Subchapter 2: Phantom Ruby

Tails' workshop, Three Weeks after Sonic's disappearance

Not long after Tails woke up in the hospital, he was allowed to leave. However, until his injuries completely recovered, he was ordered to rest. This meant that he was not allowed to go and search for Sonic.

And he absolutely hated it.

Trying to get his mind off of things, he was currently working on repairing the Cyclone, to little success.

"Dang it!" Tails said as he dropped his wrench for the third time.

He was about to climb down and grab the wrench, when someone picked it up and handed it to him.

"Need a hand?" Tangle said as her tail stretched out towards Tails.

"Yeah, thanks." Tails said before grabbing the wrench. "So, what brings you here?"

"I was in the area, and thought I would stop by and check in on you." Tangle said.

"Oh really? Well, I really appreciate it." Tails said. "It gets lonely around here sometimes without… you know…"

"Yeah, I get that." Tangle said with a sympathetic smile.

"Any news? Rumors? Anything?" Tails asked.

"Sorry, nothing." Tangle said. "We're still looking though! And we won't stop until he is found!"

Tails just sighed. "Ok, well, you should probably get back to it then…"

"Uh, no." Tangle said. "I know a sad face when I see one, and you have it. So, I am staying until you cheer up!"

"That's not necessary, I'm fine!" Tails said.

"Hmmm… nope, sorry, don't believe you!" Tangle said. "At least let me stay and help you fix your… whatever this thing is!"

Tails just sighed. "Alright, come on up… and yes."

"Huh?"

"You said you wanted to drive this when we were in Central City that one time, remember?" Tails said. "When it is done, we can take it for a test drive."

Tangle gasped. "REALLY?!"

"Of course! You have been a big help and a good friend ever since we met you, so why not?" Tails said. "Just uh… be careful? I am just rebuilding it now…"

"You got it! Now, let's get to work!" Tangle said.

The two of them then went to work, but when it became obvious that Tangle had no idea what she was doing, she was relegated to equipment retrieval, which was still a huge help. Before long, the repairs were complete.

"Phew! That should just about do it!" Tails said, wiping some sweat from his brow.

"Alright! It looks great!" Tangle said, admiring the shiny new Cyclone.

"So, you ready?" Tails asked.

"Wait, I can try it now?!" Tangle asked.

"Of course! I want to test it out and make sure everything is working, and I have a good area nearby for just that. So, let's go!"

"ALRIGHT!" Tangle shouted enthusiastically as she leapt into the drivers seat.

"Uh… maybe I should drive there?" Tails said.

"Oh… yeah, might be a good idea."

"WHOOOOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOO!" Tangle shouted as she drifted around the driving range. "THIS THING IS SOOOOO COOOOOOOOL!"

"Well, good to see that she's having fun." Tails said with a laugh. He then pushed a button, causing a bunch of targets to appear.

Tangle turned the vehicle around and fired at the targets… only to completely miss all of them.

"Uh Tails, I think the cannon's broken." Tangle said.

"You didn't lock onto the targets. You see the screen on the dashboard?" Tails started explaining. "You have to line up the reticle with the target, then, after a second, it will lock on. That is when you can fire."

Tangle took this Tails' advice, and managed to destroy the targets on her second attempt.

"WHOO! OK! IT WORKS!" She shouted enthusiastically.

"Ok, that's good." Tails said. "Take it for a few more laps, then we should go back before it get's dark."

"You got it!" Tangle said before driving off again.

Just then, Tangle's communicator, which she had left with Tails, began ringing. Deciding it would be best to not leave it unanswered, picked it up.

"Hello?"

"Tails?! Is that you?!" Amy said on the other side of the line.

"Yeah, what's up?"

"Where's Tangle?! We need her help! Starline is-"

Suddenly, an explosion rang out nearby. Hearing the explosion, Tangle sped over.

"What was that?" She asked.

"I don't know… though Amy did mention something about Starline on your communicator." Tails said.

"Starline? Didn't he…?" Tangle started.

Suddenly, a giant robot emerged from over the hill.

"WHERE IS HE?!" Starline shouted from within the machine.

"Uh… who?" Tangle asked.

"DR. EGGMAN! I KNOW YOU HAVE HIM SOMEWHERE!"

"Uh… sorry dude, but we have no idea where he is. He and Sonic disappeared a couple of-"

Suddenly, the robot swatted the Cyclone and Tangle away.

"TANGLE!" Tails shouted out to his friend. He was relieved when he saw that she was OK.

"DON'T LIE TO ME!" Starline shouted, as he prepared to crush Tangle. Suddenly, a rocket hit the side of the robot, stopping the attack.

Tails looked to the source of the rocket to see Whisper, as well as multiple other Restoration members running towards them.

"Tails! Are you alright?!" Amy asked.

"I'm fine! I'm more worried about Tangle." Tails said, gesturing towards Tangle, who was currently avoiding Starline's attacks from within the Cyclone.

"Don't worry, we got this." Silver said as he landed nearby. He then lifted a couple of rocks and launched them towards Starline.

And with that, the battle was on. Without the Cyclone, and with his injuries, Tails was sitting out. He figured he would only get in the way.

That is, until the Cyclone got turned over.

