I know I should be finishing up Cirque Du Freak, but I just had to do this one. It'll be snappy, don't worry. Yes, Arcon Fallon Dekker is in this one (he's the coolest bad guy, I couldn't leave him out). Also a few other OC's that ForensicHistory15 and I have come up with. Hope you guys like it! Chapter one of: Cursed.

Summer camp. What a stupid concept.

The property made up of happiness looms menacingly outside of the tinted car window, my name practically printed on it. It called to me with its joyous siren. Why? Why? WHY?

I turned and glared at Uncle Chuck. "You're the devil."

He grinned feebly beneath his mechanical mustache. "Hey, Shadow, you're the one who was rated as clinically depressed and lethally dangerous by the doctors."

I grunted, holding back from baring my teeth at him. "But you know the reason why! It wasn't my fault! I don't have to be imprisoned here!" I jabbed my thumb at the signboard above the high, thick, wooden gates. "I don't belong to the sunshine and daisies community!"

He sighed, pointing to the painted label. "Artemis' Camp for Troubled Teens. That's where you're going. No more excuses, young man."

"But-"

"I didn't pay nine hundred and fifty dollars for you to chicken out before you even stepped foot on that perfectly mown grass, Robotnik!" Sudden fierceness struck the robot's tone. His red, computerized eyes were flashing with anger. "Either you go in there by yourself, or I'm dragging you!"

Charles must've forgotten the passenger in the back seat of the Camaro. Sonic had a saddened look on his face as he watched his uncle and I argue. "Hey Chuck... maybe we could ask for a refund... Shadow doesn't have to go-"

"Shut up, Maurice Theodore Diago!" he snapped at his nephew, who recoiled. Sonic hated being called by his full (and actual) name. I chuckled inside. What a goofy title Jules and Bernadette (his parents) had given him. I was glad my name was as suave as Shadow.

But then again...

I also had another name.

One that I was deeply ashamed of.

I looked back to Charles. "Isn't it already bad enough that I almost got arrested?"

"Ah, ah, ah, Shadow. You were arrested. They just tasered you," he corrected. "I'm sure you still feel the tingling?"

I brushed the right side of my neck, where a small, protrudent bump was present. After I touched the fur, prickling flooded my fingertips, and I dropped my hand into my lap. I clenched my fist, flashes of the police and many handgun explosions playing in my head. "Yes."

"Well, you can tell the landlord that when we go to his office, all right?" Uncle Chuck shut off the Camaro and opened the car door, stepping out into the brilliant sunshine. "Come on."

I gave Sonic a pitifully desperate stare. "Please help me. I'll do anything!" I pleaded to him.

He frowned, patting my shoulder. "Send me lots of emails, k?"

I glowered. "Gee, bro, you're quite the help." He smiled smally.

The passenger door opened, Uncle Chuck standing in front of it. "Well? Let's go, kid. Time's a wasting."

I moaned to myself, reluctantly getting out of the shiny blue vehicle and onto the pavement. I was handed my duffel bag, which contained my clothes and other things I would need for the summer. It was very lightweight. And I felt very unprepared.

The walk to the main building felt more like a death march to me. Every peppy director or counselor that gave me a happy smile, I scowled at with as much menace as I could muster. My hand was so tight around the duffel's strap that my fingers started to ache.

Uncle Chuck and I entered the chill halls, posters of grinning faces and encouraging statements plastered on every inch of the wooden walls. I coughed a few times at the saw dust that swirled around in some places. Why would they think of building this place out of wood? Again, stupid concept.

Chuck guided me down the grainy corridor, opening the door for me at the main office. Once inside, I noticed the main desk was solely occupied by a gorgeous young cat. She had a shining purple fur and long, snow white, curled hair. Bangs that swished across her forehead were tipped with magenta streaks. Only a single lock of her hair - which hung over her copper eyes - was dark brown. Two types of earrings were pierced in her large ears: gold chains of ringlets, and silver streamers. Her skin was pale on her face, and bangles of different colors coated her violet, furry arms. She was scowling at a computer screen, typing away furiously and muttering something under her voice.

My escort approached the desk. He cleared his throat. "Excuse me, um..." She ignored him as his eyes trailed down to a tag on her black shirt. "Fiѐt," - her eyes flickered up to him the moment he said her name - "this is Shadow Robotnik, he's a new guest here at Artemis' C-"

"Yes, I know," she interrupted flatly, that scowl remaining on her beautiful face. "You called me two days ago. Are you wanting to see the landlord?"

