Academy for Heroes-In-Training

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"Next."

Zeke shuffled forward nervously and slid his enrolment form onto the desk. The receptionist pulled it towards her and squinted at it.

"Zeke the Hedgehog, from Mobius?"
Zeke nodded slightly, still silent.
"Good. First classes are two days from now, you'll receive your timetable tomorrow. Here's where you'll be sleeping... Dorm A12. Kenneth will show you where to go."
"K-kenneth?" Zeke stuttered.

A tall bean-like figure stepped into the room. His striking orange hair, round black glasses and mischievous grin were all too familiar to Zeke. Ken Robotnik wasn't a megalomaniac like his grandfather, but the rivalry between his family and Zeke's hadn't faded a bit. Zeke cringed.

"Zekey!" Ken chuckled. "So you've finally joined us at the Academy. Let's see your enrolment form..."
Scowling, Zeke thrust his papers at Ken.
"Such a shame... you're not in my Tech group. We won't be spending as much time together as I'd hoped... Dorm A12. Follow me."
Cheering inwardly, Zeke shuffled after the man.

Zeke pushed the dorm door open. His first thought was a question about which bed he wanted. His second thought quickly followed, demanding to know why there were three beds in the room. Zeke looked up at Ken.
"Wait... I'm sharing with other trainees?"
"Naturally." Ken responded. "A key skill all budding heroes need to learn is to get along with their partners in crimestopping. And now I've got to get to class."
With a smarmy "see ya 'round" Ken was gone. Zeke dumped his things onto the bed farthest from the window and lay down, hoping against hope his roommates wouldn't arrive.

Kumo fiddled with her braid, glaring at the woman behind the desk. "I won't give it up."
"Look, weapons here are expected, but you can't carry around that thing all the time. You would knock things over."
Kumo's hand went to the grip of her oversized sword strapped to her back. "You want to take it off me?"

The receptionist cocked her eyebrow at Kumo, and shook her head. "You new ones are all the same. Look, take it, but don't tell me I didn't warn you when you turn too quickly and it breaks something you have to pay for."

Kumo nodded quietly, and turned away. Staring at the papers, she walked in the direction she guessed her room would be in.

***

The door was open, and a figure was already lying on one of the beds. "Dorm A12?"
The figure in the room looked up, and grunted what Kumo guessed to be an affirmation. Entering the room, she dumped her bags at the foot of the bed next to the turquoise hedgehog's. She started to unpack, avoiding talking to her room-mate.
Eventually, he was the one to break the silence. "My name's Zeke. I guess, as we will be stuck together, we should get to know a few things about each other."
Kumo looked up, dusted off her hand on her faded pants, and extended it towards the hedgehog. "Kumo Strife."
After a moment's hesitation, Zeke took her hand and shook it politely.
Kumo smiled slightly, and stretched out on the bed. I get sent to train with a florescent, four-legged mammal. This should be interesting.

Eden walked in the front door, duffel bag slung over his shoulder. He cast anxious glances around him before walking to the receptionist.

"Ah, who are you?" she asked.

"Eden. Harry Eden."

The receptionist handed him a packet and a key. "Follow the map to your room. Someone will be by later for your orientation."

Eden nodded and rushed off. He opened the packet and checked his room assignment. Still single occupancy. Good.

The door next to his was open. He took a quick look inside as he went past. An anthromorphic turquoise hedgehog and a girl with a very large sword appeared to be awkwardly conversing. Eden mentally noted the sword and went on. He opened his door and stepped inside, swiftly locking it behind him.

After looking over the room several times for bugs, Eden felt safe enough to start unpacking. He unzipped his bag and dumped out the contents. His clothes, his books, and his Colt 45. He was set.

"name" the lady asked me.

"Nick Copper" i said calmly, holding back the excitement i had.

