The minutes drag on, feeling like years. I've lost count of how many questions I've answered, but most of them are tedious and menial. I answer as evasively as possible, masking half-truths with a lot of filler words. We're dwindling down into yes-or-no type questions, however, and I know they're running out of things to ask.

"Have you ever been arrested?" The man on my left asks, pushing his glasses back up onto his nose with one hand.

"No." Gotten a little close, though, and I've definitely done enough to warrant it.

"Have you ever been diagnosed with any sort of mental issues?" A dark-skinned man crosses his arms, giving me a critical stare.

"No." I return his look, thinking, but I probably should have been.

"Have you ever killed anyone?" Dr. Dana asks, and I stiffen to refrain from flinching.

"Yes." I answer, my voice pinched and quiet. A small murmur ripples through them, but it ends just as fast as it begins. I narrow my eyes, gritting my teeth together. Please let this be over soon! I bristle slightly.

"Does that bother you?" She presses, and I give her my most emotionless stare.

"I would be lying if I said I didn't think about what I've done," I reply in a hiss, "but at the time, I believed it was the right thing to do." Grinding my teeth together, I repress the urge to get up and leave. What right do they have to even ask me these questions? At my anger, the humans all glance at each other, frightened. I intimidate them; they don't know how to handle me, and they don't know what I'm capable of.

"All right, Mister Shadow," Dr. Nygus says soothingly. Her voice has an oddly calming effect--something about the pitch of it seems gentle. More gentle than Dr. Dana's voice, that's for sure. "We have one last question for you, and then you can go." Took you long enough! I scream internally, but I bite my tongue. Don't be rude, Shadow. "We heard from Agent Rouge that you were imbued with Chaos Energy by Robotnik. Is this true, and, if so, has it impacted you greatly?"

Taking a deep breath, I prepare myself, gathering my thoughts. "Yes, that is true, and while my day-to-day life really hasn't been changed by it, I have gained a few new powers." Before they can prompt me to continue, I explain, "Without an emerald and without the 'key words'--" I refer, of course, to the Emeralds' activation phrase 'Chaos Control,' "--I can teleport, though I haven't tested how far I can go, or whether or not I have to already know my destination. I can also summon Chaos Energy in the form of a spear." Lifting my left hand, I let the energy build up at my fingertips, crackling red and white, slowly gathering into a general spear shape. Its image wobbles slightly, as unstable as my own emotions, the energy dancing about, but reigned in by my will. I suppress a smile--I've only had this ability for less than a day, yet I already love it. Maybe all that agony was worth it... The collected humans gasp and stare in awe.

"Amazing..." The man who previously pushed his glasses further onto his face is giving me a look of wonder, but each of them has an underlying worried sense in them. They fear what I can do.

"Indeed." I answer, allowing the energy to dissipate harmlessly. "As it stands, I don't know how he did it, or if this will last forever, but in the meantime it's quite useful." Flicking my gaze back to Dr. Dana, I twitch an ear. "Is that all?"

"Er, y-yes, Mister Shadow, that's all." Still looking a little stunned, she tries to collect herself, blinking rapidly. "You can leave now. Just, uhm, stand outside until we call you back in." Wordlessly, I get up and walk out, turning a blind eye to their stares. I keep my posture stiff, proud, and collected until the door shuts; in truth, I feel like a nervous wreck. Slumping against the door, I press a hand to my mouth, breathing deeply. Why did they have to ask me about the people I've killed? I squeeze my eyes shut, trying to keep myself from crying. I didn't want to! I didn't know! I never wanted to hurt anybody...

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

Holding the newspaper shred in her claws, the ebony-and-cerulean hedgehog looks solemnly at the world around her. Her glittering sapphire eyes skitter about, rapidly assessing her situation. She wears a long, black trench coat, and a hat covering her spines, which she has tied up into a ponytail beneath the hat. Beside her, in a matching night-colored jacket, stands her dark-furred, auburn-streaked companion, slightly taller than her. His spines, too, are brushed down, and he has extinguished the flames normally flickering at the end. Tucking the image into an inner pocket, she sighs softly, and his hand snakes its way into hers, giving it a reassuring squeeze. She glances over, her glittering azure eyes meeting his flaming ruby ones.

