Under a bright Mobian sun, Tails staggered slowly through the light undergrowth of the Great Forest. Delirium was rapidly engulfing his mind, so he stopped at the base of a tree.

And waited.

For what he was waiting for, he did not know. Rational thought escaped his frustrated grasp like a fly evades its impending death; buzzing, buzzing… irritated and diseased, refusing to give in to the unforgiving, final grasp of death. He felt like a madman; a drunkard unable to compose himself no matter how much he tried.

He had been in the forest for five days now. He was not sure why, and had even less of an idea of how; but he knew that something had gone terribly wrong. He knew he had to find him, to let him know that he was ok; that everything was going to be ok.

Perhaps that was what he wanted to hear.

- - -

Five days previous, it had begun.

'Wait here,' ordered the blue hedgehog that he looked up to; or at least used to, before the recent events had come to pass. With a burst of speed, Sonic ran away into the heart of Robotropolis, leaving the two-tailed fox hiding behind some charred wreckage lying at the fringe of the Great Forest.

Leaving him waiting.

Moments passed as Tails waited with anticipation for Sonic to return from the factory he had been charged to scout for the other Freedom Fighters. It lay on the fringes of the desolate city, and Tails could make out its dim silhouette from where he had been told to stay. With patience, he waited as moments turned into minutes.

As the minutes ticked past the half-hour mark, Tails began to worry. Even though he had only been into the city a small number of times before, he was usually reassured by the presence of his blue role-model; he very seldom left him behind, and when he did, was always quick to return. For the Blue Blur to disappear for longer than half an hour on such a routine mission was worrisome.

Something was wrong. With trepidation, Tails looked into the dark Robotroplian landscape once more, whimpering slightly as he tried to locate Sonic. With frustration, he realized that the crescent moon had since drifted behind a cloud; he could see nothing. Robotropolis was in complete blackout.

Without warning, everything changed. As he tried in vain to locate the factory, Tails was almost blinded by an all encompassing white flash. Closing his eyes and ducking behind the twisted shelter offered by the metal scrap heap, he heard a sharp, shrill alarm ring forth at an incredible volume; itself becoming silent as soon as it had discharged. And with the silencing of the alarm, so was everything; and then came the roar.

A deafening, dull roar, that felt as though it was coming from everywhere. An immense pressure pushed inwards from what felt like all directions, crushing his ear drums and making his head feel as if it was about to burst. Above the roar could be heard the stinging rasp of metal-against-metal, and the crash of splintering concrete. With a violent lurch, Tails felt his makeshift hiding place take flight, his tiny body being lifted from it in the heat; with a kiss of blood his head met force, and then all was black.

Black; fading, numb, throbbing – silence.

When Tails awoke, he awoke to desolation; complete and utter destruction, a portrait of death. On the vast, unending tapestry of black, scorched earth, the dim light of Tails' soul lay forlorn.

It did not hit him at that point. For the moment, he busied himself with rising to his feet; a process made difficult by the fact that his legs were like jelly and his mind was nothing more than a useless jumble of scrambled thought. His body was ineffective, and refused to obey his brain; he almost fell over again as he rose to his feet, but instead steadied himself on a charred piece of reflective metal that had pierced into the now black Mobian crust like a dagger.

It took him about five minutes to come to his senses. He noticed the blood stained face staring back at him from the reflective metal that was now supporting his body.

'What… wh…'

The word barely escaped his lips in a painful wheeze. Speaking hurt almost as much as thinking; unbeknownst to him, his vocal chords had been charred by the superheated air of the explosion, as was his bloodied face. His once magnificent brown fur was blackened beyond recognition.

'… where… Sonic.. must… find h… him..'

His friend was missing; his father was missing. He knew that he had to find him, and fulfill the insatiable urge to be reunited with him, to laugh and to joke about their latest adventure – to ask him what had happened. Reluctantly, Tails let go of the scrap metal and staggered backwards – with great difficulty, he did not fall to the ground again.

Slowly adjusting his eyes, Tails surveyed the blackened landscape around him. Like a macabre black winter, a layer of charred metal and ash covered the ground, interrupted here and there by the skeletons of buildings; the corpses of a former industrial Mecca.

There was no sign of Sonic anywhere.

Following his own hazy logic, Tails attempted to yell for his friend like a son would to his father. 'Sonic.. Sonic! Son.. sss...'

It was useless. No matter how badly he tried, the words simply would not pass from his mind into the air; his body was broken. He would have to try another way.

Tails turned around, trying to figure out where he was. He was surprised to find the main body of the great forest largely intact behind him, though he could tell that it had suffered great damage. In front of him, the eastern quadrant of Robotropolis had been destroyed; he could see that the nearest fully intact building was close to the horizon, separated from him by a black desert. Quickly, his young, fatigued mind tried to make sense of what he could see. That's it, thought Tails with difficulty; Sonic must've escaped the blast by running into the great forest! He'll be looking for me!

