WARNING: This chapter gets emotional.

POV: Narrative

A week had passed since the encounter with Infinite in the Mystic Jungle. News of a verified encounter with the mysterious menace had spread through the Resistance's ranks, causing nervousness and fear among many. Up until now, the masked jackal had been widely considered a myth, nothing more than a scary story made up by bored soldiers around a campfire. The fact that you could count the number of people who'd encountered Infinite and lived had done nothing to convince others of his existence. However, the fact that multiple high-level Resistance members, including Sonic himself, now back the jackal's existence as fact was enough to convince all but the most stalwart of deniers.

During the week since the battle, Sonic had gotten caught up on everything that had happened in the six months he'd been trapped up on the Death Egg. The sheer scale of death and destruction tore at his heart. So many people dead, all because one man wanted to rule? The blue hedgehog would shake his head, deeply saddened, whenever he pondered that thought. He would never understand how Eggman was willing to kill so many to achieve such a selfish goal.

When he'd first been shown around the Resistance HQ bunker, he'd been blown away by the size of it. Spanning almost 3 square miles without even factoring in the existence of multiple floors, the bunker was home to almost five hundred people, all of them Resistance soldiers or technicians of various types and specialties. And each and every one of them was elated to have the living, breathing blue legend amongst them.

Sonic had to admit, Silver and Knuckles had formed quite an effective military structure. He'd gotten the gist of it from Silver; the white hedgehog had found the future in a bad state, and after figuring out what caused it, he'd traveled back in time to stop it. Arriving just a few hours prior to the attack on Sunset Heights, he'd persuaded Knuckles to leave his place on Angel Island guarding the Master Emerald.

The two of them had gathered people together in the aftermath of the attack, and quickly began devising a loose, military hierarchy. Key people were recruited to provide various skills, such as training newcomers or setting up supply lines or communication routes.

They'd been lucky; the governments of the world hadn't fallen to Eggman until two weeks in, and those two weeks were well-spent gathering as many specialists and as much information as they could.

After the governments all either broke down or capitulated, the now fully-formed Resistance found itself the most organized group on the continent. Word traveled, and people came from all over to join up or in search of safety.

It had been touch-and-go for a while, but after about two months had passed, they'd started to get the hang of things. The focus shifted away from structure and order, and towards building up and utilizing a military force to be directed against the Doctor's forces.

Up until recently, however, they hadn't been able to achieve virtually any offensive victories, and the majority of defensive operations also saw an uncomfortably-high ratio of defeats over victories.

That had all changed when they'd discovered Sonic was still alive. People had begun to hope, and the raised spirits were enough to turn the tide of a number of battles. Only a week after being rescued, Sonic had personally taken part in ten victorious battles, and he'd heard of dozens more from all around the world.

The Resistance was only growing stronger by the day. Hundreds of people signed up every week, and each one brought their own unique combination of skills to the table. For every ten that signed up, nine of them claimed that Sonic's return had motivated them to stand up and fight.

Sonic had managed to - eventually - coax Red out of his shell a bit. The red hedgehog was a serious introvert, but Sonic's charismatic nature occasionally brought the shy Mobian's personality out into the open, if only for a few moments.

At the very least, he could finally hold a decent conversation with the guy. They'd talk a little whenever they came across each other, and on occasion they'd practice together in the Resistance's training room, using down-time in-between bouts to chat about current news and rumors. Red had interesting opinions about a number of topics, but was extremely sensitive to the potential to upset people with what he might say. In Sonic's mind, this was probably why Red often chose instead to not say anything.

Still, the two of them, despite their drastically different personalities, clicked like they were made to be friends. It had also been made apparent (at least to Sonic) that the two made an extraordinary team in the field; Red's sense of timing was uncanny, able to accurately land shots or dodge obstacles while being dragged along at Sonic's usual speeds, which were often either at or above that of sound itself.

Which only made Sonic more curious about the red hedgehog's past. He'd been trying to decide how to go about asking, and eventually settled on just going all in; ask directly, with only as much tact as he could naturally muster in the situation. In other words, the blue hedgehog's usual strategy.

