Chapter 7: A Night To Remember
Everyone has a night where their whole life flips. Whether it be a wedding night or a graduation night, a new beginning appears in your life, ending the old and forgotten. Some people will prepare all they got for this joyous occasion of a new leaf turning, but others prefer to go with the flow, ending up where ever the road takes them. A new world full of opportunities can open up in one night.
"Students! Don't forget that the first football game of the season is tonight! Admission is at the field gates! Go Overlords!" A booming and commanding voice blasted all this from the intercom. Some students groaned at the teacher's announcement, but it was obvious that they were interested. Sitting quietly at his desk, Sonic fiddled with his pencil. He was currently lost in thought while a face worth remembering was lost in the woods.
Tonight is Sonic's night.
After he lost the mysterious person last night, he got help from other players, and the Tiki Warrior was saved. Shadow and him then spent the rest of the time chilling in the HTW center, but Sonic's mind was reeling on something other than his conversation with the junior hedgehog. He shook his head.
Who was that person? No matter how many times he asked himself that question, a blank would form in his head, leaving him empty and unsettled. He obviously didn't know the mystery Mobian, but he felt like he should have know them. When the figure disappeared, something inside Sonic ached, causing him great depression and loneliness. He's never felt that way before. The hedgehog teen knew one thing: he had to see them again. Whoever it was is gone now, but what if we meet again? Are we supposed to meet again? I hope we do. That last thought surprised Sonic. He was willing to meet such a suspicious character? Either something he ate that morning was affecting him, or the two meeting was actually supposed to happen.
"Sonic? Hello? Earth to Sonic?" The blue Mobian blinked up at a concerned Silver. "You okay? You're acting kind of spacey." Sonic never told anyone what truly happened that night, not even Silver. He shrugged and tried to cover up his odd mood in whatever way.
"I'm cool, Silver. Just...well, to be honest, I'm really anxious." Silver nodded.
"Yeah, I can get that. The game's tonight, so things will get a bit hectic. We also got to watch out for Jasmine's damn pep rally." Sonic couldn't believe he forgot about that. The pep rally! Just then, the bell rang, signaling that class ended. Sonic got up and walked with Silver.
"IT WON'T BE THAT BAD, RIGHT?" Silver's eyes rolled over to Sonic. They were currently being shoved past by a group of juniors.
"DUDE, ESPIO ALREADY GAVE ME A SCOOP: A COUPLE COPS HAVE ALREADY BEEN CALLED IN TO WATCH IT." Sonic was shocked. He ducked past an insane hippo trying to pick a fight with a elephant.
"NO WAY. YOU SERIOUS?" Silver barely escaped being squashed by the hippo, who was sent flying by the elephant's kick. A couple other fights soon broke out as the two sophomores scrambled to get away.
"DEFINITELY." Sonic couldn't believe it. He's never heard of cops having to attend a high school pep rally before. Chaos High must have some rep sheet.
Chaos did have a sort of undefinable position with the law. While shootings and gang fights were a common thing to behold around the school's campus, cops were generally too scared or too lazy to actually liberate any of them. Chaos students were feared by much of the law enforcement. While they struggled to get to class and avoid being knocked against the wall, Silver explained that Rouge pulled a couple strings and got cops to attend the pep rally and the football game. Sonic hustled past a student throwing a beer bottle at someone else and smiled. Rouge was something else.
Knuckles and her did hit it off last night; Sonic was sure of it. Not only did Knuckles lend her his homemade poncho as Sonic saw before, but they did leave early like Jasmine planned. Later that night, Sonic got a text from Knuckles. He thanked Sonic and said that everything went perfectly. Sonic could tell the whole date went well; Knuckles, the hardheaded echidna and quarterback of Chaos High's football team, added hearts and lovestruck emojis in his text to Sonic, causing the blue teen to laugh aloud to himself. As Silver and Sonic fought to get to class, Sonic couldn't help but smile to himself. I'm glad Knuckles is happy now.
They walked in and sat down at their desks. While Silver took out his stuff, Sonic couldn't help but notice that most of his classmates were quiet. It was strange. No one dared to talk or start a fight. He turned to Silver, who was also quiet but staring at the front of the room.
"What's going on now-" He was cut off by a terrible screech. The noise only grew louder and filled the room, causing all the student to shudder and cover their ears. Sonic finally looked up to see their teacher. He was an impish and deformed man in a powdery purple suit. His dull blue tie was knotted crudely around his neck. Sonic was shocked, for his teacher's appearance only grew stranger. His sickly pink face was shaped almost like a bat's, but a long, white beard shaped his chin, his nose was hooked and small, his ears were huge and flappy and his eyes were a rust red.
