I blink my eyes open, immediately feeling something odd. I close my eyes again, waiting for the oddness to subside. But, it doesn't, and I eventually open my eyes again. I feel like my thoughts aren't moving... I sit up, tilting my head. The sensation of empty calm still plagues me, and I frown, trying to return my mind to normal. Geez. How weird. I roll my tongue around in my mouth, folding my arms on my crossed legs. My limbs complain at the stretch, and I frown; I'm almost never sore. Instead of comforting, the silence of my cell seems long and nerve wracking, and I am not appreciative of the change.

I don't like this. This feeling. It's like dread; empty dread, the kind you feel when you're awaiting something awful you have no control over. I look around, a pit of nervousness fluttering into existence in my stomach. I just noticed: The lights are making that slight humming they only have when they've been on for a while. But, I only just woke up, and I never sleep through them coming on. How did they not wake me up? I grimace, trying to figure out why I'm feeling this way, why everything seems abnormal. And, it's only after a good half hour spent considering my plight that I remember.

I look up, worried, as Topaz comes into the training facility, my previously happy mood at having discovered my power of teleportation long gone. I'm done with my work for the day, and I've been sitting on the floor for the greater portion of an hour now. She walks towards me, and I stand up, shakily.

"Come on, Shadow. I've got to take you somewhere," she says, and she sounds tired and a bit irritated. I let her hook on my leash, padding after her towards the door. She seems in a foul mood, and I eventually work up the courage to ask her about it.

"Topaz?" I ask uncertainly, and she looks down at me in surprise. "Did...did I do something wrong? Normally you're happy when I discover a new power, but you don't seem happy at all."

"It's not you, Shadow," she sighs, and my ears swivel automatically, perking up to hear what she's going to say. "I was going to wait until we were at the Mobian research lab, but I might as well tell you now."

"T-Tell me what?" I nearly squeak out my question as fear fills me.

"Oh, don't worry, we're not going to harm you," she adds quickly, and I gulp, eyes wide. "You see, now that you've discovered your power of teleportation, we'll need to take some precautions with you. But, that's not what we spent so long talking about in there.

"You were very accurate with your teleporting for having first discovered it, more so than we'd expected. So, we've decided to accelerate your training and place you on the special operations team."

"Special operations team?" I ask, feeling very confused. "As in, with you? Why aren't you happy about that?"

"I am happy about that. I think you'll be a very good partner." She pauses in her speech to rub my head affectionately as we step in the elevator, and I giggle slightly. "You're going to be put on my special unit force. But, for us to feel confident doing that, we need to make sure we can't lose you."

"Lose me?" I ask, and Topaz nods as she responds to the elevator voice like usual. When she continues, there's a small edge to her voice.

"I'm...not very pleased with the amount of precautions the higher ups want to use, but it's not my place to resist them. To summarize, we're going to put you under temporarily and outfit your body with several things: Trackers and power controllers."

"'Outfit' me? What's a power controller?" I ask, not sure how much I like this idea.

"A power controller is something like your collar, that can turn your powers off and on. In other words, you won't have to wear a bulky device like that collar any longer. Instead, the devices will be inside your body."

"Inside my body?! Where?!" I look down frantically at myself, feeling a sense of irrational panic.

"They're just little things, Shadow. Like a 2-inch rod. They'll be inserted under your skin. You won't even know they're there." I make a face, now knowing for sure I don't like this idea.

"I'd almost rather wear the collar..." I grumble, and Topaz hugs the side of my head to her waist, making me look up in surprise.

"I know, Shadow. But, you won't be hindered by anything this way, and G.U.N. will have complete confidence they can control you." I almost make a comment on how I could rip a metal rod out from under my skin, but then I realize that G.U.N. certainly already knows that. I bet these devices are going to be put in places I can't safely extract them, like my wrist and neck. And, I'll bet I'll get extra incisions, too, so I won't know for sure where these things are or how many are in my body. Not to mention, I bet they'll have a setting they can activate that will incapacitate me if I damage or remove one of the controllers or trackers. I sigh, knowing this is something I have no control over.

