Chapter 13
"Tails, I know you're in there somewhere!" Cosmo pleaded at the feet of Tails, whose pupil-less eyes showed no concern for Cosmo.
"It's quite useless, Cosmo. He's under my complete control." Said Sevag," Now quit being such a bother. I have no interest in harming you."
Cosmo turned to Sevag. "How could you play with his emotions like this! You have taken him down a path that will lead to his self-destruction!" Cosmo ran at Sevag with tears in her eyes, knowing she was helpless in the situation.
"Away with you!" Sevag pointed at Cosmo, and she flew back and slammed into a wall. Her shoulders remained pinned against the wall. She couldn't move.
"No! Tails help!" Cosmo screamed as she struggled.
"Come Miles, my body is in that sarcophagus. Now it is time for you to finish the ritual and resurrect me!" Sevag declared.
Tails levitated toward the sarcophagus, followed by Sevag. Cosmo continued to struggle, but it was no use. It was as if she were chained to the wall.
"Tails don't do it! Think of all the people you'll be hurting! All your friends, and me too!" Cosmo yelled.
Tails kept moving, though for a second he paused. That one second was enough to convince Cosmo.
He must be in there somewhere…
Tails stood before the sarcophagus and as he rose his arms, the top slowly lifted up. Inside, the dried, mummified corpse of Sevag lied there, with his arms crossed over his chest.
"Miles, once the curse is broken, my soul will become one with my body. I'll need you to finish the ritual yourself so that I may use the emeralds to fully regenerate my body." Sevag explained. He took a papyrus scroll out from the sarcophagus and unrolled it. "Place your hand on the corpses forehead and feed it your energy!"
"No Tails! Stop it please! Don't give Sevag the power to undo everything we achieved together in defeating the Metarex!" Cosmo begged.
Tails had just put his hands over Sevag's forehead when Cosmo's words made him stop. He shut his eyes tightly. Something in him was trying to fight Sevag's control.
"Do it Miles! You are my minion! I am your master, the only one you can trust! I am the closest thing you will ever have to a father!" Sevag yelled.
Tails opened his white eyes and growled, becoming consumed by his aura. Slowly, he began feeding his energy into the corpse. Sevag held up the scroll and read aloud the ancient incantations. As he read them, energy exploded from Tails' body. Cosmo turned away, shielding her eyes from the blinding light. When she turned to look again, Sevag was gone. The scroll fell to the ground. Tails took his hand off of the corpse. Then Cosmo saw something that made her gasp. The corpse's hands began to move. Its eyes opened, glowing bright yellow. It sat up suddenly.
"Finally…I am back in my body!" Sevag declared. He cackled as he stepped from the sarcophagus, his thin, dried skin barely covering his skeleton.
"Tails! Don't go through with this!" Cosmo again pleaded," Think about everything we went through to save the galaxy! Think of why I sacrificed myself!"
"Silence, feeble seedling! You have no power here." Said Sevag. Tails however turned to look at Cosmo. For an instant she could see the pain in his eyes.
"Fight it tails! I know you can! I know the little fox boy I fell in love with is still in there somewhere." Cosmo said, with tears running down her cheeks.
"Fool! Who needs love when you have power? Love is an illusion for the weak!" Sevag yelled.
Tails fell to his knees, his hands pressed against the ground. He shut his eyes and growled, fighting an inner conflict within himself.
"Tails…I love you…" said Cosmo, sobbing.
Tails looked up, frozen. "C…Cosmo…"
Just then a wall at the far end of the room exploded. When the dust cleared, Tails' mother stood over the rubble, brandishing her mechanical arm.
"Midiana!" Sevag exclaimed.
"Who?" Cosmo gasped.
Midiana Rosemary Prower walked forward, pointing her missile launcher at all three of them.
"Miles! Eliminate her!" Sevag commanded.
Tails still couldn't move, the inner turmoil too much for him. His body was trembling. Suddenly Midiana flew at tails and kicked him across the room. He stood up, turning toward his mother. His aura glowed brightly.
"Oh no Tails! Be careful!" Cosmo warned.
Midiana looked toward Cosmo, examining her. "Plant-like life form. Action…destroy!"
She began walking toward Cosmo, pointing her missile launcher at her.
"Oh no…who are you? Tails save me!" Cosmo screamed.
"Good, she's distracted." Said Sevag. "Quickly, let us resume the ritual!"
