Sonic
the Hedgehog: Tails' Tale
by Serinthia
Draftwood
The
author of this work will accept questions and comments via E-mail at any
of the
following addresses:
serinthia@draftwood.com
based on characters created by Service and
Games (SEGA) and
on characters created by Archie Comic
Publications
This work is protected under various
copyright laws. The author of
this work grants his permission for free
distribution of this work
in its original, unaltered form only. No other use of this work is
permitted.
Night had fallen over the Great
Forest. All throughout Knothole,
freedom
fighters were retiring for the night. Summer had just started, but
the
nights remained a little chilly in the Forest, considering it's somewhat
high
altitude.
Tails lay in bed trying to go to
sleep. It was that time between
getting
in bed and actually going to sleep when one's mind wanders to all
sorts
of different thoughts and ideas. Tails
thought about lots of things
during
this time. He turned his head slightly
and looked out the window to
the
stars above. It's a beautiful night
out, he thought to himself.
Whenever
he looked at the stars, he always paid attention to one specific
constellation. It was one that he remembered seeing all the
time over his
old
home.
Home, he thought. A day had never passed that he didn't think
of
it. The peace, the tranquility, his
parents. He missed his parents a good
deal. Missing them wasn't so bad, the problem was
he didn't know if they
were
alive or dead, and, if they were alive, if they were robotizized or
not. It hadn't been that long ago when they were
separated, only three
years. That had been when he was seven, but the
memories were still fresh
in his
mind as if they had happened yesterday...
The village of Bluebrook was a quiet
little place populated by
people
living normal lives. It was quite a
distance away from Robotropolis.
So far
in fact that, combined with the concealment by the natural landscape,
most thought
that Robotnik would never find them. All they had to do was
keep a
low profile. It had been Tails' home
for a long as he could
remember. His parents, Elrond and Sarah Prower, were
kind, loving parents
that
tried to make their son's life as pleasant and enjoyable as possible.
The one
part of his life, however, that he had never agreed with was their
choice
of names. When he was born, they had
named him Miles. It was a name
that he
had never liked, and, when he was four, started calling himself
Tails
because he thought that it suited him far better. The young fox had,
in
fact, been born with two tails. Not
actually a birth defect, it was
simply
the result of a normally suppressed gene that had become dominant in
his
case. Other than that, Tails' life was
uneventful, but all that was
about
to change.
Cmdr. Packbell sat at his desk in his
secret room looking over
information
on his computer terminal. He had been
getting reports recently
of
freedom fighter activity from various locations around the planet, and it
was up
to him to eliminate them if he could. It wasn't something that he
was
particularly concerned about given his perfect track record, except
that he
was always having to convince Robotnik of his ability. He really
hated
Robotnik. He found it hard sometimes to
have the patience to wait for
that
one day when he would crush Robotnik and take his place as ruler of
Mobius.
Oh well, he thought. He looked down the list of possible freedom
fighter
locations. The list had ten names on
it.
No problem, thought Packbell, I'll just
lay out a flight plan that
takes
me through all ten of them and nail whichever ones I can.
He smiled to himself as he began to lay
out his strategy.
Meanwhile, back in Bluebrook, life went
about it's business. Elrond
Prower
was talking with the leader of the village, one Riff Underwood, a
swift,
smart rabbit with natural leadership abilities.
"I think we might have a
problem," Riff was saying "Recent reports
indicate
that there's been a good deal of activity in Robotropolis as of
late."
"Do you think it poses any type of
threat to us?" asked Elrond.
"Not at the moment, but it
might," Riff replied "I'm going to order
that
this village keep as low a profile as possible. If we draw any
attention
to ourselves in anyway the results would be disastrous."
"Then it's to be hoped that we don't
draw any attention," responded
Elrond.
He checked his chronometer.
"Well, it's getting late," he
said "I need to get home."
"Good night, Elrond," said Riff.
"Good night."
Elrond arrived at his home to find his
wife and son waiting for him.
