After the Metarex: Tails' and Cosmo's Story Part One

Chapter One

"Getting To Know You"

"Tails! Tails, what's wrong?" Cosmo cried as Tails collapsed onto the floor right in front of her. "Speak to me! Tails! Tails! Tails!" She bent over him. "Oh no! Mother! I've hurt him! Mother, help me!"

But there was no reply. It seemed that Cosmo was on her own now.

Cosmo got him to his couch. She took off his left glove, then removed his shoes. She stroked his forehead, then went looking for his bedroom to fetch him a pillow and blanket. She had never been in Tails' house before, so she had no idea where anything was. She found herself in his kitchen. Maybe he needed something to eat. She opened his refrigerator. There was a small plate with one of Cream's cakes on it, and nothing else. The freezer held a tray of ice cubes and something wrapped in foil. She unwrapped it, but couldn't tell what it had been.

She checked the cupboards. A partial box of cereal. A nearly empty tin of tea bags. One can of chili. Why didn't he have any food?!?

She found three bedrooms, and a closed door. She was curious about that, but now wasn't the time to go exploring. The first bedroom seemed spotless. The furnishings seemed too feminine for Tails. She had seen Tails with his parents, hadn't she? While her memories up until her sacrifice were clear, it was very difficult to remember anything after she had seen Super Sonic and Super Shadow flying towards her. Her visits with her friends were unclear, but clearer than the rest of the time she'd been gone. A picture of a young fox couple, the man looking like an older Tails, convinced her she was probably in their room. She moved on to the next room.

This room seemed unoccupied. Several boxes sat against one wall. Was it used for storage? Hadn't there been someone else there with Tails? Yes, an elder brother. This reminded her that she'd met her own brother. The first Thorndrigan she'd ever seen that hadn't been a maniac. Proof that the males of her people hadn't been all bad.

The third room proved to be a mess. Food wrappers and utensils lay scattered about. Hadn't one of her sisters told her that boys were terrible housekeepers? But Tails had always been so neat. Had he stopped caring because of her?

"I'll just have to clean this up," she decided. "But first, I'll finish what I came here for." She took the pillow and blanket from the bed, and returned to the living room. She covered him with the blanket, then gently lifted his head and placed the pillow beneath it. She brushed the hair out of his eyes and kissed him on the cheek. If he didn't wake up soon, she'd call for help. She returned to the messy room. "This is going to take awhile." Well, that was what friends did for each other, wasn't it? Friends…and people who were more than friends.
Tails came to wondering how he'd ended up on the couch. He sighed. "Just a dream," he thought. "Just a beautiful, wonderful dream." He must have fallen asleep on the couch, although he couldn't remember getting a pillow and blanket. Maybe he'd started sleepwalking? Then he heard someone moving around on the other side of the house. A burglar, stealing one of his inventions? Doubtful. Ginger again? That was a distinct possibility. After all, she knew where he lived. But she wouldn't have given him a pillow and blanket. He suddenly noticed he wasn't wearing his gloves or shoes. Ginger wouldn't have removed them to help him feel more comfortable.

"Must be Cream," he decided. He got up, and started towards his room, suddenly remembering the mess he'd left his room in. Cream and Vanilla were the only two people he could think of that would clean his room for him. Well, there was one other, but she was gone forever.

"Uh, hi," Tails said, stepping up to the doorway in his room. "Listen, I'm really sorry about the mess in my room, but…" He blinked. No, it couldn't be…

Cosmo had been making his bed when he'd spoken to her. She turned to him, a smile on her lips that froze as she watched him stagger. She raced forward and wrapped her arms around him. "Please don't faint again, Tails! You're scaring me!"

"Wha-what…?" Tails stammered, as she helped him sit down on his bed.

"I'm sorry!" she said, taking a step back. "I never wanted to hurt you again, and I'm still doing it!"

"No!" Tails cried, reaching out for her. "Please don't go away again!"

