After more than a month of waiting, the next chapter in The Two-Tailed Fox is finally here! Hooray! Are you guys prepared to read? And hopefully you're still following my story! Enjoy, guys!
Part Ten
It's been an interesting night, that's for sure… GUN robot after GUN robot after GUN robot just kept attacking me. Not fun! That's as blatantly as I can put it. Stupid GUN! Whether they're stupid or not, by sunrise, Amy and I finally found a place where we could think things over…
"My first question is," starts Amy. "How are we gonna get into space, let alone the ARK?" And a good question it is. "Good luck trying to get the GUN or the government to lend us a rocket," I reply. "And building one in only sixteen hours with the condition I'm in would be impossible." Then, Sonic runs by and passes us, but then he backs up, and Amy nearly tackles him as she hugs him. "Oh, Sonic! You're safe!" He pushes Amy off of him and says, "So I think I've—" However, he's interrupted by the manhole cap rumbling. He walks over for a closer look, and as he's leaning over it, he almost gets hit by it as it pops off.
"Knuckles?" I exclaim as I see the red echidna pop out of the manhole. "Hey, guys. Must've gotten lost in the mines…" Lost? Knuckles got lost? I start to chuckle. "Hey, what's so funny, Tails?" he yells. I smile and reply, "Oh, it's just that getting lost isn't very like you. Anyway, what were you down in the mines for? There's nothing down there anymore." He climbs out of the manhole and responds, "I was looking for the pieces of the Master Emerald. That stupid bat girl made me break it and scatter its pieces…! Have you guys possibly seen her?"
He holds his hand at a height just a bit shorter than himself. "She's about yea tall, and she's a white bat with black wings. I think her name is Rouge or something… I don't know… She called herself the greatest jewel thief and treasure hunter… Hmph! I'm better than she'll ever be at treasure hunting…" Both my and Sonic's widen at the name. That's the person that Eggman said was working with him! "Do you happen to know where you last saw her?" asks Sonic.
"Well, yeah, she was in the Egyptian desert last… For what, I don't know, but I saw her head into some pyramid… Maybe some pieces of the Master Emerald went in there!" Oh, Knuckles; always thinking about the Master Emerald and nothing else… "That might be where Eggman's base is!" I exclaim, and Sonic nods. "Well, let's go. Tails, you'll need to fly us over there." I transform the Cyclone into the Tornado, and Sonic hops up on the back of the plane, while Knuckles climbs up on the front. It might get hard to see like this, but it's not like I'm going to be running into any other planes while I'm up there.
I start the Tornado and fly off in the direction of Egypt…
Soon enough, we arrive in Egypt, and Knuckles points me toward the pyramid, and I land about half a mile away from it. "Is this the place, Knuckles?" asks Sonic when we get there. Knuckles nods and replies, "I saw Eggman go in there once, and more importantly, I saw the bat girl go in there, too." I've been thinking… "If this is one of his bases…" I start. "wouldn't that mean he'd have some kind of rocket to use so he could get to the ARK? Maybe it's still in there, too! We could get up there and stop him from firing the Eclipse Cannon!"
Sonic nods but asks, "How are we gonna get in there, though. It's loaded with traps, probably, and I don't want anyone hurt." Since I'm in the most durable thing here, I volunteer. "I'll find a way in. You guys follow. The Cyclone can withstand more than any one of us alone can." Sonic gives me a thumbs-up as a green light. "All right. Just make sure you don't get hurt." I give him a thumbs-up back and walk the Cyclone over to the pyramid.
About a third of a mile away from the pyramid, Eggman robots immediately pop out of the sand. "Oh, great… More mechanical morons…" I shoot each one that comes at me, making sure that they don't get up again. I've had enough experiences with Eggman robots that just keep getting up no matter what you do to them. It seriously gets so annoying. However, these robots aren't putting up enough of a fight. I basically have to make no effort to get to the base, and breaking into it is a breeze. All I had to do was shoot a homing missile into it. Within only seconds after that, Sonic gets here and says, "All right! Nice job, Tails!" He peeks inside the base, and already, there are four forks in the path. "Which way to go…? Man, Eggman's bases just keep getting more and more confusing each time…"
I look around as well. At this point, there's nothing that seems to differentiate the four hallways. "We'll just have to go down the one that we think will get us to where we need to go," states Amy from behind us. She jumps up to the back seat of the Cyclone, and Sonic starts running down the rightmost hall at a speed the Cyclone and Knuckles can keep up with. "Let's try this, first!" Knuckles runs down the hallway after him, and I follow Knuckles.
