Chapter 24 Tangle and Jewel
Jewel was currently laying down on the couch, enjoying herself as she read through the log that Tangle had been keeping all this time. She had just gotten to the part where she stopped a couple of thugs from ruining a savannah.
"She really has been doing a lot since she got here." Jewel said to herself. 'She's always wanted to be a hero, ever since she first heard about Sonic… she must really be happy about all of this.'
"Heya Jewel!" Tangle said as she leapt onto the couch. "Enjoying the read?"
"Yes, I am." Jewel said.
"What part are you at?"
"Savannah."
"Gotcha." Tangle said with a laugh.
"You've been doing some great things so far as far as I can see." Jewel pointed out. "I can't wait to find out what you've been doing more recently."
What happened next surprised Jewel. Tangle looked very… nervous?
"Oh uh, yeah! I only get better! Yeah!" Tangle said. "Don't rush through though, you're gonna want to know every single detail!"
"Uh… right? I'll do that…"
"Great! Anyways! I am gonna go for a run talk to you later!" Tangle said as she got up and left the room.
"… I should probably ask someone about that."
"And that's what happened…" Jewel finished explaining to Amy.
"Huh… that's not like her at all." Amy said.
"I know, I was hoping you would know what was going on with her." Jewel said.
"Hmmm… I don't know, I would think she would be excited for you to find out what she's been up to lately, especially with that building…"
"Building?"
"Spoilers, sorry." Amy said. "Wait… does this have to do with what happened with Shadow?"
"Shadow?"
"Well, there was an incident recently involving a guy called Shadow. Let's just say she's really been beating herself up over it." Amy explained. "I thought she moved past it when she found out you were here…"
"Well… sometimes she is able to bounce back when she feels down… but when she really starts to have doubts about something, it usually sticks with her for a while." Jewel explained. "She can be good at hiding it sometimes, but not all the time."
"Really? I never would of guessed." Amy said.
"She doesn't want anyone to ever think of her as weak, so she never tells anyone about her issues… I only know about this because I figured it out on my own." Jewel explained.
"Right… maybe you should talk to her then?" Amy asked.
"That wouldn't really work. When she's really down about something, even I can't snap her out of it. At least, not easily." Jewel said. "Usually she needs a mood booster to help with that."
"Mood booster? You mean something other than reuniting with you the other day?" Amy asked.
"Well, like you said, she seemed to move past it when she found out I was here." Jewel said. "If we talked to her about it then, she probably would of listened and it would of been helpful. But now…"
"Ok… so what do we do?" Amy asked.
"Well… did you happen to celebrate her birthday yet?" Jewel asked.
"Her birthday passed while we've been here?" Amy asked.
"Uh yeah, I'll take that as a no…" Jewel said. "Figured she wouldn't want to celebrate without me…"
"She really… really seems attached to you." Amy said. "Any idea why?"
"I think it has to do with me being the first… and really only person who was willing to be her friend back home." Jewel explained. "Once the bullies found out about her tail, they quickly realized that they couldn't really take her in a fight… so they decided to use a less… direct approach."
"Meaning?"
"They pretty much scared everyone out of being her friend." Jewel said. "I was the only one who didn't listen to them, so I was her only friend for… four years I think."
"Four years?! It's just been the two of you for that long?!"
"Yeah… Tangle was I think about nine when we became friends." Jewel said. "I was ten."
"She also told us that you were the closest thing to family that she had… what about her parents?" Amy asked.
"No-one really knows what happened to them… the mayor might, but he's back home." Jewel explained. "All I know is that she was left in our village one day, with no memories of what happened."
"And you? Do you think of her the same way?" Amy asked.
"Of course… my parents died not too long before I met her, so Tangle is the closest thing to family that I have." Jewel explained.
"Well then, we have to do everything we can to help your sister!" Amy said with a smile.
Jewel smiled right back. "Right."
"I'll give Tails a call, you talk to Vanilla and Ella about the food."
"Of course! And… Thank you Amy." Jewel said.
"Anything for my friends!" Amy said with a smile.
"A birthday party?" Tails asked.
