Rouge flopped back in her chair with a groan, "You know, when I asked for something exciting, this wasn't exactly what I had in mind."

Shadow made a noise from across the room, a hybrid of laughter and uninterest.

"I know the past few weeks have been quiet but did fate have to give us a ruined office," Rouge moaned. She leaned back into her cushioned seat, ignoring the furniture's creaking protests as she stretched. The bat fell limp with a crack and multiple pops, turning tired eyes to glare at her freshly cracked ceiling.

Shadow pulled away from his work, allowing the tape measure in hand to snap back into place, "Karma?"

That got Rouge to laugh, "Oh, please! I do plenty of good. I pay my taxes."

Shadow snorted, turning away if only to hide the smirk that pulled at his lips. To help cover the smile, he used the notepad he had been writing down collected measurements, and needed supplies for fixing their ruined doorway. Even if he wouldn't be replacing the door himself, the hedgehog needed something to busy himself until they were given the all-clear. Until the culprit for the intrusion was found, no one was to leave the building; It was standard procedure.

Shadow and Rouge were okay with the development, it wasn't their first lockdown, but they could not say the same for their guest. Unlike Shadow, who had immediately busied himself, Silver had made sure he was out of the way. With his body pushed into a corner and forehead to his knees, Silver had not spoken since the agents had calmed. A blessing in that the room was quiet, a disadvantage in that Silver had been scared into silence. At that rate, an interrogation would be… challenging.

Stepping away from his measurements, Shadow placed his notepad on his desk, "Any updates?"

Rouge cast a lazy, yet scornful, look at her computer, "Nada. At this rate, I'd be surprised if we got to leave at all."

Shadow frowned, but it did make sense. Apart from the breach, the building had suffered from the sudden power outage, rendering many machines inactive. Lights were functioning, basic communication was online, but cameras and certain robots were not active. And, of course, with the task of locating Silver's hooded figure, the lack of eyes was proving the challenge. If this were a new threat, Shadow could safely they were a pain.

Abruptly, Rouge jumped out of her seat, "That's it, I can't take this anymore. I'm going to check on Omega. You two– behave."

Shadow jerked his head, "They won't let you in."

"Ha! Since when did that stop me?" Rouge winked.

The bat slipped out, and the room was left with silence. Silver was adamant about keeping quiet, even after being addressed by Rouge, a trait Shadow found odd. Based on past confrontations, Silver had been pretty quick to respond when spoken to, and when he was not listening he would talk until interrupted. Shadow's memory wasn't the best, but he remembered enough to call this behavior uncharacteristic.

Looking at the gaping door, Shadow quickly decided to spend his time another way. Picking up his work (a notebook, pencil, and measuring tape), Shadow set them on his desk before pulling his leather chair free. The wheels rattled noisily, settling when the seat knocked into the wall by Silver's corner.

"You can sit if you would like," Shadow gestured to the seat.

For the first time in the last hour, Silver looked up, his eyes low from weariness. The white hedgehog looked at the chair, stared for a moment, and gently shook his head.

"Hm," Shadow frowned. Well then, "Would you mind if I sat down?"

Silver shifted further into the corner but nodded. Shadow took his seat.

"Now that we have a moment, I'm going to ask you some questions," Shadow explained, leaning forward to face the younger better. "Is that alright?"

Silver hesitated, but eventually, he dipped his head.

"Let's start with earlier. Tell me exactly what happened."

Silver tensed, fingers curling into his jeans when his breathing hitched. His eyes darted to one side of the room, then another, as for a reason why Shadow couldn't tell. All the agent could do was wait and take mental note of the time.

11:54; an hour and forty-three minutes since the attack.

"W-well," Silver's voice trembled. "I-I'm not really sure if I'm to be honest. Omega and I were walking down the hall like you––n-no, Rouge? Yeah, yeah––like Rouge had said and, well, Omega started talking."

Shadow hummed, nodding to ensure he was listening.

Silver continued, his body relaxing, "I-it was all okay at first, but then something came from behind us. It was fast, just a blur, and it attacked Omega. He, Omega, told me to run, and I did try, but…."

"All that, and you didn't get a good look?" Shadow tilted his head.

Silver jumped, "Yeah…yeah, no, it was all pretty sudden. I mean, it caught even Omega off guard, and he seems pretty tough. R-right?"

Shadow frowned, "Right. Continue when you're ready."

