The rumble of explosives echo into the night, a plume of smoke billowing into the cold night air. Viper stands at a distance, waiting to see you emerge from the scene like you always do. You found a way out, you had to. They squat down and stare behind their mask, their eyes waiting for any sign of movement.
But no movement was seen.
-----
Espio had secured the ship by the time the explosions go off, Ava and Jasper tied up on the deck. The three of them jump at the sudden eruption in the distance, looking at the smoke in inquiry. A few minutes pass before Espio leaves the ship to investigate, Ava's and Jasper's expression growing fearful as both you and Viper had yet to return. But you were crazy strong, crazy smart! There was no way that you didn't succeed...
That just made the ensuing hours more painful for them.
-----
Espio arrives at the scene while the fire is still blazing, looking around frantically for any signs of Tails or you. In the sand a few of your knives wash up, scrap computer parts rolling in not long after. Espio looks them over, hanging his head and closing his eyes with frustration. He told Sonic that nothing would happen-
Which only made the night harder to swallow when he went to retrieve Tails' plane from the water, it's owner nowhere to be found.
. . .
. . .
The sound of water dripping fades into your eardrums, the dark world becoming brighter as you open your eyes. It smelled like moss, and it was cold. What happened to you? The question lingers for a moment before you begin coughing up seawater violently. You clutch your chest as a few tears leak out of your eyes as you continue struggling. You look around as you try to make sense of where you even are-
And then you see him.
Tails laid face down against the mossy stone floor, his form limp and still. You gasp! Choking on the remains of water you struggle to run over to him, stumbling through the thin layer of water that lines the ground. It was coming back, all of it. He saved you back in the facility, if it wasn't for him you- you would've been blown into dust... You get down and start aggressively pumping his chest, checking his heart intermittently as you tried to revive him.
His heartbeat was so weak... But it was there. You could still save him..!
You push on his chest more, checking his heart again but it was getting weaker... You shake your head, pushing more.
"Come on fox, don't just give up after all that-" You pump more, panic beginning to creep into your usually cool demeanor. You peel his eyelids open and check his pupils, but there was no response. He was unconscious, the beating of his heart rapidly decreasing...
"I thought your idea of a hero was someone that was like Sonic, you don't see him dying from some stupid explosions do you-?" Your tone begins getting shaky as you speak, his life slipping away in your hands. You pump on his chest more as you begin breaking, watching someone else fade away in front of you as you tried everything you could.
But you weren't good enough.
Again.
You lean down, pressing your lips against his as you force air into his lungs. You can feel the doubts pile up, looking down at his empty face as you compress his chest again. "I'm sorry- I'm sorry alright? Just don't do this, I'm trying so hard to do something good so please just don't do this-"
You push more air into his lungs, tears welling up in your eyes. "I never wanted anyone to die because of me-" Memories of past failures flood into your head, the faces of those that stood beside you opposing Eggman. None of them came back, it was always only you that managed to survive... Every time...
Your hands get shaky, the compressions becoming sloppy as you force yourself to keep going. "Tails, please- Please..." You look down on him with pleading eyes, his voice echoing in your head...
'I'm gonna protect you this time.'? But at what cost? Sacrificing yourself for your enemy!?
You lean down again, your lips trembling as you're about to give him another puff of air before water is blasted in your face. He starts coughing the water in his lungs up, effectively spitting seawater in your mouth.
You stumble back, spitting the water out frantically and blowing air out of your nose trying to get it out.
Tails leans up with a hand holding his chest as his coughing calmed down. He looks over at you vacantly, his mind trying to start back up as he begins getting a grip on the surroundings. "What happened-?"
You wipe your face, clearing away the remains of water as you look at him. You feel your heart swell in relief as you reach a hand onto his shoulder. Words escape you as you hang your head, the faint warmth of his body comforting you as you internally celebrate.
I saved someone. I didn't fail this time- I did it-!
Tails blinks a few times, his eyes getting a little larger as he realizes its you with him. "The facility- Right-" His brain traces over the events again... The explosion... Being unconscious.... Coughing up seawater...
Seawater...
Drowning....
... resuscitation...
...
...CPR . . .
His cheeks go a little red, a finger tracing over his lips as he puts two and two together. "Umm- thanks for the assist there... East-?"
Your ears perk up as your gaze meets his, "Yeah-"
Your eyes trace over his lips for a second, a shallow breath escaping yours. You look at your hand still gently on his shoulder before you gulp heavily, your face flushing as you shoot your gaze away and snatch your hand back...
"Yeah. Don't mention it..."
Tails looks over to you awkwardly, playing with his fingers for a moment before a sneeze bursts out. He sniffles quietly, wiping his nose with his glove, removing it from his hand. "Eww.. Should've packed some spares..."
"Don't be stupid, the backup pair would be just as wet as those, snot or not." You peer around, a gentle ray of light coming in from a crack high in the apparent cave. You tisk your tongue, "We probably got pulled underwater and spat out here. You could fly up to that crack but I doubt that you'd be able to drill through rock face."
Tails taps his chin lightly, looking around the cave as well. "Well we shouldn't dilly dally too much, we're likely to starve long before anything else-" He sneezes again, stumbling back a few steps. "-gets us..."
