Chapter 16: Gravity
Westopolis
The twilight from the night sky above receded slowly, as the red sun crept through the dense clouds, pushing a crimson light that turned the surface of the city into the underworld. The red sky blended with the pools of blood that sunk into the streets. Within the central part of the city, the only souls that had any hope of surviving were the monsters and heroes. Infinite floated through the maze of buildings, peering below his feet to watch the ground be overrun by the beasts that his master had created. He spaces out as he thinks to himself, wondering if he was satisfied with what he did. He had broken the shackles that Eggman had on him, he had ascended with the gods, and yet, he felt hollow. His kill on the doctor was messy and there was still so much more that he wanted to say to him. He wanted to prove to Eggman that he went beyond whatever the late doctor could've hoped to achieve. But his resolve forced his hand as he couldn't wait to end it all before he could tell Eggman everything. The only ones left to prove anything to were missing, and all that was left for him to do was to wander a dying world.
He spotted a frenzy of beasts below, as all of them circled a singled-out civilian who had one nasty gash on his leg. The tiger couldn't move any further and the beasts were ready to pounce. Having nothing better to do, Infinite felt that it couldn't hurt to give himself some stimulation. He landed in the middle between the tiger and the beasts, and his presence was enough to halt the creatures in their tracks. The tiger knew exactly who he was looking at. How could he forget the devastation the jackal brought when he was under Eggman's control? The tiger lowered his head to the ground, not daring to look Infinite directly in the eye. Normally, Infinite would be amused by this display, but now, he didn't really care anymore. It was just another weak-willed soul that had to be crushed beneath his boot. He thought being down here and basking in the fear of civilians would be invigorating, but at this point, he just wanted to get it over with.
Infinite casually walked closer and stepped on the back of the tiger's head. He slowly pressed down, hoping that the cracks in his skull would elicit some enjoyment out of this, but all he felt was apathy. As the cracks of the tiger's head echoed through the air, along with the screams, Infinite felt a shift in the wind. He looked up and saw a metal post, enveloped in a light blue aura, barreling towards him. The end of the pole struck against Infinite's face, causing him to slightly tumble back, giving the civilian some breathing room. In the blink of an eye, the tiger was picked up and swiftly moved away from the scene by a trail of blue. What followed was an explosion of radiated energy that incinerated the beasts around Infinite, isolating the jackal from his backup. As he shook off the sudden blow from the pole, he looked forward and saw a trio of hedgehogs coming right for him.
Sonic took point, as he curled into a ball and went through the opening between Infinite's legs. Sonic quickly bounced off the ground and leaped forward with a powerful kick that pushed Infinite into a clothesline from Shadow's arm. Infinite's head leaned back as he saw Silver diving from the sky, holding an array of debris and metal objects to throw at the Jackal. Silver launched the rubble forward in a precise line, as Sonic and Shadow kept Infinite in a lock. The metal objects slammed against Infinite's already battered face, but the attack wasn't strong enough to take him down. The jackal, using his newfound power from the red Chaos Emerald, emits a shockwave that pushes back all three hedgehogs, sending Sonic and Shadow flying across the road with no signs of stopping. However, Silver was able to catch up to them and suspend them in the air using his psychokinesis.
"Send us back in, but keep your distance!" Shadow yelled at Silver, cueing him to launch both Sonic and himself back at Infinite as he stayed back. Unfortunately, now that Infinite was no longer caught off guard by this ambush, he wasn't going to give them any quarter. Infinite held his hands together and emitted another pulse from his body, capturing Sonic and Shadow in it as their worldview started to shift. Their reality shattered and broke down as they were now caught in Infinite's illusion. The ground began to break apart as the cracks formed led to a gateway to the abyss. The sky spiraled out of control as a red, purple, and black pattern encompassed the horizon. Infinite was about to have his fun, and the only thing he loathed about it, was that it was all about to end too soon. His control over the illusion was greater than before, as he acted fast to isolate both Sonic and Shadow. For Sonic, he broke the ground below him and gave him no surface for him to build up momentum. For Shadow, he used the broken ground to trap him in a shell that endlessly constructed itself.
