It was so surreal being back in Mobotropolis after all this time. The doors leading to the palace's gardens opened, revealing a young soldier wearing the royal guard uniform and a sword at his waist; it was Antoine Depardieu, returning to serve his queen after a long mission abroad. The coyote looked around at the magnificent and peaceful garden with a melancholic smile. How long had it been since he had walked these beautiful grounds? Walking through the flowered paths he passed by the massive statues of Mobotropolis's previous rulers until he stopped in front of King Nigel Acorn's statue. Taking a knee in front of the statue, the soldier took a moment to admire the former king's glorious presence, which had been perfectly immortalised.

Antoine remembered how his late father looked up to King Acorn above all else, and how he had taught him what an honor it was to serve under the royal family.

''Votre majesté, I shall do everything in my power to serve your daughter to ze best of my ability. You may rest in peace, mon cher roi. Your wife and daughter have nothing to fear as long as I live; I will be keeping them safe.''

Placing a hand on his father's sword, the soldier closed his eyes and took a moment to reminisce about a past long gone. Would his father be proud of him, in this moment? Once the war against Robotnik had been won, Antoine had volunteered to leave on a long mission to liberate allied nations which were still crawling with Robotropolis remnant forces. In doing so, he had left behind his precious Bunnie, the woman who had taught him the very meaning of courage. Her daily struggles to live with her robotic parts and always keep her head up were such an inspiration to the coyote; how he missed her warm laughter, her beautiful eyes, her kind smile…

''Maman, je suis désolé. By leaving on zis mission I have left behind ze one most dearest to moi. Oh how I long to be reunited with her, ma chère Bunnie…'' (…)

He thought in this moment how his dear mother would've most likely been heartbroken to see him leave behind such an exceptional woman as Bunnie. If his father had taught him the meaning of honor, his mother had taught him the importance of family. How he had been torn when he was presented with the choice to leave on this mission abroad! He knew very well how dangerous it would be, but he had no way of knowing how long it would take.

''Quelle cruauté que de devoir choisir entre son amour et sa patrie…Ma tendre Bunnie, j'espère que tu me le pardonneras un jour…'' (How cruel having to make a choice between one's love and one's country. My dearest Bunnie, I hope you'll forgive me one day…)

In the end, the coyote's values entrusted upon him by both his parents had cemented his decision to leave on this perilous mission. On one side, his father was telling him to fight for his country and his queen; on the other side, he thought of all the families being torn apart by the remnants of Robotnik's forces and couldn't bare to let that be. His mother's values of compassion and love had made him decide to leave his own precious love behind. ''No'', he thought. ''I cannot blame maman for this decision. You are your own fool, Antoine Depardieu.''

Standing up in front of King Acorn's statue, the soldier gave one last salute. ''Time to go and greet ze queen.'' he thought out loud. ''I wonder how everyone is doing?''

Forcing his melancholic smile to be replaced by a determined expression, the coyote turned around and headed for the throne room.