A/N: Thanks again to the reviewers! It's because of you guys that I was able to finish this! =) Here's the final chapter for you all!

Disclaimer: I do not own anything in this story Sonic related, Sega does.

Enjoy!

Caged

Chapter 10

Shivering from the chill in the morning air, Chip hovered at the mouth of the fake cave; watching the first rays of dawn peek over dark clouds. As more rays joined the first, the sky slowly turned from dull grey to shades of warm pink and orange. The little fairy could only stare in silent awe at the colorful display before him.

He would never be able to see anything like this in the Earth's core!

'Sonic's gotta see this!'

He turned to call his friend, but stopped and instead smiled at the sight behind him.

Sonic was still fast asleep, lying on his back in the sand; a peaceful look etched on his face. His paws twitched every so often and he bared his teeth once, a low growl rising in his chest. The growl suddenly turned into a snarl and the werehog rolled onto his side, legs and arms flailing in a running motion. He stopped moving after a few moments and lay still once more, aside from the occasional twitching of a limb.

Chip covered his mouth to suppress his laughter.

'He must be dreaming… I'll let him sleep a little longer…'

Chuckling softly, he returned his gaze to the sunrise; catching sight of a cart driving up to the enclosure. It was the head vet and Chip figured that it was close to feeding time.

"So much for letting you sleep in." he mumbled to the snoring beast.

He fluttered away from the opening and landed beside Sonic; inclining his head to whisper in his upturned ear.

"Psst… hey… wake up, Sonic."

The ear flicked back and its owner stirred slightly. Sonic opened one eye and stared sleepily at his friend; he then groaned and covered his face with his paws.

"Five…more…minutes…" he grumbled, turning onto his other side.

Chip followed and prodded at his ribs.

"No, you have to get up now. The head vet's on his way."

Sonic grumbled again and groggily got up, yawning widely as he stretched himself out. Chip hid in the furthest section of the cave, watching from the shadows as he chewed on the corner of a chocolate bar.

The werehog sat back on his haunches in the opening, watching the cart screech to a stop outside the enclosure's gates. The head vet climbed out, carrying a plastic container full of meat in one hand and a bottle of fresh water in the other.

Shifting his materials to one arm, the vet opened the gate, stepped inside, closed and locked it. After fumbling with returning his keys to his pocket, the vet slowly made his way up the enclosure's small slope; smiling when he saw that Sonic was waiting for him.

"Good morning!" he called cheerfully.

Sonic responded with a whine and bounded up to him, rubbing his head against the vet's free hand in greeting. The fingers scratched behind one of his ears and the werehog thumped the ground with one of his feet in content; earning a laugh from the vet.

"My, you're full of energy today!"

After receiving a few more pats, Sonic moved away to allow the vet to fill the bowls. He watched him open the container and shake half of the chunks of meat into one; closing the lid tightly and setting it beside him. The vet then opened the bottle and poured the fresh water into the other; once it was full; Sonic crouched near it and lapped at the liquid.

A soft whistle stopped him mid lap; he lifted his head to see the vet looking down at him solemnly. He cupped the werehog's chin in his hands and stared deep into the dull green eyes.

"Good luck today." He murmured.

Sonic stared puzzled as the vet collected his things and started to walk back to the gate. He tilted his head to one side, whining in confusion. The cart's engine revved and drove out of sight, leaving the werehog to sit alone in silence.

"What did he mean by that?" Chip's voice asked from inside the cave.

Sonic looked over his shoulder to see his friend flutter out from the shadows.

"He must've been talking about the big display…" the werehog said, rolling his shoulders.

Chip touched down beside him and stared out at the zoo. The other animals were being led out of their dens by various zookeepers; fresh food was being put into troughs and water was being poured into big bowls to keep them fed and watered for the day.

Sonic turned away from the scene with a growl and lumbered back into the cave; flopping down on the sand. Chip walked up to him and clambered onto his shoulder, making himself comfortable in the thick fur.

The two sighed in unison… it was going to be a long day…

xxxXXXxxx

It was turning out to be a long day.

Sonic watched from the safety of his cave as one disappointed visitor after another spent a few minutes at the fence; whistling or making other noises to try to get him to come out. A few snapped a couple of pictures at the cave's opening; proceeding to show the images on their cameras to their friends; debating whether or not there was something inside.

The werehog growled and buried his face in his arms, listening to their voices float up to him on the wind:

"Mommy, were is the new animal?" a little girl asked.

"He must be hiding, sweetie. He's probably not used to all the attention." The mother replied.

Sonic huffed at her words.

'Not used to it? Tch, I've spent most of my life in the limelight… I just don't want anyone seeing me like this…'

There was an irritated sigh from one of the onlookers in the crowd.

"Yeah, well he'd better get over it soon and come out." A punk kid sneered.

This time the werehog lifted his head and roared; the sound amplified by the walls of the cave. He smirked in satisfaction when he saw the kid jump back from the fence.

A man laughed somewhere in the crowd.

"What'sa matter, kid? Scared of a zoo animal?" he asked mockingly.

"Can it, pops." The kid shot back.

Sonic scoffed at the senseless argument and turned away from the scene. He pressed his ears back in an attempt to block out the shouting, screwing his eyes shut. Chip buried his face in the werehog's fur, covering his ears with his paws.

