Season 1 Chapter 6
After a refreshing sleep, Tails woke to a bright room and the fresh smell of… musty room. Saito was laying on his stomach, face down on his tail that Tails offered him the night before. Louise was starting to rustle in bed, probably because the curtain was open and light was shining on her. After the gentle work of prying his tail out from under Saito's head without waking him, he silently crept over to the curtain and tugged it shut. "I figure Louise is always so cranky because she doesn't get good sleep, with windows open like this. Hopefully she won't be so bad if I let her sleep in," Tails thought. He silently strolled to the door, picking up his shoes as he went. "Gotta love fur. Definitely couldn't do that without padded feet." He stopped to put on his shoes, then continued down to a building out in the courtyard where he'd seen Mr. Colbert earlier. "They aren't serving breakfast yet, so perhaps I should see if Mr. Colbert is around." Tails knocked on the unlatched door, pushing it in a ways.. "Come in!" he heard a voice call, slightly muffled.
He gave the door a slight push and walked in, only to be repulsed by a foul-smelling odorous cloud. A white-masked Colbert walked out and removed a white cotton mask soaked in water to speak. "Terribly sorry about that, Miles," he stated, waving his hand in front of his nose to get some fresh air. "Another experiment gone wrong. It has a bad habit of creating that odor as a byproduct, requiring a cloth mask like this one. I've been experimenting with some new chemicals, and have yet to find a safe protection device for them."
"It's ok, Professor Colbert," Tails replied. "How long have you been in there? I can't imagine a mask like that would hold up too well to pure gaseous ammonia. Nasty stuff."
"Oh, so you have a name for this gas? What do you know about it?" Colbert asked, surprised.
"It's a horrible-smelling basic compound that evaporates at room temperature into a gas. Back on my world, we use it in a liquid solution as a solvent to clean things such as glass, because it evaporates cleanly with no residue," Tails explained. "In its gaseous form, it was also historically used to wake someone from a deep sleep or unconsciousness by shocking the brain by its smell. Coincidentally, those who had it used on them had very little nose hair, as a result."
"Very interesting... One moment, let me open the windows for this 'ammonia' to clear out, then we can go inside and talk further." Professor Colbert donned his mask and returned into the workshop, followed by the clacking of window locks being operated. After about five minutes of what sounded like frantic cleaning, Professor Colbert reappeared in the doorway and gestured Tails to enter. Stepping inside, the fox looked around in wonder at the variety of diagrams mounted on the walls and the mass of beakers, flasks, burner stands, and other apparatus covering the workbenches. Unbeknownst to Tails, Colbert was closely observing him. Tails bounced from one object to the next with wide-eyed energy, obsessing over every small detail.
"Wow, you have a water distillation unit! And tons of burners! But where's the gas supply? And how do you adjust the flame height and temperature? What's with this pentagram document over here?" Tails spewed as he paused to look over every small device.
"I'm surprised you identified so many of these!" Colbert replied enthusiastically. "As for the burners, they are enchanted and require no fuel supply. The document is a note on my research of the different magics." Colbert eagerly replied.
"No fuel?! Where does magic get its energy source from, then? No matter what universe, you can't just break natural laws, and Conservation of Energy is a big one. Even the Chaos Emeralds have their power limits."
"That's part of my research. I find it so odd that we've found how to use magic, without any concept or understanding as to where it comes from. I suppose it's like using pigments for clothing, without knowing what makes them colorful. Anyways, have you discovered anything about your runes so far?"
Tails nodded "Yeah. It's some sort of energy field that reflects objects. Stuff of fiction novels back on my world. I think it's controlled by thoughts, because it blinked on instantly when I was protecting myself from flying rocks, and blinked off when I thought about turning it off."
"Very Interesting. We will have to test more, as it could be linked to more than just thoughts and instincts. Anyways, was there something else you needed?"
"Hmm… yeah. Are there any workspaces I could use for my own projects while I'm here on this world?"
"You are always welcome to use this space, if it is suitable," Professor Colbert said. "I am teaching during the day and often doing paper or lab work here during the evenings. This was an unusual visit, because I had to collect some supplies for the morning class. The test was me simply being distracted."
Tails nodded. "Great, thank you! I'll probably clear a space over on that spot by the back wall to begin work on that rocket shoes upgrade I told you about last night. I'll also most likely be here during the afternoons and evenings, if I can get away from those girls."
"If you don't mind, I would like to watch you build this device," Professor Colbert stated, looking around the small workshop. "I've always had a fascination for technology, and we've had a few small odds and ends show up from other worlds previously, although I've seen very few of them personally. Anyhow, I should be headed out to set up for this year's new class. I'll trust you will be safe by yourself here."
