Sonic the Hedgehog

Reality Check

Time itself freezes to a standstill. One could argue today's occasion more than warranted it. Still twenty feet off the ground, Infinite hasn't bothered to move an inch. And neither have the three golden hedgehogs hovering in his shell-shocked view.

Whereas he's left appalled by what has just transpired, astonishment is what keeps the eyes below glued to the three bright beacons above them. The plan not only worked, but it may have given them, and all of Mobius itself the chance it needed.

It's as if Sonic's injuries were never there in the first place. This sensation is unlike anything he's felt before. For a power so foreign, it feels anything but. He is in complete control.

The same applies to the equally surprised hedgehogs behind him. No longer do they feel confined to the laws of gravity and physics. All three of them feel as light as a feather, but as powerful as a supernova. Sonic's voice brings an end to the short period of silence.

"Are you going to take off that ruby? Or will we have to do it?"

Infinite's seeable eye flinches.

"What, are you and your friends' little glow-up supposed to draw concern?" He brings his open hands together, generating a red, electrical ball the size of a tire. "It makes no difference. Just give up and accept your inevitable demise!"

He releases the blast with renewed confidence. A result of remembering the state of the White House and Eggman's prized aircraft after sustaining a lesser attack. Surely, whatever power his opponents received from the chaos emeralds wouldn't negate such a powerful blast.

Either way, he doesn't get the opportunity to see if it does. All three of the super hedgehogs disappear out of range from the beam's giant, mid-air discharge of bright electricity. To the small crowd on the surface, the attack looked more like a firework. The moment the last cackle dies out, all three of the glowing Mobians reappear in their previous positions.

One thing is frighteningly clear to the Jackal. He could see them move, even if it was for a second. So they're not dodging with teleportation. No, whatever the emeralds did to them, it granted something even faster than sonic speed.

"Concerned yet?" Amy asks.

"You should be," Shadow finishes.

In unison, the hedgehogs fly forward. Infinite's brain doesn't have a dream of processing their fast approach before each of their fists collides with his mask, denting its muzzle. The combined blow causes Infinite to hurl through the air, too dazed to slow his air travel before his painful landing. By the time he slows to a halt, his back has created a skid mark spanning fifty-two meters.

"Why does there ALWAYS have to be an obstacle?!" He questions, sitting up. "It's grown tiresome!"

A few feet ahead, the super hedgehogs descend to the ground, having caught up in no time at all. Something which urges the Jackal to fully stand.

"How... DARE you strike me!"

A giant, white flash emits from the ruby embedded in the Jackal's chest. All color everywhere is briefly distorted, backed by an alien sound. If they weren't completely before, this strange phenomenon snaps the hedgehogs to their highest senses.

A good thing too. Once everything turns back to "normal", they have only a moment's notice to move safely out of the way of materializing lasers that form all around the empty field. Amy tilts her head back just slightly, avoiding the burn of a beam stretching out in front of her. Its heat touches the tip of her nose.

To her right, Shadow narrowly steers clear of the lasers. He raises his right leg, missing two still beams that now run under it, and he tilts his head to the left to avoid one currently between it and his right shoulder. All Sonic has to do is duck his head to evade the red beams just centimeters above his pointy quills.