Chapter Text
Sonic ran through the forest, the breeze passing through his quills as it did every day. Sonic swore he’d never get tired of that feeling… but as of lately, he had just been feeling off.
Sonic came to a stop at the top of a hill, overlooking everything below. The forest flourished, people enjoyed their lives peacefully, and Sonic watched over it all. Not that there was much of a reason to. Not anymore.
Sonic was in his 40s now, and Eggman had been long gone for over a decade. At first, it was nice. Sonic was happy to see people finally living without fear. The restoration restored everything, and suddenly, there was no need for them anymore. This was a good thing… right? This is good. So why did Sonic feel so wrong?
After finally accepting there were no more major threats, Sonic spent the last several years traveling the world. He’d made more friends than he could count along the way, found more treasures than one could possibly need, and had stories for ages. But recently, every place felt familiar. Nothing felt new, nothing brought him that excitement he used to feel.
So Sonic decided to take a break. He was back on the islands, here to visit his friends. Sometimes that was all he needed. All of them had settled down, and had relatively normal lives. Sonic felt he could never live like that, but enjoyed visiting nonetheless. After running around the island a few times out of habit, Sonic finally decided to race down to Tails’ home, his best friend coming before anyone else.
Sonic arrived at the door of the familiar home, chuckling at how after all these years, his brother’s home still was modeled after himself. Sonic knocked on the door, but opened up before anyone answered, knowing he was always welcomed.
“Knock knock! Looking for a Professor Tails around here?” Sonic announced as he entered. A mere few seconds later, Tails emerged from the garage door, a wide smile on his face.
“Sonic!” He greeted, walking up to pull his older brother in for a big hug. Sonic hugged him back tightly, before letting go and ruffling Tails’ bangs.
“It’s good to see you again, little bro.” Sonic said with a smile. “Have you gotten taller?” Sonic asked jokingly, knowing the answer. Tails rolled his eyes.
“Sonic, I haven’t grown in over a decade. At this point I’m probably shrinking.” Tails said.
“Aw don’t say that buddy! You’re still young! I’m probably the one shrinking at this point.” Sonic said in a teasing tone. Tails had a perplexed expression on his face, looking Sonic up and down.
“You know, actually, you probably should be by now, at least slightly. You don’t look like you’ve aged at all, though.” He said, gears turning in his head. Every time Sonic visited, Tails expected at least some changes, but almost never noticed any. Sonic only shrugged in response, though.
“Must be all the running, keeps me in shape.” Sonic explained, but Tails still looked slightly lost in thought.
“When was the last time you went to a doctor, Sonic?” Tails asked, but he had a feeling he already knew. Sure enough, Sonic chuckled, scratching the back of his head.
“Doctor? I’m fine, pal. You just said I’m in great shape for my age! And you know I never get sick.” Sonic said, to which Tails shook his head.
“You should still get check ups, Sonic. It’s important, you could have something going on internally and not know it. sigh I’m giving you a check up later today.” Tails said, crossing his arms to show he was serious. Sonic laughed again and rolled his eyes.
“Fine, whatever makes ya happy. Now come on, tell me about what’s been happening in the life of the great Professor Tails! It’s been like- months.” Sonic said, putting his arm around his brother, who was a solid six inches taller than him now.
“It’s Professor Prower, and it’s been almost a year, Sonic.” Tails corrected.
“…Has it?”
“Haven’t seen you since the Christmas party, remember?” Tails asked, a smirk on his face. Sonic took a moment to remember the month, but vaguely remembered seeing some Halloween decor up recently.
“Damn, it has, hasn’t it. What can I say? Time flies.” Sonic said with a casual shrug and a grin.
The two spent the next several hours catching up. Tails told Sonic about all his new inventions, and bragged about some of his students he taught part time at universities. Sonic recalled some of his adventures, noting how they seemed to be getting less interesting by the year.
After a while, Sonic tried to escape to see other friends, but Tails stopped him, reminding him of his check up. Thankfully, Tails was efficient, as his check up only included a few quick scans from some devices he had in his lab.
“What’s the verdict, doc? I told Amy I’d be stopping by and I’m dying for some of her pies.” Sonic said, trying to casually make his way towards the door. Tails only stared at his computer screen, squinting in confusion. Sonic picked up on it, frowning slightly while stopping in his tracks. “What is it, Tails?”
“Uh, this information is…” Tails was quiet for a moment, before taking a breath. “You know what? Go visit Amy, I’m going to analyze this data and get back to you. You’re staying here for the night, right?”
“Yeah, why, is everything okay?” Sonic asked, suspicion evident in his voice.
“Everything’s fine, you’re overall healthy, it’s just some energy readings I need to look into a bit more.” Tails explained.
“Oookay. Well, if you say everything’s good, then I’ll be off, see you tonight pal!” Sonic said before dashing off. Tails looked at where Sonic was standing, then back to his screen, a frown on his face.
—————
Sonic spent the rest of the day visiting with Amy and Blaze, catching up on their lives and playing with their child. As the sun started to set, he decided it was time to return to Tails’ home, speeding off with a wave goodbye.
