If you are uninterested in my Author's Notes on the topic of remaking my own story, you may skip these notes

Before I say anything else at all, thank you to whomever is reading this, whether you have read the pre-existing version of this story, you simply liked the summary that you saw under the "Most Recent" uploads or you deliberately searched out Fanfiction for Shadow/Silver.

For those who don't know what I'm talking about, I uploaded my story, "Shadows of a Silver Mind" to this site before, a total of 9 Chapters, with 31,333 words. It was my first attempt at Fanfiction, but now, looking back, much of it-the dialogue, the events, the unlikely or rushed themes-I am unhappy with.

I always did have-and still do-enthusiasm for the general story, the general plotline, of "Shadows of a Silver Mind", but now that I have a small bit more experience along with some great people helping me out (Basket of Black Roses as my beta reader to name one), I have taken another shot at the general story.

You will notice some scenes may be almost exactly the same, and the sequence of events will not change a great deal, though my characterization will be. However, my portrayal of Sonic, Tails and Silver will be changed to greater extents than to other characters such as Shadow, Rouge and Omega.

Thank you, and I hope you enjoy the prologue of Shadows of a Silver Mind Remade.

Prologue: The Day before Tomorrow

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"Are you sure? This was what they sent?"

Shadow the Hedgehog stopped for a moment and dropped his hand, poised to knock on the door in front of him, noticing the unmistakable voice of the Commander of the Guardian Units of Nations from inside.

"Yes sir, Intel sent us this image, retrieved from the hacking of Eggman security cameras. They collected this picture directly from the system-" The new, younger male voice lacked the obvious authority of the other's, and instead reported with a faint insecurity.

"They didn't think to grab any files? They have none of Robotnik's reports, no other useful information?"
"No sir, the report claimed that the only electronic data that wasn't secure were limited camera functions."

"So we have nothing, no clue as to who-" The Commander's voice stopped for a moment, Shadow suspecting the reason.

"Shadow, get in here. There's no need to eavesdrop on your allies, especially when they were the ones to call you up."

Shadow scowled, but reached up to open the door to the Commander's office, stepping inside the large room. As always, the room appeared larger than it truly was from the sparse filling. A filing cabinet, a desk and a chair was the limit of the true furnishings, leaving the only noteworthy 'decoration' to be the G.U.N insignias emblazoned over the walls and the only real point of interest being flat security screens giving live camera feeds from around the base, including the space Shadow was standing moments ago just outside the door.

The Commander himself sat at the desk, his heterochromic eyes staring into Shadow's own; his left eye a deep amber, his right a pale blue. Beside him, a visibly nervous G.U.N soldier stood and gave a hasty salute at the smaller hedgehog. The man couldn't be past his mid-20's, and despite his widened eyes, he stood in a well-disciplined stance. Shadow didn't have to wonder about him, a glance told him all it was necessary to know about the man; a messenger who knew very well that he was standing in the presence of two of the most powerful figures on Earth.

"Information should never be passed up, Commander." Shadow spoke, something resembling amusement in his voice. Though his mouth moved, his face did not; his eyes remaining on the one he spoke to. The Commander's eyes narrowed at the remark.
"Top level clearance isn't enough for you, Shadow? Maybe you'd prefer to take my job? I'm sure the paperwork would suit you just perfectly," the Commander baited; a dry smile drawing at the edge of his lips. The Commander of G.U.N would be one of the few that could get away with such speech to the so-dubbed "Ultimate Life-Form". Despite that, Shadow's eye's instinctively focused into a glare for a second, before remembering the Commander was never intimidated by them. As if to make up for it, Shadow intentionally ignored the Commander, turning instead to the soldier, who refrained from flinching at the gaze.

"Speak. What image has been recovered?" Shadow's stare did not falter as he asked the question. He was curious as to the image that appeared to alarm the Commander who had been described as containing a "heart of stone". To his faint surprise, the soldier did not immediately spout out information in fear of the deadly hedgehog, but rather turned his head slightly to the Commander. Shadow was not his commanding officer; he was not authorized to report.
"Lieutenant, leave us. You have done your job." The soldier was visibly relieved at the new order.
"Yes sir." The man gave an orderly salute to both the Commander and Shadow and then turned to leave at a brisk pace, closing the door behind him.

The Commander sat for a moment, rubbing a hand over his head.

