This is a story by me.

It involves Sonic and Tails.

It's the end of another typical day on Bygone Island. As Sonic stood on the beach, he saw the sun's orange glow set into the ocean, felt the sand beneath his feet grow cold, heard the trees behind him sway in the breeze, the waves crashing along the shore and deep inside, felt a sense of calm. Eggman had not attacked anyone today, so he chose to use that time to relax; but if you knew Sonic, you would know he doesn't always stay in one place for long.

With a sudden jolt, he ran across the beach at high speed, the wind flying through his quills. Step by step he watched as the island's many wonders passed him within the blink of an eye. He felt free. It seemed like nothing could ruin this moment. That's when he stopped, having caught himself passing something familiar, or rather…someone. Walking in reverse, he slowly made his way back to the spot he saw him: his best friend, Tails.

The fox is sitting on the edge of the beach, not moving a muscle other than his namesakes slowly waving behind him. He seemed to be staring out into the distance, gazing at the sun with deep concentration. Sonic took a step forward, and Tails' ears twitched.

"Hi, Sonic."

It was the tone of his voice that Sonic noticed first; it wasn't cheerful at all.

"Hey, buddy. What are you doing out here?"

Tails shrugged. "Sitting, I guess." The hedgehog turned his head to look at Tails' face, finding his expression straight, almost emotionless. "You wanna join me?"

"Uh…sure."

Sonic took a seat beside Tails, following his friend's lead in staring at the horizon in front of them. The silence was eerie, where before it was relaxing. When the fox didn't speak for a whole minute, Sonic wondered if he should start a conversation. Before he could do that, Tails beat him to the punch.

"I've…been thinking."

Sonic blinked. "About what?" He watched as Tails turned his head down toward the sand.

"My parents." He kept looking at the sun, now lower than it was before. "I started wondering a lot of things about them. Would I still have met you if they were still here? Would I have been bullied as much?" Sonic stared as his friend, finding himself wondering the same thing. How much different would things have been? Tails grew a frown. "The worst part is…I'm…I'm scared I might forget them someday; I was so young before I lost them."

Instinct kicked in, and Sonic placed a gentle hand on Tails' shoulder.

"Well, what do you remember about them?"

Tails finally looked back at Sonic, mild surprise evident on his face. He quickly turned back to the horizon, deep in thought.

"My mom used to sing to me. Sometimes it was a lullaby, other times it was for fun. I think one of them had something to do with taking a consonant and singing gibberish using that consonant at the start of each word."

Sonic snickered at the thought. "Sounds like she had a good sense of humor."

Tails smirked. "Yeah… As for my dad, I never saw him as much as my mom. Maybe he had a tough job?"

"Maybe," Sonic agreed. "See? You remember them pretty well."

Tails smiled, laying his head on Sonic's shoulder, the hedgehog wrapping an arm around him in response.

"I miss them."

A child without a parent. That thought haunted Sonic for a long time. Having found Tails the way he was, he couldn't help but feel sorry for him; no child should be separated from their parents, whether it was caused by death or because someone forced them to. As Sonic thought about it, he remembered the reason he felt so close to Tails in the first place.

"I miss them too."

Tails blinked. "Huh?"

"My own parents. I never told you about them, did I?" Tails shook his head. "Ever since I was born, I was an only child. My parents were very protective of me, especially since I was still learning to control my speed. Not a lot of people could run as fast as I could, so the other kids got jealous of me; some didn't even want to look at me or decided to call me names. If there was one worthwhile lesson they taught me, it's to not let others get to you, and be yourself. So, I stayed myself, reckless and all."

Tails giggled. "I can't see you being bullied. You're too awesome."

"Yes I am. Although, it wasn't always happy where I lived. I was always someone who wanted to go on an adventure, see the world, live like a free spirit, but my parents didn't want me to go. I was so angry with them for keeping me tied down. I wanted out. One night, I found my chance to do that, so I snuck out of home and left to go on an adventure, just for one day, then come back later. But…I didn't realize it was the last time I would see my parents."

Tails gasped. "What happened?"

Sonic frowned, bitterness in his voice. "While I was gone, someone attacked my home, and nobody could stop them. By the time I came back from my adventure, the whole place was destroyed. My parents were gone; the only thing left of them…was this."

Sonic took off his brown scarf, showing it to Tails.

"This belonged to my dad."

Tails took the scarf from Sonic, inspecting it closely. "I never knew. I thought you just liked scarfs."

"Afterwards, I left, never going back. I never learned who it was who killed them. I wanted to get revenge so badly, but I never found the guy." Sonic took a breath. "But you know what? I don't think I'll ever find him, so why bother thinking about it?"

"Did you have any regrets?"

"Leaving my parents was one. I learned the hard way that family came first, no matter what happens in the world. I realize now they simply didn't want me to forget them." He briefly paused. "But, I guess if I didn't leave, I'm not sure if I would've lived to meet all of you."

Tails gave back the scarf. "So…we're sort of the same?"

Sonic smiled. "That's why I grew close to you. We both needed a family in our lives, and I wasn't gonna leave you without someone to look after you. Even though our parents are gone, as long as we remember them, they'll be with us forever. One thing's for sure, I'm never gonna forget about you anytime soon."

Tails smiled, giving Sonic a hug. "Thank you, Sonic, for talking to me."

Sonic returned the hug. "No problem." They stayed the way they were for a good minute, before Sonic broke the hug. "Man, that was mushy of us."

Tails laughed. "Yeah, it was. I'm ready to go home."

"Me too."

The two got up from the beach, Sonic preparing to run back to his hut, with Tails on his back.

"Hey…did your parents call you Sonic, or is that just a nickname?"

Sonic twitched. "S-Sure! It's my real name."

Tails smirked. "Really? Why are you nervous about it, then? Did you have a bad name too?"

"I-… Three-two-one-go!"

With that, Sonic sped along the beach as he did before, the sun nearly swallowed by the ocean, the orange glow now a dark magenta. It was not as quiet as before, as throughout it all, he could hear Tails laughing happily behind him. His laughter made Sonic laugh too. As he ran into the distance, he felt as if the parents of both he and Tails were watching them from above, smiling proudly at how far they've come.

A/N: This story is dedicated to my Nana, who had just passed away recently. I really loved her whenever she visited, loved her since I was a kid. She will truly be missed. 05/07/1942 to 09/11/2018