Okay guys, a couple things.

1.) Sorry it's taken so long, my life has been capital 'C' crazy.

2.) The story is about to get a little... darker. Okay, a lot darker. Bare with me, though, I'm going somewhere with this.

3.) If there's anything you want me to get done (aside from writing chapters faster), let me know. Someone asked for a very direct villain. I realized at that point I didn't have one. It's official! There's now a VERY direct villain! Someone everyone can hate!

4.) Thank you for your patience. If I were you guys, I would hate me for taking so long.

5.) Hope you enjoy the story! Review and let me know how I did!

Shadow sat in his room by himself, staring at the window to the rest of Pit's world. He'd never had a room with a window that let sunlight in before. Hades had been good to him, but he simply couldn't provide that. Shadow let the light warm his hands for a second. It was merely a room with a bed, but to him, it was a symbol of his new life. While taking care of the kids had always let him know that he was more than the haunted memory of his past, Shadow now had the chance to do more.

Aria knocked on the door, "Shadow? You in there?"

Shadow felt his heart flutter a little, "Yeah, I'm in here."

"Hades got bored of being peaceful and left. Did you manage to get everything moved into your room?"

Shadow looked to see a small blanket in the corner of the room, "Yeah, it's all here."

Aria entered the room, then saw the tiny blanket in the corner, "Um… Shadow… where's all your stuff?"

Shadow nodded, "Yeah."

"Um… well… I just have more stuff in my room."

Shadow shrugged, "I don't need much. I could have more stuff, but I don't really want it all that much."

Aria looked at the blanket, it wasn't very big, in fact, it would barely be big enough to wrap itself around Shadow's shoulders. Aria pointed at it, "Do you mind if I pick it up?"

Shadow hesitated for a second, then answered, "Sure, just be careful with it, okay?"

Aria held it up, seeing that there was nothing particularly special about the tiny blanket, "Is this really the only thing you own?"

Shadow nodded, "Yeah. It was a gift."

"You… really don't have anything else?"

Shadow took the blanket in his hand, "It's very important to me."

Aria looked at it, "Why?"

Shadow frowned for a second, then gripped the blanket tightly, "I was… h-having a really bad day when I got it, and it made me feel better."

Aria could see something in his eyes that made her worry about him, "Hey… you okay?"

Shadow realized his hand was shaking and steadied it, "Y-Yeah. I'm okay now."

Aria wasn't convinced, but she was going to let it go, "Okay. I have to go fight some Underworld minions. You gonna be okay while I'm gone?"

Shadow held his blanket close to his heart, "I'll be fine. I'm just tired after everything that happened today. I'm gonna take a nap while you go see what's going on."

Aria nodded, "I'll be back soon."

Shadow waived at her as she walked out of the room. As the door closed behind her, Aria saw Aphrodite in the hallway. Aphrodite looked worried, "How is he?"

Aria felt a little defensive, having heard about Shadow shutting her out of the mansion, but she tried to be polite. Aphrodite was, after all, a goddess, "He says that he's fine. He's going to take a nap. Don't bother him."

Aphrodite frowned, "Does he have his blanket with him?"

Aria squinted, "Is it a tiny, black blanket?"

Aphrodite looked more at ease, "Oh, thank goodness. At least he still has his blanket."

"What's the deal with the blanket?"

Aphrodite held her tongue, her face distorted to reveal just how painful the memory was to her, "Shadow should be the one to tell you."

Aria looked back at the door, her heart weighed down by the thought of Shadow having gone through something traumatic enough his family wouldn't talk about it.

Aphrodite realized something in that moment, "You love him, don't you?"

Aria turned to face Aphrodite, "What?"

Aphrodite saw the surprise in Aria's eyes, "Ah… you didn't realize it. Sorry, but you are. I would know."

Aria didn't like being told how to feel, but she couldn't deny the sudden feeling of butterflies in her stomach, "I-I'm worried about him."

