AN: Ooh, this one's a long one! You guys will like it. This will also be the first time where I directly avert from the original plot of Sonic X.

Disclaimer: I neither claim nor own anything from Sega, Sonic Team, or Sonic X. All rights of characters are due respectively.

Claimer: I own all characters and plot elements not explicitly owned by the above mentioned.

Sick Bay—Vale Tempest

December-9-3199

22:47 Universal Time

[Now Playing: "The Fletcher Memorial Home" by: Pink Floyd]

When Tails and Cosmo had arrived back at the Vale Tempest to everyone's welcoming surprise, they had sported their spoils, showcasing the fuel cells they had taken from the underground Gemmarex base. Of course, when they were asked how they got out, the two only chuckled and said that they had inside help.

However, with the power restored fully to the ship, Vector nodded to Tails. Solemnly, the kit nodded back and the two went off. Daisy raised her brow, crossing her arms as she watched them. "What's up with them?"

Hertia only patted Daisy's shoulder and gave a look of knowing sympathy in the retreating duo's direction. "Didn't Vector say something about someone who needed therapy?" she reminded her daughter. "Someone important to him? And Tails promised him he would get on it as soon as the power—"

"I get the point, mother," Daisy responded, sass becoming quite clear in her tone.

It was after this that we find our young kit laboring over his mechanical arm, installing the shard of nova that Julius had left them as a departing present into his beam cannon. "Tails, I thought you were gonna be helping out Vanilla," Vector complained. "What is screwing around with your gadget gonna do for us?"

Tails merely sighed, glancing over to their patient. Vanilla was the mature rabbit's name. Vector constantly referred to her as Ms. Vanilla when he was in her presence. Vanilla lay on the bed, shivering and shuddering a bit. "Vanilla doesn't have a mental problem, Vector," he said. "If she did, even I couldn't do anything about it."

Vector only huffed and narrowed his eyes impatiently. He tapped his large foot noisily. "Well can't you just cure her or something then?"

Tails only rolled his as he cocked back the cannon, priming it. "It's not that simple," the kit tried to explain through his gritted teeth, frustration coming over him. "It's an infection of Dark Chaos that's taking over her neural system. I need to take it out at the source."

Vector glanced down to his love interest, then back to the arm cannon and he widened his eyes. "Whoa now, Tails!" he exclaimed. "You're not gonna kill her are you? You don't want to do that!"

Once again the kit rolled his eyes. "Vector, I'd have killed her by now if I wanted to!" he exclaimed, poking Vector's scaly belly. "I don't need nova to kill her. When concentrated energy passes through a nova filter, it creates a high-frequency energy beam. Because the brain and body use low amounts of electricity when in a comatose or disabled state, it gives me time to operate and take out the Dark Chaos, which also happens to emit high-frequency energy."

Vector only shrugged, grunting indifferently. "And what does that mean to me?" he asked dryly.

"It means you'll be able to tell Vanilla all about that wedding day you wanted to have," Tails mocked the crocodile, noticing the crimson sign of embarrassment seep into Vector's cheeks. Having won the squabble, Tails turned back to the mature rabbit. He formed a sort of scalpel with his nova beam and neared Vanilla's forehead.

He twitched his head over to the side for a split second, noticing that Vector had his eyes covered in anxiety. "You can look, you know," he noted blatantly. "It's a high-frequency beam. I can heighten the frequency so it'll go right through her. Don't worry so much."

It was with that said that Tails pierced her with the scalpel. True to his word, not a drop of blood spilled from Vanilla's forehead, and she remained quiet. The only thing she did was shudder as the Dark Chaos was driven from her mind. "Be ready with that energy container, Vector," he ordered as a dark cloud of neon blue substance began to flourish from Vanilla's head.

Vector stood by Tails with a small canister in hand, nervous about the operation. "What do you want me to do with this thing?" he asked confused at the operation of the device.

"Just press the blue button," Tails ordered as he tried to momentarily contain the Dark Chaos with his nova beam. When he noticed a lack of reaction, he groaned. "Push the blue button now!"

The uncoordinated crocodile fumbled with the device before he found the button and pressed it. Instantly, the Dark Chaos surrounding Vanilla was drawn into the canister, sealed away by the energy repression chamber.

Vector nibbled on his fingers after he put the canister down, still unsure if she was going to wake up. Tails only smiled and walked away. "Tell her I said hi, okay?" he asked as he passed out of the sick bay and into the hall. Someone had to commandeer the ship.

