The third day of Eggman's plan had finally arrived, and it was quite the spectacular. The evil being known as Infinite had conjured up a Sun, threatened the entirety of Mobius with it's fall, and was quickly defeated by a certain blue hedgehog and his red mutt of a cohort. Everything seemed to crumble around them as Infinite staggered back. His very existence seemed to flicker in and out as he snarled lowly to himself.

"I can still fight!" He shouted before zipping away towards the top of a building within the futuristic city, however after that, Infinite wasn't seen again.

The masked jackal clutched the building's lightning rod tightly as he struggled to keep himself upright. His vision swam with red as the Phantom Ruby finally revolted against him. He glanced over at his hand and watched as it blinked between different states of opaqueness. It was something that Eggman hadn't even considered despite the Ruby's powers; Infinite's being was being torn between both the world of illusions and reality.

Infinite clutched his mask tightly as he was overcome with a wave of fatigue and nausea. His world seemed to spin as it glitched and crumbled before his very own eye. His grip on the lightning rod loosened, and he collapsed onto his knees. The sounds around him eventually faded out and were replaced by a high-pitched ringing in his ears. From there he flopped over onto his stomach and watched as the world continued to twist and warp in front of him before everything turned black.

Then he woke up.

The jackal woke up with a start within a white hospital room. He didn't get too far though; his wrists were handcuffed to the bars of the medical bed, preventing him from leaning too far forward. His eyes glanced around the room wildly, trying to parse what even was going on. The last thing he was experiencing was his own death, now he was sitting within some stiff, stark white bed.

His ears swiveled and twitched as he heard the monitor's beeping speed up to match the rhythm of his heart beat. He breathed in and out roughly, turning to look at the monitor that seemed to match him pulse for pulse He gave one of his large ears a flick as he leaned back against the pillow he was given to support his neck. The monitor's beeps slowed down as his breathing lagged, signifying his own relaxation. It seems that the freedom crew had some sort of sympathy for this big bad villain.

His eye began to wander down his body, and he clocked the bandages wrapped over his chest. His chest lacked the obvious shard of the Phantom Ruby, and upon realization of it's disappearance, Infinite felt much weaker compared to when he was in possession of the accursed jewel. At least, that's what he thought.

Just as he was about to dig his grave with his pessimistic thoughts about himself and his weakness, the sound of footsteps echoed down the hall. Infinite's intention was immediately pulled to the doorway, and his eyes locked onto it as he waited to see who exactly was walking down those halls.

A black and red hedgehog stepped through the door way, his own eyes looking over the bandaged jackal.

"I see you've woken up." He said simply, breaking the odd silence between the two. Infinite was livid.

The monitor began to beep, matching Infinite's increasing heartbeat, and warning any nearby doctors that his blood pressure was through the roof.

"You… You filthy cur! You lowly little–"

"I'm sorry." Shadow said simply as he took a seat beside Infinite's bed. Infinite stared at him in shock. "I shouldn't have said what I said during our fight. I shouldn't have called you weak. It was wrong of me to say that." He said, sounding solemn as his eyes met with Infinite's. Shadow had to swallow his pride before he could say that; after all of the fights and the bad blood, it was difficult to force some sympathy for the jackal. Though, he did it.

Infinite's monitor began to slow it's frantic beeping, and Infinite laid back in his bed. He was in awe that Shadow apologized. For some odd reason, it made him feel better inside. Better about himself, better about his strength- it made him feel good inside.

"Took you long enough." Infinite mumbled as he broke eye contact to stare out the window. Shadow visibly recoiled at that, but bit back any insults he may have had. Sonic had told him to be gentle with this one, and by god he was going to be gentle if it meant no more wild adventures with a near unbeatable being.

"I know I took too long, the apology was over due." When Infinite didn't look back at him, Shadow continued. "But this was the least I could do." That certainly got Infinite's attention. He turned around with wide eyes.

"What do you mean by that?"

"I meant I could've just left you to phase out of existence, but I didn't." Admittedly, it was a collective effort of soldiers, Tails, and a bit of Shadow to help Infinite into the hospital, but he was just going to take credit for this. Hey, not like it would really matter later on!

"You were the one who saved me?" He hissed out. When Shadow nodded, the monitor began to beep frantically once more. "Why didn't you just leave me to die?! You already destroyed the jackal squad, why not just off me as well?!"

"Because it was an accident! I didn't mean to kill them!"

