Rebirth
A few weeks passed without any big events. Kimmy was keeping a low profile, satisfied with the slaves she currently had and trying to take away any suspicion anyone would have had about her. She even had Amy, Cream and Vanilla go into town on occasion, making their collars invisible, so that no one would get the idea that something was up. During this time though she had opened up her clothing shop and already had been handing out her hand made outfits along with a few control collars to the few people, mostly teen aged boys and girls, that wanted alternative styles of dress. After her work day she would often head over to Tails' house. They had made up since the incident involving the potted plant in his window, which unbeknownst to the fox was in fact Cosmo the seedrian. She would spend her time with him by talking about the stealth robots and about tales of the many adventures he had with Sonic and the others. Every chance she got though she would slip off when the fox wasn't looking and head over to Cosmo to talk to her and learn more about her relationship with Tails.
"Ahhh..." Kimmy said sitting in the small booth that made up her "Shop", leaning back om a chair with her feet on the counter and wearing her normal royal purple leather outfit. "This is so relaxing, don't you think so Sky?" The tigress was in the middle of handing out a punk style outfit made up of a black leather jacket, torn blue jeans, a white t-shirt and one of Kimmy's control collars to a teenaged wolf girl. "It is for you, but I'm the one doing all the work." Kimmy had loosened Sky's rules a bit since giving her the earrings, mostly because they usually kept her in a good mood but also because she didn't want people looking at the two weirdly. She even went so far as to give Sky a set of clothing not to far off of what the tigress just handed out. "Look, no matter what you are still my maid and as such when I bring you into town I expect you to do my work for me. It's not like it's that hard anyways. Your just handing out clothes. I make you do much worse at home." Sky just turned away, not wanting to admit that Kimmy had a point. "Are you going to see Tails again today?" Kimmy nodded. "Yep, today is special though." Sky turned back to her. "Are you finally..." Kimmy put her finger to her lips to silence her. "Yes, but not until I make sure of something."
"What are you finally going to do?" said Sally Acorn as she came around the corner into view. "It's kind of a secret princess. If I tell you it would spoil it." Kimmy replied close her eyes, not treated the least bit by Sally sneaking around. In fact she knew the princess was there for a while because of her "detect life" spell. "But I'll at least say this, it will change his life as he knows it." Kimmy said followed by a mischievous chuckle. "You had better not do anything you will regret." Sally said as she crossed her arms. "Look princess, have I done anything to show you I am here to cause trouble. I even allowed you to spy on me all this time without saying a word to anyone else." Sally blushed and looked away. "I don't know what your talking about." "Tsk, tsk, don't lie. You have been watching me since I opened this shop. It's really easy for someone like me to notice. Now why don't you be a good little princess and run along. I still have an hour of 'community service' to do." Sally turned and stomped off, feeling angry that Kimmy not only knew what Sally was up to but was treating her like a child. She wasn't finished yet though. She knew that whatever Kimmy was up to was no good, even if she had no proof, and the very least she could do was warn Tails. Kimmy on the other hand was straight out laughing back at the booth. "What is so funny mistress?" Sky asked. Kimmy stopped long enough to say. "That princess is so hell bent in stopping me that she is doing exactly what I want her to do. She is so predicable."
Sally approached the door to Tails' house and knocked on the door. She had been doing so often as Tails had agreed to keep watch on the cat girl to make sure nothing was going on. Sally knocked on the door and before long the young fox answered it. "Oh! Hi aunt Sally. Sorry, but Kimmy hasn't been here yet today so I don't have anything new to tell you yet." Sally shook her head. "I know Tails, I am here to warn you that she has something planed for you today. Ever since you told me about what happen during that picnic my doubts about her have been getting worse and worse. Whatever you do don't let her do anything to you. The slightest touch could be all she needs." Tails pouted. "Aunt Sally, I don't think she means any harm. I bet that thing with the collars was just her way of having fun." "Tails, this is serious. If she offers you anything you refuse it. Understand?" Tails nodded. "Yes aunt Sally."
