Here is the next chapter of the Homeless Two tailed fox we all know and love as Tails. Read and Review!
Chapter 4: Broken Spirit
"Ladies and gentlemen! Get ready to see the most spectacular one-sided fight ever to hit Westside Island. Hang Nail the jaguar vs. two tail. Who will win this most exciting event…as if you didn't already know. Line up by Silt and she will collect 5 bucks from each of you who wish to see the fight." Slips shouted in a rusty yet still active microphone. Many surrounding kids immediately gathered round the open field and awaited the arrival of the two competitors in question.
"You ready to do this two tail?" Hang Nail asked as he dragged the little fox by his tails toward the field.
"Yeah. I'm ready." Tails said in an unsure and shaky voice. Tails was taking a serious risk here. He didn't know whether to back down or not. 'No I can't. If I back down I'll just be proving to Hang Nail that I am a wimp. No more!' Tails shouted in his head. He wasn't going to let Hang Nail win. The jaguar pulled Tails toward the field and let him go. The rest of Tails' suspended body fell on to the grass. He quickly scrambled to his feet however. Hang Nail walked to the other end of the field and stood there, anxious to get started. Tails went to the other end, still feeling a bit shaky, never the less he wasn't going to back down.
"Let the battle between Hang Nail and Two Tail commence." Silt said out loud as she used Slips' rusty microphone to bang the also rusty golden bell. The crowd immediately started cheering.
"I told you to call me Tails!" Tails shouted taking his focus off of Hang Nail. The jaguar quickly used this to his advantage by charging at the fox and kicking him over the head. Tails fell to the ground hard then looked up to see the jaguar towering over him.
"I've got this battle in the bag." The jaguar sneered while drawing back a fist. Tails saw the punch coming and quickly rolled out of the way. He jumped off the ground and got into a crooked battle stance. Hang Nail didn't say anything. He immediately charged at Tails with both his arms spread out. Tails may not be a good fighter but he had incredible speed. Tails quickly dodged to the side when he saw the attack coming his way. Hang Nail skidded to a stop when he realized his target moved. "You're pretty good at dodging but that doesn't mean I can't hit you!" Hang Nail charged at Tails again but this time he picked up his feet in order to move faster.
"I'm not gonna give up!" Tails shouted again while jumping in the air. Hang Nail once again was taken by surprise when the fox jumped. Thinking quickly Tails slammed his foot against the jaguar's back. Hang Nail fell to the ground when the kick connected, leaving the fox standing on his back with a huge smile on his face. The crowd stopped their loud cheering as soon as they noticed Hang Nail on the ground.
"Heh heh…nice move kid…I guess this means I'm not going easy on you." Hang Nail sneered.
"Y-you've been going easy on me?" The fox said confused. He really had thought that Hang Nail was giving it his all. Unfortunately that wasn't the case. Hang Nail, without warning, shot his back straight up. The force sent Tails flying in the air. He tried spinning his tails as soon as he went in the air, however they just wouldn't fly right.
"Come on you stupid tails! Work! Work!" Tails shouted as he neared the ground. Hang Nail caught the fox by his extended tails as soon as he was close enough to the ground. The jaguar then began twirling the fox around and around. Tails tried to weasel out of Hang Nail's grasp but he had such a hard grip. Hang Nail twirled and twirled Tails around even faster. He did this for about 2 minutes before stopping and launching the fox in the air again. Tails didn't even try to fly this time. He knew with the luck he has on this planet that he would get the same result. Tails had just given up on flying.
"Now it's time to play my favorite game!" Hang Nail shouted while drawing his fist back at the fox who was nearing his body. "And that game is called punch out the fox!" The jaguar shot out a huge punch at Tails' stomach. The punch almost completely knocked the wind out of Tails. The fox flew in the air again and actually landed on the ground this time. The crowd went silent again than immediately started cheering again. Hang Nail stared at the fox and smiled. He knew the fox gave it HIS all and he was still able to be defeated. The jaguar turned to face the crowd. "Thank you, thank you." Hang Nail said while proceeding to walk off the field. Before he could get all the way off, however, something grabbed his leg. He looked down and saw the fox holding on to his foot.
"It's not over." Tails said in a weak voice. The last punch was now creating a huge pain in his stomach. Even so, Tails could still fight. Hang Nail just took out one area on the fox's body, not his whole body. Hang Nail looked at him surprised. The crowd stopped cheering again at the sight of the still active fox. Tails got off the ground very slowly while clutching his stomach.