This was all bad, but the fact that he had a glove-covered claw for a left hand and horn growing straight from his head only made things worse. He took his claw away from the whiteboard and smiled his razor-like teeth at the students.
"Hello, students," he greeted in a wet, nasally voice. A chill ran down the blue teen's spine. What in the world... Every student in the classroom looked either visibly ill or disgusted. One girl with multiple piercings covered her mouth as if she would blow chunks across her desk. The teacher took a couple steps away from the board. "As you may have heard, your former teacher, Mr. Munker, had to take a sudden...leave of absence. I will be taking his place as of today." The way he said it was so suspicious and dark that Sonic wondered deeply and worriedly of what happened to their former teacher. The creature-slash-teacher walked back to the board and scribbled his name on it with his claw-hand.
"My name is Mr. Isis Naugus. That will be Mr. Naugus to you all." He stepped back and smiled again, but no amount of friendliness could hide the craziness in his eyes. "Welcome to Biology."
"That was the most terrifying experience of my life." Silver looked up at Sonic.
"It wasn't that bad." Sonic gave him an irked look.
"Are you kidding me? Silver, you were shaking the entire time in your seat." Silver narrowed his eyes and kept grabbing the soda cans.
"It was cold." The blue hedgehog rolled his eyes, fed up with his friend trying to retain what little pride he had left.
"Whatever." Their first class with Naugus was a complete disaster. Naugus was crude and horrendous, and no one appreciated it. If he stood close to a student or two, they had to openly plug their nose, for his breath was too vile to ignore. Taking notes with his was terrible too. He made several needless comments on parts of the body that were very edible and best served raw in some cultures. More than once, a student had to be excused to go vomit in the bathroom. Sonic and Silver survived and were now buying soda for Espio's gang since it was lunch. Silver stood up and balanced the cans in his arms.
"I'm just saying that it could've been worse." They walked towards the gym, and Sonic couldn't help but snort while popping a can open.
"How? He's probably the worst science teacher I've ever had. How could all of that have been worse?" Sonic finished his soda quickly and tossed his can away. Silver shrugged and adjusted the cans in his arms.
"It's Chaos High, remember? It can only get worse, Sonic." Deep down, Sonic knew he was right. They were about to enter the gym when his silver friend noticed a couple teens walking their way. "Why must I jinx myself?" Sonic looked at him and shot a glance down the hallway. Brick and his crew were strolling on up. The black bear's eyes were zeroed in on Sonic. Silver hesitated and stopped walking, but Sonic grabbed his arm and made a move for the gym doors. Brick's voice cut through the air.
"Not so fast, hedgies." Sonic growled to himself and released Silver. When Brick was close enough, his posse of four circled halfway around the two hedgehogs. A sly grin formed on Brick's lips. "It's been a while, huh?" Sonic crossed his arms and gave Brick a firm scowl.
"What do you want, Brick? I don't have time for your shit." Brick smirked while some of his buddies chuckled at Sonic. Silver shrunk back and stayed close to his friend's side, but Sonic stood tall. He wouldn't deal with Brick messing with him again or with Silver. He may be the kind Bark's brother, but he was just like any other common jerk. Only thing is that Brick doesn't mind committing murder, Sonic thought bitterly.
"Screw off, hedgie. I'm just here to congratulate you on damn good job." Sonic could sense something was up and didn't buy a word the bear uttered from his mouth.
"What are you talking about?" Brick chuckled to himself and jerked a thumb at the gym door.
"Later on, we're gonna have a pep rally, and there's gonna be a game after. A job well done on your part, huh?" Sonic said nothing, so Brick continued. "What I'm saying is that you have a lot of...how should I call it? Spunk, I guess." Sonic was taken back. Spunk?
"I'm spunky? Well, thanks, I guess."
"Yeah, you are. Which is why I want to give you fair warning, hedgie." He took a step forward, and before either hedgehogs could react, Brick knocked the soda cans from Silver's hands with his large bear hands. They crashed to the floor, creating loud, metallic clangs, and some had burst open, spilling and spraying their fizzy contents on the floor and on Sonic and Silver's shoes. Brick jerked past them.
"Don't get too cocky," he warned. With that, he and his gang chuckled and left. Sonic clenched and unclenched his hands in anger. Cold soda was seeping in his socks and drenching the lower parts of his jeans. He picked up his right foot, noting how sticky and wet it already felt, and put it right back down. It made an audible squeak. It wasn't a good squeak but a bad squeak. Silver was no better. His boots were soggy, and his pant legs took more damage than his friend's. He looked over at Sonic, who seemed like he was ready to explode.
