The Difficult Task of Raising a Weapon

Shadow: Where I Belong

Tower leaves, telling me to stay calm, and Topaz walks me from the gym after we bid a quick goodbye to her unit. They wish me luck, but I'm still jittery as we head down the hallway to where we'll wait for the newspeople. On the way, Topaz explains how I'm to conduct myself around the reporters, and I listen with the attentiveness of someone who's being told the one way to survive a mortal danger. Which, I admit, is overreacting, but I have a strong instinct that this conversation is far more important than I've been told.

Topaz and I arrive at a small, surprisingly comfy room, and she helps me into a chair that is, frankly, far too large for me. Pursing my lips in concentration, I start internally debating how best to introduce myself. Will Topaz do it for me, or will I be the one responding to everything? I huff in annoyance, casting my gaze up to my friendly escort.

"Topaz, when'll this be over?" I ask, whining intentionally. She rolls her eyes, chuckling.

"It will end when it does. Don't fret."

"That has to be the most useless answer I have ever gotten," I reply, leaning on the chair's arm with both elbows, sighing exaggeratedly.

"Perhaps," Topaz laughs, completely used to my childish side by now. I sit up suddenly as something occurs to me, and I tap her on the shoulder to get her attention.

"Hey, do I need to call you Lieutenant Topaz during this?" I question, giving her a quizzical look. She pauses, then sighs.

"I don't know. Are you comfortable doing that? It would probably look better for our relationship to appear more professional." I mull on that for a second, nodding.

"I think you're right. Doesn't mean I have to like it, though, right? 'Lieutenant Topaz, ma'am, Her Highness of the Escort Guild.'" She ruffles my fur a bit.

"I said professional, not sarcastic, Trouble." I smirk, grinning at the nickname.

"Not even a little?"

"No," she jokes back, but we both stiffen as a knock sounds on the door. "Come in," Topaz calls, clearing her throat and adjusting her collar. I try to strike a balance between intelligent, young, competent, and cool, but I think I just end up with a stupidly neutral look on my face.

Oh, well. Here goes.

"Good afternoon! I'm Scarlet Garcia from Station Square TV News," says the red-haired, green-eyed reporter poking her head through the door. As the rest of her follows, I note that she's wearing an overwhelming quantity of orange, though the observation is half-baked and unimportant. I try to focus myself.

"Good afternoon," Topaz replies, standing up to shake her hand. "Lieutenant Topaz, G.U.N., Special Forces." I hurriedly pop to my feet, standing on the chair so I have some measure of height. A large camera follows Miss Garcia in, but I ignore it, if only for the sake of my nerves.

"An honor to meet you. And, you must be Robotnik's creation." Garcia looks at me expectantly, but I'm already ahead of her, drawing myself to my full altitude.

"Shadow the Hedgehog, Ultimate Lifeform," I announce, trying to give off an air of presence. I doubt it works, but I gain some time from the usual 'woah' reaction to my ill-fit voice. I cautiously extend my hand to shake, not knowing if it's within acceptable social limits for me to do so. After all, no previous examples of protocol exist for interacting with intelligent creations. She shakes it, and I feel a little self-conscious at my ridiculously-large hands as she does.

No feeling out-of-place. I belong here. If not here, then nowhere. Besides, I'm the most powerful thing on this planet. I have nothing to be embarrassed about. The thoughts reassure me, and I try for a smile that doesn't show off my pointed fangs too much. I join the others in sitting down, with only the cameraman remaining standing.