Chapter 4

Knight just watched as Shade rushed him. His mind may have been more powerful, but it was far too cloudy to think straight. Okay, let me get my bearings. Wendy's stopping a monster (which I should be more scared of) from killing me, and a guy who looks exactly like me is coming at me with a sword. His hands moved without conscious though to protect his side, which was soon to be impaled. He didn't know how he intended to stop the sword, he barely had any idea what was going on.

His dream like state was interrupted when he heard the clash of metal at his side. He stared at the sword which had stopped mere inches from his stomach and… the thing in his hands which stopped it. "Whoa."

Everyone in the room paused for a second and stared at it. It was a spear; the handle was grey with simple engravings as decoration. On one end was a small blade and the other was a round red jewel. "I guess this is the gift."

The doppelganger stepped away, his sword grinding against the spear. "This wasn't supposed to happen," he mumbled. "You were supposed to die." Another smile appeared on his face. "Oh well, another time." A black flame engulfed Shade. "We will meet again, Knight Wing, and when we do, I will take great pleasure in killing you." The flame dissipated and the boy with Knight's face was gone.

"What just happened?" The question was then followed by a blow to the back of his head, instantly banishing all of the clouds in his mind.

"Idiot!" yelled the attacker, who then grabbed him by the collar. "Why didn't you tell me you could do that?"

"I didn't know!" he cried. "Wait, weren't you holding back a monster?"

Wendy blinked in realization. "Uh-oh." She pushed Knight away from the spot which was soon occupied by the Shadow's claw. "I'm getting tired of your overgrown nail!" She swung her sword at the things wrist only for it to be stopped by its armored skin. "Not this time!" She stepped on the edge of the blade, combining both her upper and lower strength. The blade now went easily through the Shadow's skin, muscle and bone.

Black blood sprayed out of its arm, covering Wendy's front body. Knight now looked at her in a new light for just a moment. And for that moment, he did not see a girl, but a demon.

You have to finish it off, said a voice, the same as that of the man.

"For some reason, I don't think I can. Wendy can't kill that thing."

I am stronger than a Guardian. Just stab it in the head or the chest when you see an opening.

"Alright," Knight stood up, grasping the spear in his hands, "if you say so." Wendy continued to fight the Shadow, which had quickly recovered from having its hand chopped off, but there was something odd about her movements; they were wild and unfocused, like those of a wild animal. He watched both of their movements until, for an instant, he saw its chest wide open. "Well, here goes nothing." Knight ran toward the Shadow, screaming his lungs out and holding the spear high.

The tip met surprisingly little resistance as it plunged into the chest; passing through the ribs, heart, and finally the skin and muscle on the other side. The Shadow gave one last shriek and vanished from existence.

"That was kind of cool," Knight said in a state of shock.

Wendy was in a similar state, but his had many hints of anger. "I'll ask you again. Why didn't you tell me that you could do that!" The Shadow's black blood vanished from her body, revealing a bright red face colored by anger and embarrassment. "It would have been helpful earlier."

"Like I said before, I don't know how I was able to do that," he defended himself. "It's just that I—"

"Save it, I don't care anymore. The Shadow's dead and that's all that matters." The color faded from her face, as did the adrenalin from her veins. The pain from her side reasserted itself; causing Wendy to grasp her blood soaked left side and curse. "I'm okay," she said before collapsing.

'I'll go call an ambulance."

"No!" she strained. "Just get me my bag." A few moments passed until her bag was dropped beside her. "Do you mind looking away? I may not be human but I'm still a girl." Knight was decent enough to comply without a word. She looked at her sword as it disappeared into the air

Wendy grabbed the collar of her blouse, and in one swift, strong motion, tore it off. She winced slightly as her exposed muscles were brought into the air. She examined the wound closer. It had healed somewhat since it was inflicted, at least she couldn't see through it. She reached into her bag and pulled out a jar of a blue substance, some gauze, and a new shirt.

First was the blue stuff. Her nostrils curled as she twisted the lid. "What's that smell?" Knight asked.

"Medicine," she answered, scooping the blue gel. "It helps a Guardian's regenerative ability. I hate using it." With a loud splat, the blue goo was thrown on the entrance wound, and another handful went to the exit wound on her back.

Hey," Knight said as she bandaged herself, "any idea what I'm supposed to do with this?" He held up the spear.

"None, sorry." Just as the words escaped her lips, a bright light engulfed the weapon, then faded along with the spear.

"Never mind."

Wendy chuckled silently as she put on her clean shirt and stuffed the bloody one in her bag. "Alright, I'm ready to go." She tried to stand up, but ended up falling in Knight's arms.

"You know, you're pretty light." He propped her up on his shoulders and began to carry her.

"Thanks."

"It's the least I can do." He took her outside the cafeteria when he met with Mr. Floon's bright red face.

Oblivion, the birth place of all Shadows, where there is never a sun rise, the grass is black, and there is an eternal scent of death. To Shade, this was home. He basked in the dull moonlight, rejoicing in the fact that after ten years, he finally had a new body. But his thoughts soon moved from himself to the stone coffin in front of him.

