(A/N): La, la, la I hate finals.
Aiden was ok and well. He had a broken arm and a few bruises, but was alright. Sean was walking from band practice to class enjoying the peace and quiet. Suddenly he was shot down by a ray and hit the ground hard. He quickly got on his feet and looked around himself. He looked up at the trees and saw nothing. He walked away confused as he put up his guard. A shadowed figure smirked as he watched the hedgehog walk away.
"It just hit me. I have no idea where it came from or who did it." Sean said as he explained what happened to Bijou. Bijou looked at him concerned and held his hand.
"Are you hurt?" Bijou asked.
"No. It didn't even hurt when it hit me." Sean said before shaking his head. Bijou looked at him sympathetically as he put his head in his hands. "I just don't understand why." Sean said as Bijou put her arms around his neck.
"Maybe someone was testing out something. Or it was an accident. Please, don't stress over it." Bijou said as Sean looked over at his girlfriend.
"I guess you're right." Sean said as Bijou smiled and kissed him.
"I have to head to class. I'll see you later tonight?" Bijou asked standing up with her bag. Sean nodded and Bijou kissed him before waving him bye. She walked out of the sandwich shop and took her usual route to her class. She passed by an alley and she felt something clamp against her wrist before she was pulled into the alley. Her mouth was covered and she was pressed against the wall.
"Sshh…relax. You don't want anyone to hear us." Ethan said as Bijou's eyes widened. "You're going to listen to me and not speak unless spoken to." Ethan said as Bijou pushed against him. "Don't try." He said as he lifted up her arm. She looked over to see a power-restraint bracelet on her wrist. She glared at Ethan who smirked. "I'm going to make this nice and easy. You're going to break up with your boyfriend." Ethan said.
"WHAT!" Bijou yelled, but it came out muffled against Ethan's hand.
"I know what you're going to say. 'I will never to that! I love Sean!' Shit like that. Well…I just have this to say. If you love your precious Sean so much you will break up with him. Because if you don't, he dies." Ethan said as Bijou's eyes widened before turning into a glare. "Don't believe me?" Ethan asked as Bijou nodded firmly. "Well then…" Ethan said as he pulled out his iPhone and typed something in. He put it in front of her face and she could see Sean entering his apartment. He threw his bag on the couch and walked over to the couch. Suddenly her collapsed on his knees and clutched his abdomen in pain. Bijou could hear his shout of pain as tears collected in her eyes. He pressed a button on his watch and Sean was panting on the floor. He turned off the video as she looked at Ethan's eyes. "Now, are you going to do it?" Ethan asked as he removed his hand from her mouth.
"Yes." She said looking down as Ethan smirked. He tilted her head up with his hand.
"And you'll be my girlfriend." Ethan said as Bijou looked at him with confused and anger.
"Me? Why me? Why not Tsunami?" Bijou asked as she glared into his eyes. He chuckled and lifted up his wrist to show her his watch.
"I have my reasons. Are you going to follow what I say?" He asked tapping his finger over the button.
"Yes." Bijou sighed in defeat.
"Good girl. I'll be watching." He said before pushing her out of the alley. Bijou clenched her hands into fists as she held back the tears that hung in her eyes. Black was walking around school holding a pocket watch.
"Hey, what's that?" Jeff asked as he walked next to Black.
"It's my great grandfather's pocket watch. It's a huge family heirloom. My dad gave it to me when I graduated high school." Black said as Jeff held it in his hands. He whistled as he put it back in Black's hand.
"That must be worth some big bucks." Jeff said as Black nodded.
"Yup. But not for sell. This will go to my son one day." Black said as he put it back in his pocket. "So…how's life with Shina?" Black asked as he nudged Jeff.
"Good. Good." Jeff said as Black laughed. "I just told her I loved her." Jeff said as Black smiled.
"Aw…how sweet." Black said in a girly voice as Jeff laughed.
"You know who hasn't said I love you to each other yet." Jeff said as Black shook his head.
"Goldeye and Emma." Black said.
"Yeah! How long have they've been together? What? Like seven, eight months?" Jeff said as Black rolled his eyes.
"I don't know…I'm trying to figure it out, but that's their thing." Black said as Jeff sighed and shook his head. Bijou sat on the fountain in the park as she waited for Sean. She looked down at her hands in her lap as she went over what she was about to do.
"Hey, what's wrong? You sounded upset on the phone." Sean said as he walked up to her. Bijou stood up as she stared down, not meeting Sean's eyes.
"It's over, Sean." Bijou said quietly as Sean looked at her confused.
"What?" Sean asked as her tried to look at her face.
"I don't love you and I can't pretend that I am anymore." She said as she saw Sean's hands drop to his sides.
"So that's it then?" Sean said as Bijou inhaled. "You're just going to dump everything we had and leave?" Sean said as Bijou held back the tears.
"Please…don't make this harder than it is." She said as the tears made their way down her cheeks.
"It's hard? You seem like you don't even care." Sean said as he clenched his hands into fists.
"Sean…" Bijou sobbed as she looked up at him.
