AN: I know what you are thinking. 'Another Sonic Forces story! Great. Didn't we already pass that? It's so 2017!'

Yeah. I am still kind of in the 'Sonic Forces' zone. I think it is due to the unsolved lore of the Jackal Squad and Infinite and stuff like that lol. I've been in development with writing for my next 'Forces United' story; I want it to make it a worthy story to clear up any mistakes I've made. However, while doing so, there is something that came in mind.

This would apply to any kind of Sonic story in general. What if there is at least one living member of the Jackal Squad who survived...and ran away? That is going to be the concept I'll be taking here. This will still connect to 'Forces United - A Test You Must Partake', but this one is an interesting story that can be on its own. Call it a standalone spin-off/prequel or something. And how would this lone Jackal Squad member be different to Infinite and fit in with urban society?

This is probably gonna be an extra, fun, slice-of-life project that I'm doing, so I have no clear, stable schedule of how it would go. However, hopefully I can continue working on this (while getting my arse through stories I'm supposed to wok on) since I'll be exploring deep themes in here (hopefully as well). Who knows how the mindset of a trained and childlike mercenary be able to adjust to an urban street shop?

I hope that you'll enjoy this first chapter! Just to note who our main protagonist is, his name is Obsidian, the jackal with the green bandanna and the mohawk. Zero is this version of Infinite's old name. I don't own Sonic the Hedgehog except for some of the OCs that I may make.

Enough talking. Let's start.

Chapter 1

4 months before the war…

I tried to move. I couldn't move.

In fact, being able to move in this prison was the very least thing I could really do at the moment.

As I floated in the tank, filled with something disgusting, I thought of trying to move around. However, those metal tendrils and tubes inhibited my ability to escape from it. Keeping me alive, but leaving my body feel nealy numb. Nearly. At least I could move around my tail, but it was pointless since I couldn't be able to peel any of the tubes off my arms, chest and legs.

I could have suffocated, but I was thankful that I was equipped with an oxygen mask. One that kept me breathing, fed and not digesting the water around me. I wondered when was the last time I ever spoke since it was painful when I tried to move my lips around. In fact, I wondered when was the last time I ever let anybody know I wanted to talk since I was quiet the whole time.

This felt against my will.

I looked down, seeing the burning ruby. A prototype since I was eventually ordered to be a test subject to experiment on the Phantom Ruby prototypes. This one was green - as if color-coded to the bandanna I used to wear - with ripples of pink every time I tried to shake around. I grunted, trying to stroke it, only for it to attack.

A shock ran through my body as it lashed out. The water around me was probably the thing that saved me from getting my fur blown off, though I didn't know if it was water at all. I hissed, wanting to scream out. It was already becoming painful.

Then, there were a few…voices.

I was feeling disoriented, so I couldn't hear properly. Probably just random robotic noises here and there.

And then, I could see the water being drained.

I blinked. Could this be it? Was it all over?

I find myself being able to stand. Well, sort of. The tentacles let go off me and for once, I felt relieved. However, I grown used to them that I felt that I needed them to stand up properly. My fur was already soaking wet and my legs were trembling. I nearly fell back before trying to use my tail, but the tail bone hadn't been used that much in a long time.

Lying down on the floor while waiting for the glass tank to open up, I tried to take in what was happening already. My mind felt as if it just got out of a frying pan since I was unable to sputter a word as the oxygen mask popped out.

They did it?

They successfully fused the ruby onto my chest?

I closed my eyes, getting used to seeing all the light I loved in my old life. Blinking, I could barely make two blurry figures. One was in red and the other was in black.

"Erghhhh…" I groaned, blinking many times. "Temper…? Ace?"

"He's still sluggish," said a familiar voice. This one was deep and commanding. Then, they slapped me over the face. "WAKE UP, SOLDIER! Are you really there?!"

I chuckled drunkenly as the person shook my shoulders.

"Hold on there!" warned another voice, one that was really raspy. "You might not want to do something like this. You wouldn't know if your old friend is still himself."

