Okay, so here's the story. About a week ago (when I was still in my slump), I was listening to a song by Rascal Flatts while letting my thoughts wander, and this image just kind of bounced into my head of Tails thinking over the events of the Metarex War. The picture instantly linked up with the song, and the following story emerged. I hope you all enjoy it. (The lyrics are from the selfsame song that inspired me; it's called "Stand.")
On a rocky precipice at the very outermost edge of a gigantic, floating landmass, a yellow glow from a single window burned against the darkness of the surrounding night. A light breeze wafted by, stirring the foliage of the jungle behind the small house and carrying the scent of forest away to the south. A small figure sitting against the outside wall of the building felt the touch of the balmy summer air as well, but he hardly noticed; his mind was focused, not on the air or the earth, but on the stars.
Tails had always been fascinated with them, sparkling silently against the inky black and bringing calm and serenity to an often chaotic world. How millions upon millions of tons of white-hot burning plasma could manage to look so peaceful had something deeply meaningful about it. Recently, though, Tails had ceased to look at the stars simply as what he could see of them from home; after flying among them and experiencing what wonders they held, doing so really was impossible. He could literally look at any point in the night sky and have memories of battles fought, worlds saved, friendships forged, and lives lost. Knowing that each tiny point of light was every bit as real and large and life-giving as Möbius's own sun was a truly humbling concept.
You feel like a candle
In a hurricane;
Just like a picture
With a broken frame.
The journey had not been an easy one by any means; at times it had seemed as if space itself was determined to see him, his crew, and his ship torn asunder. More than once, Tails had considered simply turning back and abandoning the mission to fate in hopes that someone more capable would take the reins.
Alone and helpless,
Like you've lost your fight.
But you'll be alright.
You'll be alright.
Still, there had always been something to keep him and his comrades going. Whether it was the exhilaration of a battle won, the burning rage incited by the sight of a destroyed civilization, or simply the companionship of Sonic, Knuckles, Cosmo, and the others, some force was ready to act should discouragement begin to take its tole.
'Cause when push comes to shove,
You taste what you're made of.
Over time, Tails' confidence had grown, taking him from simple mechanic and sidekick to respected starship captain. There eventually came a time when he commanded his ship, not just because he was the only one who knew how, but because his crew trusted in his ability to beat the odds time after time.
You might bend 'til you break
'Cause it's all you can take.
Failures had been all too common in those days, for the enemy they faced was one of great power and relentless determination. Their strength had been tested in a hundred ways, but there had always seemed to be some way to pull through, and they managed it every time.
On your knees, you look up,
Decide you've had enough.
You get mad, you get strong,
Wipe your hands, shake it off,
Then you stand.
Those were the times, Tails decided, when he and his comrades had been challenged most. Eventually victory had been reached, but not without a heavy cost to all of them. Unbidden, the kitsune's gaze turned toward the so-called Milky Way, a band of stars whose light far outshone anything else the night sky had to offer. He was looking, he knew, at the center of his own galaxy, the true Milky Way, in which his home was little more than a remote backwater system, completely unheard of among most stellar empires. There were memories there, too, as for many other places, but these fragments of the past tore at him in ways that no others could.
Life's like a novel
With the end ripped out,
The edge of a canyon
With only one way down.
In retrospect, Tails felt that whatever future he had expected to have, it couldn't have been the one he was now living. It was as if fate had cut both his and Cosmo's paths short, then gouged out a new future for him and left her to wander into oblivion. He couldn't have imagined things would take such a turn for the worse as they did, nor that they would lose so much as a result. What was more, the new road fate had given him seemed to be approaching a dead end, the proverbial "Caution – Cliff Edge" sign before the drop.
Take what you're given
Before it's gone.
If there was one thing Tails had learned from all this, it was that the universe was seldom dependable. You could never know when it might decide to take back what it had given. As a result, he mused, the only way to live was to enjoy what you had while it was there, because you never knew how long it would last. That was a lesson he had learned too late, and one he didn't intend to have to relearn ever again.
Start holding on,
Keep holding on.
Tails' eyes strayed from the sky and wandered instead to a freshly sprouted ivy at the base of his home's wall. The young plant was barely an inch tall, yet it had already gained a firm grip on the brickwork and begun to snake its way upward. Plants understood nature's fickleness and lived their lives by it, storing whatever they could gather and taking advantage of every bit of support their environment offered. That little vine would continue to live and grow, regardless of what fate threw at it; why couldn't Tails do the same?
'Cause when push comes to shove,
You taste what you're made of.
Captain, Tails thought bitterly. Some captain I was; I couldn't even keep my own crew safe. Tears sprang to his eyes at the memory of what he regarded as his greatest failure. As he had so many times before, he tried to fight down his feelings, to wrestle his unruly mind into submission with sheer force of will. And, as had been the case so many times before, he failed, and the flood of emotion was worse as a result. He cried until his eyes ran dry.
You might bend 'til you break
'Cause it's all you can take.
Why does this happen to me? Tails wondered hopelessly. Why can't I control myself, as long as it's been? Then he remembered something that Sonic had suggested to him an hour or two before: "Don't try to stop them." He hadn't really understood what good it would do at the time, but after feeling the floodgates of will and reason shatter to the force of his emotions, he now thought he had an idea of what his near-brother had been getting at. He could fight the past and try vainly to hold firm against life's currents and eddies, or he could allow himself to shift with fate's changes in mood and continue along whatever path was laid out for him.
On your knees, you look up,
Decide you've had enough.
At that moment, Tails found the answer: it was time to stop pretending. He regretted his mistakes, it was true, but he realized now that there was nothing he could do for them. Of course, that logic wouldn't stop the sadness from coming from time to time, but now he would be able to bear it and continue to live in the meantime. From now on, he decided, he would keep his memories of the past, but his life would be for the future.
You get mad, you get strong,
Wipe your hands, shake it off,
Then you stand.
As soon as he made up his mind, Tails felt something harden within him. It was the same inner strength that had kept him set on his purpose over the long, grueling months of the Metarex War, and that he had seemingly lost on the day that it ended. The kitsune raised his hand, wiped the tears from his eyes, and got to his feet, his once-vanquished will burning anew within him.
Every time you get up
And get back in the race,
One more small piece of you
Starts to fall into place.
No longer would Tails be a victim of fate's beatings; no longer would change be his undoing. The pain of regret still lived within him, but now he was master of it. His mind and his life, unencumbered by pointless second-guessing and freed from the chains of his past, were his own once again.
'Cause when push comes to shove,
You taste what you're made of.
You might bend 'til you break
'Cause it's all you can take.
On your knees, you look up,
Decide you've had enough.
Tails stepped inside his house and made his way to a windowsill where something quite precious to him rested: a plant pot containing a fragile, dark-colored sapling that was just starting to unfurl its pale pink flowers. This plant was a symbol of his past, but also, Tails now realized, of his future. He smiled, touching one of the blooms gently with his finger. The tree was nearly large enough now to survive on its own; perhaps someday it would become something akin to the beauty it represented. Whatever turns life took Tails on, it would always be there, both to remind him of the past and to support him as he journeyed forward once more into a future that now looked much brighter.
You get mad, you get strong,
Wipe your hands, shake it off,
Then you stand!
So, what do you think? I realize it's not my typical style, so I probably made some mistakes. Like it, hate it, want to see it improved, whatever; I'm always happy to hear from my readers.