"Then what happened?! Why did you leave them to die and yet turn around and save me?!" He hollered, definitely waking up any other patients in the hospital.

"The factory collapsed and there was nothing I could do." Shadow admitted, eyes darting to the monitor then back at Infinite. "Everything was burning, it was impossible for me to get them out of the wreckage."

Infinite laid back in his bed, eyes focused on the ceiling as he chewed over his words. "The squad was practically family to me. They were the only jackals I knew and trusted. And now they're gone." He sighed as the monitor slowed its beeping.

"I'm sorry." Shadow rumbled out, eyes downcast as he prepared to face backlash for his next sentence. "As much as it pains me to say this, you need to move on."

Infinite stared at him, wild eyed at the absolute blunt nature of that phrase, but Shadow held a hand up before he could start howling.

"The jackal squad isn't coming back. They're dead. It's up to you to move on from this and start anew, to turn over a new leaf."

"Oh, and it's so easy to do that now is it? To get over the deaths of multiple loved ones? To just move on and not even honor their deaths? They died fighting valiantly and they don't even have a grave to any of their names!" Infinite snarled out, his nose wrinkling as he bared his teeth. Shadow sat back, enduring the entire verbal onslaught. "Do you know what it is to die with nothing to your name?! To have all your achievements just… forgotten?! Do you even know what it's like to be forgotten?!" Infinite's voice cracked at the last sentence.

"I did my damn best to try and give those jackals a presence- to give them a name. I wanted people to quake with fear when they heard of the jackal squad!" Tears seemed to well up in Infinite's eyes as he looked down into his lap. He ducked his head down and brought his voice down to a near mumble. "But I failed them. I failed them and now they're nothing. I'm sure you don't even recall what they looked like."

Shadow blinked, trying to process just exactly what Infinite said. It made clear sense, but he didn't expect something like this from someone who once was terrorizing other mobians with impending doom.

"I remember seeing one with bandages at his wrists and a female in a tank top." Shadow said, trying to indirectly dispute Infinite's point.

"Roscoe and Jagger." Infinite replied, putting names to the jackals in Shadow's memories.

"I also recall quite a stubborn soul. Aggressive in nature and attacks. And another slippery little rat."

"Ranger and Cooper."

"And one last one comes to mind. One with a scar along his snout."

Tears fell down Infinite's cheeks as he looked back up at Shadow. "B-Bandit. His name was Bandit. The pup was like a son to me."

Shadow couldn't even bear to look at Infinite straight in the face anymore. In this rare occasion, he felt guilt for what he did. Shadow always struggled trying to feel empathy for others, but he managed to connect somewhat with Infinite. He sucked in a long breath and held a hand out towards Infinite's face.

"May I?" He inquired. Infinite took a few sniffs of his hand before slowly nodding, giving him the okay. Shadow then stood and stepped forward, then he gently rubbed his palm along the back of his ear.

"What are you doing." Infinite snapped, but he lacked any sort of venom in his words.

"I'm trying to comfort you. Is it too overbearing?" He stopped the rubs out of fear of ruining this budding relationship, but he found Infinite pressing closer.

"No." He sniffled. Deep down Infinite was truly craving some sort of comfort, and he wasn't about to squander the one chance he had.

With that Shadow continued. "I know what it's like to lose a loved one." Shadow admitted, which got Infinite's attention. "At first I was upset. I was distraught. I wanted to destroy everyone and everything within my path, but I stopped myself once I realized that what I was doing was against her wishes."

"Who's 'her'?"

"Maria. She was also like family to me but she died long ago. Time has made the pain numb, but the point I'm trying to make is that you can still carry on the jackal squad's legacy."

"And how on Earth am I supposed to do that? I'm certain you won't allow me to return to my life of raiding." Infinite's tears had long ebbed, and he looked up at Shadow. From there he realized he unconsciously pressed himself up against his chest. It was embarrassing, but it was just too comforting to really pull away.

"Of course not. However, I've been granted permission to take you under my wing. We'd like to have you as one of the freedom fighters." He felt Infinite tense up at that.

"Are… Are you sane? I nearly destroyed this planet, I don't think it would be wise-"

"Nonsense. Everyone deserves a second chance. I was once like you, you know." When Infinite didn't seem too swayed, Shadow persisted. "It's not too different from raiding. The only difference is that you'd be hauling in criminals instead of bounty. With proper mentoring and training, you'll come to love it."

