Prologue 2

The walk back to New Mobotropolis was a very somber one. While the freedom fighters were happy about the results of the mission, the loss of Ash was weighing heavily on their minds.

Mina was an absolute wreck the entire way back, with Tails consoling her the entire time, though he was having a very hard time keeping his composure.

Sonic and Sally could only watch as Tails and Mina walked back, neither of them knew what to say to the two.

While they were happy about the end of the war, they absolutely hated how it ended. They wanted a happy end, not one where they lost one of their good friends, as well as being responsible for the Doctor's death.

And so, while anyone who didn't know about Ash's fate went on ahead cheering because of their success, those who did walked back in silence.

Upon returning to New Mobotropolis, everyone returned to their homes to spend time with their families, with Tails escorting Mina back to her home before heading home himself.

Five Days Later

Over the course of the past five days, the residents of New Mobotropolis were busy celebrating the end of the war. Adults were given time off for celebrations, and school was let out for a week for the same reason.

That being said, things still weren't happy for everyone.

Sonic and friends, while they have managed to cheer up from the loses they sustained, they were still feeling incredibly worried.

They decided that Mina should have some time to herself, let her have some time to reflect. Her mother kept the crew updated on her condition, and they knew that she was at least healthy at this point in time.

Tails on the other hand, was a whole other story.

The boy had completely cut himself off from the world, not leaving his room for anything, not even to eat. It has gotten to the point where Sonic and Friends have become concerned about his health.

Everyone had tried several times to get Tails out of his room, but nothing they said or did worked. Not even Sonic could get him to leave.

So now, several members of the Freedom Fighters were currently meeting in Uncle Chucks diner, talking about this exact topic over some chili dogs.

"So… any ideas?" Sonic asked before stuffing his face.

"Well… other than busting his door down and dragging him out of his room… no, nothing." Amy groaned out.

"Well we can't do that, for obvious reasons… but I honestly can't think of anything." Sally sighed.

"Maybe if we all went to talk to him together, he might listen." Bunnie suggested.

"We could try that, but I don't think it would work." Sonic said, having finished his fifth Chili Dog, much to Antoine's astonishment… and disgust.

"Still, it's worth a try, so why don't we head over after we finish here." Sally said.

"Uh… head over where?" Said a new voice.

The group looked over to the source of voice, and were astonished at what they saw.

"Mina?!" Sally shouted out, getting out of her seat and rushing over to the girl.

"Hey guys, how have you been?" Mina said with a small wave.

"Could be better, but doing pretty good." Sonic responded.

"That's good. So what were you guys talking about?" Mina asked.

"Well, we were trying to figure out what we should do about Tails." Bunnie responded.

"What's going on with Tails?" Mina asked.

"Well, he hasn't left his room since the battle, we are all getting worried about him, and so are his parents." Sally explained.

"He's blaming himself for what happened…" Mina said, no doubt in her mind.

"Yeah, probably. We were just talking about our plan to go and talk to him." Sonic said.

"… Would you mind if I tried talking to him first?" Mina asked, earning a surprised look from Sally.

"Are you sure?" She asked.

"Yeah, I think I have an idea on how to help him… it's what helped me, after all." Mina explained.

"Alright, if you think it will work, go for it. Good luck." Sally said.

"Don't worry, I will be back with him before you know it!" Mina said before speeding off.

Before long, she had arrived at the Prower residence. She knocked on the door, and patiently waited for someone to answer.

After a short while, Ms. Prower answered the door.

"Oh hello Mina, it's good to see you!" Ms. Prower said once the door was open.

"Good to see you too Ms. Prower." Mina said.

"Please, come on in!" Ms. Prower said before the two entered the home. "I am so sorry about what happened."

"I'm not going to lie, it still hurts, but I think I will be fine." Mina said. "Now… about Tails…"

Ms. Prower just sighed. "He hasn't been dealing with this too well, he hasn't left his room since you all came back."

"Yeah, Sally told me already. Is it alright if I tried talking to him?" Mina asked.

"Be my guest, he is the second door on the right. I really hope you can get through to him, we are getting really worried." Ms. Prower responded.

Mina then went up to Tails' room, and stood in front of his door.

She knocked on the door and simply asked "Tails? Are you in there?"

There was no response.

"Tails, listen to me. Everyone is really worried about you. Sonic, Sally, your parents, and me. I just want to talk to you, so can you please open the door?"

Silence again, and Mina didn't like it. However, before she could say anything again, she heard a click coming from the door, and soon after, it slowly opened, revealing the young fox.

Mina's heart completely broke at the sight. It was clear to her that Tails hadn't eaten anything in days, and judging from the bags under his eyes, he hadn't been sleeping either.

"Oh Tails…" She said, before wrapping the boy in a hug.

"I'm so sorry…" Tails muttered out.

"Don't be, none of this is your fault." Mina said.

"But…"

"No buts! None of us knew what was going to happen that day. And tell me, did you crush Ash under those rocks?" Mina said.

"…No…"

"Then it wasn't your fault." Mina said.

Tails didn't respond, he just continued to cry into the girl's shoulder.

"You know, I was the same way until the other day…" Mina said. "But then I thought of something. Ash wouldn't want me to just sit around wallowing in self pity. He sacrificed himself so that we could live our lives, so… I think he would want us to move on, and do just that."

That seemed to do the trick, as Tails separated from her, and wiped the tears out of his eyes.

"Yeah, yeah you're right."

"I know I'm right. Now come on, get yourself ready, cause we are going to go see your friends and get some food in you!" Mina commanded, and Tails obliged.

Once he was ready, the two headed out, but not before Tails gave his parents a much needed hug, during which, they mouthed a "Thank you" to Mina.