"here's a map and a key, you will have orientation later on" she then handed me a map and key. i ran out. It was hard for me to run this fast with out my posers switching on but i was able to hold them down. I eventually came to my door passing a closed door and then a weird hedgehog dude and a girl with a giant blade. I passed them by then opened my dorm room, there were two beds in it and i took the window view one. Then i climbed out the window a stared at the campus, i couldn't wait to start.

Kumo glanced outside, watching as one student, then another, peered curiously in at them on their way to their own dorms. She cleared her throat slightly, glancing at Zeke.
"I didn't expect so many new students."
Zeke shrugged. "Where else are they meant to go?"
Kumo quietly unbuckled her sword, resting tip of the blade on her heavy boot to avoid damaging the floor or the sword. It was almost as large as she was tall, and her muscled arms we a testiment to how heavy it was. The blade was also unusually wide, and the handgrip looked pathetically small next to it.
"That's a rediculous weapon. It's too large."
Kumo leaned past the blade, staring solemly at the hedgehog. "It does its job."
"You would need a lot of room."
"It makes room."

Eden listened to the people in the room next to him, his ear pressed up against the wall. He smiled. One was naive, the other cocky. Strengths and weaknesses, that was what he wanted to know. Though he knew he would stay true, he didn't know about anyone else. No harm in preparing for every eventuality.

He looked out the window. This was a good place to hide, if not just for honing his skills. Somewhere out there, Barringer lurked. This place would prepare Eden for that time when he must face him.

Eden turned back to his things. He put the Colt under his bed. Though the girl he had seen possessed a sword, he wasn't sure how the staff would take to guns. He could use other weapons, if it came down to it, but the gun was really where he shined. He wondered when the first classes would begin.

"Now, Aislara, are you sure you have everything?" The care-worn woman's graying hair contrasted with her tan, wrinkled skin in a pleasant way as she let her hand rest on her niece's shoulder. The girl she hoped to reassure with her touch shrank away from the contact and brushed a strand of honey-blond hair away from her face, back into line with its blond and dark brown companions.

"Sí, tía. I've double checked and triple checked," Aislara's dark eyes, darkened still more by her mood, stared absently at the gravel that met her shiny red boots with uncomfortable points. She always wore the same red boots, no matter how many pairs of pink, purple, or polkadotted ones her aunt attempted to make her wear.

"Your mother's backpack?" questioned the older woman.

"Sí." The girl turned slightly to show that the worn, purple backpack was slung over her left shoulder.

"And the box I gave you?"

"Sí, and I haven't opened it yet, just as you asked."

"The flute is still wrapped up carefully, Aislarita? And we're sure you're going to be getting a single room?"

"Sí, tía. I'll be fine. It's not as if I can't buy anything I might be missing." Aislara scoffed inwardly at the thought of the small fortune her aunt had insisted on packing in the antique backpack.

"Now, Aislara, take good care of your mother's possessions. They can never replaced. Nunca en la vida." Aislara's head drooped slightly in frustration as she realized her aunt was going to continue checking and double checking preparations perhaps until her niece began to walk away. So, that's what the girl did. Her boots slid familiarly about her black, knee-high socks as she ventured a few steps backwards.

"Don't worry. I'll be fine. Goodbye."

The tears that shimmered within the creases of the old woman's eyes had no power over Aislara; she shuffled effortlessly past the school's gate (crawling with security) and through the front door. A throng of students made their way in a door labeled 'Office' and out a door that was a bit further down the hall. Aislara figured it would make most sense to start there and dragged her luggage along as she entered the room.

"Name, please?" the receptionist droned, as if she'd said the same phrase a hundred times that day, which she probably had.

"Aislara Costoso." Aislara's tone was just as dreary.

"Single room?" Aislara nodded in response to the woman's query. No need to panic, it was just a check, but still Aislara felt a small tug in the bottom of her gut -- she knew she would not be able to stand attending a school she did not want to go to if she was not boarded in a single room. The classes would be hard enough to get through, in such constant company, but at least she'd have the solitary of her own room.

"Here. Room A13. Follow your map. Orientation later." The receptionist had obviously trimmed a few words from her speech to speed up the flow of incoming students. Aislara took the map silently and followed it to what she thought was her room.