An hour passed and Kimmy was ready to closed up. "God that felt like forever." She said getting up from her chair. "That's because you just sat around all day." Kimmy went to the back of her shop. "Yeah, yeah, but it did give me time to think of how to approach this today. I am going to have to be careful. The slightest unchecked word could mean disaster." She said coming back with her black bag in her hand. "So your going to work your magic on him?" Kimmy giggled. "I guess you could say that. Now be a good girl and go home and check on the other girls." With that they both left the store heading in different directions.
Kimmy skipped through the city. She felt so light today. If all worked out right she would have a new boy slave to play with. Her head couldn't stop filling with ideas of what she would do with the young boy and every once in a while she would laugh out loud, making everyone around look in her direction. She didn't care though, it was so long since she claimed a new slave that it felt like the winter sulcus had come around and the fox was her present. Finally she made it to Tails' door and with a small knock it opened with Tails there to greet her. "Hello Kimmy, here to see if I found out anything new?" "Well there is that, but I also need to talk to you about something important." The fox scratched at his chin confused. "Something important? What is it?" Kimmy waved her finger. "It's a surprise. I'll tell you after you give me your update about those robots." Kimmy then pushed past the fox and ran to the lab. Tails was getting a little nervous at this point. "Could this be what aunt Sally warned me about?" He thought as he followed her, trying to be as cautious as possible.
As he entered the lab he found Kimmy tampering with the severed head of the stealth robot. "Kimmy, I asked you not to touch that." The cat put it down immediately. "Sorry Tails. Science just fascinates me. Where I am from few would go through the trouble to make such complex devices, but I see the advantage to doing such a thing instead of using magic. I just wish I had someone like you to show me how these things work in my world." Tails walked over to the table. "Well I could try to teach you, but it would take a while. I only know so much because aunt Sally taught me when I was still very little." "Still it seems like you have evolved a little beyond what she can do. I mean you can make entire planes and robots yourself." Kimmy looked down at the table. "So what can you tell me about this thing." Tails picked up the robotic head. "Well as you can see it has finally turned visible. The metal it is made of must resonate with some form of energy to bend light around it, but once charged it seems to sustain it's invisible state for a long time so once they have received the energy it will impossible to strip them of their stealth powers." Kimmy snapped her fingers. "That sucks. I hate fighting things I can't see. If only I some fairy powder. That stuff leaves a sparkily outline on invisible creatures." Tails snapped into attention. "What did you just say?" "What, about the fairy powder? Sorry, but i don't have any on me." The fox boy smiled. "We won't need it. I just had a great idea. All we need is something that will stick on them and overlap the outside of their metal bodies. If we do that with something like paint they will be able to be seen or at least a part of them will. It's perfect!" Kimmy smiled. "Glad I could help."
Kimmy stepped away for a moment while Tails was devising a way of making a device to hit a whole area with paint. Sneaking to the back of the lab she used her "talk to plants" spell and stepped over to Cosmo. "Hello Cosmo, you look nice and healthy today." She said to the small plant. "Thank you, I have been getting a lot of sun lately and Tails always keep me watered." "I was meaning to talk to you about that Cosmo." "What do you mean?" "Well I haven't really been up front with you. I just so happen to be a sorceress and when I found out about your dilemma I took a special interest in you." The small plant was confused. "I don't understand..." Well what if I said you could be with Tails again? Not as a house plant but as a person." The plant seemed to perk up a bit at those words. "That would be wonderful! You can do that!" Kimmy nodded. "Yes, but there is a small problem." "What is it?" "I'll explain in a moment, but first I need to do one more thing." With that Kimmy walked off, leaving Cosmo alone.
The cat girl had only one thing on her mind now, getting the fox boy under her power. Now was the time. She went to where she left her bag and grabbed it. "Oh Tails!" She said getting the young fox's attention. "Yes Kimmy, what do you want?" Kimmy made an almost sinister chuckle as she reached into her bag. "It is time I gave you the surprise I was talking about earlier." Tails' eyes widened. He had forgotten about that and whatever it was Kimmy had for him it couldn't be good the way she was acting. It was beginning to seem that Sally was right about Kimmy. As he was though he couldn't think of a way to escape since Kimmy was blocking the way out. He closed his eyes and put his arms in front of him, hoping to block whatever she was going to do to him.
