AUTHOR'S NOTE: I am back! Yeah, sorry about the huge lack of updating, but I had a lot of things on my plate a while back. Mostly school. But now it's summer break! Hooray! Anyway, I'll probably be updating more frequently now. So, read and enjoy! Oh, and, to make up for the period of absence, I made this chapter extra long, with a juicy cliffhanger. So, like I said, read and enjoy!
Tails woke up on the couch in the living room. He sat up slowly, stretching his arms toward the ceiling and yawning loudly. He got up from the couch and walked to the kitchen. He poured a bowl of cereal and carried it back to the couch. He ate the cereal quietly while he watched the Holo-vision. After he drained the bowl of its contents, he sat back in his seat, only for his attention to be directed toward the hallway at the soft sound of footsteps entering the room. He saw Lucy emerge from the dark hallway. She was wearing a pair of short, white pajama shorts and a black, spaghetti strap undershirt that slightly exposed her midriff.
"Good morning," she said quietly with a soft smile as she sat down next to him on the couch, leaning her head on his shoulder.
"Sleep well?" he asked, leaning back and putting his arms around her.
"Fine," said Lucy with a yawn. "You?"
"Fine," he said shortly.
"What time is it?" she asked quietly.
"I think it's like six-thirty," replied Tails, not bothering to check on his watch. "What are you doing up so early?"
"Well, I woke up and heard that someone was awake," she explained quietly. She sounded like she was still waking up. "I wanted to see who it was."
"Ah," said Tails quietly with a nod. "You wanna just watch TV, then?"
"Sure," she said quietly. Tails put his feet up on the couch and scooted over to the armrest, laying down and leaning his head on it, inclining it to face the holographic screen. He patted the empty space next to him, indicating to Lucy to join him. She yawned softly again and laid down next to him, laying her head on his shoulder and cuddling up to him. Tails smiled slightly, chuckling quietly to himself as he watched the screen. After about fifteen minutes, Tails looked at the fox in his arm and found that she was sleeping soundly. He smiled again and closed his eyes, leaning his head back on the armrest and dozing off quietly.
Sonic woke up to the sun shining on his face through the sliding glass door that led to the terrace. He felt great. He felt like everything was the way it was supposed to be. The woman he loved was next to him, his little brother was back home, and everyone was safe.
"For now, at least," Sonic thought aloud to himself. He rolled onto his other side, facing away from the window, finding Sally lying next to him peacefully. He gave her a small peck on the cheek and climbed out of the bed quietly, being careful not to disturb the sleeping squirrel. He opened the door quietly and stepped out, shutting the door behind him silently. He walked down the hallway and into the living room to find Tails and Lucy asleep on the sofa together, Lucy cuddling closely to Tails' chest, wrapped in his arms as they both slept peacefully on the couch.
"Tails," Sonic whispered quietly in the twin-tailed fox's ear. He stirred slightly, twisting his head up to look at Sonic, squinting slightly as he let his eyes adjust to the sunlight-filled room.
"Sonic?" he yawned tiredly, rubbing one eye with the back of his hand.
"Good morning," replied Sonic with a soft smile.
"What time is it?" asked Tails in a whisper.
"I think it's like eight, but I haven't really looked at a clock yet," said Sonic quietly. He turned to walk away, but stopped as another question occurred to him. He opened his mouth to speak, but stopped before he could make a noise, debating whether or not to ask the slightly awkward question that was on his mind.
"What, Sonic?" asked Tails somewhat impatiently with another yawn.
"Did anything, you know, happen between you two last night?" asked Sonic sheepishly. Tails stared up at him with an indignant expression, speechless. "Well, sorry, but I gotta ask. I'm already on your father's bad side because of the whole undercover thing. If that happened while you were under my roof, he'd kill me."
"Well, nothing happened," said Tails somewhat angrily. "Seriously, Sonic? You honestly think if something were to happen between me and Lucy that it would happen on your couch?"
"Sorry, but, like I said, your dad'd kill me," said Sonic defensively.
"Nothing happened, Sonic, you're safe," said Lucy shortly in an annoyed voice. "But I did hear something happening last night in your room. The walls here are as thin as cardboard." Sonic's face turned red and he walked away without another word. He entered the kitchen and grabbed a bowl and some cereal and sat down at the kitchen table, pouring the milk and scooping a mouthful out with a spoon.
"Good morning," announced Sally with a yawn as she entered the kitchen in a light blue silk dressing gown. She retrieved a black kettle from a cabinet under the stove and filled it with water. She placed the kettle on the stove and lit the burner, sitting down by Sonic while she waited for the water to heat up.
"I think we need to find a way to soundproof our bedroom," Sonic told her quietly.
"Why?" asked Sally with a cocked eyebrow.
"Because we got a noise complaint," said Sonic quietly, taking another mouthful of cereal. Sally shot him a confused look. Then a look of understanding slowly came over her face as she understood what he was talking about.
"From whom?" she asked quietly.
"Lucy," Sonic looked down at his bowl as he swallowed his cereal.
"Well, I wasn't the one being loud," said Sally with a smile. Sonic's cheeks turned slightly red again and he turned his head to the side, directing his attention to the blank wall to his left. Then he turned around as he heard someone knocking on the front door.
"I got it," said Sonic as he stood up and left the kitchen. He arrived at the door and pulled it open, finding Nate waiting on the other side.
"Good morning," he greeted happily as he walked inside.
"Hi, Nate," said a bewildered Sonic, as he had no recollection of actually inviting the sniper in. "What's with the early morning visit?" He shut the door and came to Nate's side as he stopped by the sofa, catching site if Tails and Lucy lying together seemingly asleep.
"Well, I heard a rumor that a certain treacherous fox had returned and had been exonerated by the king," explained Nate. "I guess I heard right." He leaned in towards Sonic and cupped his hand over his mouth to whisper into the hedgehog's ear. "Did they..." He cut the sentence off and shot a nervous glance to Sonic.
"No, Nate, we didn't," cut in Tails in an annoyed tone.
"Oh, sorry, just had to ask," said Nate embarrassedly. "But I guess the issue has already been addressed."
"Yeah," said Sonic. "C'mon, Nate, you want anything? We're just sitting down for breakfast." He led Nate into the kitchen, leaving Tails and Lucy alone on the couch again.
"So, you want some breakfast?" Tails asked Lucy telepathically. She didn't respond for a few moments, thinking over whether or not she wanted Tails to leave to get her something.
"Sure," she replied in his mind. Tails sat up and stretched. He climbed carefully over the fox next to him and left her to go to the kitchen and get her some breakfast. After a couple minutes, he returned with a couple toaster waffles with syrup on a plate in his hand. He found her sitting up against the armrest of the couch, staring at the dark fireplace under the holo-generator absentmindedly.
"Bon appétit," Tails pulled out his French accent that he had subconsciously learned from knowing Antoine for so long. He held the plate in front of her and smiled as she took them from him. He handed her the fork and sat down next to her, putting his arm around her shoulders and placing his chin lightly on her shoulder. "So, I was thinking that it'd probably be a good idea for us to go see Elias. Y'know, introduce yourself, make a good impression, show him that you're on our side."
"Okay, but can I go alone?" asked Lucy quietly.
"Sure, I don't see why not," said Tails with a shrug. "I just thought that you'd want someone there with you when you visit the king."
"I don't need you to hold my hand, Miles," snapped Lucy quietly, layering her voice with disdain.
"Alright, sorry, I didn't mean it to sound like that," said Tails defensively. "If you wanna go alone, then fine, you do that." Tails got up and started for the kitchen. "I was only trying to help." Lucy looked at her waffles and started to cut a piece out of one with the side of her fork.
Tails walked into the kitchen to find Nate, Sonic, and Sally sitting together at the table. He sat down next to Sonic and leaned forward on the table with his elbows, resting his head in his hands. He sighed heavily and stared absentmindedly down at the center of the table.
"Okay, Tails, since you got back, I've been wondering exactly what you can do," said Sonic as put the last of his cereal into his mouth. He swallowed and looked at Tails. "So I was thinking that I could take you to that simulator and we can see the full extent of your abilities. You could bring Lucy with. I'd like to see her fight you." Tails was silent for a moment before he responded, staring at the table, seeming to Sonic to be deep in thought.
"Lucy's going to visit Elias," Tails finally said quietly, almost absentmindedly, not taking his eyes off the table. "But I'd be happy to go." Sonic gave him a concerned look.
"Hey, bro, is something wrong?" asked Sonic concernedly.
