Tails' Spark – Chapter 6: What Do You Mean, Forgotten?!

Tails was adjusting well enough to this world, but was still in shock. He'd been researching the world he was currently in for so long, yet he never expected he'd actually be IN it. Unfortunately, unlike everyone else, he could remember everything that had happened. No, that wasn't the problem. The problem was, he had lost his heart.

He was on a big street, Mean Street, he recalled, and he knew his heart was somewhere here. He'd seen it fall in Tomorrowland, and he needed to get back there. Another problem was, information was scarce online, and he barely managed to get any knowledge of Mean Street alone.

He'd also had a lack of sleep, and couldn't remember much of anything he'd researched then, but it was in his mind. He just needed some guidance around this forgotten world.

Enter Gremlin Gus, via an OsTown projector. He was guiding Mickey around through Wasteland. However everyone was in a state of panic, save for these two, as Oswald had been missing for well over a day. With no leader, even from afar, life was difficult to the innocent toons who needed some form of control. Especially with the pirates reverting back to their old habits of thievery and their crooked ways.

But worse than that were the Blotlings. Admittedly, Oswald hadn't exactly battled all the menaces he could find, but he would always send out help parties to tackle and destroy them. Oswald's sudden absence meant that even those who banded together to stop the Blotlings, failed, lacking the required equipment.

In actuality, ALL the Blotlings had seemed to go haywire, even with the Toons doing nothing to them. From afar, Blotlings would come in massive packs and attack the villagers. It was like they were truly unleashed, uncontrollable, no longer taking orders…

They were rogue now, lashing out on the residents of Wasteland with no clear motive.

So when Tails had landed here, it just seemed like he was invisible. The majority of residents had gone into self-preservation mode, locking their doors and staying at home. He was trying to get answers, but nobody needed any more trouble than they were tackling right now. Standing out on the musty streets alone also attracted attention, namely Mickey's.

"Uh, Gus. Who's that?" questioned Mickey, pointing at the fox.

"Good grief! Another forgotten toon! But, just after Oswald disappears, another toon appears?" Gus felt quite suspicious, but he didn't let it get the better of him. He flew up to him and asked, "Why, hello there! What's your name?"

"Oh, hi. I'm Tails. Well, actually, that's just my nickname, but I don't mind. I heard people talking about Oswald. I've seen him!"

"Who is Oswald? He's all I've really been hearin' about since I got here. Pleasure to meet ya, Tails!" added Mickey, shaking the fox's hand. Gus was lost in a very deep thought.

"You saw him… But how… Unless he was remembered? No, no, that can't be right, not randomly…" The gremlin was trying hard to figure out what had happened to Oswald himself. He turned over to the fox, in hope of a comprehensible solution. "Well, you did mention encountering him. Do you know where he is?"

"Things over here have gotten quite… out of hand. If you have any information, we'd really appreciate it, pal," Mickey said. Tails looked at him. He looked concerned, but there was something on his face that gave off more than just that. He was anxious. Tails had adapted to that emotion, after having faced it many a day with Sonic, his friends, and himself.

"Oh. Weeelll…" started Tails, and then out came everything he could remember. Once he reached the end of his story, both Mickey and Gus seemed quite pale. They looked at each other nervously; one in worry, the other in need of knowledge.

"Wait, so… he's my brother? But… I thought…" The mouse's head was in a whizz. He'd never thought he had any other family except for Walt.

"Well, technically speaking, there are three brothers," said Gus and Tails at the same time. They looked at each other, and chuckled. Gus continued for them, "Well, the third Walt brother doesn't reside here. Not from what I've seen anyway." Gus shook his head and continued. "Let's just focus on what we know. From what it sounds, Oswald is in danger. Goodness knows how he managed to exit Wasteland, but we need him back."

"As you can see, the place is wrecked right now. The Blotlings seem to have gone more savage, which none of us perceived possible, but on top of that, they're being less solitary. Getting in massive swarms like the ones me and Mickey have been facing…" Mickey dropped his head, shaking it. "It's completely irregular. Whatever's happening must be fixed." Gus concluded, before facing Tails. "We need your help."

"Me? Well…" He thought for a moment or two. The pair waited as their only other hope concocted a method of his own. "I suppose, I could build a way to reach up to the Cartoon World…"

"That would be perfect!" said Mickey. "Then I can go home too!"

"... but don't you have any machines?"

The gremlin let out a small groan. "Years ago we tried, but it's impossible. We can't get up to the Cartoon World without a Heart, especially from ground level." Then Tails remembered in a sudden flashback.

"Oh, no, my Heart! It fell into Tomorrowland, I'm sure of it!" Gus and Mickey nodded. "We've gotta find it first if I have any hope of a plan that works."

Gus took him to the end of Mean Street, dotted with five projectors. The trio found the one they needed and jumped through the projector screen, labelled "Plutopia", to the futuristic city. In no time at all, they were out the other side – with a remark about how amazingly advanced these projector screens were – and at their destination. A city filled with blue lights, the light of the future, and levitating platforms, with rides copied from Disneyland. Yet, they were even more stunning for the method of their construction. Built out of scraps, the glowing track piece they stood on truly felt surreal.

Tail was in awe. He was also fiddling with his regulators, which caught a certain mouse's eyes. "What are those?" queried Mickey. Tails recited everything he knew about the regulators, how they could balance and regulate energy, act as communication, tune in to dimensional energy and give powers, make speeds go–

"What was that about communication?" said Gus, with a smile of knowledge.

Tails seemed to be bewildered, but it came back to him in no time at all. "Of course! Sonic told me when he was in the Shatterspaces, Nine, the other version of me, embedded a communication system into these! They won't be functioning because of its other upgrades, but if I can rewire mine…" His tails slowly started moving up and down, as he thought, "maybe, at the thinnest part of the border between Wasteland and the Real World, I can send out not just a normal help beacon, but a multiversal one!"

Gus and Mickey cheered. "Wow, that sounds like a great plan! Only one small problem. How do we get up there?" The mouse's finger pointed to the sky, clouded, but slightly less darker than it had normally been. It was too far up to reach with a trampoline, even a Toon one, but Gus had a plan.

"There's a rocket not far away, and I believe it's still operable. We can get your heart, activate the rocket and send out that signal! Should we have a look?"

"Sounds like a plan!" said Tails, as they ran from track piece to track piece. Avoiding the thinner sea, they spun a few gears and leapt inside the corridor, with pictures of a hopeful future on holograms. The trio reached the next projector screen, and jumped through, hoping luck was on their side.

A/N: I hope everyone's doing well. Please review! Your continued support is what helps me to keep going.