Chapter 6 – Short Circuit

"Oops, sorry about that!" Tails spun to the side, narrowly missing Belle's head. He lifted the container high above both of them, his arms shaking.

"That's alright," she said with a smile and offered to take the container. She carried it with ease and set it among the other items ready for the next auction. "What did you make this time?"

"Portable home security system," he said, opening the container and taking out a flat, circular disk that fit neatly in his palm. "These can cover an entire room and come loaded with knockout gas. They can be installed anywhere and if you ever move, you can just pry them off and add them to your new place."

"That's a neat invention."

"Thanks." He dumped the disk back in and re-sealed the container. "Really, I just adapted one of Eggman's designs so it was less lethal. He's got some good ideas. If only he wasn't, well…"

"Megalomaniacal?" Belle suggested.

"Exactly." Tails looked over the rest of the items. He was surprised how popular the auctions had become. More and more people felt the giving spirit, donating all sorts of heirlooms, furniture, or everyday helpful pieces. There were a few odd ones here and there, such as a garish modern art statue whose tag insisted that it was abstract art. Personally, Tails thought it looked like a strand of some disgusting sludge he'd find in a grease trap while working in his garage.

Then again, he'd never been one to appreciate art anyway. He had more of an eye for machines and started to examine one donated by another local inventor, some kind of analysis robot. He was wondering whether he should bid on it when Jewel burst through the curtains.

"Thank you both so much again," she said. She acted happy and on top of things, but the red in her bloodshot eyes stood out like the frazzled strands in her hair. "You have no idea how much this helped. Tangle couldn't do it all on her own." As though on cue, the lemur stumbled in with a couple of boxes precariously balanced in her tail, nearly falling over with them. Thankfully, she set them down quickly and pushed the boxes the rest of the way to the other auction items.

"Anytime," Belle said.

"If I could just ask one more teeny tiny little thing?" she said and hovered over to them. "Would either of you be up for being part of the auction?"

Tails looked up from the machine. "I thought you had Sonic here for that?"

"I thought I did too, but I can't get in touch with him. Please, what about one of you?"

Tails stood and opened his arms, showing off the grease stains coating his arms and face and matting down his fur. "Doubt I'd be worth much."

"Not necessarily," Belle said. "Those would be signs you're good with your hands, a hard worker. Gives off a, how would you say, rugged quality?"

A rugged quality? First time he'd heard that been applied to him and he scratched his neck bashfully, unsure how to respond. He puffed chest puffed unconsciously. "Oh, well, thanks."

"Still, you may have a point," Jewel said and turned to Belle. "What about you? I'm sure everyone would be very interested in spending the day with a robot such as yourself."

"Do you think so?" she asked, holding onto her threaded tail and running her fingers through it. "I wouldn't want to ruin your auction."

Jewel flew closer to her, her arm wrapped around Belle's shoulders. "Nonsense. At the very least, someone may just want your help around their house repairing something or other. Not much different from what you do for the Restoration."

She glanced at Tails, still unsure. "What do you think?"

"I'd say go for it. Jewel's right. I think you'll be a hit."

That seemed to be the extra push she needed. "Okay then."

"Great, we need to get you ready then." Jewel hustled Belle toward the waiting area and Tails waved to them. Before he left for the main hall, he memorized the item number on the machine near his feet and counted out his last fifty rings. He crossed his fingers and hoped he had enough.

The auction passed by the same as the others. Tails hardly paid attention to the other items, mainly listening out for the analysis robot, already envisioning the sorts of experiments he could run with it. The only other item he noticed being sold was the gaudy abstract statue to some local wealthy woman, no doubt to join several other hideous artworks in her home.

Around the middle of the auction, Jewel changed up her usual schedule and announced the special guest up for bidding. "One of our own has volunteered to offer her company for the day. A dedicated member of the Restoration, a good friend, and someone that I can assure is worth every ring, please welcome Belle!"

The robot stepped out on stage as the spotlight turned to her and she smoothed out her braided hair nervously. She picked up her tail, dropped it, then picked it up again, clutching it as if for support, and waved to the crowd.

Tails and several others clapped for her, but most of the audience was silent. He looked around and everyone was watching. Watching and frowning to themselves. Whispering and pointing. Never really a good sign in his experience.

"Let's open the bidding. How about fifteen rings?" Jewel asked, looking around. Not one hand raised. "Let's remember people, this is for charity. And she's very skilled after all. No need for tools, she brings her own." Belle caught the hint and held up her hand. The fingertips popped open on the knuckle hinges and out sprang a variety of tinkering tools. "I'm sure she could help fix anything you may need."

"Including some of her Badnik friends?" someone asked from the front.

Oh, no, Tails thought as the hissing around him intensified. Both Jewel and Belle looked startled by the comment and Tails immediately saw where this was heading.

"If you mean fixing machines, then yes," Jewel said. "But she would never—"

"Why would I want an Eggman machine near me?" another asked and the grumbling intensified.

Tails' feet tensed. He had to act, to do something before everything went off the rails.

"Please, you know that she's one of us. She's not with Eggman." Jewel's pleas were drowned out by the crowd, as they were no longer whispering, but out and out jeering.

