Shadow opened his eyes. He drearily glanced around the room from atop a rusty operating table. One failing fluorescent light tainted the room with a sickly green tone. Attempting to get up made the weapon stumble. High-pitched scraping came when his razor-sharp claws of metal collided with the wall in an attempt to stay upright. Stumbling out into the hall revealed nothing useful. Darkness filled the harsh metal corridors alongside an unbearable humidity.

"Shadow,"

The voice was distant and obscure. Did it belong to a girl?

"Shadow?"

That voice was much clearer. It was Sonic. He was afraid. In danger. There was a monster lurking in the darkness. Shadow began running. Metallic clicking accelerated alongside his pace. The hallways were becoming noisy from the sounds of running. Occasionally, Shadow would stumble and push off of the ground or the walls so he could balance himself. An ear-splitting metallic scrape rang through the halls each time.

"Help!"

He went as fast as he could, but trying to increase his speed only made him stumble more. After nearly falling over completely, Shadow caught himself, then instinctually started running on all fours. His speed increased dramatically. Moving like this suited his jagged metal appendages much better. A figure was appearing in the darkness.

Shadow's heart leapt before he sunk his claws into his prey. Blood spattered the walls and drenched his hands. Metal scraping continued relentlessly. The hallways groaned from the echoes that went every which way. It all ended after far too long leaving only the sound of dripping blood. Machinery in the walls came alive as if to celebrate. A harsh metal door opened nearby, providing some light. Shadow looked down at his successful kill.

It was Sonic.

Shadow's tortured screaming rattled his hospital room. Now that he was no longer asleep on the nearby chair, Sonic jumped to the bedside in a panic. He clasped Shadow's left hand with his own and pressed his right onto Shadow's shoulder to calm his writhing. His partner growled through grit teeth. Each subsequent growl came out quieter until the black hedgehog resigned to strained panting. Finally, Shadow opened his eyes. He looked around the room with rapid glances until he was staring into the eyes of his meister.

"You're okay,"

Sonic went from looking worried to laughing incredulously at his weapon's relief.

"Of course, I'm okay. You saved me,"

Was that what happened? Shadow looked up at the ceiling and tried thinking back. He remembered an encounter with a strange meister. Sonic in danger. That blade of black blood. Thinking of the final slash made him aware of the burning pain radiating from his torso.

The door opened, reminding Sonic that he was still holding Shadow's hand. Making matters worse, neither of them had gloves on. He let go and took a half step back with his face burning.

"Is everything alright? I heard shouting?" An echidna with pale orange quills entered the room and looked around cautiously. She wore a white medical coat over a black dress. One look at Shadow and the stranger smiled warmly. "You're awake,"

"Nurse Tikal," Sonic greeted the school's nurse.

The woman nodded and approached Shadow's bed. "I've been looking after you since you got out of surgery. How are you feeling?"

"Sore,"

Tikal touched Shadow's wrist to check his pulse, then looked him over briefly. "I'll let Doctor Starline know you're awake,"

The nurse turned away from the two hedgehogs, smiling darkly as she left the room. She didn't expect to be so happy that Eclipse failed killing his prey from last night. Having the opportunity to study the effects of black blood further gave her chills. She left the room, but she'd never be too far away.

"What happened after I passed out?" Shadow's mind pondered his last battle once again.

"Silver and Blaze showed up and saved us. Starline asked me to wait until he's here to tell you everything else," Sonic flopped back into the chair.

Shadow didn't like the sound of that. "How long was I out?"

Sonic looked at the clock. "It's been almost a whole day,"

The window behind Sonic revealed that it was dusk. Shadow noticed how unkempt Sonic looked. Had he been here that whole time? Off to the right of the bed was a small table with a bundle of flowers placed on it.

"Amy and Cream dropped those off during lunch," Sonic pointed out. "Tails and Knuckles came too,"

Shadow wasn't sure what to say. Last time he'd woken up in a hospital he had amnesia. It had been so lonely and uneventful. So much has changed since then. Sonic was here, and the others had been checking on him too. Everything felt so different.

Starline interrupted Shadow's thoughts by entering the room. "I'm glad to see that you're awake. Are you feeling well enough for a debriefing?"

