StH: The Virus Ch7

"Fine. Here goes." Sonic said, but the blue hedgehog only remained silent. This 'silent treatment' was beginning to get a rise out of Knuckles, who had been waiting somewhat patiently.

"Hey, Earth to Sonic! Ya gonna explain what happened or not?" The guardian said annoyed. Sonic snapped his head up in Knuckles' direction and his voice took on a darker, almost evil tone.

"CRAM IT!!"

This sudden burst of anger caught the red echidna off-guard, causing him to jump back in shock.

"Whoa! What'd I say!?"

Sonic let out a long sigh, hanging his head back down in shame. I'm sorry, Knuckles. I...I'm just worried about Tails."

"It's alright, Sonic." Knuckles said calmly. "I understand. We're all worried about him."

"Thanks, Knux." Sonic said, giving the emerald guardian a small smile. The gang turned to the chairs in which Cream lie as the little rabbit began to stir.

"Are you okay, Cream?" Amy asked. Cream slowly stood up and replied, "Yeah, I'm alright. What about Tails? What happened to him?"

The pink hedgehog turned back to her blue hero and said, "Sonic was just about to tell us. Maybe if we knew what happened, we can find a way to help him."

Sonic took a deep breath, looked at all of his friends, and exhaled loudly.

"Alright... here's what happened."


************Flashback*************


Sonic and Tails had been chasing Dr. Eggman through the jungle after the overweight tyrant had just stolen the silver Chaos Emerald from the duo.

"Sonic! He's getting away!" Tails shouted. Sonic looked to the orange kitsune flying beside him and gave him one of his famous smiles.

"Not today, lil' bro!" The blue blur shouted as he sped ahead while Tails decided to fall back and rest.

"I hope Sonic scrambles that fat egg!" Tails mumbled as he rested his back up against a tree. But the young fox had no idea that he was being watched.

****With Sonic and Eggman****

"Give it up, Egghead!" Sonic shouted, still in close pursuit of the diet-fearing doctor.

"Get lost, blue boy! I stole this Chaos Emerald fair and square!" Yelled the rotund scientist from his Egg-O-Matic hovercraft.

"Y'know that'll never happen, Egg-Belly!" The blue hedgehog then leaped into the air and began a fearsome spindash. Eggman could only watch in horror as the blue ball hurtled towards him.

"No, no, NO! I'M NOT INSURED!"

BOOM!

Sonic went crashing through the Egg-O-Matic, causing Eggman to hit the ground with a thud, and also causing him to drop the Chaos Emerald. Sonic ran up and snatched it first.

"Sorry! You lose, Eggy!" The blue one smirked.

"Grr, curse you, hedgehog! You may have won this time, but I'll be back!" Eggman said as he waddled off. "Oh, Sonic! Just one more thing...."

"What now, Eggman?" Sonic said annoyed.

Eggman grinned maliciously and said, "Give my best to Tails... he'll need it. Oh ho ho ho ho!" The pudgy madman then ran off laughing.... and tripped.

Sonic began to chuckle a bit, but then he stopped and began to think aloud.

"What did Eggman mean, 'He'll need it?' Oh, well. I guess ol' Egg-Belly finally cracked." The cobalt hero then glanced at the silver emerald in his hand.

****With Tails****

Tails was currently relaxing against a tree with his hands resting behind his head and his legs stretched out in front of him. He decided to kick his shoes off to let his feet cool off. Soft snores could be heard coming from the sleepy kit's nose.

Unbeknownst to the slumbering fox, he was being observed by a sinister looking pair of blood red optic sensors which belonged to none other than Metal Sonic.

"TARGET ACQUIRED. SUBJECT: TAILS IN SIGHT. SLEEP WELL, YOUNG KITSUNE. FOR IT SHALL BE EVERLASTING."

Metal kept his eyes on Tails until an incoming radio transmission broke the eerie silence.

'Metal! Metal, come in!' The voice of Eggman shouted from the other side of the transmission. Metal pressed a button on the side of his head and proceeded to speak.

