Chapter 10

Sally was currently sitting under a tree, enjoying a good book.

"Heeeeeeyyyyyy" Said a voice from above.

Sally looked up to see Tangle hanging there.

"Oh, hello Tangle! What brings you here?"

"I was just wondering what you were up to." Tangle said as she jumped down from the tree. "Gotta say… kinda boring…"

"Hey, sorry my life isn't as exciting as it was during the war." Sally said.

"Right… guess that makes sense."

"Although, if you want to have an adventure, you could try meeting up with Sonic. He was just about to take Tails to investigate an energy signature that Nicole picked… up…" Sally said as a realization dawned on her. "Wait… the last time this happened…"

"Yo Sal! You will not believe who we bumped into!" Sally heard Sonic's voice call over.

The two girls looked towards the hedgehog to see him walking along Tails and another fox.

"So… does Tails have a cousin or…?"

"Oh… my goodness." Sally said before running over. "Skye!"

She then pulled the young fox into a big hug.

"Hey Ms. Sally, how have you been?" Skye said.

"I've been good, but what about you? Why are you here?! Oh my gosh you got so big!" Sally said in rapid fire.

"Uh… please let me go?" Skye asked, struggling to breathe from the bear hug.

"Oh, sorry." Sally said as she let the fox go. "So… what are you doing here? Is everything alright?"

"Everything's fine, I was just tinkering with the time machine, got caught, and jumped through in a panic…" Skye said.

"Oh… you really shouldn't try and be sneaky with this kind of thing." Sally said. "You could get hurt."

"Yeah, in hindsight, it wasn't a good idea. I'll talk to dad when I get back." Skye said. "Mom is probably gonna be really mad though."

"If you want, I can give you a note that we were really happy to see you, maybe that will help?" Sally asked.

"It might, thanks."

"So uh… someone mind explaining to me what is going on here or…?" Tangle asked.

"Oh! Hi other m-" Skye started before he noticed Sonic and Tails glare at him. "MMMMs. Tangle!"

"Uh… Hi?" Tangle said. "So uh… who are you?"

"So uh, this is my son Skye." Tails explained.

"…Excuse me?" Tangle asked as Sonic and Sally nodded. "Wow… ok… so you and Mina already…"

Tails' face then turned a bright red. "He's from an alternate future!"

"Ooooooh! Ok!" Tangle said. "Nice to meet you Skye!"

"Nice to see you Ms. Tangle." Skye responded.

"Just worth mentioning, his timeline is very different from ours." Sally explained. "I don't even exist there."

"Ok… wait, does this mean that I do exist there?" Tangle asked.

"Yeah, you have been friends with everyone for a very long time according to my mom." Skye said.

"Oh, who is your Mom anyways?" Tangle asked.

"Oh it's…" Skye started before getting conked on the head by Sonic's fist.

"No spoilers!" Sonic said.

"Right! Right! Sorry!" Skye said.

"Uh…"

"Very few people are allowed to know who she is to avoid altering the timeline." Tails lied. "Even I don't know."

"Ok, guess that makes sense." Tangle said.

"Anyways, what are the three of you up to?" Sally asked.

"We were going to see Mina actually." Sonic said.

"Oh, that's right! You did make friends with Mina back then didn't you?" Sally said. "I am sure she would be really happy to see you."

"I think so too." Skye said.

"Well, we better be on our way, see you later Sal!" Sonic said before giving her a kiss on the cheek.

"Wait, what?" Skye said. "When did that happen?"

"Uh… they were together when you first came here Skye…" Tails explained.

"Huh… I never knew… and neither did dad…"

"Didn't you think it was strange that I wanted to know if I married her?" Sonic asked.

Sally laughed at this. "Wow Sonic, desperate much?"

"Hey, I was a lot younger back then!" Sonic said in his defense.

"That's a bad excuse and you know it!" Sally laughed out.

"Geez, isn't this kinda thing supposed to be after the wedding?" Tails asked. "You're a couple of months early."

"Wedding?" Skye asked.

