AN: Seems like a lot of you guys seemed to really enjoy my last chapter. Oh boy...well, it's going to get very interesting from this point on. Once again, I gotta shout out to those that left reviews on my chapter. So, thank you, CrimsonDestroyer, CrimsonLove16, Shadrougeforever, CrimsonDarkTheHedgehog, Kimberly Rosivel Lopez, risingzero1984, Janttun3n, guest, and finally aliciathewolf45! Some of you have PM'd me or left reviews asking if we'll ever see Faith more grown up in this story. Yes, you definitely will. A time skip is coming up very soon and we'll see an older version of Faith. :)

•~•

Rummaging around in a box located in the attic, Shadow eventually stumbled across the item he was looking for. Coming back downstairs, he held out a pair of metal shackles in one hand. "We should stop packing these away, it seems there's always someone around that's in need of a good shackling." He handed the medieval-looking shackles over to Mighty, who looked down at them in wonder.

"Wow, I haven't seen a pair of these around in a while. They're very hard to come by, especially since they're so outdated. It's a shame, these things work like a charm," the armadillo noted, examining them within his hands.

"Yes, I agree," Shadow mumbled before refocusing his attention to the most important matter at hand. "Now, let's find Amy, Rosy, or whoever the hell that was and use these to stop her from doing magic. But most of all, we can't hurt her. The non-psychopathic bits are still my girlfriend."

Mighty looked down at the dark object he held in his hands for a moment. "You must understand that I won't be the only one looking for her, Shadow. She killed children. The 24-hour hold that you managed to get the coven to agree on ends in a couple of hours. Soon enough, every witch in this city is going to be out there gunning for her."

Shadow pondered on the thought before re-evaluating his plans. "Perhaps you're right. Change of plans." He looked over to his brother waiting in the corner of the living room with Blaze. "Silver, you and Blaze head over to Hendrix's residence and charm him into extending the holdover. Do whatever you can to stall him. We can't allow his flock to go after Rosy."

"What about Faith?" Blaze reminded. "We can't leave her alone, especially when Rosy tried to target her."

"Already one step ahead of you." Shadow pulled out his cellphone from his back pocket. "I'll be calling in a little favor to the wolves. I want Faith safe while we work to get Amy out of that serial killer's body and back to the original one."

•~•

After making some calls, Sonic and Sally arrived at Shadow's estate. The two had gotten there as fast as they could after hearing the news. Holding hands, Sonic led Sally up the stairs to the front porch and knocked on the door. A few seconds later, the front door opened and they were greeted by Shadow, who held Faith in one arm, while he held open the door with the other. "Come inside," he beckoned."

"What's the update?" Sonic inquired as they stepped inside.

Shadow closed the door behind them then turned to face them. "Nothing good," he sighed. "Silver and Blaze are out on an errand and Mighty and I are going to work on hunting down Amy."

Sally looked at the infant held closely to the hybrid's chest. Faith was busy, reaching one hand up towards her father's face, trying to gain his attention. "So, this witch really came after Faith? Sally questioned in shock.

Shadow nodded. "It was fortunate that I was able to stop her in time. Only God knows what she would have done if I hadn't, the sick bitch…"

Sally opened her arms and gestured for Shadow to hand over the infant. Obliging, Shadow handed Faith over to her gently. Sally smiled down at her and Faith returned a similar expression. Seeing Shadow stare at his daughter in a stranger's arms, Sally knew he'd need a little reassurance with her protection "It's okay, Shadow," she spoke pulling him out of his reverie. "I promise to protect her as if she were my own."

Sonic patted Shadow on the shoulder also trying to calm his ease of worry. "Don't worry, we won't let you down. We even have a couple of our strongest guys outside to escort us back in case anything happens. We won't let anything happen to your kid."

"That's all I want to hear," Shadow smiled weakly. "Thank you two for being so kind and coming out of your way to do this for me."

"Hey, times have changed. We've got your back if you've got ours," Sonic winked.

Shadow bent over by the front door and handed Sonic a diaper bag full of Faith's supplies. "I hope to have this issue resolved before daylight." He gently stroked Faith's cheek with the side of his index finger, making her smile at him. "Your father loves you," he smiled. "And I promise to bring back your mother safe and sound. Just don't be a hassle for Sally and Sonic."

Sally smiled at him and gave a soft chuckle. "She shouldn't be too much trouble." She took Faith's hand and made her wave at her father. "Say bye-bye to your daddy," she giggled. Faith giggled in return by Sally's playfulness and let off a few coos.

Suddenly a loud rumble of thunder sounded off in the distance, startling the group. Seeing a flash appear in the far off sky, it was apparent that a storm was brewing and heading their way. It seemed also rather symbolic of the events that were undoubtedly to unfold. "You two better get out of here before the rain hits," Shadow advised, hearing another close rumble sound off.

