PoA: Oh boy, I'm so very late
Metal: Good toy, now clean up your plate
TD: (Oh dear, is this raccoon I ate?)
Metal: I hear you have garnered some hate
PoA: At least I've caught up to date!
TD: (Add Cheese and this could taste great!)
Metal: (He tries but he'll die an ingrate)
Silver: Hey guys! My quills are now light grape!
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Painting the Future
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He reached hand over hand, tripping over himself as he grappled at her elusive visage. Pulled, more like dragged by the claws back into his real world, Tails resisted as hard as he could. To his terror, her feet broke into tiny fragments now dispersed like droplets from a sprinkler. Tails scratched misty darkness as more and more of her body drifted away. Reluctantly, he caught a glimpse of that simple beauty he adored crumbling into a blur. She sealed her departure with one last affectionate wave. Tails in turn took his hands off the invisible floor and walls he had been madly scraping in defiance, afraid to bid her his own sad farewell.
Yet, in one violent lunge, the fox cast off his shutdown sense of acceptance and reached out. His hands gripped the sides of her dissipating arms with excessive, if not painful force. Her very real and rich shade of orange was so sweet to the touch that joy swallowed his vision and dampened his white muzzle. This almost spoiled sense of want had seemingly halted and partially reversed the process of dissipation. Ignorant gratefulness gave him time to his express his long overdue feelings. Tides of unstoppable apocalyptic mayhem could be damned for but a moment while he shared one with her.
"Amethyst, my precious Amethyst." He sighed, relieving the tension and fear he held, having almost forgotten all about the one he loved most.
Save for a snippet of startled resistance, Amethyst happily reciprocated. The seconds were short, but how good they felt; how utterly awe-inspiring a bit of overdue affection could be. Shades of reckless fun and childish cheerfulness no longer felt fake or part of the distant past. Everything was colorful, delightful and beautiful. It was simply like it had been so long ago.
Amethyst kindly kept the silence between them for as long as possible. Then, speaking ever so softly, she said "Tails, I've missed you so much, but please don't cry; your whiskers hurt when they're wet." Offering a teasing smile, she smoothed over his spiny cheek fur. Tails choked out a laugh, stopping only to hold back more tears.
Shortly afterwards Amethyst tilted her nose down, which Tails knew to be a sign that she had something serious to say. His worry mounted as his purple-eyed friend looked him square in eyes, saying "Tails, it's time to put this behind you. Robotnik is likely dead, and with Sonic's intervention, the Chaos Spirits have gone silent. All that's left is for you, the vessel, to decide how to redirect the Power of Chaos."
A flood of confusion fell over Tails as he confessed "What should I… Ame, I-I don't have the faintest clue. I mean, we've studied the emeralds for years, and neither you nor I knew there were spirits living inside them. I still don't even know what being 'a vessel' is all about. How can I use the Power of Chaos if can't even understand it?"
Cocking an eyebrow in disbelief, Amethyst replied "Tails, I love you, but I've said once and I'll say it again: Sometimes you are the densest genius I know. A simple passage of echidna lore should be all the enlightenment you need to understand your power: 'Chaos is power enriched by the heart'. Yes this is a metaphoric 'heart' it speaks of, but that's erring on the side of the obvious, no? So, all you have to do is guide the power with your heart's desire. In short, ask for what you desire, and you will be provided the means to your ends."
"Then…" Tails trailed off, shortly thereafter perking up at her explanation, he sternly stated "You, I want you." His words came as a demand, a stark ultimatum. Recalling finality Amethyst's farewell from before, Tails was ready to cheat the limitations of his power to get what he wanted, what he needed. His friends all mattered, even Vector's dysfunctional trio weighed heavily on the scales of importance; Sonic, both or either of them, he loved dearly enough to set his life aside for. Yet, some people are purely irreplaceable; those that only a few find once in their lifetime. To him, nothing mattered more; nothing seemed as valuable as her.
