Now, I personally am very proud of myself for the time it took me to write this. My longest chapter yet... In about the shortest time so far. Hahaha. But, don't expect another update for a week or so, since I've got exams, and I'll be lucky if I can get much writing time in... This Saturday looks like a promising day for writing, though!

Thanks so much to my reviewers! Hope to hear from you all!

My Story Disclaimer: I do not own, in any way, any of the canon Sonic characters used and/or mentioned in this story (including but not limited to Sonic, Amy, Tails, Knuckles, Rouge, Shadow, Espio, Silver, Blaze, Wave, Jet, Cream, Vector, Charmy, and Dr. Eggman). Nor do I own the inspiration from some of the other characters taken from other games/movies (such as Ganondorf Dragmire who belongs to the Zelda franchise, and Queen Grimhilde who belongs to Disney). Nor, again, do I own any objects or names that are associated with the Sonic universe, any other game or movie or tv show's universe, or any business/corporation names. In addition, the celebrity personas illustrated in the story mean no harm and are not meant to be offensive in any way.

Chapter Disclaimer: I do not own the lyrics to "We R Who We R" by Ke$ha. I do not own the lyrics to "Bleed it Out" by Linkin Park. I do not own the lyrics to "Firework" by Katy Perry. I do not own Dr. Crane from the Batman series.

And, before you ask, no, Metropolis does not have speed limits - only... speed suggestions. Hahaha...

4. A Joker in the Deck

"Hot and dangerous, if you're one of us then roll with us, 'cuz we make the hipsters fall in love when we got our hot pants on enough, and, yes, of course we does - we runnin' this town just like a club, and, no, you don't wanna mess with us - got Jesus on my necklace-ace-ace..."

The black- and red-furred hedgehog took a deep breath, trying to focus all of his thoughts on the city outside his window. Or, on that bug on the window... Or, on that cloud... Anywhere but the blaring stereo and the singing girls in the car with him. Note to self: next time, walk to the mall. Never allow yourself to be caught in a car full of teenage girls. Never.

"Come on, Shadow - sing! - Got that glitter on my eyes, stockings ripped all up the side..."

He didn't even spare Rouge a glance, saying, as politely as he possibly could, "Not a chance in Hell." Of course, Rouge only laughed at his response before turning up the stereo's volume even more. She and Amy automatically raised their voices to match the sound system.

The miserable, somber hedgehog, unable to focus on his window any longer, decided to delve further into his thoughts and wonder to himself what on Mobius had possibly possessed him to accept an invitation to go shopping with three teenage girls - especially when he already knew that any invitation from Rouge signaled danger... He did need the school supplies, but... Shadow sat up straight, leaning forward slightly to glance at the speedometer over Wave's shoulder. 250... I could probably survive a jump out of the car at 250 km an hour... He ran the calculation in his head... That's only about...150-something miles an hour... He leaned back again as Wave swerved through the cars on the highway that were actually going the 120 km/h speed suggestion. Shadow sighed, quite sure that the car ride to the mall was never going to end.

Knuckles yawned, stirring from his sleep as the knocking at the door persisted. He looked at the clock. 4:37. He groaned, forcing himself to stand up to answer the door, "WHAT?"

A slightly-surprised Taylor the Swift was standing at the door with her arm raised as if to knock again. She quickly put her arm down, smiling slightly.

Knuckles cleared his throat. "Ahem... What?"

She laughed, "Um, well, we were all going to go school supply shopping, and I thought you might want to come. Lephart's driving."

"...Supply shopping?"

"Yeah, you know, for pencils and notebooks and stuff... You're taking Fish this year, right? You need to get a notebook for Music Journals and a few books off the reading list, probably. Plus, whatever other classes you're taking..."

Knuckles frowned. He didn't do school. He didn't do shopping. He especially didn't do shopping for school. Grrr... I don't even know if I have any money. "...Fine... What time?"

"We're leaving in about twenty minutes, I think." She smiled warmly.

"Okay...?" Knuckles uncomfortably continued to stand in the doorway, wondering why Taylor was still there.

Finally, after what seemed like forever to the echidna standing there uncomfortably, the swift again spoke up, asking, "Do you know where Amy is?"

The echidna shook his head. "No. Only had first period with her."

Taylor nodded. "Alright... Do you think she has a ride?"

Knuckles shrugged. "She's got a car."

"Okay... Well, thanks. See you in a few minutes!" The swift waved, and Knuckles took that as his cue to shut the door. He walked over to his bedside table, opening the top drawer and taking out some of the rings he'd discovered while walking campus.

"See, Espio? That's what roommates are for! You need a ride to the mall - I can get you a ride to the mall!" Walker patted the chameleon on the shoulder, but Espio's face remained stoic.

"...Very well." The chameleon took a step forward, maintaining his unimpressed expression despite the fact that he was looking at what could quite possibly be the most beautiful car he had ever seen.

"So... Whaddaya think..?" Walker grinned, gesturing toward the car.

"Hm." The chameleon took a short breath before stating flatly, "Pulchritudinous."

Walker withdrew his hand, blinking. "...? Huh?"