"Yeah, turns out Tangle never told us her birthday passed, so we are going to throw her a surprise party!" Amy explained. "Make sure you tell Sonic next time you see him."
"Oh, actually, he's in the other room, I'll go get him!" Tails said.
In the background, Amy could hear Tails argue with Sonic.
"Come on Sonic, it's important! This is something for Tangle!" She heard Tails say.
"Oh alright…" Sonic said as he answered the phone. "Hey Amy…"
"Hey Sonic, so, Tangle's birthday was last month."
"It was? Huh… why didn't she say anything?" Sonic asked.
"Probably didn't want to celebrate without Jewel." Amy explained. "But now that Jewel is here…"
"We gotta throw her a big bash, got it!" Sonic said.
"Exactly. We are handling all the preparations on our end, so you just make sure you show up tomorrow!" Amy explained. "Also… this is to help cheer her up after what happened with Shadow."
"She's still upset about that?" Sonic asked.
"Yeah… it's really bad…" Amy said. "So… maybe think of something to say to her tomorrow? Something to help cheer her up?"
"Got it, see you tomorrow."
After Amy hung up, he turned to Tails.
"Tails… I think you know what we gotta do."
The Next Day
Everyone was gathered in the kitchen, discussing the plans for the day when Tangle walked in.
"*yawn* good morning…" Tangle said groggily.
"Morning! Uh… sleep alright?" Jewel asked.
"Eh, it was a rough one, that's for sure." Tangle said. "Don't worry, I'll be fine after I get some breakfast."
"Well, It's a good thing I just finished making some pancakes!" Vanilla said. "Jewel and I have been working on a nice recipe lately, so I hope you enjoy it!"
"Ok…" Tangle said as she sat down. "Wait… is the syrup red?"
"Just try it, you'll like it!" Jewel said.
After the first bite, Tangle immediately knew why Jewel said that.
"Is this… strawberry flavored?" Tangle asked.
"Yup, your favorite!" Jewel said.
Tangle smiled at this. "You know me way too well…"
"Hurry up and eat, I want us to do something today." Jewel said.
"Oh? What's that?" Tangle asked.
"Well, we haven't really just… spent a day together since I came here… maybe you can show me around town? Help me see the sights?" Jewel said.
Tangle grinned at this. "Of course! A day with my best friend?! That sounds amazing!"
"Well, let's eat, and we can get going!" Jewel said as she sat down to eat as well.
Before long, the two of them were walking out.
"Right, let's make this the best birthday party ever!" Amy said as she pumped her fist up into the air.
"YEAH!"
"So, where do you want to go first?" Tangle asked as she peddled along.
"Honestly, just a day in the city sound nice. I didn't see much, but what I did see the last time I was there was really nice." Jewel said.
"Alright… oh! There's a nice park there! I think that'll be a good place to start!" Tangle said.
"That sounds great!" Jewel said.
"Well hang on tight! I am gonna get us there in a jiffy!" Tangle said before she went full speed, much to Jewel's terror.
A little while later, they arrived.
"T-Tangle… you know I don't like going so fast…" Jewel said.
"Sorry, sorry, I couldn't help myself!" Tangle said. "This is the first time we've really spent time together in over half a year after all."
"Still… I would of preferred to of talked to you rather than screaming…" Jewel said.
"Oh… right, sorry…" Tangle said.
"It's fine, don't worry about it." Jewel said. "That being said… go slower from now on."
"You got it!"
The two of them went over to a bench and sat down, deciding to just take in the sights.
"So, what were you doing all this time?" Tangle asked.
"Oh, well, I was staying with Vanilla this entire time." Jewel said. "She was really hospitable, and even taught me how to cook some great dishes while I was staying with her."
"That sounds nice." Tangle said.
"It was… I still missed you terribly though." Jewel said. "Regardless, I also did some work on my dream while you were gone."
"Really? How'd you manage that?" Tangle asked.
"Well, Vanilla and I would often go out for walks. Both to just enjoy the scenery, and to hopefully find a clue as to what happened to you guys." Jewel said as she opened the bag she took with her. "During these walks… I started a new hobby."
She then took out an album.
"Heh, looks like I wasn't the only one who was working with a book a lot." Tangle said.
