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tenebraevesper · 1 year

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Sonic Cyber Revolution, Entry 28: The Kitsune’s Deception

''When all alone in my chair, I just go about wishing. Wanna be strong, really wanna be trusted, ahh. When all alone in my bed, I just go about yearning. Wanna be cool, I also wanna be like him. But that's not something I can do so easily. This is not simply my way, my own style. Gotta get a hold of my life! I wanna fly high, so I can reach the highest of all the heavens! Somebody will be waiting for me so I've got to fly higher!''

– Believe In Myself by Sonic Adventure 2

xXxXxXx

Tails hummed as he finished working on his newest disk-like device, smiling in satisfaction as he got off his swivel chair and placed it on the ground, pressing the button on it, with a strange wave pulsing from it consistently. He placed his hands on his hips, ''Looks like the anti-gravity disk works just as intended.''

''Wait a moment before you make any judgement. Last time we tested it, it nearly blasted off the door,'' Warren replied, holding up a scewdriver and Touka's hoverboard. She had asked him a day ago to add an accelerator similar to the one Lucas had, since she too was the partner of a speedster and wanted for her hoverboard to be a little faster. Tails grabbed a wrench and threw it at the anti-gravity field, with the wrench hovering above the disk.

''I think it works just fine,'' Tails responded, picking up the disk and turning it off, ears twitching as he and Warren listened to the news, which they turned on as background noise.

''…reporting live from the Kita Inari Shrine.'' Midorikawa and Kero were on the screen, standing on a path towards an old shrine with a red torii gate structure in front of it and fox statues next to the altar. Tails stepped in front of the screen, watching the news report curiously. ''Currently, a video one of the visitors of the shrine had taken is circulating social media, showing a haunting image of some kind of strange creature or spirit wandering these grounds.''

''Huh? What's going on there?'' Warren joined Tails as they watched the video footage of a bunch of teenagers and ARNavs visiting the shrine during nighttime, only for the group to freak out when they saw dark creature or a spirit approaching them, wailing and crying, only to quickly run away. Once the footage ended, the screen turned back to Midorikawa and Kero, the latter shivering.

''Now, that's quite bone-chilling,'' Kero commented. Tails just frowned, with Warren noting his change of expression.

''What's the matter, Tails?'' he asked. The fox's tails flicked as he turned to Warren.

''I don't think that the shrine is actually haunted,'' Tails replied, crossing his arms on his chest. ''Someone is just playing a mean prank.''

''How would you know that?'' Warren asked. Tails fell silent for a moment, before turning to Warren.

''That's because I used to hang out there before I met you,'' he explained.

''Really?'' Warren was genuinely surprised. Admittedly, aside from what Tails told him about why he kept coming back to the workshop, he didn't really know much about the fox's past. Tails rubbed the back of his head, his tails flicking. It was clear that he was remembering something rather unpleasant.

''Yeah. Remember how I told you about those bully kitsune ARNavs I used to tag along with? They had been tasked to guard the Kita Inari Shrine and guide people who visit it. While they would usually behave nicely whenever in human presence, they're not above playing pranks on people with their strong illusion powers,'' Tails explained.

''I see,'' Warren muttered. ''So, you think it's just them playing pranks on innocent people?''

''Yeah, I do,'' Tails responded in a firm tone.

Warren was silent for a moment as he thought about it, then asked, ''Do you want to go and visit it?''

''Huh?'' Tails was caught off-guard by his question. ''Visit the shrine? Why?''

''You sound really upset by what had happened, so I had figured that you'd want to investigate what is going on. Maybe we could even call Lucas and Sonic to join us,'' Warren suggested. Tails hummed as he thought about Warren's suggestion.

''I'm not sure…'' Tails glanced at the screen. He wasn't too thrilled to revisit a place which gave him a lot of bad memories, but he was interested in investigating what had happened. After all, Sonic would do that. Sonic would tell him to not dwell in the past an encourage him to go on his own adventure, and Tails had to admit, he had to agree with him. He turned to Warren, grinning. ''Okay, but I want it to be just the two of us going on our own adventure.''

''If that's what you want, I'm all for it. I done with Touka's hoverboard anyways, so we can drop it off at her place and go to Kita,'' Warren replied.

''Then I'll prepare everything for the trip,'' Tails responded, his twin-tails spinning as he flew off to where his orange backpack was and started packing. While he wasn't too keen on the idea of confronting his bullies, he felt confident that things would be fine with Warren by his side.

xXx

''So, how much further are we from the Kita Inari Shrine?'' Warren asked, holding his hoverboard under his arm. After dropping off Touka's hoverboard at the Kageura residence, he and Tails went to Kita, arriving at the wooded area before the shrine and deciding to go there on foot. While Warren was several times in the northern part of Neos City, he never went to this area.

