Alas, the story has come to a close. Please enjoy this last chapter.

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Chapter 6

“This place is huge,” exclaimed Bunny as she and the Freedom Fighters arrived at the old, worn-down textile factory. The place was falling apart, and much of it was heavily rusted. A gust of wind caused the whole structure to heave and creak in an eerie manner, and it was beginning to rain.

Determined to get his Kaolin back, Tails was the first to approach the front door. Nailed to the entrance was a sign, written on which were the scribbled words, “Welcome to the Amusing Funhouse of Endless Entertainment and Fun! I commend all of you for making it this far, but alas, Tails is the only one who is permitted to enter. Kaolin will die if this rule is broken; I will know because I am watching you via CCTV cameras. Seriously, I’ll do things so horrible to her that they’ll have to invent new words just to describe how horribly horrible her horrible death was. Again, I am watching you via CCTV. In fact, why don’t all of you (except Tails) back away about five-hundred feet? Yes, I think that’s a fine idea. Watch your step on your way in, Tails!” He glanced at a window, and flinched when he saw nothing but darkness.

While Tails stared plainly at the sign, the others began to talk amongst themselves. They couldn’t just leave Tails to fend for himself in an old factory, which probably contain various booby-traps. However, they began to back off after Sally gestured them to do so. She bid Tails good luck, offered words of encouragement, and joined her companions in their hovercraft.

As the vehicle lurched forward, Antoine shouted, “Do not worry, mon ami! You can do eet! Just be trusting your instincts!”

Tails looked back with a frightened expression, and replied, “But my instincts are telling me to run screaming!”

The coyote responded, “Ah, well, eh, just be careful, zen!”

Tails cautiously and slowly moved his hand toward the doorknob, but immediately swallowed his fear and quickly opened the door. He couldn’t let Kaolin die because of something as trivial as fear. He examined the poorly-lit, warehouse-sized room; the few rays of light were seeping in through a few cracked windows and gaps in some vents on the ceiling. After his eyes adjusted, he spotted another sign which was hanging right in front of him. It displayed a message that further congratulated him, and told him to proceed to a staircase leading up to a cluster of rooms suspended from the ceiling three stories above.

Meanwhile, Bean watched the unfolding events from a television screen on a desk. He uttered his usual giggle, picked up a phone, and called Robotnik to tell him that the orange bug was in place. Ivo expressed his joy, and happily watched the show via his own connection to the cameras.

Tails maneuvered his way past the heavy, neglected machinery which crowded the floor’s expanse. Thousands of spider webs spanned the gaps between the equipment, and he prayed that there weren’t any poisonous spiders residing on them. As he passed a rather large unit, his foot hit a trip wire that tipped a bucked filled with broken glass from atop that very unit. He managed to dive out of the way of most of it, but a sizeable piece grazed the lower half of his left tail and caused a deep, bleeding cut. It wasn’t a terribly serious wound, but it stung considerably. He stood in place and held it for a few moments, but persisted with his journey, having taken note to be more cautious. Time was a-wastin’, as Bean had so eloquently put it. Tails made his way to the base of the stairs, and tested the integrity of each step by tapping his foot before ascending further. He had expected there to be more traps, such as the staircase itself collapsing, but there were no such things. He noticed another sign when he reached the top, and this one told him to find a door labeled with a six.

Bean continued watching Tails from the television screen, and decided that the time was drawing nigh for his grand finale. He walked over to Kaolin while holding his knife, and gave her more small cuts on her arms, legs, back, and head. She squirmed and shouted with each blade stroke, and begged for him to stop, so Bean leaned over and whispered into her fuzzy ear, “Nope. I want you to be presentable for when Tails arrives.” The thought of Tails arriving gave her a refreshing glimmer of hope and comfort amidst the increasing pain.

Tails heard faint screams, and quickly drew the conclusion that Kaolin and Bean were in that very building. He ran along the grated walkway, rounded a corner, entered a hallway, and came upon a metal door with a six on it. By then, the screaming had become quite audible, and he was sure it was coming from Kaolin. Without hesitation, he grabbed the cold door handle and attempted to twist it, but found that it was locked. He pounded, pushed, and pulled as hard as he could, but it wouldn’t budge. He was puzzled as to what could he have missed. Was there an overlooked clue or a missed message? Tears began to form on his eyes when the screaming transitioned to faint crying, which in his mind signified that Kaolin was running out of time. Time. Time’s a-wastin’. That phrase was in the letter they found in the rock shop. Perhaps the key was...in a clock! He looked up and down the hallway, and saw a single round clock on the wall. He grabbed it, and found a small key stuck to the back with dried potato paste.

