HIYAAAAAA AM BAAAAACK

So I finally got back to writing last night, and I'm feeling good about it! I have 5 more one-shots left, and then I'll be on a hiatus until I'm ready for next year! I'll talk more about it later on, but for now I'll say that I have a LOT planned for next year with writing, university and hopefully work as well.

Anyway I won't keep you long, so for now enjoy the chapter! I know I enjoyed writing it! :)

Since that fight with the (a/t), Infinite had done nothing but train. It had been non-stop, only taking breaks to feed himself, maybe rest, the usual important breaks. On the days he didn't train, he would wreak havoc on the city, but since that day, since the day the (a/t) had defeated him, the Resistance's recruit numbers had rocketed.

The black jackal blames himself, had his guard not been lowered, had he not underestimated the (a/t), he wouldn't have lost in front of that crowd, they wouldn't think he's an easy target. On the days where he was in the city, he made sure to remind any living creature that crossed his path that he was a force to be reckoned with.

However, his mind was on other things, mainly focused on the girl. The (f/c) (a/t) had improved and Infinite took that as his cue to do the same thing. If he was going to go up against his proclaimed rival, then he was going to prepare for it just as she had.

The dummy in front of him exploded as he threw a flaming barrel at it, and the jackal stopped to catch his breath. Using the cloth the (a/t) had given him after that fight to wipe his sweat from his face, he stared at the destruction. The evil mercenary had definitely improved, and a smirk spread over his muzzle.

And then his heterochronic eyes moved to the cloth in his hand. Would this be enough to stand up against the (a/t)? She was no doubt training as hard as he was, right? If she wasn't, then their next battle was going to be over far too easily.

He let out a sigh, tucking the dirty cloth into his gloved hand. The jackal wasn't even sure why he had kept such an item, an item covered in his own blood. He told himself it was like a trophy from the battle, even if he didn't win. It was a reminder to him, to grow stronger, to win this war.

Even still, he couldn't get her off his mind. Infinite was determined to beat her next time. The cloth, whether he sees it as a trophy or a reminder, was motivation to him. He was going to use this motivation to fuel him, it was one of the only things he could focus on anymore.

"Infinite!" A voice cut through the air, causing the jackal to tense up. Doctor Eggman was calling him, and it sounded urgent.

Turning his gaze to the camera in the corner of the room, the jackal gave a nod, before making his way through the large base he and his ally Dr. Eggman had built. When he reached the main office, the jackal's eyes snapped to the screen, a blur of familiar colours zoomed across the screen.

"The Resistance is attacking!" Eggman yelled, already typing out commands for his robots, "They must have got wind that Sonic is alive, they're going to try and save him. Do something!"

Infinite nodded, "Yes sir."

Though he watched the screen a moment longer, and he felt his heart jump in his chest. The (a/t) was there, swinging through the base, destroying robots with her electric whip. His determination grew and he took off out of the room, flying through the corridors. Seeing who was now here, he was more than eager to jump into the action.

"I must show her that you do not apologise to your foes." He insists to himself.

The jackal flew through a large door, opening out into a huge cargo room. Conveyor belts and large boxes of machinery moved slowly, and the dark mercenary keep his eyes trained for anything that stood out. His ears twitched below his mask to the sound of battle across the room and he hurried over. To his disappointment he found a red echidna and silver hedgehog fighting a herd of robots, the two leaders of the Resistance.

Oh well, he needed a warmup anyway Infinite thought to himself, making his way over to the two surrounded Mobians.

"Such weaklings." Infinite chuckled, his hands glowing red. The two's attention was diverted and both glared at him.

"It's the Black Mercenary!" The silver hedgehog shouted, lifting a robot in his turquoise glow and throwing it at their enemy.

Infinite smirked to himself, shaking his head. Swinging his arm down, the robot split in half, flying past him, and creating and explosion behind him. The red echidna let out a battle cry, jumping over the robots and holding his fist up as he jumped above the jackal, poised to attack midair.

And then the area around them turned red, the echidna froze, and the hedgehog looked around in alarm. The walls around them glitched and Infinite floated up to his attacker.

"Anything you do is futile." He said, and the red glow disappeared. The echidna was thrown into the ground, not even touched by Infinite.

