Finally, I got this sequel to A Secret's Vain up and running. :D

I hope you enjoy it, for I haven't written a single thing in a long, long while. This takes place about… Nyeh, five years into the future.

...WOAH, I forgot to make paragraph breaks! Ah well, I fixed it now.

Mythical

By Crysal

An alarm blared loudly, causing a figure to bolt upright in his bed.

"Aargh! Stupid alarm!" A voice said quietly, his throat still dry from sleeping with his mouth open. He looked at the digital time display and groaned; it read 5:00 AM. His alarm clock broke a few days ago, and now it kept blaring the alarm at exactly five o' clock in the morning, no matter what he set it to. This got on his nerves to no end, as he kept losing four hours of sleep every night. He shifted around until the covers glided off of him, and then he swung his feet out of bed, standing up. He walked with lazy, thumping footsteps to the other side of the room, where the clock was, before bending down and tugging on the cord connecting the annoying device to the wall. The blaring radio slowly lowered in pitch and speed as the time display fainted, before they both shut off. The figure chuckled; He found the sound rather humorous. He heard a moan come from behind him, and quickly whipped around to look in the direction of the sound.

"Bro… When are you gonna fix that thing?…" A voice groaned from the other side of the room. He flicked his tails in annoyance, almost knocking the alarm clock to the ground at his brother's comment. He hated people constantly reminding him of things he just didn't have time to do, as it frustrated him to no end.

"Sonic, I told you I have too many other things to do. I have to keep repairing things so I can keep my job-"

"Yeah yeah, I know. But I can't find a digital clock in any of the stores, no matter where I look…" The hedgehog interrupted, pointing out Station Square's lack of anything useful. The kitsune sighed, he didn't know what to do. He walked back over to his bed with more lazy footsteps, and climbed back in, pulling the covers around him. He shivered, their room was pretty much freezing at night. His tails flicked, throwing the covers at his bottom side upward before they floated back down. He sighed; he hated those things, there were just too many of them to handle.

"Um… Tails?" The blue hedgehog asked in a quiet voice, and the kitsune could hear his brother turn towards him. "I know you don't like to talk about this, but I just wanted to ask about your-"

"No. I don't want to talk about it, and I probably never will. Just leave me alone and go back to sleep, Sonic." The kitsune ordered strongly, a hint of anger in his voice. He didn't want to talk about that. No, anything but that. The hedgehog sighed.

"Listen Tails… You know I would never ridicule you for them, so why do you act like that?" The hedgehog sympathized, but it only made the kitsune feel worse. He didn't like to talk about them; it made him feel like a freak. "Isn't it also the reason your fur is become paler and paler?" The kitsune gulped, he didn't want to accept it, but it was true. His fur was getting a little bit lighter each day. And it was all because of… No, he can't think about that. It's too painful…

"Y…Yes…" The kitsune admitted with a whimper, tightening his little bundle of bedsheets. He stayed silent, fearing what the hedgehog was going to say next. Just don't say it… Don't say it…

"It's… It's about your tails…"

"What about them!?" The pale orange kitsune screamed and turned around, catching the hedgehog off-guard. The force of his yell caused the room to vibrate, as they both felt and heard from the rattling of various objects in the room. The kitsune absolutely hated it when people brought up his tails, because it was not something to talk about with him. He found himself breathing heavily and gritting his fanged teeth together in anger, before he closed his mouth.

"T-Tails, calm down!" The blue hedgehog said hastily, surprised from the fox's outburst. "I-I'm sorry if you don't like to talk about them, but I just wanted to ask something. Please, just… Calm down…" The kitsune's breathing slowed, and he resumed his sleepy mood.

"Now… About your tails… You have eight of them now, right?" The hedgehog asked, causing the kitsune to cringe with embarrassment. He didn't like it, but it was true. He had grown five new tails over the years he had stayed at his brother's custom-built mansion. Five years… Five whole years, and he had become 17 over them. His 18th birthday was in one week… By study, he knew that he would grow his ninth tail that day. He would be… A Kyuubi. He just knew it would be terrible, having pure white fur and all those intimidating "Features". His fur at the time was a very, very, light orange, and he could hardly remember the deep orange fur he had back when he was 12, when he grew his third tail. The eight tails he had now were a bit too much to handle as they were rather large, each one the size of his torso. They also threw him off balance a lot, making him fall over backwards every once in a while. He had learned to shift his weight forward over the years, so that wasn't really a problem, but he often misjudges the size of them and sometimes knocks things over when he turns.

