The sun went down, and the world was engulfed by shining night. The moon and stars clothed everything in a silver veil. Most people were sleeping as of now, but a certain black hedgehog wasn't, and he wasn't planning to do so anytime soon.

The demon was gradually waking up, giving out painful moans. Slowly he sat up, scratching in his quills, weakly flapping with wings to get rid of the numbness faster.

"It hurts..." Eclipse silently hissed as he stretched his shoulders, rubbing his sleepy eyes.

He slowly focused on the floor beneath him. It was made of wood, and somehow it felt wrong.

"Where am I..." His head was at a snail's pace turned around, finally looking at the place where Shadow was motionlessly sitting.

The demon watched for a good minute without any reaction.

Eclipse's eyes widen as his brain finally understood the situation. He screamed, crawling away only to crash into an invisible barrier that lit up a bit. He scratched it, hit it with his fists and head in desperate attempt to break it.

"No! No! Please, don't kill me!" he cried. "Let me go! Please!" Tears started to fall down with rising panic.

The priest did nothing. It was best to let the demon get tired, then he might be enough calm for conversation.

With each passing second, he felt more and more pity for him. Such fear and sadness.

Was Amy right? Was there more to demons than just being monsters? Could they also feel emotions like people?

The demon soon collapsed, gasping for air. He pushed against the barrier as far as he could. He was constantly crying and shaking with dread. His body twitched from time to time when he moved with legs as a sharp pain shot through his body.

"I have a few questions," Shadow finally spoke, having casual tone.

The demon crouched.

"And I don't have an intention to hurt you... unless you give me a reason."

Eclipse didn't provide any response. His eyes locked on the priest.

"Nod, if you will answer them."

After a while, he weakly nodded.

"Good."

The ebony hedgehog knew he had to ask now before the demon calmed down too much, and that would give him a time to start scheming.

"What happened to your legs?"

There was no answer.

"Your treatment depends on your cooperation."

The ebony hedgehog didn't want to sound threatening, but he had no choice.

"It..." Eclipse had finally spoken with a small voice. Gone was the cockiness he was showing during their first encounter. "It was a silver man... with weird power," he mumbled as his throat was dry.

'So it was that silver exorcist,' thought the priest, and a shiver ran down his spine.

That man was powerful, he could imagine this one escaped only because he was exhausted from their previous fight.

"How did you escape him?" he questioned the demon more.

"I... didn't... sis threw me out..." he answered immediately.

Shadow jerked his head. "Sis?"

The demon crouched and covered his mouth, backing down a bit.

The priest continued, "Where is she? Tell me more."

He never knew demons had genders or anything like that, or that they could consider someone a sibling for that matter.

Eclipse frowned.

"So, you don't want to talk, huh?" Shadow moved his hands on his knees, suggesting he was about to do something.

"No!" Eclipse shouted. His body shivered, cold sweat covering him.

"Then answer me," Shadow's voice was calm. He didn't want to push too hard, but he needed the answers.

"I... just... don't know." More tears appeared in his eyes.

"That could mean..." The hedgehog started to think aloud when he was interrupted by the demon.

"She can't be dead!" he yelled, lifting his body. "I'll kill that bastard if he hurt her!"

Hearing him threatening like that was kind of unexpected. The priest never heard of a demon who would be concerned about anyone else.

"With that body of yours?" Shadow inquired, curious what his reaction would be.

The demon jerked, lowering his body. His yellow eyes scanned his legs. They would need days to fully heal. Eclipse balled his fists, the feeling of helplessness filled his mind.

Shadow's ears twitched. Silent steps approached him from the hall. He didn't need to be genius to know it's Amy with Sonic right behind her. Both stopped to get his approval. There was no stopping them, especially her, so he nodded.

When they entered, Eclipse moved away from them. There was no way he would forget his past preys, especially such annoying ones. He flattened his body in futile attempt to turn invisible.

'Why they are here?' the small demon asked in his mind.

His nose told him there was mostly neutral to slightly irritated aura around them. Were they here to laugh at him? To hurt him? To take revenge? The small demon bared his teeth, letting out a wimpy growl.

The pink girl suddenly smiled. "Hi, I'm Amy, want a cookie?"

Eclipse's eyes shot open. Why was she so cheerful? He watched her searching for them in her handbag.

After a short moment, she pulled out a small bag.

"They are not fresh, but they still taste good."

Amy came closer, but there was still a step between her and the barrier. Sonic was closely watching, ready to save her in the case the demon would try to hurt her.

The demon's nostrils widen, and his mouth produced saliva. It smelled so good. His stomach rumbled, voicing a desire to eat.

"Sorry, I don't have any plate." She carefully checked the thread around the opening, making sure it was tightly closed.

"Here, try them." She gently threw the bag inside of the barrier.

She would rather give it to Eclipse, but Shadow instructed them, that captured demon would definitely hurt them if they would cross it.

