Hope you guys enjoy! This one was a rush to write!

Two noises, a high-pitched hum, and a harsh, beating thrumming sound, filled the air. Two figures were floating, staring each other down.

"This wasn't on my agenda, but I'm always happy to crush a hero," The masked one remarked, his voice dispassionate and reverberating demonically. "It keeps the rabble in line; shows them that there is no hope."

Silver clenched his fist.

"Does anyone but you believe your lies?!" He demanded. The masked one didn't respond, instead dashing past him. Silver grunted, before giving chase, prompting the two to start flying around in streaks of red and green, crashing into each other in colorful explosions.

Unbeknownst to the two of them, their battle was being spectated. Five experiments, having wandered through the brush, had come across the two duelling, and had taken up positions outside of the splash zone, so to speak.

To the annoyance of one of them.

"Come on!" A red experiment, wearing a backwards baseball cap, growled. "Why're we just sitting around and not kicking that guy's ass!?"

"Fangie," Another one, a black one with white stripes and wearing a red opal necklace whispered. "I would like to help out as well, but-"

"But what? C'mon, Stella. That masked guy is obviously the bad guy, here! Did ya HEAR what he was sayin'?" The red one, now identified as Fang, growled. She was glaring at the one in the mask. She didn't know why, but she got a bad feeling from this guy.

"I… Well… um…" The black and white one, Stella, started, trying to come up with a good reason.

"Because we don't know what these guys can do," A red and blue one said, suddenly. Stella looked over at her, and nodded.

"Right, because we don't know what they can do," Stella agreed. Fang rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, right," She grumbled.

"Well," Another experiment, an orange one, started. "Maybe if something goes wrong, we could jump in? I mean, we could gang up on 'em."

"Maybe, Vir. But only if we have to," The red and blue one responded.

'Vir' shrugged.

"Just a suggestion."

"Hmph," The fifth scoffed, crossing her arms. She was purple, and wore a pair of cat paw-shaped glasses. "It's pathetic that we're having to wait like this. If we believe the one in the mask is evil, we should act accordingly."

"Exactly!" Fang smirked. The red and blue experiment facepalmed in response.

"I'm surrounded by idiots…" She muttered quietly.

"Calm down, Rogue," 'Vir' said. "No point in getting irritated over stuff like this."

Rogue just groaned in response.

Unseen by all, as the two clashed, a small reddish gem suddenly flew off of the masked one. Obscured by the explosions of the fight, fell to the ground before tumbling off to the side. It glowed brightly for a moment, before fading.

Silver dipped under, attempting to catch the masked on off-guard. However, the masked one anticipated this, and flew down to intercept him. Caught off-guard, Silver was unable to react when the masked one suddenly flew into him at high speed.

The impact sent Silver flying back, slamming him into the cliff face behind him before he fell to the ground in a heap.

Stella gasped. "He's been overtaken!"

"Seeing is believing," The masked one scoffed, before charging in to finish him off.

"LIKE HELL YOU ARE!" Fang roared, launching herself out of the brush in a burst of fire before anyone could stop her.

"Wha-!? Fang!" Stella yelled.

"Damn it!" Rogue shouted. "Let's get a move on before she gets herself killed!"

The masked one, for his part, heard the commotion and paused, just in time for Fang to slam into him, sending him careening to the side. He quickly recovered, however, and levelled a glare at his assailant.

"Hmph. More trash to dispose of," He scoffed, crossing his arms.

Fang scowled in response, sweeping out her arm. A wave of fire burst to life as she did so, before condensing into a red halberd.

It was then that the rest of the group ran up besides her. The masked one counted no less than five.

"Still more trash emerges. How annoying."

Shakily, Silver pulled himself up slightly to get a look at what was going on.

"More of them…?" He mumbled. The black and white one, Stella, noticed him and quickly ran over to him. Seeing her, the orange one also ran over.

"Hey," She said, sounding concerned. "Are you okay?"

"Ngh… I've been better," Silver mumbled, trying to stand up. 'Vir' offered him a shoulder, which he took. Being supported by the orange experiment, Silver was able to stand up again.

"Thanks," He said. "Er, what're your guys' names?"

"It's Virgil," The orange experiment responded.

"Oh, I'm Stella. A pleasure to meet you…" Stella trailed off.

"Silver."

"Ah, Silver. Um… It fits," Stella said, noting the hedgehog's light grey fur.

Silver nodded absentmindedly, his focus on the confrontation in front of him. He saw the purple experiment step forward, towards the masked monster.

"You're calling us trash?" She frowned, pulling out a horse whip. "Then I will have to educate you. Prepare yourself!"

Rogue rolled her eyes, before lowering into a combat stance.

"Cool it, Catalina," She chided. The purple one, Catalina, cast a brief glance over in her direction before quickly turning back to face the masked creature.

