Sonic Series Fan Fiction ❯ Careful What You Wish For ❯ Ultimate Lifeform, Ultimate Act of Friendship ( Chapter 5 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Over at Sonic's house, the blue hedgehog was slumbering peacefully, that is until the loud ringing of his cell phone woke him up.

"OH, GOD! Eggman, please put your clothes back on!" Sonic shouted, coming out of a no doubt horrendous nightmare. He then looked around, annoyed by the noise but grateful that it pulled him away from the subconscious image of a naked Eggman... (uuuggh)

"Huh? I wonder who would be calling this early?" Sonic said groggily as he glanced over at his alarm clock (which he never used) displaying 6:02 a.m. He picked up his phone and looked at the caller I.D., blinking the sleepiness out of his eyes. Once the hedgehog saw that it was Tails, he gladly answered the phone for his adopted little brother.

"Hey, Tails! I didn't think you'd be up this early after the day you had yesterday." Sonic chuckled, but his facial features took on a more confused expression when all he heard was faint crying and shallow, labored breathing on the other end.

"Tails? Tails, are ya there?"

After a few moments, Sonic could hear Tails' voice slowly and quietly begin to speak.

"S...son...ic. Pl...(cough) please... h...help... m..." Then, there was nothing but silence. Sonic began to shout into the phone. "Tails? Tails, can you hear me? Tails!? TAILS!" The hedgehog was now more worried than ever. He immediately dialed Amy's number, much to his chagrin, but he was too concerned for his best friend to worry about that now.

As Sonic waited for Amy to answer her phone, he pulled his phone away from his ear slightly, preparing for one of the pink glass-breakers' high-pitched squeals of excitement. However, when Amy did pick up, it was quite the opposite.

"(Yawn) Hi, Sonic. What's up?"

After placing the phone back against his ear in relief, Sonic quickly explained to the pink hedgehog what had just happened.

"Amy, call everyone else and tell them to meet me at Tails' workshop right away. I think something has happened to him."

"What's going on, Sonic?" The still sleepy hedgehog asked.

"I... I don't know! Tails called here just a minute ago, but it sounded like he was barely breathing. He said 'Help me' and then there was nothing." The blue blur explained in a frantic voice. "Just call the others and tell them to hurry!"

Sonic then hung up the phone and sped off out the door towards Tails' workshop, running faster than he had ever run before. The entire time he was running, the only words going through his mind were 'Please, Tails. Please be okay.'

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After about five minutes of running at top speed, Sonic had finally arrived at Tails' workshop. As he was reaching for the doorknob, he noticed a bright flash of light from behind him. Sonic quickly turned around, and to his surprise, saw none other than...

"Shadow!? But how were you able to do a Chaos Control without a Chaos Emerald?" He asked the black hedgehog, obviously confused.

Shadow, being the first one Amy had called, also managed to transport her, Cream, and Knuckles with him. Shadow pulled out the fake emerald that Tails had made for him and smiled.

"Hmm... it turns out Prower makes a pretty mean Chaos Emerald."

Sonic was no longer paying attention as he opened the door leading into the workshop.

Once the door had opened, the group of friends made their way into the still pitch-black living room. Suddenly, Knuckles let out a yelp as he stubbed his toe on the sofa. "Ow! Would someone get the lights? I can't see a thing in here!" The dreadlocked echidna growled.

"I got 'em." Amy said, flipping the switch, thus illuminating the room. Everybody continued looking around for their friend, when suddenly Cream let out a blood-curdling scream, pointing across the room.

"Oh, my God! TAILS!!"

All heads in the room turned to look where the young rabbit was pointing and saw the bloodied and broken body of Miles 'Tails' Prower, lying motionless on the floor, blood flowing from the gash on the back of his head. Tails' body had been so badly mangled that had it not been for his two large, fluffy tails, his friends would not have believed that it was him.

"Tails!!" Sonic shouted as he and the rest of the gang rushed over to the fallen kitsune's side. The first thing that Sonic took notice of was the large gash on the back of the pre-teen fox's head.

