Kai gawked at Samantha with amazement. His wish had been answered and he was with Samantha again. "Samantha!" Kai cheered with delight.
He embraced Samantha and a small tear fell from his eye. "I'm not dreaming; you're actually here!"
"I never would have suspected you'd actually sign up," Samantha said. "Do you really think you have what it takes to be in this army?"
Kai let Samantha go and a powerful rush overcame him. "I can do it! I'll help these people win this war now that I have you by my side again!"
Samantha sighed and looked Kai in the eyes. "Look Kai, this isn't a game. I've seen people die in this war for the past five years I've worked here," she said.
"You've been working here for five years?" Kai asked.
"Yes, as an inventor and second line fighter. After first rations, they're going to put you through a test. If you pass, you're free to quit or begin your training."
"I'm ready for what they have for me in the training, I can do this!" Kai said.
"Please listen, you encountered Shadow on your way home didn't you?" Samantha said.
Kai was shocked. "Yeah, what of it?"
"Shadow is only a minor taste of the dangers we're facing in war right now!" Samantha said. "If you choose to train here, you're putting your life in serious danger."
"But it's only Dr. Eggman isn't it? Hasn't Sonic beaten him numerous times?"
"Yes but all those defeats have made him stronger and he's created stronger badniks than ever. A simple Kaiten attack can't punch through their shells and even becoming Super won't stop them. These things mean serious business and they won't stop until we're all dead!" Samantha said. "It isn't safe here, you must leave at once. If anything were to happen to you, I don't know what I'd do."
Seina and Rebecca arrived and saw Kai and Samantha talking. Seina and Rebecca rushed up and embraced Samantha's back; this startled Samantha. "We're all together again!" Seina said.
"I can't believe you of all people are here as well," Rebecca cried.
Samantha turned to Seina and Rebecca. "Not you too! It seems both our wishes were answered Kai," Samantha laughed.
Kai joined in laughing and walked up to Seina and Rebecca. "We're all going to help you win this war Samantha," Kai said.
"You're very important to us!" Seina added.
"Plus you can get some bugs off Kai's back!" Rebecca smirked.
"Some bugs?" Samantha asked.
Kai nervously chuckled and began to answer Samantha's question. "You see some of the new cadets, even Kristine, are falling for me because they thought that I trained with Sonic," Kai said.
Samantha stared at Kai with confusion. "I tried to tell them that I didn't but they just don't listen," Kai said.
"How are you so sure you didn't train with Sonic?" Samantha smirked.
"It isn't anywhere in my memory nor in my blood," Kai said.
"Do you still have the Chaos Emerald?" Samantha asked.
Kai pulled it out and it began to glow brightly again. "Yeah why?"
"See how it glows now, hand it over to Seina and watch." Kai listened and gave it to Seina, the glow began to dim down. "What! How is that…?" Kai was shocked beyond words.
He turned to Samantha whom was laughing at the moment. "But Sonic isn't even in my family tree!" Kai said.
"He might not be but you were blessed with Sonic's skills," Samantha said.
"How's that work?" Kai asked.
"I really have no idea how that came to be but somehow you have the same power Sonic does," Samantha said.
"Really?"
"Yes, only four others have been born with that power as well: Tails, Knuckles, Shadow, and Blaze."
Seina patted Kai on the head. "Well, well, well! You learn something new everyday," he chuckled.
"But why me of all people?" he asked. "I can't do anything special, let alone run at hyper fast speeds."
"Be glad you have this ability, Kai," Rebecca said. "Not that many people are blessed with such a gift."
Kai then looked up to Samantha. "If you knew this, why do you want me to leave?" he asked.
"You have not fully tapped into your power, you are like everyone else at the moment," Samantha said. "The choice is yours but please, all three of you leave while you're still alive and well!"
"I kinda have no choice," Rebecca said. "The army said I have to take my father's place…"
Seina and Kai turned to each other. They then turned back to Samantha. "We've come all this way…" Seina said.
"We won't back down just yet," Kai said.
The emerald grew brighter. "We're going to help you win this war!" Seina exclaimed.
