"So… you're quitting the team?" Cream asked.

"Yeah, I guess," Charmy replied sadly. "It's not like I can come crawling back to him after all I said."

The bee flung himself on the back of his girlfriend's bed, letting out a defeated sigh. Cream lifted his head and let it rest in her lap as she sat down at the edge of the bed. "Can I ask you something?" she asked him, staring down into his eyes.

"Go for it," he replied, giving her a weak smile.

"Why was Mighty kicked off the Chaotix anyways?" Charmy froze up. "Given you threw it back in Vector's face like that, I'm guessing it's something he harbors a deep regret over."

"Yeah… yeah it is…"

Charmy got unusually quiet. "You don't have to tell me if it makes you uncomfortable," Cream said, giving him a reassuring look.

"No, I've gotta tell someone," the bee sighed. "It's been eating away at me since I found out why years ago." Charmy sat up and faced forward, avoiding her gaze. "So, believe it or not, Vector was raised traditionally. I know he doesn't seem like that since he's so loud and rebellious, but that's because he wants nothing to do with the people that raised him. He had a rough childhood, and his parents believed some bad stuff. Some of that unintentionally rubbed off on him." He scratched the back of his nervously. "Took forever for him to stop giving humans dirty looks."

Confusion crossed Cream's face. "I'm sorry to hear that, but… what does this have to do with Mighty, exactly?"

"I'm getting there," Charmy said. He looked up at the ceiling, trying to distract himself from the words spilling out of his mouth. "You remember his best friend, Ray, right?"

Cream nodded. "I think so… they always hung out together right?"

"Yeah. They were also roommates." The bee let out a long exhale and looked at the ground. "So yeah, that's why he was kicked off the team."

The rabbit crossed her arms. "Vector kicked Mighty off the team for having a roommate? Seriously?"

Charmy turned to her with a sad look. "Babe, he didn't kick Mighty off the team for having a roommate, he didn't care about that. Mighty and Ray were roommates. That's what bothered him."

The emphasis he had placed on "roommates" caused Cream to stop and think. After a moment, it finally clicked for her. The rabbit's eyes widened in surprise. "They were…?"

Her boyfriend nodded. "Yep, and at the time Vector wasn't exactly keen on that, so he kicked Mighty off the team and the two haven't spoken since. Overtime, the big, hulking dumbass realized… well, how much of a dumbass he was. He's been thinking about talking to Mighty and apologizing for years, but… well, you know Vector." A look of disgust crossed the bee's face. "He's not good at the whole 'apologizing' thing, even when he himself admits how badly he's screwed up. That's gotta be his worst trait, next to his anger issues."

The room became quiet as Cream took a moment to process all the new information. "Have you spoken to Mighty or Ray since then?" she asked at last.

Charmy shook his head. "I wasn't allowed to for a while, and by the time I was we'd lost all contact with them. I don't know where they are now." He looked up to the right, scratching his forehead, as if to recall something. "I think Espio might know something, though. I asked him if he knew how Mighty was doing a year ago and asked if I wanted to find out for myself, but… I kinda chickened out. Like, I know I was a kid back then and didn't know what was going on, but it still feels like partially my fault. That's why I keep telling my fans they're welcome in my community regardless of who they are. So long as they aren't bigots, of course."

Cream wrapped her arms around him, snuggling her face against his. "That's what I love about you," she muttered. "You're always so supportive and accepting of those who have it worse off than you." She kissed him on the cheek, prompting him to blush. "It's not your fault, honeybee. You had no idea what was going on."

Charmy smiled as he embraced her lovingly. "Thanks, honeybunny," he whispered.

Their tender moment was cut off by some knocking at the door to Cream's room. They turned to face it, Charmy resting his face on his girlfriend's shoulder. "It's open, mom!" Cream yelled.

Vanilla walked in through the door, a worried look on her face. "Charmy dear," she said, a little nervous, "umm… I didn't tell him you were here, but umm…"

"Espio's here isn't he?" Charmy asked, already knowing the answer.

Vanilla nodded. "He's in the kitchen if you want to talk to him. I can send him away if you want me to, though…"

The bee shook his head. "No, it's ok." His fingers locked together with Cream's and squeezed a little. "I knew he was gonna talk to me sooner or later. Should've figured it would be sooner."

Cream held his hand as he led her out into the kitchen.

Right now, he really needed her support, and she was going to be there for him.

