It was all over, why was there a battle still going on. Silver's mind was in free fall spinning out of control, unable to grasp the impossibility, because Mighty the Armadillo could not be dead, the evidence of all his senses must be lying. And then a body fell past the hole blown into the side of the school, and curses flew in at them from the darkness, hitting the wall behind their heads. "Get down!" Silver shouted, as more curses flew through the night. He and Razor had both grabbed Coral and pulled her to the floor, but Hamlin lay across Mighty's body, shielding it from further harm, and when Silver shouted "Hamlin, come on, we've got to move!" he shook his head. Razor moved to Hamlin's other side, there were tears trailing down his face as he tried to pull his older brother away. Hamlin would not budge. Silver moved to Hamlin's front so he could look him in the face "Hamlin, you can't do anything for him! We're going to-". Coral suddenly screamed, and Silver, turning, did not need to ask why. A monstrous Mobani spider the size of a small car was trying to climb through the huge hole in the wall. One of Sython's descendants had joined the fight. Razor and Silver shouted together; their spells collided and the monster was blown backward, its legs jerking horribly, and vanished into the darkness. More were climbing the side of the building, liberated from the Deep Woods, into which the Nocturnus must have penetrated. Silver fired Stunning Spells down upon them, knocking the lead monster into its fellows, so that they rolled back down the building and out of sight. Then more curses came soaring over Silver's head, so close he felt the force of them blow his quills "Let's move, NOW!". Pushing Coral ahead of him with Razor, Silver stooped to seize Mighty's body under the armpits.
Hamlin, realizing what Silver was trying to do, stopped clinging to the body and helped; together, crouching low to avoid the curses flying at them from the grounds, they hauled Mighty out of the way "Here". They placed him in a niche where a suit of armour had stood earlier. He could not bear to look at Mighty a second longer than he had to, and after making sure that the body was well hidden, he took off after Razor and Coral. Rounding the corner, Hamlin let out a bull like roar "AKHLUT!" and sprinted off in the direction of the whale, who was pursuing a couple of students down one of the corridors. "Silver, in here!" Coral screamed. She had pulled Razor into one of the broom cupboards. They seemed to be wrestling together Silver realised Coral was trying to restrain Razor, to stop him running after Hamlin "Listen to me! LISTEN, RAZOR!" "I'M GONNA KILL THEM! I'M GONNA KILL THEM ALL!". His face was contorted, smeared with dust and smoke, and he was shaking with rage and grief "Razor, we're the only ones who can end it! Please…Razor, we-We need the Ifrit, we've got to kill the Ifrit!" said Coral. But Silver knew how Razor felt. Pursuing another Core Shard could not bring the satisfaction of revenge; he too wanted to fight, to punish them, the people who had killed Mighty, and he wanted to find the other O'Hedges, and above all make sure, make quite sure, that Blaze was not…But he could not permit that idea to form in his mind. Coral was still begging Razor "We will fight! We'll have to, to reach the Ifrit! But let's not lose sight now of what we're supposed to be d-doing! We're the only ones who can end it!". She was crying too, and she wiped her face with her dress as she spoke, but she took great heaving breaths to calm herself as, still keeping a tight hold on Razor, she turned to Silver "You need to find out where Finitevus is, because he'll have the Ifrit with him, won't he? Do it, Silver".
