Drawing near to the end of this story DX (cries). Ah well, all good things must come to an end. Warning: there is a bit of ranting in this chapter, but it's where are the clues come in.

During a writer's block, I decided to look for some Tails tributes on Youtube. One of them had Crush 40's version of 'His World' as the song. And what's the lyrics just before the chorus? 'The power lives inside of you.' Hmm... Remind you of anything? (Looks down at the fanfic).

Disclaimer: There is a reason this is a fanfic – it is written by a fan. That normally means that they are not a part of the actual thing themselves. So why must I put this if you know I don't own any of the characters except Arty and what's-his-face (he has got a name, you'll find it out in this chapter – this is where some of the clues come in!). Read, review and enjoy this 10,000+ word chapter!

Chapter 13: From Beginning to End

The rain had only stopped a few minutes ago, but the dark clouds threatened to start again. The night lay silent as everyone slept in their beds. Well, almost everyone.

Sonic sat in the living room, unable to get any sleep. He was too worried about the snoozing fox upstairs. If Shadow's telling the truth... He sat with his head in his hands and elbows on knees, trying to think of what was best to do. No idea where to go... And what's coming up next for him. His arms began to tremble as he thought of what was in store for Tails. What's more, he couldn't bring himself to tell him. No matter how hard he tried to get the words out, they always seemed to fail half way there. It was something he just couldn't do. To tell Tails that he had to experience an agonising unbearable pain until they could find out where to go was the hardest thing he had ever had to do. He would sooner go for another round with the E-99, while it still had all seven Chaos Emeralds than break the bad news to the clueless kit. It was hard, knowing what Tails had in store for him, while Tails would be clueless when it came.

Unbeknownst to Sonic, Tails was sitting on the side of his bed, reading and re-reading the note he was going to leave for Sonic. His plan was to wait until Sonic would leave to take a run to think. He immediately seen the flaw in this as he was working only on chance, but he had a gut feeling that it would happen, since running is what Sonic does when he thinks his best. During that slot of time, he would slip into the hangar and head towards Crateméro's Gorge. He already knew about what would happen to him by the end of the week, so with this in mind, mixed with everything he blamed this for, he was determined to get rid of it. He just hoped that his theory on where to go was correct. He knew running on chance was going into very deep water.

While he was thinking about this, he remembered one time when Sonic was nearly killed on the Space Colony Ark because Sonic had wanted to test out Tails' replication of a Chaos Emerald in the hope that he could trick Eggman. Sonic had really pushed himself to the limit that time – had the fake Chaos Emerald not had the same energy as the real ones, he would have never caused Chaos Control and would have been blown up in space. Tails had pleaded to Sonic to never try anything like that again. Tails sighed. I guess this is a bit hypocritical... About to do something with no idea what the consequences are, and not even letting anyone know. He re-read the note one final time before finally setting it on his bed-side table. He wasn't sure what time Sonic would read it, but he knew he would be long gone by then.

Just as he thought this, he heard the front door open and close. He went to the landing at the top of the stairs to check that it was Sonic that had left and not a late-night visitor (even though no one visited at midnight anyway). Slowly and silently he went down the stairs, skipping the squeaky one. Once he had a clear view of the living room, he gave it a quick scan, making sure that Sonic had really left. He couldn't see much as Sonic must have switched the lights off before departing, but this just helped him clarify that Sonic had gone off. Tails then checked that the Chaos Emerald was still in his tails. Once he was happy, he headed into the hangar. Instead of picking the X-Tornado however, he headed towards the Tornado 2. He felt like that it would be a nice thing to do, to have the wind blowing across his face again as he travelled the night sky. I haven't used this in a while he thought as he run his hand across the surface. A thin layer of dust stained the white glove. He brushed it off on his leg before climbing and strapping in to the old bi-plane. He had nearly forgotten the control scheme as he had grown so accustomed to the powerful jet fighter that's twice the Tornado 2's size. It would take a quick fly around before becoming re-accustomed. The speed was also something he would have to grow used to.

He powered up the engines and the propellers mounted on the front sprung to life and began to rotate at a vastly increasing speed. Once Tails had familiarised himself with the controls, he pushed the single joystick forward and the Tornado 2 made its way down the hangar towards the runway. As the fake palm trees parted, he picked up speed as he began to race down the runway. Once he felt he had gained enough speed, he pulled back the joystick, launching him into the air. He swivelled round to face the direction of the gorge as he glided through the night sky. The wind rushed across his face as he glided over the forest that smothered most of Angel Falls. It felt good to go old school to him.

Sonic raced through the dark meadows of Angel Falls, trying to clear his mind. The last thing he wanted to be doing was to worry too much. He didn't know where he was going, or where he was going to stop, but all he knew was run.

Where do we need to go? Couldn't that temple that Shadow had went to have left any clues? Or is he holding them back? Wait, no. He wouldn't go through the trouble of asking Tails if he already knew. He would've come up front about it. Sonic continued to run through the open meadows, not going anywhere in particular, so long as he remembered the route back home. But what if he's under Eggman's orders? Hmm... No. He remembers me and Tails, so he hasn't lost his memory. But what if Eggman told him, so he could lead us in to a trap? No, Eggman's too irrational to set up something like this, and he knows Shadow could beat me in a fair fight, he would've just told him to fight me directly.

Now, what to do with Tails? We don't know where to go. Added to that, he's broken down big time over letting down his little brother. Sonic suddenly stopped as he thought something else. That reminds me, I better go check on him in case he's cried so much that his eyes have disappeared, or he's having nightmares or... something like that. Sonic turned on the spot and headed back to the house at an equal speed as to what he arrived with in the first place.

The wind rushed across Tails' face as he flew high in the skies. The wind made waving patterns in his fur as the open cockpit allowed the air to race across his body. It felt calm and relaxing to feel this cold-to-the-touch feeling once again, rather than the sometimes boiling hot space of the X-Tornado. He looked over the edge of the cockpit at the expansive, winding path of Daetron's Canyon, lined by the equally never-ending stretch of trees around the sides. He was looking for any sign of the Blue Typhoon, or some sort of signs destruction. Any of these would tell him that that's where the gorge would be. He didn't have a navigational computer built in to the Tornado-2 yet since he hadn't used it in such a long time, so he had to rely on what he would suspect the wreckage would look like, due to he didn't see any images on that morning's news report. Eggman had seen to that, whether he knew it or not. Tails thought about the ending of his note, wondering why he had ended it the way he had.

