G.U.N. 's Academy for Gifted Students

Chapter 1: Selfish Hope

BLAZE

"Fire is many things. Beautiful. Powerful. Destructive. Cleansing. Warm…"

My eyes were sealed tight, but that only enhanced the coffee stench from his breath. My nose shriveled in displeasure. Did he have to stand so close? I squinted harder, trying to focus on only one sensation: the warmth traveling up and down my arms, from my toasty fingertips to the flames rising off my shoulders. Heat tickled at my torso, but I fought it - the goal today was only to set part of myself on fire.

"Just as fire is a versatile force of nature, you can be as well. While traditionally a symbol of chaos, you have the potential to put it in order. You have control of it. Just remember it needs three things to survive: ignition, fuel, and oxygen…"

The low growl that emitted from the back of my throat was involuntary. I hated how he lectured me with facts I've known since I was born. I'd memorized the chemistry of my curse out of necessity. Maybe my fur was fireproof, but the world was not. I'd learned that very quickly.

"Control - " his coffee stench nearly made me gag, and I opened my eyes as the flames on my palms sizzled to nothing. I curled my fists in annoyance as the heat evaporated, leaving me with cool gloves; I placed them on my hip.

"You standing right in front of me breaks my concentration."

My instructor smiled smugly, and I wanted to burn the mustache off his cheeky smirk. "That is precisely why I do it, Blaze. Do you think your enemy will be silent, let you focus, and give you time to concentrate? Of course not. You take one extra moment to focus and you will be dead. You're thinking too much - be in tune with your body and not so much your head."

"That's not how my powers work. As much as you lecture me about it, you have no idea."

"I know you can do better, princess."

My neck fur rose at the title. I don't know why he mocked me with it, everyone knew my kingdom was gone. It was the whole reason I was here. I turned my back on him, pulling my fireproof gloves further up my arm.

"We need you to be faster."

I said nothing, holding my tongue to the roof of my mouth. Speed, of course. That's all the teachers here wanted more of. I knew I was no replacement for who they really wanted. Sonic the Hedgehog. The Academy's obsession and desperation to recruit Sonic were well documented. Of course, the blue hedgehog had constantly evaded capture and refused to join, I couldn't say I blamed him. If not for my responsibilities I wouldn't be here either.

I began gathering my things, stuffing them in the small canvas bag I brought with me.

"We're not finished yet."

I sprinted out the door, part of me wanting to show him the speed he so wanted. "I am."

"Your highness!"

Remaining quiet, I entered the hallway to head back to the "female" boarding room. I write that word with quotes since gender roles are not strictly segregated here. Which is fine by me, since I have never really felt like one or the other. Myself and the two other girls share one large room, and two currently enrolled males share another. But due to a romantic relationship, the couple often sleeps together, leaving the remaining three of us to share a room.

One loud hedgehog voice reached my ears long before I made it to my bunk.

"Why is he late? He's never late…"

I suppressed an eyeroll as I opened the door, but could not suppress my inner turmoil at the sight I was greeted to: Silver and Amy sitting together on his bed. In concert with my heart, sparks began forming on my wrists, and no amount of measured breathing could calm me. The gray hedgehog stared longingly at the pink one, but her attention was firmly fixed on the world outside. The setting sun meant her chance at seeing her idol was nearly up.

"Amy, you've been staring out that window for half an hour. I thought you said we were going to study together?" Silver whined softly.

I couldn't bring myself to look at him. I had to control myself. As much as I wanted to admire his metallic fur and stylish quills - as much as I wanted to run my fingers through that chest fluff - I couldn't. Control. My emotions had gotten me sidetracked too many times, and I didn't want to burn the room down out of desire and jealousy. Emotions were my weakness, which is why I did all I could to contain them.

Unfortunately neither hedgehog were subtly quiet, nor seemed to notice my entrance at all. However, as I unpacked my things from the lesson, I did notice Rouge was hanging from the ceiling, playing on her phone. How she found that position comfortable was beyond me (she was a bat after all), but I was more surprised she hadn't gone to see her boyfriend at this late hour.

"He's late," Amy continued to pout. She held her chin in her hands, her booted legs swinging from side to side off the edge of the bed. "He always runs by my window at this time on Wednesdays. Always. Where is he?"

