Act I: CATACOMBS
Chapter XIX: Them Bones
"I will also lay the dead bodies of the sons of Israel in front of their idols, and I will scatter your bones around your altars." – Ezekiel 6:5
Tails placed the amulet down onto Blaze's table, folding his hands politely as he watched the cat inspect it.
Everyone had gathered into the witch's hut, which of course made Gold and Marine feel like crawling in a hole. Nevertheless, they stayed stone-faced and vigilant, watching their teacher look over the necklace.
Blaze ran her thumb across the gem, pursing her lips as her eyes scanned the crystal. She nodded, brushing a falling hair from her face.
"The repair is quite good. I cannot see if the spiritual elements are intact or not, and I do not want to risk the amulet being broken once again. I suppose if the plagues end, then the amulet is fixed."
Knuckles breathed a sigh of relief, wiping the forming beads of sweat from his temples. He reached forward, sliding the amulet into his hand. He held it up, inspecting the crystal for himself.
"Does it look alright?" Espio asked, to which Knuckles nodded.
"It does."
"Let's get it out of here and back where it belongs. We'll have to keep guard…" Tikal muttered, exhaustedly huddling closer to Knuckles' side.
"We'll patrol around it as well. Make sure no funny business happens," Sally said, cocking an eyebrow towards the echidnas.
Knuckles nodded, pushing the amulet into his fur-coat pocket. He led the Echidnas from the room, and soon everyone followed.
Everyone but Sonic, Shadow, and Silver.
Blaze sighed, examining the three hedgehogs. She smirked slightly, brushing a falling hair from her eyes.
"You are quite the trinity."
Silver chuckled, flicking his gaze to the pair. Shadow scowled, turning to look at Sonic – obviously confused.
Quite a trinity, huh?
"Well – I guess we just do our best in whatever adversity we face!" Sonic exclaimed, attempting to alleviate the mood.
Gold gave Blaze a knowing look.
"Do you presume the spiritual properties of the amulet are truly safe?" Shadow asked, eyeing Blaze carefully.
The lilac cat nodded, standing up as she walked to her bookshelf. She shuffled through the texts, before pulling out a book in black velvet. Returning to her seat, she opened the book – flipping the pages.
She landed on a painting inside the book, pointing her finger slyly towards it.
"The amulet is the Scepter of Darkness. This true scepter is long gone, however any trinket that has something that looks similar or akin to the scepter is considered true. The gem being intact, as long as it is an amethyst, will protect it from plagues, evil spirits, and destruction."
"Whaddya mean by that?" Sonic asked.
Blaze cracked her neck. "Anything that takes on the appearance of the Scepter, with the proper gem in place, is considered by spiritual law to be a Scepter of Darkness. Thus, the amulet is susceptible to possession by spirits. However, with the proper moral guardians, it will be protected by Gaia, only to allow pure spirits inside."
"So…the Scepter – what is it?" Sonic asked once again, clearly attempting to piece together the puzzle pieces.
"The Scepter of Darkness was told to be a holding place for Solaris – the deity that fights against Gaia for the planet. Solaris is a container deity, holding three distinct parts to its own trinity. Iblis, Solaris himself…and Mephiles."
Sonic felt his heart plummet through his chest.
Mephiles was a part of Solaris?
He thought Mephiles had no master. Was he working for Solaris this entire time?
"So…Mephiles is here on Solaris' behalf?" Sonic asked.
Blaze shook her head. "No, he is not. Mephiles was named the Angel of Death by the three divine deities of this world. He is part of Solaris by origin, yes, however he truly holds no master. No moral code. No compass. He has a job to do, regardless of where he originated."
"Alright, so…Solaris is the one who wants the people to be wicked, correct?" Sonic inquired.
"He is. Mephiles absolutely takes joy in bringing people to hell where Solaris remains, but if we want to win, Gaia must prevail over their creation. So that the trinity of deities can be balanced."
"Wait – trinity of deities?"
Silver smirked, dusting off his hat. "Trinity indeed. Gaia and Solaris aren't the only ones."
Sonic scowled, turning to Shadow. The black hedgehog's expression was unreadable. It was quite possible he knew about this too.
Blaze held the book up, pointing to another diagram. "The third deity – Chaos."
Sonic walked closer, bending down to inspect the three deities.
Indeed, there was a third.
Chaos.
"Chaos, huh? What's his deal?" Sonic asked, brushing some dirt from his nose.
"Chaos is the deity that keeps the balance in check. He is the most neutral of the three deities. If you remember the flood that Gaia sent to the world to purge the wicked? That was Chaos in action. He is primarily made of water. It balances the three elements: Gaia, Earth. Solaris, Fire. Chaos, Water."
Sonic nodded at Blaze's explanation, taking a seat on one of the benches in the den. He pondered her explanation.
