Hello everyone! Welcome to another chapter of this story! I've got a nice set of reviews from you guys so let's get going with those!
Obliviblur: Thanks! It was one of my older stories on my profile so I decided it was about time to try my hand at it again!
UntoDelirium: I've certainly got more planned than just a fresh coat of paint! But you'll have to wait and see how it unfolds!
77Xfire: The original was fun, but I've had some more ideas since then!
AndTails: Doing a remaster of Mind Visions is going to let me inject more of my modern style, while still trying to keep some of the charm of the original. It's been a fun project already and I'm excited to keep doing it!
Noonui: I've got some big plans for this version of the story! So, stay tuned for that!
Wingwolfly: My writing style has certainly improved and changed over the years, so it's certain to be much more defined and descriptive than the original!
That's everyone, let's get going!
The Kitsune Legacy
The Mindscape
Amy was awoken by the sounds of panicked knocking at her door, she groggily sat up from her bed and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes, donning a pair of glasses sat on her nightstand, she wouldn't bother putting her contacts back in.
"Who could even be here at this time of night?" She thought, making her way toward the entryway.
She figured that she'd be fine answering the door in her pajamas, though normally she would also fix her messy quills at least, the knocks kept getting more and more anxious. The last thing she expected to see upon opening the door was Sonic, but what was even more frightening was the ball of orange and white fur gathered in his arms.
"What's wrong!?" She asked, instantly wide awake and ushering the speedster in.
"Whenwewereatthattempletailssaidhehearda-"
"Slow down! I can't understand what you're saying!" Amy answered, the fear and panic in Sonic's voice however instantly had her on edge. "Set him down on the couch."
The azure hedgehog did as he was instructed, Amy quickly put a hand to the fox's forehead. There wasn't a fever, and the fox didn't even look uncomfortable as far as she knew. He almost looked asleep, though the run over in Sonic's arms certainly would have woken him up if he was. She grabbed a blanket and gently draped it overtop the kit before turning to Sonic. "Alright, explain what happened."
Sonic quickly launched into an explanation, going over what Tails had heard, him sneaking out in the middle of the night, and the events that had occurred after he'd touched the gemstone.
"Well..." Amy mused after he'd finished, "I don't know much about ancient ruins and magical stones, but Knuckles might. We could call him, but I'm not sure if he'd like us bothering him this late at night…"
"I'll call him, hopefully he'll listen."
Amy nodded as the speedster dialed the number, after a few rings, the gruff voice on the other end answered. "This better be important or so help me I'll-"
"Knuckles it's Tails." Sonic injected, causing a short pause before a response came.
"What's wrong? Is he ok?"
"He seems to be fine, but we've got a question."
"Who's we?"
"Me and Amy."
"So, you ran over to Amy's house? Tails isn't fine then... I'll be there in-"
"Knuckles listen! That temple we were at earlier, there was a gem of some sort that was in its basement. Tails touched it and freaked out, he was screaming and his eyes were glowing and-"
"Wait a minute," The echidna interrupted. "The temple we ambushed Eggman at?"
"Yeah."
There was a short silence from the other end before Knuckles responded, "I knew it!"
"What do you mean?"
"There's too much to explain over the phone, I'll be over in a couple of hours! Where are you at?"
"I'm at Amy's, and also, what do you mean that you knew it? What do you know!?"
"I'll tell you when I'm there, but what you need to know is Tails isn't what you think he is…"
-X-
Tails let out a loud groan as he awoke, his eyes slowly fluttering open as the sun beat down on his face. Everything felt sore, almost like he'd been put through a blender. He wasn't sure where he was from his position on the ground. He could feel soft sand underneath his back, and the gentle splashing of waves against the beach reached his ears as soft white clouds sat in a pristine blue sky above him.
"I guess I'm not in that temple anymore..." He thought to himself as he slowly sat up. "But where would I be then? More importantly, how did I get here? What happened to Sonic?"
The hedgehog had been with him when they'd traveled to the temple earlier, and he knew that Sonic had tried to help him back to his feet before he'd seemingly passed out.
He slowly made his way up onto a shaky pair of legs and took in the rest of his surroundings. The beach he was seemingly stranded on was near a dense patch of trees that formed the gateway to the interior of the island. At least, what he'd assumed by this point was an island. As he glanced around and found no evidence of life, he figured his best bet was to head further into the trees. Traveling on his own for a while, he found an odd sensation creep into his thoughts.
"This feels familiar, but I don't know why..."
As the trees gave way to a small stream, he figured he'd follow it, maybe it'd lead him to others. They'd need water on this island after all. Eventually, it widened into a river and lead to a large waterfall, as soon as the roar of the water made its way to his head and the appearance of the cliffside registered to him, he came to a quick and horrifying realization. He knew this waterfall; this was Westside Island.
He was back on Westside...
"That- That doesn't make any sense!" He mentally exclaimed, panic starting to fill his thoughts. "How would I have gotten back here!?"
As he scoured his brain for any reason why he would be here, he heard the voice from the temple speak to him, his words very clear this time. "Welcome Miles."
"Who are you and what do you want!?" The fox exclaimed, frightened by the recent realization and the voice returning.
"Allow me to answer your questions, but first I have a question for you. How prepared are you to face your past?"
