Act I: AWARE

Chapter V: Toxicity

Mafia: Unknown Location, Wednesday 3:36 AM (Following the Raid on Eggbase Strip Club)

Shadow tapped his foot against the ground.

His head rested in his palm, drowning out the sounds of arguing amongst his close team. They returned back to base with their tails between their legs.

Sure – they gave Egghead a good scare, but without his plans, what was the point?

Shadow couldn't take the bickering anymore. His eyes shot open, a grumble from his mouth.

"Alright! Alright. Stop bickering, please."

The Rogues looked towards him, eyebrows raised and heads tilted.

"I understand we are irritated with how that raid ended up. There is no point in casting blame. It isn't our fault we were tricked. Though – I think we're better trained than that, we can't always have a win, it seems."

Rouge sighed, taking the chair across from his desk. Crossing a leg over the other, she tapped her fingers lightly against the desk.

"Next time – it's ours. Just 'cause he was able to get the upper hand doesn't mean it will stay that way, Shadow."

Shadow nodded, his emotion of annoyance still fixed on his face.

Jet stepped up, leaning an arm against a shelf. "If I can ask – what are the plans he stole anyway, boss?"

Storm and Wave looked to Shadow, eyes full of curiosity. He bit his lip, following with a sigh.

"I was trying to build something. Something big. I was planning on taking the old factory on St. Croix Street to construct it, and I was paying Eggman a sum to help me," he replied. "Would've paid someone to buy it anonymously, of course."

"Why didn't he?" Wave asked, sitting in the chair adjacent to Reaper's massive wooden desk.

Shadow grunted, rummaging through some stolen goods from the club.

"He decided that he could use the device for his own personal gain. Mostly, he just wanted to have all the credit. So, he sabotaged one of our flats, took the plans, and got away with it. I didn't know what happened – until Rouge, playing consigliere, ended up tracing them down to Infinite, with some of our investigative contacts."

Storm grumbled, as Jet whistled through his beak.

For the level of security they had, it seemed that Eggman would be the most likely culprit to bypass it, no surprise to anyone in that room really.

"Could we have even been sure they'd be at the club anyway?" Rouge spoke up, eyelashes fluttering to Shadow.

"It's his only KNOWN location. Sure – he had some warehouses under his name, but we had already looked there. That was the last shot."

Suddenly, Bark stepped forwards.

Shadow looked at him, puzzled, unsure what brought forth the sudden initiative of the usually quiet powerhouse. "What is it, Bark?"

Bark scowled, before picking up the loot from Eggman's office.

He began sorting through them until he landed on an envelope. Bark had already torn through it – but Shadow hadn't laid eyes on this yet.

As Shadow sorted inside the envelope, he realized what was inside.

A list of all Eggman's property. Surely – they would all be locations for business.

"So – it looks like the bastard does have more places to hide."

The Rogues piped up – excited looks crawling on their faces. Rouge chuckled, as Bark stared forward, as cold as ever.

"Well then, boss. What's our next moves?" Wave asked, earning a glance from Shadow.

"Organize raids to all of these spots – do some investigating work, find the plans, then pay Robotnik some revenge."

C.C.P.D.: Station, Wednesday 3:21 PM

"808 Ocacia Street," Knuckles stated.

He had begun flipping through the notes that were taken from the meeting with Nazo.

As much as he had doubted this at the start – the results were much better than he reasonably expected. Thank Gaia for that.

"That, according to Nazo, is his primary base of operation. It's underneath the tailor's shop." Sonic said, fiddling with a stress ball.

Knuckles nodded, rubbing his forehead. "Did he give any other locations?"

"Unfortunately, no. He was very vague. Probably because he doesn't want to associate with us too much is my guess." Tails replied, sorting through files in his folder.

Knuckles nodded, tapping his hands on the desk. "Well – it's a starter. Can't say if anyone would be there, but it's a start. We'll get ready to get moving in."

Their conversation was cut off harshly, the pink hedgehog rushing into the office – panic plastered all across her face.

"Boss – guys. You – you need to come see this."

The trio exchanged glances filled with anxiety. It wasn't natural for Amy to lose her cool, and that itself immediately set the three of them on edge.

Church of the Holy Planet: Wednesday, 4:06 PM

"How in the hell did this happen, Vector?"

Knuckles was distressed. Sonic and Tails couldn't pry their hands away from their mouth.

Right where the church stood – was now a gaping hole in the front. Fires were raging from the top, firefighters lining the streets.

Vector wiped his forehead, as Mighty and Whisper stepped up from some of the rubble. "Charges were set along the front of the building. We picked up some of the shells that were left over."

Mighty handed them to Vector and Knuckles, both examining the broken shells.

"Good Gaia…" Amy said, her hand clutching her heart. Sally and Bunnie had begun moving some of the injured passerby's towards the paramedics. Thankfully, this didn't happen on a day where church was in session.

"So – there's foul play. No gas leak or anything like that. Someone rigged those explosives." Tails said, jotting notes down in his notebook.

Charmy was typing into his computer, running diagnostics on the leftover shells. "Thermite explosives, but rigged with some higher-tech. Enough of those and – yep, you're looking at a big blunder."