That had Infinite interested, though he had a few more pressing matters to ask about. "What about pay?" That brought a chuckle out of Shadow.

"It's a thankless job, however you'll have free room and board for as long as you work." That got Infinite's 'yes' immediately, but he still tried to make it look like he was thinking it over. After a few moments of silence, he barked out a "I'll do it."

The months following this exchange were tedious but bountiful. Infinite was shaping up to be a model citizen.

The first month was dedicated to rehabilitation and examination. They had to make sure Infinite was physically and mentally healthy for him to take on this job; it wasn't going to be easy, and the last thing anyone needed was him keeling over dead thanks to the remnants of the Phantom Ruby. Though, apart from some partially shaved chest fluff, Infinite was perfectly fine. Once he was given the clear in all regards, they moved on to training.

Shadow tugged Infinite around the Metropolis, made different rounds, told him all about the short cuts between the alleys, and repeated this with every city. This took two months tops for Infinite to have enough muscle memory to be able to run and catch criminals. He was a hardened mercenary, and even he knew the importance of knowing the lay of the land. Shadow was impressed by this tough pup, but like hell would he show it. He had a stoic reputation to uphold, after all!

Though, Shadow had a point. Infinite was slowly coming to love this new job. The rush of giving chase and leaping through the concrete jungle was just exhilarating! Feeling the wind rush through his hair, his heart pumping as he worked to run along, the rough tackling he'd give Shadow once he caught up during their training sessions. All of it had him loving this job. In fact, he adored the action so much that he even howled during one of his runs down the city. It was all so perfect.

6 months had passed, and Infinite was finally ready to enter the work field. Though, before Shadow could give him his first mission, he tugged him along towards the outskirts of the city, where extensive fields swayed and flowed with the blowing wind. It was silent here, spare for the occasional song played by the wind.

Shadow pulled Infinite up towards a set of intricately designed graves that were erected, and each of them read a different name. Bandit, Jagger, Roscoe, Cooper, Ranger, all in that order. Infinite let out a heavy sigh as Shadow placed a hand on his shoulder.

"It took us a while to settle on a proper resting place, but we finally decided on it being here. They deserve to be remembered."

Infinite stepped forward and wrapped his arms around Shadow, embracing him as tightly as he could. He let out a sigh and murmured a "Thank you".

After a moment of silence out of honor, Shadow gave Infinite a pat on the back before slipping him a folder containing Infinite's first mission. He then handed him a pair of handcuffs and a few straps.

"This will be your first ever raid where you have to bring back a criminal. Sadly, this criminal is no where near the city. Though, I'm sure you'd love the challenge." Shadow flashed a rare smirk as he turned and started on his trek back to the city. "Just keep going straight from here and you'll find the house. Good luck." And with that, he was off.

Infinite almost stopped him to ask about the straps, but he paused and decided to peek at the folder's contents before chasing him down. When he pulled up the photo of his objective, he understood immediately.

It was her.

Now the straps made some sense. With a confident puff of his chest, Infinite started up the field. He was gonna pay an old friend a visit.

The journey was rather long. Infinite hadn't expected the field to be so expansive, but it was. Hauling her back was going to be quite the endeavor, but that was just going to be a bridge he'd have to cross later.

Infinite eventually came up to the end of the field, and it was breath taking. The field gave away to a relatively clean and white beach. Waves crashed along the shore, pushing all sorts of multi-colored shells onto the wet sand until the next wave came to pull them back into the water. The air was warm and it smelled rather salty. It was peaceful here as well.

The jackal then turned his attention to the little white house on the edge of the field. This was the house described in his mission, but from a distance it looked… abandoned.

Infinite stepped closer, examining the exterior of the home. The windows were filthy and even cracked. The lights inside were off, and when he peered in, it looked raided. Furniture was slanted, the living room lacked any sort of decor, and there was just garbage everywhere. Shadow had to have played a trick on him, surely!

The front door was also unlocked, and it creaked as Infinite slowly slipped inside. The floorboards groaned with every step he took, showing off their age and dire need of replacement. This had to have been a joke.

Except it wasn't.

Infinite continued on through the house, more so exploring than hunting for his suspect. It was just so strange to see a beautiful home in such disarray. He had to be careful where he stepped, or else he'd end up tripping over whatever it was and alerting his criminal to his presence.

As he was just about to come up towards another room, he heard a low snarling sound. He held his breath, gripped the cuffs, and slowly stepped up to the doorway, whose door was conveniently wide open. He poked his head out from the side and spied her.

