A/N: Yeah, here's the newest chapter. Be happy, the few of you that read it.
Chapter 2: Forced Together
Only a day later, Sonic came back down from Snow's Mountain, and everyone asked him where he'd disappeared to, but he just smiled and said they'd know soon enough, and he wasn't going to spoil the surprise. Eventually, they gave up.
The blue blur made his way to Tails' workshop and knocked on the door. He heard some noises and muffled words before the door opened slightly and Tails peaked out.
"Uhm, Sonic, I'm kinda busy..."He said.
"With what? A new invention or something?" Sonic asked.
"Yeah... It's kinda dangerous right now, so I'd prefer it if you could take off for a while, and get everyone away for now, until I can get it stabilized." Tails responded, looking slightly worried.
"Oh, okay. I'll make sure everybody's safe. Tell me when you've got it stable, kay?" Sonic asked, "I wanna hang out for a little while later."
"Okay."
Sonic noticed a dangerous looking greyish glow coming from behind Tails. "Uh... Is that supposed to be happening?" He asked.
Tails turned around. "No!" He spun back around, "Crap, I gotta get back to work, see ya!"
The door was slammed in Sonic's face, slightly annoying him but slightly amusing him as well. He went around warning people away and explaining that Tails was working on something he thought might be dangerous to anyone who didn't want to follow his advice and leave.
As soon as almost everybody was gone, he took off himself, hoping Tails would be done soon.
With Tails
Sonic was gone, much to his relief and he turned to look at his rather large Jet which sat in the middle of the room.
"You're more trouble than you're worth, you know that?" He asked.
It pulsed. He groaned in annoyance. It kept answering him and throwing him off. It was just a jewel, so why did it keep giving him answers? Well, then again, it wasn't just a jewel. He knew that.
"Why do you always do that? And how do I know what you mean?" He asked exasperatedly.
"Because you are my guardian, I am obliged to answer you, and you are obliged to understand my words unlike anyone else." It answered.
"Since when am I your guardian?" Tails asked, now confused.
"You have been my guardian since the beginning of time. Over eternity you and your ancestors have been entrusted with guarding me and my kin."
"Kin?"
"That, you will find out in due time. I need not explain it to you."
Although confused, Tails didn't question it. He simply set about trying to make something that could've been giving off that strange grey glow and have to be stabilized.
After a few minutes, he had it imagined and made. He stabilized it completely within the next few.
It was a robot with a large memory disk that constantly glowed the same grey as his Jet. He decided that it was going to have to be good enough.
He picked up a small bag he usually carried tools in and strapped it on, stuffing the Jet inside and going off to find Sonic. The robot was just in case Sonic came snooping around to see what he'd been building.
He was flying along when he felt a shockwave of power course through the air. His namesakes stopped twirling for the briefest second, but it was enough. He started to plummet toward the ground, but the next thing he knew, a weightlessness took over him.
"I have you, Tails. Do not worry. Besides, as my guardian, you need to learn how to use my power. I will not always be sentient enough to help you by myself."
"Thanks, I will."
He knew he didn't need to now, but he twirled his tails anyway to keep up appearances. He saw Scourge on the ground, flagging him down.
"Hey, can you let me go? I'm still new to the floating thing, and I definitely don't know how to land yet. I'll practice later, when no one's around."
"Of course."
He felt the weightless feeling disappear and he flew down to the ground. He landed a few feet away from Scourge, apprehensive.
"What do you want, Scourge?" He asked.
"Hey, relax. I just wanted to ask you where Blue is. I need to ask him something." Scourge replied.
"No idea. I was just looking for him." Tails said.
"Damn..."
Tails chuckled before taking off again.
"Hey, where're you going?" Scourge yelled up.
"To find Sonic. Didn't I just tell you that's what I was doing?" Tails asked.
He flew off before Scourge could say anything else. It only took him a couple more moments to find Sonic. He was standing next to a tree, staring off into the distance.
Tails landed, not making a sound. He intended to sneak up on his brother. With a grin, he got right behind him before whispering in his ear.
"I'm watching you, blue."
Sonic jumped and spun around, sending Tails into a fit of laughter. Sonic just gave him an indignant look.
"You should really... Pay more attention! You're the hero of Mobius for Pete's sake!"
"Tails, that was so not funny!" He exclaimed.
"No, it wasn't." Said Tails, straightening and putting on a serious face, "It was hilarious!"
He began laughing again. This time Sonic joined in, realizing that Tails had a point. Being the world's hero, he should definitely pay more attention, and the fact that he didn't was funny, to a degree. It wasn't hilarious, per say, but it was slightly amusing.