"Oh, hello there!" I said, trying to joke. "Guess that-that the prophedure…has work…already." I lifted a foot up. "What's next for today?"

WHAM!

I groaned, feeling my face connected to the hard, metal floor.

"You know what?" said the first voice. "That is the exact same Obsidian I know."

"You're sure about it?" asked the second voice. "His skull must have been healed over time, but don't know if that impacted his brain lobes."

Using a shaky hand, I got up, struggling to balance well. Shaking my body, I started to see properly. On the left was my boss Zero. Next to him was that same fat plumber who roped us into helping him.

Wait, now I remember.

I came from the Jackal Squad. Me, Zero, Ace, Tempest, Ryder, Paz, Phoenix and Fender…we were placed on a defense position and then…

Realizing what really happened, I dropped to one knee. My squad. My family. They were all wiped out by Shadow. Me and Zero were the ones who got out alive. What did I get myself into? Why did I agree to be the first test subject to try out to prototype?

I didn't notice until I nearly collapsed when I found my breath to be shortening and my mind racing. I felt like I wanted to shut down at this moment. Placing a hand to my forehead, it felt like it was dirty.

"Obsidian!" shouted Zero, grabbing my shoulders. "Obsidian! Stay with me. You're going to be fine. Please, breath slowly."

Hearing his voice, even though it sounded so far away, I took a few deep breaths. Things still felt so grim at the moment. My ears lowered, not wanting to go up again. I whimpered, clawing onto Zero's hands.

"Obsidian," said Zero in a warning voice. "Don't cry. Remember. We're the Jackal Squad. We're strong. Get up."

I shuddered hearing this. He sounded more harsh than the last time I got to talk with him.

"This is incredible!" said Eggman, staring at my ruby. "Just a few weeks and you've successfully fused with the ruby. And it doesn't try to fight back against you."

I bit my lip, feeling dizzy. "Yeah. I…I guess."

"How are you feeling?" asked Zero.

A whisper seemed to enter my head. Telling me to stay with it. As if…beckoning me to something. It was as if wanting to drag me down, but still want to help me. It was ominous. Like it was literally the devil if he existed and could possess people.

"My chest…kind of hurts," I winced. "Why does…things feel much lighter?"

"Must be the power inside you now," said Eggman. "You're lucky that you didn't extinguish."

Zero grinned. "I guess it's that simple, huh." He shot a glare at Eggman. "Looks like you're wrong. We're the strong ones. We are all that you need."

"Thanks for that," I grumbled, looking away. "Nothing like spending so much time without my consent on even lifting my tail up."

"Obsidian, we've talked about this," said Zero. "And you decided on your behalf to help out."

"I only did that because I WAS trying to look out for the others. And where are they now?"

Zero hesitated to answer that. For a brief moment, I thought I saw fear in his mismatched eyes.

"Well, about time you realized that," muttered Eggman.

"Hold on, Doctor. Obsidian, listen to me. Don't forget that we came a long way to get to here."

"And then for what?" I said, slowly feeling overwhelmed of what I got into. "You know, it's better being outside, then spending days inside that tank."

"Well, that's what you get when you have to do a lot of work," said Eggman, leaning towards me. "You're both mercenaries, right? Obsidian, if you're not going to go along well, then have fun trying to play with that thing. I'm the only one who can look through how you can control your ruby. Admit it, you can't handle that sort of power."

Zero rolled his eyes. "Lay it off. Obsidian is as tough as I am."

"Then, how come he's like this?"

"He's…he just needs a bit of a push, but…" Zero trailed off. He glanced at me. I narrowed my eyes, daring him to spit out the words I knew would be in his mind. "...he's just…it doesn't matter. Besides, this is gonna be a new thing for us."

I couldn't help, but sigh in relief. I was grateful that he didn't reveal it.

"This…doesn't feel right," I said, shaking my head. "I don't like this."

