AN: Whoo, I finally had enough time to post another chapter for you guys! Once again, thank you nanohatakamachi200, Januttun3n, Eternallydarkx, CrimsonDarkTheHedgehog, aliciathewolf45, and MissMJS for the reviews on the last chapter! I hope you all enjoy!

•~•

Back with Sonic, Sally, and Caleb, the three had been trekking through the woods for some time now to get to their location and it seemed their end goal wasn't getting any closer. Sally panted, feeling completely out of breath. She leaned against a tree to rest for a moment. "Geez, are we hiking to Mercia or something?"

Caleb stopped for a moment to look back as she took a break. "It's just a bit further, I promise."

Sonic extended his hand out towards his tired fiancé. "C'mon, Sal," he smiled. "If you want, I could always carry you the rest of the way."

She shook her head and started walking again. "No, it's okay. I can do it." The three continued walking, while Caleb led the way, but Sonic and Sally walked side by side in the back.

Sonic glanced to his left for a moment. Sally didn't look too happy; in fact, from what he could tell, she looked like she was in deep thought about something. "You nervous?" he whispered.

Sally shrugged. "I don't feel nervous, although, I guess I should be."

"You don't need to be nervous," Caleb piped in after overhearing their conversation. "She's very sweet," he chuckled. Suddenly, the group came up to a small wooden log cabin. Sitting on the porch steps, was an elderly female dingo, holding a small wooden box in her lap.

"Is that her?" Sally whispered.

Caleb nodded. "Yep, that's her." He walked over and waved. "Hey, Gran!"

The older female stood from her seat weakly, feeling her joints crack as she stood. "Y'all are late," she scolded. Caleb ignored her complaint and smiled as he opened his arms. The two hugged before parting and Caleb turned around, with an arm slung around his grandmother lovingly. "Guys, this is my Grandma Mary, and Grandma, this is Sally and Sonic."

Sally walked over with her arm extended. "It's so nice to meet you," she smiled as she shook her hand.

Sonic repeated her action and shook her hand with a charming grin. "You're more beautiful in person than Caleb described," he chuckled.

Mary shot Sonic a deadpan expression and shook her head in pity. "You don't need to lay on the charm like I said, you three are late and we need to start the marriage rituals." She began to walk away but encouraged them to follow her.

Caleb gestured for them to go after her. "You two go ahead, I'll stay back here while you finish your trials."

"Help yourself to anything in the fridge, dearest," she said looking at Caleb before turning to look at the other two. "Now, come along, you lovebirds," Mary bellowed, now several yards ahead of them.

Sonic and Sally jogged over, catching up with the elder. "So, Mary, what exactly are these rituals?" Sonic probed curiously.

"Fasting, purification, and the rite of divulgement, to name a few," she listed.

"The r-rite of what?" Sally stuttered.

"Oh, it's simple," Mary smiled. "You speak the truth, he speaks the truth, secrets are cleansed and everyone is happy. Now, keep up the pace, we need to start immediately!"

•~•

With Blaze, the feline witch had managed to get both Shadow and Silver off the ground and back inside the house. Now with both of them, lying on opposite sofas, the cat searched through Shadow's phone for contacts. Eventually, she stumbled across a name she believed she might be able to get some help from. She tapped on the name that read, "Caleb" and the phone began to dial the number.

Waiting patiently on her end for him to pick up, she felt relief when she heard his country voice come through on her end, "Hello?"

She smiled optimistically. "Caleb, I know you might be busy at the moment, but I need your help."

"What is it, Blaze?" she heard him ask. "Hey, and why are you callin' from Shadow's cell?"

"That's just it, I was doing a spell and both Shadow and Silver fell unconscious and aren't waking up," she explained.

"This wasn't a backfire from the spell you were working on, was it?" Caleb theorized.

"No, no, it's impossible. I was doing a sight-seeking spell to find out what Mephiles was up to. Before the two fainted, I saw Mephiles working on representational-" She stopped herself short, suddenly dawning on something. She dragged a hand over her face, realizing what a fool she had been. "Oh, my gosh, I am such an idiot!" she screeched.

