Chapter 7

Please read the note at the end, it concerns the future of this story. :)

It had been three days since Mina and Amy went on their adventure with their new friend Tangle.

Thanks to the Chaos Emerald that they had found, Tails' recovery had sped up considerably, and he was just about ready to finally be released from the hospital.

Mina now stood in the entrance to the hospital, waiting for Tails to be ready to leave.

After a while, Mina spotted Tails heading towards her, with a doctor following.

"Hey Mina, good to see you." Tails said.

"Good to see you too! You are looking a lot better than you did a couple of days ago." Mina said, examining her friend's body.

Most of his injuries have completely healed, the only real signs of damage being a bandage covering his stomach from when he got stabbed, as well as a couple of bandages covering his still healing tails.

"Now remember Tails, don't push yourself too hard. Most of your injuries have healed, but we can't afford your stitches being undone." The doctor explained. "And absolutely no flying. Your tails still need a lot more time to heal before you can use them again."

"Yeah, I got it." Tails said.

"Make sure he listens to this. You have no idea how many times he and Sonic ignored my instructions…" The doctor said to Mina.

"Don't worry, I will." Mina said, earning a groan from Tails.

And with that, the two left.

"I'm surprised Sonic didn't come." Tails said.

"He really wanted to, but he's been really busy today." Mina explained.

"Busy? Busy with what?" Tails asked.

"Well, come with me and I will show you!" Mina said, grabbing Tails' hand and pulling him along into town.

After a couple minutes worth of walking and talking, the two spotted what appeared to be Sonic running out of a building that Tails didn't recognize. Unfortunately, Sonic didn't seem to notice the two.

"Was that building always there?" Tails asked.

"Nope, Nicole just finished making it today!" Mina explained. "Come on, let's go take a look inside!"

The two then walked into the building. When they got inside, Tails was amazed by what he was seeing. Gemstones of various sizes, shapes and colors were in the process of being spread across several shelves along the walls.

"Hello? Anyone home?" Mina called out.

Suddenly, a familiar face popped into the room.

"Oh, hello Mina, good to see you! And Tails too!" Jewel said as she walked over.

"Oh hey, Jewel right?" Tails said, recognizing the beetle that came to visit him a couple of days prior.

"Yes, that's me." Jewel said.

"You see, Jewel here is moving her Mineral Museum here from Spiral Hill Village, and Sally got Sonic to help her with the move." Mina explained.

"Oh ok, that would explain what Sonic was doing a moment ago." Tails said, recalling Sonic's rush out of the building.

"And still doing, thank you very much." Sonic said as he walked into the building, carrying a couple of boxes. "Good to see you bro."

"Yeah, good to see you too Sonic." Tails said.

"Sorry I couldn't be there at the hospital today, Sal REALLY wanted me to get this done before the announcement tonight." Sonic said.

"Announcement?" Jewel asked. "What announcement?"

Sonic simply just put his finger to his lips and said "Sorry, don't want to ruin the surprise."

"Anyways, how many boxes do you have left?" Tails asked.

"Well, in terms of for the museum, this should be the last of it." Sonic explained. "As for helping the two of them move into town, that remains to be seen."

"Oh, so you and Tangle are moving into town?" Mina asked.

"Yeah, Tangle was really excited to be moving here too." Jewel said.

"Where is Tangle anyways? I was hoping to see her." Mina asked.

"She's back at the village getting the boxes ready for me to pick them up." Sonic explained.

"Well, why don't we go ahead and help out?" Tails asked.

"Tails, you know that the doctor said to not push yourself…" Mina said.

"I know, I know, I wasn't planning on lifting anything… at least, not too much." Tails said. "I was just thinking about taking the Tornado over and using it to bring larger loads over here."

"Alright, we can go… but all you are doing is flying the plane, ok?" Mina said sternly.

"Ok, ok." Tails responded.

"Great, I will meet you guys there!" Sonic said before speeding off.

"It was great seeing you Jewel, we will talk more later!" Mina said as she and Tails headed for the door.

