I do not own anything Sega related, all characters are trademarks of sega and belong to them.
Enjoy chapter 1 and please review.
He sat and stared at the sky, orange fur waving in the wind in a wave like pattern as his eyes took in the clouds, he let out a sigh, no one at Knothole knew, and that was the way he preferred it, but it still got lonely for the twin tailed kitsune from time to time. They had found him in a raided town, destroyed by Robotnik and without anyone left alive, he had been smart and played the part of devastated child rather well. They took him to Knothole soon after where he stayed, always careful with his words and trying hard to play his part, in truth he was no more a child then Robotnik, in fact he predated Robotnik by over a century. Vampires in Mobian society were your routine boogeymen, snatching children, murdering the innocent and devouring their blood so as to empower their own wicked deeds, monstrosities that lurked in the night waiting for you to let your guard down for a single instant. This was the story most Mobian's were told or grew up with, on more than one night Sally had read Tail's these stories and though on the outside he feigned fright he only felt sad on the inside. Miles Prower never truly existed, the name had come to him in a panic when asked by his "Rescuer" what his name was, a speed sign stood nearby so he spat out Miles per hour so quickly it was mistook for Miles Prower.
Tails chuckled at the memory, he had been using an alias at the time before the town was raided but the shock of seeing them all die and then having someone burst in seconds later had crippled his proper thinking. In reality Tails thought being a vampire wasn't so bad, the myths about them were almost entirely false, though he always felt a slight sting in sunlight it was easily negligible so long as he fed on time, he didn't need to breathe or eat but he knew it would have been more than a little suspicious if he stopped those activities. The hunger was well and away the worst part, he always felt it, when someone would get to close, and their scent would fill his nose he could feel the fangs slide out just the smallest of millimeters and his mouth begin to water, but he always fought it. He had always since his turning been a homeless wanderer, a freak, a monster, but he had always been alone, Sonic and the rest of the Freedom Fighters had given him what he had hungered for more than blood, a home. He knew one day they would notice he hadn't aged and he would leave; by force or choice and that thought always made him hurt, always made him so guilty and ashamed of what he was. Tails got up and shook his head, he didn't want to fall into his usual depression trap and instead decided to prep for tonight, he hadn't fed in weeks and he knew if he didn't soon, the changes would become noticeable and he might hurt someone, and for Sonic and the rest of the freedom fighters sakes he would never allow that to happen.
He began his walk to the stump he visited about once a month, if not for what he buried there, he shuddered to think of it as he made his way. "Yo Tails buddy what are you doing so far from knothole, its dangerous out here, you know that?" He had appeared in a burst of leaves, the first time he had done it Tails instincts had his claws fully extend and almost leaped at him before he realized who it was, this time however he had grown use to it and merely jumped backwards before replying. "Well, uh, I wanted to go exploring, yeah, Knothole was slow so I thought I'd go explore the forest a little." He gave a sheepish grin and rubbed the back of his head, the move that always got his stories completely believable, making a reference to the slow beat of life he knew would get sympathy from him. Sonic chuckled a little before saying "Yeah, yeah I get it, but Sal would have my hide if I let you wander so come on." Tails frowned for a fraction of a second, he would need to dig up his kit, clean it, and use it all in one night, he knew he could but it was a pain and the last time he had done it he had bumped into a searching swat-bot, luckily with no one around he had torn it in half in a few seconds, but still it was unnerving he had been so occupied he hadn't heard it. He returned the grin to his face "Ok Sonic, wanna race" he knew he would never beet the Hedgehog, even if he went full tilt his vampire speed wouldn't be enough, but he loved racing him, one so close he considered him family, despite how many times he had tried to tell himself otherwise citing many logical reasons, he still thought of Sonic as a brother. "Sure lil bro, on your mark. Get set. GO!" Tails took off at his normal speed, about half of what he was capable of, but he always had to hold back, no one could no, still the annoying part was afterwards pretending to huff when you don't even need to breathe, he was always certain Sonic one day would notice the fact that he didn't sweat, If not for his thick fur it probably would have been long ago. He finished his act in sight of Knothole and walked through the archway after Sonic had patted him on the back and said he was getting faster, Tails smiled, both inside and out at that, he really did think of him as a brother.
