Chapter 11

Just a few days after their surprise visit from Skye, Tails was finally getting the opportunity he had been waiting for to ask Mina out.

It didn't take this long for him to do this out of nerves. In fact, Tails had tried on several occasions to get alone with the Mongoose, only for her to push him away so she could focus on writing a new song. She said it was going to be very important to her, so he let her focus.

So now, here he was. At the entrance of the stadium where Mina was going to perform in five short hours, ready to confess everything to her.

"You nervous?" Sonic asked.

"Not as much as I should be." Tails said. "I can do this! Today's the day!"

"We're all rooting for you!" Sally said.

"Just remember that our wedding is first, alright Casanova?" Sonic asked.

Tails just gave him a deadpanned look.

"Wow, thought that would get at least a blush from you… you really have grown up, huh?" Sonic asked.

"We all gotta at some point." Tails said with a smile.

"Yeah, guess we do."

"Ok, we better not keep you! You want to talk to her before the concert, right?" Sally asked.

"Right! Here I go!" Tails said before running inside.

"You know… before you found his parents, we practically raised that boy…" Sally said.

"Yeah… we kinda did." Sonic responded.

"I'm proud of him."

"Me too."

Before long, after showing the guards his backstage pass, Tails was standing in front of Mina's prep room.

"Ok… here we go!" Tails said to himself before knocking.

"Uh, hello?"

"Hey Mina! It's me! Can I come in?" Tails asked.

"O-oh! Ok! Come right in!" Mina said.

Tails opened the door and stepped inside, only to see…

"Uh… are you alright?"

"Y-yeah! Never better!" Mina said frantically. "Just some pre-performance jitters! Just like normal!"

"Uh… you've never been this bad before…"

"Oh! It's because I am debuting a new song! Yeah! That's it!" Mina said, still very frantic.

"I've seen you before a new song debut though… you weren't this nervous before…"

Something was certainly up.

Mina just sighed.

"It's just… this song is really important to me and… well, I really hope it's received well." Mina explained.

"I wouldn't worry about that… I think whatever you put out there will be absolutely loved by everyone!" Tails said.

"What makes you say that?" Mina asked.

"Cause it's you!" Tails said, causing Mina to turn red.

"Oh come on, you're just saying that!" Mina said.

"I mean it!" Tails said. "You're really talented Mina, not to mention beautiful!"

That last part of the compliment, really caught her off guard.

"Wh-where did that come from?!" Mina asked. "I-I mean! I appreciate the compliment, but that is so unlike you!"

"What? I can't call you beautiful?" Tails asked.

"W-well… that is usually something someone says when they are flirting with me, or wanting to date me…" Mina said. "Or in Ash's case… was dating me…"

Tails just smiled before taking a deep breath. "Yeah well, maybe I am."

Mina just looked at him in shock.

"…Huh?"

"Mina… I really, really like you…"

Mina's eyes went wide, and she instinctually put a hand to her mouth.

"O-oh! Uh… Ok!"

"So uh…"

Before Tails could say anything else, Mina lunged at him, encasing the fox in a massive hug.

"You have no idea how happy you just made me!" Mina said.

"So… does that mean…?"

"Yeah… I really like you too!" Mina said with a smile.

Tails just smiled before returning the hug.

"That's good… that's really, really good…"

"Hehe…"

The two of them just hugged it out for a while, before separating.

"Guess Skye was right… things really did work out in the end, huh?" Tails asked.

"He told you that?" Mina asked.

"Yeah, he was the one who convinced me to just… well… go for it!" Tails said.

"Oh… so this is what you wanted to talk about this past week…" Mina said. "I'm sorry… I could of saved you a lot of heartache if I wasn't so focused on this song…"

"Hey it's alright! I'm just glad that we got to talk about it in the end!" Tails said.

"Thing is though… the song was about you…"

"… It was?"

"Yeah! It was going to be how I told you that I liked you!" Mina said. "It was Tangle's idea… Guess I don't have to worry about that any more though, huh?"