"You just had to make an enemy out of Brick, didn't you?" Sonic breathed out harshly and closed his eyes. He then bent down to clean up.
"Shut up, Silver." Silver sighed and bent down to help. When Espio came to see what was holding them up, he found both hedgehogs half-soaked in soda, dumping out the cans. The chameleon blinked at them.
"What happened?" Silver shook his head.
"You don't want to know." Sonic swiped up one more can and tossed it away.
"Let's just say that Brick was being a bit of an asshole." Espio surveyed the scene.
"I'm guessing he was being a major asshole. Come on. You guys can use the gym showers to clean up. You better hurry too. Lunch ends in about twenty-five minutes." The friends walked into the gym and went to the locker rooms. When Sonic and Silver were done, Espio had fresh jeans for them. "You can wear your shirts again, and I wiped up your shoes a bit. Silver's will be fine. Sonic's might be okay. By the way, Jasmine and Rouge are outside waiting for you." When they were dressed, they walked back into the gym and were greeted by a pissed-off Jasmine and irritated Rouge.
"What is wrong with Brick? He causes trouble for the stupidest shit." Jaz grumbled. Silver waved her off.
"He has something against Sonic, so you can blame him."
"Shut up, Silver." Sonic was looking down at the ground, but everyone could see how mad he was. His eyes were flaming, and his mouth was set in a straight line. Silver was a little shocked but then looked down at Sonic's shoes. Everyone looked. They weren't as bright red as before and looked worn. The material was obviously ruined, and they looked too damaged upon repair. There was once an unspoken rule once in his old schools, and many other Mobians knew it well outside of his school. It was whispered down the hallways and murmured through out groups of students.
No one messes with Sonic the Hedgehog's shoes.
A sudden look of shock filled Silver's face as he recalled the holy rule. Sonic looked up blankly, but his eyes only revealed how angered he was. He let Brick go before when him and his friends first scuffed up his babies, for he could easily polish them up again, but the damage done this time was too deep for any mere shoe polish. The blue hedgehog crossed his arms.
"Y'know what? I'm done." His friends looked at him.
"You're done with what?" asked Rouge.
"Brick. I'm done with his shit. We're getting him back for this." Jaz, who had taken a some heat from the beat as well, raised her fist in the air.
"Alright! I'm down for that!" Espio held up his hands and looked at the two.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Easy there, Sonic. I don't think-" Silver slapped a had over his mouth and shook his head.
"There's no point in trying to reason with him. Trust me." Espio's face twisted in confusion at that. Rouge stepped up and placed a hand on her hip.
"So, what do you have in mind?" Sonic thought silently. Brick wasn't like an other ordinary teenage boy. He enjoyed to hurt people, namely Sonic, and wants nothing more than to laugh at their misery. What could possibly humiliate him? What could make him mad? Something blinked in Sonic's mind, causing him to smile.
"Hey, what about his car?" Rouge gasped.
"You wouldn't." Espio shook his head.
"I agree with Rouge. Bad idea." Sonic held up his hands.
"Listen to me for a second, alright?" They quieted down. "We're not gonna trash his car. I'm not that crazy. The police are coming to the pep rally and game, remember?" Rouge instantly knew what he was planning. A devious smirk took up her face.
"We can get his little car impounded. That'll make him mad for sure." Jaz placed her hands in her jacket pockets and smiled.
"Good idea! Brick'll throw a tantrum." Silver looked at his scheming friends and waved his hands.
"Uh, hello?" He had their attention. "Two questions: how are you going to do that, and what will you do when Brick finds out you did it?" Sonic didn't think of this, but Rouge was one step ahead.
"There's a "crime-fighting" system the police are using that's perfect for the job. If you send an anonymous tip on something shady going on, they'll arrest whoever's involved on the spot."
"Isn't that illegal?" Rouge scoffed.
"Please, Silver. If it's Brick, then he definitely has something bad in his car trunk." Jasmine listed of two things on her fingers.
"Rat out on Brick? Check. Scratch up Brick's car? Half-check, unfortunately." Sonic cut in.
"This is probably going to work, but who's going to send out the anonymous tip?" Espio raised his hand. "Espio? Are you sure?"
"Of course. I have a phone that can't be traced in the hideout. Don't ask why, but just know that I'm willing to help." Sonic beamed at him, and Rouge clapped.
"Alright then. We have a plan. Espio will make the call during the pep rally. I'll give you a signal when to do it. Jaz, we need your help too." Jaz blinked at her.
"What can I do?"
"Since you're so eager to slash up Brick's tires," Rouge stated but didn't finish. She bent down and slipped out a sharp nail file from her boot and tossed it to Jaz with a wink. Jaz caught it and slipped it into her coat pocket. A righteous smile floated up her face.
