Hello! Arby here with Chapter 11 for you!

We're actually getting close to the end of this now. I had a blast writing it, so I hope it was a good read. :) But it's not the end yet, so I'll save the speeches until then.

Poor Sage had to go to the vets yesterday. I've never had to do that before, so I lost a good amount of sleep in the past two days. Luckily, he's perfectly fine! :D Still, that was one hell of a scare though. I'll never forget it. Zeus and Jak are fine also. :)

That's all I've got for now. Enjoy the chapter and I'll see you again next week!

Arby xx


"Shadow, you have gone too far! I have to stop you! You cannot proceed any further! You will fall here!" Espio's voice screamed at him. Shadow fell to his knees; he assumed his hate was out of pain for their loss. He had to help him. He refilled his lantern again, leaving him with four remaining pots, before heading back to Charmy.

"You got the doors open? Awesome, Shadow! I knew you could do it!" Charmy praised as he passed by. Heading right first, Shadow found a small study room. There was a lighter and Laudanum on the shelves, another lighter in a drawer under the desk, a cylinder object in the side compartment and a note on top. Shadow touched the object first.


"I could continue my life just like everyone else, but I am different. They all have an end; they get that one certainty, which I have avoided.

With me, my end must be a choice. Time will not take me therefore I am stuck in a life created unnaturally. I could end it at any point, but I chose to stay for you, but with this weight on me now, will you be the one to crush me?"


Even with the majority of his memories returned, he still wondered what these small flashbacks meant. He could now feel the extreme sadness that accompanied them. Was this his grief? Is this what trapped him here? He snapped out of it when he saw the note and ran back to Charmy upon seeing that it was about a tonic made up of three ingredients.

The mammal read it aloud and Charmy confirmed his suspicions.

"Excellent! Ok, you need to pay attention. There is a gate somewhere, it will send me to the afterlife, but as you can see, I can't get there on my own. That tonic will allow you to take me with you, without taking my life. The only way to do that is… by cutting off my head." Charmy hesitated, knowing Shadow wouldn't take the news well.

"Are you crazy?!" Shadow shouted.

"It's the only way, Shadow! I wouldn't ask this of you if it wasn't important!" Charmy pleaded and Shadow soon calmed.

"So, this will let me cut off your head without taking your life?"

"Yep, but there's a barrier stopping anyone from reaching the gate. Only a Chaos Emerald is strong enough to breach it, but it will only be down for a short time. Get the pieces, but do not mend it yet. Get me first and take me with you."

"Understood."

"Good luck, Shadow." He went back the way he came and past the study before reaching the Choir Entrance.


It was one simple corridor that had two doors, one on either side of him and some stairs with a heavy door at the end. He went left first and found a table with a note upon it. The moment he touched it, his vision began to fail and he collapsed onto the stone.


He could hear running. His breathing was fast as was the male behind him. Another Chaos Blast got the door open and they sprinted onward. They both collectively gasped at the sight, which Shadow currently couldn't see.

"Let him go!" Shadow yelled angrily.

"Look out!" Espio yelled from behind him. Bullets could be heard flying in every direction as he could feel his body dodge them.

"You will pay for everything you have done!" Shadow continued, but the fire did not cease. He tried to fight back, but then everything went still. Silent. He could feel his eyes widen and his stomach drop.

"NOOOO!" Two distraught males cry out. "Charmy!"


His bottom lip began to tremble as he rocked back and forth in the corner. His son was dead.

"Eggman." He spat with venom in his words. His mind pictured the many ways he would kill him, assuming he wasn't dead already. Rage now fuelled his movements as he searched both rooms only to find two lighters. He then stormed down the stairs and into the Choir's Main Hall.


This room stood out vastly from any of the others he'd been to.

It was enormous and was filled with a mysterious, red fog. He couldn't see very far as a result, meaning he couldn't keep an eye out for the 'something' that was lurking in here. Shadow used his old rule of staying low and listening before deciding to stay near the wall and head right, so that he wouldn't wander in circles.

"What are my intentions, Shadow? Freedom from this never-ending pain. We were in this together, but you thought you knew better and left me in the dust. You ran when things got bitter and now look. This could have been avoided, you know. You caused this and now you shall pay for it."

"Nothing you say can deter me, Espio, I will find you and I will help you." Knowing he wouldn't get an answer, he continued across a bridge.

*Groan*

"I knew it was you." Shadow mumbled as he heard the creature behind him. Forcing himself to keep looking forward, Shadow continued ignoring the monster for now. Soon, a separate path headed right, which led to an iron door. Shadow knew just by looking at it that it was one of the torture rooms. He took a long breath and went inside.

Shadow entered a room where a large, wooden wheel stood at the far end. Just looking at it caused him a headache, but a faint purple light in the corner caught his attention.

