It was a perfect day, the sun was shining, birds were singing, and the clouds floated lazily across the bright blue sky. It was days like today that would be perfect to spend with friends by going out to the park and maybe having a picnic. To peacefully sit in the tall green grass with the wind blowing through the trees. To do nothing but simply enjoy the peace and harmony of having friends without Eggman ruining the day.

Or at least, it would be if nobody was trapped inside the glorious hallways filled with anxious, socially awkward, and obnoxious teenagers. Welcome one and all to the magnificent Chaos High!

Shadow the hedgehog grumbled about how he was too old for something as pointless as school as he held his books for the first class of the day in his arms. A black shoulder sling backpack with red lines running along its pockets matched perfectly with his fur as his crimson eyes investigated his fellow peers. The laughter of students filled the air along with BO from the freshmen and the subtle taste of anxiety to blend in with it. The white hallways gleamed from the artificial lights above his head and bland, gray colored lockers lined the walls on either side.

When seeing a familiar face in the crowd, Shadow scowled. "Faker," he greeted the famous Sonic the hedgehog as the blue blur came up to him. They both parked to the left-hand side of the hallway to prevent the flow of traffic from stopping.

Sonic winked at a few girls that were glancing over at them, his emerald green eyes glowing in the lights from above. A playful grin was on his face and the girls squealed to each other quietly at having him recognize their existence. Shadow rolled his eyes as the blue blur turned his focus back to him. "What's up, Shads?" He asked, rubbing his nose with one hand and holding a math book in the other.

"Do you have any idea why we're trapped here?" Shadow asked seriously. "We're considered heroes to various extents, meant to be out saving the world or working for GUN. We're not meant to be locked up in this… school." Here, Shadow squinted and glanced to his left to notice the group of girls staring at him now. "Not to mention I'm too old for this kind of childish behavior. I am over fifty years old and I will not put up with such nonsensical—."

"Yeah, I know, it's a bit ridiculous." Sonic agreed, cutting him off by raising a hand. "But it looks good for our image as Sonic heroes."

Shadow stared at Sonic like he asked him to eat his left shoe. When did image ever matter to him?

"Anyways," Sonic continued. "Did you hear about the new girl?"

Shadow's eyes narrowed. "New girl?" Why would he care about a new girl? How did Sonic hear about a new girl at the beginning of the day before school had even started? How did this make any sense whatsoever?

"Yeah, apparently she's a foreigner, some princess or something." Sonic said with a shrug. "Princess… what was her name… princess…? Eh, we'll figure it out."

"Hmph," Shadow huffed, his lack of interest obvious.

The ringing of the first bell echoed around the hallway, causing both hedgehogs to look up at the speakers. The bell sounded like the cheery chime of an airplane when the seatbelt sign gets turned on. Shadow looked to Sonic as Sonic grinned. "Ready for math?" The blue blur asked.

"I am ready for the sweet release of death to take me instead." Shadow replied bluntly.

Whether Sonic heard Shadow or not was a mystery itself as Sonic quickly moved into the nearby classroom for their first period. Shadow rolled his eyes and followed. The crowd now parted around him like he was the plague itself.

The whispering of fangirls over his very existence rang in his ears as he walked into the dimly lit room. There was a teacher in the front that looked like a mongoose who was setting up for the day by pulling several papers from a black brief case on top of the desk in the corner of the room. As he stood, he straightened his suit and the glasses that were on the bridge of his quivering nose.

Sonic was sitting in the back of the classroom, by the door leading into the room, with Amy Rose sitting next to him. The pink hedgehog was leaning over onto Sonic's desk from her seat, failing at getting the attention of the blue blur. Tails Prower sat in front of Sonic, but was instead of facing the front of the classroom, he had turned around in his seat to face Sonic. The twin tailed fox and hedgehog were both busy looking over notes for a new jet plane Tails was wanting to build when he wasn't suffering here.

Shadow grumpily took an empty seat next to Sonic. Rather sit with the faker than the weird kid who would continuously try to make Shadow play some lame card game. He wasn't even surprised that Tails or Amy, who were both not even old enough to be in high school, were there. Tails had probably skipped several grades to make it here and Amy presumably snuck her way in, posing to be the same age as Sonic as she always did.

