This is a companion story to From the Ashes. You don't have to read either one to understand the other, but I would suggest it.

I do not own Sonic or any of the other characters here in. They are Sega's and Archie Comics.

Dawn came over New Mobotropolis. A reminder that life continued on, and that the world still turned. Citizens woke up and were thankful that they hadn't been attacked once again during the night. One mongoose was sad to see the morning though.

Mina hadn't been having the nightmares about Nicole ever since the concert where she sung about what she thought people needed to hear. Her boyfriend Ash had said that it was because she had finally been able to let loose and express her emotions but Mina knew better. Her nightmares stopped when she heard that Nicole had been in complete control for almost the entire occupation by the Iron Dominion.

When Sally had told her this Mina didn't want to believe it. She tried to fool herself that it was just Sally trying to stand up for her friend. However, when she realized that what the princess had said was true, it was to late. Her song had already taken a hold of the people's minds and they had begun to get very close to wanting blood.

This morning meant another day she would have to live with this fact and it was weighing heavily on her soul. Pushing herself up and turning she just sat there, still in bed but her feet ready to land on the ground, staring down at the wood floor.

"Nicole?"

She wasn't expecting an answer, but part of her hoped that some of the A.I. had been left behind. She was desperate to be able to apologize to Nicole but hadn't gotten the courage yet. Now however, with Nicole being confined to Freedom HQ, she realized that she would need to hurry or it could end up being far to late.

Almost leaping out of her bed, she quickly ran around her house, showering, getting dressed, all of her normal routine but faster than usual. Grabbing a piece of fruit as she left her house she charged through the city using her super speed to get to HQ as fast as she could.

Tails was outside of Freedom HQ and was tinkering with the Tornado. He had been flying it around so he could make sure that it was still working well after the last battle. It was also to get his mind off of the recent happenings.

He and Nicole had always been good friends and it was painful to know that the people had begun to hate her as much as they had. What hurt him more though was that Mina, one of their friends, a wonderful person, had unknowingly brought all this about. Because she didn't really think through what her actions might bring about, Nicole was now forced to endure all of this humiliation.

Tails smashed his fist on the engine block of the Tornado in anger as he thought on all of this. Slowly lowering his fist and sighing he started to analyze his plane to make sure that he hadn't missed anything that might need fixing.

A sudden gust of air and the sound of the HQ's door slamming shut interrupted his examination. Smiling a little he grabbed a nearby cloth and cleaned up his hands. Sonic had been suffering as well after Sally had been grievously injured during their latest battle with Eggman. Tails was hoping that they could keep each others minds off of their problems, at least for a little while.

Mina felt a little bad about not stopping and saying hello to Tails but she thought it best to face Nicole as soon as possible while she still had the courage. She could talk with Tails later. After she had closed the door she slowly began walking to the computer room. Breathing was getting more and more difficult with every step but she was adamant that she would do this. Slowly stepping into the room she walked over to the computer and stopped in front of it.

"Nicole?"

She felt a presence behind her and she turned expecting to see Nicole's hologram form. However she was greeted by a not very happy looking Tails.

"Oh, Tails. I thought for a second you were Nicole."

Tails continued to glower at her, he merely crossed his arms over his chest and didn't answer. This was very odd for Tails, he was usually a very happy person so this change in his actions scared her a little.

"W-well, is Nicole here? I thought that should would be but maybe she is somewhere else?"

"What do you need Nicole for?"

There was a hint of steel to his voice and Mina suddenly felt that she was treading on the proverbial minefield. Something was definitely off about Tails. She knew that her song had affected the view of the people on Nicole but she didn't realize that it had affected the Freedom Fighters view of her.

"I...I came to apologize. I realize that my actions have caused more harm than good. I wanted to tell Nicole that."

What happened next not even Tails could explain. Maybe it was because he had been working so hard on the Tornado, maybe because Sally was stuck in the hospital and the Nicole was being unjustly persecuted by the people because of Mina's song. Whatever reasons, Tails had snapped.

Mina could feel that she had said something wrong. Tails glare had suddenly gone icy and felt like it was piercing her. His hands had gone down to his sides, and he kept clenching and unclenching them. He slowly walked towards her and began to speak.

"Apologize? You want to apologize?"

He wasn't yelling, we wasn't screaming, he was simply talking normally, but Mina could hear the strain in it. He kept slowly walking towards her and she took a step back.

"Precisely what are you going to apologize for? Your song? The fact that she was forced to be confined here? Or maybe because the people hated her enough that they wanted to kill her, and might have if not for us?"

Mina's throat dried up when he mentioned that Nicole had been threatened. She tried to swallow but she was unable to. Tails had stopped walking when he was an arms length away. He just continued to glare at her and noticing her reaction he continued.

"Yeah, that's right. Nicole's very existence was threatened by some of the villagers. We were lucky that we got word of it and now Nicole is safe where no one can find her."

By now Mina could feel tears beginning to fall down her cheeks. She had no idea that her song would cause such a reaction. Seemingly reading her mind Tails continued his tirade.

"Why did this happen Mina? Why was Nicole forced to leave her friends, her only family, to protect her very life? You."

Tails very words seemed to be filled with venom but they kept coming.

"It is because of you and your decisions that she, who tried nothing more then to make our lives easier, had to run. Now you come here and want to apologize for this! It's a bit late for that isn't it!"

Now he yelled. He screamed and let loose all the anger he had been holding in ever since this whole mess began. He hadn't noticed that Mina was crying, all he wanted was to let her feel what her decisions had led to.

Mina was scared. Never had she seen him this angry. Knowing that what had happened had made him this mad scared her. Now she heard that some people had tried to kill Nicole and that now she was somewhere away from the place she loved hurt her even more.

As Tails caught his breath he started to see Mina's reaction. The tears streaked her face and her eyes showed the fear he had instilled in her. Guilt hit him hard and he realized that he had gone to far.

"Mina...I-I didn't mean to.."

He lowered his head and berated himself. As he lifted his head to try again she beat him to it.

"No Tails, you are right. I am to blame for this. I'm sorry for coming and for what has happened. Goodbye."

Mina walked past Tails and he could hear the front door close as he stood, rooted to the spot. As he stood there he began to think of what to do. He had crossed the line and now he needed to fix it.

Woah, Tails really lost it. How does he plan to fix this? What about these people that wanted to kill Nicole, what will happen to them? I'll figure it out soon.

Thank you for reading and please review. Until later,

Tybalt