Zima

Warnings: None

Notes: What's kickin'? I'm alive. Barely.

Onward!

"Sonic's old, isn't he?"

"What do you mean, Tails?"

"He's... he's older than fifteen..."

"Yeah, but that doesn't matter. Emotionally, he's fifteen, so he's been dealing with this about as well as you."

"...he's hurting a lot, right?"

"Too much."

Tails looked at his lap, Amy could just see him in the darkness, and he fiddled with his hands.

"It's not fair."

"It's not."

"I remember growing up with Sonic... I know that he exists, but how come I can't remember... that other stuff?"

"It's..." How much did she want to tell him? How much did she dare? She didn't want to hurt him anymore, and his brain was flexible but it wasn't unbreakable. If she pushed him too much, he would snap. "It's magic. Just the way things are. You're just... really unlucky."

He sniffed. "Understatement of the century."

It's ten in the evening and Tails has finally nodded off into a fitful sleep. Amy sits on the floor with her back against the wall, watching him breathe and jitter, wondering, fretting, scared because Sonic and Blaze should've been back by now but also because Tails is dealing a lot better than she thought, but not nearly as well as he could. His mind is fighting him, as she knew it would, but he's not as capable of breaking those bonds as she thought. She can't imagine how terrible this would be if he wasn't a genius. This was exactly why they had these rules—if Tails could barely handle it, any normal person wouldn't stand a chance.

He remembers exactly as much as she expected: Sonic exists, she and Cream have something to do with him, Knuckles, Blaze, and Silver are foggy people from his past, and nature is something to be respected. He doesn't remember running out into the spring sunlight and yelling thank you! at the sky, calling out to the unseen sprites, doesn't remember curling up in Sonic's arms, whimpering about the mean Stormers attacking him with lightning and thunder, only remembers the warm feeling of companionship and love—nothing more, nothing less.

It's disheartening, but also encouraging. There's room to work with here; they just have to be gentle. The first step is to get Tails to see Sonic, but that will come with time. For now, she's going to be spending a lot of time here, teaching him, relaying Sonic's words because Tails won't be able to hear him, but it'll be worth it if they can break through the wall. It's never been done before, but if they can do it, it'll change everything. The scrolls will have to be revised, Knuckles will probably lose his mind, and Tikal will owe them big time. Sonic is her favorite, they all know it, but they also know that after Mighty, she'll do anything to keep all of them from a similar fate. It was awful—

"S-sonic..." Tails mumbles in his sleep, as he has been for the past hour or so. That's to be expected too, but it doesn't make it any less heartbreaking. She forces herself to look at her knees, tap her fingers against them, let Tails have a few moments to himself. She hates pushing him like this, hates messing with any of this, but this is a boy she's watched grow up. And, as much as she and Sonic bicker, she really does care for him. Tails was right when he said Sonic was hurting—he has no idea how much.

The thing about this whole thing is that it's illegal. If any of the sprites catch on to what they're doing, there'll be trouble. Knuckles can handle most disputes, but a mass reaction might be too much for even him. But still, it's worth it. It's so worth it. As she looks back up at Tails and sees his tail tips twitching, sees Sonic in the way he curls into a small ball in his sleep, she knows that she would do this again a thousand times even with the smallest of odds. There are some things worth breaking every law over, and this is one of them.

Through the curtains, Amy sees lightning crack the sky in two, and her eyes snap to Tails. He's still asleep, but if thunder hits that's it—

A boom concusses outside, and he shoots up. She darts to his side, presses her hand against his shoulder to anchor him down. His breathing is rough, fur standing on end, and this far too much after the day he just had. "Ssh, ssh," she whispers, rubbing small circles with her thumb, "it's okay. I'll handle it." The rain has begun, rattles against the roof like beads in a maraca, harsh and in full crescendo.

"It's a storm," he says, panicked and confused, as if saying you can't handle nature we just have to deal with it. Then, he looks up at her with a slightly foggy gaze and something clears, a small realization, and she nods once, sweeping away.

The door bangs open because of the wind and she steps out into the rain. It pelts her immediately, soaking right through her clothes, but she doesn't care. Sonic's snow has turned to disgusting slush already. "Who's out here?" she demands. "This is a no-thunderstorm zone and you know it!"

