Sonic the Hedgehog, Miles “Tails” Prower and all related characters mentioned in this book are Copyright of Sega of America, Archie comic publications, and/or DIC. The author allows the reader to print this story off of the net, but you can’t sell it. No characters in this story are under copyright from other authors, however, any new characters I introduce are mine, and may not be used without saying so. This story contains many quotes from singers, movies, and people who just opened their mouth and said something cool. Some of the quotes may not be 100% accurate, and I apologize for that. If we are born into the world only to die anywhere between a few minutes to 120 years, what is the purpose of life? There are thousands, maybe even millions of different answers to this question, ranging from reproducing, to experiencing the best moments and wonders of life. If we look at animals, they do not share the same beliefs. Their purpose in life is simply to reproduce and keep the species alive. For us though, we are far more advanced than animals, and we have created emotions. Some emotions bring us joy, others bring us discomfort, some bring us hatred, others bring love. Love is the best emotion of all, yet it’s a shame, after all... You Only Love Once Chapter 1 “You are not alone, I am here with you, and though we’re far apart, you’re always in my heart.” - Michael Jackson Two months after NBK’s string of chaos 11:42 PM Sgt. Prower’s residence Tails almost fell out of his bed when he heard Snowflake scream in the middle of the night. He would have fallen off too, but his head hit the mantle overhead. The shrill and sudden scream had woken him up numerous times over the course of their relationship, and it was always the same reason too. On instinct, Tails quickly wrapped his arms around her and held her head to his chest, shielding her vision completely in darkness. She trembled like she always did after the nightmare, and Tails could feel the goosebumps on her skin underneath her fur. This was nothing out of the unusual, for her to be this frightened. Tails started to comfort her, softly caressing her back and whispering reassurance in her ear. At last she wrapped her arms around him and cuddled close to him like a toddler would cuddle to his mummy, believing there were monsters in the closet or under the bed. She sniffled and slowed down her breathing. Tails gently wiped away her tears. Now that he had loosened up and calmed down after the sudden shock and surprise, the blow to his head finally was realized, and he grew slightly dizzy. It wasn’t enough to knock him out cold, but his vision temporarily caved in and he instinctively stopped moving until it returned shortly after. Snowflake gripped his fur roughly, causing him to flinch slightly. He didn’t say much to her. He just whispered a few words to her, letting her know that he was there and everything was fine. In his opinion, the worst thing you could do to someone who had just had a scary nightmare was to talk them into reassurance. To him, it was like saying, “You just had a bad dream. Now, go back to sleep. Everything’s going to be just fine.” because you dismiss it like it wasn’t important. You had to stay with the victim, and stay with them however long it took. This indicated that you were at least willing to be a shoulder to cry on, willing to show that you cared, and willing to show that the victim is not alone. “Same dream?” He asked, careful not to make it sound obnoxious. Snowflake sniffled and nodded. “It’s scary reliving the moment in which you experienced death. They say you only live once.” She said, stuttering slightly on some of the words. “That’s what they say. Ninety-nine percent of the time it’s true, but you... you lived twice, and this is your third time. I’m going to make sure it stays that way, love. You won’t die again, I promise.” There was a long silence. Tails knew that she had fallen into a gentle slumber. He laid back down, keeping her close, and softly stroking her face. If she were to fall asleep again, she’d need the comfort of their bodies together, along with the gentleness of his touch. He looked at her face. Her eyes were closed, and she was breathing calmly and silently. The dizziness from his head finally made him cave in and fall back asleep. He didn’t notice Snowflake carefully open one eye, open the other, smile slyly, and brush her hand down his chest. He did feel her smack the palm of her hand on the most vulnerable spot. The stomach. His weakness. Tails jumped up again in surprise and with a cry of surprise. He hit his head again on the mantle and immediately lurched forward. Snowflake giggled. “Gotcha.” She triumphantly pointed out. Tails grinned and picked up a pillow and started to whack her playfully. She squealed and tried to shield herself from the attacks. Another hectic (but frequently normal) night for the two. Chapter 2 “My heart is set, on the fair daughter of rich Capulet.” -Romeo Montague 9:22 am Knothole Infirmary: Recuperation ward Bunnie had barely opened her eyes, but when Rotor drew back the curtain to her room in the infirmary. She had the bad luck of having the windows of her room on the east side, and every morning, when least expected, she’d get sunlight in her eyes. “Jeezum crow Rotor! Haven’t y’all got the decency to be careful on a ladies eyes?” she scolded, shading her eyes with her good arm. Rotor checked the system readings and printouts on the computer beside her, then closed the blinds on the window, chuckling as he remembered that one April Fools day last spring when he replaced the blinds with a reflective material and shone light in people’s huts. “Rotor, please tell me y’all got some good news for me.” Bunnie yawned. Rotor flipped through the papers again, a second time, a third time, a fourth time. Finally he sighed and shook his head. “It’s not going as I’d like it too I’m afraid.” He said. “But ah will get my arm and legs working again, won’t I?” She asked, seeking reassurance. “Oh yeah, no doubt about that, but I don’t know how long it’ll take. I wish I could perform surgery.” “Say wha?” “Surgery was a practice used before the war started, not the one we fought in but the one where Old Mobotropolis fell. It involved cutting the victim... er, patient, sorry, and making the necessary repairs to the infected body manually.” Rotor explained. Bunnie grimaced and shuddered. “People actually let the doctor’s do that?” “Well, yeah. Of course, they used an anesthetic...” “Come again hun?” “Anesthetic, something that, when consumed, knocks the patient out cold for hours. This way they don’t feel anything while the surgery is performed. Anyway... where was I?” “They used an anesthetic.” “Oh yes. The doctors used the Anesthetic and then performed the surgery. There is only slight discomfort in the patient after the surgery, usually in the place where the surgery was performed, because they have to sew the skin together,” Bunnie grimaced, “clean off any excess skin and blood,” Bunnie shuddered, “and... that’s it, I think. So, feeling hungry?” “Actually sugah, I think I’ll pass on that.” “Which, the surgery or breakfast?” “Both.” Bunnie droned. Rotor chuckled and looked down at his papers again. His smile stayed as he glanced at Bunnie’s eyes through the corners of his own. This sparked her curiosity. “What is it hun?” “Do you have any idea how gullible you are?” He asked. Bunnie frowned. “How so?” She inquired, raising an eyebrow. Rotor showed her the readouts that he had picked up from the printer. She just stared. “Rotor this is all mumbo jumbo to me. What does it mean? Or do you even know?” “Bunnie I was pulling your leg about the bad news. By the time you wake up tomorrow you’ll be using two hands to rub your eyes, and only hours later you’ll be able to walk again!” He exclaimed, reading the joy as it spread across her face. She would’ve hugged him if she could, but that’d have to wait for another day. 10:00 am Knothole Barracks: General D’Coolette’s office Donned in the honored uniform of his father, Antoine stepped into his office. The rank insignia on his new sash now read “General.” Antoine was pleased enough that he had a rank insignia, as before not long ago they were non existent. Rotor thankfully was able to smith some out of different materials for different ranks. The lieutenants in the infantry naturally got the least valuable insignia which was made out of copper. Then there was the rank of major, they were given a bronze insignia. Sergeants were given a silver insignia, and the only General was given a gold one. The lesser ranks such as the message carrying ensigns and privates got nothing but a nametag, which was just fine really, the only reason they were in the front lines was to be used as tech crews for the communication crews. Sergeant Prower also had a use for them he said once, Mobian shields. This made the Antoine chuckle. He sat down in his big comfy chair. He loved his chair, pity was that there was hardly a need to stay in it for more than a few minutes a day. He looked in his inbox, leafing through the normal morning papers he found in there. He leafed through the papers one after the other. All were acceptable reports of popular support. Everything was peaceful. One of the papers slipped out of his hands and he leaned forward to pick it up. On his way up his eye caught a pink form on his desk that he neglected to see upon entering. He sighed. A pink form usually meant a domestic disturbance. He read it. Local disturbance within barracks. Another panty raid during the hours of 17:30 and 18:30. This is the third case of such an incident, and the female soldiers of dorm 88 want something done. Antoine raised an eyebrow. This was never brought to his attention before. He picked up his phone and connected directly to his secretary. “‘Allo? Miss Galoré?” “Yes General?” “What ees zis I hear about a ‘panty raid?’” “I have no clue sir, I just heard about it myself.” “I see. Please do me a favor miss. Get me ze attendance report for yesterday during ze supper hours.” He requested. “I’ll get right on it sir.” Miss Galoré replied. Within minutes she returned and handed him the report he requested. He thanked her and dismissed her. He looked at the report and noted all the names of the males not present at dinner the day before. Jastic, Sarek. Lieutenant. Dorm 5A, room 1, bunk 2 Conner, Roger. Lieutenant. Dorm 5A, room 1, bunk 3 Barrel, Lockshocken. Lieutenant. Dorm 5A, room 1, bunk 1 King, Nosmo. Lieutenant. Dorm 5A, room 1, bunk 4 Antoine picked up the phone and called up dorm 5A. “‘Allo, zis is General D’Coolette speaking. Please send up lieutenant Sarek Jastic, lieutenant Roger Conner, lieutenant Lockshocken Barrel,” Antoine paused. He heard that name from somewhere before, but it wasn’t used as a name when he heard it... he shrugged it off and continued, “and lieutenant Nosmo King. They’re all in room one I sink. Sank you, very much appreciated.” He then hung up, and dialed Dorm 88, “‘Allo, zis is ze general speaking. Would you please send up all of ze girls yesterday zat were victims of ze panty raid? Sank you.” He hung up again, and suddenly thought of a great idea. He smirked evily. He suddenly remembered that he hadn’t finished reading through the reports. He resumed reading through them one by one, all nodding them off as usual reports. The last one was different from the others though. It wasn’t an ‘all’s well’ report. Antoine read further, Disturbance in Viga’daer as of 13:17 PM yesterday. Psychopathic individual ran through town square firing phased plasma pistol. Suspect fired 30 shots before tossing the depleted weapon to the ground. Suspect then pulled out a ballistic sidearm and chased after another individual while firing. Small armed patrol rounded a corner to intercept and were immediately fired upon. Lieutenant Jakes Farrel was shot in the leg and wounded. Patrol fired into the right arm of the suspect and restrained him. 3 others injured, no casualties suffered. Suspect will be transferred to Downunda Death Row to be executed my liquid nitro freeze. Viga’daer requests a detachment of 5 or more soldiers to aid in the escort. Antoine shook his head. Already there was chaos among the people, and they all had worked so hard to free themselves from Robotnik’s forces. (Why do they have to cause trouble?) He sat down in his desk and picked out 5 pieces of paper. He’d write to 5 random soldiers and assign them to be the escort team. He paused and pondered the decision. (Is it necessary to send 5 officers to escort 1 prisoner?) (Just 1! How much trouble could one person cause?) (Apparently enough to require 5 guards. Should the guards be armed?) (Of course they should be, but with what?) (Eh, let them be the judge of that) (Zut alors! I wish I could speak as well as I think!) Antoine then pulled out his army roster. More than 700 names were in the army, of a city of 10000. That wasn’t too bad. (Ten thousand! Sacré bleu! During the war it would have been a miracle if you ever found a group of fifty! Then all of these people just pop up out of nowhere!) (Or perhaps the youth today are...) Antoine suddenly slapped himself. It wasn’t appropriate for a person of his stature to be thinking of such obscenities. His army roster was much like an organizer. It had the lists of names for soldiers in all the different fields in the army, like the soldiers used in the front lines, reinforcements, specialists, snipers, special forces, explosives experts, commando’s, infiltrators, and so on. This assignment was one for the special forces department, so he opened the book up to that section and randomly selected 5 soldiers. Banks, Gerry. Major. Mcrae, Sarah. Lieutenant (Jr. Grade) Prower, Miles “Tails.” Sergeant. Kins, Ozzy. Lieutenant. Mason, Sherry. Lieutenant. Antoine blinked. He didn’t know Tails had returned to the field. He thought he was still on shore leave. He shrugged it off and sighed. “When you sign ze form, you make an obligation. Shore leave or not, you’re going M’ssieurs Prower.” The following day, 10:43 am Sgt. Prower’s residence “I don’t believe it! Escort duty? Is that what the SpecForce team does?” Come on!” Tails cried out, obviously frustrated. He tossed the letter onto the table and rested his head in the palm of his head. Snowflake picked up the document and silently read it through, then shrugged. “No big deal, it’s just to Downunda. That’s a... what, twelve hour boat ride?” You’d be back by the afternoon the day after. This is an easy assignment, it’ll look good on your record.” She said, trying to stay optimistic, even though it wasn’t that big of a deal to her. Tails sighed, “My record, my record. To hell with my record! What’s it good for anyway? It’s just words on a piece of paper.” “They’re words of your accomplishments, your bravery, and all that you’ve done for the benefit of Mobius. It makes you a hero.” Snowflake pointed out, sitting next to him. He grunted. He looked at the document again, then checked his watch. “Gotta be there at eleven hundred hours. My, they’ve given me a long time to pack, haven’t they?” “That’s when you meet for the briefing. Surely they’ll let you out afterwards to get ready.” “Not this time. It says ‘report to briefing room at eleven hundred hours, equip, board flight to Viga’daer, and board the ship.’ Apparently the ship leaves at thirteen hundred.” He shook his head. “Nope, no time to pack.” He got up and headed for the bedroom to get his socks. Snowflake went to the closet and got his jacket and his shoes, and checked the nearby window to see if an umbrella was necessary. It wasn’t. He tapped her on the shoulder, and she handed him his shoes. She waited until he was done before handing him his jacket. “What are you, my wife?” He joked as he donned his jacket, a genuine black leather jacket without a zipper. It fit him nicely, but was a pain in the ass when the weather was hot. “Not yet, but the day you ask me to be will be the day I say ‘yes.’” She said, smiling sweetly. “Ha! I know you to well. You won’t say yes.” He laughed, “You’ll pin me on the ground, kiss me until I’m blue in the face, and then say, ‘What in God’s name took you so long?’” He said, changing the sound of his voice to imitate that of an old witch. Snowflake blushed deeply. “Wrong again.” She said. “How so?” Tails asked, raising a curious eyebrow. He instantly felt her hands slip under his jacket, wrap around his waist and pull him close to her. He wrapped his own hands around her waist as she explained, “At that age, I won’t just pin you. Plus, I don’t that I’ll be speaking that clearly, I’m pretty sure my dialogue will be broken.” She said, grinning slyly. “You’re a naughty girl. You know that, right?” Tails asked, kissing her afterwards. “You wouldn’t want it any other way baby.” She whispered, sending pleasant shivers up his spine. “Right.” He said, kissing her on her cheek and poking her insides. She squealed. “I’ll be back sometime tomorrow. Don’t miss me. Spend some time with Leora and Kyle why doncha? I’m sure the prince and princess’d enjoy your company.” “I had planned that already.” She said, nodding. “Right, just like you already planned your action when I ask you to marry me?” He said with a smirk. “Get moving guy.” She insisted, gently pushing him out the door. 11:00 am Knothole Barracks: Briefing room “I welcome you all here today.” Antoine began. This was how everyone of his speeches began, and in Tails’ opinion especially, it was getting rather old. “I apologize many times for ze inconvenience in timing of zis assignment for some of you, but ze matter ees of some dreadful importance. You will be escorting a prisoner from Viga’daer to ze appropriate facility in ze city of Sydna in Downunda, where he ees to be executed by liquid nitrogen freezing. Ze prisoner ees to be considered extremely dangerous. You are all recommended to take along able killing weapons. I hope you will not have to use zem, but if ze prisoner should ever escape from containment, he is to be shot on sight. Ze ship going to Downunda leaves in two hours, so, I suggest you go to ze armory quickly. Zey have your weapons ready for you. Unfortunately, zere ees no time for questions, so I wish you all ze best of luck, and bid you adieu. Dismissed.” Tails looked on through his dark wrap-around sunglasses as the 4 others seated near him got up and quietly headed for the door. Only one of them he knew, Major Gerry Banks. Banks was short for his youthful age of 19, being only 5’ 4” which was the same height as Tails presently was, and he was only 12. Banks’ last name was understandable, as his ancestors used to live along river banks, as beavers usually do. His complexion didn’t at all describe his personality. He was fearless, clever and quick. He enlisted when he was 15, and was rather shy back then. He kept to himself most of the time, that is, until after he single handedly rescued 6 out of 6 soldiers who had capsized their rubber raft while running through an obstacle course. He was awarded a medal of bravery and promoted to a Major. Since then, he became a model citizen as well as an impressive soldier, and he was recognized more and more throughout the city. He didn’t like the attention too much, it stressed him somewhat. He occasionally KO’ed others who wouldn’t leave him alone. Apparently just letting people know he was ‘just doing his job’ wasn’t good enough. The three others who would be accompanying Tails and Banks were a pair of girls, one was a white tigress, the other a cherry-red rabbit with a turquoise vest, and the other was the renowned Ozzy Kins. The stealthy, smooth talking lynx singer with hair down to the middle of his back. Tails often wondered why he didn’t go into entertainment. Ozzy could always be found down by the Cantina in the late hours, singing the best ever karaoke to songs made by some amateur bands in the city. He enlisted not because of his voice, but because of his silence. He could get into and out of most any situations without even making a sound. An invaluable asset. “Sergeant Prower? You coming?” The tigress asked gently, standing by the door, waiting for him to snap out of his trance and go through it. “Oh, yes, right away...” He paused, glancing at her nametag, “lieutenant Mason.” He said politely, getting up and putting his shades in a trusted pocket of his jacket. Mason smiled. “Call me Sherry.” She said. Her voice was like the caress of a flower on his skin, but he was stronger than that. “Well guess what,” He said, faking an expression of interest. “I won’t.” He finished off by winking and giving her a thumbs up in her general direction. He loved toying with the girls, mainly because he was the only twelve year old who could. 