Sonic the Hedgehog: "Of Foxes and Sorcery" by Aaron Lye Letters, responses, notes and any form of e-mail can be sent to the following address: E-mail: vicl@pacific.net.sg Miles Tails Prower, Sonic the Hedgehog and other related characters are based on the characters created by SEGA, Archie Comic Publications, and the Sonic the Hedgehog Saturday morning series created by DIC and Sega of America. Other characters that appear or are mentioned in this story are original creations of their respective authors. "Cast" of characters used in this story (in random order) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Miles Tails Prower Sonic the Hedgehog Sally Acorn David Prower - courtesy of Shawn Wolski Elrond Prower - David Pistone Sarah Prower - David Pistone Snively Matthew - Aaron Lye Knuckles the Echinda Peter - Aaron Lye Angela - Aaron Lye ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Miles Tails Prower was very much alone. Not alone in the sense that he had no company. As a matter of fact, he had many good friends, the best being Sonic and his brother, David. No, he was alone in the sense that everyone in Knothole treated him and him alone differently. Of all the members of Knothole, Tails was easily seen as the youngest and the most requiring protection. He was treated as a child from the moment he set foot in the Freedom Fighter base. Of course, when he first set foot in the base, he WAS a child. That was a few years ago. Although still young, Tails very much wanted to help in the fight against Snively. However, dreams always had to give way to reality. Of all the residents of Knothole, the furry fox was probably the one who offered the least. Sure, he could fly, but so could Dulcy, and she could carry more than her own weight. She was good at attacks too, although her landings could do with some improvements. Tails offered little, and it was obvious that everyone still treated him like a five year old. Never was he allowed to go on missions with the rest, every single time, he would be left back at the base on the pretext of guarding against intruders. Yeah, right. Tails had seen through that excuse the first time Sally told it to him. It just wasn't fair. Antoine never wanted to go on missions, yet they always made him. And here was Tails, willing to go, yet never allowed. One day, all that changed. It started as an ordinary day. Tails woke up to find the bunk beneath him empty. The fox yawned as he flew down from his bed, and set to finding his cyber brother. Imagine his surprise to find Knothole almost deserted. Walking up to Bunnie, he asked what was going on. Bunnie was in a cheerful mood. "Morning, sweetie. Sally's gotten everyone out doing stuff. David's with sugar-hog doing some recon work. They should be back in the afternoon." Noticing Tails' sudden crestfallen appearance, she continued, "Something wrong, hon?" He was already walking away as he answered. "It's nothing, Bunnie. Thanks." Tails kicked a stone, sending the granite chip flying into the bushes. Recon work. Stuff. What did that leave him with? Zlitch. No friend, no brother, nothing to do. Just a long morning for him to be ALONE. So engrossed with these thoughts was Tails, that he did not notice that he had already entered a section of the Great Forest he had never been before. When he finally looked up, he gave a gasp of surprise. He was lost. The forest here looked different, the trees darker, the foliage thicker. The little fox was on the verge of panic. He walked around aimlessly, desperately searching for some sense of familiarity, when he walked right into a sleeping wild tiger. Aroused from its sleep, the tiger appraised the young fox with a menacing eye. Fearing the worst, Tails fled, knowing full well that the tiger was not far behind. Running as fast as he could, Tails soon came to a dead end, surrounded by shrub too dense to cut through in the short space of time he had. In his panic stricken state, the fox had totally forgotten how to fly..... Turning to face his attacker, he braced himself for the inevitable, hoping against hope that it would be quick. It never came. The tiger was three feet away when it was struck by a blast of electricity. The stunned tiger fell in a heap, right in front of its prey. A relieved Tails looked in the direction the aid had come from, and saw a lone ferret, holding a short staff. The ferret spoke with a concerned tone, "You OK, kid?" Tails nodded, vocal chords still too shocked to speak. The ferret continued, "Good. What's your name, son? Never seen you in these parts before..." The two-tailed fox managed to gather himself enough to speak. "My name is Miles Prower. People normally call me Tails. I'm from the town of Knothole, and I'm los-" The ferret interrupted the fox. "You said you're who? Miles Prower?" The ferret seemed to study the young fox's tails for a moment, then continued, "Do you know your parents'names?" Tails was puzzled over this question, but obliged his savior. "Elrond and Sarah Prower. Why do you want t-" Again, the ferret interrupted. "Come with me. I think there is someone you should meet." The mysterious ferret led the way to a small entrance