The Other: Chapter 21

It had been much later that Tails had finally crawled into bed with Cosmo. As soon as she felt his weight on the other side of the bed she immediately released the pillow she was holding instinctually scooting over to him and laying her head on his chest. Tails sighed contently as he wrapped his Tails around Cosmo, drifting off to sleep with his love safe in his arms.

Suddenly he found himself in a room made of metal with a console in front of him and a button in his hand. He recognized this. He was on the Blue Typhoon with the trigger of the Sonic Driver in his hand. Why was it here, though? He had removed the weapon from the Typhoon a long time ago out of spite for the device that had killed his lover. Aside from that the Metarex War was over. It was not needed. The fox looked around him, surveying his surroundings for any clue as to his reason for being here. He turned to find the others standing behind him, staring with absent looks out of the viewport ahead of them as though frozen on the spot. Tails turned to see what had captivated the group so and gasped in horror at the sight before him.

Outside of the window a massive creature loomed, with large circular wings and a single burning red eye. Its body converged together at the bottom possessing root like appendages as opposed to feet. The creature let out a terrible roar from its pincer like maw thrashing frantically about. What he found most disturbing about this image however, was the shining white tree atop the creature's head.

"It can't be..." Tails murmured to himself, "Not again! Oh god, not again!"

"Does this look familiar?" A voice spoke from beside him.

Tails quickly turned his head to face the voice surprised to see Jaran Kai standing next to him, having not been there before. The fox tried to stand from his station but found that his hand would not move from the trigger. As he struggled to free himself he spoke to the man, inquiring on the circumstances of the present situation.

"Why am I here?" He panicked, "Why can't I move my hand? Jaran, help!"

"The guilt of a traitor lasts forever," Kai spoke with a vacant stare, "and you have betrayed in a way more terrible than even I can contrive! How does it feel to know that you murdered the girl you love?"

"I-" Tails stuttered looking horrified by what his friend was saying, "I never wanted to! I had to! She asked me!"

"Is that the lie you tell yourself every night you sleep next to her?" The image of Kai chuckled, "You're an intelligent creature, Miles Prower. There were many ways to avoid her fate. You simply chose the most convenient option. You are a coward!"

"STOP IT!" Tails yelled, his eyes filling with tears as old memories resurfaced, "She was already gone. I was trying to preserve her dignity! Why are you doing this to me, Jaran?" The man turned his head to look back at Tails staring deeply into his eyes as a strange smirk appeared on his face. Something was wrong with his eyes, Tails thought. Kai always held a piercing stare, but this one made him feel sick. It was as if he were staring into the heart of darkness itself. A realization suddenly struck Tails making him shiver in fear. "You're not Kai... you're him!"

The image of Kai let out an unnerving chuckle, walking forward to stand closer to Tails. "You are clever, just like he said. His form is easy enough to manifest in your slumber, as it is so fresh on your mind."

"Then... this is a dream!" Tails proclaimed, "If this is my dream then I can wish you away!"

"No Miles Prower, this is what is to come!" Spoke the Kai look-alike, "Everything that was will be again. How many times can I make you kill your love before your mind snaps? Let's find out."

Tails turned his head to stare out the viewport and was surprised to see the image of Cosmo looming in front of the Typhoon, looking much older and even more beautiful as she had before her death. Instead of crying out for Tails to shoot her as she had the last time however, she was pleading the opposite.

"TAILS!" Cosmo screamed out desperately, "PLEASE HELP ME! DON'T SHOOT! I DON'T WANT TO GO AGAIN!"

"Oh god!" Tails yelped trying to stand from the controls, but once again seemed to be grafted to them, "Don't do this! Don't make me kill her again! I'm begging you!"

"You will!" The sinister Kai copy hissed, "Show your true colors, kitsune!"

Tails suddenly felt as though his hand were becoming magnetized, as his thumb became attracted to the trigger. He attempted to fight it, but his body wasn't responding to his thoughts as it should. He had no control over his actions. Tears furiously poured down the fox's cheeks as the realization of what he was about to do struck him. He knew he could not stop this, but he had to try. He had to fight.

"Please don't make me do his!" Tails begged grabbing his wrist with his free hand, "I can't stand it! PLEASE, XEMUS!!!"

"Tails, don't hurt me! Please, my love!" Cosmo pleaded to him.

"Your lamentation is priceless, dog!" The image of Kai yelled madly, "Show me who you really are and MURDER HER!"

"Tails..." Cosmo said as she lowered her head, tears leaking from the corners of her beautiful eyes, "I hate you."

"NO!!!" Tails screamed as his thumb fell upon the trigger, sending a cascading beam of bright light careening toward the massive beast. The beast screeched as the blast exploded against its chest, while a bright light filled the teary eyes of Miles Prower...

Tails woke up with a sudden jolt, shooting upright with a loud scream sweating and panting heavily. Tears began to stream from the fox's already damp eyes as he cried aloud. This had the effect of waking Cosmo up, who immediately began rubbing his back as she cooed softly.

