AN: Like I said during the last update, now that I'm a full-time teacher, updates may not be as frequent. I'm really glad people are enjoying the sequel and are in for the long haul ahead. Thank you, MissMJS, risingzero1984, aliciathewolf45, Nebula the Hedgehog, CrimsonDestroyer, xXJadeTheCatXx, Captain, Janttun3n, and sad little demon for the reviews on the previous chapter. If you're ever confused, just remember to read the previous chapter. I do my best to make sure my stories are not confusing.

•~•

Speeding down a winding road, Shadow desperately tried to get to Amy's location in time. Gripping the steering wheel, Shadow felt anxious and terrified, as horrific thoughts flooded his mind. He knew how brutal his father could be, and imagining the things he could be doing to Amy in that moment made him feel sick to his stomach. Before his thoughts could become too morbid, his cell phone began to ring and he quickly reached for it in his jacket pocket and answered. "Hello?"

"Shadow?" Shadow bit his lip in disappointment. It wasn't Amy like he had hoped.

"I hope this is important, Blaze," he spoke, trying not to sound irritated.

"It is," she answered. "Something happened to Silver."

"Explain," Shadow ordered, continuing to keep his eyes on the road while he listened.

"Well, we got the children out all right, but it turns out it was another trap. Your brother and mother intervened and knocked me out. When I woke up, Silver was gone."

Shadow sighed loudly, as even more fear crept into his mind. "Shit…"

"There's a lot of blood," Blaze continued. "Both vampire and werewolf, but there's a trail. I need you to help track him with your keen sense of smell."

"As much as I'd like to help you track down my brother, I have my own pressing matters at the moment."

Blaze's tone grew slightly bitter at the notion. "What could possibly be more important than your own brother?"

"How about the fact that my lunatic father kidnapped Amy and is now miles away with more than likely depraved thoughts to harm her?" he countered

Blaze felt her heart sink. "Oh my…Shadow, I had no id-"

"—I'm driving right now to her last known location. She called me from a foreign number and I was able to ping her location. I'm going to get her back and then I'm going to end this," he spoke with determination.

"You're doing this on your own without back up?" Blaze gawked.

"Yes, by the end of the night, either my father or I will be dead."

"What about Faith? You just left her all alone?" Blaze questioned.

"No, I got a hold of Caleb and he sent someone over to watch her in my absence," he answered. "Just focus on finding Silver while I hunt down Amy."

Blaze nodded. "Okay, Shadow, just stay safe and bring Amy home. I'll talk to Caleb and see if he can help me out."

"Be careful, Blaze, and find my brother." Once he was done, Shadow hung up, putting his focus back on his mission. He was getting close. He could feel it.

•~•

In the depths of the woods, Amy continued to run for her life. She had been running for what felt like ten minutes and took a breather as she hid inside the hollow of a fallen tree. Amy panted and tried to collect herself. After months of training, she was now using her skills in a real life situation. "You can do this, Amy," she encouraged herself quietly. "Just remember everything Shadow taught you."

CRUNCH.

Amy's keen vampire hearing picked up on a branch cracking in the distance. It was him. In that moment, a memory flashed into her mind. "Next time, work on controlling your heart beat. That's how I was able to find you. I could hear it racing," she heard Shadow's voice resonate.

"Controlling my heart beat, that's right!" she thought. Amy focused on calming herself and felt her heart beat start to soften. Closing her eyes, Amy let out a quiet exhale as Coal's footsteps approached. Feeling his presence near, she shut her mouth and the footsteps ceased. There was a long pause of what sounded like dead silence, but Amy kept her back pressed up against the bark, praying the hunter would continue onwards. Luckily, her prayers were answered and Coal's footsteps continued on, passing her hiding position.

Amy sighed internally and waited for a few minutes before coming out of her hiding spot. She crawled out of the hollowed out tree and stood upright and dusted herself off. But once seeing no one in sight, she turned around to run in the opposite direction but came face to face with Coal.

Amy gasped, but Coal grabbed her by the throat and roughly forced her up against one of the nearby trees. "You deceiving little wench, you thought you could escape me?" he hissed through clenched teeth.

"How, did you find me?" she gasped.

"I followed your tracks," he answered. "It's rare that any prey of mine is ever able to evade me. I am a hunter after all," he boasted proudly.

•~•

Back at the cemetery, Silver screamed in frustration by the flashbacks his mother continued to torment him with. "You're distorting my memories. It was you who killed Gold, admit it!" he bellowed.

