Chapter 2: Picking Sides

Three bosses headed The Chambers, however only one truly called the shots. He is known as Slayton, a sliver haired hedgehog now entering his senior years. He was the only founding member of the syndicate who can claim to have "done time" with his soldiers, which naturally made him THE boss. But things have changed drastically in the aftermath of G.U.N's failed takeover.

First, Slayton was forced to put his army into hiding to avoid police raids, and with hundreds of members switching allegiances to rival syndicates, found himself at odds with fellow crime bosses Nero and Grey. His Chambers were outnumbered and targeted once they reached the underground haven, so a deal had to be made for self preservation. Boss Nero and Boss Grey would take considerable shares of Mobius' last criminal empire from the once untouchable Slayton, and regularly reminded the underground who was in charge.

For a time, "The Host" had to sit back and allow the far inexperienced bosses to claim ownership of his life's work, but they'd played their best card first, and Slayton's ace would come right when he needed it most.

-REDD-

She wound up in a criminal boss's care the only way a child of drug addicts would; payment for their debt. Slayton saw this as the lowest thing any parent could do, and mixed with his own mommy issues, didn't waste a second removing them from this dimension. He may have been a murderer-racketeer, but he knew this kid had no chance in life with parents like this. He renamed her Redd that day and she would be the closest thing to family he'd ever have.

21 years later, Redd was now a woman corrupted by the syndicate who enforced her father's rule. With years of weapon and survival training afforded by Slayton's men, Redd never needed to seduce her enemies or use cheap tactics to get the drop on them. But as good as she was, daddy thought she could use one last boost.

"I want you to repeat what you called me earlier," Redd ordered. "Go on, let's hear it!"

Seven tall individuals cried out as they crawled at her feet, each in excruciating pain. Fellow members watched the scarlet hedgehog torment this group mercilessly, mocking the downed men for their cowardice. As she circled the group, Shadow's stolen Power Rings lit up around her wrists, and she used the crimson chaos emerald to inflict pain via laser. With the Power Rings in her possession, Redd could use all of the ultimate life forms' abilities on anyone who apposed her father.

"Am I still a slut? No? What's wrong, all of a sudden you can't make a joke about me? Let's hear that laughter now!"

A mercenary raised his hand. "We're SORRY! Please stop! Have mercy!"

"I was under the impression Nero had the toughest men employed, but all I see are a bunch of girls crying on the ground!"

A tall mercenary wearing camouflage fatigues and body armour finally stepped in to end Redd's sick game. "45 minutes is long enough, we're done here."

She didn't look away from her victims as she continued. "This is MY show, Al. Take a hike."

"Grey's orders."

"Grey isn't my boss-"

"You're holding up his men as well as Nero's."

"Boo-hoo, cry me a river."

Her cellphone rang so she checked the caller I.D, then glared at the man brave enough to challenge her.

"You DID go crying to Slayton, didn't you!" She said.

"Answer it."

(BEEP) "Yeah, Ok." (CLICK)

Redd stepped off a downed mercenary's neck and signalled to her men to pack up. "I thought you got off torturing people, Alistair?"

Grey's mercenary drew his pistol and put a round into all 7 men.

"I prefer to do it on my own time."

"You're holding off for Scourge and Dogg." She took a moment to laugh. "...you know they're mine. I gave everyone a head start on the bounty-"

"Bounty doesn't mean shit to me." Alistair interrupted while turning his back to her. "Their souls interest me more. Now, stick to your Chambers, only time I'll say it."

Redd teleported right in his way and looked into his helmet visor. "You don't tell me anything. I run the show."

"I'd hang on to those rings tight if I were you. Be a shame to lose them after causing some much shit for your daddy."

"You're pretty brave to be talking like that right in my face-"

"I'm not scared of you, princess. You're nothing without those rings. Now move it."

Redd licked her lips and stepped out of Alistair's way, genuinely impressed by his lack of fear. That, and she always had a thing for tall guys. But seeing as she was Slayton's general and he was team Grey, it was best to keep the peace for now.