"Internet's over, I'll never be sober

I couldn't believe…

But now I'm so high…

Internet's over, I'll never be sober

I couldn't believe…

But now I'm so high…

But now I'm so high…"

Tails stared up at the fluorescent lights of the elevator, bag slung over his shoulder. "Back to the weird choice of elevator music," he thought. He was still a little surprised he was back here so soon. They'd never given Eggman visit permissions so close together. It was usually a few months. He wondered if something had happened that made them move up this visit on the schedule for some reason or another.

His thoughts were interrupted by the soft ding and opening of the elevator door. He walked down the long hallway, surprised to see that the usual guards were replaced by two people he knew- Rouge and Shadow. He smiled awkwardly a little. "I wasn't expecting to see you guys down here," he said, surprised. "What's up with that?"

"Reassignment," Shadow grumbled.

"It's certainly been a while since I've seen you, foxy," Rouge said flirtatiously. "How have you been? Still tinkering with machines?"

Tails turned to face her, a passive aggressive smile on his face. "Oh, sure I've been doing that, but lately I've mostly been taking care of my temporary roommate." His eyes narrowed, but his fake smile didn't change one bit. "He's kind of a complete mess after his girlfriend of many years dumped him for someone she was seeing behind his back. It's a bit lonely up on that floating island surrounded by empty spots on the walls and in the living room his ex's things used to be. It's like a constant reminder of how she heartlessly tossed him aside like utter garbage."

A silence fell over the trio as Rouge stared at the kitsune, slack jawed. She never expected to be so thoroughly and utterly called out for her actions, let alone by him of all people. Shadow, on the other hand, felt differently about the situation. "Hmph," he muttered. "I never thought I'd hear you say something like that. I'm almost impressed…" Rouge shot him a dirty look, but couldn't bring herself to say anything.

"Well, I'd say it was nice catching up," Tails said sarcastically, "but in all honestly I don't like either of you! Mainly because you-" he pointed to Shadow, "-are technically in your sixties and yet you still walk around acting like a 14-year-old girl who just started listening to Linkin Park and visiting Hot Topic every weekend while ranting on Internet forums about how they hate their parents every day after they get back from school where they do nothing but hang out in the back of the class with the other weird kids who act pathetic and entitled."

Shadow's eyes widened in surprise, but Tails was far from done. The for turned his attention to the bat, pointing at her. "You, on the other hand, bother me because in the twelve whole years I've known you, you have literally not changed one bit. You're an overtly flirtatious gold digger who ruined her only healthy relationship in her entire life so she could date this guy-" he pointed to Shadow again, but kept his eyes locked on Rouge, "-and we both know that won't last at all. So now here you are, thirty, going nowhere in life, nothing going for you except your looks because let's face it, you have a garbage personality and the only person who who could stand it genuinely loved you and you kicked him to the curb for a brooding manchild."

The bat and hedgehog stared at the kitsune in utter disbelief. Tails rolled his eyes, a dumb smile on his face. "Oh what, didn't think the cute little kid of Team Sonic was capable of calling out exactly what kind of people you two are? Come on…" he shook his head disapprovingly before pointing to the metal door behind them. "Now if you could open the door back there for me so I can talk to a guy who literally blew up the freaking planet once and is still somehow more tolerable than the two of you combined, that would be just utterly fantastic."

Without saying anything, Shadow pulled out a Chaos Emerald and walked over to Tails, gripping his wrist with excessive force. He didn't even flinch, however. The adrenaline in his system was too high. Rouge banged against the metal door a few times, and in a flash of green, Tails was inside. "I'll be back in an hour," Shadow muttered. In another flash of green, he was gone.

Robotnik looked up from the table, a sad face turning to a weak smile. "Before we begin," Tails said, "they can't hear us unless we like, bang on the door right?"

The doctor looked at him with confusion. "Errrm… yes?" he replied.

"Ok good, I just wanted to make sure before I do this."

"Do wha-"

The kitsune threw his fists in the air in victory. "YEAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!"

The doctor leaned back in his seat, completely thrown off by Tails' sudden drastic shift in demeanor. "MMMM, I don't know what came over me back there but, OH," the kitsune started boxing the air, overcome with adrenaline and excitement. "Oh man, that- we are celebrating that tonight. Sweet Chaos, I can not believe I just did that. Ten years ago I wouldn't have done that. Oh jeez, I have come so far as a person, I need to give myself more credit. Oh man…" He slouched in the seat across from the doctor, suddenly out of breath.

"So… what was that about?" Eggman asked cautiously.

Tails stuck his thumb out towards the metal door. "I just told off Mr. Tight-Pants and Ms. My-Eyes-Are-Up-Here-Darling off pretty darn good, if I don't say so myself."

An impressed look crossed the ageing doctor's face. "You told them off? Really?"

