A/N: Well, after a unanimous vote in my family, I've decided to update Manage Thy Anger before Smash or Sonic RPG, so prepare yourself for the exciting conclusion of K.T.E. vs. James Flowers!

Chapter 3: Guardian vs. Hippie

After noticing the cut on his stomach, Knuckles found that the best strategy was to circle his opponent and study him. He passed slowly around the room, dodging the occasional shoulder charge from the teenage hippie and analyzing his patterns of attack.

"What's the matter, echidna? Scared?" James sneered.

"No, just analytic," the Guardian said calmly. In a split second, Knuckles had found that using a fake plant in the corner of the oblong room was suitable for climbing to about seven feet above ground. The quick-thinking echidna used this vantage point to plot his glide to the other side of the room, where he picked up a desk with ease and hurled it at the boy he was fighting. James saw the projectile the millisecond before it collided with his head, and whipped the iron-strength locks of his hair. The curly brown strands crashed into the desk with a clank, and the unfortunate spectators watched as the heavy wood and metal piece of furniture split neatly in two.

"How… the… hell?" Knuckles sputtered.

"Knuckles, please try and keep your mouth clean in this classroom," Mr. Schnieders said timidly.

"You've got a seventeen-year-old slashing desks in half with his hair, and you're scolding me?"

"S-s-sorry," Mr. Schnieders said, his ears turning red. "James, settle down."

Clearly, Schnieders isn't going to stand up for himself, Knuckles thought. I guess I've got to pummel this kid into submission for him… Not thinking, Knuckles dashed forward, hopped to the top of one of the desk halves, and sprang into the air. He twisted his body so as to land a clean kick into James's stomach. The teenage boy gave an inarticulate cry of rage, picked up the other desk half, and began chasing the echidna. He worked his way to the back of the room, where the teacher's desk was flanked by tall fake plants and several windows that stretched to the ceiling. As Knuckles did a smart backward jump onto the teacher's desk, James brandished the splintered hunk of wood and metal. Several events occurred in the following instant: one or more of the tall windows shattered, James appeared to have struck his opponent, and a scarlet echidna flew from the upper sanctions of the bell tower of ISBVI.

Knuckles heard a scream of triumph from the tower room as he clung to the outside wall one story below. I promise, I'll pay for the holes in the wall, he thought. but I'm not paying for the damage that damn hippie did…

"JAMES FLOWERS!" Mr. Schnieders screamed. "HOW COULD YOU ATTACK OUR NEWEST STUDENT?" James sat at one of the desks that was still intact and unmoved. He breathed heavily, and his face still burned a furious shade of scarlet. "WELL?" the instructor shouted.

"I-I'm sorry, man," James said between rapid breaths. "It was like I couldn't control myself… I hope the first part of the demonstration was helpful…" From the hallway, a black hedgehog could be seen crawling back into the room.

"BECAUSE OF YOU, SHADOW WON'T BE GETTING HIS GRADUATION CEREMONY!" Mr. Schnieders yelled.

"What the hell, man?" Shadow said indignantly. "I graduated, fair and square."

"I never said you wouldn't be receiving your diploma, Shadow," Schnieders said in a calmer tone. "As a matter of fact, I have it in my desk here." The teacher opened a drawer in the desk at the back of the room and extracted a cheesy-looking diploma rolled up and tied with ribbon. "Congratulations, Shadow the Hedgehog."

"Thanks… I guess…" Shadow took the diploma with a look of pure confusion. "Does this mean I can stop wearing that 'I am Mentally Unstable' pin when I go out?"

"Oh, no," Mr. Schnieders said. "You're still a very disturbed individual. As a matter of fact, Dr. Mathews sent me an e-mail requesting that I remind you of your appointment tomorrow afternoon."

"Fine," Shadow growled. "I hate that pin. It hurts when I put it on."

"You should have thought of that when you killed that bellboy," Schnieders said coldly.

"Dude, your class was on the news today," Sonic said as he drove the Blue Streak from the parking lot of the blind school. "I still can't believe you got into a fight at an anger-management class."

"Shut up, Sonic," Knuckles mumbled. "The kid wasn't normal. He had hair of steel, I swear."

"Riiiight," the hedgehog grinned. "You're just itchin' for something to defend, that's all. Maybe you've spent too much time away from your precious island."

"I said shut up!" Knuckles roared, swinging his left hand in a low arc that knocked Sonic's root beer out of the cup-holder. The open can flew through the air momentarily, and landed on Sonic's lap.

"Oh, c'mon," Sonic groaned.

"Serves you right, hedgehog."

Well, there you have it – the world-famous conclusion that's not as great as the first part, but everyone waits for it anyway… I sincerely hope you enjoyed it. By the way, I'm pressed for ideas, so if you faithful readers have any thoughts, drop me a PM.

Next Chapter: How Shadow and Knuckles Got Along