Before Note: Hey guys! Iv'e been having a busy time lately but things are settling down. And now I've been finding that I have free time during the night when my mom and the baby are asleep so I've been typing this up at 1 am these past few nights. It has been, for some reason, extremely hard for me to write anything good these days so I've been frustrated about this a lot. I hope this chapter came out to your liking because I've been re-writing and re-writing a lot!
As always, I thank all my reviewers for all their support and to all the people who fav/follow. Know that you are appreciated! :D
Disclaimer: Sonic the Hedgehog and all it's characters rightfully belong to SEGA and/or Sonic Team.
Shadow, Sonic, and Tails came to a simple agreement. They had not yet a plan, so that was the first thing they needed to work on. The hedgehogs had carefully explained to the kit that he needed to be aware of his surroundings, to pick up on anything out of place yet making it seem as if he wasn't doing anything suspicious.
He was basically going to do some spy work.
However, his friends had strictly told him that he could absolutely not go sneaking around where he could get caught. Then, all their work would have been blown out the window.
Yet, Tails felt he was capable of doing more than just spy work. He knew that Sonic and Shadow wanted to keep him as safe as possible, and he appreciated their protective concern for him. They trusted him and he trusted them. He was like their little brother for god's sake! He remembered the feeling of happiness and joy he got every time they came to see him. He looked back on how close they had gotten in such little time.
Especially with Shadow. Tails held a great respect for the dark hedgehog, the one who first gave him a feeling of hope. Sonic was also a close friend, he always made Tails feel happy whenever the day had brought him down, but Shadow just seemed to give off a feeling of understanding.
And that made the fox respect him even more.
He felt awful for going into something as risky as this.
He hoped they forgave him, but this was a great opportunity…
Tiny fingers desperately attempted to reach the metal ring that held his only escape.
The key to his cage.
His fingertips were only centimeters away from their desired destination. Tails leaned out as much as he could, sweat dripping from his forehead. This was a golden chance that not even the kit himself could believe.
He was so close.
The performer that locked him up at the end of the day had accidently dropped the key as he left.
And he didn't even notice!
He had waited a while to make sure the performer had absolutely not noticed the missing key. The carnival was dead quiet and so he saw this as his chance. The fox squeezed himself as much as he was capable of in between the metal bars, reaching for the ground. This wasn't as difficult as expected because there was little distance between the floor and the cage. He gave one last reach…
Yes!
The kit grinned in triumph as his fingers wrapped around the ring. Using his free hand, he pulled himself up. He couldn't believe it! He actually had the key! He went to the lock, but stopped in mid step.
What would he do? Where would he go?
Sonic and Shadow weren't there. Not for that night at least. That meant that he had nowhere to go, if he did try to escape, he would surely get lost in the forest. And if Bombini sent people to look for him he wouldn't stand a chance. So he couldn't escape. What else could he do? He could go looking around the carnival. But what if he woke someone up? What if he got caught?
Tails crossed his arms (in a very Shadow-like manner) and pouted in frustration. He had the key to his cage, but he couldn't do anything! Much less escape!
He sat down, giving a shudder at the sudden coldness. A burning pain made itself present in his chest, maybe from the nervousness. He thought over a new idea.
Should he keep the key, or throw it on the ground again as if he hadn't touched it?
If he kept it, he may become a suspicious suspect, or maybe the performer would think he dropped it somewhere else. Even forget about it. That was wishful thinking. If he dropped it on the ground, nothing would happen; someone would just find it and be like 'Oh, it seems it was accidently dropped here'. Although, it could be questioned on why it didn't seem as the kit tried to get it, it WAS the key to HIS cage after all.
This wasn't fair!
Tails got up and looked around him, trying to formulate any plan of escape. The only thing he saw were forest trees, leading into the darkness. No, he couldn't escape like this. If only Shadow and Sonic were there…
But they weren't, and he had to understand that.
He still kept scanning the area, searching for every little thing.
And that's when he saw it.
It was hidden well, and he was surprised that he spotted it in such darkness. But he saw it.
A small, wooden building, like some sort of shack. It was located between a few trees, and it looked as if it hadn't been opened in a while. Tails looked at the key in his hand, and then at the crude building. It stood there, standing out and contrasting against the dark trees. The burning sensation came back in his chest. This was an opportunity. He made up his mind.
The door creaked a bit, but not too loud. Tails left the key under the cage and looked around, the fear of getting caught already inside him, shuddering at the sudden coldness in the air. He took his first few steps toward the small building. It seemed so far away and he became desperate, quickening his steps. His destination got closer and closer, yet the fear also grew within him, and he started to regret the idea of sneaking out of his cage. He felt as if anything would be able to pop out and attack him at any moment.
