(AN: Merry Christmas to you all, back with Part 2 of Chapter 25! I'm going to start by saying that this will very likely be the last chapter of this year, as the next chapter is a major story event! I'm very thankful for everyone who's kept up with this fic since it started, and I hope it hasn't disappointed! I have some big plans for 2022, alongside my hope for finishing this story.

You might recall I mentioned that I had a new writing plan for next year, which I suppose I can talk about now! Originally, my method of writing was writing 1k words daily, which for this fic, means I realistically take about 3 weeks to a month with factoring in how tired my job makes me. As such, to get this fic out faster but also so that I can be productive, I've decided to increase my word limit to 4k words daily when I don't have work, that way I realistically write, on a week I'm not forced over, 16k depending on how long the chapter is. Hopefully, this means chapters won't take long, but it'll all depend on how much I can commit to it.

With that out of the way, I want to give a special thanks to my proofreader and translator this Christmas season, the work you've guys done for this story is nothing short of phenomenal and without it, I feel this story wouldn't be as good without you two. Thank you so much.With that, I now leave you with the very last piece of Transfer content for this year, and I'll see you in 2022!)


Suddenly, Vector's thoughts were interrupted by the sound of a BEEEEP, and realizing that he had only just put up the calendar, turned to face the door. At that moment, it swung right open, revealing…

"Vector!"

It was Espio, dressed more appropriately for winter in Vector's old high school football sweater, as well as the hat and shoes he was gifted, although ironically he still had on his… skirt thing. Notably, Vector took notice of something new on Espio, a necklace decorated with some weird shape, all of them shiny and green. Vector simply looked at the chameleon in awe, even dressed in winter clothes… the necklace really emphasizing Espio's natural beauty.

The two only stared at one another, Vector wondering why Espio was silent too. It had been a couple of days since they last saw each other, and yet there was some sort of barrier that he couldn't explain with words right in front of them.

"SAY SOMETHIN' YEH IDIOT!" Vector's mind screamed at himself, the crocodile stammering on his words as his eyes darted around. Beads of sweat started to drop as he tried to guess how he should break the ice.

"E-Espio… it's so good to see yeh again after so long. How ya been bud?" he asked, walking over to the chameleon and hugging him awkwardly. He could feel his back already sweaty, already questioning if he made the transfer student nervous. Espio too seemed to stumble on his words.

"I-I was gu-good," he replied. "And you?"

So far so good… as long as he acted natural, then the chameleon wouldn't suspect a thing.

"M-Man, great! Didja like the pictures I sent ya over break?" Vector continued as he took out some of his clothes, scratching the back of his head.

"Yes! I liked them."

"Which reminds me, what 'bout mah Gojo pictures? Didja take pictures of your village?"

Espio dug into his sweater pocket, pulling out his phone as he slowly tapped.

"I do not know how to… see… how do you say that word…" Espio said as Vector shut the drawer and walked by the chameleon, pointing at an icon that said 'GALLERY'. Espio tapped it as his very small gallery loaded up, the crocodile's eyes lighting up.

"Yo, what's that?!" he questioned, tapping the first image. It seemed to be a yellow room with different decorations around and what appeared to be wood dolls in the corners, all of them scratched and slashed.

"This is my… ru… roo… room?"

"It is? Whoa, yeh got a cool room! No windows though… and… wow, doesn't yer place got any door that locks?"

"No no… door… It is like-" Espio moved his hand horizontal.

"It slides? Man, that's new. Well, show me more!"

The next images were that of a snowy zen garden; different locations around the garden were shown as Vector looked at the outside of the house. It was the pure definition of ancient Yurashian, not seeing anything like it since the one time he got to go to the Museum of Mobian History in 6th Grade on a field trip.

The next image however, was one the crocodile wasn't expecting. There was Espio in darkness being lit by the camera flash, with a strange girl Vector hadn't seen before by his side. She looked completely like Espio, but definitely couldn't be older than 7.

"Hey, who's that?" Vector asked, pointing at the surprised girl. "I ain't ever seen her before."

"My si-sister, Shami," replied Espio. That's when Vector suddenly remembered how long ago when the two reptiles were first starting to get to know one another, Mr. Valdez mentioned that Espio lived with his mom and a younger sister. This was her it seemed…

"How is she?" Vector asked. "Yeh like her?"

"Yes. I… miss ha-her."

The crocodile smiled. Growing up as an only child, he remembered always asking his parents when he'd get a sibling. It always created this slight feeling of loneliness whenever he saw his friends with their brother or sister. Seeing the chameleon, even if he hadn't seen the past hundred of years of family development, care for his younger sister warmed the quarterback's heart.

"Can yeh be any more sweet…" he thought to himself.


For some time, the two reptiles unpacked their boxes as they spent the time discussing what they had done over the holidays. In spite of how he had been feeling, Vector felt in that hour and a half like someone who had just gotten home from work after a hard day to their significant other surprising them with a relaxing evening between each other. It was almost like for a brief moment, Vector forgot about his turmoil about his feelings and let things happen naturally…

After discussing how his Christmas morning was, Espio spent the time talking about how things in Gojo were.

"Everyone just welcomed yeh back like a god?" Vector snorted. "Now ya know what it's like when I get on the field. Speakin' of which, didja know we got one final tournament before the football season entirely ends?"

"What?!" Espio quickly turned towards Vector. "More fu-football?!"

"Yup! The college bowl starts next week from today 'till the 3rd of Febuary! We're startin' trainin' tonight, but I'm rather pumped!" Vector cracked his knuckles. "After our win at the Playoffs, I'm ready to get back on that field and take home the trophy like we did last year! Didja think the playoffs were the last thing we did?"

"Can I go?"

"Hm? Well, I imagine so yeah! They're all away games though, so yeh'd need to talk to Mr. Valdez first. Or maybe see if someone can getcha a ride."

"I do not know… I have the…" Espio looked down at the floor.

"Whaddya have?"

"I don't know how to say that word…"

It took Vector a couple of seconds to realize what it was. In spite of all the positivity going around…

"...it's yer trial, right?"

Espio looked away from the crocodile, looking concerned. Vector too had almost forgotten that the chameleon's trial was soon, something that gave him more anxiety the more the days flew by. He did however, try his best not to look nervous as he walked towards the chameleon.

