Act I: AWARE
Chapter XVII: Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God)
Starscepter Avenue, Thursday 10:03 PM
Sonic had gone off the grid for an entire night.
Any calls from Tails, Amy, Knuckles, Silver – it had all gone right to voicemail.
Sonic made his way down the dark road, the only light coming from illuminated apartment windows, and dimly lit streetlights.
His suit was ragged and dirty, his quills sticking up messily.
The rain started coming down, but Sonic made no effort to shield himself from the precipitation, opting to continue walking aimlessly.
Sonic's mind had been racing – but now all he felt was an overtaking numb sensation.
His brain had finally shut down, his legs taking over his body as his path was aimless and wandering.
His eyelids hung heavy, the exhaustion creeping in, until he heard two familiar voices down the alleyway.
Sonic sluggishly gazed down the alley, his expression remaining unreadable.
He felt his legs start taking him down the alleyway, with no thoughts as to whether he should be following these voices or not.
Approaching the corner, he stopped – opting to peak around.
Jet and Storm stood there, smoking cigarettes as they talked in moderate voices.
Sonic watched them for a moment, before the pair flicked their cigarettes out and walked inside.
Sonic stared ahead for a moment, his mind finally beginning to kick back into gear as he walked towards the door, standing before it.
He considered for a moment – staring at the grey metal door before him.
Placing three knocks.
Shuffling was heard inside, before Jet opened the door – eyes growing wide.
"Ay, Sonic?! You can't be her-"
"I'm not – I'm not here to arrest you or anything. I just – need to talk to Shadow. Please."
"How the hell did you find us anyway?" Storm called from behind Jet.
"I – uh, I heard your voices down the alley. Look – you're not in trouble, I promise. I just need to talk to Shadow."
Jet stared at him for a moment, brows furrowed. He was obviously considering this – and with how ragged and solemn Sonic looked - surely, he was not in the right frame of mind.
Jet stole a glance towards Storm, before turning back to Sonic.
"Alright, but if you got any weapons, gotta hand 'em over to me."
Sonic sighed, patting his pockets. "I left them all at the precinct. I don't have any…"
Storm shrugged, opening the door as Sonic stepped in.
"Ah – this is just…one of the many places we stay in. We're here for now doin' some work. But Sonic – if you wanna talk to Shadow, you can't tell any of your police friends about this place. That's the deal," Jet said, eyes bearing into Sonic.
Nazo was right then – they do move around a lot.
"I promise I won't."
Jet nodded, eyes locked onto Sonic – leading him upstairs.
They winded down some corridors, as Jet reached the final door – placing three knocks.
"Yes?" Shadow's voice called from behind.
Jet opened the door, a nervous look on your face.
"You uh…you gotta visitor."
"Alright – who is it?"
Jet parted, as Sonic stepped through, Shadow standing up rapidly, Rouge and Bark following.
"S-Sonic? What are you doing here?"
"Boss, he must be removed. Why did you two bring him in here?" Bark asked, eyes cold and steely.
"Shadow, please. I need – I need to talk to you."
Shadow stared blankly, as Rouge tilted her head to the side – inspecting the haggard detective.
"I promise it's not about Tikal, it's not about this goddamn killer – I just need to talk to you. Please."
Sonic stopped, taking a deep breath. "Like old times…"
Shadow was taken aback, his mouth set into a hard line.
What does he do?
He looked at Rouge and Bark, allowing a sigh to escape his mouth, before turning to Sonic.
"No tricks."
"None, I promise."
Shadow considered for another moment, before nodding.
"Alright. Have a seat."
Restoration Corp. Building, Thursday 10:15 PM
Knuckles carefully stepped out of the undercover van, as Silver and Blaze landed ahead of him.
"Have you been able to get a hold of him?" Silver asked, to which Knuckles responded with a sigh and a shake of his head.
Tails and Amy followed behind Knuckles, flashlights ready. "I'm worried about him. I can't imagine how that all feels…" Amy said, biting her lip.
Tails looked exhausted, before turning to Knuckles. "He mentioned your family too…what did they have to do about this?"
Knuckles crossed his arms, scuffing his feet in the ground. "They helped fund the prisons and asylums – and did direct business with Jules and Aleena. That's why Sonic and I were childhood friends – though I was a few years older…"
Amy nodded, Blaze walking over and grabbing her hand.
"How are you feeling?" Blaze asked.
Knuckles shrugged; eyes locked on the abandoned building ahead.
