AUTHOR'S NOTE: Here I am. It has been a while. This chapter took forever! It was a pain to write. I rewrote it like twice before deeming it worthy of posting. But don't worry. My next chapter won't take as long to write. I've got the whole thing pretty much worked out and I'm gonna have it finished soon. So, yeah, anyway... ENJOY!
Tails woke up with a splitting headache. He felt like the inside of his head was on fire. He also had no idea why his head felt like that. He knew there was a reason, but he couldn't remember what it was.
"Oh, guys, he's coming to," he heard a familiar voice say quickly. He couldn't place the owner of the voice. He opened his eyes slowly, only to be blinded by the light in whatever place he was in. He put his hand up to shield his eyes from the light and everything else came into focus around him slowly. He saw three people standing over him, watching him anxiously. The first person he recognized was Lucy, who was standing on the left side of the bed, watching him intently. The second person was Sonic, who was standing on his right, watching him with the same intent as Lucy. The third was Sally, who was standing next to Sonic and watching Tails with the same expression as the other two, but she looked really nervous, too.
"Uhhh," groaned Tails exhaustedly. He coughed a couple times and put his hand down as his eyes adjusted to the light. "What happened?"
"Uh..." started Sonic nervously.
"We went to go save your mother," finished Lucy slowly. Then it hit Tails. He remembered the note from Dragon, he remembered his mother's face in the small window of the door; he remembered Sonic coming to warn him about the trap Dragon had set up. He couldn't remember anything after that, though.
"Oh, okay, that's-" Tails stopped to yawn. "-good." He looked up at Lucy. "Where is she?" She raised her eyebrows in surprise. Tails looked around to see that Sonic and Sally were wearing the same surprised faces.
"Um, Tails..." Lucy's voice trailed off. Tails' heart stopped as he feared the worst. He knew what she was getting at, but he didn't want to believe that. She looked down sadly as she opened her mouth to finish the sentence. "Your mother didn't make it." Then the rest of the event hit Tails as the words came out of her mouth. He remembered how he fought and struggled against Sonic as the blue hedgehog dragged him down the front walk of his house; how he watched with tear-blurred vision as his mother's face in the small, square window slowly drifted away from him.
Tails looked up at Sonic angrily, his heart pounding with rage for the hedgehog that was supposed to be his best friend, his big brother.
"Tails-" Sonic was cut off as the enraged fox aimed a telekinetic punch at him that sent him to the floor with a low, pained grunt. Tails groaned and grabbed his head as it exploded with pain from the task of powering the punch up.
"Tails!" yelled Lucy and gasped Sally in unison. Sally bent down to help Sonic up while Lucy grabbed Tails by the shoulder and shoved him back down onto the bed.
"Down!" she commanded angrily as she held him. Tails crossed his arms and cocked his head to the side haughtily as Sonic stood up with Sally's help.
"Sally, Lucy," said Sonic quietly as he wiped a trickle of blood from his mouth with the back of his hand. Tails noticed that there was a white bandage wrapped around most of Sonic's right forearm. "I think Tails and I need to have a private talk right now. Please leave." He stared directly at Tails; the only perceivable expression on his face was the determination in his eyes. Tails couldn't figure out what he was determined to do right now, but he could tell he wasn't going to give up easily.
"Sonic, no, I don't-" Sally started to protest.
"Go, Sally!" commanded Sonic shortly, cutting her off. She opened her mouth to protest further, but just sighed defeatedly and led Lucy out the door, shutting it behind them. Sonic turned around slowly to lock the door. Tails took the chance to reach for his foot under the covers to grab a knife from his shoe, only to realize he wasn't wearing them. Then he realized he wasn't wearing anything. He looked over the side of the bed to see his shoes lying on the floor. He grabbed the knife hidden in his right shoe with his mind and pulled it to him, catching it as it zoomed out of the small slot in the back of his sole.
Tails took the knife and raised it above his head as Sonic started to turn back around. He launched it quickly and saw it fly at the hedgehog. It embedded itself in the door right by his right ear as he turned his attention towards Tails, only to quickly recoil to the side at the loud THUD of the knife. Tails hadn't meant to hit Sonic. Just scare the crap out of him.
"Holy shit!" he exclaimed loudly as he ducked down. "Where'd you get the knife? I thought I'd taken them all from you."
"Why'd you take all my knives?" asked Tails quickly, narrowing his eyes at the hedgehog.
"You haven't exactly been asleep, Tails," retorted Sonic somewhat coldly. "You've been having random night terrors ever since we got you into bed." He raised his right arm and pointed to the bandage around it. "This was courtesy of the little episode you had a few hours ago. After we got you settled down and gotten my wound dressed, I took it upon myself to strip-search you for anymore knives that you had."
