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Distant Future
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Tails stood in the bathroom that, to his disgust, used be belong to Robotnick. There was no other way about it. The one supply of easy to access water was here, so Tails had to shut off his imagination at what horrify sights these four walls must have witnessed, and turned the tap. Warm water rushed from the shower head, slowly soaking his rather greasy and dirty fur.
Tails, unfortunately hadn't had many chances in the past decade to bathe in any way possible, decreasing in his later years when he had to avoid open water altogether for fear of the contamination. Since he had arrived and taken Robotnick's kingdom, he now had a fresh supply of water to make up for all those unhygienic years. But since he got the news about Nichole he lost all care for this luxury he had gained and reside himself to his grease filled coat. Now however was different. Even with the knowledge that Robotnick himself had bathed in this shower was not enough to deter Tails. Not knowing that Uncle Chuck would be online soon and he certainly did not want the first sight he saw after years of torture from Robotnick was Tails in the state he was in.
Slowly, as Tails bathed himself in the water and using both a shampoo and conditioner from the corner, he mused at what had happened just moments ago. Not more then 1 hour ago had he found the remains of Uncle Chuck in the cell below. Tails knew he was offline with many of his mechanics out, like the ability to move his limbs. He was barely alive, depending on how alive you could be in a metal suit. He needed repairing, and though Tails did have some knowledge on machines, not only was that so long ago, and not also just because Robian design was far more advanced then the basic machines he used to mess with. It was infact mainly down to the fact he was still half drunk with the effects of the hangover kicking in, so with either state of mind he was in no state to help him. So he got the service droids to make all the necessary repairs whilst he repaired himself, so to speak.
Soon the water and chemicals had done their job and Tails coat was atleast near presentable. It was only when he got out the shower and started towel drying himself that he realised just how much fur he had. Unlike most normal Mobians, foxes for one, the fur length on the average coat was rather short in most areas (save the chest maybe). But Tails fur was much thicker and had much more length to it then a normal adult fox should have. This was mainly down to the living conditions Tails was forced to endure growing up, forcing him to grow much longer fur just to keep himself warm at night. Only certain species had fur this long, like the more primal ones, like tigers, wolfs, lions ect... He hardly recognised the ball of fluff he saw, as he stared into the mirror. All that mattered was he looked presentable atleast, Tails thought. He slowly put on a fresh pair of freshly made gloves, socks and shoes and let out a long drawn out sigh. He hadn't had the luxury of clothes of any sort as he grew up and finally ripped the old ones with his growth spurts. Now he felt atleast partially civilised. Atleast now he didn't feel so much like an animal… atleast not on the outside.
Tails quickly creased down his coat and made a run towards the main throne room where Uncle Chuck should be waiting. It had been nearly an hour so the droids should easily have finished such a simple job. As he entered the throne room however, expecting to see a surprised long lost Uncle Chuck, all he saw through the near pitch black gloom was destruction. All the droids had been destroyed, from a laser gun it appeared. As Tails stepped forward, his animal instincts practically screamed at him. He instantly jumped up-woulds, flipping in mid air as he felt the laser shots rush past him.
As he landed and black flipped back and hid behind the throne, he heard in the gloom "Come out you fat monstrosity! I'll make you pay a thousand fold for what you did!" It wasn't Uncle Chuck. It appeared to originate from Chuck's voice unit but the Uncle Chuck Tails knew and loved never sounded like that. The voice Tails heard was not so much an angry yell, but a furious roar and coming from Uncle Chuck's old, deep and gurgling voice unit, sounded almost frightening.
Tails could have guessed what had happened. He should have guessed what would happen infact. He had been tortured for nearly a decade; he comes online with his body in full working order and is surrounded by Robotnick's droids. What else could have happened?
Tails quickly shouted "Lights" lifting the veil of darkness in the room. As Uncle Chuck shielded himself from the sudden change in brightness, Tails slowly rose and stepped away from the throne. Uncle Chuck stared at Tails as his eyes adapted to the contrast. He kept on staring infact for another 10 seconds before either of them spoke.
"Good to see you, Uncle Chuck" Tails said earnestly.
Uncle Chuck just backed away and looking at the gun in his hands, threw it away. "Tails? Is that you m'boy?" Uncle Chuck said, returning to his familiar welcoming voice.
Tails nodded. "But… this is Robotropolis Fortress, isn't it? Where's Robotnick?" Uncle Chuck asked, slowly walking forward and staring at Tails.
Tails just turned and nodded to the pile of rubble in the corner, which was now Robotnick's burial ground. Uncle Chuck could see the dried blood emerging from the pile.
"I think you need some catching up" Tails said finally.
It took Tails nearly 30 minutes straight to explain everything. Everything he knew anyway. As he finished his 10 year catch up, Uncle Chuck leaned forward, mortified at what had happened.
"10 years…" He muttered.
Tails wondered. He knew it probably wasn't easy keeping time when locked in a cell for so long, but being a Robian, he should have some time keeping features. It shouldn't be that surprising it had been a decade since their fall.