"Listen, I can't say whether or not how yer trial's gonna go," Vector said, looking down at his friend. "But everythin' is gonna be okay. Mr. Valdez gotcha a good lawyer who's doin' their post, yeh know yeh ain't guilty of assault, and most important, ya still got me."

He put his hand on Espio's shoulder, staring at him in the eyes. "So, try yer best to control yer anxiety as best as ya can. I can only imagine how scary it is, but as long as I'm here… I ain't gonna letcha go to jail."

He could see Espio simply take in the words as the two continued to stand in silence, the chameleon locked in place as Vector smiled a warmer smile at his friend. However… when he tried to move his hand off Espio's shoulder… it felt locked. His face changed, his body seeming to want to have his large hands hold the transfer student's shoulder. Not even Espio made any attempt to remove it, which the crocodile did seconds later and slowly lowered his arm.

"So…" Vector said, eyes moving around back and forth while trying to change the subject from what just happened. "What else happened in Gojo?"

"A… Ah…" Espio said softly, a look of… embarrassment… or worry on his face? "Gojo… yes…"

Thankfully, the two were able to go back to where they were as Espio told Vector about his training and how his mother seemed more cross when he returned home.

"I think she expected yeh to be some overachiever," Vector said as he helped Espio set up the desk with all the manga and DVDs Mark gifted him. "Mah parents always used to get on mah ass a lot back in Middle and High School. I got mah act together come Junior year, but let's just say I wasn't the BEST academically."

After that, it was how New Year's went, with Vector first explaining what he did.

"So there's this giant animatronic that looks like a planet in Empire City, they call it Little Planet," Vector said as he finished putting away the rest of their clothes as Espio listened intently. "And every year, a minute until midnight on the first, a chain pulls it onto the top of one of the city's tallest buildings to signify the start of the new year. Mah folks and I watched the whole thing on TV, it's always a yearly tradition. That and with a bottle of champagne by our sides. At least, if we didn't have guests, otherwise the whiskey bottles would come out."

"Wow…" Espio said. "I want to see…"

"Well, I'm sure one day yeh'll get the chance!" Vector looked at the grount. "Heck… maybe I could… we could go together. I ain't ever been. But it would be a fun time."

The crocodile could feel his body buzz, his mind continuing to scream to confess his feelings. He put his hand on his cheeks, was his face now starting to get warm too? Whatever the case, he simply ignored his thoughts for Espio's sake. So, he continued. "Whadda 'boutcha?"

Espio blinked, going from staring at Vector to grabbing his laptop from his bag and placing it onto the desk as he continued to listen to the crocodile tell stories about his family, showing them pictures of his parents and of Bunger the Chao, who Espio really was confused by.

Once Vector was completely done, the chameleon told Vector about his visit to the Raijou Shrine, how he had a massive feast and the 108 bell rings. Vector was fascinated by the entire explanation in spite of Espio's work-in-progress English.

"A buncha people work together to ring a giant bell? That's really cool!" Vector said. "Have yeh done it before?"

"No no… o-only… pi-people at chrine."

"Shrine. Remember what I told ya? That shhh sound? Shhrine."

"Shh… rine. Shhrine…"

"Yer gettin' it. So, only shrine people can ring it huh? That sucks. It seems like it would be super fun even though doin' it fer an hour sounds exhaustin' after a while," Vector turned back to the boxes, realizing that they were completely empty. "Oh hey, we finished unpackin'!"

Getting up, he looked around the now decorated room, seeing everything neat and organized after so long. The desk and all the knickknacks atop it were set up such as Vector's music CDs, Bow's gifted longbow and Mighty's gifted LED fountain, the bulletin board had some new clippings tacked on it, the dulcimer case sat resting next to the clothes drawer, the microwave, TV, and mini fridge were plugged in, and the bunk beds were already set up, with the blanket and pillow from Munch and Buck respectively atop Espio's bunk, as well as the nightstand with the incense stick holder from Knuckles.

"Man, and this place is gonna be a fuckin' wreck in about two months, I guarantee it," he said while nodding, knowing the fate of this room. "At least, 'till ya tell me to clean stuff up. What time is it now?"

Vector pulled out his phone and unlocked it, seeing that it was almost 12:50.

"Wow, where the hell did the time go? I think we got busy talkin'. So, ready fer some lunch? I haven't seen Knux or Mighty at all today and I'm sure yer dyin' to say hi, huh, Espio?"

"Ah, wa-wait!" Espio suddenly gasped, running over to his bag as he pulled out a bunch of… paper? No… it looked too dense. The chameleon shuffled through them all, pulling out one and handing it to the crocodile.

"This is for you!" he said excitedly, Vector grabbed the strange paper.

"Aw, well thanks bud! Erm…" the crocodile replied, flipping the paper around. There was completely illegible text on one side, and the other had nothing. Not sure of what it was, Vector held it up. "What is this?"

"It is… new yi-year ka-kah… No… caa… card."

"Caught yerself on that one, huh? That one was always a word ya had issue with. A new year's card huh? Thoughtful of ya, man! I dunno quite what it says, but I'm happy yeh thought of me enough to give me a card!"

It did actually warm the crocodile's heart to receive this, brushing his hand through the inky text as he imagined Espio writing this by hand just for him.

"I have more… it is for fru-friends."

"Well, now we gotta better excuse to head to the K buildin' huh? Plus, we can get somethin' good to eat from-"

"O-Oh… I have fu-food,"

Vector turned his head. "Ya do? Didja bring some back or order out?"

Espio pointed to the mini fridge, after which Vector crouched and opened it up. What he saw however, he wasn't expecting.

"What THE?!" the crocodile's eyes shot open, seeing that the ENTIRE fridge was filled with small wooden boxes. In fact, the more Vector looked, it seemed like it wouldn't end. He pulled out the first box, seeing foods that the crocodile didn't recognize just like with the bento from a month or so back.

"How many boxes are there in here?"

Vector kept pulling out boxes, his eyes only widening more.

"HOW MUCH DIDJA BRING?!"

By this point, the crocodile was surrounded by boxes of food. He was overwhelmed, wondering how much of this food could be eaten.

"Is this just for today?" he asked. Espio didn't seem to say much, not seeming phased about the amount of food.

"This is food from… Genshu," he said.

"From that huge feast ya had?"

