"Two meisters are catching up to us,"
Infinite and Shade were running further into the crypt. Shade looked back with concern.
"What should we do?"
Infinite weighed his options, then gained an idea once the tunnel opened up into a larger room. The crypt seemed older and more run down the further one proceeded into it. This room was filled with rubble and cracked pillars. Old wires and piping wove through the mess, likely out of use.
"I can buy us some time, but you might hate me for this"
Blaze and Tails entered the room full of rubble. They quickly noticed that the room was also filled with copies of a certain jackal.
"That's Infinite!" Tails pointed at the crowd.
Blaze recalled the report Tails had submitted based on his last witch encounter. "So these copies of him are solid as well?"
"Most likely,"
"We don't have any time to waste. They've been sending their most skilled fighters to attack and delay us, so that means they've likely sent their weakest offensive member to awaken the kishin. I'll focus on clearing a path for you to go on without me,"
Tails ignored the implication in Blaze's statement. Infinite's doppelgangers waited patiently for the meisters' approach. Tails scanned the crowd with his soul perception
"A lot of them are emitting a distorted signal. I can't tell which is the real one,"
Both meisters moved in towards the crowd. Each of the illusions adjusted their position to keep a distance. Tails caught one copy with a quick strike. The image faded quickly without any resistance.
'Not all of them are solid!" Tails yelled.
Blaze threw fiery attacks at two different copies, erasing them. "But we can't risk getting hit by any of them until we know which ones are a threat. Clearing them all out will take too long. Let's focus on getting you through,"
The exit was teeming with duplicates of Infinite. Tails and Blaze approached a thin cluster of projected enemies. Each of the duplicates responded by moving away from them. The attacks the meisters threw out were avoided without follow up. Tails and Blaze wove through the room to avoid larger concentrations of the duplicates, but ended up being pulled in different directions as the copies shifted their formations.
"Blaze, this is a trick!"
"What do you mean?"
"The copies aren't fighting, they're avoiding us. Because of their large numbers and the fact that they aren't alive, they shouldn't waste time on self preservation,"
"So he's bluffing,"
Tails nodded. "The magic in this wavelength feels a lot like the spell encasing the party. If he's the one maintaining that powerful prison, it's likely that he doesn't have enough strength left to beat us here. These illusions aren't made for fighting, all their magic is focused on diluting our soul perception,"
Each of Infinite's duplicates growled at Tails's conclusion. They began fading.
"Hurry Miles," Blaze dashed away. Tails hastened after her.
Shade ran down a decrepit hallway with the briefcase in one hand. Her other hand was gripping the collar of Infinite's jacket. The jackal was floating in the air behind her, encased in his own magical wavelength, projecting his form to the other room.
"You were right. I do kinda hate you right now," Shade muttered.
The increased burden had slowed their pace some. Suddenly, Infinite stopped floating and landed on his feet.
"They figured me out,"
"You bought us enough time, at least,"
Shade's statement was underlined when both witches arrived at a set of looming stone doors.
"Can you break this open?" Infinite asked.
"I'll give it a shot," Shade replied.
Before Shade could move to use her magic, the imposing doors moved of their own accord. A chilling gust of wind was brought out of the room. The two witches exchanged unsettled glances.
"Let's go," Infinite huffed before stepping into the darkened room.
"Why aren't there any locks on the doors?" Shade wondered.
The final chamber was a massive room filled with darkness alongside clusters of lab equipment. Shade's attention was caught by a small metal cart near the entrance that contained bladed tools ranging from thin scalpels to bulkier knives. Infinite stepped away to examine the two doors. Each of the doors had a variety of metal bracings entwined between thick gears.
"There is a locking mechanism on this door after all. Then why did it-"
Shade screamed and hit the floor before he could finish his thought. She was hunched over and crying when he approached.
"What happened?"
Infinite placed a hand on her shoulder. Shade revealed her new face when she turned up at him, one that was lined with countless eyes of varying sizes. Her mouth was larger and contained many jagged teeth. She bit into his neck. Shade effortlessly tore apart his throat alongside their false reality. Everything blurred and darkened.
Now that Infinite's mind was released from the hallucination, he glanced around the room in disbelief. Shade was still on the ground next to him, pointing a scalpel at her neck. She came to her senses soon after, and dropped the surgical blade. It fell next to the overturned cart it had been plucked from. The eerie quiet of the room made the clinking sound clearly audible.
"The kishin's madness couldn't make me stab myself, could it?" Shade asked.
"It could," A wet ripping sound came as Infinite tore a large knife out of his stomach. The ruby on his chest healed him. "Focus on what's right in front of you. We can't afford to keep falling into madness. Let's complete our mission so we can leave,"
The two proceeded towards the center of the room. They neared a strange object at the center that resembled a pale cocoon. It was surrounded by various terminals and connected to a network of machinery, causing it's unsettling organic composition to stand out. Pressure came from the inside; the outer layer of the cocoon shifted until it produced the shape of a handprint.
"The kishin's in there?" Shade looked disturbed.
Infinite examined the hand pressing against the cocoon. "The kishin senses our presence. With the reaper out of the way, his wavelength is growing; madness is spreading. I imagine the hallucinations were more of a greeting than anything,"
Shade groaned at the thought. Infinite gestured toward the briefcase she was holding.
"He'll still need our help to wake up completely,"
Blaze ran into the room, saw the two witches, and readied an attack until a man manifested before her. He wore a long, tattered cloak. His face was covered in eyes. Two tendrils that seemed to be both flesh and metal protruded from his torso. A mouth that spanned almost the entire width of his head opened up, revealing many fangs. Blaze slashed with her sword while releasing fire with each movement to destroy the monster.
Infinite watched Blaze, who was releasing fire in random directions.