"Tangle!" Amy shouted.

Starline was then preparing to crush Tangle once again. Tangle closed her eyes, and prepared for the inevitable… but it never came.

When she opened her eyes, she couldn't believe what she was seeing.

Chains, all glowing red and coming out from the ground, had been wrapped around the machine. The chains began to retract, and pulled the robot to the ground. Then continued to tighten, until the machine was destroyed from the pressure.

When the smoke cleared, Starline was gone.

"What… was that?" Silver asked.

"I…" Tails said, earning everyone's attention. What they saw surprised all of them.

He was glowing red.

"Tails? Did you do that?" Amy asked.

"Yeah, I think so…"

"What was that?" Silver asked.

"I… I think that was…"

"You think it was…?"

"I think it was Infinite's power." Tails finally said.

"Infinite's power?!" Amy asked. "How… how could you possibly… oh."

"Yeah, I think the energy from Eggman's machine that exploded released a bunch of energy from inside of it, and it infused with my body… and because that was energy from the Phantom Ruby and it's prototypes…"

"That's amazing! That is going to be so helpful in the future!" Amy said.

"Y-yeah. I guess so." Tails said, earning Tangle's attention.

"Of course, you should probably take some time to learn how to use it… I uh… don't want to talk about when I was first learning to use my power." Silver said, rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment.

"Right, I will get to that." Tails said.

"Still, with Starline back, that complicates things…" Amy said. "We should have a meeting. We can do that in the morning though, let's all go home and get some rest."

"Right. Take care Tails!" Silver said before he flew off, with Amy and Whisper, who had just finished helping Tangle flip the Cyclone back onto it's wheels, walking away themselves.

"Hey, you alright?" Tails asked Tangle.

"Yeah, I'll be fine. Just a bit sore." Tangle said.

"That's good…"

"…Ok what's up?" Tangle asked.

"What do you mean?" Tails asked.

"I told you before, I know a sad face when I see one, and you have one." Tangle said. "So, what's up?"

"It's… it's nothing. Nothing worth worrying about." Tails said.

"Are you… upset that you can use that power now?" Tangle asked.

"What? No! It's an incredible power! I mean, look at how strong Infinite was…" Tails said. "Infinite… who used this power to… do so much damage… to kill so many people…"

All of his composure broke in that moment, as Tails then broke down crying.

Tangle, deciding to comfort her friend, went over and wrapped her tail around him and pulled him into a hug.

"This power… can only hurt and kill… and in my hands…" Tails said with a sob. "I'll only screw up… get someone hurt…"

"Shh, it's ok. Let it all out." Tangle said.

"I'm just a failure… there's no way I can…"

"You are not a failure Tails."

"Yes I am… I didn't help Sonic when Infinite beat him… I screwed up royally when I found the cure to the metal virus in Central City… and now Sonic's gone because of me…" Tails said. "I even fell for such an obvious trap and got hurt…"

"Tails, look at me." Tangle ordered, to which Tails complied. "You are ten years old. TEN! And in that time, you have accomplished more than I did in Sixteen! You are one of, if not THE, smartest guys on the planet. You even helped save the world multiple times! You're not perfect, no-one is. So please, stop beating yourself up over everything!"

"… Do… you really mean all of that?" Tails asked.

"Of course!"

"But… what about this power? It's…" Tails said.

"Here's what I think. It's not the power that is important, it's what you do with it. Infinite hurt people, and I know that you will help people, and that's what really matters. Heck, you already saved mine!" Tangle said.

At that, Tails just laughed. "Amy was right, you really are a lot like Sonic." He said. "That… that sounds exactly like something he would say."

"Well, it's the truth! I have faith in you kiddo!" Tangle said.

"… Thanks Tangle." Tails said with a smile, which told Tangle that she accomplished her mission. "It's getting late, how about we take the Cyclone back, and you stay the night?"

"Yeah, that's probably for the best. Thanks for having me!" Tangle said. "Sooooo… Can I drive back?"

Tails just laughed. "You really like driving the Cyclone, don't you?"

"Uh, yeah! It's so cool!" Tangle said.

"Well, how about I build you something like it?" Tails said. "You know, as thanks for helping me so much today."

"REALLY?!" Tangle shouted. "THAT WOULD BE SO COOL!"

"Yeah, although, I could probably use some help." Tails said.

"Sign me up!" Tangle said.

"Alrighty then, we can get started in the morning." Tails said as he began walking towards the Cyclone. "Oh, and yeah, you can drive back, just be careful."

"YES!" Tangle shouted as she practically leaped back into the Cyclone.

Tails just smiled as he watched.

End of Subchapter 2

You know, at first, this story wasn't supposed to be so much about Tails and Tangle… but it just kinda worked out that way. Makes sense though, Tails is my favorite character, while Tangle is my favorite female character and my favorite of the IDW characters. So… it just kinda happened?

I don't really have much to say here, I talked about this in the Tails chapter enough. Just that this will pretty much be the start of the development of Tails and Tangle's relationship. Also, I used a couple of things that happened in the recent IDW Sonic chapter. Thought it would be neat.

Next subchapter though, will not be about these two. I am gonna keep it a surprise though. Until then, see you next time for Shadow's chapter.