Espio nodded as Vector looked down at all the boxes of luxurious foods.

"...can we share some?"


"Espio! Oh, Espio! Over here!"

The moment the two reptiles walked into the K building for lunch, a familiar feminine voice called out for the chameleon. Holding the juubakos in his hands, Espio turned his head to see Jewel sitting at a table by a giant sign that read, 'WELCOME BACK MOBIUS U'.

"A-Ah! Jewel!"

The chameleon quickly waddled over to the jewel beetle, who sat by Sally and Blaze, Vector following in tow.

"Well, glad to see you two made it back alive," Sally said in a monotone voice. Looking off in the distance, an aura of annoyance was clear even to the chameleon.

"Jeez, already one day back and yer already sick of life?" Vector asked.

"If by that you mean, what should have been your Christmas vacation wasn't a vacation, then yes Vector. Yes I am."

"Lemme guess, another smoke break in thirty?" Blaze asked as she handed a packet to someone in front of her.

Sally slouched in her seat. "Make that fifteen…"

Meanwhile, Jewel went from staring at the two RAs and then back to the two reptiles.

"Anyway, how have you been, Espio? How were your holidays?" asked the insect.

"Good… I go back to Gojo," Espio replied, nodding.

"I can tell! You didn't have that necklace before! It's really pretty! And those are a lot of boxes you're carrying. Is that lunch?"

"Yes. How a-are you?"

"Oh, I'm fine! I'm just helping out with the welcoming back event! A lot has happened since you both left!"

Just then, the crocodile tapped Espio's shoulder, crouching down to ear's length.

"I'm sure yer gonna be here fer a bit with Jewel. Mind if I take these and find a place fer us to sit? Dun worry, I'll wait fer ya so we can start eatin'," Vector said. Espio nodded as the crocodile grabbed all the juubakos. As he walked away, Espio turned back to Jewel.

"That was a lot of things he's carrying. Are you two gonna have some feast?" Jewel asked.

"It is food from home," Espio replied.

"They sure make a lot in your village, huh?"

"Yes. How are you?"

"Oh right! Yeah, I've been fine! My family visited Winterburg over the holidays to visit some family we have! We spent Christmas Day until New Years there and I had a good time catching up with my grandparents and my aunts and uncles! I visited a lot of places and took pictures too! Was your visit to that Gojo place fun?"

Espio suddenly perked up when he heard the name Winterburg, remembering the game from months ago where Vector got injured. Still angry that an injury could happen to his friend, his face fell.

"They ha-hurt Vector," he said, the jewel beetle looking confused.

"What do you mean?" she asked. "Is he hurt right now?! He seemed fine just a moment ago."

"Oh… no no he is fa-fine."

Jewel was left with confusion, but ultimately dropped it. "Well? I asked but was Gojo fun?"

The chameleon's face stayed unchanged. Fun… wasn't really a way he would put it…

"It was," he replied, not wanting to concern Jewel, nor let her know about the major details about what happened since the New Years festival.

"Well, good to hear! Anyway, I wanted to tell you about something that's happened recently that I think you might like! I don't know the details all that much, but during the break, the 5th and 6th year robotics majors have finished building and installing three robots around the campus that'll help new and returning students, as well as provide them services. Apparently they're still in prototype, but they're active today! Oh, here come two of them now!"

Rolling up to the chameleon and jewel beetle were two incredibly strange things that Espio had never seen before. One was red, black and round, the other being yellow, black, and square. Suddenly, the strange things' eyes turned blue as what was now clear to Espio as their heads shot up, the chameleon jumping in response.

"Wha… what is tha-that?!" he questioned, getting into a fighting stance.

"No no, don't do that, Espio!" Jewel shook her hands. "This is our prototype helping robots! Um… the robotics majors told me what the names of these things were, but it was a really complicated codename, so they told me to use their nicknames. The round one here to your left is named Orbot, and the one to your right is Cubot. Here, I'll show you how they work. Orbot, can you tell me which building I'm currently in?"

The orb shaped robot turned towards Jewel, and in just three seconds, it gave a response.

"YOU ARE IN THE K BUILDING, THE STUDENT RECREATIONAL CENTER, DINING HALL, SCHOOL STORE, AND LIBRARY ARE ALL LOCATED HERE," it said in a soft yet monotone voice. Espio was taken aback… it seemed to know where Jewel was!

"Okay, now… Cubot, where can I find the assessment center?"

The yellow cubed robot turned to face Jewel as it now spoke.

"THE ASSESSMENT CENTER IS LOCATED ON THE… SECOND FLOOR OF THE A BUILDING! HOPE THIS HELPS!" it said in a more carefree, less monotone voice than Orbot.

"See? It's the perfect helper for anyone lost or needing to find a specific room! And with two of them running around, they'll be able to help so many! It's a wonder the field of robotics, no?"

Espio wasn't sure what this 'robawtics' was, but these strange things were fascinating… He nodded in response.

"Did you wanna give it a try?"

"A-Ah… I was going to eat la-lunch with Vector now," Espio replied. "O-Oh! Wait!"

He quickly moved the straps of his bag from his shoulders, turning it and opening the front to grab Jewel's new years postcard. The jewel beetle was incredibly honored to receive it, looking at it intently.

"This is so kind of you, Espio! It's always good to send a postcard to your loved ones to celebrate the new year, so the fact I got one… I hope you have a good year too! Anyway, I'm gonna be here mainly helping out the whole day. It sucks we won't have a class together again… but you're free to look for me if you want someone to talk to, or if you want a study partner, I'll help out! I shouldn't interrupt your lunch though, have a good day!"

With that, the insect smiled as she waved, Espio doing the same in response as he walked away to look for Vector. He looked around the busy student center, seeing people walking around, standing and talking, or sitting at tables or seats eating or doing some other activity. Within the seat of people at the event passing out goods to celebrate the new semester, Espio noticed a table from afar with four familiar people, one of the four VERY familiar to the chameleon.

"Ah, Mark!" Espio called out, trying to get past the crowd and running to the table where Mark, Norris, Hacker, and surprisingly Dave sat. Mark turned towards the chameleon, a red sports drink in hand as he smiler wide, the others happy to see him too.

"Oh, afternoon Espio!" he said. "It's been a bit of time, how have you been?"

"I'll tell you how Espio-sama has been, enlightened all thanks to my exquisite gift provided to him!" Norris beamed, adjusting his glasses.