"So, what did you and Riff talk about
all day?" asked Sarah as they
sat
down for dinner.
"Not much," replied Elrond,
glancing at Tails briefly "just the
weather
and the party next week."
"That's good," remark
Sarah. She knew from his expression
that he
had
more to say, but neither of them ever talked about such things in front
of
their son.
"Oh, by the way," said Elrond
"Riff and I are going to inspect some
of the
forest areas around the village tomorrow for possible look-out sites
so I
might be getting home a little late."
"You always come home late,
Dad," said Tails.
"I know, Miles," said Elrond
"but it's all for the good of the
community. You wouldn't want nasty old Robotnik to show
up because we
didn't
take any precautions, would you?"
"Bring him on!" said Tails
excitedly "I'd run circles around him and
beat
him into the ground just like Sonic!"
"You really believe in him don't
you," remarked Sarah.
"You bet. Sonic's my hero," said Tails "Can I be excused."
"Sure," said Elrond.
Tails got up and left the room. After he left, Sarah turned to her
husband.
"I think he listens to that traveling
storyteller too much," Sarah
said.
"Well, it's good that he should have
something to believe in," said
Elrond
"especially during times like these."
"True enough I suppose," said
Sarah "Now, what were you and Riff
really talking
about?"
"There's been some concern lately
that Robotnik's forces might
locate
this village," said Elrond quietly.
"How much concern?" asked Sarah.
"Well, it's not a real danger yet,
but Riff feels we'll need to
start
taking more precautions from now on," said Elrond.
"Well, I just hope that Robotnik
never finds this place," remarked
Sarah.
"So do I," replied Elrond.
The two foxes cleaned off the table as
night fell into place.
Later that night, Sarah entered Tails'
bedroom and sat down beside
him.
"Would you like to hear a story
before you go to bed Miles?" she
asked,
knowing what he'd say.
"Yes!" he replied as he settled
further into his bed.
"What do you want to hear?" she
asked.
"Tell me more about what it was like
before the war," he asked
sleepily.
Sarah smiled at her son. Tails had been born one year after
Robotnik
had taken control of the planet. For as
long as he could remember,
there
was the war and nothing else. Sarah sat
back in her chair and started
to
speak.
"Before the war, there was clean air
and sunshine. People were free
and
could go where ever they wished. We
were ruled by a good and wise King.
He made
sure that every citizen was provided with what they needed and that
the
balance between nature and technology was maintained. There were pure
white
clouds in the sky. There were large
open fields where you could
run and
play and not feel yourself in any danger. You didn't have to hide
yourself
away when certain people came by. In
Mobitropolis, there was once
a
beautiful fountain outside the royal palace. In the diamond mountains
there
was a time where you could surround yourself in rainbows if the light
from
the rising sun struck them just right. Mobius was a place of beauty,
peace,
joy, and freedom."
Sarah looked down at her sleeping
child. Despite all the love she
held
for him, it hurt to see him sometimes. He was growing up in a world
that
would not allow him to take advantage of the things she herself had
once
known. The world of a peaceful Mobius
was just a fantasy in his mind
instead
of the wonderful reality she had taken for granted. These days she
only
held one true hope in her heart and that was that her son should have a
chance
to see a peaceful Mobius. One that
wasn't at war. Neither she nor
Elrond
mattered now. She wanted her son to
know peace. She wanted him to
know,
to feel, the wonderful feelings and experiences that she and Elrond
held in
their memories. Standing quietly, she
turned out the light and
left
the room.
As the night passed, Packbell's forces
moved swiftly but silently
through
the skies. Packbell was feeling very
pleased with himself. He had
managed
to capture 245 freedom fighters so far and there were only two
village
names left on his list. With any luck,
he decided, he should have
them
taken care of by noon the next day.
The next morning as promised, Elrond left
to go meet Riff at the
edge of
the village. They had only been
exploring the area for twenty
minutes
when their sensors picked up something.
"What is it," asked Riff.
Elrond studied the reading a moment
longer.