Knuckles was lost for words – surely, this was a time where he wished Silver and Blaze were continuing their superhero-crime fighting endeavors.

"Do we know if there are any casualties?"

Mighty shook his head. "There was only a small group of people inside the church. Luckily, they were away from the explosion site. Espio and Tangle are inside, looking for anyone that's inside the building."

Vector crossed his arms, shaking his head at the scene. "And – no current leads on who is behind it."

But – it's as if someone had answered his prayer. Out came Espio and Tangle, with two Mobians in their grasp.

Vector sucked in a breath, Knuckles's eyes narrowed at the two figures in their grasp.

Sonic facepalmed, as Tails's mouth hung open.

Knuckles thundered forward, Vector and the detectives in tow.

"Bean and Nack. I should've expected you two would be involved in something like this.

Bean and Nack just glared daggers at the Sherriff, opting to remain quiet.

Boys know their rights.

"I should – I should slap the shit out of both of you. Attacking a church? That's a new low if I ever heard one. I'll take a wild assumption and say that Ivo Robotnik sent the both of you out here, huh?"

"I ain't sayin' anything without a lawyer present!" Nack spat. Knuckles chuckled, crossing his arms.

"Smart – cause you're gonna need a good one."

Sonic said a silent prayer to Gaia that Manic didn't end up defending these two.

Bean could only laugh – his defense mechanism cutting through. Knuckles grabbed the nose of his beak, staring daggers into his eyes.

"I'd stop laughing if I were you – it's not gonna be fun where you're ending up."

C.C.P.D.: Primary Jail, Wednesday 5:02 PM

Sonic and Tails sat at the conference table, tapping their fingers across the table.

The hedgehog sipped from his coffee, a cigarette hanging from his mouth.

Tails buried his head in his hands.

"It's another thing after the other." Tails said, sorrow laced in his voice.

Sonic opted to stay silent. The church was beautiful, and now? There was a giant crater in the wall. He kept repeating prayers to Gaia in his head that this would all be over soon.

Sally and Amy walked in. The pair looked beaten, exhausted – but most of all, grief-stricken.

"The two are ready to talk. Said they 'don't care anymore'," Amy said, air quotes.

"Oh! No no – sorry, they won't be talking to anybody without myself in the room."

Sonic looked up, feeling his heart shatter.

In walked his brother, a suit and briefcase in tow.

"Sonic, Tails. Ames, Sally. Good to see you all!"

Amy and Sally could only nod, looking awkwardly at Sonic.

"Manic – why, dude?"

Manic sighed, sitting down at the table.

"They called me, I came down. I've never represented these two, but something tells me they knew to call me if somethin' ever went down."

Sonic sighed, covering his face with his hands.

"Manic – they're guilty. I dunno what to tell you, man. We caught them on the scene."

Manic put his hands up, leaning back into his chair. "I know, I know. When this sort of thing happens – we start looking for plea deals, anyways. I'm sure they know they won't be avoiding a conviction."

Tails could only sigh – looking at Manic with an expression of exhaustion and disbelief.

"You really want to represent for two of Ivo's goons?"

Manic sighed, crossing his arms. "That – really isn't the point, with all due respect, Tails. This is my job. If I'm retained – I'm retained. Besides, if there's no evidence to support that they are working with Robotnik – then it isn't really relevant to this specific incident."

Sonic looked longingly to Manic – unable to disagree. That much was true, he was a criminal defense attorney.

And a damn good one. Among the best in the entire city.

He was proud of his brother – even if his job put them on opposite ends of the spectrum.

He hoped it didn't damage their relationship, but he couldn't ever be sure.

"Well – Manic, we do have to talk to them. It's part of it."

Manic sighed, tilting his head.

"I understand – but I'll be in there, yanno? Maybe after this we can grab a bite. I – I heard about Tikal."

He looked around the room, sharing in the sorrow a bit.

"I'm sorry. I dunno what to say. It's awful."

Sonic smiled weakly, tapping his fingers on the table.

"We're getting to the bottom of it. I can promise you that."

Manic smiled, before he fixed his tie.

"Well – shall we then?"

C.C.P.D.: Interrogation Room, Wednesday 6:02 PM

"I hope you understand the story you're telling us doesn't add up." Tails said.

"Sorry, Miles. That is unfortunately all my client would like to say." Manic stated, tapping his finger on the table.

Sonic grimaced, looking towards Nack.

"Since it is most likely true that you're working for Robotnik, why a church? What's his deal with churches?"

Bean looked to Nack and Manic.

"I remind you both – whatever you say can be used against you in a court of law." Manic stated.

Bean looked to Nack, who spoke up.

"Underneath the church was a flat belonging to Shadow. Back in the day, he hired excavators to dig him large underground bases for some dirty extra cash. He picked a few locations, the church being one of them. His major location."

"I need to stop you there. You said the church was his major one?" Sonic asked him, to which Nack nodded.

"We were informed his major base of operations was underneath the tailor shop at 808 Ocacia Street," Tails said.

