Before Note: Hey guys! I REALLY did not mean for this chapter to be so incredibly late! I was just busy, I moved, with no interent for 2 weeks, and I had to get used to my first time in high school (I feel like everyone is an idiot but oh well at least I have my friends). Its just life, you understand , right?

The good news is I saved up during the summer for a laptop (I luv it!) meaning I will have no excuse to being lazy because once I install a word processing program I can write fanfics in my comfy cozy bed. Its starting to get cold and I cant stand sitting at the living room desktop!

Other than that, we have reached the final chapter! I like how it came out but I feel that the writing style or simply the tone is completely different than how it started off. Makes me feel like I did something wrong, so you guys can give me some feedback on that (please?) It will totally be appreciated because this is my first story I post and I aim to improve!

Enough with the babbling, ON WITH THE CHAPTER! (There are some cliche parts in here, I tried to avoid them I really did!)

Disclaimer: I do not own Sonic the Hedgehog or any of its characters, they all rightfully belong to SEGA and/or Sonic Team. (I own the plot, at least)

The stars shone brighter than ever, thats what the fox thought at least. Shadow and Sonic were there for another night, and all three of them were appreciating the rare beauty the night had bought them. This is what Tails loved the most: just sitting among someone else, without being hurt or insulted, and having a comfortable silence.

"What's that in your shoe, Tails?" Shadow asked suddenly, taking notice of the bunched up item the kit had hidden.

Tails stiffened, and both hedgehogs looked at him curiously. He gulped and tried to hide his foot from view. It would do no good.

To late to come up with an excuse now.

After a few moments filled with distress, and the expectant looks of the hedgehogs, the kit sighed in defeat, pulling out the crumpled paper.

He told them how he had managed to sneak out that night. He told them about the key, the shack, the newspapers, so faded and fragile, and how he had for one moment been able to lift himself from the ground. He even tried to demonstrate, only to have his tails twist up and make him yelp in pain. The hedgehogs listened to him all the way through, surprise and disbelief clearly written on their faces. He held up the newspaper, and Shadow's eyes widened and he became stiff. It hurt Tails to see him like that, all vulnerable. What else could he do?

Shadow didn't say a word.

He didn't need to say anything. No one needed to say anything. What could they say that would be fitting at the moment?

Sonic put a hand on his friend's shoulder, an attempt to break the dark one from his trance. It seemed to work, at least, Shadow had relaxed his posture, his gaze downward. He put a hand on his jacket sleeve and started to take it off. The kit's eyes widened.

The scars were grotesque. Only damaged skin was visible where the marks were, the fur gone as if ripped off. It contrasted neatly with the dark fur. The fox was sure that the wounds on his own back looked like that too.

Tails didn't know what to say. He looked away, the realization of seeing Shadow in that state right in front of him setting in. Shadow put his jacket back on, and the old wounds seemed to never have been seen.

What had they done to deserve this?

The question had been thought countless times in the child's head, yet it was never answered and he kept wondering.

Why? Why? Why?

It was always the same, nothing changed, there was always that little ray of hope that would always be thrown in the trash. But now, he had a great amount of hope that lay in his friends' hands. Would that hope be destroyed also? They had gotten this far, hadn't they? Tails shook the thought off and focused on the current situation.

Shadow, who had previously been wondering into his own personal thoughts, spoke up.

"Tails, have you ever wondered why people treat you—treat us—the way they do?" Each word was spoken softly, carefully, and the fox looked at him in wonder, nodding 'yes'. "Do you have any idea of what drives people to act that way?" Crimson eyes gazed into blue ones, a definite feeling of pain and torment present within them.

"Because," the child hesitated, making sure of his answer, "We look different than everyone else?"

"That's right," the dark one looked up to the moon and crossed his arms, but he kept on speaking, "People are afraid of change, they are afraid of something being different than what they are used to seeing. They can't tolerate it and it drives them to the desire of getting rid of it, weakening it, so that that fear can go away. That's all there is to it: they are afraid. The only way they can act upon that is by trying to make us suffer because it makes them feel like they have control."

"Sometimes, when society can't change something that just is, they try to eliminate it." Sonic added softly, his gaze downward.

Silence.

The kit thought the information over, and looked at his two friends. He had never seen them so worn out and so distressed before. It was as if they were fighting an endless war with the world, and the possibilities couldn't be too far off. He didn't like the feeling at all.

