One week, that's how long I have until I need to get back. Earlier so that I can explain myself to the others, though Knuckles did say "I won't stop you". So perhaps I'm overthinking this. Point is, on that seventh day is when my sergeant promotion is scheduled, that is when I must be there. I don't want to miss the goal that I've had in mind for several months in the back of my head.
The sun had risen a few hours ago, I had traveled a few kilometers on foot, stopping for breaks when my legs got exceptionally shaky. My soles have started to ache slightly, yet I was happy to be out of that wheelchair.
I was maybe halfway through the city now. I needed to get a method of transportation to be able to get to my first location, there was no way I could get to Robotnik's tower on foot and be able to search other locations. I was going to find one of the military bases so that I could steal or catch a ride. I can't fly a helicopter, and explaining why I would need someone to fly me would be impossible. So, a ground vehicle may be better, though it will take far longer to travel.
The buildings have gotten shorter now, only about six stories tall at the most. The sky was a bright blue, few clouds dotted the sky. It was peaceful and had no sign of war compared to the street below. The road was crushed, some chunks of pavement upturned or reduced to rubble from explosions. The walls of buildings and homes were scorched with black, crumbling or were barely standing.
Surprisingly, nobody was on the street yet. Not that I was expecting people to move back, it was just that I had expected construction to start at some point. I hear a crunch of concrete. I whip around.
"Hey!" a voice says. It was a blue bird. He wore a strange camo bodysuit, black shirt and googles. They had an assault rifle raised at me. "Your military?" He asks after looking me up and down.
I drop my rifle, letting it dangle from my belt and raise my hands. I nod my head. The bird still seemed somewhat skeptical.
"Any ID? Just protocol."
I nod and slowly reach to my rifle. The blue bird tightens his grip on his gun. I work quickly to tug my pair of dog tags off the scope of the rifle, then I show it to the bird.
"Please state your name," he says, taking calm steps towards me.
That made me tense up. This would be what gets me in trouble, the fact that I can't answer his question. I gesture to my throat and shake my head. My accuser didn't seem to understand what I meant, but after a few seconds of silence, he seemed to understand.
"Oh, uh, I... sorry," he says. He takes my dog tags. "(Y/N), huh?" He hands them back to me. I wrap the chain back around the scope.
"I'm Lex," he clips his assault rifle to his belt. "Where are you headed? I've never seen you here before."
I reach into my pouch, grabbing my whiteboard and marker. I'm looking for a way to Robotnik's tower, I write. Lex reads this, he raises a brow.
"Robotnik? You mean Eggman?" Lex is slightly confused by what I call the mad doctor. But then his orange eyes light up. "Whelp, me and my squad is about to search the warzone around the tower anyway. You want to come?"
I nod, folding and putting away my method of communication. I give a thankful look, trying to be appreciative. Lex begins to walk in the direction I was going in, the only thing to do was follow. He leads me through a few twists and turns in the city, speaking about nonsense that I had trouble focusing on. A few times I almost stumbled and fell, but I manage to keep on my feet without him noticing. Soon Lex had brought me to his base. There were several soldiers wearing the same camo suit Lex had, they waved us towards them.
Lex introduced me and said that I wanted to get to the tower. After that, the squad had taken me to their helicopter, and the long flight had begun.
Is this the end...? Everything is so dark, I can't see. The pain has been continuing for so long, I can barely feel it anymore. This has really given me time to reflect on everything I've ever done in my life. Which was too many, all tormenting me. No, if it was, all these discussions would have disappeared if I was dead. I would have finally been brought to hell. I would see my friends. This isn't death. This is worse.
Phantom... he... it did this. Not all of it, there was things I have done that led to this outcome. That led to this throbbing pain in my chest, in my heart.
I want the pain to end. I want to be over. I'm dying slowly, painfully, aren't I?
Make it faster. Please.
The helicopter dropped us off several minutes ago. Lex had gone wandering around with the rest of his squad, helping medical examiners and scene investigators drag out more of the long since passed corpses that haven't been cleaned up. Likely because some of them were obliterated into pieces too small to pick up or they were trapped under rubble and dirt.
I look around me for a moment, bad memories coming bad of all the death this place stunk of. It still does, strangling the air. Even though the sun was out, there was still a heart squeezing aura around this battlefield, like the world itself knew what had happened here.
Taking a deep breath, I refocus my mind. My head turns to the giant Robotnik tower. I have to get up there, I think, feet moving. My eyes move back to my shoes for a moment, the tiny pebbles crunching under my weight.
"Hey!" Someone yells, I turn behind me quickly. Lex was approaching me. "Where are you headed to?" he asks.
I look to the tower, slowly pointing up to it. Lex's gaze moves up with mine.
"Woah, that's a long way," he mutters to himself. "You want someone watching your six?"
I couldn't say yes, but it wasn't wise to say no.
