Okay guys, I'm going to skip the apologies and just let you know this: I am very busy. I have two musicals that I am rehearsing for, rehearsals being almost every day, two sports that I am playing, and a dramatic reading competition coming up. All of that on top of homework and this story being a very low priority leaves me with very little time to work on it. I will update whenever I can, but I must ask that you be patient with me. Enjoy.

Act II: Corner

Chapter 7: Revelations

Welcome back, Shadow...

The voice echoed through Shadow's mind. He knew who it was and what it meant.

"Who are you?" he asked the void.

You asked me that once before. Why read any further into it? You already know.

"What are you talking about?"

Haven't you already figured out that I always talk in riddles?

"Then shut up!" snapped Shadow.

The voice chuckled.

No, Shadow. I'm not going away until the game is done. Until then, I intend to have my way with you and your mind.

The ringing filled his ears again. It made him writhe and groan in pain. "Shadow! Shadow!"

He snapped up with a small scream. Cold sweat was pouring down his face.

"Shadow, are you alright?" asked a concerned voice.

He turned to face Rouge. She was dabbing his forehead with a cloth. Suddenly, a bright light shined in his right eye then into his left. He winced slightly from the incredibly sudden light change. "Pupil response is normal. Shadow, can you hear me?"

He nodded slightly. He felt a sudden twinge of Deja vu at waking up in this manner.

"Look at me, Shadow," said the doctor. Shadow turned to face him. "What is my name?"

"Y-You never told me," said Shadow, weakly. His vision was turning in and out of focus.

"Good," said the doctor. "That's right, I never told you. I'm glad you remember. Can you tell me where we are?" he asked, putting an IV into Shadow's wrist.

"We're in the hospital. Rouge is right beside me. Tails and the others are in a room a few doors down." He winced at the sting in his wrist.

"That's right," said the doctor in a calming voice. "Now that I know you're mentally stable, I'll tell you that my name is Dr. Ashton. Rouge told me that you were tossing around and groaning in your sleep. Did you have another nightmare?"

"Yes," replied Shadow. "It was a lot like the last one."

"Can you describe them to me as best as you can?"

He strained to remember something, anything. "I just remember hearing a voice in my head, then a loud ringing noise."

"What kind of a ringing? Is it long and high, or chirping, or wavy?"

"It's like a chirping. Almost like a..."

"A phone?" finished the doctor. Shadow nodded. Dr. Ashton nodded back. "It could be that you hear the killer's voice in your sleep along with your own phone ringing. Can you remember what he says to you?"

Shadow shook his head. "Everything he says is always so cryptic."

"That gas could have had a greater affect on you than we thought. We should probably take you in for a CAT scan. Wait here while I get things ready."

He turned, picked up his clipboard, and left. As soon as he did, Shadow turned to Rouge. "Are you alright?" she asked.

"I am now," he replied. "How long has it been since I fell asleep?"

She looked at the clock on the wall. "An hour if you count the time before Amy came out crying." He looked down feeling slightly remorseful. "I couldn't even make out what she was saying. What did you say to her?" she asked in a slightly convicting tone.

"I did only what she did for me," he replied. "I challenged her beliefs and gave her something to think about. This time, though, the world isn't at risk."

"She's bawling in the waiting room right now, Shadow. I think you gave her more than she could handle."

Shadow didn't respond. He thought of the single tear that he let slip in front of Amy on the ARK. Perhaps he had given her more than she had given him. A few minutes later, the door opened. The one who stepped in was most unexpected.

"Shadow!" cried Silver. "I felt like there was something wrong with you. What happened?"

"Nice to see you, Future Boy," greeted Rouge.

"I saw the killer, but he knocked me out with some kind of gas. Whenever I fall asleep now, I have strange night terrors about him," answered Shadow.

"Where are the others? Should they not be here with you?" asked Silver.

"They're in another room," said Rouge. "The killer tried to use metal weights to kill the victims, and one of our friends got in the way. We don't know if he's going to survive."

"I am sorry to hear that," replied Silver. "May I visit him?"

"He is Sonic's best friend. And Sonic is very sensitive about him at this time, to say the least," replied Shadow.

"I understand. If anything happened to Blaze, I know that I would like to be left alone with her." Shadow nodded. Maybe he had reacted to Sonic in the wrong way. "Has the new riddle been given?" asked Silver.

As if in answer, Officer Sells walked in the door, taking his hat off to reveal a thinning hairline. "Shadow, what happened to you, son? I got a report that your friend is in the hospital, but I thought you'd be visiting him, not checked in!" He noticed Silver next to the bed as well. "Who are you?" he asked.

