At an old funeral home, Mighty pulled out his cellphone and dialed the one person he knew he could get answers from, Andrew. The armadillo laid his cell phone down on the table after putting it on speaker. He continued to multi-task as he pulled out a map of the city. While the phone rang, he unrolled the map onto a table and set some lit candles on each corner, to keep it weighed down. Eventually, the phone line picked up and Andrew's voice came through the speaker. "Hello?"

Mighty continued his multi-tasking by getting sand out of a bag and sprinkling a small pile onto the map. "Andrew, it's Mighty. One of your wolves attacked and kidnapped a girl outside of Club Chaotix."

"Shit, really?" Andrew questioned with feigned concern. "How do you know for sure it was one of my guys?"

He growled irately by his skepticism. "I know because it was a wolf bite. The only werewolves I know that can use their bite in their mortal form are those with the moonlight rings. Now, who broke rank?"

There was a pause before Andrew finally responded. "I'll knock some heads together and find out."

Mephiles exhaled a sigh. "I'll know where she is shortly when I complete this locator spell. Once I get her whereabouts, you'll meet me there, but I want you to come alone because your wolves can't be trusted." Mighty hung up and continued his witchcraft, determined to locate Amy in time. He rubbed at the skin between his eyes as his anxiety grew. "Mother will kill me if anything happens to that girl…"

•~•

Meanwhile, at the abandoned church, Andrew hung up on his conversation with Mephiles before turning to the rest of the group. "Well, he bought it. His locator spell will bring him here without the bodyguards, as planned."

In the background, Amy sat on the altar while Sonic helped clean up her bite wound with a medical kit.

Amy cringed, as he wiped away some dried blood from her neck with a drenched alcohol cotton ball. "Sheesh, you couldn't go a little gentler on the neck back there?" Amy questioned, wincing from pain.

Sonic handed her a vial of Shadow's blood for her to drink. "Sorry about that, Ames. It shouldn't hurt too much longer," he chuckled. Amy downed the blood quickly to get the cure in her system. "Good thing Shadow keeps stored vials of his blood around for emergencies like this."

She handed him back the empty vial and wiped her mouth with the back of her other hand. "This is the third time I've been bitten and it still hurts just as bad like it did the first two times."

Sonic laughed lightly. "Heck, I don't plan to do it again anytime soon," he grinned.

"Good," she chuckled.

Sonic took a seat by her side on the steps, now that they could relax for a couple of minutes. "Hey, so, I was meaning to ask this earlier, but is Shadow really okay with us hanging out without him around?"

"Um, to be honest, I think he isn't completely worried knowing you have a girlfriend now," Amy answered. "Speaking of which," she segwayed, "Does Sally have any issues with you hanging out with me right now?"

"Well, she knows about our history together and I think she may feel the same way Shadow does. You see, she didn't completely understand why I had to implant myself back in your life, but I told her this was something I had to do to better myself."

Amy nodded as she listened to his logic. "I see. Well, I don't want her to feel uncomfortable around me. From what I've seen, she seems nice. I think she's good for you, Sonic," Amy smiled sincerely.

"Yeah?" he smiled eagerly. "I'm glad to hear it, because I gotta tell yah, Ames. I'm head over heels for her."

Amy rested her arms over her knees pulled towards her chest. "How did you two meet, anyway?"

"On the road," he started. "She was a loner after running away from her pack—she hasn't told me everything yet, but things were apparently difficult back home. I ran into her when she was in some trouble and ever since then, we've grown really close."

Amy placed a hand on his shoulder. "Aw, I'm so happy for you, Sonic. I wish nothing but the best for you two, and I hope that…we can still remain friends?"

"Same goes for you and Shadow," Sonic replied. "You know I haven't ever really liked the guy, but I can tell that he truly loves you. As long as you're happy, I'm happy." He leaned over and kissed the top of her head. "And like I said, I'll always be your friend, Ames."

Their touching moment was cut short when Andrew walked over. "Hey, Mephiles is going to be here in ten minutes. We need to prep for the ambush."

Amy and Sonic got to their feet in unison and Sonic turned to look at Amy. "Well, you better get into your hiding position," he recommended. "In the meantime, I'll get into my position as well."

