At one point, it was more unusual to see the prince around the castle than away from it. But these days, Sonic rarely trekked beyond the confines of the grove that shielded his palace from the outside world. After all, he no longer possessed the freedom to move as he pleased nor how he pleased.

A day didn't go by where Sonic didn't miss his old body. By far what he missed most was his speed, the feeling of air rushing over his face and fur. Now, the only air that rushed over him was due to chilling winds that rustled his coat whenever he did happen to venture outside. His arms and fists weighed him down. They, along with the rest of his physique, made it particularly awkward if not impossible to try to run like he used to. His body naturally fell onto all fours when attempting a sprint, which only served as a sickening reminder of what he had lost.

It was because of this that Sonic didn't do much running these days. But if there was any silver lining to slowing down, it was that Sonic had become much more observant to the world around him over the years.

Before his transformation, Sonic had been a prince of the kingdom in name only. Now, very little of what happened around the grounds of his domain escaped his notice. He had developed a keen sense for nearly anything and everything that occurred in these woods. For all the years he had spent there, not a soul had gotten within a mile of the castle without him noticing.

At least, that was the case up until a few days ago.

The bout with that hedgehog in particular had invigorated something in Sonic. Not only was it a novel encounter to this unfortunate life of his—even during his days as prince, Sonic never had an experience quite like that. The way he fought, the way he moved. It was so familiar. It was like Sonic had been looking at a mirror into the past.

After a while, the decades seemed to blend together. That made it easy for Sonic to sometimes go years without leaving the castle once. But every day after that encounter, Sonic found himself traveling beyond the border of twisting vines. The experience had exhilarated him; regardless, it was now but a fleeting moment in this long, cursed life of his. More importantly, Sonic feared that he had grown complacent in his self-appointed responsibility as overseer.

So when Sonic heard the scream, there was no question about whether he would investigate or not.

Sonic skidded to a halt when he finally happened upon the source of the commotion. He gaped at sight before him: it was that hedgehog from before! What was he doing back here? Sonic couldn't help but feel a jolt of anger. Hadn't he promised to never return?

Something was wrong. The hedgehog was leaning against a tree in a crouch, despondent. That was when Sonic saw he wasn't alone— a jackal Sonic had not seen before was approaching the injured hedgehog. This stranger's face appeared freshly wounded, and the look of malice plastered on his face was enough to send shivers down even Sonic's spine.

In the end, it was the sight of the deadly blade that sent Sonic over the edge. Even after all these years, Sonic's hero instincts wouldn't allow him to standby as someone was being attacked. The jackal punched the hedgehog in the face, sending him to the ground so violently Sonic feared momentarily that the blow had killed him.

Sonic refused to waste any more time. This was a trespasser—and he would not allow a trespasser to take a life if he had anything to say about it.

Claws dug into a rotting tree and with an ear-splitting crack, Sonic heaved it from its roots and lifted it high above his head. His face twisted into a monstrous snarl as he strained against the weight of the trunk.

Playing the role of monster; just one more thing Sonic had perfected during all these years.

Sonic barely registered the chilling howl that escaped his throat as he heaved the mass of wood into the clearing.

—-

The first time Shadow regained consciousness, it was a violent coughing fit that had awoken him.

A darkness clouded his eyesight. He was very nearly delirious. A desperation, an aggression unlike anything he had felt before gripped him. He had no idea where he was, or what had happened. All he knew is that something was wrong.

His arm knocked over something that he could not see. Glass shattered on the ground beside him, the loud noise making him shoot straight up. GUN must have found him. No. He would NOT be their prisoner anymore, not again, NEVER again! Shadow attempted to stumble away from the bed he had been laid in, but his legs failed him and he collapsed to the cold, hard floor.

There was a ringing in his ears and then, the sound of a door opening. Someone was approaching him. Two people. Three. Maybe more. Their voices were distant, but their words were urgent and they were coming right towards him. Shadow arose on shaky legs. He had to defend himself, he had to do something, anything . His hand swiped a shard of glass from the ground.

"Get away from me!" He tried to shout, but his voice came out as a rasp. His heart was pounding now and his head hurt so, so bad. The figures did not move. Shadow's eyes flashed to the shard he wielded and his heart sank. Two black voids were all that remained of his reflection.

