Sonaze: Step Love

by Atomsk the Pirate King

When Blaze gets adopted by Sonic's family, their feelings for each other grew as they got older.

3. Rising Tension

A scene opens up with Atomsk and TME sitting around and watching… Sonic X.

They were at the point where they watched as the X versions of Sonic and company as they made it to the thorndyke residence to rest and recover during their past few days on earth.

"Wow… Sonic and the others at this time we're really new to the whole Dimensional travel thing here." TME said with a raised eyebrow when he remembered how Sonic raced that police guy and outran him.

Atomsk chuckled.

"Oh yeah. It took a bit but they were able to adjust to the new world and stuff."

"Indeed, anyway before we go on and get distracted, the Readers are here." TME said while he points a thumb at the readers.

"Right." Atomsk said before looking at the Readers.

"Hey everyone. So sorry for making you wait, as you can see, TME and I have been busy trying to update some of our older stories and then somehow ended up doing some new ones too." He said before chuckling.

"Well to be fair, it did help our writing skills so its not like it wasn't for nothing, anyway the time this story gets posted will be sometime in January of 2020 or early february if we take things slow, so happy new years to everyone, 5 days late since we started to write this on the sixth but still better late than never, also Atomsk when you have the time you may need to reread past chapters because I'm pretty sure some words got erased here or there for some reason." TME said to remind Atomsk that since this stuff is on his account, he has to be the one to edit it in the end.

"Yeah, I'll get to it later. For now, let's start this chapter." Atomsk said.

"Right, anyway since this story does star Sonic and Blaze getting together, we will focus on them more and more as the story goes on but with some changes to show other characters to keep things fresh and this chapter starts out shortly after with Emerald, Cream, Sally, and Kahn leave their homeroom after getting their class schedules, same with Sonic, Blaze, and the others since all home rooms ended at the same time.

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Mobius high/ Freshman area/ Many students

Emerald was looking at his piece of paper with his schedule on it while he was quiet as many others gathered around him… more exactly around Cream, Sally, and Kahn… mainly Cream so Sonic and the others could talk about their schedules for the year… even Rouge and Knuckles were there since their classes were supposed to be second years… though for some reason they had first year schedules as well for some reason.

"So… what schedule do you guys have?" Sonic said while he wondered why Knuckles and Rouge were here but kept quiet for now.

"Well need to know someone for a general idea of what the schedule is." Tails said before Emerald silently rolled his eyes and held his schedule out for the others to look at which surprised many… though they were a bit hesitant to get close to him.

Cream had a half lidded look when she saw before she was courageous enough to get close to Emerald to see what the schedule holds.

Emerald Ranmyaku's Schedule:

1st: science

2nd: math

3rd: History

4th: Gym

Lunch

5th: Literature

6th: Technology

7th: Music

Cream sees this before she pulls out her schedule and compares it to Emerald's.

Cream's Schedule:

1st: Science

2nd: History

3rd: Math

4th: Gym

Lunch

5th: Literature

6th: Technology

7th: Music

Cream was a bit surprised.

"Wow Emerald. Looks like we have the same schedule."

Emerald looked at Cream's schedule before he looks at her.

"...Nearly… Same… 2nd and 3rd… are switched." Emerald slowly said which reminded everyone that under the lower part of his mask like bit on his coat, he was missing part of his left cheek so he probably spoke slowly to speak clearly… either that or he didn't just talk much with others so was probably not used to talking in general.

Cream felt bad when she somewhat noticed that as Tails decides to look at his schedule.

Miles 'Tails' Prower schedule:

1st: Science

2nd: Music

3rd: Technology

4th: Gym

Lunch

5th: Math

6th: History

7th: Literature

"Well I got Science for my first class Cream at least that's one good thing." Tails said.

"And you have Lunch as well, and seems we got similar schedules Miles." Cosmo said when she smiles at Tails when she showed him his schedule.

Tails, who lightly blushes, blinks a bit before he looks at Cosmo's schedule and was surprised when he analyzed it.

Cosmo's schedule:

1st: Music

2nd: Technology

3rd: Science

4th: Gym

Lunch

5th: Math

6th: History

7th: Literature

"W-Wow, no kidding." Tails said as he was still surprised.

"Actually everyone, if I can interrupt, if everyone can pass me their schedules, I can scan them so not only can I make a backup for everyone in case they forget, I can make groups based on the number of classes that they have the most and that match up with them either now or later in the day." Pluton said with a stoic look on his face while he held a robotic hand out to get the schedules from everyone… and after sweatdropping, everyone passed Pluton the schedules and he rolled it up neatly… before he opened his mouth impossibly wide and put all the schedules inside of them before he closed his mouth and his body starts to rumble and he starts to make beeps and boops while Mio steps back a few steps with a nervous look on her face and moved to hold Sonic in front of her like a shield.

"Uh… is he supposed to do that or is he going to blow up?" Mio said while she held Sonic's arms.

Sonic was a bit surprised by this before blushing a bit.

"I… uh… don't know for sure… though I hope he doesn't." He said as Sonic kept being a shield for Mio.

Though while everyone did get a bit guarded or got ready to run, Emerald surprisingly moved in front of Cream with his hands in his pockets like he was going to be a human shield for her but before everyone could wonder about that, Pluton stops rumbling and what not with a ding sound and he gave everyone a stoic look.

"Groups are sorted and the schedules are copied and backed up and can be changed according to what the teachers suggest… here are the groups as followed." Pluton said when he opened a slot on his stomach and he… starts to print a few pieces of paper?

Everyone blinks when they saw that.

However, Cream was surprised that Emerald wanted to protect her even if the disaster was a fluke.

"Didn't know your could actually print paper Pluton. Thought you have one of those special monitors or something." Sonic said.

"Oh I do, but made these papers as a reminder for everyone since you organics seem to forget things easily." Pluton said while he held out the stack to have the others sort it out while he got the class schedules out of his body and held that out as well and Shunpei walked over to get the stacks and starts to sort out the stacks by passing the schedules back to everyone and gave the group papers to everyone after which resulted in…

Group 1:

Sonic

Lillum

Blaze

Mio

Emerald

Cream

Group 2:

Pluton

Tails

Shunpei

Silver

Cosmo

Chise

Group 3:

Shadow

Demonga

Sonia

Manic

Amy

Tempest

Group 4:

Sally

Kahn

Knuckles

Rouge

"Huh… wait… aren't knuckles and Rouge older then us?, arn't they in their second year?" Manic asked when he saw Knuckles and Rouge's names while Pluton held a finger up and starts explaining before said duo could stop him.

"Actually Manic, thanks to them barely missing the mark, they were held back, and while Rouge can work on her math skills and her science, Knuckles needs to work on his music and technology… not only that but remember the exploding toilet?... well lets just say that Knuckles has to… learn his lesson so he was held back as a condition to not do community service… pretty sure unless you get your grades up, you'll get the same since my databanks tell me that they are considering having you do various things if you don't do that repeat year… and they say it like this… if those students are stupid enough to blow up a restroom, they should start from scratch to learn proper manners and to not be public menace…" Pluton said while Knuckles and Rouge sweatdrop while Knuckles rubs the back of his head in shame while Manic at the time…

Manic was paling a bit when he heard he would suffer the same fate of being held back if he doesn't clean his act.

Some like Sonia and Sonic chuckle at that while they heard an amused voice as some footsteps approaching them.

"So… looks like my brother and I are with two beauties, a hyper sibling and the wind using hybrid it seems." The voice said which caused everyone to look to see Shadow and Demonga who looked slightly amused as they appeared suddenly to get a good look at one of the papers… with Shadow looking over Amy and Sonia's shoulders to do so without anyone noticing while Demonga just crossed his arms and did the same with Tempest's paper.

Amy and Sonia jolts when they didn't realize that Shadow was behind them before they lightly blushed at the compliment.

"Hey who you calling hyper?" Manic said while Shadow moved with shocking speed to get in front of Manic and lightly flicked him on the nose which caused Manic to rub his nose lightly.

"You Mr. Music, anyway we got about 3 minutes before we have to split up so lets just make these real intro's count in case anyone forgot, I'm Shadow Middleton, that is my brother Demonga Middleton, you may have heard about us from the auditorium but we're the kids of the principal and vice principal, we don't get special treatment but in case any of you try and screw this up for my brother and he gets sent away from here to a full Hybrid school… I'll break the fuckers bones… no questions asked and doesn't matter the gender." Shadow said while he got a look that dared anyone to question that when he got protective of his sibling while Demonga cleared his throat.

"Sorry about him, but he's just jumpy since I've been getting the evil eye look from a few rough looking people here so he's just on edge." Demonga said in a rare moment of actually speaking, though he did look a bit on edge as well… more so when a few rough looking students who passed them by gave them eerie smirks or grins.

"Yeah… I don't blame him. As for short Intros, name's Sonic, Sonic the Hedgehog and speed is my game." Sonic said with a smirk.

"I see… well hope you don't mind being the SECOND fastest thing alive when we race at Gym, I got some anger to work out and running as fast as I can can really help… more so when someone can actually keep up with me." Shadow said with a challenging smirk on his face when he looks at Sonic.

Sonic also gave a challenging smirk making most sweatdrop a bit before Sonia clears her throat a bit.

"Well… in case most forget, I'm Sonia Hedgehog, Sonic's sister. I like to play music with my keyboard and I enjoy doing gymnastics and also participate in karate."

Shadow blinks at that before he chuckles and shrugs.

"Well I heard most of that before if I remember right, keyboard thing is new though but when you play music, you get around it seems, also saw you eyeing the acrobatic stuff in the gym as well though the Karate is new, might as well see how good you are, though if your giving all that, might as well tell you my hobbies if you and I are going to be seeing one another alot." Shadow said in a teasing way as he grins at Sonia.

Sonia blushes a bit as Sonic and Manic rolls their eyes.

"Yeah well my name's Manic. I'm Sonic's brother and I do get into too much trouble when my pranks go overboard." Manic said before Sonic brought his two cents.

"You also like to secretly take things out of people's pockets when they're not looking."

Shadow and Demonga raised an eyebrow at that before giving Manic scary looks that just dared him to try and pick pocket them while everyone chuckles when Manic took a step back and chuckles nervously when his senses told him that these two would be grade A dangerous so it would be a good idea to not try and mess with them… for now…

That's when Blaze spoke up.

"As funny as that is, I am Blaze the Hedgehog. And yes I am a cat mobian, but I was adopted by Sonic's family years ago when I was a baby which makes me Sonic's second sister… or step sister in a sense."

"I see, would have thought you were married to one of these two or a fiance if you didn't say the step sister thing, though makes things easy since I won't have to worry about either of these two trying to hit on you… also makes it very easy to get to know you on my end." Shadow said with a teasing look in his eyes… right before Demonga brought a fist down to hit him on top of the head while Shadow knelt down and gripped the top of his head as a few rings were knocked from Shadow to block most of the damage but a small bump was seen anyway on his skull while Demonga looks at a blushing Blaze.

"Sorry, got that flirting habit from our parents since they like to flirt with one another and the occasional lady being brought in to have fun with, though to be fair Shadow does have good taste it seems since he has his eyes on three beautys." Demonga said while he got a slight smirk on his face.

Everyone was a bit surprised when they saw Demonga hit Shadow's head as Sonia, Amy and Blaze blush a bit.

Though Sonic, was now bothered again when he saw Shadow being flirty with Blaze.

'Oh great, I was a bit bothered when Sliver was putting some moves on Blaze but now Shadow too?!' Sonic thought as his jealousy secretly rose.

