**The Phantom Assassin**

[Fenrir Shade]

'What have I become? And shall I ever be forgiven for my sins? No, for what I have done marks me. Marks me with a curse I can never relinquish. Nay, I shall never remove the guilt I have, and the cruelty in my heart. I have become a killer, and nothing more.The only retribution I have is in whom I choose to kill. Kill those who have done no wrong, just had the misfortune to have angered the wrong person? Or those who have caused more pain in life, than could be caused by their death? Aye, this is the only retribution my pitiful soul can achieve. So I await my next contract, move by move, until my services are beckoned again. But as of now, I lie in wait for my current contract: Gromir the Shrew. I currently await his arrival into his bedchamber, poised amongst the shadows above his bed. His child pedafelianism shall come to an end tonight by my blade.'

A shaft of light penetrates the room as the door creaks slowly open. A shadow is cast into the light, the shadow of a man with sins rivaling those of the assassin. The man carries a candle to light his path into his room. The light from the hall clicks off, dimming the already dull light in the room to almost nothing. The man, Gromir, sits on the bed removing his slippers and setting his clock for work in the morning. He lays back into the bed, licks his fingers, and snuffs out the last remaining source of light in the house. This, was the last mistake he ever made. The assassin descended upon him, seeming to materialize out of the ceiling, drawing a blade and bringing it within mere centimeters of Gromir's throat. Whether it was intuition, or the sense of impending doom, his eyes suddenly tore open and stared into the deep red eyes of his soon-to-be-killer. He let out a scream, a scream that told that he knew his time was up.

"My name, is Fenrir Shade. I have been tasked with your assassination. You have caused far more pain than your worth allows. May darkness take hold of you and never release." says the assassin. And with that, the blade was drawn across Gromir's neck, and he ceased to exist.

Fenrir returned to the ceiling and melded into the shadows. He became one with the pure blackness of the darkest of dark. As swiftly as he had killed his target, he was gone and on his way.

'Aye, what I do is a curse. But one I must bare. I do what I do, because that is my destiny. That, is my purpose.'  

[Fenrir Shade]

Dawn brakes across the sky, and the shadows of night dissipate. Fenrir stands atop a highrise building, perilously close to the edge, feeling the strong breeze whisk across his face and tugging at his clothes. He is in a near meditative state, almost reaching comatose, when the silence is broken by his own voice:

"You're late. Do you have the payment?" his voice is raspy and hoarse from lack of sleep.

"Yes, here are the three hundred rings, as promised. And another assignment." explains the man just reaching the landing of the stairs. "My master wants Ice King Macafee killed. He has been a thorn in our side for far too long. Do you accept?"

"Why shall I accept this contract? You know quite well that I don't kill those who don't deserve it." replies Fenrir.

"He has enslaved several citizens of Gravestone and has forced them all to work for him."

"Not a typical reason, but reason enough. What is his full name?"

"Swift Xavier Macafee. He resides inside the Castle atop his floating island. The routine is typical; tail, information, death. Standard operating procedure. Because of the high value of this target, the pay has been increased to five thousand rings. My master wants him dead more than anyone else on this Godforsaken planet."

"Understood. I shall begin immediately. Return to your master and tell him I accept."

"I shall. But before I leave, why are you standing so close to the edge? It seems pointless, and a simple stray breeze or wayword push could send you to your death."

"Sometimes, you just need to take a leap of faith."

And with that, the courier retreats from the roof. Fenrir is left alone once again. He waits five minutes before making a move, a move that would normally kill any hedgehog. He takes one step forward, letting his foot hang off the building, then pushes off the edge. He plummets. He falls headfirst toward the street below. He complacently watches as the ground gets closer. Civilians begin to scream from bellow, not expecting to see a suicide today. The ground comes up to meet Fenrir, but he dissolves through it, into the shadow of the building he was standing atop.

--- three hours later ---

Fenrir had heard stories of the majesty of the Ice Kingdom, but never had the pleasure to experience it until today. If only it were under better circumstances. A contact inside the castle has supplied him with the proper permissions to be allowed into all aspects of the castle with no interference. He stands in the main hall contemplating on where to begin.