"Thanks," came a voice from Espio's right. The chameleon turned his head to see the tall, ebony porcupine the voice belonged to. Dread strode to the front of his car, stroking the sleek, fluorescent-green hood fondly. "It's my favorite."

Espio tilted his head slightly. "Favorite? ...You have more than one car?"

Dread smirked, taking out his keys. "I've got... a few." He unlocked the car doors with a click of a button.

"Hm." Espio eyed the perfectly-polished car for a moment more before saying, "It is... impressive. ..The finish is quite... anomalous."

"Yeah. It's custom. Bullet-proof, flame-resistant, and capable of underwater travel," the porcupine said, then paused for a moment. "-though it's not recommended." Espio raised an eyebrow, wondering why on Mobius the porcupine needed those precautions... The chameleon shook his head as Dread turned to face Walker. "Hey, Walker, where's your sister?"

Walker shrugged. "I'm not sure... I told her to be here soon..." He moved to stand in front of Espio, brushing a bit of imaginary dust from the chameleon's shoulder. "Can you relax a bit? Don't stand up so straight..."

"Walker." Dread rolled his eyes. "Your sister..."

"Doesn't know what's good for her," Walker finished proudly. "I'm just helping a little..."

Dread sighed but smiled at the orange echidna's antics. "She's gonna kill you..."

"Eh." the echidna commenced trying to straighten out the wrinkles on Espio's sleeves. "Nothing she hasn't done before. Besides, she'll like Espio!"

The chameleon slowly blinked. "Excuse me?"

"Oh, right..." Walker finally gave up, deciding that the wrinkles would add a 'mysterious' flair, and he explained, "This is another one of those things roommates do for each other, Esp!"

"...You have... set me up on a date with your sister? ...I do not know your sister, Walker. I barely know you."

"Oh, come on! Even after I told you my whole life story last night?"

The chameleon's voice turned uncharacteristically sarcastic. "Ah, yes. The autobiography that kept me awake until the youthful hours of the morning..."

Walker, ignoring Espio's protests, turned to Dread. "Dreads, do you have any hair gel?"

The porcupine crossed his arms, leaning against his car. "No. But, I can filch some from the kid across the hallway. Blue bastard spent an hour and a half working on his spikes this morning."

Walker cast a glare in the porcupine's direction, saying, "Hey! I spend at least that fixing my spines every morning..."

"Yeah, but your hair actually looks decent." Dread flinched upon receiving an offended look from Walker. "I mean, your hair actually looks good." Another glare. "Great?" Deciding he wasn't going to find the right word anytime soon, Dread stood up straight, sighing. "So... hair gel?"

Espio listened to them, dumbfounded: he didn't even have hair. How could he possibly need hair gel?

After a moment of thought, Walker shook his head, changing his mind about the gel. "No, we don't have time. She'll be here any secon-..."

"Looking for me?" Walker and Espio both turned to see the girl approaching them. Her hair was coffee-brown, and she was wearing a pair of heavily-distressed skinny jeans and a black t-shirt with the words "If they don't have chocolate in heaven, I ain't going" written in white block letters. On her right wrist was a black leather band with the phrase "Daughter of Echidna" etched onto the outside, and on her left wrist was a series of black bangles in all shapes and sizes. She wore no makeup except for a bit of mascara, and under her eyes were very prominent, purplish, dark circles that gave her a tired, bored-with-life appearance. Her muzzle was prominently echidnian; Espio recognized her from English class as Kimaera, Walker's sister. She nodded to Walker and Dread in greeting. "Walk. Dread." She then glanced carelessly at Espio. "Guy I don't know."

Walker put on a bright smile, introducing the silent Espio with a theatrical wave of his hand. "This is Espio, Kim!... He shall be accompanying us to the mall!"

Kim looked at her brother with a dull expression. "Really, Walk? ...'Shall'? 'Accompanying'?"

Unfazed, Walker responded, "Hey! Those are perfectly good words!" Then, deciding that he needed a second opinion to convince her, he added confidently, "Right, Dreads?"

"Don't bring me into this."

Kim glared at her brother triumphantly. "Hear that? Even Dread agrees with me this time!"

Dread groaned, motioning for Espio to get into the car. "They're gonna bring me into it..."

Deciding that there would be no real danger to anyone's life in the sibling-fight, Espio moved around to the other side of the car and opened the door, getting in the backseat. As it would happen, however, the car was not soundproof... And, despite the tinted windows that no one could see in, the chameleon could see perfectly well what was going on outside the car.

"Really, Walk? Again! I told you last time to stop this! And, the time before that! And, the time before that! AND, the twenty-three times before that...!"

"Twenty-four, actually. Remember Patrick?"

"WALKER!"

"Sorry, sorry - not helping my case, huh?"

Kim looked like she was about ready to strangle her brother, but before she could get her hands around his neck, Dread stepped between them. The porcupine said something in a low voice that Espio couldn't quite hear, and, after a few moments more of Kim leering balefully at her brother, she approached the car, and opened the door opposite of Espio's door, getting into the backseat next to him. As she climbed into the car, she made a specific point not to look at the fuchsia chameleon.

Walker hopped into the passenger's seat, face expressionless, though Espio was fairly certain he'd just won the siblings' argument. Dread took the driver's seat, putting the car's key into the ignition to start it up. Instantly, the engine revved up, and a song on stereo played out, mid-chorus.