Those around them on the train seem to ignore the two mysterious hedgehogs, even though their attire draws more attention to them than they'd think. As the train grinds to a halt, the red-streaked hedgehog grabs onto a nearby rail, steadying himself; the blue-streaked one merely leans a bit more to one side. The doors open smoothly, and people file out, unaware of the dark-clad hedgehogs in their midst. The duo stick close together, slithering through the crowd with ease. They only stop once they find a deserted alleyway; slipping down it, the two look left and right, searching for people. Finding none, they relax, and the ocean-eyed hedgehog takes her hat off, letting her coat fall open slightly to reveal her slightly tattered yellow tank top. Pulling her sleeve back, she exposes a peculiar bracelet woven from silver with ornate patterns carved on it, resembling the ocean. A dark blue gem rests in it, and she taps it with one long sapphire claw. Blue light streams forth, forming the image of a familiar face.

"Sky." The hedgehog addresses her cousin, "Have you seen anything?"

"Not yet," the airy hedgehog Sky answers, her voice and image crackling with static, "but I've heard some intriguing rumors." She shifts position as wind buffets her, sending her already-tangled hair flying all about. "Keh, sorry, gimme a second here--" there's some shuffling, static hissing through the images, and the two hedgehogs exchange a glance, "--okay, sorry about that, Soul! The air currents picked up, and I almost fell over." She giggles. "Anyways, I heard through the grapevine that Sonic and our Shadow don't get along whatsoever, but they keep ending up near each other somehow. If you manage to track this Sonic, chances are he'll run into Shadow."

"Really?" Hope glitters in Soul's eyes. "Great! Thanks, Sky!"

"Hey, is Heart there with you?" The sky-blue-streaked hedgehog chirps hopefully. "Tell him I said hi if he is!" She waves, beaming massively.

The silvery-blue-streaked hedgehog stifles a chuckle. "Yes, he's here."

"Hi, Sky!" Leaning over her shoulder, Heart grins at his cousin-in-law. "Stay safe out there!"

"Don't worry, you can count on me!" Sky salutes, and the transmission ends. Soul lowers her sleeve, covering the bracelet again, a trace of a smile tugging at the corners of her lips.

"This could be it," she breathes, looking back up at Heart. "We might really find him." Tears threaten to spill out of the corners of her eyes, and she impulsively wraps her arms around the other hedgehog. "Our little boy... It isn't too late!"

He returns the hug, pulling her as close to him as possible. "I know," he rumbles, smiling. "Come on. Tracking down Sonic shouldn't be too difficult--he is somewhat famous, after all." Nuzzling her, he buries his face in her fur. "We're almost there, after all these years...!" Now he, too, is on the verge of tears, and he has to trail off to keep from sobbing.

"Oh, no," she pulls back, trying not to laugh. "Don't you start crying--if you cry, I'll cry for real, and then we'll both be a weeping mess."

He chuckles, wiping at his eyes. "Ah, yeah, I know. I just can't help it." Shaking himself off, the flame-striped hedgehog looks down at her lovingly. "We should get going."

"Yeah," she answers, shoving her hat over her head. He smirks, pulling the hood of his jacket up over his ears, and the two set off, hand in hand.

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

"Dammit, why didn't that work?" Robotnik roars, slamming his fist down onto the table. Beside him, Medusa watches him with hooded eyes, masking her emotions; her stare is cold, calculating, and she examines his reaction with a scientific interest. "It was flawless--we tore his psyche to pieces, then kept him from repairing it with that Neuro-Inhibition Collar! He shouldn't have been able to break through like that!"

"Perhaps there are additional variables we didn't account for," she answers in a soothing tone. "After all, we're not entirely sure what the Black Energy does to him, and perhaps with the Chaos Energy he regenerates even faster than normal." Rubbing her chin thoughtfully, she turns away, looking at the wall. "Since your source didn't tell us too terribly much about the Black Energy, other than the fact that it makes Shadow stronger, it's reasonable to assume that perhaps the final dose was enough for him to be too strong to manage." Turning her head, the blonde doctor looks back to her cohort.