"Aphrodite, go home." The two girls looked to see Pit, who had entered the hallway, "Aria, you have an assignment. Forgive my rashness, goddess of love, but you came here without permission. If you don't leave soon, I'll be forced to make you leave."

Aphrodite remembered where she was, "O-Oh. Right. Sorry, I'll be going now. Take care of my brother, Pit."

"I will. Aria. Assignment. People being attacked. Go."

Aria shook off her feelings and started running towards the door, "Y-Yes, sir!"

Pit put his hand to the door. Once he had finally convince Palutena that he would visit soon, he and Hades had a very in-depth conversation about Shadow. Pit had seen some of the Underworld's worst horrors, but never before had he heard of the events that had befallen his newest servant. Pit didn't open the door, he spoke through it, "Shadow, I want you to take today to rest, alright? Get some sleep and good dreams."

Behind the door, Shadow held his blanket to his chest as he whispered to himself, "I'll try. Thank you for caring about me, Pit."

Aria sailed through the sky, fighting off a small army of Underworlders. She was starting to pant, "Pit… *pant,pant*… how much further until we reach this guy?"

"Not that much further. However, this is an unusually high number of enemies on the Earth. I haven't seen this many from the Underworld in a long time."

Aria let this thought give her a little relief before she saw a horde of Orns appear, "OH COME ON!"

Then, like a bolt from the blue, Aria was tackled out of the path of the Orns. When she opened her eyes, she saw who had rescued her. It was a familiar face with darker hair than Aria remembered. His voice sounded familiar, too, "Geez, everybody keeps telling me the newest angel on the block is as good as I am and this is what I see?"

Aria raised her eyebrow, "PIT?!"

"No, that's Pittoo."

"My name is DARK PIT."

Aria broke loose of his grip, "So… are you here to help?"

Dark Pit pulled out his staff, "I came here to beat the crap out of stuff and fly. Apparently, I have a minute left to fly. You sure you're good at this?"

Aria squinted at him, "Are you going to be an arrogant jerk the whole time?"

"Oh yeah. Just wait."

Shadow awoke in another cold sweat, clutching his blanket as he tried to slow down his breathing. The sudden knock on his door nearly gave him a heart attack. He calmed himself down, "W-Who is it?"

A tiny voice shouted through the door, "DANNY!"

Shadow felt his heart return to its normal state, "Come on in, Danny."

As the door opened up, the little redhead and all of his cohorts spewed in through the door. Shadow felt happy to see them all well-fed, clean, and clothed in proper fabric as opposed to rags. Though, he couldn't tell why they had all come to visit him, "What are you guys doing here?"

Danny pushed his way to the front, "Danny and us think you are sad."

Shadow rubbed the boy's head, "Yeah, I am."

Danny frowned, "Why? Why is Shadow sad? Danny thinks that Shadow should be happy."

Shadow shrugged, "Sometimes, being happy is hard."

Danny hugged Shadow, "Shadow can have some of Danny's happiness."

The rest of the kids joined in on the hug. Despite how great he felt to know he had helped raise such a wonderful group of kids to create that wonderful moment, deep inside, that goodness couldn't penetrate a little portion that was full of enough concentrated hurt to keep him from enjoying the moment. Shadow felt a tear run down his cheek, "Danny, thank you. I need to be alone now."

Danny nodded, "Okay, Shadow. But Shadow will talk to Danny later!"

Shadow nodded, "Sounds good, Danny."

The kids took off, then Shadow looked at the empty doorway, "I know you're there. That was sweet of you, Pit."

Pit walked in through the doorway, "If only it was enough."

Shadow smiled apologetically, "Nothing ever is."

"Hades said that you tended to sulk alone when it comes back to you. You gonna be alright?"

Shadow wiped the tears from his eyes, "Not for a little while. After that, I'll be better."

Pit sighed, "Fair enough. We'll leave you alone. Just remember that we're waiting for you and that we care."