Uncle Chuck, again, eyed Tails. He seemed staggered that the person infront of him was the lovable kit he once knew, instead of the adult infront of him. And after hearing his story, he could only imagine what Tails personality was like.
"I can't believe it's been ten years and…" His mind went back to Sonic and the rest of the freedom fighters. Tails however interrupted his thoughts.
"How do you not know how long it's been? You have an internal clock/calendar built into you, don't you?" Tails asked
"Yes, but Robotnick didn't just leave me on. After his… "sessions" he would just turned me off. Because of that, my minds all over the place. It only seems just over a week since he caught me." Uncle Chuck replied somberly.
Tails thought. "Computer, all information on Prisoner 19273 since operation Retribution"
"Operation Retribution?" Uncle Chuck asked
"Ok, start with description of Operation Retribution, then details on Prisoner. Also Sir Charles Hedgehog is now a fully permitted user" Tails stated.
"Accessing…" The computer replied. "Operation Retribution: the creation of a chemical called "Super Napalm" was the starting inspiration for this project. After four factories had been made for the creation of this liquid, 10 more where altered for the creation of containers of this new weapon. When ten were completed, Robotnick launched them all, one after another to set locations in the Great Forest. With all 10, 97 of the forest was completely destroyed, with the last 3 searched by units of SWAT-Bots. After this, 10 more bombs where made and where launched to likely areas of Freedom Fighter activity in different regions-"
"That's enough" Tails said, silencing the computer. He turned to Uncle Chuck. "So there you have it. Buttnick made this new weapon, burnt away most of Mobius and killed all other life on the planet. After that, he even went so far as to activate the Kill Switch on all Robians. Ok, computer, give me the information on prisoner 19273 after these events."
"Sir Charles Hedgehog was captured 6 hours before the weapons were primed and the 1st fired. After this Robotnick had him imprisoned with most of his electronics removed. After this, Robotnick visited him once a year on the date of the missiles launch and reactivated him for his own amusement." The computer chirped.
"So, I became his little play thing. Something to look forward to on his anniversary…" Chuck mumbled.
"It appears so" Tails said, as he rose from his seat. As he did though, Chuck looked up and asked "Wait, what about Nichole. I made her case to withstand enormous temperatures, so maybe-"
Before he walked away, Tails turned and reached down to his brown belt he had wrapped around his stomach. He slowly placed the remains of Nichole onto the table and walked away. Chuck looked down at the remains of what could be considered his greatest creation and at the scorch littered on the surface. Funny, he thought. Tails never mentioned Nichole. What would he be doing with her?
About an hour later Uncle Chuck was inside the repair room, which he had been housed in not too long ago. As he worked on the hopeless task of repairing Nichole, his mind kept bouncing back to Tails. He just couldn't fit the cute kit he used to know to what had stood before him just earlier. He just couldn't. And he felt horrible about it. He knew people grew up, changed and so on, but in Tails case the difference was so extreme. And as his mind went to how Tails had changed so much, it then added in on what could have possibly occurred to him to induce his transformation. What could the poor boy have gone through these last 10 years?
As he worked, he also found something else out. Nichole was indeed burnt, but the burns had come from the inside of her. Her circuits had fried somehow and burned herself from the inside out. Though he couldn't tell what had specifically happened to her, he could atleast deduce one thing. It had been recent, so Tails had her in his possession, probably for the most part of the 10 long years. That would explain how Tails had even survived in the waste land Robotnick had made. He couldn't be sure though. He had to ask…
Uncle Chuck got up and asked the computer on Tails whereabouts.
"Master Tails is in the throne room" The Computer replied
Chuck turned and made his way. Unlike Tails, Uncle Chuck didn't need any time adjusting to the base. He knew every corner like the back of his hand, mainly since his mind had been restored and he chose to act as spy for the Freedom Fighters, he had spent time in mostly all of them at one point or another.
As he entered the throne room, he instantly noticed Tails. He was slumped over the giant chair, with a tray of numerous sticky drinks lying ontop of it. Tails idling reached down and picked up one of the bottles. Uncle Chuck ran forward.
"Tails, what on Mobius are you doing?!" Chucked shouted.
"Drinking…" Tails looked down at the bottle "… a 2035 Merlot. Um, it's quite nice? Want to try some? I know the alcohol won't affect you but-"
"I mean why are you drinking at all?" Chuck replied, slightly horrified at both discovering Tails addiction and the fact he was so casual about it.
"May I ask what your problem is with me drinking?" Tails asked, his speech slightly slow and with the air that he was putting a lot of effect just to form his sentences.
"Yes, I do. I don't think either Sonic or Sally would condone such behaviour" Uncle Chuck replied, giving off the aura of the strict Uncle he had to do once in a while in Sonic's past.
"Really?" He said, his statement dripping with sarcasm.
"Yes" Chuck said, annoyed he couldn't show the annoyance he felt in his face.
"Ow dear. You're probably right, but to be on the safe side we should ask. Come on, I'm sure there's a Weegie board somewhere around here" He said, standing up and slowly saying from one side to another as he went to the computer.
