literature

Eternal Angel: Prologue (Rewrite)

Deviation Actions

DrFic-PsyD's avatar
By
Published:
3.9K Views

Literature Text

It was quiet within the corridors of the Blue Typhoon. The only sound that could be heard was the engines faintly humming as they pushed the titanic craft through space. The halls, having once echoed with the warm laughter of friendship, now felt cold and empty. Upon the bridge stood a group of companions staring out of the main viewport, each wearing the same grief-stricken expression upon their faces.

Clinging tightly to the dress of a pink hedgehog was a small, lop-eared rabbit, holding fast to her older friend as she wept softly. Slowly, the coral hedgehog turned to face another — a male with long, cobalt blue quills. A look of desperation filled the girl’s eyes as her tears mingled with her makeup, creating inky black trails down her peach-colored cheeks. The blue hedgehog was silent as he averted his gaze, unable to bear the weight of the pink hedgehog’s stare.

“Mister Sonic, where is Cosmo?” asked the cream-colored rabbit, a hint of pleading in her voice. “Is she alright?”

Sonic gave no answer. The bunny's sobs grew more intense, his lack of a response merely confirmed what she already knew but did not want to accept. Nearly fifteen minutes had passed before anyone else spoke, the silence broken by a crimson echidna.

“Where’s Tails?” he asked as everyone glanced around the room in search of a yellow, two-tailed fox.

“Is- is he going to be okay, Mister Sonic?” asked Cream the Rabbit, her words broken by tears.

“I… don’t know, Cream,” the cobalt hedgehog finally answered, his voice shaken as he continued to stare at the floor.

“Poor guy,” murmured a pale, brown-haired, human teenager, appearing slightly out of place among the numerous anthropomorphic animals on the bridge, “Tails and Cosmo were really close. I can’t imagine what he must be going through right now.”

“Maybe someone should talk to him?” suggested a diminutive, yellow honeybee, his voice carrying an irritating buzz. “Shouldn’t we try to help?”

“No, Charmy,” replied a purple chameleon, his voice, and mannerism distinctively monotone, “just leave him alone, for now.”

The sound of a metal hatch slamming shut brought their conversation to an abrupt close. The group turned their heads toward the hangar bay, spying a two-tailed fox making his way down the corridor toward the bridge, his namesakes dragging the floor behind him.

“Tails!” exclaimed Cream, releasing her hold of Amy as she sprinted to the side of the nine-year-old fox, “Are you alright?”

Tails staggered wordlessly past the rabbit, his hands trembling as he clutched them tightly against his chest — as though guarding something precious. Coming to rest in front of his command chair, the fox fell backward into his seat. Slowly opening his hands, Tails gazed at a small white seed resting in his gloved paws, cradling it like he would an infant.

“Tails?” squeaked Cream, moving closer to the fox. She wanted so desperately to reach out and touch him — if only to convey some small sense of comfort. Uncertain how he might react to this, she reluctantly kept her distance.

“Chao?” chirped a tiny, blue, teardrop-shaped creature, hovering at Cream’s side as it, too, stared at the fox.

“Tails, buddy, look at me,” whispered Sonic, approaching his best friend and placing a gentle hand upon his shoulder. Tails shook, tilting his head up to look back at the cobalt hedgehog, his eyes red and swollen. “Tails, I tried my best. I really, really did. When Shadow and I used Chaos Regeneration, I thought-”

“Sh- she’s fine,” the fox choked out, shaking his head in denial as fresh tears began to flow from his soft blue eyes, “C- Cosmo’s going to be okay, you’ll see…”

Unable to maintain his composure, Tails slid from his chair and onto his knees, crying loudly into his open paws. Rushing to his side, Cream wrapped her arms around the young kitsune in a vain attempt to comfort him. “It’s going to be okay, Tails!” the rabbit reassured him, albeit uncertain herself, “I just know it is! You’ve just got to believe!”

With a firm shove, the fox sent Cream tumbling backward, landing her flat on her tail. Tears welled in the little bunny’s eyes as Tails stood over her, his own eyes filled with pain and anger.

“H- how can you say that!?” barked the fox, directing his grief at Cream in a shocking display of anger. “If everything’s going to be okay, then where’s Cosmo!? Huh, Cream!? WHERE’S COSMO!?”

“Tails!” Sonic shouted, taken aback by his friend’s sudden outburst, “Don’t take it out on Cream! She didn’t do anything!”

“NO, SHE DIDN’T DO ANYTHING!” the fox screamed back, his face red as tears made rivers down his cheeks. “WHY DIDN’T YOU STOP HER!? YOU WERE RIGHT THERE! WHY DIDN’T YOU STOP HER WHEN SHE STARTED TO FLY AWAY!?”

“I- I didn’t know!” bawled the rabbit, clinging tightly to Cheese the Chao, who cast Tails a scornful glare.

"Tails, that's enough!" Sonic scolded the fox.

“YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO BE UNSTOPPABLE IN YOUR SUPER FORM!” Shouted Tails, turning his anger upon Sonic, “YOU TOLD HER YOU COULD DO ANYTHING! YOU LIED TO HER! YOU LIED TO ME!”

The hedgehog grimaced, his gaze falling as a feeling of guilt stabbed at his heart. “I- I tried… I tried to save her, Tails. I really did try…”

“YOU DIDN’T TRY HARD ENOUGH!”