Shadow nodded, "I'll keep that in mind." He laid his back against the wall, hoping that the courage they were trying to pass on to him would stick.

Then a familiar shiver ran down his spine and he knew that it wouldn't.

There was nothing that could help him then.

Meanwhile, Aria was tearing through the bad guys just as fast as she could, Dark Pit not far behind her. When the two had cleared the room, they looked at each other. Dark Pit held a thumb up, "Not bad, princess."

Aria shrugged, "You weren't too shabby."

A dark voice pierced the air, "Good to see you're both so very humble."

Aria spun around, "What was that?"

Pit sounded confused, "I don't know. It feels… wrong. Aria, get out of there!"

A dark hand reached out of the ground and grabbed the two of them. It was only a hand, but the evil voice still creeped into their minds, "Ah… two young underlings to toy with. This should be most amusing."

Try as they might, Aria and Dark Pit couldn't move. The sound around them was drowned out as the sound of screams filled their ears. Their vision went dark. They couldn't feel the air. They couldn't breathe. Everything was going dark.

Then a shock wave destroyed the hand.

As they fell to the ground, they felt themselves thrown off to the side. Aria picked up her head to see Shadow standing where the hand once stood. He was looking at the ground with his back to her, "Corruption! Leave them be. You want me. You need me. I… I-I'll go with you willingly. Give me time to say goodbye and you won't get a fight out of me."

The dark voice sounded pleased, "Will you now? Very well then. Don't delay me, Shadow. You know how I hate waiting."

Shadow turned to face Aria, tears streaming down from his eyes. He walked over to her, then knelt down beside her, "Hey. This… this is the end for me. I've been through this once before… you won't be able to get me out of this. The next time you see me… you'll have to kill me. Don't hesitate. Here." He gave her the blanket he had been holding, "This is the last thing I'll ever do before… before I lose myself. I just want you to know… I want you to have this."

Aria wanted to ask him what was going on, to ask why he was going or where he was going. But her strength had been taken from her. All she could do was grip the edge of the blanket as Shadow laid it over her. Then she watched as he turned back to the empty portion of the room. The dark voice sounded triumphant, "Ha! To think you would return to me after all this time. Come, we're going to have a very interesting time together."

Shadow then vanished into the wind as a darkness enveloped him.

Back at the mansion, Pit was furious, "You knew this could happen?!"

Athena frowned from across the table, "It shouldn't have been possible."

Pit clenched his fist, "It shouldn't have been possible?! What give you the right to withhold this from me?!"

The goddess of wisdom shook her head, "It was just a hunch before now."

Aria rushed into the dining room, "Pit! Shadow-!"

Pit held his hand up, "I know. So does she."

"What?"

Athena crossed her arms, "Once long ago, a titan named Corruption brought a madness onto the world that couldn't be stopped. It wasn't until Zeus unintentionally decapitated him when he dethroned Kronos that Corruption was stopped. Even then, his headless body has managed to influence some of the gods. The most directly influence person was Shadow… who wasn't freed until it was too late. So much damage had been done to his mind… when he finally could move of his own will, he tried to kill himself."

Aria gasped, "No."

Athena nodded, "It was by the kindness of Hades that he was convinced to continue living. Hades drove Corruption away from Shadow and put down what was left of the titan's body. The fact that Corruption has returned is a terrible sign. I feared the revival of the Chaos Kin might stir him from his slumber, as the Chaos Kin was his champion, but I couldn't be sure. Today, my suspicions proved themselves true."

Aria threw her hand into the air. All the rage within her materialized as the back of her hand hit Athena's face, "SHADOW IS WITH CORRUPTION RIGHT NOW! IS IT OKAY TO WARN US NOW?!"

Pit put his hand on Aria's shoulder, "Aria, we'll get him back-."

Aria shook him off, "NO WE WON'T! HE TOLD ME IF I EVER SAW HIM AGAIN THAT I WOULD HAVE TO KILL HIM!"