''I'd say we have around 5 more minutes,'' Tails responded, walking next to Warren and adjusting his backpack. The path they were on was surrounded by trees and going slightly uphill, and even though it was easy to talk on it, he felt a churning sensation in his stomach. He had to admit that, while he was determined to figure out what was going on, he was still nervous about this whole thing.

''You don't belong here, you freak!''

Tails winced at the memory, shaking his head as his mind was filled with dread. He hated being called a freak just because he was different from the other kitsune, and he did his best to gain their approval by using his intelligence and creating all kinds of devices, but it never worked. That was why he left his place to find a better home. Fortunately, he found one and he was quite happy with Warren, so why again did he agreed to visit this place?

''Tails?'' The twin-tailed fox looked up to see the look of concern on Warren's expression. ''Are you okay?''

''Yeah, I'm just not looking forwards to meeting the other kitsune again. Last time we saw each other, they broke one of my inventions and called me a freak just because I was different from them,'' Tails replied, his ears drooping and his tails flicked anxiously. ''Only because I had two tails and couldn't create any illusions like them…''

''Maybe you're not like them, but that doesn't matter. You're unique, you're my friend and you have people who care about you because of who you are,'' Warren responded. Tails smiled in response, cheering up a little, only for his ears to twitch when they finally arrived at the Kita Inari Shrine. Surprisingly, the area around the shrine was empty, which made Tails immediately suspicious. Warren, however, walked up to the shrine, admiring the fox statues. ''You did say that the kitsune are here to watch over the shrine, right?''

''Yeah…'' Tails murmured, only for the whole area to suddenly light up in blueish-green flames, the fire completely encircling them. Warren gasped, quickly backing away, but Tails walked up to it, his eyes narrowing.

''Tails, what are you doing?'' Warren asked worriedly as Tails put his hand into the fire, but didn't get burned by it.

''As I suspected… This is foxfire – an illusion created by a kitsune ARNav,'' Tails explained, pulling his gloved hand back and then looking up at the top of the shrine. A blue kitsune ARNav with a white tuft of fur on his chest and white gloves that had red markings on them, as well as red shoes that had paw-like toes, was standing on the top of it. ''So, this was your doing, Ao.''

The nine-tailed kitsune ARNav leap from the roof, doing a frontflip and landing in front of the two, with the foxfire illusion suddenly vanishing. ''I thought we chased out of this place.'' He smirked, arms folded across his chest as he observed Tails. ''I see you're still a two-tailed freak. Bet you can't even do any illusions either.''

Tails felt a sting in his chest as he heard his old bully telling him this. He wasn't here even for a minute and the latter immediately started to insult him. Tails took a step back, but then gathered the courage to talk back. ''I see you're still the same bully as you were before.''

''It's not my fault that you cannot handle the truth,'' Ao responded, then glanced at Warren. ''Is this your friend?''

''Yes. His name is Warren,'' Tails responded, glaring at Ao.

Ao then turned to Warren, saying, ''I have a piece of advice for you – don't be friends with weirdos.''

''I also have a piece of advice for you – stop being so rude,'' Warren responded in a deadpan tone.

Ao's eyes narrowed as he stared at Warren for a moment, then turned back to Tails. ''Why have you returned?''

''I heard on the news report that people are seeing monsters at this place, and I assumed that this might be your doing. You and the other kitsune are the only ones able to do something like this,'' Tails responded.

''Tch, so what? It was just a little prank,'' Ao responded in a mocking tone. ''What are you going to do about it, Freak? Snitch on us? It certainly wouldn't be anything groundbreaking.''

Tails glared at Ao for a tense moment, then lowered his head, turning on his heel and walking away. ''Let's go back.''

Warren gave Tails a confused look, wondering what had changed the fox's mind, and followed him down the path. Ao stared at the two as they vanished from his sight, only for his ear to twitch when he heard someone walking up behind him. It was a white kitsune ARNav with a grey tuft of fur on her chest, red-tipped ears and tails, barefoot and wearing a white kimono with red spider lily markings on it, with a red flower tsumami kanzashi adorning her head fur. She held herself in a quite regal and graceful manner.

''Now, now, Ao. That is not how we treat our guests,'' Shiro, the white kitsune ARNav, said. Ao huffed.

''I'm just doing what you had told me to do,'' he responded. ''You said it yourself that you wanted to present yourself only if there is one person there.''

''True…'' Shiro agreed. ''However, I do not believe that this young fox will trouble me. While he certainly has the potential to stand up to people, I do not believe he has the courage to follow through with it.''

''I suppose you want me to fetch them for you,'' Ao said in a snarky tone. Shiro shot him a glare.

''What are you waiting for then?'' she asked, with the blue kitsune groaning and going after Tails and Warren. Shiro observed him as he left, then licked her lips, her purple eyes glinting. A sense of hunger was creeping up again and she needed to satiate it.

xXx

''I feel like coming back to this place was a mistake,'' Tails grumbled as he and Warren walked down the path. ''I thought that Ao may have changed over time, but he's still the same bully he always used to be. I shouldn't have gotten my hopes up. I'm just glad he didn't call any of the other kitsune to support him. They can all be really vicious when they want to be.''