"I have always known my family did some sketchy things. Tikal and I both knew. I'm not shaken up – but…Sonic had no idea. I didn't know either."
Tails began walking towards the run-down building. It was on the out-skirts of the city, looking like a large office building – though now it was brown, stained and covered in vines and moss.
The sign "RESTORATION PLAN CORPORATION" was tattered and falling, stained by mud and rainwater.
"If we need any more answers, this is a place to do it," Tails stated dryly.
Silver and Blaze's gauntlets illuminated – as Amy taped the warrant to the door, before stepping inside.
Silver and Blaze took the lead, Tails and Amy shining their lights into rooms as they passed.
It was pretty emptied out. There weren't any places they were going to find anything so far – it looked like the building had been ransacked.
Silver kept walking, until feeling his foot crunch on a vial, before picking it up.
It was an empty black casing, holding it to Blaze's flames to inspect it.
"It's a Zypothime vial…" Silver said, squinting.
"Why would that be here?" Amy asked.
"Wait, look there," Tails said, pointing his flashlight on the ground.
It was littered with empty Zypothime cases, Amy shaking her head.
"Good Gaia."
Silver and Blaze kept walking forward, stepping on the empty vials.
One vial was all that was necessary.
They turned down a hallway, as Tails flicked his flashlight down the other hallway. "We can route back to that one," Knuckles said.
"Wait – look there!" Silver shouted, pointing at the wall.
There was an arrow painted red, pointing them down the hallway.
The group picked up the pace, the dark halls briefly lit by the lights coming from the flashlights and gauntlets, turning down the hallway.
More arrows, leading them through what felt like a labyrinth of hallways, before reaching a double-door with two arrows pointing down towards it.
"Seems he wants us to go in there," Amy stated.
Knuckles nodded to Silver and Blaze, as Silver launched a blast from his gauntlet – blowing the door wide open.
They stepped inside, met with a large screen playing archived speeches from Jules – as well as archived news stories of his successes for the city.
Tails shined his light on the other wall, a large, red text displaying:
"RESTORATION IS A LIE."
Above the screen read:
"THE SINS OF YOUR MOTHER AND FATHER."
"It's all about Sonic's parents," Blaze stated, eyes locked onto the screen.
Knuckles and Amy poked around, while Tails and Silver kept watching the archived footage.
They could see Sonic and his siblings younger, standing by their parents as Jules gave passionate speeches towards the people of the city.
These were weeks before the pair were killed.
Knuckles shined his light on the right wall, meeting 3 drawings posted on the wall.
"Hm?"
"THE ORDER OF REPARATIONS. 1 WILL BE THE FIRST TO DIE, 3 WILL THE BE THE LAST."
Knuckles's eyes moved down to the drawing numbered as 1, the number written in large, red paint.
It was Sonic.
Silver noticed this too, eyes widening. "Guys – look!"
Everyone in the room were looking at the drawings.
A collective pit was forming in everyone's stomachs.
Tails's face paled, feeling his breathing quicken.
"Oh…oh Gaia."
Knuckles felt his face green, swallowing a lump.
"My god. His next victim is Sonic."
Unknown Location, Starscepter Avenue, Thursday 10:20 PM
Sonic sat across from Shadow, with his arms crossed as his eyes were peeled on the floor.
The clock ticked behind them, as everyone had left to the pair to have privacy.
Shadow stared at him, his eyes empty and hollow.
"Did you know?" Sonic began, "Did you know what my parents did?"
Shadow sighed, looking down at the fake rose.
Vengeance.
"I knew they had ties. I did not know the extent of their work."
Sonic shook his head, biting his lip.
"Why – why didn't you tell me?" Sonic said, choked up as he finally looked at Shadow.
"I didn't know how. I didn't know what to say."
Sonic shakily sighed, turning his gaze back to the floor.
"Your parents were good people. They were always kind to Maria and I when they visited my father. I came to understand…and accept, that many of this cities powerful people were connected to my father's work – as well as the other three."
"Other three?"
"Robotnik, Nazo and Finitevus."
"I thought – I thought Nazo was just an information broker?"
Shadow shook his head.
"He is – but he has control over the mob world. He always did when I was a teenager. I think he attempted to move away from it slightly – taking a more neutral stance after Finitevus was arrested."
Shadow quickly stopped talking. He didn't want to give Sonic too much – regardless of what the meeting was for.
"Did he really have that reporter killed?" Sonic asked.
Shadow nodded. "From what I was told – yes. He had asked one of the crime lords to strike fear into him. When that failed…they pulled the trigger on the reporter."
