When I woke up out of my dreamless sleep, the first thing I thought about was my head. It hurt like crazy. Waking up to a
headache usually spells doom for the rest of the day. The next thing that came to mind was, "Wait a minute, what happened
last night?" I was trying to think of anything I could've done to set it off. It had to be something I had done the previous
night. Thinking back, I couldn't remember anything that happened after... I had a little celebratory glass of wine.
So, okay, what happened before that? Well, Rouge and Knuckles had a few drinks of the wine. Amy and I were just sitting
over on the side. I didn't really remember much of what we were talking about. We talked about how badly Shadow's death
had crushed Sonic, I remembered.
"He's really taking this hard, Tails. He didn't say a thing the whole ride down."
"Well, Amy, I know Sonic better than you. He hates losing anyone in the process of saving the world. I've told him before,
'the need of the many outweighs the needs of the few.' But he's still hurt by stuff like that."
"Oh, I know, Tails. That's why I love him! ...But why would he be depressed about Shadow? After all, he was our enemy
until the Biolizard showed up!"
"Do you really think he was all evil, Amy?"
"..." She looked down. "I... I don't think so. I talked to him before Sonic and Knuckles were close to the Biolizard's area. I
said that he needed to help us. At first, he ignored me, but something I said must have reminded him of someone. Maria..."
She trailed off. Did she look... sad?
"Gerald Robotnik's granddaughter? The one he wanted revenge on humans for killing her?"
"Yeah, I guess she must've said something to him before she died. Made him promise something, I guess. Then he went and
fought. ...But I still don't get why Sonic's so broken up about him..."
I don't either, I thought. Maybe they were connected, in a way, by being rivals? Or maybe... We don't really know what
happens to people who go Super at the same time. That might be it. It's probably a combination of the two, I thought. I
should go ask Sonic.
Finally opening my eyes, I was startled by what I saw. "I don't have a fan in my workshop," I whispered. "I must be in
Sonic's room?" A loud, grinding squeak startled me. Looking up at the fan, I saw that it was tilted slightly, with a few loose
screws to boot. I suppose he didn't want to ask me to fix that.
I hopped out of bed, walked out the door, and floated down to my workshop to get some aspirin. After downing the
medicine, I picked up a breakfast bar (self-made, of course) and put my toolbox in the little elevator I designed for carrying it
up. Once I got back to Sonic's room, I set up a stepladder and began to fix the fan. My first job was unscrewing the fan to
balance it, which would've gone perfectly if the door hadn't opened.
Amy walked in without noticing the job just as I was about to finish with the last screw. Her knee hit my platform, spinning
it slightly as I fell off, ironically loosening the fan in the process. Thanks to my agility, I managed to save myself from the
attacking appliance by mere centimeters.
"Tails! Are you alright!? I wasn't expecting you to be up!" Amy said, jumping quickly to my side.
"I'm fine..." No thanks to you, I thought. "Don't worry about it. I was thinking of getting a new fan sometime soon, anyway,"
I lied.
"You sure you're alright? How are you feeling?"
"I said I'm okay. Where's everybody else?"
"Oh, well, Knuckles went off to stretch his legs, Rouge is sleeping off a hangover, and Sonic's somewhere outside."
I nodded and went outside, jumping to the roof to make it easier to find him. Fortunately for me, he was right there, leaning
against the railing of what I call the "Crow's Nest". He was apparently in a thoughtful mood and didn't even flick an ear at
my footsteps.
"Uh... Good morning, Sonic." No response. "... Sonikku...?" I addressed him in his Japanese name, putting a hand on his
shoulder. He jumped slightly; he must really have been thinking, for once.
"Hu-wha-- oh, hey Tails," he said in a quiet voice. His eyes were half-lidded as he turned around, and they looked a bit
bloodshot. He didn't sleep last night...? I realized my eyes still had a bit of sleep in them and rubbed them to wake myself up
more. "So, how ya doin'?"
"Well, I heard your fan this morning. But Amy 'fixed' it for you," I said sarcastically.
