Author's note: All events in this story are entirely fictional. All characters belong to Sega and/or Archie. This story was written for entertainment purposes only and should not be treated otherwise.

It had been one of those days. Another one of those days in which Tails had another argument with Shadow, in the former's residence. Usually it only involved a simple conflict and almost always ended up remaining as such before the two reconciled again. This time, however, said argument proved that even the most pointless and preposterous controversies could lead to disastrous results.

"And I'm telling you," Tails insisted, "both Sony and Microsoft should make Tails the Fox & Shadow the Hedgehog both for PlayStation 4 and Xbox-One!"

"And I'm once again telling you, this is a stupid idea!" Shadow argued. "It sounds like a freaking rip off of my own game!"

"Damn it Shadow, you are so selfish! This game where you were the main star took away the entire spotlight from the others!" Tails replied angrily.

"Who are you to talk!? You're just here for the fan service, and I think both you and I know this very well!" Shadow snapped in response.

Tails' eyes started tearing up. "That was hurtful and you know it..." he murmured.

"Oh no, don't you start using those tears against me again! Those won't help you anymore!" Shadow warned.

"You think those tears are fake!? Do you really think I'm just trying to manipulate you!?" Tails cried. "How the hell can you say that!? You're so phlegmatic!"

"Oh, so now I'm phlegmatic!? I'll show you phlegmatic, you two-tailed infantile!" Shadow growled and kicked Tails.

Colossal mistake. What the black hedgehog didn't notice was that both he and Tails were too close to the stairs, and Shadow's kick sent the two-tailed fox rolling along the stairs all the way down to the bottom.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

The descent's impact was so powerful that not only did it manage to fill Tails with extreme pain and make him scream in agony, but it also caused his leg to break. The poor fox started crying loudly in a mixture of pain and shock – both from the fall and from the fact that, out of all people, his own friend had gotten him into that situation.

"TAILS!"

Shadow recognized that voice. 'Damn it, they're going to tell on me and send cops,' he thought to himself. 'I guess that's my cue to am-scray.' Just as he successfully teleported out of the scene, the owner of the voice rushed to the poor injured kid. It was another one of Tails' friends – a red vixen named Fiona Fox, who had come for a visit the same day.

"Tails, what happened to you!? Speak to me!" she said. At the same time, another person had heard Tails' screams of agony. That was Rosemary, his mother, who rushed from upstairs to help her son just as Shadow's presence in the house was no more.

"Tails, my baby!" Rosemary cried, holding her crying son in her arms. "What happened!? Who did this to you!?"

Tails was too shocked and agitated to answer either Fiona or Rosemary, and all he could do was point over towards the stairs.

"You fell off the stairs!? Oh, my poor baby," Rosemary sobbed, holding Tails close to her. She also noticed his broken leg. "Fiona, we need to take Tails to the hospital, quickly!"

"I'm on it!" Fiona says, rushing to the car with Rosemary.

After spending several hours in the hospital, Tails returned home with his mother and Fiona, with his leg all patched up. Fiona and Rosemary made sure to take care of Tails and his broken leg, and during this period, the two-tailed fox grew closer to Fiona. But let's not rush with the details just yet.

"Mommy... what happened after the doctor had put me to sleep?" Tails asked. During his time in the hospital, the two-tailed fox had a very hard time talking because of how agitated and shocked he had been feeling. Moreover, he was asleep for a long time, even after the treatment was over. He slept so much, and he woke up only after arriving back home.

"Your leg has been treated, sweetie. The doctor said your leg would recover after a month or so," Rosemary answered, petting Tails. "Your leg has been patched up, so right now it'll be difficult for you to move it properly."

"At least it's not as painful as it was after the fall..." Tails murmured. His leg was placed on a pillow as Fiona and Rosemary sat next to him on a couch. "Thank you for taking me to the hospital."

"Anything for you, Tails," Fiona replied and placed her hand on Tails' shoulder. "Tell us, who did this to you?"

"It was Shadow," Tails answered. "We were debating on some hypothetical video-game development and he kicked me down the stairs."

"What!? How could he do this!? I thought he knows better than kicking his friends down the stairs and maiming them like this!" Rosemary replied angrily.

"Some friend," Fiona muttered. "I'm calling the police. That'll teach Shadow to break other people's legs."

"Thanks, Fiona..." Tails said. "That'll guarantee to keep him away from me for a while."

Fiona nodded and flipped out her phone. She then pressed a few buttons and started a conversation. "Hello, police? This is Fiona Fox, and I'd like to report on a violence case against Shadow the Hedgehog. He kicked my friend, Miles Tails Prower the fox, down a high set of stairs in his house and caused his leg to break. You say you'll go after him? Great, thank you very much. Have a nice day too."

"So is Shadow going to spend some time in jail?" Tails asked.