"YES, MASTER. WHAT ARE YOUR ORDERS?"

"Sonic is heading your way. Commence with operation: 'Fox Hunt' immediately."

"ACKNOWLEDGED, MASTER. OVER AND OUT." Metal then cut the transmission, maintaining his sight on Tails the entire time.

The bio-mechanical hedgehog lifted his arm and a thin, silver tube rose up out of his wrist. Metal then opened a small compartment on his leg and took out a tiny, dart-looking object and loaded it into the shaft.

The robotic hedgehog then lined up his sights and in a lower tone said, "SWEET DREAMS, SUBJECT: TAILS." The dart was quickly expelled from the tube and flew at high speed, striking Tails in the neck, and oddly enough, dissolving on contact.

Tails began to stir in his sleep slightly until he slowly opened his eyes. The fox stretched out and let out a big yawn, showing off his sharp fangs. He then placed a hand on the back of his neck, discovering that strangely, there was nothing there.

'Hmm, must've been an insect.' Tails thought to himself, but he was interrupted when sound of a snapping twig on the forest floor caught his attention.

"Huh!? Who's there?" Tails shouted out to no one. "That's weird, there's no one here. Oh, well. Guess I'll catch a few more Zs while I wait for Sonic."

As Tails was sitting back down, The blue blur himself came running up to him.

"Hey, lil' bro!" Sonic said looking at the fox.

"Hey, Sonic! How'd it go?" The eager kit asked the hedgehog. Sonic pulled out the silver emerald and said "See for yourself."

"All right, Sonic!" Tails cheered, jumping up to give his big brother a high-five.

"Thanks, buddy." Sonic said, but then he noticed Tails rubbing the back of his neck. "You okay, bro?"

"Hmm? Yeah, I'm ok. I think I got bit by a mosquito or something." Tails answered the blue hero.

"Alright, then. Get your shoes on and let's get goin'."

Tails picked up his shoes, then looked back at Sonic.

"Actually, it's kinda hot right now, so I think I'm gonna leave 'em off for a while." The kitsune said, slipping off his socks as well.

'But it's only 52 degrees right now.' Sonic thought to himself. "Sure. Let's go, bro!" And with that, the two heroes took off back to Tails' workshop.

As fox and hedgehog departed, Metal Sonic slowly stepped out of hiding and into the light.

"THAT WAS CLOSE. MUST INFORM MASTER OF SUCCESS." Metal activated his radio transmitter and began to speak.

"MASTER, COME IN. PROJECT: 'FOX HUNT' SUCCESSFUL. AWAITING NEW ORDERS." Metal reported.

"Excellent work, Metal. My new dissolving poison darts are a stroke of genius! Now return to base." Eggman ordered.

"AFFIRMATIVE. RETURNING TO BASE." Metal droned. Before he could cut the transmission, Eggman could be heard saying, "In 72 hours, that fox will be dead."

****Tails' workshop- 2 hours later****

Tails had been working hard on the Tornado since they had returned from regaining the Chaos Emerald from Eggman. Tails was sweating rather profusely for someone who was wearing sandals on a 52 degree day.

Sonic quickly took notice of this and quickly grew concerned for his friend.

"You sure you're okay, Tails? You don't look so good." Tails never answered him, but suddenly the wrench he was grasping fell to the ground with a clang and the young kitsune began to fall backwards.

"Tails!" Sonic shouted, rushing over and catching the fox. Tails looked up at Sonic, eyes only half open, and Sonic placed a hand on his forehead.

"Hmm, you've got a fever. Let's get you into bed." The hedgehog carried Tails inside and tucked him into bed. Sonic looked down on the kit and smiled.

"You stay in bed and get your rest, bro. I'll stay here tonight just in case you need anything." However, Tails was already asleep.

"Heh. Sweet dreams, lil' bro." Sonic whispered as he exited Tails' room. Sonic had no idea that soon, Tails would be fighting for his life.

....To Be Continued