Here's Rae Logan with a new "Teaching Darkness" Story... This time... Mephiles has to get a job :D

My friends and I have been tying with this concept for months now, even before I gave you guys story two, so this one is a break from "Mephil-angst"... whatever you wanna call it...

Enjoy:

Mephiles bit down on his piece of oat cereal as he watched T.V. He had to say he enjoyed the marshmallow kinds fairly well, the marshmallow pieces even more. He picked through his pieces in the bowl, which he had not bothered to put milk in it, as he had found out recently about his apparent allergy to milk and other dairies, as he was a hedgehog, and found, upon ingesting eight fluid ounces of the white substance, that he had a reaction, all under the subjects of: gastrointestinal, dermatological and respiratory (Along with upset stomach, he also had hives and a temporary bout of asthma…), making him vow, as he laid on the couch, curled up in the most pathetic of ways possible, as sick as one can be, that he would never so much as try anything that had the name "Milk" somewhere on it's labeling.

Watching some lucky contestant play "Plinko", he cheered along with the audience at hoping the person would get the $1000 spot. It hit the zero right next to it. Typical. Breathing a comment to himself, he stated the show was a little better when Bob Barker was the host, though he had only seen several reruns, most of which on YouTube.

Just then, the T.V. died. Or so it seemed.

Mephiles yelped, and jumped up, his cereal flying everywhere as his bowl hit the ground, and he began to check every possible reason it could have turned off. It was plugged in, the cable was hooked up, and the box was on… what could be wrong?!

A throat clearing cough behind him made him turn around, and he saw Shadow leaning onto the back of the couch, the remote in his waving hand, a bored expression on his face.

Mephiles narrowed his eyes, and stood up, folding his arms and tapping his foot impatiently, the very foot that had finally finished healing the month before. He cleared his own throat and said: "Yeeeesss?"

"We need to talk… You watch too much television…"

"So?"

"You don't have any hobbies…"

"And?"

Shadow walked around the side of the couch to sit down before answering.

"That's not a good thing…"

"Why not? I'm perfectly fine…"

"If so… name three places you been since you got those bandages of your foot… and the 'living room', 'kitchen' and 'bathroom' don't count…"

Mephiles paused before smiling smugly.

"The hallway…"

Shadow's eyebrow twitched.

"So you admit not leaving the house for at least a month?"

"Yeah… so? Not like it's a bad thing…"

"It is…" Shadow leaned forward, placing the remote out of Mephiles' line of vision, as he couldn't seem to stop eyeing it. "And, as I'm sure you know… God help me if you don't, that you can get sick from staying indoors too long…"

"What's the worst thing that can happen?"

"Ask Rae… she said she got a lung infection from breathing 'hazardous' air form her cousin's bedroom… She says lung infections are not fun… they make it hurt when you breathe, you have to have an inhaler until they heal, which takes weeks and all fast paced activities you love doing are unbearable. And I know for a fact you don't like pain…"

Mephiles blinked.

"Okay…" He started. "What's the second worst thing that could happen?"

"Shut up… you're going outside… and either getting a hobby, or a job…"

"A JOB!?"

"Yes… Rouge and I both have one and we can't keep paying for everything on you… you're old enough to support yourself…"

"No, I'm not! I'm, like, ten years old!"

"In this time era… yes… but from where you came from before you came to this time… you're two hundred and ten years old."

"I don't even know how to tell what foods I'm allergic to, let alone keep track of my medical problems!" He yelled back frantically. "I'm so not able to take care of myself on my own!"

"So you admit to being completely helpless?"

"No fair! No fair! Cheap shot! Cheap shot!" Mephiles tried to counter, knowing if he didn't get things on his side, he would lose the argument. "Rouge! Back me up here, please!"

"Actually… I agree with Shadow…" Rouge said, sticking her head out of the doorway to the kitchen.

"WHAT!?"

"Really… spending too much time indoors is bad for you…'

"Need I remind you what happened last time I walked out that door?" Mephiles pointed to his right foot, his ears flat against his head. "I not only was kidnapped, I was electrocuted (my hands still feel the twinge sometimes), possessed (that still haunts me), my ankle was broken, I drowned, and I was considered dead for six whole minutes, not to mention I got a nice chance to speak with my dead 'father' during those six minutes…"

"C'mon…" Said Shadow, shaking his head. "What are the chances that'll happen again?"

"You never know…"

"You'll never know anything until you go out there and see for yourself…"

"No…"

"Either you go… or we ban you from the T.V…"

"Big deal, I can go online…"

"We'll ban that too…"

"… You wouldn't…"

"We would…"

"… But…"

"Try us… I dare you…"

Mephiles gave a defeated sigh.

"Okay… where do I go?"

Mephiles took one look around the fast food place, turned around and bolted outside, Shadow having to catch him by the arm as he tried to make a run for it.

