Understanding freedom.

I wanted to write a Sonic/Tails brotherly fic, just because they always have those 'awwww' moments.

If you've read any of my story's before, you would know I like to write original stuff, this fic is no different. Warning: you may not like what you read, saying anything would destroy the fic.

This fic mixes the game universe with Archie, explained as it goes along. Archie is the main universe and mixes with Sonic 2 and 3. No other game content ever happened.

Sonic turned away from Tails, sighing as he lay on his back and turned to look up to the stars above. "Funny," he said to Tails, in his mind's eye he could see the fox turn to look at him. "This is where our adventures together begun... the Emerald Hill zone."

Sighing, he turned to look at Tails laying in the grass again.

"It's Fitting don't you think Lil Bro? I'll always remember when the tornado broke down over Westside Island, I'll probably be dead if you hadn't flown me to safety... always wonder what would have went through Sal's mind had she ever found out, though somehow I think she already knew you had snuck along... who woulda thought that tiny storage compartment would have held you?"

Tails lay there silently as he waited for him to continue his monologue, Sonic knew he was most likely smiling at him right now in the darkness.

"I think that was the first time you came face to face with Robuttnik as well; it was so long ago even I can't remember." Sonic said, rubbing a hand through his quills. "Though I remember that adventure like it was just yesterday... Emerald Hill stuck out the most though... as I desperately tried to get you back to safety, I never noticed one of those stupid monkey Badniks had thrown a coconut at my head till I was laying on the ground, next thing I know you're spin jumping him... I thought I was the only one able to do that, but the small brown squirrel that was trapped inside said something else as I saw him running away into the distance."

"It was at that point, I stopped treating you like a kid Tails." Sonic commented, stealing a glance at him, "for that... I am sorry Lil Bro..." Sonic said sincerely, "It wasn't until recently you found out what it was like to actually be one."

"I remember when Eggy turned up in some stupid contraption, tried to run over the fastest thing alive and his flying fox companion with a car... how he took over Mobotropolis in the first place is anyone's guess." Sonic continued indifferently. "Mobotropolis, where our story truly begun... do you remember what you said to me and Sal just before you took Li Moon to the dance? That you only just realised what freedom truly was, how you had been fighting for it blindly for as long as you could ever remember, yet never put any thought into what it truly was." Sonic stated, happy the darkness was concealing a silent tear from his fox friend. "You were born into a world without hope... yet you never stopped restoring it didya Lil bro?" Sonic said, as Tails sat there, admiring the darkened sky above.

He knew Sonic never was the one for long talks or discussions; it would be a miracle to even get him to sit still for five minutes, he knew what Sonic was saying was incredibly important to him, heck, it was heart-warming even. So he sat there silently, allowing him to continue as he admired the dozen or so moons visible in the night sky tonight, slowly making their rotations around the planet.

Sonic was right about what he was saying, he had never understood what freedom truly was, he wished he had put more time into that thought, he wished he had simply pulled a dictionary off a shelf and looked it up, he was a freedom fighter after all, he should have known right?

What could he have known, as they say, ignorance is bliss.

It wasn't until Nicole had rebuilt Mobotropolis with her Nanites that he had even tasted ice cream, sugar was unheard of to the kit.

Looking back into children's books he finally began to comprehend what Eggman had truly destroyed, his childhood.

There were books filled with fantasy, adventure and fun; knights in shining armour saving the day from evil wizards, kings, aliens and pirates... going against all odds and defeating the bad guys, rescuing the princess, saving the townsfolk, living happily ever after...

He threw as many as he could into the Tornado's rotor blade, satisfied at the way they tore up and shredded into tiny little pieces, how tiny chunks flew in every imaginable direction as he imagined his own childhood doing the same.

He then turned his attention to the plane itself. Laughing as he torched the bastard machine, the one responsible for making him a hero.

He spent the next few weeks delving into books about children going down to grandfather pig's farm, or losing their favoured special blanket stitch...

"I remember giving you the watch... you know, the one from your parents..." Sonic said suddenly, breaking Tails from his thoughts. "...I remember seeing you cry for days after that incident, everyone loved the Prowers, and seeing you play the holographic message over and over again, reaching out to try and grab them... you woke up the whole of Mobotropolis that day... do you remember how many old lady's baked you cookies and gave you hugs and kisses? How many citizens treated you differently from that point on because they realised you were the one who fought for them without any reason?"

"Their eyes changed from 'what!' to 'poor kid,' I don't need their selfish pity." Tails thought as he noiselessly and invisibly turned over to face Sonic.

"When you got ya parent's back, everyone finally thought you had your storybook finish. You were living in a rebuilt Mobotropolis, the fight against Eggman apparently over, you could finally experience life as everyone else in the city once had."

