Act I: CATACOMBS

Chapter XIV: Secular Haze

"For if God did not spare angels when they sinned but cast them into hell and committed them to chains of gloomy darkness to be kept until the judgment." – 2 Peter 2:4

Silver made his way through the cold mist of the morning, noting the pitiful tension that pervaded the town from the explosions just a few hours before.

He hadn't gotten any sleep, nor did he imagine he would. He wiped the dust from his eyes, placing a few knocks on the door.

He knocked in a specific rhythm, signaling to the patrons inside he was of no harm, but of kinship.

Once the door opened, Gold smiled at her brother, before immediately hardening at his condition.

"You look beat."

"That's one way of putting it."

He wrapped Gold into a quick hug, placing a peck on her forehead. He looked up, seeing Blaze march towards him with crossed arms. Her eyes held concern, though her tone was coarse.

"You are not getting enough sleep."

Silver smirked, brushing some falling quills from his eyes. "You know there ain't no rest for me."

Blaze sighed, allowing her resolve to collapse into Silver's, as the hedgehog absentmindedly stroked her back. He nodded a greeting to Marine, who was dousing sages in an oil.

"Are you hurt at all?" Blaze asked, earning a shake of the head from Silver.

"Not even a little."

Blaze sighed, inspecting him with concerned eyes. "Is everything alright then?"

Silver sighed, before reaching into his white coat pocket, jumbling his fingers around before pulling out the amulet.

Marine and Gold immediately gasped, rushing towards him.

"The amulet?! Where did you get that?!" Marine asked.

"Where has it been?!" Gold exclaimed, though Blaze simply studied it with a passive expression.

Silver removed his hat, lightly placing it on a wooden chair. "Shadow organized a heist to grab it. Sonic, Amy, Rouge, Knuckles…the Rogues. They were all there, and some more. Starline had it."

Blaze scoffed. "Of course he did."

"Good thing is," Silver said, "Tails inspected it – no visible damage. Knuckles wants to make sure all its…mystical properties are intact, however."

Blaze nodded, gently taking the amulet from Silver as she examined it. Gold and Marine looked as well, both looking for Blaze for a sign of approval.

The two young girls were still learning the ropes of the work of a witch – and whatever Blaze said went.

"Let us commence, then."

Blaze turned around, placing the amulet atop the table surface, unfurling the chain as she laid it draped across the surface. She sat down, immediately going to open one of her many books. She turned to Gold and Marine, gesturing for them to begin burning incense.

They ran the matches across the sticks of incense, as Silver took his seat, taking in the sweet and potent smells of the burning incense.

Blaze snapped her fingers, causing the candle flames to turn purple, beginning to draw connection to the similarly colored gem on the amulet.

Blaze cracked her neck slightly, moving her hands across the amulet, while her other hand spread the incense smoke across it.

She wafted the smoke around, before dousing the amulet into oil.

Setting it back down, she listened as Marine and Gold began to hum in tritones, casting the air in a formidable sound.

"Scepter of Darkness…"

Blaze muttered, addressing the scepter that hung at the end of the chain.

"Make your presence known now. Thy spirits inside, speak to me."

Silver watched Blaze intently, and even with no obvious response from the amulet, Blaze did not waver in confidence.

She knew something would respond.

"Make your presence known."

Nothing again. Silver pursed his lips.

He knew not to rush Blaze's work, and something told him a reply would come.

That it did, when a potted plant fell from the shelf, shattering on the ground.

This earned a jump from Silver, and a slight glance from Gold – yet the three witches kept their focus.

"I feel you here. Speak to me. Spea-"

Blaze stopped when the sounds of low, snarling growls filled the air. Silver furrowed his brow, staring at the amulet as small specks of mist danced around it.

The snarls grew slightly louder, combined with the sounds of gnashing teeth and gargling saliva.

Silver knew those sounds.

He knew them all too well.

Blaze frowned, raising an eyebrow. "What legion are you?"

That question confirmed it. The amulet had been possessed. Its spiritual properties were intact, but not with the forces that used to harbor it.

There were demons controlling it.

They didn't answer her question, continuing to gnash their teeth and growl. Blaze shook her head.

"What legion are you, spirits?"

