Shadow swung his legs over the side of the bed, rubbing his red-streaked arms in an attempt to warm himself. He was used to being a little chilly at night and when he woke up. After all, he'd always slept with the covers off, in case an intruder broke in, and he needed to get up quickly without getting caught in the blankets. This was too cold, though. Way too cold. It was still dark, as well. He took a glance at the digital clock on the nightstand next to his bed. 12:33 AM shined in a bright red through the darkness. He let out an irritated sigh, and his breath turned to white mist in the bedroom's frigid air. Something definitely wasn't right. It was late April; it shouldn't be below-freezing, especially inside. He stood up and made his way to the door leading to his living-room/kitchen, searching for what exactly was amiss. The only thing he could think of that could cause the freezing temperature would be if a certain blue menace had broken into his apartment somehow and fooled around with the air conditioner, in which case, he would kill said imbecile. He would've heard it running, though, but there were no sounds, save for his footsteps. He reached the door and turned the brass knob. It creaked open eerily to reveal a somewhat large, dark room.

Moonlight shone from the window on the right wall, casting shadows on the barely furnished room. He took a few steps forward and pushed the door behind him, causing it to close with a thud. After that, the unsettling, deafening silence returned. Red eyes scanned the area, the air thick with tension. Something was there; he could feel it. Warily, he stepped over to the small end table by his couch. On the table was a stone, trapezoidal object about the size of his hand. He picked it up, turning it around in his grip and observing it. He was drawn to it, just like he had been before when he spotted it at the G.U.N. base he was working at. Speaking of which, they were probably searching for it. He hadn't told anyone. He just took it and ran, and he wasn't sure why. It was like it was calling to him, and when it had been at the base, he could sense a small amount of Chaos Energy in it, as if it was a very weak Chaos Emerald. He also remembered becoming slightly weaker when he picked it up the first time. It didn't seem to be giving off Energy now; although, he could sense some in the room, other than his own, of course.

He turned the object over and noticed ancient writing on the bottom. The text was in the old tongue the echidnas had used. G.U.N. had become more interested in the Mystic Ruins since uncovering some of the professor's old research files and the like, so they required Shadow to learn the language, since he could learn much more quickly than any of the human agents they had employed. He wasn't fluent in it, but he could understand quite a bit of it. He eyed the writing carefully, attempting to make out what it said. He stood straight up, his eyes wide and alert. Something was behind him, directly behind him.

"My thanks for releasing me."

Whatever it was, it hissed like a damn snake. Shadow spun around almost as fast as he could run and came face to face with.. nothing. Absolutely Nothing. Was he losing it? No. He could sense it. It had to be there. His gaze darted around the room, scanning for any movement at all. Once again, nothing. He was the only living thing in the apartment. Another sigh escaped his lips. Perhaps he really was going insane.

"Shadow!"

It was a young girl's voice this time. In fact, it sounded just like.. Maria? No. There's no way. She had been dead for over fifty years now. Besides, he'd hallucinated about her before-

"Shadow! Please, help!"

The voice was far more desperate and distressed now. He knew it was just his imagination, but he couldn't help but feel the urgent need to help her. It wouldn't hurt if he just wandered in the direction the voice was coming from, would it? He placed the object he was holding back on the table, and began walking to the left end of the room, where the voice had come from. "Maria..?"

"Shadow!" She sounded happy now, and as if she was directly in front of him.

"Shadow!" Came the deep, hissing voice again.

His eyes widened, startled, and, before he could even think, something swiped him across his face. His head whipped to the side from the impact. He brought his hand up to his cheek, causing where he had been struck to sting. He pulled his hand away and by what little lighting the room had, he could see blood staining his glove. That he couldn't have imagined. His ears twitched when he heard the room fill with the menacing laughter of the invisible being.

"It seems you produce more Energy when you are injured and upset."

He glanced around the room, searching frantically for the other being, despite knowing he couldn't see it. "Where are you? Show yourself, coward!"

"I'm right here, Shadow." It spoke his name with venomous malice.

He felt its fetid breath on the back of his neck and an invisible force squeeze his throat. He choked. His head spun, and he couldn't move. He could feel himself getting weaker, his Chaos Energy depleting. What the hell is going on? He could've sworn he saw the hollow eyes and head of a goat-like creature, and everything around him turned to a void of cold blackness. There was no light at all. No sounds or smells. He felt the grip on his neck vanish, and he simply floated there, in the frigid emptiness for what felt like an eternity. He couldn't move or talk. He couldn't think. He could do nothing but simply stay there, existing. Then the darkness began to fade away, and the lights blinded and engulfed him in a warm embrace.

A/N: Ooh, he saw the lights~! XD There's not much to say here, except for the fact that I have an f'ed imagination, but I think that's pretty obvious. And of course, I don't Sonic or any related characters, and never will own them.