And then, Shadow found that he couldn't see anymore. Eyes rolled into the back of his head. The glass slipped from his grasp and Shadow's body crumpled. Before he could hit the floor, someone caught his limp figure.

Shadow wouldn't remember this incident, nor would he remember waking up again. But he did recall dreaming.

He was in bed, sick and panting with a fever. The fact that he wasn't supposed to get sick was irrelevant. He was curled up in a pile of blankets, head peeking out with a cold towel over his forehead.

"Drink up." Someone was with him now. It was Maria. That's right. Of course it was. She was holding out a glass of orange liquid. He stuck his tongue out at the sight of it.

"I hate that stuff." He said.

"It'll help you feel better. Come on now, I have to drink it all the time."

Shadow grumbled, crossing his arms like a child. She lifted the glass closer to him. Finally, he accepted the glass. For some reason, he was incredibly thirsty. He gulped the drink down until nothing remained.

He handed the empty glass back to her. "Maria, am I going to die?"

Maria smiled. "Of course not, silly. You're going to be just fine."

Her face began to fade. And then, she was far away. Hundreds of miles away from him. Shadow was standing now, no longer wrapped in the comforts of the bed but instead trapped behind a wall of glass. Clawed hands scraped against the glass, hands that were not his own but still desperate to escape. A monster stared back at him through his own reflection. Shadow could feel it. He clutched his face, squeezing his eyes shut. But he couldn't contain it. Orange light overflowed out of every cell like a fountain, the accompanying sound like rushing water so loud it threatened to deafen him.

The memory of Maria's voice was already fading from his mind as the last wisps of energy fizzled out into the atmosphere

"You can't die, after all."

—-

Shadow awoke with tears trickling down his face.

He blinked slowly, the last remnants of the dream fading into his subconscious. He raised his hand from under a silken comforter to brush the wetness from his cheeks. He had been…crying? How strange…

But what was more perplexing was his current location. A rich oak canopy frame loomed over him; beyond it, an intricately painted ceiling. Shadow turned his head to one side. It was dim, light emanating only from a glowing oil lamp on the other side of the room. The paisley pattern of the ceiling stretched across the room and along the walls, accented by dark gold baseboards and crown moldings. Despite the extravagance of the room, it was sparsely furnished. Besides the (albeit massive) canopied bed, the only other items in the room were the dresser with the oil lamp and a bedside table. Shadow sat up. He looked down at his hand and noticed it had been bandaged.

Shadow twitched as the memories of exactly how he had come to find himself here returned. He remembered the Jackal Squad, and he remembered Infinite's one burning eye looming over him as he laid prone on the forest floor.

He grasped the covers and ripped them off of his legs. Sure enough, his thigh had been bandaged too. He cupped the leg above where the cut was and winced. It still stung, but it was at least the kind of pain he could ignore.

Upon the bedside table lay his clothes and jacket. They were folded neatly and Rouge's transceiver rested on top of them. His skates were thankfully placed below his attire on the floor.

The bed creaked as Shadow turned over and placed his feet on the hardwood floor with a soft thump. The noise had clearly been enough to alert the one currently standing outside of the room, because the door to the room slammed open. Shadow started at the noise, fur bristling.

"So, you're finally awake. Not going to try to attack us again, are you?"

In the doorway was Knuckles, confirming Shadow's suspicions about where he had been taken. Glowing irises illuminated black sclera and a scowling face. He stared at Shadow suspiciously, who in turn only blinked in response.

Shadow wasn't necessarily surprised that Infinite's screams would attract some kind of attention, but this was not what he had expected. Truthfully, he didn't know what to make of this situation in the slightest.

Knuckles paused, as if he was actually waiting for Shadow to respond. Then, he scoffed and crossed his arms. "Whatever. Just come with me. If you can walk, that is."

Shadow curled his lip at that. "Of course I can walk." He spat. He retrieved his skates from beside the bed and slipped them on, leaving the rest of his belongings behind as he followed Knuckles out of the room.

The glowing runes on Knuckles' body illuminated the dark hallway as they walked. A long, sharp tail thrashed behind him as Shadow followed behind. He did not look particularly happy.

"Tell me," Shadow spoke up, "were you the one that found me?"

"No." Knuckles replied. "It was His Majesty that brought you here. He told me to fetch you when you awoke."

"How long was I unconscious?"

"Nearly three days."

