Shadow sighed as he relaxed on the couch. The house was quiet. Rouge was away on a G.U.N. mission, leaving Shadow on his own.

Rouge was worried about leaving Shadow alone, but he insisted. He didn't want her to risk losing her job just for him. After all, it was the only thing keeping the jewelry stores safe. Rouge was still concerned, especially after Shadow's last encounter with Mephiles…

He couldn't help but shudder. He could still see the glowing green eyes, inches from his own, feel the crystalline body on of his, the icy lips pressing against his…

And he could still feel the hands, running down his sides, along his back, exploring every inch of his body, probing…

Shadow felt himself curling into a ball, again, and took a deep breath to calm himself. Slowly standing, he headed for the stairs. The best solution he'd come up with was to distract himself by doing something; anything.

He explored a bookshelf for something to read, when he heard what sounded like footsteps. He paused, listening, his ears trying to pick up the slightest sound. After a minute of silence, he shrugged, and continued his search.

When he heard the sound of music softly playing, he straightened, glancing down the hall where he'd come from in suspicion.

"Rouge?" he called, thinking maybe she'd come home early. He started back towards the stairs.

"Rouge? I wasn't expecting you back until tomorrow-" he started, reaching the last few steps.

He glanced up, and froze.

He hoped -prayed- he was imagining things, but this was no illusion. The demon was sitting on the couch, feet resting on the coffee table, flicking through Shadow's iPod, which had been missing since the hotel event.

The slitted green eyes glanced at him, and a smirk formed on Mephiles' muzzle.

"Sorry, was I not who you were expecting, my little Shadow?" he asked, tossing the iPod on the couch.

A split second later, Shadow tore back up the stairs, vaguely hearing the calm, slow steps coming after him. He yanked open the first door he came to, and found himself in a closet full of a few jackets and some boxes. He slipped inside, and quietly shut the door, sliding into the corner with his knees drawn up to his chest.

He struggled to calm his beating heart, and to come up with a plan. He glanced at his wrist, and saw his wrist communicator. He punched the buttons to call Rouge, and waited, praying she would pick up.

'Pick up, pick up, pick up…please pick up!' he thought desperately.

He heard footsteps, louder now, as they started down the hall.

"~Shadow," Mephiles called in a sing-song voice, "There's no use in hiding."

Shadow kept quiet, still waiting for Rouge to answer.

"Very well, I love a good game of hide and seek. I'm an excellent seeker…"

'Rouge…please pick up…please, please, please…'

The footsteps got closer, slow and calm, which only served to reinforce Shadow's terror.

There was a sudden, loud, burst of static, as the signal finally reached its destination. Shadow hastily covered the device to muffle the sound, but he knew Mephiles had heard.

Things were quiet now, the only sound being Shadow's soft panting, which seemed unnaturally loud in the sudden quiet. He waited, trying to hear something, anything.

Suddenly the door was yanked open, and Mephiles was smirking down at him.

"Found you."

Shadow's wide red eyes met the demon's calm green and red ones. In a sudden burst of courage and adrenaline, Shadow rushed forward, slamming into Mephiles and ramming him into the wall. While Mephiles was shaking his head and pulling himself up, Shadow made a break for his room.

He slammed the door shut behind him, looking around desperately for a hiding place. Having no other options, he scrambled under the bed. He once again fiddled with the wrist device.

"Rouge, please answer, please…" he murmured.

::::::::::::::::::::::::

Rouge groaned as she turned over in the sleeping bag. She cracked her eyes open, and spotted her wrist communicator. It was beeping, indicating someone was trying to contact her.

She picked it up and pushed a few buttons.

"…please…"

"Shadow?" she asked in confusion.

"Rouge? Thank God…where have you been?"

"Sleeping…what's wrong?"

"Please Rouge, you have to come…please you gotta-"

There was a sound in the background, like a door opening, and footsteps.

"Rouge…you have to-NO! NO LET ME GO! PLEASE ROUGE! HELP ME! PLEASE NO, PLEASE MEPH-"

Shadow was suddenly cut off, but the sounds of struggling and muffled screams could be heard.

"Shadow? Answer me! Are you okay?" she asked, sitting up.

"What's happening there, Shadow?"

After a few minutes of silence, she heard more footsteps, and a soft chuckle.

It was very familiar, and suddenly Shadow's behavior made sense. Only one thing could make his fearless warrior attitude vanish and be replaced with a terrified submissive one.

"Mephiles…" she growled.

"Hello my dear, how are things going for you?"

"If you touch him…"

:::::::::::::::::::

Mephiles chuckled at the growl in the bat's tone.

"I know, I know…be gentle." He snickered, glancing at Shadow, who was now trapped in tendrils of purple mist, one of which was covering his mouth, silencing him.

"I swear to you Mephiles, if you hurt him, I will end you!"

"Your attitude amuses me, because I'm here, and you're there, more than a hundred miles away."

"Shadow, just hang on! I'll be there! Stay strong okay? I'll be there-"

She was cut off when Mephiles crushed the device in his hand.

"She should know better than to lie." He said, walking over to Shadow.

Shadow let out a whimper as Mephiles put a hand under his chin, tilting his head up.

"Now then, let's head some place a little more…private. After all, we wouldn't want to be interrupted like the last two times, hm?"

Shadow whimpered again, fighting tooth and claw to squirm free of the smoky tendrils, but in vain. The mist thickened, slowly enveloping his feet, and crawling upward until only his head was visible. His eyes widened as it slowly covered his face, and the last thing he saw before blackness was Mephiles' acid eyes locked on his own, and his twisted grin.

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