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Description
Mina Mongoose was a star, and had been since she was a kid. Most people would have never thought her and Tails would have gotten together, but once they went out once as teenagers, everything clicked for the both of them. She, like Tails, had been looking forward to a family for a long time-with Tails, she had found just that.

She was wearing a dark turquoise dress with a purple belt that matched her hair, which she had started cutting to chin length a few months previously. Her deep blue eyes were sparkling with both relief of finally being home, and love, as both her kids ran out to meet her.

"Awwwww, hey there! Oh, and Skye too! Isn't this a surprise!" She exclaimed gleefully, as both Melody and Skye ran out to meet her. As both kids seemed to fight over who got to hug her the most, Tails took his time walking out into the living room, smiling bright at the sight of his wife again after an entire day.

"Hey hon, welcome home."

Mina gave her husband a sentimental look, and then chuckled, holding her arms open after maneuvering the kids to the sides of her.

"Come on, you! There's plenty of room!"

And the family embraced for the first time in a day and a half. Skye was the first to break away, the excitement of his mom was starting to fade already, and his previous thoughts returned to him. He began moving away shyly, and both his parents noticed it this time. Tails only watched him, but Mina, unaware of the situation, gave her son a worried look.

"Honey, what's the matter?" She began, and then smiled as he glumly sat on the couch and lay down. "I got those special dessert treats you like before I came home!" Before she could go sit with him, Tails put a hand on her shoulder, giving her a "I'll explain in a bit" look. Mina nodded, leaving it to Tails, and went about her business in the kitchen, putting things away, as Melody helped her.

"...Skye, if you want to prove to Sonic that he doesn't need to worry about you and Manik, then maybe it's time we tried to learn how to fly again," Tails said. "laying around and thinking about it won't get you very far after all, will it?" He chuckled, sitting down next to the boy and gently stroking his hair again. Skye didn't move. "I didn't master it right away you know, sure I practiced a lot as a little kid, but it took a while before Aunt Sally or Sonic would let me fly around freely. And an even longer time before they thought I was good enough to use it in combat with them against Eggman's forces."

Skye suddenly became interested again. He sat up and looked at his father curiously and full of wonder. Was there hope for him after all?

"So, did you try anything to get better when you practiced...besides just trying?" He asked hopefully. Tails blinked, and laughed.

"You mean, 'techniques'?"

"Yeah, those!" The elder fox laid back into the couch, as his mind traveled more than 30 years previous. As a kid, Sonic was supportive of Tails' ability, often saying it was the boy's own "Do it, to it" ability. As for ways he had practiced to first master it, only two things came to Tails' mind. They worked for him, but would they work for Skye? A glimmer came Tails' eye, and he looked over Skye carefully, thinking.

The kit gave a nervous look, but also an impatient one. He store at his father as he watched him and smirked at him. What on earth was he thinking? Had he thought of something?

"Well dad?..."

"Yeah...there is something."

The prower family house was by the woods, near the beach, and in a key location of the neighborhood all at the same time. On one side, was the beautiful view of the neighborhood, and in the distance a short ways, Castle Acorn. The backyard was tremendous, and though there were no swing sets or play things since Tails believed in playing with each other was a better way to have fun, Skye spent a lot of his time out there-especially in the summer when it was hot.

Tails was the first to talk outside and feel the soft air blow across his face, making his bangs dance ever so slightly. He sniffed the air and moved out onto the porch, then promptly sat down on one of the wooden benches. His sky blue eyes watched his kit son as he too walked out onto the deck, looking over the backyard and then to his father, still unsure of how this would help him. Tails smiled and winked.

"This is our new training ground."

Skye blinked, and then looked at the backyard again. He almost laughed, but his dad appeared to be completely serious. Again, he looked to his father for direction, and Tails looked over the yard as if it were something to be taken seriously. Skye sat down on the bench next to him-like a baby chick always followed its mother.

"There's enough space back here, it's private, and I like it back here." Tails explained. "It's also flat, so nothing to get in the way." He then got up from his spot and jumped off the railing, down a few feet onto the shimmering green grass that blanketed the field. Skye took the steps.

"So then…what are the techniques?" The kit asked eagerly. All he got was his puff of hair ruffled.

"I'm getting to it, ok? Just listen to what I have to say first." Tails stated gently. He knelt down so he was eye level with his son, and then looked at him seriously. Skye gulped, almost sweating, and they hadn't even started yet. The elder fox put one arm around him.

"What I'm going to show you is a two step process, that should get you airborne the way I do, and then from there we'll work on speed. Okay?"

Skye nodded and smiled happily, his sweat was vanishing and being replaced by adrenaline pumping through his veins. He felt ready for anything-he not only wanted to make sure no one worried about him and Manik, he wanted to prove himself to everyone as well. The fox watched as Tails walked out about ten feet away from him, and then faced sideways from him.

"Watch." He said, as his twin tails slowly began to turn and turn clockwise, faster and faster, until the grass blades for almost fifteen feet behind him began blowing in the artificially made, natural breeze. Soon enough, his tails became a blur, a helicopter's blades, but smaller, and sideways. Tails placed his foot behind him and squatted a little, as if he was about to run.

