Yes, it's me again, and with my mind on a current silliness roll, I've decided to break up the madness with another sorta serious story. Don't groan. XD

As some of you may have picked up by now, I'm a big fan of the old SatAM 'toon (second only to the original Mega Drive games IMO) and for the more recent Sonic fans who missed out on this little gem, today's fic is a wee example of the relationship between Sally and Tails, one of the many li'l things that made the show such a favourite of mine in the first place. Also, it gives me a great way to relieve some stress from exam revision (First big test this Friday!)

Now, are you sitting comfortably? Then we may begin... (Sonic and co. are property of Sega, DiC etc)

"Heart-to-Heart"

by Professor Reginald Fortesque Vengeance (Esquire)

The dead of night on Mobius. Darkness had completely descended over the Great Forest, the knarled trees swaying eerily in the wind. Only the moon and the stars were able to light Tails' way. That, and the six or so red visor lights glowing from the SWATbots behind him.

Tails couldn't remember being more scared. The metallic soldiers had seemed to appear from nowhere and now he was sprinting through the wood with his namesakes whirling like a tiny tornado. He didn't know which way he was going and he didn't care. Just so long as it was as far away from his pursuers as possible. The trouble was that the SWATbots seemed to show no sign of tiring. On the contrary, it seemed like they were getting faster, catching up the young fox as their persistant laser fire blasted holes straight through the surrounding trees.

Cries of "FREEZE, PRISONER!" and "YOU ARE UNDER ARREST!" rang through Tails' ears as he fled for his life. His legs were aching and he could feel his rear appendages gradually begin to slow down. Suddenly, the SWATbots finally got a hit in. A laser shot managed to scrape the cub's tails, bringing them to a halt and sending him tumbling to the ground. Body stinging from the fall, Tails nursed his slightly singed namesake and saw his robotic enemies begin to close in. He tried desperately to get back up again, but simply ended up tripping over his own feet in panic. The soldiers were barely feet away now. Tails closed his eyes tight and accepted his fate...

Nothing.

He opened his eyes again and sat up. Something was standing between him and the SWATbots. Two people, in fact. Although he couldn't make out exactly who they were in the dark, a combination of the lights in the sky and the gleaming eyebeams of his foes meant that he could make them out as two adult foxes. He couldn't see round to their faces, but they still seemed somehow familiar to him.

"...Mom?...Dad?..."

No reply. The duo just stood there, blocking the SWATbots' route to Tails. This didn't last long, though. What appeared to be the leader of the robotic squadren stepped forward, a cannon in place of its right arm.

"RESISTANCE ENCOUNTERED!" it exclaimed, "HOSTILE FORCES MUST BE ERADICATED!" and with that, a sudden bang and a flash of white light engulfed the area. As vision was restored to all parties a few seconds later, Tails froze in horror. Two small piles of ashes could clearly be seen where his parents once stood.

"SEIZE THE PRISONER!" the chief ordered and the other SWATbots swarmed around the young cub. Tails kicked and yelled in a blend of fury and fear, but his mechanised captors proved too strong and pinned him to the ground. As he continued trying to fight the robots' grip, the leader made its way over and poised its cannon arm just above the fox's heart.

"FREEDOM FIGHTER TAILS ELIMINATED!" it proclaimed triumphantly and as their victim continued struggling and screaming, the cub saw a bright white light as he heard the rest of the robots chanting in their tinny voices, "TAILS! TAILS! TAILS! TAILS! ..."

"...Tails! Tails! Oh, come on, honey! Please wake up! Tails!"

With a horrified yelp, Tails' eyes flew open and he sat bolt-upright, nearly throwing Sally off the edge of the bed in the process. His eyes darted around the room as he took in his surroundings. He was back in his hut, the moon hanging brightly in the black sky outside his window and the clock on his bedside table fast approaching half eleven.

"Oh, Tails, thank Mobius you're alright!" the Princess sighed with relief, "Our meeting just finished, so I came in to check up on you and you were thrashing around and yelling to yourself..."

But Tails wasn't listening. Truth be told, the fox was still scared. His heart was still racing from what had just happened, images from the dream as fresh in his mind as they were a few moments ago. It had just seemed so real. The chase. The voices. The people...

"...Tails?"

The ten-year-old turned back round to Sally, revealing drooping ears and a quivering bottom lip. "Sweetie, it's OK", she cooed, swinging herself onto the bed and sitting next to him, "It was just a nightmare, that's all." But this did nothing to settle his fears. Unable to contain himself anymore, the young cub threw his arms around the chipmunk's middle and quietly began sobbing into her vest.