"If I'm upsetting you, I should leave," Cosmo said.

Tails caught her arm. Their eyes met. Again, Tails saw that same look he'd seen for months in his mirror. "You're really here, aren't you?" he asked. "I'm not dreaming, or losing my mind, am I?"

"No," Cosmo assured him, taking his hand in hers. "No, I'm really here." She sat down beside him. "Are you sure you're all right?"

"Just having a little trouble processing this," Tails said. "If I've gone crazy, at least it's a nice fantasy world to spend the rest of my life in."

Cosmo gasped. "Don't joke about something like that! Being crazy is nothing to laugh about!"

Tails stared at her. "You know, don't you?" he asked. He felt so embarrassed. He hadn't wanted her to ever know about his meltdown, or Happy Acres.

But Cosmo seemed genuinely confused now. "Know what? Did something happen?"

"I'm sorry," Tails said, hoping to change the subject. "I didn't know that making a joke like that would upset you."

Cosmo shook her head. "No, no, I never should have raised my voice like that to you. I've already upset you, and now I've shouted at you! I just can't seem to stop hurting you!" She fell over on his bed, burying her face in his blanket.

Tails placed his hands on her shoulders and gently lifted her up. "You hurt me?!?" he said. "Cosmo, I hurt you more than anyone ever could! I…I shot you! I…I pointed a gun at you, and pulled the trigger, and…and…" He started to cry.

"But…but none of that was your fault!" Cosmo said, holding him close. "We all did what we had to do, Tails. You, me, Sonic, Shadow…none of us could have turned from those paths at the end."

"If I'd just had more time!" Tails sobbed. "I tried and I tried to find another way…any other way, but…but I just couldn't find any!"

"Shh," she hissed, patting him on the back. "It's okay." She shut her eyes. Dimly, she could almost remember there had been another way. What was it? Someone had refused to help them. Yes, that was it. Someone had stayed out of the fight, had stood by and watched coldly while Cosmo sacrificed herself and hurt the one she loved. Who? Who would have done such an awful thing? Why couldn't she remember?

"Cosmo?" Tails said, his fingers suddenly running across her face. "Is something wrong? Are you sick?"

"No, Tails," Cosmo said. "I was just wondering…what other way there might have been."

"If I could go back, I wouldn't have done it!" Tails said firmly.

Cosmo shook her head, then stared into his eyes. "No, Tails. You really did have to do it. We would have all died otherwise." She sighed. "Well, Dark Oak did say he could have saved me if I'd joined him. But I couldn't have lived that way."

"If it had just been me, I'd've given up my life for you," Tails said.

"No!" Cosmo said firmly. She clenched her fists. "No more people giving up their lives for others! I don't ever want anyone else to have to go through the nightmare we did."

"Are you okay?" Tails asked, staring at her.

"Cosmo bit her lip. "I know what you're thinking," she said. "You're wondering if I'm really me, or another of Doctor Eggman's robots or a clone grown by the Metarex."

"No! I wasn't thinking that!" Tails assured her. But then, he remembered, Metal Cosmo had looked just like her. And how had she known about Metal Cosmo?

"I'm really me, Tails," Cosmo assured him, climbing off of his bed. "I'm the same person you knew before. At least, I hope I'm the same." She bowed her head. "If…if I start acting strangely, you'll tell me, won't you?"

Tails jumped off the bed. There was a moment of dizziness, but he shook it off. "Why would you act strangely?" he demanded. "Don't you feel the same?"

Cosmo looked away. "It's…it's nothing I can clearly put into words, Tails," she muttered.

"Please try, Cosmo," Tails begged, placing his hands on her shoulders again. "If something's bothering you, you need to let me help."

She patted his hands. "I have…vague memories of…of going somewhere…of being with my family. They're very faint, fuzzy, like dreams. The more I try to cling to them, the more they vanish from my mind. There were things I was supposed to do. I need to tell Sonic and Shadow something, but I can't remember what!"