"How did your holidays go? Did you give any of the things I gave you a try?"

"I use the chopsticks…" Espio said. "And I read… manga."

"Was it Megami Ibunroku?! How far did you get?!"

Espio put his finger on his mouth, remembering that he was at the part with that masked man, Philemon, introducing himself to the protagonist, which he relayed to Mark.

"Okay, still early! I'm hoping you still like everything!"

"That's besides the point, Mark," Norris interrupted as he looked around. "Tell me, Espio-sama… Did you read… the manga…?"

No doubt Norris was referring to the Needlemouse-chan manga, the same manga he had given to Knuckles after finding it a little too… extreme for him. Although, considering his recent discovery regarding experiencing same gender love, maybe something like that wasn't up his alley. Still, the chameleon didn't want to disappoint or upset Norris.

"Yyyyyy… es?..." he replied, sounding unsure. Norris quickly got up and ran to the chameleon.

"Ah ha! So you have started your venture into the based world of lewdness! Once you get in, you don't get out, Espio-sama! And trust me, it's an AMAZINGG world of big waifu milkers out there ready for you to see!"

Espio hadn't a clue what Norris was talking about, but it seemed to be something the giraffe was passionate about.

"So, tell me, tell me, wasn't Needlemouse-chan the ideal waifu? She could suffocate me with those-"

"Norris, down boy!" Hacker teased as he held up some sort of… well, Espio wasn't sure what it was. The mole was tapping buttons and didn't look away from his screen, too large for it to be a phone.

"Sorry sorry, you know that when it comes to lewd content, the part of Northern Mobius where Espio's from makes only W's! Still, I dunno how he hasn't heard of this before but better to introduce him now than never!"

Mark turned towards the chameleon, a little embarrassed. "So yeah… you can tell we've all been fine since break. I didn't really do much, there was too much snow and people suck at driving where I live. Which sucks cause I got my Warriors and Wizards deck just how I want it. Oh well, at least my schedule this semester lets me go to the Saturday locals at the shop we go to at noon."

"Easy for you to say you're fine…" Dave said. "I had to not only work New Years, but I'm stressed about my Intro to Cinematography final… I still dunno what I wanna record..."

"Five minutes of different shots and locations shouldn't be too hard, should it?"

"Yeah but this one where I gotta travel to different places and get the right time, setting, all that! At least the other classes are just essays and stuff…"

"I feel like four years of that isn't gonna be worth it, Dave," Norris said. "One day it's dreams of making it big at Studiopolis and the next you're having to be an assistant cameraman on a terrible anime adaptation!"

"I'm gonna assume you saw the news about the Like a Dragon non-Yurashian adaptation?" Hacker said, still not looking up from his screen.

"Exactly! This is another great piece of Northern Mobian work that Studiopolis needs to destroy that you're gonna be a part of, Dave!"

"Who said I was gonna work on something like that? Besides, not only does going indie sound better, with how much work I'm gonna have to do not just with filming but also at Meh Burger, I am gonna be exhausted and without time…"

Espio simply continued to stand around as he listened to his friends almost ignore him, wondering when Vector was going to come back. "Ah… how was houl… no… hall… holiday?"

"I can answer that question for everyone here," Hacker said. "So, how was the Witchcarts queue?"

The other three groaned, slamming their heads on the table.

"DOOOOOON'T remind me…" Mark lamented, raising his head as his trunk was completely flaccid. "Everyday… the queue is in the thousands… even now before I came here it was at 356… I just want to play The Chronicles of Excalibur… is that too much to ask?!"

"I've neglected my poor bunny girl character for so long…" Norris whined. "And all the new Arthurian armor is PERFECT for her!"

"YYYYYYYYUP! And this is why I've spent my vacation streaming my speedrun attempts for Tomatopotamus 2 because I am NOT dealing with that queue. No thanks," Hacker said without a care in the world.

"Any records?" asked Dave.

"Asides from a PB on stage 4?..." Hacker's face fell as he finally moved his eyes away from his screen. "N… no… Just one successful run that sucked..."

Just then, a sudden hand tapped Espio's shoulder. The chameleon bounced as he turned around, seeing Vector behind him.

"There yeh are! Listen, I put our lunch stuff where Knux and Mighty are, but yeh gotta check out this new vendin' machine the dining hall has! It's real cool lookin'!" the crocodile said.

"Oh, were you about to head out now?" Mark asked. Just then, Espio remembered the tapir and the other's postcards, quickly pulling them out and handing them out to the others.

"Hey, I saw this in My Everyday School Life!" Dave said. "Wasn't one part about how Kyoko didn't know what to write for her New Year's postcard so she wrote nonsense?

"I always liked that scene," Hacker said, turning his card around

"Yeah, same!" Mark said. "Thanks so much, Espio! And I even know what this says too! I've heard it a lot in the anime we watch. I'm hoping our New Year is great too!"

He smiled as Espio looked at Norris, who's eyes were almost glistening at the postcard.

"I've seen this all the time in anime… and finally for the first time, I've received a Japanese postcard for New Year's that has my name on it…" he said as he hugged the card. "Espio-sama… I'll cherish this forever!"

Espio bowed before waving, with Mark calling out, "I'll see you in Algebra soon!"

With that, Espio followed behind Vector as the two reptiles entered the packed dining hall. But seconds after entering, the crocodile suddenly stopped and Espio too was taken off guard. At that moment, a familiar person had just been walking towards their direction.

With students walking past them, Monk stared down at Vector and Espio, the purple gorilla's eyes becoming cross as he stared at the quarterback. Espio could even see that Vector's eyes lowered too, and just then, Monk looked down at Espio. The chameleon could see him stare at his attire, then at the magatama necklace. The gorilla made a face of disgust as he continued to walk forward, deliberately punting his shoulder into Vector's as the crocodile slightly was pushed backwards. They turned around, watching Monk walk off into the main part of the K building.

"Just forget him, Espio," Vector said. "I'm done lettin' assholes in mah life. If he wants to be angry 'bout us hangin' out, his problem. He can bite me fer all I care."

The crocodile turned to look at his smaller friend as his face softened. "But let's not worry 'bout him. We gotta lunch to enjoy right? And I gotta show you the coolass vendin' machine!"

