Shadow knew he was fast asleep, but that didn't stop him from having another odd dream.

This time, he was in a quiet hall of a building of some sort, red carpet on the floor and deep chestnut wood paneling lining the walls. The lantern lights on the walls flickered, and the air smelled of some sort of perfume. Everything seemed so antique, but also expensive like he was in an old manor that should have maids and servants wandering the corridors. But unlike the halls of the village, this space was eerily quiet.

"Hello?" He called out, stepping out of one hall and finding himself at a double staircase, leading down into a large entryway. An odd humming echoed down the halls, but no voices or footsteps were heard. "...Is anyone here?" His own voice echoed in the emptiness, left unanswered.

He descended the staircase, looking around the mansion he found himself in. "Where am I...? And why am I here...?"

Shadow ran a finger along the banister of the stairs, finding no dust. If it had been abandoned for a long time, then there would be dust, which meant someone was keeping up the place.

His eyes caught movement, and he looked in the direction, seeing a ghostly, glowing figure standing by the fireplace, fingering through a book. The longer Shadow looked at them, the more their form became more distinct...and more familiar. "It can't be... Maria?"

Maria paused, looking in his direction and giving him a knowing grin before setting the book down on the mantle. "I am not she..." she answered in a gentle tone.

"Then who are you? Why do you take her form?"

"I did not choose this form. You will see me as someone you look up to, it is how things transpire...You all will see me as someone different, whomever your mind decides is best."

Shadow's eyebrows furrowed, "That still doesn't answer my question."

Maria sighed, "So many questions, and yet you never look within to find the answers... They need you."

"Who? Who needs me?"

"Find them, my child...You need them as much as they need you."

Shadow felt panic flaring, but why? He found his legs moving, backing away from the figure before turning and rushing towards the front doors. He fought to stop himself, but his legs refused to respond; it was like a whole different person was controlling his limbs. He flung the doors open and Shadow saw nothing but clouds on every side of the front of the mansion, and he tried with all his might to stop, but then he leaped off of the platform. He hovered for a moment, but then once more found himself falling.

The bright clouds disappeared as he landed on something solid, and he found himself on the floor of the dark hospital hall...And a being in black armor stood over him with a blade raised to strike. He gasped, and then a blast of energy hit the knight from behind and they yelped, falling forward onto the floor.

Shadow scrambled up to his feet again, wincing at the pain it brought him. "What the hell...!?"

You are yourself again. Omega informed as he fired at the knight again.

"W-What do you mean...?"

You were not yourself moments ago. I have no records of you ever being in terror prior to two point four minutes ago when this being infiltrated your room.

Shadow stared at the knight as they got up, blocking another shot from Omega with their blade. He had no memory of leaving his hospital room or seeing this knight inside the room with him. Had he gone into some sort of trance? "Who are you!?" He demanded.

The knight chuckled, "I never thought you'd run away like a coward...You're hardly the soldier I remember, Amethyst. Your mechanical associate won't save you."

Negative. Omega pulled more of his weapons out of his arms and shoulders, I will obliterate you.

"Not here, Omega." Shadow hissed, "You'll send every other patient in the medical bay sky-high!"

Do you have a better alternative? Kzzk-!

Omega shuddered as the knight slashed a bolt of energy through the air from his blade and it hit him in the chassis, and then the robot collapsed to the floor with a thud.

"Omega!" Shadow turned back to his opponent with a growl, "You're going to regret that...!"

"Hiding again, are we? Too late!"

Shadow ducked to avoid a swing from the knight and then fired a bolt of chaos energy into his armor. The knight yelped, but it appeared to do nothing more than shock him. Before Shadow could go for a different attack he was pinned to the ground once more by his neck. "Awk-!"

"You're still an incredible disappointment, Thaw..."

Shadow grimaced as his head spun once more, the grip on his throat tightening, and then he saw a piece of metal go through the knight's torso. The knight stared forward in horror and then disappeared in a puff of smoke. Shadow waved the smoke out of his face as he coughed and tried to sit up, wondering who'd just come to his rescue.

"Eww...Still gross."

Shadow knew that voice, and also the bright blue quills of the hero who now wielded a dirty coat hanger pole and looked at it with disgust. "S-Sonic...!"

Sonic turned back to him, and then bent down to hold his hand out. "Dude, you okay?"

"F-Fine...!" Shadow rasped, rubbing his neck with one hand and letting Sonic pull him up with the other. "W-What're you doing here?"

"Believe it or not, stopping that guy from turning you into hedgehog strips."

"You know who he was?"

Sonic shook his head, "But I know where he came from, and that he'll be back." He walked over to Omega and gently kicked his foot, "Hey, wake up, Big Guy."

Omega's optics flickered back on, and he sat up, holding his cannons out. Where is our attacker? Did I incinerate his corpse?

"Afraid not. He kinda...Went, poof."

This is unacceptable. I have been robbed of my violent victory.

