Sonic the Hedgehog: Fallen from Grace.

Chapter 3.

Written by Chi-Cop1.

All the characters appearing in Sonic the Hedgehog video games, Sonic the Hedgehog television shows, and Sonic the Hedgehog comic books are copyright of SEGA, Sonic Team, Dic, and Archie Comics. No infringement of these copyrights is intended, and is not authorized by the copyright holder. All original characters are the property of Chi-Cop1.

-VV

New Mobotropolis

Year 3244, Day 168.

1415 hours

Amy walked down the sidewalk leading to Sonic's house with a bit of haste in her step. She found out from Nicole that he came back from his latest search for Tails early this morning, and she needed to see him. "The poor guy" she thought. She was genuinely worried about him. First the loss of Sally, and then Tails disappearing, she could only imagine how hard these last few months have been for him. Romantic or not, she wanted to be there for him.

After the final right turn into the driveway, she walked up to his front door and rang the doorbell.

-VV

Minutes Earlier.

Sonic awoke to the sun shining brightly in his face and he winced. "Ugh, geez I got to remember to close the blinds next time." It was in that instant he felt the warm body of Bunnie sleeping soundly next to him. He looked over and watched her take each breath and thought, "She is such a beautiful woman." He thought about the kiss they shared last night and the words she said.

"You know, it doesn't have to be an empty house….for either of us."

He reached over and gently brushed his left hand's fingers along the side of her face. He never really thought about actually hooking up with Bunnie before. Sure they always seemed to have some pieces of chemistry together, and shared a few closer-than-friends moments over the years, but a true romantic relationship? It never ever got that far. Probably because in his heart he was always convinced that no matter what happened, he would eventually settle down with the true love of his life.

Oh how I miss you, Sally.

But she was gone now; probably crushed to death in her roboticized Mecha form in the Death Egg's wreckage somewhere. Still waiting to be found and finally laid to rest properly. And then there was Bunnie's deceased husband and old friend, Antoine D' Coolette. He died a hero saving then "Prince" Elias from another one of Eggman's Metal Sonic's. The thought pained Sonic.

"So many times in the past, I made fun of him, put him down, treated him like an unwanted nuisance."

After it happened, he tried to make amends. On some he nights would stay by Antoine's side at the hospital, apologizing for every single insult he could remember saying to him; begging him to wake up so he could tell him again while he was conscious. Not to be. It was on a night over a year after his heroic actions, a night when he was was staying with him that Antoine passed away. He watched and cried as the nurses covered his body and wheeled him away. Then came the forever long walk from the hospital to Bunnie's house to tell her the horrible news. He remembered how she first slapped him across the face, then started begging him not to say that he was gone; to say instead that Antoine was still in a coma. He couldn't, and she cried in his embrace for an hour.

Feeling the old emotions coming on, he quickly ditched it from his mind. Every time he fully recalled that night, he cried, and he definitely did not want to do that with Bunnie next to him like this. He quickly concentrated on feeling how soft her fur felt in his fingers. He began to wonder if he was betraying Antoine by being with her like this. At the same time however, part of him wondered if Antoine would instead WANT him to be with and take care of her in his absence.

Antoine was dead, Sally was gone, was there anything wrong with falling in love Bunnie now? As he thought about it and entertained scenarios in his head, there was still a sense of doubt lingering. Maybe it was the open sores that remained, not allowing him move on just yet.

As he continued caressing Bunnie's face, one of the open sores named "Tails" suddenly popped into his head. "Speaking of which, what is up with Tails running away and disappearing like this? Sure he was hurt over the loss of Sally and the others, but any more so than the rest of us? Why ditch us and leave everything behind? It's almost like he…."

Ding Dong!

"Groan. Really, this early in the…?" He looked over and saw that it was almost 2:30 in the afternoon. "Sigh, never mind." As carefully as he could, he slipped out of bed, trying not to disturb Bunnie. It was then he realized that he was naked. The towel he had wrapped around himself last night had come off while slept and was still on the bed. Fortunately Bunnie was still asleep, so he went to the dresser, took out and put on some shorts. Then walked out to the front door and saw Amy trying to look in though the living room window.

**************vv

Amy waited and then smiled when she saw Sonic stumbling into the living room. When Sonic opened the door she said, "Hey Sonic!" Then reached and hugged him.