With the two quickly forgetting the purple gorilla, despite Espio's mind printing the face Monk made towards him into his brain, Vector led Espio to the other side of the dining hall, where all the vending machines and deli corner sat.

That's when Espio found himself looking at a drink machine far different than the others. Whereas the others seemed to have the same shape and look, this one was taller, red, black, and gray, and had a line forming already. Vector led Espio to the line, slowly walking forward as they waited for their turn. By now, the chameleon was starting to get hungrier as he began to imagine what kind of feast he would share with Vector.

It was around half way through the line that Espio began to hear a voice coming from the machine, a voice that sounded far different than the "Orbot" and "Cubot" introduced to him by Jewel.

"GOOD AFTERNOON. MAY I INTEREST YOU IN A CARBONATED BEVERAGE?"

The voice of this one was far deeper than the two other 'robawts' he met, even more lifeless from how it sounded. It didn't move like the round and square robots, rather, it stayed in place as one of the students ordered a soda.

"Now our vendin' machines talk to us. I've seen it all now!" Vector joked. Espio didn't know what to make of the machine, and once it was finally time for the two reptile's turn, the chameleon STILL didn't know what to make of it.

"GOOD AFTERNOON. MAY I INTEREST YOU IN A CARBONATED BEVERAGE?"

A paneled screen lit up to the side as Espio watched Vector touch the panel, pressing 'Info'.

"I AM THE NEXT GENERATION CONCESSION MACHINE MODEL E-123, CODENAMED; OMEGA, PROGRAMMED BY THE NEXT GRADUATING ROBOTICS CLASS OF MOBIUS UNIVERSITY TO BE THE FUTURE OF CONCESSION MACHINES OVER CURRENT WORTHLESS CONSUMER MODELS. FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT WHAT I'M CAPABLE OF, PLEASE PRESS A BUTTON BELOW OR GO BACK," the machine spoke out through the clear speakers, Espio looking at it in awe.

He remembered what he told Shami back in Gojo… The Outside World was TRULY amazing…

"Say, whaddya want, Espio? My treat!" Vector asked, looking down at the chameleon. Espio looked up, not really sure what they had to drink. There were so many to choose from, but very few he recognized. One that he did however, was a can of Diet Chao Cola, which he pointed at.

"Good choice, good choice," the crocodile added, doing the necessary steps that Espio… couldn't understand well. He tapped the screen a few times, then scanned in his meal card, and in a flash, the vending machine whirled to life. It grabbed the Chao Cola and an energy drink, vending it to the two.

"THANK YOU, COME AGAIN," the machine named Omega said as Vector grabbed the drinks.

"Alright, now fer real let's go ea-"

"WAIT, JUST A MOMENT."

The two reptiles stopped. Was… this machine talking to them personally?

"BASED ON MY INDICATORS MEANT FOR DETERMINING WHAT DRINK SOMEONE WANTS, I SEEM TO DETECT HIGH LEVELS OF STRESS WITHIN YOU ABOVE 70%. HERE ARE RECOMMENDED ACTIVITIES TO DO WHEN YOU ARE STRESSED, INCLUDING: BREATHING EXERCISES, MENTAL REASSURANCE, TAKING A SHOWER-"

"I think this thing's gonna go on. Still… are… are yeh stressed Espio?"

The chameleon almost stopped. The robot and now Vector… they seemed to now know about something going on with him. This was the LAST thing he wanted, as he knew the crocodile would pry him about what was going on.

"N-No!"

"Well… I ain't too stressed right now… I didn't realize…"

Espio winced.

"...yer trial was causin' yeh that much stress."

He sighed mentally. The crocodile STILL thought it had to do with that. Just as long as he didn't suspect a thing…

"Well, let's take yer mind off things with lunch, FER REAL fer real this time."

With that, Vector grinned one of his toothy, handsome grins as Espio followed behind. His mind was at a race as he thought of any excuse to come up with should Vector question him when they got back to the dorm.

With his head slightly hung, the two finally reached the table on the second floor of the dining hall where Vector had placed the juubako's at. It was here that Knuckles, Mighty, and surprisingly, Sonic and Manic sat.

"There you are, Espio! We were wondering when you were going to get here!" Mighty said. "Don't worry, we kept your lunch safe!"

"Especially from SOME people who just wanna take a peek…" Sonic lamented, staring down at Manic.

"Ay, chill bro! I just wanted to see what he had for lunch! 'Is all!" Manic shrugged, trying his best not to look guilty.

"Not what your watering mouth told me," Knuckles added. "But anyway, good to see you again pa-"

Knuckles stopped, looking at the magatama necklace around Espio.

"Yo! What is that?!"

The echidna quickly got up and looked at the necklace.

"Sorry, sorry, you know how much I recognize this stuff! Can… can I take a look?"

Espio looked down at the echidna, nodding as Knuckles handled the necklace, looking at it closely.

"Definitely jadeite…" he said to himself. "No cracks or anything… and it's even natural too… and smooth…"

"If yeh weren't talkin' geology, I'd assume yeh'd be talkin' 'bout somethin' else, Knux!" Vector joked as he sat down in front of Mighty.

"Where did you get this, Espio?"

"From Gojo," the chameleon replied.

"Your village has natural jadeite?! You don't see that too often in… ugh, where are you from again?"

"Yurashia?..."

"Right! Sorry, I always forget the names of Northern Mobius zones. Still, it's incredible! Thanks for letting me see it, man. What is this shape anyway?"

"This is co-called… magatama."

"Have NO idea what that is, but hey, it looks cool!"

With that, Knuckles sat back down, allowing himself to geek out over his major for just a brief moment as Espio sat next to Vector. With that, the two grabbed the juubakos and checked out each one, selecting what they wanted to eat as Espio brought out his chopstick set for him and the crocodile. A lot of what Espio had was the same over the past two days, which the chameleon didn't mind as he said his before meal "Itadakimasu" and began to eat the final osechi meal for the new year, Vector following soon after.

"Mm… this is really good!" Vector said in between chews of kazunoko. "It's… it's like really fancy fish!"

"You sure you gonna eat all that?" Knuckles asked. "You know we got practice tonight."

"I know I know, that's why I'm helpin' Espio finish this up!"

"It is a big meal… especially for Espio. You know he doesn't eat as much as some of us," Mighty added.