This time, Sonic is taking on all of the robots. Those types of robots were made to take on Sonic and not me, anyway. Soon enough, we make it to a door with three keyholes in it, but no matter what I do to the door, I can't blast it open. Even Amy's hammer can't do anything, and that's saying something. "Looks like we're actually going to need to find the three keys," states Amy, who's out of breath from swinging her hammer around. And then, we all have the same thought on our minds, and we look at Knuckles.
His eyes flicker between the three of us, and he asks, "Why are you all looking at me?" Sonic shrugs his shoulders. "You're the only treasure hunter here. Why else would we be looking at you, or are you really that dense?" Sonic smiles, and Knuckles growls, clearly irritated. "You've gotta be kidding me! I'm not your errand boy, Sonic!" Amy walks over to Knuckles and stares at him with what I like to call her lecture stare. "Knuckles, how old are you?" Knuckles once again growls and replies, "I don't see how that's relevant!" Amy steps closer to him. "How old are you?"
Knuckles is clearly intimidated as he answers, "S-sixteen…" Amy smiles and responds, "You're not acting like it. You're acting like a spoiled five-year-old that whines if he doesn't get one measly thing that he wants. People probably look up to you, Knuckles, so stop acting like a child and go get those keys, got it? Or would you rather I hit you with my hammer?" Knuckles shakes his head and runs down another hall. "I'll get the keys! Just don't hit me! I don't wanna die today! I still have to restore the Master Emerald!" Man… She can instill fear into anyone…
"I can see why you broke up with her, Sonic…" I whisper. I had meant it as a joke, and Sonic laughs, but Amy pulls her hammer out and asks, "And exactly what do you mean by that, Tails?" I don't want to die, either. "I didn't mean it, Amy! Sorry! Don't take this the wrong way, but you can be kinda scary when you threaten people." And, of course, she takes it the wrong way and starts running up to me. Sonic, however, steps in front of her and says, "Whoa, Amy, he's already hurt, remember? I think what he meant to say anyway was that you're intimidating." Amy sighs and responds, "Fine… I'll leave him alone…"
We only have to wait a few more minutes before Knuckles shows up with all three keys in hand. "That wasn't as hard as I thought. You'd think Eggman would be better at hiding things." He puts the keys in the door and turns each of them, and what we find behind the door isn't pleasant. "Hey, idiots!" exclaims Bokkun. "How're you, Two Tail?" asks Rascal in his still unintimidating voice. Why can't that stupid fox just die? "Got a message for you!" says Bokkun. He pulls a TV out of his messenger bag and hands it to Sonic.
Eggman's ugly face appears on the screen. "Hello, Sonic and Co.! You must be wondering what I've got in store for you this time. Bokkun and Rascal here will be unleashing one of my new semi-creations, the Egg Golem. And now, this robot will automatically start singing my theme song from this game!" The TV shuts off, and Bokkun says, "But…" He sighs and starts singing, " I am the Eggman! That's what I am! I am the Eggman! That's what I am…! " However, Sonic stops him right there. "Just release that golem thing already."
"Aww!" exclaims Rascal. "I was enjoying how Bokkun was utterly embarrassing himself! That li'l kid'll do anything Eggman says! It's hilarious!" Bokkun angrily looks at Rascal and says, "Well, that just means I'm loyal, and at least I'm smart. What'll happen when you don't do something he says, huh? Anata no baka…" Rascal punches Bokkun in the arm. "I understood that, you know. 'Anata no baka' to you as well." For those of you who don't know, "anata no baka" means "you idiot" in Japanese. "Just shut up, you two," I command.
"Two Tail, you've been kinda outta character lately," states Rascal. "You feelin' okay?" I'm not about to mistake that for him being worried about me. "I'm fine." There's venom behind my voice. "Only around you am I out of character, and it's not really being out of character, even. I. Loathe. You. There's nothing I'd love more than to see you crash and burn." Rascal waves his finger at me. "Tsk, tsk, tsk. Is that any way to talk to me?" He's starting to get on my nerves. Big time. I'm not the little kid he used to beat up. Not anymore.
