Infinite gasped for breath as he pushed against the inside of the capsule with his elbows and knees, the overwhelming feeling of claustrophobia making his stomach seize. He couldn't see a darn thing in its pitch-black interior and had no idea how fast they were going, or what direction he was being taken. He did know, however, that capsules were not very comfortable devices of transportation. The jackal attempted to swallow down the nausea as the capsule jerked from side to side, causing the narrow space between him and the walls to quickly close. He grunted in pain as he hit his shoulder against the inside of the chamber once more and rammed his heel into the floor out of spite, causing the entire capsule to jerk downwards.
"If I drop you at this height, you have a 98.75% chance of dying," Metal Sonic's monotone voice sounded muffled right about his head, and the jackal quietly growled, digging his nails into the surrounding steel interior.
Not a minute had passed when suddenly the jackal was in free-fall. He gasped as he lost grip, then let out a wail of anguish as the machine abruptly stopped falling and his body slammed into the floor.
"You have arrived at your destination." Infinite wanted to put his fist through the stupid robot's face.
"Take him to the fuser." Eggman's voice sounded from somewhere high up, echoing all around them.
"Affirmative." The capsule tipped over, and the jackal sputtered angrily as it began rolling.
"Try to be more careful, Metal. We don't want to 'accidentally' damage the ruby."
The ruby, the ruby, the blasted ruby! Infinite was beyond sick of people wanting his gem- both figuratively and literally. He groaned as a fresh wave of nausea overtook him, and simply allowed himself to bounce around, bumping and bruising several parts of his body. Or what he knew would soon be left of his body.
"Tell the Resistance!" He yelled over the sound of his own body thudding around the inside of the rolling capsule. "Tell them if they defeat you and destroy the doomsday device, I'll fix their stupid base!" The jackal's own voice echoed, strained and hoarse.
"What, you mean the one you nearly killed us all in?" Eggman cackled, his voice sounding hollow and staticky. Infinite realized the doctor wasn't actually there, and he was communicating with them through loudspeakers in the ceilings. "Neheh- I don't think so!"
Infinite grunted as the capsule stopped moving once again and the wall disappeared, dumping him onto a slick, ivory floor. He grimaced and pressed his fists into the ground, willing his stomach to stop swirling, before opening his eyes and squinting around in the blinding light as he tried to sit up. All he saw was that he was in a remarkably larger, painfully brighter, cylindrical glass chamber. He rolled over and saw it encompassed him entirely. Metal stood on the outside, blankly staring in. The jackal's eyes widened, and he struggled to stand up, leaning on the curved, glass walls for support.
"What is this...?" He gasped quietly, looking up.
"This is your demise." Eggman replied sullenly, and the entire tube began humming.
Infinite threw himself off the wall, staggering backwards in horror. "This... this is...?"
A single chuckle reiterated all around him. "Yes, Infinite. This is the 'diffuser.' Only now, it's new and improved, and it's going to fuse you."
Metal stood outside the glass tube silently, watching as the jackal abruptly underwent a maniacal fit of hysteria, scratching his chest in a freakish panic and pounding on the glass. He let out a harrowing scream when the glass chamber suddenly filled with a blinding white light, and the silhouette of the jackal disintegrated. Gradually, the light slowly faded, until nothing could be seen in the empty chamber other than the small, red stone that sat on the ground.
Eggman smiled as the tube made a different noise- one that came from a vacuum. The gem flew upwards and disappeared in the opening in the ceiling.
"I've learned my lesson; always take precautions when handling a super-powered gemstone."