"Which one of them ordered it?" Sonic asked.
"From what I understand – it was a collaboration between all of them. The deal was…if they helped Jules on his mayoral campaign by doing this job for him – they'd receive profit from the Restoration plan. So – they had the reporter killed, and the funds followed. Two weeks later, your parents were killed."
Sonic shook his head, his breathing quickening along with this heart rate.
"Who killed them? Who killed my parents?" Sonic asked.
Shadow sighed. "I don't know. Honestly, Sonic – I truly do not know. I…always suspected either Finitevus or Robotnik…but I was never sure."
Shadow sighed again. "By the time we met – they were already dead. I felt like…telling you would have not helped anything. I wanted to protect you from the reality."
"I deserved to know."
Shadow bit his lip, Sonic's demeanor shift causing a slight tremor in him.
"You did. I am sorry."
There was silence for a moment, Sonic staring at the ground as Shadow twirled the rose around.
"Why did you do this? After your dad died, why did you take over the mob?"
Shadow grimaced, scowling slightly. "You just would not understand."
"Please, just tell me! Anything! Let me try to understand!"
Shadow sighed shakily, his grip on the rose tightening.
"I had things to take care of. I could no longer be of service to the force."
"That is not true, Shadow! We missed you – and when we learned what you became?"
Shadow grunted, his eyes now hard and chilling.
"What I became? I did not choose for this to happen. I did not choose for my family to be killed – the same way you did not choose for it."
"But – I devoted my life to finding people who did these things and making them see justice!"
"I am doing the same, Sonic."
There was silence again. A cold air drifted between them.
"Then…maybe we just disagree on our methods," Sonic said, eyes moving back to the floor.
"Perhaps we do."
Silence again.
"My parents helped plunge this city into corruption. I don't understand. Why – how could they?"
Shadow sighed, biting his lip.
"I do not believe we will ever understand why our families did what they did. But – we are not them. We are only us."
"You are them, though. You're doing what Gerald did!"
"Like I said, my reasons are unnecessary. It is a personal vendetta. Once I have quenched this thirst, I will retire. I will have completed my mission. The money, the power? It means nothing to me. But – if I must be in control in order to achieve my mission? Then I will play the game."
Sonic shook his head, a light scoff exiting his mouth.
"This killer wants to destroy us, and we're letting him. Why can't you see that? First Tikal, now…?"
Shadow sighed, before his eyes widened.
"The killer…right."
Sonic squinted, cocking an eyebrow. "Yeah, the killer. What about him?"
Shadow looked up, shaken.
"I cannot tell you how I know…but I am aware of who his next victim is."
Sonic tilted his head. "Can't tell m- Shadow, who is it?"
Shadow stared ahead, gripping the rose.
"It's you, Sonic. You are his next victim. I can only presume after you…your siblings will follow."
Sonic felt his heart stop, clenching his teeth tightly as his legs began to shake.
He was next?
The sins of your father and mother.
Fuck.
"Wh – what do I do?"
Shadow shook his head, his eyes never leaving Sonic.
"You must run. You have to leave. You cannot be next. If you surviving means I am jeopardizing my business – then so be it."
Sonic sighed. Shadow would risk his business for him.
The old Shadow was not gone. He was still there.
Suddenly, Sonic's phone rang – a call from Knuckles.
Shaking, he answered it, putting it on speaker.
"H-Hello?"
"Sonic, wherever you are, you need to run! The killer has named you as his next victim – you have to go, now! We can pick you up, we – just make a break for it! We will find you!"
Sonic stared at Shadow, both locked in a cold and terrified stare.
"I – okay! I'm – I'm going!"
"Meet us at Hexon Avenue! We will pick you up and get you out of here! Vector and the SWAT are en route to your apartment now!"
Sonic nodded, opting to hang up.
Shadow stared at him, his breathing heavy.
"Sonic – just run. Get to Hexon Ave. as quickly as you can. Do what you do best and run."
Sonic nodded, standing up and grabbing his coat. He began speeding towards the door, before turning over his shoulder.
"Shadow…thank you."
Shadow nodded, resting his chin on his hands as Sonic darted out of the room.
C.C.P.D. Main Precinct, Thursday 10:45 PM
The young beaver sat at his desk.
Scouring through case files, he rubbed his forehead absentmindedly.
This city was going off the rails quick.
He sighed, his eyes flickering at the mail-station.
Shit, he was on mail duty today, and he forgot to check.