"But look at how much you have now," said Zero, rubbing my back. "I'm impressed! Soon, I'll be on my way and then, the world will be our playground. Imagine how much you can do with it. We can become the most powerful mercenaries in the world to be higher than the weak ones, unlimited! This will be a walk in a park for all of us!"

A walk in a park?

While he told me this many times, I didn't see the point of needing to stay strong anymore.

"I can't understand that here," I mumbled.

Eggman snorted. "Funny. You really showed a lot of potential, but I guess that you would have been like the rest of the dogs."

I shrugged, looking down. But that stupid green glow kept bothering me. The more I looked at it, the more it made me feel ill. I wanted to tear that ruby out if I could. Even though it was stuck to me. Like stuck to my mind.

I was sick of Eggman. I was sick of all the experiments. I was sick of the Phantom Ruby and its blasted prototypes. I was sick of being belittled. In fact, I was sick of FEELING belittled by others.

It was like times that I questioned myself. Once, I was happy with how things were going and later, I regretted it. I preferred going back into the desert to steal some gold or slaughter some people for self-defense instead of going crazy with an empire. What else did I got to lose at this point? My sanity for a magical space rock? Zero could have been right about the dreams of being the best mercenaries, but now I felt a wave of exhaustion and sorrow.

As I thought deeper, I saw that I didn't deserve the ruby. I never had. I wanted to go home.

The realization hit me with the force of how Shadow kicked me to the tree.

Of course!

Why did it take me so long until now to realize it?

I missed going out and having a simple life. Having friends, freedom and gold. Getting to run around without worrying on which side I needed to be on. Sure, mercenary work had its highs and lows when you got into competition, but joining a villain empire felt like it was cheating. Sacrificing a lot wasn't going to be worth it in the end since you would end up with nothing. I didn't really want to live a life like this.

I found myself chuckling as I wondered how dumb I was.

"Eggman tilted his head. "Something funny?"

"No," I responded. "I'm just happy."

"Well, I'm sure that you'll be happy once we get started on training. We'll need you to test out your powers despite it being stable."

"Is there any other prototypes that are built on the same level as mine?" I asked.

Eggman was confused. "Yes. One of them is going to be fitted for your leader."

"Good," I said flatly. "You'll still have someone as your weapon."

"And why's that?"

"Because I QUIT!"

I grabbed a nearby wrench and threw it right at Eggman's head. He yelped before tumbling backwards, groaning in pain. I could have knocked him out harder. Whatever, this was enough.

"What?" said Zero, shocked.

"I just said," I snarled. "I quit."

"You can't just quit!"

"I just did," I said, heading for the door, trying hard not to make eye contact with anyone.

Zero tried to call out to me again, but I refused to hear him. As I marched right through the hallway, I found the room the two of us stayed at for our time at the Eggman Empire. Right away, my nose guided me to what I want to get. The green bandanna was still on the desk, so I grabbed it and tied it around my head.

As I grabbed a bag, Zero caught up to me.

"You know what you need?" he barked. "A good lashing! That's what!"

"So you're gonna pull out that damn whip again?" I said. "You know that I can probably make myself numb, even without that ruby."

I opened up the locker, starting to grab several items from it. I found my personal favorite taser, stuffing it in the first pocket.

"You can run, but you can't hide," said Zero, stepping closer to me.

"What is that supposed to mean?" I asked.

"You know. You're a mercenary. We are. And this is probably what they do."

I shook my head. The situation was bad enough and I couldn't say the words properly.

"This…this isn't the kind of life I want to live in! You blew our old life!"

"Well, what did you expect?!" said Zero, lifting his hands up in the air. "You think that you can just join along for a couple of nice pickpockets? This is the hard work, Obsidian. Mercenaries have competition. We can't lose and be the underdogs. We got here so far with the best weapons close by. Why waste it?"

"I'm not gonna waste my time with a person who doesn't care about us!" I snapped. "Eggman didn't care w-when…o-our squad was taken down! You wouldn't even…k-k-know about what he does. Now, I could see why he makes me feel weak."