"Shadow? Why would you need to tell him anything?" Tails asked. He sounded confused now. She turned back to him. He looked as confused as he'd sounded. And a little angry.

"You're still angry at him, aren't you?" Cosmo asked.

"Yes, and I always will be," Tails said. "He tried to kill you! He said he thought it would be better for both of us if we never found out about your being a spy. That's just sick."

"Tails," Cosmo said softly. "While I remember little since I died, I do know I asked you to stop being so angry. You can't keep hating people. Look what happened to my people, because Dark Oak and his generals couldn't let go of their anger!" She gasped. "Oh! I-I'm not comparing you to them or anything like that! I'm sorry!"

"It's okay. I know what you mean," Tails said. "With you by my side, I'm willing to try anything. But why do you need to speak to Shadow?"

"Someone wanted me to give him a message," she said. "Ma-maria? Yes, I think that was her name."

Tails looked even more confused now. "Maria Kintobor? Eggman's cousin? But--but she's dead!" He gasped as he realized what he'd just said.

"So was I," Cosmo whispered. "I remember being with my family. Not just the ones I knew, but all of them. Going back to the beginning of my people. That must really sound crazy to you!"

"No!" Tails assured her. "Is that why you're worried about being…different? Because you've seen things from…from the next world?"

"Maybe," Cosmo said, sitting down on his bed again. This time, she seemed to be the dizzy one. She looked him in the eyes again. "Do you…do you really think that I can be the same…after what's happened? My mother told me that I'd forget most of the other world. That it was for the best because memories of the afterlife would affect my ability to live in the land of the living." Tails' eyes bulged, his lower jaw dropped. His hands shook a little. "I'm upsetting you again, aren't I?" Cosmo said. She covered her face with her hands. "I'm so sorry! I'll try not to mention I was dead again!"

Tails sat down and wrapped his arms around her. "No, I'm sorry," he said softly. "I just…I don't think I'd be able to talk about something like that!"

"About being dead?" Cosmo asked.

"I'm sorry," Tails said again. "If you don't mind talking about it, then I can deal with it. It's just…it's just so difficult to accept that you were really…gone." He took a deep breath, then let it out slowly. "I just can't seem to say it."

"That's okay," Cosmo said. "I'm sure if it had been the other way around, I'd be having the same problems you're having now." She gasped. "Cream, Amy, Knuckles…what if my coming back upsets them too? I don't want to hurt anyone."

"I'm sure they'll be very happy to see you again," Tails said quickly. Then he remembered how Cream had been acting the last few months. Should he tell her Cream had shown an interest in him?

****

Cream had planned to go to Tails' house, but decided to see Amy first. She had gone about halfway when she and Cream spotted Amy coming towards their house.

"Amy! Hi!" Cream called, jumping up and down and waving her arms.

"Hi, Cream!" Amy called. "Hi, Cheese!" She was wearing the same dress she'd worn to Tails' and Cosmo's party on the Blue Typhoon.

"Oh, wow, Amy," Cream said. "Even with your buttoned over it, that really looks pretty!"

"We need to take you shopping, girl!" Amy said.

"We've been shopping," Cream said. "Every week. My mom says they're all very nice, but we should probably just window shop more and buy less."

"Nah, what fun is that?" Amy demanded. "Hey, aren't Sonic and Tails coming over to your house? Why aren't you there?"

"Well, I was going to walk with Tails," Cream admitted, blushing. "But then I thought I'd ask you for some help with the party. My mom really means well, but she still thinks I should be playing pin the tail on the donkey."

Amy giggled. "Okay, let's get over to your house and see what we can come up with."

"Sure," Cream said. They started towards Cream's home. The little bunny started moving her lips as if she were talking to herself about something.

"Something bothering you?" Amy asked.

"No," Cream said. "Not really. I was just wondering…"

"Yes? Go on," Amy urged her.

"Does it seem like Tails has been…avoiding me lately?" Cream asked.