"You're the only one who thinks Sonic is actually predictable," Silver teased her.

"He is predictable! And I know, just know, that he's going to see me tonight. Even if it will be slightly different this time..."

"You actually think you're a fortune teller," Rouge muttered from above, not removing her eyes from her phone screen.

"I am a fortune teller," Amy said, and reached into her pocket for her tarot cards. "Want me to tell your future?"

The bat shrugged. "I love you, Rose, but we both know you're not here for any special abilities, but because you're the only one who can find Sonic," Rouge said. She did a flip from the ceiling to land on her feet, pocketing her phone. She smirked as she said her next words. "And lure him here."

"Hey, at least she has powers." I heard Silver speak in defense of Amy.

I shouldn't have glanced at him. Shouldn't have raised my eyes in his direction. I blame it on my innate curiosity due to being a feline. But that look in his shiny golden eyes, so innocent and pure - it tore me apart. I'd known Silver his whole life and he never looked at me like that. Not once had I seen that tenderness for me.

I am the only reason Silver is here. I was the first to believe in him, to find him, to protect him. Both of our worlds crumbled when my kingdom fell, and all we'd had was each other. Had. Now that we were both assigned to the academy, Silver had others now. I'd always been afraid to leave him on his own… turns out he didn't need me so much after all. I don't know why that hurt so much, but it gutted me each time he chose to spend time with Amy over me. All I'd done for him, all I'd sacrificed, all the times we shared apparently meant nothing. He fell in love with the first girl he'd seen here, and I was immediately forgotten.

I'd never thought much about love until… until I realized I'd never had it, and the one who had my heart had given his away. Worst thing was, it was to someone who was pining after another.

But I digress. Perhaps I'm in my head too much again.

"So Blaze, how was training?"

Everyone was looking at me, and I blinked to bring my mind back to reality. Rouge had asked me a question. "Same as always."

"Well, now that you're back to supervise these two, I'm headed to bed. Night darlings."

The bat started to head out the door, but paused before crossing the hall. I was alone with both hedgehogs, neither of whom had said a word to me. Perhaps for the best. I just wish I didn't have to listen to their "playful banter" while I tried to relax. Where were my headphones…. Did I leave them in my bag?

Silver spoke, and I had to train my ears away from his direction. "I'd ask you to explain how you chart Sonic's movements to the constellations, but then we'd never get our calculus finished."

"I'm already finished with mine," Amy said.

"Then why did you want to study with me?'

"I said, after I see Sonic we can."

I was irate, and I couldn't find my music. I mumbled under my breath. "For a fortune teller you're quite bad at it."

Amy finally turned to look at me, her pixie features scrunching. But before she could say anything to me -

"Oh look, there he is!" Rouge shouted from the doorway, and Amy spun to the window, only to droop at Rouge's laughter.

"Aw, leave her alone," Silver said.

"Yeah, guys… it may sound pathetic, okay, really pathetic, but this is the highlight of my week, okay? Let me have this."

"Hm. If you need me I'll be with my actual boyfriend," Rouge said, and finally left the room. She slammed the door across the hall.

"Sonic is my boyfriend… or he will be…"

My headphones. Finally. I slipped them in my ears, sighing with relief as piano melodies filled my head. Still, I couldn't close my eyes, as I, too, was fixated on the darkening world outside. I'd barely gotten into my second song when a shooting star sped across the ground, leaving a streak of blue and a boom of thunder in his wake. There.

I had no feelings for Sonic, had only met him a few times, but knowing he was out there gave me some inexplicable hope. Perhaps a selfish hope that he'd steal Amy away from Silver and things could go back to how they were between us.

But hope all the same.

ROUGE

"Babe?"

Our room was silent, but that was almost expected when you have the boyfriend I do. I looked at the ceiling, no. Each of the bunks was empty. Was he playing tricks on me again? I smiled a bit. I had more than a few tricks up my own sleeve. I began slipping out of my robe, revealing my tank top and shorts underneath. If he could see me, he'd soon be blushing and I could find him.

"Not tonight, Rouge."

