Damian was seen sitting on a bench, his expression weary and gloomy. His eyes didn't show any sort of joy but instead it just lifelessly gaze on the bland wall in front of him. Behind him was the vice principal's office, Zechariah's office.

"Hey Damian... come on, cheer up! It'll be over soon..." Athena tries to comfort him but he didn't respond.

Instead, he just looks at her with a disappointed look before turning his gaze away from her. But... he wasn't disappointed at her... but instead at himself.

"Mr. Damian... you may enter!" A deep voice sounded from inside the room belonging to Zechariah.

Damian didn't say a word and just stood up from his bench. He grabs the knob of the door, twisting it slightly before pushing the door, granting him access inside the office. Zechariah looks at him as he enters the office.

"Take a seat!" Zechariah offers.

Damian just nods and sat on his seat but he didn't dare to look at Zechariah's eyes throughout the process. Even after he sat, he avoided any sort of eye contact with the large cheetah. His fingers starts fidgeting underneath him, hidden from Zechariah's eyes while sweat starts dripping down his crimson fur. It was truly an uneasy moment.

"So... Mr. Damian..." Zechariah suddenly says out of nowhere making him flinch. Zechariah took notice of this but continues.

"Now... you know that violence is prohibited in our school?" Zechariah asks him in a calm tone but it still felt uneasy to Damian's ears.

"Not only did you manage to cause some damage to the school's property but... you also injured a fellow schoolmate to the point where they suffered serious trauma around their neck... Luckily... for you... Dr. Keiko was able to successfully treat the injury... Things might have gone for the worse if she wasn't here... So if I may ask..." Zechariah says calmly.

"What the hell... justified it, so that YOU almost broke someone's neck?!!" Zechariah's tone suddenly shifts as he growls at him, his face closing in on Damian while glaring at him. Damian shrunk as his lips was sealed due to fear. After a while, he endured his fear and opens his mouth.

"I...I'm s-sorry!" Damian stutters as he avoided Zechariah's mad eyes.

"That wasn't the question!!!" Zechariah growls at him again, this time slamming the table as it made Damian whimpers.

"I... I... did it to protect Sahara..." Damian suddenly says. Zechariah immediately controls his growls and retreats back to his spot.

"Care to explain?" Zechariah asks in a calm tone.

30 minutes earlier,

"Wow!!! So this is your school??! It's huge!!!" Athena exclaims in an excited tone as she gazes on the massive building in front of her.

"Yeah, this is the one! The Zoophoenix Academy!!" Damian says as both of them stood in front of the entrance. Damian could see students flocking inside as there were a few minutes left until class starts.

"Come on!! Come on!! Let's go!!" Athena says giddily as she runs towards the entrance but just as she was a couple of step further, Damian suddenly yanks her arms pulling her back.

"Woah-woah-woah- wait up!! Gotta lay a few ground rules first!!" Damian says to her.

"Rules... what rules?" Athena asks him as she pouts.

"Okay first of all, when we're with a bunch of people, try to talk to me telepathically. I don't want to be seen like some crazy weirdo!!" Damian explains the first rule.

"Okay, that's easy enough!!" Athena agrees with ease.

"Good! Next up, please... don't try to read my mind... it's embarrassing!!" Damian says to her.

"Okay!!" She quickly agrees. Somehow, he knew instinctively that she wasn't going to follow that rule but he lets the thought slide.

"Okay... lastly... there's something... I wanted to... umm, ask your favour for... you see... there's this... girl I like..." Damian shyly explains.

"Ooohhhh, I'm listening..." Athena playfully swoons at his request.

"Look, umm since you're sort of a girl... I was wondering... if you could like... help me you know... maybe some advices?"

"Who's the pretty lady that stole your heart?" Athena asks him.

"I'll tell you when we see her okay... So... deal?" He asks her.

"Deal!! But... you gotta do something for me as well!!" Athena presents her condition.

"What?" Damian asks curious about her condition.

"You gotta show me around the city after this!!" She giggles as she lets of a bright smile.

"Sure! No biggie!!" Damian agrees as her condition was relatively easy to do. Plus, he haven't been sightseeing around Safe Haven for a while.

