Winter goes on to tell Marina that since he thought her hospital stay was gonna be longer than planned that she had already offered Tails the chance to sing to the songs they were gonna sing together that night... And needless to say, she was not happy.

"What?!" She shouts in disbelief.

Winter crosses his arms and averts his eyes from her gaze, "Yeah... I'm sorry..."

"But... You promised we'd do this!" She shouts.

"I know" Winter says quietly.

"I... I was looking forward to this! To singing with you! My childhood friend! How could you replace me like that?! Why couldn't you reschedule?!" Marina shouts, squeezing her fists in frustration.

"It wasn't an easy choice Marina! I've had surgery before so I thought it would take longer for you to recover from your injuries!" Winter says, finally looking over at her.

She scoffs and looks away from him, tears welling up in her eyes as she tries her best to stop herself from crying. Winter tries to put a hand out to comfort her but she moves away from him and growls making the wolf jump a little, it had been a while since he had seen her that upset that was for sure. At this point other shoppers were beginning to take notice of Marina and Winter's shouting and eyes were turning to them.

"Do you have any idea how much this hurts?!" She shouts.

"...I do"

"Clearly not! Eolgan-i! (Jerk)"

"Oh my fucking god!... Jeongmal-yo? Ije hangug-eolo jeoleul moyoghasineun geobnikka!? (Really? Now you're insulting me in Korean?!)"

"Dangsin-eun geuleol jagyeog-i iss-eoyo! (You deserve it!)" Marina shouts.

"Ani, geuleol li eobs-eo! (No the fuck I don't!)" Winter shouts back.

Marina shouts loudly and glares at him, Winter sighs and turns to Tails who's surprised that they would even start fighting.

"Sorry about this" Winter says.

"It's fine-" Tails says, visibly startled by the shouting match.

"How do I not know you're dropping me just so you can sing with him..." Marina says, tears still streaming down her face.

"...What?!" Winter shouts, turning to her astounded she would come to that accusation, so astounded that it made him angry that she would even say that, "Marina, we've had to reschedule this fucking show several times! I don't want people to think we're scamming them! Combine that and the fact you just perform wherever the fuck you feel like, whenever you feel like, I felt inclined to replace you with someone who I believe would be more reliable and wouldn't make me have to potentially reschedule again!"

Marina is silent as Winter rubs his face, it's at this moment Winter remembers people are watching them and looks around, he takes Tails by the arm and picks up their shopping bags.

"You caused a scene, I hope you're happy! When you've calmed down call me! Ugh!"

"Whooaa!" Tails goes as Winter pulls him along out of the food court, the fox managing to pick up their food as they left.

Tails looks back at Marina, the poor dog shaking in frustration as she walks away sobbing in frustration. The fox feels bad, she seemed like she really wanted to sing with him that night and because of a a few pretty fair reasons she wasn't going to be able to.

Maybe... Maybe I could talk to her. Apologise to her....

The ride on the subway is mostly quiet as Winter takes most of that time to calm himself down, Tails puts his hand on his as the two sit together on the train.

"She's a childhood friend?" He asks.

"Yes" Winter responds, "Sorry for not telling you the full story. Lately she's just been jumping around random towns performing wherever she pleases, she said that she'd be available several times within the last few weeks and for a while I didn't care much. But this isn't the first time she's been unable to stay true to her word, and I told her if she let me down again she was being cut from he show"

"Don't you think you were a little too harsh on her?-" Tails asks.

"She wouldn't have gotten the point!" Winter says, he takes a deep breath in an effort to calm himself down, "Sorry"

Tails holds his hand and looks into his eyes, "It's okay"

"I still want you to come to the show" Winter says, holding his hand a bit tighter.

"I know" Tails responds, then he looks back down at the ground an unsure look on his face, "I'm gonna try and clear the air with her. I don't want her think I'm trying to one over her"

"Do what you think is right" Winter responds, laying his head ontop of Tails' head.