While traveling back to the bridge, he could hear cries of joy echoing from the sick bay. Tails only smiled to himself, wiping away a lone tear. "Another good night's work," he murmured tiredly to himself.

[Stop Music]

/\/\/\/\|\/\/\/\/

Syaoron the Fox presents

Fragmented Chaos

Chapter 11

One Good Reason

/\/\/\/\|\/\/\/\/

Bridge—Vale Tempest

December-10-3199

11:05 Universal Time

[Now Playing: "Glass of Water" by: Coldplay]

Ms. Vanilla Rabbit's recovery had gone swiftly once the Dark Chaos had been purged from the widow's mind. Why, by the very next morning she was up and about; tending to the other injured refugees. However, seeing as she was still recovering, she had started her break at the eleventh hour and was accompanied by Vector as they went to the on-board kitchen for a cup of fresh brew.

Tails, having worked late into the night on similar patients with Vanilla's problem, slept into the late evening and was only now arriving at the master control dashboard on the bridge. He gave a weary hello to the others who helped operate on the bridge. Some of Vector's refugees had expertise in battleship operation, and they had volunteered to help.

"Computer, give me current coordinates and the locations of the nearest high-power readings," he ordered the system's A.I. while he typed his password in. "Filter results for those most likely to be Gemmarex outposts and search for wavelengths on the Chaos magnitudes. Bring results up on the navigation screen."

While the computer ran its programming, Tails smiled at a certain person who passed by. "Galaxina!" he greeted her. "I didn't know you were much of a morning person."

She only groaned and rolled her eyes. "You do know it's almost noon, don't you?" she questioned him, furrowing her brow in his direction. Tails recoiled noticeably from the glare as she walked past him. With a sigh, he only went back to the computer.

Recently, Galaxina had been taking Lucas' side in their many recent arguments. The kit wondered what he did that gave the eldest sister reason to dislike him, but it didn't bother him too much. He felt a pat on his shoulder and he glanced back at the Thorndrigan who fathered the family. "Believe me, kid," he said with a light chuckle. "Whatever you did to tick off Galaxina, it takes a lot to get her all riled up."

Tails let out a soft exhale, turning back to the screen as it gave him a few coordinates. "I hope she doesn't hold too much of a grudge against me," he murmured. A few more meaningless algorithms passed by on the screen and he gave a shrug. "Do you think I'll be able to figure out what got her so angry at me?"

"Beats me kid," Lucas answered with a stifled laugh. "It could just be her time of month."

Tails frowned, crossing his arms. "Time of month? What do you mean by that, sir?" he asked quizzically.

Lucas glanced back down at him, suddenly remembering that he was talking to a child, and he scratched his cheek. "Oh, it's nothing you need to worry about," he admitted, waving his hand in dismissal. "Anyway, what're you looking at there?"

Tails turned, looking at the display again and tapping a few things on-screen. "I'm looking for the next place for us to strike," he explained as he opened up the map of their current planetary system. A beacon lit up with the next Gemmarex location. "Now that we're fully operational, we have to start hunting down the emeralds. We have two, and I don't know how many they have. For all I know, they may not have any more. They may have all of them. That's why we need to start hunting down high sources of power."

As Lucas eyed the projection of their new coordinates, he nodded. "I remember that planet," he said. "I used to be an ambassador. A few of your species settled on that planet when I had last visited."

As Tails examined it, blowing up the image of the planet so he could get a more detailed look at it. "You think it's possible that the people from my planet could've gotten them to join their cause?" he asked as he continued to study it.

Of course, all that Lucas was able to do was shrug. "Who knows? If the Gemmarex got to them, it's possible. For all we know, they could've been brainwashed by the powers of Dark Chaos, like with that rabbit."

Tails knew that was very much a possibility as he looked took master control of the ship, arranging their trajectory. "Jenson!" he shouted down to the bridge. "Calculate a trajectory that'll put us in orbit around that planet."

The energetic and loyal "yes sir!" he received was soon followed by a plotted trajectory sent directly to Tails' terminal. He smiled, happy that he had such a vibrant crew.

"Good job, Jenson," he complimented to his unseen advisor, inputting the coordinates and allowing the ship to correct its course. Soon enough, the Vale Tempest was in orbit around the planet. Tails glanced back at Lucas and sighed. "Uh… do me a favor Lucas and go get your daughter."

"Which one?"

Tails sighed, massaging his forehead when he realized his basic mistake. "Galaxina," he corrected himself.

Lucas chuckled deeply, humoring the thought of Tails adding Galaxina to his reconnaissance mission. "Do you really want to do that, son?" Lucas asked, shamelessly belting his laughter. "If you have Galaxina angry at you, you're pretty much granting yourself a death wish."