"So…I guess you still have some fight left in…" Hang Nail started before Tails punched him square in the nose. The jaguar was taken by a huge amount of surprise and began to fall backward. Everyone gasped at this scene. Thinking ever so fast Tails ran behind the bully and kicked him in the back, which knocked him forward. He then ran to the other side and punched him in the stomach. Tails repeated this process for about 3 minutes before he literally knocked the jaguar off his feet. Hang Nail fell to the ground on his back looking more confused then hurt. Tails stood there looking down at Hang Nail confused as well. Everyone stood there in complete shock. Hang Nail was knocked down by a 4-year-old fox.
"HA! Take that Prissy!" Tails shouted out Hang Nail's real name. Another minute passed by before everyone burst out in laughter. Even Slips and Silt, who already knew Hang Nail's real name, burst out in laughter. Hang Nail's eyes widened as soon as he heard that name. Tails stood there with a proud smirk on his face. He did it! He actually beat Hang Nail! The fox couldn't believe it! Tails joined everyone else in laughter.
"STOP LAUGHING! ALL OF YOU!" Shouted Hang Nail in a scary and demonic voice. Everyone immediately stopped laughing at the sound of the fear-striking shout. Tails stood there and watched as Hang Nail got off the ground. Tails saw the complete and total sense of anger in the jaguar's eyes. The terrified fox took a couple of steps back as the jaguar approached him. "NO ONE CALLS ME BY MY REAL NAME AND GETS AWAY WITH IT! THIS TIME YOU'LL END UP WITH A LOT MORE THAN PINECONES JAMMED IN YOUR MOUTH!" The Jaguar launched himself in the air and spun around rapidly. He then slammed his whole body in to the ground and shot a huge gust of wind at Tails. The wind surrounded him and turned into a small tornado. Tails stood there for a while wondering why the wind wasn't strong enough to lift his body off the ground but still looked fierce enough to. Everyone outside the tornado watched as Hang Nail charged at the tornado, completely confused about what was happening. "This is a technique I made call the TORNADO OF THE CAT SPOTTED WIND!" The jaguar jumped into the tornado and began swirling around with the wind.
"W-what's going on?" Tails looked around looking for signs of Hang Nail anywhere. He couldn't spot him however. All of a sudden he felt a sharp pain in his back. Tails fell forward but stood his ground. That was when he felt another pain in his stomach. Tails fell back this time and got hit 3 more times. The kids all stared at the tornado and listened to the sound of Tails crying out in pain. After 6 more minutes of this the wind disappeared. Hang Nail jumped from the area where Tails stood and landed in front of the crowd. The kids watched as Tails stood there with his back turned from the crowd. He had many bruised parts on his body that would soon become more visible later on and he looked like he was wobbling.
"I guess now we know who really won." Hang Nail said. Almost immediately after he said that Tails fell forward on to the ground. The crowd started cheering again. Hang Nail walked over to the fox that was lying on the ground in pain. He then kneeled down to face him. "I win two tail." The jaguar snarled at him.
"N-no…not fair…" Tails mumbled while he struggled to get up.
"You just don't quit do you?" Hang Nail asked while slamming his foot down on Tail's back. Tails murmured in pain as Hang Nail increased the pressure on his foot.
"I…I won't quit…ever." Tails said.
"Oh please! You'll never be able to beat me, and you know why? It's because you're a homeless two tailed freak!" Hang Nail lifted his foot and slammed it on Tails' back again. Tails cried out in tremendous pain. Hang Nail took his foot off the fox's back. Tails lied there for a second before he tried to get up again. "Why don't you just quit?" Hang Nail said clearly frustrated.
"Because…because Sonic said that I could be strong enough too…"
"Ha! Is he the one who told you to come down here and face me?"
"Yeah, what does that have to do with anything?" Tails asked while staggering to his feet. He wobbled a bit but managed to hold his ground.
"Don't you get it? He filled your head with all this false hope that you could actually beat me. Then he sent you down here to get beaten to a pulp. He played you like a violin and sent you here for me to beat you like a drum. He never liked you, and why would he? He's too cool to hang out with the likes of you. Face it, you're better off dead!"
