Act I: CATACOMBS
Chapter XVI: Ride the Lightning
"You are to take life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, bruise for bruise." – Exodus 21:23-25
Bark sat at one of the pews, holding his chin at his fist. He stared the altar blankly, listening as Clutch brushed some of the shards of glass from the wooden floors.
Bark found his eyes wandering to the large, wooden cross that was propped up on the church altar. His red eyes examined it from top to bottom, noticing the cracks that splintered through the wood.
Symbolic, he thought.
He watched Nack conversing with Surge and Kit, clearly planning something. As much as he wanted to go and break that little party up, Bark supposed he had to play nice.
The bear exhaled a sigh, though probably much louder than he would have liked. The sigh clearly enticed a response from Robotnik, who whipped his head around from the window to stare daggers at the bear.
"Something wrong, Bark?"
Bark stared at the preacher through emotionless eyes, feeling his eyelids droop ever so slightly.
"No."
The attitude of Bark's response was coarse, earning a turn of Clutch's head to look at the bear.
"You have been quite silent through all of this, Bark. Care to have your input on what they're doing to us?" Robotnik asked, lightly fixing his collar.
"It is what we are doing to them."
Robotnik cocked an eyebrow. "And what would that be?"
Bark sighed. "It seems that if we had not meddled with the amulet, this plague would not have come."
Robotnik chuckled loudly. "Oh – you should hear yourself! Blaming this catastrophe on that silly little necklace, when it is clearly the nature of sin that works against us that brought forth this plague!"
"If it is such a silly amulet, why steal it then?" Bark asked, and Robotnik fell silent.
Nack whistled, lightly brushing Surge and Kit to the door, leaving this confrontation to be had between them.
Clutch followed suit, shaking his head with a puff of his cigarette.
"You think I told Starline to steal that necklace? That is his own choice."
"I find no logical reason that he would steal it without someone telling him to."
Bark knew Starline hung on every word of Robotnik's. That's what made him loyal.
"I resent your accusations, Bark. Whose side are you on? You know why you're here, of course. You turned from a life of sin; don't you recall?"
Bark recalled alright. It wasn't that he turned from a life of sin…
"That wasn't it. You indoctrinated me, and my entire family. I had no choice. When they died, you were all I had. You separated me from everyone that cared about me."
Robotnik growled. "Those people were sinners. You belong here, where you can continue to grow in faith."
"If I am supposed to grow, why does everything feel so stiff?"
Robotnik had no response to that. He simply looked the bear up in down, a cross of disbelief and fury in his eyes.
"Maybe you should pay better attention in church, then."
"Maybe I would, if you would stop making me do your dirty work for you."
Robotnik scowled. "What are you insinuating?"
"You know what I have done for you."
Robotnik gritted his teeth, a low growl sounding from his lips. "She had to go."
"You are not the one to make that call. That has gotten us into this disaster once again."
Suddenly, Robotnik thundered forward, a hungry fire blazing on his face.
"Do not even think about blaming me for this! You know exactly why we are in this situation!"
Bark said nothing, opting to stare coldly into his eyes.
Suddenly, a clap began to sound from the corner. It was a slow, sarcastic clap that echoed around the room. Robotnik lifted his head, his mouth dropping slightly when his eyes fell upon Mephiles, standing in the corner.
He was obscured by shadows, yet his piercing green eyes and pale muzzle poked through the dark corner he stood in. Bark noticed how the flames on the lanterns seem to blow towards him ever so slightly.
Robotnik growled. "What the hell are you doing in here?"
Mephiles chuckled. "Watching!"
Bark raised an eyebrow. "Watching for what?"
"You are tearing each other apart from the inside."
Robotnik began to thunder towards the corner, but Mephiles' eyes locked onto his eyes in a flash, stopping the preacher in his tracks. Bark stood up, calmly pacing towards him. though keeping a long distance.
"Why have you sent this plague here?"
Mephiles wheezed a laugh. "I have done no such thing!"
"You directed them towards the church. They saw you point the flies here," Robotnik replied with a snarl.
"You have yet to realize why I cannot stay away from this place! Delusion is a harsh, harsh hole to fall down, Ivo."
"What is your end goal, Undertaker?" Bark asked.
