Miles walked through the door to where he had been temporarily looked over in his sleep by the agents of G.U.N not knowing what would be waiting for him on the other side, the idea that he, a small fox from the village of Knothole was staying inside a G.U.N base felt absurd…However everything seemed to real to be a dream.

It was freezing in the open corridor he found himself in, there was a strong smell of disinfectant that hung in the air, the air itself having the strange odour of recirculation that Miles's sensitive fox nose could pick up…The walls and floor were a drab iron grey, that slightly shimmered in the pale white lights that dotted the ceiling above, the floor itself felt icy cold, Miles shivered slightly, the sensitive pads on his feet could pick up all of the chilling feel that the steel had to offer…It felt like walking on ice.

There was no noise in the hallway either, it seemed to be deathly silent in fact other than the ever s gentle whoosh of air ventilation, it was…Unnerving for it to be so silent, however Miles was also aware this was the base of one of the most secretive organisations in the entirety of Mobius, it made sense for it to be silent…but even then…There had to be at least…some noise.

As he walked down the hall he saw numerous posters begin to appear on the walls, they each dated from a different era of G.U.N's existence as an organisation, there were posters from their founding over 200 years ago, there were ones from the Great Mobian War and even modern recruitment posters from not too long ago, hell during his stay in Knothole he had even seen a couple of them in the local newspapers, wanting to encourage young men and women in the military to join up with their creepy organisation, judging from what Miles could tell…He wasn't sure that G.U.N would appeal to anyone who wasn't a sociopath.

As he slowly walked down the hallway, he saw himself come to a small intersection, the directions heading either left or right, and standing at the crossroads between them was Reddick and The Commander, they seemed to be quarrelling over something…And from the tone in Reddick's voice, it was serious.

"I really don't know if this is a good idea sir, he's just a kid! He should be out playing Pokemon or climbing trees or something, not learning how to kill and sabotage terrorists and criminals!"

"Nonsense Lieutenant, killing is what he's meant to do! Besides, better we hammer him into shape young and have it be easier now than breaking him down and building him back up if say he was a teen or adult!"

"Yes but surely the ethi-"

"Are you questioning my decision…Elijah"

"No bu-"

"You have a wife…Don't you Elijah?"

"Sir I wasn't questioning you…just…Leave Nigella out of this…Please."

"Good Man…Now, here's the little soldier so keep your trap shut and let's get to phase one of the plan."

Miles slowed down in his approach, visibly unnerved by what he had heard, was the Commander…Threatening his own Subordinates? Miles was hardly a military expert, but surely most Mobian military or paramilitary forces had something against that! And to threaten his family? That had hit a new low…He had already disliked the Commander from his last encounter with him when he had first woken up in this cold, mechanical and unfriendly place…But now, more than ever he felt desperate to leave…But sadly, he knew that wasn't an option…His best bet was to go along with what G.U.N wanted him to do and escape at the first possible opportunity he could find…

He merely suppressed his discomfort and asked, "Ummm…Hello Commander, Lieutenant…I've arrived, what is it you wish me to do?"

The Commander looked down upon him, a manic gleam twinkling in his eyes.

"Ah Subject:92341 it is good to see that you're dressed, now that you're here we can begin the first step of your training, Reddick? Lead the way for our…Esteemed guest."

Reddick grumbled slightly under his breath before turning to Miles and saying,

"This way little one, stay close and don't touch anything, a lot of it is fragile or very expensive."

Miles merely nodded in response, he had no real intention of looking anyway, this was a G.U.N base so only the lord knew what sort of sick and twisted pasts these…Objects that lined the wall had…Maybe they had taken part in vicious massacres or the suppression of activist and terrorist groups…Whatever the case it would be best if he had avoided thinking about the subject all too much.

The trio walked for around 5 or 6 minutes before coming to stop at a large steel doorway…It's form was large and imposing, over 8 feet in height, and it's colours matched the drab iron grey of the rest of the corridors…However there was a sign emblazoned on the front of the door, it was a red painted skull and crossbones, like the old Spagonian pirate flags of yore, yet more…Modernised and beneath the more than intimidating insignia was the text,

"Danger! G.U.N personnel training area! Mess with the best, die like the rest!"

It made Miles tremble a little in fear just looking upon such a sight, however Reddick soothed him somewhat by stating,

"Don't worry too badly about the sign Miles, I assure you that it won't be as bad when you're inside, I promise." Miles noticed that Reddick was speaking in a softer tone than normal, he even gave Miles's bangs a quick ruffle, something that seemed to irritate the commander who merely grumbled in disapproval before pressing a red button to the side of the door, which caused the imposing entrance to open up with a loud hiss.