The room was bustling with students who were pulling books and notebooks out of their backpacks as class begun. Shadow put his face down on the desk slowly. What was the point of being here? He didn't care for his image. This was going to be a miserable experience.

"Class," The mongoose suddenly said and the classroom quickly quieted down to hear what he was going to say. "I am happy to announce that we have a new student who will be learning with us until further notice. You're welcome to come in now!" He turned his attention to the back of the room and everyone followed suit except Shadow.

When the classroom's eyes fell on the new student, all looked in awe (or jealousy) at a deep purple hedgehog with glimmering electric blue highlights in her spines and fur, and also at the stunning nine fox tails that gently swished behind her. Twin antlers towered above her head, giving her height over all others in the room, a superiority most sensed but had no quarrel submitting to. An elegant shimmery white top hung around her willowy form, the left sleeve hanging off her shoulder, showing a cute star-shaped birthmark to whoever was behind her. Black skinny jeans revealed how anorexically thin she was, and golden, high heeled boots adorned her feet. A golden locket with an exotic symbol on it hung around her neck, emanating a power they all could feel. Most captivating of all were her hypnotic, soul-piercing eyes that seemed to dance with the flames they were colored after, a fire that burned deep within her in a passion none other could possess, alerting them all of the loyal friend they could make, or the deadly enemy. Yet in them they could all see the kindness belonging only to a princess, and a magnetic grace and gentility. Hearts stopped at her mesmerizing smile, pearly white teeth gleaming as her gorgeous face filled with an undeniable good nature and faint humor, though her cheeks colored at all the attention.

"I'm in love." Sonic breathed.

Shadow lifted his head to slowly look over at Sonic, then took his turn to look back at the new girl. When he saw just a weird looking purple hedgehog/fox (is that a deer too?) hybrid, he rolled his eyes and focused his attention back to the front of the classroom.

"Can you tell us your name please?" The teacher asked, straightening the glasses on the bridge of his nose again. He was in as much awe as the majority of the class was by her graceful appearance.

"My name cannot be spoken by mortals." The girl said as she brushed away some of the curls that were covering her face. Her voice sounded like a cool ocean breeze on a hot summer afternoon. She stood up proudly to show all she was not that embarrassed by the attention that she effortlessly absorbed.

Shadow looked back again to give her a hard stare to show her how ridiculous she sounded. "I am an immortal."

"And neither can you! But you can call me… Mia." The elegant Mia said as she hid her hands shyly behind her back.

Shadow rolled his eyes again as Sonic's eyes bulged out at her existence.

"There's an empty seat next to Shadow, you can sit there if you'd like to Mia." The teacher said.

"Of course!" Mia replied as she moved gracefully into her seat next to Shadow. She was smiling kindly at all those who stared at her in their awe or jealousy. "Thank you ever so much!"

Shadow suddenly wished the card weirdo had tried to sit next to him.

"Alright, now let's start the class." The teacher said, turning his attention to the whiteboard behind him. He uncapped a black marker and started rambling on about some algebraic equation that he assured the class that they were going to use for the rest of their lives. The rest of the class didn't even seem to notice he was beginning the lesson though, they were too busy being captivated by Mia.

"Who does she think she is?" Amy hissed to Sonic and Tails, and Shadow couldn't help but overhear her. At least he wasn't the only one that seemed to think this Mia whatever was ridiculous. "She just walks in here and… well… just steals the attention like that! It's not fair!"

"Are you kidding? She's perfect!" Sonic whispered wistfully as he looked past Shadow's head to stare at Mia as she got her books out for the class. "I want to marry that girl, and we're going to live in a happy home together forever with a few kids of our own and they'll be as beautiful as she is..."

"Sonic you're a sophomore." Shadow said to him bluntly.

"An angel from heaven."

"Sonic, you aren't capable to slow down long enough to ever even consider to have a stable relationship in your life. You also just met her just two minutes ago."

"I'll slow down for her…"

Shadow face palmed and looked to Tails for backup, but the twin tailed fox was in no better state than Sonic was. Amy, on the other hand, looked like she was about to explode from all the attention Sonic gave the new girl. At least one person was on his side about this ridiculous Mia. He'd have to consult with his real "friend" about this later though since this group was full of nothing but baffling hog monkeys.

