Days later, Shadow and Rouge had done exactly what anyone would do after discovering the hundred year old magic palace of a missing king who is in fact still alive: they went on with their lives.

A menagerie of jewels covered Rouge's duvet. She sat cross legged, scrutinizing each facet of the gem she rotated between her fingers. When it finally passed her list of standards, she placed it down with the rest and fell back onto her pile of pillows. She gazed at the treasures around her lovingly. What a vacation! It absolutely had been worth using her PTO.

Rouge slid out of bed and walked over to the desk where her computer sat open. As she lowered into the chair, her mind began to wander. Though there were some particularly magnificent rubies and sapphires in her haul, she just couldn't get the gray gemstone out of her head. To any average joe, the gem may not have looked all that wonderful, but Rouge's seasoned eyes recognized a masterpiece when they saw one. There really was just something about it.

"Oh well! Maybe one day." She said out loud, breaking her train of though. But in truth, she had no plans any time soon to return to that forest.

The missing royal family, huh. She pondered. The experience now seemed almost like a dream. But then again, the memory of that red brute staring down at her was one she could never forget. She shivered, deciding that she would put the whole thing out of her mind for tonight.

Her eyes wandered over to the notepad by her computer. She picked it up and observed the notes scribbled across it.

That was right—the guy Shadow asked her about! After everything, she had almost forgotten.

Rouge smiled fondly. A year ago, she wouldn't have ever expected Shadow to respond to one of her calls, let alone come to rescue her in the middle of the night.

Rouge thought back to the first time she met him. They were partnered on a joint mission and he hadn't spoken a word to her the whole time. She in turn had let him know just how brutal and unsightly she found his methods.

Despite that rocky start, GUN determined they made an effective agent team and Rouge had tried to make the most of the situation. She figured she'd at least try to get to know the guy. But Shadow had always rejected her attempts, his demeanor cold at best and hostile more often than not.

It wasn't until a mission gone wrong that Rouge began to see the cracks in that facade of his. A simple search and extract mission had gone wrong and Rouge was trapped—doomed to perish by the facility's failsafe security system that would blow the place to kingdom come. She sent out a distress call, but knew it was all for naught. Everyone else capable of helping her would have evacuated by then.

But before she could resign to her fate, someone did come. In a flash of bright light, Shadow had somehow appeared before her. He grabbed onto her and before she even knew what had happened, she was outside, staring straight up at the blue sky with a collapsed Shadow next to her. Mere moments later, the factory now over a mile away exploded in the distance.

After the incident, Shadow had tried to brush her off.

"I didn't come back to save you. I was after the objective you failed to secure." He had told her. But Rouge didn't buy that, of course. And with time, that shell of his began to dissipate until the two reached the point where they actually started to seem like a real team .

And then, Shadow did something she never would have expected in a million years when she had first met him.

"I need your help." He had said to her, standing outside her door in the dead of night over a year ago now.

Rouge placed the notepad down, turning her attention back to her computer. He sure has come a long way, she mused.

Shadow had once again saved her; she supposed the least she could do was stalk his admirer before she returned home.

"Alright, 'Zero.' Let's see what we can find on you."

—-

Shadow finished the book on myths of the Villenulle region. Besides a single chapter, there was little specific information on the missing royalty of the region. He supposed that made sense, considering their mere existence was only speculation.

Mr. Marmotte caught a glance of his book as he strolled by. "Ah, Mademoiselle Corbeau!" He suddenly exclaimed.

Shadow gave him a perplexed look.

"The author of your book, she's an old friend of mine. Always into the fairy tales, that one." Mr. Marmotte elaborated.

Shadow cocked an eyebrow. "Oh, really? Does she have any other books about the myths in this region?"

Marmotte placed a thoughtful hand to his chin. "Now that you mention it, I probably have some of her other works lying around at home somewhere. Though, they are a little more…esoteric. She's somewhat of a conspiracy theorist, you see..."

