Dancing in the Rain

Family Reunion

(Sorry to end the last chapter like that! Have to keep it somewhat suspenseful. XD)

Tails looked at the bullet hole in the wall. "What the hell was that for?" Tails said startled. Eggman smirked. "Listen." Tails listened a voice screaming down the hall. "I'll kill you Eggman! If its the last thing I do!" Tails recognized the voice immediately. "That is one of the cruelest forms of torture," Tails said frowning. "Eggman chuckled. "Now that Sonic thinks your dead maybe he will get out of my hair. Now follow me to the lab, I have someone to show you." Tails was secretly very pissed at Eggman but he knew if he showed it that Eggman was capable of doing anything. Tails followed the cruel dictator unwillingly. They walked back out the way they came. A door right across the hall is where their destination lied. Tails watched as Eggman pushed the door open. A set of stairs leading down for what looked like miles. Eggman began the never-ending spiral of stairs, Tails following close behind. He felt the cold bars along the side of the stairs, obviously for support. The farther they went down the colder it got. So much so that Tails could now see his own breathing. The misty fog disappearing before his very eyes. They finally stepped down onto a platform. A little light hanging overhead. Tails could hear what sounded like construction on the other side of the door. He was quite curious now. He could see Eggman's grin stretched from cheek to cheek. "Welcome to your new home." He said opening the door. A bright light blinded the fox. It almost made him think he had just died. His vision returned. He was stunned by the magnificent beast before him. He walked into the room. Other mobians shouted and worked on computers. Some with welding masks on. Eggman directed for the fox to follow. Tails tried listening to what the evil doctor had to say. "This here is an intercontinental ballistic missile.....we have been working on it for what feels like ages now.....we need some last final tweaks, and we need someone smart enough and knows what they are doing." Tails rolled his eyes. "And where is this person? I would sure like to meet them." Eggman sighed and rolled his eyes. "You know I almost missed your passive personality, oh wait, I still do." Eggman pointed towards someone at a computer. "Familiarize yourself with her, you might find that you two have more in common then what you thought." Eggman chuckled deviously before walking off somewhere. Tails could hear the hint in Eggman's voice. Tails didn't know what the doctor was hinting at but it sure was something to do with this woman. Tails sighed and walked over to the person at the computer. "Hey I'm Tails, what's your name?"  " I know who you are Tails." The mobian looked up towards the fox. Something was familiar about this mobian Tails thought. A very close resemblance he saw in her. "I'm your Cousin." Tails stepped back stunned by what the fox had just pronounced to him. "My parents didn't have siblings, I thought." Tails said shocked. She shook her head. "Your mother had a sister, but to protect my mother she broke all ties with her. Sadly my mother died from the heartbreak." She looked down sorrowfully. Tails couldn't believe he even had a family member that was alive! He wanted to ask so many questions but decided on only a select few. "Whats your name?" He asked. She looked up with a smile. "My name is Grace." Tails nodded. "How did you end up here?" Tails couldn't think up an explanation for this question so he was interested to ask. She looked towards the fox, obviously recalling the memories. "Well, when my mother died I had nowhere to go. I moved to an orphanage and from there Eggman adopted me to work for him." Tails nodded recalling his similar situation. "He did the same to me after my parents died." Tails noticed a limp from the fox as she tried walking around the desk. "Whats wrong?" Tails said looking concerned. She just shook her head and directed the fox towards some metal stairs leading up to the deadly titanium beast. They walked up the stairs, their feet making a clanking noise against the iron. They reached up to the missile. "How long have you been working here?" Tails had to ask. She answered quickly. "10 years, not much has happened in that amount of time. I may be the lead technician here but I can't build a whole missile! Especially not without any background information." Tails nodded. He remembered reading about how missiles were assembled once in a book. He thought he would use that knowledge in the Airforce if he ever needed it. "So what seems to be the problem?" Tails asked observing the open hatch with many wires and parts in it. "We can't figure out how to make the computer respond to the missile and the missile to respond to the computer. We want to be able to launch the missile from one  computer or button, but we don't really know how to do it." Tails looked through the many wires. He could do it. He smiled up at the fox. "You did quite a well job for not knowing much, just a few kinks and it should be good to go." She took kindly to the compliment. She looked dizzy as well. She began to stumble. Tails reached up and helped the fox regain her balance. "Whats wrong?" He asked more seriously this time." She stared at the fox sadly. "Its the radiation. It does a number on you, especially when you have been working in here for ten years." She sighed and continued. "I was diagnosed with stage four heart cancer. A couple more months and I'm toast." Tails looked at the fox sadly, feeling pity and sorrow for her. "Can you fight it?" She let a tear fall. "No, but we can finish this thing. The sooner it's done the sooner we can get out of here." He could hear the opposition in her voice. "It's not suppose to get done is it?" Tails said understanding now why it was taking so long to finish it. She nodded. "If he gets this horrible weapon to work, the whole world is in danger. I've tried to prolong it as far as possible, but I'm dying... Someone else needs to take my place, someone, who understands and can stop him." Tails knew now why she never attempted to leave, why she stayed here. The fate of the world was in her hands....and now it was in Tails too. "Well looks like we have a few months to talk then." Tails said smiling. This caused his cousin to smile as well. "Lets 'fix' this thing." She said sarcastically as the two foxes began their work...