CHAPTER ONE: A MANTLE OF SHADOWS

The light hit straight on. It blinded. It seemed to go on eternally; irritated eyes focused on finding an end, but were unsuccessful. The mind which had been corrupted could not take in the purification. It wanted to run. It wanted to find the darkest corner, and hide in it. Eternally.

In the corner of the ivory void, a wave of darkness formed. The mind was attracted to it immediately, as if the dark power, little to nothing, influenced more than the seemingly impenetrable purity. And out of that darkness, emerged a shadow that approached me, the creature witnessing it all. It seemed to smirk at me, and its crimson blood orbs focused on nothing but I, its target. The only one around.

Heart aching. It calls my name. Can't form out the source; just hear its voice and feel its gaze.

'It's good to finally see what a weakling you are. I would think someone of your background would be a lot harder to crack. But you'd crawl to any source of darkness because you know you're not worthy of the light.'

'..You don't know me. No one does.'

The words escape before they could be sustained.

'I know you. I know you perfectly. You're a fearless warrior who fights for the innocent, right..?' It snickered. Chills rippled through my body. 'No. That's not what you are. You're a pathetic little insect putting on a show for an audience. Your mascaraed fools the fools. Your facade is incredibly predictable. But they buy it anyway. I don't. I know you.'

'…W-who are you…' Teeth grind against each other with each movement. Words feel like thoughts. Body grows numb.

'Real brain teaser, isn't it?

I am everything you fear and more.

I am a nightmare come to life.

I am a reincarnation of darkness evermore.

I am

You.'

My name is Ceci

And I am afraid of many things.

I'm afraid of small spaces

And wasps.

I am afraid of a starless night

and deep waters.

I am afraid of losing

Or even trusting.

I'm afraid of being alone

Alone to face my thoughts

I am afraid of eternal darkness

But most of all

I am afraid of what lies within myself.

A gasp escaped a pair of lips that morning. Eye lids parted in a split second, and the creature sat up in its bed, sweat trickling off the edge of its brow. It breathed hard, and seemed to whisper inaudible phrases to itself; repeated, and repeated, and repeated. It let her feet touch the ice cold floor, and stood, regaining its balance. Its legs wobbled as if they would collapse any moment and leave the Mobian on the hard surface, but that wasn't the case. Rather, it made its way to the mirror, eyeing the bags under its coffee orbs. The golden hedgehog let out a sigh, and ran her fingers down her pale muzzle. "Another sleepless night…" She smiled halfheartedly and reached for her brush, proceeding to run it through her chocolate quills carelessly. She stared at herself in the mirror and her smile faded. 'You're stronger than this.' This was what she had whispered to herself. But the weary figure in the mirror proved otherwise. It taunted her. Teased her. Reminded her that she was nothing. That she couldn't fight back. The hedgehog's gaze darkened, and without any second thoughts, her fist smashed through the cold glass. She winced slightly and stared at the shattered reflection. 'Now there are dozens of weaklings'. Her arm dropped back to her side, and she walked away from the scene, attempting to drown these thoughts with the rest of her unpleasant memories.

She stepped into the light of the hallway, nearly blinding her view as she adjusted to the sudden change of intensity. The hallway led to her room, a bathroom, and another bedroom. Shadow's bedroom. Shadow the hedgehog- nay, Shadow the Emohog, considered himself to be the world's ultimate lifeform, created for the soul purpose of serving Mobius' people. However, that wasn't always the case. Shadow was a dark creature, rarely associating with anyone, especially out of the team. He preferred to wonder in his bed chamber and deal with his haunting thoughts alone. The golden hedgehog could relate to this. Shadow wasn't known for showing his fondness towards the others in the group, or to anyone, really. He merely tolerated them, to say the least, but avoided dealing with their shenanigans for the most part. Especially Sonic's. The two hedgehogs never exactly saw eye to eye. Sonic the hedgehog, Mobius' blue hero, considered himself leader of the group, and so did every Television set on the planet. His arrogant attitude bothered the female hedgehog intensely, and everyone in the group agreed with her from time to time.