"Shadow, what did I tell you about distressing people in the Guardian Units?" The Commander's voice was weary, but still with a touch of amusement so similar to that in Shadow's voice before.
"I think he handled it well, Commander." Shadow replied. The Commander took his hand away from his face, revealing his aged eyes.
"Yes, yes he did. But I called you up here to discuss this. Intelligence took this from Robotnik's security cameras at what appears to be his main base; at least, he is currently residing there." The veteran explained, pushing a surprisingly high-quality picture over the desk. It seemed to be of a small room, the image taken from a corner in the roof. The walls were smooth steel, with the exception of the various vents in the room and a small cut-away section that passes into another room outside of the image's visibility, though it clearly acted as a door-less "doorway". But Shadow's eyes were fixed on the familiar figure laying, arms and legs straight and flat, on a thin bed-like pad in the center.
"Shadow, you don't see therianthropic hedgehogs every day, let alone one Robotnik seems to take an interest in."

Shadow knew the sound in the Commander's voice, he was waiting to hear what Shadow had to say, but the dark hedgehog did not answer at once, going over the events in his mind as he looked over the almost-white body lying in the picture. A hedgehog, its quills turned upwards, much like Shadow's own, with a collection of clumped fur on the chest, paler than the silver-sheened fur that covered most of the figure. Its boots and cuffs were strangely designed, with lines running through them and over the hedgehog's gloved hands.

Shadow's brows knitted together when he noticed a change in those designs from when he last saw the hedgehog, but nonetheless prepared to explain to the Commander.

"I spoke of this hedgehog briefly once before, Commander, and his aid in defeating Solaris, the being that warped time to such an extent that a small few recall it's existence. This is Silver, known only as Silver the Hedgehog to my knowledge. Born an unknown number of centuries in a once-possible "future", I have no clue as to what may have happened to his world when Solaris was defeated, making the world which he grew up in impossible to exist." The Commander did not reply, and Shadow went on, knowing without being asked what the Commander wanted.

"His strength does not appear to be extraordinary, in fact, physically he seems to be frail. He does not seem to have much more running capacity than any human, either, nor any notable technologies. However, his powers come in the form of psychokinesis, to such an extent as to being able to lift, manipulate and crush heavy objects with no physical effort from what I know. He can move at supersonic speeds by propelling himself off the ground using these same powers, and has rudimentary control over Chaos Emeralds, though small." Shadow let out an imperceptible breath, disliking extended speeches. Shadow still readied himself to continue, knowing it was worth giving an extended report to the Commander now, and leaving any written reporting on Silver's character to the Commander himself.

"I have little knowledge on his personality, but he appears to be brash, idealistic and naïve. Potentially gullible, he nevertheless possesses a notably strong character, and a great desire to help others, not unlike that of Sonic's. Much of his character would be derived from the post-apocalyptic city of Soleanna which he grew up fighting. He is unlikely to be of any threat to this world, or to GUN." Shadow's lips sealed as he finished, staring at the Commander as if daring him to ask him to say more. He had left out the small fact that was different about the designs on Silver's accessories. 'After all,' Shadow guessed, 'for all I know it could simply be because he's not conscious.'

The Commander of G.U.N ignored the stare and turned his head to look at the live feeds of the cameras around the base, his brow furrowed in thought.

"Yes…you did tell me briefly of him. You also mentioned the short time you saw him before fighting Solaris that he was…distracted?" Shadow nodded at the Commander's question, but did not open his mouth to answer nor elaborate.

"You never found out why? Sonic did not know?" Shadow sighed quietly at the Commander's insistent inquisition.

"No, and I doubt any of us had the luxury of time to make conversation. Whatever it was, he was holding it close to him." Shadow brushed off, knowing what was soon to come. An eyebrow raised on the hedgehog's face as the leader of G.U.N reached for the intercom on his desk, holding down a button.

"Send a message to Rouge the Bat, have her cancel any mission she is currently on and report to me immediately." He spoke into. Without looking up, he let go of the button and answered Shadow's unspoken question.
"Well?" He remarked, "This mission won't be easy, if he can negate our chaos drives, which he appears to be doing more and more often now, then he can negate your chaos energies too. Anything more than short warps will be impossible, let alone a full Chaos Control, so I can't let you inside Eggman's main base alone now, can I?"

Shadow smirked.

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A different approach to the story, yes, but I would like to hear feedback from readers…that is to say, you. Reviews are welcome, criticisms and points of improvement more so. I will answer anybody's questions, with the exception of "when will you update", as I have no direct schedule. The next chapter could be in anywhere from a few days to months on end.

Also, as a note, when "GUN" is used in dialogue, the character is referring to the Guardian Units of Nations as pronounced: "gun", when "G-U-N" is used in dialogue, the character is pronouncing each letter separately. "G.U.N" with the periods between the letters is only used outside of dialogue.

Thank you all.