Tails only raised his brow as he logged out of the system. "I thought you said Galaxina was an ambassador too?" he questioned, clicking a few buttons and locking the master controls. "Is there a reason she shouldn't come?"

The Thorndrigan gave a groan and held up two fingers. "I'll give you two reasons why that won't work, Prower," he said, noting the two extended fingers. "First of all, she's pissed off at you; for a reason only God knows. And then you have the problem of her diplomatic skills. I believe I mentioned that she was an ambassador in training. For all I know, she could get you two captured... or boiled in oil." The elder Seedrian chuckled after his valid reasons were given. "So remind me kit, why do you really want her to come along?"

Tails sighed, pushing his fingers together in his embarrassment. "Alright, so I want to discuss some things with her," he admitted. "I just want to see why she's so angry at me."

Lucas walked toward the entrance to the corridor, leading to the mess hall so he could grab a bite to eat. "Should I begin writing the sermons now?" he mocked the kit as he walked out. "Perhaps you'd like me to prepare your will?"

"Very funny, Lucas; you're a natural born comedian."

[Stop Music]

/\/\/\/\|\/\/\/\/

Planet Proditor

December-10-3199

17:37 Universal Time

An early night had stretched on the nearby planet, around which the Vale Tempest orbited. Down below on the planet's surface, Tails and Galaxina had been dropped and were currently exploring, attempting to find the settlement they had located mere hours before hand. The land was—as the all the others—a new experience for him. However, Galaxina saw this new experience in a different light.

"Why did you have to drop us in this swamp?!" the eldest of the four sisters complained as she stepped over muddy puddles and swatted at bugs that flew around them. She nearly tripped over a tree root, stumbling forward a bit. She barely maintained her balance by leaning on a nearby tree. "I thought we were supposed to be ambassadors! How am I going to look good for my diplomatic strategies when I'm wading through this mucky swamp?"

Tails only groaned, suddenly wondering why he had brought her along in the first place. "Would you just shut up about that already?" he sighed. "We don't even know how they'll receive our diplomacy. Gemmarex could've overrun them, and then we'd be dead! Diplomacy won't do us much good then. We have to observe from a distance first."

"A distance? We're three whole kilometers away!"

"It's actually only two kilometers."

"That's irrelevant!" Galaxina shouted in response. She dragged her hand over her eyelids, stretching them in her frustration. "I don't want to be here. And why the hell is it night time? It's only 17 o'clock for goodness sakes!"

Tails shook his head, stepping easily over fallen logs and roots in his path. "You seem to be forgetting that this planet revolves on its axis faster. Day and night switch faster because of it."

"But my question remains," she remarked. "Why do we have to do this at night?"

"Honestly, I thought you'd have picked up on some of my standard tactics by now," Tails spicily replied. "We go under the cover of night to stand of better chance of not being spotted. You know, unless you enjoy eating a machinegun sandwich."

Galaxina nearly fumed, but being ladylike in her nature, she calmed down and gave a firm glare to Tails. "Alright then, fox. Riddle me this," she said. "If I complain so much, and I don't know your standard tactics, and you know all of this, then why did you decide to take me along in the first place? Why not Cosmo?"

Tails merely sighed, narrowing his eyes as he gave the Petali girl a onceover. "I wanted to ask you about what's bothering you so much," he admitted as they finally reached the outskirts of the swamp area. The kit sat on a rock, frowning as he looked up at the blue-schemed girl. "You seem to be harboring some kind of contempt for me."

"You're absolutely right. I am."

The kitsune rubbed at his eye, still a bit tired from his lack of sleep. "Why?"

Galaxina only scoffed and sat down on a rock adjacent to his. "You really think I don't see it?" she asked. "I see the way you two look at each other and talk to each other. I notice how you take her on missions with you a lot."

Tails suddenly blinked. "Wait, is this about Cosmo?" he asked her, suddenly understanding her reference. "Are you jealous? Is that what this is about?"

"No, you fool!" she shouted at him, pointing an accusing finger at him. "I know you're making a move on her! Stay away from my sister, you hear me?"

Tails remained quiet for a few moments before bursting out into fits of laughter. "You think I'm trying to ask her out or something?" he clarified. "I'm nowhere near as confident with women as you think I am."

