Chapter 3: Your training starts here.
A month has passed since Tails's incident at the beach, and yet his situation isn't improving one bit, but rather deterioating. At school he would be bullied by Tommy Oliver and his gang whenever he's in the hallway, the cafeteria, even at P.E classes outdoor. He wanted one thing to liberate him from this nightmare, Fiona Fox, he wanted her, whenever she's around, nobody touches Tails's fur not one bit. But he was pondering over how exactly is he going to impress her so they can be an official couple? The answer came to him just soon enough, one day walking along the school's corridor to his locker, he turned his head to the left and saw an important announcement, "Halloween Ball", the best thing ever happen to him ever since the new school year begins. His eyes look like they were about to explodes as his eye balls began to expand and glows at the poster of "Halloween Ball". But thankfully it was all only in his mind, Tails quickly flew toward his locker and grab his notebook and write down something important for the day, "To do today: 1) Call Metal Sonic to fix the sink. 2) Practice martial art. 3) Prepare a costume for Halloween." They were the three things he wrote down in his notebook, especially the third one, he wrote with excitement, with adrenaline fuelled arms and eage eyes focus on every words he wrote.
"Okay as soon school is over, i'm going to get some Halloween costume." Tails said to himself as he put the notebook into his backpack and close his locker. When school was over Tails hop on his bike and rode off to do what his schedule has, first he went to various costume stores around New Mobotropolis but he find nothing fits him, the fox looks through various, kind outfits, ranging comic book superheroes and villains like Captain Mobius, Iron Hedgehog, SuperFox, Fantastic Quartet, to celeberties like Michael Jaguar, Arnie Frankenfurtner, Harrison Ferret's famous role as the adventurer slash tomb raider Indian Jonas and action heroes like the Hognator, Shadow the Hedgehog, but none of them fits Tails, he would look like a complete nerd or maybe fanboy to everyone especially with Fiona. Disappointed, he went home to do the remaining things on his notebook, at home, he took a book off the shelves, it was titled "Basic Karate moves for beginners" by Daniel LaRusso, before he lay down the book on a table he took the blue service phone on the wall and call the plumber from the ground floor, "Hello, Mr Metal Sonic, i need you to check the pipes in the sink at my apartment. Really? You're gonna be here in a minute? Great thanks." Tails put the phone back on the holder and begins to practice Karate moves.
His mother wasn't home at the moment, Rosemary was out doing grocery and she won't be back for 5 minutes, but she can trust her son to watch the apartment for her while she's gone. In just a minute, Metal Sonic was knocking on the door, "Oh boy he's hear already. He wasn't kidding when he said he was gonna be here in a minute." Tails excitedly ran to the door and look through the tiny window built on the door, he saw Metal Sonic carrying a toolbox and wearring a blue plumber hat, Tails open the door to Metal Sonic and greeted him like a relative in the family, "Hi Metal Sonic, the sink is in the kitchen. I'll show you to it." the fox led Metal Sonic to the kitchen where Metal Sonic starts to work on the sink's pipes that were clogging and malfunctioning, whenever Rosemary need to flush away the used waters. "You're practicing karate?" Metal Sonic asked seeing Tails practicing some Karate moves like the Crane stand, balancing his feet. "Yeah, i'm in the need to learn something to defend myself with." Tails said as he continues practicing. Just then Rosemary was home, wearring a pair of shades and carrying two bags of grocery supplies, she was wearring a blue shirt and green pants. "Hi honey how was your day?" Rosemary asked her son as she puts her groceries down on the kitchen's table.
"It's fine mom, and i found a plumber like you asked." Tails replied but still highly concentrated on his Karate moves, forgotting to tell his mom that the plumber was actually the infamous robot copy of Sonic the Hedgehog. "Thanks honey. I'm proud of you, so did you find the problem to the sink mr pumber?" Rosemary asked Metal Sonic who was no busy, working putting the last touches on the pipes of their sink. "I fixed it, it was a little rusted and there were some leaks on it and some stuffs caught in it. I managed to install a new pipe in its place."