After a minute or so of boredom and keeping an eye out for anything hinting towards the Gorge's location, the hull of the Blue Typhoon finally appeared over the tree tops. Tails smiled as he took control of the Tornado 2 and dived down for a landing. Despite the Typhoon had torn up most of the ground, there was a thin strip running along the side of the great Canyon's edge. Tails smiled at himself, looking at the challenge. Time to really test my landing. There rarely ever is a challenge anymore. Tails pushed the joystick forward, putting him and the Tornado in to a straight nose dive. The wind blasted across his face at full force, making his eyes water and they were whipped away by the wind as the ground came to meet him at an incredible speed. Of course, he was used to going much faster, so the only thing that would contribute to a mistake was his blurring vision as the wind continued to batter his eyes. But he had handled more than this before.

The spot he was trying to land on was literally on the edge of the Gorge. Just the slightest miscalculation would have the landing gear either over the edge, sending him spiralling to the rocky pit of what's left. On the right side, the muddy rubble that still remained left barely enough space for the bi-plane, so if the landing gear clipped the rubble, it could cause the same effect. This challenge didn't hinder his efforts, but actually stirred him on for the thrills – something he didn't normally do, but he was thrilled to do it nonetheless. From what he could see, he was at the right height to pull up – with just ten feet from the ground. He jolted the joystick back with force, pulling up the small bi-plane just about level with the ground.

The landing was flawless. The left wheel skimmed the edge of the Canyon as he started to slow down. Passing the Blue Typhoon, the only obstacle that remained was the mud that its crash had thrown up in its wake. The wing skimmed over the top, while the right wheel was barely touching the mud itself. Occasionally, a lump of mud that was still sodden from the rain earlier would be crushed under the wheels. As Tails slowed to a final halt, he switched off the engines, letting the plane's momentum carry him forward, but still keeping in check that the plane didn't wobble to one side.

'Tails?' Sonic called as he opened the front door and peered around it. He hadn't expected the fox to be awake, as all of the lights in the house were still off. Sonic had no need to switch them back on as he knew exactly what the living room, as well as the rest of the house, looked like from top to bottom, allowing him to navigate the house without fear of bumping in to something, provided there was nothing out of place.

He headed up the stairs, to check on Tails before heading to bed. As he opened the fox's bedroom door, he whispered 'Tails? You awake?' He didn't expect a response, and not being able to see anything in the darkness masked the fox's physique except the sheets seemed to raise up slightly as if someone was there. So he walked to the side of the bed and felt the covers to shake the sleeping Tails.

His hand pushed down the empty sheets until they touched the mattress underneath. Confused and suddenly terrified, Sonic rushed over to the light switch and flicked them on. The sudden burst of lights temporarily blinded him as his eyes had long since adjusted to the darkness. Once he regained his vision, he looked around for any sign of Tails. When a sheet of paper on the bedside table caught his eye. Propped up on the lamp and folded in to a square, the small object sent fear and pain coursing through Sonic's body. Although he had only seen it in television shows and movies, he took a guess at what it said. Just to be sure, he reached over, picked up the paper and unfolded it as his lip began to tremble. It read:

Dear Sonic,

If you're reading this, then I've gone off to hopefully make everything better. I don't know when I'll come back, so it could be a while. If you really want to help me, then I've gone to Crateméro's Gorge. But this is something I think I need to do alone, so please don't come after me unless you really feel like you need to.

I overheard your conversation with Shadow. I heard about the part where I would be suffering a lot, so if you weren't telling me because you couldn't do it, then you don't need to worry. And in case you're wondering, I forgive you for it. I wouldn't be able to do it myself, so I would be a bit of a hypocrite in telling you off for not telling me. I suppose it would be very hard to tell your best friend that he's doomed to a life of torture. I figured that Crateméro's Gorge was the place to go because, in it's name, there's the word 'Crater'. I kind of thought of the meteor that struck in front of the house and the crater it left. I'm probably wrong, but it's our only lead to getting rid of whatever I have. I went alone because this is something I need to do. I've upset too many people because of it. Artemis, for instance. And in a sense, Amy. And everyone else. If it wasn't for this thing, I wouldn't have blown up Eggman's base, so we would never have fought at the gorge and everyone presumed us dead, so Amy wouldn't have gone berserk when she found out and no one would have stayed at home in fear of Eggman invading the streets. Another reason I want to do this alone is I need to learn to do things for myself more and take control of my life. When Shadow first attacked me, I realised that you can't always be there for me since you were too busy with Amy so I had to fight for myself, so I thought to myself that I need to learn to take care of myself as well as others, rather than letting you do that for me.

And I guess I should apologise while I have the chance. Remember that night, when I was attacked by the demon, or whatever it is? I didn't stay awake because I couldn't get to sleep. I stayed awake so I could pay you back for the hand in the bowl prank on the night before we went to see my father at the Conference. If it wasn't for me being so foolish and trying to get you back for it, you wouldn't be reading this and I wouldn't of written it in the first place. Instead, we would be sitting around, eating dinner, or fighting Eggman, or going on a holiday or doing things we had never done before or... I don't know. But we wouldn't be doing this. Me running off, leaving you to read this and wonder what's happening to me. But I would prefer you wondered than you be at my side. I don't know why though.

I hope to see you soon when this is all over.

Yours truly,

Miles Prower.

P.S. Look after Artemis for me while I'm gone. I don't know if I'll be coming back until I find out where I need to go, if I'm not right this time round.

A tear mark was next to the sign off, but Sonic couldn't figure out if it was his own or Tails'. He could feel his eyes swelling up, but he couldn't seem to recall any tears leaving his face. The sign off was the biggest blow to the hedgehog. The fact that Tails had used his real name meant that the fox had predicted something terrible would happen to him. But he didn't seem to mention it in the letter – surely he would have done so? I need to help him... I'm not gonna lose him now. Or ever, if I can help it. So, it looks like I'm off to the Gorge. It means more water, but that'll be nothing if I lose Tails. One other part of the letter stuck out to him. Note to self. Never prank him again. If that's what started this all off, then I need to remember never to do it again.

