When my eyes open ever so slightly, I immediately wish I never woke up. I was lied against a metal wall, as if my spine and joints didn't hurt enough. Sonic was holding me by my arms, green eyes looking deeply into mine, worried.
Gadget was behind him, even more concerned. He kept looking over Sonic's shoulder at me. There were bruises covering his neck due to Infinite's harsh grip.
My head hangs limply, falling to the side slightly. It gave me view of Silver who sat near me. He had a pained expression on his face, his hands glowed as he held them over his bleeding side. The stiches that were loosely hanging out of Silver's skin – staying in by the few wires that remained in his flesh – were being tightened and re-stitched by Silver's telekinesis.
My mind was not ready for that sight, and I winced at the gasps of pain Silver made. A hand gently touches the side of my face and makes me look away.
Sonic was looking into me again. "Don't look at that," he said. Sonic's eyes searched mine, looking for something. Then my face, my blank canvas which is has nothing on it – no emotion.
Sonic looks back at Gadget, not letting go of my face. "Do you know any first aid?" he asks, voice serious. It was strange to see Sonic like this, not taking the chance to make some sort of moral-boosting comment.
"T-the basics, yeah," Gadget stuttered, sounding disappointed in himself. I took note that his voice sounded strained, almost in pain. "I-I didn't train for becoming a medic."
"Well, it's better than nothing," Sonic stated. "See if you can help Silver, then if he can move, get help. If Silver can't... you need to go alone."
Gadget exhaled slowly; eyes wide. "O-okay, okay. I got this." He crawled over to Silver, whispering to himself. "I can do this..."
Sonic looks back at me. "You're gonna be okay," he assures. Did I look that bad? But that thought got pushed away with how much I wanted Sonic to remove his hand from my face.
Through the agony, I raise my trembling arm, hand weakly grabbing his wrist. I pulled slightly, and Sonic lowered his hand. But then he held mine. I felt a strange sense of comfort from this. I squeezed his hand, mostly because everything hurt and I needed a way to cope with it.
The way Sonic was talking made it seem like I was about to die. Was I?
"Just don't pass out again, alright?" Sonic forces a smile, trying to clear up to overly serious tension. He could sense my worry. His eyes looked sad. Why?
I won't, brother.
I try to speak as an important thought enters my mind, but nothing escapes my lips. Sonic looks at me, trying to decipher what I was trying to say. Only tiny squeaks escape my voice box, but they don't form anything close to words. I avert my gaze, looking to the ground, still trying with desperation.
"H-hey, you don't need to use your voice," Sonic said.
I look up at him, fear edging my heart. I prayed he could read my lips.
Save Shadow.
Sonic stares, becoming pale. I let go of him hand, and he does the same. He turns his head to his left, looking where I assumed, we came from. Sonic looked back at me, conflicted.
I nod at him, a gesture that he needs to go. Infinite, no, whatever that thing is won't show Shadow any mercy...
Sonic sighs as he gets up, seeming almost... guilty. "Stay safe," he says, then runs off.
But you need to.
I crush my eyes shut, trying to somehow make the pain go away. I crush my hands into fists. I wince, my right hand hurt when I scrunched it up. The hole in my palm felt like had tiny spikes or shards that dug into the rest of my hand.
I hear Gadget say something, but I couldn't focus on the words. Then he speaks directly to me. I open my eyes and glance over him.
"I'm taking Silver down, can you walk?" Gadget asks, wrapping one of Silver's arms around his neck and shoulder.
I heard a skidding sound against metal to my side. I look to my right. There was a pistol sliding towards me. Someone had kicked it in this direction. I reach over and grab it.
I unload the clip, checking how many bullets I had. There were a few left, five. I reload the clip and look at Gadget, patting my hand against the metal ground. He looked at me confused.
But then he realized what I meant. "Y-you can't stay here! You're injured!"
I held a hand to my chest, then gave a thumbs up, explaining that I'll be fine.
Gadget didn't want to put up a fight with me, and didn't respond. Silver was the one who spoke up. "If we come back and you're not... then..." He couldn't continue. I couldn't tell if it was because of blood loss, or he just felt... guilty.
I shake my head, placing a hand on the wall I lied against. I force myself up, pushing on my hand. My muscles were shaking, and it hurt to stand, but I continued to try and think about anything but pain. Somehow, this worked ever so slightly. And the pain was becoming almost bearable. I held my breath, as if it would make the hurt go away.
