r/SaveCosmo

The jungle was a chaotic hum of life, but Mangey moved with a strange, somber focus. He carried Cosmo toward a jagged shard of green crystal glowing with a beautiful emerald light, situated next to a large ancient palm tree. He gently set her down and showed it to her.

Cosmo’s eyes were wide, full of curiosity. "I don’t understand, Tails. Why did you bring me here?" She paused. "Wait... this feeling. The crystal feels similar to a Planet Egg. But at the same time, not?"

Mangey didn't growl or bark as he usually did. Instead, he looked at her with wide, apologetic eyes. Before she could ask again, he pulled her into a brief, fierce hug, nuzzling into her—then, with a sharp shove, he sent her tumbling into the Prism Shard. He couldn't bear to let the "pretty plant lady" go, but his instincts told him that the "Blue One" was the only key to the answers she sought.

With a blinding flash of emerald light, she vanished. Mangey let out a long, jagged howl as he cried; it echoed through the Boscage Maze, a cry of grief for a love he had lost twice now, though he couldn't remember why.

Cosmo’s eyes snapped open. The humid air of the jungle was gone, replaced by the sterile, metallic chill of a laboratory. The only light came from the crimson-red Shard held in a containment field behind her.

"Hello?" she called out, her voice trembling. "Is anyone there? Where in the world am I?"

"It’s not where in the world you are," a cold, cynical voice drifted from the rafters. "It's where in the Shatterverse you are."

The figure moved in the shadows above, keeping himself hidden from Cosmo’s gaze. "I assume you’re a 'Prime' like Sonic? Someone from the original world? Your energy signature is similar, yet... fundamentally different. What are you?"

"I’m a Seedrian," Cosmo said, standing tall. "My name is Cosmo. My friend Tails pushed me into a crystal like that one, and I woke up here."

"That tracks," the voice replied, tinged with a hint of bitterness. "But I’m sorry to tell you that the 'Tails' you met wasn’t Tails Prime. Based on your description, you were in the Boscage Maze. You met Mangey. It’s no wonder you’re confused; the poor guy can barely form a thought, let alone a sentence."

"He was a wonderful conversationalist!" Cosmo defended him instantly. "He was kind, and... he even spoke a full sentence to me."

A dry, metallic laugh rang out. "Impossible. Me, Mangey, and Sails... we’re just broken reflections. Mangey is the Prime's wild instinct. Sails is his bravado. And then, there’s me."

The figure dropped from the ceiling, landing with the heavy clank of metal. Seven massive mechanical tails unfurled like a spider's legs, twitching with precision. "Nine. I am Tails Prime’s intellect. Only someone incredibly important to the original Tails could have triggered a linguistic response in Mangey. Until now, Sonic was the only one who could do that."

Cosmo looked into Nine’s eyes. They were the eyes of her Tails, but hardened by a lifetime of isolation. "Tai— Ah, I mean Nine... are you saying my Tails is gone?"

"The original? Yes. He was shattered with the rest of the original universe."

Cosmo’s knees gave out. She sank to the cold floor, the weight of her unexpected rebirth suddenly feeling like a curse. "Why?" she sobbed. "I’m finally alive again... I finally have a chance to be with him, and the universe takes him away this time. Why can we never be?"

Nine froze. Logic dictated he should ignore the emotional outburst of a complete stranger, but a phantom pain flared in his chest, as if he knew this girl intimately. His mechanical tails retracted as he knelt beside her. Unsure of what he was doing, he reached out, took off his greasy gloves, and softly caressed her cheek.

"H-hey. Don't do that," Nine muttered, his voice softening. "Sonic... he’s going to fix it. Together we’re going to bring it all back. I promise."

Cosmo leaned into his touch; her skin felt like a velvet flower petal or soft grass against his paw-like hand pads. "Thank you, Nine."

Nine felt heat rise to his face as he blushed. He pulled back slightly, clearing his throat. "Right. Anyway... you said 'alive again.' Are you some kind of botanical anomaly? A zombie?"

Cosmo wiped her eyes, a small smile forming. "No. I sacrificed myself to save the galaxy from the Metarex. I was planted on Mobius and became a tree. I fell into a deep sleep, effectively being dead to all who knew me—including Tails."

Nine’s eyes lit up with scientific curiosity. "Fascinating. As a tree, you were rooted into the planet’s life force. When the Paradox Prism shattered, the energy must have caught your essence in a feedback loop, resetting your biological clock. You were reborn from the Shard’s power. That explains why you’re radiating Prism energy."