"She's caught by the madness. Hurry!"
Shade hastily opened the briefcase to reveal parts of a syringe and a vial of black blood. She assembled the syringe then pierced the vial. The syringe was full of black blood by the time Tails entered the room.
"Blaze, what are you doing?" The fox asked.
Blaze's mind left the hallucination. She immediately turned back towards Shade.
"Burn the Witch!"
Blaze released her trademark trio of fireballs at Shade after resonating with Silver. Infinite jumped in the way so he could take the attack in Shade's place. He was hit directly. The jackal's clothes and fur were burning away, but he was healing easily. Blaze released more flames in controlled bursts.
"He can't move while I'm attacking. Miles, stop her!" Blaze yelled as she continued slinging fire at Infinite. "Don't get caught by the madness!"
Tails took off through the air. Before he could zero in on Shade, a cloaked man with a nightmarish appearance appeared from behind one of the massive columns scattered throughout the room. He was at the same elevation as Tails, and unsightly tendrils were protruding from his body to hold him on the pillar like a spider's legs. Two tendrils produced blades before shooting out at Tails. He didn't take any damage, but he was falling by the time his mind was free.
So that's what Blaze meant by the madness. He wouldn't have guessed the chaos wavelength from the kishin was powerful enough to cause hallucinations. Tails didn't have much time left, so he aimed his gauntlet at the witch nearing the kishin.
"Drill Cannon!"
The gauntlet flew through the air, spinning rapidly. Shade jumped out of the way, but landed awkwardly to avoid damaging the oversized syringe. Knuckles shifted out of his weapon form and landed with shoes scraping against the ground. He saw the witch he had narrowly missed.
Knuckles punched Shade, easily landing a direct hit. A pained expression entered the witch's face before she began to flicker. Infinite's final illusion faded, revealing the real Shade to Knuckles. She pierced the kishin's egg with the syringe and gave the plunger a push to transfuse all of the black blood inside.
Silence came for only a moment before the cocoon began clenching like a beating heart. Everyone in the room had their attention fixated on the cocoon now. It began writhing with increasing urgency until a break formed on the surface. Fingers found their way through the opening and pushed it to increase its size.
Out stepped a human man in a tattered black jumpsuit of some kind. His stature resembled the figure that had appeared in Tails and Blaze's hallucinations, but his features weren't as ghastly or distorted. Despite his gray mustache and aged appearance, his face was very familiar.
He looked exactly like Eggman.
Blaze kicked Infinite, who was distracted, out of the way. Her wavelength swelled with Silver's when she pointed her sword at the man.
"Burn the Witch!"
A trio of fireballs soared into the kishin. Fire enveloped him.
"Ow!" His voice sounded almost exactly like Eggman's, only it was a little more worn. He patted down the bits of fire that remained on his jumpsuit. "That was rude,"
Knuckles ran up to the kishin next and channeled the frustration from his failure into a punch. His fist crashed into the kishin's back with a loud thud, but the man did not move. The kishin gently brushed his hand through the air near Knuckles then walked away. Knuckles looked confused for a moment before a massive force of impact crashed into his body. The echidna was sent flying.
"Blaze, why does he look like Eggman?" Tails asked with great concern. He ran over to Knuckles, who was on the ground covering his bleeding nose.
"Who's Eggman?" The kishin saw Blaze approaching fast, so he aimed his palm at her. The air shimmered before Blaze was knocked off of her feet. She had blocked the initial impact, but was still thoroughly rattled by the time she hit the ground.
The kishin began milling through a nearby desk. He retrieved a pair of sunglasses with triangular lenses and a pair of goggles. After putting them on, he turned to Shade, who flinched in response.
"You helped revive me?"
"Yes,"
'Well, thanks,"
Shade glanced around the room awkwardly, wondering if this was all some sort of joke. Her eyes widened when she saw someone jump at the kishin.
"Witch Hunter!
Sonic soared through the air, winding up his transformed scythe. He stabbed the glowing blade into the kishin's shoulder. Sparks flew as energy was released from attack.
"Yow! Ow ow ow! That stings!"
Sonic landed and jumped back with surprise. After removing his scythe, the kishin's shoulder was split by the blade, forming a large divot. The kishin's arm hung limply and sagged away from the rest of his body before the wound was pushed together by machines woven into the sinew. The witch hunter transformation faded. The kishin smiled.
"A Black Arm scythe? I like the way you think,"
"Eggman?" Sonic replied with widened eyes.
"Why do people keep saying that?" The kishin looked around the room with frustration. No one answered, so he pointed an arm straight above himself. A ring of dark energy ascended into the air. The energy bore into the ceiling until a tunnel was paved all the way to the surface. Pale moonlight eked into the room, making only a subtle change in the lighting. The kishin produced pristine metallic tendrils from his back that began functioning as thrusters.
"No!" Sonic charged at the kishin. Blaze and Tails were back as well, both with their weapons ready. The three meisters tried attacking, but the kishin released a pulse of energy in all directions. Each of his opponents were sent far away from him before he ignited his thrusters and left through the newly created exit.
Infinite appeared next to Shade suddenly, then fell into her arms.
"Get me out of here,"
Shade saw that much of his fur had been burned away. Little black hairs were growing back as the burns were fading. He was exhausted, and even his mask had been destroyed. It was at that moment that Shade realized Infinite was completely naked.
"Right," Shade lifted Infinite up like the helpless damsel that he was and kept her gaze from veering downward. She approached the tunnel the kishin had just exited from and jumped. Like most witches, she couldn't float particularly well without a broom. Carrying Infinite only made things trickier. She focused on extending her jumps, using the walls of the tunnel to string together additional leaps.
Sonic saw that each of his enemies had escaped, and began to feel himself weaken. Everything went dark soon after.