Act I: AWARE

Chapter II: Vermilion

Mafia: Base of Operations #2, Tuesday 9:02 PM

This Rogue was feeling himself too much.

Jet had all the mafiosos lined up. For a "Mafia" – Shadow really took this more as an army than anything.

Jet paced around, standing in front of Wave and Storm. Wave was an expert hacker and technician, and Storm was a mostly-silent brute, but the mere look of him scared anyone.

"You know the job, boys. Get in there, find Egghead, get what's rightfully ours, and then get out. Make the job quick, as clean as possible, and up to Shadow's standards. He'll be joinin' us on this one, a personal word from him to Eggman himself."

Jet stood center, nodding to the Mafiosos. "Are we understood?"

The line of mobsters nodded, getting their equipment ready.

Jet turned back to the two birds on his side. "Anything to add?"

Storm shrugged, as Wave stepped to Jet's side. "Just as long as they know what they're dealin' with."

Jet chuckled, turning his gaze back to the criminals. "Well then – let's get a move on. Don't wanna keep Shadow waitin'."

As the Rogues led the Mafiosos out to the back alleys, trucks were backed in and ready for transport. In front of them stood Rouge the Bat, a former spy turned hardened mob-criminal, Bark the Polar Bear, Shadow's favorite quiet-fighter…

And the Godfather himself.

"Are they ready, Jet?" Shadow stepped forward, gazing into Jet's ocean eyes.

Jet nodded, folding his tattooed arms over his chest. "Ready as they'll ever be."

Shadow merely nodded, turning to Wave and Storm. "Setups are ready?"

Wave clicked her tounge, nodding to the boss. "All ready to go." Storm cocked his shotgun, pulling his goggles over his beady eyes.

Rouge approached Shadow on his left side, leaning an arm on his shoulder. "Why always so sour, Shadow? This will be fun." Shadow merely scoffed, opting to turn his attention to Bark.

What did he know about Bark? Nothing really, just that he came from a fighting ring that was raided by the police. Bark was one of the few who managed to escape, and the few who managed to live through it all.

"How are YOU feeling?" Shadow asked, to which Bark responded with a grunt. He wasn't a talker, preferring to keep everything and anything bottled up inside.

Shadow sighed, crossing his arms. "It's okay to talk, you know. Say something, if you would."

Bark turned his gaze down to Shadow, intense eyes baring down into him.

"I'm ready."

Shadow nodded, as the crew began hopping inside their getaway cars.

"Then – lets get a move on. Need to make this as quick as possible."

C.C.P.D: Below En l'absence, Tuesday, 11:05 AM

Yellow tape was fixated in a square, tied around whatever remained of Tikal's drop. Stained blood was melted into the ground, mixing in with some dried up raindrops from the storm that had passed through.

"Gaia…" Sonic said. "As if this wasn't bad enough. All the blood is still here."

"No DNA tests needed, she was identified." Tails said, hopping underneath the tape into the drop-point.

"I still can't believe we really lost Tikal." Sonic said. His usual cocky, overconfident demeanor was buried underneath layers of guilt, sadness, and anger.

Tails could only manage a sigh, dropping down to the ground.

The pair searched around the site for any clues as to what could of happened. The consensus of a suicide was obvious, but with the surrounding details, they needed something to point them to something of more malicious intent.

"Is there anybody who would have any motive to take her body?" Tails asked pointedly. They knew of various big-time criminals, but no one who was still making too much noise as of recent.

Sonic scratched his chin, staring into the streets. "Well – the motive would most likely be personal. At this point that's all I can think of it…"

"But.."

"But it doesn't make any sense. Why would someone go to the lengths to push her off, if they knew she was going to jump anyway?" Sonic asked, his eyes staring into the dried blood.

"So…nothing adds up." Tails said, sighing as he looked up to Sonic, who was lost in a train of thought.

Who would have any sort of motive to push someone like Tikal? She was the most unassuming, passive spirit. Even if she was a fighter – her life had become a downward spiral ever since two of her loved ones passed on.

Was she making some sort of moves based on that? They were never able to find her boyfriend's killer, after all.

"Unless... someone had been watching her up to this point, yanno? I mean, someone had to know she was considering jumping? Even if she didn't jump, they would have had to have some sort of heads-up that she'd be here." Sonic said, starting to piece together some possible theories.

Just – no possible suspects.

"You think she may have been pushed?" Tails asked, finally standing to his feet.

Sonic crossed his arms, a small sigh exiting his mouth. "I mean – hey, maybe. As much as I don' wanna think it."

Tails looked around, his eyes growing pointy. "They said the cops at the scene were in a trance. Obviously I have no idea what that would mean, but is there anyone who may have saw what happened and chose not to say anything?"

"I dunno buddy, chances of that are probably slim-to-none, but we can only hope someone comes forward!" Sonic said, a smile crawling on his muzzle.

Their conversation stopped when they heard the sound of footsteps, hurrying away from the scene. Sonic scowled, turning around to see a green hedgehog darting from the scene.

As a detective, gotta use that intuition sometimes, and something in Sonic's gut told him to stop that runner.

"Hey – hey! Wait up!" Sonic shouted, as the green hedgehog stopped for a moment, before turning around.

Turning around, a sly-looking hedgehog with a leather jacket spun around on his heels.

"Y- yeah? What's up?" The hedgehog asked.

