Hello everyone! Welcome back to another chapter! Long one today, but it's great to finally be in the swing of things once again! Let's get the reviews and get going!

1TGN: Seeing what Eggman gets up to concerning his powers is going to be interesting to see! Hopefully his curiosity won't let him get the upper hand!

Perturbo: He didn't really have much of a role in the original, but he's going to be a bit more prominent here!

Guardian of 2fort: Agreed, only time will tell what he gets up to, but whatever it is, it can't be good!

AndTails: How he builds on his powers is certainly going to be important, and Eggman's curiosity has certainly been attracted!

HavalTheRock: Agreed, it bothered me quite a bit in retrospect as well, which is why I'm intending on fixing it this time around! I'm certainly hoping this one ends up much more fun!

The Kitsune Legacy

Reunions

It had been a few days now since Tails had gained access to his powers. He'd still been adjusting, but felt he was getting the hang of it. Either way, the fox found himself unable to sleep. He could hear the sound of Sonic's quiet snoring on the bottom half of their shared bunk, signaling he was the only one awake in the house. Alone with his thoughts, he contemplated what to do to try and get himself to finally sleep. Eventually, he decided to take a walk. Maybe getting some fresh air would clear his head and help him finally get some sleep. He gently made his way down the ladder, taking caution as to not disturb the sleeping hedgehog. As he made his way to the door however, he noticed the speedster shift in his sleep. Without a moment's hesitation, the kitsune cloaked himself in illusions while also creating an image of himself sleeping soundly in his bed.

Still in his somewhat sleepy state, the hedgehog bought the illusion and quickly fell back to sleep himself. Tails kept his cloak up until he managed to sneak out the door and into the hall, where he finally dropped his guard and let out a sigh of relief.

He quietly made his way downstairs, put on his shoes, and left the house.

The temple from the other day still piqued his curiosity, and so he figured he'd head there to maybe become more familiar with his past and to relax his brain.

It took a while, but as he approached the clearing, Tails saw lights near the front of the structure. Someone else was here… Cloaking himself in illusion, the fox quietly made his way toward the temple, trying to get a good look at who it might be. He quickly recognized some of Eggman's robots here, though the doctor himself seemed absent.

"What would Eggman even want with this place?" The kit thought to himself.

The machines seemed busy analyzing some of the glyph-like inscriptions on the temple walls. What they, or Eggman, wanted or could hope to gain from it was beyond him. All he knew was that it couldn't be good.

The kitsune was confronted with a decision: he could leave and return home, pretending like he had never seen anything; or he could fight, most likely destroy these robots, and figure out what they were doing here. Not to mention protecting whatever was left of his heritage.

He went with the second option.

Dropping his cloak and throwing his weight into one of the nearby machines, it quickly broke into scrap. However, its destruction seemed to alert the others nearby as they turned their attention to the fox. Tails quickly produced multiple copies of himself and dispersed them amongst the group, drawing their attention in multiple different directions. He systematically destroyed all the guards present, leaving nothing but metal fragments in their place.

After making one final search for any remaining machines, of which he found none, the fox started looking over what they had been investigating. It was still just unreadable runes to him, and he didn't have any ways of deciphering its meaning.

The fox made his way to the basement of the structure, and he found himself face to face with the sapphire gemstone that had originally awoken his powers. As he took a step toward it, he heard a sound in his ear. It wasn't quite loud enough to make out what it was saying, but it was quite persistent. He took another step, and now he could recognize the sound as voices of a sort.

Another step, and the voices were growing louder now. He could make out some of the syllables they were saying, but still not the full extent of their words.

Another, the voices were chanting, and an unknown language made its way to his ears and filled his head. A chill ran through the kit's spine. What would happen if he touched the stone?

With one final step, he had reached the gemstone. The voices in his head were deafening, drowning out all other noise around him and overwhelming his senses. He gently removed his glove, exposing the white fur of his paw underneath, and pressed it to the stone. His vision instantly distorted as a nauseating feeling washed over him. Unable to stay on his feet, he collapsed, his vision darkening as the chanting continued ringing in his ears.

