"So that's that, huh? The world lost a hero?"

"Yeah, no more hero business from me. Sonic's strong enough to deal with Eggman by himself nowadays anyway." Tails sipped from his coffee mug. He was out getting coffee with Wave at the moment, and he was talking about the latest adventure he had with Sonic, which was most likely going to be the last adventure he ever had with him.

"Not to mention that Egghead's plans are getting worse and worse," Wave added, making a purposefully loud noise through her straw. Tails got a cup of espresso, and Wave got a milkshake.

"Well, he still managed to make me go blind. So I guess that's one way he managed to get a victory over the heroes-"

"Are you Tails the Fox?" Tails was cut off by a young wolf boy with big round glasses who was holding a Crush 40 album. He couldn't have been older than how old Sonic was when he adopted Tails. Around 11, was the fox's best guess.

"Um, yes? Is there something you need?" He turned towards the origin of the voice, hoping he wasn't too far off with his direction.

"I love you and Sonic! You two are the best heroes this whole planet has ever seen! Can I have your autograph?" He handed Tails the album and a pen, something Tails had not held in a long time. He hesitated but took it from his hands and tried his hardest to write on the back of the album. He managed to write 'Tails' in a messy scribble, but that was good enough for the boy.

"Wow! This is so cool! I've heard that you've gone blind, but you'll kick that blindness away, right? Or-or you're gonna find a way to make it even cooler! Just like how you did it with your two tails, right? Because you were bullied when you were young for them but now you can fly with them! You're so cool! I bet that you're gonna be way cooler since you're a blind hero now! I bet that you'll be able to-"

"That's enough, kid. I actually have some hero business to attend to right now, so do you mind if I leave?" Tails got up, not wanting to hear more from him. As much as he adored little kids that idolized him and Sonic, this was not something that he wanted to hear. Not now, and probably not for a long time.

"Oh, alright! Please say hello to Sonic for me!" The wolf boy stepped aside for Tails, who walked out of the building with Wave right behind him.

"The idea that my disability is another part of what makes me so special is just...it rubs me the wrong way, you know?" Tails rubbed his left arm, looking down onto himself. Tails stayed mostly silent after they left the cafe, only asking if Wave wanted something from the ice cream shop they went past. He finally opened his mouth after wandering around the area aimlessly for 10 minutes or so.

"I understand, Tails. I really do. But you are known for being a mutant with two tails. That's literally what your nickname is named after. You said that you were bullied when you were young for your twin tails? It makes sense that people will see you as some sort of 'mascot for the disabled', and the 'you can do whatever you want'. You know?" Wave licked on her soft cone icecream Tails bought for her. Tails himself wasn't in the mood for any, even though he would have probably benefitted from the sweets more than her.

"Well, that's because I was bullied for no real, logical reason. At the end of the day, my two tails are a gift. They're not a disability, they just look kind of funny, and even then, I met plenty of people who think they make me look cute. Bottom line is that my tails are not like my blindness. One is an objective advantage that some people tried to make as a disability, and the other is just a straight-up disadvantage that makes every part of my life more difficult than it should be." Tails explained as he brought out his umbrella to help him walk. They were walking towards a crowded area full of people, which was something Tails found it challenging to focus on while talking.

"See, even now, when I'm walking, it's unnecessarily difficult for me to walk and talk at the same time. No functioning person has that issue. I can get around it, sure, but that doesn't mean that I struggle more than the average person. People portray disability as something that's secretly beautiful or freeing, much like how people look at my tails most of the time. But…" Tails sighed, running a hand up through his hair. "There's nothing beautiful about me working late till night to do something that any normal person would take minutes to do. Nothing is freeing about me having to carry around a heavy umbrella with me just so that I won't have to trip while walking or run into something head-first. There's...There's nothing beautiful about the realization that my dream was not meant or built for people with my disability." He took in a deep breath, sighed, and continued. "Having a disability doesn't mean that I'm secretly cooler or more beautiful than anybody else. It means that I'm disabled. It means that I have to struggle more and work harder for something others don't struggle nearly as hard at, and it means that I'm in a marathon with a ball and chain wrapped around my legs. And no one is going to accommodate me for that since...I'm alone in that marathon. I'm the only one running, and it's a race against myself. And when people romanticize a disability, it doesn't make me feel better. It just makes me feel unheard."

