Chapter 25

The calm silence of the cul-de-sac was quickly broken by the shrill squeals coming from the PNK house. Those squeals belonged to none other than Belicia, Celia, Naomi, and Oriel. The monstresses were currently in the kitchen, munching on small pastries they had made earlier and discussing a very important topic. "What am I going to wear!?"

"Well it depends, where's he gonna take you?" Celia asked as her 'girls' snacked away at a cupcake. "Is it somewhere fancy and dressy?"

"Or it could be somewhere more cool and laidback." Oriel added as she took a bite out of her apple. "You could wear shorts or something."

"Um, he didn't really tell me where he was taking me." Belicia confessed, her tail flicking from side to side. "But he did give me flowers."

"Ooo, a mystery." Naomi giggled as she brought out her phone. "Let's try to figure out where he's gonna take you so you know how to get dressed. I'm gonna start looking through all the fancy restaurants in town."

"What does Spots think of this?" Oriel asked before laughing at Belicia's expression. "Let me guess, you haven't told him yet?"

"..No." The feline admitted as she slumped a bit in her seat. "But I don't have to tell him I'm going on a date. I'll say that I'm going out with you guys or something."

"Okay, that would solve that, but then you start going on more dates and he's going to eventually find out. And when he does, he's gonna be-"

"Pissed?"

"Well, that, but I was gonna say betrayed. You guys tell each other everything and it would break his heart if you didn't tell him."

"...I know. I'll tell him tonight."

"Yes! I win!" Reggie cheered as he tossed his controller on the couch and started to do a victory dance. It was around 7at night, that the RORs had started a video game contest. Chet grumbled slightly as he crossed his arms and glared at the triclops. "Yeah!"

"No fair! That game is not claw fwiendly!" Chet complained as he watched the screen recap of his character getting annihilated. "Chip, avenge me!"

"No problem." Chip said confidently as he cracked his fingers and picked up the controller. The whole fraternity knew that Chip was the king of video games, but Reggie always challenged him. "You wanna make this interesting again?"

"Yeah, how about, loser has to teepee the PNK house?"

"Do you wanna die young?"

"Alright, alright, loser has to drink a whole cup of mouthwash."

"Ew...you're on."

Javier couldn't help the small laugh that escaped him when he heard wager. He had to record that. He glanced over at Johnny, who was also trying to stifle his laughter. The insect was happy to see his friend like this, laughing happily along side them. He could tell that the monster was still slightly worn out from the events from earlier but refused to go to bed and miss out on the contest. He jumped a bit when the two players suddenly stood up and started to bump into each other, eyes never leaving the screen.

"C'mon, c'mon, c'mon!" Reggie pleaded as he smashed the buttons on the controller. Both their characters were only a few hit points away from getting their combo moves. "C'MON!"

"Don't you fail me now Razor! We've been through so much together!" Chip stated as he held his controller up at weird angles. "So close!"

Javier seemed to be the only one who heard the small knock at the front door. He was tempted to just ignore it and continue to watch the fight but the knocking grew more insistent. He let out a sigh before he slowly stood up and headed towards the door. Passing Johnny, he muttered, "Tell me what happens."

Johnny chuckled a bit before giving the monster a thumbs up. Javier stretched a bit as he slowly opened the front door, only to be surprised by what he saw. Sonia was standing there, brushing her hair back a bit. She looked up at him with cool, calculating eyes, before motioning for him to step outside. "I need to talk to you."

"...Okay." The monster stepped outside and closed the door behind him. "Que paso? Is something wrong?"

"No, I just wanted to ask you something. It's about Chip."

"Chip?"

"Si, we were wondering if you knew anything about Chip's home or outside friends."

"'We'?"

"The other HSS members." Sonia explained. "So do you?"

"...A little. Why?" Javier questioned. It's not that he didn't trust Sonia, but he wanted to be careful, incase anybody else was listening in. He didn't want anybody to use Chip's past against him. "Did he tell you something?"