Though Silver, being the actual mind reader, heard that thought loud and clear and smirks a bit when no one was looking and pockets this thought out of the way for now… he could talk with Sonic about this later, for now he just observed in his own way while keeping his senses opened before he spoke up when Emerald starts walking away.

"Going somewhere Emerald?, class hasn't started yet and we got about 40 seconds before the bell rings." Silver said which made everyone look at Emerald who just looks back at everyone.

"... Noisy…" Was all Emerald said with a dull tone before he starts to walk away again while making sure to hold onto his schedule.

Everyone else sweatdroped a bit though they do remember that it would be a long time before Emerald opens up to anyone. Only one making a bit of progress is Cream.

That caused Pluton to looks at the others.

"We can all talk later at Lunch and continue this, for now lets get ready for our first day at school, Tails, Shunpei, Chise, Silver, Cosmo, let's get going, aside from some classes switched around and grouped up to save time, every single one of us has Gym before lunch so we can talk during those times." Pluton said before he starts walking to his first class.

Tails looks at the rest of his group.

"He does have a point."

That caused everyone to split for now while most went into their respective nearby classes with Group one either going in science or music classes since they were next door to one another and could be switched when the next class came up, same with the others and so on and so fourth which resulted in everyone having basic first day of school and nothing eventful happened yet until Gym.

Everyone, in Gym uniforms given to them while Emerald wore a scarf that he was given for stuff like this to hide his lower face, were watching as Sonic and Shadow zoomed by the race track with Cedric timing them while Azure handled the finish line and unlike others who ran a lap or two… no one could tell how many times Sonic and Shadow ran laps and when they finished, besides a light sweat, they didn't seem worse for wear while Shadow chuckles at Sonic.

"Hehe, not bad… Sonic was it?, would have called you a faker if you couldn't keep up, I must say, I'm impressed." Shadow said while he grins at Sonic while Demonga passed him a towel to wipe his forehead.

"Hehe, thanks Shadow. You're not so bad yourself." Sonic said as he sweated still.

That caused Mio to grin when she jogged over after getting a towel and looks down at Sonic while she held the towel over Sonic's head.

"Here, might as well get dried off so Sonia and I can show our stuffs, nice run big blue… heard Rouge call you that for some reason and thought it was a cute nickname, hope you don't mind." Mio said while Rouge and Lillum giggle nearby when that name could have meant something else considering Rouge's mind and how Lillum was bonding with the bad and knew the real meaning for it.

Sonic blushes at the nickname though knew that Mio didn't know the true meaning of it before he grabs the towel.

"T-Thanks Mio." He said before he starts drying himself though Amy was feeling jealous and wished it was her to give Sonic a towel.

Though before a fight or something could break out, many moved to the acrobatic area to watch as Mio and Sonia, now in Leotards which showed off their bodies, or more exactly their arms and legs and everyone could see how toned and well balanced the two women were in the skin tight clothing to keep their mobility high while Shadow gave a wolf like whistle towards Sonia and Mio when he liked what he saw and Cedric and Azure sigh when Demonga hits him on the head again and Shadow lost a few more rings as a result.

Manic whistled when he saw Mio in that outfit as some of the other boys gave the reaction for Mio and Sonia.

Although, Sonic blushes when he sees Mio in that outfit.

'W-Whoa… Mio looks so… hot in that getup… almost reminds me of that... gymnastics movie I saw.'

Sonic and everyone then watched as Mio starts to do various flips and twirls in the air like she was dancing while she climbed higher and higher thanks to various equipment and even used her bushy wolf like tail to help her surprisingly enough to get to a few higher areas like she owned the place.

A lot of people were surprised but also were impressed though Sonic was staring with an AWE look on his face.

Sonia then came up while Mio was busy doing her own thing in a different area before she did some interesting moves which was combined a bit with her karate style as if Sonia was doing capoeira.

Thanks to that, when she made some jumps, she used a kick at the last minute to shift her center of gravity to seem to glide in the air for a moment while Shadow looked impressed as well while he clapped a few times when Sonia lands after a few swings while Shadow got a towel for Sonia after 10 minutes of watching her, same with Sonic after Mio worked her way down to the ground and lands while she pants for breath and sweat dripped down her body since she put in a lot of effort to get up there without trouble.

"Wow Mio. You were amazing." Sonic said as he hands her a towel.

"Hehe, thanks, been awhile since I had that much fun, can't wait to chow down since I worked up an appetite." Mio said while Shadow passed Sonia a towel.

"Here, and nice job out there, you said karate but looked more like Capoeira, you a mixed martial artist or you just happen to try and used Karate in your gymnastics for interesting effects?" Shadow asked with a curious look in his eyes.

Sonia chuckles.

"Well I was trying to adapt my karate style with my gymnastics and to be honest, this was my first time using it."

"Well guess that means you are a kick butt Queen then because that acrobatic moment knocked the wind out of me just now, hope you don't mind if I ask for lessons later since I can fight pretty well myself." Shadow said while he grins at Sonia.

Sonia blushes a bit brightly as Cedric lowly chuckles.

"That's our boy." He said to Azure.

"Yeah... hope we see grandbabies in the future so I can spoil them, but I'm getting ahead of ourselves, time for the final part of the Gym… the sparring session." Azure said when she walked to the Students while Shadow blushed when he could hear the grandbaby thing with his mother.

Sonia was able to hear that as well which made her blush more before she and the rest of the students gathered around.

This time, Emerald and Demonga were standing in two corners while Emerald just gave Demonga an empty look while Demonga cracked his knuckles as Cedric, being the ref, gave some basic rules and what not to keep the match clean and fair.

"Alright… I want a good clean fight. Punches and kicks are allowed but not too damaging. You're welcome to use your powers but only if it's not too lethal, the ring is designed to have gold rings pop up to nullify damage to an extant. First one that pins the other down is the winner. Am I clear?" Cedric said to the duo.

Demonga nods his head, however Emerald just stayed quiet while he keeps an eye on Demonga.

Everyone blinked a bit as Cedric scratch his head.

"Okay… Demonga, are you ready?"

"Err… I did nod my head yes dad… but to be clear… yeah I'm ready." Demonga said to once again say that he was ready while he gets into a combat stance.

"Just making sure son." Cedric said before he looks at Emerald.

"Are you ready Emerald?"

"...let's just… get this… started." Emerald said while he didn't really care if things were ready or not, he would adapt if needed… one thing from Twilight Arkham, he always did adapt after all in order to survive.

"Alright… begin!" Cedric said before his hand spark and he used the lightning to hit the bell which meant that the spar was on.

That caused everyone to watch as Emerald moved with shocking speed and sends a kick towards Demonga's head and even with his electric abilities amping his reflexes, even he was shocked at Emerald's speed, and he wasn't using any elemental abilities and stuck with kicks for now while he had his hands in his pockets… did he not consider Demonga a threat with the disinterested look on his face.

Sonic and Shadow were shocked at the speed as Demonga tries to block the kick with his forearms.

Though to everyone's shock, Emerald just moved with shocking speed to turn on one foot like a top and kicked Demonga's arms up to break his stance and a moment later, another kick was sent at Demonga's throat but it was stopped short thanks to Emerald looking more disinterested before he lowered his foot and starts walking away and out of the ring.

Everyone was shocked after seeing this as Demonga couldn't believe how close he almost had his throat kicked. Though he did narrows his eyes.

"Oi! I'm not done yet." He calls out to Emerald.

All Emerald did was look at Demonga with an empty look in his eyes.

"Strong… but no real intent in your eyes… promised to not cause trouble… and I try and keep… promise." Emerald cryptically said before he walked out of the ring before anyone could stop him.

Demonga was now feeling insulted when he just realized something.

"Are you saying I half assed this fight?!"

All Emerald did was look at Demonga and raised an eyebrow.

"Yes… we are the... same but you… have a better upbringing… no real life or death… experience compared to me… and since your parents are… here… you don't want to cause trouble… so you hold back… subconciously…" Emerald said with a matter of fact if dull tone to his voice.

Demonga was now more angry before his Cedric placed a hand on his shoulder.

"No son. It's not worth it."

That caused Demonga to calm down after a moment and a moment later, the bell rang and Azure clapped her hands a few times.

"Alright everyone, time to shower and get ready for lunch, hope you love the cafeteria, we have plenty of good food there, especially for those who worked up a good appetite." Azure said while she smiles at everyone in the room.

The students were a bit relieved since they were indeed hungry before they all head to the showers with the girls heading to the girl side, and the boys to the boys side.

It wasn't long till it was just Cedric and Azure.

"Boy… talk about an interesting spar." Cedric said.

"Yup, though seems Demonga got a new rival today, should be good for him since he does get a bit jittery if he doesn't move much, must be a tick or something for lightning users hehe." Azure said before giggling when she remembered Cedric being a bit jumpy if he didn't do something physical… main reason why they were having kids… was not only to try and have a family but Cedric just needed the exercise to burn off or blow out excess energy in his system.

Cedric blushes a bit embarrassed.

"R-Right… so shall head to lunch?"

Azure giggles at the embarrassed look on her face.

"Sure… I could use something different than protein though… got a bit too much thanks to an over productive Wolf, need a balanced diet so I can keep this figure the Wolf loves so much." Azure said with a teasing smile on her face as she walked away from Cedric while her ass swayed a bit in his view.

Cedric blush a bit but let out a low growl as he loves seeing his wife's ass before he follows Azure with his tail wagging.

Meanwhile during lunch after everyone showered and Rouge and Lillum teasing as many ladies as they could in the shower, many were busy getting their preferred meals and all gathered around a large table that could seat them and then some while other people avoids them… though while many stuck around, Cream noticed Emerald walking away from everyone with his own meal… it was like he was just… avoiding everyone…

Though Cream was gonna change that.

"Emerald!" Cream calling him.

Emerald however ignored Cream while he keeps on walking away which irked Cream deep down… did Emerald think that Cream wouldn't try and be his friend just because he's being cold?

Cream puffed out her cheeks before she starts heading towards him which surprised most students.

"Emerald." Cream calls him again as she got closer.

Emerald however still ignored her… which resulted in a mildly ticked Cream following Emerald outside of the cafeteria while still trying to start a conversation with him while Demonga huffed when he sets his food on the table with everyone else.

"Geez, doesn't she get that guy just doesn't want to be around others, I say let him be alone if he wants that." Demonga said while Lillum smirks at Demonga.

"You saying that for his own good or from anger from him nearly kicking your butt?" Lillum said which made Demonga growl at her.

"What was that bitch!?" Demonga said while he looked agitated while Lillum didn't look afraid while Shadow placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Easy brother, we can't cause trouble, ignore her." Shadow said while Lillum rolled her eyes.

"Hey I'm just saying that Mr. Cranky here shouldn't be the one to say that shortly after he got embarrassed in front of everyone, I mean I got to talking with a few of Cream's friends like Tails and Amy here and Cream is just naturally friendly to everyone, so what if she wants to try and cheer him up, honestly if things were more… friendly between him and I, I would give that Emerald guy a real cheering up he won't forget, but the look in his eyes even creeps me out so I'm just waiting for him to soften up first before I try anything… I mean you of all people should get why he's like that but unlike us he's actually missing part of his face, personally I would have a bone to pick with the world if I got damaged like that, I mean just look at my sexy bod, wouldn't you have trouble looking at me in the face if I was missing my cheek or nose or some other body part that made me look normalish?" Lillum said before she bit into her salad.

