Infinite vs. Mephiles

## Description

*These two are both one-off Sonic villains that share a common edge, and today, they shall collide in an awesome conflict for supremacy. Who will walk away from it?*

## Interlude

Hiro: The world of Sonic the Hedgehog is pretty weird and the quality of his line of games have been bumpy for quite some time now. Sonic Forces arguably failed to meet expectations and Sonic 06 is infamous even outside the fandom.

**MBStarscream: However, with many villains throughout Sonic’s gaming history, there are two villains in particular that stand out for one specific feat: actually defeating the hero, Sonic the Hedgehog, at some point in their career. So, the obvious question comes to mind: If they actually fought each other, who would have greater chances of coming out on top? Would it be Infinite, the Invincible Instrument of Destruction?**

Hiro: Or would it be Mephiles the Dark, the evil shadow of Shadow the Hedgehog? I'm Hiro Hamada.

**MBStarscream: I'm MBStarscream.**

Hiro: And it's our job to examine both warriors' strength, abilities, weapons, and weaknesses to see who would win in a fight.

## Infinite

Hiro: Infinite was once the captain of the Jackal Squad, a band of mercenary thieves raiding others for a profit. In time, he gained a public reputation as the "ultimate mercenary". Then one day, the ultimate mercenary  led his squad on a raid of Dr. Eggman's base in the Arsenal Pyramid while the scientist was studying the Phantom Ruby in an attempt to steal his devices for a hefty bounty.

**MBStarscream: But when it all seemed to be over for Eggman, Infinite accidentally struck the Phantom Ruby with his sword instead, causing it to show him an illusion of what he desired the most: a desolate, destroyed world.**

 Hiro: Using this to push the ultimate mercenary aside, Eggman, who also saw the vision, took a liking to him and offered to make him the leader of his Eggman Army so they could accomplish their goals together. Realizing he had grown bored of the world as it was, the ultimate mercenary took Eggman's offer in spite of his squad's protest.

**MBStarscream: Some time later, the ultimate mercenary and the Jackal Squad got assigned by Eggman to guard his facility in Mystic Jungle. When Shadow the Hedgehog came to raid and destroy the facility however, the Jackal Squad got annihilated by the black hedgehog. The ultimate mercenary tried to engage Shadow himself, but he too was overpowered.**

Hiro: As he took his leave, Shadow called the captain "worthless". As he recovered, the ultimate mercenary realized, much to his horror, that he was afraid. The jackal then proceeded to throw a tantrum over how weak he was. Bitter bout his defeat, the ultimate mercenary cast aside his old identity, going as far as to wear a mask to hide his face, in order to become stronger. He then obtained Eggman's finalized Phantom Ruby prototype, which granted him virtually limitless power.

**MBStarscream: Following a number of experiments in the innermost area of the Eggman Empire Fortress, Eggman managed to fuse the ultimate mercenary with the Phantom Ruby prototype, creating the weapon he needed to defeat Sonic and conquer the world with. Reborn, the mercenary renamed himself "Infinite" and became Eggman's right-hand man in his conquest.**

Hiro: From that point on, Infinite would become the most formidable opponent ever to confront Sonic the Hedgehog, for every reason. After being fused with the Phantom Ruby prototype, Infinite gained powers superior to those of the Master Emerald's, which is the most powerful relic in the world.

**MBStarscream: In his own words, Infinite had acquired "unrivalled" power and the "ultimate strength" through his gemstone. Infinite's newfound strength proved so great that he was able to effortlessly defeat figures like E-123 Omega and Silver the Hedgehog, and ultimately best even Sonic twice.**

Hiro: Infinite can move fast enough to behind white streaks whenever he moves, and was stated by Tails to be even faster than Sonic, based on his feat of dodging the latter's Sonic Boost-empowered attack from point-blank range.

**MBStarscream: And that guy can reach hypersonic speed at a normal pace! Plus, in Sonic Unleashed, Sonic's highest recorded speed in base form measures between 2800-3000 SPD, whereas his Light Speed Dash clocks in at 390 SPD. If these figures are accurate, this means Sonic can run at least 7.179-7.6923 times the speed of light. It's also been stated by several official sources that Sonic can move faster than light, supporting this math.**

Hiro: Wow, nice mathematic skills. I'm impressed.