After humming for a few seconds, Galaxina twisted the petals on her head in confusion. "You're not?" she wondered aloud, contorting her expression through her confusion. "But you've had to spend so much time with all of us women…"

"It's not quite the same thing. I'm not very good with relationships," he responded, scratching his nose. "I love all of you. You've all taken me in as though I was family, and you treat me like family… You know, with the exception of Lucas. He still kinda treats me like dirt."

Galaxina seemed to lighten up a bit and gave a friendly laugh. "Oh yeah, he still kinda does," she remembered. She remained to tap her chin however, still in thought. "What about Cosmo?" she inquired. "What are your feelings for her?"

As the query was spoken, it put a thought in Tails' head as he tried to see the youngest Petali sister in that sort of light; as a closer companion. He blushed noticeably before looking away. "I… we can talk about this later," he stuttered as he pointed to a few lights in the distance. "I can see the settlement up ahead."

[Now Playing: "Shot in the Dark" by: Within Temptation]

Galaxina rolled her eyes, noticing her partner's clear attempt to divert from the subject, but gave a slight nod anyway, standing up at the same time as the young kit. They dashed up the hill, the settlement lying just beyond it. The discreet duo crawled into a prone position as they peered over the hill. "There they are," Tails whispered.

The kit looked over to Galaxina, noting that she had given a signal to run down. The two quickly made their way down the hill and into the small town, hiding in the alleyways. "First thing' first," Galaxina whispered. "You said we have to see if they're enemies, neutrals, or friends; right?" Tails gave a quiet nod, noticing the determination hidden in her eyes. "Then we have to observe them."

Tails nodded, grasping her wrists and flying to the roof a nearby building. Admittedly, the city seemed quite normal at first glance. There was a park in the middle of the city, with small shops scattered around it. The center of commerce was what Galaxina had identified it as. It seemed to be a serene place, with people gathering around the streets.

However, as they glanced down to the boulevard, Tails grimaced. Members of the local militia were parading around the block, hoisting burning torches and black flags that bore a white dot with two spiraling white streaks that encircled the dot. He recognized it immediately as the Gemmarex insignia. "I don't think we'll be able to talk to them," he said uneasily as he grasped Galaxina's wrists and flew her down to the streets.

Galaxina gasped. "Tails, are you insane?" she questioned the flying kitsune, her eyes shaking in fear. "They'll catch us for sure if you put us down there!"

Tails only shushed her, pulling her aside and into the alley. "Take one of these and put it on," he ordered her. He retrieved two black cloaks, stuffing one of the fabrics into Galaxina's arms before hastily putting his on. "This will hide our identities for the time being."

Galaxina took a skeptical look at the draping cloak, confused at its simplicity. "That's it?" she asked, rather unimpressed by it. "No invisibility shield? No warp trigger? No active camouflage? You expect us to disguise ourselves with a cloak?"

The kit pursed his lips and sighed, putting the offending piece of clothing over Galaxina. "Just put it on," he said, dragging her out into the crowd. His bionic arm took on the form of his arm cannon, empowered with the nova from before. "Just be ready to get out of here at any moment."

They hid among the traveling crowd, watching as they gathered at the center of the park where a platform stood. The elevated platform was guarded all around by Gemmarex soldiers and lit dimly by torches. It appeared to them to be some sort of pep rally or massive riot.

A lone chipmunk stood on the platform before a microphone placed on a stand. It took all of Tails' will not to gasp as he sighted the she-chipmunk, immediately recognizing her. "Aunt Sally?" he breathed out, hardly audible only to Galaxina.

"Who?" the Petali girl asked. For a moment she saw confusion, fear, and pain all swirling in the eyes of the young, Light Chaos user. She noted the features of the chipmunk; her denim vest, teal combat boots. The most alluring of her features though were here unnaturally black eyes, as if a deeper presence was hidden within. She wondered for a moment what connection the kit had with her. "Who's that?"

There was no time for an answer as Sally began her speech. "People of Planet Proditor!" she greeted them, receiving a loud huzzah in response from the gathering crowd. "It is with great pleasure that the Gemmarex accept you into our universal alliance! We have already begun the draft, and are delighted to see that so many of you are complying quickly and willingly with it. It will mean a great victory that we have you all on our side.

"However, there is one obstacle that you need to be made aware of," she continued, clicking a small switch that lit the nighttime area with holographic projections of Tails and the Chaotix. "Miles Prower and a group of insurrectionists known as the Chaotix have defied us for far too long. They are priority-one targets, and will need to be taken care of. They have been known to be traveling with a family of Seedrians from the nearby planet Greengate, on a spaceship known as the Vale Tempest. We are currently unaware of their position…"

Galaxina tuned out the rest of the announcements that were being made when she turned to her partner, noticing that his arm cannon was primed and he was aiming it at the chipmunk on stage. "Tails, are you insane?" she hissed at him. She couldn't see the tears in her eyes, as they were hidden behind the hood he used to cover his head. "They'll all hear you, and you'll get us into trouble."

