Journal
As strong as you think you are, do not ever charge into battle. Assume your opponent is stronger than you. Gather information before acting. If you think you know your enemy, you may be surprised.
Tails flew quickly and worriedly through the sky, with only half a plan of what he will do when he reached his destination.
"I'll hide," he told himself again. "I'll hide and listen to their plans." But how will he hide? Once again, Tails wished that he had the power to become invisible. However, his kitsune status only gave him elemental abilities. The next best thing would be to fly and hide in a cloud. But Tails would need two of his tails to fly and to manipulate the water vapor to his exact needs, and kitsune power was strictly one element at a time. "Curse these restrictions!" the frustrated kitsune growled. "I am the most powerful being alive, and yet I still face difficult challenges..."
Looking down, Tails saw that he had arrived at his destination: the ruins of Robotnik's lab. He hovered high in the sky, taking in the scene. Robotnik's facility was in the exact state as Tails' own lab, but there was less debris as Robotnik's lab was much smaller than Tails' lab. Surveying the area, Tails noticed not two, not three, but nine dragons-purple, green, gold, red, orange, blue, white, grey, and black-sitting around a round man amongst the wreckage.
"So they survived," Tails grumbled with a needle of disappointment poking his heart. "And now they have friends." This scene worried him. If seven more dragons successfully came through to Robotnik from their original dimension, then how many more could come? "I need to know what they're saying," Tails decided.
He landed quietly behind a pile of rubble near the group of dragons and Robotnik. Then the kitsune flicked his first tail roughly. A heap of scrap metal far from him rattled as chunks mysteriously began sliding down the pile. The sound of metal scraping and clanging against other metal disrupted the dragons, and they covered their ears and closed their eyes in sick disgust.
Tails used these seconds of blindness to sneak closer to the dragons. When he was within hearing range, Tails lay flat on his stomach in the grass and waved his fourth tail. Instantly, a net of soft grass grew around him and encased him. From only a small distance, the kitsune appeared to be an uneven spot in the field. It was the perfect disguise.
The dragons recovered their senses when the metal finally settled itself again and they sat in silence. Finally, Robotnik spoke.
"As I was saying, I am very glad to see that all of you are here. Although, it is unfortunate that one did not make it."
"Yes," the purple dragon cut in. Her voice was strong, commanding, and smooth, like that of a woman, not a dragon. She must be the leader, Tails thought.
The purple dragon stood and looked over her scaly companions. "Your leader, Jazik, perished as he passed through the portal. Maybe he was just old, but the force was too much for him. May Jazik rest in peace."
The dragons bowed their heads respectfully.
"As your second-in-command, I will assume the role of leader," the purple dragon said.
"Hail Lady Jaida!" the dragons cheered. Judging by their voices, Tails guessed that the other eight dragons were male.
"Now, hold on a second." Robotnik's voice reached Tails' ears. "You are moving too fast. Think about this. Jaida is an unseasoned leader in a strange new world. I, on the other hand, have been a leader on this planet for my entire lifetime."
Liar, Tails thought acidly.
"Don't you think that you will be much better off under my command?"
As Tails listened to the dragons grumble thoughtfully about this proposal, a female voice-the purple dragon, Jaida-cleared her throat. "Robotnik, that is a very generous offer," she said warmly. She put her arm around the doctor, smiling. Her dragon fangs made the smile look more like a scowl. "I am sure we will have a great time under your rule."
"Oh ho ho! That is the right choice, Jaida! Good, good!" Robotnik said gleefully.
"Ah, but I think we dragons will have an even greater time under my rule. After all, my first order of business is to kill you." Jaida's smile became a growl as she clawed Robotnik, spun him around, and slammed his face into a metal panel protruding from the soil. As she let go, Robotnik slumped to the ground. He turned himself over and looked at Jaida.
"I did nothing wrong! Don't kill me!" Ivorald pleaded.
"WRONG!" Jaida hissed. She fingered Robotnik's chin with her razor-sharp claws. Robotnik gulped.
"I know you killed Jazik," Jaida said. "You killed him in the portal, cutting the power before he came all the way through. You hoped to rule over the dragons and USE US to conquer this world." Jaida snarled and scratched Robotnik across the face. "Dragons are not that stupid, you fool!"
"I'm sorry! You can rule and I'll be your loyal subject, honest!" Ivorald cried.
Jaida laughed maliciously. "Did you know that every dragon has a special talent, Doctor?" she asked. "We each have a special ability, power, or feature that defines us. If you pay attention you will learn my power." Jaida raised Robotnik's hand and kissed it softly. "My special talent, my defining ability, is poison," she whispered. Then Jaida roared, and two thick, three-inch fangs lodged into Robotnik's bare hand.
