Chapter 10: Lessons in War

"The true soldier fights not because he hates what is in front of him, but because he loves what is behind him." -G.K. Chesterton

Somewhere, in the vast landscape of time and fate, a person must face their enemy. Whether the fight be physical or fiscal, a battle must occur, and everything put in will be on the line. To battle an enemy is not about having courage. One will need no courage. It is all about managing the fear. By managing the fear nestled away in their hearts, a normal man or woman can get up and do extraordinary things.

Jules dropped himself in the car and grunted in distaste. Angrily, he tore off his necktie and tossed it in the back. The blue and green cloth ringed itself perfectly on the nose of a certain blue hedgehog. There was a snicker and a snore that sounded from the back as the nose-caught teen addressed his father.

"Hey, Dad? Nice aim you got there, but could ya watch it?" His father gripped the steering wheel and slowly placed his forehead at the top of it. "It was the first meeting. Was it really that bad?"

"Sonic, don't test me, but you're right. It was that bad."

Managing fear can only work so well for Sonic.

"Jules, calm down." Bernie closed her door and looked at her husband. She wore a vintage, soft blue dress with short sleeves. It had a bright white floral pattern that complimented her shinning, blue eyes. She placed a hand on his sleeve and frowned. "Even I didn't have my hopes up for this one." Jules sighed and fixed the collar of his white dress shirt. He wore it with a pair of black slacks.

"I knew this was going to be hard, but I swear it is impossible to be in the same room as Henna!" He finally screamed in frustration and banged the steering wheel, startling his wife and kids. "I'm sorry, but I can't help it. How can she become even more vain in the last couple years? She's insane!" Bernie didn't have the power to disagree with her husband since she too was worn out from the altercation.

"I can't say that Anglo didn't rub me the wrong way too much," she muttered. Her husband turned to her, and she held up her hands. "Okay, so he was a jerk! I admit it. Happy?" Jules nodded.

"Yes. Yes, I am." Sonic couldn't help but groan to himself.

Things never work out right...

Anglo "Aurum" Saxon Venice and Henna "Aeris" Cyprium-Venice were Silver's parents. Anglo is a vibrant, golden hedgehog, who is father to Silver while Henna, a bodacious copper hedgehog, is Silver's mother. To everyone who has meet them, they seem like beautiful-looking and perfect couple. They were of course gorgeous for their genders, being of such ravishing colors, but they were far from perfect. Sonic knew this personally.

While being a somewhat decent father, Anglo was a stubborn man. He preferred success over many things and has been very selective of the people he choose to be friends with. His expectations were always too high of people, and he has always had large trusting issues. This may or may not be due to his relations with his wife, Henna. Henna was a overdramatic women. She was constantly wrapped up in her own dream land and childish to the bone. She was always quick to flirt or act inappropriate, and she had a bad habit of letting jealously get the better of her. When Sonic and Silver were young, Sonic could never figure out why Silver's parents were so wonky, and Silver was constantly under pressure from them.

By the reaction given by his parents, Sonic knew that they haven't changed in the last couple years.

Silver sighed to himself beside the blue teen.

"I'm sorry I couldn't go in there." Silver had chickened out at the last moment and was too frightened to go to the first legal meeting about his adoption into the Maurice household. Sonic opted to stay in the family car with him, and Scourge, who was currently sleeping, reluctantly agreed. Silver looked down in his lap. "I knew they wouldn't understand, and I'm really sorry." Bernie immediately turned around and placed a hand on his knee, giving him a motherly squeeze.

"It's not your fault, honey. It's natural for them to not understand." Silver didn't look up, and Sonic nudged him.

"Hey, buddy, come on. It's no big deal. They'll come through." He looked at his mom. "Right?" She nodded back.

"Right." She then turned her eyes to Scourge, who was still sleeping. "Sonic, did your brother get any sleep last night?" Sonic looked his twin and shrugged a shoulder.

"Not sure." Scourge had fallen asleep after their parents left and didn't seem to be waking up anytime soon. He nudged his brother a bit but the green teen only shifted in his seat, turning away from Sonic, and kept sleeping. "He'll wake up when he wants to. Anyway, I'm starving. Can we please go grab a bite to eat?" Bernie laughed out a smile.

"Okay, let's go. Jules, do you know any diners around here?" While his parents decided where they would be eating their breakfast, Sonic looked out the window as the car drove. The legal office in Chaos Village was a long, glass building, but the windows were all shadowed and tinted. Multiple cars lined the parking lot, and they all reeked of either wealth or poverty. Sonic couldn't say much to that since his own family car wasn't of the best condition.

