Chapter 9- (there's no title due to the fact that this has many subjects...)
Tails raced through the hallways with the bag of gems over her shoulder. Sh ewas tired and weak. She felt as if she couldn't run anymore. But she pressed on although her moveent became sluggish.
Sonic on the other hand was out within 15 seconds.He knew his way around the base and the quickest routes out. He walked over to Rouge and Kunckles who where standing a safe distance away from the base.
"Sonic! Look what happened to Knuckles!" the female bat cried in hysterics. "Tails did this too him..."
"I'm fine..." Knuckles sighed.
"Tails did this...? But why...?" Sonic said with disbelief.
"I dunno, but the next time I see him I'll..." Rouge began.
"Tails is a she..." Knuckles corrected her.
"Whatever... I... wait a minute, WHAT?"
Meanwhile...
Tails had gotten lost and began to panic. The base was beginning to crumble and catch fire. She continued to run despite the heat of the rising flames. She heard a sudden countdown.
"t-minus 10... 9... 8..."
Suddenly a metal beam landed on top of her, pinning her to the ground. She screamed with dismay as the flames dove into her back.
"6... 5.. 4..."
Meanwhile outside...
Shadow watched the base with deep worry in his expression. He suddnly heard Tails' screams through the ear piece.
"SHADOW! HELP ME!"
"Oh my god! Tails!" Shadow began to run towards the base when suddenly...
"3... 2... 1..."
"Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!"
The base exploded an disappeared in a giant ball of fire. Everyone dove for cover but only Shadow remained watching as the explosion carried on. After the fireball died down and the smoke cleared, all that was remaining of the base was a lagre pile of debris. (sp?)
"Oh no!" Shadow raced towards the ruins of the base.
"Hey, isn't that Shadow?" Rouge cried.
"Shadow?" Sonic and Knuckles cried in unision.
Then the thought hit Sonic. It hit him hard in the heart. "Tails... oh no... she didn't make it out in time..." he moaned.
"But doesn't that mean..." Rouge began.
"No one could have survived that blast..." Knuckles said shakily.
Meanwhile...
Shadow despretly searched for the fox. He pushed aside rocks and boulders, moved every metal beam he could find. Then he found a bag full of Chaos emeralds and Master Emerald shards. None of them were damaged, not even the file that lied within the bag along with the precious gems.
Shadow's search became even more frantic. He finally discovered the small black and red fox lying motionless underneath a metal beam.
"Tails!" Shadow cried.
He removed the beam away from Tails' body. He then liftd her up and cradled her in his arms. He sighed softly and sadly.
"Tails... wake up Tails... you can't die! Not yet!" Shadow cried.
"Shadow?" a sudden voice called. It was Sonic, and he was followed by Rouge and Knuckles.
"Stay back! I'm warning you!" Shadow screamed.
"Hey isn't that...?" Rouge began.
"Oh no... it can't be..." Knuckles said with a deep sadness in his voice.
"Tails..." Sonic backed away as he spoke her name.
"It's your fault... you killed Tails!" Shadow's voice rose into a scream.
Sonic stared with sorrow at the fox that laid limply in Shadow's arms. He could feel nothing but grief and sorrow. His best friend... gone... she lost her life because of his own mistake. He couldn't forget the look on Tails' face when they fought. Her voice was filled with such hate. Her eyes were burning with the furiousity of a wildfire. Her words were cold like ice.
Why did he do something so stupid? Just blurt out that he invaded her personal space. Even after Tails honestly asked him not to go in her room or read anything un-invited. But then again...
Tails was a little foolish for over-reacting... right? What did Sonic do wrong?
flashback
Young Sonic was dashing through the other side of Knothole Forest. He heard the clang of metal and came to a screeching halt. He wondered if it was Doctor Eggman that he heard. He let his curiosity get the better of him so he went off to find out.
He then discovered a small fox tinkering away onto of a huge plane.
"Hey whatcha doin up there?" Sonic called.
"I'm making adjustments to my plane." a small voice replied.
"You're working? In this heat?" Sonic said in awe.
"Yup! I have to get my plane finished, or I won't be able to travel and see new things!" squeaked the fox. The fox then jumped down from where "he" stood.
"What's your name little guy?" Sonic asked.
"Just call me Tails!" Tails chirped cheerfully.
end of flashback
Sonic then relised what he did. He mistook Tails for a male. Tails wasn't the type to argue so she didn't correct him. Tails was too meek to really say anything. Sonic just jumped to conclusions and maybe, everytime someone addressed her as a male, it ate at her and she just didn't say anything.
"It wasn't my fault! We were fighting, and she was weak... I didn't know this was going to happen..." Sonic studdered over his words.
"You never really cared, did you? You just wanted her for her knowledge of technology, didn't you?" Shadow said accusingly.
"No I... I don't feel that way anymore..." Sonic muttered.
"Anymore?" Shadow said with an eyebrow raised.
"Sonic..." Knuckles gasped.
"You were just using Tails?" Rouge said breathlessly.
"I was... but not for a long time! I learned to care about her! She was my best friend! And if I'd known sh ewas a girl when we first met... I... I would have fallen in love with her..." Sonic sadi with a deep sigh.
"Love?" Knuckles was shocked.
"Yes... I always used to think of Tails as a brother... but now... I don't know how I feel..." Sonic slowly admitted.
"Well it's too late for that now isn't it?" a voice suddenly called.
"Eggman?" Everyone cried in unison.
"That's right. Good work Shadow!You've served me well. I thank you for your help." Eggman cackled.
Tails hand twitched slightly which made Shadow grin with slight relief. A rope ladder came down and Shadow grabbed it along with the bag of emeralds. He was whisked away into the air laughing.
"So long! And maybe we'll meet again. But rest assure, it will be our last visit!"Shadow ended with an evil laugh.
Sonic, Rouge and Knuckles could only watch helplessly as the dark hedgehog wascarrie daway by Eggman with Tails lying within his grasp.
-End of Chapter-