"Very possible, Tails. That way he won't be able to hurt you again," Fiona answered. "In the meantime, your mom and I will take care of you."

Tails finally smiled. "Thank you very much. You're the best, Fiona," he said, and the red vixen hugged him in response.

Rosemary ruffled her son's hair, causing him to giggle a bit. "I'll tell you what, darling. I'll make you a hamburger and a large glass of root beer, what do you think?" she offered.

"Thanks mom, that'll be great," Tails said, and then he found both Rosemary and Fiona nuzzling his sides.

Within a week, Tails' bond with Fiona had grown significantly. They have become very good friends, and not only have they played a lot of video-games and watched movies, but they have also had a lot of sleepovers. Fiona would also tickle Tails' foot often to make him feel even better. The two-tailed fox's leg was indeed recovering rather quickly.

Meanwhile, Shadow had been caught by the police and was now being interrogated.

"Maiming a little child and breaking his leg!?" Shadow asked, pretending to be shocked. "That's preposterous! Why by the bass of Harris would I do such a diabolical deed!?"

"Save your lies for something else, Shadow. We have evidence by the injured himself, he wouldn't blame you for no reason," said the officer. "Breaking a little child's leg is a very severe act of violence, let alone your friend."

"But I'm telling you I'm innocent! I can't be sent to the big house, you've got nothing on me!" the black hedgehog insisted.

"No more lies, Shadow! Quit playing games with us!" the officer snapped. "You could have chosen the easy way and told the truth, and then we'd have settled for a period of only a week in jail. However, since you've chosen the hard way and lied about the case, you'll be sitting in jail for a much longer time, with at least a month being only your best case."

Shadow gave up, knowing he couldn't fool the interrogator. "OK, fine! Send me to your damn cell, I can't hide the truth! I kicked Miles Tails Prower down the stairs and caused his leg to break, are you happy now!?"

"Was it that hard?" the officer asked.

"You're talking as if I wanted to make his leg break," Shadow muttered. "If you think that was my intention, then you have it all wrong."

"Save that to when you're released," the officer replied and escorted Shadow to prison. "And you better not play any games with us while doing your time."

"Fine, just leave me alone," Shadow muttered. Once the black hedgehog entered his cell, the officer fulfilled his wish, but not before locking the cell's door behind him.

A month has passed, and Tails' leg has finally been healed. Nonetheless, Fiona kept being with Tails, because they both grew rather attached to each other. Rosemary liked that too. However, Shadow has begun growing very depressed shortly after his incarceration, and during this month, his condition only became worse. He didn't eat anything, he didn't speak to anyone, and his will to do anything in general was almost null and void.

Fortunately for Shadow, his one speck of hope was his girlfriend, Rouge the Bat. She works at the police, and she inspected Shadow during his incarceration. Shadow felt very ashamed every time Rouge had seen him in the cell, and the bat girl herself started feeling bad for Shadow. He was afraid of talking to her this entire time. Then, for the first time during Shadow's incarceration, Rouge unlocked his cell and entered to talk to him.

"Shadow? Can I talk to you?" she asked him. Shadow only turned his head towards Rouge, but then he turned his head away from her again without saying anything. However, Rouge once again caught Shadow's attention once walking closer to him and placing her hand on his shoulder.

"You're feeling bad because of what you've done to Tails, aren't you?" she asked him. Shadow nodded in shame, still not saying anything. "I can see that," Rouge continued. "You don't look so good. However, I have a deal to offer you. I'll bond you out of jail, and you go to Tails and apologize to him. What do you say?"

And finally, for the first time since his incarceration commenced, Shadow talked to Rouge. "Will you... really do that for me?" he asked, shedding a single tear.

Rouge hugged Shadow gently. "Yes. Go to Tails and apologize to him for kicking him downstairs and leaving him hurt instead of helping him," she said.

"But... what if he doesn't forgive me?" Shadow asked.

"You can make sure he does forgive you, I trust you," Rouge said. "Otherwise it's Tails' problem. But this shouldn't worry you."

"I'll do it, Rouge. But I still feel a bit nervous," Shadow murmured.

"Take your time, Shadow. Even if it takes you several days to be ready," Rouge replied. "But for now, let's get you out of here."

The jailor agreed to release Shadow, and Rouge escorted her hedgehog boyfriend back home. Shadow thanked her and went to his room to rest. His health was in a really bad shape, and he felt that he couldn't go to Tails like this. Condemned man, convicted man. That was how Shadow felt about himself. He crawled into his bed and rested.

Three days later, Tails was playing an old game, which he had downloaded on his PlayStation 3, with Fiona. "Remember all the fun times we had together, Fiona?" he asked her.

"Sure I do," Fiona smiled at him. "We went to Emerald Coast and had ice-cream, and then we watched this awesome movie."

"And don't forget our fun time at the sauna with mom," Tails chuckled.