Speaking of the family car, the mechanical beast jolted and sputtered randomly as they neared a traffic light. Sonic could hear his dad moan and groan at the sound. The Maurice family owned an old Ford Station Wagon. Back then, Jules and Bernie were always too busy and didn't care much for a car. When they received it as a wedding gift, they didn't care for it much, but their feelings soon changed as they began to use the car. Sonic, who only had his permit, hoped for the life of him that he wouldn't inherit the miserable machine. His father never got around to replacing this car, so he knew that his parents probably wouldn't buy him a new one.

The family nickname for the car was Crapper.

"Why's Crapper acting up now?" Sonic asked. Silver's lips quirked at the name while Jules sighed again.

"How should I know? There's always something wrong with him." Bernie, who was currently looking for a place to eat on her phone, joined in the conversation.

"Why don't we just get rid of Crapper already then? He's served his purpose." Jules turned his head to her.

"You got money for a new car then?" Bernie scoffed and looked up from her phone.

"Why do we need a new car? I barely use this one."

"I need to get to work somehow." The father hedgehog's shoulders sagged. "I don't want to use those buses. They're so disgusting and crowded."

"Oh, my goodness. Man up already," his wife replied, getting some snickers from the boys and a glare from her husband. Sonic's parents were an odd couple, switching roles every so often. Sonic laughed again when his dad went to snap back, but Crapper had other plans and jumped. It jumped again and suddenly died with a gurgling sound in the engine. Everyone stopped, and Sonic spoke up.

"Did Crapper just die?" No one was prepared for that. Jules smacked the dashboard with his hand and tried starting the engine again.

"Impossible. He just got an oil change." Bernie shrugged to herself and went back to her phone.

"I'm just surprised he didn't die sooner."

"How the heck am I supposed to go to work then?"

"Bus." Jules smacked the dashboard again.

"Oh, come on!" He turned the key furiously. "Crapper, you suck!" Before anyone could say anything to the hysteric Jules, the engine moaned and sputtered back to life, making a couple odd spraying and clicking noises. Bernie narrowed her eyes at the dashboard.

"He's alive? Really?" Sonic shook his head.

"Oh, Crapper. You piece of crap." Silver, who had been trying to hold him his laughs, guffawed at Sonic's remark. Scourge, who had woken up earlier when Crapper started acting up, had a mildly annoyed look on his face.

"What is wrong with you people?" was his only question on the matter.

After they found a cafe to sit and eat, Sonic told his parents that the boys would stay at the cafe. He texted Jaz, Knuckles, Espio and Bark earlier to meet them there around noon. His parents were okay with that, and after they ate, they left. Sonic leaned back in the booth while Silver played on his phone. Scourge was looking at something across the room.

"Man, I really don't want to go to school tomorrow." Silver looked up at him and frowned.

"How come?"

"We have to go back to Naugus, remember?" Both hedgehogs shuddered and regretfully remembered the sight of their new Biology teacher. "He's so creepy." Silver agreed with him.

"I wonder what happened to Mr. Munker anyway?" Sonic shrugged.

"Who knows?" Finally, his eyes settled on Scourge. The green teen was gazing at something across the room, and Sonic turned his head to see. A teenage waitress came into view, and she turned to go to their table. Sonic didn't get what was so interesting about her until she came closer. She was female hedgehog with pale lavender fur. Her spikes trailed down to her waist and were decorated with black and white highlights. Black fur tipped the ends of her ears, and when she walked, Sonic saw it on her tail too. She also had a lavender bang that faded to a translucent white covering part of her right eye. Her eyes were something else. While her eyelids were white in color, her eyes were two-toned. They were soft pink at the top but faded to a stormy grey towards the bottom.

There was no doubt about it. She was pretty hot.

She carried her ample yet slim body towards the boys' table and stopped just short. A cute, golden heart-shaped locket glimmered off her chest. She whipped out a pad and pen and spoke to the boys in a rough yet feminine voice.

"What do you boys want?" Sonic said nothing and quickly revised his thoughts. Yeah, she's hot, but she's a mix.

Mixed Mobians, sometimes called Mutts, are looked down in society. While there has been an abundance of them lately, many don't marry or have kids, thus ending their bloodlines. A person can tell mixes from pure breeds by their body color. Pure breeds usually dominated one or two color styles from their parents, but mixes inherited more. Their body colors are usually more exaggerated and confusing, and they have weird physical features, like two-toned eyes. Mixes can sometimes be good-looking and quite attractive, but it was usual for them to be repulsive and odd-looking.