"Awesome!!" She beams at him.

"Well, let's get going, don't wanna be late!" Damian says as he walks through the entrance of the school. As his feet passes through the entrance, he could see students flocking through the corridor. From the moment he steps inside, his eyes immediately moves around, wildly searching for that certain someone. However, he couldn't see her anywhere.

"Hmmm, she must be in the theatre room!" Damian theories as that location was where she particularly hangs out the most.

"Looking for someone?" Athena asks him.

"Yeah... they're not here..." He responds while his eyes search for a different target. Soon, after a while, he spotted them. His friends busy conversing around their lockers. They were Leonardo and Vince the twins or what Damian usually calls them, Lenny and Vinny, Addison or Addy and Sahara. He immediately went to them and waves his hand while shouting.

"Hey guys!!" He calls out to them. Immediately each of them turns their head towards his direction and waves back. But he then noticed the perplexed faces they were giving him.

"How's it been guys?" He asks them but they continued to look at him weirdly.

"Uhhh, what's going on?" He asks them as he was weirded out by the situation.

"Nice drip man!!" Leonardo was the first to comment on his outfit change.

"Yeah! You look swag!!" Sahara adds to his comment.

"Oh this? Nah, it's nothing crazy... My old shirt got torn so I just grabbed what I can!" Damian shyly explains to them.

"Well, technically... I grabbed them for you!" Athena says to him.

"Shut up!!" He was quick to dismiss her.

"Did you grow taller as well?" Addison asks him as he compared his height to him. He and Damian almost had the same height and now he was a bit taller than him.

"Did I? Nah, you're just seeing stuff!! Haha..." Damian awkwardly tries to shift the conversation over the fact that his physical state was improved in the last few days.

"Well, anyways, glad seeing you man! How was your da-

"HEY DORKS!!" Someone suddenly shouted loudly at their direction, cutting off Vinny.

Immediately, each one of them groans annoyed as they immediately recognise the owner of the voice.

"Rusty!!" Damian greets with malice.

Rusty arrives at the group follows by his usual gang of bullies, the two Max's and Christine. Meanwhile, Autumn was massaging his temple at the mess he have to deal with again due to Rusty's behaviour.

"Ohohoh, big guy eh, demon prince?" Rusty lashes out at Damian's greeting.

"Look, it's the middle of the day, we don't want any trouble alright!!" Addison says as he crosses his arms.

"Shut up queer!!" Rusty growls at Addison. Out of nowhere, he suddenly tries to get near to Addison trying to threaten him.

Suddenly, Damian steps in front of Rusty and blocks his path, stopping him from getting anywhere near Addison.

"That's far enough Rusty!" Damian warns Rusty before he went any further.

"Oh really?" Rusty smirks as he doesn't seem unfazed by Damian's warning.

"Who's gonna STOP ME?!!" Rusty yells as he suddenly puts his hand out and shoved Damian. Damian wasn't quick to react to it and was shoved hard. He falls on his back but luckily, Leonardo and Vince managed to catch him mid air, stopping him from falling down to the floor.

"What's your problem man?!" Vince growls at Rusty.

Rusty just looks at the group and laughs at them. His group of bullies then joins him as they cackled, looking at the frowning group. It was nothing but entertainment for them. Damian carves an angry look at his face as he starts snarling. His fangs showing. Rusty then moves closer to him and crouches in front of him until his face was on the level of Damian's and until his face was inches from him.

"What you're gonna do about it?" Rusty instigated Damian even more.

Damian was clenching his fists, his rage fueling him. Somehow, he was ready to throw his fist at Rusty's face but he felt someone touching his shoulder.

"Stand down Damian..." Athena says to him. Damian was close to erupting but Athena's word sort of cools him off but he still wasn't satisfied. In the end, he just turns his face away from Rusty's. Rusty smirks at Damian's surrender.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, Rusty was shoved by someone. His body falls back in a yellow blur as a loud thud ensued after his fall. Damian looks and it was Sahara. Her sleeves was pulled up as she panted.

"Just leave us alone Rusty!!" Sahara yells at him after she shoved him.

