Welp, last chapter. I'm proud I finished it, but while I'm glad, I'm also sad. It's hard ending a story you worked so hard on, but it all pays off of course. (:

Hope everyone enjoys this final chapter of Reign Over Me. It's really touching although I think its more 'awh' touching than 'omg -sob-' touching, but it may be a mixture of both. :) Thanks for reading RoM and stay tuned for more from Aiko-Chan SoT!! :DD

Epilogue

With a final turn of the key, Miles 'Tails' Prower sighed and turned away from his shop, glad the day was over. The sun was warm on his fur, and he reached up to wipe the sweat from his brow. He stepped down from the steps, pulling his bangs from his face. He stood at the base of the steps, watching the crowded traffic on both the sidewalk and the road. He noticed the blur of blue through the crowd, and smiled, blending with the crowd and walking north. Seconds later, a blue hedgehog appeared beside him, falling in step with him as they walked along with the crowd. The hedgehog looked over at him with a sideways grin.

"Hey, Tails," he greeted, folding his hands behind his back as the two walked side by side up the sidewalk. Tails glanced over at him and grinned, folding his own hands behind his head.

"Hey, Sonic."

Two months ago, Sonic the Hedgehog had been hospitalized for an attempt to take his own life. Now, two months later, Tails could hardly believe it was the same hedgehog that he had found lying on the floor in his own blood. The hedgehog had taken a change for the better. And although he was nowhere near as carefree as he used to be, the hedgehog had improved drastically, and Tails was beginning to see the Sonic he knew growing up returning.

The kitsune looked over at his best friend, his blue eyes taking in the changes. Physically, the hedgehog had changed for the better as well. Once before, his fur was a dull blue, unkempt and messy. Now, it was the shiny cobalt it used to be and fixed better. Color was back in his face as well, and his eyes were no longer dull and lifeless. Now, when Tails looked at him, he saw the glow of the old Sonic there, alive and restless, always ready to run.

And Tails had never been so relieved.

"So, how was work?" Sonic asked as they continued walking up the sidewalk, breaking Tails from his thoughts. The kitsune sighed.

"Well, I finally got that rebuild done. Although, I think Mr. Dotson wasn't too happy it took me nearly three months." Sonic laughed quietly. "Other than that, it was pretty good. Kindly slow today, though." For awhile the two walked in silence. "So what about you? What did you do today?"

Sonic smiled slightly. "Well, I finished painting the bedroom," he replied, dropping his arms to his side. A businessman hurrying to work squeezed between the two, separating them for a moment. "And ran around the ruins a bit." Tails smiled. No matter what, the hedgehog would never quit running. "That's about it."

Since Sonic had been discharged from the hospital, he and Tails had returned to their old home in the Mystic Ruins. In the last two months, they had been fixing it up and adding an extra room. Now their old home was much better looking, and roomy for both Sonic and Tails.

Tails nodded. "Great. Maybe we can take a break tonight." They stayed quiet for awhile before Sonic thrust his hand out to Tails. The kitsune was expecting it, and smiled, reaching for it, wrapping his hand around Sonic's. Then, a heartbeat later, Sonic shot off, Tails running just as fast behind him, the two a orange and blue blur against the many faces of the city.

xxx

They made it home not long later, finally skidding to a stop in front of the house. Tails was slightly out of breath, but Sonic was fine and leap lightly on the porch, opening the door and stepping inside without hesitating. Tails, still breathing heavily, walked in behind him, closing the door in his wake. Sonic plopped down on the couch in the living room, Tails doing the same next to him. The two sighed around the same time, looking at the newly painted light blue living room walls. Already, many pictures covered the walls, all of them pictures from Sonic and Tails's childhood. Their earliest days covered the wall before him, and every time Tails would look at them, he would smile, remembering how it used to be, and wondered if it would ever be the same again.

Maybe not, but it was pretty damn close.

Both Sonic and Tails remained quiet for awhile, and Tails scanned the walls, eyeing the photos one by one. He always got the same thrill every time he looked at each one, and knew it would never go away. No matter what, he knew he and Sonic would, of course, be friends forever.

After a few minutes, Tails looked toward Sonic, ready to comment on the color of the walls, but when he looked at the hedgehog, Tails realized he had fallen asleep. A smirk crossed the kitsunes face, and he turned his attention back to the wall.