He set the note back on the table. Re-reading it would only cause him more pain. On his way out, he switched off the lights and rushed down the stairs to the front door and heading down the flight of stairs in front. Taking one last glance at the crater that still remained, thinking of what it had miraculously driven Tails to, he turned in the direction of Daetron's Canyon. The anguish filled him as he blasted away at absolute full speed, well past the sound barrier. The sonic boom shattered the night sky, sending a pulse throughout the leaves of the trees beyond and the trees bended backwards before swaying back to their original position. This, along with the sudden burst of loud noise, sent wildlife scattering around in every direction.

Tails walked across the edge of the Gorge. A large section of the side had collapsed, blocking the river flow. Water built up like a dam, having no open holes to pass through to the other side. But that wasn't what Tails was interested in. He was looking for some sort of cave or something of the sort. As he scanned the area, a revelation struck him. That dream that Sonic and Amy said I had had – it must have been another premonition! I remember now! I was looking around here and found the cave. Tails continued to walk across the edge, now more excited as to the fact he now knew what his target was.

After a few more moments, he spotted a gap in the cliff, where the walls of the Canyon had once stood, but were now strewn across the gorge. Tails twisted his appendages together and flew down towards the entrance. This is it. The end of this. No more getting angry, no more upsetting people...

He landed in front of the dark cave and walked in, trying to figure out where everything was. There was no source of light, so Tails took out the Chaos Emerald in a ditch effort. Despite it's low glow, it gave off a surprisingly good amount of light, just managing to show what was where. Stalactites littered the roof, while the occasional stalagmite stuck out from the ground. Tails used what little light he had to navigate through the cave. Now confident that this was the place he needed to go, his heart pounded against his chest as he reached closer to his goal.

After a minute of walking through the seemingly endless tunnel, Tails came to a turn. He followed it round and was dazzled by what he seen. It was a room, with a blue glow that seemed to have no source. The floor was flat and filled with tiles, while the ceiling was dominated by more stalactites. The walls were just as flat as the floor, but still rock. It was amazing that it was still intact – it looked centuries old. A large platform dominated the center, with exactly what Tails as looking for – a pedestal. Directly in the center of the platform.

Tails approached the pedestal with the Emerald still in his hand. His heart continued to batter his ribs as he had no idea what would happen once he placed the Emerald on there. All he hoped is that it did what he desired. He reached the side of the pedestal as the adrenaline continued to pump through his body. With shaking hands, Tails reached out to place the Chaos Emerald on top in the small indent. It fitted perfectly. Tails withdrew his hand and braced himself for something to happen.

Shadow stood on top of a dead tree, looking over the darkness of Angel Falls. With no leads as to where to go, and no idea on where to find out, he was utterly stumped.

A low boom shattered the night sky and snapped Shadow out of his trance. He looked around for the source, to see a very fast blue blur travelling across the meadows at supersonic speeds. Sonic... It's the middle of the night, where's he going? Shadow had a gut feeling that it had something to do with the investigation he was having, so decided that it would be wise to tail the hedgehog. He jumped down from the treetops and began to race towards the meadows, winding his way through the dense trees.

So... what now?

Tails stood motionless as he waited for something dramatic to happen. Was my theory wrong? Is it somewhere else I need to go to? Tails bit his lip. He hadn't expected to be right, but it was so real, with the pedestal that fits the Emerald perfectly. This place... It might be meant for something else? I wonder what... As his thoughts trailed off the matter at hand, the Emerald glowed suddenly more brightly. Catching Tails' attention immediately, it brought him back to reality. He watched with enthusiasm as it continued to get brighter and brighter. The Chaos Emerald rose up from the old stone pedestal and began to spin around very quickly as its glow continued to intensify.

After a few seconds, Tails began to feel dizzy, but it wasn't because of the Emerald. Nausea began to take him over and he fell to his knees. A rapidly increasing pain over whelmed him. And it felt like he was being crushed. Oh no... not again... please! He sprawled on the floor as the pain continued to over whelm him, squeezing his body as if he were a sponge being rinsed. This was something he hadn't expected. He squirmed around on the floor as the crushing pain intensified. He knew what was coming next. An event like that was unforgettable. As expected, the surges of white hot electricity pulsed once more throughout his body, adding to the pain. He curled up in to a ball as he tried to make the pain as painless as possible, even if it was no use.

As suddenly as the pain had come though, it stopped. Tails panted as he tried to regain his senses. Looking up at the pedestal he found the reason for this short but violent burst. A purple gas-like substance swirled around the Chaos Emerald. I... I did it! It's gone! All gone, all over. The substance began to form a shape next to Tails, leaving him between the pedestal and the creature. When it had finished taking form, it had once again adopted Tails' body. Facing away from him, it looked at its hands as if it had never had them before
.'So... So now what?' Tails said, still panting. 'Are you just gonna leave? Please. Just... Just leave. You've done enough to my life, so... So just leave us all alone. Go... Go back to where you came from.' Tails had no idea what he was saying, but he just wanted to go home. Although this would take a while. His body was now drained of energy, so he was left lying on the floor.

The creature let out a snicker, which turned into a maniacal laugh. At that, Tails knew that he had done something wrong. Horribly wrong. He had known Eggman long enough to know when he had been double crossed by the enemy. Maniacal laughs were a dead give away.
'Three... Thousand... Years,' it said in its deep voice as it turned to look at Tails, who was now quickly disintegrating into fear. 'Three thousand years I have waited for this. To walk on the ground once more, to feel the wind. To hear the birds sing as they dominate our skies. I must thank you Tails, for giving me this pleasure. And looking at how pathetic you look now, I can only guess that you have figured out what I really am.

'Allow me to fully introduce myself. Only, I will let you figure it out first. We will start off with my name. Tell me Tails, what was it I told you? Or rather, how you figured out you were to come here?' Tails' voice trembled as he spoke, but he spoke bravely nonetheless.
'I... Figured out that the word crater... Was in Crateméro's Gorge. I thought of the crater your meteor left behind and... thought of coming here.'
'Well done, you really are a clever kid,' the creature mocked Tails, knowing it was in the right position to do so without harm. But how could it be harmed anyway? 'However,' it continued 'there is just one problem. It wasn't you who figured it out. I told you. I fed it in to your mind, into your subconsciousness, to make it think it were you who thought it, not me telling you. Infact, it was your subconscious that told you to write the end of the letter you wrote to that hedgehog you call a brother. It predicted that, after I had fed it the information, something bad would happen to you. So it told you to say your full name rather than Tails. Anyway, I drew you here, my furry little -'
'Stop calling me that, or...' Tails blurted out. Even though he was furry, like almost everyone else on Mobius, he still felt it quite insulting.
'Or what? You're hardly in a position to be making threats to me. You have seen, you have felt and done what I can do. And that's not all of it. I can do so much more. More than you could ever dream of. Your friend, Shadow, is nothing compared to me. He's meant to be the 'Ultimate Life Form' am I correct? Hardly, if what I have learned from you is all he can do.

