Really really sorry that this has taken so long to post up, but better late than never. Anyhow enough of this, lets get cracking!
Chapter 9: Terrible Memories
G.U.N Infirmary
Sonic had lain on the hospital bed for ages and the tensions within him were becoming apparent for all to see, the fact of the matter was that he was simply not used to remaining stationary for long periods of time in a single position. Since his leg had been operated on and the bullet had been removed his leg had been placed in a cast ever since. Doctors, nurses an even his little brother had been forced to restrain him on many occasions simply because he refused to accept that it was more serious than a simple flesh wound and had tried to prove that he could take any punishment, in fact every time he tried to walk let alone run he would grit his teeth in pain and drop on one knee. Once again his arrogant pride that Tails had grown to accept over the years reared its ugly head.
"Sonic listen to me you aint going anywhere in your condition, I know you are not one to remain still for very long but if you don't you will simply make the wound worse". Tails had been by his friend's side all this time, he knew that there was no risk of the wound becoming lethal but it wasn't fear that made him stick around. It was simply that brothers stick together when the going gets tough.
"Sorry bro, its just… well… you know me, I cant stay still for too long. Even if I lost both of my legs I would still try to run". His comment was quickly followed by a slight chuckle and a smile, although he quickly felt the atmosphere turn darker by the thought that he had allowed Kayden to escape.
"Sorry Tails, if it weren't for me you or I would have caught him".
"Don't blame yourself Sonic, you did your best in the situation you found yourself in. You always have done and I'm certainly not going to hold you responsible for getting shot, that blame lies with Kayden".
Sonic put a reassuring hand on Tails's shoulder as he could see his brother clench his fists and his body slowly shudder with the feeling of hate and betrayal simmer beneath the surface. Tails, although he would try not to show it in front of Sonic for fear of it being misread as a weakness, blamed himself for not unraveling Cosmo's riddle sooner. He turned away from his brother and sat down in a stainless steel chair next to the bed, glancing around the place he noticed that everywhere was incredibly clean and well maintained. With all the finance that was put into the place Tails could not deny that even though many of the G.U.N agents, and his former co-workers, were complete assholes they did get taken care of when seriously injured. He had pondered in his mind whether the agency would allow a civilian to be treated within their facility, but because of the events that had taken place over the past few hours aswell as the fact that many within G.U.N still held deep respect and admiration for Tails despite the fact he was no longer one of them they allowed an exception, in the form of Sonic, to be made. As he remained seated gazing out of the window into the distance he began to recall a time when he himself had been badly mauled in a showdown he had got himself into, one that involved him and a murderous gangster. One could say he almost had his ass handed to him on a plate.
Their comes a time in everyone's life when you must stand against evil no matter the personal cost, today the spotlight was on Tails.
Four months after Rouge had announced that he was to become a father Tails had been forced to reconsider his options when working at G.U.N, he had risen through the ranks at an impressive pace but being the character he was he felt aware that as his rank increased then so would the dangers that came with the territory.
Tails forced a smile onto his saddened face as he recalled the moments when he was awarded with the rank of 'Task Force Agent' for it had been the second happiest moment of his life, the first obviously being aware of the fact that Rouge was pregnant with his child. It was at this moment that the happiness began to fade along with the sunshine as the dark clouds covered its shine behind their uncaring blockade, this seemed to trigger the memory of that dark day in Tails's life. A mission that nearly cost him his life
At approximately 10:42pm one weekday evening a call was taken at Tails's home residence.
"Agent Prower?" asked the cold and monotone voice from the other end of the receiver, there was no need for Tails to ask the identity of the caller for he could instantly recognize the gruff voice of his superior.
"Sergeant, what do you want with me at this time of night?", Tails would have loved to have told him where to get off but he had to force some measure of respect to his superior upon himself. But despite this he was not prepared to make pleasantries with the asshole that had woken him from his warm embrace with the love of his life.
"We have had reports that the 'Ironmonger' has been located near the abandoned army barracks near to Fort Katarn" came the unsympathetic reply.
