Hi everyone! I'm here with another update, but first some reviews!

(FFN Reviews)

TheGameNguyener: Thanks for your thoughts! Having been bullied all his life, he subconsciously locates any negative reason for things happening. He just doesn't know how to react to positive emotions because he's never been exposed to it. Sonic's bound to have his own thoughts on the events that have passed.

DaddlertheDalek: He's kind of been drifting the whole time, it was just that last little bit that pushed him over.

Piggon: With Tails missing, Sonic's going to be a bit concerned. Especially considering the series of events that happened. You'll have to read to find out what happens!

Let's get going!

Parallel Lives

Spirit of the Ruby

Tails darted through the trees as fast as he could, his vision blurred from the tears in his eyes.

"Stupid, nobody could ever love you, you know that!" He mentally scolded. "Don't waste your time you freak!"

He started to cry more intensely then before, he tripped over a small branch on the forest floor, landing on his face in the dirt. "Ow…" He added, lifting himself back to his feet. While he was still crying profusely, he had stopped running and had began to calm himself down.

"Deep breaths Ta-" He stopped himself, he still did like the nickname and wasn't going to go back to using his old joke of a name anytime soon. "Calm down…"

Eventually he felt he had gotten a hold of himself, at least that's what he thought. He retreated into his thoughts as he continued to walk. Letting his mind freely wander into the darkest parts of himself.

-X-

After having spent a few hours with his family, and properly scolding Manic for his behavior, Sonic was alone again, he decided to try and track down Tails and Amy, hoping she had found a way to calm him down. After checking for a couple minutes, he found his way into the workshop, there he found Amy sprawled out across the floor, he instantly moved to check her pulse and breathing, both seemed to be normal. He shook her, trying to get any response. She remained motionless, moving her to the living room, he set out to search for Tails as well, whom was still missing.

After searching the house thoroughly, he gave up on trying to locate the fox until Amy woke up, at least, that's what he hoped would happen.

After worrying himself for about two hours, Amy woke and slowly sat back up.

"Thank Chaos you're awake!" Sonic exclaimed. "What happened?"

"Tails, shot me."

"He shot you!?"

"I think so, he freaked out."

"Do you know where he is?"

"No, I was unconscious for the whole time afterward."

"This isn't good, he stole the ruby from the other day."

"Really?"

"Unless you moved it somewhere…" Sonic explained.

They didn't say anything for a second before Amy continued.

"He wanted to cut it off, he might hav-"

"What off?"

"One of his tails…"

"We need to find him, now, before he does anything he'll regret." Sonic added suddenly dead serious about the situation at hand.

He helped Amy to her feet, and they set back out into the trees, Amy was still a bit disoriented from the stun blast but seemed aware enough to help, Sonic still planned to keep a close eye on her though.

They searched for what felt like hours with no success, the fox was nowhere to be found. Due to difficulties seeing partway through, they returned to get lights to continue the search.

"I'm not sure we'll find him Amy," Sonic commented. "He's probably long gone by now…"

"We have to keep trying, he's got to be out here somewhere!"

-X-

Sure enough, Tails was still wandering throughout the trees, it had gotten dark several hours ago, making it difficult for him to see.

Deciding to settle down for the night where he was, he found a fallen tree and laid against it. Pulling his tails around himself for the night, he hugged the ruby kept in the center of the ball closer to him. He was rather warm due to his fur insulating him from the cold. Tails had gotten ahold of his emotions by now and was almost completely relaxed. He pulled his tails tighter around himself, it felt relaxing. He started to slowly doze off before he heard a voice.

"Tails!?" He recognized the voice as Sonic. He wanted to hide, but the voice was still far away, he debated on moving, but it was so comfortable and warm in his current position that he found it difficult to give that up.

He continued to doze off and finally found himself in the warm embrace of sleep.

As he did, another memory arose in his dreams. He was back on Cocoa Island, the island he recognized as the one he had met and fought Bean on. He was being yelled at by some of the denizens of the island.

"Freak of nature!"

"So, you're the reason why everything's awful here!"

"I say we kill him!"

In a panic he ran for the trees, trying to save his own life as best he could. Eventually he felt he had lost them. Only to have a dog leap out at him from the brush and pin him down. He thrashed against his restraints but was unable to overpower his captor.

"He's over here you guys!"

Several other Mobians appeared and they discussed what to do with the kit, eventually one of them produced a small knife he was carrying, the others tried to restrain Tails as best as they could.

"Just calm down, it'll only hurt for a second."

