Oh, hello there. I'm glad you're here to listen to my story.
It's hard being me. You may think it's easy to have ultimate power at your fingertips, and abilities that humans couldn't even dream of, but it's not. These very abilities are the bane of my existence. For so long I've wished to be normal, and for GUN to just leave me alone. I swear The Commander has a vendetta against me. He said he'd forgiven me but he always looks at me with hatred, and gives me the most awkward of tasks.
It's said that I am trusted, but I know those humans do not. They don't enjoy my work, they don't benefit from it; if they did I would be put to good use. No. They're just ensuring I remain here to keep me under surveillance. They said I was on call and I must stay in the headquarters at all times but there aren't many urgent missions for me. They just want to keep me under control. I know it. I act as though I trust them… and they're all fools for believing me.
I spend every night locked in my room for 'security'. I suppose they expected me to take it as protection. I don't need protection… they do. For now, I'll play their silly little games and act as their servant. Then I'll wait until the right moment, make my escape, and take my revenge!
This revenge will be different from the last. I understand that not all humans are like the Commander… only most of them. So it wouldn't be fair for me to attempt to destroy the whole planet. I'll just stick to the offending figures… this time.
I began my morning the same as every other by sitting on my bed and waiting. I rose to my feet at the sound of my bedroom door opening. The loud click and squeak of the steel gate brought my attention early enough for me to stand up straight and remove my face of all emotion. Immediately, I was sent to the Commander's office before I had the chance to freshen myself up or eat any food. Being trapped in my prison for the last eight hours, I was very eager to. Having been denied that right immediately put me in an even fouler mood.
Feeling cold and empty, I power walked down the dark corridors of the basement and into the main HQ, where the scenery was a lot cleaner and brighter, but threatening nonetheless. Making sure I had a hard expression on my face so no one would bother me, I strode towards the Commander's office and knocked on the door with three strong bangs of my fist. I didn't wait for him to grant access into his office, I opened the door and walked straight in. Knocking was more of a warning rather than a plead.
"Hedgehog! How dare you come in without asking!" The Commander yelled at me from his desk.
"I did ask." I said monotonously. The Commander fumed and banged his fist on the desk. I gave a slight scowl and looked to the side. I challenged his authority by standing with my arms folded across my chest. The grumpy man sighed and softened his tone slightly.
"I suppose you're grouchy about being called to duty before breakfast," he guessed.
"Eating isn't the only thing I need to do," I replied through my gritted teeth.
"Well, you can do that later. There's an urgent mission for you. You could be out for ten hours or more but I'm sure it can wait."
My eye twitched and I could feel myself boiling on the inside from his smugness. The Commander pushed a piece of paper my way on the desk to I went over to grab it. Harshly, I snatched it from the surface and read it, glaring at him every so often.
"A spying mission, in the ice cap zone? Hmph. What the hell is going on there?" I snapped at the randomness of this mission.
"We have to detected suspicious activity there, and have reason to believe that Eggman or someone of the like is up to something," he explained and leant back into his seat. I rolled my eyes again. "I need you to go there now via chaos control and hide in a decent spot. Note down any of his actions. If need be, take him out. But I think we should take the lawful route and put getting evidence and putting him in prison before we get out the destructive weapons."
"Or… I could take him out as soon as I get there… and come back to a nice warm breakfast," I seethed. I didn't see the logic in the Commander's plan. I said that the missions he gave me were the most awkward.
"I just explained the mission to you, now do it!" The Commander yelled. He was in another of those 'don't question me' moods, I could tell.
"Hmph, fine. But I'd better have a gourmet meal waiting for me when I come back," I demanded.
"Whatever, Shadow," the Commander sighed and went back to his paper work. I left the room. Just before I shut the door I heard him speak again. "Oh, and Shadow. If you continue that aggressive attitude with me I'll have to put you back on prison island. Behaviour like that gives me reason to believe you're not trustworthy. Do you agree?"
I stood at the doorway for a second and sighed. It took all of my might to answer.
"Yes… master," I said, struggling to hide the slight tone of disgust in my voice. He'd gotten me under control like a dog. Nevertheless, I planned to get my revenge one day.
I took my emerald and strode towards the exit, feeling rather uncomfortable. I knew one thing would certainly happen when I got to the ice cap zone. Yellow snow.
However, it wasn't so easy. When I got there, I was surrounded by Eggman's robots. I was in the middle of the army of metallic soldiers.
"Damn it." I snapped. The first thing that went through my mind was that I should perform a chaos blast but I realised that I was to stay hidden. It would have been foolish of me to blow my cover to violently and obviously.
I tiptoed between the robots, hoping none of them would be alerted. One of them sensed my motion. My reflex action was to dive into the snow below me.
Oh Chaos, why?
Feeling like a frozen chicken, I tunnelled through the numbing snow with my hands, past the unaware robots and to safety. I pathetically sat on the floor, huddled up and shivering profoundly. The low temperature was even too much for me, the ultimate life form.