"See you soon, and thank you both for helping!" Jewel called over as they left.

And with that they were gone.

"So, I guess they are announcing their engagement tonight?" Tails asked.

"Yeah, Sally told me they wanted to wait for you to be out of the hospital before they did it, and I guess tonight's the night." Mina explained.

"Well that's good. I think Sonic is struggling to keep it a secret." Tails said with a laugh.

"Yeah, you're probably right." Mina said, joining him in his laugh.

Soon enough, they arrived at Tails' workshop.

"You know, I just realized something." Mina said.

"And that is?" Tails asked.

"Where in the Tornado are we going to put those boxes? I mean, there isn't much storage space is there." Mina asked

"Well, come here and I will show you."

Tails then lead Mina into the garage where the Tornado was waiting. Tails then went to the back of the plane, which was now a good bit bigger than when she last saw it, and pushed a panel in. It then opened up to reveal an empty space.

"You see, after the war ended, I figured that we didn't need the weapons anymore, so I decided to make some alterations. You know, make it more suited for travel." Tails explained.

"Wow, how long did this take you?" Mina asked.

"A couple of weeks, but it has come in handy multiple times." Tails said. "Mainly when I wanted to see one of your concerts that were on the other side of the planet."

Mina just blushed at this. "Well, it's a good thing you did this I guess."

"Yeah, I just want to do a quick checkup on the Tornado, nothing too big, and we can get going."

"Ok, you do that."

Meanwhile, in Spiral Hill Village

Sonic had just returned to grab some boxes from Jewel's home, where Tangle was waiting for him.

"Thanks a bunch for the help Sonic." Tangle said.

"Hey, no problem, it's what I do." Sonic said. "What are friends for, right?"

"Heh, yeah, I guess you're right." Tangle said, happy that Sonic considered her a friend.

Sonic, wanting to wait a bit for Tails and Mina to arrive, decided to start a conversation.

"So, you look up to the freedom fighters huh?" Sonic asked.

"Yeah, of course I do!" Tangle said enthusiastically. "You guys are just waaaaay too cool for me not to!"

"Heh, yeah, we kinda are." Sonic said. "Though, I think Jewel mentioned that you looked up to Tails the most, is that right?"

"Yeah, it is." Tangle said. "I never saw him do it, but I heard all about how he uses his tails to fly and everything, and it is honestly the coolest thing I ever heard!"

"Really? I can think of some cooler things he has done." Sonic said, thinking about all the planes and gadgets Tails has built over the years.

"Yeah, he has done some really cool things… but…" Tangle just sighed. "It's just, I never thought that your tails could be so useful, and when I heard about him…"

"…Were you made fun of because of your tail?" Sonic asked.

"… Yeah. Turns out being the only one with such a bizarre tail get's you some… unwanted attention. Don't the wrong idea though, I taught those bullies a lesson… but sometimes the words hurt." Tangle explained. "It didn't really come to me that I could use it for anything really useful until I heard about Tails."

"And that is why you look up to him so much, cause he inspired you to take advantage of it?"

"Yeah, pretty much. He kinda turned my entire world around." Tangle said. "While I never did join the fight with you guys, I was the main powerhouse in protecting this place during the war once I got better with using it."

"From what I heard, you would of been a great addition." Sonic said as he extended his hand. "And, if another threat hits us, it's good to know that we can count on you to help us out."

Tangle smiled at this, and shook Sonic's hand with her tail.

"Still, I am happy to find out that Tails actually has a big fan like you. Makes me feel a bit proud of him." Sonic said. "The next time you see him, you should tell him about all of this! I am sure it would make his week!"

"Yeah! When we get back to New Mobotropolis, I will go and see him!" Tangle said. "Speaking of Tails, him and Mina, are they?"

"Crushing on each other? Oh yeah, big time!" Sonic said with a laugh.

"Haha, I knew it! The way that they looked… at… each… other…" Tangle said, her voice drifting off.

Sonic then turned around. "Ah, speaking of Tails and Mina."