"Yeah,"

"Good. We have a number of things to cover,"

Doctor Starline spoke for some time. He explained what they knew about the darkling and his connection to Shadow. Being a Black Arm series weapon was revealed as well. Sonic didn't speak. He merely responded to his weapon's glances with supportive looks.

"Your Black Arm DNA made you resistant to the Darkling's screams. The paralysis didn't affect you and you were able to protect Sonic. We're still trying to understand our enemies motives, and what their next move will be,"

Starline concluded his explanation with a shrug. Shadow sat in silence after he'd received all the information. Despite always holding suspicion towards his own origins, he wasn't prepared for something like this. A dull sense of dread lingered around him.

"You've known what I am for a while then?" Shadow asked.

"I was told before meeting you, although I've been able to see your unique soul as well,"

"Why wasn't I told about this sooner? And what about Sonic? He's been my meister for over a year now!" Shadow's voice was beginning to raise.

Starline held his hand out defensively. "I understand that it seems strange. The main reason is that the knowledge wouldn't have helped you. Your status as a Black Arm weapon is more likely to draw the attention of more sinister forces. Less people knowing seems like a better alternative. Lord Death has kept a close eye on you because of this,"

"We've been going on missions just like anyone else," Shadow countered.

"You were hunting corrupted weapons until recently. It was unlikely that you would have encountered anyone who could understand your soul,"

"We've been hunting for witches lately though and we still didn't know. When were you planning on telling us?"

Starline sighed. "I'll be honest with you both. Lord Death was never keen on the idea of Sonic being your meister. You'd been partners for a long time before you could resonate beyond the base level. He was expecting Sonic to give up eventually. Even after you successfully performed the Witch Hunter, he was still hesitant. I imagine he would have waited until you became a death scythe,"

"Sonic's a fantastic meister, he doesn't deserve to be undermined like that!" Shadow was nearly yelling.

Sonic looked at his weapon with surprise. Starline held up both his hand now to try and ease the rising tension.

"I agree. You both showed great potential when we first met, but it wasn't my call to make,"

Shadow sat quietly looking annoyed. A sudden thought came and he glared at Starline. His voice was quiet, but pointed.

"Do you know about my past?"

"No," Starline's voice was unwavering.

"I guess I don't see why you'd tell me if you did. Should I expect to hear more another year from now?" Shadow laughed bitterly.

"I swear to you that I don't know, Shadow. For whatever that's worth,"

"What about Eggman?"

"He hasn't told me anything about how you ended up at the DWMA. You can always ask him yourself," Starline shrugged.

That proposition seemed like a waste of time. Last time Shadow tried that, he didn't get anything helpful. He was tired of arguing, so he decided to lay back in silence.

"You have a right to be upset. Both of you do. Take some time to rest and recover. Remember that there's a path forward through all this. The DWMA still needs both of you, after all,"

"Thanks, Starline," Sonic spoke at last.

Starline nodded, then left. Weapon and meister sat alone in silence. Sonic had been eagerly waiting for Shadow to wake up, but now he just felt lost. Shadow noticed his partner pondering while looking troubled.

"Sonic do you…" Shadow faltered after seeing his meister look up at him with full attention. He looked away before trying again. "Now that we know I'm some kind of freak…"

"I know what you're gonna say, Shadow," Sonic interrupted. "We're still partners, and you're not a freak."

Shadow tried fighting it, but those words did make him feel a little better. He nodded once; the silence returned.

"You've been here all day, haven't you?"

Sonic shifted awkwardly. "Well, I…"

"You shouldn't have to be stuck here too,"

Sonic could tell his weapon wanted to be alone. He got up reluctantly and approached the front of the bed, trying his best to sound cheerful.

"Do you need anything? I can even bring you something from home before I call it a night,"

"I'll be fine,"

Sonic lingered for a few moments, drawing a glance from Shadow. The blue hedgehog looked incredibly guilty.

"I got myself hurt, Sonic. It was my choice,"

The meister trudged away and opened the door.