"I'm-" Silver began.

"Another friend," finished Shadow. He wanted to keep Silver's origins to a very small group as much as possible. "I had an encounter with the killer, but he used some sort of gas to knock me out. From that point on, I've been having nightmares every time I fall asleep."

"Hm, I think I've heard of something like that. Right after Eggman went missing, the army found some notes in a hidden base of his that talked about some sort of nightmare-inducing hallucinogen. It might have something to do with that."

"That's what we're thinking," said Rouge. "Our theory is that it's Metal Sonic taking Eggman's orders to do the killings."

Sells considered this for a moment. "Metal Sonic, eh? Well, I always thought Eggman was more into the bigger empire kind of stuff."

"We never said our theory was perfect," said Shadow. "We do know that the Doctor's mind was never entirely stable. Something up there might have snapped."

"Well, I don't know if his head's clear or not, but I'm not so sure he's behind this."

An hour or so later, Dr. Ashton came back into the room and looked at the new visitors. "We have the CAT scan ready, Shadow. Do you feel well enough to walk down there?"

"As long as I don't fall asleep," said Shadow, getting up, "I think I'll be fine."

A few minutes later, they had Shadow lying on a bench with a white sheet over him, ready to enter the hoop-like machine. The room was a whitish color with several boxes for gloves and other medical instruments. His gloves and shoes had been removed, but he kept on his inhibitor rings to avoid overloading the machine. Even though the sheet covered his face, he knew that, through a window, sat two doctors staring at computer screens. "Are you ready, Shadow?" asked one.

"If I weren't, I wouldn't be lying down on this table, now would I?" he replied.

With that, he heard the machine begin to hum as he felt the bench begin moving through the machine before stopping. Trying to keep as still as possible, he waited among many beeps, clicks, and ringings. Thankfully, none of the noises caused him any mental trauma. It took a longer time than Shadow would have expected for the machine to merely scan his head. When the procedure was finally over, he felt himself being carted out of the scanner. "Alright, Shadow, you can take the sheet off now," said a nurse who had entered the room. He did so and stood up. The nurse handed him his gloves and shoes which he put on, following the nurse through the door.

"It'll take a few hours for the results to get in, but it should tell us if anything's wrong with your brain," said Dr. Ashton, leading him back to his room.

"Fine," said Shadow. "And if it's something wrong with another part of my body?"

Ashton shook his head. "Dreams originate from your brain being in a resting state. If we don't see anything here, we might give you a sedative and repeat the scan with you asleep."

"If that happens, let's hope I don't get a nightmare while being scanned."

"Well, it's really all about finding out what's wrong with you." At that point, they had reached his room. Shadow sat down on the bed. "Do you want to talk to anyone?"

"Yes," said Shadow. "Could you bring in Officer Sells for me?"

Ashton nodded and left the room. A few minutes later, Sells came through the door. "Close the door," directed Shadow. Sells did so and came to stand by Shadow's bed.

"Dr. Ashton said you wanted to talk to me?"

"The objective is in sight, but recent events have made it impossible to achieve." Shadow waited for his response. He was taking a risk, but if he was right, it could mean something very important.

Sells smiled and replied, "I am glad that you caught my meaning in the earlier conversation."

"So the Doctor is in trouble," said Shadow.

"I am not allowed to speak of his current predicament, but yes," replied Sells.

"You are a follower, then?"

"An android," corrected Sells. He lifted his shirt and opened a small door near his heart that contained several wires and blinking lights.

"His technology has improved," remarked Shadow.

Closing the door and lowering his shirt, Sells said, "My name is Superior Eggman Last-resort Lethal Spy or S.E.L.L.S."

"The doctor is in as much trouble that you are programmed to be his last resort?"

"As I said, I am not permitted to discuss the Doctor's current circumstances. At any rate, I have been sent here to assist you in carrying out the objective that he gave to you before disappearing. Do you remember what it was?"

"As I said, the objective is in sight, but not achievable because of the killings. Is my current theory correct?"

"Even if I knew, I would not be allowed to discuss it."

"Tell the Doctor that the current events have pushed us beyond the luxuries of secrecy and distrust. If this killer succeeds, then it could mean the end of me. He knows what that means."

Sells nodded. "I shall relay the message back to him."

"Good. Bring Rouge and Silver back in. If they ask, we were discussing to what extent the police could be of use in this case."

Sells nodded and left the room. So the Doctor was in trouble. Was this what Ivo had foreseen? More importantly, was one of his creations crossing a line that had never been crossed before?

Alright then, you have more questions. Give me some time and I'll give you the answers. Until next time.