HELLO READERS! I'VE SPENT SOME TIME REWRITING THIS ONE, BUT NOW IT'S FINALLY DONE. PLEASE REVIEW AND LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK!
Chapter 1: Once upon a school day...
Tails: So my summer was very eventful. I stole a $100 Million Artificial Intelligence program from a guy who would've used it to hack into military bases and banks.
Then my ex-girlfriend Fiona Fox tried to steal it off me, and sell it to other thugs.
That didn't work out.
After I saved her life, we agreed to part ways and the attempted thefts stopped.
I was able to program the A.I into a mobile device that could bypass nearly any security system and their grids. I installed it in an App on my cellphone.
Predator Hawk codenamed it The SAGE Program.
With this program sitting literally in my pocket, I can see why criminals like Hawk would pay millions for it. And it was so tempting to see how far I could go with this.
I made a promise to my friends that I would only use it for emergencies, if it came down to life and death.
So I locked the SAGE program away and have completely forgotten about it for the time being.
It's September now and I'm going into Grade 10. My old vigilante days are behind me and needs to stay out of my school life.
But…. You know how well that usually goes for me.
The teenage fox makes his way through the white halls of the local high school in a green, suburban neighborhood. Many of the students are much taller than him, but they take little notice of Miles Prower.
Outside of school, Tails helped Amy, Knuckles and Sonic's brother Manic take down an elite criminal faction called Hazard and saved the city of Metropolis from their undertaking.
At school, he's little Miles Prower, a math and science honor student working with new technology to find a less polluted way of creating energy.
He's not too popular here.
Charmy Bee sees Tails through the crowd so he pushes his way past students and lightly punches his old friends' arm to get his attention.
"Who let you in here, douchebag?" Charmy teases
Tails spins around and recognizes his face "Your mom. I'm here for advanced physics. You?"
"Musical theory. Hey, wanna join my band? It's gonna be dope! Metal meets Rap! Post hardcore meets pop rock! The whole deal!"
Tails isn't sure about mixing those genres together, but shrugs "Sure, there's nothing else to do"
A tall football jock bumps into the much smaller fox on his way by "Outta the way, nerd!"
Tails sighs "Right. Still a loser…"
Once the morning classes were are out of the way, Tails met Charmy in the guitar classroom and signed out one of the schools best classical guitars. When Sonic was still around, he showed the fox the basics of guitar, and eventually Tails got better and better over the years.
Charmy jumped on a medium sized drum set and played what he could, but with not much rhythm. Tails could barely hear himself with all this noise, and decided to practice later.
One last thing Fiona told me was that some pretty bad men and women would come looking for the SAGE program. Well….
A tall, Skinny Yellow hair Lynx walked up to Tails, knowing they'd be alone in this hallway. Before the teenage fox could react, Lynx pulled a pistol out of his jacket and held it up so Tails could see it.
"I just wanna talk" He grumbled in a musky voice
Tails panicked inside, but kept his composure "..about?"
"The A.I you stole"
A few students were turning the corner to walk down this hallway, so Lynx used his gun to signal Tails to follow. The thug was way too old to still be in high school and he smelled of cigarettes and whiskey. His long brown jacket was distressed and likely bought at a thrift store, Tails observed.
This guy Lynx was not affiliated with Hazard, and likely no stranger to shooting his gun.
They reached an area that wasn't covered by a security camera, a blind spot in the school.
Lynx took one last look around "Hand it over. Only time I'll ask"
"Well, technically you didn't ask, you just demanded.."
"You gettin' smart with me?"
Lynx lifted his gun toward Tails' waist
"I didn't bring it!..."
"Well, then take me too it"
The bell rang, signaling Lunch was over and third period started in five minutes. Lynx concealed his weapon as students hurried to their class, not even noticing Tails' predicament.
