yeah uh. not even gonna sugarcoat it. this one's rough.

buckle up for some hardcore angst, folks!


XII.

cataclysm (ˈkadəˌklizəm)

[noun]

a sudden, violent upheaval.


Shadow was antsy; nobody could really blame him. He just felt… stuck.

Three of their strongest fighters were down for the count—they had been, for the past few days. Sonic landed himself a minor concussion, Rouge had a broken wing and a sprained ankle, and Espio… he lost quite a bit of blood. None of them had yet to stir, sans the five or so minutes of the chameleon waking up in a delirium and calling vaguely for Vector, before he promptly passed out again. But they'd all be fine, according to Vanilla. They just needed bed rest.

In the meantime, Shadow was stuck waiting around. Knuckles and Amy were too preoccupied with the Master Emerald, itself, and all the others were either constantly on guard duty or trying to uphold communications with any other straggling rebels out in the world. Nobody trusted Shadow to go out alone again and search for more emeralds—not after last time, when he'd gotten captured.

And it was driving him up the wall. All he could focus on was the disaster of that mission. They all nearly died. And Sonic—his arm. Somehow Metal was able to hijack it. They definitely needed to figure out a way to deal with that. Maybe they could amputate it off?

But they were also running low on anesthetics, and that would definitely be very painful. Shadow still couldn't get that twisted, agonizing look on Sonic's face out of his head, when he told him to break it. And what good did that really do, anyways? Now the damned arm was just semi-functional and writhing in pain, dangling uselessly off Sonic like a parasite. They didn't even know if Eggman could still control it or not.

He took a measured sip from his watered-down, lukewarm-at-best coffee and slunk further down in his seat. He bounced his leg till his ankle ached. He stared so hard at the wall that his head began to pound.

"Shadow."

Blinking from his thoughts, he looked to the entrance of the kitchen. It was Silver, with a reserved, but still wild and excited, grin on his face. Shadow's heart leapt at the sight because surely, surely, that meant good news.

"How's the Master Emerald?" he asked, instantly. When Silver faltered slightly, the agent promptly followed up with, "Are the others awake?"

Silver shook his head. "Still crumbling to pieces and still unconscious." He took a heavy pause, trying to recover from the look of deflation that had swept over his features. "Uh, this isn't about that, though. Not entirely, anyways."

Before Shadow could ask any other questions though, the psychic was already rushing out the doorway and beckoning for him to follow. With a tired huff, he did.

They entered the primary computer room, filled wall to wall with screens and other miscellaneous technology. Other rebels were busy with their own tasks, bustling around and working at computers. The room was entirely illuminated by the white light of the various screens, and it felt almost claustrophobic in there from it all. Vector stood at the main console, wearing a lopsided smirk.

Shadow looked at the pair expectantly.

"Alright, so." Silver cleared his throat. "Take this with a tiny grain of salt, but we've been coordinating with smaller groups across the continent for the past few hours, and we heard a rumor about an emerald tracker being made somewhere in the southeast."

The ivory hedgehog beamed at him, and Vector did his best to hide his smugness behind a modest, dignified gaze.

"So you've brought me here to tell me about a rumor," Shadow said, slow and skeptical. "Of a potential object that could potentially help us, hundreds of miles south of Angel Island."

Vector chuckled, though he looked tense. "Well, when you put it like that—"

"No, this could actually be really beneficial," Silver insisted. "Look, we've got no other leads on finding the rest of the emeralds. Plus, the fact that there is a supposed emerald tracker being made somewhere that's gotten so much traction that there are rumors about it, means this must be big. Whoever's doing this could be a real asset to the team, I think. I mean, they clearly know their stuff."

Shadow raked his fingers through his mussed up quills. "Fine. Where are these people, then?"

It was Silver's turn to look uneasy. "That's our only issue. We don't know exact locations, but they're pretty far away. Which is where you come in! You're way more experienced with the Chaos Emeralds than I could ever hope to be, so we thought you'd be able to teleport us there."

"Do you have general coordinates, at least?"

An eager nod.

"Have you stopped to consider that this could be a trap?"

Vector shook his head. "Nah, we got the details from that group over in Metal City. They're cool, trust me. They hooked us up with some scrap parts, once."

With a long, drawn breath, Shadow relented. "Alright. We leave tomorrow at dawn."


Gadget was hasty in finishing his supper. He took the time to find some amiable conversation with Sally and Guntiver, because he was never one to be rude, but he only half paid attention to their rambling and small talk.

