(all content warnings as well as warnings regarding political focus in this chapter from the last part apply here)


MEANWHILE, IN STAGE 3

The commotion from outside that Monk had heard earlier had died down.

Instead, a new noise had replaced it. The sound of grunting, yells, punching, and footsteps on the wooden stage floor.

The stage stood silent, its raised up seats and curtains unmoving as, "Get up, get the FUCK up!" was yelled, bouncing along the stage's walls.

Beads of red had splashed onto the floor, trailing closer and closer to the source of all this noise.

With one, two, and then three punches, Knuckles was thrown back towards the wall, groaning in pain as a bloodied and bruised Vector and Mighty all lay by the echidna, Monk standing over the three.

"You… you bastard-" Knuckles groaned as he got up, only for the gorilla to grab the bottom of his knee, flipping his body around and grabbing his head.

"Who's the weakling now? Huh?!" Monk taunted, slamming Knuckles' face on the floor. "WHO'S THE WEAKLING COWARD NOW?!"

He proceeded to slam Knuckles' face three more times onto the ground, the echidna now breathing heavily as he slowly crawled away from the gorilla, his blooded face and nose staring daggers at the former Badniks player. Vector got up and tried to go at the purple gorilla, rushing at him with his shoulder. However, Monk headlocked the crocodile, hitched breath as he smirked with malice.

"You see these arms, Vector? They're for… punching!"

One punch at his snout.

"Fucking! Degenerates! Like! YOU!"

With each word, he punched at the crocodile before throwing Vector to the ground, the crocodile fully sprawled on the ground as his body felt faint, seeing stars and his nerves tingling.

"Look at you all," a beat up Monk taunted, breathing heavily as he walked in front of Vector, smashing his foot on his fingers. "You all were trying to act so tough earlier. Now look at yourselves. Groaning and crying on the floor, unable to do shit because you're weak. I told you the difference between you and I, didn't I?"

Vector could only weakly cry out in pain in response as Monk's heel went deeper.

"Stop… just STOP!" Mighty yelled as he tried to get up, but before he could-

"Who said you could fight back you fucking BETA!" he yelled, side swiping the armadillo with his leg and smashing it into the side of his face, causing Mighty to fall to the ground on his side. Monk sighed gracefully, looking at the three mobians who were in pure agony.

"You thought you could stop me, huh? Too bad once I leave here with what I need, I'll still be the masculine chad I've always been. While you three will continue being what you've always been." Monk turned towards Knuckles. "A deformed freak..."

Knuckles grit his teeth.

"A soft beta cuck…"

Mighty closed his eyes as he rolled in pain.

"And the worst of all… a degenerate."

Vector grabbed the side of his body, wincing and hissing in pain. But before he could do anything else, even in spite of how much beating he took, Monk grabbed the crocodile's snout and clamped it shut with his left hand. He stared down at Vector, moving his arm back as he got ready to punch. His smirk grew into a wide grin filled with hatred, his brow lowering.

"Now, why don't you stay still, Vector? I'm about to deliver one final message; what I'm gonna do once I get my hands on all your little fellow degenerates…!" he exclaimed. Vector closed his eyes, knowing this was it. He failed Espio, he let his boyfriend down. He wasn't strong enough… Maybe… maybe Monk was right. Maybe he had let himself go after football season was over. Maybe he… he was truly weak…

With no motivation left to fight, Vector knew he was about to be knocked out cold by the gorilla. He wasn't sure what was going to happen when he woke up, but he knew the fallout wasn't going to be pretty…

Or so he thought.

He opened his eyes slowly, just in time to notice a familiar brown lute being held up in the air behind Monk's head. Two hands in particular held up the instrument, one furry and copper, one feathered and blue-gray. Vector's eyes widened slowly as he realized who it was, much to Monk's cluelessness.

With one swipe, the two hands brought the lute down on the back of Monk's head. The gorilla cried out in pain as his body fell limp, falling face first onto the ground in front of Vector as the crocodile quickly got out of the way. Monk now lay sprawled out on the floor, unconscious and unmoving as Alan and Munch stood in front of the four, the rat taking his hand off Alan's lute.

"Sorry 'bout that. Hope we're not too late," the quail said. Both Alan and Munch held out their hands as Vector grabbed on, the two bringing the crocodile up from the floor. Fresh blood rolled down his nose.

"Yer…" Vector replied, breathing a deep sigh of relief. "Yer just in time…"

"Good… Gaia, mates!" Munch exclaimed. "The 'ell happen here?"

"Monk was… stronger than we thought-!" Vector hissed in pain, almost falling to the ground. The two Mercian transfer students quickly helped Vector back up as they looked around, running over to the echidna and armadillo.

"Should we bring yeh to hospital? Yeh ain't in no condition to go on!" Alan asked, bringing Knuckles up, who's arms shook.

"It's… it's fine. How… how could I have let myself go? Shit…" hissed Knuckles.

"Well… at the very least, yer okay, roight? Can yeh stand alroight, or d'ya need some help?"

With the only answer being a groan, Knuckles and Mighty held each other up by the shoulders as Vector's body shook, pain shooting everywhere around his body.

"I did the things I learned in wrestling but… it's like it wasn't enough," the armadillo told Munch. "He just…"

"So-Sorry, man…" Knuckles replied. "You know what Monk's weak spot was. I knew that was the best way to rile him up. I'll make it up to you-"

"D'ya know where yer off to now?" Alan asked Vector.

"I know I ain't doin' the best… but… I need to find Espio. I dunno what happened between him and Connery, and the thought of that scares me," the crocodile replied.

"Ve-Vector! What are you THINKING?!" Knuckles yelled. "Look at you, man! You can't even POSSIBLY go after Connery now! You're in no condition- aaargh! F-Fuck…"

"It hurts fer… fer me too, Knux… but… but I gotta. All this is fer Es… I… I'd do anythin' fer him. Even… even if it means-"

"Don't say it, man…" Mighty added. "Espio can do it by himself. He said so…"

"N-No! I… I'm sorry, everyone. This… this is our last stand. Es and I gotta do this together. It's both of us Connery hates the most. And… and I know he has a trick up his sleeve. It's just like him, the slimy bastard…"

The other four stared at the crocodile with concern in their eyes as Knuckles limped over to Vector. Vector looked down at the echidna as he weakly held up his fist.

"Promise me, you'll come back safely, won't you?..." he asked softly.

"Knux, yeh've been known me since High School. I always come back in one piece," Vector replied just as Mighty slid towards the two, looking at them both.

"You better promise us real good! You've made some pretty whack promises before in the past. But this one… if you mess it up, boy are we go-gonna-!" the armadillo said before Vector interrupted.

"I know man. What kinda friend would I be if I let yeh two down? But… yeh gotta promise me yeh'll do the same. Go with Alan and Munch, and find Jewel and the others. Make sure they wipe their hands clean so they can get outta here. Besides, I'm sure they wanna see Buck."

"Swear on it?" Knuckles asked.

At that moment, the three bumped fists together at the same time, an old ritual they had done since high school. Vector smiled.

"Swear on it."

The crocodile turned towards the backstage door, ready to head out and find Espio. But just then, Munch spoke up.

"Oi, Vector."

Vector turned around to see the rat tap Monk's unconscious body with his boot, Alan staring down at him still holding his lute.

"What we oughta do with the minger?"

The crocodile lowered his eyes, thinking back to how Knuckles said he stroked the one thing that set off Monk's berserk button. He turned back towards the group.

"Leave him there," Vector replied. "The dirt suits someone like him well."

"I'll say," Alan replied, staring back at the purple gorilla. "This is what he oughta get after what he did to Buck. Once a gammon, always a gammon, I say."

"Bloody twat…" Munch growled, shaking his head as his arms were crossed. "I say he got off nicer than he deserves."

"Trust me, I agree. But if it makes yeh feel better, once Monk wakes up and realizes he was taken down, that ego of his drops to zero. He'll be a nobody in no time," Vector replied. Just before someone could speak up, Alan was taken aback when one of the strings on his lute suddenly popped, jumping slightly back as he blinked rapidly.

"Oh NO! Not now!" he exclaimed, looking upset at what just occurred.

"We'll deal with it later, mate!" Munch replied, elbowing his fellow Mercian. "Roight now, we gotta find Buck. And Vector? Good luck."

Knuckles and Mighty nodded their head towards their friend as the four began to run out of the stage (although Knuckles and Mighty were clearly limping), leaving Vector behind as, even with the throbbing pain throughout his body, he turned his head towards the door leading to the backstage.

"Okay, Vec… ya got this. Yeh might be in a lot of pain, but yeh gotta manage. This ain't the first time yeh've been hurt, and this isn't even the worst pain ever. Ya just gotta run. Run like hell… run like yeh've NEVER ran before, Vec!"

With his eyes lowering, and getting into position like it were a football match, the crocodile tried to gain his composure as well as gather whatever energy he had in his bout of adrenaline.

Within a couple of seconds, Vector opened his eyes and ran off, arms moving up and down as he crashed through the backstage door, looking around as he ran off towards the underground tunnel door. He climbed down the stairs leading towards the tunnels, jumping off the ladder as he brought his phone out and let his flashlight light the way. Looking back and forth through the stuffy, tight hallways, the crocodile couldn't help but think about his boyfriend at that moment.

"Es… wherever ya are… whatever happened to ya… please be safe…" he said to himself, unsure of what he would do if he saw Espio either hurt… or… or worse.

No, he couldn't think like this. Espio WAS safe, he WASN'T hurt at all! He… he wouldn't let something like that happen to him!

As he crashed into a wall, Vector felt so many thoughts enter his brain and strike, feeling overwhelmed by the second. But no matter what, he couldn't let himself succumb to his thoughts or the pain jolting up his body until he saw Espio…


MEANWHILE…

"Okay, go, go!" Rotor said as Jewel, Mark, Buck, and Gadget all scattered down the dark hall of the tunnels underneath the Space Theatre. It had been a tense couple of minutes, the five hanging from the ladder in the stuffy, hard to breathe dark corridor as they constantly heard voices above them, too afraid to move from where they were. In fact, it gave the group some time to think about what had just occurred in the last couple of minutes…


As everyone ran into the control booth of Stage 2, Rotor slammed the door shut behind the five as everyone suddenly heard a slew of voices.

"There they are! Open that door!"

"The-They… they fou-found us?!" Gadget questioned, holding his chest and breathing heavily. Jewel turned to the side and looked at the window.

"There's a blind wand there! Buck, hurry up and close the blinds!" she exclaimed. The deer quickly grabbed the wand and turned it left, just in time for one of the guards to appear in frame. Thankfully, they avoided detection, but soon the door was being pounded.

"OPEN UP! WE KNOW YOU'RE IN THERE! YOU CAN'T RUN ANYMORE! OPEN THE DOOR AND SURRENDER PEACEFULLY! OTHERWISE WE WILL RESORT TO EXTREMITIES!" they yelled, all while Rotor pushed his back against the door preventing them from breaking it down.

"Mark, hurry!" the jewel beetle exclaimed, the tapir's arm shaking as he transferred powerpoint files from his USB to the one used for tonight's event, all while opening up the laptop he brought.

"I'm trying, okay! I really am!" he exclaimed back, the fear evident mainly in his eyes. As Mark grabbed one of the nearby LAN cables and plugged it in, Buck and Gadget looked at the door with worry.

"I don't… know how much longer I can hold this door down!" Rotor said. "Hurry up and run! I'll take the fall for you guys…"

That's when, suddenly, the red wolf ran forward and began to push the locked door too, surprising the walrus.

"N-No! I'll… I'll help! I… I'm… I'm-I'm-" he stuttered, seemingly no longer able to make any words come out of his mouth due to his mutism. Rotor looked down at the wolf.

"Don't say anything else. You're a brave guy, Gadget. It's okay, we'll do this together."

Though the anxiety was evident in Gadget's face, he gave a silent nod.