"Knuckles!" The silver hedgehog yelled, running over to check on his comrade. The other groaned, and Infinite chuckled in amusement. But this wasn't why he was out here. These two would fall easily to him, and he wanted a stronger opponent. Before the hedgehog could attack, Infinite had flown off, on the lookout for a real challenge.

He passed into another room, the sound of more fighting going on below him. It took a moment, but he finally spotted the (f/c) (a/t) across the room, holding her own against the large robot in front of her. He smirked to himself, taking off through the air.

The (a/t) was clearly focused on other things when infinite slammed into her, forcing the girl into the wall. A crater surrounded the two from the force, dust having been kicked up around them from the damage, and the (a/t) cried out, shaking from the force, completely taken back by the sudden attack.

"You know, you really should be prepared for anything." Infinite said, his masked face staring down at his rival, "You never know when anyone could attack."

A smirk spread over the girl's muzzle and Infinite chuckled, floating back from her. The robot stepped forward, aiming it's large machine gun-like hand at the (a/t), ready to fire, but Infinite held his hand out, the robot wrapping in a red glow, before being crushed by an unknown force. The (a/t) blinked at this, before shrugging it off and turning her attention to Infinite. There will be no distractions during this battle.

There was a moment where the two stood, waiting for the other to make a move, and then the (a/t) struck. Infinite dodged the electrifying whip, flying up and around the weapon, before lunging at her from above. The (a/t) dodged his attack, jumping out of the way and sending the whip at him again. Infinite caught the whip, feeling his hand lock around the weapon as the electricity surged through his arm, but he used this to his advantage and yanked on it, pulling the other towards him.

The (f/c) Mobian let out a yelp of surprise, managing to duck out of the way of the jackal's fist, rolling to catch her balance. She was already panting, having already been fighting beforehand, while Infinite dropped the whip and got to his feet.

"Surely you can do better than that." He taunted, and the girl's (e/c) eyes flashed.

She threw the whip at him, and Infinite went to block, holding his arm up as the wire wrapped around his wrist. But this time it didn't electrify him, instead it fell loosely at his side, and the (a/t) was running right at him, catching him off guard once again and striking the jackal in the side.

Infinite stumbled; his side cramped up in pain from the force of the hit. But before he could fall the wire wrapped around his torso, pulling him forward and to his knees. His arms were bound to his sides and the (a/t) gave a triumphant smile, walking over to her foe. The jackal watched her, taking this chance to catch his breath and thoughts. She stopped in front of him, a hand on her hip and a sassy smile on her muzzle. She really thinks she has won this battle?

"You know..." Infinite said, lowering his head to hide the gleam in his eye, "You really shouldn't underestimate your opponent."

His hands started glowing red, and then his arms, his whole body being enveloped in power before creating an explosion. A little move he had learnt from Shadow. The wire fell from his arms, possibly even disintegrated, and he floated above the (a/t). She was shielding her eyes from the blast, blocking her vision of her attacker, and Infinite struck her, pinning her back to the wall.

The plaster around them sunk further below the two, dust kicking up again as parts of the wall fell around them. The (a/t) cried out again, her arms shaking below the jackal as she tried to fight back but having let her guard down had finally lost her energy. Infinite stared down at her, finally feeling triumphant. His non-stop training had paid off.

But then he saw the cut below the (a/t)'s eye, the blood that ran down her face, and the jackal froze. The image of her standing over him, a concerned look in her eyes as she held out the cloth to him, apologised for hurting the enemy flashed through his mind. He felt his legs grow weak as he tried to shake the memory away. No, he couldn't get distracted now, he couldn't let her go.

And then he looked into her eyes again, and she stared back at him, such an intense gaze it made him stumble back. The (a/t) tilted her head at him and he growled to himself, turning away and pulling the cloth from his glove. He held it out to her, keeping his gaze to the floor.

"Paying an eye for an eye." He said, and the (a/t) took the cloth from him, before touching her cheek and hissing at the pain. The jackal was about to take off, having felt done with the fight, but before he could leave he felt her hand wrap around his arm.

"Wait..." She mumbled, and his ears perked below the mask, "Why are you helping me...? I thought I was the enemy?"

The jackal hesitated, not wanting to open up to his rival. But her eyes seemed so trusting, and he had been pondering over it for so long. His walls felt weak standing here, he felt... Weak.