"Yes! And now that the high from doing it has worn off, I'm realizing how scary that is and I don't wanna do it again."

The doctor let out a hearty laugh. "Oh, you bring me so much joy, Miles."

Tails scratched the back of his head. "I'm just a big dumb big goofball living my life." He looked at Robotnik with concern. "Are you doing alright? You looked really down when I walked in."

Eggman smiled sheepishly. "You caught that, did you? Who am I kidding, of course you did." He let out a depressing sigh.

"You wanna talk about it?" the kitsune asked with a smile.

The doctor nodded. "On one condition."

"Shoot."

"I want you to tell me who you have feelings for."

Now it was Tails' turn to lean back in surprise. "What?" he asked, dumbfounded. "You're… you're joking right?"

Robotnik shook his head and softly replied with a simple, "No." One look at the old man's face was proof enough he was not joking in any way.

Knowing full well he wasn't going to budge, the kitsune sighed. "I'm… in love with my best friend," he admitted softly.

The old doctor's eyes widened and he placed a hand on his chin. "Huh, really?" he asked, utterly flabbergasted. "I didn't know you were batting for that team."

Tails' eyes widened in panic. "No!" he yelled, waving his arms around in panic. "Nonononono! No! Not him! Sonic- no, ew, he's like my brother, I couldn't- no. Just no. I don't- I'm not- I mean, I have nothing against people who are, but- I just- ugh." His face fell into his hands in despair.

"Amy Rose!" he yelled, pulling his hands away from his face.

Blushing furiously, he looked away from the doctor and pushed his fingers together. "Amy Rose is my best friend these days," he admitted softly.

"Oh!" Eggman replied, instantly feeling apologetic. "I'm sorry for the confusion there, I just thought… Well, you know what they say about assumptions. When, umm… when did this happen?"

Tails let out a sigh before he spent half an hour explaining everything that had happened since they last spoke and how badly he loved the pink hedgehog. The whole time, Robotnik sat there, listening intently.

A smile crossed the doctor's lips. "You've got some good friends, Miles," he said. "You should absolutely tell her how you feel. You never know how much time you have left."

"That's easier said than done," Tails said solemnly. "I don't know if I'll ever find the courage to tell her."

"Hey, how's this for a motivating factor?" The doctor pointed his thumb towards himself. "This is what a guy who never got the guts to ask out a girl looks like."

The kitsune let out a hearty chuckle. "I'll keep that in mind, Ivo." He exhaled lightly. "Ok, your turn now."

Dr. Ivo Robotnik's happy expression faded almost instantly. He took a deep breath, then slowly exhaled. Clearly, he had rehearsed this very moment in his head for a while. "As you are aware, my cousin, Maria Robotnik, suffered from Neuro-Immune Deficiency Syndrome, something that my grandfather worked to try and find a cure for prior to his… descent into madness." He gulped down a lump in throat and continued. "Around… seven years ago, I had a routine medical check-up. It was then that they discovered an emergence of N.I.D.S. within my body. The reason it hadn't emerged sooner was partially thanks to all of my time I've spent in space throughout the years. Less gravitational force seems to… limit it, in a sense. That's why Maria was on Space Colony A.R.K."

The doctor took his glasses off his face. Tears were welling up in his eyes. Tails was not at all used to seeing the man who was once his arch nemesis in such a vulnerable position. "I've tried… everything," he continued. "I've allowed myself to be a vessel for science. Over the past seven years, I've donated so many DNA and blood samples to researchers to find a cure but… if my grandfather couldn't find one, I doubt they ever could." He wiped some tears away before continuing. "I've wasted… so much of my life away. And for what? Glory? World domination? Power? I could've been a doctor. A real one. I could've helped people like you and your friends. Instead, here I am- alone, broken, hated by the whole world."

The doctor looked Tails in the eyes. "I'm dying, Miles, and there's nothing I can do about it. Nothing at all."

The tension in the air at the dining room table was so thick, you could cut it. Vanilla had stepped out of the room at Charmy's request. It was just him, his girlfriend, and the purple chameleon he called his brother. It was some moments before the silence was finally broken. Espio set his tea down and eyed the bee from across the table gently. "So… you're really not coming back?" the chameleon asked.

Charmy shook his head. "No, I'm not," he confirmed. "I don't wanna be under the same roof as him. I don't even wanna work with him."

"Not even if he sincerely apologized to you?"

The bee scoffed. "If he sincerely, from the bottom of his money-grubbing heart, apologized to me after years of saying he'll 'get around to' apologizing to Mighty, then…" He shook his head. "Besides, I don't think he's sorry."