Programs and command line boxes opened up and closed on Mark's laptop as he typed away as quickly as he could, erasing whatever spelling mistakes and programming errors he was making. His entire forehead was glistened with sweat, his hands shaking more and more by the second.

"Okay, university IP got… Connected devices… okay, good. Once these are in, all I have to do is start up the program that... type confirm… and the IP of the university's main router…" Mark murmured to himself. "Okay, okay! Almost done!"

That's when there was what sounded like kicks being thrown at the door. Buck, Jewel, and Mark looked up, realizing that the door was about to be kicked down.

"Mark, what are you doing?! Wasn't changing the files enough? What's going on?" Jewel asked.

"Hold on, hold on! I'm-!"

"We have no time! Ugh, Buck, open up the door to the passageway now! We have to go!"

Buck nodded as he opened up the door on the ground. Jewel quickly flew down as Buck followed, leaving the other three behind.

"We really should go!" Rotor said. "Okay Gadget, on the count of three, we're gonna stop pushing the door and head down the passageway together. One… h-huh?!"

That's when Gadget got onto the floor, opening up his cheeseburger backpack and pulling out tubs of acrylic paint. He also placed his tablet next to him.

"Wh-What are you doing, man? This isn't time for art!" the walrus exclaimed.

Gadget looked longingly at the tubs of acrylic paint, kissing it like he was about to lose it like a lover. Then, with one big squeeze, Gadget began to shoot out loads of paint onto the floor in front of Rotor, colors all conjoined together without care as the walrus jumped over the giant pile to let Gadget unload paint out by the door. That's when the walrus led the red wolf down the underground door, looking back to see Mark on the laptop.

"Mark, we have to go NOW!" he yelled whispered, grabbing his shoulder as the door was kicked with intensity.

"Bu-But I'm not done yet! The program needs to-" he sputtered out as there was another kick. Mark gasped as he grabbed a sticky note and a pen on the control panel's desk, writing sloppily and quickly and sticking it onto the laptop screen.

"What program?! Come on, forget the stupid program and let's GO!"

Rotor unplugged the LAN cable and grabbed Mark's hand, almost throwing him down the underground door, closed and grabbed the laptop, and ran to the door and shut it from below just in time for the five to hear the clear sound of the door being kicked open forcibly. However, he heard the sound of someone tripping and someone sputtering in disgust.

"Wh-what the hell is this?! Is this paint?!" someone yelled.

Everyone in the tunnels covered their mouths, trying so much as to not let their breathing be heard. Rotor did so all while holding the string on the door, using all his strength to make sure no one opened the door. The five only stayed in this position as the guards pondered where they were, when they were alerted on their walkie talkie that they had to go to another area from their leader's orders, when they heard Connery's distinct voice yell out from outside, and when they heard the distinct sounds of a struggle from afar.


And so, with the coast officially confirmed and with no one realizing that the five had escaped through this passageway, the five's loud footsteps filled the tight corridor halls as they looked around for the exit.

"I'm trying to get confirmation on what we should do next… but Vector isn't responding!" Jewel said, raising her phone up. "And the reception here isn't the best… No one knows we're here anyway…"

She came to a halt as she took a few seconds to catch her breath, as did the others.

"Yeah, let's try to unwind for a bit while I get this message. If we don't hear back in five minutes, we're going to find Sonic and his siblings."

Gadget quickly tapped away on his tablet as he held it out, still breathing heavily. "I DON'T THINK I CAN TAKE ANYMORE. THAT WAS THE SCARIEST THING I'VE EVER DONE," the text to speech program on his tablet spoke through his speakers, the wolf's hands shaking. "TO THINK I WASTED SO MUCH EXPENSIVE PAINT."

"Well, the good thing is that our part is done. This means that all that's left is for Bow and Thorn to let go of that banner, and for Vector and Espio to do their things," Rotor replied.

"I do hope that Alan and Munch are okay if they did go after that Monk person…" Buck added. "They're the strongest people I know, but yet… I can't help but worry about them… Oh? Mark, is somethin' wrong?"

The tapir, who stood farthest away from everyone and who cradled the laptop in his arms, turned his head away. "I… I…"

"Mark, what is it? You've been acting strange this whole time," Jewel asked. "Besides, you never did tell us what the laptop was mainly for. That program thing… All we discussed was that you'd transfer our fake PowerPoint to the laptop in there. When did we talk about a program-?"

"I have to go find Espio."

That sudden phrase from Mark made the other four sputter.

"You WHAT?!" the jewel beetle exclaimed.

"E-Espio… I know he's strong but… I don't know what that Connery guy has planned… You heard those guards! They expected him to be there! Imagine what Connery would do if Espio appeared in front of him!" Mark continued. "He's… he's probably hurt!"

"BUT THAT DOESN'T MEAN THAT ESPIO IS WEAK. HE CAN DO IT," Gadget's TTS program spoke out.

"Y-You don't get it! He… he isn't safe out there! I… I have to go find him!"

"I get that he's your friend, but you can't seriously expect to take on Connery, right?! There was a reason he was one of the strongest guys on our football team! I don't want to be rude at all, but you just can't do it! Even Vector struggled when he fought him!" yelled back Rotor.

"Mark, please let Espio be. He wanted to 'andle Connery himself," Buck replied. Mark grit his teeth as he took a step back, closing his eyes.

"N-No! You… you don't... you don't GET IT!"

That's when tears began to bead from Mark's eyes.

"I.. I don't want to think about what Connery could do to him! To… to-to the only person who didn't care about who I was that wasn't like me!" he cried. "All my life, I've been bullied to the extreme because of what I liked and how I looked! I still remember all those names, all the things they did, all the times they made me look so stupid in front of so many people, all the threats they gave me like threatening to hang me in front of the whole school! And how-how I escaped all of it through what I like! The nerdy things they all made fun of m… m… me for!, the things they'd go as far as to destroy in front of my face!"

The four were silent as Mark had began to full-on cry now.

"I never was brave! I never could stand up to anyone because I never had guts in my-my life…! Bu-But… but Espio was the first person I ever met who didn't care about how I looked or what I liked who wasn't someone like me. H-He didn't mind that I tried to push my love of anime and manga on him because I was awkward and didn't kn-know how to talk to him because I never met someone from Yurashia before! He… he only just wanted to be my friend… He… he was the only person in my life who prot-protected me from… from jerks like Connery!"

That's when Mark rushed forward, shoving the laptop into Jewel's hands, riaising his glasses and wiping his eyes as he sniffed loudly.

"Open that once you get out, it'll explain everything," he quickly said. "Do-Don't come after me and don't stop me either, you four. Espio protected me before… and now… I… I have to protect him!'

The tapir ran forward as the four stood dumbfounded.

"You IDIOT!" Rotor yelled. "What are you doing?! You're going to get yourself hurt!"

Rotor was about to run after the tapir when Buck grabbed his hand. The walrus turned towards the deer, who shook his head.

"Protect… Espio…?" Rotor murmured. "Was… that why? I knew they were friends but…"

"WHAT DO WE DO?" Gadget's TTS program spoke after he shakily typed. "HE SAID NOT TO GO AFTER HIM."

"We can only do one thing. Respect his wishes and pray to Solaris he's okay…" Buck said, looking worried at where Mark ran off. Jewel on the other hand, floated where she was, confused at what Mark meant towards the laptop, 'explaining everything'.

She opened up the laptop, the bright glow almost blinding her in the darkness. As she covered her eyes with her hand, she could see a lone sticky note on the monitor. The jewel beetle grabbed it and skimmed through it, her eyes widening as what the tapir wrote finally sunk into her mind.


MEANWHILE, BACK AT STAGE 2

Espio and Connery continued to stay where they were all this time, the horse's body turned at an angle as he continued to stare at the chained chameleon.

"So do you finally get it now, boy?" Connery asked. "Everything you've done on this campus to gain the public's trust has been all for naught. None of them have the brains to realize that the leader they stuck up for and that they're out there protesting against is here right in front of me. None of your foolish friends seem to be here either. Could it be that they also gave up on you, growing sick of the type of person you are? Well, maybe except Vector, but he's a lost cause…"

"Do… not say Ve-Vector!" Espio yelled out. The horse's eyebrows lowered as he walked forward, grabbing his head armor and pulling it off his face like he did the magatama necklace.

"There, now you have no way to hide anymore," Connery said, face disgusted as he threw the armor to the side. "This sort of facade should have stayed in Yurashia where you belong, or better yet, about two hundred years ago in YOUR zone! It's frankly sickening to see how many people look up to you, defend you when this is how you come to our zone. A zone that you would have NEVER been able to come to if our embarrassment of a president wasn't lax about borders like he is. That's what separates you and I, Espio."

Connery proceeded to get into the chameleon's face. "You want to think you're some leader who is an example of "diversity", all championed by that Valdez who brought you here. Instead, you don't respect anything but demand that others respect you and your "lifestyle". Someone like you shouldn't even have the GALL to call yourself a leader! A leader isn't an annoying insect, a blight on humanity who only takes what he sees fit! Our working and middle class have enough problems thanks to this leftist government, they don't need an extra worry when their children or grandchildren are being exposed to someone who shows that being a hooligan is how you succeed."

A sleazy smile appeared on the horse's mouth, his moustache following it. "Ah, but I? I joined CCOCC with the hopes of starting my journey to be the successor of my father and his allies, to continue the work they've done in the House. And with hard work and perseverance, something you don't understand, I was honored to be given the role of leader. A role I worked hard to get and deserve to have. You don't know how many expectations were placed on me! How many sacrifices I've had to make!... But I made them. The history books will remember someone like me, someone who loved their zone and defended it against everything I've always stood against for the sake of our society and for the United Federations to continue functioning the way it does. Where as you? You'll die forgotten in Yurashia, with not a single person even remembering your name…"

Connery raised himself up, turning his back away from the chameleon. "That's exactly how you Yurashians work. You turn the other way at whatever happens with vast selfishness, only seeming to care about your own interests. It's rooted in that thing you call a "culture", only trusting in the system and distrusting anything against what goes against your narrative. That's what you want to bring to our zone. You want us to distrust one another, to suspect one another, all so that can lead to us killing one another, all so you can have what you want: a world where you all are the superpower that controls how things are run, something that is against our Federationalist values. The left already believes in such an idea, which is why the students here believe in you. But as a leader who fights for what's RIGHT, I refuse to let you debauch society with your backwards way of life!"

Espio grit his teeth as he stared at Connery with hatred. "C-Connery…! You dishonar me more!" he exclaimed. "You are not a li-leader! Leader's do not ha-hurt others!"

Connery turned around to look at Espio as his face only became more disgusted.

"Is that so?" he asked. "Quality choice of words, from a violent, foreign rat such as yourself! Listen to me, boy! This was supposed to be MY year, the year that CCOCC was supposed to reach bigger and greater heights, where I wanted nothing more but to make my father and his political allies proud of my work and ensure goodwill and good connections with our party and ensure a turnover in votes to our party before our eventual elections ! But you ruined that once you arrived… you ruined EVERYTHING!"

Connery grabbed Espio by the collar, holding him up as the chameleon had no way to fight back.

"If it wasn't for you, the Badniks wouldn't be the way they were, having it take political sides and needing to burn bridges! If it wasn't for you, CCOCC's activities wouldn't be as scrutinized as they… ARE!"

With that last word, Connery slammed Espio's into the wall, the chameleon grunting in pain as the horse continued to slam him into the wall.

