I woke up shivering. The walls were pressed all around me, frosty after having sapped the little warmth from my body and given it up to the cold air. They penned me in and kept me in a tight hold, wanting me to freeze from lack of movement, from lack of blood flowing throughout my limbs. I almost succumbed to the darkness waiting for me—the darkness in my head that was far blacker than what my eyes saw when I opened them.

        But then I realized I was still in the cave, alone. Mephiles had not found me.

        Had he been lying about knowing where I was? Had he wanted to make me feel hopeless to where I would do absolutely nothing and unknowingly give him the time to find me? Or was Mephiles just too far away and he had been traveling all this time and was still on his way now?

        It didn't matter. What mattered was that I was still alive, and I needed to keep myself that way. I didn't care if Mephiles found me. He'd surely see I was too weak to want to have around and he'd leave me be. At least, I hoped so. I couldn't bear the thought of that demon coercing me into doing something else that would ruin the chance of a normal future. I had already done enough by releasing him from that scepter, the damage had begun. Now what needed to happen was for the heroes—Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, and the others—to somehow swoop in and save the day with me out of the way. I'd only mess things up.

        My (eye color) eyes groggily looked around the tiny crevice I had wedged myself into, seeking the light of day. It was there, but very faint. Being so far north, the sun wouldn't dare peek over the horizon for more than an hour or two before dipping down to warm the more southern continents. Holoska would stay cold and dark for the winter season, with these mountains I had hidden in growing more brutal. No doubt the snowstorm had not lessened throughout the time I had been asleep.

        Sucking in the freezing air, feeling frost particles attach to my throat and lungs and linger for too many moments, I numbly stood to my paws and stumbled toward the barely-visible glow of afternoon. I couldn't feel my body at all, and that worried me immensely. My heart beat faster after having slowed down from the cold, pumping blood to my legs. Still, I had no feeling, but that was because I needed to get moving. I needed to leave this cave and stretch my muscles, revive my body with sustenance.

        At some point, I would need to hunt. There were certainly no living plants growing on these mountains or any prey to catch, so I would have to trek down into the valley I had come from and search for scents and tracks in the snow. It would take a lot of energy, and I would have to climb up again, but if that was what I needed to do to stay hidden then there was no other choice.

        After squeezing out of the cave with difficulty, I flinched away from the snowflakes being blown into my face and unsteadily stretched my back legs. I growled apprehensively, not liking the sound of bones cracking and muscle fibers tearing. Quickly I stopped and sniffed at my legs, desperately hoping no damage had come to them. They probably had been starting to freeze. Fortunately, I was able to stay standing so they were still in working order. Once my limbs warmed up and I could feel again, I'd probably be sore.

        Taking some time to melt snow in my mouth to quench my thirst, as it was too cold for water to stay liquid, I then slowly began to make my way past jagged boulders and dizzying drop-offs to the valley below. My (animal) claws were splayed out, gripping the rocks and preventing the strong winds from pushing me over the side. By the time I would get to the valley, I knew I was going to be exhausted. But I would keep going. I would hunt, maybe find fresh water, and I would return to the cave.

        It's going to be a long day, I huffed to myself. Then I'll do it all over again. And again. And again. I'd better get used to it, this is my life now.

        When I reached the desolate, snow-blanketed valley, I dropped down and allowed myself rest. My body had warmed and now my back legs were certainly sore. The muscles had pulled too far when I had stretched them, and that caused great pain while I had attempted to travel carefully downhill. I wasn't sure how I'd be able to catch moving prey in my state. Was this all for nothing? I totally screwed myself over.

        Heaving a sigh, I lifted myself up again and limped toward the scent of sparse brush and pine trees. If there was foliage down here, then perhaps there were animals too. I would be able to find the burrow of an arctic hare and dig one out without much effort, saving my energy for larger prey. 

        Small herbivores like rabbits and hares sometimes reacted dumbly in stressful situations. There once was a time when I had cornered a rabbit but wasn't able to get to it, and instead of staying where it was, the rabbit had tried to escape by fleeing the way it had entered—which had landed it straight in my jaws.