'So, we carry on with our acquaintance now. In the name 'Crateméro's', you did indeed find out one of the anagrams because of me. Although, I think I'll let you figure out the second. Let's see how smart the boy is, and I may give you a cookie. Presuming that is what you say to little children.' I'm not... oh, what's the use in arguing, I barely have enough energy to stand. But.. There's a second anagram? Tails thought through the letters, rearranging them in his head over and over again. Okay... Teméro... Camto... Oh what's the use there's too many possibilities, I'd be here all night. 'Can I get a clue?' Tails asked. In no fit shape to fight, he would just buy as much time as possible to wait for Sonic to rescue him. He would be eating his own words by going back on what he had said about taking care of himself, but anyone would agree it was the best thing to do.
'Heh, alright. A 'something' shower is predicted tonight.' Tails knew immediately what it was talking about, but just to be sure, he rearranged the letters. Metéor. It's definitely there, just take away the accent thing on the e, then you're left with meteor. Why didn't I see it before? 'Meteor. It's meteor. But what's this got to do with your name?' He could see why it had something to do with this unknown being, but no idea what it had to do with his name.
'All in due course, oh fluffy one.' Tails groaned, but didn't go beyond that. He slowly sat up against the pedestal, making himself more comfortable than lying on the floor. His legs were still shaking however.
'So, you figured out the anagram. And where exactly is the gorge placed?' This one was easy for Tails.
'Daetron's Canyon. But – wait.' The glowing yellow eyes watched him patiently as Tails put two and two together. 'Daetron's Canyon was presumed to have been named after someone. Was that someone...?'
'Me,' it finished off Tails' sentence. 'I am Daetron. The canyon was named after me, in the hope that in the future, the person I took over would figure it out how to get rid of me through the name of the gorge. And go there, to release themselves of me. This was cunningly thought out by my creators, but alas, when they died out, there was no trace of what or where the clues were. Well, almost all of them died.

'I guess I should tell you my history. You have been very helpful, so you deserve something in return. I was created three thousand years ago as a weapon against another ancient race, which they too are almost wiped out. Although they did last longer, they are now almost no more. I was created for the soul purpose to win a war. Although I was given the powers to wipe out thousands in seconds, I was more of a compromise object rather than a weapon of mass destruction. The people that created me were peaceful and did not wish for war. They hit fast and hard, but it wasn't their wish to claim lives for reasons such as disagreements.

'So I was created as a sort of threat. They decided to threaten the opposition with me, threaten them into a peaceful compromise, where both of them could live in harmony without arguments. My creation took several months of rituals and tests to make sure I was obedient and willing to do as I was told. Of course, as you can guess, I didn't. After I found out my true purpose, I discreetly changed. Like you, the people that had created me where smarter than most, so they passed on their intelligence to me. They could not feed me directly through food and drink, so, after much careful thinking, they would take it in turns to allow me to feed from their thoughts and emotions. Not only did this give me my intelligence, but unbeknownst to them, it gave me emotions, something that they had not planned or foreseen. Because of this, I felt emotions that were previously unavailable to me, and the emotions strived me on to decide that I must escape. Because I could remember these emotions and feel them, I could also watch their entire lives, from beginning to end, to find the key emotions that were necessary for power. So fear was a major one to be left out. I could watch and re-watch their entire lives in my head if I wanted to.

'And they could not see through me, could not see what I was plotting in my spare time, alone, in a specially designed cell that would stop me from leaving if I decided that I wanted to without their permission. Although I pretended to do as I was told to, I was also secretly planning my escape. I had the power to dominate the world with ease, so why didn't I do just that? I plotted out everything, hoping it would work. The two tribes were going to a neutral area, where they would exchange their terms and conditions on their alliance. My people were to take me with them, in case they needed to show my powers to them. That was when I decided I would turn on them, when I would break free from that dreaded cell and those continuous tests that seemed to repeat over and over and last for ever.' Tails could almost feel sorry for Daetron. No one, not even beings bent on World Domination deserved that sort of treatment.

'So it came to that day. As expected, they took me with them to the meeting. And, as expected, they asked me to demonstrate my powers on a near by boulder. So I struck everyone in the area. None died, but fatally wounded. I did not want to deal with the stress of killing them at that point. Oh, how wrong I was. They were ready. They did see through me. Like me, they gave the illusion that they were blinded from what the other was thinking. They did know what I was thinking, what I was planning. It turns out that they had made an alliance previously with the other people and had told them of my plans. So they agreed to work together and built this place. In secret, it was constructed in the side of the gorge. They planned out how they would get rid of me. At that time, I was already too powerful to be defeated. So instead, they planned on firing me in to the outer reaches of space in a meteor. They cleverly disguised the name of the gorge as an anagram, in the hope that when I returned in the future, the person I took over would find this place easily and remove me from them before I regained my power, as I said before. The canyon they named after me, as a last ditch effort. In the desert, they built a temple, holding the information. Their language was of course different from today's and therefore, the information was lost. Although, it seems that Shadow managed to translate it.

'As I was saying, they built this room. With the Chaos Emerald's energy flowing through the pedestal, they managed to create a way in removing me from my host. Without me knowing, they made a way that, when I would return, I would have to feed off of the thoughts of somebody else. So they activated this pedestal, connected to a meteor. When I attacked, they only just managed to react fast enough to seal me within it. I wiped out almost the entire civilisation. There was only a few remaining, including the leader. When he placed the Emerald on the pedestal, I was sucked in to the meteor and flung into space until I could return. What's more, I could only fly over every fifty years, along with the meteor shower that would occur at the same time.'