"Looks to be that way." Jewel said as she opened the album. "I've been taking photos of the scenery, and keeping them in this album."
"Wow… you've gotten really good." Tangle said.
"I want to show everyone how beautiful our world is… can't do that if I don't have an eye for beauty myself." Jewel said.
"Right… we… both really made big steps towards achieving our dreams, huh?"
"You more-so than me." Jewel said. "You stopping that bank robbery from the other day is proof of that."
"Heh… yeah…" Tangle said, looking a bit down.
"…Tangle?"
"Well well well! Look at who it is!" The two heard a voice from behind them.
They turned around to see a certain bat waving at them.
"Rouge?" Tangle asked. "Oh wow, good to see you!"
"Likewise." Rouge said. "Haven't seen you since the Ark."
"Y-yeah! It's been a while." Tangle said.
"So, who's this pretty little thing?" Rouge said, pointing towards Jewel.
"This is Jewel, my best friend." Tangle introduced. "Not an actual jewel, do not steal her."
"Oh don't worry, I don't make a habit of kidnapping." Rouge said with a laugh. "And even if she was a jewel, I wouldn't steal her in broad daylight like this."
"Good point." Tangle said.
"Uh…"
"Oh right! Jewel, this is Rouge! She was pretty much the first friend I made in this world!" Tangle said.
"Oh! You were the one who helped Tangle find Sonic and the others, right?" Jewel asked.
"Yes I am! Surprised you know about that." Rouge said.
"Tangle's been keeping a log of everything, and she's letting me read it to catch up." Jewel explained.
"Ah, gotcha." Rouge said. "Say Jewel, you mind if I speak with you alone?"
"Oh uh…" Jewel said looking towards Tangle.
"Go ahead, it'll be fine." Tangle said.
"Ok…"
The two of them walked away, and once they were out of earshot…
"I bumped into Sonic earlier, and he filled me in on what you're doing." Rouge explained. "I'll help you to keep her out and about while the others set up."
"O-oh! Thank you so much!" Jewel said.
"Anything for a friend." Rouge said.
"So uh… I guess you have something planned?" Jewel asked. "Cause I was kinda improvising here…"
"Oh don't worry, I know something that'll keep us busy." Rouge said as she began to walk back.
"Hey, you two alright?" Tangle asked.
"Yeah, just talking about something that has been bothering me for a while now." Rouge said.
"Ok…? And that is?" Tangle asked.
"Is that seriously the only outfit that you got?" Rouge asked.
"Huh? Oh uh… yeah?"
"Oof." Rouge said.
"Hey, what's that supposed to mean?" Tangle asked.
"It means that you're a fashion disaster!" Rouge said.
"Hey, I'm more about function than fashion!" Tangle said. "I can move around easily in this, so it works for me!"
"Yeah… but you aren't exactly in need of jumping into action all the time now, are you?" Rouge asked.
"Heroism takes no breaks! I need to be ready to save someone at the drop of a hat!" Tangle said.
"True… but you also need to make people feel safe, right?" Rouge asked.
"Uh…"
"How are people supposed to feel safe if you look ready for a fight at all times?" Rouge asked.
"Oh… uh… ok, maybe you have a point there…" Tangle said.
"Glad you think so. Now come on, we are getting you some new clothes." Rouge said.
Tangle could only flail around helplessly as her two friends dragged her to the nearest clothing store.
"How about this?" Tangle asked as she held up yet another outfit.
"Oh my gosh girl, you really don't have any fashion sense…" Rouge groaned out.
"H-hey! I'm trying here!" Tangle said.
"She has a point though Tangle… none of these outfits you've picked out really… look too good…" Jewel said.
"It's not my fault that I've never had to do this before!" Tangle said.
The two of her friends just gave her a look.
"… Ok, maybe it is my fault…" Tangle said.
"Geez, how do you expect to get a boyfriend one day if you can't even pick out a good outfit?" Rouge asked.
And Tangle's face went red at this.
"I-I'm not worrying about that any time soon!" Tangle stuttered out.
"Come on, you're what? Thirteen?" Rouge asked.