"IF IT WASN'T FOR YOU, OUR ZONE WOULDN'T BE IN THE DISARRAY IT IS!" he suddenly screamed. He put both hands on Espio's yoroi as he pushed him against the wall faster and faster as he continued. "IT'S PEOPLE LIKE YOU AND THAT VALDEZ THAT DESTROY THE FABRIC OF MODERN SOCIETIES! IF IT WASN'T FOR PEOPLE LIKE YOU, OUR TAXES WOULD GO TO THINGS THAT HELP THE PEOPLE, NOT LET YOU GO AMOK! IF IT WASN'T FOR PEOPLE LIKE YOU, EVERY SINGLE MORAL FIBRE OF SOCIETY WOULD BE LEFT INTACT! YOU'RE EVERYTHING THATS WRONG WITH THIS ZONE AND THE IMMIGRANTS WHO INVADE IT! YOU'RE THE REASON WE CAN'T HAVE ACTUAL DESIRED PEOPLE IN OUR COUNTRY! ALL THIS AND SO MUCH MORE, ALL CAUSED BY PEOPLE.. NO, RATS LIKE YOU!"

Espio now started to see stars in his eyes as he felt futile. It only properly sunk in now just how much Connery hated him, how much he… possibly wanted to see him gone from existence forever.

Suddenly, with one final slam against the wall, he let go of the chameleon, letting him go limp. The chameleon's wrists felt sharp pain as he was forced to continue hanging from the wall.

"But not anymore," Connery continued. "Do you know what time it is?"

Espio didn't respond.

"It's 6:51. In about nine minutes, the people, activists, politicians, and cameramen are all going to fill these seats in time for CCOCC's event. And I'll be the first one to speak, introducing tonight's event. And I even planned to have a special guest as well. Someone I plan to show off to the world to show that I had to take justice into my own hands, to show what the police and courts couldn't do. To show the crowd… no, not just them, the ENTIRETY of the United Federations what kind of people we don't want in our zone, what happens when we let a political party run by wokeness control our borders! Haven't you figured it out yet, boy? It's you I'm talking about."

Espio's eyes widened as he began to struggle again, trying to free himself as Connery slammed his elbow into Espio's forearm.

"Don't you even try it! I already told you that this had to be done to put a stop to your hooliganism!" the horse yelled. "Besides, you'll be asleep anyway…"

The horse showed off the same taser he used on Espio earlier.

"You should be lucky you'll be passed out. If I threw you into that crowd, I don't think a single piece of you would be left. Trust me, it isn't just ME who has an issue with you. An entire political base has their eyes on you. Not like it would matter anyway, because I've already had the security guards my father hired tonight call the police. And I'll be handing you off to them once my speech ends, so either you'll end up deported or in jail, a preferable scenario either or! But it won't end there. I'll call for the prosecution of Valdez for willing to allow violent criminals into this zone and letting them through the border without doing any sort of background check, and make sure that all your little rebel friends who helped you reach me get expelled, unable to attend any other university in the world."

Espio's eyes widened even more.

"Don't you give me that look! I already know that you had help sneaking into here! Was it Vector? Or perhaps someone else? Regardless, I don't care. They're just as much compliant in your hooliganism, abiding your crimes!"

Espio's eyes lowered as his expression became angrier. He breathed heavily.

"...I will… I will NEVER forgive you, Connery!" Espio yelled.

"Forgive me? It's YOU that should be begging me for forgiveness! I never wanted to do what I've had to do today, but you brought me to these extremes. You've threatened me, physically attacked me and my guards, it's clear you would do this to anyone else! This is for the sake of society! What we ought to be doing to menaces like you! Frankly, someone like you deserves WORSE!"

Connery sighed.

"It seems I'm still right. You're still a lost cause, trying to justify your means after all this time. Well, not like it matters. No one is here to save you. You're powerless now, and all that's left is to show the world that you've finally been neutralized. How about we get started?"

Connery turned on the taser as it began to spark.

"Now you'll get to feel how you've made me feel all this time," he said. "And there's nothing you or-"

The door behind the two leading to the backstage area opened up suddenly, and a voice yelled out.

"E-ESPIO!"

The two turned their heads to the side to see Vector stumbling in through the backstage door. The chameleon gasped, seeing his boyfriend bloodied and bruised all over his body, weakness in his eyes.

"Vector!" Connery exclaimed, his face turning into one of disgust. "Of course… of COURSE! WHY AM I NOT SURPRISED?! Wherever one of you goes, the other is quick to follow! That's how it's always been!"

"Ve-Vector! Do sa-something! I.." Espio yelled, struggling with his handcuffs. "I cannot!"

The crocodile's eyes widened as he saw what was in front of him. Espio's limbs tied up, a clearly frightened expression on his face as Connery stood above him, a… a taser in his hand?!

"Wha… what in the hell are ya doin'?! Let him go!" Vector yelled, getting closer as Connery pointed the taser at the crocodile.

"Not a STEP closer, Vector! This is between me and the illegal alien!" the horse said. "Interfere and I see no reason tazing you too!"

"Tazin' me too…? Yeh… yeh ALREADY DID THAT TO ES?!"

"And I see no problem doing it again, what's your point?! Now stand back! Take some distance before you do something you'll regret…"

Vector's anger boiled again like when he heard Monk speak his mind, but this was different. He didn't want to get Espio hurt. So, with pain in his heart, he did as what he was told, stepping back behind the curtain into the darkness.

…which was just the spot he wanted to be in.

Espio turned his head towards Connery. "Do not hurt him!" he yelled. The horse ignored the chameleon as he stared at Vector.

"Yeh fucker… yeh ain't gonna get away with this! ANY OF THIS!" Vector screamed.

"Oh, but I will, Vector. Hasn't it occurred to you just who's in charge of tonight's event?" Connery asked. "This entire event was funded by various conservative advocacy groups, individuals, and… my father. All of them have very strong lawyers who are well acquainted with my family. They would never so much as dare to prosecute me. Besides, you know our supporters would never believe you either. They'll see this as what it is, justice. Gaia bless them."

"So yeh admit it? Yeh know what yer doin' is wrong and yeh don't care as long as ya get to hurt Espio? Is that it? Is this how CCOCC works? They get to hurt whoever they want and they don't care about consequences 'cause no one gives a shit?"

"You must understand, Vector, simpleton as you are, that politics are dirty. Very, very dirty. There's no hand holding and flowers here. This is about fighting for the wishes and safety of the people and against that which harms them. And we'll do it any way we like, because as conservatives, we're bleeding hearts. The most important thing to us is fighting for what we believe in, whether in our daily lives, testifying in front of political committees, whatever the situation calls for!"

"And that's why yer group acts like they do? Cause they feel emboldened by ya?"

"Goodness, must you continue to focus on CCOCC? You act like I constantly overlook their activities as if I were Big Brother. If they feel the need to express their desires the way they do, they're free to do so. In fact, I believe the way they message is more effective than whatever you leftists do. So frankly? I don't care if Monk calls someone a groomer and reports on whatever the LGBTs do around the zone or if Timothy destroys some socialist's trading card or whatever either of them do! Maybe there's some truth to what they say and do that you can't accept?"

"Yer a maniac, Connery! Look at yeh now! Tyin' Espio up, makin' it so he can't defend himself-"

"It's what SHOULD have happened the second he stepped onto campus! He's the reason we are where we are now, not me! Do you think I made this event fully with the intent to spread conservative messaging? No! I organized this event because I knew he would ABSOLUTELY try to get this event shut down because that's the kind of rat he is! Now, do you finally see what happens when you have people like Valdez calling the shots, letting wokeness take over one's ideology on how little they care about national security? You get people like this one into our zones!"

Connery threw the back of Espio's head down. Vector's fist balled up.

"So this event is a lie, huh? One giant lie just to attack Espio and be a psycho, huh? Yer scum, Connery! Yer the bottom of the barrel!"

"Frankly, if I'll be honest, this is just how politics work, Vector. You have to play dirty to get what you want. Father always told me the second you display any weakness is when the enemy comes after you and when you lose the support of the people. You'll be surprised how many people want a strong leader who never backs down against conflict, no matter their message."

"And yer conflict is to use other people's money just to taze someone?!"

"Goodness, you screech like a child. You act as if I killed the boy. That's what he tried to do to me! I know it's hard for you two to understand, but we have self-defense laws for a reason! We're allowed to stand our ground for reasons like this!"

"And who attacked first?"

"The second I dropped my phone, he tried to throw it away, and I did, of course. If he pushed away my phone, imagine what he would do after? He already beat me within an inch of my life, so I did what I had to do to protect myself: taze him. Tch, why does that matter anyway? At the end of the day, this is the person who tried to kill me using a plastic pipe! And here you are, defending him still!"

"Scammin' people, assaultin' someone, and bein' okay with whatever yet little group does! Yeh've made an entire campus fearful of ya and constantly slander people day in and out without merit! That's stochastic terrorism, buddy! I think I've heard enough… ya love to call Es a criminal, makin' up all these lies 'bout him, but I'd frankly look in the mirror, asshole!"

Connery's face twisted. "I'm sorry, I'M the criminal?! Who was the one that excused this little 'Shian rat's behavior EVERY SINGLE TIME! Whatever Monk said or someone online said doesn't matter! What this boy has done since August is FAR more dangerous than ANY word that could be said! Him LIVING here on this campus for free is dangerous enough as is! I'M not the dangerous one! CCOCC aren't the dangerous ones! HE is! Think about it. I set all this up and he still came, falling right where I wanted him. Even if I made this event without thinking about him once, he would STILL come here to try and murder me and other conservatives! It didn't matter to him!"

"Say that again. Look at yerself and say that again."

"Tch, I don't have to respect your wishes, not when I'm FINALLY going to get what I want. To see this boy behind bars or deported!"

"Just admittin' it outright, huh? Settin' up all this work so yeh can lie and claim Espio hurt yeh and get him out of the zone and out of yer way. Is that it?"

"And what, you think that if you run out to that crowd right now and tell them that I set all this up so he can try to do something to me and because I know he's still on his probation, I can frame him for something he never did and get him deported like all this has been… they'd believe you? This boy is just the start of how I want our immigration process going forward, an example to the people to show how we REALLY should be running this country!"

"How… how could ya do that?! Just… LIE 'cause of a bunch of loopholes?! I thought yeh were scum, Connery, but the fact yer goin' that far to just frame Es fer somethin' he never did all just so yeh can get yer way is-!"

"Don't try to lecture me, Vector. I don't care about legality. If this is the sort of thing we conservatives have to do to get justice, then like the founders of this zone, we have to fight for what's right! This boy stifled conservative voices for far too long, shutting down any kind of dialog we could have about him being here, and look where that's ended him up! He brought all of this to himself!"

"Yeh've made nothin' but excuses fer yerself and yer little cronies. But I ain't gonna let ya get away with it," Vector cracked his knuckles. "If I'm not mistaken, we had a fight that was interrupted back in December. Now that coach ain't here, I think it's time we finish it up. I already took care of Monk, I ain't afraid of gettin' mah hands dirty again. Not after all the shit spewin' from yer mouth…"

Espio felt panic when he saw what was about to happen. No! He can't do this! This was supposed to be between the chameleon and Connery! Vector wasn't supposed to get hurt! And not just that… he remembered something so long ago, about how the crocodile got into trouble after what happened between him and Connery in December that left him depressed all day.

It turns out, he wasn't the only one to remember.

Connery chortled, lowering his arms as he shook his head.

"A fight? Is that it? You came ALL THIS WAY just to… to fight me?" he taunted in the exact same manner Monk did. He began to laugh. "Ha… ha ha ha ha! How pathetic! No wonder you two are lovers! You're one in the same, resorting to violence whenever you see fit!"

"Yeh've done nothin' but dishonor and slander him, hurt him and his friends, have him CHAINED UP AND FRAMIN' HIM TO GET HIM ARRESTED FER GAIA'S SAKE!" Vector snortled, what felt like steam blowing from his nostrils. "And anyone who fucks with mah boyfriend? Is gonna get through me first. I won't let ya lay another HAND on him!"

