Sally and Cream had just arrived back at Amy's residence when they were greeted by the sound of laughter. They entered the living room to find Amy and Tails sitting next to each other on the sofa, giggling.

"So, I take it a decision has been reached, then?"

"Yep. We were just discussing names. Unfortunately, Amy here refuses to let me call them Tornado!"

"We're not naming our kid after your plane, Tails! You need to stop naming things after natural disasters!"

"Well, I'm happy for you two. I look forward to meeting them in a few months."

"So do we." By this point, Sally and Cream had also taken their seats on the remaining chairs in the room. The mood turned serious when Amy continued.

"But, we would appreciate it if you could keep it quiet. Right now, the only people who know are in this room, and we want to keep it that way. The more people who know, the more likely it becomes that you-know-who finds out, and then our child becomes less of a blessing, and more of a weakness. At least in his eyes."

"Of course, Amy." This was Sally. "But, eventually it will be impossible to hide. We'll do our best to keep others out of the loop for as long as possible."

"Thank you, Sal."

After this, the levity returned when Tails piped up.

"So, since that's all sorted, Amy and I were just about to settle down to watch a movie, and since you're already here, do you wanna join us?"

"I don't see why not. Sounds like fun!"

While they were settling down for their movie night, Shadow was out on a late night stroll. After the chat he had had with Tails in his apartment, he hadn't been able to focus on missions. Like everyone else, he had been quite shaken by the revelation that Taylor was Tails, but he refused to show it. Usually, he'd be running back to GUN as soon as possible to look for more missions, but his head wasn't in it right now. He wandered aimlessly around the city for a while before coming across one of the many parks in the area, and he decided to head on through. At this time of night, the park was practically empty, save for a few dog walkers and joggers. But it was quiet enough for Shadow to focus on his thoughts, so that's just what he did. He remembered the day of Tails' 'death' vividly. He wished it could have gone differently. He had been the only one to see Sonic taking Eggman's life, and he believed that, if he had succeeded in stopping Sonic from ending the life of the mad dictator, Sonic would still be a good guy. That first kill was the starting point for Sonic's descent into madness, and he knew this well. Shadow was one of the few people in their friend group who could even begin to understand Sonic's pain, as he had also lost someone very close to him at the hands of others. Like Tails, Maria had just been a child when GUN raided Space Colony Ark, and she was brutally gunned down when she helped him escape. At the time, Shadow remembered that all he could think about was getting revenge. He wanted to find the agent who had killed her and return the favour. But, unlike Sonic, he had been able to ignore these impulses. He accepted that she was gone, and that killing the man who caused it wouldn't bring her back. This acceptance was what gave him the courage to become an agent for GUN in the first place. And now, he was one of their most decorated agents, and it was all because he was able to move on from what happened on The Ark.

His thoughts were interrupted by the arrival of a familiar face, seemingly materialising out from the darkness. It was as if the universe was reading his thoughts, because standing before him was the agent who had partnered with him on many of his missions: Rouge.

"Hi Shadow." Her normal flirtatious attitude was definitely not present tonight. "How are you?"

"Rouge. I'm ok. Just a bit… shaken by the news about Taylor."

"What news?" This caught him off guard. Rouge was the kind of person who seemingly knew everything going on on any given day, and yet somehow it seemed that the news about Tails hadn't reached her yet. Then again, Shadow knew that she had lost Knuckles to Sonic, so it didn't surprise him too much. He knew that she could keep a secret though, so even though Tails had told him not to say anything, he trusted Rouge enough to tell her.

"Taylor isn't as much of a stranger as we thought."

"What does that mean?"

"Let's just say, we all thought he died 11 years ago." There was a moment of silence. Even though this was certainly not the time, Shadow couldn't help feel a bit smug that he had managed to stun Rouge into silence, a very rare occurrence.

"Wait, he's Tails?! Seriously?"

"Yeah. And, keep your voice down, would you? I was talking to him recently, and he doesn't exactly want word getting out just yet."

"Fine. Does anyone else from our circle know?"

"Sally, Cream and Rotor all know for sure, as well as a few more GUN agents. Although, I think Amy got one of the biggest shocks. Pretty sure she was dating Taylor before she knew he was Tails." Shadow paused momentarily before continuing.

"Sonic knows, too."

Rouge was silent again. Mentioning Sonic around her was a risky endeavour. But, after a deep breath, she had regained enough composure to continue.

"And, how did you all find out?"

"I found out because Cream was suspicious of 'Taylor', so she asked me to check out his apartment, where I found his fur dye and his photo albums from when he was Tails. Everyone else found out when Amy and 'Taylor' visited Tails' grave again. Apparently, Cream had been following them, and when Sonic showed up, she alerted GUN. Sonic and 'Taylor' fought, which ended when 'Taylor' had to reveal himself by unfurling his tails to avoid an attack. Or, at least, that's what Cream told me. I'm honestly surprised you weren't there. Didn't you get the alert?"

"Honestly, I've been avoiding GUN stuff for a while. Even had my communicator turned off. Head's not really in it at the moment."

"Fair enough. I know the feeling. Well, if you wanna go see Tails for yourself, he's apparently staying at Amy's house. Anyway, it was nice seeing you, Rouge. Take care, alright?"

"Thanks, Shads. You too." With that, the two GUN agents embraced each other in a quick hug, before heading off in different directions.

Not a very action-packed chapter this time around, but still an important one. I apparently haven't featured Rouge at all since chapter 10, and that needed to be fixed immediately! Not much else to say here, other than announcing the new name I'll be going with. Apparently only 2 of you voted, 1 for each of the new names, so I've decided to choose one of them with a simple flip of the coin. So, I'll be signing off with my new handle, and I'll see you next week. Ciao for now!

OnTheSpectrum