Tails stood up, first looking at Sevag, then at Cosmo, who was about to be killed.
"What are you waiting for? I need you to recite the incantations so I can regenerate my body! Come on!" Sevag commanded.
Midiana marched closer and closer toward Cosmo. She was prepared to shoot. Tails growled. He disappeared for a moment, reappearing between Cosmo and his mother.
"Fool! What are you doing?" Sevag demanded, sensing he was losing control over Tails.
"Freedom fighter…priority one." Said Midiana Prower.
Tails roared and delivered a spinning kick to her head. She flew across the room, her head smacking into a wall.
"Tails…you saved me…" said Cosmo, stunned.
Tails simply stood there, his aura beginning to disappear.
"Cosmo…I…love…you…"Tails then collapsed. He had lost his super form, returning to his normal state.
"Tails! No! What happened!" Cosmo screamed.
Standing at the altar, was the reason for this. Sevag was now standing upon the Master Emerald, taking the energy for himself.
"If you shall not obey me, I shall have to find someone who will! I shall do it myself!" Sevag declared.
Meanwhile, across the room, Midiana sat up. The metal plates on her head were cracked…and slowly they began to fall off, revealing her true face.
"Wha…what was I …doing? Midiana asked, dazed. She looked around, and her eyes widened when she realized where she was. She saw Sevag, who was now surrounded by a purple aura, his body still in its mummified state.
"So, back to normal are we Midiana?" Sevag said slyly as he levitated above the emerald. "You're just in time to see the curse you put upon me be lifted! By one of your own sons nonetheless."
Midiana gasped, her eyes catching the crumpled form of Tails, laying face down on the ground. She ran to him, holding him up in her arms. Tails slowly opened his eyes.
"M…mother…" Tails said quietly, tears rolling down his cheeks. She hugged him tightly.
"You're alive Miles…I can't believe it…" said Midiana as tears streamed from her eyes.
"So…you are Tails' mother…" Cosmo said.
Sevag hovered over them. "This is all very touching. Enjoy your final moments together fools!" Sevag smirked as he held his arms apart from his body, and the temple began to rumble. A portal opened up in the ground, steadily widening. Inside was a swirling purple-blue void.
"You may continue this happy reunification…in death!" Sevag proclaimed.
Midiana put Tails down gently and stood up. "I can never forgive you for what you've become Sevag. There was once a time…when I loved you. But those days are over."
"I became what I am because of my love for you!" Sevag shouted angrily," And for my love I was repayed with a CURSE! I did everything…all of it…for you! And you returned my favor with nothing but misery, forcing me to dwell in sorrow all these years. It is because of you! And now…you shall be the one to pay!"
"There is no excuse for harming all of those innocent lives." Midiana replied angrily, "I sealed you away to protect the world from your malice!"
"Enough! I shall hurdle the three of you into this void, and be rid of you forever!" Sevag yelled. He flew at Midiana, and they clashed, attacking each other rapidly and tenaciously. Cosmo fell to the ground, apparently because Sevag's attention was diverted. She rushed to Tails and held him in her arms.
"Tails, what should we do?" Cosmo asked franticly. Tails was unconscious, his energy having been drained by going super. Cosmo shook him a little to wake him up, but it was no use. Cosmo began to cry, feeling that they were doomed. Until suddenly, she got an idea.
She looked around as Sevag and Midiana continued their battle. She then saw the altar. Sevag had left the Chaos Emeralds unguarded. She now knew what to do. Cosmo got up, snuck around Sevag's void, and grabbed the white Chaos Emerald from its pedestal. She hurried back to Tails, and put the emerald in his hand, holding his hand tightly against her chest.
"Please Tails…wake up…" Cosmo said softly.
Tails began to stir as his aura again surrounded him. He opened his eyes, and gazed up at Cosmo. It was the first time he was fully aware that he had resurrected Cosmo, now being free from Sevag's control.
"Cosmo…" said Tails in awe.
"There's no time Tails. Your mother needs you!" Cosmo exclaimed. Tails looked back, just in time to see Midiana be struck across the room, slamming into the wall next to them. Blood trickled from her forehead.
Silently, Tails stood up, to face Sevag.
"Well well, look who's woken up." Said Sevag mockingly.
Tails growled, is aura growing more brilliant. "I should never have trusted you!"