"One down, five to go." He told himself as he picked up the piece and swiftly left.

With two more rooms to search, he headed back to the main path and kept going right. As he was about to move onward, another groan came from… somewhere.

*Groan*

Shadow panicked not knowing where it was and hid next to one of the huge pillars that were in the room. His face remained determined as he listened for its movement. Screeching could soon be heard heading in his direction and he froze as it walked past him. Shadow forced his breathing to be slow, but his trembling made it difficult. It turned and walked past him again, this time walking in the direction that Shadow needed to go in.

He patiently waited until he could no longer hear its deep groans and decided to follow. Shadow peered round the corner first, hoping to see it and hoping to not see it at the same time. Either way, he knew it would be no use because of the poor visibility.

After some distance crouch-walking, another path led off to the right and soon, to the second torture room. Before he went in, he came across a group of poisonous fungi with one in particular being much larger. He scrambled to get the note and reminded himself of the poison gland within it that would be used as a paralyzer for the tonic. The mammal tried to open it up, but he couldn't get a good grip on it. Remembering he still had the hammer and chipper from the Prison, he aimed it carefully and broke it open, revealing a large poison gland, which he took with him into the torture room.

This one contained a hollow bull made of iron. Shadow noticed the unlit fire underneath and could only imagine how they would torture someone with this thing. He looked around, wanting to get out as soon as possible, and found a lighter plus the second piece of the Chaos Emerald. His headache was quickly getting worse so he decided to make a swift retreat.

Continuing right, he soon came to a large gap. The red mist stopped him from seeing a bottom, but he knew he would never be able to cross it. On the other side, he saw two lanterns lighting up the door to the third torture chamber. Shadow was forced head back and then travel left from the exit.

*Groan*

On his way back, another groan came from in front of him and in the distance, he could see a faint silhouette heading his way. Shadow dove behind a nearby pillar and waited for the creature to pass by. It seemed to stick around longer this time as the hedgehog listened to its every move. It left eventually, allowing Shadow to keep going.

No more monsters appeared in his path and Shadow was able to make it to the third room with no obstacles.

Inside was a standing chamber. The hedgehog approached, only to have it suddenly burst open and a strong gust fly past him, strong enough to knock him onto his back.

"AH!" He screamed at the sudden jump. Shadow scrambled backwards and was about to run, but he knew another emerald piece was here. He spent a few minutes calming himself down before warily walking past it and finding the third piece. Once obtained, he kept his gaze upon it before running out of the room and out of the Choir altogether.


His sprint wouldn't halt until he returned to Charmy to see how he was doing.

"Hey Shadow." He greeted as he heard the hedgehog walk back into the room.

"Hey Charms." He returned letting him know that it was him and not some creature. "I got the three pieces from the Choir." He told him.

"Great job, Shadow! The last three should be in the Transept; I don't think there's anything in there, so you should be fine." Shadow nodded.

"How are you holding up?" The hedgehog asked.

"No different than how I've been in centuries. How about you?" He asked in return.

"A mix of things really. I still don't know what to make of this entire situation. Although one thing has been bothering me."

"What is it?"

"What the hell are these things?" He said pulling out a lighter.

"Uh Shadow?"

"Oh right… my apologies. It's a small cylinder thing that can light torches and lanterns." Shadow described.

"They're called tinderboxes, Shadow."

"Really?" Charmy chuckled at him.

"Yeah, what have you been calling them?"

"Lighters." Shadow told him, earning him a playful laugh from the insect.

"I can see why you'd call them that, but they're tinderboxes."

"Thanks, I'd better get going."

"Yeah, you don't have a lot of time if there really is something after you." Charmy reminded him.

"I forgot about that… I'll be back soon." Shadow reassured him before heading in the direction opposite to the Choir. He found another small room before the heavy door. This time it had a well with a pulley system above it, allowing various objects to be lowered and raised from it. Within the well, Shadow could hear the garbles of the creature, which he now knew was called a Kaernk from the note about the tonic. Not wanting to listen to it, he left the room and entered the Transept.

The atmosphere was creepy and unsettling. It was another large room, although nowhere near the size of the Choir's Main Hall. He could see the three doors at the end however; there was an iron, spiral staircase in the centre. Feeling curious, Shadow ventured up there first.

He found another study room. It was vastly fancier than the rest of the Transept and looked more like the previous Study which he went to. There was a tinderbox and a pot of oil on the shelf, another cylinder in the side compartment of the desk, some string and a note explaining the process of torture, which Shadow didn't read fully. His voice was heard again when he touched the cylinder.


"What is it that you want from me? Is there nothing I can do to prove myself to you? I know things can't be the way they were, but they can be easier. Why won't you let me make it easier? You are only hurting yourself… yet you are hurting me as well."