**MBStarscream: Thank you, Hiro.**

Hiro: Anyway, Infinite's physical strength became potent enough to knock away someone of Sonic's size with enough force to crack a concrete arch upon impact. He is also very durable, tanking hits from the likes of Sonic, Silver, and the Avatar character. Keep in mind that Sonic alone is capable of destroying entire battleships.

**MBStarscream: He even took a Double Boost from Sonic and the Avatar, and still got back up. After Infinite's fusion with the finalized Phantom Ruby prototype, he acquired the ability to generate, destroy and/or manipulate virtual realities. The virtual realities in question are said to be illusions, which Infinite was able to generate by taking control of one's visual and depth perception to feed false information into the brain.**

Hiro: The effects of these virtual realities are potent enough to be capable of causing any illusory injury or effect to affect the victim's physical body; for example, by making an illusion of him flying, he was able to make his real body fly, and by making an illusion of him firing a laser, he was able to injure people with it. Having no limitations to the illusions he could create, Infinite had, within the influence of his Phantom Ruby, unlimited abilities.

**MBStarscream: He also used his Ruby to give himself the power of flight and levitation, deadly energy beam emission, energy ball projection, self-replication, size enhancement, shockwave manipulation, gravity distortion, object materialization and teleportation. He was even able to manifest giant monsters in his likeness, trap beings in virtual realities, create a whole sun that moved according to his will, and mimic the special techniques of others, such as Metal Sonic's exclusive V. Maximum Overdrive Attack.**

Hiro: In battle though, Infinite primarily used his Phantom Ruby to generate crimson cubes that he could skillfully and willingly move around. If an opponent got struck by these cubes, they would be sent into a virtual reality where they were assailed by objects manifested by his Ruby's power. He could generate a large numbers of these cubes and arrange them into a variety of different shapes and forms.

**MBStarscream: Infinite could also use his Ruby's power to create virtual reality projections that cause his victims to falsely perceive the presence of other characters. These projections are described by Shadow as having "mass and form, but no heart or soul".**

Hiro: These projections, so long as Infinite desired, could also carry the memories, powers, and personalities of the originals. Accordingly, Infinite could create an unlimited number of them. He could also alter them to make them stronger than the originals, such as making a Metal Sonic replica bigger and granting him the ability to use electrified versions of his energy cubes as well as materialize objects to use as a shield.

**MBStarscream: Using the Phantom Ruby's power, Infinite was also capable of limited spatial manipulation, allowing him to create Null Spaces, which are seemingly inescapable voids in space-time where absolutely nothing exists. When opening portals into Null Spaces, Infinite could reinforce such portals to expand and suck everything nearby into them.**

Hiro: But while Infinite's illusions are formidable, they can be neutralized by someone who has a Phantom Ruby prototypes as well. Likewise, his Phantom Ruby prototype's illusions only work if the target is within the Ruby's field of effect. Also, his Phantom Ruby prototype requires a tremendous amount of energy to function. Should its energy supply be cut off, the Phantom Ruby prototype would be rendered inert.

**MBStarscream: Another weakness of Infinite's is his extreme sense of confidence and constant need to satisfy his sadism. When Infinite destroyed the Avatar's squad, he willingly let them run away unharmed as he enjoyed the sounds of their screams. Later, when he had Sonic at his mercy a second time, rather than finishing him there and then, he just left, seeing Sonic as something he need not bother himself with. Both these actions proved to be Infinite's downfall when Sonic and the Avatar later ended up beating him together.**

Hiro: But calling him weak or worthless will get him on his bad side, which is something you would *not* want if you wish to live should you have the misfortune of running into the Masked One.

*Infinite: Well, look who's back from the dead. The little blue savior. But what's that I smell? You reek of fear. Glad to see I left an impression.*

## Mephiles

Hiro: Mephiles the Dark was born from the "Solaris Project", an experiment conducted by the government of Soleanna; officially an energy research program, the project's true goal was to harness the power of Solaris and give humanity control over the flow of time itself. However, the project ended in a disaster that split Solaris into two beings; Mephiles and Iblis, both of whom were really powerful and were now escaping the underwater lab the explosion happened in.