12:52 PM Viga’dear Shipyard Tails looked up at the unbelievably large hulk of a ship. Starting from the layer of red which hung underneath the surface, the black of the hull, and finally, the white which covered the railing of the main deck. He could only see the outside, but was already beginning to imagine what the inside looked like. He first imagined luxurious rooms and finely crafted staircases between levels. This fantasy turned ugly as he remembered that this was a cargo ship, transferring supplies back and forth between Downunda and New Mobotropolis. It was probably filled with immensely big unventilated cargo bays and storage rooms, capable of keeping a group of 20 alive underwater for days if properly sealed. The bays were made air tight to keep the cargo from being damaged heavily by water should the ship take on water. Tails didn’t know much else about ships, nor did he care. He was a ground specialist, and this was a vehicle that would just transport him between two familiar grounds. He checked his watch, 12:53 PM. They were early. Tails didn’t feel like standing around for another 7 minutes waiting for the transport vehicle to drop off the prisoner. To his surprise, he didn’t have to. The transport vehicle, a heavily armored hover pod, had arrived early as well. It landed gracefully and gently. The vehicle had apparently been modified, as doors in the back opened up. Tails looked in as far as he could from where he stood, 120 yards away, but couldn’t see much. He suddenly saw a small red glow come from the blackness within the back of the vehicle, and not a second later, the Viga’daer military that stood alongside the drawn out path the prisoner was destined to walk, trained their weapons on it immediately. The sudden sound weapons arming and charging came as a slight surprise to him. (Was this guy really THAT dangerous?) Tails finally got a good look at the prisoner as he stepped out from the van. A lynx, like Ozzy, except more of a titian color of fur. His hands were bound together by a shackle that was attached to a collar around his neck. The chain attaching the ring to the shackle was loose, and Tails understood. If the prisoners hands ever moved far away enough, the chain would tighten, and as soon as it was tight enough, the collar would shock him lightly. Another interesting factor of the lynx was that he had an eyepiece encompassing his right eye. The device acted like a normal eye, dilating and contracting to allow sufficient light into the reflective lens of the cornea. The ‘eye’ bit of the device was completely red, and the way it glowed was utterly demonic. The prisoner watched, eyeing the soldiers to the left and right of him who kept their weapons trained on his head should he try anything. He walked casually towards the five Knothole soldiers and bowed. “Greetings brave ones.” He spoke politely, in a distorted voice that seemed abnormal. Tails and the others nodded and greeted him as well. Mason and Kins led him up the ramp, while Banks and the other, Sarah Mcrae, followed close behind. Tails turned to the crowd. “Stand down! The situation is under control!” He ordered. No one stirred, until the prisoner turned left and headed down the deck under escort, then the soldiers shifted position to keep their sights on him. Tails turned to an officer nearby, who was overseeing the procedure. “They better have orders from a higher authority.” He warned. “Higher than?” “Sergeant Prower, Mobotropolis Special Forces agent, attached to Knothole under the command of General D’Coolette.” He said sternly, his face was like ice, and his glare through his sunglasses was stone cold. “Now unless these men have orders from the princess or prince, they shall obey my order immediately, or be court martialed, EVERY SINGLE ONE! You hear?!” He bellowed. The officer was obviously taken by surprise, and he quickly ordered the soldiers to stand down. They lowered their weapons, keeping a cautious eye on the prisoner. He was led into the ship through one of the many doors on the side. Tails then boarded the ship, glaring down at the soldiers who had disobeyed him. Chapter 3 “My only love has sprung from my only hate.” -Juliet Capulet The next day 12:03 am “Hope’s Daughter,” about an hour away from Downunda. (What a crappy ship name!) (If I had a ship like this, I’d call it...) (Twin Tailed Terror?) (Nah, but that’s not at all bad.) (The ships during the times of Old Mobotropolis were named after cities... The Knothole?) (Sounds terrible. It’d be a better name for a rowboat.) The door to the brig hissed open after 15 seconds of secured personnel clearance verification. Tails stepped in eagerly and waited for the door to close behind him. The room was illuminated in a bluish color, like a top secret science lab. He felt slightly tense, being in the same room with a convicted killer, who looked quite freaky. Tails looked rather tough in his shades as well, and he hoped it’d make a good impression. “How’re you feeling?” He asked the prisoner, whom presently was facing the opposite wall. “I’m fine, thank you.” He said, not moving, not even flinching with surprise at the sudden intrusion. The voice sent shivers up Tails’ spine, for it was anything but Mobian. No way in hell could that voice be natural. “Is there something wrong with your voice?” He asked in the politest way he could. “Old war wound. Swatbots tore out my voicebox. Had to get an artificial one.” He then turned around, his eyepiece glowing a deep red, casting a light on the wall beside Tails. Tails watched uncomfortably as the light moved up and down his body, scanning him, possibly for weapons. He was right. “You’re not armed, don’t you think that’s a bit risky?” The prisoner asked. “I find it highly unlikely that you’d be able to escape your bonds, let alone penetrate this force field.” Tails pointed out. The prisoner just nodded. “Even if I did, I wouldn’t harm you. Why harm someone who has no intentions of harming you?” “It’s a bit late to ask that question, don’t you think?” “I’ve been telling myself that philosophy for years. It’s done me a great deal of help.” “Then did you forget it when you went berserk in the town square?” “Not at all, I was just returning a favor. Well, trying to, that is.” Tails nodded, looking around for something to sit on. There wasn’t anything, so he sat down on the floor instead. “Why don’t you tell me all about it? We don’t have much time left, and there’s no point in letting your story die with you.” He asked, hoping the prisoner would cooperate. “I’d like that...” Tails once again noticed the red light cross over his chest and examine his nametag, “Sergeant Prower. Impressive that someone of your age could achieve such a high rank.” “Thanks, mister...” “You can call me Donald.” “Mister Donald.” Donald nodded politely, then pondered a moment. “You know kid... er, sir, there are two names for a person like you. The normal man would call you ‘lucky.’ The educated man, however, would call you ‘chosen.’” Donald said. This sparked Tails’ interest slightly. “How so?” He asked. “Well, you survived two attacks from the natural born killer. That is what NBK stood for, isn’t it?” “That it is.” “Yes, well, the first time you were spared. This was a unique move by the creature, you realize. Everyone else it killed, it killed without a second glance. They were all random. It wanted to get at you the whole bloody time, but when it found you then, the time wasn’t right. The second time though, it was going to kill you. And it would’ve to, if your walrus and French fox friends hadn’t deciphered it’s tactic in time. You were its chosen prey, the one it had been destined to kill for its very life.” “If it had killed me, what would have it done afterwards?” “Naturally what any normal creature would do. Hide away, protect itself from danger, and survive! Guaranteed, if it had killed you, the whole world would have been going crazy, worrying for their lives. It would have been a new level of uncontrollable chaos such as the planet has never seen.” Tails blinked. “Weren’t you going to tell me something else?” He asked. Donald stared, and smacked his head, with both hands, as he was still in shackles. “Many pardons sir, many pardons. Yes, my story.” He sighed gently and paused a while before beginning. “I was a normal person, sir, living like anyone else would. Now and again I’d get people staring at this,” he pointed to his eyepiece, “but I never took anything from anyone, did occasional favors, asking little or nothing in return. My sweetheart and I were going to have a child. She was 8 months pregnant. She was a beautiful woman, absolutely perfect curves, a unique hourglass figure,” Tails leaned forward, listening intently, “the gentlest touch a woman could have, the smoothest lips, the most adorable smile and the most beautiful eyes I’d ever seen. When we kissed, she tasted like the purest water, and she tasted like the sweetest honey everywhere else.” He smiled dreamily, Tails listened on wide eyed. Donald would have noticed, but Tails was wearing his sunglasses. “Her breasts... well what could I not say? They weren’t too big, and not too small, just perfect size. When we embraced, they’d press up against my chest, and I would feel her heartbeat, and she’d feel mine. That’s how wonderful she was. Well, two weeks ago, I found her in our house, strangled to death. I could analize for fingerprints easily, and I did so, kept them in the data banks in my eyepiece. Then I made haste for the security bureau in Viga’daer, and I snuck into the records files. I scanned each and every record until I found a set of fingerprints that matched. I did. The prints that were on my Lara’s neck belonged to a nemesis of mine, who loved my sweet Lara, but he was enraged that she loved me and not him. I searched the town for eleven days before I found him, in the town square. I then tried to kill him with the only weapons I had at first. If they failed, I’d have killed him with my bare hands. The patrol got in my way. My mission was a failure. The murderer of my wife still roams free today. That’s why I’m here.” He explained. Throughout the whole story, his complexion didn’t change one bit. It was like he had been deprived of feelings from a long life full of torment and hatred. “But didn’t an autopsy of your wife show that she was strangled to death?” “The autopsy hasn’t yet been performed. I don’t think they will do it anyway. They’ll probably think I killed her the day I went presumably berserk.” “Can your eyepiece transfer data?” Tails queried. “Yes, why?” “As part of being a Special Forces agent,” Tails explained, reaching into his jacket for his data disk, “I’ve got to carry one of these around for investigation or recon, that sort of thing. I’ll bring the evidence back to Viga’daer and get an order from the princess for a full scale investigation into the matter.” He said, pulling out the disk and heading out to turn off the force field so he could give it to Donald. Donald took it in hand and immediately faced the opposite wall again. “Do you have a girlfriend, sir?” He asked, holding up the disk to his eyepiece, which shot a red beam against it. Tails didn’t seem to notice that he was doing this with only one hand. “As a matter of fact, I do.” “Do yourself a favor then sir, and take my advice. Never let her out of your sight. Protect her from absolutely everything. You owe her that much as her lover.” He explained, lightly tossing the disk behind his head. Tails caught it and looked at it in his hand a moment. “Tell me sergeant, why are you here on the ship? To ensure my safe escort to Downunda?” “That’s my objective, yes.” “And what if that objective becomes impossible to complete?” “Well then I have orders to kill you.” Tails said, putting the disk back in his pocket. “And it’s a soldiers duty to even put his life on the line if it’ll bring success to the mission, isn’t that right?” “Yep.” (This guy must’ve been in the service.) (That’d explain where he got military grade weapons.) “Then by all means,” Tails saw Donald slowly stand up out of the corner of his eye. He looked up to face him and noticed with a shocking truce that he had somehow escaped from his shackles and collar, “Do what you must to complete your mission.” Donald was incredibly swift and agile. As Tails threw a punch at him, he grabbed his arm, twisted it and applied pressure to his elbow. Tails flinched and cried out in both surprise and pain. Donald applied more pressure on Tails’ elbow until he fell on one knee, then, while still holding his arm at length, he brought the arm he had used to apply pressure to the elbow with down over the outstretched arm, and brought it back up, catching him under the chin with a backhand that was as effective as a small wrecking ball. Tails was knocked off his feet and flung into the wall in the front of the room by the door. By the time he had hit the ground he was already unconscious. Without even bothering to check if he was okay, Donald grabbed Tails’ access card. He headed for the door, then stopped and looked back at Tails. (He said he was a member of the Special Forces team...) He went back to Tails and scanned through his jacket pockets with his eyepiece. He reached into the right waist pocket and pulled out what he was looking for, a silencer. It’d be useful if he found a suitable weapon. He then got up and headed for the door. When he was through the door, he tossed the card back in the room, for Tails to use when he woke up. IF he woke up. Chapter 4 “Goodnight, would I do that to you after all these years?” -James Bond “Yes, you bloody well would!” -Mary Goodnight Prison cell hallway Donald stood by the secured entrance to the door to the cell. The door that was shutting on the other end was taking long to close, as it was designed to do. The hallway was designed to open one door on one side, allow enough time for the person to enter, and then close. The door on the other end of the hall wouldn’t start opening until the first one had shut. Donald had run as fast and as silently as he could, thus he made it to the other end of the hall just as the door he had come through started closing. He panted slowly and deeply, watching the door as it started to close, then turning his head to look at the closed door in front of him. His eyepiece had cycled through different versions of vision, infrared, x-ray, thermal, and night. The guard watching the other side of the door was clearly visible through his eyepiece as if the door in front of him was made from glass. A surge of tension shot through Donald’s nerves as the door suddenly hissed and began to open. The guard didn’t move. (Good, he thinks it’s the sergeant coming through.) His heart began to beat faster. (If I screw this up, it’s all over) His mind raced. Adrenaline found its way into his bloodstream, which was accepted like a baby accepted candy. As the door opened enough for him to reach his arm through, he made his move. He gripped the guard’s neck tight in hand, and squeezed as hard as he could. He felt the guards windpipe collapse in his hand and he let the body drop to the ground with a thud. (Objective one: Acquire suitable weaponry.) He leaned down and examined the body for anything that could be used as a weapon. (He was a guard, he must’ve carried a weapon.) (Ah, found it. Excellent. Objective one complete.) He took the guards weapon, a 9mm ballistic handgun, and the two ammunition clips. He checked the weapon. It wasn’t loaded. He cursed and ejected the empty clip, ramming one of the ones he had just acquired into the butt of the gun and loading the first bullet into the barrel. It was effective in that it could neutralize or eliminate any nearby threat, ineffective that it was loud. Donald solved that problem by equipping the gun with the silencer he had stolen from Tails. He silently wished he had an energy weapon with him. Energy weapons were quiet, effective, and left no evidence behind. This would have to do for the time though. (Objective two: Proceed to the bridge and take control of the vessel.) Donald scanned the nearby hallway with his eyepiece. No one around. He slowly walked out, searching the walls for any indication of directions to the bridge. Nothing. He held the gun out in front of him and headed forward, feeling sweat already begin to pour down his head. Brig (Cold hard surface) (Pain) (Headache) (Thin, salty air) (Blackness) (I’m asleep) (WAKE UP!) Tails suddenly opened his eyes, and was up on his feet in less than a second. He surveyed his surroundings, trying to remember where he was, and what happened. He stood up too quickly, and almost passed out again as he felt his head get heavy and his vision fade. He shook his head violently, and full consciousness was restored. He checked himself over. Nothing wrong, except for the blood in his mouth, which he spat on the floor. The bump on his head was minor and would heal up in a few days. Donald was gone. (Shit!) Tails ran for the door. When he realized at the last second that it wouldn’t open up, he put his hands in front of him and ran into the door to stop himself. He cursed. He searched the room for something to use to break the door down. As if by chance, he found his access card lying on the ground just a few centimetres to the left of his feet. He picked it up and slid it through the access grid. His impatience was noticeable as he watched the grid compute, and negate. He tried again, and again he was denied access. He examined his card, and found it to be in perfect condition. He tried again, and the door still didn’t open up. He punched the door hard with his fist. (Damn computer is confused!) (The card was already used to open the door from the cell... this must be a new security system... think... how come it let Donald through, but it won’t