"Huh?" Amy said, stopping. "Why?"

"No reason," Cream said. "It just seems like…like he's afraid to be around me if you or my mom or Mister Sonic isn't there."

"Maybe he's a little nervous around you because he's starting to have feelings for you," Amy suggested.

"Maybe," Cream said. "But sometimes it seems like he's behaving the same way Mister Sonic…uh…" She looked at Amy, then looked around for some way to change the subject. "Do pimples hurt?"

Amy sputtered and dug through her purse for a mirror. "I have a pimple?!?" she cried. "Why didn't you tell me before?!?"

"No!" Cream reassured her. "You haven't had any for awhile now, Amy. I was just wondering."

"Don't worry," Amy said, checking her face carefully anyway. "You have a few years yet before you'll have that sort of problem."

"Okay," Cream said. "I can't wait for spring, can you?" Nothing ever seemed to bother her for very long.

****

"Something wrong?" Cosmo asked.
"No," Tails assured her. Cosmo and Cream had been best friends before. He wasn't going to start anything between them. "Nothing's wrong."

"You're not sure how they'll react to seeing me again," Cosmo said. "You just don't want me to worry. That's very sweet. Well, Sonic and Shadow regenerated my body, so it shouldn't upset them at least. I don't know about the rest."

"It took so long for it to work, I was afraid something had gone wrong," Tails said. "I…I guess I just expected there to be a bright light, and…and you'd be back to yourself again."

Cosmo sighed. "My body was completely destroyed," Cosmo pointed out. She saw his face crumple and gave him a hug. "It's okay. It does sound terrible, doesn't it? But it's all right. It took a long time, but they did it! I made it back, Tails!"

"Yeah," Tails said. "No help from me." He looked away.

Cosmo ran her hand through his hair. "What? Of course you helped! You called me back. One thing I do remember is that you never gave up on me. They healed my body. You helped me to heal my soul. You gave me the strength to put myself back together again."

"Are you sure you're all right?" Tails asked. "It must have been terrible, what you had to do. Merging with that monster, and…and standing there, waiting for…for me to…You were so brave!"

Cosmo laced her fingers together. "I hated him so much," she said. "My life didn't matter to me if I could stop him once and for all." She shut her eyes. "And I'm not as brave as you may think, Tails. Actually, I was terrified. If you'd waited much longer, I think…I think I might have changed my mind. I think I might have begged you to find another way. But once it actually happened…I wasn't afraid anymore. Just sad because…because I knew I'd be leaving my friends for good. Especially…especially you, Tails." She blushed and looked away.

"Do you remember what I told you, just before I…before I pushed the button?" Tails asked.

Cosmo looked back at him. "Yes, Tails, yes, I do. In fact…in fact I said the same thing. When I died. And I remember enough of our meetings that I know we said it to each other since then. But it's been so long. Do you still love me?"
Tails threw his arms around her. "Always!" he sobbed. "I love you, Cosmo! I will always love you!"

"Then…then perhaps something positive came of that horror," Cosmo said, hugging him back. "I love you too! But I was so shy, I don't know how long I would have kept avoiding telling you my feelings. What happened drove us apart, but it brought us together."

"I felt the same way," Tails said. "I could have gone months, maybe years without telling you." His face hardened. "But I won't consider anything that happened back then being positive."

"I'm sorry," Cosmo said. "I've been negative for so long, I'm just trying to start looking on the bright side of everything. I was so full of anger and hate when we were fighting the Metarex. I want that to end now. I want to be happy."

"I'll do the best I can to make you happy," Tails promised. It was only then that he noticed something about her. "Um…are you wearing a towel?"

Cosmo looked down at herself. "Oh! I forgot I was wearing this. It was all I could find in your greenhouse. Did you need it back?"

"Uh…no," Tails said, blushing. "You can keep it!" He jumped up and ran to his dresser. "Uh…here! I have clothes for you! They might not quite fit, but they'll be good enough for a trip to the mall to buy you a new wardrobe."

