Half an hour later, I'm sitting nervously on a paper-clad cushion in am empty room. My stomach writhes with fear at the prospect of seeing a doctor again, but at least this room looks nothing like the other "doctor's offices" I've been to; this is a small, drab room, with pale peach walls, and some cheap cabinets in one corner. There's a sink, too, and a couple chairs, one of which holds my shoes and gloves--I'm sitting on some sort of raised cushion clearly meant for humans (it was ridiculously tall), covered in 'sanitary paper.' I have no idea what 'sanitary paper' is, but it feels like cheap wax paper. Rouge is waiting in the lobby, which I'm only half grateful for. I don't particularly want to be here alone, but at the same time I don't want her to continue making fun of me, which is, incidentally, what she did the entire way here. I draw my knees up to my chest, putting my bare feet on the crinkling paper, folding my arms around my legs and resting my head on the bandages still wrapped around my biceps; I feel more than a little overexposed without my gloves and shoes, but the nurse guy said I had to take them off. I wouldn't expect Rouge to understand--she wasn't there, after all, so how could she know what I've been through? I sigh. Sometimes I can't even tell what really happened and what was a nightmare.

A knock at the door snaps me out of my thoughts, and I lift my head abruptly. A blonde woman is leaning through the door, and she was knocking on the doorframe. "Mister Shadow?" She says in a cheerful, bright voice. Stepping inside, she closes the door behind her. "My name's Doctor Medusa." She smiles pleasantly. I blink at her, a little surprised. She doesn't look nearly as intimidating as some of the other doctors I've met. She has weird hair, though--it's medium-length, save for two long bits in the front, which she's woven into an odd sort of braid that sits on her chest. The rest is a choppy, youthful style, but not in a sort of punk-teenager look; it's flat at the top, but it flips away from her head at the tips. She wears plain black scrubs, with a doctor's jacket over it. I look up at her face as she approaches me, walking softly, laying her clipboard down on the counter as she passes it. Her left eyebrow is missing in a patch, but it looks to me as if she just happens to not actually have an eyebrow there. A natural occurrence, rather than some sort of peculiar and unfortunate accident. Her eyes are an almost golden brown--an unusual shade for a human. Her nose is small, and she has relatively pale skin. Caucasian, in her mid-twenties, clearly. "How are you?" Doctor Medusa asks in that same sunny tone as she begins to put on a pair of gloves. "I mean, clearly you're not feeling well if you're here," suddenly seeming embarrassed, she face-palms with the one hand not yet gloved. "Silly me."

"Uh, that's no big deal," I stutter quietly. "I, uh, I've had this weird feeling i-in the back of my throat, and I keep coughing..." Despite how cheerful and kind she seems, I can't shake this fear of doctors so easily.

"Oh?" She blinks. "Alright, can you open your mouth for me? I need to look at your throat." She pulls a peculiar, flat stick of sanded wood out of one of her coat pockets as I obediently open my mouth. "Okay, now say, 'aaah'!" She chirps, pressing the stick down on my tongue.

What is all this? "Aaaah," I say, mimicking her peculiar noise.

She hums for a moment, then pulls the stick out of my mouth, which I promptly shut. "Alrighty, Shadow," she says, turning towards the cabinets. Rummaging in one, she pulls out a stethoscope; whipping back around, Doctor Medusa grins at me. "Now I just need to listen to your heart and lungs, okay?" Why does she keep saying "okay" and "alright?" I blink at her as she carefully presses the rather cold metal of the stethoscope to my chest. "Can you take a deep breath for me?" She puts the end pieces in her ears, scooting the disc end of the instrument around as I breathe as deeply as possible without coughing. "Good~!" She sings after a few moments, pulling back. "Okay, I think I've figured out what's wrong."

"Wh-What is it?" I query, crossing my legs.

"You have a cold," she replies, picking up her clipboard again. Doctor Medusa scribbles a few things down on it, continuing, "So, I'm gonna prescribe some medicine for you. If you follow its instructions, this should clear up in a few weeks, although with your accelerated healing abilities it might be gone in under a week."

"Oh, that's good." Relieved, I relax a little.

She glances at me over her board. "Is this the first time you've ever caught a cold?"

"Uh, y-yeah," I rub my right arm with my left paw, still wary of her. "M-My immune system has always been strong enough that it doesn't effect me. I've n-never been sick before."

"Never?" She lowers the clipboard slightly to look at me with her full vision, suddenly sharp-eyed. "That's...interesting. What do you think changed?"

I bite my lip, thinking. I can't remember much of what happened prior to Rouge releasing me from whatever capsule that was, but something tells me those events may have caused this. Either way, I don't like her asking that sort of question, so I avert my gaze and shrug. "I dunno."

