SALVATION

CHAPTER ONE

Infinite hadn't remembered when he had died, he was just brutally aware that he had. His body felt frigid on the table that he was now so very aware of, and as desperately as he wanted to move, he couldn't. His senses began to fill his body once more as he struggled in a gasping breath, chest heaving with wheezes as he collected the air he'd missed inside of his lungs.

The jackal was aware of three things.

He was in inexplicable agony, there was a light being shone onto his face, and he was being stared at.

"He's awake." A feminine voice above him called into- judging by the static- a radio. Her voice sounded so familiar- and yet so new. Why couldn't he recall the name..? He pulled on the bindings keeping him down on the table, hissing as searing pain cut itself into his wrists. "Yeah, be careful there. You're gonna hurt yourself and I don't think that'll make Mr. 'Ultimate Lifeform' too happy." The woman stated. Infinite tried to focus his eyes as he relaxed his arms back down. Slowly, he became aware of the bandages covering his head, how they felt stuck and pulled on the flesh under them. It was only then that he realized his total lack of sight in what should've been his left eye. Wait... Ultimate lifeform...?

Yet again, it had sounded so very familiar, like something he should know that he just didn't. Something wasn't right. He was only becoming more petrified by the moment, his heart rate quickening and his pulse pounded into his ears like a sickening drum. As horribly as he wished to scream- cry, even- he couldn't. The sounds felt stuck in his throat.

"Who.." The jackal cleared his throat, ".. Where, are you?" God, he sounded pathetic. His voice was quiet, weak, strained. The woman didn't answer either question, letting the room fall into partial silence, save for the idle sounds of medical machinery nearby. Pain throbbed through Infinites body as he desperately attempted to stay still, trying to keep himself controlled. Was he terrified? Absolutely. Would he show that? Fuck no. He focused on the rhythmic beeps of the heart monitor that he'd been attached to, staring at the wires that connected him to it.

Footsteps made themselves known. Whoever it was, they apparently hadn't been in too much of a hurry from the sounds of it. The jackals' heart rate steadily raised as they approached, and tensing proved to be his enemy as pain shot its way through his body. A cry left his lips, albeit unwillingly. The footsteps quickened as a result.

As soon as whoever it was had entered the room, the light that'd been shone onto Infinites face had been removed. He squinted once more to take an attempt at vision, and yet again failed.

"It's about time. I thought I'd be stuck here all year." The woman complained, her tone exaggerated to prove her own point. A scoff resulted from the new arrival. "You might as well have been." The new voice replied— quiet, deep, and husky. He knew who this was, now. "... I do appreciate the patience you had in watching him for me. I know you didn't want to. Thank you, Rouge."

The bat groaned with a quiet 'whatever', her heels clicking as she exited the room. Infinite held his breath as he felt eyes over him, hands clenched into fists absently. The jackals' ears pinned back as he feared the worst now that he'd been left alone with who'd once made an attempt on his life.

"You can calm down. I didn't save you just to kill you." Shadow stated plainly, grabbing one of the various fold chairs in the room and dragging it to the tables side. "You need to breathe." When nothing changed, the hybrid sighed. "... Please." He tried once more. Infinite let out the breath he'd been holding— who knew he'd be so easy to persuade? It totally wasn't that he'd been getting dizzy.

"What... Why? I thought that you had despised me." The jackal wheezed out, his voice still strained. Shadow groaned. "I don't, and I never did," He took a pause as he finally took a seat in the chair he'd brought over. "You were only considered an enemy because of the fact you were working with Doctor Robotnik." Infinite attempted to nod in response.