"Yeah, because people couldn't walk out the front gates without being blasted by an Eggman robot before this whole mess started... not contradicting what you just said or anything." Tails noted out-loud in an incredibly sarcastic and uncharacteristic tone, Sonic continued on without paying him any attention.

"Then those flying turkeys blow up New-Mobotropolis." Sonic stated, growling. Tails noticed Sonic had left out a few significant parts of the history when he neglected to talk about his parents reforming the government, the attacks from the Iron Dominion and Eggman and then there were the problems once Naugus turned up, but decided not to say anything about it. "Hello square one, old friend, nice to see you again." Sonic grumbled sarcastically.

"We gotem back though..."

"We gotem back though..." Sonic said, "We sure gotem back when we destroyed their precious Babylonian garden and their precious fleet! I don't think they ever fully recovered from that."

Tails mentally slapped himself at that remark, "Of course they haven't... they haven't been seen since!"

Tails sighed soundlessly, this kind of treatment was getting to him.

Sonic lifted his glove and checked his watch, grimacing.

"Five more minutes Lil Bro." Sonic stated, glancing over to Tails once more before turning his attention to the horizon, the light of the new day fast approaching as the sky slowly began to lighten.

The two sat there in comfortable silence as they waited for the sun to rise, slowly but surely, the sun broke the horizon and Sonic slowly got up, tears in his eyes,

"Sonic, I think I finally figured something out..."

"What's that Lil Bro?"

"Freedom" he said, laughing.

"What do you mean Lil bro?" I asked, unsure of what he was going to say next.

"It's not having to worry, to check, to... to... you can do what you want to do whenever you want to without worrying about someone stopping you." Tails said excitedly, as I stood there silently for a minute.

"Is that it?" I asked, I was expecting something more deep and philosophical from him, something contradicting and challenging every concept of life I knew.

"Well... Yeah!" he said, laughing "Don't you think that?" he asked me.

"Well yes... but I thought it was pretty obvious."

"Oh..." Tails replied flatly, "... I just realised that." He said, looking at his shoes uncomfortably,

I look next to me at Sal, and see a look of disappointment present on her face unlike which I've never seen before, a few nearby dancers stop to look at him as Li Moon hugs his neck, uncertain if they just heard him correctly.

A buzzing sound is suddenly heard, as Tails pulls Nicole from his suit pocket. Different 'sister' versions were given to both Tails and Rotor after Nicole's programming was uploaded to Freedom HQ, since they were the ones responsible for reprogramming a new Nicole and sending her back in time.

"Sonic, could you get me some punch?" He quickly asks, before waiting for a reply I see him walk off, or at least try to as Li Moon Pulls him into a kiss quickly, I can't help but snigger as he stands there stupefied for a minute before finally making it to the other side of the room. "What's up Nic?" I faintly hear him say from the other side of the room, as I pour his punch into a clean plastic cup, his voice practically emitting happiness.

Screaming, I hear screaming.

Turning around, I see Tails floating in the air; a familiar blue energy surrounding him.

The energy fades, as his crumpled broken corpse hits the floor and blood starts to erupt from his eyes, nose and mouth.

I can't believe what I'm seeing, I waste no time in spin dashing towards Silver, letting my anger fuel my attacks as I careen towards him, fully intent in slicing him in half with my quills.

He picked up Tails slowly, dreading what he had to do next.

"I'll never forgive him for what he did."

Tails watched on as the cap was unscrewed and his ashes scatted on the wind of Emerald Hill.

"No wait!" Silver shouts, throwing up his hands and catching me mere inches from his throat with his telekinetic ability. "He's a traitor!"

"A TRAITOR! YOU'RE THE TRATOR!" I scream, breaking free of his hold and sending my fist into his nose, satisfied at the way the cartilage explodes, I try spin dashing him again while he's down but he hold's me in place again.

"HE'S THE ONLY ONE WH..." I follow his eyes as he slowly looks down, as the tiny green bolt stuck in his chest slowly bobbed up and down from the hedgehog's rapidly slowing heartbeat.

St John had fired the bolt, but Silver's attention was focused solely on Mammoth Mogul, Naugus laughing as he looked over the situation before him.

It didn't take much time for Sonic to piece everything together.

Tails was the chosen one, the only one capable of defeating Mammoth

Mammoth was immortal, ageless

Silver was from the future

"Good bye dear friend, I'll miss you." Sonic said, running off into the distance as Mobotropolis burned behind him.

Bending over and prying the AI from the dead fox's hand, Geoffrey handed Nicole over to Mammoth.

"and the final piece falls into place."

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And if you don't get that last part, Nicole is sent back by Mammoth to help the freedom fighters against Eggman, so Mammoth can sweep in once Eggman's gone. Notice how Eggman's not referenced near the end, and everyone's celebrating at the dance?