Why was it so easy? Because his head had been burning for hours, yearning to show him Finitevus' thoughts? He closed his eyes on her command, and at once, the screams and the bangs and all the discordant sounds of the battle were drowned until they became distant, as though he stood far, far away from them. He was standing in the middle of a desolate but strangely familiar room, with peeling paper on the walls and all the windows boarded except for one. The sounds of the assault on the castle were muffled and distant. The single unblocked window revealed distant bursts of light where the castle stood, but inside the room it was dark except for a solitary oil lamp. His hand was shaking, he was scared. He was feeling something that should be beneath him, fear. He had felt the Web burn. Locke's puppet has gotten too far "My Lord" said a voice, desperate and cracked. He turned, there was Clutch standing in the darkest corner, ragged and still bearing the marks of the punishment he had received after the boy's last escape. One of his eyes remained closed and puffy "My Lord…Please…My son" "If your son is dead, Clutch, it is not my fault. He did not come and join me. Perhaps he has decided to befriend the Hedgehog?". Clutch desperately shook his head "No…Never" "You must hope not" "Aren't-Aren't you afraid, my Lord, that he Hedgehog might die at another hand but yours? Wouldn't it be…Forgive me, more prudent to call off this battle, enter the castle, and seek him y-Yourself?". Finitevus with incredible speed was suddenly directly in front of Clutch "Do not pretend, Clutch. You wish the battle to cease so that you can discover what has happened to your son. And I do not need to seek the Hedgehog. Before the night is out, the Hedgehog will have come to find me. Don't you understand that!?". He slapped Clutch across the face. Clutch shuddered and stared at the floor.
Finitevus' tilted his head slightly "How do you live with yourself, Clutch" "I-I don't know, My Lord. I don't know". Finitevus turned back to the window "Go find Infinite. Bring him to me" "Infinite?" "Yes, Infinite. I require him". Frightened, stumbling a little through the gloom, Clutch left the room. Finitevus continued to stand there "It is the only way, Ifrit". He looked around, and there was the fiery insect, now suspended in midair, twisting gracefully within the enchanted, protected space he had made for her, a starry, transparent sphere somewhere between glittering cage and tank. With a gasp, Silver pulled back and opened his eyes; at the same moment his ears were assaulted with the screeches and cries, the smashes and bangs of battle "He's in Terror Hall. The Ifrit's with him, it's got some sort of magical protection around it. He's just sent Clutch to find Infinite". Coral looked outraged "He's not even fighting!?" "He doesn't need to. He knows I'm after the Core Shards". He was about to say something but "We're going with you!" Razor bellowed. Silver knew there was no point in arguing "Let's go!". They charged back out of the cupboard and headed for the stairs. The courtyard was their best option, in all the chaos it was the most likely way Silver wouldn't get picked out among the other fighters. They got the entrance hall, students were dragging injured back into the Great Hall. Chuck had returned form the bridge and was now holding off both Kragok and Agnus Rhino at the stairs. Antione, Marcos and Larry were at the doors to the courtyard covering the wounded being brought in. Antione saw the trio "Wait! Wait!". Marcos peaked his head out from the door "We'll give you cover! NOW!". Marcos, Larry and Antion ran out fired spells rapidly at approaching Nocturnus. The trio ran through the door into the chaos. The courtyard was full of wizards fighting "COME ON!". Monkey Khan and the old Sky Chase team flew overhead firing down at the Nocturnus.
The trio fired at any Nocturnus they passed but a large Yeti with a club spotted them. It lumbered after the trio and they took cover behind a broken bell. Before the Yeti could strike Eddy appeared and punched the other Yeti away. The trio got back out and try to climb over hill of debris but are met with the spiders. Forced to retreat they run through pillars into an archway. They spot at the end Eclipse the Darkling kneeling over a body "NO!" Coral yelled. Eclipse looked up, his face was covered in blood. Coral fired a spell that hit Eclipse against the wall breaking through it. They kept running, passing the bloodied, lifeless corpse of Undina. They pass out of the archway to the front of the school. They were about to go down the nearby stairs to the grounds but they froze at the horrible sight in front of them. Hundreds of Prelates were walking and flying across the bridge. Silver, Razor and Coral all raised their Talismans "Expecto Patronum!" they bellowed, but nothing happened. Silver couldn't do it, Mighty was gone, Lue was gone, Striker was gone. How many more people laid dead, how many students like Undina are lying bloodied and still throughout the castle. Silver watched the advancing Prelates, he almost welcomed the oncoming oblivion, the promise of nothing, of no feeling. But suddenly four glowing shapes charged from behind them and right into the army of Prelates. All of them ran, none could stand the Patronuses. Silver looked back, Marine, Void, Bunnie Rabbot and Honey Cat stood there, they were still fighting "GO!" Void yelled at the three. Silver found a new drive, the trio bolted down the stairs and into the grounds. They ran as fast as they could towards the Granifer. Silver couldn't stop. Mourning Mighty, fighting the Nocturnus, wondering about all the others that could be dead, it all had to wait. They had to run, had to reach the Ifrit and Finitevus, because that was, as Coral said, the only way to end it.