"And what are you going to do? Haven't you forgotten what Coach Augustus told us? That this is YOUR last chance. The second you put your hands on me, then you can say goodbye to your football career. I still remember it so clearly last year, all that daydream talk about how you wanted to be a star player for the CMFL, how you were going to make it big and… what was it again? 'Run to the end zone across the stars'? Such a juvenile dream that no one dared even to speak up on how ridiculous it sounded. You're the quarterback of the Badniks, a position you worked hard to get and that both of us KNOW it's a position everyone wants. And you want to... to give up all the fame and money you talked about and that you currently have, your position on the team and your status… All that for… for some ungrateful foreigner like HIM?!" Connery pointed at Espio.

"Vector… Vector no…" Espio shook his head. He knew football meant so much to the crocodile, and it seemed it sunk into Vector's mind too, as he seemed to slink. He didn't know how he'd feel if Vector's biggest goal was ruined because of him…

In fact, Vector seemed to stand back at what Connery said. Espio could see him standing motionless, seemingly thinking about what his actions may mean for his future. All Espio knew, he didn't want Vector to give up everything just for him.

"Even so…" Vector finally said, closing his eyes.

"Vector, NO! Fu-football is in… inportant!" Espio yelled back. "Don't-!"

"ES!" Vector angrily shot back, squeezing his eyes shut as his head shook. "I… I dun care about that anymore! I mean… who… Who cares about bein' big man on campus?! I'd... I'd-I'd give up everythin'…! I'd let coach kick me off the team, be a nobody and unable to play fer any football team, go through hell and back even! If… if it means protectin' ya. Yeh… ya matter to me more than ANY position on a football team! I'd give it up twice if I had to if it means that I can finally get back at THIS asshole!"

Espio's face softened. He… never heard any of this before from his boyfriend.

He… didn't mind giving up his football career for him? He thought that meant so much to him, especially after what happened last time. But this?

…it truly reminded Espio just how much Vector loved him. How much he truly cared about him.

Connery, on the other hand, was not smitten by this declaration.

"Pah! How PATHETIC you've fallen, Vector!" he yelled. "You really want to give up ALL of what you have for THIS person of all people? Of all the stupidest… I never thought love would cause someone to be so blind to the world, but it seems I'm experiencing it first hand…"

Connery's expression fell blank as he stared at the two back to back.

"To hell with this. I've had it up to here with you two. You've been nothing but thorns on my side since the day you met! Always with your little childish, unrealistic, chauvinistic way of thinking, Vector. You might have been our quarterback, but you were just as lazy as the other Badniks. If I'll be honest, I fail to see how someone like YOU could be a quarterback. You NEVER could be a leader! And you frankly only got worse once THIS rat came into the picture!"

Connery chuckled. "But that won't matter anymore. You aren't going to stay on this campus knowing what you know. I'll make sure you two will be rotting TOGETHER in the same prison cell if need be! Anything as long as you two are finally brought to the justice you deserve! So, what's it going to be, Vector? Anything you'd like to add before you come at me and ruin your life forever? Or are you finally going to give up and realize that I've been right this whole time and turn around, leave, and stay silent about everything you've seen and heard and let ME handle this waste of space?"

Connery started up the taser again as Vector stood where he was for a brief moment, head hanging. Espio didn't know what the crocodile was thinking. Was he really going to change his mind on everything and leave him be? Was he going to fight Connery and lose everything just for him? Was the horse right and everything that happened on this stage would be between them and no one would learn just how evil Connery was?

No matter what, Espio felt on edge, unsure of what was going to happen next. What he knew was for certain, he needed to break free from his chains and protect Vector at all costs!

That's when Vector put his hand over his snout, covering his mouth. His body softly vibrated and a soft noise seemed to escape it. From where he was, Espio could see his jaws opening, and then… a quiet laugh escaped his mouth.

He removed his hand over his mouth as the crocodile soon began to guffaw, his laughs echoing throughout the walls. Connery and Espio looked confused at the crocodile, with Connery's confusion leading to anger.

"What's so funny?!" questioned the running back.

"No-Nothin', it's just! Just! Tch, ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!" Vector replied, sighing as he wiped a tear, very slowly inching forward. "Whewwww… man, ya really got me, Connery! That's the most serious I've ever seen ya get in yer life! Didja learn that from yer dad too? Nah, dun answer that. It doesn't matter. What matters is… well… yer right! Wh-why would I be givin' up all that? I know who I am! Ya know who ya are too! Yeh even were kind enough to tell us too, because as ya said, yer gonna take us BOTH down. Now who would the cops believe? That yeh had this big brain plan all just fer one giant lie? That was smart!"

"Wh-where are you going with this?!"

"C'mon, can't I appreciate the effort even if ya have mah boyfriend tied up? I didn't think ya liked action movies."

"Now you're just speaking nonsense! What are you up to?!"

"Up to? I'm not up to anythin'. Yer the one with the big brain plans of spendin' other people's money to fund assaultin' yer enemy and admitting to knowin' 'bout what CCOCC did to the student body and not carin', as well as how yer gonna make up a lie 'bout mah boyfriend all so ya can get him arrested. Smart, I'll give ya that! But could ya mind speakin' up? The… reporters can't hear ya."

"Re… reporters?!"

"They're here with us, bud. Why dontcha go and say hi? Just… do one small thing first beforehand, okay?"

That's when Vector stepped to the side, revealing a device sitting atop a display that Espio crashed into with a red light that his back obstructed from view. Espio didn't recognize the device due to the darkness. but Connery surely did. His expression changed to one of abject horror, his eyes widening as his mouth opened up slightly.

"Just smile," Vector finished, smirking. That's when he dug into his pocket and pulled out a phone, one that Espio didn't recognize. Did that mean the device in the distance was Vector's phone? What was going on?

This question was answered when Vector began to speak. "Say, Jewel? Is everythin' appearing clear?"


"vector and i's secret plan

computer is connected to and has university ISP

program is able to force image and video to display onto any cell phone/tv with wifi and airdrop mode turned on thats connected to the mobius u network even if device is password protected

type connect into the line I have open as soon as you start up the laptop"

This note from Mark was held in Jewel's hands as from outside the Space Theatre, Jewel sat with the laptop in her lap, phone in her hand on speaker as Buck, Gadget, Rotor, Alan, Knuckles, Mighty, and Munch all stood by in amazement.

"I can't believe it, Vector!" Jewel exclaimed. "You and Mark are geniuses! No wonder he was doing all this!"

Back at Stage 2, Connery took several steps backwards as he looked around frantically.

"Wha… what is this?! What the hell is going on?!"

"Wha… what is this?! What the hell is going on?!"

This sentence from Connery played all throughout campus, even going as far as the sorority and frat houses that sat very close to the campus. Mobians and Overlanders that were in the A building, doing homework or slacking by it's small lounge area now had their attention on the TV by the hallway.

"Wha… what is this?! What the hell is going on?!"

In the dining hall too, where Storm pointed at one of the TV's with so many students no longer eating or doing any sort of activity now surrounding the various TVs in the dining hall, all of them displaying the strange broadcast.

"Hey boss! Ain't that the chameleon kid?" he asked.

"What the…? What in the world is he doing there?" Wave asked. "Is... is he tied up?"

"Shut up, shut up!" Jet said, waving his hand at the two avians. "This I have to see how it ends…"

Others around them, like Belle, recorded the strange broadcast. Maria Robotnik, who had the day off from Sub Station II, had her phone up as she was sending live video to Barby, who was at work that night.

"barby, are u seeing this? this just came on the tv" she typed.

"Wha… what is this?! What the hell is going on?!"

From within a student's dorm playing on their TV, the student and his roommate sat blinking as one of them held the remote, not moving at all since the strange livestream played. From outside his dorm in North Hall, students like Ripper and Bull Bones, who had been trying to avoid the protests outside suddenly stood motionless as the strange recording appeared on their phones.

"Connery?..." Bull said to himself. "Is... all that true?"

"Wha… what is this?! What the hell is going on?!"

From within the Space Theatre, the audience of CCOCC members and supporters and speakers all stared at the TV. Brenda Hernandez couldn't take her eyes off the screen as she got out her phone.

"I think I have a new scoop…" she said to herself as she was shoved out of the way by a shocked Craig Horse, Connery's dad. He stared at the TV as his expression changed.

"Mr. Craig," his aide said as he followed behind him. "Isn't… isn't that your son?"

"Craig, what's going on?!" Representative Katella Huntress responded before Craig began to yell violently.

"Where is he… WHERE IS MY SON?! WHO'S DOING THIS TO HIM?!"

...

"Wha… what is this?! What the hell is going on?!"

From within the staff lounge, various Mobius U staff stood around the TV, unsure of what was going on and why the strange broadcast wasn't ending. Did someone sneak into the broadcasting rooms in the ST building and began hijacking the TV signal that was on campus for one of the local stations?

Whatever the case, Sally and the rest of the campus RA's as well as the security guards were called to check the ST building as two people in particular noted who was in this broadcast.

"This is…" Coach Augustus said, rubbing his forehead. "Wha… what do I say, George?"

AD Sommersby simply stood looking at the TV, arms crossed as he spoke only silence. Just then, the door to the lounge opened up as Valdez walked inside, still wearing the same suit he wore when he last was with Espio.

"There you all are!" he said. "What's going on? I just got back into town an hour ago and everything seems to be a mess and no one seems to be around!"

"Ah, Valdez. Did you happen to know that our beloved Espio seems to be some kind of an actor?" Professor Starline asked, messing with his hair. "At least, this strange performance on TV seems to imply so."

"Starline, this is serious!" Professor Longclaw yelled at the white platypus. "Va-Valdez... it's... it's an emergency!"

"Wha… what… what are you talking about?"

Valdez walked up to the TV and looked at it, seeing Mr. Connery, the CCOCC student representative, Vector off to the side and-

Valdez's eyes widened. He felt faint, tingly, and a strong urge of panic.

"Oh… oh dear GAIA NO!"


With it sinking into Connery's mind that he had just confessed to multiple crimes and made multiple threats on camera, Vector had now skirted over to Espio and untied the ropes binding his legs. Just as he was about to do something about the handcuffs, Connery finally came to his senses and stared right at the two reptiles, the nastiest, angriest look he ever made in his life being made at them.

"You… you RAT BASTARDS! YOU SET ME UP THE WHOLE TIME?!"

Vector and Espio had finally now stared at Connery, realizing that they had now stoked the bull in front of them.

"TO HELL WITH BOTH OF YOU!" he screamed as he reached into his suit pocket, grabbing another taser and starting it up. Vector gasped as he now saw the horse hold both tasers, running towards them with them turned on and sparking. Espio pushed Vector behind him, but Vector grabbed Espio and held him in a tight hug, back turned towards Connery.

"Hold on, Es!" he yelled as he shut his eyes, knowing his back wasn't going to be a good shield, but trying anyway if it meant protecting his boyfriend. He tried to think of happy things, the small and few in-between things the two reptiles got to do as a couple before he would pass out-

"STOOOOOOOOOOOOP!"

Vector held on tighter, and just as he could feel the heat of the taser on his back… someone else began to scream violently.

Vector turned around, arms still wrapped around Espio as both reptiles looked shocked to see Mark taking both tasers to the stomach, the tapir screaming violently as his body was left seizing. Even Connery was majorly caught off guard at what just occurred.

Espio felt like he had just seen someone be murdered in front of his eyes as Connery soon let go, the tapir falling to the ground in what felt like slow motion. He stared back at the two reptiles, an indescribable look on his face as he crashed onto the floor on his side. His glasses flew off his face and slid across the stage floor as everyone lay motionless.

"The-The… the socialist?!" Connery soon said seconds later, taking a step back. "What's HE doing here?!"


"What did he just do?!" Mighty questioned. "We never said to do that!"

"THAT'S why he split up from us!?" Rotor said, gawking. "Is he trying to get himself killed?!"

"We gotta go back and 'elp him, mates!" Alan exclaimed.

"But Sonic and Bow aren't back! Argh, we have no choice!" Jewel said as she grabbed her phone, putting down the laptop and stopping her call with Vector.

