Ever since I can remember, I was in Robotnik's army, though I didn't really know it at first. A large, circular brown cave carved out of rock in a secluded mountain ridge was home to me for several years. During my time in the beauteous peaks, five powerful entities trained me in the ways of the assassin. Their names were FallowFang, Fleetfoot, Strongarm, Hyacinth and Lightpaws. FallowFang was a six-foot-tall robotic cat made of thousands of tiny little black square plates that are capable of recreating themselves when damaged. Her eyes are thousands of cool green dots in their triangular sockets. Fangs made of two rounded triangular plates clasped together protrude from her mouth, capable of opening up and injecting poison into prey. She was stealth master, clever as a fox.

Fleetfoot was a small, two-foot-six-inches tall plain-looking little robot. He wore a mask shaped like a four-pointed shuriken star that only revealed his bright orange eyes. As a weapon, he held a spear larger than him with a metal point on the end shaped like a tooth. Though small, Fleetfoot was mighty, capable of flinging his spear into an enemy with force enough to shatter their ribcages. Fleetfoot was known as the master of combat with a staff-both long-range and short-range.

Strongarm was an eight-foot-tall robot with a small boxy head that merely held two blue eyes. The head was perched upon a rounded body with two very large square shoulders. The shoulders had a spike on each coming up from the exact middle. Two thin arms leading to cannon-shaped wrists fell from the box shoulders, and his square hands could be exchanged for any one of a number of guns. He had a disc for his hips, and two thin rods for legs that led to enormous calves. The rods were covered by metal plates and the calves concealed rockets. Strongarm's feet were square as well, and flat to support the hulking behemoth's weight. As his name suggests, Strongarm was master of strength.

Hyacinth was a large bird machination made of large plates with hinges that allowed them to bend, flex and giving her full mobility. Her eyes glow an unfeeling green. Her wings are edged with blades capable of flying into enemies with a single flick of a joint. Razor-sharp on all sides, Hyacinth was a near-legend in terms of cruelty. Her motto was, "If your opponent is still in 50 pieces then you're not doing enough."

The leader of the five was Lightpaws, a ruthless killer, and the best fighter of them all. She was an average-height fox-like raccoon creature called a 'furry.' Her name was ironic, seeing as how her paws were dark brown, in contrast with her golden-brown hair. Her long ears were renowned for amazing hearing, with darker tips the same shade as her paws. Her 'hairdo' was a single cowlick that was a shade brighter than the rest of her fur. A long, tiger-like tail extends from a cut in her heavy blue cotton pants held up by a crude rope as a belt. Notoriously stealthy, Lightpaws was a perfect mix of the other four members-Strongarm's power with none of his bulkiness, Hyacinth's agility doubled, FallowFang's mind and stealth without her large size, and Fleetfoot's weapons mastery. Another thing setting Lightpaws apart from the others-she wasn't a robot.

If one were to ask me to pick a favorite of the five, I wouldn't be able to choose. Each fulfilled their purpose well-to teach me to maim and kill, turn me into a perfect murderer. They trained me and trained me, and for so many months my teachers were vastly better than I. But...one day...one day it all changed. I had slowly been improving. I got closer and closer to my training's completion, a thing that both excited and frightened me. The long-awaited day when I could be a real assassin came far sooner than I realized.

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Thundering footsteps. Shouting, chaos, fire and yet ocean waves and ivy leaves. The sensation of being carried...fear...a woman's voice shouting my name... a wicked laugh and two green orbs of light...

A great weight pressed down onto my chest, with a sensation of five pricks in my chest. Instincts drilled into me ever since I could remember kicked in, and I grabbed the area above the weight source, flinging the large creature over to the wall. My eyes snapped open onto black silk. A blindfold. No problem. Listen for the air... Someone attacked me in my sleep?