He hopped up, grabbing the file-cabinet.
The only thing in there was a package.
Tilting his head, he grabbed it, heading back to his desk.
"FOR DETECTIVE SONIC THE HEDGEHOG."
"Hm." The beaver muttered, inspecting the package.
Beep. Beep. Beep.
What the hell – was this package beeping?
The beeping got louder, and louder, and louder.
The beaver's eyes widened – but it was too late.
Boom.
The windows shattered, an explosion rocked the station at a massive force, blowing papers and desks across the room.
After the explosion subsided, fire billowed from the front of the precinct, the police-flag catching fire from the plume of flames.
Vector's radio rung from inspecting Sonic's apartment, clicking it on.
"Commander Vector, come in."
"Sir! There's been an explosion at the Main Precinct! There – we – we think a bomb went off inside the station!"
Vector's eyes peeled back across his head, meeting the gazes of Espio and Whisper, their shocked faces shook to the core.
Did the killer send a bomb to the station…intended for Sonic?
Mighty nodded rapidly, gathering the officers quickly.
"Alright – deploy Omega from the van to the precinct for scans! Everyone, we need to get down there immediately!" Vector commanded.
"Move out, move out!" Tangle called, as the SWAT officers piled from the apartment.
As Vector hopped into the front seat, he flicked his radio onto Knuckles. He waited for a response.
"Vector, what's going on?!" Knuckles shouted, Vector swallowing a lump in his throat.
"The precinct! It – It just got bombed! We think it might be related to the killer's target on Sonic!"
"Christ! Silver and Blaze are going to fly over there and try to contain the flames! We're on our way to Hexon Avenue to grab Sonic!"
"You may need to abort that Knuckles!" Espio spoke up, "Inform Sonic of the situation and get to the precinct immediately!"
There was a pause – until Knuckles sighed shaken.
"Alright – we'll be there momentarily!"
The radio cut off, as the van swerved to a stop in front of the precinct.
Mighty hopped out, sliding the back open as Omega stepped out.
"Alright Omega – get in there and scan for survivors!"
Omega whirred, his large mechanical feet stomping towards the flames, "Affirmative. Scanning process has begun."
Silver and Blaze landed with a crash, their gauntlets shining.
"Alright love, I'm gonna try to contain the flames! You put your pyro-shield up and go inside!" Silver called, immediately launching a blue psychokinetic hue around the fire, attempting to contain it inside.
Blaze nodded, pressing a quick kiss to his cheek. "On it! Be safe!"
Blaze tapped her gauntlet, launching a pyro-shield around herself before trudging inside.
Sally, Antoine, Bunnie and Cosmo began darting up the stairs, their eyes wide with terror, faces coated in sweat.
"My Gaia!" Bunnie called, her hand flying to her mouth as Antoine rubbed her shoulders.
"Nicole! Begin scanning for damages!" Sally exclaimed, tapping her watch as the holo-graphic Lynx appeared above her watch.
"On it, Sally! Scanning now!"
The undercover van pulled up, Knuckles, Tails and Amy stepping out and hurrying up the stairs.
"Vector, Silver! What's the situation?!"
"I'm trying to contain the flames outside of the building! Blaze is inside with a shield up looking for any survivors!" Silver called, his hands up towards the flames.
"Omega is scanning for damages! SWAT are setting up any defenses they can!" Vector responded.
Knuckles covered his mouth with his hand, footsteps rushing up behind him snapping him from his gaze.
It was Sonic, coat under his arm as his tie hung loosely around his neck.
"Sonic! Thank Gaia you're alright!" Knuckles exclaimed.
"I'm okay! What the hell happened?!" Sonic exclaimed, as Tails and Amy rushed towards him.
"I think the killer thought you'd be here!" Tails began, "He must have sent a bomb to the station intended for you!"
Sonic shook his head rapidly, eyes wide and a hand flying over his mouth.
If he was here, what would have happened?
Who took that package?
Why was this happening!?
Amy grabbed his hand tight, her eyes full of worry.
"I'm just – I'm just happy you're safe."
Sonic nodded, a weak smile on his face.
"I am too…"
He wasn't sure how genuine that answer was. Was he glad he was safe? What lives were just taken that were intended for him?
Who died for Sonic's sins?
And…should he have died for them instead?
He didn't understand anything anymore – but Shadow's words stuck with him.
We aren't our parents – we are only us.
He didn't deserve this. No matter who his parents were – he did not deserve this.
And this man would pay for what he has done.
