The Genesis of a Generation 17

The Genesis of a Generation

"I have you in my eye…"

Notes: ONE HUNDRED REVIEWS? WHAT. NO WAY. ALKSDJFKLAJDKLAJKLASDJLFKJA;D Thank you guys, soooooo much. You don't even know how much this means to me… (The review counter on this story is wrong. I do actually have 100 reviews. Dunno why it's stuck on 95.) I'm posting this one so soon after the last one because of the 100 reviews. Don't expect them so close together all of the time.

100th review was submitted by DanceDream! You get a prize! Look down at the bottom for more info!

This one takes place during Generations, more specifically during Sonic and the Black Knight.

Tails had gotten used to having his younger self around. At least, as used to it as he could get in the short amount of time he'd had during this adventure. They had been hurled through time, his past flying at him and hitting him in the face. He'd been forced to relive his horrifying experience on Cocoa Island, had had to glimpse at the life he had before Sonic found him, and had to trudge through every single adventure past then.

Sure, he loved his big bro, and he wouldn't trade any of the experiences with him, but the adventures were more glorified in his memories. He had forgotten the extreme hunger that had plagued him during their time on Angel Island, or the sprained ankle he had during the Shadow/G.U.N. fiasco, and he really didn't need a reminder. His memories were biased and he only remembered the good things: going Super with the Super Emeralds, following Sonic through Chemical Plant, meeting his best friend. He didn't need the bad resurfacing and ruining his perception of the past.

The transition from one past adventure to the next was easier with his younger self there. It was nice having someone there that could understand what he was going through. Sure, Sonic had lived - almost - every piece of his past with him, but the younger Tails... He understood in a way that Sonic couldn't.

So, yes, he was used to having the younger him there. No matter how weird it was, he was used to it.

However, now they were in a piece of Sonic's past that wasn't familiar to him. He had heard Sonic tell him about this medieval land, full of knights and villages and wizards, but he wasn't sure he could accept it. The sword clutched in the older Sonic's hand was talking, after all.

"We need to find a blacksmith, Knave!" It barked, looking back and forth between the two Sonics. The older smirked, weighing the piece of metal in his hand while the younger was staring wide-eyed at the enchanted fighting object.

"Good to see you too, Caliburn." The larger of the two hedgehogs laughed, dashing away from the group and swinging the sword a few times to get a feel for it. Tails twitched at the way the blade sang as it flew through the air.

"That sword was talking!" The smaller speedster mumbled toward the foxes. Both nodded slowly in response, just as dumbfounded as Sonic. "Swords don't talk!"

"I assure you," Caliburn answered as the older hedgehog appeared beside his younger self, "that swords do not speak. Enchanted swords, however, do in fact, talk."

"Oh," the blue ten year old answered flatly, "well then that's different." His expression spoke of a tortured soul. "First genies and rings, now wizards and swords…" He planted his head into his hand. "Why can't my life be normal?"

"Because you're a hedgehog that can run faster than the speed of sound?" The little Tails asked, scooting into his older brother's side. "And there's a human shaped like an egg that wants to take over the world and you're the only one fast enough to stop him?"

Sonic smiled a little, ruffling the kit's head fur. "I meant beside that, but yes, I guess you're right."

While the little fox beamed, the older hedgehog cuffed his teenaged charge on the head. "Why can't you be that cute now?"

Tails scowled. "Don't we need to find a blacksmith?"

Sonic rolled his eyes, attempting to speak over Caliburn's exclamations of delight that someone – finally – could stay on track during their quest. "Yeah, I guess we should. This sword here –" he shook Caliburn – "claims that it never dulls, but then insists that I take it to see a blacksmith, so we should probably listen to it. Or else it won't shut up." Ignoring the indignant sputtering of the sword, he jerked his head eastward. "Nearest town is that way. Half an hour's run. We'd better get going."

o0o

When they arrived at the blacksmith's shop, Tails – both of him – was exhausted. The younger was leaning against his older brother, trying to stay upright, while the elder fox was struggling to walk in a straight line. The 'half an hour's run' had turned out to be just that: a thirty minute run for Sonic, which translated out to a thirty minute flight for Tails, something even the older had trouble doing.

They stumbled into the shop, both foxes falling onto each other out of exhaustion in the corner while the Sonics looked around for the blacksmith. The shop was small, so they didn't have much to scout through before they decided that the blacksmith was nowhere to be found.

"Where is he?" The older hedgehog demanded, bouncing on his toes. Caliburn was seemingly floating next to him. "We need to go so we can move!"

