I would like to apologize to my fellow Sephiroth fans for them being whiny babies and flooding me with hatemail. I'm sorry that you weren't prepared to see our freakin' awesome idol get killed by Tails. But, alas, the story is called DarkTAILS, not DarkSephiroth, so, if your favorite character from any game appears, be prepared. Tails isn't going to die anytime soon. But, I'm not saying that there will not be any second chances for any of the characters. Hint hint.

9:00 P.M.

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Cream listened to Tails as he explained what transpired at the funeral, and a number of the events that took place after, ending with a (crappy) explanation of what she had witnessed. Cream sat through the whole explanation, and kept telling herself she would have anyway if Tails wasn't holding her down to his bed. Cream was angry at the town as a whole for not telling her. It wasn't Tails' fault that he was like this, and he was still more or less Tails. Just, you know, don't make him angry. When he was done explaining, he uncovered her mouth. She took the opprotunity to ask him a very personal question.

"What is it like?"

Tails just sort of stared at her for a moment. Then he turned away from her. "It... Its... terrible, Cream." Tails stared at the ceiling. "I'm always hungry. Always. No matter what I try, I can't make it go away. The cow lessened it a little, for a few seconds anyway... But, that had dire consequences in the end." He turned to face Cream. "I envy you. You can walk out in the sun. If I try that, I'll die." Cream decided to change the subject, since this one wasn't exactly Tails' favorite topic. But, there was only one other thing she could think of. "Do you think there is a way to bring Sonic back?" Tails was silent for a bit, then said, "Actually, yes. There just might be." He got up, opened his window, and motioned for her to follow him. He flew out the window, and she followed him. He turned his head to face her.

"Come on. Lets go pay Knuckles a visit."

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Knuckles had just returned from the Winn-Dixie. Actually, he was ejected by security. But thats a story for another day (never). He was surprised when he returned, to see Cream looking under a rock. She saw him, and yelled, "Found him!". Tails came out from behind the Master Emerald reading the sign Knuckles had put there. "What do you want?" Knuckles asked, taking a very good look at this Tails to make sure it was the real Tails and not just Amy again. This one was definitely orange enough. "Well, we sort of had a wee bit of trouble with a guy that Shadow hired to kill me, and--"

"Sonics dead, and you thought that maybe I could bring him back, right?"

"Yep."

"Hmph. Fine. Set him next to the Emerald, and leave."

Tails and Cream did as they were instructed, and left. Knuckles sighed, and lifted Sonic up off of the ground, and placed him on top of the Master Emerald. Knuckles then muttered something under his breath, and the emerald started to glow. Within seconds, the stab wound was completely healed. Sonic jumped off of the emerald, and assumed a defensive stance. He searched his surroundings for Sephiroth, but he wasn't there. Knuckles tapped him on the shoulder from behind, which caused Sonic to yell, then roundhouse kick the poor echidna into the Emerald. It was not his week. Sonic realised what he had done, apologized, and helped Knuckles repair the small crack in the Master Emerald before leaving for his home.

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Shadow was muttering obscenities, waiting for his contact from SquareEnix to arrive. After hours of waiting, the small, portly man wobbled into Shadow's office and had a seat. "Well? Have you figured out what went wrong yet?" Shadow asked.

"Well, no. Everything was exactly as it should have been. Nobody has any idea what happened. We upgraded Sephiroth's move roster and everything to the standards you asked of us. Perhaps he got too confident. I mean, after all, the target seems rather cartoony... No offense."

"None taken. I wish I cared enough to console you for your losses, but I need somebody else."

"You forget-- We are SquareEnix. If we want, we can make another Sephiroth. An even better one."

"Sephiroth... No. Get me somebody else. Somebody who is more of a villain. Style is no longer a factor to consider."

"I know just the man for the job. Sephiroth may have been the most well liked villain, but he wasn't the greatest."

"Who do you have in mind?"

"He detroyed the world, was three screens tall, and had a whole bunch of other people inside him. Give up?"

"... Yes."

"Kefka."

"Kefka, eh? Sounds kinda girly, but alright. Three screens is pretty big..."

