Do or Die (Jackal Squad Oneshots)

Regaining What Was Lost {Former Contest Entry}

Upset footsteps echoed through the cold and unforgiving halls of an even more unforgiving prison. The footsteps originated from a large cell with a familiar figure; Infinite the Jackal. 

His mask was not present on his scarred face, but laid discarded in a dark corner. It had several scratches on the metal workings; a result of Infinite throwing it across the cell in fury. The imprisoned jackal angrily sat down on the cold metal bench and slapped his foot down onto the ground, creating an echoing thud. He leaned up against the wall frowning, then gingerly touched the new wound on the left side of his face mindlessly. 

The wound was an assortment of claw slash marks, from a fight right before his imprisonment. However, this pain was nothing compared to how he felt inside. 

There was nothing he could do other than sit, sit and wait to see if he would be executed.

He hoped he would be executed. And he hoped they would do it soon.

It's not like he was suicidal or anything...... he just had nothing left to live for.

And the worst of it was, the Phantom Ruby had messed up even his mind, and with the Ruby destroyed, he couldn't end what he saw every day. He couldn't stop seeing the Jackal Squad, and it only made him feel worse.

He had started this reign of terror to show the world what it feels like to have your loved ones snatched away by death, to try and soothe his own aching heart.

Infinite cried out in both anger and pain and a rifle cocked, providing a chilling echo. "Just shoot me." Infinite snarled, setting his claws down on the cold bench, glancing over to the sound's source. "You know you detest me."

After the deaths of the Jackal Squad, Infinite had no one left for him here... or anywhere on Mobius. His eyes, one blue and one yellow, begin to sparkle and glint with tears as he turned towards the hostile wall of his cell.

"Amara......" He began, whispering to the wall. "Why couldn't you be here for me?"

The Empire had abandoned him.

Eggman was not coming back.

The Jackal Squad would come, had they not been dead.

Even through his own mental mourning, Infinite heard another set of footsteps and sat up straight, turning away from the wall. He didn't want anyone to see him mutter over his own dead.

The guard that had cocked the rifle suddenly screamed in agony, the scream being cut off chillingly.

One second passed. Then two.

The rifle uncocked.

The footsteps continued, becoming louder as time slowly creeped by.

Infinite's cell door opened.

"Captain." A whispering voice called out, causing him to look at the figure which was......

Amara?

Infinite couldn't believe his eyes.

"Amara?!"

The rest of the Jackal Squad then appeared at the door.

Infinite gaped, words refusing to leave his mouth. "But!! You're! You're!"

Amara grabbed the scarf on his chest and tenderly kissed his lips, silencing him. "Dead? Heh, we were, till that Phantom Ruby of yours glitched out and forced our souls back into our bodies."

Suddenly and without thinking, Infinite clutched his no-longer-dead fiancee in a hug, catching her off guard.

A smile flashed across the young female's face as she buried her head in his hair.

Hunter rolled his eyes and growled a little. "Enough with the sentiment!" He snapped. "Are you a mercenary or a sap?!" 

Amara sighed before she rolled her eyes and grabbed the ragged fur on Hunter's neck, speaking in a snarling whisper.

"In case you have forgotten," She began, hushed and annoyed. "we are in a prison attempting a breakout. Keep your voice down." She then let go of his neck, causing him to drop to the floor. She then pulled out Infinite's sword and held it out to him. "Ready, Captain?"

As he took the sword from her she glitched, her hand suddenly chilled as she shuddered uncontrollably between Amara and a dead creature of illusions.

She gasped once she stopped glitching, rubbing her hand. "The Ruby could not restore us completely, time is already running out, Boss. You must be quick, reclaim this world before our time once again runs out, because as much as I hate to admit it.... We are just living illusions."

Infinite quickly took his sword from her, filled with a new sense of urgency.

"Then let's go." He snarled, leading the Jackal Squad out of the cell.

He had let this world claim them once. But he was stronger now, no longer the weak, unprepared mercenary that had stumbled into this war.

He was the Ultimate Mercenary.

And he would not let this world take his squad again.