Sonic was able to boost himself momentarily without having to rely on a surface, but his charge was limited and he had to be careful not to overuse it unless he wished for a quick end. Sonic concentrated as he stared at Infinite, who he saw charging another one of those miniature suns in his hand. Cheap move! Sonic thought as he recalled how destructive they were before. He wasn't sure if he would be able to avoid it in time with how limited his boost was, nevertheless, he still had to try and predict where it would be thrown.
Suddenly, Sonic felt something cloud his sight as he delved deeper into concentration. There was a small glimpse of a blurry vision of him using his boost to dive down to evade, but immediately afterward, he saw himself disintegrate as Infinite waited for Sonic to make the first move. After that strange vision, Sonic found himself back in one piece and in his own reality again. He tried piecing together what that vision meant, but his time was running low as Infinite had readied his attack. Instead of using all of his boost to dive in one direction, Sonic used the knowledge of the vision to bait out Infinite's shot. He used half of his boost to travel in one direction and pivoted using the last half to dodge the small star that Infinite unleashed.
Infinite was taken aback, shocked that Sonic would have that level of instinct. Sonic was still confused himself, but then he realized that this was what Dial meant about him discovering his powers. He had already absorbed the crystal, and if he remembered correctly, they contained two different versions of himself: one that saw the past and one that saw the future. That short vision must've been his future self showing him his mistakes, and if their plan for defeating Infinite was going to work, this new power would be their saving grace. The small star that Infinite had shot kept traveling through the illusion until it phased out through the barrier. Sonic finally found a surface to run on as he sprinted on the distorted ground.
Just then, another vision came to him, as he watched Infinite fire another star at the cluster surrounding Shadow, which eradicated everything there. Sonic returned to the present and changed his course to the cluster of rubble, which he dashed through the middle and grabbed Shadow just in time as Infinite fired another sun. As the cluster was broken up, the small star passed through the gaps and led to another one exiting the illusion's walls. Infinite was gradually getting more and more confused with how Sonic was able to keep up the trajectory of his attacks. Perhaps the mini sun became too predictable, and it was time to get in close and personal. Infinite met Sonic and Shadow on the ground and flicked his finger toward them, conjuring a thin and translucent line that arcs horizontally at them. Sonic grabs Shadow and ducks down, narrowly avoiding the thin slash that momentarily tears through the fabric of reality.
Shadow leaps forward and tries to go in for a hit, but his fist is caught in the palm of Infinite's hand. The jackal squeezes, forming immense pressure that screws up his fingers and causes a small fracture in his bones. The ebony hedgehog charges his feet with chaos energy and breaks free of Infinite's grip by kicking off him, while also knocking the jackal back a bit. Shadow winces as he examines his mangled hand. He pops his fingers back into their sockets as Sonic checks up on him. "Are you good?"
"I'm fine." Shadow says as he straightens out his last finger. "As long as this illusion is up, our plan is on hold."
"We just need to break his connection to this place. Any ideas?" Sonic asks. Shadow looks at his wrists and notices a small crack on one of his inhibitor rings. It must've been damaged earlier when Mephiles attacked, but Shadow noted that the little crack carried a swarm of unstable energy inside, which led to an idea.
"If we can force him to use another one of those suns, I have a way to break his concentration." Shadow turned to Sonic, giving him a look that asked if he could manage that. They could only do this if they had full trust in each other. Sonic recognized what Shadow was asking, and he had no other intention but to trust him, so he nodded in response. Sonic and Shadow refocused on Infinite, rushing forward to close the gap as Infinite channels more power. Both hedgehogs knew that Infinite wasn't going to use the mini star unless they were at their most vulnerable, which wasn't a comfortable thought to sit on, but it was their only shot. Sonic and Shadow broke off their formation and simultaneously spin dashed in opposite directions, bouncing off the floating walls that were kicked up from the illusion's lack of gravitational pull. The bounce sent them back at Infinite, who didn't expect both of them to rebound so quickly, and took both spin dashes across his face. However, Infinite's body became more resilient the more power he was given, and therefore, shrugged off the measly attack.