Tails lifted his head slightly from where he was leaning against his younger self and he sighed. "He's bound to come back sometime Sonic…" He trailed off as the woolen flap covering the entrance to the shop flapped slightly and someone pushed through. Tails felt his jaw drop.

"Lo, visitors!" The blacksmith greeted in an eerily familiar voice. It was a voice that the elder of the two foxes had left behind a few years ago and one that the younger had yet to grow into, but it was still his voice. "What work do you come bearing for me?"

The person before them was young, only about eight years old. He was covered in golden fur, with ears replicated on the two foxes lying in the corner. His eyes were a crystal blue, and he was wearing a smock with a very crude version of Tails' two-tailed insignia sewn into it. His shoes were red and white, but were more like boots than sneakers, crawling further up the fox's leg than usual. He had brushed in so quickly, he had missed the two other vulpines in the room, but the other canines couldn't look away from the double waving tails right in front of them. They shared a look, gulping.

The younger of the two Sonics shared their expression, his eyes darting back and forth between the foxes and the blacksmith.

"This hunk of metal needs sharpening." Sonic answered the blacksmith's question, shoving Caliburn at him. "It barely does any damage."

The fox caught the sword on the blunt edge and almost stumbled under the heft of the blade. He stared down at the weapon with wide eyes. "Why!" He exclaimed, rubbing his gloved thumb down the broadside. "This is an enchanted sword! What a magnificent blade! A normal whetstone will not do!" Handing Caliburn back to Sonic, he turned. "I will need to go claim a better one from the market; I will be back shortly."

He was almost out of door when he caught sight of the two foxes still resting on the ground, and he froze. His eyes widened slowly and his mouth dropped open.

"Hiya." The four year old incarnation of Tails said after a time, getting antsy with the one-sided staring match. The blacksmith's eyes hardened as the familiar voice of his youth met his ears. He whipped back around, jabbing a finger at the almost identical foxes.

"What kind of devilish trickery is this?"

o0o

One tell-all confusing conversation later, and the blacksmith was ready to kick all four Mobians out of his Workshop, enchanted sword or not. He couldn't stop staring at the two other foxes, one four years younger than him and the other five years his elder. They both had his mannerisms – the wringing of his gloves when he was nervous, the twitching ears when agitated – and the older beheld the same color eyes as his own.

That was the most disconcerting to the young blacksmith. He looked into those eyes and saw a whole different life he could have lived; one full of love and companionship. His life here in King Arthur's realm had been rough. For as far back as he could remember, he had lived on his own, struggling to find food and surviving off the kindness of the people around him. It had taken him four years as an apprentice in a blacksmith's shop to even get onto his feet and now he finally had his own Workshop. He didn't have time for friendship or playtime; not when his future was at stake.

These foxes, though, grew up with a guardian, someone to take care of them and make sure that their needs were taken care of. He didn't know what kind of world they lived in, but that didn't really matter in the scheme of things. They had someone looking out for them, and he didn't.

It was unfair, in his opinion, that he should draw the short straw. Why did these two get the blue hedgehog to watch over them and he didn't? Why did they get bestowed with companionship and an easy life while he was forced to work his tails off from the day he could hold a hammer? He huffed, crossing his arms and blowing his bangs away from his eyes, glaring down at the four year old now asleep in the smaller of the blue hedgehog's lap. That Tails could sleep easy, knowing that the strong hand of the cobalt hedgehog was resting on his head, protecting him from harm. Where was the blacksmith's protection?

He stood, clapping his hands and getting ready to usher the four intruders out of his shop when the Sacred Sword – Caliburn, the elder hedgehog had informed him – spoke.

"I have you in my eye, young Blacksmith," it rumbled, male voice veiled with a cryptic tone. "I can see the pain you are suppressing. You are not alone in this world, young one. Your protector is just slower in coming than these."

The blacksmith fumbled, pausing mid-clap as the sword's words sunk in. I am to have a caretaker too? He thought to himself, his thoughts spinning. No, surely the blade jests. It cannot know what is to come.

"Do you possess foresight, O mighty Sacred Caliburn?" Despite his thoughts, the Blacksmith asked. "How can you tell me what-has-yet-to-happen in such confidence?"

"Nay," Caliburn answered, bobbing up and down in the air beside the older of the two hedgehogs, "I am not a seer, but I can see the connections between this world and theirs," the sword's eyes blinked toward the four Mobians, "now that I have seen the three of you in close quarters." He now indicated the three kitsunes. "You share an energy that I have not seen in any other being. There is no possibility for coincidence when your energies are so similar."