Most of the males that over heard that, did try to picture Lillum in such state as Demonga grumbles.

"Even so, I'll show him who's halfassing."

"Well maybe next time during Gym class, can't cause trouble or get in trouble with others, I mean who would be dumb enough to mess with all of us here?" Mio said while unaware of what would happen soon, a few rough looking people, pure human and mobian chuckle… as they walked out of the lunch room after Emerald and Cream while no one was aware at the time since they were talking to one another to bond like Sonia with Shadow and Demonga, Lillum with Amy and Chise, ETC… if only someone noticed… the shocking scene to be would have been avoided.

Meanwhile…

Emerald managed to find a place away from many prying eyes since he felt irritated, he felt like he was being watched just because of his face that he normally covered… he never asked for a life like this yet here he was.

"Good freaking grief, and thanks to this hole in my cheek I have to speak slowly now or my words get garbled… and now…" Emerald thought while he looked behind him and towards the ground to see a slightly ticked off, but panting Cream, who managed to follow Emerald all the way out here while Emerald sweatdrops.

"... Apparently… I got a kid stalker or something following me… just what is with this girl anyway?... her name was Cream I think… odd name but my name is strange in of itself." Emerald thought before he speaks up.

"...Just… how long are you… going to follow me?... don't you… have friends… to hang with?" Emerald said while he sat on the grass, he managed to find a nice hill with a tree so he had shade which made this a pleasant area to sit on while he got ready to eat… hopefully alone.

Cream, after catching up, manages to catch her breath.

"Yes. But right now, I'm trying to talk to someone, who seems to be ignoring me when I call and that is very rude." She said with a half lidded look.

"...Maybe… that someone….just… wants to… be alone… but… if you want… to stick around… then don't ask… me so many… questions…. Hard to talk." Emerald got out before he lowered the mask he wore to show his face under his hood and starts to eat, and thanks to the missing part of his cheek, he was able to stuff quite a bit in his mouth and keeps his head at a 45 degree angle to the right to keep the food in his mouth, sometimes not so much of an angle but still enough to keep things form getting messy.

Cream, who slightly gulped when she saw that, did have a determined look.

"Alright then. But be warned… I will be your friend someday." She said as she sat next to Emerald.

Emerald glanced at Cream with a disinterested look before he focused on his meal, for a few minutes the two sat in silence as they ate their food and while Emerald was content with that… Cream however…

Cream slowly ate her food as she had this thought.

'This is gonna be harder than I thought. I just need to prove to Emerald that I can be his friend. And later my friends will be his friends too. Just need to get his trust.'

Though unaware to the duo, about 7 kids, all around second or third year in age, noticed the duo, it was the same group from earlier who managed to sneak out undetected and one chuckles when he, seemingly the leader of the group, spoke up when he looks at Emerald.

"Well well well… looky at what we have here, the freak of freaks with that fucked up face of his." The man said while the others chuckle, Emerald just glanced over and gave him an empty look and it was only thanks to the promise that if he showed restraint, he would get some steak with his parents… Cream however from hearing that insult to Emerald... Well… higher intellect for a kid her age or not… she was still a child and a nice one at that…

"Hey that's not a nice thing to say to someone you don't know." Cream said.

The group of thuggish kids however chuckle while another, a rough looking bird mobian walked over and pats Cream on the head… hard which made her stumble a bit.

"Oh look, a shrimp… you were so small that we never noticed you… hehe, bit young for a date wouldn't you say freak?" The bird Mobian said while Emerald gave him a cold look.

"First… if she was my age or I waited… till she was of age... and… even if she was interested… she could do better… second… if you have issues with me… then deal with me… keep her out of it…" Emerald said with a spark of anger in his eyes while another kid, who looked ticked at Emerald from that just walked up to him and picked him up by the collar of his coat and lift him up to look him in the eyes.

"What did you say freak?, sorry but I couldn't hear you over that slow talk of yours, better speak clearly so I can hear you." the thugish kid said before he shocked Cream when he slugged Emerald on the right side of the face which did knock some rings from Emerald but Emerald just gave the thug an empty look and a raised eyebrow of sorts… it was like Emerald was wondering if that was the best he could do.

The thugs laughed as Cream gets to Emerald, or tried to since Cream was much shorter than everyone right now and couldn't reach the thug who was holding Emerald in the air still.

Cream starts hitting the thugs leg.

"Let him go you jerk!"

That caused the thug to look ticked and Emerald's pupils shrank when the thug backhanded Cream and she fell back on the ground, she didn't have many rings but it did protect her… however… it seems she hit her head on the ground… and wasn't moving while a thug looked at her with a bit of a worried look in his eyes.

"H-Hey… I think you went too far man… she's not moving from what I can see." The thug said while the thug that hit Cream scoffed.

"Probably just knocked out from the shock, happens even if you do have rings to shield yourself from damage." The thug said right before Emerald used his right hand to grip the thugs wrist and he only said one thing in a deep and deadly sounding growl.

"Why…" Emerald growled out while his hair covered his eyes which hid them from view while his grip on the thugs wrist tightened so much that a crack was heard which showed that Emerald just broke the thugs wrist but still held on and lands on his feet while the thug who was shocked that his wrist was broken, even with his rings trying to help, could only scream in agony while trying to get out of Emerald's iron grip while his hair and fur on Emerald's body start to turn black and his growl turned much deeper in tone.

The thugs were shocked at what they saw as the thug leader, who had the same reaction, continues to try and break free.

"L-Let go of me you ass!"

Though that wouldn't happen and that was the last conscious thing the thug said before he saw Emerald snarl and charge at him with a fist and saw a feral looking, Dark Chaos infused Emerald, as he starts to attack the thugs while the scene went to a moment later with an alarm sounding in Cedric's office and Cedric chasing after an Echidna bot while other students much to Cedric's chagrin were following other Echidna bots when they wondered what was going on, he couldn't get an answer from the bots since they were mainly made for security reasons… but when he, and Azure after she followed her own bot, plus the other hybrids and Sonic and the others from the cafeteria… they were all stunned when they followed the bots… and saw plenty of knocked out bodies on the ground, beaten badly, bloodly, even a few had broken bones and some even had bones jetting from their skin.

That was not the real shocker though, they all saw Cream on the ground nearby, seemingly knocked out and unharmed but standing near her was Emerald holding one final thug by the face in the air while Emerald looked absolutely feral, his hair, ears, and tail fur all looked pure black and the eyes on his face looked pure white like he was in a dark mode… all in all the blood on his body was definitely not his own while the thug in his hand tries to get some help when he noticed everyone.

"S-Someone… help me!, this freak is going to kill me!" The thug said while Emerald's growl deepened as a darker mist emits from him while he got ready to punch the thug wherever.

"Emerald! Put him down!" Cedric said as he starts walking towards Emerald with no fear but was cautious.

Emerald however just roars while he threw the punch but was stopped when Pluton moved with shocking speed when his joints glow with a blue light and he gripped Emerald's wrist with an iron grip but even he was surprised when Emerald had some kind of drive to destroy the thug before him… all Pluton did was slow him down as Cream starts to stir which was noticed by Tails who was close to her.

"Cream!" Tails said as he got to her side.

Cosmo and a few others went to her as well, mainly Sonic, Amy, Rouge, Knuckles, and a few others while Demonga, Shadow, Lillum, and a few other hybrids were shocked when they saw the state of Emerald's body as the thug tried to get Cedric to act or something though… this would royally piss even Cream off when she heard what she heard.

"G-Get this freak off me!, he attacked us out of nowhere and now everyone is seriously hurt, someone stop this monster!" The thug said when he managed to get his mouth free from Emerald's grip.

Cream got angry.

"That's a lie! It was him and his friends that started it. One of them attacked Emerald as he did nothing. I tried to help and one of them backhanded my face."

While some were shocked, the thug, though looked nervous, did have his face covered ironically enough by Emerald's hand which gripped his head harder.

"A-Are you kidding me!, I didn't even do anything, it was the boss of this group who wanted to try something and this guy just blew him off, if anything it was the boss's fault for this!, besides even if I did do something… l-look around… you think someone sane would cause this much bloodshed!, he's nothing but a fucking monster!" The thug said while Emerald growled more and since he couldn't punch the thug thanks to Pluton, Emerald did the next best thing when he tried to slam the thug into the ground head first… but the thug vanished while Cedric was on the other side of Emerald and Pluton who tried to restrain an enraged Emerald and just dropped the thug and gave the thug a cold look.

"I don't care WHO started this… your friend probably just fucked things up to an extreme level and you should have stopped him… be thankful I helped you but trust me… if your parents don't do something to punish you and your friends after you get them to a hospital… I will." Cedric said with a deadly growl to his voice at the end while Azure looked displeased as well but she would worry about that later, for now she looked back at Emerald who was in a hug of sorts by Pluton from behind but even he was having trouble with restraining Emerald who thrashed and what not in Pluton's arms while Pluton had his fingers locked together and that was saying something which was heard as his joints creaked and jolts with energy which wasn't a good sign.

That's when Cream tries to help Emerald again.

"Emerald, please stop! I'm okay now!"

Though it seemed Emerald had no reaction to that while Pluton managed to speak to her with a strained tone to his voice.

"C-Cream, keep away!, n-negative chaos energy can have adverse effects not just physically but mentally as well, if he was angered by you getting harmed and combined with his normally negative emotions, even if he was used to the negative energy he would still be bombarded with dark thought!, light words won't help and my arms are about to break so get everyone as far away as you all can!" Pluton tried to warn but was surprised when he heard a voice near him.

"Not a bad assessment… Pluton was it, but its a good thing we came back to check on our son, not sure what caused him to get this pissed but not many can calm him down without getting hurt at this stage." The voice said which made everyone look to see Nocturn and Helios while they had serious looks on their faces, though Helios looked more worried than Nocturn when she saw the state her son was in when Emerald just keeps on thrashing around and roaring like some kind of wild beast.

The students were shocked to see Emerald's parents as did Cedric and Azure but would worry about it later.

"Mr. Ranmyaku, we need to do something in order to calm your son down. Not sure how long Pluton can hold on." Cedric said.

Nocturn sighs before he walked forward and though Emerald nearly kicked him or tried to bite at him, Nocturn showed no fear… just a look of… regret?... right before he raised his right leg and ax kicked Emerald so hard on the head he was knocked to the ground hard with a loud bang and Pluton's fingers were broken as a result of said kick while Nocturn moved out of the way as Helios moved to use some kind of healing light on Emerald's head with a gentle white glow as his fur starts to return to normal while Nocturn looks at Pluton as Pluton looks at his hands.

"Sorry about that, only thing at this stage is to normally knock Emerald out and use a healing skill to patch him up as best as we can, I'll pay Dr. Kintobor some money to help replace the hands." Nocturn said as Pluton shrugged.

"No need, in the off chance I do something that gets my hands ruined…" Pluton said as he just… had his damaged hands eject from his wrists and he opened some kind of compartment on his torso and on the door like part… multiple hands were seen and with some kind of special magnets, Pluton used his right wrist when it was near a hand labeled right, it automatically attached itself and Pluton did the same with his new left hand and went to pick up his ruined old hands while many sweatdrop at the nonchalant attitude of the robot as he picked up his pieces.

"Well… good thing Dr. Kintobor came prepared." Cedric said.

