Morning came. Eggman convinced Sheptilah to at least stay for breakfast before leaving.
"How did you warp away back at the North Pole?"
"Hmm?" She drank a cup of milk. "Witch orb. Sonic has one; so does Amy and Rouge. They can summon me from anywhere in the world with it."
"Do I get one?" He seemed eager.
"Uh, no." Sheptilah grinned behind her cup. "You don't need one."
"Why not? What if I need your help?" He frowned.
"The bond," she gestured like she was tugging on a rope, "Remember?"
"Bah," he waved her off, "That's not as fun. Oh, before I forget please give this to Rouge." He slid a red envelope with gold edging across the table to her.
"What is it?" Sheptilah ran her thumb over the paper. It was expensive, thick card stock.
"A present. She'll know what it is." He grinned.
"Sure, I'll give it to her." Tilly smiled.
GUN wasted no time offering to train Sheptilah as an unofficial member of Team Dark. Although she didn't catch on quickly with hand-to-hand combat she took surprisingly well to firearms.
"Finger off the trigger until you are ready to destroy the target," Shadow instructed. He was wearing earplugs and protective glasses. The gunmetal in the vintage semi-automatic glock contained no iron, so it didn't burn Sheptilah's hands. It was an older weapon but still in pristine condition. She opted to not put earplugs in but did wear the goggles. The weight of the gun, although it was unloaded, was almost comforting. It felt stable.
Rouge, wearing the same protective gear, was standing with her back to the wall behind the two. Her sensitive ears made dealing with ongoing gunfire difficult.
The range was empty except for the trio so they could take their time with the lesson.
With her index finger not touching the trigger she instinctively cupped her free hand under the grip where the magazine would go.
"You're teacupping," Shadow sighed, "Look." He was holding a plastic orange replica of the same gun she had in her hands.
"You're going to end up smacking yourself in the face if you do that." He gestured what would happen.
"Clasp your non-dominant hand over the dominant one like this, and watch the slide."
"Does any of this really matter, Shadow? This isn't going to kill a witch-eater." Tilly sighed.
"It's good to know if you're ever in a situation in which you will need to know it; but remember: don't ever shoot at a living target you do not intend to destroy."
"Destroy…" She repeated. "Napalu..."
"Most bullets are designed to cause a massive amount of damage to whatever they strike. Many of them actually break apart when they hit something solid. The metal bits that break off is called shrapnel. That's what does the most damage long-term if you survive being hit. Guns destroy their targets." Shadow knew first hand what chaos and strife gun violence creates.
"Never shoot at something unless you know what's behind it. Never shoot at something you don't intend to destroy. Finger off the trigger." It was becoming a mantra. Sheptilah muttered these things to herself so she would remember.
"Are you ready?" Shadow switched out the plastic gun for a loaded magazine.
"I don't know." She was nervous. Shadow gestured for her to hand him the gun. She did so by placing it flat against his palm and the barrel facing away from all of them. He motioned for her to step further aside. He loaded the magazine, put a round in the chamber and aimed.
The target paper was a vague humanoid silhouette with the organs mapped out.
"Range is hot!" He shouted. "Firing three rounds."
POP! POP! POP!
He fired at the target in quick succession; each bullet landing square into the heart. The spent casings tinkled as they hit the ground.
The loud, frantic noises sent a jolt in Sheptilah's chest. "Jeez!"
"That's why we wear ear plugs." The hedgehog shrugged.
"Okay, I'm ready. I want to try now." She bounced on the soles of her feet.
"Calm down… calm down," he couldn't help but crack a slight smile, "Why are you so excited?"
"That thing shoots out metal bits at blazing speeds, what's not to be excited about?"
"Fair enough." He handed the gun to her and positioned her hands so she avoids slide bite. "Do not fire until I am standing to the side. Take your time. The recoil may be stronger than you expect it to be."
A deep inhale and slow exhale. She aimed.
"Range is hot." She said. After a few seconds she pulled back the trigger, amazed at how much pressure a user had to apply. The first shot missed the target entirely but once she got her bearings she was able to shoot the last two bullets into the same holes Shadow made earlier.
The empty casings clanged on the floor. She ejected the empty magazine and locked the slide back.
"Nice shootin', Tex!" Rouge called, "We should get you a bazooka next. Eggman is toast."
"That was... unexpected." The hedgehog accepted the gun from her. "So you can't fight hand-to-hand worth a damn but you, an ancient woman who is unfamiliar even with the concept of wearing underwear, can fire a weapon proficiently?"
Sheptilah shrugged. "The gun does all the work. You pull back the thing and it goes pow!"
Sheptilah stayed with Rouge in her dorm for the night. Tilly drew herself a piping hot bath and got in. She played with her phone hoping to learn what the symbols meant. What was intuitive for the modern user are foreign, unreadable glyphs to her.
"Rouge?" She called for the bat. "I forgot to give you something earlier."
Rouge poked her head in. "How hot is that bath you're running?" The bat could feel the heat coming off the water.
