The city was in flames, the sky having turned almost black with smoke. Many people ran screaming for their lives, tripping over debris, trying to pull their loved ones with them, leaving behind everything they knew, their memories, their homes. A skyscraper fell in the distance, and the surrounding citizen gasped in horror, frozen to the spot as the wind picked up, ruffling their clothes.

Ever since Sonic had disappeared, things had gone to hell.

A black jackal floated through the sky, watching the destruction with a smile on his muzzle. He wore a mask to hide his joy, one eye completely covered, the other free to bask in his success. When people saw him, they pointed and cowered, hid in fear, they ran. For they knew he would only end their miserable lives.

The jackal was called the Black Mercenary, as no one knew who he was, and everyone hid in his shadow. Some even speculated it being Shadow since he had disappeared not long after Sonic's loss. The jackal, who was called Infinite, took great pleasure in these rumours, knowing it would ruin the image of the heroes.

Of course the heroes were doing their best, having formed a resistance to fight against the jackal and his ally, Doctor Ivo Robotnik, also known as Eggman. They were recruiting as many people as they could, as long as they were up for fighting back. The jackal had heard from Dr. Eggman that the recruiting process was slow at the moment, since everyone was running in fear, but both agreed it wouldn't stay that way for long.

They had to hit hard now while everyone was weak and afraid, while Sonic and all hope was lost. And that's what the jackal was doing. He floated through the city, watching everyone scurry like rats in a sewer. No, like bugs running under a fridge. Filthy creatures, the lot of them. He stuck his nose up, scoffing as he spotted some people trying to pull another from the ruins.

To think they would try such a useless act, it was clear the beams crushing the older creature weren't budging, but the two never gave up. It was sad really, to think they'd keep trying even when they knew they'd fail. The humiliation they'll feel later on, knowing they could do nothing but make it worse.

Infinite chuckled to himself, time to cut their advances short. He floated down towards the three, and the one stuck in the debris started yelling for the other two to run. They looked up, fear swimming in their eyes, before they gave one last glance of sorrow and took off down the street.

The black jackal had his arms behind his back, chuckling to himself as he watched the other two running away.

"Such lowlifes, not even bothering to protect you." He directed to the stuck Mobian.

"I told them to protect themselves." The other growled, glaring at the evil mercenary, "I'm a lost cause, I'd rather they get to safety than fall to the likes of you."

"Oh really...?" He tilted his head at the other, before turning his attention to a building further ahead, "Such brave words. It's a shame not everyone gets what they want."

He lifted his hands, a red glow surrounding his gloved fingers, and a part of a skyscraper crumbled in on itself, falling away from the structure and towards the road. The two running were heading right for their deaths.

"No!" The one lodged in the debris yelled, struggling to break free.

Infinite smirked evilly, holding his hands behind his back once again as he watched the events take hold. However, instead of bloodshed, the two people fell back as the rubble crashed into the ground, out of the way of any danger. The jackal's smirk disappeared, and the other let out a sigh of relief.

He growled at the stuck victim, before lifting up off the ground and flying over to his victims. They had been tackled to the ground by a (f/c) (a/t), her body was shaking slightly, but she slowly got off the other two and started checking on them. They hugged her, got to their feet, and kept running.

The (a/t) watched them go, letting out a heavy sigh of relief before her ears perked and she lifted her head. A car was flying right at her, and she ducked out of the way, growling, and glaring up at her attacker. But when she saw him, her (e/c) eyes widened in fear.

"You must think you're brave for saving those people." Infinite said, holding his arms at his sides, hands glowing red, "But I assure you, that was nothing but stupidity."

He tilted his head down to get a proper look at the one that defied him. She took a step back as he lowered to the ground, and a smirk appeared over his muzzle,

"So brave when facing a falling building, but a terrified pup when facing the one that caused it hm?" He chuckled, crossing his arms in front of his chest, "How interesting..."

The girl growled at this, clenching her fists in defence. She glared at him but said nothing. He waited for a response and was disappointed when they stood there in silence.

"Might I have a name then?" He asked, eyeing her figure. She was lean, clearly not built to fight, her clothes were roughed up from whatever she had been doing beforehand. This (a/t) was clearly no hero, and she wasn't much of a talker either.

Infinite sighed, shaking his head, "How rude, I suppose I'll have to teach you a lesson or two on manners."

And he flew at her. The girl startled, stumbling back and away from him. He grasped onto her shirt, catching her mid-fall and pulled her up so they were face-to-face. She was shaking now, her eyes wide in fear as he stared into her soul.

"Never get in my way again." He said, pushing her back, "Take this act of mercy as a warning. If you cross me again, it will be the last thing you ever do."

She fell back onto her behind, staring up at him as he lifted off his feet, turned and left. Once the jackal had flown far enough away, he stopped and leant against the building. That... Was interesting.

He had meant to harm her, possibly even kill her for his troubles. Anyone that defies him was a pest and needed to be exterminated. But when he pulled her closer, looked into her (e/c) eyes, the jackal found himself freeze.

Of course, he wouldn't have let on about that, and so he let her go, treating the event as a threat, a warning. The (a/t) was lucky to be alive, and the jackal growled to himself. He can't let that happen again. Hopefully he would never cross paths with that pest again. He couldn't spare anyone else otherwise people will stop fearing him.

Though the fear in her eyes...

He shook his head, trying not to think about how such a creature had gotten to him so easily, and he headed back to Eggman's base.