Gala-Na stood before him serenely as ever despite his outrage. "No, you brought her to me after your predatory nature was released, but by the time you got her to me, she was already dead."

"You can't rewrite history."

"You're right, I cannot," she concurred. "At least, not until I had your consent."

"Consent?" he repeated mystified. "What are you talking about?"

She reached out and held his face in her hands. "I'll show you," she spoke as she closed her eyes. Suddenly, Silver was whisked away to yet another memory.

~Flashback~

Ivy stood in her tent doing beadwork until the tent flaps opened. Turning away from her work, Silver walked inside looking devastated as he carried a limp and deceased Gold in his arms.

"I told you that you were a good son and that I'd take care of everything for you," Gala-Na narrated within Silver's mind.

Silver moved Gold's body into his mother's arms and she carried her over to a cot to lay on. "And then I said to you, 'You will not suffer from this memory or be tormented by the guilt of your misdeed. I created a storage center in your mind. I called it the red door, and what went behind that door would stay there and be forgotten.'"

~End Flashback~

Silver's eyes watered with the truth revealed. "You're…you're lying," he croaked.

She frowned. "I'm sorry, but I'm not."

He shook his head, still in denial. "No…"

"—How long before it's your beloved girlfriend's corpse behind that door?"

"Stop!" he screamed.

"You must be afraid that loving you will destroy her," she continued. "It destroyed Gold, and many more lovers in your lifetime." Silver shut his eyes tight, trying to block his mother's harsh words. Perhaps she was right, perhaps one day he would accidently hurt or even worse—kill Blaze just like he had done with Gold any many others.

Gala-Na smiled darkly, seeing her manipulation tactics getting through to him. She knelt down before him. "Please, take my offer, so I can help you. In a new body, you'll be alive again and free to live a simple and peaceful life with Blaze. You could even give her a child."

Silver opened his eyes to look at her. "You will not break me," he uttered weakly.

"Aw, you're already broken, my sweet boy, but not beyond repair. I am here to fix you. I am here to fix all of you," she smiled sinisterly.

•~•

After trekking through the forest, Coal pulled Amy into an abandoned cabin, now that they were at their final destination. "I used to try to convince Shadow that there was good in everyone," she remarked. "I never realized how much your hatred ran deep."

He tossed her onto the floor making her grunt from impact. Amy looked back at him as he stared down at her in annoyance. "I didn't always hate him. When Shadow was born, I was overjoyed. I thought he would be worthy, but my hope was short-lived when I found out that he wasn't really my son."

Amy pushed herself up, returning an equally hard glower for the shove. "His mother's infidelity was not his fault!"

"Everything that followed was because of Shadow's obsession with the wolves!" he shouted. "He'd venture out to watch them turn under the full moon and he took my youngest with him. She was just a mere child when she was torn apart limb from limb by those monsters!"

"It was an accident," she argued. "Shadow was young and naïve. He never intended to have anything bad happen to his sister."

"An accident?" he repeated in offense. "He murdered my wife! His own mother, who sought to cleanse him of his beastlike nature," he growled in absolute rage. "He betrayed me by turning my family against me, and yet, you defend him!"

"I constantly beg him not to kill!" she shouted back. "Bloodshed in your family does not have to be an endless cycle! And after centuries on this Earth, do you really not see that all your violence is pointless?"

Coal's eyes fell to the bite wound that Sonic had inflicted him with hours ago that was still not healed in the slightest. He placed a hand to his forehead feeling the fever hit him hard. He closed his eyes and exhaled. "You know, my wound does not appear to be healing…" He opened his eyes staring in her direction. "What I could do with right now is some food," he alluded.

Amy began to back away, realizing he was eying her with a meal in mind. "Wait a second, I'm not a mortal, I'm a vampire, remember?"

He walked towards her. "Yes, I know, and surprisingly enough, vampires are my favorite to feed on," he reached out and grabbed her by the shoulder bringing her face-to-face with him. "Time to eat." Amy cried out in agony as his fangs dug underneath her flesh, savoring her blood.

•~•

After a long search, Shadow followed some footsteps and stumbled across a small cabin tucked away in the depths of the woods. He took in a deep inhale, catching Amy's scent almost immediately. Realizing that she was close, Shadow looked around for anything he could use as a weapon. He knelt down and grabbed a large piece of wood and snapped it in half, causing it to protrude a jagged point.