"Yeah… anyway I already called some of my men who will take these… kids… to the nearest hospital, Helios and I came back because we wanted to see if Emerald wanted to come eat with us during his lunch period and see how things are going… though from the look of things…" Nocturn said while he stopped talking when he looked at his son on the ground who he had to personally knock out and his wife healed with positive chaos energy… all in all… this did not look good.

Cedric pinched the bridge of his nose for a bit.

"Mr. and Mrs. Ranmyaku, please know that I'm truly sorry for what happened and I will surely make sure that students that caused this gets punished."

Nocturn was quiet and with a look that chilled Cedric to the core, he said a single sentence.

"Really?... because from my memory, I believe you said nothing bad would happen to our son… yet look at him…" Nocturn said when he barely contained his rage.

Cedric still felt the chill but held his ground.

"I did say that… But I never go back on my word." He said with a serious tone.

"And yet… why was the security here of all places lax!?, why was my son harmed and had to defend himself?, no one died but… would you be so calm if my son killed someone?... he did it once… what's to stop him from doing it again if… and that is a big IF… that my wife and I let him stay at this school… we had a hellish childhood thanks to idiots like this and you want to know what our son ask shortly after we tool him out of Twilight Arkham?... we didn't put him there because we wanted to… by Chaos no… we were running out of options since most schools have a record of my sons actions and even with the money my family makes… its just hard to try and keep those off the record… well… let me tell you what my son said with completely emotionless eyes after his cheek healed enough for him to actually talk… he said… hey dad… why was I born if I'm just going to experience pain?... do you KNOW what its like?... seeing your son like that!?... because compared to my boy, even if your son was bullied, I doubt he experienced the same life he had… compared to your son… your son must have lived in a paradise because until now… my son barely spoke… we have to actually drag him out of his room when we have to go places… and I had to physically restrain him when he wanted to NOT come here since he lost faith in everything years ago!" Nocturn said while he looked almost feral and dark mist emits from his body in waves, and Helios, though trembling, put a hand on his shoulder to calm him down since many students were either having trouble breathing, or even standing from the pressure of Nocturn's power alone which thankfully recedes while he looks Cedric in the eyes with a somewhat broken look.

"Sorry but…. Hehe… we're just so tired of all these fucking idiots and their racist actions and just… everything… you think I want to be an ass to you?, you think I like threatening you or your wife or everyone?... no… I'm just a damaged father who is at his last leg with trying to give my son a shot at having a good life and even then that life is full with fucked up moments." Nocturn said when he had trouble keeping himself together.

Cedric sighs.

"I can see how much you're doing this for your son, Mr. Ranmyaku. Believe me, I wish there was a world where racism doesn't exist. I may not be a hybrid but I have friends who are and I do whatever can to help them. Though it breaks my heart when its never enough." He said with a sad look like he was remembering something.

Nocturn just gave him a silent look before he turned to walk to his son, picked him up, and looks at the other hybrids and the mobians with them.

"Look… sorry about this but Emerald will be taking a few days off, sorry but… as you can see… he's not well right now and needs time to heal… and… Cream was it?" Nocturn said when he looks at the little Mobian rabbit when he remembered her name, guess he heard about it from one of the parents if they talked.

"Y-Yes?" Cream said.

All Nocturn did was give her a gentle smile.

"Thanks for trying to be Emerald's friend… considering he got like this defending you… bloody or not, seems like a good step in the right direction if Emerald actually cared about that little amount of friendship you have him deep down… if Emerald does come back… please… try and be his friend again, I'm sure he will be a lot more mannered around you even if he doesn't seem like it." Nocturn said before he walked away with Emerald in his arms which left Helios behind for a moment.

Everyone was surprised when they heard that as Cream had the same reaction as well but made sure to help Emerald's dad once Emerald gets back.

As the trio left, Cedric had his head down a bit as he felt like he failed.

Helios however walked to Cedric and only said three things.

"Look at me." Helios said with a serious tone to her voice.

Cedric didn't know why but did so as he looked up.

All Helios did… was shockingly kneeling down and… hugging Cedric!?... and a moment later, Cedric's body glows with a dim white light when Helios sent some calming chaos energy into him.

Cedric was shocked as everyone else watched.

"What is she doing?" One student said.

A moment later, Helios pulled away and gave Cedric a serious look.

"Feel better?... more calm?" Helios asked with a serious look in her eyes.

Cedric, after getting over his shock, looks at Helios.

"Y-Yes… but what did you do?"

"Simple, I absorbed your negative energy which was building up, I can explain more but thanks to my natural affinity for positive energy I filtered it out and nullified it… the main reason I did this… you are the principal, the leader of this school, and you have worried students to calm down so the rest of this day can at least try and be peaceful, I'll be going now and it looks like the call to Nocturn's men worked and the injured will be taken to the hospital… make no mistake someone will pay for making my baby boy cry like that, if not you, then them… but at a later date… for now you have a job to do since you helped make this place… the least you can do is see it through to the end… or is that strong will I sensed in you just false bravado?" Helios said when she tried to give Cedric a peptalk while a few men in black with stretchers came towards them and starts to take the students while one tipped a hat at Helios.

"Ma'am." The man said before he and the others start to take the injured students away to be healed.

Cedric did have a raised eyebrow when his strong willed was mentioned.

"No ma'am it's not false. I still hope and believe that everyone can get along. Its something I want for everyone and their kids. Including mine."

"Good… then don't mope and what not like I've seen you do when you get talked down to even once, you made a place that at this moment would be controversial for most, the least you can do is hold your head high like a real man and see this through to the end… who knows, if things look better after something dark like this, that dinner thing with my husband and I and you are your wife will be a good conversation starter… but I have yet to see real results even if it's just one day… learn from this, it's not just the students fault here after all, you were probably lax when things seemed to be going well for half a day, but trust me… once you hit rock bottom… you can only go up from here so I'm hoping for the best… good day Mr. Middleton… Mrs. Middleton." Helios said before she bowed to Cedric and Azure which left the two with the stunned students when the men with the stretchers and injured students left.

Cedric looks at his wife.

"You alright Azure?"

All Azure did was give Cedric a raised eyebrow.

"Is asking me that the best time right now?, I will be once we calm the students down and get them back to the cafeteria to finish their lunches… we may have to give them an early day today after that to calm down and stuff and who knows what those reporter vultures would say if they caught wind of this… honestly I'm fine all things considering… I'm just trying to brainstorm ways to get us out of possible hot water… after all a Hybrid running amok and injuring students?, even if people are paid to keep their traps shut and what not, there are still going to be legal issues and everything… and I'm sure more then one student here got Emerald on video or on a picture if they have their phones." Azure said when she glanced at the students with a narrowed eyed look.

Cedric blinked before he looks at the students who jolt at the looks.

"Alright everyone, I believe it's time that we go back inside but first… if any of you have recorded or took pictures of what happened, I, and I'm sure Emerald's family would appreciate that they be deleted immediately. But if I found out that they got posted… then one of you will suffer the consequences of those actions."

"Yeah… I'm sure no one would blame me if I ashed phones or stuff depending on my mood… even if you did keep a video or picture, as long as you keep it private… well… no one has to know correct?... now… think hard on that and get back to the cafeteria, we may have an early day off for everyone here but don't get used to that anytime soon… understood?" Azure said while she lit her hand up with a black fire for a moment and clinched her hand which made her knuckles crack for a moment to make her point.

The students pale at this however, seems the threat worked when a few students were seen with their phones and looks like they were getting rid of the evidence.

Azure rolled her eyes as she starts to herd the students back to the cafeteria which left Cedric with his own thoughts for now.

'So much for the first day… now I gotta make sure to run damage control. But I will not lose this school.'

That caused Cedric to get a determined look on his face before time went to a few hours later with Cedric calling all students to the auditorium… not just the first years, but second, third, and fourth years as well… it was cramped but it managed to hold everyone, Cedric made sure of that since he helped design the place.

When he saw that everyone quieted down he walked up to a microphone and tapped it a few times to get everyone's attention, thanks to a large monitor even people in the back rows could see Cedric clearly.

"Hello students, can everyone hear me?, I have two announcements to make, one is that after this, everyone gets an early day off from school, maybe for a few days since I'm sure you all probably heard by now about the incident involving the Hybrid Emerald and some… unpleasant bullies right?" Cedric said to make sure everyone was following along so far.

Some students, like Sonic and his friends knew of the incident while some like the idea of a day off as the rest were shocked at the news.

Once Cedric had their attention… he took a breath and said this.

"Starting immediately, I'm putting into effect a certain policy… consider your next words very carefully… people who will get angry but I'm putting this into effect… if I SEE… HEAR… or even somehow SMELL anyone trying to threaten… bully… or harm a Hybrid here… forget detention… suspension… or even calls to parents… it's full on expulsion to anyone who even looks at a Hybrid with ill intent." Cedric said while he waits for the obvious reaction from many.

Everyone was shocked at this and some were too scared to say something however…

One male student rise up.

"No way. You must be bluffing."

"Wanna bet?, because of this incident and being day one for the freshman hybrids and for the freshmen in general, the Hybrid program could be a complete flop… none of you may realize it but think of it like this… it starts out as a fight, the normal students beat the hybrid, no one would really bat an eye, that would piss off hybrids who feel like their rights were threatened… now think the reverse, a Hybrid gets in a fight with multiple students, the students lose, the media gets wind of this and blows this out of proportion and causes this school issues which by the way could get this place SHUT DOWN until things are settled legally… now… try and picture this if that happens… the school is shut down thanks to some stupid students not thinking and thinking I'm bluffing… everyone goes to different schools… new friends… new classes and teachers… seems nice… but what about old friends?... thanks to this interspecies relations may go down the crapper thanks to this and any of you who are friends with Mobians, or mobians who are friends with humans, if any at all, would be split up… try wrapping your heads around that and tell me I'm bluffing again with how serious this matter is… its a deterrent to keep idiots from doing anything stupid… for those who follow the rules, they are good, hell even Manic if he blows up another bathroom would still be welcome here since even if he do it for laughs, as long as its not with a hybrid… detention… suspension… massive bill to family which by the way I still need to send for last time and those toilets were not cheap since I put the extra cash in to get ones that can pretty much wipe for you with water in case some are sensitive to toilet paper… need I say more?" Cedric said while he gave the student a raised eyebrow while Manic chuckles nervously when many students look at him… and his siblings as well with how mad their parents were would be when they get the bill.

The male pale a bit as he didn't consider before he just sat since he didn't have anything to say.

Cedric looks around while he nods his head.

"Good… again anyone who tries to bully, harm, mess with, etc… don't care what, anything bad with the Hybrid's, they will be expelled, and if I ever see something like I saw with what happened which caused Emerald to snap, I will make sure your families pay for disturbing the peace here in the school, I have connections with the law and know Judges who would love to just have a personal talk with your families if you even look at a hybrid the wrong way… now… unless anyone has any questions, then I will say have a good day off, my wife and I will notify your parents if the school will be closed for a few days or not so try and not stay up too late, you have been warned." Cedric said before he waits for any questions.

The students all gulped before they start getting up from their seats.

That caused Cedric to see the place rapidly empty and after a few minutes to make sure no one was left behind as many buses or parents left with many students and Azure looks at Cedric with a worried look in her eyes when she saw how tired he looked right now.

"Want to just head home and get some rest after what happened today?, pretty sure no one will blame you for getting one day's worth of sleep." Azure said while she placed a hand on her husband's shoulder.

Cedric looks at his wife before placing his hand on hers.

"Yeah I might as well. Better to be refreshed for the next day and all."

Azure smiles at Cedric before she moved to hold his hand and leads him to the car.

