The Return of Shadow Fox

Evil Has A Face

A light tapping on hsi bedroom door jarred Tails from his troubled sleep. At first, he wasn't sure if it was a real knock, or just his imagination. But on the second knock, a louder one this time, Tails was brought out of his sleep induced stupor. With a groan, Tails stood up and walked upto the door. His head was pounding and there was a bitter taste in his mouth but never the less he opened the door, to be greeted by the smiling face of Sonic.

''Hey, I was wondering when you were gonna wake up!'' Sonic said.

''Ohh...hey Sonic. Sorry, I was just...'' Tails faltered and yawned deeply.

''Man, you really aren't much of a morning person these days are you?'' Sonic joked.

''Ha ha. Anyway, what is it you want?'' Tails said testily.

''Nothing. I just thought I might try to wake you up, considering its three in the afternoon!''

''What? Your joking?'' Tails stammered, before glancing sharply at the clock. Sure enough, it was indeed 3 PM.

''Blimey! I knew I needed sleep, but not that much!'' Tails laughed, slightly embarrased.

''Ah, don't worry about it! Besides, nothing much is going on today anyway. So, you coming downstairs?'' Sonic asked.

''Yeah sure. Just give me a few minutes''

''Okay. See you later Tails'' Sonic closed the door.

Tails sighed, and stretched himself. After what had happened last night, he didn't think he would have been able to go back to sleep. Still, he hadn't dreamt that dream again, so at least he was making some progress. But still...

Tails didn't like lying to Sonic, pretending that everything was allright. Sonic was his best friend, and he should have been able to talk to him about anything. But Shadow Fox was something that he just couldn't bare to discuss with anyone, not even Sonic. It was just something that he had to fight alone, and up until last night he thought he had been winning. But, after glancing at the cracked mirror from the night before, Tails realised with a heavy heart that his fight with Shadow Fox wasn't over yet. Not by a long shot.

With a final stretch, Tails made his way out of his bedroom and down to the bathroom. Once inside, he walked upto the sink. As he knelt down to reach his toothbrush, he noticed that his hand was cut and there was dried blood on his knuckles.

''I must have whacked that mirror harder than I thought!'' Tails muttered, before turning on the tap to rinse away the blood. Underneath, there was a small cut inbetween his knuckles, which he placed a small plaster over from the medicine cabinet.

Not once had he looked into the mirror. Deep down, he was terrified of what he might see. Just the thought of seeing those red eyes and evil grin again made him shiver with fear.

Once he had finished, he reached down for his toothbrush. As he bent down, his gaze lingered on his reflection for a split second. What he saw in that brief moment made his blood run cold.

''No!''

The reflection in the mirror wasn't that of Shadow Fox. It was still him, but it was his eyes that terrified him. They were red. The same dull, cruel eyes of Shadow Fox. Tails screamed, and shut his eyes tightly. When he looked at his reflection again, they were back to their natural blue. With a sigh of relief, Tails wiped his forehead which was covered in sweat. Suddenly, that cruel laugh ripped through his head.

''Like my little trick there? I thought it was rather good, especially the look on your face when you saw it!'' Shadow Fox laughed.

''Why are you doing this? Why can't you leave me alone?'' Tails cried, his eyes brimming over with tears.

''I'll never leave you alone Tails! And I'll never let you forget me either! You think you can just push me into the back of your mind, but you can't! I can play with you softly, or I can bend you until you break! Either way, you will see it my way!'' Shadow Fox snarled.

Tails was shivering. He now knew the power Shadow Fox had over him. He could change him on a whim, manipulating him from inside his head. And he was powerless to stop him.

''Just think! When you least expect it, I could suddenly change you! I could make you look like me when your around you friends, or perhaps I could make you hurt someone close to you. Cream perhaps, or maybe Sonic!'' Shadow Fox continued.