Now armed, Shadow made his way towards the cabin and cautiously walked inside. At the other end of the room, Coal stood holding Amy's limp body in one arm, while he wielded the white oak stake in the other. Shadow's eyes fell to Amy's neck, where a blood flooded down her neck. He growled at the sight. "You're going to pay for hurting her," Shadow pointed, holding his makeshift weapon.

Coal chuckled darkly. "Are you now?" he smirked and released his hold on Amy, allowing her unconscious body to collapse on the floor by his feet.

"Leave her out of this," Shadow demanded.

"Oh, how sweet, the cur whines for its bitch," he said in feigned sympathy. He took a step over her fallen body, keeping his eyes locked on his son. "I'll make sure to drain the rest of her right in front of your eyes just before you burn."

Shadow opened his mouth to make a remark until his eyes spotted something interesting. There was a very familiar looking bite mark on Coal's arm that looked rather ghastly. He smirked knowingly. "You've been bitten…"

"Yes, I ran into another nuisance like yourself," he seethed.

"Nuisance," Shadow thought to himself. The only other hybrid around was Sonic. Did that mean Sonic had tried to stop him? Wherever he was now, he had to thank him for helping. "You may not die from that bite being an Original like myself, but you'll be severely weakened in the least, giving me a great advantage."

"This bite won't stop me from giving my all. After all, I've traveled all the way back from hell to kill you."

Shadow's eyes hardened. "Well, then, I'd hate to keep you waiting," he goaded. Coal growled and began running towards Shadow with his weapon at the ready.

Shadow made a running start and leaped into the air with his wooden stake. Coal wasn't able to get out of the way in time, just as Shadow came down knocking him to the floor. The white oak stake flew out of Coal's hand, rolling away from their reach. Shadow swiftly stabbed the jagged wooden staff into Coal's stomach, making him cry out. "GAHH!"

Seeing this as his opportunity, Shadow scurried to his feet to get ahold of the white oak stake, but lost his footing when Coal grabbed ahold of his ankle. Still lying on his back with a stick protruding from his gut, Coal ripped out the stick with one hand, while using his other to hold onto Shadow.

Shadow growled and kicked Coal in the face, freeing himself of his hold. Using his vampire agility, Shadow crawled over and grabbed the white oak stake, just as another hand came into view grabbing it at the same time. The two struggled for possession, as they rolled around. Eventually, Coal overtook Shadow and with his speed, pinned him to the floor.

Shadow used all his strength as he held one hand against Coal's chest while his other hand desperately struggled to keep Coal from plunging the stake into his heart. "Not as strong with that werewolf poison pumping through your veins," Shadow smirked.

Growling out of frustration, Shadow seemed to have him matched in strength. His eyes fell to Shadow's neck as an idea came to mind. "Perhaps I need to remedy that." He opened his mouth and bit into his neck, making Shadow scream. The tip of the stake hovered just mere inches away from Shadow's chest, but luckily, Shadow overtook him, kneeing his father in the gut, and launching him off his body.

Nearby, Amy began to stir and come back to consciousness. Still fairly weak, she sat upright, hoping to aid Shadow with his battle. "Shadow…"

At the other end of the room, Shadow rubbed at his neck, slightly sore from the bite, but was more pissed that he allowed Coal get the cure from him then anything. Shadow gripped the white oak stake tightly in his hand, pleased that he was reunited with the lethal weapon.

In the corner, Coal wiped the blood smeared around his lips with the back of his hand. He looked at his wound seeing it heal. "Finally…at least you're good for something." Quickly, he rummaged his hand into his pocket and violently threw a small-carved stake that whizzed in the air towards another target.

Shadow caught onto his strategy in time and managed to race over and stop the stake in mid air, catching it before it stabbed right into Amy's chest. Amy gasped in surprise as Shadow stood before her holding the stake, but suddenly, Coal appeared behind him, grabbed, and then manipulated Shadow's hand into stabbing himself in the chest with the white oak stake. Shadow cried out as he felt it crack through his chest. "Ahh!"

Amy's eyes widened as everything went in slow motion. "No!" Amy rushed to pull it out, but Coal backhanded her hard in the face, causing Amy to go hurtling into the wall from the powerful strike.

Coal turned his attention back on Shadow as he watched Shadow's body begin to slowly decay before him. "Now we wait for his body to engulf in flames, it'll be glorious!"

Just as things were looking up for the hunter, three arrows whizzed through the air and hit Coal in the left shoulder, chest, and upper right leg. "Nngh!"