Cosmo gasped. "You're right. When I first saw the green shard, I felt a similar feeling to the one I get when I'm tracking a Planet Egg."

Nine looked bewildered. "A planet what?"

Cosmo looked at Nine, remembering that he wouldn't have knowledge about Planet Eggs. "A Planet Egg is the soul and life force of a planet. Sonic and his friends helped me save a few of them from the Metarex, in fact."

Nine put his hand to his chin. "That makes sense, actually. If the Paradox Prism is a natural geological formation, it would be a natural extension of the Mobius Planet Egg that you were both attached to."

He turned to his workbench, grabbing a pair of modified regulators. "Put these on. They’ll stabilize your signature. I made an extra pair for Sonic in case he lost the originals I gave him, but I’ve tweaked these for your... unique biology."

Cosmo took them, hugged Nine, and kissed him lightly on the cheek. "I knew you’d find a way. You always do."

Nine turned a shade of red that rivaled the glowing Shard behind him. "Yeah... well... it’s just math." He paused, looking at her shyly. "So... you and this 'Tails Prime.' Were you two... a thing?"

Cosmo blushed, looking at the floor. "It’s... complicated. But I’d like to think so."

Nine felt a pang of jealousy. "He gets everything I never had, it seems. A big brother, a plane... and now you." His eyes looked the saddest at the last comment.

Cosmo looked at him, her heart aching with a mixture of grief for the fox she knew and care for the soul in front of her. "I love you too, you know."

Nine looked at her. "No. Don't lie to me. You love Tails. I'm just the guy wearing his face—that's the only reason why you say that."

She pulled him into a hug and then, gently, she pulled back just enough to put her hands on his face, caressing it. She looked deep into his eyes, past the jagged edges and coldness.

"I love you, Nine," she said, her voice trembling but certain. "As an individual, not just as an extension of Tails. I don't know what happened to you, but I still love you all the same."

Nine's eyes softened as he kissed her forehead. "Thank you."

Cosmo woke up as if she had been in a deep sleep. "I... I can see?" She put her hands to her mouth. "I can speak? I’m a Seedrian again?"

"No, this doesn’t make sense. I died. I sacrificed myself to save the galaxy from the Metarex and became a tree. What’s going on here?"

That’s when she saw a familiar yellow fox. As her heart raced, she gasped, "Tails?" She ran toward him. "Oh, Tails, I’m so happy to see you!"

But as she got closer to the figure in front of her, she noticed that he was more feral—primal, even. He hissed at her. Cosmo looked at him, bewildered. "Tails, it’s me, Cosmo. Don’t you remember me?"

He stepped toward her cautiously, evaluating if she was a threat. On all fours, he sniffed around, catching a beautiful, sweet aroma. He then stood up, looking her in the eyes. He found himself instinctively caressing her face. Cosmo leaned into the touch, her face flushing a light pink. His eyes went wide and sparkly as a blush crept across his own face. He cooed, nuzzling her neck.

Suddenly, he shifted from survival mode to protector mode, picking her up in his arms. The jungle of Boscage Maze was a place of endless, suffocating green, where the air tasted of rot and the shadows were thick with teeth. In the heart of it, tucked within the roots of a colossal, decaying tree, was where the feral Tails gently placed Cosmo. He double-checked for predators to make sure they were completely safe before racing off.

She watched him. He was Tails, but he wasn’t her Tails. He was a whirlwind of matted fur and frantic instinct. She observed Mangey as he scavenged, driven by an inexplicable purpose. To any other inhabitant of this wild world, Mangey was a scavenger, a beast to be feared or ignored. But here, he was doing the most vulnerable thing someone could do in his world: he was making a shared nest.

He brought her soft moss and ferns, piling them around her with jerky, uncoordinated movements. He didn't speak; he only chirped and clicked, his two tails twitching with a nervous energy that never seemed to dissipate.

Cosmo felt her heart grow heavy, like a stone sinking in her chest. "Why do you look like him? Why do you look like Tails?" she whispered, her voice barely audible over the hum of the jungle. "What even is this place?"

Mangey paused, a piece of lichen hanging from his mouth. He tilted his head, his eyes wide and unblinking. He didn’t understand the words, but he felt the vibration of her sorrow. He dropped the lichen at her feet and let out a low, comforting trill before returning to his work.

Night fell, and the Maze became a symphony of predators. Inside their small nest, the safety of the hollow felt fragile. Mangey began to whimper in his sleep, his paws twitching as he dreamed of the chase, the hunger, and the cold. He looked so worn, thinned out by the exhausting act of staying alive in a world that wanted to eat him.

