Barks and Bytes - A Sonic Boom Story

Chapter 7 - When I Was A Cub

Sometime after the concert, Sonic and Knuckles lounged in Amy's house, moping on the couch. They knew their performance had received noticeably low ratings from our fans, no thanks to me. And if that wasn't enough, the two had decided that there wouldn't be anymore plans of throwing concerts or making albums, with no further ado.

A teary-eyed Knuckles whimpered to a chicken puppet on his right hand, "Why does life have to be so hard without Tails nowadays?"

The puppet, voiced by the echidna high-pitched, replied, "Aww, don't be too sad, it'll get better soon, I promise." Then, it brought a tissue. "Here's something for you wipe your tears on."

"More like I need some fiber. I got dyspepsia from being so depressed," responded Knuckles, who then started eating the tissue.

A puzzled Sonic asked, "Uh, Knuckles? Why are you talking to another chicken?"

"I dunno. Anyway, it's all Tails' fault for not showing up for the concert! What was with him lately?"

Sonic rolled his eyes, "Well, I did get a call from some cute human named Willabelle, who worked as the beta tester from Blades of the Rebellion.

Knuckles simply sneered at him.

"...And yes, I said the word 'cute' because we used FaceTime where I learned what she looks like. (Sighs) Don't breathe my air, please, and the same goes to the readers. Anyway, she told me that Tails took a long break from fixing his game due to his girlfriend breaking up with him and being bullied by a cybercriminal once declared to be dead."

"What bully? Because no one messes with Tails! Give me the name, and I'll beat him up!"

"And yet, Tails didn't want to ask us for help about his situation. He's been secretive lately."

Amy informed with grief, "But now do we know about his girlfriend, Zooey, I'm really sorry to hear that the two broke up, despite the way we've all helped him. Many people know that love is like a glass heart that's easy to break, but difficult to repair, all regardless of who's responsible."

"Intruder alert!" shrieked a panicky Sticks, pointing at a hooded individual outside the window near the door. "Someone sound the alarm!"

By the time he/she arrived, the stranger softly rang the doorbell and stood as still as a tree.

Amy slowly opened to door to take a peak. "Who is it?"

The stranger replied with a calm and soft voice, "I mean no harm, but I'll tell you inside, since I don't want to get caught."

And so Amy permitted him/her to come inside. Next, the stranger took off her hood, in which the gang gasped in response. It was Zooey.

"Why were wearing that spooky hood of yours?" asked Sticks. "No one's going to recognize you that way!"

"To get away from my ex-girlfriend who had picked on me before faking her death. She's coming back to me soon."

"So, I hear that you broke up with Tails," cited Knuckles angrily. "Not cool, Zooey."

Amy asked politely, "I'm sure there's some explanation on what happened with you and Tails, though I notice that you're still wearing that rainbow necklace he gave you during your last date with him."

The vixen answered, "Alright, first off, I still love Tails, despite our rocky moments like his pretty disruptive talk with that dog-bot. It's just that he hasn't really been there for me lately, ever since he's been helping his crew with his game."

"Can't Tails ever catch a good break?" grumbled Sonic, crossing his arms. "He's been putting too much focus on it!"

"Well," continued Zooey, "Long ago, Tails gave me a copy of his special journal about his childhood as the reason for his present situation; I couldn't find time to read it, due to family issues. But right before coming here, I finally got to see all the pages, and they really made me see Tails in a new perspective." I have his documentary now, but it'd be easier for all of you if I explained how it all began, and why Blades of the Rebellion means a lot to him."