''I'm so sorry you had to go through all that,'' Warren said, feeling sympathy for Tails. ''I suppose that some people don't want to change because they couldn't be bothered with actually reflecting on their behavior.''

''I guess you're right,'' Tails sighed. ''Some people just don't realize how much words can hurt.''

Warren was silent for a moment, then put up a smile, ''You know, their words shouldn't matter. Only you know your own worth, and let me tell you something, you are way better than any of them.''

''Well, if you put it like that…'' Tails said bashfully, rubbing the back of his head, with Warren continuing to hype him up.

''Oh, com'n, you're a genius who can easily build a bunch of amazing gadgets. You are a brave hero who had the courage to stand up to opponents like Dr. Eggman and his army of Badniks. You are my closest friend, partner and confidant, someone who has pulled me up when I was at my lowest, when I believed that I couldn't live up to…'' Warren trailed off for a moment, shaking his head. ''Well, you know what I mean. I know that some people operate by the saying about how a stick standing out from the crowd will be struck but lightning, but in this case, you should be true to yourself.''

Tails grinned widely, and his twin-tails flicked, with him taking off and hovering next to Warren. ''You're right, I should be true to myself, and you know what else – I don't really stand out that much when I'm with my friends,'' he said proudly. ''Just look at Sonic – he has super speed and he lives his life just the way he wants. Or Knuckles! He's very good at combat and doesn't let anyone boss him around. Or Amy, who is very kind and very scary with her hammer. Or Silver, who has psychic powers and comes form the future and wants to protect it even if he's stuck in a time he's unfamiliar with. Or Shadow, who is really powerful and aloof and distant, but is a good friend once you get to know him better. All of them are so different, yet we're all good friends – a team!''

''Exactly, but you forgot one person,'' Warren told him, with Tails giving him a confused look.

''Who?''

''Yourself, of course! I don't believe that we would be able to achieve half of anything we've done without your help,'' Warren replied. Tails grinned pridefully, even chuckling.

''Thank you so much for the encouragement. I can't believe that it took me for so long to realize that. It feels like a switch had flipped,'' Tails replied.

''Considering how long you had been bullied, I'm not surprised. It takes a lot of time and support to heal, and some mental scars never fade,'' Warren responded.

''You're right. All I can do is keep on moving,'' Tails said, fist-pumping. Warren smirked, folding his arms across his chest.

''I bet you got that one from Sonic,'' he said. Tails just chuckled in response.

''Yeah, I sort of did. I really look up to him a lot,'' he replied, remembering fondly Sonic's amazed look when Tails had showed him his inventions.

''I think we're close to it…''

''What do you think we'll find?''

Tails and Warren suddenly stopped, hearing familiar voices and then spotting two figures coming up the path. To their surprise, it were Minami and Amy.

''Hey, guys!'' Tails greeted him, drawing their attention.

''Tails, Warren, hey! What are you doing here?'' Amy asked, looking happy to see them, with Tails landing in front of her.

''We could ask you two the same question,'' Warren replied.

''Oh, you know me – if there is some kind of mystery and/or conspiracy, I'll investigate it,'' Minami replied.

''As well as drag me along,'' Amy quipped, giving Minami a knowing look, who just smiled back sheepishly in response.

''In any case, we've heard about the rumors of there being monsters around the Kita Inari Shrine, so we decided to check it out,'' Minami explained. ''I guess you two were here for the same reason.''

''Yeah, and we can confirm that those monsters are an illusion created by the kitsune who are supposed to guard the shrine as a prank,'' Tails explained.

''Huh, I guess at least one part of the mystery was solved,'' Amy said, turning to Minami, who nodded in response.

''Wait, do you want to say that there's more to it?'' Warren asked.

''Well, it depends… Amy and I did some research and we learned that people who had suffered from an Irregular attack were found in this area,'' Minami explained.

''Really?'' Tails asked, surprised.

''They were found comatose with their BioEnergy drained. That's a textbook Irregular attack,'' Amy replied. ''They're lucky they had been found. It doesn't look like a lot of people pass through this area.''

''I see,'' Tails replied, frowning. He was a little worried that Ao and the other kitsune had something to do with the attacks, even though none of them were Irregulars. ''Maybe we should go back to the shrine and ask Ao and the others about that.''

''Good idea. Maybe they know something about the Irregular attacks,'' Warren agreed.

''Tails, are you familiar with this place?'' Amy asked.

''Yeah, I sort of used to live here, but left,'' Tails replied, flying up. ''Follow me!''

Warren, Minami and Amy immediately went after Tails. Unknown to either of them, there were observed by someone else; a certain blue hedgehog hiding in the bushes.