"Excellent. We will send him as soon as we get him cleaned up. Almost nobody remembers him..."

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Tails got back home earlier than what he had hoped. Then, he noticed that Cream wasn't following him anymore. He just guessed she went home. 'Must have been bored...' Then, the voice. "Hello, Tails. Lose something?"

"Who are you! What do you want!"

"Oh, me? I could be your best friend... or your worst enemy. But, I'm afraid I asked you a question. Lose something?"

"No... wait... define 'something', please."

"Your girlfriend."

Tails blushed a bit, "She is not my girlfriend!"

"Right..."

"What have you done with her!"

"Oh, nothing. Yet..."

"Why did you take her?"

"Me? Oh ho, Tails, you are too funny. I would not darelay a finger onher. But... if you want her back..."

"... Go on..."

"Hang on. I need to use the loo."

Tails waited a moment.

"Okay, I'm back. If you want her back, I suggest you start looking at Green Hill."

Tails was already flying out that way. He didn't waste time getting there. Once there, he ran through the course, until he came upon a note. It said...

"Look up :)"

Tails looked up, and saw a man with long blonde hair. He was smiling an odd smile. It was odd because the man had fangs. He lowered himself down, and hovered in front of Tails for a few moments. Then, he landed completely, and the smile faded to a grin. "Hello, Tails." His voice... It was THE voice. "I've been expecting you."

"Shut up! Wheres Cream, you sick freak!"

"Heh. 'Sick Freak', Tails? We are of the same genus, and you would call me a freak? Like I said, you are too funny. I come to you with a proposition."

"I'm guessing I don't have a choice, right?"

"Good guesswork. Your little friend, Amy? She has jeopardised our very way of life. If you want to see the rabbit again, you will eliminate her for us. She knows nothing of our ways, and does not follow the code."

"Heh. Thats all, eh? I didn't even know there was a code. I'm guessing you chose me for a reason, right?"

"Yes. You seem to be the type of person to hold a grudge."

"Good guesswork."

"You may want to read this, so as not to repeat your careless foe's mistakes." The man said, handing Tails a HUGE book that he could barely hold.

"The code, I presume?"

"Once again, good guesswork."

"Where do you have Cream? I'm not doing this... for you, anyway, until I know she's safe."

"She will be lodging with me until you complete your tasks."

"Is that supposed to make me feel better?"

"Yes. As leader of the Bravado clan, I am required to keep all guests--"

"Hostages."

"Whatever, for any period of time. The guests--"

"Hostages."

"... Are my responsibility for as long as they stay."

"... Am I allowed to bring someone with me?"

"If you wish." The man handed Tails another book, that, again, was a little too large.

"Whats this?"

"A book of Holy incantations. The person you are going to take is the hedgehog, correct? He may need that. Its quite effective. I learned that from experience." The man pointed to a scar on his left arm.

"So, is that all?"

"No. Here is a map, on the back is my name. You must know it to gain access to our hive complex." Tails looked at the map the man handed him. He flipped it over.

'Site.'

"Why don't you just do it yourself?"

"It has to be one of her victims, or else she can never be undone by another of the clan."

"So, I'm the only victim?"

"Afraid so."

"Fine. How long do I have?"

"One week. That should be enough time to convince whomever you wish to take along, complete the task, find the hive, and let us know. Oh, and Tails? Don't bring your friend inside. If they are not welcomed personallyby me, they are fair game in the hive to anyone willing to break the code."

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To be continued...

I made the Sephiroth fanboys cry even more today, by

1) Taunting them with "You forget-- We are SquareEnix. If we want, we can make another Sephiroth. An even better one." "Sephiroth... No."

&

2) Replacing him with KEFKA. No, scratch that. Replacing him with Kefka for a GOOD REASON. Really, I like Sephiroth, he is cool. But, I'm not going to lie and say he's the best villain ever. Lying is bad, m'kay? Sephiroth wanted to merge with the planet. He didn't even get that far. Kefka, however, had already destroyed the world when you fought him, was three screens big, and had a crapload of other people inside him. Now, then: Dante's role model, or three screen tall ultimate manifestation ofevil? Thats what I thought.