"I don't want to be a bother," Cosmo said.

"No, no, no bother," Tails said, placing several t-shirts and shorts on the bed. He slid open his closet door and grabbed a handful of clothing without looking to see what it was. He laid them beside the other clothing. "Let's see, what else? I'm afraid I don't have any shoes that would fit your feet. I can carry you until we get you a pair of shoes, though. Green, right?" He got some socks, then said, "Wait! I think I have some flip-flops that might fit! I think they're under the bed." He stuck his head under the bed. "Man, it's dark under here!"

"You don't need to go to so much trouble," Cosmo insisted.

Tails' eyes adjusted enough for him to see the shoes weren't there. He crawled out to find Cosmo had put on a green t-shirt and…his plaid corduroys. "Is this all right?" she asked.

"Sure," Tails said, "you look great." Actually, those pants did look a lot better on her than they ever did on him.

"You really think so?" Cosmo asked. "I'm so used to wearing a skirt."

"I'm afraid I don't have any of those," Tails admitted. "My mom would, but they wouldn't fit you."

"I wouldn't want to wear your mother's clothes," Cosmo said. "I don't have the right."

"I'm sure she wouldn't mind," Tails said, although he knew there was a very good chance she would. His parents hadn't liked the idea of him being in love with an alien plant creature. What would they say when they came back and found her with him? Well, he'd worry about that when it happened.

Cosmo walked across the room. Zoo-zup! Zoo-zup! Zoo-zup! "Uh…it sounds like these things are trying to tell me something, only I can't understand what they're saying!"

Tails sweat dropped. "Uh, yeah, they do that. Um…maybe you'd like to try something else instead?"

Cosmo looked around, then finally picked up a pair of white bicycle shorts. "What about these?"

"That would be better," he said. "Those pants are awfully noisy."

"Yes, they're very colorful, but they draw attention to themselves and their wearer. I prefer to blend into a crowd."

"Me too," Tails said. He dug through the bottom of his closet. Still no flip-flops.

"Better?" Cosmo asked. She'd changed into the bike shorts.

"Much better," Tails said. "You have pretty legs." D'oh! Had he really just said that?!

"Uh, thanks," Cosmo said, blushing. "So…what do we do now?" Cosmo asked. "I mean…the last time I wasn't worrying about fighting someone, I was with my family. I'm not really sure what to do now that the Metarex are gone."

"Well, Sonic and I were going over to Cream's house later today," Tails said, getting up off the floor. "Amy will be there. I can have Knuckles and the Chaotix go over there too. We can have a big reunion!"

"That sounds nice," Cosmo said. "It will be good to see everybody again. But…what about you and me, Tails?"

"Huh?" Tails said. He'd just started to leave the room to look for those flip-flops.

"We met in war time," Cosmo pointed out. "I was so driven by vengeance, I often didn't pay too much attention to anything else. We need to get to know each other in peace time now. I mean, I don't even know what your interests are outside of inventing."

"Well," Tails said, leaning against his doorway. "I like flying, chili dogs, mint candy, and beautiful plant girls with eyes blue eyes I'd like to swim in."

Cosmo stared at him. "You want to swim in my eyes?!"

Tails sputtered, holding up his hands. "No! That's not what I meant! I mean, your eyes are like pools of blue water, and when the light hits them, they sparkle."

Cosmo blushed. "Oh! You were being romantic! I'm sorry. I'm not very quick to catch on to things. Please excuse me!"

"No, I should have explained what I was saying," Tails said quickly. "I'm sorry. You speak our language so well, I keep forgetting it's not your native tongue."

"The ship I stole from the Metarex had tapes that allowed me to learn your language," Cosmo explained. "I should have wondered why, but all I could think of was escaping and getting revenge. I guess they wanted me to understand what you were saying. I wouldn't have been a very effective spy otherwise."