He was on a mission, tonight. He'd procrastinated long enough, but he swore to himself that he'd talk to Mi—uh, Tails, now. And now seemed as good of a time as any. A few days had passed and he and the kid were finally settling into Knothole's community. Of course, Gadget hardly saw him lately now that he was constantly down in the workshop with Mighty working on the emerald tracker. But he'd finished up his chores for the day and all that was left to do was lounge around. Guntiver was already collecting the dishes and Sally was heading back to her quarters; Bunnie had taken Ray out into the woods to gather some extra firewood.

Swallowing the hard knot in his throat, the wolf made a beeline towards the workshop, feeling sweat muster in his palms beneath his gloves. He shouldn't have been this worried, right? Surely the kid would understand.

He knocked tentatively at the door, and there was only a brief pause before Mighty hollered from the other side, "It's open!"

Gadget's stomach did a flip, and he opened the door before he could convince himself to change his mind again.

Mighty and Tails were covered in sweat and soot, hunched over a table as they fiddled with a small contraption on it. It took them a moment before they stopped their work to look up at the newcomer. The former waved with a broad smile, while the latter gave a timid nod.

His words caught in his throat for a moment, but somehow Gadget managed out, "Uh. C-Can I talk to… Tails, for a minute? Sorry."

The fox and armadillo exchanged a glance, before Mighty shrugged. "Yeah, sure."

An extremely uncomfortable pause passed over them. The rising tension in the building was already palpable and Gadget thought he'd choke on it.

Mighty wavered and cleared his throat. "Ah. I'll give you guys some privacy." He picked up all the bits of metal strewn across the counter with practiced ease, as if it all weighed no more than a feather to him, and carried them into a small side-room. The door clicked softly shut and just like that, they were alone.

Tails sighed and pulled off his goggles, leaning casually against the counter. Gadget could see the tension in his shoulders, despite it. "Everything okay?"

Gadget bit his lip and huffed out a tired, breathy thing that barely passed as a laugh. "Um. I don't even really—know where to start. I just feel like there's a lot of…" He gestured awkwardly. "Unresolved stuff going on between us."

Tails screwed his eyes shut. "I'm sorry I lied. About my name, I mean."

And—And that was it? Just like that? Gadget decided maybe it was best to hold his tongue for the time being.

"Look, I just…" When the kit opened his eyes again they looked heavy and sad and watery. "You've probably put two and two together. Sonic was my best friend, my brother, and—and when he died I couldn't take it. My real name is Miles, but he nicknamed me Tails all those years ago when we first met. And I've just been… I dunno, carrying around this guilt for months now. I felt ashamed to keep using that name, so when I met you, I just—panicked."

A smile pulled at Gadget's lips. "Don't worry about it. I forgive you."

Tails returned a melancholy smile, and rubbed the back of his neck. His gaze flickered over to the room Mighty had left to. "Cool. Uh. Did you wanna talk about something else, too?"

Right. That.

"Yeah, actually." The wolf scuffed the toe of his boot idly against the wooden floor, refusing to meet Tails' eyes. "I just need to get this off my chest, 'cause it's been kinda driving me insane, and I don't really—know who else to talk to about it."

Gadget could feel his heartbeat thudding in his ears.

"It's about Infinite. I think I—I think I knew him, before the war. He, um… We dated. We were dating for months, and then he just—disappeared all of the sudden, and then Eggman took over, and then you and I ran into Infinite the other day and I just… knew. I know it's him. He's just—something happened to him, and I don't think he remembers me. That red thing in his chest…"

He made the mistake of daring to look at Tails. The kid's entire demeanor was different. He was stiff and his eyes were red-rimmed and he looked unnervingly blank.

"… What are you saying?"

Something hot and anxious tugged at Gadget and willed him to continue. "I wanna help him. I think—I just think something happened to him. Maybe Eggman brainwashed him, I don't know. But he's—he's Zero. He'd never do something like this. I have to save him, Tails."

He was met with cold, steely blue eyes. "He's a murderer."

A pang struck Gadget's chest. "I-I—I know, and that's irredeemable. But I can't just sit around, knowing he's out there being used like a puppet, killing more innocent people. I know that's not him. He didn't even recognize me, and I wasn't the one wearing a mask!"

"Then maybe you got the wrong guy." Tails sounded bitter.