Infinite darted down and grabbed Sonic by the leg. He funneled his power into Sonic's shoe, which changed the bottom of it into a small thruster that overloaded and caused Sonic to fly off and out of control. Shadow tried attacking when Infinite had his back turned to him, but the jackal swiftly turned around and kneed Shadow in the gut before manipulating the ground below him to trap him in yet another shell of rubble. Infinite looked back at Sonic, who was still flailing around in the air as the thruster kept shooting him in random directions. Infinite chuckled lightly before dragging Sonic back to the ground and encasing his legs in concrete. Sonic tried punching out of it, but his meager hands weren't strong enough to free him. Infinite saw this as an opportunity and charged up another small sun within his palm.
This gave Sonic another vision, as he saw himself evaporate once more by Infinite, but as he returned to the present, he had no idea what to do. Then Sonic recalled that Shadow had an idea of his own, and it was apparent that Sonic had to free Shadow from the shell of rubble once more. Sonic grabbed a fragmented rock close by and wound his arm up in a spinning motion before tossing it at the shell. Alas, it formed a wide enough crack for Shadow to break free without drawing attention from Infinite. He looked at the jackal and saw the star ready to incinerate Sonic. Now was the time for Shadow to act on his plan, as he released the broken inhibitor ring.
As Infinite launched the mini sun, he felt as though this was the end of Sonic for sure. He was immobilized and had nowhere to run to now. Perhaps with him out of the way, it might cheer up Infinite's apathetic mood, but there was only one way to find out. However, as the sun left his palm, the inhibitor ring appeared in front of Infinite, and as it made contact with the traveling star, it unleashed a catastrophic explosion. A mix of chaos energy and that from the Phantom Ruby's full potential, combined into an uncontrollable detonation that rocked Infinite's body, as he was directly at the brink of the explosion. Soon, the jackal started to see stars as he lost concentration on the illusion, which freed Sonic and Shadow.
"Now!" Shadow shouted. With Infinite disorientated, Sonic rushed back in and performed brief hit-and-run maneuvers to keep the jackal disorganized. The blue blur stood back as Shadow leaped into the air, conjuring a heap of chaos energy. "Chaos Lance!" Shadow let loose a volley of golden lances from his hands, which pierced through Infinite's hands and pinned him down, which gave the third hedgehog the perfect opportunity. Silver emerged from the sky, holding the two small suns that exited the illusion with his powers. Silver saw Infinite stuck within the lances and did not hesitate to toss the suns as Sonic and Shadow evacuated the site. Infinite desperately hollered as the mini stars crashed down and imploded. The intense heat chewed away at the jackal's skin and melted through his bones until nothing but ash and a crater was left.
The three hedgehogs huddled around the rim of the crater, and there was a moment of hesitation as they were unsure if Infinite was actually gone or not. Eventually, Silver ran down the wall of the crater and walked towards the center. With his keen eyes, he saw a torn glove resting beneath a pile of black dust. Upon closer look, Silver identified the glove to be Infinite's. The white hedgehog exhaled and felt the relief wash all over his body. His upper body went limp and he had to brace his arms on his knees to keep himself up. He almost cracked a smile as he announced the news to Sonic and Shadow. "It's over!" He waved his hand as his voice cracked from exhaustion. "It's finally over!" Sonic fell to the ground to rest while Shadow caught his breath. They were all equally drained. Now that they had another emerald in their possession, all they had to do now was hope that the others could manage the same thing. The thought of the Chaos Emerald crossed Silver's thoughts as he steadied his balance and approached the pile of ash, sweeping his hand through it to feel out the gem. But for whatever reason, Silver couldn't find it at all, and after he blew away all the dust covering the crater, there was no emerald in sight. He jolted his head around until he looked back up at Sonic and Shadow. "It's not here!"
"What?" Sonic yelled back while Shadow muttered it.
