Night has moved in on Angel Island. Nocturnal insects and birds broke the cool silence with their songs. In the darkness, just before the entrance to the headquarters, a white light appeared, briefly dispelling the shadows before it went out again. Team Dark plus Sonic appeared on the ground of the floating island. The blue hedgehog in the group handed the Chaos Emerald back to his fellow hedgehog. He took it with a nod and looked around. In the darkness, Shadow tried to match the shapes in the area to some of his memories.
"Where exactly are we?"
"ANGEL ISLAND, RESISTANCE HEADQUARTERS", Omega replied.
Shadow raised an eyebrow. "Angel Island? Did Knuckles really allow other people near the Master Emerald?"
Rouge smirked a little. "Yeah, I couldn't exactly believe it at first either. But I guess even a brute like him knows that some rules have to be thrown aboard under certain situations. So he was kind enough to let us move here. Until everything is back to normal, of course."
"Must be heaven for you to be able to see the Master Emerald everyday."
"See? Yes. Touch? Still a blasphemy in Knuckles eyes. But even if the thought occurs from time to time, I know that taking it for myself would be more than dumb. The Master Emerald gives us power and, thanks to Tails tech, keeps us out of Eggman´s radar."
"It´s also the reason why we don't want to use its power directly", Sonic added. "One mistake and Eggman and his new buddies will find us and swarm our base with enemies."
Shadow nodded, having already come to a similar conclusion himself.
"Hey, before we go in, I wanted to tell you something," Rouge said to the black hedgehog. Shadow turned to her with a questioning look. "Since you disappeared without a trace and a Phantom of you showed up and fought on Eggman's side, some people expect that..."
"I went evil again and are going to treat me like they did during the ARK incident and the Black Arms invasion."
His almost monotone voice didn't betray a single emotion or thought about this matter. But Rouge did notice the tense posture of her friends shoulders.
"No. At least not all of them did. And when Tails returned and told us about the truth of the Phantoms, many more realized that it couldn't have been you. But Phantom Shadow hurt many people so… your appearance may bring some bad memories."
Shadow nodded silently, but his shoulders relaxed slightly.
"Hey", Sonic began. "If you want we can just bring you to Rouge´s room and just relax. Calm down and take time to collect your thoughts. I can tell everyone how the mission went and formally introduce you to the Resistance tomorrow."
"I…" Shadow pondered it for a moment. Rouge laid a hand on his shoulder. The two of them exchanged eye contact for a while. The ebony hedgehog looked over to Omega, who was just silently staring at his friend. The combat robots eyes were glowing an unusal bright red, almost a soft orange. It was Omega´s own way of showing Shadow that he was there for him without saying a word. The Ultimate Lifeform sighed and turned to the entrance of the base.
„Maybe it would be better if I reintroduce myself with a clear head and without saying soemthing that can be interpreted in a wrong way."
With these word he let himself be lead inside the Resistance headquarters. Even tough it was night, there were still people walking busily walking around, trying to finish some last tasks before getting some shut eye. Luckily Rouge knew her way around the base and, being an animal known for being nocturnal, knew which hallways were used and which were not. Adn whenever there was a surprise person appearing, Sonic drew attention to himself with some small talk. Finally, they reached their destination.
"Well then. I will be off. I´ll explain what is necessary, but tomorrow you can tell everyone what happened properly." While saying this, Sonic looked Shadow in the eyes. The messages was clear for the Ultimate Lifeform: No one will know about the personal stuff unless you decide you want to tell them.
"Thanks", was all Shadow said. But it was enough. Once Sonic was gone, he went to the bed Rouge was offering to him and made himself comfortable. One would think the black hedgehog would be more stir crazy, but there is a difference between being in an artificial coma, looked up inside a capsule, and taking rest on a comfortable bed. Shadows last thoughts, before he drifted to a thankfully dreamless sleep, were about the masked entity and what it currently was scheming now.