This wasn't the first he was hearing about the deities of this world and whatnot, but it was certainly the first time he really believed it.
With every ounce of his being, he knew this was all true.
"Chaos has no quell of purity, or evil. Chaos exists to keep a balance between the three, to keep Gaia and Solaris in check. If you think of heaven, hell, and purgatory – Chaos is purgatory. The in-between of the two."
"And – before Blaze forgets, Chaos and Solaris have seven physical representations as well." Silver said, pulling a picture on a scroll nailed to the wall. Unraveling it, he showed it to Sonic.
Two pairs of seven gems.
"The Chaos Emeralds and the Sol Emeralds," Blaze added, taking her place by Silver's side.
"And in the middle, is a small, cyan orb. This is the Gaia Orb. It was the most important of these. All of Gaia's power is contained in this orb, while Chaos and Solaris' are split between their Emeralds."
"Huh…" Sonic muttered, placing his hat back on his head, "So, where are these Emeralds?"
Blaze smiled. "The Chaos Emeralds are with the Echidnas. If you wondered what god Knuckles, Tikal, and Shade truly served – it was Chaos. They have kept the Emeralds through generational cycles – to which Robotnik has never been able to get his hands on. The Sol Emeralds, however, are far away from here – the place I grew up."
Blaze gestured to a map on the wall.
"The ancient city of Soleanna. It is long gone now – especially since desert towns and the gold rush have changed the plantation of this world. Thus, we came to Westopolis to start anew – far away from the ruins of Soleanna."
"And the Gaia Orb?"
Silver chuckled. "Yeah, that's the rub. No one knows. No one knows where it is – not even me, the Moonchild of all people! I have no clue, no one does. As far as I am concerned, it was lost to history. Last record shows it being welded onto a bracelet. They called it the Gaia Bracelet. Hell, if any of us know where it ended up."
Sonic sighed, wiping sweat from his forehead.
He squinted the dust from his eyes, feeling overwhelmed by the information.
Three deities, all balancing one another out.
Two of the three fight for control of the planet.
And there are physical representations of their existence.
With Robotnik being a false mouthpiece, he is leading them right into the clutches of Solaris.
Solaris can't win.
They can't let these people burn there for eternity.
They've already lost so many, senseless death was all around the city.
They couldn't give up yet, though.
Not when they were so close.
Word had spread fast.
The amulet was fixed, and it was back in the possession of it's rightful owners.
And when sundown came – no plagues arrived.
No sight of Mephiles.
The people looked more hopeful.
They knew that now with the amulet being where it should be, the plagues would stay gone.
They were beginning to break free from Robotnik's control.
And be damned, the preacher knew that.
Which is why at nine at night, the bells for church rang.
The people looked around in confusion. There wasn't supposed to be church tonight.
Sonic listened to the bells chime, sitting outside with Amy, Tails, and Cosmo. He scowled, looking between the three.
"Why is he calling a service?"
Tails sighed. "Who knows. He's probably scrambling now."
However, Sonic was unsettled when he realized how few people were heading inside. Many people closed their blinds, locked their doors, stayed shopping on the night streets.
So many people had finally decided – enough was enough.
They were seeing Robotnik for who he was.
That alone, made Sonic thrilled.
But – his taste of chaos wasn't quite quenched. He was surely interested in what the preacher man may have to say tonight.
"Pshh – c'mon. Let's see what load'a bull the fat guys got tonight!" Sonic exclaimed, hopping from his seat.
"Are 'ya sure? I feel like we should be stayin' far outta there," Amy muttered.
"Nah – come on! I wanna see him scramble!" Sonic said, chuckling through his sentence.
Cosmo snorted, sliding from her seat. "Agreed! I just know he's gonna be full of it! Now the townsfolk knows that Nack is dead since he stole the amulet, they know he's losin' bad! I gotta know what he says."
The police had told the town that Nack was caught with the amulet and died in a shootout. This was the second time they had stolen it – and Robotnik was losing bad.
Tails and Amy seemed to oblige, joining the two as they walked towards the church. Sonic glanced to Amy, he held onto her hand tight.
"Hey – you a'ight Ames?"
Amy sighed, shrugging. "Yeah, I'm okay. I feel a bit dirty about Nack, though…"
Sonic sighed, grabbing her shoulders. "Hey – you did the right thing. If you hadn't done what you did, Tikal would've been in trouble, and these plagues would've never stopped. You saved a lot of people! Sometimes, one sacrifice for the many is okay…"
Amy smiled, chuckling slightly. "You think so?"
"Oh, I know so!"
"Well, I'll take your word for it. C'mon – let's go see how Robotnik's actin' tonight."
