Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Sonic the Hedgehog characters.
"Party! We're going to party! Everybody scream because we're going to party!" Shade sang as he walked around his house happily. Shadow and Amy graciously let Serenity throw a party at the house for her birthday and everybody was excited to cut loose.
"We know! Would you make yourself useful and help put away everything?" Ebony asked as she carried one of Amy's vases upstairs.
"We're going to get out of here before you guys go crazy. Serenity, you're in charge and this better be spotless when we come home tomorrow." Shadow ordered grabbing his jacket and the keys to his motorcycle.
"Love you kids." Amy smiled hugging them all. They walked to the door and watched as their parents left together on Shadow's motorcycle.
"Don't you think it's a little weird that Dad still rides that?" Shade asked as Ebony and Serenity shrugged their shoulders.
Izzy was walking back from the park with Luca in her arms sleeping soundly. She really needed to get a carrier or some sort. She walked up to her house and saw that a note was taped outside of it. Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion because if her dad had to tell her something, he usually called her. She pulled the note off the door and opened it to see two pictures. A picture of her and Julian holding hands outside of school and one of her and Luca at the diner. Her blood ran cold as she read the note attached to it.
I'll be back
She could recognize that handwriting anywhere and her heart started to drum against her ribcage in panic. Her eyes watered and she held Luca closely to her. She knew Serenity's birthday party was today, but now she didn't feel so safe about letting Luca out of her sight. She rushed inside and locked all the front door locks before whizzing around the house and making sure all the other locks were locked. She placed Luca in his bed before whipping out her phone and dialing Julian's number.
"Hey baby, what's up?" Julian answered.
"I can't go to the party tonight." She told him as she began to pace the room.
"Is something wrong? You sound a little panicked." He asked concerned.
"Uh, um," Izzy hesitated about telling Julian, but decided to just go for it. "I got a very alarming note taped on my door. I don't feel comfortable leaving Luca and honestly, I would feel much better if you were here too. But I understand Serenity is your best friend and it's her birthday, so if you go, I won't be mad." She explained hurriedly while still pacing her son's room. Julian didn't say anything for a while before she could hear a tapping noise on the other side of the line.
"I'll be there, don't worry about it. I'm heading over now. I want to see the note when I get there." Julian told her seriously and she sighed in relief.
"Thank you." She told him earnestly.
"No problem." He smiled.
Soon enough, Serenity's house was filled with dozens of teenagers, drinking, dancing, and having a good time. While Shadow and Amy let them have a party, they didn't provide alcohol for them and even though the kids found a way around it, they turned a blind eye to it like the rest of the parents did. They knew their kids were responsible enough.
"Ebony!" Ruby shouted as she pushed her way through people. "You didn't tell me it was going to be this big!" She said.
"I didn't think it would be!" She yelled over the music.
"Where's everybody?" She asked.
"Everywhere!" She shrugged and Ruby sighed. Cassandra, Joseph, Damian, Allie, Will, Razor, and Jared all arrived to the party scanning the scene carefully and Razor sighed.
"Why are we even here?" Razor hissed as he crossed his arms.
"We all need a little break." Cassandra smirked.
"This is your idea of a break?" Damian scoffed at his sister.
"Just enjoy the party and let me sow my seeds." Cassandra said as she sauntered away with Allie on her tail.
"Doesn't she mean oats?" Joseph asked and Damian narrowed his eyes while he watched his sister walk off.
"No, she doesn't." He muttered. Serenity was in the kitchen with Conner and immediately spotted Cassandra when she walked in with Allie. Conner looked over his shoulder and sighed heavily, before Serenity stomped over to her.
"Cassandra," Serenity scowled. "What are you doing here?" She asked and Cassandra smirked.
"Enjoying the party." She said motioning her hand around the room. "Happy Birthday." She grinned and Serenity glared at her.
"Get out and take your little posse with you." Serenity growled pointing at her and then behind her where she saw Joseph and Jared were.
"Oh Serenity, don't be like that." Cassandra chuckled. "I never pegged you to be so exclusive. We can be friends, can we?" She asked.
"No." Serenity sneered and Cassandra laughed haughtily.