A few months passed, everyone was sure Sonic was gone, and all hope was lost. The Resistance had done their best to stand up to Eggman, but to no avail. The jackal was far too powerful, and they knew too little about him to do anything. As he and Eggman had predicted though, they had gotten countless new recruits and the two villains could tell they were going to attack very soon.

Infinite was doing is daily rounds of the city, making sure to scare any of the remaining citizens out of the town. The less people in the area, the less people to be recruited. However, since the Resistance's growth people have become a lot braver.

As proven when a rock bounced off Infinite's mask as he floated through the town square. He stopped and spun, throwing his hand out at the attacker. A red energy shot from his hand, the area around them turning glitchy as he faced the attacker. A dog started floating into the air, hugging a bunch of large rocks to her chest. She looked around in alarm, her eyes wide as she realised she was caught.

Infinite chuckled, throwing her into the ground. The dog let out a yelp of pain, and others came out of hiding, running over to help her. The dark jackal watched, amused. All these petty fools, opening themselves up to another attack to save an idiot that had provoked him. He lifted his hand, causing everyone to look up in fear.

Just before he could attack, a grappling hook wrapped around his wrist, and he was yanked to the ground. Infinite growled, shaking his head as he stared at the wire around his wrist. The assailant landed in front of him, blocking him from the others, and to his surprise, it was the (a/t) from months before.

He had nearly forgotten about her, but now that she stood in front of him, her shoulders squared in confidence, her (h/c) hair pulled back. She stared down at him, (e/c) no longer holding that fear that had amused him all those months ago.

"Ah, we meet again." Infinite said, getting to his feet. He began pulling at the wire, "I see, it was a mistake to keep you alive, even after my threats you've come back to stand in my way."

He raised his head, dropping the grappling wire to the floor, "I won't make that mistake again."

But before he could move, she sprung. The wire whizzed past his mask, wrapping around his torso and he was thrown forward. The jackal managed to duck under the fist that flew at his mask, and using the momentum of the pull, barged into the (a/t)'s stomach, knocking her over.

She hit the ground with a grunt but rolled up quickly and reached down to a belt wrapped around her waist. She grabbed onto a yellow lightning bolt-shaped object, pushing it into the grappling hook, and in moments Infinite's body was being shocked painfully.

He growled, gritting his teeth as he fell to his knees, his muscles tensing up, no longer allowing to move. This girl had improved immensely, even he could see that. She was no longer the timid, shaking (a/t) that ran from Infinite. No, now she was the new hero, standing up for the little guys, fighting back.

Infinite was... Mesmerised by this. In such a few short months this girl, who he barely knew, had changed drastically just to fight back. She was a force to be reckoned with, and the dark jackal couldn't help but feel... Satisfaction?

He grunted as the electric energy dissipated, panting and head lowered. No, why would he be satisfied? Was it because she was now a much better rival? Someone he could actually fight? He finally has someone worthy to fight.

Her foot collided with his head and he was rocked violently to the side, his mask flying off and clattering to the floor. The jackal was leaning on his hands, trying to shake off the dizziness of the impact, unable to collect his thoughts. This girl had run from him, and now she was kicking his ass. How was that even possible? He was all powerful, he shouldn't be beaten so easily.

The (a/t) stood over him, staring down at him, the square was silent, everyone in awe at the (f/c) (a/t) that had taken down the black mercenary. After months of losing battles, had he finally been defeated? The jackal growled to himself, clenching his fists.

The (a/t) stepped back, preparing for another fight, but Infinite simply raised his head. She stopped, staring into his heterochronic eyes. Her own (e/c) eyes widened and she knelt down in front of him. He was confused, before she reached down and pulled a cloth from her pocket. Slowly, she reached forward and he pulled away.

"What are you doing?" He growled, and she stopped, giving him a concerned look.

And then he felt something drop onto his gloved hand. He glanced down, seeing a bloodstain soak into the black fabric, slowly spreading. The jackal blinked, before reaching up and touching his muzzle. A sharp stab went through his cheek and he growled in pain, pulling his fingers back to see a darker stain on them.

"Sorry..." She muttered, before handing the cloth to him and getting to her feet.

The jackal's large ears perked and he glared at her, "Why are you apologising? I'm your enemy."

But he wanted to hear her say something else. That was the first word she had said to him, and it angered him that it was an apology for harming him. In a fight. But she didn't say anything else. The (a/t) turned and started walking away, and Infinite stared at the soft cloth in his gloved hand. His eyes moved back to her and he watched her walk away, holding the cloth to his bleeding cheek.

Everyone else was watching, and Infinite snarled, grabbing his mask and putting it back on to hide his face. He'd have to tend to the wound later. The (a/t) glanced over her shoulder, letting out a sigh, before she grappled away. Infinite watched her leave, gripping the cloth in both hands.

He had no clue what had just happened, but he told himself he just let her go again. She was fun to fight, and now he had a challenge. A smirk spread on his muzzle, stinging. Time to train harder, he had a rival to beat.

Ahhhhh finally done! Sorry if it's not very romantic, I admit the way I started it, and wrote Infinite, made it a little hard to turn this into a romantic story, so I did my best and made it a rivalry instead.

I'm thinking of doing a part 2 for this, to turn the rivalry into a romance. Would you guys want that? Or would you rather it ends here? (tbh knowing all ya'll, I'm gonna end up writing a part 2 XD)

So let me know in the comments if you want a part 2, and if you do; it won't be done straight away, but I will make sure to do it this year :)

That's all for now though!

Haven Out!!!