"You were never a spy," Tails assured her. "Not really. You didn't have any say in the matter."

"That doesn't change the trouble I caused," Cosmo said sadly. Tails crossed the room, cupped her chin in his hand.

"Don't do this to yourself," he said. "It's just like you told me, we did things we had to do. You couldn't have stopped sending messages to the Metarex, any more than I could have chosen not do what I had to do in order to stop Dark Oak."

Cosmo hugged him. "I thought when I came back that everything would be wonderful," she said softly. "That our lives would be like one of Cream's fairy tales. But I can see that we both have a lot to sort through before we can be really happy." She looked into his eyes. "Let's make a promise right now. Let's promise we won't let anything ruin our time together. That we'll help each other through every problem that comes up in the future."

"I promise," Tails said.
"As do I," Cosmo said. "Oh. You shared your interests with me, but I didn't do the same. How rude of me. Let me see…you know I love to look at the stars of course. And that I daydream. I like to make up stories, but most people think they're too silly, so I rarely tell any of them."

"I wouldn't think anything you said was silly," Tails said.

Cosmo giggled. "I don't know. I can be pretty silly when I put my mind to it. Oh, you know I'm afraid of fire and lightning, right?"

"Me too," Tails admitted. "And earthquakes. And…"

"And what?" Cosmo asked. "Is something wrong?"

"I…I've always been scared of…ghosts," Tails admitted.

"Why didn't you want to tell me that?" Cosmo asked. Then her eyes widened. "Oh, Tails. You don't think I'm a ghost, do you?"

"No," Tails said. "And even when you were, I wasn't afraid of you. I just…I was afraid it would bother you if I mentioned it. Since…since you were…"

"Shh," she said, placing a finger to his lips. "Don't try to force yourself to say something that bothers you. Let's just take this one step at a time." She stepped away from him, then bowed. "Hello. I am Cosmo."

"Uh…Miles," Tails said, bowing. "Miles Prower. But you can call me Tails."

"Hello, Tails," Cosmo said, smiling. "This is a very nice place you have here."

"I'm so sorry it's such a mess," Tails said. "I've had a lot on my mind lately. I should clean this. Please excuse me."

"Here, let me help you," Cosmo said.

"You don't really have to," Tails told her, picking up food wrappers.

"No, I should get used to cleaning up after you," Cosmo insisted, crawling under his dresser to get some popsicle sticks. "I mean, not that I expect to need to clean up after you. I'm not saying you're a messy person or anything like that! It's just that, well, when we get mar…uh…uh…never mind!" She tried to stand up, and banged her head against the dresser. "Ouch!" She rubbed her head.

"Oh no!" Tails cried, dropping the mess he'd picked up on his bed and kneeling beside her. "Are you okay?" He ran his fingers through her hair.

"You have such a soft, gentle touch," she said.

"I know," Tails said, embarrassed. "I'm such a sissy."

"A what?" Cosmo asked. "I don't understand what that is."

"I mean, I'm not a very masculine person," Tails said. "I'm not cool like Sonic, or tough like Knuckles. I don't even like sports all that much unless I'm playing."

"From what I've heard about sports, I don't think I like them," Cosmo said, picking up the mess under the dresser again. "Too competitive. Competition can lead to arguments, which can lead to fighting. I'll gladly lose if it means keeping the peace."

"Well, a little competition can be helpful to a person," Tails said. "But it's okay not to like it."

****

Sonic had finally left the video store, after spending far too much time trying to make up his mind. Before seeing Tails, he decided to stop at his uncle Chuck's hot dog stand.

"Ah, Sonic!" Uncle Chuck called. "You're just in time to try my new bacon and egg chili dog!"

"Sounds good, Unc!" Sonic said. "Lay one on me! Heck, lay a dozen on me!"

The old hedgehog gave Sonic three of his new experiments. Sonic tried one. "I think you've definitely got something there, Unc!"

