Shadow had been unable to fall back asleep. This wasn't an unusual occurrence; in fact, it was typical of him to remain awake after rousing from a dream, especially dreams of the ARK. It was alright. He could go longer without sleep than most. Of course, that did not mean it wasn't an unpleasant feeling. Eventually it would take its toll on him, and right now, he was exhausted. It turned out that fading in and out of consciousness over the last several days didn't quite constitute sleeping.

The hours dragged into the morning. As soon as light began to leak into the room, Shadow dragged himself out of bed and over to the singular window, clenching his pounding head with a grumble.

His reflection gazed back at him from the panes–-a sight for sore eyes. If his current mood wasn't enough of an indicator that the past few days were wearing him down, his appearance certainly was. His quills were unkempt and his eyes were bloodshot, deep dark bags hanging under them. He hardly recognized himself. Even during particularly low points of his life, Shadow had always maintained some standards of grooming. Right now, he just couldn't find the will to care.

There was a knock at the door, and Shadow tore his gaze away from the window.

As promised, Sonic had arrived to fetch him at the brink of dawn, and Shadow was predictably not elated to see him. Shadow could immediately tell that his less-than-stellar state was evident to Sonic, who stared down at him quizzically when he opened the door.

"What?" Shadow snapped at him, despite knowing full well what Sonic was looking at.

"Wow," Sonic commented, "you look awful."

His tone and expression may have been sympathetic, but Shadow was at a loss for why Sonic thought that was an appropriate way to greet him. Anger built in Shadow's hoarse throat, but somehow, he managed to keep himself from throttling the other right then and there.

Shadow begrudgingly emerged from his fortress of solitude to stand before Sonic in the hallway. "You aren't exactly the nicest thing to wake up to, either," he retorted with a grumble. "Let's just get this over with."

—

Sonic seemed to have a route in mind as he took Shadow on the promised "grand tour." Although, it was much more of a whirlwind than Shadow had been expecting. At each stop, Sonic gave a brief but exuberant description of what he thought Shadow ought to know before they briskly continued on to the next location. Despite Sonic's obvious efforts to keep him engaged, he ultimately failed to pique Shadow's interest in almost any of it.

They visited the kitchen Amy and Shadow had prepared dinner the previous night, and then to the main foyer where Sonic and Shadow had their first encounter.

"It's not in the best shape anymore, but back in the day it was pretty magnificent—though a little over-the-top." Sonic scoffed, waving his hand at the shattered railings and general disarray of the room. "Usually, we try to keep the place organized, but this is a lost cause."

Shadow could see what Sonic meant. The overhead window was shattered, shards of glass pointing inward in jagged edges. Most of the wood was splintering and covered in dark stains. Shadow wondered just how much of this destruction was due to their earlier fight. Looking back on it now, it was hard to believe that that encounter occurred only a week ago.

The only parts that seemed somewhat pristine were the marble floors – but even then, a black stain that Shadow had not noticed previously spread across the floor, creating an image of a void sitting just under the broken railings of the balcony.

"Let's move on." Sonic grunted, tearing his gaze away from the stain.

The two continued on, and Shadow remained silent for nearly the entire trek as Sonic made comment after comment about the rooms and the architecture around them. Shadow's headache had not subsided, and his previously injured leg was beginning to sting again.

"This place isn't as big as it looks, y'know." Sonic explained. "But it's plenty complicated, and full of secrets. It was designed to be hard to navigate. So don't beat yourself up if you get lost a few more times while getting used to it."

Shadow scoffed. "Unlikely."

—

"And here we are! The best part of this place!" Sonic announced, hands splayed in presentation of the towering bookshelves around them.

"I've already been here."

"Sure, but you haven't seen the best parts of it!"

Shadow rolled his eyes. As it turned out, the "best parts" were even more nooks, crannies, and adjacent rooms hiding in the seemingly endless amounts of books. Though he wouldn't dare express it with Sonic around, Shadow had to admit to himself the library was truly pretty fantastic.