I got up and found a small opening in giant ice cap in the centre. An opening, I believed, would lead me to the secret base. It was small enough for me to crawl through. Being so cold and tensed, I was reminded of my urgent need. About to turn around and relieve myself, I was startled into hiding when a robot walked my way. I put my hands inside and pulled myself up with much struggle. It was frictionless ice after all. Like crawling through a small vent, I made my way into the building.
The ice tunnel led to brick, then metal. This was it. Now it would begin. Ten mind numbing hours of waiting and watching. There he was, ten meters below. Eggman was building a large machine. It was only in the skeleton stage, with the joints and mechanics showing. No armour yet. It could have been a ship, or a robot for battle. Either way… it was tedious to watch.
I attempted to make myself comfortable, curling up in all kinds of positions. But none of them eased the discomforts in my abdomen. I sat, huddled up in the hole in the wall, with my hands in my crotch, cursing the Commander for giving me such a task. But one thing was going through my mind.
Ten hours. Ten hours. Ten hours.
I shifted slightly, feeling the fluids inside of me unsettle and irritate my insides.
Ten hours. Ten hours.
I heard a clang. Eggman dropped his tool and left the room.
TEN FUCKING HOURS!
I looked at my watch. Okay, there was nine and a half hours to go. Nevertheless, it was still too long. I decided my waiting was futile and began to crawl backwards. If Eggman was going to take a break, I was too.
Now… where was that snow?
I crawled backwards for an agonising five minutes before I hit a barrier. The ice behind me had half melted and collapsed on itself. I began to grumble to myself furiously. Today couldn't go any worse. As far as I saw at the time, there were two choices. Use up my remaining strength to perform chaos control back to GUN and sign myself out of the mission, or to wait it out for ten- no, nine and a half hours in agonising desperation. I crawled back to my spying spot and continued to spy on Eggman, while thinking up a plan.
I gave a silent sigh as time passed, and Eggman continued to do the same thing for the next two hours before leaving the room again. This brought an idea to my mind. I could enter the room and sneak out a different way. If worse came to worse, and I was detected, I could teleport back to HQ 'for the good of the mission'. I looked carefully for any sign of Eggman's return and jumped down when I realised the coast was clear.
I sneaked around the large creation and out of the door. I then ran down the corridor in the search for an escape route. I stopped when I came to a dead end, only to be met by three doors, one on each wall. The door directly in front of me seemed more enticing. I cautiously opened it and gulped. I had stumbled upon… the bathroom.
Surely this is some kind of joke.
I closed the door again quickly. Not wanting to give into temptation and blow my cover. I peaked through the other doors only to find storage cupboards.
Slowly, I strolled through the corridors in search of an exit, keeping my eye out for any security cameras, robots, and Eggman. Then I saw another ventilation tunnel in the ceiling. I bent my knees and propelled myself upwards with a jump, smashing through cover. I cringed as I realised the large bang I'd made, but it was done. It seemed as if no one heard.
It was time for another gut crushing crawl. I lay my stomach and pushed myself along with my limbs. I bit my lip to avoid growling and groaning and propelled myself to freedom. It took a while, a few wrong turns and many near 'accidents', but I made it outside. Wanting to desperately to cry out in relief, I jumped onto the ground, landing in the snow with a crunch. Gritting my teeth in pain and breathing painfully, I hobbled over to a clear spot and let go.
Aahh, finally… yellow snow…
Feeling a lot more flexible and mobile, I ran back to the base within the ice cap to continue my espionage.
I stifled a yawn as I sat in an alternative hiding spot. I also had to cover my stomach to quieten the rumbles it emitted. Yawns and rumbles would definitely echo in a metal ventilation tunnel. Then it crossed my mind… why were there so many of these things? It was almost as though Eggman wanted intruders to get inside.
"Brr… time to turn on the heating."
I sighed to myself when he left the room. He was off again. Two minutes later, I felt a temperate breeze as hot air hit my body. This was why there were to many vents… to warm the building that was in such a cold place.
I began to sweat. It was boiling inside of the metal tunnel. It wasn't enough to burn, but certainly hard to bear. Within ten minutes, I was dripping with sweat from my face and neck. Looking as though I was in a sauna, I sat in the blazing heat. My skin and fur withstood the high temperatures and did not burn, none the less I lost the majority of water in my body. My mouth became dry and my head began to hurt.
Nonetheless, I couldn't abandon the mission. It had gotten so interesting, Eggman was adding on the outer shell of his new robot. The tension was rising. Ha. It was like watching paint dry!
The large structure was done. All was needed, was the colour. The first coat was applied. I was literally watching paint dry.
I wiped the river of sweat from my brow and made my way out of the vent, into the outdoors. Filled with pleasure, I felt the numbingly cold air on my skin and fur. I put my wrist up to my mouth and pressed the button on my communicator.
"Commander, I've seen enough. Permission to return?"
"No. You have two more hours-"
"But it's urgent! He could take over the world any second!" I lied in a desperate attempt to get out of the mission early.
"I highly doubt that. But you may return. I have another mission for you," The Commander finished and cut off communications before I could protest about the second mission.
Oh, Chaos. Give me strength.
Lucy Labrador