"Maybe you deserved that," said Tails coldly.
"Okay, what could I have possibly done to deserve getting filleted by you?" asked Sonic challengingly.
"I could have saved her!" yelled Tails angrily in retort. "But you wouldn't let me! You are just as responsible for her death as Dragon is!"
"Yeah, 'cause I was the one who trapped her inside a house of C4," said Sonic sarcastically.
"He was giving me a chance to save her," growled Tails hatefully.
"At what cost, Tails?" yelled Sonic. "A thousand innocent people? And the backbone of the United Federation's economy? That's what that building was. That would have caused devastation for their government. That little stunt Dragon pulled isn't just psychotic mass murder now. It's being seen as a terrorist attack. Do you think that's what your mother would have wanted you to sacrifice for her?" Tails opened his mouth to respond, but no words came out. All he could do was sit and stare at Sonic with a, somewhat shocked, but otherwise, blank expression. "I thought so." Sonic crossed his arms and leaned up against the wall.
"Y- You're r- r- right," stammered Tails quietly as he looked down at the covers over his legs. "It- it's not you're f- fault." Sonic sighed and looked at him sadly. He walked slowly over to Tails and sat down next to him on the bed, laying his hand on Tails' shoulder reassuringly. "I'm- I'm sorry, Sonic."
"It's fine, little buddy," said Sonic quietly. "I'm really sorry about all of this. It must be insanely overwhelming." Tails nodded silently.
That's when he broke. He pulled his knees up to his chest and buried his head into them, racked with sobs as he tried, and failed, to fight them back. Sonic patted him on the back softly as he watched his little brother endure a torture he had never experienced. Sure, he had lost his parents at a young age to Robotnik's takeover, but he had always lived with the hope that they would return one day. Tails didn't even have that.
After Tails had finished, he looked up at Sonic. His eyes were red and the fur on his face was soaked with sweat and tears.
"It's okay, buddy," said Sonic quietly. "We'll get through this. Somehow." Tails nodded silently as he looked at the wall opposite him, staring at it absentmindedly, lost in thought. "Hey, your parents did leave you some stuff, though." Tails looked back at Sonic.
"What?" he asked quietly. Sonic turned around and went to the side of the room to retrieve a long, black object that was leaning against the wall. He brought it over to Tails and laid it in front of him. Tails looked it over. "My father's sword?" The blue hedgehog nodded and smiled sadly.
"Your mother told me that he left it for you in his will," said Sonic quietly. Tails slid a small portion of the blade out of its scabbard and looked at it closely. It shone brightly in the light. He smiled softly as he admired the sword. Sonic felt a small twinge of comfort as he watched the first smile he'd seen from the fox in the last twenty four hours, as small and soft as it was, cross his face.
"Thanks, Dad," he whispered somewhat happily as he slid the sword back in its scabbard.
"Your mother also gave me this," said Sonic, gesturing to the nightstand by the bed. Tails spotted the photograph he'd taken with his parents on his sixteenth birthday.
"Thanks," said Tails gratefully, looking up at Sonic.
"Don't thank me, thank your mom," said Sonic. Tails nodded.
"So, how long was I out?" asked Tails curiously.
"Well, more than a day, actually," said Sonic. "I think the subconscious shock might have given a bit of an extra push when Lucy knocked you off your feet with a nice tazing."
"Like, how many hours?" asked Tails.
"About..." Sonic looked up as he counted in his head. "Thirty? Thirty two?"
"Wow," said Tails with an exhausted groan.
"Yeah," said Sonic. "We were able to get you woken up enough to eat half a loaf of bread and drink a glass of water, but I know you weren't lucid for it."
"And how many of these 'night terrors' did I have?" asked Tails.
"Well, this-" Sonic held up his bandaged arm. "-was the last one. That was a few hours ago. Before that, there was one where you nearly took out that wall." Sonic pointed to the wall behind him. "And the first one you had, you carved that into the mirror." Sonic pointed to the mirror by the closet to Tails' left. It was about seven feet tall and two feet wide. There were different words carved into the mirror. Most of them were "FATHER", "MOTHER", "MOM", "DAD", "PARENTS", and other words of that subject matter.
"It's like a freaking demon possession," remarked Tails plainly.
"That's what happens when you put an immensely powerful psychic in a 'trauma coma'," said Sonic. Tails nodded. "Oh, one more thing. Elias wants to see you. He told me to tell you to come ASAP, but only when you're ready to."
"Alright, I'll go tomorrow," said Tails. "Could you send Lucy in?"
"Sure," said Sonic quietly with a soft nod. He walked to the door and left. Lucy came in shortly afterward and watched as Tails sat up to face her.
