Chapter Text
Freedom burdens those on the path of taking the weight of the world on their shoulders, ironically restricting every course of action. Dosages of doubt piercing through the multitude of channels embedded within the body. Clogging the pathways to the chest, stimulating that oppressive heaviness keeping yourself grounded.
Eventually doubt wears down as bodies grow accustomed to their advances, seeing yet another day passed and the Earth still spinning. It remains a dormant presence inside, even when the responsibility becomes too much to stand.
But that's exactly enough reason to look forward to the tomorrows’ you could take flight. At least, that was what Tails figured.
Warm brine wafted up from the ocean, tingling the back of Tails' throat and nostrils with an embrace, the flow of air chilled the very tip of his nose. He'd caught glimpses of silvery fins down below, challenging his Tornado-1's shadow for a race with pitched clicking. With nothing but the endless blues of sea and sky, he'd gladly taken up their offer. Despite the absence of his complementary best friend, it didn't in any way deter Tails' need for speed.
He'd spared little formalities as he'd stretched out the space between them, the dolphins trying their best, flailing in and out of water. It'd left Tails' snickering at the sight, gleeful at the extra modifications he'd done to his plane. He'd eased up on the acceleration once the fins wavered, sinking deeper into the void of water.
Sonic had his own routine of handling his time off, and so did he. There were of course moments where somebody needed the help, and wherever they were Sonic was there to save the day. And so was he, Tails acknowledged and did his best to remind himself, but rarely did he find any free time. Always mindful of his proximity to Sonic in case of emergencies. Rarely did he find himself alone on an outing and its sole purpose wasn't to test if his equipment worked.
Bringing his plane closer to the surface for a congratulatory send-off, one of the dolphins managed to land a solid splash on the side of his bi-plane. Only half of his body was caught in the radius, his gloves sagging slightly from the spray. He decided it was best to get a move on and started to ascend, putting distance between him and the ocean.
It was probably a good thing Sonic hadn’t stuck around, Tails had flown on for hours until the line of gray dominated the path before him. His lack of investment in a hatch for the cockpit biting him in the freezing butt. He twitched his fingers awake to fight the cold, switching off the auto-pilot, he'd drifted into a gradual left. The gray air brisk as it swerved past his wings, clouding his view with its dampness. It was a gamble being this high, but the air flow was worth the risk if it'd get him home faster.
His radar broke through his moderate concentration, signaling a powerful signature with an alerting screech.
A chaos emerald? His mouth tore down with the sudden jerk to his right, the pounding droplets tore through his bi-plane, fast as bullets and whipping him to the side of his seat.
By the time his turbines pumped into gear it had already been too late.
Descending.
The wave of murkiness shot at any recollection of the way down. His last thoughts pleading for him to stick the landing.
Flickering red lights splashed against shut eyes, throbs of pain striking side to side in the back of his skull. Surrounding pitch darkness hauled away with the return of feeling to the tips of his very fingers.
He came back with a hiccup, eyes fluttering as something much larger shifted alongside him. Straightening up as best as he could, Tails realized what the very rush of his blood pouring into his burning head meant.
He was upside down, now staring back at the muddy floor beneath him. Heaving into a sigh of acceptance, as if discovering spillage beneath a wet floor sign, it was as clear as rain. He'd crash landed.
Apparently hours ago by the looks of his heart thudding against his chest, struggling to keep up as his blood flowed incorrectly. With all the strength he could manage and shaky palms he’d unclasped his belt buckle, freeing himself with a harsh thud on the ground.
A fragile groan leaving his small lips in spite of him landing on his reliable tails.
Allowing himself to rest momentarily so his normal circulation could return sooner despite the cold, with shut eyes he’d expected to find himself within a few minutes. Instead, the next day had already passed by him in a breeze. The rising sun kissed his golden fur, using him as a beacon underneath the shelter of the tornado.
Soft and raspy sounds pooled Tails back into his senses, realizing for only a moment upon his brief grasp of consciousness that he was not alone.
“Who’s-?” He made sure to keep his voice loud, pushing himself slightly off the ground to peer underneath. Glancing around there was nothing of note aside from the rapid footsteps fleeing the area. Tails would’ve given chase but couldn't bother on a second thought, knowing that if it was some kind of threat it should be standing its ground.
“It was time I got off my lazy butt anyways,” he muttered to himself, tugging the rest of his body out from under the fallout.
Checking at his own cuts and bruises, he was marked across his entire body like a lightshow. Nothing a few bandaids and some spit couldn’t fix, but it'd still stung. He then moved on to examine the Tornado’s damages, still functional on a systematic standpoint but the fuselage and turbines affixed to the wings had seen better days. Split in half from the red struts on its raised side, and struggling for relief under its entire weight on the lower wing.