Tails took in everything, from start to finish. He had many burning questions on his mind about the story. 'So... if you were created by an ancient civilisation that had a different language to us, then how do you know how to speak English?'
'I learned it from you, from your thoughts. I'm a very fast learner, so your modern language was easy for me.'
'And... you said you didn't know what you are, but you do. Why did you lie?'
'To try to gain your trust. It is through your mind that I grow stronger. If you closed it off, I would have died. The only reason I didn't die in the meteor is because of a special form of hibernation that kept me alive. The stronger your emotions were, the more I fed, the more I grew stronger. And with a life like yours, it was a gold mine. Nothing but an emotional wreck. The pain from bullying, losing your parents, meeting Sonic and losing Cosmo, not to mention the injuries you suffered and I fixed them, the times you used my teleportation power, my strength – every time you used me added to my growth. All of them contributed to me standing here now. It should have taken me months, like it had last time, to grow this powerful, but it has taken me a matter of days. So again, I must thank you for being so kind as to letting me do so.' Tails couldn't believe it. He had literally fuelled a creature that was going to take over the world.

I just need to keep stalling, to wait for Sonic. Maybe he can defeat him, save the world once again. His legs still trembled, along with the rest of his body, reminding him of his next question.
'A few days ago, the pain I felt a minute ago... I felt it again. Why? And did it have something to do with destroying the house?'
'It had everything to do with the mess Prower. It was me, connecting to your thoughts and the preliminary feeding to gain enough energy to keep me going. Your life was so full of emotions that fuelled me so well, by the time I got to the happier ones, I was finished. It was not, as you had thought, the happy memories warding me off. It was just coincidental timing. The pain was me entering, and in the case of a minute ago, leaving, your mind. The first time it had happened, I had no idea what was going on myself, but now I realise what it was.'
'But then... what about the other people you had taken over? Didn't you know from them?' Tails remembered when it had first spoken earlier, saying it had waited three thousand years for him. What did that mean?
'That is the catch, and the biggest blow of all, hindering my plans for a whole three thousand years. I could not just enter any body at my will, or I would have conquered this world long ago. No, I was forced in to taking only one body. For three thousand years, I watched the planet for this one unfortunate person. I did not know how I would recognise him or her, but I knew something would stand out among the rest. I could feel it coming from you, and I knew from that moment that it was you that was singled out. The leader of the tribe picked you, of all people, to be the one that I would take as mine. You were marked throughout time, three thousand years before you were born.' Daetron's long answers were all that Tails needed. They gave him as much time as possible for Sonic to arrive. He just hoped that Daetron did not see this flaw in his monologuing.
'But why me?'
'Because you are the direct descendent of the leader. I do not know why he singled you out from the whole of the family tree, but he did do just that. You are the 'heir of the throne' as they call it.'
'So... That tribe... Were also two-tailed foxes?'
'He finally realises. Maybe there is hope for you yet, little one,' Tails frowned at the further insults, but was determined to keep the questions going. 'My physique is not based off of you, but the Kitnians' Leader. Coincidentally, he's the same size as you, giving the appearance that I look just like you. Well, almost,' he added, looking at the purple gas and thinking of the glowing yellow eyes that separated him from a look that was socially acceptable.
'So what was the other civilisation?' Tails asked. Come on Sonic...
'Why, isn't it obvious? What civilisation controlled – no, created the Chaos Emeralds? The Echidnas. Your friend Knuckles is the last of them. Ironic really. Both civilisations asked for a peaceful alliance after waging war, and their descendants turn out to be very close friends with absolutely no idea of what once happened.'
'What about those that survived, other than the leader? What happened to them?'
'They died when my meteor was sent in to space. It rose from the ground, sending rocks in every direction, landing on top of them. Minthos, the leader, was the only one that survived.'

Tails was, by now, running out of questions. But there was one more that nagged away at him. 'Why did you take control of my emotions then? What does that have to do with you growing more powerful if you're too busy controlling my life?' Daetron sniggered again at this accusation.
'Why, my dear Tails, that wasn't me. These 'mood swings' you have been having were your own.' Tails, however, shook his head slowly, growing in speed, his face turning into that of horror. It was unbelievable. So unbelievable, he would be a fool to believe it.
'No... you're lying... that isn't me, I don't lose control of myself, I don't... I just don't, I can't, I won't... IT WAS YOU, NOT ME!' Tails bellowed with all of his might, but his lack of energy forced him to collapse back on the pedestal behind him. His eyes began to stream steady tears as disbelief continued to flood his mind.
'You can deny it all you like foxy, but in the end, you know it's true. Your girlfriend, Cosmo, did more to your mind than you think. Your heart isn't so big because of it. It hit you harder than you could ever imagine, nothing even I can do would harm you so much, either mentally or physically. Also, I cannot touch your emotions, I cannot manipulate them, only grow from them. You know full well that your actions in Eggman's base were yours, not mine.

'If you don't believe me, then think back to when you first met your dear father after your birthday. When he told you of what the pain the roboticising had caused him, how it had almost separated your family for good. Then, your anger rose to the point where you did not even back down when you heard the fake thunder clap. That is pure hatred, not manipulation or simply losing control. To not feel fear from so much anger is hard, but not impossible. You were driven to the point of wanting to sink your teeth into his neck, or rip out his throat mercilessly – anything that would cause him pain beyond imagination. And think, had I met you then? No. That was you alone, you alone had burned away your kindness and... what was it that person on Earth called you? A pacifist wasn't it? Yes... You burned it all, threw it aside and left it to rot, just so you could have your revenge, or at least imagine it if you could not make it come true. The same at his base against the robot. You used my strength to show Eggman that you weren't playing with toys any more, but wanting to watch him burn, to watch him go to his grave at long last. And when you blew up the base too – the power used was a bit unnecessary, don't you think? And when you found out you had upset your little brother, don't you think you were over reacting? That anger, that hatred, that lust for absolute revenge is not the work of a demon. Nothing but the loss of your beloved Cosmo.

'But you can use it,' Daetron carried on. Here we go, manipulation games Tails thought to himself. Enough time fighting Eggman had taught him when to recognise such events. 'And I can teach you to control it. I am offering you something here Tails, something that no other living being would hear leave my imaginary lips. At the risk of sounding clichéd, will you join me? With you by my side, you could rule this world with me. You could punish those that caused you pain and suffering. The bullies, Doctor Eggman – and anyone else that you choose. You have been a great help to me, which is why I am giving you this once in a lifetime offer. But I suggest' the yellow eyes flared at these words, and the two tails behind Daetron waved around suddenly 'that you make the right decision.' Daetron already knew what the answer was, but he wondered what the fox's response would be anyway. Perhaps Tails would even change his mind and join him.