A slight noise, and I pinpointed my assailant, though I continued with feigning aloofness. Another slight noise, a whooshing sound coming towards me. I shifted position, dropping to a kneel, and put my hands out. As expected, my attacker was aiming to leap onto my chest. I placed my hands a foot apart and, as my foe-now revealed to be a lithe, furry muscular creature-slammed into them, moved them up and over my head. My entire body followed-I did a back flip and landed on my feet as my enemy hit the wall again. Just when I began to pull off my blindfold a far heavier weight smashed into me, pinning me and squashing me into the floor. Something around my neck twisted and shoved its cold edge into my ribcage. My wolf-pendant!

The air whooshed out of my body unexpectedly but I forced myself not to panic or follow my instincts and tense up; instead, I relaxed and gently wiggled out from under my very heavy aggressor. Scrambling to my feet, I didn't even wait to catch my breath before I lashed out with my foot. Triumph soaring through me as my foot connected, I gasped in air and once more tried to pull off the blindfold. It was tighter than I had first thought, and I struggled with it.

Another weight smacked into me from behind, with cold metal points digging into my back. What-?! Three foes at once, blindfolded and asleep at the start?! Come on, guys! Not fair! Fine. I guess I'll have to cope! I can do this. Whirling around rapidly, I struck out as fast as I could and hit my steely foe with open palms-blades and other sharp edges sliced my bare palms. Ignoring the pain, I struck out with one final blow, knocking my opponent back. The harsh screech of metal across a stone floor caused me to flinch. The ornament around my neck was flapping about in the wind, much to my irritation.

A fourth weight, far lighter than the rest, wrapped around my ankles and pulled me to the ground. My head slammed onto an errant rock, blurring my vision. The fur on the left side of my head suddenly feels wet and my heartbeat echoes in my ears. The fourth weight presses into my already-crunched chest, shoving the little air I had left out past my lips. Four foes?! Only four, guys? You must think I've gotten weaker, I thought sarcastically. I rolled over to the left and tossed my new assailant over where I tossed the second one; to my surprise (and amusement), I heard a sound like two metal drums crashing into each other. Seems like my second foe was looking for a rematch.

A fifth weight, with the feel of a snake's skin, leapt onto my prone form. It heaved me to the sky, and I had a sudden feeling of vertigo, weightlessness as the fifth attacker spun me over and over, lashing out with random blows. Harsh, sharp claws slash into my carcass with every blow. Pain lanced through my body, but I took a deep breath and focused-the hits were not so random. Every single jolt helped me gain momentum in my spinning. They landed in certain places every time-my head, the middle of my back, my feet. In between two blows, I curled myself into a smaller, much pointier ball. All of my spines stuck out at odd angles, stiff and deadly to all but metal. My foe swiped out and missed, and I bounced harmlessly off the robot's chest.

To my complete and utter shock, I hit my fuzzy first aggressor, and was rewarded with a cry of pain and surprise. I flipped onto the ground, kicking off in a large leap and feeling air behind me propel me forward; I assumed that it was my fifth opponent leaping up to try and catch me. A growl of annoyance sounded from behind me, and I landed easily in a crouch. A roar boomed into my head and I flattened myself on the ground. A crash echoes through the cave, and a low moan follows. Another clatter told me that my little friend hit the ground.

Suddenly, a voice-the first one I'd heard all that day-shouted, "All right! All right, good job everyone. You especially, Shadow."

I finally ripped off the blindfold, blinking as the brown rock cave replaces the black silk. I grin. "Surrendering, Lightpaws? That's unlike you." Though casual, I prepped myself for a sneak-attack-any of the five robots on the ground could jump up and begin wave two of the battle.

But none came. In fact, there was something flinty, grave about Lightpaws's eyes. "Yes... don't expect it often. You're done for the day, Shadow...and I need to make a phone call." She walked out of the room, limping slightly. The others followed suit, bent metal creaking as they forced themselves to move.

Baffled, I watched them leave. "That's it for today? Are...are you sure?" I was puzzled. Usually a lesson is a day-long battle followed by nighttime meditation on a strategy that would have worked. And now, after just 30 minutes, she was saying that we were done? Suspicious...

