The time that escaped them had finally come to an end. Shadow and Krystal moved to a new city after the incident that happened in their hometown. A few of their friends tagged along since they couldn't bear the thought of being seen in that town again... Shadow found a small apartment with two different rooms: one for Krystal and himself, and the other for his friends. He knew that he dragged them into this. This was the least he could do.
      In their hometown of Talon Falls they lived their lives there without a care in the world. That is until IT came... It wasn't anything at first, but it was VERY strange.
      It all started when Shadow and Krystal were shopping at the mall. While at one of the clothing stores, Shadow heard Krystal scream while trying on some clothes. He ran over to the room and found her lying on the ground crying.

"What’s wrong!?"
"Something was trying to grab me!"
"What do you mean? Who was it?"
"I don't know! I just felt a hand pull my arm and then he was gone..."
      Shadow gathered her things and helped her out of the store. They left to go home, where they hoped they could calm down. When they arrived, everything was trashed, all the glass broken, food spilled out all over the floors, T.V.'s broken, just everything he had destroyed. He called the police immediately. When the police arrived, Shadow and Krystal were sitting outside of the house, not wanting to contaminate the "crime scene".
      
      They showed the police to the front door and opened it. But when they opened it they found everything was fixed, nothing was broken and all the food was in place. The Police thought it was a joke, but Shadow and Krystal assured them that everything was broken. The police just turned around and left, dismissing what Shadow and Krystal had to say.
      Everything that happened that day was strange, and it didn't just happen to them. Later that night Shadow got a call from his friend Nova. Nova called with a panicked voice saying that there were people at his door trying to get him and break through his windows. However, when he looked back to see if they got in, there was nothing. He went to look outside, but there weren't any signs of anyone being there at all. Shadow told him to come over and hung up. Immediately after hanging up, the phone rang again.
      This time, the call came from Rioichi, a long time, previously rather intimate, friend of Shadow. When Rioichi called, she was already in tears.
“It's real dark Shadow-- I don't know where I am! I can't see anything!!”
“Rioichi! Rioichi!! Everything is gonna be okay! I'll be right there!”
“Shadow... I'm scared...”
“Just tell me where you are... Just take a deep breath, and--”
The call was abruptly cut.
        Shadow didn't know what was happening. He didn't know why, but he knew that he had to do something. Shadow decided that he should give his brother a call just to check up on him. Shadow tried to grab the phone but for some reason he couldn't move.
        Then out of nowhere everything went black. Shadow blinked a few times and then noticed he was on his hands and knees’ looking down at what he thought was the floor. He looked up and then saw it...
      It was a huge blob of black goo in front of him. It slowly transformed, shedding away clumps of itself. Shadow was shocked when he noticed what it turned into. He stared at it and saw that the blob of goo ever so slowly transformed into him. He got up as fast as he could and the blob did the same. It was mimicking him. Both stood still for an eternity. Then he backed away from the blob as the blob backed away from him. Then Shadow got curious... “If this thing looks like me, walks like me, could it talk like me?”
"Who are you?" Shadow said with a growl.
 "Who are you?!" Shadow repeated.
Then he heard the blob speak in a low, deep voice.
"I am you."
             Shadow was speechless. This thing looked exactly like him, moved as he does, and spoke the same way he did. 
      Shadow spoke up "You can't be me... You're ... You're just something someone created to look like me..."
            Shadow was starting to get mad now, he didn't know what this thing was but he knew he could get rid of it with no problem. "I've had enough of this." Shadow said with a snarl. He raised his arm and faced his palm towards the blob and focused. Then a green glowing ball formed in his hand slowly growing larger. He concentrated hard and forming the ball smaller and denser. Then he released his thought and launched the ball at the blob.   
      Then IT did something unspeakable. The blob outstretched its arm and caught the glowing ball. All of the power from the ball vanished. The goo from the blob completely covered the ball and its power. Then it started to do just as Shadow did, except the blob's ball shined dark purple. Shadow couldn't believe it; nothing could possibly be able to copy his powers! This thing, whatever it is it had to be destroyed, he thought. Shadow started charging up another ball and it simply smiled. The blob threw the ball it had and waited for Shadow to throw his.