"No, it's him," Gadget said. Pleaded. "I know without a shadow of a doubt. It was his voice, and his hair, and his eyes—"

"Gadget." The wolf physically jerked at the sound of his name. Something seething hot churned beneath Tails' gaze. "I'm gonna be honest, here. I don't care if you think he was the most precious, virtuous man on the planet before. Infinite is a sadistic, ruthless tyrant that has nearly destroyed the entire fucking planet. And I will not rest until he is dead."

Something cold and hard settled in the pit of Gadget's stomach. "Tails, please, you gotta hear me out—"

"He killed him."

Ice crawled down his spine. "… What?"

Tears spewed from Tails' tear ducts. "He killed Sonic. And all I could do was just sit there and watch and cry like a fucking baby. So, no, I don't care how innocent you may think Infinite still is because you're delusional, Gadget. I watched him murder Sonic without a single goddamn ounce of mercy. He's not whatever you think he is."

Suddenly Gadget was shaking, hard and uncontrollably. He hesitantly stepped forward. Attempted to rest a placating hand on the teen's shoulder. "Tails, I didn't know, I swear. I'm so—"

Tails shoved him away and he could only stumble backwards and balk. "Shut up! You aren't my brother, so stop acting like it!"

Gadget felt paralyzed.

"My brother is already gone." The fox looked as though he were about to crumble to his knees.

Quelling any fresh tears that threatened to breach the surface, Gadget held out a trembling hand. Chaos, he fucked up. He had to fix this. He had to fix this because everything seemed to be falling apart and he couldn't lose Tails too, not over this—

A sudden, ravenous, intoxicating heat seemed to engulf the entire workshop, and their words caught in their throats as they turned to look out the window, slow and horrified. Because that heat, that energy, felt so familiar. Just as twisted and wrong as it had last time.

Outside the window everything was swallowed in a vivid, disgusting red.

The workshop exploded before either of them could move.


"What do you think will happen when she breaks?"

Amy blinked from her dozing trance and lifted her head from Knuckles' shoulder to look him in the eye.

She made a tired, grumbled noise in the back of her throat akin to a questioning hum. "Don't say that, silly, it'll be fine. We're gonna get all the Chaos Emeralds before that happens."

Knuckles stared at her, intense and nearly scared, before he broke the eye contact to look at the Master Emerald. In the dark, stuffy chamber, he'd have thought that the gem would have lit up the entire room. But instead its light seemed muted, and its once vibrant green hues seemed gray. The spider web of fissures running along its surface seethed a lethal red that was only amplified in the clusters of ruby crystal.

The Master Emerald was dying. And he couldn't do anything to stop it.

Running a mitt along his face, Knuckles let his gaze fall. "I'm not too sure about that anymore."

Amy pursed her lips. "That's just quitter talk!"

"I just feel like..." He sighed. "I feel like I've failed as a guardian."

She frowned at him. Knuckles gazed emptily at his lap, his eyes sunken with exhaustion and resignation. It made something sad twinge at her heartstrings. Where was her favorite, headstrong, boisterous echidna? The one that gave her giant bear hugs that could kill a man, the one who laughed so loud it felt like it shook the ground beneath her feet? She hated that all of that had be drowned out by this melancholy, drained husk of himself.

Amy hated that she couldn't just… make all the pain and despair go away. But—maybe she could try to alleviate the pressure, just a little bit.

Carefully, she took his hands in her own, squeezing tight and staring firmly into his eyes. "Knuckles, you are anything but a failure. You've been fighting nonstop to save the world, and I—I know things seem bleak now, but I'd say you've been doing a pretty good damn job."

"It's just—this is what I'm supposed to do," he bemoaned, and Chaos, he was practically made of steel, but Amy caught the glimmer of moisture in his gaze regardless. "My whole life, all I've done is protect the Master Emerald. But now it's falling apart right before me and all I can do is just. Sit here and watch." His lip quivered and he was shaking slightly and he just looked so—tired. "I hate it. I hate it so fucking much. I'd do anything just to stop all of this from happening."

Without thought the hedgehog carded easy, gentle fingers through his dreadlocks. Knuckles flinched minutely at the touch, but didn't object. Just leaned into it and let his eyes flutter shut.

"I know," she murmured. "I hate it too. And sometimes I feel like all this is just… pointless. Like we're only postponing the inevitable. But we have to try, don't we? That's what we do. We fight and fight till we can save the world again. Because nobody else will."

