"How do you feel, Jackal?"

Yellow and blue eyes glared daggers into the very soul of the one who dared to speak to him so casually, yet his piercing gaze was only returned with an uninterested, bored stare. To think, at one point those very same eyes could strike fear in the hearts of animals everywhere. Now, as he sat atop the doctor's examination bed at G.U.N HQ, he was nothing but a mere patient, harmless. Vulnerable. Weak.

"…Numb." He muttered, finally dropping his charade seeing that it was having no effect.

The doctor- or Residential Assistant, as he was technically called- nodded to himself as he jotted down notes onto his clipboard. "Where, specifically?"

"…Legs."

"Anywhere else?"

"No."

"Is it a strong numbness or—"

The jackal let out a frustrated growl as he slammed his fists onto the table. He tried to push himself onto his arms to make himself appear taller than he actually was, but his muscles locked up and gave out underneath him. He groaned when he fell back into a sitting position, as he then bared his fangs to try and look more intimidating.

"Gods' sake, child! I just said I felt numb! What more do you want from me, besides to play 20 questions, you insolent brat?!"

"Jackal—"

"Don't 'Jackal' me! I'm willing to bet you don't know what you're doing. You're not even a real doctor!"

The RA narrowed his eyebrows together as he wrote down, "emotionally unstable" onto his clipboard, and placed it on the counter next to him. He then turned around on his stool so he could face the jackal directly.

"Listen, Infinite. Take it from a doctor. It isn't wise to stress your body out like this. You just woke up from a coma, after all."

The jackal- Infinite- just scoffed. "What does it matter? Why did you even bring me back? I should've just died. This all would have been less painful for both of us."

You're not wrong. Was what he wanted to say, but as a doctor he had to be ethically professional, even when it came to Infinite, who was only just a patient in his care. "Well, things didn't exactly turn out that way, hm? You've come too far in your recovery to give up now. The sooner we can heal you up, the quicker I can send you on your way."

"The quicker you can send me to my prison, you mean."

"Commander Tower has already explained to you, you're not going to prison." Surprisingly.

"I may as well be." He sighed.

The doctor merely smiled at him. Infinite couldn't tell if he was mocking him or actually being sympathetic. Either way, he wished his muscles weren't failing him so he could get up and rip that condescending grin from his face. Nothing enraged him more than someone showing him pity.

"Let's just finish up here. If we don't get this over with, then the commander will not be happy with either of us."

As if Infinite could care about that right now. He was beyond caring at this point, but he was too tired and too defeated to fight back now.

"Where did you say you were feeling numb?"

"My legs."

"Anywhere else?"

"…My arms too."

"That's normal. Atrophy of the muscles is common in patients after a coma. Given your case, PT should fix that in a couple of weeks." He lightly tapped the jackal's knee with a hammer, and it gave a small jerk. "Your reflexes are as strong as ever. Quite the difference from when you were first brought in unresponsive."

Infinite silently glowered at the floor.

The next fifteen minutes were the longest in Infinite's life, and not because he had to deal with that idiot of a doctor either. The examination ended with him having to give blood, but ever since his…dealings with another doctor whom shall not be named, Infinite was wary of anyone wearing a lab coat approaching him with a huge needle. What was supposed to be a quick procedure ended up becoming a cacophony of death threats and pained shrieks as Infinite managed to strike one of the nurses with his claws. By then, three or four more soldiers had entered the scene and tackled him to the ground, and the doctor used that opportunity to force his arm out and take some of his blood. Even though he struggled with all his might against them, the moment that cold needle penetrated his skin, Infinite froze up. Memories of being pinched and probed and the Phantom Ruby prototype being inserted into his chest while he was awake came flooding back to him, and he felt himself go limp. It felt like an eternity, but seconds later the deed was done, and the doctor withdrew his needle and bandaged the wound.

"There, that wasn't so bad now, was it?" He said, almost teasingly. He heard a low growl coming from the jackal, and he laughed. "Don't worry, a lot of people are scared of needles. It's nothing to be ashamed of."

"I'm not scared, you dolt. I just find them unpleasant."

"Right, which is why you tried to fight off four 200 lb. G.U.N soldiers and scratched a nurse across her face."

"Keep talking, and I'll make you hold your tongue. Literally."

"Duly noted." The doctor saluted the soldiers as they left through the door, then went over to the nurse, who was assessing her injuries in the mirror, and whispered something discreet in her ear. She nodded, and soon she left too, but not without throwing Infinite a dirty look as she left. He snarled at her in return.

"You're done." The doctor announced, which made Infinite perk his ears up. "We'll know in a couple days your results but based on what we've seen so far, it doesn't appear that you're suffering from any negative side effects from the Phantom Ruby."

"Hmph." Infinite crossed his arms. "And what am I to do until then?"

"You…" He offered the jackal a lollipop. The candy was promptly smacked out of his hand, so he retracted it with a sigh. "You concentrate on getting some rest. Tomorrow you start PT."

That news was certainly shocking to hear. "T-Tomorrow?!"

"Yes. We need to get you in the best shape possible before your work begins. Can't keep Team Dark waiting, after all!"

Infinite sat there flabbergasted, all of a sudden feeling like the entire world was closing in on him, and there was no escape from this reality. Seeing that he wasn't going to respond, the doctor explained to him that a nurse was on her way to wheel him back to his room before stepping out of the door, leaving him to his own devices.

