Chapter 1: Once upon a school day...
Tails: My summer was very eventful. I stole a $100 million artificial intelligence program, adeptly named SAGE, and foiled his plans of hacking government operations. Then Knuckles, Amy and Manic helped me bust his criminal syndicate before we parted ways.
Cue zany ex-girlfriend Fiona Fox. She tries to steal SAGE from me and sell it to other thugs. That didn't work out.
She left me with this warning: bad men and women will come for that device. So, I built a safe guard; an app protected with encrypted firewalls only I could access. Once optimized, the SAGE program was now in safe hands.
The longer I explored it, the more I understood why thugs like Hawk would pay millions for it. This A.I could quite literally change the world, but it was my responsibility to keep it safe. So I locked it away and resisted the urge to…run tests.
It's September now and I'm entering sophomore year. Sonic is gone, Knuckles can't come running to save me and I'm not playing vigilante anymore. School will be top priority this year.
The teenage fox made his way through the white halls of Station Square High and scanned the halls for his classes. Many of the students were much taller than him, but they took little notice of him. Outside, he was a hero to Mobius. Inside, he's little Miles Prower the straight-A student.
And he wasn't so popular on his own.
Charmy Bee spotted Tails through the crowd so he pushed his way past students and lightly punched his old friends' arm to get his attention. "Who let you in here, douchebag?"
Tails spun around and recognized his friend. "The same saps who let your degenerate-ass cruise these halls."
The duo threw playful punches at one another before performing a secret handshake they'd made up years ago. Charmy had a short lived rivalry with Tails in the past but both had matured since then.
"What classes are you taking?" The fox asked.
"Social studies. Music theory. Other boring prerequisites. Hey, wanna form a band? I know a few places that could use some live acts. It'll be HYPE!"
"Hmm, I could definitely use a side hustle. Sure. I'm assuming you have a band room of some sort."
"Hell yeah, I do! The lounge!"
"Wait, Vector is letting you run things now?"
"Run it? I live there!… I sorta moved out and Espio is splitting rent with me. But it's all mine, now!"
Tails laughed and high five'd the bee as he back flipped around the crowded foyer.
A tall football jock purposefully shoved Charmy into a wall and obnoxiously shouted, "Out of everyone's way, loser! Go be mental at home!"
The students laughed while Tails helped his friend back up, then ran back to the bully. "Screw you, Gin!"
He stopped and suddenly back-pedalled when Gin squared up with him. "Ohh, psychopath wants to get tough, eh? You gonna bring me in for justice, too? I'm SOO scared of you, Tails!"
Charmy pulled him away. "Forget him, man. I know you could Kung Fu his ass but it's day one. Let's.. just focus on this."
Tails agreed. He scooped up his bag and turned his back to the bully. "Yeah, whatever. Go shower with the guys!.."
"Ooooh, nice come back Prower! One of your many boyfriends had that memorized, didn't he!"
Buddy, if Knuckles were here…
Once the prefects ushered students to class, the morning periods went by quickly and Tails met Charmy in the music room. He signed out a guitar while the bee hoped on an electric drum set. A microphone stand and keyboard were the only instruments that were unoccupied, however it'd be awhile before the duo would even get to that part.
I hadn't thought about the warning Fiona gave me since locking SAGE up, but I was about to meet the first of many interested parties.
A slim, yellow haired Lynx caught Tails on the way to his afternoon class, knowing they'd be alone in this hallway. Before the teenage fox could react, Lynx pulled a pistol out of his jacket and flashed it so Tails could clearly see.
"A.I you stole. Give it to me." He ordered, voice sounding gruff.
A few students were turning the corner to walk down this hallway, so Lynx used his gun to signal Tails to follow. The thug was way too old to still be in high school and he smelled of cigarettes and whiskey. His long brown jacket was distressed and likely bought at a thrift store, Tails observed. And he definitely was no stranger to pulling a trigger.
They reached an area that wasn't covered by a security camera, a blind spot in the school, and Lynx took one last look around. "Hand it over. Only time I'll ask."
"Well, technically you didn't ask, you just demanded.."
"You gettin' smart with me?"
He lifted his gun toward Tails' waist.
"I didn't bring it!..."
"Well, then take me too it."
The bell rang, signaling Lunch was over and third period started in five minutes. Lynx concealed his weapon as students hurried to their class, not even noticing Tails' predicament.