"Yeah, sorry..." Sonic sighed, "You sure you're okay, Shadow?"

Shadow nodded at first, but then after a moment, shook his head. "...I'm having odd dreams, and I need answers."

"Trust me, I know all about that, and I know somebody who can help...But right now, I think you should get back to where you're supposed to be before Rouge finds out you're sleepwalkin' and that Omega didn't stop you."

He started to walk away but then paused, his voice lowering as he turned back towards his rival. "Meet me at the flower shop on the corner of Central and Fifth at noon tomorrow." and then he bolted out of the hall in a flash of blue and a gust of air.

Shadow's eyes narrowed as he nodded. "Noon...Good plan."

"Okay, so the short version is this: Chaos and another guy named Dominus were both in love with a girl, but she picked Chaos. Dominus made a bunch of guys called Obsidians to kill Chaos and take over the world, but the girl, Hopeful, made her own soldiers called Amethysts to help Chaos defend the world from Dominus' attacks. The Amethysts need hosts in order to interact with the world, which is where we come in and why that Obsidian came after you last night."

Shadow shook his head in disbelief, eyebrows furrowed. "...How long have I been a host?"

Sonic shrugged, looking ahead as they wandered through the trees. "I was the last host chosen, and that was only two weeks or so ago. But it's our job to find the other hosts and wake up the Amethysts inside of them before the Obsidians take them out again. It's going to take all twenty of us to stop Dominus completely."

"Twenty...So we're ten percent done."

Shadow followed the blue hedgehog down the tiny path through the wood, and then stopped as they reached the clearing. The broken buildings, the obelisk standing in the center like a lone sentinel, it was all familiar to the amethyst that now held him in place before dropping to his knees. Fear, pain, sorrow, it was all pulsing through his body, but it was not his emotions...It was theirs.

Sonic noticed this, and he stopped, turning back before his eyes shifted to a glowing orange. "I know... Come on," He pulled Shadow back up to his feet, "We're going through together."

Step by step, they wandered into the ruins, the ruins that Shadow now recognized as the village where the Amethysts had once dwelled. One thing bothered him, however; if the Amethysts were made to fight the Obsidians and protect this world, and had been fighting them for centuries, then why had his amethyst fled in terror when one showed up?

Sonic led them to the Obelisk and then opened the door to the stairwell before leading the way down. Shadow pushed forward despite the sense of panic building inside of his chest, his heart racing and breathing becoming quicker the deeper they went.

They finally broke out into an open room full of paintings and twenty chairs around in a circle, and Sonic walked up to one of the walls and knocked on it. "Howlite, it's me. I brought someone with me."

Shadow's eyes widened as he saw the painting on the wall move, a wolf stepping out of one of the houses and brushing himself off. 'Greetings, Autumn Wind...' The wolf then looked up at Shadow and then gave a bow. 'Spring Thaw, sir...'

Shadow stepped forward a little, "A living painting...Interesting."

"Howlite knows everything about the Amethysts before us."

'Oh, I don't know about everything...' Howlite blushed, '...But I do know a lot.'

"Spring Thaw...He's the Amethyst that I'm the host for?"

'You say that as if he has not introduced himself yet.'

"He hasn't."
Shadow looked to Sonic as the hedgehog muttered, his glowing eyes telling him that it was Autumn Wind speaking. "I don't think he's said a word since he woke up forty-eight hours ago. Not even a 'hello.'"

'Odd...'

Shadow decided to change the subject, "Howlite...Do you know something of a woman that looks different to every person? She told me that I needed to find someone, and now I think she meant the other Amethysts."

"She talked to you personally?" Wind whined, "No fair! She never calls me..."

'That would be the Amethysts' creator, Queen Hope of the Upper Realm. No doubt she knew you'd need something to encourage you to listen to Sonic.'

"Good plan... Do you know anything that might help us find the others?"

Howlite shook his head, 'Only that Autumn Equinox is the most vulnerable. As the youngest Amethyst, he's the least experienced and is practically an infant by our standards. He's also the only one who can forge his own body, so he doesn't need a host.'

"We'll keep an eye out for anything suspicious." Sonic turned back to Shadow, "In the meantime, Wind and I will help you connect with Thaw and get access to his energy so you can fight the Obsidians off better. It may be that he's just weak from awakening so harshly."

"A harsh awakening? How so?"

"Thaw's power is melting stuff. When you were in danger, he forced himself to wake up so that your body wouldn't be affected by the molten metal falling on top of you."

Shadow stared for a moment, "Of course...That makes sense... I heard a voice when that happened, but I haven't heard that voice since."

'You must make contact with Spring Thaw if you are going to reach full power and access to the Amethyst's greatest strengths.' Howlite's movement slowed, 'Take care, you two...'

The painting once again became still, and Sonic brushed shoulders with his rival. "Come on, Shadow. We have work to do."

"Yes... It appears so."