"When defeat is inevitable, it is wisest to yield." - Quintilian

i.

In hindsight, perhaps conjuring a giant sun was a mistake.

...

Ok, in hindsight, perhaps Infinite had made a lot of mistakes.

With his eardrums ringing, head throbbing, and vision swarming with black dots, a lone jackal bordered the brink of collapse. Sides heaved with each staggering breath he pulled from the stagnant air and he swayed on his footing, dangerously close to toppling backward right over the edge of the imperial tower. Overcome with dizziness and fatigue, lifting even just one foot felt as though his boots had been filled with thick cement, and as he wrestled to cling to consciousness like it were a wet bar of soap in hand the world spun around him in a nauseating blur.

The fleeting thought of throwing up inside his mask prompted him to grimace and swallow. His throat was uncomfortably dry and scratchy, and there was a faint, lingering taste of iron accompanying smoky undertones from the pollution in the area – courtesy of all Eggman's machinery. Internal bleeding…? No, no, they - they hadn't hit hard enough for that. Probably.

Uttering a feeble string of profanities, Infinite dismissed the possibility with a shake of his head, unkempt, thick locks of hair tumbling over his shoulders as he did so, and forced himself to persevere without giving it much further contemplation.

Act now, be bitter about the situation later… don't stop, don't stop, don't stop.

His strength was wavering and he couldn't afford to pass out, not here, and especially not when he was so close.

Unfortunately, fate seemed to have other plans. Or at the very least wanted to make things difficult and test his persistence.

Without warning, tired legs buckled underneath the strain of his weight. All control and balance were lost as he was sent careening forward, and Infinite crashed down with a graceless thud, only to land directly upon the gem lodged firmly in his chest. Surprisingly it sustained no damage, not even a crack on its gleaming surface, but the same couldn't quite be said for himself.

Oh god. Oh god, fuck, shit that hurt.

An almost inhuman, guttural howl erupted immediately upon impact, violently tearing from Infinite's vocal chords as searing agony flared in his chest and overwhelmed his senses in just a matter of seconds. Following that were a series of splutters and coughs, the abrupt hollering having only further aggravated his trachea. Vaguely, he grasped the sensation of something wet dribbling down over his lip, most certainly blood.

The jackal shuddered, barely able to move as he waited out the involuntary convulsions that accompanied his ceaseless hacking. Limbs twitched but otherwise refused to respond, and although it was generally very difficult to shift the ruby from its fixed placement even slightly, he could still feel the blasted thing digging hard inside his body, pushing into his vitals the longer he remained in this position.

He had to - he had to alleviate the pressure.

Accompanied by many undignified grunts, Infinite began to wriggle as much as he could manage, fighting the near-immobilising pain and attempting to roll over onto his back. This took several trial-and-errors before he gained the necessary momentum to turn and was rewarded with a slow relief. His arms and legs splayed uselessly as he lay like a beached starfish, eyes - or rather eye, singular, given that his mask featured only one hole - cast to the sky above, painted in a vast array of hues such as dark grey, light grey, and oh - look! More fucking grey.

... At least, he assumed grey; the coloured glass of his mask gave everything a reddish tint.

Was a storm on the way? Hah. Such a dismal atmosphere was rather fitting for his current predicament, wasn't it? It was as if it had been planned this way, like the universe was laughing at him.

Aimlessly staring into the bleak, murky void above, Infinite almost felt as though it was gazing right back. Invisible eyes, trained on him, watching him – unsettled, his skin crawled.

"What the hell are you looking at?"

...

"Answer me! You think this is funny?!"

...

No response.

Of course there was no damn response, what was he expecting? A booming voice from the heavens?

I must be going mad.

A pause.

Tch. Going.

With the pangs in his chest having gradually ebbed away back into milder and more endurable twinges, he found himself just about able to move again. Infinite pushed up into a sitting position, ignoring the creaking protests of, well, his everything, and adjusted his mask. Whether or not he was losing grasp of his sanity, he needed to quit wasting time. Cussing out unseen deities wasn't going to solve anything.

So what would? Well, he needed to replenish the ruby.