Thorn's face scrunched up as her arms began to shake. "It's… it's too much, Bow! The strings are gettin' into m' hands and hurtin'!"

"Ha-hang on there, Thorn! I'm tryin' too! I'm-"

That's when Bow's phone buzzed. He pressed answer and speaker with his free hand and picked up.

"Jewel, is this yeh?! This thing is gettin'... gettin' he-"

"CHANGE OF PLANS, LET THE BANNER DOWN NOW!"

"She 'wot?!" Thorn questioned.

"THE BANNER! LET IT DOWN NOW! IT'S AN EMERGENCY!"

"B-But-!"

Bow was suddenly cut off as he heard the sound of a door opening below.

"That's…" Thorn slowly said. Bow's brow lowered as he turned towards the lop rabbit.

"We got no choice. We gotta do this together," he said. "Just follow m' call. On three… one… two… three!"

With that, both sparrow and lop rabbit let go of the strings as they felt the throbbing pain in their hands. They could see the banner unrolling as they saw the heads of mobians and Overlanders entering the stage. As the strings reached the banner, it rolled down. and displayed its message for all to see. An image of Connery and only one word:

"DECEIVER"

"C'mon, let's go now while we still can! Wait fer me to get on the ground, I'll catch yeh!" Bow said as he grabbed his bow and started crawling towards the edge of where they sat.

"Catch me?! Are yeh mental?!" Thorn shot back. "Yeh see 'oll those people down there? They're going to notice! We ought to stay here-"

"Thorn… I gotcha. I promise. Yeh just gotta trust me and we won't get hurt. Okay? Just don't scream at 'oll. This ain't goin' to be loike jumpin' into that pile of leaves yer nan would rake off from the huge apple tree she had. We've done things loike this 'undreds of times. Now's not the time to panic!"

With that, Bow rolled over to the edge of the walkable ceiling as he grabbed the handles of the ladder and slid down them. Thorn looked over the edge as he saw Bow motioning towards her. The rabbit took a deep breath and covered her mouth as she jumped down the top, closing her eyes and trying to not think that they had just made a mistake.

But as he promised, the sparrow caught the lop rabbit as he spun her around, continuing to hold her in his arms. Bow smiled as he let out a sigh of relief.

"Yeh looked amazin' there, Thorn! The village would be proud of yeh," he said as he brought her down to her feet, holding the rabbit's hand.

"I was afraid, yeh wanker!" she replied, pushing his shoulder. playfully "We've never done anythin' loike that! We usually have a rope or a branch to hold… but… thanks, Bow."

The two looked down at their hands before bouncing, breaking the connection and shaking their hand, wiping it on their clothes and looking embarrassed.

"Now's not the time," Thorn said. "Someone's gonna get suspicious about the noise we made. There's a door right there. C'mon!"

With that, Bow and Thorn made their obvious way to the exit, being ignored by the large crowd as all they focused on was the sign.

"Eh, don't touch the dress, creeps!" Manic said in a feminine voice, dressed in a red dress with a large cut around the chest area. "I gotta practice my singing voice!"

He said this towards multiple bodyguards who had begun to run down the hall towards Stage 1. Some of whom tried to get out of his way and others who almost knocked him out of their way. A select few even said a few choice words about his choice of costume.

However, he was using this chance to make sure that the hallway to Stage 2 was empty, and sure enough, most of the guards had already left for the main crowd. Now that most of the cleanup work was done, with the three hedgehog triplets fixing up Stage 3 and working around a familiar purple gorilla who was still passed out, it was time to wait for further instruction from Jewel.

And on that note of his siblings…

"Okay but, you know there were PLENTY of costumes for men, right Manic?" Sonia asked, still in her janitor disguise just like Sonic. "You even made me have to do your makeup!"

"Yeah, but I think the red of this dress really makes my quills shine and I like the height of these heels!" Manic replied, lifting up his right knee from behind. "Seriously, it's like these were made for me, sis."

"Well, don't forget to put it back where we found it. As much as you like it, it's not yours," Sonic joked. "Let's not be a petty thief now."

"Oh, so the thief is the bad thing and beating up a bunch of goons is the good thing?" Manic asked. "Besides, I just so happened to..."

The green hedgehog showed off a baton that he had taken from one of the guard's that ran into him.

"I knew having fast hands to do more than play drums paid off!"

Sonia had her mouth wide open as Sonic seemed almost speechless. "W-Well... in that case, call it… uh… call it… erm… hmm…"

"You are not seriously trying to find excuses, are you, Sonic Hedgehog?!" Sonia shot back. "Who cares if that guard doesn't have-"

Just then, the blue hedgehog felt his phone in his pocket buzz.

"Oh, how ironic! I'm getting a call!" he said.

"Don't you lie to me, mister! I know-"

"No seriously! I gotta call from… it's from Jewel! Okay okay, let's listen."

The other two surrounded their brother as Sonic answered, the blue hedgehog putting his free hand on his hip.

"He-llooooooooo!" he said before Jewel suddenly began to scream, what felt like hurricane force winds coming from the phone speakers.

"SONIC, GET YOU AND YOUR SIBLINGS TO THE PASSAGEWAY! IT'S AN EMERGENCY!"

"So bad that you're yelling?" he replied.

"DON'T JOKE, ITS URGENT!"

She had hung up, causing the the three triplets to look at one another.

"I think she's serious this time, Sonic," Sonia said. "Come on, we already got done with what we need to do. Let's go."

"Do I have to take this off though?" Manic asked, grabbing at the dress.

"Manic, what did we say? That's not… ugh, whatever! Just wear the stupid dress, just take it off before we leave!"

"Sweet! Well then bro, lead the way?"

"Way ahead of you!" Sonic replied before speeding off, leaving his two siblings in the dust.

"You think that now he would take things seriously…" Sonia grumbled.

"I like to think he's serious, just doesn't wanna worry us is all!"

"Well… Sonic has always been that kind of caring brother…"

"And yet we're not following him and ignoring him. What's that say about us?"

"That the last one there is motionless Koko!" Sonia soon sped ahead after her brother.

"Hey, no fair! You know I'm in heels!"


Time finally went back to normal in Espio's mind as his face was one of pure despair. He finally caught his voice in his throat, and all he could do…

…was wail Mark's name.

Connery flung one of the tasers at Vector's phone as it was hit perfectly, falling to the ground camera-side down and displaying no more picture across campus. However, just then, Espio began to tug on his handcuffs, and with all his rage, strength, and desperation…

He managed to break the cuff on his right arm.

This surprised both Connery and Vector, but the crocodile was quick and helped out Espio remove the final handcuff, breaking it as his forearms still held one side of the cuffs. But Espio didn't care. He fell to his feet and looked up at his friend on the floor.

"MARK!" he yelled out in pain, quickly getting up and running towards his friend. Not caring that he had shattered one of the magatama pieces that had been on the floor after Connery ripped his necklace off him, he slid on his knees towards the tapir. Now next to him, Espio grabbed his friend's limp body and shook it.

"Mark! Awake! Awake now! Mark! Mark!"

But with every shake of the tapir's body, there was only a distant look in his eye as his body was limp. Espio could only continue screaming his friend's name as Vector pressed his fingers on Mark's forearm.

"He… he has a pulse, Es. So he's still alive. But…" he said before he noticed that his boyfriend had stopped screaming Mark's name. However, Espio's body now began to shake. The chameleon slowly turned his head towards the horse, who still was in a state of shock. The room had grown silent, empty, the only noise being made was the crowd outside. He continued to shake, his eyes burning with fiery anger at the one who did this to his friend.

And then, Espio spoke, with the rage of his ancestors and his ancestors before him.

"...kono… kono NINPININ YAROUUUUUU!'

His loud scream almost made the floor shake, frightening Connery as he fell on his tail, stupefied. Vector held his boyfriend's shoulder.

"E-Es…! Es, are ya alright-"

Espio pushed away the crocodile's hand as he got up, staring straight into Connery's eyes as his expression was one filled with the desire to murder. He no longer cared about the honor of the Shinobi Clan, or the law of this land, or whatever.

He wanted Connery Horse to die.

Espio slowly began to walk towards the horse, seeing the PVC pipe he had dropped earlier on the ground and grabbing it without stopping, brandishing it as if it were a wakizashi. Connery crawled back on the floor away from the chameleon, fear in his wide eyes.

"Koroshite yaru… koroshite yaru…" he said through gritted teeth.

"E-ES! YA DUN HAVE TO GO THIS FAR!" Vector yelled. "STOP!"

"Ge… get back… GET BACK! YOU SAVAGE BEAST, GET AWAY FROM ME!" Connery screamed in pure terror, holding his right hand up to block.

Connery threw the other taser he used at the chameleon right in his face, but Espio blocked it with the pipe perfectly. Connery had now gotten up and was ready to bolt it for the exit as the chameleon grabbed the pipe with both hands.

"SHI NE!" he screamed as he raised the pipe above his head.

"I TOLD YOU TO GET BACK!" the horse yelled as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a yellow and black device, the same device the zone police used on him months ago. Connery pulled the trigger as something dug into the scales of Espio's forehead, causing him to scream and drop the pipe once again as he fell onto the floor, body seizing as he began to foam at the mouth.

"ESPIO!" Vector yelled as he ran towards his boyfriend. He looked back up at Connery. "HOW COULD YA DO THIS TO HIM?!"

But as the prongs of the taser still stuck on the chameleon's skin, Espio suddenly raised himself up, and with a burst of adrenaline and a loud roar, grabbed the wires of the taser and ripped them off, all while screaming in pain and breathing heavily. He began to dry heave, his throat tight, his head pounding and his body soon wobbling and falling to the floor on his front side as he tried to crawl towards the pipe.

"Es, no! Yer in no state to get up!" Vector said, unable to not take his boyfriend being hurt as is. He pushed Espio's hand away as Espio struggled to get up again.

"Ve… No… Vector…"

He collapsed on the ground once again, nauseous as he felt like he was about to throw up.

"Let it… let it go, Es… he ain't worth it. No one hidin' three tasers on his body ain't worth it-" Vector said as he tried to stand Espio up, but Espio pushed his hand away weakly.

"Vector… stop…" he weakly said, his arm going limp as he tried to get to the pipe. "I… ma-must…"

Connery took a step back, looking around as he no longer had a usable stun gun cartridge and he threw away both his regular tasers.

"I… I do this for… for honar! For… for you, Vector… For… for us… F-For-!"

Espio collapsed again, feeling his irregular heartbeat in his eyes. He didn't care if he was pushing himself too hard and was about to die doing what he was about to do. None of that mattered anymore.

When this mission began, he swore that he would avenge the honor of the Shinobi Clan. That he would avenge Mark for his destroyed card he gifted, Jewel for how CCOCC made her cry and caused her to breakdown, Buck for being hurt so much by Monk he was sent to the hospital, for Vector and the Badniks for the amount of heckling they got during practice, during games, during their everyday life. That he would fight for the one he called his lover, to defend him when he was in trouble.

He was fighting for all his friends, the village of Gojo, the Shinobi Clan, for his mother's long awaited approval, for… for his father to be proud of him so that his soul could finally rest peacefully in Yomi!

Nothing was going to stop him from achieving that. He was going to restore his lost honor, bring prosperity to those he swore to avenge, uphold the tradition of his ninja clan, and most of all, do something that his family could finally be proud of him for.

But Espio continued to struggle. This wasn't how it was supposed to end…

"Mother… father… have I failed as a ninja?... Am… am I truly this futile?" he thought to himself. "I want to fight… but my body has taken so much. I know I should fight until I take my last breath. That's what my sensei told me. But…"

He slowly grabbed the pipe, trying to get up as his body wobbled and was ready to give out.

"Father… give me the strength to achieve this victory of warfare…" Espio continued to himself. "This final attack… is in your name!"