"Listen, Miles, I'm sorry about-" started Lucy quickly.
"It's okay," said Tails quietly, cutting her apology off. She looked at him with raised eyebrows. "You did the right thing. I was nowhere near thinking straight. You kept me straight. Thank you, Lucy."
"Um... Your welcome," said Lucy softly. She walked over to the bed and sat down next to Tails, kissing him softly on the cheek.
"Oh, wow, I need some dinner," said Tails quietly, feeling his stomach rumble furiously. Then he took Lucy's wrist and looked at her watch. "It's dinner time, right?" The watch read "three thirty". "Eh, close enough." He dropped Lucy's wrist.
"It's alright," said Lucy with a chuckle. "I'll get you something." She got up to leave, but Tails grabbed her arm to stop her.
"No," he said quietly. "You wanna have dinner with me?"
"Well, sure, but I have to go get it," said Lucy, pointing to the door.
"I'll take care of that," said Tails, releasing her arm and scooting over to one side of the bed, patting his hand on the other side, telling Lucy to sit by him. She smiled and sat down. Tails closed his eyes and concentrated hard, reaching out with his mind to find the people he needed. He sat there for another moment as he focused, opening his eyes and smiling at Lucy. "Just a few minutes."
Sure enough, a few minutes later, Sonic and Antoine walked in, each holding a plate of food in each hand. Sonic placed a plate in front of each fox. They both had a chili dog, a cheeseburger, and a pile of fries on them.
"I decided to run out and get you two something," he said with a warm smile. "I'll get the drinks." He ran out quickly, leaving Antoine to put his plates in front of the foxes. They both held a pile of spaghetti and a chicken meal on them.
"And I decided to make you two something," he said kindly. "Bon appétit." He bowed slightly and walked to the door. Sonic came back in and placed a drink on each nightstand on either side of the bed. He followed Antoine to the door and left quickly, flashing them both a quick smile before closing the door behind him.
"One telepathic push and I have the finest homemade and fast food cuisine in the city in front of me," said Tails with a clever smile.
"Oh, you're bad," said Lucy with an amused smile.
"Shh," shushed Tails as he playfully put his finger to his lips. He lowered his voice to a whisper. "It'll be our little secret."
Dragon walked down the hallway of the apartment building quickly. His steps were fast and silent. He stopped as he came to the door he was looking for. He reached inside the room on the other side with his mind, seeing who was in the vicinity. After he had assessed where everyone was, he concentrated on broadcasting a telepathic signal that told everyone around him to ignore him and whatever he does. After that, he snapped his fingers and the door unlocked itself. He turned the knob slowly and quietly. As strong and sure as he was that no one would notice him, he knew it never hurt to be careful to not draw attention to himself while he was trying to hide. He walked into the apartment quietly and shut the door behind him, locking it again.
Tails lay awake on his bed, lost in thought as he stared, unfocused, at the alarm clock in Sonic's guest room on the nightstand. It read eight o' clock now. Right beside it stood the photograph of him and his parents. The only photograph he had left of them, excluding whatever he could dig up off the computer. He looked at it longingly, wishing that there was some way that he could bring them back, hoping that he wouldn't feel as alone as he did right now forever. He felt a single tear run down his cheek as he gazed at the picture. Then his thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the door opening and closing. He heard the soft footsteps of someone walking to the side of his bed behind him.
It's probably just Lucy coming to check up on me, Tails thought to himself as he sighed softly and closed his eyes in an attempt to feign sleep. After the dinner they had had, they had both agreed that Tails needed to rest a little more, so Tails wanted her to think that he was asleep. He had tried to sleep since she left, but he had so much in his mind right now, add that to the fact that he had just woken up from a thirty hour coma, however restless it was, he knew there was no way he was going to sleep for a while.
"Hello, Tails," Tails spun around at the sound of Dragon's voice behind him. He turned to see the black dog standing at his bedside, smiling maliciously. He was wearing a pair of dark blue jeans and his usual black leather jacket.
"You bast-!" Tails started to launch himself at Dragon.
"Sit down and shut up," Dragon said calmly, holding his hand up to cut Tails off. Tails stopped in mid-assault. He had no idea why, but he felt the sudden urge to sit back and listen to Dragon. He tried as hard as he could to fight it, but he sat back and quietly, if very hatefully, watched the dog in front of him. "Ah, that's better, Mr. Prower. Now, first, I'd like to start out by saying that you don't have to worry, all your friends outside are fine. Whether they stay that way or not is up to how civil you'd like to act right now."
"Do I have a choice?" asked Tails quietly, finding that he couldn't raise his voice louder than what most would consider the quieter side of an "inside voice".