Tails was surprised to find himself already in front of the building. He shook of his nerves and laid his hand on the moldy, wooden door, ready to push it open. His eyes closed shut, afraid of what may lay inside and he mustered up the strength to push the door open. He heard a sickening creak and opened his eyes.
A…..Supply room?
Blue eyes scanned around the small space, the dim moonlight providing just enough light to see what was in front of him; his shadow grew big at the far end wall. Old looking performance props such as hoops and instruments were stacked all around, and cardboard boxes were aligned in a bunch against the wall. The child cautiously stepped inside, trying to find anything else that could aid his faint curiosity. He noticed a few papers tacked onto the wall.
A cough escaped his lips as a small puff of dust blew in his face as he moved a few boxes to use as steps. Once done, he hopped on and reached for one of the papers. He pulled it off and immediately noticed how thin and faded it was.
It was part of a newspaper, a headline evident on the top. The low light didn't help in trying to interpret the faded print. Frustrated, he grabbed another paper from the wall. This one was easier to read. After a moment, Tails managed to read the headline.
Popular Freak Show at Carnevale di Gloria
That was all he managed to read. He felt his stomach twist as a he suddenly got a feeling about what this was about. He hoped he was far from right. It just couldn't be.
He nervously plucked another paper.
This one had a picture on it.
Blue eyes widened in shock, and maybe in fear, too.
Shadow….
The kit stumbled back, falling off the boxes and landing on his bottom.
It couldn't be! Could it?
He glanced back at the picture.
It was definitely Shadow. It was only in black and white but his dark fur and gleaming eyes were unmistakable. He looked worn down, many wounds evident on his frail looking body. Was this what the dark hedgehog wanted to hide so badly? His pained expression came back to him when Sonic had mentioned this…Past.
The fox then realized that Shadow had been just like him. No wonder the kit always felt a wave of understanding from him. He didn't want the child to suffer the same fate he did.
Tails stood up, comprehending what he had just discovered. However, a crumpled piece of paper came in his way. With new curiosity, he picked it up and smoothed it out as carefully as he could. Another newspaper article….
Carnival Freak Escapes the Carnival, Many Were Injured
What?
Many Were Injured?
What had happened?
The child blinked his eyes in confusion. There was more to this situation than it seemed. He tightened his fists in frustration as the article was faded and crumpled, and so, unreadable.
Should he ask his two friends about this? Or should he keep it to his self? They were surely going to have a shock if they found out he put himself in risk of getting caught. Would they mind much? He had promised them that he wouldn't make risky moves. Would he be violating the trust they had to each other?
The thought gave him fear. No, he didn't want that. But wouldn't it be the same if they found out that he didn't tell them about it?
The child shook his head. What should he do?
Tails jumped when he heard the early birds chirping loudly as they did every morning.
…
Morning!
The kit snapped his head around. Sure enough, the sun was just barely showing up over the forest.
Had he been there all night?
That didn't matter now; he needed to get back in the cage before anyone came to check on him. He stuffed the crumpled newspaper in his shoe and ran out the door, shutting it behind him.
His steps were quick but the cage didn't seem to get closer. He pushed himself further and it felt as if his feet weren't even touching the ground. He looked down.
His feet were not touching the ground!
That's when he noticed that his tails were spinning extremely fast, like a helicopter, behind him.
He was flying!
The fox didn't believe it, what was he doing?
His tails slowed down and he met the ground, stumbling a bit, but he finally arrived at the cage. He grabbed the key and locked himself inside, throwing it out after that. He finally decided it wasn't a good idea to keep it.
He took a few breaths as he sat down in exhaustion. He flew! How did it happen? Did spinning his tails propel him up? Tails crouched and attempted to spin his tails the same way again.
Only to have them twist up painfully.
He had done it unconsciously, so what were the chances of it happening again? The kit sighed, so much had happened. This was something that he had to tell Sonic and Shadow about.
He gasped.
He reached for the paper in his shoe, but decided to leave it there in the meantime.
How was he supposed to tell them about this flying incident when he didn't want to tell them about the shack?
The thoughts invaded his mind, and his gut told him to tell them the truth. They would understand.
He hoped.
No. They would understand. They had gone through this same situation too, so they would.
The kit sighed as the sunlight hit a side of his body, giving him a much needed warmth. He tried again to spin his tails in a manner that they would not twist together and hurt, but it didn't work. Officially giving up on that for the moment, he looked at the key he had thrown out at a distance.
Had he done the right thing?
After Note: I feel that this chapter is longer than the other ones... Anyways, first off, I always try to fix typos and spelling errors when I find them but I will do all editing when this story is finished. Just for the people that point them out don't worry! I will fix them.
Ok, well I don't know what to think of this chapter, I've been losing inspiration but I figured that if I work on it bit by bit I could get it done.
Hope you enjoyed and comments and feedback is ALWAYS welcome and appreciated.