"It's three on one," Virgil noted from where he was standing. "They can't lose this, can they?"

Rogue's ears twitched as she registered what Virgil said.

"Don't jinx it, Virgil. Just don't," Rogue squeezed her eyes shut.

Without warning, Fang rushed forward, intending on gutting the masked one like a fish. Without changing his stance, he side-stepped her, faster than any of them could see.

Immediately following up, Catalina attempted to deliver a flying kick, which was easily evaded. Landing, she backflipped back towards him and attempted a sweeping kick, which the masked one ducked under.

Returning from her earlier charge, Fang lit her halberd ablaze and swung at the masked one, coinciding with another one of the Catalina's kicks.

The masked one scoffed before disappearing just as the two attacks would have connected him. Both experiments stumbled for a moment before quickly catching themselves.

Swiftly turning around, they saw the masked one standing a short distance away. His face was obscured by his mask, as well as a smoky reddish aura, but they could just TELL that he was utterly bored.

'How'd he do that…?' Rogue thought. She was staying back, trying to gauge this thing's combat capabilities. All she needed to do was grab him. That was it. One touch, and that'd be the end of the fight.

Fang had the same thought.

"How'd this bastard do that?" She asked, growling.

This guy's speed was a problem, Rogue realized. He was effortlessly evading two powerful experiments at the same time.

Rogue tsked. She was going to need a distraction if she wanted to grab this guy.

"Is that all?" The masked one scoffed.

"Not by a long shot!" Fang yelled. Twirling her spear, an odd-looking circle suddenly formed in front of her. She stopped twirling her halberd and thrust it into the air.

"BURN!"

The ground beneath the masked creature suddenly began to crack as a red-orange glow enveloped the area. Not even a moment later, a massive pillar of fire exploded from that spot.

The masked creature took to the air, flipping away from the spell with ease.

"There!" Rogue shouted, rushing forward. She ripped her glove off and went to grab the creature before he could hit the ground.

What she wasn't expecting was for his foot to suddenly fly up and smack her square in the face, sending her careening in the other direction. She caught herself, however, and managed to land on her feet.

Rogue wiped her mouth with her arm and grimaced. A small trickle of blood had formed from the corner of her mouth.

"Damn…" She hissed.

The masked one, for his part, was hanging in mid-air, still upside down.

"How pathetic," He scoffed, reorienting himself to be right-side up.

He held his palm out towards Rogue, and a crimson sphere of energy materialized in his hand. However, before he could fire it, he was kicked square in the back of the head by the Catalina

"Nobody is allowed to mess with our family!" She declared.

Annoyed, the masked one grabbed her foot and, with a sharp jerk, threw her at Rogue. Rogue managed to catch her, however.

"Take this, bastard!" Fang shouted, holding up her flaming halberd and attempted to bring it down on his head.

Once more, the masked creature disappeared from sight. Fang scowled.

"Again!? Damn it!" She yelled in frustration. Then she heard a strange noise from her side.

She barely had time to turn her head before a crimson energy blast struck her in the side, sending her crashing into the cliff face.

"…Ow."

"Fang!" Stella shouted. That got the masked one's attention, and he fired another blast at her. Before Stella could even register what had just happened, Virgil was suddenly right in front of her, his arm crossed over his chest. Then, he smacked the blast away with the back of his paw. The red sphere flew into the nearby trees, before exploding violently.

The masked one lowered his hand.

"Impressive," He mused, before crossing his arms once more.

Virgil said nothing, instead narrowing his eyes at the masked creature. For a moment, his eyes flashed red.

"Oh, boy…" Rogue muttered, backing up. Catalina did as well.

This was NOT going to end well.

As Virgil and the masked creature stared each other down, the ground beneath them began to shake violently, causing everyone except the latter, who was floating, to stumble a bit.

"W-Wha…?" Stella yelped, flapping her arms in an effort to maintain balance.

"What the-?" Virgil stumbled a little before quickly regaining his balance.

The quake ceased, and everyone managed to catch themselves.

"An earthquake?" Fang looked confused, before turning to Stella, who shrugged in response. The masked creature looked off to the side.

"It would seem the doctor's plan is progressing…" He muttered. His words didn't escape the experiments' sensitive ears.

"I beg your pardon?" Catalina demanded, getting his attention. "What plan are you referring to?"

"It's none of your concern," He responded coldly. He then turned to Virgil, who had resumed staring at him.

"Now, take this!" The masked creature's aura flared as he charged in a streak of red at Virgil. Before he could get far, however, a blue streak shot out from the forest and slammed into him, generating a powerful shockwave that sent Virgil, the masked creature, and the newcomer in opposite directions.

"What the-!?" Virgil's eyes widened as he skidded back. The blue streak unfurled and landed in front of him, revealing it to be Sonic.

