Sonic the Hedgehog

Forced AU

Rating:R

Pairings: Undecided

"The Phantom Ruby activates under strong desires." Eggman explained to the jackal in the room. "The greater your desire, the more the Ruby can work for you - In theory, the power it grants is limitless."

It has been two days after that incident. And during that time, Finnigan the Jackal had smoked way more sticks of cigarettes than he ever did in his life; going through a pack a day, for they were all he had to help his current mental state.

Doctor Eggman had returned from space a day ago, rushing back after hearing the jackal's wish to devastate the world. What an opportunity presented to him! Of course, he couldn't refuse, and quickly finished up the developments of the Death Egg before returning to Mobius.

"But there's only one Ruby strong enough to take in all of those desires, and that is the one that both you and I have successfully activated." continued the scientist. "I have no idea why yet, but the other Rubies don't seem to translate desires as efficiently. I will have to keep them somewhere for analysis."

"What's with the mask you made, doctor?" asked Finnigan, referring to an object laying on top of Eggman's workstation. "It doesn't seem to be designed for your face."

"Indeed, it is not intended for me to wear. You will be wearing it." Eggman stated. "And it is not just a mask, jackal. It is a Ruby Perception Manipulator."

"Meaning?"

"Meaning - that you can choose to be affected by the things you create with the Phantom Ruby, or not."

The jackal's mismatched eyes focused on the mask lying on the workstation.

"Don't just stare at it; put it on." ordered the evil genius. "Let's take it on a test run, shall we?"

And so he did. Finnigan put the mask on, and it had fit perfectly; covering up his entire head while also letting his mane flow freely down the centre of his head. The scientist must have designed this with his jackal head in mind.

"Follow me."

Doctor Eggman led Finnigan to another location in his base. It was a big, empty room, lit with bright hanging lights and decorated - not really - with complete white walls and flooring.

"Go on. Try thinking of something, and then wish for it to appear."

With the Phantom Ruby held in his palm firmly, Finnigan thought of the very first thing that came into his head:

The Jackal Squad emblem. He wanted to see it again.

And right before their very eyes, a concrete structure began to take shape in front of them: An infinity symbol in red, that the Jackal Squad had used; the emblem that was of his squad.

"What's this supposed to mean?" asked Eggman, confused at the other's creation.

"It… was the symbol of my squad." replied the jackal.

He recalled the time when Cassidy designed it; for the simple reason that they wished for the Jackal Squad to be the very best mercenary team. To have infinite potential. To have immeasurable bond, and countless memories with each and every member of the team.

"Well, try something else. Something that would cause a reaction to the real world." Eggman ordered. "Perhaps a missile launcher?"

With the concept of a missile launcher in his mind, Finnigan closed his eyes and focused on the imagery and idea of the artillery. Opening his eyes, he found the missile launcher took form in front of himself, aimed at the wall at the opposite site of the room.

"Fire it."

BAM!

And a rocket explosive was launched out of the cannon. It travelled fast, and the projectile soon came into contact with the other end of the room.

BOOM!

A loud explosion was heard, seen and felt by both of the characters. The missile wasn't fake. Even though it was conjured, it had indeed affected the real world.

Doctor Eggman stared at the ruined wall while some of his robots rushed into the room with fire extinguishers and started their efforts to put out the fire.

"Excellent. We'll have to work on your control and reality perception next time." the scientist concluded. "Meanwhile, I'll find a way to attach that Ruby to you somehow so you wouldn't have to carry it around."

Suddenly, Finnigan felt an instant flash of sharp, stinging pain on his chest. In a natural instinctive response, he moved his hands to clutch at his chest - only to find that he was not touching either fur, or flesh, but a material that wasn't there before.

The Phantom Ruby. It had embedded itself into him.

"... Did you do that?" Eggman inquired.

"I might have had an idea flash in my head as you suggested a way to attach the Ruby to me." replied the jackal honestly as he looked down at the gemstone now attached to himself. "It must have sensed it."

"Well, that solves one problem already." Eggman commented, as he turned to leave the room. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have some work to do."

Finnigan stared at the leaving human.

"Before you go, doctor." he spoke. "I have one simple request."

"What is it?"

"From now on, refer to me as Infinite."

Doctor Eggman didn't ask for any reasons. With a grunt, he acknowledged the jackal's appeal, and left the room to further develop on his plans and research.

