"You're kidding," Tails said with anticipation into the phone's receiver. "Y-you want me to lead its production?"
Amy sat patiently on the couch, watching her boyfriend march back and forth with bated breath. "Well, yes, of course," Tails continued. "Lead? Yeah, of course I'm available to lead it, I- h-how much? Yes, that's perfectly reasonable. …Uh-huh… Yes, Friday works for me. 5:00 PM? Yes, I'll bring over the ideas I've had to the meeting. …Yes, thank you! See you then. …Have a good day!" He hung up and turned to Amy with a big grin. "I got the job!"
"YES!" she yelled, jumping out of her seat. She ran over and hugged him tightly, kissing him on the cheek. "Ohhh, I'm so proud of you!"
"Hey, thank Eric!" Tails replied with a laugh. "He's the one who told me Station Square Airlines was interested in a 'flying city' project. What's not totally awesome about that idea?"
"Seems a bit ambitious, but I know for a fact you could pull that off. Just throw in a good word at getting a Rose Fashion store in there somewhere, will ya?"
"Let's wait until I can get a giant indoor city to fly before going that far. I'm basically trying to create the Helicarier from those Marvel movies Silver's always raving about, the nerd."
Amy grinned. "You're a nerd!"
"Yeah…" Tails agreed, before kissing her on the lips. "…But I'm your nerd."
The two of them sat on the couch, cuddling each other. "Mmm… I gotta hit up the post office tomorrow," Amy mumbled.
"You forget to pay a bill or something?" Tails asked.
"Oh, no, nothing like that. I gotta send a letter to Bark."
Tails blinked. "Bark? Of… the Hooligans?"
Amy looked up at him with a smile. "Yeah, we've been pen pals for a while. He's a sweet guy, wish he wasn't still running with Fang's gang. Or Knack, or Jet or whatever he calls himself now."
"Oh, so it's kinda like how Eggman and I talk then?"
"Yeah, just with letters instead of escorted in-person visits."
"Oh, we video call now on a secure line. He's on the ARK for… some reason. NIDS research, I think."
"Well, Bark and I can't really video call even if that was option. I can't really read sign language like that unless it's done in person."
"That makes sense, I guess. How long have you been… writing… to him?"
Amy looked up at him and smirked. "Why, you jealous?"
Tails looked away, blushing. "N-no…"
"So you'll admit to me you were jealous of Sonic, but you won't admit you're jealous of Bark?"
"What do I care if you're sending letters to a criminal like those women in those true crime podcast stories you listen to do?"
"I'm not gonna run away with some other guy, you dork. You're so paranoid."
"I… just got some serious insecurities, I guess."
"That's ok! We can work through those." She grabbed his hand. "Together."
He smiled at her, holding her hand in turn. "Yeah, together."
After a bit, Tails turned to his girlfriend with a smirk. "Wanna get some ice cream? In the old Tornado II?"
She looked up at him with a grin. "As long as you pack enough spare fuel for the thing. Don't wanna worry about getting stuck on the edge of a cliff again."
"Don't worry, I got that covered now! Besides, we made it back didn't we?"
"We barely made a safe landing on your runway, jerk." She lightly punched him on the arm teasingly.
The kitsune sat up and stretched. "Welp, I gotta get changed into my pilot's gear," he said with a grin.
"I'll wait for you in the plane then, Captain," she replied as she got up and walked to the hangar.
Fifteen minutes later, the kitsune was walking towards the plane that his girlfriend sat out, adjusting the strap in his pilot's hat as he held out his hand to her. With a smile that made his heart melt, she pulled him up with her incredible strength, helping him into the pilot's seat. After flicking a few switches and checking a few measurements, he looked over his shoulder with a smile. "You ready?" he asked.
"Ready for take off, Captain!" Amy replied with a playful salute.
With a chuckle, Tails faced forward once more, pulling his goggles down to cover his eyes. As he fiddled with the controls, the propeller turned on and began to spin rapidly. Steering the plane out of the hangar, he began to ready for takeoff as he switched to speeding down the runway. As soon as they pulled up and into the sky, he cheered, "WOO-HOO! It still works!"
"You've gotta stop saying that!" Amy yelled over the winds. "It makes me nervous!"
"Sorry, sorry! I'm just so happy this thing still runs after all these years!"
As the plane flew towards the city, the two of them enjoyed each other's company, reflecting on the wild past few months they've had. From Knuckles being a temporary roommate, to reconciling with Cream, to Eggman's revelation of his diagnosis, all the way to finally telling her how he felt, it was hard to believe so much had happened in such a short span of time. As for Amy, coming out with a fashion line inspired by her and her closest friends, followed by finally closing the door on her potential relationship with Sonic and opening a new one with Tails was crazy to watch unfold over so little time, but she didn't mind. It wasn't just busy for them, but also their friends as well. Sonic coming to terms with his sexuality. Knuckles moving on from Rouge. Vector making amends with Mighty and Ray. Charmy coming to see Vector as his father- albeit, with the help of an internet celebrity. Even their surperfans, Eric and Jackie, getting married. Life had been crazy in general for a bit, but now it was getting easy again.