"So that no more lives will be sacrificed, like Rebecca's family!" Kai yelled.
The emerald grew even brighter. Samantha was touched by Kai and Seina's courage. "You'll have to answer me a few things first," Samantha said, "one, are you prepared to put your life on the line so that others may live?"
"Yes!" the three said.
"Two, will you fight only for the freedom of others and not for personal gain?"
"Yes!"
"Three, will you only fight for the revolution of the world and keep peace?"
"Yes!"
"Four, did you peek on anyone last night?"
Rebecca had time to think but Kai and Seina didn't think too much of the question before they blurted out. "Yes!"
Kai and Seina stopped dead in their tracks; Samantha had duped them. "Got ya," Samantha smirked.
Kai laughed but Seina was too embarrassed that he had been so easily tricked.
Kai, Seina, and Rebecca grabbed a place to eat while Samantha redressed in her dark robe and escaped the room. Kai glanced at his hand; his mind was rushing with amazement. He had the same power as Sonic yet he never knew. "Aren't you going to finish eating?" Seina asked with his mouth full of fruit pellets.
Kai returned to reality and looked up. "Oh, sure…"
Kai began to eat some more until all his fruit pellets were gone. "Odd, I'm still sort of hungry…" Kai said.
"You can have some of mine," a nearby voice said.
Kai was startled and turned to the voice; it was Sophie. "You want to have lunch together?" Sophie asked.
Kai backed away from Sophie a little. "What do you want now?" he nervously asked.
"You know very well what I want," Sophie said.
"Thanks for you're offer but I really can't!" Kai said.
"That's right," another voice behind him said. "He's with us," some other voice joined in.
Kai turned around and saw Stephanie and Cassandra. "Not you two too!" he whined.
"Buzz off you vultures!" Sophie said. "Fiancé's with me."
She then grabbed Kai's arm. "Kai's with us!" Stephanie and Cassandra said.
They grabbed his other arm. "Let go! I'm the one he's going to marry!" Sophie said, pulling Kai's arm.
"Never! Kai would never go out with a lustful perv like you!" Stephanie and Cassandra said, pulling Kai's other arm.
Seina continued munching on his fruit pellets. "I've seen this somewhere before…" he said, chewing an apple flavored pellet.
"You have?" Rebecca asked, turning to Seina.
"Yeah," Seina answered, "it was in an anime I saw three years ago."
Rebecca glared at Seina; this wasn't the best time to bring up anime. "Anime practically rules your life," she said.
"I know," Seina laughed.
Kai turned to Seina and Rebecca as he was being tugged back and forth but Sophie and Stephanie & Cassandra. "Guys, can you please help me out?" he whined.
"I'd love to help but this is beyond my comprehension," Rebecca said.
"Don't worry," Seina said, "help is on its way."
Kai stared angrily at Seina. "I'm serious here!" he yelled.
"The girls will fight with you now but then they begin to pull harder," Seina said.
Like Seina predicted, the girls began to pull harder. "Let go of Kai!" Cassandra and Stephanie yelled.
"You let go!" Sophie asked.
Rebecca turned to Seina and was amazed. "How did you know?" she asked.
"This all happened in the anime," Seina said. "Soon the hero will begin to weep because his life has turned upside-down and these girls continue to tug his arms."
Kai turned to Seina and Rebecca. "Please! I'm begging you! Do something!" he cried.
Tears were falling from his eyes. "Woah, what happens next?" Rebecca asked.
"Then some girl who is telepathic senses our hero's pain and cries for help and rushes to his rescue," Seina said.
Nothing happened at that moment. "Are you sure that was the same anime?" Rebecca asked.
Seina thought for a moment. "Oh wait, that part was in another anime about magic where this one boy about Kai's age realizes that he has great powers hidden away in his genes!" Seina laughed.
"That sounds more like a hentai…" Rebecca sighed.
"Nothing happens so it's a comedy anime like the one I mentioned," Seina said.
"So what was that one about?" Rebecca asked.
"Ah, some farm boy meets up with a space pirate, two Galaxy police officers, a female scientist from space, and two girls who are the heir to a planet," Seina said.