"I'll get working on that during the pep rally." Sonic couldn't help but smile.
"Brick is gonna be so mad." Silver nodded as the bell rang.
"He will. Let's just hope he doesn't know it was us." The rest of the day passed by at a slow rate for Sonic. He couldn't help but shot looks down the hallway and try to see if Brick or his pals were about to confront him. He's never done something so illegal or dangerous before. If anyone did him wrong back at Emerald, Sonic would either tell them off or fight them after school, but Sonic rarely had to go to such measures since everyone liked him and respected him. In Chaos, Sonic wasn't the popular guy he was before; he was one of the misfits, the kids who got what they wanted by doing things their way. He was a square button in a box full of round ones, but he had found the allies he needed, and he was going to change this school.
For better or for worse.
It was during 8th period when the change took place. Zavok walked in front of the class and eyed the clock intently.
"As you all may know, we will be having our first pep rally of the season soon. They'll be ending this period very early to do so." His eyes glanced over at Sonic and narrowed. Sonic narrowed his back, but Zavok turned away before the teen could say anything. "Any foul behavior or silliness will be rewarded with a detention and four thousand word essay with a two thousand word synopsis. I will not be wasting my time because you wish to goof off and cause trouble. They'll be calling us down soon." At that moment, something struck Sonic. As everyone began talking excitedly about the pep rally, he turned to Silver and talked quietly among the background noise.
"Wait. When he says "us", does that mean the teachers will be monitoring the pep rally with the police?" Silver's eyes widened.
"Not good. Quick. Shoot Rouge a text." Sonic pulled out his phone from his desk and hastily messaged Rouge. She replied, and Silver looked over in question.
"She said everything will work out fine and warned Jaz." Suddenly, the intercom hissed and crackled, causing the class to grow silent.
"All students report to the gym! All students report to the gym!" A voice boomed out, setting everyone in motion. Quickly, everyone got up and hustled for the door. Sonic snatched Silver's arm and sprinted out the room. The hallways were worse than before. Students pushed each other out of the way, knocking down posters and starting loud yelling matches. Sonic and Silver were thrown back against a wall and smothered by swarms of Mobian teens swimming past them. Sonic started to yell.
"WHAT THE HECK-" A sudden thundering filled his ears. He looked down the hallway and saw a large group of Mobian teens running like mad in their direction. Shouts and wails began to fill the hall as Sonic saw something resembling waves of red before him. Silver was the one to grab his arm this time and kicked it into high gear.
"STAMPEDE!" It crashed into the struggling group of students, sending bodies flying and people crying in rage and pain. The two hedgehogs ran down the hallway, narrowly missing the impact. The sound of the impact sent Sonic back in motion. He held on to Silver and lead him to the stairway. Soon, they were outrunning the stampede, but the stairs only proved to be more treacherous. Bodies flew past many floors and off the railing of others. Sonic's heart leaped in his throat when he caught sight of some poor warthog falling from the third floor and all the way down to the first. His muffled squeals could barely be heard.
"WE'RE GONNA DIE!" Silver shouted, looking behind them. The stampede was closing in while they were stuck in a group of scrambling freshmen. Sonic gritted his teeth.
"NOT ON MY WATCH!" Grabbing Silver's hand, he took ahold of the railing and jumped. Silver screamed as Sonic landed on the railing and proceeded to grind on it. His shoes squeaked alarmingly as the world became a blur around them. Sonic twisted his body in accordance to the rail, and Silver was able to grind carefully behind him while still being propelled by Sonic's speed. Reaching the bottom, the hedgehogs jumped and landed on a open patch of ground. While Silver shakily got up, Sonic waved teasingly at shocked and annoyed students still adventuring down the stairs. He grabbed Silver and dashed to the gym.
"I HATE YOU SO MUCH!" Silver was a bit green in the face and fuming. Sonic laughed. He felt alive and free.
"I LOVE YOU TOO!" They entered the gym and were surprised by the amount of cops lining the walls. There had to be four police officers at each corner of the gym in standard body armor. More were probably outside the gym and around the school. Sonic only hoped Jasmine wouldn't get caught. They walked to the bleachers and went to the very top, spotting Espio and his gang lounging around by the banner's edge.
"You guys got here early," Silver noted. Espio nodded.
"We had to reserve spots for you guys." Espio looked around and waved at a group of juniors. Soon, Shadow and Mephiles emerged and walked up the bleachers.
"Hey!" Sonic greeted. The junior hedgehogs sat in front of them. Mephiles turned around and replied.