Cosmo reached out, her fingers brushing the tangled fur of his shoulder. "Do not worry, Tails," she said, pulling his trembling frame toward her. "I am here. I’m right here, Tails."

Mangey stiffened at first, his muscles coiled to spring. But as the scent of her—like sun-warmed petals and fresh rain—filled his senses, the tension snapped. He collapsed against her, feeling something he had never felt before: calm. The static in his brain silenced. For the first time in his memory, he wasn’t a prey animal; he was home.

When the dawn light finally filtered through the canopy, painting the hollow in shades of amber, Mangey woke. The wild, darting look in his eyes was gone, replaced by a crystalline focus. He didn't pull away; instead, he nuzzled into her more, wrapping his arms around her in a cuddle. It wasn't the attack of a beast, but the embrace of someone who desired love.

Cosmo held him back, her heart aching with a mixture of grief for the fox she knew and hope for the soul she had found. Gently, she pulled back just enough to put her hands on his face, caressing it. She looked deep into his eyes, past the grime and the wildness.

"I never got to say this before, during our previous time together, but I love you, Tails," she said, her voice trembling but certain. "I don’t know what happened to you, but I still love you all the same."

The fox gazed back at her. The raspy, rusted machinery of his mind began to turn. He struggled to find the sounds he had long since forgotten, buried under years of growls and barks. His throat moved, a pained, clicking sound escaping before it smoothed into a word.

"L... love..." he croaked. It sounded like tearing silk. "Love... me... love pretty plant lady too. She... she made me feel nice."

It was his turn to lean into her touch. A blush covered his face, matching hers, as he closed his eyes. They rested their foreheads together. The jungle outside continued its violent cycle, but inside the hollow, the world was finally still.

Nine didn’t know how long he had been staring at her. The bed he’d built for them was the only soft spot in the entirety of the Grim, a nest of reclaimed silks and synthetic down that felt like a cloud amidst the jagged metal of his workshop.

The purple lightning of the Shatterspace flickered outside the reinforced glass, but inside, the only light was the glow of the prism.

Who are you? he thought, his heart hammering against his ribs in a rhythm he couldn't control. Why did the Prism give me you instead of Chaos Sonic? Who are you to me?

He was a creature of logic. He understood gears, portal energy, and defensive shielding. He didn't understand why this "plant girl" felt more important than the Paradox Prism itself. Every time her shoulder brushed his, or her leaf-like hair tickled his muzzle, a surge of possessive, desperate warmth flooded his system. It wasn't a calculation; it was an instinct.

Her eyes fluttered open. They were wide and kind, filled with a light that made Nine feel like he was finally standing in the sun.

"T-Tails?" she whispered, her voice like the rustle of wind through trees—a sound he had never actually heard but somehow recognized.

Nine immediately felt a pang of jealousy for his Prime. He was going to get mad, but then he thought about it and said, "Yeah, or at least that's what other people say, anyway. I lost my memory and I'm just getting it back. I'd prefer you call me Nine since that's what my new friends call me," Nine rasped, his mechanical tails twitching nervously behind him. "I don't know why I need to be near you this much. It’s inefficient. It’s not safe."

Cosmo smiled, a small, sad, and beautiful expression. "Well, if that's the case, I may as well reintroduce myself. My name is Cosmo and I am a Seedrian, a plant alien from the planet Green Gate." She reached up, her soft hand caressing his cheek. "And you are my hero. The hero who, with his friends, helped me save the galaxy from the Metarex. I love you, Miles Prower." She then kissed him on the forehead.

Nine leaned into her palm, his eyes closing involuntarily as he heard her voice talking about Tails Prime. It gave his heart a mix of both jealousy and belonging as he felt the kiss on his forehead. The loneliness that had defined his entire existence—the bullying in New Yoke, the isolation of the Grim—seemed to evaporate. He realized then that he didn't care about the "why" anymore. Whether she was a ghost of a memory or a miracle of the Prism, she was his.

He moved closer, pulling her in as he tucked his head into the crook of her neck, breathing in the scent of fresh earth and life.

"I’m never letting you go," Nine muttered into her shoulder, his grip tightening just a little. "The world can stay broken. As long as I have this... I have everything."

Cosmo wrapped her arms around him, her small frame anchoring the boy who had spent his life drifting in the dark. That night, for the first time since the world shattered, the genius of the Grim didn't dream of power. He just dreamt of the girl in his arms and the quiet promise of a tomorrow that didn't feel so empty.