Tails flinched an eyebrow, he recognized that nickname. The name 'Ironmonger' was given to the leader of the Nightstalker Gang, Horus Rickit, who was viewed by his supporters and feared by his victims as having no soul and a lust for killing, no matter the age or sex.
Tails began to stare into a void of his own making as he began to remember vividly how he had been witness to the aftermath of the atrocities Rickit had meted out to a quiet suburban family for apparently no reason other than for kicks. Blood smeared the walls of the family home along with various limbs and entrails of adult and child alike. The father had been mutilated by several blade cuts to the lower torso, affectively gutting him, the same had also been done to the mother. It was later discovered in the pathologists report that she had been six months pregnant at the time of her death, however the unborn fetus was never recovered. Tails had seen grizzly murders committed before but this took things to an unprecedented level of savagery. However if what had been done to the adults made him queasy, what had been committed against the children upstairs made him vomit in sheer disgust.
Upon entering the children's bedroom Tails almost cried when he first gazed upon the sight that greeted him, almost forcing his mind and indeed his stomach to accept the results of Ricket's handiwork he gazed upon the two young children no more than four or five years old crucified to their own little beds with small stakes ripped from the wooden bed posts. One stake had been rammed through each limb with such force applied to it that the young bones had shattered allowing them to bleed to death from the wounds, it was later learned that it took both children nearly two hours to die from the injuries inflicted upon them. Tails's emotions now began to strangle him and he slumped against the bedroom door putting his head in his hands.
Instantly awakening from this daymare Tails gripped the phone with such force that the plastic covering started to buckle under the strain, "I'm there" was his only reply. Releasing his grip upon the phone he took one last glimpse at Rouge asleep in bed, she lay with such utter tranquility that it would have been a crime to awaken her. Tails silently walked over towards her side of the bed and placed a light kiss upon her forehead, to this a slight movement was noticed but she just twisted her head to the right hand side of the pillow and remained asleep. Just as well, he thought to himself, that this nightmare he was about to embark upon she would not know about, Tails gave one last look at Rouge before grabbing his jacket and silently leaving the flat.
(3 hours later)
The car slowed to a silent halt a few dozen meters from the barracks and in the distance Tails could make out the recognizable form of Rickit barking his orders to his men, it was now only a few hours before dawn would break and Tails knew that without the cover of darkness his chances of taking Rickit down would be slim at best. Exiting the car he moved towards the rockery outside the barbed fences of the barracks and bided his time for the right moment to strike.
"Get that damn machinery outta here, dawns coming and I wanna get moving" came the gruff orders from the beast. Horus Ricket was a monster of a tiger, bigger and stronger than any of his kind he loomed over the rest of his men with such intimidation that they appeared only to obey him out of fear rather than loyalty. He donned a silver necklace with something dangling from it's centre, what it was Tails could not make out from his position at that time, a black leather trechcoat and a pair of fingerless gloves with what appeared to be sharp metal stakes protruding from each knuckle. A very intimidating sight to behold.
"ye…ye…yes ssss …sir" came the nervous replies.
Only ten minutes into his wait heavy goods vehicles rumbled out of the barracks front gates leaving only Horus and two bodyguards remaining within. The time was now right for the attack.
Once the last truck had vanished into the bleak distance Tails left over the barriers and onto the site confronting Ricket and his men just as they themselves were about to leave.
"PUT YOUR FUCKING HANDS IN THE AIR, ALL OF YOU!" came a barked warning to which Rickit seemed caught off guard.
"Horus Ricket, you and your men step away from the vehicle and get on the ground with your hands behind your head".
"I've got no time for this now, boy" came a reply from Ricket who just shrugged off Tails's orders, turning to his men he motioned them to take the pest down.
As the bodyguards moved towards Tails's position two shots rang out dropping the assailants to the ground, dead. Rickit now became very much frustrated and was about to just clamber into his vehicle to leave when another shot hit the patch of dirt an inch from his right foot.
