Chapter 1: Light of Hope

Everything was dark, and the air felt strangely heavy. There wasn't much around Infinite or as far as he could assume anyway. No windows that could encourage the slightest bit of light. There didn't even seem to be light from underneath a possible door.

I could be in the deepest depths of Null Space and wouldn't even know it, Infinite thought to himself.

He wondered if somehow, he might have ended up in Hell. He supposed it would be more blissful than living with the burden of the defeat of that blue hedgehog and his insects he called friends.

How disgusting.

It was an embarrassing defeat for Infinite to have been thwarted by the blue one. It just reminded him of… Him. So many times, did Infinite recall the black hedgehog who had killed his squad.

He made Infinite feel weak, but I made him stronger.

I would be more surprised if you knew who I was than Infinite. He was apparently a leader of a jackal squad. Some of the most feared assassins on the planet, or so he claimed. They took what they wanted and took down anyone they pleased.

I bet he grew up as a troubled youth. It wouldn't surprise me in the slightest.

Months before he ended up where he sits now, Infinite came across an overlander known as Doctor Eggman. He was a bold man in general, but seemed to catch the eye of Infinite, as did I when we came across him.

Infinite brought his jackal squad to invade the Doctors base in hopes to steal some scrap metal for an easy bounty. But the sudden attack caused Eggman to rush into battle to defend his base. During the confrontation, Infinite attacked Eggman with his blade while the Doctor used me as a quick shield. Striking me opened an illusion of what Infinite desired most: destruction and complete annihilation.

Eggman saw it too, and quickly invited him to join his army and 'new weapon'. He saw something special with this jackal.

I saw potential.

The jackal leader and his squad worked with Eggman for months, taking every order he barked at them left and right. Then the day came when the Doctors base was under attack from an unknown threat.

From what I could gather from hearing the Doctor, the intruder was known as Shadow the hedgehog. The evil man spoke quite ill of this hedgehog if it wasn't Sonic.

Infinite had tasked his squad to go after the intruder, but they were just as useless as this overlander could be at times.

I mean, he couldn't even use my power to it's fullest in the classic days. Instead he let Sonic and his odd gang of friends defeat him.

Infinite was soon asked to run out after his squad to clean up their mess. Apparently, they had lost to the intruder of the base.

I don't know much of what happened that day, but I do know when Infinite came back, he was different. His eyes were lost, and his spirit was almost destroyed. Almost…

I had reached out to the young jackal, whispering in his head to use me as his new source of power. I knew I could give him a new sense of purpose and, most importantly, make him stronger. No longer would his thoughts of being weak rattle him. I would make him a force to be reckon with.

I made him who he was.

From then on out, we became one. We were of one mind and power. We became Infinite. We were Infinite, but it did not last.

A blue hedgehog, I remember, had stood in our way at one point. Threatening to destroy us. He wanted peace and love back in his world.

How pathetic and yet… I underestimated the blue one and now Infinite sits in a jail cell because of our foolishness and cockiness.

"It felt so good to have my foes tremble at my feet." Infinite spoke out loud. "What cowards they were. If only I could have made that dark hedgehog bow to my feet. This ruby would have showed him who really was the weak one."

Infinite balled up his fist and growled hitting the floor with it.

What was the name of that jewel? What was it? Infinite had asked himself.

"The Phantom Ruby." I spoke to him.

Searing pain suddenly hit us both hard. Infinite rub his head as it throbbed, making his eyes feel like they were going to pop out of his head.

"What is this-

"Infinite." I spoke out again.

I knew he heard something echo in his mind, bouncing around in his brain. I could see it on his face.

"Infinite..."

There it is again.

"Who...?" Infinite asked once more, seeming confused. We both felt the pain start to reside once I stop speaking.

What on earth was that…? He asked himself.

Lights were suddenly bridging out across the floor where it ended to Infinite's feet.

Infinite rubbed his eyes as they adjusted to the sudden light, blinking a few times.

Looking around, he could see the lights reflecting off metal bars. His hands and feet were chained to the cold floor.

This definitely was not Null Space.

Two men dressed in uniform walk to the bars and stare the jackal down for a few moments.

"Infinite the Jackal," One of the men spoke, "You have been called by Commander Abraham."

Wait a minute... Abraham? I know that name. Infinite did too.

Tower, he was the commander of G.U.N. I've heard things about him through talks of Infinite's jackal squad. They tended to stay away from this agency as much as they could. Apparently, they had jackals taken through the Commander's orders before.

Infinite showed the men no fear within him, but I knew he was afraid of what they were going to do with him.

I feared they would take away my precious mantle.

The men grabbed Infinite by his arms, dragging him out of his cell. The Jackal let his feet be dragged across the floor. This seemed to irritate the officers and yanked him to his feet.

"Walk," One of the guards demanded, "or you'll get it."

Whatever it was.

Regardless, Infinite listened to their command and walked along with them.

The agents led Infinite down a long narrow hallway. It was bright as hell and the fact that their wall and tiles were all white didn't help in the slightest. It made the hallway look like a hallway to the death. Next thing I know, the next door they open will be a giant gold gate.

Anyway, the agent finally stopped at a door that required DNA scanning. One of the agents placed their hand on the wall's panel. It made their palms glow a bright green as the scanning light went up and down their palms.

Infinite's ears shot up when he heard a click sound from the door, where it automatically opened to the next room in this building.