"Aw, honey", she whispered kindly, returning the hug, "C'mon, don't cry. It's all over now." For a few minutes, the scene remained much like this, Sally gently hushing the weeping fox while rubbing his back. It wasn't too long, though, before Tails started to calm himself down a little. The Princess' warm embrace was indescribably comforting, as if those arms of hers were shielding him from everything else in the world. He felt safe once more. He always did in moments like this with her.

"You feel a little better, honey?" Tails looked up into Sally's bright blue eyes and gave a little nod. "C'mere", she smiled in return and lifted the teary cub up onto her lap, allowing him to nuzzle up against her shoulder. "Now, you just sit here and tell Aunt Sally what happened." And so the fox recounted the events of the dream, his speech punctured by the occasional whimper as the Princess listened intently.

"...sniff...a-and then it fired an' - sniff - and t-there was this big white light..."

"I know, sweetie", Sally whispered, "I know, but it's OK now", and she gave him a little squeeze. But a thought at the back of her head told her that something wasn't quite right. It seemed to her as though Tails was thinking of something else as well. Granted, the major sobs had subsided by this time, but he still looked more miserable than she'd expected, even after all this affection.

"You sure you're alright, honey?" she inquired, "You wanna tell me what's on your mind?" The young fox shook his head. "Aw, c'mon, Tails. You can tell me. I won't tell anyone or get mad or anything. Promise." With a little sigh, the cub decided to give in and just tell her.

"Alright", he croaked, "It's just that...well...ever since you saw your dad in the Void, I've...I've kinda tried thinking about my own parents."

"...oh...", Sally said simply. Just a few short weeks back, the Freedom Fighters discovered the dimension where King Acorn had been banished by Robotnik. Unfortunately, he'd spent too many years in this other world and they couldn't bring him back to Mobuis. Doing so would turn him into a permanant crystal sculpture.

It was a moment before the Princess spoke again. Thinking of their all-too brief reunion wasn't pleasant. "...well...what have you been thinking of?"

"That's the problem", Tails replied bitterly, "I can't. I can't remember a thing about them." He gave another little sniffle before continuing. "It's just not fair. Everyone else here knows where they're from. Everyone else has a proper family. Everyone but me."

"Now, sweetie, you know that's not true", Sally reasoned, "My mom died just after I was born and Sonic never knew his parents either."

"I know that", the fox replied weakly, "But you still had your dad and Sonic had Uncle Chuck. At least they could tell you all about them." He paused. "I don't even know my own birthday 'cos of Robotnik..."

"Aw, honey..." Sally said softly and he gave her another little squeeze.

"I'm sick of being alone", he went on, his voice starting to break up again, "...I want my mom..." A few fresh sniffles left the young cub before he felt the Princess' hand cup his chin and slowly push his head up. The ten-year-old then found himself staring up at Sally's kind smile as she wiped some of the tears from his face.

"C'mere", she whispered and kissed him.

Once on the right cheek.

Once on the left cheek.

And once on the tip of the nose.

Tails blurted out a little giggle. No matter how low he felt, that always managed to perk him up, even the slightest bit.

"Tails, I know how hard this is for you", Sally assured him, "But we all know what you're going through. Everyone here has lost somebody because of Robotnik and one of these days, we're going to get them back." The fox simply nodded as she stroked his furry head. "And you're never really alone, y'know, honey", the Princess went on, "The people we care about are always with us, wherever we go."

And gently, she took hold of the cub's hand and placed it over his heart.

"Right here."

Tails looked back up into her face. A feeling of warmth and appreciation filled him up inside as a proper smile finally appeared through the last of the tears.

"Thanks, Aunt Sally", he said quietly and embraced her once more.

"Anything for my little trooper", she chuckled and readministered the Funny Kiss. The fox let slip another giggle. All was well with Miles Prower once more.

"You know", Sally grinned, glancing 11:40 on Tails' clock, "I still feel pretty wide awake. How d'ya fancy another little story?"

"Yeah!" the young fox cheered and quickly began sorting his messed bedsheets while the Princess went over to choose a book. The one she selected was actually a souvenir from Snively's personal library. Sonic had a habit of pilfering the Doctors' things after raids to take back home as 'trophies'.

"Ready, honey?" Tails nodded vigourously and unable to stop grinning herself, Sally sat back down on the edge of the bed and began to read.

"Once upon a time (or maybe twice), there was an unearthly paradise called Pepperland..."

She didn't have to continue for long, though. She had barely made it a few minutes in, when she looked up at Tails and found him sound asleep. The chipmunk beamed down at him. He seemed so much more peaceful compared to when she first entered the room.

"Goodnight, Tails", she whispered and kissed him once more on the forehead. A little smile told her that he'd felt it as she switched out his lamp and, quietly creeping across the hut, she closed the door over behind her and left the fox to a much happier dream than the one before.

Let's just say it involved himself, Sonic and a forest made of chilli dogs.

FIN.