Knuckles exhaled slowly. His tremors ceased. "… Sorry, I'm just—"

"Don't apologize," Amy said. There was no room for argument. The echidna hesitantly opened his eyes to look at her again. "It's okay to be stressed, Knuckles. It's okay to be scared. It doesn't make you any less brave or strong than I know you are."

There was a heavy pause where he seemed resistant, before he finally relented and smiled, giving a small nod. He shifted to face the Master Emerald again. They continued to hold hands.

And—And maybe it was stupid, but the butterflies in her stomach wouldn't settle down and heat was rising in her face so she just—she caved. Gingerly, tentatively, Amy pressed a kiss to his cheek. She could feel him bristle instantly, and when she pulled away his muzzle was nearly as red as his fur, but there was this… stupid grin on his face, that made her stomach do a back flip.

He made to speak but she was already standing up. "Just—keep at it, okay? I know you can do it. If anybody can fix the emerald it's you. I-I'm gonna go get a glass of water."

Knuckles stood up suddenly. "Amy, wait."

She abided, and blinked expectantly at him. He licked his lips and placed a firm mitt on her shoulder, lowering his voice.

"Look," he started, and he looked a little sad again. "If I… can't fix this—"

"Knuckles."

"—No, really, I need you to listen to me." He sucked in a tight breath. "If I fail, there won't be anyone else to take over after me. I'm the last echidna around. And after all the training we've been doing… I want you to be my successor, Amy. I trust you more than anybody to protect the emeralds and this island."

… Oh.

Amy backed away, rubbing her temples. "I—uh. Okay. That's—a lot to process. I mean, I…? I have a life, I can't just abandon everything to—"

"I know, I know, it's a lot to ask of you. And I'm only twenty-two," he grinned feebly. "I'd like to hope I'll still be guardian for a long, long time. It's just—something to consider. I trust you more than anyone in the world with this stuff, Ames. And… if the time does come, I hope you'll know what to do."

She huffed with a vague smile on her lips. "Okay. Thank you for trusting me."

Knuckles looked at her fondly for a moment, before pulling her into the strongest hug she'd probably ever experienced. Amy giggled into his shoulder and he nuzzled against her neck.

"Of course, Rose."


Bunnie and Ray had only just gotten back from gathering some firewood when—well, when shit hit the fan, to be frank. The sun had set long ago, leaving them shrouded by the darkness of the night and foliage, and all had seemed serene. A typical night at Knothole.

And then there was an explosion and the darkness was suddenly breached by a burst of red light, straight up ahead.

Immediately, something cold and nauseating sliced Bunnie into two and without thinking, she dropped all the supplies they'd gathered, grabbed Ray's hand, and ran. What they found was Knothole, being consumed by an inferno as its walls crumbled down.

When they approached the front gate they were met with Sally and Guntiver. The former was half-carrying the latter, whose face was black with soot as she wheezed and coughed. He settled her on the ground and nearly turned to head back inside when his eyes landed on Bunnie and Ray.

"What the hell happened?" she exclaimed, kneeling down to squeeze Sally's shoulder in comfort. Ray was frozen in shock, barely seeming to comprehend the voracious, violent talons of the flames that raced into the air and across the village.

Guntiver wiped sweat from his forehead. "We—We don't really know. There was some explosion and—fuck, there's no time, the others are still inside. We've gotta help 'em!"

Sally rubbed her throat and rasped, "I-Infinite. It's him. I don't know what—"

"Hey, easy, don't talk," Guntiver said, as she broke into another coughing fit. "You took in a lot of smoke back there."

Bunnie's blood ran cold. Infinite. The guy that took over the entire planet in the span of a few weeks was here, in Knothole, about to murder everyone.

She turned to Ray. "O-Okay. Listen to me, hon. You're gonna go run and find Tails and Gadget's plane that's out on the beach, alright? And I need you to hide underneath it and stay put till someone comes to find you. Don't make a single sound."

Ray didn't seem to process her words, though. Just stared at Guntiver with a blank, hardened gaze. "W-W-Where's Mighty?"

The coyote frowned, looking frantically over his shoulder through the gates. "I dunno, kiddo. He was in the workshop, I think. But we'll save him, you don't need to worry, just—"

Without warning the squirrel suddenly burst forward, weaving right past all of the adults and into smoldering village. Bunnie swore under her breath and started after him, but as soon as she got through the gates he was out of sight.