Metal Sonic's monotone robotic voice suddenly got Rosemary petrified, she looked down to see who was working on the pipe with fear in her eyes. And she saw the sight that all Mobians fear, Metal Sonic himself in her home. "Aaaaaaahhhhh! Tails run honey! I'll hold him off for you to escape!" Rosemary screams out loud as she grab her son to runaway. Tails and Metal Sonic calls out to her to get her calm down. "Calm down mom/ mrs Prower. He's/ i'm no longer working for Eggman." Upon hearing what her son and Metal Sonic said, Rosemary was calming down a little yet she was still disbelief, skeptical about Metal Sonic's statement about him quitting Eggman. "How do i know that you're no longer a threat to New Mobotropolis and my son?" Rosemary screams out to Metal Sonic while still holding her son tightly in her grip. "If i were a threat to New Mobotropolis then i would kidnap your son tied him up and use him as bait to lure Sonic. Which i didn't so in effect, i am no longer a threat to New Mobotropolis."
Rosemary took a moment to think it through. Although he was obviously telling the truth, but she couldn't shake the feeling that this is some sort of a trap by Metal Sonic. But seeing how he fixed her sink, her son's bike and not wreaking havoc on the apartment for several years, he wouldn't wreak havoc to anyone again in all of a sudden. "Trust him mom, he's not all that bad like he used to be anymore." Tails persuades his mother to believe Metal Sonic, Rosemary listens to her son and finally calm down, she put her son down on the ground. "Okay, i'm gonna trust you with this one, since you're not gonna use us as bait for Sonic. But know this, i won't spare a single part of you if you hurt my son. Got it?" Rosemary threatens Metal Sonic, she was braver than Sonic the hedgehog himself, she was cautious with Metal Sonic especially when he's near her son. "Got it mrs Prower." Metal Sonic nod his head, signalling he understand her words. "Good, now i'm off to do a meeting with the city council. But if i return to see this house wreck, then you know who will send you back to the trash heap." Rosemary then went out of her apartment to do the meeting with the other councilors of the Kingdom's Council of Acorn.
"Tails, Halloween is coming up, i don't see you have any costume at all." Tails's head was down, saddened when he heard about the Halloween ball at his school. "Yeah well, even if i had one, i wouldn't dare to go the ball. I think i want to be the invisible Mobian." Metal Sonic heard of Tails's problem with the costume, the robotic hedgehog was quick to offer help. "If i have a costume, will you go?" Tails gave it a thought and it finally comes to him. Fiona was going to the ball, if he doesn't go then he won't be able to get a kiss from her lips at all. When Halloween ball finally came, the school's gym room was full to the brim with students dess up all kind of styles and dance the night away while the DJ playing Steve Winwood's Higher Love song to boom the night. Fiona was there with her friends, she was waiting an uninvited friend, she dressed up as a register machine while then her friends were dressed up as Abraham Lincoln, Wonder Woman and the Green Hornet.
"Do you think he would come? I don't see anyone like him coming in at all." one of Fiona's friend, Tina Turtle said as she peered her eyes to see if there is any sign of Tails. Suddenly Fiona saw something caught her eyes, she saw what appeared to be a stack of green bank notes walking in among the dancing crowd, "It's him alright." Fiona said to her friends, "How do you know Fiona?" Tina Turtle asked again inquiring about Fiona's ability to see her dream fox boy. "I just know." Fiona said back and make her way through the crowd to the walking bank notes and she found Tails, dressed up as a stack of 100 Mobiums. "Hey handsome, care to have a dance?" She asked Tails and cares his face, the two tails fox was shaky when he met her, but soon pull it all together to dance with her. "S...sure. Y...you come to the right place. I guess."
Then she holds his hand waltzing to the new song the DJ put into the CD Player, the iconic "Far longer than forever". The whole gym room slowly dance the night away, they whole each other tightly in their embrace, laying their heads into each other's heads. "Sorry about the thing back at the beach." Tails said quietly into Fiona's ears, she looked up to his face with a smile. Jokingly retord at his timid, "Why is it you always drag things from the past to the present?" Tails was blushing at that moment, he was caught off guard by Fiona's words, he sheepishly back away from her a little, but then he saw something that caught his attention, Tommy Oliver is here in the gym room. "I need to use the man's room. I'll be back." Tails ran off from Fiona leaving her, surprised and stunned at his sudden departure from their romantic moment. She turn around and see Tommy Oliver and his gang of goons in the gym room dressed up as walking skeletons. Worst Tommy was going into the men's room with his goon. In the men's room, Tails set up some traps for Tommy as the head bully went into use the toilet, Tails has reworked the pipe of the men's room and when Tommy flush his toilet, water splattered all over him and Tails ran out of the bathroom.
