Knuckles the echidna had never before seen the man that stood idle in the doorway to the tavern, the coattails of his dark red jacket flapping in the sandy winds of the outside world. The shadowy features of the black hedgehog were unfamiliar to the seasoned barkeep, who could not help but cast a curious glance at the stranger before him. But the first words out of the man's mouth were, "Whiskey. Don't hold back." And so, Knuckles did not care or wonder about who the visitor was or his intentions. The only thing that mattered was that he wanted a drink.

"You got it," the bartender affirmed, fetching a shot-glass from the shelf below.

The stranger took his seat at the counter, placing himself next a rather sad-looking sack of blue fur and flesh. Sonic looked up from his empty drink to see the man beside him staring at him, and he huffed a breath of alcohol-stained air.

"The hell are you staring at?" he snapped.

Shadow replied by shifting his gaze to the working bartender. Knuckles brought his drink without delay, setting it on the oak countertop with a solid clack. The ultimate life form coiled his fingers around the drink and sighed quietly to himself.

That was about the time that things went to hell.

Sonic, drunk out of his skull, mindlessly grabbed for a whiskey to swallow. The closest one just so happened to belong to a cold-blooded killer. He snatched the glass from the black hedgehog's gloved hands and downed the alcohol in a meager half-second. But this, unfortunately, failed to impress the thirsty Shadow the hedgehog.

Knuckles glanced up from his cleaning and felt his face drain of color. "S-Sonic," he stammered, "that's not your..."

Shadow raised an open palm to signal silence, and he turned to focus his attention on the blue hedgehog. A sorry excuse for a man; tattered leather vest, bandolier of pistol ammo, a rusted badge that probably shined with pride and color years ago, and a beaten ten-gallon atop the outfit.

Sonic cast Shadow a sideways glare when the ultimate life form spoke. "That was mine."

Frankly, though, the fastest drinker alive didn't give a damn. And to prove it, he raised his favorite finger in reply.

The gun was in his mouth before either the bartender or the drunk knew it. Sonic gagged reflexively as the steely taste of a gun barrel invaded his throat. Shadow pulled back the hammer and locked eyes with the drink-stealing bastard.

"No... no guns!"

The black hedgehog pressed the revolver deeper into Sonic's gullet.

"I said no guns!"

Sonic managed a stupefied grin from beneath the threat of death, causing Shadow to utter an animalistic growl.

Then there was the unmistakable sound of shotgun-shells being chambered. "I'm telling you to drop the goddamned gun," Knuckles warned one final time, aiming the twin barrels at Shadow's head.

Damned bartenders. Shadow offered something of a sigh as he holstered his weapon reluctantly, all the while refusing to let his eyes off of Sonic's.

Then Knuckles shifted the sights to said drunkard. "Both of you," he snarled.

There was a moment of stunned silence as the man who was once called the fastest draw alive let his machine-pistol fall to the ground. Shadow's eyes widened when he realized that the whole time he had been holding the Blue Blur by the throat, he had been holding him by the gut. And a German-engineered machine-pistol could've done a helluva' lot more damage to one's stomach than a forty-five to one's neck.

And so, Knuckles the echidna let out a sigh of relief as another crisis was avoided.

Of course, this was before Shadow concluded that if guns weren't allowed, then fists most certainly were.

...

Amelia Rose knew that what she was doing was wrong, walking around in her father's fine clothes and collar, his favorite Bible in hand. She was aware that it was normally her father's job to stand outside of the saloon each morning and quote verses discouraging drinking and violence and profanity. And she also was certain that on top of all of this, it was dangerous for her or her father to do this each day of the week.

But she was hell-bent on accomplishing this task. With Father Rose sick in bed, Amy was the only one who could fulfill these duties. She had always been a determined young woman when it came to responsibility, and she wasn't about to let something as simple as a head cold keep the holy word from being spread to the people of Westown.

So, Amy straightened the white collar around her neck, checked the buttons on her black coat, and cleared her throat as she opened the book and began to read aloud for passerby to hear.

That was until Sonic the hedgehog suddenly barreled out the doors of the saloon, tumbling backwards and somersaulting down the steps and into the dust. There was blood running down his chin, and a fresh bruise on his face.

Amy squealed in shock as the smelly drunk nearly landed on her dress-shoes.

Sonic stumbled to his feet and cocked his head when he saw the woman dressed in man's clothing. But it wasn't the strangest thing he had ever seen, so he shrugged and tipped his hat in her direction. "Morning, Miss Rose," he slurred.

Before she could retort, a red and black blur leapt from the tavern-doors and tackled the man into the dirt. Shadow landed another punch before Sonic shoved him off and delivered a kick to his abdomen.

The stranger wobbled backwards and directly into the still-shocked and dumbfounded Amelia Rose. The dark hedgehog turned to face the girl and growled when his red irises found her own jade ones. "Get the hell outta' the way."

Amy scurried backwards and into the darkness of the overhang that protruded from the roof of the saloon, watching as the two hedgehogs engaged in a brutal fistfight.

Sonic lunged forward and crossed his fist with Shadow's nose, and blood spewed from his nostrils and spattered the sand with red fluid. The black hedgehog countered with a swift kick to the knee, which succeeded in crippling the drunk and sending him to his knees. Sonic could only watch, paralyzed in pain, as Shadow landed an ear-ringing blow to the side of his head and sent him toppling to the ground.

"Get up," the ultimate life form commanded, lifting Sonic by the throat. "Get the hell up."

"Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all."

Sonic stopped struggling and Shadow ceased fighting at the sound of a woman's voice. The red-eyed hedgehog shot a look at the girl in preacher's clothes, confused by her words. "The hell are you talking about?"

Amy stood from the shadows and swallowed hard as she flipped through the pages of her Bible for another verse. "As for a person who stirs up division, after warning him once and then twice, have nothing more to do with him," she quoted.

Shadow only stared at her, and Sonic was likewise confused and still.

"The beginning of strife is like letting out water, so quit before the quarrel breaks out."

Then Sonic shook his head and said, "Oh, Christ. This Bible-bullshit? We'll quit fightin' if you just shut your trap, alright?"

Amy's cheeks turned scarlet when the town-drunk said Bible-bullshit, but she agreed with a nod.

Shadow watched in bewilderment as the blue hedgehog simply walked away from the fight after being told to stop by some girl in man's clothes. He blinked and looked at the pink hedgehog before him, who was now standing proudly with her Bible held close to her breast. She looked at him hesitantly, glancing away once or twice, but then smiled and extended a hand to the stranger.

"Welcome to Westown, stranger. My name is Amelia Rose."