"Will it hurt?" I ask, and Topaz shakes her head.

"You'll be under anesthesia for the whole process, and we'll let you heal before we make you do anything strenuous again." I nod, falling silent, deciding just to wait until this is over with. Soon, the elevator dings, and Topaz takes me to an operating room. She attaches my leash to the high metal table in the center of the room after lifting me onto it and goes to talk to a group of doctors right outside. I pass the time, feeling over my body and wishing it could stay strictly mine forever.

"Shadow?" I twitch, nervous, looking up with a slight shiver. "Hey, hey, don't worry, sweetie. You'll be fine." Topaz hugs me, rubbing my back. The action makes my eyes well up with tears, and I hiccup into her chest, feeling a tear roll involuntarily down my cheek as she rocks me slightly. Inwardly, I curse myself for being so emotional, wishing I wasn't making such a fool of myself in front of Topaz. But, I can feel her calming me down, even though I'm filled with a turmoil of feelings that all make an empty pit in my stomach.

"Shadow, I know you're scared," Topaz says softly, and I tighten my grip around her as I cringe, tears leaking from my eyelids. "There's nothing bad about that. Everyone gets scared sometimes, and this is going to be stressful for you, especially because you're so young. But, you'll get over it, and I'll be there to help you, okay? This is the next step towards your goal of protecting Earth. You can take it." I pull my head back so I can look her in the eyes, feeling how reddened mine are.

"Thank you..." I whisper, feeling the rasp of strain in my voice. She nods, stepping back a bit, and I rub the last of the tears from my eyes. She motions for the doctors, and one comes in and walks over to me with a mask. He hands it to Topaz, and she looks at me.

"This will put you under, alright? You'll probably feel confused and groggy when you wake up, maybe even alarmed or sad. Anesthesia causes different reactions for everyone. I'm going to have you breathe this so you won't have to be awake for the local and regional anesthesia. Once I place this mask over your mouth and nose, you're going to count to ten. Got it?" I nod, taking a shaky breath and lying down on my back. Topaz puts the mask over my face, and I start counting as I breathe in and out deeply.

1...2...3...4...5...6...

And my memory ceases there. Well, at least that explains why I feel so weird. I shake my head around vigorously, trying to rid myself of the oddness at last. I unconsciously run my hands over my arms, stopping cold when I feel ridges beneath my fur. I swallow, carefully searching all over my body for the stitches. I feel them on my wrists, neck, shoulders, sides, thighs, calves, forearms, upper arms, and the insides of my elbows and knees. I force myself to take a deep breath, knowing that getting upset won't do me any good. Instead, I rub my right hand over my left knuckles, determined not to play with the stitches. Once that action starts to bore me, I finger my ear tag and tug on it gently. I soon find even that activity unsatisfying, though, and change to cracking my knuckles. Then tapping my hands and feet. Then snapping my left thumb back and forth from its socket. I'm about to start clicking my tongue when the door opens, and I nearly collapse with relief when I see Topaz.

"Topaz! I feel like time is passing three times slower than it should!" I exclaim, saying the first thing that comes to mind. I flush at my stupid outburst, however, when Topaz chuckles amusedly.

"Is that so? That's interesting. I guess the remnants of anesthetic are still bugging you, then?"

"Apparently," I grumble, not happy about the aftereffects. "Why are there so many of these?" I press my right fingers lightly against the stitches on my left inner elbow, wincing nevertheless at the pressure.

"I don't know, Shadow. There just are." Topaz gives me an apologetic look, and I groan.

"When will they heal?" I ask, wanting the ridges gone from my skin as soon as possible. I rub the ones on my neck, appreciating the lack of the collar but loathing the presence of its replacements. Thankfully, I had upgraded from the shock collar without ever having suffered through its effects, so the power-controlling collar had been the only one annoying me for nearly a month now.