"Fuck."

Guntiver quickly caught up to the cyborg, as she scanned the devastated town with a dawning look of horror on her face. He opened his mouth to say something, but then—then there was a resounded groan of wood and one of the houses collapsed in. Her house. Which Antoine was supposedly still inside of.

Bunnie nearly wanted to throw up. "Shit! Antoine!"

She discarded her worries for Ray for the moment and took off towards the crumbling building, Guntiver hot on her tail.

Looking back, to say shit had hit the fan was probably an understatement.


The first thing that registered in Tails' mind was heat, scalding and harsh, against his limp form. The second was the pain that started to trickle back in as his nerves woke up, something sharp digging into his right hip and drawing thick, hot blood. His mind stalled for a few minutes as he tried to move, but his muscles screamed at him to stay put as soon as he tried it.

Where—? What—

The third thing to register in Tails' mind was terror.

"Gadget!"

His eyes snapped open and he struggled to suck in a breath as he absorbed the scene around him. The workshop—it was in ruins, nothing more than heaps of rubble and debris, coated in vicious, snapping flames. The very walls of the building could hardly be considered to be still standing.

And—And Gadget. He was also just coming to, it seemed, a few feet away with blood dribbling down from his temple. His gaze was half-lidded as he seemed to slowly take in his surroundings. He looked like he'd pass out at any given second.

Managing to sit up, Tails casted a wary glance over his shoulder, to where the side-room of the workshop used to be. In its place was a mountain of crumbling concrete and a barely conscious Mighty, who had a massive chunk of wall pinning him to the ground.

Then, as if on cue, a voice cut though the deafening silence, more malicious than the flames that licked at the night sky or the film of red energy coating every feasible surface.

"You can't hide forever, rodents. I know you're here."

Tails forgot how to breathe.

Frantically, he scrambled for a table just behind him, turned on its side, and curled up behind it for cover. If anything so far had proved helpful in these situations, it was the element of surprise. He wanted to whisper to Gadget to hide, too, but the wolf was already trying to scramble onto his feet, clearly fixated by the newcomer.

Fuck. Memories of their argument just prior to—to whatever the hell this was—came back to the teenager like the shocking pain of biting his tongue.

Tails peaked around the corner of his cover just enough to see Infinite glide over to the destroyed workshop in a bubble of garnet light, that convulsed and writhed unsettlingly around his lithe form. If he didn't know any better, he'd say it was trying to devour the tyrant whole.

"Zero," ghosted from Gadget's lips. He cautiously took a step forward, his fingers clearly itching to reach for the Wispon he currently didn't have on him. Tails' thoughts went into overdrive, an absolute cacophony of cowardice and bravery that grated against each other like out of tune guitar strings. He clutched his temples and curled further into himself.

What was he supposed to do? Gadget was walking right into a deathtrap and this time there was nowhere to run, no guns on hand or Wispons at the ready. They were fucked, and if Tails revealed himself now to try and coerce Gadget into backing away, then neither of them stood a chance.

But what could he do now?

Infinite regarded the wolf with a scrutinizing gaze from his sickly yellow iris. "Ah, should've known you'd be here."

"You—Do you recognize me?" Gadget's voice trembled as he spoke.

The jackal wavered, then scoffed. "The mutt from the junkyard?"

And—Chaos, Gadget looked so broken at that. Tails was mad at him, yes, for ever trying to defend that murderer, but he couldn't deny the way his heart sank when Gadget nearly recoiled, as if Infinite's very words were venomous. He didn't deserve that. He didn't deserve to be in love with someone so—so horrible, so cold as Infinite. He didn't deserve to deal with that pain.

"We—" Gadget swallowed thickly. "We knew each other, before. Remember? M-My name's Gadget, and you were Zero. Are Zero."

The masked fiend landed hard on the ground, his entire body visibly brimming with rage, as he strode forward and conjured a red, translucent sword from the ruby in his chest and held it to Gadget's chin. He whimpered as the sharp edge drew a thin seam of blood on his neck.

"Do you know who you're talking to?!" the jackal roared, and the wolf shrunk just a little under his withering gaze. "I am Infinite. Don't ever call me anything else but that. My power is limitless. I could destroy you without expending a single ounce of energy, if I wanted."

