It's finally Saturday again! This week felt very slow, not sure why, but it just did.

I hope all of you have had a good week! This chapter is a good one, I'm excited for you to read it. A lot of stuff is revealed, which I'm obviously not going to spoil here. :)

I don't have anything exciting to share this week, which is usually how it goes. Zeus was kind enough to wake me up in the middle of the night last night. He's shed at least though, but now Sage is shedding and running around constantly. He's a bit more sociable than most chameleons, but only on his terms. :3

Anyway, I'm going to let him out, so that he can run around the room. You can read peacefully in the meantime. :)

I'll see you all again next Saturday!

Arby xx

The smell was horrendous. Granted, it was far better than the stench of rotting flesh in the Wine Cellar, but it wasn't exactly pleasant. Shadow walked through a barred gate and climbed down a rusted ladder into the sewer tunnels. The air was stained green by the fungus, which made the visibility worse.

"Oh no…" Shadow whispered when he saw that there was a good amount of water still in the tunnels. He thought that they would've been completely drained, but that clearly wasn't the case.

One foot was placed carefully with the other following close behind. Very little noise was made as he crept through the water. He hoped with everything he had, the water dweller wasn't down here.

*Groan*

Suddenly, a figure could be seen walking from left to right at the end of the entrance tunnel. Shadow squinted and to his horror, saw that it was another of the split-headed creatures. He knew that it was too far away for it to see him, so he didn't hide. Instead, he just sat there and watched as it screeched past. His vision began to blur further the more he looked at it, apparently his mind couldn't handle the sight well.

Once it was clear. Shadow moved forward and noticed a spinning metal wheel. He briefly wondered what it was for before looking left and right. Left seemed to be the best option as the monster walked in the other direction.

He came to three routes, but only one of them wasn't blocked by a barred gate, which in turn forced him to go right. Shadow soon came to a room with machinery that was deafening, especially with Shadow's sensitive ears. Aside from a barrel of oil, which again contained very little, there were two levers. Shadow wondered if adjusting them would make the machine quieter so that his current headache wouldn't get any worse.

He began with the right-most lever and pulled it to the left. The machine got even louder, which made him pull it to the right. The noise level lowered and he went to the left lever. He pulled it right thinking that it would lower the noise just like the other one, but to his dismay, it got louder. Once it was pulled left, the noise finally became bearable. His breathing was heavy to cope with the headache as he left.

*Groan*

Only a few seconds after leaving, a deep groan came from the bottom of the stairs. Shadow knew what was coming and retreated back into the room to hide behind a pipe. It must have come right up to the door as its groans sounded as if they were right next to him. The creature didn't stick around long though and left to search somewhere else.

The hedgehog made it back to the spinning wheel to notice that it was spinning significantly slower. He approached it and was thrown into another flashback.

"Cream, wake up." Tails whispered. "Robots." He said bluntly. He could hear them approaching.

"What do you want?!" Cream yelled at them. Shadow could hear a metal door open and one of them enter. "Ah!" She cried.

"Let her go!" Tails yelled as he could be heard attacking the robot. He could hear the other one trying to restrain Tails, but he somehow broke free and helped Cream as well.

"Thank you, Tails." She said warmly.

"It's ok, but now we have to go and find the others." Tails told her.

"Ok!" She chirped, before they both ran out of the room.

"At least they made it out." Shadow commented hoping that his own situation would have a similar outcome. He ventured down the other tunnel with just as much caution, only to come to a dead end and a loose pipe. Out of curiosity, the hedgehog moved the pipe up and down until the end snapped off.

"Another weapon?" He thought as he took it with him.

Once back at the spinning wheel, Shadow had nowhere else to go, but soon thought of an idea. He got the pipe in his hand and timed himself. Once at the right moment, he placed the pipe within the wheel to stop it spinning, thus allowing Shadow to crawl through. After a quick grin, the mammal pressed on. The tunnel was blocked by another barred gate, but there was a separate path, which led to a room.

Shadow gasped at the sight which lay before him. Once the door was open, he saw the flesh of the creature all over the place. Within it was one of the monsters; it had been brutally torn apart. The hedgehog was lost for words. Did the flesh do this? All this time he thought that some pathetic tissue could never end a life, but the evidence was scattered in front of him.

"You had better watch yourself, Shadow. They are all after you."

"Espio…" Shadow whispered with his voice sounding uncharacteristically sad.

Ironically, a bottle of Laudanum was found in the corner, but that was it. Shadow really had nowhere else to go. He decided to go back, in case there was another tunnel that he'd missed, but he stopped in his tracks when the creature returned, tearing down a barred gate in its path.

*Groan*

While he now had somewhere else to venture, he first had to hide because this time, it wasn't just going to stop in front of the door. Shadow fled to the back corner of the room and stayed up against the wall. He didn't look at it in case it looked back. If he was spotted now, that would be the end of him.

It smashed through the door in one clean hit, leading Shadow to imagine how quickly it could tear him in half. Somehow, it didn't go to the back half of the room and only searched the front before leaving, allowing Shadow to catch his breath and continue where it had come from.