I bleed it out, digging deeper just to throw it away,

I bleed it out, digging deeper just to throw it away,

Just to throw it away, just to throw-

Walker leaned forward, pressing a button on the controls to switch to the radio. Dread made no comment as he backed the car easily out of its parking place and drove toward the entrance. Kim just stared at the black leather interior of the car as Walker settled on a station and leaned back in his seat, singing along, "You don't have to feel like a waste of space, you're original, cannot be replaced... If you only knew what the future holds, after a hurricane comes a rainbow..." Walker's voice didn't exactly match Kitty Perry's on the radio, but it flowed in a sort of harmony with the song.

Espio glanced at Kim, half-expecting her to make some comment about her brother singing, but her face was unreadable, all traces of animosity gone from it. The chameleon relaxed a bit and examined the interior of the car, taking in the appearance of the leather, the clean floor, the variously colored and structured lights that were built into the ceiling of the car, all the strange buttons that were on each door...

"You're sure that's all you need, Sonic?" Tails' voice asked through the phone.

Sonic nodded as if Tails could see him then said, "Yeah, buddy. Just the notebook and books and stuff..." He then leaned down to re-lace up his left shoe. "Oh, and if you'll run by the SOAP store... I've only got about five pairs of shoes left, so just tell them to order a few more for me..."

"Alright, Sonic..." Tails paused on the other end of the line to write everything down, then he asked, "So, how's everyone doing after a day of school?"

"Pretty good, I guess." The blue hedgehog laughed. "You shoulda seen Knux in English!"

"He didn't do the summer reading?"

"Failed the test miserably!"

"How do you think you did?"

"I dunno. B, maybe? Not too bad." Sonic finished lacing up his shoe and grabbed his navy sweatshirt from his bed. "Alright, buddy, I'm gonna letcha go, then. See ya later!"

"Alright. Bye, Sonic! Say hi to Amy and Knuckles for me!"

"Sure thing." Sonic took the phone away from his hear, hanging up. He pocketed the device and pulled the sweatshirt on over his head before going for the door and heading down the hallway. As his luck would have it, though, his roommate was heading up the hallway at the same time. Sonic and Jet both stopped an instant from running into each other.

Jet crossed his arms, narrowing his eyes at Sonic. "Where do ya think you're going?"

"Out for a run." The hedgehog took a sidestep around the green hawk.

"Don't you need to go shopping for supplies?" Jet sneered at the word.

"Don't you?"

"Nah, I've got people for that."

Sonic rolled his eyes, not in the mood to deal with Jet. He was ready to run. "Whatever, Jet. See ya. Don't wait up for me!" He flashed to the door, taking a right and heading toward the school's track.

The yellow car pulled to a stop as Wave shifted gears, parking it smoothly. The second the car halted, Shadow pushed open the door, freeing himself from the girly, pop music prison. He take a deep breath, inhaling the stale city air that greatly contrasted with Wave's lemon-scented car air freshener.

Amy, Wave, and Rouge all filed out of the car after Shadow, and Wave clicked a button on her car remote, locking the car doors. Amy fumbled through her purse, checking her phone for any text messages or missed calls. Rouge smirked at Shadow's relief of being out of the car. As the group started for the mall entrance, Shadow casually asked, "So, where, exactly, are you girls planning on going?"

Wave shrugged. "The Office Burrow for supplies... Then I'm heading to EX-G to see if they got in my order of wax for my board... Then wherever."

Rouge nodded. "Anywhere there's a shiny gem calling my name..."

Amy put away her phone then elbowed Rouge. "I swear, Rouge, if you get us kicked out of the mall for trying to steal something..." She sighed, trailing off. Then she answered Shadow's question, "Just The Office Burrow... Then I need to go check in Incense to see if they got in that new book... Why are you asking, Shadow?"

"So that I can make my mental list of places not to go." With that, the hedgehog quickly went for the doors and was out of sight before the girls stepped into the mall.

Amy just shook her head for a moment; then she giggled. "Poor Shadow."

Rouge laughed as well, and they started toward the nearby large store that specialized in office and school supplies. "Let's just get this over with so we can go real shopping."

Knuckles dragged himself down the stairs to the common room where most of his dorm family was waiting. His roommate, the buck Lephart, looked up when he heard footsteps. Lephart put down his art magazine, standing up. "Are we ready to go, then?"

Taylor nodded, and the tigress Claws grabbed her purse, saying, "Hang on, I'll text Teeth and tell her to meet us at the van."

The two blonds, the doe Scarlet and the dog Alexander, stood up in unison. Scarlet grabbed her purse, and Alexander put on his grey hoodie. Silver, who was standing against the back wall of the room, already had on his blue hoodie and looked as though he had been ready to leave for quite a while.

Knuckles followed everyone outside, sticking close to Silver and Taylor. The walk to the parking lot wasn't long, and Claws' twin sister, Teeth, was waiting by the big VW van that belonged to Lephart. The van was painted in a whimsical style, with green covering most of it and blue around the edges. Large orange flower-like designs were scattered all over the design. Lephart motioned to the car, saying jokingly, "All aboard The Mystery Machine..."

