PATER FAMILIAS
1.
Life… Such an overrated concept. The infinite replay of the same nefarious cycle, from birth to death, over and over again. A fate no one is able to avoid… Although some tried, in vain. In this preposterous maze we call existence, the only certainty we have is that we're all destined to die… When such thing would happen? That's when Chaos always had the last word. And this barren wasteland was just a fine example of this tragedy.
The creature stood tall and still, apparently unaware of the freezing weather of the zone… Or his cold heart simply was unable to register it. His inhuman / un-Mobian eyes were fixed over the immense voidness that lay upon him.
So cold, so distant… So dead.
The mysterious being looked completely unfazed over the spectacle the merciless winter had to offer. After centuries of this view, he got used to it… As sadly as it would sound.
This world used to be lively and solar, the kind of place writers and poets from all the ages would dream about, the kind of land that many would only consider it to be an un-arrival Utopia.
Well… Now it became a Dystopia.
All thanks to them…
All thanks to them…
The cycle of Life and Death, as inescapable and tragic as it could seem, was indeed the balance of his existence, the only truth he would need… And yet, such truth, such balance, turned out to be utterly wrong. Because in just a few minutes… Life ceased to procreate… And Death overcame.
And now there was nothing left other then the eternal coldness of the land… And his own. He was a creature that defied the undeniable boundaries of the mortals… A being who could not die.
This world's own God… Who was not flawless.
He gritted his teeth. Rage started its unhealthy building inside the fallen God's body. As lame as it could be considered, there was only one thing he got left to do.
Revenge!
He vowed to himself and to his own people, revenge over the one responsible for this genocide, for the unnatural demise of the aforementioned cycle… For his own misery.
Hatred and Determination filled his frostbite heart as he jumped away from the snow peak he was on, towards the deep abyss right below. In his ancient mind, a plan was already formed… He knew were to find his enemy and he had strong allies who shared his ideal. Only one thing was needed now… A vessel. He knew who to use as well.
A mischievous smile found its way in his unique facial features as the name of his enemy crossed his mind for the umpteenth time.
I'm coming for you… Ixis Naugus!
Somewhere in the Mystic Ruins.
"Give up, Sonic… You can't win! I'm just too superior!"
"N-no… I'm not finished yet! IT'S NOT OVER!!!"
"Yes it is… That was a match point… Game over."
"Awwww… I hate tennis." Said the frustrated hedgehog right before launching his racket away in a very immature manner… He hadn't changed at all over the years and not just because he couldn't age.
The victorious vulpine couldn't help but laugh at his poor hedgehog friend's misery. The other one did not look amused.
"Whatcha laughing at? I'm gonna challenge ya to a race here and now, big guy!" He said in his typical cocky tone.
"Yeah sure… As if I would be stupid enough to accept." The younger said while rolling his eyes in fake annoyance.
"What are ya, a chicken?"
"YOU'RE ON, BUDDY!!!"
After losing yet another race, the fox boy returned to his habitation, along with his best friend, of course.
It's been eight years since all those crazy events that led to the conclusion of the great war against the Eggman Empire and the establishment of several new societies… Both human and Mobian's.
After the end of the conflict, the world didn't feel the need to be united anymore, ironically enough the absence of a common enemy was sufficient to reawake the age-old hatred between the two species… Or even inside them. As a result of this potential clock ticking bomb, several groups of humans and Mobians demanded the creation of their own countries. In order to avoid eventual insurrections, both the president of the United Federations and the Mobian Council authorized the scission. Several countries were born (or even reborn) in the course of the years, one of them was the old city-state of Mobotropolis, that happened to be Eggman's base during the war, ruled by its original monarch Maximillian Acorn, one of the members of Mobian Council which was still considered important for the general administration of the landscape. Another country was the one where the former city of Westopolis used to be, now rebuilt and renamed by its rulers as Echidnapolis… It was a hope more than a title. And then, there was the Mystic Ruins' County, administrated by a governor chosen with free elections, a rare example of democracy that anyone seemed to have forgotten about.