Of course, I heard his voice before he appeared. His invisibility faded, leaving the deep purple chameleon sitting cross legged on the nearest bunk.

"Aww, were you meditating?" I slipped my robe back on and sat next to him.

"Trying. But you are an amazing distraction," Espio smiled slyly at me.

He gently took my face to pull me closer for a kiss, caressing my ears as well as my lips. I couldn't deny that I was aching for some attention, and his cool skin was just what I was craving. Meditation called for his heat lamp to be off, so his scales were perfectly chilly. I brought my hand to his chest, tracing his heart-shaped birthmark, and the warmth-cool contrast gave me tingles all over.

"Mmph," he pulled from my lips, and my heart fell. "Let's just cuddle tonight. I already have a headache from trying to focus so much today."

"Alright," I agreed and pulled away. We got under the down comforter together, his arms holding me close. "I wanted to ask you something anyway."

"Okay." Espio agreed, and looked me deep in the eyes.

"It's not that serious," I said, and reached over to the bedside table to grab my phone. "When you were a detective, did you ever hear of the Master Emerald?" I scrolled through a few pictures and showed him a few.

"Yes. It's a myth."

I propped up my head with a left hand ."I don't think it is. There is proof for it everywhere. Ancient texts, and we still haven't explored every inch of the Mystic Ruins. Archaeologists found an altar recently, and it was large enough to hold several hundred of the chaos emeralds, so it couldn't be for them."

Espio remained expressionless. "Rouge, my agency searched for it for years. We had to conclude it never existed. There is no Controller of the Chaos Emeralds, that's why they're called 'chaos.' Nothing can control them, nothing is more powerful.

"And the proof that Echidnas existed -"

"If they existed, they're extinct. And they have been a long time."

"But if they're extinct, why have we not found the Emerald? They were the race to protect it and hide it. If they're extinct, the emerald would have been found by now. I know I'm right, Espi."

"What I know, is that you'd like to believe that a giant, beautiful gem exists."

I smirked. "There is that, too."

"I've told you before that material things don't matter. If only you'd listen to me, you could put that smart brain to work on hunting for real treasures and not disproven myths."

"But if we only have one life, then why not live it to the fullest? Why not get all that you can? Why not search out the rarest treasures that you can find? A little belief never hurt anyone."

"You show me a real, live echidna and maybe I'll start to believe in this fairy tale."

I smiled and cuddled close to him again. "Why would I need an echidna when I have you?"

"Hmph - romantic, but I know you. And I know what echidnas used to look like. They're absolute units. I bet you'd run off with the first one you saw and leave me behind as soon as you could."

I pouted. "Not fair. Besdires, I'm pretty sure their tongues aren't as long as yours is~" I smiled and kissed him again, my tongue entering his mouth.

Truth is, though, as we made out - my mind we elsewhere. As nice as Espio was at kissing, I knew he was hiding something from me. The Chaotix were called to research the history of the Master Emerald, and while I had helped myself to a copy of their official report to the government, not everything added up.

Yes, the good 'ol "sleep with a guy to get information from him". May seem low, but it's what I do. I'm good at it, and it's not beneath me. It hasn't failed me yet.

My hands explored him, I went through the motions, I flirted and kissed, but there was still an emptiness in me. I'd searched the world to uncover hidden gems, thinking each one would fill the void inside, but nothing ever did. No man, no woman, no data, no object could satiate me. Would I forever be searching and hunting for something to satisfy me? Was that my fate?

I was damn good at what I did, enough to get GUN's attention. "If you can't beat em join em" was a false choice. How about both. I've beaten GUN plenty of times but I know from the inside I have more access to information. That's all I've wanted. And that's why I'm here. Not for Espio, or Sonic, or any individual but myself. I will find the Master Emerald no matter what I have to subject myself to to do so.

TAILS

Another day; another trip to the mailbox in anticipation. Another hope, another dream, another possibility. As I flew outside to check my mail, I was struck with minor philosophical thoughts, I blame it on the hazy atmosphere. I have everything I need and I shouldn't complain. Perhaps I shouldn't ask or hope for anymore. I have a workshop, a plane, a best friend; my life was nearly perfect.

Just two things weren't. Two huge, important things that kept me from being happy.