"Well then, let me drive and what not while you just rest, after we get home… maybe I can cheer you up to tire you out before we turn in… but if you are THAT tired… well who am I to judge?" Azure said while she smirks when she tried to work Cedric up good… if one thing was his weakness… willing ladies... never failed her yet.

Cedric did perk up after hearing that.

"Well… I didn't say I was that tired."

All Azure did was smirk when she led Cedric to the car and in no time flat, Cedric was driven home and led into the house to enjoy some TLC from Azure before the storm of politics would happen while the scene went back to the hedgehog residence with Sonic, Sonia, Manic, and Blaze entering their home while Bernadette, who didn't expect her children so soon, gave them surprised looks.

"Kids?, what are you doing home so soon?, unless the clock broke or something you should be in school, or did Manic finally convince you all to skip class for today?... by the way Manic… your father would like to speak with you once he is home about the *Apple juice* you left in the refrigerator… if you needed to use the bathroom you could have gone outside of something." Bernadette said while giving Manic a half lidded look… though seems she didn't get the memo about the early day… though considering things seems like Manic would wish he could stay at school if his dad was steamed about the *Apple juice*

Though Manic gulped, he face palmed as Sonic, Sonia and Blaze look at their brother.

"Apple juice?... what did she…" Sonic said but stopped before he realized what his mom meant.

"Oh man… you are so dead right now."

"Yup… he drank half a glass before realizing what it was… so Manic… I'm not going to get onto you about this… aside from sniffing apple juice from now on just in case… well… I'll leave the actual punishment to your father… he also called me about a… stinkbomb incident and we got the bill for that…. You are just breaking records it seems young man with being a troublemaker, maybe I should dip into your birthday and christmas money to help pay for the damages… maybe confiscate your phone and try and sell it for some extra cash…" Bernadette said while she hummed in thought.

Manic was now panicking when he got on his knees.

"NO! Anything but that!" He begged.

"Well you'll have to convince your father of that one young man… better copy your music data to a PC and beg your brother for his MP3 or something so you'll have something to listen to… just in case for the worse." Bernadette said with an evil smirk on her face as Manic wailed in horror while everyone sweatdrops at the scene… and some wonder where Manic got his childishness from… well…

As Manic wailed more, Sonic went to his mom.

"Despite what we're seeing, the reason why we came home early mom, well…" Sonic said before he explained to her what happened after getting to school and then described the fight between Emerald and the bullies and also mentioning how Cream got hit.

Bernadette looked shocked at the news and while she was shocked beyond belief that someone would actually harm Cream… or tried to thanks to the fact that rings act as a 1 hit shield depending on the damage done, Bernadette seemed more worried about Emerald's mental state and the fact that the Hybrids were well… still treated poorly.

"Poor Cream, I'll call her mother later and get more details and see if Cream is OK, what about the Hybrids?, are they alright?" Bernadette said which caused Manic to calm a bit.

"Well… Shunpei went back with his folks best I can remember, he, Tails and Pluton, that sentient robot, get along pretty well, that Dr. Kintobor guy came by to get Pluton as well, said something about interesting data and upgrades being made." Manic said when he managed to get all that… if it was one thing people could admire, it was his sharp ears which were better than everyone else's in the house besides Blaze who nods.

"Yes, Lillum left with her folks… though considering what I heard… not exactly PG to repeat so I'll just say she was… impressed with Emerald's strength… if startled… Demonga and Shadow left on the bus since they wanted to leave their parents alone for now since they might be in bad moods, Chise actually walked home with Amy or at least walked in the same direction… I think there was talk about hammer collections and using earth to slow opponents down…" Blaze said when she already knows why Amy wanted to learn that slow down skill which made her giggle while Manic put some two cents in.

"Oh and Sonia made a boyfriend today…. Though considering confusing cultures… seems the guy is also interested in Amy so if things go well, she may not glomp Sonic anymore but we could still have her as an in law… seems Amy is here to stay forevermore with our family hehe." Manic said while Sonia and Sonic stood behind Manic with one raised fist each and smashed them onto his head which knocked him to the ground…. Blaze and Bernadette sigh at that when Manic never seemed to learn.

"Just for that… I'm holding onto your phone till dad gets back… don't worry I'll back up your data the PC, but I'm not heartless, though say bye-bye to the SD card in your phone when I hand this over to dad." Sonic said with an oddly scary smirk on his face when he held Manic's phone in his hand after he got the phone from Blaze's confiscation.

Manic's eyes widened.

"Hey give it back!" Manic said as he tries to get his phone back from Sonic.

Though thanks to Sonic's speed which surpassed Manic's all Sonic did was move from side to side and just continues to talk with the others.

"Still that Shadow guy did seem flirty with Sonia and Amy but he's not too bad." Sonic said while Blaze gave him a half lidded look.

"Says the guy who loves people who can keep up with him, still seems people like the echidna tradition more and more lately, next thing we know, this Shadow guy may try and hit on other ladies as well… though I haven't seen that so he must have a thing for Hedgehog women…" Blaze said while Bernadette looked oddly happy.

"Awww… my little girl is growing up…" Bernadette said while she smiles at Sonia.

Sonia blushes in embarrassment before she decides to get her payback.

"Well I'm not the only one. I believe Sonic here might have a thing for that Mio girl." She said with a smirk that made Sonic jolt.

"Hehe, yeah, that Wolf hybrid lady, and from the look of things, seems Sonic has a thing for tall ladies when he helped her by giving her a towel in Gym… also didn't mind being a shield for her when that Pluton guy acted odd when he helped make groups for us." Manic said which made Sonic jolt as Bernadette cooed at her son.

"Manic…" Sonic said while he gave Manic a scary grin for some reason while he held Manic's phone.

Manic jolt before he put his hands up in defense.

"Okay I'll stop. Just don't do anything."

"Good… one more jab at me and I would have reformatted your phone…" Sonic said with an evil look in his eyes in warning as he pockets Manic's phone… after removing the SD card and placed the phone in the right pocket and put the SD card in his left… he knew Manic's pick pockets skills but even he would have a hard time pick pocketing Sonic twice so he made it hard for Manic to pick a target.

Manic lowly wails as he was on his knees again as he was defeated while Sonia and Blaze shook their heads.

Bernadette giggles when she looks at Manic.

"You're notorious streak is getting you back finally Manic…. Anyway Sonic… who is this Mio lady you seem to be sweet on?, not to knock Amy but she was a real beauty but your father and I always did wonder if you… played for the other team with how against getting with her you were and after that breakup with Sally… well… though that was the final straw that pushed you over the edge to that other side, even if you did we would support that choice in the end… though I'm sure your father would be happy that you found a girlfriend." Bernadette said while she could picture the funny dance Jules would give when he hears about this.

Sonic was blushing brightly.

"T-Thanks mom. But I didn't… switch for the other team. As for Mio… well nothing is going on between us. We just became friends. I mean she's into gymnastics and has good agility."

"Ohhh… and she has things in common with Sonia, bet Mio and Sonia are good friends already." Bernadette said with a happy look in her eyes before she looks at Blaze.

"Did you make any new friends Blaze?" Bernadette said while Manic raised a hand.

"Just saying this with a straight face before I leave, seems Blaze has the eyes for Silver the blind psychic who can read minds and what not and Shadow's brother Demonga… think Shadow may have a thing for her as well, though did joke about Blaze being married to Sonic or I until he heard the step sibling things… no offense but considering I know Blaze's personality, I'll stick with step siblings thank you very much… I'll be getting some soda or something so I can wash down the rising feeling in my throat while I wait for my inevitable death from Dad's anger." Manic said while he walked away and for some reason Bernadette smirked but winked at everyone while she points at Manic as he grabbed a soda, opened it and starts to drink from it… but he got wide eyes and spat it out and only said one word.

"S-SPICY!" Manic yelled out while Bernadette giggles as Manic grabbed a piece of bread and ate it with such speed that Sonic was impressed.

"Payback courtesy of your father, but he wouldn't do something as unpleasant as wizzing into a jug… now imported spicy drinks are another… though… good luck finding an actual drink in there the rest of us will enjoy room temp sodas since Jules knows you love cold drinks." Bernadette said while Blaze walked over and got the drink that Manic nearly dropped and drank from it for a moment.

"Hmmm… not bad, going to need to ask Dad what brand this is when he's home." Blaze said and continues to drink the spicy soda without a Manic like reaction while said hedgehog fans his tongue and drank some water right from the tap.

Sonia and Sonic chuckles at Manic's misfortune.

Bernadette then looks at Blaze.

"So Blaze… about those Demonga and Shadow fellows…" Bernadette said which made Blaze chuckle nervously.

"Well… I haven't actually talk with them personally, maybe as an introduction. Though Demonga was nice as Shadow looked a bit flirty though it might've been for fun. I know Shadow has thing for Sonia since they do have each other's numbers."

That caused Bernadette's eyes to sparkle when she looks at Sonia with a look that asked details.

Sonia blushes a bit in embarrassment.

"It's true." She said.

"Awww… how cute, my little girl is a popular lady it seems, I got to hear more about this." Bernadette said which caused Blaze to sigh in relief when she wasn't the Target of questions right now.

Sonic slightly chuckled a bit.

'Well despite everything that happened, at least everyone is okay. Well… hope that Emerald dude pulls through and I really hope Cream is okay.' He thought.

Meanwhile at Cream's home…

She was getting hugged by her mother hard after she heard everything, the friend she tried to make with Emerald, the bullies, everything.

"Oh Cream I'm so glad you are alright, are you sure nothing is wrong?" Vanilla asked before she looks at Cream's head to see if there was anything, no matter how small.

"I'm okay mama. I wasn't hurt too much." Cream said as she tries to reassure her mom.

Vanilla sighs in relief when she heard that and sets her daughter on the ground.

"Well I'm glad… though now I'm not so sure if going back to that school is a good thing." Vanilla said with a worried tone to her voice.

Cream didn't like the sound of that.

"But mama, it was just one day. Plus I made a promise to Emerald's family that I should keep trying to be Emerald's friend."

"Well that's true but I believe your safety is more important than a promise, what if you actually get seriously hurt this time and you have no rings to protect you?, unless you can give me a real reason that can help convince me, I'm not sure I can let you go back there, its not like you won't see Tails and the others after school and you can even hang around Emerald and the other Hybrids but… I'm just worried about you Cream… like you said its one day, but what if this happens again?, what then?" Vanilla said with a worried look in her eyes when she went full on mom mode right now.

Cream could see the worried look on her mom's face.

"I know your worried about me mama. But I'll be okay. Principal Middleton is making sure it doesn't happen again."

"Even so, whats to stop them from doing it out of spite and they don't care about the consequences… look… I'll let you keep going there but on two conditions… non-negotiable to an extant." Vanilla said with a look that said that she wouldn't budge… much.

Cream sighs a bit.

"And what are the conditions?"

"Simple, first is that I'm getting you self defense lessons Cream, you maybe nice but that can also work against you… not to boast but many people, male and Female do think I'm attractive… you think you won't look a lot like me when your older?, honestly I would worry that you wouldn't know how to beat the boys and girls away with sticks or something since you are pretty much a pacifist… not like I don't blame you but you gotta be able to defend yourself… were you even able to help Emerald at the time?" Vanilla asked while she looks down at Cream and Cream could see how well… beautiful Vanilla was… and if Cream grew up to be like her… and the memory of her not being able to help Emerald was a big regret for her.

Cream had her head down.

