"Gauche, droite, gauche, droite, gauche, droite!" Antoine commanded, marching proudly through Knothole Square. If the Royal Wedding required the Mobian military to be at their best, then he, Commander Depardieu, would make sure that the preceding parade would go down in history. For the history books and for the princess!

"Gauche, droite, gauche, droite…" the coyote pulled out his sword and held it like a parasol. "Preseeeeeent sabres!"

Smiling broadly at how well his rehearsal was going, he snuck a glance behind him…and halted in utter frustration.

The rest of the Royal Guard, while holding their sabres aloft, hadn't even moved from their original position.

"Vat are you done?!" He demanded, slapping his forehead. "Why are vous not marcheeng like your commandair?"

"Sir, if I may, sir," a young private pig called Porker Lewis ventured, "We don't know what you're saying when you're marching. The only command we know is present sabres"

Antoine considered this for a moment. "Pour ze benefit ov zose who 'ave crepes pour brains," he announced, clearing his throat, "ah shall explain! Gauche means left, droite means right"

"Left?" his men asked.

"Zat's right" Antoine grinned. "Now, let us try again!" Spinning on his heel, he replaced his sword back in the scabbard and began to march. "Gauche, droite, gauche, droite…" He looked back just to make sure they were… "NON, NON, NOOOOOOOON!" he bellowed, pulling his toupee off as a substitute for ripping his hair out.

The Royal Guard was marching right, left, right, left!

"Do vous want moi to court martial ze lot ov you?!"

"Sir, we're only following orders, sir!" Private Porker replied.

"Ah ordaired no such theeng!" an affronted Antoine spluttered.

"Sir, yes you did, sir!" the entire troop shouted. "You said gauche is right!"

The confounded coyote gave a frustrated whimper. "Troopz deesmeesed!" He abruptly bellowed. His soldiers scattered, talking audibly amongst themselves about a transfer to Lower Mobius.

"Having trouble with your men?"

Antoine gave a shriek of terror and brandished his saber. The fox who had asked the question jumped back in fear. This instantly made the calmed coyote back down. "A thousand apologies, Monsieur Tails," he muttered. "Ah am sorry, ah am just pressed"

"I think y'mean stressed" Tails moved closer as Ant put the sword away. "What're ya doin', anyway? All Sally wants you to do is that sword arch thingy at the wedding"

"Oh, ho, ho, young Tails," Antoine chuckled and patted the silly cub on the head. "Zere eez so much more pomp and circumference een ze military. When ah am een charge of ze Mobotropolis Royal Guard, eet will be ma responsibilly-billyty to protect ze land from all evil forces!"

"Evil forces?" Tails was puzzled. "'Twan, they're all gone. Buttnik's not here anymore"

Antoine shook his head mournfully. "Alas, eef zat were only true, my boy. As long as zere eez a position ov powair, zere eez always someone ready to abuse eet. Et ah shall be standeeng een eet's way!"

"What about Sonic?"

Antoine's expression became a little frosty at this. "Well, Sonique will be too busy being ze prince, will 'e not?" he replied. "So zat weell leave moi to fill ze vacuum cleanair! Et ah once 'eard Mademoiselle Bunnie say she loves a man een uniform…" he added dreamily.

Tails sniggered. "I always thought you loved Sally," he pointed out, half amused and half assuming he'd put his foot in it. To his surprise, the coyote before him didn't burst into tears or angrily dismiss him. Instead, he gave a wistful smile and shook his head.

"Vous thought wrong," he sighed. "Ma love for ze preencess left moi a long, long time ago…last year. Eet was when Bunnie made 'er affection pour moi known zat ah realized ah'd been looking een ze wrong director"

Tails felt he should really be happy for Antoine: at least the coyote knew exactly what he wanted to do with his life after being a Freedom Fighter. For all the fox knew, 'Twan was probably planning his wedding with Bunnie. Antoine was ten steps ahead of him. Everybody was moving on. Sonic and Sally would rule Mobius, Bunnie would marry Antoine: she'd probably become the world's best hairdresser, Rotor would run a garage.

