A/N: New chap! Woo! Progress. I used a double negative in my last Author's Note that I was too lazy to correct it so I'll just upload this now and then start bringing on the later chapters slowly because they still need to be redone and edited to fit all my ideas on what'll happen during the school year.

Any constructive criticism is welcomed wholeheartedly. One thing though is that dialogue may be grammatically incorrect, I tend to do that to try making the characters sound more natural. For example, Sonic didn't have a proper education when he grew up, so every once in awhile he'll say things structured wrong. If something comes off as really out of place though, feel free to correct me! I'm very prone to making mistakes, and help would make me happy. Not just criticism, but tips/advice are also great!

This chapter is out with chapter 4 because it leads into the next one. I guess you could say it's a transition chap?

Chapter 3: Friend or Foe

Sonic went to the main office and picked up his and Knuckles' bags for school. He might as well since the other was well on his way home. He stuffed the one bag inside the other to save space and strapped it to his back.

He walked out of the school and stood by the steps. He scoped the quad in the hopes of finding his target with ease. No luck. He waited a few moments before walking home. Maybe he would settle the issue at dinner. He'd probably go on a run later, maybe he'd see the grumpy hybrid then?

Too preoccupied with his thoughts, he failed to notice the green hybrid walking over to him, slinging an arm around his neck.

"Hey, baby blue! Heard you caused quite the stir at gym! Sorry I wasn't there, my girl and I ended up cutting. Next time I'll be with you, if that makes you feel better." Scourge said in a sultry tone. Sonic rolled his eyes as he pushed the other's arm off.

"Whatever. Hey, do you know where Silver would be at this time? I have some things I would like to say to him."

"The white hedgehog? Aw, baby, he's not worth your looks. C'mon, I'm pretty sure the kid's a virg-"

"Oh my god, shut up!" Sonic groaned, the other's inappropriate nature was really annoying. "I just wanna know his problem is and tell him that I'm not putting up with it."

"Oh." Scourge said with a mischievous smile on his lips. "So, if I do tell you where he is, what will I get?"

"That's only if you even know where he is in the first place!" Sonic crossed his arms and stared at the green hybrid with disbelief.

"Baby, I can find out anything! But first, you gotta do something for me."

"Are you bribing me-"

"C'mon, babe! I'm sure you'll enjoy it too! It's honestly not that bad of a preposition…" There was a gleam in Scourge's eye that made Sonic slightly uncomfortable, but he heaved a heavy sigh and motioned for the other to continue.

"Fine, let me hear it first."

"Sweet! So, like, my girlfriend has a score to settle this weekend outta town, and I was wondering if you'd like to go to the Lounge with me?"

Sonic was taken by surprise. "Huh? Wait, what?"

"The Lounge. You party all night and get drunk as hell! It's pretty awesome!"

Sonic briefly considered this. "Dude, I don't think your girlfriend would appreciate you flirting with me."

"What she doesn't know won't hurt her." He shrugged. "Besides, I'm sure she's flirted with plenty other of guys; it doesn't matter."

Sonic bit his lip. "Sure, I'll go with you, but you have to agree to no funny business. We're just hanging out."

"No funny business." Scourge responded with a shit-eating grin. In foresight, Sonic had a feeling this wouldn't be such a great idea.

"Hey, can I bring my family?"

"Nah, the club only hosts teens at night. The red guy can come, though."

"Then alright, I'll go with you. Now tell me where Silver is."

"Be right back, babe. Gotta go dig through some files. Wait here." Scourge ran towards the school's Headquarters north of the quad at a quick speed. Sonic himself thought it fast, but not fast enough to really impress him.

He sat on the steps of the school building and stretched, occasionally looking over at the Headquarters while he waited for the green hybrid to return with that creepy smile on his face.

Sonic chuckled to himself. Okay, perhaps he was being a bit too judgmental. Scourge could be a flirt, but that didn't necessarily mean that he was a bad guy. Sure, his teeth were like razors and the scars he showed on his stomach were intimidating, but Sonic couldn't help but see a lot of himself in Scourge. The resemblance was scary. Scourge was more muscled than he was, and perhaps a few centimeters taller, but not by much. He also seemed a bit...abrasive, but he knew better than to judge people on their appearance. He looked up and saw that the green Mobain was running towards him.

"So, I know where he lives. I'll walk you to his place. Not too far from mine."