"WHAA!" A moment later and Skye was thrown off his feet. He went tumbling in a ball across the lawn, and then quickly regained his footing to see what his father was doing. The older fox as a mid blur himself; he was dashing across the yard in all directions, zigzagging through at high speeds, sending fallen leaves from the trees around the house flying into the air as he passed them.

Skye was left near speechless-he knew his father was fast enough to keep up with Sonic, but he didn't know he could do this as well. He was trying to learn how to fly, but this seemed almost better.

As Tails came to an abrupt halt in front of the boy, the speed, sound and wind force all hit the two of them, making their fur wave one last time, before everything was silent and still. Skye was speechless.

"That is the first step to our 'training'." He said, and that was all. He then patted the boy on his head, and sat on the middle step of the porch, getting comfortable and watching him, waiting to give him directions on how to do what he had just displayed.

Skye felt his stomach churn. Could he really do that? He was determined to make his father proud of him, but he didn't know if he could ever achieve speeds of that level. He ignored his thoughts, and began desperately spinning his tails, and once they went as fast as he could make them go, began to sprint around the yard.

The main difference was the tail spinning speed, Tails thought, as he watched Skye run around the yard, tails spinning more or less cutely than what Tails had done. You could still plainly see Skye's appendages spinning, where as Tails were a blur. This meant there were now three steps to do. He needed first to get Skye to build up his tails' strength, and in doing so, be able to spin them faster and for longer periods.

"Alright, come here." Tails asked, smiling happily, as he looked at his feet resting on the wooden step. Once he saw Skye's shadow in front of him, he looked back up. "What we need to do is get your tail spinning speed up faster. That's nowhere near enough the speed you need to get."

Skye's ears fell as he heard the news. More training. He sighed and sat on the step next to him, feeling his father's eyes watching him still.

"But…how do I do that?"

Tails remained silent for a moment, and then put his hands on his knees, stood up and stretched a little. He crossed his arms and looked down at the boy.

"Doing exercises with your tails of course. Not just speed, power."

Skye looked down at his shoes for a moment. He thought of Knuckles, Sonic and his father's friend, guardian of the Master Emerald, who could punch through stone like it was a wall made of bubbles. At was at this thought, that his ears suddenly perked up sharply, and another overflow of determination hit him.

"…Alright! Will you stay out here and watch me?" The kit asked excitedly. Tails winked and gave him a thumbs up.

"You think I'd want to miss out? I'll stay here, and you can exercise as much as you want, but on three conditions." He waited for Skye's full attention, before he held up three fingers. "One: You take fifteen minute breaks every hour or so. Two: When your mom calls for dinner, or she needs something from me, we go in temporarily. Three: Your bed time is still ten." At the last one, Tails grinned as the kit gave a long groan, and they both laughed.

Therefore, it was like that for several days. For two weeks, Skye put his heart and soul into training. He went outside from noon until eight-thirty, and Tails watched his son exercise and slowly but surely his tails grew stronger. After the first few days, Tails changed Skye's training from simply hard exercising to running and strength exercising. As his tails got pure strength, they got faster at spinning as well. After a week and a half, Skye was on the breakthrough to speeds near what Tails was capable of, until one morning...

"DAD! Haha! Come look! Look at me!"

The commotion of high pitch laughter and joy coming from outside was compelling, and not only Tails, but Mina and Melody as well. They rushed out onto the deck blanketed in the afternoon sun, and there was Skye, almost a blur as he darted around the yard as swiftly and with even more grace then what Tails could normally do at even his best. The three were near speechless, but a moment later the blur hit the bottom step of the porch, and laughing and smiling, Skye flew headfirst into his father and the two fell over laughing.

Tails became silent as Skye got off of him; he stroked the kit's cheek and gazed into his young face, pride and joy for his son's achievement lit all over his face.

"You're...incredible. You want to learn the final part yet? Or do you want to take a little break first?"

Tails didn't need to ask; Skye jumped off of him, and the two headed off onto the lawn as Mina and Melody both watched, wrapped in attention. Tails stood in front of Skye, knelt down, and took hold of his shoulders. He was still smiling, but tried to retain some seriousness as the fox readied himself.

"I want you to go at it like nothing before!" Tails yelled as if he were a professional coach, but still grinning as he pushed down on Skye's shoulders. He knew this would be the easiest part of all. With his tails and body strong enough, he just needed to gain a head start, and that would be all there was to it. "Spin those tails and try to break through me! Come on!"

Skye smirked and did so. In no time flat, his tails began spinning like propellers, leaving his sister and mother to clap and cheer in the background. Tails continued to push down, as the pressure from Skye's kinetic energy being created from his whirling tails began to push his father forward. Tails shook his head and smiled wider.

"That's it! Keep pushing until you can-WHOOSH"

Before Tails could even finish his sentence, Skye quite literally bowled him over. And as Tails was sent onto his back, he watched with overflowing pride, his son begin to dominate the air and sky above their house, backyard and a little bit of the forest surrounding it. This was how Sonic and Sally felt when he could help them out in the field, he thought. He got up and simply crouched, resting his hands on his knees as he watched the boy yell with both joy and accomplishment. Mina and Melody ran out onto the field as well, sharing more vocally than Tails, but equally as proud.

After a long while, Skye came back down, and it was only on good instinct that Tails caught him as the boy somewhat tumbled out of the sky and into his father's arms. Tails chuckled.