"Then society must be pretty stupid, right?" The child said with a weak smile, and the hedgehogs looked at him curiously. "If people judge others just by appearance, then they would never know what that person is really like." He looked back at his twin tails. "I have two tails when others only have one, but if I had been born with just one, wouldn't I still be the same person?" His soft voice got shaky, a few tears rolled down his cheeks, yet he still had that weak smile on. "If I was born with just one, would people still treat me the same way they do today? Does appearance really mark how you really are?"

The tears didn't stop, the sniffles turned into soft sobs; the cobalt one had reached into the cage and pulled the tiny body close, ignoring the meal bars that were in the way. He was only a child, who with only a few years of life, had seen things that he wasn't suppose to see, had suffered the torment of being alone, struggled to survive. He was growing up too fast, the carefree privileges and pure innocence of childhood far from his reach.

It wasn't fair.

"Don't cry," Sonic tried to soothe the kit, and he lowered himself a bit to be at eye level with him, "You're right, society is pretty stupid, aren't they?" He gave a playful grin, and the fox's smile reached his eyes. "We don't need to worry about what they think, what good would that do?"

Shadow came up, and wiped the child's tears away with his sleeve. The gesture itself was enough to make Tails smile brightly, in hope. The fox stopped crying. Yes, that was all he ever wanted, what he needed, to keep him looking forward to the days to come.

"My, my, my. What a beautiful scene!"

Surprise. Panic. Fear.

The ringmaster revealed himself slowly, slithering out of the nightly shadows like a sleek beast. At last he came into full view, the golden buttons on his white suit glimmering in the moonlight.

Everyone went stiff, the fear flowing into each of them. What could they possibly do now? What were the man's intentions now that he made his presence known?

"Look at you, Shadow, its been such a long time! And what about you, Sonic? I was hoping you would at least care enough to visit." The sarcastic tone made the hedgehogs shiver.

"Since when have you known that we have been here?" Shadow asked on impulse. Ivo's grin grew wider that it almost reached the sides of his face, it seemed.

"Why, from the very beginning of course! Don't think I haven't noticed the food crumbs left behind every night. And don't think I didn't see you sneak of that one night, runt. You were wise enough to go back to the cage." The dark one gritted his teeth, as if expecting that type of response.

"If you had been making any plans of leaving with that freak there," he pointed a finger at Tails, glaring at him, "Then I'm sorry to say, that won't be possible."

What happened next was absolutely unexpected.

A group of figures jumped into the scene, their speed and the darkness made them unidentifiable at first. Shadow and Sonic barely had time to respond. Tails screamed, but that did little to help his friends. The performers had delivered hard blows to both hedgehogs, sending them flying and hitting the ground with great impact. During that time, the ringmaster had unlocked the cage and the kit had not noticed until he felt his tails being pulled harshly. He was soon pulled out of the cage, the struggling useless, and being carried away.

"Stop right there!" Tails heard someone shout. The only thing he took notice of was a rush of wind and a startled yell. The grip on his tails loosened and he felt himself fall to the ground.

But he didn't hit the ground.

Sonic had caught him and ran back to a safe distance with his super speed. He put the child down, who was dumfounded by what had just occurred. At a distance, he saw the round man's body struggling to get up and a victorious Shadow beside him, fighting off the minions who were enraged to see their boss hurt.

"Tails, watch out!" The cobalt one pulled the kit by the shoulders and out of the way. One of the performers came crashing down with a knife where Tails had been seconds before. Blue orbs widened. The enemy wasn't about to give up just yet. The fox dodged the next slash the performer gave with the knife. Nothing terrified Tails more at the moment than the sadistic smile the enemy was showing, and the wild eyes filled with bloodlust and energy. With each slash the kit stumbled back and he finally lost his balance. He fell back and scurried away as fast as possible. He tried to get himself on his feet, but when he tried, the knife would come crashing down and he had to push himself away to dodge it.

He wouldn't be able to keep it up for long.

Another slash came his way. The fox scurried back but the performer had gripped him by the leg and pulled him under his own body, preventing any escape.

No. No. No. No!

Tails shielded himself with his arms, hoping that would do some good, and gasped from the heavy weight on him. His eyes were shut tight, waiting for the painful impact.

But he felt no pain…and the heavy weight had been lifted off him.

