Title: Sunshine
Rating: K+
Genre: Supernatural/Friendship
Pairings/Characters: Tei Sukone, Dell Honne, Tails Doll, Deruko Honne, and DellTei just because I have to ship
Warnings: Excessive use of and allusions to various memes, mainly because I wanted to use "Dell" and "mai waifu" in the same context. It just went from there.
Notes: This is based on a dream I had about the Tails Doll, where he pretty much just sat on my lap and watched me play Sam and Max. Didn't try to kill me or anything. It was awesome.

For those of you who don't know, Tails Doll is an unlockable character in the Sega Saturn game Sonic R, who got his notoriety through his creepiness and soulless eyes (I think the doll is freaking adorable, but I digress). Supposedly, if you try and summon him, he will either come out and kill you and take your soul, or make you one of his minions in his own image to find the 7 Pure Souls which will lead him to world conquest. Basically, the Tails Doll is a "Bloody Mary curse" Internet meme. I don't really believe it, but it's fun to read about supposed encounters people have had with the doll (I actually submitted my Tails Doll dream to the "Tails from the Crypt" site, so if it gets posted no one think I ripped it off).

There are 25 different memes in this one-shot, not including the Tails Doll himself. If you can find them all then, like me, you need to go outside more, but you still deserve something awesome. If someone gets them all I'm willing to write something as a reward, but we'll see how it goes.:3

Also, GO PLAY SAM AND MAX: THE DEVIL'S PLAYHOUSE. IN FACT, PLAY ALL THREE SEASONS. RIGHT NOW. I'LL WAIT FOR YOU. GO ON. IT'LL BE GOOD FOR YOUR HEALTH.

Summary: Sometimes you needed to find a kindred spirit in order to feel it. At least, that's what Tei thought.

She'd heard the rumors.

It was only natural she had. Being a troll, she had to know Internet memes and how she could use them to her advantage. Hell, she always had her cool face on, and every time she walked into a room there were suddenly cucumbers, thousands of them (cucumbers, cucumbers everywhere)! Knowing a meme was just a tool of the trade.

Curses, well, that was a different matter.

Tei Sukone liked to think that she was quite open-minded, and curses intrigued her by yandere nature. She made Wara Ningyos when she was bored, had a habit of looking down every well she came across, and played the ringtone of death from One Missed Call 2 in the dark a few times (every time had gotten very amusing responses from Rook). But as an UTAU, essentially a singing android, curses about dolls got her attention the most.

Which was why she had now commandeered Dell's old Sega Saturn, hell-bent on completing the so called cursed game one-hundred percent.

Dell, naturally, thought the curse was a load of crap; he too knew about the meme, and found it ridiculous that people in America thought an old Sonic game was cursed. Perhaps he was biased since, as a Japanese man, ghost stories about haunted dolls weren't really big news or frightening to him (Tei just said he was being a tight-ass, which was also true about the Voyakiloid in question). Still, Dell found it more ridiculous that the UTAU was even trying to make the supposed curse work, going through and unlocking every character just to summon an odd looking toy fox out of the TV, or where ever it was supposed to come from.

"Seriously," Dell said as Metal Sonic zoomed around Radiant Emerald, "You don't have to do this, Tei."

"Sure I do," Tei responded, eyes never leaving the screen. "It's a troll duty. If this doesn't work, I have to spam people repeatedly saying that it did. It's a delicate process."

Dell rolled his eyes. "I know that, you've said it enough times. I mean you don't have to go to all this trouble. I can just hack you a torrent on your computer with the game completed."

To that, the UTAU paused her game and turned to Dell, poking him in the shoulder. "One does not simply hack into Mordor, Dell. Its black gates are guarded by more than just moderators. There is evil there that does not sleep. The great admin is ever watchful. It is a barren wasteland, riddled with Awesome Faces, Mudkipz, and LOLcats. The very air you breathe is a gaseous Powerthirst. Not with ten thousand Courage Wolves could you do this," She continued her game, point made clear with a smile on her face. "It is serious business."

He rubbed his temples. "You know, you really should stop incorporating all those stupid memes into daily conversation. It's pretty unsettling and kinda sad."

"You know, I like pancakes, but I'm not telling you how to live your life. If I'm gonna do a curse, I'm gonna do it right. You gotta do cookin' by the book."

"Whatever," Dell sighed, "Still, I didn't even know you were such a big Sonic fan."

"Haters gonna hate. It's a hog's world, baby."

"Really, I thought you'd be more of a Mario person."