Infinitely carefully rose and attempted to stand, but only fell back to his knees as he was rewarded for his efforts with a fresh wave of pain.

Shit.

Crawling it is then.

The jackal dragged himself along, so degraded, so helpless, with what little stamina remained to muster toward the protruding centre of the structure. There was a small door leading inside, and he knew that the space within housed two things; an emergency elevator to travel to ground level, and a power outlet. The latter was exactly why he came here in the first place.

Even his tail now laid slack, trailing on the ground behind him and gathering dust. The very fabrication of reality felt like it was distorting, coming apart around him with his every motion until nullspace would be born anew and devour his body whole with an invisible maw.

Still, he continued forward.

Voices gathered in his head, overlapping in a crescendo that only intensified his ever-present migraine.

Still, he continued forward.

They whispered, yet they were so loud, taunting and mocking. And every single one of them was his own, spewing deprecation like blood from a bullet wound.

You're so fucking weak.

Infinite reached the door.

You're so fucking pathetic.

Infinite tried to open the door.

You're so fucking useless.

The door was locked.

Deep breaths. Ribs expanding, lungs aching. They burned and screamed for respite as if the whole world's ashes were caught in his windpipe, clumping together to suffocate him in an act of karma for his sins. The door was locked. The door was fucking locked, and if he couldn't get in there he couldn't – he –

He tried to force himself to calm. Should he fall into a state of panic, it would only make things even worse. Regardless, his mind garnered only doubt, and his gut churned incessantly, festering with absolute dread. Infinite had come here knowing it was best shot at recovering his strength. He had come here knowing it was his only shot. But rather than fixing things, it would appear he'd instead effectively stranded himself.

The jackal stared at the source of the problem; the dead control panel attached to the wall. Out of juice. That meant someone must have – that loathsome rodent! It had to be him! Him and his little rag-tag resistance, they must have gone for the reactor! It resided deep in the empire fortress, and without it functioning, no power. No power? No entry. He wasn't capable enough in this condition to just pry it open, either.

Overcome by a surge of pure rage, he slammed his fist into the door, over and over and over until his knuckles went numb beneath the thick leather of his gloves. All of this, all of this, everything he had overcome just to - just to be thwarted by a goddamn metal slab!

Then again, this also meant the outlet wouldn't be working either, even if he could get in.

...

He was going to die.

Oh god, he was going to die.

And he was going to die an utmost miserable death, at that; cold, in incomprehensible levels of disorientation and agony, and completely alone. There was no way out now. Not even the Doctor had come to get him, he was probably fighting his own battle now because –

Because Infinite had failed.
He was created with one purpose and one purpose only, and he had fucking failed.

His body was… was so frail. Damnit, he despised it, sick and repulsed to his core by his own inadequacy. Why? Why?! He had almost made it, he had it in the bag, all his work and all the gruelling fights and… and…

So this it how it all ends.

I'm sorry.

The jackal released a broken, rasping chuckle of defeat, crumpling in exhaustion with nothing left to do but resign himself, to yield to his fate and ponder over everything that his existence and actions had amounted to. Fighting this would only be drawing out the inevitable.

With its energy draining on a greater and greater scale each passing minute, the ruby was sapping his life essence to fulfil itself like a parasitic leech attached to his chest, and Infinite had only one choice remaining: accept it.

Gadget thought he should be feeling more triumphant. In fact, no - he knew he should.

After six long, painful months, the resistance had finally prevailed. They had ended Eggman and Infinite's reign over their world once and for all; the war was over. And yet... and yet - the red wolf couldn't bring himself to celebrate their hard-earned victories alongside everybody else.

Maybe he was a killjoy or a pessimist but, well, while the toughest battle had been won, he, Gadget couldn't help but be acutely aware of the fact it left so many more behind in its wake. Things weren't just automatically going to be ok now and it felt... weird to rejoice so soon.

Far over half the planet was still neck-deep in chaos and in dire need of reconstruction, and that was certainly not going to be fixed overnight - hell, it would likely take several months and hundreds of hands to fully repair even one small city... the extent of Eggman's tyranny had been next to boundless. Various buildings and other structures were either extensively damaged or reduced to mere piles of rubble far beyond salvage, pollution cloaked the seas and skies overhead like a suffocating veil, and everyday backbones of society such as currency and shops had become completely dysfunctional long ago when it became such a dire matter of survival.

