[ Somewhat unrelated note: This is the first story I'm publishing here; hope it goes over well. I know this probably sounds like a broken record if you've been reading stories, but I would appreciate reviews and your thoughts on it. This is a story I wrote at the request of a friend and was featured in a forum he runs...but that's not related.
Disclaimer: I legally own no part of the Sonic franchise, be it game or comic.]
Flying High, Shot Down
Within one of the several metal cities on Mobius, the cunning Doctor Ivo Robotnik was watching a radar screen. This possibly mad but certainly fat scientist was better known as Eggman, but out of either respect, fear, or a combination of both, none of the robots he commanded called him that. At least, not to his face.
His assistant and the only other human around, Snively, came through a doorway.
"Ah, Snively. Here, have a seat." The rotund scientist whistled, and a machine which was essentially a mechanical seat came forward. First testing it to make sure it would hold his weight, Snively sat down then.
"This is the assault, Doctor?"
"Indeed it is, my subservient. Soon, these legions of Swat-Bots and Eggbots will close in on Mobotropolis, or whatever that bothersome hedgehog calls it, and obliterate it!"
Snively faked a cough, saying under his breath, "As if it'll work, you moronic inflated lunatic, and all your files."
"What was that, Snively?"
Immediately, the assistant's voice reached its most potent subservience level. "I was saying, Doctor, how well your plans to remodel the captured city will work, with that floor of ionic integrated chromatic tiles."
Eggman probably wasn't listening carefully, because he just replied, "Yes...quite...I can see it now, all redone in sterile white and silver...and those Freedom Fighters dealt with once and for all!" He turned back to the screen. "Any minute now..."
In Mobotropolis, the day hadn't really been that exciting.
Most of the 'leaders' of the resilience force - the Freedom Fighters - were out that day.
Princess Sally Acorn was dealing with royal matters at the castle and wouldn't be available until tomorrow; Antonine D'Coolette and Bunnie Rabbot - or, rather, Bunnie D'Coolette - were out on their anniversary honeymoon, at Emerald Hill Town Beach. They weren't expected back for another week or two.
As for Sonic...the hedgehog had said something to someone about taking a nap. This was so unprecedented that even in the calm village this rumor spread like wildfire. To Miles Prower, or Tails, a young two-tailed fox, as well as Rotor, a walrus and expert mechanic, the other two before mentioned 'leaders' of sorts(though not really)...they knew Sonic was probably just making it up so as to have some peace out running with no chance of anyone disturbing him.
Then an alarm blared. If any of the inhabitants were out, they rushed to their homes, though several were out in the surrounding area and hopefully wouldn't have to worry.
Tails and Rotor, who had animatedly been discussing the best way to wire a circut - both, in fact, had their hearts' desires set in mechanics - but the alarm snapped them both to attention. Tails, still rather young, was scared to a degree but checked the central radar, not far off, to find that opposing forces were approaching from six different directions.
"...Rotor...what do we do?"
"We give them what they have coming to them! Come on, we'll need the controls for the defense system that we finished installing recently."
Hastily, the walrus and fox made their way to the former's workshop, and from all the piles of metal and half-finished projects that were everywhere found an intricate remote/radar invention. By the time they rushed back out, the robots were closing in, but with a nod to Tails, Rotor flipped a switch.
The recently built hydroelectric system, generating electricity from collected rainwater, started up. Very soon, there were magnetic defense systems catching the robots by surprise. Due to the high magnetism in the grounded objects, the momentum they caused on the enemies were used to ram the bots into each other.
These crashes, if not already apparent, put the bots permanently out of commission.
Three or four enemies got through, but the fox and walrus were more than ready. They had batteries designed to function as overloads, and bravery was especially shown on the kit's part.
As Tails detatched the device from the last Swat-Bot, Sonic fortuitously showed up.
"Hiya Rotor, hiya little bro." Rotor just waved to return the greeting, chuckling as he did so. Even after all the time that had passed, Sonic still called Tails that. It was probably more force of habit than anything else.
"Er...what's been happening?" The hedgehog looked over the wreckage.
It was just at that time that, with the sounds of battle gone, inhabitants of the city began coming out of isolation. With the soundly defeated robots, and other scrap metal lying around...they took it immediately to be the work of Sonic, who was standing right there in the vicinity. They swarmed around him, all trying to get his attention and thank him.
Rotor let it pass without comment. By this time, he was rather used to incidents with results such as these.
But to Tails...the kit was much more impressionable, and with this stolen victory clouds began to form on the edges of his mind.