"Oh, don't even get me started, Dell. I like Nintendo and all, but I swear, you get me going on a hedgehog vs. plumber debate, you'll never want to play a Mario game ever again, lest you recall the images."

"…Wait. Are you implying that you had something to do with that version of SPICE! where Len gets plumber-harassed on a train in the end? Proving once and for all that we just can't have nice things, ever?"

Tei just giggled deviously to herself.

"…I'm going to bed," Dell said as he stood, putting out the last few embers in his cigarette in the ashtray. "Have fun trying to summon bloodthirsty ragdolls."

"Oh, I will. I'll let you know when the Flying Spaghetti Monster and the Invisible Pink Unicorn show up and duke it out. Shame you'll miss it in person, though."

"Cryin' shame, that," Dell leaned down and kissed Tei on the cheek. "Night, Tei."

In response, Tei pecked his lips lightly. "Good night, sweet prince."

"If you ever loved me, you'll never call me that again. Not even when I am dead," Dell left her then, and as he headed up the stairs, he called back, "Try not to get your soul stolen. I like you more when you have it."

"Okay. But only 'cause you asked."

X

While Tei hadn't been able to specify a time for the curse to activate, she figured the best way was to try at both times. Luckily she had cleared the game around ten, soul-eating doll and all, and had begun to practice racing him with him. He was easy to use, to her surprise, and if Can You Feel The Sunshine? wasn't a catchy song she didn't know what was.

It was strange, but Tei felt like she had already known the little guy long before knowing the curse. They were similar in a lot of ways, but mostly because people were afraid of them. The UTAU had tried many times to convince people she wasn't a yandere by choice, and she hated the concept of murder; the blood of other people just really, really freaked her out, especially when it was touching her. And yet nothing ever changed! And now this poor little toy, an obscure character from an obscure racing game, was reduced to a Bloody Mary urban legend? Who did these people think they were, some soul-craving Missingno in the flesh?

But Tei was getting ahead of herself. It was almost eleven now, and she had to work fast.

A sketchbook rested on the coffee table as her hands furiously drew across it, doing their best to capture his image, while Livin' In The City played backwards on her laptop. Soon the song ended, and the picture, though quick and still mostly a sketch, was done. Tei wasted no time in picking the controller back up and heading into Tag Mode, with her orange little friend as her racer.

She'd been playing this game for more than five hours, and she dared to say she was pretty damn good at it by this point. One by one the other racers went down: Egg-Robo, Metal Sonic, Cyber Knuckles, and yes, even Super Sonic were barely a challenge. Tei completed the course in less than five minutes.

It turned 11 PM three minutes later.

The screen didn't fizzle out and fade with the doll lunging at her, the power didn't go out, there were no screams of terror from the Voyakiloids upstairs, there was no red light, nothing.

Nothing happened.

Tei pouted.

It must have been 1 AM after all, Tei thought after none of the "common" effects happened, and she had to say she was disappointed. Sure, the purpose of her trying the curse was to prove it didn't work and then spam message boards that it was real, but a part of her really wanted the curse to work.

She'd be damned if she couldn't find a way to blame this on Yukio Hatoyama.

But a few hours remained until she could try again, and she had to occupy herself until then. Now that she thought about it, Tei still hadn't started the last chapter of Sam and Max: The Devil's Playhouse, and that would be a fun way to waste time. Who didn't love elder gods, space gorillas, a rabbity-thing with inexplicable psychic powers, and corn dogs? Together? It boggled the mind.

And so she started the Wii up and began the game, though it wasn't too far into the opening puzzle when Tei felt the need to get a drink. She sauntered into the kitchen and grabbed a glass of some purple drink (hell if she knew what it was, but knowing this household Fruscia probably made it anything Fruscia made was delicious).

"You know, maybe this isn't Hatoyama's fault for once," Tei thought as she walked back into the living room. "It could have been Gary Oak. Gary Oak probably did this at 11 AM just to spite everyone who wanted to try it at 11 PM, which I can kind of understand. I mean, making our lives inadequate is what he does. It's Gary motherfu—"

Tei paused in the doorway, staring at where she had been sitting just a minute before.

The power was still on, the TV working fine and the game still running, and none of her things on the table had been moved, but that wasn't what grabbed her attention.

No, what grabbed her attention was the fact that the Tails Doll was sitting there, on the couch, holding up the WiiMote in wonder, trying to figure out what it was. It hadn't even noticed her.

