(Reader's P.O.V.)

    Sonic... He followed me... Does that mean he heard me talking to Infinite on the radio? The look in his eyes is filled with concern and sorrow. "If we're going to have this conversation about why she and I are working together, might I suggest we do it behind closed doors? Eggman's ears are everywhere. No doubt our enemy is using them to spy on us." Sonic hesitates but follows us into the hideout anyway. "Alright, now that we're out of earshot... (Y/N), you've got some explaining to do. If you need me I'll be in the other room." Infinite walks out of the room and I lead Sonic to the leather couch. "So it's true then... You're working for Infinite." I sigh, this may take a bit of time. "Actually, It's not inaccurate but not quite accurate. We just happened to find a common enemy so we teamed up." "So what, is the resistance your enemy now? This is all my fault! I should've gone after you! It's obvious you hate the resistance! We abandoned you!" He clutches his head and looks down at the floor. This must really look bad from his perspective. "The resistance isn't my enemy. Sonic, you know that. I could never turn my back on my friends. The common enemy I'm talking about is someone else." "Then who is this common enemy you're talking about?" Just then Infinite re-enters, sword in hand, bandanna covering his face, and a foul attitude. "His name is the Phantom Ruby. He copied my form and plans to finish what I foolishly started. If I wasn't so stupid this all wouldn't have happened." His fist grips the sword tighter. I stand up from my chair and try to calm him down before something bad happens. We're already in enough trouble tonight. "It's not your fault Zero... You couldn't have known it would lead to this." "I still should've known. What kind of leader leads his men to slaughter?" Obviously, some old wounds were reopening for him. He's no longer talking about the Phantom Ruby, he's talking about his past. "It's okay Zero..." He takes a deep breath and loosens the tight grip on his sword. "I suppose now isn't the time for diving down the rabbit hole of my pain. I can do that when the enemy is taken care of. I suppose now that you know why we're working together you plan on telling your leader. Am I wrong, blue boy?" I hear Sonic growl at the nickname Infinite gave him. "If (Y/N) trusts you, I guess I have no choice but to trust you too. A friend of hers is a friend of mine. So what do we do about the Phantom Ruby?" "I'm surprised you're being so cooperative with your former enemy. You do remember I'm the reason you were captured by Eggman, right?" Sonic gives one of his signature grins as he nods. "I know, but now you're trying to save the world. I think if you're willing to put an effort into changing your ways then I guess I can forgive and forget. Like I said, a friend of (Y/N)'s is a friend of mine and I'm always there to help my friends." Infinite is silent for a few moments before speaking again. "You are a strange hedgehog, Sonic. I don't suppose you could help by telling me what the resistance is planning." "Hmm? Why do you need to know that?" "To put simply, in order for me to make a battle plan against Phantom Infinite, I need to know where he'll be and where his attention will be. Without that information, I can't make a solid plan." "I guess I can't argue with that logic. You know you could always join the resistance. They could use someone like you." I see Infinite grimace at the idea. I'm sure Sonic meant well when he said it but Infinite and the resistance don't mix well. I'm sure he and Knuckles would be at odds. "Hey Sonic, why did you follow me in the first place anyway?" "Oh, well... I was worried about my buddy. I thought maybe you were in some kind of trouble or you were working for the enemy. I'm kinda glad we got that whole thing sorted out. But I do have a question. That other Infinite you were talking to, was that the Phantom Ruby?"

(Infinite's P.O.V.)

    "WHAT?!" I look in (Y/N)'s direction and she shrinks back from my glare. "Why didn't you tell me you saw him?!" "I-I was going to but then Sonic showed up and we had to explain stuff and..." "You planned to leave out that information. What did he do? What did he say to you? Did he touch you? I swear if he touched you I'm going to shatter him into a million pieces!" Wait, why am I getting so worked up about this? It's like there's a tiny red hot flame burning and growing the more I think about anybody doing anything to her. "A-all he did was talk to me... Although, now that I think about it, I think he was trying to get me to hate you." "And that was all?" "No, he did flirt with me. At least I think it was flirting..." "WHAT?!" She flinched at my voice. That tiny flame suddenly became an inferno. The thought of him flirting with her left a bad taste in my mouth. "Dude, Infinite, calm down. Getting worked up like this isn't going to change anything. Can't you see you're scaring her?" I suddenly realize what I'm doing and stop. He's right about that. I can't change the past. But scaring the poor (H/C) (C/T) isn't going to help anything. I sigh, "I'm sorry, (Y/N). I lost my temper. I don't know what came over me." "It's fine... I think we should work on our battle plan while we still have the time. We only have a few hours left before the resistance starts their attack." I nod, "Alright, then let's get to work."