Hello! This story is a prequel to Blurring the Lines that shows how Sally, Sonic, and Tails all met one another. The updates here are going to be very spread out so don't really expect any really quick. While I would suggest reading at least some of Blurring the Lines before this, I can't force you. Let's get started!

Test of Time

Lost and Alone

The snow continued to crunch underfoot as he trudged forward, he was lost, scared, and alone. The tears flowing from his eyes quickly froze in the cold winter air and he shivered as another strong gust of wind blew over him. Stumbling, he fell into the snow, quickly becoming covered in it as what heat his small body had been producing melted the snow that clung to his fur. He gently brushed off the snow covering his arm, allowing the now crimson particles to fall to the ground below, reapplying pressure to the cut, he continued forward. Eventually, after a while, he stumbled again, falling to the snow below, he slowly stood back up, looking for any form of shelter, he crawled into a small hole at the base of a nearby tree, curling up to try and retain any warmth he could. He clutched the small locket placed in the center of the ball he had formed and began to sob more fiercely than before. He could still feel the cold winter wind battering his now tortured body, he had never felt so hopelessly afraid before.

"Mom? Dad?" He quietly questioned, begging for some form of help. He received no answer, he knew he wouldn't.

The snow continued to cover him, and he saw a soft white light approaching toward him, almost calling for him. Maybe dying wouldn't be so bad, he'd get to be with his parents. He faintly heard something coming from outside his shelter. However, he couldn't find the strength or resolve to answer as his breathing began to slow.

-X-

"Sal! There's more blood over here!"

"That means they might still be out here! We've got to be close!"

The hedgehog looked back toward Sally, the two of them had been out on a short run for exercise when they had found blood in the snow, since then, they had been trying to track down it's source, knowing that what or who ever it was wouldn't last long out here.

"I hope you're right," Sonic yelled back. "It's freezing out here!"

They continued in the direction they had been heading when Sally found footprints compacted in the snow, they looked relatively new but would soon be covered in freshly fallen snow, she was concerned with the small size of the prints if this was a kid, he was certainly not alright.

Calling Sonic over they continued to follow the tracks, praying that they wouldn't be too late.

-X-

Several yards away, the small fox curled up in his alcove was losing the fight with death. His thoughts, which normally moved at a thousand miles a minute, had slowed to a halt, red ice had coated his arm, and his tails, which were on the outside of his ball, had completely frozen from the snow that now covered him. He could still see the faint light in front of his vision, but the cold over his body prevented him from acting on it. He didn't know if he should be scared or happy, and he couldn't find the willpower to find out. He heard footsteps behind him before they stopped, he heard a gasp before he could feel some of the snow covering him lighten before he lost consciousness.

Sally dug at the snow covering the small orange form she had seen, pulling it out of the shelter, she pulled the fox close to her, he appeared to be unconscious, at least, that's what she hoped. His left arm was covered in crimson ice, he was covered with snow. Looking down, his eyes were a dull gray and were almost lifeless in their appearance. Quickly thrusting the fox into Sonic's arms, she yelled at him to get back home immediately. Knowing that he was now entrusted with the kit's life, he bolted off toward home, Sally tried her best to follow but was unable to keep up as he continued toward shelter.

-X-

Sonic had never run so fast in his life, the kit in his arms was completely limp, he couldn't feel any breathing, maybe due to the wind from running at full speed. He pulled the fox closer to his chest. "Just hang on kid! Don't die on me!"

He bolted inside slamming the door behind him, he placed the frozen kit onto the couch nearby and frantically scanned the house for anything that could help, he grabbed a blanket and threw it over him, wrapping him up as tight as he could, he did the same with another layer of blankets. He didn't know what else he could do, Sally burst into the door.

"Grab something to heat him, he probably has hypothermia, he's not producing body heat."

Sonic nodded and charged upstairs, grabbing a portable heater, he pointed it toward the kit. Sally pulled his arm out of the blankets and started to look it over.

"The cut looks serious, we're going to need to give that a better look when the ice melts." She added. "How is this kid still alive?"

"He wouldn't be if it weren't for your quick thinking. We wouldn't have found him."