Tei inhaled quietly, and took a quick swig of her drink before walking to the sofa. "Breathe, Tei, breathe. Keep calm and carry on, keep calm and carry on…"

She reached the sofa after what seemed like an eternity, and when the Doll finally noticed her shadow looming over it looked up. Tei saw the slight tremble in the plush paws that held the controller.

She smiled. "Hey, it's okay, sorry if I scared you. I just didn't expect to see you there," She kneeled down to his eye level. "Do you think I could have that back though? I need it to play the game."

Tails Doll looked at the WiiMote, then placed it into Tei's open hand. "Oh… Sowee," he said in child-like voice.

"It's okay. Say, do you want to play with me?" the UTAU offered, "I don't know if this is a kind of game you'd like, but I always get a kick out of it."

"Play… wif me?" He sounded so surprised. "Weally?"

"Sure! We can solve these puzzles together. They can be kinda tough sometimes, and two heads are better than one. What do you say?"

The doll nodded, the red gem on his head bouncing up and down. "O-Okay!"

"Great!" To that, Tei picked up the doll gently, set him in her lap, and continued playing. "Heh, Junior Max. Where is your God now, Manhattan?"

"Hiya, pal! What's the rumpus?"

"Hey, Flint! Wanna join us inside Max's body for—"

"No dice, Sam! I've gotta beat cheeks while the beating's good."

"Um… okay."

"Don't fret, Grandpa. I'll put the pinch on those grifters trying to take you for a ride faster than you can shave a hobo's coin slot!"

"Oh, Flint. I missed you and your colorful metaphors."

"Does he really have to do that, with the lingo gettin' all disturbing?"

"And it's always about hobos, for some reason."

Tails Doll giggled.

Tei smiled, and looked down. "You okay there, little guy?"

He nodded. "Uh-huh. You're weally nice."

"Ahh, no, I'm not that nice," she shrugged, "I mean, everyone likes cute things, right?"

"I'm… cute?" the doll echoed in awe, "No one's ever called me dat befo'…"

"Yeah, and I don't get why. You're one of the most adorable things I've ever seen."

Tails Doll poked his plush hands together, a little bashful. "Evewyone gets weally scared when I come. They all yell an' scweam awot. I dunno why."

"Hey, don't worry, it's the same thing for me," Tei said, waving it off like a fly as she looked back to the game, "People just like to spread rumors, is all. And they usually aren't good ones."

"But you're so nice! And pwetty! I wike you!" the doll protested. "Why would people say bad stuff 'bout you?"

"Aww, thanks, little guy. But don't worry. It's just how people are. People tend to get scared at stuff that doesn't seem normal, no matter how harmless it actually is."

"Tha's not wight."

"No, but it's how the world works. I've learned to deal with it," she shrugged, "'The gentlemen observe my rotating. They disapprove'."

"…huh?"

"Oh, nothing. Just me rambling. But you know, that's kinda why I tried calling you tonight."

"Weally? Why?"

"I'm in the same boat as you, but people have been scared of you a lot longer than they have me. And I got a pretty big family for support, but you've been all alone for a long time," Tei looked down, smiling. "I thought you needed a friend."

Tails Doll looked back in awe.

"We are friends… right, Tails Doll?"

The doll couldn't nod any faster. "Yeah! Yeah yeah yeah!"

"Hmm… you know, I can't really call you 'Tails Doll'. It just doesn't seem like a name," Tei tapped her chin in thought, "Let's see… 'Tails' is clearly out of the question… Metal Sonic we can just call 'Metal', but I can't call you 'Doll'. That's like something I'd call Dell to annoy him."

"Dell?" the doll tilted his head, "Whozzat?"

"Mai waifu."

"'Why-foo'? Whazza 'why-foo'?"

"It's just a little joke name. Dell's my boyfriend. I just poke fun at him sometimes, 'cause he's cute when he's embarrassed. But, back to the problem at hand…"

With her free hand, Tei grabbed her sketch book on the table, and wrote out the toy fox's name. "'Tails Doll', 'TD'. Teddy? Oh, but you're not a bear, that won't make sense. Mm, I wonder…"

TAILS DOLL
TAI SDOLL
TAI SODLL
TAI DOSLL

"…Tai Dosell?" Tei asked. "That sound okay? Sorry, I'm not too good at name scrambles."

"No, no, no!" the doll said, "I love it! Izza gweat name!"

"You sure? We can always keep trying." The doll shook his head. "Well, if you're sure…"

Tei gave her hand to the fox.

"I'm Tei. It's nice to meet you, Tai."

