If you came from my other story, this is completely unrelated. This is its own thing, so it wont effect any later stories unless expressively stated.
Yeah, I've been very busy lately. I wanted to do this purely for fun, as it was something that just popped into my head.
The Sonic universe that this is set in is primarily based on the Archie comics, but will refer to events that happened in some of the games.
Chapter 1: Far from Home
Truthfully, he had no idea what happened. Even the memory seemed blank, fuzy, out of reach. All he remembered was fighting Eggman.
But now he stared up at an unfamiliar sky, lit by an unknown galaxy. He didn't know where he was. It was steam hot. He could feel sand beneath him.
A desert, he guessed, and rolled over. The world resolved itself into something he could understand. He was inside a series of sandy cliffs. He was lying next to the cliff face, which towered above him. He seemed to be hidden by a low foot high rock.
Tails stood up and stretched his namesakes out and shook the sand from his fur. He really should have stayed put. Almost immediately, he heard an infantile yelp and a shuffling of feet in the sand.
He turned to the source, only to see a small form (albeit taller than himself) sprinting away behind a pile of rocks, babbling something unintelligibly.
Tails tilted his head in confusion, then quickly searched the area around himself. He was alone. He swallowed. He could already begin to feel fear crawling up the back of his throat. What if he was the only one to survive whatever had happened back on Möbius?
He was pretty sure that this wasn't his home planet; there seemed to be large objects rising in the distance; it seemed as though he was on a huge flower, near the centre of it.
There was something truly beautiful about it; It had to be absolutely huge. How could anyone build something even remotely close to that size? Surely it would be impossible.
Tails looked back up at the galaxy above. This time, though, he noticed something. Stars seemed to fade into nothing and then explode at an alarming rate. He frowned and concentrated on the sky, spotting a dark object moving across the sky.
Several, in fact. Judging from the randomness of the explosions, they all could be fighting each other. Something about that both awed and terrified the young fox.
How large would those ships have to be to seen from down on the surface of this object? He didn't even want to know. He suddenly became aware of something large stamping across the sand directly towards him. Tails spotted a huge, towering form walking directly towards him.
He didn't know what it was. It seemed to be almost like a robot made entirely of separate dark blue metal plates, with a helmet that seemed to have a "V" moulded into it. That wasn't the scariest part, though. He was quite clearly more than three times the Möbian's height and at least five times his weight.
Tails immediately backed up, raising his namesakes back up behind him, out of pure instinct. Tails' eyes darted left and right; he knew that he couldn't fight this thing head on.
It stopped about ten feet away from him. It's hands went to its head, removing the helmet. An angry... Almost gorilla-like face appeared from beneath it.
"Well, well." He grunted, almost to himself, "What have we here?"
Tails was silent for a second, and then overcame his shock of hearing an alien clearly speaking in a language that he understood.
"I'm... Um... Ah... Eh... My name is Miles Prower, but everyone calls me Tails. I'm a Möbian." He added the last bit quickly, as it struck him that the alien may not have even heard of his species before.
The alien raised his own eyebrows in shock at his speach, then spoke again.
"Well. I have not heard of a Möbian before." He said, once again as though he was talking to himself.
Tails remained silent, still contemplating ways out in the even that the alien attacked.
The alien snorted.
"I shall what the prophet makes of you." He announced, suddenly. "Come with me."
He drew a metal rod that had two spikes hanging from the bottom of it. Two holes were clearly pronounced in the front of it.
The Möbian put two and two together, and swallowed again. He considered it; then began to bend his legs to get a good launch when he needed the speed to get going.
"Any sudden moves, and there won't be enough of you left to fill the barrel of this here spiker." The alien growled angrily, his calm and collected demeanour collapsing in an instant.
Tails' bottom lip trembled slightly.
"Very well." He whispered.
The Alien grinned.
"Good!" He exclaimed, gesturing for Tails to approach him.
He complied, and the alien led him back to a group of similarly armored aliens. He was ordered to stay beside a large supply crate that had been casually dumped on the ground. The aliens were taking shelter from the sun under what seemed to be a crashed alien ship that was imbedded in the sand. There were several heavily armored vehicles scattered around the ship, presumably belonging to the aliens.
Tails was left to sit for what seemed like several hours in the sun, while being watched by a pair of smaller aliens that he'd seen earlier. They had weapons that seemed like toys; they were purple in colour and had several sections that glowed lime.
However, judging from the way that they held the weapons, they were obviously not toys. Tails had watched in the hot sun as the larger aliens talked amongst each other.
He was parched. He tried asking the smaller aliens for water. He was met with a strange response.
"No for you! Brutes tell us: You no give water to prisoners! Ripping apart if done so." The smaller alien finished this with a laugh.
Tails gleaned only one thing from this conversation. The larger aliens were called Brutes. If this was their actual species name, or merely a name that the smaller aliens gave them. Either way, it was better than calling them aliens.
Suddenly, a loud explosion echoed through the cliffs. The Möbian's sensitive hearing caused the sound to be amplified to the point where he winced. A loud ringing followed and he clutched his ears in an attempt to block out the noise.