"Yeah," said Tails quickly, snapping out of his thoughts and looking up to face Sonic. "It's just that I asked Lucy if she wanted me to go with her and she snapped at me. Something about not needing her hand held or something."
"Okay, so?" asked Sonic confusedly.
"Well, it might just be me being a little paranoid or crazy," said Tails quietly, leaning in closer to Sonic to keep Nate and Sally from hearing. "But I think that she may be hiding something. I mean, I figure that Elias is going to interview her about her background, so if I go, I could learn more about her."
"Well, yeah, her whole life," said Sonic with a chuckle. "I mean, how much do you actually know about her, Tails?" Tails thought it over for a moment before answering.
"I don't know," admitted Tails. "I just thought it was her being private, ya know? I just didn't wanna pry, but..." He stopped to think it over again. "Nah." He waved his hand dismissively. "It's just me being crazy. She probably just needs her space. I mean, she's an independent person, right? I just need to back off a bit. It's nothing."
"Yeah, see?" said Sonic reassuringly. "Just getting worked up over nothing. And if you're really worried about her, you can just read her mind, right?"
"No," said Tails, suddenly taking in a grave expression.
"Well, I know you said she can block you, but it's not like she has her guard up all the time," said Sonic.
"Yeah, but I'm not gonna go invading her privacy like that," said Tails seriously. "I don't read anybody's mind without good reason, Sonic. At least, not their deep, personal thoughts. How would you like it if I went digging in your head for your dark secrets?" Sonic didn't know what to say. Somehow, Tails had been able to take him from a cheerful morning mood and leave him feeling like a huge jerk.
"Right," said Sonic, looking down at the leftover milk in his bowl.
"So, Tails, how does this whole 'psychic' thing work?" cut in Nate as he finished off his eggs.
"Well, there are several different kinds of psychic abilities," explained Tails. "There's telepathy, telekinesis, electrokinesis, and some others that I haven't actually witnessed yet, like teleportation. Anyone can learn a psychic ability, some may even have a natural talent to use one, like Lucy, who had always struggled to control her electrokinesis before Dragon taught her how to use it."
"So, anyone can learn any psychic ability?" asked Sally curiously. "Do we know how many of these that Dragon has learned?"
"Well, when I say anyone, I mean almost anyone," said Tails. "Every sentient organism has a deposit of latent psychic energy and, just like with normal, physical abilities, everyone has limits. Everyone can use this energy to do what they want with it, but the trick is accessing it. Also, the physical limits on how one uses psychic abilities vary with each individual. For example, while someone like me, who has a very large supply of psychic energy to tap into and has a large access to it, can channel and use it to do almost anything, like telepathy, electrokinesis, or telekinesis, all of which I can perform, someone else, who either has little-to-no psychic energy to tap into or very little access to it, or both, can't use any psychic abilities, or can barely perform the smallest of psychic feats before exhausting themselves. Also a part of these limits are limits on what abilities one can perform, like someone could be an expert telekinetic, almost invincible with telekinesis, but they have absolutely no aptitude at telepathy. Another form of psychic limit is how many abilities someone can learn. Like I might be able to learn any number of psychic abilities, someone else might be able to only learn one or two, regardless of what abilities they are." Sally, Sonic, and Nate stared at him silently as he finished explaining, thinking over what he had just told them. Finally, after a few moments of silence, Sally spoke up.
"So, do we know how many possible psychic abilities there are total?" she asked plainly.
"Now, I don't think there are actual psychic abilities," said Tails. "I mean, there are distinctions, like telekinesis and telepathy, but they're all essentially the same thing: the use of different techniques of channeling and using latent psychic energy."
"So, the list of possible psychic abilities is basically endless," said Nate in a disheartened tone.
"Until some more research and experimentation can be done to establish any universal limits of psychic performance, yeah," said Tails plainly.
"Again, how many of these abilities can Dragon use?" asked Sonic.
"Fortunately, he can only stand to learn two abilities," replied Tails. "Telekinesis and telepathy."
"You said he taught you all how to use your abilities better," said Sally. "Even Lucy and her electrokinesis. How did he do that if he can't use it?"
"Well, like I said, the trick is to access and channel the energy a certain way," explained Tails. "Lucy has never had trouble with channeling the energy to use electrokinesis, she's just had trouble controlling it. Dragon only taught her how to control it."
"Okay, so how do you know all this?" asked Nate. "I mean all the stuff about psychic energy, like the physical limits and the way it works." Tails opened his mouth to explain, but stopped short and took a moment to think over his answer.
"Well, most of it is just my own theories about the concept, but..." his voice trailed off as the other three groaned somewhat irritatedly.
"Seriously?" asked Sally.
"Well, I was hoping to test most of it and study it more, officially, after I present all this to Elias with a request to open a new field of study," said Tails, rubbing his neck embarrassedly.
"Okay, so how much of it is fact, Tails?" asked Sally.
"The part about everyone having varying abilities to use psychic energy," said Tails.
"Okay, and how do you know this?" asked Sally.
"Dragon taught me how to tell," he said.
"What, you can tell by looking at someone or something?" asked Sonic curiously.
"Well, it takes a more trained telepath to tell just by looking at someone," said Tails. "I can tell by digging deep into someone's mind, and I mean really deep. That way I can see very clearly the physical psychic potency in the mind. I can't dig deep enough without physical contact with the subject."
"Can you tell how psychic I am?" asked Sonic, offering his hand to Tails. Tails took it and closed his eyes, concentrating. He stayed silent for a few moments before releasing Sonic's hand and opening his eyes.
"Very limited amounts of psychic energy," said Tails plainly. "You might be able to perform a couple small psychic feats, but I don't think that you could very easily master any abilities. You'd probably struggle with it a lot."
"Eh, that's fine," said Sonic dismissively. "I don't need to rely on psychic powers anyway. All I need is my speed." He sat back and smiled smugly, crossing his arms and putting his feet up on the table, only to take them down a couple seconds later when Sally directed a scolding smack to his shin. Then Nate offered his hand to Tails.
"You want me to read you?" asked Tails.
"Yeah," said Nate with a small nod. Tails took his hand and closed his eyes again. A few moments later, he released Nate's hand and looked back at him.
"Nothing," said Tails. "Almost nothing. No psychic potential whatsoever. Sorry."
"It's alright," sighed Nate, leaning back in his chair. Tails held his hand out in front of Sally expectantly.
"You next?" he asked. She stared quietly at his hand while she thought for a moment.
"Sure," she said. She gave her hand to Tails and he closed his eyes while he read her. "Hey, Tails? Are you able to read my memories and thoughts while you do this?"
"Yeah, but I'm not gonna," he said absentmindedly.
"Okay, just making sure," she said.
"Trust me, okay, Sally?" Tails said as he released her hand. "And you're absolutely brimming with psychic energy. Not as much as me, I mean, but definitely a lot."
"Really?" she said curiously.
"Yep," replied Tails shortly. "Your brother, too. I think it may run in your family."
"How do you know that?" asked Sonic with a cocked eyebrow. "I thought you couldn't tell by looking at someone."
"Well, most of the time, I can't, but if they're really powerful, I can sense it practically irradiating out of them," said Tails.
"So Elias is an immensely powerful psychic and he has no idea?" asked Sonic. Tails nodded.
"Yeah," he said.
"Are there any other people walking around with immense psychic talent that they're totally unaware of?" asked Sally.
"Yeah, I've seen a few since I got back," said Tails. "Mostly while I was out and about running errands to fix up the dents that the undercover job put in my life."
"Well, I hope I wasn't one of those dents," Lucy walked in and put her empty plate down by the sink and sat down in Tails' lap. He wrapped his arms around her gently and leaned back in his chair with her.
"You ready to go see the king?" asked Tails.
"Yep," she said happily, laying her head back on his shoulder and giving him a peck on the cheek.
"Are you guys still in that whole lovey-dovey stage where you two can't keep your hands off each other?" asked Nate in a slightly annoyed voice.
"You sure you don't want me coming with you?" Tails asked Lucy quietly in her ear, ignoring Nate's comment.
"I told you, Tails, I'm fine," she said irritatedly.
"Alright," said Tails calmly. "It's just that there are certain formalities that you should observe when you're talking to the king if you wanna make a good impression and I don't know if you're aware of said formalities. You want all the help you can get when it comes to earning Elias's trust."
"Miles," she snapped quietly with a slight death stare.
"Cool it, guys," interjected Sally calmly, raising her hand and smiling at them. "Tails, it's fine. I'll give her a crash course on the 'formalities' she might need to know." She put air quotes around "formalities". "And Lucy, Elias is normally a laid back guy, but there are certain things you have to know when you're meeting him for the first time if you wanna put your best foot forward. Especially if you're a defecting enemy, which is essentially what you are."