in the ground. Tails and his guide climbed down a set of rungs and entered a door at the bottom of the pit. Walking a short distance, the two entered a small cavern, filled with ancient items. The minute they walked in, a large figure draped in a black cloak appeared, and looked as if it were about to attack. Upon seeing the ferret, the figure calmed down noticeably. It spoke, "It's you, Peter. Did you get the item I requested?" "Yes, master." came the reply, and the ferret handed a small herb to the black cloak. Turning to take to proffered item, the cloaked figure finally noticed Tails. It stood, staring as if awe-struck at the young fox, then managed a soft whisper to the ferret. "That's...." The ferret smiled, "Yes, master. This is Miles Prower." The cloaked figure sat heavily in a chair, as if in emotional distress. Tails found the courage to speak up. "Sir, do you know me?" The figure looked up, then removed his cloak. To Tails' shock, he was staring at an aged orange-brown two tailed fox. The fox spoke, "Indeed I do. I am Matthew Prower... your grandfather." ******** "Tails-honey? You there?" Bunnie had been looking high and low for Tails, to no avail. Suddenly concerned, the cyber bunny went to consult Rotor on Tails' sudden disappearance. ******** "Peter, leave us. Go take the day off. I need to be alone with Miles." The aged fox dismissed his assistant, then turned to address Tails. "I thought I'd lost you, boy. When I recieved news that Elrond and Sarah were roboticized, I feared the worst. I rushed quickly to Bluebrook, hoping against hope that I would be in time to save my heir, you." Matther Prower looked paternally towards Tails. "I cannot tell you how glad I am that you are safe." Tails seemed confused for a moment, then asked. "Whaddaya mean 'heir'? You're no king." The older Prower smiled at Tails. "You and me, Miles, we're special. Everyone thinks the extra tail is caused by a dormant gene gone active. Your parents too. I never told them the truth since they were normal foxes. But,they're all wrong. The second tail is a symbol. A symbol that you have a quality. All with the second tail can control the forces of magic if trained. You see, Miles, I am a Guardian, and my charge is the eighth Chaos Emerald -- the Emerald of Sorcery. You, my grandson, are destined to be the next Guardian of the Emerald." A shocked Tails absorbed all this information. Miles Tails Prower, a wizard-to-be..... He managed to speak, "I thought there were only seven emeralds, and that they were not on the mainland...." His grandfather replied, "Not true. This, the Emerald of Sorcery is the eighth. It was given to me by another Guardian who told me the truth of the emeralds. From what I learnt, it's a good thing I have this emerald. It is more powerful than the other seven combined. And, that incompetent echinda can't even look after the others properly. If this emerald ever fell into the wrong hands, the results would be catastrophic." ****** The WorkerBot in Snively's command center spoke. "Sir. Stealth Bots have reported that the fox they were observing from Knothole was attacked by a wild tiger. The reports indicate that a variation in weather patterns caused a freak accident in which the tiger was hit by a bolt of lightning. The fox was then joined by a ferret, and they proceeded to an entrance about 500 meters north from their meeting place. A hypothesis indicates that it could be the entrance to a Freedom Fighter outpost. What are your orders, sir?" The Bot said all that in a mechanical monotone. Snively replied in his irritating voice, "Send in some SWATbots.Tell them to shoot on sight." ****** "You see, Miles, I am old. Within a few weeks, I would not have been able to protect the Emerald any longer. It is very fortunate that you came when you did. I had totally given up hope. Now I have time to train you before I leave." So engrossed with his talk was Matthew, that he did not notice the SWATbot team behind him. Nor did he see them raise their weapons. By the time Tails yelled a warning, it was too late. Matthew had taken five direct shots. "GRANDPA!" yelled a stricken Tails. A bleeding Matthew whispered to Tails, "It would seem my time is up. I will....hold....them as long as I can. Go into that room," indicating another door, "the emerald is there.... it will....know...what to do.....Goodbye, Miles....Don't let...them get the Emerald.Use it.....the emerald will know......" With that, Matthew Prower, once Guardian of the Emerald of Sorcery, unleashed a wall of flame in front of the approaching SWATbots. Using the cover his grandfather provided, a furious Tails rushed to his destination. Once there, he beheld the beauty of the eighth Chaos Emerald. It looked like a large jewel. The gem was not of one color, but a mass of swirling colors. Tails ran up to the gem, and held on to it as hard as he could. Without word or warning, the emerald suddenly shuddered and Tails was enveloped with the same swirling colors found in the gem. When he was finally released from the miasm of colors, the two tailed fox felt something different about himself. The fury he felt over his grandfather's murder