"I tried to when I… kicked the bully's leg to make him let Emerald go before the bully… hit me with the back of his hand which knocked me down."

"I see… more so for this, don't worry, think of it as an after school club thing, I trained there a bit to keep in shape so I can introduce you to a nice trainer who can teach you how to really fight when needed, and you know the saying, better to have it and not need it then need it and not have it right?" Vanilla said while she smiles at her daughter.

Cream did perk up after hearing that.

"Sounds like a plan mama." She said with a smile.

"Great, condition two is pretty simple, no matter what besides in classes, try and stick by one of your friends or the Hybrids like Sonic, Knuckles, and Tails, they know how to fight a bit, more so with Sonic and Knuckles, either that or with that Demonga fellow or Emerald since he seems pretty protective of you… hmm… now that I think about it you are surprisingly popular, guess you get that from how adorable you are, makes people want to protect you." Vanilla said while she got a mischievous look on her face.

"Though I do have to ask considering you are nearly 13 in about…. 4 months, give or take a few days, starting to find boys attractive?" Vanilla said with a teasing smirk on her face when she heard about how much she heard about Tails lately, even with others like how Cream admired Sonic or stuff with Knuckles and how power.

Cream jolt at the question.

"W-What?" She said with a growing blush on her face.

"Oh come on Cream, you are starting to get at that age, even I had a few boys I liked when I was at your age, got a thing for two tailed foxes or you starting to get a thing for Hybrids… even I got to admit to admiring a few… I mean you gotta admit that your grandmother, I, and unless you get your fathers height, all the females were well… pretty tall compared to Mobians, I mean I'm around 4 to 5 feet tall… need to get myself measured at the doctors next time I go there… point is just like me back then you maybe surprisingly popular and you just don't know it." Vanilla said while she continues to mess with Cream.

Cream was blushing brightly now before she wondered if her mom was right.

Then again… considering how beautiful Vanilla is, there's no doubt that Cream would be like her.

"Oh!, speaking of which we should really invite that Emerald fellow and his folks here for dinner to thank him for trying to protect you, kill two birds with one stone since you talked about how much he loved steak and stuff, I found the recipe I'm just dying to try out, and who knows you could try and get some brownie points with Emerald if things with Tails doesn't work out somehow, I mean unless there is another boy that seems sweet on you… or a girl, I won't judge." Vanilla said when she loved to tease her daughter right now, there was a 5 to 6 year difference between her husband who passed thanks to an accident and Cream had no memories thanks to her being a month old at the time, however Vanilla did say he was a nice man and while he was a bit older, he was very kind.

Cream was blushing brightly.

"B-But mama… Emerald's older than me and I don't know what I think of him since I only just met him."

Vanilla giggles at that before she starts to walk away into the kitchen.

"Well just to remind you that your father and I had about a 5 to 6 year difference, you and Emerald have what… you said he's around 17 right?, once you hit 13 that like a 4 year difference, wait till your a bit older and see if he's interested AFTER you get to know him… plenty of time, besides I've seen you hang out with Tails daily and I have yet to hear anything that implies romance with him, even a crush, so unless you are hiding something from me, I might as well tease you every now and then… now if you'll excuse me, I got some shopping to do for those steaks after I find my purse and car keys." Vanilla said before she left Cream alone when she walked into the kitchen to leave Cream with her thoughts.

Cream kept blushing at the teasing her mother gave before having some thoughts.

'M-Me and Emerald?... I don't even know if that can happen even if mama said that I would get older. I'm not sure if I like any other boy… except maybe for…' She thought before stopping as she thought of a certain yellow, two tailed fox.

However, she did remember Tails interacting with Cosmo.

'Then again… Tails looks like he was enjoying talking to that Cosmo girl. Wonder if he'll like her better than me.'

That caused Cream to sigh before time went to a bit later back at the Hedgehog residence.

---

Mobius/ Hedgehog residence/ Sonic, Sonia, Manic, Jules, Bernadette, Blaze

Show Manic late in the evening walking through the hall and Jules walked by him when he got home, but he did it so casually that Manic thought he had forgotten the apple juice and bill thing… but as Jules passed him… Manic heard this.

"My office in 20 minutes Manic… got something important to speak with you about… oh and Sonic passed me your phone… better come or I'll just sell it as is." Jules said before he left a petrified Manic in the hall.

Manic was now paling after hearing that and felt like Death was coming for his soul.

For a funny moment, Manic's paranoia was so great right now that he felt a chill up his spines and when he looked behind him… he saw nothing…

That made him sigh before he walked away… but around the corner a reaper like being was hidden by the wall and snapped his fingers and teleports out of the building to go for the next person on his list when he pulled out out which had Manic's name on it with a heart attack that can possibly happen… but that didn't happen so… maybe in the next 10 years?

Comical moment aside Manic was in front of Jules door when the 20 minutes were up and was about to knock when he heard Jules voice inside.

"Enter Manic." Jules said with a serious tone to his voice.

Manic gulps before he slowly opens the door and enters the room before closing the door.

He saw Jules sitting dramatically at a fire place while he drank from a wine glass, seems he was reading a book while Manic's phone was sitting on a small side table next to him… so easy to take yet impossible at the same time.

Manic gulped as he stood still waiting for his dad to say something.

"So… Manic… I heard from your mother on how… eventful things were on your first day of school… how was it to you?" Jules said while he sipped his drink again while he keeps reading the book.

Manic was sweating bullets.

"I-It went… well. Met some interesting people… including some hybrids."

"I see, I see… good good… now then…. I'll just get straight to the point Manic… what can you say or do that can make me forgo a punishment for the bill that I was just sent?... I helped your mother with that payback for the… *Apple Juice*... thank you very much by the way, you helped fill that jug up a lot… but I believe I have three options if you want to have a birthday and Christmas this year with your siblings instead of watching them open their own gifts on said days…" Jules said in a calm way while he glanced at Manic with a hard to read expression.

Manic was more afraid but he didn't want to lose his gift privileges.

"And… what are these options?"

"Well first would be selling your phone which would help with the monthly payments and get you a low grade phone so you can at least call others… maybe one of those old fashioned brick phones… heard they have pouches for those so you can at least carry it with you." Jules said with option one as he sets his wine glass down and picked up Manic's expensive and well loved phone and Jules eyes it with a smirk on his face.

Manic felt his soul leave his body after hearing that before he lowered his head.

"And the other two?" He said.

"Second… well… I can always sell every instrument you own, maybe your computer as well… but that would be too cruel even for me… nope… option two would be that you would have to work with the repairman who will repair the bathroom and learn how to make a restroom from scratch… if you blow up a restroom, you should be the one to fix it, could even get a job as a repair man so two birds with one stone there." Jules said with an amused tone as he passed Manic his phone for some reason… no questions asked… what was option 3 if the first two were so bad already.

Manic blinked in confusion.

"Why did you give my phone without telling option 3?"

"Simple… I know you won't give up your phone… nor will you give up your instruments or PC without a fight so to speak… so I was just punking you before giving you your real punishment with option 3, non-negotiable." Jules said with an evil smirk on his face.

Manic couldn't believe his did punked him like that but was still wary of option 3.

"And what is the third option?"

"Simple… I've already talked with Cedric thanks to some contact information… you'll be slowly working off the bill every day after school for 2 hours… might as well have you learn how to be responsible and channel your inner chaos into something constructive." Jules said while he grins at Manic… no after school time for him for a long time… after that would be straight home to keep with a curfew.

Manic was just shocked at the third option.

"Y-You serious?"

"Well if you don't want that I can just take your phone and instruments and your Birthday and christmas money to pay this off." Jules said while he grins evilly at Manic to see how he would respond between choices.

Manic pales greatly.

"No! I'll take the third option!"

"Good, I'll let Cedric know in a few days that you will be his assistant for awhile, you may leave now Manic." Jules said while he went back to reading his book for now.

Manic didn't need to be told twice before he grabbed his phone and quickly leaves the room before shutting the door.

Jules chuckles before he sipped his wine as Manic ran to his room while he carefully held his phone in his hand and when he got to his room, he sat on his bed and checked his phone to see if the data was alright.

That was when he found a horrific truth… his Phone… was formatted… none of his data was on it...

"NOOOOOO!" Manic screams which was heard throughout the entire house.

Jules chuckles at that when Manic found out what happened to his phone and just went back to reading his book while the rest of the hedgehog family sweatdrop or sigh when they heard that yell.

Sonic was in the living room with Blaze as the duo was trying to watch on tv before Sonic shook his head after hearing Manic scream.

"Guess dad reformatted his phone."

"Yup, you make a backup of his phone on the SD card?" Blaze asked since Sonic said he would backup Manic's phone.

"Oh yeah. Did it before dad came home." Sonic said.

"Hehe, well might as well let him know later… though not now while we enjoy Manic's mourning for his *Lost* data." Blaze said while she finger quotes the word for lost while Manic's cries continue as the scene went to Sonia as she looks at Shadow's phone number which she put in her phone and while she felt amused at Manic's misery, she did wonder if she could call or text Shadow right now.

'Hmmm… should I call Shadow to see how he's doing?... or would that put me as… desperate?... Then again he could be doing something important with his family and I don't want to bother him.' Sonia thought as she weighs the pros and cons of this.

Though before she could think more, her phone starts to ring and vibrate which made her fumble her phone while she felt her heart beat and when she looks at the screen… she saw it was Shadow CALLING HER… not the other way around.

Sonia swallowed the lump in her throat as she didn't want to miss this call before she answered and brought her phone to her ear.

"U-Um... hello?"

She heard a throat clearing on the other end before she heard a voice.

"Hello, is this the beauty called Sonia with the voice of an angel?" Shadow teasingly said on his end.

Sonia was blushing brightly after hearing that.

"H-Hi Shadow. How's it… going?" She said.

"Well you should know since you were there most of the day, but after the incident at the school, Demonga has been in his room most of the time… After we were told to stay away from the house for a few hours while mom cheered up dad… never seen him looked that relaxed or seen mom with a limp like that and a smile on her face hehe… and things just got better when I called the right number this time, seems I accidentally entered the wrong last digit of your phone number in my contact and called someone on the other side of the planet… couldn't understand a word they said and had to hang up… too me 4 more tries before I could hear that beautiful voice of yours." Shadow said before Sonia heard a different voice on Shadow's end, sounded like Demonga's and feint.

"Oh just ask her out already man, you haven't stopped talking about her ever since you saw her and that Amy chick, and you are still trying to figure out how to get that Amy chick's attention as well…" Sonia heard before she heard a growl on her end and could picture a blushing Shadow as a result while Demonga laughed a bit on his end of things.

"U-Uhhh… should I call back later?" Sonia said as she blushes again.

"N-No!... I mean no, sorry about Demonga, he's been teasing to vent since he nearly got his ass kicked by that Emerald fellow." Shadow said while she could picture Shadow's smug grin and heard Demonga growling.

"Oh screw you man, if I went all out like I was suppose to I could kick his emotionless ass easily." Demonga said before Sonia heard a door open and close which made Shadow chuckle for a moment.

"Hehe… anyway like you probably heard, I called to A, make sure I got the right number down, and B, see if you want to hang out tomorrow… got the inside scoop and seems dad's giving three days off to sort things out with the public after what happened to those students… pretty sure some are going to be dumbasses and give a recording of that bloodbath we saw… anyway if you don't want to count it as a date then how about a friendly meeting… possible snacks… movie… yadayadayada… all paid for by yours truly… got a job with delivering things and since you know how fast I am compared to your brother, I get paid well." Shadow said with a grin on his face while he sat up on his bed to hear Sonia's response.