Marmotte told Shadow he would look around the house and bring them in tomorrow. The bookshop itself was more crowded than usual as the weekend approached. Shadow passed plenty of new smiling faces as he strolled down the street, from young families to college students to older couples. But even compared to a usual weekend, there seemed to be quite a lot of people going about their day. Was something happening in the city this weekend? Shadow couldn't recall. Maybe he should have asked Mr. Marmotte if the city was hosting some kind of event. He could always ask him about it tomorrow.

Shadow shook his head and nearly stopped dead in his tracks, taken aback by himself for a moment. Since when did he care about that kind of stuff? Simple living really did seem to have softened him up….

He pondered these thoughts as he arrived at his location: the grocery store. For the first time in as long as he could remember, Shadow found himself not feeling the guilt that attached itself to any peaceful moment or thought he had. He placed a loaf of bread into his basket and headed over to the produce section, scrutinizing the selection of cabbages.

This town was his home now, after all, why shouldn't he get to know it a little better?

She would have loved it here. A voice crept into his mind. He felt his chest contract and he nearly dropped the package of coffee he had retrieved from the shelf.

Months ago, thoughts like that would have rendered him an utter mess. But now, with several deep breaths, he was able to calm himself and continue his shopping trip.

Yes, she would have. He responded to the voice, leaving it at that.

The transceiver buzzed in his trouser pockets as he perused over the shop's (admittedly limited) selection of chips. Given the incident of days prior, the two had determined it best to keep the device on their person at all times.

But that didn't stop Shadow from groaning internally as he picked up the transceiver. "What do you want, Rouge? I'm in the middle of something."

"Shadow, listen to me." Rouge's voice was low over the phone. "Where are you right now?"

"I am at the store, why?" Shadow asked trepidatiously.

Shadow thought he could hear Rouge curse under her breath.

"Alright—just act natural. Listen Shadow, I ran a search on that Zero guy you mentioned."

Shadow narrowed his eyes. He did not like the tone in her voice.

"I hate to say it, but I think your instinct was right." She grumbled. "After I couldn't find him on social media or in any public records, I looked into some government databases and well, have you ever heard of a bounty hunter called 'Infinite'?"

"No, I've never heard of him."

"Well, there's no pictures of him to confirm for sure, but your guy sounds like he matches the description." She continued. "The scar, the heterochromia, the red sword—it's all here. That doesn't seem like a coincidence."

Shadow certainly agreed with that. He replayed every interaction he had had with the jackal. That guy—"Zero," his behavior was way too suspicious for this to just be a coincidence. He cursed himself internally; he truly had been foolish to ignore his first impressions!

Suddenly, Shadow felt hyper aware of his surroundings. The footsteps of other patrons and the rolling of their carts sent shivers down his spine. His eyes darted rapidly up and down the aisle, but there was no one around he could see.

"I appreciate the heads up." He whispered, turning his gaze back to the shelves, "I'll take it from here."

"Shadow, wait—" she started, but he had already disconnected the call, switching the device off.

Shadow forced himself to remain calm as he continued his shopping as casually as possible. He stepped onto the street, grocery bags in hand. A cold breeze rustled the trees and flags outside the brick buildings lining the streets. Shadow gripped the paper bags tightly as he made his way across town.

Shadow assumed two things:

He was currently being targeted. Since he was being targeted, it was likely that his residence had already been staked out.

He continued walking, remaining calm as he approached his apartment.

If those assumptions were true, it wouldn't matter if he returned home, even if someone was tailing him now. And if someone was tailing him, they were clearly a pro as Shadow didn't sense anything. But whether he was being followed presently or not, Shadow decided that he wouldn't allow himself to be stalked any longer.

Shadow arrived home and dropped the grocery bags onto the counter. For a brief moment, he wondered if he should give Mr. Marmotte a heads up that he would not be at work tomorrow. But then again, he had no phone to contact him with, and there was no way in hell he'd go over to his house in his current situation.

That won't be necessary. This ends tonight. He told himself. Shadow hadn't imagined he'd be equipping his rocket skates again so soon. After retrieving them from their hiding space and slipping them on, he pulled his coat around him and exited his apartment, not bothering to lock the doors.