"Hello. Whoa. You look you've been through a lot." Sonic looked down at his somewhat sweaty and rumpled clothing. "Hall Stampede, right?" Sonic nodded.
"How'd you know?" Shadow then turned around and gave him a mild look.
"Because this always happens when all the students are called down for an assembly. It usually happens on the second floor, but it's so annoying."
"I agree." Mephiles added. "It is such an ordeal." They then began to talk to themselves, ignoring Sonic, so he leaned back and saw Brick enter the gym. He was with a bunch of followers and friends, causing trouble and pushing around the weaker teens. Silver nudged Sonic. His eyes were also on Brick.
"There he is. I hope Jaz is in the parking lot now." Espio and some of his friends looked over too.
"Where's the signal, Espio?" An orange iguana hissed. A familiar blue lizard nudged him.
"He'll get it when he gets it. Calm down. Espio knows what's up, right?" Espio nodded and turned to Sonic.
"I told some of my crew the plan. Hope you don't mind." Sonic shook his head.
"No worries. Just make sure you don't stray away from what we planned out."
"What plan?" Sonic jumped and looked down at a suspicious Shadow and Mephiles. He grinned sheepishly.
"Nothing." He didn't even know that they were paying attention to them. Shadow narrowed his eyes.
"I'll let you try answering me again, but if you lie again, you'll be running through mud for a whole practice come Tuesday." Sonic's heart dropped. If anyone had seen him practice in mud before, they'd know his fear and unhappiness. Quickly, he explained the prank for Brick as more people filled the bleachers. Mephiles spoke out first.
"Wilde will flip. Are you sure about this?" Shadow cut his eyes at him.
"What are you saying? I think it's about time someone messed with oaf. He's been a nuisance as of recent."
"Shadow, do you know what happens when you poke a bear with a stick?"
"I do, but do you know what happens when you poke a hedgehog with a stick?" Mephiles scoffed and crossed his arms, and Sonic chuckled. It was safe to say that Shadow was backing him up, but Mephiles was unsure about the whole thing. Mephiles gave him one last glance.
"Fine then, but one last thing. When you make the call, tell them to look in Brick's glove compartment." He turned around with the other mysterious hedgehog before Sonic could ask why. Espio and Silver, who had been listening in, gave him confused looks, but Sonic only shrugged in reply.
In that instant, the lights dimmed and voices began to hush. Sonic felt Silver scoot closer to him and reassured him that everything was going to be okay. Silver shook his head as a vigorous beat of music swelled up in the room.
"I don't know, Sonic. A darkened room full of aspiring criminals and murders? Yeah, sure sounds like an okay situation to me." Sonic saw a bunch of girls come out of their locker room. They may have looked like average girls, but the blue teen knew better. These are girls from Chaos. Funky hair styles and dye, dark and artistic tattoos, and multiple piercings were all over their bodies and spread out among them. They were all dressed in dark combat pants with trashy hoodies and shirts. One girl's belly button ring glinted in his eye, causing the hedgehog to whistle aloud. Many boys in he crowd were whistling too but much louder and more provocative.
"If those are your idea of criminals and murders, then you must not get out much, Silver." Sonic gave his friend a calm smile. "Trust me. If anything happens, I got you, bro." He smiled at Sonic and finally relaxed.
"We're not brothers yet, doofus." Suddenly, a song blasted through the overhead speakers of the gym. No one could miss that drop and chime. When the singer's croaky yet hip voice said "Holy shit!", Sonic had to shout out.
""Gas Pedal" by Sage the Toad!" It was indeed the very song, and the girls started to dance the dance. Sonic and Silver rose along with a couple other teens and began to dance. Their hips swayed to beat with their arms in the air, mimicking the girls and enjoying the music. The kids of Chaos were thoroughly pleased; a song like this for a pep rally wasn't too shabby. A bunch of freshmen and sophomores yelled in unison and sang some lyrics, and the a number of juniors and seniors bopped their heads to the beat and observed the show.
The girls got down low and moved their hips all over, giving the front row a perfect view of the action. While he danced, Sonic spotted some of the cops dancing along and had to laugh. At Emerald, he would be dancing to some peppy marching band remix or something that was definitely not this, but Sonic wasn't thinking about Emerald. He was thinking about Chaos and not in a totally negative way. He and Silver danced to couple more songs but were stopped when someone tapped on their shoulders. They turned around and faced Jasmine. She was wearing her royal purple jersey with her black football pants. She was in full uniform with pads and all, and her helmet was tucked under her arm. Her number was "13", and correspondent to the unluckiness she was going to bring to other teams, she flashed a secret smile.