"I don't know. It's just not here. Do you think we went a little overboard for it to handle?" Suddenly, a sharp gust of wind blew behind Silver, causing both Sonic and Shadow to widen their eyes in terror. Their horrified expressions elicit Silver to turn around, and as he does, he felt a sudden force drive through his abdomen. Oddly enough, there was no pain, but a warm and uncomfortable feeling bulging through his body. He felt his heart beat faster for some reason, and when he concentrated on that warm feeling, he noticed that it was not coming from his body, but from someone else's, as he started to feel cold around his torso. He finally mustered to look down as he saw someone's hand sticking through his gut. The shock from the blow faded away as a shot of pain traveled up his spine. Yet for some unexplained reason, he couldn't scream as the claws dug deep into his body. The pain was unlike anything he had ever felt before. He blinked rapidly as his eyes moved up to see the jackal, alive and untouched, grinning at him.
"We were so close to unlocking who you were meant to be." Infinite retracted his hand and let Silver collapse to the ground to bleed. "But I always knew that you weren't strong enough to let go." Silver held his hand against his wound, but no amount of pressure could stop the flow of blood exiting him. His perception started to slow as everything around him became cold. As he saw the black tunnel encompass his vision, his thoughts drifted deep into slumber as his consciousness loosened from this world.
"Silver…" Sonic's voice quivered. His perception was shaky, but he kept his focus on his fallen friend. He denied any reasoning in his mind that Silver was gone. "No… no this can't be happening. How can this-"
"Confused?" Infinite joyously chanted. "Well, let me tell you, it wouldn't have been possible without this?" Infinite held the Chaos Emerald up, showcasing it with delight. "I don't know why I haven't scavenged for these before. Even one is enough to boost my capabilities beyond what they were before. My illusions become less of a thought, and more of a reality." Infinite activated the emerald, which formed a red aura around himself. The aura detached from Infinite while keeping his shape, and started to fill in the gaps with mass, bone, and flesh. With miraculous means, Infinite had created a double. "See, all you've been fighting are decoys. Perfect. Identical. Decoys. No lapse in feats, no hindrances, all a testament to my true power."
Shadow was also frozen with disbelief. Twice had he watched his comrades fall before him. Twice he was equally helpless to intervene. He started to wonder if there was anything he could do at all. He kept pushing back his enemies, but he could never be damned to finish them off. How many more of his allies did he have to lose before he could do something about it? Sonic also questioned his abilities, as he was given no warning or vision to save Silver. Why did they stop coming now, after utilizing as much as he did before? Did he overdo it? Was it possible that he reached a limit? Sonic didn't want to believe it, but the more he looked down at his friend, he didn't know what to believe anymore. He had always thought Silver to be invincible, that no one could ever put him down. Seeing him lifelessly on the ground put everything into question.
Silver's Subconscious
The sensation was euphoric. Silver felt as his mind pushed through a weightless plane of existence, where the heat of the sun never shied away. He couldn't see anything, except for a dim blue light that wrapped around his path, like a tunnel below the surface of a tropical ocean. He didn't want to leave. He wanted to stay in this little pocket of warmth forever. He had started to forget what had happened before that led him to this place. The monumental level of stress and anxiety that overwhelmed him had inexplicably vanished in a heartbeat. He could just keep his eyes closed and relax for the rest of eternity. The lack of tension in his floating limbs, and the stillness as he drifted away was addicting. He attuned to the stillness like it had been with him his entire life.
A short tug at his leg felt appalling, and his eyes, the ones that he forgot he had, opened on their own as he found himself in the void of space. Its dull edges created a fog that limited his vision, but as Silver looked down, he saw a ball of blue and green below him. It was his planet, his home, everything he had been fighting for. That's right, I died there. Silver reluctantly traced his thoughts back to the last moments of his life. His attuned mind felt as if the planet had a pull on Silver's leg, and with every passing second, Silver felt the full sensation of its orbit. It was miraculous, how he was in tandem with its rotation. It seemed like everything going on down there was like clockwork. Then, another tug attached to his right arm, and as he looked up, he saw another planet from their galaxy start to orbit around him. The two giants of mass were like reflections of his body. Silver started to control these tensions as he pivoted his arm and leg the opposite way, making the planets change directions.