Espio closed his eyes. "I see."

"Why do you even hang out with him anyways? You didn't agree with Mighty getting kicked. You don't agree with how he puts me down and treats me like a child every chance he gets. He gets on your nerves more than anyone else. Why do you stick by that stupid croc?"

Cream put her hand on Charmy's shoulder, signaling for him to calm down. He obliged, easing up a little. Espio opened his eyes a little bit. "Can I answer your questions with a story?"

The bee rolled his eyes. "Fine."

Espio nodded and closed his eyes, recounting the tale from memory. "This is the story of the Punk and the Shinobi," he began. "In a distant land, there was a temple of proud shinobi warriors. Every day, they trained intensely in the ninja arts. Above all else, a ninja's greatest element is stealth. This was drilled into every student of the temple. However, one student rose above the rest. His skills as a warrior surpassed every other pupil at the temple. He began to refuse the instructions of his master, believing that, despite having so much left to learn, he had already become better than his own master."

Cream was listening to the story intently. She hadn't heard one of Espio's stories before, and she was on the edge of her seat. Charmy, on the other hand, had heard these stories plenty of times growing up. Because of that, he wasn't nearly engaged, but still listened. "He was a selfish, arrogant fool," Espio continued. "His master feared he was going down a path from which he could not return. Coincidentally, around the same time, a young, brash, loud punk had moved into town. A drifter on the streets, he slept in alleyways and made a ruckus around the town. People would often claim to have been beaten up by the man, and they hid from him when he entered shops. Seeing a chance to teach a lesson, the master sent his unruly pupil on a mission to keep watch of the punk.

The arrogant young student scoffed at his master. 'What a fool, the old man is!' he thought. 'Keep watch? How silly! I'll show this unruly outsider what happens to those who hurt others!' And so, the arrogant shinobi set out to find the punk. It was in an alleyway in the cold of night that he found the man, resting himself under some discarded newspapers. The arrogant shinobi attacked the man without a second thought. Caught completely off guard, the punk was no match for the shinobi's quick speed and advanced ninja techniques. Satisfied with the thorough thrashing he had dealt, the Shinobi returned to his master.

At the temple, the shinobi said excitedly to his master, 'Hear me now, old man! The wicked street punk was no match for my superior skills. That vile demon shall terrorize this town no longer!' He had expected his master to shower him with praises, but instead he was met with only the wise old man's look of disapproval. 'My boy,' he said to the shinobi, 'you have failed in your mission. Had you listened to me and watched him like I had asked you to, you would've learned the tales of him were exaggerated. True, he is unruly and rowdy, as all punks tend to be. However, he was not blindly assaulting people. Rather, he only attacked those who had attacked him first. I'm some cases, he had rescued others who were in danger. By failing to follow the simple task of watching him from the shadows- like a true ninja- you failed to learn this, and in turn, you failed your mission.'

The shinobi's world shattered to pieces. This couldn't be the truth, could it? But though he was a fool, he knew when his master told the truth. In his shame, he ran from the temple. He didn't stop running until he collapsed. Making use of his skills of stealth he had neglected up to that point, he hid himself away from the world. Other pupils came looking for him, but none saw him.

Eventually, the shinobi's guilt and shame overtook every thought he had. 'What man am I?' he screamed to the heavens. 'What man attacks an innocent bystander in the streets over some rumors? No great shinobi warrior would act this way. Oh, how I have led myself down the path of wretchedness! There is only one fate that can save me now.' With that, he leaped from a bridge, hoping to drown in the river below.

He was caught however, and pulled back up in one fell swoop of great strength onto the ground. 'What kind of a fool are you?!' his savior shouted down to him. 'All those ninja guys are looking all over for you, and this is how you repay them?! By going and dying on them?!' It was only then the shinobi recognized his savior. It was the punk, the same one he had beat up nights prior.

The shinobi fell to his knees, tears in his eyes. 'Oh! Forgive me!' he cried. 'It was I who assaulted you some nights ago when you were lying down for rest. Though I do not deserve it, I beg of you to reach into your heart and forgive me for my horrible transgressions. I am but an arrogant, selfish, fool, unworthy of saving!'

The punk stared down at the shinobi as he sobbed and begged for forgiveness. At last, he spoke. 'Tell ya what, kid. Since you're oh-so sorry and what not, how about you buy me a good breakfast at the diner? I haven't had a proper meal in weeks.' The shinobi looked up at him, puzzled. Surely that couldn't be enough of a repayment? He had beaten the man, only for him to save his life. All he asked for in return was a meal? That wouldn't fly with the shinobi.