"Good luck," Amy wished.

Sonic turned on his heel. "Don't keep me hanging," he waved.

•~•

Back with Shadow, it had been a couple of hours since his search, and still, the Original had yet to come across the coveted orchid. It was incredibly dark out now and Shadow was wet, covered in sweat, moss, dirt, and other grime, as he waded through the waist-deep, smelly, swamp water with a flashlight in hand. While he searched, his eyes continued to look near tree bases, shrubbery, tall grass, and low lying places.

As he navigated his flashlight through the darkness, it finally stumbled across something that made him do a double take. Quickly, he reversed after having seen something that stood out against the greenery. His flashlight stopped on a freshly bloomed Dragon Mouth orchid perched under an oak tree. Shadow stared in awe as he slowly began to wade towards it, almost staring in disbelief at his discovery. It had been a couple of hours since he began his search, and he started to believe he'd never find one.

But just when he was about to celebrate, his ears perked in alert when he heard a splash come from a distance behind him. Shadow quickly spun around in the waist deep water, searching for the source of the sound with his flashlight. His torch eventually stopped on some water twenty feet away from where the shore was. The water near the shore rippled as if something large had just submerged in for a swim.

Then, as if on cue, a large alligator grabbed ahold of him by the arm and dragged him underneath. The water splashed violently as Shadow and the large ten-foot gator wrestled beneath the water's surface. A few minutes passed, as the water violently thrashed back and forth. Either Shadow or the gator was putting up quite the fight, but only one would come out victorious. Suddenly, the water started to calm, and the only sound that occurred were the crickets chirping throughout the forest. The water grew very still but started to grow dark red.

After a minute, bubbles rippled and Shadow broke through the surface, gasping for breath as he stood, clutching a large alligator heart in his hand. He let the heart roll out of his hand and plop into the swampy water, before diving back underwater to find his flashlight.

He popped back above the surface and lifted his injured arm to get a look at it with his light source. Hissing from the sight, his arm was torn to bits. Parts of his flesh dangled to the side, revealing muscles and other tissue. Blood continued to pour down his arm and into the water from his severe injury. Shadow clenched his teeth, bearing through the pain knowing he'd heal eventually thanks to his immortality. Holding the retrieved flashlight he shined the light back over to the flower, smiling to see it stick intact.

•~•

After completing his location spell, Mighty finally found Amy's location and called Andrew to meet him there. The church doors flung open and Mighty stepped inside full of adrenaline. His eyes scanned the room for Andrew, but after not seeing anyone in sight, he growled lowly. "Andrew!" he shouted.

Timidly, Andrew came out from around the corner. "I'm here," he said, meekly raising his hand up. "Heh, it's been awhile since we've met face to face, huh?"

The armadillo stormed down the aisle towards the orange canine, ignoring his forced small talk. "Where is she? Who was responsible for the attack?"

Andrew shrugged nervously. "No idea, boss. None of my guys have used their moonlight rings to utilize their bite in their mortal form. I don't know who was responsible, but I found Amy and I have her in the old office," he gestured. "She's a bit shaken, but she'll be fine."

Mighty stared at him suspiciously with a long pause of silence. "You know what's strange…when I did my location spell, it told me you were already at the location where Amy was being held. Now, I find that oddly convenient since I only recently told you of her whereabouts. After the blood moon incident with the children, I've already grown suspicious of your allegiance," he alluded.

Andrew grew unnerved as Mighty pieced together his deception. "Listen, I-"

Sticking his hand out, Mighty sent the werewolf flying down the aisle by an unseen force and into some wooden benches. Hitting his head hard against the back of a bench, Andrew was knocked out cold. Mighty looked around in the darkened room and lifted his arms up at his side. In an instant, all the unlit candles in the church ignited, allowing him to see better. "Amy, Amy?" he called.

Then, out of nowhere, Mighty was tackled to the ground from behind and landed onto the floor. He grunted as he was forced to the ground roughly from behind. Quickly, he rolled over onto his side, holding his hurt arm and looked up at his attacker. His eyes widened as he stared at the familiar blue hedgehog above him. "I'm gonna enjoy kicking your ass," Sonic chuckled as cracked his knuckles.