"Who could've done this?" Amy cried as Sonic slowly turned Tails over onto his back. He then placed an ear to the kits' chest, listening for any signs of life. "Is...is he...?" Knuckles asked, on the verge of tears himself.

Sonic continued to listen for a few more moments, then lifted his head, closing his eyes tightly, beginning to cry.

"Sonic... what's wrong?" Amy asked her hedgehog friend. Sonic only cried harder.

"He's... he's gone."

At that moment, everyone felt as though their hearts had been ripped from their chests. No one could believe what they had just heard. They wouldn't believe it. They REFUSED to believe it.

Cream burst into tears and started shaking Tails' lifeless body, screaming, "Wake up, Tails! You can't be dead, you just can't be!" The young rabbit laid her head down on the fox's chest and began crying hysterically.

"Tails... please, no." Amy whispered, covering her face with her hands and sobbing loudly. Knuckles just hung his head, letting silent tears fall for one of his oldest, yet youngest friends.

Sonic continued to cry for the young fox that had been deprived of his life in such an inhuman way. It was impossible for him to believe that his friend, his brother, Miles 'Tails' Prower, was dead. The grieving hedgehog was so consumed with emotion that he had failed to notice someone walk up and place a hand on his shoulder.

"Sonic, I'm... sorry. I know how much you cared for him." Shadow said sadly, speaking with emotion that nobody had ever witnessed in the Ultimate Lifeform before.

Shadow looked down on the body of one of the few creatures that he had ever called 'friend'. What the black and red hedgehog said next had every set of eyes staring directly at him.

"Sonic... I may be able to help him."

Sonic turned to look at Shadow, tears still flowing from his emerald green eyes. "Wh... what are you talking about, Shadow? You may be the Ultimate Lifeform, but even you can't raise the dead."

Shadow responded with, "Don't be so sure.", but Sonic was still skeptical.

"But how?" Knuckles asked. The dark hedgehog turned to the rest of the stunned group of friends and began to explain.

"You all know that I am immortal, but you don't know all of the reasons why. When I was created by Professor Gerald Robotnik, I was indeed created to be the Ultimate Lifeform and the ultimate weapon, but my creation served yet a third purpose. The Professor created me as a way of prolonging his own life."

Everyone was speechless. They were practically staring at a living, breathing Fountain of Youth.

"Are you serious!?" Amy half-shouted.

"Yes, I am. My purpose for existence was not only destruction, but rebirth as well. In the event of Professor Robotnik's demise, I was to revive him by transferring all of my life energy into his body. No doubt, once he had been revived he would've just created another Ultimate Lifeform to repeat the entire process."

Knuckles decided to interrupt at this point.

"So it seems that the Professor's only purpose for making you immortal was to make himself immortal."

"That is correct." Shadow stated. "Although personally I wasn't entirely pleased with this decision, I could not disregard my creator's orders."

"So why didn't you revive him when he died on the ARK fifty years ago?" Sonic asked.

"He didn't die on the ARK. He was captured, brought to this planet and executed. I had already been placed in cryogenic containment at this time. Honestly, given the chance... I would have revived Maria had she not sent me into space to keep me from suffering the same fate."

"Maria..." A single tear escaped the corner of Shadow's left eye. Sonic quickly noticed.

"You really cared for her, didn't you, Shadow?" He said to his dark friend. "Yes, I did. As much as you care about Tails... which is why I am going to give my life for his."

The rest of the gang was dumbfounded by what they just heard, especially Sonic. "Wh... what!?!? But that's crazy, Shadow! We all miss Tails greatly, but we can't ask you to die... just think of what Tails would want. He wouldn't want you to give your life up just so he could live!"

Shadow knelt down and placed a hand on Tails' chest, next to where Cream had rested her head, and looked back towards Sonic.

"First off, you're not asking me to die, it is my choice. This was always my purpose, Sonic. Since my creation, my greatest mission was to die... it was my destiny. And second, don't you think Tails would want what was best for all of you? Trust me. This is the way it should be."