But it wasn't enough. His arms shaking, he dropped the pipe and was ready to collapse again. However, Vector grabbed the collar of his yoroi, slowly bringing him back to his feet.

"I gotcha, Es. It's okay. I'm here," he said, smiling at his boyfriend. "Look at him. Connery's got nothin' anymore. He can try to get one of those tasers, but the campus will know regardless."

It was true. Connery seemed entirely lost for the first time in his life. He simply sat where he was, unmoving.

"I think everythin' finally caught up to him and he knows he's fucked," Vector continued, putting Espio's arm over the back of his neck. "C'mon, I think we're done here. Let's get Mark some help and-"

"That's enough of that!"

Vector and Espio looked up to see a large crowd now coming in through the backstage door. Both reptiles recognized people here and there in the crowd, realizing that the crowd made of mobians and Overlanders were all the other members of CCOCC. Some of them looked angered, others had oh-so that familiar CCOCC smug smirk.

"That's enough of the little game you're playing," the mobian at the front, a skunk, said. Espio recognized him as a friend of Connery's from months back when he and Mark were getting signatures in the K building. "We've already shut down your little broadcast."

"Geoffrey… Geoffrey please…" Connery sputtered.

"It's okay, Connery. The fun's over for these two. Now, get them everyone!"

Geoffrey's face turned into one of malice as some of the bigger CCOCC members came at the two reptiles. Now completely surrounded and still hurt, Espio knew he had no way of helping Vector at this point-

Until it happened.

The doors to Stage 2 burst open as a barrage of voices all yelled out the same thing.

"ZONE POLICE!"

Everyone on the stage turned their attention towards the auditorium as a large swath of mobians and Overlanders in familiar orange and red uniforms all began to run into the walkways of the auditorium, holding up taser guns and pointing it at Vector, Espio, Connery, and the CCOCC members. Their footsteps loud and demanding, everyone turned their attention to the officers.

"You all are surrounded! Calmly surrender and put your hands up! All of you!" one of the officers yelled out.

Everyone soon began to do as they were told, except Espio, who didn't understand what the officers were saying. But at that moment, Vector quickly grabbed Espio's right hand and brought it up.

"I ain't doin' this again," he whispered. "Other hand, Es, and keep it up!"

"Is this what I'm supposed to do?" he thought to himself, soon raising both hands up and staying still. He didn't want what happened last time to happen again, and he wasn't going to deny… he was concerned.

At that moment, Officer Wachowski came into Stage 2 on his walkie talkie.

"Currently in Stage 2 of the Space Theatre, officers have forced entry in and-" he said before looking at the crowd with their hands up. He looked at Espio before closing his eyes and sucking his teeth.

"Oh for Gaia's… what did you do THIS time?!" he yelled, shaking his arms violently at the chameleon.

"Do you know one of these people, Officer Wachowski?" one of the zone police asked.

"Unfortunately. Him and I have… crossed paths a fair amount. But that's not important."

The Overlander turned towards the crowd.

"We have all probable cause to commit an arrest at this very moment based on substantial evidence. We ask that you all get on the floor now! Not complying WILL be held against you in contempt of court and lead to fines and possible jail time!"

"ON THE FLOOR, NOW!" one of the officers yelled as more zone police climbed up the stairs on both sides of the stage. Immediately, Connery began to speak.

"Officers, thank goodness you've arrived! It's that man right there!" he exclaimed quickly, finally having his voice come back to him. He pointed at the chameleon. "He's the one who snuck into this event and has threatened to kill me multiple times tonight! I tried to do a citizen's arrest but-"

But it wasn't Espio that the officers went after. One of them lay atop of Connery and began to handcuff him.

"Wha-what are YOU DOING?!" he screamed.

"GET OFF HIM!" screamed several of the CCOCC members as they began to yell at the officer cuffing the horse.

"Connery Horse, you're under arrest for assault and battery as well as unlawful restraint and kidnapping," the officer atop him said. "You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can be used against you in court. You have the right to talk to a lawyer for advice before we ask-"

But it wasn't long before Connery exploded.

"YOU HAVE THE WRONG MAN! I'M NOT THE ONE YOU SHOULD BE ARRESTING, IT'S HIM! HIM I TELL YOU! HIMMM!" he screamed. At that moment, there was a commotion towards the exit of the stage as Espio saw various people run in. He didn't recognize them at all, but one of the men in the crowd looked suspiciously like Connery…

"I reiterate!" the officer said as he brought Connery to his feet. "You have the right to REMAIN SILENT! ANYTHING YOU SAY. CAN BE USED AGAINST YOU IN COURT-"

"I've always supported our officers in red and orange and THIS is how you treat me?!" Connery continued to scream. "HOW DARE YOU SUBJECT ME TO THIS TYRANNY! THIS IS A FALSE ARREST YOU'RE MAKING!"

"Let my son go!" the older male horse yelled as he and several other individuals got up close to the stage, yelling alongside the CCOCC crowd that Espio couldn't make out what they were saying due to how loud they yelled. "He is not and never could be a criminal! I raised him better than that! That entire broadcast was a lie! A farce! Set up by THESE TWO!"

The horse, judging by the word 'son', must have been Connery's father. He seemed to be a stark image of Connery, and judging from his anger? He too washed blood with blood.

"He's a LIAR!" an Overlander woman with bright orange hair next to Connery's father yelled. "Don't you believe a single word he says! "

"I'm not a criminal! I… I was protecting this event from him!" Connery yelled back as he struggled in his handcuffs. "All those charges I never did! I AM A CITIZEN OF THIS ZONE! I HAVE THE LEGAL RIGHT TO PERFORM A CITIZEN'S ARREST!"

"Who's your head commander?! I'm a district representative for the United Federations, I WILL ask to speak with him about this tyranny committed!" Connery's father once again yelled. "You're a police officer, you side with the law! What kind of communist takeover has occurred at your precinct?!"

"ALL HE WAS DOING WAS PROTECTING HIS COUNTRY!" a dark-red echidna by the group yelled. "I'll make sure to let my producers know about this!"

"It was him, wasn't it, Craig?" the orange haired woman questioned. Her face grew redder with anger, her mouth wide as she began to scream out, "It was YOU, WASN'T IT?!"

Almost like an animal, the Overlander woman began to climb onto the stage, the wild look of someone who wanted to kill in her eyes. Someone behind the woman tried to get her down.

"Representative Huntress, WHAT in Gaia's name are you doing?!" he yelled, pulling her leg back. "Get down from there, there's reporters here!"

"Ma'am, get BACK! We're trying to do a lawful arrest!" one of the zone police yelled at her, holding her up at taser-gunpoint. "We will not discriminate just because you're a district representative!"

However, she didn't care. This "Representative Huntress" put her hands on the officer's legs and stuck her head out in between them, staring right at Espio.

"HOW DARE YOU LIE ABOUT EVERYTHING YOU LITTLE SLIT-EYED IMMIGRANT!" she screamed. "YOU KNOW YOU'RE LYING! YOU JUST WANT US PEOPLE DEAD AND REPLACED WITH ONES LIKE YOU!"

Espio didn't know how to respond. He could only throw himself back, sitting on the floor and breathing heavily as he was mere feet away from the Overlander.

"YOU MAKE A MOCKERY OF THIS ZONE, DISRUPT THE LIVES OF ORDINARY PEOPLE THAT WE'RE FORCED TO ACCEPT! YOU'RE THE REASON CRIME RATES ARE UP AND-"

She continued to scream at Espio a multitude of insults and such, with the chameleon unsure of what to do as her face got redder and redder. Her body thrashed back and forth as the zone police soon had to restrain her, only for her to continue screaming at the top of her lungs. The noise only got louder and louder in the Stage, even Vector seemed lost at what to do.

And the worst part? No one seemed to care about Mark's condition. With the officers trying to bring peace, Vector and Espio went back to his limp body and held him, confused as to why no one was doing anything to help him. He looked around, a barrage of voices assaulting his ears.

"COWARDLY IMMIGRANT! YOU HATE OUR ZONE AND WANT IT BURNT TO THE GROUND! YOU SHOULD BE GRATEFUL YOU'RE EVEN ON OUR SOIL, OTHERWISE GO BACK TO WHERE YOU CAME FROM!"

"WHERE'S YOUR IBLISIAN TIES?! WE KNOW YOU WORSHIP HIM!"

"FATHER, FATHER TELL THEM TO ARREST THE RIGHT PERSON! LOOK! HE'S JUST SITTING THERE GETTING AWAY WITH IT!"

"Look at them! How can you look at Connery and think he's the criminal?! Don't tell me you're taking advice from the defund police party?!"

"If he gets away with it, he wants people like us dead! Do what you're supposed to do and stop his communist self! It's a fake narrative those two right there on the ground made!"

"IT'S THIS PRESIDENT'S FAULT! WE WOULDN'T HAVE THIS HAPPENING IF IT WASN'T FOR HIM!"

"C'MON EVERYONE! FREE OUR LEADER! FREE OUR LEADER!"

"FREE OUR LEADER! FREE OUR LEADER!"

All of these barrages of voices only made Espio stop and breathe heavily. His hands felt clampy, sweaty, and the room began to spin. It felt like it was growing smaller, with everyone from every side yelling and screaming at him. They… they all hated him! They wanted him gone and they… they didn't even care about the passed out Mark at all! They didn't care… they didn't care!"

Their voices only got louder as Vector grabbed the chameleon's shoulders. He could see the crocodile mouthing words, but he could barely hear it through the ringing in his ears.

And that's when one voice, louder than anything in the room, roared.

"THAT'S ENOUGH!"

The entire room grew silent as the sound of something wooden hitting the floor was heard. It was hit in a sequence of a few seconds, and from the distance, Espio could see a shadow by the exit of the stage. As he squinted his eyes, the lights of the Stage 2 illuminated the figure of Harvey Who, Dean of Student Affairs.

"Harvey… Is that you?! Harvey, listen to me-!" Connery yelled before Harvey pointed his cane at the horse.

"I'm listening WELL, so much that I can't even hear myself THINK!" he shot back. "Are you all not aware of how much noise you all have made?! I could hear you even from outside the building!"

"Sir, this is a matter that was called into our department to be handled by the Zone Police! We ask that-" an officer said before Officer Wachowski spoke up.

"Mr. Who here is a staff member here at Mobius U," he replied.

"Dean of Student Affairs," the brown owl added. "In charge of all the students who lead clubs. Including yes, Mr. Connery right there. Please, I'd like to speak with him. This is a matter that will now be handled by Mobius University officials-"

"But the police was called and we've seen proof of this man committing multiple felonies-"

"And if need be, we shall require your services if we see the need to press charges. However, as Dean of Student Affairs, it's my responsibility to discipline the boy and make him aware of just what he's done. Besides-"

Harvey dug into his red-orange suit, pulling out a letter.

"This is an official statement signed by Headmaster Ivo Robotnik regarding the transfer of this situation to me. We ask that you please, at the most, disperse this crowd. We shall decide whether the punishment requires police interference. Now, if you may."

He handed the letter to Officer Wachowski as the owl slowly moved his way past the crowd of CCOCC supporters and up the stairs to where Connery stood. However, at that moment-

The door to the backstage area burst open as a barrage of feet stomped on the stage.

"Nobody move!"

Vector and Espio turned to see Jewel, alongside Knuckles, Mighty, Alan, Munch, Bow, Thorn, Buck, Gadget, Rotor, Sonic and Sonia all in some sort of strange costume, and Manic dressed as, for some reason, an opera singer. The jewel beetle pointed her finger at the group of CCOCC students as everyone now turned their attention to them.

"Wha-what the?!" Geoffrey exclaimed.

"Jewel? What are you doing here?" Harvey asked.

"Hu... Ha-Harvey?! I could be asking the same thing too!" the jewel beetle replied, cowering at the question. "Wha… what's going on here?"

That's when another another set of footsteps came into Stage 2, this time being the bodyguards Connery had hired.