Lightpaws pauses at the doorway leading to a hallway. "Yes. For today. Expect twice as much tomorrow." Her cruel green eyes glinted playfully.

I gulped inwardly, but painted a smirk on my face. "Looking forward to it." I shifted position, attempting not to yelp as pain stabs through my chest. Something must be broken or bruised-not unusual for a lesson. However, the minute I knew for sure that they were out of earshot, I sucked in a deep breath and squealed as my ribs were forced back into their original position.

All my air whooshed out of my lungs as I exhaled forcibly. Owch... Swallowing, I dragged myself to the straw pile known as my bed. With a small groan, I slowly lowered myself into the hay and sighed. Peculiar... No doubt a trap, a test. Must stay wary...could attack at any time! I yawned.

Before I could even lie down, I was fast asleep, my pendant hanging from its tattered purple ribbon into the straw...

----------------

Lightpaws deposits two quarters into the payphone. Annoyed at her boss's cheapness-Seriously, who puts a payphone in a cave?-but willing to comply for her own ambitions, she presses the buttons in accordance with the Dr.'s number.

Ringing...ringing...God, he never picks up before the third ring! Another ring, a click and some scratchy static, then an abrasive, irritating voice bellows, "Robotnik here. What?"

Ignoring his impatient tone and swallowing down her excited-little-girl voice, Lightpaws purrs casually, "A status report on Shadow's progress, that's what."

A slight pause and Robotnik seems a little less irritated and more interested. "How is it?"

"Today was his best so far. Master," she pauses for effect, "he matched all of us."

"Matched you? I don't understand." Lightpaws could practically hear Robotnik scowling on the other end of the line.

"He matched us, paw for paw." When Robotnik didn't reply, Lightpaws suppressed a sigh. Do I have to explain everything for this imbecile?! "He won a mock-battle for the first time."

"How harsh was the disadvantage?" Interest was slowly creeping into Robotnik's voice.

"He started asleep and blindfolded. Using his senses he took all five of us down-the robots'll need repairs, Boss."

"Noted. I'm coming personally."

Lightpaws chokes on her own saliva. "P-Personally, Master?!" He never showed up personally to anything-traveling is hard on him, since it required him to do actual work.

"Indeed, personally."

"But, Master...Why?" Curiosity caused Lightpaws to fiddle with the telephone cord.

Anger flashes into Robotnik's voice. "That's outside your parameters, Lightpaws. You're not captain of these armies and until you are, you best stay within protocol."

Lightpaws cowers. "Y-Yes, Master. We will eagerly prepare for your arrival-which is when?"

"I leave tomorrow. Expect me by next week."

"Of course, Master! Much excitement on our end! But what of Shadow's training? Bent-up robots can't fight..."

"Hone his mind and his senses-particularly scent. I expect to see an assassin prodigy when I arrive."

"Yes, Master!" Lightpaws salutes though she knows Master Robotnik cannot see her. With a 'hmph!' Robotnik hung up. Lightpaws sneers at the phone, "Daft old fool. 'You're not captain of these armies and until you are, you best stay within protocol, Lightpaws!' I ain't captain...yet!

"Just you wait," she cackles, turning from the payphone and hanging the handset back on its hook. "Just you wait..." Stepping away from the archaic technology before it gave her hives, Lightpaws dances through the halls on light feet, swiftly and nimbly hopping into the gathering-room. The assembled robots all looked up at her. All four are seated in steel chairs around a circular table.

"Make yourselves decent. For the next few days training will be of the senses-and to top off this little break is Master coming to visit."

"Master, visiting?" FallowFang lifts her head. "Peculiar."

Lightpaws looks out into the hallway, checking for a certain small black-and-red hedgehog. Finding no furry spike-factories, she quickly closes the door and turns back to them. "I know that, being robots, none of you have emotions, but does anyone else smell something funny about this job?"

