The Fox and the Seedrian: A Taismo Story Ch 6

The Fox and the Seedrian, A Taismo Story
Chapter Six: How To Encourage A Fox

After looking over each ring individually over the course of two hours, Tails found himself no closer to making a decision. He stepped out to have a chili dog and slice of apple pie at the nearest diner as he mulled it over, and figured his problem solving abilities were at their best when he was tinkering away with tech. Finishing his lunch, he decided to head back to the X-Tornado and head over to the southwest stretch of beach where they had landed the Blue Typhoon, to see how much work would be needed to get it serviceable again, or barring that, what he could salvage, particularly for putting towards what would undoubtedly be his next project; his new home for himself and Cosmo.

---

Cosmo had returned to Amy's house on her own after she had finished talking with Knuckles, and her timing couldn't have been better, as lunch was just being prepared. After they had finished eating, Sonic went on a run to 'aid in his digestion', while Cosmo and Amy went to her backyard to work on her garden.

“Amy... I'd like to ask you something, and as odd as it may sound, I'd like it if you didn't tell Tails what I'm about to ask you.” Cosmo asked, reservation in her voice.

“My lips are sealed.” Amy said, patting dirt down with a shovel as she had finished replanting the herbs that had previously been potted inside.

“H-How.... How was he? On the trip home from 0-0-0?” Cosmo asked, her hands shifting uneasily in her lap as she sat next to Amy.

Her question brought pause to Amy's work. She looked at her dirt-covered hands for a moment, then turned to look at Cosmo, with a compassionate, yet serious gaze.

“I'll answer that if you show me the same respect. This doesn't leave this garden. Don't give him any idea I told you.” She told Cosmo clearly and firmly. The seedrian girl nodded. Amy cleared her throat and swallowed to compose herself.

“Having to look at the pain in his eyes... Having... Having to scream at him to eat something, anything, to stop worrying everyone else sick...” Amy softly told her, eyes tearing up at the all too unpleasant memories.

“The way Sonic looked when his best friend turned him away... I never want to go through that again. I'm thrilled that you're back. I really am, because regardless of whatever 'destiny' your species gave you to fulfill, he didn't deserve what happened and neither did you. It destroyed him, Cosmo.”

Cosmo wasn't sure what kind of answer she was expecting, and part of her now regretted asking in the first place. She knew Tails would hurt after what he had to do, but to know how... Residing in the pot as the sapling on his desk in the opening weeks... Having to hear him cry himself to sleep night after night... Whispering her name to himself...

Tails had told her the absolute truth last night. It had been unbearable.

“Wow... I...” Cosmo struggled to find the words to say after the revelation Amy gave her. “I've never felt this way before. I've never met anyone who's meant so much to me, nor have I thought I'd mean so much to someone else. How do you do it? Being with a fighter like Sonic, with tyrants like Eggman around? How do you get through the days knowing one of you may not come back?”

Amy knew it was a reasonable question, especially in the line of work they had found themselves in.

“By taking it a day at a time. I don't waste too much time looking ahead to the future. I cherish what I have now, because yes, one day it will be over, and I hope that day is a long ways off. I hope one day someone fills Sonic's shoes, or more preferably, that Eggman finally gets his just desserts, so that those shoes don't need filling.”

“Tails seemed awfully distracted this morning on the flight over to Angel Island. I have a feeling he's holding something back; he wants to tell me something.”

Amy would bet 50 rings on what Tails went to do after dropping her off.

“I had that feeling too. In the time I've known him, he usually doesn't hold something in, and if he does, he just hasn't found the right way to say it. Give him time, that's almost always what he needs, just a little time to figure out the right way to get something across.”

Of course, when they had finished their work in the garden, Amy knew Tails didn't have much time if he wanted to keep his proposal a surprise. She knew she had to talk to Sonic; if anyone knew how to hurry things along, it'd be him.

---

On his initial approach, Tails saw the Blue Typhoon had sand almost up to the top of it's landing gear, and figured for now, the best way to begin his evaluation would be to just land on the top runway. After a quick routine landing, he opened the canopy and climbed out. Months of wind, rain, and tide had taken it's toll on the paint, as it had begun to chip and wear away in almost every part of the exterior.