"I have to be in class or else-"
"Fuck your class, take me to the SAGE program"
A teacher making her rounds walked up to the fox
"Miles, Class is starting soon – Oh, who are you, sir?" She asked
Tails didn't know if he was safe, but seeing another adult made him feel better
"I'm a family friend of little Miles here. Just giving him some lunch money"
Lynx grudgingly took out some cash from his pocket and handed it over to Tails
"Alright, then. Off you go, Miles"
As Tails took off towards his class, he looked back at Lynx. The thug had a devilish smile as he watched his target walk away.
This would be an image Tails never forgot.
Aw, Man… just when I thought this year was gonna be easy!...
The fox sat down at his desk during his and Charmy's music class. The Bee was busy mingling with others while Tails was thinking about his run-in with Lynx.
How did he know where to find me? Does he know where I live? Should I tell someone? Wait, how much money did he give me?
Tails pulled out the bills and started counting, then his eyes went wide
Holy shit, $200 bucks! Wait, there's something else in here…
Just as he pulled out a small business card, a brown female hedgehog walked up to his desk and extended her hand
"Hi there, I'm Lettia! How are you, Tails?" She asked
The question startled Tails so much that he dropped the card and some money
"Lettia, Hi! I'm um- you know my name?" He replied
"Of course I do! I saw you on TV with your friends over the summer! I think what you did for that city was amazing"
Right, our hit against Hazard
Tails shook Lettia's hand and quickly picked up his money. She pulled up a chair next to him and sat down
"Are you and Charmy still looking for a singer?" She asked
"Singer?"
"For your band. Charmy's been telling everyone you guys need one"
"Right, our band… uh-"
"I can sing Pop, Rock, some metal, jazz-"
Charmy Bee ran up beside them and interjected
"Hey there, Lettia! T, here isn't in charge, he just plays the old guitar. I run the show! And you're in!"
"Sweet! Text me when you want to want to practice!"
The girl gave her cellphone number to both Tails and Charmy, but the fox couldn't help but think about the next time he'd run into Lynx.
The end of the day finally comes along, and Tails was on the look-out for the "Smelly Thug"
He stuck in big crowds of students so he'd be harder to get to, and stayed on the main streets instead of the backstreets. As much as he didn't want to admit it, he was scared.
Tails entered his one bedroom apartment, locked the door and pushed a tall wooden dresser against it. His heart was racing and he kept thinking about when this Lynx guy was going to show up next. Then he remembered Lynx left him a business card to contact him.
Tails thought back to what Knuckles had told him about bullies:
No sense in hiding from them. Just get it over with.
The Fox went downtown, inside a mall and found a payphone. He looked at the phone number on the card and dialed it, then put two quarters into the slot.
After three rings, someone picked up
"I was wondering if you'd man up and call me" Lynx greeted
"How'd you know it was me?" Tails said
"I only gave my business number to you and my buddy Dean. He's dead, so that leaves you, kid"
What a freak
"Are you going to show up to my school again?"
"Until you give me what I want"
"The staff knows you're not a student. You'll be barred from entering school property"
"Then how about I come to your house? I found your school, it wouldn't be hard to find out where you live"
"You're a psycho!" Tails shouted "You'd go through all kinds of trouble just to get the SAGE program?"
"I've gone through a lot more for lesser things. Of course, you could just hand it over and I'll be out of your life forever"
This guy drives a mean bargain, but I'll have to say no
"I'm never going to give the program to a scumbag like you, whoever you are"
Lynx takes a moment to laugh, then speaks
"A hero is born over the phone. Alright, Prower. Get ready for a life of pain, embarrassment and loss. You won't give it up, fine. I'll take it. Just remember: I warned you"
Tails slammed the phone onto the receiver and left it to hang as he walked away.
So let me recap today's events:
A gun-wielding psycho just casually strolls through my school, Charmy's entered us into the battle of the bands and my life's been threatened!
Not bad for my first day back.
So this is it. Life or death has finally come.
Tails enters his apartment once more, moves a metal file cabinet and exposes a secret storage door. He types in a password and the door swings open, letting out a gust of cold wind. He flips a light switch and walks to the end of the room.
A silver cellphone encased in glass shines as the light reflects off. Tails grabs it, turns it on and opens an App.
The SAGE program is active once again.
Let's see who's talking shit after tonight.