"Faaaaallennnnn…"

Fallen Angels. They were on the highest court in Hell.

Solaris.

"Why hath you taken residence inside the Scepter?"

There was silence from them, causing Silver to edge closer to the edge of his seat.

"Darkkkkkk energyyyyyy…"

Silver scoffed. The amulet had been exposed to way too much dark energy. It's true what they say – the energy that a town gives will cause good spirits to flee, and bad ones to arrive.

And it's exactly what happened.

"Where does this dark energy reside?"

"Heeeeereeeee…"

Silver felt his eyes dance over to Gold, who had small beads of sweat forming on her brow. Marine stayed stoic, opting to focus on Blaze's questions.

"Where is here?"

"Eeeeeeverywheeeere…"

After this response, the demons began howling slightly, the sounds of chomping teeth and frantic growls taking place of the silence.

Silver felt his heart quicken. Mephiles had returned for a reason all too familiar.

Solaris and Gaia were in battle once again.

For the fate of the town, for the purity of the town.

They were running out of time. If the amulet was possessed, then this town was on the brink of no return.

"Where must I cast you out?"

The demons howled in response. They didn't like that question. There was no way they'd be exorcised from the amulet willingly – Blaze would have to drag them out by their primordial hair.

"Where must I cast you out?" Blaze asked again, more harshly.

"Weeee areeee heeeere. It is tooooo laaaaate…"

Blaze grimaced, feeling the control on the amulet slip. Suddenly, another voice entered the fray.

"Cast them out. You must cast them out."

Blaze's eyes snapped open, her gaze flickering to Silver.

Angelic voices.

Gaia.

There were good spirits inside – but they were outnumbered horribly.

This was a bad situation.

"We have spoken to the Spirit of the Trinity. The one quilled with blue. He heard us, you must cast them out. Free the men who are damned to the Lake of Fire."

"I hear you spirits. I hear you-"

The demons began howling and snarling loudly, drowning out the pleading voices of the good spirits.

"Cast them out! Cast them out!"

"Youuu cannoooootttt wiiiiin…"

"Save them!"

Blaze's hand shook uncontrollably, watching as the mist prancing and whipping around the amulet grew in size, casting the room in a bleak haze.

Silver stood up, eyeing Blaze and the amulet in a panic.

"Blaze – Blaze, let go of it!"

"I…must…"

"Sinnneeeers come…"

"CAST THEM OUT!"

"Blaze!"

Suddenly, Blaze's hand recoiled sharply, a blast of mist erupting over the table as the amulet flew across the road. Silver ducked, allowing the necklace to fly over him as several pots smashed on the ground.

Gold yelped, grabbing her head as the crashing came and went. When the tension died down, Silver looked up, rushing to grab Blaze who was clearly in a state of shock.

Gold and Marine ran to the amulet, picking it up from the ground as they held it up. Looking closely, they saw a crack running straight through the purple gem.

They turned to Silver, she held the amulet up.

"The gem has a crack through it now," Marine stated, a grim look in her eyes.

Silver sighed, gritting his teeth as he stroked Blaze's hair.

"We still need to give it to the police. Then, we can discuss what to do with the crack in the gem."

Gold nodded, giving the amulet to Silver as he dropped it into his coat pocket. He sighed once more, placing a soft kiss to Blaze's temple.

Whatever was to come from this…would be doom for Westopolis.

Espio placed the amulet down on the desk, before turning his head to Starline, Robotnik, and Clutch.

"This was found in your compound during a police raid. Do you have an explanation for this?"

Starline scoffed, feeling his eyes dance over to Vector, who was reclining at his desk.

"That – that is preposterous. It was clearly planted."

"And how about you explain that explosion, huh?!" Robotnik bellowed.

"Your guys were fleein' and puttin' up a fight," Mighty replied, "We still were able to take the amulet, and now we have cause for your arrest, Starline."

"We asked you to come here so we could make it a private matter, not too humiliatin'," Nicole said, "But, if you have any other ideas…"

Robotnik stormed to the desk, pointing an accusatory finger towards Vector.

"Are you going to do anything about this?! We are being conspired against and you are allowing it to happen!"

Vector sighed, fumbling with his gold chain. "Look, Robotnik. Deputy Espio found the amulet in Starline's possession. It was clearly stolen! Should'a been in Knucklehead's possession."