"Yeah, I guess you don't!"

The two of them just laughed at this, before they looked into each other's eyes.

"Would it… be too fast if we…"

"I don't know… but…"

And then, they began drifting towards each other slowly… before…

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK

"Mina! We have a problem!"

"Ugh… come in Gary!"

The door opened to reveal a member of Mina's band.

"Oh uh… was I interrupting something?" Gary asked.

"No, what's up?"

"Greg hurt his leg and he can't show up!" Gary explained.

"WHAT?!" Mina shouted. "Oh no! He still had to fix all the sound and the lighting!"

"That… doesn't seem good." Tails said.

"I'm sorry Mina, I know you were really excited to debut that new song, but we might need to put it off. Without Greg, we can't put on a show!" Gary said.

"Wait, what if you had someone else do it?" Tails asked.

"Oh please, where are we going to find someone that technologically adept on such a short notice?!" Gary asked.

Tails and Mina just stared at him. "You do realize where we are, and who Tails is… right?"

"… Oh…"

"You can do this, right Tails?" Mina asked.

"Of course! I'll get right to it! You go get Sally and Nicole so they can help too!" Tails said.

"Right!"

And with that, the two went their separate ways.

A few hours later, they were finally ready for the performance.

"Well, that wasn't so hard! Just a bit time consuming!" Tails said as he took a seat in the VIP section.

"Yeah… so! You and Mina now?" Sonic asked.

Tails face turned red as he smiled. "Yes, we are."

"There you go! Told you that you didn't have anything to worry about!" Sonic congratulated.

"Worry about what?" Tangle asked as she sat down.

"They're finally dating!" Sonic said.

"Really?! About time!" Tangle said.

"Haven't we only known you for like… a month?" Tails asked.

"Yeah, and I knew that you liked each other since day 1!" Tangle said. "Like, seriously dude! You took way too long on that!"

"Oh… uh… sorry?"

"Don't apologize to us, apologize to Mina for making HER wait!" Tangle said.

"Right… I will."

"Speaking of, there she is!" Sonic said with a point.

The crowd then erupted into cheers as Mina walked onto stage.

"Good evening New Mobotropolis!" Mina called out. "Are you ready?!"

The crowd began to cheer.

"Then let's get started!"

The show then proceeded to go on without a hitch.

Eventually, it was time for the final song, the new song.

"Ok! So, sadly, we only have the time for one more song." Mina announced.

The crowd then all went "Aww…"

"… Buuuuut! How's about we debut a brand new song?!"

That did the trick as the crowd began erupting into cheers again.

"Awesome!" Mina said. "Before I begin though, a bit of a story behind this song…

This song, was originally meant to be about someone very important to me. Someone I love with all my heart… it was also my way of telling him that. However, earlier today, we got to talk and we finally told each other how we feel…

He was someone that was always there for me, through the good and the bad.

So tonight, I want to dedicate this song to him, to the man that taught me to love again!"

Tails just smiled as the crowd began cheering again.

"HERE WE GO! ONE! TWO THREE!"

And so, they performed what would be come to known as Mina's greatest hit ever.

Seventeen Years Later

Mina looked out the window and saw the dark clouds in the distance. Things have been very weird lately, with a lot of destructive weather all over the planet.

"Geez, what is going on?" Mina asked herself.

"Mina! Can you come in here?" Miles called out.

"Coming!" Mina said.

Mina then walked into their living room, before seeing a serious look on her husband's face.

"Miles? What's going on?" Mina asked.

He had abandoned his childhood nickname during their wedding, to show that he really had grown up.

"You've noticed all the craziness going on lately, right?" Miles asked.

"Of course! Kinda hard not to."

"Right, well, I think I figured out what's causing it… and I don't like it." Miles admitted.

"Why?"

"… I think the world is ending…" Miles said.

That, surprised Mina.

"Oh, so we better call Sonic and…"

"No, I think he's probably doing something about it already." Miles said. "He was always way too impatient anyways."