She pauses for a moment, then goes back to writing away. "Oh well~!" She chirrups, "That's not important. What is important, is that you take this note down the hall to the front desk--they'll give you the medicine you need from there." She shuffles through the papers, then pauses to fish in her pockets for a moment. "In the meantime, here, have this--" she places a peculiar, candy-like lozenge into my hand. "It'll help your throat hurt less." I unwrap it and pop it into my mouth. It's cherry-flavored, and pretty great, if a bit strong; I hum appreciatively as I feel the soothing effects almost immediately. Handing me the notes, Medusa steps back, opening the door. "Good luck!" I nod, and she shuts it behind her.

Well, that was less frightening than I'd thought it'd be, I think to myself as I hop down off the cushion. Picking my shoes and socks up, I slip them on easily, reading the note. Her handwriting is pretty terrible, I have to say, but some of it's still legible. Sighing to myself, I put on my gloves and walk out the door. Now I just have to find the front desk. Trotting down the hall, I glance around, a bit curious. Some of the doors are left ajar, but I feel as though it'd be rude to look in, so I limit my eyes to inspecting their architecture. The hallway is perfectly symmetrical, in fact--a dull white-ish yellow, more ecru than eggshell, in my opinion, coats the walls, and the doors are of a dark wood. The ceiling is composed of those cheap plastic-y tiles, and every other tile of the center row is a light. Overall, it looks pretty dingy, but it is symmetrical, so at least it looks somewhat okay. Put-together, and all that. But I have to say, something about this hallway, where every single yard looks identical to the last one, is unnerving me. It reminds me too much of the endless forest from my nightmares. Shivering, I cross my arms as I walk, my mind drifting off. For some reason, Robotnik's files come back to my mind; particularly those images. My hearth thunders in my chest as I imagine them all again. Shuddering, I squeeze my eyes shut. No, not here. Get it together, Shadow. You can't lose it here! Clenching my teeth, I crush the cherry candy between my incisors, growling. Shaking myself off, I trudge forward with feigned calm, though my heart's still pounding. Eventually, I reach the front office; the receptionist there has a blank, bored look on their face, their eyes half-glazed and their voice dull. Within a few moments I have the medicine in my hands, in the form of a sealed paper bag. "Don't open it until you get home," the clerk drones, sounding as though they've rehearsed that line far too much.

In response, I nod, still feeling nervous. Slight problem, that--I don't have a home, I muse silently, hanging my head a bit. I wish I had pockets to stick my hands into, but I'm pretty much naked save for my gloves. That thought kinda weirds me out, so I brush it off. For whatever reason, I feel a bit glum about the whole not-having-a-home thing, even though it's never bothered me before. I guess it's more about the feeling of not belonging than the idea of having a roof to live under.

"Hey, Shadz!" Rogue trills, running up to me. I lift my head, blinking, and realize that while I was brooding I'd walked all the way back to the lobby. "How'd it go? I see you got some medicine."

"I just have a cold," I reply evenly, leaning back a bit. "I'll be fine. I told you it wasn't serious."

She smiles. "Well, that's good. And, hey, I have something to ask you--walk with me for a minute." Grabbing my arm, she heads towards the door leading to the rest of the complex.

"Hm?" I let her lead me, plodding along after her, trying to maintain my balance and match my pace to hers. "What?"

"I have something I wanna ask you--" she begins, turning to face me.

"You said that already," I point out.

"Shut up and listen." She snaps, then sighs, closing her eyes in annoyance and putting her hands on her hips. "Look, these past few days, we three have worked really well together." Leaning back a bit and crossing her arms, she smirks at me. "And since my mission--technically our mission--was such a smashing success..." My stomach drops into my shoes. She's going to ask the same thing she did half a year ago; I don't know how to deal with that--my answer hasn't changed, but I don't want to hurt her feelings. "G.U.N. was wondering, I was wondering, if you'd like to partner up with me, and join G.U.N.?"

I pause, cringing internally. "Uh, well," I clear my throat, averting my eyes and scratching the back of my head, "Gee, Rouge, I..." Crossing my arms, I bite my lip, looking into her crystalline eyes. They glitter with anticipation, and hope.

"Oh, please, Shadow!" She leans forward, folding her hands together in a symbol of pleading, eyes wide with her lashes batting adorably. "Pleeaaaaaaseee?" I half-step back, grimacing slightly. Oh no, she's turning on the charm--How do I say no?! I don't know how to deal with that!

As the silence drags on, with me sweating bullets, trying to figure out how to tell her that I'd really rather be alone for a while, she slowly begins to droop. Panicking, I try to think of something to say before she gets upset. Without thinking, I blurt out, "I need some time first."

"You're not gonna do it, are you?" Her bottom lip quivers. I really hope she's just acting right now, to try and manipulate me. "You promised, you said that someday later you'd join me..."

"I know," I reply desperately,"I know, I remember doing that, it's just--I need to find out some things about myself. I--" Stammering now, I search for the right words. "I didn't get the chance to find my family, like I'd wanted to. I need to finish what I started there, a-and then, once I do--" She won't look at me now, her ears drooping in sadness. "H-hey!" I grab her hands, and she jerks back, looking up at me in surprise. I hear her think, 'Is this the only way he knows how to get my full attention?' The amusement in her thoughts makes me blush a bit. She's right, this is the second time I've done that. "I swear, some day I will be working with you on this, but not yet, okay?"