When I don't respond right away, Lex speaks again. "I'm guessing you want to find someone, that's why you're here in the first place. And you probably want to find who you're looking for on your own, right?" I nod to this. Lex thinks for a moment. "It's not safe to be alone, y'know, with Infinite missing, Eggman still MIA and this 'Phantom' doofus around."
Phantom's completely white irises flashed in my mind. They stared into my very soul.
"Tell you what, I'll come with you just encase anything happens, but I'll keep at a distance, deal?" Lex holds out his fist, as if it was signing some unformal contract.
I bump my hand into his. Lex smirks. "Okay then, let's head out."
Several moments of silence follow as we walk up the tower. I could tell Lex was trying to withhold conversation and small talk. He seemed like a talkative person, so it must be difficult for him. Perhaps Lex thought that I was searching for a missing friend and the possibility of them being alive after all this time was unlikely, so banter and jokes wouldn't be appropriate.
I suppose most of Lex's logic was correct.
Eventually Lex was unable to hold the tense, silent atmosphere. "You were the one who ran up this tower weren't you?" he asks. I look over at him. "I mean, you put out the sun, didn't you?"
I was unsure how this information got out. I don't remember Knuckles or anyone else talking to me about telling the public that I stopped the sun. Maybe it happened when I was asleep, I don't know. I wasn't sure if I liked the attention though.
"During the fight I heard the name '(Y/N)' being bounced around on the radio, I also saw a quick glimpse of a girl running up the tower. That was you wasn't it?"
Nod. That's the only way I could respond to this.
Lex's eyes light up. "Woah! You're like, a hero! The marines talk about you all the time! You're an inspiration to them!"
My face starts to heat up. I cursed myself for not being good at receiving compliments. I guess it was because Robotnik never credited me, always barking orders at what I need to do better. Is this a result of Robotnik's imprint on me?
"We knew you were a Marine because people say they saw a girl on the battlefield and on the tower with weaponry. Also, Sonic quickly told someone that you were 'a Marine, and a hero'."
I try to cover my face. Red spreading more across my cheeks. Sonic... he thinks I'm a hero? This made me smile so bright. I felt good about myself. Confident, satisfied. Like someone was proud of me.
"Aw, don't die on me, here!" Lex jokes, seeing my brightly coloured flesh.
I take breaths and slowly remove my hands, walking faster up the tower. We arrive to the destination within ten minutes. This meant that I my search would begin.
"I'll wait on the outer platform," Lex tells me, "we're already on the same channel, so if you're able to scream, do that."
I don't know if I'm able to scream. Lex seemed to have thought of that not long after speaking.
"Or... just go weapons free, I should hear the gunfire." Lex turns to face the sky. One of his feet tapped against the metal platform.
I twist my body to walk into the tower, the door less pit welcoming me to my worst nightmares. To help me meet the person I wanted to save.
"Good luck," Lex adds. I glance back at his strangely serious orange eyes. "I mean that."
I nod. Slowly, my feet pulled me closer to the fate that I wasn't sure I was ready for. The darkness of the lightless hallway swallows me. With a large sigh to calm my fearful heart and ease my squished gut. I walk down the large hall, forward, deeper into the tower.
My mind questioned multiple times whether or not Robotnik could be here, but I dismiss the thought each time with the fact that he would have been seen around here, or had the electricity on in this base. It was also comforting that I had a marksmen rifle.
There were no windows, the deeper I went the darker the environment got. I reach into one of my pouches, yanking out a small flashlight. I stop walking and quickly tie the flashlight to the top of my rifle's scope with a small strip of gauze. I click the button and a bright beam pierces through the darkness. I raise the gun ahead of me and keep moving.
There were countless rooms in the hall. I try to open some of them, but they were automatic, the power needed to be on in order to open. I sigh in frustration and continue down the hallway.
A subtle but sickening scent filled the air. I gag slightly as it got stronger. I tug up my bandana over my nose to try and filter out the scent of blood and flesh. I couldn't tell if the subject of these smells were dead or not, it didn't have the certain "smell" of death, which was rot. It was difficult to describe in words, but easy to tell the difference when you've been exposed to it.
The more steps I take forward, the more I wanted to vomit. A strange fear gripped at my heart. A certain dread filled the air. You know the feeling when your instinct tells you something is wrong, or going to happen? It was this, but on such a larger level. I took my rifle off lock, ready for the case that the trigger must be pulled.
I pick up my pace, transitioning into a sprint. I knew where I needed to go. All the doors are sealed so the smell couldn't come from there. The soles of my shoes clicked against the metal flooring; a strange dark substance drags on the floor. My flashlight bounced around with my moving arms. Soon, a dead end comes. It wasn't empty though.
There that thing was. The blood streaks trailed towards the large pool. There was a pure white figure, black hair, black ribcage markings. Phantom. I instantly raise my rifle, terror striking me.