That night, the gold-orange fox sank into bed with a heavy heart. The incident from earlier kept troubling him...but it wasn't just now. This type of thing happened many, many times over the relationship between the vulpine and the blue hedgehog - more than Tails cared to remember.
The irritating malovelent feelings kept him awake for about twenty minutes, but he finally slipped into the peacefulness of sleep.
That is what anyone watching would have diagnosed.
Tails, on the other hand, knew differently.
This was not preaceful sleep. He was haunted - haunted by memories of the past.
- Flashback
In Knothole Village, a large number of vent shafts leading outside were left open, and while it wasn't apparent who did this, it was not helping the already-cold spirits of the inhabitants.
Tails took up some initiative, and went around closing the vents. It took him quite some time, but he was glad for having done a good deed.
Later on, he and Sonic were together and the pair was approached by Sally.
"I just wanted to mention, Sonic, thank you for closing those drafty vents."
Before either could reply, something called the Princess's attention, and she had to go.
- Flash
Eggman's vile laboratory. Tails had altered the wiring of the robotizing machine, so that it would self-destruct upon being next used. Of course, at the time, Sonic, Sally, Antonine, and Bunnie were elsewhere in the complex, fighting. They came in shortly after the fox finished.
Out of curiosity and with an utter disregard for anything dangerous which might happen, Sonic pressed one of the butons on the nearby control panel. A countdown started. The five Freedom Fighters wasted no time, they left as quickly as possible. It was a good thing, too, behind their receding footsteps could be heard the noise of an explosion and the customary:
"I. HATE. THAT. HEDGEHOG!"
Once the group made it to relative safety, Sally, Bunnie, and Antonine congratulated Sonic, and attributed the explosion to his tendency to bungle anything of Eggman's. Tails, however, remained silent, an unknown cause of the victory.
- Flash
Back in Knothole. This issue was relatively minor - Tails invented yet another useful device, true to his natural ability and tendency to do so. It was a tent, but it fit more compactly than most and self-assembled by magnetism. The prospects of what it could be used for were being discussed.
Normally, Tails would have been beaming at this, knowing by it that comments were being made on how useful it could be. The problem here was the center of attention - Sonic was going off on multiple tangents, and as long as it remained related in some way Sally was letting him continue.
Even though the vulpine's five elders in this 'family' later thanked him and promised to use this device, it was clear that their minds were elsewhere - and it still hurt emotionally.
- Flash
Over in Green Hill Zone. Tails was here, but this time, he was also actually here. That is to say, he was actually consciously in a subconscious dream about an experience he had.
The rest of the time he was just passively watching.
He walked over towards a familiar construct...a Starpost. Sonic soon came up, soon follwed by Tails. Neither seemed to notice that the other Tails existed.
Sonic activated the post, and entered the Special Stage...he already had the Emeralds. Both foxes, side-by-side without even acknowledging each other, tracked his approximate progess. Shortly after, Sonic came out in his Super form. The Tails of memory was amazed by this, but the present one...it didn't help his plummeting opinion of the hedgehog.
The dream blurred for a moment...Tails found himself by one of the egg-shaped devices that Eggman used for containing animals - mostly Flickies - and he saw, in one direction, Super Sonic destroying another of the Doctor's machines, with the frazzled, rotund man flying off in a section of it. Then the golden hedgehog jumped onto the ovoid structure, and his weight opened the barriers. Flickies swarmed around him, mostly ignoring past Tails.
It was becoming too much. Tails just laid down...and wept bitterly. It was the better of two options - the only other thing he could think of in his current state would be physical harm to Sonic. The world faded to black...
- End Flashback
Tails woke up slowly, pillow beginning to drip with salty tears.
In the middle of this night, he cried openly and freely...no one would know.
The next morning, he was over the initial sadness...but he was still fed up with Sonic.
"Why can't he just get over himself and step down sometimes!" The fox grumbled to himself. Any times this actually had happened were clearly forgotten.
Sonic wasn't around when Tails looked for him that morning. Questioning Sally, who was back from the castle, she heard that he mentioned going to the Great Forest near Knothole for some fresh air.
A brief flight later, Tails was at the egde of the forest. Walking inwards, it was not long before the vulpine could distinguish two shadows from the shades of the forest.
The first, with the spikes...quickly recognisable as Sonic. He was talking to someone.
"...and that's how you came back, looking for the Freedom Fighters?"
There was a single of word of affirmation, "Yes," and then, aparent by the shadows, Sonic embraced the other figure.
In what would be one of the most tragic moments lived by Tails, he walked in on Sonic, kissing...
Fiona.