He would head to the edge of town, far away from any possible bystanders. He would corner himself and wait—a sitting duck. If someone was trying to discreetly hunt him, it would be an opportunity too good to pass up. Shadow stopped walking only when he arrived at a hollowed out warehouse situated just short of the woods. This would do just fine. In fact, Shadow was plenty familiar with this place; it was his residence when he first arrived in this city, after all. There, he stood and waited.

Outside light from the setting sun illuminated the warehouse in an orange glow, bearing down on Shadow through the broken windows lining the walls and roof. A chilled wind rattled the corrugated metal walls.

He waited, and he listened intently. And then, his careful ears heard the disturbances all around him.

"This place should be private enough." Shadow finally called out. "Are you done hiding!?"

There was a beat of stillness in the warehouse. Then, one by one, pairs of yellow eyes appeared from the shadows in all directions, peeking out from holes broken in the structure and from the rafters above. Their owners came into view, creeping into the light and hopping down from above.

A final contrasting pair of eyes Shadow recognized all too well emerged from the doorway in front of him.

"I told you I'd be seeing you again, didn't I Henry?" Zero taunted, now wielding the very crimson sword Shadow had first seen him with.

Shadow counted nine assailants in total. They were all jackals, and all resembled the one he assumed to be their leader in physical characteristics and regalia. His eyes trailed over each of his enemies, sizing them up as the ringleader himself continued.

"I'm rather impressed you noticed we were tailing you. Most of our prey never figure out that much."

"It was obvious once I knew who you really were." Shadow scoffed. "Of course, your waltzing into my workplace certainly helped me figure that out. It was careless of me to allow you to get so close. But unfortunately for you , that will not happen again."

"Zero" cocked an eyebrow, an air of superiority about him. "So you've figured it out, then? Very well, please allow me to reintroduce myself. You may refer to me as 'Infinite.'" He pointed his sword straight at Shadow's heart, "I can't believe the sweet little hedgehog from the bookstore was an infamous criminal this whole time. But don't flatter yourself. You weren't our original objective—if anything, you're simply an easy bonus we happened to stumble across."

Shadow's expression remained steely as the other jackals sneered around him. Slowly, they began to close in while Infinite remained where he stood, glowering down at him.

He was outnumbered, and worst of all—rusty. Even just the small bout the other day had left his limbs sore. But that was irrelevant. No, for Shadow the Hedgehog, this wouldn't even be a challenge.

He clenched his fists, shifting into a combat stance.

"Allow me to show you just how "easy" I am, then."

—-

Shadow grabbed hold of the first two attackers, slamming their heads together with a sickening crack when they lunged at him.

The next jackal didn't fare much better—Shadow effortlessly avoided his tackle and gladly used his flailing body as a springboard to launch himself out of the circle. He landed in a crouch, allowing himself only a moment of satisfaction at Infinite's indignant expression before sprinting out of the warehouse at top speed.

"After him!" Infinite howled.

The pack did as they were ordered, bursting out of the warehouse and tearing across the overgrown yard.

Shadow's rocket skates scorched the earth and singed the grass below him. It would be easy to leave his pursuers far behind in the dust, but that wasn't his goal. He adjusted his speed such that he only just barely stayed out of their reach.

He took a sharp corner and cut through the tree-line into the woods. The jackals, with their uncanny coordination, adjusted their paths and followed behind. Once they had entered the forest, Shadow caught sight of them leaping between the branches above his head. One by one, they would drop towards him, forcing Shadow to dodge and weave between both assailant and tree trunk.

It was all going according to plan.

Shadow had led them to the forest for a reason. He may have been too rusty to take on nine skilled opponents at once, but he was more than capable of picking them off one by one. When they were far enough away from the town to ensure no one would be able to escape him, Shadow took another sharp bank and disappeared into the brush.

—-

He was gone.

Infinite skidded to a halt. He had been following from a further distance than the rest of his squad, but he was the first to notice the hedgehog's absence from their formation. His subordinates, in turn, began yapping through the transceiver attached to his ear.

