The big DWMA celebration. It was going to be a memorable night. People inside and out of Death City were completing their preparations.

Shadow finished putting on his suit then checked himself in the mirror. Plain gray suit. Black tie. No crimson shirt underneath, just a clean, white one. It wasn't anything special, and that was to his preference. He'd grown tired of the flashy black suit from his dreams. The one with the thin, red stripes. Although it had been a while since his nightmares had returned, he wasn't taking any chances. The looming darkness. That hunger, or whatever it was. He'd push those notions far from his mind tonight, and they'd be most unwelcome upon their return. Perhaps they'd stay away for good? Perhaps a new Shadow would take the stage tonight. One that didn't lose control. One that didn't endanger Sonic.

The new Shadow, the one that didn't lose control, emerged from his room to find his meister standing outside the hall.

"You look great," Sonic said.

There it was again. That feeling. Best to ignore it.

"I think I'm gonna stick with goon mode," The blue hedgehog looked down at his untucked, white undershirt. He had a black suit jacket without a tie.

"You'll disappoint Amy," The old Shadow, the one that lost control, smiled playfully at his meister.

Sonic frowned. "She can say what she wants. I'm not going all out for smelly Eggman's smelly party,"

The two exited their apartment, arriving at smelly Eggman's smelly party after a peaceful walk. Many guests were filtering through the main entrance when the two arrived. The party was taking place high up into the main tower at the center of campus. Sonic and Shadow easily found Tails and Knuckles. The fox wore a neat, navy blue suit with a white undershirt and red bowtie. The echidna wore a black suit jacket, pants with no belt, no undershirt, and a long polka dotted tie that wasn't properly fastened.

"Knuckles! What are you thinking showing up like that?"

Amy had arrived. She wore a mauve dress and complimentary high-heels. The arms of her black jacket rustled when she crossed them and glared at the echidna.

"Look, I put on the tie, alright?" Knuckles huffed.

"You might as well have just worn your usual clothes," Amy glanced at Sonic. "You too? Tails and Shadow are the responsible ones, as usual,"

Responsible? The old Shadow, the one that lost control, wondered if she'd say that after learning he'd nearly devoured Sonic's soul. The thought gave him a sick sort of amusement.

"This whole thing is lame anyway," Sonic shrugged.

"If a party like this won't get you to fully dress up, what will?" Amy asked.

"Something better,"

"Something like a wedding?" Her stern expression became mischievous.

"Don't go getting any ideas,"

The students walked together and entered the main building. Once there, they saw their professor talking with Vanilla, who had Cream with her. Starline was wearing his usual colors with a black suit jacket and tie added this time. The death scythe wore a happy pink dress, matching her daughter's.

"Here's a lively bunch," Starline spoke once he saw his students. "Is it too much to expect that you all be on your best behavior tonight?"

"Oh, you're one to talk Starline. Always up to something," Vanilla chuckled.

"You two know each other?" Amy asked.

"Starline and I used to pair up all the time back when we were students. He was quite the troublemaker back then,"

"No way," Tails said.

"Yes, he was always conducting some wild experiment. He was a real heartbreaker too,"

"Not in front of my students Vanilla!"

Knuckles patted his professor on the back violently. "What? You didn't want us knowing you were a big hit with all the girls?"

"Girls?"

Knuckles sputtered a bit and felt himself blush. "Well, I uh-"

Sonic laughed. "So you're not secretly Cream's dad?" Shadow snickered and covered his mouth.

Starline sighed. "I sincerely hope no one thought that was physically possible,"

"Besides, if he were Cream's father, he'd have had her piloting a mech by now," Vanilla said.

"Let's not take an idea like that off the table. I haven't finalized my plans for next semester yet," Starline looked around and his eyes lit up. He raised his hand and waved. "Lord Death! Vanilla's just arrived,"

"Starline!" Vanilla pushed his hand down out of the air but it was too late. The DWMA's very own Grim Reaper entered the scene.