**MBStarscream: Soon after being separated, Mephiles was sealed into the Scepter of Darkness by Shadow the Hedgehog, only to be released ten years later during a fight between Shadow, Rouge, and Eggman's robots. After being released, Mephiles used Shadow's... (sighs) shadow to take on a form resembling said hedgehog.**

Hiro: Mephiles continued on to form an elaborate plan to free Iblis and reform with him to once again become Solaris. The plan succeeded, but Solaris was defeated by the combined power of Sonic, Shadow, and Silver's super forms and was erased from time soon afterward.

**MBStarscream: But it took some effort to put Mephiles down, what with everything he do and all that.**

Hiro: Mephiles is a being who may not have a material form at all.[1] He has great deal of shapeshifting skills that allow him to turn into different forms of matter, like liquid or gas, or even take another person's appearance by absorbing that individual's shadow.

**MBStarscream: He can also grow stronger by absorbing shadows, especially if it comes from the same type of shadow as the being whose shadow he absorbed earlier outside of time counts him as a very powerful character in the series. This is especially evident with his second encounter, where he managed to effortlessly escape imprisonment from another Scepter of Darkness due to his present self having gone back in time absorbing Shadow's shadow while the latter was sealing away Mephiles' past self.**

Hiro: Mephiles can manipulate and move through time with an ability similar to Chaos Control. Whether or not this was due to taking Shadow's form through his shadow or it was one of his innate abilities is debatable; however, being one half of the time god Solaris, the latter seems more probable.

**MBStarscream: In addition, he has enough control over his abilities of time manipulation to separate pursuing enemies, as evidenced by how he managed to escape Omega and Shadow after their first fight in the future.**

Hiro: His primary offensive technique is a massive sphere of black energy that is spawned from his hands that home in on their targets. He can also use the energy spheres to move himself and others through time. Since Mephiles absorbed Shadow's shadow, he also has the ability to actually *be* his shadow.

**MBStarscream: Didn't need that Paranoia Fuel, Hiro.**

Hiro: Furthermore, he can alter his physical form to sink into the ground and merge with the shadow of another. He can also manipulate shadows to create "clones" of himself, although they are warped and imperfect without the power of the Chaos Emeralds. He can also merge the clones together to make large shadow monsters.

**MBStarscream: Mephiles can blast opponents away by firing shockwaves of energy at them. Mephiles' final attack used before fusing with Iblis to become Solaris was a beam of energy that he extends from his right hand to kill Sonic. Yes, KILL Sonic, something Eggman couldn't accomplish for two decades.**

Hiro: Mephiles appears to be immortal, surviving every fight he takes part in, and whenever he is beaten he seems to just shift into his base form. Whether or not he is capable of feeling pain is unknown; although he reacts to taking damage during his boss battles with Shadow, he merely stood and allowed himself to be shot multiple times when confronting Omega at Wave Ocean. Indeed, when defeated by Shadow a second time, he also declared himself to be immortal and invincible.

**MBStarscream: Because he is the mind and will of Solaris, Mephiles is very intelligent. This is shown in his ability as a skilled manipulator, being able to easily manipulate Silver and Blaze into nearly getting his desired result.**

Hiro: He is also shown to have adept knowledge on using modern technology, as evidence by knowing exactly which files in Dr. Eggman's computer to use when trying to persuade Silver to assassinate Sonic. This is most likely due to his apparently endless lifespan and time travel power allowing him to study the world around him for as long as he needs to.

**MBStarscream: Mephiles is very skillful in the usage of the Chaos Emeralds' reality warping capabilities. He can release unseen shockwaves from them, have them instill visions in others, blind opponents, and warp the other six Emeralds to his location instantly using just one. Presumably in the latter's case, he utilized the Chaos Emeralds' magnetic properties to pull this off.**

Hiro: And by fusing himself with several of his minions using the empowered darkness from a Chaos Emerald, Mephiles can enter a monstrous state that gives him great physical strength, enough to create shock waves by hammering into the ground. He can also fire a powerful purple laser from his eye and is nigh-invulnerable.

**MBStarscream: But as a being of darkness, Mephiles is vulnerable to light-based attacks, such as the Chaos Spear, which render him immobile. His shadow-mending skills are also not infallible as intense power can force him out of other people's shades. No, not the ones on your eyes.**

Hiro: But being able to do what Eggman tried and failed to pull off in over 25 years is a huge sign that Mephiles the Dark is a figure not to scoff at, even if his game definitely is something to scoff at.