To a broken bodied eight year old who was positive that his hero's power was limitless, it was a logical conclusion to come to. With a new sense of purpose, he groggily made his way towards the edge of the forest, dragging his injured legs across the burnt landscape. Each step he took was like a dagger of ice piercing into his soul, but he was sure of his reward. He had to find Sonic to let him know that he was alright.

Time passed. Slowly. Painfully. Eventually, the young fox made it to his target; bloodied and broken, without so much as a sound, he collapsed into a heap at the foot of a slightly blackened oak tree, unconscious. A small, injured bird watched him sleep in eerie silence.

- - -

Things had not improved since then.

For five days he had been in the Great Forest. He had relied on insects and puddles for nourishment, and was sure that he was lost. His mind was slowly imploding, and his charred and broken body was reluctant to carry him.

But he had to find Sonic… He had to let him know he was alright…

What was he waiting for? His mind was at war with itself, trying to decide whether to get up and face pain, or to rest a while longer.

Perhaps even to sleep?

No! thought Tails immediately, pushing the notion to the back of his mind again. Such thinking was dangerous. He knew that to sleep was to give into death. He knew that he would never awake, and would never rendezvous with Sonic if he gave in. With this in mind, he clawed his way to his feet with the help of the tree he was resting against.

He started walking in the direction he was faced. Where it would take him he had no idea. He had no idea of anything anymore. What was going on? Where was Sonic? Where were the other Freedom Fighters? Why did he hurt so much?

And then he remembered the explosion.

I must find Sonic... I must let him know I am alright…

- - -

He stood at the edge of the Great Forest.

Six days. The edge of the Great Forest.

He had been walking six days now, and he was back at the edge of the Great Forest.

Judging by the ruins of the former city, he was about one mile west of where he had entered the cradle nature had built for him and the others who had escaped the coup eight years before. It was as though he was on the other side of the city. Frustration did not begin to describe what he felt.

But he didn't care anymore. In a trance like state, he kept walking. Forwards.

Forwards, forwards… I must find Sonic… forwards, ceaseless, robotic.

He was numb to the pain. The broken metal piercing his feet was like a drug. The cogs of his mind began to turn in a direction nature never intended. More, he thought. More… must find Sonic… must have more… let him know I am alright… more…

He would never look back, he resolved in his almost-drugged state. Drugged with the sweet kiss of pain. He kept walking forwards. Must find him… Must…

Always forwards; never back, never to those that searched for him without his knowledge. Into the Robotroplian hell he marched, looking not for a corpse, but for a friend.

- - -

Beyond days, a magnificent sunset overlooked Mobius, illuminating its glory. In the Great Forest flew intensely colored birds to their nests and children; nurturing the generation to come, perpetuating the circle of life. Around them glistened the moist leaves of trees, sparkling in the face of the daystar. Underneath it empires had risen and fallen, countless kings had been crowned and killed; and through all this, nature went on. The wheels of life turned, and the forest continued to expand.

Facing the ruined half of Robotropolis, it was possible to see a tiny, kneeling fox amongst the heaped asphalt and twisted skeletons of buildings. In his arms he was clutching a twisted bundle, rocking it slowly back and forth. His eyes were closed tightly, and no words escaped his lips. His bundle would never be ripped from him.

For no longer could the pain-induced high sustain him. For no longer could he block out his feelings and cling to the irrationality stimulated by shock. No longer would he chase and illogical, childish fancy that his hero – his brother – could have possibly escaped the enormous blast that would later be shown to have stemmed from a reactor malfunction.

Tails was the big brother now. He was the father, the comforter, and for now the solitary griever for a loved one lost. Opening his eyes and relaxing his grip slightly, he looked down at the scorched remnants of Sonic the Hedgehog. His broken skull yawed in the rictus of death; the jaw disjointed at one end. What little remained of his fur was no longer a magnificent blue, but instead a horrible black, matted with blood.

'It's… we should go, Tails. We should…'

As Princess Sally approached him that day, the other Freedom Fighters looking on in astonishment, Tails came to a state of realization. It was not acceptance; for the healing process would take him years, and had barely begun – but rather an opening of the eyes of his heart.

Tails closed his eyes again, sniffing back his tears. As Sally lightly rested her hand on his burned shoulder, he did not grimace, but instead drew his broken hero closer to him once more. In silence, he issued a solemn requiem for a hero lost; an ancient Mobian rite, reserved for those who had fallen;

As the stars continue their cosmic ballet, your spirit shall never died
You will be with me always, I shall never forget you
Now I look forwards. I reflect not on fortunes past, but keep my eyes to the front
I will always walk forwards. I will do it for you;
And I will never look back.