"Oh no…" Shadow gasped as the flesh had begun to contaminate the Back Hall, the only place he once considered to be a haven. The fountain was now blood as more flesh sat comfortably in the water. The way to the Archive Tunnels was now entirely blocked off, not that he wanted to go back there anyway.

Re-focusing himself, Shadow went into the last door; the one that was blown open when he got to the Back Hall in the first place.

Out of sadness, Shadow quickly approached the fountain, as if to remember the time of peace and cleanliness it had once granted him. Unexpectedly, more voices popped up, which this time caught the hedgehog off-guard.


"I should have known!" Espio yelled as they all hurried. Shadow could hear their rapid footsteps upon the metal and assumed they were still in Eggman's old base. "It was so obvious!"

"Espio, there was no way any of us could've figured this out." Shadow tried to comfort him.

"At least he told us where he is now." Tails reminded them.

"Probably only to tease us." Shadow whispered.


Shadow grunted. Both situations seemed hopeless. Eggman had Charmy and Shadow was stuck here; both with no escape. He couldn't help but think that they were connected in some crazy way. With some will power, he turned away from the fountain and headed for the door, which oddly was closed. The mammal quickly shrugged it off as nothing major and went inside to see another large room.


"You're kidding… you think I'm going in there?! It's a death trap!" Espio snapped.

"We have no choice, Es!" Shadow pleaded with him. "We'll just go in, ride the elevator, and get out. I'll be with you the whole time. I promise." He could clearly hear Espio's uncontrolled breathing and felt him grip his hand tightly.

"O-ok." He stuttered before he heard footsteps go onto metal.


Shadow smirked warmly at the thought that appeared in his mind.

"Hmph, Espio's afraid of elevators… cute." There was a gate at the far end, which Shadow knew must have been the elevator, and a door to his left. He approached the door first as it was closer, but found that it was locked.

"Hold on…" He mumbled as he got the key that he found in the Guest Room. More smugness showed in his grin as he entered the Machine Room.


It was incredibly gloomy, but held an odd sense of serenity. It was quiet in a way that didn't disturb him. He had a choice, go ahead or go left. Shadow went ahead first to find a single room on his right. There was a lit candle on a desk in the closest left corner. Once he got near, he noticed a note next to it.

'We made it to the bastard's new base. The others were clearly worn out, yet they refused to rest, Espio especially.

To get in, we needed to ride an elevator down. Espio was the first to protest since he was claustrophobic. Seeing him all nervous like that sparks courage in me, yet I feel bad… he shouldn't need to go through this.

None of us should. I could've stopped Charmy from going anywhere. I could've told him straight up 'you're grounded'. But I didn't and now look… I should stop but… I feel as if I am to blame.'

A sorrowful sigh escaped him. Shadow was currently feeling the same emotions that the note described. He was concerned for Charmy, more so now that he remembered exactly who he was, yet Espio still eluded him.

Also in the room, were six levers each with Roman numerals above and below. He lit a fixed lantern on the ceiling, so that he could see what he was doing without using up his oil. Remembering the note that explained how the elevator functioned, Shadow thought that it would be his best bet at figuring out what these levers were for.

Shadow skimmed through its text until he read: "The metres should read up 8 and down 8."

He had to adjust the levers until the totals added up to 8 both on the top and underneath. It was more a game of trial and error, but eventually, found the right combination. First two down, next three up and then the last one down.

Feeling content with what he had accomplished, Shadow returned to the pipe-filled corridor and headed down some stairs next to the exit. The mammal soon came across another room. After lighting his lantern, Shadow found another mechanism on the wall, a large chest with another two lighters and two more notes. The first read:

'I will admit I was hesitant at first. We had been travelling all day and while I felt physically fine, I knew the others were tired and drained, yet every time I asked about stopping to rest, even for a few minutes, Espio would jump in and literally order us to keep moving.

I know he wants to rescue Charmy, I do as well, but I would prefer to do so without one or more of us getting harmed or worse.

I envy his stubbornness at times and would even go as far as to say that it suits him, but today, it is nothing short of dangerous.'

He took the note from the small desk it was neatly placed on and read the second, this time on a larger crate.

It was a small note explaining the rods that he already had in his possession and how they should only be discarded if they were heavily damaged. Shadow now focused on the mechanism that had three empty slots. They were for the rods, but which was which? Above each slot was a shape; circle, triangle and square, in that order. He studied all three rods, which were now in his hands, but none of them had labels or anything which allowed him to decipher which one went where.

After more trial and error, he again was lucky to find the correct combination, not that it was all that challenging. Green, blue, then red respectively. Once placed and hearing more steam fly through the pipes above him, he left the room and ventured further down.