"Oh yes, that was so sweet," Fiona giggled back.

"Good times indeed," Tails sighed happily. "Hey, get the missile!"

"Got it! Yes, now his colors are mine!" Fiona exclaimed.

"Jackpot! Now we're gonna win for sure!" Tails cheered.

Sometime later, several knocks were heard on Tails' door. "I'll get it," the two-tailed fox said after pausing the game. He opened the door and saw an old friend standing at the entrance.

"Hey Sonic!" Tails said, shaking his old buddy's hand. "What's up?"

"Hey Tails," Sonic replied, "I'm doing pretty fine, just preparing for a date with Amy. I don't have much time, I just came to tell you that there's someone here who came to see you and would like to talk to you."

"Really? Who?" Tails asked. Sonic didn't answer, or rather answered by letting that aforementioned someone in, leaving a shocked expression on Tails' face.

"Shadow?"

It was quite difficult to tell whether Tails was shocked by Shadow's current state after his health decline, or by Shadow's actual presence.

"Yes, it's me. And please, before you freak out, let me talk," Shadow said. "I want to apologize for kicking you down the stairs and breaking your leg. I acted extremely impulsively, and breaking your leg was completely unintentional and I am deeply sorry for it. Ever since it happened, it's been haunting me and eating me from the inside. Ever since that event and my arrest, my health began deteriorating significantly. Look at me. I haven't eaten anything until my release, and I've lost a lot of weight. The only reason I ran was because I was scared of that thing happening to me. But I couldn't run away from my fear. All I want is your forgiveness, and I still want to be your friend."

Fiona and Sonic knew Shadow was being earnest about his apology, but Tails wasn't convinced. He was still angry at Shadow. "To hell with your apology, Shadow! You don't know what it was like having to constantly drag my leg like it was some sack of concrete!"

"Tails, look at him. He really is sorry for doing this to you," Fiona said. "Are you sure you don't want to give Shadow another chance?"

"Think of it this way, your leg had been cured completely. Shadow will need much more time to restore his health," Sonic added.

"I don't care," Tails insisted.

"Tails, please forgive me!" Shadow begged, falling down to his knees after losing his balance.

"NO!" Tails yelled.

"Tails, I'm not leaving this place until I receive the forgiveness I deserve!" Shadow responded.

"Tough luck with that," Tails shook his head.

But then Shadow had an idea. "OK then, I guess you don't want to see what I have here," he said, taking out a small box containing a CD. This has definitely succeeded in catching Tails' attention, and his anger almost completely faded away.

"What is this?" he asked curiously.

"This is my own collection of all the Sly Cooper games, including bonus features that I customized on my own," Shadow explained. "I wanted to give it to you, but I guess you don't want it," he added and prepared to leave.

"Shadow, wait!" Tails said. The black hedgehog ceased his steps and turned around back to Tails, knowing his little Ace of Spades had worked.

"Yes? Did you change your mind?" Shadow asked.

"Yes. I realized how sorry you feel and how much you mean it, so I accept your apology," Tails responded. "And thank you for the disc. In fact, it's something I always wanted, but I was too shy to ask you about the customizations."

Shadow finally smiled and handed Tails the CD he made for him. "No problem at all, Tails. I wanted to compensate you, so I made you this. Thanks for forgiving me," he said. "Friends?"

Tails smiled and nodded. "Friends," he replied and shook Shadow's hand. He wanted to give him a hug, but Shadow was still feeling a bit weak for that.

"That was so adorable!" Fiona gushed.

"I'm glad the reunion was a success," Sonic grinned. "I'll see you guys some other day, I need to prepare for my date."

"Bye Sonic!" Tails said, and Sonic made a dash.

A few minutes later, Tails and Shadow were playing Uncharted 3, and Shadow showed Tails some shooting hints and techniques that Tails didn't know before.

"Try shooting from here," Shadow said. "That way you can't be seen by the enemies."

"Got it," Tails replied. "Say Shadow, can I ask you something? But be honest with me on this one."

"Sure buddy, what's your question?" Shadow responded.

"Should I get a PlayStation 4 or Xbox-One someday? Which one of those do you think I should get?" the two-tailed fox asked.

Shadow grinned at Tails' question. "Well buddy, while I personally prefer a PlayStation 4, you should follow your heart about this one."

"Will do, buddy," Tails smiled. "Also, do you really think a game about just the two of us is a stupid idea?"

Shadow chuckled and replied: "I've been thinking about Tails the Fox & Shadow the Hedgehog, and it's not that much of a bad idea after all. This actually sounds kind of... good."

"Think you could make that game somehow using your customizing skills?" Tails smiled.

"I might as well try and go for it," Shadow smiled back at Tails.

THE END

Author's note: Sly Cooper (c) Sucker Punch Productions. Uncharted (c) Naughty Dog. Please review and stay tuned for more stories!