"What do you mean?" Fleetfoot turns his whole body in her direction.

She sits down in a chair near them and leans on the table. "I mean, this isn't our usual stunt. Kidnapping some hermit family's kid in the middle of a stormy night? Training the little runt to be a masterful assassin? Usually we'd just kill the whole family-but only if they were a problem to Robotnik. These people didn't even know about us...so why take their kid and train him?"

"I agree that training a furry is unusual for us five. But you gotta admit the kiddie's got talent! He's a near-natural." Hyacinth nods.

FallowFang turns her head away, a small gesture but one full of meaning. Strongarm, sitting closest to her, notes her motion. "What is the problem, FallowFang?"

"Problem?" FallowFang pretends that the body language means nothing.

"You seem bothered. What causes this disturbance?" Everyone is looking at FallowFang now.

She hesitates. "Well..."

"FallowFang," Lightpaws chastises, "you know that what you say to us never will leave our lips."

"I know, Lightpaws. I trust you, yet...the proper words do not form." She sighs. "I feel...that this is wrong."

"What is wrong?" Lightpaws prompts.

"We stole a child from a family. Did you..." she swallows, "did you hear the heartbreak in that mother's voice?"

"Aww, nuts, FallowFang's going soft on us!" Fleetfoot crows.

FallowFang snarls, bolting to her feet. "No! I mean, we did an incomplete job and when we went back we couldn't finish! We should have finished the job when we started it, not gone back later. That gives them time to prepare. And besides, there's just something really weird about this whole 'training' thing. I mean, the kid was five! He's supposed to be trained to be a full-fledged killer by seven? That's impossible."

"Not so." Hyacinth breaks in. "It is possible, but it takes a sharp mind."

"A sharp mind?" Fleetfoot, puzzled, blinks owlishly at Hyacinth. "Explain."

"When we first caught the baby, he was a blubbering mess. He cried for his mother every night. And for the longest time he fought us. But eventually...little Shadow stopped crying. He forgot. And yet he only forgot after Master came to see him, requesting a private audience with him."

Strongarm leans towards her, suspicious and angry, "Are you suggesting that Master did something to him? Our Master, the one fighting evil?"

FallowFang pushes her face into his. "It's a possibility-and it might not be a bad thing either. What we are missing is his reason."

Hyacinth, who had been chewing on FallowFang's insight for a little while, pipes up with, "Perhaps... perhaps this toddler has more to offer than you or I realize. Ever since he stopped resisting our efforts and allowed us to teach him, he learned thrice as fast as a normal adult. Now, factoring in the neuro-plasticity of an adolescent, that's still above normal. His mind, it works in unique ways. He is creative, a listener by nature, and he retains all that he hears. We honed his physical strength and adjusted his mental strength to the maximum possible at age six. Now, as he approaches six-and-one-half, there is little left for me to teach. How about you," She addresses the entire group, "do you have anything left to teach?"

No response was offered by any of the group. Finally Lightpaws responds: "I have only one skill to teach him left." Unblinking robot eyes train themselves on her face. "My final skill...I believe you all know it."

The group nods. Strongarm asks, "Is it teachable, Lightpaws?"

Lightpaws smirks. Eager much? I'd never tell ya... "Family secret, Strongarm."

The robot looks away, disgruntled.

"Anyways," Lightpaws gets up, shoving her chair back into its place, "we all better patch ourselves up as much as we can and prepare for tomorrow."

----------------

The elements rage, with razor-sharp leaves swooshing through waves of salty ocean water. Fires erupt, and the ground shakes. Shouts sound, and thunder rolls. Footsteps? Yes, footsteps... big, booming footsteps, like a, a, a...

Monster.

Gasping, I bolt upright with a yelp. Blood and terror reign in my mind... and someone shouts my name.

"Shadow!" Jolted, I realize that the voice in my mind is far different from the one that is heard outside.

"Huh?"