'If I have to put up with this everyday I swear I'll…'

"Knock it off!" a voice silenced the both of them, causing Sonic to jump and prick his ears forward.

"I know that voice…" he murmured to himself.

He looked over his shoulder and peered at the crowd again; seeing a sight that made hope swell in his big chest.

Standing between the two fighters was none other than Amy Rose. And from the look on her face, it seemed like she had enough.

Chip, startled by the werehog's voice, fluttered beside his head; pointing excitedly.

"Look, Sonic! Your friends, they're here!"

Sonic ignored him and stared intently at what was going on outside.

"Listen you," she hissed, jabbing a finger in the punk kid's chest, "I've been through a lot these past few weeks and I came here to relax and enjoy myself, not to-"

"Amy…" Knuckles pulled her away from the punk.

"Please Amy, don't fight with them." Tails pleaded.

"Faker wouldn't have wanted you to do so…" Shadow's cold voice hissed. Sonic could see him glaring daggers at the two.

At the mention of the ebony hedgehog's nickname for Sonic, Amy's eyes welled with tears and she turned away.

The man and punk looked at each other and rubbed the backs of their necks in embarrassment and went their separate ways. The crowd grumbled in disapproval and left to see the rest of the animals.

Amy grasped the iron fence and leaned against it, staring sadly into the seemingly empty enclosure. Tails stood next to her rubbing her back, trying to comfort her.

"I…can't believe he's…" she choked out.

"Amy…"

Knuckles and Shadow joined them at the fence; also looking into the cage. The group was silent for a while, until Amy spoke up.

"I wonder what kind of animal's in there…" she said, drying her eyes.

Shadow shrugged.

"Well, from the roar we heard before, I'm guessing it's some sort of big cat."

Sonic rolled his eyes.

'Not even close, Shad.'

Knuckles only sighed and Tails scratched the side of his head, deep in thought.

"Well, we can't sit around here all day and wait for it to come out." The red echidna mumbled.

"Yeah," the fox agreed, "Come on, Amy. I'm sure this animal will be sticking around for a while. We can try to see it again next time."

The pink hedgehog ignored him and looked into the shadowed innards of the cave. Little did she know she was making eye contact with her hero; causing Sonic's blood to run cold.

"I know you're in there." She called, "Please come out so we can see you."

Sonic lowered his eyes from hers and whimpered uncertainly. Chip pushed on his shoulders, trying to coax him out of the cave.

"C'mon, Sonic. They miss you…"

The werehog closed his eyes.

"I don't want them to see me like this…" he growled.

Chip pushed harder.

"Get out there! Show them that you're not dead!"

Sonic opened his eyes and looked back at his friends. The small group was already starting to lead a reluctant Amy away from the enclosure.

Chip flew toward the back of the cave, readying to give one more push on the werehog's shoulders.

He didn't need to; Sonic leapt out into the sunlight and howled loudly, trying to grab his friend's attention. The little fairy smiled, the werehog's message was as clear as day: 'I'm here!'

The group turned around and gasped in awe at the great creature crooning up at the sun. His call caused half of the zoo's visitors to crowd around the enclosure; most of them gawking at the display while others took this opportunity to snap a few photos.

As his howl died away, Sonic looked at the crowd; making eye contact with Amy. He bared his teeth in a smile and her eyes became watery again.

"Sonic…?"

At the mention of his name, the werehog felt a strange sensation overcome him: It felt as if fire were coursing through his veins. He felt his teeth and claws shrink, his fur laid flat and became shorter. He felt his muscles shrink and stretch out to a normal size as his body was enveloped in a purple and white light.

The crowd gasped and Amy let out a chocked sob.

For when the light died away, the missing true blue hero stood tall and proud in the sunlight; rubbing at the spot on his shoulder where he was shot so long ago. Chip hovered beside him, pumping his fist as if in victory.

"Hey, guys." Sonic greeted.

xxxXXXxxx

After hours of explaining what had happened, and after a very flustered vet unlocked the cage to free him; Sonic and his friends stood at the zoo's entrance with the head vet.

"I'm so sorry you all had to go through this." The vet apologized.

"It's alright," Tails assured, rubbing the back of his head, "we're just happy our worst fears weren't true."

The others nodded in solemn agreement.

Sonic stepped up to him and held out his hand.

"Thanks, for everything. If it weren't for you I'd probably be bleeding to death right about now."

The vet smiled and shook it.

"Anytime."

Sonic returned the smile and then turned to his friends.

"Let's go home, guys."

After waving bye to the head vet, the group slowly started to make its way toward the heart of the city. Shadow strolled beside Sonic, a mischievous twinkle in his crimson eyes.

"Want to race, faker?"

Sonic grinned.

"You're on!"

Without warning, the two bolted forward; the wind from their strides blowing Chip into the rest of the group. Amy giggled, Knuckles laughed a bit and Tails only sighed.

"It feels so good to have him back again."

And as Sonic sped along side his rival, only one thought buzzed about his head.

'It feels so good to be free again…'

The End

I'd like to thank everyone who read, reviewed, and even faved this story. I hope you all enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed writing it. Thank you all again! =)

Like I said in one of the previous chapters, I will be writing more Werehog fanfics in the near future, so keep an eye out for them!

Until then!

-Wolf'sBreath92