I'm sorry I took so long updating, so sorry! Kneels down and begs for forgiveness but I've finally written the next chapter, half the reason it took so long was trying to get it to make as much sense as possible, the half is that I went crazy with a shed and some paints! Don't ask, colour just makes me crazy.

DISCLAIMER - I DON'T OWN SONIC, SHADOW OR THE CAMERA OBSCURA

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Shadow stood over Sakio's dead body, his blood covering his tarred body, mixing with the blood of Shadow's other victims. He looked up, for once, just one moment, there was complete understanding.

As crimson eyes met, nothing could destroy the moment. The wind seemed to stop, everything seemed to stand still, and suddenly Sonic understood, understood everything, the killing, the angst, everything. But it wasn't enough, there was still something he needed to do.

"I promise Shadow, I'll fix this." He raised the camera and took aim, but just as he was about to take his shot, the ground shook under his feet and he dropped the camera as he stumbled around trying to find support, before failing and falling over onto the grass beneath him with a soft thump. The camera was too far away from Sonic for him to reach it, and Shadow was advancing towards him, a strange light emitting from his form as he menacingly moved closer to the blue hedgehog.

"Shadow, please stop." His voice was hardly a whisper, but it seemed to make Shadow stop in his tracks. "Shadow?" There was another moment, before the black and red hedgehog turned away from Sonic, clenching his fists and struggling to keep control of himself.

"Sonic run, quickly, get away." Sonic didn't need telling twice, he reached out for the camera but was stopped when Shadow turned round, eyes blazing with their crimson hatred again. Sonic turned on his heel and ran the other way, looking at the camera regretfully, he'd have to come back for it later. He was back in the candle-lit room, or what was the candle-lit room. A gust of wind blew through the room, extinguishing every candle in the room, except for one sole one on the table.

Sonic didn't notice this one candle as he entered the room though, because as soon as he'd closed the door, he heard it banging behind him. He turned to see what seemed to be a feeble attempt to open the door. Then he heard the pleading voice from the other side.

"Please open the door Sonic." The sound of that voice made his heart want to break in too, but he knew he couldn't open the door. He looked around, only now noticing the one sole candle lighting up the room, very poorly though, he couldn't see anything except the door. He tried to back away from the constant moving of the door, to find himself backed up against the door only a few paces back. He gasped and turned around, he was sure this room was a lot bigger.

He rushed round in the darkness, the only thing he could see was the door. The walls seemed to move in closer until he could only move a few paces each way. He stood with his back against the wall, looking at the door in fear when he heard the voice again, this time deep and menacing.

"Why don't you help me Sonic?" Then the door opened and everything turned black.

There was a candle flickering on a table, and a black and red hedgehog stood in front of it, seemingly entranced by its flickering light.

"I'm sorry Sonic, it wasn't your fault, this burden was to be mine and mine alone." He lifted a small bottle in front of himself. "But I respect your final wish, even if it means forgetting you forever." With that he downed the liquid in the small vial, then collapsed unconscious on the floor.

Sonic once again woke up in his bedroom, this time surrounded by the darkness of the candle room again, but to his relief, when he stretched out his arm, there was space. He made his way through the pitch black when he heard a shuffling noise to his right. He jumped round, to see the door wide open, only able to see it because of the one flickering candle in the corner of the room.

He cautiously crept towards the door, then ran through it, ready to make a run for it if he had to. But when he went through, there was no-one there, just the same blackness as in his bedroom, and the sound of the candle gently flickering behind him. He sighed and turned round. No torches, no light.

"This'll have to do." He said quietly and took it in his hand, making for the darkness of the hallway.

He shivered in the cold as he crept along the corridor, passing the door of his bathroom and going into his living room. A sudden gust of wind blew from the room and Sonic shielded the candle from the wind. But the wind picked up speed and blew more fiercely, until the candle went out with a small hiss, leaving Sonic alone in the room.

The storm of earlier was still raging on outside, flashes of lightning occasionally lighting up the room.

'Strange, why didn't I notice it earlier, I didn't hear the thunder before.' He stretched out his arms in front of him and tried to make his way around by the dim light of the moon, but he kept bumping into things and fell over a random object that was on the floor. 'How many times am I going to fall over today'
He reached behind him and picked up the object behind him, it felt strangely familiar. He couldn't see it in the darkness, but when another fork lit up the sky outside, for a second he could see what it was. The camera obscura. 'Didn't I drop this in the garden?' He heard the growl of thunder in the background and flashes of light came rapidly, so Sonic could make his way towards his desk. He sat down in the chair and reached for his desk lamp. It turned on, with a sigh of relief from Sonic who could finally see the around himself.

He swivelled in the spinning chair and abruptly stopped when he saw the walls. All over the walls, there was blood, just oozing from random spots of the wall. He watched in horror as the blood seemed to form words on his wall.

'I'm…sorry…'

The words were stained in crimson on his wall as he stared on in disgust. He stepped up from his chair, camera obscura in hand. He raised the camera, and with one clear shot, he took a picture of the words. He heard a click behind him. He turned his head to see the source of the noise, a draw from under his desk had opened. He turned back to see the words had disappeared, and trusting his instinct, he edged towards the drawer, and took out the photo from inside.

It was the picture that was hanging on the wall, the one he'd taken on one of his visits to the mansion, the eerie image of two hedgehogs standing side by side. He flipped it over, on the back was a small note. 'Meet me outside, by the abyss, under the cherry blossom tree, I'll be waiting.' He felt the pressure in his hand falter, then disappear. He raised his hand which had the camera in it, to see only a small heap on dust in it.

He opened his hand and allowed the dust to fall to the floor, then looked back at the photo. 'I think I know where he means.' With that thought, he left for the abyss.

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OK, there were a few sentences which probably could've been better worded, but, meh, please review.