"Y…Y…Yes…" The pre-Kyuubi admitted, sniffling with tears flowing out of his eyes. He closed his eyes and pulled his bedsheets up over his muzzle in an attempt to hide his sorrow, but he knew it wasn't working. He felt an ungloved hand lay on his tails, and he immediately shoved it off with one of his namesakes, opening his eyes and glaring at the blue hedgehog. His glaring stopped when he saw that the hedgehog had a worried look on his face, like he just wanted to help. "Sonic…"

"Yes, Tails?" The hedgehog answered quietly, to avoid arousing any sadness in the kitsune.

"I… I don't want to be a Kyuubi…" The kitsune cried quietly, fearing the future. He didn't want to become a Kyuubi, it was just too much for him to handle. But… Maybe it wouldn't be all that bad. A change of appearance and an extra tail, that would be it.

But… A lot of power comes with being a Kyuubi, as he heard from old folk tales.

"It's okay, Tails… No matter what happens to you, no matter what changes you go through, just remember that you'll always be my brother. Nothing will ever, ever change that…" The blue hedgehog sympathized, reaching over to rub the fox's side with his gloveless hand. The kitsune sniffed, and then relaxed a little bit.

Maybe it wouldn't be so bad…

The kitsune awoke lazily, pulling the bedsheets over his eyes to shield his face from the bright sunlight streaming in his window. He was about to fall back to sleep when he realized that his alarm wasn't going off. Again. He jumped out of bed, landing with a rather loud thump on the carpet, and gazed at the clock on the other side of the room. His vision hazy from sleep, he had to focus, aligning the two visions of the clock with one another, to see that it said…

"Nine o' clock?!" The kitsune said, startled. Oh no… No, he was late for work! He dashed out the bedroom door and ran down the hallway, careful to keep his tails from bumping into things such as small tables and table-stools with lamps, trinkets, and teacups on them. He grabbed his work clothes from the hanger on the door at the end of the hallway and quickly garbed himself in the blue T-shirt and jeans, before picking up his tool box and running to the door, to see a note taped on the window. He picked it up and held it up to his face. It read:

Dear Tails,

I went to find a new alarm clock at the new store down the street. If you're reading this, you're probably late for work, and that's why I'm going to get one.

Hugz, Sonic.

The kitsune chuckled, strangely amused by the hedgehog's note and his rather immature spelling of "Hugs", before he remembered he needed to hurry and get to work. He threw the note behind him and opened the door, before briskly walking out of it. He closed the door, before breaking into a sprint, whizzing down the single dirt driveway extending from the front of their house to the left, connecting itself to one of Station Square's streets. He had not yet learned to use his eight tails to increase his speed, so he simply used his training with his brother to sprint at speeds upwards of 200 miles per hour. If only he didn't have so many tails… He couldn't help it, so he always dismissed the fact and trained his legs to run fast, since he couldn't use his tails.

The pale orange kitsune zipped along the dirt path, the trees flying by him so quickly they looked nothing more than a green blur. It wasn't long before he noticed a drastic acceleration overtake him, and he began traveling at what seemed like nearly four times his previous speed. He heard an auspicious industrial fan-like sound come from behind him, arousing his curiosity. He looked ahead of him to make sure there was nothing he was about to crash into, and then took a quick look behind him to see a pale orange disk rotating behind him. A wide smile appeared on his face. He was spinning his tails! Joy erupted from him in an excited yell that escaped his throat, and in a flash, he sped into Station Square. He detached his feet from the ground as all sizes of buildings zipped past him as he darted through the city streets, dodging pedestrians and cars that threatened to smack into him at any second. When he saw his workplace approaching, he immediately reversed the direction of his tails, and began to slow down, not wanting to overshoot his mark. He found himself being lifted up into the air, and took another look behind him to see that his tails were slightly slanted upward. He paid no mind to it as he slowed to a stop in mid-air, and landed on the ground with a short thump, his knees bending as they absorbed the force of the impact. He dusted himself off, and walked to the front door, looking up at the large sign that said "Powahouse Automobile Repair Co.".