I give another forced thumbs up, trying to convince Gadget to get away from here as quick as possible.
Gadget looks to the ground, then finally nods. "Please, be careful." He then walks away with Silver, who encased them in a weak blue light, carrying them barely above the ground.
I look away from them, finally leaning against the metal wall with an exhale. I hold a hand to my head. Just think about anything else... Anything but pain...
I grip my handgun tighter, and the only thought that comes to mind to distract my mind happened to be the most dangerous: Fight Infinite.
My legs carry me out from cover, I look out at the open platform. And am slapped across the face with the sight before me. Shadow was on the ground not even ten meters in front of me. Blood had begun to surround his body. There were several deep cuts in his back, like nails had dug deeply into him. They had dragged through Shadow's flesh slightly, but then pulled themselves out abruptly. Blood trailed from it.
I rush to him, speed affected by my injuries. Before kneeling down beside him, I glance up. Sonic was running circles around Infinite. Dodging the cubes, cannons, and other obstacles. Sonic jumps, does flips, twists his body around to avoid everything.
I just hoped that he could keep it up.
Shadow was unmoving. His wounds were bad. I gently flip him over. I recoil at the blood that covered his entire torso. He has lost a lot of blood. Instinct makes me reach into one of my pouches, placing my handgun down so I can press a hand against the wound.
My hand grabs some gauze, and I quickly get to work, knowing that Shadow could die. I won't let what happened to Ajax happen to you. I quickly press two fingers against Shadow's neck to make sure this isn't a lost cause. Please... I think as I wait to feel a rhythm press against my fingers. Please, don't go. You haven't even learned about our relation... I haven't even gotten the chance to become friends with you.
An unbelievable wave of relief washes over me when I feel a weak pulse. With this knowledge, I quickly fold some gaze into a square, then press it against the wound in Shadow's stomach. I then wrap more gauze around it, lifting Shadow up off the ground slightly so I can tightly wrap the square against the bleeding injury. I circle another separate piece around Shadow then tie the two together where the wound is, trying to keep as much pressure on it as I can. The more pressure, the less blood that will leak.
I'm about to wrap up the deep marks on his back, but then I hear a yell of pain. I look up. Sonic was flung through the air, hit back something. He hit the ground, bouncing and rolling away. He grew nearer and nearer to the edge of the platform, and before I knew it, he fell off the side.
My eyes go wide, and I reach my arm out to him as if it would do something. My mouth called his name, not that any sound came. My gut drops, my heart thuds in my ears. No...
I cover my mouth with my extended arm in shock.
I'm going to lose both of them, I think. Sonic can't survive that fall, and Shadow might not survive his injuries.
"Up on your feet," Infinite's new, harsher, deeper voice orders. I couldn't respond. All I could do was stare at where Sonic had fallen. A knot formed in my throat and my stomach twisted. My eyes began to burn.
"I said, stand, finite." A hand harshly grabs my wrist and yanks me up. I quickly lowering my hand that was over my mouth when they made contact, and I snatched up my pistol off the ground. I made sure to hide the weapon, holding my hand slightly behind my back so it wasn't obvious.
My gaze fixates on the ground. They shift slightly, and they fall upon Infinite's shoes. The sharp, glistening points on the toes specifically. I couldn't look away from them. A rage built up behind the sense of shock of what just happened.
Why am I not the one who is dead? I wonder, thinking about all the other people who I've watched die. My squad. The squad me and Rouge had been paired up with in Metropolis. All the other soldiers who have been lost to war. Shadow is dying slowly. And now, Sonic... The hero. The person who is never supposed to die.
How could I not save any of them? Why am I the one standing?
"Too afraid to look me in the eye?" Infinite mocks. I knew that he must be raising his head higher.
They crush my wrist, but I don't react. I let out a tiny whimper, but I don't look up at him. I couldn't. I felt so tiny in his presence. Like I was nothing.
How could he kill so many people? I question. How does he have no morals? He doesn't even feel anything after murdering a group of people. Why have I been spared by him? Its torture being alive with the memories.
I crush my eyes shut, trying to channel the rage. I open them, holding my pistol up towards Infinite, his head. Right before the trigger was pulled, Infinite put his hand over the end of the gun. I pulled the trigger. Infinite stares into me, a moment of nothing passing before he crushes the gun in his hand, destroying it. He wasn't even phased.