"What's wrong, honey!? What happened?" She asked worriedly, "Are you hurt?"

"N-n-no..." Tails choked as his hysteria increased, "I-I-I dreamed that-I'm so sorry, Cosmo! I'm so, so sorry!"

"Tails, what are you talking about?" She asked stroking the back of his head, "Why are you sorry?"

"I did it again!" Tails wailed, "I pulled the trigger! He forced me! I never wanted to lose you again! I'm sorry!"

"Oh..." Cosmo said placing a hand over her mouth as she realized what was happening, "You had a dream about the war, didn't you? A nightmare?"

"It was different, though! There were others, and he was there! I never meant to kill you! It's all my fault! It's-"

"Shh..." Cosmo hushed him placing a finger against his lips. She proceeded to take his bare paw and bring it up to her face rubbing it against her cheek as she continued. "That was a long time ago. I'm here now, see? Feel me? I'm right next to you."

"I'm so sorry." Tails apologized again, this time more quietly, "I am so very sorry."

"Don't apologize," Cosmo said, "you did what I asked of you. You saved a lot of people; and now I'm back because of you! I was never angry, and I never resented you for it." Cosmo then leaned in toward Tails placing her lips against his in a deep kiss. Tails closed his eyes as they stayed like this, holding each other close as they exchanged their love for each other. Several moments passed, opening and closing their mouths before Cosmo gently pulled away smiling as she stroked Tails' furry cheek. "If that doesn't prove this is real then I don't know what will."

"I love you... so much, Cosmo." Tails said his crying subsiding, "I'm sorry I woke you up... Stupid nightmares."

"I could feel something wasn't right in my sleep." Cosmo spoke, "It's all right, my love. It's always all right. I'm here if you need me, forever."

"Yeah..." Tails mumbled leaning forward and wrapping his arms around Cosmo. They sat this way for several minutes, in the dark holding each other. Tails finally let out a relieved sigh sitting back up and smiling faintly. "I know you are. Thank you. Sorry if I woke you up."

"It's okay, I understand." Cosmo smiled in the low light, "Now let's go back to sleep. I don't want you to be tired tomorrow."

"Yeah," Tails agreed lying back down and closing his eyes. Cosmo once again laid herself on top of him running her hands through his soft fur as she too closed her eyes. Silently she whispered one last sentence before sleep overcame her.

"I love you, Tails." She whispered.

"I love you too, Cosmo." Tails whispered as he drifted into unconsciousness. Throughout the night they remained this way, and neither Tails nor Cosmo were restless thereafter...

"The upload should be completed in a few minutes." Eggman said in a bitter tone as he stood before the completed body of the robot he had designated as E-123 Omega, "I'm going to get revenge on those kids if it's the last thing I do!"

"Can't you build another body for Bokkun?" Asked Decoe sadly, "You have his data ghost. You can bring him back, right?"

"It was too corrupted by the time I saved it." Eggman said sulking, "I doubt I could salvage enough of his data to reconstruct his personality. I could upload his memory to another shell, but it wouldn't be Bokkun. Just another robot with shared files of Bokkun's sensory data."

"So... Bokkun's gone then," Decoe asked lowering his glossy metallic head, "for good?"

"Yes, he's gone," Eggman growled back, "but all we needed was his tactical data! This new mech will have all of the attacks of Team Sonic memorized from he start! No one observed them more than Bokkun! They won't stand a chance!"

"So after we capture them what are we going to do?" Asked Decoe curiously, "They should be punished for killing Bokkun!"

"I'm not going to capture them." Eggman said grinding his teeth together, "I'm going to kill them this time! Bokkun was my favorite, and I never told him that. I'm not going to give them a chance to tell their loved ones how they feel either!"

"K-kill them!?" Yelled the two robots together.

"Yes, kill them! It's about time I rid myself of that blasted blue rat for good anyway!"

"But boss," Decoe said jumping up from his station frantically, "y-you've never wanted to kill them before! Like you said, killing is going too far, right?"

"They went too far when they killed Bokkun!" Eggman shouted loudly, "I'm not going to let that pass! Now I'm just settling the score!"

"But... all of them? Even Tails and Cosmo?" Bocoe asked in a nervous tone, "They never did-"

"All of them!" Eggman interrupted in a foreboding voice, "Every last member of Team Sonic will be dead!"

As Eggman turned back to view the progress of Omega's software upload Decoe quietly turned to Bocoe whispering in the lowest tone he could generate with his voice output speakers. "I think he's being influenced by Xemus again. Bokkun's death must have let him in or something!"

"There's nothing we can do about it." Bocoe whispered back, "We have to do what the boss says or he might deactivate us!"

"But will he really go that far?" Decoe hissed back, "Killing someone? I don't like this, Bocoe."

"Me neither, but we can't do anything. I hope the boss gets his head on straight."

"FIRMWARE DOWNLOAD COMPLETE!" A deep electronic voice suddenly blared out from the formerly inactive Omega Unit, "UNIT STATUS, OPERATIONAL!"

