It had been a 5 years since Eggman had given up villainy and peace has once again been known across the land. It was uneasy at first, and in many parts it is still uneasy. For the privileged few who brought about the peace, the war, the battles, still haunted their memories from time to time. What the masses did not know was that it inevitably fell to one twin tailed flying fox's shoulders. The entire fate of the galaxy, and the lives of everyone in it, hung in the balance for a precious moment as he had to kill the one creature who took his heart and showed him love. True love. Love that was taken away by the pull of a trigger.

That day, was 5 years before Eggman called a truce.

What came of him afterwards was completely different from before. Every battle since then, when a new threat came, the twin tailed Fox fought with a fierceness that had never been seen before. No one, not even Eggman himself, could have ever imagined this once optimistic creature to show such bravery and merciless tenacity. The Fox's best friend, the fastest thing alive, could see the pain that claimed his friend, his brother, his partner. Even when the battles finally stopped, there was a part of the Fox's mind that was still at the controls, pulling the trigger, watching in horror as he did the right thing.

The cost for saving the galaxy was one Seedrian, one cannon, and the self respect of one Miles "Tails" Prower.

Some would consider that a bargain.

After the battles finally came to a stop and peace came, many went about their separate ways.

Sonic finally decided to "settle down" by means of he started a relationship with Amy. There was no way to contain the hedgehog and he needed his time alone. Amy understood that and knew that Sonic wasn't going to be having affair's. Sonic of course wouldn't do that, even if he could, he would have to face the wrath of Amy's hammer. A fate no man, woman, or child wants to face.

No one really knew what happened to Rouge, only that she's still as free spirited and jewel stealing individual as before. Sometimes she is seen with Knuckles, who keeps the Master Emerald protected as always. It's very hard to smuggle an emerald of that size in her breast plate armor.

Shadow of course was never heard from, as well as Eggman. Very few even cared that he was gone. Good riddance in the people's opinion.

Vanilla, Cream, and Cheese all lived in their home as a happy house hold. Well, almost happy. Cream was traumatized by the war, though she fought bravely and was more of a medic than a soldier. Cream was still as youthful and as cheerful as before, though when it comes to the anniversary of major battles, she quiets down and would rather go for long walks and spend time in the park. Vanilla was doing the best she could to give her daughter every opportunity to adjust to "normal" life.

There was one thing on Vanilla's mind however: Tails himself. Tails no longer wanted to build an Engineering school. Instead he settled quite happily doing what he does best: being the repairman, the inventor, the engineer, and the mechanic. There was one noticeable difference: Tails became a hermit both figuratively and literally.

He rarely spoke anyone, rarely went out, rarely spent any time away from his work bench. He would eat, sleep, clean himself up, but he would resort to solitary confinement if he could help it. Cosmo's death still plagued his mind, and everyone knew it.

Many have tried to shorten his distant personality; but if Sonic, the one who Tails called a brother, couldn't get close to him, no one had a prayer.

Vanilla was thinking that very thought when she was cleaning up her house. Cream was away with Amy and Sonic, leaving the mother all by herself. She hummed softly and was lost in the thought of how she could get her old Tails back.

Wait. Her Tails? When did she think that he was hers? Even before Chaos Control took over, Vanilla had known of Tails. In fact, Sonic and Tails were hero's. She remembered one battle very clearly, one that made her admire the young fox.

She was caught in the cross fire and Tails got her out. He then had to take off in his biplane to dog fight against impossible odds against dozens of missiles and robots. Sonic took care of Eggman, Tails was always in support.

Returning to the task at hand, she realized that the radio fell from it's place to the floor. Needless to say, she heard something break. Vanilla instantly yelped as she realized what had happened. Normally she wouldn't have minded, this radio however was special. It was the last gift her daughter's father gave her. It was no longer in production and finding a replacement would be impossible. A thought soon crossed her mind.

Walking to the phone, she dialed Tails' number. She hesitated however when it came to hitting the send button. Taking a deep breath, she hit the button and heard the phone dialing. It was followed by the dial tones as the call was connecting. After three rings, she heard the distinguishable sounds of someone picking up the phone.

"Tails Repair Services. Tails speaking."

Vanilla took a quick breath as the sound of his voice echoed throughout her body. "Hi Tails, it's Vanilla."

There was a slight pause as she heard the sounds of something hitting a table. He must have been doing something. "Oh hi Ma'am. How are you?"

She smiled as he sounded happy. Maybe her job wouldn't be so hard after all. "I'm doing okay. I hate to bother you on such short notice, but would you mind doing a repair job for me?"

"It's no problem. You can swing by my shop any time and I'll take care of it right away."

This made her heart soar. Wait? Why was her blood racing now?

"Thanks Tails! You're the best!"

She didn't realize how enthusiastic she just sounded, but she honestly couldn't care less at the moment. Vanilla needed to see Tails. She needed to know that he was alright. She had to know if there was possibly room for someone to get him to open up, even if it was just for a little bit. She didn't know why it was important for her, only that it was. When she heard his reply, it didn't sound like he was convinced he was the best.

"You're welcome. See you soon."