"Uhh, hey Amy."

She released the hug, "So any luck?"

Sonic shook his head, "Nope, nothing. I'm going to be heading out again tomorrow to Downunda."

"Again?! Sonic, you've already searched half the planet. Don't you think that Tails just doesn't want to be found?"

Sonic gave her a look, "Would you want me and him to just give up if it was you missing? I know he left our team for the Army, but he's still Team Fighters. You know we leave no one behind, especially our own."

She frowned in regret, "And he's your brother. (Groan) I'm so sorry, but at least I would leave a note and tell my family why I left. I'm sorry, Sonic, but I'm kinda mad at Tails right now. He was a real asshole to me before he left."

Sonic slid on a pair of flip-flops on the ground by the door then stepped outside, gently closing the door behind him. "I know that, Amy. Believe me, I'm not happy with his behavior either, but he's our friend and we have to help him. I…..have to find him."

"I know…I'm…I'm sorry. Its just….why Sonic? Why did he get so crazy on his birthday like that? Then leave all of us like this? It's especially not fair to you and his parents."

Sonic nodded. "Speaking of which, how are his folks?"

Amy was a bit taken back by him stepping out, rather than inviting her in, but decided to let it go and continue on, "His Father…..(sigh)… Amadeus is angry and doesn't talk much about it, and Rosemary…..well…..she's very heartbroken and worried."

Sonic nodded, "I'll visit them later today. Let them know that I'm still searching."

Amy smiled, "You're a really good man, Sonic, you know that?"

"He's family, Amy. I could never turn my back on him or his parents."

"True, but you are still so handsome when you show your dedicated side" she said with a grin.

"Heh, heh, thanks."

"Well anyway, I don't suppose I can invite you to the launch of the satellite tonight?"

"Launch of…oh yeah, that thing. Umm, nah I can't. I already got plans."

She gave a very disappointed look, "What plans? You just got back?"

Sonic crossed his arms and looked away from her. "Damn, how do I break this one?"

Suddenly the front door to his house opened. Standing there was Bunny, wearing one of Sonic's large custom t-shirts and athletic shorts. "My…(yawn)…what are ya'll doing out here?"

Amy's heart instantly sank. "Oh….I see."

Sonic saw the horror in Amy's face, and felt bad, "Look Amy, I….."

"NO…..it's okay! You both have a good time. I'll see you around and good luck on your hunt for our teammate." She quickly turned and left. Her pace started out as a walk, then increased to a run as the first tears began to fall.

Sonic watched as Amy ran down the street and shook his head.

"Sonic? Is everything okah?"

"(Sigh) Yeah, she wanted to invite me out to the launch of the Satellite tonight."

Bunnie frowned, "Well…..if you want…you should go out with her."

Sonic perked up and looked at her with reassurance. "No, no! As I've made it clear to her for…well…years now, I'm not interested in her romantically. We're good friends, and I just really hate having to turn her down all the time. Still she keeps persisting, it's so annoying." He looked Bunnie up and down, "However, I think you may have just rammed the message home wearing my Team Fighters shirt."

"Oh…heh, heh, yeah, my top felt skuzzy from sleeping in it, so I hope you don't mind?"

"Um, nah it's fine. I got to do laundry anyway, may as well do yours too." Sonic stepped back in and kicked off the flip-flops while closing the door.

Bunnie went close to him, "Hey…?"

"Yeah?"

"Are you okay about this? I mean us…..like this?"

Sonic looked at her, "Bunnie, we've known each other for a long time. You know me and how I am. I just don't want you thinking I can fill Antoine's shoes, because I can't. He was a better man than me."

She went forward and hugged him, "I'm not thinking that. I lo…like you for who you are, not as a fill in for my late husband." She kissed him on the cheek. "Can I stay with you today, if ya don't mind?"

Sonic hugged her back, "Sure, but do you mind if we just take this one day at a time? I don't want to rush in too fast, if you know what I mean?"

"Of course, Sugah Hog." She then released her hug. "Want some breakfast?"

"Hmm, I can eat. What do you want to do for food?"

-VV

New Mobotropolis

Elsewhere.