"Wait, what now?" she heard Caleb reply on his end.

"Mephiles used a spell to transport their souls to an astral plane using representational magic," she groaned. "I'm so stupid, I should have realized what he was up to right then…"

"Sorry to be a burden, but I'm a little lost here. What does that mean now?"

"It means that Mephiles has their souls trapped in some false reality."

Caleb sighed, hearing the seriousness of the situation. "…What do we do?"

"I have no idea…"

•~•

Meanwhile, back in Mephiles' false reality, the three brothers were still standing in the main room, staring at each other. "You know, Mephiles, I have other important things to attend to than being trapped in this confined space with you."

"Oh, really? And what could possibly be more important than spending some quality time with your dear older brother?" he spoke facetiously.

"How about figuring out where the hell Amy is?" he challenged.

His interest peaked. "You mean to tell me, you still haven't located her?"

"No, so tell us where she is," Shadow demanded.

Mighty chuckled darkly. "Oh, I chose a fine host for her to be transferred into. You see, there's a fine and quite talented young witch by the name of Rosy Rascal that I had the honor of bumping into from time to time. After getting to know her, personally, I decided she would be a fine candidate for your Amy Rose."

"Where do I find her?" Shadow questioned.

Mighty leaned his back against one of the walls coolly. "Last I heard, she was put away at Station Square Asylum by her coven. I have no idea what the hell she did to get them so angry," he answered with disinterest. "Oh well, it's not like you're going to be seeing her anytime soon anyway."

Shadow felt his hands clench into tight fists by his side. Who knew what kind of trouble Amy could be in at that institute? "You sick bastard, release me this instant!" he bellowed.

Ignoring his ire, Mighty hummed to himself as he walked around his prison façade, quite impressed with his handiwork. "At the very least, this prison is a bit more comfortable than that coffin you trapped me in," Mighty spoke passively, as he directed his eyes towards Shadow.

"Listen to me, you deviant sycophant!" Shadow growled. "I demand that you free us."

Silver walked over and placed a hand on his brother's shoulder. "Shadow, you and I both know that that's not going to happen anytime soon."

"Precisely," Mighty concurred. "Now, since you'll be spending so much time here, we might as well play a little game. Which of these totems do you believe I chose to represent you?" he gestured.

Shadow walked over to the fireplace and stared at the three heads presented on the wall. He studied each of them for a moment before coming up with his answer. "Let me guess, I'm the big, bad, wolf?" he surmised as he calmly pointed to a wolf's head mounted above the fireplace. "Silver is the noble stag," he pointed towards the head next to his. "And you, fittingly enough, are the boar. Bit obvious, as far as symbolism goes."

"So you're not as stupid as I thought," Mighty droned. Shadow smirked in content with arrogance.

"Why are we here, Mephiles?" Silver chimed in.

"It's about what you did to our mother," he replied.

Shadow rolled his eyes in annoyance. "I didn't force her to drink blood and betray everything she holds dear," he argued. "That was her choice."

"That may be true, but you placed her in that position. Now I want you to know how it feels to be powerless. So I'm gonna take the thing that matters the most to you, the freedom you crave to be with your daughter and Amy," he grinned wickedly.

•~•

At the house, after changing her diaper, Blaze put down Faith. As she walked out of the bedroom, she heard a knock on the door and hustled down the stairs to answer it. Once she got there, she opened the front door and saw the rugged orange canine standing there. "Andrew, you're here!"

"Evening." He shuffled past her inside the house. "Caleb gave me the update on what's been going on. They still haven't woken up yet?"

She closed the front door, leading him into the next room. "No, they haven't. I have no idea what to do. I can't exactly leave Faith here all by herself to go and find Mephiles."

"I know where he's at. He's set up his new home base at the abandoned high school in the city."

•~•

At the asylum, Rosy and Aurora sat at a table together in the busy dining room as they ate their dinner in silence. Rosy grimaced at the taste of her meal and stared at the gloopy gruel presented to her. She let a spoonful of it drip off her spoon and back onto her plate in disgust. "This food is revolting," she groaned.