After a few moments, he, too, had fallen asleep.

xxx

In a large playground located in the middle of four huge towers within the city, a little pink hedgehog sat, huddled to herself next to a rose bush.

From within the trees surrounding the rest of the park, a kitsune heard sobbing from her, and his ears twitched in confusion at the sounds. It sounded wrong, out of place. He stepped toward the edge of the trees, looking out to find the little girl that was crying alone.

He saw her, the small pink hedgehog, not a day over five. She was staring down at her hand, tears falling from her eyes. From where the kitsune stood, he could see a few drops of blood on the small childs finger. Poor child must have pricked her fingers on the many thorns on the rose bush. Tails smiled sympathetically, taking one more step toward her, hoping to comfort the small girl.

But at the moment, a flash of blue caught his eye among the green of the grass, and suddenly, a tall blue hedgehog was standing near the girl, his green eyes troubled and worried. The kitsune felt a smile on his face as he recognized the hedgehog. The hedgehog rushed to the little girls side, reaching out to her, and from where he stood, the kitsune heard the words passed between them.

"What happened, Trista?" the blue hedgehog asked in a soothing, but worried tone, leaning over the pink hedgehog as she clutched her pricked finger. Trista sniffed, looking up at the blue hedgehog with tears running down her face as she lifted her finger to him, a small speck of blood seeping gently from the wound.

"I was...t-trying to get...you and Mommy a r-rose," she replied, glancing toward the rose bush beside her. She sniffed again. "But the stupid bush...b-bit me..." The blue hedgehog smiled gently, his green eyes glowing in warmth, and the kitsune felt a strong glow of admiration flame in his chest, and he smiled as well. He watched as the hedgehog placed firm but gently hands beneath the little girls arms and lifted her, holding her against his chest as he examined her wound with gentle fingers.

"Aw, it's not so bad," he said, wiping the blood away with a gloved hand. Trista winced slightly, probably frightened of more pain, and the blue hedgehog looked at her, smiling. "The rose bush has thorns, Trista, and it poked you when you were trying to get one." He leaned down, pointing at the stems of the rose bush to show her. "See? It didn't bite you, it just poked you." Trista sniffed, nodding as she looked at the thorns. Then small tears began to fall down her face again.

"But...I wanted to get you and Mommy a rose," she whimpered slightly, reaching out again as if trying to get one of the many bright red roses on the bush. The hedgehog, still smiling, placed her back on the ground.

"Here, I'll help," he said, and he guided her small hand away from the thorns, closing it around a part of the stem that didn't have the sharp hazards. With a swift yank, the little girl suddenly had two roses on one stem, smiling happily at them. The kitsune felt a warmth in his chest as he looked up at the blue hedgehog, who was pratically glowing with this little girl presenting him a rose.

The kitsune wondered if he had ever seen such love glowing in the hedgehogs eyes in his entire life.

"There, Daddy," Trista said, smiling and handing him one of the roses. Smiling, the blue hedgehog took it carefully, admiring it as he twirled it around in his fingers. He looked back at his little girl, kissing her gently on the forehead.

"It's beautiful," he said, grinning. "But you know what else is even more beautiful?" The little girl giggled, possibly knowing what was going to be said, but shook her head anyway. The blue hedgehogs eyes twinkled. "You are. You're so much prettier than this rose that it looks like a weed compared to you." The little girl giggled happily, wrapping her arms around her fathers neck as he wrapped his arms around her and picked her up. As he carried her away from the rose bush, the single rose still in his hands and the other in hers, Trista spoke again, her voice reaching to the kitsune, even as it got fainter and fainter.

"You know what else is prettier than this rose?" she asked mischieviously as they neared another pink hedgehog, whose eyes glowed upon seeing them, her hands upon her swollen belly. The blue hedgehog smiled, looking toward the other pink hedgehog.

"Whose that, Trista?" he asked as they got closer to the other female hedgehog.

"Mommy," she giggled, thrusting the rose out toward her mother as they reached her. The blue hedgehog's smile widened, and he stared at the pink hedgehog in front of him, his eyes glowing.

"Yeah, she sure is, Trista."

xxx

Inside a small home atop a cliff in the Mystic Ruins, two best friends slept upon the couch, a twin-tailed fox curled up on one side, and a lightning fast blue hedgehog sprawled out on the other. If anyone had been looked at them in their unconscious state, they would've seen a wide smile on both their faces...and the traces of tears falling from the blue hedgehogs closed eyes...

End of Story