-X-

Tails felt the soft texture of sand on his back and the sun shining on his face as he sat up and slowly opened his eyes. He was back on Westside no doubt, but this time, he felt a bit more at peace. He didn't know why he was here, only that he felt this was where he should be.

Making his way into the interior of the island, he heard a familiar voice behind him. "And what would you be doing here?"

The kitsune turned around to find Amadeus behind him, looking at him quizzically and still dressed in the same white robes with red trim from before. His seven bushy brown tails flowing behind.

"I'm not sure…" The kit answered. "I just couldn't sleep, I've just been thinking about some things and this is where I wanted to go to get some space."

"I understand, should you have any questions about our species or about your future or past, please ask and I will try to answer to the best of my ability."

"Well, actually, I do have a few…" Tails confessed.

Amadeus sat on a rock across from the smaller fox. "And what might those be?"

"Well, about the Echidna, how did the war go on for as long as it did? Why did nobody try to do anything?"

"There were several attempts to come to an arrangement. Joint ownership, a trade, truce to allow both sides to rebuild, they were all considered and discussed at some point. But regardless of the offer, they were always refused by one side or the other. The value of the Master Emerald was simply too great to give up."

"Makes sense I guess, even just putting my hand on it, I've felt the power it has."

"So you've touched the stone?"

"Quite a bit, it's still just as strong as it probably was in the past. But as for my other question, how did it go on for so long? Wouldn't it have been generations?"

"For the echidna, it was. They taught their children to fear us. That we were nothing more than thieving savages who invaded their lands to claim their heritage. As for us however, kitsune live very long lives, which allowed many of the same to clash with different generations of echidnas."

"H- How long do kitsune live for?" Tails asked, dumbstruck by even the preposition of that long of a life.

"About a thousand years…" Amadeus answered, "More than enough time to have a war on such a scale."

The smaller fox was silent, seemingly trying to take in all that had been said with just those four words. "A- A thousand years…" He muttered under his breath, his brain still somewhat in shock about his revelation. "S- So how old am I? Can you answer that?"

"While an exact age is outside my abilities, I will say that because of your two tails, you can't be any older than a hundred."

"Why do my tails tell you that?"

"Kitsune gain a new tail every century. The amount of tails showing their connection to Chaos Energy as they grow, becoming only stronger with age. A kitsune with nine tails, nearing the end of their life, would be a force to be reckoned with for any who dared cross their path."

"So I'm still…"

"Very young, yes, but your skills will grow. Perhaps even one day surpassing mine."

"What happened to you? Why are you like this?" Tails asked, gesturing to the kitsune across from him.

"I volunteered to be the mentor for kitsune across the centuries. I've trained many in my time, and although my connection is unable to grow due to my current state as an instructor, I can teach."

"Is there anything you can teach me?"

Amadeus thought for a moment, "I suppose, although it might be better to ask if you're prepared."

"I'm ready! I'm sure I am!"

"Well then, let's find out."

The two of them were transported to a cliffside overlooking the ocean. Tails could hear the waves crashing against the base of the rocks far below. A gentle breeze brushed past him.

"Now," Amadeus spoke. "You will be temporarily stripped of your powers. Becoming reliant on them is no way to learn."

As he spoke Tails could feel something change within him, the Chaos Energy that he felt coursing through his body just moments before was gone, leaving a strange void of nothing behind.

"Come find me after you have completed the test. I'll be waiting. A word of advice before we begin. Look inside yourself, you'll find everything you need there."

The elder kitsune vanished, leaving Tails alone on the cliff face. He was about to question what his test actually was when a familiar voice made its way to his ears.

"Thought you could run from us, huh?"

Tails spun to face the noise, finding the familiar lion and his two friends that had made his life back in Westside miserable. He tried to turn and run, only to realize the cliff behind him prevented any form of escape. He was going to have to figure his way out of this.

"You know, giving us the slip last time." The leader spoke, "Not quite sure how you did it, but it made my blood boil…"

"Yeah! We're gonna beat ya to a pulp!" One of the lackies exclaimed.