Aurora moved her own food around with her fork before taking a bite. "This is the only stuff they feed us around here, so get used to it…" She closed her eyes, trying not to focus on the awful taste as she continued her meal.

But as Rosy watched Aurora eat, a yellow furred, male polar bear, in scrubs approached their table and passed by, leaving something behind in a bundled napkin. Rosy stared at the item in surprise before watching the mysterious male resume his position against one of the walls in the distant corner to survey the cafeteria.

Carefully, Rosy undid the wrapping around the item, only to reveal a vanilla cupcake with chocolate frosting and multi-colored sprinkles. She glanced over to the corner where the polar bear stood and caught his gaze. As she stared back at him, he smirked and gave her a suggestive wink. She gulped nervously, before pulling her eye contact away, drifting it towards the table instead.

Finally opening her eyes, Aurora tilted her head slightly by her changed demeanor. "Are you okay, Amy?"

Rosy lifted her head slightly. "I-I don't know. That male nurse over there," she spoke quietly, trying to signal her to whom she was speaking about. "He just gave me this and when I looked over at him, he winked at me, almost as if we know each other…"

Discreetly, Aurora took a glance over her shoulder towards the nurse. While she looked at him, he was busy looking at another group of patients while he kept his arms crossed and his expression stern. Aurora turned to look back at her friend after recognizing him immediately. "That's Bark, you and—I mean, the real Rosy and him, have a sort of mutual agreement going on."

"What kind of agreement?" she questioned suspiciously.

Aurora lowered her fork. "Rosy has always been very free-spirited and promiscuous. Since she's been here, she's found her method of surviving this place comes down to sexual favors," she explained.

Rosy placed her hands on her face and bowed her head. "Oh no…"

"Bark had a couple of days off, that's probably why this is the first time you've seen him. When he's on duty, Rosy gives him what he wants and in return, he makes Rosy's life a little easier around here."

Rosy sank into her seat. "Great, now I really know I have to get the hell out of here."

"Well, you better hurry," Aurora encouraged. "Curfew is happening in a few hours, and I know for a fact Bark will be making a stop to your room tonight."

•~•

Back with the three brothers, Silver leaned his left arm across the fire mantel, starting to grow restless. "I am fighting the monumental desire to mount your severed head upon one of these walls, Mephiles."

"Like I said, brother. You can't hurt me here," he snickered. Silver barred his teeth, until having a miraculous epiphany, one that could get them out of this place. Mighty watched as Silver's awe-struck expression turned into something that looked rather dignified. "Care to share something with us?"

Silver chuckled softly. "It's a delicate craft, but I know a little bit about Representational magic. One must be ever so precise, and from what I've heard, if you misrepresent us, every enchantment this room was built upon collapses," he gestured.

Shadow glanced from Silver over to Mighty, as he placed his fingertips together sitting in the chair across from him. "I assure you, you have not been misrepresented," he replied confidently.

"Well, that depends on how well the hunter knows his prey," Silver countered. "This façade," he said rising to his feet. "This illusion that I have created over the course of my life: the noble stag." Silver stared at his totem before bowing his head in shame. "It's nothing more than a deception: to myself and to everyone…" The other two watched, as Silver turned around to look at Shadow. "For were I truly noble, I would not have withheld a vile deed."

Shadow stared back at Silver, lost on what he was even going on about. What had he ever lied to him about? "I was a coward," Silver continued. "I allowed mother to erase it from my memory."

Shadow leaned forward in his chair slightly, curious to hear what he had to reveal. "Silver, what are you talking about?"

Silver gulped nervously as he built up the courage to admit the hidden truth. "It was I who killed Gold. Not our mother, but for me." Shadow stared back at him, completely surprised by the revelation. "I hunted her down and mercilessly feasted upon her flesh. Our mother took the blame so that you would not hate me, because I didn't think you could ever forgive me." The room around them shuddered for a moment, before settling.

Silver looked in Shadow's direction. "I know it may be foolish of me to ask this, but I hope you can forgive me. For the past week, I've felt terrible for the things I've done. I am so sorry, Shadow."