Sonic had nothing against mixed Mobians. He was generally friendly and open to anyone, but mixes usually had a knack for being wild and trouble-seeking individuals. This may seem like a common stereotype, but most of the time, it was a truthful stereotype. Back in Emerald, there were usually pure breeds all over the town, but when the occasional mix showed up, they were either shunned or tolerably welcomed. He's never had mixed friends or girlfriends, but being a in Chaos now, he didn't know how to react. Sure, Jasmine, who may or may not be a mix, was his friend, but he knew for sure that this girl was one.

How should he treat her?

Scourge leaned back in his seat in the corner of the blue teen's eye, bringing Sonic out of his thoughts. The green teen smiled up at the girl.

"Your number," was Scourge's answer. Sonic and Silver whipped their heads at him. Um, twin brother said what now? Neither hedgehog could believe that Scourge was making a pass at her. It was quite ballsy of the young teen and deserved major respect, but they were caught off guard. The girl raised an eye ridge at him. Slowly, she folded her arms and jutted out a hip. Sonic could almost smell her attitude while the waitress focused her narrowed eyes at his twin.

"Nice try, but I don't give my number out to random guys." Scourge's smile didn't falter, and he narrowed his eyes coolly at her.

"So, if I tell you my name, then I get your number?" He was persistent. Some girls didn't like that. To Sonic's disbelief, the waitress smiled at bit at him with still narrowed eyes.

"Never gonna happen," she sang to him.

"It so will," he taunted back.

"You really think I'm gonna fall for you?"

"Oh, no. I think you're gonna be begging to kiss the heck out of me later."

"You don't even know when my shift ends." Scourge's smile grew wider.

"You'd love to tell me, wouldn't you?" She scoffed but not unhappily.

"You're so annoying." Scourge leaned forward and placed his arms on the table.

"And you're really cute, but enough of that. We'll have three root beers, please." She jotted it down.

"Whatever you want, Romeo."

"Oh, so you're into that, huh? Babe, you can totally be my Juliet if you want."

"As if." Scourge shrugged.

"Well, I tried. Man, you're tough. Well, I'll let you get back to work..." He gazed at her name tag. "Scarlet." The waitress, Scarlet, stared at him.

"You are a piece of work, you know that?"

"You act like it isn't attractive. Man, you're good." Still smiling, she rolled her eyes and walked away. Scourge turned back Sonic and Silver, whose mouths were wide open. "What?" Silver sputtered before speaking.

"Did you just flirt with her? Like, right now?" Scourge gave him a mild look.

"Well, yeah. Problem?"

"Well, no, I guess. It's just that... You were so..." Sonic finished for him.

"Smooth." If it wasn't obvious enough, Scourge, like Sonic, was a good talker and knew when to turn up the charm. While Sonic was a clean and enthusiastic chatter, Scourge turned into a little more raunchy and mellow one. The twins shared yet another trait in common. Picking up chicks, Sonic thought casually. The blue teen shook his head. "You did good." Scourge sighed.

"Not good enough. She'll never swing for me." Sonic had to admit he was right, but Silver didn't understand.

"Why not? She seemed pretty amused with you when she left." Sonic turned to Silver.

"It's all about her tastes." Silver still looked confused, so he clarified. "A girl's type, Silver. Every girl has one or more. Some would definitely go for a suave guy, like Scourge and yours truly." Silver narrowed his eyes at Sonic, but Scourge spoke up.

"Girls like her want a mature guy. She needs someone strong and steady, y'know?" The green teen slumped in his seat. "She acts like she's ready to settle." Sonic shrugged and patted his brother's arm.

"It was a good fight, soldier, but there are just some fights that can't be won."

Sonic and Silver practically had to jump into their 2nd period class. The blue teen groaned and felt his chest.

"We should have hall monitors in this school. Maybe then we can get to class without having to get beat up," Sonic wondered aloud. Even though he said it, deep down, Sonic knew it was impossible. Fights in the hallways were a normal thing, but he was getting awfully tired of daily routine of getting whacked around. Silver smoothed out his wrinkled shirt and shrugged.

"I don't know. If we had some, they'd probably get beat up." As they walked to their seats, Sonic crossed his arms and replied.

"Better them than me."

"What if you were supposed to be the hall monitor." The blue hedgehog shuddered and sat down.

