Okay! Were back with another update! I hope you guys like this chapter! Me and Total SH worked real hard on this one 3 And soon Firno, Reo's Shadow brother (Hence the title of the whole story) Will arrive in chapter 4 no doubt any way I'll leave you to enjoy this! Later!

Jade xx

Chapter Three

Inside The Walls

Reo War couldn't help but have the urge to argue back at his superior when he found out that he and Jade would share a room, but of course he didn't dare draw breath to do such a thing. 'But, perhaps Master was wrong about this-no!' He thought to himself 'Master is never incorrect' "Master," he bowed deeply. "Is it not forbidden for females and males to share quarters?" he asked softly; he knew that there were a lot more men than women who were Talons on Cyclonia and that they were placed in separate dorms for obvious reasons.

"It is, Reo, but you are no male." Cyclonis said simply

"Huh? Course he's a guy, looks like one and acts like one" Jade, the young feminine Talon, interrupted with a slight snort. Reo rolled his dim scarlet and green eyes at the girl; she would be punished if she carried on in this rude manner, if this wasn't harsh enough for the both of them

"In order for you to understand this world better you much have your teacher close as hand just in case, you two will share rooms, no questions, now leave." Cyclonis turned back to her machine, Jade sighed half in annoyance and half in defeat and stormed out the chamber with Reo slightly behind her, his back straight and looking blank as usual.

"I can't believe this! Now I'm stuck with you at night too!" Jade said with a whine; its not like she hated Reo or anything but he DID grate on her nerves at times; it was so hard trying to talk with a guy who was like a brick wall.

"Hey, I don't like this either, human! Master must have a decent reason." Reo said with a frown.

"Quit calling me human! Well...I am one but I have a name, and it's Jade, try using it sometime"

"It does not matter, its all the same to-General Dark Ace." Reo blinked as the strong commander stalked over to them.

"Reo, you have training." Dark Ace had an element of frustration and annoyance embedded in his voice; he obviously wasn't all that happy about something, Jade could guess it was because he was being forced to train the other. Without waiting for the shadows reply he went to grasp his forearm but the sly boy swiftly moved aside and Ace growled as he stalked off expecting Reo to follow leaving Jade to be dragged off by another talon to do other duties around Cyclonia.

Dark Ace slammed the training Arena double thick metal doors in Reo's face, he unsheathed his energy blade and held it at the ready, when the shadow came through the door, he would attack with accuracy, and try to catch him by surprise. But it was the General who was caught in the tension, as Reo silently stepped out of the wall from behind took out one of his two small-sized dagger shaped energy blades and lit it without even a hiss.

"Looking for me, sir?" Reo asked him form behind; he could have smiled, but he never thought of even trying, so he remained stony. The dark haired commandeer almost jumped out of his fleshy substance, as the humans would say. 'Ha'. Reo thought. 'I made a joke'.

General Dark Ace was panting on the floor in only ten minutes; it was unbelievable, untrue. Reo stood above him, both blades glowing a bright red pointing to Dark Ace's neck and chest. Again, Reo could have grinned in his obvious victory, and yet again, he did not. The General batted his wrist out the way…well he would have had the other now moved meaning he swatted at thin air. "How is this possible!" he growled more to himself then Reo; someone much younger than him had defeated him again.

"...Perhaps I'm-" Reo started.

"Don't say it!" Dark Ace growled warningly; Reo took his order and became silent. This was the second time the shadow boy had defeated Dark Ace in a very short amount of time and Reo stood and watched in silence as his commander ranted as his ego was bruised once again.

Reo War was a shadow, yes, but he was also a young one, yet, with all the power he inflicts it could have been the same of many, many powerful men. Dark Ace knew it, he saw it, but he did not believe it. Stupidity is what Reo would call it, in his mind of course...if he had one…did he have one? Reo was suddenly snapped out of his little thoughts as he heard the faint sound of running feet coming towards them. War almost rolled his eyes when he saw the light purple hair as Jade burst through the heavy doors of the training arena

"Ace, Master Cyclonis wants to see you." She puffed, obviously out of breath. Dark Ace growled and sneered at Reo before leaving, almost gladly. Jade ran over, a strained smile on her pale face, which was most unlike her.

"Come on then, you pain, I suppose I better show you our new room." Jade sighed slightly looking exasperated and annoyed; Reo, if he could have felt at the moment, would have felt slight pain; Jade normally always treated him so nicely...as if he was her young one…what was the word, brother was it? Something like that, or was that all an act? War was deep in thought again as he followed Jade to their quarters. For the first time he hung his head, glancing over Jade's shadow he turned his head over his shoulder. He knew it wouldn't be there...but he thought he'd check anyway.

