Brackets.

There are brackets.

In the character list.

WHY are there brackets in my character list?! This is unconscionable! Something must be done! Let me get my broom. }:[

Okay, okay, so it's romance. Just a little. Just enough to reach the point where you can't deny that it's a pairing, or brush it off as collateral to an adventure plot. Perhaps hereby I forfeit all my dreams of ever becoming a writer of merit, at least in the eyes of the illuminati, but alas, it is so. If any of the regulars from Kelviniana are lurking out there, have at it; I shake my fist at thee in defiance. Thusly. :P

Disclaimer: I don't own Sonic and Co. Wish I could own G.U.N. headquarters, though. Love that place. Tons of plot potential.

Anyway!


"What do you mean, I have to?!" demanded Rouge.

"You should know, you were at the briefing too," said Shadow wearily.

"What do you expect me to do, pay attention? I work here for the action, not the pleasant speeches."

Shadow rolled his eyes and continued packing equipment. Team Dark had been preparing for a mission when the discussion started, but if Rouge expressed disinterest in the topic he wasn't about to waste his breath explaining it. Rouge quickly grew irritated with his silence.

"Come on already, what did they say?"

At last Omega relented instead.

"Those in charge at G.U.N. have decided that too many of the missions involve a need for forensic assessment; sending the evidence to an external laboratory is no longer cost-effective. They wish to educate all G.U.N. agents on basic forensic science, in hopes that agents will be able to perform their own evidence analyses."

"So they're making us learn a bunch of stuff just so they can give us extra work?!" said Rouge, chagrined. "I didn't sign up for this job so I could hang around in a lab! The paperwork is bad enough already."

And yet, the next evening, Shadow and Omega found themselves dragging a very disgruntled bat with them to the first meeting. She was digging in her heels with a vengeance, and even once they got her into the lecture hall, she kept muttering rebellious comments and throwing balled-up notebook pages at the agents in front of them.

At last a terse-looking gray-haired man came striding to the front of the room.

"Good afternoon, all," he said. "I am Dr. Kolin, and I will be your main instructor for this training program. Let me assure you, you will not be disappointed with the knowledge you gain here; the science of forensics is one of the most practical and beneficial things you will ever learn."

"And if we don't learn it?" grumbled Rouge from the back row, sliding down in her seat and kicking the back of the seat in front of her. The agent sitting there turned to give her an annoyed look.

"I am sure you are all familiar with the program format by now," continued Dr. Kolin. "But let me reiterate: It will be structured much like a college-level forensics course. You are expected to attend these meetings, where I will explain the concepts you need to know. However, I understand that as agents you are all very busy with training and missions. Therefore, the meetings will only be held twice a week. To compensate, you are required to perform extra readings during your free time."

Rouge, displeased with this news, stuck out her tongue and laid back her ears irately. By now Shadow was looking around for an empty seat to switch to; he always forgot that sitting next to Rouge was a bad idea.

"The most exciting part of the program, however, is probably the lab," said Dr. Kolin. "Once a week you must put the concepts you learn from lectures and readings into practice, participating in a practical forensics lab. This will allow you to get a feel for the delicate and intriguing science involved in the practice of criminal investigation. Now, before we begin, are there any questions?"

A young female agent in the front raised her hand.

"Are there going to be tests?" she asked, trying to sound casual but all the same clearly uneasy.

"Actually, yes," said Dr. Kolin. "All agents are required to pass a very basic practical examination at the end of the program, testing if they have mastered the most important concepts of forensics. Of course, we don't expect everyone to become a professional forensics master, but you must know at least the basics, or you will be required to complete the entire program again."

An ever-so-slight anxious murmur ran through the crowd, as various agents processed this news.

"There is no need to be uneasy," said Dr. Kolin cheerfully. "I am sure you will all perform adequately. And for those of you who particularly take to the subject, you may have a chance of becoming a registered forensics agent! It would be extra work, as all agents would bring their more complicated tests to you, but let me assure you, it would be a great honor."

"They've got to be kidding," grumbled Rouge. "As if this whole thing wasn't already extra work, now they want us to volunteer to do even more? I'm gonna ask for a raise!"

Shadow gave her a warning look. Rouge scowled back, but eventually quailed under that dangerous red-glinting gaze and sank even farther down in her seat, muttering.


Three days later came the first lab. Shadow and Omega again had to veritably drag Rouge along with them. As everyone shuffled about and poked cautiously into their lab drawers, Rouge was already protesting.

"They've gotta be kidding," she growled, yanking a pair of goggles off her head immediately after putting them on.

"You have to wear those," said Shadow calmly.

"Not gonna. I'm not sacrificing my good looks for this nonsense. They'd leave weird marks on my forehead."

"Spill a chemical, and it'll leave weird marks on your eyeball," replied Shadow tersely.

"Psh. It's not like I'm going to be juggling the beakers," scoffed Rouge. "Besides, Omega's not wearing any goggles. Or gloves, or apron either."

Shadow, knowing a hopeless case when he saw one, refrained from pointing out that Omega was made of metal.

The lab began. Most of the agents were assigned to work in groups of two, but since there was an odd number Omega sidled carefully to a lab bench in the corner. He'd do fine on his own, he had a robotically precise idea of what he was supposed to do.

Rouge, teamed up with Shadow, wasted no time in informing him that he looked ridiculous in goggles, and at that she may have had a point. Mobians' peculiar eye shape meant that they had to wear very large and odd goggles, almost like a strangely-shaped windshield for the face. Ironically, Shadow probably needed goggles less than Rouge did; he could heal just about any part of his body, including his eyes. However, he didn't see a good reason to go through the pain and drama of getting an injury, even if he could recover from it.

This first lab was about extraction. The agents were to practice running samples through different liquid solvents, trying to seperate out the various chemicals. The samples were only for practice, but in real forensics they could use this system to identify all kinds of substances found at real crime scenes, or test drinks for poison.

The process was fairly complicated, and Rouge clearly had not read the lab manual. Soon she was pawing through a multitude of beakers, of all different sizes, all filled with identical-looking clear liquids, all of which were presumably different compounds.

"All right, you should all have finished filtering the sample containing aspirin by now," called Dr. Kolin.

"Which one is the aspirin?" growled Rouge under her breath, rattling amongst the beakers. Omega glanced over, his eyes flashing with a scan frequency.

"That one," he announced, tapping gently at the edge of the countertop closest to the beaker in question. Rouge nodded her thanks and grabbed up the beaker, setting hastily to work filtering its contents.

Presently there was a clink of glassware toppling, and a burbling splash; Rouge gave a sharp gasp. Shadow's head snapped up only for him to find Rouge frozen before her lab bench, her eyes tightly shut. A clear liquid was dripping down one side of her face, from the forehead over the eyelid, down the muzzle. Slowly she reached up and brushed her fingers gingerly over the dampened fur, feeling if it was melting or singeing or burning. Then, cautiously, she opened her unaffected eye. Shadow watched, unaware that his own eyes were wide behind his goggles, as Rouge studied the forest of glassware laid out on the lab counter.

"It's just water," she said softly at last.

Shadow closed his eyes and opened his mouth to say something. After a moment he gave up and merely sighed, lowered his eyes back to his work, and pushed a pair of goggles over to Rouge's side of the lab bench. Meekly she put them on, and kept them on for the rest of the lab. It still didn't stop her from scowling at her reflection and poking at the red line on her forehead afterwards, though.