HELLBOUND {Sequel}

Thirty-four

__"They're what!?" Fiona had shrieked angrily. As soon as everyone got home, Tails immediately started making space in his workshop for the Destructix. Fiona had been in the shower, and when she was done Scourge and Cream had explained what happened today to her. Obviously she was upset about Sage attempting to kill Tails and Scourge, but when she heard what's going on with the normies, it made her furious. Tails had just finished making room and went back into the living room when Fiona started yelling.
__"Baby, calm down," Scourge muttered in exhaustion. The poor thing was tired enough already. "Don't upset the baby."
__Fiona turned to glare at her boyfriend. "The baby's fine!" She snapped. "Where the hell do they get the gull to openly blame him like that!? Stupid motherfuckers! Bet I would've been smacking the shit out of them! Those fucking assholes!"
__Flying had been laying on his back on the floor. He had his knees above his chest while he held onto his feet. The frog was smiling and laughing. "Dead! Dead! Dead! Those normies will regret angering Ms. Fiona!" He then continued to giggle hysterically. "How fun!"
__"Normies, huh?" Simian had muttered.
__"These days there is no more honor," Lightning had remarked in disappointment.
__"I don't remember the civilians ever being this disrespectful," Predator had said.
__"You were all put away for a decade," Cream had reminded them. "Since we're no longer kids, they don't feel too bad about criticizing us." This made Cheese start groaning as he pouted.
__Fiona was still angry. "But to outright say to his face that he's worse in comparison to Sonic... Argh! Screw those assholes! Why do you guys still defend them!?"
__"It's the right thing to do," Cream said slowly. "No matter how poorly they treat us, we have a duty to protect them. If not us, then who?"
__"They have the fucking police and military!" Fiona yelled. "The only reason the Freedom Fighters were established was because they were made up as a resistance against Eggman when he took over Mobotropolis! Honestly, you didn't need to keep up the resistance after the Roboticization Era ended!"
__"From what I heard, we had to keep the resistance to continue fighting back the Eggman Empire," Cream explained. "I don't think we'll be disbanding until he's defeated for good."
__"Whether you disband or not they're still going to treat you like shit," Scourge said regrettably. "Things may have been different if ya'll did back then, but it's been too long now."
__Tails couldn't bring himself to interject. It was night time already and he needed to water the tree. He silently walked into the kitchen. T-Pup had been following after him closely. He grabbed an empty glass from the cupboard and filled it up with water at the sink. He then went outside and shut the door behind them as he walked over to the tree. He knelt down on his knees in the snow and poured the water at the roots, watching the snow melt around it. He then set the glass aside and reluctantly placed his hand on the tree.
__"You're not okay," Cosmo said softly. She sounded upset.
__Tails nodded. "There was a lot going on. Of course I'm not okay."
__"I'm very sorry, Tails. There is something you wanted to ask of me?"
__Of course Cosmo knew why he was here. Tails was sullen, meaning she was feeling upset, too, and she knew exactly what he was thinking. Tails knew it was redundant to ask her, but he wanted to be able to talk with her properly. "When we first met... how did you see me exactly?"
__"You mean how I thought of your appearance, yes," Cosmo said softly. "I thought you were very beautiful. You and your friends were the first of your kind I ever saw, but I very much adored how you appeared to me. I was also very fascinated by your tails. It was truly amazing seeing you for the first time."
__Tails wanted to feel relieved by what Cosmo just said, but he knew why she was really attracted to him. He only appeared beautiful to her because he was a completely different species than her. It was the same how he had viewed her. It was genuine attraction and feelings on their part, but compared to how the world works it was just science.
__"I'm sorry it's not enough."
__Tails shook his head. "No, it's fine. It was nice to hear at least."
__"It's too cold outside. You should go back to the others."
__Tails was not ready to leave. "Just a little longer," Tails whispered. "I just need your voice right now."
__Cosmo was silent for a few seconds. Tails could feel the uneasiness. "Right. So, what's next then?"
__Tails's feet were starting to get sore. As uncomfortable as it would be, he sat crisscrossed in the snow while keeping his hand on the tree. "To what are you refering?"
__"What do you want to do with your life?" Cosmo had hesitated to ask. "You also have to find a way to move on ahead. You promised me to live your life happily. This past year has been anything but true happiness."
__Tails flattened his ears and groaned. "There's nothing I really want accept to be useful. Other than that, there's nothing else for me accept my dog."
__Cosmo fell silent once again.
__This made Tails sigh as he shook his head. "I'm sorry. Look, once the war is over I promise to try to find some other meaning."
__"That's good to hear," Cosmo said with relief. "Now hurry on inside... remember that I'll always love you."
__Tails felt a little relieved to hear her say that, yet he found himself struggling to speak. "I... love you, too." He removed his hand and picked up the glass before he stood up. It was then when he turned around that he saw T-Pup laying by the door. He rubbed the snow off his ass and legs before he picked up T-Pup and went back inside. He went to put the glass in the sink and saw Scourge rummaging through the fridge. He readjusted T-Pup in his arms before be walked over to the moebian. "Wachu doing?"
__Scourge had pulled out a bottle from the fridge before he shut it and turned to give it to Tails. "Figured you'd want one?"
__Tails stared at the bottle of beer for a few seconds before he started feeling sick. He kept his ears down as he shook his head. "Thanks, but... too soon."
__Scourge nodded and went to put it back. "How is she?"
__Tails was confused but then realized he was talking about Cosmo. "She's as fine as I am, remember?"
__"R-right..." Scourge looked awkward as he turned back to the fox. He crossed his arms and sighed. "Um... you sure it's not a problem having them stay here? They would have been fine staying at HQ."
__Tails nodded. "Yeah, it's fine. Don't worry about it."
__"I'm worried about her." Scourge had looked over at Cream, who was sitting at the dinning table with Fiona as they whispered to each other. "I wouldn't call this ideal."
__"The Destructix will be in the workshop while she bunks in my room," Tails reminded him. "And this isn't something she isn't used to. We all used to have to camp out close together for long periods of time, so it's fine."
__"It you say so." Scourge had gotten closer to Tails and took T-Pup from him. "You sure this T-Pup doesn't have all its memories?" As he said that T-Pup immediately started rubbing his head against his cheek. "I may not have known the first one, but I'd say he loves you all the same."
__Tails looked down at T-Pup and held out his hand. He watched the robot dog put its paw in his hand and smiled. "Pretty sure, but I wouldn't change a thing." He then sighed and took T-Pup back before setting it down. "Time to charge, bud." He watched the robot dog walk slowly into the garage before looking back at Scourge. "I'm a... I'm gonna head to bed."
__Scourge had taken a second to hug Tails with one arm before he patted the fox on the back. "Night, man."
__"Night."