Without Me (Infinite x Reader)

Chapter 2 ~ Interrogation

   "Of your PTSD?" What he said was like a weird slap in the face, my body went numb for a second, no emotion could be placed on what I felt right at this instant.

   After a moment's delay, I say something. "Personally, or professionally?" I say, my voice back to its usual half-mumble. "I've known for about three months." I look to the ground. "Took me a while to figure it out."

   "No one else knows this?" Infinite asks.

   "Don't think so." I look back up at him, standing up on my feet. My arms cross over my chest, blocking myself off, and mirroring his pose.

   Infinite shakes his head, closing his eye while he faces the floor, almost in disappointment. "I don't understand how you can trust your life with that blue imbecile," he looks back up at me, eye open again, "if he is ignorant enough to not know you're pondering taking your own."

   This was different from the slap in the face earlier, this was a straight-up knife to the heart. I stiffened, I clenched my jaw shut, and forced myself not to start crying. That topic was a soft-spot for me, and if I show it, he'll be able to find out what torture will be most excruciating. I must try and remain strong. Because I was scared. Scared of what Infinite had in mind, and his capabilities.

   "Why do you even care?" I remark, bluntly. Infinite didn't respond right away. "Why are you asking all these things?" I unfold my arms. "And why the hell did you take your mask off? You're a secretive guy, you wouldn't just do that."

   Infinite lays two fingers on his mask, thinking, and pushing the metal thing with no string to hold it up back on his face. "To prove to you that there was a person under here." He lowers his hand and crossed his arm again.

   "Not merely some mindless robot."

   A moment of silence passes as my gaze went to the floor. I suppose that would be the best way to calm someone down...

   "Now, I shall begin the questioning," Infinite informs. I look back up at him, fear edging my mind.

   "How long have you felt such depression?" he stares at me. I blink at him, jaw dropped in confusion.

   "Uhm..." A moment passes without me being able to answer his question. Infinite raises a hand, suddenly, a metal bar appeared in front of me, hovering horizontally, pulsing red. The ends of it were bent inwards at a very sharp angle. Without warning, it comes flying towards me. It shoves me back into the wall, the bar let out an ear-bleeding screech as it was imbedded in the metal wall behind me. The bar formed somewhat to my shape, my arms held tight against my body. It wasn't tight enough to necessarily crush me, but it still restrained me from moving my arms.

   I squirm and try to get them loose, though I knew it would be no use. The red glow emanating from the metal faded slightly.

   "Repeating: for how long you have been thinking about death?" Infinite says again, walking towards me.

   Without willing it, I blurted out the answer. "Almost two months!" I loathe myself for giving up so quickly. And I quickly vowed to myself not to let out information so easily next time.

   "You've been planning this for how long?" Infinite stands in front of me, staring blankly at my face, arms dangling by his sides, both in fists.

   "W-Why are you taking this so seriously?!" I retaliate, feeling uneasy about the enemy's personal interest in my life. I knew he would likely bring it up at one point, but not like this. I had expected Infinite to spit a few insults when I had recovered from my phantasm. Maybe he would have asked one or two questions before throwing me around a bit. Inflicting pain with his abilities, with or without the Ruby in his chest. Perhaps call in some robots to hold me down while he messed up my mind while saying cleverly-crafted comments. That's how I thought this was going to go. But the fact that Infinite isn't doing any of these things is what made me terrified.

   Infinite's right fist glows red, the bar's misty aura brightens and its slowly tightens on me. "Answer me, (Y/N)," he said calmly. Infinite must have picked up my name when Sonic called for me.

   When the pipe began to crush my arms, only a few seconds, I gave in. "I don't know, two weeks!" I grumble, the pipe slowly loosening to how it was before.

   A moment passes of us staring at each other. Infinite must have been processing what I've said. I shoot daggers at him, trying to somehow wiggle my way out of the metal. Bruising has no doubt appeared on my arms already.

   "Now, let's get down to business, shall we?" he says, glossing over the questions he had just asked. Acting like it never happened. His fist glows red again, the bar of metal reacting the same way. It slowly tightened around me again, before Infinite asked any questions this time.

   "Where is that rat and his friends' base located?" he leans close to my face. I clenched my jaw as my arms felt like they were being broken. They pressed tightly against my ribcage, and the bar crushed me into the wall, hurting my torso from all sides. The pain was horrible, but I held my tongue.

   Infinite repeated the question as I crushed my eyes shut in pain, trying to distract myself from the ever-cracking bones in my limbs and ribcage. Sonic's goofy smirk came into mind. Then the entire Resistance, all welcoming me to the team. The urge to spill the information of where their current residence was tempting, but I couldn't do that to them.

   "The only 'rat'... is... you." I say through gritted teeth and between breaths of pain. Surprisingly, the pipe loosened, and vanished altogether. My eyes opened in surprise when I fell to the floor at Infinite's feet, holding out my hands to stop the fall. I winced in pain, I looked at the marks left on my arms. I was able to move them okay, it didn't seem like anything was broken.

   "You're audacious, I will give that," Infinite admits. I look up at him, glaring at the way he looked down at me. "But there is a line between being valiant and being a fool." He crouches down to be eye level with me. He holds eye contact with me, searching for my biggest fear.

   "Why are you doing this...?" I mutter to myself, looking to the floor.

   "Repeat yourself. I cannot hear you when you whimper."

   I look back up to him, eyes glaring. "Why are you doing this? — working with that maniac! Trying to end humanity!" My voice was raising, before I could say anything more, I forced myself to shut up. Knowing that saying nothing would have been too much. Infinite is acting different than he was earlier, he could do anything. That interest in my life was probably the fuel he needed to find and attack at my weakest points.

   "You heroes are always claiming how 'everybody deserves a second chance', but I was never given one." My gaze goes to the ground, trying to internalize what he said and figure out the meaning behind those words. A hand forces my chin up, and Infinite's mask was there too meet me. Before I could lift a hand to swat away his hand, ropes creep up my arms like vines, it felt like I was in a straitjacket. They were tight, uncomfortable. I try and squirm my head out of his grip, but a Metal Sonic manifested out of several red cubes, walked behind me, and held me in place with his harsh metal hands.

   "The doctor was the only one who offered me the chance to start over. With the power of the Phantom Ruby and his aid, I can finally get back at the very one who took away everything."

   "...What?" I blurt as he let go of my face.

   He lets of a single laugh. "Of course, he wouldn't tell you..." he mutters before speaking up. "One of your 'friends' are not as much of a hero as they claim."

   Infinite stands up and begins to walk away to the door of the cell. Metal Sonic let me flop to the floor and followed behind him.

   "What else are you going to do to me?" I demand before he left the cell. He turns to look at me. Metal Sonic grabbed one of the dead robots. Another manifested beside him, grabbing other like his clone. Their optics glowed red, yet they were lifeless, dead.

   "Well, I must alert your Resistance comrades of your current condition," he smiles. "Do not worry, I shall return soon with more questions in need of answering."

   Go ahead, they won't risk their lives for me, I think looking to the floor.

   Infinite was silent for a moment. "I suppose we will test that theory." There is a clang of metal. The ropes that held me disappeared, and when I looked up, Infinite was gone along with the Metal Sonic's, and the robot's bodies. Then I realized I said my thoughts aloud.