Sonic led him to an alcove past an arch with a particularly nice view of the courtyards surrounding the castle. "I probably spend more time here than anywhere else," he reminisced. "Tails and I used to read here together all the time."

"That fox boy from yesterday?" Shadow inquired offhandedly, though his attention was currently not on Sonic, but on browsing some of the selections. Despite his rotten mood, Shadow couldn't help himself to check out the manuscripts around him. He was interested in seeing just what a place as old as this had to offer in terms of literature. There was some novelty to it, anyways.

"The one and only. He's my best friend. Though, we haven't read together here in a long time…" Sonic was smiling, but his voice was distant. Then, his eyes snapped to Shadow, who had just plucked a thick novel from the shelf.

"Do you like to read?"

Shadow narrowed his eyes, hesitating at Sonic's question. He flipped the book open to the first page and cleared his throat. "Yes, actually. I used to work at a bookstore. Though, it was nowhere near as big as this."

Sonic smiled. "Well in that case, you're welcome to come here anytime you want." His expression shifted, eyes glancing at Shadow's hand resting on the parchment pages.

"How do you feel, by the way?"

Shadow blinked, caught off guard by the question. However, his stoic expression quickly returned. "I'm perfectly fine." It was a lie, of course, but he was not about to tell Sonic that.

"I noticed you don't have your bandages on."

"I've always been quick to recover."

"Is that so?"

Shadow couldn't quite pinpoint the tone in Sonic's voice. But regardless of whether it was just a general observation or a curiosity he intended to pursue, Shadow would nip this conversation in the bud. He had absolutely no desire to get into any of that right now. The beast wanted to give him a tour, so a tour it would be–not an interrogation session.

However, there was no need to shut him down, as mere seconds later a figure appeared in the doorway to the alcove. In walked the fox from yesterday, a stack of volumes in his arms that completely blocked his face.

"Hey, Tails! We were just talking about you." Sonic called, raising a hand in greeting. The boy's face peeked around the mountain of books, and he smiled. Shadow wasn't sure if his eyes were playing tricks on him when the fox seemingly floated across the floor towards the two. Two bushy tails swept the floor behind him—the obvious source of his namesake. "Good afternoon!" He greeted politely, placing the stack of books down onto the table.

"You two weren't properly introduced last night." Sonic cleared his throat. "Shadow, this is Tails, Royal Scribe and certified genius."

Sonic puffed out his chest in pride as Tails flushed at his words, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. It was the very same motion the beast had repeated enough times around Shadow that he had an idea where this fox had gotten it from.

The fox looked more normal than the other occupants of the castle. But his form seemed to waver in a way Shadow had not noticed before, like he was weightless or could be whisked away at any moment. But besides that and his black sclera, his dual tails were the only other truly unusual thing about his appearance.

"Nice to meet you–again." Tails smiled, shaking Shadow's hand, who once again acknowledged him with a nod. The boy seemed nearly a decade his younger, and Shadow wondered how someone so young had achieved a role of Royal Scribe. Then again, Shadow reminded himself, despite his appearance, the fox was likely more than a few hundred years old now.

"What're you working on today, buddy?" Sonic gushed, pointing at the stack of books.

"Oh, nothing much. Just re-reading some texts on irrigation methods. I'm working on the new design for the automaton system in the south garden..."

Shadow took the top book from the stack as Tails spoke, flipping through to a random page. It was a schematic of some kind of mechanical fowl, an internal cross-section revealing a set of gears and pipes making up the insides of the bird. Similar illustrations depicting a variety of automatic devices decorated subsequent pages, including a flute player, a singing bird in a cage, and a fountain system. Considering all the books in this place were dated centuries ago, Shadow couldn't help but be surprised to see the rudimentary robots. Of course, they were little more than toys compared to the kinds of technology used on the ARK and at GUN.

