When Metal Met Gold Chapter 3

 Overview Cream the Rabbit makes her first appearance. (In this fic, she is a year younger than Reens.) Gym class takes place, and Sonic and Amy interact with most of the cast.

Included Characters
Reens Maricina

Blaze the Cat

Cream the Rabbit/Cheese (first appearance)

Amy Rose the Hedgehog

Sonic the Hedgehog

Rouge the Bat (first appearance)

Shadow the Hedeghog (first appearance)

Knuckles the Echidna (first appearance)

Miles "Tails" Prower (first appearance)

Various Archie/Sega characters

Popularity is Realtive
Blaze let her palms down and led Reens towards the nurse's office, but Reens shrank back from it. "What's wrong?" "Uh… I just have a slight fear of doctors," Reens stammered out. The truth was, Reens had never been to the nurse's office before, and she had never even been to the doctor's office either. Her family didn't have enough money for medicine or treatments because of her father's alcohol addiction, and he would always say that Reens was "too healthy for her own good." Besides, she didn't want the nurse - or Blaze, for that matter - to see the bruises and burns she had gained from years of torture.

Blaze seemed to take Reens' excuse well (although a bit confused) and walked back towards the cafeteria with her. "So, where's your next class?" "Oh, I have gym," Reens replied with her hands behind her head, trying to seem more relaxed. "Really? I'm heading that way myself. Mind if I walk with you?" Reens shook her head to indicate she didn't mind, and they arrived at the gymnasium in record time. As soon as Reens set her things down and rummaged through her backpack, she started to panic. Her face turned paler than usual and she started to sweat. Blaze noticed this and tapped her shoulder, a worried look creasing her features. "My gym clothes aren't in my backpack," Reens explained. I know I packed them yesterday!

"No wonder," a snarky voice came from the other side of the locker room. Reens mentally face palmed. I forgot she was in here, she thought as Arin sauntered up to her. "Your gym clothes were always sort of stinky and nasty. I couldn't bear trying to get past that smell," she complained with a whiny tone. "Where are they?" Reens huffed, her hands balling into fists. "Where they belong, rat-face." Annalissa and Alexa sneered as they joined Arin. "In the toilet. Crap needs to be gotten rid of." Snickers followed.

As Reens fumed, the coach walked in. The coach was a light brown female meerkat with brown eyes, wearing a baseball visor, tennis shoes, an open jacket, and a silver whistle on a cord around her neck. She blew the whistle shrilly. "Alright ladies, enough chitchat! Get your sorry butts out there! I want five laps around the gym, then we'll do our stretches." The girls groaned and exited the locker room, all except for Reens, who sat on the bench.

As she was sitting there about to cry, a gentle voice reached her ears. "Do you need some gym clothes? I have an extra shirt and shorts you can borrow." She looked up from the ground and saw a younger cream-colored rabbit with cinnamon eyes. Her ears were held back like a ponytail, and she looked very kind. Reens nodded, and the rabbit handed them to her. "T-thank you, uh…" The rabbit had walked out before Reens could give her thanks. Reens changed quickly and ran out to the court to start her running.

'Dodgeball! Yay!'

Gymnasium Edit
A red rubber ball whizzed past her head. "Aw, I missed!" a male voice grunted playfully. It was co-ed PE day, and the girls were against the boys in a dodgeball match. Reens was never much good at dodgeball, but today she was playing better than she had thought she could. "Heads up, Mina!" a white bat called as another ball swooshed towards the mongoose. She reached out her hands and caught it in one swift move. The male brown bear who had thrown it mumbled a curse and sat down on the bench. *Tweet-tweet!* " Change sides, everyone!" The males and females switched sides on the court.

Almost immediately after the balls were reset, Mina got another male out, this one a purple chameleon. "Whoo! Nice moves, girl! Keep it up!" The chameleon flashed her a look as he sat down. Soon after, Mina herself was called out by a red echidna. "Good boy, Knuckles! Keep at 'em!" The game was tied, with the same number of boys and girls out on each side of the court. Reens panted and wiped her head with the back of her hand. It was only her, Blaze, Amy, and Rouge (the white bat that had cheered Mina on earlier) on the females' side; Knuckles, a two-tailed light yellow-orange fox named Tails (hence the name), Sonic, and a large green crocodile named Vector on the males' side.