Sonic stood up and began walking alongside Scourge. "Where did you-"

"Broke into the system. Got access. You get the idea." Scourge shrugged.

"Couldn't that get you into trouble?"

"Oh, plenty. But hey, I've been to prison a few times, a few more won't hurt. Assuming they catch me." Sonic opened his mouth to respond, perhaps to scold Scourge for his delinquency. That was before, however, he realized it would be hypocritical of him to do so, seeing as he wasn't one to abide by laws either. He decided to let the subject drop.

After a while of walking, they headed down the elevators that lead to the dorms; all of which were located beneath school grounds. Sonic endured listening to Scourge babble about himself. He was used to it after being with Amy for a few years.

"So, enough about me, babe. What about you?" Scourge asked with a wink after talking about his latest crime. Something about using his gang to steal from some place? Sonic couldn't recall the details though. He looked at Scourge for a moment, a bit startled by the question.

"Er, what's there to tell?" He asked with a raised brow.

"You. Your story. Anything."

"Um, well I lived an okay life. Nothing too special. Met Knuckles then found the kids. Came here. Yeah…" Sonic shrugged. He wasn't sure if he could tell Scourge his whole story, but a brief summary should do enough.

"Sounds boring. Blue, with me in your life, I can promise you you'll feel alive."

"I'll see if you live up to your word."

"So, now tell me about you."

"I like to run and eat. Not much to say, really." Scourge gave Sonic an irritated growl.

"You know, you're really dull. Good thing you're cute."

"I try and thanks," Sonic brushed back the hair that went over his shoulder suavely. "You just don't understand. I'm way too cool for you." He shot Scourge a look that made the other chuckle.

"Not completely dull, but still close. And weird."

Sonic huffed and put his hands on his hips. "Can't win them all." Sonic looked at his surroundings and realized that they all looked familiar. "Yo, I said Silver's place. Not mine."

"This is the kid's place!" Scourge growled as he pointed to the second floor of Sonic's building.

"Ohhhh." Sonic nodded. "I knew that."

"Yeah, whatever. You and I are still partying this Saturday." Scourge practically purred into Sonic's ear.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Now go away." Scourge backed up with his mischievous grin and walked away. For some reason, Sonic kept staring at the other's back wearily as something about that kid really threw him off edge. His mind was telling him that they were similar, yet his gut told him that was not the case. It was like if he turned his back, he'd feel a knife penetrate him. Or at least that's what his animalistic instinct was telling him.

When Scourge was well out of sight, Sonic walked up the iron steps to the second floor. On the small balcony he shifted awkwardly before knocking on the door. His knuckles rapped against the door with a small beat he would occasionally hum to himself throughout the day or when he lulled the kids to sleep. The door went ajar and the lavender feline from earlier stood in the doorway.

"What is it you want?" She asked sternly, but with politeness.

"Um, is Silver here? I need to talk to him about something." The feline, Blaze, Sonic recalled, looked back and sighed.

"He is here, but not in the mood to talk. Perhaps another time?" She suggested.

"I'll be quick." Sonic reasoned. "I just want one thing off my chest." Blaze nodded and opened the door all the way, leaning against the doorway and gesturing for the blue hedgehog to enter.

"I'll be at the library if you need me, Silver." She said aloud before shutting the door behind her. Sonic awkwardly walked towards a couch in the center of the room, the ivory hybrid nowhere in sight. The entire place resembled much like Sonic's, the only difference was the placing of certain furniture, but the layout of the room and designs on the furniture were practically the same.

"What do you want?" Silver asked with a hint of bitterness in his tone as he exited his bedroom, arms crossed.

Sonic glared. "This is the exact reason why I'm here!" Sonic exclaimed as he gestured towards his classmate. "You have an attitude and I don't like it!"

"You're being hypocritical right now." Silver rolled his eyes. "You have an attitude yourself."

"But I didn't start it! You were really rude to me and my family." Sonic frowned.

"Well, sorry. I was in a bad mood, and I'm still in that mood so if you could just leave me alone-"

"So, what?" Sonic frowned. "Yeah, I understand you were in a bad mood, but you shouldn't be rude to people who've never wronged you! Especially if most of them are young!"

Silver rubbed his temple. "You don't understand anything at all."

"Really? I don't? Try me."