"Oh? And why is that? I fulfilled my promise. Perhaps it is I that should never have trusted you!" Sevag yelled, as he attacked Tails. Tails blocked Sevag's rapid strikes with his tails and managed to hit Sevag with a sidekick. Sevag flew back, but stopped himself and charged at Tails.
Tails charged at Sevag, and when Sevag tried to punch he grabbed both of Sevag's wrists. They pushed against each other, neither one budging, until Tails growled and began pushing Sevag backward. Little by little, they got closer to the void as Sevag struggled. Tails managed to push him to the edge of the void.
Then, sevag's frown became a grim, as he suddenly rotated his wrists around escaping Tails' grip and quickly grabbed Tails by the throat.
"You really thought you could over power me? Ha!" Sevag scoffed as he lifted tails up by the throat and dangled him over the void. Tails struggled to break free, but the grip of his dried, bony hand was tight. "Farewell, Miles Prower!"
Just then Sevag was thrown forward by the force of Tails' mother tackling him from behind. He let go of Tails, who flew himself to the edge of the void.
"Oh no, Tails look!" Cosmo exclaimed. Midiana was holding onto the edge of the void, clawing at the ground to stop from being sucked in. Sevag was clinging to her legs, adding extra weight.
Tails rushed to his mother, and she grabbed his hand. Cosmo ran behind tails and put her arms around him to help pull him his mother out.
"If I am to be cast into oblivion, I shall take you with me Midiana!" Sevag screamed.
"Never!" Tails screamed as he tried to pull his mother up.
"Miles…you've grown into such a brave, courageous young boy…" said Midiana calmly," …I regret not having been there to watch you grow up…"
"It's okay mother, just don't give up!" Tails pleaded.
"I apologize for leaving you as an orphan…I apologize for being roboticized…" Midiana continued. "I just hope you understand why I must do this…I do this for you…"
"Do what? What are you saying!" asked Tails with tears in his eyes.
"Goodbye…Miles…" Midiana said, tears rolling down her cheeks. She then let go of Tails' hand.
"No! Mother!" Tails screamed as he and Cosmo flew backwards from the momentum.
"No! I cannot perish! I never die!" Sevag screamed as he and Midiana fell together. "Death laughs at all things but I laugh at death!"
Sevag's cackle was the last thing they heard before the void closed up. Tails crawled on his hands and knees and began scratching and clawing desperately at the spot on the ground where the void had been.
"No! Mother come back! It's not fair!' he cried.
Cosmo knelt down beside him." I'm so sorry Tails…"
Tails hugged Cosmo, sobbing into her chest as she put her arms around him and held him close.
"I…I hardly knew her Cosmo…."Tails sobbed.
"I know Tails…I know…" said Cosmo, trying to comfort him." But…you have me now, don't you?"
Tails hugged Cosmo tightly and nodded, still sobbing, his tears soaking his muzzle. "I'll…I'll always have you Cosmo…"
Tails sat crying for a time, as Cosmo rocked him gently in her arms. Soon they heard footsteps, and looked toward the hole Tails' mother had made with her missiles. Sonic walked into the chamber, stunned to see Cosmo alive.
"Sonic…I'm so glad to see you…"said Cosmo as Tails still sobbed.
Sonic nodded. "We'll talk later Cosmo…I think you two need a moment to yourselves…" He must have sensed that Sevag was gone, and that something terrible had happened in the process. But he'd get the story later. Sonic grabbed the master emerald and the Chaos emeralds, and ran off.
Soon after, Tails and Cosmo got to their feet. Tails, still sobbing lightly, took Cosmo's hand and lead her to the tunnel Sonic had exited from. It lead directly to the outside of the temple. As he held Cosmo's hand tight, he took one last look back at the ceremonial chambers of Sevag the Jackal.
Thank you mother…I'll never forget you…
Tails picked Cosmo up in his arms lovingly, and with his two tails he flew though the tunnel, never taking his gaze away from Cosmo's beautiful eyes. They flew through the exit, taking in the amazing view.
"So this is your world…" said Cosmo.
"Yes. It's where you'll be living from now on…" said Tails, "…and this time…I promise never to let anything happen to you again."
They continued to gaze into each other's eyes. Their faces inched closer and closer, into a long, passionate kiss, as the sun set over Sandopolis.
I'll never let anyone harm you again Cosmo…never…
The End