*Groan*

It wasn't long before he heard its groans again. Shadow looked around, but couldn't see it anywhere, making him feel a whole new level of nervousness. He travelled to the right, but hid behind a pipe when he found it. The creature was merely stood there with its back to him. He assumed that it was guarding the path that was in front of it. The hedgehog waited, hoping that it would eventually wander off, but this time, it didn't. The mammal now had to think of a way of getting it to move without it noticing him. He slowly backed away and searched the water for a rock of some kind. Once finding one that he deemed suitable and a bottle of Laudanum to go with it, he went to the path to the left and readied himself.

"1… 2… 3!" He counted and threw the rock just in front of him. It made a loud splash upon impact, which he was sure would distract the beast. Shadow snuck back around the way he came to see that the monster had indeed moved, making the path clear for him.

He chuckled quietly to himself as he swiftly made it up the stairs and out of the water, but as he came to a door, a disturbing sound caught his attention.

His ears perked up, he could hear distant screeching and it was getting louder. Shadow's eyes shot open at the realisation and he ran as fast as he could, shutting the door behind him. The monster was having none of it as it tore through the door and gave chase. Shadow came to a second door, which he opened and closed as quickly as he could. Again, this didn't slow the creature down. A light was at the end of the tunnel in the form of an escape ladder. Shadow leapt for his life, just dodging a swing of its lethal arm. He grabbed onto it and climbed at a ridiculous speed. He looked back to see the monster growling angrily at him before accepting defeat and walking away. Not wanting to tempt fate, the hedgehog headed straight up and didn't stop, regardless of the distant monster's cries suddenly bearing down upon him.

He collapsed against the well the ladder was in before it collapsed. Shadow shivered with cold as his fur was again drenched. The mammal had nothing to dry himself off with and the lantern provided little heat. For now, he was forced to endure it in this new environment. He had no idea where he was now, but he saw four doors around him. One was locked, the second had a rock slide with a lighter, the third was a dark corridor and the fourth led to some levers, both of which didn't work. It also had a barrel of oil, which had very little, a lighter and a note.

'We could hear very distant screams. It was very hard to tell whose they were, but we were forced to assume that it was Charmy.

We rushed through the vent as quick as we could, but with the unusually high amount of sentry turrets, it proved to be very challenging.

This place was huge, there's no way Eggman, even with all the robots in the world could've built this place in a day. My gut tells me that this base has been here a lot longer.'

Shadow took a minute, just to think. He had so many mixed emotions that it made his headache worse. He still didn't know exactly who Espio was, like he did with Charmy, not to mention that he couldn't remember the rest of his life. Would he ever get it back? Was any of it real?

The hedgehog could only sigh with the amount of unanswered questions. He left the lever room and headed down the dark corridor to see where it led. A lightless and eerie spiral staircase was soon in front of him and he couldn't help but feel very on edge has he descended. Something about going down had unsettled him. Once at the bottom, he searched under the stairs only to find three lighters before continuing on.

He was about to enter another corridor when more voices returned.

"You can hear that to right?" Espio asked the hedgehog.

"Yes I can. Who is it?" Shadow replied.

"I can't tell, but if it is him then we had better get going." Shadow felt himself nod before continuing to crawl. "We-we will get to him in time, right?" The hedgehog turned back to look at Espio.

"Yes, we will." He said sternly.

He saw a door with a sign saying 'Laboratory' to his right. It was boarded up, forcing Shadow left into a large, lit room. He looked over the banister and gasped at the sight of someone tied up to the ceiling by their wrists. His breathing quickened further when he noticed the black and yellow stripes and two antennae.

"Cha-Charmy?" He stuttered, not wanting to believe it. Time seemed to stop as he walked down the wooden steps towards him. His head hung low and he wasn't moving. His body, while having the same features, looked vastly different. His frame was so thin that his ribs were clearly visible. His jacket and helmet were nowhere to be seen as well as his shoes and gloves. Suddenly, the malnourished bee looked up as Shadow moved closer. His dull eyes stared at the frightened hedgehog and his mouth hung open.

"Help me… Pull the switch." His small voice wheezed. His mouth didn't move yet he could talk, but for now, Shadow didn't question it and pulled a small lever, which was on a machine next to him. All of a sudden, Charmy's voice was amplified and Shadow could hear him a lot better. The bee no longer struggled as he spoke. "Thank you, you have my gratitude." The hedgehog was speechless. He couldn't move, but Charmy didn't seem to notice. "My name is Charmy, who might you be?" This saddened Shadow deeply. Could Charmy not remember either?

"You… you don't know who I am?" The mammal asked.

"Wait… Shadow?" Charmy replied after hearing his voice.

"Charmy?"

"Is that-is that really you?" His voice seemed to be full of life, despite how his body looked. "I can't believe it!" The bee exclaimed. "Uncle Shadow! What are you doing here?"