"In that case, the telepathic girl should bust through that door any—"
Kristine walked through the mess hall doors and saw Kai being tugged by Sophie and Stephanie & Cassandra. "Someone help," Kai managed to squeak out.
"What are you doing to Kai?" Kristine yelled.
Rebecca turned toward Seina and stared unbelievably at him. "I should watch more anime…" Rebecca said.
Seina then choked on his pellets after hearing what Rebecca said, it was the funniest thing he had ever heard. Sophie, Stephanie, and Cassandra nervously laughed as Kristine glared evilly at the three. "Any idea what happens now?" Rebecca asked.
"Normally the three would get involved in some strange fight with each other but since this is an older officer, they are probably going to back off and Kristine will claim Kai for herself," Seina said.
As he said, the three girls let go of Kai and started to back away. "Hehehe…sorry about that," Sophie said.
"Please don't expel us from the academy," Cassandra pled.
"We'll continue our lunch now," Stephanie said.
The three started to walk away and Kristine turned to Kai. "Are you okay?" she asked.
Kai picked himself up and wiped his shoulders. "Thank yo—"
When Kai saw it was Kristine he began to back away. "This is new," Rebecca said. She turned to Seina and asked, "What happens now?"
Seina looked up from eating and spoke. "Oh this? The hero will try to escape but the girl will grab him by the shirt collar and embrace him, if Kai's lucky she'll snuggle her face on him too," Seina stated.
Kai began to take off but Kristine grabbed him by the shirt collar and embraced him. "Please stop it! Please let go of me! I'll call for help!" Kai yelled.
Kristine began to rub her face up and down Kai's head. "See what I mean?" Seina smirked.
Rebecca turned to the other three, all of who were glaring evilly at Kristine. Rebecca tapped Seina on the shoulder and interrupted his eating again. "What about them?" she asked.
Seina paused halfway through eating and saw the three girls glaring at Kristine. "Oh them?" Seina asked. "In all likelihood, they'll give up and leave. They don't really think they can take on a higher level of authority than their own without there being conse—"
The three pounced on Kristine and the three fought over Kai. Seina stared at the three and nearly choked on a fruit pellet. "I guess anime doesn't have all the answers…" Rebecca laughed.
"I'll have to e-mail this to the guys back home," Seina said.
Kai struggled to get out the catfight but the girls had a complete hold on him. Sophie grabbed one of his arms and tugged, Stephanie and Cassandra pulled Kai's other arm, and Kristine pulled both of his legs. Kai began to weep again. "Oh why me?" Kai whined.
"Don't worry fiancé! I'll save you from these poachers!" Sophie said.
"You could never have a pure relationship with Kai!" Cassandra and Stephanie yelled, as they pulled harder.
"Don't worry Kai! You'll be in safe hands soon!" Kristine said as she pulled his legs.
The four pulled harder and Kai wept more. Seina sat there and watched with amusement. "Normally some character would come in about now and save the hero from a situation like this," Seina says.
Rebecca got up and walked over to the catfight. "It's up to you Rebecca," Seina said.
Rebecca helped Kristine pull Kai away from the other three. "Why are you helping me?" Kristine asked.
"I'm trying to save Kai from this catfight," Rebecca said.
"Are you in love with him too?" Kristine asked.
"Hell no!" Rebecca said. "I just can't stand to see him suffer like this anymore."
Kristine smiled and pulled harder. With one mighty heave, Rebecca and Kristine pulled Kai out of the other three's grasp. Kristine almost began snuggle Kai again but Rebecca pulled Kai out of her grasp as well. "You okay Kai?" Seina asked.
Kai glared at Seina. "Yeah, no thanks to you!" Kai whined.
"Sorry but that was beyond me reach," Seina said.
"Thanks Rebecca," Kai said.
"I couldn't just leave you there," Rebecca said.
Josh entered the room and saw Kristine. "Was something the matter, pilot Kristine?"
"No nothing at all," she said.
Josh then turned to all the cadets. "Cadets, come with me for testing!" Josh yelled.
"Shall I escort Kai and his friends to the testing room?" Kristine asked.