He'd heard a lot of explosions in his time, but something about that one was different from all the others.
When the ringing receded, he became aware of the Brutes shouting and pointing at the top of the slope they were encamped on. At the top of it now lay a smoking... What seemed to be a stealth fighter or something similar.
The Brutes were now howling and snarling, grabbing weapons and climbing aboard their vehicles. The one that had led Tails to the group in the first place grabbed his shoulder roughly and dragged him onto one of the vehicles and planted his weapon's spikes firmly onto Tails' chest. The vehicle they were on seemed to have a central armored core with two skis attached to the sides, which the Brutes rode upon. The pilot sat on a chair at the rear.
Only a handful of Brutes and the smaller aliens were left to guard the remains of the crashed ship, while the rest packed up and advanced up the hill.
Tails heard gunfire from over the rise. The Brutes drove their vehicles up the slope and parked behind a pair of large rocks at the top of a large valley on the right side of the slope, behind where the fighter had come from. Tails was now thrown off the Brute vehicle, where the smaller aliens once again took custody of him; they once again forced him up against another supply crate, except this time he had more of a view.
From somewhere in the army of Brutes, one roared an order, and two vehicles, one single occupant "wheeler" as Tails had come to call it, and one "core driver" sped down the slope and into the valley below.
They drove straight down and then up the other side of the valley; going over a ramp and disappearing behind another slope.
Tails could sense tension in the air amongst the Brutes; they were all silent as they stared across the valley. Then gunfire started up. There were several sounds of alien weapons as well; and something exploded.
The gunfire continued. There were several cries from the Brutes in the distance, and then it all went silent.
Tails knew he should run, should take cover, but he couldn't. Something about this mystified him in such a way that he couldn't; even though his rational side screamed at him to do so.
A "core driver" lunged over the rise on the other side of the valley, making a beeline towards the Brutes encamped on the slope at the other side.
The vehicle was no longer driven by Brutes; instead by smaller beings dressed in green armor. From this distance, Tails couldn't completely identify any key features about them, but he didn't need to; as now both sides had opened fire. The Brute vehicles streamed from their encampment in the rocks and quickly moved to engage the newcomers.
A small quad suddenly leapt over the gap facing the Brute holdup and accelerated into the fray. The newcomers cheered loudly at the quad's presence, even though it seemed unarmed. Only one person drove it, though they were clad in much thicker armor than the other newcomers.
The appearance of the quad also had an effect on the Brutes. Many turned and roared down the slope, or focused fire on him.
"Demon!" One of them screamed.
The Brutes converged. A "wheeler" spun around and opened fire with both barrels on the quad. Huge yellow glowing shots about the size of Tails' head whizzed through the air. The quad took the first two shots, then the rider lunged off it, towards the wheeler, landing straight on the front of it.
With speed that would have impressed Sonic, he climbed over the huge spinning wheel and smashed the driver off of the vehicle. The Brute's armor exploded and he collapsed limply to the ground.
Tails watched the battle from above with morbid curiousity. Only one of the three smaller aliens who had been watching him initially were left; the other two had ran off.
The hijacker immediately took advantage of his new ride's armor and smashed into another, small one person purple vehicle that seemed to be hovering. It was blown apart, and the hijacker jumped off as he sent it full speed into the last remaining Brute controlled "core driver". It exploded violently, and the other "core driver's" crew all began to cheer on the lone soldier.
Tails watched on in horror but at the same time being unable to tear his eyes from the battle unfolding below. The soldier finally took down the last of the small purple vehicles with a well placed tri-shot burst from his rifle, which neatly eliminated the pilot.
Another set of cheers and bravos came from the "core driver". The Brutes howled and raised their weapons, but there were only a handful of them left.
The soldier began his advance up the hill, while behind him, the vehicle's main turret opened fire on the Brutes and the other aliens that were standing atop the hill.
Huge bright blue slugs whizzed through the air. A single shot nearly ripped a supply crate in half. Tails winced and shifted to take shelter behind something more permanent, such a rock formation.
"Hold brothers!" A brute yelled. "We shall slay the humans here!"
Tails' ears perked up. Humans?
Tails poked his head around the rocks, spotting a single brute. This brute was armed with what looked like a turret of some kind, except it had a long, elegant blade curled around the bottom of it.
He fired; Three tennis ball sized projectiles flew out in rapid succession. When they hit they detonated. However, the soldier executed one of the most brilliant dodges that Tails had ever seen in his life, even including everything that he'd seen Sonic do. The soldier twisted his waist and shifted slightly to dodge the first round, all without breaking his stride. For the second one he merely tilted his head to the left, and the round flew by with centimetres to spare. He fired a burst into the brute's head and kneeled to avoid the last round. He did this so fluidly and rapidly that it seemed almost graceful.