"I wish I could answer that, but I don't know. Do you know where we are?" Shadow questioned, hoping that the bee would have some information.

"Not exactly, if that's what you're asking. All I do know is that I've been here for a long time." Shadow raised a brow.

"How long is 'long'?"

"Centuries."

"What?!"

"I know it sounds ridiculous, but it's true. I've been trapped here ever since I died." Shadow's entire world came to a standstill yet again with two words echoing in his head. His stomach sunk and he felt an enormous lump in his throat.

"Ever since you… what?" His voice was significantly quieter, almost a whisper. With a saddened voice, the bee replied.

"Ever since I died, Shadow… I'm dead."

"No… no you can't be… How?!"

"I was killed in battle. My memory is a little hazy, but I remember you being there and Espio and Eggman."

"Do you remember Espio?" Shadow suddenly asked.

"Of course I do. Why?"

"Ever since waking up here, I've forgotten everything. Over time, I managed to remember who you are, but nothing else." The hedgehog told him.

"Not even Espio?"

"Bits and pieces, but not entirely." Shadow tried showing him the note from his previous self. "Here, look at this."

"Uh, Shadow… I'm blind. That's why I didn't know it was you until you spoke." Feeling embarrassed, the mammal apologised before reading the note to him.

The bee took a minute to think about what he had just heard. "If it makes you feel any better, you're not dead, just trapped."

"But why?"

"My best guess with everything that I've learned is that you're here out of grief."

"Grief?" Shadow repeated.

"Over losing a son." He finished. Shadow slowly sat on one of the steps behind him and held his head. "That might be why Espio is here to and why you need to help him. He probably took it a lot worse."

"At least this note makes a lot more sense now." An uneasy chuckle followed. "How did it happen?"

"I assume you mean my death. I remember the three of us fighting Eggman-"

"Who is he exactly?" Shadow interrupted.

"An evil scientist who wants to take over the world. He likes to kill Mobians, which is what we are." Charmy explained.

"Ah…" Shadow replied before allowing the bee to continue.

"Anyway, I remember being in the air at the time before something hit me. It was right through the chest. I don't know what it was, but it was sharp and quick. The last thing I remember is slamming into the ground with your voices fading away."

"How do you know you're dead and I'm not?"

"I was waiting for you to ask that." Charmy admitted. "Whilst being here, many other spirits have passed through, one of which was named Maria." A sharp pain ran through Shadow's mind at the mention of her name. He remembered not only her, but so much more. The events of the ARK, Black Doom, Gerald, Eggman, Espio, everything! One thing that still remained a mystery however, was Charmy's death.

"Maria was here?" He whispered, but Charmy still heard him due to his heightened hearing.

"Yeah, her spirit wanders around trying to help those that are still lost." He paused and saddened. "She couldn't help me… I died far too soon, hence why I'm here. This is Purgatory, Shadow. I guess the afterlife wasn't ready for me yet." Nervous laughter escaped him. He wanted to lighten the situation, but he knew there was no point.

"Is there… any way for me to help you?" Shadow asked.

"Maria told me about a potion of some sort. I can't remember exactly how it was made, this was a long time ago, but there are three key components." The bee told him.

"I'll find them and I'll get you out of here." Shadow said with sudden determination.

"You'd really do that? The ingredients are hard to find and you may still be trapped here and-"

"I said I'm getting you out." Shadow replied sternly. "You're my son, Charms. There is no way I'm leaving you here. If I can't bring you with me then I am letting you rest." One solitary tear ran down the hedgehog's cheek, but a small smile accompanied it. Charmy tried to small also, but it was difficult in his husk of a body.

"Thank you, uncle Shadow." He said warmly. "Do you have a Chaos Emerald on you?"

"Uh… no."

"You're going to need one. I know there is one here, but it broke into several pieces and has been separated into the torture rooms."

"Torture rooms?" Shadow questioned feeling uneasy.

"Yeah, you see those two sealed doors over there?" He turned right to see a barred gate and two heavy doors on either side. "They lead to the Choir and the Transept. There are three torture rooms in each; I believe there are six pieces of the emerald. You get the idea, but I warn you, there's 'something' lurking in the Choir. I have no idea what it is."

"Well I do. I've ran into all sorts of shit just to get here. I'll be fine, don't worry." He was about to head off when he remembered something.

"How do I get the doors open?"

"There are two levers upstairs."

"They don't work." Shadow told him.

"There's a hatch above that table there. One of the cogs might have slipped out of place. Simply put it back." The bee explained. Shadow smiled warmly even though he couldn't see it.

"Thank you, Charmy."

"You're welcome." With that, Shadow grabbed the pot of oil that was on the table and stood on it. He reached up and flew the hatch open to reveal several cog wheels, one of which was lower than the others. Once putting it back, all the cogs began to turn meaning that Shadow had to head back upstairs. He ran as fast as he could, even skated, now remembering that his shoes could do that. Now that he had a purpose, a life, a son to rescue, he was determined to not stop until he was at peace. The two levers worked perfectly and Shadow was quick to head back down.