I'm sorry this update came out so late. The reason for this being that over the past few weeks I needed to get a new computer because my old one decided to have it's second major failure within a six month period and this chapter (as well as many other documents) didn't have a back-up. So I had to extract the hard drive from my old computer and fight it to make it give back all my documents. Nearly everything else had a recent enough back-up version that I was happy with so once I got the writing back it was a much smoother recovery from there. So, things should be more or less back to normal now.
Infinite turned and ran back to the only place he knew he could possibly stand any chance of surviving this: back into the hospital. Behind him Omega opened fire. He'd only had a second head start on the machine guns but it was enough to charge back into the foyer. The sound of glass smashing and crashing and people screaming as they ducked and scrambled to get out of the way matched the continuous blasts of automatic fire. Nothing stood out clearly in the cacophony, all sounds blended into a chaotic backdrop of noise. Infinite vaulted over the reception desk, nearly catching his ankle on the edge. His chest felt all forms of pain at once and though it was for now contained to his upper torso the severity of it made his limbs weak and wobbly. He dumped himself on the floor right in front of the pair of volunteer receptionists hiding under the desk. They stared in shell-shocked horror looking in his direction but not really looking at him, as useless as wet, starving kittens picked up from the side of the footpath.
The gunfire abruptly ceased, allowing him to hear the rattling sound of his own wheezing like stones in his throat. The screaming got fainter as those that were able to run got farther away, leaving behind anyone already injured or trapped in fear of the metal beast at the door, crying, whimpering, and praying. Infinite clenched his teeth so hard his lips curled back against his will, trying to mute the voices in his ears but they wouldn't go away this time. Every pathetic noise pierced his eardrums and made his fur stand on end. Only a few months ago he would have welcomed the involuntary expressions of fear from those too weak to stand against him but right now he only felt chills.
"Infinite, in the interest of keeping collateral damage to a minimum, I strongly recommend that you come out where I can shoot you with no interference," Omega announced loudly. "Collateral damage restrictions interfering with mission success. Attempt override. Override rejected."
At the mention of his name the two receptionists began to shiver. The male badger looked like he was going to be ill while the female mouse curled up and rocked, murmuring comfortingly to herself, though neither of them seemed to be aware that the man Omega was looking for was right in front of them. Infinite felt nauseous himself. He wanted to get up and flee from this place but every movement he attempted was rejected. His tendons tightened and muscles seized up, begging him not to go anywhere with all of the pain holding him down like an anvil tied to his chest. It felt wrong. This wasn't where he belonged. He should have been leading an empire alongside a mad scientist with the greatest of all powers at his fingertips but instead he was dropped at the bottom of the pit sharing company with all the rest who had no control over their destinies. Fighting for their lives was meaningless—they had no power to choose.
Omega's visual sensors switched continuously from one form to another – heat, x-ray, echo, chaos energy. None seemed able to pick up any abnormality that would delineate Infinite from the rest of the civilians. His CPU hummed, working hard to model as many scenarios as possible. Though he had seen where Infinite had disappeared to, he could also tell that there was more than one lifeform hidden behind that desk and even though most of the occupants of the building's foyer had cleared out any damage to the building could put the remainders at risk. His circuits whizzed, summoning all past data including that from the most recent global war; how much damage had been done and how easily he had suffered a crushing defeat. That finally balanced the equations somewhat, unlocking his access to his own weapons. Omega's chest plates opened, revealing rows of compact missiles.
"Infinite, you will be awarded a further 10 seconds to surrender yourself to the resistance." As he said that the missile launchers were already warming up.
Infinite closed his eyes. He already felt like he was in hell, he might as well be dead. The seconds he had left stretched like eternities and behind his eyelids he saw his life speed by like he was walking through it in slow motion. Clear details only came back in glimpses, for the most part he only saw vague blurs of flames and ash, desert sands, blood, and glints of steel blades and bullet shells. His whole life a parade that marched him straight to hell.
Time was up without any announcement. Omega let loose just one missile. That would be just enough to end the jackal in his current state, hopefully. Infinite heard the bang of the rocket and his ears folded back against his head in fear.
One second passed, then two. It was a second too long. Infinite opened his eyes but while he was still too weak to move he wouldn't be able to look over the desk and find out what had happened. His vision pulsed, blacking out to nothing.
Omega's visual sensors paused, momentarily off-guard when his missile stopped in mid-air, caught in a cyan glow. He turned his head around and adjusted his sensor for a colour image of the white hedgehog floating behind him.
"Omega! What is the meaning of this?!" Silver demanded.
"Infinite – the associate of Dr Eggman – has been sighted," Omega answered directly. "I engaged in combat to eliminate the threat."
"Right now, the only threat is you! Don't you see that this is a hospital?! If you destroy this building what'll happen to all the people here trying to recover? What if someone needs the facilities?"
"I have already calculated collateral values. The damage Infinite can cause outweighs minor damage to one hospital. The preventative gains outweigh the potential loss of life and infrastructure damage."