It was in this county that he and his family used to live… As they always did. He's grown up over the years, he looked like a harmless kid no more. He was a couple of inches taller, his famous three head bangs were longer and his voice was just a little deeper. His namesake twin tails were as fluffy and lethal as ever. By now, he was 16… And still the youngest Pater Familias in the world… A thing that managed to cause some rather annoying trouble with the brand new wave of bigot morals that spread all over the land. Luckily, his state of world's hero (as well as all the gruesome rumors that came along) managed to keep his family safe from any dangerous sign of intolerance…
"Ehi, what's wrong, lil' buddy? Sad for that mondo uncool defeat?"
Miles "Tails" Prower slowly turned his head to fix his gaze over his unofficial brother, his facial features were showing a sincere amount of boredom.
"Sonic, I'm not a little kid anymore… Not that I had the chance to be one, in the first place… But I would appreciate if you would stop calling me 'little buddy'. After all these years it started to become annoying." He complained… Causing his interlocutor to grin menacingly.
"Ooooooooh rrrrrreeeeaaaaalllllllly?" He replied with a hint of glee in his emerald green eyes.
Tails looked terrified… Just like a wild animal when sensing the danger.
"Oh no… Don't you even think of that! I'M WARNING YOU!!!" He said with an authoritarian voice… But to no avail.
Before the Kitsune could do anything, his big brother trapped his neck in an almighty headlock and began the ominous noggin torture!
"Who's your daddy!? Uh? Who's your daddy!?" Asked Sonic in a joyful tone.
"AAAAAAH! CUT IT OUT, SONIC!!!"
"Only if ya answer me!"
"Argh! Okay, okay, you're my daddy, for crying out loud!"
"That's better." And then he finally released him. Tails was more annoyed than ever.
"Do you realize how many precious neurons I lose whenever you do that?" He complained while scratching his poor head, Sonic was still laughing like an idiot.
By now, the two friends were back to the fox's home.
It was still a sight to admire… The modest wood house beside the workshop, the cliff a little behind… And the new tennis camp Tails made out of well treated grass. This was, indeed, his home.
Both Kitsune and cobalt blue hedgehog were sitting on a couple of chairs smartly placed in the shade of the forest's trees. The sun was setting and the marvelous colors of the twilight were already merging themselves into a very romantic cluster. Tails sighed… He'd prefer to have his soul mate with him for this moment, not that he had anything to complain over his friend… Only that such spectacle seemed wasted for him.
"So… How's the others doing, Sonic?" Tails suddenly asked. His eyes were momentarily closed, his fur was savoring the gentle breeze of the afterday.
Sonic shrugged.
"The usual, ya know? Mister and miss Knuckle-head are about to have their second child… Would you believe the horror!?" He joked, clearly referring to Knuckles and his wife (secret sister) Tikal, founders and current rulers of Echidnapolis.
"How's Bunny doing?"
"She's just fine… Just a little distressed sometimes, ya know? Her political role and all… She even dropped part of her fancy southern accent! I used to like that…" He said, small sadness hinted in his artificial skinned face.
"And what about… You know…"
"Amy and Mephiles?"
"Yeah…"
"Aside from some nasty troubles about Meph's 'need to kill any living being in the world' thingy, the two of them are doing just fine… It's been hard, though."
"I can only imagine… Say, have you seen my mother, recently?"
"Nope… Sorry, lil' bro."
At this point, Tails's features fell into a sudden depression… His family was far from being perfect. How could it have been any different? Due to some unexplainable time and space paradox, all of his children (and grand children) were older than he was… And being a good father, as he sadly discovered, was not a simple task… Especially for a kid.
Noticing his friend's lack of response, Sonic put a hand over the troubled fox's shoulder in a comforting manner.
