Infinite and Shadow locked eyes after the latter had finished his pointed request. The jackal offered a sly smile, erring on the side of innocent rather than devilish. The biohog hesitated for a moment.
 
Why is this piece of shit so cocky?
 
The crimson wolf’s wide eyes flit between the two rigid mobians, unsure what to make of the negative energy radiating around them. The best course of action would be to feign complete ignorance - Gadget was pretty sure that Shadow already thought he was a complete dunce from the moment they’d first met anyway. He broke the heated stare-off with his usual cheerfulness.
 
“Alright, sounds good! Zee, I’ll come back when I’m done or you can come check up on us later.”
 
Shadow observed the wolf with uncertainty. Without Tails around, there was no way to tell for sure if Gadget was under an illusion, or if he was as stupid as his first impression had let on. He turned around to leave and the rookie followed suit, immediately beginning an annoying babble of small talk he didn’t care for. He decided to cut it off with an inappropriate insinuation.
 
“I’m surprised you’re not limping.”
 
Gadget squawked in surprise, before doing a piss-poor job of schooling himself.
 
“Heh heh… I uhh. Haven’t really been working as hard as I should be, so I’m not sore at all!”
 
He decided to drop it until they reached the blue idiot, and held himself back from remarking that he’d preferred the wolf back when he’d been too timid to initiate conversation. Once they made it to the area that Sonic was working on, the blue hedgehog was quick to take notice.
 
“Shad and Gadg! I don’t think I’ve ever seen the two of you together before. You here to lend a hand?”
 
“Get off the roof, faker.”
 
Sonic hopped down with a dramatic air and bowed, to which only Gadget humoured with an applause.
 
“At your servi-”
 
“This stupid wolf is under Infinite’s control right now.”
 
Dual choked noises came from the red and blue mobians, the latter being the first to recover.
 
“Shad, you’re as off your rocker as ever. That nut case is gonzo, it’s been months. Gadget, why is he on your case? Did ya get wood shavings on his swiss roll or something?”
 
He cackled at how funny he found himself to be, but his audience wasn’t laughing.
 
“The jackal that has been glued to his side is Infinite, and he’s no doubt the real reason why Gadget went missing for so long. Wolf, we’ll get you out of this; I’m sure there’s some consciousness in you still.”
 
If Gadget hadn’t prepared himself for this, he’d have been a panicked mess already. Infinite had been right, being so sure that Shadow wouldn’t keep his word.
 
“His name is Zero, he’s not Infinite! We were actually kind of joking about the coincidence in his name being the opposite of that masked loonie though, if that’s what has your suspicion.”
 
Shadow was rendered speechless. Where is that fox when you need him?! Sonic looked thoroughly disappointed, which was hard to achieve in the first place.
 
“You can’t go full on attack mode towards any jackal you see, Shadow. There has already been enough criminal activity directed towards them ever since the war ended. Don’t contribute to that. There is more than enough general hatred going on already, on top of that.”
 
The red-striped hog growled at the chastising words. At the sound of disturbed rubble, all 3 mobians turned around to find the topic himself coming forward with a neutral expression.
 
“I will fucking prove it then.”
 
He teleported behind the long-maned mobian and yanked the large scarf up.
 
“Do you see now?! He wears this stupid thing to cover the phantom ruby!”
 
Sonic and Gadget’s expressions morphed into confusion and mild concern.
 
“Shadow… there’s nothing under there.”
 
“What?!”
 
He pivoted the jackal a full 180 degrees by his shoulders to see the- a plain black chest. Shadow returned his hard glare on the other two, and immediately took note of a barely visible fuchsian miasma around his blue counterpart.
 
Wait.
 
The surroundings were glitching all around them.
 
“What the hell is going on here?!”
 
Infinite’s guttural laugh had him flinching away in alarm. Beneath the scarf, a dampered glow was visible.
 
“How?!”
 
“You are in an alternate reality at the moment. I figure you can only see my power radiating from the blue rat due to your above average senses.”
 
“So now you’ve got Gadget and Sonic wrapped around your finger.”
 
“You are fooling yourself, and you know it. My wolf is very much unaffected by my powers. You alone can clearly see whether someone is under my influence.”
 
The biohog shivered at the notion that Infinite truly considered the rookie as his property, and personal chew toy. He could smell the waves of anxiety and sweat radiating off Gadget’s core, but he was otherwise completely untouched by the phantom ruby’s power. The false reality shattered, leaving only Shadow in a state of confusion and panic. Sonic, now effectively under an illusion, continued the conversation as if everything was normal.
 
“Hey, I didn’t know you’d had so many unresolved feelings about Infinite, but I understand. Are you feeling alright, dude? You’re more than welcome to go home and get some R&R. This guy is chill, and has been super nice helping Gadget and us out. You have nothing to worry about.”
 
That was it. He was completely out-maneuvered. He was indeed the fool for thinking so little of Infinite’s intelligence. Fists shaking with suppressed rage, he chaos controlled out of the area, with the undercover jackal silently preening for his success.
 

 
At home, Shadow sunk into the couch and composed a text to Rouge, before deleting it and throwing his phone into the loveseat with a growl. It was smarter to overestimate Infinite and assume he was still multiple steps ahead of him. After a few hours of brooding on the couch, he abruptly stood up and beelined for the shower. Drenching himself with cold water for a solid 10 minutes, he could have sworn he was giving off steam from how heated Infinite had gotten him. When he turned the water off, a sobering thought hit him.
 
Gadget’s family. 
 