"We have everyone we could gather, Connery!" Ebony Hare said, looking around. He blinked for a moment. "Wha... what the?"

"Ebony, Ebony, look!" one of the bodyguards said, pointing at Jewel and the others behind her. "There's some of the people we saw!"

"SEE! SEE WE WEREN'T LYING!" someone in the CCOCC crowd yelled, pointing at the group. "THEY DID PLAN THIS!"

This culminated in another screaming match, this time between CCOCC and their supporters, the bodyguards, and Jewel and everyone behind her, with Stage 2 once again being thrown into chaos. In response, Harvey slammed down his cane again.

"Did you all not HEAR me the first time?!" he yelled. "I asked for QUIET! If ANY other student feels the need to yell again in this stage, I see no issue in having these officers reprimand you for disrupting the peace!"

The crowd soon came to an end as one of the officers came towards Jewel, pushing down Manic's arm, who had the a high-heel in his hand pointed at the CCOCC members.

"This is an official crime scene that's being headed by the Zone Police, we ask that you leave NOW-" a zone police officer said before Harvey turned back to the crowd.

"Some of those students are hurt, officer. I'll handle them in a bit and send them to where they need to go. For now-"

Harvey turned towards Connery, the horse's expression now defeated as he looked at the owl.

"Har-Harvey… I swear to you… this… that video… none of it is what it seems! I was framed by-"

"Connery," Harvey interrupted, his voice sharp. "I'm very much well aware of the video you're talking about. As soon as I saw it broadcasted on the TV in Headmaster Robotnik's office, I came here as quickly as possible. I also happened to hear a lot of the things you mentioned in that video, confessions it seemed like-"

"I… Lies! All of them were lies! You surely don't believe someone like me could be capable of doing that, right?!"

"Connery… it seems you're rather hurt. Why don't myself and an officer take you to MU University Health Services before anything else? Once you're patched up, we need to have a talk, just the two of us. There is much we need to discuss."

"Bu-But sir!" an officer said.

"I am aware of how that sounds. That is why I wish an officer to accompany us should Connery escape. However… I do think by now, he does realize the hole he's dug for himself, so the likelihood of him escaping is very low. Besides, I know Connery well enough to know that he has the conscience to not commit a blatant felony, am I right?""

Just then, Harvey turned his head towards Vector, Espio, and Mark's limp body.

"While I'm here… As any remaining officers disperse the crowd, could someone please call an ambulance for this boy, quickly? It seems that with your long overdue screaming match, you all have forgotten that an innocent person was tased. Connery and any officers who wish to come, follow me."

Harvey began to walk off the stage as some of the zone police began to push the horse ahead, still holding up their taser guns.

"Go on and move! Now! You heard him!" they said. "And keep your hands up too!"

Connery's father shook his head.

"No… no! No no no! He's not a criminal, damn you! Listen to me! He's being framed! DON'T YOU DARE TAKE HIM AWAY!" he screamed at the officers.

"TRAITORS! ALL OF YOU! TRAITORS TO THIS ZONE-" Representative Huntress yelled only to have her left arm tapped quickly by her aide.

"Representative, we must leave as soon as possible!" he said. "While we've been in here, the protestors outside have seemingly outnumbered us and have begun terrorizing our side…"

"What?!"

At that moment, there was what sounded like… loud cheering from outside? Espio didn't know what that noise was, and frankly it didn't matter to him.

"Please! For your safety we have to go now! Go, go!"

This caused mass panic among the crowd and CCOCC supporters as what felt like a riot began. Representative Craig Horse, Katella, and their allies all began to quickly disperse from Stage 2 before staring at and pointing at Espio one final time.

"YOU WON'T GET AWAY WITH THIS! I'LL CREATE AMENDMENTS TO MAKE SURE PEOPLE LIKE YOU NEVER ENTER THIS ZONE! I SWEAR ON SOLARIS!" she threatened before being taken away. Soon, Jewel and the others caught up with the two reptiles and Mark, standing before the three.

"Come on, Espio!" she said. "We finally did it! Mission accomplished!"

But Espio didn't care. Still, after all this time…

"Help…" he murmured.

"What?"

"Help! Help him! Help him! Someone! Help him!" Espio now screamed frantically, no one coming to his aide. The entire Space Theatre was thrown into disorder with no one but his friends there to hear his frantic cries. The group all stared at the scene above as even they felt powerless at a time like this, some of them with their hands over their mouths, others trying to cover their ears at all the noise.

Espio felt out of breath as he screamed, his voice becoming raspy. He hadn't felt this emotional since he saw his father die. In fact, with Mark still not waking up… he was starting to believe that Connery really had killed the tapir…!

He looked toward Vector, the only person he knew that knew what to do in situations like this. His expression showing someone who was completely lost, Vector held his boyfriend's side, unsure of what to say anymore but to comfort him physically.

In the midst of breathing heavily, Espio felt a shift in his hands. He lowered his voice as he turned towards Mark, eyes widening as he shook the tapir.

"Mark! MARK?!" he yelled.

That's when the tapir's body fidgeted before his eyes slowly began to open. He coughed, gritting his teeth before trying to open his eyes wider.

"Nnn… Eh… Es… pio?" he softly asked. Thorn ran over to grab the tapir's glasses on the floor and handed it to Vector, who put it over Mark's eyes. The tapir's head turned towards Espio, squinting his eyes.

"Is… that y-you… Espio?"

"Mark, it is me!" Espio said frantically. "Are you okay?!"

The tapir could only stay unmoving for a few seconds, blinking. Then, he weakly smiled, coughing once again.

"I… did I…?" he asked.

"What?"

"Ha… ha ha… I… I did it… Espio… I did it… I… I protected you… Just like I promised myself I would…"

Everyone could only stare at the now awake Mark as he finally started to show signs of life. Sounds of ambulance sirens could be heard outside the Space Theatre as the familiar yells of, "ESPIO-KUN! ESPIO-KUUUUN!" was heard as Valdez pushed past the crowd and rushed up the stairs, quickly grabbing the fuschia chameleon's face to check to see if he was okay.


SOME TIME LATER

"WHAT ON MOBIUS WERE YOU THINKING?!"

Harvey had sat Connery in one of the doctor's empty offices at MU University Health Services after a nurse had attended him and patched up any wounds he had, the brown owl more angry than he ever had been in his life.

"When myself and Mr. Valdez started having talks with you regarding the protests going on campus, I made my position VERY clear, did I not? I put my faith and trust in you because I knew they were values that you abide by. But clearly, I put FAR too much trust into you, because you've violated it by assaulting not one, but TWO students?!" Harvey yelled.

"I told you, it was self-defense, Harvey! That… Espio snuck into the Space Theatre and tried to attack me! He and Vector made it seem like it was the other way around and live streamed that video out of context! And then he tried to kill me after! I'm telling you-"

"And you seemingly bring up how you DON'T care about what CCOCC has done?! That does not sound like something out of context, especially when you YOURSELF said you admitted it!"

Harvey walked off to the desk to grab a file he brought with him.

"Let me show you something, Connery," he continued. He held up a thin file filled with a few papers. "This is the amount of student complaints CCOCC had around this time last year. Thirty-three in total. All complaints regarding individual students and student organizations go straight to me and are filed here, so I have an up to date record on everything. Do you know how many complaints CCOCC had this semester alone?"

Harvey brought out another file, this one bursting at the seams and with papers overflowing the file.

"TWO HUNDRED AND NINETY SEVEN COMPLAINTS IN JUST THREE MONTHS ALONE! This is quite possibly the MOST amount of complaints I've seen towards ANYONE in the over twenty year career I've had here at Mobius U! This is beyond ridiculous, Connery! This has systematically become FAR too much of a problem for CCOCC and it seems I have NO choice but to intervene!"

"No! You can't! I told you-"

"I heard you the first, second, and THIRD times, Connery! It still does NOT mitigate that you assaulted a student with a taser, one that the police recognized is one that CAN'T be owned by citizens, and that you restrained another with police-grade handcuffs that, once again, CAN'T be owned by citizens! Since you have no intentions on telling me where you got these, I'd instead like to remind you that all of those offenses you've done are against our rules! We have VERY strict protocol about dealing with on-campus assault! That's not even considering the amount of legal trouble you've possibly landed yourself into!"

"Because they were trying to ruin my event and had assaulted me! How dare you take their side?! You're just like the student body, silencing and oppressing conservative voices all while you're okay with leftist anarchism and-"

"We would do this to ANYONE regardless of whatever political affiliation they have if they're committing blatant assault against other students! YOU ARE NOT. BEING. OPPRESSED!"

This finally shut up Connery as he sat back down in his seat.

"Now that I finally have your undivided attention, I've gone and called Headmaster Robotnik on what we should do while you were being patched up. At this point, you have two options. We will allow you to continue your studies, but it will be off-campus and virtual, AND all CCOCC-related events and activities will be suspended for the rest of the semester, which we've already emailed Professor-"

"WHAT?! You can't possibly-"

"...if I can FINISH, Connery. Either that, OR. Face immediate expulsion for what you have done all while CCOCC is allowed to continue activities, albeit HEAVILY scrutinized and monitored by us. And this does not bring into account Messrs. Espio Chameleon or Mark Tapir's potential intention on pressing charges against you, or our own. Yes, the Headmaster and several of the higher ups on the college board are aware of the situation and will be meeting to determine if we plan to charge you. I'm sorry, but we have rules against assault and disturbing the peace, no matter what. There is no substantial proof to what you have said since we already talked to Mr. Espio and several of his friends, and there is evidence to prove that you have attacked Mr. Espio first and had no reason to attack him with not one but two tasers all while using weaponry that citizens are not allowed to carry outside of police. Should you continue to be unruly about this, we see no harm in escalating this to involve law enforcement. In fact, we're being VERY generous in handling this ourselves and not letting officers arrest you. Now, what'll it be?"


From outside the room Harvey and Connery was at, Vector, Espio, and all their friends sat outside the door, trying to listen in to the conversation. All of them that had been hurt had thankfully been patched up, gauzes covering parts of their body and icebags being held onto buises. They sat in silence, trying to determine what Connery's punishment had been.

After a couple of minutes, Harvey soon walked out of the room as Connery held something in his hands.

"Now, since your father is the one currently financing your tuition with a payment plan under his name, I'll have word with him on how we'll handle things regarding what's occurred and the decision you took," Harvey said. "I'll go on ahead, so please meet with the officer at the front once you're done so we can take you to the Headmaster's office."

Connery said nothing as the owl soon began to walk away. No one even dared to say anything until Harvey had finally left completely, leaving Connery to turn towards the group.

"I bet you're all happy by this, aren't you?" he growled. "Glad that your little plan worked?! Glad to see me in the position I'm in?!"

Vector crossed his arms. "Yeh act like we did this 'cause we wanted to. Frankly, yeh oughta be glad none of us are pressin' charges compared to the others yeh swindled fer their money. I mean, look at Mark even-"

The tapir pulled up his shirt, revealing very obvious bruises where he had been tased on his stomach.

"Yeh knocked him out and he still ain't pressin' charges despite how much he doesn't like ya. He figured yer already learnin' yer lesson."

"And what? Am I supposed to be thankful to him?" Connery sneered at Mark. "Tch, you get no sympathy from me, socialist."

Connery lowered his head as he growled once again, body shaking with anger.

"I'm going to get you… I SWEAR I'm going to get you ALL for this! Each and every last ONE of you in front of me, I'll get you all kicked out of this university if it's the LAST THING I DO! I'll bring you to COURT if I have to and sue you ALL for every last ring and mobium you're worth-!"

Everyone held cross expressions, their stances changing to a defensive one as they didn't know if Connery was going to attack. However, Vector was the only person who didn't move. He only stared back at the horse with the same expression as he suddenly brought something up to Connery's face: an open book.

Connery looked up, confused and angered.

"Wha… what's THIS?!"

He snatched the book from Vector and began to read it.