Upon learning that his master had asked the punk to track down his missing pupil, the shinobi dedicated himself to aiding him in any way he could. The shinobi left the temple, thanking his master for all he had taught him. Together, he and the punk fled to another land, where they put their skills together to become private detectives."

Espio let out a small exhale and opened his eyes. He and Charmy stared at each other for a bit, neither saying a word. Cream broke down and processed the story in her head. "The shinobi…" she thought. "That must have been Espio, right? So then the punk…" She looked over at her boyfriend with concern. Just one look at his face was enough to tell her that this was his first time hearing this story as well.

The bee hung his head. "I understand," he mumbled. "But… I want Vector to apologize to Mighty before he even thinks of apologizing to me. Just… out of principle, you know?"

The chameleon nodded softly. "I respect your wishes," he replied. He picked up a cookie off his plate and looked at Cream. "Your mother's baking is simply elegant. Cherish the recipes she teaches you, and you shall go far in life."

"Uh, thanks?" Cream replied, confused.

The chameleon took a bite of the cookie and washed it down with a sip of tea.

"Don't worry, it's always like this with him," Charmy told her.

"I think…" Tails said into his phone. "I think you should visit him."

"Eggman?" Sonic asked from the other line. "Why should I see him?"

"Well… he told me he wants to see you. He wants to apologize to you."

The hedgehog cracked up with laughter. "Good one, little bro! Like that's ever gonna happen."

"I'm being serious, Sonic," Tails said forcefully. "I mean it. Today he told me that- that he-" This wasn't the time for him to get choked up, but yet he was.

"Hey, are you ok buddy?" his older brother asked, concerned. "I didn't mean to dismiss you or anything like that, it's just… it's really hard for me to believe. I don't feel like he's really changed."

"You haven't seen him in ten whole years, Sonic," Tails growled. "A lot can change in a decade."

"I… what did he say to you that made you think he's changed so much?"

The kitsune shook his head. "I… it's not my place to tell. You'd have to ask him yourself, understand."

Sonic paused. "Alright little bro, I understand. I'll get in contact with G.U.N. and talk about setting up a meeting."

"Good. Hey look, I gotta go, alright?"

"Alright. Hey before you go, any luck on that girl?"

"Working on it," Tails sighed.

"Gotcha. You keep working on it. I love you, little bro. Don't stress yourself out too much."

"Alright, love you too big bro. Bye."

Tails hung up his phone and sunk his face in his hands. "Oh Chaos," he mumbled. "Just let this week be over so can I get off the damn emotional rollercoaster already." He tried his best not to think about the fact that after everything he had been through all week, tomorrow he'd cap it off by talking to his ex he hadn't spoken to in half a decade. The soft whistling coming from the mouth of his red echidna friend snapped him out of his thoughts. Just as Knuckles grabbed the handle of the fridge door, Tails jumped to his feet and pointed straight at him.

"A distraction!" he yelled.

"WHERE?!" Knuckles yelled back in a panic, frantically looking around before the word registered. "Hey, wait a minute…" He glared at his two-tailed friend. "What's the big idea, huh?"

"You and I are going out to eat tonight!"

"Uh, why?"

"Because I told off your ex and her loser boyfriend at G.U.N. HQ pretty damn good today."

The echidna slid over the counter and hugged his friend tightly. "BRO, I LOVE YOU SO MUCH," he practically yelled in the fox's ear.

"Also," Tails continued, "because I got the most depressing news dropped on me today I really just don't wanna deal with processing that information right now."

"Woah, what?" Knuckles let go of his friend and looked at him with concern. "Do you wanna talk about that, bro?"

"No!" Tails pointed to the hangar door. "Get in the plane!"

"Are you sure? Cuz like, I'm here for you bro. You listen to my problems all the time, I'm more than willing to return the fa-"

"Get in the plane or you're paying."

Knuckles practically sprinted over the counter and toward the hangar door. "Getting my broke ass in the plane!" He yelled.

Tails shook his head at his friend's antics. "Oh, I am not ready for tomorrow at all," he muttered.

Author's Note: This one's pretty heavy. I just wanna say if you're upset about Mighty and Ray's relationship, I don't care. I'm bisexual myself, this is a story I want to tell. I'm not forcing anything on you. It's a small aspect of what is largely a straight-focused story (Tails x Amy). Normally wouldn't even put this disclaimer here, but it's been a pretty interesting week here in the U.S. So, yeah. Aside from that, hope you enjoyed this chapter. Really loving the support I've been getting. Remember to Read & Review. See you next time.