Shadow frowned. That meant it was Sunday. Normally, he would be worried what Mr. Marmotte would think about him skipping two days of work. But under the current circumstances, there was no telling if he'd ever even get to see the old groundhog again.

Shadow and Knuckles continued walking in silence. Then, the latter halted in front of an elaborately carved set of double doors.

"Here we are." He declared, spiked fists dwarfing the handles as he grasped them and pulled the door open.

For a moment, Shadow stared in awe at the interior of the vast room. Bookshelves lined the back wall all the way up to a concave ceiling. Sunlight leaked in from the circular stained glass window overlooking the entire room, illuminating dust particles in the air. Two spiraling staircases rose up to balconies adorning each adjacent wall of the room. Alcoves separated additional bookshelves on the second floor, and Shadow could make out two doorways that presumably led to even more caverns in this massive library.

Shadow stepped into the space behind Knuckles, who clearly had a destination in mind as he marched across the marble floors and up one of the spiral staircases. He led Shadow to one of the doorways off of the balcony, and when they entered the room, Shadow beared witness to a rather puzzling scene.

He recognized the beast from the night he had rescued Rouge. He was facing away from them, and currently, he appeared to be reaching for a book on the top shelf—his arm stretching nearly ten feet to do so.

"Your Highness." Knuckles addressed the beast.

"Come on, Knuckles, how many times do I have to tell you not to call me that?" The beast grumbled as his arm snapped back into a normal position, tucking the book under his arm. He had an irritated look on his face as he turned towards them, but as soon as his eyes met Shadows, his expression shifted to one of surprise. And then, he smiled.

"So you finally got up then? I thought you weren't going to make it for a minute there."

Shadow crossed his arms. The beast was significantly less intimidating in the comparatively well-lit library than he had been on the night Shadow first saw him. "I'm afraid it takes far more than some cheap poison to kill me."

"Well, I don't doubt that, but that's not exactly what I meant..." The beast trailed off, placing a finger to the underside of his nose. "Anyways, I'm glad to see you're okay."

Shadow raised an eyebrow. "Right…and you have my gratitude for that. Though, I must say I do wonder about your motives. Why so easily expose yourself to an outsider like that?"

The beast stared at him like he had two heads. "That guy back there looked like he was about to kill you! I just did what anyone would have done!"

"With an attitude like that, I'm surprised someone hasn't found out about you and this place ages ago."

Knuckles abruptly snapped his head towards Shadow—a warning. Shadow simply glared right back at him.

"You don't sound very grateful to me, hedgehog." Knuckles glowered.

"It's alright, Knuckles." The beast interjected. "Listen, I'm sure you have plenty of questions, and I know I have plenty of questions for you. Knuckles, can you let the others know? I promise we'll be fine here."

Knuckles look like he wanted to object. But with the resolved look on the beast's face, it was obvious to Shadow that Knuckles would respect his wishes in the end. Sure enough, with an exasperated exhale, he finally acquiesced. "Very well. I know you can handle yourself."

With one last glare at Shadow, Knuckles departed, leaving the two alone in the room.

"Let's start off easy. I didn't even introduce myself before." The beast reached out an open hand. "I'm Sonic."

Shadow stared at the outstretched hand suspiciously, but then hesitantly reciprocated. The beast's palm dwarfed his own, massive fingers curling around his hand. It was the most bizarre handshake Shadow had ever taken part in.

"Alright, Sonic." Shadow replied. "Since you saved me, I'll allow you to ask your questions."

"In that case, who was that guy back there in the woods?"

"A bounty hunter. He was trying to capture me."

"How come?"

"Like I told you before, there happens to be things in this world I'm hiding from myself. You could say I'm wanted."

"What are you wanted for?"

"Hold on. It's my turn for a question. Just now you said that you thought I wouldn't make it. Why did you say that?"

Sonic inhaled through gritted teeth. "That's kind of a doozy. Got any other questions?"

Shadow narrowed his eyes. Sonic got the message.

"Alright, alright, but you might want to sit for this one." The beast plopped down in one of the lounge chairs, crossing one leg over the other. It didn't look very comfortable for someone of his stature. Shadow took the seat across from the beast.

"Remember how I told you this castle is cursed? Well, it's not just the castle. Every living thing that comes into contact with this place gets infected." Sonic grumbled. "And normally, that would include you."