Mina frowned at this. They were always so close when they were younger, but they began drifting apart many years ago…

"Ok, so what do we do?" Mina asked.

"Nothing… we let Sonic do his thing, and we just worry about ourselves." Miles said. "We have to protect our kids."

"Right… but…"

"It's Sonic, he can handle it!" Miles explained.

"Ok… if you say so." Mina said.

"Right… although, his method might be a bit… bad for us." Miles said grimly.

"His method?"

"I think he might try and change history." Miles said. "If I know him as well as I think I do… which I do… Then that is probably what he is going to end up doing."

"Oh… great."

"So Mina, I have to ask… I have a way to protect us from the changes to history… make sure us and the kids are safe and not erased." Miles explained. "But… do you want to?"

"What?"

"Mina, if Sonic changes history, it might mean that Ash would never die… you'd be able to have a life with him…" Miles said. "But, that would also mean losing what we had. I… I didn't want to do this without giving you the choice so…"

Mina interrupted him with a kiss.

When they separated, she looked at him in the eyes.

"I loved Ash, I really did… but you're the one I love now Tails." Mina explained. "I want to be with you…"

Miles smiled. "Ok then… let's call the kids."

"So… we can't take these off? Ever?" Melody asked.

"Nope! No matter how hard you try, they will never come off!" Her Dad explained. "And they are virtually indestructible too!"

"Ok… but why do we have to wear these tacky bracelets?" Melody asked.

"Hey! They look cool! …Enough…" Miles said defensively.

They were all wearing the bracelets that the other Miles and his family left them.

"These were left to me by… a good friend. They are meant to protect us from altercations to the time stream." Miles explained.

"Ok… why would we need these though?" Skye asked nervously.

"Well, your Uncle may be doing something crazy, so I wanted to be prepared just in case." Miles explained.

"Is he saving the world again?" Melody asked.

Mina smiled at this. "Yes, yes he is."

"Cool! Hey! Maybe we should help him!" Mina said.

"Sorry Melody, but we're sitting this one out." Miles said. "Don't worry though, he can handle it."

Then, they felt the world shake.

Looking out the window, he saw a bright light heading towards them.

"Wh-what's that?!"

"…Your Uncle." Miles explained before gathering up the group into a hug. "I really hope these work…"

"… I love you Miles…"

"… I love you too Mina…"

And so, the two shared one last kiss, just in case of the worst.

…

…

…

And when the light cleared, nothing around them had changed.

"Phew!"

"Guess it worked!" Mina said.

"Yeah…"

"Did you guys really have to kiss?" Melody asked.

"You'll understand when you find a man of your own sweetie." Mina said.

"Bleh…"

"Uh… Mom? Dad? What's going on outside?" Skye asked as he pointed out the window.

When Miles walked over, he did not know what to make of what was in front of him.

"Shadow?"

Sure enough, in the center of town, there was a gigantic statue of the Ultimate Lifeform, donning some regal apparel.

"What's going on? Why is there a giant statue of Shadow in town?" Mina asked.

"I don't know… but I know someone who will." Miles said. "You all stay here…"

"Where are you going?" Mina asked.

Miles then just had a very serious look on his face.

"To get some answers."

To Be Continued in 25 Years Later.

And there we go! Mina and Tails are finally together, and this story is all done! Took me long enough! Like, a couple months short of a year!

In case you wanted to know, the song that Mina sings is supposed to be "Believe in Myself" from SA1

Anyways, let's talk about the future! There will be another story set in this timeline! It will take place around the time of Sonic and Sally's wedding! I was originally going to include that in this story, but the plot of that is so different from this story, that I decided to make it it's own story instead! That will start up… eventually.

First thing's first though, we are going to be switching gears to the other timeline! Reconnecting With Those Lost will begin… soon. As of the time I am writing this, I am not sure when. Best case scenario, next week. Worst, it'll still be a bit.

As for the ending there though, I wanted to make it so that you can read this story, and immediately go into the comic arc right after. Hope I succeeded!

I hope you all enjoyed this story, and I hope to see you all soon for what's next!