Chapter Fourteen

The Xenith collapsed to the floor with a loud 'thud' a moment after Tails fired the channeled sound weapon at it. The device, no larger than an average submachine gun, made a buzzing noise as it recharged itself within two seconds.

A smile appeared on NICOLE's holographic face as she stood next to him, hands clasped behind her back. "It appears your adjustments worked well, Tails. I believe it is ready for mass production and distribution. I am now using your data to modify the coding in the larger versions. The first of the turret models will be mounted around the base within the hour. It may take a little longer to retrofit all of the aircraft, but I have given the go-ahead to the technician drones, and the fighters belonging to you and Kaolin will be the first."

The news brought a particularly strong sense of satisfaction to those present. Another ray of hope had broken through the paste gray clouds of despondency.

To Tails' back-left stood Kaolin, who was far from reluctant in expressing her approval. "This is great! Good job!"

Standing to Tails' back-right was Jessica Drasco, who had practically begged to be allowed to see the unveiling of the new gun even though she was more than welcome to. Her father would have accompanied her, but he was preoccupied with his usual business of conversing with his officers.

She smirked in a way that portrayed deep confidence, and she planted a hand on her left hip and flicked her slender tail slightly. "Good work, Tails. I'm gonna have fun using that if the Xeniths attack again."

Tails glanced over the lifeless heap of metal and gave a smile, followed by a nod. "Thanks. I am also looking forward to testing these on the real thing. Once the aircraft are done, we should think about hunting down any and every Xenith we find."

"Total agreement here." Kaolin walked up to him and placed a hand on his left shoulder, inciting Tails to wrap his left arm around the small of her back.

"Well, that was fun. 'Lin and I are going to, eh, meet someone."

"We certainly are." There was an insidious glint in Kaolin's eye.

After handing NICOLE the gun, the two walked out the door and made their way to the cafeteria. Thoughts of how to handle the upcoming situation ran through both of their minds as they went, causing a variety of emotions ranging from sureness to outright concern.

Tails eventually decided upon one and glanced to his wife beside him. "Here's the plan, 'Lin. Once we walk in, I want you to go around and head to Fiona's position from a direction opposite of mine. We need to be on either side of her to prevent any possibility of escape. Have your gun ready, but not drawn, and don't stand too close to her; it'd give room for a knifing or a quick shot."

The thought of shooting first and asking questions later had crossed Kaolin's mind instead, but she nodded her agreement. "Sounds good."

Tails chuckled with a smile. "You probably wanted to shoot first and as-..."

She cut him off while grinning. "Ask questions later. You sure know me, hon. I really don't respect people like her."

"Yes, but we must also consider her training. It would probably give her an excuse to retaliate, and it might not be easy to fight her off."

"Right." Kaolin clenched a fist. "Let's hope this goes smoothly."

They passed through the cafeteria's double doors and split paths once they saw Fiona sitting at the bar area. Tails hung left while Kaolin hung right, and the two met with Fiona in the center of them, making sure to keep a good five feet of distance from her.

The crimson fox pinned her ears back slightly when she saw them—a sign of irritation—and set her drink down, continuing to gaze forward. "Let me guess. My answer didn't sit well with you."

"No it didn't, Fiona. I know the protocols, and that's to incapacitate an escapee, not perforate them, even if they've killed people along the way. Why did you see it fit to kill Mason?"

She glanced at Kaolin briefly before sighing and giving a response. "I suppose there's no use in hiding it. I killed him to shut him up because we've worked together before. This is how I knew exactly which anti-toxin to use on Sonic. He had all of the telltale signs of Mason's poison of choice—that cardiac arrest agent. I've come across it before, and Mason's subsequent presence only reaffirmed my beliefs. I got nervous when he was taken in, but luckily—and I had no hand in it—he escaped."

Kaolin narrowed her eyes a bit. "No hand in his escape. You expect us to buy that?"

"Of course not. It was too perfect, but it also makes sense. He's a professional escape artist. I'm sure he had some sort of cybernetic implant in his wrist that he used to cut his bindings. It's not beyond him."

Tails and Kaolin locked eyes for a moment, still skeptical, and Tails spoke next. "Yeah, it was too perfect. NICOLE told me of the results. They got a good amount of info out of him, but before they could ask about his past associates, he got loose, snapped a guy's neck, took his gun and shot a few others before bolting out the door."

Fiona grinned. "Luck really was on my side, then." She took a quick sip of her drink and barely noticed Tails' expression turn sour in her peripheral vision. "Just wait, the coroner will find a cybernetic implant in his wrist and confirm what I'm saying. He's used implants before. This is probably how he was able to walk with his knee injury as though he hadn't been shot at all." She glanced at Tails with a raised eyebrow. "Am I making sense now?"

The vulpine couple looked at each other again. Skepticism remained, but it had lessened considerably.

Fiona looked back at her drink. "Besides, if I wanted Sonic dead, I would have left him dead as opposed to reviving him. I used to want Sonic dead, admittedly, but I don't care anymore. What's past is past. I have bigger fish to fry."

Tails cringed almost unnoticeably. Either she's a lot slipperier than first thought or she really is innocent. "Alright, I'll give you that, but we'll have to let the others know of your initial deception."

