"She never does. She stops her ears and closes her eyes, forever running from the truth."

The Shadow hauls itself slowly and ponderously to its feet, staring at Sarah with golden eyes that are slowly becoming less dull.

"I am the despair she refuses to acknowledge, the aching emptiness that dwells in her heart. The empty place inside her that nothing can fill - "

"Stop it."

" - not friendship, nor the admiration of her peers, nor the caress of a loved one. I have been with her since the beginning - ever since she realized that nothing in this world is real. Not even a mother's love."

Sarah shakes off Misfit's arm and screams.

"SHUT THE HELL UP!"

The titanic swing of Sarah's God Arc that accompanies her shout bodily throws the Shadow into the air. It takes less than a second for Sarah to turn the rest of the swing into a switch, as her God Arc assumes Gun Mode and she jerks the end of it up towards the falling Shadow and punctures it with a bright red laser that curves up to strike it.

As the Shadow crashes on the ground, it starts laughing before moving to its feet with a fluid grace. There's nothing passive about its bearing now.

"You know that thing can't hurt me! I'm you, after all!"