While their boss may have been dethroned some of the doctor's robots also continued to run amok according to their programming, countless people were either deemed lost or dead with tolls sure to continue rising for god knows how long, and many of those who weren't suffered casualties and packed the hospitals, staffed by overworked nurses who were low on supplies but still desperate to give aid to the masses.

And that - that all still merely scratched the surface.

What about the mental trauma?

Not all the damage caused in the war had been physical and it wouldn't surprise Gadget if the entire population was in need of some form of therapy, including the therapists themselves.

Therapists... he hoped Sam was ok. Both physically and mentally speaking.

Managing to come out of this situation entirely unscathed just… just wasn't realistic. Probably even for him. During all the ceaseless fighting, everyone had forced themselves to stay strong, had gulped down their fears like taking a pill with a parched throat as their knees shook and hands trembled. Among all the fatalities, the pain, no mobian could afford to mourn what was taken away lest it only render them even more vulnerable and affect their chances of staying alive. Even grieving was a luxury nobody had.

A luxury he never had.

But now, it was over. And it being over meant that people could finally process their losses, and just how awful the war really was. The agony of these six months was sure to catch up to everyone now that it no longer had to be suppressed, horrific realities hitting with the force of a speeding truck.

God, he really was a pessimist, wasn't he?

There was something else on Gadget's mind too. Something - or rather someone - far more sinister.

Infinite.

Gadget felt his skin crawl at his name alone.

They had beaten the jackal. He knew that, he knew but something just felt off. His mind ran through it again; played the memories back like a tape on stuck on a rewind loop.

Those last words.

The way his body phased in and out.

And then he was gone, in a trail of crimson light.

He had disappeared but they'd never seen him actually... die.

Sonic oddly hadn't commented on it at the time, only offering a shrug, nor had anyone else asked about the masked villain after regrouping once Eggman was taken care of as well.

It bothered Gadget.

Ok, understatement of the year - it really bothered Gadget.

There was a dreadful sense of foreboding creeping up on him that suggested their enemy was far from dead, that Infinite could very well still be out there, restoring his power, planning a comeback... anything!

And so that was what lead him here, why he was doing what he was currently doing; informing Knuckles that he would be leaving the resistance, under the guise that others needed his help. He had to go and search for Infinite, he needed answers, needed to reach a solid conclusion on what happened to him or his mind would never be at ease. They'd been too careless.

What if Infinite did come back? What if they ended up right back in battle, what if more people got hurt, what if one of his friends was killed?

The wolf was met with some disappointment on announcing his departure, naturally - Gadget had become not only one of the strongest members of their team but advanced from simply "rookie" to a friend - however they couldn't exactly pressure him to continue working with them, especially when he'd claimed he had such a noble cause for departing…

Ugh, crap, now he just felt guilty! And what if they found out he lied? Would they hate him? Was he a bad person?

Gadget did his best to chase away the paranoid thoughts and politely thanked the headstrong commander for the opportunity to fight alongside their ranks, leaving the base shortly after gathering a few small belongings from his assigned locker space, stepping out into the early evening sunlight; the murky clouds had passed, giving way to brighter skies, as if the world itself was celebrating the restoration of peace. It warmed his fur pleasantly, and he released a small, weary sigh prior to noticing Sonic gazing off into the distance just a few paces away. The hedgehog seemed less energetic than usual. Almost... almost depressed.

He approached him without a word and noticed Sonic's demeanour immediately shift upon the realisation he was no longer alone; Gadget was met with that trademark smile like always.

Like nothing was wrong.

While he decided to refrain from outright questioning him, he could sense that Sonic was most likely also one of those people - one of the ones who were now finally able to take the time to work through their traumas after being forced into survival mode for so long. He had supposedly been tortured up on the Death Egg for the almost the entirety of the war and yet ever since his rescue, acted like it hadn't changed a thing. It wouldn't surprise Gadget in the slightest if Sonic had simply been downplaying his own experiences and terrors to remain a strong hero figure for not only his friends, but the world that held him up on their podium as a beacon of long-forgotten hope.