It was actually hard to call it a coffin since there was absolutely no way to open it; prison was a better word. Shade's fingers danced around the top, outlining the engravings of flames and bones, until he reached the large demonic face. "Now all I have to do is wake you up, Fiend."

Knight placed his last pair of socks in the suitcase, zipped the case up, and fell down on the bed to contemplate the previous night. Both he and Wendy were expelled due to sneaking out at night and destroying the cafeteria; luckily for them, they didn't find any of Wendy's blood so criminal charges were narrowly averted.

He stared at the ceiling fan as he lifted his hand. In a bright flash of light, exactly like the light from last night, the spear appeared in his hand. He concentrated on the spear, and in another flash of light, the spear was gone.

"Having fun?' Knight sat up instantly and looked to see the golden man leaning against the wall.

"Kind of, it took me all night to figure out how it works; just concentrate and, poof, it's there. You wouldn't happen to know how I was able to kill that thing last night, would you?"

"As I stated before, I am stronger than a Guardian, I merely channeled some of that strength into your spear."

"I see. You're that strong but you can't escape from a child's mind." His stoic face faltered slightly with annoyance. "I'm only kidding. You should really get a sense of humor." His attention went quickly from his own amusement to the question he asked last night. "I'm sorry, but I still didn't catch your name."

He, once again, swayed in discomfort. "I don't have one; well, I did, but I have long since forsaken it."

"Really, that's a shame. But I still need to call you something." Knight thought about it for all but a second before snapping his fingers. "I know, how about Silverwing?"

"Silverwing?"

"Yeah, it just seems fitting, don't you think?"

The newly dubbed Silverwing pinched the bridge of his nose. "I will not even question the logic behind that name, but I will accept it." Knight smiled and opened the door to his dorm, suitcase in hand. "Where are you going?"

"Where do you think?"

For the first time, Silverwing laughed out loud. "And I will follow you; though, it's not like I have a choice." And he disappeared back into the recesses of Knight's mind.

As he left his room for the last time, a familiar face walked out in front of him. "Well, well, I never thought I'd see you expelled, Bird Brain."

Rage quickly entered Knight as he saw Chutnick's sneering face, but it was just as quickly dismissed by a rational mind. "Neither did I," he said in a chipper voice.

"It won't be as much fun without you around, but I'm not sorry about seeing that tramp go."

Knight seriously though about whipping out his spear and teaching him a thing or two, but he decided against it in favor of a much more delicious revenge. "Here," he tossed the remaining rations at him, "a parting gift." Chutnick ate the bar greedily, and Knight could barely hold his laughter as he walked away. "I don't think eating six days worth of meals in five seconds is such a good idea." Knight ran the corner to get far away from his former bully, and began looking for Wendy.

Knight finally found the Guardian lying on the roof of the six story dorm building (which just so happened to be unlocked) tracing the remaining clouds of the storm with her finger. "I though you might be up here."

"I knew you'd come up here." She remarked and lifted one of her legs. "Like these shoes, I bought them off of one of my roommates for about three gold coins that might have dated back to the Spanish Inquisition." She jumped up from her laying position, did a flip in mid-air just to show off, and, like a cat, landed perfectly on her feet. "Man, is it fun to do that. Are you okay?"

"Fine. Better than ever, actually. And you?"

"My side still hurts, but…" she lifted the lower part of her shirt which revealed the once large hole was now only a long paper cut, "…I heal fast. Well, see ya." With a smile, she walked back towards the door.

"Wait!" Wendy stopped. This is your only chance, Knight said to himself. "I-I-I want to come with you!" The entire world fell silent around the two.

"It won't be safe," she said, being completely serious. "You could die, or worse."

"I know."

"You might never be able to return."

"I know."

"And, most importantly, you are weak."

"I know."

Wendy sighed. "Give me your bag."

"I kn— what?"

"You heard me, give me you're bag." Knight was speechless and so in shock that he didn't notice Wendy fitting his suitcase in her much smaller bag. "Now I have one last question. Do you trust me?" He nodded. "You've only known me a day."

"A day is enough."

She laughed. "Suit yourself, it's your choice and I have only the authority to tell you the risks." She turned her back to him. Hold on to me, and, for the love of God, don't let go."

He wrapped his arms around her waist and held tight. He had no doubt in his mind that this was right. "One…" This was what he wanted. "Two…" But a question did enter his head; why did he want this? "Three!" His feet were ushered off the floor as Wendy leaned forward and ran, not to the door, but to the safety fence. She jumped and stood with perfect balance on the fence. "Are you afraid of heights?"

"A little."

"Yeah… you should close your eyes." He did so, and then felt her lean forward. He bit his lip to prevent his screaming as they plummeted. Seconds passed and the expected splat never came; in fact, he actually felt that they were falling slower. Curiosity got the better of him and his eyes darted open. What he saw was beyond belief as stars passed them by. "Welcome, Knight Wing, to the rest of the universe."