"Don't cha worry, bud… You survived worse things. You'll manage to solve these mondo problems as well." He tried to reassure. Tails gave him an odd look.
"I couldn't see my son and his family for three years… None of us could." His azure eyes began to water… He didn't care, though.
Noticing the utter delicateness of the argument, Sonic decided to slightly change the subject.
"How are Cosmo and NiGHTS by the way?"
At this, Tails's gaze lighted up.
"Cosmo is just as gorgeous as ever and NiGHTS… Ooooh, you should have seen her. She's so cute, always wearing that little jester custom of hers." He said, suddenly humored. Sonic seemed a little bit baffled.
"She's still into jesters? Does she still have that gruesome doll?"
"Naaaa… Jackle is broken. She has another doll now, a little less freaky but still quite unique…"
"And what's its name?"
"Reala… Strange name for a doll, isn't it?"
"Yeah, I guess so… Where are they?"
"They're being guests at Vanilla and Cream's place, tonight… Girly stuff, you know?"
"I wish I didn't."
They both laughed for a few seconds before resuming their composures.
"Thanks for coming, Sonic. I needed it."
"Anytime, lil' buddy… I mean, Tails."
The two brotherly friends embraced each other, greeted one final time and then, departed. Sonic disappeared from eyesight with his trademark speed within a Sonic Boom. Tails was left alone, once again.
He gave one last glance at the marvelous sunset, sighed and finally entered his home where he would have probably been consumed by boredom for the rest of the night… Or so he thought.
When Tails first noticed his kitchen sink was dripping excessively, his first instinct as a mechanical genius and proud Pater Familias, was to repair it all by himself.
Huge mistake!
In just a couple of minutes he managed to turn a simple dripping problem into the next big ancient roman fountain… All of this happened no more than 5 days before and he was still waiting for the plumber to show his face, since then. Little did he know that this would have been his lucky day… Although luck should only be seen as a relative concept, I say.
And thus, the doorbell rang.
A few questions crossed the teen's mind, one of these was "who would show up at this hour of the day, besides Sonic or my family?" The answer came in the very interesting and unique form of a couple of humans… Small humans… Mobian sized humans, Tails could say. The kind of people commonly referred to as dwarves. Their shape was quite the sight, Tails had a very hard time trying to hide his stupor.
"Hello? May I help you?" He said in his typical polite manners that made him the best host anyone could ever wish for.
While asking this question, the vulpine had a better chance to properly analyze these two men's figure. They were very similar to each other, they were probably brothers, even twins… They had nothing but a few small differences. One was as tall as Tails used to be and slim, the other was smaller and slightly rotund. They both had very huge mustache under their round noses, but it was their dresses that managed to impress the fox even more. They were both wearing stereotypical plumber vests: the taller one had a green shirt and a plumber hat of the same color, the smaller had them died in red. They both were wearing blue overalls.
Suddenly, the green one spoke, showing a strong Italian accent:
"Good-a evening, have you called for a plumber?"
"Mmmmh… Yeah?" Tails could only say. That answer alone managed to satisfy the mustached wonder.
"See? I told ya this was da house." He said to the other who just hmpfed in response. "Sorry forra being so late, me and my brother gotta lost in the woods." The man in green added, redirecting his attention to their would be customer. At this, the red one muttered something under his breath, the other one's answer didn't late to arrive. "Ehi! It's not my fault if there aren't any shortcut pipes in this world!" He complained.
"Excuse me?" The vulpine advanced, interrupting their discussion.
"Ehrrrr… Nothing. Let me introduce ourselves. I'm Luigi Mario… And this is ma older brother Mario Mario." He paused a second and then, with all the possible emphasis he could master, added: "WE ARE THE SUPER MARIO BROS.!!!"
Tails gave them an even more bewildered look.
They are super something alright… He thought.
In the meantime… Something huge and unknown entered this world's atmosphere. Its intentions? They were definitely not good.
At least, not for its victims.