Choices

By: LittleTrash1027

Here's the conclusion to this story! Sorry, it gets kind of crazy in the end, I didn't really know what to do with it so I hope it's okay. Please leave a review and tell me what you think!

Everyone stared in silence, as the pieces were put together in their heads. Some suspicions answered and yet even more questions arising. The shocking part about this was how Infinite looked. He still had his iconic black and white fur, but it looked unwashed and the hair in the back of his was messy and knotted. This time, however, he didn't have his mask on. His eyes looked tired and one pupil was a reddish-gold. Perhaps an effect of the phantom ruby on him. Speaking of which, the most noticeable difference on him was his chest. He had a large bloody bandage on it, which looked old and clung loosely to him. Overall, his appearance was a clear depiction of being unwell, physically and mentally.

"Infinite?" Shadow was the first to speak. His reaction caused Infinite to let out a sigh.

"Ah, so you do remember me! I suspected you'd forgotten who I was, just like last time.." Infinite replied.

"You're not that hard to forget at this point," Shadow said. He then blinked a few times and stood up abruptly. The others followed in response.

"How? How were able to do all of this?" Silver asked, his voice quivering. Infinite chuckled and put a hand on his chin.

"Oh, I've learned a whole lot of new illusions and tricks since the last time we've met. Hehe.." He trailed off into his laughter. They stared at him coldly, and Sonic finally spoke.

"Why? Why did you do this?" He said, his voice hoarse and weak from being choked. Infinite stopped chuckling and glared at Sonic with hatred. His pupils went wide with anger and clenched a fist tightly.

"Why? Why?! You of all people should know why! You all ruined my life! At first, it was Shadow who sparked it all, saying that I was..weak. Soon after, I got my chance to prove you wrong, and I did so. I had the world in the palm of my hand! Until you and your friends came and fucked everything up! When I was defeated, I was badly damaged and the phantom ruby was destroyed. I barely managed to make it back to that fat bastard's lair, and you know what I got from him? 'It's over for you. You had your chance, and you wasted it. Now leave and never show your face here again.' I was furious, and before I was able to kill that wack of a scientist, I was knocked out, and left to die in the streets. So, I hid, and planned, and waited for the perfect opportunity to make you all pay for everything you've done to me. To show you that your choices have consequences on everything." Infinite's words were filled with anger and hate towards them. Although, Shadow felt the words hit him the most. He felt like every word was going towards him, and he didn't even know why he felt like this.

Infinite cleared his throat and calmed his speech. "I spent years learning everything I could about you three, and how I could make my pain and message clear. And I believe I have!"

Silver and Shadow glared in hate, then looked at Sonic, and were taken aback. He looked furious and was staring at the floor. He was shaking and sweat was visibly rolling down his cheeks.

"You...You hurt Silver. You made me kill Amy. You tortured Shadow. And you almost killed me. You will pay for this, you MONSTER!" Sonic screamed and dashed towards Infinite with blazing speed. He held up a fist to be launched at Infinite's face. Before his fist could make contact though, Infinite slashed as his chest, leaving four red scars. Sonic gasped in pain and crumbled to the ground. The blood leaked from the wounds and stained Sonic's blue and peach fur.

"SONIC!" Silver and Shadow screamed. Silver used his psychokinesis to quickly pull Sonic away before Infinite could do any more damage. He clutched his chest and gasped in pain, tears leaking out of his eyes.

"Wow. I mean, I knew you were quick on your feet, but have heard the saying 'think before you act?" Infinite said, slightly amused at the blue hedgehog's cries. Shadow glared at Infinite, gritting his teeth and leaving Silver to help Sonic. Infinite held up a hand to stop him in his tracks.

"Ah ah ah! I wouldn't do that if I were you. Unless, you don't care that there'd be a one in three chance that one of you'd be killed, but I'm not sure the Ultimate Lifeform would be willing to play the odds. Not when we're so close to the final test!" Infinite said.

Shadow looked back at the others. Silver looked puzzled and Sonic was breathing heavily on the floor. He then looked back at Infinite.

"What is the final test?" Shadow asked. Infinite smiled widely and the red light that illuminated the room floated towards him.

"The final test is going to a test of trust. I'm going to make the room extremely dark, and it's up to you to choose who you think you can trust. You will be guiding each other throughout this room to your freedom. Simple, right? Well, there will most definitely be obstacles that you must avoid. Good luck." When Infinite finished, the red glow faded, and the hedgehogs were met with a black void, like when they entered the room.

There was a momentary silence until they were faint sounds of Silver's psychokinesis activating but it buffered. Shadow turned his head in the direction of them, and the faint cyan glow showed him where Silver and Sonic were. He went towards them and grabbed Sonic's arm to help him up. Pain filled whimpers and grunts came out of Sonic, as he struggled to stand.

"Come on Sonic, you have to get up. You heard him. We have to keep moving just a little further, and we'll get out of this hellish torture chamber," Shadow said, "Silver, can't you use your powers to heal him or something?" Silver looked at Shadow, and let out a sigh.