"Look, I've been really stressed lately. Practically everything that I'm not used to gets on my nerves. I just need time to cool off. I'm really sorry if I offended you or anything, but please, just give me some space."

Sonic paused awkwardly. "Well, okay. Glad we came to an understanding, but you should really work on directing your anger someplace else."

"Yeah, I know. Sorry." Silver shrugged as he plopped himself onto his couch.

"You know, it doesn't hurt to talk about these things." Sonic watched as Silver raised a brow towards him. "Sometimes it helps. Whenever Knuckles or the kids have a problem, I let them vent it out to me."

"Awesome. My own psychiatrist." Silver sarcastically muttered.

"Hey, and I'm free too!" Sonic joked, causing Silver's lips to curl. "C'mon, humor me."

Silver paused and gave Sonic a once over before letting out a heavy sigh. Might as well get it off his chest. "Well, I've been having these intense dreams lately. They're pretty realistic too. They happen every once in awhile, but they get more detailed as they come. The first time it was just me, then the other time had Blaze. Then this weird dude who didn't have a mouth was in it last night...It was basically about the end of the world."

Sonic nodded with understanding. "I get ya. I had this crazy dream last night, but it was more of a monster-type thing? I don't really get it myself, but I don't think it means much. I mean, they're just dreams, right?" Sonic briefly remembered waking up in terror after coming face-to-face with those reptilian eyes. As the day progressed he had forgotten about most of the details, but the green eyes were still pretty vivid.

"Blaze seems to think so too. But the thing is, I'm a Rank A who specializes in psychokinesis. I don't think it's just a dream, I think it's a vision. Wouldn't be the first time. But it was like the whole world was on fire! That the fate of the world rested in my hands." He clenched his fists, but then relaxed them.

Sonic sat next to Silver and looked into the other's caramel colored eyes. "Silver, I can assure you, no matter what happens, it'll all be okay." Sonic gave him a genuine smile. "What happens will happen, whether your dream comes true or not, and we'll fix it." Sonic lightly nudged Silver's arm. "But don't worry about it, okay? The world doesn't rest on your shoulders so don't act like it does. Just live your live, don't dwell on the past or the future. Just stick with the now." Sonic shot Silver a small wink.

Silver stared at Sonic and felt a small smile curl his lip. His eyes met Sonic's emerald eyes and lingered there for a little too long. They were really captivating and he felt an urge to repeat Sonic's compliment from earlier.

Sonic made an uneasy smile as he felt the weight of the albino's gaze. "Um, Silver? Are you okay?"

Silver nodded frantically and became flustered. "Y-yeah. Sorry, just thinking about your advice. It really helped. Thanks."

Sonic grinned at the other teen as he sat up. "No problem! Well, I best head downstairs. We're neighbors, did ya know? I oughta get there before Amy throws a fit. See ya later, Silv!" Sonic waved to Silver as he headed towards the door. Silver slowly and sheepishly waved back.

"See you later." He replied, his blush increasing as the door shut behind the blue teen. He was caught staring into the other's eyes! That was so embarrassing. It wasn't his fault that they were a bright green. It also didn't hurt that Sonic was a sight for sore eyes with his handsome features. Silver was questioning the sudden heat in his cheeks. He let out a heavy sigh as he waited for the blush to subside. He would hide these feelings for now, then ask Blaze about them when he felt the time was right.

oOo

Sonic ran down the iron steps and opened the door downstairs. Seeing Amy on the couch doing some homework with Cream coloring in a book while laying on her stomach on the floor.

"Hey, girls! What's up?" Sonic said with a smile.

Cream looked up at Sonic with a gleeful look. "I made so many friends today! Everybody wanted to play with me!" He took the seat next to Amy while Cream got off the floor with her book in hand and crawled into Sonic's lap. Cheese was sleeping soundly on a pillow that had fallen to the floor earlier. "They loved Cheese a lot. He's really tired!"

"That's awesome!" Sonic lightly kissed Cream's forehead and held onto her side for support. He looked at Amy. "And how was your day?"

Amy took her eyes off her assignment to shoot Sonic a pout before returning to work. "I made a few friends, but like, I don't like doing all the work." She groaned. "I think I might take a nap soon unless we do something fun, but Honey wanted to visit me later and hang out. She's pretty nice."

"That's good." Sonic responded as Cream got comfortable in his lap and rested her head on his chest. "So where are Tails and Knuckles? I haven't heard them."