      Shadow filled with rage launched his ball with as much energy he could muster up, leaving him exhausted. The ball flew fast and shook the ground before it. Then the blob outstretched its arm and grabbed the ball once again as if it wasn't even trying. Instead of absorbing the ball, he infused his own into it making the ball swirl with the dark energy that the blob used. Shadow could tell that this thing was just impossible to beat.
“No matter what you do, I’ll just copy you and bite you back with double the power.”

            Shadow, now kneeling looked up at the blob and saw it walk closer until it stood directly in front of him. Then it spoke
"I am you, except better."
      Then it launched the ball. Shadow thought he would die right then and there but blinked and saw himself in his house once again, surrounded by his friends. He was sweating and breathing heavily. Krystal grabbed Shadow's arm.
“You passed out on the floor and started screaming.”
      Shadow couldn't believe it was all a dream. There was just no way. He got up and walked to the bathroom to wash his face, completely ignoring everyone else in the room. Krystal ran after him but saw Shadow staring blankly in the hallway. She ran to him to try to talk but he didn't move. Then he collapsed on the floor, the thud clearly audible made his friends run to see what happened. Shadow just laid there not knowing at all what was going on around him. Everything went dark.
       Shadow woke up later in a bed. He looked around to see where he was but only saw the room with his night stand light on and Krystal sleeping beside him. He was about to ask her where he was, but noticed she was sleeping so he just laid back down, not to disturb her. Shadow thought back at what he saw, remembering that thing that looked like him. He tried to remember what it said but for some reason he just couldn't remember any of it. Shadow slowly drifted back to sleep.
      Suddenly Shadow was woken up by a panicked Krystal. Everything in the room was ablaze, smoke replaced air, and the lights were only flickering. They ran outside as fast as they could. Shadow could swear that when he looked back at the house he saw the blob there; staring at him.
The pair ran to the car and hopped in. After a while, Shadow looked back at Krystal and noticed her crying. He told her to pull over. She was shaking uncontrollably, scared out of her mind and Shadow had no idea why.
"Krystal what happened back there?" Shadow asked with concern.
"I... I saw the horrible thing that tried to grab me at the store..."
"What?! He came to our house? How did he know where we lived?"

Krystal sat quietly, tears still streaming down her cheeks.

"Krystal please... Tell me what happened?"
            Krystal explained everything. She told him how that thing came out of the wall and told her that he was going to kill Shadow. But she couldn't allow that so he tried killing her too. He was throwing fireballs and he shot what she thought was an energy ball just like Shadow's. Shadow sat in awe and fury. That thing really was like him in every way
            Shadow held Krystal close to ensure her that everything would turn out for the better. The two drove to their friend's house. With a hope that they knew what was going on.
      They soon arrived to a well maintained house, with a pair of twins standing at the front door. They seemed to be a little irritated, checking their watches every couple of seconds as Shadow walked up to the house.
"Hey Detra, Ketra."
"You're late Shadow." The twins said simultaneously.
"Look we had a bit of trouble and--"
"We know. You want to know about the one that you met earlier. Right?"
"Yeah… Who is he?"
"He was telling the truth when he said that he was you. He's a doppelganger. He takes the shape, voice, and essence of the any person he wishes. He doesn't seem to have any weaknesses except..."
"What is it?"
"He can only be defeated at the hands of you."
            Shadow stood there, pondering. He asked the twins how he could defeat the doppelganger to no avail, they simply turned away.
"Shadow, even you know we can't give out that kind of information. We can't tell you how to solve your problems and we can't tell you the future. All we can do is wish you the best of luck."
      The twins waved goodbye as Shadow walked back to the car and drove off. He had hoped that they could have given him a clue in defeating this thing, but they just drove. They stopped at a motel for the night and ordered some food. Shadow started to inquire.
"Hey Krystal, what happened to the others? I don't remember seeing them at the house. Where'd they go?"    
            Krystal sat down on the bed and looked at him, a look of sorrow on her face as she let out a sigh.