"Good, good," Uncle Chuck said. "So, how's Tails?"

"Much better," Sonic said through a mouthful of bacon, egg, and sausage. "In fact, we're going to have a little party because of it."

"That's very good news," Uncle Chuck said. "Oh, has he heard from his uncle? Merlin was keeping in touch with me, but lately I've received no word from him."

"Well, I'm sure he'll be fine," Sonic said, finishing. "He's pretty powerful. Not too many guys can stand up to the old wizard."

"True, true," Uncle Chuck agreed. "I remember once when we were trapped in a dungeon with the walls closing in on us. My sword was useless. Merlin caused the ground to form a sort of wave that threw us to safety. When I look at you and Tails, I can see Merlin and myself, young again."

"So what happened between you two?" Sonic asked. "I mean, you don't seem very close."

Chuck's eyes grew distant. "There was a girl. We both loved her. I suppose our friendship never truly recovered from that rivalry."

Sonic stared at his uncle. "But…neither of you are married," he said. He'd never heard this story before.

"No, neither of us ever did," Chuck agreed. "She died before making her decision."

Sonic gasped. "Oh, hey, I'm really sorry," he said. "I didn't want to bring up any bad memories."

"No, it's quite all right," Uncle Chuck assured him. "But you can never tell when something might happen to someone you care about. Look at Tails."

Sonic looked away. "You're suggesting I go talk to Amy, aren't you?"

"No," his uncle said, clasping his shoulder. "I'm saying you should take a good look at your life, decide what you truly want, and let nothing keep you from getting it."

"You're right, Unc!" Sonic said, giving the older hedgehog a thumbs-up. "See ya! I gotta juice!" Sonic sped off in a cloud of dust.

****

Many miles away, an old fox lay motionless amongst smoking metal. What resembled a smashed in head began to make a beeping sound. Far off in space, the signal was picked up by a large machine on a ship. A figure in red noticed the beeping. "So, the time has come," he said. He called out orders. "Prepare the ship for warp speed! The coordinates are already on the computer. I want us in orbit around the planet Mobius as quickly as possible! Failure to obey will not be tolerated!"

And so Red Pine began his voyage to Sonic's world.

****

Tails and Cosmo soon had a large pile of trash on Tails' bed. "I'll get a trash bag," he said, racing off. He ran into his kitchen and started looking for bags. No. Not there either. He ran to his workshop. Ah! Here were some in this bin. He took a couple, then hurried back. As he approached his room, he had a sudden fear that he'd get there, and she would be gone, vanished like she had in his dreams. But she was looking at his stereo equipment. It occurred to him that he rarely played it. Well, no better time than the present.

"Um…would you…like to dance?" he asked, embarrassed that his voice squeaked.

"Uh…I don't know any Mobian dance styles," Cosmo admitted. "Amy tried to teach me a couple of times, but I wasn't really paying too much attention. I was too busy brooding."

"No more brooding, remember?" Tails said, turning on his stereo. Slow music came on. He bowed. "May I have this dance, my dear?"

Cosmo curtsied. "I would be delighted, good sir!"

"Did you dance much on your ship?" Tails asked, taking her hands.

"Sometimes," Cosmo said. "And sometimes we danced by ourselves. Well, I did, anyway. Of course, some people thought I was strange."

"Me too," Tails said. "But then, people were always saying I was weird."

Cosmo sighed. "Two poor little misfits, lost in space, finding each other."

"Now that's romantic," Tails said. He suddenly realized he didn't know what he was doing. He really only knew rock and pop, music that you didn't dance to so much as wiggle. Plus, without his gloves, he realized to his embarrassment that his hands were wet and sticky in hers.

"I guess we're both romantics," Cosmo said. "That's good, right?"

"Sure," Tails assured her, "I think it's wonderful." He lost track of where he was putting his feet, and suddenly stepped on Cosmo's foot.

"Ow!" she cried.

"Oh no!" Tails gasped. "I'm sorry. I guess I'm clumsier than I thought!"