Sonic was speechless. He never knew Shadow had any emotion whatsoever. "Shadow..."

"You don't have to say anything. I know what it's like to lose someone you care so much for. At least I can die knowing that my last living act was to help someone of this planet... just as Maria had wished for me to. Now, I must begin."

Shadow then proceeded to remove his gloves and then placed his black-furred hand back on Tails' chest, directly over the fox's heart.

Cream, whose head was still resting on Tails, raised her head and leaned over to Shadow. "Shadow?"

The hedgehog looked at the rabbit and said, "What is it?" Cream smiled at the ebony hedgehog and said, "Thank you." She then gave him a small kiss on his cheek, causing the Ultimate Lifeform to blush for the first time in his life.

Shadow just stared into space for a moment before snapping back to reality. "Uhh, I should begin." But before he could start, Sonic whispered Shadow's name, gaining the hedgehog's attention.

"What is it, Sonic?"

Sonic smiled, gave his friend a thumbs-up and said, "Thank you, my friend... Maria would be proud."

Shadow shed another tear, thinking of Maria, and then turned back to Tails, ready to make the ultimate sacrifice for a friend.

"CHAOS REVIVAL!" Shadow shouted, and at that moment, both his and Tails' bodies began to glow with a bright green aura. After a few seconds, Shadow screamed out in pain and arched his back. "AAAAAHHH!!" Sonic didn't know what was happening.

"Shadow, what's going on!?"

The midnight hedgehog turned to his blue counterpart and yelled, "It's happening!" Shadow continued to shout in pain as his body slowly began to disintegrate. As this was taking place, all of the wounds on Tails' body were starting to heal. They could even hear the broken bones in his right foot and left arm beginning to reset. The gash on the back of his head had also closed up.

Shadow continued to disappear, but before he faded away completely, he turned to all of his friends and smiled.

"Thank you, all of you. For showing me what friendship is. I can now leave this world with no regrets. Goodbye."

Just as he finished speaking, the last of Shadow the Hedgehog had faded from sight. All that remained was the green aura still surrounding Tails' body. Everyone watched in awe as the aura entered the kit's body and disappeared.

Do you think it worked?" Amy whispered to Sonic.

"I hope so Ames. I hope so."

A few more moments of silent wonder passed by, until the group saw something they felt they had not seen for an eternity... Tails' chest was rising and falling as the young fox started coughing, taking in air at a quickened pace, much to the great relief of his friends.

Everyone continued to stare in amazement and after Tails had stopped coughing, the young kit finally opened his eyes.

"T... Tails?" Sonic stammered, nearly bursting into tears again. Tails slowly sat up, looked over at his friends and smiled. "Yeah... it's me, Sonic." He whispered in a small, quiet voice. "I... I can't believe it. I'm so glad you're back, lil' bro!" Sonic cried, embracing Tails in a tight hug.

"I thought that we'd lost you forever." Sonic said, crying harder than before. "It's alright, Sonic. I'm back now, and I'm not going anywhere." Tails replied, now crying as well.

After a long and tearful reunion, Sonic and Tails broke the hug and the hedgehog helped the fox to his feet. Tails turned to the rest of his friends and said, "Hey, guys! What's u... aah!" But before he could finish, the fox was tackled and knocked back to the ground by a creme colored blur.

Cream wrapped her arms tightly around Tails' neck and was crying hysterically. "Oh, Tails! I missed you so much. I thought I'd never see you again!" The doe continued crying, not realizing that her grip around the kit's neck was tightening.

"Ack... Cream... I can't... breathe." Tails choked out, starting to turn blue.

"Oh! Sorry, Tails." Cream said embarrassed, letting go of the fox.

"Ah, much better. Thanks, Cream."

"See, Sonic? Now why can't we hug like that?" Amy asked. Sonic just mumbled under his breath, "Because I'm not insane."