It was Susie, the little demon hedgehog he practically abused the last time they met. Though, she wasn't snarling. She was flopped over in bed, snoring away as she slept. Infinite took the chance to focus on the rest of the room, and it actually looked like it was somewhat lived in.

There were clothes strewn about the floor, different mismatched pairs of shoes, and even a vanity that was littered with photographs and other pieces of junk. The air in this room was musty and heavy, which was at ends with the fresh sea air outside.

Infinite had the opportunity to nab his criminal as soon as possible, and without much of a fight, but something deep within him kept him from getting too close to her. He looked over the room some more, trying to piece together just why a succubus like her was living in such a mess. One would expect at least a mess of underwear and bras and what not, but this was just a flurry of trash. He could even spot the arm sling she needed after their second meeting from across the room.

He stepped closer towards the vanity and examined himself in the mirror, brushing his hair back and behind his ears. From there he started to look at the photographs. The first one he laid his eyes on had a little black hedgehog standing out in front of a kindergarten. It struck him as odd that she would have a photo of a random young child, but upon further inspection he realized that this hedgehog had her same facial features. He turned to look at the blond, to which he started to doubt her fur color. Perhaps it was dyed? If that were the case, he should've seen dye bottles littering the premise, but he didn't.

The next photo was the same dark hedgehog, except sandwiched between two foxes; one was purple, the other was orange. Seems like these were friends of hers. The next photo above almost startled him. There she was finally the blond shade he was all too familiar with, yet there was no transition between the two colors. No streaks of blond, no awkward in-between shade, just stark blond. Of course, she was standing next to her two fox friends.

The picture after that one made him finally realize something. She was far more mature looking than the other two beside her. She was much larger and curvier than the other two that looked rather awkward beside her. Early bloomer, he thought.

The next couple were somewhat different. She was alone now and her poses seemed to lack any sort of energy. They were stilted, awkward, like the types of photos you were forced to take when it was your first day at school. All it really showed off were her clothes, nothing more. It wasn't until he saw the last one that her energy returned. She seemed to be lounging with the two foxes from the earlier photos, except they were much more different than he last saw them. They had grown up to be quite the mature looking women, in fact they were even larger than the demon he tangoed with. They wore rather elegant looking robes. Royalty, probably.

In that photo she seemed happy. Hell, she seemed ecstatic. She must've loved some form of company, because he had seen that same devilish glint in her eye back when they first met. It was strange, but he was starting to feel a growing urge to know more. This girl was mysterious, and some things just didn't connect. Once he was done looking at the photo, he noticed a bit of wall next to the vanity was scuffed up.

Though, it wasn't just some type of damage caused by furniture. Those were claw marks.

He blinked and started to survey the rest of the room, and found claw marks of varying sizes and depth that scarred the room itself. He could only wonder how many more scratches he missed on his way through the house.

His eyes eventually landed on the sleeping dragon of this cave, and he noticed that her bed was indented to hell and back. It was as if she was sleeping in a crater than a proper bed. It must've not been changed out in a while for it to have gotten that bad. One would think a villain like her would have some sort of decent lifestyle, but it seemed like all she had was the facade of a house. Nothing more, nothing less. Not even a penny to her name.

Just then, she began to slowly rouse. Low gurgles left her throat as her legs stretched out. Infinite started to panic- he didn't know what to do! He glanced side to side, trying to come up with an idea, then it hit him. He was supposed to arrest her, after all. He scrambled towards the door and made sure to slam it shut. That definitely woke her up.

Susie sat up abruptly and looked over at the door, where Infinite was standing. He slowly turned his head to make eye contact with the blond, and her blood ran cold. She dug her heels into the bed as Infinite turned to face her. He could still smell her fear, and he was more than happy to know that she was afraid of him.

"Susie?" He inquired. He got no response. "You're under arrest." He gave the handcuffs and strap a wave, and that sent her into a panic. She tossed herself off of the bed, spread out her wings, and backed herself up into a corner of the room.

"I-I'm not going down without a fight!" She screeched, arms outstretched as she waited for his next move.

"A fight you'll surely lose." He snarled back as he stepped closer.

Susie pressed herself up against the wall further, cocked her head up, and quickly spat at Infinite from across the room. The glob of spit hit Infinite square in the face, and he stood there, stunned. Of course a succubus could do that, of course!

