Sonic Apocalypse

Chapter 29 - Eggman's Rule

He did it. He finally accomplished the one goal he's sought for his entire life. The one goal he had constantly failed in achieving, never even coming close until now. Dr. Eggman, had finally taken complete and total control over Mobius. Time and time again, he had come up short in his conquests over the planet, so much that it began to wear down on him and destroy his will. But now, he can sit back and laugh at the pathetic failures of his past as the entire globe is now under his reign. His to govern, his to preside, his to rule with an iron fist.

And with the entire planet under the Empire's rule, Eggman had to choose where he would reside as ruler of Mobius. And Metropolis became the city that was chosen, which would become the capital of Eggman's new Mobius. Or as he would like to now call it, Eggmanland. Since Eggman was the egotistical megalomaniac he was, he renamed the capital of the planet after himself. The lush, pretty buildings that were torn down due to the war were rebuilt to be huge, dastardly and brooding towers that would reign over the city like massive trees blanketing a dark forest in shadows.

And to make matters much more sinister, Eggman had forced several citizens of the planet into slavery to help reforge Mobius the way Eggman had always wanted. He enslaved them to create Eggmanland and help the doctors dreams come true. And the ones who refused to comply with his orders were executed without question, hesitation, nor pity. You either served under the Empire, or you were wiped out.

But Eggman wasn't just going to rule the world by himself, he would be sharing his powers with Dr. Starline and Infinite, the two men who helped him in his war which led to the planet's downfall. Infinite was especially beneficial to the Eggman Empire, his powers posed an instant and devastating threat to the planet, ensuring it's inevitable destruction in a matter of mere days. Infinite had an awesome arsenal at his side, allowing him to defeat enemies as powerful as Shadow the Hedgehog. But all of this might came at a price.

The memories he had as Zero were entirely wiped away, not even the slightest remnants of his previous life had remained in his mind. Instead, the only thoughts he had were those of death, destruction and mercilessly tearing down anyone unlucky enough to cross paths with him. And this lust for power quite literally went to his head. The more power he gained, the more his sanity vanished, turning him from a power hungry madman, to a delirious lunatic.

At times, he would lash out after being giving the simplest of orders, go completely overboard with using his power in battle which caused the destruction of many of his robotic comrades and constantly ramble on about how he still yearns for more power. Because of all this, Eggman had worried that Infinite could eventually pose as a threat to his throne, so he devised a plan in order to keep Infinite's power in check, before he winded up dead by his hands.

Shortly after Infinite had returned to Eggmanland following his victorious bout over Shadow, ignoring Eggman who questioned him on his business in Holoska and where Starline has been. Eggman was frustrated with him at first as Infinite walked right past him while was trying to speak to him, but he quickly forgot about it as he had more important things to focus on.

Infinite then floated up to the top of an incredibly tall skyscraper that overlooked the city, standing right on the tip of the needle and giving himself a grand view of Eggmanland, watching as the once happy citizens work tirelessly without salary and only the necessary amount of nutrients provided to keep them alive so that they wouldn't lose any able labourers. Infinite gazed upon the chaos that ensued below him, feeling no sort of emotions at all, he didn't even respect the Empire's slaves enough to pity them.

He sat up there for a few minutes with his arms crossed, giving a cold, dead stare below until his mind slowly began to mess with him. His memories slowly began to resurface in his mind. He didn't remember things like his name and past relationships, but he did begin to question who he was, and if he were always like this.

"Who...who am I?" said Infinite, observing his battered hands. "I feel...strange now. Was I a different man before I acquired these powers? Was I always Infinite? Was I just a regular Mobian?"

The more he questioned himself, the more detached from sanity he became. Snippets of his past began rapidly flashing through his consciousness the more curious he grew about his past. It was all very vague to him, but Infinite grew uneasy and wanted to learn more about himself, but he simply couldn't remember anything more detailed than a blurry photograph, causing him to lose his sanity. Many different things flashed throughout his mind, but the most important thing he saw was a dark and muddy vision of Gadget the Wolf.

Infinite broke down as he started to remember the more important things in his life with the Phantom Ruby conflicted with the regaining of his memories. So his evil self and his past self were battling with each other and he grew delirious because of it.

"Why can't I remember?!" he screamed as he flew inside of the top floor of the building and collapsed onto the ground.

"This...this isn't me! Yesss, yes it is, you are Infinite. You were weak before but now you are unstoppable, so forget about your past. No! No! This goddamn ruby has corrupted me! It must be destroyed! And what? Throw away the deadliest source of power known to man? Think about it, we can use it to destroy Eggman and create our own Empire! You can't let this perfect opportunity to seize control over this pathetic world slide."

Eggman's footsteps could be heard from underneath him as he drew closer and closer. "Here he comes now. So what's it gonna be?"

"The only reason why I'd kill the bastard is to free this world from his tyranny. Not to subject it to a crueler fate under yours. You...must be destroyed, along with him!"

Infinite tried to tear the Ruby out of his chest but the moment he touched it, his hands were badly burned and the stone's evil began to take control over his body again. This caused a chain reaction that emitted another shockwave that travelled through the city, causing some damage to the ongoing construction. This was very similar to the time when Infinite first came into contact with the Ruby, only know his conscious was now completely destroyed and the Ruby know had full control over his mind.

Infinite laid on the floor, barely conscious and not moving a muscle. He just sat there like a dead fish that washed up on the shore. Eggman, after getting back up following the shockwave that knocked him off his feet, walked straight toward Infinite carrying a mysterious item in his left hand.

"Oh my, what happened here?" he wondered as he observed Infinite's limp, lifeless body with great concern.

He poked Infinite's side, getting him to eventually sit upright and turn to Eggman.

"Looks like I came in the nick of time!" said Eggman. "I was just about to give you a little present when all of a sudden, you explode again."

"Yeah yeah, whatever." replied Infinite as he rubbed his eye and pointed at the object Eggman was holding. "What's that?"

"This, is a mask." responded Eggman cheerfully as he presented said mask. "I designed to keep your powers in check so that you don't, erm, explode again. With this, you'll still be an all powerful warlord, but a more controlled and focused one. If anything, this should make you a more efficient fighter. It also looks, as the kids call it, lit...or something."

Infinite slipped the mask onto his face and adjusted it for comfort. He gave a look around the room with it on.

"What do you think?" asked Eggman, leaning towards Infinite.

"I don't feel any different." replied Infinite.

"But don't worry, once you head into combat again, you'll notice a big difference quickly." said Eggman. "For instance, Blaze and Silver have been spotted near the city of Mazuri. They were on their way to...liberate it from our rule with two female fighters whose names are yet to be discovered. Regardless--"

"I'm on it." snapped Infinite as he stood up straight and leered outside. "Blaze and Silver won't know what hit them."

And with that, Infinite flew right outside and straight towards Mazuri. Eggman looked up as he made his descent. Afterwards, he had a look outside and noticed the damage Infinite has just caused and scoffed in disgust.

"Should've told him to clean up his mess." shrugged Eggman as he walked away from the window.

"Wait...where's Starline?" Eggman wondered to himself. "Eh, probably doing some research I don't care about. Oh well, he's missing out on all this glorious kingship."