"What was that?" The pink hedgehog said, suddenly grasping her Piko Piko Hammer. "Uhh... nothing." Sonic replied, beginning to sweat.

"That's what I thought."

"Good to have ya back, kid!" Knuckles said, slapping Tails on the back. "Thanks, Knuckles. It's good to be back." Tails replied as Amy helped the young vulpine back to his feet. Once Tails had stood up, he started to wobble a bit, so Amy grabbed his shoulders to support him.

"Are you okay, Tails?" The pink hedgehog asked him. "Yeah, I'm okay, Amy. Just a little dizzy." Tails said. "Now that you mention it, how am I okay? I mean, didn't I die?"

This question caused everyone in the room to hang their heads in sorrow. "What's the matter, you guys? Did I say something wrong?" The fox then looked around the room, noticing that somebody was missing.

"Hey, where's Shadow?"

Nobody responded as Tails saw Sonic walk towards something laying on the ground and pick them up. "Guys... what's going on?" Sonic came back over to Tails and handed him Shadow's gloves. "Here, Tails." Tails looked at what the blue hedgehog had handed to him.

"Wh... These are Shadow's. I don't understand, did something happen to him? Where is he?" The fox asked, completely oblivious to what had happened prior to his rebirth.

Sonic took a deep breath and began to explain why Shadow was no longer among them.

"Well, Tails. After you had died, Shadow explained to us that one of his purposes for his creation was to revive Professor Gerald Robotnik after he died, but this required Shadow to give up his own life in the process. He never had the opportunity to do so, so his final purpose went unfulfilled."

Tails interrupted and asked, "But, what does that have to do with me?"

Sonic began to tear up, but he continued. "Shadow also told us that Maria's final wish before she died was for Shadow to help the people of this planet, so Shadow used his life energy to revive you... he gave his life for you, Tails."

Tails was in shock. That's the only word that could describe the fox's expression... shock. Tails' voice was cracking when he asked, "Are... you saying... that Shadow is... is..."

"I'm afraid so."

Tails slowly dropped to his knees, unable to hold back the tears any longer. He began sobbing loudly, pounding his fist on the ground.

"No... no! It can't be true, it just can't be! It's not fair! DAMN IT!" The fox yelled out, ignoring the throbbing pain in his hand. Sonic knelt down beside the grieving kit and raised his head, looking him straight in the eye. "Don't worry, buddy. I promise we'll get even with whoever caused all of this."

Tails quickly stood up, tears streaming down his furry muzzle, and began to shout at Sonic.

"You don't understand! This is all my fault!" All eyes remained on Tails, waiting for the fox to explain what he meant. "What are you talking about, Tails? How is any of this your fault?" Cream asked the fox kit.

Tails resumed shouting as the tears continued to flow. "It's all my fault! If I wouldn't have gone through with that stupid experiment, then none of this would have happened!" Amy raised an eyebrow and asked, "What does your experiment have to do with anything that's happened, Tails?"

Tails started to calm down and began to speak a bit quieter.
"Him... he did all of this."

Knuckles was the first to ask. "Who's 'He'?" Tails turned to face the echidna, fists clenched tightly, and growled from the back of his throat. "My Super form."

At that moment, all of Tails' friends thought that the last grip the little fox had on reality had finally slipped away. "Super form!?" They all shouted together. Sonic asked, "But, how is that possible? I mean, isn't your Super form just another part of you?"

Tails then explained to the puzzled hedgehog. "I was, Sonic. But... somehow, my Super form was able to separate from my body. We are now two completely different beings, which means I have no control over him anymore. So anybody he harms... or kills... it'll be all my fault."

Tails closed his eyes tightly, trying to fight back tears, but he kept thinking about the innocent Mobians that could die if Super wasn't stopped. The enraged fox's fur began to emit a faint glow as he leaned back and shouted towards the sky.

"I swear to you, Super! I will stop you! If it's the last thing I do, I swear, by the seven Chaos, I will stop you!"

After a few moments of what appeared to be a semi-transformation... Tails suddenly fainted.

....To Be Continued