The doctor screamed.
He screamed and screamed, cry after anguished cry. It was Tails' turn to flatten his ears and shut his eyes in silent horror. Robotnik kept up his bloodcurdling howl of pain as Jaida's venom spread slowly and excruciatingly throughout his body. The cry traveled through Tails' covered ears without much difficulty. The sound traveled from the ear through Tails' body and resonated deep in his soul. It stung his ears and sent shivers all about the kitsune, making him want to scream as well.
"Music to my ears," Jaida commented with a sadistic laugh as Robotnik's cry faded into a whimper. "Now, let's hunt. One cannot plan world domination on an empty stomach." As Jaida spread her wings, the other eight did the same. They flew after her in a V-formation, like hideous, scaly birds.
As soon as Tails was sure they were gone, he scrambled from his hiding place and knelt beside Robotnik. His nemesis was green, turning pale. Tails knew what he had to do.
Very gently, Tails lifted his eighth tail and brushed it over Robotnik's hand. His tail began to glow a soft white, unlike the blinding fur of the Chaos power. The pain on Robotnik's face eased, but Tails flinched when Jaida's venom exited the wound and touched his tail, burning more than any fire. It startled Tails out of his healing magic and Robotnik groaned as the pain returned.
Taking a deep breath, the kitsune activated his eighth tail again. Instead of returning it to the hand wound, however, he waved it in front of the half-conscious doctor. Tails felt dread weigh him down when he saw the extent of the poison's flow. It had almost reached Ivorald's heart and brain.
"Wh...Why did you stop..." Robotnik coughed.
"Ivorald, I'm sorry. The poison has spread to far... I can't help you."
Robotnik said nothing, but heaved a shaky sigh. Tails looked away from him. Sure, he was Tails' strongest nemesis. But the kitsune had never really hated the doctor. All Robotnik wanted was fame. Although he made a wrong turn to find it, Tails believed Robotnik had it in him to change. The two could've been partners...
But Robotnik was as good as dead now.
"T-T..." Ivorald stuttered.
Tails looked back at him questioningly.
"I... I w-wanted to r-r-rule this world... Not d-des-destroy it..."
Tails leaned in closer to Ivorald, as his voice was fading.
"Those dragons w-were a mistake. They'll... They'll kill everyone..! I didn't... I didn't want that..." Ivorald coughed hard, then drew a frail, trembling breath. "Save the world, Tails," he whispered. "S-save it from me."
"I will, Ivorald. I will right this mistake. I promise you," Tails told the doctor. "I won't let you down."
Robotnik seemed satisfied by this, for he sighed deeply and closed his eyes. He was gone.
After checking Robotnik's pulse to be sure, the kitsune stood and backed away from him. He deserves some kind of burial... I'll cremate him, Tails thought. A flick of his fifth tail set it on fire. He was about to set the body ablaze when an enormous roar shook the land.
"IT'S THE KITSUNE! KILL HIM!"
Tails cursed silently. I should've been more careful... The kitsune pointed two fingers at Robotnik. A thin stream of flames shot fourth from his fingers and, upon contact with the body, spread quickly. Then Tails whirled his second tail and sped through the debris as the putrid stench of burning flesh filled the air.
He could hear the dragons struggling to catch up, beating their wings to gain more speed. Tails was already going at a breakneck pace, but he pushed himself harder. I have to get away, lose them, he thought. But how? Where will I go... He glanced upward at the sky. Some of the clouds he had gathered during his rage were still floating about. Perfect. The kitsune pushed off the ground and zoomed toward the clouds, disappearing into the thickest one. He picked up the faint fap, fap, fap of leathery wings as he flew complicated patterns in the large cloud.
As the noise grew louder, Tails could tell that dragons entered the large cloud with him. The kitsune then flew forward, exiting the cloud and entering another. He couldn't tell if the dragons were following, but whenever he heard the fap, fap of the dragons' wings he did his best to fly away from it.
Another angry roar echoed across the sky. If they keep that up I'll be deaf, Tails thought with a twinge of annoyance. Then, suddenly, all the clouds dispersed and Tails was left exposed in the sky. "What the?" he cried out in surprise. Then he noticed the grey dragon hovering in the air with his wings and glowing blue eyes. The clouds seemed to be heading toward him and disappearing into him... He's absorbing them! Tails realized in awe. Incredible...