"You BITCH!!!" Rusty suddenly jumps back up before dashing to Sahara. His hand swings behind, ready to throw a punch at her. Sahara eyes widen as she gasped at Rusty's attack. She immediately puts her hand up in an attempt to block it. As Rusty was close to her, he swings his arms forward in full force with rage.

Just as his fist was about to collide with her face, something happens. Somehow, Rusty's eyes suddenly caught a red flash closing on him from his side. His face moves to the direction of the red flash but he wasn't quick enough. Damian ruthlessly swings his hand and aims for his neck. His hand grabs the Golden Retriever's neck before forcefully pushing him towards the row of lockers. In a flash, Rusty was thrown to the lockers. A loud metallic clank was heard as his body crashes into the metal surface. His back screaming in pain as it hits the hard surface. Rusty howls in pain at Damian's sudden attack.

Just as he recovers, he noticed that Damian's hand was clenching his neck while gluing him to the lockers. He couldn't move due to Damian's immense strength. He tries to writhe his way out but it only caused so much more pain. His hand instantly grabs Damian's hand as he tries to free himself from Damian's grasp. After a while, he gave up as his mouth opens.

"Please... stop it... you bitch!!" Rusty whimpers in pain as he continues his struggle. Then the unthinkable occur, his body was suddenly raised up. His skin brushing off against the rough surface of the lockers vents. Soon, he started struggling for air as Damian was basically strangling him as his legs dangle in the air. He starts choking but just as he was about to ask for forgiveness, he met the ruby eyes of a true demon. Damian lost all rationality and continued holding Rusty in the air.

"Please... help!" Rusty croaks as he starts choking for air. His friends just stood a few feet away from him but their legs can't move frozen by fear. His eyes then starts watering as his eyeballs were racing to the back of his head. He could feel the pain as if his windpipes were getting crushed but no amount of plead was getting through Damian's head. Damian starts to smile menacingly at the sight of Rusty writhing in pain.

"Damian please stop..." Athena spoke softly to him. Damian heard her but he didn't care. Rusty had been bothering them long enough.

"Damian... please... this isn't you..." Athena begs as she starts to embrace him. Her warmth starts engulfing him as Damian starts to snap back. He looks at the painful expression Rusty was giving as he was held up high. Damian then releases his grip as Rusty falls to the ground with a thud. His body stayed motionless as fear starts engulfing Damian.

"W-what did I just do?" He states in disbelief as he retreats back. However, it only led him to a wall behind him as he got nowhere to go. He couldn't go anywhere else, as if he was trapped. He looks at his hands, the hands that just hurt someone. He then shifted his gaze as murmurs starts penetrating his ears. His eyes shot around him as he gazes upon the frightened look of the students around him. His friends looking at him with a perplexed face. All of them had a look of fear carved down their faces, horrified by what just unfolded.

Suddenly, everyone could hear noises from far away.

"Out of my way!!" A grouchy feminine voice say as the students starts making way for her.

It was Carrie. She arrives with a look of haste as she immediately goes to Rusty's immobile body. She crouches down and places her hand on Rusty's neck. She then breathes a sigh of relief as she feels a pulse. Luckily, he was just unconscious. She then slowly turns her gaze towards Damian.

"Kid! You're coming with me!!" She orders him in a serious tone as she stands up.

Present time

Zechariah just uses his paws as he massages his temples. After listening to his story, things just got more complicated. Damian could see the uneasiness flashed on Zechariah's face.

"Look... Mr. Damian..." Zechariah sighs heavily before looking at him.

"What Mr. Ruben did, even though he hurt you... and almost hurt your friend... injuring someone to the point where it's almost lethal isn't the right thing to do!!" Zechariah tells him.

"But he... started it..." Damian rebuttals.

"And you were going to finish it? How? Strangling him to death? Breaking his neck? Does that seem reasonable to you?"

"It... it wasn't my fault..." Damian tries to tell Zechariah.

"And? Even if it isn't... if he accidentally died or ends up paralyzed , would you also say the same thing? Do you think your conscience will really tell you the same thing?" Zechariah immediately tells him. Damian just sat silent as he looks down, his ears drooping laying flat on his head. Zechariah them sighs before walking of his desk. He walks until he was in front of the window in his office.