"I lost him!" "No sign of him, Boss!" "Where did he go!?"

He grinded his teeth together. This was unbelievable!

"How did every single one of you idiots manage to lose him!?"

The commotion crescendoed across the line as the jackal leader pinched his brow in frustration. The squad had fanned out and were searching high and low for the target, but no one had any clue where he had gone.

Was that his tactic, then? Using the forest to hide? Infinite's ear twitched in annoyance. Even though the hedgehog was outnumbered, he had truthfully expected more of a fight from the being they called "the ultimate lifeform." What a joke that turned out to be!

Then all of a sudden, a screech rang out between the voices that murmured over the line. The peaking of the audio was so loud that it actually caused Infinite to rip the device away from his ear.

"What was that?!"

"Does anyone copy!?"

"I found him—he's—!"

"Mayday! I need backup, he—!" Another guttural cry punctuated by silence.

Panic broke out among the remaining voices on the line. Infinite began to race through the forest again. "Calm down, we need to regroup!" He barked at them, eyes darting between the dark corners of the woods that passed by him. But one by one, the signals continued to cut out. Yells and snarls were snuffed out until all that Infinite found himself listening to was an eerie static.

He slowed to a halt. Infinite stared down at the device, sweat forming along his brow. Then, his ears perked up at the sound of a sharp yelp. With no hesitation, Infinite unsheathed his sword and bounded in the direction of the cry, clamoring up the trunk of a tree that blocked his path.

From his perch, he could see exactly what the source of the cry was down below. Henry—no, Shadow the Hedgehog faced away from him, the so-called ultimate lifeform standing over the collapsed body of one of his subordinates.

Hatred boiled deep in Infinite's chest as the realization hit him. The hedgehog hadn't been trying to escape from his squad. On the contrary—he had been leading them on the whole time.

"You…" he growled, voice wavering with animosity, "you destroyed my squad!"

Without a second thought, Infinite exploded from the leaves above and ran his sword straight through the hedgehog. But to his utter shock, his blade had not pierced flesh at all. It was only firmly lodged into the soil of the forest floor. Once again, Shadow the Hedgehog had disappeared.

He tore the blade from the ground, but had no chance to do anything more. Less than an instant later, a blazing steel sole shattered the side of his face like it was made of porcelain. The meteor strike of a roundhouse kick sent him flying off his feet and crashing into a tree trunk several meters away.

The jackal cried out in pain as he slammed into the tree, tumbling down its roots and onto the forest floor. His entire body screamed as he lay there, but by some miracle (or perhaps curse) he managed to stay conscious.

Infinite's heart pounded as he realized he could hardly move. His head throbbed and the right side of his face felt numb. Mustering all the willpower he could, he rose to shaking hands and knees. A hand to the injured side of his face made his blood run cold, as he got an inkling of just how much damage had been inflicted. He could not see from his right eye, and all his left eye saw was Shadow the Hedgehog now standing above him. The hedgehog in turn stared back at him with a look of pure disdain.

"How pitiful." He commented on the jackal's current state, shivering and utterly defenseless.

Yes, Infinite was shaking now. Fear gripped him, the very feeling he had believed himself immune to for so long. But there was nothing he could do in this state. This hedgehog—no, this killer, had outplayed them all. And he would be done in, just like the rest of his squad. He squeezed his eyes shut.

But the final blow did not come. Instead, the hedgehog only scoffed and turned away from him.

"You're not even worth the effort. Never show your pathetic face around me again."

And then, he was walking away.

Just like that.

Infinite's eyes shot open. His gaze bored into the forest floor below him, the sound of footsteps fading farther and farther away. It took him what felt like a lifetime to realize what had just happened, but when he did, all previous feelings of hopelessness and fear promptly exited his body .

All the jackal felt now was rage.

Me? Pathetic? Infinite curled his fingers, digging his digits into the leaves and dirt. He seethed and shook as white hot anger overflowed within him. He's calling ME weak?!

The hedgehog had effortlessly humiliated him, and now, he didn't even spare him a glance as he just walked away. Infinite grasped the handle of his sword, grip straining. No. I am NOT weak.