"I have to be in class or else-"
"Fuck your class, take me to the SAGE program."
A teacher making her rounds walked up to the fox. "Miles, Class is starting soon – Oh, who are you, sir?"
Tails didn't know if he was safe, but seeing another adult made him feel better.
"I'm a family friend of little Miles here. Just giving him some lunch money."
Lynx grudgingly took out some cash from his pocket and handed it over to Tails.
"Alright, then. Off you go, Miles."
As Tails took off towards his class, he looked back at Lynx. The thug had a devilish smile as he watched his target walk away. Tails would never forget this face.
And just when I thought this year was gonna be easy!...
The fox sat down at his desk during his and Charmy's music class. The Bee was busy mingling with others while Tails was thinking about his run-in with Lynx.
How did he know where to find me? Does he know where I live? Should I tell someone? Wait, how much money did he give me?
Tails pulled out the bills and started counting, then his eyes went wide.
Holy crap, 200 bucks! Wait, there's something else in here…
Just as he pulled out a small business card, a brown female hedgehog walked up to his desk and extended her hand.
"Hi there, I'm Alicia! How are you, Tails?"
The question startled Tails so much that he dropped the card and some money.
"Alicia, Hi! I'm um- you know my name?" He clumsily replied.
"Of course I do! I saw you on TV with your friends over the summer! I think what you did for that city was amazing."
Right, our hit against HAZARD.
Tails shook Alicia's hand and quickly picked up his money. She pulled up a chair next to him and sat down.
"Are you and Charmy still looking for a singer?" She asked.
"Singer?"
"For your band. Charmy's been telling everyone you guys need one."
"Right, our band… uh-"
"I've got experience with pop artists, country, SOME rock n roll-"
Charmy Bee ran up beside them and interjected. "Hey there, Alicia! T, here isn't in charge, he just plays the ol' guitar. I run the show! And you're in!"
"Sweet! Text me when you want to want to practice!"
The girl gave her cellphone number to both Tails and Charmy, however the fox only had Lynx on his mind.
The end of the day finally came along, and Tails blended in with big crowds of students so he'd be harder to get to. He stayed on the main streets instead of the shortcuts he used beforehand. As much as he didn't want to admit it, he was scared.
Tails entered his one bedroom apartment, locked the door and pushed a tall wooden dresser against it. His heart was racing and he kept thinking about when this Lynx guy was going to show up next. Then he remembered Lynx left him a business card to contact him.
Tails thought back to what Knuckles had told him about bullies:
No sense in hiding from them. Just get it over with.
The Fox went downtown, inside a mall and found a payphone. He looked at the phone number on the card and dialed it, then put two quarters into the slot.
After three dial tones, someone picked up. "I was wondering if you'd man up and call me."
"How'd you know it was me?"
"I only gave my business number to you and my buddy Dean. He's dead, so that leaves you, kid."
Lynx was clearly drinking in between sentences and snacking on something chewy. The aggressive lip smacking and burping only made Tails more uncomfortable.
"Are you going to show up to my school again?"
"Until you give me what I want."
"The staff knows you're not a student. You'll be barred from entering school property."
"Then how about I come to your house? I found your school, it wouldn't be hard to find out where you live."
"You're a psycho!" Tails shouted. "You'd go through all kinds of trouble just to get the SAGE program?"
"I've gone through a lot more for lesser things.. (gulp) listen up: you hand it over and I'm outta your life forever. Simple."
This guy drives a mean bargain, but I'll have to say no.
"I'm never going to give the program to a scumbag like you, whoever you are."
Lynx took a moment to laugh, then spoke. "A hero is born over the phone. Alright, Prower. Get ready for a life of pain, embarrassment and loss. You won't give it up, fine. Just remember: I warned you."
Tails slammed the phone onto the receiver and left it to hang as he walked away.
So let me recap today's events:
A gun-wielding psycho just casually strolled through my school, Charmy's entered us into the battle of the bands and my life's been threatened!
…not bad for my first day back.
Life or death has finally come.
Tails entered his apartment once more, moved a metal file cabinet and exposed a secret storage door. He typed in a password and the door swung open, letting out a gust of cold wind. He flipped a light switch and walked to the end of the room.
A silver cellphone encased in glass shined as the light reflected off. Tails opened the case and activated the SAGE program.
Let's see how scary you are on an even playing field.