"They're called automata." Tails explained, noticing the way Shadow perused the book. "We used to have them for entertainment around the castle, but I've improved on them over the years. Though, the aristocracy always said that was a waste of time."

Shadow nodded. "I see. I'm frankly surprised to see they had technology of this level so long ago."

"Do you have machines like this where you're from?"

"Yes," Shadow glanced at Tails, who was staring at him with eyes so earnest he wasn't sure how to feel. "However, modern technology has advanced far beyond these machines. Some machines nowadays are indistinguishable from living things, while others are large and complex enough to run entire societies."

Tails' eyes widened, enraptured at Shadow's words. "Really? That's incredible! You have to tell me more!"

Shadow stared at Tails blankly. The fox's unbridled enthusiasm had left him caught off guard for the second time that day. Although Shadow supposed his reaction was understandable, he didn't have any particular desire to give a lesson to the fox.

Sonic, surprisingly enough, seemed to pick up on Shadow's hesitancy and interjected. "Maybe some other time, Tails. I still got some places to show him. But since he'll be staying here for a while, I'm sure you'll get the chance to talk about it later."

"Oh! You were showing him around today? Sorry to interrupt!" Shadow noticed the disappointment in Tails' eyes, but his tone was understanding at least.

"No worries." Sonic smiled. "We're almost done, I was just gonna take him to the gardens. How about that, Shadow?"

Shadow glared at Sonic as he motioned for him to follow.

On second thought, maybe staying in the library with the fox would be preferable.

—

Sonic took Shadow to each of the four separate balconies, starting from the lower levels and working their way up. They were much like the one he had found himself in the previous night, and like that one, they were all teeming with growing fruits and vegetables, many of which seemed ready for harvest. The final terrace was located higher than all the others, but had no greenhouse to obstruct the sky. It was late morning by now, and the sun was beginning to peak above the canopy of trees.

"We'll have to come back here in the next few days to collect these." Sonic stated, kneeling down to observe the root vegetables tucked into one of the beds.

"Why grow so much if you have no need to eat?" Shadow murmured.

"Where'd you get that from?"

"Your 'fiancée' mentioned it yesterday."

From his knelt position, Sonic was now eye-to-eye with Shadow, and Shadow could see just how his face twisted in abject confusion. It certainly hadn't been the reaction he had anticipated, and Shadow didn't know how to feel about that.

He sputtered, "My fiancée!?"

"Ah, my mistake. Your ex-fiancée." Shadow responded, now recalling precisely what the girl had told him. Though, Shadow still couldn't fathom why Sonic seemed so incredulous at the suggestion.

Something seemed to click in Sonic's mind and a fond smile graced his features. He shook his head. "I see. I mean, she's not wrong, I suppose." Sonic shrugged, turning back to face the green stems poking out of the soil. "But we do what we can to retain some normalcy around here, despite everything. Plus, gardening is kind of therapeutic."

A moment of silence passed between the two as they stared at the raised beds. The cool autumn breeze wafted over his fur, and Shadow found that he couldn't outright disagree with that statement. Though, he also couldn't say he had ever tried the practice himself.

"You seem…kind of unhappy to be here." Sonic spoke up, breaking the silence. "I really don't know how to make a cursed, centuries-old castle hidden deep in the woods seem more exciting to you."

Shadow scoffed at the sarcasm.

"Listen—I'm sorry if you're bored. Trust me, I get it. But since you're going to be staying here for a while, it's important that you know your way around."

"I know my way around." Shadow replied coldly. "For a normal person, a tour may have been necessary, but I am no ordinary person. I agreed to accompany you only out of politeness to you as my host, but I've memorized the layout of this place, so there was no need for this excursion to last this long."