"I'll see you tomorrow,"

Shadow laid back again, feeling like an idiot. Not only had he sent Sonic away, but his attempt to console him likely made things worse. Shadow sighed and hoped he could fall asleep. Everything he'd just learned was still buzzing around in his head, but he was fed up with all that for now. Sleeping could help him get away for some time, but the pain from his wound wouldn't make that easy. One thought popped into his head and distracted him, finally.

Moving his left hand as if it would help him recall, Shadow thought about how he'd woken up holding Sonic's hand. They weren't wearing gloves either, which was embarrassing. Why was he even thinking about this? They were partners, it must have happened before. There hadn't been many times, and he couldn't remember any of them clearly, but they happened, right? It wasn't a big deal, he was just being stupid.

"Let go of my hand, Shadow!" Sonic's imaginary voice sneered at him.

"That's right. I'm a monster," Shadow thought.

Nurse Tikal entered the room, ending Shadow's self-torture with unintentional mercy.

"Doctor Starline authorized painkillers to help you rest if you want them," Tikal held up a medicine vial.

"Sure," Shadow tried not to sound too eager.

The nurse approached Shadow's IV drip and administered the medicine after a short time. She was dying to see how the black blood would affect Shadow. For now, all he had to do was recover. After she was finished delivering the medicine, Tikal smiled at him.

"You'll be back to normal in no time,"

Tikal tried not to laugh on her way out. Shadow felt a sudden wave of relaxation wash over him. His pain vanished and his exhaustion couldn't be held back any longer. The tainted scythe fell asleep.


A black leather chair rested on a circle of lush, blue carpet. Round studs of gold were scattered along various parts of the chair, forming clean patterns. Wooden legs with intricate carvings were attached to the seat's base.

In the chair sat a black hedgehog named Shadow. He wore a black suit with a handful of thin red lines running down the expensive fabric. His undershirt was a similar shade of darkened crimson that surrounded his black tie. A record player sat on a table next to him. Plucky jazz music played out into the room. The song would skip awkwardly every time the damaged parts of the vinyl were read by the machine. Black curtains hung from the ceiling alongside a dim lantern. The weak lighting made it difficult to judge the limits of this dark room.

Footsteps crept out from the darkness as a stranger walked along the black and white tiles that lined the floor. Shadow tensed up in his chair and watched a man emerge from behind one of the black curtains.

The newcomer's appearance mirrored Shadow's, but he had no mouth. Another superficial difference between them was that Shadow had streaks of red on his fur, while the stranger had matching streaks that were pale blue instead. He wore the same suit as Shadow, but with blue replacing red in this area as well. Unnerving, green irises were the last differing feature that this other hedgehog had.

He casually walked onto the carpet at the center of the room where Shadow sat. His movements took the form of a slow, fluid dance that went against the beat of the music.

"This really isn't sitting music," The man spoke with a playful tone despite lacking a mouth. His voice sounded unnatural and menacing.

"What do you know? You're not even on beat. I just want to relax," Shadow replied with impatience.

"Dancing with me isn't relaxing?"

"I don't even know who you are," Shadow glared. "Why do you look like me?"

"Because I'm part of you, but I'm also something more!" The man moved to add a flourish to his statement. "Call me Mephiles,"

"Whatever. Go away,"

Shadow leaned his head on his right hand and looked away from Mephiles to ignore him. The other hedgehog's eyes flared with malice.

"I suppose I'd be bitter too after being butchered like you just were," Mephiles felt of rush pleasure seeing Shadow glare at him in response. "Don't get angry at me. I want to help you. Give you power. It's the solution to your problem and it's so easy too. Right there for the taking,"

Shadow was back to looking bored. "Leave me alone,"

Mephiles grabbed Shadow's left hand and pulled him up from the chair.

"Come along," Mephiles began pulling Shadow out into the darkness. "We've got an exciting night ahead of us,"

"No!" Shadow's eyes filled with fear. "Let me stay and listen to the music!" He received no response. His desperation grew. "Don't make me go out there!"

Shadow tried pulling himself back toward the center of the room, but Mephiles was too strong. The pair moved off of the carpet and onto the cold tiles. Mephiles's calm footsteps and the sound of Shadow struggling in vain faded until they were drowned out by the stuttering music.