"Unidentified aircraft, this is Station Square Air Traffic Control, you are approaching Station Square," a voice crackled from the plane's radio. "This is a restricted airspace, please respond."
Amy reached over and grabbed the headset from the dashboard. "This is Tornado II to Station Square Air Traffic Control!" she yelled over the winds as she pressed the mic to her mouth. "Just flying into town to pick up some ice cream!"
After a short pause, the voice on the other end returned. "…Roger that, Tornado II. Do you need a place to land?"
Amy moved the mic away and called her to boyfriend, "Do we?!" Upon seeing him nod, she pulled the mic toward her again and yelled, "Yes! Permission to land, over!"
"Roger that… runway six should be clear for a few hours… Ok Tornado II, please land on runway six and taxi your plan to the nearest hangar, over."
"Copy that! Runway six, taxi to nearest hangar, over!" As soon as the line went dead, she asked, "How'd I do?!"
"You did amazing, sweetheart!" Tails yelled back, pride in his voice.
Pulling in for a landing, Tails steered the Tornado II towards runway six at Station Square Airport. Touching down with a little bump, he slowly moved the old biplane to the nearest hangar, backing it up slowly. "Well I'll be damned," a worker yelled, his voice echoing throughout the hangar. "On Eric's day off no less! I'm surprised that thing ain't falling apart!"
"I know how to fix up nearly any kinda plane!" Tails called back with a smile. "That includes keeping them in tip-top shape!"
The worker pushed a ladder to the side of the plane as soon as it parked. "I'll say! Never thought I'd see the Tornado up close. Mind if I get a selfie with you two? Gotta brag to Eric about this. His wife will get a kick out of the fact Ms. Rose is here, too!"
"Sure thing! Always happy to take a photo with fans!" Amy said cheerfully as she and Tails climbed out of the plane. The two of them posed with big grins next to him as a snapped a couple photos.
After thanking them, the worker left to return to his job and the two of them were escorted to the inside, making their way out into the city. "I'm gonna be honest," Tails muttered to his girlfriend, "I didn't think they'd let us land."
"Guess you got more star power than you thought, huh, hotshot?" Amy asked, punching him in the arm playfully.
Tails rubbed his neck sheepishly. "Well, to be honest, I used to land the Tornado IV here all the time. I only stopped because Commander Tower said no one cares if I park my private jet on G.U.N. HQ's front lawn."
"So you do take advantage of your celebrity status, but only when it comes to where and when you can land your plane. …Yep, that fits you to a T."
"Oh shush, miss 'get my fashion brand in your fancy floating city project,' you abuse your celebrity status more often than you think you do."
"Hey, I was… like, half-joking."
"So you were half-serious, then?"
"Gah, I'm gonna be arguing against a genius the rest of my life…"
"Better than arguing against a brick wall!"
"True!"
The two of them giggled as they walked out of the airport, holding hands as they strolled down the sidewalk. There wasn't much of a line at the ice cream parlor, but both already knew exactly what they wanted- a double scoop of vanilla and a double scoop of strawberry, garnished with a cherry each- so it wasn't a big deal. Before Amy could pull out her wallet, Tails was already paying for them both. "My turn!" he said, flashing her a grin.
"Is it? I think I've lost track," she replied as she took her cone from him.
"Pretty sure? Whatever, I'm being a gentleman. That's gotta mean something!"
"Whatever you say, dork."
Walking out of the shop and towards the park, they are their ice cream in silence, holding hands once again. They didn't seem to notice the gossip and pointing from passerby's. In the distance, a fox looked up from his notepad, a bitter expression crossing his face when saw the happy couple- but mainly when he saw the twin-tailed fox. Quickly, he snapped a pic of them on his phone, then wrote something on his notepad. "Fangirl Settles for the Sidekick." He smirked. Part of him felt guilty, but he ignored that feeling. He looked up, and the pair were gone.
At the park, the happy couple, blissfully unaware of and uncaring of what the world may think of them, took a seat at the edge of the fountain. Ever since that day, it had quickly become their favorite spot in the whole city. With their cones half-finished, they looked into each other's eyes, then leaned in and shared a kiss. "This is such a beautiful spot, isn't it?" Amy asked.
"You bet it is," Tails agreed.
"I'm so glad you told me how you felt here… and… in general, I guess. I never could've gotten the courage to do that."