Sonia was now blushing like a tomato.

"R-Really?... L-Like a… a-actual date?"

"Well if you don't want to consider it a date, then just a friendly meeting to get to know one another, but if you are busy or don't want to then…" Shadow said before trailing off for a moment when he wondered how Sonia would react.

"No!." Sonia said before covering her mouth a bit before she tries to fix it.

"I-I mean… no, I'm not busy tomorrow."

"Nice… so… should I pick you up tomorrow and we go somewhere fun if its a date or something small if its just for a friendly meeting?" Shadow asked to not only mess with Sonia, but to see how she would respond to the possibility of an actual date.

Sonia was blushing again when she heard the word date.

"S-Sure. I'll text you my… a-address. Just need to make sure to dress nice for our… d-date."

"Great… though don't dress too fancy, don't have a reservation at a restaurant… yet…" Shadow said before he hung up and a moment later, Sonia got a text from Shadow that showed him winking at her.

Sonia was now blushing brightly.

"My first date." She said.

Another text from Shadow was seen which showed his own address followed by a kiss emoji and a teasing line of text.

"In case you ever want to visit and get to know me more at home... let your imagination fly with that hehe… but nothing further then safe things since were not 18… yet." Shadow texted while he gave an emoji at the end with the smiley face giving an eyebrow wiggle.

Sonia blinked a bit at the message.

"W-Wait, huh?" She said before blushing brightly at the innuendo.

Nothing much happened until Dinner when everyone was at the kitchen table and as Manic still mourned for the loss of his data, not knowing Sonic backed it up, Blaze was helping Bernadette make dinner and was setting the food on the table as Blaze put the finishing touches on the last meal with a blast of fire and joined everyone else with a perfectly cooked meatloaf with mashed potatoes, mac and cheese, green beans, corn, even ham, bacon, eggs, the works.

"Thanks for the help dear, figured we should celebrate a few things like your first day of school and cheer you all up since not all of it went well." Bernadette said while Jules, who sat at the head of the table with his wife, nods his head.

"Indeed, and aside from Manic's issues that happened today… I believe this would be a good time to celebrate so if anyone else has some good news, might as well tell it now to help make this more rewarding then it already is since your mother and Blaze outdid themselves today." Jules said with a smile on his face which reminded Sonia… that she had a date tomorrow with Shadow after she sent him her address.

"U-Um…. I got some news." Sonia said.

"Oh really?, what is that sweety?" Jules asked as he starts to drink his soda that he got… not the spicy one, Blaze had one of those and was enjoying her new beverage.

Sonic, Manic and Bernadette were looking at Sonia to hear her big news.

Sonia was blushing a bit before she got the courage to speak up.

"E-Earlier… Shadow… called and… he asked me out on a… date."

That caused Jules to get a funny look on his face, spits his drink out to the side, and starts to cough hard while Bernadette, though worried for Jules and was patting his back, smiles at Sonia.

"That's great sweety, seems you got the hedgehog charm to get a date already, when is it?" Bernadette said while she tried to help her husband not choke to death from his drink.

Sonic, Manic and Blaze were a bit surprised about Shadow asking Sonia out as Sonia kept speaking.

"Tomorrow. Since Shadow said that the school will be closed for a few days since his dad is running damage control."

Though many were worried about Cedric and the school, Bernadette smiles more and cooed a bit.

"Awww… my little girl on her first ever date, Oh!, I should help make your first date a real blast, maybe use that cute dress we got you a few weeks ago but you never got the chance to use it yet… maybe a bit of makeup to help accent your eyes." Bernadette said with an excited tone to her voice and clapped her hands together while Jules managed to stop coughing and was holding his chest as he breathed deeply to get some much needed air as Blaze, Sonic, and Manic congratulate Sonia.

"Hehe, congrats sis, the first ever hedgehog in our family to go out with someone who won't stalk you… probably, this was a bit fast so who knows, Shadow could be like the male version of Amy." Manic said with a grin on his face since the situation was pretty amusing to him while Sonic gave Manic a half lidded look.

Blaze shook her head at Manic before looking at Sonia.

"Regardless of that, its still good to hear that you have a date Sonia. I hope it goes well tomorrow." She said with a kind smile.

"Yeah… Manicesk comment aside, happy for you sis." Sonic said when he smiles at his sister.

Sonia smiles at her two sibs.

"Thanks guys."

"Yeah… though in case this Shadow does get a bit… clingy… I'm sure no one will fault you for kicking him where the sun doesn't shine or something… just saying since outrunning him is no good." Sonic said when he did get a bit paranoid thanks to Manic and to a lesser extent Amy.

Sonia sweatdrops.

"I'm sure Shadow is not like Amy. Pretty sure his parents taught him well."

"Hey I'm just saying… besides can you fault me for being a bit protective thanks to Manic and his messing around?" Sonic said when he points a thumb at Manic and Manic stuck his tongue at his brother before he dug into his food after he got a plate.

"You have a point." Sonia said before she looks at her dad to see if he was better.

Though to everyones not so surprise, Jules was just poking at his food and chuckling evilly while muttering about tuning his shotgun which he named Sebastion and other horrible things he could do to Shadow for even looking at his baby girl.

"U-Um dad?" Sonia said while being more worried for her dad.

Jules blinks a few times before he smiles at Sonia.

"Yes?, something wrong Sonia?" Jules said with a kind smile on his face even though it seemed like he was planning bloody murder just now.

"Just checking if you're okay and all." Sonia said even though she begins to worry for Shadow's safety.

"Oh I'm Ok pumpkin, just thinking is all, I'll start eating now to not waste this meal your sister and mother made for us, time to dig in everyone." Jules said before he made his plate in full after he refilled some things and dug in with gusto.

Everyone seems to sweatdrop at Jule's behavior as Sonia has this thought.

'Really gotta make sure dad doesn't do anything to Shadow when he picks me up tomorrow.'

Interestingly enough, Blaze had a similar thought.

'I know I'm not dating anyone but… if Silver wants to come over and… hang out, gotta make sure dad doesn't get the wrong idea.'

Sonic, Manic, and Bernadette had similar thoughts on if Shadow came by… they would have to help him steer clear of their home for a bit… though when the thought of Blaze dating someone popped into Sonic's own head a moment later out of the blue thanks to this dating talk… he oddly felt bothered by the jealous feeling again.

'Calm down Sonic. Mustn't act like an idiot. Even if I have… some secret feelings for Blaze, the problem is, I can't tell if she would actually like me the same way. Would it ruined our relationship as siblings, even though she's adopted? And then there's Mio… even though we just became friends, if she knew… she might believe I was sick.'

Though thanks to Sonic having a pretty good poker face, time passed by with everyone heading to bed without a care in the world right now while many get ready for tomorrow for the start of a new day to see what would happen.

Hours later… the next day...

The time was around 10 AM after everyone got ready for the day and Jules went to work and while Manic was called to run errands by Jules, Sonia was getting ready for her first ever date when she gave Shadow a text to see if he could meet her around 10:30, she had 30 minutes to spare and while she was cleaned and everything, she was busy trying to pick an outfit, she had one of two, a long purplish red long dress that went mid leg or a more casual outfit that involved a black coat that was made more for fashion then function with weather

It could keep her warm sure, but aside from that it was best for light rain only, other things were a short skirt which would help show off her legs while she had heels for the dress and boots for the casual outfit.

"Hmmm… which is better? Gotta make sure I dress nice but not be too fancy." Sonia said as she had a troubled look on her face.

Though her help came in the form of Blaze who knocked on Sonia's door when the time was 10:20.

"Sonia?, its me Blaze, can I come in?" Blaze asked when she waits for Sonia to respond… but was surprised when she was pulled into the room suddenly and a near naked Sonia in only a pair of bra and panties closed the door.

"Oh thank Chaos you are here Blaze… I need your help deciding what to wear." Sonia asked while Blaze recovered from what just happened.

"And… why do you need my help?, I'm not exactly one for fashion after all." Blaze said while she points at her current outfit… it was pretty plain even if it was a nice soothing purple color.

"Well still… it doesn't help to have a second opinion." Sonia said.

Blaze blinks at that before she looks at the outfits and just gave Sonia a raised eyebrow.

"Why not just mix them and use the coat on the dress and instead of boots you use sandals or something?, unless my weather app is wrong, its suppose to be pretty sunny today, so unless Shadow said this was going to be some kind of outdoorsy type of date, you might as well mix things up until you find out more." Blaze said with the best advice she could give.

Sonia look thoughtful after hearing that.

"Hmmm… Not a bad idea sis. I should definitely try that."

"Right, need anything else?, you have about… 7 minutes so I suggest getting dressed right now in case Shadow i-!" Blaze said before the doorbell rang while Blaze sighs.

"... Is early." Blaze said while Sonia looked panicked but Blaze chuckles a bit and walked by Sonia and pats her on the shoulder.

"Don't worry, if that is Shadow, I'll stall him." Blaze said before she exits the room.

Sonia sighs in relief before she quickly starts to get ready.

Meanwhile at the front door, Shadow was indeed early and after he made sure his bow tie, courtesy of his father, was adjusted, Blaze answered the door and saw that it seems Shadow went with a bit of a mix as well with him wearing black jeans, his iconic speed shoes, a white shirt and black vest with a bowtie to top it all off, he also carried a small bouquet while Blaze leaned against the doorway.

"Well Mr. Swave, you don't look half bad but you are a bit early, Sonia is almost done and will be here in a few minutes." Blaze said to tell Shadow that he would have to wait a bit more which made Shadow chuckle.

"Better to be a bit early then late, besides I can wait." Shadow said which caused Blaze to hum.

"I see… any luck with getting Amy yet?, pretty sure it would be a load of Sonic's mind if you did that." Blaze said while Shadow looked amused.

"Work in progress, figured I should work on one lady at a time instead of spreading myself thin, besides I could use a break after getting past those reporters just waiting at my house." Shadow said while he looked a bit tired at the end.

Blaze cringes.

"Ouch… guess your dad wasn't too thrilled about that."

"No kidding, that's why he called your brother to handle the passing out of some important paperwork that he needed delivered to Manic which should have gotten to a few of the teachers by now while Dad deals with those vultures… if it wasn't for the fact that dad wanted to do this without violence, I would kick those fuckers asses for giving him such a hard time, Mom as well since she's the one who found that Emerald guy." Shadow said while he got a scowl on his face.

Blaze then tries to calm him down.

"Well hopefully your dad will get things straightened out. Besides, don't think Sonia will like that you're upset during the date." She said with a smirk.

Shadow blinks at that while Sonia's voice was heard at the door.

"Yeah, would hate to see that kind of look during our date." Sonia said which made Shadow and Blaze blink before they look over and Shadow blushed a bit when they saw that Sonia was dressed to impress with the outfit that Blazed suggested, the coat matched the dress well and she wore some cute looking sandals and had a purse at her side.

That caused Shadow to nearly drop his flowers before he shook his head and walked up to Sonia and held them out for her.

"Sorry… your beauty left me speechless, forgive me for making this kind of first impression on this soon to be date." Shadow said while he grins at Sonia.

Sonia blushes at the gesture before giggling as she took the flowers.

"No worries. You look very handsome." She said before smelling the flowers.

Though while she did… she felt something off about the flowers and when she moved a few around, she saw a very fancy perfume hidden between the flowers and the paper holding the flowers together and Shadow smirks at the look on Sonia's face when she got an excited look when she saw it was a top brand of perfume.