"Time to tag out, guys!" He shouted. "I'll take it from here!"

"Who's this guy?" Fang asked. Rogue and Catalina shrugged.

"Sonic-!?" Silver half-yelled.

'Sonic…?' Stella thought, looking at the newcomer. She was snapped from her thoughts when the masked creature, now floating in the air above them, spoke.

"Well, look who's back from the dead," He scoffed, pressing his mask back into place with two fingers. "The little blue saviour… but what's that I smell?"

Sonic stood up to his full height, looking slightly puzzled. Having recovered from their earlier bout, Fang, Catalina, and Rogue quickly ran over to stand next to Virgil, and thus between the masked creature and Stella and Silver.

"You reek of fear. Glad to see I left an impression," He continued. Everyone turned to Sonic, who raised an arm and sniffed.

"Oh, that's not fear; I ran all the way over here," Sonic shrugged. "And you haven't left an impression. I don't know anything about you! Not even your name."

He said that last bit with a coy smirk, eliciting a sweatdrop from everyone around him.

'This guy sounds like Vir if he were a jock…' Rogue mentally facepalmed. She was snapped from her own thoughts when the masked one spoke yet again.

"You may call me… Infinite… In the brief moments that remain to you."

"Infinite, huh?" Fang rolled her eyes. Talk about a tryhard.

"How arrogant," Catalina scoffed. Sonic, however, grinned cheekily.

"Great! See, Infinite? Now we're getting to know each other!" Sonic said in mock cheer before he began pacing back and forth. "So, what's your favorite color? Do you like long, romantic walks on the beach?"

Every word out of Sonic's mouth prompted increasingly annoyed groans from the experiments around him, sans Virgil and Stella, the former cracking a small grin at his antics, and the latter appearing more confused.

"Is this idiot planning on annoying him to death…?" Catalina muttered.

Sonic then jumped to the side and held his hand to his ear.

"What's the source of your power? You can skip the first two questions if you'd like."

Infinite scoffed.

"The source of my power is none of your concern," He said simply, uncrossing his arms to reveal a crimson, pulsating stone embedded in his chest. This didn't go unnoticed by Rogue, who eyed the gemstone curiously.

'What is that…?' She wondered.

"Sorry, but you've just GOT to share the secret of your power with me. I insist!" Sonic replied, before moving to rush him.

"Your insistence is futile!" Infinite growled in response. The black portion of his mask suddenly lit up with a menacing glow as the stone on his chest suddenly emitted a strange crimson light that filled everyone's vision. The ground began to shake as everyone suddenly lifted off of the ground.

"Woah… Woah, woah, woah, woah!" Sonic yelped as he began to tumble in mid-air.

"What the hell!?" Fang yelled, also stumbling and flailing around.

"Sonic!" Silver yelled. "Are you okay?"

Sonic didn't have time to respond before Infinite suddenly charged into him, sending him flying.

"Woah!"

As the two disappeared over the cliff, the red glow ceased as suddenly as it appeared, and everyone landed back on the ground.

"What the hell was that?" Rogue asked as Fang landed face-first behind her.

"Ow, again."

Everyone else shrugged.

"You're not hurt, are you?" Stella asked, turning to Silver, who shook his head.

"I'm more concerned about Sonic right now…" Silver responded, looking at where the two of them had went.

Sonic managed to right himself in mid-air and landed on his feet. He was standing on another, much, much larger snake than the one he'd encountered before. He was broken from that thought, however, when Infinite descended in front of him, his arms crossed. Infinite uncrossed his arms, and his aura pulsed.

Sonic smirked, before racing towards him. In response, Infinite scoffed before flying away himself, making sure to face the blue blur.

"Still thrashing around, I see," Infinite mused, sweeping his arms. "You filthy little sewer rat!"

That strange noise reverberating in the air, Sonic saw flickering red cubes suddenly materialize, coiling around the snake's body.

"Haven't you seen a hedgehog before?" Sonic sniped, leaping over the cubes. "C'mon, I'll show you my spines!"

Being in mid-air, Sonic quickly curled into a ball and rushed Infinite. Infinite ducked to get out of the way, only for Sonic to uncurl mid dash and sweep around to kick him in the face.

"Guh-!" Infinite grunted, being sent back a short distance from the impact.

Sonic clenched his fists and Boosted after him. In response, Infinite extended his palm and fired a multitude of blasts at Sonic, who quickly stepped to the left to avoid them. Infinite fired another volley, and Sonic stepped to the right.

Coming within range, Sonic took a running jump, curling into a ball as he did so, and charged Infinite.

However, Infinite fired another blast, catching Sonic dead-on and sending him into the snake's side.

"Ngh-!" Sonic grunted from the impact. He recovered quickly, however, and Boosted forward once more, this time opting to boost directly into Infinite.