Not too long after Tails started the checkup on the Tornado, the two of them boarded and took off.

The two of them were not making their way towards Spiral Hill Village, where Tangle and Sonic were waiting.

"Boy, you sure look happy." Mina said from the back seat.

"Yeah, it's been a while since I've been able to do this, it feels nice." Tails said. "I don't like sitting around too much."

"I guess that part of Sonic rubbed off on you, huh?" Mina said.

"Yeah, just a bit." Tails said with a laugh. "Oh hey, that must be it!"

Tails then went in and landed just outside of town.

"Yo Tails! Mina! Bout time you two got here!" Sonic said waving to the two.

"Yeah, sorry about that, just wanted to make sure that the Tornado was ready to go." Tails explained.

"It's cool, come on, Tangle's waiting for us!" Sonic said before leading the two towards Tangle's home.

Meanwhile, Tangle was having a crisis.

"Just relax Tangle, you are just about to meet your biggest hero, and this time not in a hospital room! No big deal! You got this, just don't say anything dumb!"

Shortly after, Sonic arrived with Tails and Mina.

"Oh hey! Tangle right? Sorry we didn't get a chance to talk the other day, it's nice to meet you!" Tails said before extending his hand.

"HI! MY NAME IS FAN AND I AM A TANGLE!" Tangle practically shouted before slapping herself in the face.

"Uh…"

"I think she meant that her name is Tangle, and that she is a big fan of yours…" Sonic said, trying desperately to hold back his laughter.

"Oh! Well, it's nice to finally officially meet you Tangle!" Tails said, arm still extended.

"Yeah, nice to finally meet you." Tangle said, shaking her hero's hand.

"So, we got a lot of stuff to move, right?" Mina said. "Why don't we get to work? We brought the Tornado to speed it up."

"Oh, yeah! Let's get to that!" Tangle said before grabbing a couple of boxes. "Uh… where did you park exactly?"

"Here, this way!" Tails said before leading Tangle to the Tornado.

This left Mina alone with Sonic.

"You don't have to worry you know, Tangle doesn't like Tails that way." Sonic said.

"… And why would I worry about that?"

"Mina, I think the only one who doesn't know that you like Tails is Tails himself." Sonic explained.

"Great…"

"Not gonna force you to do anything about it, but I will say you should talk to him about it." Sonic said.

"Yeah, maybe some day." Mina said. "Don't want to get in the way of your announcement tonight though! You nervous?"

"Please, when have I EVER been nervous?" Sonic said.

"From the sounds of things, the day leading up to proposing you were an absolute wreck." Mina said. "Tails told me."

"Of course he did." Sonic groaned out.

"Anyways, we should probably help them load up the Tornado."

"Yeah, let's get to it!"

"… And thanks." Mina said.

"Hmm? For what?" Sonic asked.

"For letting me know about Tangle… I kinda figured out that she was… well…"

"The future Tails' wife?" Sonic asked.

"Yeah… her stretchy tail gave it away… since Skye was able to do the same thing." Mina explained.

"Well, I am happy I could relieve some of your worries. Now come on! Let's get to work!" Sonic said before he began walking again.

Meanwhile, Tails and Tangle were talking as Tangle put the boxes in the Tornado.

"Sorry I can't really help, doctor was very strict in telling me to not put much stress on my body."

"Don't worry about it! You are doing plenty by just bringing your plane!" Tangle said. "Anyways, the others mentioned you got hurt fighting Metal Sonic?"

"Yeah, he just kinda popped up out of no-where, and I didn't want to interrupt Sonic's date that night, so I fought him myself." Tails explained.

"Must of been scary, your first big fight in years and it's up against that monster…" Tangle said.

"Well, I have gotten into a couple of fights with the odd thief and bounty hunter." Tails explained. "But yeah, I was pretty scared, especially when…"

"Especially when…?"

"Uh, let's just forget about it!" Tails said. "Come on, let's go back to the others!"

