sonic laughed, patting him on the back, then settled on a log, crossing his legs and leaning back against a rock. The yellow fox finally caught his breath and joined Sonic on the log.

"Boy, Sonic! That was fun!" Tails sighed. "You really think I did better?"

"Of course, Tails! You flew with me for an hour and a half straight! That is definitely a new record!"

Tails beamed at the praise from his hero. He had done better, hadn't he? It made him proud to be short little fox-boy. Sonic always made him forget his height, and his…abnormality. Sure it was useful, but every fox he met laughed at him. No, everybody he met laughed at him.

"Something wrong, Tails?" Sonic asked casually.

Tails shook his head and plastered a smile back on his face. "No. Just thinkin' about things. The Tornado needs a few adjustments, and I was tryin' ta think if I need any more tools. I think I have everything."

"Cool. Tails? What do you say we go to Tubby's for lunch?"

"Sounds good!"

Sonic grabbed his wrist and took off, quickly giving out a sonic boom. When they were just about there, Sonic turned.

"You wanna try that new trick?" he asked over the wind.

"Yeah!"

"Three. Two. One!"

Tails started up his tails and his friend released him. He had never gone this fast by himself before. He focused on keeping up. Two minutes later, he was holding strong, and he turned to see Sonic, but he wasn't there.

"Tails!"

The yellow fox looked up to see a building approaching very quickly. He stopped. Or…his tails did. He hit the ground and tumbled head over heels, something snagged his tails…

"Tails! Tails, you okay?"

Tails opened his watering eyes, a nasty throbbing on the back of his head. "Ohhhh. What happened?"

"You hit the building, I slowed you as much as I could, but…Seriously, Tails, are you okay?"

"I've got a headache, but other than that, I feel fine."

Tails stood shakily. He wasn't hungry anymore. The pain was too great. He felt like throwing up.

"Tails?"

"I don't want to eat."

"How much pain are you in?"

Tails looked up after wiping his eyes. Sonic was his hero, the most amazing hedgehog that ever lived. Nothing ever stopped him. Nothing ever bothered him. So this little pain couldn't bother Tails. No, not at all. Because he wanted to be just like Sonic.

"It's fading, Sonic. I just don't think eating right now is a good idea. I'll eat later."

Sonic frowned, looking him over, so he smiled. Sonic shrugged. "Alright then. You mind watching me eat?"

"No. Who knows, maybe it'll make me want food?"

But it didn't. He felt so sick that he nearly threw up four times. But he held it down. Because it wouldn't bother Sonic. Sonic had chatted away through lunch, but had gone silent, studying him.

"Is the pain gone now, Tails?"

"Yeah, I feel alright now." You're lying to him. Something is wrong. It's not just a minor injury. Tell him the truth.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes." You're still lying! Tell him! Now!

"Well, let me take you home, Tails."

"Okay. I think I just need sleep." Another lie. You probably have a concussion. You need him to take you to the hospital.

But he didn't say a word. He went home, waved Sonic off—"Call if you need anything,Tails. And I mean anything."—popped two Tylenol, set four alarms throughout the house for two hours, and collapsed in exhaustion.

Over the next few days, Tails became sure he'd had a concussion. He was sluggish, confused, tired all the time, light hurt his eyes, noise hurt his ears, and he had trouble with his balance. They started to fade to manageable levels, however, so Tails felt he was fine. He got a knock on the door a week later, and he opened it to reveal Sonic. His smile was genuine.

"Heya, Sonic!" Tails said eagerly.

"Just came to check on ya, buddy. You were acting strange last week. Is your head better?"

"Yeah. It was nothing," Tails said dismissively. You should tell him. It's important. Tails gestured Sonic in, then thought to whatever was speaking, 'No. It's not important. It doesn't bother me because it wouldn't bother Sonic.'

"Got news, Tails! Eggman's after the Emeralds again. What say we go stop him?"

"Okay!" You know it's dangerous.

He ignored the little voice and was soon happily flying along with Sonic, chatting and laughing about things. Suddenly, Sonic went supersonic, shooting off to bounce off trees as gunfire reached Tails' ears. He laughed, tossing bombs over to destroy the robots. He heard Sonic's laughter, spinning to see Sonic tossing the silver chaos Emerald up in the air.

"Got it, Tails!"

Tails was suddenly struck and launched into a tree, hitting his head hard. Pain lanced through him, and his mind screamed in agony. I told you that you should have told him! You're probably going to die now! Tails realized the sense in this as his vision blurred, and the sounds of Sonic hitting Eggman's machine reverberated inside his head painfully. The sounds suddenly stopped as Tails realized blood was spurting from his ears and nose.

"Sonic! Your…What's wrong with Tails? No, Sonic, I'm serious!"

"T-Tails!"

He knew if he fell asleep, he would probably die. But sleep was the most soothing, most perfect solution for everything.

"Give me that Emerald!"

"I didn't mean for him to—"

"Get the hell out of here before I kill you!"

Tails couldn't see anymore, but he felt a warm burst pass over him that sent him to sleep. His last thought was, What's wrong with me?