Mephiles snickered. "A toll, of course. I am inching ever so close to the goal."
"It ends when we all die, doesn't it?" Bark asked.
"Only the sinners!"
Robotnik chuckled. "You are full of it, Undertaker."
Mephiles smiled. "Tell me – why did you kill Miss Maria?"
Robotnik was floored by this question. He stared blankly, small beads of sweat forming on his forehead. Bark couldn't help but chuckle.
Good. Be afraid.
"You must know that is key to everything! Tell me, was she truly such a sinner, Ivo?"
Robotnik growled, only earning a hearty laugh from Mephiles.
"Ivo…who are you to judge them all?"
Bark shook his head, watching the storms cloud collecting outside. It was abhorrently quiet, much more than it had usually been. Yesterday's event had scared the town into utter hiding and panic.
He turned to Mephiles, narrowing his eyes.
"Tell us how to get you out of here."
Mephiles laughed, beginning to walk towards the church door. He turned over his shoulder, smirking.
"Oh, Bark, you of all people know exactly what to do."
And with that, Mephiles pushed open the doors, heading out of the church. Bark watched through the smashed-out window as Mephiles sat down on his donkey, beginning to pluck his way through the town.
He narrowed his eyes, thoughts running through his mind.
How was he supposed to know what to do?
Sonic was sitting next to Tails, watching the fox as he helplessly tried fusing the amulet back together.
The kitsune was frustrated, his two tails twitching in stress as his pliers clanged on the desk. He sighed, ruffling his hair angrily.
Sonic turned over his shoulder, seeing Espio talking with Amy and Rouge, while their respective groups all discussed quietly.
The hedgehog sighed, turning back to the fox. Knuckles rested against the wall behind him, watching the two lazily.
"Any luck so far, bud?" Sonic asked, earning a frustrated sigh from Tails.
"Not even close. I think I'm gonna need to go into the mines to find an amethyst crystal. I'll have to lodge a piece of it into the crack and then fuse it."
Sonic sighed. "And we can't go now, right? Khan closed it up?"
Knuckles nodded. "They'll be closed for tonight."
"Are we gonna have to endure one of the plagues again?" Sonic asked, obvious nerve in his voice.
"We can pray not," The echidna said, removing the fur from his head and running his fingers through it absentmindedly.
Tails stood up, placing the amulet gently into a small wooden container. "I'm not gonna be able to do anything more with it tonight. I'll have to go down into the mines first thing tomorrow."
Sonic turned to Knuckles, who sighed. "It's alright, Tails. You're doin' a lot, bud."
Tails nodded, smiling a bit, though the bags under his eyes were worsening. The amount of work he was trying to do to fix the bad omen that fell under the city was incomparable.
He led Tails from the back room, joining the group. Sally immediately saw his condition, her eyes falling.
"Oh, jeez Tails, you look exhausted. Here, let me and Bunnie fetch you some water."
Tails nodded, allowing Sally and Bunnie to head back to the kitchen. Cosmo sat next to him, immediately brushing the falling hairs from his face.
"What's the game plan?" Espio asked.
"Tails needs to go down to the mines to find an amethyst crystal. He can't fuse the gem back together without it," Knuckles said.
"What's that gonna do to the spiritual properties in it?" Mighty asked.
"No telling," Tikal said, "But with the gem intact, the plagues should stop."
Espio nodded, taking his hat off to brush the top off.
Rouge was leaning with her arms around Honey and Julie-su, exhaling a sigh. "Are we in for another one tonight, boys?"
Shade shrugged. "I 'dunno, I can hope not."
Sally and Bunnie returned with water, passing it to the haggard Tails. They joined Nicole and Rotor in their conversation, and the room fell into a tense quiet.
Amy came up behind Sonic, poking his back. "How 'you doin', cowboy?"
Sonic snickered. "Could be better."
Amy chuckled, fumbling in her pocket. "Check out what Rouge and Tangle bummed me."
Sonic's eyes narrowed, before Amy pulled out a revolver. Sonic whistled, wheezing out a laugh.
"We-hey-hey! Lookie there! That's a nice Bessie! Where'd they find that?"
Amy snickered, beaming with her new revolver. It was a nice copper, engraved with some ancient writing.