The laughter died down and Tails grinned at Sonic. "So, what did you want to talk to me about? I rushed a bit to get that thing stabilized to find out." Tails said.
"Oh, I wanted to tell you about what I saw in that lake yesterday. It involved you, so I think you should know." Sonic replied.
"Okay."
So Sonic told Tails what he had seen, and Tails just stared at him.
"I was doing what?! Dude! I'm so not seeing that happening! There isn't enough money in the world to get me to do that!"
"Yeah, that's what I was thinking, but Snow told me that whatever you see in that lake comes true eventually, unless you take extra precautionary measures against it. So you'd better lock yourself in your workshop or something, 'cuz I really don't want it happening!"
Tails laughed. "Sonic, I lock myself in my workshop anyway! Now I just have another excuse!"
Soon both of them were laughing again, though they weren't sure why. Tails' comment wasn't particularly funny, but for some reason, both of them felt the need to get a good laugh out of it. Almost like it would be their last. It confused them greatly, but they followed the instinct anyway, laughing for well over two minutes before they calmed down and left to go their separate ways. Well, Sonic did at least.
As soon as Tails was sure he was gone and no one else was around, he took the Jet from his satchel and sat it down. Immediately, it grew to its true size. It hadn't done that before, but he figured it simply wasn't comfortable around all his technology. It was a very ancient jewel after all.
"So, do you wish to practice tapping into my power now?" It asked.
"Yeah."
After the Jet explained how to do that, he used it to attempt the earlier stunt it had helped with. He achieved it, to a degree. He got a couple of feet off the ground before he lost control of it and slammed down onto the ground.
"Ow..." He groaned, "Will I ever be able to control your powers fully?"
"With practice, Tails, with practice."
He nodded, stood up, and tried again. And again. And again, over and over.
Hours later, Tails had floating down to an art, and he could do it without thinking about it. Despite this new ability, he used his usual means of flying to go home. He placed the Jet on his nightstand after locking all of his doors.
He fell asleep to the gentle grey pulsing it gave off. He thought of it almost as a heartbeat.
He was awoken by the sound of someone pounding on his door and yelling his name. He snatched the Jet off his bedside table and placed it in his work bag once more. He bolted to the door and unlocked it to peer outside at the visitor.
Sonic stood there looking panic stricken. "Tails, you have to come, quick! Something happened, and Snow's on Angel Island in bad shape!"
That really got Tails moving. He had the Tornado running and in the air almost before Sonic could hop on. He landed just outside the ruins of the shrine and the feeling of being home swept through him. He didn't understand it, and so he kept going.
"Where exactly is she?" Tails asked.
"Up on the Master Emerald shrine. Knuckles is taking as good care of her as he knows how."
Tails nodded and flew up the stairs. He was happy that he kept medical supplies in his work bag. When he landed he realized that Sonic had not been lying about Snow being in bad shape. She had multiple cuts and bruises on her face, and her arms were covered in gashes.
He also noticed that it wasn't just Knuckles, Snow, Sonic, and himself there. Scourge, Fiona, Amy—and basically everyone else they knew from Mobius and Moebious except for most of their enemies—were there.
Knuckles moved when he saw Tails, not saying anything. Tails himself kneeled down next to Snow, his expression serious.
Fiona and Scourge were surprised at his change in attitude since they'd last seen him. Gone, it seemed, was the playful 11 year old with a crush on Fiona. He was now a serious, intelligent, 12 year old.
He examined Snow's wounds more closely, unaware of their musings about him. He was completely focused on Snow. Whatever had attacked her had known what it was doing. It seemed to have made a point to only wound her in places that wouldn't kill her.
"Snow, what happened?" He asked.
"An... old enemy of mine... he found out where I was... and then..." She trailed off.
Hmm... Shortness of breath. This guy really did a number on her.
He simply nodded with a hum.
Careful not to let anyone see the jewel concealed within, he opened the bag on his hip and pulled out the nessicary equipment. He bandaged her wounds and cleaned the worst of the cuts with some of his very precious Peroxide. There wasn't much left outside of Robotnik's fortresses.
He slowly, carefully, wrapped the larger wounds in his best bandages. He couldn't have her getting worse off, not since she obviously wanted to tell them something. There didn't seem to be much else she wanted to do, he could tell. He wasn't sure how, but he knew she needed to say something.
When he finished, she slowly sat up, backing up against a nearby pillar, her face scrunched up in pain.