"Tada!" It took a moment for the word to register in Tails' mind, but when it did he slowly opened his eyes. In front of him was a small rectangular present being held in Kimmy's hands. "I hope you like it." Kimmy said with a smile. "What is it? Another collar?" asked Tails as he took the package. "Open it and find out." The fox begun to rip open the wrapping and soon found it to be a book. Once he got all the wrapping paper of he read the title aloud. "Herbal Magic and Alchemy? What is this for?" He said as he flipped through the pages. "Well... please don't be mad, but after the incident with the potted plant in your lab I started asking questions and learned about Cosmo." Tails stopped cold, taking a moment to think before speaking. "I see... well I understand why you did it, but I really wish you didn't. Cosmo is gone and talking about her only brings back bad memories of how I couldn't do anything to save her." It looked like Tails was about to cry, but then Kimmy grabbed him by the shoulder. "But Tails, that is what this book is for." Tails looked her in the eyes. "What are you talking about?" Kimmy smiled. "Come with me." She took Tails by the hand and led him to the back of his lab.
Not stopping for anything she brought him straight to the plant in his window. "I still don't get what... " He was cut off as Kimmy put her hands around his throat. For a moment he thought she was going to choke him, but she quickly move her hands to his ears. "Ok, now speak." He turned to face Kimmy. "What was that all about!" He said, now angry with confusion. That anger quickly vanished when he heard a familiar voice speak. "Tails... is that you?"
At first he couldn't believe his ears. He turned his head slowly to where it had come from only to see the potted plant. "What is this Kimmy?" He said as he started to cry. "Are you torturing me with her voice now?" The cat shook her head. "No Tails, Cosmo survived that battle. She lived on as that white seed Sonic gave you. All this time she has been watching over you and you have been taking care of her." He looked at the cat once again. "But how?" "I can't tell you for sure, it must be a miracle of your world. what I do know is that with my powers I have brought you together again." The voice returned to Tails' ears. "Tails, don't be afraid. It's me, Cosmo." Tails wiped his eyes and looked at the plant with awe.
After a while Tails had gotten use to hearing Cosmo's voice again. It had been so long, but he remembered exactly how it sounded as if he heard it yesterday. Kimmy was pleased to see the fox so happy. She sat and listened to the two talk about how much they missed each other and how much they loved each other. "Gee, Tails really did have a crush on this girl." She thought. "This is good, I think it is time to continue with my plan." Kimmy picked up the book she gave Tails and flipped to a page she had marked. "Okay you two, we need to talk." Tails and Cosmo stopped instantly. They owed Kimmy so much, listening to her was the least they could do. "In this book lies the secrets to bringing you two back together permanently." She turned the book up and revealed the page she was on. It was titled "Ent Body Reconstruction". "What's an Ent?" Tails asked. "I know, Kimmy told me it was what her world called plant creatures like me." Cosmo answered. "That is right. You see Tails, unlike creatures like me and you plants can come back from almost anything. Pull a flower from the grown and it's roots will simply grow anew. This gives plant creatures like Cosmo an advantage. Someday Cosmo will get a new life as she was, but I fear that if left at it's course it will take away from the time you can spend together. This book tells an exact way on how to speed up the process and let her live a normal life again. You two could be just as you were before that dreadful battle." Tails was overjoyed to hear this and somehow it showed show on the potted plant that Cosmo was happy too.
"There is a catch though..." Kimmy continued. "Nothing is free. I cannot preform such a task without collecting from it." Tails' jaw dropped. "Why not?" Kimmy looked out the window. "A spell like this distorts the universe's natural order, much like how the ability Sonic used to save Cosmo did." "Chaos Control..." Tails said to himself. "While this change does no harm it does take it's toll. With every bit of happiness there must be some sorrow. It happen back then by making Tails feel the pain of loss and it must happen again. The thing is this time we will control it. Are you two willing to give anything to be together?" Almost instantly they simultaneously said "Yes". "Then here is what I purpose. I will preform the ritual and give Cosmo back her body and in return you two will become my slaves." Tails was about to interrupt her, but Kimmy put a finger under telling him to wait. "This way I will be in control of the sorrow you will feel and it won't have to be just one of you baring the brunt of it. If done like this it will allow both of you to live happy lives, just as my servants."
