The Incurable Disease

The Endless Fight

"Surprise!" The whole diner rang out as tiny pieces of confetti and glitter burst into the air from party cannons hidden behind the main counter. The entire restaurant was covered in party decorations, from the cheap banners hanging from the greasy ceiling, to the party hats on everyone's head, even the cook in the back.

Tails would have appreciated all the effort put into the celebration were it not for the fact that he was ducking for cover shouting about Eggman being back, his hands over his head while he frantically searched and scanned the diner for wherever the attack was coming from with his eyes. His heart was pounding hard enough to send his entire body into a hypersensitive pile of nerves. His lungs played catch up as they began to suck up as much air as possible in order to be able to keep enough oxygen to his body for when he decided to either run or fight.

After his initial scan of the room, Tails closed his eyes so he didn't get debris in them from another incoming blast. He couldn't hear anything past his pulse racing at what he calculated to be at 178 bpm and nearly jumped out of his fur when he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Tails!" Sonic shook the frightened fox out of his hysterics, "Snap out of it. It was just confetti!"

Tails was on the verge of tears at this point, looking around at the perfectly fine diner, no one else in panic, no one hurt, though everyone looked at him like he had hurt them. "I-but the- the blast!"

"The party cannon, look!" Sonic pointed over to the motar looking device, smoke still whafting from its barrel after being shot.

"I, uh, huh?" Tails was noticeably frazzled. How did this happen? I knew there was going to be a surprise party here, but why did I get so scared. What's happening? I don't know, I just don't know what's happening.

"Here, buddy. How about you just sit at a booth for now and cool down. Sorry for such a surprise." Sonic said, helping the shell shocked fox onto the booth seat.

Tails just stared blankly staring at the worn leather booth across from him. What just happened? There was a blast. I could have sworn it was a blast. I fell down to the ground for cover. Couldn't hear a thing. Was it shrapnel falling on me? Where is the blast damage? There's a part missing from all this. A part of the story that I am overlooking. A part. A part.

"A party!" Tails looked down to see a piece of cake and some fruit punch in front of him. A faint smell of sulfur twinged his nose, but that was only because he was right next to the party cannon. Conversations were being had, but he didn't really pay much attention to them. His body felt almost numb, as if it were just a vessel, as if his soul were trying to escape from it. His pulse was slowly lowering from all the excitement, the drumming rhythm losing its fervor in his ears. His body was starting to calm down, except his heart rate began to rise once again. The muscles that tails didn't realize had clenched started loosening up, his breathing keeping an even tempo, his mind slowly settling down and no longer thinking a mile a minute. It was then that he realized he was no longer staring at the faded red of the booth seat in exchange for a deep ocean blue. He blinked for a second and focused his eyes, seeing eyes stare back at him. In the ocean, two pearly white pools swirled, vibrant and sharp emeralds spinning constantly within them. It had been a while since Tails had the chance to just stare at sonic.

"Oh, H-hi there Sonic." Tails said bashfully, averting his eyes after realizing he was staring along with the fact that he had probably embarrassed his friend with the outburst earlier.

Sonic sighed as he waited for Tails to look back at him. "You wanna tell me what all that was about? You are really freaking me out now. Everyone else is worried about you, too." Sonic reached over to put a hand on the fox's shoulder.