"The level of civility will be judged by the amount of resistance you give me," explained Dragon as he sat down on the end of the bed.
"What do you want?" asked Tails, narrowing his eyes angrily, but otherwise, choosing not to resist against the mind control.
"Just to talk," said Dragon casually. He sighed softly. "So, both parents. I took them both from you. You wish I had killed you yet?"
"Oh, believe me, that thought crossed my mind," said Tails, quoting the words Dragon had spoken over the phone two nights before. "Albeit, for a little less than a nanosecond. But then I thought about my parents and how they wouldn't want me to give up just like that."
"Well, maybe we can find someone who'd be a little less encouraging of rising to an impossible and crazy challenge," said Dragon quietly. "How about Sonic? Maybe we could get him to convince you to give up more easily."
"If you get near him or any of the others, I'll-" started Tails threateningly.
"You'll what?" challenged Dragon. "You'll hunt me down? Torture me? Redefine what the word 'pain' means to me?"
"Yes," spat Tails angrily. "And then some."
"Well, like I said, one of your friend's will help me convince you to give up," said Dragon. "I'm still trying to figure out what message they'll send, though. How about Sonic's head in a box? You think that will be enough to make you wanna die?"
"I honestly think that getting that message would fire me up even more," growled Tails hatefully.
"Oh, you won't be the one getting the message directly," explained Dragon amusedly. "No, I was thinking Sally could bring you the message. Imagine what kind of damage that would deal to her. Poor, dear, pregnant Sally finding her beloved husband's disembodied, hollowed-out head on her front step. That could have a very devastating effect on a hormone-crazed, pregnant woman. I'm talking serious psychological damage."
"Okay, fine, if you want to kill me so bad, stop beating around the bush," challenged Tails angrily. "Go on, you're right here, kill me. Finish it off."
"No," said Dragon plainly. "See, when I kill you, I want it to be because you begged me to. I want to see you on your knees, groveling at my feet, crying for me to kill you."
"What happens should I decide to off myself?" asked Tails. "What if I wanna sacrifice myself to keep the others safe?"
"Then I can promise you that I won't let off if you do," said Dragon. "I will still torture your friends." He stared Tails down for a moment before speaking again. "Now, go to sleep, Miles. You need your rest. And don't worry. I won't harm anyone anytime soon. I'll give you a week to rest up. Then it's time for round two of our little game." Dragon stood up and turned toward the door. Tails felt himself drifting to sleep as he watched Dragon walk away, unable to do anything to stop him from escaping.
"You wanted to see me, Sir?" Tails knelt politely in front of King Elias the next morning.
"Yes, Tails," replied Elias quietly as Tails rose. "Firstly, I wanted to give you my condolences and to tell you that that your Uncle Merlin is overseeing most of the planning, but there are some things that we'll want your input on, so you don't have to worry about planning an entire funeral service."
"Thank you, Sir," said Tails, nodding politely. "Is Uncle Merlin in town?"
"Um, no, he's on his way, though," said Elias quietly. "Now, another matter we need to discuss. I had a bit of an idea. I don't know if you had heard about the job your father was going to take up before this whole mess started."
"Yeah, he told me about it a bit," said Tails quietly. "It was some kind of merger between the Kingdom and the United Federation, right? Like an Acorn Military-G.U.N. merger, right?"
"Yes, a bit like that," said Elias, clearing his throat. "Now, fortunately, due to your exoneration, I've been able to work out a new deal with G.U.N. They're willing to do the merger again if we make the new team of soldiers a squad of psychics. Obviously, I need a crash course in how psychic abilities work. Sally told me that you could explain that. She also said that you said that I'm a very powerful candidate for abilities?"
"Yes, Sir, I did say that," said Tails. "You have a lot of psychic potential."
"Yes, well, anyway, along with an explanation, we're going to need someone who can pick good candidates for the team and someone to train them," said Elias. "Tails, I wanted to know if you would want to take up your father's position as the squad's leader." Tails raised his eyebrows in surprise.
"Um... Su- Sure," said Tails quickly. "I'd love to take that position. It would be an honor."
"Good," said Elias quietly.
"Sir, could I make a few requests, though?" asked Tails.
"What are they?" asked Elias curiously.
"Well, actually, just one," said Tails. "I'd like to hold off on this project until Dragon's outta the way. I've got a lot on my plate right now with him. I don't think I can maintain my own psychic-soldier team at the same time. Plus, anyone on that team is at risk of being killed or recruited by Dragon."
"I understand," said Elias with a nod. "But I will still want an explanation from you about how this stuff works, Tails."
"Is there any way I could ask to do that at a sit-down with you and Shadow?" asked Tails politely. "Y'know, so I can kill two birds with one stone?"