The room was so quiet that he could hear sounds coming from far in the distance. One disturbing roar in particular kept catching his attention. It was like a beast announcing its territory across the land, but he knew better, it was still hunting him. The thought alone, while unnerving, didn't truly scare him. It was as if his mind couldn't really believe that the flesh could kill him, no matter how dangerous he knew it was. Shadow felt that he was smarter, more agile and quicker than the slimy tissue, which was slowly pursuing him.

The hedgehog came to the final room at the bottom of the machinery area, which contained the majority of pipes and cogs. He lit two ceiling lanterns and got to work figuring out what did what.

One large cog wheel had a lever next to it, which upon pulling it down caused the machine to move slightly, but then stop abruptly. There were three metal spokes sticking out from the wall, as if something was supposed to be there, but wasn't. He left it for now and went to a hatch that had a separate lever. Upon pulling it down, a small light lit up inside, but then burnt out. Shadow worked out that it needed fuel, but since he was at a point in time where electricity wasn't around, he knew it wouldn't be the kind of fuel that he was used to.

A smaller room was to his left, which contained piles of coal. The hedgehog nodded, now knowing what to do. He grabbed three large pieces and threw them in before closing the hatch and pulling the lever. The flame enveloped the coal and burned defiantly. Now Shadow had to figure out what else the elevator needed.

He gained more oil from a barrel in the coal room, which this time held very little, and a lighter before looking back at the instructions. It gave him no further clue as to what else was needed, so now all he could do was guess. Simply glancing around the room, Shadow spotted yet another note. It puzzled him how they got everywhere, but read it nonetheless.

'Damn! Why do I keep letting this happen?!

The moment we exited the elevator, we were ambushed by Eggman's mechs. I charged at them as quick as I could, but one lucky shot made it into Tails' arm. He says he'll be ok, but I am NOT letting my guard down now.

I am taking the lead! No one else is getting hurt! I don't care what Espio says!'

Shadow could only shake his head as he slowly put the note away.

"Always when things seem hopeful…" He pondered. "Why is it that fate always takes it away?" Searching high and low for answers, Shadow found three cogwheels around the Machine Room. Normally, he wouldn't have taken any notice if it weren't for the small hole in the centre of each of them, perfect for a small spoke. He carried the three them, as awkward as it was, and placed them on one spoke each. The largest went on the left, smallest in the middle and the medium on the right. Certain that the thing still wouldn't work, he reluctantly pulled the lever.

The machinery rumbled into life, nearly causing Shadow to jump. He grinned with pride and folded his arms as he stared at his new achievement. With his gloves now being blackened from the coal and other dirt, he began to leave, completely letting his guard down.

He walked forward with confidence until more deadly tissue appeared from absolutely nowhere. It caught him by surprise and he nearly stood right into a large pile. He could only imagine the damage it could've potentially done to his leg.

"No… not now." He groaned, already missing the peace he had just seconds ago. Heading up the stairs, more of it began appearing and more frequently. His pace quickened to a jog as he now had to dodge the piles of flesh on the walls and floor. Thanks to his agility, good luck or both, he made it out untouched.


The Back Hall: a place of serenity, calm and safety. Wrong.

As soon as the Machine Room door closed, Shadow's vision went black just like it did in the Cellar Archives. He quivered and begged that he wouldn't be surrounded by knee-high water when his vision returned. It wasn't flooded with water, but with red. The organic beast had completely blocked the path back to the fountain and its fleshy substance almost took up the entire room.

Looking for an exit, Shadow saw the gate to the elevator and trod carefully, so that he wouldn't lose a limb. The two gates screeched horribly as they closed behind him and, with a slight sense of fear. Shadow pulled the lever and the elevator began to descend.

If Espio hated trusty, sturdy, advanced elevators, then he was sure he would have detested this one.

It was unstable and would rock from side to side, sometimes affecting Shadow's balance. It was loud and the lantern dangling above him would often go black for a second before the flame was revived. The hedgehog had no fear of these confined spaces, but this one certainly had him on edge.

Suddenly, his vision went black. This time only lasting a second, but more of the flesh lined the door of each floor as the elevator passed. Shadow backed up as far as he could thinking that the creature couldn't reach him. How wrong he was. While the flesh itself didn't touch him, it did attack the elevator itself, forcing it to stop.

"No!" Shadow yelled, but as he was about to try and escape, it jerked and began to free fall. The hedgehog wanted to scream, but his entire body froze as did all the functions that came with it. He could do nothing until it finally crash landed at the very bottom floor with Shadow still inside.