Amy ran for what seemed like a half hour, then she finally stopped in Grand Central Park. She sobbed and cried for several minutes near a tree. "BUNNIE?! REALLY? BUNNIE OF ALL WOMEN?" After a few moments she took a seat on one of the park benches. Surprisingly enough, there was hardly anyone in the park, and no one was nearby. "(Sniff) Why Sonic? Why not me? What more do I have to do to prove that I love you?"

She stayed at that bench for some time before she got up and walked home.

-VV

The Mystic Ruins

At the same time.

Fiona Fox was not having a good trek through the forest. The Pine trees quickly changed over to more tropical trees, and with it came the heat and muddy ground. She had already fallen in one sinkhole, and was being eaten alive by bugs.

Dammit, of all the stupid places I could have ended up, why the jungle? The mountain peak she was heading to increased in size as she got closer. "Only another few miles" she thought.

After about another thirty minutes of trudging up difficult hilly jungle terrain, she stumbled on a building in the middle of a clearing. "What the hell?" It was a brown in color, two story structure with metal siding. It had a second floor balcony, with the upper portion of the roof having one dome section, the other section being more conventional. Near the front entrance was some kind of turning apparatus in a pool of water, almost like driven generator of some kind.

She walked around and inspected the property. There was what she first thought was a road, but actually was a runway for aircraft that led straight out to a steep cliff. It started from the house's large garage door…or hanger in this case. "Who the hell would build something like this in the middle of….oh." She saw a faded two tailed fox symbol on the middle center of the hanger door.

"Tails. So typical of my luck, that I would stumble on one of your stupid workshops."

She walked to the front door and knocked. There was no answer. To the left was a dusty computer touchpad device. She touched it and it activated.

"Please place palm print for identification" the computer spoke.

"Oh jeez, really?" Seeing that she was on the run, dirty, and tired, she figured there was nothing to lose by trying. She placed her palm on the dusty pad and it scanned her.

"Identification verified. Fiona Fox. Partial access has been granted. Be advised, no other personnel from "Moebius" is authorized, especially Scourge."

"Ha ha! Now that is funny! You always did have a soft spot for me, didn't you Tails? I guess I need to thank you for this later on."

The front door automatically opened and she walked in.

-VV

Secret HQ

Located underground in New Mobotropolis.

1600 hours.

Director Harvey Who walked the long hallways of the Secret Freedom Fighters headquarters, taking his time, going over the details of the upcoming briefing in his head. It had been almost a year since his last official mission briefing; the final brief before his Secret Warriors joined the front lines in the final assault against Eggman. Since then it had been just a few short meetings to keep his people apprised on any developments.

All of his people were sent on "Leave" 5 months ago, and it had been strangely peaceful since. His gut feeling said that it wasn't over, it never was. Sure enough, reports of the Dark Legion's resurrection started coming in, and the time had come to act.

Harvey pushed the button for the door and entered the briefing room. Not surprisingly, Silver the Hedgehog was sitting at the hologram emitter table by himself. He was always impeccably early for his briefings. Emitting from the Hologram projector was the file on Leeta Wolf, which was rather strange for him to be doing. "Going over personnel files of your teammates, Silver?"

"Whoa…." Silver briefly fumbled and quickly shut off the hologram. "Umm, I was just…y'know…looking over stuff. No big deal."

"Hmm. Well how was your leave?"

"Rather uneventful, I guess. So, six years and counting; any sign of the "Traitor" yet?"

Harvey shook his head, "I must admit, you've given me quite a challenge, Silver. I can't find anyone fitting the profile you gave that is capable of betraying our people in such a way that would decimate our world. At least not as things stand right now, anyway."

"Damn! I'm beginning to think my presence here may have changed the future. After all, we did defeat Eggman conclusively, which was totally awesome" he said with a confident smile.

"Indeed. However his influences and legacy lives on, and that's why I've recalled everyone."

At that moment the door slid open and in filed the rest of the Secret Freedom Fighters: Larry Linx, Rotor Walrus, Charles Hedgehog, Lyco and her twin sister Leeta Wolf.

"Ah, welcome back everyone." Harvey said, but then did a double take. Leeta had put on weight and looked like she was….pregnant?

Silver went very wide-eyed as everyone sat down. Leeta looked down at the table with a frown while Lyco shot a rather threatening look at him. "Oh crap!"

"Well I guess congratulations are in order, Leeta" Harvey said with a smile.

"Thank you sir, but please…..let's just get to the briefing. Yes I'm pregnant, but I'm still fully capable of doing my job."