"THE DEED IS DONE. JUST WAIT FOR ROUGE NOW. I'LL BE DOWN BELOW GETTING READY FOR THE FOOTBALL PLAYERS' ENTRANCE!" Sonic gave her a thumbs up, and she made her way out of the bleachers, giving a smile to Mephiles and Shadow, who were barely fazed by the loud music, and left. Sonic turned to Espio, and the chameleon and him looked out in the sea of students. Rouge was no where to be found, but they stopped after the makeshift cheerleaders did one last show. The lights brightened up a bit as the white bat finally made her appearance. She was in baby-doll dress that was a glimmering silver and wore silver, pink-hearted heels. She flashed the crowd a fanged smile and took out a microphone.
"Hello, Chaos High!" A cheer boomed through the room, and Sonic, Silver and Espio exchanged looks. When was she going to give the signal? "I hope you've been having a fabulous time! As you know, this is going to be the first game of the season, so I hope you guys are ready to kick some prissy behind. We have one of the best teams here and can't wait to show them off. Who's with me?" Another thundering shout rose through the crowd. Rouge lifted up her right hand and closed in into a fist.
It was the signal.
Sonic turned his head, but Espio had disappeared. The banner behind them wavered on slightly, but no one else seemed to notice. Espio's gang started to exchange quick, inconspicuous looks to each other. As Rouge continued talking, Sonic and the blue lizard shared a look and nodded in agreement. The plan was in action. Rouge smiled once more, having caught Espio's talented disappearance, and finished her speech.
"Let's give it up to our Chaos High Overlord Football Team!" A blast of players shot out of the doorways, and the everyone in the bleachers rose in cheers. The football players roared and pumped their fists in the air, egging the students on some more. Knuckles lead the players and roared out an almighty battle cry, causing the others to join. Jasmine ran past the bleachers with some other players and waved her arms in the air. Her ponytail waved wildly as she pumped the crowd up. The adrenaline was infectious. Soon, Shadow and Mephiles too were standing and clapping. Bark and other players danced and pumped their fists up and down. Sonic and Silver yelled their heads off. Rouge smiled while giving Knuckles the microphone but stayed close by his side as he spoke.
"WHAT'S UP, CHAOS HIGH!?" Everyone went wild, hollering and shouting. The cops took a couple careful steps back as the teens went at it. Knuckles waited for them to quiet down before continuing. "Good to hear you guys have some spirit! Man, this is awesome! So, as you've heard, we have a game tonight. What you haven't heard is that it will be against an old rival of yours. I'm talking about Rhinord High." Knuckles stepped back casually as a bunch of people jeered and hissed. Rouge herself flicked her thumb down at the mention of the name. Sonic heard Mephiles hum thoughtfully but not negatively.
"This is going to be a disaster. After all the trouble they gave us with that underwear-affair earlier, does he really think they'll get away unscathed?" Shadow shook his head.
"No. Rhinord better prepare. Our school is going to give them a hard time tonight." Sonic knew what they were referring to and wondered if it would be okay. Even though Rouge was the one that was involved with the underwear-affair, Silver told him how Rhinord had given Chaos a hard time since the beginning by getting their posts and videos online deleted about the event. Knuckles waved his hand.
"Look, we have to play them, but, honestly, I don't like them that much either. They're kind of vain and overzealous. Am I right?" He raised his hand, and a round of hoots erupted through the gym. "Yeah, I thought so. Anyway, what better way to put those guys in place than crush them in football? Trust me, when we beat them, they'll act like the kittens they really are." Students laughed cruelly and seemed to like Knuckle's appeal. Knuckles sure does know how to talk to Chaos students now, Sonic admitted quietly. As Knuckles continued to appease to the student body, Sonic caught sight of a certain elephant moving. For his large size, he was stealthily moving through the bleachers of standing students. The cops didn't see him, and the teachers were too busy paying attention to Knuckles. Sonic poked Silver and gestured to the elephant.
"That's one of Brick's guys," Silver confirmed. Sonic nodded and eyed the elephant.
"I know, and I'll be right back." Before Silver could say anything else, Sonic moved down a couple bleachers, ducking away from sight. He spotted what looked like a trash bag of something in the elephant's hand and knew he was up to no good. Whatever he has in there is bad for sure. Is he planning on throwing it at Knuckles? Quietly, he slipped near a couple juniors and behind the elephant. He peeked to see that Brick and his crew hadn't spotted him and decided to risk it. As quick as he could, Sonic kicked at the back of the elephant's knee. The Mobian teen grunted and fell. He tumbled down the bleachers, earning a couple shouts from annoyed students and fell to the gym floor with a wet smack. A disgusted moan and laughs filled the students below as Sonic nimbly scrambled back to his seat. He checked to see if was caught, but no one was looking at him. They were too busy looking at the elephant.