"Shadow.... That thing... That...horrible thing took them... It dragged Rioichi into a black pit and threw Nova into a cage..."
            Shadow sat down next to Krystal hugging her as she wept on his shoulder. He noticed that Krystal brought his old backpack with her after they left the house. He asked her why since it had been years since he used it. She replied promptly.
"It's to keep us safe. No matter what happens this will protect us."
      She seemed distressed and he eventually calmed her down, and she fell asleep. Later he managed to fall asleep but when he fell asleep he heard its voice.
"So... You've survived this long. I wonder what you'll surprise me with next."
"You aren't real.... You're just crazed illusion I made up that won't leave me alone."
"Ouch, you know Shadow that really hurts. Hey tell you what, fork over your powers and maybe I won't kill you?"
            Shocked by what was just said, Shadow quickly awoke. Sweat beating down his face.

"Who is he? What is he? Why does he want my powers?  Does he know about the others? What should I do?"
            He lay back down, still thinking, yearning for more sleep. He became restless, tossing and turning, all with no success. Shadow eventually decided to get up and go for a walk since he was awake. He put on his coat, and walked out the door. On his walk he saw dozens of places still open. He saw bars and clubs that he wasn't interested. He still thought of that...thing. While continuing his walk, he bumped into an old friend.
"Shadow is that you? Wow, long time no see."
"Oh hey Rachel. How've you been?"
"Nothing much, just visiting some places, what about you?"
"Taking a walk got a lot of things on my mind."
"Oh, anything you want to talk about?"
"He he, if I told you, you'd think I was crazy."
"It can't be that bad."
"Well how about we get a drink? I could REALLY use one."
            Shadow and Rachel then went into a nearby bar and ordered some drinks, making sure to get a booth in the far corner to pry away from the curious passerby. Shadow started off slow, drinking sips at a time while telling Rachel what happened. But as he got more into what happened the more he drank. By the end of his story Shadow was downing drink after drink. 
      The drinks got stronger and stronger as as he drank but sadly for him due to his demonic nature, his tolerance for alcohol was amazingly high. Rachel was getting worried about Shadow, he just kept drinking and drinking occasionally stopping to tell her something but drank none the less.  She eventually saw Shadow lean his head on the mug in front of him, feeling dizzy from everything he had.          
      Rachel managed to get Shadow back to the motel. She laid him down on the couch and left a note on the table before leaving. In the morning Shadow woke up with a splitting headache. He looked around to see where he was, not knowing what happened last night. The last thing he remembers is walking into the bar and sitting down. Shadow walked over to Krystal's bedroom and noticed she was gone. He then walked to the kitchen and got some food from the refrigerator and sat back down on the couch. He turned on the T.V. and flipped it over to the news and saw something terrible.            
      It was a news story about a woman that got into a car accident with heavy injuries. Shadow heard the phone ring and moved quickly to the phone to pick it up. When he answered it; it was a nurse from the Talon falls emergency room calling about an injured person claiming to know him. Shadow ran straight out the door and to the hospital.
            Shadow arrived to the hospital twenty minutes later, breathing heavily and nearly collapsing on the ground. He slowly walked over to the desk where a nurse sat a computer in front of her. He asked the nurse if there was a woman that was brought in earlier from a car accident. Without saying a word the nurse motioned Shadow to the room where the woman was laying.
            He stepped into the room to take a look at her. As he looked over, his suspicions were confirmed. The woman on the news was Krystal. She lay in the bed with a neck brace and a cast on her left arm and leg. He sat beside her bed and kept looking at her, pure sorrow and worry on his face. He sat there for a long time, speechless and in awe.
"Sh-Shadow? Is that you?"
"Shh don't talk; you need to save your strength." Shadow spoke with tears running down his face.
"Shadow.... He tried to kill me.... He told me to give you a message..."
"W-what? He did this to you? What did he-"
"He told me to tell you..... He wants to fight.... And he won't stop until you do.... He said this was just a warning.... If you don't stop him... He will kill me... And everyone you love..."