"Well… it just felt like the right time, I guess. I love you, Amy. Remember that."
She rest her head on his chest. "I love you too, Miles. I'll always remember that."
As the sun set, the two finished their ice cream in peace. Everything about this moment in time was perfect. They loved each other deeply and both of them knew that well. Even if it did take a few crazy months to finally get together, neither of them would change a moment of it.
Because in the end, they found each other.
Together, the future never looked so bright.
Somewhere far off from the mainland, a dimly lit rundown warehouse's lights flashed into the night. In the inside, two people watched- one with indifference, the other with awe- as a series of mechanical arms messed around with the tools of a surgeon and a mechanic alike. Restrained to the operating table, a broad shouldered chameleon male bit down on a metal rod in his mouth as the pain surged throughout his body. He didn't bother screaming, he'd volunteered for this, after all. All he desired now was his vengeance, and these modifications to his body would help him get just that.
One of the people watching him, the indifferent cheetah woman, looked down at a tablet in her hand which displayed various real-time data sets. "Adrenaline is high," she muttered. "We're all out of sedatives, though, so he'll just have to deal with that. Be careful with his heart, though. It's beating so fast I'm surprised he hasn't entered cardiac arrest."
The awed ox boy beside her, who couldn't have been more than eight years old, turned to look at the computer monitors beside him. "Hmm…" he muttered. "The limited FRV samples he's been given seem to be doing their job well. Perfect blending of flesh and metal all throughout the left torso. His arm, though… I'm worried about how all those shifting gears are gonna work here. Might be good to take a break-"
"NMPH!" the chameleon screamed through the bar in his mouth, rage in his eyes. "FIMISH ID!"
"A-alright," the boy agreed reluctantly. "Are we good to go on connecting the blood vessels to the wiring?"
"As good as we'll ever be," the woman replied with a grimace. "Proceed."
"Okay… umm… proceeding with arm attachment." After a few strokes on the keyboard and a few clicks from his mouse, the machinery began working again. "Connecting power supply to optical nervous system." Unable to hold it in anymore, the chameleon began to scream out as the intense pain finally became too much for him to bear. The boy looked up at the woman.
"He's fine," the woman reassured him. "His heart rate is spiking, but it's manageable for right now. If only Firewall had just done his job and taken those medical supplies instead of jumping the gun on attacking his old workplace…"
"Nothing we can do about that now. Anyways, it's time to open the stump all the way. We gotta connect the metal to his bone structure."
As the horrific operation continued, an amalgamation of machine and flesh watched on from the shadows, resting on a throne of junk, unable to move their limbs to any reasonable amount. They scanned their surroundings, monitoring the procedure's progress through their permanent connection to the facility's mainframe. After a half an hour of watching the operation, they seemed to finally make a breakthrough.
"It's- it's working!" the boy yelled with excitement. "The wires are connecting to his blood vessels seamlessly!"
"Quickly, sew him up with FRV!" the woman commanded.
"R-right!"
One of the robot arms lowered a syringe filled with a silver liquid, glowing green bubbles floating throughout it. Delicately, it slowly allowed drops of the liquid to fall from the string along the portions where the machine connected to the rest of body. The chameleon screamed in pain once again, smoke rising off his skin from where the liquid touched his skin.
"STATUS REPORT," a robotic voice echoed from the shadows.
"How goes the progress?" a feminine voice asked.
"Good, I hope," a masculine voice added.
"He's in a lot of a pain," the woman noted, "but other than that, he's relatively alright, biologically speaking."
"This FRV stuff is crazy," the boy added in wonder. "His arm and torso are blended so perfectly to the cybernetics!"
"As to be expected. The Forced Roboticization Virus is an improvement on the Metal virus' formula in every capacity."
"Such advancements were only possible to the data recovered from-"
"DR. IVO ROBOTNIK'S DESTROYED MACHINES."
"Well, it wasn't easy getting all that," the boy replied. "Martha had to buy some under an alias, but some influencer has been hoarding his tech for some stupid reason. Gaia, I hope his whole career burns down in the next two years or so."
"That's an oddly specific time frame, Daniel," Martha replied. "Regardless, we got enough to get the formula substantially improved- and those files on the time eater have proved very useful on our latest cybernetic upgrade here."
"Speaking of which," Daniel but in, "looks like the procedure is finishing up."
As the robotic arms began to power down and retract, the straps holding him down came undone and the metal bar in his mouth lifted, saliva dripping off it. The chameleon took a few moments to catch his breath and calm down. "How do you feel?" One of the voices from the shadows asked.
"Improved and-"
"OPERATING AT MAXIMUM CAPACITY."