He was covered in a rotten, white substance that dripped sluggishly from his trunk. Sonic heard someone shout "bird shit" and knew he did well. Silver gave Sonic a quick smile while a couple teachers and two officers approached the teen. He caught Brick fuming and searching the crowd to see who had tripped his guy. When his gaze landed on Sonic and Silver, they were merely looking down in disgust and confusion, playing innocent in his eyes. Knuckles shook his head, knowing Sonic saved him.
"Well, that's a shame, I guess. Now, where was I-" The gym door slammed open and a couple officers came in, silencing Knuckles. They ran up to the bleachers in slight fear but ran anyways. The students pulled back as the officers approached Brick and aimed their weapons at him.
"Brick Wilde, you have the right to remain silent!" Brick was appalled, and gasps filled the room. Students pointed and whipped out their phones for videos. The teachers were confused. Sonic covered his mouth but smiled a secret smile. Brick's crew stepped back as Brick was handcuffed and taken away. Knuckles looked at Bark, who shrugged lazily. Surprisingly, it didn't faze him that his own brother was getting arrested. Brick was lead down and out of the gym with officers all around him. Knuckles stared at his back for a moment before looking back at the gym full of surprised students.
"I'm not going to lie to you guys." He paused and smiled a bit. "This school is pretty freaking sweet."
Sonic looked up at the score and back at the field. Without a doubt, Chaos High was going to win this game. They were 52-22, and it was already the fourth quarter. All the players were working hard, but Chaos was working harder than Rhinord ever could. Knuckles was as amazing in Chaos as he was in Emerald in Sonic's opinion. As QB, his throwing arm was well-trained, and his calls were always gaining a couple yards or touchdown for their team. Jasmine was a great wide receiver. Although she was a girl, she ran fast and could take hits if the came her way. She had scored four of the touchdowns so far and carried the ball multiple yards. Bark worked hard too. He lead the defensive team well and tackled the Rhinord QB more than once. Everything was going smoothly. Silver called out to Sonic.
"Timeout's been called from Rhinord! Let's go see the guys!" Silver was already heading down, and Sonic jumped up.
"I'm coming!" He stepped out of his seat and jogged down the bleachers. A great abundance of Chaos High students came to see the game. To Sonic's surprise, a couple groups wore purple spirit wear. Two guys wearing purple shirts with leather jackets walked up past him with popcorn and soda.
"We're freaking dominating Rhinord! They won't be able to catch up," one surveyed. His friend agreed.
"Yeah! Chumps can't win now. Plus, this is kind of fun to watch." Sonic internally shouted in joy. While football wasn't the best of all sports to some people, it entertained the moody population of students from Chaos. Winning, of course, made them even more excited. The blue hedgehog adjusted his black denim jacket, so it covered up his violet shirt some more and walked down. He walked over to his team's bench and saw Silver handing Knuckles a water bottle. The silver hedgehog beamed at him.
"You're doing great out there! Keep it up!" Knuckles laughed tiredly and drank some water. He sighed and smiled.
"I forgot how tiring this was. I guess being off Emerald's team made me get out of shape." Jasmine came up and slapped his back.
"Don't sweat it! We're almost there." Rouge came up too with a wolf player and Bark while Sonic slid next to Knuckles. They bumped fists as Rouge began to talk.
"Emerald has to be run by a bunch of morons to let you go. Anyway, I'm glad your here with us." Knuckles and her shared a smile while the wolf and Bark got water from Silver. Sonic agreed.
"Yeah, I am too. Isn't being here way better than being showered in bird poop or being arrested?" Everyone laughed and agreed.
"So much better than that!" Brick was taken away during the pep rally and was currently at the police station. Sonic wasn't sure what they found in his glove compartment, but when the went outside, there was an armored van waiting for him. It must have been really bad. Brick's truck was a bit of a disaster. One of the tires was slashed up, and a large scratch was on the hood, taking off some paint with it. Jasmine admitted she slashed the one tire but didn't know where the mark on the hood came from. Silver swore to him that he could smell Brick's anger all the way from the van he sat in, and Espio confirmed that the black bear would be back in a week's time. "He's only getting detention from the school too," said the chameleon. Sonic knew it was basically minor in the aftershock, but the whole thing had a huge and satisfying impact. It actually had more of an impact than he or his friends originally intended. The wolf Mobian shook his head in amusement.