One, well… despite how good I am at electronics and engineering, I'd never really been noticed by any local schools. All of my online geeky friends had gotten several recruitment letters, enough that they had to choose between the best schools. But me, not a one. You'd think that saving the world countless times would be enough for me to get instantly accepted. But I guess just being Sonic's sidekick wasn't enough for them. I'd sent in so many resumes, especially to AGS - GUN's Academy for Gifted Students - but it was the same result each time.

"You're not what we're looking for. You don't quite have the skillset needed. You don't qualify."

It doesn't matter how they word it, it all reads the same to me. I wasn't enough. Not on my own. I had to be put next to Sonic to have anyone even recognize me.

So you may wonder why it matters, if my life is so perfect, then who needs school? Sonic tells me that all the time. But in my field, if I ever want to get a job, I have to land at a top school. It's one thing to build airplanes and basic robots, but I could do so much more interesting stuff with resources and funding. So that's why this matters to me so much.

And I don't know why I thought this time, as I opened my mailbox and saw this letter, would be different. I had "a feeling" I suppose, but everyone knows you can't trust a hunch. I'd gotten my hopes up when I saw AGS printed on the envelope, but I'd opened it to the same words I'd gotten over and over. Once again, I wasn't enough.

As I was nursing my latest rejection with some chocolate milk and a video game, Sonic later came by. We live together - as much as Sonic can live anywhere. He's dreamy, you know… he comes and goes how he wants, doesn't let anything stop him or slow him down, he's so confident without a care in the world - I wish I could be like him. I really do. Maybe then I'd actually get into school.

"Hey Tails," he flashed me that heart-melting grin and I felt my cheeks redden at seeing him. I crumpled the letter that was in my hand and hid it behind my back.

"Hey… what's up?"

"Ah, just another day," he said, crossing his arms. "Running from GUN, found another Chaos Emerald, explored a bit more of that desert zone… and then ran into GUN again. They still want to recruit me or something, but I lost 'em easily. Whatcha been up to, lil bro?"

I winced a bit, as I didn't want him to call me that. It felt awkward to me… and it kinda hurt. Yes we'd grown up together and all, but, well…. Number two of things not perfect in my life. Sonic was way more than a brother to me.

No way I could ever tell him. Ever. Sonic was… weird when it came to stuff like this. I've never seen him interested in girls, which gave me a bit of (selfish) hope, but I'd never seen him interested in guys either. Certainly not interested in me, as even if I'd tried to drop hints about my feelings, they just went way over his beautiful head. Was Sonic just immune to romance? He always moved so fast, and while it was awesome, I do wish he'd slow down once in a while and enjoy more calm and simple things. Like going on a date with me, or us holding hands in a context other than me helicoptering us out of danger.

Is it bad that I've daydreamed about us getting in danger just so I could hold his hand….?

"Yo, earth to Tails."

I blushed even more red. "Huh -"

"Whatchu got there - " He'd grabbed the letter out of my hand and had read it even before I'd realized he took it.

"Aw, sorry man… I know how much you want this." He set the crumpled letter back on the counter, giving a sympathetic smile. I shrugged.

"Oh, no big deal." I played with my hands behind my back.

"Ya know… if there's anything I could do to help, I'd do it… right Tails?"

I just nodded, swallowing the lump in my throat. He was a good friend. Friend.

"You'll be alright," Sonic patted my back and then headed to another part of our home. "Who needs school anyway?"

I did, and he knew that, Sonic just wanted to make me feel better. But he couldn't, because my feelings for him were getting more intense everyday. Just him coming home was making me blush uncontrollably. He may think he knew what I wanted, but he'd never know what was in my heart for him. One because I'd never tell him, and two because even if I did, I don't think he'd understand exactly what this unrequited love felt like.

How can you if you've always had everything you wanted? Sonic was blessed from the day he was born, and I envied that. If only a bit of that luck would rub off on me. Somehow, though, luck did swing back my way, only a few days later...

Author Note: Merry Christmas everyone, and welcome to my new project, something different for me. It'll contain a lot of couples I don't normally write about, lots of drama, lots of high-school-esque plots, lots of unrequited love and angst. Sounds awesome, right? Let me know what you think if you'd like. :)