He chuckled to himself at the rather corny name of his company, before walking through the rotary door and entering the building. The front room looked rather unfamiliar to him, but he had just started working there, and this was his first day. He had worked at other companies before, including an aircraft construction and Repair Company, a gourmet bakery, and others. He was fired from the aircraft company because he was building a plane of his own, and slapped his logo onto it, but it got mixed up in the shipments and one of the customers who ordered an entirely different plane ended up with his. When they traced it back to him, he was fired. The gourmet bakery went pretty smoothly, since he knew exactly what would make a good cake and what wouldn't, but he was fired after he started shedding because his fur kept getting into the batter. The front room was rather nice for an auto-repair shop, with nice wallpaper, carpet, elegant paintings and potted plants. He looked around, taking in the sights, before walking to the front counter, where a female squirrel was writing something on a notepad. Nowadays, there were just as many furries as there were humans living in Station Square, so it was no surprise to see a squirrel working a computer. He slapped both his palms on the counter, gaining the squirrel's attention.

"Can I help you, sir?" The red-colored squirrel asked nicely, blinking at the kitsune. She was clothed in a white T-shirt, a jeans jacket, and jeans, and was wearing a headset with a headphone and microphone.

"Hello, I am Miles Prower. I applied for a job here, and I'm supposed to start today." The pale orange fox answered, gesturing his hand as if he were holding something. The rusty-red squirrel walked to a nearby computer and began to type on it.

"Let's see… Miles Prower, is it?" The squirrel said, still typing on the keyboard. The computer made a small beep. "Oh yes, we do have an appointment with you, Mr. Prower. Just head into that door over there." The squirrel said again, pointing to a chrome door to the right of the counter. It was a perfect chrome – there were absolutely no mistakes, and the door was basically an unbreakable mirror. He walked over to the mirror-door, and studied himself in it, before opening it. Before he could even lift the door past it's hinges, he heard an "Oh my…" come from behind him, and let go of the door. He turned around to see the squirrel, her fingertips on her chin. She simply stared at him with a shocked look on her face, not a word escaping her throat.

"What?" The kitsune asked, raising his arms and upturning his palms. The squirrel did not move. He raised an eyebrow, and looked back at the squirrel, putting his arms down. "What?" He asked again, this time with more enthusiasm, but the squirrel remained still as a statue. A slightly angered look appeared on the fox's face, and he clenched his fists. What was she staring at??

"Y…Y…You… You're…" The squirrel said, her voice shaky. The kitsune then realized that he had shown his… Backside to the squirrel. He gritted his teeth and squinted his eyes, filled with anger at the squirrel's reaction.

"Is it about my tails?! Urgh, what the hell is wrong with you people!?" He yelled, turning around and throwing his arms into the air out of pure rage. "I don't see why I even freaking bother; You people never learn!!" The kitsune ranted, turning back around and swinging his fist. He opened the door, stomped inside, and slammed it shut with an ear-deafening noise. Why can't these people just accept him for who he is?! There was nothing wrong with having a lot of tails, damnit! It was normal for him! He clenched his fists and whispered curses under his breath for a short two minutes before footsteps interrupted his storming. His head immediately shot up, forgetting all his anger as he looked around the hallway he was in, seeing the carpet-like wallpaper with several shelves holding pictures bolted to it. He heard three short whirrs come from around the corner of the hallway, followed by more footsteps. He quietly padded his way down the hallway, thankful for the fact that he wasn't wearing shoes, and quietly peeked around the corner to see a black female cat inspecting a new-looking red painted convertible. He absent-mindedly let out a breath, and the cat whipped it's head around to look at him.