"No comment." Silver laughed to himself as he sat down. To their surprise, there was a large, metal tray on top of their desk. Various surgical utensils were placed near them, and a trashcan was on the floor. Every lab desk in the room was styled the same way. The hedgehogs exchanged looks of confusion and worry. Just then, Naugus scurried into the classroom. A white coat smeared with some odd substance was on his torso. He smiled sickly at the students.

"Good morning, class. Since you've already learned much about the internal body structures of multi-cellular organisms, we will be dissecting one today. Delightful, right?" A foreign object in Sonic's stomach turned and flopped dangerously. Everyone in the room seemed to stop breathing. A dissection in this class was not a good idea. Of all people, Silver slowly raised his hand. "Yes, what is it?"

"What will we be dissecting?" Sonic wished he didn't ask because Naugus's smile only grew wider. Quickly, the teacher reached behind his desk and hefted up a shiny, foiled package. The object in the blue teen's stomach was acting up again. Naugus placed a parcel on each tray in the room. When he placed on on Sonic and Silver's tray, it dropped down with a wet, slimy thud. They could already smell a foul, unfamiliar odor creeping through the foil. Sonic heard Silver gag but kept his own jaw tight. Naugus scampered back to the front of the room and turned to eye all the students. After making sure their gloves, smocks and goggles were on, he pointed to their trays.

"Open your parcels." The sound of foil being torn filled the room, and what Sonic saw would give him nightmares for a long time.

Most of its skin was a rubbery black, but he saw spots that were once white. The white spots had yellowed and decayed. Half of the figure was missing, but the head was still intact. The part where the body was cut was sealed off with a plastic covering. A small trickle of blood dripped from what he assumed was the mouth. He reached out and touched the cold, stiff skin. His hand stopped when he noticed the eyes.

They were wide open, disturbed and screaming for help.

Naugus cleared his throat.

"Thanks to the Mobian Marine Observers and reckless boat drivers, we have been supplied these baby orcas to dissect. They were cut in half to fit on your desks, so some of you may have the head or tail. I will assist any of you if you need it. I do what to say one thing though." He gave them all a serious look.

"Do not eat the orcas raw. They're better grilled." Sonic hated him. He decided that right then and there. How could this monster make them dissect baby animals? Had he no morals? Sonic looked down at the dead killer whale and shook his head. This was wrong. This was wrong beyond so many levels.

But what can I do? He couldn't do much. Chaos High chose to hire Naugus. He couldn't do much about that, for he was only a student. Naugus was permanent while he was temporary. He had little power, but Sonic was determined to right this wrong. Coming back to his senses, he realized the thick smell of bile had filled the room. Several students had puked at the sight of the mutilated baby whale while others were already digging into their dearly departed subjects. There were a few that didn't do anything yet. Like Sonic, they had high morals and couldn't stand the sight of what was in front of them. Sonic looked at Silver, who was entirely green in the face.

"You go to the bathroom. I'll start dissecting." The silver teen didn't even protest. Sullenly, he shuffled from his seat and out of the room. Sonic sighed and reverted his gaze back to the baby beast. He had to cut it open. Taking up a marker, he began drawing in the lines for cutting. He's done a dissection before at Emerald, but the organism he cut open back then was a frog, not a baby whale. He placed down the marker and went down for a textbook. After reading the section on whales, he placed it on the far end of the desk and went back to the dead mammal.

Sonic picked up a scalpel and placed it on the incision line. The smooth metal slipped into the tough skin, producing some clear liquid and a little blood from the body. He dragged the blade down the orca's side, and the skin peeled open. The strong stench of formaldehyde hit his nose. Quickly, he sawed the ends of the two flaps he created. He grabbed some nails and a hammer and proceeded it hammer down the flaps. The insides of the baby whale were wide open now. Sonic huffed and placed down his hammer. A voice spoke up behind him.

"Wow. You're pretty good at this." The blue hedgehog turned around in shock. She wore a lab smock instead of a waitress outfit, but her goggles showed off her two-toned eyes. Scarlet smiled. "Hey." He blinked.

"Um, hey. Scarlet, right?" She nodded, so he continued. "I didn't know you were in my class." Scarlet laughed.

"Yeah, I've been absent for a while. No big deal." She looked around. "So where's your flirty twin?" He gave her a playful smirk.

"At home. He's sick." Scourge got a bad headache last night and looked terrible in the morning. He wasn't going back to his boarding school yet, so Bernie was taking care of him. Sonic relaxed and continued to chat with her. "You like him?" Scarlet scoffed a playful scoff.

