Bad Kids

Chapter 2

Midnight finally made it back to her house that wasn't too bad. They owned a small house with all the essentials that made her and her father happy. But she was curious why Shadow had called her back so soon. When she walked through the door, Shadow was sitting in a chair at the kitchen table eating dinner. Across the seat from him, there was a dish of food ready for his daughter. "Dad, is everything okay?" she asked, worriedly. "It's fine. Just take a seat and eat." he ordered.

Still wondering why she was called back, Midnight decided to take her seat anyway and began to eat her dinner. She felt tense through the silence and tapped her fork on the plate. "Okay, dad. What did I do?" she asked, somewhat annoyed. "Oh, nothing. I just needed to talk to you about something." he replied calmly. "Well, spit it out!" Midnight demanded. Shadow wiped his mouth with a napkin and stood up to walk to the window.

"How old are you, Midnight?" he asked. "Uh, sixteen? What does-" "And what's the one rule I've given you since the day you could walk?" "To not go to the other town." "Exactly."

Confused, Midnight stood up to walk to him. "Dad I never once went to the town!" she snapped, thinking he was accusing her of a crime. "Oh, I know you didn't. Trust me, I'm not accusing you of anything. But I was wondering if you wanted to try something new for once." he replied. "If you mean sending me to that place for something then-"

"Oh trust me, I would never do that to you. But I was curious if you wanted to do something new for once around here." he explained. "Oh? What kind of new?" Midnight wondered.

Shadow reached into the cabinet and took a glass and a bottle of whiskey. After pouring himself a drink, he took a sip. "Well, I was wondering, would you be willing to steal something for me?" he asked curiously. "Stealing you said?" Midnight asked intrigued. "Nothing better." Shadow said, a sly smile creeping across his face. "I'll do it! What is it I'm stealing?" she asked happily. Putting his glass down, Shadow reached into the drawer next to him and pulled out a photo.

"This is a Chaos Emerald. One of the most powerful items in the world. It can only be used by those who have Chaos energy in their system. Namely you and I. I want you to get one for me. If you would be so kind." Shadow explained, handing her the photo. Midnight looked at it closely, realizing just how beautiful it was. "It's a gem?" she asked. "There's seven. If you can get at least one, it'd make me very happy." he explained. "What do you need one for?" she asked. "You know how they're living so comfortably and happily. How come we can't too? Those emeralds will help us build up a new empire. Especially since it won't take a lot of effort." he explained.

Thinking about it, Midnight knew she wanted to do something new. "Can I have help from my friends?" she asked. "I've already talked with the council. They said they were totally supportive of this decision. So yes, you may. Are you sure you're up for this?" he asked her. "Dad, you've been training me for something like this since I was little!" Midnight reassured.

Shadow smiled proudly and hugged her. "What were the two rules of crime?" he asked happily. "Don't get caught. Carry it out." Midnight said. "That's my girl." he praised. Midnight hugged her father and looked back at the picture. "I won't fail you dad. I promise you that much." she reassured. "I know you won't. Just take your time and come back soon." he replied.

"Love ya old man." she sighed.  "You're gonna be just fine. Be careful though. Don't let those good-for-nothing heroes get the best of you. I can't afford to lose you too." he told her. "Trust me, you have nothing to worry about! I'll be back before you know it!" Midnight said proudly.

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Two days later, Midnight had gathered all of her friends one late night outside the town. "Are you sure you guys are okay doing this?" Midnight questioned. "Midnight, we're your friends. Of course, we're fine with this. Plus it's not like we had a choice anyway." Fade replied. Midnight rolled her eyes playfully and all five walked out towards the outskirts of the town. Together they walked down the dark alleyways, past the big buildings and stores, and right to the river that surrounded their town.

Right before they crossed, they looked back to see just how huge their town was. "Do you realize we're leaving the one home we've lived in our entire lives? Into... that town!" Diamond realized.

"It can't be too bad. Besides, we're going in for a gem and coming straight back. No one will know we were there in the first place." Smoke replied. "Still. I don't like the idea of that town. I heard it's all about bright colors. I don't know how I feel about that." Mystic replied. "Oh, you guys! Don't make me regret agreeing with my dad for once!" Midnight whined. "Okay okay! Don't get yourself all tense!" Fade reassured, placing her hands on Midnight's shoulders.

After a brief pause, they crossed the knee-high cold water. It wasn't a lot of work since they carried very little luggage. Once they made it to the other side, they ran quickly to what looked like a dimly lit town. They were all excited and thrilled for some reason to explore a place they didn't know existed. But the minute they got to the borderlines, they paused to stare. "Are we gonna walk?" Fade asked nervously. "I'm having second thoughts!" Smoke whispered.

Even Midnight was nervous about this. But determined to help her father, she lifted her boot and gently tapped the ground with the toe. Then she moved the whole foot to the ground. She took a couple of steps walking into the new town. Slowly but surely, the others followed her. Together they walked into their new world, their eyes brightening seeing such a well-built town. Nothing like their old beaten town.

Immediately, Fade began backing away. "This town is too shiny!" she whined and began walking away. "No, we're not turning back! It's just an emerald! It'll only take us the rest of this night!" Midnight snapped blocking her path. "Okay fine! It doesn't mean I have to like it!" Fade whined and followed the group. Midnight looked back at the photo and then to the huge town. There was a huge sign with the Chaos Emerald on the front. "Chaos Museum. See the best of Mobius' collections." Mystic read aloud.

"That must be where the Chaos Emeralds are." Midnight said. "Well then. We know where we need to go." Diamond said. Mightnight nodded and together they followed the directions of the map and disappeared into the night.