"You're right," Sonic concurred, slinging the diaper bag's strap over one shoulder.

Shadow walked over and opened the door for them, it was already starting to get increasing dark and ominous as the dark clouds rolled in. "Take care." Sonic waved to Shadow before draping an arm over Sally and leading her out of the house with Faith in tow. Shadow stood on his front porch and watched as Faith was taken away from his home and loaded into one of the black SUV's they had arrived in. It was hard to watch but he knew this needed to be done to keep her safe for the time being.

•~•

Meanwhile, at Hendrix's estate, Silver and Blaze met with him to discuss extending their deal on Rosy Rascal. The three sat in Hendrix's living room together and watched as the black cat enjoyed his evening tea. "So, I suppose you've come to tell me good news?" the black cat assumed, starting the conversation.

"Not exactly," Blaze responded timidly. "We've actually come here to ask a favor..."

Hendrix leaned back in his seat. "Oh joy, I can't wait to hear this one," he said facetiously.

•~•

While Silver and Blaze dealt with stalling Hendrix, Shadow and Mighty walked the barren streets of Station Square as they hunted for Rosy. Using his keen sense of smell, Shadow sniffed the air, trying to catch her scent. Growing frustrated by the lack of her scent, Shadow turned to look at the armadillo trailing behind him. "Once we capture Rosy, we'll be able to put her back in her body tonight, correct?"

Mighty looked wary on the prospects as he kept up his stride with Shadow. "About that…" he droned hesitantly. "It's not that simple."

Shadow stopped in his tracks, disliking that reluctant tone that Mighty spoke with. "What do you mean? I thought you said this wouldn't be a problem."

"That's just it, Amy's condition has worsened. When I first offered my help, she was still in control of Rosy's body," he elaborated. "But right now, she's lost inside Rosy's psyche and I don't know a spell that can reach Rosy's mind to find her…" Shadow paced back and forth, growing stressed by their predicament. Things were getting more complicated and dire by the second. Who on Earth would know of such a spell that even Mighty didn't know of? Seeing how stressed he was becoming, Mighty sank in his demeanor. "Look, I'm so sorry about this. I wish I knew someone personally that was well-versed in such magic…"

Shadow stopped momentarily as a thought crossed his mind. He just so happened to know of one person that could aid them in their quest, however, it wasn't particularly his favorite person to deal with. In fact, he hadn't seen this person in a matter of weeks purposely because he despised them so much. "…I think I might know someone well-versed in such spells."

•~•

On the drive back to the wolves' camp, Sonic and Sally sat in the back of the SUV with Faith in her carrier in between them. Up front, a brown, male lynx drove the car while a yellow, male coyote sat in the passenger seat. With the rain catching up to them and pouring down heavily on their ride back, Sally fixated herself on playing with Faith. She dangled one of her favorite toys out in front of her, causing Faith to giggle. "Aw, she's just too precious," Sally tittered.

"She's a cutie, that's for sure," Sonic sighed, finding himself growing fascinated with the young infant in their care.

Faith reached out and grabbed ahold of Sally's index finger and wiggled happily in her seat. "It makes you want to just run out and get pregnant," she joked lightly.

Sonic smirked and raised a brow seductively towards her. "I mean, you know I'd love to try…"

Sally shook her head at his suggestiveness. "Sonic!" she shouted playfully.

Their two escorts up front couldn't help but chuckle themselves at the banter going on in the back seat. "Hopefully, this rain will let up by the time we get back," the driver spoke optimistically.

"We'd be lucky," the coyote speculated in the passenger seat. But their drive back home delayed when their car came to a sudden dead halt. All the lights on the dashboard shut off and the hum of the engine stalled. Bewildered by this strange reaction, the car came to a slow halt in the middle of the back trail road.

"What the hell?" the driver muttered to himself.

Sonic and Sally seemed spooked by the sudden car malfunction. "Hey, what's going on up there, Rui?" Sonic asked, directed towards the driver.

Rui turned in his seat to look back at him. "We're not sure yet, sir. We're working on fixing the problem."

"Try wiggling the key," he suggested.

Rui tried turning the key in the ignition but didn't even get a purr from the engine. "It's not working. The engine's dead."

Sally tilted her head as she found their car issues baffling and unexpected. "What could have possibly made it do that? It isn't like this is an old car."

Then, out of nowhere, a bright flash cracked down 40 feet in front of them. A large bolt of lightning struck a tall tree, making a branch burst into flames and fall onto the road, blocking their path completely. Startled, the group stared in awe and shock at the sight. "That could have been us under that debris…" the werewolf in the passenger seat muttered in realization of the timing.

