Author's Notes:

Wow. I haven't wrote in a while.

I've always adored Tails x Cosmo, but always been afraid to try it. Keeping character personalities in line hasn't always been my strong point, and failing to do so in my favorite setting would severely wound me. I'm also afraid to try anything more than a one-shot since my failure with Cycle's End. Lastly, I haven't had Raw Japanese-to-English translations of the third season of Sonic X to use as reference material. But now I have that last one taken care of at least.

Therefore, I'm going to try and venture beyond my comfort zone and do more than one chapter. Not quite sure how far I'll get, but I'm going to at least try. And that's (supposedly) the first step to becoming a better writer.

Also, I shamelessly stole this concept from Indigo44. He wasn't and still isn't going anywhere with it, so I don't feel too bad over the theft.

Bloodlines Saga:
1. [The Strings of Time]
2. [Ghost ARK]
3. [Project Gateway]
4. ?

The Strings of Time

Rain pattered the windows, but he didn't care. He didn't care about most anything these days. Oh sure, he'd jump in the plane as quick as could be when his friends needed him. It was Eggman stirring up trouble usually, his plans of world domination barely on reprieve since their return to Mobius. But something was different from their former adventures. There wasn't a spark in him, an interest or excitement. It was like his spirit had died, but his body never got the message to shut down.

Thunder cracked outside, the kitsune's ears flinching in response to the storm's increase in intensity. There was something he actually did care about, the fury beyond his home convincing him to go see to its safety. Sliding from his Workbench, Miles Tails Prower carefully walked around one of the small planes in his garage. The hangar door was shut, but it wouldn't be the first time if the storm blew it open or if the room flooded.

His goal came into sight on one of the diagram tables: a thornless pink rose in an ornate pot. Tails carefully picked it up and held it as if made of glass, walking to the side door into his house and pressing a foot pedal beside the portal he'd installed just for ease of such circumstance. The door gently swung inward and closed behind him.

In the living area, the fox again softly set down his plant on the end table beside the couch, placing it upon one of many water-catching plates that he'd set around the house, also just for his beloved flower. He suspected his friends may have frowned slightly on the amount of time he'd spent designing and implementing the many accommodations he'd made, but it had helped to dull the pain of his loss only a few months ago, and still gave him something to do with his time which he seemed to waste more and more as it steadily marched on.

The wind picked up, whistling through conifer trees as Tails set about a fire to keep his house warm for the evening. It was not long before the crackle of flames began to snap in the fireplace, the twin-tailed fox settling into a chair as he stared outside at the flashes of lightning. The plants began to thrash wildly under howling gale, rain turning to downpour as the full might of the storm began to assault his house. Something about the power and suddenness of the tempest disturbed the fox, and he picked up his plant to cradle as he wrapped his tails around him in gentle comfort.

Another lightning bolt flashed down, brighter than those before, its light a hue of violet rather than fluorescent. A spark lept from Miles' flower to his nose, and the fox recoiled while blinking. With unexpected abruptness, the fire snuffed out like a candle, leaving the kitsune in darkness.

Now Tails was not superstitious, but under the circumstances it would be hard for anyone not to be at least a little afraid. Another bolt of colored light struck just outside a window, and it took all his concentration not to drop his flower in shock. As his eyes adjusted back to the dark, the fox's eyes were drawn to the floor beside him. There, upon the carpet, his shadow was outlined with a silver lining, and was slowly crawling away.

Jumping up with fright, Tails made a yelp as he skittered over to the corner of the room, clutching his plant closely to his chest. His shadow continued to crawl in a circle until it was just before the empty fireplace. Once there, a bubbling pool of darkness formed and obscured it. From within this cauldron, it slowly rose, no longer flat but three dimensional.

In another few seconds, it was done. The room's temperature seemed to drop, a rapid chill settling against the background noise of rain splattering against wood and glass. Standing now where once was only a shadow, was Tails' twin. He wasn't exact, in fact there were differences as obvious as between Sonic and Shadow. Where Miles had yellow fur, this one's was a bleak gray with shoes to match. And rather than blue eyes he had ones of neon orange, stark against the darkness of the room. Most disturbing of all, however, was the lack of any mouth… but that did not stop the doppelganger from speaking.