"We got engaged not too long ago." Sonic explained.

"Oh, congrats!" Skye said.

"Anyways, we should go and see Mina." Tails said.

"Can I come?" Tangle asked.

"I don't see why not!" Skye said without thinking.

The looks on Sonic and Tails' faces told him everything he needed to know.

'Oh… oops…' He thought.

"Great! Let's get going!" Tangle said as she began to walk away.

Tails couldn't help but worry.

'How are we gonna get out of this?!'

"Why am I having so much trouble with this?" Mina said to herself.

She was currently sitting outside a cafe, enjoying a nice cup of tea while attempting to write a new song.

Key word being "attempting."

Deciding to take Tangle's advice, her plan was for this to be a song about Tails, and singing it at her next concert would be how she would tell him that she likes him, but she was having a lot of trouble.

"Writing a new song is tough normally… but I would at least have something down by now…" Mina said. "UGH!"

Mina then planted her face into the paper on the table.

"Having a bit of trouble?" Said a voice she didn't recognize.

'Probably just a staff member…' Mina thought.

"Just a bit of writers block is all… I'll get past it." Mina said.

"So you're still singing after all these years?" The voice asked.

"Uh… yeah? I mean, I have been on tours all the time. Where have you been?" Mina asked.

"The future."

"Oh ok… wait, what?"

Mina then got a good look at who she was talking to, and was pleasantly surprised at who she saw.

"Tails? Is that you?" Mina asked.

"Close."

"… Oh… my… GOSH!"

She then immediately pulled the younger fox into a bear hug.

"What's with all the hugs?!" Skye asked.

"Probably has something to do with it being eight years since we last saw you." Tails said.

"What are you doing here?! Oh my gosh you are still SO CUTE! Tails why didn't you tell me he was coming?!" Mina asked in rapid fire.

"Got caught tinkering with the time machine… I am not cute… and it was a sudden thing, so he didn't know." Skye explained.

"Oh come on, you are SO cute!" Mina said. "You look just like Tails did when he was your age!"

Tails' face turned red at this.

'She thought I was cute?!'

"Anyways… uh…" Skye said. "I… heard about Mr. Ash… I am so sorry that happened to you."

"Oh… it's alright… it was tough for a while, but I managed to pull through it." Mina said.

"Still, to lose your brother like that, I'm so so-"

"Wait, brother?" Mina asked.

"Yeah, you were brother and sister, right?" Skye asked.

"… We were dating Skye." Mina said.

"What?" Skye asked. "I didn't know that!"

"I remember mentioning it at some point…" Mina said.

"I-it might of been when he was still asleep." Tails said, still recovering from when Mina called him cute.

"Oh right, you were asleep a lot back then…" Mina said before smiling. "Hey, do you still do that thing where you wrap your tails around you when you sleep?"

"Uh… sometimes when it is really cold." Skye said. "Why?"

"CAUSE IT IS SO CUTE!" Mina squealed out.

"Uh… right… anyways, I just wanted to see you at some point before I went back." Skye explained.

"And I am so glad that you did!" Mina said. "Oh, before I forget, was your Mom alright? I remember that Sonic told me that things got a bit… rough with her rescue."

"Oh yeah, she was fine. I think she was back to normal in like, a week." Skye said. "She's really tough."

"Yeah, she is…" Mina said with a smile.

"A-a-a-a-a-any ways!" Tails stuttered out. "We better be going!"

"Hold on Tails! I wanted to ask you something!" Mina said.

"O-oh! Ok!"

"So… I was wondering…"

Tails just inhaled deeply.

"… If you were going to be at my concert next week!"

And he exhaled.

"Y-yeah! I'll be there!" Tails said.

"Great! I'm writing a new song for it! So look forward to it!" Mina said with a smile that melted the fox's heart.

"Y-yeah! I can't wait!" Tails said.

"Well, see you later!" Mina said before speeding away.

"… What was that?!" Skye asked.

"Uh… what was what?"