"Then why are you friends with Isabella?" Cassandra asked with a raised eyebrow. Serenity stared at her confused and Allie laughed behind her. "Oh? You didn't know. We've been friends for years." She asked feigning sympathy before showing an old picture of herself and Izzy. Serenity looked at the picture confused before clenching her fists. She ripped the picture out of Cassandra's hand before storming out of the kitchen with Conner following her.
"That was easy." Allie grinned and Cassandra laughed.
"They think they're so smart." Cassandra rolled her eyes.
Bolt arrived to the party with Shawn and immediately began looking for Chrissy. He saw Shade with Suzy and Lauren with Hydro, so he assumed that she was somewhere else waiting for him. He walked outside and saw an equally massive crowd outside and sighed. Chrissy was on the side of the house where it wasn't as loud and was texting Bolt asking him where he was.
"Well, well, well isn't it Christina Prower." Joseph smirked and Chrissy glared at him. She started to walk away when Joseph grabbed her wrist and spun her around to face him. "I don't think so Miss Prower." He told her.
"Let go of me." She sneered ripping her arm away from his grip.
"Oo…someone got tougher." He grinned and Chrissy began to walk away again. He grabbed her by the waist and pulled her back, pressing his body against her back. "But not tough enough." He whispered.
"Let go of me!" She yelled elbowing him in the stomach. Joseph winced and his gripped loosened allowing Chrissy to get loose. She turned to send a wave at him, but he quickly raised his hands up.
"Don't even try it!" Joseph hissed as his hands started to glow purple. Chrissy gasped as she started to feel weak and fell to her knees. "I see we have it my way." He grinned while his hands returned to normal. Chrissy was trying to regain her energy, but he had taken too much of it and she couldn't get back up. Bolt finally spotted them and growled at the sight of Joseph hovering over Chrissy. He tackled him to the ground and away from Chrissy while she scooted away. Bolt got off Joseph and ran to Chrissy, bring her into his arms.
"Bolt." She murmured softly before passing out.
"Chrissy!" Bolt exclaimed as he tried to wake her up, but she just laid limply in his arms. He stared at her wide-eyed and afraid while Joseph stood up and dusted himself off.
"She's a bitch anyways." Joseph spat. Bolt growled loudly and felt his Demon Side pushing against him, but since he was wearing the bracelet his mom had made it was keeping it at by. Finally reaching his limit when it came to Joseph he laid Chrissy down carefully before tossing his bracelet off. He grabbed his head immediately and Joseph backed away a little weirded out when a black glow surrounded him. Bolt's fur became darker while his quills took on a more crazed look. His eyes popped up and were completely black with a red hue around them.
In a blink of an eye, Bolt was on Joseph punching him rapidly in his face and stomach. They well through the fence and Joseph coughed up blood. Bolt stood over him, his fists surging with electricity before reaching down and grabbing him by his neck. Joseph choked and clenched his teeth while Bolt shocked him repeatedly. He threw Joseph against a tree and people screamed and ran away as the tree fell down. Flash and Hailey came running out of the house to see Bolt slowly stalking over to that badly beaten Joseph. Flash quickly tackled Bolt to the ground, but Bolt was quick to kick him off sending him flying through the air.
"Bolt, you need to calm down." Hailey said stepping in front of her brother.
"Get out of the way, Hailey." Bolt growled.
"Where is your bracelet, Bolt?" Hailey asked firmly.
"He needs to pay." He gritted out.
"No! Look at Chrissy! Look at Joseph! She's unconscious and needs you. Joseph is practically dead. You're making everything worse!" She yelled and Bolt glared at her.
"He tried to kill her." He growled before blasting Hailey away sending her into the wall of the house and knocking her out.
"That's it!" Flash yelled before he charged Bolt. He collided with him and their hands locked together. "You need to calm down! Look at what you did to your own sister! You're being a fucking asshole! You're being worse than Joseph!" Flash yelled as white and black electrical energy surged between them. Bolt froze his hands before pushing him back causing him to stumble and fall on the ground. Bolt glared at him and created an orb of black electricity in his hand. He raised it over his head about to throw it at Flash, but a soft voice stopped him.