"Woah, woah," the larger of the two hedgehogs held up his hands, halting the conversation. "Since when can you see energy signatures, Caliburn?"

"I have been able to see the energy that surrounds very specific individuals for all of my existence, Knave." The blade answered, his tone turning cold.

"Yeah, but-!" Sonic was cut off.

"My abilities are not up to questioning at present, Knave." Caliburn barked, hopping up and down out of agitation. "We are here to get my blade sharpened." He turned to the blacksmith. "If you would…?"

The young fox blinked, finally coming back to himself. "Yes, I will go retrieve that whetstone now." He needed to get out of his workshop to clear his head, and the best way to do that was to go to the market. "I will be back shortly." He was gone before any of the others had a chance to blink.

"…That was weird." Little Tails spoke after a beat of silence and the other three Mobians jumped.

"Welcome back to the land of the living, little bro!" Mini-Sonic greeted with a laugh as the fox sat up slowly. "Did you have a good nap?"

"More importantly, did you possibly dream up a way to make Sacred Swords rust? I'd love to be able to shut this oversized letter opener up." The larger of the two hedgehogs asked, easily dodging the swing Caliburn took at him with its blunt edge. "Seriously! You guys didn't have to lug this thing around for a week like I did!"

The two smaller Mobians chuckled at Sonic's antics, grinning when an impromptu sword fight began between Sonic (equipped with a random blade from the blacksmith's fight) and Caliburn (fighting on its own), insults being thrown around the room like confetti.

As the hedgehog and sword crashed through the small shop, the elder Tails stared after the blacksmith, his blue eyes shining as his thoughts followed the path of the eight year old fox's own musings.

Why was I so lucky?

I hate Caliburn's speech patterns. They kill me with their formality.

And, because a Black Knight based fic wouldn't be complete without a sword fight, here's a random practice snippet I've had hidden on my computer for a long time:

o0o

A sharp gust of air. He jumped, avoiding the hit by mere millimetres. A glint of steel. He twisted, maneuvering away seconds later and back the way he came. Double swords swung at him as his opponent attempted to slash him in two. He moved with grace though, his own sword a lethal weapon of alacrity.

The doubles were heavy, made for force and strength and that put his adversary at a disadvantage against his speed. Caliburn sang as it swept through the air, while its enchanted mouth called out advice and insults at its blue wielder. The red foe constantly had to backtrack, unable to keep up with the speedier one's movements. This gave him an extreme vulnerability that allowed Caliburn to sail through his defenses and slam into his armor. Breath was caught, body hunched instinctively and thus letting the enchanted sword to move forward quickly again, striking with lethal accuracy. Every hit caused his guard to crumble more and more.

Knuckles… He thought to himself as he swung his sword at the armored echidna, smirking when the sound of metal on metal resonated out. His body jumped into the air, curling into a homing attack, sword protruding from his spin and flinging out at unsafe angles. Now that Caliburn accompanied him when he homing attacked into the air, his spins weren't as defined and easy to control as before, so he had to be careful about where he did it. Didn't want to hit any unknowing villagers who didn't have the common sense to go inside when a bunch of purple monsters attacked.

His attack brought him down straight onto the armored head of his opponent with a large clang. The echidna stumbled back, landing roughly on his backside, unable to guard in time. Hedgehog feet pounded on the ground as their owner darted across the clearing, his sword coming up and leveling with the other's chin.

"Surrender, brave knight," Caliburn called from Sonic's hand, "for you have been beaten."

o0o

Yay sword fighting!

To DanceDream: I hate having to put this out here where everyone can see, but you don't have an account (how's that campaign going, by the way?). Your prize for being the 100th reviewer… You can request ANY fic subject that you want in the Sonic fandom (besides romance, yaoi, or anything that I don't agree with (if I don't agree, I'll somehow tell you)). (It has to be in the SEGA/Game universe or the OVA universe, because I never really watched the cartoons, I hate Archie, and the manga is lost on me. Sonic X is okay too, I guess, as long as Chris isn't a major player.) Has there ever been a situation you've thought about/wanted to see but nobody's ever written it? Tell me and I'll try it. ;D If not, well, then you can hold onto this request and ask me later.

To the rest of you: Want a request? Well, I'll be having random little prize surprises every now and then. The only way to get them is to review though. ;

Review please?