"Okay, that sound good to you?" Tails asked Lucy.
"Yeah, sounds fine," said Lucy calmly.
"Good," said Tails. He gently slid out from under Lucy and let her sit on the chair. "Well, I have to go quickly shower and get dressed before I go with Sonic to the simulator thing."
"Aww, I wanna go," said Lucy jealously.
"Meet us after you're done with meeting Elias, if you can," said Tails as he headed for the door to the living room. Sally stopped him as he walked into the doorway.
"Tails, did either of you think to call Elias before sending Lucy to meet with him?" asked Sally with a smart smile.
"Um..." Tails turned around to face her with an embarrassed expression.
"That's a no," she said smugly. "It's fine. I'll call him myself. You go fight Sonic."
"Thanks, Sal," said Tails gratefully. He turned around and exited the room. They all heard the bathroom door shut and the sound of running water in the walls as the shower was started.
Antoine flashed his ID keycard in front of the glass panel screen next to the black door that was marked "Authorized Personnel Only". The machine beeped softly and the door unlocked with a metallic click. Antoine opened the door and walked up the stairs on the other side of the door, coming to a small hallway that ended in another door. He followed the hallway to the end, opening the door and finding the blue hedgehog that had called him here and refused to tell him why he needed to be here, sitting in a chair on the other side of the room next to one of the simulator's pods. Antoine had told him that he didn't need to actually be there if Sonic wanted to use the simulator, only that he call him before he went to use it so that he could call the operator on duty to tell him to expect the hedgehog to come.
"Hey, Ant," said Sonic, leaning back in his chair and smiling at the slightly frustrated coyote.
"Hello, Sonic," said Antoine shortly. He had gone back to his natural French accent in the month that Tails had been gone after hearing that the G.U.N. merger wouldn't be happening. "Why did you call me here?"
"Well, I wanted to share some big news with you, Antoine," said Sonic casually.
"What? Eez Sally pregnant?" asked Antoine in an annoyed voice, wondering what he could possibly mean by "big news".
"Please, you'd here that from Bunnie before you heard that from me," said Sonic with a chuckle. "Sally'd have that news out faster than I could run to tell it."
"So, what do you want to tell me?" asked a frustrated Antoine.
"We have a visitor," said Sonic calmly, gesturing over to the pods next to him.
"Hey, I think I helped build these pods," said Tails as he stepped out from behind the second pod, holding a screwdriver in his hand. Antoine immediately pulled his sidearm out of his holster and trained it on Tails.
"Okay, traitor, put your hands up and don't make any sudden movements," he growled warningly. "Miles Prower, you are under airrest for treason and attempted murder, among a number of ozer crimes."
"Whoa! Ant! He's cool! Don't arrest him!" said Sonic quickly, jumping in between Tails and the gun. Antoine stared Sonic down silently, thinking over what he should do next.
"Why not?" asked Antoine challengingly, keeping his weapon trained in front of him on the hedgehog.
"That's my big news," said Sonic happily. "Tails is back!"
"Yes, and he is wanted in ze Kingdom of Acorn for treason," growled Antoine.
"No, he's been exonerated," said Sonic.
"Seriously?" asked Antoine with a deep frown. "He shoots me, he shoots you, he beats ze freaking crap out of you, and he turns on ze whole kingdom. Zen he comes back and gets off clean?" He switched the safety on his pistol back on and put it back in his holster, all the while deepening his frown. "Zat's just great." He layered his voice with sarcasm, crossing his arms and giving Sonic an ice cold stare as he moved back to the chair he had been sitting in.
"He was undercover," said Sonic shortly. "He was on our side the whole time."
"And ze king bought zis story, did he?" asked Antoine skeptically.
"I've known the whole time," said Sonic. "I told him way back. Tails came back yesterday and he talked with Elias."
"And he just took heez word for eet?" asked Antoine furiously. "How do we know we can trust heem?"
"I trust him, Elias trusts him, and what does he stand to gain by joining Dragon?" argued Sonic.
"To be fair, he is watching me," cut in Tails. "Probably checking in on me by having Sally report to him on a regular basis to keep him up to speed on what I'm up to." Sonic shot him a surprised glance.
"You knew about that?" asked Sonic. Tails nodded.
"It wasn't that hard," said Tails with a shrug, leaning against the wall with his shoulder and crossing his arms. "He told me he'd be keeping me under close watch, who's closer than one of my best friends? If one of those friends happens to be his sister, then that just makes it easier." Sonic gave him an impressed look.
"Sorry, just because ze king trusts you does not mean zat I am going to," said Antoine disdainfully. Then he turned to Sonic. "Is that all you called me here for?"
"Well, I thought you'd wanna see what Tails can do," said Sonic, pointing behind him to the computer. "I thought maybe you could do a little fighting, too. Haven't seen you in a combat situation in a while. I think you may have lost your touch." Antoine flashed him a playful look as he thought over the challenge he had just been issued.
"Alright, 'edge'og, you are on," he said smugly. "Let me just make a few calls to cancel a couple appointments I had today. Then I'll find ze operator for ze simulator." He stepped out of the room, leaving Sonic and Tails in silence. After about a minute, Sonic broke the silence.
"So, should we be prepared for any retaliation from Dragon?" asked Sonic.
"Why?" asked Tails confusedly.
"Because you sorta betrayed him," said Sonic.
"Oh, right," said Tails. "He doesn't know. He thinks I'm working as his inside man here." Sonic flashed him an irritated look.
"Are you still in this undercover thing?" he asked irritatedly. "I thought he caught you stealing secrets from his computer."
"No, that was all staged," sighed Tails, looking down awkwardly, suddenly becoming very interested in his shoes. After a few moments of silence, Tails looked up at Sonic to see him wearing an expression of irritated disbelief. "Look, it's fine. King Elias approved it all. All I have to do is pass some information along to Dragon until he wants to go along with the coup. Then we'll take him down when he makes his move." Sonic thought it over silently. Finally his expression changed from irritation to annoyed defeat.
"Fine," he sighed. "Let's hope that's soon. The sooner that guy's six feet under, the better."
"You- You're gonna kill him?" asked Tails uncomfortably.
"Well, yeah, Tails, he's too dangerous to be left alive," said Sonic. "We can't risk him being alive. We can't keep him in prison. What prison would be able to hold him? As long as he's alive, he's a threat to us, everyone we know and care about, and basically the entire general public. He's too powerful and dangerous to be left alive."
"Yeah, being a powerful telekinetic and telepath, he can't be held down by anything," said Tails with a sigh.
"Look, I know we don't really encourage killing, Tails, but this isn't exactly a normal circumstance," said Sonic quietly. "We both have to swear that the next chance we get, we take him down. Otherwise, who knows who's next. Sally, Lucy, Antoine, Bunnie, your parents, my parents, Elias, Shadow, maybe even Amy."
"You think he'd go all the way to Downunda?" asked Tails. Amy had moved to Downunda with her new boyfriend shortly after Sonic had gotten engaged to Sally. They knew it was a bit unorthodox, but they also knew that if her boyfriend tried to do anything that Amy didn't want, she'd make sure he never would again. Never make Amy Rose angry.
"I don't know," said Sonic with a sigh. They were silent for a few moments before Sonic spoke up again. "So, after all this is done, are psychics going to start becoming a normal thing?"
"Probably," said Tails. "Hopefully I'll discover some way to negate psychic abilities so that we don't have to execute every psychic criminal we catch."
"Criminal?" asked Sonic.
"Well, yeah," said Tails quietly. "My guess is more people like Dragon are gonna start popping up. Maybe not as bad as him, but they find out they've got an advantage over others and they'll use that to better themselves. I also think that more people like me are gonna pop up, wanting to us their newfound powers to fight psychic crime."
"And then it's the same old tale as before," said Sonic contemptuously. "The war on crime is exactly the same as before, except the magnitude is greater because every criminal and law officer is more powerful than before and more innocent lives are being pulled in, people who just want to live as regular lives as possible. Then there are the rare few who aren't able to use psychic powers who are probably going to become either petty criminals or psycho serial killers who are just mad at the world because they think they were cheated or something." He leaned his head in his hand and sighed, slumping back in his chair. "Yeah, looks like a bright future for Mobius."
"Well, I don't plan on going public about psychics for years, Sonic," said Tails. "After this whole Dragon business is over, I think the best thing to do is to round up a small group of candidates for a new division in the military. A psychic division. That way we can study and research psychic abilities more thoroughly. Then after that's done, we can document anyone with a certain potency of psychic energy and keep watch over them, make laws to keep them in line so they can function in society, and punish anyone who disobeys the law. It's just adapting to something new. It'll take some time, but we can do it. If we do it right, this could actually be a very bright future for Mobius."
