Sally watched the door to her office in the refurnished Freedom HQ. She was expecting a visit. Not because she had asked someone to come, but because no one had intruded in the past hour. Right on queue, there was a light but deliberate knock on the door. Sally took her feet off her desk and straightened up.

"Come in." The door opened and Tails stepped in. She nodded to the door. "Close it." He shut the door behind him quietly. Sally nodded towards one of the chairs on the other side of her desk. "Sit." He sat. Sally nodded to him. "What took you so long?"

Tails fidgeted. "Uh, well, Nack showed up and Eggman ran off… and Nack got away too."

Sally shook her head. "That's not what I meant. Why didn't you walk into my office sooner?"

Tails seemed to avoid eye contact. "Sonic and I were having a… conversation."

Sally sighed regretfully. "That was rather loud for a simple conversation, don't you think?"

Tails looked up a bit. It looked like he was staring her in the throat. "There was a disagreement."

Sally grinned. "Yeah, I know. I could hear it." She stood and began walking around the room. "So tell me, Tails. Why is it you want to rid the Freedom Fighters of our code against killing?"

Tails sat up straighter. "See, Sally, every time we get near Robotnik some other enemy gets in the way. Nack, Bean, Scourge, Finetevus, Fiona, Mogul, just to name a few. If we could remove them from the picture, we'd be able to go straight for Eggman. No one would stand in the way. It would be over."

Sally turned on him, slamming her fists on the desk. "Cripes, Tails! You don't get it, do you? We're fighting against Robotnik to keep people from dying!"

Tails stood up, looking Sally in the face. Now he was making eye contact. "And how many die in the meantime because we couldn't handle having blood on our hands? They are terrors! They have killed people! We need to be rid of them or there won't be anyone left to save!"

Sally shook her head sadly. "Tails, it goes against the Freedom Fighter code. If we begin to act like them, think like them, kill like them… we're no better than they are. The code stands for all we hold dear and as long as you're a Freedom Fighter you can not deviate from it."

Tails looked away. "Yeah… I see what you mean." His gaze returned to her. "Princess, I regret to inform you that I will be resigning from my work as a Freedom Fighter."

Sally could do nothing but stare at him in shock. She searched his eyes for any hint that this might be a joke. There was nothing. He was serious. No one had resigned from the Freedom Fighters before. They were a closely-knit group of friends. They had had their share of traitors and deaths and even a few retirements, but none had resigned. Sally fell back into her chair. She felt a tear run down her cheek. She looked up at Tails, not bothering to remove the tear. "Why?" It was all she could manage.

Tails sat down. "Sally… maybe you'll understand later. I need to do this… for you." He turned and headed to the door. He paused and, without turning back to her spoke softly but seriously. "I would advise you keep an eye on the Knothole Times, in the obituaries, just in case." With that, he left.

He walked out into the main room of Freedom HQ. Sonic was sitting across the room, arms crossed moodily. Other than him, only Amy and Mina were present. They busied themselves with quietly talking. Tails sighed and stepped to the door. At the exit, he looked back at the blue Hedgehog he had once called his hero. He mentally shoved himself out the door. That was the last they ever saw of each other.

Antoine came in from the next room. Mina and Amy jumped up, talking at once.

"Is Bunnie okay?"

"Is she going to keep her arm?"

Sonic just sat back and watched; letting Antoine handle the situation. The Coyote put his hands up for silence. Once they had quieted down, he began. "Doctor Quack says she will make a full recovery, but she will be out of action for at least a month."

Sonic shook his head. Eggman, he swore, would pay.