"Weak?" Zero laughed sarcastically. "Really funny right there, Obsidian! He's a nuisance, but once we've done our work, we won't need him anymore. Don't take him so personally since he is not above any of us."

"How else can I take it? He just said that I would have been like the rest of our squad."

Zero flinched, unable to say anything about this. However, he recovered.

"But I got you," he said. "You're the only squad member who has been there by my side. Don't throw this away. We're strong together."

"Strong for the two of us?" I questioned. "Or for you?!"

When I didn't get a reply, I whipped around to him, pointing a finger.

"You know what?" I spat. "At least he goes along with how I think the world is; there are just some people who are LIVING in a mess and those who are A mess."

Zero narrowed his eyes. "So, you're calling ME a mess? What about-?"

"What about what?!" I hissed, getting close to his face. "That I'm a mess?! I'm a mess that you need to pick up to bring me back to reality?! Say it, Zero!"

So called 'strong', he couldn't even defend himself. He could only give me a small glare, enough to tell me what he thought of me.

"Just like I thought," I said. "Guess that I'm not strong-minded like you, huh?"

I was already feeling uncomfortable and I was seconds close to shutting down. I pushed down a couple of dry meal packages, a few bottles of water, a mini camping set and a photo of the Jackal Squad into my bag. Even though it wasn't mine, I snatched a green jacket and zipped it around my torso, hiding the ruby underneath. I didn't dare to tear my eyes away from Zero before I grabbed a familiar red sword from one of the bunk beds.

"Hey!" he said. "What are you doing?"

"This isn't exactly yours," I said.

"Phoenix made those for us."

"Well, he isn't here anymore! Is he? Do you think he would want you to carry this after all you have done?!"

Zero's jaw was left opened, stunned. "What about us?"

"Well, there is something wrong with me the entire time," I said quietly, placing the red sword in my bag. "There is no 'us'. Not without you helping us."

"You're just saying that to make yourself better."

"Just…back off, Zero," I said. "Go back with Eggman and…do whatever you want and forget me, OK?"

When he didn't say anything, I saluted and then I ran out of the room. I knew that Eggman was going to awake and summon his robots, so I had to get out of there.

As I ran, I already felt tears in my eyes. Held them long enough so that no one would see them. I didn't remember the last time I let myself break down. None of the Jackal Squad ever did. We kept to ourselves, not letting our weaknesses be exposed. But now that there was no more squad, I couldn't even bury them away for longer.

I slowed down before falling onto my knees. I tried to stay up, but I felt really down. I wanted to run away, but it felt so far. My mind was racing and my heart was pounding in my chest. Soon, I felt as if all my surroundings were gone and it was just me.

Eventually, I felt myself resting my head on the ground before a sob choked out of my mouth.

Wait, was that…tears rolling down my cheeks?

It was.

I was crying. For the first time in a long time.

I curled up into a ball, sobbing miserably on the floor. There were already fingers pointing at me, calling me a 'waste of space'. My fist slammed into the floor, but it didn't do anything to snap me out of my whining. It was already too late. There was no coming back. The Jackal Squad was over and I was on my own.

There was the whisper again, telling me that it had a safe place for me. Calling for me to take it. I tried to push it away out of annoyance of it bothering me, but it suddenly felt…comfortable. I found it trusting. It felt warm. It felt as if I could finally breathe. Little did I know that the ruby's glow was already surrounding my body.

The next thing I knew, I was outside.

I blinked, looking around.

The forest met my eyes again. The palm tropical trees, the brown soil and the green grass. I felt like wanting to touch them again. It was still night time, so there were a lot of shadows I could blend in. I looked behind, seeing the small fortress behind those walls. It wouldn't be long before Eggman activated the defense robots to catch me.

I glanced down, seeing that my body had small green glitches. I was glowing myself. It was coming from the ruby. It didn't feel painful as before. Now, it was ticklish.

It felt…nice.