"I don't want to hear it." Sean said as her walked away with flames around his fists from rage. Bijou collapsed on the ground as she became overwhelmed with tears.
"Good job, my dear." Ethan said as Bijou glared at him before running out of the park. Black was walking from the market when he said an old man sitting on the street with a sign that said, "No money. No food. You don't need to be Einstein to figure this one out." He stopped in front of the man and gave him a sandwich he bought for himself for dinner.
"Thank you, young man." He said solemnly. He took the sandwich from Black and peeled it open. Black sat down next to him putting his groceries next to him. The old man looked at him confused.
"My name is Black. What's yours?" Black said stretching out his hand. The old man put his human hand into Black's hedgehog hand.
"Atticus Watson." The old man said as he shook Black's hand. "Never had a Mobian talk to me before." Atticus said as Black shrugged his shoulders.
"Atticus? I always liked that name. Liked it ever since I first heard it from 'To Kill a Mockingbird'." Black said as Atticus took a bite from his sandwich.
"One of my favorite books. I used to teach it to my 10th grade class." He said as Black looked over at him.
"You're a teacher?" Black asked.
"Used to be. I got laid off a couple years back. I lost everything. I didn't have the money to pay off my apartment and was evicted. No other school was hiring so I ended up here." Atticus said trashing the wrapper that came with the sandwich.
"How long have you been out here?" Black asked.
"Six, seven years maybe." He said with a shrug of his shoulders.
"Wow…how old are you?" Black asked as Atticus scowled.
"Forty-nine." Atticus said as he coughed into his fist.
"You look so old!" Black exclaimed as Atticus rolled his eyes. "No offences." Black quickly said.
"None taken. I'm sick. Not sure with what, but I have no health insurance and I could never pay off the hospital bills." Atticus said before coughing into his fist again.
"I'm sorry." Black said as Atticus patted his shoulder.
"It's not your fault, Black. Thank you for your kindness. You're the first person in a while who has shown me any." Atticus said as he got up and walked away. Black sat against the wall as he looked down at himself sadly before looking the way Atticus left. It's been two weeks since Bijou broke up with Sean and the group was mostly on Sean's side, but some were with Bijou. She didn't tell anyone about the Ethan situation and went on dating him. The group found out and was shocked and appalled by her decision. When Sean was told he didn't say a word. Bijou told Ruby and Lilac that she still loved Sean and they would tell Sean, but he would just brush it off. Bijou always saw his painful expression when he left his apartment. She never felt this horrible in her life.
"Guys! Karaoke night at the Squeeze. We're all going." Shina said as she looked over at Sean who crossed his arms and shrugged his shoulders. Goldeye patted his shoulder as Sean just sighed.
"Fine…I'll go. For the group." Sean said as Shina smiled appreciatively at him. Black was in his room looking up how much his pocket watch would go for.
"What are you doing?" Jeff asked as he walked into Black's room.
"I know we live together, but please! Some privacy!" Black exclaimed.
"Why are you selling your watch?" Jeff asked confused. "150,000 dollars!" Jeff exclaimed as Black sighed.
"I met this homeless man on the street. I figured if I pull some of my cash together and sell my watch I could get him into a hospital." Black said.
"Wow, that's some sacrifice for a guy you just met." Jeff said leaving the room as Black sighed. He looked at his pocket watch and back to the screen. Could he really give something so important to him up that easily? The group showed up at the Squeeze for Karaoke Night and they practically took up the whole place. During Garrett's and Donovan's meaningful rendition to "My Heart Will go On" or how the like to call it, "The Titanic Song" Bijou showed up with Ethan. They sat in a booth and Bijou glared at him.
"Why did we come here?" She hissed at him as he smirked.
"To show you off to your friends, of course." He said as she glared at him and tried to look away from the group. Andrew nudged Sean and Sean looked over to see the "couple". He scowled as everybody clapped and cheered when Garrett and Donovan finished. Sean stood up and grabbed Shade's acoustic guitar.
"Is that why you had me bring my guitar?" Shade asked as Shawn nodded. Sean walked to the stage and talked to the host who nodded.
"Next up we have Sean the Hedgehog playing guitar and singing a song." The host said as Bijou's head shot up in surprise. Sean dragged a stool onto stage as Bijou looked at him confused. It was no secret that Sean didn't like to perform on stage. He sat on the stool as he positioned the guitar on his lap. He fixed the two microphones before looking out to the crowd. He made eye contact with Bijou as she watched him. Sean just started to play his guitar before leaning forward and singing.
Somethin' bout the way
Somethin' bout the way you look in my eyes
You make everything so damn easy
So easy that I don't got to worry about a thing
And baby when we touch
All I can see is the image of us
Sittin' by the ocean, just before the dusk
Sippin' on a juice box, with sand between our toes
Sean paused a bit before going into the chorus. The whole time his eyes never left Bijou's and her eyes never left his. He didn't care about the crowd or the glaring tiger next to her. All he cared about was her.
And this is the part when we say we're in love
And the part where we have our first kiss
But this ain't a movie, I know you can't come with me
You got your life, he better be treatin' you right
Just tell me you don't love me
Tell me you don't feel the same way that I do
Tell me I don't make you smile like I do when you walk in the room
You're so... so hard to let go... Oh...