"Hey, enough of the food talk! You're gonna get me hungry again!" Manic whined.

"Didn't you JUST have a basket of fries?" Sonic questioned.

"And didn't some people know when to keep their mouth shut when they had two chili dogs? YEAAAAH didn't think so, bro,"

"Hey, once all this snow melts, I won't be able to enjoy them as much as I do!"

"Oh right, track season starts in spring, right?" Vector questioned.

"Yup! I don't mind running in the cold, but nothin' beats a run in the spring!"

"Not when it's stormin' it doesn't."

"Hey, aren't you the reptile who has to play in the cold?"

"Touche."

With that, the group began to talk about different subjects, such as what they did over the holidays, from how they spent new years, to other things like the new schedule, to something Manic was especially ecstatic about.

"Yo bro, I just heard back from the lead singer by the by!" Manic said. "I made the drummer part!"

"Whoa, nice! At least you'll have something to do besides lounge around and smoke," the blue hedgehog replied.

"Hey, maybe now ma won't be too disappointed in me!"

"You're in a band, Manic. You're gonna mega ultra disappoint her more than she already is in you."

"Cold. True, but cold."

Then the topic changed to that of robots.

"I asked that cube one if he could tell me a joke and he said, 'What do you call a balding headmaster? Baldy McNosehair!'. I simply looked at it and walked away from how bad of a joke that was," the green hedgehog said..

"That's the kind of joke I would make about our oh-great headmaster," Sonic replied.

"Ah, so you're FINALLY admitting you make bad jokes. Glad to know, bro!"

"Ha, you walked into that one, you blue dolt!" Knuckles teased.

"Funny, coming from the person who walked straight into a pillar on the way here, knucklehead."

A look of annoyance formed on Knuckles' face as Mighty turned towards Espio.

"Say, Espio, what did your folks think about the things Knuckles and I helped pick out?" he asked.

"O-Oh…" Espio looked down at his half eaten juubako. "They la-like it."

"That's great to hear! I'm glad to see your mom was okay with it even though you told us she might not."

For the next half hour, Vector and Espio used the lunch period to catch up with their friends, with the chameleon handing his final postcards to his remaining friends. Manic had his and Sonia's in his hand.

"Don't worry, I'll make sure this gets to her!" he said. "Still, thanks for the thingy! What is says… I dunno!"


LATER THAT NIGHT

"I gotta head out to practice later tonight, but when I come back, we can order somethin' fer dinner!" Vector said with his duffle bag over his shoulder. "I know yeh got that Meh Burger gift card from yer friend, so we can go there!"

"A-Ah… okay…" Espio replied, sad to see Vector go after spending almost all day with him. But as long as he was just going to practice, than everything was going to be fine.

"Okay, I'll see ya in a bit, man!"

With that, Vector gave a thumbs up and a wave as he turned around and closed the door, leaving Espio behind in the dorm. At that moment, the chameleon sighed, wondering what he should do now that he was by his lonesome. Thanks to the gifts he received, so many more things were open for him to do in his spare time. He could start the second season of The Pegasus Knights of the Zodiac, he could continue reading Megami Ibunroku Persona, he could mess around on his phone or laptop just like Vector did, or watch TV, or even do training so that mother wouldn't criticize him the next time he returned to Gojo.

But he didn't want to do any of that. He simply just sat in the chair by the desk without any motivation, not even for meditation.

Because at that moment, the thoughts of Espio's nightmare from that morning started coming back to him. He thought back to the scene in the shower, his father's haniwa, and him being dragged to Yomi. Even while being with the crocodile earlier today with his friends, there was this state of longing, state of desire. He could still even feel Vector's large hand on his shoulder just then, the crocodile doing so creating a… strange reaction to his body. Warmth? Nervousness? Whatever it was, Espio felt it clear as day.

And it wasn't just that, he thought back to all his friends too. He was glad that all of them were able to enjoy their holidays and happy for them, but… where did that leave him? Why were all his friends allowed to enjoy a carefree week while he spent it in turmoil in Gojo, then realizing he experienced love only to the same gender once he returned to the Outside World?

"Nothing makes sense anymore…" Espio murmured to himself, the realization of how he felt now sinking in. He was envious. He was envious that everything seemed to be going alright for everyone, meanwhile Espio had to lie to… basically everyone in his life. His family, his village, the Brides, Valdez, and all his friends in the Outside World, he had to lie to them all and pretend like everything was okay.

But how could he be okay when Vector only seemed to make his heart flutter faster, only seemed to make his scales grow redder and redder, only seemed to be taking up most of his headspace? How could he be okay when he knew all this was going to be for naught?

He didn't know what to do anymore or who to go to. And with his trial coming up, maybe there was the chance that there couldn't be anything he could do at this point. Was this to be his fate, stuck in Central Mobius while his mother raised hell and Vector never learned the truth?

It felt like an impassable wall was right in front of him, one that taunted him about his ability of not being able to go through it. And maybe that was all it would forever be, cursed to be a husband of a woman he know he would never truly love because his real love lie with Vec-

*knock knock*

Espio stopped his thoughts. The… door knocked? The scanner didn't beep, so it wasn't Valdez coming to check on Espio or Vector with something he forgot for practice. Who was it?

Trying his best to change his face and put on a mask for whoever was on the other side, Espio walked over to the door and opened it. Revealing it to be…

"Ah ha, I was worried I had the wrong place! Lovely evenin', ain't it, Espio?"

It was Alan, the quail towering above the chameleon.

"Al-Alan…" Espio said, wondering what he was doing here.

"Ya seem confused, mate! Didn'cha forget I was gonna help ya learn the dulcimer tonight?"

Espio shot up, remembering that he DID promise that… He looked back to the dulcimer case by the wardrobe, wondering if maybe… maybe he just needed to take his mind off everything and do something besides thinking about Vector in such detail.

"Mind if I come in now?" the black quail asked. Espio nodded as Alan's head plume bounced as he made himself home. But just then, Espio looked down at the floor.

"Wa-Wait!" he stopped his friend. "Shu-shoes off."

"Huh? Shoes off?"

"Please."

Alan turned his head for a bit before complying with Espio's request, leaving his shoes at the front as he walked inside, the chameleon closing the door behind them.