"He's cute, but I'm looking for someone else." Knew it. Nevertheless, Sonic smiled.

"Eh, that's cool." Across the room, they saw Naugus telling a story about some orca-dishes he had. The blue teen scowled. "I hate him so much." Scarlet, whose face was twisted up in a heated glare, agreed.

"I with you on that. He's an oddball."

"Yeah, and he's so weird-looking. I mean, I've never seen a Mobian like him before." Scralet whipped her head at him.

"He's weird because he's a mix?" Sonic should've seen that coming. He quickly shook his head and turned his body to her.

"No, it has nothing to do with that. Don't you see the way he dresses? It's just plain freaky." The female hedgehog was quiet, so he tried again. "Look, Scarlet. I have nothing against mixed Mobians. In fact, I think you're a pretty cool girl. I'l be honest with you. I've never had mixed friend." The grey of her eyes seemed to grow cloudier.

"How come?" He shrugged and gave her a lazy smile.

"My friends were against hanging out with them; mixes never stayed too long in my school. There's a bunch of reasons, and I'm really sorry if I made you mad." Her eyes softened and revealed more pink than grey for a moment. A sweet smile formed on her own lips.

"I just get sick of people pointing out my flaws. I mean, hello! I can't help being a mix. I get mad when they mess with other mixes too." Sonic nodded casually.

"You have all the right to do so." To his surprise, he handed him her hand.

"Well, it's good to know you're an agreeable guy. Hard to find those nowadays. By the way, the name's Scarlet A. Skylight." He took her hand and gave her a friendly handshake.

"Sonic. Sonic Maurice the Hedgehog." She giggled.

"Do you always say your species after your name?" He took back his hand and gave her a playful glare.

"Shut up." They laughed and continued talking. When Silver came back, class was half over, but Sonic and Scarlet were chatting and dissecting. He approached them and waved at Scarlet. Sonic turned his head to him.

"Hey, Silver. Glad you're back. Remember Scar, right?" The silver teen nodded while Scar smirked at her nickname.

"You bet." He then looked down at the insides of the orca. A familiar shade of green popped up on his face. "Are you done yet?" Sonic shook his head.

"I guess not. Why? You okay?" Silver backed away from the tray.

"No, I am not okay. I'm really not good with all this, man." Sonic had to admit that Silver looked really sick. He placed down his scalpel and tried to wipe off any gunk he still had on his glove-encased hands.

"Don't worry, buddy. Class is almost over. How 'bout we just wrap this big guy up?" The other two agreed, so the started placing the organs back in the whale. Silver grabbed the used dissecting tools and walked to the sink. Sonic didn't know what happened until he heard Silver yell. He whipped his head up and gaped in horror.

Rotting blood was pooling around his boots and staining parts of his jeans. A shudder passed through Silver, and he looked up at the student next to him. He was drab-looking raccoon with dirty fur. He smirked his rotting teeth at Silver.

"Whoops," he said in a careless voice, "It seems like I dropped some extra blood on you. My bad. Try not puke, okay?" He pushed past Silver, who was rooted to the ground in shock. Carefully, he walked back to a shocked Scarlet and appalled Sonic. He turned to look at Naugus, but it was like the creature teacher didn't even see it. Silver turned to Sonic with a permanent look of disgust.

"I..." The words didn't come to him at first, but soon, a new look took up his face. Sonic glanced in his usually darkened eyes and was surprised to see something new in them. A light that hasn't been there since they were kids has sparked again. Determination? Before he could react, Silver suddenly reached inside the cavity of the orca and ripped of a fistful of bloody entrails. Making sure Naugus was turned away, the silver teen chucked it across the room.

The dark red glob flew above the class and nailed the raccoon right in the back of the head. A satisfying wet sound echoed through the classroom. Everyone but the preoccupied teacher looked at the raccoon. He slowly reached back and felt the cold substance sticking to the back of his head. Beady eyes found Silver standing tall. The silver teen cocked his head and looked playfully hurt.

"Oops, my bad." No one else realized it, but a strong sense of pride took up Sonic chest at that moment. Silver, who was used to being tormented and put down, had retaliated against someone at last. And his aim... Sonic wanted to whistle. It was perfect. The raccoon glared at Silver and turned to his whale. Sonic's eyes widened, and he grabbed Silver just in time to miss a bloody ball coming their way. They looked up to realize the ball caught someone else. The front of Scarlet's smock oozed in orca blood. She shrieked, but another ball was thrown. This time it hit someone else. A sudden tension filled the room, and Sonic knew what was about to happen.