And this is the part when we say we're in love
And the part where we say its forever
But this ain't a fantasy, I know you can't come with me
You got your life, he better be treatin' you right
He started to play different chords as everybody looked from him to Bijou and from Bijou to him. Bijou was totally captivated by him which made Ethan scowl. He looked over at the group and remember the group's plan which made him smirk.
This hurts so much
To know that you're with someone else when you should be with me
It's just hard to accept that I can't be around
He better be treatin' you good
I'm no Einstein but I know a sign when I see one
And I know you love me too
And I know you love me too...
And this is the part when we say we're in love
And the part where we have our first kiss
But this ain't a movie, I know you can't come with me
He slowed down and sang the last part softly as Bijou watched with tearful eyes. Sean looked over at her as he started to play the normal chords again. He started to sing as he looked at her with nothing but pure love.
You got your life, he better be treatin' you good... so good...
You got your life, he better be treatin' you...
Treatin' you... treatin' you right...
Treatin' you right…
Sean finished as everybody cheered and clapped for him. He bowed and looked over at Bijou who was wiping the tears off her eyes.
"I love you, Bijou." He said into the microphone as everybody looked over to her.
"I love you too, Sean." She said as Ethan smirked and pressed the button on his watch. Sean collapsed in pain as everybody gasped. Sean was clutching his stomach and laid on his side as Goldeye and Andrew rushed over to him. "Ethan! Stop! I'm begging you! P-Please!" Bijou sobbed as she gripped his arm. She still had the power-restraint bracelet on her and couldn't fight back. She sobbed as Ethan just smirked and glared at the dying hedgehog. "Ethan!" She screamed as Rafael ran over to Ethan and punched him square in the jaw, knocking him out. He grabbed the watch and tossed it to Chrissy who worked on it. Bijou rushed over to Sean who was gasping for air.
"Sean. Sean…don't believe what I said. I always loved you. I didn't want you to get hurt. I love you, Sean! I love you! Please!" She sobbed into his chest as Chrissy pressed another button on the watch and Sean stopped gasping. Bijou looked up at him with tear-stained cheeks.
"I love you so much." Sean said as Bijou smiled and hugged him. Chrissy rewired the watch to stop from whatever it was doing to Sean and pocketed it for further research. Sean sat up and everybody asked if he was alright.
"I'm fine." He said standing up and wrapping his arms around his girlfriend. "Let's just go pick up the kids from my aunt's." Sean said as everybody nodded.
"My God! The Upper-East Side is loaded!" Roddy said as they walked down the sidewalk.
"It's like the richest part of New York. What do you expect?" Hydro said as Roddy shrugged his shoulders. Sean knocked on the door of his aunt's house and she quickly answered the door.
"Sean!" Michelle exclaimed as she hugged her brother's legs.
"Hey Michi, did you have fun?" Sean asked as he picked up his sister.
"I definitely did." Luca said walking out with Aiden and Nessa. Julian's mouth dropped as Donovan leaned over.
"Are you taking it the perverted like I am?" Donovan whispered as Julian nodded.
"They're eight." Izzy hissed as she rolled her eyes at her boyfriend.
"Aunty, can I spend the night at Sean's? Please." Michelle said looking at her aunt. Sean and her both gave puppy-dog eyes as their aunt sighed.
"Why not? Get your things ready though." Her aunt said as Michelle jumped down from Sean's and ran into the house with her aunt. The door closed and everybody waited outside. Suddenly the ground started to shake as everybody gripped each other or a surrounding object. The floor from beneath them opened and they all fell through the hole.
"Oh shit! This is crazy!" Conner screamed as others just screamed. They could see a bright light below them and fell into it. Conner's eyes started to flicker open as he heard strange noises. He looked around himself to see he was in a forest. He stood up and rotated to get a full view of his foreign surroundings.
"Hello?" He called out and heard nothing. "Serenity! Julian! Donovan!" He called out as he walked through the forest. He took at his cell phone and saw that he had no service. "I bet the Avengers had something to do with this." Conner grumbled. He walked around for what seemed like hours before he found a stream. He checked his phone again and still no bars. He heard a rustle in the bushes and kicked up at rock to launch.
"Come out!" Conner demanded as a small man stepped out of the bushes with his hands up. Conner dropped the rock back into the ground. "Can you tell me where I am?" Conner asked as the man began to speak some foreign language. Conner thought it sounded like Mandarin and guessed he was somewhere near China. He left the man and ran through the forest. He soon stumbled upon a rice field. His phone buzzed and he quickly pulled it out. A video quickly popped up.
"Hello all." Mason's voice said as his face popped up. "As some of you may realize you're in a foreign country. I've separated you all. You're alone with no one and no phone access. And for all you transporters don't try. You have power-restraints bracelets. Have fun." Mason said as he growled and threw his phone in the water. He started to run past the fields for any sign of modern civilization. They were all separated. All alone.
(A/N): Oo…cliffhanger. Song: "When We Say (Juice box)" by AJ Rafael