But no, this room couldn't possibly be her room -- another person was already standing inside of it, unpacking his things.

"Um. Excuse me," ventured Aislara with a quiet rap on the door frame, "You must be lost. This is my single room."

The boy looked up, brown eyes showing almost as much panic as Aislara's showed.

"What? What are you talking about? This is my room. This is my single room!" he replied, standing his ground as if protecting the room from an invader, which is surely what he saw Aislara as.

"No, see, that's not how it works. My stupid, rich relatives paid for me to have a single room. I cannot function without a single room. So, you need to leave."

Aislara was fuming. It was bad enough she had to be here; it was so much worse she was here and not alone. Her hands balled into fists as she stood, shaking with frustration, in the doorway.

Eden looked the Latino girl over as she stalked to the other bed. This was an unexpected contingency. He could make do though. At least he had hidden his gun before she had come in. He didn't need her ratting him out like that.

The girl put her stuff down on the bed. Eden instantly grabbed it and opened the bag up.

"Hey, get your hands off of that!" she said. He ignored her and dumped out all the contents on her bed. There wasn't a lot there. A carved box, a flute, a mask, some gloves. The strangest thing there was a small collection of bones. Eden picked one up and looked it over. The girl knocked it out of his hand and it fell back to the bed.

"Get out of my stuff, you idiota!" she said.

Eden turned away satisfied. Nothing she had was harmful to him. So long as he didn't catch her messing with his stuff he was just fine with her.

Nice start guys, however a couple of the posts are a little short. Remember we're aiming for a 200 word minimum. I'll allow the posts so far, but please try to write a little more lengthily in future.

"Is it just me or is there a lot of shouting going on?" Zeke asked his roommate (who still intimidated him quite a bit) uneasily. Kumo shrugged.

"Their problem," she said decisively, "not mine."

They were awkwardly silent for a few minutes longer. Finally Kumo spoke.

"You want to go check out the grounds?"
"The wh-?" Zeke mumbled, completely thrown by the idea of being invited to "hang out" with someone. After a few scrambled attempts, he managed to mutter "yeah, ok" in an unconvincingly casual tone.

They left the dorm and wandered towards a large grassy plot near the back of the Academy. A good number of students new and old were sparring in preparation for their tuition.

"I might just watch from here," Zeke suggested, noticing Ken in a robotic exo-suit at the far end of the pitch.
"Don't tell me I'm sharing my room with a wimp," Kumo sighed, placing her hand on Zeke's back and gently pushing him towards the middle of the field.
"Hey, no! Quit it!"

They reached the field's centre, where a fairly large circle of various beings was assembled.
"Who are the next two challengers?" shouted a badger in a pilot's suit. Kumo grinned and turned to Zeke.

"Wanna fight me?"
Zeke shook his head frantically.
"Fine, fine." Kumo replied, seeming disappointed.

**My bad.**

Kumo stretched, settling to watch the sparring. She would have liked to test out her roommate's skills- are his quills a help or a hindrance? but didn't see anyone else who caught her attention. They were mainly cocky first years, seeking to prove that they could run with the 'big boys', who were completely ignoring the younger competitors, fighting amongst themselves. Kumo thought them all rather pathetic.