"Is this how they taught you then? To be some pathetic drunk? You have the power to change the world at your very command and you decide, to use all that power to order another sherry. Do you even care about them anymore?" Uncle Chuck said, silently but still piecing in the scolding tone he was quite proud over. This however had obviously struck a nerve with Tails, as he turned around, no longer slaying and looked at him with murderous eyes. As he walked forward, his grin slowly dissolved and turned into a menacing sneer.
"Taught me? How do you mean, taught me…?" Tails said, a disturbing smile now appearing on his face. "…It sounds silly but, I know they taught me amny things. How to be a good, upstanding young adult and all that but…I can't really remember what they actually taught me…. No… I can't. I try, really….but…" His hands clasp onto the Chucks shoulders, his smile gone again. "…BUT…. every time I try to picture them in my mind…. Every time I try and remember the times I played with Sonic… Every time I try and remember the stories Sally used to read to me…. All I picture . Is" Tails poked Chuck on his shoulder, pushing him back slightly
"…their (poke)"
" …charred (poke)
"…rotting (poke)"
"…Corpse" and with that Tails pushed Chuck off his feet. It wasn't a loud or booming statement. Just to the point.
Chuck looked up in shock at Tails reaction, emotions obviously overflowing, begging to be expressed in either a roaring voice or physical violence.
Tails calmed down. "And that's it. Every time I shut my eyes. Every dream I've had for 10 stinking years. That's all I can picture." His head was looking down at the floor and then back at Chuck. "So don't even dare trying to tell me what they would do, what they would want out of me. Not when they've been haunting me EVERY SINGLE GOD DAMN DAY FOR NEARLY A DECADE!!" Tails roared through his teeth, nearly causing Chuck to back away in fear of his life. Tails turned away and went back to his throne and slouched down.
"Nothing matters anymore. Alcohol may only block out the pain for a little while, but it's all I have" Tails said slowly.
Chuck stared at Tails. Then he realised what had happened to him. He had seen it. He had seen them all…all of them…dead…. At the age of ten, he couldn't even imagine how that had scarred Tails. And that scar had only grown over the years.
"But there's still things to aim for" Chuck tried to reassure, once he got his nerve back.
"May I ask what?" Tails asked, almost mockingly.
"Well, restoring the planet? From what you told me, Robotnick did some serious damage before you arrived, so we could-" Before he could finish, Tails was already next to him, one arm resting on his shoulder as he guided him forward.
"Computer" Tails called out "Please tell my esteemed companion what you told me about no less then 50 minutes ago"
"Accessing…" The computer began. "Cultivation and restoration of Mobius scenario. Calculating damage done and continued if all factories world wide were to be shut down, there by stopping the supply of chemical waste to-"
"Just skip to the summery" Tails interrupted
"Summery: Restoration of Planet Mobius… Impossible. Damage done in terms of the survival of living organisms… Irreversible"
Chuck turned to Tails. "You mean…"
"Yep. If you, me, and every single SWAT-Bot on the planet started trying to repair the damage done, we still couldn't do anything. The black sky topped with the polluted rivers, lakes, streams and even oceans makes life surviving on this plant impossible. There's nothing left. Even with a couple hundred ice ages on our side, the sun would extinguish before this planet gets back on it's feet. So I've beside myself with heavy drinking personally" and with that, Tails sat back down and held up another bottle.
"Wait… there has to be…wait…" Chuck suddenly realised something. "I just remembered why I came here in the first place and got caught. I was wondering what had happened to Snively"
"Ow" Tails beamed. "I'll just call him. Snivly!"
There was a moments silence and then Chuck heard the tap of foot steps. He turned around and saw the figure in the door way, holding a tray of drinks and walking towards Tails.
"Well here he is. Acting as my new personal butler, since you broke my last one" Tails said grinning.
Chuck kept starring at what remained of Snivly, as his robotic body slowly walked forward and bent forward when he reached Tails.
"Have you finished your current drinks, sir?" Snivly asked, his robotic voice a hollow mirror distortion of his old weasely voice.
"So Robotnick turned on him" Chuck replied
"Yep, it was accidental though. Meant to do it just to scare him, threw him in the Roboticizer and threaten to turn the handle if he didn't get his act together. But he slipped and ended up killing off his last companion. I think that's what caused his dementia" Tails replied as he took the tray from Snivly.
"So… is that it? You're just gonna give up and wallow in self pity?" Chuck replied, returning to his original set goal.
"What do you want to do? What's the point on living anyway? Strive to personally goals? What goals could I set in this polluted ball of grime? Make friends? You're the only other living person on this planet. And as for making a family… if somehow by some stroke of luck Robotnick did have some form of fertility facilities around and I could make myself a family… I personally think it would be more of a sin then a blessing to bring someone else into this world. So tell me. What is there to do?" Tails said, staring hard at Chuck.
Chuck froze under the gaze, trying to find some hole in his argument but as far as he could see… there wasn't one. There really was no point. He decided to shift his ground.
"Ok then. Kill yourself. If there's no point, end your life if you want" He said.
Tails stared down at his glass, staring back at his distorted reflection in the wine. "I made a promise to her. "All life is precious. Everything should have a chance to live…" Those were her last words. So, despite how much I would have loved to have given up all those years ago, and even now… it's the only thing I can do for her now."