"And what about the people who have abilities who want to play vigilante?" asked Sonic. "There's no way that's gonna be legal."
"If they wanna do that, they do what normal people do," said Tails shortly. "Enlist in the military."
"Still, something just doesn't sit right with me about it," said Sonic. "I mean, what am I supposed to do when those psychic criminals start coming out? Dragon is the only person I've been genuinely afraid of. He nearly killed all my friends and I couldn't do anything to stop him. People look up to me as the 'Protector of Mobius'. How much protection can I give when I can barely stand a chance against the new threats that are coming? And then I'm gonna have a kid by then, so how am I gonna-"
"What?" interrupted Tails confusedly.
"What, you don't think I'm planning on having kids?" asked Sonic.
"Well, no, but you sounded like it was a sure thing already," said Tails slowly.
"Well, not exactly for sure, but..." his voice trailed off and he looked down at his chest in an attempt to avoid Tails' disbelieving stare. "Okay, well, you know how Antoine just asked if Sally was pregnant?"
"Is she?" asked Tails. "'Cause you said she wasn't."
"We don't know," said Sonic quietly, looking back up at Tails. "She said it's possible, but she's not sure yet. She's going to get a test done this afternoon, so we're hoping."
"No way, that's fantastic!" said Tails happily.
"Yeah, it is, isn't it," said Sonic smiling slightly.
"So why does having a kid worry you?" asked Tails.
"I don't know," sighed Sonic. "I guess I'm just worried about there being more people like Dragon, people that I can't stop so easily when it comes to protecting the people I care about."
"But I can," said Tails, walking over to Sonic's side. "And you're kid's probably going to be a very powerful psychic, just like Sally. And when he's older, he'll have the most powerful psychic in the world as an uncle who can train him." Sonic chuckled slightly.
"Someone has a swelled head," he said amusedly.
"Well, right now, Dragon's the most powerful," said Tails. "But after he's outta the way, then I take that title."
"You've had a month's training," said Sonic. "And what about Lucy? I bet she's more powerful than you."
"Probably," chuckled Tails. Then they both looked up as the door opened and Antoine walked in with a brown fox in a military uniform.
"Hey, Virgil," greeted Sonic happily. "This is my friend, Tails." He gestured toward the twin-tailed fox next to him.
"Oh, I know who he is," said Virgil with a smile. "I heard you turned sides, though."
"Long story," said Tails uncomfortably.
"Yeah, he's cool now," said Sonic dismissively. "And he's fighting me today."
"Alright," said Virgil with a shrug. "Go on and get in the pods." He pointed at the pods behind them. "Is the commander here gonna join you?"
"Not right now," said Sonic as he laid down in the pod. "I want the first fight to be just Tails and me."
"Alright," said Virgil.
Lucy walked through the large, wooden double doors of the royal court. She walked the long length of the court, stopping just in front of the wide set of stairs that led to the throne where King Elias sat.
"King Elias, I have come to introduce myself to you," she recited exactly how Sally had told her to, bowing slightly.
"You must be Lucy," he said kindly. He got up from his throne and walked down the large, stone steps, stopping in front of Lucy. He scrutinized her carefully, looking her over and sizing her up silently as she stood unmoving in front of him. "So, you wanted to speak to me?"
"Yes, sir, I think Tails told you that I am still loyal to that psycho-dog," she said somewhat nervously.
"Yes, he did say that," said Elias calmly. "Have you come to prove me wrong?"
"Yes, sir," she said. "I would like to know how I can do that."
"Well, since I have only a few minutes here," said Elias calmly. "I just have a couple questions. Answering them truthfully will be a good first step to earning my trust."
"What questions?" asked Lucy.
"Well, really, just your name and your age," said Elias. "That's all I need to look you up. I should be able to get a good background check done after I have that information. So, what's your full name?"
"Lucy Anita Walker," said Lucy uncomfortably. She didn't like revealing her full name. She hadn't even told Tails yet.
"And your age?" asked Elias.
"Seventeen," said Lucy. "Born April thirteenth."
"That was after Robotnik dominated the planet," said Elias. "Where'd you grow up?"
"In one of the Freedom Fighter resistance communities," said Lucy. "My father was an agent for the Freedom Fighters in the Dragon Kingdom."
"Really? Who was he?" asked Elias.
"His name is Joshua Walker," said Lucy quietly. They were both silent for a few moments before Elias spoke up.
"Well, like I said before, I have other things I need to attend to," said Elias as he walked back up to his throne. "I'll contact you if I have any questions."
"Uh, sir?" Lucy said nervously. "There's something I didn't tell you that I think you should know. I kept it a secret from everyone, but I know you're gonna figure it out on the background check. I don't want it to look like I was keeping this a secret because I'm a traitor when it's really just out of shame."
"Well, we wouldn't want to mistaken embarrassment for treachery," said Elias as he sat down in his throne. "What do you need to tell me?"
"Well, uh..." stammered Lucy nervously. She looked behind her at the guards at the doors. She didn't trust them. She walked up the steps to the throne and walked to Elias's side, bending down to whisper in his ear. Elias's eyes widened as he listened to what she told him. He shot her a surprised look after she stood back from him.
"Really," he remarked quietly. She nodded silently at him. "You haven't told Tails yet, have you?" She shook her head. "Well, you need to. Quickly. Before he finds out some other way. If he finds out that you kept that from everyone, they'll all freeze you out. They'll feel betrayed and they won't be very forgiving about it."
"Right, yeah," she said quietly. "I'll tell him after I have dinner with him tonight."
"Good idea," said Elias. "Now, you can go. I have other things that need me. But I will definitely be calling you back for questions."
"Right," said Lucy as she turned to leave. "Thank you, your highness."
Tails dove behind cover behind a large rock as he dodged gunfire from Antoine. After the gunfire ceased, he crouched down and peeked around the rock to see where Antoine was. He saw nothing but more boulders jutting out from the mountainside battlefield that had been the location Virgil picked for the simulation battle.
Tails decided to try duck out from behind the rock. He started running out when he hit something soft in front of him. The color blue flooded his vision and he heard a grunt as he fell on tip of the soft wall he had run into and brought down. After he hit the ground, he looked up and saw Antoine staring back at him. Antoine was on his back, struggling under Tails' weight, trying to scramble to his feet to retrieve the gun that had been knocked out of his hand in the Mobian collision.
Tails rolled off of Antoine's chest and jumped quickly to his feet, grabbing the gun with his mind as he ran away from the coyote. He looked back and saw the gun flying toward him. He reached out to it and caught it in his hand.
"Give me back my gun!" he heard Antoine yell as he faced forward again and ran. He jumped into the air and spun his tails to chopper up into the simulation clouds. He turned as he flew higher, flying back at Antoine.
"Alright! Here it is!" Tails yelled as he dive-bombed Antoine. He threw the gun down at the coyote and flew back up, stopping his tails as he flew upwards again. He spread his arms out as he started to fall back towards the ground. He concentrated a ball of electricity in his hand and took aim as he saw Antoine scrambling to pick up his gun. Tails let loose the lightning bolt in his hand and spun his tails behind him again to slow his descent towards the ground. The lightning bolt sped quicker than a bullet at the gun, tearing through the air with a loud clash. The bolt hit the gun as Antoine put his hand around the handle. The electricity surged through the gun, igniting the ammunition in the magazine and turning the gun into a fragmentation grenade.
"AUGGHHH!" Antoine screamed as the exploding gun launched metal shrapnel into his body. Tails drifted down to the ground as the simulation started dissolving before him. His vision flashed out and he opened his eyes to see the ceiling of the simulator room.
"Nice job, bro," said Sonic as he helped Tails out of the pod. "Isn't that what Lucy did to your dad that night we came to rescue you?"
"Well, my dad wasn't killed," said Tails with a smug smile as he sat down in the chair by the pod. "But yeah, basically."
"Zat hurt!" said Antoine as he scrambled out of his pod. "I did not know zat it hurt zat much!"
"Well, it could have been worse, Ant," said Sonic. Then he turned back to Tails. "Okay, now it's you and me again. I wanna see what you can do with your telepathy this time. Nothing but playing with my head, okay?" Tails thought it over a moment.
"No limits?" asked Tails. "Because I can be pretty creative."
"Um... Sure, no limits," said Sonic somewhat nervously.
