Shadow returned to his place with a sour disposition, not even bothering to acknowledge his bat companion who stood in the kitchen. He did, however, slow down when he belatedly realized just how odd that was; she was never [i]not[/i] one to antagonize him whenever they were in proximity of one another, and she wasn’t even supposed to be home until way later. [i]Mhm, I’m not even going to engage. He obviously got her too. If he could do all of this in such a short period of time, why wouldn’t he just finish me off then? Is he too distracted?[/i] It was the only thing he could think of - the Doctor, while possessing extremely advanced knowledge, did not hold many intelligence points in the plot department. It was the sole reason why his plans never came to full light, but with Infinite, the tables had been turned. It had only been due to pure chance that they (moreso the rookie that Infinite had his hands all over) were able to halt the illusionist. Dealing with Eggman’s ‘final plan’ afterwards had been cake compared to the Chaos that the jackal had incited. [i]Then I can only deduce that Gadget is keeping him distracted, in a sense. How do I use that to my advantage? I’ll be surprised if he doesn’t just put the wolf’s ‘rescue’ on the back burner until after he finishes enacting his plans.[/i] The biohog had since strewn himself across his bed, letting his thoughts run circles around the grooves of his cranium. He flipped himself upright from the spread-eagle position he’d assumed, and stood up to move to his desk. [i]I feel like I’ve been losing my touch lately, or it may be due to the fact that I’ve never found myself in the sole position of having to do a hero’s job. This is Sonic’s specialty, not mine…[/i] He didn’t even want to think of what Sonic would do in this situation; it wasn’t like he looked up to the blue blur or anything. This was the SECOND time that Sonic had truly been taken off the board, and by the same insane mobian no less. These thoughts were enough for Shadow to conclude that this situation required a ‘non-Sonic’ approach. Reassured that his next plan of action was adequate for the type of petty male he was up against, he began jotting down some notes for a plan. _________________ Earlier that morning, Infinite had left Gadget to his chosen area, only to teleport to a nearby one… specifically, the one that the obnoxious blue blur was currently frequenting. He stepped out from between two buildings, feigning a confused look - as if he’d been wandering aimlessly in search of something. It didn’t take long for Sonic to spot him looking around with faux airheadedness. “Hey, Zero! Whatcha wandering around for? Lost something?” Giving the hedgehog a small smile, he nodded with perceived earnestness. “Yes, I did. I seem to have lost my way from Gadget. Do you mind helping me out for a moment?” The illusionist pointed a finger towards the hardware store. “The last place I saw him was in that decrepit building over there.” Sonic laughed, not worried for his nerdy friend. “Knowing Gadget, he’s probably still been there the whole time. I bet he made his way onto the roof or something! A sneaky lil bugger he is, heh.” Infinite smirked at how easygoing the fool was. He followed the blue blur until they entered the building, and Sonic turned around. The jackal put a hand up and channeled his powers, encapsulating the hog and putting him under a personal brand of illusion he’d been working to perfect - one that did not expire. Having minimal time to familiarize himself with the ruby before the rotund doctor had set his plans in motion a year ago, he’d needed to recast illusions on those he’d taken control of. “You and I found him on the roof, yes?” Expression blank and posture rigid, Sonic parroted his comment. “Yeah… we found him on the roof.” “And your fox friend, Tails, found a shattered ruby recently. He tested its power, and found it to be a 100% match to what Infinite’s ruby emitted, yes?” “Yes. The prototypes are different, as well.” Infinite smirked at how well the illusion worked - aside from minor inconsistencies in Sonic’s speech, if he’d done his research right, then the hero would fill in any blanks to the story on his own. [i]Not that I expect it to stall that abomination of a hedgehog… the false information will instill doubt and confusion, and that is sufficient for me.[/i] “Excellent. You and I are done here - return to your current work site and continue on as you were.” “Of course.” _____________ Infinite appeared in front of a plain white door moments after his interaction with the blue annoyance, immediately rapping his knuckles against the wood. A few seconds of silence, before the click of heeled footsteps were heard and the door opened to reveal an ivory bat. “Oh? Zero, is it?” Purse at her side, it was clear that she’d been about to leave. [i]I have a moment for a quick chat for entertainment’s sake, if the situation allows it… hahaha[/i] “Yes, sorry for the abrupt drop-in- Sonic asked me to come here and check in on Shadow for some reason. I wasn’t aware that you were here to do so already.” He knew very well that they were roommates, but she didn’t need to know that. Rouge lifted a brow ridge, but didn’t inquire any further. She was just as worried about her friend, and didn’t blame big blue for wanting to check in. “Sorry hun, he left some time ago; as to where, I’m not sure. I was just here for a quick lunch break.” Infinite offered a lopsided smile veiled as sympathetic - a clever way to hide his amusement. “I see… he attacked me, Gadget and his family last night, so I have to say I’m almost glad that he isn’t here. I don’t think I’m the right guy to be checking up on him when he hates me [i]just[/i] for being a jackal.” Rouge’s face flatlined at the new information - Shadow had conveniently left that part out. Now it made sense why he’d gone over to that wolf’s house. “That thick-headed hog, I swear… I’ll just take the afternoon off to track him down, you go ahead and tell Sonic that I’ll be looking out for him myself for now.” “That won’t be necessary…” Summoning arrays of cubes to surround the ivory bat and rendering her motionless, he couldn’t keep up the Nice Guy façade any longer. His grin was wide as she stared at the faint glow beneath his scarf with horrifying realization. “Shadow wasn’t lying!!” “He was not, and that is why I need him out of my