"Oh my… this is the very perfume that I always wanted to try but was too expensive to get. How did you…" Sonia said as she looks at Shadow.

"Well first off figured I could earn some brownie points with you and as for being able to afford it… well I do make a lot of deliveries but thanks to my speed… I'm able to work with many companies so its simple for me to get multiple small paychecks that add up." Shadow said while he grins at Sonia as he passed the flowers to Blaze to put in water after getting the perfume bottle out from between the flowers for Sonia and passed the bottle to her.

"Here, want to try it out?" Shadow said while he smiles at the hedgehog girl before him.

Sonia blushes brightly for a bit.

"S-Sure."

That caused Shadow to help put a few spirits onto Sonia and after she put the perfume into her purse, Shadow sniffed Sonia a few times to see if it would suit her and hums in a good way.

"Hmmm… not bad, seems I was right in getting this for you, so… ready to go?" Shadow asked while he smiles at Sonia more.

Sonia nods her head at Shadow as she smiles back.

Thankfully for Sonia, when Shadow picked her up Bridal style, he looks at Blaze and the flowers.

"Try and keep them watered for now, and don't worry I'll make sure your sister gets home in a few hours, see you!" Shadow said before he jets off while Blaze, who blinked a few times, just shrugged and walked back into the house while Sonia with Shadow had her eyes closed for a moment… but when she felt no wind, she opened them and saw that Shadow was… gliding through the air and some how made a dome of wind which blocked the wind from hitting them so Sonia's hair and what not was not messed up.

"W-Whoa." Sonia said with a surprised look.

"Hehe, thanks, I may not be a psychic like that Silver guy or that Tempest fellow who can fly and what not, but I can do minor things like this, think of a giant hamster ball if you want to use that as a concept, helps keep the wind out of my eyes, helps me carry passengers and stuff to deliver, and no one gets hit by the wind, and I can glide across the ground with these shoes, not sure where I got them but Demonga said they seemed to be made for me and Demonga held onto them while I was a baby and I had to grow into these before I could use them… make no mistake I'm still a pretty fast guy who could outrace your bro, but these make running pretty fun." Shadow said with a cocky grin on his face when Sonic was mentioned after he explained some things.

Sonia lightly chuckles.

"Well that would depend on the big race between you two but still, that's a great skill." She said as she held closer to Shadow.

That caused Shadow to grin more when he felt Sonia's assets press into his body a bit and sped up before he and Sonia were in front of a movie theater and he checks his phone's time.

"Hmmm… got about 2 hours before I got to send you home, want to see a movie or go for restaurant if you are hungry?, could see a movie after the meal and I know a good place to eat where we don't need reservations and we can make the next movie in 15 minutes as well." Shadow said while he double checked the times for the movies and saw a few good ones that were going to play in 15 to 20 minutes and would last for almost an hour.

"Hmmm… well I'm not hungry now so let's see what movie is playing." Sonia said.

"Alright, pick a movie and I'll get some snacks and drinks for us in the meantime and I'll meet you in the lobby, here is 60 bucks in case multiple tickets cost a lot, movie prices are not easy to keep track off nowadays and I do visit multiple theaters so…" Shadow said before shrugging after passing Sonia six 10 dollar bills and Shadow walked inside of the theater.

Sonia did blink a bit before she held onto the money and heads to the ticket cashier before seeing what movies looked good.

There were three that were in a decent price range, one had a japanese translated movie called My hero academia: two heroes, another was The latest movie depicting a children's movie called the lion king, and finally within the 60 dollar price range was the newest Beauty and the beast movie.

After a moment, Sonia made her choice before she looks at the employee.

"Excuse me, I'll have two tickets to My Hero Academia."

"Excellent choice, that will be 55 dollars for two tickets… say you and your boyfriend making plans, thought you would go romantic with beauty and the beast but that's just a cliche right?" the ticket vendor said while he prints two tickets as Sonia passed him the money and got 5 dollars back.

Sonia blushes before she thanked the teller and grabbed the tickets before heading inside.

When she got inside, she saw Shadow waiting for her and he had a couple pockets of popcorn and some sodas and snacks at the ready… it looked a bit comical seeing Shadow having a bucket of popcorn and soda stacked on his head perfectly while he held Sonia's popcorn and drink to her.

"Here, can you get these so I can get my stuff off my head… I would move but it's pretty hard to keep balanced right now." Shadow said while he shakingly held the items to Sonia and had a strained grin on his face when he looked comical for a moment.

Sonia giggles before she taking the popcorn and soda.

"Well thanks Shadow. I got us two tickets to see that My Hero Academia movie."

"Really?, thought you would have picked something romantic, you a tomboy or something?, not like I would judge but was just curious is all." Shadow asked while he used his speed to quickly shuffle his body for a moment and got the popcorn and soda off his own head before it could spill at all, his snacks that he got for himself and Sonia were in a popcorn bucket as well behind him to make carrying the surprising amount of snacks easily though… seemed a bit excessive.

Sonia, though blushes at the tomboy remark, sweatdrops.

"Need me to carry something else?"

"Nah, I'm good, you want any snacks?, I'm buying." Shadow shockingly said when he just said all the snacks on his end were his own!?

Sonia was a bit surprised after realizing it.

"W-Wait… you're gonna eat all those snacks?"

"Hmm… well yeah, I mean you know your brother's speed, do you think all that energy to keep up with that running is on stamina alone?, nah, I burn off as many calories as I eat so unless Sonic's source of energy where he gets his speed from is different, he should be a glutton just like me, I'm not ashamed of it… not proud except in eating competitions, but not ashamed, I also learned how to cook on my own so in case this relationship does goes to something more… serious hehe… you won't have to make me anything since I can whip up a tasty meal in a blink of an eye… well aside from stuff that requires slow cooking but you get my point right?" Shadow said which did answer alot… and was also a good question on how Sonic's own speed worked if his source was not from him being a glutton… or did he secretly eat a lot without anyone knowing?

"Huh… Guess you have a point there." Sonia said.

"Yeah, anyway you want anything?, I can even share some of my food if you want." Shadow said while he offered to get more snacks for Sonia herself.

"Hmmm… well I don't mind sharing. But I can take a box of Junior Mints."

"Alright, I'll get a few boxes." Shadow said while he paid for a couple of boxes and placed them in Sonia's popcorn bucket… but not before getting a small laugh when he placed them on her head and got a picture of her before he did so and showed a confused looking Sonia the picture of herself looking just as confused from the boxes being placed on her head just a moment ago.

"Uhh… what was that for and why place the snacks on my head?" Sonia said.

"Thought it would be funny, would also make a cute screen saver until I get a better one… I'll hold onto this and may send this to your family hehe… now come on, let's get going, we got a minute before the movie starts." Shadow said before he starts walking away from Sonia.

Sonia was blushing in embarrassment before she went to catch up with Shadow.

While the movie played out with Shadow and Sonia, still being pretty young at this time rather enjoyed it, the scene went to Pluton as he was in Dr. Kintobor's lab while Dr. Kintobor was analyzing the video again of Emerald's rampage… or at least from the part where Pluton restrained Emerald and the energy that Emerald emitted and was trying to think of a way to help Pluton next time in case he needed to restrain him, Pluton was shut down for now so updates and what not could be made between now and next time school opens if Cedric had a say in things.

"Remarkable… Can't believe all that power came from Emerald." Dr. Kintobor said as he continues to analyze the video.

Though as he typed on his keyboard, stopped when an idea came to him… during the years as he planned for… what not many would know in order for him to have a well known but a nice name around town is that… he is the brother to the one who made that robot who tried to attack Sonic years ago… Robotnik… funnily enough his name was robotnik spelled backwards and Kintobor considered it a way to show how opposite he was compared to his brother… but that was a long story for another time… right now he looked to a special case nearby which held a special gem inside of it… a Chaos Emerald… one of 7 and it was specially contained so as to not let its location be known to Robonik since he heard rumors that his brother has been going around to try and collect them…. But what if Pluton was powered by this chaos emerald… there would be a risk of it getting stolen but there were many risks in keeping it here instead.

"Hmmm… if I equip Pluton with this Chaos Emerald, not only would it give Pluton more power, but it would in a safe place within his body." Dr. Kintobor said.

That caused Dr. Kintobor to work fast when he wanted to make sure that he wouldn't be spotted, he refitted Pluton's core with a new holder and after fitting it with various upgrades to handle the power, he quickly went from Pluton to his container, got the Emerald and it only took him 3 seconds to get it into Pluton and closed him up… however while Dr. Kintobor wiped his forehead in relief, those three seconds would change the lives of many to come soon.

Unknown location…

The scene showed a dark room with many mechanical bits and things were here and there while a computer monitor was on while a blip for a moment was seen… that caused a person sitting at the computer to grin when he saw a momentary blip on screen and thanks to a recording program, the figure was able to get a good view of the blips origin point when going back frame by frame and left the room.

When the figure did, he saw a large man working on various deadly looking robots and the figure spoke up to get his attention and showed that the first figure was a man.

"Yo Old man… Robotnik, your radar got a signal." The man said while the other man, an overweight version of Kintobor spoke up with an excited tone to his voice when he looks at the man behind him.

"Oh good, so Dark, where was the signal this time?" Robotnik asked while the man named Dark, a Hybrid as well oddly similar looking to Emerald, minus the scars and has a complete face with a twisted grin on his face, spoke up while showing a tablet with a copy of the location point.

"Simple… Station Square, your brother most likely from how out of nowhere it was… I'm guessing he's planning on moving his Emerald again and if not, have it move around… I'm guessing that newest robot of his that I heard about on the news." Dark said while he grins at Robotnik.

"I see… Figures that my goody two shoes of a brother, would try something like that. Makes me feel ashamed that we share the same DNA." Robotnik said.

Dark chuckles at that while he passed Robotnik the tablet.

"Well at the very least he made things pretty easy for us in one way and challenging in another, I mean sure he gets in our way but he at least makes things fun, shame really, I would have liked a new sibling since one of his robots or what not prevented you from getting this purple cat mobian years ago, you kidnapped me from a hospital when I was born like the others but unlike the others I wasn't brainwashed and I still enjoy calling you old man or pops since this is just amusing… still wondering if I have a screw loose but eh… more fun for me, anyway I'll get ready and get in disguise, heard that school that the doc sent his robot too is going there… might as well scout out the place and see what we got to work with before we strike, just remember the deal pops, you let me have my fun first and I'll get you the emerald's no questions asked, who knows, may meet some fine ladies who you can roboticize for me as well hehe." Dark said before he starts walking out of the room with an evil chuckle at the end which robotnik would be proud of.

Robotnik blinks a bit before he starts chuckling.

"Guess I know the feeling of a parent being proud of their child. Too bad I won't say it now." He said before having a evil grin.

"Better watch out brother, that emerald will be mine and nothing will stand in my way... And all I need are two chaos emeralds." He said before laughing in an evil way while to Robotnik's right was a stand which had 5 of the 7 legendary Chaos Emeralds stored away for safe keeping.

The scene fades to black while the evil laugher continues before it fully fades to black at the same time the scene ends.

---

(Working to keep intro's and outro's short from now on with this and multiple stories.)

(End of Chapter 2, next time things will get more dramatic as time passes for everyone, what will everyone do when racism between Hybrid's, human's and mobians kick up in full thanks to the one fight between Emerald and the thuggish bullies… there will also be the drama and Robotick happens as well, stay tuned for more Sonaze: Step love)