The fox blushes a little, his wagging tails brushing the trains seats like their brushes. He moans calmly and closes his eyes, his head felt warm, like a boiler sort of... It was nice, he was nice.

When they get back to Winter's place, Tails and Winter say their goodbyes for now and Tails takes the subway to reach Senkawa Airport so he can pick up the Tornado. While he's on the train he gets a call from Amy.

"Hello?" Tails says.

"Tails! Where are you?!" Amy shouts angrily and loudly, so loud the fox moves his phone from his ear.

"Nightstar City" Tails responds.

"Why are you there?!" Amy asks, confused as to why the fox wasn't at the hideout.

Tails' face turns pink and he looks down at the floor, "Guess"

Amy sighs and shakes her head, leaning back on her chair. She had the feeling Tails was at Winter's, "You're that dedicated to him huh?"

Tails rubs his arm and laughs shyly, "Mmm"

"Anyway, we can talk more about that another time. The Four Seasons found another lead that might help us track down the guy who hired them to destroy us" Amy says.

"I'm coming back to the hideout now" Tails responds.

"Alright, see ya then. Also Knuckles smashed the microwave again, can you fix it?"

Tails' eye twitches... Clearly this wasn't the first time Knuckles broke something, "When you say broken what do you mean... "

"He tore the door off it again because his burrito wasn't heating up fast enough" Amy says, emotion devoid from her voice.

Tails squeezes his phone, to the point where he could hear the glass creaking, almost as if it was going to crack.

That... Fucking dumbass...

"Sure, I'll take a look at it when I get back"

"Thanks Tails! See you soon!" Amy says, then she hangs up the phone.

Tails now has a new objective when he gets home!... Beat Knuckles to death with his wrench... His big one. While he's stewing in anger and frustration he remembered...

"Oh yeah... Marina" Tails says to himself.

The fox decides to open Stargram so he could message her. With Marina being a reputable K-Pop influencer it was easy to find her page and message her...

Hey there! I just thought I'd message you and clear the air. I know you and Winter are close and it wasn't my intention to get in between you two, I'm sorry if I made you upset earlier. Sorry for taking up your time and have a good night <

Tails sighs and smiles, now that he's sent the message, he feels a bit more relaxed. Before he can close Stargram though, he notices that she read the message and gins typing so he opens the chat again. The message she sends makes him raise an eyebrow.

> Are you still in Nightstar City?

Yes? Why? <

> Come to Hiroshi Bridge Park in Kanasaki. I just wanna talk, that's all.

Um okay, see you there I guess <

Tails thought that if she wanted to just talk some more about what happened early that day, they could come to a more solid compromise and maybe he could even ask Marina on advice on how to get close to Winter, so he could maybe be a better husband to him. The fox gets off at the station nearby and starts walking to the park, at this time of day every eatery on the boulevard was bustling with activity, office parties celebrating, friends gathering, couples on dates... He couldn't wait to be one of those couples, he knew that for sure.

Eventually Tails arrives at the park, which is empty at that time of day, most of the park staff had gone home, the bathrooms closed, playgrounds empty, the only thing alive were the lights illuminating the concrete and cobblestone paths shining a warm white light on the ground below.

Tails comes forward from behind a bush and sees a series of wooden benches by the waterfront, all of them facing towards the city skyline in front of them, the flying cars, look like tiny dots from where he's standing, it looked beautiful.

I could definitely see myself confessing my feelings to Winter here... Maybe even sharing our first kiss

The fox's Tails wag at the thought of him and Winter having lip to lip contact, he giggles at his day dream and hugs himself. He snaps out of it when he hears footsteps, he turns around and sees that Marina is finally here... However something about her is off, instead of the bright coloured clothes she was wearing earlier, she was wearing all black, and the look on her face was stone cold.

"Oh there you are" Tails says with a slightly unsettled grin.

"So you showed up after all" Marina says, her expression unchanging.

"U-Um... Yeah, I did. You asked me to come here right?" Tails answers.

"I did"

"So uh how long have you and Winter been friends for?" Tails asks, preparing to reach into his bag if necessary.

