Hi again!
And we are getting a little more serious with this fanfic. Last time, we found out that Tails is on his way to the Eastern hills, all by himself! To make it even more interesting, he's being followed by someone... What will happen? Buckle up, the adventure starts.
If interested, please feel free to check out my YouTube channel as well:
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Off to chapter 3!
Sonic had felt bad for leaving Tails since the moment they parted, but he didn't want to show his concern to Amy. He saw that she herself was already quite relaxed for some reason, she kept looking at him and smiling at him, making funny and unnecessary comments like "thank you for carrying those heavy bags" and "well that city isn't so bad" and "oh , the sky is so beautifully blue". Sonic didn't understand her casualness, but he just nodded at everything.
He tried to push away the thought that he'd just left his friend frolicking around with only that ridiculous scanning gadget of his. Every now and then he looked back, as if he almost expected to see Tails rushing towards them from behind because he had changed his mind and didn't want to venture into the unknown alone.
Of course he wasn't there.
Meanwhile, Tails was slowly but surely making his way through the new territory. He was disappointed in himself when he realized that he should have gone further north to reach the Eastern lake unhindered without going off course, because this way he encountered a branching river with a large delta. He didn't know exactly how wide it was, so he didn't feel like going along the shore until he came across a clearing. "Oh, well, I almost forgot." He slapped his forehead remembering his namesakes. He threw his head back to look at them, as if he wanted to analyze something in detail.
"Um, yes. I've also covered longer distances. Even carrying Sonic around," he recalled with a sneer. "The river isn't that wide, it should just be a short, relaxed flight." He nodded to himself.
He spread the "propellers" and soared into the air turning them with a whoosh. The tails were spinning at a frantic speed as he moved forward. In an instant he was flying above the water, looking at his reflection on the shiny surface. In the sedge by the river, someone was still looking the whole time...
"Rumors spread so fast in this area that it's hard to believe every single one you hear. But it seems that this time the townspeople were spitting facts. The rumors are true. Who would have thought that? This is really big... No one probably expects of me to start meddling with it..." the voice from the sedges commented to itself.
"Of course, that doesn't mean I won't meddle with it. This is way too interesting not to be meddled with" a voice squealed.
The owner of that voice in the next moment jumped out of the sedges and ran towards the river bank. Surprisingly, the person to whom the voice belonged jumped into the river without a doubt and hasn't been seen after.
...
Tails was still flying, completely oblivious to the sedge spy who had mysteriously disappeared a moment ago after watching him intently. He had almost reached land on the other side of the river on his way to Eastern Lake, when suddenly...
BAM!
The sound of a sudden shot from the slingshot, too sudden for any kind of reaction, and before he could even realize what was happening, Tails was hit in the middle of the back by a sharp rock.
"AH!" Tails winced in pain and began to fall to the ground as he stopped spinning his tails. He quickly regained his composure, because the land was close, and leaned just enough to avoid falling into the water and then hit the muddy ground.
As soon as he felt the ground under his feet, he was shocked by what had just happened to him. He felt his back and clenched his teeth when he felt where he had been hit. He looked at the hand with which he felt it. Blood was oozing from his wound.
"No... no, no, no, no, no... Please, no..." he desperately looked at his slightly red-stained glove. Sonic will be so mad. He will be very mad... no...
His vision suddenly blurred. Stupid tears. Stop crying. It's not worth it. Besides, it's not like you're seriously injured. You'll be fine in ten minutes or less. It doesn't hurt that much. Stop it...
He felt like slapping himself.
He suddenly realizes that whoever did this to him might still be here.
He let go of the thought that he should have listened to Sonic, that he shouldn't have gone anywhere alone. Instead, he wondered if the perpetrator had enough time to escape after what was done.
However, right now he didn't feel like chasing an unknown stranger who had resented him around an unknown island. So he just stood up from the wet ground and shook off the mud from his knees. His legs were still shaking as he was still in shock - he couldn't believe that someone would go so far as to harm him in such a way.
He didn't see who was shooting the slingshot. But whoever it was, was probably aiming for the tails. Tails growled the moment the thought occurred to him. He got flashbacks, to the days when he was abused by street thugs.