The Ultimate Lifeform looked to this Mia out of the corner of his eye as she obliviously took notes for the class. Her pencil moved effortlessly across the notebook's page and her handwriting was unmistakably perfect.

Shadow looked away when she glanced to him and he scowled angrily to the front of the classroom.

"Rouge, what is the meaning of this?"

"Oh come on, Shadow, don't you think it's pretty? Princess Mia gave it to me in geography! She's the sweetest girl ever." Rouge said as she admired a large diamond ring on her finger. She looked into the. clean cut sides of the gem to stare at her reflection through them

Shadow couldn't stop the look of disgust appearing on his face as he watched Rouge continue to admire the ring. He shook his head as Sonic came over with Tails and Amy right on his heels. When Shadow turned his focus onto the blue blur, all he could see was that Amy looked like she was about to explode from jealousy still.

"What do you want, Sonic?" Shadow spat out in annoyance.

"Have you seen Mia? Is she over here?" Sonic asked as he looked around for her. "I was going to ask her to sit with us today for lunch."

"I don't know what you see in her." Amy said, trying to reason with Sonic. "She's no better than anyone else."

"I don't know about that, Amy." Tails said. "In Chemistry class she was able to do a lab faster than anyone else was. She must be a genius, even I can't do that!"

Shadow squinted at Tails, yes he could. Wait, why were they even here anyways? They weren't "friends". He was about to make this comment when Sonic suddenly grabbed Tails' arm. "There she is! There she is! Over there!"

Shadow started to walk in the opposite direction they were looking, but was stopped when Rouge suddenly grabbing his arm. "Just give her a chance, Shads." She urged. "She really is a nice gal."

"Fine, but don't expect me to stay for long." Shadow huffed, realizing that Rouge was going to stop him whether he wanted her to or not. He forced his attention on the new girl that was rapidly approaching them.

"Hello," Princess Mia greeted as she reached them. Her quills blew in the peaceful wind that magically arrived with her as her fire colored eyes burned into their souls. "Do you mind if I sit with you today?"

"Of course! We don't mind!" Sonic said, trying and failing to hide his giddy grin that formed from the fact that she was talking to them. Everyone in the group, minus Shadow and Amy, quickly pulled out lunches from their backpacks and sat on the grassy field outside of the school underneath a large oak tree.

Mia sat down next to Sonic and beamed at all of them. "I'm Mia." She told them.

"We know. We were all in class with you." Shadow stated bluntly as ever, then fell quiet when almost everyone glared at him to shut up.

Amy moved over slowly to sit by to Shadow, silently telling him that they were joining forces over a common enemy that they shared. She glared at Mia as Shadow unwillingly sat down next to her to see where this mess would end up. "What are your names?" Mia asked, weakly smiling to Shadow to apologize.

Shadow only squinted in return.

"I'm Sonic!" Sonic proudly stated before anyone else got a chance to even open their mouths. "This is my best friend, Tails!" He wrapped his arm around Tails' shoulders and gave the fox a noogie, resulting in the fox to squirm and laugh. "Over there with the new diamond ring is Rouge…"

"Oh, I remember you! Hello Rouge!" Mia greeted. "I'm so glad you like the ring!"

"Lovely to see you again, dear. This ring is too gorgeous not to love." Rouge said as she waved a hand to Mia and both smiled fondly at each other.

Sonic coughed to get Mia's attention again and continued when he had it. "Over there pouting is Amy and the grump next to her is Shadow."

Amy huffed angrily at this and Shadow rolled his eyes for the millionth time that day.

"Lovely to meet you all!" Mia said happily. An aura of contentment seemed to suddenly surround her and with it, it made almost made everyone relax.

"So what brings you to Chaos High?" Sonic asked as he pulled a chili dog out of his lunch box. "I mean sure the heroes of Mobius are here, but there had to be a reason."

"I can't say. It's supposed to be a secret." Mia's voice was full of such sorrow as she looked at her hands in her lap.

"Oh c'mon!" Sonic said as he put a hand on hers. Shadow tried very hard not to feel sick at the miserable sight of faker being desperate for her. "You can trust us!"