"Of course, how does tomorrow morning sound?" asked Elias.
"Good for me," said Tails, holding two thumbs up. "I'll have to ask Shadow, though."
"I'll make sure Shadow's there," said Elias with a chuckle.
"Okay," said Tails quietly. He bowed politely and turned to leave. "Goodbye, Your Majesty."
"Be at the palace gates at ten tomorrow morning," said Elias kindly. "And, Tails?" Tails turned to look at Elias. "Take it easy. We can handle Dragon for now. Hunting down a psychopath isn't conducive for a healthy grieving process, Tails."
"All due respect, Your Majesty," started Tails gravely. "Dragon eluded your men for a month in one of Station Square's penthouse apartments. Couple that with the fact that Dragon's out to get me through my friend's. Sonic's next on the list, Sally's probably after him. Plus, Sally's pregnant, so that makes it that much worse if either dies. Considering all that, I'd say the fact that I'm not out there hunting him down right now is taking it easy enough."
"Should I put security on Sonic and Sally's apartment?" asked Elias somewhat nervously. Tails thought for a moment.
"No, don't waste the manpower," said Tails. "Dragon said he'd back off for the next week."
"You believe him?" asked Elias skeptically.
"Dragon's honest," said Tails. "Lying about the game he's playing with me is beneath him. He doesn't have to lie to play with me, so he won't. The fact that he's being totally honest about it and still winning just makes it more fun for him." Elias nodded silently as Tails turned to leave again.
"How'd it go?" Tails looked in the direction of the voice as he walked into the apartment. He saw Lucy laid back on the couch, looking up at him expectantly. On the love-seat across the room sat Sonic and Sally, looking at him with the same expectant expression. The only person who wasn't watching Tails was Antoine, who was lying on the lounge chair to Tails' right, sleeping quietly.
"Antoine, wake up, you'll wanna hear this," said Tails as he walked over to the couch and hopped over the back, landing behind Lucy in a sitting position. He put his feet up on the coffee table and laid back, letting Lucy lay her head in his lap. Tails looked up at Antoine to see that he was still asleep. "Yo! Ant!" Tails flicked his hand out, snapping his fingers in a small flourish. A spark of electricity flew out of his hand and impacted on his shoulder, causing him to twitch slightly as he jolted up from his slumber with a sharp yelp.
"Whoa!" he yelled in surprise. He looked over to Tails and Lucy, who were chuckling slightly. "What did you do zat for?" He gave them an annoyed look.
"Sorry, you wanna be awake for this, though, 'Twan," said Tails with a smile. He looked around the room and exhaled slowly. "Elias wants to put my father's G.U.N.-Acorn team back together." Sonic, Lucy, and Sally all raised their eyebrows at him and Antoine gasped in surprise. "And he wants me to take my father's place as leader."
"YIPPEE!" yelled Antoine happily, standing up and throwing his arms up in excitement.
"Tails, that's great," said Sally slowly. "But he just wants to give you an important military position like that with no ordinary military training?"
"Yep," said Tails shortly. "Because he and G.U.N. want to make the team into a military psychic squad." Antoine froze in his excited celebration and looked at Tails in shock. He sat back down and bent over, leaning his head on his hands and looking down sorrowfully.
"Aww," he groaned sadly.
"What's wrong, Ant?" asked Tails with a cocked eyebrow.
"I'm not a psychic," said Antoine. "I'm not going to be on ze team."
"I'll be the judge of that, Antoine," said Tails promptly. He motioned for Antoine to come to him. Antoine came and Tails held his hand out to him. He gave the fox his hand and Tails closed his eyes for a second. "Eh, it could be worse." He released Antoine's hand and opened his eyes, smiling softly up at the coyote. "You're better off than Sonic, but still not good. Maybe..." Tails looked up thoughtfully. "One ability?" He looked down at Lucy. "Maybe a little of a second?" She gave an approving head tick. "He's not very potent, but he's got a good capacity."
"What?" asked Antoine confusedly.
"It means that you're a decent learner when it comes to learning an ability, but you're not gonna be very strong with them," explained Tails casually.
"Is zat good?" asked Antoine slowly.
"Well, depends what you mean by good," said Tails.
"Normally, capacity and potency are directly proportional," said Lucy. "If you're really powerful, you've probably got the ability to learn any number of abilities, just like if you're not very powerful-"
"Which you're not," cut in Tails.
"-then you probably won't be able to learn very many abilities."
"You're lucky if you learn one," Tails continued for Lucy. "But some are either inversely proportional or not proportional at all. You aren't proportional. You aren't very powerful, but you could probably learn two abilities. Not easily-"
"And you'd never be real strong," cut in Lucy.