What could HE do? Yes, he was a genius at building and repairing machinery. He could invent anything he put his mind to! So could Rotor. Taking into consideration that Rotor was older and had more experience, Tails felt he'd be left in the dust if he ever tried to find work in that field. There must be something else he was good at.

It was then that he remembered something else he was good at…

"Umm, Antoine," the fox ventured in an oddly shy tone. "Would you be interested in me joining the military band?"

"You, Monsieur Tails?" Antoine scratched his head. "Ah deed not know vous played an eenstrument!"

"Yeah, I do!" Tails was indignant. "I took up the tuba, remember!"

"Exactement!" Antoine affirmed. "Ah deed not know vous played an eenstrument!"

"Sally said I can play!" Tails argued. "She said I play her favorite song beautifully!"

"Really?" Antoine raised an intrigued eyebrow. "Well, eef ze preencess says vous can play, zen ah believe her! Vat's ze song called, ah might know eet"

"It's called Parp," Tails replied with a proud smirk. "It's only one note and Sally cries every time I play it for her!"

"Oh" Antoine's expression was deadpan, his tone one of flat disappointment. "Not a good marcheeng song, no?"

"No," Tails knew this metaphorical ship was sinking and tried to grab for a lifeline. "B-But it's better than nothin'! And I'll learn more songs!"

"At ze moment, we 'ave notheeng," Antoine replied. "We don't 'ave a military band!"

The teenage cub felt his heart sink. Another opportunity was up in smoke. It must have shown because the coyote looked sympathetic. "Vat ah was meaning to be saying eez zat we don't 'ave a military band, boot een a few month's time, we shall! Ah joost deed not theenk vous wanted to be a musician, though…"

"I…didn't…" Tails admitted. "I was just trying to move on…"

"Move on? Where from?" Ant felt sure the fox was about to cry.

"Aww, it's…it's nothin' for you to worry about, 'Twan," the downcast cub dismissed. "You just focus on perfecting your role for the wedding. Leave worrying about my future to me…"

The puzzled canine was about to say that he'd never mentioned anything about the future, when Tails suddenly took off and hovered away much more slowly than usual.

Antoine was somewhat confused at what had just happened. He was about to continue his training when he realized that he'd just dismissed his men. He wondered whether he should talk to Sonic or Sally about this discourse he'd had with Tails…when Bunnie came along to fit him for a suit and he began to fantasise about his own wedding.

Not even the sensation of the cool, refreshing water lapping against his furry toes could improve Tails' mood. He sat on the log near the Ring Pool, ignoring the chafing sensation in his rear. Technically, he was practicing his role as ring bearer. Sonic had used a Power Ring to propose to Sally: who's to say they wouldn't use the same kind of bands at the ceremony?

It was a miracle that he still had teeth considering how many times he'd put his foot in his mouth today. Suggesting to Rotor that he was leaving, weirding Sally out with his stupid comment and now making a fool of himself in front of Antoine.

"Well," he thought. "This won't stop you leaving, will it? You'll have to! Everyone else is. Nobody sticks around forever. It was Sally who taught you that"

This temporarily derailed his train of thought. When did Sally ever tell him that? Before now, anyway.

"Remember Baby-T?" his thoughts persisted. "You know? When everyone was way too busy to play Dirt Hockey with you, and you found your bestest friend but your Aunt made you say goodbye to him?"

Tails shook his head. That didn't seem right.

"Your mom and your big brother were always happy to leave you behind for days on end while they went on missions. But when you finally found someone who would always be there for you, they said he had to be with his own family. Knowing full well you didn't have one" that nasty voice wouldn't let up.

Tails shut his eyes so tightly, it hurt. What his subconscious was saying wasn't true. He remembered exactly what had happened when he had parted ways with Baby-T…

"See y'all round, lil' doggies!" Bunnie called as the Freedom Fighters waved goodbye to the terapod herd for the last time.