"We met five minutes ago." Shadow reminded the group. What kind of person was honestly going to just spill their entire life story on how they got here within minutes of meeting them? Especially if it was supposed to be a secret! Honestly that was ridiculous, nobody ever did that.

Shadow got glares once again for the comment but all faces turned to pity as Mia suddenly spoke up. "I was born a princess to the greatest generation of royals in the kingdom of Aivoneg. Everything was perfect, just me, my loving parents, and my dear little twin siblings. The only downer to the family was my evil Uncle Namgge. Think of the most despicable, selfish, cruel, immoral person you know, multiply that by about a thousand, and that's him. My parents were too nice, however, and despite his evil ways they allowed him to live at the palace with us."

All but Shadow leaned forward to hear the rest of the story, enraptured. Mia's gaze rested on her delicate fingers laced in her lap. "About a year ago, my uncle became very quiet and reclusive. My parents began to worry, but they could not foresee what was to come. A few months ago, he… h-he killed them, and my siblings. He s-sent assassins after us and they killed them r-r-right in f-front of m-me..."

Sonic's hand on hers squeezed comfortingly as the other went to her shoulder. "Hey, you don't have to talk about it if you don't want to." Which, to Shadow, she should not. Wasn't this supposed to be a secret?

"N-No, I can, it's okay," she insisted, blinking back tears. Whispers were passed in admiration of her strength before she continued. "I scared the assassins off, but, I-I couldn't save them… I knelt in their blood, by my mother, the only one still conscious, and she gave me this necklace." The hand not held by Sonic rose and clutched the golden locket. "A-And… with her dying breath, coughing up blood, sh-she told me… you can't live without love." At this, her gaze rose and rested on Shadow. He stared back unaffected.

Mia sniffed and wiped away a tear. "My uncle, he wanted the kingdom, and with my parents gone that meant I was to inherit it. On the day of my coronation, he sent more assassins after me, the most deadly he had. They almost got me…" She turned so her back was to them, and pushed the sleeve off of her shoulder that didn't bare the birthmark, revealing a thin, four inch scar moving from her shoulder to her spine. Everyone was taken back with awe and admiration, for the scar was a sign of the great strength she possessed to survive. Mia moved her sleeve back into place and turned to face them again. "They almost killed me, but, my first love was there, and he helped me escape. He locked himself in a room with the assassins, and…" The crystal tears that had been threatening themselves finally spilled over, leaking down her face as she sobbed, a sight so tragic and beautiful that many people around them stopped to watch, until a glare from Sonic made them move on. His attention quickly returned to Mia. "I knew his death would be slow and painful at their hands… a-and then they'd come after me anyway, and, I didn't have a choice, but I-I st-still… c-can never f-forgive mys-self…"

With an encouraging squeeze from Sonic's returning hand to her own, she broke. "I blew up the room he and the assassins were in to stop them!"

A collective gasp came from the group as Mia broke into sobs. Faces of horror and sympathy were all around, as well as one of indifference. Tails placed a hand on her shoulder. "I'm so sorry… I couldn't imagine ever doing that."

As Shadow attempted to stare the foolishness out of Tails, Mia smiled gratefully to the fox, with his encouragement she found the strength to finish. "My uncle took over, and now I'm here hiding until I can find a way to take back my kingdom."

Only Shadow thought that would have sufficed as her story to begin with (and still revealed too much), but no one else was bothered. Sonic proudly declared, "Lucky for you, you are in the presence of Mobius's greatest heroes!"

"Really?" Mia sniffed wiping the tears from her hopeful eyes.

Shadow sighed in disbelief at Sonic's eagerness to randomly help someone he met only a few hours earlier, but at least he always did this. The blue blur raised a fist determinedly, grinning to the others in the small group. "Yeah! We'll help you figure out how to get your kingdom back from your evil uncle together!"

Tails and Rouge both nodded eagerly to agree and even Amy looked interested in helping Mia. Shadow, on the other hand, decided that the grass was much more interesting to look at instead.

"Thank you," Mia said, clasping her hands together. Her eyes lifted up to the bright blue sky above. A beaming smile slowly stretched across her face as if she could see her grateful, deceased family up there. "Thank you all."