"Hmmh," Robotnik hums thoughtfully. "You could be right. But still, we took that into account as much as possible... Yet we still failed. And he's bounced back from it horrifically fast--knowing Shadow, he's out for our blood now!" A shudder runs through the mustachioed doctor.

"Don't you worry about that," a dark, velvet voice purrs from behind them, startling both humans. They whirl around to face their superior, both looking shaken. "This is all part of my larger plan," it continues, stepping into the light. Gone is the hooded cloak, and the figure scowls out at them, eyes flickering with violet flame behind their crimson irises. "You don't need to worry yourselves about what he's going to do." Its fur is a deep, purplish black, the fluff on its chest a grey veined with purple. The once-red stripes are a deeper maroon color, and they seem to bleed color into the air. The whites of its eyes gleam brightly in contrast with its darkness, and its hands, a darker black laced with purple, are folded together behind its back. Its voice is a deeper, more rumbling version of Shadow's, with a robotic undertone, a sound like synthesized metal scraping together.

"M-My Lord," Robotnik stutters, and the figure sneers at him.

"What?" It curls a lip at him, exposing razor-sharp teeth. "What do you want?" Its eyes narrow and it looks the rotund human up and down with distaste.

"W-Well, I was just wondering, why did our controlling of him fail?" Fidgeting, Robotnik shivers as the emotionless reddish-violet eyes stare into his soul.

"Why don't you tell me?" It sneers again, "After all, that was entirely your doing. I merely wanted you to put the Black Energy into him--breaking and controlling him was something you did, using your tech." The being's eyes flicker black, and it continues in an otherworldly voice, "Do not waste my time with your petty endeavors to quash that blue annoyance. I care not for your silly feud, and if you let that get in the way of our goal I will end you." Both humans flinch, terrified, as the hedgehog's eyes return to normal. "I haven't wasted hundreds of years on this for you to ruin it." Turning back around, it calls over its shoulder, "Don't become more trouble than you're worth, Robotnik... That won't work out well for you." Vanishing into the darkness again, it leaves behind a mere sinister chuckle, echoing in their ears.

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

The soldier plods along ahead of me, wordless, and I find myself playing with my hair out of sheer boredom. These halls are deserted, devoid of the usual bustling humans, and something tells me that the people here are too important to "bustle." Yawning, I shake my head, trying to focus. You don't want to be out of it when you meet the President, do you? Anxious, I bite my lip. I hope he's a friendly person, but given my reputation I doubt he's going to be too cheery. It's crucial that I put my best foot forward here! After all, this guy is Rouge's superior--if I want to work with her, I probably have to make a good impression. Suppressing a sigh, I shake myself off, clearing my mind. Keh, he's just one human. You've got more power in your smallest toe than he does in his whole damn body. Relax, I tell myself, but nervousness still churns my stomach as the man walking in front of me stops to open a door, calling into it, "Sir? Shadow the Hedgehog is here to see you."

"Come in," a stiff, elderly voice answers, and the officer steps aside; I peer around him, doing my best to keep a neutral expression. Inside, at a desk, several humans are seated, but their postures are more relaxed than those of the scientists. Papers litter the table in front of them, and each person has a short glass filled with liquids of varying colors, most laden with ice as well. Each wears some sort of formal clothing, whether it be suits or military uniforms. Cigar smoke clouds the air slightly, and I refrain from coughing; one of the men, a heavyset human with jet-black, short hair and a matching well-kept beard is smoking despite the lack of proper ventilation in the room. "Mister Shadow," the voice comes again, sounding pleasant, and I turn my attention to an elderly, greying man in a military uniform bearing several medals pinned to its lapel. I know without asking that this man is the President. He smiles, forming new wrinkles on his age-stretched face as he continues, "Won't you sit for a spell?" He gestures towards the chair across from him, and I carefully pace over to it, my footsteps measured and flawless. Here we go...

"Thank you," I answer quietly, and a few of the assembled folk raise an eyebrow. Taking a seat, I fold my legs beneath me in order to see over the table, trying my best not to seem embarrassed by my short stature.