let me through?) (In order for Donald to get out, I had to come in...) (The computer kept track of who was in the room, but not in detail, just numbers. When the door opened for Donald, it assumed that it was me who was leaving, because he used my card.) (Then he tossed the card back in before the door closed.) (Since the card wasn’t used to open the door again from the outside, the computer won’t allow it to be used from the inside.) (Smart son of a bitch.) Tails sighed hopelessly. The only way he could get out would be if someone else came in. Donald would surely make that impossible by killing everyone on board to take the ship back to Viga’daer. (Do we have enough fuel for that?) (...) (Never in a million years.) (Fine, we’ll all die) (Unless Donald plans to wreak havoc in... what was it again? Sydney?) (Sydna.) (If he plans to wreak havoc in Sydna for enough fuel to get back to Viga’daer, he could make it...) (That’ll fail as well. They wouldn’t cooperate with the demands of one armed one-eyed crazy ex soldier turned attempted murderer, would they?) (They’d shoot him.) (Well, if he makes it, you’ll know.) Deck 15 Maintenance section Donald switched his eyepiece on to thermal vision and peered from outside the wall. In an instant, his eyepiece took a snapshot, and he pulled back. His attention was immediately directed to what he was seeing through his right eyepiece. The snapshot image remained frozen in place in his sights, and through the variation of colors he saw two crewmembers sitting in the room. They were active, but unarmed. They’d have to be eliminated. The chances were slim that their attention would be directed towards him as he rounded the corner. He stealthily slipped around the corner and raised his weapon. His eyepiece automatically created a marker, indicating the exact location the bullet would hit. It zoomed in on the target, one of the crewmembers who was presently talking with the other. Donald moved his weapon around until the sight fixed on the forehead of his target. He fired. He immediately switched targets and fixed on a spot on the second target, right between the eyes. As his first target sputtered and collapsed to the ground, the second jumped in surprise and shock, spoiling Donald’s aim as he fired. The bullet caught the target square in the chest, puncturing a lung, but not killing him. The target clutched the area where the bullet hit and instinctively reached for the alert button. In 0.97 seconds, the alarm was sounded. In 0.98, Donald’s next shot counted. He cursed and ran for the controls, red light illuminating the dark hallway, and a loud, shrill alarm ringing in his ears. Brig The sudden arrival of the flashing red light and alarm was almost music to Tails’ ears. Someone managed to get the word out that Donald had escaped. Tails’ hope receded almost as fast as it came when the room went completely pitch black and the alarm halted only 15 seconds later. Deck 15 Maintenance control room 15 seconds earlier. Donald looked over the maintenance control console briefly. It took him one second to recognize the system and operating system characteristics. Within 5 seconds, he had commanded the system to shut down the alarms and re-engage in another area of the ship. He initiated the command, and the computer screen flashed a message. WARNING! In order to shut down security system, primary powercells must be shut down and restarted. Proceed? (y/n) Donald hit the y key. 5 Seconds later, everything was silent, everything was dark. Donald’s eyepiece immediately switched to night vision, and he slowly scanned the area for any possible threats. The computer screen flashed to life again, flashing messages in order of appearance. Emergency power cell active. Activating primary power cell............. Complete. Donald heard the hum of electricity as the primary power cell was activated. Activating secondary power cell........... Complete. Initiating security sequence 1............... Complete, all doors requiring magnetic card access initialized. Initiating security sequence 2............... Error! Security sequence 2 overridden by user. Alarms 0% active Opening current locks......................... Complete. Donald’s eyes refocused as the lights suddenly turned on Reconfiguring current output............... Complete. Depressurizing................................... Error! CO2 filters filled to capacity. Depressurization not possible. Activating propulsion units.................. Complete. Donald jumped as the engines started up without warning. Initializing communications LAN......... Complete Initializing communications InterNetwork, please wait.... Donald didn’t have time to watch the computer finish the rest of its tasks. His plan had only half worked. The alarms weren’t on, that was the upside. The local area communications network was up, that was the bad thing. Since the crewmembers in maintenance wouldn’t be able to respond to the captains demands, the ships crew and security would have a rough idea of where he was. He’d have to constantly watch his back, but they’d never be able to get him from the front. Brig Tails jumped as the lights suddenly turned on. He slowly calmed his breathing down. He could feel the air getting thinner in the room. (Must’ve been a power failure, and now they can’t get the ventilation systems working.) (Man, I’m in real trouble n...) (Power failure?) Tails suddenly sat up straight, and ran for the door. He slid his access card through one more time and prayed. The light flashed blue three times, then turned yellow, flashed blue three times again, flashed yellow, flashed blue three times, and finally flashed green. Tails smiled with satisfaction as he heard the hiss of fresh oxygen mixing in with the carbon dioxide filled room. (With the power failure, the security grid must’ve forgotten that I was still in here.) (Still, shouldn’t it have only let me out if the door had been opened from the other side first?) (The security system was rebooted. Upon primary initialization, all security systems must assume that they were deactivated and reactivated, even if it was being activated for the first time. That’s why it didn’t let me through first off and computed three times through. It assumed that it was activated while someone was accidentally trapped inside the cell. It ignored the primary function that the door must first be opened from the outside, and let me out just this once.) (Now it would work as it was supposed to.) Tails walked down the hallway while the door behind him closed. The door on the other end of the hall was opening as Tails was arriving. Just as he figured, the guard assigned to the door was dead. His neck was snapped. His gun and clips were taken too. Tails knew that in order to confront Donald, he’d need a weapon of his own. He hurried to his cabin, hoping Donald wouldn’t confront him on the way. He slipped his card into the slot and the door opened. He darted inside, grabbed the phased plasma pistol under his pillow and ran out. He closed the door and grabbed his card, then ran back to the brig. In order to track down Donald, he’d have to think like him. From the brig, which of the two possible directions could Donald have gone? (Donald has his eyepiece on the right eye, so his vision is enhanced on the right.) (It’s always best to go in the direction that is clearer.) Tails headed down the hallway to the right, his heart pounding with anticipation. Deck 13 Hallway Donald could see one of the other Knothole guards from around the corner. During his training in the service, he knew what to do if it was him in the corner, and he assumed the same was taught to those who were trained in Knothole. He kept on walking, making it seem like he didn’t know the guard was there. That’s when the moment came. As he rounded the corner, his lightning quick reflexes grabbed the leg of the guard in mid kick. He then twisted it so that the knee faced upwards, placed his forearm in the midsection of the guard and dropped to the ground. He felt the bone of the leg crack under the pressure, and he heard a cry of pain from the guard. He was immediately up on his feet, and with a snap of his wrist and a pull of a trigger, the guard was silenced, blood trickling out from the hole in his head from where the bullet hit. Donald sighed and knelt over the body. He took looked at the fallen guards nametag. “Rest in peace lieutenant Kins.” He said softly. Without a second glance he was up and on his feet, heading up the flight of stairs at the end of the hell that would bring him to a door. He opened the door and was welcomed with a rush of cold air and bright outdoor light. He had made it to deck 10. Ahead of him he saw the doors that led to decks 11 and 12. He turned around, facing bow, and saw the direction he had to go. Deck 15 Maintenance section. Tails ran down the hallway, seeing the two dead bodies in the control room in front of him and assuming Donald had already been here. He passed the room without so much as a glance and headed up the other hallway. Deck 10 Port side. Donald ran down along the railing past the deck he had just come out of. He was coming up on open space. He quickly clambered up against the wall as he heard the sound of footsteps coming closer, fast. He guessed the target must have been running. His eyepiece switched to X-ray, and he could see the figure of a beaver running in his general direction, gun in hand. He decided his course of action and steadied himself, waiting for just the right moment to make his move. When the beaver was two steps away from rounding the corner, Donald darted out from behind the corner and got down on one knee. The beaver was taken by surprise and immediately fumbled for his weapon, but he was still running. There wasn’t enough time for him to stop. He ran into the waiting arms of Donald, who effortlessly grabbed his knee’s and tossed him overboard without even a grunt of effort. He turned to watch the beaver plunge into the water and his gun glide through the air a long ways away. The gun would sink, but the beaver wouldn’t. Donald aimed his gun as the beaver surfaced and centered his eyepiece targeting square right the beavers head and fired. (At least he won’t have to starve or die of thirst.) A loud pinging noise and an explosion of sparks on the railing by his left hand scared him shitless, and he darted back behind the cover of the wall. As he calmed down his breathing and regained his senses, he began to search for his aggressor, starting with the rooftops. Nothing. He tried to x-ray through the walls behind him, but the walls were too thick to get a clear picture of what was on the other side. He knew that was where his aggressor was, and he rounded the corner, gun extended forward. He was very calm in this situation, and thus he didn’t fire as soon as he rounded the corner so as not to give away his presence. Instead, he waited for his aggressor to come out first. She did. It was visibly a female, a female tigress to be exact. Almost as soon as she jumped out, his eyepiece fixed on her as a target and he fired. A shower of sparks exploded a good metre in front of her, and she darted back around the corner just as he pulled the trigger again. The bullet smacked into the same spot the first one hit, and Donald took cover behind his side of the wall. He tapped the sensor of his eyepiece lightly, and it began to reconfigure targeting data to fit perfect accuracy while moving at a steady 17 knots with a 30 km/h wind against him. His eyepiece flashed the word ‘Complete’ and he ejected the expended clip from the weapon. Another loud ping rang through the air as the railing near him was once again hit. The sound was different from that of bullets ricocheting, so he assumed she was using an energy weapon. One good shot from her and it was all over. He rammed a new clip into the butt of the gun and loaded the first bullet into place. He waited for another pinging sound, but didn’t get one. Instead, he saw a beam of blue light pass over the top of the railing. Immediately he uncovered and fired. His eyepiece reconfiguration worked satisfactorily, as he managed to hit his aggressor in the arm as she was darting back for cover. He heard her cry out, and took this chance to run into a different position. He guessed that he’d have a good 6 seconds while she accepted her wound and encouraged herself to press on. He poked his head out from behind the wall of his new position and saw her come round the corner, pointing her gun at his old position. She saw him as she was coming around the corner, but she was unprepared for him being there, and as she was bringing her weapon around to fire at him from his new position, he had already put a bullet between her eyes. He ran as quickly and as quietly as he could over to her dead body, careful not to step in any blood. He knelt beside her, closed her eyes, looked at her nametag and once again silently prayed. Then he took her gun and ran off to the stern. He tried to open the door that would bring him to the stairs that led up to the bridge, but it was locked. A minor setback. With his newly acquired weapon, he destroyed the door’s fortifications and kicked it out of the way. He then carefully proceeded up the stairs. Deck 10 Port side As fast as he could, Tails jumped out from the door sideways, pointing his weapon forward. His heart jumped when he discovered that he was facing the wrong way. He quickly turned around, breathing a heavy sigh of relief when he saw no one there. He scaled the wall and peered around the corner. No one in sight. He didn’t want to run out into the open, so he flew up alongside the wall. As he started to fly upwards, the inertia left him and he soon found the ship moving faster than he was. He gasped and tried with no avail to keep up with the ship. He was hit from behind by another one of the outer walls of one the ships decks. The wind that the ship caused as it cruised through the ocean made him stick to the wall where he was. He carefully turned around and scaled up the wall. As he reached the rooftop, he kept a firm grip on the edge of the roof, and kicked himself away from the wall as hard as he could. The circular motion he had caused as he kicked himself up caught the wind, and his arc gracefully finished with him facing the sky on the rooftop. It was now much harder to keep himself stable on the rooftop, and he prayed that his fingers could hold until he could get a firm grip. He planted his shoes down onto the surface of the roof, and ever so gently stood up. He had to make sure he was leaning forward, otherwise he’s be knocked backwards by the wind. Now that he was standing still, he realized that getting to his destination would be even harder than what he had just done. He slowly backed up, eyeing the next rooftop that was only a few metres away. When he was sure he had enough running distance, he sprinted as fast as he could toward the edge, using his tails as a forward propeller to give him that extra batch of speed. As soon as he reached the edge he jumped as high as he could. He landed on the next rooftop, but lost his footing and fell flat on his face. His fur wasn’t enough to keep him on the roof in this strong of a wind, so he began slipping backward off the roof. He gasped as he felt his feet come off the surface of the rooftop, and he looked everywhere for something to grab hold of. As his stomach passed off the roof, he felt it glide off something he could use, and so he quickly dug his hands in it as he slipped off. He discovered that he had grabbed hold of the raintrough. Since he could no longer fall backward due to his immediate halt, and since the building he was clinging onto acted as a windguard, he soon fell into place, swinging back and forth hanging onto a small trough. He had to pull himself up, he had to get back up onto that roof. With the help of his tails lifting his backside up, he was able to accomplish that, and place proper foothold on the rooftop. He was about to make a running jump again for the other side of the ship when he realized that in the recent turmoil he had lost his weapon. He looked carefully behind him and found it resting in the trough. He slowly reached out and grabbed it. He faced forward and considered his options. Could he make a run for the door on the other side of the deck in front of him and hope to beat Donald there? Tails looked to the bridge. He was quite far away and couldn’t see much, but he saw enough to make him realize that his hope in beating Donald to the bridge was useless. He had already made it. Bridge Donald tried the door to the bridge. It was unlocked. He quickly pushed it open and extended his weapon forward. He saw the bridge officers turn around in surprise, and watched as their expressions turned to shock and fear when they saw him and his gun. Before any of them could make a move, he commanded them to shut up and stay completely still. They obeyed, fearing for their lives. Donald considered his options. He had taken over the bridge, now he had to be in command of the vessel. “How many of you are necessary for this boat to move?” He asked the captain. The captain paused slightly, then snapped out of his shock to answer his question. “Uh, all of us, actually, for emergency.” “Then which one of you is the communications officer?” Donald asked. “I am.” Said the officer at the back. “Why are you not at your post?” Donald asked, pointing the weapon in his direction. The officer dropped his coffee and ran for his station. “Stay back from the console.” Donald ordered. The officer came a few steps forward from his station with his hands in the air. “Please don’t hurt me.” He pleaded. Donald sighed and fired his weapon. The gun shot a blue beam of light which impacted on the officers forehead. The shot not only took his head off, it disintegrated it. A painless death, and he DID ask Donald not to hurt him. “I’ll assume his post.” Donald said, moving to where the officer’s headless body lay crookedly over. He tossed the body aside and pried the console open. He scanned the wires inside and found the ones that were necessary for destruction. He pulled out the wire that held the local area communications network in place with an effortless tug. The captain saw what he was up to, and tried to talk him out of destroying the ship anymore. “Have you thought about what you’re doing? We don’t have enough fuel to get back to Viga’daer. We need to refuel at Sydna. Do you really think they’re going to obey your demands?” He queried. Donald turned to face the captain, turning his back to the window behind him and blocking out the 12 o’clock sun. “I’m aware of that. I’ll first try to use a bridge full of hostages as collateral for my demands. If they fail to meet them, then I’ll lock you all in here and get the fuel myself.” “You’re mad! You’ll be killed! Do you know how many soldiers they could have armed and ready five minutes after you’ve made your demands?” “I’m quite aware of that possibility, that’s why I’m praying for all our sakes that they don’t do that. Besides, I took out four of the five guards assigned to watch over me during the escort, so I think I could take on the handful of soldiers there.” Suddenly, there was a loud interruption as