Rotor gave Leeta a smile, "No one here would ever think otherwise, Leeta. Congrats!"

Leeta managed a small smile then focused attention on Director Who.

Harvey grabbed the hologram remote out of his pocket and started the briefing. "Again welcome back. Unfortunately I have received troubling news about the Dark Legion and their plans." He clicked the remote and an image of Lien-Da appeared over the table. "I'm sure all of you recognize this woman, Lien-Da."

Everyone nodded.

She was allegedly last seen aboard the Death Egg by "former" Lieutenant, Miles Prower, of the Army Air Corps just minutes before his nanite virus took out the main computer and it crashed. Like the others missing, Lien-Da was believed deceased. Well it seems that assumption has proven false; she is very much alive and is once again Grandmaster of the Dark Legion. Rumor has it that she is seeking to reestablish the Legion's claim of power on Mobius, and may be planning a strike against us and the United Federation."

Charles shot an aggravated look at Harvey, "Allegedly?! Former?! What is that supposed to mean?"

"Any word on possible targets, besides some of the obvious" Lyco asked.

"Well the obvious targets do stand out in this case. The Satellite launch later tonight is one for sure. Rotor, you are in charge of launch's the aerial security, correct?"

"That's right. I'll be in my Nanite suit patrolling along with a dozen drones and Air Corps aircraft at varying altitudes and distance. We'll make it hard as hell for anything in the air to attack the rocket during liftoff."

"Good, now Charles, "King" informs me that the area on the ground has been extremely restricted and will be secure at the launch. Do you concur with his assessment?"

"I do. We have four mile radius from the launch site, and plenty of ground forces patrolling the perimeter."

Harvey nodded. "The launch is pretty well covered, but it's the Freedom Concert tour in the United Federation that has me concerned. The Overlanders seem a bit complacent with this threat. With that said, Lyco, Larry, and Silver, you will all be heading to Central City for the concert's opening night. You will assist G.U.N. in preventing any possible Dark Legion attack on the concert. Once the Satellite is up and running, Leeta and I will be here in the Command Center feeding you real time updates and intelligence on the spot."

Leeta looked at Lyco and then stood up, "Sir, I'm fully capable of going in the field with the team, please don't break us up over…"

Harvey interrupted her by putting his hand up, "I made this decision even before I knew you were expecting. You are the most computer savvy of the group other than Charles and Rotor, and you need to get hands on experience with this new Satellite equipment."

Leeta wanted to protest more, but didn't and sat back down. "Yes sir."

"Good. Now more details will be sent to you as soon as it comes." Harvey then noticed Charles Hedgehog was giving him a hard look. "One other thing; and this is not part of your mission, but more of a request from "King." I mentioned Miles Prower, earlier. If anyone encounters him while on the mission or elsewhere, immediately notify me. His location has become a matter of concern with the Royal family."

Charles spoke up, "Mind explaining "allegedly" with regard to Lien-Da?"

Harvey nodded, "Lieutenant Prower's behavior has been, irrational and erratic since the victory over Eggman. So I choose to remain cautious when dealing with him, as does the Royal family. He could possibly have been compromised in some way."

"Is he still on duty in some way" Silver asked.

"No, he submitted an official leave-of-absence two weeks before he disappeared. No return to duty date was given either."

Charles stood up "I WANT IT CLEAR TO ALL HERE THAT HE HAS NOT BEEN COMPRIMISED!" He pointed at Harvey, "You're talking about him like he's committed a crime or something." He looked at Silver. "And I know damn well what you're thinking, Silver! Don't you even think about going there again, HE IS NOT YOU'RE TRAITOR!" Then he looked around at everyone, "Miles is a hero, and he deserves to be treated as such. He ran away from home for personal reasons, not treason or something nefarious. I'll stake my life on that."

Everyone at the table nodded and or gestured in agreement. Silver gave apologetic look, to which Charles features softened to.

Harvey gestured for the group's attention to come back to him, "I pray that you're right, Charles, but in this business, everyone is suspect. Now getting back to the tasks at hand, does anyone have any questions?"

"Do we make personal contact with Miles if we run across him" Lyco asked.

Harvey shook his head, "Negative. Just report his location and what you see. We'll go from there about how to proceed."

Lyco nodded.