"As cool as all that was, who ratted out on Brick? I mean, come on. There must've been someone." Sonic and the others swore not to tell a soul about it. Espio's gang, Knuckles and Bark were the only others who knew. Said polar bear placed a hand on the wolf's shoulder and shook his head. "Bark, dude, your brother was arrested. You're not even mildly interested in who made it happen?" Bark actually thought of this and shook his head. He now knew it was Sonic's plan but didn't really care. Sonic, however, swore he saw Bark's eyes laugh at Brick when he was taken away. Glad he's happy too.
"If Bark wants to cry about it, he can always use my shoulder," Rouge stepped in and grinned. The others laughed while Knuckles gave Rouge a secret look to which she returned with a smile. The timeout soon ended and Sonic and Silver were going back to their seats when Sonic saw him.
He stood at the other end of the bleachers, behind the fence. Sound muted in his ears, and the blue hedgehog stopped to look at him. His clothes were more tattered and grimy than before. He still wore no shoes, only socks.
A face worth remembering locked his gaze with Sonic's.
Sonic's heart twisted in a incomprehensible pain, and his whole body seemed to go numb. He clutched his heart with one hand and tried to breathe but failed. The other teen seemed to be experiencing the same problem as he clutched his chest with two hands. Somewhere in the background, the game was starting, but it all sounded watered out and warped to them. A strange connection was awakening in the back of his mind, causing his body to feel strange. Sonic took one step forward, but the other took a step back.
Don't go. Please.
"Sonic?" The blue teen jumped and looked up at Silver, who was staring down at him in confusion. "The game is starting. Are you alright?" Sonic whipped his head back to see the other teen observing them and stepping back. Then, he turned and ran away.
Sonic ran too.
He dashed along the bleachers and through the gate exit, ignoring Silver's calls for him. He raced out in the open to see the figure running to the woods. Sonic took pursuit. With his incredible speed, he darted through the woods, leaving everything else behind him. The sound of blood rushing and feet pounding waged a war in his ears. The figure was just as fast as him. How is this possible? Sonic had to stop thinking; he had to start running. He began to pick up the pace, hurtling over tree roots and shooting past bushes. The forest was dark, but he could still see and hear him running ahead. His breath sounded like it was coming up short, but Sonic's wasn't tired at all.
They kept running. Sonic soon grew to worry, for he had no idea how far into the back woods he was. He clenched his teeth and called out through the darkness.
"Stop! Stop running!" His words seemed to bounce off nothing but the murkiness of the night. He almost wanted to cry. "Please!" That word must of penetrated through him because the hooded teen faltered in his strides and tumbled. He stumbled and fell harshly, skidding to a abrupt stop by an oversized tree. He cried out in pain. Sonic quickly halted and gasped. He scampered over to the prone teen and knelt by him. Now that he was closer than before, Sonic could hear him wheeze in and out dangerously. The blue teen held the other's arms and quickly helped him up.
"It's okay. It's okay. I am so sorry. Are you okay?" Sonic whispered to him. He only got a groan in response and helped him sit up straight. They sat there together for a moment, breathing in and out. Something inside the blue hedgehog calmed down as they sat there. He looked at the other teen's hooded head with determination.
"Who are you?" Moments passed. The other said nothing. Slowly, he turned his head to Sonic's, causing the other to hold back his breath. The teen pulled back his hood, and the moon finally revealed itself through the woods.
His fur was a daunting, Paris green. He had six, long spikes settling in the nest of his hood. His mouth was surrounded by a smooth patch of tan fur with a nubby, black nose and large eyes. His eyes. His eye whites were huge, but his irises were a celeste blue. Sonic held his gaze. It was all too familiar. The nose, the six spikes, the blue and green color scheme were all too familiar. The green hedgehog opened his mouth and spoke out in a familiar, raspy voice.
"I am..." He stopped, and Sonic didn't blame him. They sat there, holding each other's gazes. A voice boomed out over the woods, coming from a loudspeaker at the game.
"Touchdown Jasmine Hazard! Touchdown Chaos High! That's it folks! Chaos has won the game! This is truly a night to remember!"
It really was a night to remember for Sonic, for a face worth remembering happened to be his brother's.
A/N: It suddenly occurred to me that writing a lot doesn't mean I'm posting anything. Sorry for that. I'll start uploading the chapters I was working on this whole time. :D Let me know if I should upload every one or two weeks. I need a schedule to try work with. Also, for the characters that don't have names in my story yet, i.e. the blue lizard friend of Espio's, can you guys give me some names, please? Or, if they're a character you want to submit in for story plot, tell me, please? I'm not too good with names and would appreciate the help, and since I already have many chapters done in advance, it could be a while until your character pops up. Okay? Okay! Thanks so much! :)