"Oh, hey buddy!"

"What's up, Sonic?"

"Ah... nothin' much," The hedgehog shrugged his shoulders loosely, and then leaned forward against the railings in front of them, "You headin' off?"

Gadget nodded, twiddling his thumbs nervously. "Yeah. I've got, uh... places to be, you know?"

"I hear ya. I hate stickin' around in one spot too long..."

There was an unmistakable hint of pain in his tone toward the end. All those months cooped up in a dingy cell, his freedom yanked away...

Should he...? No, no.

The wolf simply offered a half-smile, trying to reassure Sonic without being direct and bringing it up. If he wanted to open up to Gadget, it would be when he ready and on his own terms; he didn't want to make him feel like he had to talk about these things.

Admittedly, he held a fond place in his heart for the hedgehog. He'd always admired him, as many would, so to have saved the planet by his side and gained his friendship and trust along the way was truly a great honour. However, Sonic always made sure to remind him that even though he may be somewhat of celebrity, they were still equals - he always insisted he was never above anybody else.

The two gazed out over the horizon for a moment in an almost melancholic silence, the sun shimmering on the surface of the water. It was beautiful.

Gadget hated it.

"It's kinda funny, isn't it?" Sonic hummed.

"What is?"

"How, like... so many things can change, but nature's the one thing that always stays pretty much the same. I mean, like, sometimes there's natural disasters and global warming is sorta a thing but more -" He shook his head, as if finding the right words to articulate his thoughts, "The world is pretty messed up right now, but even so, the sun will continue to rise every morning and the moon will always be there in our darkest nights. That kinda thing. It's also... comforting, actually? Gives you a sense of consistency when there's nothin' else."

Gadget blinked, wordlessly. Whatever he was expecting, it definitely wasn't that.
And then Sonic laughed.

"Sorry! Man - I'm sounding like an old poet or somethin'. Go ahead and set off, I'm not gonna keep ya."

He turned his head to the wolf, grinning and offering out a fist.

"One more for the road?"

"Always." Gadget chuckled.

They parted in opposite directions with one more last fist-bump after their small talk, bidding farewell for now. Gadget felt somewhat - ok, very - deceptive for not confiding his intentions in either the other resistance members or even Sonic and had to hold back from bursting out with his plans at the last second, reasoning it would be best to keep this mission personal to avoid troubling anybody else.

The wolf activated his grappling hook with newfound determination, firmly assuring himself he could do this and launching himself high above Park Avenue's rooftops, swinging off in the direction of the empire fortress where the tower was located.

The tower where Infinite was last sighted.

Arriving at the top of the imposing building felt like a rather small achievement in comparison to everything else he had accomplished these past few days, but Gadget was honestly just grateful it was over with. He wasn't afraid of heights, no, but even so this wasn't the most comfortable climb one could make – knowing if you fell you were almost certainly done for. At least he had his grappling hook… it made getting around much easier and provided a little extra safety.

Wasting no time to dilly-dally and admire the view, he began to circle cautiously around the peak, the other side obscured by the section of structure in the middle. His muscles were more tense than he could have ever thought be physically possible, and the uncomfortable niggling in his mind continued to grow tenfold with every footstep.

Maybe he's not here. Maybe he just… vanished. Yeah, yeah, he's probably gon-

Someone coughed.

It was a low, wheezing cough, shaking and weak that would probably imply whoever it was could do little harm right now, however all the same Gadget almost had a heart attack. His ears shot up more like there had been a gunshot and his eyes bugged slightly in alarm, pulse racing hard and fast as the gritty reality sunk in. There was surely only one person that could have been.

Ok, never mind, he was going to die. He was definitely, absolutely, one hundred percent going to die, god, why did he ever think this was a good idea -

He trod slowly so as to not alert the jackal to his presence right away, fighting every instinct that told him to run, just bolt for it, and when Infinite finally came into his field of vision his knees threatened to buckle at the sight he beheld.