"Wow, what a place yeh and Vector have!" Alan said in awe. "It's like a small home! 'Course, can't be any smaller than the homes back in Avalon. That's what surprised me a lot 'bout this place when I first got here. Our rooms back at Uni in Snottingham was like a flat…"

He shook his head. "Anyway, that's besides the point. Come on, take out yer dulcimer, I've been lookin' at a few guides to help ya too!"

Espio nodded his head as he walked over to the case, carrying it over to the quail and placing it on the floor. He sat down and opened it up, Alan sitting next to the chameleon.

"Now, have ya played an instrument before, mate?" he asked, Espio shaking his head. This was his first time ever touching an instrument before, since the musicians of the Historic District only played music during festivals for the Brides and their family asides from the time he heard the villagers of Gojo singing or playing their own generational instruments.

"Okay, well not to worry, it might be hard at first, but yeh'll get there! First thing, place the dulcimer on yer lap slanted. Like this!" Alan grabbed the instrument, reaching over as he put the dulcimer in Espio's lap diagonally.

"Alroight, step one done! Now we gotta do is check the tunin' on this. This will basically determine how it'll sound. Stringed instruments like these always gotta be turned when ya play it. Even I tune m' lute when I play it! The closest I saw to a koto and from what mum told me… alroight, it's tuned entirely to D. Now, watch me and I'll show yeh how it should be tuned."

With that, Espio watched as the quail now turned four metal parts to the side of the instrument, telling him what they are and what position they should be in. When he was done, Alan continued.

"Now, since this one 'ere's a three string, it should be really easy to remember the chords. It's just D-A-D. Unlike m' lute, yeh dun got to strum all the strings entirely…"

Espio looked confused.

"Okay okay, watch me. Gonna put m' finger here…" Alan placed a finger at the top of the string as he picked up something plastic in his right hand. "Now, gonna show yeh the chords. From the top, it's Do," Alan strummed the string with his right hand, moving his finger down. "Re. Mi. Fa..."

Espio could hear the noticeable difference in the string as Alan finished before continuing. "From the top down, that's D…" He did the action again, playing a chord for each letter. "E… F#... G…A… B… C... D! Got it? Just seven notes! Why doncha give it a shot?"

With that, Alan handed over control of the instrument to Espio. He handed the plastic thing to Espio, who looked at it oddly.

"Trust me, you're gonna wanna use that to play any stringed instrument! Now, remember the chords I showed you? Use yer left hand to control which chord, right should strum it when yeh got it!"

The quail smiled as Espio focused. This was just going to be like learning how to use a computer or learning English, he was going to fail at first and…

And that was okay. It's like Valdez and Professor Longclaw always told him, it's okay to make mistakes. It's like… like his father said: no one was born a perfectionist.

With that, Espio played the first D chord, remembering clearly what Alan showed. He moved his left finger down the string, plucking the string as it made a clear sound. Alan nodded his head, his head plume bouncing as he did.

"There ya go, mate! You're gettin' it!"

With all the chords played, Alan had Espio continue plucking a couple of more times, this time to saying out each chord aloud, then having him play the chords without stopping as a way to train his hands to get used to playing and being able to switch fingers. With the strum of the strings being the only sound heard in the room, Espio looked up at his quail friend.

"Is this good?" he asked.

"Brilliant, Espio! We still got plenty of lessons, but this one's just to help ya learn how to play and to identify chords!" he replied. "Pretty soon, yeh'll be playin' this just like a koto!"

Suddenly, Espio remembered something Alan told him earlier today. "Eeh… Alan… you said your ma-mother… knows koto. How?"

The quail, who had just taken out his lute, looked up before back at Espio.

"Oh, roight. Well, before I was born, mum used to sing in a travelin' band all around Mobius. Her singing was a real beauty and still is too. In fact, dad was actually apart of that same band too, and he… heh… Solaris bless him, he played the pipes. They knew each other fer some time and I guess all those years of travelin' together, they fell in love, mum got pregnant with me, they married and moved to Avalon, and well, I guess yeh know how the rest goes. Mum used to tell me a lot about how her days of travellin' used to go and it's them as to why I love music. Both m' mum and dad's sides are huge into music, and guess who inherited that passion too? They both taught me a lot of what I know now."

"She go to Yurashia?"

"Mum and dad's band stopped by there a few times, yeah! It's how she knows a bit 'bout the music scene there although she hasn't been in a long time. She just told me what she remembers."

Espio looked down at his instrument, watching his fingers strum each chord his left index finger moved down towards. Alan's mother went to Yurashia, knew of chameleons that lived there and knew of their instruments too? But… mother said that the music they played in Gojo was only ever played there and that the only sounds heard in the Outside World were stifling garbage?

How… how much more did the Brides lie? Was… was it more than just denying that same gender love was a thing? The same thing Espio was still trying to run from, the same thing he tried to get his mind off of until now?!

Alan suddenly noticed the change in Espio, his face falling. "Espio... Espio, are ya alroight?"

The chameleon had stopped playing for a brief second, blinking before taking a deep breath.

"Y-Yes…"

"Are ya sure? Ya suddenly blanked out on me. You ain't nervous, roight?"

"N-No…"

Alan didn't seem sure… "Well… okay, whatever yeh say. Just keep playing the next few chords and then we can move onto the next thing fer me to teach ya."

Even though Espio tried to look at the dulcimer, he knew Alan was looking at him oddly. Did… did he now start to suspect something was going on? Just like Vector did earlier during lunch? It was Espio's worst fears starting to come true, the fear of having his loved ones find out about how he truly was.

"Calm down, calm down…" he thought to himself. "Remember, clear your mind from distracting thou… no, but how can I when Vector occupies my thoughts?"

He watched each string vibrate as he mentally sighed.

"Vector… I know you're doing better than me right now…"


MEANWHILE

It was the end of the first practice session before the College Bowl, and the Badniks had finally returned to the locker room after spending the lonely, clear night on the field. Vector had been positively freezing, finishing taking a hot shower as he felt his body temperature go from cold to hot fast as he sighed. It was a hard practice session, especially since he hadn't trained at all over Christmas break, but it was time to go into overtime, especially if the Badniks were going to win this year.

After washing off all the scale cleaner from his sturdy body, the crocodile turned off the valve for the water, listened to the droplets from the shower and his body drip onto the floor alongside the communication from his fellow teammates. Grabbing his towel from the bars holding the curtains, Vector dried off his head and torso before wrapping it around his waist.