"Probably a few days at most, with your healing. We'll take out the stitches once you've healed. Now, I wanted to apologize for being later than usual today. My special operations team got physical training out of the way early today so that we could spend some time getting to know you, and I wasn't able to come for you at 8. That's probably part of the reason time seemed slower to you today." I tilt my head at her, realizing that her explanation fits why the light was on; it's on a schedule.

"So, I get to meet your team today?" I ask, and Topaz nods.

"You've already seen quite a few of them, as they were the ones who captured you. They remember that, and they're eager to have you on their side now." Topaz ruffles my fur, and I grin. "...Trouble." I give her an exaggerated look, raising one of my eyebrow ridges slowly. It's a habit I've picked up from seeing Commander Tower do it frequently, and I find I quite like the expression.

"Okay, fine. You can quit with the look. I won't call you Trouble," Topaz laughs, and I let loose a smug huff. "I'm thinking Nuisance." I give her a very displeased look, and she laughs more. "Well, I didn't say I wasn't going to call you other names."

"If you call me 'Nuisance' in front of my new teammates, I think I'll die of humiliation..." I mutter, my energy levels not where they normally are.

"Oh, I'm not going to actually call you Nuisance, don't worry," Topaz soothes, and I look up at her, acting unconvinced. "It's too harsh. I think 'Bother' fits you much better." I flop back down with a groan, realizing I should have seen that coming. Topaz giggles at my antics, revealing the less serious side of her that I've managed to unlock. "Okay, okay, I'll stop. We need to get moving." I roll into a sitting position, letting her drag me to my feet. I stand still so she can attach my leash, and she gives me an odd look.

"Shadow, you don't have your harness on. You know that, right?" I look down at my chest in surprise, realizing that I'm unrestricted for the first time.

"Why not?" I ask, and Topaz's mouth curves into a half-smile.

"One of the perks of having all those little things under your skin is that you don't need to be on a leash anymore. Now, let's go." I follow her through the door, enjoying the freedom of being able to walk without my sides and back chafing under abrasive material.

As we walk down the hallway, I yawn, not really feeling in the best condition at the moment. Topaz guides me to the elevator, and I hiss slightly, ears pinning back, as one of the stitches in my right knee yanks on my wound as I walk. I frown, not happy at all with my involuntary surgery. Topaz senses my distress and gives me a sympathetic look.

"Stitches hurting?" I nod, too tight-lipped to respond. "I've been there. They get better." I nod again, and she sighs. "Are you going to be this quiet all day? Because I told the team you're a talker, and they'll think I'm crazy if you keep this up." My mouth twitches upwards for a moment, but I don't otherwise respond. I try to gather myself, knowing I'll need to pull it together for Topaz's sake. She starts talking to me once we're a few levels down from our destination, making sure I know what not to do.

"We're up above ground level now, so don't talk in the halls, alright? It's one thing if the specialists know you're sentient, but we're not ready to tell the public just yet. You'll get there, but, for now, 'Silent Shadow.' Not that you seem too inclined to speak right now, but still." I yawn again and nod, following Topaz out of the elevator when the door opens, ignoring the baffled, confused, and shocked looks of passerby.

I'm tired, I decide, feeling as if my declaration somehow changes the situation. I close my eyes for a moment as I yawn, wondering if--Ouch!

I stumble forwards in shock as a human man's knee clips my hip, nearly landing on my face. Topaz looks back quickly, hearing my involuntary squeak of surprise.

"S--fleurghh..." She trails off after spitting out some sort of gibberish. I tilt my head up at her, puzzled, as I regain my balance, asking with a look what I can't with words. What was that? She casts a worried glance around, then starts steering me towards a door on the double. She flashes a card on her neck at it, pushes me inside, steps inside herself, and closes the door. "Sorry about that," she says as I look back at her, visibly confused. "I'm not sure if I'm allowed to call you 'Shadow' outside restricted or private areas."

"Why?" I ask, figuring it's okay to talk again.

"Long, complicated reasons that would take too much time to explain," Topaz responds, and I let my face fall into a disappointed flatness.