"But you might be able to survive, possibly win an actual psychic battle," finished Tails.
"Does zat mean I am on ze team?" asked Antoine hopefully.
"It means I could probably get you on as a hand-to-hand expert," said Tails.
"How does hand-to-hand figure into a psychic team?" asked Sonic confusedly. Tails stood up slowly, letting Lucy lift her head out of his lap and sit up on the couch.
"Well, one, very basic tactic in a psychic fighter's arsenal is this," said Tails. He drew his fist back and threw a punch into the air. As Tails finished the punch, a soft, high-pitched screech emanated from his hand. "You can boost your punches, kicks, and anything else that involves direct impact on something with a little bit of a telekinetic energy boost. I'll show you how to do that later, Ant."
"Ahh," hummed Sonic understandingly.
"Yeah, so I have no experience with military close-combat tactics," said Tails. "So I'll need you for that."
"Am I on this team?" asked Lucy as Tails sat down again. She laid her head back in his lap and looked up at him.
"I'm sure I could use you," said Tails. "After all, you're a much more powerful psychic than I am."
"That's true," said Lucy with a clever smile. Then her face took on a slightly somber expression. "So, when's your parents' funeral?"
"I called my Uncle Merlin on the way over here," started Tails with a sigh. "He said that it should be in a couple days. He's coming over later tonight to visit, see how I'm doing, etcetera."
"Ah," said Sonic and Lucy softly in unison.
"I'm really sorry, Tails," said Sally softly.
"It's fine," said Tails, craning his head back and looking up at the ceiling thoughtfully. "I- I just need to focus on taking down Dragon."
"Well, if it helps any," said Lucy quietly. "You and I could do a little sparring. I've been waiting to take you on. You wanna give it a go?"
"No, thanks," sighed Tails somewhat sadly without looking down at Lucy. "Maybe some other time, Luce." He gently lifted her head out of his lap and stood up. He walked around the couch and into the hallway, disappearing silently around the corner of the wall. They all heard the quiet opening and closing of the door to the guest room.
The next morning, Tails found himself sitting at a small table in a large, silent courtyard inside the palace grounds. Shadow sat across from him, watching him silently, expressionless. There was a pot of coffee in the middle of the table. Shadow hadn't touched it, but Tails had poured himself a cup, but only taken one sip of the beverage even though they had been waiting for about a half hour for Elias to come. He had told them he'd only be a few minutes.
Finally, the silence was broken by the sound of two large gates being opened at one end of the courtyard. Elias walked slowly down the length of the courtyard to the small table that the two Mobians were waiting at.
"Sorry for the delay," he said politely as he sat down between the two. "I got a bit sidetracked."
"No problem," said Tails indifferently. "So, where do you two wanna start?"
"How about at the beginning?" asked Shadow, raising his eyebrows expectantly.
"Okay, so, Psychics 101, then?" asked Tails.
"Actually, I was thinking the very beginning," said Shadow. "Preferably starting right after you shot Sonic and jumped out the window."
"What?" asked Tails, eyebrows raised in surprise. "You haven't heard that story?"
"No, I have," said Shadow with a shrug. "I just wanna hear your story. I don't like hearing things secondhand. I like firsthand accounts."
"Oh, wow," groaned Tails annoyedly. "Alright, fine, I'll start there." So Tails told Shadow the story that he had told everyone else already, starting with jumping out his bedroom window and ending with the crash course on psychics he had given to Sally, Sonic, and Nate.
"And that's everything that happened," finished Tails promptly. "And that's all I can figure out about how psychics work."
"So, you can tell if people are psychics or not?" asked Shadow with a cocked eyebrow.
"I can," said Tails shortly.
"Okay," said Shadow. He put on a serious expression. "Tell me if I am."
"Gimme your hand," said Tails. He held his hand out expectantly. Shadow put his hand in Tails' and Tails closed his eyed to concentrate. After a few seconds, he opened his eyes again and let go of Shadow's hand. "Dry as a desert. No psychic potential at all. Probably hobbled by your chaos powers."
"But you have chaos powers, too," said Shadow confusedly.
"But you have a direct connection to the Chaos Force," replied Tails indifferently. "Connection to that power probably hobbles your psychic ability in some way. I'm not sure how, but I intend to find out after Dragon's out of the picture." He turned his gaze towards Elias. "Now, about this whole 'team' thing-" Tails air-quoted the word "team". "-I wanna know who I'm gonna be working with."
"You'll test G.U.N.'s and the military's top soldiers to read their psychic potential," explained Elias. "Then we'll assemble a small team based on your findings."
"Okay, but I already have two people I want on my team," said Tails plainly.
"Who?" asked Shadow with a slightly frustrated sigh.