Taken aback, Chuck nodded slowly. "Yes, ma'am. Do we need to make an appointment?"

"No," Fiѐt replied, still typing, while not looking at the computer she sat in front of. "He knows you're here. Mr. Dekker never loses track of new guests here at Artemis. Is it immediate that you must see him now?"

"Yes. We were asked to get Shadow here as quickly as possible. Is this Mr. Dekker available?"

A surprisingly dark smile spread across her stunning features. Her gaze switched to me, and she stood up. "He always is. Follow me, boys."

Uncle Chuck pushed me forward gently, following Fiѐt as she gracefully walked to the back of the small room. I noted then that the office was plainly decorated, almost barren. The heavy ebony door to the end of the place was sitting under the cover of an overhead wood banister, with stairs spiraling upward and out of sight. She stopped at the door, waiting for us in the darkness. Her eyes glowed.

"He is inside. If you have any questions after you see him, talk to me." She stood with her hands clasped behind her, her posture flawless, and her purple legs together and feet fanned outward. She wore silver stilettos, and a short black skirt. Her face was emotionless.

"Thank you, Fiѐt. You have been a great help," Chuck acknowledged her, allowing me to open the door and step in first.

She thrust her arm out to stop my Uncle in his tracks. "Before you speak to me again, sir, be sure to pronounce my name right. It is Fy-ae, not Fy-et." I chuckled at his stupidity. He nodded briskly, smiling nervously and looking embarrassed. "Thank you, Mr. Die-ay-go." She critically sounded out his name for him.

Fiѐt then let him go past, leaving the robot feeling idiotic. We both quickly entered the landlord's office, only to find it empty. Confused, I looked back to Chuck, raising a brow and making a displeased face. He shrugged as her silky voice said from behind him, "Go ahead and sit down. He won't be long." The door shut with a hushed bang as were left isolated in the vacant room.

I glanced around, finding the walls to be a warm brown, with potted trees in two opposing corners. There was a large mahogany desk in one side of the room, covered with neatly stacked papers and a mug full of capped pens and sharpened pencils. A table lamp stood above an open folder, with documents laid out for reading. The cushy, black leather seat at the desk was empty, and facing two wood made chairs that were just as comfortable looking. Two large bookcases that were overflowing with books lined the wall facing the leather chair's back, and were reaching the low ceiling. It smelled pleasant in here, though I couldn't quite name the scent.

After taking an inventory of almost everything, Chuck and I sat down at the pair of seats. It was a little awkward finding someplace to put my duffel, but we managed to squeeze it in between us. We sat in silence for only a minute before the door quietly opened, a teenager walking in.

I was shocked. As he strode in, I inspected him. He was dressed in a long, thin, pitch black overcoat, which reached his booted ankles, and was stitched with dozens of buckles. His mane of shaggy, coaled hair was hanging loosely over his electric blue eye. I was staggered that his right eye was missing, a leather eyepatch hiding it. His fur was slate gray, and a long tail with spikes protruding from its tip signified to me that he was a cat. He walked in, smiled - his coat collar was so high that it nearly covered his mouth - and approached us.

"Good afternoon, gentlemen," he said softly in a matured voice. "I apologize that Mr. Dekker couldn't be here, he was dealing with some out of control inmates."

I gulped. Inmates?

"Allow me to introduce myself. I am Armaros, I will be filling in for Mr. Dekker momentarily. Now, should we get started?" He sat down across from Chuck and I, clasping his fingers and looking at us closely.

"I am guessing this is Shadow Robotnik, then?" Armaros glanced to me, then Uncle Chuck. "And you are his legal guardian, I presume?"

"Yes," the robot agreed. "I am a little apprehensive about what he will be doing here. Anything I should know?"

Armaros chuckled darkly, something I only heard. "Mr. Diago, Shadow is positively safe here. Don't worry about him. He will be guarded twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, and monitored by his counselor. The counselor will ensure that he behaves, and that his needs are attended to." I internally groaned. A counselor? Great. Someone else to interrogate me. "She is very nice and thoughtful. You have nothing to worry about with Nicole by his side."

"What kind of people will he be around?" Chuck inquired.

"Addicts, alcoholics, criminals, psychotics, and more or less suicidal teens. To be frank."

Charles' face was absolutely blank. "W-what?"

