All Tails felt he could do now was punch the ground in frustration…if he still had the energy. She had been within his reach, she hadn't wanted to go...not anymore…and he had failed her. He'd attacked Scourge and almost killed him. If Sonic and Fiona hadn't gotten involved he would have. He was right – it was still Scourge who had caused this, still that waste of bone and sinew, but it had no longer been temptation. Now he had to deal with…
"This is your fault, you know." He wheezed, on his hands and knees, not bothering to look at Sonic.
"What did I do?" Even the hero's normally cocksure style had been muted by the moment, and his voice was eerily quiet.
"You just had to step in. If you had just let me kill him, we wouldn't be in this mess. I could have burned him into nothingness and you could have given me that little speech after he was dead, but you had to step in while the fucker could still do some real damage."
"Don't give me that." His pseudo-brother's tone took on a cold edge. "I was already trying to stop her going when you showed up. I don't like to see sadists like Scourge torturing people, so don't expect me to watch you become just like him." He looked over at him. "It's a shit situation I know, but I'm not the one to blame. Scourge is the one who's kidnapped her. Don't worry bro, we're going after her. I'm not just giving up."
"You... you have a point. We should probably get moving as soon as possible, make our own way to Moebius."
"We need the others."
"We don't have time to debate the morals choices with them as to whether we save Fiona. They only know Amy's version of events, and let's be honest, she's not Fiona's biggest fan at the best of times. Even Amy herself doesn't know that I convinced Fiona to stay."
"It'll take more time to get our own Warp Ring than it will to convince the others. Can you stand?"
"Getting there. Listen, Sonic, about this whole Fiona thing-"
"Bud, before you say anything, I'm sorry. I shoulda at least let you try and win her over before deciding that she wasn't interested and movin' in myself."
"I-it's okay."
As Tails managed to get one of his feet under him, and started pushing up, Sonic moved to help, only to be halted by the vulpine's raised hand.
"I can manage." He reassured his friend, as they heard the hubbub of voices approaching. Sure enough, the Freedom Fighters, at least the core group, entered the clearing, Amy at their head. Instantly, they were around Tails, various levels of sympathy etched on their faces. "Before anyone asks what Fiona did to me, the answer is nothing."
"You mean aside from lie through her teeth and run off with Scourge?" Amy hissed. "And then leave you like this?"
"Amy, can it." The golden fox growled, forcing himself to his feet. "Fiona didn't leave of her own choosing. I convinced her to stay, I showed her the mistake she was making. But Scourge is a bastard; he kidnapped her anyway. I'm in this condition because I used the synthetic Chaos Emeralds that I made to fight Scourge. Depowering weakened me- I couldn't replicate the full heal the real Emeralds give. Happy now?"
"Not exactly." Sally cut in. "First off, that still doesn't explain why you've gained a foot or so, and I can't quite match up how Fiona went from cheating on Sonic with Scourge to deciding not to go with Scourge and getting kidnapped by him."
"That, in itself, is somewhat complicated. First off, we have to consider Fiona's past. It's a touchy subject for her, but it's just the right kind of background to leave her wide open to manipulation by our enemies. Second, we have the fact that Scourge is very good at lying, especially if he's pretending to be a suave charmer. Of course, once I deconstructed this mental image of what she was getting herself into, and warned her that spending any great length of time in an alternate universe will result in an agonizing death, she didn't really want to go anymore. However, there is a third reason why Fiona fell under Scourge's sway, and that reason is all of us. Yes, we're her friends, but we aren't exactly supportive, are we? We didn't give her the trust and care she needed. Furthermore, while she and Sonic were indeed dating... it's pretty clear that Sonic is still pining after you, Sally, and he's not exactly been a warm partner."
"I see..." Sally mused, rubbing her chin thoughtfully. "It makes sense, I guess."
"So you're saying that we caused this?" Amy asked, veins sticking out in her forehead.
"Yes. You me, Sonic, Sally, everyone. Yes, Fiona betrayed us... technically. She hasn't done anything to actually hurt us, nor has she fed Scourge any information, because let's be honest, Scourge's actions against us just consist of him showing up and attacking Sonic. He's not a planner; he has no use for a spy. The only thing she's betrayed is our trust, and as I just said, we didn't give her that anyway."
"Look, it's all well an' good standin' here and debatin' this, but all the tahme we do, Fiona-girl's stuck in another world with the green bean!" Bunnie broke in.
"Yeah." Sonic nodded. "Except he's not green anymore. Tails pulled all the Chaos energy out of him. I don't really know how it works, but I think it explains the instant puberty. We've gotta get to Moebius, get Fi, recover those fake Emeralds, and get back. And probably flatten Scourge again for good measure along the way."