He wasn't moving. Like, at all. In fact, was - was he even breathing? Was what he just heard Infinite's last, dying coughs? Even like this, completely motionless, the jackal was still intimidating, but against his fears and likely also common sense Gadget continued to approach – and then, because Lady Luck just loved to laugh in his face, of course he stepped on something.

Oh shit. Ohshitohshitohshitohshit -

It was much akin to the sound of glass underfoot, an abrupt crunch that made him immediately wince and go rigid with the manner in which it stood out among the silence. Glancing down briefly, beneath his olive green boots laid the discarded shards of his broken prototype, the one he used to dispel the sun.

Naturally, this didn't go unnoticed by Infinite. The eye not concealed by his mask instantly shot open wide at the sudden disturbance, darting back and forth then fixing on Gadget as though he was finding it difficult to remain focused. Well, at least that answered that question… he was breathing.

...Was that a good thing or a bad thing?

Both seemed equally startled at this point - Infinite with the recognition he now had undesired company and Gadget at being caught like a deer in the headlights - but almost immediately the former snapped out of his stupor.

What the hell is he doing here?!

Snarling with an unfathomable amount of frustration Infinite attempted to rise, however it felt like he was stuck in slow motion. Teeth clenched with the effort such a simple movement took, the jackal unable to bear looking so powerless in front of the enemy but also unable to bear the strain. His desire was to lunge for the pathetic insect, but instead he merely doubled over forwards with another series of rough croaks and unpleasant hacking noises that shook his entire body.

Shit, his insides felt like they were on fire.

This was infuriatingly humiliating for him, and that much was apparent from the moment he spoke, trying to deter Gadget away with an aggressive tone and hostile body language if he couldn't fight physically. The fatigue was just far too great.

"Go away," Infinite resorted to hissing viciously, "Leave me!"

Gadget's fists balled nervously, fingers curling, uncurling, curling, uncurling…

Infinite may have found his apprehension amusing if he wasn't so pissed off. It was quite obvious that though the wolf had purposefully sought him out, he didn't have any actual plan in place for what he would do upon reaching his goal. Acting on a reckless whim held a price; one he was not equipped to pay. How foolish.

How long is he just going to stand there?!

Growing more aggravated the longer Gadget's conflicted stare lingered, the jackal released a sharp, primal growl, echoing his statements again,

"Are you even listening to me?! I said fucking leave! What part of that can't you get through your thick skull? Do you get a kick out of watching me suffer?!"

"What, like how you did with the rest of the world?" The wolf snappishly retorted, before his mind seemed to catch up with his mouth and he registered what he had just said. He then shook his head, as if realising he mustn't make this worse than it already is. "...I- I don't, though. That's not… no."

Infinite's visible eye narrowed slightly. Whether it was in pain or anger, or perhaps both, one couldn't quite tell, but he barked out a bitter laugh. "Well well, you've really grown a spine. Shame I can't tear it right out of you."

While the words sounded like they were supposed to be threatening, it was admittedly all talk at this point; trying to salvage face. He was seething, yes, but Infinite knew he would never be able to achieve something like that in this sorry state… and besides, for what purpose would it even be if he was capable? Killing the wolf would get him nowhere, would fix nothing. A pointless endeavour.

On the other side of the exchange, Gadget mulled over his options while attempting to resist the very strong urge to turn tail. Ok, keep cool, keep cool, think rationally...

He found it... more logical to refrain from engaging in further argument. Riling Infinite? Not a good idea. Whether he could barely move or not.

The wolf had a couple of choices; taking matters entirely into his own hands and bringing Infinite home, or... returning to the resistance with him. Of those, the one that stood out as the most promising was the latter, even if they may not take well to the fact he had fibbed about his intent behind departing earlier in a pretty colossal way. As a group, they could collectively decide what to do and pitch in different ideas, instead of him having to rely solely upon his own judgement and risk making a deadly mistake. The masked jackal was obviously in grave danger and needed medical attention anyways, something Gadget didn't think he could adequately provide alone.