"Y-yeah…"
"You gotta think about this at some point, and you gotta start practicing this kind of thing one day!" Rouge said.
"Uh… uh… let's get off that topic please?!" Tangle begged.
"Fine…" Rouge said. "I guess I'm going to have to give you a helping hand though."
Rouge then went over to the clothing rack and took a look around. After a couple of minutes, she went over to one of the store clerks with something in her hands. After a moment, she walked back to them.
"Uh… what did you talk to her about?" Tangle asked.
"Told her we needed to customize the outfit, so you can wear it with your tail there." Rouge said. "Human clothes don't exactly account for that."
"Oh… uh… what if I don't like the outfit?" Tangle asked.
"Oh trust me, you will." Rouge said.
About an hour later, Tangle emerged from the changing room.
"Ok uh… I gotta admit… you were right." Tangle said. "This outfit… really is nice."
"Told ya!" Rouge said.
Tangle was wearing a black, off the shoulder top, with grey shorts, which came with a light blue belt. Not only this, she abandoned her gloves and is now wearing a new pair of white/light blue shoes.
"It really suits you!" Jewel said.
"Yeah… it does." Tangle said. "I think I'll take it!"
"Good, cause it's already paid for." Rouge said.
"Really?" Jewel asked.
"Yeah, the president passed a bill a while back that covers all of Sonic and his friends expenses." Rouge explained.
"Oh… well that's nice." Jewel said.
"Really came in handy when we were getting supplies for Tails' workshop." Tangle said.
"I can imagine." Rouge said. "Now, I know a great diner around here, so how's about we grab something to eat before you go home?"
"That sounds great!" Jewel said.
"Sure, I can go for something to eat." Tangle said.
"Well, let's get going!" Rouge said.
"Gotta say, this outfit is easy to move around in." Tangle said as she peddled along.
"That's why I picked it, figured you'd rather be able to move easily based on what you said before." Rouge explained.
"Yeah, thanks." Tangle said. "That being said, I don't think I'd knowingly go into a fight wearing this."
"Please don't. It's too nice for that." Rouge said.
"You got it!" Tangle said.
"Hey, is that Tangle over there?" They heard a voice call out.
"Yeah it is! Hey! Tangle!"
"Huh?"
They looked over to see Danny and Frances walking over with Helen in tow.
"Oh hey! How you guys doing?" Tangle asked.
"Doing great! Really liking the new outfit!" Frances said.
"Thanks. Oh right! Introductions! Jewel, these are a couple of Chris' friends. Helen, Danny and Frances." Tangle said, pointing to the humans as she said their names. "Everyone, this is Jewel, my bestest friend from my home world!"
Frances gasped at this reveal. "YOU FOUND HER!"
"Yup!"
"Oh thank goodness! She would not stop talking about how much she missed you." Helen said.
"Oh, I can imagine." Jewel said. "She always gets like that when she's worried about me."
"H-hey! I don't always get like that!" Tangle said.
"You cried for three hours straight when I scraped my knee once…" Jewel said.
Everyone laughed at Tangle's embarrassed face.
"Well excuse me for being worried!"
"Anyways, what are the three are you doing anyways?" Danny asked.
"We were just gonna go and grab some lunch before heading home." Jewel explained. "Care to join us?"
"Oh yeah! I'd love to!" Danny said.
"We can't! Remember? We have things to do!" Frances said.
"Oh right… before we-" Danny started, but was cut off by Frances covering his mouth.
"That's supposed to be a secret! Remember?!" Frances scolded.
"Oh, right… sorry." Danny said.
"We'd love to join you, but we promised Chris we would help him with something today." Helen said. "We'll probably see you back at his house though!"
"Yeah, I guess we'll see you then…" Tangle said, a bit confused as to why they were acting so weird.
"Anyways! I'm getting hungry, so let's get going!" Rouge said, trying to get off the current conversation.
"Oh… alright… See you guys later!" Tangle said as they walked away.
"Bye Tangle!" The three waved.
"… Seriously, you need to think about what you say!" Frances scolded. "You almost gave us away!"
"Sorry… sorry…"
"That diner was nice." Tangle said as she peddled back to the house. "Kinda weird that Rouge had to leave in such a hurry though…"
"I'm sure she's fine." Jewel said. "If what I read is right, she can handle herself."