            With his head drooping low and tears still streaming, he looked up at her and asked if she knew how to contact him. She just looked at him and said:
"Just call his name... Wodsha..."
            Shadow took a deep breath and stood up. He looked down at Krystal then at the lamp near her bed. He looked at her and said:
"I'm going to stop him, but I'm going to need all the help that I can get."
            He held his hands together and concentrated again. This time in his hands there was a white light and he held it over Krystal. He increased the power of the light and held it over her casts.
            Shadow heard her groan as he did this knowing that his power was working. The bones in her arm and her leg started to shift back into place and mend back together. The process was painful, but by the time he finished she was fully healed. Krystal looked up at Shadow and gave him a smile.
           
       Shadow grabbed a blade from his pocket and started to cut through the cast but failed. He decided to call in a nurse to tell her that the doctor must have made a mistake and put the casts on the wrong person. The nurse went to go get a doctor as fast as she could so Shadow and Krystal could be on their way.
            Krystal got the cast removed and walked with Shadow back to the motel. On their way there, they heard some fire trucks go by, wondering where they could be going. But when they got to their street they already knew. Shadow and Krystal saw a huge crowd in front of the motel while firefighters battled the flames coming from within.
      Shadow stood there blank, in awe. Krystal turned towards him and saw his expression. She was hesitant when she turned to speak to him, but managed to squeeze out the words.
"Sh-Shadow are you okay? Look, I--I know this looks bad but look at the bright side... We can still go somewhere new, and be away from all this crazy stuff... Shadow? Shadow!? Can you hear me?"
            He was furious; this thing had taken away his house, his friends, and even tried to take Krystal away from him. He couldn't let this happen any longer. His only thought right now was to get rid of this thing. Krystal knew that Shadow would go ballistic after all he's been through and that nothing would change his mind. Shadow turned to Krystal and let out a sigh. He knew that he couldn't defeat IT alone.

"Krystal... You know that this thing has to be stopped.... You know that we aren't strong enough to defeat him... But only you know where the ones that can help us are. Krystal, I need your help..."
"Of course I'll help you, and I know exactly you to call."
            Krystal called her sister Mary, Shadow's brother Rio, and Shadow's old friend Nova. They were the only people they needed in order to defeat the thing. They all had unique talents, Rio knew all of Shadow's weaknesses, Mary knew how to expel demon beings, and Nova knew how to use almost any weapon. What they all had in common, however, was the power they all possessed
            They all possessed the power of the elementals. The power called "The Beam." The person that had this power can absorb the power of the element they own and reform it into a ball or a beam of power. Rio had fire, Mary had Light, Nova had Earth, and Shadow had energy.
            There is only one person who can control energy during a life time. Once that person dies the power is sent to someone else. Shadow has mastered his powers over the years and has helped train the others. With all of their talents they actually stood a chance to defeat the blob.
       After what happened to the motel, they decided to go rent another motel for a bit so they had a place to stay. Then, after a couple of hours of waiting their team mates showed up and fully armed. Shadow though was very underpowered. Because he had mastered his powers, he needed to restrict them. The power he possessed was being restricted by the crystals that were imbued into his back.
       Shadow had to get these crystals off of him and he had to do it fast. Mary would be able to get them off but the pain that it would cause would be immense even for a demon. They had to prepare for this fight the best they could because they knew that this guy meant business. Mary and Shadow went to the bathroom with just a few materials to clean the wounds once they took the crystals off. They were in there for hours, screams echoing from the room. Shadow had to stop from all the pain and only managed to get off 7 of the 49 crystal that cloaked his back. 
      Shadow bandaged up his back and grabbed his backpack, the only thing he had left and headed towards the door. He then turned towards the group that waited on the bed. He stood there for a bit then spoke to them.
"I know this is a lot to ask from you guys and I really appreciate this. It will be hard trying to kill him and I don't guarantee that you'll leave this fight unscathed. But if we get through this... I promise I will repay all of you...”