Pit held his hand out to materialize his bow, "No. Now that a titan is involved, the gods can act. I won't abandon Shadow."

Aria pointed at Athena, "You. You allowed this to happen and made no effort to stop it. You're going to help us. Or else."

Athena, who was already miffed about the slap, squinted, "You dare threaten a god?"

Aria readied her palm, "I'm an angel, and I'm not yours. You let my ally fall. I CAN fight you and I WILL beat the life out of you."

Athena noticed the blanket in Aria's other hand, "That cloth! Where did you get that?!"

Aria held it away from the goddess, "Shadow left it to me. Before…"

Athena held her hands out, "Aria, you must give me that cloth!"

Aria pointed her palm at Athena's face, "This is mine. Why do you want it?"

"It's a ward against Corruption. When Shadow was freed from it the first time, it was given to him by Hades. Shadow was able to imbue it with his hopes. While holding it, Corruption cannot touch you. Give it to me and I can defeat Corruption!"

Aria shook her head, "No. If someone is going, it's gonna be me."

Athena was dumbstruck, "Why would you not leave it in my hands?!"

"If you had to choose between saving Shadow and winning. You would choose victory."

Pit agreed, "Aria, are you sure that you're up to this? Fighting a titan is something that even most gods cannot do."

Aria nodded, "I can do this. Just find Corruption. I'll beat him if it's the last thing I do."

Then, like a bolt from the blue, Hades burst into the room, "Where's Shadow?!"

Pit looked at the table, "If I told you… would you help us rescue him?"

For a solid minute, Hades was speechless, then he saw Athena, "YOU SWORE THIS WOULDN'T HAPPEN!"

Pit raised his eyebrow, "What?"

Hades clenched his fist, "This one promised that Shadow would be safe to leave the Underworld. She swore that there was no chance that Corruption would ever return!"

Athena had no shame, "If he did, we would know he was back. If not, Shadow would lead a peaceful life. A win-win."

Hades was livid, "For who?! Are you that worried?! Is what Corruption did burned into your memory so clearly that you can't live as long as there's even the slightest chance he might return?! Do you have to test it again?! I have an answer for you, idiot, HE'S BACK. AND NOW HE HAS SHADOW! THE ONLY BEING TO EVER TRULY THREATEN THE GODS LEFT HAS JUST REGAINED HIS ULTIMATE TOOL TO DESTROY US WITH!"

Pit slammed his hands against the table, "HADES! Enough. She knows what she's done. For now, we all have to focus on taking down Corruption. Hades, can I count on your help?"

Hades looked to Pit, "Until we find Shadow. Afterwards, I still plan on destroying you."

Aria as holding the blanket tightly as she heard the conversation going on behind her, "Shadow… please… just hang in there a little longer!"

Shadow held his eyes closed, "It is done."

"I can see that. I must admit, you defeated thousands more warriors this time around. You've gotten much better at fighting. However, your skills are still not good enough to last longer than an hour in the Infinity Box. You've once again lost. Why do you not open your eyes?"

Shadow cringed, "I know what I look like."

"Ah, that you do. But this is not about what you know, Shadow. This is about what is real. I think that until now, you've been pretending this is all a dream. It isn't. You know what you are feeling, Shadow. Open your eyes and look. It's not a dream anymore, Shadow, this is the real you. There's no escaping it."

Shadow refused to open them, "N-No. I won't."

"Very well, I will."

Shadow put his hands over his eyes to protect them, "No!"

A dark fluid ran over his skin, then hardened as it pushed his hands away and opened his eyes, "Much better. See? You're very pretty, Shadow, my dear girl. Now you're ready to have fun."

Shadow got a gruesome eyeful of the mirror. In it was a young woman with dark hair, purple eyes, and a lacy black dress with the black liquid holding her eyes open.

The only thing missing was hope.

Shadow knew it wasn't going to enter the picture anytime soon.