"Yeah, you're right." Tangle said. "Though, I'm sorry we didn't get to spend the day just the two of us like you wanted."
"Honestly, I think I really enjoyed this." Jewel said. "I got to meet and get to know a friend of yours, someone who really helped you here. I think that was worthwhile."
"If you say so." Tangle said as she approached the house.
When the got inside though.
"Uh… why are all the lights off?" Tangle asked.
"Maybe everyone went out for something?" Jewel asked.
"No… Chris should be here with the others, remember?"
"Huh… maybe the power's out?"
"Let's just find the others and find out." Tangle said.
"Right, maybe the living room?" Jewel asked.
The two of them proceeded to head towards the living room, and when they arrived and tried the lights.
"SURPRISE!"
"GAH!" Tangle said as she jumped back in surprise. "What in the world?!"
After taking a look around at her smiling friends in the room, her eyes landed on the banner hung on the wall.
"Happy (late) birthday Tangle!"
"Huh? What the? How the? Why the?!"
"Someone decided to not tell us that it was her birthday last month." Amy said. "So when her best friend told us about it, we decided that we needed to throw a party to celebrate it!"
Tangle looked to the beetle in question, who just smiled.
"You sneaky little goober you!"
"Happy birthday Tangle, sorry we had to wait so long to celebrate." Jewel said with a smile.
Tangle pulled the beetle in for a brief hug before addressing the group.
"Well, what are we waiting for?! LET'S GET THIS PARTY STARTED!"
The rest of the afternoon was spent playing games, hanging out, and just generally having a great time…
At one point though…
"Alright, can I have everyone's attention please?" Sonic suddenly called out.
"Huh? What's he up to?" Amy asked.
This wasn't part of the plan.
"So, we all agree that we are gathered here to celebrate our friend, Tangle, correct?" Sonic asked.
"Yeah… that's right…" Amy said.
"Well, I think there is something else that I promised that we should celebrate at one point." Sonic said. "And now that Jewel has finally joined us, I think this is the perfect time."
"Uh… what's he talking about?" Jewel asked.
"Tangle, please step forward." Sonic said.
Tangle did just that.
"Ok… you usually go over the top like this for something important… what's going on here?" Tangle asked.
"Tangle, for all of your hard work in fighting against a certain egg shaped creep… for all of the good you have done since we have met you, and most of all, all of the lives that you saved, with zero regard for your own safety…"
"Oh…"
"It is by our power, the two teacher's of the Sonic's school for heroes, being Tails and I, we hereby decree that you gave graduated from your role of 'Hero in Training' to a full fledged hero! Congratulations!"
Tails then walked forward with a diploma in hand.
"Is that why I bumped into them at a party store…?" Rouge asked.
"Probably…" Amy said with a laugh. "Those two I swear…"
"Sonic…" Tangle said, suddenly looking a bit down. "I… I don't deserve this."
"Huh? Why not?" Sonic asked.
'Guess we're addressing this now…' Jewel thought.
"I… I just don't… ok?"
"Is this about what happened on the ark?" Sonic asked.
Tangle stayed silent at that question.
"Tangle…"
"Yes… it is." Tangle said.
"You want to talk about it?" Sonic asked.
"It's just… I felt so… useless during that entire thing." Tangle said. "Not only that, I really only got in the way…"
"What in the world are you talking about?" Sonic asked. "You didn't get in the way!"
"Yeah, I did… I got trounced by Shadow on Prison Island, and almost died… I got caught by Eggman and almost got you killed… I couldn't even help at all fighting him after that… then in the end, when the Ark almost destroyed the planet, I just sat on the sidelines and did nothing…"
Tangle then started crying. "If… if I was able to do something… anything… maybe Shadow would still be alive!"
That… explained a lot, for everyone.
No-one really thought that she would blame herself for Shadow's death.
To everyone's surprise though, it wasn't Sonic who stepped forward at that…
It was Tails.
"Tangle… is that really what's been bothering you all this time?" Tails asked.
"Y-yeah…" Tangle said.