Tails was obviously still very weak, and couldn't fly, so Mina decided to carry the boy to Uncle Chuck's diner, much to his embarrassment.

When they went through the doors, the group turned their heads, and were ecstatic that Mina had been successful.

They rushed over to greet their friends.

"Hey! Tails! Good to see you bud!" Sonic said patting his friend on the back. He then notice how thin he had gotten. "Oh geez! Hey Uncle Chuck! Think you can whip up a few chili dogs? I think Tails could use some right about now!"

"You got it Sonic!" Chuck called over before heading into the kitchen.

The group then led Tails to their table, where they conversed until Chuck arrived with the food, which Tails gladly ate with tears falling.

"It's so goooooood…" Tails said with his mouth full.

"I think anything would taste good after not eating for five days… but yeah, they are really good." Sonic quipped.

"So, now that Tails has finally been fed, I gotta ask you guys something." Mina suddenly said.

"Ok, what's up?" Sally asked.

"How crazy was the party that you guys threw after we beat Eggman?" Mina asked.

"Uh…" Sonic said.

"We… didn't throw a party." Bunnie explained.

"WHAT?!" Mina shouted out. "But, you guys have been working towards this for so long, why wouldn't you celebrate?"

"It wouldn't of felt right, not with us worrying about you two so much." Sally explained.

"Well, that is changing! I am calling my band up, and we are going to have a BIG celebration concert!" Mina said.

"Are you sure you want to do that? Wouldn't that be challenging considering…?" Sally said.

"Yeah, Ash not being… around… anymore means I don't have a manager anymore. But I think doing one concert without a manager shouldn't be too much trouble." Mina said.

"Alright, if you are up for it." Sally said. "That being said though, we are going to help with getting everything ready."

"Are you sure? I would really appreciate it!" Mina said.

"Of course! That's what friends are for!" Sonic said.

"Alrighty then, let's get to work on the biggest party of the century!" Mina yelled out, raising her fist into the air.

"YEAH!" The rest of the group called out, joining her.

And so, the group spent a week preparing for the party. Mina called her band up, and they were more than happy to perform. They also decided that all proceeds would be going towards rebuilding towns and cities that were damaged or destroyed during the war, as well as to make a memorial for those who had died for the cause.

As for the concert itself, it was a massive hit. Everyone in New Mobotropolis had shown up, and even a bunch of people from out of town.

Also, Mina wasn't the only one who sang, just about all of the freedom fighters had gone up onto stage at some point. Sonic sang some fast paced rock song, Knuckles decided to rap a bit (which caused a bit of laughter in the audience) and they were even somehow able to get Shadow to go up on stage at one point. Though he kinda ditched the song halfway through.

And then, it came time for the closer.

Mina had decided that to close out the show, she was going to do a tribute to all of those who had lost their lives during the war, and this included Ash. In fact, she was going to sing one of Ash's favorite songs of hers. To say she was nervous about it would be an understatement.

Sonic and Sally were currently on stage singing a duet, while Tails decided to go check on Mina.

"Hey Mina? It's almost time for you to come back on stage, are you ready?" Tails said as he knocked on the door.

Tails was doing a lot better now. He had regained the weight that he lost from his five days without eating, not to mention getting a lot of sleep the night after his talk with Mina. Afterwards, he was able to put his full effort into helping getting everything set up for the concert, with him helping a lot with the lighting and sound systems in particular.

"Y-yeah, just need a minute." Mina said, sounding a bit unsure.

"Ok… can I come in?" Tails asked.

"Yeah, sure! Come right in!"

Tails opened the door and walked in. "You nervous?"

"Yeah… very." Mina said. "I know that it was my idea to do this… but…"

"Hey, don't worry about it." Tails said. "You are going to do great, and I am sure that Ash would be really proud of you for doing this."

"Yeah, you're right." Mina said.

"Listen, if you are out there, and feeling nervous, just remember that we are all there for you, and nothing will ever change that."

"Thanks Tails, I really appreciate it." Mina said before pulling Tails into a hug. "What did I do to deserve friends like you?"

'Just by being you…' Tails thought. "Anyways, I think it's time you head out there. You ready?" He said, offering his hand.

"Yes, I think I am ready now." Mina said, taking his hand.

Tails then lead Mina to the stage, where she would give one of the best performances of her life.

End of Prologue

What song do you guys think Knuckles sang? Unknown from M.E. or Pumpkin Hill? I personally say Pumpkin Hill.

This chapter was hard for me, but I hope that I did a good job with it.

Real quick, I want to talk a bit more about the story I talked about last time, the full series rewrite… when I say full series I MEAN full series. Almost every single game game is gonna have at least some kind of coverage in that story. Some more than others, for example I have a lot planned for Heroes, but pretty much nothing for Generations or lost world… also, a side note, I plan on writing a whole arc for Sonic Chronicles. Why is this important? Cause I need to play through the games to get a good idea of what I am gonna write for his story… so I gotta play through that game… yeah. I am honestly really excited to write those arcs out and post them. Anyways, enough on that, back to what is happening right now!

This is the official end of the prologue, so next chapter is going to begin the story proper. Keep in mind, this story is NOT about only the Tails and Mina pairing, in fact, the next couple of chapters, it will be kinda just building in the background. If you want to know when the BIG stuff with that ship is gonna really start, look forward to chapter 3. That being said though, it will be present in chapters 1 and 2, just not too terribly much.

Next week I will be posting the first chapter of "The Lemur and the Wolf" so look forward to that!

Anyways, I hope you enjoyed the prologue, and I hope you are looking forward to the stories proper start next time. See you then :)