#and myla and i both added onto it in revenge

[0vergrowngraveyard]

this is a very hurt/no comfort fic. tws for child death, blood, grief, aftermath of a murder

this is part 2 of a collaboration with @myymi. please read part one first!! thank you!!

“I love you!”

Sonic uncurled from his spindash, his stance wide and unbalanced as he panted heavily. Wild, green eyes looked at nothing in particular as panic shook his frame.

A short laugh that would’ve sounded crazed to anyone else escaped him. They really got him this time, didn’t they? Tricked him real good. To think that he thought this whole nightmare was finally over. That it was that fucking easy. Next time he sees Infinite— which would probably be in a few minutes, maybe even a few hours depending on how long the jackal wants him to sit with the fake corpse of his little brother— he should congratulate him for upgrading that stupid ruby of his considering how horrifyingly realistic this round was.

He should also punch Infinite in the face, and finally wipe that stupid grin off of Eggman’s too while he’s at it, for giving him false hope for so long. Making him think that the war was over, that everything was okay again and his friends were alive and safe. That his brother was alive and safe. They let him get comfortable, let him learn to trust that everything was real, gave him his life and freedom back, then pulled the rug out from beneath him and made him look like an idiot.

Though, maybe he already was an idiot for daring to believe in his future in the first place.

He stood up straighter as the adrenaline slowly trickled out of him with a sharp huff. Soon he’d be sitting back in that cramped cell as the doctor and his newest lackey towered over him, laughing at his despair. He’d be starved and tortured for both their own enjoyment and to further the progression of the Eggman Empire. He’d spend his days wondering if his friends were okay. If they were alive and kicking, or if they’d been killed. Just more casualties in a war that was sure to have thousands of them.

A small cough dragged his attention to the illusion on the floor. It was still “alive”, still looking up at him with blue eyes that looked far too real. Blood pooled around him that flowed out of the gash in his chest and arm, and it was in looking closer at that wound that made dread begin to seep in.

Normally whenever Sonic injured an illusion, they didn’t bleed. Not without a flood of red pixels accompanying it, at least. The illusions of his friends didn’t have any blood, it was a cosmetic choice from Infinite to mess with the hedgehog. To stain his gloves red with the remains of those he was closest to only for it to wash away with the rest of whatever scene had just played out.

There were no red pixels in this blood, and the red substance itself looked…real. Way too real. His eyes widened as he looked at his little brother in horror.

No.

“Big bro…?” A weak voice calls out, followed by another cough.

No, no, no, no—

“Tails…?” Sonic answered him, heart stopping in his chest when the kit’s eyes closed and his head goes limp.

“Tails,” He repeated, a lump closing off his throat as a brand new panic coursed through him. Sonic placed himself in front of Tails in a flash, eyes tearing up as he struggled to even see straight, blood soaking into his socks and staining both them and the fur on his knees crimson, “B-bud? Tails? H-hey, look at me keed. I’m- I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to…didn’t

mean…”

His brain felt like it was moving at a million miles per hour and shutting down at the same time. It felt heavy, his whole body felt heavy. It felt heavy and empty and as cold as the paw he held in his own. But it wasn’t cold because it wasn’t real, not this time.

Sonic’s breath hitched painfully and tears welled up in his eyes as the reality of the situation finally barreled into him hard enough to rival one of the kit’s hugs.

Hugs he would never experience again. Because Tails was gone.

He was dead.

…Sonic had killed him.

His baby brother was gone because of him, “Lit-little b-buddy?” Sonic mumbling, choking on all the emotions swelling within him. The utter despair, the rage, the desperation for this to be a stupid illusion— for once, he wanted his reality to be fake, to be a cruel joke crafted by someone who had nothing better to do than torture him— all of it strangled him as tears began to pour down his cheeks.

He hugged the small fox, pulling his limp body as close as he possibly could, mumbling incoherently, “I’m sorry…Tails— I’m sorry, I’m so sorry…I didn’t— I didn’t mean to…”

A pathetic whimper escaped him as he buried his face in the crook of Tails’s neck, his quills stiffening at the unnatural weight that rested on his own shoulder. He clutched at his soft, yellow fur as he kept him close, kept him from leaving if only for a few moments. As if keeping him in his arms would do anything to fix this.

Nothing would fix this.

A scream of pure anguish ripped out of his throat, tearing at his vocal cords as it clawed its way from deep within him as a fresh wave of tears spilled over. Six long months of suffering all released in one single moment. He bundled the fox kit up in his lap, littering his forehead with light kisses as he slowly rocked him back and forth like he would during a thunderstorm or nightmare.

Because that’s all this was, right? It was just one huge nightmare. He was going to wake up soon and when he did, he’d rush to Tails’s room and crush him in a hug. He was going to apologize for something the kit knew nothing about. He was going to spend time with him and make sure not to take him for granted ever again and work on bettering himself so this stupid, stupid mistake never comes to pass.

(Though, could it even be considered a mistake? He had struck on purpose, after all.)

It had to be a nightmare, because somewhere deep in his mind that was slowly numbing, he could hear Eggman and Infinite towering over him, laughing at his misery.