"Hold on!" Tangle said, grabbing Tails gently with her tail. "What happened?"

Tails just sighed. "We… found out that Mina was his target."

"Oh… Yeah, it would freak me out if the girl I liked was being attacked like that." Tangle said, causing Tails to become a blushing mess.

"H-HOW DID YOU?!"

"Cause you just gave it away." Tangle said with a laugh.

Tails couldn't help but slap himself internally. Did he really just fall for that?

"Please, just don't tell her…" Tails said.

"Don't worry, I won't." Tangle said. "At least, not without you wanting me to."

"Ok, good."

The two of them walked back to Sonic and Mina, talking about the fight with Metal Sonic, among various things.

After about ten minutes, the Tornado was completely filled up, and Tails hopped into the cockpit to fly back to New Mobotropolis.

"Hey Tails, how about I meet you back there? I think I can carry a couple of boxes and run over." Mina said.

"Oh, ok! I will see you there!" Tails said before starting up the plane and taking off.

"Well Mina, let's get to work!" Sonic said.

"Actually Sonic, would you mind if I talked to Mina about something really quick?" Tangle suddenly said.

"Yeah sure, take all the time you girls need." Sonic said before heading off to grab some boxes.

When Tangle saw that Sonic was gone, she began to speak.

"So, what's going on between you and Tails?" Tangle asked.

"Uh, I don't know what you're talking about?" Mina said.

"Mina, I heard what Amy said the other day." Tangle explained. "And it is pretty obvious too. You like him, right?"

"… Yeah…"

"For how long?"

"A couple of months now…"

"So why don't you tell him?" Tangle asked. "I think you two would be a great couple."

"To be honest, at first, it was because it wouldn't feel right after what happened to Ash…" Mina explained.

"And Ash is…?" Tangle asked.

"He was my boyfriend… he died the day we beat Eggman to save me and Tails." Mina explained.

"Oh gosh, I am so sorry!" Tangle said.

"It's fine…" Mina said. "Anyways, that was the issue at first… but now, I don't know."

"What do you mean?"

"I want to give it a try with him, but… I don't know why, but I can't bring myself to talk to him about it…" Mina said.

"You are probably just scared of him saying no." Tangle said.

"Yeah, you might be right."

"Listen, how about this." Tangle said. "I'll help you out."

"How would you…?"

"I don't know, we can talk about that though. But just know that you got me in your corner now, ok?" Tangle said.

"Ok, thanks Tangle." Mina said.

"Now come on, let's get this work done so I can finally move into my new home!" Tangle said before walking back to her house.

After another hour or so of work, the group finally finished moving all of the boxes. Sonic, Tails and Mina decided to leave Jewel and Tangle on their own to unpack everything, and agreed to meet up after Sonic's announcement to have a welcoming party.

After walking around and talking a bit, including getting some lunch with some friends like Bunnie and Antoine, the three went their separate ways, Mina and Tails returning to their homes, and Sonic going to see Sally and get ready for the announcement.

After a couple of hours, Tails made his way to see Sonic before the announcement.

"Hello Tails! Good to see you up and about!" Nicole said as Tails entered the castle.

"Good to see you too Nicole." Tails said. "How are Sonic and Sally doing?"

"They are doing well, Sonic is a bit nervous though. You know how he is about public speaking." Nicole said.

"And considering what he is speaking about, I can't blame him." Tails said. "Well, I better go talk to him I guess."

Tails walked off to the room Sonic was using to prepare.

"I AM FREAKING OUT TAILS!" Sonic said when he saw Tails walk into the room.

"Huh, deja vu." Tails said with a laugh.

"Tails I am being serious! I keep practicing what I am going to say, and I keep forgetting it!" Sonic said.

"Dude, relax." Tails said. "Remember, Sally is going to be right there with you. The two of you will be just fine!"

"Yeah, yeah, I know…" Sonic said before taking a deep breath. "Let's change the topic, how are you feeling?"

"A lot better. It's kinda weird not being able to fly, and I do still tire out a bit easily, but it's a lot better than a couple of days ago." Tails said.