Giving himself a half-ass towel dry, he teleported to the canine’s house and unceremoniously banged his fist on the door. Only afterward did he take notice of their perfectly functioning doorbell. A minute went by and while he could hear footpads shuffling around inside, no one had answered the door. His anxiety began shooting through the roof, and it peaked when the door flung open and a wispon was pointed in his face by a tall dark cyan wolf. Shadow stopped his reflexes from sending a spear into the other in the nick of time, while they sized each other up. Finally, the weapon was lowered and the wolf took on a friendlier stance.
 
“I’m sorry for the rude greeting. My name is Gil. I’m not mistaken for assuming that you’re Shadow the Hedgehog, right?”
 
He was at a loss for words. Now that he was there, he wasn’t sure how to conduct himself or what excuse to make up for his appearance.
 
“Ah… you are correct. And no, that’s fine; I understand your wariness.”
 
A very awkward pause ensued, wherein Shadow realized that the wolf assumed he had more to say. Which he absolutely did.
 
Get yourself together.
 
“I’ve caught wind of dangerous activity around your area, and that your family has been targeted specifically. I wanted to personally drop in and ensure that you were all safe.”
 
Gil lit up and enthusiastically stepped aside to let him in, which Shadow had not been mentally prepared for.
 
“My whole pack is here, including our eldest pup’s mate! Please join us for dinner.”
 
Damn it. I didn’t come here to eat dinner, I came to chec- wait.
 
“Did you just say that Gadget has a mate?”
 
“Well, a boyfriend. I’m a bit traditional, but I suppose they technically aren’t mated yet.”
 
Shadow almost scoffed at the false notion.
 
Chaos, does he really think his fucking son hasn’t let that maniacal bastard rail him like the whore he is already? What’s wrong with his sense of smell? Typical city dwellers. Stupidity must be a genetic trait in their family.
 
He realized he didn’t have much of a choice, and that holy shit did this mean he was going to be at a dinner table with Infinite ? When he made to follow suit, Gil turned tail, giving him the opportunity to scowl at the situation he’d dragged himself into. To his shock and mild horror, it was none other than the jackal himself slaving away in the kitchen. The red-striped hog failed to hold in his snort, causing Infinite to whip around in surprise. The various scents coming from the searing steaks, vegetables and potatoes he was preparing had masked Shadow’s own. He was even wearing what the hedgehog assumed was Gil’s obnoxious apron, probably given to him on father’s day, with “Hot stuff comin’ through” and a steaming plate of food as its design. He couldn’t help the wheeze that escaped his lungs, even at the expense of sounding like a dying old man. 
 
Even though Infinite kept making a fool out of him, he could at least make an embarrassment out of the jackal in front of the wolves, just subtle enough that it wouldn’t put them in any danger.
 
I can tell that you’re more hyper fixated on Gadget than you let on, Infinite. This just confirms it, and your hormones tell a story that you yourself aren’t willing to. I’m not worried about these oblivious wolves anymore. 
 

 
Who did this lab rat think he was, barging in on his property like this? Did he really not learn his lesson after being bested twice in a row? Before he could arouse suspicion with an impulsive taunt towards their guest , Gil spoke up to introduce the two.
 
“Zero, I hope you don’t mind but I’ve invited Shadow the Hedgehog to join us this evening. Good thing I bought a pack of 6 steaks! He came here to check in with us. Giselle, how lucky are we? I think we’ll be more than safe knowing these two powerhouses are so concerned for our wellbeing!”
 
Gadget wanted to screech in terror. These two powerhouses were the sole reason why his family was in any danger in the first place! Not that Shadow was the danger, but the rookie thought he was being reckless sticking his nose into Infinite’s business and underestimating him so badly. He slunk down into his seat and pretended to disappear as the atmosphere grew thick with tension. To his surprise, Shadow took the seat next to him - the one that Infinite usually took - and spoke to him like he wasn’t an idiot for the first time in his life.
 
“After what happened when you were kidnapped, I figured I’d check in with you. Whoever did it is a pretty disgusting and depraved monster, wouldn’t you agree?”
 
Shadow what are you doing. Why are you so hell-bent on causing trouble for me, just let me figure out how to handle the guy!
 
“Er… yeah. But luckily I met Zero! He’s been keeping us all safe.”
 
Shadow's lip quirked in amusement. It only served to further unsettle the crimson wolf. Gears, who was usually chatty and nosy, kept quiet in awe of being in the same room as someone as infamous as Shadow.
 
“Yes, of course. Let’s hope he can keep that up. Could you imagine if Infinite was still prowling around out there like the trash he is?”
 
Everyone sat down as the jackal painstakingly set the prepared dishes on the table, breathing heavily to keep his temper in check. The black hedgehog smirked at his ire.
 
Oh how the tables have turned. Does this make me immature? Certainly. I can at least admit that in my head.
 
Gil joined in with his own input.
 
“That is a terrifying thought. I’d like to think that if he's caught out there, the resistance would deal with him accordingly. From what we were told, the sorry man lost and took off with his tail between his legs, so I'm not overly worried!”
 
Hands almost imperceptibly shaking, Infinite crushed a potato with his fork.
 
Damn you, cursed hedgehog. Get out of my territory. I will make you pay for this libel.
 
The jackal flinched when Shadow addressed him directly.
 
“Zero, you should try using thyme in your spice blend next time. It adds more zest. Just a little pointer, as you seem like a beginner.” 
 
The fork in his hand bent at a 45 degree angle. Gadget slumped further into his seat and internally cried for the loss of sleep he was sure to experience in the evening.