"Oh, they went out. Tails needed to do something and Knuckles offered to accompany him." Amy shrugged.

"Did Cosmo go with them?"

She shook her head and pointed towards the girls' bedroom with her thumb. "She's taking a nap. Her new friend is apparently very energetic. She's completely worn out." Amy paused for a moment. "I think I'll make Cosmo and Cream some pudding later. I saw some in the cupboards."

"Those are stocked?"

"Yeah, I checked as soon as I got home."

"Will I be getting a treat?" Sonic asked with a smirk.

"Duh! I'll probably make a pie though, and everyone can share it." Amy looked at Sonic. "So how was Silver?"

"He was actually pretty good. It was just like what Tails said; he was in a bad mood."

Amy smiled. "That's good to hear. He seemed like a cool guy under that cold exterior. Blaze also seems really nice, I'd like to talk to her more. Maybe tomorrow." She caught sight of Sonic's new shoes. "It was about time you got rid of those ripped ones, but those are hideous."

"Well, whatcha gonna do? They belong to the school for gym; do you honestly think they care about style?"

"They should! Anyways, what made you finally realize the other ones sucked?"

"The soles came off. Like, completely. There was barely anything left of them. I ran way too fast."

"Nice." Amy giggled as she put her homework away into a cute pink backpack. She put her legs on the couch and rested her head on Sonic's shoulder as she turned on the TV.

"What? Am I a pillow now?" Sonic laughed lightly, seeing as Cream had already fallen asleep.

Amy hummed as she stretched her legs over the armrest and shifted her position. Her head tilted to the side so she could watch the show playing. After a while, she began to doze off and Sonic had also joined her.

oOo

Tails and Knuckles had walked beyond the school, the latter was convinced the two were in unrestricted territory. It was south of the Quad and elevators, a few minutes further than the Training Area and Lounge. No other students were in sight.

"Are you sure we're allowed to be here?" Knuckles asked lowly.

Tails nodded. "Nothing says we can't be here, so why not?"

"You know, that's the kind of talk that gets people in jail."

Tails chuckled. "We're almost there, don't worry. He pointed to a lonely building up ahead. "That's it."

"What the hell is that?"

"The storage unit. They hold stuff from all classes in all three schools there."

"How do you know this again?"

"My teacher told me."

Knuckles sighed. "I don't know Tails. Maybe it isn't a good idea to come here."

"I just want to check the inventory; it'll be like five minutes."

Knuckles nodded. Soon enough, the two reached the door. The red Mobian released an annoyed groan.

"It's locked!"

"Give me a sec…" Tails looked at the security keypad before quickly typing in a code. Knuckles's eyes widened when he saw the blond do such a risky thing. What if the alarms went off? After another two seconds, the doors opened and the security was lowered. Knuckles stared at the boy in shock. "C'mon! I thought you wanted to leave quickly!" The fox hybrid continued as he fastened his pace into the building. He led Knuckles to the science department and quickly examined all the equipment. He saw the materials he was sure would be beneficial for his first project and smiled. "We can go now."

oOo

Shadow the Hedgehog looked out his window as he saw the red and yellow Mobians return to their dorm. The building right next door. Honestly, what were the odds of that happening?

"You know, if you keep frowning like that you'll get wrinkles before you're twenty!" Rouge teased.

Shadow glared at her. "You know I don't age."

"What a gift! Staying young and beautiful forever! A girl can get envious."

Shadow huffed as he leaned against the wall with his arms crossed. Rouge, who was putting eyeliner on, smiled.

"So I heard about your 'incident' with the blue boy. He's such a cutie; I would flirt with him myself if he didn't have that handsome, red hothead with him." Rouge chuckled to herself.

"We raced, that's all." Shadow rolled his eyes.

"Of course." Rouge slyly smiled. "But don't you dare tell me you're not thinking about him. I can tell." Rouge shot him a look.

"I'm curious, that's all."

"About…?"

"He displayed the power of the average Rank A; however I sensed a substantial amount of Chaos Energy within him. That's not possible for a person like him…" Shadow's eyes narrowed and Rouge peaked with interest.

"Oh…why, I don't know what to say..." Rouge said in awe, her playful behavior now serious.

"I have to tell the Doctor about this." Shadow locked eyes with Rouge. "See if you can dig up any more information on them." He vanished, and Rouge was left alone. She brought her wrist close to her lips and spoke into a transmitter.