"Sonic, you take care of that golem. I'll take care of li'l old Rascal here," I say to Sonic. I turn to Bokkun and shout, "Bokkun, push the button!" As Bokkun grins and pulls out a remote, I turn to Rascal. "Let's settle this. Just you and me. I'm gonna show you that you can't push me around anymore! Amy, Knuckles, make sure to stay outta this! This is my fight!" I see a huge golem rise up from the sand in the next room as Rascal smirks. "Please… You think you're gonna beat me up? In your dreams, Two Tail!" I am getting so irritated with that fox! I jump out of the Cyclone, completely ignoring the pain that I feel upon doing so, twist up my tails, and launch myself at Rascal, feet first.
"My name is Tails, nitwit!" I shout as I hit him straight in the face. "In fact, don't even call me Tails! You're gonna call me Miles, got it?" I smirk as I look at him, sitting on the floor, rubbing his cheek. Satisfaction fills me to the brim. With everything he's done to me, it feels so good to finally make him hurt! "How does it feel to be hit in the face? Huh?" He moves his mouth around a bit, then spits some blood out of it as he stands. "Y'know, there's an unspoken rule between the bully and the bullied. You're not supposed to hurt me." I raise my foot and kick him in the crotch. "Well, I just did, so you can just go to h-e-double-hockey-sticks!"
As he bends over, I punch him in the stomach and yell, "From now on, you're the crybaby! Not me! I am no longer the victim of your bullying!" As he recovers from my blows, he smiles. "What're you so happy about?" He chuckles, further raising my anger. "You picked a good time to grow a pair, but I don't think you realize the advantage I have here. First of all, I'm bigger than you. Second, I have a knife. Third, you're just a wimpy little kid! Screw your newfound will! I'm the bully, you're the victim! Deal with it!" He pulls a pocket knife out of his pocket and starts trying to slash me with it, and although it hurts to do so, I dodge every swipe. He has terrible aim.
"Tails… really hates that guy, doesn't he?" I hear Knuckles ask. "Yeah," replies Amy. "I never actually saw anything that happened to Tails, but Rascal used to beat him up nearly every day. Sonic told me it wasn't a pretty sight. He said that Tails would often come home bruised or cut badly. There wasn't much he could do when he was off fighting Egghead all the time. Their uncle couldn't talk to Rascal's parents because they wouldn't believe that their child would do such a thing." I try to tune out their conversation. It's distracting. Right now, I just need to focus on this fight, and then I notice… His right arm is bandaged up from where I hit him yesterday.
I dodge the next swipe of his knife and strike as hard as I can on his arm, and he cries out in pain, dropping the knife in the process. I pick it up and get into what is probably the worst fighting stance ever. Although I can tell he's in pain, he smiles at me. "Do you even know how to use that thing?" I slightly shake my head. "No, but I'll use it anyway if I have to!" However, both of our attentions are drawn to an explosion in the next room, where the golem is collapsing. "No!" exclaims Bokkun. "Idiot! What am I gonna tell Dr. Eggman?"
Rascal angrily sighs. "You're the idiot here, Bokkun! That thing wasn't necessarily supposed to stop Sonic, just delay him! Now let's get on the rocket before Sonic destroys the both of us!" He starts running, but I'm not gonna let him get away, especially if he's heading for the rocket! I drop the knife, run up to him, and tackle him onto the ground, and he tries to wrestle me off, but I keep holding my ground. "Dammit! Get offa me, Two Tail!" I shake my head. "No! You're not going anywhere!" I look over at Sonic, Amy, and Knuckles. "Go to the rocket! I'll stay here and hold him off while you do!"
Wow… I actually sound pretty heroic! Sonic shakes his head, though. "I'm not leaving you behind! Knuckles, run up and punch the bully in the head, will ya? Knock him out so Tails can come with us!" No! This is supposed to be my fight! "Stay outta this! This is my fight, Sonic! Not yours, not Knuckles', mine!" Knuckles runs over to us and kicks Rascal in the head just hard enough that he faints. Why in the world did he do that? I needed to settle things once and for all! Knuckles pulls me off of Rascal, and I start flailing, trying to get out of his grasp. "Tails, calm down! It's gonna be fine!" He turns his head toward Amy and asks, "Do you have any idea how to work that thing?" He points toward the Cyclone.