Tails thought about it for a second. "Couldn't you just make it so we could continue to talk to each other like this?" Kimmy looked back at the fox boy. "No, spells like this wear off over time and if I were to leave this world then you two would be at a lost. It would hurt you much more than this spell ever would." Kimmy stood up from her seat. "I am going to go home for now. The spell will last long enough to let you two talk till the sun sets. Come up with your decision and meet me in the square as the sun raises. I'll be preparing for the ritual incase you say yes as it must be preformed as the sun reaches it's peak. Do not ask anyone else for advice, this must be your decisions alone. Be warned though, if you choose not to do it I will not use my magic to allow you two to speak to each other again." She grabbed her bag and turned to leave. "Just make sure that whatever you pick is what you truly want." With that she left the two to talk about what they would do.
As the cat left and closed the front door behind her she couldn't help but grin. She had told them nothing but lies. She could easily preform a ritual like this without them having to serve as her slaves. As for that bit about Tails' suffering when Cosmo was saved, that was just normal grief at what he thought was the death of someone he loved. The time she had to preform the ritual was a lie as well but giving them such a short deadline would make them have to make a rash decision which would most likely lead to them agreeing to it. Even if they didn't at first then all she would have to do is wait until Tails broke down from not being able to talk to Cosmo and it would prove the same results. It was a mental trap that was so well planned out that there was no escape. "Now I just need to make sure of one thing." Using some of the stored up energy she had been siphoning from Amy she opened a small two way window from where she was to Cream and Vanilla's home.
All the girls were shocked when Kimmy called out to them. She had never used her magic like that before. It didn't take long for them to gather around the kitchen table where her window had appeared. "Listen up girls, I need you all to be in Knothole in the morning before the sun starts to raise." They all moaned aloud, knowing it would be an awful trek. "Why do we have to be there so early?" Amy dared to ask. "Because I said so." Kimmy giggled. "But seriously I can't tell you right now. If I do it will ruin my plan. So make sure you all get lots of sleep. Cream, that means use your pacifier tonight so you can go to bed early and get a full nights rest." "Yes mistress..." The young rabbit said with a nod. "Ok then, seeya all in the morning." With that Kimmy closed the window and the girls went to prepare for bed.
"Now all I need to do is prepare for the morning." Kimmy said to herself as she headed to the center of town. "This still takes some time to set up." As soon as she got out of sight of Tails' house Sally popped out from behind it. She was worried about the little fox boy and wanted to make sure Kimmy didn't do anything to him. At first she knocked on the door but soon found that there was no answer. As her worry increased she decided to go inside. She crept from room to room, making sure there wasn't some sort of trap laying in wait for her. Finally she made it to the lab. "I think that we should except her offer." She heard Tails say from somewhere in the back. She was glad to hear he was okay, but as she got closer she heard him continue. "I know it will be bad for a while, but I believe Kimmy is a nice person. She won't do anything to hurt us." "Who is he talking to?" Sally said quietly as she poked her head around a corner to watch the fox. "Then it's agreed. We will see her in the morning." He finished before catching Sally out of the corner of his eyes. "Aunt Sally, what are you doing sneaking around in my lab?" Sally stepped out. "Sorry Tails, when you didn't answer your door I wanted to make sure Kimmy hadn't done something to you. By the way, who were you talking to?" Tails was about to tell her what had happened, but then he remembered what Kimmy said about not receiving advice from others and if he told Sally she would surely give him her ideas on the situation. "It's no one, I was just rehearsing something aloud." Tails then noticed that the sun was about to set from outside his window. "Uh... aunt Sally, I don't mean to be rude but could I give my report on Kimmy to you tomorrow. I am feeling really tired." Sally gave him an odd look, but respected his wishes. She gave the fox a hug and a kiss and left his home, but once outside she knew that whatever was going on had to be Kimmy's doing.