''I wonder what's going on,'' Sonic muttered under his breath as he observed them leaving. He was on one of his usual runs through the neighborhood when he saw Tails and Warren leaving the Kageura home (he still had to get used to the fact that he and Shadow were living in the same neighborhood), so he decided to just follow them around for a bit. He also overheard Tails' conversation with Ao, and was debating whether he should show himself when Amy and Minami appeared. ''I could go help them out, but maybe I should leave this one to Tails. He knows more than I do and I can easily keep an eye on them. This should be his adventure.''

Having made his decision, Sonic then fist-pumped and quickly rushed towards the shrine.

xXx

Arriving at the Kita Inari Shrine, Tails, Warren, Amy and Minami started looking around for Ao or any of the other kitsune. ''Ao? Aka? Momo? Haiiro? Kuro? Anyone here? We need to talk to you!'' Tails called out the names of the other kitsune, but no one responded. ''Hello? Guys?'' He was confused when no one responded. ''I don't get it. Usually, someone would appear by now…''

''Why are you back?'' Ao suddenly appeared on the top of the shrine, his nine tails flicking and swishing as he glared down at them, specificially at Tails.

''My friends want to talk to you and the rest of the kitsune,'' Tails explained as Ao leapt down in front of him, pointing at Amy and Minami.

''The name is Minami and this is Amy,'' Minami introduced them to Ao, who gave the two a scrutinizing look.

''So, you're the losers who are hanging out with the weirdo?'' Ao asked, pointing at Tails. Minami and Amy glared at the kitsune, with Amy stepping up angrily.

''What's up with the sudden name calling? Why are you being so rude?'' she asked. Ao just rolled his eyes, folding his arms across his chest.

''Let's get to the point. What do you want to know?'' he asked, clearly annoyed.

''We have heard that people have been found comatose and drained of their BioEnergy in this area. Have you seen any Irregulars here?'' Minami asked, direct as usual. Ao's eyes widened in shock, a reaction all four of them have noticed. Minami clicked her tongue. ''Aha, so you do know something!''

''Y-You're wrong,'' Ao grumbled, his bravado quickly fading. ''I-I don't know anything about any Irregulars…''

''You are so bad at being a kitsune, Ao.'' Everyone looked towards the shrine, with Shiro walking around it and revealing herself to everyone. ''A kitsune should be deceptive, cunning, always keeping their opponents in the dark in regards to their true nature. You have failed at being who you are supposed to be. Such a disgrace.''

''Who are you? I haven't seen you here before,'' Tails asked the white and red kitsune, feeling tense.

''Oh, where are my manners…'' Shiro suddenly snapped her fingers, with rings of blue fire appearing around Tails, Warren, Amy and Minami, restraining them. ''My name is Shiro the Kyuubi no Kitsune.'' She started to walk towards Tails, who shot her a glare. She started circling around him, in a dance-like fashion, as if she was performing a nihon-buyō, elegant, precise and ethereal. ''I have heard about you from the former Kita Inari Shrine guardians, young Miles Prower, but I never had the delight to meet you in person. All I know is that you have a genius intellect, but you lack the powers of a true kitsune, and that was one of the many reasons why you had abandoned this place.''

''You're right, but that still doesn't explain… Wait, former?'' Tails rose an eyebrow, staring at Shiro in confusion, who smiled in response. He then turned to Ao for an explanation, but the blue kitsune just looked away, unable to look him in the eyes.

''Indeed,'' Shiro rose her hand, hiding her smile with the sleeve of her kimono. ''No matter their number or their strength, they were no match for me. It is quite tragic to see such raw passion be extinguished, but it had to be done. They were in my way, and Ao was the only one to recognize that he was no match for my power, so he surrendered. Smart move.''

Tails' eyes widened and he stared at Ao in shock. ''S-So, everyone is…''

''Dead. Deleted.'' Shiro's purple eyes glowed as she was reminded of her victory. ''They were no match for my skills. However, I had decided to be merciful and spare Ao as he begged for his life. I had assumed that I might need a servant in the future, and Ao has been fulfilling his role as expected.''

''So, you're the Irregular that had been draining people of their BioEnergy!'' Minami accused her. Shiro just exhaled, as if irked by Minami's loudness, giving the teenager a bored look.

''You are correct in your assumption. Ao had been using his illusion powers to separate my victims by creating monsters from the depths of their nightmares, giving me the opportunity to feed on them one by one. Of course, I could not show myself when there were multiple people, as they might have been able to deduce that I am not a regular ARNav, so I stayed in the shadows,'' Shiro responded.

''Okay, so what has changed? Why have you shown yourself to us?'' Warren asked.

''Is it not obvious?'' Shiro smirked. ''I will not let any of you leave alive.''