Sonic threw back his head in a laugh, a noise that Shadow found particularly irritating to his aching head. He rose to his full height, now a head above Shadow, with a sly grin on his face. "Alright, I can't keep it to myself anymore, I've been thinking about this the whole time you've been here. I know you're not an ordinary person. When we fought back in the main hall–I've never seen anyone else move like that."

"Of course you haven't." Shadow responded dryly. "There's no one capable of matching my speed."

Shadow finally met Sonic's gaze. The latter was looking at him with a gleam Shadow recognized; he had seen this look on Rouge when she was goading him about some inane topic, or when a higher-up at GUN barked an order at him. This was a look of challenge. But unlike with the authorities at GUN, there was no malice or antagonism in the beast's eyes—only anticipation.

"How about a race, then?" Sonic propositioned. "Since you know the castle so well , I'm sure you know your way back to the main hall from here, right?"

"Naturally. But from what I've seen of your skills, you have no chance of beating me in a race." Shadow caught the twitch of annoyance upon Sonic's face, and couldn't help but feel satisfied he had hit a nerve.

"Is that a yes?"

Shadow narrowed his eyes. Just what was this beast's intention? Was he trying to posit that he had lied about knowing his way around the castle? If so, he was sorely mistaken—and Shadow had no qualms demonstrating that.

"Very well. What do I get if I win?"

Sonic's grin stretched wider, revealing protruding fangs.

"If you win, you can go back to your room or do whatever else you want, and I won't bother you for the rest of the week."

Shadow was sold. After the way he felt today, a week to himself sounded like just what he needed.

"And if you win?"

Sonic placed a finger to his chin pensively. Shadow could practically see when the thought hit him by the way his eyes lit up. "If I win, you have to share with us all you know of the outside world. And, you have to tell Tails all about that automato stuff, or whatever you were talking about back there."

Shadow raised an eyebrow at the request, but nonetheless accepted the conditions with a nod of his head. After all, whatever Sonic requested did not matter in the end.

"Alright, the first one to reach the foyer entrance wins." Sonic confirmed.

With that settled, Sonic fell into a crouch and Shadow did the same, both laser-focused on the double doors leading back into the castle, sheer curtains fluttering in the wind ahead of them. The sun had illuminated the terrace in a bright glow, and Shadow glanced over at Sonic. He appeared to be taking a runners start, but his oddly proportioned body was not suited for sprinting in the slightest. His posture reminded Shadow of a feral wolf prepared to lunge, but his expression was calm, collected, and (to Shadow's growing ire) incredibly cocky.

Sonic may have surprised Shadow before with his abilities to keep up with his attacks, but his speed did not come anywhere close to the level of Shadow's. Shadow could recall the words Sonic had spoken to him back then; the fact that he had suggested that Shadow was "almost as fast as him" was laughable and frankly, unacceptable.

A heartbeat later, as if on some unspoken but mutually understood cue, Shadow launched off the tile of the balcony and shot through the open doors, curtains thrashing in his trail as he swept back into the hall.

He wouldn't even need his powers to win this race.

As expected, Sonic was nowhere to be seen as Shadow bounded down the first of the many staircases they had taken to get up to the terrace. The main foyer was on the ground floor, and Shadow had mapped the optimal route in his mind to reach its location based on both the path he took to get there the previous day, and the route they had taken from his room that morning. He swerved around a corner, fingers brushing the ground in a drift to maintain his momentum. The second staircase, and then a third were behind him now. Dust and debris lining the halls whipped into the air as he moved, his mind navigating the space ahead of him before his legs had even reached it.

In less than a minute he was already on the final stretch, speeding past his very own room and into the main hallway. Hours ago, he would have certainly taken that as an opportunity to ditch his companion and his ridiculous presentation, but such a thought was nowhere near his mind anymore. Now, he was fully committed to showing the beast just outmatched he really was. Shadow could see what remained of the balcony close ahead and increased his pace to a sprint. However, this was still only a fraction of his speed, and he would make sure the beast knew it. The railing was within reach now and Shadow jumped, shoes grinding against the wood and splintering it further as he slid down the stairs.