As the next two competitors took their places- a tall man with ice-blue hair and eyes and a short, bulky guy with claws- Kumo glanced down at her new acquaintance. He looked thoroughly uncomfortable, and kept staring at nothing. She shoved his arm lightly. "Don't you like sparring?"
Zeke started, as if drawn back from a daydream, and shrugged. "It's usually just a show of who is a bigger brute. I prefer the track events."
Kumo raised her eyebrow. "Oh? You a runner?"
He grinned- the first natural smile he had given her- and answered, "something like that."
"Zekey! You here to fight?"
A tall, bean-like guy with orange hair came wandering over to the pair, arms spread. Kumo frowned, she had always found the arms-spread-cheezy-grin greeting to be more about gaining attention then welcoming anyone.
She noticed from the corner of her eye Zeke's grin fade and be replaced by withdrawn irritation. "No, Ken. Just here to watch."
"And who's your lady friend, eh?" Ken elbowed Zeke in what was meant to be his ribs, but due to the height difference, ended up hitting him in the side of the head and winked. Somehow Kumo thought that it wasn't an accident, and wondered vaguely what was between the two. Eventually, she decided to answer, hoping he would leave sooner that way.
"My name's Kumo. Kumo Strife."
"Why hello, Kumo. You got a good fella here, even if he is a little spikey." His smarmy smile made Kumo want to hit him. She stayed silent, and perfectly still.
Ken didn't notice. His attention had moved from provoking the hedgehog to the object on Kumo's back. "Woah, that's a big sword for a little lady like you! I would think it to be a little heavy for you."
Kumo smiled, exposing white, even teeth in a feral snarl. "Try me."
Ken, again, was oblivious, and smiled back. "No thanks, I've just eaten."

She would have yelled at him until he left (what nerve he had, dumping her things all over her bed!), and she was fully prepared to, but Aislara's fate was not to beat Eden to a pulp with shouting that day.

"Ahhh, Aislarita. These morons would hardly let me in!" The high, shrill voice was all too familiar, and soon Aislara's aunt appeared behind her in the doorway. Her hair was in a bit of a mess -- it was obvious she'd just been in a tussle with one of the office workers or security guards. More surprising, however, was the fact that she had a toucan on her shoulder.

"You nearly forgot Moco!" The toucan clung to the woman's wrinkled hands as it was shifted in Aislara's direction. The girl looked at the bird with disdain and the look on her face plainly read: I was trying to forget him.

"Sorry," she mumbled, extending her own, more youthful, hand to give the bird a perch. The toucan hopped lithely to its owner's hand and proceeded to drive the tip of its beak into her forearm, lightly enough that it didn't draw blood, but firmly enough that Aislara winced in pain.

"Right. Thanks. Goodbye." She knew it was rude, but at the moment the stress of socializing was completely overwhelming her, so Aislara escaped the only way she knew how -- she shut the door in her aunt's face and retreated to her bed, shaking the bird off her hand and into the air. It landed on the window sill, closer to Eden.

Aislara's things still lay scattered on the bare mattress. She didn't bother replacing them, but instead sat on an area of the bed that was clear with her back to the wall and closed her eyes.

"Please. Do not. Touch. My stuff."

Eden was hardly listening, however. He was focused more on backing as far away from the dirty window-sill-occupant as possible. When Aislara noticed he hadn't bothered to answer, her eyes flickered open again.

"He's harmless. Really," she said, attempting to sound at least slightly reassuring. In truth, Moco was nothing more than a nuisance. The only reason he'd pecked at Aislara at all was to bother her, maybe as payback for her attempt to abandon him. He was more polite when dealing with strangers; Eden had nothing to worry about, but he obviously didn't know that.

"Seriously," added Aislara, hugging her knees closer to her chest.

"Oh, kiddies," Ken added, "there's something I have to tell you too. The receptionist mentioned you'd each be given orientation in your room, right?"
They shook their heads.

"Ugh... the new woman there is useless. Anyway, that's no longer the case. Tomorrow's the last day before classes actually start, and orientation will happen then. I'm assigned to the A block -"
"Oh joy," Zeke thought mirthlessly.
"... so I'll be showing you and a few others around and answering questions. It's at 11:00 sharp, so don't stay up too late - I know how you kids need your sleep."
With a smirk, he headed back to the spot his exo-suit sat at, jumped in and began arm-wrestling a huge green kid. Kumo seethed.

"Kids?" she fumed on the way back to the room. "How dare he talk to me like that? How can you possibly put up with it, Zeke?"
"Experience," grumbled Zeke.

"I'm hungry," he added. "Let's go find the cafeteria."