They did some terrible things to him, some probably worse than a rock in the back. But this event reminded him of it so strongly and had almost the same effect, at one point Tails thought one of them had come back and recognized him and done this to him. No, that's impossible. Stop thinking about it. That can't be.
He remembered, suddenly, all those way too familiar faces that had done those terrible things to him. Stupid faces, stupid memories. He cleared his head and leaned over the water to look at his reflection.
He looked terrible. He would never have said that in an event that lasted only a few seconds, someone could be disfigured like that.
He had scratches on his cheeks, probably from a fall. His gloves were reddish and torn. The tails hung limply behind him, rolling on the ground, muddy and wet with water from the shallows. His ears were down, and his braces stuck to his forehead. And he was still crying, to make things worse.
He thought that he probably looked just as awful as the day Sonic had first found him, the only difference was that he wasn't starving now.
Great. He is alone for half an hour and has already managed to disfigure himself as if he spent months and months in the jungle.
Tails.
That is the name given to him by bullies.
Tails, for obvious reasons.
He didn't like his real name, because it was stupid to him.
It was stupid because in the memories his parents were the only ones who ever called him by his real name.
His dead parents.
They were the last ones to utter the word "Miles".
Since then, since they were gone, Tails had never experienced being called that. No one called him by his real name anymore. Which actually didn't bother him.
When he was mockingly called Tails, it was still better to hear than constantly hearing the name given to him by his parents.
Which are no longer there.
They were the only ones allowed to use that name. And since they are gone, that name has died with them.
Although, it hurt when he was called Tails. It hurt even when his friends, like Sonic and Amy, called him Tails. But who was to blame? Still, better than the real name. He couldn't bear to hear it every day.
That's why, when Sonic asked him his name for the first time almost six years ago, he said: Tails. And that was it. He never told Sonic that the bullies called him that. The last thing he wanted was sympathy.
Tails had never thought of Sonic as stupid enough to believe that it was actually his real name, but it was a huge relief that Sonic just nodded at that and didn't ask any further questions.
He remembered another incident. He remembered Sonic and Amy used to do everything they could to protect him from the world. They would never let him out because they didn't know how they would defend him outside.
And it was the right decision, and Tails understood that. However, as he grew up, he became too comfortable in their house, he became stubborn like any child at that age, and the outside world became attractive.
Memories came out slowly as if from a fog... Memories of that first time Tails earned something he had always wanted, but then seemed unattainable: Sonic's respect.
"Please, Sonic! I'm begging you! Pretty, pretty pleeeeeease!"
"No."
"But I'll be good! I'll be as if I'm not there, you'll see! I give you my word! Cross my heart and hope to -"
"No swearing. And I said no. You're too young, and we already talked about this multiple times." Sonic said grumpily as he packed up. "This isn't a game, Tails. This is very serious. I know that fat Egghead looks like a crazy clown with a funny mustache, but sometimes he can be a real threat. And I'm definitely not going to get you into that dirty business. After all… You don't want to be seen by someone, right?" he looked at him meaningfully.
The smile on Tails' face suddenly faded, and the little guy lowered his head and hid his hands behind his back.
"No, Sonic."
"That's what I thought," he said and rubbed his nose.
Tails knew that Sonic didn't like to point out his abnormality, but sometimes he had no choice.
He turned to the door with the words "Amy will watch over you" and left the house.
Tails scowled. Sonic probably thought that Tails was still too small to go on an adventure with him. He had had enough. He repaired the Tornado hundreds of times already and helped Sonic plan some actions and attacks from home. Tails himself already knew that he was quite advanced for his age (of six, back then). It wasn't fair.
Tails could help. And how! Certainly better than Amy with her piko hammer. Well, at least he thought - he didn't want to overestimate himself, Amy was a skilled warrior. But still!
In addition, he also learned to fly, and he designed various mini-bombs, holograms and microbots on a daily basis. He had already developed his own minigun, and one of them, the Tailstroubleshooter, he gave to both Sonic and Amy to try out in one of the battles and it did a great job, unless Sonic and Amy told Tails that just to comfort him, but they probably didn't. They didn't seem like such kind of pleasers.
Tails even built himself a personal computer (yes, out of paperclips, just like the TV in Sonic Lost World) in the garage, which served practically as his room. (He would later use these skills in construction when he built his own house.)