He flexed his left arm and his other leg, and sure enough, more planets appeared, connected to him. Silver closed his eyes again, and let his limbs guide the spheres of life around him, and as he created a routine in their orbit, he saw an orange glow pierce through the blackness of his eyelids. Behind him, the sun had appeared, and he became the center of a solar system. All things spun around him and enlightened his mind to what he was. The limits of his power were dictated by the restrictions of his mind. He was not in line with the one true constant of the universe: Gravity.
Gravity holds all things together. It is the glue that puts together all these pieces of chaos. As Silver concentrated on his gravity, the more he felt everyone else's. Everyone back at his home had their own gravity, and each instance of it was unique. But as Silver kept his focus on their gravity, he felt some of it slip away, as he detected those souls leaving this plane. Their gravity was stolen, giving weight to those unfitting to keep it. Those who were the thieves, should not be permitted to take any more. It was time for Silver to wake up.
Westopolis
Sonic and Shadow held their ground as Infinite approached the rim of the crater. The jackal tried holding in a chuckle as he watched the hedgehogs shaking in their battle stances. This was the feeling he was missing, the marinated fear that stoked from uneasy souls. Maybe he was going to enjoy himself after all. But as he started to climb the wall of the crater, he heard a sharp sound behind him, as someone's shoe scraped against the ground. He looked back and couldn't believe his eyes.
There he was, right back on his feet, like nothing even happened. His hands were coated in his blood, but they were moved away from his wound which had somehow stopped losing blood. Silver's eyes were diluted and dull. His eyelids rested halfway down and his mouth was slightly gaping. He looked like a dead man walking, as his white quills somehow became paler. "You've got to be kidding?" Infinite exclaimed with amusement. He was intrigued that Silver was still alive but was skeptical whether this was a boost in vitality or his dying gasp. To test the waters, Infinite flicked his finger across and sent another translucent blade that traveled horizontally, as it was directed at Silver's throat. Off of pure instinct alone, Silver leaned back and avoided the slash effortlessly. All while he still had those dead eyes. He almost forgot that he was alive again, as the euphoria of that place he was at remained.
This feels… wonderful. He thought as he straightened himself back up. He stabilized his weak legs and started to slowly walk forward. Infinite, astounded by this performance, wanted to test him more. He picked up a few small rocks and transmuted them into obsidian spikes. He shot them forward, aiming for all around Silver. However, Silver didn't move a muscle, except for his drone-like pacing that inched him closer and closer. The obsidian spikes were suspended just before they reached Silver, as the hedgehog's aura encapsulated them and let them fall to the ground. Silver didn't even realize that he had been stopping whatever danger was approaching, he was just focused on this wonderful feeling.
Infinite started to lose his patience as he unloaded more and more ordnance at Silver. But despite all that, Silver's psychokinesis was like a barrier that protected from all forms of damage. In an instant, Silver had briefly disappeared into thin air, before reappearing right behind Infinite. The jackal's ears dropped as he watched the hedgehog snap his finger, unleashing an immense shockwave that shattered Infinite's eardrum and sent him flying across the ground. Sonic and Shadow, while shaking off their shock, run next to Silver and tend to him. "How are you still alive?" Shadow asked.
"You need to get out of here, you're hurt bad!" Sonic added. "We can handle this from here." Silver paid no mind to them, as his focus was centered around Infinite. He waved his hands in the air and surrounded Sonic and Shadow within a blue aura.
"No, I'm sorry, you can't." Suddenly, Sonic and Shadow were sent flying away, as Silver stepped forward and tracked Infinite at the other side of the crater. He watched the jackal struggle to lift himself to his feet.
"What happened to you? This is nothing like you!" Infinite coped.
"I listened to you." Silver coldly responded. "I let go. I'm not afraid of what will happen anymore." As Silver approached, an unexplainable fear entered Infinite. Was he talking to the same person anymore? It was like some evil spirit had taken hold of his decaying body. "For a second, I thought you were right about me. I thought I was you. I thought that I would end up just like you if I stopped holding back, and nothing terrified me more than that. But I was wrong… you just take and take, and you're never satisfied. You won't ever appreciate what you have."