By the time he wiped the sweet smelling spit from his face, Susie had one of her gloves off and was biting at her hand. Infinite went wide eyed as he spotted blood trickling down her hand, and he waved his hands.

"What are you doing?! That's not… healthy." He paused, just watching as she trembled in place.

"I-I'm getting my mommy to deal with you!" She shouted with bloody lips.

She was downright delusional!

"You're not used to feeling fear, are you?" Infinite lowered his arms as the girl shuddered in place. He set his equipment down onto the floor, then slowly eased closer. She pressed herself back into the corner, so much so that her wings started to bend forward. Infinite stopped at the bed, and sat down at the edge of it. Time to pretend to be a therapist.

"You're used to being a cocky little brat, yet when faced with something you're scared of, you cower like a toddler." He scoffed. "Really? Calling mommy? You even resort to harming yourself out of pure fear. How old are you even?"

Susie just stood there, refusing to reply. Infinite sighed and hung his head.

"I looked at the photos on your vanity. Something tells me you're younger than your body leads on." He side eyed her.

"I'm not. I'm… old." She mumbled.

"How many years."

"I don't want to say."

"Do you truly not want to say, or do you just not know?"

"I don't want to say!" She snapped.

Infinite paused. Guess he wasn't going to get a number out of her, so it was time to ask about the fur.

"Do you dye your fur, or is it natural?"

"Natural."

"Lies." He spat. "Your vanity says otherwise. How does one go from a pitch black hedgehog to blond in the matter of a few photos?"

"I chose to be blond!"

"So you dyed your fur!"

"I didn't! It's all natural!" She wailed out. Infinite let out a frustrated breath.

"So it's a demonic fur color change, I'm assuming."

"Yes!" She howled. Infinite just glared stubbornly, not willing to accept the news Susie was dishing out. He then glanced down at her legs. Those alone would take quite a few bottles to dye, and while he was working with Shadow he hadn't heard of any hair salons being raided for yellow dye. He shook his head and waved the question away.

"Fine. I have one last question. Why do you live in such a rats nest? Surely it's not that hard to keep clean."

Susie looked down at the floor, scanning the different bits of trash and what not. "It is clean." She mumbled

"Clean?! I can barely even see the floorboards in here! Your bed's atrocious to look at and the rest of the house is filthy! You aren't even getting half of the sunlight that's outside even with your blinds opened!"

Susie just stood there, eyes still focused on the floor. Infinite sighed as he placed a hand against his cheek. He was truly dealing with a child, this was nothing like the manipulative little whore he faced off against the last few times.

"How's your hand." He ventured to ask, finally trying to reach through to her. Asking her questions and prodding for answers wasn't getting him anywhere, so he might as well just focus on the now.

Susie looked down at her hand. The blood had stopped flowing and it started to dry against her skin. Quite a bit of it had dripped down onto her boot and the pile of torn clothes she was standing on. She clenched her fist and glowered at Infinite.

"Get out! I don't want you here!" She bellowed, baring her sharp teeth at him. She was aggressive now, and it showed by the panic in her voice despite the screaming. "You're not welcomed here! Leave!"

Infinite didn't budge, instead he slouched and pressed his arms to his knees. "Are you mentally sound?"

Susie widened her eyes and stared down at him. "Yes." She retorted.

Infinite sucked in a breath through his teeth and turned his head away. "You don't have to be like this. I'm willing to help you with whatever you're dealing with."

Tears began to outright stream down Susie's face without a warning. Infinite didn't even notice any budding tears before she started to outright wail.

"I don't want your help, I want you to leave! Just leave me alone!" She shrieked. Infinite stood from the bed and stepped forward.

"Does anyone else know you even live here? Do you even get visitors?" He leaned in close to whisper "Is mommy even real?"

That finally made the young succubus snap. She lunged forward, teeth bared and snapping to try and take a bite out of the jackal. Infinite staggered back and the clothes under his foot slipped out from under him. He crashed against the side of the mattress with a yelp. Things were quickly going from bad to worse, and tried to scramble to his feet. Though, it was too late.

Susie descended upon the jackal, forcing his head against the mattress as her teeth clacked shut again. There was force behind those missed bites, and he was definitely going to get hurt if he didn't push her off. He pressed his palms frantically against her chest, but all that earned him was a rather cruel kick to the stomach.

A pained wheeze left his chest, but his head was forced back and his jaw pried open with her bloodied hand. She wasted no time, and in a single swoop, she spat into Infinite's mouth and slammed his jaw shut.