The carmine male trembled. "… L-Look, I know you're confused and upset. You must've gotten your memories wiped, or something. But I know you, Zero! You would never do this! You just gotta—snap out of it, or—"

Gadget tried fruitlessly to extend out a hand, and it proved fatal. Tails had to cover his mouth to suppress a yelp from escaping him, as Infinite sent a powerful wave of red energy into Gadget's chest, and the wolf was sent flying through the air before colliding into hard concrete and falling still.

Fuck—you—you idiot.

Okay, okay, shit, he had to be okay, he had to, because he was Gadget. He was the luckiest bastard alive and he'd cheated death probably more times than he should have. Tails hugged himself harder to try and push through the nerves and shivers racking his body. He tried to quell the tears that pricked at his eyes.

Mighty groaned against the concrete that crushed him. "Ngh… You—fucker…"

"Which one of you created the Chaos Emerald tracker?" Infinite wondered, clearly unbothered by the way he just violently threw Gadget across the barely standing room. He chuckled when Mighty narrowed his eyes at him. "Don't act so surprised. Rumors spread quickly, and I've got eyes everywhere. So." His hands glowed with a bright, sickening red. "Would you mind pointing me in the direction of the person that created it? Or will I just have to kill you in their stead?"

Tails jumped out of his hiding spot without hesitation. "Wait! Don't hurt him, it was me—"

"I should've known it was the coward," he sneered. The red light expanded rapidly and Tails braced himself, but—

"H-Hey!"

All three froze and turned to the source of the voice.

Ray—fucking Ray—stood not far behind Infinite, shaking slightly but bearing an expression of fury and strength, despite his tiny frame. "Leave my friends alone!"

Tails felt sick. He broke into a run to try and reach the kid but Infinite was clearly anticipating it. The fox collided with a sudden wall of red and was thrown backwards into the table he'd been hiding behind.

Mighty stirred more beneath the slab of concrete. "H-Hey, no—don't touch him, asshole! Ray, get—agh, get out of here!"

"Children are so peculiar," Infinite mused to himself. He clenched his fist and suddenly there was a coil of crimson energy wrapping around Ray's throat and lifting him into the air. He struggled to suck in a gasp, kicking uselessly as tears brimmed in his wide, innocent blue eyes. "So… impressionable, wouldn't you say?"

As Tails struggled to regain his bearings, splinters of wood strewn around him from the table he'd landed on, Mighty groaned from where he lay. "Let him go you—bastard!"

Infinite cocked his head curiously at Ray, who at this point had tears streaming down his face as he clawed at his throat in vain. His fingers just phased right through the red noose. "Too emotional, though. It's a shame. I'd love to perhaps raise a new generation one day, one that isn't plagued by such a troublesome thing as that."

Ray looked to Mighty in mortification.

"I'm afraid this one is simply useless. Already so… dissuaded with your foolish needs for feeling and weakness. And that just cannot do."

With a disdainful look, Infinite bobbed his head slightly to the side to command the tendril of red, and with the motion, there was a loud, painful snap. Of—Of bone.

Ray's eyes became glazed and suddenly he wasn't struggling anymore.

Tails clamped a hand to his mouth and sobbed.

Fuck. Fuck fuck fuck— "Mighty," he moaned out, pathetically, as he turned to look at the armadillo. Infinite unclenched his fist and Ray fell to the ground, lifeless. "Mighty, listen, don't—"

Except Mighty wasn't there, anymore. He was, but—but his expression was completely blank, and he was shaking so hard it made Tails want to cry. Mighty stared ahead, unthinking for a moment, staring at the motionless child, his own little brother, collapsed on the ground as blood dripped down his chin, and screamed. He screamed till his vocal chords wouldn't work anymore and he screamed so hard that his strength returned, full force, and he launched the massive piece of cement pinning him down directly at Infinite.

The jackal pushed it out of the way with a mere swipe of the hand, simply standing there and watching. Mighty charged directly for him, and for a moment Tails thought he'd actually get him, but then Infinite warped behind the armadillo and tapped his head and Tails knew they were fucking goners.


Mighty didn't—he didn't—he was gonna kill him, make him beg for mercy and cry until he ran out of tears to cry. He was gonna strangle him, snap his neck even harder, so hard his head would fucking fall off his shoulders. He—he'd—

Infinite disappeared in a flash of red and something light tapped the back of his head and suddenly the world shifted. A wave of red rolled over everything in sight and it was like Mighty had been plunged underwater, everything now muted and distorted. He skidded to a halt and whipped around, but suddenly he was alone, so alone, and nobody was here to help him.