Mighty pushed himself off the floor, slowly getting his bearings. "You…What have you done with her?"

"I killed her," he lied boldly.

Mighty narrowed his eyes angrily, believing into his fib. "My mother had plans in store for that girl and mother dearest won't be pleased if that's true." Mighty flashed his hand out before him, sending Sonic hurtling backward onto his back by his magic. Sonic hit the ground with a thud and groaned from impact. Mighty walked without urgency down the aisle towards his target. "Hybrids die by losing their head or their heart, and given the choice, I'm going take the organ that got you into this mess in the first place," he shouted wickedly.

Sonic scooted backward, suddenly growing intimidated by what was next to come. "Letivus!" Mighty shouted bringing Sonic up to his feet and keeping him frozen in place. Sonic screamed out in agony as he felt his rib cage cracking internally. He placed his right hand on his chest, feeling a pressure build up right where his heart was. In that moment, Mighty was slowly ripping his heart straight out of his chest with his magic. He kept his right hand outwards forming a fist. "Letivus con se," he snickered seeing blood pour from Sonic's trembling mouth.

Sonic gagged as he felt his heart ripping slowly out of his body. He shut his eyes tight, coming to terms that the end was near. Mighty tightened his grip with his outstretched hand, preparing the final move until an arrow whizzed out of nowhere and shot him in the shoulder from behind. "AAAH!"

Mighty stopped his magic and turned around, looking at the entrance where he spotted Caleb with a bow and arrow in hand.

Sonic dropped to his knees now that the spell had been broken. He panted as he held his chest where his heart remained intact. "Geez, you took your time there," he groaned realizing how close he was to perish.

"My timing was a little off on purpose," Caleb spoke, narrowing his eyes at the blue hedgehog. It was obvious that even though they were working together at the moment, Caleb still held a bit of contempt for the hedgehog. Without another word, Caleb withdrew another arrow and quickly shot another one into Mighty's left leg before he could retaliate.

Mighty screamed again and fell backward onto his butt, seething in pain. Just as he tried to pull the one arrow from his chest, a swift pink blur came up and placed a pair of handcuffs around his wrists.

Shocked by the quick movement, Mighty looked down at his chained wrists before slowly looking up at the person who had placed them there: Amy Rose. Mighty held up his hands towards her trying to do an attack spell, but found his magic was not working like usual. "What…what did you do to me?" he rasped.

Amy crossed her arms over her chest. "Something that needed to be done."

•~•

Back at home, Shadow gave the flower to Blaze and she whipped up the ointment within thirty minutes. Now with his orchid ointment at the ready, Shadow and Blaze entered Silver's bedroom to release him from his nightmare. Still asleep, Silver looked tormented as he thrashed his head back and forth against his pillow. A thick coat of sweat dampened his forehead, and Shadow frowned at the sight. He flocked to his bedside with the bowl of ointment in hand. "Do it, Shadow," Blaze commanded.

Carefully, Shadow took a glob of ointment on his index and middle finger and smeared it on the carved scar on the side of Silver's neck. As he smeared the ointment in, he sighed sadly. "We were innocent once, Silver. This bloodlust was forced upon us by our parents, turning us from prey to predator," he reminded softly. Blaze took the bowl of remaining ointment away and watched as Shadow placed his right hand on Silver's forehead and closed his eyes, trying to infiltrate his mind again.

•~•

Meanwhile, in Silver's head, his long-lasting nightmare was still in effect. Inside his night terror, the younger Silver dropped to his knees on the brink of exhaustion from trying to outrun his monstrous older self. In the darkness of the forest, he could hear Shadow's words reverberating through the woods. He lifted his head and was startled when he spotted Shadow standing in the flesh before him. "Brother?"

Shadow knelt down to Silver's level and placed a hand on his shoulder with assurance. "I know you think we are monsters, but in actuality, we are the demons lurking in the shadows. We are the savage villains in fairy tales told to children, but not for my child, not for Faith."

"What are we to her, then?" the young Silver questioned.