"Shut up, ya moron!" The lion exclaimed, "Just get the freak!"

At the command, the two lackies rushed the kitsune. While the fox tried to put up a fight, the unfavorable numbers disadvantage and the confined space from the cliff made it difficult to put up any major resistance. As he was bound behind his arms, the two carried him over to the lion, who simply smirked in anticipation.

"Turn him around." He spoke, producing a small knife into the palm of his hand. "I will say, Prower, it's been fun."

As the kitsune struggled against his restraints with his back to the lion, he felt a sharp, searing pain across his back, causing him to exclaim in agony. He could feel something begin to slowly flow down his back as a large slice made itself known to him. He instantly felt a kick to his back, causing pain to flash through his entire body as the incision was forced open more. He collapsed to the floor in pain, feeling the black around the edge of his vision pressing inward.

"But nobody crosses me and gets away with it, especially not a freak like you…"

The fox could only watch as the two holding him dragged him to the edge of the cliff, and while he tried to struggle against them, he felt very weak and tired from the pain and blood he was losing at quite an alarming rate. Eventually, he ceased his weak struggling altogether as the two tossed him over the edge. As he plummeted toward the rocks below, the kitsune let the cold embrace of unconsciousness overtake him as a single thought ran through his mind. He had failed…

-X-

The fox groaned as he slowly opened his eyes again, he found himself against the soft sand of the beach once again, the sun beating down on his face. "Ugh… My head…" He thought to himself, slowly sitting upright. "How did I even get here?"

The last thing he remembered was plummeting to his death, so how had he ended up on the beach again? He figured Amadeus would know, so he made his way up onto his shaky feet and began to travel inland. Eventually, the kitsune he sought appeared before him. "Well, for a first try, that wasn't bad." He spoke.

"What happened? How am I still alive?"

"Do you not remember? None of this is real. We are in your mind Miles, so you're protected to a degree."

The kit thought it over, but eventually, spoke again. "So I failed the test I assume…"

"That you did, but it was a valiant effort, most kitsune aren't prepared for a while, it might be worth waiti-"

"Can I try again?"

Amadeus thought over his request, "I don't see why not. But do keep in mind, many kitsune wait years before attempting their next trial, though I see no harm in preventing one from attempting it earlier."

The duo found themselves on the cliff once more, Tails felt himself stripped of his powers once more, and once again, he was sent plummeting to his death.

-X-

"Another try?"

"I'd thought for sure you'd have given up by now," Amadeus commented. "But I suppose I admire your determination. Very well."

Again, for what felt like the hundredth time, they were atop the cliff. Tails felt the now familiar sensation leave him once more, and again, he was beaten senseless. Just as he was about to fall to his death however, a surge of determination flowed through him.

"This isn't how it's going to end again." He thought, "I'm done failing."

As soon as that thought had crossed his mind, he felt a surge of energy like no other through his senses. As he was tossed over the edge, he reached out for anything he could to latch onto and save himself. As he did, he suddenly felt his consciousness leave his body, and instantly, he was inhabiting the body of one of the two lackies that had thrown him. He quickly reached down to grab his sore beaten self by the hand and hoisted him up before turning to the other gathered Mobians, a blue glow emanating from his eyes. The other two ran in terror, and as the kit's consciousness returned to himself, the third fled all the same.

Slowly and painfully, the fox made his way to his feet, blood still making its way out of his back. As he tried to make his way closer to the inner parts of the island and away from the cliff, the lightheadedness of blood loss began to take hold. He tried in vain to push it off as he collapsed, unable to keep balance as the world spun around him.

"No. No! I'm not… Going… To…"

Unable to hold off the dark as his mind shut off, he was embraced by nothing but black.

-X-

The kitsune slowly opened his eyes, only this time, he wasn't on the beach, instead, he felt the sensation of a sleeping cot below him. The dark walls of a cave lay before him, the glint of a fire just around the bend from him. He also noted that his shoes and gloves had been removed and placed neatly at the foot of the cot. He felt some of the fire's heat radiating into the walls, making it nice and warm inside.