"It's still kind of cold for me…" The witch reached into the back of her head and pulled out the envelope. She held it out for the bat. Rouge took it and flipped it over.
"What's this?" She opened it. A smile formed on the bat's face. "Oh! VIP tickets to the Stratosphere Club!"
"It's from Ivo." Sheptilah went back to her phone. "I don't know what that means."
Inside the envelope was a handwritten note on a folded piece of loose leaf.
To Rouge,
I owe you a favor or two. I heard from a little hedgehog you love the Stratosphere Club. I happen to own it.
Enjoy these VIP tickets.
Doctor Eggman
"It's only the hottest nightclub in the world! Getting a hold of tickets for the VIP club is impossible" She was floating off the ground from excitement.
"What's a nightclub?" Sheptilah scrunched up her nose.
"People get together and dance! It's a fun party. I think you'd like it, but you certainly don't have the clothes for it. I had no idea Eggman owned the place. Well, the deejay is a robot. I should've known; but that place is too cool even for him." Rouge was talking quickly. "Maybe someone else designed it and he just owns it…"
She gasped softly. "We should go! I'll take you and Shadow. It'll be fun, like a Christmas party."
"What's Christmas?" Tilly pouted.
"It's a holiday. On the twenty-fifth of December people give gifts to their friends and family. It's a celebration of love and charity." Rouge grinned. "I got Shadow a sweater. It says 'Merry Grumpmas'. I saw it and I knew he'd love it."
"Oh," Tilly smiled, "Wish I knew of that a bit ago. I could've gotten something for him, too."
"Ah, don't worry about it." Rouge said, eyes sparkling. "I'll have to take you shopping for clothes. You need to wear something besides GUN scrubs or your Egg uniform."
"I don't have any money or things to barter with," the witch said, "I'm sure I can get back to the ziggurat though and try for the coffers again."
"Money's not a problem, dear." Rouge snapped her fingers. "I have a lot squirreled away."
"I'll pay you back, of course. You can still raid the coffers whenever or if ever we get to them." The woman perked up and then sulked again. She set aside the phone, drew up her legs and rested her chin on her knees.
"Why do you run the bath so hot?" Rouge put the tickets back into the envelope and carefully stored it in her cleavage.
"I don't feel clean unless the water burns." She sighed softly.
"You're not self-harming with the scalding temperature, are you?" The bat was not easily fooled.
"Self-harming is pointless; I would just heal instantly. I'm just not clean until the water is hot and I like to linger in the water." She paused for a moment to catch her breath. "I'm really overwhelmed. So much is happening at once and I feel so weak. So useless."
"You are hurt by iron, right? Well, you're surrounded by it. In this century most buildings have iron supporting them and cars are all steel. Everything here at GUN and at Eggman's lair is all steel. You're not weak, you're just at a terrible disadvantage." Rouge was doing her best to comfort the woman.
"Thanks, Rouge." Tilly sniffed. "I guess you're right."
"We'll blow off some of that steam at the club. Though, maybe I should save these tickets for a special occasion," Rouge patted her breast, "Since you're an Egg Boss now and the good Doctor owns the place… you can probably get us in regardless."
"I really shouldn't show up to places claiming to be the head of a fascist organization. I'm a queen, not a dictator." She shrugged. "Then again… if I've got the clout I should use it."
Rouge grinned. "I'll let you finish your bath. We're having a sleepover in my dorm tonight."
"Why don't I have my own room yet?"
"You know what? I don't know. You'd think this place would have more spares and be more organized." Rouge shrugged, "That's above my pay grade though. We wouldn't be a government entity if everything made sense, was on time and efficient."
Sheptilah redressed into fresh GUN scrubs and wandered around the dorms in the form of a fat brown tabby cat with white fluff on her chest. Being so low to the ground most people didn't notice a random animal walking the halls, so she was free to be as nosy as she liked.
After finding nothing of interest she waddled back to Rouge's dorm and turned back into her human form.
She eyed Shadow's door and hesitated. She wanted to spend some time with him but she understood he valued his solitude.
"You can come in." His voice spoke from behind the door.
"Shadow?" Sheptilah was confused. How did he know she was out there? "How did you-"
"I can sense your presence."
Ah. That's how.
She turned the knob and let herself in. She softly closed the door behind her. Shadow was resting on his bed with a book in his hands; at some point he found his lost copy of House Of Leaves.
"So," she nervously giggled, "How's my familiar doing?"
"What is it you need?" He turned the page crisply.
"I can't simply spend time with you?" She rubbed her upper arm a bit. Maybe he wasn't starting to like her after all.
"There's nothing for you to do in here." He closed the book and set it aside.
"Well, there is," she hesitated, "I need to show you how to close off your mind."
She explained the astral projection and dream walking and how Eggman had wandered into her plane without meaning to. She taught the hedgehog how to seal off his plane and lock his memories. Shadow mentally put his entire life in an imaginary safe with thick steel walls and closed it tightly.
"It's possible for him to astral project all the way out here, but that's highly unlikely. I really want to sever the bond. Do you think there is a way we can do it without Tower knowing?" At this point Sheptilah was sitting on the bed beside Shadow with her hands clasped together in her lap.