As soon as the voice had finished that sentence, the bushes and undergrowth near him began to shift as a familiar lion emerged from within, grinning devilishly as he caught sight of Tails. "Guys! He's over here!"
Panic and adrenaline instantly filled the fox's veins as he turned and ran, much like he had when he was younger. He could hear the footsteps of his pursuers behind him, tearing through the leaves and brush.
As he came to a small cave entrance, he ran inside, knowing it was probably a good bet to lose his pursuers. He was only calm for a moment however as he quickly found himself face to face with a solid wall of rock. It was a dead-end…
"Come on out of there Miles! We just want to play you know!"
As panic further set in, the kitsune felt something change within his chest. A feeling of warmth washed over him as he felt energy course through his body from the tips of his tails to his fingers. With fear still consuming his senses he was determined to use whatever had changed about him to his advantage, and right as the leader of the trio rounded the corner into his stone passageway, Tails threw both his arms toward him, wanting nothing more than to just disappear.
The lion seemed to look around for a moment, before stepping back toward the entryway, "You two are stupid! He's not here!"
As the sounds of his footsteps faded into the distance, the fox glanced at his gloved hands. To his surprise, small tendrils of blue light danced off his fingertips, twirling about in an almost otherworldly way. He sat mesmerized by their movements for a while until they promptly vanished. Making his way out of the cave opening, the voice he'd heard earlier spoke again.
"Well done… I'm impressed, very few gain control of their abilities as quickly as you have."
"Before you say any more," Tails responded. "You're going to give me some answers. Who are you? How did I get here? What were those blue lights?"
After asking those questions, a brown fox materialized in front of him. He wore a set of white robes with thin red trim, and to Tails' surprise, was trailed by not two, but seven tails.
"My name is Amadeus, it's a pleasure to meet you."
"You have multiple tails too!?"
"Of course, it's a natural feature of our species after all."
"Uh… I don't know how long it's been since you've seems another fox, but we don't usually have multiple tails…"
"I'm aware of that, but I don't think you quite realize what I'm getting at here, you're not a fox Miles, you're a kitsune."
"Wait, you're saying I'm not-"
"A kitsune was a sort of relative to a fox, but we were known for several differences between our species, notably our multiple tails, and our ability to manipulate the Chaos Energy around us." Amadeus continued.
"So those blue lights… That was me manipulating Chaos Energy?"
"That is correct." It's interesting to see what you were capable of back there."
"What did I do with it? I'm still a little confused by that…"
Amadeus put a hand on his shoulder, pointing to a nearby space. "Imagine a boat there, think of it as if it was real."
Tails looked at him quizzically but eventually complied, focusing on his thoughts. As he did, a small wooden craft materialized where he'd imagined it.
"Incredible!" Amadeus exclaimed, "Now try to touch it."
The orange fox slowly made his way over toward the boat, noticing the blue tendrils had reappeared on his fingers as he did. As he tried to rest his hands on the edge of the craft, they phased straight through, causing it to flicker a dark blue color.
"You're an illusionist Miles, you possess the natural ability to create images of objects near you. It's a unique power, quite rare even among our kind."
"W- Wow…" The kit mused, "This is incredible! Why are you telling me this?"
"It has been my solemn duty to train young kitsune like yourself for centuries. When you touched that stone, you were transported into the confines of your mind for me to instruct you."
"So that's why I'm back on this island, why did you choose here of all places?"
"I do not choose the location; it instead uses somewhere familiar to yourself."
"So, what happened to me? I mean the real me."
"I assure you, you're perfectly fine. Now, there is much to discuss, come with me."
Tails followed the fox off into the trees, curiosity continuing to flood his brain...
-X-
"I've never seen him this nervous..." Amy thought to herself, watching Sonic pace back and forth near the couch Tails was laid on. The fox had been unconscious for about three hours now, and it was seemingly getting to him. "Sonic, you've got to stop pacing, or else you're going to dig a hole in my carpet."
"How are you not freaking out right now!?" The speedster responded, "Tails is still unconscious!"
"Calm down, Knuckles will hopefully be here in a bit then at least we can figure out what he was talking about..."
"But what if he doesn't know!? What if Tails never wakes up!? What if he has brain damage or something from all this!?"
"Sonic, this is Tails you're talking about, he'll be fine."
"You didn't see the pain he was going through before he passed out! I'm just scared it messed him up somehow..."
"That's ok, but you need to calm down. Panicking like this isn't going to help."
"I'm just scared I'm going to lose him..."
"Tails is a tough kid, I'm sure he'll pull through."
The two of them were interrupted by a knock at the door. Amy answered, finding herself face to face with Knuckles, "Finally found what I was looking for." The echidna commented, gesturing to a satchel he'd brought with him.
The hedgehog allowed him inside, he took a glance at the unconscious kit on the couch before making his way to the dining table and emptying the contents of his bag. Several scrolls and ancient manuscripts fell onto the table. He turned to the two assembled hedgehogs, who waited with bated breath. "I suppose I owe you an explanation..."
Alright everyone, that's it for today! This chapter was an absolute blast to write and I hope you all enjoyed it as much as I did! Be sure to leave a review with your thoughts and I'll see you next time!