"I'm okay," Cosmo assured him. "But I don't think we're doing this right. I'm afraid that we're both going to need dancing lessons." That was when she stepped on his foot.

"Ow!" Tails said.

"I'm so sorry!" Cosmo cried. "Maybe we should stop before we hurt each other!"

"Well, we could sit on the bed and listen to the music," Tails suggested.

"Good idea," Cosmo said. "At least I know how to sit!"

"Sorry about the sweaty hands," Tails said, rubbing his hands against his shirt. "That's why I usually wear gloves."

"Oh," Cosmo said. "Is that why Amy and Cream and Sonic and…well, just about everybody I knew except Chris wore gloves?"

"Well, it's why I do," Tails admitted. "I don't know about everybody else. I just assumed it was a fashion choice, and it covered up my problem, so I went along with it without questioning it."

"Oh," Cosmo said. "I've just gone along with a lot that I couldn't understand. Like the fact that Sonic and Knuckles are good friends, but are unable to admit it. That still doesn't explain why they like to fight each other." She sighed. "But the way I helped Cream and Amy attack him, and then joined everyone in attacking Charmy and Espio and Vector, I shouldn't talk. With the detectives, I suppose I was scared because Sonic and Knuckles weren't there. But attacking Knuckles like that, I still can't figure out."

"Um…well, you were pretty driven to stop the Metarex," Tails pointed out.

Cosmo shook her head, pouting. "No! No, I wasn't just driven. I was completely obsessed. A side of me came out during that war, Tails. A side I didn't know I had. She's ugly and scary, and I don't want to let her out again."

"We all have a side we don't like," Tails assured her. "I've treated Sonic and Knuckles and Amy and Chris and even Cream terrible. I knew better, but it didn't stop me. Don't worry, Cosmo. It doesn't make you a bad person."

"I sure hope so," Cosmo said. "You know, I've never been in your home before. I was on this planet for such a short time. Didn't pay much attention to it. I've been thinking, and I can't even really remember what Cream's house looks like."

"Well, you'll have plenty of time to get used to this planet now," Tails assured her. "And I'm looking forward to every minute of it."

"I'm looking forward to it as well," Cosmo said. Impulsively, she suddenly reached out and felt his mustache. She pulled her hand away. "Sorry! I…um…I was just wondering what it felt like."

"That's okay," Tails said. "I can see it being strange to you. It's kind of ticklish." He realized he'd run out of small talk. What else could he say to her? "Are you ticklish anyplace?" Dah! What had he gone and said that for?!?

To his surprise, Cosmo said, "Well…yes, I am."

"Oh?" Tails said. "Where?" This sounded interesting.

"Uh…I don't think I want to tell you," Cosmo said playfully, moving away from him.

"Really?" Tails said, suddenly very curious. "Should I guess?"

"Well, if you'd like," Cosmo said, slowly stepping off the couch. "But, um…you'll have to catch me first!" She ran from the room, leaving Tails very confused for a moment. Then he heard her giggle.

"Idiot!" he told himself, jumping up and running after her. "Stop being such a dweeb!" He chased her down the hall into the living room. She was standing in front of his couch.

"Over here, Tails!" she called, motioning to him. As Tails jumped towards her, she leaped straight up in the air. He landed on the couch, flipped over, and fell on the floor. "Oh no!" she cried. "Are you okay?" She moved closer to him.

"Gotcha!" Tails cried, throwing his arms around her. "Now I just have to know, where are you ticklish?"

Cosmo wriggled free. "That's for me to know and for you to find out!" she cried, running back into the hall. He found her crouched on top of his righting desk. "Yoo hoo! Over here, Tails!"

Tails leaped into the air. Again, Cosmo jumped over him. He slid across the desk into his book case. "I'm okay!" he assured her Then he noticed the book case begin to rock. He heard Cosmo scream as it came crashing down on him.

To be continued…