"There we go" Kimmy said as she pulled a small cauldron from her bag of holding. "This should be big enough now for a few key ingredients." She stated as she searched in her back for the things she would need. "Stop right there!" Kimmy looked up, though she already knew who it was. "Why hello princess. How are you doing tonight." Sally walked right up to the cat and stomped her foot on the ground. "Don't 'hello princess' me. I want to know what you did with Tails today and what you are doing right now." Kimmy chuckled as she continued to pull things from her bag, infuriating Sally further. "What I did with Tails? All I did was talk with him. As for what I am doing now... Well that is a secret." Kimmy said as she added a few small plants to the cauldron. "Then I am going to have to make you stop. I know that your some sort of witch and the last thing I need is for you to cast some sort of evil spell." Kimmy smiled. "Witch is such a strong word. I prefer sorceress. If you want me to stop I could, but I don't think Tails would be too happy about it. He is practically depending on me doing this for him." "Why is that?" "Once again, that is a secret." Sally couldn't believe how Kimmy as acting. Except for maybe Sonic she had never seen anyone so disrespectful as her. "Look princess if it will put your mind at ease you can stay and watch, but I'm going to be up all night." Sally thought about it. "Fine, I accept those terms."
As Kimmy said she was working all night long, adding ingredients and checking her book over and over to make sure she got each step right. All the while Sally tried her best to stay awake, asking questions like "What kind of plant is that?" and "What is in that book?" but always getting the same answer in response. "It's a secret." After a while Sally gave up on getting any answers from the cat. "You know princess, not all magic is evil. Even if a spell was made for an evil intent it can still be used for good." Sally was shocked. "What are you so talkative all of a sudden." Kimmy smirked. "It's a secret." "Argh!" Sally yelled and rolled her eyes. "Just kidding." Kimmy continued. "The thing is that in the right or wrong hands any bit of magic can be good or evil. Healing spells can be used to take sickness and pain from someone who truly deserves it while a spell that can destroy an entire city can be used to save another. In the end it is all about perspective." Kimmy stepped away from the cauldron. "There, now I just have to wait for the last ingredient." Sally looked at her. "Which is?" Kimmy was about to answer, but Sally put her hand up. "I know, I know, it's a secret." "That's right!"
A few hours later Sally's body just couldn't take it any more and she fell asleep. Kimmy on the other hand was doing fine, running on the energy she obtained from Amy's emotions. "The sun is going to start raising soon. Where are they." Almost as if they heard her Amy, Cream, Vanilla and Sky approached Kimmy, each one wearing their casual clothing. "It's about time." She said walking over to each of them to make their collars invisible. "Mistress, what is Sally doing out here?" asked Cream. "Oh nothing, she just wanted to make sure I wasn't up to no good. Needless to say she failed at that. Now all we need is the guests of honor." Kimmy sat down on the ground and the other girls followed in suit.
As the sun raised many of the mobians in Knothole were waking up to get ready for their daily tasks. What they didn't expect though was the small congregation sitting in the town square. Soon people began to gather and ask what was going on. "If you wait you will see." Was the only response they got from the cat. While a few decided to leave many choose to stay. "Wonderful" Thought Kimmy. "This turned out just as I thought it would." Just then she spotted Tails moving through the crowd holding Cosmo in his hand. She stood up and addressed the crowd. "Ladies and gentlemen!" she said as she stool on a large rock she placed her cauldron next to. "As some of you may know I am Kimmy. There have also been rumors floating around that I am some sort of evil witch. I am here today not only to prove that the rumor is false but to provide a service to one of the citizens of your fair city." She looked down at Tails who had approached her during he small speech. "Have you made your decision?" Tails was kind of nervous. He didn't expect this many people. "Yes, we want to go through with this."
Sally awoke hearing the crowd of people talking around her. "What is going on?" She mumbled as she tried to get her bearings. As she got to her feet she saw Tails handing Kimmy a potted plant. "Wait a moment, isn't that the plant he grew from the send he got form Cosmo?" Cream asked Amy. "I think it is. What are they going to do with it." They watched on Kimmy continued, raising the plant up in her hands. "Today I am going to re-unite this fox with a lost loved one with the help of this simple plant. So without any further ado..." She crouched down and placed Cosmo into the cauldron, submerging the plant completely.