"Seems we need to work on landing's a bit, huh?" He said, letting the boy get off of him before he got up and rubbed the grass and dirt off of his own bright orange fur.

"Haha, yeah! Did you see! I...I can do it! I did do it! Dad...I'm so...I've never been so glad I have two tails!" Skye exclaimed, his eyes getting watery as he hugged his father around his waist. Tails shook his head and barely stopped himself from sharing the intense tears of happiness as well, as he grabbed the boy around his midsection and picked him up.

"And I've never been as proud of you as I am right now."

Skye sniffed and buried his face into the fox's shoulder, as Tails held him there and patted his back softly. And it was only a moment later afterwards, that Skye picked up his head again and smirked at Tails.

"Hey dad?"

"Hmmmm?"

"...Call Uncle Sonic, Manik and I have a game of race-tag I want you and him to watch."

In a way, it wasn't that far fetched to feel a little bad for Manik. Not only did he have no idea that Skye had come so far this quickly, but he was under the impression that he should take it easy on the fox kit-for fear of his father's wrath if he caused Skye anymore accidental harm. So even as Manik and Skye got to the starting line, and their parents and a few friends gathered on the sidelines, Manik was already nervous, while Skye smirked confidently. A reverse of roles since only two weeks previous.

Watching from those sidelines were the king and queen themselves, Tails, Mina, Melody and a few of Sonic and Tails' old friends as well. Tails had apparently requested Sonic personally invite more people than just themselves to make things more interesting.

"Alright..." Melody announced over the Smalltalk from everyone. She then walked to the center of the two boys and raised her hand. Tails and Sonic stood by each other on the closer side to Manik. The elder fox smiled and gently nudged the hedgehog in his side.

"So, ready to be astounded like I sounded over the phone?" Sonic chuckled, then winked back.

"Well, if it's anything TOO amazing, I may just have to tell the media I did it instead!" He said grinning cockily. Tails rolled his eyes and nudged him harder.

"Pffft, oh that was bad."

As the two laughed together for the first time in a while, Skye and Manik store down the long opening path of the "racetrack". Melody raised her arm higher, and then looked to both her brother and her "cousin".

"Alright you guys! Ready?"

"You know it!" Manik exclaimed, giving a thumbs up.

"Mhmm!" Skye added, before melody swung her arm down a few anticipating moments later.

"GO!"

In a flash of dust, the two kids vanished from sight, and the adults and kid quickly covered their eyes as it settled. Sonic was the first to regain himself. He looked at Tails with a somewhat clueless expression.

"So um, how do you plan on us watching them?"

Tails winked and took out a small remote control with only two buttons on it. He pressed one, and from nowhere a large silver orb with a gleaming robotic eye in the center hovered over the small crowd of spectators. Tails pressed the other, and it turned, and shot off in the direction of the boys. Sonic blinked.

"Oh. That's no fun! I thought you and me could keep up with them!" Tails shrugged.

"Nice thought, but I don't want either of them to become distracted by our observation. This thing is silent, and my guess is they won't even notice it from the altitude it'll be looking from." Sonic nodded, but still shook his head.

"Techno nerd of mine till the end."

Skye's heart was racing right along with his feet. Adrenaline and anticipation to show off his ability was eating away at his mind. He knew however, that he had to wait until the right moment to launch it-which would most likely be near the end of the race. He could keep up with Manik fine, since the hedgehog would be under the impression he had to go easier than normal on the kit. Besides, near the end of the race Manik would realize he had to go full out anyway-so in the end, it would all be fair.

"Ready, Manik?" Skye asked smiling, three feet to the side of the boy as they both ran along a wide, long turn. Drifting with his feet, Manik hit the corner perfectly, and so did Skye more or less. The hedgehog then nodded and smiled back.

"Why are ya so eager to have everyone watch? You been practicing or something?" He grabbed the top of a boulder in his way, flipped over it, and continued running in the same movement without loosing head with Skye. The fox chuckled innocently and shrugged.

"You could say something like that...yeah."

It was only three minutes into the race, and Skye thought back to the map. He and his father had estimated the approximate time it would take given how fast they would be going-which was based off how fast Sonic was letting Manik go. Twenty minutes, give or take. First came the long forest road; with wide turns, randomly scattered logs, boulders and other obstacles. Then the wide open terrain of field that circled around the forest. And then finally, back through the other side of the woods, and to the other side of the same finish line. A gigantic loop around.

"Woohoo!" Manik yelled, adrenaline obviously controlling the majority of his movements, as like an agile speeding bullet on steroids, he weaved through boulders, logs, tree's and hills without loosing the slightest bit of speed. Nothing in his movements was wasted, and Skye knew he would have to adapt like that too, if he wished to win this. After all, speed alone didn't win a race, and neither did flight.

"...Now!" Skye muttered to himself, as he catapulted himself off of a rock using his tails as a sudden propeller, and barely made it over a gigantic boulder without crashing, or with Manik seeing how he did it. The hedgehog blinked with wide eyes and chuckled.

"Wow! That was a nice move, dude! How'd ya learn to do that it only two weeks?"