I sighed, taking one last look behind. Who would know if Zero would eventually be able to use the ruby and turn himself into the 'best mercenary' in the world. For some reason, I felt that he would eventually fail on the thought that he lost his entire squad. I wanted to do something to stop this, but I found myself feeling…afraid of coming back. I was never this afraid before. It made me think if I was growing weak myself.

I shook my head and squeezed the bag straps tightly as I turned away, running into the safety of the jungle.

I'm sorry, Zero.

The place I grew up in didn't feel like it was the same as ever.

Firstly, walking through the desert wasn't all that fun on your own. It was hot, stinky and sweat-provoking. Being a jackal, I would be sweating all over my fur, but I got used to the heat. At times, I felt thirsty, but water was just a luxury. Literally. For some reason, even when I was dehydrated, my body still felt cool. An unprepared wanderer could have died out there.

It must be due to the ruby attached to my chest. I didn't use it that much since I love to use my feet for walking. However, it was glowing the entire time and it felt…tingly. It was already at work the second when I felt tired. It gave me energy to walk, even through the night. Maybe having the ruby wasn't so bad. I felt bad for having it since it would be another luxury people couldn't have. Might as well make the most of it.

Secondly, it felt lonely the whole time. Usually, I always travelled with my squad. When going outside, you never do it alone. Some would say it was just business, but I started to see this more than just business. Sadly, it didn't feel like this way anymore. It felt like I was the only one sitting in the room.

This hit me harder when I arrived back at the town we grew up from. The familiar stone gates were the first thing that made me realize that I was home. I could still see the flimsy wooden towers pointing high at the sky, making me wonder when they would fall down. I was glad at first since I felt relieved to be in a familiar place. However, when the guards asked me where was the rest of the squad, it felt like it was already a ghost town.

It was nostalgia as I walked through the town. It was practically like a local shopping market as there were several camps set up as either homes for the poverty or stalls. A variety of wild animals scurried around, either trying to bargain with their customers or taking everything they could. A sea of brown, black and grey populated the area as I tried to walk through, feeling the hostility and paranoia. From the stalls, sets of food, weapons and gold were laid out for all to see.

I smirked a little, feeling glorious to be back here. However, it felt a bit…different. I didn't realize how stumped I found myself to be with traveling through here. It took me a good while to find a squad I could be with. In this society, you would be paired with those who were matched to your level. The Jackal Squad used to rule those streets since they were nearly the alphas of the pack. However, I felt as if I was the lone alpha here.

Though, nobody seemed to bother about my presence. Either they already grew weary of me - being a highly-skilled jackal - or just saw me as a face in the crowd. Well, that meant starting out with less attention to do a little pickpcoketing.

Unceremoniously, I bumped into an old, craggy fox.

"Excuse you!" he shouted.

"Oh," I said, pulling his shoulders a little to pick him up. "So sorry about that."

"Watch where you're going, you tyke!"

I did my best to not laugh out loud about the way he swung his cane around. There was already a crowd watching us, so I couldn't start a fight. As the fox turned away, I chuckled to myself that I did this on purpose, feeling the bronze horseshoe I snatched from him. Looking at it, it might be worth more than a golden nugget due to the inscriptions on it.

I smiled a little. Been a while ever since I saw a horseshoe. This would be what Paz and Phoenix make on a daily basis.

Upon thinking about them, my mind wandered back to how things used to be with my squad. Funny thing, Paz and Phoenix used to work as blacksmiths. Despite taking their work seriously, they sometimes tried to steal the metallic jewelry they made. 'They get what they make' they would say. But when they get serious with business, it would be just those two near the heart of the market in a way to try to catch in all of the customers.

As a few kids ran by me, stealing loaves of bread in their hands, this reminded me of how I used to run to the blacksmith stall to meet up with the squad. It was funny of how I used to travel when I was really young. Due to me taking my job as a newspaperman very seriously, I kept bouncing over the stalls' tents to get through the crowd easier. Broke a few bones here and there, but it was so much fun.

Sometimes, this would prompt Tempest and Ryder to try to have a race. Sibiling rivalry, I know, right? Trying to prove who was the fastest of the duo since they wanted to be tough fighters. It would be childish, but it was kind of fun to see them fight. If I got in the race, I would always be the guy who came in the middle while they bickered over who won when they took their places.