"Alright," said Tails as he got back into the pod. Virgil came to the pods and prepared them for activation. Then he went back the computer and started the simulator. The pods started humming and the lids closed. Tails saw the light under him start to move slowly up and down the length of the pod. The light sped up gradually and there was a bright flash. Tails opened his eyes to see a blue sky outlined by a canopy of treetops. He sat up to find that he was in a clearing in what looked like a jungle. He looked to his left and saw Sonic getting up on his feet. Tails stood up and faced him.
"Okay," said Sonic as he dusted himself off. "Now, screw with my head. Do whatever you want to to take me down." Tails thought for a moment before he responded.
"Right, I got something," said Tails with a mischievous smile. He locked eyes with Sonic and concentrated hard, taking over Sonic's mind and putting it under his control, making Sonic see and hear and think what he wanted it to. Sonic's vision flashed out and his head exploded with pain. He felt himself fall on all fours, unable to stay standing with the agonizing pain in his head. Finally he felt the pain in his head disappear and he opened his eyes to find himself back in the simulator room. He sat up in his pod and saw Tails stepping down off of his own.
"Tails, I said something creative," said Sonic.
"Well, I just thought I'd start with the basics," said Tails with a shrug. "I haven't exactly had very much practice with lethal, telepathic warfare."
"Alright, let's go again," said Sonic. "This time, screw with my head a little."
"Why are you so set on me screwing with your head?" asked Tails with a cocked eyebrow.
"Because I wanna know what it's like now so that I can try to fight it if it happens in the future," said Sonic as he laid back down in the pod.
"Okay then," said Tails. He turned to walk to his pod, but stopped short when his phone rang. He rummaged in his pocket for the phone, pulling it out and putting it to his ear.
"Hello?" he said into the phone. Sonic watched him as he listened for a moment. "Alright. I'll be there in a minute." He turned back to Sonic as he hung up and put his phone away. "Lucy wants us to go open the door for her. She says she needs to talk to us."
"Alright," said Sonic as he sat up and stepped down from the pod. He followed Tails out the door and down the stairs to the outside. Tails opened the door to an empty courtyard. Sonic was right on his heels. They both looked around, but Lucy was nowhere in sight. Something didn't feel right to Sonic. "I thought you said Lucy said she was waiting for us."
"She did," said Tails confusedly. "She said she was right at the-" Tails was cut off by the sounds of three different holes being blown into chest; three small, sickening, gushy pops followed by the sound of blood spattering the cement. Sonic didn't even hear any gunshots. He just watched as Tails' blood flooded out of the wounds, soaking his white T-shirt and staining it crimson red. Sonic was able to catch the dying fox in his arms before he hit the ground.
"S- S- Sonic," gasped Tails, blood running slightly from his open mouth.
"Tails," whispered Sonic in horror as his little brother's blood ran from the fox's chest onto him. He had no idea what to say. He had just watched the fox get shot to death. He wasn't dead yet, but Sonic knew that the fox was not going to survive this one.
"Sonic," Tails whispered painedly through rasping, blood-filled breaths. "Come closer. I- (cough) I need to- (cough) Tell you something." Sonic felt Tails' shaking hand grab the back of his head and pull his face down so Tails could whisper in the hedgehog's ear. "Was this creative enough for you?" Sonic jerked his head away at the words the dying fox had whispered in his ear. He looked up to find he was no longer in the empty courtyard at the military base, but in the jungle clearing in the simulation. But he wasn't shocked only at being in the courtyard, but also at the fact that Tails was standing right in front of him, completely unwounded, smiling malevolently. Sonic looked back down at his arms to find that Tails bloody body and all the spilled blood had vanished.
"Tails," whispered Sonic, this time out of pure shock. "Tails, what the hell was that?"
"Sorry, Sonic," said Tails, raising his hand up and pointing at Sonic. "You said no limits." He flicked his hand and Sonic felt a sharp pain in his neck, followed swiftly by a warm feeling that ran down his front like warm water running down his chest. He looked down and saw a stream of blood running down his cheat. Then his vision flashed out and he opened his eyes to find himself, again, in his pod in the simulator room. He sat bolt upright and scrabbled out of the pod. He stumbled over to the chair by his pod and dropped into it, breathing quickly and heavily.
"What eez wrong, Sonic?" asked Antoine concernedly as he walked over to Sonic. Tails followed him closely.
"Sorry, was that a bit too creative?" asked Tails unsuredly.
"Yeah, just a bit," said Sonic, shuddering slightly.
"What happened?" asked Antoine concernedly.
"Nothing," said Sonic quietly, looking away uncomfortably. Then he jerked his head up again at the sound of Tails' cell phone ringing.
"Whoa," remarked Tails as he looked at the caller ID. "Déjà vu."
"What?" asked Sonic.
"It's Lucy," said Tails as he put the phone to his ear. He turned away slightly to talk. "Hey, what's up?" Sonic and Antoine watched as he listened for a moment. "How'd your meeting with Elias go?" He listened for a little while again. "That's good. So why don't you make your way over to the base. Sonic wants to see you fight me. Apparently you told him that you could kick my ass." Sonic saw him smile as he listened to her reply. "Well, we'll see about that." He was silent for another couple seconds. "Alright, I'll be there in a sec." He hung up and pocketed his cell phone.
"More 'déjà vu'?" asked Sonic, air-quoting "déjà vu".
"She wants me to let her in," said Tails with a breathy chuckle. "I'll be back in a seco-" he was cut off by Sonic shoving him to the side.
"I got it," he said, rushing out the door before Tails could say a word.
"What eez going on?" asked Antoine frustratedly.
"Nothing," said Tails dismissively as he watched the closed door, waiting for Sonic to return with Lucy. The room was silent, aside from Antoine grumbling under his breath. Tails thought he heard the phrase, "nobody tells me anything anymore", but he couldn't be sure.
Finally, after about thirty seconds, the door opened and Sonic walked in, followed closely by Lucy, who walked straight over to Tails and wrapped her arms around him. He returned the embrace and gave her a small peck on the cheek.
"Sacre bleu!" yelled Antoine in surprise. "Her, too? I mean, I can undairstand you trusting Tails blindly, but we don't even know her."
"The king trusts me," said Lucy smartly as she turned to face Antoine with a smug expression. "Hello again, by the way, Commander." Antoine frowned slightly at the greeting.
"Oh, c'mon, Ant," said Tails playfully. "You could be just a little nicer to my girlfriend."
"Okay, relax, guys," said Lucy with a small laugh. "King Elias doesn't totally trust me yet. He's doing a background check on me, okay? You good with that, Commander?"
"Not totally, but eet eez probably ze best I will get, since I am ze only one who is being careful about who we trust," grumbled Antoine.
"Alright, since we've gotten the whole who-can-trust-who argument outta the way, let's see the lovely couple duke it to the death," announced Sonic happily.
"Sorry, Sonic," cut in Virgil apologetically. "You guys have to leave now. There's a group of soldiers coming up here in five minutes for combat training." Sonic sighed sadly.
"Okay," he said quietly. "Let's go, guys. We'll come back some other time to see Lucy kill Tails." Sonic led them all to the door and out to the courtyard.
"So, what next?" asked Lucy when they stopped outside the door to the courtyard.
"Well, you and I have to go buy some new clothes," Tails told her. "We've both only got one set, since that's all we could take when we ran. We need some new clothes for dinner tonight."
"Sounds good," said Lucy.
"What about you, Sonic?" asked Tails curiously.
"I'm gonna go home and hang with Sal," he said dismissively. "How about you, Antoine?"
"I have ozer military business to attend to," he replied, turning to walk away and giving a small wave goodbye. "I'll see you all later."
"Alright, so everyone's good, then," said Sonic. "When are you going to your parents', Tails?"
"Later tonight," said Tails.
"Alright, I'll see ya, then," said Sonic shortly as he started to leave.
"You'll call me if you find out anything about..." he chose not to finish, instead giving Sonic a look to try to communicate what he meant.
"Yeah, I'll call you," said Sonic as he turned away. Then he bolted toward the front gate and was gone.
Tails walked, with Lucy by his side, up the front walk of his house, knocking on the door upon their arrival to it. They waited a few seconds before Tails' mother answered it and welcomed them in.
"Hello, Miles," she greeted happily. She was looking a lot better than she had the day before.
"Hey, Mom," replied Tails with a smile as he stepped inside, followed closely by Lucy.
"Oh, and you must be Lucy," said Rosemary. "Nice to meet you."
"Hello," greeted Lucy quietly. Rosemary showed them into the kitchen. Amadeus was already in there, cooking something in a pot on the stove.
