Subchapter 4

Before this chapter starts, I just want to apologize for the large gap… again. I went through a lot of stuff during these past few months, including a death in the family, and I honestly didn't really like this story for a while. I even considered rewriting this story from the beginning for a while there. In the end, I decided to finish it, and have been working really hard to get as much done as I can these past couple of days… despite having to work most of the time. Essential worker, gotta love it.

The good news though! As of me posting this chapter, the story is done! I wrote everything out, edited it, and it is all ready for posting! It's been a long time coming, but over the course of the next week, I will be finishing this story! So, I hope the wait was worth it! Enjoy the Tails and Shadow fight!

Tails VS Shadow

Eight Years after Sonic's disappearance.

Tangle walked into Tails' workshop, only to see the eighteen year old fox hard at work.

"Hey Tangle, sorry, I am going to need a bit more time on this machine." Tails said with a wave.

"No, it's fine, this was a big commission for you, so I don't want to interrupt!" Tangle said.

"Still, feel free to make yourself at home, I got some great tea the other day from Chunan, and I think you would love it!" Tails said as he got back to his work.

"I think I'll take you up on that!" Tangle said as she began walking towards the kitchen.

Tails and Tangle had been getting along very well ever since their first fight against Starline since his return. The two often team up, and even began training together in their down time to keep their skills sharp. Because of this, Tails had begun to greatly improve, not only in fighting normally, but also with his new power.

"Mmmmmm, this tea really is good… thanks a bunch Tails!" Tangle said with a smile, which made Tails blush.

Also, he had developed a pretty big crush on the lemur, and almost all his friends knew about it already… almost.

"That's good, I'm glad you like it!" Tails said as he hid his red face behind the machine. "Anyways, I am almost done here, so we can get started soon."

Shortly after, Tails finished the machine, and the two began to make their way over to Tails' testing grounds in their cyclones. Though, it was also a bit of a training grounds now.

After Tangle accidentally nailed Tails in the face with her tail, they decided it would be best to take a break.

"Man, you really are getting a lot quicker!" Tangle said after taking a sip of her water.

"Yeah, but the stuff you do with your tail, even Sonic would probably get caught by you eventually!" Tails responded.

"Nah, there's no way!" Tangle said with a laugh.

"I mean it! You think I've come a long way? You have come just as far, and you can't create illusions at the snap of your fingers!" Tails said.

"Really? You think so?" Tangle asked.

"I know so!"

"Thanks Tails, I appreciate it!" Tangle said before pulling the fox into a hug.

"Uh… don't mention it?" Tails said as his face turned bright red.

"Well, isn't this cute?" Said a new voice.

The two jumped as the voice startled them, but they were relieved to see that it was only Rouge, with Shadow standing besides her.

"How's it going you two?" Rouge asked.

"It's going well, just taking a bit of a break." Tails said. "Care to join us?"

"Eh, we can't stay too long, I just wanted to see if you had your answer for my suggestion from the other day." Rouge said.

"Suggestion?" Tangle asked.

"… G.U.N. wants me to essentially become someone people can look up to. You know, someone to lift people's spirits and deter crime… kinda like that one guy in that show I like." Tails explained.

"Right. So, do you have your answer?" Rouge asked.

"…I'm sorry Rouge, but I don't think I am the best candidate for that…" Tails said. "Wouldn't someone like Silver or Amy be better?"

"Silver isn't exactly in this time period too much, and Amy was the one who recommended you. She also said that she could never take Sonic's place, and that you would be the only one people would accept." Rouge explained.

"Still, I just don't think I'm up to the task…" Tails said.

"Hmph… pathetic…" Shadow said before storming up to the fox. "This just proves that I was right, the world would never look up to a coward like you, runt."

"HEY! There's no need to be so harsh!" Tangle yelled at Shadow.

"I'm just telling the truth." Shadow said.

"And he's right… I am a coward…" Tails said.

"Hmph, I'm willing to bet that if idiot Sonic didn't die, he would of left you anyways." Shadow said before turning to walk away.

Only to get stopped by someone grabbing him.

"… What did you just say?" Tails growled out.

"You heard me. That moron would of abandoned you, guaranteed." Shadow said coldly.

"Shut. Up." Tails growled out.

"Excuse me?" Shadow asked.

"SHUT! UP!" Tails said again, shouting this time.

"… Make me."

And just like that, the fight began.

Tails started by swiping his namesakes at the hedgehog, who easily dodged the attack. He then created an arm cannon and fired. The resulting energy ball was easily repelled by one of Shadow's chaos spears.