"Get off the stage!"

"Who wants a murder-bot?"

"Bring out the next item! This one's defective!"

Jewel looked around helplessly and Belle shrank into herself, coiling her tail round and round her hand and holding it tight for support. She shut her eyes, slowly shuffling for the curtain, her anguished expression tugging at Tails, driving him up out of his seat. He flew up and onto the stage, landing beside Jewel and startling everyone.

He bent the microphone towards him and handed over his money. "Fifty rings."

Jewel stared at him for a moment and nodded. She cleared her throat, re-adjusted the microphone, and banged her gavel. "Sold." Then she tilted her head in the curtain's direction. Use the back door, she hinted.

Tails grabbed Belle's hand and dragged her behind the curtain as the audience booed and threw some more insults. They quickly faded as Tangle joined Jewel at the microphone, reprimanding the crowd.

Once they were outside, Tails turned to Belle. Her eyes were still tightly closed and she had a death grip on her tail and his hand. He gently touched her shoulder and spoke as soft and calm as possible. "Hey, it's okay. You're safe now."

Unfortunately, she curled her tail more and suddenly, her foot lashed out in a fierce kick. Tails yelped and jumped off the ground, but she still had a death grip on his hand. He twisted his body upside down, hovering in mid-air just out of her range and only received a fierce gust of wind. She immediately dropped the threaded bunch and his hand, then hopped back and forth from one foot to the other. "Oh, I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to!"

"It's okay," Tails assured her. He was glad he was well aware of that function. Judging from the speed and force of her kick, he'd likely be laid up with a bruised rib. "Are you doing better?"

"Yes," then she shook her head. "I mean, no. I don't know. I wasn't expecting everyone to react like that."

"I know." He held out his hand to her, waiting for her. She sniffled for a long minute, composing her, and slowly accepted it. Despite her wooden body, her hand felt comfortably warm in his, as though she were flesh and blood instead of a robot. "How about we go somewhere else?"

She wiped her forearm across her eyes. "I'd like that."

He took her other hand and spun his namesakes faster. "Alright, hang on."

Thanks to the auction and its proceeds, Restoration headquarters was empty most days, as many of its members were out using the funds to rebuild. Today was no exception and Tails and Belle hardly saw anyone on their way to the lower levels. Tails explained to her that he had work to do on vehicle sensors. "I'm hoping to improve their range. Right now, if they find anything of interest, they essentially have to be right on top of it. Not much use if they're looking for something miles underground."

"Like what?"

"Caves, like—" he almost mentioned Eggman's hidden bases, but caught himself and made up other reasons. "Underground caves, fault lines, stuff like that." As they rode the elevator down to the lower levels, he swung his arms and looked around. "You don't have to stay if you don't want to."

"That's alright. You paid for a day with me after all."

"True."

"Do you not want me to stay?"

"No, you're welcome to," he assured her. She beamed at him and dozens of tiny nerves sparked throughout his stomach and arms, flooding him with warmth.

Once they entered one of the workshops, Tails grabbed the sensor he had been working on and cleared a space on the table. Belle dutifully brought over some tools and he set them out, along with some blueprints he had drawn the other day. "I think I've got most of it working," he said, turning it on. Nothing happened and he groaned, popping open the cover of the cone-shaped sensor and pushing aside a few wires. "Or did. The main problem is that it still doesn't reliably detect heat signatures. A couple of the emergency workers asked for that feature so they could find anyone trapped underground. Could you hand me that screwdriver?"

She passed it to him and looked over the blueprints. "How long have you been at this?"

"Off and on. They brought it up again at yesterday's meeting with Jewel, so I figured I'd try to finish it today." He yanked his fingertips back from an electric spark and pouted. "If I could just figure it out. It's like it doesn't have enough power, but I checked all the parts yesterday. They should be good."

Belle held up the blueprints. "This design looks familiar."

"Yeah, it was based on one of Eggman's," Tails said, peering back into the mess of components. Then he realized what he'd just done and cursed his loose tongue. Way to go, genius. "I'm sorry for pushing you to go up there."

"It's not your fault." Belle flipped to the next blueprint. "Thanks for bidding on me earlier," she said quietly. "You didn't have to."

"I wanted to," he said. "You're my friend, right?" She looked up at him and he smiled. "Those people missed out on spending the day with someone like you."

She lowered her head in embarrassment and buried her bright nose deep in the blueprints. "Th-Thank you."

Yes, they certainly missed out. Who wouldn't want to spend time with someone cute like her? The stray thought burned Tails' own cheeks and he coughed, returning back to the sensor. His fingers fumbled with the screwdriver and he cast around for something else to talk about. "Besides I know what it's like to be an outcast."

"You do?"

He flicked his twin appendages into the air. "Yeah. Everyone used to make fun of me for these."

"Oh, I'm sorry." Thankfully, she didn't ask about it. Instead, she reached out for one of them with a questioning glance at him. He stretched one of the tails out to her and she stroked it. "It's so soft. I like them."

He ducked his head further in his work, hiding his goofy grin. "They're also pretty handy." He used the other to grab some spare wires off a nearby shelf and dropped them into his outstretched hand with a flourish.