"Bye…Bye…Tails!" the translator device around Baby T's neck croaked, "I'll…nev…er…for…get…you!"

The young two-tailed fox, who'd been putting on a brave face, closed his eyes as if to shut off the world. This didn't go unnoticed by everyone else there.

"Well, the terapods are home," Rotor quickly interjected before the tears could fall. "We may as well go back to ours"

The two parties turned and set off in different directions: the terapods clumping and lumbering down to the sandy beach of Boulder Bay, and their defenders back into the Great Jungle, bound for Knothole.

"Think we'll run into Buttnik on the way back?" Sonic asked far too nonchalantly. Deep down, the fastest thing alive knew the answer, but he just wanted to take his foxy friend's mind off of what had just happened. Valiant though this attempt was, it was ultimately fruitless.

Sally on the other hand had gone oddly quiet after sharing her mock irritation at the hedgehog's attitude rubbing off on the young dinosaur. Her eyes were fixed on the fox in front of her, watching his twin namesakes slowly droop lower and lower until he was dragging them behind him.

The princess had conflicted feelings about the two friends bidding farewell. It had been her who had said Tails had to say goodbye. He seemed to understand that Knothole was no place for such a large creature. That keeping Baby-T would have been cruel since he would never see his family again. Sally had assumed that Tails would say goodbye and they would all go home…

Until Baby-T had declined her nephew's plea for him to return with them and had instead given a counter offer. One which made her blood run cold. "No…" her thoughts had begged. "No, it's not practical. Tails, don't…"

The idea of Tails leaving to go and live with these beasts wouldn't work. True, he'd be with his friend, but what good would life among the terapods be in the long run? The chipmunk had felt her heart nearly stop at the very likely possibility that she'd have to leave the cub behind.

But, to her surprise and relief, Tails had refused, telling the baby dinosaur that he was needed at home. The little cub had no idea just how right he was.

Now…now…Sally felt dreadful. She sensed that, although her charge had only known the gentle creature for a day, he had made a friend. One that had been there for him. And he'd had to let that friend go. It had been her who'd told Tails that Baby-T had to be with his family. Her who had forced Tails to say goodbye. Her who had been thankful that Tails had turned down his friend's proposal to stay.

Nobody spoke. Everyone was at a loss at just what to say or do.

Finally, the silent jungle was filled with a gentle sniffling. Sally felt her heart begin to break in two as the sound of the cub weeping bitterly brushed her eardrums.

"Awww, now, c'mon, Big Guy!" Perhaps it was a relief that Sonic had stepped in. So guilty had she felt, that she thought that her mere presence would upset Tails even more. "Ya did the right thing. Baby-T's back where he belongs! Eggman can't get him now!"

"I-If I did the…the r-right thing," Tails sobbed. "Th-Then why d-do I feel so bad?"

"Sometimes the right way feels like the ol' wrong way," the hedgehog stated. "You were so brave today! It takes guts to do what you did!"

"B-Brave?" Tails turned his reddened eyes to his brother. "I didn't save you from the quicksand! I-I didn't save Mama-T!"

"That don't matter, T2," Sonic scoffed. "Bein' brave doesn't just mean bein' a hero like me. It means knowing when to say goodbye. Like I said before: Baby-T would never be truly happy with us. He'd miss his mom"

"Y-Yeah, well…at least he has a mom!"

If Sally's heart had been split in two, it had shattered into a million fragments with this tearful reply. Tails covered his eyes and looked down, his appendages wrapping around his legs.

"Oh, Tails!" She heard herself say, and she rushed forward to hug the broken cub.

Before she knew it, Bunnie was also embracing Tails too. So was Sonic…and then Rotor.

"N-Now, Sugah-Fox, don't take it so hard!" Bunnie herself couldn't hide her anguish. "Look at us! N-None of us know where our parents are! Y-Y'all ain't alone on that!"