"Mind readin' the part I highlighted fer ya?" the crocodile asked. He could see Connery's eyes moving from left to right.

"Should any person, or group of people, conspire to injure, oppress, threaten, or intimidate any person in any District of the United Federations in the free exercise or enjoyment of any right or privilege secured to him by the United Federations Constitutional Code, they shall be fined under this code, will not be protected under existing free speech laws, and, depending on whether the action was intentional, repetitive, caused harm to the person and their family, will be fined or will be imprisoned for no longer than ten years based on the opinion of prosecutorial court-"

That's when Vector lifted his phone up and tapped on it, holding it up as a familiar voice came out its speakers.

"…however, should any of them fall to the officials, we plan to retaliate. Phone numbers, email addresses, we see no harm in pointing people in the right direction to voice their complaints. After all, the head of our foreign exchange program, the one responsible for bringing that Yurashian I mentioned in my speech, has had to cut his answering machine off from what I've heard. But now, I want to extend this to anyone who opposes our agenda. Until we get what we want, I refuse to back down against anyone. My goals will be checked off one by one, and it'll start with getting that chameleon off campus. As I always said, rooting out the source of the disease is better than trying to fix what's already spread."

It was the recording Vector made of Connery while he was at Restaraunt Swa, something that caused a visible reaction to the horse.

"Wh… wha… what IS this?!" Connery questioned. "How... how did you get that?! That's... what I said at-!"

"If yeh wanna sue us 'cause ya can't accept that ya did somethin' heinous, then go right ahead. But don't think we're gonna back down. Cause we're gonna fight yeh until the very end if we have to, whether if it's a fist fight or in the courts," Vector replied. "How ironic, ain't it? Yeh spent all this time callin' Espio a criminal, droolin' all over "the law" this and "the law" that to attack Espio's existence. But yeh not only don't know yer own laws, but yeh failed to realize ya did the exact things yeh claimed Es was doin' and so much more. Yeh became a criminal."

"Tch... is this supposed to be the work of a 'master detective', something you deluded yourself into thinking you are? What's that recording supposed to prove?"

"That I might not be a full-on criminologist, but that doesn't mean I'm a dunce like people think I am, Connery. I never turn down work that pays off in the end. That's always been mah motto."

"And what? Is this supposed to be one of those 'owns' you and the other Badniks like to call it?"

Connery snortled as he threw the book down the floor.

"Is this your definition of justice? Is this how you play politics just for someone like him?" the horse pointed at Espio.

"Get it through yer thick skull fer once, Connery! This ain't justice OR politics! All we want is our lives back! The lives yeh decided to take over because yeh wanted to drag us into yer political circus show! Every one of us ya hurt in some way. Dun be surprised when karma kicks ya right back in the ass."

"A smack talker, just like you've always been. Well, let me tell BOTH of you something you've needed to hear for the longest time from me personally."

Connery looked down at Espio, curling his lip at him as his mustache followed alongside it.

"I'll be waiting patiently for the day when your reign FINALLY ends, when you're left on the streets collecting welfare like a freeloader and none of your friends are there to support you. Then you'll realize that without anyone, how much of a burden you are on humanity, then you'll realize that without anyone, how useless you truly are," he said towards the chameleon. Espio lowered his eyes in anger at the horse.

"And as for you," Connery looked back up at Vector. "You know he's gone at the end of May. Are you really wanting to do all this for someone who won't be around for you next school semester? Is this what you call true happiness? Frankly, I fail to see it. Maybe for once in your life, think about it."

With this final declaration, Connery soon turned around, his tail swishing behind him as the sound of his shoes clicked on the tile of the hospital floor. Everyone watched as unbeknownst to some in the group, this would be the very last time they would see the horse, the very last time he would do something to hurt them or disrupt their lives. The words he said hanged onto their minds, but as he exited out of frame where they could no longer see him, a sense of relief slowly crept up everyone.

"Is… is it over?" Gadget asked.

"It's… it's over… Ha… ha ha ha! It's over!" Manic laughed.

A feeling of celebration came towards everyone at that moment, laughing and smiling as they realized that everything truly was over. Vector grabbed Espio and twirled him around in the air, both of them smiling since what felt like forever while Knuckles held onto Mighty's shoulder, fisting bumping him. Sonic grabbed onto his two siblings and smiled and laughed, the Mercian transfer students doing a celebratory jig all while Jewel celebrated with Rotor and Gadget, Mark waiting for Espio after Vector put him on the ground.

"E-Espio… I… It's hard to put it into words… but… I… I'm so happy for you... no, for us!" he said. He hugged his friend tightly as Espio didn't feel awkward one bit about the hug.

"Man, c'mere, Es!" Vector said as he kissed the chameleon, both of them in too much of a good mood to not care.

"Mates, well done! I think this calls fer a celebratory song!" Alan said, grabbing his lute tightly.

"Oh no, here we go again…" Munch replied, rolling his eyes as he put his hand over his forehead.

"Ah ah, don't look so cross, Munch! I need a backup singer fer this doozy, and it just so happens I need someone like yeh!"

"Y-Yeh 'wot?!"

"Come on, Munch! Yeh know yeh'd loike to!" Bow said as he, Buck, and Thorn crushed the copper rat by the sides, trying to pressure him to join in on Alan's song, looking at him to get him to crack.

"Ai-Ain't one of yer strings broken, mate?!" Munch quickly asked.

"C'mon, Munch! Everyone wants it!" Alan replied. The rat was silent before…

"Argh, fine! If yeh need some bloke loike me who sounds loike rubbish, then it's yer funeral, mate!"

Alan began to strum the strings of his lute as he began, tapping his feet as he strummed each string as if it were a guitar:

"Risin' from the ashes came the horse, sudden and swift,

hopin' to rule the Uni students with an iron fist!

When before he could strike his prey and bring them injure,

Came the army of Es-pi-o, the Yu-rashian Nin—ja!"

As the others all began to clap along to the clearly on the spot song Alan was singing, Bow taking Thorn along to dance along, the chameleon sneaked off to the side as he looked outside the darkening landscape, Central City bustling and lively as it always was as well as Mobius U clear in the distance alongside all the life that occupy it. At that moment, he could only think of one person, one person he had thought about during this entire mission.

"Father…" Espio thought to himself. "You told me yourself in my dream that I know only in my heart if you're proud of me."

He turned his head around to watch what his friends were doing now. Munch had now began to sing along, his more raspier voice bringing him embarrassment but still continuing the small celebration to be lively. Others had even begun to join along and danced alongside Bow and Thorn, which Espio watched from the distance as he smiled.

"I think I now finally have my answer. Though I may have committed acts seen as shameful to the Shinobi Clan, I still fought until the very end, never giving up until my enemy had no choice but to give up. I may not have fully restored my honor myself, but now I know what my answer is to all the questions I had so long ago. Though I will miss my friends when I leave the Outside World, they brought me to where I am today, and formed me into the person I will be in the future. They are the ones who I aspire to be, a leader who can love and care, who can bring hope and justice to those that cannot do so for themselves. They have inspired me much like you have, father. And I thank you for guiding me to this result. I only hope that as you have overlooked me in Yomi fighting for what's right, you're finally proud of me…"

"Espio, what are you doing?! Vector wants you to join along!" Jewel called out. "Come on!"

The chameleon turned away from the window to look at the jewel beetle. "Ah, okay!" he replied. But when he turned back around to look at the window one more time…

A tree that was in front of the window and that just seconds ago had been still, now had its branches waving in the wind as a sudden breeze blew through the air. Espio could only blink at this, realizing who may have caused this sudden gust of wind. He closed his eyes, smiling as a lone tear fell down his cheek.

"Father… thank you…" he said to himself, finally feeling like he'd properly grieved for his father since he had died.

Just then, Jewel had flown up to him.

"What's taking you so lo- wait… are… are you crying?" she asked. Espio shook his head as his scales started to glow a lighter shade of fuschia.

"N-No… I am okay," he replied, trying to subtly wipe his tear.

"Alrighttt… if you say so. Well, come on!"

Jewel grabbed Espio's hand and brought him along to his boyfriend, the crocodile grabbing Espio's smaller hand. Once again, like all the times he danced, he had NO idea how to do so, only following Vector's steps. But to the group, none of it mattered. The amount of ecstasy the group had only increased, and Espio could only look into his boyfriend's eyes.

Vector had sacrificed so much for him, even was going to throw away his entire career just for him. Everything that the crocodile said back on Stage 2 finally caught up with the chameleon as he remembered why he loved Vector. He was strong, loyal, protective, kind and caring, and biggest of them all, he was selfless.

To think that just months ago, he hated himself for who he was, unsure of what it meant to be gay. But now, here he was. Happy. Happy and proud for what he did. Happy and proud for WHO he was. Happy and proud to be here with the man he loved and all their friends, the friends and boyfriend…

…he never wanted to say goodbye to. Ever.

Alan brought up his lute as everyone came together for the final lyric.

"To the one we say it now, a hey-nonny-nonnyyyyyyyyy!"

The group all sung the final lyric together, coming together for what could be the perfect photo opportunity. At that moment, nothing in Espio's life felt wrong anymore. He forgot about all his fears, all his worries. He was happy to be in the moment, squeezed tightly by the man he loved, who had him in a side hug and surrounded by those he would do everything for.

And nothing… he thought, could ever ruin this joyous moment…


MEANWHILE, IN GOJO

The sounds of crackling fire that lit the lanterns around the garden of the Shinobi Clan's dojo were heard in their distinct nature as the smoke raised into the night sky, the refraction from the flames dancing above each flame.

As the guards of the dojo patrolled the roof, walking along it with their weapons in the ready, down below, Shami had been bouncing on the various stones placed along the ground of the garden, singing a song out loud as she had skipped along each stone, matching each kana with her skip.

"Konna koto dekirebaiina,

anna koto dekirebaiina

yume de miru mono subete hoshi~i na!

Demo minna yoku kiite,

mahou no ko mono ire no,

kare ga ireba zenbu kanaete kureru~!

Kumo no naka de miete iru

sono su gata ni yobikakeru,

"Sore ike, He-ri-chan!'"

Aa-aa-aa, daisuki na~a! Omochyao!"

As the little chameleon girl had been playing since she was done with her ninja training as well as her life training for the day, she smiled and laughed as she continued playing. She continued to sing her song as from afar, Bride of the Constant Vigil and the Shinobi Clan's nanny watched from inside the dojo through the open door leading to the garden.

"Isn't she just precious, Bride of the Constant Vigil-sama? And listen, she's singing like she made that song up herself. I think Shami-chan will be a very good song writer when she is of age to become a bride. We should encourage her and hone her ability!" the nanny said.

"That'll be the first for our family," the chameleon woman responded. "But, if we want her to do this, then we must push this like her combat and everyday training. I don't believe singing will be something that helps her when she has to lead unlike life skills."

"Why yes, Constant Vigil-sama! But, I can add that to her life lessons if you'd like! I've just never seen this side of her before and we shouldn't waste this opportunity! I wonder why now though?"

The chameleon woman curled her lip slightly and continued to stare at her daughter as the nanny soon walked off. She looked down and was ready to grab something that had been on the floor when she heard Shami say something… different.

"Okasan! Okashi wo kinshi shichya dame dayo!"

As soon as she said this, Bride of the Constant Vigil quickly stood up, staring at her daughter dumbfounded. It seemed that Shami had not caught on to her, but what she said made the Gojo leader freeze where she stood.

Okashi wasn't the word for sweets in the Historic District. Okwashi was the word their ancestors used for sweets and confectionaries before their language was bastardized, now being the word she had heard… only in the Outside World. And kinshi wasn't a word she could have learned on her own or was taught by the nanny, it was meant for older kids to learn. So how…

"How does she know those words…? I… never taught her those words…"


END OF CHAPTER 39

TRANSFER: RE-ENROLLED ZONE

ACT 2 PASSED