Vector aimed his ball at Rouge, but Reens quickly stepped between the ball's path and caught it with one hand. "I-Is that even legal, coach?!" he spluttered as he sat on the bench. Rouge turned to Reens and gave her a smirk before being hit by Sonic's ball. Blaze tried to make her way to the other side but was intercepted by Tails and was hit, making her out, but the ball rebounded and hit him as well. "Does that mean I'm out?" The coach shrugged, letting it slide as Tails walked to the bench and sat down next to Vector.

Amy and Sonic glared competitively across the court at each other, jade and emerald eyes shining, while Reens looked at Knuckles, slightly afraid of him. Knuckles cracked his namesakes and grabbed a ball, throwing it in Reens' direction. She ran the other way and slid past Amy, the ball barely missing her head. She picked up said ball and threw it back, hitting Knuckles in the chest. "Oomph!" He shook his head and made his way to the bench, rolling his amethyst orbs. Amy tried to snag Sonic with a ball, but he was too fast for her with his super speed. He picked up a ball and spun around, hitting her in the knees. As she walked off the court, Reens and Sonic were the only ones left. "He-he," he chuckled, aiming a ball straight for her chest area. She braced herself for impact.

The bell rang, signalling the end of class and the end of the school day. Both teams headed to the locker rooms, sweaty but proud. Reens let her hair down and redid her braid while Cream and Blaze walked up to her. "That was amazing, Reens!" "Yeah! If we had a little more time, you would've kicked Sonic's butt." Reens blushed, twisting a strand of hair. "I'm not sure about that. I can't run as fast as he can." Reens changed quickly and tried to give Cream her clothes back, but Cream waved her off. "Those clothes were too small for me anyway. Go ahead and keep them." Reens nodded and stuffed them into her backpack. I hope we have enough laundry soap… My clothes stink, both from sweat and a toilet!

A huff sounded from behind her, and she turned to see Amy, crossing her arms. "What do you think you were trying to do out there?" she said with a slight tinge of anger. "Huh?" "Don't give me that look; I know you were trying to get him away from me!" Reens sweat-dropped as she deduced what Amy was talking about. "Look, I know you and Sonic are a couple, but that doesn't mean you have to get so defensive around every girl that even comes close to him!" Blaze grumbled with a small twitch of her lips. "Ames? Where are ya?" Amy's expression immediately changed to a bright smile. "Gotta go, he's waiting for me!" The three girls left in the locker room looked at each other and shrugged. "Love."

Compliments and high-fives went around after that class, and Reens was not used to having so many people around her at one time. Even Sonic came up to her and high-fived her. "Great game, Reens! Maybe next time you'll actually hit me." She laughed, rubbing the back of her head with her other hand. He was dragged away by Amy, the latter giving her a withering look as they passed. "Wow, what a day! I'm beat," Knuckles said as he passed by. "Oh, good shot by the way." "Well, I'm heading home," Tails said as he flew beside Knuckles and gave a smile, his baby blue eyes bright. Reens straightened her backpack straps and walked towards the exit. As soon as she got to the courtyard, she noticed someone leaning on one of the brick walls.

"Tobias?" He looked up, giving Reens a wry grin. "Hello again, Reens. I take it you had a good day today?" "Yeah, it was pretty exhausting, but at least I almost won a game of dodgeball!" Tobias nodded and noticed Reens' tired expression. "Want me to walk you home?" She at first shook her head no, but then almost fell over due to fatigue and her injuries which had flared up. Tobias quickly ran to her side and picked her up bridal-style, her backpack in one of his tentacles and his on his back. "I think you really need a lift." She sighed and held on to his neck as his wings lifted them into the air.

He dropped her off at the market where she worked, helping her put her backpack back on. As he turned to leave, Reens gave him a small wink. "What was that for?" "I wanted to thank you," she said with a shrug. Tobias gave her a thin smile back and flew away, leaving Reens to her work. He's so sweet, she thought, entering the market and hopping behind the cashier's booth.