Espio had truly wanted only to go to the school supply shop and leave, but, unfortunately, his chivalrous nature prevented him from making Kim go shopping by herself... Of course, just because he was forced by code to be polite, that did not mean that she was making an effort herself.

"You know, you don't really look like a ninja," she said matter-of-factly.

Espio's face remained emotionless. "I wasn't aware that ninjas had a 'look'."

"Well, yeah. They're supposed to be cool. And dress in all black."

"So, a white shirt instantly disqualifies me from the title of ninja?"

"No. But, all I'm saying is... If you're a chameleon, why do you choose to be pink?"

Espio clenched his jaw. "I... am purple."

"Pink."

"I am purple."

"Pink."

He glanced at her, quite annoyed. She was almost as old as he was, but she was acting just like Charmy. "I. am. pur. ple." He enunciated every syllable clearly.

"Well, that's the pinkest purple I've ever seen."

Needless to say, they found Walker and Dread close by in the next store, and Espio left the brunette with them, choosing to go shopping for the books he needed.

"Alright... That, that, that... And, I'm done," Rouge said, smiling at the poor salesman who was unfortunate enough to have offered her his help. He was carrying five spiral notebooks, three textbooks, two binders, a pile of folders, and a few boxes of assorted pens, pencils, and highlighters. Rouge turned to smile at her two friends who were gathering their own things like normal shoppers. "If you girls need me, I'll be at 24 Carats..." Amy shot the bat a warning glare, but Rouge only happily skipped to the cash register. The salesman trudged after her.

Amy shook her head, turning back to the shelf of notebooks. She reached up, grabbing one with a hot pink cover that was decorated in white and baby-pink hearts. There were two others with the same design in different colors, so she grabbed those as well. She then turned to Wave and said, "Alright, I'm heading to the cash register..."

"Whatever."

Amy sighed and walked away, telling herself that Wave wasn't purposely rude: it was just how she naturally spoke...

Shadow had circled the interior of the mall about four times before any place caught his eye. Sure, some places had alright names - like The Scissor Sisters, which he'd hoped was a sort of unconventional weapons shop founded by a couple of homicidal sisters who'd decided to run with scissors... But, nooo, it was just a salon.

As the black and red hedgehog rounded one of the corners of the mall, though, he noticed again the blood-red letters above a small shop that read "Judas' Cradle". On display in the front window was what looked like some sort of medieval torture device... Well, it isn't as though I don't have the time... He stared at the sign for a few more seconds before deciding just to go in, to see what it was...

The smell of leather and steel, mixed together violently, hit him as he walked through the entrance. A heavily-tattooed salesgirl behind the counter by the door looked up as he walked in. She said, "Welcome to Judas' Cradle." Then she returned to her work, apparently etching something into a leather band.

Shadow looked around. The middle of the shop was covered in racks of clothing that were almost universally black: black pants, black gloves, black t-shirts, black corsets, black dresses... On the right wall various colors and designs of stockings, leggings, and socks were hung. The left wall was covered in leather belts, bracelets, armbands, and chokers, which Shadow assumed all could be customized with words or designs etched into them by a salesperson... But, the back wall was what demanded the most attention: all sorts of accessories with studs and steel spikes were hanging on the wall, gleaming in the light...

Shadow's ears twitched slightly as he heard a vaguely familiar voice from the other side of the shop say loudly, "Do you really need more things with spikes on them?" It was a girl's voice, but it didn't belong to any of the girls he knew... Still, it was somehow familiar... He looked in the direction of the voice, but instead of seeing the speaker, he saw the purple- and green-tipped quills of his roommate Dread. The porcupine was standing at the base of the back wall, apparently intent on one of the spiked accessories.

Another voice that wasn't Dread's but that was a guy's and was somewhat familiar answered the first, "Leave him alone, Kim."

"But, I'm hungry!," whined the first voice.

Shadow smirked, approaching his roommate. But, before he could do or say anything, Dread had already taken whatever it was he'd been looking at off the wall, and the porcupine turned around. Shadow stopped, and Dread seemed to look right through him for a moment before he actually noticed the hedgehog. "Shadow?" Two echidnas were instantly looking over Dread's shoulder to see the newcomer. Shadow recognized them from English as the two with the weird last name. Dread walked over to Shadow, still holding the spiked wristband he'd taken from the wall, and he said, "Somehow, I'm not surprised to see you here."

"I was actually just checking the place out..." Shadow glanced at the spiked band in Dread's hand and added, "And, hiding from the girls who drove me here." Dread laughed, but before he could respond, the brunette echidna stepped forward, holding her brother by the arm.

"Hey, Dread?," She asked, trying to get his attention. The porcupine turned to look at her, so she continued, "I'm still hungry... Can Walker and I go to the food court if we promise to stay together?" Shadow raised an eyebrow at the question then looked at Dread.

Dread stiffened up for a moment, before slowly nodding. "...Just get something fast, then."

"Will do," the girl said, pulling her brother toward the exit of the store.

Dread watched them leave and shouted after them, "If I don't hear from you in the next four minutes and thirty-five seconds, I'm calling the cops to hunt you down!"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," came the chorused reply from both of the echidnas.