“Why couldn’t he just use tape or glue like a sane...oh, right...” thought Tails as he unlocked the door and entered the room. He saw Kaolin tied to the chair, and blood was trailing down from her many wounds and onto the floor. She was still moving, but was apparently losing energy quickly.

“Tails...help me...” cried Kaolin in a strained, doleful whisper as tears continued flowing down her muzzle.

If Tails had possessed a gun at that moment, he would have killed Bean on the spot. Infuriated, he said with a growl, “Bean...you sick...twisted...”

The green duck immediately interrupted, “Please, please, enough complements. I’m happy to see that you actually completed my challenge! Tell me, how did you do it in less than two hours?”

Tails tersely replied, “It didn’t take CLOSE to two hours! We did it in less than thirty minutes!”

Bean changed the subject, “Isn’t it nice to know that your beloved girlfriend is still alive? By the look in your eyes, I’d say you’re more interested in exacting sweet, delicious vengeance on me, aren’t you? Hoping for a struggle, yes? Well, I am most certainly happy to oblige.” Bean readied his knife and lunged at the orange fox. Tails jumped out of the way as Bean went for his chest. Before the duck could continue his attack, he tripped over a pipe and tumbled through the open door and into the hallway. Tails rapidly tried to shut the door before Bean could get back up, but he used his hyperactivity-induced speed to swing his foot into the doorway fast enough to keep it from shutting. Tails slammed the door repeatedly, which caused injury and a lot of pain to Bean’s foot. This incited shouts and a recoil from the avian, and allowed Tails to shut and lock the door.

As Tails went to untie Kaolin, Bean yelled, “Open up, kid! I’m not done having my fun yet! This is so impolite, and I may just have to mutilate you both before killing you! Actually, I was planning on doing that anyway, but you get the point.”

Tails quickly untied Kaolin, supported her by holding her right arm over his shoulders, and headed out through a door in the back of the room. This door led them into another hallway, which in turn led them to a stairway and onto the roof. There, they saw numerous cubical vent structures, and hastily hid behind one of them. Tails immediately tried to become airborne and haul Kaolin to safety, but his injured tail wouldn’t allow it. He didn’t expect his grey companion to be in the condition to fly, either.

“How ya hangin’ in there, Kaolin?” asked the concerned hero as he examined her wounds.

Kaolin lovingly looked into his eyes, presented a weak smile, and replied, “I’ll live. It’s just minor blood loss and a whole lot of stinging.”

Tails, overcome by emotion, started to hug her, but stopped when he figured it would cause more pain. “Sorry, I know you must be in a lot of pai-...” She smiled and hugged her rescuer, completely ignoring the considerable stinging sensation covering most of her small body.

Their tender moment was cut short when the building rattled as a result of Bean blasting the door wide open with a grenade. With an even more psychotic mien, he ran into the room, saw the open door in the back, and bolted up to the roof, knife in hand.

“That was a good one, you fuzzy orange worm. I think my foot might be broken now. Allow me to inform you both that your deaths will be even more creatively gruesome after I find you.” He searched around a few of the five-foot-tall vents, and continued, “I’ll make you SUFFER. I’ll start by severing your legs at the knees and then pouring salt on the stubs. While you writhe in pain, I’ll just sit back and laugh as I watch the blood pour from the open wounds. THEN, I’ll stab you until there is nothing left to stab! I’d probably do some other fun stuff before actually killing you, but that’s to be decided when you’re firmly within my grasp.”

Bean’s search brought him ever closer to their position, and Tails prepared himself by grabbing a small pipe segment and a piece of solidified tar paper. When the verdant, muttering psychopath got close enough, he tossed the paper as a distraction. Bean quickly looked in the direction of the noise made by the paper hitting the roof, and Tails took the opportunity to sprint out and try to whack him over the head. Bean jumped, causing Tails to miss and instead club his back, and he swung his knife in an attempt to rapidly gut the vulpine. He barely missed, and Tails maneuvered the pipe into the path of the swing, leading to a collision of the two weapons. The flint knife shattered on impact, and the hilt was tossed some distance away. Angered, Bean planted a fist on Tails’ nose, then the other fist on his abdomen. Tails swung the pipe again, but Bean grabbed it and threw it over the edge of the roof. The two then distanced themselves and slowly circled each other.

“Didn’t expect me to be such a good fighter, did you, lintball?” boasted Bean.

“I’ve fought worse. You’re nothing special,” mockingly responded Tails.