The lone being in the room stared at the red infinity symbol that he conjured up just minutes prior. The symbol of the Jackal Squad. However, it wasn't just a logo for him. To the maned jackal - it was a word of significant meaning, as it had perfectly signified parts of his life: The suffering. The pain. The misery.

They had no end. And so shall his efforts of turning the world into ash. For this reason, he would become the unstoppable force that had will not stop. He would become:

Infinite.

After the Phantom Ruby fused itself to his body, Infinite had been having weird dreams; or were they hallucinations?

Currently, Infinite and Doctor Eggman were both located inside of the evil genius's secret base hidden somewhere within the vast deserts of Mobius; in Sand Hill. They were inside a moderately lit room with six, large stasis chambers. The brighter lights from monitor screens illuminated parts the room further.

Five of the mentioned stasis chambers were, at present; being used to analyse the Phantom Rubies - which were all hooked up to wires and being constantly monitored by Eggman's systems.

Anyway - back to Infinite's visions - he saw things. A monster or something, that he hadn't even thought possible to imagine before - A mysterious, blue creature that seemed to be formed out of liquid. It had lime-green eyes, and a brain visible through its transparent, blue liquid skin.

What was it?

"Now, Infinite-" Eggman said as he finished typing into the computer. "-how do you feel?"

"Slightly exhausted." came the reply. However, his eyes widened, in the realisation that his voice wasn't his own.

Doctor Eggman, after hearing him talk, had completely turned his full attention onto the mobian possessing the Phantom Ruby.

"... doctor?" Infinite whispered with his altered voice, slightly afraid of the unknown. "... what's going on?"

"It could be a side-effect of the usage of the Phantom Ruby." pondered Eggman as he stared at the gemstone stuck to the other's chest. "You accepted to be its host, after all."

"I… did?"

"It is no ordinary power source, to my knowledge." Eggman stated. "This is the first power source I've encountered that is able to turn thoughts into reality, without the user actually needing to control it."

"Wait, doctor." Infinite stopped him. "Are you telling me now you had no prior knowledge of this material?"

"None at all." came the honest reply.

"Then-"

"But; I know for a fact that there will be a failsafe mechanism - the Master Emerald - for if we ever needed it." Eggman interrupted. "These Rubies weren't always Rubies, after all - they used to be Chaos Emeralds."

Chaos Emerald? Infinite indeed had heard of those before in his life, and had some knowledge to their abilities and power; but he has never came across one before.

"... then perhaps I should tell you about my experiences so far." Infinite spoke up.

The scientist had just stared straight at the other with great attention - interested in what he had to share.

And so, the next three minutes were spent with the Phantom Ruby's host telling the evil genius all about his visions; about that blue, liquid monster.

The creature that seemed to be trying to communicate to him.

Doctor Eggman had just stared off in a random direction for a moment, before turning to face his computer once more. Walking to it, he swiped his finger around on the control panel, and typed in something onto the keyboard. He had pulled out a picture on the big screen, of the Spirit of the Master Emerald: Chaos.

"Is this the one you saw?" asked the scientist.

Infinite nodded in response.

"The visions you had were of the Master Emerald's God: Chaos." confirmed the evil genius as he turned the image off from the computer screen.

"Hmm…" Eggman made a noise as he faced the jackal once more, looking at his masked face in deep thought. "The Phantom Ruby might be tapping into your nervous systems. That's probably the reason why it can read your mind much more efficiently now; and also might be the reason of your voice change."

"... that's fine." replied Infinite, solemnly. "I don't plan to live on after I finish my work, anyway."

The scientist's brows furrowed slightly at the other's answer.

"Anyway, just to be safe-" Eggman began typing into his computer once more, and a stasis chamber opened up. "I'll analyse the effects of the Ruby on your nervous systems and parts of your brain. Step into the chamber."

The jackal obeyed.

"It's going to sting quite a bit." wires started to descent from the ceiling within the chamber, and Doctor Eggman begun to patch him up to the computers. Needles were injected into his body in order to collect data of the jackal's systems.

Eggman didn't lie - It did sting. A lot.

However...

To truly become Infinite in the little time before he ended the world, he had to endure this.

Because - right now - the Phantom Ruby was all he had. And with its powers, Infinite was going to show the world what it meant to be born in pain.

This bit of pain he was currently experiencing meant nothing compared to what he had been through.

He would show them - all of Mobius - what it was all about.

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