He reminded himself this was a war criminal he was dealing with -

God, what am I thinking -

- but honestly, he didn't - he didn't want Infinite dead. To face consequence for his deeds, abso-fucking-lutely, but nothing that extreme. Even after everything Infinite did throughout the duration of the war, to be responsible for another lost life... no, no, screw that shit. Gadget couldn't just turn and look the other way. Enough had died already and so, if he had the opportunity to prevent one more death, even Infinite's… he'd do it.

Maybe he was too much of a pacifist, too merciful.

Maybe he was naïve.

This guy hurt hundreds and terrorised thousands, so was it worth it to give him a chance to better himself? Could he truly be redeemed for his wrongdoings...? Perhaps not. Hell, this could backfire in Gadget's face real bad.

Still… it'd haunt him forever if he didn't at least try.

The wolf drew closer. His palms were sweating profusely but he now spoke with heightened confidence, squaring his shoulders in determination as his decision was made and cemented.

"Alright... Alright, listen up; I'm bringing you back to base with me. And I'd advise you don't struggle, or you might hurt yourself more than you already have."

There was no backing out now.

He reached out to try and grab Infinite as he doubted he would come willingly, ready for anything, but the jackal barely managed to swipe at Gadget's hands. It looked like the more he tried to fight, the fainter he became, and his movements grew significantly less coordinated.

"You're not - you're not taking me anywhere! I won't let you, resistance pest!"

Gadget's brows furrowed.

Not so easily dissuaded, he persisted regardless of the protests, ignoring Infinite's rather pitiful attempts to beat him back and hooking both hands beneath his arms. The wolf raised him up as he writhed and thrashed to the minuscule extent his body would allow, and as would be expected, it didn't have much effect. To try and resist in this condition was completely futile.

In fact, after only a few moments of trying to escape, Infinite passed out from over-exertion. He'd worn himself down as far as he could endure and was now entirely at Gadget's mercy, unconscious breaths coming in laboured pants that suggested if he didn't receive some form of help soon, he could be a goner. Gadget grunted slightly as he tried to balance his enemy against himself - oh god he was holding Infinite - and figure out how to get them both to the base.

...

Wait. What was that?

He turned his head, having been absolutely positive he'd seen something out of the corner of his eye, and his mouth dropped open a little upon seeing that the shards on the ground, instead of being dull and unresponsive like when he had accidentally trod on them, appeared to be active.

His gaze shifted between the unconscious jackal and the fragments, and faintly, the ruby embedded in Infinite's chest was flickering too. But why? Could it be that it was reacting to them? Had the individual pieces remained connected to him, and regained power because of his will to save the villain...? Gadget decided to a take a risk.

Setting the jackal back down again for just a moment, he scooped up the pile of shards and then brought them closer to Infinite. Sure enough, they began to glow; rutilant.

"Could it be… his ruby did this to him?" He mused quietly, "Is this what happens when he runs out of power?"

A moment of uncertainty.

And then, Gadget decided to pocket every last bit of the shattered prototype in one of the pouches of his utility belt, taking care so as not to damage them even further. While he didn't want Infinite to regain his powers, he did want him to be stabilised, so if these might do the trick… well, it'd be worth a shot. Besides, they could perhaps also be used for research purposes.

Ok. Time to lift him again.

It proved significantly harder to descend back down the tower with a wounded and effectively dead-weight jackal now accompanying him than it was to get up… and there was most certainly some metaphorical weight on his shoulders, too.

Notes: hello everyone, and welcome to my fic! i've uh, had this idea in the works for a reeeaally long time and so. well. i'm excited to finally share it with you all! updates may be VERY slow-coming as i struggle with motivation and my perfectionism, but i'll be doing my best! i also apologise if characterisations are off, and if i'm a little rusty in general. in particular for this first chapter, i feel gadget's part was a bit too much tell and not enough show, but i hope you enjoyed it regardless; i want to make others happy with my work! thank you so much for reading this far :D

- jackal

EDIT (17/6/19) at long last, the ff version of PI is updated ... typos fixed, characterisations bettered, generally, improvements made! i'd recommend a reread as some scenes have been altered but it's not a huge requirement! this has been a while coming and i hope you think the changes work !