He opened his eyes slowly, and moved his arms away from his face. Yet, he wished he hadn't.

The first thing he saw was blood, dripping down to the ground like a thick rainfall, making small puddles on the dirt. Then, the knife dropped to the ground, stained a maroon red and barely making a sound. The figure dropped to his knees, gripping his left shoulder in pain and hissing under his breath.

Shadow…

Tails wanted to look away, but he couldn't. He so desperately wanted to look away, but the dripping blood, the aggravating tension, and the gasps of pain had him petrified at the spot.

The performer had a slight expression of surprise on his face, but he quickly recovered himself and snatched the weapon from the ground, aiming to finish what he had started. Sonic, who had also been horrified by the scene, put himself in between his friend and the enemy, ready for any possible fight that was to come. However, Ivo Bombini held back his employee with his arm, his usual grin ever so present.

"I'll finish this," he said gravely, "This time, for good."

The ringmaster's trusty whip was soon pulled out, and he gave the air a few slashes before he started to slowly take steps toward his target. The kit got to his feet and hurried over to Shadow's side. The hedgehog mustered up the strength to stand up straight and take a defensive stance, as if his wound was not giving him any trouble at all.

"My Shadow, what a strong thing you are," Ivo narrowed his eyes, "A bit too strong, don't you think?"

"That was your own mistake, and you know it," the dark one said through gritted teeth. The child had no idea what to do; he knew it didn't involve him at the moment and he had no intention of interfering so he decided to stay put. Sonic moved next to him, also not wanting to interfere, but preparing himself for anything that might happen. Even most of the other performers who had attacked them were waiting impatiently as to what would occur next. Was this personal now? Could he even be of any help?

The whip slashed the air harshly.

"You should be glad, you were such a weak one, if it weren't for me than you would have died." The round man said mockingly.

Shadow glared. "The only reason you cared if I lived or died was because I was the only thing keeping your business running," for just a brief second, the hedgehog's expression changed to one of somber, and it went back to one of distaste, "I would rather much have died then."

Another crack of the whip.

Bombini now stood a few inches away from the dark hedgehog. The man waited for any type of response from him, but as nothing happened, he got impatient and decided to make the first move.

Tails wasn't sure if Shadow saw it coming or not, but what he was sure of was that he must have felt a great, burning pain. The kit had flinched when the leather whip had made contact to the hedgehog's side, leaving a thin trail of blood behind, and Sonic had too.

Shadow took a step back, not letting a single cry out, although he looked like he wanted to.

"How did it feel, Shadow, when you hurt all of those people? Hm?"

Snap!

"You destroyed everything around you."

Snap!

"You're a monster, and you know it."

Snap! Snap!

"They were innocent."

"No they weren't!"

This time, the dark one had let the whip wrap around his arm, and he pulled it with much force that it escaped from the ringmaster's hands. Ivo was shocked to say the least. He had not expected such an impulsive reaction from his opponent at that moment. Shadow tossed the whip aside and fully faced the ringmaster.

Ivo found himself defenseless, and for once, a look of pure fear was plastered across his face. His panic was emitted through his twitching fingers, and he took a few steps back.

What he did was surprising.

He ran away.

But he didn't disappear from view. He ran a good distance away, stopped, and turned back. He spread out his arms and a few of his trusty minions came up behind him out of the darkness.

And more.

And more.

Clowns. Trapeze artists. Musicians. Everybody.

Why were there so many?

Even if the trio could handle a few of them, they wouldn't be able to handle that large group. They realized how much trouble they were about to face. How were they going to get out of this one?

"Run," Sonic whispered enough for the dark hedgehog and fox to hear, "We need to run. Now!"

They crowd of performers started to rush in their direction. Sonic grabbed Tails' wrist and pushed Shadow up and going; they headed into the thick forest with no idea of where to go.

They just had to get away.

Sonic was good at dodging bushes and trees, or whatever got in their way in the darkness. Shadow was struggling to keep up, the wound aching with each step he took. Tails pulled on his hand to motivate him to go faster. The footsteps of their eager enemies were not too far behind. The cobalt one was desperately trying to push the other two on, being the fastest of the group, but it simply couldn't be done in the state they were in. They were now panting in exhaustion, but they kept going on. The few moments that went by felt like hours and they had significantly slowed down. The wind felt like ice as it brushed against their skin, yet they didn't mind at the moment.