"I will. Thanks for your help!"
With that, Professor Colbert gathered a small satchel of supplies from a nearby bench and left. As soon as he was out of earshot, Tails leaped from the stool he'd been sitting on, and started clearing a space on the back wall. He'd need plenty of space to clear for the entryway he planned to build. He looked around for something to cut wood with, and found a small hand saw. After about ten minutes of Power Ring-assisted sawing, there was a new man-sized square hole in the floor in the corner, revealing fresh dirt below. He started clearing a space to dig, but realized there wasn't anything to dig with in the workshop.
Tails bolted out of the workshop, off to the kitchen where he saw Saito last night. A waiter had just stepped outside to go set up the morning banquet, but Tails managed to catch him. "Do you know where there might be a gardening shed? I need a shovel," he asked.
"Sure! Just around the corner on the other side of the building here, there's a shed with some supplies." The waiter replied.
"Thanks!" Tails called as he took off running. He darted around the corner of the building to a small shed right where the waiter said it was, where he found all the tools he needed. After gathering everything, he walked back to the workshop and began digging.
Two hours later, he had cleared a small straight-down tunnel about twenty-three feet deep, connected to a twenty-foot-wide, forty-foot-long and twenty-foot-high space, dropping the removed dirt outside the wall. "Now I need Professor Colbert to supply some metals for me with his alchemy, and I'll have all the materials I need for a functional underground base. Would have been much easier with power tools, but all I have is a plasma cutter function built in to my T-Buster." Tails thought. He was envisioning everything he'd have down in his new base, such as ventilation, robot-assisted workspaces, and maybe even homemade power tools! He climbed his way back up the packed-earth ladder he'd made, then covered the hole with the planks he'd cut to hide the entrance. No sooner after he walked out was he immediately ambushed by Kirche with Tabitha, Louise and Saito in tow.
"Tails, where have you been? I was looking all over for you after morning classes. Were you hiding out in that shed over there?" the red-haired girl asked.
"No, I wasn't intentionally hiding in the workshop, I was working," Tails explained. "Mostly clearing space through Mr. Colbert's workspace for my own projects. He said I could use his workshop for my own projects in the future."
"Oh, cool! I'll have to drop in sometime and take a look. Anyways, it's training time right now. The competition is coming up, and we need to work on a routine for you."
"Competition? Routine? What are you talking about?"
Louise butted in, annoyed with Tails' ignorance. "The Princess is coming to view the annual Display, where everyone has their familiars perform to their ability. You'd best not screw this up."
"She's right," Kirche added. "The guidelines only involve not harming viewers unless they volunteer, so it's up to us as to decide what you do. We just have to make sure it's special, because everything so far has been pretty crazy."
"Agreed," Tabitha said.
"Alright. Well, whatcha got planned?" Tails asked.
"I was thinking we could have you and Saito spar onstage," Kirche offered. "While you were working, Saito got in a fight with a guy named Guiche and turned out to be a pretty strong swordsman. Might be interesting."
"Well, alright," the Mobian said with a shrug. "It's not ideal, 'cuz I don't like fighting if I can avoid it, but if it helps Saito, I'm down for it."
"Awesome! Well, today's the day for practice, so you guys should get on it. I've got classwork to deal with, so I'll leave it to you guys to get ready. We've got two hours until lunch, so get to it," Kirche said. "Also, Flame might practice with you guys, so don't be disturbed if he walks up and wants to play."
"And don't hurt Saito like you did those boys. If you do, you get to pay the medical bills," Louise added.
"Of course. Tabitha, are you going with them?" Tails asked.
Tabitha shook her head. She put her fingers up to her mouth and gave a sharp whistle. Moments later, a large shadow streaked across the ground, coming to a stop a few yards away. With a blast of rushing wind, a large blue dragon touched down beside them, letting out a yawn that reverberated through the air like a dull roar. "Training," Tabitha said.
"...Alright," Tails replied with a shrug, looking up at the massive beast that stood in front of him, sitting on its' haunches. "Let's go outside of the walls, where we won't disturb anyone," Tails said. "Also, where can we get some weapons to train with? I have my own, but it doesn't look like Saito does."
Tabitha then raised her staff and began chanting. After a few seconds, the moisture in the air condensed into two sharp sticks of ice, then reshaped into swords. Both Tails and Saito were dumbstruck.
"Wow, Tabitha, that's cool!" Tails exclaimed, gingerly taking his sword by the handle. "Condensing atmospheric moisture into ice, pretty awesome! Anyways, let's get started before these melt."