She smiles sadly. "Yeah, I understand. I was just hoping," she pauses for a moment, looking away, "that you'd at least made some progress since the last time I saw you."

"I know," I sigh, letting go of her hands, "I was hoping to be further along too, but when Robotnik captured me--" suddenly I break off, realization flashing through me. No, that wasn't Robotnik who captured me... The memory floods me, and I have to refrain from gasping aloud, horrified. No...that's--that isn't possible. It can't be!

But there's no mistaking it. The person I saw, in that dark hood...they looked just like me.

"Uh, Shadow?" Rouge's eyes are wide with concern. "Are you okay? Your eyes are all huge, did something happen?"

"I-I'm fine, I just--" I take a step back, looking up. "I think I need to leave."

"Wh-What?!" She stammers, shocked. "No! I mean, you just got here! And you're still sick!"

"I'll be fine, I have medicine now." Bringing my gaze back down to her level, I take a deep breath, forcing myself to be calm. "I want to set out as soon as possible, because the sooner I get out there and start looking, the sooner I can find them. And the sooner I find them, the sooner I can come back and join you."

"Where are you going to stay?" She steps forward half of a pace.

"I'll find shelter and such along the road." I reply evenly, crossing my arms again, desperate to just end this conversation and leave.

"But you're sick. It'll be worse if you stay out in the open and stuff." Stepping even closer now, she sticks her face right up in mine. "Stay here at least until you get better, please." I look her in the eyes, searching her expression. I can tell that she really does care--worry is bleeding off of her, and in this kind of close quarters her thoughts are practically screaming out at me. 'He must be delusional or something--does he have a fever again? I can't tell just from looking at him, but his cheeks are a little red.'

"Rouge, I have to--" I start to try and reason with her, but before I can even get halfway through my explanations she suddenly slams into me, wrapping her arms around me. I let out a startled exclamation, stumbling back a little bit as she tightens her grip. Wh-What is she doing?! Annoyed, I flatten my ears. This is the goddamn third time in 24 hours that we've hugged--that's far too frequent for my liking.

"Please, Shadow, I'm worried about you!" She buries her face in my hair--she's awkwardly taller than me, thanks to those heels, so her chin is level with my eyebrows. My face turns bright red as she runs her fingers through my hair, her perfume choking me yet again. "Just stay here a while."

"Let go of me!" I yelp, wiggling. "I can't breathe and the gear on your belt is crushing me." Her belt buckle in particular was digging into my torso, and its lower edge was SHARP--why would she hold me this tightly? I'm a hedgehog, we're not really very cuddly creatures.

"Oh, I-I'm sorry," she stutters, pulling back and looking away. Surprise jolts through me when I realize she's blushing too. What's up with that? She flirts with people all the time, right, so why is hugging me like that making her flustered? "I dunno what I thought I was doing, I know you don't like hugs but I still--I'm sorry." Stunned, I stare at her for a moment. Her entire demeanor just changed. She seems less confident.

"It's n-not a big deal," I grumble, hunching my shoulders. "I guess...I don't mind hugs from you," she turns to face me, looking surprised, and I hurriedly add, "I mean, I still don't like them, and you really need to get a weaker perfume, honestly." Turning around, I scowl at the hallway. "Plus, you're terrible at it. It's a hug, not a goddamn wrestling match."

"Like you can talk!" She snaps, annoyed. "You wiggle around way too much! It's like trying to huge a huge, fuzzy worm!" The porcelain bat thumps the back of my head as she passes me. "You know what, do what you want!" She scowls at me and I frown back. "Go ahead and leave, since you got what you needed anyways!"

"Fine, I will!" I snarl, crossing my arms. Dammit, I didn't want to leave on bad terms with her, but she's being so ridiculous right now! What the hell am I to do?

"Good!" She crosses her arms too, turning away slightly.

"Great!" I yell back.

"Fantastic!" She yowls, slightly louder than me.

"Wonderful!" I clench my hands into fists, increasing my volume as well.

"Perfect!" She screams, leaning into my face.

"Alright!" I bark back, our noses almost touching. The snowy bat pauses for a moment, looking a little lost. After a moment, I smirk. "You ran out of synonyms for "okay," didn't you?"

"Shut up," she mutters, leaning back. We stand silently for a minute, each of us thinking quietly. After a few minutes, she blurts, "I'm going to miss you."

"I know." I reply, looking at the ground. I lean on my left foot, thumping the ground with my right foot. "You know I mean it when I say I'll come back, right?"

"I know." She sighs, "I just wish I could help you, but I have work to do here."

"I understand." Lifting my head, I smile at her. "But hey, it's not like I'm going forever." Putting my foot back down, I give her a thumbs-up. "I'll be back. Probably sooner than you think."

My smile spreads into an uncharacteristically cheerful grin. "Can't get rid of me that easy."