While Silver was distracted, Infinite had used the Chaos Emerald to form a decoy and plant it behind the hedgehog. But as the decoy leaped forward to strike, Silver's aura had already trapped it as it got close. The white hedgehog turned around and faced the decoy. Finally, some emotion filled his eyes, as resentment formed. He clenched his hand and drowned the decoy in an overwhelming amount of pressure, which evaporated the decoy into a spiral of red and black matter. However, as Silver turned back, he saw Infinite back on his feet and at the top of the crater. In the jackal's arm, he had a civilian locked in a hold, with his claws hovering around the person's neck. "Let's try this again, then. Here's your chance to end this all. You just have to-"
Silver paid no mind to Infinite, as he stared at the ground and found a little pebble resting. He used his mind to lift the pebble as he looked back at Infinite. Suddenly, without any warning, the pebble shot forward and pierced through the civilian's chest and into Infinite's shoulder. Infinite howled in pain as the civilian in his arm dissolved in the same red and black pattern that his decoys had. "You really are a coward." Silver resumed his slow approach. "You're a coward who doesn't understand his own gravity. Gravity is what grounds us and allows us to see our consequences. We all share a little bit together. But when you take away gravity from others, you add on to your own, and eventually, you'll weigh yourself down."
Silver's eyes started to glow with a light blue and grey. The moon at the other side of the horizon suddenly switched its orbit and approached the sun slowly. "Have you gone mad! What the hell are you even talking about!?" Infinite yelled. Silver was facing away from the sun as the moon rested over the star, forming an eclipse that illuminated Silver's aura. Silver pushes his hand forward and knocks the Chaos Emerald out of Infinite's grasp. He holds the jackal in the air and starts to form an orb around his body.
"I'm sending you away," Silver said. "You'll be able to finally appreciate what we have with the little time you'll be up there." Silver angles the orb toward the sky and winds his hand back.
"Listen to me! You don't have to do this!" Infinite pleaded. "There is so much we can do together. We can fix this mess, I'll help you stop Mephiles. Please, just let me-"
"So long, Infinite." With one final push, Silver launched the orb into the stratosphere, along with Infinite. There, the jackal could do nothing but watch from above as he orbits the planet. However, it would not be forever, as Silver only allowed so much air into the orb before sending it to space. In roughly five hours, Infinite would run out of air, and it will be over for good. Silver suddenly felt a great toll on himself, like his body had pumped all the adrenaline he had left. Perhaps that is how he had been surviving all this time, or perhaps there was something greater that unlocked him through his out-of-body experience. One thing was for certain, he was about to collapse again.
As he was about to take a tumble, he was caught and gently laid down as Sonic and Shadow returned to aid him. "Silver! Are you alright?" Sonic asked as Silver weakly nodded with a smile.
"Where's Infinite?" Shadow questioned as he looked around for any remnant of him.
"Some place where he will never harm us again." Silver gasped for air as he raised the red Chaos Emerald. "Now, it would be nice if someone brought me to a hospital because I think I'm starting to bleed out again." Silver tried to joke. Sonic looked at Shadow, who picked up the now passed-out hedgehog. Shadow tosses Sonic the Emerald.
"I'll make sure he's stabilized. Once you get the rest of the emeralds, let us know." Shadow raced off into the distance as he carried Silver away. Sonic stood up, entranced by the miracle he had just witnessed. His friend, whom he had thought dead, crawled out from the depths and finished the job they struggled to achieve. At this point, after everything he had seen, Sonic was starting to get used to the impossible being possible. He pulled out the Emerald Radar that Tails gave him. Hopefully, the others were able to manage without us. He thought as he tracked the emeralds in the city. There were the three they already had back at their makeshift base and the one that Sonic was now holding, which made four. A few seconds later, another emerald was headed to the base, which Sonic assumed must've meant that Knuckles, Sage, and Omega succeeded in defeating Elvira.
However, as Sonic looked at the two remaining emeralds, he was horrified to see them in the same place as they were before. He looked away from the radar and toward the direction of which they were, and saw that they were still at Mephiles' temple. Either Tails was still fighting, or something bad had happened to him. Whatever it was, he had to hurry, as the final phase of their plan to stop Mephiles was almost ready.
To be continued…
Next up: The Terminal Paradox!