"Ahh... Well, I'm not really inside very much during the day, and the nights have been cool. So don't trouble yourself."
I flicked my ears in confusion. "What's wrong, Sonic? You're not acting like yourself. At least, not since..." My voice trailed
off; we both knew what I was talking about.
"Nah, I'm just fine... But how are you feelin', kid?" I was beginning to get suspicious. That was two people in less than a half
hour asking how I was feeling.
"Well, I've got a headache right now, but the medicine's about to kick in... Is there something I should be worried about? Did
something happen?"
"Huh. You don't remember anything from last night?" So, I was right...
"Not after a point, no... I mean, my memory's not spotless, anyway. But I don't know how I ended up in your bed, if that's
what you wanna know."
Sonic studied me for a moment. "Well, then, what's the last thing you remember?"
"Uh, the last event I remember clearly is talking to Amy. But the last thing I remember at all is having a little wine to
celebrate. Just a little. And Knuckles diluted it, too. I could hardly taste the alcohol." Sonic's face became shadowed and
blank. There was an awkward silence.
"Well, to put it simply, you ended up having a little more than a little wine. From what I heard, Rouge was the one who
insisted. I don't really blame her; you probably know the state she's in right now." I nodded sadly. So I got my headache from
that.
"So what happened after that?"
"Well, the four of you came up to Angel Island. I got mad at Knucklehead for leaving you alone with Rouge, and you got
dizzy and passed out." Another awkward silence passed. I decided to change the subject.
"So, you didn't sleep last night?"
"I had a lot on my mind, that's all." Shadow, I thought.
"Sonic? What happened when both of you went Super?" I asked, flopping down on the roof. Sonic followed suit.
"I figured you were gonna ask that. Well, our minds sorta worked as one, but that's not all. While we were connected, our
minds combined." I was wondering why Sonic was talking a little differently...
"What d'ya mean, 'combined'?"
"Well, it wasn't only our thoughts that were the same. Our memories... I remember what Shadow remembers," he explained.
"So that answers that, I guess." My stomach growled. "Heheh, I think I oughta go get some late breakfast. Thanks for
explaining that to me. Gives me something more for my research," I said, standing and hopping off the roof.
Down in the basement, in addition to the guest rooms, is our kitchen. It's connected to a little lounge area, which is why we
use this area for parties and the like. The kitchen part consists of a larger table, a sink, a fridge, and the one and only
automatic cooker. It's not quite ready for a market release quite yet, but two years from now looks promising! I dropped in a
sheet of bacon strips and two eggs, which I set on the "scrambled" setting. While I waited on the food, I poured myself a
modest glass of orange juice. The cooker took only a few seconds more before dropping the meal on a plate, perfectly
cooked. Setting my meal down at the table, I sniffed in the delicious scent and started to eat.
Rouge chose this moment to finally rouse herself. I flicked my eyes in her direction; she looked like she'd been hit by a bus...
That had backed over her afterwards. I couldn't help but break a ghost of a smile through my food. "Rufv nighzch?" I asked
over a piece of bacon. That translates roughly to "Rough night?", by the way.
"Where's the Advil?" she groaned. I ran up the stairs to my workshop and dropped them in her hand. She ran some tap water
into a cup and swallowed. "Would it be too much to ask you if I could have some pancakes?" she asked in a nicer tone; she
must've thought that she'd been too mean to me a minute ago.
"Sure, no problem. Two pancakes, coming right up! Want some coffee?" She nodded vigorously.
Knuckles came in while I was washing the dishes at the sink. I swished one of my tails in a wave, a sign that all of my friends
know well. I'm usually very busy with a bunch of projects that I have going, so I don't always-- make that almost never--
have time to turn around. "Hey Knux, what's up?"
"Not much. I was thinkin' that maybe we could show Rouge the jungle today? That is, if you're both up to it. You're
certainly peppy enough, aren't ya?"