Phantom didn't acknowledge the light shining on him. They kept their back to me. Phantom's hand was placed on a dark body beside them. I recognized them immediately. Infinite.
I couldn't decide if I should pull the trigger to kill my enemy or stay silent so Lex won't hear the shots and come to see Infinite dying on the floor. The Resistance will be relentless if they find the jackal in this state.
Phantom slowly turned his masked face towards me. Those horrible eyes are staring daggers into me, the bright blue glass opposite to what Infinite's used to be. Phantom slowly stands up, removing their hand from Infinite's chest. Red soaked Phantom's white glove, dripping. Phantom's movements barely exerted any effort. Too smooth. It wasn't how any Mobian's muscles would move.
Phantom didn't raise their arms in surrender, just staring blankly. I jerk my head to the side, glaring. Phantom got the message and calmly took steps toward the side of the hall, close to the wall.
Still keeping my sights on Phantom, I step towards Infinite. When I see the bleeding figure in the corner of my eye, I kneel down beside him. I place my rifle beside me, keeping the light on Phantom, as if it would keep them from leaving. Why isn't he attacking me? I question, looking over Infinite's hole for a chest. The Ruby had left a gap where it used to be, the shape of it left behind. The closer to the center of the wound you looked, the deeper the hole got. Dark crimson covered the jackal's entire torso. I couldn't tell if he was breathing. Worry crept into my soul, spreading to my face thought I tried to hide it in Phantom's presence.
I look at Infinite's face. His mask was still on, though it was barely holding together. The black glass in the left socket was cracked and most fell out. Cracks like spiderwebs snacked up all over the metal surface. Over his left eye moving to the muzzle, up over the forehead, the ear piece, another leading from the corner of the right eye to his ear. The jackal's eyes were shut.
A choked gasp escapes me.
"I kept him alive," a haunting voice states, voice flat.
I glare up at Phantom, utter hate for what they have done to my squad, the world, Infinite, everything. Phantom looks back at me, emotionless.
"This may prove to be the wrong choice in the end," Phantom looks to the floor, folding their hands behind their back. "I will never let my emotions control my decisions again."
Phantom looks back up at me, then he vanishes in a glitching mass. When Phantom did this, it made me want to throw up. When Infinite teleports, he never made me feel nauseous, so why was this? I swear I saw two other figures. But the darkness overtakes everything. Phantom is messing with my head, I think. What is that thing thinking? What is that thing planning?!
I shake Infinite's shoulders, not allowing myself to waste time being angry Phantom slipped away. He doesn't react whatsoever. I quickly move the spotlight coming from my rifle onto Infinite's body so I can see properly. I unclip all of my pouches from my belt, laying them all out around me. I grab a shot of morphine and jab it into Infinite's shoulder, my other hand fumbles to grab a roll of gauze. I realize that if Infinite wakes up, he'll be in so much pain and a small amount of painkiller won't do the trick. I repeat the same thing again with a new needle.
If he wakes up, I think, throwing the empty needle away. I'm too afraid too confirm he's dead, aren't I?
Why is that?
I shake my head and fold a thick square of gauze then press it on the bleeding wound in Infinite's chest. There is a risk of infection, but I don't have anything that could treat that, I think to myself, panicking slightly. If Infinite keeps bleeding then the stuff likely won't absorb anyway, what's the point?
I grab my canteen from my belt and lift the red stained gauze for a short moment. I unscrew the cap with one hand and my teeth and quickly pour some of the water over the wound, the best I can do for infections. I placed the open canteen beside me and put pressure back on the wound, knowing that this will be the only time I can take the gauze off for a long time. I needed the blood to clot so Infinite would stop bleeding, and that takes time and a constant press on the wound.
With one hand on the area, I grab another roll of gauze, I unwind it slightly, struggling with only one hand. I begin by placing the start of the roll over my hand on Infinite's chest then I undo the supply by wrapping it around Infinite's torso, needing to take off my hand to lift Infinite's lightened body to wrap it.
There was a decent amount of pressure on Infinite's upper body without me needing to do so, but that didn't mean it was enough. I packed more white wrappings onto the reddened one. I then wrapped it more, around Infinite's ribs, even over his shoulder to keep the gauze in place. When Infinite's torso had turned into a living mummification, I stopped, tying a knot with two ends of the wrappings over Infinite's shoulder.
My heart was racing I realize, backing away from the patient. I sag down, breathing deeply. I look at my hands, my left hand was covered with blood, not that the other wasn't. In disgust, I take them off and throw them to the side, away from the pool of blood. That was the moment I realized that I was kneeling in Infinite's red body fluids. All my pouches were too.
I quickly stand up, squeaking in disgust and horror. I rush to grab all my things and get them out of the blood, but it was too late, they were already stained red. Same with my knees, shins and shoes.
I pull down my bandana, fearfully breathing, though the gore was all that I could taste.