Infinite was sent careening away from the snake from the sudden strike, just as Sonic noticed the snake's head coming up.

Acting quickly, Sonic kicked off of the snake's head and onto a nearby floating piece of debris, which he then kicked off of in order to hit a nearby spring. That spring launched him into another spring, which sent him into the air above the snake's body.

It was then that Sonic noticed a large group of flickering copies of Infinite in the air as well, all poised to try and blast him.

Thinking quickly, Sonic homed in on the nearest one, forcing it to dispel. It was then that he noticed that the Infinite in the very back of the group wasn't flickering as much. Reasoning that this was the real one, Sonic curled up once more and slammed into him.

This turned out to be a correct assumption, as Infinite was sent flying as his clones disappeared into thin air.

"You might have more fight in you than the other rabble," Infinite remarked as he and Sonic both landed on the snake's body. "Let's see how many seconds you last!"

"Payback time at last!" Sonic smirked. In response, Infinite swept his hands, causing two walls of red cubes to materialize next to Sonic. Seeing what was about to happen, Sonic jumped just as they began to close in on him. However, Infinite dashed towards him and threw out his palm.

An invisible force slammed into Sonic and sent him flying back. Catching himself, Sonic curled into a ball and dashed across the snake's body before leaping up at Infinite once more. Infinite intercepted by sweeping his foot down, catching Sonic and sending him into the snake again.

Sonic, however, was prepared for this. Curling in mid-air, he rebounded off of the scaly body and bounced back up, catching Infinite in the jaw. Surprised, Infinite lurched back, leaving him open for Sonic, who was still curled up, to slam into him once more, sending him flying.

Still smirking, Sonic landed and Boosted to catch up. Seeing this, Infinite, who had righted himself, pressed his hands together and began to pull them apart, producing a much larger sphere of energy. Throwing his hands out, his launched this blast at Sonic.

Realizing that he didn't have room to maneuver around it, Sonic jumped into the air and curled into a spinning blue ball. Suddenly, his speed increased drastically, producing a blue shockwave that slammed into the blast, causing both blasts to cancel out and explode, kicking up a massive cloud of smoke and sending both Sonic and Infinite flying backwards.

As the dust cleared, Sonic and Infinite both came back into view. Neither looked any worse for wear, even after the explosion.

"Had enough yet?" Sonic said, an audacious smile cracking his face.

"Don't get cocky, blue gnat," Infinite spat.

Grinning cheekily, Sonic ran at Infinite once again, curling into a ball and homing in on him.

Infinite moved to the side and kicked him, sending him into the air. Infinite then flew up and kicked him again, sending him crashing into the snake's body. Sonic quickly got back up, however, and ran at Infinite again.

Infinite waved his hand, and more red cubes formed around the snake, this time appearing as a massive curling line around the snake. Sonic jumped to avoid them, before boosting forward, slamming into Infinite and sending him flying away from the snake again.

Seeing the snake's head again, Sonic leapt high into the air, hitting the same springs as before, before seeing Infinite, now with a much larger group of clones. However, even with the increased number, the real Infinite was still in the back, with less static flickering around his form.

Smirking, Sonic homed in on, and slammed into the first clone. Infinite's clones fired a volley of shots at him, only for Sonic to flip in mid-air to avoid it. He then slammed into the real Infinite, who was sent spiraling away as his clones disappeared.

"Impossible!" Infinite almost yelled as he caught himself. "Your abilities exceed your previous data!"

Infinite's aura began to sputter and fade as he held his masked face, as if nursing a headache.

Sonic landed on the snake once more, and smirked.

"Unlike mechs, I can grow," He boasted. "I get more powerful every second!"

"I'll teach you to hold that tongue next time we meet. You can count on it," Infinite growled.

Regardless, Infinite grunted and shook his head as he floated away from the snake. Sonic gave him a questioning look.

"Well," Infinite removed his hand from his face. "You've improved since the last time. But you will still lose."

Infinite crossed his arm over his chest, before sweeping it out. A massive surge of energy erupted from the gem on his chest, blanketing everything in that strange red light as reality around them began to sputter and flicker.

"W-Woah…!" Sonic stumbled for a few seconds. He found his footing quickly, however, just in time to see Infinite produce two spheres of energy in his hands.

Infinite threw one. Sonic quickly leapt to the side to avoid it, only for the other to slam into his chest, sending him flying off of the snake's body.

"Guh-!" He grunted as he hurtled through the air, before landed hard on his stomach on the ground below.

"Ngh…" He started trying to pull himself to his feet.

"As I predicted," Infinite scoffed. "You're not even worth the effort to finish off."

Infinite adjusted his mask. The red glow all at once ceased, and he flew off in a streak of red.

Sonic groaned as he pulled himself back to his feet. He grabbed his head and shook it.

"Uuugh…" He groaned. "I've got to figure out the secret of his power!"