the glass behind Donald was instantly shattered. Donald instinctively turned around and pointed his gun toward the sound, but by that time, Tails had fired his weapon and punched a hole into Donald’s midsection. Donald gasped and fell back onto the floor, still alive. “Three of the five.” Tails corrected, now standing over Donald and holding the barrel of his weapon just inches away from his nose. Donald chuckled, blood spurting out from his midsection and making a dark red mess on the floor. “I was mistaken.” He admitted, coughing. “You were sentenced by liquid nitro freeze in the city of Sydna in Downunda for the crimes of three weapons offenses and one attempted murder. While on the way to Sydna, you escaped from your cell, assaulted one guard, killed the door watch, killed the two crewmembers in the maintenance room, killed three of my soldiers, killed the communications officer on board the ship and tried to hold the ship hostage. Do you have any idea how deep in shit you are?” Tails asked. “I would be considered armed, and extremely dangerous. Soldiers and law enforcers would be allowed to shoot on sight.” “I did, and I will again, you know that right?” “Of course.” “Any last words or requests?” “Yes actually,” he paused to cough up some blood, which he spat to the side, “but I realize that I’m not worthy for their completion. I ask you to bring justice to my nemesis for the crime he commited. Not for me, but for my wife and unborn child.” He said, not taking his eye’s away from Tails’, who couldn’t help feeling moved. Tails’ opinion of Donald changed drastically. He no longer considered him a psychopath, instead he considered him an honored, brave soldier with a mission he knew he couldn’t complete. Donald then took the automatic he had acquired and handed it to Tails, back end first of course. “Second, aim right between the eyes. It’s a painless death, and not near as messy.” He said, trying to show a bit of dry humor in his last minute on Mobius. Tails looked at the weapon in his hand and recognized the silencer on it. He looked back down at Donald and made his own promise to him. “I’ll do that, and I shall also see that you get a proper military burial. May I please have your rank?” “When I was in the service, I was a sergeant, like you.” “Then sergeant Donald, in the name of the prince and princess of Mobius, it has been an honor to have met you. Please close your eyes.” He requested. Donald closed his real eye, and the red glowing of his eyepiece turned black. Tails saluted with his free hand, and fired. Donald slumped and convulsed, then stopped moving altogether. Tails holstered his weapon and saluted again. The captain looked down at the dead carcass of Donald and saluted too, his bridge crew did the same, following the captains example. Chapter 5 “Do you love him?” “Pardon me?” “Do you love him?” “You shouldn’t be asking me this...” “Well it’s a simple question.” -Jack Dawson and Rose Dewitt Bukater 12:58 am Sydna seaport, docking pier 15 Tails looked over the railing of the bow end of the ship. He could feel the blood rush to his head, and it made him dizzy. He couldn’t remember being this tired during the day. He checked his watch and gawked. 12:58 am. (How could that be? The sun is shining like there’s no tomorrow!) He smacked his watch twice, and it still read 12:58. He shook his head and turned his attention back down to the workers on the docking pier as they loaded the ship in. “Sergeant Prower?” called a voice from somewhere below. Tails looked around at the people. Most of them were working with the boat, others walking and chatting with friends. His eyes caught sight of a Mobian who was waving his arms trying to get his attention. “Sergeant Prower, when the ships unloader arrives, I’d like to escort you and your lieutenant McRae to the hotel!” the Mobian explained. “No need for the unloader!” Tails cried back, and called to lieutenant McRae. She came quickly and saluted. To her surprise, Tails swept her off her feet and jumped ship. His tails swung into action immediately and he carried himself and her gently down to the pier’s beginning, in front of the astounded Downunda Mobian. “A real gentleman, aye myte?” the Mobian asked in the heaviest outback accent Tails had ever heard. Tails shook his hand firmly. “Ah’m called Jacob, and ah work down ‘ere at the piers. Ah’ve been assigned to show ya to your hotel, where’ll you’ll spend th’ day.” He said chuckling. “You can take lieutenant McRae, but I’ve got other business to attend to.” Tails explained. “Such as?” “Number one, I’ve got to find a working watch and set mine straight. It must be off by hours.” “Lemme see that.” Jacob asked, in more of a demanding tone. Tails showed him the watch and let him look it over. Jacob looked back at him. “Thar’s nothin’ wrong with ya watch, myte. It’s still runnin’ down under Knothole time. We use Downunda time ‘ere, cause we’re halfway around the planet from New Mobotrop’lis. Back in ya home it’s the middle of the night, but on the boat trip ya went ‘sun chasing’ as we call it. If ya feel tired in th’ middle of th’ day ‘ere, it’s simply because ya haven’t yet adjusted to th’ time difference, eh?” “Can you tell me how much of a time difference.” “Sure. Thirteen hours.” “Thirteen!?” “Exactly. So, your watch reads, one o’clock am, so if I’m right...” Jacob checked his watch, “Yep, two o’clock PM.” “Jeez!” “Ah know, it’s one hell of a surprise when ya realize it, an’ one big pain in the ass to experience. In about two hours, if you’re a heavy sleeper like me, you’ll fall asleep right on the spot. I suggest ya put away your plans and get some sleep.” 3:07 PM, Downunda time Sydna City Hotel Room 842 Tails had never taken a longer, hotter shower in his life. He couldn’t believe how tired he was. The near unbearable heat of the water on his fur and the water itself were managing to keep him awake for just the while longer. He had wrapped the towel around his waist and looked over his room again. Large, roomy, and the smell of fresh cut wood lingered. The walls were white, except for the little murals here and there depicting tales of extraordinary deeds done by extraordinary heroes. A well made, comfortable looking single bed was in the middle of the room, with a heavy purple quilt covering it. It must’ve been made just this morning, and was done in such a way that there wasn’t a single wrinkle showing. It was the smoothest looking piece of furniture he had ever seen in his life, and the most inviting. Tails shook his head and fought the urge to jump into the bed and sleep. He looked out the window overlooking the bay. It was called ‘the Throat’ because of it’s resemblance to a throat. It was a large, circular body of water with a ‘mouth’ that separated the bay and the ocean at the far south end. Beyond the mouth, the ocean stretched farther than his eyes could see, and was the natural blue color that everyone knew of water. The beach was sandy and white, and he could see many people sunbathing and frolicking down there. Otherwise, he was inside here, trying to fight off an attack of the z’s. He heard a knock on the door, and a voice call out. “Sergeant Prower?” “Yes?” “Message for you.” “Coming.” he replied, walking to the door. He was about to open it when a wave of suspicion suddenly overcame him. (Who here would want to send me a message?) (It’s probably a fax from home.) Tails dismissed the suspicion and opened the door. A young bellhop handed him an envelope. Tails thanked him and closed the door as the bellhop walked off with a nod. Tails looked at the delivery address on the envelope, which read, Sgt. Prower Room 842 Sydna City Hotel Tails raised an eyebrow. There was no return address. If the message was from Knothole, they surely would have put it on. (That’s mail you’re thinking of. Knothole couldn’t have sent you a message this fast in the mail unless it was on the boat with you. If this is a fax, there won’t be a return address.) Tails shrugged and opened the envelope. He took out the letter inside and placed the envelope on the nightstand. He unfolded the letter and read it. Dear Tails, Tails paused. (First the letter was addressed to me under the name of Sgt. Prower, now the writer addresses me by nickname?) I apologize that I wasn’t able to welcome you again to Downunda, but I had a matter that appeared with short notice and had to take care of. I trust your voyage went well, as did your mission. Why don’t we get together sometime? Naturally you’ll need some time to adapt to our time range, so you’d best get as much sleep as you can. I’ll pick you up tomorrow at 7 in the evening tomorrow and we can go for dinner someplace. It’s been two years, and we have much to catch up on. An old friend. Tails’ eyebrow raised even higher. He was now sure that the message did not come from anywhere near Knothole. It had to have come from Downunda. Someone he knew. He knew some people in Downunda, but they were dispersed throughout the country after their assistance as freedom fighters was no longer needed. (Old friend? Could it be Athair?) (Might be, he was in fact quite old.) (But he disappeared...) (...) (7 PM tomorrow... I might be gone by then, the ship is scheduled to leave at 1 PM Downunda time tomorrow.) Tails sighed. He looked once again at the bed and finally gave in. He tossed his towel into a bin in the bathroom and jumped into bed. He immediately felt himself in a paradise, and drifted off to sleep. 7:32 PM Same location Tails looked up at the roof of the room. Something felt wrong. He had only slept for four hours, yet he felt completely refreshed. He looked at his watch, which he still kept in Knothole time. 6:32 am. Incredible. His body was used to getting up at this time back home, so no matter how tired he was earlier, he’d wake up feeling as fresh as ever. So now what could he do, spend the night wandering the streets? The beach? Swimming? He got out of the bed, put on his shoes, jacket, and sunglasses and left the room. He knocked on the door to lieutenant McRae’s room and waited for her to open the door. About 30 seconds later, he heard her footsteps approach the door and open it up. She looked at him and sighed. “You too?” She asked. Tails nodded. “To be honest I thought I woke you up.” He admitted. “I’d been awake for ten minutes already, but I was undressed. Sorry I took so long.” “No problem lieutenant, we are, after all, here on shore leave.” “We are?” “For the moment. We’ve accomplished our mission, and we’ve got until one o’clock tomorrow to enjoy ourselves. Since we’ll be the only one’s awake for the night, I was wondering if I could take you for a night on the town.” McRae smiled and crossed her arms as she leaned against the door. “For a twelve year old, you’re the most charming man I know.” She complimented. “But you’re still twelve. I’m fifteen.” Tails raised his eyebrows in an expression of slight surprise. “I didn’t think girls told their age publicly.” “I’m just stating a point, sir.” “How about if I order you?” “To go out with you?” “No, not to ‘go out’ with me. It’s not a date. Just something to pass the time.” “Like?” “There’s a lovely beach, there’s a swimming pool in the hotel, there’re volleyball nets all over the place, or we could borrow a couple boats and explore the caves out by the mouth of the bay.” “I didn’t see any caves.” “You weren’t looking high enough. They’re up on the sides of the cliff by the outer parts of the mouth.” McRae pondered the idea, and nodded. “This sounds interesting. I’m game.” 8:20 PM, Downunda time Outer area of the ‘Mouth’ Tails slowly directed the small motorboat into a safe position, then tossed the anchor, a heavy rock tied to a chain, out the back. “Neat!” McRae exclaimed, looking up at the cliffside and the caves hollowing their way into it. Tails handed her a 6 hour flare and took one for himself. “No doubt it’ll be dark as hell in those caves, these will give us enough light to see our way in and out, but it won’t be perfect.” He explained, looking up at the caves as well. “Now, which one shall we explore?” He asked. She pointed to the third cave from the right. It wasn’t very high up, but the climb looked rather challenging, that is, if she wanted to climb. “I assume, sir, that you’ll be climbing and not flying up there like a cheater?” McRae asked. Tails looked at her and shrugged. “I can go anyway I want, can’t I?” “If you’re flying, you’re taking me with you.” “Since when were you able to order your superior officer around?” “What kind of gentleman would you be if you didn’t?” McRae asked with a smirk. “McRae, if this was a training exercise, and your target was over that wall, what would you do?” “I’d do whatever I could to clear the barrier.” “Exactly, you’d climb, I’d fly...” “Yeah but this isn’t a training...” “I have not finished, lieutenant,” Tails suddenly barked, making her jump instantly into attention,“nor have I given you permission to speak. Training exercise or no, shore leave or not, I am your superior officer, and you shall address me properly, and wait your turn to talk. Is that understood?” “Yes sir!” “Good! At ease.” He waited until she assumed the position. His voice was once again gentle. “Now that we have solved our little misunderstanding, and have come to terms with our special advantages over each other, we will both climb the cliff to the cave you desire. Then when we’re through exploring, I shall carry you back to the boat while flying. Good offer?” “Yes sir!” “Lieutenant, we’re on shore leave here, you don’t have to properly address when you’re at ease. Now, I asked, is that a good offer?” “I’m game.” She said smiling. They jumped out of the boat and waded through the waist deep ocean water until they reached the coast. They then walked up the beach and to the bottom of the cliffside. Tails looked up the cliffside and scratched his head. It looked easier from here than it did from the boat. “Ladies first.” He said politely. McRae anxiously jumped and clung to the cliff wall, seeming to stick to it. Within seconds she had started to climb vigorously fast. When she was about 5 metres up, Tails started his climb. Finding footholds and hand holds really wasn’t that difficult, and the cliff was so sturdy that none of them slipped within 30 minutes, McRae had made it to the cave, and pulled herself up on the ledge. When she was safely up at the mouth of the cave, she reached out for Tails’ hand. He climbed a bit closer to the ledge before taking it, and she helped him up onto the ledge. They now both stood at the mouth of the cave, looking into it’s deep darkness. There was a small bit of steam leaving the cave, making it all the more spooky, especially since the sun was already gone and the moon was the brightest thing out. Tails checked his watch again. 7:53 am. He counted thirteen hours ahead in his mind. “Eight fifty-three in the evening and the sun is gone?” He asked aloud. “Naturally. It’s winter here.” “Winter? Feels like spring! Not as warm back home during the day, but no way in hell it could be winter!” “It is though. Downunda is on the southern hemisphere of Mobius, and that’s the part that’s farthest from the sun.” “Farthest from the sun?” “The planet is tilted on a twenty-three degree axis. Over the course of the year, parts of the planet will be closer to the sun than others. The southern hemisphere right now is farther away from the sun than the Northern hemisphere is. It’s summer at home, and winter here.” “Then why is it so bloody warm for winter?” “Geothermal activity.” “You mean the underground volcanoes?” “Yep. They’re what’s keeping this whole country warm.” McRae explained. Tails frowned, slightly confused. “Also,” McRae continued, “geothermal activity is probably what created these caves. I’m guessing magma shot up through the layers of soil at one particular time, and couldn’t break the most recent ones, so they sought an alternative way out.” “Towards the ocean.” “Precisely.” She said, lighting her flare and holding it like a torch. “The volcanoes would turn dormant, the magma would cool and harden, and form a new surface over the areas it destroyed, covering up for the mess like a band aid. I’m willing to bet that there is a hot spring in this cave, and that’s why it’s steaming.” Filled with a sudden eagerness, McRae walked into the cave. Luckily they didn’t have to bend forward, as it was tall enough for them to stand in. Their flares gave more than enough light for them to see their way through. Tails saw McRae stop to remove her shoes before continuing. He stopped and looked at her shoes for a while. He picked one up and examined it. The bottom was wet. (Their must be some type of liquid on the cave floor, probably water.) Tails put the shoe down and took his off as well. He took a step forward and stepped in something wet and sickeningly cool. He stopped again and looked down. He took a sigh of relief. It WAS just water. Looking down the cave, he could see McRae’s flare carefully placed in a rock outcropping. He raised his eyebrow. (Why did she put it there?) He slowly advanced forward into a larger, roomlike area of the cave. He felt something smack into his face and he dropped his flare in surprise. He looked down at what he had caught in his arms. It was McRae’s vest. “I won’t tell if you won’t.” She giggled. Tails looked up and almost slipped. She was completely undressed. Not naked, but undressed. He shook his head and tossed her vest back to her. She caught it and simply hung it on a spike extending from the wall of the cave. Her cherry-red fur glistened in whatever light their two flares cast in the cave. Her figure was naturally seductive, as was common with rabbits, broad hips and slim waist, small chest, puffy cheekfur and of course, the long ears. Her breasts and groin were not visible (Thank God) as she didn’t want them to be. Tails understood how it was with the sexual organs. In order for them to become visible, a Mobian had to be undressed, and they had to mentally ‘allow’ them to show. McRae was only undressed. McRae gently lowered her foot into the bowl-like floor of the cavern, and Tails suddenly saw ripples extend outward from her foot. There was a small pool of water on the cavern floor, and according to McRae, the temperature was perfect, as she slipped the rest of herself in. “Incredible, a real life hot spring, just as I thought.” “It’s warm?” “Extremely. You see there is still some volcanic activity going on underground. Molten rock flowing back and forth at a temperature of, oh, say, five thousand degrees,” Tails’ eyes went wide, “and that temperature finds it’s way up through the obsidian rock from the past eruptions I told you about earlier, and heats up this little pool of water here. It’s completely safe, don’t worry. If the cliffs will erupt again, we’ll know really quickly, and have plenty of time to escape for safety. In the meantime, why don’t you come and sit?” Tails looked down at the pool, then back at McRae. “I’m finding this quite hard to believe, all this geothermal science stuff.” He explained. Something in his voice told McRae that he was trying to weasel out of it. “Come on Miles. You nervous just cause I’m undressed?” “I prefer...” His voice was high in pitch, and he immediately cleared his throat, “I prefer ‘Tails,’ thanks.” He said, trying to sound confident. “Whatever.” She said, wading across to where he was standing, “You can call me Sarah.” She said, slowly removing his jacket. He stood there mesmerized as her hands moved down his arms, slipping the sleeves of his jacket off, running over his biceps, slowly, with an enchanting touch. His sunglasses slipped off his face from the sweat he was pouring out, not just from her touch, but from the heat of the cavern as well. He shivered as she gripped his waist and lifted him of the ground, carefully slipping him into the water. The warmth that surrounded him eased his nerves slightly and he began to slowly calm down. Sarah wrapped an arm around his waist and cuddled him like she was his big sister. “See? It’s not so bad, it’s just a one hundred percent natural hot tub.” Tails could feel the heat all right. He felt the heat of the water in the spring, and he felt Sarah’s heat, toasting him inside. He suddenly remembered that he outranked her, and with a single order he could make her stop. “Sarah...” He squeaked. What he wanted to sound like and what he did sound like were two totally different things. He wanted to come out strong and disciplined like a soldier, instead, he came out nervous and frightened like a mouse. She giggled. “I’m turning you on, aren’t I?” She asked. He didn’t move. He was entranced. Even though he outranked her, she was the stronger one now. “You have no idea how cute you look when you’re nervous.” She said, poking the tip of his nose. “Don’t worry so much. I’m not going to do anything bad. Just sit and relax, cuddle up with me. This is a paradise in itself, and I’m not going to ruin the moment for you by putting you in a... an inescapable situation.” She grinned. He turned his head and looked into her eyes. He opened his mouth but was speechless. “I find it hard to imagine how such a charming guy like you can turn to jelly when you get turned on. I thought you’d be stronger than that.” Tails cleared his throat and finally managed to say something. “I... didn’t know... my ‘charm’ really had an affect.” He admitted. “Yeah? Well you know what? What you’re feeling now is just what I felt when you swept me off my feet and flew me down to the pier.” “Really?” “Maybe. I can’t be sure. I’m not in your skin right now, so I can’t say. Does this happen to you often?” “No! Not from other girls.” “Does it happen at all?” “Sometimes when I’m with Snowflake, yeah.” Sarah chuckled and smiled. “You cutey. Do you like the sensation?” “Yes and no.” “Oh?” “I like the way it feels, when I’m with her. It’s cause I’ve known her for so long.” “And when I do it, you feel nervous because it’s someone strange to you doing it, right?” “Yeah, exactly. Plus I do something to help get rid of the sensation. That explains how I don’t like it, because I want to get rid of it, y’know?” “How do you get rid of it?” “Uh... You really wanna know?” “Sure. After all, what harm could it possibly do?” Sarah was suddenly silenced as Tails leaned forward and kissed her on the lips. She was taken by surprise by the suddenness of his mouth over hers. His lips were cool and smooth. They chilled her blood like never before, and it tingled up and down, throughout her entire body. She closed her eyes and held him closer. In this one passionate moment they both shared together, she would not allow it to go to waste. Her nerves tingled and burned as she felt his hands wrap around her chest and embrace her. She softly stroked his face, her ears drooping over his face instinctively. The wetness of their lips exchanged for awhile longer before he gently pulled away. She slowly opened her eyes and blushed. “Now, how does that get rid of the sensation?” “I don’t know, but for me, it just does.” “What happens after that?” “Snowflake and I either stop or continue.” “Well, I’m not Snowflake, so I think it’s best we stop, hmm?” Tails shrugged and rested his head against her shoulder. He sighed peacefully and quietly through his nose. She cuddled him close to her side and stroked his cheekfur sisterlylike again. A few minutes passed before Tails said something else. “Sarah?” “Hmm?” “I won’t tell if you won’t.” He said with a smirk. She smirked back. “Who’d believe me anyways? Besides, I liked it, so I wouldn’t want to get us in trouble. Now I know how lucky Snowflake is to have you for a boyfriend.” Tails turned a bit more in her direction. “We could spend the night together.” Tails suggested. Sarah looked him in the eye with an eyebrow raised. He nodded. “Tails, do you love Snowflake?” “Endlessly.” “Then why are you making this offer?” Tails shrugged. “How’ll she know?” “Tails, you’re lucky your young and inexperienced. If you were my age, I’d leave right now.” “Why? What’s wrong?” “You’ve just made an offer that would betray your love for Snowflake.” “No, I’d still love her.” “You think so, but believe me Tails, I couldn’t and wouldn’t make sweet love with you if you knew that you had a girlfriend who loves you, and ignored it. You love Snowflake, she loves you. Only you two should be together to kiss, period. The one we just made was an exception, because I brought it on. Listen to me Tails, and listen to me good. There are certain things in life that you have to understand about love, one thing is that love between a boy and girl is meant specifically for that boy and girl, and no one else. You can charm and be suave all you want, but you can only say ‘I love you’ to Snowflake, and you can only express your love to Snowflake. If not, you betray her, and that betrayal hurts more than death itself.” Tails blinked. He was confused. “Do you understand Tails?” “Yeah, kinda...” “You’re still young, you’ll fully understand when your older, but I’m just trying to give you the basic principle, kay?” “Uh, yeah.” Sarah nodded and ruffled the fur on his head. “Although, you realize that if you and Snowflake weren’t lovers, I’d take up that offer instantly. If you were a bit older, then we could make sweet love.” “Isn’t that dangerous?” “Yeah, but I’m generally a naughty girl. Before I know what’s happening, my pants are already off.” “Really?” “No! For God’s sake no! I was just seeing if you were paying attention to all I said. No one, not even you, has the right to THIS virgin body... yet.” Tails nodded, and sighed again. “So what do we do now?” “Let’s just talk to each other, kay? Tell me about you and Snowflake.” Chapter 6 “You have so many relations in this life, only one or two will last.” -Taylor Hanson 10:45 am, Downunda time Sydna City Hotel Room 842 Tails looked over at the clock on the nightstand and sighed. Finally, he had gotten some sleep. Yesterday night had been unbelievably tiring on him. He talked with Sarah about his relationship with Snowflake for hours, wandering in and out of topic now and then. By the time they had finished, it was 1 in the morning, and they were beginning to both get tired again. He vaguely remembered carrying Sarah out into the boat and bringing it back to the mainland. By the time they got back to the hotel, it was almost 2. Tails closed his eyes again, he deserved his peace and quiet, especially for all that he was worth. A few minutes later, he opened his eyes again and cursed. It was hopeless. He couldn’t get back to sleep again. (Mind as well see the situation with the boat.) He got up out of the bed and stretched. At least that felt good! He shook his head to get rid of some of the drowsiness and knew he’d need a shower. He opened the door to the bathroom and took a look in the mirror to see what he’d have to do to get of his ‘morn scorn’ as Snowflake called it. He saw a white piece of paper taped to the mirror instead of his face. He raised an eyebrow. (How the hell did someone manage to get in my room without me knowing?) The paper was blank. Tails tore it off the mirror and looked at it. He flipped it over and found a message neatly written in red. Don’t forget! 7 PM tonight. I’ll pick you up. Tails’ heart raced with nervousness. He remembered the harmless letter he got yesterday, and now this letter, which SEEMED harmless, appears out of nowhere IN his room without him knowing how it got there. Tails looked over the message for a signature. There wasn’t one. His heart was pumping so erratically it hurt. He quickly got a shower, combed his hair, got his shoes, jacket and shades on and hurried down to the piers. 11:15 am Sydna Shipyard Pier 15 No one was here, except Tails that is. He called out to the captain, but got no response. He scratched his head. (Shouldn’t the captain be here at least 3 hours before departure for loading?) He looked all around the pier for a sign of some sort, something that could give him the least bit of evidence that the boat would be leaving today. He got nothing but the squishing of the water underneath the pier and his footsteps on the wooden planks. “Tails!” cried a voice from somewhere behind him. He turned around, looking for who it was that was calling him. It took him a few seconds to find Sarah running down to the pier. She looked like she had something to say. Tails beat her to it. “Lieutenant, I’d appreciate it if you referred to me as sergeant Prower, or sergeant, or sir during the day hours.” He said. His voice was quiet, but it stung like a sharp icicle. Sarah put a hand to her mouth and toyed with her lower lip innocently. “Now, what was it you had to say?” “Sir, the ship won’t be leaving today.” “What?” “The ship won’t be leaving today, sir.” “Why the hell not?” “The temporary crew hasn’t been assembled yet.” “Aw geez! Has Knothole been notified?” “Yes sir, they’ve been notified of the incident on board, our predicament, and are expecting a delay in return.” “We wouldn’t have this problem if Rotor could get to work on those jet propulsors.” Tails muttered to himself. “Is something wrong sir? You seem to be eager to get out of here pretty quickly.” Tails opened his mouth, but couldn’t be heard. A group of three young males caught sight of Sarah and started whistling in her general direction. “Ah didn’ know Knothole army chicks we’re so hot! Why doncha’ come over here for a while babe?” One of them hollered. Sarah smiled back and faced them. She gripped the right part of her vest like she was going to take it off. Instead, she made her sidearm perfectly visible to them. Tails couldn’t help smiling as he saw the boys’ expression turn from eagerness to nervous. “If I go over there boys, I don’t think you’ll be to happy.” She said, taking her weapon in hand. Tails assumed she was going to use it to intimidate them. He was wrong. He almost gasped when she pulled the trigger. An explosion of sand erupted a metre away from the boys, who were quick to get their asses moving. “Holster that sidearm lieutenant!” Tails barked. Sarah was already a league ahead of him. “If I ever see or hear of you using that firearm inappropriately, I’ll have it confiscated, is that understood?” “Yes sir.” She said, not with the attitude of a disciplined soldier. Tails would normally have demanded a repetition in a better tone, but they had caused enough alarm as it was. “You were going to say something earlier sergeant?” “Hmm? Oh, yeah, about getting out of here. Yeah, well, with the messages I’ve been getting and you waving your gun around like you’re a cowgirl, I’d like to get back home as soon as possible.” “Messages?” Tails showed Sarah the two messages he had received since their arrival. She read them over and shrugged. “Apparently, you have a way of passing the time tonight. Whoever sent these is lucky that our ship won’t be leaving today.” “The second one I found on my bathroom mirror.” “Oh? An intruder AND a ‘friend.’ This should prove very interesting, don’t you think?” “Actually, to be honest, I think it’s eerie.” “Yeah, well, we’ll be here for at least today still. This ‘friend’ doesn’t seem to be a threat, so make the best of it.” “Wait, put yourself in my shoes for a minute. What would you think, or do, if you got these messages, and not me?” “Well sir, I don’t know anybody on Downunda, except for the guy that took us to the hotel, I met him again a the swimming pool. But honestly, if I got those messages, I’d watch my back.” “Thanks...” (That makes me feel SO much better. Some help you were.) 6:58 PM Sydna City Hotel Room 842 Tails looked out the window one last time, looking up at the cloud covered sundown sky. Pink and orange outlining the clouds like every night. Always a beautiful sight to see. He looked down at the street, lampposts on either side glowing brightly to light the way home for people. This vantage point was something very different from Knothole, (But Knothole would become famous again when they build the castle.) yet somehow Tails thought Knothole was still his home, and it was his job to make others feel at home. He put on his leather jacket again, pondering whether or not he should take his phased plasma pistol along with him. He decided against it, just this once he’d pass it up. There was a knock at the door, and Tails took a deep breath. He silently prayed that everything would go well. He opened the door and immediately thought it was Snowflake on the other side at first glance. He looked at the guest’s face though, and knew that it wasn’t Snowflake, but it was an old friend. He smiled. She smiled. “Barby! Good God I haven’t seen you in years!” He said, Seeming very happy to see her. He offered his hand for her to shake, instead, she embraced and hugged him. She was wearing the same thing Tails had always seen her with. A sash that wrapped around the right side of her chest and back, tied to a belt along her waist, red boots that came up to the lower parts of her shins, and matching gloves that came up to her lower arm. She was slightly taller since the last time he saw her, now standing at about 5’ 11” and her figure hadn’t changed a bit. While she hugged him, he felt something tickle his nose. He sniffed instinctively and almost fell back. She smelled unbelievably beautiful, like drops of vanilla in a cold alpine forest. It chilled and thrilled him. “Two years too long deary. Man have ya ever changed over th’ years! You’ve grown I’d say a good two inches!” “You too.” “I heard ya had come down to bring us a prisoner for liquid nitro freeze. How did it go?” “Well, he escaped his cell. We had to kill him on the boat.” Barby gasped slightly. “Oh gosh, did he hurt you?” “As a matter of fact, yeah, he KO’ed me in one hit.” “Oh you poor thing. Come, let’s go down and have dinner, ya can tell me all about it then, eh? How’s that sound?” “I’d love too.” 7:02 PM Sydna City Hotel Restaurant “He killed three of the five soldiers assigned to escort him here. He must’ve thought I wouldn’t wake up in time to stop him.” “How did ya wake up so quickly?” “I told myself to. One of the things we learn in the army is that ‘you’re still a soldier as long as you can fight.’ When we know we have a mission to accomplish, we don’t let anything get in our way. We command ourselves to break the barriers, and we either do or die. My mission was to kill the prisoner, since he had escaped, and I couldn’t do that sleeping.” “So ya commanded yourself to get back on your feet.” “Precisely.” “Must be hard on you, you being only twelve and all.” “Think of what I grew up in, the world I was born into. That helps to develop the natural instincts that every soldier needs.” Tails’ nose caught a scent that told him dinner was ready. He nodded politely as the waiter brought him his food, encased under a silver dome. As the waiter placed it on the table, Tails poked the casing. “I see you too are forging luxuries out of fine materials.” “We started a few months ago. Instances like this were first on th’ list.” The waiter removed the casing. A large cloud of steam exploded into the air, revealing the delicacy on the plate, a completely cooked lobster, the lemon juice glittering on the red exoskeleton plainly explained the freshness. Underneath the lobster was an assortment of lettuce leaves and croutons. Lastly, a ring of baby cut carrots surrounded the lobster. Tails’ eyes went wide. “Surprised? This is a rather common dish.” Barby explained. “It’s much fancier than anything else I’ve eaten.” “Then savor the flavor.” Barby insisted, grinning slightly. 8:01 PM, Downunda time Sydna City Hotel Recreation area Tails was surprised at how athletic Barby was, even for her age. They were both presently on the exercise bikes participating in a virtual race. The screens in front of them depicted the track that they had to follow, and Tails could see on his screen that Barby was passing him. He kept his cool and tried not to push himself harder just to keep in front. Instead, he let her pass, and then moved directly behind her. He smirked to himself as he felt the bike’s resistance level suddenly decreased. Since Barby was acting as a windbreak for him, the friction he caused against the still air passed around her and completely missed him, giving him much less resistance while pedaling. He stayed there for a while before finally giving it all he had and cruising over the finish line, with her some 500 metres behind. “Impressive Tails. How’d you know about that trick?” “You ever wonder why birds fly in a V formation?” “Ah, I take it that what you used here is the same principle?” “Quite, yes.” “Why didn’t you hang on the side then, like the birds do?” “Well, I’m different from birds, I don’t mind staring at the ass of the girl in front of me.” He said with a smirk. She raised an eyebrow. “You’re the only one whom I’ve given permission for that privilege.” “Privilege?” “You think less of it?” Barby’s tone suddenly was stern, and anything but pleasant. “Try honor.” Tails said quickly. Barby smiled and tapped him under the chin. “That’s more like it. Good boy.” She said, the words echoing in his ears like light whispers. “I’m going to go get showered and head off. I’ve got work to do tomorrow.” She extended her hand for him to shake. “Let this be our parting gesture.” Tails took her hand and shook it. She continued, “And if I catch you following me, it’ll be the last thing you see.” “But surely the best.” He said. She blushed, then turned and walked to the ladies shower room. As she opened the door, Tails got a slight glance at the lockers along the far wall. The door shut before he could see anything else. He wrapped his sweat towel around his neck and headed out of the workout room, towards the sauna. He checked his watch and added 13 hours. 