"That whole 'teehee, I am so nervous' act you were putting on there?!" Skye asked.

"Oh uh… I kinda… was nervous?" Tails asked.

"Really?! Just from talking to her?!" Skye asked.

"Uh…"

"Yeah, he has it REALLY bad!" Sonic said with a laugh.

"Mina's pretty much the only one who hasn't figured it out!" Tangle said, joining in on the laugh.

"Oh my gosh, no wonder you two aren't dating yet…" Skye groaned out.

"H-hey! I'm trying here!"

"He's just lacking in the confidence department!" Sonic explained.

"Wow… you really are different from my dad…" Skye said before getting an idea. "Hey, you guys want to leave us alone for a bit?"

"Huh? Oh uh, sure." Sonic said.

"We'll be here if you need us!" Sally added.

"Come on other dad." The two of them began flying away, and landed on a nearby rooftop.

"So… what did you want to talk about?"

"Well, I thought you might want to hear a story." Skye explained. "One that my parents told me."

"Your parents?"

"Yeah, it's the story about how Dad asked Mom out for the first time." Skye explained.

This, got Tails interested.

"You see, they said it happened right after a giant dragon attacked my mom's home village…"

"A dragon?!"

"Yeah, I think my mom was lying about that part…" Skye said with a laugh. "Anyways, they told me that she ended up in the hospital afterwards, and well…"

"Let me guess, he did something stupidly romantic and she was head over heels for him afterwards, right?" Tails asked.

"Actually, he just kinda blurted out the fact that he liked her by accident." Skye explained.

Tails' face told a thousand words.

"Yeah, totally lame, right?" Skye asked.

"I'll say…"

"So, what does that tell you about your situation?" Skye asked.

"What, with Mina?"

"No, with other mom, of course with Mina!" Skye answered in an annoyed tone.

"Oh… uh…"

"Maybe 'geez, maybe I shouldn't be worried about how I ask her, and just do it!'"

"You think so?" Tails asked.

"Dad, she's your friend, right?" Skye asked.

"Yeah…?"

"And the two of you get along really well, right?"

"Yeah."

"Then I think you have a really good shot." Skye said. "As long as you're honest with her, I think it'll all work out in the end… it always has, right?"

Tails smiled at this. "Yeah, you're right!"

"Besides, she already said you were cute!" Skye teased.

This caused Tails' face to go red.

Skye laughed at this. "Good luck other Dad! Not that you'll need it!"

Tails then pulled Skye in for a hug.

"You really did come here at a good time… you know that?" Tails asked.

"Maybe fate is on your side!"

Tails then remembered what happened just before Skye appeared, and pulled out his Chaos Emerald.

Then, with a smile, he simply said…

"Yeah… maybe it is!"

When the two of them landed, they were pleasantly surprised to see Amy and Jewel among the group.

"Oh wow! You weren't kidding!" Amy said. "He really does look just like Tails!"

"I mean, I am his son in another timeline!" Skye said. "Nice to see you Ms. Amy, au- I mean uh… Ms. Jewel!"

That slip-up did not go unnoticed.

"A-anyways! So, what happened up there?" Sonic asked, trying to get off topic.

"Well, I think I am ready to talk to Mina now." Tails said with a smile. "He made me realize that I was worrying over nothing, and that my telling Mina that I like her doesn't have to be perfect."

Sonic smiled at this. "I coulda told you that!"

"Sorry Uncle Sonic! Beat you to it!" Skye said with a laugh.

"Seriously though, I am really glad he came when he did…" Tails said.

"We all are." Sally said as she finished writing a note. "Here Skye, for your parents!"

Taking the note, Skye smiled. "You know… maybe I shouldn't be too worried about talking to my parents…"

"You're right, they love you too much to be mad for too long!" Sonic said.

"Yeah…" Skye said as she eyed his armband.

"Time to get going, huh?" Sally asked.

"Yeah… I think so." Skye said. "I'll tell Dad that Eggman's not here anymore, so we should be safe to come back in the future!"