"Sounds like a great idea, Knuckles! I think Sonic could use a change of pace, too. Rouge should be feeling well enough to
go now-- she's in her room changing as we speak," I said, pointing a tail in the direction of the girls' room. We keep them
separate for, well, obvious reasons. "Speak of the devil."
"Now, that wasn't a very warm welcome," she said in her normal voice. There was a tired note in her voice, but hey, she was
alive. Knuckles turned to her.
"I was thinking that maybe the five of us could go take a walk in the Mystic Jungle. You up to it?"
Rouge nodded happily. "Sounds grr-eat! Well, why don't we find the others and get a move on?" I finished drying the last
dish, dropping it in the rack with the others, and bounced quickly out the door.
We weren't super-enthusiastic about bringing Amy with us, but the pink energetic fangirl just wouldn't take 'no' for an answer. She lead our way into the tunnel that each of us alone would've gone through on a mine cart with a small flashlight. Oh yeah, that really helps most of us see. After a minute or two of walking, we could see sunlight through the other side.
Knuckles put a hand over Rouge's eyes in the dim light and continued to guide her until the very edge of the platform
looking out over the lush green jungle. Then he took his hand away.
"It's... It's fantastic!" she gasped. Knuckles smiled. He had known what she'd say by a long shot.
"Well, let's go in, everybody!" squealed Amy as she quickly climbed down the ladder. Climbing and jumping. Those are
about the only things she does well, though no one wants to pick a fight with that hammer. Sonic just dropped down, while
the rest of us floated to the jungle floor. We walked through the jungle silently until we heard a tell-tale voice.
"Oh! Hey, guys! Howzit going?" said a fat cat as it walked out of the bushes. Rouge took a step back, Knuckles sighed,
Sonic rolled his eyes, and I just smirked in what I hoped was a friendly way.
Amy, though, bounded up to him in her usual perky fashion. "Hey, Big! Haven't seen you in a while, have we, guys?"
"Oh, hello everybody! Frowggey, say hoi!" As if on cue, Froggy gave a little 'ribbit'. "Say, who's the pretty lady? I haven't
seen her before. Knuckles, is she your..." I cut him off for the echidna's sake.
"This is our friend Rouge. She tried to steal the Master Emerald, but Knux put it back together. She helped us save the
world yesterday."
"Oh, I see! Well, any friend of Sonic's is a friend of mine." Big said, bowing politely.
Knuckles decided to pipe up now. "I was actually kinda hoping we'd run into you, Big. Rouge hasn't seen the jungle at all
until now, and I was thinking that you might be able to give her a little tour. Whaddya say?"
"We'd be glad to, right Froggy?" The frog on the feline's head croaked loudly, as if it were saying yes. "Well, let's go, then!"
We wandered through the jungle for about an hour before taking a break. I had seen this enclosure before. It was a small
hideaway near the ancient ruins. Circular and covered on every square inch with moss, the chamber was lit just enough to be
easy on the eyes by the sunlight filtering in through the vines above. Rouge happily laid back on the thick moss in the center
of the area. I looked over to Knuckles, sitting just about a foot from her. What I saw surprised me. The guardian's eyes were
soft and fixated on the bat's closed eyes. He wore upon his mug a relaxed, contented, kindly smile. He reminded me of Santa
Claus, in a way, but this red-clad jolly fellow was alive and well. It was really sweet; I wish she could have seen him.
The slow upward curve of my mouth was interrupted by a loud crash from the area outside that we had forgotten. It was
followed by a short hum. Then, suddenly, we heard a laugh that most of the planet knows by now. Sonic spoke our
thoughts. "What in the heck is that crazy doc doin' now!?" He has a tendency to watch his language around Amy and me.
The six of us rushed outside, following our ears. I lead the way with my direction-sensitive hearing. That's one of the perks
of being a fox-- you can hear anything for a long distance. Heck, I bet that I could have heard a bug chewing on the grass
halfway across the forest. Anyway, our assumptions were made into fact as we rounded the corner. "Eggman. I shoulda
known," Sonic said, getting into a frustrated pose.