Walking down the road in knothole he still got the confused look on his twin tails, he had had that look his entire life, from confusion to disgust, but always a look, he found his tails useful, and in fact felt overly positive about them, they were in his mind a distinguishing characteristic about him not related with his condition. He saw Bunny Rabot hauling a large piece of scrap metal and found himself running up to her. "Hi aunt Bunny, do you need a hand?" She gave the usual smile and he felt his heart warm, even if it was cold and unmoving he could still feel some measure of warmth from his surrogate family, he cared for them all, but always knew just what might happen one day should they discover his secret. "Aw thangs suga fox, but I got this, Heard suga rote was looking for ya, why don't you go over and see him?" Tails smiled and dashed away in the direction of Rotors workshop, Tails was mechanically brilliant, Rotor knew he learned fast and had taught him what he knew, but in reality Tails had simply perfected his craft over the years, still, there was always more to learn and learning made him feel alive.
He walked into the small lab and instantly saw Rotor fiddling with some device on his workbench. "Hi Rotor, Bunny said you wanted to see me about something?" Rotor turned a forced smile on his face. "Uhm Tails, well I have some news and I don't think you're going to like it" he tried to grin but only ended up looking more nervous as he continued. "Well on the last raid to Robotropolis the gang found an abandoned hospital and brought back a bunch of medical equipment, you see we need to do a check up to make sure everyone's healthy and were finally able to do it, the problem is to know if your healthy we need to take a blood sample." Rotor had dreaded telling his little friend this, he may have been a mechanical genius but as far as he knew he was still a kid, and kids hated needles, the look on Tail's face however was even worse than Rotor had expected. Thoughts flew into the foxes mind, how to trick the test, he would just use some of the blood he gathered and pass it off as his own he thought, no, that couldn't work someone would take the blood from him and then his secret would be in the open. He needed a way around it, and despite his impressive mind, he drew a complete blank. Rotor spoke up again completely oblivious "It really doesn't hurt you know, and afterword's I'm sure Sonic well bring you a chilidog, it won't be so bad, I promise." Tails was in a panic, he was screwed, unless, he dreaded the thought, what if he told Rotor, would he help him hide, or would it only speed up his forced departure he, had no idea, still a chance however small was worth taking, maybe if he eased into it.
"Rotor, I can't let you take my blood, I'm uhhhhm, sick and I didn't want anyone worried so I didn't tell you, please don't tell anyone, please." Tails put on a begging face and no acting was required as Rotor looked taken back as he replied. "Tails if your just saying that to get out of a little needle you're gonna be in "Mondo" trouble" his face softened as he continued "But if you just said the truth, then I won't tell, but I want to know what's wrong with you so I know how to help" Tail's was still very worried, but he felt happy that Rotor cared that much, in his mind all he had to do was describe his condition very, very carefully. "Well I don't know the name of it, but it makes me kind of sensitive to sunlight." Their he thought, a good start, just keep it up, he continued "I, see better in the dark and my hearings overly sensitive, and…" ok, his last hurdle, blood, his self-treatment required blood, how in the hell am I supposed to word this he thought. It hit him like a lightning bolt, though he himself would have shuddered at the analogy "Iron, I uhhm need extra iron in my diet to keep the symptoms from getting worse, you know like red meat and such." He smiled, happy at his explanation as he looked at Rotor whose face was one of worry and more than a little sceptical as he spoke up. "Well I can't diagnose you, but this sounds pretty serious, maybe I'll tell Doctor Quack so he can identify it" Tails smile fell, one person even sort of knowing was bad, but Doctor Quack might actually be able to identify what he was, that's why he had always stayed as far from him as possible, going to see the doctor was not an option. So Tails gave up and dove in head first, for the first time in his life he was going to tell someone when a small mechanical voice chirped in, none other than Nichole who had been laying on Rotors workbench to help him. "I have already searched the databanks, for probable causes, and performed a standing scan on Miles, my scans report that the subject, Miles, is already deceased, based on this and the vague info he gave, I believe the most likely cause is Vampirism." The words hung in the air, complete silenced filled the room as Rotor's face turned to one of impossible bewilderment, it couldn't be possible, it had to be a malfunction, but the face of utter depression and acceptance on Tails face told him otherwise, the two met eyes and stared into the others, for a long time, both frightened of the other.