Odds are, it's a rogue sprite. There are a few who don't like to follow the rules and they're usually the reason behind freak weather events. The punishment is usually a stern talking-to from Knuckles, possibly Tikal (through Knuckles, because he's the only one she'll talk to) if the offense is bad enough, but this might be a simple mistake. Sonic made a deal with the head of the Stormers a while back—light storms are fine in Mystic Ruins, but thunderstorms are a no-go. Almost all the Stormers adored Sonic—he was just that charismatic—so they happily obliged him, even gave him advanced warning when a hurricane had to come through here, and, in return, Sonic worked with them on the big winter storm of the year. It made all of their lives easier, and the Stormers had reached a sort of notoriety for taming winter, even if just for one storm.

"Hello, Summer," a low voice calls from behind her, and she whips around. Her bangs are plastered to her face, blocking part of her vision, and she sweeps them away to see a dark form crouching on the roof above the door. The rain is bouncing off his fur, leaving him completely dry, and he draws a similar silhouette as Sonic, something the both of them absolutely despise but can do nothing about.

"Major," she answers, crossing her arms, "what're you doing here?"

His red eyes are practically glowing with the power of the storm. "Routine storm, straight from the top."

"I have a hard time believing that."

He laughs once, a low, hard thing. "You didn't think this little deal would last forever, did you Amy?"

She bristles, quills rising. "Don't call me that, Shadow. Only Maria can call me that."

Shadow doesn't say anything, just blinks those large red eyes and slides off the roof. Major Shadow—second-in-command in the Storm Brigade, colloquially known as the Stormers. They don't operate under the control of any of the seasons, have their own commander who reports to Knuckles and Knuckles alone. This is mainly because none of the Seasonals really want to cause storms—the closest they get is Sonic with his snowfalls, but even then he likes the peaceful, quiet serenity, not the blizzards. The Stormers were created long ago to fill this gap, and their jurisdiction is strictly just that—storms, from thunder to hurricanes and blizzards. They have more sprites under their command than the Seasonals combined, but Amy knows that she has more power than all of them.

Their leader is a long-Saved human girl by the name of Maria. She has the same temperament as Tikal, which made her ideal for the job. A peaceful, calm commander will lead to only necessary storms—something that was desperately needed considering Shadow's destructive personality.

"I apologize, Summer," Shadow shoots back, and his tone is anything but apologetic. Above them, thunder booms again.

"Shadow, please, the storm."

He shrugs and leans against the house. "I can't. Direct orders. Early snowfall has to be wiped out."

She slashes her hand through the air and the rain stops. "There, it's done." She gestures at the ground, where the snow is almost completely gone, replaced with mud. "The thunder wasn't necessary."

He follows her movement and looks at the ground with dull eyes. "It was a rush job." His voice is clipped, unsure, as if the gravity of this whole thing just hit him. He could get in serious trouble if Amy reported this, but she has another idea.

"Shadow, when you were Changed, did you know it was coming?"

He stiffens, but Amy was expecting that. Shadow's past is a sticky subject for him, because he was one of the gambles. Maria and Shadow's story is similar to Sonic and Tails's, except Shadow was one of the lucky ones—he changed into a storm sprite instead of staying mortal. Amy knows this much; the rest has been kept under strict lock and key. No one really knows the full story behind their history, just that Shadow is dedicated to Maria and Maria to him.

"No," he answers shortly.

"Mm." She sighs and snaps her fingers to dry herself off. The water evaporates in a quick burst of steam. "What do you think of Tails's chances?"

"What?" He glances back at the house. "Isn't he past the age?"

"Yeah, but humor me. Say we could trick his brain into seeing us again. Think we could turn him?"

He shifts, crosses his arms, back into the confident persona that she's so familiar with. "That's impossible. He has to die."

It's morbid, but he's probably right. The only way to save him now is for him to sacrifice himself and Tikal to turn him. She can't very well tell Tails that though, especially because there's no guarantee. "Yeah, I guess you're right."

"So, the rumors are true."

"What?" She takes a few steps back, feels her feet dig into the mud.

"Sonic tried to talk to him."

Not for the first time, Amy finds herself thanking Chaos that Shadow's on their side. She can't imagine what that steady, calm, slightly dangerous presence would be like if he wasn't. "Yeah, but listen. Don't tell anyone what we talked about and I won't tell Maria or Knuckles about this little incident, okay?"

If there's one thing Shadow's afraid of, it's disappointing Maria, so he nods easily.

"Good," Amy pulls her boots out of the mud and starts back for the house. "And Shadow? See if you can snuff out those rumors in the Stormers, okay? We need to keep this quiet for now."

She doesn't see or hear him reply, but she knows he'll do it. He's just as invested in the peace as the rest of them.

Shadow's past is a bit different from canon, so that's why he may seem OOC. Just a heads up.

Updates will come as they may. I will be finishing this story, no matter how long it takes.

Reviews are cherished.