This time, Amethyst, normally the stronger of the two emotionally, was the one to quiver at his response. She had enjoyed her time with him so much that it made it all the more wrenching to say "Tails, I would. If you could heal a body as broken as mine, then I would come back." Holding his startled and tear burning face, she pulled him closer "You have me here, like this, now and forever. I'm sorry it has to be this way, but I don't want you to live in regret. No fox would want their mate to suffer."
Gritting his teeth, Tails kissed her and said "But we only have one, one mate for life. I lost my Sonic and now you. The people who live in this world are cruel, hateful. They're constantly looking for power to sustain their selfish lives. How is this world worth saving?" While sadder than he felt was spiritually possible, Tails understood what she would say. He knew she would chastise him for being so negative. She would poke at him for acting like a coddled kit, and then hug him in a sweet but patronizing manner. Amethyst would always make him laugh, and then remind him of what he had to do.
Knowing this plainly, he answered first "Don't say it, Ame; I don't ‒ Look, just let me do what I have to, okay?" Acceptingly, she stepped back and motioned Tails towards a small grey opening. Initially no bigger than a small bedroom window, this fissure widened until it completely engulfed the surrounding dark space. The question as to where he now stood was answered grimly by the bodies lying across a familiar, colorless glade.
Standing in his own world once again, Tails looked behind him to confirm Amethyst's presence. With a relieved sigh, he raised his hands awkwardly, unaware if dramatic gestures had any impact on the channeling of his power. Amethyst laughed lightly while lowering his arms correctively; she reminded him that chaos merely requires spiritual focus and a gentle touch. She likened it to restoring a picture or painting to its former, vibrant state; rather like giving color back to the monochrome world.
The twin-tailed fox, stupefied by his own literal mindedness, approached the first figure whose 'color' stood out the most: Bloody Knuckles, the kidnapping rogue himself.
Coming into contact with Knuckles forged between the two a peculiar link. As threads of crimson sewed their way into the echidna's skin, so too did uninvited memories flood Tails' brain. A life full of adrenaline, sweat, blood and bone flashed backwards, slowly becoming softer but no less dark. Death, more death and pain than Tails had seen on the island coagulated into a bloody mess of images. Deeper and further in, loneliness took the place of anger, until each image was displayed through innocent eyes of a newborn with his mother.
No longer interlocked with Knuckles, the fox gasped loudly before seeing his handiwork. Knuckles, once again a fiery red, awoke and gazed around. He appeared astonished and confused to find himself outside the ship-house. His astonishment turned to horror when he saw Rouge and Charmy, both as lifeless as he was a moment ago. The strong echidna tore of his mitts to check the two for any vital signs. The results from Rouge left him sorrowful and apologetically crestfallen, but cold, quiet sleep of little Charmy left the mighty Knuckles broken and screaming in despair.
Tails hastily sped over to his side, surprised that the echidna failed to notice him as he placed his hand on the bee's forehead. The fox was then treated to a sting of simple, but sweet singsong images of three goofy figures seemingly playing and dancing within a child's drawing. Tails smiled as he released Charmy into the waking world. Blissfully unaware of anything else, the silly bee latched himself onto an unsuspecting Knuckles' neck.
While the stoic mobian struggled with the joyful strangulation, Tails stepped over to Rouge and revived her. He understood now that he was reviewing the life of every person he came in contact with. Knowing this, the details of his visions became sharper. From Rouge, Tails discovered that, aside from the untimely deaths of both her parents, the young bat had lived a life of loving, almost sheltered kindness. He learned that she cherished her father and his passion as a jeweler and gemologist, before he contracted a terrible disease among bats that gave the poor man 'chalk snout'. In spite of this, images of a young girl playing dolls, pretending to be a vampire or a 'super secret agent', and all manner of childish things left a sweetly nostalgic feeling in Tails' heart.
Although, there was a point that boiled his nerves from inside out: His friends could be taken from this world quickly, and just as soon returned at the snap of his fingers. It seemed too easy, seeing how his power circumvented all rules and rational. Though the spirits had taken something metaphysical from his world, but clearly vital to the life of his allies, it felt cheatingly simple to reverse. Yet for the vast power vested in him, he was somehow incapable of bringing Amethyst back? It seemed unreasonable to watch as joy and happiness returned to the world, while he remained without his.