Bitter memories flooded back to the gold-orange fox, of when Fiona was first around and how he had a crush on her...
Now, the only things apparent in his heart were hurt and anger. It just tore him. He snapped, in a specific way. It was just too much. Seeing his 'best friend' kissing his crush.
There was a long moment of awkward silence.
A very long moment.
A very, very long moment.
So long, that one could have heard faint mysterious music, seemingly from the air.
The music, oddly enough, was a type which, while all heard equally, all heard in a way which applied to their current emotions.
Sonic, who was embarassed, heard it in such a way that went, 'and now, you suffer the consequences.'
Fiona, actually rather nonchalant, got the mesage of 'just stay calm, don't ignite him.'
...and Tails, enraged and hurt all at once. What his perception picked up was how to verbally release his emotion. Even though all he did was turn to Sonic, and say, "I hate you." Then his voice picked up. "I HATE YOU. I HATE YOU!" His words were final, and absolute. Tails runs off, to go elsewhere.
A few hours later, Tails could be found in his private hangar at the miniature airport in Mobotropolis. Not that anyone was looking for him. The sounds of sobbing since he ran in several hours ago deterd that for the most part.
However, then a familiar blue figure entered. Sonic really, really wasn't sure of how to handle the situation, so he came to apologise. The sigt of salty puddles around the base of the Tornado took him by surprise, but he continued on his venture nonetheless.
"Tails...?" He recieved no verbal response, only a slight lightening in the weeping.
"Tails...I came to say..." He faltered, trailed off. "To say that I'm sorry."
Tails looked up, though not at Sonic. He began laughing madly. "Sorry? SORRY? Oh, you'll need something better than that. You crossed the line, Sonic!"
Sonic just wasn't sure now. Was Tails past the ability to forgive, for whatever reason? The situation yesterday was bad, but the fox was a smart kid. Could he have really irreperably snapped mentally?
Sonic cleared his throat, but Tails held up his left gloved paw, in a gesture to stop. In his right, he brought up a remote and pressed the sole button on it. The hangar door opened, and Tails brougth his full attention to the plane he sat in.
The engine started up, next-to-noiselessly. As the vulpine pilot made final checks, Sonic tried to jump on board the plane. Tails was ready, with a specific button of the dashboard. Just before he pressed it, he looked at Sonic. The sky blue eyes portrayed strange emotions to the verdant, green ones. Yet somewhere within, the hedgehog saw a spark of sorrow for what was about to happen. Just before a boxing glove came out and hit Sonic, the blue figure dropped off the plane and backed away.
Every iota of Sonic's excitable energy told him to go after Tails, but his heart, holding precedence, kept him back - until the last moment. The Tornado accelerated out, closely followed by the speeding hedgehog. However, it was not to be, the backwards draft kept Sonic away.
He rushed to the center of the town, where curiously enough he found Sally and Rotor. They saw something fall out of the sky when the plane was above them, and then -
The Tornado went over a nearby inland sea, and began losing velocity in an unstable manner. The last any gathered saw of it was as it plunged into what could only be the water. Sonic struggled back tears since it didn't help his image, but his voice was cracked. "Tails..."
Sally turned to him. "You don't mean-" The hedgehog just nodded.
"You'll need to tell us exactly what happened." He glumly hung his head.
Then the object which fell out of the plane fluttered down to them. It was a letter, reading 'Do Not Open For Five Years' in bold on the front. Sally had to grab it before Sonic did.
"If that's what Tails wanted, then that's what we'll do." Sonic knew, with that tone, she was giving her final authority on this.
Epilouge
It was five years later. Sonic, Sally, Antonine, Rotor, and Bunnie were all gathered in the hangar where Tails departed to his doom, years ago. By this time, Eggman had been defeated, Sonic and Sally were engaged, and Mobius was a fairly good place. The old Freedom Fighers still stuck together, though. Nothing could change that.
Sally opened the letter, with a look of reverence, even. She read the contents.
"My Fellow Freedom Fighters: Aunts Sally and Bunnie, Sonic, Rotor, and Antonine,
I hope this letter finds you well. You may be wondering about my death. Let me allay your fears: it was only a hologram so that you would not search for me. If all is well, I am alive and well. I wished for you to wait so that the wounds of the past may heal. I do not actually have much to say in this letter that I cannot in person. So you may know now, that I intend to come back. The very day you read this letter. That is all I have to say through this message to the future.
Your Friend and Adopted Family Member,
Miles 'Tails' Prower."
She folded the letter. "...and that...is all."
A knock sounded at the door.
The End