"...Sorta. He was over at our house to check up on us..."

"Uh, I had a pretty good teacher who taught me all kinds of stuff when I was younger."

"Was it Blake?" Everyone turned to the entryway where Nadya was standing. She had Chip's sweater and t-shirt in hand as she stepped further into the kitchen. "Danny talked about that Beast Sprint thing. He said his leader, Blake, taught everyone it because it was a common gang move. Did you learn it from him?"

"Uh...no." Chip hesitated a bit, he was afraid the other girls would find out about his past. He calmed down a bit before stating, "I had a friend named Duncan who taught me. He still lives back in my hometown."

"He acted so nervous, that it was kinda suspicious." Sonia continued after she finished her recap of what happened. "But what really got us interested was the scar on his side."

Javier tensed up a bit at the mention of the scar. He didn't think anybody else had known about it. He tried to play it off. "Scar?"

"Si, on his left side. At first, it didn't look like much, but Rhonda recognized it. She said that it was a common sight where her Tia lives. So we contacted her and found out that it belonged to a gang in the city called the Cruel Beasts."*

"Kurai Beasts, isn't it?"

"...Ah, so you do know?" Sonia asked with a knowing smirk on her lips. Javier looked at her confused before he smacked his head. The jig was up. "Javier, you should know some of my tricks by now."

The insect let out a groan as he sent a small glare in her direction. "So did you make up that whole story, just to see if you could trick me into giving you your answer?"

"No, it was an accident actually." Sonia stated, which resulted in Javier banging his head against the door frame in frustration. She let out a small chuckle before she continued. "Javier, if you do know about the gang, can you tell us if he was a part of it?"

Javier looked up from his head banging and let out a sigh. "Sonia...I can't. Chip trusts me not to tell anybody. Lo siento."

"Esta bien Javier. You don't have to tell me, but I was hoping to show you something." Sonia said as she held up the tape. "Rhonda's Tia sent it to us so that we would watch it and be careful."

"Of what?"

"Chip."

"NOOO!" The two jumped at the sudden yell, Sonia covering her ears a bit. Reggie had lost the battle yet again. "You so cheated!"

"It's called skill. Now get ready to have minty breath forever!"

Javier couldn't help but roll his eyes a bit at their ridiculousness before he turned back to the monstress. "Why would you have to be careful of him?"

Sonia lifted the tape up again. "Let me show you."

Johnny was clutching at his sides in laughter after seeing Reggie's forlorn face. Chip had run upstairs to retrieve the mouthwash and Chet was rubbing his claws together in anticipation. "Oh man, Jav! You're gonna miss it!"

"Miss what?" The three monsters looked to the feminine voice and were stunned to see Sonia standing in the doorway. "Hola."

"Uh, hi. What are you doing here?"

"She came to show me something." Javier explained as he stepped into the room. "We need to use the tv really quick."

"But the game is still on!" Reggie protested as he motioned towards the game console. Chet simply reached over and pressed pause on the controller. "Oh, nevermind."

"Esta bien si ellos miran?"

"Si." Sonia said as she put the tape into the VCR and pressed play. "But it's not a pretty scene."

Chip hummed happily as he made his way out of the bathroom, mouthwash in hand. He went to go down the steps but stopped himself. The other RORs and Sonia were gathered around the tv, watching with curiosity. Curiosity getting the best of him, Chip silently made his way over until he was behind the couch. He couldn't make out what was happening on screen until the picture cleared. He immediately froze.

On screen, the streets were full of monsters running rampant and destroying everything they could get their hands on. Glass was scattered all over the ground and the faint sound of police sirens could be heard. The camera angle turned and they were able to see several police cars lined up and blocking the road. Some of the monsters who were rioting, started to drag gallons of gasoline out onto the street. It wasn't long until several of them were doused in the substance. Chip felt his stomach drop as he watched the fire ignite and soon spread to the vehicles. There was a scream of horror before the video ended.

"Woah, what was that all about?" questioned Chet as Sonia removed the tape. "That was cwazy."