The portal flashed open on Moebius, Non-existent then existent, the two occupants stumbling out of it – one through pain and the other shock. His physiology was healing but it would still be a little while before his ribs fixed themselves. The drain of energy had left large sections of his body numbed as well, and Scourge dropped Fiona to the ground gracelessly as he himself dropped to his knees, taking a moment to get his breath back. He had only a moment however, before Fiona stumbled unsteadily to her feet and too a few uncertain steps towards the trees, and his face twisted back into that all-too-familiar grin.
"Where ya gonna go, huh?" He snapped. "Not gonna find anywhere to escape on Moebius."
She refused to listen, examining the treeline over and over, her mind now frantic to find some way to escape this new predicament.
"No way out now…" Scourge cackled. "Should've run when you had the chance. You're gonna have to come with me if you have any chance of living now." He thought for a moment, then threw back his head, laughing maniacally. "I can take you to Tails!" He shouted, still laughing at his own wit.
The mention of his name finally got a reaction – she turned, stomping back to him, pulling up divots as she tried to take out her new anger and fear of the hedgehog in the dirt around her. She wasn't an idiot, she knew he was lying about Tails, but if going with him got her somewhere…well, it was more than she would accomplish alone. Shoulder-travel was cheaper than starvation.
So she yelped when he grabbed a fistful of her hair and leaned in close, breathing down her neck…literally. He didn't meet her gaze; he was too busy looking at her cleavage.
"Alright, bitch…" He breathed – though the effect was ruined by his clear perversion – "I was gonna be nice, but since you tried to dump me, I don't feel like that now. So every time you misbehave, I'm gonna hurt you. Sound good?" He asked, his eyes drifting up to hers.
"Of course it doesn't." She hissed. "For either of us. You know he'll catch up, you know he'll find us, and you've already experienced what he'll be like." Fiona backed off slightly, folding her arms, as Scourge paused for a moment.
"Didn't you get the memo? Fastest thing alive, bitch. He's got about as much hope of catchin' me as you do of making it out of this unhurt, because here I am, tryin' to be reasonable, and you're throwin' it back in my face. Now start walkin'. I can't be bothered to carry you, but I can still catch you if you try to run." He smirked, pulling the knife from his pocket again. Fiona's arms sagged, and she did as commanded, defeated.
"Where are you taking me?" She asked after a while.
"My place, of course. It ain't much, but well, get used to it, because it's your new home."
"I don't think so."
"Did you miss the part where it became pretty clear that you belong to me now? And really, babe, stop diggin' yourself deeper. You're makin' it real hard not to just stab you right now."
"Fuck off. You won't stab me – you said it yourself, I'm a brilliant hostage. Corpses don't make good hostages."
He stopped again, trying ever harder to control his anger. He was right of course; she was a brilliant hostage alive, but if he actually killed her…well, then he couldn't count on anyone's cooperation. Didn't mean he couldn't bash her around a bit though…He seized her arm from behind, twisting it up behind her and making her cry out in pain. He held it there for a moment, then shoved her forward. She stumbled again, tripping and falling over the forest undergrowth. A small mercy that she retained her balance and didn't fall.
"Babe, that will hurt a whole lot more if you don't shut up." Scourge warned her once again.
"And you put your hands on her again and I'll tear your throat out." A monotone voice came out of the trees ahead. "Why did you bring her here?"
"Ah, you know Miles, you and queenie yiffing through the wall, I gotta get some of that action too you know."
"You know what I mean." A dark shape detached itself from the trees and dropped to the ground, straightening as Scourge stepped up behind Fiona, poking her in the back with the knife in an unspoken command not to move. Miles straightened, showing a well-built frame with a wiry toughness to it. The colouring, the stance, even the pain in the eyes…it all screamed "Tails!" at her. But it wasn't him. Her gut knew that, even with this apparent concern for her, it wasn't the Tails she knew.
Scourge was laughing. "I didn't even think about that! Got an ace over you too by the looks of things, Miles."
"You never think before you do anything. By the looks of it your recent bout of not thinking has lost you your colours as well." The kitsune took a step forward. "Now let her go, or I promise you I will gut you where you stand."
"You won't be fast enough, just like Tails." The hedgehog smirked evilly, brandishing the knife and placing it back at Fiona's throat, as he had done before. "Keep well away from me and the chick or watch her choke on her own blood, your choice."
"Do not test me, Scourge. My counterpart might have been more lenient, but you have to take your attention away from the both of us at some point, you have to sleep, and when you do, if you have tried anything further, I'll finish what was started back on Mobius."
To Fiona, the line between Tails and her would-be saviour was blurring all the more, at least in terms of actions. It was pretty plain that this 'Miles' was the Tails of Scourge's world, but he was different. Taller, slightly bulkier, with neat black hair instead of the messy gold she was familiar with. He was clad in gunmetal grey armour, with two sharp spines extending upwards from his shoulder blades, and he had a sword in its scabbard slung across his back.
"Tell you what, Miles. I won't kill her, if you take me to Alicia. Deal?"