Warren, Minami and Amy exchanged looks of concern, while Tails was glaring daggers at Ao. ''How could you?! You put people in danger because you were too much of a coward to fight back!''

''I was trying to survive!'' Ao screamed back, his eyes wide as he was shaking viciously. ''Lady Shiro had annihilated everyone, a-and I had no choice- I had to do this! I couldn't-''

''All that time, I was thinking about what you had told me, Ao. You and the others called me a freak, destroyed my inventions, and eventually forced me to leave because you claimed that I didn't belong here,… and now I understand that I really don't belong with you, with any of you,'' Tails said, using his twin-tails to reach for his backpack and grab his boomerang, using it to cut through the blue flame-like restraint, much to Ao and Shiro's surprise. ''Because unlike you, I'm not a coward who runs away from battles!''

He threw his boomerang, which homed right into Warren, Amy and Minami, cutting through their restrains as well, freeing them. Tails, who was still glaring daggers at Ao, caught it without looking and pointed it at him and Shiro. ''I don't care if you managed to defeat the other kitsune, you will never beat me!''

''Tch, so you decided to fight back?'' Shiro's eyes narrowed, before turning to a stunned Ao. ''What are you waiting for? This is your moment to redeem yourself!''

''Ah, right…'' Ao nodded. Tails glanced towards Amy as she summoned her hammer.

''Amy, you and Minami go after Shiro, since you were after the Irregular in the first place,'' he said, turning his gaze towards Ao. ''I have unfinished business with Ao.''

''Got it!'' Amy nodded and charged right towards Shiro. Meanwhile, Tails turned to Ao, who summoned a wall of foxfire flames, sending them towards the twin-tailed fox.

''That won't work!'' Tails threw the boomerang at the flames, slashing through them and flew towards Ao while grabbing his laser gun from his backpack. ''I know all of your tricks, but you don't know any of mine!''

He fired at Ao, who rolled to the side, shocked to see a small crater in the dirt where the laser blast hit it. His pupils shrunk as he looked up, seeing a livid Tails hovering above him, catching the boomerang and pointing his laser gun at him. Ao's eyes glowed and suddenly, a monstrous black and red fox-like beast appeared, pouncing at Tails and opening its jaws, saliva dripping from its sharp teeth. Tails wasn't afraid of the beast, simply pointing his gun at the beast and blasting its head off, the illusion breaking apart. He then threw the boomerang again, hitting Ao in the head and knocking him over. Ao only had the time to recover from the pain in his head before being confronted with a laser gun to his face and a furious Tails.

''You are no match for me, so stay out of this fight,'' Tails told him angrily, with Ao just staring at him in shock. He never knew that his victim was even able to fight like this. He certainly never did when he and the other kitsune confronted him.

''Tails!'' The twin-tailed fox looked towards Amy, who was blocking a crescent blue flame with her hammer, Shiro standing further away from her, laughing under the fan she had summoned. She then turned towards Tails, chuckling as she rose her fan.

''Dance of the Foxflame!'' She waved her fan down, sending more of fiery crescents towards Tails, who quickly flew to the side, watching in shock as the crescent blades tore through the branches, leaving quite a damage.

''That is not regular foxfire,'' Tails muttered to himself, sweatdropping and gritting his teeth as he turned to Shiro. Amy was charging towards the kyubi no kitsune, holding up her hammer high and bringing it down towards Shiro. However, the nine-tailed fox vanished, revealing herself to be an illusion, with the real deal appearing right behind her. Before Amy could even react, Shiro sent more of the crescent blades towards Amy, tearing into her back and sending her flying face-first into a tree.

''Amy!''

Minami screamed, running up to her partner, who was lying down on the ground, motionless. Amy cried out in pain as Minami cradled her, while Shiro, looking quite satisfied, turned her attention towards Tails. ''I suppose this is a better match up. However, to make sure that nobody interferes…'' Shiro's purple eyes started to glow, a pair of demonic fox spirits, even more ferocious than the ones Ao had summoned, appeared. One turned towards Minami and Amy, while the other focused on Warren. ''While I have serious doubts in regards to your precious technology holding up against my illusions, I am still looking forward to seeing you in action.''

Tails turned to Warren, noting the desperate look on his expression. According to their earlier conversation, it was clear that Shiro had been empowered by the BioEnergy she had absorbed and that they would need Chaos Surge if they wanted to match her power. So, Tails flew towards Warren, much to Shiro's chagrin.

''Stay and face me!'' she shouted, sending another barrage of fiery crescent blades towards Tails, cutting off his path and forcing him to fly up. Tails threw his boomerang at her, with Shiro easily swatting it away with her fan. Tails pointed his laser gun at her, firing several times, but Shiro was much faster than anticipated, dodging every of his attacks.