He struggled to his feet. No other thought permeated his mind except murderous intent towards one individual.

"I AM NOT WEAK!"

—-

Shadow spun to the side just in time to avoid the blade thrusted straight at his back. But the jackal had long thrown caution to the wind. He rebounded and swung the sword in a sloppy side-swipe across his body. Shadow's foot connected with Infinite's torso and he was sent flying once again, but not before the tip of the blade managed to nick Shadow's upper leg.

The jackal coughed violently on the ground several feet away, clutching his chest in one hand and sword in the other. Shadow clicked his tongue at the sight of him writhing on the ground. Once again, he mentally cursed himself. A year ago, he wouldn't have hesitated to finish Infinite off. He really had gone soft during his time in Orléanais…

Shadow had hoped the display of just how outmatched the jackals were would have scared them off for good. But clearly, their leader was taking that as a challenge.

"You just don't know when to give up, do you?" Shadow grumbled.

He took a single step towards the jackal, but that's as far as he got. At that moment, an intense wave of vertigo washed over him. He couldn't feel his legs. He couldn't feel his arms. Then, he found himself needing to lean against the trunk of a tree for support. His vision became blurry and his open hand slid along the bark of the tree as he fell to his knees. Sweat poured from his forehead and the cut on his leg began to sting immensely.

Shadow gasped for breath, his lungs feeling constricted. It was then he noticed Infinite was no longer hacking for air. Instead, the jackal was on the ground laughing—loudly cackling like a madman. Unsteadily, the jackal rose to his feet and methodically approached Shadow in his now crouched state, dragging the blade behind him.

"My own brand of venom." He cackled, a sadistic gleam in his one open eye. Shadow had a clear look at his face now. A cauterized gash ran across his visage, causing the right eye to swell shut. His remaining eye strained as he spoke, his expression now completely unhinged. Infinite raised the sword near Shadow's face and ran a gloved finger along the edge of the blade.

"Efficient, wouldn't you say? This amount is enough to neutralize someone four times your size. I commend you for remaining conscious this long—it'll make this more satisfying."

Infinite's fist connected with Shadow's cheek, the force causing him to completely collapse onto the ground.

"I would say that you're lucky that they want you alive." he sneered, teeth clenched in a snarl, "But after what you did to my squad, you're going to wish they didn't."

No matter how hard he tried, Shadow couldn't get his body to move. He was completely defenseless, and now, his vision was coming in and out. In that moment, it felt as if he was slowly slipping away and it was all he could do to just concentrate on breathing. All of his senses were numbed, save for the pulsing of the wound on his leg.

In the end, it had been his fault. One too many mercies. One too many benefits-of-the-doubt. One too many chances. But then again, he thought bitterly, that was exactly what she would have done.

I'm sorry, Maria.

Shadow closed his eyes. He could still sense the jackal looming over him now. The thought of his old friend brought him at least some comfort, as all he could do now was brace himself for the impact.

But, the anticipated thrashing never came. Instead, Shadow heard what sounded like lightning striking a dead tree. The sound of wood cracking assaulted his eardrums and he felt debris against his fur. And then, he heard it—that animalistic howl intermingling with another scream.

The other scream belonged to Infinite. But he had screamed not in pain, but in fear.

"What the hell?!" The jackal cried out, voice now sounding very distant to Shadow.

He managed to crack an eye open. Shadow could see Infinite standing farther back from him now. But the jackal wasn't looking at him anymore. Instead, he was staring at something behind where Shadow currently lay prone, hackles raised and expression twisted into one of horror. Then, in a sight Shadow could barely fathom, Infinite narrowly dodged the entire tree that flew over his head and crashed into the ground where it landed.

Infinite was truly no longer focused on Shadow. He was yelling something, but Shadow could no longer hear him properly. The jackal heaved up his fallen comrade and dashed into the darkness, disappearing from Shadow's sight as his vision completely faded.

The last thing Shadow felt before the darkness finally took his remaining sense was the feeling of being gently lifted off the ground.