"In her story, we are the knights in shining armor. Without you by my side, I don't think I can survive my own love for my daughter…I need you," he begged. Silver looked uncertain on his brother's plea as his ears fell solemnly. Shadow stared into his amber eyes pleadingly. "The monster in me can only be checked by the monster in you. Only together can we defeat our demons and save our family." He outstretched his hand out towards him. "Come back with me."

Silver stared at Shadow's hand before looking back at the older version of him, lurking in the distance by some trees. The darker version of him stared at them in wait for their next move. Coming to his decision, the young Silver placed his hand into Shadow's.

•~•

Back in reality, after hearing Shadow's heartfelt plea, Silver opened his eyes finally having his nightmare end. Shadow stepped back, startled at first, but was relieved to see him awake. "Welcome back, brother," he smiled softly.

Blaze was just as pleased to see her fiancé awake. "Oh, Silver!" she exclaimed happily as she hugged him. Still a little dazed and confused, Silver wrapped a gentle arm around Blaze, happy to see her again.

As Silver held Blaze in his arms, his amber eyes glanced over to Shadow and he gave a small smile. "Thank you, brother." Shadow returned a small smile and nodded, pleased to see him seemingly back to normal.

•~•

Twenty minutes later, Silver took a quick shower and got dressed into new clothes. As he buttoned up his pajama shirt in the mirror, he stared at his reflection, reflecting internally over the events that had taken place in the past days. Although he had fought his mother's persuasion to his best mental ability, some of the memories she had forced him to relive, continued to haunt him. In particular, the locked memory of his murdered first love especially seemed to plague his mind and weigh heavily on his conscious. It disgusted him that he had lived all these years believing it was his mother who was responsible for her death. Instead, he really was the true monster she had claimed he was.

Silver finished buttoning the last button but gasped as a quick flash of him devouring Gold, flashed into his mind again. Silver looked down at his clean hands as he thought back to all the times had lost control in his past to his vampirism. But before he could contemplate too deeply on the dark subject matter, an unexpected voice broke his concentration. "—How do you feel?" Shadow questioned, standing in his open doorway.

Silver relaxed his stance by dropping his arms to his sides and stared at his brother's reflection in his standing mirror. "The worst has passed," Silver answered sorrowfully. "Though, I suspect the nightmares are far from over."

Shadow slowly entered his room, keeping a respectful distance. "Well, gather your strength," he advised. "I expect hellfire to rain down upon us imminently."

Silver turned around to face him as determination of revenge lingered heavily in his mind. "We need to make a move before she strikes."

"—Actually, moves were made while you were sleeping," Blaze interrupted from the doorway.

Both brothers looked over in her direction. "What kind of moves?" Silver questioned curiously.

Blaze smiled proudly. "Amy and the wolf pack left a little gift for you two down in the living room."

Eager to see what it was, Silver quickly left the room, forcing Shadow to follow him. The two siblings rushed downstairs like it was Christmas morning, only to see Amy, Sonic, Caleb, and Andrew patiently standing by the doorway. Silver looked at Sonic for a moment, curious to know what he was involved. Sonic picked up his bafflement and shrugged. "It's a long story, but I'm sure Shadow will fill you in later," he quickly spoke.

Silver nodded. "Yes, I suppose he shall." He continued onward to get a look at what had been brought home. Shadow trailed behind his brother until he noticed something odd.

"Enjoy," Amy smiled, giving Shadow a wink.

Shadow stopped in his tracks momentarily, eyeing her attire suspiciously. "Do I even want to ask why you're dressed like that?"

Amy giggled by his evident jealously. "Don't get too jealous now, it all had to do with our grand plan. Now go and see what we brought you guys!"

Shadow walked past the group and stopped in his tracks as he stood beside Silver. Chained up in the entryway was Mighty, hung up by the arms in the doorframe leading into the living room. His arms cuffed by the magic handcuffs, kept him held up as his chains were nailed to the wall. "Kidnapping—that's a rather unpleasant way to begin a family reunion," he spat, glaring at his younger brothers.

Shadow eyed the armadillo up and down, rather pleased to see him detained before him. "Well, wait until you see how we end it."