"Yeah! Bring the whole family along!" Tangle said. "I'd love to meet the wife!"

Everyone internally groaned at that.

"Hey, how about I go get Mina first, so she can say goodbye!" Sonic said.

"Yeah, that'll be great!"

"Be back in a-"

And with that, he was gone…

And back in a second.

"flash!" Sonic said with Mina in his arms.

"Warn me the next time you do that!" Mina shouted at the hedgehog.

"Sorry! Just thought you'd want to have a chance to say goodbye!" Sonic explained.

"Oh…" Mina said before turning to Skye. "You're leaving already?"

"Yeah, don't want my parents to worry too much." Skye explained.

"Aww… ok, come back and visit soon, ok?" Mina asked.

"Of course!"

"Hey, before you go." Sally said. "How about another picture?"

"Sounds like a plan!" Sonic said.

Before they knew it, Nicole was there, ready to take the picture.

The group gathered up, and posed for the picture.

Then, with a quick development of said photo. Skye was ready to go.

"Hey, before you go… I have an idea." Tails said before he whispered something into Skye's ear.

"Yeah! I'll do that!"

Tails smiled before stepping away.

"What was that about?" Sonic asked.

"Oh, just a little surprise I have brewing." Tails said.

Then, Tangle suddenly stepped forward.

"So uh… before you go, there is something I wanted to ask." Tangle said.

"Sure, go ahead." Skye said.

"The other me is your mom, isn't she?"

Everyone just looked at her with a mix of surprise and absolute horror.

"WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA?!" Amy said in absolute shock.

"Yeah, had a feeling." Tangle said. "It's fine, I'm not at all interested in Tails."

"You sure about that?" Sonic asked. "Like, we really don't want to alter history."

"Yeah, I'm sure." Tangle said.

"Besides, she's already dating Whi-" Jewel said before Tangle's tail covered her mouth, her face bright red.

"Uh… ignore that." Tangle said.

While most people present were confused, Amy, Mina and Skye knew exactly who Jewel was talking about.

"Right, well, I better get going." Skye said. "See you other dad… other mom."

"See you Skye." Tails said.

Skye then took off his armband before quickly tossing it over to Tails.

When Tails got a look at it, he noticed a note attached to it.

"Good luck!"

And with that, Skye was gone.

When the light faded, Skye got a look around to see that he was back in his home.

"So… where did you think you were going?"

Skye's body tensed up as he turned around to see his parents staring daggers at him.

"Uh… I really wanted to see Uncle Sonic again…" Skye said.

"So you tried tinkering with the time machine without telling me?" Tails asked.

"Yeah… I'm really sorry about that." Skye said. "Oh, I actually have something for you."

He then handed the note that Sally had given to him over to his parents.

Dear Miles and Tangle,

We were all really happy to see Skye again, so please go easy on him? He also helped our Tails with something really important, so we are thankful that he came when he did. Hope you are both doing well, and that we can see you again soon.

-Sally

He also saw that the picture they took before Skye left was included.

"…Looks like you have a bit of a story to tell, huh?" Tails said.

"Yeah."

"Alright, let's go get some dinner, and you can tell us all about it." Tails said.

The two of them watched as all the tension in Skye's body seemed to melt away as he left the room.

"Guess you do exist in that timeline." Tails said.

"He's still grounded." Tangle said.

"I know."

End of Chapter 10

So, in case you can't figure it out, the reason that Skye just so happened to appear right when he did is because Tails wished for the courage to ask Mina out on the Chaos Emerald that he had. Skye was basically a means to cause that wish to come true. The Chaos Force has been shown to grant wishes, which, in case you didn't know, is why Amy looks about Sonic's age when she is a good few years younger, and I thought "Hey! This is a good way to incorporate it!"

Speaking of Skye, he has returned to his time… for now. In case it's not obvious, I still have plans for him. Since next chapter is the finale, I will say that I am planning a sequel! We will figure out just what it was that Tails whispered to Skye before he left during that.

Anyways, like I said, the big finale is next! So, I will see you then!