I clasp my hands, looking through the screen in front of me at Gerald Robotnik's final creation. The creature squints curiously at the light blinding it, its blood-red eyes appearing flat and dimensionless from the direct lighting. I frown, readjusting in my seat next to a plethora of other G.U.N. officials who are whispering quietly.

I thought this would be a simple capture and research situation, but the fact this thing can actually think changes everything. On the bright side, we can collect information about the old Professor and his works from it, whether it cooperates or not... I continue to observe the living weapon as it peers around, its movement restricted by the heavy cloth restraints cinched tightly around its small body. A feeling between disgust and admiration fills me; disgust at the fact something so monstrous can appear so innocent, admiration at the fact it seems not to be fazed by its situation. We'll start the interrogation as soon as we're ready, and then this thing will prove to be either compliant or rebellious. For its sake, it had better choose the former. Several minutes pass, but eventually the officials around me settle down and prepare to analyze the creation's responses. Leaning forwards, I switch on the two-way speaker and say my first words.

"Creation, you will have one chance to answer each of our questions truthfully and deferentially. Respond verbally at all times. Fail and there will be consequences. Do you understand?" The monstrosity appears apprehensive, but replies to my inquiry.

"Uh... Yes...? Um...sir." I raise an eyebrow; not only does the creature have a ridiculously deep voice for its size, but it appears to have been coddled by Gerald; almost forgetting an address is a very rookie mistake. Deciding to keep my personal bias at bay, I continue with the questions.

"What project are you? Who was your creator? Are you a prototype or a final creation?" I ask these questions first because we want them confirmed, and we also want to make sure the creation is telling the truth in its responses.

"I am Project: Shadow. My creator was Gerald Robotnik, and I am a final creation. Sir." Several people type its response; though this conversation is being recorded, it wastes time to go back and listen to it.

"How did you escape stasis? Where did you go after escaping Prison Island?"

"Um... I didn't really escape stasis, I was let out. I don't know by who, though. I went to the city after I...escaped, sir."

"Have you harmed anyone or anything since your awakening?"

"No, unless a piece of cardboard and a tablecloth count, sir." I blink, not having expected the cheeky response. More resentment boils within me, but I hold it at bay.

"You did not harm any living beings?"

"No, sir."

"What purpose were you created for?"

"Several, sir. I was created to cure my creator's granddaughter, Maria, of her terminal illness. I was created to serve as a weapon. I was created to protect the planet Earth from all forces threatening it."

"What are your abilities?"

"Enhanced speed, above-average strength, spindashing, and I can summon Chaos Energy to perform the moves Chaos Spear and Chaos Fire. ...I think there's more than that, though; the Professor once told me I could teleport, but I never learned how. Sir." I let my thoughts comprehend what was just said by the artificial lifeform, and purse my lips at the thought it is more powerful than I expected. With those kinds of abilities, I don't see how we can justify not using it as a weapon in our service. Hmm.

"Have you been trained in combat techniques or the use of inanimate weapons?"

"No, sir. I'm still learning my abilities."

"What species' DNA was used to create you?"

"Black Arm and Mobian Hedgehog, sir." The room freezes at the familiar word.

"...did you say Mobian Hedgehog?" I ask, thinking that it can't be possible. There's no way Gerald could have had knowledge of Mobius. It's not possible...

"Uh, yes, sir. Is there something wrong with--" The creature freezes in the middle of its question, seeming to remember it's not allowed to ask them. "P-Please forgive my outburst, sir. I did not mean any disrespect." I stare coolly at it, deciding it might be detrimental to punish it now.

"I shall forgive that disobedience once. Do not make the same mistake again, creation."

"Y-Yes, sir," the weapon responds, looking relieved.

"Do you know how Gerald obtained those species' DNA?"

"No, sir."

"You have no knowledge as to his means to create you?"

"No, sir."

"Do you know anything about the origins of Black Arms or Mobian Hedgehogs?"

"No, sir. I don't know anything except for the names I was told."

"That had better be the truth, creation."

"I-It is, sir. I have no incentive to lie."

"Describe your activities during and after the shutdown of the ARK. Leave out no detail." The weapon's eyes widen, and its ears go down as it drops its gaze from looking up at the speaker.

"I...I had just woken up after successfully defeating NIDS. The Professor t-told me and Maria to run. I took her arm and she gave me directions* to the emergency launch bay. We passed several soldiers on the way, and there was a sort of a stand-off. One of them shot at me and missed, and I threw a Chaos Spear at their feet to scare them so we could run away. Maria and I kept running, and we made it to the launch bay.

"S-she...she tricked me into an escape pod, telling me she was going to program its destination. I was stuck in the pod until I was blasted towards Earth by her, and I crashed into a mountain. I was knocked out instantly, and soon after I woke up, G.U.N. found me. They retrieved the pod I was in and started drilling a hole in it to gas me. I broke out before they could and got shot at. The bullets didn't affect me, but another type of gun-like weapon was used to shoot me. I got hit in the back and forehead by the G.U.N. Commander of the time. I fell unconscious, and I woke up just as I was being put into stasis. Everything I did after that was done within the last few days, sir."

"Do you have any knowledge about or acquaintance with Dr. Ivo "Eggman" Robotnik?"

"No, sir. I've never heard of the name."

"Have you any knowledge about the planet Mobius?"

"No, sir, but I'm guessing that Mobian Hedgehogs come from there." I nearly roll my eyes at the redundancy of that guess, but the creation seems sincere.

"Have you had direct or indirect contact of any kind with a person or persons since you awoke?"

"No, sir, outside of the soldiers who captured me." Hmm. That covers everything the creature could know from experience, but...

"Creation, from what source did you derive your ability to understand language?"

"I was given a informative memory transfer immediately after my original awakening, but I seemed to be able to understand speech even before that. I don't know where my knowledge came from. Everything I've learned besides a few, abstract facts has come from information transfers, sir." Frowning, I lean back in my chair and give a meaningful look at Topaz. She salutes, exiting the room. I sit up, nearing the microphone, and I speak once more, addressing the creation who haunted my childhood dreams.

"You've cooperated well. You will now be escorted to a secure area." Switching off the microphone, I stand and start to discuss what information was learned during this interrogation with the people around me. Is it a good idea to restart this creation? We can't afford to make a mistake when dealing with something this powerful. We have to be careful with it, at any rate. The meeting tonight will decide this monster's fate, but will it end or be renewed?

Only time will tell.

Author's Note: Alright, so this chapter is even shorter than usual, which is why I updated it along with two others today. I had finals last week, so not much writing got done the past 2 weeks, but I DID score a 100% on all three that I had, so I think my time was well spent. ^-^ Chapters are in progress for all of my stories--if you want a more specific schedule, look below. Thank you all for reading this chapter, and I hope you enjoyed it! I appreciate all of you taking the time to read my works and give me feedback.

Status Report for Stories--Sonadow: Romance in Highschool is going to come out very soon, today or tomorrow, and I'll be doing some reformatting with it (don't worry; the story isn't being changed, I'm just combining chapters because I'm almost 20 in and Shadow doesn't know about Sonic's crush yet). Shadow's Diary is in progress, and I'm going to be working hard to get it out; I last updated that story in November! Shadow: Awakening II might be getting another chapter within the next two days, I'm not sure. So, stay tuned to see the chapters to come! ^-^