Nemesis (Tails x Reader) Book 1

Pt6. The Bad Guy

It wasn't a big deal, you would find your way to one of Eggman's bases and report in. With your tools it was child's play to travel til you found a landmark or one of the doctor's hidden call stations. Sonic and Tails would likely come looking for you so it would be better to leave while you had the chan-

"Who are you?" A little rabbit girls looks up at you with big eyes, holding onto a chao plushie and still in pajamas, a giant chao face on those as well.

You freeze in place, your eyes wide as you try to think of anything to say... She was just a dumb kid anyways it probably didn't matter. "I'm the Eastern Dragon, and I eat children that ask me questions." You make Ooo's and Woo's with your mouth, your eyes at half mast.

"But you don't look like a dragon, you look like a (y/a). Lying's bad y'know." Your face contorts into a frown, an unimpressed stare all you can muster. She doesn't skip a beat, "-so is coming into someone's house without asking! Did mommy say you could be here?"

Oh geez, here we go..
"Yes, your mommy said I was allowed to come in and get my belt because she borrowed it." You go to walk away as she tugs on your tail gently.

"But Miss Amy brought the belt! She said she took it from a bad person that did mean things to people." The girl gasps to herself, covering her mouth. "Are you the bad person that's been doing mean things?"

Oh for the love of-
You sigh to yourself and drag a tired hand down your face. "Look kid, the world's full of bad people. Sometimes in order to protect yourself you have to do things that other people don't like." You get down on one of your knees so you're eye level. "People will say you're bad for protecting yourself but won't do anything to help no matter how much you need them."

She thought for a moment, tracing over your words. "But Mister Sonic is always helping people! He's probably really tired from running around so much but he can still smile and pick flowers with me! He's a hero!"

Everywhere you go, Sonic this and Sonic that- Rage bubbles under your skin as you recall all of your fights, your humiliations, your disdain and frustrations. It was always Sonic! He attracts like minded idiots that will follow him anywhere because they're too stupid to see that Sonic never solved problems, he only made them worse! Children, adults, it didn't matter! He could say something to make you feel special and promise he'd solve all the problems but did Eggman ever go away? No! So much fighting and so many failed attempts at stopping a tyrant for good. The number of times you risked your life to make sure that small villages would be spared Eggman's wrath when the heroes were busy elsewhere- The number of lives lost before any of them would arrive on the scene- The number of people you had to lie, cheat and swindle just so Eggman wouldn't take the information by force-! How many would it take if he couldn't even stop the doctor with the ULTIMATE LIFEFORM on his side!?

"SONIC IS A FAKE!" You bare your fangs as venom drips from your tone. "Sonic is a COWARD!" You stand back at height, towering over her. "If Sonic was really a hero then Eggman would be dead and you and your mommy and everyone else would never have to live in fear!"

She looks up at you quietly, her eyes glossing over. Oh fuck- I just yelled at a random kid... You look at her apprehensively, backing away slowly. "Sorry kid, I shouldn't have yelled at you... Its not your fault..." Your eyes drift away from her gaze, a pit in your chest. "I guess I'm a bad person after all..." Your tail wraps around your body, the quiet shame creeping in with every moment this kid got closer to crying. You run back downstairs and bolt out the window, leaving it open. The world a blur around you as your feet carry you back out into the surrounding forest, each step heavier than the last.

You finally collapse deep in the forest beside a small crick. Your legs are like jelly, a few emotions that you failed to keep in check slipping out as you stare into your reflection. Your features distort in the water, a wobbly reflection that captured your own emotions as you breathed deeply and tried to put yourself back together. That kid didn't deserve that... But it was so hard to hold it in.. She reminded you of yourself when you were small, believing in the promise of heroes and someone coming to save you. Maybe that's why it hurt so much to hear her say it, because it felt like the naive version of you reborn- The version of you that wished someone had told you the bitter truth from the beginning. You hadn't spoken to your parents in years, your siblings had become estranged and at the end of it all you had nowhere to go and no one watching out for you, waiting for you to come home...

Doctor Robotnik was going to conquer the world one day and you couldn't stop him. You weren't smart enough, you couldn't plan ahead enough... At least if you helped him you could have some say in what happens in the aftermath... At least you could save the people that couldn't save themselves... But that doesn't make you a hero, heroes are fiction. If the world believed in heroes... in fiction... then perhaps your actions really did make you the villain... Perhaps you really are the bad guy...