Sleuth Dogg's punches caused the parked convoy to shake upon each strike to the wall. "Anti Knuckles" had driven the truck many miles in the hours since the trio had been locked inside, and once he finally pulled over, Dogg wasted no time trying to smash his way out.

"If you consider yourself a man, you'd release me and face the consequences of your actions." The assassin grumbled.

"I doubt he can hear you." Rouge said. "But please, continue banging on that wall."

Three more blows landed before Dogg glared at the bat. "Are you two going to be completely useless the entire time?"

Espio folded his arms as he leaned against the back wall. "Wasting my strength doesn't seem to be of much importance at the moment."

"So standing there with her thumb up your ass is more useful. Gotcha."

"Listen, dipshit-"

Rouge stopped mid-sentence as someone climbed atop the convoy outside, so Dogg targeted his attack to the roof. "Come on, buddy, face me. Let's do it. I'll crack your skull open."

"I mean you no harm, fellow weary travellers." Anti Knuckles assured. "I merely needed to see who'd step inside this trap once I set it."

"You some kinda psycho?" Rouge asked.

Espio listened closely to hear this individual's voice clearly, thinking he recognized it.

"...don't tell me that's you Knuckles-"

"My name is O'nux, and I need to know if any of you are members of The Chambers."

"O'nux is a really weak alias, fire cracker." Dogg said as he stood up. "But you're after them too, eh. Well, you can cross us off that list, knux. I coulda sworn you took a deal to take your new family into early retirement, though."

O'nux sighed. "How can I convince you that I am not him?"

Another loud strike to metal promptly sounded. "Open this door and face me."

"Alright, moment of truth time..."

Dogg, Espio and Rouge heard the locking mechanisms clicking so they made their way to the back doors, preparing to exit once they swung open. The assassin was the first to jump out and was joined by the bat, both wielding their weapons. But the sight of the remaining six chaos emeralds together halted any aggressive impulses.

"No way." Rouge said.

Dogg looked past the emeralds and spotted three more, slightly larger gems sitting inside a metal box. They were the medallions Sonic, Sonia and Manic once used to conjure abilities. They were all locked behind a cage made of glowing yellow energy.

O'nux looked on from his seat atop the armoured truck. "Yeah, I got your attention now, huh."

"How did you get all this stuff?" Rouge asked.

"I'd have to write a book about it."

Espio stepped outside and scanned the area. He saw what looked like cypress trees found in the Louisiana bayou, but it was hard to see what was past them since the sun had gone down hours ago. He ignored the emeralds and searched for any buildings, only seeing one in the distance, everything else was blackness.

"Where the hell are we?"

"Far from police jurisdiction."

The ninja turned back to his captor and glared. "Forcible confinement is still a crime, no matter your intentions. You're under arrest."

O'nux put his hands up defensively. "Now, I know my means weren't the most conventional, but a man has to be sure of who he's dealing with."

Espio climbed on to the roof of the convoy and faced "Anti Knuckles." He was dressed in a grey full-body mechanic's uniform, steel toed boots and black work gloves. The only difference he had with true Knuckles were his eyes. This 'Knuckles' stared back at him with piercing yellow eyes that appeared sad or tired, something his friend seemingly never felt.

"He's telling the truth, he isn't Knuckles." The ninja called out. "He'd never endanger his family by stealing a convoy...so, who are you really?"

O'nux dropped his hands. "I'm just a guy who wants to go home."

"And where would that be?"

"You mean well, but I know you wouldn't believe me even if I were stuck inside an interrogation room. It's a complicated situation and you wouldn't be of any assistance, so if you don't mind leaving me to my vices-"

Espio stopped him from walking away. "Let's say we were Chambers members; what would you have done?"

"Demanded you take me to whichever coward calls the shots."

"And what, use the Chaos Emeralds and Medallions to wipe them out?"

O'nux turned his back to the ninja. "Like I said, it's complicated."