"Ah, Vanilla. You're looking even lovelier than usual,"

"Thank you. I suppose the party is kicking off soon?"

"We'll give the guests a few more minutes to arrive," Eggman glanced at Sonic and his friends and tried hiding his distaste. "In the meantime, I'll head back upstairs to make sure everything's ready,"

After those few minutes passed, the plurality of guests were in the highest part of the tower. The room was sprawling and ornate. The center of the room was a round dance floor connected to a stage lined with curtains. There was an assortment of food atop many tables nearby. Part of the room opened up into a large balcony that overlooked Death City. Eggman stepped upon the stage and stood at the podium. All of the guests gathered on the dance floor turned their attention at him once he spoke.

"I would like to thank everyone for being here today. The DWMA has had quite a lot going on this year, and I know you've all been busy. I've had a pretty major change in the works for some time that I'm glad I can finally announce. I've revised the appointments of all active death scythes so that I can have a full time personal weapon once again. Please help me officially welcome Vanilla back to DWMA headquarters.

Amy and Cream cheered alongside the applause. Vanilla waved at the crowd once and stood at the podium.

"I don't have a speech prepared, so I'll keep it short. I'm glad to be back in Death City, and I hope we can all enjoy ourselves tonight,"

Vanilla stepped aside and the crowd gave another round of applause. Eggman returned to the podium and brought out a large stack of papers.

"I wanted to take this opportunity to speak on a number of topics…"

Vanilla whispered something to Eggman and he set the stack of papers down.

"On second thought there's music, there's food. Let's party!"

The crowd seemed to agree. The people dispersed. A group of robots welding instruments took the stage and began playing pleasant music.

Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles headed for the food. Sonic noticed that Shadow had disappeared, but he wouldn't be hard to find. The blue hedgehog entered the balcony and found his weapon alone.

"Having fun?"

"A blast,"

"Yeah, the party's pretty lame," Sonic leaned his back on the railing and set down his plate of food. He picked up a toothpick and bit the slice of barbecued meat attached to the end. "Food's good at least,"

The blue hedgehog looked over at his weapon. He seemed so calm and unburdened as he looked out at Death City. But Sonic knew that Shadow was always hiding something, whether intentional or not. The last two months were proof of that much. At the very least, he wanted to clear the air around the intentional secrets.

"I know things have been weird lately. You know you can tell me if anything's bothering you, right?"

"Yeah,"

Sonic paused, hoping there would be more. "So you're feeling alright?"

"Yeah,"

Still nothing. Sonic kept thinking about Shadow's nightmares. What were they about? Why wouldn't he mention them? He could feel himself getting frustrated, but decided to push that feeling aside. Forcing a confrontation here wouldn't help anything. Changing the subject might be better for now.

"You should dance,"

Shadow glanced around the vicinity, then back at Sonic. "You're kidding, right?"

"Oh come on, Mr. Amnesia. You don't have memories of dancing do you?"

"Of course not,"

"Then how do you know you don't like it?" Sonic leaned over slightly and gave Shadow a smug smile.

Shadow rolled his eyes and hoped his lack of response would end the discussion. His meister wouldn't let him off that easy.

"I bet I could figure out a way to get you to dance tonight,"

Shadow continued looking out at death city in an attempt to ignore Sonic.

"If you really don't want to, just tell me why,"

More silence.

"I'm not gonna leave you alone, so you better start talking,"

Shadow spared an unamused glance from the corner of his eye. His meister looked like he was having too much fun. Another voice joined them on the balcony.

"Soooooooooniiiiiiiiic,"

Both hedgehogs saw Amy standing under one of the archways lining the balcony entrance. Her hands were on her hips; she had brought a determined smile. "There you are! You owe me a dance!"

"No I-,"

"Amy. Perfect timing. Sonic was just saying he wanted to dance,"

"Sh-Shadow!" Sonic's burning face held an expression of shock along with betrayal. Shadow looked back at him with the cockiest smile he'd ever given.