"EVERYBODY DUCK!" He slammed both his friends to the floor, but it was too late. Bloody balls and organs ricocheted around the classroom. Screams erupted from many students while other bursted with laughter. Large, wet globs smacked everything in room, creating stomach-twisting sounds. It was like a paintball game gone wrong. Sonic, Silver and Scarlet were crouched behind the desk, which they overturned for safety. They were shielded away from most of the chaos, but a stray ball would fly over now and again. Scarlet screeched when a mutilated stomach knocked her in the head, staining her lavender fur. She looked furious.

"SILVER, WHAT THE HELL?" The sound was deafening; she had no choice but to scream. Silver, despite being covered in some rotting blood and organs, laughed.

"CHILL OUT. THIS HAS HAPPENED BEFORE. RIGHT, SONIC?" Remembering his first day at school, the blue teen laughed and whipped off a splatter of blood on his jeans. He looked above the desk and was shocked. Other teens used the desk for safety and were launching orca remains everywhere. A couple fist fights had broken out, but the combatants were covered in so much decaying blood that Sonic couldn't tell who they were. One guy was walking around crazily with an orca head over his own head. The dead, crazed eyes looked worse than before. The blue teen shudder.

It was a war zone.

Naugus, who finally noticed something was amiss, was trying to stop the fighting but only turned into a better target for the teens. The teacher careened around miserably, soaked in blood and matted with various intestines, hearts, bellies and more. He fixed his red eyes on the students.

"EVERYONE, CUT THIS OUT RIGHT-" A ball of something, perhaps part of a lung, found its mark in his gaping mouth. He shuddered and gagged it out, coughed and finally regurgitated on the floor. Sonic felt his own stomach flip at the sight and burped ominously. Holding his belly, he ducked back down and jerked his head to the door. The others followed as he made his way out of the chaotic room. They stood in the empty hallway, breathing in the sanitary air and dripping in liquified orca. Scarlet finally broke the silence.

"That was a disaster." Silver didn't disagree. He looked at her with sympathetic eyes.

"Sorry, I didn't know it would get so wild." Sonic nudged him and showed off his trademark grin.

"Silver, it's Chaos High. How would it not get wild?" His friend rolled his eyes and playfully pushed him away. Scarlet laughed at the boys' banter.

"It must be really hard to stay mad at you guys. I don't see Brick hates you so much." At the sound of the bears's name, Sonic's face turned serious. He looked at Scarlet.

"You know Brick?" The female hedgehog flipped back her dampened spikes in disgust.

"Not really," she mumbled. Then she looked up at them and sighed. "It's a long story. To make it short, he comes by this bar I work at late on Tuesdays and weekends. He's always trying to flirt with me and all that crap, but I'm not into guys like him." Silver looked confused.

"Why do you work at a bar?" he asked. When Scarlet didn't answer, he looked away. The look in her eyes said a lot though. She must have a tough life. Sonic didn't think it; he knew it. He asked Scarlet to finish her story.

"Anyways, Brick is always venting to me about all this crap that goes on in his life. I really don't care, so I just let his buddies comfort him. However, your name..." she pointed to Sonic, "has been coming up a lot these days." Sonic crossed his arms. Brick still suspects that he has had something to do with the pep rally incident. He had to get Brick off his tail, but Jasmine had only devised a plan to mess with Pokey. Tackling Brick needed more care. A small formed on his lips.

"I got a plan, but we'll need your help Scarlet. You up for it?" Scarlet smiled.

"I'm game for anything."

"You sure? This could get ugly. Scary too." Silver added. She shrugged half-heartedly and began walking towards the bathroom.

"Doesn't matter to me. Fear is just another reason to try harder."

Jasmine jumped up from her hiding space and gasped at Sonic and Silver's appearance. They tried showering, but part of their clothes were still covered in blood with a telltale stench trailing behind them. The female hedgehog crossed her arms.

"Don't tell me. You guys were part of the bloody orca fight in Naugus's class?" Sonic smiled brightly at her.

"Part of it? Dude, Silver started it!" She turned her head to Silver.

"Silver! Say it isn't so!" The silver teen shrugged carelessly.

"What can I say? I'm a born instigator." Jaz laughed and shook her head.

"Whatever you say." It was lunch time, and the three were hiding inside the bleachers. From their position, they could see the school parking lot and all its inhabitants, which were zero. Their target was a dinky, yellow and orange Volkswagen Beetle. Silver looked over at the car from the slots in the bleachers.