Before he could start on anything, he'd need to go to the bridge and run a ship-wide diagnostic, to ultimately determine if repairs were even feasible. He went to one of the X-Tornado's cargo compartments, and pulled out his utility belt and a mobile power supply, knowing he'd most likely need one to power on the console on the bridge. After that, he opened a hatch built into the runway close to where he had landed the X-Tornado, near three large iron panels. He reached in, and came up with a large cable, pulling it from it's spooled storage towards the X-Tornado. Coming up under his jet, he opened another panel on its underside, revealing a port, where he promptly plugged the cable in. After it had sat for this long, the only thing that could give him enough juice to analyze all the systems would be the Chaos Emeralds being harnessed by the X-Tornado. Making sure the connection was solid, he picked the battery back up and got to his feet.

With the battery in hand, he walked down the left side of the ship towards the nearest access hatch, glancing briefly at the area where he stood when Sonic had given him Cosmo's seed. The next thing he knew he had woken up in the medical bay over a day later. He shrugged it off, and kept walking. It wasn't easy being on board again, but the past was in the past. So far, everything had worked out for the best.

He approached the closest access door to the bridge, and it opened with a creaking metallic sound. Stepping inside, he saw that the X-Tornado's power had restored emergency lighting, but nothing more. He walked down the hallway, and went up one flight of stairs to bridge access, where the door hissed open smoothly, the interior of the ship not having been exposed to the elements. Upon stepping onto the bridge, he immediately felt as if he had boarded a ghost ship, with the only light source being the sun shining through the canopy, nearly overhead by now. The waves outside were muffled, and only amplified the eeriness of the empty bridge.

As he approached the captains chair on the center and highest platform, again the memories came flooding back. Sonic's and Shadow's super forms not being enough to penetrate Dark Oak's gravitational field... Cosmo undergoing her final transformation to make him vulnerable... Himself ordering everyone else off the bridge... And finally, as he had gone hysterical with grief, arguing with Eggman, with Cosmo, with himself... Screaming as he forced himself to pull the trigger.

He snapped back to the present, finding himself staring at the right stick of the central console. He shuddered, forcing the memories back, and walked passed his chair, opting instead for the console on the lower right, that had served mostly as Chris' station while he was on the bridge.

He knelt down, opening an auxiliary power port, and hooked in the battery, and the console came to life after a few seconds. He took his seat, and began a ship-wide diagnostic report. After a few moments, data began filling the screen.

>>>BLUE TYPHOON SYSTEMS REPORT

LIFE SUPPORT: 83%
ENGINES: 67%
SHIELD GENERATOR: 45%
AUTOCANNONS: 24%
TORPEDO LAUNCHERS: 37%
WARP FIELD DRIVER: 10%
SONIC DRIVER CANNON: CRITICAL ERROR
EMERGENCY LIGHTING: 61%
PHASE SHIFT DRIVE: 100%
X-TORNADO MAG-LOCKS: 100%
CP-1000 MK 1: N/A

It was a rather succinct report; it merely gave him an indication of how much of the systems were reporting normal operation. He double checked all the numbers, went into more detailed scans of a few systems, and arrived at the educated conclusion that while he would be able to get the Blue Typhoon off the ground with minimal repairs, getting back into space, or even making her combat ready again, would be another matter entirely. When it came to the ultimate decision of repair or salvage, it was a wash so far.

The bottom of the diagnostics report came to his attention, reminding him of the handful of systems that had not seen use during their three months in space. The Phase Shift Drive would allow him to make a very short, very precise jump nearly instantaneously. Against the Metarex, it wouldn't have done a lot of good. It would normally be feasible to temporarily confuse or otherwise disorient a target of similar size and going at a similar or slower speed; the drive would only allow him to instantly teleport the ship maybe 500 meters, if that, and recharging it took several minutes. It was too precise to do alone; it required the help of an artificial intelligence to serve as a co-pilot, the “CP-1000 MK 1” that the diagnostic was referring to. He had only designed CP to operate in atmosphere, so it was one of the things that was left behind in the rush to take off when the Metarex pressed the attack against the Typhoon, Sonic, and Knuckles.

The “mag-locks” were the plates of iron built into the runway out front. They were there so that in an emergency where the bridge had become uninhabitable or inoperable, a small crew of four or less could operate basic ship functions from the X-Tornado, while it would be securely held to the runway, an “emergency bridge” in layman's terms. It also required the use of CP to quickly manage power distribution and commands as they were transferred from the X-Tornado's inputs to the systems of the Typhoon.

Having completed the diagnostics, he shut the console down and disconnected the battery. He carried it back out to the X-Tornado, disconnected the auxiliary power cable, and was on his way within minutes. Flying back towards Amy's house, he realized that he still wasn't any closer to a decision when it came to choosing an engagement ring. He decided to go and take another look before he headed back to Amy's.