"Since we were 3. Winter means the world to me, I hope you know that" Marina responds, squeezing her fists.

"Oh um... Cool... Mind if I ask you something?" Tails asks, his hands shaking a little as he steps a bit back.

"Go on" Marina responds, putting her hands in her pockets.

"What's with the change in fashion? You look like you're ready to go to a funeral"

Marina's sighs and closes her eyes, "I am going to a funeral....... For my broken bleeding heart!" Marina shouts, the dog pulls out two twin pistols and aims them at Tails. The fox shouts and jumps in front of one of the benches to take cover just as Marina opened fire on him, the fox reaches around in his bag and pulls out a metal stick and a yellow blaster of his own design.

"Whoa! What are you doing?! I thought we were going to talk with our words!" Tails shouts.

"Yeah! Well I'm angry!... Badadeuryeo! (Deal with it!)" Marina shouts, she jumps on top of one of the benches in an effort to try and see if she can draw him out of hiding, "Come out foxy! I've got a sugar covered bullet just for you!"

Tails can feel the fight building up in him, she was a threat to his life, if he died here, he wouldn't get to see his friends, work on his inventions... Tell Winter how he feels about him... Wait... Broken bleeding heart... Could that mean...

"Marina... Do you have feelings for Winter...?" Tails asks, gripping his blaster tightly.

"...I do love him. And you took him from me!" Marina shouts, fighting back tears.

"Huh?! Me and him aren't dating!" Tails shouts, surprised she thought him and Winter were already an item.

Marina jumps from one bench to another, growling quietly, getting closer to Tails.

"Not yet you're not! I see the way you look at him!" Marina shouts, her eyes streaming tears.

Tails doesn't bother trying to deny it, he does feel the same way about Winter and he can't deny it even to someone as insane as she was.

"...Yeah, I do have feelings for Winter too" Tails says, his heart pounding louder and faster.

Tails' honesty seemed to make Marina even more irrate actually! The dog finally reaches him, the fox looks up just in time to see her land on the bench and start shooting at him, a blue glowing ray shield appears and blocks the bullets from hitting the fox. Tails raises the blaster and fires a laser bolt at her, it strikes her in the shoulder and throws her backwards onto her back.

Marina writhes in pain as Tails deactivates the shield and moves closer to her, the blaster still pointed down at her.

"I don't want to hurt you but I'd you keep attacking me, I will put you down!" Tails shouts.

Marina looks up at Tails with a fierce glare, the fires of defiance burning in her eyes, she spins herself and knocks the stick creating the ray shield out of Tails' hand. Tails jumps into the air and flies above her, shooting at Marina as she jumped and dodged the lasers.

She pulls a few knives and throws them at the fox, their shiny surface reflecting in the sunlight, Tails who had grown used to fighting midair expertly dodged them and, pulling a disck from his pocket and throwing it at Marina, it strikes her on the chest, a pair of lights turn on as it attached to her shirt and releases a pulse of electricity... Leaving her stunned for a moment, Tails uses the oppertunity of her being unable to move as an oppertunity to spin dash into her, he collides with her chest

Marina gasps for air as she's flung into a tree, the blow knocking some of the air from out of her lungs, the fox landd on his feet striking an unintentional pose as he lands a sizeable distance from her. Though the attack left Marina downed, it didn't keep her that way for long, she pulls out a huge dagger bigger than Tails' hand and starts swinging at the fox, Tails finds himself struggling to dodge as she swings at him fast and hard.

It's not long before she starts trying to strike him with her own two hands too, alternating between the huge dagger and he stone hard fist. Marina sweeps him off his feet and goes in for the kill, but Tails rolls out of the way and kicks her in the side which she had left vulnerable when she tried plunging the blade into him, she stumbles into a bench and snarls loudly.

Tails was already beginning to grow tired of this, mentally and physically. All he wanted to do was go home and get some sleep. But he was out here, in the darkness of night fighting this angry dog who was out for his blood. Marina jumps at him and starts throwing fists at him, the fox dodges as many of them as he can, but eventually one blow strikes him in the face and throws him backwards slightly, it stung... A lot, it felt like he got hit but a truck.