He even developed his own operating system (yes, Tails) and antivirus program on that PC, that worked pretty well while keeping Eggman from hacking city cameras. He also made walkie talkies for Sonic and Amy because he wanted them to accurately report all the news on the battlefields, so that he could keep a log of the conflicts and be their advisor. The help he was giving them was actually a consolation prize from Sonic and Amy in exchange for Tails not leaving the house.
That was what Knuckles needed to watch out for at the time, unless they needed him on the battlefield too.
Tails therefore always had a lot of time to think, create and build up to point where even he got bored of it. Because even a genius child feels like a bird in a cage after three years in the garage.
What Tails liked least about Sonic was his overprotective behavior.
Although Sonic constantly reminded him that he was his little buddy and always talked to him like an old friend, watched action movies with him, played games together with him and overate chilli dogs and talked about the silliest things, most of the time he acted like he's Tails' dad or something.
That was what Tails hated. He had already gotten used to his dad and mum being gone and he didn't want anyone else trying to play that role. After all, he wanted to look at Sonic as a brother.
True, Sonic has always been his friend, but that relationship grew so strong over time that Tails considered Sonic practically his family, his older BROTHER. To some equals.
It's just... It seemed to him that Sonic didn't really want any of it.
It's like he only sees him as a child to protect because he doesn't have a choice, and sometimes it seems like Sonic only sees him as a friend on a hunchback. Disruption.
At least that's the impression he left on him.
And Tails admired Sonic so much!
And that's why it hurt him so much.
He wanted to prove to him that he was worthy to be called his BEST friend. Maybe eventually Sonic will even accept him as a brother if he does something exceptional... Suddenly, Tails spots a bag on the floor. Sonic's bag. And he got an idea.
It seemed almost ridiculous to think about it now, when almost three years had passed.
Three years since he sneaked into Sonic's backpack, knowing he would come back for it.
Three years since Sonic unsuspectingly strapped him along with the bag and went into battle.
Three years since he was exposed to the world, after Sonic discovered him in his backpack, forced with the fact that now he can no longer get rid of him and that from now on the little one will always be with him.
At first it was questionable what the Mobians would think when they saw a two-tailed freaky kid with their hero walking around, but that all changed very quickly. After Sonic and Tails were separated in circumstances that forced Tails to grow up faster than ever.
Because then, at that moment, three years ago, he, Tails the fox, was the one in whose hands was the fate of the entire Station Square.
HE was the one who was forced to suddenly become independent from Sonic. HE saved Station Square and defeated Eggman, ALL ALONE.
HE believed in himself.
From that day on, he was accepted as a HERO.
He still remembers and will probably never forget the applause he received that day. It's still ringing in his ears.
You saved the day! You're the best!
In that moment, Tails felt like an adult.
Tails felt he was worthy of being called Sonic's best friend and loyal sidekick. For a change, Tails felt like he was truly accepted in society for the first time in his life.
No one, but no one really cared, nor did anyone at that moment pay attention to his mutation, what made him stand out in the crowd.
The only thing that distinguished him from that moment on was the reputation of the Mobian hero. And since then, everyone has come to love him in a very short time.
It's just that despite everything, he never got a reputation until today, nor did he deserve the title of Sonic's brother.
At least that's how he felt. He didn't even know why he wanted it so much. Not that whether or not Sonic considered him his family really affected their relationship. They were best friends, and nothing will ever change that.
But Tails would be lying if he said that sometimes it didn't feel like enough. Sonic met so many friends through his tumultuous life, and yet, he seemed to take them all equally. As if he treats them too indifferently. As if... It's like they're all reputed to be his friends, but other than that it doesn't really mean anything to Sonic.
That's what Tails was afraid of. He was afraid that Sonic, despite everything and the respect he had earned after saving Station Square by himself, still saw him as a child who constantly needed to be protected. Like he sees every new friend as an extra responsibility or just a passenger on the road he was running on.
And that didn't really help Tails in his further development as a hero. At first, Sonic was very supportive. Ever since Tails had proven himself, his friend truly believed in him.
Tails remembered all too well those moments before the capsule in which Sonic was trapped was ejected from Eggman's spaceship in outer space, and then exploded.
