Before Note: Hey guys! Man today was my last day of eighth grade; we had a lot of activities during the week! :D lol I can't believe I'm starting my first year of highschool next season! Gah I'm scared and nervous omg

Anyways, I worked on this throughout the week, I had some writers block so it was sort of difficult, and I'm not so proud of this chapter, but I got it done. The REAL adventure(conflict) starts after this! ;D hehe well even though I'm on summer vacation I have a big responsibility on helping take care of my little bro (and since I qualify or whatever for the Honors English class for my first year of highschool I need to work on a book report during this time too XPXP) but my updates will still be quicker now (I hope XP)

For all my reviewers/people who fav and follow, once again, I thank you ALL for being so supportive, I really appreciate it and I hope my writing skills improve too

ON WITH THE CHAPTER!

Disclaimer: I do not own Sonic the Hedgehog or any of its characters. They all rightfully belong to SEGA and/or Sonic Team.

It looked like Bombini was mad.

Well, if he wasn't he wouldn't be beating his employee half to death, now, would he?

Tails watched impassively from his cage as the ringmaster threw a performer into a pile of crates. The round man has been engaging into fits of anger for a while now, always targeting any employee in close range to let off steam. The kit had no idea what had been causing this torment, and he felt some empathy for the poor employees that have to go through that torture on the inside. But even they treat him as bad as they are treated themselves, so he guessed it wasn't that bad. And then a new idea came to mind:

Why do the employees, who are treated so unjustly by Ivo, still remain so loyal to said ringmaster?

Tails was pretty sure those employees had the power to leave at any time at their own will. Ever since the fox crossed paths with this hell everything made little sense. It was like a bad dream, a nightmare, where you can't seem to hold on or get away from anything and you could wake up at any moment and feel that sudden wave of relief once the realization that the torment is over sinks in.

The child wants to wake up so badly.

Tails sat back in his cage, pondering the thoughts that crossed his mind. However, a loud crash disrupted the sudden calmness in the air. The kit snapped his head up and at the distance could be seen a performer lying dazed in a pile of equipment. Bombini could be seen stomping off with his face so red and so angry that steam could have been coming out of his ears. The child stared curiously, glad that whatever has been making the ringmaster so irritated, had nothing to do with him. The round man hasn't even thought about the fox, not checking on the child as he usually does. Then again, Tails has been thinking back on the day that Ivo discovered the napkins. Could that incident have caused something else than just the pain of a whip?

He'd rather not think of it anymore.

For some odd reason, there would be no show that night. It was like a day off, if you could really call it that. The round man must really be up in his troubles to go as far as giving a day off. Also, not much attention has been given to the kit, and sometimes they would forget to even give him a meal when it was usually given. The meals might be gunk, but it was a meal nonetheless. Thankfully, though, he got at least one meal per day, that, and Shadow and Sonic would always bring him something during the night, even if they didn't stay long.

Shadow and Sonic…

It was so odd to the child, who had no way of trusting someone easily because of the way he was treated, that he gave those two hedgehogs all the trust he had without a second thought. Those two had made blossom the hope within him that he thought he had lost completely. Was that what it meant to have true friends? People you can trust?

He supposed so.

"Ivo has been raging all over the carnival lately, I don't know why; it's starting to worry me," the kit explained to the two hedgehogs, trailing off in thoughtfulness.

The night seemed better than the others. A full moon shone brightly against a cloudless, dark sky filled with shining stars. The nightly breeze was cold, but not freezing cold, it was the type of breeze where it's cool and comfortably refreshing. Although the carnival lights were off, the tents and other game and food stands easily contrasted against the surrounding forest. Sonic stayed at a distance from the cage, walking around and kicking rocks until they landed in a place where they couldn't be located anymore now and then because he couldn't keep still, it was part of his character. However, the child knew he was listening either way. Shadow leaned against one of the cage's bars, listening intently to the kit's information; said fox sat in his cage, on his knees and carefully informing the cloaked hedgehogs of some of the current carnival news.