Josh thought about it for a moment. Kai prayed that he'd say no. "It's fine with me," Josh said.
Kristine was happy and made a small squeak to prove it but Kai began to weep. "Please! Reconsider!" Kai wept to Josh.
"My mind is made up, cadet Kai," Josh said.
"Please! You can't do this to me!" Kai wailed.
Kristine grabbed Kai by the hand and began to escort him out. "Hold it!" Josh said; Kristine stopped and began to sweat a little. "Kai, Seina, and Rebecca must be with the entire group if escorted."
Kristine sighed but Kai began to weep for joy.
The group began to move out deeper into the academy, where there were no windows. Kai thought being escorted with the group would save him from the girls tugging on him some more but it only made things worse: Sophie had a hold on his left arm and Stephanie and Cassandra had a hold on his right one; Kristine was watching the three to make sure they didn't start tugging on him. Ben, Alex, and Nebula turned back toward Kai and laughed at him.
"You're in a pretty tight spot," Nebula said.
"Serves you right for ratting on us!" Ben said.
"Such beauty saved your life, for that I love her more," Alex flirted.
Rebecca nervously laughed but Seina glared at Alex. Kai turned and saw this.
"Is something wrong Seina?" Kai asked.
Seina blushed and turned away from Kai and Rebecca. "Oh, nothing…" he said.
The crew followed Josh deeper into the hall until they came to a large room at the end. "Step on in," Josh said.
Kristine was upset that she could follow Kai into the room but Kai was still annoyed at Sophie and Stephanie & Cassandra still gripping onto him. "Please let go of me," Kai asked.
They did as he asked and he rushed inside the room before they could grab him again. Kai began running in place and floating in midair. Rebecca and Seina laughed as Kai began to drift upside-down. Next to enter was Ben. Ben began to swim about and got used to floating in the zero gravity room. Kai opened his eyes and stopped running. He saw an upside-down dark room with little lights in the background; it looked similar to space itself, only darker and lacked nebulas and planets. Ben floated up to Kai and surprised him.
"Hey hedgehog!" he immediately said; Kai began to run some more because Ben startled him.
Seina and Rebecca entered as well and moved Kai out of where he was floating. Alex, Nebula, and Cassandra entered next and floated about; Cassandra stood near the entrance to help Stephanie when she was going to enter. Sophie took flight and glided up to Kai. Cassandra pulled Stephanie in the room and the drifted next to Kai. Like in the mess hall, they fought with Sophie and began to pull Kai towards them.
"Please, give me some air," Kai said.
A voice came over a loud speaker that echoed the room. "Okay, this is your first simulation!" the voice spoke. "Say you're your own ships flying through space and the enemy begins to attack you. Try to dodge the enemy's attacks and if possible, fight back."
The group of nine braced themselves. "Ready?"
A claw emerged from somewhere on the wall and pulled the Chaos Emerald out of Kai's pocket. "No cheating! GO!"
Small blue colored lasers began shooting at everyone from seemingly nowhere. Ben began to swim about, dodging the lasers. Alex turned to Nebula and Cassandra. "Petal formation!" he yelled.
Nebula and Cassandra floated over to Alex and connected their hands. They folded themselves inward and formed what looked like a dandelion seed. They drifted about and dodged the lasers. Ben got cocky and decided to show off. "Hey hedgehog!" he called to Kai. "Watch this."
Ben began to spin about, dodging the lasers. One of the lasers hit his leg and he couldn't move it. "That's what happens when you get cocky, you get frozen!" the voice laughed.
Seina held onto Rebecca and started to glide and make evasive maneuvers. Rebecca began to blush and looked up at Seina. "Any reason you're holding onto me?" she asked.
Seina blushed back and made a swift evasive maneuver. "Oh…no reason really…"
Rebecca smirked at Seina. "Right…"
Stephanie flew down toward the ground and started to bounce off the ground and the walls.
"Very impressive but that won't help you when in space where there is no ground whatsoever," the voice said.
Sophie started hovering by Kai. "I could help you out…" she bribed.
Kai nervously chuckled and answered, "Thanks but no thanks! You'd probably kiss me or take advantage of me while helping me!"