"My, my!" A woman with a silky smooth voice, seated on my left, a chair away from the cigar-smoking man and the President, smiles charmingly down at me. "For such a little thing, you've quite the intimidating voice." Tipping her head to one side slightly, her gaze turns questioning as she eyes me. "We were told you are a mere child."

Now it's my turn to quirk an eyebrow at someone. "A child, yes, but mere?" I smirk, flashing my sharp fangs as I let my voice drop into a more growling tone, "I think the 'mere' mightn't fit here."

The woman blushes. "Pardon me, Mister Shadow--I meant no offense. You remind me of my own child, is all." Clearly sheepish, she turns her attention back to the President and clears her throat awkwardly.

He simpers cheerfully at her, deigning to spare her the humility of my cold stare as he draws my attention by saying, "Indeed, but that is not why we are here. I heard from our experts that you passed their test with flying colors, hmm?" The President picks up his glass and takes a small sip from it, fingers tracing the edges of some of the papers. "Not only that, but you have a letter of high recommendation from our Agent Rouge as well." The man's icy hazel eyes pierce me from across the table, but I steel myself and face him head-on, silent and waiting. Smiling again, he puts the glass down, turning his sharp gaze to the man on my right, and finishes, "Agent Fox, if you would?"

The man on my right leans forward a bit, resting his elbows on the table and tilting his head to one side to look at me. He has one of those eternally-sad-looking faces; a rather angular jawline with pouty lips and drooping eyes, but as he gives me a critical glance I have a feeling his apathy in feigned. His hair is messy for a professional environment, the front deliberately tousled, with the sides and back rather short. He appears to be the youngest in the room, yet the most worn-out at the same time. "Well," he begins in a rather plain tone, "it's custom for most G.U.N. officers to have a cover story, and they usually come up with their own with a little help," leaning back slightly, he drawls, "but, given your rather unique situation, we've devised an entire backstory for you." Sliding a file over to me, he blinks at me blankly.

"Is this necessary?" I ask, trying not to laugh. What is this, a James Bond movie? How ridiculous... Opening the file, I scan over it, not really reading it.

"It may seem contrite," Agent Fox bites back, and I glance up at him, "but since even we don't know where you came from, this story will be key to you." Tapping the file, he stares me down. His eyes, too, are brown, but they're a deeper shade than the President's eyes. "We don't want anyone trying to pry into your past, now, do we?" He snarls, and I sense the masked threat. He's referring to all the horrible things I've done, I realize, and my stomach drops into my shoes. To this world, I am a terrible person, but it's easier if they can come up with a reason for my actions. I stifle a sudden sadness as I think, Maybe I don't even deserve this kind of second chance... But for Rouge, I will take it.

Just as I begin to skim the file, the smoking man removes the cigar from his lips and adds in an oddly gruff and whispery voice, "We expect you to read and memorize that file later. As of right now, we'll familiarize you with the gist of it." Looking up, I narrow my eyes, puzzled; he gives me a hard stare and I close the file again. Odd, but alright. "You were created fifty years ago by a man named Gerald Robotnik." I start, fur bristling slightly, confused, but before I can interject, he barrels on, "He had a daughter, Maria Robotnik, suffering from a terminal illness that which holds no cure. You were hewn from base materials by him to cure that disease, but before he could finish, the old faction of G.U.N. invaded and shut down the Shadow Project." My mouth falls open slightly as he continues, spewing out the most far-fetched tale I've ever heard. "You were jettisoned to Earth in an escape pod from his Space Colony, named ARK, and you stayed stuck within it, in stasis, until the current branch of the Robotnik family reawakened you and used you. Your memory was shattered; he took advantage of that and forced you to hate humanity due to the fact that Maria was killed during the old G.U.N.'s raid on ARK." Pausing for a breath, the man taps his cigar in the ashtray, and little burnt embers slide off its end. "Once you recalled your memory, you realized your final promise to your dear Maria was to give humanity a second chance. And so, you left Robotnik, and aligned yourself with us, the newly reformed G.U.N., to fulfill your promise and help humanity." Turning to the President, he asks, "Did I miss anything?"