way. I will be ‘taking care’ of him this afternoon, [i]hun[/i], but thank you for such a selfless offer. You restoration pests are all in my way!” He couldn’t help himself - it had been a decent chunk of time since he’d been able to gloat, and it did wonders in mending his ego that had been so badly battered by his defeat. Unfortunately he’d forgotten that his habit of running his mouth was a [i]weakness[/i] of his - but not before he detected Rouge hitting a button on a device attached to her belt. “Whatever you choose to do with me won’t matter, because I just sent an alert to HQ!” Infinite growled at her smug expression, but he knew that if he acted quickly enough, he’d be able to do damage control and continue on with his false persona. Activating his powers once again, he wasted no more time and put Rouge under the same illusion as the spiky blue pest. “You never saw me here, and Shadow is still trying to slander me - Zero - for being a jackal, due to his hatred for Infinite. Remain here for the rest of the day.” “Of course.” Hearing Rouge’s monotone response was enough assurance for him to warp away, his next stop being to the headquarters. _________________ Tails sat at his monitors, having just raced up to them to sit down and check Rouge’s current location. She wasn’t answering her phone. “I really need to implement a mobile version for these alert widgets… well, she’s still at her and Shadow’s apartment, so it can’t be bad? Maybe it was a butt dial?” He’d been about to call her one last time before sending out a small squad to check in, when the metal door to Tails’ control room creaking open had him whipping around in surprise. Seeing a jackal with an awkward stance caused his face to scrunch up in confusion. “Who are you?” “Ah- we’ve met before, but you must not remember. My name Zero. I played a fairly a [i]significant[/i] part in the Resistance’s purpose.” Nodding slowly, Tails didn’t put any effort in trying to remember his face or name. His most pressing matter was getting a hold of Rouge. “I think Sonic mentioned your name-” he dialed her number one last time and continued speaking with his cell up to his ear, “sorry, I’m just trying to call someone right now, could you come back another-” The ringing went silent, causing the kit to pull his phone back and stare at the now black screen. Noticing that the room had dimmed in brightness, he belatedly realized that it was because his monitor had gone dark too. Faint reddish light emanated throughout the room. Looking back to the only other occupant of it, a feeling of dread manifested in his chest. “Would you care to hazard a guess in regards to what is happening before you?” Frozen with fear, Tails didn’t move or react. The jackal’s baritone laughter sent a spike of anxiety through the other canine’s core. “What is the opposite of Zero?” He’s back!! “Ah, apologies- I’m in a bit of a rush myself, today!” A flick of Infinite’s wrist was all it took for Tails to lose his autonomy, just as Rouge and Sonic already had. “Rouge is perfectly safe. You know me as Zero, a very integral part of the Restoration and former Resistance.” The fox’s glazed over eyes stared at a random spot on the metallic floor, without actually seeing. “Yeah… glad you are part of our operation, Zero.” “Mm, I am also honoured to play such an [i]integral role[/i] in your lovely little movement. Farewell, kit~” _________________ Gadget had spent the rest of the day trying to prevent his anxiety levels from shooting out of his ears. He couldn’t just leave his work area either - he had no idea where the jackal had disappeared off to. Continuous internal chants to the higher beings about not wanting anyone to be slaughtered by the illusionist ran through his head, leaving him distracted and lackadaisical. He’d spent a full day alone, which was all he’d thought he ever wanted… he took that back, realizing that all he truly wanted was for Infinite to be locked away for the rest of his life. [i]Where is he? I guess I’ll just leave on my own and hope to Chaos nobody’s been harmed by him…[/i] Shadow’s plan was tactical yet simple: Infinite wasn’t the only one capable of teleportation, after all. He’d intended to let the day pass and bide his time the following day after locating the wolf’s next chosen job site. The few times he’d stuck around long enough to observe, the ebony hog had noticed that Infinite tended to grow restless sitting around watching the wolf work, and would disappear for brief periods of time. Shadow only needed a brief moment. Chaos controlling to Gadget’s current site that same day with the intention of scoping out the area, he didn’t expect to see the wolf alone. [i]Where is Infinite?[/i] Taking a chance, he stepped forward and caught the crimson mobian’s attention immediately. “Where’s your owner?” Gadget flinched at the rough and sudden question - the same one he’d been losing fur over all day. “H-hey! He’s not my- well, I was actually wondering that myself…” The biohog gave the situation another moment of thought. Infinite had to be busy taking down everyone that he knew Shadow was in contact with… so much so, that he didn’t take into account the wolf he’d been keeping in his back pocket up until that point. [i]I wasn’t intending to snatch him up today, but I suppose that now is as good of a time as any.[/i] “Let’s find out together, then.” “Ok-” The rookie didn’t expect to be hauled over the infamous hedgehog’s shoulder like a sack of potatoes, nor did he expect to be brought to one of Eggman’s labs of all places… Shadow dropped him onto the cold industrial floor, the metal clanging noises of his boots echoing through the lab. “You’re way too scatterbrained for me to trust you to stay here,” he grabbed the wolf’s wrist and began dragging him towards a heavily reinforced room, “so I’m locking you up. Be a good wolf like your owner asks of you.” Without giving the panicked canine a chance to speak, Shadow slammed the door shut and set the lock in place. Moments later, multiple more locks from within the door could be heard as Shadow booted up the nearby monitors and set the room to maximum security. Gadget mewled in confused sadness, not wanting to be left alone or locked up. “I thought you wanted to work together…” Another worrying thought immediately came to mind. “Chaos, what is Infinite gonna do to us now? Unless Shadow has a plan already…”