Sonic stepped under the tape, Tails in lieu, approaching the hedgehog.

"By any chance – did you happen to see what happened here last night?"

The hedgehog stared at them, biting his lip. What does he say? Does he help the rodents sniff out the information?

But – even he knew something like this was a senseless tragedy. He could put his own personal biases aside this one, couldn't he?

"Yeah man, I saw some stuff." He said, rubbing the bridge of his nose.

Tails stepped from behind Sonic, pulling a notebook from his coat pocket.

"Great! Can I get your name?" Tails asked, as the pair's enthusiasm began to raise a bit.

The hedgehog paused, swallowing a small lump. Shit, this was fantastic.

"It's uh – it's Scourge."

Tails began writing his name down before he stopped, cocking an eyebrow. He looked up, squinting his gaze towards the green hedgehog.

"W – wait a minute. I recognize you, and that name. Do we know you?"

Scourge could only manage a gulp, getting his feet ready to make a run for it. "Sorry man, wouldn't know."

Sonic stepped up, his gaze sharpening towards Scourge. "Nah, nah – wait a minute. We got you on something, didn't we? I remember seeing you down at the station."

Scourge felt his eyes peel back. Great, he was going to give them information about this murder-suicide-business, then get slapped in handcuffs and hauled off to the station.

Just his fuckin' luck.

"Yeah, we got you on a vandalism charge, right? Or stealing? Breaking and entering, maybe?" Tails asked, trying to piece together what Scourge was brought in for.

"Listen man, I don't know what you're talkin abou-"

Sonic laughed, patting the hedgehog's shoulder. "Look – look. It's fine. You're not in trouble. But – we do need you to tell us anything and everything you saw. Any information helps."

Scourge looked towards the both of them, raising an eyebrow. Was this just some police BS, or were they serious?

Tails cleared his throat. "Just tell us everything."

Eggbase Strip Club: Tuesday, 11:56 PM

Robotnik, or as he was known in the criminal underworld as Eggman's, strip club was bustling at this point. Ivo sat in his back office, feet up on the desk as another night of stripping, dancing, music, and most importantly, money-making, was happening right outside his doors.

That bliss can only last so long, Egghead.

The mafiosos kicked the door open. Open-firing into the building, the music stopped abruptly as the Mafiosos began making rounds. The dancers and customers were driven into hiding, listening to the criminals barking orders.

What was once a high-octane environment was quickly turned into a warzone between two of the city's most prominent crime bosses. Eggman was a ditz, this was known, but what he was smart in was robotic engineering. Turrets, robots, and other equipment were positioned around the building.

That wasn't going to stop Wave, as she quickly sent a pulse that disabled their functions. Cutting phone lines, demanding that customers empty their pockets as to not call for any police was a must.

Shadow knew it was risky to do a raid in a prime-time hour for the club.

Jet sauntered in, the Rogues in tow. Jet reached for his comms, barking orders to the Mafiosos.

"No customer or dancer gets hurt, just a good scare. Start rounding up bouncers and any working equipment and disable it."

Rouge entered, eyelashes fluttering to the guards who were busy being apprehended by the squadron of mobsters who had busted into the building. Shadow followed suit, Bark right behind him.

"Rouge, get into a high-position, keep watch. Bark, Jet, and Storm, come with me."

Rouge nodded, flying up into the DJ station, posting watch and using the microphone to address the visitors.

"Stay calm, and you won't get hurt. Thas' all for now."

Storm thudded over to a security guard, grabbing him by the shirt.

The guard began to panic, begging for his life, any toughness exiting his body. Jet cackled, putting a hand on his shoulder.

"Relax! Shadow over here just needs to ask you a few questions." Jet remarked, before Storm and Bark dragged him back into a private room.

Once Bark had finished slamming him down into a chair, Shadow stepped forward, a pistol in hand.

"Is Eggman here?" Shadow asked, his gaze bearing into the guards face.

"I don't know!"

"Wrong answer." Shadow swiftly moved his head, as Bark left a right hook on the guard's jaw.

Shadow sighed, crossing his arms. "Let's try again. Is your boss here right now?"

The guard only shuddered, muttering the same response, to be met with the same right hook from Bark.

Shadow was getting annoyed already. Truly, he didn't have time for any of this.

He knelt down, placing his gun next to him.

"Look, I'm sure you want to leave here with your life and as little bruising as possible. I would rather make this easier for you, but I need you to cooperate with me."

The guard was panting, before he spat into Shadow's face.

Shadow merely wiped the saliva from his face, allowing Bark to approach the guard with the same violence as before.

Once Bark was finished, Shadow stood up, taking a few steps closer to the guard.

"One more time."

The guard put his hands up in a surrender. He caught his breath, before gesturing behind him.

"Big yellow door in the back is his office. Please, just let me leave…"

"And where are my plans that he stole from me." Shadow asked.

"He doesn't tell anyone. Not anyone." The guard replied.

Shadow sighed, looking back to the three that stood behind him.

It would make sense – as idiotic as Eggman was, surely he wasn't going around telling all of his guards about his criminal business with the Mafia.

Shadow looked back, as he nodded.

"Thanks for your help."

Walking forward with Jet and Storm, Bark picked the guard up.

Shadow didn't care what happened to him. Just another obstacle.

But – what is rightfully his, will be his, and no one is going to say anything else about it.