"Hello, Miles," he greeted as he turned to look at them all. He spotted Lucy behind him and offered his hand out for her to shake. "And I believe we've already met." He smiled as she shook his hand.
"Well, I guess it depends on what you mean by 'met'," said Lucy, smiling back.
"Well, yeah, I guess," said Amadeus with a shrug, turning back to the pot on the stove.
"Uh-oh, dad's cooking," said Tails, feigning worry.
"Don't worry, I'm making sure he doesn't ruin anything," said Rosemary reassuringly. "It'll be ready in about ten minutes, so, Miles, why don't you show Lucy around while you wait?"
"Okay," said Tails, smiling at Lucy. "C'mon, I'll give you the grand tour." He took her by the hand and led her out of the kitchen.
Dragon walked quickly, leading Jeremy and Spencer behind him, who were practically jogging behind him to keep up with his quick pace. They were in an abandoned house. Dragon walked into the empty living room, all that stood inside it was a wooden mantel next to a moderately sized window. He walked to the window and looked across the street outside, catching sight of his target in the house opposite him.
"You two remember the plan, right?" he asked of his two apprentices, who stood quietly behind him, geared up for the operation they had planned.
"Yes, sir," they replied quietly in unison.
"Good," he replied casually. "Now, both of you, get into position." Spencer left the room silently as Jeremy took a place beside Dragon at the window. "Now, when I give my mark, you do exactly as I taught you, got it? Then you go and provide back up for Spencer."
"What'll you be doing, Master?" asked Jeremy quietly.
"I'll be providing cover fire from here," replied Dragon as he readied himself, assuming his sniping position. He took careful aim, using his arm to aim accurately. "Okay, get ready." Spencer closed his eyes and concentrated, slowing his breathing and narrowing his focus to the desired target. "Okay, on three. One, two, three!"
"So, Lucy, why don't you tell us a bit about yourself?" asked Amadeus as he rolled a bit of spaghetti around his fork.
"Well, what do you wanna know, General?" asked Lucy casually as she took a bite of her spaghetti.
"How about we start with your last name?" said Amadeus. Lucy looked down at her food uncomfortably for a moment before clearing her throat and looking back up.
"My name is Lucy Walker," she said slowly.
"So that's your last name," said Tails in realization.
"You didn't know?" asked Rosemary with a cocked eyebrow.
"Well, when I met her, she just introduced herself as 'Lucy'," replied Tails with a shrug. "I guess it's just always been 'Lucy' to me. Never really thought about it."
"Okay, then," said Rosemary dismissively.
"So, Miss Walker, if you don't mind my prying, how is it that you ended up running with Dragon?" asked Amadeus curiously.
"Well, I grew up in a Freedom Fighter resistance community," explained Lucy. "My father was an assassin for the Freedom Fighters. He retired and moved to Mobotropolis after Robotnik went down the first time. Shortly after that, when I was about ten, my mother was murdered. After that, my father went crazy and killed himself."
"Oh, that's awful," said Rosemary sympathetically. "How?"
"I never found out," said Lucy with a bitter smile. "I just remember being pulled out of class and having the school councilor breaking the news to me. Never found out the details. Next thing I knew, I was dumped at an orphanage. Anyway, about two and a half years ago, I meet this guy on a day trip that I went on with the other orphans. I had grown up my whole life with these strange, electric powers that I had no control of and this guy tells me that he knew exactly what was happening and that he could help me learn to control them. I guess my want to be able to control my abilities coupled with my extreme abhorrence for that orphanage made the offer he made to teach me a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Admittedly, it may not have been my wisest decision, but I still think that if I hadn't gone with it, I'd still be in that orphanage today."
"So, did they ever catch the man who murdered you're mother?" asked Rosemary quietly.
"No," said Lucy somewhat sadly. "He's still out there somewhere." Everyone was silent while they took in what she had said. After about a minute of silence, Tails spoke up.
"So, Mom, you're looking a lot better," said Tails in an attempt to change the subject.
"I'm feeling a lot better, thanks," she said quietly. "The doctor said it was probably just the shock of you..." her voice trailed off and she put her hand to her head and gasped quickly. "Oh, my head."
"Mom, what's wrong?" asked Tails worriedly.
"My head..." she repeated with a gasp. "I... My..." She sighed heavily as she fell to the floor, unconscious.
"Mom!" yelled Tails, getting up to look at her.
"Rosemary!" exclaimed Amadeus, doing the same thing. Then they all looked up when there was a loud crash in the other room as the front door was bashed down. Lucy was up in an instant, ready to fight. Then there was a loud shattering as the large window next to the table shattered, followed by a sickening, gushy pop that he had heard for the fourth time that day as a spatter of blood exploded from Amadeus's left pectoral and he fell to the floor, motionless.
"DAD!" yelled Tails in horror as he rushed to his father's side.
"Tails, help your dad, I'll cover us," said Lucy quickly. She held her hand up in front of her, arks of electricity jumping between her fingers, ready to be launched at whoever should come into the room. Then she quickly dove for cover as the room was filled with loud CRACKS and CRUNCHES as whoever had shot Amadeus started to fire on the rest of the room. Tails flicked his hand out and the small, square table they had been eating at flipped onto its side with a loud crash. Tails reached out towards his mother's unconscious body and pulled it over to him, dragging himself, his mother, and his father behind the table.
"Lucy! Come here!" shouted Tails over the sound of the telekinetic gunfire. "Get behind the table!"
"No way," she replied from the corner she had ran for to take cover. "I'm gonna see who broke down the-" She stopped speaking and started moaning sharply in pain as she grabbed her head and fell to her knees. "Holy shit!" Then Tails' vision blinked out as his head suddenly exploded with pain. He grabbed his own head in a vain effort to make the pain go away. Then he heard the sound of Lucy firing off lightning bolts and the sounds of kicking and punching. Then everything was quiet and the pain in Tails' head disappeared as suddenly as it had appeared. He looked up to find his mother missing from his side and Lucy's still form on the ground by the doorway into the room.
"Ugghh," Tails looked down at the wounded fox lying in his arms.
"Dad!" said Tails quietly.
"Miles?" Amadeus spoke in a pained, raspy voice. He coughed and a small trickle of blood ran out of his mouth. "What happened?" He craned his neck down to look at the wound in his chest.
"I don't know," said Tails worriedly. "I think Mom was kidnapped."
"What?" he asked in a panicked voice.
"Lucy!" Tails called over to her. She stirred and looked up at him.
"Oh, my head," she groaned quietly.
"Lucy, what happened?" asked Tails as he repositioned himself to apply pressure to his father's wound.
"Spencer and Jeremy," she growled angrily as she stood up. "They got your mother. I tried to stop them, but it was two-on-one, they had the element of surprise, and my head was-"
"Whatever, it's fine," interrupted Tails. "It's not like I was much help. Can they still be caught?"
"I'm gonna go try," said Lucy, heading for the door. "You stay here with him and make sure he's okay."
"Stay safe," said Tails.
"You too," she replied as she left the room.
"Okay, hold on a minute, Dad," said Tails, closing his eyes and concentrating on the cell phone in his pocket. "Help is on the way." He felt the phone being pulled out of his pocket and opened his eyes and watched as it rose into the air in front of him. He closed his eyes again to concentrate on operating the device, dialing the keys that would send a call to the emergency services. The call started to send and he pressed the 'speakerphone' button, setting it down on the floor next to Amadeus.
"Hello, you've reached the Emergency Services Hotline, what is your emergency?" the voice from the speaker rang through the room, breaking the silence that had set in.
"Yeah, hey, I'm at the home of Amadeus and Rosemary Prower," started Tails quickly. "General Prower's been shot. He's wounded and needs medical attention. Mrs. Prower's been kidnapped and is currently being taken to a different location against her will. Suspects are a brown furred wolf and a blonde, Caucasian human. Send help ASAP."
"Yes sir, help will be there shortly," said the female voice over the line. "Just remember to-"
"Sorry, gotta go," said Tails quickly. He blinked and the phone disconnected. Then he closed his eyes and concentrated on dialing Sonic's number. He thought that maybe Lucy could use a little outside help. He listened as the phone began to ring. After it had rung twice, someone on the other line finally picked up.
"Dinner over, Tails?" he heard Sonic's voice ask.
"You could say that," said Tails in a mock casual voice.
"Did it go badly?" asked Sonic, now sounding a little concerned.
