1

Chao School

"It's Playtime!" announced the teacher chao to her class.

The teacher chao, who was called Miss Chaolin, was a neutral chaos chao, who was white with green eyes and blue fists and feet. The students loved Miss Chaolin, who would always give her class plenty of time to play, usually fifty-five to a hundred minutes a day. The chao students ran outside screaming and shouting, ready for another fun recess.

Nikki and his friends, Cassius and Caruso, ran onto the jungle gym. Cassius was a neutral power type, and Caruso was a dark swim type. Once the friends reached the top, they sat in their club spot. Their group, called the Jungle Capers, consisted of four chao. It was the smallest group at the school, but strategically the strongest. Nikki was a quick, nimble escape artist, Cassius was good at estimations and loved to bench press, sometimes up to five-hundred-fifty pounds, and Caruso was precise and could swim against any swift current. The fourth member, whose name was Papoose, a neutral fly type, was the smartest chao at the school, always getting perfect grades in every subject. The group would always meet up on the jungle gym, on the very top, to talk of 'business' matters. The group earned their name when early on in the school year they forcefully ousted another chao group that had used the jungle gym as their club spot. Now it belonged to the Jungle Capers.

"Where do you think Papoose is guys?" asked Cassius.

Nikki replied, "I saw him exit the classroom, but I haven't seen him since."

Caruso, looking through binoculars, said, "I see him!"

"Where?" asked Nikki.

"Over visiting the Wacky Wavers." replied Caruso

The Wacky Wavers were a nasty group of sixteen green neutral run type chao who were insolently rude to everyone who crossed their turf. They lived up to their name and loved to surf, doing flips and turns the whole time. School beach trips were often horridly unbearable because these chao always vied for attention and stole the spotlight. Sometimes fights would break out.

"Call him over here," requested Cassius.

"Papoose!" Caruso yelled.

Papoose looked up and ran over to the jungle gym. A member of the Wacky Wavers was following him, and he didn't look happy.

Cassius whispered alarmingly, "Start loading the water grenade cannons, we're going to need them!"

Nikki and Caruso immediately grabbed hold of long black barrels and hung them outside the gym. The green run type caught up to Papoose and violently kicked him in the hind quarters. Papoose did a mid-air flip and landed on his face. It made an unpleasant sound. All the Wacky Wavers laughed.

"Papoose's in trouble!" Nikki yelled.

Caruso and Nikki fired their cannons, which used water grenades, and both hit their mark: the Wacky Waver brute's face. He was launched back by the force of the aquatic explosion. Instantly after, the soaked chao stood up and gave his fifteen buddies a series of hand signals, which apparently meant 'battle stations!'

Later, the entire multitude of Wacky Wavers charged at the jungle gym, water guns in hand. Nikki, Caruso, Cassius and Papoose grabbed their cannons and began firing at the advancing run types. The leader of the Wacky Wavers, Wacky, who looked like all the others except bigger and with red patterns, possessed a rather large tank-looking vehicle that fired aqua-homing missiles at its target. Even though they were outnumbered, the Jungle Caper's cannons proved to be more effective than the Wacky Waver's water guns. Slowly, the amounts of run types were decreasing, as they either chickened out or were seriously injured by a water grenade. Eventually, Wacky, the leader with the tank, was the only one left. Suddenly, a water missile struck Nikki in the chest, and launched him right off the gym. Nikki yelped, and then landed flat on his face, and after stumbling a little, was back on his feet.

"Where did that buffoon get homing water missiles?" Caruso asked in disgust.

Cassius shrugged. "You know what I'd like to know? Why doesn't Miss Chaolin ever notice that stupid tank driving across the playground in plain sight and get him in trouble?"

Caruso muttered incoherently.

Instead of climbing the stairs or ladder to where the cannons were, Nikki ran as fast as his legs could take him towards the incoming tank. He jumped and grabbed hold of the gun on the top. He climbed up, and even though Wacky was trying to shake him off, Nikki made it to the cockpit, broke the windshield, and pressed the 'self destruct' button. Nikki jumped off and ran behind a tree for cover. Suddenly, a nuclear-looking aquatic explosion gobbled up half the playground.

Nikki came out from behind the tree and looked at the huge puddle which had encased the playground. Stunned Wacky Wavers, scattered weapons, and water grenade carcasses were everywhere. Other chao who were unlucky enough to be in the vicinity were drenched and stunned. Nikki felt victorious when he looked at the mess. His group, the Jungle Capers, the smallest group in the school, had just defeated the meanest and most impertinent chao group, the Wacky Wavers!

"We did it!" Nikki yelled joyfully to his friends up on the jungle gym. "We held them back!"

Cassius, Caruso, and Papoose let out joyous cheers, and then got quiet when they noticed Wacky had become conscious and stood up.

He looked around at the drenched playground and his tattered army. Stomping his foot angrily, he yelled, "Retreat!"

His army immediately got up from the floor and ran back to their group spot.

Before Wacky turned and did the same, he eyed Nikki meaningfully, saying, "You haven't seen the last of me!"