"Ugh…" Shadow groaned as his entire body ached. How long had he been passed out like this? His eyes were still half-closed as he turned to see a rock slide behind him instead of an elevator. "Crap…" He mumbled before collapsing back on his stomach.

Eyelids opened once again to yet more stone brick. Now having the strength to get up, Shadow looked at the door ahead of him, which was shrouded in darkness. How far down was he? In a few steps, more voices filled his head.


"Are you sure you're alright?" A high-pitched voice cried. Shadow was staring, refusing to say a word for now.

"Don't worry Cream, I'm fine. It just grazed me, I swear."

"We have to be more careful, that could've been the end of you." Espio said harshly. Shadow could feel himself become slowly irritated by this.

"We're not that far in and already Tails is hurt. From now on, I am taking point. Do you all understand?" His voice was stern and on the edge of anger. The others remained silent as Espio argued.

"You think I'm just going to let you walk out there to be cannon fodder?" Espio didn't yell, it wasn't something that he liked, but his voice conveyed his frustration and uneasiness.

"You do not have a choice, chameleon. Come, we must keep going. Stay behind me."

"Chameleon?!" Shadow exclaimed, forgetting completely that the very first note he had found, had already told him of Espio's species. Only his name seemed to stick with him. Still, a lot had happened and Shadow wasn't an expert in the memory department. The more he learned about his past, the more shocked he became. His thoughts remained on the topic as he cleared debris from a barred door. What he didn't know was that an entire prison lay before him, with horrors that would push him to his limit.

The first example of this was the moment he walked inside.

*Groan*

A familiar groan came from just around the corner, a groan he hadn't heard since the Wine Cellar.

It wasn't the monster he had run into so many times before. It was different and far more intimidating. The groaning continued, turning from curious to violent as he heard a man screaming within it, begging for his life to be spared. Then came the sound of metal being slashed with the man's cries becoming silent. The groans returned to normal as they faded into the distance.

Shadow slowly walked backwards until he had exited through the door he had just come through. He trembled as icy chills controlled him. His breathing was yet again broken with his pulse being loud in his alert ears. Of all the options he had, he really didn't want to go back in. Yet he had no choice. The thoughts of the ones he cared about did little to calm him and Shadow now realised that his mind was finally being strained, but he didn't want to believe it.

"I'm-I'm not scared. I don't get scared. I'm fine, everything is fine. I can get through this. I have to." He whispered rapidly to himself without taking a breath. With extreme caution, he silently went back in and made sure that nothing was around each corner.

The corridors were dark, narrow and cold. The smell of damp was filling his senses and he found it difficult to not get disorientated.

He followed the corridor, which first went left to see three new paths; one going right, one ahead and one left. The right one was closest so he went down that one first. It was blocked by a rockslide with only a single cell being available. He wanted to cry when he only found two lighters; a reaction which he knew was extreme. Shadow simply did not want to be in here. The darkness by itself felt menacing, regardless of what may have been lurking around each corner.

He took a deep breath and swallowed hard before heading down the left path, which was the next nearest one. Three more cell doors were in front of him. The left and right ones housed a hammer, another potential weapon, and a pot of oil which Shadow grabbed as if it was gold. One more door remained, but as he approached, he got a nasty surprise.

The body of a man was thrown at the other side of the door, which was thankfully locked. What followed after it was the source of all the alien-like noises. It was a beast he had never before seen and couldn't, until now, even imagine. The torch that burned behind it, plus the light from Shadow's lantern showed its features well, perhaps too well.

Its head was horrifically split down the middle; he had no idea how it was alive. Teeth lined the middle with one wary eye keeping watch for its victims. It's method of attack? It's left arm, which had been entirely replaced by a large, heavy, metal blade whilst other bits of metal had been stitched to its body.

The shock of the unthinkable sight frightened Shadow to his very core. Never had he known that such a monstrosity could exist. He scrambled backwards after falling to his hands and knees until he went into the nearest cell and sat in the corner by a lit candle on the floor.

He tightly held onto his knees and shook violently. Dizziness had overcome his vision and the room appeared to be moving. Shadow closed his eyes tightly to avoid throwing up and to hope that his nightmare would end by any means necessary.

He didn't care who this Espio guy was, he didn't care if he couldn't remember him. All he wanted was him to be here or himself to be with him. For his arms to wrap around his frightened bones and whisper that everything is ok.

"Espio…" He whimpered quietly as fear and sadness travelled down his cheeks. "Where are you? Where am I? Get me out dammit… please…" He rocked back and forth as his scarred mind tried to recover. For the moment, he was petrified of his fate and was helpless to stop it.