Silver faltered, his eyes creasing as he fought to collect his thoughts, "Well, I do know the person who attacked was dressed in black. Other than that…."

"Nothing," Shadow finished.

Silver suddenly jerked his head up, meeting Shadow's eyes, "I-I'm really sorry–– Omega wouldn't be in this situation if it weren't for me. If I had only helped him fight than trying to run away, he would be in better condition, but it just––it all happened so fast."

There was a pause, and Silver took it as his cue to look away again. Shadow, never one for words, replied, "If it makes you feel any better, Omega has experienced far worse. He's been damaged, but he'll pick himself back up. For some reason, he always does."

Silver's breath shuddered, but his hunched position had since disappeared. Shadow couldn't help but feel pride knowing he had said the right thing. Still, this was business, and he could not linger on sentiment for long.

Clearing his throat, Shadow asked, "Is that all?"

Again, Silver hesitated but nodded yes.

Shadow sighed, knowing well he wouldn't get much further. He might as well get the basics written down while the boy was still coherent.

"Okay," Shadow said softly, waiting for Silver to look up again. "I need to write this all down for the future record. What is your full name?"

Silver grimaced, "Aren't you meant to start with that one?"

Shadow cast an irritated glance at the door, "I'm not usually in the interviewing chair. Now, I need a name for documentation."

Silver regarded him with a calculating look, "Silver. Silver Sol. Hedgehog."

Shadow nodded; it was roughly similar to the name he had been given eight years ago. He proceeded, "Age?"

Another look from the kid, but there was less hesitance when he answered, "F-fourteen."

Shadow faltered; it had been a working theory, but now it was all but confirmed that Silver was younger than he had been in Soleanna. He hadn't known Silver's age from back then, but he should have been older than his early teens by this point. He supposed it might have something to do with time travel, but it felt too easy. Unfortunately, he could not think of a better reason.

Shadow coughed, breaking his silence as he continued, "To be clear, you did not notice any other defining features of the intruder?"

He heard Silver's breathing hitch, "N-no."

Shadow's expression narrowed, "Are you sure about that–"

"Yes, I'm sure," Silver snapped, venom in his tone. He seemed to realize his mistake, though, quickly turning his head and pressing his temple to the cold wall, "Black cloak, fast, Mobian. That's all I got."

The room fell silent. The agent stared, waiting, for the boy to speak first, but no attempt was made. Shadow may have assumed time had stopped if not for the clock's obnoxious tick.

Shadow sighed; Silver was no good if he wouldn't talk, and the most Shadow could do was threaten. He was in no mood to purposefully threaten a kid, even if his words would be empty. Until Rouge got back, he wasn't going to pursue an interrogation.

"Hey," Silver whispered, so soft Shadow thought he had imagined it, "What's going to happen to me?"

Shadow looked over his shoulder, eyeing the boy who still wouldn't look at him. In return, Shadow averted his eyes, "That's unclear. Most I can say is you're under G.U.N. custody until we have matters sorted."

"Yeah," Silver muttered, pulling himself tighter into his ball, "Yeah, I figured as much."

Shadow made a noise. He looked back over his notes, scribbling down small reminders and thoughts on the matter. It would have to do until they had the computers back online.

"You didn't see the perpetrator's face," Shadow muttered more to himself than Silver.

Silver answered anyways, "The cloak was covering his face. I could only tell he was Mobian. B-based on height, I mean."

Shadow hummed absently, pausing only to glance back at the hedgehog, "What makes you suspect this person is male?"

"E-eh?" Silver's head jerked up, at last making eye contact.

"You keep referring to them as a "he," Shadow said, almost absent. His thumb cradled his chin, "Do you have anything to back that up?"

"I-I…" Silver fell silent. When Shadow looked down, he saw the boy staring at the wall again. "I was assuming they were male."

"That so?"

Silver gently nodded.

A quick rap at the doorpost interrupted the hedgehogs' discussion. A human, dressed in a black G.U.N. uniform, was lounging at the opening with an amused smile.

Shadow was on his feet, "Leon?"

"Heh, I didn't take you for the babysitting kind," said the man with a taunting grin. His hand swept through his dyed purple hair that was left unkempt. "Heard you were in the building and thought I would come to check up on you."

Shadow huffed but had visibly relaxed, "We're fine, thank you. If you're looking for Rouge, she's downstairs checking in with Omega."