The chameleon stared blankly at the ceiling. Slowly, he raised his arms, then moved the augmented one closer to his face, moving his fingers around. "It's so… weird, this feeling…" he muttered between shallow breaths. "I've been without a left arm for almost sixteen years… and now I've got this here, as easily controllable as the real thing… and even more powerful."
"What's your new name gonna be?" Daniel asked. "It's gotta be related to your power, like Firewall's!"
"Power, huh?"
"Yeah, you activate it through your thoughts," Martha explained. "Try it out."
"Just think about it huh? Let's see…"
The chameleon thought hard for a moment. Suddenly, the gears on his arm began to click and whir rapidly, letting off purple electric sparks, before suddenly he vanished, only to reappear standing not too far from the ox and cheetah.
"Woah, you can teleport!" Daniel yelled in awe.
"…Something like that," the chameleon said carefully, taking in his surroundings.
"Now what about your name?! It should be something like jumper! Or phaser or-"
"What about Clockwork?" Martha suggested. "The gears turned pretty quickly before you jumped."
"Clockwork… I like that. Call me Clockwork."
"Welcome to the Unified, Clockwork."
"The second successful procedure has concluded. You just might be more-"
"POWERFUL THAN YOUR PREDECESSOR. LACK OF IVO ROBOTNIK MACHINERY MAY BE A FACTOR."
"-Or so I suspect."
"Yeah, thanks for the upgrade, boss," Clockwork replied to them with a smirk. "Can I see your face? All I'm seeing is that red dot where I assume your eyes are."
"Our appearance is frightening to the little one."
"Understandably so, given all I've been through."
"I-it's ok," Daniel said quickly. "I'll look away. I'll hide behind Ms. Gates!"
"VERY WELL THEN. ACTIVATING LIGHT FIXTURES."
The fluorescent lights slowly began to turn on, one by one, in the shadowy part of the warehouse. Several bundles of cables and wires wrapped around piles of scattered robot parts and other assorted junk. Everything seemed to center around one point in the room. When the last light turned on, Daniel buried his face in Martha's leg. The woman rested her hand on his shoulder for comfort, but didn't look away from the horror before her. Clockwork's eyes widened. "Holy shit," he whispered.
On a throne of old, broken CRT televisions and old computer towers, tangled up with old wires and cables, the mangled, broken, partially robotocized body of a platypus sat, unmoving outside of the occasional drawing of breath. Connected to the right side of his body, the destroyed body of an old E-Series robot was hooked up to all sorts of machinery. The right half of his head was shared with the robot's, covering most of his own face aside from the beak. An "omega" symbol rested on the robot's right arm. A data module was hardwired and latched into his chest, covering his body in a rotating glow of black and red, occasionally swapping to white and blue-green.
"As you can see," the main body spoke. "I have been through quite the ordeal."
"We all have…" the feminine voice added.
"ALL WRONGED BY DR. EGGMAN," the robotic voice continued.
"Separate, we were weak. Together-"
"Together…"
"TOGETHER!"
"Together, we are United. We are the Master Control Program."
"MASTER!"
"Control…"
"The Master Control Program, leader of the United. The United who will bring about the master race."
"MASTER RACE!"
"The perfect blend of flesh and machine..."
"Together, united in one body."
There was a silence as the other three soaked in what the mass of flesh and machinery had said. The words resonated with them each, in different ways. "Well… what do we do now boss?" Clockwork asked finally.
The Master Control Program answered with one simple word: "Prepare."
To be continued…
Author's Note: And with that, the end of this story has come. Thank you all so very much for the support on this story. The response has been so amazing and I honestly appreciate it so, very much. Special thank you to Who's Anonymous, Ebonite27, DaddlerTheDalek, e, and all the other who left multiple reviews on all these chapters. Another thank you especially to I'mFlying, who's review genuinely touched my heart. As you guys can probably tell, there will be a sequel to this. In fact, this is the first story in a planned quadrilogy, but one thing at a time. I'm going to take a break from this series to work more on Architect of a Multiverse and My Life as a Robot Girlfriend some more and flesh out those stories. Don't worry though, I'll be making a TailAmy one-shot collection to add stories to whenever I feel like it to tide you over. Join the Discord to be on the lookout for updates! I also have an AO3 account now, that is linked on my main page alongside the discord. I'll be backing up my stories with grammatical and spelling fixes, as well as minor continuity errors such as referencing god, chaos, and Gaia interchangeably. Going forward on that, Knuckles will be the only one who says "Chaos," most mobians will say "Gaia" and most humans will say "God," hope that makes sense.
Lastly, thank you to Kero_Flakes/Keromie for the cover art! I commissioned her and turned out very well :) Guess it did take years to get done, but in the end it was worth it. Thanks again for all the love on this and my other stories, I really appreciate it. Stay tuned for more, check out my other stories if you're interested, and as always,
See you all later.