Infinite emerged from a dark cave in Splash Hill, pleased with his efforts so far. However, black and blue gusts of wind and energy slightly jarred his stance. "Long time, no see, ya masked prick! Welcome back!" Sonic the Hedgehog snarked as he and Shadow reached a stop in front of the Jackal. "Not that anyone WANTED you back, but still!"
Infinite merely chuckled at the remarks. "What's so funny?" Shadow asked. "You two. My power has grown, my prowess increased tenfold since our last encounter, yet all I see is the same fools I fought back then! Even at THAT point, my power far surpassed the both of you, but now?" Infinite rose into the air, power surging around him. "Now, you are nothing but mere ants before a god!"
Sonic just blinked, his arms crossed, before he turned to Shadow. "Hey, remember that thing we did against Diablon?"
"Yep." The black hedgehog replied, as he began running just below the jackal in a circle, creating a small wall of Chaos Energy as he did so. Sonic looped around, and charged at him from the back, transitioning to a spin dash in the air before Shadow stopped his rotation and launched himself upward, allowing Sonic to bounce off of him, and transition into a homing attack that knocked Infinite back to the ground long enough for the Ultimate Life Form to grab him by the leg, and toss him straight into a nearby rock formation, shattering it on impact.
"HA! Almost impressive, the two of you setting aside your differences to work together like this! But I feel your rage, your fear, your...Sorrow? Yes, it radiates especially from YOU, blue hedgehog! Bottled up tightly, festering in the pit of your heart, threatening to boil to the surface. The faintest hint of grief! It is...Quite delicious."
"Man, does this guy ever shut up?" Sonic muttered. "I've asked the same thing about you many times." Shadow responded before launching towards Infinite yet again, Sonic soon joining him in a flurry of incredibly fast blows and blocks with the masked jackal.
Above, in the X-Tornado, Tails and Amy circled the fight, waiting for the right opportunity to tap in. "Are you SURE we can't jump in there NOW, Tails?" Amy asked.
"The X-Tornado is powerful, Amy, but it's also untested. Letting Sonic and Shadow wear him down first is the safest possible option. I don't have time to build another one if Infinite wrecks it in the first round." Tails firmly answered. Amy relented, but still worried as she looked out the cockpit window. Last time Infinite had taken Sonic down, he was gone for what seemed like an eternity while she, Tails, and the others were left behind to pick up the pieces. He'd only been spared by Eggman's enormous ego. This time, however, Infinite was out for blood, and she could only hope that the two hedgehogs below could conquer this foe before things went any further than they had already.
"Wait, what's that?" Amy asked, pointing to a small glowing object that had fallen off of Infinite's person during the fight. Tails checked his scanners, hardly believing what they were telling him. "No way! Is that-!?"