“I’m back!” Sonic said as he entered the house. He looked around, but Tails was nowhere in sight. He figured Tails was still in his lab, so he headed there, and sure enough, Tails was still there, on his computer. He looked up at Sonic with surprise, concern written on his face.
“Sonic! I didn’t realize you’d be back so soon.”
“It’s literally dark outside.” Sonic responded, a small smile on his face, but he could tell something was off. “Watcha lookin at?”
“Oh uh… I was just analyzing your data…” Sonic could tell Tails was nervous in saying this.
“Still? It’s been hours, is something wrong?” Sonic asked, concern now showing on his own face. Tails was quiet for a moment, before he took a deep breath, closing his eyes.
“Yes and no.” There was a sign of defeat in his voice. Sonic raised an eye ridge in confusion.
“What’s that supposed to mean? If there’s something wrong, just tell me. I can take it.” Sonic said, crossing his arms. Tails paused and looked at Sonic one more time, before finally answering.
“You know how I said it looks like you haven’t aged?”
“Yeah?” Sonic said, now more confused as to where this was going.
“Well, the reason is because you haven’t. You haven’t aged in years, Sonic. I’ve… had a feeling for a while now, but I guess I was just too afraid to approach it. I’ve been spending all afternoon trying to figure out why, and I think I know now. All those times you used the chaos emeralds? You took in small amounts of chaos energy. A few times going super wouldn’t do anything crazy, but you’ve gone super more times than I can count. Your body has changed because of that. The chaos energy changed your body, your body almost completely runs off of it now.” Tails explained.
Sonic’s eyes went wide, his head beginning to spiral. “Wha- and how long is this going to last?” Sonic asked, hoping to not get the answer he was about to hear. Tail’s ears dropped, seeing how Sonic was taking the information.
“…I don’t think it’s going away, Sonic. I think you’re just… immortal.”
Immortal. No. No no no. This wasn’t happening. Sonic’s breathing began to quicken, trying to keep it together for Tails. “You can fix it, can’t ya, Tails? You can just get rid of the chaos energy.” Sonic said, desperation in his voice. Tails lowered his head, shaking it.
“No, Sonic. It’s a part of you now. I can’t just take it away. That would be dangerous. I’m sorry.” Tails said. He lifted his head a bit, looking at Sonic sadly.
Sonic could feel himself starting to panic. This can’t happen, not to him. He’d spent the last decades living his life to the fullest so that when it ended, he would be satisfied. He was satisfied. He didn’t need more time, let alone infinite time. Sonic looked up, seeing the hurt in Tails eyes, knowing that Tails probably hated having to share this news with him. Before his thoughts went too far, Sonic took a breath, refusing to make his little brother worry more.
“Hey, it’s not your fault. Thanks for letting me know. I’m… gonna go lay down for a bit. It’s been a long day.” Sonic said, starting to walk back towards the door.
“But we haven’t had dinner yet…”
“I’m not very hungry. You can eat without me, I’m sure I’ll eat leftovers in the morning.”
Sonic walked to the guest bedroom, which was pretty much his room, despite him barely staying there. He laid down on the bed, not caring to cover himself with the blankets or take his shoes off. He stared at the ceiling quietly, trying to process it all. Sonic didn’t sleep that night. Or the next.
—————
Sonic tried to keep up an act for Tails and his friends he visited for the next coming weeks, refusing to tell any of his other friends about this new revelation. He tried to act like the information he learned didn’t exist, but the already fading light in his eyes was fading even faster the more he thought about everything. He tried leaving, searching for another adventure to get his mind off of it, but a looming feeling weighed on him. Sonic couldn’t stop thinking about how he’d have to watch his friends grow old and wither away, while he stayed the same, never changing.
Sonic eventually decided to go back to Tails, and started living with him. He spent every day with his brother and visiting friends and family, capturing as much as he could while he still had the time with them. He tried to fight off the invading thoughts that he might one day forget about them. No. He could never let that happen. He wouldn’t.
Months passed by, and Sonic’s life had become everything he hoped it wouldn’t be. Every day felt the same, but he didn’t know what else to do. Tails tried to encourage him to leave, even offered him new things to do, but nothing worked. There was a void that nothing could fill, nothing that would last. He sometimes questioned if there was even a point to sticking around this world at all. He had already experienced everything he could, from his standpoint. He didn’t need all this extra time…
One warm spring day, Sonic walked out to the backyard to tend to Tails’ garden, which Tails had purposefully put Sonic in charge of to give him something to do. With a heavy sigh, he grabbed the hose, dragging it towards the perfectly placed plants. Before Sonic could spray though, he was knocked off his feet, landing hard on the ground with a thud.
“What the fuck!” Sonic said, grabbing his head. He tried to stand up again, but he was knocked into a nearby tree, barely catching himself. He shook his head, looking around frantically. Suddenly, black and red flashed in front of him, and Sonic barely dodged the punch to his face.
“Wha- SHADOW?!” Sonic exclaimed, shock written on his face as he stood in a defensive position.
“Hello, Sonic. Let’s see if your skills are still up to par.”