8:27 PM. He’d relax in the sauna for about 45 minutes, maybe more if the time permitted. He opened the door to the sauna and was met with the natural dry heat of the room. He quickly got in and closed the door, to keep as much heat in as he could. Alone in the hot wooden room (Slightly dangerous if it were ever to get TOO hot in here.) (It’s a natural fire hazard.) he took a seat in the far back. He removed his sweat towel and placed it beside him on the wooden bench that stretched wall to wall, about 3 metres across. (This sauna’s actually quite big.) He quickly did a mental recap. His shoes, socks, jacket and gloves were in locker 349. He’d have to return the towel to the recreation administrators at the desk. He sighed and laid back on the wall. He was about to close his eyes when the door to the sauna opened. It was Barby at the door again, undressed, yet not naked. Still, it was enough to make him gasp and skip a heartbeat. Her figure was beautiful in the dim light, a lightly rounded chest, slim waist, slimmer than Sarah’s, and broad hips. Her legs were long and well muscled from long hours of workouts. She was slightly dripping. Tails assumed she had just come out of the shower. “Oh! I’m sorry, I didn’t know you were here.” She gasped, “I just found out that I forgot my towel, and thought I could...” “It’s all right, of course you can come in. I mean, I wouldn’t want you to get your stuff wet, nor go outside into society looking like a used rag.” “Nobody would.” She said, closing the door and using her voice to cover up the sound of the lock, “I apologize for my appearance as well, you know how it is with wet fur and clothes.” Tails nodded and stood up to offer a seat. She looked him up and down. “I see you seem to have no shame.” She said softly. Tails looked down, noticing that he to was undressed. He blushed slightly. “I wasn’t expecting company.” He admitted. She gently stroked his cheek with a soft hand, leaning in closer towards him. “Don’t worry, there won’t be any.” She whispered, the words running over his face and sending him into a daze. He felt her hand reach over and apply slight forward pressure on his back. Hence he neared extremely close to her and instinctively closed his eyes. He felt her lips run across his slowly and softly. His heart beat so fast and hard he swore it echoed through the room. His breathing accelerated through his open mouth, smacking against her lips and rebounding back on his face. He felt her mouth press fully against his. The familiar sensation of a kiss weakened his will, the softness of her mouth on his made his spine tingle pleasantly. Then something unfamiliar to him happened, as he felt something enter his mouth, something smooth, thin, and wet. It didn’t take him long to realize it was her tongue. He tried to push away, but her firm hands kept him in place. Resistance was futile. He gave in, trying to make sense of the new sensation that was put before him. She tasted like warm spring water, and even though he knew that it was her saliva that he was tasting, he didn’t fidget. It didn’t seem so disgusting at this moment to him, instead it felt reassuring, as her tongue rolled slowly over his, excretes of her saliva rolled down into his throat. He instinctively swallowed, realizing with brief disbelief what he had done was something he’d never ever considered before. He felt her tongue slip out of his mouth. He stood there, his mouth gaping, frozen with surprise and shock. “Your first real kiss?” She asked, whispering softly. “Real?” He squeaked, not knowing what to think or say. “What’d you think?” She asked. He didn’t reply. He just stared into her eyes. “Well, I thought it was wonderful. So wonderful that,” she gently applied downward pressure on his shoulders. He sat down on the bench under the pressure, but it didn’t stop, it pressed forward, and she leaned closer in such a way, that he soon found it difficult to sit up. He had to lay down, which was just what Barby wanted, since she crawled up and laid down on top of him facing him. “I’m going to do it again.” She whispered, pressing her mouth down on his and once again inserting her tongue into his mouth. Tails tasted her inside his mouth again, and slowly relaxed in the position he was in. He liked her taste, and began playing with her tongue to get more of her to taste. He wrapped his arms around her, and stayed there in the sauna, kissing her in this new style she was teaching him. Her body pressed against his pleasantly, the smoothness of her fur running over him like feathers. He didn’t want to stop, he kept kissing and kissing her, well into the night, until they both fell asleep from exhaustion. Chapter 7 “There are no impossible dreams, there are no invisible seams, each night when the day is through, I don’t ask much, I just want you.” -Ozzy Osbourne 11:34 am, Downunda time Sydna City Hotel Room 842 Tails opened his eyes slowly. The mid-day sun shone its rays down into his eyes, forcing him to shield his eyes with his hand. He looked around him, his hotel room. He blinked slightly, realizing that something was wrong. He couldn’t recall entering his room, he didn’t even recall leaving the sauna. He fell asleep there, and couldn’t remember anything that happened in between. He slowly sat up. There was an immediate crushing sensation in his head. He winced and laid back down on the bed. He waited a short while and sat up again, this time fighting the pain and the slight dizziness to follow. His vision slowly blackened inward, and refocused after a few seconds. He got out of bed and headed for the shower, already planning out what he would be doing for the day. 12:15 PM, Downunda Time Sydna seaport Pier 15 Tails walked towards the pier, looking for the departure schedule. Since there wasn’t one the day before, he didn’t know exactly what the schedule looked like, he was forced to look at anything that could give him the slightest idea. As he was walking up and down the pier, he visually searched the bridge. He couldn’t see much, but he knew there wasn’t anybody in there. He could fly up and check further, but he decided against it. He’d go and ask the seaport manager, whose office was some distance away, near pier 11. Tails walked casually down the wooden walkway, listening to the sounds his feet made as he walked. The hollow sound that was made as he walked across, the slight creak now and again, the crying of the seagulls flying overhead, and the brushing of water against the hulls of the boats. A true sign of post war advancement for the people of Downunda. It made him sigh slightly. When he reached the door to the office of the seaport manager, he looked around to see if there was anyone familiar he knew in the near vicinity. He really wanted to find Sarah. Knowing her, she’d probably have some idea why the ship was once again delayed. He shrugged and knocked on the door. “Come on in.” Came the voice from inside, bearing a rather light accent. Tails opened the door and stepped into the office. “Welcome sergeant, somethin’ I can do for ya?” “Sure, you could start by telling me what’s up with my trip home.” “I thought so, your older friend was here earlier, wanting to know the same thing.” “What’d you tell her?” “I told her the ship was being held for one more day. It’s scheduled to leave early tomorrow morning, about nine am. That okay with you?” (Nine am?) (That is rather early, considering the times I’ve been waking up lately in the morning.) “Sure, that’s fine. Did Sarah tell you where she would be if I came around looking for her?” The manager frowned, “Sarah?” “Yeah, my older friend, the one that was here earlier.” “Sergeant, unless ‘Sarah’ is an alias that Barby uses, I don’t know who you’re talking about.” Tails gulped. (Barby was here?) (Asking about the departure time?) “Something wrong sergeant?” “No, nothing. Thank you for your cooperation sir.” “A pleasure. Tea?” “No thanks, I’ve got to go find someone.” “Of course. See you tomorrow at nine then?” “Yeah.” Tails turned and left the office quickly, and ran back to the hotel. 12:35 PM, Downunda time Sydna City Hotel 8th floor Tails walked down the hallway, filled on both sides with doors leading into private hotel rooms. He stopped at room 843 and knocked on the door. “Lieutenant?” He called out. No response. He checked his watch, and added 13 hours. (She must be down at lunch...) The lock on the door suddenly clicked, and the door opened. Sarah saluted. “Sarah, there’s no need for that. Shore leave, remember?” “It’s still an appropriate sign of respect sir. How was your date yesterday?” “That’s what I need to talk to you about. I went to go figure out why we weren’t leaving today, and the seaport manager told me that the person I was with yesterday had already come by and asked the same thing.” Sarah blinked. “So?” “Well, after yesterday, that’s kind of making feel queasy in my stomach.” “Aw, the big brave sergeant coming to the humble lieutenant for advice?” “Yes, dammit! I may outrank you, but your older, you know more about love than I do.” That did it. Sarah’s sarcastic expression erased. Her look was sincere and scolding. “What happened?” “Come down with me to lunch, I’ll tell you there.” 1:02 PM Sydna City Hotel Restaurant If his opinion would’ve been requested, Tails would not declare his meal before him ‘lunch.’ A simple stack of three pancakes was more like a snack to him, but at the moment, he didn’t need anything extraordinary to eat. Sarah just had a pair of eggs over easy. Simple meal. “Sergeant, from the way you approached me and the nervousness in your tone, I take it something bad happened yesterday?” “Very observant lieutenant, and I therefore require your experienced advice on the situation. Do you want me to get right to the point, or tell you the whole story?” “Best to get right to the point, that’s what’s most important.” “Right. Uh...” Tails suddenly felt his stomach heave. He felt an almost unbelievable sense of nausea that it made him sweat. “It’s kinda hard for me to say this...” “No doubt. Sergeant, close your eyes and take a deep breath. Don’t worry about how you’re going to tell me the story, just do it. You’re a man, a disciplined soldier, you should be able to do that right?” She asked, playing her words right into his mind to give him a false sense of self confidence. He did as he was told, and began to talk. “We made out.” He said, bluntly. She waited for him to continue, not realizing that he wouldn’t. After a while she raised an eyebrow. “That’s it?” “That’s basically it, yeah.” “That’s not good enough. Tell me more.” “Lieutenant, I told you...” “You told me diddly squat. All I know is that you spent probably a good few hours shamefully pleasuring yourself and her.” “Lieutenant, do you know who you’re talking too? Do you know who I am?” Tails asked sternly, standing up and looking down into her eyes. She stood up as well, being a good head taller than him, and stared him back in the eyes. “Of course I do, you’re a self righteous, selfish little twerp, who hides his lack of knowledge and experience behind an undeserved rank of authority.” She saw the shock and anger run into his eyes. She knew that if she wanted to teach him what he was doing wrong, she’d have to keep talking. “How dare you...” “Shut up and listen to me sergeant.” She interrupted, “You were the one who came to me for advice. You can obviously tell by the tone of my voice that what you did yesterday night was wrong. If you think for one minute that putting yourself in this situation wouldn’t earn you some verbal bashing then you’re wasting your time. Sit down!” She then without a second thought grabbed him by the shoulder and pushed him back into his seat. She could feel the many pairs of eyes staring her down, some wondering what she was doing, others wondering what Tails did to get her this upset, and one set wondering if she had gone mad. The latter set belonged to Tails. “There is such a thing as being so mature that you’re immature. You think that just because you’ve got a higher rank than anyone else in the field that your word is law. Life isn’t like that sergeant, life is as hard as hell and twice as hot at times. There will be times when you’ll learn things the hard way, and other times when you’ll learn about your mistake before it happens and be able to find an easy way out. Right now, I’m trying to prevent you from learning one of life’s hardest lessons the hard way, and that is ‘you don’t really know how valuable your possessions are until they’re gone.’ Now are you going to let me help you, or are you going to have me court martialed for yelling at a superior officer?” There was a dead silence. Nothing from Tails, nor Sarah, nor anyone else except the silent sounds of oneself breathing. Sarah calmly sat back down in her seat, not taking her eyes of Tails’. She spoke to him again, in a much softer tone this time, “Now, are you going to tell me what happened?” Tails nodded. “Good. Please start.” Tails repeated the suggestion she had given him earlier, and started to relate the story, this time in better detail. “I was in the sauna. I... I figured I’d spend some time before going to bed. She came in, cause she... she had taken a shower and misplaced her towel, so she came to the sauna to dry up. She... she was...” Tails’ voice suddenly rose in pitch. He cleared his throat and continued, “she was undressed. She closed the door, and walked towards me. She put an arm around me, and that’s...” He cleared his throat again, “that’s when I could smell her. She smelled really nice, and her touch... it was so gentle. That’s when she kissed...” His voice rose again in pitch, he cleared his throat twice, and continued, stuttering on the words, “That’s... wh-when she kissed me, w-with her tongue, sh-she put it in my mouth.” “And you did this for how long?” “Ab-about thirty seconds, then sh-she laid me on the bench and laid on t-top of me, and k-kissed me ag.... again.” “How long did that last?” “I don’t know, I f-fell asleep.” Sarah nodded. She knew that her outburst had shook him up slightly, and it would be best not to be hard on him. “Tails, what happened to you is not at all uncommon. Many people experience in their lives. Why didn’t you tell her to stop?” Tails looked at her funny. “Because it felt good. Have you ever been kissed like that?” “Tails, whether it feels good or not is beside the point. She’s not your girlfriend, and it’s wrong when you give in to another woman’s seduction.” Tails now raised an eyebrow, expressing confusion. “But I thought you said that when someone else ‘brings it on,’ probably meaning the same thing as seduce, that in that situation it’s okay.” Sarah’s eyes went wide. To her, this was a sudden turn of events, but to Tails, it was a confused misunderstanding, with him standing right in the middle. Sarah knew that if Tails had known what he was talking about, he could be yelling the hell out of her. Luckily, he didn’t know what he was talking about, so she was safe. “Okay, Tails, uh... I have to tell you something about that... I lied. When someone else brings it on, it’s still not okay. What I MEANT was... what I mean is... well, at that point at time, I seduced you to get some fun out of you watching you squirm. I didn’t do it for serious affection for you, so it wasn’t as bad. That doesn’t mean it’s not right, because you still gave in. She seduced you because, for some reason, she seems to have an extreme infatuation towards you, and she wants to cloud your thoughts or desires for other girls by sending you through extremely high levels of ecstasy. “Tails, let me tell you something. Out of complete honesty, you are very attractive for your age. I like you, and so does this other girl. How old is she?” “How old? Gee, well when I first met her two years ago she was sixteen.” “Sixteen? So she’s eighteen now?! Okay, not only does this other girl like you, but she’s also somewhat gibbled in the head. She should be looking for guys her age, and leaving you in peace, but it’s obvious she’s not going to do that, so you have to take the stand. Your girlfriend is Snowflake, and no one else but her deserves your body, your soul, or your heart to love. Sure there will be others that try to convince you to love them, but they’re too late. You’ve got to strengthen your extremely weak will power and resist the temptations that she’s placing on your shoulders.” “But why? What’s so bad about it?” “The long term consequences are what’s bad Tails. When a couple love each other, they are also subject to many pains that will come through in life. One of them is betrayal. When your lover betrays his love for you, it hurts excessively, so much you may find yourself crying about it for days. Your trust in that person is nil, and your love for that person is also nil, after all, what’s the point in Snowflake loving you if you don’t share the same love for her? Betrayal also tells the person who was betrayed that they’re love is really not worth keeping them for. All the times they spent together had no meaning to them.” “But what are the chances that she’ll find out?” “Even if the chances are almost next to nothing, that doesn’t mean they aren’t there. If you try to hide it from her, and then she finds out, that too is painful. The truth does hurt, but not as much as unspoken truths, and nothing hurts more than truth hidden by lies. Tails, you’ve got to understand that you and Snowflake are lovers, not you and this other...” Sarah was about to say slut, but she knew how rumors spread, and she didn’t want to get into trouble, “girl. Tell her that your sorry, but she’s not the one for you. In the meantime, we’ve got to find a way to get back home, soon.” “The boat leaves tomorrow.” “Good. If we can get on it and be out of here, you’ll be in luck.” “Sarah, what should I do about Snowflake? Should I tell her about what happened?” Sarah sighed. “What happened between you and I is an unimportant factor. It’s mainly between you and this other girl. I don’t know, if you’re lucky you may be able to take it with you to the grave and she won’t know a thing.” “But should I tell her?” “That’s up to you. If you do decide to tell her though, tell her the absolute truth, and tell her that it was just a bad experience and that your love for her told you that she is far better than the girl you were with. Tell her you learned a valuable lesson and that you’re sorry you did it.” “But what if she doesn’t believe me?” “From what you told me about Snowflake, she’ll believe you, trust me.” (Trust her?) (‘Trust me.’ Famous last words.) “What should I tell Barby?” “Barby’s her name? Uh, I mean... actually Tails, pray that you don’t have to tell her anything either.” “That makes me feel a LOT better.” Tails said sarcastically, drooping his head into his hands. “And just think, this could have all been avoided if you just kept your tongue in your own mouth.” Sarah said mockingly. Tails grumbled. Chapter 8 “You and I, just have a dream, to find our love a place, where we can hide away. You and I, oh we’re just made, to love each other now, forever and a day.” - “Scorpions” 10:30 PM, Knothole time Knothole barracks: General D’Coolette’s office Antoine sighed with a heavy heave of relief. The stress he had undertaken over the past few days had given him cause for worry. First, the news of the prisoner escaping. Second, the loss of three soldiers. Finally, the unexpected delays that kept his final two soldiers from returning didn’t make him feel any better. Thank God the latest report stated that the ship would be returning to Viga’Daer tomorrow. If it wasn’t, he’d send another ship out to pick them up. He made a note to be at the Viga’daer shipyard when the ship arrived, then closed up the office, wished his secretary goodnight, and headed home for the night. 