"Hmph. Where are we, anyways?" I ask, looking around the darkened room at unoccupied pieces of machinery and odd contraptions that look a bit like torture devices.

"We're in the weight room next to the gym where we're going to meet our team. There's a door that connects them. Now, come on." Topaz strides off towards the side of the room, and I have to break into a jog to keep up with her far longer legs. I'm just thinking about how much I hate being short when a bright rectangle of light appears in the wall, temporarily blinding my light-sensitive eyes. What the...? The rectangle becomes a door as Topaz pushes it open, and I trot behind her into a new, much brighter, far larger room. The floor is made of wood, and the ceiling is three stories high.

"Shadow, welcome to the 2nd gym. There are your new teammates," Topaz says triumphantly, pointing towards a group of people in the far corner. Some are throwing orange balls at a rim with a net attached, but they stop and look over with everyone else once people notice our arrival. "Now, let's go introduce you to everyone." She eagerly walks towards the group, and I experience a split second of wanting to both stay put and hide behind her at the same time. I'm not necessarily shy, but I've never been introduced to a group of people on friendly terms before. I don't know what to do! I follow Topaz, staying exactly behind her, so I can't be seen.

"Shadow, stop trailing me like a dog. I'm going to trip on you," Topaz barks, and I back up when she tries to pull me around to the side, returning to my previous position of practically hugging her hamstrings afterward. "Shadow, I mean it. I'm going to kick you or something. Walk beside me." I shake my head as she looks over her shoulder, yelping in surprise as she grows frustrated and picks me up off the ground. I struggle in vain, gasping in pain as she tightens her arm around my waist; she's crushing my stitched wounds.

"Sorry, Shadow," Topaz apologizes as she sees my eyes well up with pained tears. "Better?" She slips an arm under my rump, the other wrapping around my upper arms and strapping me face-first to her torso. I huff, more displeased with being carried than I was scared of being introduced. I let myself relax, though, as I discreetly dry my teary eyes on her shirt. She's wearing athletic clothing, instead of her uniform, today, and I wonder why while we walk across the floor.

"Lieutenant! Is that really Shadow?" Asks a man, and I try to peer over my shoulder at him, only for Topaz's hand to push my chin back to face her chest. I hear commotion behind me, but I follow Topaz's unspoken order to not look until I'm told.

"This is, indeed," she responds, and other questions bubble up.

"You said he's not an android, right? Is he a cyborg?"

"I heard Shadow's stronger than Sonic Team*! Is that true?"

"Has he gotten bigger? I thought he was smaller than that."

"Is he alright to be active today? You said he was just in surgery. Doesn't he have stitches?"

The questions make me tense up; I'm not used to being the center of attention like this, even if people are asking Topaz and not me. Topaz feels me stiffen, and lets the hand around my arms motion for quiet.

"Shadow is not a cyborg, he's a fair match for Sonic Team at the least, he's still the same size he was, and, yes, he's alright to be active if he takes it easy. He does have quite a few stitches. Now, no more questions for a while. You can ask them later." Topaz hefts my weight, going to set me down. I feel my shoes touch the floor, and I try to swallow my nervousness about meeting my new team. "Shadow, do you want to say 'hi' to everyone?"

No, not really, I think, not at all sure I'm ready for this. But, I know I can't disappoint Topaz--not to mention make a bad impression on the people I'm going to be working with from now on--so I swallow my fear and turn around.

"Hello..." My bravery flees at the sight of about 30 people, all of whom are staring at me. I instinctively flatten my quills in an attempt to make myself look smaller, but then I realize that a nervous, little scaredy-hog is not what people want to see as something they're going to be fighting with in battle. I can't be weak to these people. I'm being trained as a commando. They're going to be putting their lives on the line in the field with me, and it's my job to be the strongest member of any team I'm on. That's the whole point of my being a weapon; I'm supposed to be undefeatable. I feel a wave of determination, rising to my--not very impressive--full height. My quills spread out, raising a bit to make me seem bigger, and their defensive ability also boosts my confidence.