Before the monstress could answer, there was a loud thud. They all turned and gasped when they saw Chip, pale as a ghost. He was shaking and muttering to himself, fists clenched at his sides. Javier was quick in rushing to his side, putting a hand on his shoulder. "Chip, are you okay?"

The horned monster flinched away from the comforting hand, glancing around him frantically. Blurred images of blood, fangs, and fire flashing before him. His breathing became a bit more labored as he stumbled into a wall and slid down to the floor. His friends voices were drowned out by screams and roars from his past. He could feel the heat rising and getting closer to him...

"Agh!" Cold water was quickly splashed into his face, snapping him back to reality. He sputtered a bit and stared up at the worried faces of his friends. Reggie tossed the cup he used aside, and crouched down to Chip's level. "Hey dude, are you okay?"

Chip was silent until he lurched forward and ripped the tape out of Sonia's tentacles. "Hey!"

"Chip, what are you doing?"Javier questioned as Chip held the tape up to his vision. He saw the date and scowled before bringing the tape down on his knee, smashing it into pieces. "Chip!"

"What the hell!? What's wrong with you?!" Reggie yelled angrily as he went to grab at his arm. Before he could do so, the horned monster gripped tightly onto his wrist. "Ow!"

Chip looked down at the triclops, his usual bright brown eyes were now a deep red. He let out a low growl as he barred his fangs at the monster. "Leave me alone!"

"Cut it out Chip!"

"You think you can hurt me?!"

"Stop it!"

"You're dead!"

WHACK!

Chip stumbled back from the sudden blow to the face. His cheek stung and he let out a small 'ow'. His eyes had returned to their original color now. He looked up at the his friends' terrified expressions before turning to Reggie. He was clutching at his wrist where dark bruises had started to form. 'D-Did I lose it again?'

"R-Reggie I...I didn't mean to-" Chip went to take a step towards him but immediately stopped when Reggie raised his arm to strike him again. He lost control of it again. He hurt one of his best friends. Chip wasted no time in darting out the front door and into the cool night, tears streaming down his face. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry..."

Reggie and the others watched him run out into the darkness. Johnny was the first to recover from the shock. "Reggie, are you okay? Let me see."

The monster complied and let Johnny inspect his wrist. The flesh was starting to turn a dark shade of purple, some areas looking black. Reggie winced a bit when the other poked and prodded the large bruise. "Ow..."

"Estas bien Sonia?" Javier questioned as he held on lightly to the monstress's shoulders. She gave a slight nod as she started to pick pieces of the broken tape out of her hair and off of her jacket. The insect nodded back before he looked out the doorway again. 'What just happened?'

"Hey!" Everyone turned to the voice of the energetic crab as he waved something excitedly around in the air. "He brought the mouthwash!"

Chip gasped in large breaths of air as he slid down to the ground. He ran for a while and finally stopped when he reached the back of the Scare School. He couldn't help the rush of emotions that cluttered his mind once he had caught his breath. Tears pooled in his eyes as he clutched at his head in frustration and misery. The venom from three years ago was still in his system. The only other time he had lost his mind to it was his last year of high school. Angered, he let out a yell before punching the floor repeatedly. He really hated himself right now.

Soon he was short of breath yet again and rested on the wall behind, finding solace in the leaves and bushes he was nested in. It was short lived, however, when he felt something scaly slide across his hand. In a flash, he tackled someone out of the bushes and pinned them to the ground. His raised his fist to pummel the monster, only to freeze at what he saw. "R-Randy?"

- Tia means Aunt in Spanish

Sorry for the lack of updates guys, been really busy with schoolwork. Have a lot of testing to go threw next week. Anyways, I'm glad you're all still reading my story and giving me lots of support.

I have a little opportunity for one lucky reader. I need a reptilian character to be in the Reptile Mob. Message me or send in a review of your character with their name, personality, appearance, and anything else you think would be important for me to know about them. Good luck!

Don't forget to R&R!