Instantly it started to bubble until it seemed like the cauldron was boiling. The voices from the crowd got louder. Many of them were still unsure as to what was going on. Sally on the one hand was sure of one thing, she had seen enough. "Kimmy! Cut this out at once!" Kimmy looked over to Sally. "It's too late to stop it now, even if I wanted to. Just give it a few more seconds. It will be over soon." Sally gave her a dirty look. "It's over now!" Sally headed to the cauldron and raised her foot to kick it over, but she stopped as Tails ran in front of her. "Sally! Don't!" Giving her an almost viscous look. "Tails..." She said sadly, now more sure than ever that Kimmy had done something to him.
The crowd began to gasp, not because of what happened between Sally and Tails but because something was raising out from the cauldron. At first it started with just a head. "Oh my god..." said Amy. "That's Cosmo!" Soon all eyes were on the cauldron, except for Kimmy who was standing next to Sally. "See princess, I wasn't doing anything wrong. You were just being paranoid." As the seedrian's head rose a body soon followed and then finally her legs. "Ladies and gentlemen, I present Cosmo the seedrian." The crowd went silent, no one really understood what was going on. Finally the silence was broken as Cosmo opened her eyes and stepped out from the cauldron. She looked to the stunned fox boy and simply said. "Tails..." He blinked a few times just to make sure that he wasn't seeing things before running to her, wrapping his arms around her body. "Cosmo!"
After a while the crowd had dispersed, though now the whole city was talking about what had happen. Back at Kimmy's shop though Cosmo was being caught up with everything that had happened while she was gone. "Ah, the joy of youth." Kimmy said to Sally who had followed the group after the event. "Well I guess I was wrong about you Kimmy. Why didn't you tell me what you were doing before." "If I did would you have believed me?" "Well Tails seems to be really happy. You found out about Cosmo and planned all this by yourself?" Kimmy nodded. "It was sorta by mistake, but once I learned about the little plant I couldn't leave well enough alone." Sally looked to the Cosmo and Tails and smiled. "I was wrong about you Kimmy. The way you do things might be weird, but you do have good intentions." "It's ok, it was actually really fun having you stalk me around and have Tails spy on me." Sally's eyes went wide with shock for just a moment before she let out a laugh. "So you knew about that too, huh?" Kimmy smirked. "Not until just now when you told me." "Urk!" Sally let out. She didn't realize the cat was so cunning.
Tails and Cosmo came over to Kimmy and Sally. "Ok Kimmy, we are ready." said the fox. "Ready for what?" asked Sally. "Tails and Cosmo are going to come with me to work as my servants as payment for my services. I am sure there is nothing wrong with that right." Sally didn't really like the idea, but she really didn't see where it would be a problem." I guess it is alright since Amy and Vanilla will be there, but are you guys sure it won't interfere with your work Tails?" The fox smiled. "Already on it. I figured out how to build a device to help us to see the stealth robots. I already gave the plans to Rotor and he said he would get to work on making a bunch right away. Besides that I can work on things whenever I get free time." Sally was glad to see Tails was being responsible. "Well then I'll let you go, just make sure to check in every now and then."
Not too much longer after that Kimmy was heading home with her all of her slaves. She was happy how things had gone. Now the people of Knothole would all know of her powers and while it might bring fear to some it would make others flock to her. Not only that but now Sally was off her back and that meant that she would be able to get away with more things. "Oh by the way..." Kimmy said once they were out far enough from Knothole. "You two are going to have to wear these." She said revealing two leather collars. "It is the dress code for all who serve me." Kimmy handed them to Cosmo and Tails. Cosmo didn't like the idea, but Tails comforted her but saying. "Don't worry, I had to wear one before. They are much more comfortable than they look." He then wrapped it around his neck and fastened it tightly. "See it's fine." Seeing that Cosmo decided to at least give it a try. She put it on and found out she was right. It actually felt really nice around her neck. Kimmy smiled, they were hers now. "Ok you two, now that your collars are on it is time to learn the rules." With that she spent the rest of the walk home teaching them the rules and explaining how their lives would be from now. While there were a few things they didn't like they felt they could deal with it. After all Kimmy had done for them they would gladly obey anything she commanded.