            Shadow walked out the door holding Krystal's hand while the group followed. Krystal could tell for the first time in Shadow's life that he finally met his match. Shadow had never come across anyone or anything he couldn't handle until the day he met Wodsha. Shadow held Krystal's hand tight as they walked over to an open meadow not too far from the motel. He was genuinely scared. Krystal stopped him and pulled him to the side for a quick talk.
            "Look Shadow, I know that you're scared but I'm here for you, all of us are. I want you to know that no matter what happens that we will never give up on you. I know that you can do it. Just keep trying until this guy goes down."
            And with that the group finally stopped to where the fight would start. Shadow moved away from everyone else to summon Wodsha. He took a few deep breaths then roared at the sky.
      "WODSHA!!"
            But nothing happened, so Shadow tried again but with the same results. Shadow tried a few more times but still he did not appear. Then Rio spoke up from behind the group.
      "Shadow you sure that's how you're supposed to summon him? I mean that's not really creative."
      Shadow screamed Wodsha's name a few more times then kneeled down, out of breath. Then the clouds turned dark as if a storm were upon them.
            Out of the ground, Wodsha came, the ground beneath him dying, being drained of all life. Shadow got back up and looked right at Wodsha. Fury built up deep within Shadow, he knew that Wodsha could beat him if he was alone but with the help of his friends he hoped it would be enough to kill Wodsha.
            Wodsha looked around then saw Shadow.
"Oh so you finally came around did you? You want to accept my offer?" Wodsha said while walking towards Shadow
"Offer? What offer?" Shadow asked questioned
“Oh she didn't tell you? He he I told her to tell you but I guess this bit- erm... Girl didn't listen to me carefully. Well... I told her that if you took my offer that I would spare her life. In exchange you have to serve me for life."
"What?"
      Shadow turned toward Krystal, face filled with worry. 
"Shadow I didn't want you to know.... I can't let you give your life for mine," Krystal pleaded
"Wodsha... I will never join you... I will kill you and keep Krystal. Got that? You will not win this."
      Shadow looked up then released his power. His eyes turned dark, color seeping away and turning blood red. Shadow transformed in front of them, bones shifting into place and growing more and more feral. Then he took a few steps forward seeing the reaction coming from Wodsha. He was highly unimpressed. Wodsha held out his hand and focused his energy like Shadow did before. A Small purplish ball appeared with black streams of energy flowing through it. He faced his hand towards Shadow as he prepared himself to take on the full force of the ball but then Wodsha quickly turned his hand towards Krystal and released it. 
            The unexpected turn threw Shadow as well as everyone else off as Shadow leaped in front of Krystal. Shadow got hit in the back with the ball, the force nearly breaking it. Shadow got back up already feeling the pain surge through him. Then Wodsha prepared another ball, as he did Rio came to help. Rio stood in front of Shadow with a sword in hand waiting for the ball to come. Wodsha spread a smile across his face at the thought of taking out two people at once. Wodsha released the ball once again; Shadow flinched as he covered Krystal trying to protect her from the blast. Rio stood still, not moving a muscle until the right time. When the ball was in range Rio swung his sword and sliced the ball in half, disbursing the energy immediately. 
      Wodsha now slightly irritated formed two balls this time; he already learned how to focus the energy faster and into more compact and powerful balls. Wodsha started firing them rapidly; aiming only at Rio but ball after ball they only got dissipated.      
      Finally, Wodsha had enough; He put his hands on the floor and looked at Rio. Then out of the ground another clone appeared, this one looking exactly like Rio. Then another and another, each clone looking like each of the members of the group. Shadow looked back to Wodsha then stood back up. 
"Why are you doing this?" Shadow shouted 
"Because you have power I want. You all do. I knew you would call them that is why I kept your Krystal alive. All I have to do is kill you, and then I can have all the power to myself."
      After Wodsha finished, the clones went straight for their opposites, except for two. Shadow and Krystal's clone went after the other. Wodsha knew that Shadow could never hit Krystal and he knew Krystal wouldn't hit Shadow. Each of them tried to dodge the blows the clones were throwing. The fight for the others didn't last long, they were clearly outmatched. Shadow and Krystal were the only two left conscious.        