"No…no…I don't believe you…I…I……I knew he had to be pretending to like me. No one ever likes me." Tails turned to run toward the other end of the island. Every step he took put a huge amount of searing pain in his body. He ignored it however. He was going to make the pain stop the only way he knew how.
MeanwhileSonic had awakened to see that Tails wasn't there. He left the biplane to look for him in the forest. It was weird. Sonic just came here for a vacation and he ended up meeting this amazing young two tailed fox. He didn't know why but he felt like he had a special bond with this kid, and he had only known him for a day. Since Tails wasn't here right now he would take it upon himself to get him the chilidog he promised the fox. That was when Sonic suddenly saw an orange blur pass by. He recognized that blur somehow. Sonic ran toward the area he saw the blur pass by and turned to look.
"Tails?" Sonic said before he raced after it.
At the edge of the islandTails ran up toward the edge of the cliff and looked down at the ocean. He stared at the waves crashing against the sharp, jagged rocks at the bottom. He sighed in frustration. Even his death couldn't be painless. Tails started to cry as he prepared himself to do this.
"I'm coming mommy and daddy." Tails mumbled as he spread out his arms and began to step off the cliff.
"Tails! What are you doing?" Sonic ran up to him and grabbed his arm.
"I'm going to live with my mommy and daddy in heaven." Tails said through his tears.
"What! You can't do that Tails!" Sonic said while tugging his arm.
"Let go. Please. I want this pain to stop."
"Tails. I can help you…"
" No you can't…because…it's all your fault!" Tails' crying increased.
"What?"
"You're the one who told me to go fight those bullies. I did and I lost bad."
"…Tails I told you to stick up for yourself, not to fight the bullies. Sticking up for yourself doesn't mean to fight, it means to walk away when someone is bothering you or to try and earn your respect by not fighting. Don't you understand?" Sonic tried to consul the fox.
"…But…"
"I can help you get through this Tails."
"…Hang Nail said that I was better off dead…he's right…I'm worthless to the world…"
"You're way to young to be saying that! You're 4-years-old and you were able to survive out here by yourself for 2 years! Plus you have an extended vocabulary and tremendous speed. You're gifted. Don't you realize that? If you kill yourself you're letting those bullies win." Sonic said.
"…"
"I know you don't want to do this. I bet you could even turn out to be as famous as I am, maybe more. But in order for you to earn any respect anywhere on Mobius…your gonna have to trust me. Don't kill yourself because some bully says you're worthless."
"…"
"So, what do you say." Sonic was really trying his hardest to convince this kid. He had such special talents at such a young age. He can't throw it all away because some bastard said he was better off dead. Sonic stared at Tails and watched, as he did nothing. Sonic wondered what the fox was thinking. Did he convince him? Suddenly Tails squirmed out of Sonic's grasp. Before the hedgehog could do anything Tails jumped off the cliff. "Tails!" Sonic shouted as he watched the fox fall toward the ocean. He immediately turned away, not wanting to see the result, and fell to his knees. "Tails." Sonic mumbled as he began to sulk.
"Yes." Said a familiar voice. Sonic's ears perked up when he heard it. He looked up and saw Tails hovering over the edge of the cliff with his tails spinning rapidly.
"Tails!" Sonic grabbed the fox and pulled him into a huge bear hug. "Tails! You…you're flying! Were you really practicing on your flying the whole time…or were you really planning to jump?" Sonic asked while pulling Tails out of the bear hug.
"I was really going to jump…but than I realized you were right. I shouldn't kill myself just because some bully made me sad. So when you convinced me to live I jumped off the cliff to see if I could fly right this time." Tails explained.
"…So you jumped off a cliff, knowing you'd probably die, just to see if you could fly right?" Sonic asked while raising his eyebrow.
"Yup." Tails merely said.
"…You're becoming more like me by the second you little rascal." Sonic said while giving the fox a noogie. Tails let him do it, knowing he was playing around. That was when Tails felt a huge pain in his tails. The fox winced in pain and fell to the ground. "Tails, are you alright? Did I hurt you?" Sonic asked worriedly.
"No…I'm fine…it's just that…Hang Nail really beat me up and I guess the pain also went to my tails. So does what you said mean we are friends?" Tails asked changing the subject. Sonic smiled and gave him a thumbs up.
"Best friends buddy." Sonic reassured. Tails immediately got a huge gleam in his eyes.