"Sometimes...it isn't about listening to what your mind think is good... sometimes, it's just about doing what's actually right!!"

"You wanted to protect your friends... that's respectable... but do you think your friends would have wanted you... to murder someone in front of them... Do you think they'll be proud if that happened?" Zechariah asks him.

"N-no..." Damian briefly says.

"Then listen to my advice, not everything is about doing a good thing! Sometimes, it's about doing the right thing. Being strong doesn't necessarily means you're powerful. The greatest power that someone could ever have, are their abilities to make the right choices... because sometimes it means being brave enough to know when you're wrong!!" Zechariah advices him as he returns to his desk.

"Now, I know you think people look at you for what you are... you think it defines you... but trust me, the only person that's going to change your life is yourself. So I'll ask you, when the time comes, will you make good choices or the right ones?" Zechariah asks him. Damian lifts his head up and gather the courage to look at Zechariah in the eye.

"I... I'll do what's right..." Damian answers. His answer gave Zechariah a smile, something he never usually do.

"Good! I'll excuse your mistake this time but that doesn't disqualify you from having to apologize to Ruben later on, understand?" Zechariah tells him.

"Yes..." Damian answers as he looks down. The waves of regret flowing down his face.

Zechariah immediately notices this and clears his throat.

"We all have our regrets Damian, but what's most important is that you don't let them haunt you for the rest of your life... instead you learn from them and move on... because that's what life is all about!" Zechariah tells him as Damian smiles a bit feeling a little bit easy after hearing that.

"Thanks, Mr. Zech!!!" Damian thanks him for the advises he gave. They might look like something from a fortune cookie but it helps Damian clear his conscience, helps him learn from today.

"You're welcome but... I don't want to see any more problems from you, you hear me? You have a lot of weight on your shoulders, your caretakers, the ones that begged for you to stay here and your friends, you wouldn't want to let any of them down right?"

Damian nods at this as Zechariah continues looking through his file.

"You may leave now... butttt... there are a few things before you go..." Zechariah tells him.

"What?" Damian asks Zechariah.

"Well two things... One... You will attend a two hour detention after school for the trouble you cause today... and finally... Ms. Walden will be conducting a counseling session with you... she will call you whenever she's ready!" Zechariah tells him.

Damian looks surprise at the first item but it was to be expected. After all, he did break a few rules but he was weirded out by the counseling session but he didn't ask Zechariah about it.

"Alright, that is all. You may leave for your classes..." Zechariah speaks slowly. Damian then stands up before making his way to the door. Just as he was about to grab the handle of the door, suddenly Zechariah opens his mouth.

"Ah yes... forgive me for intruding... but allow me to congratulate you on your new... style... it suits you better in my opinion... Also, looking at your... improved physical state... it might be a good idea for you to sign up on the school's sports team!" Zechariah offers him.

"Thanks Mr. Zech... but I'll stick to theatre, I think!" Damian chuckles at Zechariah's offer.

"Hmmm, well, suit yourself... and close the door after you exit please..." Zechariah tells him as Damian gives a reassuring nod. He then exits the room as he closes the door from behind him.

After he exits, he walks along the hallway before giving a loud sigh.

"Well at least it's over..." Athena says to him trying to cheer him up.

"Yeah... Athena... I'm sorry for what I did... I... should have listened to you..." Damian apologies.

"It's fine... like the cheetah said, you learn from your mistakes, right... now we'll just focus on what's ahead!!" Athena responds with a smile.

"Yeah... I know that now... Also, I'm sorry for the...uhhh... detention. It seems like we'll might not be able to look around the city after all..."

"Nah, don't worry about it, we can go some other time plus... it's fun isn't it?" Athena suddenly says which confuses him.

"What?" He asks her perplexed.

"I have two hours to tease you in private!!!" She cheekily giggles while Damian couldn't help but laugh at it as well.

At least, even after all the kerfuffle, the day might not have been so bad after all. Instead, he'll just look in front, knowing there's a whole lot more waiting for him.