He could hardly wait to wipe that stupid grin off the beast's face. But as the rail curved and he flicked his eyes up, Shadow's chest contracted and his breath caught in his throat.

Shadow skidded across the ground to a halt as he reached the bottom of the steps, leaving black skid marks across the floor and falling into a half crouch.

In a sight Shadow could hardly comprehend, Sonic was leaning idly against the main arch of the entryway like he had been there this whole time. Arms crossed, Sonic raised an eyebrow at him, that infuriating grin plastered all over his face.

"Took you long enough."

Shadow remained crouched for several moments, utterly dumbstruck. Slowly, he rose to his feet, hands at his sides.

He knew should feel humiliated, or furious. He wanted to feel furious. But the only emotion he could muster now was sheer confusion, unable to comprehend how he had lost. He was tired, and he was frustrated, but he had to know. He couldn't help the question that left his mouth in a quiet murmur.

"How?"

"Like I told you, this place is complicated. There's far more to it than just memorizing the hallways." Sonic responded. "But you've proven to me you're fairly well-acquainted with the place, and that you're pretty darn fast, so I'm impressed."

Shadow clicked his tongue and turned away from Sonic indignantly. Of course there was some kind of trick, what else could Shadow have expected from a goddamn enchanted castle? But what had really gotten to him was the fact that Sonic had been mocking him the whole time. Shadow lost not because he was too slow, but because he lacked information. Sonic was aware of that, and had been playing with him.

"So you beat me with a trick." Shadow growled, "It's only a matter of time until I figure out your little secrets."

"Likewise." Sonic responded with a smirk.

Shadow clenched the hands at his sides into fists. He was becoming quite fed up with this beast and his games. "You've had your fun, then. Are we done, now?"

Sonic shrugged. "I suppose we are. I have something I need to take care of now, anyway."

He pushed off the archway and turned away Shadow, clawed finger pointed up to the sky. "Thanks for humoring me for the afternoon, it was fun. It's good to have a new face around."

Sonic craned his neck to look at Shadow over his shoulder.

"Oh, and I'll let Tails know you would be happy to talk with him later."

With that, Sonic sauntered out the entrance, Shadow watched him leave, frozen by a dilemma to pursue or let him go. The adrenaline pumping in his veins would make any attempts to rest now a hopeless endeavor. On the other hand, as much as he wanted to show Sonic he was not to be messed with, he had a feeling his efforts would only fuel the beast's cheeky attitude further.

Neither were optimal, and with Sonic gone, Shadow was now without an outlet for his frustrations. With no other choice, Shadow chose a third option: he ran, skating out the entrance and taking a sharp turn in the opposite direction the beast had gone in, trampling glowing foliage of purple and blue flowers in the process.

Running was the one of the two ways Shadow released steam, and it happened to be the much less destructive method to do so.

A disturbance in the landscape before Shadow caught his attention and he slowed to a halt. Before him was a hemisphere of steps–an unmaintained amphitheater surrounding spiraling stonework placed in the shape of a circle. The lay of the land sloped down into what Shadow saw as a grassy half-pipe. Beyond the stone circle was the iron gate perimeter, and beyond that the dark confines of trees and vines that held this place in a vice grip. Shadow stared into the darkness of the woods and for a moment, considered hopping the fence and leaving this place behind entirely, taking his chances on the run in the slums of Orléanais.

He clicked his tongue at the thought. As annoyed as he had been today, these circumstances weren't nothing he couldn't handle. Shadow ran his fingers along the iron bars. If the beast wanted to play games with him, he could play games as well.

For now, Shadow would put him out of his mind. There was something else he needed to do, first. He took off in a burst of yellow light, sparks scorching the dead grass in his wake as he ran lap after lap around the perimeter. If he wanted to get any rest, he would just have to tire himself out through force.