Shadow gave the porcupine a strange look. "Four minutes and thirty-five seconds?"

Dread nodded. "It's about the time it would take someone to knock them both out and drag one of their bodies to a car."

Shadow couldn't stop the short laugh that escaped from himself. "That's assuming they'd want to kidnap them instead of killing them."

Dread laughed a bit as well, though his laugh was much more hollow, empty of amusement. "If anyone did anything to Walker or Kim, it would be the last thing he, or she, ever did." Ah, implied violence... Shadow had known there was something he liked about his roommate.

Wave wasn't entirely sure why she was back in the office store. She'd already gotten school supplies for herself and for Jet, and she'd gone to EX-G Racing to pick up her board wax... But, she was back at The Office Burrow again... Lost in the electronics section. Staring up at the newest computer model, she sighed. Then she glanced at her watch; it was almost time for her to meet the other girls at the food court. She took a step back to turn toward the exit, but instead she ran into something - or someone. Her first natural instinct was to stop herself from falling, which she managed to do quickly. And, then her second instinct was to shout, "Hey, watch where you're going!" She turned to face whoever she'd run into, and she was faced with the chameleon she'd seen hanging around Sonic and the others.

"My apologies," he said quickly, looking genuinely sorry. She almost felt bad; she was pretty sure the collision was her fault. But, hey, who was she to take the blame?

"Yeah? Just do everyone a favor and don't let it happen again." She smoothed out her feathers and straightened the bandanna on her head before managing to put on a glare and facing the chameleon. He was staring at her. "What?"

"You're one of the Babylon Rogues..."

"Hmph. I prefer Wave... And, you're one of those detectives. The Chaotix."

"Espio the Chameleon." He bowed slightly.

She smiled, amused for a moment, but then she remembered where she was supposed to be. "Well... Espio the Chameleon... Watch where you're going from now on." She turned toward the exit and was gone in an instant, realizing that she didn't have much time before she was supposed to meet the others.

"FIVE RINGS FOR A PENCIL? THAT'S A RIP-OFF!"

"No, sir. That's business."

Knuckles looked like he was about ready to jump over the counter and strangle the man at the cash register, so Silver calmly pulled the echidna away. After deciding that he was a safe distance from the sales counter, Silver said, "Wait here. Don't move, Knuckles."

So, naturally, as soon as Silver was out of sight, Knuckles was on his way to the register again. Fortunately for the clerk, someone else had heard Silver's orders and decided it would be in everyone's best interest if Knuckles did not beat anyone up. Knuckles tripped over something he couldn't see, and he landed flat on his face. He growled, turning to see what had tripped him; Espio was watching him with a bemused expression. The echidna groaned, "But, he's asking for it!"

The chameleon shook his head. "Hn. The moment that man comes over here and verbally asks you for a fight, I will let you go."

Slowly, Knuckles stood up, dusting off his hands and arms. "How'd you even get here?"

"Apparently, your distant relatives have a friend who has a car that can drive me here if and only if I spend time with my roommate's sister."

"...What?"

"The two echidnas. Are friends with Dread Lox. Who owns a car. And, I was given a ride here apparently in exchange for my spending time with the girl. Kimaera."

"Oh..." Knuckles nodded then looked around. "...Where is she?"

"...I am not quite certain."

"You gonna walk back to school?"

The chameleon didn't respond as Silver returned with a shopping basket. The hedgehog smiled upon seeing Espio, "Hey, Espio!" The lizard nodded in response, and Silver turned to Knuckles. "Alright, you just put everything you're getting in here, give me the rings, and I'll check out."

"But-"

The grey-white hedgehog sighed. "I don't like your bargaining tactics, Knuckles."

"So, what do you want to eat?," Wave questioned, looking around the food court.

Rouge admired her nails, bored. "What are my options?"

"Can you not read?"

"Not if I'm not looking at the signs." The bat continued to stare at her nails as if entranced.

Wave narrowed her eyes.

Amy, deciding she wasn't in the mood for an infamous Wave and Rouge argument, glanced over at the small snack shop nestled into the corner of the food court, and she said, "I'm not really hungry, guys... I'll just go grab a snack." Of course, neither the swallow nor the bat acknowledged the comment. Amy sighed, walking by herself over to the snack shop.

There weren't many people in the place: a cashier, one or two shoppers, and Amy. But, as she looked to the back wall, she noticed that one of the shoppers was very familiar. She stepped silently over to him and tapped him on the shoulder. "Hi, Walker."

Walker jumped instantly, nearly hitting his head on the back wall. "I-I wasn'-" He took a few deep breaths and saw Amy standing over him. A relieved look crossed his face. "...Oh... For a second there, I thought you were Dread..." He straightened up, shaking his head a few times as if to clear it. "Why are you talking to me, Amy?"

"Excuse me?" She tilted her head, giving the orange echidna a questioning look.

"Your friends obviously don't like me, so... Why do you go out of your way to be nice to me?"

"Well... I don't know, really. You seem like a good person." Amy smiled. "You kinda remind me of my friend Knuckles... Except... Funnier and nicer..." She looked up at Walker's face and giggled.

