Spirit of the Phantom Ruby

Part 3 - Sweet Dreams, Weakling

The air blowing against his face was pleasant, but the grouchy jackal didn't want to admit it. It had been months since his epic defeat, but it was still as sore of a loss as if it were yesterday. He kept his arms tightly crossed, despite how much he'd rather hug the seat in front of him and feel the thrill of flying all over again. He forced the scowl to dissuade conversation, but the mad scientist driving the flying machine in which they sat talked as though they were the best of friends. He supposed, in a way, that they did have a mutual connection, as Infinite was Eggman's only friend, as was Eggman Infinite's, but he always felt troubled when he was with the doctor, like this was what all the 'great' decisions he made in his life led up to. Being a rechargeable battery for a doctor to use with all his toys.

"It's been forever since you were last outside." Eggman said, waving his hand to emphasize how long it had been. "If you weren't all covered in fur, I bet your skin would be grey."

Infinite kept his mouth tightly clamped shut and instead of replying, stared at the passing terrain. All of it was green, as they were flying through a thick jungle, and though Infinite had wanted it all to be dust and wasteland previously, he couldn't help but feel somewhat soothed by all the earthy hues. He showed none of these emotions physically, however, and maintained his angry silence as they flew on.

Eggman looked at him through the reflection of his windowpane. "Oh, won't you say something? You've been shut up and quiet ever since... ever since..."

"Ever since I lost. To Sonic th-the Hedgehog. To that w-wolf." It was the first time he spoke, and his own voice sounded strange and unfamiliar to his ears. It was too deep. Too hoarse. Too shaky, as if the pain of the last hit he had taken in his defeat was still lingering.

"Finally, he speaks! Tell me, what has been going on in your mind? How are you feeling?!"

Infinite sat in a thoughtful silence, surprised that by saying those words, he actually felt... better. He cleared his throat and sat up more, leaning over his knees on the red seat.

"I am feeling... irritated. Th-that I wasn't able to win in the end." Infinite frowned, "I truly thought I was invincible."

"Go on..." Eggman was looking at him through the glass, expectantly, almost excitedly.

Infinite's face darkened. "I want to kill him."

"Him?"

"That wolf." The jackal slowly uncrossed his arms and instead grasped the edges of his seat. "That one, who came back and ended it all for me."

"Well, now that you're being more talkative, I want to confess something." Eggman, putting the Eggmobile on auto-pilot, turn around in his seat to face him. "This wasn't just to get you out more, this was also to tell you that I've gotten one of my old machines up and working again. It's my indestructible Mech suit. I gave it all sorts of fancy features more than capable of ending Sonic, but in the past, I didn't have enough battery power to power it up and use it. So, I retired it to an old workshop over in-,"

"You want me to power it up!" Infinite exclaimed haughtily. "Well, of course I would, I didn't mean to put it that way, but it just so happens that the Phantom Ruby is not at all full power, even after all these months of isolation,"

("Why, you had me! It wasn't that isolated!" Eggman scoffed quietly.)

"-and all these months of doing nothing, there has been nothing, in return, to restore it to full power. Therefore, I am useless to you." He sat back and crossed his arms again.

"Oh, come now, that's not true-!" A sudden lurch in the machine caused them both to start.

Eggman spun around and fiddled with the controls. "Ah, phooey..." He muttered, bringing the Eggmobile to a steady stop.

"What?" Infinite asked, dismissing the fact that the old doctor had almost tried to flatter him.

"Something's off." Eggman jumped out of the aircraft, quite nimble for a man of his size, and went around the front to check out the exterior. "A part of the machine's fallen off!"

"It must have been when the machine lurched back there." Infinite suggested. "Want me to go search for it?"

"No, I would like for you to stay here and guard my aircraft. Just make sure no more pieces of the Eggmobile fall off. I'll head on back and find it." Eggman walked away from him and the aircraft, pushing past some large ferns and completely disappearing from sight.

"That's right," Infinite sighed, draping himself over the back of his seat to stare off after him. "Just leave me all alone in the middle of a forest."

He could faintly hear Eggman's feet crunching on the grass a little way away, but after a snap that was barely audible, he heard a sudden thump and then silence.

"Eggman...?" The jackal raised his head in alarm. "...Dr. Robotnik?!"

No response. He slowly stood up and made to get out, but then paused by the door. What if it was a trap? What if that little punk of a wolf had come after him with his friends to seek revenge? He clutched the door nervously, swallowing. Trap or not, he would have to go find the doctor, as he was his only ride home.

He dropped out of the machine and started, slowly, for the ferns. He was halfway there when suddenly the rustling of bushes made him spin around.

"Who's there?!" He exclaimed anxiously, his left hand subconsciously reaching for the red gem that sat snug beneath his chin, as his right hand stretched out towards the noise, as though he were focusing his energy on that one spot. He stared at the bush, bewildered, until suddenly he felt a sharp pain in his shoulder. He spun around and gasped, seeing the last person in the entire world he would ever want to see.

Shadow the hedgehog stepped out from behind some brush, a tranquilizer gun of an impressive size resting on his shoulder. "Sweet dreams, weakling."

Infinite immediately swung his arms up and summoned several red cubes which he sent hurtling at him. The hedgehog dodged them with ease and watched, with amusement, as the jackal suddenly began staggering back and forth, his arms growing heavier. The jackal turned to see that blasted wolf peering at him, not too far away, his face blurring in his vision.

"You... horrid..." Infinite couldn't even finish his insult before he collapsed, face-down, onto the green floor of the shadowy jungle. A slight breeze began as a broken piece of the Eggman mobile sat not too far away, the imprint of a grabbling hook deep in its center.