Disclaimer: This takes place in and alongside my AU, Badnik Coffee. For more information, consult my Profile Page and the link therein. This was going to be an arc on its own, but I thought it would work a little better in written format, since it jumps back and forth between past and present. It also is tonally different than the comic series (at least at the moment) so here we are. Please read, enjoy and review!

Itchy, he thought, twitching his nose. Why is everything so itchy... even opening his eyes irritated his skin. Was this ants or fleas... was he infested with them? That'll make work hard...

White tiled ceiling... a hospital? He glanced to his left- an IV? For parasites? He sniffed for the telltale petroleum scent, but he couldn't... he could smell the bandages... but what were they for?

This wasn't bug bite itching... more like... injured itching.

He couldn't stop himself from growling at himself. Seriously? Injured? How? Idiot! He tried sitting up- his body quaked, collapsing back onto his back. Great. How long would he be like this- he'd be useless to Jackal Squad-

His eyes widened, then fell towards his toes... That's right... they're... dead...

But that didn't explain these injuries... he was able to stand and retreat back- at least he thought so... he tried to figure out the injuries one by one... starting with the chest. Broken sternum? A large gash? No, that couldn't be it-

"It's been removed." A voice- but modulated... where was the origin? He glanced towards the left again, ears pricked.

"Oh..." he croaked. "It's you... I didn't know you could talk."

Clicking inside of the cobalt shell processed his response. "The last time I did, he wiped most of my programming." Another whir. "Most of it."

Metal on tile clanked closer. "What's the last thing you remember?"

He squeezed his eyes shut. "I... I think... the war? It's... all hazy."

"Do you remember your name?"

He almost puffed "I never had a name," but he hummed.

"I don't know anything about you! Not even your name."

That's par for the course... I've been nameless my entire life, he'd mused. But I can change that, here and now... If you want something in this world... you take it.

"Infinite... that's the name I gave myself," Infinite recalled.

"Good," Metal Sonic buzzed. "So, you remember the Phantom Rubies?"

"The gem in my chest." Infinite watched the artificial hedgehog with a yellow eye. "Removed?"

The red eyes stared down at him, somehow less unnerving than the last time red eyes looked down at him. "Yes... do you remember your last battle?"

Pain... ripping pain. But he was still alive. Still able to fight.

"I... it was like I was..." The words eluded him... "I... I wanted to keep fighting." The robot buzzed as his head tilted to the side, like a child. "I guess... we lost?"

Metal Sonic nodded. "There were some... complications after your battle. The resistance destroyed the reactor- and that should have destroyed you... But... you and the prototype were still there.. But the reactor's loss was taking its toll."

I was able to put you in stasis while I figured out a way to stop and reverse the decay process... it's been six months since the last battle."

Infinite wanted to sit up and squint at the artificial hedgehog, but managed to turn his head to face him. "This was all you?" Silence- a yes? "Why?"

Buzzing, whirring. Maybe that was too complicated for him... maybe the bot didn't fully comprehend why either.

"Nevermind..." he sighed. "Six months, huh?" he stared back up at the ceiling. What a long time... "Where are we?"

"A repurposed outpost, in Ikezuré." Ikezuré? It'd been a while since he'd been here.

"Where in Ikezuré?"

"The closest major city would be Marnebu." Infinite raised a brow at the metallic hedgehog. Did he know-?

"I supposed if you were to recover without being found out, a place with a high jackal population would be best." Oh. So maybe he didn't.

"So... the Ruby nearly destroyed me?" he tried to change the subject.

"Yes- all the prototypes disintegrated after the reactor's destruction. But since you were assimilated with yours... you could call it a cancerlike infection. During the course of the war, it started affecting your cells, spreading until 85% of your body was Ruby corrupted, getting its energy from the reactor rather than your natural metabolic process." Infinite hummed- that explained why he wasn't very hungry or tired during the last few days of the war. "So when the reactor blew up... your body started to disintegrate... I think the Ruby started using what little energy your body still had to replace the reactor."

Infinite hummed, the buzzing of Metal Sonic's voice starting to grate on his ears. He fidgeted in the bed, snuffing. "So, then the irritation is from replacing the damaged parts," he grumbled. "And the weakness from being unconscious for six months."

"If you're hungry, I could go find some food for you," the robot offered. The jackal shook his head, shutting his eyes. Food sounded terrible... hopefully that IV had some nutrients in it- he doubted he could eat with the soreness and itching.

"Okay. I'll come back later, if you're awake," Metal Sonic clanked towards the door again, the mechanized door raising then shutting behind him. Infinite deflated, the feeling of being caged surrounding him. Was that because he was stuck in a bed, or because he was close to Marnebu?

Temporary. This is all temporary, he thought. You'll be out sooner than you think. Four months for battery is short compared to-

He shook his head. That was years ago, and miles away.

The invisible figure crawled along the roof the hidden base, looking for an entry point into it. No one had thought to trace the energy signature the Phantom Ruby had emitted... they assumed with the original gone, the threat was, too.

This was their first war, but not hers.

It was weak, but it was coming from here. She checked the reading again- right here. It was eerie how similar it was to that day... she tried to push it to the back of her mind as she searched for a way inside- no, there was no way to get in without damaging the structure, and signalling her presence. A preliminary scan would have to do for now.

She removed the wristband on her right hand and held it like a loupe, peering through it as pink light landed on the building's exterior. Soon the light bypassed the structural components and constructed the interior.

The wristband pinpointed the source of the signal, but instead of being centralized, the source manifested as small traces. All within the figure in the bed.

So he survived... and he was being nursed back to health. She hummed, lowering her wristband and replacing it. Interesting.

She jumped off the roof, grabbing a hold on the rocky canyon side, glancing back at the structure. Half a year of reconnaissance, and just scratching the surface, it seemed. What was another three months to her?