Skye smirked again in pride, but said nothing. The two were reaching the large open field, and just ahead Skye could see it. The trees whipping past them were getting thinner and thinner, and the sunlight shooting through the exit took up more and more of the boy's view, until with one moment, they exited the forest.

"*whistle* nice day for a race huh?" Manik said smirking, as slowly but surely he gained more speed, and got farther and farther ahead of Skye. The fox growled. Another straight away, which Manik could beat him in almost any circumstance, even with his speed limitation.

Skye began to debate with himself quickly, as his eyes were blinded by the far off sun, and his fur was cool with the shooting breeze. Should he use it yet? As he and Manik felt a jolt in their stomachs, they began to race downward. A long, soft slanted hill ran down into another valley, and just a while always on the other side of it was the entrance back into the forest.

"Rgghhh...oh man...I don't know when I should use it!" Skye muttered allowed, seeing Manik continue to get ahead of him. But the more he thought about it, the more he lost concentration on keeping up. So he shook his thoughts away, decided to stay up with him until they reached halfway through the end of the forest, and then use his newly gained ability...

Leaving streaks of dust and grass blades flying as he ran by, Manik was nearing the small entrance into the forest, which lay between a pair of trees. A smirk hit his muzzle again as he suddenly made a wild flip around, and began to run backwards. He watched Skye give back a surprised look, as the blue hedgehog, still, retained the same speed.

"Hehe, see Skye? I learned some new tricks as well!" He taunted, vanishing into the forest. Skye kept himself as calm as he could and shot after him, entering the forest as well and starting to observe the surroundings. It had fewer boulders than the first part of the track. Perfect, he thought. The best place to use his new trick. Oh, and what better time to use it when his friend was just at the height of his taunting.

"Oh yeah Manik? That's pretty cool, but you know what's even cooler?"

Manik blinked a few times, then raised an eyebrow as he uncrossed his arms, getting ready to switch back around if need be. He was getting a little nervous-did the kid actually have a trick up his sleeve?

"What?" The hedgehog asked almost obliviously. Skye grinned wide, and with a sudden flick, his tails began to rotate faster and faster, sending loosened earth from behind him flying as they reached full speed. He winked at his friend, and shot off like a cannonball out of a cannon towards him.

"This!"

"What the...! You can fly!?"

As soon as his tails gave him that extra edge, Skye was carried with the help of the wind towards Manik; before the hedgehog could respond, the sheer force of wind sent him sprawling off his feet. Skye laughed.

"Sure can! Haha, that trick of yours is pretty lame in comparison huh!"

Manik growled, watching both the kit, and his ego fading from sight. Getting back up on his feet and muttering under his breathe; he took off running, nearly tripping in the process. In a heartbeat he was off full speed again, a trail of thin flame being left behind in his wake. Manik quickly began catching up, but at this rate, and how close they were to the finish line, he might not make it. Winning for pride didn't matter for him, but he didn't want to be made to look like an idiot after taking a fall like that from his friend, who, he thought until now he was always faster than.

"Rrrrr! No way am I losing this one!"

"Come on! Come on! I can do this!"

...

In one mighty crash, both Skye and Manik hit the finish line. Dirt and dust went flying for the second time, and it was only thanks to Tails' machine that they had any chance of finding out who won-because it was clear no one saw it first hand. The dust settled, Melody helped the boy's get cleaned off, and as Tails took down and examined the robot, his eyes lit up as he chuckled. Sonic was first to poke his head next to the fox's, to examine it as well, and to see what was so funny.

"So? Who was it?" King Sonic asked, clearly more interested than in the beginning of the race.

"It's a tie." Tails said plainly, shrugging and rubbing the back of his head as he pressed "rewind" on the video log that was captured, and saw them touch it at the same moment. Sonic, seeing it as well, gave a little chuckle, and then turned to the boy's, who were standing right behind their father's.

"Who won!?"

"Yeah!"

Sonic blinked a few times, and then stroked his chin as if deep in thought.

"Hmmmm...how to say this so it's not corny...umm...you both won!" He said grinning.

Manik crossed his arms and shrugged, not upset, but not happy either. He and his father seemed to share similar emotions. Skye, however, got completely excited. To be honest, he didn't think he'd beat Manik, but he was glad to be just as good as him. Turning around and facing his family, the young kit ran over and hugged the first person there-who happened to be his sister.

"Wow! To think you could actually tie with Manik! That was awesome!" Melody cheered, grabbing Skye and twirling around with him. The fox kit giggled and laughed along with her, before wishing it would stop from getting dizzy.

"Whhoooa! M-Melody cut it out! I'm feeling dizzy!"

"Hehe, now Mel, be careful. If you two get a concussion from falling over from dizziness it's all your fault!" Mina teased, crossing her arms and smiling, as Tails put his hand around her waist and smiled with her. They both watched their kids silently, smiling at their happiness. And smiling at their own happiness. Tails turned around and faced his wife head on, putting his arms around her waist and kissing her forehead.

"Come on hon, let them enjoy their fun, huh? You'll be hearing alllll about this for the next month anyway." He said grinning, to which she nudged him and rolled her eyes playfully.

"Well, if you're here, I guess it won't be so bad..." She twirled one finger around his chest fur, and winked back at him. Tails gave a mischievous grin, and the two embraced romantically, as their kids continued to play around in the afternoon sun.