"It is all taken care of, as I have said before. Nothing will happen to him." An awkward pause followed. "About his lodging," Armaros continued, unfazed. "he will be staying in a dorm by himself in the hall B, room sixty. His key is his own and nobody else's. He has a shower, bed, and desk to himself. He cannot have a cell phone, a computer, or any type of messaging device with him. Those that are brought will be confiscated immediately at the welcoming committee. MP3 players and iPods are allowed. He can do his own laundry, socialize as he pleases, and participate in the various activities we have planned for the kids. Harassment is strictly prohibited. Any fights that are started, there will be consequences to physical or emotional harm dealt to the other person." After seeing our open-mouthed faces, Armaros added, "That was a gist of the rules. I would go on, but we have a schedule to keep to."

That was a lot of rules! All of that... for one summer... Well, I could make it without a phone, nobody really called me except for Sonic. My laptop would be something I would miss, though. It was comforting when I wrote things, and all of my writing was on there. I sighed, fumbling with a loose string on the bottom hem of my shirt. This wasn't going well, as I knew it would be. At least he hadn't asked me why I ended up locked in this wooden happy-prison. One pro to this conversation.

Chuck was going through the information in his mind. "All right, Armaros. So he'll be safe, he won't be tormented, and no communication to the outside world?"

Armaros nodded cooly, saying, "Absolutely. Of course, he won't have to care about anybody outside of Artemis. He'll be too preoccupied here to notice them. Now," he abruptly stood, ending the discussion. "We must get Shadow to his room to become acquainted with his new way of living. Lunch should be served soon, and he needs to meet Nicole. What better way to get to know each other than over a meal?"

My uncle stuttered. "Uh... yes. I suppose that works. Um..." He turned to me as we got to our feet as well. "Shadow... I'm sorry, you know."

"For this? You should be," I stated nonchalantly.

He weakly smiled. "Take care of yourself, okay?" He leaned close to my ear. "And make sure... you keep a close watch on...that..." Trailing off, I understood what he meant.

"Yeah... Can do, Chuck."

He pulled back and frowned, putting a metal hand on my shoulder. "H-have a nice summer, Shadow Robotnik. Make the most of things, you are his son after all."

"What, that doctor?" I snorted, remembering Gerald's face. "He only joyed in science. I'm not here for science. I'm here for twisted rehab."

"But when you get back, we're using that science to deal with the problem." Charles clapped my shoulder a few times, looking to Armaros, who was standing patiently. "All right. He's ready."

The grey hedgehog smiled again. "Splendid. Get your bag, Shadow, and come with me. Mr. Diago, you can head home now, I can take it from here." He walked steadily to the door, where he opened it wide for us.

We said nothing as I clenched the duffel in my hand, following Chuck to and past Armaros. He closed the door behind us to Mr. Dekker's room on the way out, and we strolled past Fiѐt, who paid us no heed at all. Then we left the main office and bade goodbye to Charles at the door. I watched him grow smaller and smaller as he walked to the blue Camaro, speeding away on the freeway and leaving me stranded. I sighed heavily.

Armaros turned to me. "Follow me to your room, if you wish, Shadow the Hedgehog." He swiveled around on his heel and started down the hall, his footsteps silent on the polished birch floor. I darted after him, speeding up with the help of my jet shoes. I flew across the flooring and almost slammed into him, but luckily slowed down and was able to walk with him at his calm pace.

"I do hope you will enjoy your stay here, Shadow. Mostly everyone does. After all, we're all like family here." His voice was eerie as he said that.

I shuddered. "Yeah... a really freaky, psycho family..." I muttered, his ears pricking up and his shoulders shaking as he laughed. It was a tad disturbing, his laughter. I shuddered once more.

"Well, I'll give you a compact tour if you'd like. Here on your right is the main plaza, where each hall meets." Armaros pointed to his right; an enormous, circle shaped room with nine other corridor openings shooting from its edges. Everything here, was wooden. "The halls A through J are in those many exits at the plaza, indicated with the letter above them. We are in C hall right now, heading towards B." As I marveled, he looked back at me, his left eye scrutinizing me. "Come on, we must go through the main plaza if we wish to go to your room."

I kept up with Armaros as he switched his direction suddenly, striding through the groups of teenagers without a stare. I however, was spotlighted by every pair of eyes, whispers floating around the now pin-drop quiet plaza. I felt exposed. Severely.

"Who's that?"

"He the new kid?"

"Waddya think he's in for?"

"He's cute!"

"You gonna ask him?"