Shadow stared at him, but Sonic would not meet his gaze. He continued to rub the underside of his nose—a tick of his, Shadow figured.

"At first I thought you were dead when you were lying back there in the forest, but when I realized you were alive I couldn't just leave you there. So I brought you here. I thought it might be okay since you got out of here once before, but…how do I put this? Do you remember anything before waking up just now?"

"No, I don't think so."

Sonic began bouncing his leg, clearly having a hard time staying still. Or perhaps, he was just that nervous. "Yeah, well, a few hours after I brought you here, you did wake up. And it wasn't pretty."

Shadow grimaced. Something flashed through his mind—a twinge of fear and a sharp pain in his hand.

"It turns out I was wrong. The curse was consuming you. I've seen it happen before." Sonic continued, gaze lowered. "It infects your mind, and then it changes your appearance. And then, it feeds off your body until nothing remains."

A memory clawed at Shadow's mind. Something is wrong, it said.

"I thought I had doomed you by bringing you here. Your body was changing, and it looked like your mind was just about all gone." Sonic finally raised his gaze to meet Shadow. His expression was different now. He almost looked confused, like he couldn't quite believe what he was about to say.

"But then it just…reversed itself. You passed out, and your body went back to normal. And two days later you're here—and you seem completely unaffected."

Shadow gritted his teeth. He was shaking slightly. He could remember it now. His visage in the glass—eyes black, a faint glow surrounding them. And then, the feeling of being overwhelmed by a power that he failed to comprehend.

"But that's never happened before. It should have been impossible. " Sonic whispered, eyes full of bewilderment. "Just what are you?"

Shadow sprang out of the chair, nearly causing it to topple over. His eyes were blazing as he stared at the taken aback Sonic, now gripping the arms of his own seat.

"I'm not like you." Shadow hissed, pointing a finger. "I'm not like anyone you've ever seen in your life, I can assure you that."

With a turn of his heel, Shadow stormed back the way he came, out onto the balcony and down the steps. Sonic hopped up and was on his heels. "Hey, where do you think you're going?"

"I'm getting out of here." Shadow growled. "Isn't that what you wanted?"

"Hold up! I still have questions!"

"I don't care. You said the curse reversed itself, correct? Then I have no reason to stay here."

"I said it seemed like you weren't affected by the curse, but I can't know that for sure!"

"I feel perfectly healthy." Shadow snapped as he crossed the first floor towards the exit. "As I said, I appreciate the assistance. But I have to get back to…"

He halted just outside the double doors, hand gripping one of the carved handles.

Get back to what, exactly?

His cover had been blown. Infinite was still out there somewhere. He knew where Shadow worked, he knew where he lived. He could even leak all this info to GUN if he wanted. The fact that the jackal was a wanted individual himself would mean nothing to GUN with that kind of information in his possession.

Shadow couldn't return to work. He couldn't go home.

Sonic noticed the way Shadow's grip dug into the wood, and cleared his throat. "You said you're wanted, right? If that's true, I think it's my turn for a question again. Where are you going to go?"

Shadow said nothing.

"Listen, I won't stop you from leaving. But whether you like it or not, you're linked to this place now." Sonic huffed. "All I know is that somehow, you managed to survive the sickness I've seen dozens of people lose themselves to. The same curse me and my friends have been dealing with for centuries ."

Sonic's voice turned hard. "There's nothing I wouldn't do to end this nightmare, so if you have a clue as to how you got over it, I want to know about it."

"I don't know." Shadow replied, voice almost a whisper.

Sonic frowned at him. He placed his hand on the door and pushed it open with a scoff. "Well, you were clearly right about one thing. You're not like me, and you're definitely not like anyone I've ever seen before."

He exited the library and Shadow was left alone in the vast space. With a heavy sigh, he shoved the door open. Shadow stepped into the hallway right after the beast.

The air was tense enough to cut with a knife as Shadow followed Sonic down the hallway, footsteps echoing off the walls. Shadow could almost feel the frustration and bitterness radiating from the mass of fur before him.

"Aha!" Sonic exclaimed all of a sudden, lifting a pointer finger to the air as he stopped in his tracks. All signs of his previous exasperation had promptly disappeared as he turned around to face Shadow. "How about a deal that works for both of us? If those guys are still out looking for you, you probably need to lay low for a while, right?"

Shadow raised a brow, but did not say anything, so Sonic continued.