"Don't listen to him!" Fiona called out, surprising all present, herself included. "I'm no good to him dead! If anything, he'd be even more screwed!"
"Let's change it a little, then." Scourge snarled, pulling out his Warp Ring. "If she doesn't keep her huge yap shut, and you don't take me to your skanky dominatrix queen, I'll hop across to another world, make her wish she was dead, and then grant it! How does that sound?"
Fiona whimpered slightly, and Miles' eyes momentarily flickered again. He mouthed something silently to himself- Fiona didn't know what, but it made Scourge's hideous grin widen, showing more of his filed, yellow teeth. The vulpine looked back at the hedgehog, glaring venomously at him, and finally gave his answer.
"I won't let you do it again." He shivered. "I'll take you to Alicia." He half-turned away, then paused again. "But if I were you, I'd let her walk the rest of the way under her own steam. I heard some of those threats, and if you decide to carry them out, I can't be held accountable for what I might do."
Scourge hesitated, torn between the threat and his prize, and eventually settled for shoving Fiona to his side, spitting at the ground in an attempt to retain his authority. "Aight, the girl can walk, but…" He glanced her way. "You step any closer to that shit-stain and you'll both get it in the throat."
That was enough for her. Suitably cowed by Scourge's attitude, she began to walk in line with him, one hand testing the skin around her neck.
"If you've brought her here, I can't hold out much hope that you did it on the quiet then?" Miles asked behind him, his tone once again muted and calm. "You're not the most demure."
"What's the point of goin' somewhere if no-one knows you went? Go places to leave marks, ya know."
Miles grimaced. "Then we'll have people from the other world on their way over. Ally won't be pleased."
"Why should I care what your frigid ice-queen thinks?"
The kitsune didn't even turn to deliver his rebuttal. "First, a woman isn't frigid if she doesn't bang you, she just has better taste. Second, you should care what she thinks because she's queen. You're tough, Scourge, but if she tells me to kill you, I won't hesitate and nor will Anima. And no, you won't have a chance to use your victim there as a shield."
"Fastest th-"
"Yes yes, we all know of your little title. We also all know that you can't outrun time, which I can easily halt with Anarchy." Miles cut him off, before looking over his shoulder at Fiona. "What is your name?"
"F-Fiona." She stammered, surprised.
"The Prime Mobius' version... Scourge, you must be functionally retarded. What in Anarchy's name told you it was a good idea to try and take her?"
"Mostly the tits, and the fact that all I have to do is hold the knife anywhere near her neck and that world's you freezes up and does anythin' I ask. He's nuts over her."
"And that almost got you killed." Fiona cut in again. She was feeling more confident now that Miles was there, and there was a bit of a distance between her and Scourge.
"Not only that, Fiona, but it will get him killed when they catch up to us. And Scourge, before you recite that damn mantra again, this world is the same as theirs, they are all physically fit, we are going to a place they are familiar with in their world, we have spent a lot of time stationary, and we are merely walking. It is not a case of if they catch up, it is a case of when."
By now, they had reached the heart of the forest, and there, looming over them was a huge, grey-walled bastion. To Fiona, it looked a lot like the Castle Acorn she was familiar with, if it had been designed by a fantastical evil overlord. Massive walls with battlements lining the parapets, rows of spears sticking out at odd angles, and in the centre, a magnificent, yet foreboding black stone keep. Miles led them up to the door, and pushed it open, leading them through a maze of corridors. Every now and then, Fiona would see a face so familiar, yet so alien.
Eventually, they found themselves in front of a large oak door, and Miles stopped, turning around to face the two.
"I will tell Ally what has transpired. Anima watches us even now Scourge, so don't touch our guest."
With that, he walked through the door, and pushed it too behind him. Fiona stood there, trying to position her body in such a way that Scourge could not stare at her chest, yet she could still see him, but to no avail. She felt her eyes begin to water, as the full horror of the situation hit home. She was trapped, in another universe, one that ran parallel to her own, with a perverted man who possessed all of Sonic's speed and power, but none of his manners or virtues, constantly breathing down her neck.
Before Scourge could notice her tears, the door swung open, and Miles reappeared.
"The queen will see you now." He said. Fiona followed him into what must have been the throne room, Scourge visible in the corner of her eye as he did the same. The room was huge, with ornate weapons decorating the walls. At the end was a magnificent throne, and on it sat a squirrel, who, aside from a scar on her neck, was identical to Sally. The same soft, gentle features, the same inquisitive, raised eyebrow, the same long, red hair, and the same inviting blue eyes. She was clad in a tight, cobalt blue uniform of some descript, with white boots and gauntlets hiding her extremities, and a white cape over her shoulders. On her forehead was a silver, three-pronged tiara, with a purple, glowing gemstone at its base. One of her hands rested on the hilt of a sword, which was resting against the arm of the throne. The other was fiddling with a whip.
"Well, well, well. Look what my favourite advisor dragged in." Alicia chuckled, smirking.