"The act may be reprehensible, but your admitting to it proves you to be the man I thought you to be," Mighty pointed accusingly. "See, my magic stands," he gloated proudly.

"Does it?" Shadow countered. "It turns out my brother is even more depraved than I am..." Shadow rose from his seat and walked over to the fireplace, staring at the stag on the wall. "He is no longer the noble stag," he spoke quietly before turning around to face the other two. "Indeed, an altogether different beast is creeping through the cracks, but it just so happens that you have also failed in your representation of me, brother. Because there is one thing you never thought me capable of."

"And what's that?" Mighty challenged.

Shadow walked over and placed his hand on Silver's shoulder reassuringly. "Forgiveness," he said as he smiled.

"You…you forgive me for my horrid act?" Silver spoke aghast.

Shadow nodded. "It's been a thousand years since her death. Yes, at the time I felt bad for her death, but I saw how upset you were when you found out about her murder. I always knew you loved her more than me, Silver…"

The lights in the room began to flicker, and the reality constructed around them began to lowly vibrate. Mighty looked around the room, seeing his magic was beginning to fade. "What," he gawked.

Shadow chuckled lowly. "Mephiles, you have remained a boar for centuries, but here is where your true fault lies. You never learned that the bonds of family far outweigh anything else! Such bonds trump petty jealousies."

Once finishing his grand speech, both the wolf and stag heads combusted into flames. Mighty rose from his own seat, astounded that the two were able to break free from his prison. "How is this possible?"

Shadow smirked knowingly. "Your magic is as flawed as your perception of your own siblings." With that, Silver and Shadow vanished from the cabin, returning to reality.

•~•

At the house, Blaze and Andrew sat in the kitchen feeding Faith a bottle, but at that moment, both Silver and Shadow returned to their bodies. The two hedgehogs jolted upright on the sofas as they gasped a breath of fresh air. Blaze and Andrew looked into the living room, beaming with excitement at seeing their revival. "Silver, Shadow!" Blaze smiled excitedly.

Andrew held Faith in his arms as he watched Blaze run over and greet the two brothers. Silver rubbed at his forehead tiredly, just as Blaze unexpectedly embraced him. He grunted slightly, feeling her tight embrace as she wrapped her arms around his neck, nuzzling his face with her own. "Blaze—sweetheart, I can't breathe."

She released her hold apologetically. "Oh, I'm so sorry. It's just, I was so worried about you."

"—Thanks for asking about my wellbeing," another voice droned in the background.

Blaze looked over her shoulder at Shadow, also rubbing at the side of his head. "Sorry, Shadow, are you okay?"

Shadow rose to his feet. "Just peachy," he said in a flat tone. "Now, if you'll excuse me." He walked towards the front door.

"Wait, a second, where are you going?" Blaze called.

"To rescue Amy," he answered as he opened the door.

•~•

Back at the asylum, curfew had quickly approached and all patients were locked in their rooms for the night. Lying on her side in bed, Rosy kept her back faced towards the door. In her right hand, she clutched the plastic knife she had swiped from the cafeteria as a makeshift weapon. Like Aurora had said earlier, it would only be a matter of time before Bark arrived to get what he desired and now that she was back to being a mortal, she had no idea if she could defend herself against him. It was just a shame she didn't know how to use magic or have the ability to wield it against him since it could have come in handy right about now.

"Shadow…" she muttered to herself as she stared at her bedroom wall. "Where are you?" she whispered in a trembled breath. Why hadn't he come to look for her? Did he not care anymore or did something worse happen? Just then, her ears twitched to the sound of her bedroom door being unlocked. Quickly, she sat up, making sure to conceal her makeshift weapon behind her back.

As the door opened, the light from the hall swept inside, casting the shadow of the large polar bear. Bark entered and closed the door behind him, locking it to ensure they wouldn't be interrupted. "Hello, beautiful," he grinned deviously. "I missed yah."

