"A CHAOS EMERALD!?" Sonic exclaimed in shock. Infinite quickly picked up the red emerald from the ground and flashed it before the two heroes. "Of course it is, you idiot! I neglected to collect the Emeralds during the war because the Phantom Ruby was the ultimate power! But now I see how much of a fool I was to limit myself like that! Once all 7 have been collected, I will be truly UNSTOPPABLE!"
"Not on MY watch." Shadow declared, using his proximity to the emerald to tap into its power and teleport himself close enough to Infinite to kick it out of his hand and into the air. Tails and Amy took their cue to pitch in and start firing the X-Tornado's main cannon at Infinite while Sonic ran around him in circles. Shadow dove into the air, barely catching the emerald as it spun. He concentrated on its hidden power. "CHAOS..."
Infinite, focusing on what the hedgehog was about to do, grabbed the Phantom Ruby from his robes and leaped into the air, joining it to Shadow's emerald in a fit of inspiration. "PHANTOM..."
"CONTROL!" The two said in unison, the opposing powers of the two gems bursting into the nearby area, and seeping into reality itself. The landscape shifted, briefly, before multiple small portals opened up on almost every nearby surface, black hands of various shapes and sizes surrounded by red, misty energy came out of each one, desperately grasping and searching for something to grab.
On a hunch, Sonic grabbed the hand of the nearest one, and tried to pull it through, but he was met with THE MENTAL image of Infinite firing an energy whip, and a long, endless void for his troubles. He reeled back, his entire arm crackling with energy as the hand disappeared back into the ground, and the landscape returned to normal. "What the heck was THAT?" He asked no one in particular, before noticing the X-Tornado flying erratically in the air. "Oh no. Tails! Amy!"
Aboard the X-Tornado, the situation wasn't any much better. Multiple hands had emerged from portals in the tiny walls and control units on the inside of the aircraft, along with many places on the outside. Before they disappeared, however, Amy saw one that had what looked like a boxing glove with two spikes on the top. "Knuckles?" She said in recognition before it was gone. Best to ask about that later, she thought, time to concentrate on the problem at hand. "Tails! What's our damage?"
"Ugh! Law-defying forces have changed the steering's outcome! Logical disparities are manifesting, and sending us to the bottom of causality!" The fox shouted in a panic. "Regular people speak, Tails!?" Amy asked.
"WE'RE CRASHING!"
Dazed, Infinite got up from where he had crashed on the ground. He'd seen the portals open, the hands reach out, felt his new power flicker ever so slightly, before righting itself. He looked at the Phantom Ruby, still surging with power in his hand. "So...That's what THAT does!"
He struggled to his feet, every joint in his body protesting with pain as he did so. He was in no shape to fight, and thankfully, Sonic was distracted by that new plane Prower had created as it creeped closer and closer to the ground.
He turned his head toward Shadow, lying unconscious on the ground a few feet away from him, the red emerald in his hand still glowing. The jackal COULD take it now...But he had other ideas for later. "Keep it warm for me, Shadow." He said with a smirk, before flying away.