        I licked my chops at the prospect of fresh meat. I had gone without food for too long, having had my last meal in Spagonia. Back when I was still with my friends, with (Cousin), before everything went to hell. It seemed so long ago, but it had only been a few days. I had been on my own for less than that, and already it felt like forever.

        A growl emitted from my stomach as I entered the pine forest. Straight away I set out to find any sign of food, whether it be prey or edible plants. The thick aroma of the pine needles stung my eyes and nose and attempted to mask over everything else, but my brain automatically rerouted to ignore the scent. I was fully focused on eating. I wanted to eat. I needed to eat.

        As time went by, I continued to see and smell nothing more than the trees and the dried brush and the snow that spread across the forest. This truly was an inhospitable wasteland. It appeared I was to perish all along, in spite of my fight for survival. It was probably for the best. I had done many bad things, made the wrong choices, and I was being punished for them. Maybe it really was time to just...give up.

        "Hold on a little longer, my dear. I am coming."

        A shiver went down my spine as the voice slunk into my head. I felt Mephiles' presence with me as if he was a sickness that stayed latent in my blood and only came out when he chose. It frightened me, knowing he was aware of my feelings and thoughts and yet I had no clue of his own. Our connection seemed to be one-way, with me getting the short end of the stick.

        "My energy was depleted when I had been released, and it is slowly regaining," said Mephiles. "I had to leave, far away from your friends, because they would have challenged me and I would not have been strong enough to retaliate. I tried getting you to come with me, but you refused..." He sounded disappointed, with just a slight amount of irritation. By having freed my friends from their prison back in Dr. Eggman's base on the ice, Mephiles believed they would only cause unnecessary trouble in his plans for the future.

        "We are far apart, child. Have you noticed you do not feel as strong as you used to? That is because we are meant to be together. We give each other strength."

        I had noticed I didn't feel as strong as I was before Mephiles was released. The freezing weather definitely showed me that, as before my pelt had radiated with heat and kept me comfortably warm even in subzero temperatures, but had now lost its warmth with the disappearance of my guardian and left me cold and miserable. My physical strength had diminished as well, making travel difficult over the rough terrain of the Arctic.

        "Are you not strong without me?" I spoke back to the dark entity, wondering if it was just me who was affected by our separation.

        "I will never be as powerful as I can possibly be with you by my side. As I said before, we are meant to be together. I am still a part of you—a piece of my being is inside of you, and will be forever—and we can only rise to our full potentials when we share energy. Now that the main source of my Chaos energy is not contained by the Scepter of Darkness, all I need is you. All you need is me."

        Mephiles was who made me strong. As a were(animal), I could already outperform an average human being, but with him, I was something more. I stood out among the other were(animal)s; I could take them down and any creature they wouldn't be able to hold out against, only when Mephiles was with me. Nevertheless, I was still unsure. I had told my friends I would do what I could to protect the world from evil. Reuniting with the shapeshifting demon would obviously go against that promise.

        My promise was already broken, though, because I had been the one to help Mephiles escape his prisons of both the scepter and my body. It was too late. But maybe there was a way to make up for it. If I got together with Mephiles while he was still weak, maybe I'd be able to use his regenerating strength to power my own and defeat him. The plan sounded perfect, almost too perfect.

        One thing that was wrong with the plan, however, was that I'd be too scared to go through with it.

        I kept those thoughts in the back of my mind, shielding them away from Mephiles' prying consciousness. If he knew what I was thinking then I'd have no chance. He'd either stay away or devise his own strategy to overcome me, and I had no idea what he was fully capable of. I hadn't been around when Sonic and the others had taken him on during his initial discovery, when he had combined with his brother, Iblis, to form a godlike entity named Solaris.

        Still, if he was defeated once, that must mean Mephiles could be defeated again.

        The dark presence that was around me dissipated and I knew I was alone once more. Mephiles must have turned his attention to something else, such as arriving at my location as soon as possible. I didn't know how far off he was, but I hoped he took a long time. I didn't want to face the decision of fighting against him or joining him just to feel as if I belonged somewhere.

        An unfamiliar scent caught in my nostrils. It was very faint, as the wind tossed it away after less than a moment. It was enough to put me on my guard, though, and my hackles rose slightly. My glowing (eye color) eyes pierced through the swaying pine trees and blowing snow in search of either danger or a sign of prey. There was nothing. Nothing I could see, anyway. But my instincts warned me of something big coming my way.