"IT'S FINISHED!" Eggman yelled excitedly clapping his hands together in sinister glee, "My ultimate war machine is ready!"

"GATHERING SENSORY DATA..." E-123 Omega spoke turning its flattened head three-hundred-and-sixty degrees around as it took in its surroundings. It then faced its sensors forward again settling themselves on the evil scientist in front of it. After a brief pause and a few short beeping noises the machine finally spoke again. "PLEASE STATE IDENTITY FOR FULL COMMAND OF THIS UNIT."

"Doctor Julian Ivo Robotnik," Eggman responded obliging his machines desire for input, "alias, the Eggman!"

"VOICE PATTERN RECOGNIZED." The robot chimed in almost immediately after, "DOCTOR JULIAN IVO ROBOTNIK, AKA EGGMAN, DESIGNATED PRIMARY CONTROLLER. PLEASE PROVIDE THIS UNIT WITH DESIGNATION AND DIRECTIVE."

"You are E-123 Omega!" Eggman proclaimed proudly, "Your directive is the termination of the organization known as the Freedom Fighters!"

"WARNING! ONCE PRIME DIRECTIVE IS CHOSEN IT CANNOT BE ALTERED!" The machine said as a preprogramed precautionary measure, "DO YOU WISH TO CONTINUE WITH THE PRIME DIRECTIVE 'TERMINATE FREEDOM FIGHTERS'?"

"Bah, this is why I hated Windows Vista." Eggman grumbled, "Too many confirmation dialogues. YES! Implement prime directive!"

Omega briefly paused as his eyes grew dim, seeming to enter a brief shutdown mode before restarting again. Upon powering up Omega stepped forward from the docking station where he was being held, holding a hand up in a ridged salute to the crazed scientist. "E-123 OMEGA, THE ULTIMATE E-SERIES ROBOT, REPORTING FOR DUTY SIR!"

"Excellent!" Eggman said, "Now for your target selection!" Eggman pressed a button on his console causing photographic profiles of each member of the Freedom Fighters to appear on the main viewer. The first image enlarged showing all data available on Sonic the Hedgehog. Eggman then turned to his creation and once again proceeded to continue programing him. "Set primary target, Sonic the Hedgehog! Action to be taken, extermination!"

"PRIMARY TARGET SET," Omega responded in his monotone electronic voice, "SONIC THE HEDGEHOG! THREAT LEVEL: MODERATE."

Another image proceeded to fill the viewer, being that of Shadow the Hedgehog. "Set secondary targets," Eggman ordered, "Shadow the Hedgehog. Action to be taken, extermination!"

"SHADOW THE HEDGEHOG," Omega acknowledged, "EXTERMINATE! THREAT LEVEL: SUBSTANTIAL."

The image once again cycled, this time showing Tails. "Miles Prower, alias Tails the Fox." Eggman said, "Action, exterminate!"

"MILES 'TAILS' PROWER SET FOR TERMINATION! THREAT LEVEL: MINIMUM."

Finally the image switched to Jaran Kai, prompting Eggman to cast a hateful stare. He spent several silent moments seething at the man who killed his cherished messenger robot before finally speaking again. "Jaran Kai, set action for total disintegration!"

"JARAN KAI SET FOR ATOMIZATION! THREAT LEVEL: SUBSTANTIAL."

Lastly the image cycled to Cosmo, the innocent seedrian girl who merely wanted peace. Eggman had no personal grudge with Cosmo, but yearned to make an example out of her for the sake of showing the others what it felt like to lose someone. "Cosmo the seedrian, action... exterminate."

"COSMO THE SEEDRIAN, ACTION-" Omega unexpectedly cut himself off before completing his sentence seeming to hesitate as he stared at the picture of Cosmo on the viewer. After a moment he turned to face Eggman directly. "INQUIRY: MASTER, WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF TERMINATING THIS LIFE FORM? RECORDS INDICATE THAT SHE POSES NO THREAT TO YOUR DESIRED GOALS. RECOMMEND CAPTURE INSTEAD."

Eggman stopped, slowly turning on his heal to face his mechanical creation glaring at him with a mixture of inquisitiveness and shock. He stared quietly for a moment as he looked the robot up and down, seeming to analyze him in his mind before speaking again. "Omega, understand this, you may be the greatest of my creations, but don't think that gives you the right to question me. You will exterminate Cosmo the Seedrian. Do you understand me?"

"AFFIRMATIVE!" Omega replied with a rigid salute, "COSMO THE SEEDRIAN WILL BE... EXTERMINATED!"

"Good," Eggman said folding his hands behind his back, "Now then, I want to run you through a few tests before I send you off on your mission of destruction. Follow me to the firing range. My victory is almost here!"

The fat scientist began to make his way to the large door which separated the command center from the rest of the base, with Omega following behind him. As Eggman led the machine out of the portal Omega turned back to glance at the viewer one last time, staring at the picture of Cosmo with his empty mechanical eyes. After a brief pause the machine faced forward again, continuing down the hallway. Soon he would be used to reign devastation down upon Team Sonic, and no one, not even Jaran Kai, could stop him...