The kit shuddered at he let out a sharp exhale, his tense muscles finally able to relax.

"Looks like he'll live." Sally commented, and the two of them let out a breath they didn't even know they were holding.

The ice on his arm had thawed slightly, Sonic retrieved a set of bandages and Sally tried to clean off some of the blood present on his arm. After cleaning up most of it on the surface of his fur, she wrapped his arm fully.

"That's as good as it's going to get for now, it'd be a death sentence to take him out to see a doctor."

"Yeah, I wonder what he's doing out here." Sonic asked. "Probably Eggman's doing if I had to guess."

They let the fox get some rest for a couple hours. Eventually, he let out a soft moan and slowly, his eyes fluttered open.

"Where am I…" He asked.

"Hey bud, how you feeling?" Sonic asked, walking over to him.

"Who are you? Where are my parents!?"

The kit recoiled slightly in fear, he would have done more but due to his drowsy and exhausted state it was the best he could manage.

"Whoa, calm down! We're just trying to help, we found you freezing to death in the snow."

"Why was I…" He stopped, his brain finally snapping into action after waking up. The other two got concerned as small tears became visible in the kit's eyes. He curled up in his blankets.

"What's wrong?" Sally asked. "Does something still hurt?"

"No…" He sniffed. "It's- It's just-" He broke down again, crying into his pillow.

Sally tried to comfort him, something was clearly wrong. "What's your name bud?" She asked to get his mind off the topic.

"Miles, Miles Pro- Prow-"

"You can do it." Sally encouraged, not quite understanding the weight of her comment.

Miles burst into full on sobs at this point. Sally jumped back in alarm, fearing she had somehow hurt him. The still gently shivering fox jumped up from his position and dashed toward the door. "They can't be dead! They're still out there, I need to help them!"

Sonic blocked off his escape, "Sorry, you're not in any shape to go out now. If you want, I'll go look for you."

"Yes! Take me with you! They need to know I'm alright!"

"You won't be if you come with, you'll freeze. You're still shivering as you talk right now!"

"But… I need to- I-"

Miles collapsed again, this time seemingly out of pure shock than anything else.

"Don't go, they're gone… I know they are…"

"Who?" Sonic asked.

"My P- Parents!"

Sally grabbed him into a tight hug and laid him down on the couch again, placing the blanket back over him in an attempt to get him to stop shivering. She pulled Sonic off to the side.

"Did he just say his parents are dead!?"

"Seems that way, honestly it explains a lot. He's just been a ball of emotions ever since he woke up."

"This is bad, we need to make sure he doesn't do anything rash, once the snow stops we'll figure out who his parents were and if there's anywhere we can send him." Sally suggested.

"Alright, seems like a plan. Well we might as well introduce ourselves if he's going to be here."

Sonic reentered the living space and Miles had stopped crying by this point, resorting to soft sniffles every once in a while.

"Hey bud, look, we just realized we haven't introduced ourselves yet. My name's Sonic, this is Sally."

"Mine's Miles, but, you can call me Tails."

Sonic chuckled at the nickname, "Why's that?"

Tails stood up and removed the blanket from around himself, two bright orange tails with white tips separated themselves behind him. Sonic and Sally hadn't noticed this during the rush to save his life, and because he had been wrapped in blankets afterward, they hadn't noticed.

Sonic's eyes visibly widened with the newfound discovery. "That's neat! Tails it is! Honestly, that's really cool!"

The fox blushed at being complimented. "Thanks. I can fly with them too, just not while they're blocks of ice and completely numb."

"Sorry to hear that bud, well, considering you might be stuck here for the night, is there anything we can get you."

"No, it's alright. I'll be fine."

The other two exchanged doubtful glances before continuing. "Well it's probably been an exhausting day for you," Sally began. "You might want to get some sleep."

Tails nodded before laying himself down, Sonic and Sally stayed where they were and waited on him to fully fall asleep. Eventually he did, snoring softly as his mind turned off.

Sonic and Sal both retired themselves to their bedrooms, which is exactly when the nightmares began.

Alright, that's it for now! Feel free to comment and follow to let me know what you though and stay tuned for next time!