You look at him pensively as a chill also moves into your fur. "Hypothermia will get us first if we can't figure out how to warm up quickly." You kick at the thin layer of water on the ground, "Even if we stacked some rocks to get out of the water would be an improvement."
Tails nodded, "Then what are we waiting for?"
The two of you scour the open cave for any rocks you could easily move, a decent amount of medium sized rocks having been weathered to a flat surface from the water. Bit by bit you grab and stack them, the water level getting more and more shallow before you form a platform raised up. The light above appears to be overcast as it drips down into your small watery prison. You inspect the base, adding in a few more smaller rocks here and there to make a stable foothold before stepping up onto the platform and wrapping your tail around your body in an attempt to heat up. Tails follows suit behind you and sits down in front of you, his eyes looking up at you in inquiry.
"So- What were you doing at that place anyways? The mining facility I mean, the one that went ka-boom.." He wrings out his tails, frowning as water spilled over the edge of the platform.
"Why does it matter? The only thing you need to know is that I was there and not attacking you." You huff quietly, tapping a finger on your arm.
Tails' eyes droop, "Can't you just be civil for a few hours? We're gonna be stuck with each other for a while, there's no need to be at each other's throats."
You sneer at him, "There's no need for us to be friends either, fox."
He looks at you upset, his brows furrowing as he stood up, "I'm not dumb, East. As soon as my cognitive functions kicked back in I figured out our circumstances here. You were able to recover from the near drowning because you have a better constitution than me. I would've died here in this cave if you hadn't saved me!" His voice echoes around the walls. "If you're going to save me the least you can do is treat me like I'm worth the time of day!"
Your ears flatten as you bite back, "You are hardly in a position to lecture me about anything! If you hadn't showed up the plan would've went off without a hitch!"
He takes a step forward, "Oh so this is my fault? Eggman backing you into a corner is my fault!? I thought you were too cool to get slowed down by other people, what happened to that?!"
"I- Shut up!" You march up to him menacingly, but this time he stares you back. There was no hesitation in his eyes, only a fire as he looked on his old enemy.
"Why should I?! Because I'm right and you don't want to hear it? You think you're this big bad fighter but when it's come down to it you've saved me, your enemy, at least twice now!" Tails grits his teeth, shaking his thoughts off. "Even after everything you've done I still don't hate you-! We both are trying to do the same thing but instead of accepting our help you keep on trying to do things yourself and throw your life away!"
You look at him as a trace of confusion washes over your face. "That's- not something you would know anything about..." You avert your gaze.
He doesn't hate me-? Why would he even say that-?
"Do you know how insulting it is for you to keep on doing this!? If you're gonna hate me then hate me but if you're going to save me then at least talk to me like I'm a person-!" He bares his fangs, a few tears welling up in his eyes. "Look at me! I'm not Sonic, I'm not Knuckles, I'm not Amy or Shadow! Stop assuming all of us are the same and LOOK at me-!" He holds his arms out to his sides.
You feel your chest pull a little as his desperation crept into your ears. You slowly look back at him, really taking in his appearance. His fur was damp and mis-mashed with various dark spots of dirt speckled in. His usually perky hair tuft was a mess, going straight up and out from his head.
A frown begins forming on your face.
It looked like there were various scratches on his body from the water throwing you both along the rocks. His shoes were beaten and worn heavily, several spots fraying along the seams.
You don't realize how much your expression drops as you stare at him, Tails' own expression coming down from it's rage as he stared into your eyes. From where he was standing it almost looked like you were pitying him, a quiet regret radiating from your demeanor. His arms drop to his sides, words getting stuck in his throat.
"I didnt-"
"You're not-"
You both speak at the same time, immediately pausing before Tails starts speaking again. "I didn't mean to lose my temper on you, I'm just- trying my best and..." he sighs. "I only recently felt like I was capable of doing anything without Sonic also being there so... I guess I'm still touchy- It's not an excuse for blowing up on you like that though. You saved me, and I'm grateful for that..."
You shake your head, crossing your arms, "But I also... haven't been the best at not being a total ass all the time..." You sigh to yourself. "You always treated me differently than the others did. I shouldn't have kept on making assumptions about you because you're viewed as a hero. I saved you but that doesn't mean I should treat you badly, especially since we're both stuck in here right now..." You bite your lip, your body rejecting what you were about to say...
"I'm sorry."
Tails nodded, "I'm sorry too-"
You hold a hand up to him, "Don't apologize. The things that I've put you through prior to now are much worse than anything you've done to me. I don't deserve your apology."
Tails takes your hand, shaking his head, "You're still a living creature aren't you? With thoughts and feelings just like me. I know what it's like to feel like you're never enough... And enemies or not I can't sleep at night knowing I said what I did and didn't apologize about it."
The coldness of his hand could be felt through your glove but it still managed to make you feel a little warmer, "Don't waste sentiment on me, I don't need it."
He shakes his head, gripping your hand a little tighter as you look up into his eyes. "I don't think anything was wasted. I said it before and I meant it- I don't hate you. And I'm sorry for losing my temper."
You feel something swell in your chest as his words hit your ears, your eyes glossing over for a moment before you push the feelings back down. Your eyes drift down to your hand, his still holding on tightly. Your expression remains neutral while you stay silent.
His hand feels nice...