"Calm down… It can't be that bad…" He told the shade calmly.

Mephiles looked up, his eyes watery as he tried to catch his breathe. He had started to have a panic attack once he had seen all the people inside the building, him not being one for crowds, as he had found out recently that he had a type of social phobia, one big enough to rival his fear of large bodies of water. He was shaking, his body breaking out in a cold sweat, his heart was pounding, and he was hyperventilating, his eyes wide as he seemed stuck in a dazed-like trance.

Shadow recognized this as a problem, and carefully led Mephiles away from Burger King as he started to regain himself slowly, and he looked at Shadow reproachfully and weakly.

"… D-d-don't make me g-go in there again…"

"Are you okay? You don't look good… what happened?"

"… t-t-too many p-people…" He closed his eyes and shivered, slumping against the tree that was giving them shade, and he slid to the ground with a sigh that said he was glad that was over with. Shaking feverishly, he had also started to get a stomachache from his anxiety, which had begun to make him feel ill. He took a deep breath through his nose, and focused on calming down, his dizzy feeling subsiding slowly, but gradually.

He sighed softly. He really needed to learn how to control his reactions. He looked up, and saw Shadow staring down at him, an eyebrow raised in concern.

"… I'm okay…" Mephiles reassured him, waving his hand lightly, now feeling much better after his quick meditation. "… Let's try a different place…"

"Like where?"

"… I dunno… but anyplace but here… I just don't like crowds…"

"We'll see… most places have crowds anyway…"

Mephiles squeaked.

The orange cat leaned forward, setting the fill in form to the side as he looked at the crystalline hedgehog, who willed himself to stop shaking… but failed quite horribly.

The cat took off his square framed glasses and said: "So why do you think you're qualified for this job?"

Mephiles looked at Shadow for help, but his ebony counterpart shook his head and said: "Sorry, man… you gotta do this on your own…"

Mephiles swallowed hard, and turned his attention back to the cat, who was waiting patiently, his yellow eyes staying fixed on Mephiles. Mephiles opened his mouth to say something, but clamped his mouth shut when his mind blanked out on him, and he was left with a lot of "uhs" as his answers.

The cat flicked an ear and said quite calmly: "What would you say is your best quality?"

Again, Mephiles stayed frozen in his chair, shock still, as if he went brain dead. The cat sighed and looked at Shadow.

"Is he always like this?"

"Pretty much… he's not one for anything new…"

"I see…"

Mephiles ears flattened as his eyes went wide, and his hands clamped to the seat of the chair, enough to cause it to splinter in some places. Shadow sweat dropped.

"Maybe we should try this another time…" He said, trying to pry Mephiles' fingers off the chair, but it looked like they weren't getting off anytime soon. "Uh… about your chair…"

"Keep it… I can get another…"

"Okay… thanks…" Shadow nodded as he started to tug the chair, with Mephiles frozen to it, towards the door, nodding at the cat.

Once outside, Mephiles snapped out of his daze with a quick blink, and looked up at Shadow.

"What happened?"

"Let's just say…" Shadow said, shaking his head as he let go of the chair's backing. "… There might not be a second interview…"

Mephiles lowered his head, and murmured "… Oh… sorry…" under his breath, sinking himself closer to the ground.

Shadow tried to shake the situation off like it was a joke, and said: "That's okay… it was your first interview… the first one's always the hardest…"

"I didn't get to say anything!" Mephiles looked up, and Shadow was a little shocked to find that Mephiles looked like he was about to cry, his eyes tearing up, and his voice was starting to crack. "I'm a failure!"

"No, you're not… You're just a little scared…"

"I couldn't go into that food place, I couldn't do an interview, I don't know what I'm allergic to and what I'm not, I don't even have a life! I have to rely on you and Rouge to take care of me, and-"

He was stopped when Shadow raised his hand in the air to cut him off so that Shadow could speak.

"Try focusing on the good stuff about yourself… if you keep thinking about the bad, then of course you'll seem like a failure…"

"What good things?"

"Like how you managed to totally rewrite your path for life, or the friends that you've made, the people you have that care about what happens to you, or how you're willing to come out of your safety zone, and actually try to find a job despite your fear of crowds…"

Mephiles blinked and blushed.

"That's not really too much to brag about… everyone has that…"

"But for you… it's a big step forward…"

Mephiles raised an eyebrow before asking: "How do you stay so positive about everything?"

Shadow grinned nervously and scratched the back of his head, before saying: "I'll admit it's not easy…"

"Oh…"

Pause.

"Hey, Shadow?"

"Hmm?"

"I'm… kinda stuck to the chair…"

End Chapter One... Mephiles' Job hunt begins :D

I'm planning on having Rae and Jak return, and this time, my friend fan character makes a guest appearence... whadya think?