Robotnik grumbled. "I see – you clearly do not understand why we would have that amulet in our possession! It was the one of the many cursed things that spread wickedness through this forsaken town. In our possession, it was safer! Now I see it clear as day, Vector. You wish to bring us all down to the pit of Hell, don't 'ya?!"

Vector chuckled, earning a step-in from Rotor.

"We all need to relax now, keep the semantics 'outta this."

"The semantics are the entire reason for this," Starline spat, fixing his coat. "It is simple conspiracy, it's obvious to anyone."

"No conspiracy here," Sally said, "You can either submit willfully, or we'll drag you by the scalp to prison. Your call."

Clutch rolled his eyes, lighting his cigar as he stuck it through his teeth.

"If you arrest me, this entire town will fall apart. Is that what you truly wish for?" Starline mocked.

"Law is law!" Charmy exclaimed, buzzing around the platypus.

"And besides that, it ain't about the town right now. You broke the law, so you gotta do the time," Bunnie remarked.

"This is absurd!" Robotnik shouted, banging a fist on Vector's desk. "You tell your cops to stand down now."

Vector stared at Robotnik, cocking an eyebrow. He nodded, causing Espio to step forward.

"Starline, you're under arrest for theft. Place your hands behind your back."

Starline scoffed, flickering his eyes across the room. No one's faces showed a hint of sympathy.

"Hands behind your back, Starline."

Starline grumbled, complying as Espio slapped cuffs around his wrists.

Vector stared Robotnik down, who seethed – fury so radiant he could see the rage behind his eyes through his glasses.

He watched the cops lead him out of the room, turning over his shoulder to see the silhouette of Mephiles watching with glee through the window.

Sonic, Amy, Tails, and Knuckles watched from the shadows as the police led Starline from the mayor's office.

The townsfolk all gawked in confusion, watching as they placed the platypus into the stagecoach.

Confusion erupted through the townsfolk, watching as Robotnik shouted obscenities towards the police. Espio took it in prideful stride, practically shoving an infuriated Starline into the coach.

Sonic turned around, flashing a sly grin. "Guess that takes care of that, huh?"

Knuckles sighed. "The amulet has a crack, and it's possessed by demons and pure spirits. We're running out of time."

"We need to keep bein' hopeful, Knux," Tails said, brushing the falling hairs from his eyes.

Knuckles shrugged, before seeing Tikal and Shade sneak up next to him.

"Are you guys alright?" Knuckles asked.

"We're 'ight," Shade said, leaning over to examine the scene. "Not lookin' good for them."

"But I heard the amulet's cracked. What now?" Tikal asked, a slight worry in her voice.

"I can always try and repair the crack. Not much I can do about the spirit issue, obviously…" Tails muttered.

"We should get it from Espio then. Maybe Khan and Relic can even take a glance at it?" Amy asked.

Sonic began tuning their conversation out, glancing across the street where he saw Rouge standing with Honey and Julie-su. The trio of girls watched passively, though Julie leaned to whisper something seemingly amusing to Honey, causing the cat to chuckle.

Rouge glanced over, her eyes locking with Knuckles in a silent, somber understanding.

Soon, the clamor stopped as Vector stepped up, putting his hands in the air.

"Attention, if y'all don't mind! I'm sure you're confused, so let me put it bluntly. Starline, associate of Father Robotnik, was caught having stolen the famed amulet of the town."

The townsfolk erupted in chatter, worried and panic voices lacing together. Vector put his hand up again, silencing the massive group of people.

"It's bein' returned to its rightful place – and Starline will be awaitin' charges and possible bail. Return to your day though, I'm-a guess church is cancelled for tonight."

Vector stepped down, and the thousands of townsfolk began murmuring amongst each other. Sonic scanned them, attempting to see if the news had made any difference at all.

Suddenly, the townsfolk began turning around, looking far down the street at Mephiles, who sat at the well, watching the scene intently.

And for the first time, Sonic could see that many of them weren't afraid.

They acknowledged his existence. They saw him for what he was.

There were hundreds of thousands of people, so he surely couldn't know for sure.

But for a moment…

Everything felt hopeful.

In its right place as it should be.