"Guess someone was looking out for us tonight," Sonic cracked, trying to ease the mood. "Now, if only we could fix the car." Just as those words left his mouth, their car engine roared back to life, making everyone jump in surprise. The headlights shined brightly ahead of them on the road, the radio sputtered back on, and the heat came on full blast. Sonic felt a shiver run down his spine at the coincidence. "Okay, now that's just creepy…"

The driver backed up the car, doing a three-point turn and headed back down the road they came from. In the back seat, Sally sat back down as she pondered over the strange occurrence. "It's so strange, it was almost like whoever was looking out for us…was listening."

"How would they know lightning was going to strike the road we were taking?" Sonic challenged with skepticism.

Sally shrugged, not sure herself. "I don't know, but it did feel like divine intervention…unless." Her eyes glanced over to Faith, now sucking away at her binky innocently with her eyes closed.

Sonic caught her glance and shook his head by her theory. "She's just a baby, Sal. There's NO way," he dismissed with certainty.

"Yeah, but isn't she supposed to be some sort of prodigy?" Sally reminded. "I don't think anything is impossible with all the things we've seen and encountered."

Sonic shrugged and put his arms behind his head, kicking back into a more relaxed position. "Nah, it was just dumb luck. There's nothing more to it."

•~•

In another part of town, things weren't going very well for Blaze and Silver. After telling Hendrix about the Rosy issue, the cat wasn't too sure about the extension they wanted. "If Rosy is back in control of her body as you say, then you need to let the witches put her down. Rosy will use up your friend's spirit, just like she did the others."

"You mean the children?" Blaze asked for clarification.

Hendrix nodded in confirmation. "Rosy was a wild beauty, practicing a wild magic. She was happy and harmless to us at first, so the coven lets her be."

"But then the children began to disappear?" Silver surmised, piecing the story together.

"Correct," Hendrix confirmed. "Her first victim was a little rabbit girl named Cream. She was just eight years old when she disappeared. Then there was a little boy named Charmy who had just turned nine. He was the second victim. Oh, and how could I forget Marine the raccoon, she was 11 years old. All of them were young witch prodigies, then WHOOSH—all vanished into thin air."

Blaze tilted her head in curiosity. "How come it took you so long to find out it was her?"

"Rosy cloaked the children, preventing us from finding them. She was also a very good actor and had worked on her alibis when being interrogated. We only realized she was responsible when she slipped up once. Our coven had speculated on one of the children we believed this person would attempt to kidnap next. Thankfully, we were correct on our assumption and were able to slap a locator spell on them, leading us straight to her when she eventually did kidnap them."

"What was so special about taking children?" Silver pressed.

"To complete the Rite of Nines," Hendrix answered.

Blaze raised a brow, shocked by the reveal. "The Rite of Nines?"

"Yes, Rosy thought that if she sacrificed children, she would become more powerful than any elder or ancestor in the city. All that girl has ever wanted is insurmountable power."

The white hedgehog leaned forward, still fascinated by this case. "Still…why kids?"

"Because their magic is untapped. It's pure and they're a hell of a lot easier to subdue than adults," he answered.

"That's why she went after Faith," Blaze mumbled in realization, glancing at her husband. "She's just a defenseless baby…"

"That and she comes from a very specific lineage known for strong witches," he added. Hendrix cupped his hands together over his lap. "She would have killed that infant and channeled her powers, as she did with those other poor children."

"I'm so sorry…I promise that this won't happen again," Blaze avowed.

"I agree, Blaze." Hendrix rose from his seat. "That is why I will not extend your 24 hours. We refuse to allow any more of our youth to die. Rosy Rascal now has a bounty on her head," he announced.

The couple stood from their seats in unison, shocked by his lack of empathy. "You can't do this!" Blaze beseeched, following behind him.

"Please," Silver implored, mimicking Blaze's actions. "You would really condemn my brother's girlfriend to her death?"

Hendrix walked over to his front door, signaling his time with them was over. "I dislike the term 'collateral damage,' but this is it." He opened his front door and looked over to them. "If one or two must fall in order to take Rosy down for good…so be it."

•~•

At that same time, back with Mighty and Shadow, the two arrived at the abandoned and decrepit house Shadow imprisoned his mother away in. The two walked down to the cellar where she was still being held. It had been a couple of weeks since Shadow had visited his mother's cell, and he was expecting to see her weak and hunger-deprived. Now that she was a vampire, her withering away from lack of food would be a long and slow demise.

Mighty stopped at midpoint of the stairs, feeling uneasy about their location. He could feel some sort of powerful entity's aura in the home and it sent a shiver down his spine. Whoever he was about to meet was some sort of force to be reckoned with. "Uh, who exactly is it that lives here again?"