"I can live with that. I panicked when I shouldn't have, and I am prepared to deal with the consequences." She took another swig of her beverage amidst the mildly shocked expressions of the two Prowers standing on either side of her. "This reminds me,"—She looked at Kaolin—"I'd like to apologize for my coldness toward you. If it wasn't already obvious enough, I was and am still jealous of your relationship with Miles. Don't think that I am trying to get in-between you two. I am still trudging through the murky waters of loneliness, and when I see you two together, it just bothers me. So, if I come across as bitter, please ignore me. I am trying to quell those feelings, and I hope we can enjoy a more agreeable, if not friendly standing in the near future."

The sheer bluntness of the comment hit both of them like a brick.

Kaolin blinked and almost didn't say anything, and it took her a few moments to gather herself. "Well...that's...good to know. Happy to hear you say that. I also hope we can have a good standing."

Tails, too, was awestruck almost to the point of speechlessness. "Yeah, I was worried there for awhile. Good to know."

Fiona took another swig of her beer, and what faintly resembled a smile quickly vanished. "Yes yes. This is getting a tad too cozy—I'm still a bitter little [expletive], so don't push it."

The two promptly walked off without further discourse. Both were fairly nonplussed, but the outcome was at least mildly comforting. Tails' expression was slightly less relaxed than his wife's; he had expected flat-out deceit and possible physical action, but he was truly thrown aback by her calm openness and subordination. It was what he had wanted to hear, but thought would never come. It seemed almost too good to be true.

"'Lin, your thoughts?"

Kaolin lightly pursed one side of her lips for a brief moment. "Satisfactory, but was it real?"

"My thoughts exactly, though she did make good points. She really could have allowed Sonic to die, or even killed us in the process." He rubbed his right temple. "Ah well. We'll divulge all of this to the investigation team and then head on over to the lounge."

Before Kaolin could answer, the sound of jogging footsteps began to echo behind him, accompanied by a soft feminine voice with a slight Southern accent. "Tails! Hold up!"

The golden-orange fox stopped and looked back to see Jessica trying to catch up. "Oh, hey Jessica!"

The black-striped, sky blue cat approached them with a cheerful expression. "Sorry for bothering you, but I wanted to talk about how you got the gun to work better."

Tails' lackluster and rather puzzled mien immediately brightened—there was always time for techspeak. "Not a problem, I'll be happy to!"

The two got into a lively discussion filled with a variety of words that simply went over Kaolin's head like a high-flying bird. Even if she did understand it all, she probably wouldn't have been able to get a word in edgewise. She watched as they conversed and gradually left her behind, laughing occasionally at some obscure and overly technical joke that most beings in existence probably lacked the capability of understanding.

Tails stopped as they missed their turn to make their report, and he looked back at Kaolin and queried as to why she was all the way back there. She flashed a forced smile and said nothing as she shrugged.

After making their report, they went over to the lounge; again, Kaolin was left behind to watch them converse merrily amongst themselves. The fact that they got along so well and so fast made her rather uneasy—indeed, there was a little more than an iota of jealousy in the back of her mind. Though she felt overlooked, she figured it would blow over and they'd get to spend some time together. She spotted a nice cozy place in the corner of a large couch that would make a perfect place to cuddle with him, and she made her way over and plopped down on the overstuffed cushion with the hope that he would notice. To her dismay, the two sat at a vacant card table positioned about ten feet behind the couch and continued along in their technobabble.

A good thirty minutes passed, and Tails was still chatting with Jessica at that card table. He suddenly stopped and looked around, having just noticed that Kaolin wasn't there. In fact, she wasn't even in view.

Tails thanked Jessica for the edifying conversation, then stood and walked around the room. He found that his wife had slid down into the corner of the couch and had just fallen asleep, arms crossed over her abdomen. Another insidious smirk showed itself on his face, and he knelt down beside her and ran a finger across her neck. The action prompted a light giggle and a quick swat to the hand.

As she opened her big blue eyes, he tilted her up off the seat cushion and squeezed his way in behind her, allowing her upper back and head to rest upon his chest. He then wrapped his arms around her middle and laid his hands on hers. "Sorry that took so long. It was rather thoughtless of me to leave ya hangin'. I just don't find people who like what I like with such a passion, so it's fun to talk and share ideas. She's like the cheerful techie sister I never had."

Hearing him say "sister" assuaged the small amount of residual jealousy that was still clinging to her, and her smile grew. "Glad to hear it, hon." She reached up and lovingly stroked his face with her right hand.

Roughly five minutes later, Jessica's communicator buzzed with a noise signifying a phone call. She answered it, and soon displayed a look of utter horror when she received some truly startling news. She sprang up from her chair and practically rammed into the couch, almost sending Tails and Kaolin off of it. "Tails! My father's base is under heavy attack! I have to go!"

Tails' eyes widened. "By who?"

"Xeniths! Hordes of them!"

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Author's notes: Massive action coming up. Thank you again for reading, and please review! Keep an eye open for Chapter Fifteen!

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Canon Sonic characters and places © Sonic Team, Sega
Kaolin, story, other original characters, countries and organizations, etc © NuclearCookout