       Wodsha left the others alive for now so that he could see Shadow suffer. He wanted Shadow to realize that there was nothing he could do to with this fight. But then Shadow stood up in front of Krystal pushing away his clone and Krystal's.
      
      Shadow stood there, emotionless and unfazed. Wodsha was a bit confused, how could Shadow still have a will to fight? Even after everyone else had already been defeated. Then Shadow made his very own shadow rise up next to him, something only a true shadow demon could do. This is what made Shadow near invincible, Shadow held out his arm and made the energy ball and his silhouette did the same. They put both their energy ball into one and shot at Wodsha's clones. 
      The blast was HUGE, the clones were instantly destroyed but Wodsha remained unscathed. Shadow put down his arm, the feeling of being able to defeat something Wodsha made fueling him. Shadow made his shadow go and attack Wodsha, the shadow was amazingly fast.
      He was definitely caught off guard by this, so Wodsha started to block the attacks. While they were fighting Shadow turned toward Krystal and told her:
"Krystal I have an idea, but we need to wake up the others..."
      The shadow didn't seem to let up, it just kept attacking and attacking. Then Wodsha grabbed the shadow's arm, he flung the shadow far back. Then Wodsha redirected his attention back towards Shadow and the group to see all of them standing. Rio and Nova on one knee in front of Mary and the shadow while Shadow and Krystal stood in back of them all. Then Wodsha knew what was about to happen. Then he just smiled, he knew no matter what that he couldn't block that.
      Rio and Nova formed the energy ball above them and started charging it, and then Mary and the shadow put both of their arms in front of them and focused all their energy into the ball in front of them. Krystal did the same, but when Shadow held out his hand He made a little Grey ball instead of his usual green one. This ball was something completely different. It was called "The Grave Maker". It stole the life out of the first thing it came in contact with and would store the life in a crystal; this power was known as one of the Forbidden powers. It was supposedly lost and forgotten in time. But Shadow knew about it, he was the one that first created it in his first life. 
           
       Shadow focused the small Grey ball in front of him and pushed it into the ball that the others focused their energy into. The ball immediately turned pure black; Shadow knew that this would kill Wodsha. He just knew it.... But that little hint of doubt still lay deep within his mind... The others finished charging the ball, so Shadow now held all its power in his hands. Shadow released the ball, sending the impending death towards Wodsha. Wodsha just kept smiling then looked up. He said in a low voice, just barely audible.
"I'm proud of you son."
            Then the ball struck, a huge cloud encased the area. But Shadow seemed to have been the only one who heard Wodsha Say that. Shadow couldn't believe what he said. Shadow's father died when he was born as well as his mother. They were killed by demon hunters but spared Shadow's life. Shadow walked forward toward where Wodsha stood; now only a stone statue of him remained. A crystal lying on the floor in front of him. Shadow picked up the crystal and walked back toward the group.            
      Krystal ran up to him and held him tight, tears rolling down her eyes. The whole group was happy now that that thing was finally taken care of. Shadow walked behind the group with Krystal. They couldn't believe it was over. That thing would bother them anymore.... But they couldn't stay here. They can't risk the thing coming back.      
      The whole group decided to leave to a new town, leaving behind everything they had. The two friends Shadow lost to the clone were found 42 miles away in the woods. They soon met up with Shadow in the new town. So this is where they are now, living a new life with a clean slate. They hoped everyday that the clones wouldn't come back. A few months passed after the incident and Shadow still could get what Wodsha said off his mind. Shadow decided to return back to where they fought, but when he arrived the statute was gone. On the floor there was a note saying: 
"You proved to be better than expected Shadow. I'm proud of you. But that doesn't mean that I gave up. I am alive and I will find you again. I will not be defeated again. We WILL meet again.”
       Then the note ended. Shadow stood there in shock, there's no way he could have survived that blast. But Shadow checked back to his bag where he had kept the crystal that imprisoned Wodsha's soul. It was gone, so Shadow knows he will be back. But Shadow will be stronger, faster, and more powerful than ever.
“This time.... Wodsha will Die.”