Tails finally finished, letting out a huge sigh that left the air around him cold and empty. Wave shivered, not knowing what to say or if she even had anything to say. She couldn't disagree with him, she's been saying the exact same thing to him for months now. He just repeated it back to her in a much more sophisticated, well-structured way. All she could do was placed a hand on his back and pat him.

"It's okay, Tails. I know. Even if I never experienced what you're saying, and even if I will never quite know how you feel, I understand. And I'm here for you if you need to ever vent like that. We all are. All of your friends." Then, she did something Tails never expected her to do. She wrapped her arms around his body and brought him in for a hug. She placed one hand on his hand and smoothed out his hair.

Tails felt his face brighten up but chose to ignore it. It felt good when she pet his head like that.

However, the hug lasted much shorter than one of them would have liked, since Tails heard something coming from the alleyway. The area was much less dense with people around, so he was able to focus on more quiet sounds that most people would have not noticed.

He escaped from the hug, much to the dismay of Wave, and tapped his umbrella over to the alleyway that had the origin of those sounds. They were all too familiar noises; noises that he had heard years ago and never again since. His footsteps got faster and faster as he became more sure of what he was hearing, knowing full well how dangerous running was for a blind man like himself.

When Tails came out of the alleyway and onto the other side, he was met face to face with 3 young kids kicking dirt into the face of another kid. While he wasn't completely aware of what was going on, the words that the kids said were enough to give him a good idea.
"What do you kids think you're doing!" He yelled, hoping that the presence of an angry adult would be enough to scare the kids away. Thankfully, they did not notice or care that he was blind, and the tactic worked. He could hear the bullies cower away, while the young kid was curled up into a ball, weeping very quietly.

Tails knelt next to the kid and placed a hand on their back, slowly patting them. "It's okay. Those bullies are gone now. Where are your parents?"

Before the kid could answer, Wave caught up to Tails and saw him on the ground with this kid she's never seen before. "Tails? What are you doing?"

"This kid was getting bullied by some other kids. They were calling this poor kid a freak and useless. I know how it feels to be called that all too well, and I couldn't stop myself from investigating a little." Tails explained while keeping his hand on the back of the child. They had gotten out of their ball position and had resorted to sitting on their rear and sniffling.

Wave sighed, getting down to her knees right next to Tails and wiping away the tears and blood with the napkin she had from buying that ice cream cone earlier. "Well, they're about 8 years old, a parrot, and very grey. What's your name?" She explained to the fox since he wouldn't have been able to get that information without asking.

"A-Arty…" The little parrot responded, shivering when he answered. His voice was a shallow whisper, and Wave could barely make it out.

"Arty. Well, Arty, can you explain to us what was going on?" Wave was trying her hardest, but she never really had to deal with a kid getting bullied before. If anything, she was the one doing the bullying.

"What did you think was going on, Wave? He was getting bullied." Tails brought the kid in for a comforting hug, bringing him into his laps and petting his soft head. "Where are your parents, Arty?"

Arty simply shook his head, to which Wave asked, "Are they...gone?"

Arty nodded his head and pulled out a little card that said, "This kid is from the Sunflower Foster Home," along with the address to said foster home below. On the other side, it read, "Please return the card to the child when you are done with it." in much smaller words.

"Cheeky," Wave muttered, giving the card back to Arty after she finished reading it. "The kid is from a foster home, and it's a little bit away from here. We should probably take him there."

"A foster home...Do they treat you well there?" Tails asked, rubbing underneath the parrot's chin, something that he loved when Sonic did to him back when they were both young. Arty nodded, and this time Tails could tell since he had his hands on Arty's head. "Well, I'm glad at least one part of your life is okay. Do you want a piggyback ride on the way there?"

