"That's not what I wanted to know!" I bark, almost yelling at the poor soldier in front of me. "I asked if anyone escaped, not if the facility's various cells are damaged! I know they sustained damage, and that they're being temporarily reinforced. What I asked was if anyone escaped during the attack. Now did someone escape, or did no one?"
"Sir, I..." The blush of embarrassment on the man's cheeks was almost as infuriating as his unsure stuttering. I don't have time for these delays right now! "I--that is, we--don't know yet. We've yet to check everyone off of the--" The door opens swiftly, cutting him off, and another agent, this one female, rushes in. I recognize her, as she's one of my top agents and often a direct consultant of mine.
"Sir!" Topaz says, panting as she comes to a halt. "Commander, Sir, you should have just received footage from Prison Island. One of the creatures there appears to have escaped, but it wasn't on record when we looked for it. We're trying to identify it, and the President is calling a digital meeting together to decipher its identity. You were just called to the conference!" Nodding, I pointed to the man, who seems dumbstruck at the interruption.
"You're dismissed," I say, and he quickly salutes and hurries out the door. Reaching for the camera and monitor that I use for video conferences, I flick them on and sign in to the emergency meeting. Motioning for Topaz to come over, I return my attention to the screen. "I could use your younger eyes if we have to identify this creature by sight." Nodding, she joins me and stands by my left shoulder.
"Commander Tower!" The President's voice corresponds with the small rectangle in the corner that shows his face. Others of high rank also grace the right side of the screen, but I don't have time to address them.
"Sir," I nod, but I'm already scanning the still image on the left. The picture is remarkably clear for a security camera, the creature in it vividly coloured, and I barely hold back a gasp. It--It couldn't be! My reaction does not go unnoticed, thanks to the camera feeding Topaz and myself live, and the Commander* from Europe's G.U.N. forces speaks up.
"Commander Tower, you seem to recognize this enigma. Can you enlighten the rest of us as to its identity?" I sigh, and try to block the memories while retrieving the information.
"Yes, I can," I say, my voice feeling lower and quieter than usual. "That is Project: Shadow. Project: Shadow was originally commissioned by G.U.N. 50 years ago. It is a biologically enhanced weapon creation, created by Professor Gerald Robotnik aboard the Space Colony ARK. I don't know much more about it, but I know that it's extremely dangerous. It was created for militaristic use, meaning it's not only incredibly powerful, but also nigh on impossible to capture. I recognize it from when I saw it aboard the ARK." And I do, with its black and red fur, piercing glare, and blood-red eyes that look as if they hold back a river of molten anger.
"Are you sure that it's Project: Shadow? Fifty years ago is a long time to remember what something looks like," worries the President of the United States. Despite his doubts, however, the image of the monster's creation is burned forever into my mind.
"Yes, Mr. President. I am positive." The strength of my proclamation satisfies the doubt held by my colleagues, but brings a new uncertainty to the table.
"If that's true, then..." Begins one of the members of the meeting. "How exactly are we supposed to find, much less catch, this thing?" Shaking my head, I frown.
"I don't know, but it's crucial that we do so before it attacks anyone. For all I know, though, it already has." With that gruesome warning and a time limit set, the meeting jumps into action.
"Alright, assuming this thing is a volatile weapon ready to attack any moment, we need to find it as fast as possible," says Australia's G.U.N. leader. "To do that, I suggest we send out an alert to all units, telling them to keep an eye out for this thing. We may even want to bring local police into the search; chances are that someone's gonna see it, or have a run-in with it. We don't have to say what it is, or where it came from, just to report it if someone calls in on it or if a patrol sees it."
"That's a good plan; we can't do anything to capture it if we don't know where it is. And a Chaos tracker is useless if we don't have a general idea of its location," agrees the Commander from one of Asia's segments. Other agreements follow hers, and I nod.
"As long as we can find, capture, and neutralize it in a timely manner that keeps the public safe, I think that plan is our best first move," I say thoughtfully, considering other options. "I'll get some helicopter patrols to sweep the general area around Prison Island, too. They won't be able to use Chaos detectors, though, due to the amount of Chaos Creatures and Chaos Emeralds in the city. The creature might have been injured in its escape, which would be good, but even if it wasn't, I think we can assume it's somewhere around there; stasis takes a toll on the body, so it probably didn't get that far.
"At any rate, it makes the most sense to at least have a search for it. We'll have a news broadcast warning the public about it, and we'll just say it's a weapon of Robotnik's, which it actually is. People will assume we mean Eggman, so they'll be sure to call in if they see it. These first few measures should give us a good base for our search." Spoken approval of my ideas bubbles up through the speakers, but I have a project to catch.
"My various Commanders and leaders," I nod respectfully, signing off and immediately phoning the Central City Police Department. "Chief Kessa? I need you to send out an alert to all units. I have a security picture of a Robotnik weapon that's on the loose, and G.U.N. must capture it before it attacks someone..."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I sit at my desk, long since having sent out the security picture and having dismissed Topaz. Now I sit and wait for a call, a message, anything relating to Project: Shadow. I busy myself by finishing work, but soon I'm caught up on all doable things and left with nothing to finish. Sighing, I stand and walk to the window. Looking down at the streets below, I muse on the fact that, even though it is now well past midnight, office lights are still on in buildings all over the city. Many people are up late tonight... I just hope none of them have the misfortune to find Gerald's weapon. That would be a painful way to go, not to mention terrifying.
I start as my computer beeps at the arrival of a message, but it is only about a scheduled meeting between myself and the head of synthetic biology**. Professor Geena Ayers excels at her job, and it occurs to me, rather amusingly, that if Project: Shadow is captured by G.U.N., it will be handed over to her and her team. She is, after all, the best in her field, though other G.U.N. stations around the world may fly in their own top scientists as well.
Even if Project: Shadow is not found by my branch, I'll have it brought here. Professor Ayers would absolutely love the opportunity to experiment on it, and I can think of no one else better for the job. For the first time, I'm surprised to find myself thinking of the weapon creation that haunted my childhood dreams as a good thing; something to be observed, learned from, and experimented on. Perhaps even something worth the effort to restart.
If this thing is as powerful as I am sure it is, then it would be a waste not to take every possible chance to test it. I almost feel like we've captured it already; I'm practically planning the exams I would want done, and imagining what information could be gained. Oh, this thing brought me misery all those years ago... Now it's my turn to get revenge on it, and I have every excuse to put it through every experiment known to synthetic biologists... And then some! Turning, I sit once more and turn off my monitor. Walking over to the incredibly small, 5' by 9' bedroom I have here at work, I remove my stiff uniform and lie down.
With tomorrow comes sunrise, and with sunrise comes more people up and about. The more people up and about, the larger the chance is someone will see the creation. I only hope the creature doesn't see them before forces can arrive to obtain it... But it may take days, even weeks to find. Should it be on the loose for too long, G.U.N. may have to install Chaos detectors in vehicles and cities so it will set them off should it near society. I doubt it will come to that, though; I think this monster is going to make a move before that much time passes. The only questions are where, and when...
Author's Note: *Abraham Tower is the main 'Commander of G.U.N.,' and other, non Central City oriented forces have their own personal Commander who takes care of their area, called a 'Commander.' The President is the one from Sonic X, not from the games. **Yes, this is a real field between biology and engineering, and you should look it up because it's awesome. :D
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The Difficult Task of Raising a Weapon
FanfictionShadow the Hedgehog is a young creation who has lived with his friend Maria aboard the Space Colony ARK for as long as he's been alive. No one on the ARK expects everything to go wrong in an instant, but a G.U.N. attack on the ARK causes just that t...
