Chapter 11: Again

Sonic and Tails' moment of joy was abruptly interrupted by a loud growl coming from the fox's stomach. It was then that the fact that Tails had not eaten anything for days dawned on the child. He quickly covered his rumbling belly and looked down, ashamed. His cheeks turned red, and he tried t use his tails to hide his face, for he really didn't want Sonic to know. Unfortunately for the child, Sonic noticed. He chuckled at the fox's childish and dramatic reactions to what he considered a natural occurrence. The cobalt hedgehog chuckled and stood up, dusting the sand off.

"Sounds like someone is hungry." said Sonic cheerfully.

"Well, I haven't had a single bite for days. I seem to have forgotten about it, though." said Tails, still trying to hide his face in his fluffy namesakes. "Besides, I kind of threw my meal at you yesterday."

Sonic laughed at the child's words. Tails had indeed done that, and Sonic himself admitted that the child had great aim, even when he was panic. He reached out a hand to the yellow ball of fluff on the ground, which Tails hesitantly accepted. The blue hero pulled the child up to his tiny feet.

"Well, how about we go to town and grab a bite?" Sonic suggested, hoping that this would make the kid happy. However, his harmless suggestion brought about an unforeseen reaction from Tails, the likes that almost terrified the hedgehog. To the cobalt hero's surprise, Tails' face turned pale at the mention of the word "town". He still remembered what had transpired during his short visit, and he wasn't eager to go through all that again anytime soon. There was a possibility that he would run into the three bullies again if he went there, and he wasn't willing to take such a risk.

Sonic, sensing the fox's sudden discomfort, wondered if he had unknowingly said something that offended the kid. Suddenly, he remembered about Tails' time in the city. It was short, but it was clearly enough to traumatize the poor child. He felt sorry for Tails. That such an innocent and sweet soul had to endure all those pains was beyond his imagination. Sonic hated those who had wronged Tails, each and every one of those bullies. To Sonic, the only thing that made his blood boil beside Robotnik's madness was bullies. He hated them with a passion. He hated how they treated other people like dirt just to prove themselves superior. Sonic made a mental note to give the bullies that had beaten up Tails a lesson they wouldn't forget if he happened to lay eyes on them.

Sonic turned to look at Tails, who had unfortunately been reverted back to the state in which Sonic had found him: a scared and nervous little boy. He threw an arm around Tails' shoulder, surprising the lad.

"Don't worry, Tails." Sonic began, his voice filled with confidence. "I'll be right beside you. If any one of those idiots wants to get to you, they'll have to go through me first. I promise."

Tails only stood there, lost in thought. After a while, he looked at Sonic directly in the eyes and smiled at him, "Thank you" was all that the child could say. However, to Sonic, that was everything the cobalt speedster wanted to hear. Tails bent down and scooped T-pup in his arms and held him there tightly. He looked at Sonic briefly before going with him to town.

Needless to say, Sonic was really impressed with Tails' navigation ability as he guided them through the maze of the forest and made it to their destination in less than ten minutes. Sonic had decided to walk slowly, which was rather unusual for the speedy daredevil. For Tails' sake, however, he decided to break the habit, and he felt quite relaxed going at his leisure. As soon as they reached the city, Tails immediately hid behind Sonic, holding on to the hedgehog' arm like it was his lifeline. Sonic, understanding the fox's reason for discomfort, let him do as he pleased.

As they treaded, Sonic could tell that everyone was looking at Tails with unfriendly eyes. "Unfriendly" was an understatement, because in those icy glares, traces of hate and disgust were clearly visible. Tails was shaking as he could feel where those glares hit him. He grabbed Sonic's arm even more tightly and wished that they were over and done with. Sonic patted the child's head lightly with his free hand and smiled at Tails. That worked as the twin-tailed fox shyly smiled back and calmed down a bit.

The people in the city were surprised when they saw the infamous Sonic the hedgehog, whose fame obviously preceded him, in their neighborhood. They were thrilled; some were star-struck and even fainted after one single glance at the hero. However, all of them were shocked when they saw that the two-tailed fox that had come here the day before was walking side by side with Sonic. Sonic's sensitive ears could pick up the murmurings of some of the passers-by that sounded like, "What is the freak doing with Sonic?", "That monster should get its dirty paws of Sonic, it's defiling him.", "That thing doesn't deserve to be in the great hero's presence." And so on. Tails could hear some of what was being said, which made him shiver more. He didn't dare to look up and kept his head down all the time, afraid of meeting the hateful glares.