*Mephiles: What you gave to me, I now return to you! A one-way ticket to oblivion!*

## Fatal Fiction

*Mario flips a coin.*

Hiro: Well, Infinite has an advantage over Mephiles when it comes to where their clash will take place. But there is only one way to find out if that edge will be enough for Infinite to come out of this alive.

**MBStarscream: You can say the fun's gonna be infinite with this battle. Heh, get it?**

*Mobius*

The glove-clad fists of Sonic the Hedgehog clenched tightly as a glare that could have pierced through even the most durable of armors contorted his face with pure hatred. Much unlike the countless other villains he had opposed in the past, Sonic's conscience was overwhelmed with fury over the mere fact that the *monster* that he saw before him was even alive at the minute. The horror that shriveled his heart when he saw the look of frozen terror on Tails' face before his severed head was cast aside so casually and cruelly was quickly replaced with the rage that had turned his blood into lava and made him see red, no, *purple.*

Malice was the only thing that the jackal had to give to the infuriated hedgehog. He had black fur, white long and stiff dreadlocks, a white collar of some kind, and white stripes on his back that resembled a ribcage. He also had a bushy tail with a white tip, and wore black gloves with silver streaks on the back, covering his sharp fingers. He also had pointed, metal black hi-tops, with an infinity symbol engraved on red soles.

He wore a silver-colored mask with large ears with white and black circular patterns on the inside, with the right ear being black with white circular patterns and the left being white with black circular patterns. While his left eye was visible through a red visor, his right eye was covered by a black lightning bolt-shaped piece, similar to an eyepatch, that was connected to his mask's right ear.

"It's truly a misfortune how many children are going to die today." **Infinite** spoke in a deep, distorted, and borderline demonic voice. "And I give the world my hopes that at least one will be able to impress me before they fall to me."

"You shut up." Sonic thought his teeth would break as hard as he was gritting them. Not like he paid that any heed. "Don't you think for a second I'm gonna let get off scot-free for this. You're gonna look worse than *roadkill* when I'm done with you. Do you hear me?! I'LL MAKE YOU PAY!"

"Oh, please." Infinite said as he actually placed his palm on his forehead. "Idle threats are how my hopes are answered. Why should I expect anything more at this point?" He got himself into a stance in preparation for the brawl that was inevitable. "Go ahead and throw your life away anyways. After all, you have no choice, and no chance either."

Almost instantaneously, hedgehog and jackal clashed.

"One minute later..." Someone said in a monotone voice as we were shown a wall that said that exact text.

Sonic's screams pierced the air as his bruised body flew at least *ninety feet* into the air. If he had any hope that gravity would do its work, then it would have went down the drain when Infinite teleported a foot above him. An energy ball to the face sent him plummeting like a blue meteorite at speeds that rivaled that of when he was running. A geyser of dirt erupted toward the sky and fell in earthy clumps.

Infinite descended and landed gracefully on his two feet in comparison to what he just put Sonic through. He then proceeded to march in the hedgehog's direction, the weak groans that were coming from him feeling like music to his ears.

His dark shadow fell over the fastest thing alive. As Sonic lay, he felt Infinite's foot being placed on top of his torso, keeping him pinned flat on the ground. Infinite had more things to say after letting out a sigh as his victim wrapped both of his hands around his foot. "Why does fate like to throw disappointments in my face, in this case, dashing all hope I had of you providing me even the slightest challenge. It has been fun toying with you anyways, so I'm sorry to say that our time is just about up."

The jackal's palm charged with energy as he taunted the struggling hero, trapped underneath his leg and at his mercy with no escape. "Farewell, worm. The enjoyment was there while it lasted."

*Egg Carrier*

Infinite had just flown through space in the direction of the Egg Carrier to inform the nefarious Dr. Ivo "Eggman" Robonik about his success in contributing to what the obese scientist had failed to do throughout nearly his whole life. He imagined the malicious glee Eggman would express at the fact that the one being who had always foiled his plans had finally fallen on this day.