The blacksmith shop was also the perfect place for us to hide out and make our weapons. Fender always got something to bring over, so Paz and Phoenix could take care of that. Ace sometimes went over to make sure that they were the right ones while Zero called the shots of which should be the type of weapons we needed to make. Looking back, most of the weapons the two made over that anvil was basic junk, but we all had a good laugh over the use of them.

I chuckled to myself. However, remembering that made me feel that those memories were nearly gone. It felt like a curse stepping back into this town again. It used to be fun, but it felt…more serious when you were on your own. My mind thought back to how my squad was brutally killed and my argument with Zero earlier.

Thinking about it made me sick.

For some reason, I didn't feel like this was my home anymore.

I bumped into another person - this time, not on purpose - and they nearly fell back. Falling from the basket backpack they were carrying were three scrunched-up newspapers.

"Heads up!" I said to myself.

Muscle memory kicked in as I dropped the horseshoe. I managed to grab one newspaper in each arm while managing to catch the other newspaper using my right foot, leaning back to lift my right leg to balance it.

The person turned around, revealing it to be a craggy-looking maned wolf. The second he saw me, a lightbulb seemed to flicker in his yellow eyes.

"Obsidian?" he said, sounding so far away. "Is that you?"

I snapped out of my funk, breaking into a smile upon recognizing the wolf. "Mr. Ghost! My first newspaperman employer!"

I wasn't sure if he would recognize me since I wasn't really a teen anymore, but seeing my grin, my wagging tail and my circus-like pose in carrying the newspapers, it was probably enough for Mr. Ghost to see that it was really me.

"You again," he said blankly. "I thought you would still be out there creating trouble."

I shrugged. "Been getting into other kinds of trouble not made by me."

"So you finally got into that?" asked Mr. Ghost, raising an eye.

"What do you mean?"

"All I remember is that you have a tendency to create trouble," he said as he picked up the three newspapers I was holding for him. "I know that which was why I reduced the number of days you were supposed to work for me weekly."

I laughed. "If there is anything I learnt, trouble isn't something you find and make. Trouble finds you."

"So you're saying that you are taking more responsibility instead of letting other hunters try to cook you over the fire?"

Reflexively, my tail tucked itself between my legs. I didn't enjoy remembering being cooked over the fire.

"I've been learning how to take care of my own weapons lately," I said sheepishly.

"But not why it is important to not wet or rip your newspaper delivery?" remarked Mr. Ghost.

I glanced at the basket he was carrying. It was still full of newspapers. "Why are you still sending them around again? We don't need papers to tell us what is going around here."

As if on cue, there was a loud gun fire. Followed by two cigarette-drained thieves being chased by a feral hunter, forcing the crowd to briefly split up to make a path. Once they got into the deep of the crowd away from me and Mr. Ghost, the hunter jumped upwards and tackled the two thieves. There were loud screams of women. And then some splatters. And probably some body bags to be thrown into the mix.

"A lot of people want to be in touch with the ordered society to have a feel of what it can be like to live there," said Mr. Ghost nonchalantly as he picked up one newspaper from his basket and threw it at a window from the nearest house. "What are you doing back here anyway? I thought that your squad is still running the show."

I winced a little when he asked this. So far, talking to him made me forget a little about what happened to my squad. However, I didn't really want to explain what happened to them. Remembering back to them made me feel like I wanted to give up.

"They WERE running the show," I said, trying to maintain my smile. "The entire squad was…killed."

Mr. Ghost blinked. "Huh. Why am I not surprised?"

I wasn't sure if he was being sarcastic, but judging by his tone, he was a little surprised that my friends were already dead.

"Anything else?" he asked, sounding worried.

"Torture as per usual," I said in a low tone. "Minor argument with Zero. I couldn't work with him anymore since he didn't think about what would happen to us."

