"Sonic! You made it!"
“What, like ya thought I wouldn’t?” Sonic smirked as he sat up. The wooziness was starting to wear off.
“Heh..” Tails smiled coyly. It was true - Sonic seemed to frequently get himself into trouble, but always managed to wriggle out of it. Part of the young fox’s mind wondered if it was just luck, and if it would run out eventually. Then again, maybe it had more to do with Sonic pushing himself harder as the stakes became higher. Sometimes, it seemed like he wasn’t quite performing at his best on purpose. Perhaps he thought it wise not to broadcast his full potential all the time, or maybe he was just cocky like that? Either way, it seemed to work for him. Once upon a time, Tails had tried to get him to be more careful instead of charging headlong into battle. The hedgehog was stubborn though, and he always insisted he had everything under control. Maybe he was right, though. After all he’d been through, he was still around to play hero. Tails just brightened his smile and stretched out his fist. “Good job, Sonic!”
Sonic smiled back and heartily returned the fist bump. "Thanks buddy, but I didn’t do it alone!“ Both he and Tails looked up to the Wisps, especially Yacker, who started chirping happily in response. Everyone’s attention was then drawn to the secondary explosions occurring in space. The blasts were being contained by the massive number of Wisps up there. After everyone watched the sky for a moment, Yacker fluttered down closer to the two. Sonic got back onto his feet as Yacker began communicating with them. The Miles Electric dangling at Tails’s side began translating automatically.
"Uh..” Tails brought the device closer to his face and concentrated on the screen. The translations were thankfully much clearer than before, and seemed spot on this time! "Thank you for saving us!“
Sonic turned back to Yacker, "Don’t mention it,” he responded happily. "Thank you for saving me!“
"Hmm..” Tails mumbled at his screen as Yacker responded. "You’re welcome!“
Tails paused briefly as he realized just how clear the translations were coming out. He was able to read off the screen word for word! ”…looks like my changes to the code worked better than I thought they would! It’s translating flawlessly!“ Sonic and Tails shared a cheerful glance, then turned and noticed Yacker conversing with the other Wisps nearby. After a brief moment, Yacker returned to them.
Tails looked back down at the Miles Electric as Yacker continued. "Thanks again for all your help,” his narration suddenly became more somber as he continued reading, “but we have to leave now.” Tails sighed. "Just when I got the translator working right..“
"Hey, at least you DID get it working!” Sonic chimed in. "Better late than never, right? Besides, that thing was a huge help, buggy or not!“
"Hehe, yeah..” Tails chuckled at the realization. It was, indeed, incredibly useful to them - perfect or not. It was a great accomplishment as well, and he was proud of it. It was just unfortunate he wasn’t able to use it more.
“Well, it was nice knowing ya,” Sonic beamed up to Yacker, "maybe we’ll run into each other again some time!“
Yacker performed an aerial backflip, chirping in delight. He then swooped down to Sonic with a raised tentacle, in a manner that could only be interpreted as an invitation to a high-five. Sonic gladly returned the gesture before Yacker swooped over to Tails, who was laughing cheerfully at the sight.
"Yeah!” Tails laughed as he high-fived Yacker as well.
Yacker fluttered around some more before returning to the other Wisps as they all began returning to the sky. Yacker and many of the other Wisps looked back as Sonic and Tails waved goodbye. As they disappeared into the distance, the two on the ground could just make out the Wisps waving back for a moment before they became indistinguishable. They both stopped waving and gazed at the sky for a moment as Sonic sat back down.
“Phew..” Sonic was still fatigued from what he’d just been through, and so began to relax into the soft grass below.
Tails looked over to Sonic. He looked exhausted from whatever had happened just a minute ago. He didn’t like being kept in the dark, but he had faith in Sonic’s ability. At first, he almost felt betrayed when Sonic pushed him into the elevator, but he quickly realized why he’d done it. Perhaps if Sonic hadn’t done what he did, things would have turned out differently.. It wasn’t unusual for Sonic to save people - especially his best friend - but this felt different somehow. It was as if he had just now truly realized and appreciated what Sonic did for him. What he’d always done. He looked over to Sonic, who’d had his eyes closed in relaxation for a while, and smiled.
After a moment, Sonic opened his eyes and looked over, having noticed that the fox had been very quiet. Sonic chuckled when Tails perked up suddenly in response. "You alright, buddy?“ He asked casually but sincerely, not only because it seemed Tails had been deep in thought just now, but because things had gotten pretty crazy today.
Tails was a bit surprised by the question, having just snapped out of his thoughts, but he replied softly. "Yeah… How about you?”
“I’m fine, just a little tired.” He’d pushed himself pretty hard just now, trying his best to outrun the blasts and dodging the attacking robots along the way back down. He looked back up at the sky, watching the Wisps in the distance.
Tails didn’t take his eye off of Sonic as he pondered that answer. He didn’t look hurt - at least not much more than the typical scratch or minor bruise here and there from the fights he’d been in. He was still thinking about everything Sonic did - just in general. He was a great hero and role model who risked his own skin to save everyone else. Tails had always appreciated that about Sonic, but this felt a little different. It felt as though he’d progressed into a new stage of admiration for the hedgehog. With this newfound feeling washing over him, Tails placed the Miles Electric down, dropped to his knees in the soft grass, and gently hugged his best friend. "Thank you Sonic,“ he sighed contentedly.
"Eh?” Sonic was surprised by the hug, but smiled curiously as he laid his hand on Tails’s back. "What for?“
With nothing better prepared, Tails giddily responded, "Everything!”
Sonic chuckled and wrapped his arms around his buddy to tighten the hug. He figured he must have meant for saving him just a little while ago. Sonic was glad he understood what he did - not that he was expecting Tails to be angry or anything. "Of course, buddy. That’s what I’m here for.“
Tails giggled in response. Sonic probably had no idea how much that meant to him right now. After a bit, the two of them separated and looked back up to the sky to watch as the Wisps warped their home planets away in one big, colorful flash. Tails continued to stare up at the sky in awe of the sheer power the Wisps possessed.
Sonic casually broke the silence, snapping Tails out of his thoughts again. "I’m hungry… Let’s go get some chow.”
“Heh.. alright!” Sonic had a way of abruptly changing the subject or stating his mood like that. He didn’t mind, though. In fact, it was sort of an endearing trait of his.
“Race ya there?” Sonic turned and ran at a small fraction of his speed to allow Tails some time to react.
“Race where??” Tails asked quickly, but Sonic was already heading off. Tails chuckled, “Probably to the nearest chilidog stand.” He got himself a running start as he started spinning his tails to lift off in pursuit. It wasn’t much of a race if he wasn’t sure where they were going, but it wouldn’t have mattered anyway. From where they were, it was a straight shot back to civilization. Sonic excelled at that, while Tails could beat him over rough terrain with enough effort. Once Tails was off the ground, Sonic tore ahead closer to his top speed with his gamboge best friend hot on his trail.