"GUN? This is Rouge; I have some information you might find interesting."

oOo

Knuckles and Tails walked into their dorm, surprised by how dark it was, with the exception of the dim TV light. Was anybody there? Tails flipped the switch and there laid three Mobians sleeping on the couch.

"Ladies, it's time to get up! It's not even 4:45 yet!" Knuckles laughed.

Sonic groaned as he stretched. "Call me a lady one more time and we're gonna have problems."

Cream and Amy awoke wincing, the light was too bright. The girls slowly got up and stretched. Cheese himself was stretching on his pillow. Sonic ran his fingers through his disheveled cobalt hair.

"So, where'd you guys go?"

"We went to-"

"I thought I forgot my science textbook!" Tails interrupted Knuckles mid-sentence. "But when we got there I realized that I didn't have any science homework. Whoops!" He nervously giggled as he rubbed the back of his neck. Knuckles raised a brow at the blond. What was the kid doing?

"I don't know about you guys, but I want to go out." Amy spoke. "I'll wake up Cosmo and see if she wants to come too. Cream, are you coming?"

"Sure!" Cream smiled as Cheese floated into her arms.

Knuckles jumped onto the couch, his legs sprawled onto Sonic's lap as he grabbed the remote. "I was just out, so I'm gonna settle and watch some TV."

"Yeah, I have some calculus work I need to get to, as well as some…projects."

"Um, okay, have fun…" Sonic called out to Tails as he went into the boy's bedroom. Sonic sighed, Tails was acting really weird. He turned his head to glare at Knuckles. "Get your stinkin' feet offa' me!" He scolded as he pushed the legs off of his lap and quickly got off the couch before his older brother could trap him with his legs. "I'm going out with the girls."

"Don't have too much fun getting in touch with your inner femininity…again."

"If you don't shut up, I'll go tell that Rouge girl you like her."

"You wouldn't dare! You know that's not true!"

"Are you ready to go?" Amy asked Cream and Sonic with Cosmo in tow. "And Knuckles, shut up."

"What!"

"You heard her." Sonic smirked.

"So what if Sonic likes to embrace his inner self! We have to accept him for who he is!" Amy chirped.

"I don't know if this is some kind of sick joke between you two, but it needs to stop." Sonic glared at the two.

"We'll be off!" Amy called out as she exited the door with the others closely behind.

oOo

They were in a nearby park by their dorm; Amy and her new friend were sitting under a tree talking animatedly while Cream, Cheese and Cosmo played in the sandbox. Sonic watched them all from the swing set, letting the tip of his toes swing his seat back and forth. It was calming and let him think.

He hardly noticed the other Mobian take the swing beside him. He looked over and saw Silver. What the hell was he doing here?

"Heyo," Sonic greeted.

Silver studied him. "What's that tune you were humming?"

"I was humming?" Silver nodded. "Oh, wow, that's embarrassing."

"Well, what was it? I think it's the same tune you knocked on my door with. It's pretty...distinct."

"Oh, it's just something I came up with when I was younger and it stuck." Sonic shrugged. "It reminds me of Green Hill Zone."

"It's catchy." Silver remarked. Sonic chuckled lightly, idly thinking about the past for a brief moment. "I'm curious of your story."

Sonic blinked. "My story?" Wow, everyone wanted to know about him…he wasn't sure if he was okay with that. "What's there to say?"

Silver lightly kicked the dirt beneath him. "Anything really. I want details though; think of it as repayment for me telling you about my dreams. Chaos, I don't know what I was thinking to spill all that out to you!" Silver looked at Sonic. "No offense or anything, but I hardly know you!"

Sonic pursed his lips before grinning. "Alright. Only to make it fair, but if you ask more about me, you have to let me ask about you. What do you want to know?"

"I guess for compensation on my dream, give me your background story. With details."

"Hmmm, okay." Sonic began a bit hesitantly. "Well, I never knew my parents, but that's normal for Mobians, right? I spent the first seven years of my life in an orphanage at Green Hill after being dropped off when I was a few days old. Um, I eventually met Knuckles there and he became like a big brother to me. Then I left the orphanage with him and like that we were on the streets. Eventually we met the others, but that wasn't until way later."