"Good thing those three found that Chaos Emerald. Doc said that you should be able to fly again by the end of the week because of that thing, right?"

"Yeah, he did. I really owe them one for that." Tails said.

"Well, I don't know about Amy, and I would say you repaid Tangle plenty by helping out today, but I know a good way you could repay Mina." Sonic said.

"Are you about to suggest that I ask her out…?" Tails asked.

"Uh, DUH!" Sonic said. "Come on Tails, you really should give it a try!"

"I know, and I am going to." Tails said.

"Listen Tails, I really thi… wait what?" Sonic asked. He certainly wasn't expecting Tails to say THAT!

"I have had a lot of time to think Sonic, and this whole thing with me in the hospital taught me something. Life is short Sonic, and I should really try and enjoy it to the fullest." Tails explained. "I think… no, I know that Ash would of wanted us to do that."

"Well, that's a very grown up thing for you to say Tails, I'm impressed!" Sonic said.

"You do realize that I am not a kid anymore, right?" Tails said.

"I know, I know." Sonic said. "So, when do you think you are going to do it?"

"I think I might during the party tonight." Tails said.

"Speaking of the party tonight, how do you think Tangle is going to react to the news?" Sonic asked.

"Dude, you thought you were freaking out before I got here? I am pretty sure she is going to be on a whole other level!"

A large crowd had gathered in front of the castle, filled with people who are anxiously awaiting the announcement that Sonic and Sally were to make. Among the people in the crowd were several of Sonic and Sally's friends.

"So, what do you think this is about anyways?" Rotor asked.

"Probably has something to do with what happened with Metal Sonic the other day. You know, try and calm the people's nerves." Antoine responded.

Bunnie just stood there in silence, she knew exactly what this was about.

"Oh hey, they're starting." Rotor said.

The crowd went silent as Sonic and Sally walked into view.

"Good evening everyone, and thanks for coming. I am sure you are wondering what it is that we are announcing here today, more on that in a bit." Sally started.

"We first want to talk about a little situation involving a certain metal copy of mine that had attacked earlier this week." Sonic continued.

"We want everyone to know that after thorough examination, we have determined that Metal Sonic had repaired himself with no outside assistance. As such, there is no need for concern in regards to the possibility of a new villain emerging." Sally explained.

"We would also like to extend our thanks to our friends Miles Prower, who you all know as Tails, and Mina Mongoose, who were the ones who confronted and defeated Metal Sonic." Sonic said, earning an applause from the crowd, much to Tails and Mina's embarrassment. "Now, to answer a question that I have heard a LOT since then… where the heck was I during all of that?"

"Seriously, he has been keeping track of how many times he was asked this…" Sally said earning a laugh from the crowd.

"For the record, my final count was twenty." Sonic said, earning another laugh. "Anyways, I wasn't there because Sally and I were having a date that night, and Tails had the bright idea of not interrupting it to get our help." Sonic said. "That being said, if you were to ask him, he would probably tell you that he had a good reason. And that reason, is why we are here today."

"Now, not much has been set in stone as of yet, but we want to announce the one thing that is." Sally said.

"We are here to announce…"

"That later this year…"

The two of them looked at each other, and spoke together.

"We are going to be getting married!"

…..

After a moment of silence, the crowd erupted.

"Well, I think the crowd is happy…"

End of Chapter 7

Another longer chapter!

So, I have something I have to say about this story.

Sad to say, I recently decided that I didn't really like the first version of next couple of chapters that I wrote for this story, so I am going to rewrite them… sadly though, this will take time. Chances are, by the time that I reach the next day that I would post a chapter for this story, I wouldn't have the next chapter ready. So, I am going to put this story on a bit of a hiatus…

That being said though, I am not leaving you without a story to read! So, in this stories place, I will be starting "Tangle's Log: Act 1"!

That story should keep me going til I am ready to post this story again, and hopefully it won't be that long until this story continues! So, until that day comes, see you all next time!