The trio walked in, Miles assessing his surroundings, they were in a gargantuan chamber, similar in size to the hangar aboard the Death-Egg, the ceiling seemed to open up into the night sky however upon closer inspection Miles could clearly see the presence of glass, they were standing underneath a great glass dome…The crack of gunfire sounded to their flank, west of them they could see a group of G.U.N soldiers performing target practice…Their rifles letting out aimed bursts of fire that ravaged the target mannequins, sending splinters of plastic and wax crashing to the floor as high calibre rounds tore into their bodies.

As to their right, Miles saw a gang of Soldiers exercising, performing press ups and pull ups with a level of speed and efficiency befitting that of the most elite soldiers on Mobius.

However Miles didn't seem to be getting directed to either of those places, instead he was brought to a curious little area, a small corridor like area where red tiles lined the floor, seemingly in random places…He was confused, what was this place? Why had he been brought here? What did G.U.N want him to do here? There was nothing the-

His train of thought was interrupted when Reddick clapped his hands twice, and a loud whirr could be heard…The red tiles slowly rose from the ground, revealing themselves to be large red boxes that from what Miles could presume went up to his chest.

"Miles, your task is to get across the obstacle course in the time that we provide you. That being 15 seconds, however don't assume this will be easy, there are other obstacles placed around the course so it won't be a cakewalk for you. Tell us when you are ready and we'll start the timer." Reddick stated.

Miles gulped slightly at the very mention of these…Extra hazards he would have to face upon the course…He wasn't hoping to be injured yet again any time soon…He looked out at the course and tried to chart a course in his mind.

"Hmmmm…Well the first obstacle will likely be the small arch I need to slide under and that shouldn't be too difficult…However chances are that it'll be booby trapped around there…So perhaps going above will be the way to go…Then there'll be those pillar like structures, likely made to slow me down and make me vulnerable to some insidious attack…Well I believe it would be best if I blitz through that as fast as I can go without getting hit or snagged…You know what? I think I just might be able to do this…" Miles internal monologue was meant to ease his mind a little, yet he could still find himself shaking at the knees slightly at the prospect of having to go out and face the obstacle course with no prior knowledge…However if he wanted to get out of here…He would need to take a leap of faith.

"Reddick! I'm ready!" he called to the younger of the two men, Reddick gave him a quick thumbs up before exclaiming to the boy,

"Ready…GO!"

Miles darted off in the direction of the course, he approached his first obstacle, the miniature arch and with a running leap he was able to land atop it, however…He wasn't expecting to suddenly feel burning, white hot pain flare up through his body, eruptions of agony blooming through his body like flowers of bright agony…

He shrieked in pain with the volume of a fighter jet roaring past one's head, collapsing backwards onto the cold steel floor of the obstacle course, he stared up at the sky, his blurry vision and the bell like ringing in his ears ever so slowly subsiding as he viewed upon Reddick's face looking down on him with worry and concern in his eyes,

"Miles?! Miles! Are you alright? How bad do you feel?" he frantically asked, squeezing Miles's arms and legs to see if anything was injured…Miles was too frazzled to even respond, his fur singed and standing up on end, making him resemble a rather unintimidating lion or bear that had just crawled out of a volcano, wisps of smoke rising from where the tips of his fur had been singed.

"Commander, was the shock-field really necessary for his first run of the obstacle course?" Miles heard Reddick ask, his tone slightly hostile and laced with worry for his wellbeing.

"Lieutenant I assure you, it is imperative he learns the hard way that things won't be easy in G.U.N, now…Get him up and ready. I want him to see him learn from his mistake!"

"But he's only 9 years old! Can't he at least rest a little before he goes at it again? I don't want to be responsible for accidentally killing the poor kid!"

"Awwwww getting sentimental are we Lieutenant Reddick? Well too bad…I want the boy to continue his training, now get him up or I'm docking your pay for a year!"

Reddick growled with rage under his breath, however softening his tone, offering Miles a hand up,

"Listen little one…I know that G.U.N may be hard on you…You may be injured or ill…But I'll be here for you, if there's anything you need or want to know then ask me. Besides…There's something I should tell you…Later tonight perhaps…Now…Come on up lad. You've an obstacle course to beat."

Miles, still too stunned and disoriented to speak…Only nodded…This was going to be a long stay.