He sprinted, half believing he could outdistance death itself, ignoring the jets of light flying in the darkness all around him, and the sound of the lake crashing like the sea, and the creaking of the Deep Woods though the night was windless; through grounds that seemed themselves to have risen in rebellion, he ran faster than he had ever moved in his life, and it was he saw the rocks. Razor picked up stone and threw it at the rocks. The Granifer shook and combined into it's full body "Wingardium Leviosa! Coral sang. Another stone flew up and hit the neck of the Granifer causing it to freeze. For one teetering second, while the crashes and booms of the battle filled the air, Silver hesitated. Finitevus wanted him to do this, wanted him to come. Was he leading Razor and Coral into a trap? But then the reality seemed to close upon him, cruel and plain. The only way forward was to kill Ifrit, and Ifrit was where Finitevus was, and Finitevus was at the end of this tunnel "Silver, we're coming, just get in there!" said Razor, pushing him forward. Silver wriggled into the earthy passage hidden in the tree's roots. It was a much tighter squeeze than it had been the last time they had entered it. The tunnel was low-ceilinged. They had had to double up to move through it nearly four years previously; now there was nothing for it but to crawl. Silver went first, his hand illuminated, expecting at any moment to meet barriers, but none came.
They moved in silence. At last the tunnel began to slope upward and Silver saw a sliver of light ahead. Coral tugged at his ankle "Use the Emerald". He groped behind him and she forced the Chaos Emerald into his free hand. He rendered himself invisible and doused the light from his hand , and continued on his hands and knees, as silently as possible, all his senses straining, expecting every second to be discovered, to hear a cold clear voice, see a black shape. And then he heard voices coming from the room directly ahead of them, only slightly muffled by the fact that the opening at the end of the tunnel had been blocked up by what looked like an old crate. Hardly daring to breathe, Silver edged right up to the opening and peered through a tiny gap left between crate and wall. The room beyond was dimly lit, but he could see Ifrit, swirling in the air like it was underwater, safe in her enchanted, starry sphere. He could see the edge of a table where Finitevus sat at a chair. Then Infinite spoke, and Silver's heart lurched. Infinite was inches away from where he was hidden "My Lord, their resistance is crumbling-" "And it is doing so without your help. Skilled wizard though you are, Infinite, I do not think you will make much difference now. We are almost there…Almost" "Let me find the boy. Let me bring you the Hedgehog. I know I can find him, my Lord. Please". Infinite strode past the gap, and Silver drew back a little, keeping his eyes fixed upon Ifrit, wondering whether there was any spell that might penetrate the protection surrounding her, but he could not think of anything. One failed attempt, and he would give away his position. Finitevus stood up. Silver could see him now, see the gold eyes, the flattened, serpentine face, the pallor of him gleaming slightly in the semidarkness "I have a problem, Infinite" "My Lord?" said Infinite. Finitevus opened his hand and a green cloud of smoke formed in the shape of the Master Emerald "Why doesn't it work for me, Infinite?" "My Lord? I do not understand. You have performed extraordinary magic with it" "No, I have performed my usual magic. I am extraordinary, but this…When I attempted to push this Emerald beyond my own limits I could feel it burn. I can do no more with it that I can do with the Talisman I procured from Merlin all those years ago".