''No! Please, you can't!'' Tails cried, tears trickling down his face as he tried to block out Shadow Fox from is mind.

Shadow Fox laughed. ''You had your chance Tails! You refused to let me out willingly, so I will have to take over your mind by force, bit by bit! And then, oh what fun we will have!''

Tails was curled up into a ball on the bathroom floor, sweat pouring down his face. If anyone was to come into the bathroom at that moment, they would have thought he was having a fit. Worse, if it was Sonic, then he would know what was happening. Only Sonic and Chris's grandad knew that he was Shadow Fox, and if they ever found out that Shadow Fox was still in his mind... It didn't bare thinking about.

''You don't know how good it makes we feel to watch you squirm Tails! I look forward to our next little meeting! Ta ta!''

With a final laugh, Shadow Fox went quiet. Tails opened his eyes, and listened for any sound of Shadow Fox's voice. But there was silence.

With a muffled cry, Tails stood up and looked into the mirror. His face was tear stained and his fur was matted with sweat. Tails choked back his tears, and grabbed a towel. After cleaning himself up, he looked hard at his reflection.

''Your not going to beat me you bastard! No matter what, I'll never let you hurt my friends again!''

With that, Tails threw aside the towel and made for the door. But before he could open it, the door burst open and Sonic ran into the room.

''Tails! Eggman's attacking the city again! We need you and the Tornado!'' Sonic said.

Tails smiled slightly. This mission would at least keep his mind focused on something other than Shadow Fox.

'Okay! Lets go!'' Tails said, before running after Sonic out of the bathroom.

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In downtown Station Square, there was chaos. Eggman and the E-500's were laying waste to the city. In the sky above, Eggman and his lackies observed the carnage from their vantage point in Eggmans E-Chopper.

''Perfect! Now all we have to do is wait!'' Eggman announced, a smile etched across his face.

''Wait for what Dr. Eggman?'' Decoe asked.

''Yes. You still haven't told us the point of this mission!'' Bocoe pointed out.

''I don't have to tell you tin heads anything! I'm the boss of this operation, and don't you forget it!'' Eggman replied testily.

''Yes sir! But what exactly is the mission objective, if I may ask?'' Bocoe asked

''Simple! What better way to lure Sonic and his friends into a trap than a little murder and mayhem?'' Eggman laughed.

As the E-500's below continued to lay waste to the city, on the horizon a blue flash was speedily approaching.

''Perfect! I knew he couldn't resist!'' Eggman smirked.

''Should we alert the E-500's Doctor?'' Decoe asked.

''No. They failed miserably in stopping Sonic at the Complex two weeks ago! And failure is unacceptable! Besides, I have an ulterior motive for this plan!''

''Which is?'' Bocoe asked.

''You'll see!'' Eggman smirked.

As Sonic raced towards the city centre, he looked up at the E-Chopper. He laughed as he realised that whilst he was busy taking out the E-500's on the ground, Tails would be busy blasting Eggman out of the sky. Eggman would be taken completely by surprise.

Above Sonic, Tails was piloting the Tornado. Below him, he could see Sonic only as a blur as the pair of them sped towards the city centre. His mission was simple. Distract Eggman long enough for Sonic to take out the E-500's, and then blast him out of the sky. It sounded so simple, but for Tails, nothing was simple these days. He was terrified that at any minute, Shadow Fox would take over his mind and jeopardise Sonics safety. He had to keep a clear head at all costs.

As they neared the city centre, Tails spotted the E-Chopper hovering over the carnage below. As he piloted the Tornado closer towards the helicopter, Tails was shocked as the E-Chopper suddenly turned and began to give chase.

''So you want a dog fight, aye Eggman? Allright then, prepare to be bitten!'' Tails yelled over the Tornado's engine, as he made a sharp bank to the left away from the oncoming helicopter.

Inside the E-Chopper, Eggmans attebtion was entirely on the Tornado.

''You think you can run from me Tails? Well, think again!''