They did mind, however, when they sensed movement a distance in front of them.

The trio halted in their step, very much alert. The sounds became clearer as the time passed and soon enough, a group of enemies made themselves seen. How did they get ahead? Both fox and hedgehogs managed to move away from the incoming blows that were being thrown their way. Sonic moved to the right while Shadow and Tails moved to the left. The dark one quickly pulled the kit away from a near kick to the head and they stumbled in attempt to regain balance. Fearing that more attacks were to come, they both ran into a thick mass of trees.

Once again they were running, and the child looked back to notice the absence of their friend.

"What about Sonic?" Tails managed to get out in between tired gasps. His tiny legs ached but he knew he had to keep going on.

"He can manage himself," Shadow said, also in tired breaths, but he seemed confident about his answer.

They ducked from braches and skipped over fallen trees but they both knew they were reaching their limit. Before they knew it, their feet had taken them to a clearing, but they had to stop.

They had reached the edge of a cliff!

The kit would surely have ran off the edge if the dark one hadn't stopped him a few steps back. Tails gave a small peek to see what lay at the bottom and he became terrified at how high up they were, an unidentifiable piece of land far beneath.

What would they do now?

"Did you think you would have been able to escape that easily?"

The two figures jumped at the sudden presence. Both heads turned quickly and became wide eyed.

Bombini stood there once again, a confident look on his face, his usual whip at hand.

Tails was terrified. How would they escape this? They were in between a dangerous man and a dangerous high place. Both ensured injury and death. The kit was starting to panic. Both he and his friends had gotten so far, it just couldn't end here.

It just couldn't!

"Did you really think you could win over me that easily?"

The ringmaster quickly took steps toward his two targets who stayed still with no form of escape at the moment. He raised his arm ready to take action, but what happened next was simply unimaginable.

Shadow leapt forward, attempting to somehow push Ivo away so that they had enough time to flee. However, the round man had the strength enough to push him back. The hedgehog stumbled dangerously close to the cliff's edge, and he lost his balance, falling backwards and barely managing to grip the outstretched whip. Bombini had taken no notice of this, so he had kept a firm grip on his weapon and was pulled too as Shadow fell.

Both of them fell off.

And Tails stared, but reacted quickly, and did what he thought was the most stupid and idiotic thing he could have done at the moment.

He jumped off after them.

After the realization of what he had done pummeled over him like an avalanche of bricks, he shut his eyes in deep fear. He could've said that his insides felt like they were jumbling all over the place or that his heart was beating a mile a minute, but he didn't.

He didn't feel anything or hear anything besides the air sliding past him and the wind hitting his ears. Something grabbed his hand and he was afraid, but he soon realized it was Shadow when he opened his eyes just a bit. He couldn't tell how exactly he had reached his falling friend, but he was glad of it.

Ivo..he fell off too. Did that mean that he was...

Gone?

All they were waiting for now was the impact of the ground.

This was the end!

Tails felt themselves stop, but they didn't hit or land on anything. He now felt like he was carrying a heavy weight, but he didn't feel any form of matter around him, at all.

"Tails!" He heard Shadow shout from below him. The child opened his eyes and looked around him. They were still in midair, but….

They were going up?

He desperately looked at Shadow below him, who looked up with a face of pure shock.

"You're…Flying!"

What!?

The fox looked behind him, and sure enough, his twin tails were spinning behind him, so powerful that it lifted both of them up, and spinning so fast that they were nearly invisible.

"No way!" The flying fox exclaimed with as much shock Shadow had. He didn't even know how he was doing it.

He was simply doing it. Flying.

The silent trip up only lasted a few seconds until they reached the cliff's edge, where they had previously fallen off of. They were surprised to see Sonic there, an extremely worried look on his face. Tails let himself and Shadow fall onto the ground, his tails and whole body aching in extreme pain. Sonic hurried over to them.

"What happened? What happened to Ivo? Tails, you were flying?!"

The kit groaned and Shadow spoke up.

"Bombini is dead, or I hope so after that long fall he had. We all fell off, and Tails managed to…fly…and bring us both up."

Sonic thought it over, "Ivo is…dead?" It was almost a whisper but it was heard.

The malevolent ringmaster had fallen to his death.

Dead.

Gone.

Never to be seen again.

His body lying somewhere on unknown ground.

"He's gone." The child said, sitting up and still panting.