Finitevus' tone was musing, calm, but Silver's head had begun to throb and pulse. Pain was building in his forehead, and he could feel that controlled sense of fury building inside Finitevus. Infinite did not speak. Silver could not see his face. He wondered whether Infinite sensed danger, was trying to find the right words to reassure his master. Finitevus started to move around the room "I have thought long and hard, Infinite. Do you know why I have called you back from the battle?". And for a moment Silver saw Infinite's profile. His visible eye was fixed upon Ifrit in its enchanted cage "No, my Lord, but I beg you will let me return. Let me find the Hedgehog" "You sound like Clutch. Neither of you understands Hedgehog as I do. He does not need finding. Hedgehog will come to me. I know his weakness, you see, his one great flaw. He will hate watching the others struck down around him, knowing that it is for him that it happens. He will want to stop it at any cost. He will come" "But my Lord, he might be killed accidentally by one other than yourself". Silver felt the fury in Finitevus rising "My instructions have been perfectly clear. Capture him. Kill his friends if you must. But it is of you that I wished to speak, Infinite, not Silver the Hedgehog. You have been very valuable to me. Very valuable" "My Lord knows I seek only to serve him. But…Let me go and find the boy, my Lord. Let me bring him to you. I know I can-" "I have told you, no! My concern at the moment, Infinite, is what will happen when I finally meet the boy!". Infinite hesitated as if not sure how to respond "My Lord, there can be no question, surely?" "But there is a question, Infinite. All this long night, when I am on the brink of victory, I have sat here, wondering why. Why the Master Emerald refuses to be what it ought to be, refuses to perform as legend says it must perform for its rightful owner and I think I have the answer. Perhaps you already know it? You are a clever man, after all, Infinite. The Master Emerald cannot serve me properly, Infinite, because I am not its true master. The Master Emerald belongs to the wizard who killed its last owner. You killed Locke. While you live, the Master Emerald cannot truly be mine".
He coldly stared at the jackal "I do regret what must happen. You've been a good and faithful servant, Infinite. But only I can live forever". Infinite on instinct took a cautious step back "My Lord?". Finitevus in on quick motion slashed his right hand at Infinite. There was no sound, he didn't cast a spell. But after a moment the sounds of gargled breathing and Infinite clutching his throat made Silver understand. Infinite fell to the floor and crawled away from Finitevus to a wall. Finitevus' with a simple wave of his hand released Ifrit from her cage "Kill" he said in Parcletongue. Ifrit hissed and stabbed Infinite in the stomach multiple time with her stinger. Finally Finitevus turned away, there was no sadness, no remorse. It was time to leave this shack and take charge, with a weapon that would now do his full bidding. He put Ifrit back into her cage and swept from the room without a backward glance at the dying man. Back in the tunnel and his own mind, Silver opened his eyes He had drawn blood biting down on his knuckles in the effort not to shout out. Now he was looking through the tiny crack between crate and wall, watching a foot in a black boot trembling on the floor. "Silver!" breathed Coral behind him, but he had already waved his hand to remove the crate blocking his view. As quietly as he could, he pulled himself up into the room. He did not know why he was doing it, why he was approaching the dying man. He did not know what he felt as he saw Infinite.
Silver dropped the Chaos Emerald and looked down upon the man he hated, whose widening black eyes found Silver as he tried to speak. His trembling left hand weakly reached up and removed his mask, tears ran down his face. Silver bent over him and put his hands over the wounds trying to stop the bleeding. Infinite grabbed his wrist to stop him. A terrible rasping, gurgling noise issued from his throat "Take…It…Take…It…Please". Silver didn't understand, he looked down at the wounds, more than blood was leaking from them. A slightly glowing, magenta substance was gushing out "Coral, I need a flask, or something. Hurry!". Coral reached into her bag and quickly threw Silver a small flask. Silver collected as much of the substance he could. The blood flow was slowing and Infinite's grip slackened "Look…At…Me". Silver and Infinite's eyes met and the latter seemed satisfied. For the first time since Silver had met him Infinite did not look at him with hatred or bitterness "You…You have your mother's eyes". And then Silver had to watch as something in the depths of the Jackal's eyes vanished leaving them fixed, blank, and empty. The hand holding Silver thudded to the floor, and Infinite moved no more.