"That is, hello. My name is Shadow. Shadow the Hedgehog. I'm looking forward to serving alongside you." A surprised air breaks out, and I look up at Topaz for confirmation. She beams at me, making me feel very accomplished.

"Right, then. Shall we introduce ourselves to Shadow? Name, rank, equipment of choice, and one interesting fact about yourself, please. Mark, you can start." I stand still--legs shaking slightly with delayed nervousness--as everyone takes a turn telling their version of the requested information. Thanks to my photographic memory, I don't have to worry about forgetting them, but I pay strict attention anyways. Some people I recognize, others are ones I didn't know by face or name. When everyone finishes, Topaz suggests a game so that I can bond with my new teammates. After a quick vote, the decided game is soccer. A quick explanation of the rules is given for my sake, and Topaz starts dividing our group into two teams. Once she finishes, a short announcement is made.

"Now, I know soccer can get exciting, but I want everyone to bear in mind that Shadow is not only still healing but also that Shadow is far smaller than the rest of us. Please be careful not to injure him." I try to hold back the mortified blush, but Topaz's words are far too embarrassing for me to do so. Did she have to say all of that? She could have just said 'be careful,' and everyone would know what she meant. Instead, though, she might have well said "Shadow's young and weak." How humiliating...

I cling to the little bit of dignity I have left, taking a defending position on my team. At least I won't have to run much while in this condition. The ball starts moving, and I get ready to intercept any attempts to score on my end. The ball moves quickly between players, showing off the skill of those involved.

Chaos and criminy! I fling myself to the side to avoid a smack straight to the face.

"Peterson! I said to take it easy on Shadow!" A sandy-haired male offers a hurried apology, showing the same fear of Topaz I have. "Don't apologize to me! Apologize to Shadow! He's the one you almost hit!" I can feel the awkwardness as the man who was introduced as Tain crouches down to my level and does so. I really hate being short...

The game resumes, and I'm more wary of the ball this time. I watch how the humans steal and pass the ball, noting the movements, so I can use them myself. In time, an opportunity comes, the ball shooting down to my end with only one female from the other team controlling it. I wait until she's in the right spot for me to intercept and take off. I'm horribly slow without my powers--at least, I think so--but I'm apparently faster than Eden expected; I successfully gain possession of the ball with a quick side kick.

Ha! No one seems to have expected me to actually do something, and the surprised air allows me to get past the center line, despite my small legs and stitches. Then several people run to stop my bid at scoring, and I kick the ball as hard as I can towards a member of my team.

"Caelen!" The named teammate of mine, after showing some shock at my remembering his name, stops the ball and runs it down the field. I jog back to my position, feeling a bit smug at the admiring looks of the other defenders and goalie. The game continues, but I don't get anything more to do besides stealing the ball twice more and catching stray kicks. My team wins 5 to 3, mostly thanks to our able offense. Everyone stops for a break, and I stretch myself, leaning back with my arms above my head.

"Nice job, Hedge!" It takes me a moment to realize Aaren is talking to me, and I turn to face him, looking up in surprise. "You're not bad! 'Couldn't believe it when you stole that ball from Eden; she's one of the best players."

"Heh. Well, thanks." My fur fluffs up a bit with pride, and Aaren continues.

"For a little guy, you're pretty fast. And you're all stitched up right now, too. You must be quite the speed demon when you're all powered up, huh?"

"Of course! I make sound look slow!" I beam at being recognized for my talents, finding I like being complimented. Topaz blows a whistle, signalling a new game, and we start a match of dodgeball. I'm more than delighted to find my diminutive size gives me an advantage for once, and my good aim and fast throws make me quite the opponent. I get out once, but I manage to avoid being hit afterwards.

"Ha!" I crow as I drop into a full split to dodge a throw. "Missed me!" I leap to the side as two more balls strike exactly where I just was, enjoying the feeling of dancing with immunity in a wave of attacks. Dodging the balls is so much like battle that adrenaline pumps through me, my combat trained body leaping, spinning, and ducking with the grace of a dancer. There's nothing more pleasing than outmaneuvering all of your opponents, for sure.