"You don't know that now do you?" Sophie said.
A laser then struck Sophie's wings and they became frozen. Kai paddled away toward Seina and Rebecca. A laser fired at Seina and Kai panicked. A small voice inside him spoke softly, "Roll…kaiten attack…roll…"
Kai curled himself into a ball and began to spin rapidly. Kai rolled in front of the laser and it ricocheted off him and hit the roof. Kai popped out of his Kaiten attack and shook his head. "What was that?" Seina asked.
"I don't know, something came over me and told me to roll…"
Seina thought of something for a moment and then grabbed Kai. "Roll again! I have a plan!"
Kai rolled up and Seina tossed him toward the wall. Kai rolled along the wall and attacked what was shooting the lasers. There were small guns hovering and shooting but Kai's Kaiten attack destroyed them all as he rolled through them. "That's using your noggin!" Rebecca said.
Kai bounced off the last machine and returned to Seina and Rebecca. Applause could be heard from the loud speaker. "Nicely done, cadet Kai," the voice said.
Lights turned on in the room and there was a glass screen and a person standing behind it: a bee! This wasn't Sam; it was younger than Sam and wore a lifejacket and a helmet on his head. Everyone unfroze and approached the screen. "Who are you? What are you doing back there?" Sophie asked.
"I'm commander Charmy Bee, and you passed my simulation," the bee spoke.
A chameleon then entered the room and pushed Charmy aside. It defiantly wasn't Tom since this chameleon had only one horn and was purple. This was the chameleon Kai saw as he and the other cadets left to their rooms.
"As we can tell, you are more than our last batch of cadets but not all of them have successfully gotten past my simulation," the chameleon said.
"What if we all past this simulation, what then?" Ben asked.
The chameleon thought for a moment and then answered over the loud speaker. "If you all manage to pass, I'll let you all skip the exams and go straight to training," the chameleon said.
"Aren't you Espio?" Kai asked. "I saw you give that speech to the more experienced cadets."
The chameleon turned to Kai and chuckled slightly. "I see you know of me. They call me General Espio around here," the chameleon said.
"He's not that much to be around and he's too serious," Charmy said.
Espio ignored Charmy and began the simulation. The room changed from zero gravity and the group gently landed on the surface. The dark room changed from its space scenery to what appeared to be a desert. "What do we do here?" Sophie asked.
"Isn't it obvious?" Stephanie asked. "We target practice."
"Correct cadet Stephanie," Espio's voice spoke, the walls and the room where Charmy and Espio were monitoring the cadets had all vanished. "You will practice firing with these!"
Small guns appeared from thin air and the cadets grabbed them. "Be careful with those," Charmy's voice spoke.
The cadets pulled the triggers of theirs to see what would happen; nothing came out. "You must turn them on," Espio's voice spoke. "There's a small lever on the back of each gun."
Kai found his and flipped the switch on the gun. Kai then called to everyone else and pointed it out. Everyone else flipped on their switches and prepared for what was next. "In real battles, you won't have to turn your guns on. This is only so no one will try friendly fire," Espio spoke.
Small targets that resembled badniks and animals popped out. "You target is to destroy the Eggman target at the end of the road. The targets will fire back but will only stun you. If you are unable to fire from the stuns or if you hit one of the animal targets, you fail the simulation!"
"Ready?" Charmy spoke, "GO!"
The badnik targets popped up and down from the ground and started firing at the cadets. The cadets hid behind the large rock that they were to advance from, all the way to the Dr. Eggman target at the end of the trail. Alex peeked out from the rock, making sure not to get hit by the stun blasts. "No good, they're firing in all directions," Alex said, moving back behind the rock.
"We need a plan, a good one too…" Cassandra said.
Ben spoke out, "I have an idea! Nebula, I'll cover for you and you sneak over to the Eggman target. Blast that sucker and we'll pass the simulation!"
"I really don't think that'll work," Kai said.
Ben smiled and turned to Kai. "If something happens, get us out of there!" Ben said.
Kai rubbed his shoulder and nodded. "Good, it's settled then. Nebula, get going!" Ben said.