Chuck stared at Tails curiously. "Did Sally say that?" He asked
Tails stared up. "No. Nichole did"
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Present
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Lupe wondered through the long stone halls, curious how she had ended up in this situation. Not more then 6 hours ago had she and "Cable" been carried into the secret caves on Cilen's shoulders. And now here she was, bandage wrapped around her waist, covering the one piece of shrapnel that Tails had not been able to shield her from. She limped slightly with each step, trying to suck in the pain.
After resting for a good many hours with her friend Shelk for company, she had been summoned to the Elder Council. She was standing, underground inside one of the most secret of Wolf locations. Elder Rock. The safe heaven for the Elders of each clan of wolfs to take counsel when in time of war. They would advise the leaders of the separate wolf packs and take in the wolfs who could or did not wish to fight. As she stepped forward she dreaded what she would have to say. Not only had parts of her pack been killed, but worse some had gone traitor. Such a laps in judgement by the wolf pack leader would be considered unforgivable and worth being stripped of her title.
She tried to think about how she would tell the counsel of her blunder. In some ways she felt she deserved to by cast down. It was her fault that one of her own pack had died… Botolf had died because of her.
As her memories went back to that horrible scene, she looked up and saw she was standing just outside the main room of the elders. She took a deep breath, trying to hide the pain her wound was causing her. She pulled aside the cloth shielding the entrance and walked in.
As she walked forward she took in her surroundings. This was the first time appearing before the Elder Counsel and she rightly felt nervous. She saw the room vaguely similar to the one her pack used to reside in. The one in which she had hosted Sonic and Sally upon their discovery of the pack. There was a wall shielded fire in the centre of the room, with various skins and pottery littered about the edge. The counsel were sitting cross legged around the fire, staring at Lupe as she entered and bowed. She noticed Cilen in the circle giving her a sympathetic smile and nod. Obviously in respect at her recent loss.
"Be seated" came the ancient and deep voice at one of the wolfs on the other side of the fire.
Instantly Lupe rested down in the opening in the circle. She breathed in, dreading the inquiry about to be brought down upon her.
"First off, we would like to give our deepest condolences upon your loss Lupe and we are sorry to have to summon you before you have a chance to heal properly" said the elderly wolf again
Lupe lowered her head. "Thank you, honourable elder. I am ashamed to have made such a lack of judgement on the matter"
The elders though just looked at each other slightly confused.
"Why might I ask do you feel shame on such a matter?" Another elder asked.
"If I had been fulfilling my duties properly, then I would have suspected those three traitors long before I would have placed the lives of my other clan members with them" She said quietly.
The first elder grimaced at this. "The fault lies not with you. Truth be told, if anyone should be held accountable then it should be us my dear"
Lupe looked up in surprise. "How so?" she asked quickly
"I hate to admit it but… we received information that your pack in particular had been infiltrated. We did not act as we should have done." The elder said quietly, shame now shown by him.
"So… you said or did nothing, even with knowledge that there may be a spy in my pack? You sent no assistance to aid us?" She said, suddenly respect cast aside for mild anger, slowly rising.
"Technically you did receive aid. And aid you he did" Came a gruff tinny voice from behind her. Lupe turned and stared into the face of Sir Charles Hedgehog just emerging from the entrance.
"You mean Cable?" She asked.
"Cable?" a couple of the elders replied in confusion.
"Cable was the name my companion gave himself, gentlemen" Chuck replied, sitting himself next to Lupe.
"You may know him as Tails, my dear" Chuck replied to Lupe. "You may know him… um, so to speak"
"Tails?" Lupe queried. Suddenly her mind was cast back to one of her many visits to Knothole. She did recall a young fox by that name, and he certainly had the trade mark appendages that the fox who just rescued her had. But the Tails she knew was only 9 years old.
"Let me explain" Uncle Chuck said, interrupting Lupe in mid thought. "I came to the wolf pack with a warning about your pack being infiltrated by Robotnick's forces. My warning would have been heeded at the time but just as soon as I had told the counsel, my other self had just sent a transmission to the main wolf pack base."
"Other self?" Lupe asked
"Yes. I am not from this time. I am from the future. Tens years from now to be precise" Chuck explained
Lupe stared at him almost in amusement until she turned to the faces of the elders, all baring a very serious expression
"My word on its own was not enough. To be honest it would be easy and expected of Robotnick to make a fake version of me and try and infiltrate the Freedom Fighters so they first suspected me as a spy. After telling my story and mentioning key facts that only myself could know to the council members however they gave me a chance. If Tails could infiltrate your group and sniff out the spies himself, then we would have proven ourselves" Chuck replied
Lupe looked at the council members in surprise "This can't be true. I mean… time travel? What did you do? Make a time machine?"
"We used a set of ancient artefacts called the Time Stones. I am sure you have heard of those" Chuck continued
Lupe almost chuckled at this but one of the elder wolfs spoke before she could.
"Despite what you think Lupe, we of the elder wolf pack are aware of the existence of those stones. Long ago our fore fathers tried to use those stones to try and end one of the wars between the Overlanders and the Acorn Kingdom. Though they failed, the existence of the stones has been passed down. Even if only through the mouths of our fathers and theirs before them, we believe they do exist."