Due to Tails being kept busy by Shiro, Warren knew that it was up to him to get to his partner, but his path was blocked by the fox demon that Shiro had summoned. Warren had to leap to the side to avoid the demon clawing at him, and as he looked up, his eyes widened in realization when the fox demon was about to bite off his head. He closed his eyes, aware than he couldn't dodge this one, only to suddenly hear a thunk and a whine, and when he looked up again, the fox demon was nowhere to be seen.

Unknown to Warren, Sonic had actually spin dashed into the fox demon, dragging it into the nearby bushes with a rather angry look on his expression as he faced it. ''I did tell myself to leave this to Tails, but that doesn't mean that I'm not going to defend my friends.''

Meanwhile, Minami managed to help Amy up, the latter still being shaky on her legs. ''Are you okay?''

''I-I just got caught off guard,'' Amy responded, her back aching. She grabbed her hammer, facing the fox demon in front of them. She and Minami exchanged glances, then nodded wordlessly.

''Chaos Surge!''

With Amy recovering from her injuries and Minami gaining an energy hammer in return, both faced the fox demon as it charged towards them, opening his jaws. Both sides clashed, but Minami and Amy managed to overpower the fox demon, sending it flying into a tree. However, it recovered moments later, turning towards them again.

As for Tails, he was weaving between the crescent blades, trying to figure out a plan in order to counter Shiro. He spotted Warren running towards him, then smirked as he reached for his backpack, grabbing the anti-gravity disk, turning it on and throwing it at Shiro. The kyubi no kitsune stared at it for a split second, only for her to be launched into the air screaming.

''Nice!'' Warren almost laughed when he saw Shiro flailing her arms as she was kept floating in the air. She looked all but graceful as she tried to break out of the anti-gravity field, only to fall hard on the ground once it vanished. Tails chuckled as he saw this, while Shiro tried to get up, furious.

''You- You will pay for this!'' she screamed, looking disheveled. In response, Tails and Warren just reached out for each other.

''Chaos Surge!''

Empowered by Warren's BioEnergy, Tails held up his hand, releasing a blue EMP field that covered all of his surroundings. To everyone's surprise, the fox demon beasts whimpered and suddenly disappeared, as if the EMP field had somehow affected them despite being illusions. Furious, Shiro waved with her fan and sent another barrage of fiery crescent blades, only for Tails to quickly fly around them and releasing another wave of EMP which cancelled them out. He smiled, looking amazed by what he had just done. ''Fascinating!''

Shiro trembled, realizing that she was at a disadvantage. She had no clue what was going on or how Tails was even countering her powers, and given how Warren, Amy and Minami approached her, as well as Ao being completely useless, she knew that the only thing that was left was for her to retreat.

''This is not the last time you've seen me!''

Shiro created a wave of blue flames, which turned into a vortex, and then disappeared. Tails and Amy de-powered, not too happy about Shiro just vanishing, but they were still glad that she was gone.

''I think we should call the Hunters to search around the area. I doubt they'll find her, but at least an official report will keep people alerted,'' Amy said, turning to Minami, who nodded in response.

''At least one mystery was solved,'' Minami said, agreeing with her.

Meanwhile, Tails approached Ao, who was shocked by what had just happened. ''H-How did you- I thought…''

''I may not have illusion powers, but that doesn't mean that I'm powerless,'' Tails replied. Ao still just stared at him. ''It all can be explained by science.''

''Oh, right…'' Ao muttered.

''So, what are you going to do now?'' Tails asked him. Ao was silent, not answering. Tails shook her head, his eyes narrowing. ''Why haven't you told anyone about Shiro? I'm sure the Irregular Hunters could've handled her.''

''Stop acting like you know better!'' Ao snarled at Tails. ''You are still just a little freak and I want nothing to do with you!''

Tails winced, stepping back as he saw Ao completely breaking down. He was approached by Amy, who placed her hand on his shoulder. ''Are you okay?''

''I am,'' Tails replied in a quiet tone. He wasn't sure how to feel about Ao's breakdown over what had happened, and he knew that he couldn't help the kitsune anymore. He had no idea what might happen to him when the Hunters learn what had had done, but despite this being someone who bullied him for a long time, he still felt pity for him. He and Amy walked away, joining Warren and Minami.

''You were awesome out there,'' Warren said. Tails smiled in response.

''Thanks! I can't wait to tell Sonic about this,'' he said excitedly, his eyes lighting up. His gaze then lowered for a moment. ''Although, I wonder where Shiro went. What if she hurts more people?''

''Then we'll find her and stop her!'' Minami said in a determined tone. ''I don't think she'll be returning to the Kita Inari Shrine so soon.''

''I hope you're right,'' Tails said, smiling back. Unknown to the group, Sonic was sitting on a branch in a tree high above them, gazing happily Tails.

''I'm really proud of you, little bro.''

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#Sonic Cyber Revolution #miles tails prower #amy rose #sonic the hedgehog #Tails channeling his inner Nine.

