"S-Sonic? You came to see me?" Sonic's smirk got even bigger. "Of course, pal! After I saw how Eggman shot you down like that,
I knew you would be here! That, and I saw Cream save you on the news!"

The news? That's right. Vanilla did say that.

"Sonic!"
"Yeah, Tails?"
"What was Eggman doing with a camera crew? And why was he following me, anyway?"
Sonic's smile faded from his face. It had become a serious expression of focused thought. He scratched the back of his head. Then he sighed
and said, "Eggman's brewing up a new plan to take over the world, again. And he was using you to get everyone's attention. Once he shot you
down, he announced that he was going to take over the world three weeks from now...using his 'invincible' Egg ship, or something."
"It's the Egg Carrier, Sonic." Tails corrected.
"Like it matters! Point is, we've got to get on this right away!"
"Right! Then let's...oh."

He remembered the sad looks on Vanilla and Cream's faces.

"Sorry, Sonic. I'm...um..in some real pain here. Ouch! Ooh..looks like you and Knuckles will have to handle Eggman on your own this time."
Sonic bit his finger. "Darn! Well, we've got Shadow and Rouge with us this time around. So maybe we'll be able to beat Eggman without you."

Tails felt a lurch of disappointment in his throat.

"Oh, yeah. Shadow and Rouge. Yeah! You'll do just fine! Heh…"
Sonic smiled again, thinking it was a done deal. "Yeah! We're gonna show that Egghead a thing or two!" Sonic made for the door, then stopped
and turned around. "You get better now, got that, Tails?"
"Y...yeah. I will, Sonic. Thanks." With that, Sonic dashed down the hall and out the front door. He had come and gone so fast, Tails wondered if Cream
or Vanilla had even noticed him enter the house. But Tails' demeanor had changed completely. The words Sonic had said came back to him.

..beat Eggman...without me? I guess with Shadow AND Rouge helping out, they won't need me around. Not this time.
Yeah...they won't need me for awhile. I...I wonder..what is it that I even do?

Just then, Vanilla and Cream re-entered the room. In Vanilla's hands, she held a tray with an assortment of sandwiches stacked on top of each other
on fancy plates. As for Cream, she held a glass of milk in her right hand and a glass of chocolate milk in her left hand. Tails thought it was little too much,
despite how hungry he felt.

"Hope you enjoy these!" said Vanilla. "I didn't know what kind of sandwich you liked, so I made six different kinds. There are three at the bottom, two stacked
in the middle, and one at the very top. Hope one of them suits your fancy!"
Cream placed the two different glasses of milk on the table. Then she turned to Tails and said, "And I didn't know if you liked regular milk or chocolate milk,
so I got you both! Pick your favorite, kay?"

Tails nodded his head and managed a weak smile. It was hard to hide his feelings of newfound despair, but he had to try. For he didn't want to make the two
of them worry about him any more than they did now. These were his feelings and his problem, he reasoned. So he decided that whatever he was dealing with,
he wanted to deal with it alone.

"Are you, okay, Tails? You look kinda sad!"
"Uh? No! I'm fine, Cream. I'm just...tired! Yes, tired and weary! Hoo, boy!"
"Oh, I gotcha! Mama, we got to go!"
Vanilla placed the tray on the table carefully, right next to the two glasses of milk. She looks at Tails, beaming with happiness. Tails tried to conceal it,
but his smile could not hide the sad look in his eyes. Sonic and Cream couldn't have possibly noticed it. And Tails was good at hiding his emotions from
most people. But Vanilla saw right through his facade, as her smile slowly changed to a look of concern.

"Mama? Are you okay?"
"Huh?" Vanilla changed back to her upbeat, cheerful self.
"Yes, I just thought I saw...a spider. Yes, a spider."|
Cream froze. She was suddenly overcome with fear.
"Spa..spa...SPIIIDERRR! Waaaaah!"
She ran screaming in terror out of the room and down the hall. Then a door slammed shut.
Tails was surprised to see Vanilla let out a small giggle.
"I was right, after all. She IS still afraid of spiders!"
"Hey, Ms. Rabbit? Is Cream going to be okay?"

Vanilla turned to Tails and said, "I think I should be asking you that question, Miles."

Tails was taken aback. She'd seen right through him. Before Tails could ask what she meant, Vanilla had gone to the door.
She grabbed the door knob, ready to go. But she stopped and said, "Please, try to get some rest." Then she went away down the hall.

Once again, Tails was alone, with only his thoughts to keep him company.

Hm. That was strange. Did Ms. Rabbit notice? No..she couldn't have. She doesn't have a clue.

Tails dismissed the thought, as he snatched up a sandwich from the tray and took a bite.

Mm? Melted Cheese and ham? It tastes...good.