Sonic Apocalypse

Chapter 48 - A Second Bout

"Wh-who's here?" panicked Sonic.

"Who do you think?" snapped Shadow who had felt just as paranoid as the others but was able to keep a calm demeanor, unlike the others. "It's that monster. H-how close is he?"

"He's right above us..." whimpered Tails who was shaking uncontrollably. So bad that he let go of the tracker he was holding, causing it to snap in half.

Sonic let out a deep sigh, trying to keep himself calm despite being completely unaware of the threat that was lurking directly above him. "Alright, I'm sure it won't be that bad, especially with us three." assured Sonic referring to him, Shadow and Silver.

"You say that now..." said Silver. "But unlike the rest of us here, you've never encountered this person before, so maybe don't lead people into a false sense of security when you have no idea what you're talking about."

"Silver, please don't start." groaned Shadow.

"My apologies, Sonic." said Silver, feeling bad for his harsh comments. "What a second...Tails, didn't you say he was right above us?"

"Yeah...why?"

"Then why the hell hasn't he struck yet?" wondered Silver as he looked around the room frantically.

There was an awkward silence for a few moments which lead the group to believe that Infinite had left...but man, were they wrong. Infinite then dashed through the wall behind Tails and rammed into him with his elbow, knocking him and Sonic onto the ground as the two had collided with each other. The force that Infinite's hit caused was so strong that it had propelled Tails and Sonic into the wall on the other side of the room.

"Why, hello there. Quite the introduction, wouldn't you say?" snickered Infinite, acting as pretentious as ever. "Ah! Would you take a gander at this! I finally get to face the one and only Sonic the Hedgehog. I just hope he turns out to be as powerful as the legends make him out to be."

"I'm far more powerful than that." gritted Sonic as him and Tails rose to their feet and prepared to fight back. "Just you wait and see! You'll crumble just like any other villain I've ever faced, you're no different than the rest of 'em!"

"Oh, on the contrary..." said Infinite smugly while wagging his index finger in the air. "I am for sure the biggest threat you have ever faced. Just ask these two..." he paused after noticing Silver whom Infinite had presumed as dead after their deadly battle in Shamar. "Wait...you look familiar, I could've sworn we've crossed paths. Oh right! You were that pathetic hedgehog with his equally worthless feline friend. I remember pummeling you two into the ground with little effort on my part, but I can't help but wonder how you managed to survive."

"Let's just say there are some things you don't know about me." bragged Silver. "And now that I get a second chance against you, I'm sure the outcome will be different this time around."

"Do you people find pleasure in experiencing horrendous pain and agony?" said Infinite. "Seriously, you're always throwing yourselves into imminent, life threatening danger, it really begs the question whether or not you enjoy the pain. Curious."

"Nah, not even close." said Sonic as he joined his two hedgehog comrades. "We're always heading into these situations not because we like it, far from it, we do it to protect the things we love; like our friends, family, environment, the list goes on and on. We'll do anything it takes if it means keeping the people we care about safe and sound, even if it costs us our lives."

"Ah! There it is!" said Infinite in a cheerful manner that was clearly faked for a sarcastic joke. "The pseudo heroism that the each of you share is truly astounding! But no matter, after a few minutes, you won't get to pretend to be a hero anymore."