A few minutes later, they sat at a table outside munching on chips. Kumo studied Zeke.
"Has Ken really - well, been so dominant over you all your life?"
"Pwetty mush." Zeke mumbled, mouth still full of potato. He swallowed and continued, "After Ken's grandfather Ivo retired our families made peace, and began meeting for lunch and things like that. So Ken and I basically grew up together, and he always decided what I would do. Hell, I'm only here because Ken recommended it to my parents."

"And you've never stood up to him?" Kumo asked.
"Well... once." Zeke's face darkened as the unpleasant memory returned. "I played a prank on him - just a simple one, bucket of water balanced on the door - and he completely lost it and gave me the pummelling of a lifetime. After that I was pretty much his servant.

"When he came here I thought I'd finally caught a break, until Ken told my parents how good the place was and they sent me here."

Kumo sat there in silence.
"I'll show him the pummelling of a lifetime tomorrow."
"You can't!" insisted Zeke. "You'd be expelled from the Academy if you got into a real fight."

"You might be right," Kumo said thoughtfully. "But! Would we get expelled for a simple prank?"
Zeke didn't like her use of "we". "I guess not," he replied.
"Right. And if he tried anything afterward, he'd be the one to be expelled." At this Zeke's ears pricked up.
"But... what exactly are you suggesting?"

Eden sat back with a smile, listening to the conversation of the two heroes at the table behind him. They were the same two that shared the room next to his. They talked on about their plan to prank someone, the dude in the exo-suit arm wrestling what looked like the Golly Green Giant's kid. Eden recognized him as being the son of one Doctor Robotnik, who had been quite proficient with constructing mechanical devices, if word was to be believed. Judging by the exo-suit he wore, this guy wasn't too bad either.

Eden watched as Robotnik strained and finally slammed the green kid's arm into the table. They shook hands and the green kid walked off. Eden got up and approached Robotnik.

"Sir?" he asked. "Are you Mr. Robotnik?"

"Call me Ken, kid," came the reply. "Who are you?"

"Eden. What would you give for some information?"

Ken stopped and looked at Eden. "What are you talking about?"

"I know something you might want to know," Eden replied. "But information is not a free commodity. I would like something in return."

"You do realize that you're trying to bribe a school official, right?"

"I'm prepared to risk the consequences of that. Are you prepared to risk the consequences of what might happen to you?"

Ken thought for a moment. "What is it you want? Preferential treatment? Better food?"

Eden shook his head. "Something only you could probably provide me with. You're good at building mechanical things, right?"

"If you're looking for an exo-suit like mine, then you're flat out of luck."

Eden chuckled. "Oh no. What I know isn't worth that. I want a grappling gun."

* can someone bring me in please*

**I see you let me come up with the prank, Matt >.<;**


Kumo finished her chips, and shoved the plate aside. Lowering her voice, she started to explain her plan.
"We need a few hours unattended. I heard my cousin did this at her university- when a certain guy she didn't like left for a few hours, she and a few mates snuck into his room and covered everything in newspaper. The pencils, the pencil holder, his sheets, the pillow, coathangers, the things on the coat hangers, absolutely everything."
Zeke nodded, then frowned. "I was expecting something more... extreme from you."
Kumo smiled. "Keep listening. Then you fill his room with balled up newspaper through the window."
"Still doesn't seem that exciting."
Kumo glanced around, and leaned forward slightly. "Don't you get it? The room will be such a mess he won't notice something missing-at least not straight away. Something precious, or embarrassing, something he will do anything to get back, or to make sure it doesn't get shown around. Then you, my friend, can be in charge of him."
Zeke looked a little dubious. "But if he guesses, and comes and attacks us? Sure, he would be expelled, but we wouldn't be in much better shape."
Kumo fiddled with her braid thoughtfully, then looked back at the hedgehog. "Is there a camera system here?"
Zeke shook his head. "The electro-people would screw up the feed anyway."
Kumo smiled. "Then he can't prove a thing. And I have means of protecting myself."
Zeke eyed the sword still strapped to Kumo's back, and sighed.