"You could say that, too," said Tails in the same mock casual voice. Then he started talking in a much more urgent voice. "Okay, Sonic, I need you to get over here as quickly as you can, Dragon's goons interrupted the dinner with a home invasio-" He was cut off by the sound of the phone disconnecting, followed shortly by the sound of a loud whooshing sound that was growing louder by the second, coming closer to the house. Then the noise silenced and Sonic walked quickly into the room. He stopped short when he saw the damage that had been done.
"Is this Dragon's doing?" he asked quickly, surveying the torn-apart room.
"I don't know," said Tails quickly as he continued to try and staunch the bleeding of his father's wound, but to little avail. The blood was still seeping slowly out of the wound between Tails' hands, running off Amadeus's chest and onto the floor. "It was definitely his apprentices, but whether he had anything to do with it still remains to be seen."
"So, what's the status report here, then?" asked Sonic, walking to Tails' side.
"Well, I've got help coming," said Tails nervously as he tried harder to stop the slow flow of blood from the wound. "Mom's been kidnapped. You should probably go help Lucy. She went to try and rescue her."
"Where is she?" asked Sonic quickly.
"Call her and find out," said Tails plainly, throwing the phone to him with his mind.
"Gotcha," said Sonic, catching the phone. He booked it out of the room, kicking up a small cloud of dust on his way out. Tails turned his attention back to the bleeding fox on the ground next to him. He pressed down harder on the wound, applying as much pressure to the wound as possible.
"Don't worry, Dad," said Tails quietly, trying to sound as calm as possible, even though he was starting to panic. "Sonic and Lucy'll get Mom back and help's coming for you. Everything's gonna be fine."
"Good one," whispered Amadeus with a rueful chuckle and smile.
"Don't talk like that, Dad," said Tails sharply. "You're gonna be fine. And I'm gonna get Mom back, too."
"I'm not worried about your mother," replied Amadeus. "But I think it may be too late for me."
"Of course it isn't," said Tails quietly. But even he didn't believe what he was saying. He knew that his father was losing a lot of blood and he had no idea just how severe his father's injuries were. He didn't know how deep the wound was, but he knew that the telekinetic projectile could have punctured a lung. "I'm sorry, Dad."
"For what?" asked Amadeus quietly. He coughed again and a spray of blood shot out of his mouth.
"For this whole mess," said Tails sadly. He sniffed slightly and wiped away the tears that were gathering in his eyes with his forearm. "I never should have tried to pull off this undercover job. This whole thing was supposed to be clean and quiet, ending with Dragon's capture or death. Now I've got his stupid lackeys on my tails, Mom's been kidnapped, and you've been shot."
"It's not your fault, Miles," said Amadeus quietly. "You didn't do this, Dragon did. It's his fault, not yours."
"Yeah, but no one was supposed to get hurt," said Tails, voice breaking. "Especially not you and Mom."
"Well, at least it was only me," said Amadeus quietly through gritted teeth. "I'm just an old soldier who's losing his touch." He chuckled again, coughing up a little blood at the same time.
"I don't want to lose you," whispered Tails sadly, tears streaming down his face now.
"Well, at least you got a girlfriend out of this," said Amadeus, smiling slyly. Tails laughed slightly at this.
"You like her?" asked Tails quietly.
"Yeah," said Amadeus thoughtfully. "She's a nice girl. And I can tell you really like her."
"Well, of course I like her," said Tails with a slight smile. "Why would I go out with her if I didn't?"
"No, I mean more than that," said Amadeus. He stiffened slightly as a spasm of pain rocketed through his body, coughing again, this time blood came spilling from his mouth.
"Wha- What do you mean?" asked Tails with a nervous chuckle. He quickly repositioned his hands over the wound to attempt to better stop the bleeding.
"Oh, pl- please," stammered Amadeus through gritted teeth. "I see the way you look at her. You're head-over-heels for her. You may not be very experienced, but I know a love struck man when I see one."
"Well..." Tails' voice trailed off. He was speechless. He had no idea what to say. He didn't know if he agreed with what his father said, but he didn't have time to sort through his feelings for Lucy at the moment, so he went back to focusing on stopping the bleeding of the wound.
"Miles, I'm so proud of you," Amadeus finally said with a sad smile, breaking the silence. A single tear formed in his right eye as he stared up at his son happily. "Look at everything you've done. A world famous hero." He chuckled slightly and more blood started trickling from his mouth.
"Dad, it's gonna be alright, just hang on," said Tails quickly. "Please, just hang on. Help's coming. You're gonna be alright. Just-"
"Catching Dragon shouldn't be a problem for you," said Amadeus with a wide, proud smile.
"Thanks, Dad," said Tails somewhat gratefully. Then his voice became more worried. "Now c'mon, Dad, you just need to hold on 'til help gets here. Shouldn't be long now." Tails could hear the sirens in the distance, coming closer and closer. Amadeus coughed again and more blood came spilling from his mouth. His breathing was getting shallower by the second.
"Miles, I love you," he said quietly, almost in a whisper. "Tell your mother I love her, too."
"Tell her yourself," said Tails quickly. "You're gonna make it."
"Goodbye, Miles," he said quietly. He shuddered slightly as he struggled to draw one more breath. Tails was racked with silent sobs as he watched the life leave his father with his last breath. He sat back, taking his hands off his father's wound. He reached up to his father's face and closed his father's dead eye. He moved backward slowly until he had his back up against the wall. He tucked his legs up to his chest and sobbed quietly some more as he heard the sounds of sirens arriving outside his house.
Sonic arrived at the location that Lucy told him to come to to find her in a psychic firefight with Jeremy and Spencer. Lucy was taking cover behind the corner of an alley, glancing around it every few seconds to fire a few lightning bolts down it while ducking back behind the corner to, Sonic assumed, dodge Spencer and Jeremy's unseen, psychic bullets. He stopped behind the other corner of the alley and waved casually to Lucy.
"What's up?" he asked with a smile.
"They've got Tails' mother," said Lucy quickly. "I've been trying to take them down, but they're using her as a meat shield. I can't get a good shot!"
"So, why are you shooting?" asked Sonic with a cocked eyebrow as she glanced around the corner and fired a few more lightning bolts.
"To keep them busy so they can't get away!" she said frustratedly after she got behind the corner again. Sonic was about to reply when he was cut off by a series of loud pops and the sound of the brick wall of Lucy's corner crumbling in several different places.
"What was that?" he asked, slightly startled.
"That," she started before she took a couple more lightning shots around the corner, finishing after she got behind safe cover again with "was enemy fire."
"They can do that?" asked Sonic amazedly.
"Yeah, and then some," she said, pulling her sleeve up to reveal a small cut on her forearm.
"That's it?" asked Sonic with a sly chuckle.
"No, I missed the worst of it," said Lucy shortly. "You got anything to contribute here?" Sonic thought for a moment.
"Yeah, just hold on a minute," he said thoughtfully. Then he ran put toward the street, turning into a half-circle and heading straight for the building at top speed. Then he jumped up and ran up the building and was over the edge of the roof in a flash. He ran down the roof of the building until he was past the spot where Jeremy and Spencer were taking cover. Sonic stopped and looked down as three bright, electrical bolts sped down the alley at a speed that would rival Sonic, impacting with a loud, crackling crash on the ground behind Spencer and Jeremy. The ground started to spark and crackle with electricity as the lightning's energy surged through the puddle on the ground behind Spencer and Jeremy. Lucy was trapping them with the threat of electrocution. Sonic looked down the alley at Lucy and caught her eye momentarily. He gave her a quick sign to tell her to stop firing before she had to duck behind the corner again to dodge more telekinetic projectiles.
Sonic looked down at Spencer and Jeremy. There were both hiding behind dumpsters on either side of the alley. Then Sonic caught sight of an unconscious Rosemary laid up against the alley wall next to Spencer. He stood at the edge of the roof and jumped down, landing lightly behind Spencer, who was nearest to the building he jumped from. Then, with a swift kick, he knocked Spencer into the dumpster. Then he aimed a punch at the back of his head as he recoiled away from the dumpster. Spencer fell to the ground, half conscious, holding his head and hissing through gritted teeth painfully. Sonic quickly grabbed Spencer off the ground and held him in front of him hostage-style as Jeremy spun around and held a finger-gun on them both.
"Drop him, hedgehog," warned Jeremy evilly. "Or I'll send your disembodied head to that little fox of yours."
"Well, first, you'd have to deal with said fox's girlfriend," said Sonic smartly. Then, as if on cue, the dumpster that Jeremy had been hiding behind careened into him on its own, sending him to the ground, in the puddle next to him. Lucy came out from around the corner, hand held out in front of her in a somewhat threatening manner, a manner which was emphasized by the electrical arcs that jumped and sparked in between her fingers.