The orange echidna blinked at her laughter. "What?"

"Well, and, of course, he doesn't wear eyeliner..."

Walker slowly smiled as well. "Probably a good thing. He couldn't pull it off like I do."

They both laughed for a few moments before Amy spoke again, "You know... He told us that he was the only one of his kind left. So, we were all kinda surprised to see you and your sister - well, not completely surprised, since we all know Knuckles isn't that great with math, but..."

Walker's smile faded slightly. "...Well, we're not exactly 'of his kind'..."

"Hm?" She raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean...?"

Before Amy could receive an answer, Walker's phone beeped. He quickly took it out of his pocket to check his texts. He read the message and sighed.

"What is it?," Amy asked.

"Dread," he answered, pocketing his phone again. "He says something happened over by the entrance. Someone passed out or something. Someone else called the paramedics." He looked out, toward the food court area. "I've gotta find my sister." He pulled a couple of water bottles out of the large refrigerator that was built into the wall, and he waved at Amy.

The pink hedgehog returned the wave. "Bye, Walker!"

"See ya," he said, quickly paying the cashier for the water and then disappearing into the mall crowd.

Amy looked around the small shop for a few minutes, but, after deciding that the entire place was filled with junk food and that she wasn't going to find anything halfway healthy, she settled on a bag of chips and a bottle of water. She walked over to the cashier, setting the chips and water bottle on the counter. The cashier rang up the items and took the rings Amy'd given him before he asked, "Planning on leaving soon?"

Amy nodded. "Yeah... Right after my friends and I eat, we're leaving, I think."

"Where'd you park? Over by the front entrance?"

"Yeah... I think."

"Good luck getting out, then. I hear they're not letting anyone out of the parking lot."

The pink hedgehog tilted her head, curious. "Why?"

The cashier shrugged. "We all just got some message about it. Some guy's unconscious by the entrance."

Amy frowned, thanked the cashier, and left to look for Wave and Rouge. They were both sitting at a small table. Rouge had just sat down at the table, apparently, because she was only just taking the first bite of her sandwich when Amy sat down next to her. Wave was almost finished with her vegetable stir-fry from the Japanese restaurant counter. Rouge leaned back in her chair, asking happily, "Don't you just love the mall? It's the only place you can get food from all around the world in one convenient location."

Wave rolled her eyes. "Hmph. Yeah. If you can stand mall-people."

The table returned to silence when Rouge focused herself on finishing her sandwich, so, after a moment, Amy said, "Is it true that there's someone passed out by the front entrance?"

Wave glanced over at her. "What? Doubt it. If something like that really happened, do you think all these loud-mouthed people would still be standing around here acting like nothing's happening."

Rouge shrugged and took a sip of her drink before saying, "Well, it's not like this city doesn't have these things happen everyday. It's a big city. If people were bothered by everything, we'd be in trouble." She stood up, taking her tray to the trash can. Wave did the same, and Amy picked up her things, following the two of them.

They made their way out of the food court, back into the main corridor, and they walked toward the entrance. They were about halfway there when they noticed that there were significantly fewer people in the mall than before... And, just ahead, there was what looked like a mob gathering. Flashing red, blue, and white lights could be seen through the glass entrance doors, and a team of paramedics was pushing its way through the crowd of bystanders. The girls stopped walking, watching from where they stood as the paramedics disappeared into the crowd, and all the eyes of the bystanders went toward the crowd's center. About thirty seconds passed before one of the paramedics stood up and signaled for the police to move the crowd. Most of the crowd moved without a fight, too distraught and shocked from the sudden experience they'd been drawn into. The girls watched the paramedics load the collapsed man onto the gurney - the body complied to their movements far too easily.

Amy, hardly able to move, could only stare in horror as Wave muttered, "He's dead..."

When the parking lot was finally opened for cars to leave, Shadow met them at the car. The ride back to MUCA was silent.

Amy took a drink of her orange juice in the breakfast hall. Most of the table was silent except for Wave who was explaining the happenings of the previous night to those who hadn't witnessed it - Jet and Sonic, mainly. They both listened quietly until the end. Then, after a moment, Sonic asked, "How old was he?"

"I don't know," Wave answered. "Not old. Maybe thirties. We didn't get a good look. But, not very old."

Sonic shook his head. "People don't just drop dead of natural causes while walking around the mall."

Wave shrugged. "My thoughts, too. But, we're no detectives."

Sonic looked thoughtful for a moment then said, "Maybe we're not, but..." He looked across the table as if expecting to see someone. "Wait... Where's Espio?"

Amy blinked quickly, putting down her cup of orange juice and looking around the table. When she realized that the chameleon actually wasn't there, her immediate instinct was to turn around and search the tables for Walker. She spotted him instantly - at his usual table. Amy stood up without a word to her table and started toward Walker. Sonic looked up at her departure, surprised. "Amy?"

The pink hedgehog didn't stop until she was standing over Walker. The orange echidna wasn't facing her, but Dread had watched her approach since she'd stood. The porcupine was the one to acknowledge her with a quiet, "I see not everyone got up to fix hair at four o' clock this morning."

Amy wasn't awake enough to take the proper offense at his remark, though, so she just answered, "Good morning to you, too... Walker, where's Espio?"

