Motivated by the hallucination he saw, Eggman and his robots took the mysterious gem into the base, running as fast as they could. "Are you sure this will give us an advantage over Sonic, boss?", Orbot asked. Eggman was incredulous. As far as he was concerned, Orbot had never questioned him before. Cubot, 3 times a week, but never from Orbot. "Sure, I'm sure. If this thing can cause those visions to happen, it must be able to do something to fight off Sonic. Quickly, put it in the Superanalyzer!", Eggman said. With that said, Cubot did what he was told. Once the jewel had been placed into the Superanalyzer, it began to start scanning the gem. Orbot and Cubot went to their position and waited for results.
After a few seconds, a beeping sound went off. Results were in. "Well?", Eggman asked. "Apparently this crystal is capable of creating virtual reality projections. They have mass and form, but no heart and soul. Yet, when it makes copies of others, they are just as powerful and formidable as the original. We got those hallucinations from it because it did so as long as one touches it. It can also create rips in the space-time continuum itself!" "Wow, it is as powerful as I thought!" The only downside is it needs a lot of power for it to work." "Luckily, we have a grand power source for this thing. Cubot, can you come up with a name for this crystal?", Eggman asked. "Hmmmm...how about...the Spooky Sapphire?" "No, it doesn't shine blue. Apparently, it seems to shine a bit...crimson." "Then how about….the Anarchy Beryl?" "No, too derivative." "How about….the Precioustone?" "No." "Oh, I think I got it. How about...the Phantom Ruby?" "The Phantom Ruby…." Eggman thought about that for a while. He then had a vision of millions trembling in fear of the Phantom Ruby's name. "The Phantom Ruby…. I LIKE IT!"
Then, the intruder alarm went off. "Intruder alert. Intruder alert. A series of mercenaries had entered the base uninvited." That really was the case. A team of 7 jackals had run into the base uninvited with intentions to steal some tech of Eggman's. One of the jackals was the one barking orders. "Ok, guys, move in for the kill! Raid this base! All of this Eggman tech ought to be worth a pretty penny on the black market!", the lead jackal yelled. Eggman was perturbed. "We're being attacked already?! I should've been building up my army instead of studying this stupid crystal!" At that moment, the Phantom Ruby started to glow. A large amount of Egg Pawns suddenly materialized before his very eyes. To say he was shocked is an understatement. "Where did these...oh, it doesn't matter. Robot army, ATTACK!" The Egg Pawns did as they were told. The Pawns attacked the jackals in a unified formation, but they were no match for the jackal mercenaries, especially the lead jackal, who was undeterred. No matter if he made it out alive, he wanted that tech! "Don't let them faze you. Take the robots, I'll handle the fatman!" the jackal shouted, as he made his way through columns of Egg Pawns. After he took out thousands of Pawns, he and his jackals made it inside. The lead jackal ran through the base, looking for Eggman. After he tore through the Egg Pawns inside, he found Eggman inside, but before he could strike Eggman with his sword, he pulled out the Phantom Ruby and it spawned handcuffs on his hands and legs, causing him to fall on the floor. Eggman laughed at him. "Now, you have spunk. I like you." "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't slice your chest open." the jackal said. "Ok, hear me out." He had the jackal go outside to speak to the other jackals. The Phantom Ruby had the Egg Pawns disappear and the jackal leader bounced outside. "Head in. The fatman's bargaining with us."
The other jackals did as they were told. After they were cuffed and seated, Eggman started to let them know. "Ok, hear me out. I am a scientist. I have been trying to create a land called Eggmanland. And even though I try so much, I fail so many, many times." He then walked to a fridge and pulled out the Phantom Ruby from it. "But with this, I can finally succeed." "That's it? A weird glowing crystal? It's not even a Chaos Emerald!" "Not just any crystal. And I KNOW IT'S NOT A CHAOS EMERALD! This is the Phantom Ruby. With this, I can finally rule over all! Go ahead, touch it. You won't regret it." The jackal, even though he was a little skeptical, decided to do so. After he did, he saw a vision of a destroyed and desolate world, which shocked him as much as it did Eggman. "So, how about I hire you and your thugs to lead my forces? Together, we will rule the world!" The other jackals were appalled. "Don't do it, boss! He's trying to trick you! We can handle ourselves!", one of the jackals cried out. But the lead jackal was doing some thinking. At his heart, he was growing disillusioned of the world around him. He decided that it was in need of some remodeling. "Let's do it, doc. We'll help you change this world." The other jackals were surprised, since they knew that in certain cases the doctor was not to be trusted, but they went along with it, although what the lead jackal just did was like making a deal with the devil himself.