"I think it's a Robotropolis attack
force," Elrond said nervously.
"We've got to get back and warn the
village!" exclaimed Riff.
The two ran back to the village as fast as
they could go.
Meanwhile, deep in The Great Forest, at
the top secret freedom
fighter
village of Knothole, life was proceeding normally.
Princess Sally was sitting in front of her
communications monitoring
console
fixing a few things when it suddenly picked up a faint transmission
on a
coded frequency. Dropping what she was
doing, Sally had NICOLE break
the
code and display the resulting message on the screen:
PRIORITY
MESSAGE TO ROBOTROPOLIS CENTRAL COMMAND
FROM:
CMDR. PACKBELL
SERVICE
NO.: 546003-3F
REPORT:
SEARCH AND CAPTURE MISSION IS A
SUCCESS. CURRENTLY FINISHING
OPERATION
ON BLUEBROOK VILLAGE. NUMBER CAPTURED
AS OF THIS TIME -- 304.
ESTIMATED
TIME TO FINISH -- 5:00 MINUTES. . .
---
PACKBELL
Realizing the urgency of the situation,
Sally jumped up and ran to
get the
others.
Meanwhile, the village of Bluebrook was in
utter chaos. Creatures
were
fleeing in every direction to escape the Swat-bots marching through
the
village. Some tried to fight them, but
it was a hopeless battle.
Through
the panic, Packbell walked confidently, taking pot shots at
everything
that moved, not really caring what he hit. As he walked through
the
village, he relished the screams of terror and the sight of panicked
creatures
fleeing for their lives. To a twisted
mind like his, this was
paradise.
When it was finally over, he totaled up
the captures as the
surviving
prisoners were marched into the transports.
"25 foxes, 43 ferrets, 12 rabbits, 13
raccoons, and 5 hedgehogs," he
noted
to himself "not a bad score at all."
He smiled a little as he turned and went
back to his private shuttle
to
return to Robotropolis with his latest catch.
A short while later, a stolen shuttle
landed in the middle of what
was
once a village of peace. Sally, Bunnie,
Rotor, and Bookshire emerged
as
Sonic raced up to meet them.
"We're too late," Sonic said
"the place is deserted."
The five were silent for a moment before
Sally spoke.
"Very well," she said "It
looks like all that left is to clean up.
Bunnie
and I will check for anything salvageable. Sonic, you can patrol
the
perimeter for danger. Bookshire and
Rotor will count the casualties."
The five went about the grim task that
Robotnik's forces left for
them.
"Well done, indeed, commander,"
Robotnik was saying "I'd promote you
if you
weren't already in one of the highest positions in the central
command."
"Of course, sir," responded
Packbell.
"So, since I can't promote you, you
can just keep doing what you've
been
doing and be happy with that," said Robotnik.
"Thank you, sir," answered
Packbell flatly. He turned on his heel
and
left, kicking Snively roughly to one side as he passed.
Packbell went down to the main
robotization center where those whom
he had
captured were being put through the Robotizizer. As they went,
some
shouted defiance and threats, others begged for mercy and their lives,
others
simply cried. Some where still in shock
and remained silent.
As Packbell watched, he noted two foxes
with calm, collected
expressions.
Two who had apparently resigned themselves to their fate.
Either
that or they what to be Martyrs sacrificing themselves for their
cause,
thought Packbell.
"Oh well," he said to himself
"too bad there's no one around to make
a note
of it for the history books."
Packbell turned and left the machines to
their work.
At the site of the ruins of what was once
the village of Bluebrook,
the
freedom fighters continued with their tasks.
Bookshire was crouched by a fallen
creature looking for
identification
when Rotor walked up.
"There are two more back behind that
building," he said.
Bookshire sigh in response. He located and ID card and silently
read
it.
"Riff Underwood, village
leader," he said quietly "what a loss."
"This is a nightmare," grumbled
Rotor.
"I know," responded Bookshire as
he stood "Well, that just about
does
it, let's find Sally."