"Oh, well, I guess that's more interesting than mine. I really don't remember much from the past...sometimes it's like I don't have one? It's all a blur. I just remember being in my old city for a bit before coming here."

"Which city was that?" Sonic asked.

"New City in Soleanna. Blaze and I heard about this school about a year ago and decided to come. We've been here since."

"Woah, Soleanna? Sweet! After Knux and I moved out of the orphanage, we traveled all over South and West Side Island."

"That sounds exciting." Silver mused to himself. He had never really gone exploring. He just remembered New City. No story, no adventure, nothing.

"It really was!" Sonic exclaimed before giving Silver that small, sweet smile. "But moving to this school won't stop me from having fun!" He winked at Silver, who slightly frowned and blushed before averting his gaze to the dirt below him.

"So, what are your hobbies?" He muttered.

"Hmm? Well, I like to sing and breakdance. Oh, and I love DJing! I used to do that sometimes to make quick cash. Playing guitar is also really fun! Also eating chilidogs and running!" Sonic smiled brightly. Who knew talking about yourself could be so fun?

Silver chuckled, though everything else was new and surprising, the running was certainly obvious. "Oh, speaking about that, you were really into that race." Silver recalled gym earlier that day.

Sonic laughed, a very cute laugh, Silver found himself noticing, "Oh, that? Yeah, I surprised myself! But like, I feel like I can go faster than that, you know? I almost did until my feet burned up. Thank Chaos I'm a fast healer!"

"So you're a Rank A? I am too, and so is Blaze."

"Wait, I still don't have a full understanding on these ranks. Care to explain? Shadow went over it really briefly with me. I only know that it's used to classify the Chaos Energy in people, but I hardly know what that is."

"Oh," Silver bit his cheek as he thought of a way to explain. "Well, Chaos Energy dwells within Mobius, and some Mobians and Overlanders have a portion of it as a part of their being. The percentages you carry affect your rank. The highest amount would be 50 percent, a Rank A. Anything above that is practically a God. 50 percent is high enough as it is."

"So, Chaos Energy is just a strange energy? Is it the result of the Xorda?"

"Maybe, but I also I think it has to do with the Ancient Echidna tribes. Not much is known about them though, the last person able to translate their hieroglyphics, some guy named Locke, died a while ago. He never shared his knowledge with anybody. All that history is lost now; it remains forever unknown in Mystic Ruins." Silver frowned. "I think the legend is that there is some kind of gem that has Chaos Energy and controls it. Like a ruby or something. And there are multiple of them. However, it's extremely unlikely that the legend is real."

Sonic took in the information with a nod. "Knuckles is an echidna, but I don't think he would know about that. He was really young when I met him and now he hardly remembers anything before we met."

"What's your relationship with him?" Silver blurted out before thinking. He instantly regretted asking after seeing the shock in Sonic's expression.

Sonic's lips curled into a smirk. "Oh, so you think he and I are an item? You aren't the first." He laughed. "Nah, he and I have a bromance, nothing more. Besides, Knuckles is straight. Though, I don't see how that helps when he can't get a girl! Ha!"

"Oh…so what are you?"

"Wow, these questions are getting really personal. But because you seem cool and I can ask you these back, I'll tell ya." Sonic licked his lips. "I don't really think I can be labeled. I don't have much experience in dating. I think I'd be fine with anyone as long as they let me run and don't hold me back. But like, I would also be okay without anyone, you know?"

"I guess…" Silver shrugged, his heart beating a little faster as he pressed on. "What do you mean by much?"

"Oh my God, this is compensation?" Sonic gave Silver and incredulous look. "I've had a few experiences, that's all you need to know."

"…"

"Look, you're cool and all, but I'd rather not share the details." Sonic pursed his lips. "So, how are you and Blaze?"

"W-What?" Silver spluttered. "She and I are like siblings! We've known each other for a long time, we're practically related!"

"See? Now you know how it is when I get asked about Knux." Sonic grinned. "But don't feel awkward about it; we're used to people assuming. We sometimes play along just for kicks. Well, at least I do."

Silver sighed. "Fair enough."

"So wait, I never got to ask you about your hobbies?"

Silver thought about it for a moment. "I guess I like to help people and practice controlling my powers."

"Sounds fun! What do your powers include? What about Blaze? You're both A Ranks, right?"

Silver nodded. "I have telekinesis and ESP." After watching Sonic's confused expression he elaborated. "I can control things with my mind and use other abilities that involve deep concentration of the brain."