Tainted by this unfairness, Tails stepped his way towards the crumbled Sable Tower. Amethyst, followed behind reluctantly, refusing to stop him as he ignored the task at hand.
Stone after stone lay in his path, causing Tails annoyance until he realized something impressive: He had the power to pass through objects at will. Such a handy power it seemed, perhaps as a result of being imbued with such concentrated chaos. Regardless, it was a convenience and he was not about to question it at this time. Navigation was still troublesome, given that he had not seen the tower in its natural state since he arrived. Though, with a little help from his present companion, Tails located the chamber in which they had dueled.
"This place again." His words failed to carry in the cramped corridor, now caved in by mounds of dislodged rock "It feels like years have passed." Turning to Amethyst, he saw her standing idly by, fixed in one position even as Tails turned away to scan the room. The halls unrecognizable state left him at a loss for locating her body. It frightened him to imagine. Of all the gruesome sights he had steeled himself for, having the sudden appearance of her corpse take him by surprise was not something he was prepared for.
After minutes of searching, Amethyst's voice carried over to his shivering heart "I told you not to come here." Her tone was slightly sharp, but calming enough to catch Tails' full attention "You shouldn't have, but since you insist on being the stubborn fox you always are…here I am."
Her dark orange tail lifted. A hemorrhage inducing headache struck Tails as his eyes fell on two sets of eyes, both belonging to the one he loved. The hollow stare of her still body boldly contrasted the glowing and expressive spirit standing to the side. An unnervingly large amount of dried dark blood had exited her body's mouth some hours prior.
Tails, though physically sickened by what he saw, sucked in a breath and came over to her side. Her corpse was silent and still, just like the others, a thought that gave the fox more confidence as he summoned up his powers. He touched a hand to her clammy forehead, tenderly brushing her ears as he entrapped her every detail into his mind.
No images came to his head on the first pass. Trying again, he was met with another blank slate, a placeholder for where a memory should be. Sinking his canines into his lower lip, Tails focused harder and harder until his own violent blue aura swelled up, threatening to engulf his surroundings. He could no longer hear the pleading shouts of Amethyst to his side, nor did he notice the stone room beginning to twist and distort.
"I said STOP!" Her words solidified after a sobering strike to his face. Gripping his shoulders tightly, Amethyst angrily shook her mate and said "I told you already, you can't bring me back! And nothing is going to change that! You hear me? Nothing is going to change the past! Do you get that? No amount of crying temper tantrums are going to make a damn bit of difference!"
"Amethyst, I…" He tried to speak, only to have a full palm cover his mouth tightly. Fiery and determined, even in death, Amethyst shook her head strictly and said "As I've said, I don't blame you for what happened. In fact, I've loved you so much more since this adventure began. Except now you're acting like a coward, a coward who doesn't love anyone but himself." Before he could even process what she said, Amethyst finished making her point "I'm sorry, Tails, but it's time to move on and step into your role as a leader. Forget about me, it's time to get up and help the people that need you!"
Trying very hard not to lash out in grief, Tails took a moment to take in her words. Tears did start to fall again, but this time the fox found that he had it in him to return a fanged grimace, saying "Y-You always nag me. You nag me to work harder, nag me for not spending enough time with you, nag me to be a better person, nag me for being too good of a person!" Grabbing her by the cheeks, Tails' frown flipped into an aggressive smile as he kissed her one more time.
"How I hate… how I hate that I love that about you."
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End of Chapter Fifty-seven
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This cliffhanger was not intended per se, but it happened all the same. Holidays are here and frankly so is the business of shopping for presents (and by shopping, I mean scrounging like a vulture for any last minute ideas XD). Ah well, traditions are only as lovely as the people you celebrate them with.
And so, here is my pseudo-present to everyone who reads this!
P.S. I clearly didn't have time to gift-wrap it (i.e. edut wize' it,z naught purfekt)
Until next time! Merry Christmas!