With disdain, Infinite looked at the burning and smoldering ruins. He had teleported to the remote valley where the Shadow Android factory was, after receiving info that Cinders cypertronics had stopped sending signals.
Now he was standing in front of the ruined building with arms crossed, the red gem nestled above them, digging deep into the jackals chest. The Phantom Ruby was glowing and pulsating in irritation.
"What foolishness did you commit, Cinder? To blow up the factory and yourself… for what? To take your enemies with you? Having the last laugh? You cant laugh if you´re death."
"… I… kn… ow…"
Infinite´s visible eye widened upon hearing the weak and barely audible voice. He looked around, but the high growing grass and the wavering shadows created by the dark of the night and the fire made it hard to search for his ally. Using his powers, Infinite hovered into the air. From the higher viewpoint he searched for any notice of Cinder´s presence.
There! Movement in the grass.
Infinite landed close to it and created an orb from his red energy to better see the state of his ally.
Cinder was a mess. Her skin was charred and burned everywhere, exposing muscle tissue in some places. Her usual elegant clothes and hair were reduced to ashy tatters. But the worst of it where here cypertronics. Her metallic arm was a useless, misshapen, partly melted, lump. The mechanical eye nothing but a sparking hole. The flesh around the cypertronics was burned to a deep black. Smoke was emitting from it.
Despite that, Cinder used her organic, but still twitching and damaged, arm to drag herself across the ground towards Infinite.
"Y… ou…"
Cinder´s facial muscles didn't seem to be working correctly, as her mouth was almost slack and her eye twitched constantly.
"You… s… see… I… des… stroy… f...ctory… des… troy… th-them…"
"You activated the self destruct sequence in the hopes of destroying your enemies?", Infinite coolly stated. He just looked down upon the damaged Fall Maiden in front of him, his eyes neither holding pity nor judgment in them. The entity just stared at Cinder. Waiting… analyzing…
"...mhm…" Just barely Cinder managed a nod. Her hand curled into a fist. She would have sneered if it would be possible.
"...tin… can…"
"I assume the rogue E-Series Model did this to you. Makes sense. Scans of our drones had shown it using new upgrades in the form of electrical powers. Fighting against it must have been mentally awful for you."
Again, Infinite´s voice was near monotone and he didn't show any personal stand on Cinder´s experience and current state. He just kept watching her closely.
"…curse… it…", the Fall Maiden hissed. Her voice was filled with nothing but malice. Malice and hate filled determination. "… curse… it… and… hed… ge… hog… and… bat… curse… them… c-curse them all…!"
"I can see the logic in your plan, but do you really think it would lead to your success?" Infinite stepped towards Cinder and leaned towards her, his mask just a few inches away from her face. "Both Sonic and Shadow, who was kept restrained inside the factory, posses incredibly high speed. Speed you said they couldn't use for m ore than running away. But now you surely know they are experts in using their ability for battle. They could easily escape with their friends from the building, before the countdown reached zero. Not counting the possibility of them having and using the Chaos Emerald one of my Phantoms held onto. You didn't get them… no, they have opposed the destiny you wanted to oppress them with. For they are creatures, not of order, but of chaos and freedom."
Cinder produced another hate filled hiss when suddenly…
"And that is good. It is good that they escaped."
"?"
The Phantom Ruby glowed as it changed reality. When it was done, Cinder as now resting in a more comfortable sitting position, leaning with her back against a moss covered rock. Infinite was standing before her.
"You know of the quarrel, of the intense battle, between the doctor´s genius and the blue blurs´ skill. They´ve done this song and dance for years now. That was until I became a player in their games. But even then, when I beat Sonic and brawled him into the ground, made him a prisoner on the Death Egg, Eggman refused me to finish his nemesis off. You know why? Because for the doctor, its not just a matter of winning, but HOW he wins. He wants to break the hedgehog down, see that so called hero fail and lose hope in absolutely EVERYTHING he believes in. And it should be happening trough his very own hands. If you had taken that victory away from him… well, you know how he punishes our heavy failures and insubordination. And-" The entity pointed at the still smoldering building. "-the destruction of the Shadow Android factory will definitely cross a line. You can consider yourself lucky that the doctor already took a batch and some Data provided by this whole project. Its not a complete loss and you may even have prevented our enemies from taking some crucial information for themselves."