Tails knew he needed a new tactic as soon as the dragons saw him. A dangerous, risky idea popped into his head and the kitsune gathered the winds and rocketed down towards earth. The speed of his plummet brought tears to his eyes but he did not slow down. The ground was rushing upward very quickly to meet him. But Tails could tell his plan was working as he noticed that the dragons had pulled into the dive with him.
At the last possible second, Tails pulled the winds around him and created an air cushion. He stopped inches from gravel and quickly flew off again, level with the ground, the satisfying CRUNCH of crashing dragons reaching his ears. Tails slowed down, but sped up again when he looked back and saw that three dragons-Jaida, the gold dragon, and the blue dragon-tailing him closely. They avoided the crash!
Time to change tactics, Tails thought. But before he zipped away, a green, scaly claw protruded from the ground suddenly and grasped Tails' leg tightly. The kitsune stopped flying and fell to the ground. He struggled to free himself as the others drew closer, but unfortunately Tails wasn't very strong physically.
As Jaida and the other two came closer, Tails swept his sixth tail across the dirt. As the tail became activated, the rocks and soil mimicked the movement and hurled itself at the oncoming reptiles, raining rocks on them and lodging dust in their eyes. The dragons were temporarily blinded. Tails raised a particularly large rock and dropped it on the green arm holding him, and it quickly unclasped. Then the kitsune used his earth powers to push the dirt under his feet forward, and he took off, speeding away from the dragons.
Tails glanced back and saw that the gold dragon, blue dragon, and Jaida were still coming. He also realized where his current path was taking him: his workshop. Another idea formed in his head. As he neared the cliff, Tails veered off the main path and onto the rocks, toward the edge of the cliff. Then, at full speed, he shot off the edge toward the ocean below.
Falling, he flicked his third tail. The water rose up and caught him a pillow. Air bubbles below the surface of the water rose and formed a helmet of air around the kitsune's head. He whirled his tails like a rudder which did two things: it moved him like a submarine, and at the same time, the activated, spinning third tail formed a strong current to push him.
He didn't really care where he was going at this point. Tails just wanted to lose the dragons. When I lose them, I can't go back to the city, he realized. What then...?
Don't think about that now! Worry about it later!
Suddenly, something dropped into the seawater above him. Tails looked up and cursed under his breath. The blue dragon descended toward him, smiling triumphantly, bubbles blowing out his now visible gills.
So this is his special talent, Tails thought. There's a dragon for every tail of mine!
Tails pushed his current and swam downward. He needed something-a trench, coral reef, anything-to lose the blue dragon. He figured that Jaida was waiting above the surface of the water for him. Resurfacing was not an option.
The blue dragon was catching up to Tails. Clearly, the dragon was built for the water, unlike Tails, who had to adapt to it. If Tails didn't find cover fast, he'd be overtaken.
Fortune must have been on his side, for a little ways off grew a kelp forest. Tails quickly dove toward it. He closed his eyes as he reached the kelp. He swam toward the base of the kelp, turning when he felt that he should, not wasting time by looking back. After a couple minutes, he stopped, scanning the area. The kelp swayed peacefully, undisturbed by movement. The shine of blue scales was nowhere to be seen.
I lost him, Tails thought with relief. Then looking around, he added, I lost myself, too. Where am I?
The kitsune swam carefully at the floor of the forest, trying not to disturb the kelp. Any unnatural movement-a sway in the wrong direction, for instance-would betray his location. He had draped fallen kelp over him to hide his bright orange fur from any spying eyes. I have to get away from this kelp forest before I resurface, Tails thought. Otherwise, the blue dragon will see me when I rise.
Finally, Tails exited the kelp, but the landscape was different than it was when he went in. I'm lost. He swam slowly further from the kelp forest and the blue dragon. When Tails believed he was far enough, he adjusted his kelp cloak and carefully rose to the surface, for rising quickly was hazardous to one's health. From both above and below, the kitsune looked like a loose clump of seaweed.
Once Tails reached the surface, he floated around, looking for something familiar. But his workshop cliff was nowhere to be seen, nor any other landform. There was nothing but the ocean waves and the setting sun.
"Crap," the kitsune muttered. "My plan backfired. It'll do me no good to be lost at sea..."
After resting for a bit, he flicked his second tail and flew around in a wide circle above the water, searching for a hint of land. He knew he needed to go further to find it, but at the same time, he didn't want to advance for fear of going the wrong way.
Ultimately, Tails knew there was only one option that guaranteed his safe and speedy return to land, although he hated the idea.
"As much as I dislike it," he told himself, "It's the only way. I have to become the Chaos Kitsune."