This plan went into effect about a week after the mission in the Mystic Jungle. That morning, the two hedgehogs met up by coincidence in the bunker's mess hall. After enjoying a good breakfast and casual conversation, the two found themselves in a corner of the training room, ready to pass the time practicing and improving their skills.

POV: Kyle "Red" Rubyen

I glanced around the already-busy training room. Even though it was only nine in the morning, there were still dozens of people here pouring their hearts into training, trying to improve their skills for the battlefield. Still, as humongous as the room is, Sonic and I had plenty of space to do whatever we wanted without even coming close to any of the other trainees.

Sonic had been biting his lip for the past minute or so, like he wanted to say something. I wondered what it might be. I got my answer as I placed a target dummy on a nearby cart.

"Say, Red?" Sonic spoke up suddenly. "Just realized something; I don't know your name."

I blinked. "Huh." I hadn't realized that, either. When Sonic had asked what he should call me, I'd told him a nickname I'd had throughout my school years. I'd grown fond of it, and all of my friends had ended up calling me Red more often than my own name. "...Kyle." I eventually said, turning to face him. "My name is Kyle Rubyen."

Sonic smiled. "Nice name." He said simply. "Where'd 'Red' come from?"

I shrugged, and told him the truth. "School nickname, really. I don't even remember who came up with it, or why. Probably my fur color. Whatever the case, the name stuck. For most of my life, I've been called Red more than I have Kyle." I admitted. It felt nice to talk openly to someone I knew wouldn't judge me for anything I might say, even when I fumble my words or imply something I didn't intend to. Plus, Sonic had shown to me anything I had to say meant something to him.

Some days, I forgot he was the legendary Sonic the Hedgehog, and simply saw him as my closest friend. Really, my only friend.

"You mind if I ask you some questions? I've been curious to find out about you." Sonic stated.

I paused, confused. "'Find out about me?' What do you mean?"

"Like, where are you from? What do you like to do? Hobbies, interests, the whole shebang. I don't know anything about you, and you're my partner!" Sonic chuckled, his characteristic cheerful grin lighting up his face.

"Oh." I said simply, dumbstruck. "Uh…" I struggled to think of anything to tell him. "I… I like climbing?" I stated lamely. I cleared my throat, using the moment to gather my thoughts.

"Climbing. Cool. How'd you find out?"

"Oh. Those rock climbing walls they'd have in gym class sometimes at school." I told him. "I could never get enough of them. The grappling hook on my Wispon just makes it even more fun; I can go pretty much anywhere I want, however I want."

"Heh. Sounds like me and running." Sonic laughed.

I let out a small chuckle. "Yeah, I guess so." I agreed, seeing the comparison.

"So, where'd you grow up?" Sonic asked.

Thinking of home sobered my mood instantly. "... Sunset Heights." I told him quietly.

His eyes widened as he instantly connected the dots. "Oh. Yikes. Sorry."

"Yeah…" I trailed off, unsure what else to say. My home was gone, and everyone I knew there was dead. I'd failed them that day, by running away.

"Were you there when…?" Sonic didn't finish the question, trying to be sensitive.

"The whole time." I answered. "I… I saw… Infinite… beat you." I shivered, the monster's mere name sending shivers down my spine as I recalled the horrors I'd witnessed that day. Corporal Eddison's screams and the sight of his very skull caving in from nothing would haunt my dreams for the rest of my life.

"You saw that, huh?" Sonic winced, remembering the beat-down he'd received. "Not my proudest moment." He admitted. "What happened after I went lights out?"

"Infinite fired on us." I told him, shivering again. "I ran to the subway, and only just made it in time."

"And Tails?" Sonic asked, remembering his young fox friend. "What happened to him?"

I thought for a moment, then sadly shrugged. "All I know is, he wasn't in the subway with me. I've heard him mentioned by others since then, though, so I know he got away, somehow, but…" I shook my head. "Sorry, Sonic, I have no idea where he is."

His shoulders slumped. "Dang…" But after a moment, he shook it off. "Well, he's kicking around, somewhere, so I just have to trust him to do his thing until we meet up." He said optimistically.