Tails finally found enough energy to climb to his feet. Slowly he did so, holding on to the pedestal for support. 'I will... Never join you... Revenge isn't everything. I learned that earlier, when I wrote that note to Sonic. And when I make a promise... I keep it. No matter what. Even if I have to suffer... I will keep my promises.' Tails remembered the silent promise he had made to Cosmo, to keep her safe no matter what. He had risked everything to escape from Shadow to keep that promise, but he would much rather do much worse than have the hedgehog chase him than break a promise that he had made to a friend.
'Very well,' Daetron said after a moment of silence filled only by Tails groaning from the strain. 'Goodbye, my furry little friend. Your life ends here and now.' In a blur, Daetron turned into a floating mist, rather than a physical being. He swarmed towards Tails before he could react, engulfing him in the thick purple smoke. He could feel himself moving, but could see nothing. Then he felt himself being smashed against something, most likely the wall. 'Goodbye Prower. Hope I never see you again.' Daetron had Tails pinned to the wall, hand clenched on his throat. With hardly enough energy to even stand up straight, Tails was helpless against the stranglehold. As Daetron's cold yellow eyes watched, Tails gasped desperately for air. He knew it took much longer than the movies made it out to die from lack of oxygen, but it wouldn't help much. Tails instinctively kicked out at the purple being infront of him, but with no success. Daetron let out his snigger, which was now starting to get on Tails' nerves. On the verge of death, and he's worrying about someone's laugh. He really was losing it.
'Ahh Tails. You forget what I'm made of, don't you? So long as I know what you are going to do, I can change my shape so all you're hitting is air.'

BANG! A collosal amount of force struck the side of his head, sending him flying in to the wall beside him, relinquishing Tails from the tight grip. He fell to the ground on all fours spluttering and coughing for air. When his heart had stopped hammering him from lack of oxygen, Tails looked up to see his saviour.
'S-Sonic?' It was indeed Sonic. But he looked different. Changed. His fur had gone a much darker shade of blue and an equally dark aura surrounded him. His eyes were in a V-shape, along with his teeth being bared and fists clenched tightly. Tails had never seen this side of Sonic before. He didn't even think that this side of Sonic even existed. Sure, he was a very juxtapositional character, but he had never gotten so angry as to physically change in all of Tails' memory.
'You dare harm another hair on Tails, and I'll tear you apart!' Sonic shouted, sending shivers down Tails' spine. That isn't Sonic... Daetron climbed to his feet, looking very disgruntled. Or he would if he had any eyelids or a mouth. A second, deafening bang echoed around the chamber as the sonic boom finally caught up with Sonic. Instinctively, Tails clasped his ears, mistaking it for thunder.
'This is new...' Daetron said when the effects of the boom had had on Tails had worn off. 'Losing your temper... To the point of physical change. In the three thousand years I have watched this pathetic planet, I have never seen anything like it. And it poses as a new challenge, which I am more than willing to accept.' Sonic didn't make any notion of agreeing, but just glared back with a look that would slice diamond clean in half.

Quicker than Sonic had ever gone before in such a small space, he lunged at Daetron with as much force as he could muster. His foot, however, made contact with the wall as Daetron turned into the floating gas once more and swerving around behind Sonic before returning to his normal shape.
'You know you can't harm me now that I know when you're going to attack. Back down now and I'll make your death quick and painless.' Not listening to the threat, Sonic withdrew his foot from the wall and begun to swing everything at Daetron. Instead of turning entirely into the gas, he merely just allowed parts of his body to do that. Sonic threw a punch at his head, which blasted apart and quickly reformed. A sweeping kick to try to trip up Daetron just went straight through the feet as they deformed and reformed. He tried a lightning-fast spin dash, but earned a collision with the wall as Daetron allowed him to pass right through him.
'Are you going to learn Sonic?' Daetron said as he regained the kitsune-like shape. 'You cannot harm me. Give up now and I may just spare you. May.' Sonic fell to the ground and turned to Daetron.
'Well maybe if you stood still, we wouldn't have this problem, would we?' Sonic retorted menacingly.

'Very well. Let's dance, Sonic the hedgehog.' Daetron and Sonic lunged at each other with incredible speed and clashed with extravagant force. Blow after blow was delivered from both parties. A crushing blow met Daetron's face, scattering his eyes into the air before reforming, but not before Sonic threw an uppercut towards Daetron's arm. He just managed to see this in time and caught the hedgehog's arm. Instead of doing anything fancy with it, he instead jumped over Sonic and used the twin tails as ropes to wrap around Sonic, securing his arms to his body. Daetron reached over his head to grapple Sonic's own. Sonic tried to struggle free, but it was no use. Daetron did an on-the-spot somersault, sending Sonic around with him. As he came down, Daetron landed hard on the hedgehog's back, crushing him against the ground. Sonic had reacted just quickly enough to turn his head to one side, avoiding breaking his nose. But it was still very painful.

Daetron swirled up into a mist and reformed to stand over Sonic. The hedgehog tried to stand up, but his opponent just stamped on him hard between the shoulder blades. Now immobile and in incredible pain, with Tails unable to help him, Sonic was defeated. He couldn't reach round far enough to grab the leg, or any other part of Daetron. And doing so would just cause him to disintegrate in his grasp anyway.
'You're out of your league here Sonic. Doctor Eggman is child's play compared to me. I was created by some of the most intelligent beings to have ever walked this world, so naturally I am flawless. Eggman may have a high IQ, whatever that is, but it's evident he doesn't use it if it was this easy to beat you.'
'I don't know who you are.. But you'll never win. Not as long as I'm breathing. And there's someone even better than me that's looking for you too. And that's if I don't beat you first.' Sonic continued to struggle. Although it didn't look much, the position he was in was almost unbreakable.
'So sorry, I forgot to tell you my name, allow me to introduce myself. I am Daetron. And this other person, is it Shadow? He does seem quite a formidable and resourceful opponent. I will enjoy wiping the floor with him. I thought that I would have done the same for you, but it seems you are much easier than Tails' memories tell me. Instead, I would be wiping you so hard, the floor would be coming with me.' Daetron was clearly one that loved to mock his opponents before and during making them suffer for their actions against him. It's a risky tactic, Sonic knew, as it sometimes angered the opponent to make irrational decisions and either turn the tables in their favour, or ruin their chance of winning. He knew this all too well from taunting Eggman for these past years.

