Disclaimer: I don't own Sonic the Hedgehog or any of the characters in the franchise.

Updated by recommendation from Lynn.

"Wake up."

Tails groans, unable to open his eyes. He tries to move his limbs, struggling against a seemingly heavy weight, then collapses, giving in.

"I gave you a little something for your resistance. It should paralyze you for quite some time."

Tails moans, turning his head to the side. He tries to push himself upwards. This time, a shock from his stomach tore right through his body. He screams, falling back to the ground. He grunts in pain as he tries to recover from it.

"Oh, I must've forgotten to feed you. Silly me, I forgot you animals eat every once in a while."

A boot pushes on his stomach. Tails groans, his stomach contracting.

"You're a special one, you know that? You're smarter than all of those stupid rodents here. If only you'd cooperated, we would've done great things together…"

The boot pushes in harder. Tails cries out, panting heavily as the pain surges through him.

"I guess I'll just have to do something else with you."

The boot releases from his stomach. Tails gasps as he rests his head back on the floor, wheezing uncontrollably.

"Useless fox…"

A door smashes open.

"Found you, omelet!"

Tails could only hear the struggle ensuing after. Walls banging. Shouting. Robots stomping. Smashing. The fight slowly fading far away from him.

A moment passes before the altercation dies out. Tails hears footsteps returning towards him.

"How can his fat ass run so fast…"

The footsteps stop nearby him. "Hey, are you okay?" A voice asks.

Tails groans. He tries to move again, but to no avail. He gives up trying, sighing in desperation.

"Gee, I hope it's nothing too serious."

Tails gives a chuckle. Nothing too serious. Suddenly, the pain reappears from the contraction and he screams out. The voice nearby gasps and takes a step back. He whimpers, aching, his body completely powerless.

A hand rests on his stomach, gently stroking it. Tails exhales in surprise, his muscles slowly relaxing, his breaths becoming softer, calmer.

"There there," the voice comforts, "you're going to be just fine."

Tails moans gently, his body tingling from a warm sensation. He feels his body slowly being picked up and carried away.

Some time passes while Tails is being carried. He senses the weather changing to a cold, breezing front. Tails shivers heavily from the relentless blizzard.

"Looks like the weather's getting worse. We better get some rest before we continue."

They enter a reverberant location, shielded away from the storm outside.

"This should do it."

Tails is placed gently on a cold, rough floor. He slowly turns his body to the side, his paralysis fading away, his stomach still aching from sickness. To his dismay, he still can't open his eyes, his eyesight weak from the constant darkness before. He grunts as his stomach makes a grumbling noise, curling up into a ball.

"Hungry, little guy?" The voice asks. Tails whimpers as he slowly nods in response. He hears a rustling sound, an item being taken out. The voice sighs.

"I only have some biscuits. Would've gotten more had I known I'd run into you."

He hears a plastic being unwrapped, the sound slowly approaching him.

"Here. I hope this helps."

Tails feels something gently being placed at his hands. He carefully grabs it, rubbings his fingers on the rough texture. He slowly pulls it towards his mouth and nibbles on it. A chewy, buttery taste. He continues to bite it until it's been filled into his stomach. He breathes softly as his stomach churns, his body regaining some of its vigor back.

A while passes, the storm still howling outside. Tails shivers heavily, unable to sleep. He scrapes the ground, groaning to himself, unable to fight the cold.

He suddenly feels a pair of arms hugging him, pulling him closer to a warm chest. Tails gasps softly at the sudden change of temperature. He feels a hand resting on his back, another gently stroking his head. Tails moans gently, feeling warm and snug inside. He slowly rubs his cheek on the soft, smooth chest.

Tails clenches his teeth. He struggles to open his eyes, barely managing to do so. A peach colored torso. A blue colored fur. Tails looks at it for a moment before slowly tilting his head upwards. Emerald eyes open slowly, expressing a gentle smile.

"How are you, buddy?" He asks.

Tails slowly looks down, struggling to speak.

"I'm okay." Tails replies with a weak voice.

"I'm glad." He responds, hugging him closer. Tails felt a warm energy intoxicating him, numbing every tip of his body. He became drowsy and heavy, eventually succumbing to it, slowly closing his eyes. He breathes gently as his memory resurfaces into a dream.