Nebula peeked out from behind the rock and began to sneak past the targets. Ben popped out from behind the rocks and began to fire upon the badnik targets. Nebula began to advance farther without the badnik targets noticing while Ben dodged the gunfire and continued shooting at the targets. "Almost there," Nebula thought.
He crept past the near final blockade of targets and began to take aim on the Eggman target. Ben got cocky and decided to make fancy dodging moves while firing. One of the gunfire struck Ben's leg and he fell to the ground. He wailed out since he couldn't move his leg and it caught Nebula off track. Nebula turned to the cry and the targets turned to Nebula. They rapidly shot at him and Nebula's left arm became stunned. "Kai, help us!" Ben yelled.
"Sophie! Grab Nebula, I'll save Ben!" Kai yelled to Sophie.
"Roger!" she answered.
Sophie took off and was able to grab Nebula before a stun shot could hit his chest or his head. Kai ran as fast as his legs could but it still could even rival with Sonic's speed. He grabbed Ben and began to take off, but a stray shot hit his right arm and left leg. "Hold on Kai!" Seina yelled.
Just as one target took aim on Kai to finish him off, Seina rushed in and punched the target; it shattered immediately. "Sweet move, echidna," Ben said.
"Call me Seina. Let's get you out of here."
Seina grabbed Kai and Ben and took off before stray fire could hit him. Seina managed to get behind the rock as one of the shots grazed his arm. "We need a new strategy and fast!" Rebecca said.
"Let's have a look at that arm," Seina said.
"It's fine, only stunned for the time being…" Kai said.
Sophie turned back to the firing targets and examined how they aimlessly fired at the rock. "Hmm?"
She noticed one of them was so out of line that it could easily destroy the other targets in front of it. She turned to Kai and pointed this out. Kai thought for a moment and then came up with a plan. "Sophie! I want you to cause a distraction and lead the targets away from that individual target. Cassandra, Alex, and Nebula! I want you to guard Sophie with that rose petal thingy you used earlier!" Kai yelled.
"That's only for running away, now Acorn Shield is a defensive move," Alex said.
"Okay, try that then!" Kai said.
"One problem though…" Cassandra stated.
"You need a fourth person to hold the shield and it's pretty heavy…" Nebula said.
Kai glanced around at the team and tried to find something that might act as a shield if the Acorn defensive was dropped by mistake. Kai then noticed Rebecca's red shell and pointed to her. "Rebecca! You and Seina will carry the shield and watch out for Sophie."
"And you better not try anything out there!" Seina yelled at Alex.
"M'kay," Alex smirked.
Seina glared at Alex because of his smart-alecky remark. "Stephanie! You're with me on the way to that target!" Kai yelled.
Stephanie smiled at Kai and nuzzled him. "Surrrrrre, if it means I get to be with you," she purred.
Kai nervously laughed. "Yeah, sure…"
He then turned to Ben. "Can you move at all?" he asked.
"I may be down on my leg but I can still manage," Ben said.
"Okay, you're with me and Stephanie! Keep those other targets off our backs and the target is all yours," Kai said.
Ben smiled but then thought for Kai and Stephanie. "What about you two?" he asked.
"We'll cover you from the rear," Stephanie said.
"Okay then," Ben said. He placed his hand above the ground in the center of the group. "Everyone got it?"
Nebula placed his hand on top of Ben's. "I'm ready!" he said.
Sophie added her hand to the group. "You know I am," she smiled.
Cassandra and Stephanie glanced at each other with confusion. They didn't understand what it was but they added their hands as well. "We're in!" they said.
Alex added his as well. "All for one and one for all," he smiled.
Rebecca added hers and Alex leered romantically at her. Seina added his as well and smirked tauntingly back at Alex. Kai added his and smiled. "Let's do it guys!" he cheered.
The nine raised their hands and cheered. After that Cassandra, Alex, and Nebula joined hands and turned into what looked like and acorn cap. Seina and Rebecca grabbed the back of it and rushed out; Sophie took off, high enough to attract attention but low enough to prevent getting shot. The targets turned to the distraction team and fired. "Guns out!" Seina yelled.