Lupe looked back at Chuck.
"The future is grim to say the least. So both me and Tails took the stones to try and stop this possible future. In 4 days, all of Knothole will be burnt to the ground by a new set of weapons. After that, the rest of Mobius falls effortlessly before Robotnick's force."
"What?!" Lupe said, eyes wide in shock. "Then why are you here? Shouldn't you go to Knothole and set up an assault squad?"
"We were informed that that would not be enough. The problem does not just lie with the weapons but also with the wolf pack. Stopping Drago was required to."
Lupe looked into Sir Charles plain blue eyes, still unsure of what to believe.
"Before we can act upon Robotnick, we must stop one more incident from occurring. The incident that starts the chain of events that force Robotnick into launching the rockets. We have to make sure that the Blood Claw pack does not gain Alpha Leadership"
Tails lay on his bed, eyes flickering open and shut as he struggled to keep conscious. His body smacked him instantly as he struggled to stay awake with the pain he had been enduring for so long. His back was killing him, along with his shoulder. He looked down at his body and found someone had turned him into a mummy. His chest, shoulders and lower legs were wrapped with bandages. His body refused to move at first, trying to take this opportunity to heal but Tails wouldn't hear it. He had to figure out where he was. As he took in his surroundings as he leaned forward, a hand pressed on his chest and gently pushed him down. Tails looked left towards Cilen, who was staring passively down at him.
"You need more rest. You will be summoned shortly so I suggest you take the time to recover as much strength as possible" He said.
"Where am I?" He asked, staring around at the simple room.
"You are in the stronghold in which the elder wolfs residing. We brought you here since it was the closest place with sufficient medical facilities. I hope you are doing well?" Cilen asked kindly.
"Any chance for some pain killers?" Tails asked in return.
"Afraid not, no. Even here we have only bare supplies on hand. But thankfully your wounds were not too deep and the hole in your shoulders was very small. It should heal up in no time" He said, trying to cheer Tails up. Tails however just lent back and groaned
Tails eyes quickly opened as his mind reminded him on why he was here at all. "Is Lupe OK?" He asked quickly
Cilen smiled. "Yes, she is doing fine. Something I believe I have you to thank for, including the preservation of my own life. I can not thank you for your efforts" He said, bowing his head.
Tails just looked in mild confusion. "Um, no problem. So she is not injured at all?"
The expression on Cilen's face changed slightly but tried to return the reassuring smile. "She did take a small wound but nothing serious."
Tails tensed. "How bad?"
"I am not aware of the seriousness of it, but I know it is not fatal." He said, trying not to make such a big deal out of it.
Tails stare burned right through Cilen as that answer obviously didn't seem enough for him.
"Why do you ask?" he replied
"I just wanted to know if she would be fit for the Alpha Leadership Challenge…" He said.
Cilen's eyes widened slightly. "I'm surprised you know of that... I am sure she will be fine. It is 2 days before the leaders of the four fighting clans will meet and fight to decide who should rule the 4 clans. More then enough time to heal up. To be honest I think it's just a foolish and outdated tradition that should have been abolished centuries ago."
"May I ask why it hasn't" Tails asked curiously, having only heard of this tournament from Robotnick's database.
"The only person able to abolish a law such as that is the Alpha Leader. Unfortunately the Alpha Leadership Challenge, a tournament to become the Alpha Leader, is one only held in times of war, when the 4 clans reunite. The Blood Claw, Low Moon, White Fang and Dark Eye clans come together and have a simple tournament to decide who will be the Alpha Leader. A title won by muscle instead of the ability to lead…" Cilen said trailing off.
"The problem is that the only clan that ever wins is the Blood Claw clan. A group of blood thirsty and monstrous wolfs with the leader always being a devil in fur. And the leader who wins won't, for the sake of honour, abolish the code." Cilen finished.
Tails leaned forward and tried to stretch his limbs. Though a little stiff, the pain from his back and shoulder was subsiding. Despite Cilen's efforts Tails rose from the bed to put on the small collection of cloths he had. Just as he fixed on his gloves a wolf entered through the door away.
"The Elders wish to see him now" He said, and simply disappeared from sight.
Tails felt Cilen's hand rest on his shoulder. "You have been summoned. I will guide you to the chamber".
Tails had never seen the caves in which Sonic and Sally had gone through when they had met the Wolf Pack for the 1st time, but if he did he would have noticed the similarly of the design. It was obvious they were underground, moving through a serious of tunnels carved into the earth. They were primitive and were only lit with touches but were still well designed and maintained from what Tails could make out as he passed from one tunnel to another.
Soon he was led to a long passage where a fur coat blocked the entrance to the next room. As Tails entered he noticed Chuck, Lupe and the other Elder's sitting in a circle around a fire in the middle.
"I am sorry to summon you whilst you were still recuperating" one of the Elders said as they beckoned him to a place next to Chuck.
Chuck nudged to the left to allow Tails the room to sit himself down and turned to the rest of the elders.