Market Edit
<p style="font-size:16px;line-height:26px;">"Thank you very much for shopping at Farm Delights! Have a great day!" Reens smiled as she bagged the groceries of the last customers for that day. Walking into the break room, she slipped into the bathroom and changed clothes. She looked her body over, cringing at a new bruise that had appeared by her left thigh due to her slide in dodgeball. With a bounce in her step, she clocked out and said goodbye to the other cashiers before heading home. When Reens walked to her porch, she could hear drunken laughter from inside. Not again…

<p style="font-size:16px;line-height:26px;">Her father had his head on the kitchen table, a bottle of whiskey in his hand with an empty glass beside it. As soon as she walked in, he turned his head to her with a goofy grin, eyes halfway open and droopy. She grunted. "You've drunk yourself into a stupor again, haven't you Daddy?" He shook his head weakly, making it loll from side to side. "What makes you think that, honey?" She marched over and took the whiskey bottle from him, inspecting its contents. "You've drank almost the entire bottle! There's no way you can be sober after that," she huffed.

<p style="font-size:16px;line-height:26px;">Bartholomew's expression changed from barely awake to firm. He stood up from the table and grabbed the whiskey bottle back, holding Reens by her shirt. She struggled against his grip, but he didn't let go. "Now listen here, girly," he spat, the smell of his alcoholic breath in Reens' nose. "I choose whether I'm sober, and right now I don't wanna be sober. You have no given right to say anything against me!" He threw her against the table, knocking it on its side and slamming on top of Reens' left arm. She bit back a scream as he thrust himself upon her, hitting and kicking her harder than he had in weeks. He then pulled out a cigarette and lit it, pressing his foot on her stomach. Taking a few drags, he blew the smoke into her face. She coughed, trying to make herself sit up. He slapped her across the face, knocking her back down. Her eye stung as he leaned in close to her face. "No one tells me no."

<p style="font-size:16px;line-height:26px;">The next morning, Reens was treated as if she did not exist (except for Blaze and Cream of course). Her new-found popularity had seemingly vanished overnight. "That's sports for you," Blaze said as she walked next to Reens' left side. "One minute they love you, the next they don't care a bit." "It isn't like that, Blaze," Cream piped up. "They just like the popular ones better," a slick voice crooned from behind them. Reens turned to see Rouge propped against a locker, checking her nails. "Are you one of them?" Rouge laughed and shook her head. "I was, hon. I don't fly with that crowd now." A small grunt came from her right side, and Rouge moved slightly to the left. "This is Shadow. We've been close friends for ages now." "To think I used to be friends with that faker," he hissed under his breath, arms crossed and scarlet orbs narrowed.

<p style="font-size:16px;line-height:26px;">As Reens looked at Shadow confused, a blue blur whizzed past them, skidding to a halt. Sonic stood there, gently setting Amy down. He met Reens' eyes but quickly looked away as Amy grinned. "Why don't you get me a bottle of water, Sonikku?" He grinned and sped towards the vending machines. Shadow didn't even look at her as she walked near Reens. "Well, well, well. At least someone knows where they belong," she sneered. "Don't talk to her like that, Amy!" Cream snapped. "She's our friend! You shouldn't be so rude to her!" "I would advise you to leave her alone," Blaze hissed, her fur standing on end. Shadow said nothing, with Rouge checking her nails nonchalantly. "Maybe you should listen to the fire princess, Amy. I'd be careful if I were you."

<p style="font-size:16px;line-height:26px;">"Why should I be- Oh, Sonikku!" she squealed in delight as he came running back. "Thank you for my water." "Heh heh, no problem Ames," he grinned. "Why don't we go get some breakfast?" "That sounds lovely," she cooed. "Oh, brother," Reens groaned. "I hate this kind of stuff." The cobalt and rose-colored hedgehogs sauntered away together, with Amy looking back and sticking her tongue out at Reens. Reens wasn't fazed by this and simply tossed her braid. "That's popularity for you," Rouge commented. "They always act that way." "Popularity is relative," Shadow grumbled. Surprised to hear him speak, Reens nodded. She picked up her backpack and went to eat breakfast with her new friends.