Leon shook his head, striding into the room with little worry, "I came looking for you, actually. Rouge and I still talk, but I haven't seen you since…well–."

"Yes," Shadow bit out. "I remember."

Ignoring Shadow's cutting words, Leon wandered the small room as though it was a newly opened museum exhibit. Inevitably, his eyes fell on Silver and his claimed corner. Leon paused, human and mobian caught in a trance.

"Who's this?" Leon inclined his head to Shadow, "Are you training newbies now?"

"That," Shadow stressed, "is Silver. He's a possible lead concerning the attack on Westopolis the other day. We were holding him for questioning when the building shut down."

Leon examined Silver with careful eyes, staring down the kid before breaking into a bigger grin. He dropped down to his knees so that they were eye level, "Lucky you, huh?"

Silver stared.

Leon snorted, "Don't worry, you'll get used to it. I'm Leon, by the way. I've worked with Shadow in the past."

That had Silver's attention, his ears perking and posture straightening, "You did?"

The human smirked victoriously at Shadow, "Yep! We were stationed in the same area during the broken world event. Do you remember that?"

Silver paused in thought, "Uh––Oh! Yeah! The ones with the purple monsters, rights?"

Leon winked, "You got it. Many people were panicking and needed air support to survey the damage and the airborne problems. So, they called in the best."

Silver was looking to continue the conversation, his eyes wide with an attitude he lacked before. It would have been a good thing, except Leon was not meant to be here. His thoughts must have translated to expression because for the brief moment Silver looked at Shadow, his smile disappeared. Shadow clenched his jaw, fighting back the words he wanted to say.

Leon only laughed at their reactions, patting Silver on the head as he climbed to his feet, "D'aww, don't worry about it. Shadow is pretty scary, but he knows what he's doing. Speaking of, Shadow, can I borrow you?"

Shadow's head jerked to attention, nodding robotically to the request. He glanced down at Silver, "Stay put."

Silver nodded. Shadow followed Leon into the conveniently empty halls.

"What's the situation?" Shadow grunted, putting distance between them and the office. He wished they could move further away from prying ears, but to leave a potential witness was a foolish decision in itself. He would have to settle for a few feet and a whispered conversation.

Leon, however, did not share the same thought. His hands pocketed and a never-fading good-natured smile, he didn't bother answering Shadow immediately. If anything, he seemed more interested in a stain on the floor. Only when Shadow cleared his throat did Leon look up.

"Ah. Well, to be frank, I just wanted to check up on you. Make sure you weren't falling apart yet."

"Yet." Shadow sniffed, eyes narrowing, "Is that all?"

"Was all," Leon stressed. "Until I heard about the kid."

Shadow tensed, fingers digging into the skin of his arm, "Leon, I'll say this once, this situation doesn't involve you. I have direct orders from Tower–"

"I know that, Shadow," Leon hissed, his smile finally dropping. "I know all about it. The others haven't shut up about it since Tower gave the order. I just…I worry if you'll be okay."

"Why wouldn't I be?"

The human pursed his lips, suddenly far tenser, "I…I saw the way you reacted that day. To the crash. I-I'd never seen you that way."

Shadow fell silent.

"Are you sure you're going to be okay? You know I can try and talk to the commander, see if I can have the kid transferred to me."

Shadow thought he might have swallowed a rock. He hated to admit it, but he knew there was truth in Leon's words. He glanced towards the office, then again to Leon.

Shadow laid his hand on the human's elbow, too short to reach his shoulder, "I appreciate your concern, Leon, but this is my task. Not yours."

Leon smiled bitterly, "You're task? You've already moved on, huh?"

"Leon, what are you–"

"Sorry, sorry," Leon waved his hand, using the other to cover his face. He righted himself, and his smile had returned, "Feels like no one remembers her these days. I mean, why would they? Accidents happen all the time, what's one more. It's not like anyone could have done something."

Again, Shadow had to bite back his words. He folded his arms, taking his turn to stare at a stain on the floor.

Leon made a noise, and his boots scuffed the floor, "I'm gonna go say hi to Rouge. Glad to see you're doing well, good luck."

Shadow followed Leon's back until he had disappeared around the corner, and the fall of his foots had grown distant. Part of the hedgehog had hoped Leon would have a change of heart, to return and add something more to the conversation, anything to distract from his mind. Now wasn't the time to reminisce on a past, he had a project, but the words they had exchanged echoed louder. Eventually, Shadow did uproot himself from his spot, hurrying back to his office.