Lightpaws steps into my room. "Get up, NOW! You're gonna be late for our meditation today if you don't hurry."

I scramble to my feet, stomach rumbling. "Breakfast?"

"Not until we're done." Lightpaws turns and pads into the hallway.

I nimbly scuffle after her. "Time?"

"7:00. Oh-A.M., by the way. Hurry up."

"Yes ma'am." I speed up, nearly stepping on her feet as I accelerate, but she stops suddenly at a fork in the tunnels. I slam into her and it's like face-planting into a rock. I blink, staggering backward, with a little groan. "What the-why did you stop?"

"We're taking a different path than normal, Shadow." Lightpaws wouldn't turn to face me.

"Oh? Whatever for?"

"I'm going to show you a new kind of meditation."

"Well, so long as it doesn't involve those nasty scented candles, that's totally fine." I made a disgusted face. For the past few days, everyone had been doing this weird zen-meditation thing with these abhorrent sandalwood candles.

"It doesn't. This way," she finally decides the left path is the best to take and sprints down it. "Keep up or you'll have to skip breakfast!"

My stomach's roaring motivated me to move faster, and I ran beside her the whole way. The dark corridor was winding and had a tendency to suddenly get narrower or wider-nothing I can't handle but still a little startling. After ducking and dodging a bit and a little swearing as my loose-hanging pendant got in the way, we burst out onto a well-lit little wooded area of the mountain. I freeze in my tracks; having never seen the place before I was instantly suspicious.

My eyes panned sideways, and my ears pricked. Lightpaws watched me with interest-another test of my progress, no doubt-as I took deep sniffs of the air. Holding my breath and keeping the air inside of my nose for as long as possible, I closed my eyes, concentrating. All I could smell was trees, moss, lichen, Lightpaws, myself, and water. Frowning, I realized that it wasn't just any water-it was stream water: full of sediments, so no doubt from some place higher up in the peaks. Though the large amount of water was odd, I could smell no foreign scents.

"Follow." Lightpaws commands, stepping into the woods. I hesitate, taking another sniff, and then obey. Bobbing and skittering through the forest, I quickly catch up to her. She does her best to evade me, but to no avail-I stay right behind (though, much to her surprise sometimes ahead) of her and she leads me to a quaint clearing with a waterfall. The water, crashing down upon the rocks with a mighty roar, is shrouded in mist. The very air is damp. Errant water droplets sparkle through the air, adding to the mist effect.

"Beautiful..." I breathe, eyes wide.

Lightpaws rolls her own eyes, snorting. "No time for sentimentality. The new kind of training that I'll be showing you has to do with this waterfall."

Confused, I blink at her. "What? How can a waterfall be of use?"

"You sit under the water and think as it pours over you. Now MOVE, soldier!" Lightpaws pushes me towards the rock ledge.

"Huh?!" Struggling against her, I yelp as the first drops of water hit my fur. It's freezing, unnaturally so for such a warm summer day. "YIKES! Th-the water's c-c-c-cold!!" I squeal, my struggles even more feverish than before. I definitely didn't want to sit under that frigid water for even five minutes, let alone a few hours! Yet I could not wriggle out of Lightpaw's iron grasp, and she forced me underneath the water.

"By the way, if you lean over too far or try to get up you'll be crushed by the water's force!" Lightpaws adds in a singsong voice, shoving me into a seated position under the downpour. I squeal as the glacial water freezes my entire body. Pain lances through me as my muscles stiffen in a desperate attempt to hold in the least amount of heat.

Shivering uncontrollably but unable to move, I swallow down my pride and focus on the sensation of the water running down my body, over my fur. My brain is beginning to numb as well, my thoughts moving slower and slower. Lightpaws has disappeared, as has the rest of the world as I squeeze my eyes shut to keep the water out of them. There is nothing but the sub-zero water and the dark red-orange of my eyelids. The metal pendant is positively frigid! My thoughts slow down until they drip through my head like sludge...

