Tails' New Pet

Tails' New Pet

 Sonic the Hedgehog stood in the kitchen of his hut in the middle of the Mystic Ruins, stirring a big pot of chili for the chilidogs that he made for lunch later this afternoon. His little brother, Miles “Tails” Prower, had gone out to take the Tornado for a flight about two hours ago. In fact, he should be back…right about…

 “Sonic, I’m home!”

 …now.

 Sonic smiled upon hearing his brother enter the house.

 “I’m in the kitchen, Tails!” the blue hedgehog called to his little brother, who soon entered the kitchen…with a rather peculiar-looking creature perched on his head.

 It is orange with yellow fingerless hands, toeless feet, little green wings, and an onion-shaped head.

 “Hi, Sonic!” Tails greeted.

 “Uh…who’s your little friend there?” Sonic asked.

 “Oh, yeah! It’s a Chao, see?” Tails answered.

 “Chao Chao!” the little Chao chirped.

 “I can see that,” Sonic said. “Where’d you find the little guy?”

 “Oh, I didn’t find him,” Tails said. “He found me while I was out flying the Tornado.

Flashback

 Tails was flying through the clouds in the Tornado, on his way back home. He had been gone for a good couple of hours, so it had to be lunchtime by now. He hoped that Sonic was making chilidogs with extra cheese: his favorite.

 Suddenly, the two-tailed fox spotted something out of the corner of his eye. He looked to his left and saw…a little orange Chao, flying right beside the plane!

 “Whoa! A Chao!” Tails exclaimed.

 “Chao Chao!” the Chao chirped.

 Tails smiled as he watched the little guy fly alongside the Tornado. As far as he could tell, no other Chao could ever fly at such an altitude, and for so long, too. He had to admit, it was rather impressive.

 “You’re a pretty good at flying, little guy!” Tails said. “Hey! Wanna try some maneuvers?”

 “Chao! Chao-Chao!” the Chao chirped again.

 “Okay!” Tails said before he tilted the Tornado slightly to the left, and the Chao copied this movement.

 “Good!” Tails praised. “Let’s try upside-down!”

 The fox then turned the plane all the way over to the point where he was upside-down, and once again, the Chao followed suit. Tails laughed as he righted the Tornado again.

 “This is a hard one!” he said. “It’s the loop-de-loop! Think you can handle it?”

 “Chao Chao!” the Chao exclaimed, eagerly.

 “I guess that’s a yes!” Tails said. “Here we go!”

 Tails pulled on the steering, causing the Tornado to fly higher, and the Chao followed. The two performed a big loop-de-loop together, with Tails crying “WHOOOOOOOAAAAAAH~!!” the whole time. After doing so, the fox and the Chao laughed together.

 “That was fun!” Tails exclaimed. “You’re not bad for a Chao, little guy!”

 “Chao Chao!” the Chao cried.

 “I think you need a name,” Tails said. “I can’t just call you little guy forever. How about…Ace? Since you’re an ace flyer, like me!”

 “Chao Chao! Chao! Chao~!” the newly christened Ace chirped.

 “You like it, huh?” Tails asked with a chuckle.

 Ace then flew over and perched himself on top of Tails’ head.

 “Hmm…you know, I never had a Chao as a pet before,” the fox said. “Maybe I can convince Sonic to let me keep you! Would you like that, Ace?”

 “Chao Chao!” Ace chirped.

 “I’ll take that as a yes!” Tails said.

 And so, Tails and Ace flew back home together.

Flashback end

 By the time Tails had finished his story, he and Sonic are already eating lunch at the table while Ace still sat on the fox’s head, happily eating a mango.

 “And that’s how it went,” Tails answered as he ate his chilidog. “So…I can keep him, right Sonic?”

 Sonic looked at Tails as he ate his second chilidog.

 “Well…I dunno,” the blue hedgehog said. “A Chao is a lot like a pet Tails, and a pet is a big responsibility.”