"You… lost… too… Mys… tic… Jn… gle…." Cinder took a twitchy breath. "You… fail… I… fail…"
"That is true", Infinite admitted. "However, Sonic had help from Silver. During our first encounter, he had only his mutant sidekick, but I…" The jackal hesitated as he recounted that day. "…I made the child run away."
The entity shook its head.
"But the odds back then are not the same as they are now. My opponents are fast learners and are adapting to overcome their hurdles. And so are yours. And that is why I have something important to tell you."
Cinder tilted her head, wondering what the masked on was going on about. What all his words would lead to. Infinite´s golden eye bored into Cinder´s.
"Learn from this experience and all the others, be it from your past or coming encounters, and get better. Your training is bearing fruit, but you won't stand a chance against fighters like Sonic or Shadow. Or focus primarily on opponents you can defeat. Like Ruby. Isn´t she the main focus for your wrath and vengeance? The main reason why your so called destiny fell apart at its high peak? Then cement these words into reality by making your vengeance come true. Fulfill what you want!"
"… nice…. of...fer…. But… why..? You… hate… me…"
Infinite shook his head.
"No, I don't hate you. I hate it when potential is hindered and wasted. Including your own. You are strong, but your tantrums will only make you suffer. But do I really have to remind you who really suffers as the Resistance continues to gain ground? We. Eggman may have a plan, a trump card against them, but he'll inflict pain on us for every loss. And you know there's nothing we can do about the doctor. With my mask and usually your cypertronic prosthetics, he monitors our every move and with the implants he can take us out with ease."
Cinder internally cursed her weakness the day she was brought into this world. She had passed out from the pain, the silver eyes BURNING the symbiotic Grimm Beetle out of her, leaving her a helpless victim for Eggman's experiments.
"Why… he… gav… you… impl...ant…? You… loy… al… are… you… not?"
Infinite chuckled.
"I wouldn't call me loyal to be exact. There are moments when I want to take control of all his plans. And he knows that. But he made me who I am. Freed me from a dull, pointless existence and gave me the opportunity to transform this boring world into something new and exciting. I have the ability to engage in combat and destruction that makes me feel alive! "
It was hard for her to argue against that, after all Cinder's soul craved for something similar as the masked entity. In particular, she wanted to destroy the person she blamed for her current situation. She took several heavy breaths to gather the strength to say the following:
"Promise… to… hand… over… Ruby…. We… can… work… on… our… coop… er… at… ion."
"Very well."
The Phantom Ruby vibrated and pulsated. The air started to glitch. Cinder looked at the gem nervously, but Infinite held up a reassuring hand.
"Do not be afraid. I will just bring you to the doctors medical bay. He will be suspicious if you wont be under new surveillance soon. But we can fix you up there. And once you have regained your strength…"
The Phantom Ruby´s glow intensified.
"I can conjure up some scenarios to find out the ideal training options for you." He held out his hand to Cinder. "So, Cinder Fall, are you ready?"
The Fall Maiden looked at it, the hand, the offer, that had been given to her.
Learn from this experience, huh?, she thought. On Remnant she had slowly but surely gotten on the top of Remnant´s fighters under Salem´s training. But Infinite was right. The odds weren't the same anymore. The defeats here on Mobius painfully showed her that.
Cinder clenched her teeth as another twitch shuddered trough her destroyed body.
She hated being put down like that. To squirm under someone else´s whims. Be it an enemy defeating her in battle… or her so called new boss humiliating her. But Infinite seemed to genuinely offer her a chance to take her destiny somewhat back into her own hands. Not as a suppressor or superior… but on a more equal footing.