"I won't let you take him from me!" She says, swinging the giant knife around before getting into a stance.

Tails spits out the blood in his mouth and looks at her with a serious look, "Do you really think Winter's gonna want to be with you if you're gonna just go out of your way to attack people like me who've done nothing to you?"

"All he does is look at anything you related! Ever since he discovered you, he's... he's been obsessed!... I just want him to talk to me more, and about something that isn't you!" Marina says, slamming her scrunched up fist on the railing next to the water, "And now... You have feelings for him. As if he already wasn't slipping from my grasp!"

"I'm sorry, but I've made up my mind... I want Winter-" Tails blushes as his chest feels like it's going to explode, "-And I want nothing more than to marry him and start a family with him"

"If anyone is gonna marry him... It's gonna be me!" Marina retorts, hatred builds in her voice as she glares Tails down.

Tails wipes the blood from his mouth and sighs, turning so he can walk away and leave. Marina watches with rage in her eyes as the fox turns around and leaves.

"I guess that makes you my rival then" Tails responds, a disappointed look on his face as he looks back at the husky one more time.

Marina is beat up, angry and stewing in thoughts of killing him, a rain drop lands on her nose as she locks eyes with a brave faced Tails. She can't believe it, she couldn't believe after all that he was still planning on going through with marrying Winter... She failed to deter him, and may have in fact made his will to marry him stronger than ever.

Why... Why isn't he scared, why isn't he begging for mercy?!... Why is this happening to me?! He's mine.... He's mine!... HE'S MINE!

Marina finally reaching her breaking point and let's out a mighty roar as she pulls two knives from her belt and throws them directly at Tails' head... The fox closes his eyes, expecting his fate to be sealed... But the sound of flesh piercing never comes. Did she miss?...

Tails opens his eyes and what he sees shocks him... The Winter killer from The Four Seasons stands in front of him holding the knives she had thrown at his skull, when Marina sees him, she freezes and drops to her knees as his red glowing eyes penetrate into Marina's soul, he drops the knives on the floor and turns to Tails.

"Leave" He says simply.

Tails hesitates for a second, still astonished that he got saved by him... Again. He picks up his bag and turns so he can leave the park, taking one more look at the killer as the rain began to come down more. Once Tails is out of sight, Winter turns back to Marina and squeezes his fist tightly and removes his mask, revealing an angry displeased white wolf.

Marina is so frustrated and so scared she can't even maintain eye contact with Winter, the wolf slowly walking up to her with piercing rage in his eyes.

---

Tails takes shelter from the rain in a konbini store trying to dispell all these questions he had in his head, while the fluorescent lights buzzed loudly. Did Marina really attack me because she was jealous? Was she protecting Winter? Why did the lead of The Four Seasons show up out of the blue like that. The fox applies medical sprite gel to the spot where he got punched and winces a little as the medication does it's work.

"...Well that was a pretty eventful night" Tails says to himself.

Soon he's ready to continue on to the airport so he can pick up his plane and go home, just as he leaves the store though... Winter is there waiting for him in his assassin uniform.

"Bah! You again!" Tails shouts.

"Yeah... Me again" Winter responds.

"D-Did you kill her?" Tails asks, nervousnes in his eyes.

"...No" Winter responds.

Tails breathes a sigh of relief.

"...But believe me I was tempted to" Winter adds.

"She attacked me yeah, but I don't think she deserves death... She had her reasons" Tails explains.m, rubbing his arm nervously.

Winter crosses his arms and dials up the seriousness in his voice, "One day fox, that bleeding heart of yours will get you killed. Choose who you spare wisely"

Tails looks up at the cloud covered sky letting the rain soak his face, "Sure"

When the fox looks back down forward... He's gone, just like Batman. Tails sighs and a smile appears on his face as he shakes his head slightly...

"I didn't even get the chance to thank him... He's forever a mystery to me" The fox says to himself.