"Thanks, Tails." She said, "But I need to tell you all something, something I'm sure Silver has noticed as well. There has been a shift in the balance of power lately. There is something upsetting it, though I'm not sure what. Whatever it is, it is extremely powerful, and should be kept away from. Unfortunately, as I have absolutely no idea what it looks like, I can't properly warn you away."
Everyone nodded.
"Also, be prepared for one of your numbers to leave you. They will betray you when you least expect it, though not for the reasons you will think of." She cautioned.
Once again, they nodded. But some sent suspicious glances to certain people. Tails simply prepared himself to leave again. He loved helping people out, but he really loved getting the proper amount of sleep more.
Right as he started to head for the tornado, a large crack of lightening hit it. A loud cackling surrounded them all, and the shadowy figure of a man appeared mere inches away from Tails' face.
"Ye fool! Dost thou think ye can simply walk away? Thou art part of this as well. T'would not be chivalrous of ye to leave." He said.
"Well, buddy, I've got news for you, chivalry isn't my forte anyway, so I'm gonna leave, whether you want me to or not." Tails retorted, starting to walk around him.
"Thou shall not pass!" The man yelled, and a barrier of darkness formed in front of Tails.
Tails just sighed and stepped back.
Everyone else stared at him and the man.
"Who are you and what the frick do you want?" Tails asked, slight annoyance ringing in his voice.
"My name is of no importance to ye, but what I want is simple. Give me the Master Jet. Thou shall have no more trouble from me when I have its power."
A murmur went through those present. Knuckles was the first to speak up.
"Master Jet? What is that?" He asked.
"Something similar to your Master Emerald, Echidna, simply stronger." The man answered offhandedly, "Thy small fox friend is the last to have seen it."
Tails raised an eyebrow. "Woah there buddy, I haven't seen any jewels lately except the Master Emerald. I have absolutely no idea what you're talking about."
"Ye lie, fox!"
Crapbaskets... "No. I'm not lying. I'm serious." Tails stated stubbornly.
The others looked on in silence, wondering what the man was talking about and why Tails was suddenly being so stubborn. It was an even bigger change than he had made when he turned 12. Most of them were hoping that this one wouldn't be permanent as well.
"Fox, just give me the jewel, and ye and thy friends may leave." The man was beginning to get irritated, it was plain to see.
Tails let out an overly exasperated sigh. "I don't know what you're talking about! Just let me off this freaking island already! I'd like to be able to sleep before the sun comes up!"
"Ye still refuse to give me what I want? Very well. Thou shalt stay upon this island until you are ready to hand over the Master Jet."
Tails groaned as the barrier completely solidified and the man disappeared. A few of the others let out similar groans. One of which was Knuckles.
"Ugh... Why did he have to trap you all here? Now I'm gonna have to work twice as hard to protect this damn Emerald." He muttered.
"As long as I'm here, I'll help. I can keep an eye on it no matter where I am." Silver volunteered.
Knuckles gave him a rather sceptical look before shrugging. "Okay, if you want to help, go ahead. But somebody make sure that bat doesn't get anywhere near my Emerald. I'll be too busy keeping everyone else away from it."
Tails looked up. "I'll keep an eye on her." He said tiredly.
"Thanks, Tails."
"No charge."
Tails flew up to the top of one of the pillars and seated himself boredly. For a few moments, he kept a careful watch on Rouge, but she seemed deep in a conversation with Amy, so he gave up long enough to inquire the Jet about something.
"So, who was that?" He asked quietly.
"That was Mrothtar, the Overlord of the Tower of Shadow. He is very dangerous. He is the Guardian of my kin as of now, but he stole the right from your ancestors."
He nodded slightly. His eyes glued themselves to Rouge again. She was now eying the Emerald. She looked up though, having heard his offer to watch her. She looked very put out that he still was, but that didn't stop her from starting towards it.
Tails sighed, rolling his eyes before he hopped down, grabbed one of her arms and yanking her back.
"Not happenin', Bat Girl." He said flatly, giving her a blank stare.
She glared back at him. "Oh come on! Since when can you hold me back?" She asked.
She leaned toward him, kissing him on the cheek in an attempt to get free, but that only annoyed him. He tightened his grip while at the same time pushing her away.
"Not happenin'." He repeated.
Rouge huffed, yanking her arm out of his grasp and stalking away. Tails just rolled his eyes. Scourge applauded him shortly, much to everyone's surprise.
"Way to handle a thief, kid." He said.
Tails raised an eyebrow suspiciously at him before saying, "Thanks...I guess."
This is going to be interesting, to say the least... Stuck on Angel Island with almost everyone I know—over half of which want to kill me. I'd better be on my toes...
A/N: Why won't anyone read this? *sniff* :'(