Sally and Bunnie were picking through the
wreckage looking for
anything
they might be able to use. As they
picked through the rubble of
one of
the houses, they suddenly heard a noise that sounded as if it had
come
from one of the back rooms. The two
walked carefully through the
debris
and into what must have, at one time, been a bedroom. The room wasn't
quite
as messy as the rest of the house. Apparently, the bots didn't search
it. As they enter the room, Sally and Bunnie
heard something under the
bed. When they bent down to look, a surprising
sight met their eyes.
Crouched under the bed with his face
buried in his arms and
trembling
uncontrollably was a small fox that couldn't be any more than
seven
or eight at the most. The two tried
getting his attention, but it
soon
became obvious that he had been terrified out of his senses.
"Bunnie," said Sally "we
need to get at him. Can you move this
bed?"
"Sure thing," replied
Bunnie. She seized the bed with her
robotic
arm and
moved it easily to one side.
As they knelt down next to him, Bookshire
and Rotor entered. They
were
momentarily startled by the appearance of a survivor, but they continued
with
their report.
"We're all finished," said Rotor
"we counted thirty-five."
"Thank you very much," said
Sally "This disaster, as you can see, has
taken a
new twist."
Bookshire knelt down beside the fox and
examined him.
"Looks like extreme shock," he
concluded.
"Yes, that was my guess too,"
said Sally "Needless to say, we'll
take
him back to Knothole with us when we leave."
"Good idea," said Sonic as he
raced up "there's a swat-bot patrol
heading
this way."
Bunnie picked up the fox and they ran back
to the shuttle where they
took
off and headed back to Knothole at top speed.
When they arrived back at Knothole, the
fox had been placed in a
spare
room just adjacent to Sally's room where he began his recovery from
the
terrible events he had witnessed. It
wasn't until three days later that
he came
around and was actually conscious of his surroundings. When he first
opened
his eyes, Sally and Sonic were sitting beside the bed.
"You don't need to be afraid,"
Sally assured him "you're with
friends."
"Who are you?" the fox asked a
little shakily.
"My name is Sally, and this is
Sonic," replied Sally "and what's
your
name?"
"My real name is Miles, but I like
Tails," Tails replied "Are you
really
Sonic the Hedgehog?"
"Indeed I am," said Sonic
"You've heard of me?"
"Are you kidding?" exclaimed
Tails, brightening up considerably
"You're
my hero! Every time the traveling
storyteller came to my village,
he did
nothing but talk about you! Are you
really as fast as they say you
are?"
"Am I fast!? Am I fast!?. .
.,"began Sonic.
Sally rolled her eyes. Here we go again, she thought.
"Is the sky blue, is dirt dirty? I'm the fastest thing on the face
of the
planet!" said Sonic, proudly.
"Wow," remarked Tails. He was completely awestruck. After all of
the
stories he had heard, he had finally met his hero.
Oh well, thought Sally, at least that
should make his recovery
easier.
And, in fact, the recovery went very
smoothly. It did take some
time
for Tails to come to terms with the fact that he had been separated
from
his parents and that it wasn't likely he'd see them again for quite a
while,
but he accepted it eventually. His
parents had taught him well to
accept
whatever life gave him. It didn't mean
he liked his situation, but
he had
accepted that that's the way it was. During one of the first nights
he
spent in Knothole, he promised himself that he'd find his parents again
one
day, and, until then, he had good friends that would look out for him
and
take care of him until he did. One day,
he'd find them again.
One day . . .
Tails drifted of to sleep quietly that
chilly night at the beginning
of
Summer. Those last words and the images of the past were that last things
in his
mind before it collapsed into sleep.
Night passed in The Great Forest. Every freedom fighter slept
peacefully. Each one held the dream that one day they
would find true
happiness
again with loved ones they had lost. each one waited patiently
for
that one day when peace would once again reign over Mobius and they
would
be able to live normal lives again. Deep in their hearts, they knew
that
day would come. All these things would
almost certainly come to
pass. .
.
. . .
one day.
THE END