        The invisible movement across the snow gave me no time to prepare for the giant white paw that slammed into my shoulder. I fell down, yelping as a bone-crushing strike missed my ribs after I rolled away. Swiftly, I got to my paws and retreated a couple meters from the creature that had attacked me. All I saw were black eyes and a black nose peering at me through the cover of snow. Then I distinguished the yellowish tint of its fur from the stark white of our surroundings.

        A polar bear. A giant, male polar bear that was starving for my flesh and thirsting for my blood.

        When he dove at me with those massive paws, all I could do was move out of the way. I was too weary to fight; I needed to conserve my energy for hunting and the return trip into the mountains. But now that this larger predator was here, there was no chance for a successful hunt as he would end up scaring off the prey if I ran off and he followed me.

        Frustrated, and knowing I would starve if the polar bear continued to linger around the area, I sped behind him and pounced on his thick-furred backside. My claws and fangs hardly scratched the male's skin when he turned his head with a snort and pawed at my clinging form. I gave way easily, as the bear's fur was slick with moisture, and once again I took a tumble through the snow. This time, however, I was not able to escape the strike that landed on my left haunch.

        I cried out in pain as blood droplets splattered the snow. The bear pressed me down with his forepaws and uttered a deep, guttural roar that left my body tingling, before opening his jaws and burying his teeth in the thick skin around my neck. Air left my lungs when I was picked up and shaken, as a dog would do after catching a rabbit. Even with my large size, I was nothing more than an easy hunk of meat for this polar bear because I was weakened by hunger and thirst. I was weakened by constantly exhausting myself. I was weakened without the other part of me—without Mephiles.

        Accepting my fate, wishing I could have done some good in the world before I died, I closed my eyes and silently wept. With each forceful shake, my thoughts and senses became more jumbled and disoriented until I found it impossible to be aware of anything at all. I was practically dead to what was around me, only able to feel the pain of the bites and scratches on my body.

        Then, suddenly, the shaking stopped. I was too out of it to wonder if the polar bear was ready to finish me off now that I had ceased resistance. I just lied on the ground, surrounded by the scuffled snow stained with my blood, waiting. The frozen earth vibrated with each heavy thud of the polar bear's paws. Curiously, the vibration grew less and less with each passing moment. Soon all was still.

        A pulsating energy made itself known to me. Weakly I opened my eyelids, seeing the world was spinning. They quickly shut, blocking out the dizziness that threatened to make me dry heave. But that energy was there, calling to me. Again my eyes opened and I saw nothing but the trees and snow. The energy was above me. Groaning painfully, I slowly angled my head up toward the sky and squinted at the bright light that burned into my retinas. It was white, like the Arctic sun, yet the sky was still dark. Seconds trickled by when I finally noticed the light looked as if it was being held.

        My eyes followed the nearly blinding light to its reflection off a polished gold surface, to the black and red-tongued cuff of a spotless white glove, and along a black arm that donned a bold red stripe. Shadow.

        With an animalistic gasp, I struggled to upright myself and balance on dangerously swaying legs. The black and red hedgehog in front of me had his face in a scowl and his eyebrows furrowed, but he didn't look as if he was angry or about to attack—he appeared to be looking over my wounds, considering my injured state. If my mind wasn't in such a panic, I'd have realized his expression was actually one of concern.

        The only thought I had was to get away from him. Not for my safety, but for his. Mephiles was coming for me and I didn't want Shadow to have to fight him without the aid of the others, even if he did have a Chaos Emerald. However, the emerald meant I had to get away sooner. I couldn't let Mephiles get his hands on it, not after hearing about the horrible things he might do with it.

        Backing away from the small hedgehog, I did my best to announce an intimidating warning growl before turning to the mountains and limping off. My left leg and hip slowed me down, and I was afraid Shadow would try to follow behind me because of it. I looked over my bloody and matted shoulder and saw he was in the same spot as when I had left. He stayed that way until I could see him no more through the cloud of falling snow. The energy of the white Chaos Emerald disappeared as well, indicating to me that Shadow had left in the opposite direction.

        I escaped, bleeding, into the mountains with a complete loss of dignity and courage.