Words Hurt

No Zone

No pov~

It had been two months since anyone had seen Sonic, and Tails went on a worldwide search for his big brother, asking everyone to help look for him. These efforts had been worthless so far; it was like he vanished into thin air, and not even the GUN agents could help find him. This worried Tails even more.

“We have to find him!” He yelled through gritted teeth to the rest as they searched the mountains. He brought his coat closer, trying to suppress his shivers. “We just have to keep looking,” he added, not sure if he was trying to convince himself or them.

Behind him, Knuckles held Cream close in a poor attempt to warm her up. The poor child was freezing. “Tails, please, we’re surrounded by snow. Let’s find some shelter, then we can talk about what to do next,” he spoke up.

Tails turned to him and instantly felt guilty. His namesakes drooped. He nodded and started to head towards the nearest cave.

They went inside, finding anything that could start a fire. Coincidently, there was a stash of firewood piled on one side. Tails would have questioned this, but instead, he was grateful and got started. As he did this, Amy set up the sleeping bags while Knuckles focused on guiding Cream to the warmest part of the cave to get her settled for the night.

“Tails… It’s been two months now… I know we’ve found Sonic before, but that was different, and this time, he…” Knuckles took a deep breath, not wanting to face reality either, but it had to be said. “He might not even want to be found.”

He had found a message from someone claiming to be Sonic, telling him to take care of Tails, and nothing more. He was very sceptical, knowing that Sonic wouldn’t just up and leave Tails for this long, so he was wary in telling the kit what he got a month ago.

“I don’t believe that he is out there, Knuckles…” Tails started, lighting the fire. “I know he is waiting for us.” He couldn’t give up. Sonic would never abandon him, and he wouldn’t do the same. Even if they find him and he doesn’t want to come home right now, at least they would know he’s safe.

He couldn’t tell them his reasons why he had to do this, but he was most grateful for their help. If any of Sonic’s enemies had taken him, Tails knew he would never forgive himself if they gave up. Any children they force him to conceive could be turned into weapons. They could use his emotional state to manipulate him into becoming Dark. They could be doing anything to him right now! His hands tightened around the lighter as he bit his lip. The countless ‘what if’s’ was too much.

“What about Mr. Shadow?” Cream suggested and Tails’ heart skipped a beat. “He could find Mr. Sonic, right, Tails?”

His eyes darkened a fraction. “He’s been on a mission for GUN for the past two months now,” he informed, trying to keep the bitterness out of his voice. Despite his anger, he didn’t fault Shadow completely for what happened, but he was mad that Shadow refused to return his calls. “Besides, I don’t think he would help us,” he added, gaining curious looks from those present, asking him what he meant, except Rouge and Silver.

“What do you mean, Tails?” Amy asked, raising her brow. She finished laying out the last sleeping bag, which she sat down on. “Why wouldn’t he help us? He had been willing before..."

Tails sighed, debating whether it was worth it telling them what happened, but one look at Silver said otherwise. He didn’t want them to take it out on him. They had been through enough already. “It’s not for me to say,” he decided, going to the sleeping bag in the far corner. All sets of eyes followed him. “Let’s get some rest and plan tomorrow,” he suggested, lying down and facing away from everyone else.