"So long it's been, steadily reforming myself," spoke the shadow given form, his gaze slowly scanning the room as his jaw worked despite the orifice for the sound to exit. "I was beginning to think I would never find a beacon to draw me forth from the void."

Those bright eyes stopped, settling on the corner where Tails hid. "But here I am, and only because of your sorrow, so strong that it is. I thank you, Miles Tails Prower." At this, the shadowy twin bowed graciously, not unlike an introduction he had done in another time and space.

After a few more moments, curiosity and courage overpowered fear, and the fox took tentative steps toward the doppelganger. "Who… Who are you? How did you do that?"

The shadow fox's arm fell, slowly beginning to shamble toward Tails like a zombie. "I'm Mephiles… Mephiles the Dark. And I have come… To help you."

"Help?..." repeated the fox, taking a step backwards as fear crept back with each step Mephiles took toward him.

The doppelganger stopped, his head rising as he stared at the kitsune. "Yes… Your torment was the fuel of my resurrection, your shadow my vessel. In return, I shall offer you your heart's desire… For a price."

"My heart's desire?" he repeated again, his eyes dilating at the implication. The fox turned to look at the flower in his hands, his mind daring to dream a moment. Just as quickly, the bubble of hope burst, and Tails shook his head free of the temptation Mephiles was casting. "Impossible. She's dead, there's nothing you or anyone else can do to change that." He did not know what this Mephiles was, but his untrustworthiness was practically screamed by his appearance and aura.

The dark one chuckled, and Tails again had to again wonder how he could speak without a mouth. "With my help, you can… Because I have the power to travel through time."

The fox stopped cold. It couldn't be true… Could it? This being had just manifested through his shadow, was time travel then so farfetched? Still, it was such an overwhelming concept he had to momentarily pause to even grasp the possibility. "No, that's- that's a lie."

Mephiles went on as if he hadn't heard the disbelief. "It's simple. I'll send you back before her death, and you can then change events that lead to your tragedy. In return, and in thanks for your aid, I only ask for two things."

A long quiet stretched after that. Seconds or minutes, the two foxes stood in silence as the rain continued to fall outside. Then, at last, Tails broke the silence. "What do you want?"

"The first," the doppelganger began as if no interruption had passed, "Is that you not tell any that you have knowledge of the future. It is likely no one would believe you anyway, so you have nothing to gain from it and quite a lot to lose."

He would accept that. It was better anyway, he didn't want to cause a butterfly effect if it could be helped. The fox nodded and his twin continued. "The other is a much steeper and more personal cost: your flower."

If the first pause wasn't awkward enough, this one lasted longer. Tails stared long and fondly at his flower. It was all he had to remember her by, all that had kept him going those first few days after coming home. But wouldn't the original be far more preferable?

It took all of his strength, but with great reluctance, the fox extended the pot with shaking hands in offering. He had to close his eyes just to keep the full realization of what he was giving up affect him. As he felt the weight leave his hands, something inside him seemed to fall off as well. Whatever shard of his spirit the plant was nurturing, the loss of the last memento of her existence killed it. He seemed to actually struggle to stand as Mephiles one-overed the plant and set it down.

"Very well then, at what point in time do you wish to return to?" his clone asked, raising his palms face to face and holding then roughly half a foot apart.

Tails once again paused, forcing his longing for her and the plant down. He had thought the shade would simply reset him to a pre-determined spot, but it would seem he would have to choose an exact point himself. And so he considered how best to change the past for a brighter future of his own.

"I… think," he said after quiet contemplation, "No, I believe the best chance is to stop Dark Oak's Plantation Project before it reached the final stage. The best time for that was prior to the battle at the galactic center."

Mephiles nodded, a small sphere of rippling energy forming between his hands. Before Tails could even ask what it was, what he wanted with his flower, or any of the other half dozen questions he had for this stranger, the doppelganger flung it before him. The orb expanded in a heartbeat, obscuring Tails in flashes of violet light and smoke, and with a last thrum literally shrunk out of existence along with the fox.

Alone, the shade stared at the empty space as the storm raged on outside. His gaze drifted downward, settling on the flower in its pot. Lightning flashed and thunder roared, and Mephiles the Dark threw back his head and laughed.