Shadow woke up in a stone room, alone. The walls and floor were composed of many different old, darkened bricks. There was a bed, sink, and toilet; it looked very much like a holding cell. The notion didn't help ease Shadow's mind, especially since the last thing he remembered was fighting the kishin alongside Sonic.
A knock on the solid metal door came before Shadow had spent too much time worrying. Eggman entering the room caused Shadow to blurt out a question.
"Where's Sonic?" After being taken aback by how suddenly he'd spoken, he tried playing it cool. "And the others?"
"We had them staying in a different area. They're fine now. I'm sorry you had to wake up in the dungeon, but it's actually the safest place for you right now,"
"Why do I need to be safe? More than anyone else, I mean,"
"Tikal had her eye on you before the kishin awakened. Now that she's accomplished her goal, there's plenty of reason for her focus to shift back on you and the darkling. The attention of other unsavory characters may be drawn as well,"
"She had her eye on me?"
Eggman nodded. "She has an interest in Black Arm series weapons. She created one herself after all,"
"If she's still alive, does that mean Starline lost?"
"She escaped. Starline had a reaction to the chaos waves and Vanilla was unharmed. Starline is recovering,"
Shadow thought back to his time in the crypt. "I saw the kishin. Why did he look like you?"
Eggman gave the same explanation he'd given Sonic and the others.
"Starline mentioned that the chaos waves would spread if the kishin were released,"
"Yes. They're spreading as we speak. Things won't change right away, but the longer this goes on, the more people will have their sanity affected,"
Shadow grew concerned. "I want to see Sonic,"
"Are you sure that's a good idea?"
"Why wouldn't it be?" Shadow the sting of worry. He already knew of one potential reason.
"During your last mission, his blood was blackened. Were you aware of this?"
Shadow nodded slowly as fear grew inside him. "What does it mean? Is he okay?"
"He was in a worrying state when we found him. As of now, he's fine. The black blood left his system,"
Eggman explained the properties of black blood and Eclipse's weaponized blood as well.
"But Starline said I wouldn't corrupt Sonic. He said you knew it was safe,"
"We were wrong. It turns out that there was a trace amount of black blood that entered your system when you were first wounded by the darkling in Kingdom Valley. Your body responded to it, and it seems that anyone who resonates with you is at risk as well. Tikal knew this and was observing you while she was functioning as your doctor. She was studying how you and Sonic would be affected. Starline found out what Tikal was up to when she tried to give Sonic unlicensed medicine. The medicine would have made Sonic more susceptible to the black blood,"
Shadow sat down on the bed and He rubbed at his face, then let out a long sigh.
"Sonic…"
"Don't blame yourself for this. There's no way you could have known,"
Shadow thought back on the nightmares and Mephiles. A demon in his mind promising power. He'd listened to Mephiles twice now. He'd nearly devoured Sonic's soul and corrupted his body. Embracing that power seemed so obviously stupid to him now. A hatred grew inside Shadow. It was intense and precise. It wasn't entirely directed at Mephiles, though. It was directed at himself as well.
"There's been a lot of fallout with the kishin being released. I think it's best if you stay here for the time being. And don't worry about Sonic. He has his friends to look after him,"
An atmosphere of defeat hovered around Shadow.
"Yeah,"
"I've got to check on some things for now," Eggman examined the room with disfavor. "I'll see what I can do about fixing up this awful room. If you need anything, there's always a bot or two monitoring these halls. We'll talk again soon,"
The door closed. Shadow was alone. Solitude amplified his anger as if it were gasoline being poured onto a fire. His hands began shaking; tears welled up in his eyes. He bit down on his right hand and held them back. After regaining some amount of control over himself, he laid back on the bed.
Of course, he was worried about Sonic. Part of him didn't believe that his meister was okay. There seemed to be a lingering possibility of some harm that had yet to hit Sonic, and Shadow felt it'd be all his fault if it did. There wasn't much he could do about that, though since he was the most likely source of that harm.
He then thought about how they'd danced inside his mind. Their wavelengths shifting back and forth. His true self had been revealed to Sonic at that time, and Sonic had accepted him. He felt so happy.
Shadow sat up suddenly. That wasn't his true self, or rather, it wasn't his only self. There was another Shadow, one that existed before meeting Sonic. One that lost all of his memories before becoming a different person entirely. Shadow felt a sudden interest toward his past. A burning curiosity that hadn't plagued him in some time. Who was he, really?
That question was so much more important now. If Shadow remembered his past, who he really was, he could figure out what to do next. Maybe he'd discover there was room for Sonic in his life after all. Maybe he'd discover that there was someone else out there waiting for him beyond Death City. Or maybe, he'd find out that he was a monster. No matter what, he had to know.
Shadow had initially felt confused and angry about this situation, but now he could feel his mind focusing. He had to get his memories back. If he was never going to remember, he at least had to know who his previous self was. Now that he was hunkered down in this place for the time being, he might as well come up with a plan.
A strange feeling shifted Shadow's concentration. Shadow fixated on the sensation, hoping to understand it. After a few minutes passed, he remembered the last time he'd felt something like this. It happened on the night of the recent attack. He'd sensed Eclipse's presence early on without fully understanding such an ability. He decided to focus on it now and see what he could learn.