"Anyone else?" There was silence. "Alright, Silver, take your team and get to work in Central City."

Everyone got up and headed out of the room.

Silver quickly trotted out and watched as Leeta went down the right hallway with Harvey, Charles and Rotor. "Lyco, Larry, get your stuff and head to the hanger. I'll meet you there."

They both nodded and walked down the left hallway.

Silver then ran to the right, "Leeta wait, can I talk to you for a minute…." He saw Harvey and Rotor giving him a curious look. "….in private?"

Leeta shot an annoyed look and then nodded. Havey and the rest proceeded down the hall while Leeta walked back to the briefing room with Silver.

Once in there, Silver looked at her with concern as he said, "Is it mine?"

Leeta closed her eyes and nodded, "Of course it is. Who else would be the father?"

Silver was feeling a flood of emotions and really wasn't sure what to say.

"This is not what I wanted, Silver" Leeta said, looking down. "You should have put condom on. Then again, maybe it was I who made the mistake of sleeping with you that night."

"It wasn't a mistake!" Silver then scratched at his head in frustration, "Why didn't you return my phone calls? I've been trying to get a hold of you for months."

Leeta paused like she was thinking, "I don't know, I just couldn't."

He went close to her, "Leeta…..you know I'm crazy about you, and have been for a long time now. I'll do whatever I have to do…to make you happy."

She turned and looked at him, "I need you to be focused on this mission. We'll have plenty of time to talk and sort everything out later. So go, Lyco and Larry are waiting."

Silver shook his head and clinched his fists in frustration, "I don't want to go now! I'm going to be a father! This is supposed to be a..…."

Leeta cut him off, "Just shut up, and kiss me" And then they both kissed passionately for a brief moment.

Silver then hugged her tightly, "I'm sorry. I should have been with you for all of this. I should have come to you."

Leeta hugged him back, "Don't worry about it. I promise we'll talk when the mission is completed. Just be safe and please…...try to keep my sister out of trouble."

Silver couldn't help but chuckle, "That's a rather tall order, sweetheart, but I'll do what I can." Then he let her go and left the room for the hanger.

Leeta had a very sad look on her face and stared at the door for several minutes before she left to rejoin Harvey.

-VV

At the same time.

Lyco and Larry continued on toward the hanger.

"So….who's the father" Larry asked.

Lyco was aggravated by the question. "Don't ask!"

"Ooookay? So…anyway, what was the big deal with Charles and Director Who arguing over Miles Prower?"

"Like Who said, his behavior gives an indication that he's either covering up something, or has gone rouge."

"Do you think he has?"

"Not for one damn minute, Larry. I consider Miles a friend, a good friend. I fought alongside him numerous times since we've known each other. He didn't go rouge. Something else happened on that Death Egg, something that was eating him apart before he left." Then they both entered the elevator.

"What makes you say that?"

"I spoke with him just after he was released from the hospital in the aftermath. He evaded my questions about the mission and Shard. But I knew he was hiding it. I could see it in his eyes and his features. Something bad happened up there, but he refused to say what."

"Hmm. Well, outside the Death Egg operation, I only met Miles in person a few times before. From what I got, he was a real prodigy. Heck it was all him creating that nanite virus that took down the Death Egg. So it does beg the question, why would the number one noted hero of the final victory over Eggman just up and disappear like this?"

Lyco hit the button for the Hanger level, "Unfortunately, he didn't just up and leave uneventfully. I was there with him the last day before he left. It was his eighteenth birthday."

"Huh. What happened exactly?"

"Well to start off, I was invited by Sonic to the party his mother threw for him. Apparently his depression was getting worse by the day. He cut or avoided contact with everyone, including me. So his parents really wanted to lift his spirits and turn things around. They invited all his closest friends over and we surprised Miles when he came home."

-VV

Flashback

236 days earlier.

Day 297, Year 3243.

The Prower Household.

Lyco was talking to her sister Leeta and Amy when they heard…

"He's coming" Sonic said as he quickly shut the front window blinds and went off to the side with Bunnie.

"He he, can't wait to see the look on his face" Julie-Su said to Knuckles as Amadeus Prower shut the lights off.

"Shhh" came from someone in the dark as noise came from the door lock opening.

The front door creaked open and in came Miles, carrying his computer bag. "Mom, I'm ho….."