Cold...so.........very cold. And-and-and stiff.....stiffly cold........chilly-stiff........bitter cold, glacial, ice-like in its frigidity. This cold...it's............deadly......mind-numbing....one could-could get lost in the cold, the frosty distant hate......hate? Why..........why do I think hate? Not hate.....just.....unfeeling...... But there's something else with this wintry waterfall....another sensation.

This other sensation...my mind senses something. Something-different-frightening. Open. An expanse... another mind? Yes, indeed....another mind...Odd.... I feel thoughts. This other thing is strong. What is this? A new sense... I feel as though-as though the whole world has just opened to my awareness. Like it's been there all along but I could never feel it. And now I do.

Lightpaws surreptitiously glances at her young trainee from the sidelines. Though she herself is not under the water-God forbid! She's already done all of that, all of her training-Lightpaws senses a disturbance in Shadow. An awareness. A smile slides across her face, coming and passing within seconds yet still, it was there. As the awareness grows within his mind, she stands. At its peak, its climax, the epiphany of awareness she grabs Shadow by the hand and swiftly yanks him out from the waterfall. Grabbing a conveniently-placed towel sitting on a rock within arm's reach, she slaps him in the face with it and starts to scrub his fur dry.

Still numb, I let Lightpaws dry me off and gasp in air. The cold leaks from my body, but the strange feeling in my consciousness remains. Coughing, I struggle to my feet though trembling violently and look over at her. "H-ho-o-w-w l-l-l-l-lon-ng-g-g?" I stammer, spitting each word out, forcing the two-word question out past my numb lips and shuddering jaw.

"Around three hours," Lightpaws smirks, rubbing the towel in my face.

I snagged the towel out of her hands and began to dry myself off. "C-C-n d-d-d-d-d-d-do it on-n-n-n-n-n m-m-y-y own-n-n." I splutter, rubbing off my white chest fluff. My long fur doesn't dry easily, so it takes some effort. After practically rubbing my fur off of my body, I decided that it was dry enough and the towel wet enough to hand off the rag to Lightpaws.

"Thanks for giving me your gross towel." She makes a disgusted face, holding my towel between her thumb and index finger. Dropping it on the ground, she kicks it gently into the water. "We'll let the current carry it downstream."

"What if someone finds it?" Warmer now that my fur has dried, I cease stammering. Lightpaws does not answer. Something glimmers in her eyes. Something dark, something that I somehow failed to see before yet now... I squint at her. Slight undertones of voices are just beyond my hearing, but they grow more audible the harder I focus.

...will not matter soon...I should tell him, but...forbade me... Concentrate harder, Shadow. Harder! Though if I tell him, perhaps he will be excited. He's never met Master before. But today is the day...

"What is special about today?" I ask, curious.

Lightpaws whirls around, surprised. Then, the voices in the background abruptly cease and she smirks at me. "So, you heard?"

"Yes."

"Master is coming to see you today."

Perplexed, I ask, "Who is 'Master'?"

Lightpaws laughs. "You can be so naïve, Shadow. Master," her face becomes serious, "Master is your visitor today. Come now! Let's not keep him waiting!" Grabbing my hand with an uncharacteristically cheerful laugh, she darts back towards the cave.

Baffled by her irregular behavior, I blink and allow myself to be pulled along, trying to figure out how exactly she thought that statement was an actual answer to my question. The second trip seems a bit faster than the first. Lightpaws plops me down onto my straw bed, saying "Stay here for now. You move and you die." Then, leaving me still a little bit confused, she bounds out of the room on airy feet.

Blinking, I begin to weave straw into braids-a pastime that which I often took to when Lightpaws told me to stay in one room. It kept me aware, alert...especially to that which I wasn't supposed to hear. My ears flick, and I force them to flatten out as wide as possible. I hear voices echoing around through the hallways, "...inal repairs and you're set, Strongarm. You all are." Ugh! Such a harsh voice! He's unfamiliar to my ears. Friend or foe...? There comes a reply-

"Thank you, Master." Strongarm's voice, full of gratitude.