"I believe I should recap now that we are all here. I believe we have proven our story with Tails actions?" He asked, which was received by a series of nods from the elders.
"So, now that we have flushed out the spies, we now need to turn to the matter of the Alpha Leadership Challenge" All eyes turned to Lupe as Chuck spoke.
One of the other Elders stood up as Chuck spoke. "You said that there could possibly be more spies. We cannot rule out such a possibility."
Chuck nodded. "Indeed. Which is why both me and the Elders decided on what course of action we should undertake. Our most important priority is to make sure that Lupe reaches Knothole and fights in the Alpha Challenge." Again the elders nodded at the statement.
"Because of the possible dangers you might face Lupe, we have decided that along with your clan, Tails should act as your bodyguard" Chuck finished.
The look of surprise on both Lupe's and Tails' faces were mirror images. They both stared at Chuck, both annoyed at such a decision to be made without their consent.
"I appreciate the idea, Sire Charles, but I have no need for any protection. Especially when inside Knothole" Lupe snapped back, though keeping her composure.
Tails just looked at Lupe and Chuck impassively.
"Lupe, I told you already. If the Blood Claw wins the tournament, then their leader will simply order the wolf clans onto an all out attack on Robotropolis. An attack which fails but shakes Robotnick enough to speed up his project. At the moment Robotnick only plans to use the bombs as a countermeasure and bargaining chip, since there are a lot of valuable resources in the Great Forest for him to gain. Under no circumstance can the leader of the Blood Claw clan win, so your safety is paramount."
"But he can't protect me. During the tournament the clans become isolated from other Mobians. As a fox, he can't just stay with the clan like that" Lupe argued
Even with his metal face, Lupe was sure that Chuck just smiled at her. "Yes. This is what me and the elders have been talking about whilst both you and Tails rested… a fox can't act as your bodyguard… but another wolf can"
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Near Future
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Weeks had gone by and Nichole was actually quite happy, considering her position. Though unlike a normal Mobian, she had no way of expressing her emotions to the outside world, she did indeed mourn at the loss of Sally and infact all the other Freedom Fighters she knew. But she couldn't think about that now. All she had was one task, one mission, one purpose… Tails.
Apart from keeping him alive, she had one more prime directive. Keeping him sane. His survival skills that he had acquired from both Sonic and Sally had done all she needed from him on her survival, but as for his sanity, that was her main battle. And a battle she was winning. Once their journey had started, she had been so worried at Tails mental state, and rightly so. After what he had been through and seen, some full grown adults would have bearings on the world they had. But with the diary entries, Sally's voice records and the conversation she offered, Tails was finally coming out of the hole he had fallen into. Obviously he barely ever smiled and would wake up screaming and rolling roughly in his sleep, shaking badly. That she had expected from the information she gained from her physiology software. That couldn't be helped, despite her efforts. But atleast he gave the occasional smile and reacted to her voice.
Their journeying had been long, passing through the vast plains of the Great Unknown. This was what worried Nichole. Their had been no chance at all to get any supplies after they left Knothole, and no clean water or food could be found in the ash filled wastes that used to be the Great Forest. But despite her worries Tails had rationed the food carefully without any need for prompting. If she worked out well, their would be some supplies left, when they reached the Wolf caves, which she hoped the Wolf Clan would still partially remain. Nichole knew the journey would be reduced greatly if she let Tails go at his own pace, but she pick up the occasional sensors. Speed sensors, littered everywhere they went, be it in rocks, ash covered trees or under the gravel in the Great Unknown. Sensors designed so that after Robotnick's little fire party, he could hunt down the one person he expected to survive. Sonic. After his base was gone, Robotnick had taken no chances so that if Sonic had survived, he would have an entire planet after him.
Tails trudged on in his slow rhythmic pace. He replied the occasional questions given to him by Nichole with as short answers as possible, not being able to focus so much on what she said to him. He had had so little sleep. He found that even if he so much closed his eyes he saw their faces… their charred, pain filled faces. He couldn't escape it. He looked up at the sky and noted the darkness loaming over. He would have to set up camp soon and had no idea where he could do so not out in the open. He was effectively walking in the middle of a giant desert. He began to shiver as the warm breeze the desert wind offered was soon replaced by a merciless artic gust, cutting right through him as it passed. The wind would have been far worse if it wasn't for the clothing that Nichole had asked Tails to wear. It was new to him but now Tails wore a set of blue, red and black articles of clothing, collected from Knothole storage. He also wore the gas mask still to both save storage space and also keep the dust whirling around from being breathed in.
It didn't take long till Tails noticed a secluded pile of large rocks ahead of him. It wasn't perfect but they would atleast shield him from the wind and let him start a camp fire. He placed Nichole on a lone rock as he prepared to setup camp. This didn't take long as all he had to do was start a fire with some wood he was carrying. He had neither tent nor sleeping bag to keep him warm so he simply got used to wrapping himself in his own tails for warmth. At first it was unbearable to sleep so but as the days swept by, his care for sleeping at all went as well.
