*Present Time

A groggy feeling crept into his body as he tried to fight back sleep. What happened? Where was he? Thinking seemed difficult as all he wanted was to just go back to sleep, but warning bells kept ringing in the corners of his mind. Finally succeeding, eyelids opened to reveal his golden spheres. The dark, unfamiliar room helped to wake him up as he jolted upright in surprise.

This wasn’t his room back at the Resistance! What happened?!

Gadget mentally freaked out as he whipped his head from side to side, though couldn’t see well because his glasses were not on. He wasn’t sure what to think, but found he wasn’t tied up or anything. At some point when he fell asleep, someone had laid him on a soft bed. 

Checking himself, everything was accounted for, except his communicator, wispon, and his tracker watch. His shoes sat on the floor by the bed and his side bag was next to him on the bed. Unzipping the pouch, he noticed everything was there except for the jewel he had found the other day. It was gone. Looking away from the bag, he saw his glasses sit neatly on the bedside table. Grabbing them, he slipped them on his face to get a better look at the room.

The room was a midnight blue with matching sheets on the bed. There was a desk and chair on one side of the room while a dresser was located by the open closet door on the other side. One closed door was on the same side as the desk and chair. The furniture was a mix of black and gray. The darker colors almost felt a bit depressing, but that wasn’t important as he had to figure out where he was.

How had he gotten here anyway?

…

Paling, the wolf suddenly remembered what happened at Metropolis. Operation Big Wave had failed. The forces had scattered and who knows how many made it out alive. Why was he alive?... During the operation, he fought Infinite, and had lost. But, instead of killing him, the jackal pushed him through some kind of portal. Did he bring him here? Why? How had Infinite known his name? No one really knew who he was. The Resistance probably barely knew his name.

That hurt…

Shaking his head, the Rookie stood from the bed and decided to walk around the place. There was only one door in the room, besides the closet door, which was open. That had to be the way out. There was no other option, so Gadget approached the door and slowly turned the knob. Opening it, however, showed a bathroom. Wait, what?

‘Is there no exit door?!’ 

The wolf mentally panicked as he backed away, suddenly tripping on one of the chair legs by the nearby desk. Groaning, pain was felt in his butt from the rough landing. A chuckle was heard right after the fall. 

Eyes widening, Gadget jumped to his feet to see Infinite leaning against the wall. Fists were raised, prepared for anything. The masked jackal only laughed again.

“Some things never change.”

“Huh?” Gadget tilted his head slightly, eyes glancing at his fists as if wondering if that was what Infinite was referring to.

The glance was not missed and he clarified, “You falling over stuff. This is not the first time you have been uncoordinated while I was around. I am surprised I have not seen you trip over your own feet though.”

That seemed to only confuse the wolf more. Had he meant Gadget falling in the city, or something else?

Thoughts quickly stopped as Infinite flashed in front of Gadget a second later. He tried to back up from the shock but bumped into the desk. A chuckle rumbled in the jackal’s throat before leaning in dangerously close.

“I wouldn’t fall again if I were you. It wouldn’t be good for either one of us if you got hurt.” The comment felt strange, and left an odd feeling in Gadget’s chest. “I will admit, I’m impressed with how much you have improved as a fighter. You were so weak, so pathetic, back then.”

...What?

“Infinite.” A voice sounded from the jackal’s wrist band. That single yellow eye stared the wolf down and didn’t budge or move away from Gadget.

He responded, “Yes Doctor?”

“I need you to come to my lab. I need to discuss something with you. Sorry I’m cutting your time with your plaything short but this is important.”

“P-plaything?!” Gadget all but shouted, face as red as his fur coat.

Ignoring the outburst, Infinite replied, “I will be there shortly.”

The connection was cut off. A heated glared was shot at the jackal but he seemed to pay no mind as he stepped away. Fingers snapped and a plate of food appeared on the desk.

“Eat. We will talk later.”

And he was gone the next moment.

———-

*Infinite 3rd person POV

Teleporting, he stood before the doctor. The human was used to his sudden entrances as he hadn’t even flinched from the appearance. Once coming on command, Infinite spoke.

“I am here Doctor. How can I assist you?”

“It seems like the Resistance has broken into the chemical plant and found the database. They found the so called ‘power source’ for the Phantom Ruby.”

“But?” Infinite questioned, knowing the man was going somewhere with this.

“They don’t realize it’s a decoy; that I have a backup power source. So, I want to plan a ‘nice surprise’ for them, to make them realize how futile their efforts really are.”

An evil grin sketched its way onto Infinite’s muzzle, though hidden beneath the mask. “Of course Doctor.”

Nodding, the man turned away from the Mobian and began to type away on his computer. “I’ll come up with a plan and fill you in once it’s more concrete.”

“Alright,” the jackal confirmed before asking, “Do you need anything else from me?”

“Not particularly, but I do have a question for you.”

“And what would that be?”

Turning to face Infinite, Eggman continued to ask, “What do you want with that Resistance member anyway? Not that I particularly care, considering he’s in that room with no way to get out, but I don’t want him causing any trouble or disrupting our plans.”

“Even if he tries to foil our plans, I won’t let him,” a dark chuckle was let out, “It’s ironic to find him, especially with the Resistance. It makes me want to crush that tiny group into a pile of dust even more than before. After all, he’s the one that motivated this desire in me for this desolate world in the first place.”

The Doctor’s eyes widened in surprise from that comment. It left the man speechless. Infinite cackled as he left the laboratory.

-------

*Sonic 3rd person POV

Operation Big Wave had been a disaster. Lives of many good soldiers were lost in the madness, and the Resistance was no closer to stopping Eggman or his army. The small group claimed some of the land back from the Doctor, but already he seemed to easily get some of it back by force. Even with Sonic out of imprisonment, it still felt like there was little hope.

The blue blur sat in front of one of the smaller computers at the fortress. He wasn’t one to normally do this, but, he felt a dread inch up his spine from the recent failure in Metropolis. The Rookie, as he knew his name to be Gadget, went missing during the Operation. While everyone thought he had to have perished during the battle, Sonic couldn’t shake the feeling it wasn’t that easy. Granted, when the two first met, he was a bit shaky, but he improved quickly and was a fast learner. It almost seemed like he’d had some fighting experience, or maybe learned self-defense growing up. 

Either way, it was a big loss to lose the Rookie. Sonic wasn’t sure if the others felt the same way, but he definitely felt that. Still, he believed that the wolf was alive out there somewhere, or he wanted to believe, but maybe he felt a sense of guilt at not protecting him. The two Mobians had not known each other long, but Sonic felt a kinship to Gadget in a sense, like they could do anything if they worked together. A lot of his friends would claim Sonic was like with others too, and maybe he was, but he still felt responsible for the loss of the Rookie.

“Sonic,” Emerald eyes looked to see a red echidna come his way. “Tails and the other Sonic broke into the Chemical Plant. It seems they’ve found the database. They’re on their way back now.”

Nodding, he stood and replied, “Alright. I’ll come back to the main room. Hopefully they found something that will help us.”

“I hope so too.” The two left the room they’d been in and walked down the hall leading to the conference room. Knuckles spoke again. “It’s not your fault.”

“What are you talking about bud?”

“With the Rookie. That wasn’t your fault or anyone else’s. We knew there was a chance of us losing friends in this war. It just doesn’t get any easier though. But, I just don’t want you to blame yourself.”

A tiny smile formed on his lips as Sonic responded, “I’ll work even harder to protect as many as possible. Thanks Knuckles.”