The orange echidna shrugged, turning to look at her. "In bed still, I guess. He doesn't have a first period most mornings, I don't think."

She nodded. "Alright... Thanks." Having no wish to deal with more smart comments from Dread, she turned and walked back to her own table.

As soon as the pink hedgehog sat down, Wave pinned her with a scathing look. "Why are you always talking to Sparkles?"

"Who?," Sonic asked.

Jet translated for the blue hedgehog, "That orange guy over there."

"Oh." Sonic glanced over at Walker's table and scowled. "Why are you talking to them at all?"

Amy frowned deeply. "What do you have against them?"

"Well, first of all, The Big Fail over there - yeah, he's nothing but a jerk."

Shadow, who had previously been quiet, corrected the Blue Blur, "It's called honesty, Faker. A concept that's still new to you, I'm sure."

Amy narrowed her eyes. "Fine. What about Walker?"

" 'What about' him? Amy, just look at him!"

"Sonic, that's not fair! You can't dislike him just for the way he dresses! He's a nice guy!" She picked up her tray, leaving the table. Shadow stood up after her, following. The rest of the table was left in an awkward silence.

Silver watched Amy and Shadow leave before he looked over at Walker's table and said, "...That was kinda harsh, Sonic... Maybe you should apologize..."

The blue hedgehog appeared to consider it before he shook his head, returning to his food. "Amy'll get over it. Besides, I'm supposed to go out and help the coaches set up the field for the sports demonstration. See you guys later!" He picked up his own tray and rushed off.

Rouge crossed her arms. "That boy had better watch his back."

Amy followed Rouge and Wave into the fourth period classroom. They arrived only a minute or two before the bell, so most of the seats were already taken. Rouge and Wave managed to find two seats next to each other, though. And, Amy found an empty seat near Silver and Espio. She didn't recognize most of the class: she guessed they were upperclassmen. A few were dressed in sports jerseys, and a few others were in cheer-leading uniforms. The uniforms stood out greatly among the normal, average outfits of the rest of the class - well, of course, none of the uniforms stood out half as much as Walker's leather, diamond-studded jacket, but Amy had almost learned to ignore his fashions.

Amy heard the bell ring, and most of the class' chattering died as they awaited the arrival of their teacher.

"Alright, class, if you will settle down," came a gentle voice from the doorway. The class turned to watch as a tall, remarkably thin human man entered the classroom, closing the door behind himself. He had bright, auburn-red hair and pale skin; a pair of spectacles sat crookedly on his nose. He stepped toward the center of the room in an awkward fashion, his long legs apparently hindering normal movement.

Wave snickered maliciously, whispering, "He looks like he's trying to walk on stilts." Her comment drew cruel laughter from a few of the cheerleaders nearby who had been thinking something similar.

Oblivious, the man withdrew the stylus that belonged to the classroom's large, touch-screen board, and he wrote, in quick, sloppy strokes, the words "Dr. Crane, Psychology I."

Then man turned to the class. "I am Dr. Crane, and I will be your professor of psychology this year..." His eyes passed over the section of laughing girls, and he took a deep breath before loping across the classroom to his desk and picking up his attendance book. "I do hope that none of you are too terribly comfortable..." He gestured to the back wall of the classroom. "Pick up your things and wait for me to assign you a seat..."

A groan filled the classroom, and a single hand shot into the air. "Objection, Professor!"

Amy and Silver both turned to look at the girl who'd spoken up. She was one of the girls Amy had dubbed as a cheerleader. Her hair was a golden blonde color, and she looked like some form of wildcat. Dr. Crane stared at her with a blank expression and asked, "And, you are...?"

The other cheerleaders, the girl's posse, gasped in unison, apparently appalled that their teacher didn't already know the girl's name. The girl herself had an offended expression when she answered, "Zoe Pelandi. Head cheerleader? ..My father is the owner of Cougar Enterprises!"

"Well, Ms. Cougar, after thorough deliberation by the judge, your objection has been overruled." He turned away as Zoe's posse gasped again. "Now, pick up your things..."

Amy gathered her books and purse, standing up to join the growing number of her classmates at the back wall. She waited there patiently with Silver while the teacher paced the classroom, verbally assigning seats.

Amy was one of the first names to be called: she took a desk in the back of the room behind Alexander, a guy who belonged to her dorm. Blaze was seated next to Amy, and then the teacher called for an "Axe" to sit in the desk behind Amy. Walker silently took that spot.

On the other side of the classroom, Silver took the desk behind Rouge, and one of the various cheerleaders was given the desk in front of the bat. Wave was placed in the very last row of desks, and Zoe was the only one anywhere near her.

Apparently satisfied with the arrangement, Dr. Crane returned to the front of the classroom. "Take out your books..."

Zoe's hand shot into the air. "We're doing work on the first day?"

"If it truly strains your brain cells to read so much that you consider reading as work, then, yes, we are working today."

"But-!"

"Detention, Ms. Pelandi."

A smug look crossed the cougar's face. "I have to cheer at the 3.6. demonstration game today. I'm excused from all other school activities - even class. And, especially stupid, unfair punishments like detention from you."