"You sure that's the right car, Jaz?" Jasmine nodded.

"Yep, that's Pokey's car." Sonic clapped his hands.

"Sweet. Is Bark in postion?"

"He's distracting Pokey right now," Jasmine confirmed from her phone. "Pokey always gets something from her car around this time, so we better make it quick." Jasmine reached into her backpack and pulled out compact, black case. Opening it, a key was resting on top of some cotton. Unlike normal keys, it had no dents in it for the lock. It was smooth and slightly rubbery. She picked it up and handed it to Sonic. He took the key and inspected it.

"Is Espio sure this'll work?" Jasmine gave him an iffy look.

"He says it will. I've personally never used a skeleton key before, but hey, there's a first for everything." Sonic gripped it tight and smiled at the others.

"Alright. I'm gone." Silver patted his shoulder.

"We'll wait here. Good luck."

"Don't screw anything up," added Jasmine. The blue teen laughed and slipped away from the bleachers. Cautiously but incredibly speedily, he zipped over to Pokey's car. They were lucky. The way her car was parked, facing away from the school, blocked anyone from seeing him anyhow. Looking about, he creep up to the trunk and fitted the skeleton key in the keyhole. He jiggled the key inside, creating enough heat to mold it correctly, and turned it with ease. The trunk popped open, and Sonic lifted it up about halfway.

The inside of Pokey's trunk was rather messy. Rolls of film for cameras and printed photos were thrown about. A couple jackets and heeled shoes were in the far back, and Sonic saw more than one can of an energy drink thrown in there. He sifted through a bunch of various objects and was glad that he was wearing his white gloves. Most Mobians wore their gloves to look respectable, but some didn't even have to. He was thankful for his gloves because part of this stuff looked like evidence for something Pokey was researching. A jackhammer, a couple notes, a bottle of pills, makeup compacts, a pair of pliers, braided rope, a pipe, magazine cutouts. This girl is freaky, the hedgehog summed up. He looked underneath another fur coat and found lone paint scraper. The handle on it looked worn, but Sonic payed no attention to that.

On the top of metal edge, he saw bits of black paint stuck to it. Black. Deadly black. Deadly black monster truck. He grabbed it without a second thought and closed the lid. Before he could sneak away, he heard a course laugh ring in the lot.

"Bark! You're so funny!" He jumped and looked around. Spotting a green car opposite of the voice, he scrambled to it and hid behind it. Just then, Pokey walked up with her arm wrapped around Bark's. She giggled girlishly and looked up at him. "You are such a sweet guy. How come you don't have girlfriend yet?" Bark gazed down at her and sluggishly shrugged. The porcupine got out her keys.

"Oh, don't be like that! Any girl would want you, Bark. You just need to put in the effort." She opened her trunk and took out a roll of film. Slipping it into her pocket, she turned back to him. "Well, I gotta go. I've got to find your brother's assailant after all. Do you have any theories on who it could be?" Bark crossed his arms and looked to be in deep thought. His eyes popped up, catching all Pokey's attention. Looking to the left and right, he pulled out a pen and paper and wrote something down. He handed it Pokey with a look of certain unease, and she snatched the paper away before he could change his mind. Reading the paper, a devious smile formed on her lips.

"Don't worry, Bark. I won't tell a soul it was you." She blew him a kiss and left the scene. Bark looked around and spotted Sonic behind the green car. He walked out in the open and smiled at him.

"Nice work, man!" Bark's small smile was his only response. When they met up with Silver and Jasmine, Jasmine wore a look of disgust on her face. He grabbed Bark's jacket and tried to take it off him.

"Gimme that. We need to burn it." Sonic and Silver laughed while Bark struggled against her. Silver faced Sonic and asked if he found anything. Sonic placed his hands in his pockets, but before he could tell of what he found, a cry sounded from the field.

"Rouge, calm down!" It was Knuckles. The four friends walked out in the open and discovered Rouge and Knuckles coming their way. Rouge was stomping in their direction. Her eyes were red and puffy. Knuckles was trying to calm her down, but she wasn't listening. When they finally got to them, she stopped.

"Is it true?" Rouge looked livid and enraged. "Is it true that Pokey posted that about me?" This was going to happen sooner or later; there was no point in hiding it. No one said anything, and the white bat placed a hand over her mouth. Knuckles gripped her shoulders and looked into her eyes.

"Rouge, it doesn't matter. We know that none of that is true. I know that none of it is true."