Sonic was mad, really mad, but he was doing his best to keep his anger under control. He wouldn't want to go on a rampage in a city, and he was more concerned about keeping Tails close by. He quickly walked down the street and headed to the chilidog stand that Tails had visited on his first day. Sonic planned on grabbing some chilidogs, his favorite food, and teaching the fat bear some manners for mistreating Tails. When they reached the stand, Sonic caught the bear's attention with a soft "Ahem", which worked. The big bear turned around and saw the blue blur in front of him, which practically made him jump with glee.

"Oh my…The Sonic the hedgehog is at my humble stand. What can I do for you?" said the bear with joy.

"Well yeah, I want two chilidogs for me and my pal here, pronto. He's really hungry." said Sonic as he pointed at Tails, who was still hiding behind the blue blur's back. If it weren't for his fluffy appendages, Tails would be completely invisible to the bear. The fat bear looked at the scared fox and instantly recognized him. His happy face disappeared, replaced by a frown. He narrowed his eyes and glared at the young fox cub.

"Okay, one chilidog coming right up." said the bear as he emphasized the word "one" for Sonic and Tails to hear. The way the bear had phrased it clearly made Tails feel hurt. His ears flattened against his skull, his tails went limp, and his eyes looked at his feet, fresh tears threatened to escape soon. To Tails, it was like having to relive his nightmare, but this was one he couldn't wake up from even if he desired so.

Sonic narrowed his eyes and curved his lips. He was at his boiling point. He had tried his hardest to ignore the rude comments directed at his new friend, and his patience was running thin, dangerously thin. If Tails hadn't been with him, he would have run on a rampage that would bring shame to the mad Robotnik's records. He let go of Tails' hands and went close to the counter. Sonic looked directly into the bear's eyes, which shocked him as he could see anger in the hedgehog's emerald orbs.

"I know you may be slightly stupid, so I'll repeat the order. I said TWO chilidogs for me and my starving friend." said Sonic as he made no attempt to show his contempt.

"But…I don't sell to fre…"

The bear didn't even finish his sentence, because he was interrupted by Sonic, who looked like he was ready to spin dash the fat owner into next Friday.

"Say that word," Sonic said to the bear, his voice dangerously low, "and I'll make you regret learning that word…or living." His threat was said very quietly, not loud enough for Tails to hear, but clearly more than enough to make the bear wet his pants. The bear was shaking. He was afraid of a small hedgehog that wasn't even half his size. However, this little hedgehog could and would carry out his threat if he was given enough incentive and reason, something that the bear had come really close to succeeding. He stood there, dumbfounded and stunned. After a while, he regained his senses. He looked at the confused Tails and the menacing, if not murderous, hedgehog In front of him and nodded slowly.

"Yes, mister Sonic. Two chilidogs coming right up." After that, he got down to making the chilidogs while Sonic waited at the counter. He briefly turned back and gave Tails a thumbs up, which made the kid smile a little, happy that he would finally get something to eat. He turned back at the bear, now scared half to death, and grinned at him evilly.

"That's better, pops. If you ignore my friend or anyone like him ever again, remember that I'm the fastest thing alive, and I'm watching you."

The smell of chilidogs made Tails' sensitive nose burst. He was really hungry, and smelling such an alluring and delicious smell only made his stomach growl even louder, something that Sonic could clearly hear as he looked at Tails briefly after the sound. Tails was happy, incredibly happy that he was given something to eat. It was new to the child. He had never been given anything for free in his life before. He felt a little uneasy, but mostly happy. For the first time, he was being treated like a normal civilian, not some freaky mistake made by Mother Nature.

Tails looked at Sonic's back and unconsciously smiled to himself. The fox was grateful for everything Sonic had done for him. The cobalt hero had bandaged him, comforted him, and even helped him understand the warmth of kindness and compassion. In his head, Tails had already lost count of how many times he had thanked his blue savior. He stood where he was, grinning from ear to ear as he looked at Sonic, whose back was still turned to him.

Tails heard footsteps approaching him from behind, but he didn't mind. Before he knew it, however, he found himself looking at some strange shadows, which were clearly not his own.

Slowly, Tails turned his head to look at the one whose shadow had covered him. As soon as he turned back, his face was met with a punch that sent the poor child flying. Tails fell to the ground, still confused at what had transpired until he felt the sting on his cheek. He gently touched the wounded spot and yelped as it stung. Tails looked back and saw the trio that had beaten him the previous day. The hound was the one that had punched Tails. The twin-tailed fox was trembling; he felt like his entire body was glued to the ground, he felt numb.

Sonic, at the sound of Tails' yelp, quickly turned around and saw a sight that didn't help improve his already rotten mood. He saw Tails on the ground trembling uncontrollably, and three larger teens coming straight at him. The hound in the middle was cracking his fingers as he approached to make him look intimidating.