"I…I…I…I…I…h-have a best f-friend. I CAN'T BELIEVE IT! I'M BEST FRIENDS WITH SONIC THE HEDGEHOG!" Tails shouted while jumping up and down. He felt the pain coming back again so he immediately stopped then looked at Sonic. He had to make it up to him somehow, and he knew exactly how.
"Okay, okay, calm down. How about we go get you that chilidog now, huh." Sonic said getting up. 'Amazing. The kid had just gotten beaten to a pulp and was still able to move around. However he was beaten up pretty bad. I should probably get him some medical attention…after we get our chilidogs of course.' Sonic thought.
"Actually Sonic, I was wondering if you'd wait for me at the restaurant." Tails said while calming down.
"Uh…sure…but why?" Sonic asked while turning to face the fox.
"I need to go…take care of something." Tails merely said, clearly showing he was hiding something. Sonic raised another eyebrow than slowly nodded.
"Sure…"
"Oh and uh Sonic…I kind of need..." Tails said while fiddling with his hands behind his back. He sure hoped this friendship wouldn't end because of what he was about to ask. Tails summoned up all his courage then opened his mouth to tell Sonic.
"I need 200 dollars!" Tails shouted than smiled brightly.
"…"
"You do have 200 dollars with you don't you?"
"…"
"Sonic?"
"…W-well…I do…but…it's all the money I have with me…and…oh screw it. Sure I can give you 200 bucks." Sonic said in an unsure voice. After all he didn't want to re awaken this kid's sadness by refusing to give him money. Still unsure of what Tails' was planning on doing he ran toward his biplane than jetted back toward Tail's with the money in hand. He gave the young fox the money and smiled. "You satisfied?" Sonic asked.
"Uh huh. Don't worry Sonic I'll spend the money good. I'll spend it real good, you'll see." Tails said.
"Okay, meet me at the restaurant when you're done doing…whatever you're doing." Sonic turned to run to the restaurant. He didn't know if it was smart to give all his money to a 4-year-old, even if he was a little mature for his age. Oh well, he wouldn't have given Tails the money if he didn't trust him.
"Now I can help Sonic, just like he helped me." Tails took the money and headed for the hardware store.
LaterTails gathered about 3 cans of paint and a kit of hardware tools from the store shelves and ran up to the man at the counter feeling as happy as ever. He dragged 2 heavy cans by his arms across the floor and used his tails to carry the other can and the tool kit. He went up to the clerk than put the cans and the kit on the assembly line. On Westside Island 1 can of paint only cost 50 bucks and a tool kit cost 50 also. He didn't know why they put them at that price but he didn't really care. What they did was up to them.
"Excuse me mister. I would like to buy this paint." Tails said in a voice that made it seem as though the cliff accident never even happened. The clerk stood there reading the paper then looked down at the fox.
"You talking to me?" The clerk asked while setting the paper down and giving Tails a cold stare. The fox all of a sudden felt uncomfortable, as he has many times before.
"Y-yeah…I was hoping to buy…" Tails started.
"Wait a minute, I know who you are. You're that homeless two-tailed freak! Get out of my store! I know you don't have any money." The clerk said than grabbed a broom that was sitting in the corner and raised it over the fox's head.
"WAIT! I do have money! I've got 200 bucks see." Tails held up the money, which the clerk immediately snatched away. The clerk looked at the money and examined it.
"Amazing." He said while flipping through the two 100 dollar bills. Tails used his tails to grab a can of paint and a tool kit then grabbed the other two cans of paint with his hands. He took them off the counter and the weight caused them to drop to the floor. Tails then proceeded to drag them out the store.
"Well I guess I can go now huh." Tails said in a struggling voice.
"Hold it! I didn't say you could leave. For a non-freak it would cost 200 bucks, but for freaks it will cost twice as much." The clerk said. Tails turned to face the man looking extremely surprised.
"But…that's not fair." Tails said.
"It's my store, so I choose how much you pay." The clerk said while putting the 200 bucks in the cash register.
"Ummmm…" Tails had to think of something fast. He then got an idea. "Hey I think I saw someone drop a 100 dollar Mobian bill at the back of the store.
"Really?" The clerk got from behind the register than ran toward the back of the store. Tails immediately ran out, or at least tried to with the paint and tools he had. After Tails left he immediately headed for the beach. The huge amount of pain he was still feeling from the after effects of the battle he had with Hang Nail didn't help the fact that he had to drag 3 cans of paint and a tool kit a quarter of a mile toward the beach. Even though he'd be soar when he got there, he wasn't going to give up.