The demon sniffed and grabbed it. His eyes shot in their direction, unsure what to do. Why would they give it to him? He opened the sachet, and the delicious aroma breathed at him. He gulped accumulated saliva, to pretend any drool from escaping.

He carefully took one round piece between his fingers. It was so small yet so delicate with dark dots mixed with the dough. With a bit of precaution, he took a tiny bite. He hardly chewed once when his mouth exploded.

He showed all cookies in his mouth, letting the delicious taste spread all over his brain and taste buds.

"Mff... good... good... pmnmff..."

It was hard to tell what Eclipse was saying with his cheeks stuffed. He looked like a hamster just before the hibernation.

Amy was silently giggling, and Sonic scratched his muzzle. It sure was weird to see a demon rocking on the floor because of a handful of cookies.

Shadow was smiling, noting how unusual this situation was.

'How strange... a demon acts like a child... so I guess he is one. Just like Amy said.'

His wings under the bandage twitched, reminding him of his true nature.

'If... I'm a demon as well, why was I living with people in peace? Did someone changed my ways or was I like this from the beginning?

Seeing in people something more than just food source? Could he be changed as well?' This thought tempted him to give it a try.

Eclipse meanwhile gulped the last morsel, picking all the leftovers in his mouth any way possible for him to eat. Once there was nothing more to dig out, he checked the bag for crumbles. To his delight, there were some with two pieces of the dark balls that left a deliciously bitter taste. He didn't like bitter thing, but this one was an exception. His stomach rumbled once more.

Amy went and started to search in her handbag. "I'm sorry, I don't have anymore," she sadly announced.

A small sachet landed in the circle. "Have these," Sonic said, looking away with his hands in pockets.

Eclipse opened the new treasure bad, finding more cookies inside. His face brightened up.

'This boy is growing up,' the ebony priest thought.

The demon picked one cookie, taking a very small bite. It tasted so good. There were more cookies in the sachet, and all of them smelled so good. He closed the bag and threw it out.

All the hedgehog showed a surprise by either jerking their head or by widening their eyes.

"Take one too. They are good," Eclipse said without looking up, nibbling on his piece.

"Thank you," Amy said with a big smile, picking up the little pouch.

'An act of sharing,' the ebony hedgehog thought as the lass gave him one. 'I never thought it can have such strange feeling.'

His dark eyes checked on Sonic who tried to look cool and confident. But the way he chewed showed he was thinking. Shadow was sure he couldn't stop wondering why the demon tossed the cookies back for them to share.

Was there more to it? A clever ruse to gain trust? Or just an honest intention? The priest left those question for a later time since the demon finished nibbling on his last cookie.

"How are your legs?" the lass asked.

He was watching her for a while, before mumbling, "... Fine..."

She gave him a cheerful smile. "I'm sure they will get better in no time."

"Why?" He looked into her blue eyes. "Why do you care?"

She had to think about her answer a bit. "Well, I just can't help it. Seeing someone in pain makes me want to help them."

"That goes for mortals..." Eclipse averted his gaze. Why was she looking at him with such gentleness?

Amy put her arms behind her back, hiding her nervousness.

"It's true you scared me," she silently spoke, "you were mean to Sonic and Mr. Shadow. But hurting each other won't solve anything."

Shadow let the demon to think about her words a bit. His curious expression suggested the demon was thinking about them.

Suddenly, Eclipse jerked with his body, shouting, "Sis!"

He slammed into the barrier with his upper torso, trying to escape.

"She is... alive," he gasped, his claws sliding down the invisible surface.

"You can tell where she is?" Shadow asked, his ears perked up.

The small demon stopped moving, slowly looking at him. "Ah." He clenched his fist. "Please, let me go. I promise you won't see me again. I will never hurt you."

"And then what?" Sonic barked with clenched fists, stomping his foot, "You think we will let you free so you can kill others?" The boy strongly snorted. "Fat chance!"

The small demon growled, and Shadow wasn't sure if he was trying to sound threatening or pitiful. The small demon turned back, banging his head against the barrier.

'We can't let him roam free,' Shadow bit his lip a bit, and his brain presented him a possible solution. "Maybe..." he started his sentence, but he let the rest hang in the air.

"Like seriously?" The boy cleared his ears to make sure the hearing isn't blocked. He didn't want to believe Father Shadow would let this monster go after what it had done.

"Well, did you hear about stories when a person makes a deal with a demon?" the priest asked a bit pointless question.

"You mean like to gain gold, fame and so?" the lass pointed out.

The stories were famous, and all of them ended with the person's soul being devoured. Their main purpose was to teach people not to give in the temptation or be aware of quick success or profit.

"That's right!" Eclipse shouted. "I'll fulfill any wish you can have!"

This was his ticket to freedom. There was no way he was going to let this change go in a vain. If swallowing his pride was the price, so be it. The life of his sister depended on it.

Sonic hissed, angered. He wasn't doubting the demon was making it up to just escape.

"Yeah, we can do that."

Shadow stood up, looking serious. Amy was happy, yet she was nervous too. Just what wish Mr. Shadow could have?