"-Jack? What's up?-" Cyber the Canary asked her companion and boyfriend, Jack the Wolf. "That guy down there...Something familiar about him..."

"-Maybe an old Resistance buddy? I mean, not like there's a ton of THOSE running around.-" Cyber mused, *reflecting on the time Jack had spent in the Eggman War leading a special unit called Wolf 6. Most members that survived to this day weren't on good terms with him, but they were at least a possibility. Jack shook his head. "I don't know. Just a weird feeling."

"-Well, at least YOU'RE actually paying attention to our patrol, unlike a certain SOMEONE we both know.-" Cyber teased while motioning to Raccoon the Bear, who was sleeping with his beloved plush backpack, Lady Chao, by his side. Cyber gave a small, affectionate scratch behind his ear, gently, as to not wake him. Back during the Eggman War, Jack had found the young bear living wild in an island jungle, having lived his entire life up until that point without any civilized contact. Due to this, the kid had incredible strength, but lacked the ability to speak beyond growls and roars, relying on sign language Jack had taught him in order to communicate.

Jack grinned beneath his facemask as he resumed his watch. He had found Cyber under somewhat similar circumstances. A cyborg, known as an ECS Unit, who had wandered out into the snows of Ice Paradise with no memories of her past life as Sarah, Jack's deceased lover. But they had forged a new relationship with who Cyber was now, and whenever the Restoration wasn't asking them for little favors like this, they hunted down other ECS Units like Cyber to free them from Eggman's storage facilities.

Across the way, a screaming could be heard, followed by multiple energy blasts from the middle of town. "That's our cue. Let's go!" Jack shouted. "-And you said this assignment would be boring!-" Cyber said as she awoke Raccoon from his slumber and quickly signed some context to him. The bear nodded as he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and set Lady Chao down gently on the rooftop before rushing into battle alongside his comrades.


On the ground, Infinite cackled maniacally as the energy whips coming forth from his hands moved freely throughout the town's center, Left and right, people struck by the cords disappeared into pieces, seemingly disintegrated in an instant. The little girl who had offered him flowers earlier stood frozen in shock, her innocence drained by every target he struck.

And well, it would be cruel to leave her in that state, wouldn't it?

The jackal aimed his hand at her, sending one of his wicked tendrils towards the young one, before a brown blur leaped from the nearby rooftops and dove her out of the way. Infinite retracted his coil, curious. The bear soon landed, sending the girl fleeing alongside other civilians. The jackal noted the bare nature of his new opponent, lacking even shoes or gloves, his stance having a much more bestial nature to it. "Interesting. You emit a much more feral aura than most. It's a shame that I must now put you down like the animal you are!"

A burst of continuous flame to his side quickly sidetracked him, bringing his attention to a dark grey canary with cybernetic enhancements. "!" She said to him in a language resembling that of Egg Pawns, as she ended the barrage of flame coming from her Burst Wispon. "My my! A Badnik girl! Things truly HAVE changed since I've been gone!"

An attack from behind redirected him yet again, as a wolf in a black, white, and yellow battlesuit used his energy sword to strike at Infinite. "By the authority of the Restoration, we order you to cease at ONCE!"

"An intriguing offer, but sadly, I must PASS!" the jackal quipped as he summoned an energy sword of his own. To his surprise, the wolf was able to counter a few blows before his weapon's limited energy ran out, and a precise strike sent it flying from his hand, and into a nearby wall in its shorter, depowered state. The wolf quickly used his Void Wispon to strike again, not sucking Infinite into its void like it did with most things, but briefly winding him, and causing him to retract his hood.

"I won't ask-" the wolf started, before the realization hit him. "Oh no..."

"?" The canary asked, puzzled. The bear looked equally as confused as the wolf stammered in shock. "It's you...No, it...It can't be YOU!"

"Ah...So we HAVE met before." Infinite said as he got up. "...Of course! I remember you now! **You were the last of your squad! You looked me dead in the eye, and somehow, I felt no fear from you. Only anger, and determination. I thought this would make you a useful asset once I'd conquered the world, but now..."

"Guys, fall back." The wolf hurriedly whispered as he stepped back. Cyber followed in his suit, unsure of what was going on. "Now you've grown these attachments, these WEAKNESSES! You are no longer fueled by what you've lost!" Infinite mused as he stepped closer.

"RUN!" Jack yelled, before a quick whip by Infinite hit Raccoon, disintegrating him in an instant.

"But these weaknesses are easily dealt with."

Jack and Cyber stood in shock, staring at where Raccoon had once been. Their friend, an adopted son in many ways, had just been obliterated in the blink of an eye...But they couldn't dwell on it, as Infinite aimed his other hand towards Cyber...

*Continuity note: This story will use characters and reference stories that are not official, but I have intentionally written it so everything you need to know will be explained to you as we go. You don't NEED to read those stories, but it'd be pretty based if you did.

**This incident was mentioned in Those Who Left Us Behind.