"Not bad."

"Yeah, it's like having an extra pair of hands." Digging through the wires, he found that one of the circuits appeared to have shorted out, but he'd need to remove it first. Searching the table, he asked, "Have you seen a flathead around here?"

"Like this?" she asked, opening one of her fingers and producing a tiny flathead screwdriver.

"Exactly. If you wouldn't mind?" He pointed out the circuit and stepped back while she removed it. As she passed it to him, his fingers brushed against hers and his heart beat faster. He tried to ignore it as he set it on the table and pulled over a desk lamp to look at it. "Well, let's see the problem."

A closer examination of the circuit confirmed that it was indeed dead and useless. How though? It should have enough power and he installed it yesterday. Tossing it aside, he rummaged through some storage bins in the workshop for an hour, searching for another similar one. Belle looked over the blueprints again and said, "I think I see something here."

He raised his head out of one box and joined her back at the table. She spread out the blueprints and pointed to one section of the schematics. "You're using an EGG-1213?"

"Right, which should power it enough."

"It should, but Eggman found out later the EGG-1213 was prone to shorting out and actually caused fires. So he switched back to the EGG-1212."

"I'm guessing he didn't test the 1213 adequately before using them. Should've known. Hang on, I have a 1212 somewhere."

It took another few hours of searching between the pair before he found an old 1212 buried at the bottom of one of the boxes. "Ever think of organizing any of these?" she asked him.

"And ruin my functional mess?" She laughed at his joke and he was glad to see her back to her normal self. He stood next to Belle, watching closely as she slotted it into the sensor where the last one was. "Here's hoping." He powered on the sensor.

The screen on the sensor's side flickered on and displayed a list of options. Tails scrolled down to the heat signature detection and selected it. Immediately, the screen switched to a three-dimensional grid view of the Restoration headquarters and displayed several dots along the floors. Including two dots near the center, emitting a three second beep that it located himself and Belle.

"It works. Finally!" he cheered and hugged her tightly. She squeaked and he quickly let go, embarrassed of himself. "Sorry, sorry. I've just been driving myself crazy over that."

"It's alright," she said, a little dizzy and holding onto the table.

Then he realized that he never did clean the grease out of his fur earlier and he'd gotten some on her overalls. "Oh, no. I didn't mean to mess up your clothes."

She checked the overalls and shrugged. "It's okay. I'm used to getting a little dirty while working."

The room suddenly seemed very quiet. The whole building did, as if those other heat signatures on the sensor had vanished and left the two of them behind. Despite knowing how weird he came off at the moment, he couldn't stop looking at Belle. She didn't say anything about it, as she stared at him too.

He admired her. Not just on a technical level, although that was impressive too. She was curious and open to the world and all sorts of wonderful possibilities with a fresh wonder. Not to mention smart and kind. She hadn't let any of the hate or suspicion she received get to her. No, she'd pressed on and kept her positive attitude.

Sure, while under his Dr. Tinkerer persona, Eggman likely designed her to be cute on purpose, but Tails thought she was more than that. She was quite pretty and this time, there was no further work to distract him from the notion. What kind of person would ever treat her harshly? A cold-hearted snake, that's who.

He wanted to protect her, be there for her. He just didn't know how to say it to her. He opened his mouth, hoping the words would suddenly form on the tip of his tongue. She raised her eyebrows expectantly and their arms raised, reaching for one another.

Then Tails snatched up the sensor. "I'd, uh, better get this up to the vehicle depot so they can run a field test."

"Right, okay," she said and hung her head. Tails cursed himself and wanted to smash the sensor against his forehead until the electricity shocked some sense into his brain. "Since it's late, I'll go see if someone else needs help around here before I recharge for the night."

"Okay." She turned and headed for the door. Tails screamed at himself. You can't let it just end here. Say something. Say anything! His feet moved before his mouth did and he hefted the sensor under his arm, chasing after Belle and stopping her at the door. "Hey, Belle?"

She raised her head, a hopeful, expectant twinkle in her eye. "Yes?"

"If you'd like, you're welcome to come here tomorrow or anytime you want. To help or hang out." To get away from any rude people like today. "I wouldn't mind." No, he had to do better than that. "I-I mean, I'd enjoy it if you did. Not that you have to, but if you want to," he quickly added.

Belle rubbed her arm and looked away. "I'd like that. If you're sure."

"I'm sure. I like you-I mean, I'd like you to come."

"Then yes."

He shuffled awkwardly on the spot, unsure how to proceed. His namesakes drifted close to Belle, brushing at her fingertips. She stretched her fingers, reaching for him and rubbing the tip between her thumb and forefinger.

The sensor suddenly beeped again that it detected heat signatures, nearly making Tails drop the machine. He quickly caught it and retrieved his fluffy appendages, placing them up and alert behind him. "I'd better get this to the depot."

"Yes, sounds good," she said and he quickly bid her farewell as she continued to the elevator. He lingered at the workshop door, watching until she was out of sight, and for a while longer. Although he hadn't returned with the analysis robot he'd had his eye on, he felt like he'd still won more at the auction than anyone else.