Rosy tried to sit up straight, showing confidence, but couldn't help but shudder by the way he looked at her. His eyes practically bore into her own, as if he could see right through her. "You…"

•~•

At that same time, Shadow had been on autopilot the entire way to his destination. As he came to his endpoint, he walked up the steps marching straight towards the entrance. Shadow walked in past the sliding glass doors towards the main desk where he spotted a brown female bunny, typing away at her computer. Her eyes glanced away from her screen towards him the moment she heard him enter. "Oh, sir, I'm sorry to inform you, but we're closed for the night."

Shadow kept his stoic expression as he stood at the main desk. "I could care less. What I want to know is, where Rosy Rascal's room is located?"

The rabbit blinked nervously as she stared him. "I-I'm sorry sir, visitation ended several hours ago, you can visit your loved one tomorrow after 12 PM."

Shadow slammed the side of his clenched fist onto the surface, making her gasp in surprise. "I'll ask this again…" he said as his eyes began to dilate for his compulsion. Her eyes stared back into his, completely hypnotized. "What is Rosy Rascal's Room number?"

•~•

Meanwhile, back upstairs; things weren't going as planned for Amy as she stared at her unwanted visitor. "So, what kind of fun should we get up to this time?" Bark asked as he slowly began to approach her.

"Stop," she commanded, making him halt for a moment. "You need to know something. I'm not who you think I am, my name is not Rosy, it's Amy."

Bark blinked a few time, puzzled at first, but his confusion quickly turned into enticing intrigue. "Oh, I get it. You want to role-play tonight, huh? That's super kinky, babe, and I'm down for that. So tonight, I'll be Sam."

She shook her head and held out her plastic knife. "No, get the hell away from me you creep."

He gave out a hearty chuckle. "Oh, hell yes, I'm loving what you've come up with tonight, sweet cheeks. Role-play with made up identities and a rape fantasy. You are a dirty girl…"

She couldn't believe what she was hearing; he thought this was all a game? "No, wait-" He ignored her pleas and slapped the plastic knife out of her hand, sending it flying in the other direction. She froze in horror as she watched him lunge for her, but quickly dodged out of the way, doing a quick tuck and roll.

"Playing hard to get? Once I get my hands on you, I'm gonna do yah real rough," he chuckled darkly, as he tried to keep in character.

She stood upright and backed up. "Keep away from me!"

He began to encroach towards her, cornering her further and further. "Not a chance, you don't have many places to run and hide."

Rosy backed up, taking note of the fact that there really wasn't anywhere to run. Maybe being a vampire wasn't so bad after all; at least she would be able to defend herself with her incredible vampire speed and strength. Now she was helpless and up against this sexual deviant. Seeing his opportunity, Bark made a running dash towards her with his arms out ready to strike. Rosy froze in place as she saw him getting closer and closer.

•~•

On the second floor, the elevator doors finally opened and Shadow stepped out after getting the information he needed to find Rosy's room number. He walked down the dimmed hall, looking at both sides to see the room numbers he passed. Shadow counted in his head as he passed the rooms, 300, 301, 302, getting closer to his correct number of room 310.

But out of nowhere, he heard a muffled scream coming from further down the hall. Fearing the worst, Shadow picked up his pace and rushed towards the sound, stopping in front of room 310. Furrowing his brows, Shadow took a few steps back before making a running start and kicking the door in. As he entered, he was horrified to find Bark holding Rosy down to the bed as he straddled her. The two of them looked at Shadow after hearing him kick the door in.

Rosy looked relieved to see Shadow standing there. "Shadow…"

Bark growled and narrowed his eyes at their spectator. "Who the hell are you?"

Shadow didn't answer and instead ran over, grabbed him by the back of the shirt, and threw him towards the other side of the room. His head collided with the wall with great force making the wall crack. The polar bear slumped over as blood poured from his open mouth.

Finally free, Rosy sat up and panted as she stared at her assailant's corpse lying on the other side of the room. Shadow placed a hand on her shoulder, trying to pull her out of her traumatic stupor. "Amy, Amy?"

She looked up at him, meeting his ruby eyes and lunged into his arms, embracing him. "Shadow!" she exclaimed. Shadow held her, holding her close, and feeling relieved he had gotten there in time.