Description
Mina Mongoose was a star, and had been since she was a kid. Most people would have never thought her and Tails would have gotten together, but once they went out once as teenagers, everything clicked for the both of them. She, like Tails, had been looking forward to a family for a long time-with Tails, she had found just that.

She was wearing a dark turquoise dress with a purple belt that matched her hair, which she had started cutting to chin length a few months previously. Her deep blue eyes were sparkling with both relief of finally being home, and love, as both her kids ran out to meet her.

"Awwwww, hey there! Oh, and Skye too! Isn't this a surprise!" She exclaimed gleefully, as both Melody and Skye ran out to meet her. As both kids seemed to fight over who got to hug her the most, Tails took his time walking out into the living room, smiling bright at the sight of his wife again after an entire day.

"Hey hon, welcome home."

Mina gave her husband a sentimental look, and then chuckled, holding her arms open after maneuvering the kids to the sides of her.

"Come on, you! There's plenty of room!"

And the family embraced for the first time in a day and a half. Skye was the first to break away, the excitement of his mom was starting to fade already, and his previous thoughts returned to him. He began moving away shyly, and both his parents noticed it this time. Tails only watched him, but Mina, unaware of the situation, gave her son a worried look.

"Honey, what's the matter?" She began, and then smiled as he glumly sat on the couch and lay down. "I got those special dessert treats you like before I came home!" Before she could go sit with him, Tails put a hand on her shoulder, giving her a "I'll explain in a bit" look. Mina nodded, leaving it to Tails, and went about her business in the kitchen, putting things away, as Melody helped her.

"...Skye, if you want to prove to Sonic that he doesn't need to worry about you and Manik, then maybe it's time we tried to learn how to fly again," Tails said. "laying around and thinking about it won't get you very far after all, will it?" He chuckled, sitting down next to the boy and gently stroking his hair again. Skye didn't move. "I didn't master it right away you know, sure I practiced a lot as a little kid, but it took a while before Aunt Sally or Sonic would let me fly around freely. And an even longer time before they thought I was good enough to use it in combat with them against Eggman's forces."

Skye suddenly became interested again. He sat up and looked at his father curiously and full of wonder. Was there hope for him after all?

"So, did you try anything to get better when you practiced...besides just trying?" He asked hopefully. Tails blinked, and laughed.

"You mean, 'techniques'?"

"Yeah, those!" The elder fox laid back into the couch, as his mind traveled more than 30 years previous. As a kid, Sonic was supportive of Tails' ability, often saying it was the boy's own "Do it, to it" ability. As for ways he had practiced to first master it, only two things came to Tails' mind. They worked for him, but would they work for Skye? A glimmer came Tails' eye, and he looked over Skye carefully, thinking.

The kit gave a nervous look, but also an impatient one. He store at his father as he watched him and smirked at him. What on earth was he thinking? Had he thought of something?

"Well dad?..."

"Yeah...there is something."

The prower family house was by the woods, near the beach, and in a key location of the neighborhood all at the same time. On one side, was the beautiful view of the neighborhood, and in the distance a short ways, Castle Acorn. The backyard was tremendous, and though there were no swing sets or play things since Tails believed in playing with each other was a better way to have fun, Skye spent a lot of his time out there-especially in the summer when it was hot.

Tails was the first to talk outside and feel the soft air blow across his face, making his bangs dance ever so slightly. He sniffed the air and moved out onto the porch, then promptly sat down on one of the wooden benches. His sky blue eyes watched his kit son as he too walked out onto the deck, looking over the backyard and then to his father, still unsure of how this would help him. Tails smiled and winked.

"This is our new training ground."

Skye blinked, and then looked at the backyard again. He almost laughed, but his dad appeared to be completely serious. Again, he looked to his father for direction, and Tails looked over the yard as if it were something to be taken seriously. Skye sat down on the bench next to him-like a baby chick always followed its mother.

"There's enough space back here, it's private, and I like it back here." Tails explained. "It's also flat, so nothing to get in the way." He then got up from his spot and jumped off the railing, down a few feet onto the shimmering green grass that blanketed the field. Skye took the steps.

"So then…what are the techniques?" The kit asked eagerly. All he got was his puff of hair ruffled.

"I'm getting to it, ok? Just listen to what I have to say first." Tails stated gently. He knelt down so he was eye level with his son, and then looked at him seriously. Skye gulped, almost sweating, and they hadn't even started yet. The elder fox put one arm around him.

"What I'm going to show you is a two step process, that should get you airborne the way I do, and then from there we'll work on speed. Okay?"

Skye nodded and smiled happily, his sweat was vanishing and being replaced by adrenaline pumping through his veins. He felt ready for anything-he not only wanted to make sure no one worried about him and Manik, he wanted to prove himself to everyone as well. The fox watched as Tails walked out about ten feet away from him, and then faced sideways from him.

"Watch." He said, as his twin tails slowly began to turn and turn clockwise, faster and faster, until the grass blades for almost fifteen feet behind him began blowing in the artificially made, natural breeze. Soon enough, his tails became a blur, a helicopter's blades, but smaller, and sideways. Tails placed his foot behind him and squatted a little, as if he was about to run.