He remembered Sonic's words to him just before the eternal moments during which Tails thought his friend was dead.
I'm counting on you, Tails!
Those words were so simple, and yet, Tails only then realized how grateful he could be for the fact that now Sonic looked at him with completely different eyes, as his equal, trusting him with Amy and even Eggman.
But over time, that impression faded.
Sonic started shutting Tails down again with more and more adventures. The situation worsened after the incidents with Eggman's mind control ray (Sonic Colors) and the Zeti's attempt to roboticize him (Lost World).
Although at no point was Tails really threatened, Sonic began to unconsciously alienate him from then on, to the point where even Tails began to doubt his own abilities again.
Because of this, he rusted, as if he had weakened. It seemed to him that Sonic expected him to let him protect him, to leave all the important work to him.
Now, three years later, Tails was back to square one, feeling like Sonic believed in him as much as he believed in himself right now (after the whole disaster thing called Sonic Forces).
Actually, he was quite surprised Sonic has even let him do this alone.
Tails sighed under the onslaught of these heavy thoughts. He didn't know why he longed so much for that elusive title of Sonic's brother, which seemed to justify or seal something in their relationship.
He felt a bit stupid for considering Sonic his family and the feeling seemed one sided.
Tails often got mad at himself when he thought that maybe the only reason he wanted Sonic as a family was because he didn't really know what a real family was. No, that's stupid, that's so stupid.
However, there was a period of his life in which Sonic had a phase, when he wanted to give him just such an opportunity - to have a real family... (more on that later)
He was so engrossed in his thoughts that he did not realize that he had been staring into space for half an hour under a rush of memories. It was about time he got moving, otherwise Sonic would suspect something was wrong and then very quickly find him… well, like this.
Tails tried to get up, but at that moment a sharp pain shot through his spine and he fell to his knees. A whimper escaped him.
He had already seen Sonic's distraught face.
He thought he should try to fly, but his tails had loosened and he couldn't twirl them.
Tails normally didn't wish harm on anyone, but if only he knew who did this to him now...
He leaned against a tree not far from him and reached for a strong branch, but he could not tear it off. So he picked up a ram branch from the ground and leaned on it. It was old and creaking under his weight, but it would serve temporarily.
Sonic will not be happy at all.
Since he could not fly, this meant that he would have to take a longer route to find his way home. Maybe the shore of Eastern Lake is cleaner, so he can groom himself there, so he doesn't look like such a freak when he appears in front of his friends.
He moved loosely toward Eastern Lake, following the river bank for a short distance, then turning.
The surface of the water rippled behind him...
When he turned, turned his back to the river, a small periscope rose from the water...
Someone was scouting the whole time. And then the periscope sank back into the water.
Tails was already completely exhausted when he finally spotted Eastern Lake in the distance. He was also getting thirsty.
When he reached the shore, he dropped the branch and stretched out on the grass to rest, panting.
Stupid wound, stupid stone, stupid slingshot.
He had hardly closed his eyes for a moment or two, when he heard menacing voices:
"YOU! YOU'RE SURROUNDED!"
Tails sat up in an instant, surprised, though the sudden reflex caused him pain.
"You better turn yourself in now, or there will be trouble!" strange voices were still heard.
Tails looks back and refrains from recoiling in shock. Behind him stood three figures, of medium height and with covered faces, all of the Mobiani detachment, of unknown species.
However, each of them pointed a weapon at Tails. The first aimed a spear, the second an arrow, and the third...
Sling.
Tails growled softly when he spotted it.
"Don't you dare growl at me, you Nogitsune!" an unknown figure told him, tightening the rubber of the sling aimed at Tails even more, clearly threatening to do what he did a few hours ago again.
Tails' eyes sparkled with the sting of fear that hit him, but he didn't flinch. Instead, he straightened his tails, almost as if showing them with pride, and growled louder, showing his fangs.
This action disturbed the attacker more and he clumsily lashed out with the slingshot, which fired from the side and hit Tails in one of the tails.
Tails yelped, but didn't stumble. He was still standing firmly on his feet.
I'm not scared. I am not scared. I can do this, even though he didn't know what to do.