'I believe I shall start in the Archives. Aye, that would be the best place to start. To make sure that my information is correct, and my informant has not lied.'  

[The Jolly Victini]

Fenikkusu walked down the stairs of the main lobby, his feathers shining brightly from a recent cleaning. He noticed Fenrir and decided to pursue the stranger. "Good evening, sir. May I ask the reason for your visit?"  

[Fenrir Shade]

"Ah, you must be the family guardian, Fenikkusu. It is a great honor to meet you sir. My name is Fenrir. I have been invited by King Macafee as a conscript investigator into some personal business he didn't wish to transcribe onto letter. He has sent me the proper permissions to have full access to the castle and the contents of his ancestral annals. This is the paper work that he sent me with his signature and royal symbol. But if you have any interjections, please feel free to state them and I shall leave." Says Fenrir, pulling out a large stack of papers from a satchel, fifty-two pages exactly, each signed with a forgery of the King's signature. They were official enough to the naked eye, but with how careful this guardian was and how much he could scrutinize over them, Fenrir didn't think he'd believe him.

But, one must make a leap of faith at times.  

[The Jolly Victini]

Fenikkusu took the forms and looked them over closely. He eventually handed them back to Fenrir. "Very well." He agreed. "Do as you will. Just don't do anything you'll later regret." Fenikkusu eyed him with an unnoticeable bird's eye glare.  

[Fenrir Shade]

"Thank you good sir. I shall be on my way then, for I am sure you have far more important things to attend to than a stranger like myself." replies Fenrir, heading towards the Castle Archives.

He reaches the door to the stairwell down to his objective. Flanking the opening were two guards armed with broadswords.

"Halt, and state your business citizen!" commands the guard on the right. The rank on his uniform told Fenrir that he was a First Sergeant, the other being a Staff Sergeant. He didn't bother reading the name tags, because they were pointless words to bog down his mind.

"I am Fenrir, your King has summoned me to work on a personal problem. This is the paperwork that gives me access to the Archives."

The men scanned through the papers, passing it between themselves with whispers. After a few moments, the First Sergeant handed back the papers sating; "Everything seems to be in order. Carry on."

With that, Fenrir strode down the stairs into the dark room. Typically, he would prefer the room as it were, but darkness isn't good for reading. He searched the walls near the entrance for some sort of light-switch, but found none. Fenrir used his powers to search through the darkness for familiar shapes. A large circular table with a single chair sits in the middle of the room with the bookcases spread out round it like the rays of the sun. He searched for finer details, and found what he was looking for. On the column directly across from the entrance was an unlit torch.

Fenrir approaches the torch and reaches into his pocket. His hand emerges with a small flint-and-steel self contained lighter. The only thing of his father he had left. He struck the cloth that clung to the torch, and the sparks erupted into flames, birthing light. He grasps the torch, and pulled it from its resting place. He walks to the center of the room where the table sits. Floating above the table, suspended by nothing more than air, is a pedestal. Fenrir raises the torch to the pedestal, and light erupts into the room, as preset paths of oil ignite and spread the fire to every corner.

After reading the plaques on each shelf, Fenrir finally settled down an isle that he thought would bare the best results. And the results he did find. A relatively new book with gold print titled: "Funds and Records." Scanning through the pages reveals what he is looking for. One of the latest additions states that King Macafee had in fact enslaved several citizens from Gravestone. But something looks odd about the paper...

Suddenly the First Sergeant's voice called down the tunnel: "Hey, Civvie, it's getting late! Pack it up, and move it out! Visiting hours are over!"

"Dammit!" cursed Fenrir to himself, "Aye, I'll be gone soon!" He grabs the book and stows it inside his satchel, walking towards the stairs. Upon reaching the landing, he heads for the Grand Hall.  

[The Jolly Victini]

A feather flew through the air like a dart as it slashed the strap of Fenrir's bag and suddenly dissapeared in flames as it hit the ground. Fenikkusu then manifested in front of Fenrir, the bag in his hand and his eyes staring daggers at him. "I am most certainly aware that both forging a royal decree and the theivery of anything from the royal archives is a crime in this country, both of which, death is the punishment for. So I ask you, what gave you the gall tothink that you could get away with anything you've done here today while I am the King's spiritual guardian?"  