So it came off as a genuine surprise to him when he found someone that he had never seen before waiting for him on the ship, whom he was face-to-face with at the moment. The being in question was a crystalline hedgehog with no mouth, nose or even feet; instead his legs ended in a purpleish mist. His eyes had a red sclera and lighter green irises, and his bushy quills ended in white tips. Lastly, his hands, gloves and all, were crystalline like his arms, with the fingers ending in white-tipped claws.

Infinite had just met the conscious mind of Solaris, **Mephiles the Dark**.

"And who might you be?" was the first thing Mephiles had to ask. "Funny, I had the exact same question in mind for you." Infinite replied. "The last name you will ever hear is "Infinite". Make sure that word plagues your mind in the final moments you have left."

"Final moments?" Mephiles chuckled as he folded his arms. "What a mistake. There won't be any final moments of *my* life. If there is anybody who has to be concerned about the future, it is--"

"You." Infinite interrupted. "Now show me that you're ready to cost your own life by trying to fight me." An energy ball formed in each of his hands as Mephiles looked on. "Very well then. Let us see which one of our times is up, shall we?"

That was when the real battle would commence.

**FIGHT!**

The speed in Mephiles' starting offense surprised Infinite into not being able to react in time before he was knocked backward by a Homing Attack. Immediately following this, Mephiles teleported behind Infinite and sent him flying again with a blast of energy. Infinite turned and countered another energy blast with an energy ball. He then caught Mephiles off guard with three more energy balls, which all hit their mark.

Just then, the world started to get inverted around Mephiles, much to his confusion. Before he could question it however, he saw a number of huge missiles approaching him. Mephiles was quick to unleash his Dark Chaos Lance while flying backwards, which managed to counter all the missiles. But while Mephiles was distracted with the missiles, Infinite had teleported behind the hedgehog and created several clones of himself as he waited for Mephiles to turn around once all the missiles were dealt with.

As soon as Mephiles laid eyes on Infinite and his clones, they all fired blasts of energy at him, sending him flying toward the Egg Carrier, thankfully coming to a stop before he could crash through it. "Two can play that game, Infinite." Mephiles said before duplicating his own army. The two villains' clones all charged at one another and clashed. Mephiles' clones clung onto the Infinites until they all exploded, and when everything was clear, all the clones were gone.

Infinite and Mephiles began teleporting around space at fast speeds, exchanging blows and blasts of energy. It was mostly a stalemate until Infinite managed to grab Mephiles by the throat and throw him aside. He followed up with another blast before a countless number of red cubes appeared. Mephiles could only stare as Infinite caused the cubes to fly in his direction, not a single one missing their target.

"Pathetic." Infinite muttered before flying forward and wrapping his arms around Mephiles. He pushed him in the direction of the Egg Carrier, and this time, there was no saving the ship from being smashed through. Mephiles teleported out of Infinite's grip immediately after this had happened, prompting the jackal to do the same. By luck, he had ended up only a meter in front of a startled Mephiles. He ducked his head underneath a roundhouse kick from Infinite before blasting him away. The two engaged in another physical clash, this time with Mephiles clearly gaining the upper hand.

But it wasn't his for long, as Infinite forced him away before creating a replica of a certain blue robot built to defeat a certain blue hedgehog that sped toward Mephiles, filling him with more surprise. Metal Sonic was relentless; punches, kicks, and about three Homing Attacks were more than Mephiles could chew if he had a mouth. When he did manage to force Metal Sonic away with his own Spin Dash, he was greeted by replicas of Chaos, Shadow and Zavok. He shouted two words as his hands clenched into fists.

"***Come on!***"

And just like that, all four replicas complied to his demand of engaging him. They came in all directions, but Mephiles was ready for them and countered their attacks with his teleportation and energy blasts. The team held their own well and provided Mephiles quite thee offence with their comradeship, but one-by-one Mephiles was able to best them.

Watching this scene about ten feet away was Infinite. As he observed the brawl that was playing before his eyes, his Phantom Ruby started to shake violently. Mephiles spotted Infinite out of the corner of his eye once he had taken down all four replicas and was about to inflict a Homing Attack on him...

**BWAAAAAM!**

Everything went white.

*The Phantom Ruby's pocket dimension*

The first thing that Mephiles saw once he had recovered was a strange place where there was only purple clouds in the air and a crystallized surface. "Where have you just taken me?!" he demanded. Infinite's answer was "You are now in my world, where there is nothingness, pain, and a good time for you."