As the pair approached the church, they were still reveling in how it was even operational once it split in half. The two sides of the church were isolated from each other.
Symbolic.
Sonic stood near the back, watching as a fuming Robotnik took the podium.
"Once again, these police and bandits have damned us even more! You all seriously think that just because the plagues stopped that we are all safe?! No, the Lord has decreed it. Once those heathens are gone – then we are saved. Saved by the body and the blood of him and his word!"
Sonic chuckled, looking to see the police lined against the wall. Bunnie and Antoine shot him amused glances.
A lot has changed here already. Last time he saw the police at church, they were chasing and trying to arrest him.
"Do you not understand? It continues to be who I said it was! Since Shadow's return, this has all happened to us!"
That statement sent pangs of shock and rage through Sonic.
He's blaming this on Shadow?
Sonic turned to see Bark, staring daggers at the preacher.
That seemed to have an impact on the bear too.
"Only until he is gone, will we know safety again! We will know purity in this town! We must all bow now to the Lord, for it is said that without faith, we are damned to hell for eternity! Do you want to be damned, children? Do you want to see your families damned? When will the carnage of wickedness be worth it!"
Suddenly, Robotnik leapt from the altar, pumping his fist in the air.
"When will you all realize that they are leading you right into the clutches of the Lake of Fire?! Do you know when you must wake up?! The time is now! Stand up and confess! Confess your sins to me, children! Do it, now!"
Sonic looked around the room, seeing that the crowd simply stared at him. There was nothing. No reaction. No glances.
Nothing.
"Stand up and cry out to the Lord for forgiveness! Do it with me now, children! Stand up, look to the sky, and beg for his mercy!"
Sonic watched as no one reacted once again. Suddenly, the hedgehog snickered, and he fell to his knees.
Sonic let out a sarcastic wail, professing his hands to the sky.
"Ohhhh, good Lord! Save me! I am soooo wicked! So evil! You must cleanse me! Ohhhh, brother! Please! I am a sinful man!"
Amy and Tails covered their mouths with snickers, as Robotnik began to fume.
Sonic could see Bark crack a smile.
Robotnik thundered forward, a glint of murderous rage in his eye.
"How dare you mock the Lord! You think you are some sort of clown, huh?! Your friend, hell, all of your friends, are the reason we are all being dragged to hell, yet you sit here and joke!"
Sonic cackled, before leaping on to a pew.
"Listen to this guy, y'all! So full of his own delusions! See this church, split in two? What gracious god would split his own house of worship in half?! Every single thing the Undertaker is here for is because of him!"
Sonic pointed his finger at Robotnik, smirking slightly.
"You really think you're gonna get away with this? Your own guy stole the amulet right when the plagues were happening! No one is buying your lies anymore, Robotnik! Pack it up, and get the hell out! We are all taking this town back from you – and there ain't a goddamn thing you can do."
Robotnik growled. "You have no idea what I can do, hedgehog."
"Oh, trust me, I do. What about Maria, hm? You never quite got around to answerin' that, so allow me to bring it up again. What happened to her? Killed in the name of god, was it? C'mon Robotnik, don't start lyin' again now!"
"Watch your mouth."
"No." Sonic spat, staring straight into Robotnik's eyes.
"I ain't gonna watch anything. I know who you are. You're a coward. We are so close to getting' rid of you, and by Gaia, I will throw my hands in celebration when you're gone."
Vector turned to Espio, both sharing a nod and a smirk. The police looked more than satisfied.
They looked thrilled.
Suddenly, as the two were deadlocked in stare, the door flung open, earning the attention of everyone.
It reeked of smoke, as a shadowy figure rolled inside. Cloaked in black, their eyes met Mephiles, dragging a sack on the ground.
He paid no mind to anyone, walking over the crack in the ground as he dragged the bag towards the altar.
The tension in the room rose to an all time high, as Sonic watched with nervous eyes towards the Undertaker.
When he reached the altar, he opened the bag, spilling a pile of bones out. The crowd examined each other anxiously.
Mephiles turned, smirking as he kicked a few of the bones to the side. He pointed to Robotnik, and for the first time, he condemned him.
"These bones are on your hands, Ivo."
Mephiles proceeded to leave, walking from the church. He gave glances to a few terrified citizens, reaching back towards the door.
Not before turning over his shoulder, did he mutter…
"You all have five days left."
And with that, Mephiles left.
As did Sonic's resolve. He felt it shatter. He stole a look towards Amy, Tails, Cosmo, the police – all sharing the same sentiment of fear.
Five days left?
What did he mean five days left?
The crowd all stammered, hopping to their feet as they rushed from the church. Robotnik watched them go – utterly speechless.
Five days left.
Sonic had no idea what it meant, but if he knew anything about Mephiles?
It was not good.
There was nothing good about it at all.