30 minutes later
Tails had just reached the beach. He saw the biplane sitting there and immediately ran over toward it. Luckily the plane wasn't bent out of shape when it crashed. That means there was probably less to fix. Tails had always practiced fixing things when he found old broken household appliances lying on the street. He knew the people were trying to throw them out so he decided to try and fix them. He was amazingly able to fix everything he got his hands on. He didn't know how or why but he could just do it. He always thought that made him even more of a freak but now that was all behind him. He was going to use his fixing ability to tune up his hardest challenge yet, Sonic's biplane.
2 hours later at the restaurant
Sonic had been sitting at the table of the restaurant for 2 hours and 30 minutes while waiting for Tails. He wondered what was so important for that fox to be doing. He processed this for about a minute before he fell asleep on the table.
"Hey Sonic!" Tails shouted through the whole restaurant, getting everyone's attention including the restaurant owner. Sonic lifted his head up and saw a dirty and oil covered fox coming close toward him.
"Hey Tails. What happened to you?" Sonic asked. Tails walked over in slight pain and sat down next to him.
"It's a secret." Tails said before a frying pan slammed on the table they were sitting at, which scared the hell out of both of them. They looked up and saw the owner with an angry look on his face.
"Is this fox bothering you Mr. Hedgehog." The owner asked. Everyone in the restaurant was watching the scene now. Sonic and Tails sat there and stared at the obviously ticked off man.
"No he wasn't. Actually we were just about to get some chilidogs…for free. You do remember our deal right? A free chilidog for every autograph I signed." Sonic said. The owner looked a bit shocked, as well as the rest of the restaurant. "Well, what are you waiting for? Chop chop!" Sonic demanded.
"Y-yes sir." The owner then ran off to the kitchen. Sonic than turned his attention back to Tails.
"I hope you're hungry little buddy." Sonic said.
"Yup! Sure am." Tails said with his mouth watering. All of a sudden the door slammed open. Sonic and Tails immediately turned to look at the trio that entered the restaurant. All three of them had an unwelcoming and angry look on their face. Tails recognized one of them immediately. "Oh no! It's the hardware store clerk!" Tails shouted than covered his mouth, realizing the clerk would remember his voice. It didn't work however. The clerk turned than walked over to Sonic and Tails.
"You! There was no 100-dollar Mobian bill back there! I called the police after I realized that and told them that you didn't pay the 200 dollars you owe me." The clerk said lowering the price to 200 again realizing if he said 400 then the two police officers would know that was an unfair rip off. The two officers approached Tails with a horrible look of anger on their face.
"Do you know what we do to people who break the law by stealing around here?" One of the cops said.
"Please officers, I did pay the 200 dollars. He increased the price by 200 as soon as I gave it to him though." Tails said in a pleading voice. The second police officer grabbed Tails by the head then picked him up so they could meet face to face.
"We also hate people who tell fibs to avoid confrontation." Said they second cop.
"But I'm telling the truth. I paid 200 dollars." Tails said.
"He's telling the truth. He did pay 200 dollars." Sonic said. Everyone immediately shot confused looks at the hedgehog. Tails sighed in relief when Sonic said that. Surly they would believe him.
"Oh come on Sonic. Even you can't believe this two-tailed freak. We all know he's poor and couldn't possibly get his hands on that kind of money…" The clerk started before Sonic hopped on his chest. The clerk was taken back by Sonic's course of action and he almost fell over. Sonic then grabbed the man's collar on his shirt and pulled his face closer to his.
"Oh I do believe him because I'm the one who gave him the money. So I'd appreciate it if you didn't lie to my face. Unless you think you're strong enough to face me." Sonic smirked.
"Uh…no thank you…back down boys." The clerk said. The police officer immediately dropped Tails back in the seat.
"Thank you." Sonic said while jumping back in his seat as well. The police officers sneered at Tails again before exiting the restaurant.
"Wow! Thanks again Sonic." Tails said as the two chilidogs arrived.
"Don't worry about it Tails. That's what friends are for." Sonic said while picking up his chilidog and taking a huge bite out of it. Tails immediately did the same. He could diffidently get used to this.
There you go. Review this chapter and tell me how you liked it. I will make sure I update again very soon.