He found that Silver had ignored his order of staying put to his surprise and slight disappointment. He was still in the room, the same half of the office, but now he was sitting comfortably on Shadow's chair. He was spinning back and forth on the torn chair, an immature fascination in his eyes.

Shadow didn't speak a word, unwilling to disrupt the moment. Silver noticed anyway.

"U-uh-oh, hi!" Silver jumped, nearly falling off the seat. He scrambled to his feet, patting down the old chair, "S-sorry, I know you said to stay put, but it was getting uncomfortable. You offered it before, so I thought it would be okay." The kid paused, "Is everything alright?"

Shadow glanced up at where the clock should have been, and as though it were there, replied, "It's late. We're going back to my apartment."

"But they're locked down, aren't they? I thought you said–"

"If I stay another ten minutes in this room, lockdown will become an evacuation."

"...You sure?"

Shadow huffed, "I'll message Rouge. But I'm leaving, and you're coming."

Silver did not argue again.

C:C:C

Warm orange transitioned into cooling pink, bathing the city of Westopolis as its sun dipped past the horizon. The inhabitants wandered about their day, unaware of the events that had proceeded in the heart of their city. Perhaps some lights flashed, but the incident had hardly made it past the building. That did not mean all were left unaware.

Where the robot had fallen, the streets had been blocked off, leaving the skeleton of the destructor strewn on the once infested area. Now, the only life that worked the area wore the G.U.N. insignia, monitoring and collecting as much data as possible while daylight remained. They had been some of the few outsiders who had been informed on events, and it didn't take long before the people guessed they would not be getting inside until morning.

With no easy access to their labs or supplies, most staff agreed to leave and store their data for later. Most.

"Oi! Mathers! Get your head out of the dirt, will ya?"

After smacking his head into loose debris, blue eyes peeked over the shape of the caved road to glance at his fellow forensic. The one who had called stood just only a few feet away, her hands on hips and cocked eyebrow.

Catching on, Mathers sighed and pulled himself, reluctantly, from the road he had been inspecting. Once on smooth and solid ground, he couldn't help but smile down at the woman, "Yes, milady?"

The female grimaced, a poor attempt to quench the bubbling laughter, "Careful there, Romeo. I'm just here to remind you that we're heading out. I would prefer it if you came along with us, where you won't be alone."

Mathers's smile fell, "As I said before, it is a tempting offer, Ma'am, but there are still some things I want to investigate. I'll be with you in an hour."

The woman's brow furrowed, "An hour? Well then, I'll stay with you until then."

Mathers shook his head frantically, "No, I'll be fine. You've had enough happen on your plate; you need to rest. I'll see you at home. 'Kay?"

The soldier hesitated, starting to reach for the man's hand before pulling back, "Yeah, okay. Stay safe."

Reluctantly, she turned away, about to make her way back to the remaining group when a hand fell on her head. She whipped around, allowing the man's hand to ruffle her hair.

"You too," the man grinned.

The woman gaped before her composure fell, and she descended into soft giggles. She pulled away, quickly fixing her hair and throwing a final goodbye to her fiance.

Mathers returned to where he had been hunched and picked up the bulky device he had been working with for the past five hours. It was white, with limited buttons and a rectangular black screen in its center. A quick smack and the machine flickered to life, displaying rows of numbers with idle speed. Mathers groaned, falling back as he waited for it to finish calibrating.

He heard the last of the cars leave.

It beeped at him, and taking that as cue he directed the device to the ground, watching apprehensively for a change. Now that it was only him in the plaza, he had hoped that the readings would be more accurate, yet still, the machine struggled to do as instructed. Even when there were fewer interferences, the device displayed unknown numbers that did not match the known chaos energy.

The scientist's eyes narrowed, hitting its side again and feeling it quiver under his touch. He figured there had to be some chaos energy in the area, nothing else that they knew of that could have transported such a massive robot into the city undetected. Yet the charts he was given were against anything he had ever seen. It was unlike anything G.U.N. had recorded. It seemed no matter how many times he retook the readings; it was always the same; an energy-related, but impossibly not chaos.