The brute recoiled as the first shot hit home, and his head snapped back. The soldier fired two rapid bursts into his chest. The brute's armor seemed to fail, exploding and then falling apart. A final burst was fired, and the brute hit the ground with a wet smack. Tails ducked back into cover as a volley of blue rounds whizzed by his rock.
"Foolish Unggoy!" The last brute yelled. "To me!"
The smaller aliens did as told; gathering around the last brute. The soldier advanced on them. Some Unggoy fired, but the rest were occupied by the "core driver's" fire from below.
As the soldier came closer, he shoulder his rifle and pulled off what Tails had initially assumed to be an exhaust port or oxygen tank of his pack. The way he held it immediately suggested to Tails that it was a rocket launcher.
He fired. A lone rocket accelerated into the mass of aliens and detonated with a huge roar. Tails found himself whimpering at the raw destructive power that was unleashed before him. Only a pair of Unggoy were left, and they retreated back down the slope from whence they had came.
There was now nothing hiding Tails himself from the soldier. And yet, when he turned, he seemed not to notice him, instead gesturing for the vehicle to come up the hill. Then he spotted the kitsune.
He paused, tilting his head to the side and pulling off his rifle and taking steady aim. Tails froze.
The soldier didn't react any further, merely standing still with his gun trained on the Möbian. It was at this point for the millionth time, Tails wished he'd gotten out here while he could.
The "core driver" powered up the hill, coming to a halt beside the soldier.
"What's up, chief?" One of the lesser armored soldiers asked as the vehicle pulled up beside the soldier.
Tails' eyes darted across at the band of about three troops that climbed off of the "core driver".
"What is it, sarge?" One of them asked, raising his own weapon.
"I don't know, son." A tall, pale-skinned, unshaven man replied.
Tails swallowed, only just beginning overcome the paralysis that gripped him.
He stood up.
"Um... Hi." He said quietly.
All the soldiers except for the more heavily armored soldier backed up slightly at that.
"It talks?" One asked incredulously.
Tails stood up. One of the troopers advanced, her weapon holstered.
"Hey there, little fella." She said. "What are you doing here?"
Tails sighed internally at being treated like an infant, but he didn't want to alienate the first people who had looked at him somewhat friendly intentions. He cleared his throat.
"My name's Miles Prower, but everyone calls me Tails. I... Don't really know how I got here... I remember a... fight, and then everything just... blanks out." He muttered.
She turned back to her squadmates. He had a brief conversation that Tails was unable to catch. She then turned back. The heavily armored soldier still hadn't lowered his weapon.
"My name is Silvey Hargey. I'm a marine in the United Nations Space Command. We came her on a frigate called the Forward unto Dawn. The human race has been at war with an alien alliance called the Covenant. We beat them back at Earth, and they fled here. We followed to this place. It's a huge Forerunner construct called "The Ark"." She told him.
Tails looked up towards the sky. Still, flashes of weapons fire lit up the sky. The sun, or perhaps fake sun, shone down on all of them.
"Do you have any water?" He asked, being reminded of his thirst suddenly.
"'fraid not." One of the troopers grunted. "We only hit dirt 'bout five mins ago. Core don't five marines supplies for hit dirt missions. We'll be getting our supplies later. If we make it, that is."
"We got the chief, son, we'll make it." The Sargent grunted.
The soldier that they call 'the Chief' was no longer pointing his weapon at Tails, but it wasn't holsters, and the kitsune was certain that the soldier was still judging wether or not he was a threat.
"We just got orders to clear an LZ for the Commander's frigate. We need to hurry on over there. The commander's frigate ain't the Autumn; she's gonna get torn apart pretty quickly against those Covvie cruisers." The Sargent grunted, and climbed back on board the vehicle.
"Do you fight?" Silvey asked Tails. "I thought you mentioned a fight earlier?"
He considered what he would tell them.
"I suppose I do. I wouldn't fight with a gun though. The group I was a part of had a thing against guns." He sighed.
She tilted her head slightly.
"How did you fight then? With swords and shields?" She asked.
Tails snorted quietly to himself.
"No... It's difficult to explain. We... Used everything besides guns, and even then I occasionally bent those rules when I was improving my planes. So, yeah... We used everything, swords, our abilities, everything." He was intentionally selective of what he actually told them, just in case he would ever have to fight them.
No need to let them know what exactly he was capable of. Now, normally, Tails would have been much less secretive, but something about this place seemed so foreign that he wasn't really willing to trust anyone here.
It didn't help that there was a seven foot tall supersoldier judging him from a few feet away, weapon still at hand.
"Well, If you want you can come with us, but you're going to have to fight." The Sargent grunted. "And I'd recommend a gun for fighting the Covenant. Those guys won't stop while you walk up and punch 'em. I can't see you punching 'em making any difference anyway."
Tails scowled slightly. He was stumped at the conundrum before him. He had no other way of getting out of this whole thing, but taking arms along with them would go against everything that the Freedom Fighters had stood for.
Tails hated decisions like this. Was it worth it? He looked back at the Galaxy hanging overhead. He was far from home. He had to make a decision, and what decision he made would very well decide his life.