"Make me proud, you five. Show me your full skills and you had better pray that he impresses me." He? He who? Who else is-oh. They're talking about me. Impress him...? A sudden rare grin distorts my face-I've never liked the feeling of smiling, the way my whole face seems to scrunch up and wrinkles appear-and I stand up on the straw bed, preparing myself for attack. Can do, whoever you are. Prepare to be impressed.

My ears flatten out ever more, and I attempt to listen for even the faintest sound indicating an attack. My eyes close so that the only sense my brain neds to process is sound. My locket is making a slight clink-clink noise...a pebble skitters across the hallway, the sound seeming as loud as a shout in my ears. I focus on that one skittering sound, feeling the echoes on the fur in my ears. With it I paint a picture-five familiar figures slithering silently along through the corridors, capable of erasing all traces of themselves-

Save for actual existence.

They pause at the door, and I open my eyes, readying myself for their ambush. As if on cue, as soon as I have prepared myself five figures erupt through the cave doorway. Strongarm rushes right for me, as per usual. I leap to the side at the very last possible second. Close behind him swoops Hyacinth, firing blades up and down and all around. I twist and contort my body in a seemingly impossible way to avoid them-no sense ruining my fur-cut with their pointy edges!-and kick her right in the chest, conveniently smashing Hyacinth right into little Fleetfoot beside her. Fleetfoot drops his spear, and it clatters noisily on the ground. FallowFang leaps into Hyacinth's place, snarling, and I sneer at her. A single kick in the nose and then sweeping her feet out from underneath her took FallowFang out. Lightpaws darts right into FallowFang's footprints.

Instead of her usual tactics-also known as using some kind of distraction followed by an underhanded move and a painful final blow-Lightpaws stared at me and began to circle like a shark. Our eyes never left each other's faces, each judging the other's next move. A sudden blur of movement alerts me to her next move. She leapt up, tucking her feet underneath her as if she were to roll forward leaping over my head. I ducked and her foot suddenly lashed out, knocking me onto my back. Automatically I curled up into the spiky little ball of fur and quills that I am, tucking my knees to my face and pulling my arms up into an X-shaped block, my fists clenched. Blow upon blow from Lightpaws's fists rain down upon my tightly coiled body. I take the energy from every strike and store it in my own carcass, building up a large store. Keep hitting. I'll steal your energy and make it my own!

Twisting farther up into a sphere, I sucked up every strike. Once the energy buildup was unbearable, I waited for her to lean in and deliver what could be the finishing blow. My eyes flew open and I flung myself from the ground with a roar. Lightpaws squeaked in surprise as I began to batter her with intense force, so strong that she flew backwards and hit her head on the wall with a WHACK!, my cry following her the whole way.

Suddenly, a voice screams from nowhere, "THAT'S ENOUGH!"

It was the harsh voice. I whirl around, preparing to attack. A very odd-looking figure stands in the doorway. Long thin legs leading to a rotund spherical body with long thin arms, a small round head with some sort of hair sprouting radically from the sides. As the man steps forward, light illuminates his features. The legs are covered by black pants, and now he is revealed to be wearing a red jacket with huge gold square buttons. White stripes run from the shoulders of his jacket to the yellow cuffs on his wrists and in the middle of his vest is a very thin stripe. All three total stripes have lines running horizontally, and the odd hair coming from the sides of his head is revealed to be a mustache-a gigantic brown mustache-growing from under his big pink nose. He wears a pair of small glasses with no arms, only a nose bridge-a pince-nez. He has some jeweler's goggles or something perched on top of his head. They appear to be the ones that wrap around the head.

"You five, leave!" The man barks, clacking forward with his modified motorcycle boots (they have to be modified; there's no way a store would sell something that dorky). The four robots (and Lightpaws) obligingly get up and drag themselves out of the room, with the robots leaving some pieces behind. The man watches them like a hawk until they leave, and once they are completely gone he turns back to me. I blink up at him, intrigued yet cautious. The man's glasses hide me from reading his eyes, and there is something cold about his whole demeanor.