encompassed him and he snarled viciously, releasing the emerald, and sent a wave of multi colored energy crashing into the door and the surrounding wall, which gave way like paper blown away in the wind. The enraged young fox walked out to meet his enemy head on, not even noticing that the emerald he had held just a few moments ago was now a dull gray... Shrugging off the laser shots that were fired at him like dust particles, courtesy of the magic that had taken control of him,the once gentle Miles Tails Prower unleashed the same magic wave at the SWATbots, shattering them to pieces. Still unable to contain his anger, the fox disappeared from his grandfather's domain, only to reappear outside the closest SWATbot fortress. Summoning all the energy he could, bolstered by his unending fury, the fox sent a massive charge coursing through the fortress, which collapsed from the sheer amount of energy passing through it. With that final blast, the exhausted fox crumpled into a heap outside what had once been a Robotnik/Snively stronghold. ***** "Whaddaya mean he's GONE?!" Sonic demanded. "You were supposed to look out for him." An uncomfortable Bunnie had no idea what to say, but was reprieved when Sally entered the room. "OK guys, just calm down. I've sent word to the other Freedom Fighter groups to look out for him, and Dulcy's out searching too. All we can do now is wait..." Sonic, as usual, had something else to say. "Man, I hate WAITING!" ***** Tails woke up to find himself in a large waiting room. He could see through the window that he was inside a town of some sort, and found himself wondering if he had just dreamt the whole thing up. He held up a paw tentatively and thought of the magical wave that he remembered. A small blasted unleashed itself and fried the fruit basket on the table. "Now, now, if you wanted stewed apples, you could just have asked. There was no need to do that." A cheerful voice spoke behind him. Tails turned to face the newcomer, and saw a two-tailed squirrel standing there. The squirrel continued, "You are Miles Prower, grandson of Matthew Prower? My name is Angela. I am Guardian of the Ninth Emerald of Control. You are in the Guardian town of Ghyl'cana. We found you unconcious next to that robot base... nice work, what you did, by the way.... and brought you here. You will only be here shortly, until I explain things to you. This town is hidden from the rest of Mobius & only those of two tails can access it. Sit down." Angela took a seat at the head of the table, and motioned with a paw towards the burnt basket, which obediently disappeared. "You, Tails, were destined to be the next Guardian of the Emerald of Sorcery. However something unexpected has occurred. In your rage over your grandfather's death, you absorbed all the power of the Emerald, leaving it valueless. In the history of the Guardians, this has only occurred one other time. There are no untoward effects, however. Normally, Guardians stay at Ghyl'cana for five years, learning the art of sorcery, and the technique of protecting the emerald. In your case, this is unneccessary." ***** The WorkerBot noticed the flashing light on his monitor, and read the incoming communication. Seeing the importance, the Bot spoke to Snively, "Sir, we are recieving a distress call from Fortress 65. A SWATbot is using a remote transmitter. The preliminary reports indicate that a small fox, a Freedom Fighter, appeared to have teleported in, --" ***** Meanwhile, the Knothole Freedom Fighters were listening to the same message, having picked up the communique, which was broadcast on all channels, "and sent a massive energy wave through the superstructure of the base. The fortress is totally destroyed. Now transmitting black box data." Sonic, Sally and Rotor watched with interest, and all gasped with shock when they saw the last thing they expected on the screen. The fox was Tails..... ***** "I want a full ScienceBot team to solve this riddle! Get to it!" The normally calm Snively was on the verge of exploding with anger. "I'll get that fox. I HAVE TO!", he thought to himself. ***** "With the absorption of the emerald's power, you have gained full control over the emerald's capability. All you need to know before you leave is the rules of conduct of a Guardian & the capabilities of the emerald you absorbed. You are required to use the power of the Emerald for the good and welfare of Mobius. In your case, you can best use the emerald to aid the Freedom Fighter Movement. However, you must remember that you are still new to sorcery and that the power of the Emerald is not unlimited. Finally, don't be surprised if you can't manage the feat you did to destroy that fortress for some time. Rage has a tendency to amplify the power of the emerald, but sometimes it is too hard to control and innocents might get hurt in the crossfire. Use it wisely. You have just been given a tool more powerful than any the Freedom Fighters have seen before. Now, follow me. I will give you a quick lesson on rules of conduct..." The fox-mage known as Tails smiled. He could now be a true Freedom Fighter...... ***** TO BE CONTINUED THIS IS PART ONE OF THREE.