Arty got off of Tails' hold and jumped up and down in excitement, hugging Tails from behind him. Tails chuckled and picked him up along with his legs. "Alright then, Arty. Let's go to your home."

"So what was going on, Arty? Why were those kids bullying you?" Wave asked as Arty was enjoying his piggyback ride. He had arms wrapped around Tails' neck, and his face showed nothing but pure contentment.

"Wave! That's rude to ask! Arty, you don't have to answer that if you don't have to." Since Tails wasn't able to use his umbrella, he was completely relying on Wave to be his navigator. He was glad they were on a level of trust that came this far, especially considering how rough their first-ever meeting was.

"I...I can't fly." Arty murmured, looking away from Wave but not in a way to make her feel bad. He just felt squirmy when he talked about his issue.

"Oh, parrots can fly without any aids usually, right?" Tails asked, getting a nod from the bird riding his back. "He's probably lacking physical strength to fly. He's quite light from what I can tell, if he really is 8 years old like you told me." That was directed towards Wave, but Tails got another positive answer from Arty.

"That's unfortunate…" Wave had nothing else to add to that. Again, Wave didn't have much experience when it came to bullying unless she was the one doing it. The closest thing to got to dealing with a bully victim was talking to Tails after she teased him. Which was, to be fair, almost every hour she spent with him. The foster home was right up ahead, thankfully, so she wouldn't have to be the awkward one for much longer.

She rang the doorbell and a very nice looking owl with glasses came up to the door. He saw Tails carrying Arty and immediately gasped. "Oh, Arty, did those mean kids get to you again?" He picked Arty up from Tails and thanked the two over and over again.

"Those kids have been messing with poor little Arty here ever since he got over here. He's apparently had this issue from the previous foster home as well, but at least his foster siblings aren't the ones bullying him." He pet the little parrot who was clinging to his leg. "He's too shy to talk most of the time you see, and he's physically incapable of flying. While those aren't things that should be celebrated, they shouldn't be things to be ridiculed about either." He went on, sighing between every sentence. "Thank you so much for being good people and carrying him here. Say goodbye, Arty."

"Goodbye, Arty," Arty whispered, smiling like a dork.

"At least he's got a sense of humor." Wave chuckled, patting the kid on the head, which he greatly appreciated.

Tails and Wave turned around to leave, but just as they were about to leave the property, the door opened, and the owl poked his head out and called for Tails.

"Mr. Prower, sir, Arty was too shy to say, but he's a huge fan of yours. Being a shy, orphaned kid who's bullied all the time, he finds you a great role model and you give him hope."

Tails felt a large lump form in his throat, something that he had great trouble swallowing before he managed to mutter out the words, "I'm glad to have been there for him."

Tails waited to hear the sound of the door close and walked a considerable distance away before he asked Wave, "Do you think he can see me from the window here?"

"No, why do you ask?"

"Good." He fell onto his knees and cried, an endless stream of tears flowing down his cheeks as he wiped them away with his hands.

This was meant to be the last chapter before the epilogue, as you can see from my author's notes on my previous chapter. However, as I was writing Arty, I realized I needed to build him up as an actual character, and that he was not a character I could write in one chapter. Maybe if the chapter was 10k words long, but that's just not how I write.

So instead, I guess I'll probably be writing a couple more chapters. I don't mind, since this means I can easily break that 40k threshold. Did you know that the distinction between a novella and a novel is usually considered the 40k word mark? I'm really excited about that.

Other than that, this chapter was written extremely quickly because I'm just having the easiest time of my life writing at the moment. I'm not sure if the next chapter will be posted this quickly, but we'll just have to wait and see. Maybe I'll post another chapter of Cause first.

Oh, and if you haven't read my other fanfic, You Are The Cause Of All That Happens Around Me, more commonly known as simply, Cause, please do. It's something I spend a lot of time on and I just wish that I could have rated it T (It's rated M), but I couldn't in my good conscience, and I feel like I lose a lot of readers because of that.

I won't spoil anything, so just go and read it. Right now. Why are you still here? GO!