"Why does he need me?" Infinite asked the agents.

They said nothing and forced Infinite into the next room. This room was large in size. It had tile floor with a red rug that laid in the middle of this office. A large desk and chair sat on the rug, with a window overlooking what looked like a city view behind the desk. The desk had some picture of a blonde girl in a frame. She had bright blue eyes and a smile that was whiter than these silly tiles.

The chair suddenly turned, showing a middle-aged man dressed in uniform. He had grey hair, but fair skin. His eyes were like Infinite's where they were multicolored. He held a stern glare at the jackal as the agents dragged him in.

"You must be Infinite."

"What's it to you?" Infinite spat out.

"You created quite a bit of destruction to the planet."

You could say that.

Abraham leaned forward on the desk, hold his hands together. "A lot of people died and were injured by you and Doctor Eggman. You tortured Sonic and attacked one of my top agents."

Infinite rolled his eyes. "Yes, yes. I think we are all aware of what I've done."

"Indeed." Abraham stood. "After Sonic and some kid defeated Eggman, one of my agents found you passed out. So, we took you into our custody. Now here we are."

"Fantastic. Now, why don't you just lock me up then?" Infinite glared at the Commander. "I'm sure you'll just love to see me rot in your prisons."

"I would," He said, "but then I remembered something."

"And that is?"

"I once knew someone who nearly destroyed a planet twice. Once for a girl he loved and another time just to find the answers to his… interesting past." Abraham gazed at the picture then back to Infinite. "Even after all that hell he caused, I gave him another chance and even offered him a job to become a G.U.N. agent. Gave him a new meaning to life."

How interesting.

"Anyway," Abraham continued, "He's my best agent now, next to his small team."

"What are you getting on?" Infinite raised an eyebrow.

"I'm offering you one last chance. Join to become a G.U.N. agent and I'll throw out every single charge against you. I'll even forget everything that happened this last few months."

Just as simple as that?

"Just as simple as that?" Infinite had asked, basically reading my mind. "Why the hell are you just giving me a second chance? I benefit nothing for you."

"You have potential and it doesn't need to be tossed anyway."

He does have potential, just not with your agency. What a fool you are to hold him back to his fullest potential.

I do wonder though. It would be a lot simpler to possibly get Infinite back to me if he wasn't locked away like a caged animal. I need my mantle…

I could feel Infinite's rage boiling inside him.

"I-'"

"Wait, child." I stopped Infinite, who shook from my voice once more.

"What…?" He spoke in his head.

"Think about this for a moment before you reject."

"W-Who are you-'"

"Never mind that!" I nearly screamed in his head, making the jackal wince in pain. I took a deep breath, lowering my voice once more. "I will explain later. Just listen. This might be your only chance to escape from prison. Think about it."

"You want me to work for these people?"

"Yes. If you gain enough trust, maybe you can runaway. Far away." If I knew this kid well enough, is that he hates taking orders from others. "Then, once you are home free… we can search for that Phantom Ruby."

"The…" Infinite touched his chest, hoping to find me there. But obviously I wasn't.

Abraham saw this and said, "We found you not holding the ruby if that's what you are asking, kid."

"Where is it?" Infinite quickly asked. "You took my power… My power!"

"Our power, child."

"It never belonged to you to begin with. That power with to your head. It corrupted you."

How cute of you to say, Commander.

"Where is it?" Infinite asked once more, nearly screaming at this point.

"I don't know. Like I said, we found you without it. It was either destroyed or lost."

Oh, I know where I am, and I'm not destroyed. What a fool.

I make my attention back to the jackal, who seemed to still be freaking out. "Relax, child. You will have my power once again."

Infinite didn't say anything, but I knew he was listening by the sound of his heart beating. He didn't have much of a choice to listen with me in his mind.

"Just trust me and you'll have my power in no time." I tried to convince him.

"Well, Infinite?" The Commander asked again. "Will you take or leave my offer?"

Infinite thought for a moment. On one hand, he could avoid being in prison, he just had to be under this old man's jurisdiction. On the other, he had me in his mind, but he knew what I promised him is what he wanted. He wanted power and freedom. I think he worried about trusting something he couldn't see. I can't say I blame him. But he lusts for power and fear.

It was what he needed.

Infinite looked back at the commander and nodded his head. "I'll take your damn offer…"

"Wise choice." He spoke as he stood. "Then, allow me to introduce you to your other boss in this agency."

The door behind Infinite suddenly opened and welcomed a black silhouette of a hedgehog figure. You could see his quills were spiked and curved outward from his head. He also looked to have blocky shoes, with the sole and heals reflecting the light letting it bounce off. One could assume they were made of pure metal.

Infinite's heart raced, and he gritted his teeth. We both knew who this was before us. This had to be Infinite's worse nightmare.

"No, not him…"

Oh, this is going to be fun.

There's the first chapter of my new story!

I thought of originally telling this story in Infinite's perspective and had actually nearly finished the chapter, but then I thought it would be a lot more fun and engaging to write this story in the Phantom Ruby's perspective. SO I rewrote the whole thing XD

I took a lot of inspiration from Spider-Man comics with Venom and Brock. I also thought a lot of Gollum from Lord of the rings if the ring actually talked to him.

I'd love to see if y'all like the story so far and want me to continue this story idea.

ANYWAY ~ Please review and give me some feedback.