The kit refused as the assailant with a knife lined up a strike with his chest. As he went to end the fox's life, adrenaline took over and he flung himself downward, successfully dodging most of the strike.

Most…

The blade struck his face and instantly, Tails was temporarily blinded as he felt blood running down his face, he kicked at his assailants and freed himself before running off into the trees, back toward his cave, touching at the injury on his face as he ran, he felt the gentle taste of blood in his mouth as it inhibited his breathing.

-X-

Tails bolted awake, and darted to his feet, before realizing that it had all been another dream. He gently set himself back down on the dirt and reformed his ball, pulling the ruby, his now only possession, close to his chest. It almost seemed to radiate heat and keep him warm. He fell back asleep.

He found himself back in his mind, only this time, he was in a dark red void, nothing was visible in any direction, suddenly, a voice was heard.

"Hello Miles."

"W- Who are you?" The kit replied, not knowing where it was coming from.

"None of that matters," The voice spoke. "What matters is what you can do for me."

"Are you why I keep having these memories?"

"Precisely, this is the first time I've been able to fully connect with your subconscious mind."

"What do you want me for?"

"I need a vessel Miles…"

The kitsune stepped back, alarmed by the statement.

"What do you mean?"

"I am an immortal being, I have existed for eons, however, I have only done so because of my ability to reincarnate myself, using another as a vessel. In return, I will grant them my power."

"What power?"

"I am powerful beyond your wildest dreams Miles, I can help you. It may not look like it now, but I was once an outcast among the Gods, not unlike yourself. They were disgusted by my impurity, at the rawness of the energy I possessed, they cast me out. However, in doing so, I only became stronger."

Tails could practically hear the voice directly next to his head, though when he turned, nothing was to be found.

"We could accomplish so much together Miles, you would be powerful beyond all thought, everything you've ever dreamed at your fingertips. You would be a God."

"How do I know you're not lying?"

"Why would I lie to you? After all, I need you."

Nothing was spoken between them for a moment, before the spirit broke the silence.

"We could be all powerful, nobody would ever even think about or call you a fre-"

"That's not true. You don't know what you're talking about." Tails replied.

"But I do Miles, believe me, I've been there. When I had my own mortal form centuries ago, back when the Gods walked Mobius as living beings. I was deceived by their compliments and flattery. I don't want the same to happen to you."

He pondered over his statement for a moment. "Why are you telling me this?" He asked.

"I'm trying to protect you Miles, the world will never see you more than a- mutant. However, you are so much more than that, with my help, you could be whatever you want to be, finally get revenge on everyone who's ever wronged you! Do you know what those dreams you've been having are about?"

The kit shook his head, he had no clue about any of it.

"When I first tried to bond to your mind, so we could have the chat we're having right now. I found some memories, ones you had intentionally locked away, never to feel again. Do you know what they were?"

"I- I remember some of it, I was fighting birds to defend my home. They didn't believe I deserved to fly."

"Exactly! Now, was there anything else you were fighting for?"

"I didn't want anybody else on the island to get hurt… Yeah, they were mean to me, but I didn't want the whole place to get taken over!"

"Do you remember what they did when they found out what you had done?"

"I, don't…"

"They were repulsed, they knew you had two tails already, but now that they knew you could fly, there must have been some curse you were projecting across the island with dark magic. They almost killed you, left you without your full sight, thinking it would somehow bring an end to their sorrows."

"Then why did I remember losing it another way?"

"Because, you didn't know why they weren't accepting of you, you had saved their lives, and your reward was more pain and suffering. You pushed off the memories of knowing how to fly, along with any knowledge you had of the experience, replacing them with something else to protect yourself."

Suddenly, all the memories of forgotten events came flooding back all at once, Miles clutched his head, it almost felt like it would split open at any minute.

"You were a hero, but they refused, as many have, to see past your unique gifts." The spirit continued.

Miles waited on the tidal wave of memories to pass over before asking another question.

"Do you have a name? I want to have something to call you."

"Normally I wouldn't bother myself with such things, but, if you must, call me Phantom."

He nodded before continuing, "How long would I have your powers?"

"Until I have reincarnated myself, then, you can revoke them at any time."

The kitsune thought it over, would he still be viewed as a freak? Maybe, this was finally his chance to break the cycle he had found himself in, finally be accepted as something more.

"Alright… I'll, think about it."

"I will return tomorrow night, I hope you make the right choice."

The kit could almost feel the spirit's presence leave his mind and he found himself once again, alone.

Alright guys, that's everything for now, sorry about the slightly shorter chapter than usual, but I wanted to end it off here because of the setup for next chapter. Let me know what you thought! Until next time!