The person who had started this whole nightmare was no longer there. The kit just couldn't believe it.

He was free. He was finally out of the terrible hell he had suffered in for quite some time.

"What happened to the others?" Shadow asked his cobalt friend, who grinned in return.

"I lost them, but I don't think we will be seeing them soon." No one knew if the statement was truthful or not, but they decided not to ask questions.

"Right," Shadow eyed Sonic suspiciously, then he looked at Tails, "How did you..fly? I still can't believe that you flew. With your twin tails. You saved both of us because of that!"

The kit was speechless. How excatly did he fly? The only thing he knew was that he needed to do something at the moment, and then just like that, he had uncounsciously spinned his tails, causing him to go up.

How?

"I..don't know." He said.

The hedgehogs looked at him curiously.

"Do you think you can do it again, right now?" Sonic asked.

The fox got up on his feet, and looked at his tails. He gave it a try.

It didn't work.

He huffed in annoyance.

Sonic laughed. "I'm sure that with enough practice, you'll be able to do it on your own will."

The child smiled and nodded, but he suddenly frowned deeply.

"What are we going to do know?"

Tails thought it over. All that Sonic and Shadow were going to do was to get Tails out of the carnival, and they had accomplished that. What now?

"What do you mean?" Shadow asked.

Tails sighed. "You guys came to get me out, and I am very thankful for that. Really. I wouldn't appreciate it more," he looked away, "I guess I have to go back to living in the forest now, and I-"

"Hold on there kid!" Sonic interrupted, waving his hands in a stop motion , "Who said you were going back to living alone in the forest?"

The kit was shocked. "What?"

Shadow had a serious look on. "You are too young to be survivng alone, especially with the way society acts. You'd be in danger. You are going to live with us from now on."

He wouldn't be alone..anymore?

The child had always been alone. He had survived alone, he had adapted alone. He always wished he had some sort of family or friend that could be with him everyday. And now...

"Really!?" He exclaimed. The sun was starting to rise, the night now left behind.

"Of course! Did you really think we would just abandon you after all this?" The blue one questioned, not believing that the child was really thinking he would be alone again.

Tails felt a great excitement within him. "Oh thank you! Thank you! Thank you!"

He couldn't help himself. He leapt up and ran to the blue one, embracing him and tightening his grip when the hedgehog hugged back. Then he went to Shadow, also embracing him, the feelings pouring out.

Miles had started off alone, feeling lost and scared. He had experienced so many things a child his age didn't deserve to see and feel. He had fallen into the trap of the malevolent wonderland, all his feelings of hope quickly diminishing. He went through even worse experiences in that carnival of hell, feeling humiliated and hated, treated unfairly. Yet he learned that there was always hope, even if it wasn't noticable at the time.

Tails held on to Shadow a while longer.

Shadow...

He understood what it was like. He knew, he experienced what the kit had experienced. The cloaked hedgehog had fought for him, had accepted him for who he was because he hadn't been accepted either. They were outsiders, freaks.

As long as he wasn't alone on that matter he didn't care.

Tails was free, and he wasn't alone anymore.

Shadow tightened his hold on his friend.

Yes, he was free.

And he was happy.

After Note: Wow, I'm done. I posted this in what...January? Ten months, Nine chapters. Wow. Ok, well this is it.

The End.

Fin.

Finale.

Whatever.

Haha ok well I like how this came out but then again I don't. Its up for you guys to decide that. I know that there are many unanswered questions out there, but honestly, I had many ideas to answer those, and I couldnt decide what to write, so I'll leave that up to your imagination. The possibilities are endless, I mean, I was going to end this tragically, but I felt bad because you guys wanted a nice happy ending. To be honest, I did too. And this reminds me, I want to thank ALL of the people who helped me out with my writers block, you know who you are, it was really appreciated and I did my best to fit a bit of each of your ideas into it without killing it lol.

Ok well I'd like to thank everyone who has stayed with me here since the beginning, you've been kind and supporting (I was touched that you actually payed attention to my personal comments such as when my brother was born and how was nervous about entering highschool), and overall, everyone who has reviewed/favorited/followed is awesome.

Once again thank you all and if you are interested in more of my work, I'm working on a Sonic fanfic that I will post near Halloween. lol Or maybe this following week because it'll be my birthday! Yay!

Comments and feedback is always welcome!