“Stop it, Tails!” wailed Amy, desperately, “I know you’re hurting, but don’t take it out on your brother!”

“WHY DO YOU CARE!? YOU ACTED LIKE A JERK TO HER WHEN YOU FIRST MET — ALL BECAUSE SHE WANTED TO SEE YOUR ‘BOYFRIEND!' YOU’RE NUTS!”

Amy saw red, Tails' remark having struck a nerve with the coral hedgehog. Raising her hands, a large, pink hammer materialized in her grasp as she edged aggressively toward the kitsune. “NUTS!? YOU WANT TO SEE NUTS!? I’LL SHOW YOU NUTS!”

“Amy, no!” exclaimed Sonic, dashing in front of the pink hedgehog just in time to grab her arm, preventing her from striking the fox, “He doesn’t know what he’s saying!”

“DON’T TALK DOWN TO ME!” screamed Tails.

“Enough, Tails!” barked Knuckles, standing imposingly over the fox. “You’ve got to get ahold of yourself! Cosmo was our friend, too! None of us wanted her to-”

“YES YOU DID!” Tails interrupted. “YOU WANTED HER TO GO THROUGH WITH THE OPERATION TO REMOVE THE BUG IN HER HEAD! YOU DIDN'T CARE THAT SHE COULD HAVE GONE BLIND, OR DEAF, OR DIED!”

“I never said we should go through with it!” Knuckles defended, “I said it was a chance we might have to take! I was thinking of other people!”

“YOU WERE THINKING OF YOURSELF!”

Staring in horror, Sonic watched as Tails' hysteria continued. In a single moment, all light and hope had drained from the young fox's eyes, leaving only pain. The Tails they knew was dead — he had died with Cosmo. As painful as it was for Sonic to admit, death was one thing he could not beat.

Again, Tails turned his attention to Sonic. The hedgehog began to tear up as the fox pointed a finger in his face. “Why didn’t you save her!?” asked the kitsune hysterically, “I believed in you! Why didn’t you save her!? ANSWER ME!”

Tails suddenly rushed at Sonic, laying several blows into the cobalt hedgehog’s peach-colored stomach. While not physically painful, emotionally, each blow felt like he was being struck with a ton of bricks.

Sonic stood quietly, receiving his brother's abuse with almost dutiful devotion. With each blow, the fox exhausted himself a little more. After several minutes, Tails lay his head on Sonic's stomach, gasping and panting between sobs.

“That’s enough, Miles,” murmured Sonic, pulling the fox into his chest and closing his arms tightly around him.

“I- I killed her, Sonic!” cried Tails. “It’s my fault! I killed her! I- it’s m- my f- fault…”

Slowly, Tails grew limp, sliding down onto his knees and falling forward, collapsing onto the metal paneling with a heavy “thud.” Cream quickly rushed to his side, placed a hand on his shoulder, shaking the fox.

“Tails! What's wrong with him, Mister Sonic!? Chris!?”

“I think he’s had a nervous breakdown,” the human boy answered. “Cosmo was pretty important to Tails — maybe more than we realized. I’m- I’m not sure if he’ll recover from this, guys…”

“Thanks for the optimism, Chris,” murmured Knuckles, who stormed off of the bridge and down the hallway.

“I’ll… take him to sickbay,” said Sonic quietly, hoisting Tails’ limp form over his shoulder, quietly excusing himself from the bridge.

Chris slumped over in his chair, lying his head on the console in front of him and shutting his eyes. The rest of the group gradually began to file out with their heads held low. As Cream and her pet Chao, Cheese, started to leave, they turned their heads back to the viewport a final time.

“Cosmo…” Cream whispered as if her voice could somehow be heard by her deceased friend, “Why did you have to go? We miss you. Tails- he’s hurting so bad. Why did you have to go?”

Once again tears leaked from the bunny's eyes. Grabbing her neck, Cheese held on tightly as both made their way down the hall and to their room to grieve.



“I can’t bear to watch this any longer, Mother! I’m so sorry I hurt all of you, my friends!”

“They care about you greatly, Cosmo, especially the little yellow one.”

“Tails, I will miss him most of all!”

“You felt something for him, little sister?”

“Yes… Yes, I did, Galaxina. I thought we would be- but now…”

“I am so sorry, my dear. He will carry you in his heart always. Now, come, it is time to go home.”

“Yes, Mother. Perhaps this is for the best. Goodbye, Tails! I will always love you!”




And so, Miles Prower and Cosmo the Seedrian cried out to each other through the void. So strong were their cries that they carried past the farthest star, past the most distant galaxy, and past time and space itself into a realm not entirely unlike their own. It was here, on the field of a lush, green planet, that a dark figure stood. From this place, he allowed his senses to expand outward, stretching into the void until he was everywhere at once.

Then, he felt it — like a sudden blow to the head — a cry of despair the likes of which he had never felt before, reverberating through his consciousness like a drum and tearing at his heart like a blade. His brown eyes snapped open as he looked skyward. What he had felt was not of this world, and he was compelled to seek out its source. What he did not realize was that it was Tails and Cosmo he had heard.
© 2016 - 2024 DrFic-PsyD
Comments19
bagginos's avatar
Have you ever heard of the trope called "Despair Event Horizon"?
Comments have been disabled for this deviation