"How can you say that? We told you—it was discussed! Infinite is too sick to be a threat right now. Knuckles explicitly told you that killing him wasn't on our cards."
"View also expressed at meeting: Infinite may have another method of acquiring the Phantom Ruby's power. The longer he remains at large and not under our direct supervision the more plausible this possibility becomes. If our current commander will not devote resources to this cause then the only sensible option is an elimination. Recent programming upgrades preventing mission success. Attempt override. Override rejected."
Silver sighed deeply. "Tails is gonna need to take a long, hard look at your circuits," he said. Behind Omega the missile turned on the spot, putting the robot that shot it in its crosshairs unknown to the robot itself. "But for the time being I can't stand here and let you rampage against an incapacitated enemy when there are innocent people in the crossfire."
He released the missile with the same incredible velocity that it had been fired with. Omega's proximity sensors beeped in warning but at such close range there was no time to set up an adequate shield or dodge it completely. It exploded on impact. The building shook. Glass, brick, and steel flew in jagged chunks from the decimated entranceway out onto the deserted road outside. Silver hovered outside with his hand over his muzzle, not expecting the missile to create such a large plume of smoke. He stayed up in the air, waiting for the smoke to clear so that he could lift Omega with his powers and tow him back to base. He thought all he would have to do is wait.
Suddenly three missiles emerged with a swirl of smoke, homing in on him. Silver barely caught them in time, stopping them only inches from impact. Omega marched heavily out of the smoke cover, his upper body slightly dented and scorched but otherwise undamaged.
"What? Barely a scratch!?" Silver exclaimed.
"I am built to be resistant to the types of ammunition I carry, which are superior to all other ammunition models," Omega stated. "This is one of many reasons that I am the ultimate robot. You will not defeat me with my own arsenal. Do not stand between me and Infinite's extermination or I will eliminate you as well."
Omega raised his machine gun arm to fire. Silver redirected the missiles upwards and collided them with each other. They detonated out of harm's way and freed his concentration to catch the multitude of bullets shooting towards him. He would never be able to outrun them, he was no Sonic, after all. But while he held the bullets at bay Omega's jets boosted him towards Silver. Silver turned the bullets back on Omega but they merely glanced off the armour and one of Omega's arms lashed out with a fist that hit like a battering ram. It sent Silver flying into the building across the road, hitting the reinforced concrete so hard it cracked and left his imprint behind. He groaned, finding himself unable to keep his own head balanced. His brain felt like it had melted into nothing but water and sloshed about the inner walls of his cranium. His body peeled off the wall by the force of his own weight but he didn't fall far before he was caught in Omega's steel grip. The wrist joint whirred as it twisted to put him upright so that he could look Omega in his soulless red eyes.
"You will not interfere with my mission to destroy Infinite," Omega commanded. "Confirm your comprehension of this directive."
"I… I'm not…" Silver began, temples aching, "not letting you… destroy the h-hospital… j-just to get… at Infinite."
"Then I will eliminate you," Omega said, turning his other hand into a machine gun and pointing it in Silver's face. Silver stared down the barrels defiantly.
"Yeah, there's still a lot of work we need to do on you," Silver murmured.
The shots never came. All of Omega's mechanical systems jammed as his entire body was engulfed in cyan. His digits uncurled one at a time, easily pried against his will, setting Silver free. The white hedgehog floated backwards to be out of easy arm's reach, even though Omega was completely immobile now.
"ERROR. Systems not responding. ERROR. Systems not responding."
Silver brought his hands together like he was squeezing an invisible balloon. Omega twitched and spasmed. The rigid parts fought valiantly but squealed and groaned under an intense psychic pressure. The chassis began to buckle and the vulnerable limb joints were starting to bend.
"This will not stop me," Omega boasted. "My armour is built to withstand immense pressure the likes of which your puny mind cannot replicate."
Silver didn't rise to the bait, trying to keep his concentration but knowing that he turned to a different counter. With scream he pulled his hands apart, tearing out the pressure and energy he was using up trying to crush his rogue ally. A great BOOM came from Omega. His armour dented outwards in ugly lumps and sparks and flames erupted through the gaps as though every piece of ammunition in his body had detonated at once. The lights in his eyes blinked.
"ERROR. MAJOR SYSTEM FAILURE. ERROR. MAJOR SYSTEM FAILURE."
Omega dropped right out of the air and crash landed. His body was so heavy that the crater he made tore up the road from one footpath to the other. He continued bleating out that error message while his head rocked back and forth erratically and his limbs twitched. Silver lowered himself back to earth. As soon as his feet hit solid ground his knees wobbled. He allowed himself to collapse for a breather. His head pounded so hard it drummed in his ears and he felt as though his eyeballs would be knocked out by the pulsating. Through sore, clogged ears he could still hear the sirens wailing around the corners from both sides of the street.
"They couldn't get here faster than me, that's pretty slow," he panted, smiling at his own joke. The police bikes and fire engine paid him no heed while they set themselves up to properly cordon off the street and put out the flames still lingering in the building. Silver watched them, clutching his head in pain. "I hope everyone in there will be okay."