"Geez… you really are acting dumb here." Tails said.
"Whoa… what are you…" Sonic started.
"I was there too you know… when Sonic almost died." Tails said. "If I wasn't so dumb and gave our plan away, Eggman might not of tried to kill him like that."
"Well, guess I don't have to restrain myself…" Tangle remembered Eggman say.
"Also… you really aren't giving yourself enough credit." Tails said. "Amy told me about what you said to Shadow… how you convinced him to come and help us."
"He's right, if you didn't do that, we might not of been able to get to the emeralds in time… heck, that whole plan was your idea to start with!" Sonic said.
"You keep beating yourself up about that… but in the end? You were the one who gave us the power, and knowledge to save the planet that day." Tails said.
"All of that, and you were still recovering from a freaking building falling on top of you!" Sonic said.
"A BUILDING DID WHAT?!" Jewel shouted.
"Welp, guess we spoiled that part of the log…" Amy said.
"There's no way we're gonna blame you for not being able to help out during the fights when you could barely walk at the time!" Sonic said.
"But… Shadow…" Tangle said.
"Hey, how do you think I feel?" Sonic asked. "I was right there with him, super form and all… and I couldn't save him. Like I told you before, I'm not perfect Tangle… no-one is. But what happened to Shadow is not your fault… alright?"
"…"
"Tangle?"
Tangle didn't respond, but just pulled her two friends in for a hug. "Thank you…"
"Any time." Sonic said.
Surprisingly, Amy didn't interrupt the hug this time.
When they separated, Tails once again tried to hand her the diploma, which she accepted.
And everyone gave her an applause.
Then Jewel approached her.
"Ok… seriously… how hard IS your head?!" Jewel asked.
"Hey, to be fair, nothing actually hit my head!" Tangle said. "At least, not much…"
"Geez, I'm glad you're alright though." Jewel said.
"Yeah, same here." Tangle said before wiping the tears out of her eyes.
Tails looked at her with a smile. "Glad to have you back Tangle."
"Thanks for saying all of that Tails… honestly, it helped a lot." Tangle said as she pulled the fox in for a hug all his own.
"No problem, anything to help out my friends." Tails said.
"Anyways, that's enough mushiness." Tangle said as they separated. "BACK TO THE PARTY!"
"There's the Tangle we know!" Sonic said.
As everyone went back to the celebration, Tangle couldn't help but think that things were finally going to go back to normal for her…
That night
Tangle had no idea where she was, just that it was a tight space. She could feel that it was moving, like she was being carried somewhere, while someone was breathing heavily, like they were running.
"Kill the monster!"
"It'll destroy us all!"
"Burn it before it's too late!"
The voices in the distance were slowly getting louder, almost as if the sources were chasing her.
Suddenly, she felt the… whatever she was in going air born, and suddenly start rolling around.
Then, there was nothing but screaming.
—
Tangle woke up with a start, and her eyes darted around the room in a panic.
She looked over to her left to see Jewel asleep in the other bed, unaware that she was awake.
"Wh-what in the world was that?"
End of Chapter 24
This is gonna be a bit of a prelude to a new, completely original arc for the story. You'll find out more about it next time.
I will say though, if you are just kinda skimming through the story, make ABSOLUTE SURE that you read the next arc! It is five chapters long, and it may very well be the most important arc in the entire story! And that is not limited to just this act! It establishes and sets up so much for the future! Also, I am really proud of it, though it is one of, if not THE darkest arc in this story. So please, take some time to read it!
Anyways, with that out of the way…Tangle has a new outfit now! It is based on a image I saw when I was searching for Jewel's concept art. It is done by Jamo_Art on twitter. Honestly, I just really liked the design they came up with, so I wanted to include it here. It just looks like a really good casual outfit. Assume she is wearing this and not her usual outfit when she is not intending on going into a fight. A good example would be just a casual outing like in this chapter would be casual wear, but when Eggman is involved at all, she is suited up. And remember, it's what the outing starts as, not what it becomes!… Or you could just always assume she is suited up ready for action, that's fine too.
So, the next chapter is gonna take place after episode 41, and will include logs for 40 and 41, so I'll see you then!