"That was a warning asshole, the next one kills now get on the fucking ground".
"You really don't know what you're up against boy, just leave whilst your legs are still attached".
Tails remained unfazed by the threats and stood his ground, he was not about to show fear to this monster, instead he showed true anger as the thoughts of the dead children flooded into his mind. Pulling the trigger a shot lodged itself within Richet's left arm, to which Horus's response was to charge head long at Tails and landing a powerful right hook to the chest that sent the kitsune flying a few feet away from him and landing painfully on his back. Ricket then charged again at what he presumed was a weakened fox, Tails thought fast and waited until the last moment and rolled out of the way tripping the tiger when he ran past him. Horus landed with his head in the dirt, the look of total rage now etched across his facial features. The shit had now officially hit the fan.
Horus lifted his bulk from the ground revealing a bruised face with blood dripping from the nose, once again he ran at Tails grabbing the kitsune by the throat with his right hand and clenching Tails's right arm in order to stop him using his weapon against him, the wound to Rickets left arm not hindering him in any way. Ricket then threw Tails to the ground with such force that he could feel the wetness of blood run down passed his ears and almost blacking out from the impact, unfortunately his gun had slipped from his grasp and was lost in the darkness. Now seizing his chance to end the conflict the tiger clasped Tails's throat in his hands and squeezed, the sharp claws digging into his neck and cutting into the skin whilst looking into the kit's blue eyes with his own menacing brown ones. It was at this point that the object dangling from the necklace came into full view, a small baby's skull not more than six months old rocked back and forth from the necklace.
"AH! I see you notice my trophy" mocked Ricket with apparent glee, "I took it from it's pregnant mother, made one hell of a mess but I finally got it out. Life can be quite rewarding at times".
Tails's eyes widened with shock and then hate as he recalled the Suburban family who had been mutilated by this monster. More importantly he remembered that the fetus belonging to the mother had not been located, until now that is.
"You… Monster" gasped the fox as he felt the grip tighten around his throat.
"Why… the children …Arh".
"For sport why else, oh you should have seen me do it, the fear the screams of the dying it was very invigorating".
This was the last straw, the line had now been officially crossed and Tails using what strength remained within him kicked the beast in the chest sending him landing on his back. Not pausing for an opening Tails left onto the chest of his enemy and pulled a knife from his belt, jamming it into Ricket's neck and twisting it to cause maximum damage. Ricket tried to scream in agony but no sound protruded from his mouth, he grabbed his throat with his hands in desperation to save his own worthless hide whilst wriggling uncontrollably in the dirt. After a few minutes he lay motionless. Tails put his hand on the back of his head and then brought it round into his line of vision seeing his palm soaked with blood, catching his breath he stood over the corpse of his nemesis.
"That…was me…officially kicking your ass…you son of a bitch".
Tails now stepped over the body and proceeded to stumble out of the main gates as the sun began to rise over the horizon, illuminating the surrounding area and driving the shadows away. The next thing Tails remembered was awakening inside the G.U.N infirmary whilst doctors moved about his room and the familiar figure of Rouge sat asleep in a chair with her head on Tails's bed.
"Yo, bro wake up man".
Tails snapped out of his dream to see Sonic standing over him.
"Sorry Sonic" came the reply as Tails rubbed the sleep out of his eyes.
"Hey, it aint no problem bro, besides the doctors say I'm good to go. Although they did say I can't run for a while, damn killjoys".
"Good thing too, otherwise you'd go get yourself into all kinds of problems and I'd have to bail you out". Sonic cocked an eyebrow to this comment.
"Oh! is that s…".
Sonic was cut off in mid sentence by a G.U.N agent walking into the room. A young parrot wearing the official agency uniform handed Tails a letter from his right pocket. "It seems we have recovered the mobile that Kayden used to make contact with the enemy, we have tracked the signal back to a warehouse on the South Docklands and the details are contained within that letter agent Prower".