Mr. Ghost snorted. "Knew that would happen. That's dishonorable of him. He shouldn't have done that unless you did something wrong."

I chuckled, brushing my arm nervously. "I know. Well…maybe I did. You know; old, klutzy Obsidian is pouring down too many newspapers down the pipe, Mr. Ghost."

While I had a right to leave, it made me think if I should really leave Zero behind. What I said must be harsh as well.

Mr. Ghost seemed to sense something. "Then it doesn't look like you really did. Don't beat yourself on that if you do know what you did wrong. Just kind of wish that Zero had the responsibility of a leader. Who knows what screwed up ideas his father put in his head?"

"Zero's father tried to make sure that his son didn't go crazy with his ego," I said, remembering the many times when the older jackal sometimes came to our squad to give us a VERY firm lesson. "But I guessed that only provoked it?"

Mr. Ghost nodded in agreement. "Kid, want to talk about how your squad…fall out?"

I was already feeling uncomfortable with remembering back to the death of my squad members and my argument with Zero. Not to mention remembering back of how long I was in that testing tank with a ruby on my chest. I wasn't sure if I should tell him about the ruby on my chest, in an opened place for crime, so we weren't in a good spot to talk about it.

I shook my head, trying my best not to lower my ears.

Mr. Ghost appeared concerned. "Alright then." He thought for a while. "So now that you're back here, what are you going to do?"

It came to my mind that regardless of me wanting to get back out in the desert, I found myself having no plans to continue of being a mercenary or talking to other people around in this town. I had no idea of what else to do.

Going back into trying to achieve huge bounties on my own felt like just trading money for what I care for in the squad. Even thinking about trying to go back on the rodeo made me compare myself to Eggman and his obsession with stealing things away from others. Going to a new squad made me nervous since everyone wasn't gonna be gentle on you anymore.

"I…I don't…really know." I chuckled nervously, pulling on my mohawk a little. "The mercenary lifestyle is great, but it…it feels much harder now to find a new squad!"

"Well, all you have to do is to prove that you're strong and you'll be hitched a ride!" said Mr. Ghost simply.

I gave him a look. "That's different. That's business. I-It took me a while to be friends with my squad in the first place. At this age, they are going to expect me to be serious."

The maned wolf thought about it. He glanced around the entire market as if observing the sea of mercenaries nobody want to mess with.

"Ah, that's true," he said. "I knew that you always have a soft spot."

"I guess that is my weakness, isn't it?"

He shrugged. "It's stronger when you get attached with people. You fight for them."

"Yeah…I nearly thought of seeing if I can stay at your house," I admitted. "But…I don't think you will like it. And besides, my uncle is already dead, so…I'm living in poverty now."

"I'm sorry about your uncle."

"It's alright," I said, trying to not make it a big deal. "He…may not have given all of his attention, but at least he fed me when my parents died a few days after my birth."

I should have found myself relieved that I wasn't living with my uncle anymore. Back then, he only fed me, but he didn't show the slightest bit in being interested of taking care of me. I tried a lot of times to catch his attention, but after seeing that he never really cared, I just give up. I only managed to pull myself from this when I thought to myself that 'my parents are gone, so I shouldn't need a replacement'.

Despite this, it felt like more pieces were missing from me.

"But I…I don't know where to turn now," I said. "And…with…where Zero turned t-to, I don't think I can ever look at being a criminal in the same way ever again."

Mr. Ghost took a step back, his eyes widening. I think it was due to him always hearing me proudly calling myself a mercenary. To hear me referring myself as a 'criminal' was something new, but not many people in this town condemned themselves for being felons on the run. It was brief, but I thought I saw him looking sad to hear this, his ears lowering down a little.

Then, his face seemed to lighten up, having an idea. He leaned forwards as if wanting to tell me a secret.

"Say, kid, he said quietly. "I have a rumor I need to tell you. There's a 50/50 chance that it would turn your fortune around."

"Really?" I said, unsure how to feel about that.

"Bear with me. I heard that former members of your squad before had been joining fractions from a military army called 'G.U.N'."