"I can't believe this." was all she could say. Rouge couldn't take the humiliation. All she wanted was for Knuckles to see her in a good light, but now that was no more. These rumors would surely affect it. Knuckles, however, proved otherwise. He wrapped his arms around her, surprising her.

"I know that it's not true. We're fixing this Rouge. She's not getting away with this." Rouge looked up at him. Her makeup was smeared, and she was sweaty from all her walking. She's never looked so on-edge before. How Knuckles could still be so kind to her was a mystery to her. Jasmine scampered behind her friend and hugged Rouge.

"I'm gonna make that lying bitch pay. You watch me," she mumbled into Rouge's back. Rouge finally smiled and turned to give Jasmine a big hug. Knuckles smiled at Sonic, and he smiled back. Suddenly, Sonic's phone chimed strangely, so he took it out.

"New Update! The Chaos Clincher! "Who Framed Brick?"" was what it read. Sonic was puzzled. He never downloaded The Chaos Clincher app on his phone. Silver took the phone and looked apologetic.

"Sorry. I downloaded it. We have to keep updated after all."

"What does it say?" Sonic asked. Everyone looked Silver as he read the new post.

"Football players, beware. Your judgement is coming soon. Not only did they have opportunity, but they had motive. Brick was seen harassing a couple players at the tryouts a while back. Could one of them have held a grudge against them? Who knows, but with motive and opportunity, how long can they deny it? My fellow followers, I bear with me a story on the rise. Brick framed. Football players rejoicing. The tables have turned, and those who once feared Brick are rebelling. Also, I bear some news from a source of mine. It turns out Brick not only has some beef with the meatheads of our school but with chicken runners too. That's right. The cross country team. As the story goes, Brick has made some enemies out of a few members, but I'm not to tell. Confidential things must stay confidential. As I said before, be prepared, people. The jocks of our school have been stirring up trouble as of recent, and the floodgates of Hell are ready to open. A war is about to brew. I, the fateful messenger from Heaven, will keep you updated. XOXO, TCC."

Silver looked up in surprise. No one spoke at first, but Sonic rose his voice.

"This can't be happening. How does she know about things going bad with Shadow, Mephiles and Brick?" He couldn't fathom how she knew this. Bark meekly raised up his hand. "Bark, you told her? Why?" Jasmine tapped her chin.

"Actually, this is a good thing. It gets her away from the football team, and there won't be much for her to look into with the cross country team. It's a dead end." Sonic shook his head.

"No, it isn't. I'm on the track team. She's going to come after me." Silver spoke up.

"Not if I have anything to say about that! We'll throw her off." Rouge placed her hands on her hips.

"Yeah, and I'm helping." Everyone looked at her. "I'm not letting this dirty little porcupine mess up my rep. She's going to pay, and I will give her Hell." Sonic saw the determination in her eyes and sighed.

"That's sweet and all, but things are getting tricky." He paused. "She knows Jasmine slashed Brick's tire. She's not assuming. She knows."

"B-But how?" Jasmine looked taken back. "Did someone tell her?"

"No, she saw you do it, Jaz. She was there. She must've tagged along and watched from afar." Jasmine's face fell, and Sonic smiled. "Which is why I gotta say good job, Jaz." Surprised, the female hedgehog looked up.

"Huh?" Sonic smiled at her.

"Thanks to you, we caught her. There's a reason why she can't reveal that she say you. She'd give herself away."

"What are you talking about, Sonic?" Knuckles asked. The blue teen jerked his thumb at the parking lot.

"We have the nail file, right? With that, we can prove Jaz only slashed a tire, but someone scratched up Brick's hood too. I found this in Pokey's car." He pulled out the paint scraper, and Jasmine instantly snatched it up. Her eyes went wide when she saw the black chipped paint at the top. "That's why she can't call you out on it." Rouge looked thoughtful and began to speak.

"It would've pulled up two big question: why didn't she stop you, and who scratched Brick's hood? It would be too easy. The fingers would all point to Pokey! By putting all the blame on the team, it'll seem more likely they did it as some sort of teamed revenge. She needed the car to be more slashed up for that very reason. To cover her own tracks and take down the team!" They all stood there, stunned.

"She's a genius," Silver whispered. Rouge scoffed.

"She's not a genius. She's just clever, but I'm better." Taking the paint scraper from Jasmine, Rouge smiled a victorious smile.

"She's going down." Sonic thought back to the post Pokey wrote and agreed on at least one thing it said.

"A war is about to brew."