Once that was done, Shadow went on the offensive. He quickly began to spin dash towards the fox, who was just barely able to dodge. He then managed to grab a hold of the spinning hedgehog with his namesakes and sent him flying towards a nearby rock. The spin dash did hurt his tails a bit, but he believed that the damage he did with that counter attack would be worth it.

He was wrong.

Shadow was able to react too quickly, and was able to regain control in the air, and leapt off the rock and rocketed towards the still staggered Tails. He then spin dashed straight into Tails' chest. He then continued his assault with a volley of chaos spears, followed by a vicious combo using chaos control very effectively. Tails tried to block the attacks with his namesakes, but they were too fast and from too many angles.

Before long, Tails was on the ground, with Shadow standing above him.

"Hmph, you really are pathetic…" Shadow said.

"I'm not done, not yet!" Tails said as he struggled to get up.

"Come on Tails! You can still win this!" Tangle cheered from the sidelines.

"What an idiot… she still hasn't seen how outmatched you are…" Shadow said.

"… Excuse me?" Tails said. "Would you mind repeating that?"

Shadow then smiled. "You heard me, that waste of space has no clue how outmatched you are, and yet she still cheers you on, hoping for some kind of a miracle."

Then, he did something no-one expected, and started charging up a chaos spear. Tangle and Rouge thought he was going to use it to knock Tails out, when in reality…

"Perhaps I should just shut her up." Shadow said before launching a chaos spear straight at the lemur.

And just before the energy connected, a red wall of stone rose from the ground, blocking the attack.

And then, before Shadow could react, Tails kicked him in the stomach with all of his strength.

"How… DARE YOU!" Tails said before getting back up and charging.

During his charge, Tails created several illusions of energy cannons, which relentlessly fired at the black hedgehog. Just as he was about to dodge the assault, red chains came out of the ground and trapped him, catching him off guard and making him take the full force of the attack. When Tails got close enough, he started his assault on the injured and disoriented hedgehog. Punches, kicks, and whacks from his namesakes rained upon Shadow as the attacks were beginning to become too much for him. Finally, Tails finished his assault by spin dashing into Shadow's stomach, and pinned him down as he created an arm cannon and pointed it at his opponent.

"I win." Tails gasped out, clearly out of breath.

"… Hmph… yeah, you do." Shadow admitted. "Now tell me, if you are able to beat me, what makes you think that you aren't someone that people can look up to?"

"… Wait… did you plan this?" Tails asked.

"Of course I did. Do you really think I would just insult the dead without good reason?" Shadow said. "I knew you had what it takes, I just needed to push you to the point of actually wanting to fight me, and insulting Sonic was the only way I could do just that. And attacking the lemur was just to get you to stop holding back so much."

"But… I wasn't…"

"Love and anger can push one well beyond their limits… or so I have heard for the former. Looks like it was true after all." Shadow responded.

Tails then turned red. "Uuuuuuhhhhh…"

"Anyways, now you know my motive."

"So… you wanted me to fight you to give me a confidence boost?" Tails asked, his blush beginning to fade.

"Yeah, and it worked, didn't it?" Shadow asked back.

"… You know what? Yeah, it did…" Tails said as he helped Shadow to his feet. "Maybe… maybe I can do this…"

"We'll be counting on you… Tails." Shadow said as he extended his hand, which Tails accepted.

Once the two began to shake hands, Tangle, who had been sweating bullets since Shadow attacked her, finally began to calm down and watched the two in amazement.

"Wow…" She said.

'Now that I think about it… I don't think I have ever just… watched Tails fight before…' Tangle thought. 'He… honestly looked amazing just now… wait, why does my face feel hot?'

Rouge couldn't help but chuckle as Tangle realized that she was blushing.

'I wonder if that is going to go anywhere…' She thought as she approached the two boys.

End of Subchapter 4

And so, the Tails Vs Shadow fight finally happens. In case you were wondering, yes, I did reference My Hero Academia there. Watch the Sonic Twitter Takeover from last year, and you will see that Tails is actually a fan of the anime (according to that anyways lol). I thought it would be a neat reference.

Also, Tails and Tangle have officially fallen for each other, or started to, in Tangle's case. The next subchapter is actually going to be the last one (as of right now) and is finally going to be all about how they got together. It will probably be the longest subchapter too. But before then, next up is actually going to be Silver. We need to see what the time traveler has to say about all of this after all. Also, there was a reason why I put Silver as one of the main characters for this story. You may or may not see why that is next time… maybe, we will see.

Anyways, see you next time for Silver!