I smiled slightly. There's your positive spirit. I'd noticed that about him; it just wasn't in Sonic's nature to be kept down. Didn't matter what life threw at him, he'd get right back up and grin, always looking on the bright side of things. Six months of enduring who-knows-what torture at the hands of his arch-nemesis, and barely a week later, here he stood acting like nothing even happened.

Speaking of the blue hedgehog, Sonic looked back at me. "Y'know, if I had to guess, I'd say we're almost the same age." He stated out of nowhere. "How old are you? Twenty?"

"Close." I told him. "Nineteen."

"Hey, you're only a few years younger than me!" Sonic exclaimed. "I'm twenty-three!"

I blinked as the realization struck me; the legend himself was only four years my senior. If we'd grown up in the same place, I might've met him in high school! "Woah." I said intelligently.

"Heh. Life's full of coincidences, ain't it?" Sonic said redundantly.

"Sure is." I replied eventually. "Hey, you asked me what I like doing?" I called back to the beginning of our conversation. "Helping people. Protecting them." I stated. "Always been a passion of mine."

I pointedly ignored the voice in my head telling me how badly I'd failed at that when my own city was threatened.

"Defender by nature? I think I've found a kindred spirit." Sonic wisecracked. "Lemme guess; fireman?" He pointed at my Wispon. "You seem to know what you're doing, when it comes to flames."

"Actually, no." I told him. "I joined the police force." I sighed. "I got all of two days on the job before it all came crashing down on all of us."

"... The attack?" Sonic guessed. "Oof. But, I guess you at least helped people get out of there, right? That's gotta count for something." At my wincing, he blinked. "Did… I say something wrong?"

I didn't reply. I was reliving that horrible day. Seeing my friends torn to pieces in front of my eyes all over again. Watching Sergeant Irons sacrifice his life for me, for the coward I was. Witnessing Sonic's defeat, and doing nothing to help.

I realized I hadn't told anyone my past. Nobody knew I'd been in the police force. My cracked badge sat alone in my room, a reminder of my failures, of how I'd broken the oath I'd sworn not a week before the attack. The oath that every cop swore before they went into service.

I still believed that I didn't deserve the rank I'd been given. The first opportunity to stand up for the world, and I'd betrayed my word. Broken my vow. Ripped apart every shred of integrity I'd had until then.

"Yo. Red. Come back to me." A blue hand waved in my face, bringing me back to the present. Sonic's green eyes stared at me in concern. "You went into a dark place, there. You ok?"

"... No." I eventually said. "No, I didn't help." I stared at the floor, ashamed. "I ran away."

"Well, it was a scary time." Sonic tried to cheer me up. "Everyone was out of their league. Nobody was prepared. Not even me."

I shook my head. "I still swore an oath." I told him, anger bubbling up inside me. "I promised to protect people, to defend society!" At this point, I couldn't stop myself. All the grief and regret I'd carried with me all these months was rising up to the surface, and I could no longer control what came out of me.

"I vowed to uphold the law, and to not let anyone suffer at the hands of evil." I continued, growing louder. "I swore an oath to stand up against evil, and the first chance I get, I RAN AWAY!" My fist slammed into the nearest wall. I hadn't even realized I was yelling until I'd screamed those final words.

"... I'm a failure." I whispered, tears beginning to run down my face. "A coward." I continued. "I abandoned everyone in that city. By turning my back, I betrayed them all." I stared at Sonic's shocked face. "I left them to die. Their blood is on MY hands! I'M THE REASON THEY'RE ALL DEAD!" I sobbed into the silence that followed. "... I should've died in that rotten place."

POV: Sonic the Hedgehog

I stared at my friend for the longest ten seconds of my life, completely at a loss for words. I was dumbstruck by the pain he'd been hiding deep inside of himself all this time. And this was all because he ran away one time? From Infinite?

"... Is that what you think?" I spoke softly, almost whispering. "That the world would be a better place with you gone?"

I placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. "Because that's not true!" I spoke with conviction. "Look at what you've accomplished in the Resistance! You've been crucial!" I gripped his other shoulder, and waited for him to look at me. "Red- Kyle." I used his name to make sure I had his full attention. I stared into his tear-filled eyes, desperately trying to think of how to convey his own importance to him.

"You saved my life." I told him. "Me. Sonic the Hedgehog. You saved me. You turned the battle around at New Abidon when you took down that carrier. You flew me out of the Death Egg, and dodged all of those missiles. You came up with the idea to use Eggman's own bombs against his factory. You saved over a hundred lives outside the Mystic Jungle. That was all you." I stared at him. Green eyes, the same color as mine, stared back at me.

"Red…" I continued. "You're important. You matter. You make a difference in this fight. Think of all the people we saw in that factory. All the Resistance soldiers who didn't have to risk their lives to destroy that place because you came up with a way to destroy it. Think of all the people you helped get to safety in the Mystic Jungle. Each and every one of them is alive today because of you."

The silence that followed was heavy, but I could see my words having an effect on the red hedgehog. He stared at the floor, processing everything I'd said. "I…" He tried to speak. "... But I was so scared." He whispered.

"Of Infinite?" I asked. "I don't blame you. Everyone's scared. Even me." I dropped my hand from his shoulder. "Let me tell you a little secret; bravery isn't about not being scared." I made sure to look him in the eyes as I continued. "It's about pushing on despite being afraid."

"... You're scared?" Kyle asked me in quiet disbelief. "But… you're a hero. The hero!"

"You bet I'm scared." I admitted. "I'm not a hero because the bad guys don't scare me. I'm a hero because I stand up to them, anyways. I don't let my fear control me." I gave him a smile. "Take a look around." I told him. "Everyone you see, every single person in the Resistance? Each and every one of them is a hero. That includes you, buddy." I poked him in the shoulder. "You're a hero, too. Just because you're not famous doesn't mean you're not just as much a hero as anyone else, here, including me."

That took a few moments for him to process.

"You were scared six months ago." I spoke after a few moments. "But that was then. You've gotten stronger, faster, better. This is your time to shine! And believe me, Red, you've been shining bright." I patted him on the back. "There's not a lot of people that can pull off everything you have."

"You… you mean it?" Red asked, wide-eyed.

"Keep going!" I said. "Push forward, take charge of yourself. Don't let your fear own you! Just because you're afraid doesn't mean you're not strong, that you can't fight. You are strong, and you can fight." I cracked a grin. "Trust me, Red, you can fight hard."

More silence followed as Kyle absorbed that pep talk.

"Come on." I told him. "Let's grab lunch. Something tells me neither of us really feels like practicing, right now."

My friend silently nodded, and together, we walked out of the training room, having learned far more than either of us thought we would. I'd begun to see him in a new light. Beneath that shy, cheerful exterior lay a lonely, near-broken hedgehog who'd lost everything and everyone he'd ever known, and blamed himself for it all.

The weight he'd carried was immense, and the fact that he still had a fairly cheerful demeanor to show to everyone around him, albeit one that was timidly shy, spoke volumes about his strength of character.

I'd only ever seen that kind of strength in one other person, and as far as I knew, that person was now, for whatever reason, working against us. As if he'd completely forgotten the self-proclaimed most important promise he'd ever made.

Whenever we caught up to him, Shadow the Hedgehog had a lot of explaining to do.

A bit of an early mention of the black hedgehog, but a fitting one nonetheless. Think about it; it would only make sense that all the appearances we saw in the game weren't the only times those characters showed up in the war. And as powerful combatants as they all are... well, the average Mobian doesn't stand a chance. Infinite has shown plenty of times already that he's more than willing to kill. Under his direction, the other villains probably don't hold back from such permanent actions, either.

That pain that Kyle had in him back before he joined the Resistance? That didn't go away. He just buried it deep inside of him, where it could only come up in the rare moments he's not focused on something. Sonic accidentally brought it to the surface, but managed to reassure Kyle that he's managed to do some good since this all started.

Next up, Kyle gets to prove himself on a solo mission! Will he live up to the expectations of his comrades? You know the drill; read on to find out!