"It's the only way we can maintain control over the good Doctor at the moment. I really detest the idea of him coming into my mind, however." He scratched his chin in thought.
"I'm making everyone suffer, I'm sorry."
"Oh, please. We are always suffering regardless." He waved her off. "It's always something."
"I guess." She sulked. "I want you to know something else, too. If I die violently it's going to destroy you the same way losing Hebat destroyed me. I wasn't always this weak and distant."
"So don't die." She certainly wouldn't be the first or even the second Overlander he was close with to die a horrible death.
"We had gotten separated in a fight against the witch-eaters. Nannae and those beasts… it was calamity. One grabbed her and it tore her to shreds." She had a thousand-yard stare. "Every day I wonder if my people let her die because of their hatred of her kind."
"Don't go down that rabbit hole. You won't come out of it." He snapped his fingers to get her attention. "I am Shadow, the Ultimate Life Form. I've been through worse than dream walking."
"What's wrong with everyone in this century? Why is everyone saying that? 'I've been through worse'? That's not a comfort, that's terrifying. You're kids! You should be out catching bugs and going to school. Rolling in the mud. Instead you fight monsters on behalf of a government entity." She huffed.
"We work hard so that others may get a chance to live and enjoy life. This world has always been dangerous." He nudged her leg with his foot.
"Bah," She flopped onto her back, "It doesn't matter; there's no possible good ending. If I don't die defeating the beasts I'll outlive all of you."
"You certainly won't outlive me. I'm functionally immortal, remember?" His ears folded ever so slightly.
"Alright, we'll outlive everyone by a century or two and then I'll finally be the last one of this group to die. Slowly, withering away one by one." She sighed.
Shadow leaned in and pointed a finger at her square in the chest. "You never know when someone is going to die. Live in the moment."
She grabbed his finger and pulled him into a hug. He resisted at first but then relaxed. She lightly stroked his spines downward so as not to prick herself. Unlike Hebat, who was fluffy and soft, Shadow was akin to a cactus.
"You're right, as usual." It was quiet for a moment.
"Thanks for carrying me around without complaining when I exhausted myself. I appreciate that."
"What? Oh, goodness!" Sheptilah laughed. "Okay, yes I had a lot of trouble seeing around your spines," she patted one cluster for emphasis, "But it wasn't bad at all."
"I do have a big head, don't I?"
"Not nearly as big as Ivo's." She said under her breath. She began to scratch the back of his ear. "Rouge wants to take us clubbing. I'm still not completely sure what that means. Eggman gave her some VIP tickets to Stratosphere."
"Oh, God," Shadow rested his cheek against her Oracle Stone, "I guess he remembered I told him she liked that place."
Sheptilah shuddered. The sensation of the stone being rubbed up against, even by a familiar, was so weird. Similar to the feeling of a brain freeze except it was felt in the chest.
"I kind of want to go. I want to know what kids do these days. Rouge thinks I can get us in without using up the tickets on the virtue of me being an Egg Boss. She's so determined, I can't say no."
"I guess that means I have to go to to babysit you. I can't imagine how much trouble the two of you will cause if I'm not there to chaperone." Shadow could feel the stone pulsing as if it had its own heartbeat.
"What's the thing about the red moon? I read about it in the grimoire." Shadow drew up his knees. The stroking was making him fall asleep and his voice got quiet. Under the touch of his witch he seemed to unwillingly melt away and become vulnerable.
Sheptilah squeaked. "What?"
"The lunar eclipse," he shut his eyes, "And does it affect me, too?"
"Oh, dear gods, no. Only someone with a stone. It uh…" She chose her words very carefully. "Exposure to the moonlight of a lunar eclipse, which appears red for most of it, makes the magic in the Oracle Stone frantic. Manic, even. Witches and familiars alike have trouble maintaining their forms for a while afterward. Their behavior is unpredictable and can become violent."
"Have you ever been exposed to it?"
"A red moon? No. We were very careful about that and I want to keep it that way." She rested one hand behind her head and kept petting Shadow with the other. "The rapid change of the lunar phases is what does it."
"That sounds exhausting, having to do things by the moon."
"You have no idea." Sheptilah snorted. "I think I should head off to Rouge's room now. I'm falling asleep."
Shadow shifted positions and put his arm around her waist. He hated feeling vulnerable and tried his best to hide every bit of weakness he had. In the end, just like Eggman, he was touch-starved and quietly accepted the affection shown to him.
Being carried for hours half-asleep was something he never experienced before and would treasure the memory of being treated so tenderly. He wondered if that's how toddlers felt when a parent gently rocked them back and forth to make them fall asleep.
"Shadow," she lightly flicked his ear, "I gotta get up."
"Okay." He sat up so she could stand. "I don't sleep much but I still ask that you stay out of my dreams."
"I don't like wandering when I'm asleep. I won't go anywhere near your plane while I'm asleep, I promise." She stood and stretched.
"Good night." Shadow picked his book up and resumed reading it, a little sad to be left alone.