"WHAA!" A moment later and Skye was thrown off his feet. He went tumbling in a ball across the lawn, and then quickly regained his footing to see what his father was doing. The older fox as a mid blur himself; he was dashing across the yard in all directions, zigzagging through at high speeds, sending fallen leaves from the trees around the house flying into the air as he passed them.

Skye was left near speechless-he knew his father was fast enough to keep up with Sonic, but he didn't know he could do this as well. He was trying to learn how to fly, but this seemed almost better.

As Tails came to an abrupt halt in front of the boy, the speed, sound and wind force all hit the two of them, making their fur wave one last time, before everything was silent and still. Skye was speechless.

"That is the first step to our 'training'." He said, and that was all. He then patted the boy on his head, and sat on the middle step of the porch, getting comfortable and watching him, waiting to give him directions on how to do what he had just displayed.

Skye felt his stomach churn. Could he really do that? He was determined to make his father proud of him, but he didn't know if he could ever achieve speeds of that level. He ignored his thoughts, and began desperately spinning his tails, and once they went as fast as he could make them go, began to sprint around the yard.

The main difference was the tail spinning speed, Tails thought, as he watched Skye run around the yard, tails spinning more or less cutely than what Tails had done. You could still plainly see Skye's appendages spinning, where as Tails were a blur. This meant there were now three steps to do. He needed first to get Skye to build up his tails' strength, and in doing so, be able to spin them faster and for longer periods.

"Alright, come here." Tails asked, smiling happily, as he looked at his feet resting on the wooden step. Once he saw Skye's shadow in front of him, he looked back up. "What we need to do is get your tail spinning speed up faster. That's nowhere near enough the speed you need to get."

Skye's ears fell as he heard the news. More training. He sighed and sat on the step next to him, feeling his father's eyes watching him still.

"But…how do I do that?"

Tails remained silent for a moment, and then put his hands on his knees, stood up and stretched a little. He crossed his arms and looked down at the boy.

"Doing exercises with your tails of course. Not just speed, power."

Skye looked down at his shoes for a moment. He thought of Knuckles, Sonic and his father's friend, guardian of the Master Emerald, who could punch through stone like it was a wall made of bubbles. At was at this thought, that his ears suddenly perked up sharply, and another overflow of determination hit him.

"…Alright! Will you stay out here and watch me?" The kit asked excitedly. Tails winked and gave him a thumbs up.

"You think I'd want to miss out? I'll stay here, and you can exercise as much as you want, but on three conditions." He waited for Skye's full attention, before he held up three fingers. "One: You take fifteen minute breaks every hour or so. Two: When your mom calls for dinner, or she needs something from me, we go in temporarily. Three: Your bed time is still ten." At the last one, Tails grinned as the kit gave a long groan, and they both laughed.

Therefore, it was like that for several days. For two weeks, Skye put his heart and soul into training. He went outside from noon until eight-thirty, and Tails watched his son exercise and slowly but surely his tails grew stronger. After the first few days, Tails changed Skye's training from simply hard exercising to running and strength exercising. As his tails got pure strength, they got faster at spinning as well. After a week and a half, Skye was on the breakthrough to speeds near what Tails was capable of, until one morning...

"DAD! Haha! Come look! Look at me!"

The commotion of high pitch laughter and joy coming from outside was compelling, and not only Tails, but Mina and Melody as well. They rushed out onto the deck blanketed in the afternoon sun, and there was Skye, almost a blur as he darted around the yard as swiftly and with even more grace then what Tails could normally do at even his best. The three were near speechless, but a moment later the blur hit the bottom step of the porch, and laughing and smiling, Skye flew headfirst into his father and the two fell over laughing.

Tails became silent as Skye got off of him; he stroked the kit's cheek and gazed into his young face, pride and joy for his son's achievement lit all over his face.

"You're...incredible. You want to learn the final part yet? Or do you want to take a little break first?"

Tails didn't need to ask; Skye jumped off of him, and the two headed off onto the lawn as Mina and Melody both watched, wrapped in attention. Tails stood in front of Skye, knelt down, and took hold of his shoulders. He was still smiling, but tried to retain some seriousness as the fox readied himself.

"I want you to go at it like nothing before!" Tails yelled as if he were a professional coach, but still grinning as he pushed down on Skye's shoulders. He knew this would be the easiest part of all. With his tails and body strong enough, he just needed to gain a head start, and that would be all there was to it. "Spin those tails and try to break through me! Come on!"

Skye smirked and did so. In no time flat, his tails began spinning like propellers, leaving his sister and mother to clap and cheer in the background. Tails continued to push down, as the pressure from Skye's kinetic energy being created from his whirling tails began to push his father forward. Tails shook his head and smiled wider.

"That's it! Keep pushing until you can-WHOOSH"

Before Tails could even finish his sentence, Skye quite literally bowled him over. And as Tails was sent onto his back, he watched with overflowing pride, his son begin to dominate the air and sky above their house, backyard and a little bit of the forest surrounding it. This was how Sonic and Sally felt when he could help them out in the field, he thought. He got up and simply crouched, resting his hands on his knees as he watched the boy yell with both joy and accomplishment. Mina and Melody ran out onto the field as well, sharing more vocally than Tails, but equally as proud.

After a long while, Skye came back down, and it was only on good instinct that Tails caught him as the boy somewhat tumbled out of the sky and into his father's arms. Tails chuckled.