Casting a glance around, acai and foxtail palms trees encircled him and his plane. Only bent and disturbed trees a standout in the north, a knife in the jungle ending at his plane.
The land was tropical but unfamiliar, and if there were any signs of civilization he wouldn’t be able to reach it for miles. Not ideal in the slightest when his only ticket back home was currently sinking in the mud. And with his mental map's memory there wasn’t a piece of land within 1,200 miles, leaving him relatively stranded. If the plane manages to be in a worse condition, I won’t be getting home anytime soon.
Hurriedly he’d made his way to the aircraft, using as much force as physically possible to bring it to a balance. It'd took a few tries since even with the help of twin tails, the weight was bigger than he could ever anticipate. With another heave and his ankles sinking deeper into the mud, Tails’ managed to elevate the Tornado up by a couple of inches without it laying on its wing. Swiping the sweat from under his brow he gave into the soft cushions of the earth to look at his work.
With a few short pants Tails started to sense the fault of his actions, working up quite the appetite immediately.
Staring back at the covering leaves above as the bright sky lit past, his brain sunk back into a dream-like state. Figuring he could use a chili-dog right about now, especially with Sonic.
But as the wind behind him whispered into his large ears the serenity dispersed, he rose to a stand immediately with apprehension at his surroundings. “Th-The sooner you get home the better.” His words were for comfort, but lacked security.
His next priority was to find something to eat and set up camp.
Along the way, Tails gathered enough water droplets to fill into a small container he’d found in his emergency equipment bag, along with a few protein bars. Thankful for at least spending a few days with Knuckles as he showcased his day to day living on his own independent island. Water was crucial, and so was keeping up strength. Upon meeting landing on Angel Island for the first time, it'd intimidated Tails being on an island he knew nothing about. So he prepared in case history wished to repeat itself.
“Rationing these should get me through a few days,” he told himself as his fur brushed up against the hot panel of his plane he sat against.
Taking a moment of pause he’d made a mental list while he refueled.
Find materials to adjust the Tornado’s position upright.
Pick up materials to make camp along the way.
Find some tinder and or any dry consumable material.
Set up camp-
Snap.
Tails rushed to his feet, his fur spiking up. As his blue eyes darted across the plain he shouted, “Who’s there?!” Preparing to fly up to search for the cause of the disturbance he gave whatever was out there another chance. Absolute silence. The seeds of doubt making Tails’ skin itchy before he flew up slowly.
He was ready to maneuver around the trees until from the corner of his eye, something had moved.
Smaller than any creature to be threatening, but stiff enough in its own movements to be jarring. Its brown stumps rose to the air before crashing back down on the floor, catching itself with the momentum of its arrival.
It let out a scratchy sound familiar to a dog, its floppy leafy ears flagging behind as it made its way to Tails.
At first, the fox was prepared to shove it away with his tails out of fear, but the longer the mysterious creature had chased itself around in circles, the less of a threat it presented.
Strange.
It looked like a dog, but completely made out of the assortments of both wood and metal. Just between its cracks was a bright light, managing to contain itself with a filtered but never-ending brightness.
Reaching out toward it slowly, Tails could feel his own curiosity grow as the makeshift object stared up at him with white hopeful lens. “What are you…?” A howl broke through Tails’ line of touch, the pup’s attention immediately tearing away from the yellow fox in the direction of the sound.
Tails had assumed it to be a wild animal, but by the reaction of the pup, its tail waved in the air faster before scampering away toward it.
“Wait! Come back!” Tails yelled, picking himself up for only a moment before another loud sound broke through his eardrums.
The sky had grown slowly dark, opening a roar of thunder before any rain could dare to appear.
“Rain? Again?!” The fox wasted no time searching the area, hoping to find anything, literally anything to help make his camp. As he carried away any dry tinder he could gather up, thoughts lingering about him not being alone gnawed at the back of his mind. If Sonic were here with him, he would’ve been fast enough to find answers, not caught up about the weather or shelter. I could really use his speed right about now... But then again, Sonic would forget not starve himself if he were stranded without me, Tails thought with a chuckle, hoping to keep things light.
Staring at the distance with his own beam festering deep within, but only a little.
He wondered what exactly Sonic was thinking back home, whether or not he was worried, and if he had to deal with any problems without him. Tails never considered responsibility to be a burden, but it wasn't something he wanted Sonic to carry alone. Crawling into his shelter as the rain sprinkled by him, Tails watched as the fire underneath crackled. Embers shifted to the ground, warming his fur up little by little. As Tails started to drift into sleep, he’d rested one of his tails above him as he’d yawned into his palm. Sending one more strained look at the area around him.
I’ll be home soon enough. I promise.