"Man, I so can't wait fer dinner with Espio…" Vector said to himself, wondering what he wanted from Meh Burger. He remembered seeing an ad online while watching videos in between class for their new crispy Clucky sandwich, so maybe that sounded like a treat…

As he walked out of the shower room, he suddenly began to hear a VERY familiar voice. In fact, two in particular that he was unfortunately familiar with…

"I had the grace of seeing Vector with his little 'friend' today," Monk said from behind one of the sets of lockers. Vector hid from behind the one Monk was at, listening in on the conversation between him and this other lovely person.

"Not even one day back and they're all around each other? I shouldn't even be surprised at this point," Connery replied. "Such juvenile behavior."

"Oh, it's more than just that, Connery. You should have seen what that purple degenerate was wearing. Some sort of extra, beady necklace! Now here he is walking around with such… womanly jewelery?! A man with stuff for women on? It's a complete joke. I tell you, I've never seen such degenerate, fatherless behavior before, but that felt like a spit in the face. That's what happens when you don't have a strong father figure growing up, you grow up to become a freak and pretty soon, a predator. People like him, they're all the same."

"Well, don't worry about it anymore. You know his trial is coming up soon, right?"

"Trial?"

"For what that criminal did in November. And I better see the guilty verdict on every newspaper and station the next day-"

Vector could already feel his blood starting to boil, and before he could even hear what else Connery said, he turned around and fumed back to his locker. Knuckles saw the crocodile's face, his once smiling face growing smaller.

"Yo dude, what happened?" he asked.

"Connery and Monk are still at it with their bullshit about Espio. I've had it up to here with them…" Vector growled, almost ready to punch a locker. Knuckles sighed.

"Dude, you know those two don't mean shit. Look, all we got is one month left. One month, and that's it with those two. Try to keep strong, okay?"

But while what Knuckles said was nice, what did it mean when he knew the horse and the gorilla showed no signs of stopping? Nothing was going to change their minds, and as much Vector wanted to forget about them, now that he was back in practice, it was going to be much harder.

The quarterback opened up his locker, seeing the omamori he left there and sighed.

"Espio… why cantcha just have a normal day without someone wantin' to start shit with ya?" he thought to himself, resting his head on the cool metal of the locker. "It's not fair to ya. It's not fair to me… having to see you get hurt."


Finally, after an eventful first day back at Mobius U, the sun rose on the University the next morning as the day of classes starting finally came. Most of what Vector and Espio did that day was most of the same from last semester, where after breakfast, the two went to Advanced English Literature, where Rouge greeted them and too fawned over Espio's magatama necklace just like Knuckles. After that, Espio and Mark met in Algebra 101, where the tapir excitedly talked about the game he liked to play that he lamented over yesterday, FINALLY being allowed to play the game last night after waiting two hours for the queue.

However, it was during Psychology I that something interesting happened. After Professor Starline greeted them back, the platypus introduced a major project to his students.

"In Ancient Apatos mythology, the mythological figure of the mind of society, the Oracle of Delphius, believed that all dreams were the manifestation of our deepest anxieties, but also our desires as well. Tell me, do you remember what you dreamt about last night?" He lectured, book in hand as most of the class raised their hands.

"When we enter REM sleep, our brains are being stimulated whether we realize it or not. It's essential because it's how we store our memories, but it's also how our mind creates dreams itself. It picks apart bits and pieces that our mind carries, creating what we know as dreams. Since we're unconscious throughout the night, our mind creates scenarios, explaining the uncontrollable nature of dreams. Of course, many of you are also familiar with the concept of lucid dreaming, the ability to be aware of your dreams in spite of you being asleep, and controlling how things go. The reason dreams are the first section of this unit is because I want to tie this into a multi-month project that I expect you all to work on."

Professor Starline walked to the board and began to write, Espio watching as he did so. On the board, 'DREAM JOURNAL' was written in black dry erase marker.

"Many of you likely don't realize this, but researchers have done studies to try and link the health of our mind and our behavior to that of our dreams. Since the Oracle of Delphius believed they linked to the deepest desires and fears of the mind, journaling our dreams is not only a healthy way to express one's mental state and feelings, but also show how our mind works to others. For this project, until our midterm in March so let's say… the fourteenth of March, I want you all to get a notebook, and use that as a dream journal. Write whatever you dreamt about, whether positive or negative."

Starline adjusted his bow as he continued. "We will be sharing these with the class, so if there's something that you dreamt about that you feel uncomfortable sharing, let me know and we'll discuss something, but the purpose of this project is for us to understand how dreams affect our mind and senses, or how many of us have common dreams or even nightmares that show what we fear. Maybe you fear falling down the sky, maybe you fear having all your teeth fall out, maybe you dream about your biggest desire like being rich and famous, or having a large family, anything like that. Try to make sure you write at least something down every day after you wake up, and if you don't dream something every day, that's okay. Remember, our minds are built entirely differently, which is the point of this project."

After class, Valdez translated the platypus' lecture as well as the rubric back to Espio, who seemed confused by the project. Write down… dreams? He never thought people did such a thing or that it helped, but since this was for a grade…

However, that night, after sleeping next to the notebook he bought from the school store and a pen, Espio found himself twisting and turning throughout the night. As he tried his best to keep his eyes shut, flashes appeared in his mind of brief dream sessions. One was of him and Vector in the same shower as his nightmare, the next, they had gotten even closer, the next, their faces were mere inches away from one another. And there were more besides that, where Espio imagined Vector in different kinds of poses and looks, all of them flaunting his appearance to the chameleon.

The transfer student arose after the last one, finding it too hard to sleep. He could tell it was still the middle of the night, Vector's snoring clearly heard from below. He quietly moved to the edge of the bed, looking down at his roommate in bed, shirt lazily halfway pulled up to show his lower torso. Espio winced as he quickly retreated back to his bed. It was almost like everything was mocking him for how he was, seeing no end to his torment.

With this, and his looming trial, Espio's mind was far too filled, and he could only think of one thing to do. Turning to his side, he grabbed the notebook and began to write, officially beginning his project.

"一月 四

I had another dream about Vector. We were in the shower together. Then, after we came closer and closer, he showed off his body for me. This is the second day in a row. Will this stop?"


END OF CHAPTER 25