Tails sat watching helplessly. He had only just regained his breath and still couldn't stand up properly. I need to do something... But what?! I don't... Wait. He mentioned using the Chaos Emerald on the pedestal to lock him in the meteor. But it's in there right now, so why isn't it working? I guess I could try attacking him with it, but will it work? It's our only chance I guess. I just need to... Tails tried to stand up, using the wall for support. He looked over at the fight. Good, no one noticed. Now to get over there without them noticing. Or falling over.

'If you're the second best this world has to offer as an uprising Sonic, then this world would be quite a bore once I take it over. Perhaps I will follow Shadow's advice and head for Earth too. I'm sure this Chris Thorndyke person would be thrilled to know it was you who was my first victim.' Daetron held Sonic in position as he tried to free himself, but with no success. 'This world will be mine. Ad there is nothing you can do to stop me. Seeing as you're going to be a pain by trying to halt my efforts, I think I'll end it before it starts. Say your prayers, hedgehog. Don't worry, I'll make it slow and painful.' With that, one of the tails rose up into the air and struck down like a snake on Sonic's throat. The purple tail wrapped around and engulfed his neck, quickly losing his ability to breathe. Sonic began to writhe, gasping for air. The dark aura disappeared and his fur turned back to its normal cobalt.
'Sonic!' Tails yelled out in despair, stumbling over as he watched the scene unfold. Daetron looked round at the fox now sprawled on the floor.
'I think I'll let him die in front of you before killing you.' His clutch on Sonic intensified as Sonic's eyes rolled up into the back of his head. Tails watched in fear, thinking there was nothing he could do. By the time he would be able to get to Daetron to pull him off, Sonic would be dead.

A yellow streak of light sliced clean through Daetron, smashing him in to the wall for the second time. As he disappeared in a cloud of smoke and rubble, three more streaks of yellow light soared from what looked like the roof and disappeared in the smoke as a fresh dose blasted out. Who..? Tails wondered as he watched helplessly at Sonic, spluttering for air like he was not a minute ago.

A thud next to him told him something, or someone, had landed next to him. Tails spun round to see Shadow down on one knee, clutching a second Chaos Emerald in his hand.
'Shadow... I think you need t-to push the Emerald in him.' Shadow looked at Tails and nodded, understanding the plan. Like Tails, he had no idea whether it would work, but it was worth a try nonetheless. Wasting no time, Shadow delved into the clearing smoke, Emerald outstretched infront of him. To be sent spiralling back out.
Shadow skidded across the floor, rolling over and over again as Daetron emerged from the debris.
'So, you're Shadow. You seem as if you know -' Daetron didn't finish his sentence as he had to dodge a spin dash from Sonic. Sonic landed on his feet on the wall, jumping off for another attempt at a kick to the face. At the same time, Shadow got to his feet and attempted the same thing. Predictably, Daetron spiralled into the air in a whirl of purple smoke and Sonic and Shadow collided with each other. The two of the fell to the ground, entangled in each other's arms and legs. Shadow had the urge to yell at Sonic as he pulled away from the dog pile, but seeing the current situation, it was hardly worth it. Sonic climbed to his feet, thinking the same thing, and instead set his mind on the task at hand.

In the blink of an eye, Daetron had disappeared. Everyone, wondering where he had gone to, looked around for him.
'Sonic, behind you!' Tails yelled. Sonic spun round to come face to face with Daetron, but before he could react at all, one of Daetron's tails reached over his shoulder and extended at a high speed to smash Sonic square in the face. Sonic was sent spiralling across the chamber and skidded across the ground, the back of his head colliding hard on the wall. The sound it made, a dull thud, made Tails jump. He didn't think that something that was usually seen in cartoons could become so real.

Shadow retaliated by throwing his fist, with the Emerald in it, at Daetron. Unfortunately, Daetron's other tail blocked it and quickly engulfed his arm, relinquishing Shadow's grip on the Emerald. Shadow struggled as he tried to release himself, but the gas-like substance snaked across his arm, reaching his elbow and now heading for his shoulder. As it did so, the grip strengthened, crushing his arm. Alright, think. Think! Wait, that's it! Shadow quickly realised what he had to do.

A large yellow blast emitted from inside the tail, rupturing it instantly. The shock wave knocked the Chaos Emerald on the pedestal flying towards Tails, landing infront of him as he tried to stand up again. Ooh, lucky me! Tails nabbed the Emerald and continued to try to stand up. Now to try my theory out. I just hope it works.

Daetron stumbled back from the shock wave as he tried to reform his tail.
'You are going to be fun,' he complimented the hedgehog, who took no notice and instead went straight into a chaos strike. His fist a yellow ball of light, he soard towards Daetron, who disappeared once more and Shadow made impact with one of the previous craters in the wall, causing a small amount of stalactites to fall from the ceiling. They crashed around the occupants, splattering across the floor. Luckily, only two or three actually fell, nowhere near anyone, leaving no one injured. Shadow withdrew his hand, looking around for Daetron. Where is – He felt a sudden sharp pain in the back of his head before being picked up and hurled to one side, landing next to Sonic. He, like the hedgehog next to him, lay unconscious.

Tails looked at Daetron in fear as he stared back with those menacingly yellow eyes.
'You know you've lost. You know that there is nothing you can do. Just curl up in the corner while I take care of these two, why don't you? These are the last moments of your life, so I suggest you do something useful with them by staying out of the way.' Oh, I'll do something helpful alright Tails thought to himself as a plan formed in his mind. He relied on the Emerald theory to work, or not only would he be defeated, but Sonic would be killed infront of him, followed by Shadow, and then himself. And then most likely the rest of the world. Not a pleasant thought to die with. Tails stood where he was as Daetron walked by. They exchanged a look of hatred, but did nothing.
'Good boy, you've made at least one good decision today, other than releasing me.' And that's what sparked him off. All of the anger came flooding back to Tails as he watched Daetron advance on the near lifeless hedgehogs. The past week's events flooded him like a broken dam. As he watched Daetron's tails strike down on the hedgehogs, his grip on the Chaos Emerald tightened and its glow intensified, as if it were reacting with his anger.

Without giving it a second thought, Tails lunged at the unsuspecting Daetron with as much force as he could muster, wanting to release all of his anger in this single blow. Chaos Emerald outstretched infront of him, he slammed into Daetron's back, forcing him spread-eagled against the wall, face planted in it and tails no longer touching the hedgehogs. The Emerald sunk into his back as Tails pushed it in as hard as he could with an electrifying sound. Even though it had already gone in, Tails carried on pushing, eyes tightly closed, waiting for something to happen.
'You will regret that Prower...' Tails opened his eye, fearing that his plan had not worked and that everything had gone down the drain. 'When I return, I will strike you with so much force, I won't need your pathetic life to live off. It will be from sheer strength alone. Argh!'