"Seems we need to work on landing's a bit, huh?" He said, letting the boy get off of him before he got up and rubbed the grass and dirt off of his own bright orange fur.

"Haha, yeah! Did you see! I...I can do it! I did do it! Dad...I'm so...I've never been so glad I have two tails!" Skye exclaimed, his eyes getting watery as he hugged his father around his waist. Tails shook his head and barely stopped himself from sharing the intense tears of happiness as well, as he grabbed the boy around his midsection and picked him up.

"And I've never been as proud of you as I am right now."

Skye sniffed and buried his face into the fox's shoulder, as Tails held him there and patted his back softly. And it was only a moment later afterwards, that Skye picked up his head again and smirked at Tails.

"Hey dad?"

"Hmmmm?"

"...Call Uncle Sonic, Manik and I have a game of race-tag I want you and him to watch."

In a way, it wasn't that far fetched to feel a little bad for Manik. Not only did he have no idea that Skye had come so far this quickly, but he was under the impression that he should take it easy on the fox kit-for fear of his father's wrath if he caused Skye anymore accidental harm. So even as Manik and Skye got to the starting line, and their parents and a few friends gathered on the sidelines, Manik was already nervous, while Skye smirked confidently. A reverse of roles since only two weeks previous.

Watching from those sidelines were the king and queen themselves, Tails, Mina, Melody and a few of Sonic and Tails' old friends as well. Tails had apparently requested Sonic personally invite more people than just themselves to make things more interesting.

"Alright..." Melody announced over the Smalltalk from everyone. She then walked to the center of the two boys and raised her hand. Tails and Sonic stood by each other on the closer side to Manik. The elder fox smiled and gently nudged the hedgehog in his side.

"So, ready to be astounded like I sounded over the phone?" Sonic chuckled, then winked back.

"Well, if it's anything TOO amazing, I may just have to tell the media I did it instead!" He said grinning cockily. Tails rolled his eyes and nudged him harder.

"Pffft, oh that was bad."

As the two laughed together for the first time in a while, Skye and Manik store down the long opening path of the "racetrack". Melody raised her arm higher, and then looked to both her brother and her "cousin".

"Alright you guys! Ready?"

"You know it!" Manik exclaimed, giving a thumbs up.

"Mhmm!" Skye added, before melody swung her arm down a few anticipating moments later.

"GO!"

In a flash of dust, the two kids vanished from sight, and the adults and kid quickly covered their eyes as it settled. Sonic was the first to regain himself. He looked at Tails with a somewhat clueless expression.

"So um, how do you plan on us watching them?"

Tails winked and took out a small remote control with only two buttons on it. He pressed one, and from nowhere a large silver orb with a gleaming robotic eye in the center hovered over the small crowd of spectators. Tails pressed the other, and it turned, and shot off in the direction of the boys. Sonic blinked.

"Oh. That's no fun! I thought you and me could keep up with them!" Tails shrugged.

"Nice thought, but I don't want either of them to become distracted by our observation. This thing is silent, and my guess is they won't even notice it from the altitude it'll be looking from." Sonic nodded, but still shook his head.

"Techno nerd of mine till the end."

Skye's heart was racing right along with his feet. Adrenaline and anticipation to show off his ability was eating away at his mind. He knew however, that he had to wait until the right moment to launch it-which would most likely be near the end of the race. He could keep up with Manik fine, since the hedgehog would be under the impression he had to go easier than normal on the kit. Besides, near the end of the race Manik would realize he had to go full out anyway-so in the end, it would all be fair.

"Ready, Manik?" Skye asked smiling, three feet to the side of the boy as they both ran along a wide, long turn. Drifting with his feet, Manik hit the corner perfectly, and so did Skye more or less. The hedgehog then nodded and smiled back.

"Why are ya so eager to have everyone watch? You been practicing or something?" He grabbed the top of a boulder in his way, flipped over it, and continued running in the same movement without loosing head with Skye. The fox chuckled innocently and shrugged.

"You could say something like that...yeah."

It was only three minutes into the race, and Skye thought back to the map. He and his father had estimated the approximate time it would take given how fast they would be going-which was based off how fast Sonic was letting Manik go. Twenty minutes, give or take. First came the long forest road; with wide turns, randomly scattered logs, boulders and other obstacles. Then the wide open terrain of field that circled around the forest. And then finally, back through the other side of the woods, and to the other side of the same finish line. A gigantic loop around.

"Woohoo!" Manik yelled, adrenaline obviously controlling the majority of his movements, as like an agile speeding bullet on steroids, he weaved through boulders, logs, tree's and hills without loosing the slightest bit of speed. Nothing in his movements was wasted, and Skye knew he would have to adapt like that too, if he wished to win this. After all, speed alone didn't win a race, and neither did flight.

"...Now!" Skye muttered to himself, as he catapulted himself off of a rock using his tails as a sudden propeller, and barely made it over a gigantic boulder without crashing, or with Manik seeing how he did it. The hedgehog blinked with wide eyes and chuckled.

"Wow! That was a nice move, dude! How'd ya learn to do that it only two weeks?"