The freshmen of the class were split: half watched Zoe in disbelief, half watched the teacher to see what he would do. The sophomores and upperclassmen, however, neatly avoided looking at either. Amy's eyes were glued to her teacher; Amy caught the angry quivering of his lip and the violent clenching of his fist over his attendance book. But, he replied to the cougar in a calm, level voice, "Then you'll have to work out a date and get back to me on that."

"Sure thing," she said, smiling confidently. Her voice revealed no intention of actually fulfilling his suggestion.

Dr. Crane returned his attention to the board and wrote out, "Pages 1-21. Quiz next class." Everyone but the cheerleaders - who were following Zoe's example - got out his or her book, taking note of the pages. Dr. Crane went to his desk and let his focus leave the class, transferring it to his computer.

Amy just took note of the pages and put her book away. She then poked Alexander in the back with her pencil's eraser. The blond dog turned his head to look at her, an annoyed look on his face. "What?"

Amy, realizing that he was actually focused on his schoolwork, shook her head apologetically and said, "Sorry. Never mind." She glanced over at Blaze only to find that the cat was also intent on the textbook. But, a light, rhythmic tapping on the desk behind Amy told the pink hedgehog that Walker was open to conversation about anything that didn't relate to the pages he was supposed to be reading. Amy smiled, turning around in her desk. "Hey - Walker?"

The echidna's light blue eyes were dull. Beneath them were the beginnings of a couple of dark circles, signaling a lack of sleep. Walker continued to tap the tip of his pencil on the desk for a few seconds before Amy was talking to him. "..What?"

Amy tilted her head. "Are you okay? You look tired..."

Walker nodded, feigning a smile. "Just... Didn't get enough sleep. I'm fine..." He rested his head in the palm of his hand.

Amy watched him, still somewhat worried, but she decided that she hadn't known him long enough to pry too much - she'd have to wait the standard two and a half days. So, she said nothing else on the subject of his well-being, instead asking, "Who's that girl? Do you know?" She made no indication of which girl she was talking about, but Walker caught on quickly.

He lowered his voice. "Zoe? She's head cheerleader. A junior. Her dad owns the business she mentioned before... People don't really mess with her - not even the teachers." Walker's eyes flitted across the room then down to his desk, and he pretended to take notes while Dr. Crane looked up for a moment. As soon as the teacher turned away again, Walker whispered, "But, Dread just calls her the Queen of Whores."

"To her face?" Amy's voice was filled with disbelief.

Walker shrugged. "Probably. She embraces the name - whole school does. It was already around before she ever came here... Whole school's like a deck of cards."

Amy raised an eyebrow. "What?"

Walker yawned then shook his head as if he was trying to keep himself awake. "Well, you see, there are four suits: the two red suits each led by a queen and the two black suits each led by a king. Someone some time ago decided that everyone in the school could fit into one of these four suits. And, the school thought it was a good idea - apparently, if gave 'a sense of belonging' to everyone. So, two kings and two queens were chosen of each card suit: hearts, diamonds, spades, and clubs. And, just before the kings or queens would graduate, they would pass down their title to another promising student.

"Of course, it didn't take long before the student body had renamed the suits in the way that it saw fit. And, so, the suits were secretly renamed by all the students. Now, they're like social barriers, basically: whores, dollies, stones, and cards."

Amy flinched at the names of the suits. "...The students named themselves those...? But, they're all so offensive..."

Walker nodded. "Well, the rival suits named each other. And, the names stuck. The school still calls them by the card deck titles, but no one else does."

"...So, everyone's put into one of the suits?"

"Yeah. They wait a few weeks to monitor the freshman, and then they group us into the suits."

Amy's eyes scanned the room. "That sounds...scary.

"It's not really a big deal, Dread says... Not if you don't make it one, anyway. And, it's pretty easy to pre-determine. I mean, if you're not too into gossip, you don't date a lot of people, and/or you haven't been sleeping around, then you're not gonna wind up in Whores. If you make anything less than a 93 on a school assignment, you can't be in Dollies. And, Stones sounds bad, but it ranges from druggies to artists and other misfits: it was just named for the druggies... And, Cards is just for the glaringly unique..."

The pink hedgehog looked thoughtful for a moment, wondering how she'd be grouped... They all sounded awful, really. "What's the... induction like?"

Walker finally gave up on pretending to read, closing his book. "I dunno. The queen or king and the suits' court just approaches you and... tells you, I guess. I've only heard secondhand. I don't know."

"The suits' court?"

"Yeah, you know. The Knave, The Ace, The Joker..." He trailed off as the bell rang. He put his book into his black messenger bag before he stood up. "Don't worry much about it. You'll be fine..."

Amy nodded. "Alright... Well, thanks, Walker. At least I'm not totally clueless, now..." She made a mental note to talk to Taylor about the subject later... Why hadn't she heard about it before she'd talked to Walker?

"No problem..." Walker waved then vanished down the hallway.

Amy shook her head as she joined Wave and Rouge again. He'd probably made the whole thing up... It was just too ridiculous-sounding to be true... Of course it's not true... I'll ask Taylor.

~~~~Look forward to the next chapter for the sports intro, more gossip, and the true beginning to the romance...~~~