Mathers scanned again, taking notes of every reading that hardly changed from the last. He half-hoped for new information, something to clarify that this was just chaos energy, and he had been mistaken, but it was always the same. The officer sighed, looking down at his notebook with tired eyes and back to his scribbled notes. If the numbers were correct, the hard part was convincing his peers. Everyone had been so quick to believe that the Chaos Emeralds were at use; they always were one way or another. But if this was something new, if their enemy had access to it, it could tear their available defenses down. Whether they believed him or not, he would have to report his findings.

The heavy clang of metal startled Mathers to his feet, the man instinctively reaching for the gun holstered at his side. He scanned the empty lot, eventually focusing on a trash can that something had knocked to its side. Narrowing his eyes, he could just make out the silhouette of a cat digging through its contents.

Mathers huffed, "Darn cat."

"They are annoying…."

The man seized upon hearing the foreign voice, hands balling when hot air breathed down his neck. Breathing; it was such bizarre breathing; it was labored and distinctly garbled, as though the lungs were halfway underwater. They gasped, then hacked, and something wet splattered on his exposed neck. Mathers resisted the urge to squirm and instead see who it was behind him.

"You noticed," the stranger sounded disappointed. Mathers spun, hoping to catch them off guard but was knocked to the ground before he could catch a glimpse. They knocked the air from his lungs, the scientist gasping as something heavy placed itself on his back. The low, gravelly voice growled above. "Where are your notes?"

Mathers ignored them, trying fruitlessly to reach the handle of his gun. His fingers brushed the handle, but it was as far as it got before a sharp object pierced his upper back. The scientist bit back a scream, curling in on himself only for the object to be driven deeper.

"Notes!" The voice hissed with more power.

Only now did it register in Mathers mind that this was a creature that towered him, at least two meters in height. Something moved in the corner of his eye, something he could just identify as some sort of appendage that reached double his arm's length. He could have sworn he saw some sort of feather.

"W-what are you?" Mathers whimpered through his pain.

The thing paused, their breathing coming to a complete stop. Then, in a harsh staccato, it began to laugh, gradually getting louder and raspier. The warm stench of flesh, a smell he had only noticed in the deeper parts of his mind, was suddenly unbearable. Mathers's stomach churned, his lunch burning in his throat. Something sharp and jagged leaned close until it was brushing against his ear. It wasn't until the object spoke did he realize that it was the "mouth."

"Me?" it hacked, an almost laugh in its graveling voice. "Don't make me laugh; you don't care who I am. As if...ACK...as if you would believe what I was in the first place. No, no, you're one of them; you wouldn't care."

"Wh-what?" Mathers wheezed. He had given up on his weapon, it wouldn't do him any good at this point, but instead, he was trying for his radio. Indeed someone was in the vicinity. If he could just turn it on, they would be alerted to his location. His fingers had just grazed the outer casing when the object in his chest dug deeper, and this time Mathers couldn't stop himself from crying. The object had gone straight through, and warm blood was pooling around his chest.

"Shut up," it hissed, low and cracking. "I don't need your fake empathy. I need…I need…Dreamer. That's right. That's why. I'm…Where is Dreamer?"

"I don't…" Mathers heaved. How he was alive, he wasn't sure, but it was only by the cruelty of the gods he surmised.

And for a second, a foolish second, he thought they might have changed their minds. At last, the object was removed, and it hurt but he could move. Mathers gasped, rolling onto his side to cough onto broken asphalt before retching. He already knew he wasn't going to make it, the wound was too substantial, but he still had a chance to call.…

"No witnesses."

The last thing he would remember was the pressure to his temple before his head was crushed into cold asphalt.

C:C:C

Wow! Uh, hi! It has been almost two years since I updated this fic, haha. I wish I had a good excuse, but really? I got distracted. Rest assured, this is not a story I am ready to let end, not yet. It's one very near and dear to my heart, and there's so much to it that I am holding back simply because of spoilers for this story.

So, uh, anyway, thank you so much for reading this chapter! It's really nice to be back to working on this, and hopefully, the next chapter won't take as long (we'll see. Brain likes to go brrrrr and work on other stories, haha...ha). I know it's been awhile since I've been on , and in truth I've been far more active on my AO3 account (Orcinus_The_Orca). So if you wanna read some other works of mine...

In the meantime, please let me know what you thought of this! Constructive criticisms are greatly appreciated, and I always get so giddy when I get comments. Until next time!

–Orcinus

P.S. Bonus points if you remember who Leon is ;)