"I dunno about your mom, little buddy," Rotor chimed in. "But if she was anything like me, she'd be proud of you right now!"

"I am!" Sally blurted out.

Everyone else relinquished their embrace to look at her, and she suddenly felt embarrassed to have said this out loud.

This was short-lived, as the flame of embarrassment was snuffed out by the Fastest Thing Alive. "We're your family, Tails. Everyone here. You weren't wrong, y'know, Big Guy. We do need ya!"

"Y-You do?"

"We do," Sally confirmed, relieved that this semi-confession had been so well-received. "We really do, Tails. Nothing will ever change about that"

"Awwww," Bunnie cooed, her eyes swimming in tears of joy. "Bring it in, all 'o' ya!"

The five friends embraced once more.

Tails shook his head. He'd been daydreaming. But he'd proven that voice wrong. Sally had been right: Baby-T wouldn't have wanted to stay with them. He'd been upset about leaving his new friend, but as time went by, he'd gotten over it. Sally had promised that they'd return to Boulder Bay and visit, but Robotnik had kept them occupied. Not only that, but their journey home had been the first of many fleeting times that Sally had told him that she was his mom. From that moment on, the fox had begun to see everyone around him as his family: Sally was his mother. Sonic was his big brother. Bunnie was his big sister. Rotor was his cousin and soon became his mentor. Antoine, though he hadn't accompanied them to Boulder Bay, was his uncle.

"Yeah…YEAH!" he declared out loud. "The Freedom Fighters needed me and I needed them! We're family, no matter what happens! Baby-T had his family and I had mine! Take that, self-doubt!"

"I guess you're right," the voice conceded. "You sure showed me. But how come your family's all leaving YOU? Why's your mom dumping you after she told you to dump Baby-T?"

This simple, yet spiteful, question stopped Miles Prower in his tracks. He didn't know how to answer his own mind. In fact, the more he thought about it, the more it seemed like a good question. Sally had taken his friend away from him, and now she was taking herself away as well!

"But it doesn't matter does it?" the voice asked. "You're hitting the road after the work is done. Then again, better to rid yourself than for her to rid you, wouldn't you say?"

Tails felt it. His goodwill leaking out of his heart like a sieve. Sally was going to start a new life without him the moment the wedding was over. Maybe he was the equivalent to Baby-T in her eyes: once they reached their destination (Boulder Bay for his saurian friend, the rebuilding of Mobotropolis for him) she'd say goodbye and that would be the end of it.

That night, Sally made her way over to Tails' hut. She knew that Sonic was right: ideally she should wait for her son to come clean on his own terms. But this was different. The cub's behavior had been too peculiar for her to ignore. She was going to get to the bottom of it, or at least decipher what it was. But that wasn't the only reason she was calling round.

In her paws, she carried two small cases. Ever since she had announced her engagement, news had spread across Mobius like wildfire. She'd ignored offers of bridal gowns, jewelry and other wedding paraphernalia from the likes of Wes Weasley, a sleazy salesman from Lower Mobius. She'd preferred to do things her way, and as such, she and Sonic had found wedding rings of their own. As their ringbearer, she would leave the precious bands with Tails. She knew he would guard them with his life.

It didn't matter how upset he was, the chipmunk always had faith that her little fox would always be true blue. "My little fox," she thought with a scoff. "Now I really DO feel like a mother"

Placing one ring case atop the other, she used her free hand to rap on the front door. "Honey," she called out. "Ohhh, Hooo-neeeeey? Are you home?" Silence was her only answer, and that in of itself was a contradiction.

The princess tried to stay calm. Taking a deep breath through her nose and out through her mouth, she slowly opened the door and crept inside.

The hut was quiet, but to her relief, it was occupied. There was Tails, nestled under the blanket.

