The S.H.A.D.O.W.

The S.H.A.D.O.W. is a secret organization with ties to the Dark Killer and Gravestone.

Origin

Created in New Prairie as a result of the first killings of the Dark Killer. The acronym of their name is unknown. The group originally consisted of 10 gypsies who had made their home in New Prairie shortly after it’s founding. When the Balfone family was murdered and Nucci Balfone committed to Rhenderelli Asylum, the group realized that the world needed to be rid of all evil. They decided that they would be the ones to do the act and set forth to do a spell that would do so. The spell itself was misunderstood and instead of all evil in the world being banished, it turned the gypsies into a creature that were neither alive or dead. Their facial features over the years slowly vanished, leaving a blank slate of a person.

New Abilities

Soon they realized that they were given the ability to take over other people in sort of a pod person style, killing the host after visually reproducing them. Realizing this, they understood that their spell didn’t backfire but instead allowed them to take over the bodies of those evil, kill the original evil and in turn take over and act in non-evil ways. During their podding, once the original person is killed, the S.H.A.D.O.W. member splits into two, one being the podded individual and the other an exact copy of the pre-S.H.A.D.O.W. member. This gives the organization the ability to continue their take over of the world without running out of people. The pod-like people can not reproduce in any other way but this.

Taking Over the World

As the years went by, the S.H.A.D.O.W. realized that becoming other people would be more beneficial to them than simply ridding the world of evil. This ultimately led them to decide to take over the world as themselves. By the mid 50’s the organization had grown past the bounds of New Prairie and into other parts of the Midwest. They realized that the monsters and creatures roaming secretly around the world would be beneficial to them in two parts: one, they could be used as slaves once they took over the world and two, they acted as the only source of food the members could eat.

The Dark Killer Intervenes

They suffered a large cutback when the S.H.A.D.O.W.’s leader was killed by the Dark Killer himself in the mid 50’s. The Dark Killer acquired a dagger from the leader that allowed him the ability to create an alternate world that he could keep victims hiding within. This dagger was greatly important to the survival of the leader and without it, he was nothing more than a normal S.H.A.D.O.W. member. Without the leader’s guidance, the S.H.A.D.O.W. members could do nothing more than to go into hiding until they could find a way to bring the leader back.

Gravestone and the Dagger

The second in command of the S.H.A.D.O.W. realized that the members shouldn’t waste their time in hiding and instead started training a select group in the ways of telepathy, something all of them could do but just didn’t know how to. After honing their skills, they attempted to find a way to resurrect the leader. In the mid 90’s, the second in command confronted Steven Haast about the location of Gravestone, who recently acquired the leader’s dagger. During the confrontation with Gravestone, the second in command is stopped as Gravestone's body attempted to heal itself by sucking the life out of the undead S.H.A.D.O.W.’s. The second in command looses his grip on Gravestone and recoils as Gravestone escapes with the dagger.

By the summer of 1995, the leader is reborn after the dagger is stolen by Drill Bit.