Rebecca, Sophie, and Seina pulled out their guns and fired at the shooting targets. Sophie made the mistake of dodging an attack and shooting at the same time. The fire bounced off the ground and almost hit an animal target. Seina turned to Sophie and yelled. "Hey! Keep your eyes open when you fire! You want us to lose our exam pass?" Seina yelled.
"Shut up and keep your eyes ahead of you!" Sophie yelled, pointing toward a target ahead of them.
Stephanie grabbed Kai and Ben and took off behind the targets. "Fire now Ben!" Stephanie yelled.
"You're dead!" Ben yelled as he fired at the targets.
"Are we almost there?" Kai asked.
"Almost there sweetie," Stephanie smiled. "Get ready Ben!"
Ben stopped firing and turned toward the target ahead of them. "Throw me! I can reach it!" Ben said.
"If you want," Stephanie said as she tossed Ben toward the target.
Ben grabbed it and pointed it toward the other targets. The targets behind Ben reacted and turned toward Ben to fire. Kai and Stephanie fired at the targets aimed at Ben and took them down with ease. "Nice shot Stephanie," Kai said as he continued shooting.
"Thanks, you too," Stephanie said while firing at more targets.
Ben laughed maniacally as he turned to target to the other ones and fired. Seina and Rebecca rammed the target ahead of them with the Acorn Shield. They heard moaning noises from the shield and stopped. "What wrong?" Rebecca asked.
"How would you like it if I slammed your head against one of these targets? Ow…" Nebula said.
"That might have been your head but that was somewhere else on me," Cassandra whined.
"Thankfully that was my foot," Alex said.
Seina and Rebecca looked dully at the shield but continued running. Ben shot the last target and punched the one he was operating; the target didn't break but Ben's hand sure felt like it did. Ben waved his hand about trying to ease the pain; Stephanie gave one sharp kick on the target and it broke. She then turned to Kai. "Use the Kaiten attack," she said. "I'll toss you through the Eggman target!"
Kai sighed, "Do we really need to make this a flashy ending?"
Stephanie smiled and nodded. Kai sighed again and rolled up. Stephanie picked up Kai and took careful aim. "Go Kai!"
She tossed Kai toward the Eggman target and Kai flew through him. Kai popped out the ball quickly enough to see it explode in a flashy way, similar to the same way Kai had finished off the target. Everyone cheered and anything that was stunned on the cadets was completely movable now. There was clapping heard and the desert background changed back into space. "Good job cadets," Espio said.
"Does this mean that we can skip the exam?" Sophie asked.
Epsio cleared his throat and answered, "There is no exam."
Everyone stared blankly at Espio. "Then why did you make up that excuse?" Ben yelled.
"I was trying to get you all to work your hardest, and as far as I can tell you're all the first to pass this simulation without one of you failing. Congratulations."
"Do we get anything?" Seina asked.
"You get to move up a rank, now your up with the second-line cadets," Charmy said.
They all glared at Charmy and Espio. They all began to yell at them but Espio pressed a button that opened the door. Kristine and Josh were still waiting for everyone else. "We all passed!" Nebula cheered.
Josh smiled at everyone and gave a salute to all of them. "Good job cadets! You have what it takes to fight in the big leagues," he said.
"You were very impressive in there," Kristine said.
Sam, Tom, and Kati walked up to them as well. "We now present you with a choice," Kati said. "You can either continue to fight for us or you can return home if you feel this is too dangerous."
Everyone except Kai, Seina, and Rebecca immediately answered that they wanted to stay. A female mouse with gray fur and blue eyes walked by from a hallway that intersected with the hall everyone was in and saw the nine cadets. "Are these the new recruits?" she asked.
"Well, we still need an answer from three of them," Kristine said.
The mouse turned to the cadets and said, "Fight on for the revolution of the world! That's what I always say."
With that said, she continued down the path she was walking.
Kai, Seina, and Rebecca thought about what Samantha had told them but were thinking it over. Seina nodded and so did Rebecca. "That's two more, how about you Kai?" Kristine asked.