Shadow stopped at the bottom of the stairs, glancing over his shoulder at the young male. "You'll see in a minute," he answered before pulling out a blood bag he had picked up along the way. He tossed it into the spotlight, coming from a crack in the ceiling. It was the only light source that came into the room from the moonlight outside and shined in the dead center of the darkened room. Mighty watched as a shriveled, boney, hand came into view and grabbed the blood bag before dragging it back into the darkness.

Mighty blinked in surprise as he listened to slurping and moans of euphoria come from the hidden figure. He came further down the stairs, joining Shadow by his side to get a better look. He squinted his eyes, trying to adjust to the darkness. "Who is that?"

Shadow placed his hand on Mighty's shoulder and smiled at him arrogantly at the thought of his introduction of their temporary ally. Mighty didn't know how to quite react as he looked back at Shadow's expression, the ebony hedgehog turned to look back at the darkened corner. "Oh, Mother?" he sang out mockingly. "I'd like you to meet my new friend, Mighty. I believe you may have met before."

Eventually, a figure crawled out from the darkness and stood in the moonlight. It was Gala-Na, the witch-turned vampire, trapped by a boundary spell preventing her from leaving the prison. "That's not Mephiles anymore?" she asked in surprise.

"Sadly not, Mephiles is gone for good now," Shadow answered almost too happily. "At any rate, Mighty, this is my Mother, the one who hand-selected your body in the first place for my low-life brother to inhabit."

Mighty narrowed his eyes in her direction by the information. "You're the one responsible for this? he spat, trying to lunge for her, but Shadow held him back.

Gala-Na bowed her head shamefully. "My apologies. Your body and talent was a good fit for my son…"

He thrashed in Shadow's hold, feeling ignited in wanting to get payback for all the months lost in his life. "Let me go, Shadow!"

Shadow kept a good lock on him, preventing him from making a stupid mistake. "You're going to have to trust me on this one."

Mighty clenched his fists, feeling more rage fill him. "How can you trust anything this vile monster says?"

Feeling Mighty begin to dispel his initial attack, Shadow loosened his tight hold on him. "I trust my mother about as much as I would a trapped snake," he replied, releasing his hold on him. Mighty watched in confusion as Shadow approached the echidna slowly. Shadow tucked his arms behind his back as he looked down at her like mere trash. "Fortunately, she is now a vampire and as such, she's vulnerable to my compulsion."

Gala-Na gasped as Shadow reached out and grasped her chin roughly, forcing her to look at him. Shadow stared her in the eyes as his own eyes dilated to compel her. "You will answer me truthfully." Finishing his trick, Shadow released her and walked back over to Mighty's side. "Now at least everything that comes out of her wretched mouth will be honest."

"What do you want from me?" Gala-Na questioned, panting and trying to collect her breath.

"Amy is in terrible danger of being obliterated from existence because the previous tenant of her body has seized control and is hell-bent on giving it up," Shadow began. "Mighty here," he gestured. "Although powerful, lacks the spell to put Amy back in her true body. Therefore, we need the spell to do that."

Gala-Na crossed her arms over her chest. "Well, do you have a piece of paper on you?"

Shadow walked over and pulled out a piece of paper from the inside of his jacket, along with a pen. "Give us the spell that puts Amy back in her body."

Gala-Na accepted the items and knelt down on the floor and began to write and scribble notes and instructions along with spell designs. After a few minutes of writing, Gala-Na stood up and handed the paper back to Shadow. "Here…"

In return, Shadow handed the paper over to Mighty to study and evaluate it for corrections. His blue eyes scanned and studied the paper for instructions before coming to a concerned thought. "How on Earth do you expect me to do this?" he asked in bafflement. "This spell requires an enormous amount of power."

"—Which you have," Gala-Na replied.

"But that power needs to be anchored or I'll become lost inside Rosy's mind along with Amy," Mighty pointed accusingly. "This is a risky spell to perform."

"There's no other spell," Gala-Na shrugged defensively.

"Unless…" Mighty considered as he stared at Shadow. "I can use you as my anchor," he theorized. "I can channel your energy while I breach Rosy's mind."

"Sounds like a plan to me," Shadow shrugged. "You know how to perform this spell correctly?"

Mighty went to open his mouth to answer, but Gala-Na was quick to cut him off. "Yea-"

"—How can you trust him so easily, Shadow?" Gala-Na interrogated with venom. "You do realize that if he uses you as his source of power, he'll be able to get information from your mind. He'll see every memory, every thought, every secret…"

"You don't think he can trust me? That's rich coming from you," Mighty snapped.

"I may not know Mighty very well, he's my only hope at getting Amy back, so I'll take the chance," he defended.

Mighty nodded. "Yes, but I'll be honest with you, Shadow. This is not going to be easy. This is a very difficult spell to maintain and it could result in someone losing their life. So I hope you have faith in me."

"Well, until we manage to capture Rosy, I'm not too worried about those risks. Now, c'mon, let's get going. We still need to find her," he urged.

•~•