"Commander Antoine D'Coolette," said Tails in a mock-grand tone. "And Miss Lucy Walker."
"Antoine, we can talk about," said Shadow shortly. "But there's no way we can let Lucy be a part of this. She's not trustworthy, we barely know her, and-"
"I trust Lucy with my life," said Tails shortly, cutting Shadow off. "She's much more powerful than I am and she'd be a valuable part of any military psychic team, especially if I'm in charge of it. Lucy's in, or I don't play ball. Those two are non-negotiable."
"You don't want Sonic on the team?" asked Elias with a cocked eyebrow. Tails scoffed dryly.
"Sonic's my best friend," said Tails, still chuckling slightly. "But there's no way I'm having Sonic be a subordinate I'm responsible for. Right now, officially, Sonic answers directly to you, Your Majesty. But unofficially, he answers only to himself. I don't need to be publicly responsible for a soldier that erratic and independent."
"Ah," said Elias with an understanding smile. "Well, I'll see what I can do to get G.U.N. to clear Lucy for the team. Is Antoine a psychic?"
"A bit," said Tails. "Not very powerful, but I have a use for him."
"So, wait," said Shadow quickly. "You're just gonna let her in? Just like that?"
"I trust her," said Elias. "Enough to let her in under Tails' eye."
"Thank you," said Tails smugly, leaning back in his chair. Shadow groaned his frustration loudly.
"Fine," he said through gritted teeth. "If you guys wanna just bring people off the street and trust them with your lives, it's fine with me, but I'm not completely trusting of everyone who does a good deed or two." He stood up and walked towards the exit gate. "CHAOS-" He disappeared in a bright flash and the courtyard was silent.
"That went well," said Elias, looking back at Tails. Tails nodded in approval. Then he stood up and bowed slightly. "It's been a pleasure, Your Highness. Now, I have to get back and help my uncle plan a funeral."
"Alright, Tails, I'll see you later," said Elias as he got up and walked back towards the castle. Tails nodded and flew away quickly.
The next few days quiet. Nothing eventful happened. Tails spent most of the time spending time with Lucy and training Antoine. They had begun training by having Antoine try to knock an empty soda can on its side without touching it. The closest they got was Antoine telekinetically vibrating the can, causing it to dance noisily across the table.
The next afternoon, Tails stood alone in a cemetery. He gazed at the large headstone in front of him. He couldn't get past the thought that, from now on, the closest he could get to his own parents was a six-foot-minimum distance.
The entire funeral service was a blur for Tails. He remembered there being a lot of military personnel there. He also remembered getting up and talking about his parents. Other than that, the only thing he could recall from the funeral was the sick feeling he got when he saw his father's corpse in the open casket, then how he felt even sicker about his mother's casket not being open.
"Hard to believe, isn't it?" asked a familiar voice behind Tails. He looked around and saw an old, brown-furred, white-bearded fox behind him. He was wearing a black tuxedo suit, similar to the one Tails was wearing. Today was the first time he had ever seen his uncle wearing something other than his usual brown cloak.
"Yeah, it is," said Tails solemnly, turning his attention back to his parents' headstone. "It feels..." Tails' voice trailed off as he thought for a second. "Weird. I got used to having an actual place to call home. A house to live in where I had my family. Now I've got nowhere."
"Well, what about Sonic?" asked Merlin, stopping right behind Tails' right shoulder, gazing at the headstone with him. "Aren't you staying with him?"
"He's only got two bedrooms in his apartment," said Tails quietly. "And they've got a kid on the way. It's only a matter of time before I have to vacate to make room for a new baby."
"That still gives you nine months to find a new place," said Merlin. "And it's not like you've got nothing at all. You're parents didn't exactly have nothing, either, and they probably left that to you."
"Yeah, I guess," said Tails, looking down at his shoes for a second. "I miss them so much."
"I do, too," said Merlin sadly. Tails looked around at him. He locked eyes with the young fox and smiled sadly. "Y'know, you look just like your father when he was your age, Miles."
"Do I?" asked Tails. "Hmm." He looked back at the headstone again and sighed.
"Yes, you do," said Merlin quietly. They were both silent for a couple minutes as they stood and just watched the headstone. The silence was finally broken by the sound of Merlin clearing his throat. "Well, you want a ride back, or do you wanna stay here?"
"I'm gonna stay for a minute," said Tails quietly. "You go ahead. I'm waiting for Lucy. She left a few minutes ago to find a bathroom. Should be back any minute. Then I have someone else to visit while I'm here." He held a small bouquet up to show Merlin. "That's what this is for."
"Well, I'll leave you to that, then," said Merlin with a sad sigh. He turned to leave. "Hello, Lucy." Tails turned to find Lucy walking towards them. Merlin walked past her and she walked to Tails' side.