3:31 am, Downunda time “Hope’s Daughter” Captain Barhonovich stood at the starboard part of his ship, his favorite spot. He took a deep breath of the salty air of the blue ocean, and exhaled peacefully. How he longed to be out at sea again, and he soon would be. He was counting the hours down in his head, and he was down to 5 and a half. His eagerness beckoned him to get the ship ready early, and he excitedly gave in. He opened the door to deck 1, and climbed up the spiral stairwell that led to the bridge, hearing his footsteps make that familiar dull metal clang as he stepped on each of the steps. He reached the door to the bridge after a short climb, and unlocked the door. The sight of his bridge, now fresh and clean after long hours of scrubbing away the mess of the two people whom were killed there, was another familiar relief. He told himself again that he was lucky to be a seafaring captain. Borhonovich gently touched the button on the captain’s console labeled “Startup” and sat back in his chair as his ship slowly hummed to life. (Aye, cap’n, you truly belong here in the sea) Without warning, a message flashed on his console. Fuel injection error! See engineering console! Borhonovich turned his head towards the engineering console, which was flashing a big bright red “ERROR!” message. He shook his head disappointedly and walked over to the console, hitting a key on the console. The screen then stopped flashing the error message and changed to something different. It showed a diagram of the main engine and the fuel lines that led up to the combustion system. Everything but the fuel lines were marked as operational, the fuel lines were flashing red. Underneath the diagram was an explanatory message. Unknown interference or blockage in the fuel injector pipes. Unable to initiate startup. Borhonovich cursed and ran down to deck 20, where the problem was. He turned on his portable flashlight and searched for the hull panel which held the fuel lines. Since this wasn’t an electrical error, he realized he’d have to fix the problem by hand, which he disliked a great deal. He searched the side walls, the roof, and the back wall for the panel, and was confused when he couldn’t find anything. Instinctively, he looked down, and found what he was looking for. He then reached for the nearby screwdriver and began unscrewing the panel from the hull. He placed each screw neatly and carefully close to each other. Once the final screw was out, he lifted the panel and looked down into the fuel lines and saw the problem. Something was in fact blocking the fuel lines, something that was taped onto the pipes and wedged halfways in. It had two separate parts, the one that was taped and wedged into the pipe, and, connected through a series of multicolored wires, was the second part, which wasn’t anything more than a digital clock which read 00:00:03. Borhonovich felt so nauseous he almost dropped the hull panel that was in his hands, but even if he did, it wouldn’t have mattered. He had three seconds to scream, to pray, to vainly try to escape, or to accept fate. He sighed and sat back against the wall behind him. “Born for a life on the sea, I wish...” There was a split microsecond sound of thunder, like the sounds of the angry skies fighting with the angry seas, and he was atomized. The same instant Sydna City Hotel Room 842 Tails jumped radically as the sudden sound of a deafening explosion filled his ears. The first notion that ran through his head was that the explosion had come from the building, and that he would soon die. The blazing hot heat wave from the explosion found its way through the window and heated his room to what felt like a near inferno instantly, and shut his eyes as the night-to-day effect which happened almost as quickly as the heat wave. Soon it was dark again, the heat became bearable, and the deafening roar had calmed down. The high amounts of adrenaline mixed in his bloodstream caused his heart to beat faster and his breath to quicken. He did not feel relief, he felt only fear as he was reminded that he was a mortal Mobian, like everyone else. He couldn’t move, he couldn’t see, he couldn’t think. The unexpected, instantaneous change in environment had frozen him with fear, yet slowly and gradually, he understood that he wasn’t in any more danger. He jumped out of bed and headed for the window, looking out towards the seaport, where the explosion had come from. The night sky was still somewhat brightened by the bonfire that blazed not to far away. He could hear the fire blazing, and the voices of other surprised people wondering just what the hell happened. Suddenly, he felt an awareness come to him, it felt like a cold, bony hand placing itself on his shoulder. (That could’ve been “Hopes Daughter...”) He quickly donned his jacket and shoes and jumped out the window, propelling himself through the air towards the seaport. It didn’t take him long to reach the seaport. Normally, this was a peaceful and quiet place during the night, because there was hardly any activity going on. Now, it was blazing hot, up in flames, and clouded in smoke. No one could get any closer without wearing an oxygen mask. Since heat rose up, Tails had to land to prevent first degree burns from the heat. Even as he was down, he had to shield his face from the brightness and heat. He could see the fire crews already working on the small fires that had made their way to the seaport, but it was pretty obvious that the main fire wouldn’t be able to be controlled. Soaring high into the night sky, a bonfire of drastic proportions seemed to just burn on the surface of the water. Tails knew this wasn’t possible unless there was a high oil content in the water, but he was pretty sure the water was clean. (So, what the heck is burning?) He whipped his head around, looking for the marina administrator. A voice calling out his name told him that someone was looking for him at the same time. Tails turned his head in the direction of the voice, seeing a smoky-black male cat running towards his direction. Tails pitied him, for no doubt, with that fur color, the heat would be almost nauseating. “Sergeant! Thank God! We thought you might’ve been on the ship!” The cat yelled, trying to make himself heard over the noise of the raging fire. Tails’ heart jumped. (Might’ve been on the ship?) (What ship?) “Pardon me?” Tails asked, not meaning for the cat to repeat what he said, but to receive clarification on what he had meant by not being on the ship. “There was a bomb on a ship, a rather lethal bomb at that. The ship is starting to take on water and will sink anytime soon. We thought you might’ve been on the ship and that the bomb was an assassination attempt.” He explained. He went to turn away and head back to controlling the fire, but Tails placed a firm hand on his shoulder and turned him back around. “Which ship?” He asked sternly. “I hate to be the bearer of bad news, mate,” The cat said, expressing obvious sympathy, “but it was your trip home.” Chapter 9 “I wanna stand with you on a mountain, I wanna bathe with you in the sea, I wanna lay like this forever, until the sky falls down on me.” -Savage Garden 10:40 am, Knothole time. Knothole Barracks: General D’Coolette’s office Antoine threw the mission status report down on the table. “Zis is outrageous! First it was ze delays, now ze ship ‘as been sabotaged! It’s as if someone wants zem to stay!” He shouted, yet the officer who handed him the report stood at attention, not seemin’ the least bit alive or scared. He did a good job of hiding his fear, because the general couldn’t suspect it. “But that’s not all, just less zen ten minutes ago, I was so happy to have learned that they would be returning. Zis is just too ironic to believe.” He shouted again, sitting back in his chair. For the next few moments, the room was silent. Antoine sat in his chair, cooling off, and the officer stood, not moving, not blinking, and silently breathing. “I must apologize for my temper, private, I’m sorry to ‘ave been so loud.” Antoine said, much quieter and calmer. He then finished off by giving the private new instructions, “Radio Downunda as soon as possible, and notify zem zat a military ship is being sent immediately to pick up sergeant Prower and lieutenant McRae.” “With all due respect sir, how can I tell them that if it’s not true?” “But it ees...” Antoine cleared his throat, “it is true. You will then call Viga’Daer, and order ze M.S. “Crown Glory” to ship out to Sydna, priority one. Zere zey will pick up the sergeant and lieutenant and bring zem back ‘ome immediately.” “Yes sir.” “Dismissed private, and please be swift about it.” 8:10 am, Downunda time Sydna City Hotel Restaurant Sarah walked into the restaurant, looking for Tails. She looked over the tables once quickly, not finding any recognizable fur colors or faces. She looked around a second time, not noticing the waitress who had asked if she needed help. She turned around walked the other way, towards the small shopping area. She wasn’t interested in purchasing anything, she just wanted to find Tails. He wasn’t in the small shopping area either. He wasn’t in his room, he wasn’t in the restaurant, and he wasn’t in the mall. (Where could he be?) (Thanks a lot Tails, make me go looking for you.) She waited for roughly 5 minutes by the fountain in the middle of the lobby before finally leaving. Just as she was leaving the hotel, she felt a sudden bump from behind. She stumbled forward, catching her balance quickly. She felt someone grab her hand as if to steady her. “Terribly sorry miss! Are you all right?” came the Australian accent behind her. She nodded and turned to face her aggressor, whom was a young lynx, no older than 17. “Why the hurry?” She asked. “There’s a psycho out near the city limits. He’s armed to the teeth, and just standing there, holding off the army alone!” He exclaimed. McRae twitched. (More action, just great.) 8:21 am Northern Sydna City Limit Sarah ran quickly and tirelessly, almost stopping at what she saw in front of her. Before her were three sets of six armed officers, their weapons trained on another Mobius, heavily armed with grenades, assault rifles in each hand, two plasma rifles holstered at his side and a bowie knife on each of his boots. He was wearing a black bodysuit and black headmask. He just stood there, eyes visibly closed, yet whenever someone tried to approach, he threateningly pointed his weapons in the relative direction. Sarah suddenly saw Tails, also with his weapon trained on the black-clad threat. She felt a quick feeling of relief slip up her spine. She ran to him, hearing a small crowd suddenly erupted into cries of surprise as the Mobian in black suddenly pointed his weapons in their direction. “Sergeant!” she exclaimed. Several heads turned to face her, including Tails’. It was obvious he wasn’t the only sergeant present. “McRae, get over here!” He barked, which made her fleetness kick in. She jumped to his side, kneeled and trained her weapon on the aggressor. “What’s happening sir?” She asked, not taking her eyes off her target. “Don’t know who he is, but we do know what he lived through. He lost his family to Crocbot and his army, as a matter of fact, they were killed before his eyes. He was quite dramatic about it, in fact, telling us about feeling pieces of his brother smacking into him and burning his skin, for example.” He explained. It was then that he holstered his weapon and gave her a little push, indicating for her to get down lower. He looked her in the eyes as she put away her weapon and continued, “He’s psychopathic, lieutenant. He wants to commit suicide, but he wants to go out with a sense of destruction. He knows that we’ll only fire on him if he attacks and kills someone here.” “So why hasn’t he then yet?” she asked. “He’s praying silently. You can see that if you get a good look, but every time he’s interrupted, he starts over. Listen, I want you to help him, walk out there unarmed, and try to convince him that he must stop before he hurts an innocent.” He calmly ordered. She stared at him hard and gulped. “You want me to walk out there, and try to convince a psycho, who is armed to the teeth, to surrender?!” “That’s the general idea. He hasn’t shot at anyone yet, which is making me wonder if his guns are loaded or not.” “And if they are? What if I find out the hard way?!” “I never send my troops into suicide missions, lieutenant.” He said as he removed his watch and placed it on her wrist. “Press the ‘set one’ button, it’ll put up a force field that will surround you and deflect up to twenty-five shots before depleting. Be gentle lieutenant, let’s try to avoid bloodshed, okay?” he asked. She swallowed and nodded, pressing the set one button and waiting till the watch flashed green. She then removed her weapon and handed it to Tails, and, taking a deep breath, she stood up and slowly walked toward the psychotic Mobian. As she neared closer, her acute hearing ability picked up his voice, and a bit of what he was saying. She tried to make most of it out... “...cut you down where you stood, all of you, leaving me alive for some unknown reason, be it for neglect, or maybe they didn’t see me amidst the heap of your carcasses piled over me. When we stood against the robots, we knew we were together, with our swords pointed to hell, for our defiance would be in vain. Your swords fell to the ground honorably, father, mother, brothers and sister, you were sent to the next life in less than ten seconds, but I was left behind, still a master to my sword. I stand here now, with my sword pointed to hell, as before, and, in your honor, my sword will...” Sarah jumped with surprise as the black Mobian stopped his proclamation and pointed his guns at her. “Get back!” He shrieked, his voice showing obvious tones of fear, and seriousness. She stood just where she was, feeling her heart beat faster and faster. She knew she was staring death right in the face, and the weapon in his hand would have no trouble ripping through the protective force field that surrounded her. She looked death in his eyes, not moving, not blinking, pushing her fear down into her stomach. “I said get back!” Death repeated, louder, holding up the other weapon in her direction. “Would you really shoot an innocent civie?” She asked in a soft tone. She didn’t expect an answer, nor did she get one. Death just stared back at her, breathing heavily. She knew she had gotten past the first stage in negotiating with a terrorist, which was ‘show no intent of harm, or aggression.’ She continued, “Where’s your sword?” She asked him, still not getting an answer. “I heard you talking about a sword pointed to hell, but I don’t see one.” She calmly pointed out. She felt another pulse of relief as he slowly began to lower his weapons, yet as she took another step forward, they came right back up. “I’m unarmed,” she insisted, “there’s no reason to point your weapons at me.” “Please... please just go back. I... don’t want to hurt you...” He said, his voice breaking deep in his throat. “And I don’t want to hurt you either, and neither does anyone here, but if you don’t want to hurt me, you must not want to hurt anyone else, so why do you have the weapons?” she asked. Again, she didn’t get an answer. No one could have answered that question, because it was a very good point. Why carry and point a weapon, when you don’t want to hurt anybody? After a moment of silence, he spoke up, “I lost... my father, my... mother, my brothers... and my sister... to a legion of Crocbot’s... minions. They killed them all... all of my family... mercilessly wiped out of existence... and for what?! I was left... alive... alive... among their tattered bodies and charred... remains. It wasn’t supposed... to happen like that! I should’ve... died, with my family... but I was left alone!” He cried, tears pouring out of his eyes. Sarah felt a lump develop in her throat as well, but she had to keep it back. “Why didn’t I die?!” He yelled, his voice creating a huge echo throughout the wooded area. He silently sobbed. “Then why do you point your weapons at others like yourself? They have done nothing to you, in fact some of them have done you a favor in fighting Crocbot for people like you, fighting for themselves and you, for the families people lost. But things have changed now, you’ve won, Crocbot is gone. It’s time to start over again.” “No! I can’t... I’ve lost everyone who ever cared about me, and whom I ever... cared for! I have nothing! Nothing!” “But why do you threaten us?” she asked. The Mobian then dropped his guns and reached for his knife. He took it in his hands and held it to his chest. He closed his eyes and twitched, but he just couldn’t bring himself to take his own life. He gasped and fell to his knees. Sarah understood. He didn’t have the guts to kill himself, so he would go and do something to give others an excuse to kill him. It had almost worked. She turned off the force field and walked up to him. He quickly jumped back, taking a plasma rifle in hand at the same moment, pointing it at her. “You could end it right now by pulling the trigger. You kill me, and every one else will put at least one bullet in you. That’ll be enough holes to end your life rather quickly, wouldn’t it?” She asked, staring him in the eyes again. (Real smart Sarah, just give him what he wants.) She couldn’t believe that she had just offered him what he wanted, at the cost of her own life. She quickly came up with a counter attack, and she hoped it would be the last. “But think about us, you think about every single Mobian on the planet, just like you. We all had to suffer losses at the hands of Robotnik. Many of us lost mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, wives, husbands, lovers, even our own children. We know how you feel, but we know that it can’t be helped. We’ve started our lives over again, and we’re going to make the best of it.” She neared closer to him, brushing his weapon aside. She gently removed his mask and revealed his face. A young wombat with oddly dark purple fur. His eyes were teary, and most of his face drenched in his sadness. She looked at him, and he looked back. “You say you’ve lost everyone you cared for, find someone else to care for and look after. You say you’ve lost everyone who ever cared for you and I say...” She paused, wrapping her arms around him and holding his head to her neck. “I say you’re wrong.” She whispered. She smiled slightly as his arms wrapped around her, completing the embrace. Cheers of congratulation erupted from the soldiers as they lowered their weapons. Sarah helped the young wombat to his feet, and walked with him towards the hotel. As they passed by Tails, Sarah could see him salute her. Chapter 10 “...But it was all bullshit! It was a goddamn joke! And when I think of you Linda, I hope you fucking choke!” - Adam Sandler, “The Wedding Singer” 10:00 am Sydna City Hotel 8th floor hallway Sarah closed the door to her room behind her as she vacated it, making hardly a noise. Tails stood nearby, observing. He had been waiting there for the past five minutes. Apparently, Sarah had been hospitable enough to take him into the room and help him get some rest after the exhaustingly stressful ordeal that he had just went through. “I take it he’s resting?” He quietly inquired, knowing that no matter how low he whispered, she’d still be able to hear him. She nodded in response. “He’ll be all right, as long as he doesn’t get the guts to kill himself.” “D’you