Chapter 26- All I Need

Mina's POV

Here I was. Standing in the abyss, looking death straight in the face, giving myself up to save the planet from dark souls. Not to mention but yet very important that I mention, said souls like to feed off of light souls and kill innocents from the inside out.

And the worst part of it all? Not only was it me out there, screaming in agony as the power of chaos consumed all of me, but I was hand in hand with the love of my life, who I had just now gotten the chance to tell my feelings to.

Basically, this wasn't my best day.

I had never felt anything like it. The chaos energy was coursing through my veins, and it felt like I was on fire... on the inside. It also felt as if I were about to explode.

After a few seconds of this, I thought it was finally over. It was.. but something else happened. All of a sudden, I didn't feel like Mina Mongoose anymore. I felt.. different. I also... heard thoughts that were not mine. Ones such as "I need to protect her" and "She can't pay for this" and my oh so personal favorite, "I love you, Mina.. goodbye." Okay, so it was my favorite, all except that last word.

Goodbye... as if I weren't going to see him ever again.

That scared me.

My thoughts were put to a sudden screeching stop as I heard the pained cries of the evil souls being sucked out of Tails' body and into the darkness. So his plan was working.. what did this mean for us?

And then, everything stopped.

Silence.. no screaming, no rush of wind as the chaos emeralds did their thing..

Nothing.

Darkness. I could neither feel, nor hear, nor see..

Was it over?

My mind instantly thought the worst- My heart had stopped, something possessed me on its way out, I smacked into the ground and blacked out forever..

Okay, no one ever called me Sunshine and Rainbows. I had a knack for thinking of the most morbid scenarios.

The next think I knew, I heard a high-pitched ringing. Just make it stop, I thought to myself. I started regaining feeling, and pain was now shooting up from my feet to my head. Honestly, I just wanted the pain to end. I wanted to sleep.. be left alone.

I opened my eyes slowly. First, I saw a bright light, and I knew what I was in for. But that soon changed as I started becoming aware of my surroundings. I was lying on the cold, hard cement of a street. I saw... rooftops. I saw people.. and I saw the giant, flashing chili-dog sign hanging on the window of Chuck's restaurant.

I was home.

And then, it hit me. Tails!

I scurried frantically up off the ground despite my pain. Beside me was Tails, lying on the ground. I ran over to him, dropping to me knees beside him. "Tails?" I asked, feeling his chest. There was a faint heartbeat, but barely enough to keep him alive for long.

"Tails, honey? It's me, Mina. Please, come back to me." I took his hand, silently praying that he would feel me there.

Sure enough, his eyes slowly opened. I was met by his gaze, first confused and then relieved. "M-Mina?" he asked, squeezing my hand lightly. "Did.. did we do it? Is.. it gone? Are we.."

My eyes welled up with tears. "We did it.. we did. The souls are back where they belong, and yes.."

My face was now wet, but my smile only grew. "We are alive," I stated, wiping away my tear with the back of my arm."

A smile spread across his face. "We.. did it.. we saved Mobius.. and we... survived."

I couldn't hold them for any longer, as they were now streaming down my face. "Yes!" I exclaimed, wrapping my arms around him. He hugged me back, crying tears of happiness into my shoulder. We stayed like that for a few minutes, both of us silently thanking whatever force allowed for us to get through this.

I was thankful to be in his arms again.

I pulled away slightly, holding on to him as I looked into his eyes. "I love you," I said, leaning in and kissing him.

"Eh-hem, sorry to interrupt.."

We quickly pulled away, both our heads looking over to see Sonic, Amy, Knuckles, Shadow and Silver all standing together.

"Guys!" I exclaimed, rushing over to meet them. "I am so glad you all are okay!"

"Thanks.. it got a bit rough out there, but.." Sonic winked and allowed Amy to finish.

"We knew we could count on you two to save the day!" She exclaimed, hugging me and then running over to Tails.

Everyone followed suit, gathering around him. We all talked about everything, all the pain, all the tears, all the fear... but we all agreed that it was great to be home.

After we had helped some of the villagers who were still struggling to comprehend the whole mess and cleaned up the town a bit, we all headed back to the Freedom HQ. We decided to spend the day together, to catch up and support each other after everything that had happened.

Back at HQ, we had all gathered around a table, talking, laughing, telling stories. Knuckles had ordered a pizza, which made for even more of a party.

I couldn't help but worry about Tails, constantly looking over beside me to make sure he was doing okay. I was surprised- after having something sinister inside him for so long and dealing with that much chaos, he seemed pretty normal. But that was good.

Later that night, after everyone had decided to get some sleep, I headed out to the balcony for some thinking time. Sitting alone on the edge, I really focused on everything that had happened lately. Some bad things, some good.

I heard footsteps behind me, and when they stopped I couldn't help but look back. Tails stood there, watching over me. "Mind if I join you?" he asked, and I laughed. "Of course not, silly," I said, scooting over and patting the space beside me.

He sat down at my side. We sat there in silence for awhile, looking up at the stars. I now realized how bright they were tonight.. how beautiful.

I felt a hand on mine. I looked over to see him smiling at me, his eyes illuminated by the light of the diamonds in the sky. I got lost in the baby blue sea, feeling calmer than I had in a while.