"That sounds about right," the elderly man answers kindly, and all the assembled humans nod, murmuring assent. I gape, stunned, still trying to comprehend all of this.

"S-Sorry, did you just mix the backstory to Batman with every other science-fiction trope in the world to come up with this?" I stammer, aghast. I can't even begin to understand all of this... How the hell did they even come up with that?!

Insult flares from a few of the humans, mixed with embarrassment. "Do you want to work for us or not?!" Agent Fox snaps, sitting upright as if he's about to hop out of his chair and fight me--an amusing proposition considering who I am.

I shoot him a challenging glare. Go ahead--attack me if you like, but I don't feel like catering to your death wish today. "Quite frankly, no, I don't," I snarl, curling my lip; Agent Fox deflates slightly, looking stunned, as if he didn't anticipate that response. I'm tired of screwin' around. This meeting is over. "Listen," flicking my gaze back to the other assembled humans, I narrow my eyes and sneer, "I don't care about whatever gung-ho cause you people have. I'm here for Rouge's sake, and for her sake only. I'm loyal to you as long as she is." Leaning back a bit, I tilt my head slightly, cracking my neck. "That's it. The only exception being if I decide my own morals are more important than my loyalty." Staring down Agent Fox again, I finish in an acidic tone, "If I disagree with what you people do, I will leave."

"Y-You can't just leave G.U.N.!" A man who hasn't spoken yet, seated next to Agent Fox, splutters; his face reddens when I look at him, and he hastily pushes his glasses further up onto the bridge of his nose, looking away. Mild distaste flickers within me--I'm not overly fond of rash yet timid people.

"Oh?" I growl, not letting his flippancy slide. "And what are you going to do?" My voice slips into a smoother, sinister purr. "Stop me?"

"Well, frankly, yes." Agent Fox glowers down at me, and I flash my eyes over to him. His tone is flat, but aggression sparks in his eyes. He'd just as soon strangle me with that tie on his neck as smile at me, wouldn't he. Does he mean to intimidate me? I stifle a chuckle at the idea. Fine. Two can play at this sort of game!

Turning the full focus of my gaze onto him, I smirk, silently unsheathing my claws. "Do you know what happens to people who try to stop me?" I ask kindly, menace dripping beneath my words.

"What?" He prompts, leaning back, feigning disinterest, but I can tell that my words have struck a cord in him. He feels threatened. A sinister smile slips across my face. Good.

"They fail." I slide off my seat, standing up, not bothered by my small stature. I have everyone's attention--all eyes on me, I smirk, affixing my gaze on Agent Fox, who looks puzzled. Allowing a genuine grin to disfigure my muzzle, I continue, "I have been described as many things, Agent Fox," he flinches at the venom I imbue into his name, as if bitten, "ranging from the polite 'determined' to the less polite 'stubborn' to even the frankly offensive 'mule-headed.'" Satisfaction flares within me as I note that even the apathetic smoking human is too distracted by my speech to take a drag on his cigar. "I do what I want, when I want to do it." Hopping delicately onto the table, I face Agent Fox at eye level, keeping my posture perfectly upright and proud. Surprise and fear flash through him, as well as an unusual panic response. "And not you," I jab a finger in his face, my talon glinting in the dim light, "not God, not hell nor high water will stop me." Leaning close, I snarl darkly, "Do I make myself clear?"

"C-Crystal," he stutters, trembling, pressing himself as far into his posh seat as he can, trying to put some distance between us. I grin. I've broken his arrogance--he's gonna think twice about messing with me from now on.

"Good!" Teleporting back into my seat, I smirk at him yet again, feeling triumphant. Turning back to the rest of the humans, I let my face resume its normal blank expression. "Is there anything else?" A long pause follows my query, broken by the President bursting into laughter. I tip my head to one side slightly, pricking an ear up. Puzzling... What's going on?

"You've got spunk, Hedgehog," he chuckles. "I like you already!" Standing up, he leans forward, extending a hand out to me. "Shadow the Hedgehog, welcome to The Guardian Units of Nations!" Taking my hand in his, he shakes it firmly, beaming down at me as the rest of the humans stare, aghast.