"Hey there!" The cat said friendlily, waving at the kitsune. The kitsune brought his head back, and walked around the corner, his tails hanging behind him. He walked up to the cat, and smiled in response, exchanging his own "Hello!". The cat raised its eyebrow, and tilted its body to look around behind the kitsune. She continued to look there for about twenty seconds, studying him. The pale orange fox squinted his eyes, somewhat angry at the cat.

"What are you looking at?" The kitsune said rather harshly, but refrained from yelling as much as he could. The cat snapped back upward, uttering a short "Nothing" before quickly turning around to continue inspecting the car.

"You're acting like you're afraid of me. Why?" The kitsune inquired with a curious tone, and the cat sweatdropped, apparently frightened. She started to scribble something on a notepad.

"N-n-nothing…" The cat stuttered, beginning to shake, and he could easily tell that she was nervous. He bent over, hands in his pockets, to peek at the cat's face, and her expression was that of pure terror.

"You look scared." He said, causing her to jump with a frightened yelp. She grinned at him nervously, and shook her head.

"N-n-n-no, Mr. Fox, I was just…." She stuttered again, her eyes darting back and forth, apparently searching for an answer. In one swift motion, the kitsune grabbed her shoulder, but her frightened expression only grew in intensity as a result. She quickly broke off and backed against a wall, but as the pale orange kitsune re-approached her, she started to whimper.

"Why do you look so afraid?" The kitsune asked, standing in front of the cat. She tried to back against the wall moreso, but she only succeeded in pressing her back against it. Her whimpering escalated, and the cat displayed an expression of pure, unadulterated fear.

"D…D…Don't…Don't hurt m-me…" The cat pleaded, her eyes beginning to fill with tears. The kitsune's jaw dropped; He would never hurt someone as innocent as her! Why does she think that?

"What?? That's ridiculous, why would I hurt you?" The kitsune said in response, making a gesture with his hands. Her fearful expression seemed to cease a little, and she stopped backing against the wall so much. She began to whisper something under her breath, something indistinguishable to the fox. He cocked an eyebrow, confused by the onyx feline's actions. He then remembered the book he read on reading lips, and examined her mouth closely. Ha…Hachi…Hachibi. Yeah, that's what she was saying, but what did Hachibi mean? The pale orange kitsune turned sideways to look at the red convertible, swinging his tails around as well. He then heard a small crash, and the sound of glass shards bouncing across the floor, and he whipped around, feeling his tails bump the convertible as he swung them.

There was a picture frame on the floor, the glass broken with pieces everywhere on the ground. He knelt down and picked the picture up, a look of disbelief on his face. He did it again. He knocked another object to the floor with his tails, another mistake that was his fault. He looked back up at the onyx feline, and she was looking down at him.

"I… I'm… sorry… I … I just…" The pale orange kitsune stuttered, beginning to shake. He was trapped in an incomprehensible spiral of emotions, consisting of sadness, confusion, regret, and many others he could not recognize. The black cat walked over to him, and sat down in front of him.

"It…It's okay… At least the picture isn't damaged, so I can just get a new frame…" She said, reaching for the picture. The kitsune let go, and she took the picture, placing it on her lap. She placed her hand on his cheek, and looked into his sapphire blue eyes with her amythest purple ones.

"Now, I'd like to ask you…" –She paused to take a breath- "What you're doing back here. This is for employees only… Wait, are you Miles Prower?" She said, placing both hands on the floor. He swallowed, and nodded, blinking twice. She smiled again, and helped the pale orange kitsune to his feet, placing the picture back on the shelf.

"Oh, so you're the new employee. My name is Alexa, and let me show you around!" The onyx cat chimed happily, placing her hand on the kitsune's shoulder. She walked to a door on the other side of the room, and opened it, revealing a room with a dream of tools inside it, from wrenches to flame welders to futuristic electro-ratchets. The pale orange fox gazed around the room at all the tools, his mouth open in a predatory smile, displaying all his teeth. The ebony feline next to him giggled, apparently amused at his surprise.