Tails looks down at his device, frowning. He hasn't been able to get it fixed ever since he accidentally dropped it. He stops walking and sighs.

"Maybe I'm just not cut out to be a mechanic after all…"

A figure slowly approaches him nearby. He looks up towards it. It was a long moustached man, his hands behind his back, smiling.

"Hello, my name is Doctor Eggman. What's your name?" Eggman curiously asks.

Tails looked at him nervously.

"…Tails." He hesitantly answers.

"Tails hmm…" Eggman replies, "interesting name." He looks at his device. "I couldn't help but notice this peculiar gadget in your hands. What is it?"

Tails looks down at his invention, sighing. He explained what it does, and what had happened to it.

"Oh," Eggman says, "mind if I take a look?"

Tails looks down at the device, pausing, then hands it over to Eggman. Eggman expressed astonishment, noting its features in detail. Tails looks at him in surprise, taken in by his knowledge.

"Wow. How do you know all of this stuff?" Tails asks curiously.

"I'm not called a 'doctor' for no reason." Eggman smirks, "Say, you seem like a smart little fox. What do you say we work together? We could build new inventions like this one."

Tails takes in a moment before nodding in agreement. Eggman smiles, and guides him back to his lair.

Eggman opens the door to a room and walks inside.

"And here is where I do all of my tests."

Tails followed behind him, gazing around. His eyes widened, his jaws dropped.

The room was filled with animals, all confined in cages. They were screaming, shouting, trying to escape their prison.

"What is this…?" Tails asks in shock.

Eggman grins. "Like I said, this is where I do my tests."

"On animals?" Tails asks in anger.

"They possess a certain power able to run my machines." Eggman explained, "You see, it's been my lifelong dream to take over the world. You would do best in helping me out."

Tails looked at the animals, then scowled back at Eggman, taking a step back.

"No, I won't."

Eggman smirks. "What a shame…" He gestures at the young fox.

Suddenly, two robots grab Tails by his wrists. Tails gasps, struggling to break free. Eggman slowly walks towards him and bends his head closer to his face.

"…and just when we were getting to know each other." He grins.

Tails grinds his teeth, staring helplessly back at Eggman, his heart pounding in fear.

Tails clenches his fists before slowly opening his eyes. The hedgehog stood nearby, stretching. He notices Tails and smiles.

"Good morning." He greeted. Tails slowly raises his body upwards, grunting slightly in pain. He notices the clear weather outside.

"Seems like the worst of it is over." The hedgehog continued. "I saw a town not too far from here. They should be able to help you out."

Tails nods as they prepare to set out again.

It didn't take long before they reached a hospital. They quickly helped Tails regain his lost strength.

His friend stayed with him the whole day, making sure he was alright. They chatted about everything and anything, sharing laughter and sorrow, everything except their names. An unwritten rule, a fear that they'd separate after that day.

Tails didn't ask for him to stay, even though he wanted to. He never had a friend he could talk so intimately to before.

He slept that night with a peace in his heart.

When Tails woke to, his friend was nowhere to be seen.

He asked if any of the doctors had seen him. They all shook their heads. He spots a simple note placed carefully beside him.

I'm sorry, but I have to go. That madman is running loose again, and I have to go stop him. I hope you get better soon.

His heart panged in fear. He wanted to see him again, even if it was just once more. Anything for that gentle warmth. His vigor now restored, he sets out to find him.

Tails treads off in the forest, sighing. Who knew finding a hedgehog would be so difficult.

He sits on a log, his head looking down. He had heard rumors about a blue haze dashing around here, but so far he found nothing. He began questioning himself after having searched for so long.

A breeze passes by. Tails looks up. The leaves rustle for a moment, and then return still. He sighs.

Another breeze flies by. He looks around again, his eyes widening, sensing a distinct aura. He stood up and looked around, searching for a trace. A hint. Something.

Two hands cover his eyes. "Guess who?"

Tails gasps, holding the hands and turning around. It was him again. The hedgehog gives a cocky smile. "Thought I'd never see you again, buddy."

Tails immediately hugs him, the hedgehog stroking his head. Tails felt the same warmth in his heart again. He never wanted it to go away. He slowly released his grip and looked at him.

"I'm Tails. What's your name?" Tails asks.

He grins. "I'm Sonic. Sonic the Hedgehog."