Nothing happened. Shadow wasn't even sure why he could sense Eclipse now. Shouldn't the walls of the dungeon stifle things like soul perception? Shadow was far from an expert on the subject so he laid on his bed, then resumed focusing on the odd sensation. Eventually, he felt like he was sinking before his mind was pulled from his body.
Shadow arrived on the shore of Eclipse's mind feeling dazed. He stumbled through the water, noticing a familiar building waiting for him on dry land. It was the laboratory where he had found Eclipse, but it was much more run down than the first time he had visited this place. One side of the building had been torn open, exposing many of the rooms to the elements. The newly added ocean of water made the air much less dry. Much of the lab appeared corroded as a result.
Eclipse was only a short distance down the coast. He was wearing a tattered black cloak that resembled a reaper's, or maybe it was a witch's cloak? The Black Arm swordsman was jumping in and out of shallow water when he noticed Shadow's approach.
"Brother Shadow,"
"Hello Eclipse,"
Shadow gave a stiff wave, then flinched when he noticed his hand. It was a clawed appendage with three fingers that closely resembled Eclipse's. Surprise stunned him further when he saw his reflection in the water. His appearance had taken on many other characteristics that were originally unique to Eclipse.
Shadow's hair had its usual shape and hue, but the quill formations had been replaced by solid flesh in the form of tendrils. His ears and nose were gone. His eyes were blackened. He was wearing a black cloak of his own that parted at his chest. The white tuft of fur had been replaced by odd formations of white spikes protruding from his pectorals.
"You're not surprised to see me like this?" Shadow lamented.
Eclipse shrugged. "You look more like me now,"
"Most people would find this strange,"
Eclipse digested Shadow's statement for a moment, then returned his attention to the water.
Shadow sighed. He wasn't sure what he was hoping Eclipse would say, so he changed topics. "You're in the dungeon too, aren't you? In the real world, I mean,"
Eclipse nodded.
"Has anyone tried hurting you?"
Eclipse shook his head. "They scanned me with machines and left,"
Eclipse strolled further down the beach. Shadow examined his monstrous reflection again. His image was accompanied by that of Mephiles, who wrapped an arm around Shadow's shoulders.
"You look good like this. Could maybe tweak a few things; get your fur back. Add a tinge of blue. Overall, I think it's a decent start,"
Shadow shoved Mephiles violently. The demon stumbled around in an exaggerated manner, resembling a drunken man who refused to fall over. His body still mimicked Shadow's real appearance.
"Why are you here?" Shadow hissed.
"I go where the fun is," After righting himself, Mephiles clasped his hands together before resting his cheek on them. "I know I don't have a mouth, but I was hoping we could kiss and make up,"
"Did you corrupt Sonic?"
"God, I hope so," Mephiles moaned.
Shadow took a step forward then punched Mephiles. Half of the being's head was torn off, causing the chunk to melt into black liquid. More fluid spilled out from the rest of Mephiles's head, but he didn't look worried. He remained standing straight with his hands behind his back.
"Can we resolve this conflict without violence?" The demon's voice took on a tone of mock-diplomacy.
Shadow threw out a wide kick that cut cleanly through his doppleganger's torso. Both halves of Mephiles hit the ground. Shadow stomped away at the demon's remains until there was nothing left but a puddle of black sludge.
"Even in a place like this, Mephiles can follow me..."
He added a few courtesy stomps for good measure, but regretted it once he noticed the spiked food he'd been using to do so. Shadow couldn't help but look himself over again. His tattered black cloak was barely distinguishable from Mephiles's remains. Only his hands stood out, although now he noticed an elongated, pointy tail had replaced his old one. He'd been feeling like a monster for some time, but looking and acting the part made him feel ill.
"You're tired," Eclipse had returned in time to notice Shadow catching his breath.
"You'll strain yourself if you're not careful," Mephiles added.
The demon had another body standing beside Eclipse. He had mirrored Eclipse's appearance effectively, replacing the red parts with pale blue while keeping his own irises green. Lacking a mouth didn't stop Mephiles from seeming excessively smug. Shadow slashed the demon with his claws.
"Gah!" Mephiles exclaimed, overdramatically. He fell on the ground.
The violent spectacle didn't draw much of an outward reaction from Eclipse.
"Stay away from him. He's a monster." Shadow alerted.
"He's me,"
Eclipse sounded somewhat melancholy. Shadow hoped he hadn't given Eclipse the wrong impression by attacking something that looked like him.
"No he's not. He's pretending to be you. I'm sorry. It's my fault he's here,"
"He's been here,"
Shadow considered the possibility that Mephiles had gotten here before him. Invading dreams was the demon's forte, so it made sense that he was able to manifest before Shadow had gotten his bearings.
"Sorry, I'm still new to this mind-hopping thing. If I ever come back, I'll make sure I beat him here,"
Eclipse didn't understand what Shadow was talking about, or why he was apologizing. He observed with mild curiosity as Shadow approached Mephiles. The demon was lying in the sand with a gash along his face. Black blood coated the hand he was resting his bleeding head on.
"Are you done making things up so you can feel superior?"
"We're leaving," Shadow commanded.
"If you say so," Mephiles sighed.
Shadow's mind snapped back to the real world now. He immediately sat up and examined his body. Being in the proper form put his mind at ease. Surprisingly, he felt exhausted. He'd assumed he'd been asleep while speaking with Eclipse, but that didn't seem to be the case. The hedgehog laid back on the bed so he could get some proper rest.
After waking up, he'd come up with a plan for investigating his memories.