"Bolt stop!" Chrissy called out weakly. "You're hurting everyone and scaring them. Look at Hailey." She pleaded as Bolt's eyes slowly shifted over to his sister who was being held by Suzy and Shade was standing in between them and Bolt. "She's unconscious because of you. You need to stop." She spoke softly as Lauren walked over to her and helped her off the ground. Bolt's hand dropped and the lightning disappeared in his hand. His fur and eyes returned to their normal colors and he sighed. Hydro walked over and placed his bracelet into his hand before patting his shoulder. Bolt sighed before placing it back on and walking over to Hailey.
"I'm sorry." He murmured. "I'm supposed to protect you, not hurt you." He closed his eyes and hung his head shamefully. Hailey's eyes slowly opened and she placed her hand over Bolt's.
"It's all right." Hailey told him with a soft smile. Bolt hugged her and she hugged him back tightly. Renegade was walking through the house, trying to get to the kitchen in order to get a drink for Alana. He stopped in the kitchen and was refilling Alana's cup with soda—she wasn't very fond of drinking alcohol—when he felt a familiar presence beside him.
"Dad?" Renegade gasped dropping the cup from his hand. A translucent figure stood beside him appearing to be a dark navy hedgehog with fiery red eyes. His father. He motioned upstairs and Renegade nodded. He left the crowded kitchen quickly where he assumed no one had noticed that interaction. Renegade eventually entered an empty guest room and his father reappeared beside him.
"What are you doing here?" Renegade asked.
"I had to remind you of your duty." His father spoke and Renegade scowled.
"I'm doing it, aren't I?" Renegade muttered.
"Not the way you're supposed to." His father scolded and Renegade sighed. "You're not allowed to get close to the girl. Especially since you know how this will end." He told him and Renegade rubbed his face in frustration.
"I'm not getting close to her." He said and his father just stared at him. "Despite what it looks like." He added.
"Renegade," His father sighed. "I know this is difficult for you, but you know how important this is." He said and Renegade frowned.
"I know and I promise I'm doing my job." Renegade told him.
"If you say so." His father said before disappearing. Renegade sighed heavily before running his hands through his quills. He left the room shortly and returned to the party unnoticed of his disappearance. Cassandra sighed heavily when she wasn't able to find Serenity again and decided to just leave. She pulled out her phone and called her brother.
"Damian, you and Jared drag Joseph's ass out of here and get Will. We're leaving." She said before hanging up. Allie walked up to her and Cassandra slid her phone back into her pocket. "You got that invention fixed?" She asked.
"Of course. It was a piece of cake. All I needed to do was switch out the platinum for a tungsten core and titanium coating and rearrange the neural shockwaves." Allie told her speaking without her Valley Girl accent. Cassandra laughed before crossing her arms.
"I find it hilarious how well you fake your stupidity." Cassandra told her and Allie just smirked. Damian and Jared approached them with a beaten and unconscious Joseph hanging on them and Will was behind them. "Let's go." She said nodding over towards the door.
"Where's Razor?" Will asked as Cassandra rolled her eyes.
"He always leaves and does his own thing. I wouldn't worry about him. Let's go." She shrugged before they all left the party. Izzy and Julian were back at Izzy's house in the living room discussing the note and what it meant. Since Izzy wasn't planning to go out anymore, her dad picked up another shift at the station. Luca was asleep beside Izzy since she was afraid of leaving him alone.
"I know it's his handwriting, but I thought for sure he was still in Station Square. I don't know how he got these pictures of us." Izzy told him frantically.
"You said your old school was there, right?" He asked looking at an old picture of Izzy and the sperm donor for Luca in front of her old school.
"Yeah," She said and Julian frowned.
"I don't think he's here, but I do think that someone's helping him." Julian said and Izzy furrowed her eyebrows in confusion.
"Who do you think?" She asked.
"I'm assuming you know Cassandra Rivers." He muttered.
"Yeah, she was a part of that clique that Chris hung out with. She never really liked me that much, but pretended for Chris' sake." Izzy explained not really understanding why he was bringing her up.