"Hey get back here you little creep! Nobody picks on Tommy Oliver!" Tommy and his five other goons ran after Tails, they soon cornered the fox by a fence where they submitted him to all kinds of beating, they kick Tails from behind, punch Tails in the face, then yank the fox's tails real hard. But all those brutal fun of the so called "Power Rangers" was short live when suddenly from out of nowhere one of Tommy's goon got grab from behind and knock unconscious by a punch in the face by a blue blur, then two more of the goons were quickly dispatched a judo throw and the other was punched in the stomach first before his right fist got grab and pulled up to the blue blur's fist in the face. "Who the hell is this metal head?" The girl in yellow skeleton costume asked before she is quickly knock off her feet from behind. Finally there was only Tommy who tried to punch Metal Sonic only to have his being twisted by the robot hedgehog, he scream in pain wanting to let go only to be knock unconscious by Metal Sonic. When all of the teenage punks from Angel's Grove are all down, Metal Sonic found Tails lying lifeless on the ground but thankfully for the robot hedgehog, the fox was still alive.
Metal Sonic took Tails back to his home where Tails lied on his bed recovering from the all the bruises and injuries from last night encounter with the Power Rangers. When the fox opens his eyes, he saw Metal Sonic was working with something, it was an age old medical practice to save Sonic holds a a piece of cotton wool, already embedded with alchohol over a candle then press it on Tails's bruises to ease his pain. "Thanks Metal Sonic, i can't take those guys anymore. I need your help. Please teach me Krav Maga, please i need your help." the fox begged Metal Sonic, wanting the robot hedgehog to teach the fox martial arts to fight back with the bullies, but Metal Sonic refuses. "Martial art was invented to teach learners good health, and to safe guard the helpless. Not to be abuse as a weapon." Tails was down on his knees and begged even more to Metal Sonic, "But if you don't help me then i'll be writing my will before i'm graduate. Please i need your help!". Metal Sonic took a desperate sign, then agree to help the fox in some way. "We'll go to meet these snobby brats and ask them to stop bullying you. No need to have conflict." then the next day, Metal Sonic and Tails went to the Youth Center of the Power Rangers, where Tommy and his gang were practicing Karate.
When the fox and the blue robotic hedgehog enter the Youth Center they stand out completely for they were the only Mobians and Robians inside the club full of Overlanders. They heard sounds of Karate shouts on the other side of the club and follow it to a large entrance with two doors, "I feel like entering the lion's den. And i am the meat." Tails said nervously trying to hold himself together, for his worst enemy is just beyond the doors in front of him. "Calm down Tails. We'll just need to broke a deal with them and leave." Metal Sonic reassure Tails as he opens the door, they enter a room with mirrors on both sides with mattress on the floor for Karate practice. Tommy and his Power Rangers goons saw Metal Sonic, they shake in fear at the sight of the menacing red eyes robot. "I need a word with you Overlander goons. If you don't stop bullying this fox then i would do some serious damage to this Youth Center." Metal Sonic holds Tommy's shirt up and treaten the teenager. "Whoa easy metal head. I'm gonna make a deal with you. Two months later and it's the All Vallies Championship. If your fox beat us there, then we'll never be here ever again. But if fox boy loose, then it's open season for him and you." Metal Sonic look up into the face of the pony hair teenager and replied, "Deal. Until then, no more bullying Tails."
But Tails was petrified, he was still froze like a statue when Metal Sonic drag him out to the sidewalks where he snaps back to reality. "What have you done!? You promised to help me now you make things worst! I'm gonna get cream by them for sure." Tails shouted to the robotic hedgehog who keeps his calm and remark at Tails's anger. "No i made things better. In two months you won't have to put up to their beating again, and i'll have time to train you Krav Maga. Your training will start at the apartment's garage tomorrow."