"You first!"

I flushed red with embarrassment and hurried after Armaros without drawing anymore attention to myself... if that was possible.

What's the matter? Don't you like attention? said a voice in the back of my mind.

I bit my tongue and locked my jaw. You're enough for me.

Amused laughter dissolved into my thoughts as I was randomly stopped, someone's sweat shirted arm in front of me. I snapped back into my senses, looking towards whoever was keeping me from progressing.

The boy was sneering at me with deep blue eyes. I sized him up: scrawny, a maroon-furred coyote with hardly a tail to show off, baggy clothes, and a lip stud. Even with a mild sneer, I could tell it was permanently glued onto his face as a mixture of each facial expression he had. This creep was backed up with two thickset thugs that were snarling. One a heavy built albatross with green feathers and golden eyes, the other a muscular echidna with the classic mahogany dreadlocks, intertwined with spikes and torn wrapping. His eyes were light brown, and emanating evil. The both of them were dressed with grungy clothing such as torn jeans and worn out hoodies.

"So this is the infamous Shadow the Hedgehog? He's a tiny thing, ain't he, Gregory?" the coyote scoffed, his hulking albatross friend nodding.

Anger sparked, something that was uncontrollable with me. I kept my voice down, trying to ease the buzzing feeling that was building up in my head. "I'm not as small as you think," I hissed through my teeth.

"Oh-ho ho? Are we now?" the coyote smirked, teeth marvelously white for someone of his appearance. "I've seen what you can do, but after looking at you now, I'm doubting what those reports said. Did you really kick an overgrown lizard's butt to kingdom come? Or plummet down to planet Earth and survive?" I stared at him, holding back my fury.

"I'm not even sure that human broad was worth your time, Shadow. What was her name? Mary? Meredith? Oh right. Maria. That ugly human was just another life taken by you and your black heart, huh? I'm surprised you dealt with her for all that time you did."

Did he just insult Maria? In front of me?

Come on, come on... Give it your best shot, kid.

I bit my lip this time, the moment my teeth touching it, blood seeped from the bite. My teeth were sharper. My blood tasted good. Oh no...!

I took a few steps back, by now the whole plaza watching our conflict. I held my head, beginning to shake and lose a bit of awareness. My surroundings were flooded with blur, only returning to focus when I blinked. I clenched my teeth, breathing as evenly as possible to calm myself down.

The coyote and his buddies seemed to get a kick out of my reaction, and gained expressions of mischief. The thin one's eyes sparkled with malice as he spoke up again.

"Uh-oh, boys... I think we hurt his feelings! Did I forget to mention that that Gerald dude was a wacked up freak with pathetic dreams of catching someone's shadow? And his abomination is standing right before us, a pathetic, shivering loser who's in a camp for teens with issues. No wonder he's here! The scientist was a raving lunatic! You're nothing but a failed science project!" The three of them burst into laughter.

Oh YES!

I hunched over, shivering and wincing audibly. The vibrating in my skull transformed immediately into splitting pain, which caused me to moan aloud. I felt the bones in my body begin to ache, and my thoughts went numb as a cruel smile spread onto my mouth.

I stood crookedly, watching the trio of foolish idiots with ferocity. "Don't - you ever - insult the Robotnik family in front of me!" My voice had lowered considerably, and I jabbed a finger at their startled faces. "You will pay dearly for the actions!"

I was intervened by Armaros, who showed up out of nowhere. Shooting him a dissatisfactory glance, he grabbed me firmly by the scruff of the neck and thwacked me hard on the back of the head with a fist.

"Ow! What was that for?" I shouted, a whooshing echoing in my ears. He seemed amazed for some reason.

Armaros didn't respond, but skimmed the crowds of teens with slitted eye. "You three!" he hollered to the coyote, albatross, and echidna. "If I catch you picking a fight with anyone else, you're going to be punished!"

"Who could possibly hurt us worse than you?" the echidna asked mockingly, tilting his dreadlocked head to the side.

Armaors sneered. "Arcon."

The atmosphere became bleak, and the three goons went stiff. Armaros, smirking something nasty, turned to face the horde of kids. "Everyone! Lunch! Go!" He pointed towards the hall labeled F, and all of them obeyed, filing into the corridor with shuffles of feet and hushed conversations.

Once everyone cleared, Armaros stared at me. "You, come with me."

Picking up my duffel, I obliged.

I edited some stuff around from the original. Wahoo for editing! :D