Sally sighed lovingly and for a brief moment, she flew back in time to when Tails was younger and the tradition of a bedtime story was still running strong. Her eyes turned to the shelf, full of books that hadn't been taken down for a good while, including Tails' favorite about the talking teddy bear. It didn't matter how old he was: he would always be the little kit that she'd found thirteen years ago.

"Times really have changed," her mind told her heart. "But my love for the boy before me won't. I'll find out what's the matter or die trying"

The floorboards groaned and creaked softly as she walked over to the bed. Tails' body was covered by the blanket, but his legs and namesakes were sticking out of the foot of the bed. In a sense, it was almost as if he'd hastily gotten in when he'd heard her knock.

Sally's eyes seemed to scan every part of the blanket covered vulpine even better than NICOLE ever could. There was something…artificial…about the way he was sleeping.

A playful little smirk crossed her lips.

"I guess he really is asleep. But the only way to know for certain would be if his tails were wagging!"

As if on cue, the twin appendages began to swing from side to side.

"DOH!" her cub grunted in an oddly frustrated tone.

"Hiya, Cloud," she tugged the comforter away. "Fooled ya, huh?"

"Whadda you want?" came the surprisingly gruff reply.

Sally's eyes widened and her eyebrows rose. "Miles!"

"That's my name"

"Please don't talk to me like that!"

"Anything you say, your majesty"

The scandalized chipmunk was about to reprimand the cheeky cub, who was looking sullenly at her, when she stopped herself. "It's this acting that I need to find the cause behind"

"Someone's a little cranky, it seems," she smirked.

"Well, you'd be cranky if I barged into your boob-dour and woke you up for no reason" Tails snapped.

Sally suppressed a snort of laughter. "I think you mean boudoir, honey"

"Is that why you're here? To wake me up so you can laugh at me?"

"No," Sally tried to remain undeterred. "I wanted to talk to you"

"Can't it wait until morning?"

"My tail couldn't…" Sally mentioned.

"Your tail?" The fox looked puzzled. Wasn't it Bunnie who was her maid of honor and the budding hairdresser? Then he remembered what Sonic had told him about her "sense" a few years back. "What's up? You think I wet the bed or something?"

"No," his temporary mother crossed her arms. "But you'll be in a lot of trouble unless you let up with this sulk. And my tail won't be responding to that trouble!"

This started to make Tails more curious than ever before. "So, why have you come here?"

Sally sat down, forcing him to move his legs out of her way.

"Honey, what's the matter with you? A day or two ago, you were the happy little ball of sunshine we know and love. Now, you fall out of bed because of a nightmare and you're acting strange. Running away, making strange comments…what's it all about?"

"What comments?"

"I think you know, Miles. Saying I'd never go away if you kept wearing your tuxedo. I thought I told you last night. I would never cast you out!"

The pause that followed her statement lasted almost an eternity. The chipmunk knew that her son was considering what to say to her. If he was telling the truth, he'd have responded instantly.

"I was…I…" Tails replied cautiously. "…Thinking about Baby-T"

Sally cocked her head, confused at this. "Baby-T? What about him?"

"The baby terapod!" Tails threw his arms open in frustration, making her jump. "The one who played Dirt Hockey when you didn't have time for me, remember? The one YOU made me ditch! You always promised we'd go visit him in Boulder Bay, but we never did!"

If Sally wasn't already baffled, she certainly was now. This was the explanation for his surliness? "He's acting like this because of Baby-T? I…I don't understand!"

"N-Now that's not fair!" She protested, guilt beginning to emerge like blood from an open wound. "We were at war! Robotnik…"

"J-Just lay off me, okay?!" Tails barked abruptly. "You're not my mom!"