With his barely adequate camp set up, Tails went to pick up Nichole for his dairy entry but suddenly he heard, above the howling noise of the wind, a faint cry came from a nearby dune. Tails ears perked up and started at the source of the cry as he tried to see if it was just his imagination. There it went again. A faint cry coming out of the darkness. Tails heart leapt as the prospect of there being someone else alive dawned on him. He returned the cry and waved.
Almost out of nowhere, a figure loamed into the campsite carrying a figure in his arms. He was illuminated by the light instantly, telling Tails all he needed to know. He appeared to be a Mobian, though he was unsure about his species due to the gear he was wearing. He was wearing all white, surrounding every part of his body, even his face masked with some sort of gas mask. The figure he lay on the floor appeared to be alive, female, and wearing the same sort of gear he was.
"Thank god I found someone. I really thought I would be trudging this blasted desert to my dieing day. God bless you lad" He said, taking Tails unresisting hand and shaking it vigorously. Tails returned with a thin smile, as he bent down to check on the women on the floor. The man however lent down and took Tails outstretched arm lightly.
"She fainted from the heat. She's ok. She just needs the rest. Would you mind if we stayed here for a bit to rest?" He asked.
Tails just nodded as the figure already perched himself on a nearby rock and laced his hands over the campfire.
"Where did you come from?" Tails asked quickly as he regained his senses
"Us?... I'd prefer not to speak about that" He said quietly.
Tails nodded in understanding. "Robotnick?"
He figure nodded. As he did, Tails shook his head in annoyance. His voice was groggy and deep but it was familiar. The sort of familiarity that was just outside your train of thought but just close enough to annoy you. Despite his efforts, Tails couldn't place the voice. Despite his curiosity, he decided not to pry into the stranger's identity.
"Do you want anything to drink?" Tails asked
"Some water would be wonderful" He replied, wondering over to the wrapped up women, obviously checking on her condition.
Tails stood up as was about to go over to his pack when he heard the female figure wrapped up like a mummy near the fire stir. She seemed to moan and stir in her cocoon like wrappings but the other man just ignored it as if nothing was happening. Tails could stand it no longer and instead of speaking to the man, Tails bent down to help the women. Tails placed his hand on the chest of the white clothing to calm her. Just as he did so, her body went rigid and still like a corpse. Tails worried that he may of just done more damage then good removed the face veil from the woman to check her breathing.
Tails nearly screamed. The person beneath the veil was Sally. Her chestnut cheeks and red steak hair were unmistakable. Her eyes were closed and she had a look of mild pain across her face. Tails mouth gaped open as he stared down. He moved more of the white wrappings to reveal her blue tank top, verifying his belief. It would have been natural for him to call Sally's name out and try to rouse her from her slumber but Tails couldn't stop himself from staring back at the man.
He was on his feet, casually looking at Tails and back to Sally. He reached for his rode and undid the series of ropes wrapped around his body. As he did, groves appeared from behind his clothes from his back. Large bulking budges appeared from his head to his torso. And with one quick flourish, he flicked the robe off himself, taking the mask with him. Tails mouth only hung ever lower as he stared at the man. No longer clad in white clothing, the question Tails asked himself on the stranger's species was answered. It was Hedgehog…
"S-S-S…" Tails stuttered as he stared up at his living idle.
"Was wondering when you would figure it was us" Sonic as, his legendary spark glowing as he spoke.
Tails couldn't contain himself as he jumped up and embraced Sonic with a hug that could shatter a tree trunk. All the pain that Tails had felt and experienced over the week seemed hazy and dream like how as all there was now was Sonic. Just Sonic and Sally. All there should be. His eyes erupted as he pushed his head into Sonic's chest.
"Wow big guy, no need to suffocate me" Sonic said, his hand lightly resting on Tails head.
"Sonic… I thought… I…" Tails tried, his crying not stopping
Sonic just shushed him as he returned the hug, kneeling down and resting his little brothers head on his shoulders.
"Hush now. Come on, Sal doesn't want to see that" Sonic said, his voice still soft and caring.
Tails released himself, smiling at Sonic as he rubbed his eyes. The first real smile had given since the incident. A great broad grin on his face as he looked up at Sonic, still as cool and calm as he had been not just 10 days ago.
Tails released himself from Sonic's grip and ran over to Sally's body, hoping to make this reunion a perfect match. As he sat beside her and reached down, Tails expression of pure bliss slowly turned to one of pure horror. Sally stared up at Tails with a weak smile across her burned face. The same dead burnt face Tails had seen almost a week ago and that had been etched into his mind ever since. Her lifeless eyes looked up at Tails with an almost mocking smile across her charred face. Tails jumped back at the gruesome sight, trying to get back into the reassuring arms of Sonic. But as he backed away and he bumped into the tall figure of what he hoped to believe Sonic, two black arms, charred on one side and a horrible gruesome purple, pink colour on the other, wrapped around Tails.
"Come on, little bro. Is that anyway to act infront of Sal?" Sonic said, his voice no longer soft and gentle but rasping and deep, like the bowls of hell welcoming him. Tails looked up and let out a long high pitched scream at the monstrous figure of Sonic's corpse holding him, a horribly wicked grin plastered on his face.