Kai thought about it over and over until the answer came to him. "I'm staying! I'll fight in the Revolution Army!" Kai said.
Josh was confused by Kai's dramatic answer but smiled slightly. "Well, at least that's over," he said as he began to walk away.
Kristine was really happy and began to snuggle Kai again; Kai got uncomfortable by this.
"Hey, hey, hey! Could you please knock it off Kristine?" Kai said. Sophie, Stephanie, and Cassandra grabbed onto Kai and started snuggling him as well.
"Please, could you give me some air?" Kai whined.
Seina laughed but Rebecca sighed. "This just isn't Kai's day," she said.
Alex appeared in front of Rebecca. "This certainly is mine. One who looks out for her friends, that is the sheer kindness hidden in a woman's heart that I truly treasure," he flirted; Seina stopped laughing.
Rebecca began to back up and nervously chuckled. "Um…thanks for your kind remark…" Rebecca said.
Seina glared at Alex and yelled, "Hey, did she ask to speak with you?"
Alex sneered at Seina. "I can see the jealousy in your heart. You're jealous that the love Rebecca and I share is greater than any love in the galaxy," Alex taunted.
"Shut up! I'll kill you, you lecherous weed!" Seina yelled as he tried to swing at Alex but Alex dodged the attack.
Seina chased Alex but Alex ran in circles around Rebecca; poor Rebecca was confused about what was going on. Ben and Nebula stared at each other and laughed. "What a circus of clowns we have for teammates, huh?" Ben asked.
"Ha, clowns. We're as good as dead," Nebula laughed.
Both Nebula and Ben laughed as Kai tried to get the girls off of him and while Seina tried to catch Alex.
Josh and Kristine led the cadets to their hall and saluted them as they entered the rooms. "You have the rest of the day off since you'll need all the energy you can muster for when training begins. You are free to socialize, and we can trust you not to do anything over PG-13," Kristine said.
"Sure," Sophie, Stephanie, and Cassandra said; they were crossing their fingers behind their backs.
"Okay, have a splendid evening you all," Josh said as the hall closed and the voices of Kristine and Josh could no longer be heard.
Kai, Seina, Rebecca, and Sophie entered their room but something stopped Kai. At the doorplate, there was the name "Samantha Kitsune" above Seina's name and below Rebecca's name. "Woah! Hey!" Kai heard Seina's voice yell.
Kai quickly entered the room and saw Samantha. Samantha waved to Kai and blew him a kiss. "Samantha! You're with us now?" Kai exclaimed.
"Since you're a team now, I'm a part of it. My last team got obliterated by Eggman's forces; I was lucky enough to survive," Samantha said.
"But doesn't this mean the rooms are going to change now?" Rebecca asked.
"Well since there are five rooms and every team normally consists of ten or twelve members, yeah it will," Samantha said as she turned to the clock on the ceiling, "in about three…two…one…"
The doors made a ping noise and the arrangements were equally divided. Kai stepped outside and saw the doorplate said "Ben" and "Nebula". The door behind him said "Stephanie" and "Cassandra". The door at the far left near the end said "Alex" and "Seina" while the one at the far right near the exit said "Rebecca" and "Sophie". The one at the very end said "Kai" and "Samantha". Kai's heart began to race as he approached the door. "Don't be too comfy," Samantha said, "once we move up the ranks to the soldier position, an officer and another crew member at this rank might join us."
"An officer? You mean like Josh?" Kai asked.
"Like Josh, Sam, Tom, Kati, or Kristine," Samantha said.
Kai shrugged after Samantha said Kristine. "Shall we get acquainted with our new room?" Samantha asked.
Kai and Samantha entered their room and decided who would sleep in what bed. "I'll sleep in the right one, okay?" Samantha said.
"I'll sleep in the left one then?" Kai said.
Samantha crawled into bed and got comfy. "It'd almost feel better if you were in it with me," Samantha said, clutching the pillow.
Kai's nose bled after hearing that. He decided to leave the room to try and get any other dirty thoughts out of his system. "Where are you going Kai?" Samantha asked.
"Just getting a few things off my mind."
"Okay, be back before curfew!" Samantha called.