His plan had worked. It seemed as though Daetron was being sucked in to a vortex as his body was whisked away in the wind, the purple gas-like substance swirling around the pedestal with increasing speeds. Tails watched as he fell to his knees, glad this whole thing was finally over. The gas swirled into the air to the ceiling before being sucked back down into the pedestal and disappeared instantly. The Chaos Emerald lay at Tails' side. Picking it up, he rushed over to Sonic and Shadow immediately.
'Sonic? Sonic! Wake up!' He shook his brother's shoulders, trying to wake him up. There was no way he could carry both of them – he barely had enough strength to carry one, let alone himself. His legs were still shaking whenever he stood up, so lying on his knees was as far as he wanted to go. 'Sonic... Shadow... C'mon...' Tails sat back on his arms, legs and tails out infront of him, no idea what to do. He couldn't get either hedgehog to get up, leaving him helpless until one of them decided nap time was over.

BANG! Tails jumped as a stalactite landed directly between his tails, embedding itself in the floor. He scrounged backwards in shock, looking up at the ceiling to see what was going on. The ground began to shake and more stalactites fell from above, either spearing themselves into the floor, or breaking apart and scattering everywhere. One of the larger stone spikes split down the middle of the pedestal, sending even more bits flying in every direction. Tails covered his head as he rushed to the sides of the hedgehogs. C'mon wake up! WAKE UP! Tails panicked, frantically trying to figure out what he should do. Then it struck him. Chaos control... I need to, or all three of us are through. Tails grabbed the second Chaos Emerald in his free hand and placed one on either hedgehog. He tried to think of a safe spot outside, trying to make it as close as possible. He didn't dare try to go very far. 'Chaos control!' Tails yelled at the top of his lungs. The trio disappeared in a flash of blue just as a large boulder crushed their spot. The room continued to collapse on itself as the miniature earthquake carried on.

Tails landed on the side of Daetron's Canyon, next to the Tornado-2. This should be far enough.
'Urgh...' a voice said behind Tails. He spun round to see Sonic had come round, clutching his head. That reminded Tails of the bone-chilling thud it had caused on collision with the wall. 'Wha...?' Sonic said as he looked around bleakly at his surroundings. Before he could figure out where he was, Tails had wrapped himself around Sonic's throat, shivering from the amount of adrenaline coursing through his body.
'S-Sonic... We did it...' Tails said, sobbing into his shoulder. Sonic patted him on the back.
'It's okay Tails... It's over... It's... whoa' Sonic's world continued to spin around him. He was surprised that the impact hadn't caused a concussion. Tails continued to shake as he sobbed into his shoulder. Shadow begun to come round too.
'It's okay Tails, it's okay,' Sonic said as he tried to comfort the distraught fox. How'd we get out here anyway? Sonic thought to himself. Tails' clutch around his neck loosened, but he began to shake more violently. Bewildered, Sonic looked at Tails' feet, to find both emeralds lying there. Then it struck him.

Sonic quickly lay Tails on the ground to see the eyes normally full of life staring straight back at him, unable to move. His whole body was as rigid as a board. Sonic, remembering the last incident, nabbed both Chaos Emeralds. It was a good thing that this time, he knew exactly what to do instead of guessing. Placing both Emeralds on the white fur on Tails' chest, he concentrated on releasing the energy that the fox's body was desperately trying to release. The Chaos Emeralds gracefully worked their magic, as spouts of yellow energy began to erupt from Tails' body, being blown away in the wind as it did so. Tails' body began to slow down, relaxing. Shadow watched silently, wondering what exactly was going on, but daring not to ask, seeing it as an irrelevant piece of information.

The process only lasted a couple of unenjoyable seconds. Sonic's head was still spinning, but it was stable enough to be able to look at Tails without veering off to one side. He looked into the fox's eyes wondering if he would pull back to reality. Tails suddenly took in a deep breath as he was brought back to life. Sonic knew he was in need of medical attention now, but it wasn't so serious as to need to blast off faster than sound to get him to the nearest hospital.
'Thanks Sonic' Tails said in a croaky voice, smiling up at his big brother, who smiled back. Sonic rested Tails' head in his lap to keep him comfortable for the time being. 'Hey look,' Tails said. 'It's the meteor shower.' Everyone looked up to see streaks of light shoot across the night sky, which was now mostly cleared of clouds that had drifted along with the wind.

A deafening boom suddenly echoed throughout the Canyon's plains. Everyone looked for the source to find that Crateméro's Gorge had been blown to pieces by a giant black meteor as it soared upwards to meet with the other meteors. Shadow, thinking ahead, unclipped his golden restrainers to unleash his full power. Taking a running jump, he turned into one large streak of the golden Chaos energy, on a collision course with the meteor that held the monstrosity of Daetron.

He sliced through like a knife on butter. The meteor was blasted apart in the sky. The debris joined with that of the gorge below as large and small clumps of rock fell from the wreckage. Shadow wheeled round and landed soundlessly next to the restrainers before clipping them back on. He nodded at Sonic, who, although bewildered by the gesture, nodded back.
'We should get Tails to the hospital,' Sonic said as he looked down at the immobile kit on his lap.
'Wait, I wanna watch this first,' Tails said abruptly. Sonic chuckled. And I thought he had seen enough of these things to last him a lifetime. Guess he's eating his words.

The meteors came and went after what seemed about half an hour. No one knew for sure as none of them had a watch. Sonic picked up Tails and cradled him like a baby, seeing as it was probably the most comfortable position. They could have used Chaos Control with Shadow, but they decided against it, partly so Sonic could run (seeing has he had fully regained stability), partly because Tails couldn't trust Chaos Control that much anymore, but mostly because it was one of those times where you wanted to make the journey last for no reason in particular. As Sonic sprinted towards the city with Tails in his arms, the tired out fox had fallen asleep. His peaceful face was an unforgettable one, one that would always stick in your mind no matter where you went.

After many nights of staying up until 3 o'clock in the morning and usually beyond, I have finally completed this. I hope you're happy. :) (in case you haven't realised, this isn't the ending chapter :P One more to go!)