"First, may I ask that you please call me Doctor Robotnik, or Robotnik, or perhaps even Ivo? 'Eggman' is terribly insulting
to someone who has no control over their size, you know," the Doctor said in a surprisingly cordial voice.
"Okay, Eggman," Sonic said sarcastically. "What are you doing out here in your ship? Disturbing the poor, defenseless small animals?"
"You underestimate my character, Sonic. I was merely experimenting with a new beam of mine. It could make life far more
interesting for many people."
"Being blasted, blown up, killed, or becoming injured is interesting?"
"Oh, this doesn't injure anyone... Nor does it do any of the other things you mentioned. It only hurts, and I've purposely
made it so that you pass out if you're hit full-on. I'm trying to iron out the bugs, but until now, I had no subjects to test it on."
"Are you asking that we test this 'invention' of yours out for you? Because if you are, the answer is no!"
"Ah, but Sonic! I wasn't asking... I was assuming you'd automatically say yes!" With that last syllable, he pointed the lock-on
at Big and fired. Fortunately, Froggy had hopped off in the opposite direction, so the cat only got half of the impact from the
weapon...
Sonic hopped over to the dazed mass of fur, trying to help him up. "Hey, are you okay?"
An oddly higher-pitched voice answered his query. "Yes, I'm just fi... What's with my voice?"
"What the--!? Big, you're a girl!" As Sonic pulled the furry lummox out of the bushes, I saw what Sonic meant. Big had a
girl's features! In addition, she seemed to have lost much of her weight in the transformation. An odd thing about this was
the fact that she was already wearing clothes. She had a form-fitting lighter purple dress on, with smaller shoes and gloves
that matched her old ones.
"W-what in the... I'm all light now! And I'm wearing a pretty dress!" Knuckles' jaw would have gone straight through an inch
or two of soil if it were possible when he saw her. She was half the cat she had been a few moments ago and actually looked
nice, if I do say so myself.
The echidna didn't have much more time to stare, though, as he was hit by the full force of a blast and passed out. I heard
Eggman aiming for Amy, who I soon saw block only half a blast with her hammer. I watched the mad scientist fire at Rouge,
who had previously been concerned with the red form lying unconscious on the ground. She joined him in slumber.
I snapped around to watch Sonic hopping around Robotnik's ship. I started dashing for the blur when I saw the laser begin
its charge. "LOOK OUT!" I yelled as I rammed my hero from the side. I was thrown off the ground by a zap that hit my feet.
Once I hit the ground, I felt the change almost immediately. My chest fur was enough to cover my upper half, so I only wore
a pair of light cream shorts. Sonic helped me off the ground and barked me my instructions. "Tails, get the others out of
here! I'll take care of this punk!"
I looked at him concernedly. "Are you sure you'll be okay on your own?"
"Just GO!" he shouted, starting to dash around Eggman more cautiously. I ran over to my friends and helped Amy carry
Rouge. As we hopped into the mine cart, I took one last look in the direction of the fight taking place near Dr. Eggman's
Mystic Ruins base. I thought I saw a flash of the laser, but I knew it had missed because several more flashes followed as the
cart began to roll.
We dropped Rouge and Knuckles into the beds in the opposite rooms as they had been staying in. We also had to move the
bat's belongings with him. Knuckles hadn't brought anything; he usually just takes what he can find where he is.
"You know, I thought that was gonna be harder than it was. I don't really know why, but I think I feel faster for some
reason," Amy said in his relatively deep voice. I had been expecting him to still have a high-pitched voice, like I did. He was
wearing tan cargo shorts, black shoes, and black fingerless gloves. The girl part of my mind was attracted to him, which was
odd because I couldn't stand Amy before. Maybe it was the voice?
"Well, maybe it's 'cause you're not wearing those clumsy boots of yours now," I said, ducking his swat at my head. My voice
had hardly changed, which was frustrating to me. Basically, my voice didn't drop to that lower note as it normally did when I
was talking. "Seriously, though, I feel a little taller. And look at Big! He... she... hardly weighs ANYTHING compared to before!"