"SURPRISE" everyone shouted.

"Gaaah!" Miles was violently started, but quickly calmed and put a half smile as everyone came to greet him.

"Happy Eighteenth Birthday bud" Sonic said as he shook his hand and gave a partial "man-hug" and pat on the back.

Other greetings and hugs followed from everyone, but Lyco couldn't help but notice that Miles didn't appear to be all that pleased with the surprise. When she went to hug him, his return hug felt a bit stiff and forced. However she dismissed these signs as likely embarrassment for being caught off guard. The celebration continued smoothly and uneventfully for about half hour; then came time for the Birthday Cake.

Rosemary Prower wheeled out large square shaped green in color birthday cake on a cart and said, "Cake time!"

"Ooooo cake" said Vector licking his teeth. "Wait, what's with sugar dictionary all over it?"

"Heh heh, Miles come here" Rosmary called, to which Miles complied. "When we planned this party, we wanted everyone here to chip in on how it should be, and we agreed that everyone would say a word or two about how they thought of you. That's what the words are on the cake."

At that Miles legitimately smiled "Aw, that's cool. Thank you guys" he said as he skimmed over the cake and read the sugar-letter cake topping words. It was all nice things like, "Buddy", "Master Mechanic", "Great Flyboy", and "Best Friend and Brother" (That one more than likely coming from Sonic). As he visually skimmed it over, he suddenly froze and his face instantly went from happy to disturbed.

Everyone then began to loudly sing "Happy Birthday" which caused Miles to shoot his head up from his disturbed stare in surprise and he struggled hard to keep a semi-smile on his face for everyone. When the song ended, he blew out the two number 1 and 8 candles in the center and everyone cheered.

Ding,ding,ding, Knuckles tapped on his beer glass with a spoon and said. "Now that the formalities are done, I can now honestly say: OH MY GOD, THE KID IS A FREAKING MAN NOW!"

Everyone chuckled and Miles cracked a small smile.

Knuckles went next to Miles near the cake and continued, "Where have the years gone" (he patted Miles on the back twice) "One of the earliest memories I have of this kid, or excuse me, MAN, was when he tried to crush my head in with a large rock from above. (Laughing) Instead he nearly sent me and Sonic to our deaths in a Volcano on my island! (More chuckles came from the group) I couldn't have imagined at that time that in 8 years I would come to consider that same pain-in-the-ass flying Fox as one of my best friends…(He turned to look at him) more like family in some ways.

It was then that Miles features became a bit sad and he returned to staring down at the cake.

"I know that everyone in this room knows, like I do, that you are a real special person, and we're all lucky to have you in our lives. ("Here here" came a few voices from the group.)

Miles kept staring down with a sad look.

"Tails you proved yourself time and again with your talents, your bravery, and your good hearted nature. As you now enter adulthood, I hope that those good things about you never change."

Miles closed his eyes tight, like he was trying to hold back tears.

"And finally, speaking on behalf of everyone, we all want to say thank you for sealing our final and overdue victory against Eggman. It was your invasive Nanite weapon that took down the Death Egg. When I saw that oversized metal-head fall and crash to the ground, the first thing I thought was "Tails you did it!" You're damn good friend, freedom fighter, Soldier, and a hero. Let's give it up for him!"

It was then everyone shouted "Hip, hip, hooray" three times and then clapped.

Tears began to fall rapidly from Miles eyes as he opened them and looked around at everyone.

"Hope you didn't mind me taking some of your thunder, Sonic" Knuckles said; to which Sonic shook his head and gestured that it was okay.

Miles spoke up, "I….I...I..(Sniff) really appreciate what you said Knuckles…(sniff)…and everyone. Thank you."

Aww, he so cute, Lyco thought as Miles continued.

"But I…I…GAAAH!" Miles roughly rubbed his eyes and wiped his face. Then his features became riddled with anger, which caused some concern within the group. "(Sob) Unfortunately, I'm not deserving of any such praise." He grabbed the two numbered candles on the cake with his right hand and then a fresh wave of tears fell as he began to cry.

Uh oh, this isn't good.

"Good grief, (Sob) don't we have anything better to celebrate today other than my useless ass being alive another year on this planet?"

"Miles!? What's wrong with you" Amadeus said.

"Hey, hey…bud relax, it's okay, you're not…"Sonic tried to say, but was cut off.