She opened the door slowly and glanced in, she sighed in relief as she saw a wall with two doors inserted in between, separate rooms and a bathroom. Since Reo never needed the bathroom, it was all hers. She returned to her cheery self and explored the quite wide rooms. Reo dropped his thoughts and too peered around.

"Wow! Maybe this won't be entirely a disaster after all, eh Reo!" Jade asked with a smile as she poked arounf her bedroom, then in the bathroom, the quarters here were much nicer then the ones she shared with other female talons at any rate.

"Perhaps not..." Reo looked out of the small window above Jade's bed, which showed the same dull red skies of Cyclonia. Jade felt a small pang of sadness on her heartstrings; she had never really stopped to think about him; to be made out of Nothing...she couldn't imagine how that would feel to be so hollow inside. And then to have no surprises, he was always staying two steps ahead of everyone else, and he really didn't have anyone to relate to, no-one to talk to save her, and she had a feeling she wasn't the kind of company he needed. When Jade was down she would talk to the very young girls; trainee underage talons-to-be downstairs in the lower levels of the tower because they had similar problems. Reo was alone in this world... though she would soon see to that.

"Reo, why is you're room full of crystal lights? Not a corner is spared in here its so…bright!" Jade asked, coming out of his room to find him still peering through the glass.

"So not for me to escape, because i can mould into the shadows"

"Oh...I see, I guess you could say you're a prisoner too..." Jade mumbled softly but Reo didn't even blink. "Reo, can I ask you a question?" she asks as she sat on her bed and watched him stare out the window like a trapped bird in a cage looking longingly out into the sky.

"Yes..." Reo almost dreaded what this could mean.

"Are you lonely?" That time, Reo did blink.

War never answered. He twitched his white face to turn to Jade he didn't answer her but the puple haired girl sensed the answer in his eyes. As hollow and uncaring they seemed, they were still a window to the soul...if Reo had one. The Shadow Boy turned and glanced at the corner of her room that was draped in shadows.

"Don't you-!" Jade started, but was interrupted as Reo ran straight through the shadow. "...dare-REO!" Jade sighed in frustration. This boy was getting high on her nerves. She growled curses as she went to search for him; at least she got her answer...

Reo looked around to make sure he truly was alone before he walked along the many hardback and tattered books in the library, books that held so much information he wanted to absorb. He had read at least twenty books in the past few days that he had been here, he neither wanted nor cared for sleep, so he read to occupy himself as Jade slept herself. He took out his twenty-seventh book read and blew dust off the cover, only for his skin to inhale it back into his 'flesh'. He sighed and sat on the tiny table close to the window, the weak evening sun shining through to enlighten his place. He could have been there an hour, or maybe more. He was just about to move on to his twenty-ninth book, after reading the sequel to his twenty-eighth, when another body entered the library, he didn't need to look up to know it was Jade approaching him.

"Christ sake Reo! There you are! Damn you to the Wastelands you bloody-"

"Calm yourself Jade, you could hurt yourself." Reo muttered, not glancing up from his page. Jade growled, not liking being ignored so she grabbed the book closed it and slammed it down on the table with a loud thud.

"...I wasn't finished with that-"

"I know and I don't care! Now you listen to me Shadow Boy-" Reo winced, he didn't know why, he just detested being called a 'Shadow Boy' "-I can't run around Cyclonia looking for you! You have to stop going off whenever you want! If you can listen to the Generals and Master Cyclonis you can listen to me! Got it?!" She asked totally annoyed and exasperated; this wasn't the first time the shadow boy had ignored her and disappeared into the shadows and left her behind and she was sick of it. If Reo could feel, his ears would be ringing with the echo of her shouts off library walls.

"Hush, this is a library." Reo said smartly. 'Ha I made another joke' he thought before Jade almost screamed in exasperation before she slapped him hard across the face, she hadn't wanted to really and she wasn't a violent person by nature but nothing else seemed to get THROUGH to him! Reo looked a little surprised...how could he not have sensed that was coming?

"Come on! Your staying in your room!" Jade said before grabbing his collar and dragged him back to their room and refused to let him out of his light shadow-less room. She never had to shout like that in a very long time, she was usually laid back and she was so used to being the ears of the conversation. She was really beginning to rue the day she accepted this punishment; Reo she had hoped, would change his attitude when he got used to being around her...but somehow she felt that she STILL had a long way to go.

Reo sighed and sat in the window cell looking out at the moon face as night seeped in, he watched as the Talon Switchblades returned to the hanger bay to roost; there were so many Talons, he was almost constantly surrounded by them, either them, or Generals.

Yet, amongst all these people, he had never felt so lonely...

I have a feeling people are gonna start hating Jade , though i think you;d be at your wits end too if you had to look after a guy who had no feelings and was like a brick wall as well as never listened to you, she is honestly a kind honest and peppy person but she does have some 'bite' to her she wont take Reo's shit longer than she has to XD Anyway I hope you all enjoyed 3