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thoughts-of-ghanashyam · 2 years

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𝔗𝔥𝔢 𝔦𝔫𝔫𝔢𝔯 𝔤𝔬𝔬𝔡𝔫𝔢𝔰𝔰

When I look into my quite turbulent past, there was hardly a more difficult aspect in my current life than to discover my own "goodness" and to develop an open-hearted self-love.

Especially on the streets, it is extremely difficult to develop love for others when you are always at the mercy of confrontations. In any case, in the past I was firmly convinced that hatred and violence really pursued me - no matter where I went, I was always provoked, looked at askance or physically attacked.

Accordingly, over time I also developed a corresponding attitude - and that although I was per se always a person who preferred to solve conflicts verbally and peacefully, rather than with violence. But when the going got tough - and that was the rule rather than the exception - I was not afraid to use it without compromise - after all, I had been trained in martial arts and knew how to "tackle" certain things. Paradoxically, I have subconsciously always waited for something to happen in this direction, even if my innermost actually resisted.

Similarly, with this development, a dark shadow developed in me, which took over me more and more over the years and caused a growing feeling of worthlessness and a not insignificant amount of self-hatred. Incidentally, this also affected my relationships, which always ended in minor or major disappointments or even disasters. Because the more the shadow grew, the more I tried to hold on to light moments of supposed love. But in the end, almost all of my relationships at that time were of a rather fleeting nature or had a thoroughly toxic character. In the process, I'm sure I hurt a few good souls myself, which in retrospect I'm very sorry about.

But the idea that I was both the receiver and sender of these emotions didn't even occur to me at the time. I was like a magnet that projected my inner attitude outward and attracted correspondingly pronounced equivalents. The classic cause-and-effect principle, also called karma, came into full play here. But instead of changing my attitude and the corresponding actions, I let myself be carried away further and further by this self-produced vortex of negativity.

Developing true love for all living beings

But how can one develop true love for others if one cannot truly love oneself and is always consumed by self-doubt? Even a conscious spiritual path will only be of limited help here if one is not prepared to recognize the good in oneself. I also had to experience this painfully on my own body and soul. Because although the encounter with my first spiritual master and the associated path of Sanatana Dharma and Bhakti Yoga certainly saved my life at that time, I began to understand many elementary aspects of self-love and "inner beauty" of beings only much later.

In general, many people today seem to find it very difficult to believe in their inner goodness and a "noble" character. I don't know where this tendency comes from, which is so extremely strong especially in the western society. Perhaps this is a hidden legacy of Christian original sin and the societies that grew out of it, that we tend to see ourselves as limited and pathetic personalities who are little more than vermin walking the earth!!!?

I really have no idea, but what is certain is that the seed of this attitude has been sown deep in the hearts of many people and is just waiting to germinate and sprout.

But wherever this tendency comes from, it has become so much a part of our flesh and blood that deep down we don't even know how to get along without it. And even if we are superficially convinced that we are self-confident and at peace with ourselves, nowadays a few negative comments on the Internet are enough to shake this supposed self-confidence, at the latest in lonely hours.

But what would happen if we could accept our basic innate goodness and dignity? What would happen if we realized that deep down we are not this fearful and limited being and that we are capable of much more than we might currently believe ourselves capable of? What would happen if we could escape the rampant cynicism in our world to see that we all possess an inner beauty, without exception? It would definitely change our lives radically. Wouldn't it?

Personally, I now firmly believe that this is possible, even if each of us must find our own personal path to freedom and holism.

Accept that there is suffering in this world

First of all, we must accept that there is suffering in the world and that it is inevitable - this includes our own suffering, whether it is shame, depression, fear, desire or hatred. However, nothing in the world has a permanent character, no matter how endless a suffering may seem to us.

The point, then, is to become aware of suffering where its roots lie: in the mind.

The difficulty lies in locating and discovering the roots of suffering without becoming attached to it and lost in it. Things are the way they are and that is how we should learn to accept them for ourselves. This does not mean that we should simply accept injustices of any kind or let malicious, unstable or even violent people hurt us. Quite the contrary. But that is not the point here. Because before we can understand others and their basic actions, we must first get to know ourselves. Because only if we recognize ourselves, we can also recognize the essence of all other beings. If we do not learn to recognize ourselves, our whole life will be like flying blind without instruments.

Discover who you really are - the inner heaven

But who are we actually? What defines us? As I have already written elsewhere, we are not our body and nothing with which we otherwise identify ourselves in our society. Everything we are, or what we think we are, originates in our mind. But what does our mind look like? How can we imagine it? Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche, a master of Vajrayana Buddhism, scholar, poet and teacher once said:

"Our whole existence is fleeting like clouds in autumn; Birth and death of beings appear like movements in dance."

This image can also be applied very nicely to the nature, or rather the nature, of our minds. At least, I believe that this is so.

Heaven here stands for our pure awareness, our inner essence, our self, which exists detached from any influences and projections from the material outer world. Heaven is endless, pure and free from any boundaries.