I'm not afraid of them.
And he wasn't afraid of them, but he couldn't attack them either. He stood helplessly before them, weapons still pointed at him.
They looked at each other.
Everyone was obviously expecting someone else to do something.
The central masked attacker drew the bow of his arrow harder...
Tails shot him a look in return.
He pulled the arrow towards him, aiming against his chest...
Tails didn't move or blink. He even held his breath, in anticipation.
Maybe it could have gone on forever, maybe it couldn't, maybe the attacker would actually shoot Tails after a while.
However, we will never know because in the very next moment happened one giant BOOM!
(And NOT Sonic Boom.)
Someone threw a huge water balloon between them, it exploded getting him all wet, and the very next moment, before Tails could even rub his eyes to see what was going on, an unknown blurry figure darted into his line of sight shouting something.
Tails' ears were ringing from the moment the balloon exploded and he didn't hear another word.
He saw fiery arrows gradually fly in front of him, throwing spears, but also punching, someone threw themselves among the attackers and hit with their feet, hands...
With meticulous and quick moves, the unknown savior brought the attackers to exhaustion one by one, robbed them gradually weapons and then used them against them.
There was throwing in the air, shouting and punching until exhaustion, some more water balloons, then the rescuer jumped on one of them and bounced from one head to the other, reached for the heads of the two attackers and slammed them together - it was quite fun for to watch, the only thing was that it felt like a silent movie due to the lack of sound - after that they proceeded to hit them with his bat, then he reached for a weapon that reminded Tails of a water enerbeam and hit the attackers with a stream of water, after which they activated a water jetpack as would avoid the flurry of fist attacks and soar into the air with the power of the jet, and when they came down, with a move similar to the scissors for the final point, they finished off what little will to fight remained in the attackers.
When the squad collapsed to the ground, they treated them to some more prize thrashing with what looked like an umbrella.
It seemed that the thugs were finished. None of them were showing any signs of life anymore (don't worry, our unknown savior didn't kill them - they were just passed out), they were all unconscious and lined up next to each other, wet to the skin and battered under the onslaught of extremely graceful attacks of a true Water Warrior.
The environment around what was a battlefield until a moment ago was completely destroyed and unrecognizable, deformed.
Waterlogged and impoverished bare mud land, bare trees, pieces of a gigantic water balloon everywhere, scattered arrows, a broken spear, fire from one arrow even engulfed a tree, but the unknown hero aimed his water enerbeam at the fire as soon as they regained his composure enough to spot it.
Smoke was everywhere.
Tails' knees were cut from the onslaught of the skirmish he had just witnessed, and he had already been standing wounded for too long. His ears still hadn't stopped ringing, and he felt dizzy.
He wanted to say something, to go to his savior, but he couldn't find the words, he was completely lost. He was in pain all the time, but by now he had started to completely ignore it, to the point where he forgot he even felt it.
Only now did he notice how far he had unknowingly moved away from the scene of the battle that took place right in front of him, a good chunk of distance.
Then he noticed that a figure was approaching him from a distance...
"Ugh, this was nasty, but too much fun! I'd like to do this again a few more times, sometimes... Well, under better circumstances. Oh my, what a mess I left behind... Surely no one will blame me, that grass will grow again eventually..." a nervous laugh was heard.
Tails heard a voice speaking to him, but as if from a distance, although he- no, she was now already in front of him, so albeit doubly, he could clearly see the owner of that voice.
Fox.
Another fox. Female.
A red fox, about his height, with a large, flamboyant tail, a shiny black muzzle, and hazel eyes.
Nose hair fuzed, red tennis shoes, with small gloves stuck tight from the moisture, a smile on her face, bangs glued to her forehead and over her eyes, long golden brown hair, with three tufts on top, from which ears were barely visible, tied in two messy low ponytails, one to each shoulder, and ribbons protruding from them. She held a bat in one hand, an enerbeam in the other, and a water jetpack with a tank on her back.
She wore blue smart glasses over her eyes that glinted in the burst of light. Other than those details, she didn't look at all like someone who had just knocked out three menacing strangers, alone.
"And I thought you would need help when I first saw you. Are you okay?" - she asked benevolently.
Tails didn't say anything, instead he just fainted.