Shadow sighed, if Espio is as bad as he thought he was, then he knew there was little he could do. Nonetheless, he still had to try. Charmy was his priority now and he would save Espio as well, but only if he could.

He chose to take the string, thinking that he would need it and went back down and into the left-most torture room.

The corridor leading to the room was incredibly dark and Shadow had to use his lantern. The actual room was lit with a couple of torches. In the centre were restraints that were attached to a pulley system. A weight was on the floor. On the wall was a picture of the equipment being used. A woman was tied with her hands behind her back. The restraints would then pull her up whilst the weight was attached via her ankles. The pressure would cause her shoulders to snap. Shadow shuddered before looking in a closet to find the fourth piece of the emerald. With one last glance, he left and went into the centre torture room.

This room was a lot dimmer, being lit only by a single lantern on the ceiling. At the far end was a small, metal pyramid. The tip was incredibly sharp, yet there was no picture of it being used on the wall. Shadow was secretly thankful and remerged through some sacks in the corner and found an emerald piece underneath. He looked at it again before leaving and shuddered at a gruesome image that filled his head.

"One more." He told himself as went into the right-most torture room.

Sawing noises could be heard coming from the room and they got steadily louder as Shadow approached. He turned his lantern off, plunging himself into darkness. He looked through the bars in the door, but there was no one in there. A low growl was made in his throat before going in and looking around.

This one had by far the most blood, with a grate in the middle that had a pool of it underneath. Next to it was a large saw and on the wall was a picture, showing a man that had been hung upside down and was being sawn in half. His stomach struggled to take it and Shadow had to swallow down anything that was rising up. He picked up the last piece of the Chaos Emerald that was in some rope and left the room. Once the door was closed, he leaned against it to catch some air and remembered the tonic he was supposed to be gathering the ingredients for. He got the note out and looked at it in case he had forgotten anything.

He wiped his head of sweat when he realised he needed a tortured human's blood. Shadow had to go back in and retrieve a good amount because it contained vitae, which was needed for the tonic. Charmy was the only thing on his mind as he re-entered the room. Shadow knelt down and lifted the grate, but he couldn't reach far enough to get the blood. He then remembered the bit of string and tied it around the glass jar. The jar was then dipped into the blood and retrieved. Now with a migraine, Shadow quickly left the Transept and returned to Charmy.


On the way back, the distant creature's cries caused Shadow to fall to the ground clutching his head. They lasted for a few seconds, but they were much louder than before, whatever it was, it was closing in. Shadow rushed back to Charmy and explained it to him.

"Ok, what else do you need?" The bee asked quickly.

"Something called 'Tampter', which is in the secretion from the Kaernk." Shadow explained.

"The what?"

"It's a horrible water monster thing. It's completely invisible."

"Oh… I have no idea how you're going to get that, but until you do, I'm not going anywhere." Charmy said with concern.

"I know… hang in there, I'll figure something out." Shadow told him before moving through the barred gate into a room filled with cells, just like the ones in the Prison. He didn't bother looking in them for fear of it wasting what little time he had and instead went straight up some stairs to the second floor where he found a chunk of fresh meat.

"What the hell?" He pondered, but then came up with an idea. Shadow picked up the meat and raced to the well he had found earlier. He tied it to the small bit of rope hanging from the ceiling and lowered it down. The Kaernk thrashed violently in the water as it tore at the flesh. Shadow thought that it might jump out of the well altogether. Soon, the noises died down and Shadow was able to pull the rope back up. There wasn't a single bit of meat left. His mind imagined what he would've looked like had the Kaernk got a hold of him. The mammal untied the now slimy bone and took it with him.

"You were in a hurry." Charmy commented as he heard Shadow's footsteps run back into the room.

"I got the final component." He announced. "How do I make this thing?"

"Great! There's a Laboratory just up the stairs and straight ahead." Charmy informed.

"But it's boarded up. I can't get in."

"Oh…" Charmy's voice suddenly lacked the energy it had up until now.

"Don't worry, there's another door past the cell room over there. I'll go see if there's anything in there."

"That's the Chancel. Good idea. I'll see you soon." Shadow walked quickly back into the cell room and into the Chancel.


Shadow jogged up some stairs, but halted at some very deep groans that filled his ears. It wasn't a monster, these ones were different. They may have been from the thing that was hunting him, but he couldn't be sure. What he did know was that they had extinguished his confidence and he was now back to crouching as he got to the top of the stairs. There was a closed door at the top, which Shadow listened through first before opening. He crouched through to see nothing before moving forward. A few steps later and suddenly three of them appeared on his right and charged at him. Out of panic, Shadow tried his best to fend them off by punching and kicking, but it was no use as they quickly overwhelmed him.