Amy pushed herself up just to see it was none other than her ex-boyfriend and Sally wielding a bow an arrow. Sally kept her bow upright as she readied another arrow. "Go Sonic!" she urged.

Just as Coal was in the process of recovering from the attack, Sonic collided into him, sending them both hurtling through a wall. Sally lowered her bow seeing that Sonic was keeping Coal busy. She rushed over to Amy's side. "Now is the time to get that thing out of your boyfriend," she advised.

Agreeing, Amy hurried over to Shadow as his body continued to decay. There was only a matter of seconds before his entire body would turn gray and combust into flames. Gripping the magical stake in her hands, she used all her might and pried it out of his chest in the knick of time. Seeing him still unconscious, Amy patted the side of his face anxiously as his skin remained gray. "Shadow, Shadow, wake up," she begged quietly.

Sonic came flying back through the wall and rolled past Amy and Shadow before coming to a halt. Scratched up and bloody, Sonic tried to push himself up but succumbed to just lying still. Sally lifted him slightly in her arms. "Sonic, are you okay?"

"Fine, Sal…but any time Shads wants to wake up, that'd be great," he mustered weakly with a chuckle.

"—What the hell do you think you're doing?" Coal shouted, coming through the hole in the wall, completely healed and now in full strength.

Remaining by Shadow's side, Amy held out the white oak stake towards her foe as she knelt before the three. "Stay the hell away from us! I swear to God, I'll kill you myself."

The hunter continued to approach her shaking form. "You have the heart of a warrior," he noted. "Perhaps I'll keep it as a souvenir once this is all done." He reached for her, but Shadow woke up just in time and sprung to his feet. He swung a punch, hitting Coal hard in the jaw.

Coal staggered back as Shadow continued his assault, hitting him several more times, disabling Coal from getting his bearings. Shadow went to punch him once more, but Coal caught his fist and violently broke Shadow's arm making him howl in pain. "AUGH!"

Still holding onto the white oak stake, Amy watched as Coal slammed Shadow onto the floor, only inflicting more pain. "Shadow!"

Coal continued his torment by kicking him a few times in the gut. Shadow coughed up blood with every kick and Coal couldn't help but laugh as he watched his son suffer before him. "This is what I've been dreaming of doing since my revival. Just wait till I get you chained up so I can torture your whore in front of you and-"

CRACK!

Keeping one eye shut, Shadow looked up only to see the white oak stake peaking out of Coal's chest. His father stood there, in shock and nearly immobile from the immense pain, but turned his head slightly to see his attacker, only to realize it was Amy holding onto the magical weapon. "You hurt my boyfriend enough in his life, so go back to hell you monster!" With that, she shoved the weapon in deeper and Coal collapsed on his side onto the floor. Amy quickly rushed to Shadow side, just as Coal's body went gray as it decayed. In a matter of moments, his entire body burst into flames ending him for good.

•~•

A few minutes later, Shadow and Amy stood outside the cabin and looked each other over for injuries. Amy stared at the blood stained tear in Shadow's shirt where the white oak stake had been stabbed. Reaching out, she rested her hand on top of his now healed injury and in return, Shadow rested his own hand over hers and smiled down at her. "You pulled the stake out in the knick of time. A moment longer and I would have been done for."

Even though he was alive and well, the event was still too close to home to celebrate. Her ears lowered sadly. "You almost died today for me…"

Shadow caressed the side of her face softly. "Yes, but you saved my life and you put my father down. Remember when you said you couldn't kill?"

She nodded before leaning forward, embracing him, and burying her face into his chest. "I thought I was going to lose you."

Shadow wrapped his arms around her and rested his chin on top of her head. "I'm proud of you, Rose. I told you, you could do it."

Suddenly, Sonic and Sally came meandering from around the building but stopped a few feet away from the two. Shadow caught sight of him and pulled away from his embrace from Amy. "Thank you for lending a hand back there, Sonic. I truly appreciate all your help."

Sonic shoved his hands into his jean pockets coolly. "Heh, I just happened to be in the right place at the right time."

"So, who is this?" Amy noted, looking towards the unfamiliar female.

"Oh," he smiled sheepishly. "This is Sally—my girlfriend," he introduced. "Sal, this is Shadow and Amy."

Sally smiled towards the two and shook their hands. "Nice to meet you two, Sonic has told me all about you."

Amy had to admit, Sally was an absolute stunner. She had gorgeous amber hair, an envious figure, and beautiful blue eyes. It was no wonder Sonic had been drawn to her. "Lovely to meet you, too. You guys should swing by sometime and see Faith. She's growing up so quickly," Amy suggested.