I push my body to the limit, only checking myself when I feel my stitches tearing at my skin. Since all my focus is on the game, I don't notice the arrival of Commander Tower until the competition is finally over. Topaz calls to me, and I look over, seeing the Commander for the first time. Delight fills me; though Tower was a bit of a hard case at first, he's opened up to me more, and I might even consider him a friend at this point.

"Commander!" I say enthusiastically, trotting over to stand next to him. He raises his hand in greeting, his usual response to me. The past few times I've been training, he's actually come to see me, and I felt incredibly proud of myself the first time he praised me for a job well done.

"Good afternoon, Shadow," he says mildly. "You've got something scheduled after this, and I came to explain it to you."

"I do, sir?" I attentively quirk my head a bit, wincing slightly at the strain my neck takes to look up at a man twice as tall as me.

"Yes. As I was explaining to Topaz, the public knows about your existence and wants answers. We've been delaying giving any information under the pretense of your classified nature, but people are getting agitated. We'll be fighting off hackers and leakers if we don't throw open this case--we already are, in fact. In light of this, we scheduled an interview with a large news outlet."

"I don't understand, Sir," I reply, confused.

"Alright, Shadow," Topaz interjects, crouching down to my level to explain, "classified business remains that for however long necessary, but the pressure is on for G.U.N. to get your real story out."

"Real story?" I ask, feeling a bit embarrassed that she's talking to me like a child.

"Well, most of the 'information' known about you has been inferred, and this often isn't correct. Do you remember how my team and I mistook you for an android? Many similar misunderstandings surround you, and we need to clean them up before people start believing them. It would be many times harder to change people's minds about you than to tell them sooner than we wanted to. Since you won't be doing any full-on training for a few days, we decided now is the time to get you seen by people, heard by people, and interviewed by people."

"Interv--wait, you're letting me be sentient around the public? You want me to have an interview?" I question, surprised. Topaz nods, and I feel an odd nervousness starting to build up in my stomach; being thought of as a mere animal is annoying, but I'm not sure how I feel about dealing with people's expectations once they learn I'm intelligent. "Why would people want to ask me things, though? Why can't you answer them?"

"Shadow, once people learn you're a person, they'll want to make sure you've been treated well. This situation is completely unprecedented; creations have always been unprotected by the laws humans or animals are covered by. The idea that intelligent life could be created through DNA alone was ludicrous to consider; how can you 'build' a brain? Animal rights activists and the like are going to be all over this case, and they'll want you to tell them everything you've experienced here, from glances to comments to the food you've eaten." My eyes widen; I definitely don't like this idea.

"But, I'm not even allowed to tell them, am I?" I ask, uncertain, and Commander Tower picks up my question.

"Once you're declassified, it doesn't matter. As long as you don't do or say anything you know will have negative consequences, everything should work out.

"How am I supposed to make that decision?!" I exclaim, only vaguely aware by this point that the people behind me are watching. "I don't know what will have consequences; what if I mess up?!"

"Shadow, you have to follow the wishes of the public," Topaz says gently, stroking my ears to calm me. I look up at her with widened eyes, feeling very nervous. "Even the greatest rulers of history were subject to them. If you refused to communicate, people would think G.U.N. was trying to prevent some horrible secret from getting out."

"I have to do it today?" I whimper, intertwining my fingers.

"You'll do fine, Shadow," Topaz reassures me, still petting me. "I know you're shy, but it's not that hard to answer questions, right?"

"I guess not..." I swivel my ears backwards, flattening them a bit. "Can someone be with me while I talk?"

"Of course, sweetie. I'll be with you the whole time." I sigh in relief, still feeling as if my stomach is tying itself into knots. Slowly, I nod, pressing against Topaz's leg to steady myself.

It was hard enough getting the courage to introduce myself to my new teammates... And, now, every word I say during this interview will be seen by the world! I'm so nervous...