"That's so cool! You have to show me a sometime!"

Silver smiled sheepishly as a blush formed on his cheeks. "I will soon. I'd rather not do it openly though." Sonic nodded. "Blaze uses pyrokinesis, meaning she can bend flames to her will. She's also fast, but nowhere near as fast as you."

"Awesome!"

"So, do you have any more abilities? Or are you still learning?"

"Ummm," Sonic paused. "Well, I guess beside my speed and healing, I'm very agile and got good reflexes. Oh, and when I focus hard enough, I can give a good punch, but I'm really best with my legs." He widened his eyes. "Oh! About how fast did I go when I raced Shadow?"

Silver briefly recalled earlier that day. "I would say about 60 miles per hour? Maybe even 70 or 80. Seriously though, that's amazing. Blaze can probably go around 40 max, and that in itself is pretty impressive."

Sonic beamed, "Thanks!" He began to swing himself with more force, but not too much.

Amy ran over to them with her new friend following closely behind. "Sonic! This is my new friend, Honey! She wanted to meet you after I talked about you so much!"

Sonic waved at her with a friendly smile. "Hey, Honey!"

Honey shyly waved back with a light blush on her cheeks. Her eyes darted between the Silver and Sonic. Were they? She shot Amy a questioning look.

Amy giggled. "No way! They've just met today."

"Wait, what?" Sonic asked looking at Honey then Amy.

"Nothing!" Amy assured Sonic. "Girl stuff, you wouldn't understand." She looked at the albino hybrid. "Hey, Silver! I see you're in a better mood."

"Yeah, I am. Thanks." Silver responded with a small smile.

Amy crossed her arms and frowned at Sonic. "I know it's in your nature to help people, but if you keep doing things like this, you're gonna have people falling head over heels for you! That makes more competition for me!"

"Huh? I have no clue what you're talking about."

"And you won't ever until you get in touch with your inner self~!" Amy shot Honey a wink and the other girl stifled her giggles. Silver blushed while Sonic rolled his eyes.

"Wow, that joke is really old now. You and Knux really just rammed it into the ground to the point it's not even funny."

"You just say that because it's aimed towards you!" Amy exchanged a look with her new friend and nodded. "We're gonna go play with the girls now. Have fun!"

When the two girls left, Silver turned towards Sonic. "What do they mean by that?"

"Oh, my inner self?" Sonic sighed heavily. "Amy and I...we met under certain circumstances and Knuckles, Tails, and Amy all know about it, but only Tails is nice enough to not tease me about it...ugh."

"Well, how did you two meet?" Silver asked with peaking curiosity.

"No." Sonic replied with a glare.

"But-!"

"Nope."

A/N: Mobians live a very different life from Overlanders. Overlanders live a lot like us, where we stay with our parents until we come of age and then go off on our own. Mobians are quite different, there's a big chance that Mobians will be left on their own by their parents. Usually they're just dropped off at an orphanage or on the streets. There's a lot of tension between Mobians and Overlanders as Overlanders believe they are superior due to their closeness to humans. Unfortunately for them, Mobians tend to be gifted with more Chaos Energy than they are, making them too powerful to threaten. Instead there's just a lot of prejudice between the two groups, where Overlanders live much better lives than Mobians. Because of this, many Mobians have a hard time caring for their kids. As their species is part animal, the kids are usually able to adapt to their environment after being left alone. Most of the time Mobian kids tend to find others like them for companionship, which Sonic and Knuckles have done.

Also another note about this world. This is 12,000 years in the future. Nobody gives a damn about who you love, what color you are, etc. The only concern is whether or not you're Overlander or Mobian. Sexuality is fluid, and some people have a preference. Overlanders are not as open about it as the Mobians are, they're usually just indifferent. Mobians don't care what species of animal you are, they're all united by the fact that Overlanders see them as lesser. Overlanders don't care about color, they're only concern is that you aren't part animal. So yes, society has evolved in some ways, but human nature always has to find some sort of scapegoat.

BTW, If you watched AoStH, you should have an idea on what Sonic's inner self is…it's crossdressing. How Amy and Sonic met is disclosed until a later chapter. Much, much later. It's extremely personal and there's a good reason Sonic won't bring it up. Don't expect it for a very long time. There may be hints at it here and there, but it's been repressed for the most part.