Escaping would be nothing short of child's play. The exit was right there, most likely guarded by two meat-headed goons with nothing better to do and about to collapse from boredom. If he was at his full strength, then he could take them on no problem. But that was where the issue lied; he couldn't even move his legs even if he wanted to. Such was the sad state to which he had been reduced to. Maybe, if he could just will himself to move, his body would listen. He gripped the edge of the table to give himself an extra boost, then lunged forward…

…and fell flat on his face. It was no use. His body just couldn't respond to his commands, no matter how hard he pushed himself. He was so…pathetic.

"So…weak…" He mumbled against the cold, tiled floor. A familiar burning sensation swelled up in his eyes, threatening to spill over, but he furiously blinked it back. It'd been so long since he let his tears flow, and yet even now, in his humiliated state, something was still holding them back. Pride…or something else?

No…determination. Infinite wasn't defeated. He may have lost the battle, but he didn't lose the war. He would come back, stronger than ever. He could still fight…

"No, wait! I can still fight!"

He could feel something dragging his broken body towards the reactor, and even though he tried to use his powers to resist, this force was stronger and continued to pull him away from the battlefield. The Doctor was there waiting for him, looking none too pleased as he clutched the original Phantom Ruby in his grasp.

"You stupid, pathetic Jackal!" He barked. "You bragged about your talents, and somehow you managed to sell me over only because I could see a bit of myself in your ambitions. But I never expected the 'ultimate mercenary' to be so…weak!"

Infinite grit his teeth. Those words stung more than the wounds on his body, but it would be nothing compared to the pain he was about to receive.

"I should've known how useless you'd be. You couldn't defeat Shadow, you let Sonic get away…I won't let another one of my plans fail because of the likes of you!" He reached a gloved hand towards the jackal's chest.

Infinite leapt away, holding his arms protectively over the ruby. "No, wait! Just give me another chance!"

"Give YOU another chance?! Ha! Does it look like I'm that generous of a human being? Now gimme that!" Without hesitation, the Doctor grabbed the Phantom Ruby and ripped it out of Infinite's chest, tearing the various ligaments, tissues, and skin that held it in place. The jackal let out a pained howl as he fell to his knees, already bleeding profusely, but the Doctor didn't seem interested or caring about that.

"Pah, if you want something done, you might as well do it yourself." He grumbled. "Better get this somewhere safe before anymore idiots sabotage my plan."

"D-Doctor…wait…" Infinite extended a weak hand towards the Doctor, but it was no use. He was apathetic to his pleading.

"No! This partnership is through, and before you ask, no, you won't be getting paid! Now get your pathetic face outta my sight! And stop getting your blood everywhere, I just had those floors professionally waxed!"

It took every bit of strength he had left, but Infinite somehow managed to crawl out of the reactor before Sonic and his friend blew it to smithereens. The next few moments were a blur to him, as he had lost a lot of blood and was slipping in and out of consciousness. He didn't know how long he crawled for, but he somehow made it to the outskirts of Sunset Heights before he finally collapsed, then everything around him went black. The last, coherent memory he had before giving into the darkness was the sound of what he thought were tiny rockets hovering in front of him, but his vision was too cloudy to see anything. When he woke up a month later, he was in a hospital bed with tubes coming out of various parts of him, his long mane that he once wore with pride had been shaved away, and he was surrounded by that greenhorn doctor and a heterochromatic, old man, who evidently turned out to be G.U.N.'s top-ranking officer.

"Infinite the Jackal." He spoke in a gruff tone. "Since you won't hear it from anyone else, allow me to be the first and only one to welcome you to G.U.N. My name is Abraham Tower, but you will refer to me as Commander Tower, or just Commander. Now that pleasantries are out of the way, let's discuss you."

He had learned from Commander Tower that a G.U.N agents had found him on the verge of death and brought him back to the hospital for treatment. Death was "too good" of a punishment for him, as he so "lovingly" put, which was why they weren't going to execute him. They weren't going to throw him in prison for life either, even if that was what they originally planned…until one particular agent objected against that punishment, claiming that would also be taking the easy way out.

His punishment, as the commander described, was going to be rehabilitation. He would spend the rest of his life serving the very people he had hurt during Eggman's takeover, as well as providing any information that could possibly lead to Eggman's capture, which he would also be assisting in. To Infinite, that sounded more like "taking the easy way out" than anything. Sure, he could play nice and try to get on everyone's good side, even if it took him the rest of his life to do so. Maybe he'd even come up with a plan for revenge in the meantime.

And then he found out he wasn't going to be working for the government. When he discovered the ones who were really going to be training him, he nearly disconnected himself off of life support in a fit of rage. He'd been under intense monitoring since, but while it didn't seem like he was going to try anything, the knowledge that he would be working with these people filled him with dread.

As he lied there on the ground of the doctor's office, waiting for the nurse to come in, see him, shake her head, and begrudgingly help him into a wheelchair, he thought about the fate that awaited him, and his resolve started to crumble. In two weeks' time, he would be cleared to go to work…with Team Dark. With Shadow the Hedgehog, the very one who had made his life a living hell and whose very thought continued to torment him. He felt sick to his stomach.

"Dammit…" He groaned, banging his fist to the floor.

The tears had finally fallen. His determination was crushed. Infinite was truly defeated.

He wanted to die.