That was a weird name.

"G. U. N?" I spelled. "Really?"

"Yes," agreed Mr. Ghost. "It's a questionable name. Rumors were around that the nearest car road out here in the desert is actually one of the many pathways G.U.N soldiers drive through. Some desperate mercenaries came to that road to be picked up by then if they came. Some never came back while others returned here…to explain everything. From what I heard, it sounded nice. Would beat working here."

This got my attention. I never really went to the city before. For all of my life, I lived in the wild. Going to the civilized world was something I never really had before. But hearing that one of the best ways was getting a ride from that road in the middle of the desert was something new. Why didn't me and the others heard this in the first place?

"You think so?" I asked skeptically.

"We don't belong to the world where there are cities," acknowledged Mr. Ghost. "However, those who joined the G.U.N were provided with some resources if they were out of touch. Working there is said to be an honorable deed since it includes helping other people. Maybe working with that military and being close to that city might give you a blissful life."

"How do I know that must be true?"

"Well, one guy brought his new wife and kids here for a visit and there was only one accurate guess of where he met his wife in the city." He smiled, looking as if he was pleased. "I never seen a relationship between them so healthy like this."

I blinked, dumbfounded. The way he said it sounded like he enjoyed seeing how that relationship went. Half of the people in this town took finding a soul partner as serious business and nothing else. Sure, there might be affections here and there, but the husband and wife must take their duties seriously with the husband needing to be the leader. I never really had a concept of a 'healthy relationship', but the way Mr. Ghost said it was interesting.

I took another look around the market place. Packed with so many people, but you do not know who you can trust. Everyone here was looking out for themselves. You could get robbed here despite the many flavors and spices that were admired here. It was no friendly neighborhood to be in. And as I thought about it, without a squad I could be friends with, I would have to be intimidating to get what I want.

However, I found myself not wanting to be a mercenary needing to use his reputation for his own survival. I didn't really want to continue being a criminal in my life. I was already tired of needing to be the toughest to live. I wanted to settle down a little and maybe turn to helping those in need. Maybe being able to be around much friendlier people if it was different to being in the wastelands.

If what Mr. Ghost said was true about the couple, then…the city could be open to a lot of opportunities.

The thing that would suck was getting arrested by G.U.N since my head was on many wanted posters

But it might be worth a shot since they might trust me if I could give them intel of what I learnt from Eggman.

Maybe redemption wasn't out of reach as well.

"The lone road near this city, huh?" I asked.

The maned wolf nodded.

Then it was settled.

I smiled, shaking his hand. "I owe you, Mr. Ghost. Thank you."

He sighed, smiling sadly. "It is nothing. I hope that you'll be safe. Just…" He hesitated a little. "Don't do any trouble."

"Don't worry," I reassured. "I'll treat everything with tender love and care."

"Hopefully so. Otherwise, it's nice knowing you, kid."

I chuckled a little. "I'll try to write back to you on this."

"Promise."

AN: Well, Obsidian, you got to keep that promise if you remember the ADDRESS of Mr. Ghost's house and the town without getting the mail boy slaughtered by the guards.

And as you noticed, Obsidian has a Phantom Ruby prototype! I thought: 'why the hell not and slap one on his chest'? But I reassure you, it's not going to be there for any long...

So what will happen to our jackal boi? Will he get to the road in time? What will G.U.N do to him? What is in hopes for his future? Why am I asking myself questions I already know?

Thank you for reading this chapter! If you enjoy this story, be sure to follow or favorite this story, so you can get updates about this story. If there is any feedback or constructive criticism you want to share, let me know in your review. It would be nice to hear open thoughts so that I can know what to improve.

Note that it might take long until I manage to make the next chapter. If you get bored, then you can take a look at my other works such as 'No Decision Goes Unpunished' (The Bad Guys), 'Five Nights at Freddy's - Security Breach, Shades Up' and 'The Suicide Squad - 15 Soldiers on the Shelf'.

Until next time, keep on rocking!