Whether he was going to respond then and there, she wasn't sure. They were grabbed from behind, their arms pinned, preventing him from responding. "Gotcha," Galaxina's captor grumbled. Even with her back faced to him, Galaxina could sense the smirk on his face.

They were shoved forward and the crowd making way for new captives. The spying duo was brought up onto the stage, forced to kneel before the chipmunk. Sally only gritted her teeth as she paced toward Tails. "Well, if it isn't Miles Prower: Public Enemy Number-one," she mused dryly, her sharp voice grinding through barred canines and piercing the kit like daggers in his heart. "It irks me to know that I have to keep you alive."

Galaxina could only watch. They're hoods were pulled back, revealing to her the tearstained cheeks of the young kitsune. "Aunt Sally, this isn't you!" he shouted at her while bucking in the grasp of his captors, trying to break free. "Why are you acting this way? What happened to you?"

Galaxina could hardly hear the soft breathing of Tails when Sally laid a hand on his cheek, almost caringly. A false feeling, shown clearly as she brought her hand about the kit's face, leaving a stinging red mark. "I could ask the same of you, traitor."

"I'm not the traitor! All of you are!"

Sally only glared indignantly at him as she turned her back on them. "Take him away," she coldly ordered the captors. "Do with the Petali what you wish."

Tails almost couldn't believe what he heard. He bit his bottom lip, trying to deal with the horrible reality that he had been dealt. In an almost cold and calculating manner, he tugged the edges of his lips into a smile and charged a blast on his arm cannon. "Not today, Sal," he snidely remarked as he let loose the blast, distracting the guards long enough for them to get out of their hold. His eyes immediately darted over to Sally, a befuddled look on her face, and he lunged at her, grabbing her up in his arms much to her dismay.

"Unhand me, scum!" she shouted at him, suddenly becoming completely defenseless without her ability to fight back."

Tails only ignored her as he looked back over to Galaxina. "We have to get out of here while we still can," he suggested to her as he heaved a struggling Sally in his arms. "I know how to snap her out of this."

Galaxina nearly paled as she fired a few random shots off behind her with her pistol. "Snap her out of what? She's part of the Gemmarex!" she scolded the kit as she skipped to the side after being grazed by a bullet. "It's not like you can magically change her mind. That stuff only works in fairy tales."

Tails only shook his head, tears floating in the air as he ran with her. He grasped her wrist and hid behind a tree, still trying to keep Sally under wraps. "Didn't you see the black in her eyes?" he asked her. When it came to her mind, Galaxina had to admit that she had seen the black tint in her irises. "That's a surefire sign that she's under control of Dark Chaos. I can cure her!"

Galaxina only shook her head, backing off a bit. "Not gonna happen, kid. I can't sugarcoat this for you," she admitted. "Your fancy nova tech isn't gonna bring her back. Didn't you tell me yourself that if the damage was caused too long ago, it wouldn't work?"

"But it's different this time!" he shouted back. "Light Chaos purifies Dark Chaos! I can bring her back!"

"Stop acting foolish, Tails! You can't bring her back."

"Yes, I can! You're being foolish," he accused her. He was about to lament further, but a he could hear a sharp screech in the distance, one particularly made by incoming missiles. He could only shove Galaxina away and demand her to run before the rocket-propelled grenade smashed into the tree, blasting him back and piercing him with wood from the tree.

Tails let out a gag from the intense pain that shot through him. The splintering wood rained into him like shrapnel, pinning him to the ground. He was nearly surprised that he didn't faint right then and there. As his vision blurred, he turned to find the blurry blue smudge in his eyes that he realized was Galaxina. "Run Galaxina!" he yelled at her, ignoring the pain in his gut. "Get out of here!"

Galaxina found herself torn as she watched her friend bleed out on the ground. She backed away slowly, noticing that Sally began to stand up, unscathed from the blast. Heeding her friend's warning, she left him behind and ran away. She could hear the Gemmarex cheering in their victory as she ran off into the distance, disappearing into the forest.

When she was sure she was out of danger, she sat back against a tree, tears welling in her eyes. She didn't know what would become of the kitsune, but she planned on finding out one way or another. She flipped open her communicator and waited till someone picked up. "Somebody, please! Tails was captured!"

[Stop Music]