"I told you to get off the island, freak." Said the hound, and the other two laughed.

As soon as they started pointing and laughing at Tails, who was already crying from the pain and humiliation, Sonic quickly spin dashed them, knocking them down. He quickly ran to Tails and helped him up.

"Tails, are you okay?" asked Sonic as he looked at the wound on Tails cheek. It was a very bad bruise.

"I'm going to be fine." Tails said between sobs as he tried to act brave. "I'm used to this, don't worry."

Sonic could tell the last statement was a lie. No matter how many times he had to endure that, Tails could never get used to it. He was trying to act brave so as not to worry Sonic; his efforts, however, were in vain. Sonic looked at the three bullies, who were wobbly trying to get back on their feet. They were stronger than Sonic had given them credit for. They looked at the blue blur and were shocked. They didn't understand why Sonic would defend a two-tailed freak that everyone hated. They couldn't comprehend something as simple as compassion.

Sonic returned their bewildered gazed with an icy glare of his own. The glare that suggested he was prepared to tear them to shreds like what he usually did to Robotnik's robots. He stepped forward. Before the three teens could even move, they were wrapped a blue blur and disappeared. A few seconds later, they reappeared in a fountain in the middle of the city, surprised, drenched, and publically humiliated. Some kids were giggling at them, while other people started whispering to themselves and pointed at them.

"Now, feel the pain that you have put my friend through." said Sonic, the orchestrator of the little appearing act. "If you so much as look at Tails again, you'd better hope you can run faster than me." After that, Sonic sped off to Tails. When h got back to Tails, the poor kid was still crying, and he was holding his tails in his hands in a futile attempt to hide them. Sonic touched the kid's shoulder and asked if he was okay, to which Tails replied he was, but Sonic knew better.

Sonic quickly grabbed the chilidogs and held Tails up in bridal style and sped off. At this point, Tails didn't even care about being carried by Sonic; he just wanted to get away from the city, away from those icy glares, away from everything that could hurt him. He only wanted to be alone.

With Sonic's speed, it didn't take long until they get back to the Tornado. During the entire length of the ride, Tails never stopped crying. He was crying quietly, shaking in Sonic's arms. His nightmare had become reality, and the child was undoubtedly frightened. Yet another scar had been formed in his innocent heart that, along with his numerous old ones, wouldn't heal anytime soon.

Sonic knew Tails was crying, but he didn't say anything. Nothing the hedgehog said would get through to Tails in his emotional agony. He cursed those bullies for hurting Tails yet again. However, his anger was directed more at himself. He had promised that he would protect Tails, yet he had turned his back on the kid, even if it had only been for a few seconds, Tails had been hurt. Sonic continued to chastise himself for his carelessness as he made his way for the Tornado.

Once they arrived, Sonic put Tails down in the cockpit. Sonic quickly treated ails' new injuries and put some bandages around them. Noticing that Tails was still sobbing, Sonic pulled the lad into a tight hug and tried to comfort his miserable friend.

"It's okay now, Tails." Sonic said with a soothing voice, "They can't hurt you here. I'm right here…I'm right here." Sonic began to stroke the kid's back gently.

Tails looked at Sonic's emerald eyes that seemed to tell no lie. The way the hedgehog looked at him was warm, and loving. One look into those orbs, and Tails could easily tell how sincere Sonic was. He managed to smile weakly at Sonic. After a while, Tails glared at his two tails with sad eyes, and looked like he was thinking about something, hesitation clearly shown in his eyes.

"Sonic," began Tails at last, "Could I ask you something?"

"Sure, Tails. Anything."

"When you said that I wasn't a freak, that I was special…Did you really mean it?"

Sonic sighed in frustration. Tails had zero self-esteem due to his emotional scars. Despite the fact that Sonic had had this conversation with the child before, Tails wasn't fully convinced. Sonic couldn't blame Tails, though. He would say it again and again if he had to, until Tails stopped regarding to himself as a freak. Sonic looked at Tails directly in the eyes.

"I meant every word I said, and I'll say it again. You are not a freak, you are you, Tails. You are special. If that isn't enough, I'll say it times and again until it sinks into your head."

Tears welled up in Tails' eyes again. This time, they were tears of joy. Just hearing from Sonic could make the child happy. Sonic didn't prejudice against him, he treated him like a normal living being. Overwhelmed with happiness, Tails hugged Sonic, surprising the hedgehog.

Sonic was having a little difficulty breathing, just like every other time Tails had hugged him. For someone so tiny, Tails sure had a strong grip, probably due to his many years of holding various tools. Just like every other time, Sonic didn't have the heart to refuse the child a hug. He reached out his hand and patted Tails' head lightly, waiting for Tails to settle down.