Tails struck at his opponent, landing a few strong blows, but Bean dodged many of them. The hero managed to plow a fist into Bean’s face exceptionally hard, and the duck fell on his posterior. He landed near where the hilt of his shattered knife came to rest, and saw that it still possessed a sharp piece of the blade. He grabbed it and stabbed Tails in the leg when he got close enough to throw another punch. As the fox howled in pain, Bean hopped to his feet attempted to slit his throat, but Tails swatted the weapon from his hand and backhanded him into a ventilation structure. Before Bean could gather his bearings, Tails landed more blows with increased vigor. He yanked Bean out into an open area and smacked him hard enough to send him near the edge of the roof.

Bean realized he was losing the battle, partially due to the fact that some of his ribs were broken and one of his ears barely functioned. While watching Tails’ approach, he said, “You won't win, bug. The terror of this day will live on in the hearts and minds of all of you. Just kill me, it’ll make you feel better; more like a winner. Kick me. KICK ME OFF THE ROOF! Send me tumbling to my death! YOU will have defeated BEAN the AWESOME DYNAMITE in cold, vengeful blood! So very beautiful.”

Tails stopped in his tracks, and knew that revenge was something he had warned Kaolin about. He looked Bean square in the eyes, and shouted, “Vengeance isn’t my thing, monster. You’re going to court for terrorism, mass-murder, kidnapping, and torture, and will probably be sentenced to death-by-firing-squad.”

The wacko’s expression grew darker, and he blurted, “Then have it your way, fool. You will die by my hand!” Bean lunged with insane fury, and Tails grabbed him by the hand and slung him into another vent. The rusty metal gave way, and Bean fell through and tumbled towards the floor three stories below. He landed on a sharp, upright piece of rebar, and was killed almost instantly when the rusty spike passed through his heart.

Tails witnessed the disturbing event, mouth agape. He had just taken a life. He’d never killed anyone before, and the fact that it had happened -- and happened so fast -- threw him for a loop. It certainly wasn’t his intention to kill Bean, and this provided him with some solace, but only a very small amount. He backed away from the hole and looked over at Kaolin, expecting to see a shocked expression. Instead, he saw her sprawled out, nearly unconscious. Panic-stricken, Tails ran to her aid, knelt down next to her head, lifted it with his shaking hands, and exclaimed in tears, “Kaolin, Kaolin! Don’t give up on me, please! You can pull through!” He checked her pulse, and found it to be weaker than normal, but not direly weak. Tails ran to the edge of the roof and waved to his friends for help. He was immediately spotted, and the gang made their way to his position. He ran back, picked her up off the dusty roofing surface, and carried her to an open area.

“Tails...you did the right thing...I love you...” whispered Kaolin as she looked at him, eyelids barely revealing her pupils.

Tails kissed her while holding her tightly, and tears ran down his nose the entire time. He loved her just as much as she loved him, and hoped the kiss would increase her will to live. Within her mind, she knew that Tails couldn’t have been the cavorting lecher that Bean had somewhat convincingly made him out to be. He had merely lied to get inside her mind, and she was ashamed that she had considered his words even for a minute. Kaolin lost consciousness as she was loaded onto the hovercraft.

During the Freedom Fighters’ journey to the nearest hospital, Snively walked out the front door of Robotnik’s fortress, entered his ship, and took off. Inside his uncle’s suite, the corpulent dictator relaxed on his bed, though with a somewhat shocked disposition. His camera feed had given him a front row seat of Bean’s death, and he was disappointed that his most hated lifeform on the entire planet, Tails, was still alive. Right before he could let out a small belch, an image of his nephew appeared on the massive plasma screen.

“Hello, revered uncle. Wondering where I am? Well, I have decided to move on, get a better life, and enjoy some peace for once. No words can describe how I feel about your years of abuse, so please allow what is about to happen to explain what simple vocabulary cannot.”

Robotnik puzzled over why Snively was so upset. He hadn’t been that bad, had he? After all, the boy needed stern guidance, and Ivo had been there to give it to him. He received his answer when the explosive material mixing facility near the main building exploded, and the resulting shockwave shredded his fortress like tissue paper. Over ten miles away, a smile traveled across Snively’s face as he watched his plan unfurl. He was finally free.

Kaolin received a successful blood transfusion, and made a complete recovery shortly thereafter. From that point on, she kept a gun with her at all times. Tails and Kaolin began dating a week later.

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Fin

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Thanks for sticking around to read and enjoy the story! A sequel is in the works, and it will take place a few years after this one. Epic adventure awaits...

If you want more Tails action, feel free to read Tails the Mercenary 1, 2, 3, and Shattered Equanimity! All are located in the bottom of my profile.

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Canon Sonic characters, places, and objects are copyright of Sonic Team/Sega
Kaolin, other original characters, etc, and the story are copyright of myself, NuclearCookout