[Fenrir Shade]

'Dammit! I always knew that Family Guardians were intelligent and were omniscient in their own house, but this one surpassed all my expectations! Dammit! What do I do? I don't know what to say, I've never experienced this before! Dammit! How could I let this happen? I'm the best damn assassin in all of Mobius! I'm better than this! Dammit! Come on, Fenrir, think! How the Hell do I get out of this? Dammit! Wait, of course! How could I not have thought of that?!' Frantically inquired Fenrir.

Fenrir summoned the shadows about him, casting the once fully lit room into complete darkness. Using this moment of confusion to his advantage, he phased his arm through the bag, grabbed the book, and proceeded to flee from the castle into the dark familiarity of night.  

[The Jolly Victini]

Fenikkusu smirked. "He truly is foolish." he said to himself. With a burst of flame, Fenikkusu teleported out of the castle and into the air above Fenrir. With a lightning fast movement, he swooped down and knocked Fenrir into the ground. He then pinned Fenrir to the ground and slammed his wing into his arm, at deadly move, but only used to currently break his arm. "Give me one good reason why you shouldn't be executed right now." Fenikkusu said coldly. "You've threatened not only the security of MY family, but also the security of this entire island. I would say frankly that you are in no current position to try any more tricks."  

[Fenrir Shade]

A typical hedgehog would be reeling in pain at this point, but for Fenrir, the pain was nonexistent. He could easily meld into the shadows again, and escape, but the determination in the Guardian's eyes told that he would give up at nothing to hunt his a** down and mount his head atop a pike. No, there was no avoiding this, only pointless prolonging.

"Aye, it would seem I am not House Pet, do with me as you wish for my body feels no pain." mutters Fenrir.  

[The Jolly Victini]

Fenikkusu transported into a room that was glowing white. The energy in this room felt like a void, as if there was a negativity of power. He began to shackle Fenrir to the wall. "This room severely nullifies powers. All of your power is weakened while in this room. You are to wait here until someone can speak with you." Fenikkusu scoffed, then left the cell, the thick steel door closing behind him.

After about a half an hour, the door reopened and S.M. entered the room. He stared down Fenrir for what seemed like forever. Eventually, he broke the silence. "So. You forge my signature onto fake royal documents, intrude in the archives, steal a book from the archives, change the records to say untrue things and then resist arrest. You've not done yourself much justice here. What have you got to say for yourself?" S.M. shot.  

[Fenrir Shade]

Fenrir focused all of his energy, and caused shadows to seep into the blinding room, causing it to become dark in the corners. He also manipulated them into an optical illusion, making the room appear much longer than it really was. This was usually enough to crack a normal Hog's resolve and psyche. But it didn't seem to affect King Macafee in the slightest. But that didn't matter, he only wished to show that he still maintained some power in this room, even with the limitations.

"Woah, slow down Quills-for-Brains. What precisely do you mean, forged records? I was stealing that information as evidence to prove your guilt."  

[The Jolly Victini]

"Don't play stupid!" S.M. pulled out the book and threw it on the ground, the book slowly halting in front of Fenrir, on the exact page of the forgeries. "These fake records! I would never enslave anything! If you think people would actually fall for your 'proof' then you're dumber than you look! I've done more things for the good of this castle, this island, this PLANET, than you have than the fingers to count them with! Nobody's stupid enough to believe that I'd suddenly just turn evil and start making people slaves." S.M. argued, slightly out of breath. Despite the effects of the room, a tint of fire had appeared, enveloping S.M.'s fists.  

[Fenrir Shade]

"Aye, but why would I steal the book I hadjust placed the forgeries on? If this plot was true, I could just instruct the guard to investigate. Why go through the trouble to steal the damn thing? And then work so hard to get away? And you should learn to calm yourself Your Benevolent Highness. You wouldn't want to kill a prisoner with out a confession or due precess would you? So tell the damn truth you sadistic b*****d!"  

[The Jolly Victini]

S.M. was now backed into a corner. With a frustrated sigh, he continued, "Whatever. Look, who hired you? Something's fishy and I think that somebody's trying to frame me." He then grabbed Fenrir by the lapel and brought him to his face. "And you're helping them." He said through gritted teeth.