"Because you did it for me." Infinite said, turning his gaze to face her and crossing his arms, intent on hiding his emotions, "I haven't been able to shake it from my mind. You have managed to do something no one else could do; you got into my head. And now here we are, at a standstill, and I once again can't seem to bring myself to finish the job. It's rather weak really, to think my mind has been altered by such a simple thing, and yet such a simple action has held on so strongly to me."

The (a/t) was silent, listening, processing. She was usually silent anyway, and Infinite wondered if he'd have to elaborate to get her to talk more, or at least understand. But then a small smile spread out on her muzzle, and she held the cloth up and out to him, tilting her head,

"If one act of kindness can change a person's life, then that person becomes good too." She said, closing her eyes, "Emotions do not make you weak, they make you strong and show you the right way."

Infinite blinked, taken back by her smile, her words. He was confused, his mind was reeling. Was she really getting to him this easily? The Dark Mercenary, the one who had defeated Sonic? Letting out an annoyed huff towards himself, he took the cloth back from her, rubbing it through his fingers. What should he do now? What should they do now?

"I felt a similar thing." The (a/t) then said, snapping him from his thoughts. She swung back on her heels, her arms behind her back innocently.

"What do you mean?" He asked.

"I mean... Th-The day we met. The day you could have killed me. I felt something change too, I realised I had nothing in that moment, that you could have gotten rid of me and the world would keep spinning, no one would bat an eye. It gave me something, a determination..." She scratched her cheek, turning her gaze towards the sound of clanging metal in the distance, "It made me want to prove that my life was worth living. I didn't want to just die and not be remembered... So, I joined the Resistance, and I grew stronger. That day you spared me; I saw it as an act of kindness that I wanted to pay forward. Turns out I just returned it instead."

Infinite stared at her, almost in awe. Her voice... To hear it like this, it seemed so soothing, to finally be able to attach a voice to his rival. The silent girl who had somehow risen to the top. To think he had affected her life as much as she had his...

"That's why you gave me the cloth?" He asked next, turning his eyes onto the blood-covered item.

She nodded in response, "I didn't even mean to hurt you, I was freaking out at the thought that I actually drew blood."

"That's the point of fighting your enemy."

"But you don't have to be the enemy."

The jackal tensed up, gripping the cloth tightly in his hold. Such a simple statement, and yet it had so much power to it. Just like that, this girl could change the tides. But his chest ached because he knew he wasn't going to change sides. There was no way he would mingle with the heroes, they wouldn't ever let him achieve his goals. He was a villain from the beginning, and he was going to stay that way.

He let out a sigh and held the cloth out to her, feeling any fight in him disappear completely.

"No, we don't have to be." He said, "But I'm not changing sides, there's no way I could. What I want... It's not something a hero stands for."

"And what I want is not something a villain stands for." The (a/t) said, her ears lowering as she took the cloth from his hands.

"You could always change that, join us, win the war." The jackal waved his hand around, "It's clear who's going to win, you don't have to be on the losing side."

The (a/t) chuckled to herself, shaking her head. A voice came from a small device behind her ear, and she turned away for a moment, listening to whatever it was saying. Infinite let out a sigh, his ears twitching to the battling around them. It had moved on to the next room, which meant the Resistance was slowly making their way through the base.

"You could change too you know." The girl then said, Infinite chuckled at that. It was clear neither would budge on this matter, even if both wanted the other to join them. They both knew it wasn't possible for the other to just switch sides. They were at a standstill.

Infinite cleared his throat, the tension in the room had grown now that their wishes were out in the open. He then decided on a compromise, he held his hand out in front of her,

"Then it seems we are at a disagreement, how about we settle this in the battlefield, one rival to another?"

The girl stared at his hand, a smile crept over her muzzle and she reached forward, shaking it, "The loser has to join the other team?"

"I doubt it will be that easy, but sure." Infinite nodded, smirking to himself at the challenge, at the gamble he was now taking. It was a 50/50 chance, he could become a hero, or she will turn into a villain, but it seemed like the odds were against her, and the jackal was quiet alright with that, "Now one final question... Can I get the name of my rival, soon to be ally?"

"(Y/N), (Y/N) the (a/t)." The (a/t) said, stepping away.

"Well then (Y/N) the (a/t), I'll see you on the other side of the war."

"I'll see you on the other side of the war." (Y/N) repeated, and then she ran off.

Infinite smirked to himself, this was going to be an interesting war.