"You won't be having a pleasant experience once I've resorted to my full power, Infinite. Yes, as a matter of fact, I have only just begun." Mephiles replied. "Is that so?" Infinite questioned. "Prove it to me."

"Gladly." Mephiles' eyes would have narrowed right there. Then they charged and struggled once more. Each punch they through could crack stone, but neither could outpreform the other initially. Infinite buried his shoulder into Mephiles' chest while he used his hands to hold the jackal back. They remained in that stalement for five whole seconds until both teleported at the same time.

The two of them were now thirty feet away from one another, both charging energy blasts. They let loose, once again evenly matched. About seven Spin Dashes and Homing Attacks later, Mephiles managed to knock Infinite to the ground. Just as Infinite was on his feet, another Spin Dash forced him to move back. And things got worse when Mephiles stole his shadow, baffling him.

He stared as his enemy that now looked identical to him except with colors that were much more deadly. Next thing, his shadow was completely. "What have you done?" he questioned. Mephiles responded with a series of chuckles. "I'm just contributing to your death."

Infinite gasped, then looked down. Mephiles outstretched his arm and looked Infinite right in the eyes as the Dark Chaos Lance went through his chest. It was all so quiet that if a pin dropped on the floor, you would have been able to hear even that. The silence remained until the Dark Chaos Lance ceased firing, leaving the hole in Infinite's chest open.

The jackal fell onto his knees, still looking at Mephiles with shock. Another second later, his face hit the floor and he lay still, not moving a muscle. Mephiles looked at his corpse with a non-existent grin of pure evil. "I've given you my worst, and now you've suffered the worst of the consequences."

That was the last thing he said before teleporting out of the pocket dimension as the dead body of Infinite lay all sad and alone on the crystal ground.

**FATALITY!**

## Results

**MBStarscream: Well, Infinite didn't have infinite fun with this.**

Hiro: One more joke about his name... (clears throat) anyways, me and MBStarscream have observed that Infinite and Mephiles should have around the same physical attributes due to facing foes that have similar power and speed to each other. However, once we glance over at their abilities, there is a clear disparity between these two.

**MBStarscream: Mephiles' abilities were simply far more numerous than anything Infinite could possibly dream of achieving. For starters, Infinite’s illusionary army is countered by Mephiles’ duplication. Even if he created an army of them like he did before, Mephiles can also duplicate himself to an unknown amount.**

Hiro: And even if Mephiles doesn't use Chaos Emeralds to create perfect replicas, even sheer numbers would not be able to keep him down for long. And banishing Mephiles to the Null Space wouldn't do Infinite any favors because Mephiles can create time portals and easily get back out. Meanwhile, Mephiles is capable of banishing Infinite to a different time where he would not be able to escape any time soon.

**MBStarscream: After all, the Phantom Ruby was only capable of interdimensional travel only when used with the Chaos Emeralds, as stated by the Sonic News Network. Plus, that thing with Mephiles copying his opponent's abilities by sinking into their shadow.** E**ven if he can be expelled through sheer power, it is doubtful he would even need to do this.**

Hiro: Another thing is that after using a lot of power, Infinite needs to recharge the Phantom Ruby. Meanwhile, Mephiles has never shown to have this limitation after using too much power. Also, there is no way that Infinite would be able to get past that regeneration, and nothing he can do is gonna put Mephiles down for long.

**MBStarscream: Mephiles’ time manipulation is pretty broken overall. The Phantom Ruby is said to also manipulate time, but to our knowledge, this was never evidenced anywhere. Also, there is this misconception that Classic Sonic is from the past, but it is actually mentioned several times he is from another DIMENSION, not a different time, so...**

Hiro: In conclusion, Infinite had his fair share of things that allowed him to hang in there, but Mephiles has way too many powers at his disposal, many of which Infinite cannot counter and are fatal, which slowly but surely spelt the defeat of his adversary.

**MBStarscream: That was how much Mephiles over*shadowed* the ultimate mercenary.**

Hiro: Mephiles the Dark wins.

## Advantages

### Mephiles (Winner)

* Duplication>Infinite's illusions
* Time portal creation allows him to escape the Null Space should Infinite resort to banishing him there
* Ability copying
* Doesn't have to worry about power limitations
* Regeneration is just too much
* Broken time manipulation