think he will?” “There is a possibility, after all, what he lived through, how much pain it caused him, I wouldn’t be surprised if he jumped out the window as soon as I leave the floor.” “No excuse.” Tails grunted emphatically, “Who hasn’t suffered losses such as his? Sure there were some who lost their entire families and were left to survive, but they managed. Look at me, my whole kind was extinguished right under my feet!” “How could you be so inconsiderate?” Sarah demanded... Room 843 Muffled voices from beyond the door were all that Tyler could hear. He knew that the rabbit girl and that two-tailed fox were talking, and it seemed like now they were having an argument. “Inconsiderate?” Came a male voice, obviously from the fox. “How could he be so selfish?!” Tyler thought a moment, not having much time to do so before the girl made her comeback. “He’s not selfish! He’s tortured! You’re lucky sergeant, you don’t remember your family or your entire race being snuffed out, but he does. He was there when the members of his family were killed, he remembers the sizzling, burning sensations their melted flesh made on his body! You never experienced that!” In a sudden instant, Tyler felt a pain in his chest so hurtful it made him start crying again. He could feel the memories slipping back into his head, memories of death, the acrid smell of burning flesh and fur. He pounded his head, trying to fight the memories and concentrate on listening to the argument. “On top of that, he believes he has nothing to live for, unlike yourself, who has a girlfriend back home, and a pedophiliac lover here!” “I suggest you rephrase that lieutenant!” the fox barked. “Are you ordering me to lie sergeant?” She retorted. Tyler winced. That one was definitely below the belt. “Why you little...” “Shove it sergeant! In all honesty do you really think that what I’m saying isn’t true? You have something that he doesn’t have, and if he knew, he’d probably envy you.” “There’s nothing I can do about it!” “Yes there is sergeant, I’m requesting that we take him with us to Knothole.” Tyler suddenly sat up in the bed. Take him away from Downunda? His home? (My ruined home?) (...) (Start a new life in somewhere new, where nobody knows him...) “Why, in all honesty, would I grant you that after the way you just talked to me?” the fox asked, his tone wreaked of a ‘how dumb do you think I am’ attitude. “Because there’s nothing left for him here.” She replied. There was a long pause, then, “besides, if you think you’re a REAL man, you’d grant him that much.” All Tyler could hear was his breathing. He could see the wall which he was facing, but he was ignoring it. Every single sense in his body had trained itself on the conversation just outside the room. “That’s it?” the fox finally asked. “No.” she replied. “Like him sergeant I too lost my family to Robotnik during the war. I fought in our guerrilla band to protect the younger Mobians from having to experience what I’ve faced. I wasn’t always successful, and there were many sad faces that I saw. What was really disturbing was that at some points, one day I would see those sad faces, the next, they’d be smeared against rocks, victims of laser fire from continuous battles. I’ve failed many times when assigned to protect people, but now the war is over, and I’m not going to fail again.” “The only thing that’s threatening him is his mental stability.” Tyler’s attention was suddenly turned off. The fox was right, his only threat was himself. There would be no one trying to hurt him, because no one had a reason to. Could it be possible that he could perhaps try again to be happy? Was there a reason to? “Besides...” came her voice from behind the door, Tyler’s attention finding itself on the conversation once more. She said two words after that, and Tyler realized that there was a reason to stay alive. “...he’s cute.” 8th floor hallway “Cute?!” Tails blurted out, “You mean you want to start a relationship?” “I’d like to, if he doesn’t kill himself before there’s a chance for it to start.” Tails stared blankly and dumbfoundedly. “You are odd!” “And you’re ‘maturity’ needs some work. Ninety percent of relationships in life start from sympathy.” “The other ten?” “Infatuation.” “Where do you get these statistics?” “I’m a rabbit. Snowflake could probably tell you the same thing.” “Why’s that?” “When you think about it, she could be considered a twin-tailed vixen. Vixens and bunnies know a lot about love related topics. It’s very instinctive.” “Developed from what?” He asked, raising an eyebrow. “I can’t tell you.” “Classified information?” “No, you’re too young.” “Oh, and you’re not?” “Vixens and rabbits find out the hard way about these things.” “I’ve heard enough.” Tails said, dropping the subject. “I’ve said enough.” Sarah said, acknowledging his movement. Once again, there was a long silence. Neither of the two had something to say to the other, or, so it seemed. “What about Koalas?” Tails asked, almost ironically. Chapter 11 “Who needs love? When I grow up, I’m just going to have casual sex.” -Leigh Ehrmann 1:03 PM, Downunda time The tranquil cliffside around the ‘mouth’ of the Sydna Bay Far into the vast beyond of the deep blue ocean, through the mild mist that hung over the surface of the water, Tails could make out the outline of a Knothole military ship. The pounding waves against the rocks below, and the wind that it started mildly affected his concentration. He was eager to get home, eager to go back to where he felt he belonged. Tails guessed that it would be around two hours before the ship would arrive at the docks, then who knows how long before they got sailing back home. He had already packed his belongings and was ready to set out as soon as possible. Along with his belongings, he was carrying out two personal favors. One was to integrate Tyler into the Knothole way of life so that he may start his life over again. The second was giving a proper military burial for Donald. As for the capture of his ‘nemesis,’ what could he do for the completion of that task? Naturally he felt sympathy for Donald and his misfortune, but he was also only mortal, and limited to his abilities. If he did manage to come across the ‘nemesis,’ it would be sheer fluke. Something stirred the nearby surroundings, as a flock of small birds suddenly flew out from behind him. He turned and faced a familiar Koala, who was quick to cover his mouth. She did it gently, as though preventing him to speak temporarily. “I thought I’d find you here.” She said, gently releasing his mouth. “I come here often myself.” She sat down next to him and wrapped an arm around his waist, pulling him close against her. Tails felt a lump of nervousness develop in his throat, which was why he still remained speechless. “It’s a beautiful view. Ships come and go through the mouth, and add nice decor to the water. When they aren’t around, marine life usually jump and play with each other on the surface of the water.” She pointed out. Tails just stared out, at the incoming ship which she apparently didn’t see, his ticket home. “Whatcha lookin’ at anyways?” She asked him. Tails motioned with his head towards the ship, and finally managed to find his voice. “There’s a ship coming in, from Viga’daer. It’s coming to take us home.” “Us? You mean I’m going with you?” “Pardon me,” Tails corrected, “when I said ‘us’ I meant myself, lieutenant McRae, and Tyler, the young boy who caused the security incident a while ago.” Barby’s face immediately expressed a disturbance from within. Tails didn’t notice. “You mean, they’re coming to pick you up?” She asked. Tails nodded. “They heard pretty quickly about the other ship being sabotaged, and were fed up with the high amount of casualties inflicted on us, even though the mission was a failure. They sent that ship out almost twelve hours ago.” “But... you’re not gonna go back, are you?” She asked. Tails finally looked up at her, trying to fight back the ‘are you really that dumb?’ look that was itching to form across his face. “I’ve got to, I serve Knothole, the crown, and the new Mobotropolis. It’s my home. No saboteur can keep me here, because sooner or later someone’s going to want me back. Besides, when someone is that desperate to end my life, I think it’d be best if I made tracks.” He said. “No one’s out to kill you, love.” She sighed. “Oh? Then why was the ship sabotaged?” “Because I didn’t want you to leave.” Barby suddenly slapped a hand over her mouth, as if to try and prevent what she said from leaving it. It was too late, and Tails had already caught on. “You sabotaged the prison transport ship?” He asked, suddenly wanting to get away from her grip, which she tightened. “Tails, please, listen to me.” She pleaded. Tails just held still, each of his arms locked in each of her hands. “I love you Tails, and I know that if you left here, I’d never be able to see you again. I know what life in the service is like down in New Mobotropolis, and I know that they’d never send you back for anything, not even something routine. I’d lose you, and I can’t bear to live with that.” She confessed, the look in her eyes backing up her every word with honesty. Tails, in one strong motion, broke free of her grip. “Barby...” He began, suddenly pausing, knowing that what he was planning to say would probably be like a stab in the heart with a rusty knife. “There’s something you must know...” he said instead, buying himself a little more time. She just looked deeply into his eyes, already sensing something bad was going to happen. “I’m already in love Barby. I love a girl back home in Knothole. I have loved her for the past three or four years. Sure she’s a little wild now and again, but I still love her. I was supposed to see her again a few days ago, but there were delays. I...” Barby’s gaze turned away from his, staring down to the rocks below instead. He could sense now that she felt betrayed. He too, now wanted to bake back what he said, but what was done is done. He had no choice but to finish off what he was going to say. “I’m sorry Barby, but I’m only one guy. Such as it is, I can only love once. We can’t be together, that’s one of the reasons we’re so far apart.” Her focus on the rocks below didn’t change. He seemed oblivious to her now. Tails, filled with guilt, turned and ran from there, ignoring the tears of guilt that climbed out of his eyes. There had been another woman in his life, one who was apparently obsessed with him, and now, she was handed down the most painful emotional scar that could ever be given. The scar of rejected love. Chapter 12 “Love is the mother of all emotions. Every emotion known and experienced in life has in one way or another derived from a love for someone, or love from someone.” -Ian Kubitza 3:35 PM M.S. “Crown Glory” E Level Tails didn’t say much when he boarded the ship. In fact, all he did say was, “We’re bringing back a third passenger, I’ve authorized it.” and “Don’t give me that, just let the kid on the damned boat.” Afterward, he had packed into his quarters and set up the bunk. He had planned to sleep the whole trip, hopefully forgetting the whole incident that happened just 2 hours before. He sat on his bunk for a little while, gazing out the window, which seemed to call out to him, beckoning to him to wallow in its gaia like environment. Eventually, he gave in and left his quarters, only to lean over a railing and stare out to sea. 3:45 PM Same location “Sergeant? Is something wrong?” Tails jumped, startled by the sudden intrusion. “Sorry sergeant, maybe I should’ve made my presence a bit more obvious.” Sarah explained. Tails turned to face her. “How long have you been standing behind me?” He asked. “Almost five minutes. Sergeant, what’s troubling you?” She asked him, her voice was friendly and sympathetic. Tails sighed, telling her about his latest encounter with Barby. “You did the right thing, sir.” She said meekly, “It may not feel like the right thing, but it was the right thing, believe me.” “I don’t care if it was the right thing or not. I feel her pain, and it’s going to sting me for the rest of my apathetic life. There must be something else that I could do, but even if there was, she’s probably long gone, maybe even jumped off the cliffs.” He said sadly. “Sir, she hasn’t, she’s been standing up on the cliffside watching your every movement, which hasn’t been much to watch. We leave in thirty minutes, but you might be able to fly up there and say whatever it is you want to.” Sarah explained. Tails eyes seemed to widen with each of her words, and he started off to fly up to the clifftop before she finished her sentence. She watched him as he disappeared, sighing softly. “He has a bold heart.” Tyler noted, standing just well enough of earshot to hear the conversation, only now making his presence aware of others. Sarah shook her head in disagreement. “It’s not bold, it’s the heart of a kind, caring gentleman. If only all men were like him in that way.” Sarah felt Tyler wrap a nervous arm around her shoulders. She smiled and helped to ease his nervousness by leaning into him and wrapping her arms around his waist. 3:50 PM The tranquil cliffs overlooking the bay Barby watched in slight confusion as she saw Tails fly upward to meet her at the top of the cliffs, yet watching as he grew, watching as the distance between them shortened, her heart felt slight warmth. She backed up from the cliffside to give him room to land. The movement of his tails caused a slight breeze, making her hair dance slightly. Tails landed gently on the ground, his eyes locked on Barby’s, and he slowly approached, extending a hand and taking hers in it. She smiled softly. “You’re going to stay?” She asked hopefully. Tails squirmed inside. He didn’t want her to say that, but he knew he could put up a counter. “No, I’ve come back to make a promise. I promise, on this rock, on my heart, and on my soul, that I’ll return one day to visit. I promise never to forget you, or your love, even though I am unable to properly return it. I promise to always be a friend, because you deserve that.” With that, he embraced her in his arms and hugged her tightly. He felt a sense of joy pass up through his whole body as she did the same. He felt reborn, and happy to have made her happier too. “I’ll miss you Tails...” She said, sniffling a bit, since she was still sad to see him go. He tightened his hug on her reassuringly. She pulled back slightly and gave him a kiss on his cheek. He blushed shyly, then, sensing his time was up, headed to the edge of the cliff. He took one last look at Barby before leaning forward and starting a freefall into the air. After a few seconds, he kicked his tails into gear and sailed gracefully back to the ship. As it pulled out of the mouth of the bay 10 minutes later, he looked up to the cliff. She was still there watching him like an angel with a lifted heart. 7:36 PM, Knothole time Knothole The boat ride lasted a good twelve hours, and readjusting from the time zone difference would take about a day for Sarah and Tails, and a bit longer for Tyler. They arrived at the Viga’daer docks at 12:12 PM, but Tails, Sarah, and Tyler were all sleeping. They didn’t get off until 2:20 PM, and even then, the ride in the dropship lasted nearly an hour. But when they landed at the familiar Knothole Military Barracks, they all felt at home, even Tyler had begun to adjust. Tails was greeted by Antoine, who although was displeased that the mission wasn’t carried out as planned, was happy to see Tails back home. Tails then told Antoine about Donald’s story, and requested that a proper military memorial be erected for him. Antoine heartily agreed. There was a ‘welcome home’ banquet for the trio held from 4 PM till 7 PM. It actually lasted longer than that, but Tails felt a need to get home, so he had left early. He stood now in front of his house, taking a deep breath, straightening his leather jacket and his hair before slowly walking towards the door. When he knocked on the door, he felt his heart pick up the pace as he heard Snowflake running to open the door and welcome home her deeply missed lover. They were both filled with such a joy that they cried on each others shoulders for nearly an hour before heading out on a romantic walk under a setting sun and slowly materializing heaven of stars and space. Somewhere in the ruins of Robotropolis... Snively was aching all over. He had never felt such pain before in his miserable life. Time and time again he wished that the explosion of Project: Doomsday’s primary function would’ve ended his life, but much to his dismay, he survived, trapped under the rubble, with barely any oxygen getting through. At the time, he was to week to fight off the rocks, and he quickly fell into a coma. He had only just recently awoken from it. For the last two days he had been limping, and almost crawling to get back to Robotropolis, silently praying that it was still intact. Since the planet was still here, he assumed that the cursed Mobians had destroyed the doomsday project entirely, even its last resort Death Egg form. He wondered why the fools didn’t bother to destroy the rest of Robotropolis. Since there was no one left to run it, it could have been easily destroyed. But that was their own fault, and they would learn from their mistake, if they survived... Snively had a plan, and as he walked into a small storage building, he mentally calculated his chances for success. If all went well, then he could re-initiate Robotropolis’ power flow, and start a whole new battle for conquest, without the ‘freedom fighters’ to get in his way. If his plan failed, he simply would be dead. Before him stood a computer console and a small, air tight, cylindrical chamber. He spoke softly to the console, and it started up immediately. The words ‘Cryogenic program initiated’ appeared on the top of the console. He programmed the chamber to start a cryo-freezing process in 2 minutes, and last for a total of 60 years before beginning the reawakening process. When he pressed the ‘initiate’ button, the console beeped and spoke, “Warning, Robotropolis is at zero percent defense from enemy intrusion. If the program is tampered with, cryo-sleep will fail and organism will be extinguished. Proceed?” “Yes, of course, proceed you rusted piece of good for nothing...” he cursed. The console flashed green and the cylindrical chamber opened. Snively carefully walked into the chamber, ignoring the pain in his muscles. The door to the chamber closed and he leaned up against the back wall, standing as straight as he could. He felt a painful object pierce into his neck, but he didn’t flinch, for he knew it was simply a syringe administering an anesthetic. As the world slowly faded, he knew that even though it would only feel like a few minutes passed by, he would come out of the chamber 60 years later to assume the throne which was rightfully his. Within seconds, the world was black. The chamber started getting colder, and colder, and colder... This story is dedicated to Hilary Patrick. “Although we may be far apart, we’re joined at the heart. I’ll love you forever, and beyond.” And so, my tenth written piece, “You Only Love Once” comes to a close. Thank you for helping me achieve a dream.