Infinite was stunned, even as Susie wrapped an arm around his head to keep him from opening his mouth. This little brat managed to lob some spit down to the back of his throat. This was what she was trying to do earlier. It was disgusting and it pissed him off to no end.

The jackal kicked and squirmed and grunted, his own hands digging into Susie's arm to try and pull it away from his head. Susie only held on tighter and stepped around the pup to keep from getting her legs bruised.

"Swallow you runt!" She ordered, holding his head up within her arms. When Infinite let out a grunt of disapproval, Susie used her other hand to give his back quite the smack, triggering an immediate swallow from the jackal.

She released his head, letting him sprawl out as he held his throat within his hand. His eyes widened as he looked up at the blond.

"It was all a facade, wasn't it?" He snarled. Susie just stared down at him, a look of pure rage plastered all over her face. Infinite bared his own fangs and scrambled to stand.

"You whore!" He shouted as he stood up on his own two feet, but he found himself staggering once he took a step. A wave of familiar fatigue washed over him, and he stood there. He had been duped yet again, but this time was worse. He was in her domain now.

Susie reeled back a fist and swung at his jaw, sending the jackal sprawling backwards and onto the floor, dizzy. She then flopped onto him and straddled his body, where she wrapped both hands around his throat and proceeded to throttle him.

"I should kill you where you lay!" She snapped. Seems like she took some notes from their first meeting. Infinite struggled as his hands weakly grasped at her wrists. His heels dug into the floor, and his eyes even watered from a lack of air. He didn't want to die like this. He didn't want to die to the hands of a whore. It made his heart ache at the idea, but there was little he could do.

Air started to slip out of his chest with each shake Susie gave him, and his consciousness was quickly slipping away from him.

Then everything went dark. Infinite had passed out from a lack of air.

When Infinite awoke, he found himself in a field. He groaned and tried to touch his throat, but found his arm stuck. He blinked and looked down at his hand, and found it handcuffed to his ankle. He tutted softly and used his other hand to rub at his pained throat.

Guess she did throttle him, but thank goodness he was alive.

"Infinite? Infinite, is that you?!" He heard a familiar voice cry out. He blinked and turned his head to see Shadow skating towards him. He skid to a stop and loomed over the jackal.

"Am I glad to see you." Infinite rasped out, chuckling grimly as he waved towards his captured hand. "A little help please?"

Shadow knelt down beside him and plucked a quill from his head. He used that to unlock the handcuffs, and Infinite flopped back with a groan.

"What on Earth happened over there? You look like you just fought a bear!" Shadow called out. Infinite didn't realize it, but when he placed a hand to his face, he felt all sorts of bruises and marks. He even grazed a particularly deep scratch on the bridge of his nose. He hissed out in pain and sat back up, looking over the scene. Seems he was dropped right by the graves of his fallen comrades. An ominous threat from a demon.

"Susie is much stronger than she looks. Bigger too." He hissed out, looking up at Shadow through a black eye. "She's a spitter too. Spat in my mouth and everything went fuzzy after that."

"Disgusting." Shadow snarled. Infinite nodded. Shadow then reached down to tilt his head up. "Is that your blood I see?"

Infinite paused, then shook his head. He brought a hand up to his throat and thought.

"Not mine, it's Susie's. She bit herself when she first saw me. Something about calling 'mommy'. Has she ever done that around you?" Infinite started to try and stand. Shadow leaned down and wrapped an arm around his waist to try and help him up.

"Can't say she has yet. Though I have had a run in with her supposed mother." Infinite froze after hearing those words.

"She roams around these parts?"

"Sometimes, when it's late at night. She visits her daughter during those hours and wanders around cities in search of some poor soul that's awake around the time she's wandering. From there she flirts, gets her fill, and leaves."

"She's preyed on you before?" Infinite's eyes, despite one being bruised and one being blind, seemed to light up. This was an interesting can of worms.

"Not preyed, more so conversed. She enjoys asking questions about me. I have a feeling she's interested in me." Shadow turned to look out at the city, and he started to lead Infinite back.

"Well, glad to know my mentor's flirting with hellish abominations." Infinite jabbed. Shadow snorted and gave him a rough pat on the back.

"Don't get any bright ideas on trying to confront the mother. I don't want you getting trounced at night when I'm not around."

"I won't, I won't. Cross my heart."

"Let's get you stitched up and rested. We'll try another mission that doesn't involve blood thirsty demons."

"Good idea."