"Now, give me a good reason not to fry you right now, Jeremy," said Lucy with a malicious smile. Jeremy looked up from the on-all-fours position he was in in the puddle and gave her a smart smirk. Then he threw his hand up at Sonic, Spencer, and the unconscious Rosemary and a large wave of water rose from the puddle he was in and splashed onto the three people behind the dumpster, soaking them all. To Sonic's surprise, Rosemary still wasn't awake.
"How's that for a good reason?" he asked smugly as he stood up, water dripping from the brown fur on his face and paws, clothes absolutely soaked. "They're in a pretty good sized trail of water there. You fry me, they go with." Lucy gave him an angry look and he widened his smile.
"Very smart, my young apprentice," called an amused voice from around the corner at the other end of the alley. Sonic and Lucy whipped their heads toward the source of the voice in fear while Jeremy only widened his evil smile even more. Then, suddenly, Spencer wrenched himself free from Sonic's grasp, giving him a good kick to the stomach in the process. Sonic doubled over and Jeremy raised a finger gun to him while Spencer raised one to Lucy as Dragon appeared from around the corner of the alley, smiling smugly.
"Thank you, Master," said Jeremy sadistically. "Now, what should I do next?"
"You and Spencer take the hostage and leave me to deal with the traitor and the hero," said Dragon calmly. He gestured toward Rosemary's unconscious form and she was lifted into the air, her limp figure suspended in midair like she was a marionette. She hovered above the puddle to Jeremy's side, who, once joined by Spencer, walked down the alley past Dragon, the unconscious Rosemary following the whole way.
"Well, hello again, traitor," said Dragon casually. "Sorry I kidnapped your boyfriend's mother, but it's the only punishment I found to be worthy for him."
"And shooting his father?" asked Lucy angrily. "Y'know, what's stopping me from frying you now?"
"Well, if I don't come back, Spencer and Jeremy will kill her," said Dragon.
"And what are you gonna do to her when you get back?" growled Lucy. "She's as good as dead already, why take you down, too?"
"Because I'm going to give Tails a chance to save her," said Dragon calmly. "But if you kill me, she'll die, too." Lucy lowered her hand to her side and gave Dragon a cold stare.
"Fine," she grumbled angrily. "C'mon, Sonic, let's go."
"What?" asked Sonic in objection. "We're just gonna let him get away?"
"Yeah, we have to," said Lucy coldly as she turned and headed for the alley's exit. "He's got Tails' mother. What are we supposed to do?"
"Well, we-" Sonic stopped short as he tried to think of an argument, but soon gave up with a defeated sigh, hanging his head in surrender. He followed her to the alley's exit.
"Tell Tails we'll be in touch soon!" called Dragon casually. They both turned to look back at the hated dog, only to find that he had vanished.
"Okay, well, we should get back to Tails' place as quickly as possible," sighed Sonic somewhat tiredly. "Man, I don't know how I'm gonna break this to him. Let's just hope that he was able to save his dad. That'll make it a little easier to tell him that we let his mom get kidnapped." He rubbed his face in a stressed manner. "C'mon, hop in." Sonic offered his arms out to Lucy.
"What, you're gonna carry me?" asked Lucy with a cocked eyebrow.
"Yeah," said Sonic. "I said 'as quick as possible'. I'm 'as quick as possible', now hop in."
"Alright," sighed Lucy. She climbed into Sonic's arms somewhat awkwardly and Sonic took off.
Sonic and Lucy arrived at Tails house to find emergency vehicles parked outside the house, lights flashing all around, press vans behind a police barrier and news choppers overhead. Then Sonic saw something that made his heart stop dead for a second, then almost plummet down through his groin. He saw a full body bag strapped to a bed being rolled into the back of an ambulance.
"Oh no," Sonic whispered in horror. He let Lucy down and quickly ran into the house to find Tails. After he breached the plane of the house, he stopped dead. The rest of the journey was a slow, bone-chilling walk to the dining room, where Sonic found Tails sitting up against the inner wall of the room, almost totally catatonic, staring out the window across the room, unmoving, unfocussed.
Sonic took one step into the room and Tails' gaze whipped straight to him. He was wearing a desperate, expectant look. Sonic could practically hear his eyes pleading Sonic for the good news that they had rescued his mother. The good news that he couldn't bring. Sonic didn't know how to respond. He just stood there, nearly dumbstruck at horrifying sight of the devastated fox, hands, chest, and shins covered in his deceased father's dried blood.
Finally, After what felt like hours, but was really only one second, Sonic just shook his head slowly, hanging his head in shame. When he looked up, he saw Tails with his face in his hands, body racking with silent sobs. Sonic walked to his side, sitting beside him and putting his arm around his little brother's shoulder, hugging the sobbing fox to his chest tightly. After a few minutes, Lucy walked in and walked to Tails other side, sitting down beside him and putting her arm around his shoulders next to Sonic's arm. Tails stopped sobbing and looked up slowly. He looked from Sonic to Lucy silently, then back to Sonic. Sonic thought that he looked like he was kind of lost.
"I- I'm so sorry, Tails," whispered Sonic sympathetically. "I- I... I..." He had no idea what to say. He just stared back at Tails, mouth open slightly as he tried to think of something to say to make the fox feel better, but nothing came to mind.
"Tails, Dragon was in on it," Lucy finally broke the silence. "That could be a good thing. He'll probably make it easy for you to get your mom back. He thinks we're still working for him. He did say he was gonna give you a chance to save her." Tails looked around at her while she spoke.
"Maybe," he whispered with a slightly hoarse voice, wiping more tears from his eyes.
"He said he'd be in touch with you soon," said Sonic quietly. Then, as if on cue, a phone rang. Sonic pulled Tails' phone out of his shoe and handed it to Tails.
"It's Dragon," said Tails quietly as he read the caller ID. He took a deep breath to calm himself down and answered the phone, putting it to his ear.
"He- Hello?" he stammered quietly into the phone.
"Y'know, you should really learn to hang up your phone before you try to turn an enemy operative into a triple agent," said Dragon in a maliciously casual tone. Tails heart skipped a couple beats when he heard this.
"What are yo- What are you talking about?" The stammering reply was more nervous than the greeting he had given.
"Don't play dumb, Miles Prower, it's beneath you," said Dragon somewhat frustratedly. "I heard everything. I heard you convince Lucy to turn on me. I heard you sweet-talk her into cheap betrayal with a 'normal life'."
"Okay, so we betrayed you," said Tails, now becoming a little angry. "Why kill my dad? Why go for my parents? This had nothing to do with them. Why not just kill me? I betray you, you kill me. Simple."
"Oh, believe me, that thought crossed my mind," said Dragon. "Albeit, for a little less than a nanosecond, but that was my first instinct. But then another thought crossed my mind. Death is too nice a punishment for you."
"Why is that?" asked Tails quickly.
"Because you turned Lucy against me, too," explained Dragon. "If it was just you, you'd be dead by now. But you turned her against me, so I had to make things a little harsher for you. So I thought about the target. I thought about what I could do to you to make you WISH that I had only killed you. So I thought about your past. You grew up most of your life without your parents. A whole decade essentially spent as an orphan. I thought that they were easily some of the most precious things to you in your life. Ideal first targets."
"Okay, then," growled Tails. "Two things. Firstly, you should know that you just made the biggest mistake of your life. I am going to find you and end you. Even if it kills me, I don't care. You. Will. Die."
"Ooh, that's the kind of response I was looking for," said Dragon. "So, we'll be in touch soon so that I could tell you how to save your poor, dear mother."
"Wait, there's another thing," said Tails angrily. "One thing I need to know. Why do you care so much that I turned Lucy against you?" The line was silent for a moment. "What, is it because she was your 'star student'? Was she like your plaything or something? Why do you care so much about her?"
"Ooh, she hasn't told you yet, has she?" asked Dragon with an amused chuckle. "Oh, that's just like her. She has never been very proud of me. That's sorta understandable, though."
"What are you talking about?" growled Tails furiously.
"Oh, Tails," said Dragon with a sadistic chuckle. "Lucy's my daughter."
AUTHOR'S NOTE: WHOA! Nice cliffhanger, right? Anyway, sorry to any Amadeus fans out there. I'm a fan of him too, but it just felt right to kill him off. So will Tails be able to save his mother, or will Dragon totally orphan him? Is Lucy really Dragon's daughter, or is he just messing with Tails' head? Find out next time. But until then, I'll remind you of the drill. Review, favorite, tell friends, alert, and never date the Abominable Snowman's sister. Trust me, just don't. Anyway, seeya!