"So, you need a little more time?" she asked.
"No, I'm good," said Tails quietly. "But I do have someone else I need to visit."
"Who?" asked Lucy as Tails took her hand and started leading her deeper into the cemetery.
"A friend," said Tails shortly. A minute later, they stopped in front of another headstone. Lucy took a look at the inscription on it.
"'Knuckles'," she read. "Who's Knuckles?"
"He was a close friend of mine," said Tails quietly. "He was killed three years ago when this whole mess started."
"Oh, he was the guardian dude?" asked Lucy.
"Yeah," chuckled Tails bitterly. "That was, like, his number one priority, protecting Angel Island and that emerald. Now it's being guarded by echidnas who were employed to do that. Sonic checks in on that every now and again."
"What happened?" asked Lucy. "I mean, the official story was that he was killed in a gas explosion or something, but they way you said 'when this whole mess started' made it sound like there was more to it; like his death wasn't an accident."
"It wasn't," said Tails, shaking his head slightly. "He was killed by an old acquaintance of Dragon's. Well, when I say 'acquaintance', I mean someone he worked with once. Robotnik had hired him to kill Knuckles after he had hired Nate to kill me. The guy booby-trapped the door to Knuckles' hotel room with a bomb."
"Ah," said Lucy with a nod.
"Seems like such a long time ago," said Tails quietly. He sighed heavily and walked to the headstone, leaving the bouquet and walking back to Lucy's side. "I miss ya, Knux." He and Lucy stood there in silence for a minute before Tails took her hand softly and turned away from the grave, her at his side as he led her out of the cemetery.
"So, why did you clone that fox brat's phone, Master?" asked Jeremy as he and Spencer watched Dragon lazily as he tapped away on a cell phone in his hands.
"Because I needed to send some messages in his name," said Dragon somewhat impatiently. "You two are sure that he's out looking for me right now?"
"Yes, Master," said Spencer, kneeling slightly.
"Good," said Dragon, still tapping on the phone. "That means I can roll my plan forward."
"What's the plan?" asked Jeremy confusedly.
"Just wait and see," said Dragon quietly as he closed the phone and stood up from the chair he was sitting in. "Now, time to do some fancy work with my computer." Jeremy and Spencer watched as he walked past them and away into the darkness behind them.
Sonic was running down Main Street in Station Square when he felt his phone vibrate in the anklet-strap he kept it in. He slowed quickly to a stop at a street corner and took his phone out. He looked at the screen and found an alert telling him he had received a text message from Tails.
The text message was Tails saying he had found Dragon's hideout and telling Sonic to meet him there. An address for an old, condemned factory in Mobotropolis followed the message. Sonic was gone in a second, heading for the factory faster than sound itself.
Lucy was in a shop looking at a rack of clothes when her phone rang in her pocket. She took it out and found the same message Sonic had found, but with the addition of Tails telling her not to call him, as he was sneaking around Dragon's factory and needed to be quiet. Lucy was out the doors of the clothing store in the blink of an eye.
"Okay, hunny, just..." her voice trailed off as she thought of what to say to Sonic, who had called her to tell he about Tails' news. "Just be careful, okay?" She went silent as she listened for a second. "Okay, good luck, Sonic." She took the phone from her ear and hung up. As she hung up, she turned her head at the sound of the front door opening. She watched as Tails walked in and plopped down on the lounge chair next to the door.
"Tails," she said, surprised. He looked up at her.
"Yeah?" he replied.
"What are you doing here?" asked Sally confusedly.
"Taking a break from the hunt," sighed Tails, letting his head drop back into the pillow behind him. "I. Have gotten. Nowhere."
"Then why did Sonic just call me and tell me you told him you found Dragon?" asked Sally somewhat worriedly.
"He what, now?" asked Tails, jerking his gaze up at her in surprise.
"Yeah, he just called and said he was going to meet you at a condemned factory downtown for the takedown," explained Sally quickly. Tails took out his phone and dialed quickly. He put the phone to his ear and listened for a second before hanging up.
"His phone's disconnected," he said worriedly. "Oh, shit." He ran out the door quickly without another word, hoping he still had time to save his brother's life.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Uh-oh! Can Tails get to Sonic and Lucy in time? What does Dragon have in store for them? Will this be the final standoff between Dragon and Tails? Well, I can answer the last one for you. Yes, it will. I'm afraid that the story is coming to a close soon. This will probably be the penultimate chapter. But don't worry, I have some other story ideas I'm working on, so watch out for those. Anyway, same ol' drill now. Review, favorite, alert, tell friends, and never smell a kangaroo's breath for a dare. Seeya!