 “I-I know Sonic,” Tails said, “but I promise, I’ll take good care of Ace!”

 “Tails,” Sonic began, “you know we already have our hands full with saving the world from Dr. Eggman whenever he comes around, you know, not to mention you have chores to do and all that stuff. I don’t think you’ll have the time to care for a Chao!”

 “Oh, come on, Sonic!” Tails complained. “Please~?”

 “Tails, you can beg and plead all you want, but I will not change my mind!” Sonic said. “I’m sorry, but you can’t keep Ace!”

 Despite this, Tails refused to give in. The fox begged and pleaded and even whined a little (even though he himself really found it immature) to his big brother almost all day, but still, Sonic would not confide in Tails. Even while they were out during a run, Tails still continued to ask Sonic over and over, but still the hedgehog continued to say no. Heck, Eggman even attacked the city, and even during the fight, Tails continued to ask him! Luckily, Tails managed to stay focused long enough to help Sonic turn the tide, but once the evil scientist was defeated, Tails went right back to begging.

 That night, after they came back home, Tails seemed just about ready to give up, but then he had one more trick up his sleeve.

 If this doesn’t work, he thought, then nothing will.

 While Sonic sat on the couch, watching TV (and maybe to check and see if he and Tails made the evening news), Tails walked up to him with Ace still perched on his head.

 “Sonic?” Tails asked.

 Sonic heaved a sigh of exasperation as he put the TV remote down.

 “Tails, buddy, how long are you gonna keep this up?” Sonic asked as he turned to Tails, but the moment he faced him…he saw the 8-year-old fox staring back at him with big blue eyes and his bottom lip poked out.

 “Please, Sonic?” Tails asked. “Please let me keep Ace~!”

 “Oh, no,” Sonic muttered. “No, no, no, no Tails! C’mon! Not the puppy-dog eyes!”

 Tails continued to stare at Sonic, and he even threw in a cute little puppy whimper, and at that moment, Sonic couldn’t help but laugh, realizing that he had finally been defeated.

 “Okay, okay!” the hedgehog said. “I give up! You can keep Ace, Tails!”

 “WHOO-HOO!!” Tails cried as he jumped up and hugged his big bro. “Thank you, Sonic! I knew you’d change your mind!”

 Sonic smiled and hugged Tails back.

 “Sorry I kept begging you like that,” Tails said.

 “Ah, forget about it,” Sonic said, “but next time, when you ask me something, I’ll be sure to say yes so you don’t annoy the living heck outta me.”

 “Uh…yeah, sorry,” Tails before he turned to Ace and took him into his arms. “Hear that, Ace? You get to live with me, now!”

 “Chao Chao!” Ace chirped happily.

 “He is a cute little guy,” Sonic said as he tickled Ace’s tummy, which seemed to make him giggle a little.

 “Yeah,” Tails said as he hugged Ace and gently cuddled him.

 “…you really do love that Chao, don’t you?” asked Sonic.

 “Yeah,” Tails answered. “Just as much as I love you, big bro.”

 Sonic smiled before he hugged Tails, once again, and gave him an affectionate kiss on his forehead.

(A/N: It’s a brotherly kiss, people. Don’t go getting the wrong idea.)

 “I love you, too, Tails,” Sonic said as he ruffled Tails’ bangs. “Now…I think it’s time for you and Ace to get some sleep.”

 As soon as he said this, Tails let out a big yawn, as did Ace. Sonic smiled as he followed his little brother into his room, and once the fox climbed into bed with Chao in tow, the hedgehog approached them and tucked them into the covers.

 “Goodnight, you two,” Sonic said.

 “Goodnight, Sonic,” Tails said.

 Sonic smiled as he turned and walked out, turning off the lights as he did.

 “Goodnight, Ace,” Tails whispered to his new pet.

 “Chao,” Ace whispered back as he and his new friend fell into a deep sleep.

THE END