"I knew it! Thanks Shadow," Amy grabbed onto Sonic's left arm with an unsettling amount of strength. He sputtered a range of syllables while trying to think of something to say. Nothing came to mind as he was dragged away. All he could think about was his weapon's traitorous smile. Sonic's body slumped as he resigned to his fate. He'd get Shadow back for this, somehow.

The new Shadow, the one that didn't lose control, sat alone on the balcony once more. He noticed that Sonic's food plate was still there. It was predictably filled with different barbecued meats, but there were some items that caught Shadow's attention. He knew Sonic hated things like raw seafood yet there were three pieces of sushi and some slices of salmon on the corner of the plate. His meister preferred his protein be grilled or deep fried. Maybe even mixed into or covered in chili. So why did he have food like this now?

"Oh,"

So Sonic remembered that his weapon liked seafood. They'd both found out at the same time, back when Sonic didn't know about Shadow's amnesia. It was after a mission somewhere on the coast. They just wandered around, eating all kinds of different foods that day. Most things were a new experience to Shadow back then.

Shadow picked up one piece of sushi and popped the little disc into his mouth. The cool temperature and unique taste of the food was satisfying. He was feeling a little better.

A chill ran up his back. It soon faded, but something else had come with it.. It was almost as if something was poking at his mind. Shadow focused on the strange sensation. It began feeling more like an unbelievably thin string was tied to his very being, connecting with something very far away.

The feeling persisted. Shadow glanced back at the party, but couldn't see anything out of the ordinary.

"Are you going to stand here all night looking so serious? We're supposed to be celebrating,"

Silver approached Blaze, who was looming over the party as if she were a guard on duty. She wore a gold colored dress that suited her fur. Silver was dressed in the suit he usually wore while on duty.

"What is it I should be celebrating? The fact that I failed to destroy the Darkling twice or the fact that there could be a Kishin lying in wait somewhere?" Blaze replied in a subdued tone so only Silver could hear.

"You should celebrate the fact that we're still here. That we can still do something about those problems,"

Blaze relaxed just a bit. Her weapon had such a nasty habit of being relentlessly positive and reassuring. "I'll try to take it easy tonight,"

"Great, now let's go dance,"

"It's really not for me," Blaze dismissed.

"I know you hate all the stuffy parties back home, but you only hate dancing because it's improper for the princess of Sol to be the lead during a partnered dance. We're in Death City now though, so let's have some fun!"

"Silver…" Blaze was taken aback by her own embarrassment. She wondered if Silver's psychic powers allowed him to read minds as well. "I can't,"

"And I can't let you stay here worrying all night!"

Silver grabbed onto Blaze's left arm with an unsettling amount of strength. She sputtered a range of syllables while trying to think of something to say. Nothing came to mind as she was dragged away. It was no use. Blaze's body slumped as she resigned to her fate.

Starline looked around the room. He saw Blaze taking the lead in her dance with Silver. Both seemed content. Sonic and Amy were dancing as well. Amy was happily leaning on Sonic, who didn't seem thrilled. Tails and Knuckles were off to the side, loafing around. Starline knew Shadow was on the balcony. He looked around the room further to note the locations of more DWMA students and staff. Then, he made his move.

Tikal leaned on a wall near the dance floor, away from most of the others. She reached out with her mind to check on her allies. Their progress almost set her mind at ease before Starline appeared in front of her.

"You looked like you were having fun for a moment there,"

Tikal faked a laugh. "Ah, Starline. You're never too far away,"

"Well, I have to keep an eye on you since you're a witch,"

An awkward bit of silence came before Tikal chuckled only once. "Are you giving me a hard time again?"

"No, I'm afraid not. You're under investigation by the DWMA right now. Omega was sent off to investigate your home. He's been absent for quite some time. That's more than strange, wouldn't you say?"

"You're joking aren't you?"

"The sincerity in your tone faded pretty quick. Why not drop the act?

Tikal's failing look of kindness left entirely. A hint of amusement crept back in shortly after.