Skye smirked again in pride, but said nothing. The two were reaching the large open field, and just ahead Skye could see it. The trees whipping past them were getting thinner and thinner, and the sunlight shooting through the exit took up more and more of the boy's view, until with one moment, they exited the forest.

"*whistle* nice day for a race huh?" Manik said smirking, as slowly but surely he gained more speed, and got farther and farther ahead of Skye. The fox growled. Another straight away, which Manik could beat him in almost any circumstance, even with his speed limitation.

Skye began to debate with himself quickly, as his eyes were blinded by the far off sun, and his fur was cool with the shooting breeze. Should he use it yet? As he and Manik felt a jolt in their stomachs, they began to race downward. A long, soft slanted hill ran down into another valley, and just a while always on the other side of it was the entrance back into the forest.

"Rgghhh...oh man...I don't know when I should use it!" Skye muttered allowed, seeing Manik continue to get ahead of him. But the more he thought about it, the more he lost concentration on keeping up. So he shook his thoughts away, decided to stay up with him until they reached halfway through the end of the forest, and then use his newly gained ability...

Leaving streaks of dust and grass blades flying as he ran by, Manik was nearing the small entrance into the forest, which lay between a pair of trees. A smirk hit his muzzle again as he suddenly made a wild flip around, and began to run backwards. He watched Skye give back a surprised look, as the blue hedgehog, still, retained the same speed.

"Hehe, see Skye? I learned some new tricks as well!" He taunted, vanishing into the forest. Skye kept himself as calm as he could and shot after him, entering the forest as well and starting to observe the surroundings. It had fewer boulders than the first part of the track. Perfect, he thought. The best place to use his new trick. Oh, and what better time to use it when his friend was just at the height of his taunting.

"Oh yeah Manik? That's pretty cool, but you know what's even cooler?"

Manik blinked a few times, then raised an eyebrow as he uncrossed his arms, getting ready to switch back around if need be. He was getting a little nervous-did the kid actually have a trick up his sleeve?

"What?" The hedgehog asked almost obliviously. Skye grinned wide, and with a sudden flick, his tails began to rotate faster and faster, sending loosened earth from behind him flying as they reached full speed. He winked at his friend, and shot off like a cannonball out of a cannon towards him.

"This!"

"What the...! You can fly!?"

As soon as his tails gave him that extra edge, Skye was carried with the help of the wind towards Manik; before the hedgehog could respond, the sheer force of wind sent him sprawling off his feet. Skye laughed.

"Sure can! Haha, that trick of yours is pretty lame in comparison huh!"

Manik growled, watching both the kit, and his ego fading from sight. Getting back up on his feet and muttering under his breathe; he took off running, nearly tripping in the process. In a heartbeat he was off full speed again, a trail of thin flame being left behind in his wake. Manik quickly began catching up, but at this rate, and how close they were to the finish line, he might not make it. Winning for pride didn't matter for him, but he didn't want to be made to look like an idiot after taking a fall like that from his friend, who, he thought until now he was always faster than.

"Rrrrr! No way am I losing this one!"

"Come on! Come on! I can do this!"

...

In one mighty crash, both Skye and Manik hit the finish line. Dirt and dust went flying for the second time, and it was only thanks to Tails' machine that they had any chance of finding out who won-because it was clear no one saw it first hand. The dust settled, Melody helped the boy's get cleaned off, and as Tails took down and examined the robot, his eyes lit up as he chuckled. Sonic was first to poke his head next to the fox's, to examine it as well, and to see what was so funny.

"So? Who was it?" King Sonic asked, clearly more interested than in the beginning of the race.

"It's a tie." Tails said plainly, shrugging and rubbing the back of his head as he pressed "rewind" on the video log that was captured, and saw them touch it at the same moment. Sonic, seeing it as well, gave a little chuckle, and then turned to the boy's, who were standing right behind their father's.

"Who won!?"

"Yeah!"

Sonic blinked a few times, and then stroked his chin as if deep in thought.

"Hmmmm...how to say this so it's not corny...umm...you both won!" He said grinning.

Manik crossed his arms and shrugged, not upset, but not happy either. He and his father seemed to share similar emotions. Skye, however, got completely excited. To be honest, he didn't think he'd beat Manik, but he was glad to be just as good as him. Turning around and facing his family, the young kit ran over and hugged the first person there-who happened to be his sister.

"Wow! To think you could actually tie with Manik! That was awesome!" Melody cheered, grabbing Skye and twirling around with him. The fox kit giggled and laughed along with her, before wishing it would stop from getting dizzy.

"Whhoooa! M-Melody cut it out! I'm feeling dizzy!"

"Hehe, now Mel, be careful. If you two get a concussion from falling over from dizziness it's all your fault!" Mina teased, crossing her arms and smiling, as Tails put his hand around her waist and smiled with her. They both watched their kids silently, smiling at their happiness. And smiling at their own happiness. Tails turned around and faced his wife head on, putting his arms around her waist and kissing her forehead.

"Come on hon, let them enjoy their fun, huh? You'll be hearing alllll about this for the next month anyway." He said grinning, to which she nudged him and rolled her eyes playfully.

"Well, if you're here, I guess it won't be so bad..." She twirled one finger around his chest fur, and winked back at him. Tails gave a mischievous grin, and the two embraced romantically, as their kids continued to play around in the afternoon sun.