"Hm. I guess that the switch can affect us in lots of different ways, not only the gender swap," he said quietly. His voice had
seemed to trail off and, turning my head, I saw that he was watching my tails as they naturally flicked up and down.
"Like how?" I asked him. I didn't get an answer. "Hello?" I questioned, turning to face him with my arms crossed.
Amy blinked a few times. "Er, what? Sorry."
I uncrossed my arms. "I SAID, what else do you think changes?"
His eyes moved nervously up and down. "Um... Well... I dunno... Uh..." I cocked my head. What was with him? He seemed
like he wasn't able to look me in the face... Oh, wait a minute...
"... Tell me, honestly," I said, stepping closer to him. He fidgeted nervously as his eyes flitted around. "Do you think I need a
shirt?" I bent forward with my arms behind my back for emphasis.
Amy was sweating a little. I think that if this had been one of those "animé" shows, he would've sweatdropped. "Uhhh,
yeeeaaaahh. That would be a good idea," he said, looking away. He was blushing slightly.
I sighed. "So you were chest-talking me. Well, I can't really blame you. I'd probably be doing the same to me if I were still a
guy. You have a shirt I could borrow?"
"Yeah, umm, lemme get my suitcase," he said, walking into the girls' room. I shook my head. Now I know why girls don't
like guys who do that sort of thing. Though I guess I should be flattered.
When he came out of the room, he handed me the suitcase. "Here, it's all yours for now. You can wear anything you want.
But please make sure you wash them?" I nodded and started looking through the case.
"Wow, girls need a lot more stuff than guys... Hm? What's this?" I queried, holding up a little pink thing. He laughed.
"Ohhh, that. Well, I'm not sure if you need it, but if it takes any more than a few weeks to straighten this out..." My ears
drooped as I threw the pad on the floor in disgust. My tongue was sticking out.
"Ew!?" I said, more as a statement than a question. "Great, just great. Just one question. Why do girls get all... Uh..." The
first word that came to mind was 'bitchy', but Sonic told me not to say that. "... Angry at that time of month?"
"Well, I guess it's 'cause we get really tired. Wait, this means I don't have to go through that! Yes! Ya know, bein' a guy isn't
going to be half-bad!"
"Then again... It's Spring Hormones time..." I smirked, sitting down next to him.
"'Spring Hormones'? The heck is that?"
"Weeee-eelllll..." I drawled, slipping the tip of my right tail up his leg. He shivered from the sensation, and I giggled.
"Uh," he coughed slightly. "What was th... that?"
"Nothin' much, just a natural way of your body telling you that you like the feel of something. Heeheehee!" Amy was
blushing by now.
"Uh-um, that was really... Weird... Errrr..." he slowly said. I just laughed harder.
"Don't worry! I know almost exactly what you're going through! I was a guy, after all."
"... Well, it's still better than having my period." I frowned.
"Well, in any case, how's this look on me?" I said, pulling on a short white 'Baby Doll' style shirt. Since Amy and I had
different body types, it barely touched my waist. It had on it in black type two Japanese characters, with a translation (real or
fake, I didn't know); "Stop Staring."
"Nice choice, Tails! It looks really... Uh... Cute!" he said, giving me a thumbs up.
"Okay, so I guess this is what I'll wear." I yawned. "Well, I think I'm gonna go take a nap," I said, heading for the stairs.
"You're not really going to sleep on your cot, are you? The beds down here are reeeeally comfy!"
I smirked playfully. "Are you trying to get me to sleep with you?" He groaned. "Haha, I was just kidding! You're probably
right." My feet automatically turned toward the boys' room, but I remembered my situation and turned toward the other.
I found a comfortable bed on the opposite side of the room from Knuckles. I put my things away in the dresser and laid
down. As my eyelids fell, my last thought before sleep claimed me was, I hope Sonic's okay.
Just so you all know, I don't really know about that whole "Spring Hormones" thing. Just came into my head while I was typing. Isn't it strange the way my mind works differently when I'm writing?