"Really?" Sonic returned a genuine smile, looking between the two. "I'd like that."

Shadow wrapped an arm around Amy. "Yes, definitely. I would never have expected to have your help today, so I owe you," he bowed respectively.

"Nah, man, it's all good," Sonic smiled sheepishly, still a bit wary around the hybrid.

"No, you don't understand. We haven't been on the same side in quite some time. You went out of your way to try to help Amy despite our past differences. I would like to keep our communication open from now on."

Sonic looked surprised by how sincere the dark hedgehog was being. Especially since it seemed oddly out of character for Shadow. Perhaps, Shadow had done some growing as well in the past months. "Well, in that case…I guess I'll keep that promise in mind."

Shadow reached out and gave Sonic a firm handshake. "If you ever need anything, give me a call."

"Will do."

•~•

With so much time that had passed, Silver wasn't sure how much more he could take. His stomach was practically clawing at itself from the inside out, and because he hadn't eaten for so long, his energy was dropping dramatically. "Please," Silver begged. "No more…"

"I'm afraid we've only just begun," Gala-Na, chuckled as she circled around his weak form. "You will hang here remembering every atrocity you've hidden behind that door and it will emerge to haunt you. And as you grow weaker, you will be ripped of your strength—your will, your hope, and as you rot here alone, you will reconsider my offer." Silver watched weakly, as his mother stopped feet in front of him. "Now, I'll ask again, don't you want to be freed of your demons?"

He closed his eyes and gulped. "I…"

WHACK!

Alerted by the sound, Silver opened his eyes and shot his head upright, only to see Blaze standing above Gala-Na's fallen body with a large stick in hand. Seeing that she had knocked out the ancient witch, Blaze lowered her weapon. "I would have killed her, but then she just would have body jumped," she said smiling in his direction.

Silver gave out a huge sigh of relief and smiled in her direction. "You have no idea how happy I am to see you."

Blaze chucked the stick to the side and walked over to free him. Carefully, she placed her hands on one of the chains binding his wrists. He watched intently as she closed her eyes and mumbled something, allowing her to break the spell. "I wouldn't rest until I found you." She finished unchaining his last wrist and gasped as he collapsed to the floor. "Silver!"

"I'm okay," he mumbled. "Just famished."

She shook her head, knelt down, and placed a hand on his shoulder. "You need to feed then!"

He kept his eyes on the floor beneath him. "I can't."

"—But you're weak!" She took out a switchblade from her pocket and cut a small line along her palm to draw blood. "Here," she offered, sticking out her hand towards his face.

He turned his head in response, horrified at the thought of losing control from his starvation. "I-I can't."

She shot him a befuddled look. "Don't be ludicrous, why not?"

His head swung back to look her in the eye. "Because I crave you," he spoke lustfully. "My hunger could overwhelm me and I don't want to hurt you."

Empathizing with his fears, Blaze reached out with her other hand, and stroked his face, lovingly. "Look at me, Silver." Silver looked into her eyes as she stared back at him sincerely. "I'm not afraid of you." She leaned in and closed the gap between them, kissing him passionately. Silver returned the kind gesture, wrapping one arm around her waist, while he deepened the kiss. After a couple of moments, they pulled apart and Blaze noticed the hunger in his eyes. She tilted her neck to the side, enticing him for a bite. Silver didn't give it a second thought before he dove in for a taste. Blaze gasped subtle moans of euphoria as he fed on her, enjoying the feast she offered.

Unfortunately for Silver, that entire moment was not what it had seemed. It had all just been a hopeful fantasy illusion that Gala-Na had conducted. Instead, in reality, Mighty stood before Silver's catatonic body, still hung up by the chains. Blaze had not really come to save him, but she had in Silver's mind. The armadillo waved a hand inches away from Silver's face, trying to get a response, but Silver's glazed over eyes just stared off into space, oblivious to everyone or anything around him. Mighty turned and looked over his shoulder at Gala-Na smirking contently in the background by her handiwork. "What did you do to him?"

"I decided to let him dream," she answered simply before taking a seat.

"That's considerate of you, I suppose," Mighty replied.

"I cannot lead him out of darkness by simply exposing him to the horrors of his past. I have to let him bask in his own version of a better world to come." Her eyes looked back over to Silver, as his mouth-hung agape. "By the time he wakes, he will know that the only way to find peace, is by my way."