"That's not a surprise; you should never test that man's patience," Sonic said, half amused, yet his eyes flashed with seriousness and possible anger, the kit noted, as he kicked a stone so hard it went flying and got lost in the nearby bushes.

Shadow said nothing, keeping his eyes closed as if in deep thought, arms crossed over his chest, a habit Tails picked up on whenever the dark one was focused on a certain subject. There was a sudden silence, and the twin-tailed fox looked at both hedgehogs, seeing if either would say something. After no word came from either, the child sat in a more comfortable position and was about to start speaking, but the dark one beat him to it.

"It's time to take action."

The blue speedster stopped and looked at him with a face of surprise, but the black hedgehog only gave him a stern glare, making the cobalt one sigh and nod. Crimson orbs met with blue ones.

"To be honest, we can actually get you out of here very easily, easier than you think," Shadow said. Tails stared in confusion. If what he said was true, then what was stopping them? "However," the dark one continued as he stood straight and looked the kit in the eye, "the ringmaster is an intelligent man."

"Believe it or not."

Shadow ignored the blue one's comment. "He probably already knows what we are up to, he always has." He trailed of, a grave tone in his voice. The fox's heart skipped a beat; just thinking of the ringmaster being able to do something horrible frightened him.

"You see, we have this sort of…history…with the Egghead," Sonic casually put in, as if telling an old story, "and-"

"That history has no importance in this current situation," the black hedgehog snapped, as harshly as a whip, on impulse. He had turned his head immediately at the cobalt one's direction so fast it was surprising his neck didn't crack. His eyes were hard and it seemed as if he could have been angry. Shadow's intense glare had no effect on Sonic, who only looked back concerned.

Tails was stunned. Never had he seen his dark colored friend react so…so… harshly. Never had he heard his voice so full of venom. The kit had gotten used to Shadow's natural calmness that this sudden action had really surprised him, and he too felt concerned, but now things were more confusing.

History…with Bombini?

So they had already had an encounter with the round man? Well, it was obvious now that that was true. The fox could only imagine what could have happened before. And yet, he couldn't think of any possible scenario. Judging by Shadow's reaction, it probably wasn't pretty. It dawned to him that he now had understood these two a bit more as he came to a reasonable conclusion. It seemed clearer now that their lives mustn't have been all that easy either. That they had suffered too.

Just like Miles.

It made sense now.

Tails felt a bigger concern for his friends, and he was absolutely curious as to what had happened in the past. However, he thought it wise to not open an old wound. Instead, he reached over and laid a hand on the dark one's shoulder. The hedgehog looked back at him, now calm and over his sudden reaction. The child gave him a sad, yet reassuring smile. Shadow couldn't help but give a chuckle and ruffle the kid's bangs.

The tension in the air was now gone.

Sonic grinned in the background, his playful nature returning and showing in his gleaming eyes. After a moment, the conversation went back to normal, as if the sudden event had not taken place.

"The point of the matter is, even if we get you out, there is a strong chance that Ivo will soon be on our trail, and we don't want to risk that," the hedgehog stated, "so we need time to try and outsmart him…"

"And hopefully, bring him down to stop this madness," Sonic finished.

That was when Tails realized how much his two friends were risking themselves, risking their lives.

For him. For the cruelty that has taken place in the carnival of hell.

He didn't want them to be hurt or worse because of him. No, he couldn't let that happen. He understood what they were trying to say to him now.

The child got to his feet and gave a nervous smile. Sonic and Shadow looked at him blankly, unaware of the kit's next statement. He focused on the main idea that had and will keep him moving since the day he met Shadow.

"What do I need to do?"

He focused on hope.

After Note: Well, there you have it. I hope you enjoyed and I know this was a slow chapter, ugh I need to get focusing more on this now . Don't worry, now that I have more time I'll put more work into this!

Till next time!

Comments and feedback is always welcome! :D