"Arlight. I'm a witch. But not just any witch. I'm the one who created the darkling,"

Starline smiled. The air amidst him and Tikal became quite sinister.

"And you infiltrated the DWMA. Between that and feeding the darkling, you must be very busy indeed. Why go through all the trouble?"

"I'm looking for a special something that Lord Death has hidden away," Tikal saw a look of understanding come from Starline's eyes. She spoke once more. "You know what I'm after, but do you know why I'm telling you?"

"Because you think I can't stop you,"

Starline rammed his open palm into the wall. His soul force energy sent cracks through it. He'd intended to hit Tikal, but his arm phased through her. This was just a projection; the real Tikal was outside.

Her and Infinite stood atop another tower that was some distance away from the main one. The jackal had his hand out; his energy was shaped like a cube that surrounded Tikal, creating the projection that attended the party. Now that her projection was gone, Infinite aimed both hands at the main tower. His wavelength swelled, and energy filled the air.

"Configuration complete in 3…"

"Starline! What's wrong?"

It was Tails with Knuckles at his side. Sonic ran over quickly as well, with Shadow beelining for his meister. Silver and Blaze approached as well without missing a beat. The rest of the guests stood in place, shocked.

"2…"

"They're locking us in," Starline's voice was quiet. He only became fully aware of the meisters and weapons around him when he frantically tried coming up with a plan.

"1…."

"Please work," Starline held up a gloved fist with a gem embedded in the center.

Infinite gave off a final wave using both of his hands, disconnecting him from the flickering, purple energy that filled the air. The magic formed a neat cube that engulfed the upper part of the tower along with everyone inside.

"Null space prison, complete. That gives us one hour," Infinite held out his hand. "Shall we?"

The black blood-dragon flew through the air around the two witches with Eclipse dangling below. Shade appeared on a nearby spire with an attache case in one hand. Tikal took Infinite's hand and smiled a sinister smile.

"Plenty of time for us to meet the kishin,"

Starline's office was a bit of a mess. He did a good job of keeping his desk in order, but an ongoing project was muddying the rest of the room. Various cables and pylons formed a circle that took up a lot of space and weren't neat in the slightest. They sat inactive in the darkened office for most of the night, but were now coming to life.

A bright flash of energy came, then a circle formed in the air, aimed at the ground. Lines of energy came from the pylons that stabilized the portal. Starline, Sonic, Shadow, Blaze, Silver, Tails, and Knuckles all came through the ring of energy. The portal quickly faded when the machines deactivated.

Tails looked around at the surrounding machinery. "We teleported?"

The professor flipped on the lights before examining his machine. "It's a prototype warp system I've been working on. It's connected to an artificial topaz I synthesized," Starline plucked a darkened, cracked gem from his glove and examined it. "Difficult to produce, and only good for one use over a short distance. Damn thing," He tossed the stone into a bin near his desk, then began typing a few commands into his computer.

"What's going on? Why did you bring us here?" Sonic asked.

"The DWMA is under attack. Also, the school's nurse, Tikal, is a witch. She's the darkling's creator, and is likely leading the assault,"

Starline got up from his desk and stood in front of the others. The entire group was stunned including Blaze, who also looked furious.

"What? How long have you known?"

"I had my suspicions, but only just confirmed it. It seems our attempt to retrieve evidence was interfered with. She swapped herself with an illusion sometime during the party, one that blended in with all the other souls gathered at the party. I was careless,"

"I can sense a lot of magical energy above us now," Tails glanced at the ceiling with concern.

"Yes, our enemies have woven a prison around the party to keep Lord Death and the others trapped. Judging by that unique magical energy, I'd say it's a null space prison,"

"Will they be alright?" Silver asked.

"Most likely, but they are completely cut off from us. Until that spell wears off, we're the only acting members of the DWMA. If there are no objections to my taking command, I'm authorized to provide you all with classified information relevant to this emergency mission,"

Neither the three meisters nor the three weapons offered any objections.

"There's a kishin sleeping beneath the DWMA,"