He's obviously the boss, the big one, the Man around here. However, his ridiculous appearance no doubt makes it difficult for the poor fellow to really command anyone. Before I can calculate about the man any more, he speaks in a growl, "Hello, Shadow. I don't believe you know me. My name is Dr. Robotnik," his words have the air of rehearsal-like they were really practiced to the point of boredom-yet there was no boredom. Her crosses his arms and continues, this time with glowing praise, "You have true talent, Shadow. I would like you to join my army and help me fight for justice!"

The manner in which he says 'justice' practically paints a picture in my head. A picture of pleasing colors and rainbows-happy things. Justice. Yeah...

The man continues, oblivious to my lack of response, "There is an evil fiend who calls himself 'Sonic' loose. He has placed the whole world under his spell! We are the only ones who can save them!" He ends his little speech on a dark note, scowling as if truly frustrated by this Sonic and his evil with a shaking fist held up. But I cannot trust him...there is something so fake about this whole conversation (not to mention how one-sided it is) that I am prompted to find out whether it is really a true story or if he is attempting to con me.

"Evil fiend controlling everyone's minds? How?" Baffled more by the fact that such a spell existing could broadcast to everyone but us than by the fact that there was a single evil entity behind it, I cocked my head.

"He does so," Robotnik pulls something small and shaped like a little rod out of his pocket, "using these."

Handing the rod to me, I realize that it is a cylindrical tube made of two ovular halves joined together. The halves separate and shoot out from each other in my hands, with a holographic image appearing between them. Data is on the holograph page, data on eight odd crystals. Reading over it with fascination, I discover that this Sonic does exist-there was his birthday, blood type, height, weight, width, preference of chocolate over vanilla, favorite sandwich...This is all very stalker-ish. Very creepy. Apparently only seven of the jewels are portable (pocket-size, if you will) and there is one grand jewel more powerful than the rest called the Master Emerald. The others are called Chaos Emeralds, and currently they are the source of Sonic's powers. A lot of information-their discovery date, their amount of power, their size and weight and the individual colors.

"So...these stones are sources of incredible power that this Sonic uses to control people's minds?" I sum up my general collection from the data in a question. Once again, almost unconsciously, I begin to run my thumb across my little adornment.

"Yes."

"Therefore, if we take them, he has no power?" I've never heard of this guy, or these jems...

"Yes. Well, sort of. He's a wicked brawler." Robotnik's face contorts and I get the feeling that he disapproves of brawling.

"Does he have an army?" ...but this data doesn't lie...

"No." Robotnik sounds a bit hopeful now...

"Then just steal the jems and assassinate him?" I'll help this Dr. Robotnik fella.

"Precisely." We both pause for a moment, with me reading over the information and him anticipating a response. He clears his throat, causing me to glance up at him. He looked hopeful like a little beagle puppy as he asked, "Will you...help me?" He thrusts out his hand.

"I'll do it!" I say, self-assured, taking his hand. We shake hands, and thusly the deal is sealed.

----------------

"Are you certain that I should do this?" Robotnik is sweating, shivering, but not with cold or heat. He's terrified.

"It's simple. Just take him in, wipe his mind, and seal him in that suit that keeps his mind muddled, make him a robot. Easy. You said so yourself."

"That's not my question. Are you certain?"

"You dare to question me?! Do it, fool! Don't you want the world at your fingertips?"

"Yes but the pri-"

"SILENCE! Do you want the world or not?!"

"Yes bu-"

"No more buts! Just do!"

Robotnik's head fell down, between his arms. He rubs his hands over his bald, sweaty head, breathing harshly. After a long, tense, drawn-out pause, Robotnik looks up, pain in his eyes, but a bit calmer. Resolved, or perhaps resigned.

"Yes, Master."