There was a strange grating noise from behind him, and when he turned again he saw a gigantic ball of transparent red bowling directly towards him, coated in lethal spikes. Mighty lunged out of the way only to land in the path of another spiky ball. He curled into his shell and bounced off of it into one of the crumbling, nearby houses.

Glass rained down as he fell through the window, slicing into his bare skin. He hissed through the stinging pain and clambered onto his feet, ready to run back outside, when—

A child giggled from behind him.

Mighty felt something cold settle in the pit of his stomach. "… Ray?"

Ray stood there, his quiet laughter bouncing discordantly against the walls of Mighty's head, flickers of red fizzling around his body like he was some glitch that wasn't supposed to exist. Because he—he wasn't, Mighty just watched him fucking die—

"So pathetic," Ray snarled, a sick smile on his face. When he lifted his head up to meet his brother's eyes, Mighty nearly threw up. His neck was still twisted, broken, and—and fuck, he shouldn't be alive, why was this happening—and his… His eyes were just so empty. "You just sat there and watched me die. And all for nothing. You have super strength, don't you? Why didn't you do anything?"

His eyes felt misty. "N-No, Ray, listen. I tried, I just—I couldn't—"

"You think you can be a real hero?" Ray laughed, jeeringly. "You can't do anything right. You let me die, because you were too scared to do anything about it."

"… No."

Ray stepped closer, jabbing an accusatory finger into Mighty's chest and startling him enough to recoil back. "All you've ever dreamt of is being a hero like that blue hedgehog or idiot fox. But you will never be like them. You're just a useless nobody. You just hide from danger and hope someone will solve all your problems for you, don't you?"

"Shut up."

Blue eyes briefly glimmered red. "You let me die! You failed! Don't you get that?!"

Scalding anger surged through Mighty and he grabbed Ray by the scruff of his neck, slamming him against the wall. "I said shut up!" His vision went red and he shook so hard it hurt and all he could find himself doing was punch Ray, over and over until his face was too mangled to recognize. He cried uncontrollably. "Shut up shut up shut UP—!"

His vision swam and he fell into darkness.


"Why?"

Infinite turned to the last one standing. Tails. The foolish child that was too weak to stop him when he captured Sonic, all those months ago. The boy genius that was never smart enough to stop him from taking over the world.

He decided to indulge him, anyways, watching him intently. The boy shifted from where he lay, amongst the rubble.

"Why do you do this?" he asked, his voice shaky and dead. "You just—you kill and you hurt and you destroy. What do you gain from this? Why?"

Infinite didn't speak. The Phantom Ruby burned against his chest, hot and passionate. It whispered to him, it's for the greater good.

The communicator in his ear fizzled to life suddenly, and the jackal paused to listen. It was Eggman.

"Infinite, I'm picking up readings of some very unstable Chaos energy further north of your current position. I know you're… preoccupied, but this is urgent. I'm ordering you to go investigate. I've already sent you the coordinates."

And that—that grated on his nerves, because when Eggman first brought him to life with the Ruby, he'd been told that this would be an equal partnership. That they would rule the world together, side by side, and yet—and yet Infinite was just his little pet, doing all of his dirty work. When were they going to play by his rules? Stop being so careful and timid and start putting in some fucking elbow grease to finally wipe out the last remnants of resistance across the planet?

Soon he'll see, the Ruby purred. All in due time.

Grating his teeth, he replied with a terse, "Copy."

He turned to leave.

"Where the hell do you think you're going?!"

Ah. The child.

"Answer me!"

You could kill him, the ruby murmured to him. He's just a useless child, no better than the squirrel. A mere blemish in our plans.

Infinite considered this, stared at Tails apathetically while his teal eyes burned bright with such an untamed fury, despair, brokenness, and he clicked his tongue. To put it simply, the boy wasn't worth his time.

Besides, he'd done what he came to do: scare this place out of ever trying to gain any sort of advantage over the empire.

"I've got important business to attend to. I've already accomplished my goal, here."

With that, he turned on his heel as the Phantom Ruby warped him away. The last thing he heard was the miserable sobbing of the boy left alone, behind him, to rot in the wreckage.


soooooooooo. uh. please don't hurt me :,) i promise it gets better. eventually,,

shadow & the gang are searching for this supposed emerald tracker, more knuxamy fluff bc they deserve happiness, and. infinite's a dick.

remember to drop a review!