---

After seeing the X-Tornado fly overhead towards Topaz Harbor three hours ago, Amy finally decided to put Tails' plate of dinner in the oven to keep it warm, and stop making everyone else go hungry.

“I don't ever remember him being this occupied with something.” Cosmo stated, lowering her spoon down into her bowl of tomato-soup macaroni and cheese. This had been another simple dish that tasted fantastic. Amy had called it 'comfort food'.

“I'm sure he's fine. Probably engaged in something big.” Sonic said, before wincing as he felt Amy's foot jab him in his shin from under the table. Her short glare said it all; 'the worst possible choice of words, doofus.'

They heard the approaching whine of the X-Tornado's twin engines, wind down a few moments later, then fall silent completely. Five minutes later, Tails came through the front door. He came into the kitchen and saw the three of them at the table having dinner, then looked up at the clock on the wall.

“Oh my gosh, I am so sorry...” Tails immediately apologized, not realizing how late he'd been out.

“And just what's had you so busy today?” Amy asked, hoping Tails had an excuse with Cosmo at the table, as she went to the oven to get Tails' bowl of tomato macaroni.

“After I dropped Cosmo off at Angel Island, I went to check to see what needed fixing on the Blue Typhoon, then I went into town to get parts. Didn't realize how much time had passed.” Tails answered, sitting down to his bowl of very inviting looking pasta.

“And what's the verdict on our little starship?” Sonic asked.

“Right now, jury's still out. She can take off, and lurch along, but right now, not much else.”

Cosmo took her last bite of macaroni and took her bowl to the sink, rinsing it out.

“It was busy in the garden today, Amy. I think I'll have a shower before I get ready for bed.” Cosmo said.

“Sure thing, first door on your right across from the stairs.” Amy said, pointing to the guest bathroom down the hall. With a smile, Cosmo departed down the hall. Once the door closed and they heard the faucet start, Amy and Sonic leaned forward to Tails.

“Okay, where were you really for ten hours?” Amy said just above a whisper.

“The Blue Typhoon...” Tails repeated, then knew they weren't going to buy that answer, not with what he had told them last night.

“Fine, and the jewelry store... Twice...” He muttered. Being indecisive wasn't something he liked admitting.

“And if you were to divide the time spent at each location...?” Sonic began, urging him to continue.

“Half... Half at the Typhoon, half downtown...” Tails admitted. Sheesh, wasn't that enough?

Sonic and Amy exchanged glances.

“What?” Tails asked.

“Buddy, Amy and I think you may be... Over-thinking this one a bit.”

“Why do you say that?”

“Because you took two separate two-and-a-half-hour trips to the jewelry store today, and you still don't have a clue what to get her do you? You're stalling out somewhere.” Amy informed him.

“I have to find the perfect way.”

“Tails, Cosmo knows something is up. She knows you want to say something big. If you don't figure it out soon, it'll be less of a surprise and more of an expectation. You want to know how long I've thought about marrying Sonic? Four years. Want to know how long it took me to plan my proposal out? Six hours, and that's including the ten minute trip to the jeweler.” Amy said.

Although he didn't show it, Tails was absolutely dumbfounded. How in blazes could Amy put together a proposal in six hours, and pick out a ring in ten minutes? How could she find the perfect, not to mention aerodynamic, fits-under-a-glove engagement ring in ten minutes???

“I know you think it's a little more complicated because she's from a different culture with different traditions, but it's not.” Sonic began. “Compared to the machines you put together with one hand behind your back, this is actually quite simple. As a pilot, you usually wait for that perfect lock before pulling the trigger, but there are some times in life when you just have to take the shot, whether you think you have it or not. I know you love her more than anything, and you want to spend the rest of your life with her. Guess what?” He paused, placing both his hands on the edge of the table to emphasize his next point.

“There's not a whole lot of ways you can say that wrong, and the words matter one hundred times more than the ring. Trust me. Go with your gut.”

Tails knew Sonic and Amy were looking out for his best interests. He had to take a good look inside, and figure out how to do this. It wasn't going to be from the heart if it was all extravagant and... Artificial. Of course it wasn't going to be perfect. No plan he concocted or machine he had built ever was; half the fun was finding ways to improve it down the road.

“Okay. You're right. I have to do this. Tomorrow is the day, I swear.”