"Well, there's no better place than this if you're trying to disappear!" Sonic puffed out his chest. "You can hide out here for as long as you want, and in return, we can try to figure out how you got over the curse, or see if it relapses at all. Whaddaya say to that?"

Shadow simply gawked at him. In his heart, the knee jerk response to such a suggestion would be a resounding "hell no." But against those instincts, Shadow elected to ponder his options. After all, he had found himself in a particularly unfavorable situation.

He could try to leave the country. But without his passport or any documents on him that would be tricky (though certainly not impossible). And then of course, there was the thought of starting all over in a brand new location—reconnaissance, surveillance, research, potentially even learning a new language. Shadow was growing weary just at the thought. And then, there was the matter of Villenulle itself. Deep down, Shadow knew he had grown fond of the place. He was hesitant to just leave it behind, even if it was strictly necessary to do so.

Shadow palmed his face and pinched his brows. He thought back to the moment where the beast saved him in the forest. To any bystander, it must have appeared like a random wild animal attack. Perhaps Infinite would assume Shadow was simply eaten by the terrifying feral monster in the woods and that would be the end of it. And if the jackal's expression was anything to go by, Shadow was willing to bet he wouldn't be returning to these woods for a long, long time anyways.

Finally, there was the fact that no matter what Shadow elected to do, he was in no position to do anything immediately. He would have to get his affairs in order, and ensure that no more bounty hunters were lurking around. In order to make that happen, he would have no choice but to remain in place and hidden for some period of time.

Shadow muzzle twitched and he dropped his hands to his sides. As much as he hated to admit it, this truly was the best option, wasn't it? This place was secluded, and by staying hidden here in the woods, it would contribute to the narrative that he had perished in the woods back there.

"Alright, Sonic. I'm interested in your offer." He finally murmured. "But I require some stipulations."

A cheesy grin stretched across Sonic's face, clearly pleased enough with Shadow's answer. "Sure, what'll they be?"

"First, I'm willing to stay here to see if anything changes regarding the curse. You can ask all the questions you want, but I may not have an answer for you. And forget about running any kind of tests on me."

"Sounds fair to me."

"Next, I will need to have contact with my teammate."

Sonic shrugged, "Fine, I suppose that's alright."

"Lastly, I can end this arrangement anytime I desire. And, you cannot stop me from leaving the premises. I need to be able to come and go as I choose."

Sonic shook his head. "I can agree to the first two, but I have a problem with that last thing. No offense, but I'm already shouldering some risk letting a wanted hedgehog stay here. If people are actively after you, excuse me if I'm a little concerned about you coming and going as you please. I can't risk this place being found by anyone else. Leave if you have to, but if you do, don't bother coming back."

Shadow's ear twitched in irritation. "Fine. Then would you allow my teammate to come should I need her? She can be trusted, and she's far better at stealth operations than I could ever be. I can meet her at the edge of the perimeter wall, and I can guarantee you she will not lead anyone to this place."

Sonic crossed his arms. "Is this the same teammate that tried to steal from us?"

Shadow averted his gaze awkwardly. "Yes…but I will make sure she causes no more trouble. I just need access to someone on the outside."

For several moments, Sonic just studied Shadow, as if seriously considering whether to take the compromise. Then, he dropped his hands to his hips. "I guess I can agree to that."

Shadow nodded, breath slowly releasing from his nostrils. "Very well, then. We have a deal."

There in the middle of the hallway, the two shook hands for the second time that day, and Shadow couldn't help but wonder what the hell he had just gotten himself into.

Sonic turned and motioned for Shadow to follow. "Then it's settled! I have to let the others know. Oh—that's right! You haven't even met everyone yet. Come with me—err…"

Sonic stopped abruptly, and turned back to face Shadow. "Sorry, I don't think I ever got your name?"

Shadow hesitated. He had rehearsed answering this exact question over and over. But for all intents and purposes, Henry had died in the woods back there, at least for the time being. But truthfully, there was also no saying if Henry would ever be able to return again. The mask was off now, and in this situation, what did he really have to lose?

Shadow walked towards the beast. "I'm Shadow." He spoke as he passed by him. "Shadow the Hedgehog."

Sonic's gaze followed Shadow as he passed, a playful glimmer in his eye. "Alright then, Shadow. Let's find the others, shall we?"