Tails looked at the agent in confusion, no-one had called him 'Agent Prower' since he had been officially discharged. "Sorry friend, you must have the wrong guy, I'm just a civilian I'm no longer involved with the agency". This reply was met with Tails being handed another letter.
"Effective immediately you are hereby re-instated as a 'Task Force Agent' in the service of G.U.N, approved personally by Commander Olavander himself. Your task is to capture Kayden by any means necessary and to put a halt to the plans of those whom he is involved with". Quickly saluting the stunned fox the parrot exited through the door, leaving the two individuals in total silence.
Sonic grabbed the letter from Tails's grasp and looked over it with suspicion, "Looks genuine little bro, well I guess that asshole figures you are worth having back onboard".
"Looks that way, I would've loved to have seen the painful expression on his face as he was writing it".
"Same here bro".
Tails then checked over the letter detailing the location of the warehouse, now hope had been kindled within his heart now he knew for certain that this is where Rouge was being held.
"Sonic, know anything about this place?".
"Like what?".
"Like the structure's layout, the designs, the entrances and exits etc. you know that kind of shit".
"Possibly, I did do some security work down in that area some time ago and I don't think much has changed since then. However the place is like a disguised fortress, by that I mean a small army could hide within that complex without being noticed and plus there are many locations for ambushes and the like".
"I guess that means that I'll have to go in alone and take care of this, if I bring backup we'll be spotted and that could get Rouge killed". Tails then slammed his fist against the wall. "And I swear that I will not let that happen".
"Whoa Whoa little bro, what's all this 'going it alone' bullshit. I'm not letting you do this alone". Tails turned to face Sonic and put a hand upon his shoulder.
"I can't let you do that Sonic, not in your condition, I'm sorry but I will not put your life in jeopardy. Not for my sake, and besides I couldn't bare to tell Sally and the kids if you were killed for that would destroy them and me". Sonic just hugged his brother and looked into his eyes that started to fill with tears, the hedgehog had always known how protective Tails was for his safety but even so he would not take no for an answer.
"Listen Tails, you've always had my back when I needed it. Now's the time to let me do the same for you and just because I can't run doesn't mean I can't hold a gun, know what I mean".
Tails knew in his mind that Sonic spoke the truth, he tended to do that from time to time. Gladly he accepted his brother's support in the coming fight, in truth he knew that all assistance would be required. "Well then I guess we better get moving, time is not on our side and we must make our move before they escape. No doubt Kayden will have told them to expect us, or some form of attack against them at least".
"I'm not so sure about Kayden, Sonic. When I was alone in the parking lot with him he told me that his boss 'had him over a barrel', now at first I had no idea what he meant but I'm certain that Kayden would not have acted as he did unless he was being made to".
"You suggesting that someone got to him?".
"Exactly, Kayden's always been secretive about his family that could've been their way into G.U.N"
"How so?".
"Well think about it, putting their own man on the inside would arouse suspicion. However if they took control of someone who we all knew about and were familiar with then no-one would be any the wiser".
"Well if that's the case then it looks like this is gonna be a double rescue mission then".
The two of them were about to head on out until Sonic had a brainwave come over him.
"Listen Tails, the two of us aint gonna be enough to take these guys down, we'll need some heavy support. Someone who knows a lot about armed assaults and has the equipment to achieve them".
"Let me guess, you mean…"
"Ah, correct as usual little bro. just give me a sec and I'll give him a call, you know how he is about us dropping in unannounced".
Sonic then disappeared out of the room, Tails had not seen Knuckles in quite a while and this would prove a perfect opportunity to build on their friendship. Nothing dusts off the cobwebs like a little action now and again. But what did Sonic mean by Knuckles having the equipment to achieve armed assaults.
………………………………………………………………………
Once again really sorry that this has taken so long, anyhow Knuckles fans are I for a bit of a treat cause next chapter will contain LEMON scene. Tails fans will have to wait, I mean I can't have Tails shag every girl he meets left, right and centre because that would be a betrayal of the loyal and loving character that we all adore. You know I'm right.
