A Tails Tale
Prologue: Memories
Tails' Journal
To all those who wish for immortality, you don't even know what you're asking for. Being "forever young" sounds awesome, but after awhile you'll realize that forever is a long, long time. You'll never age, never change, as the world around you moves on. That includes friends and family.
It was 11:30pm, Christmas Eve. A nine-tailed kitsune made his way through the snow to the town cemetery. The kitsune flicked his first tail, then brushed it over the cemetery's steel gates. They opened with a creak.
The kitsune trudged through the thick layer of snow and ice without a word. He passed the newest gravestones, the older stones, and even cracked, dilapidated stones from past centuries. But still the fox walked on.
After some time he stopped. Before him lay nine freshly polished, shining gravestones. They looked out of place as they were surrounded by the crumbling remains of illegible, long-forgotten stones. The kitsune's gaze softened as he looked upon these stones. He knelt next to the first stone. The fox slipped a holiday wreath off of his ninth tail, for he had a wreath around each of his tails. He then placed the wreath on the gravestone, which read: RIP CREAM THE RABBIT and CHEESE. "I love you Cream," whispered the kitsune.
He proceeded to the next gravestone. This one was labeled KNUCKLES THE ECHIDNA. The fox placed the wreath from his eighth tail on the gravestone. "Knuckles," he began, "Tornado is doing OK. So is the Master Emerald. I promise I'll not let it fall into the wrong hands."
The nine-tailed fox turned to the gravestone next to Knuckles'. This stone was decorated with hundreds of miniature gems. The wreath of the kitsune's seventh tail was also bedazzled with rubies and emeralds. The kitsune placed this wreath on the stone. "You can have all the gems you want now, Rouge," he murmured.
The kitsune walked to the next gravestone, one labeled CHARMY THE BEE. He placed a striped wreath from his sixth tail on this stone, wiped the dirt off of its surface, and left without a word.
The next stone had shuriken protruding from its cracks and in its surface the carvings read RIP ESPIO THE CHAMELEON. The fox placed a plain wreath from his fifth tail on this stone and moved away with a sigh.
The kitsune trudged to a stone shaped like a magnifying glass. He brushed the ice off of this gravestone and the words VECTOR THE ALLIGATOR became visible. The nine-tailed fox removed yet another plain wreath from his fourth tail on this gravestone. "You'll be remembered," was all the fox said before he moved on.
He walked to the next gravestone. This one had two golden ringlets hanging from hooks on either side of the stone. The stone itself was carved with the words SHADOW THE HEDGEHOG. The kitsune placed his third-tail's wreath on this stone. "Hope you are happy with Maria," he said as he walked away.
The kitsune gazed at the following gravestone, which was painted pink and resembled a mallet. He slid the wreath from his second tail and set it in place. "You swung that hammer to the very end, Amy," said the fox as he cleared the snow from the stone. Two words emerged: AMY ROSE.
The nine-tailed fox knelt at the final gravestone. He removed the wreath on his first tail and placed it gently on the stone. The fox carefully brushed the dirt off of the surface of this stone and its carvings became readable: RIP SONIC THE HEDGEHOG. He wiped a tear from his eye as the midnight bells rang downtown. "Merry Christmas, Sonic," he whispered.
The wind picked up just then, and a voice—eerily similar to Sonic's—reached the kitsune's ear: "Merry Christmas, Tails."
After word: This is a fanfiction inspired by the idea that Tails may be a kitsune. If he is, that would make him immortal. A very cool idea indeed—but Tails himself would be a very sad soul. He would outlive all of his friends and find himself completely alone, for there is no one who shares his status. In this fanfiction Tails is about 9,000 years old and has almost mastered his kitsune powers. I will post the first chapter soon. Please comment and tell me what you think!