Tales from the Phantom

Blood & Tears

TW: gore, language

In the dead of the night, a long figure scurried across the floor on all fours, just out of a small Möbian village, to a large crash sight from just after the 6 month war.
Most of the wreckage had been salvaged, but this mysterious character new what she was looking for was still here.
Finding the small glowing thing, she grinned, showing sharp teeth.
"Bingo"

Sonic wished he could have got more sleep that night.
But for some reason, his scar was hurting. Why it was doing that confused even Tails. It had fully healed and had been so for a good while now.

"Maybe I just need a walk out," Sonic convinced, Tails agreeing.
"Ok, but at least let me come with you," Tails wasn't letting him go alone. He didn't want to say anything, but that night when locking up, he went into Sonic's room, only to find his Ruby shard levitating on his bed stand, glowing brighter then Tails had ever seen it.

And he feared the worst.

They went down to station square park. It had rained that night, and everything was fresh and green and smelling amazing.
But it kept getting worse. "Why do you think that this is happening?" Whenever in doubt, Sonic was sure that Tails would have an answer.
"I don't know Sonic. But maybe we should see a doctor and.."
"Shh.." Sonic held up a hand quickly to motion Tails to be quiet.
"What?" His friend whispered urgently, and Sonic shook his head.
"I don't know, I just had a shiver go down my spine and I feel like we might not be the only ones here,"

A few moments of silence go by before a "You!" Echoed through the air, followed by a blast of energy, directly hitting Sonic.
"Ahhh!"
"Sonic!" Tails tried to get to his brother, but was pushed to the floor by a towering figure. Looking up, Tails gasped at the sight of familiar black and white markings, a glowing gemstone, and a face hidden by a large metal mask.
"No!" Tails cried in horror, "it can't be! We defeated you!"
"Think again, kid," Infinite sneered, his voice threatening as ever, pinning the terrified cub to the floor, Tails gasping as he felt his sight leave him.
"H-hey!" Sonic had managed to get up of the floor, his entire body quivering, "L-leave him alone!"

"You!" Infinite snapped his head around to face him, "You're the one that sealed me inside the Phantom Ruby! You'll pay dearly for that one." He slowly approached the hedgehog, who attempted a feeble spindash at the jackal, only to fall back a few feet, the attack dealing no damage at all.
"Yes! I remember you! I remember your terrified face. I remember how lonely and lost you was without any of your friends. I remember seeing the pain in you eyes as I used my sword to rip you leg apart!"

"S-stop! Just stop, please. I didn't know that defeating you would do that to you ok? Let's just call it even!"

"No! Never! In fact, I'm looking forward to making you suffer again,"

"No.."

Tails obviously didn't see what happened next, but he heard Sonic's agonizing screams of pain, and Infinite's laughs of a pure maniac.
He also heard a higher voice, one calling Infinite to go. But Sonic screaming never ended.

Not long after that, Tails regained his sight, and almost threw up at the immediate sight of Sonic.

He was surrounded by a pool of his own blood, his entire leg taken out. Even from a distance, Tails could see torn muscle and bone
"Sonic what the frick did he do to you?" Tails couldn't contain his anger, and the tears started rolling down his cheeks.
Looking at his friends face, his ears had practically merged with his head they was laid that far back, his eyes narrowed down into the thinnest slits, his entire face wet from tears and blood. Tails couldn't even think of a word to discribe how scared he looked.

Tails could barely talk, he was in so much shock and utter horror. But Sonic's scream was so loud that it had caught the attention of Rouge and Topaz, who was on duty at the park that day. Nodding, the two rushed onto the scene. Of course, they expected the worst, but nothing could have prepared them for what they saw.
"Holy shit," Topaz finally uttered.

"Tails?" Rouge urgently asked the cub, "Tails your going to tell me what's going on right now!"
"Infinite's back!" The cub choked on tears, "We was just taking a walk when he ambushed us. He blinded me so that I couldn't do anything, and then did that to Sonic."
"Ok, that's enough," Rouge could tell how worked up he was, and drew him into a long hug.

"Rouge, call an ambulance immediately," Topaz looked her work partner directly in the eye, before mouthing, "he doesn't have much time,"

Only half an hour later and Tails was sat in a waiting room, still with Rouge. He hadn't said a single word and clung to Rouge, refusing to let go. He  didn't even know where Sonic was taken.
Eventually, a doctor came out and knelt besides the three. "Hey, if you want to come through to see Sonic, now's the time." Tails didn't need telling twice. He rushed down to the rooms, until he found a nurse telling him where to go.

"Sonic?" He half whispered, walking into the room, to which the hedgehog looked over.
"Sonic!" Tails rushed over to the bed, "thank chaos your alive."
But to Tails' shock, Sonic turned away.
"Don't feel to bad. He did that to all of us," Tails got a proper look at his friend, Along his arm where needles sending antibiotics and stuff into his body, as well as a heart monitor to the side.
Looking back at the doctor, Tails wasn't to surprised to find that it was Ben.
"Is it that bad?"
"We just want to be safe. Sonic should make a full recovery with time and care. He just needs to stay of that leg. Which brings me to my next point," he then motioned for Tails to follow him out the room.
"The lines where he was cut are the exact same ones where his scar was. That Infinite knew what he was doing." Ben told the cub.
"He wants Sonic to remember his pain," Tails remembered.
"He needs you more then ever, Tails," the man directly addressed him, "I know it doesn't seem like it, but it's true. He seems... terrified... to say the least."

Meanwhile, outside of the building, hidden at the back of the large crowd wanting answers, two cloaked figures stood.
"Sir, what's our next move?"
"The same as always. To eventually destroy that damned hedgehog,"