The autumn clouds passing underneath the sky, the rain showers and storms, affect the environment, but the sky itself, remains completely unaffected. This active and constantly changing part is the discursive and analytical part of the mind - our ego. It determines, conditioned by mutual projections from the outside world, what we "want to have or not to have" and is the source of our cognition, self-view as well as of all emotions, which in turn condition our actions. This part of the mind is erratic, grasping, distracting, confusing and constantly in motion - even when we are asleep.

The great spiritual master and guru Ramana Maharshi described this context as follows:

"There is no duality. Its present cognition is based on the ego and is only relative. Such cognition requires a subject and an object, whereas awareness of the Self is absolute and requires no object."

So if we focus exclusively on the storms and clouds and let them carry us away, this can steer us into abysses from which we may never be able to get out. Such a path can, in the worst case, cause us to develop consistently negative to evil traits and deny us a view of heaven for a lifetime or beyond.

If, on the other hand, we learn, at least from time to time, to be able to take a look at the endless sky, this will also help us to uncover our actual "inner goodness" piece by piece. The more we succeed in this, the more we recognize the boundless beauty in ourselves - and with a little practice also that in every other living being. Because in the end we are all inseparably connected with all living beings of this world.

The sun behind the clouds

Speaking of sky and clouds - where has the sun gone in this effigy? I am truly no philosopher and even less I am a spiritual master. Accordingly, my thoughts and lines are certainly anything but perfect - apart from the fact that there is no perfection in the material world. But within the framework of my humble and simple thoughts, I believe that the sun shines in every "inner sky"...no matter how many autumn clouds darken the sky - whether by day or by night.

Just as the sky remains untouched by the clouds and storms, so does the sun. Sun and sky are always existent and interwoven with each other, but without a clear touch. Despite everything, the sun is THE central point in our small universe. Its rays and particles touch everything earthly and supernatural. It stands for the Absolute Truth and is the source of all life.

Buddhists would call it most likely the Buddha nature. Hindus as Vishnu, Brahman or Krishna, Christians as God and Muslims as Allah. But even as an atheist, one will come to a point where one cannot deny an absolute truth that pervades and determines our existence in one way or another.

The way to recognize the inner beauty and goodness would be to cultivate the ability to look through the autumn clouds to the endless sky.

Of course, this is not an easy path, and unfortunately there is no shortcut - at least I haven't found one...I am still in the middle of the path myself and therefore still relatively at the beginning. But as the saying goes, "the path is the goal" and this requires quite a bit of courage...because nothing can have as many abysmal depths as the supposed self.

A fundamental key is to develop equanimity and mindfulness...for oneself and for one's environment.

Meditation is the key

Meditation can be a great support in this, observing said clouds and storms. First from a distance, then bit by bit up close and then from changing perspectives. First we greet them, then we get to know them, then we accept them and at some point we let them move on. In these moments we will always have a brief glimpse of the endless sky.

What sounds so abstract becomes easier each time, even if it seems almost impossible at first. But with the awareness that the sky is always present behind the clouds and that the warming sun is also there, makes this process more bearable.

Which kind of meditation is the right one, every person has to find out for himself.

I myself explore my heaven (mind) with the help of Metta and Vipassana meditation, among view other things. On this way I learn bit by bit to develop more love and compassion for others as well as for myself. At the same time the Vipassana practice helps me to overcome the suffering (Dukkha) caused by "not seeing" (Avija) and delusion (Kilesa).

On the other hand, I cultivate the contact to the all-pervading sun with Bhakti Yoga and my love for Krishna. But this is only my modest and very personal way. As I said, every person has to find his own way.

More spiritual science than religion

It does not need any religious affiliation to discover the inner beauty and goodness, because especially the Buddhist spiritual training works detached from such aspects. But also the classical Vedic wisdoms and the path of Sanatana Dharma see themselves more as spiritual science than a classical religious culture, because the search for oneself is nothing else than the search for God and vice versa.

Help for these paths is available in various meditation centers as well as in Hindu or Buddhist temples. Many offers are free of charge or on donation basis, so that one has nothing to lose, but much to gain.

Be brave and discover your inner goodness

So be brave and take the first step to discover your self and your inner beauty.

There is a beautiful quote about this from Thomas Merton, a former Trappist, writer and mystic:

"Then I felt as if I suddenly saw the secret beauty of their heart, the whole depth of their heart into which never a ray of sin, of desire, of self-assurance reaches, the core of their reality, the man each is in the face of the Divine. If only they could see themselves as they really are. If only we could always see each other in this way. Then there would be no more war, no more hatred, no more cruelty, no more greed.... I suppose then our biggest problem would be that we would all fall on our knees before each other and worship each other."

Thank you for your attention - may all beings experience happiness - including yourself.

Om Tat Sat.

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