Bean and Nack exchanged a confused glance. Manic had his palm in his head. He knew these two were just accepting their punishment – but if he could get a good plea deal, he'd be set.

"Shadow doesn't have a base under the Tailor Shop?" Bean said.

The detectives looked at each other, both immensely confused.

"Who did you get this information from?" Nack asked.

"Nazo the Hedgehog." Tails replied, unsure if telling them was the right thing to do.

"Ah, the info. broker. He definitely knows everything 'bout this place like he says. It seems he duped you two pretty hard though, ya?" Nack said, snidely.

Sonic looked at Tails, his head resting in his forehead. Tails mouth was dry, simply staring holes into the pair's head.

"So, what were you getting revenge on him for?" Tails asked, trying to regain the focus onto the matter at hand.

"We've had some scuffle, and he decided to trash our place of business, attempting to ruin everything we've built. So? I destroy the church, collapse it onto his little flat, and trash everything he created. Unfortunately, his little empire wasn't there when I trashed the place, so we'd hate to be there when he gets back." Bean said, chuckling.

Sonic nodded, a small "mhm" leaving his lips.

He could only hear himself laughing in his head.

"I see – and he trashed your place of business? Which would be-"

"The Eggbase Strip Club."

Once those words left Bean's mouth, his eyes widened. Nack shot him a death stare, as Manic facepalmed.

Gotcha.

"Ah – the Eggbase Strip Club. Owned by … Ivo Robotnik. Wonderful."

Bean stammered. "UH – well, I mean-"

"You realize you destroyed public property? This isn't about some mob drama. You could have killed many innocent people in your crossfire." Tails spoke up, ice lacing his words.

Nack spat a bit, staring coldly into the detectives. "Whatever we gotta do to eradicate his stupid team of nobodies."

"Not if you're rotting in a jail cell." Sonic said, standing up and brushing off his coat.

"We're all done here."

C.C.P.D.: Conference Room, Wednesday 6:10 PM

"So, what did you find?" Knuckles asked desperately.

"Apparently, beneath the church WAS the major operating source for Shadow's mob. Apparently they've had some fighting, and this was Eggman's revenge for something Shadow did recently," Tails stated.

Manic walked by the room, as he and Knuckles nodded to each other through the window.

"Under the church? Interesting location for something like that to happen. However, didn't we find that his major base was 808 Ocacia Street?"

Knuckles asked pensively. Sonic and Tails sighed, the hedgehog sipping from his coffee.

"Well, we did, until we didn't. Turns out Nazo apparently lied about that. No base under the tailor shop on that street." Sonic said, the exhaustion present in his voice.

"I still think it needs to be investigated. Surely – Nazo isn't gonna just throw that location out like it's meaningless." Amy spoke up.

"Agreed – it is worth looking into." Antoine said, rubbing his wife's back.

"Well – then we need to continue launching a thorough investigation."

Knuckles rubbed his temples, before dismissing the squad.

As Sonic and the rest walked out, the detectives began walking towards their offices, before Tails stopped him.

"Are you sure about all of this? Who can we even trust anymore? Why does this thing keep popping up with winding roads and turns?" Tails asked. His thumbs twiddled anxiously, starting to become overwhelmed.

Sonic sighed, leaning against a file cabinet. He stared at the ground for a moment, his foot tapping ever so lightly on the ground.

"I dunno buddy. What started as a suicide slash possible-homocide case is now evolving past our own eyes."

"Does it scare you? All these criminals, we have to get closer and closer with them to figure out what's going on behind the scenes…"

Tails trailed off. Sonic ruffled his hair, offering up a weak smile.

"Whatever we gotta do buddy. We can still figure all of this out. It's just a roadblock."

"I – I guess so. I hope you're right." Tails said, smiling at his ruffled hairs.

Their conversation was interrupted, as Knuckles approached on the phone.

"Okay – okay, thank you. Uh-huh, bye."

Knuckles hung up, a distressed look on his face. "As if we didn't need anything else to worry about."

Sonic perked up, his eyes filling with confusion and concern. "What's up boss?"

Knuckles sighed, crossing his harms. "Apparently, some time after we left Everhold, Nazo got out. Again. He is currently nowhere to be found."

Tails gasped, as Sonic put his hands behind his neck.

Well, of course he did. Gaia – if you're up there, why? That's all.

"Good Gaia – alright. Well, we'll keep an eye out." Sonic said.

He could feel the exhaustion taking over. Surely if Tails and I took a day off – that would be okay, right?

Knuckles merely nodded, heading back to his office. If Sonic felt worn out, he could only imagine how Knuckles was feeling.

"And there's another thing for us to worry about." Tails said, leaning against the other side of the cabinet.

Sonic could only nod, fiddling for his phone on his belt. Before he reached for his phone, he noticed something missing.

He scrambled around his belt, earning a confused look from Tails.

"Is everything okay, Sonic?"

Sonic sighed, continuing to scramble.

"Uh – yeah, just – my ID card is missing."

Tails tilted his head, before his eyes widened.

Sonic looked to Tails, confused for a second at his expression, until his mouth dropped open.

His ID card was missing, and Nazo got out.

Shit.