As the two aircraft veered further away from the city centre, Tails banked the Tornado sharply to the right. Tails was perspiring slightly as he tried to stay one step ahead of the oncoming chopper. He was beginning to wonder why Eggman wasn't trying to shoot him out of the sky, choosing instead to give chase and steer him further away from the city centre and Sonic. Still, as long as Eggman's attention was entirely on him, then Sonic could deal with the E-500's without any nasty surprises.

As the Tornado banked to the right, Eggman suddenly flipped a switch on the cockpit dashboard.

''Time to end this Tails!'' Eggman muttered, before jabbing his thumb hard onto another button.

In that instant, a bright blue light shot out from the E-Chopper and hit the Tornado. Tails could only watch in horror as the instruments began to fail and the Tornado began to nose dive.

Tails frantically grabbed the controls and desperately tried to pull the Tornado out of the nose dive and avoid crashing. With every ounce of strength he had, he managed to even the plane out and bring it into a smooth landing.

As the Tornado came to a stop, Tails leaned his head against the controls exhausted. He didn't hear the E-Chopper come in to land behind him, nor did he hear someone approaching the cockpit. When he finally noticed, it was too late.

''Night night Tails!'' Eggman smirked as he fired a tranquiliser dart at Tails. Tails yelped in pain, before collapsing unconscious.

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Back in the city centre, and Sonic had managed to disable every one of the E-500's without great difficulty. As he looked around at the smoking bodies of his beaten opponents, Sonic suddenly cast his gaze upwards to look for a glimpse of the Tornado. As he had been battling the E-500's, he hadn't noticed the plane once. Now, he was worried.

''Where are you little bro?''

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Tails woke up in a dark room. After a few seconds trying to remember what had happened to him, he suddenly realised that he couldn't move his arms. As he desperately tugged at his bonds, Tails tried to move his legs. They too were shackled. So too was his neck, meaning that he couldn't turn around. As Tails continued to struggle, a blinding light suddenly illuminated the room. As his eyes grew used to the brightness, Tails realised that he wasn't alone. Standing in front of him, a cruel smile etched across his face, stood Eggman. Behind him, there was a complex looking machine coupled upto a metallic chamber that stood directly in Tails viewpoint. With a shudder, Tails realised that he was coupled upto the machine. There was a metal helmet on his head, with cables snaking away from the top and leading right upto the chamber. With a snarl, Tails looked at Eggman.

''So glad you finally woke up Tails! Now we can begin!'' Eggman smirked, before walking upto the machinery.

''Begin what Eggman? What are you gonna do?'' Tails snarled as he struggled against his bonds.

''Oh, I don't want to spoil the surprise Tails! But lets just say that soon you will know what a genius I really am!'' Eggman laughed as he keyed in several codes.

Suddenly, the machinery began to hum, and Tails suddenly felt a sharp stab of pain go through his body.

''What are you doing? Tell me!'' Tails yelled as the pain began to increase.

''Soon Tails! In the meantime, try not to scream to loudly!'' Eggman laughed.

As the pain increased, Tails noticed that the chamber that stood before him was beginning to vibrate. As he tried to come up with an explanation as to what Eggman was planning, a surge of white hot pain coursed through his body, causing him to cry out in agony. Tails felt that his head was about to explode with the pain, as the noise of the machinery thudered through his ears.

Suddenly, the machinery quietened, and the pain stopped. Tails opened his eyes. Eggman began to approach the chamber, a huge grin on his face. Suddenly, a huge clang reverberated across the room.

''Looks like we have company, aye Tails!'' Eggman chortled as he walked upto the chamber and punched in a code. With a hiss, the chamber doors began to open. As Tails watched on in terror, a small figure emerged from the chamber. Tails gasped, and his eyes widened at the sight that met him.

'Hello Tails! I told you I'd be back!''

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Next Chapter: A New Threat

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Please R&R!