He stood up, feeling the warm rock underneath his exposed feet as he made his way toward the light source, eventually, he came across a small fire in the entryway of the cave, sitting next to it was a female kitsune, clad in the same white robes that Amadeus had been, only this time the robes possessed a thin brown trim, the same color as her fur. Six long tails extended behind her as she sat, gazing up into the now dark night sky.

She glanced back at Tails as he made his way over, "You're finally awake." She commented. "Hopefully you're feeling alright."

"I'm fine, but where am I?" The kit responded sitting down near the flame and letting its heat flow through him.

"You're still in your mind, don't worry."

"How did you get me here?" Tails asked.

"As long as we're here, your mind doesn't need to be bound by restrictions. We can simply will you to us and you will appear. Do you not recognize this place?"

The young kit thought over her question for a moment before he realized. This was his cave, the one he'd lived in before meeting Sonic. While it was bare now, he remembered a few of the rock faces inside. "I think I do yeah, who are you?"

"My name is Rosemary. It has been quite a long time since I've gotten to speak with a prospective new kitsune. I'm another spirit like Amadeus, I'm sure you've met him, always the entertaining one."

"What do you do?"

"About the same job he does, training kitsune in how to properly focus their connection to Chaos Energy. You my friend are delightfully promising, why, the last kitsune I had that completed their second trial at such a young age would be your father!"

"You knew him?"

"Quite well in fact, I was the one that helped train him after all."

"I thought Amadeus said he-"

"Amadeus has always liked to put on a show, this is the first chance he's had in a long time. I do like that about him, it's why I decided to marry him after all."

"So you're his wife?"

"Did you really think they'd seal him away here all on his own? It was a joint decision by the two of us. I like to let him do most of the teaching however, I can tell he enjoys it."

"You said you knew about my father?"

"Oh yes! He was quite the determined one. You know, when I was watching you attempt that trial over and over again, I couldn't help but see some of your father in you. You two had very different abilities, but you've certainly got the same mind."

"What was he like?"

"He was a bit of a hothead, which is why I found it quite ironic when the spirits designated cryomancy as his ability. They work in odd ways sometimes. But he was good at heart, always working to help others as best he could."

"What about my mom? Do you know her?"

"Sadly, no. She never interacted with me on account of her condition… I'm very sorry."

Tails was a bit saddened at the response, but deep down, he knew it was coming. "So, what did I do back there at the cliff? I'd never seen anything like that I'd-"

"You utilized the mind as a weapon."

"What?"

"The mind isn't just for us spirits, you know, it's also a way to directly access others' thoughts, and maybe even control them for a time."

"So when that happened I was-"

"Yes, you were controlling them. Using their mind to save yourself. You're capable of much more than you know Miles, I hope you're aware of that."

"But how… How does it work? How do I use it?" The kit asked.

"You'll know, it's something natural. Just let instinct take over and let it flow through you."

The smaller fox took in her words as the fire crackled and the embers danced into the night sky. He contemplated what had happened in the past few days to his life. He wasn't opposed but, it was just changing so fast…

"It's alright to be scared you know…" Rosemary commented, "The unknown is something strange to all of us, but what's important is to be brave. I remember when I first got my powers, I was terrified. I told myself I wasn't ready, but I learned, I adjusted. In the end, it was well worth it. I'm sorry you have to do this alone, being in the situation you're in, but I'm cheering for you at least, and if your father was still here… I'm sure he'd be proud."

A few stray tears made their way from the kit's eyes. "Thanks… That means a lot right now…"

"Feel free to return whenever you wish, I'll be here."

The kit smiled as he felt the sensation of being tugged away, in a moment, he was gone, once again leaving Rosemary to nothing but the crackling of fire to break the silence.

She smiled to herself, the kid was going to turn out just fine…

Alright everyone! That's it for today! Long one this time but I didn't want to end it early, so I hope you all enjoy it! Please leave a review with your thoughts and I'll see you all next time!