"She's, more or less, a part of that group of people that try to make our lives hell. I'm assuming she's the one sending Chris pictures. What that all means, I don't know." Julian told her and Izzy sighed heavily. She was stressed out beyond belief because of this. She was terrified for Luca and him getting hurt and could already feel herself not wanting to leave him alone at all now. She held him in her arms and cried softly into his head. Julian wrapped his arms around them and held them tightly.
"I'm not going to let anyone hurt you or Luca, Izzy. I promise." He told her sincerely while Izzy cried into his chest.
Suddenly the door burst open and Julian was up and over the couch ready to launch whoever was trying to break in out of the house. Izzy was behind him with Luca behind her and her eyes slowly turning a murky blue. They both let their arms drop when they saw Serenity, Conner, Renegade, Ginger, Derek, and Alana. Izzy sighed in relief, but that soon stopped when Serenity stomped forward and started yelling at her.
"How dare you, you backstabbing bitch?" Serenity yelled and Izzy looked at her confused. "We fucking bring you into our little family and only to find out you're one of them!" She spat.
"What the hell are you talking about?" Izzy asked.
"Don't play us for dumb! We know you're friends with Cassandra and the rest of them! What are you? Like a secret agent for them?" Conner asked and now both Izzy and Julian were staring at them confused.
"I have no idea what you guys are talking about!" Izzy said exasperated.
"Did you fucking know about this Julian? Your precious girlfriend is a liar!" Serenity shouted and Izzy noticed Luca stir in his sleep.
"Please, can you stop yelling? Luca is sleeping right here." Izzy pleaded putting a hand on her son.
"How do we even know that's your real son?" Serenity scoffed and Izzy glared at her.
"Okay, Serenity, you need to shut the fuck up before you say something else you may regret." Julian told her and Serenity stared back at him confused.
"Have you not been listening to what we've been saying?" She asked.
"Oh you mean the hurtful shit you've been saying to Izzy off a bullshit claim you have no solid evidence on?" Julian scowled.
"Proof, you want proof? Well here," Serenity said handing him the picture of Izzy and Cassandra together. "See that your perfect little girlfriend is nothing but a lying bitch." She sneered and Izzy clenched her fists angrily while tears welled up in her eyes again.
"You don't know shit Serenity! How dare you come into my house and call me such hurtful things? Who gave you that picture? Cassandra? You really believe her over me?" Izzy hissed as hot tears rolled down her angry face.
"The proof is in the picture!" Serenity yelled. "You're nothing but a lying, backstabbing, hateful—"
"Serenity! Shut the fuck up!" Julian shouted and Serenity whipped her head back towards her friend who was glaring at her angrily.
"Why are you sticking up for her?" Serenity exclaimed.
"Because I love her!" Julian shouted while everybody gasped. "That's right! I, Julian the Hedgehog am in love with Isabella Sanders!" He said as Izzy looked at him with her hands over her mouth. "None of you know her more than I do. So you have no right to yell at her like you just did. If you stopped for one second instead of being absolute assholes, you would have had the decency to ask her about it and find out that her old boyfriend is friends with Cassandra and now they're threatening her!" He yelled at his friends who looked down shamefully.
"Y-You love me?" Izzy murmured and Julian turned around to face her. He walked over and placed his hands on her face and brushed away a stray tear.
"With all my heart." He whispered and Izzy smiled up at him. They kissed each other sweetly before he pulled away and kissed her forehead.
"I love you too." She told him quietly.
"I'm so sorry, Izzy. That was really unfair of me and it's just that, I'm really protective of my friends and you're Julian's first girlfriend and he's all goo-goo eyes about you and I'd hate to see him hurt over something he's doing for the first time. Because you know, one time he fell off the monkey-bars when we were in fifth grade and he kept crying and crying and then he wet his pants and he was so embarrassed and I didn't know what to do and—"
"She gets it Serenity! Stop talking!" Julian interrupted making Izzy laugh.
"It's fine, I understand. I accept your apology." Izzy told Serenity who smiled gratefully.
"Group hug!" Conner shouted before they all gathered around Izzy and Julian—except Renegade.
"Get in here!" Julian smirked before pulling Renegade in.