Tails shot up like a bullet as his scream echoed across the desert. He stared around. No one except Nichole and himself sat in the camp, his own Tails wrapped around his body for warmth. Tails breathed slowly, cold sweat dripping off him. Despite how many times he had it, despite how desperately he wanted the dreams to stop, they kept on coming. Even if he nodded off, there they were. Both Sonic and Sally, staring at him with their cold dead eyes, piecing him. And each time Tails still believed they returned before the dream takes it's usually turn. No matter how much it hurt, at the back of his mind, Tails only wanted to see them again, even if in some twisted nightmare his subconscious had made to torture him.
Tails just shook his head and started packing away his gear. No matter how much he tried, he knew that he wouldn't get back to sleep. Nichole remained silent throughout the whole process. What could she do? She had no knowledge on what sort of advice she could give, and she knew that any statements to try and cheer Tails up would just annoy him. So they continued, as they had been doing so for a week now. Moving for about 18 hours a day, getting 3 hours rest and then starting again. It made good time but Nichole new that the lack of sleep was getting to Tails, and there was nothing neither of them could do.
As the sun began to raise after a few hours silent travel, Tails did something he hadn't done since his journey started. He started a conversation with Nichole.
"Nichole…" Tails murmured.
Nichole sprang to life, almost in surprise as she played virtual card games on her system.
"Yes Tails?" She asked quickly.
"What…what will happen when we reach with the Wolf Pack?" He asked.
Nichole paused. Part of her wanted to give the whole statistical truth to Tails, telling him that even with all the Freedom Fighters not stationed in Knothole at the time of destruction, survival on it's own would be a challenge. The fight was practically over except for basic scavenging. They had no where near the force to fight Robotnick now, especially with his new weapons. But another side of her just wanted to sugar coat the truth, as it had always been around Tails. Tell him things like "Robotnick won't stand a chance" and "You will live happily ever after". Part of her wanted to say that but… she had the distinct impression that Tails wanted a straight answer, despite the truth. Nichole thought hard.
"Well?" Tails asked
"I don't know…" Nichole finally replied.
"Do you… Do you honestly think we will ever beat him?" Tails asked, a slight edge to his voice that even Nichole didn't detect.
Nichole decided to be abit more truthful this time. "It won't happen soon. It could take years… but the possibility is still there. This fight has always been an uphill battle."
"So you think we might beat Robotnick, someday?" Tails replied.
"Yes" She replied.
"Good"
Nichole thought she had made progress. Such a response told her atleast Tails still had hope. Hope being the one thing he desperately needed right now. The sort of hope that gave birth to fighter's spirits like Sally's and Sonic. The hope for a future of peace and prosperity.
It was unfortunate for Nichole however that her ability to read emotions, though very advanced for a machine of any type, was still limited. It was a flaw in herself that in later years, when her Artificial Intelligence systems had evolved to a much higher level, that she would despise in herself. Maybe then she could have detected the cold look in Tails eyes and the ever so light venomous edge in Tails voice. The traits that did not give birth to such aspirations that she had in mind. At that moment, the hope for a better future could not have been further from Tails mind. No, the only thoughts that gave Tails any comfort and peace was not a restored kingdom, raising a family or even finding anyone else on this god forsaken planet. The only thing on Tails mind was Robotnick defenceless, himself strong and a few hours with a blunt weapon. The sort of thoughts that would have shocked Sally and Sonic to the very depths of their souls if they new what was going through Tails imagination. A moment. A single moment where he could take out all his frustrations…
All his malice…
All his pain…
On one... Single… Man….
…Him.
Until then, all he could do is hope. Hope for the future HE had in mind.
Tails travels however, did not end as quickly as he had expected. As for the end of that day, he finally faced the impending cliff face that housed the Wolf Pack's labyrinth leading to their main lair. Tails walked forward, a slight smile on his face, though mainly placed there for Nichole's sake.
Nichole though was practically dancing for joy. For here, she believed her main objectives to be complete. She had brought Tails to the designated location, and from here out, though she hoped to stay with Tails, she atleast knew he would get better mental help from other organics like him. Just being in the presence of other Mobians would do more good then any help she could provide… and part of that fact did depress Nichole. She had tried everything she could to help Tails on his travels. Giving him rational advice and also trying to take the place of caring guardian as Sally had done. But no matter the circumstance, she was still a machine, and a machine with limits.
As she always said to herself "A machines horizons are long but limited, but being alive… was boundless..."
Nichole directed Tails to one of the holes in the cliff face as she electronically ticked off her directives. But just as her last directive was being updated… her electronic sensors shot out.
An alarm was shot out from Nichole as she practically screamed through her siren, "GO BACK!!"
Tails, on the ball at the time thankful shot back just as he was taking his next step forward. He ran a few metres from the hole he was just about to enter when Nichole's alarm stopped.
"Nichole? What is it" He replied, slightly calmer then Nichole expected.
"My sensors picked up high traces of Carbon Monoxide along with various other chemicals in the tunnel… all highly dangerous." She said, slowly
"You mean…" Tails said as he stared at the black hole in the cliff face.
"The tunnels have been gassed." Nichole said flatly, as she re-updated her directives.