The princess' eyes widened and she stood up from the bed so quickly, anyone would have thought she'd sat on boiling lava. What had he just said? He would never…He…

"I…y-yes. That's true. Y-You're not my flesh and blood…" Sally began to feel pain and anger. "B-But I won't have you ruining our big day! So, if you know what's good for you, you'll drop this new…"

"Fine, then," Tails didn't shout, but his words were equally deafening. "It'll just be like the missions. I won't come"

Another long silence reigned, only this time, it was Sally trying to find a response. "You don't mean that," voice cracking, she sounded more like she was in denial. "You have to come, you're…you're our ring bearer. You're upset, and you're saying stupid things. You've said things like this before. I'll find out what's wrong with you, and I'll help you in any way I can…" she felt her sorrow rise to the surface. "But you have to help me, Cloud. Tell me…"

Tails turned away, torn between the nasty voice, telling him she was using crocodile tears, and his heart telling him to take back what he'd said right now. "I know one way you can help…" he felt a voice that sounded like his own telling her.

"Really?" he heard her respond hopefully, as if relieved she'd gotten through to him. "What is it?"

"Leave me alone," he heard his voice mutter, still refusing to look at her. "Let me rest…" Why did it feel like he hadn't said that, when the words had slithered from his mouth?

Even while staring at the wall, he almost felt the pain and disappointment on his temporary mother's face. "Well, this isn't the end of our conversation," she murmured, making him wonder if she was saying this to herself rather than him. "Tomorrow, w-when you're in a better mood, I'll get to the bottom of this problem…good night…"

The two-tailed fox folded his arms, which made him look childish but he didn't care. "W-Well, before I go," the saddened princess persisted, "at least tell me why you call me Sally"

"It's your name, isn't it?" he replied, irritated at her method of stalling.

"I know it is," she hastily confirmed, "but up until you had that nightmare, y-you called me Aunt Sally…and then Mom…Aren't I y-your mother?"

"I'm too old for stuff like that," he bluntly explained. "Now can I sleep?"

A dejected Sally rose and turned, absentmindedly rubbing her arm and feeling her tail tingle. Delicately, she placed the two small boxes on the bedside table and gave a deep sigh. "How sweet to be a cloud…floating in the blue…" she sang softly. Tails' ears pricked up. "Every little cloud…always sings aloud…" the chipmunk began to walk slowly towards the front door.

Upon hearing his favorite lullaby, the fox felt his heart soften. But his mind stopped it. "It's a facade," the nasty voice reminded him. "Don't let it fool you…"

The door creaked sluggishly open, the fox well aware that his fake mother was purposefully lingering, trying to get him to crack. He folded his arms even more tightly and hunched his shoulders. Finally, the door clicked shut, but not before she sang the rest of the lullaby.

The moment he was sure he was alone, he turned to face the door, a lump forming in his stomach. "Don't back down, that's what she wants!" the nasty voice ordered. "Dump her before she dumps you!"

Tails willed his eyes to flicker away from where Sally had stood, and they fell upon the cases on his bedside table. "Hey, you forgot these!" he wanted to call out. Doing so would mean she'd come back, and he didn't want to see her. His curiosity getting the better of him, he picked them up and opened the lid on the first one.

Inside was a golden wedding ring topped with a beautiful glowing sapphire. Tails would have had to reassess his mental state if he didn't know who would be wearing this. Which meant…

Reluctantly, he opened the other case and saw his not-mother's ring, topped with a ruby: which matched her hair… Upon taking a closer look, he noticed a folded piece of paper nestled alongside the ring in the emerald green tissue.

"Typical," the voice tried to sneer. "She left the receipt!"

For the first time since that afternoon at the Ring Pool, Tails ignored this and his curiosity overtook his resentment. Reaching delicately, he plucked the paper from the box and unfolded it.

For My Little Angel,

I'm so proud of you.

Mom

Tails felt like the bottom had dropped out of his stomach. This was why she came to his hut. She was probably going to tell him how wonderful he was. How much he meant to her, which was why she and Sonic had appointed this role to him. They trusted him with their rings… And what had he done? Pushed her away, over one bad memory that his self-doubt had blown out of proportion.

Tails wrapped his namesakes around him to stifle his sobs. His nightmare was real, and he himself had brought it to fruition.

"I ruin everything…"