"And I said you're under arrest-"

The echidna dodged all of Espio's attempts to cuff him and stood in a defensive stance across from him. "I'd rather we not do this."

"Can't always get what you want."

As the ninja chased O'nux around the convoy, Rouge and Dogg admired the collection of Gems in front of them. The echidna made it clear he didn't want to fight so he avoided Espio frantically, but he knew the chameleon wouldn't stop. O'nux ducked a punched, pressed his thumb into a pressure point and picked him up by his horn.

Espio winced. "Release me!"

"You need to understand this: I am only doing what I have to in order to return home. No one needs to get hurt. Now calm yourself."

Rouge turned to them next. "So what does that mean for the rest of us?"

O'nux dropped the ninja and faced her. "You are all free to go anytime you want, you're not the ones I'm interested in."

As she and Dogg stepped forward, the thought of leaving this collection stopped them prematurely. Their greed was getting the better of them and O'nux knew it.

"...of course, the collection stays with me."

"You literally have the power to change the world sitting right here." Rouge said. "You can't just keep that hidden away!"

"I told you what I'm doing."

Espio tried to slap a cuff link on the echidna so he pressed on a pressure point once more to subdue him. While they fought, Dogg called out to Rouge to get her attention.

"Hey Batgirl, I think a heist would work in this situation, if you're up for it." Dogg offered.

"You want me to trust you?"

"I ain't asking for a kiss, just some backup 'til we get the Gems out of his grasp. Then you can go back to whatever back-alley schemes you're into."

She smirked at the assassin. "You sure know how to please a girl, scruffy. I think we can play this guy like a fiddle."

Dogg grinned. "Let's do it."

The hitman and bat turned back to face O'nux, standing over the chameleon. "You know, pal...we all have a beef with The Chambers as well. I'm sure you've got your mind set on this Lone Ranger mission of yours, but professionally speaking, you've got a better chance with help."

"And that would be you, the man who threatened to crack my skull open no more than 2 minutes ago?"

"Context changes everything, Knux. Besides, I don't think you're going to find anyone else with a bigger grudge against Slayton than me."

The echidna glanced at Dogg. "So, you know who their leader is."

He nodded. "I used to be one of them, now they want my ass for dinner. Same with my allies. We know how to beat them. It's your choice who you want, people who can actually get you close to him or bring heat on you."

Dogg subtly looked down at the ninja, so O'nux released him and stepped away. "I think joining forces is a great idea."

Espio jumped up to continue his arrest but Dogg stood in his way, and Rouge stayed on their side.

"You're making the wrong choice here, both of you."

"I believe our parley is over, cop. You go home empty-handed tonight. And I'd think twice before sending Warwick after us. It never ends well for you boys."

Espio turned to Rouge next. "Think of your club, your freedom-"

He immediately regretted saying this, while the bat looked at him in disbelief. "Fuck you Espio. Warwick is the reason I'm even in this mess..."

"I guess that's the call. Go run back to your master, errand boy." Dogg said.

Without anything to say, the chameleon turned invisible and left the compound. O'nux checked a heat detector for Espio's signature before confirming he was gone.

"So this Slayton character, is he the be-all end-all of crime lords?"

Dogg leaned against the convoy. "Ehh, nah he's kind of a bitch. He counts on his minions to protect his ass, and he's got lots of 'em."

The echidna turned to Rouge. "And you've got a quarrel with The Chambers, too?"

She looked out to the tree line. "I do now..."

"Well, I suppose I should invite you's to my safehouse, it's getting pretty late, after all."

The echidna used a remote control to move the collection as he led the way through the darkness. Rouge and Dogg exchanged puzzled looks at the technology O'nux had, but followed him regardless. The duo knew they were in the middle of the badlands and this was their only haven from the countless threats awaiting them.

Espio, however, returned to the compound and quietly snuck into the driver's seat of the convoy. As expected, his phone couldn't get a signal so he couldn't call for backup if he wanted to. He'd just have to wait 'til dawn to make his journey home.