She walked to the stairs, and to the left was a door leading to Amy Rose's room. Amy, a young pink hedgehog, had always been infatuated with her hero Sonic ever since he had saved her life when they were young, and proceeded to chase him around in a fangirl type of way. However, she had quickly grown out of her childish habit and proceeded to merely being friends with Sonic; although her feelings for him were still quite obvious, she ceased to chase him around like a love sick puppy. Next to Amy's room sat Sonic's room, and the furthest part of the hallway contained Midnight's room. Midnight was in fact the female hedgehog's closest friend in the group. Their personalities were very similar in certain points, and it was easy for them to relate to each other. Midnight the hedgehog also contained a dark past, but she preferred it stayed hidden from the group.

The golden hedgehog quietly walked downstairs, and the living room and dining room entered her view. Down the hallway was the kitchen, next to the dining room, but cut apart from it by a door. Downstairs in the basement was Tails' laboratory. Tails was a young, two-tailed fox, best friend of Sonic's, with an IQ of 300. He was constantly in his laboratory, isolating himself from the rest of the world as he worked on his eternal list of experiments. Boy, was he a drag. Not exactly good with the ladies, either. Downstairs, two doors connected to the living room, leading to two extra rooms, in which Silver the hedgehog and Knuckles the echidna slept in. The golden hedgehog didn't know much about Silver, besides that he had come from the future to pay the team a visit and eventually would have to return, leaving the sorrowful team to deal with the distress. Particularly Midnight, who had a special bond with the hedgehog. Knuckles, on the other hand, rarely stayed over with the team, as he is always at Angel Island, guarding and protecting the Master Emerald, one of the most powerful energy sources, if not the most powerful energy source, on planet Mobius.

The golden hedgehog reached the kitchen, only to be greeted by a perky rose hedgehog; Amy Rose. "Good morning, Ceci!", she sang in a cheerful tone as she flipped a pancake off the frying pan and caught it in Midair. Ceci merely stared at the display of joy, showing no signs of a smile in return, and waved half-heartedly. "Morning," she choked out, her voice cracked and weak. The color drained out of Amy's muzzle, as she stared at Ceci's hand, looking as though she'd seen a ghost. The golden hedgehog felt warm liquid trickle down her arm, and turned to examine her hand as well. Her peach fur, now stained in dark crimson, soaked in her agony, remained as living proof of the haunting figure she had faced this morning, causing chills to run up her back. Ceci looked back at Amy, who seemed to be talking, but heard nothing. Nothing but the hard beating of her heart, speeding, racing, without end. "ARE YOU EVEN LISTENING TO ME?! YOU NEED STITCHES. COME WITH ME, NOW!" Amy yelled, panic written all over her pale face. She reached for Ceci's other hand, and Ceci quickly pulled back, snapping back into reality. "W-wha? No. I don't need anything. It's just a little cut," Ceci choked out, forcing her frown to spread into an unconvincing grin. Amy glared at her. Ceci reached into a cabinet and pulled out a roll of bandages, carelessly wrapping her hand. Amy shook her head; "I swear, if you weren't so stubborn we could treat your wounds properly. How the hell did you get a cut like that, anyway?" She asked, brow raised in curiosity. Ceci swallowed hard, heart pounding against her chest. "I uh.. I.. Accidentally high-fived a cactus." Sweat formed on Ceci's forehead as Amy gave her signature look of 'do you think I'm stupid?' As Amy opened her mouth to speak, Ceci quickly interrupted. "OH LOOK AT THE TIME, SEEMS LIKE I'M LATE FOR MY TRAINING SESSION WITH LIGHT. SEE YA LATER AMY!" Ceci zoomed out of the kitchen, leaving a confused Amy standing there. The rosey hedgehog shook her head, and brought her attention back to her cooking; as if cooking could somehow shake away the worries. The entire group had been on edge lately, but the cause was unknown. However, the golden hedgehog seemed to be responding to these eerie surroundings more drastically than the rest. She constantly hid in her room, or went out, escaping through the windows, to avoid being seen by the group. As the rest of the group lie in slumber, the pink hedgehog buried her troubling thoughts into her labor, a labor to please her friends. A labor to mend their bond which was so near a breaking point.

Every day brought more troubles. Every day; constant fighting. Their sworn enemy, doctor Robotnik, had not been active in almost a full year now, and the thread keeping the groups alliance held together was beginning to deteriorate. The alliance itself seemed to be collapsing, as their overall goal which united them was no longer existent. But friendships don't last forever. They will never last forever. A mere friendship is not strong enough to endure the evils of a world that weeps beneath a mantle of shadows.