Amy nods. "I've watched Tails while he was using it. I think I can at least get it to the rocket." She climbs into the Cyclone, and Knuckles starts carrying me away. Within only a minute, we make it to the rocket, and we all get inside. "Tails, are you calm enough to fly this thing?" asks Sonic politely. I am, actually… I don't know what got into me back there… I guess I was just very irate… I nod, and Knuckles sets me down as I respond, "Yeah, sorry about that… I don't know why I did that…" A small smile appears on Sonic's face. "It's fine, buddy."
I walk over to the pilot's seat and strap myself in. "You guys each might wanna find a way to strap yourselves in, because I'm gonna have to point the nose of this thing straight up soon." I look behind me and see them rushing to get their seatbelts buckled, except Amy. She just found a place to secure the Cyclone. "Thanks, Amy," I say to her as she walks over to the last empty seat. "No problem," she replies. I turn back to the control panel and push the button that says "LAUNCH PREP". It turns the nose of the rocket upward, and we're being pulled onto the backs of our seats. A hatch opens at the top of the room this thing is in, and I can hear the engines warming up.
I next press the button that reads "LAUNCH", and a countdown begins on the screen inside the rocket. "T-5", and it counts all the way down to zero before we begin takeoff. After a few minutes, we're outside of the atmosphere, and a part of the rocket detaches. That's when I notice a button marked "AUTOPILOT". Convenient. I press it, and an estimated time appears on the screen. "5:06", it reads. That doesn't mean five minutes and six seconds, however. It means five hours and six minutes. "Okay, guys, it's safe to unbuckle. I just hope we don't hit any satellites or space junk."
After Sonic gets up and stretches, he walks over to a door and asks, "Hey, Tails, can I talk with you for a second?" I do need to talk with him… I walk over to him, and we both walk through the door, and we're in an empty hallway. Sonic sits down on the floor, and I follow suit. "Hey, is something wrong, li'l bro?" he inquires. "You know that, whatever it is, you can tell me." I sigh. "I just… don't know what's wrong with me. I just had this lust for payback when I was fighting him. It was like I didn't have any control over what I was doing, and yet I wanted to do it, but a part of me wanted to stop, and… and… It was just so scary!"
My head falls onto his chest and I start crying. It really was scary! He starts stroking the back of my head and calmingly mumbles into my ear, "Hey, hey… It's okay…" I look up at him and yell, "No, it's not! What if that happens when we're doing something important?" He puts a finger up to his mouth. "Shh…" Wait, did I just yell at him? Oh, gosh… "I'm sorry… I just don't want anything like that to happen again…" But I know it's going to happen sometime or another. I just know it… Sonic leans his head down and gives me a light kiss on the forehead. Don't you guys dare go and get the wrong idea from that, though, you hear me? He and I are not gay. Goodness, no. It's just a comfort thing. He and I are brothers, not lovers.
I'm only eight. I still have my moments, and Sonic understands that. "Y'know, I once had it out big time for somebody. I was right around your age, too." I look at him from curiosity and ask, "Really?" He nods in reply. "Yup, and there were times where I was considering doing exactly what you did, and one time I actually did, granted I ended up getting beaten up pretty bad afterward, but it felt good while I was doing it. I wouldn't have felt guilty if I had somehow killed him. After a while however, I started to feel just like you are right now. The need for payback will pass. Don't worry about that. I'm sure that, one day, Rascal will get what he deserves. Right now, though, we need to focus on what's happening right now. Can you do that for me, li'l buddy?"
I sniffle and nod. "Good," says Sonic. "Now let's get ready to kick some Eggman butt…! In about five hours… Man, I hate waiting! Can't this thing go any faster?" That gets a chuckle out of me. Sonic sure is good at cheering people up. He's right about focusing on the now. ARK, here we come!
Hopefully, you guys liked that chapter, and please review! The third and final part of the Sonic Adventure 2 adaptation will be coming soon, and after that, I'm going to do somewhat of an adaptation of Sonic X Season 3. The changes of that adaptation, however, will be much different than the changes in the other adaptations of this story. The details of the Sonic X adaptation will be given in the next update. Until then, bye!
-Camobamo1