No one had ever done that to her.
Cinder took Infinite's hand. "Let's… get… stronger."
...
In a remote room in Eggman´s main base in Metropolis, Orbot and Cubot listened to the conversation trough Infinite´s mask.
"Do you think we should inform the boss about this?", asked the yellow colored robot. His red counterpart just waved dismissively.
"Nah. The two have made it clear that they are in no position to conspire against the Doctor and will follow him more or less obediently. Credit has to be given to the boss for finally learning from his experiences with Chaos, Dark Gaia, Metal Overlord and the Deadly Six."
"Even with measures taken against his current 'allies'" Cubot made exaggerated air quotes on `allies´, "…there are times when they can… you know… do want the others did."
Now the yellow cube-shaped robot was mimicking of stabbing someone in the back with a dagger. Orbot, once again, gave a dismissive wave. While he did mean it when he gave Eggman that praise about taking measures against enemies more powerful than him and therefore interrupted the usual cycle between his and Sonic´s conflict, the robot still felt like he couldn't be bothered much.
"You don't have to tell me that, I've already calculated all variations. They will most not occur. At least as long as they don't find out about the truth of what the boss´ trump card against the Resistance actually is. Either things go according to plan, which would be a first, or they don´t."
Cubebot scratched his head before he just shrugged his shoulders. "Guess your right."
Sorry if this chapter is much shorter in comparison to the previous ones. I had a very busy week and barely any time to work on this. I still hope the character interaction in this chapter was interesting enough for some people.
To Guest: You´re not wrong, but I always headcannoned Maria and Shadow developing a more sibling like bond.
To Guest: My answer remains the same.
To ArguableReader: I´ll hold that in mind, thanks.
Some fans speculate that Gerald found ancient murals that prophesied the fight between Perfect Chaos and Super Sonic. The two version he had for the Ultimate Lifeform were based upon the two beings.
A massive, reptilian beast and a hedgehog Mobian with spiked up quills that is surging with energy.
What do you think about the interaction between Infinite and Cinder, with the former taking her as, more or less, as an apprentice under his wing. A twisted reflection of Sonic and co. being there for Ruby.
To Guest: No one said this was Shadows fault except himself. He blames himself for falling for Infinite's trick with Maria, letting the past get the better of him once again, and not being able to stop the reality manipulator before he could help Eggman to take over the world. Shadow was chosen as a guinea pig because he could endure the extend of Infinite´s abilities to the extreme. Most other would have been broken before they could bring in conclusive results, so to speak.
What´s up with Infinite´s origin will be later explored. This chapter was mainly to show why and how Shadow went missing. And of course to explain the Origin of the Shadow Androids that kill the Diamond Cutters in the IDW comics (which, fun fact, the Androids have yellow stripes there in Whispers flashback).
To Legendary Destroyer Ice: Either Eggman and Watts would go along splendidly or they would hate each other because their egos make them show off to one another. Tyrian may be of use to Eggman if he would be put on a short leash like Cinder. Speaking of, yeah the risk of Cinder using the Chaos Emeralds and even achieving a Dark Super Form (because she would only be able to manipulate the negative energy of the Emeralds) would be a catastrophe.
As for other RWBY villains: Adam would just try to kill Eggman, since he is a human. Merlot may find a kindred spirit in him as a fellow scientist.
I doubt the Brother Gods could seal the Emeralds or oneshot them like the Dark God did to the humanity of Remnant´s Magic age, since they are not of their creation. Sonic would battle them if he cant convince them.
To SuperSaiyanFever: He did. But Infinite kinda went overboard because he just wanted to make Shadow suffer.
Eggman indeed never cared for his family, after all why should he. All of their attention went to Maria, who was gone, when he was right there! (according to his own words.)
Maria is crying and hoping that Shadow´s friends, allies and a certain silver eyed girl that has a simpler more honest spirit, like herself, may help him.