"I'M WORTHLESS! (Sniffffff) I'm no hero!" He crushed the candles in his hand and slammed them on the ground. He then shoved past Knuckles and grabbed a bottle of Wine off the nearby table. He violently yanked the cork off with a "pop" and said "(Crying) Instead of me, let us remember the REAL hero's in the room." He held the bottle out and went side to side pointing it at everyone else in the room. "(More crying and sobbing) Let us also remember the hero's who are no longer hear with us today, (Sob) like Antoine! Who died a hero saving our King!" He turned to look at Bunnie, "Who loved you so damn much."

Seeing Bunnie getting upset, he quickly looked down. "Or how about Tommy Turtle, who sacrificed himself to stop A.D.A.M.?" He looked up at Knuckles, "What about your father, Knuckles? He died saving you, isn't he more deserving of such praise?" He turned back to the stunned group. "Sir Connery, Hershey, (sob) how many others have we lost in that stupid, God-forsaken war? Some that we can't remember." He ran his arm across his faced to wipe away the tears again. "And some that we can't forget, like…li..(sob) like Princess Ssssssss…" he contorted hard and gritted his showing teeth.

Tears now falling from his own eyes, Sonic approached and put a hand on Miles's shoulder. "Ta…Tails...?"

Miles jolted back from him as if Sonic's touch was contagious to him somehow. Then his look changed to anger as he stormed over to the cake and grabbed the word "Hero" off of it. He slapped it on the wooden wall (via frosting) then full-swung the wine bottle at it, smashing it and the bottle to pieces. Miles, now covered with wine spatter, breathed heavily for a few seconds, it being the only noise in the room at that moment. "I'm no hero. Never was, never will be. I'm a fucking disgrace and I never should been a Freedom Fighter or a Soldier" he said in a low voice. He dropped the remaining bottle half on the floor and walked out of the room. Moments later his bedroom door slammed so hard that it knocked a nearby picture frame off the wall.

-VV

Back to Present

"Wow! That is pretty messed up" Larry said as loaded up the hovercraft with their gear.

"Yeah, it was very sad. Some even cried afterward. I felt so bad him and the others."

"Why would he go on such a crazy emotional tangent like that, in public, on his birthday?"

Lyco sighed, "I don't know. Some think it's because Princess Sally died, but no one really knows for sure. Sonic and his parents tried for over an hour to get him to come back out and talk. He never did. The next morning, a very small E.M.P. device of some kind knocked out a section of wall on the north side of town. He was seen by surveillance cameras leaving through that hole and out of the city in his Off-Road vehicle. All he took with him was some personal effects, and all of his extreme gear components." Lyco said as she loaded the last of their gear.

"(Sigh) Are they really sure Sally is dead? She and Shard could still be alive and buried in there somewhere."

Lyco shook her head as she closed the cargo hold, "They checked. There isn't a single energy signature in that whole pile of metal. All the cameras, G.U.N. satellites, aircraft, ground forces…..(Sigh) they were seen going in and they never left. They're both gone."

"Lien-Da made it?"

"Well, several parachutes were seen deployed just before it went down, all were believed to be Dark Legion members; she was probably one of them."

Larry nodded. "So Tails could be anywhere?"

"Yep. I just hope he's okay."

"Well, with what you said, do you think he'd take his own life?"

Lyco stopped and looked at him in horror. She didn't even think to consider suicide, not for Tails.

Larry saw her look and answered, "I'm just speculating. No one can find him. He left in an emotional mess. He's all alone….I'm just saying."

Lyco opened the door to the hovercraft, "Let's….not think that way. I know him, he's a fighter. He is not the type to quit like that."

They both went inside and Lyco strapped herself in the Cockpit seat. It was then that Silver climbed into the hovercraft with his gear, "Are we ready?"

"Waiting on you" Lyco said as she started the engines.

Silver closed the door, while Larry took a seat in the back. Silver then joined Lyco in the cockpit and took the co-pilot seat. After buckling his seatbelt he looked over at Lyco, who seemed to be going out of her way to not look his way. He really wanted to ask Lyco questions about Leeta, but decided against it for now. He'd wait till they had some privacy.

Moments later, the hovercraft took off out of the launch bay and headed southwest to the United Federation's Capital City.

To be continued….

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