And then I remembered what I had wanted to ask him about. "So, when we used the chaos, something... kind of different happened. I felt like we were... one being. And.. I could hear your thoughts. Was that supposed to happen?

Tails scratched the back of his head, looking nervous. "Yeah... haha.. about that... um.. the chaos actually drove our souls to merge for just a few seconds. We were one being.. feeling the same pain and hearing the same thoughts.

I couldn't believe it. Our souls actually.. merged? It sounded unrealistic, but his eyes reassured me that this was, indeed, the truth. I guess that the truth can be more crazy than the imaginary.

"Wow.." was all I managed to say. It hit me like a gust of wind. He and I were one..

I could have sworn, that at that moment, I heard him say "I know, right?", but his mouth never moved.

Maybe my imagination.

"You okay, Mina? Things have been pretty insane lately.."

I nodded. He was right, this had definitely been the most crazy day of my life. Surprisingly, though, now that it was over... I felt good. Everyone was alive and pretty well, our planet was still intact..

and I had the one that I loved right here by my side. And hey, we were alone.

I cuddled up next to him and layed my head on his shoulder. He wrapped his arm around me, leaning his head against mine.

"Miles, you still owe me a first date," I said, and he laughed softly.

"I reckon I do, Mina. And only the best. Where would you like to go?"

I told him the truth.

"Honestly, I don't really care. We could do anything in the world, I just want some time with you. And not as we are about to die, but as a happy and peaceful day all to us."

He squeezed my shoulder. "You know what, I agree one-hundred percent," he said. "We need that. Something special... hmm.."

And then he shot up. "I have the perfect idea of how to start it off," he said, and he stood, pulling me gently with him. He led me to his garage, where he opened the doors to reveal his plane. "We'll need to take this," he told me, climbing in. I followed suit, strapping myself in the passenger seat behind him. I didn't know what he was planning, but, knowing Tails, I had a feeling it would be something wonderfully beautiful.

Tails' POV

I started the engines, and got ready for take off. I knew I could get us closer to the bright stars in the sky.. and I also knew that it was one of Mina's dreams to sing, surrounded by a sky full of light. That was exactly what I was going to give to her.

I flew the plane out of the garage, heading for the sky. "Where are we going, Tails?" asked Mina's voice over the engines. "You'll see," I said back.

We were getting closer and closer to the stars, and I decided to stop where we were, as I didn't want to get too close.

With the plane on autopilot, I looked back to Mina. Her expression was full of surprise and confusion. "Tails, what are we.."?

I was grinning. "Remember when you told me you had always dreamed of singing with the stars, since you were a young girl? Well, now is your chance."

Her jaw dropped. "Oh-my-gosh Tails!" She stumbled out of her seat, and I helped her to the wing. She wrapped her arms around my neck. "You-are-the-best!"

I kissed her on the top of the head. "And so are you, now, get out there Pop-Star!"

She backed up, blushing a bit. "O-okay, here I go." She took a deep breath and started to sing.

I was taken aback as I realized I had never heard the song before. The lyrics, they all sounded so.. new.

Had she just written this?

Mina's beautiful voice flowed throughout and between the stars, sounding like the song of an angel from up in the sky. I stayed back, watching her spin around as she painted the perfect harmony. She looked so.. happy. She was illuminated by the starlight, outlining her perfect movements as she performed.

Once she finished the song, she looked back at me, breathing heavily but grinning. "How did I do?" she asked, her voice tired.

I walked over to the edge of the plane, wrapping my arms around her. "That was the most.. heartfelt and beautiful performance I have ever seen. Even in the sky, you are in the spotlight, my beautiful star."

She giggled, her face going red. "So... cheesy," she grinned, hugging me tightly. "But I love it. Thank you."

We stayed like that for awhile, holding each other and looking at the stars.

All I knew was that I was grateful for her. After so long, I had finally had the chance to show her how I felt, and she ended up feeling the same for me.

And even after everything we had been through, she trusted me, she loved me, and she never left my side.

She knew me.

And that was all that I needed.

And that, my lovelies, was the END!

Wow, it truly was a long run. I never expected this story to get big.. and I thank all who read this and supported me, and for making this happen.

Thank you for the comments, the feedback.. writing this story has helped me grow as a writer.

And, thank you to the dedicated fans who stuck with me till the end, even after my month long hiatuses. You people are true heroes!

And now, for this story. I really enjoyed writing it, being in the shoes of both Tails and Mina and their journey through friendship, love, and hardships. I loved writing the cute interactions between the two- as we never got to see that in anything canon.

I am glad I had the chance to share my Mina and Tails story with many readers, though.

This may be the end of this fic, but don't fret! Although this went out (hopefully) with a bang..

THE SEQUEL IS ON ITS WAY!

Be on the lookout for it, as I am hoping to have it up in the next few days! Woo hoo, a sequel.

Anyone, I have not much else to say. Please, tell me what you thought of this ending, and this Fic!

Comments/Feedback/Questions are all still excepted, even by newcomers!

Thank you to everyone who read this and stuck around until the end. I hope you will head on over to the second installment!

It was fun. Goodnight all~

-Fangirling