"We call this room the Master Toolbox. It's where we keep all the tools!" She said, still giggling, but she might as well be talking to a stump, because the kitsune wasn't paying attention to her, still focused on all the tools. She looked at him and pouted, but he still paid no attention. In one swift motion, as expected from a cat, she grabbed one of his inch-long canines with her thumb and index finger in an attempt to garner his attention. He looked at her with his eyes, and uttered a short "Hey, let me go!" but her hand remained where it was, a sly grin on her face. She wiggled her hand, forcing the kitsune's head to move with it, until he grabbed her hand and pulled it out of his mouth. She giggled again.

"I think you need to see a dentist, because your fangs are kinda long!" She said, before doubling over in laughter. This caught the pale orange fox off guard; He had never thought about his canines before. He opened his mouth, which was closed, and felt the bottoms of his upper canines with his index fingers. To his surprise, they were rather long, so maybe the black mammal was right; he did need to see a dentist. He looked back at her; she was still laughing. He then grinned slyly, and moved his hand in front of her face, before tensing it, causing five pearly-white claws to shoot out from his fingers. She immediately stopped laughing and took a step backward, startled from him protruding his claws. He started to laugh at her awkward expression, as did she. Soon they were both doubled over in laughter, tears beginning to pour out of their eyes from laughing so hard.

Suddenly, an explosion sound came from nearby, and the ground shook, halting their laughing fit. Alexa immediately dashed out the door and out of sight, leaving the fox to the tool room. He began to ponder what he could build with all these tools, but he refused to let his imagination get the best of him, and quickly ran out after the ebony feline. Unfortunately, by the time he ran out the door, she was out of sight. His nose twitched as a pungent odor seeped into his nostrils, and quickly covered his face. It smelled like… Like something burning. He immediately realized that something was on fire, and he sprinted in the direction that the smell was coming from, hoping Alexa would be there to help him with the fire. He dashed down a solid granite corridor that looked like it came straight from a volcano, passing by many shelves and tools as he made for the burning object

He ran around a corner, and discovered that the end of the hallway was on fire. He panicked, and searched frantically for something to calm the fire; A fire blanket, a fire extinguisher, just… Something! The fire was edging closer to him as he searched, and he could already feel the immense heat waves from the plasmic substance pounding on his fur. He could feel himself starting to sweat from the heat, and he began to pant, his tongue rolling out of his mouth. He looked down the end of the hallway he had come from in hopes of finding fire equipment, but there was another explosion, and the door at the end of the hallway he came from came loose from it's hinges and flew towards him. He jumped down the first hallway with unnatural speed, and the door flew harmlessly over his head into the opposing wall. What… Was that? How did he move so fast? A white-hot lick of flame on his jeans interrupted his train of thought, and he immediately jumped several feet away into the corner. He could see the first flame slowly creeping across the floor, and looked back down the second hallway to see that another flame had blocked his only way out. He began to hyperventilate at the realization that he was trapped, and that he would die here in the next few minutes. He could feel his anticipation rapidly climbing as both flames drew nearer, their combined heat only accelerating his sense of fear. He spotted a fire extinguisher down the second hallway, but the flames had already engulfed it, and he could not reach it. He could hear another explosion, followed by a scream and footsteps, and he felt his stomach twist into a knot at the thought of another person running down the granite hallway.

He tried to scream for help, but a knot arose in his throat, preventing him from making a sound. He heard a loud clack, and then a subsequent Psshh sound, but he was too focused on the flame drawing near him to notice. The light from the flames was illuminating the dark hallway with an ominous red light, clearly indicating their immense heat and capabilities. The flames had reached the corner now, and he could feel tears pouring out of his eyes at the fact that in just a few more seconds, he would be boiled alive by the flames. The knot in his throat prevented any cries for help, any hope of him being saved, any possible way of surviving this ordeal.

Another explosion shot out from the door of the first hallway, and he could see the wall of fire flying torwards him.

"HEEEEELLLP!!!"


Quite the cliffhanger I gave you guys, huh? Will Tails find a way out of this, or will he be roasted alive?? I know it was short, (If you call four pages short. It was actually eight pages on my Word…) but I promise I'll make another chapter soon!