He rips the remains of my handgun from my grasp and throws it away. After, he just stares at me. It felt like Infinite was taller, had broader shoulders. More intimidating. I tried not to avoid my gaze again, but it was hard trying to not look away. It felt like if I look away, he will know how scared I am of him.
I try and piece together a plan of what to do. Hopefully I can stall so help can come.
"I was expecting a bigger fight," Infinite says, almost sniggering. "You gave up quite easily. Especially compared to the other times we have fought."
He is mocking me. He thinks I am nothing. I am worth more than nothing.
I will prove it to him.
I try swing my arm into his head, Infinite calmly catches my fist, not removing his eye contact with me. I try to take my hand back, but his grip was like steel. Infinite was too strong.
I try and hit him in the left side of Infinite's head with my other arm that he was holding, but he kept his grasp tight, and I was just pathetically squirming against him. My arms were shaking, quivering with effort, muscles tense. But Infinite was too strong.
I kick him in the shin, he grunts. It seems to agitate him.
Infinite tightens his grip, almost bringing ourselves closer, face glaring down at me. Fear was starting to spread to my face, replacing the rage. And I knew he could see it.
"It truly is enthralling to watch you keep struggling," Infinite mocks, face closer to mine. "Please..." a desperate whisper comes from him. "Tell me, why do you keep persisting with this?" He continues, as if nothing happened.
"Somebody, help me," that same quiet voice pleads.
Infinite shakes his head, closing his eyes, like he is clearing away a thought. Then he whispers into my ear.
"What is it that you want most?"
A strange feeling floods through my arms, and the world around us changes. It goes from the metal platform to a pretty field, there was a large house to our side, I look towards it. Everything was so bright, colourful. On the front lawn were a dozen people sitting in the grass. I recognized them immediately.
Gamma Squad. My team...
"You want your friends back?"
The twins, Raven and Crow were sitting down together in the grass, smiling up at everyone. Griffen had Stryker's arm wrapped around his shoulder, Griffen smiled up at his best friend. Radar had his arms crossed, serious as always, but he had a faint smile. Nyx was having her hair ruffled up by Ash, who was smirking as earbuds played music in her ears. Rex was exchanging glances with Leviathan, who had his arms crossed. Leviathan wasn't smiling, but he did look slightly less pissed off than usual. Neon was hugging my neck, another me standing amidst the delusions. I looked surprised, almost like I didn't like being a victim to her grip, but I still had a smile. Who couldn't smile when Neon's was so filled with joy? Ajax was smirking over at me, loving my reaction to Neon's loving tackle.
In this "dream", we were all living in a home together, after the war. Still in the army, on standby to be called to action. I wanted this to come to fruition.
I notice how happy I looked. Not... how I am now. In this image, I still had the bandana around my neck.
"Or do you just want happiness?" Infinite continues to prob.
The image disappears, fading away. Then there's just me. I'm smiling. I don't know at what. Someone could have made a joke, I could be watching a sunset, or I could be rejoicing. I don't know, but I'm happy.
I want that...
How dare Infinite make me see what can never be? How is he even able to do that? How can he see my thoughts? Is there anything the Phantom Ruby can't do?
Shivers go up my spine when he whispers to me again. "It's controlling me."
I whip my head to face Infinite. His pupils were battling between white and black. I didn't know what to do.
The vision of me vanishes as Infinite struggles with himself.
Someone pulls me back, trying to tug me free from Infinite's grasp. They didn't succeed, but then I realize that wasn't their goal, they were pulling me out of the way.
Rouge comes from the sky, leg out kicking Infinite in his side. I hear a sickening crack, then he gets knocked back from the force. He let me go before behind flung away.
Infinite flies away and drags across the ground. He digs his nails into the metal, somehow slowing himself down. He slowly raised his head, narrowing his eye.
Rouge landed beside me, and the arms that held me let go. I look behind me, Amy was there. She moved and took her place on the other side of me. When my gaze was behind me, I notice Shadow's body was gone.
"Now you have to face us, Infinite," Amy threatens. I look back in front of me, she was grabbing her hammer from her back, taking a battle stance.
Infinite, got to his feet, pushing his loose mask up.
"Three pissed off women. You're going to have a very bad time," Rouge adds, handing me an assault rifle. I take it, then she grabbed a few magazines from her belt and held it out to me too. I grab them and put them in one of my empty pouches.
Infinite snickers, holding his arms to his sides.
"Try," was all he said in reply.