He looked up at her, and though he had no mouth Tei could have sworn the little guy was smiling as he shook her hand with both plush paws.

"You know, Tai, I think now we can finally feel that sunshine you were looking for the whole time."

X

"…Tei? Tei, wake up."

"Mmm…" Crystal red eyes opened slowly, squinting in the harsh light of the living room, as a warm hand shook her shoulder. "…Dell?"

Dell sighed. "It's two in the morning, Tei. You fell asleep trying to do that curse." True to his words, the TV still displayed Sonic R, with the Tails Doll still jumping about in a victory dance from his successful race. "Come on, let's get you in bed."

Too tired to argue, Tei merely lifted up her arms to the Voyakiloid. "Carry me."

Also too tired to argue, Dell lifted Tei into his arms, and carried her back to his room.

X

Tei woke up a few hours later, nestled beside Dell in his bed, and while sleeping beside Dell did always give her a case of the warm fuzzies, the UTAU was still saddened.

Tails Doll, Tai Dosell, her kindred spirit, her new little buddy, could have just been the figment of her imagination.

But he couldn't have been. Tei refused to believed she had made him up. She had to try and find him again, somehow. But the summon might have a one-per-person policy. What else could she try…?

…There was one thing that might help, if the little guy caught on.

It was only 6 AM and Dell hadn't gotten up, which was a sign that all his work was done and he wouldn't be up until the time went into double digits. Which was fine, since he often needed the extra sleep, but Tei saw this as a sign for something else.

His computer was free for her to use for the moment.

Slowly, the UTAU slipped from his hold, and sat at his desk, opening up Firefox and logging into her blog page. She left one simple message.

ATTENTION DUELISTS:

I want a plush of Sonic R's Tails Doll.

That is all.

She logged out and snuggled back into her boyfriend's warm arms.

X

The next day, Tei looked at her blog again. Not many people had replied to her post, but the ones that did warned her about the curse and nothing more.

She sulked. "Damn it."

He must not have gotten it after all. Then again, did he even know how to work a computer? He hadn't known what the WiiMote was, so she guessed it was possible. Still, the presence of her little buddy didn't leave her mind, and for the next few days she seemed lost in a melancholy daze.

Then the mail came.

When Deruko called Tei downstairs, saying the latter had received a package, Tei didn't think much of it. It was probably just another book she needed for one of her classes that she'd ordered online. But the package itself was much too big—and much too light, Tei found on picking it up—to be so. She held it to her ear and shook. There was something inside, to be sure, but it wasn't a book.

"Dell, give me your keys. I gotta tear this open."

The Voyakiloid did as she asked, leaning over her shoulder at the box. "You sure you didn't order anything?"

"Positive."

"It didn't come through a proxy either," Deruko added, "I checked the address. Whoever sent it must have sent it personally and just blotted out their address."

"What was the name?" her brother asked.

"I'm betting it was Phone," Tei said, pulling off a length of tape with both hands, "C'mon, come off..."

"Careful, Tei."

"Sorry Tei, but it wasn't Phone. It looked like an online handle," Deruko shrugged, "It's probably just a present from a fan. It's not like we don't get them sometimes."

"That may be," Dell said, arms crossed over his chest, "But still, it doesn't sit right with me."

"Aww, is my baby brother getting jealous?" Deruko said, pinching Dell's cheek, receiving a scowl in return, "Don't worry, our little Scottei knows better than to cheat on the Internet."

"Sure, that's what I'm worried about. Not, you know, the off-chance my girlfriend could have a stalker or anything."

"You kidding? Our entire family is like stalker repellent. She's fine. Don't be such a Beako."

Dell opened his mouth to retort, but the sound of ripped cardboard distracted him. "You got it, Tei?"

"Yeah, just let me… there!" she exclaimed, pulling off the last bit of tape. She flipped open the box tabs and dove in, throwing packing peanuts this way and that, "What presents did I get?"

"Watch, one of Dell's hacker buddies sent you a "P-P-P-Powerbook!" just to piss him off."

"Shut up, Deruko," Dell sneered, "And you never did answer my question."

"About what?"

"The name. You never told me what it was."

"Oh, that. Well, it seemed like a pen name, but at the same time—"

"It was Tai Dosell."

The Honne twins blinked.

In Tei's hand was a carefully stitched ragdoll fox, with two orange tails and a glowing gem on a string sewn into its forehead. Pinned to the doll's chest was a small note, written in a child-like scrawl.

tei

can you feel the sunshine?

i can

thank you

tai

Tei smiled. "No problem, little guy."