"Tangle and Whisper bought it off of Nazo and Zero! They were gonna keep it, but Rouge has been beggin' and beggin' me to start takin' up shooting! She wants me to break bad a bit, I guess!"
Sonic laughed, "Well, I think it suits you! You'd be a pretty fine bounty hunter I think!"
Amy snorted. "Wouldn't even dare to be an outlaw like y'all. That life ain't for me."
"Could be! You never know…"
Amy chuckled, feeling red tint her cheeks. "Heh – I guess you don't."
Suddenly, the voice of Antoine broke their conversation. "Shadow? Rogues?"
Sonic and Amy turned to the door, seeing Shadow standing in the doorway with Jet, Wave, Storm and Bean. Shadow wore a scowl, while the Rogues looked passive as ever.
"What is it, y'all?" Honey asked, clinging closer to Mighty for support.
"It's starting."
Sally looked towards Nicole and Bunnie, worry etching on their faces. Sonic clutched Amy's hand tightly, and Knuckles stood close with the Echidnas and Rouge.
Everyone seemed to share the same sentiment. They were in for another one.
"Where's the Undertaker?" Julie-su asked, a slight shake in her voice.
"Sittin' at the well," Jet said, "He's lookin' excited. Can't say I share the feelin', but…"
"Y'all, look!" Tangle exclaimed, pointing at the window. The group whipped their heads to the glass, an immediate sense of dread plunging them.
Streams of blood slid down the window, and Sonic could feel his heart skip a beat. He watched with pale eyes as the blood trickled down the window. Soon, it appeared on another window, before the raining blood became downpour.
The crew rushed outside, taking notice of the reddening, stormy sky. People began screaming in terror, though their voices were drowned out by the downpour of the blood rain.
"We need to get inside!" Whisper shouted, practically beginning to drag some of them back indoors. Sonic watched his eyes linger on the scene for another moment. Suddenly, as if the blood rain wasn't enough, hail and fire began raining down from the sky onto the streets of the town.
It was mayhem. It was somehow even worse than the one before, and Sonic could only assume it would get worse.
From inside, he watched the lanterns flicker, an eerie sight mixing with the sounds of screams, rain, and hail thudding against the ground.
The fire continued to dance intermittently with the blood rain. Soon the screams stopped, yet the rain, hail, and fire continued to persist. He assumed everyone went back inside to avoid the eventual carnage.
Mighty held Honey and Ray close as the trio watched, sitting next to a shaken Bunnie and Antoine. Sonic shook his head in disbelief, turning to see Shadow and Rouge watching with emotionless glances.
Everyone was so desensitized to these terrible things occurring. Even the Rogues were passing cigarettes around, as if it was just another rainstorm.
To Sonic however, he was shaken to his core, seeing the bloody rain and fiery hail pelting the outside streets.
Espio turned Charmy away, staring at the wall blanky as the hail continued pelting against the windows.
It felt like hours until it had passed, yet Sonic only knew he had disassociated once more. It was Amy this time that began shaking him, stirring him from his daze.
He stood to his feet, legs wobbly as he hesitantly followed the group outside. The red skied had cleared up, and the fires had damaged just enough of the buildings to make Sonic wince.
While it didn't look like a tornado had torn through the town, it wasn't pretty.
And yet, as they walked towards the town center, they saw yet another pile of bodies. This time, however, it was less bodies of townsfolk…
And more bodies of livestock.
Sonic was horrified at the dead cows, horses, donkeys, and goats that were scattered along the streets. Amy choked back a sob, while Rouge and Wave looked as if they were going to hurl.
When Knuckles and Tikal approached the livestock, however, he could immediately tell it wasn't the rain or hail that killed them…
But disease. There were boils on their fur, as well as paled snouts and haggard, deadpan eyes.
Four plagues in one.
Whatever was next for them would surely be the worst of it, and they needed to act fast in the mines if they could save anything.
Sonic turned to see Robotnik, fuming once again in a rage. He bit his teeth, knowing that Knuckles was right.
And when he saw the same, sinister smile on Mephiles' face as he stood amongst the bodies.
He knew Mephiles knew it too.
Robotnik had to go.
He had to pay.