"I barely have enough energy to offer light," Silver replied. He had a headache that kept getting worse everytime he used his powers. Silver clutched his head, sending the message to Shadow clearly.

"Well, do you have enough energy to carry him?" Shadow asked while summoning a Chaos Spear to offer a brighter light source. Silver nodded meekly and helped Sonic up. Sonic still clung to his chest, yet managed to straighten himself up.

Shadow walked forward, the other two following behind. They followed through the darkness and turned left to be faced with a long corridor. They continued, preparing themselves for anything.

Nothing was appearing to happen, giving them time to think about what they had heard. Shadow thought hard about what he had said. Just one word, one failure, caused that jackal to go into insanity. It just proves how fractured a villain's mind could get. Shadow knew this entire charade was crazy, yet he can't help but feel responsible for all of this. No, this wasn't his fault..was it? Shadow pushed that thought away, as they came close to a new doorway.

Shadow walked through it, trying to see if anything was inside this room. He stopped when he heard Sonic fall to the floor in pain.

"Your injuries better not hold us back, because we have ways to go, blue," Shadow growled. Silver helped Sonic up again, who looked at Shadow with a stern look on his face.

"Well, I'm sorry. It's not like I have big scars on my chest, jerk." Sonic replied sarcastically.

"You've been through pain before and dealt with it. Why not now?" Shadow said.

"Guys, would you just-" Silver started, but was cut off by a low growl. They turned their heads to see a black void but listened closely to hear the sound of nothing. Shadow didn't want to wait for another sound. He used the Chaos Spear in his hand to throw it at the direction of the growl.

A loud explosion was heard and the silhouette of a large creature screeching was visible. Its cries rang in everyone's ears, and then sounds of swift footsteps were coming at a fast pace. Shadow grabbed onto Silver's arm, and yelled, "RUN!" They didn't need to be told twice and followed him past the dark corridor.

Sonic felt pangs of pain in his torso but ignored it as best as he could. He held onto Silver and ran with everything he had. He felt something sharp lodge itself into his ankle, causing him to trip and drag Silver down. He gritted his teeth and forced himself to get up.

Silver couldn't take it anymore. He used his psychokinesis to help Sonic up and to see weird black splotches on the floor. Ignoring his headache, Silver caught up with Shadow, showing him the spikes in the floor. Using what energy they had, they helped each other dodge the spikes, ducking and jumping from the black blades. In the corner of his eye, Sonic saw a doorway to his right. He grabbed on Silver's shoulder and made him look at Sonic.

"Silver, you have to trust me on this. Use your powers to fling us over there." Sonic pointed at the doorway. Silver felt a little unsure but trusted Sonic. He levitated everyone and angled it just right. He could feel a black splotch begin to form, but before it had the chance to stab him, Silver flung everyone through the doorway. They collapsed to the floor, unmoving and breathing heavily.

They all felt exhausted, yet their minds raced with the sudden rush of adrenaline. They panted for a few minutes, wanting nothing more than to relax and for this to be just a bad dream. Shadow sat up and saw a door with light coming from it. He was about to say something until he saw an outline of Infinite in front of him.

"I've waited a long time for this!" He yelled and brought his claws down swiftly on Shadow. He closed his eyes and waited for the pain to come.

Yet no pain followed. A loud slashing sound was heard, and Shadow felt warm droplets of blood on his face. He opened his eyes slowly and he saw the sickening truth. Sonic stood in front of him, his coat covered in blood. He had more scars on his chest, way deeper than the one he already had. He sputtered and breath heavily, still trying to stand as if protecting his friend. Silver cried in terror and Shadow lost all color in his cheeks. Sonic then fell on his knees and collapsed on the floor. His eyes were wide, just like the others.

"Hmm..it's not you, Shadow, but that still felt great!" Infinite exclaimed, a crazed grin spreading across his muzzle. He was covered in blood, and bits and pieces of flesh were on his claws.

"Sonic…" Shadow whispered, unable to look away from his friend. Silver broke down, sobbing openly and gasped through hiccuping sobs. Shadow felt a hand tug on his arm and looked at Sonic's emerald eyes.

"I-I told you..you could trust me." He barely managed a smile and shut his eyes for one last time.

"Sonic? Sonic! Say something, come on!" Shadow pleaded.

Silver looked at the two in sorrow and then crawled over to them.

"Congratulations, you two! You have passed this test. Thanks to you three I have proven that choices have consequences that are devastating to come. As promised, you are free to leave and return to your homes and to seek whatever punishment you see fit, if you can find me." Infinite muttered.

He faded into the darkness and left the two in their silence. They mourned their friend for a few more minutes, thinking about what they're going to tell the others. What they're going to tell Tails...Unwillingly, Shadow left Sonic's body and helped Silver up, wiping a few tears from his eyes. Together they walked out of the chamber, and the door closed and locked behind them one last time.