Act II: DESCENT
Chapter VI: Sour Times
The Chemical Lounge, Monday 1:25 PM
"SWAT! Drop your weapons and keep your hands where we can see them!"
Mighty commanded as he led the charge, kicking the door to the lounge open.
Immediately, various employees were scrambling – throwing their hands in the air as the force began storming the club.
Tangle and Whisper rounded the corner, guns drawn – watching as Vector sent Espio to begin scouting.
Behind them, Amy, Sally and the D'Coolettes entered – the chipmunk directing the trio to the top layer of the club, hoisting themselves up the stairs.
Knuckles watched the screens with Julie-su and Charmy in the back of the van, flicking through various bodycam footage.
Cosmo stormed forward with Scourge and Fiona, their guns drawn as their gazes flickered around the room.
"C'mon out Starline! Let's make this quick and easy, bud!" Vector commanded into his megaphone.
The only response Vector received was a flurry of gunshots headed their way, causing the force to scramble for cover.
"Jesus! They're firin' back, boys!" Scourge exclaimed, taking cover behind a table.
Amy peeked her head above the railing, firing shots back towards the top catwalks.
Knuckles and Charmy rushed from the back of the van, turning Omega on as he began stomping his way into the club.
Vector began to launch vials of tear gas towards the tops, enticing screams from mobsters as they catapulted over the railing.
"Espio, up there!" Mighty exclaimed, the chameleon nodded as he began rushing the men – jamming batons into their faces.
Sally nodded, darting up the stairs as she followed Espio – behind her was Amy, the D'Coolette's and Cosmo.
Turning the corner, Espio had slammed a baton down onto Bean's back.
From the other side, Scourge was trading shots with Nack, until Fiona whipped a baton across his head – knocking him down.
Smashing through the glass windows – Metal soared through the air, enticing gasps from the force as they began to duck.
"Shit, get down! Get down!" Tangle commanded, firing at Metal from cover.
Metal's hand rotated – a flurry of bullets being sent down onto every surface possible – plates and cups shattering as the force ducked for cover.
Omega stomped into the room, his hand turning as he returned fire, lodging bullets into Metal's processor. The blue robot whirred, attempting to evade as he slammed into the catwalk.
From the railing, Cosmo wrapped a baton around the robot's neck, pulling back before tearing his head clean from his body.
The cyborg head thudded onto the railing, Cosmo wiped the sweat from her brow, before the squad began their trek into the back offices.
Sally kicked a door open, seeing Starline and Zero standing together with their guns pointed.
"Really now, Starline?" Sally asked, her brow furrowed.
"You sure you want to embarrass yourself, Ms. Acorn?" Starline replied snidely, his hand tightening around the trigger.
"I hardly think she's embarrassing herself," Amy replied.
"Your backs are on the wall – just turn yourself in and make it easier, capiche?" Fiona stated, a small smirk on her muzzle.
Starline's gaze flickered onto Zero's – before nodding to the jackal.
Zero gritted his teeth, before tapping his Ruby as a cloud of gas was emitted from the gem.
The gas clouded the office, causing yelps from the squad as they held their mouths – coughs and wheezes peeking from their lips.
The platypus and the jackal darted from the office, firing shots wildly into the air as they began darting towards the upstairs door.
Vector cried from below, "Up there!"
Tangle cursed under her breath, as Whisper positioned herself from the opposite catwalks – aiming down the scope before taking a shot.
The bullet pinged the metal wall, earning a duck from Zero as he cursed under his breath – kicking the door open.
"To the back! They're heading to the back!" Bunnie cried.
Mighty nodded fervently, darting towards the back corridors of the club – leading the crusade.
Rounding through the corridors, they saw a quick flash of light as one of the back doors closed.
"Shit, that was them!" Antoine exclaimed.
Starline and Zero made their way down the alleyways behind the Lounge. Starline held his blazer tight, darting through the dirt as a van blocked their exit.
Stepping out, Knuckles, Julie-su and the detectives raised their guns.
"Stop right there, Starline!" Knuckles commanded, stepping forward with his gun trained.
Starline sighed shakingly, his eyes blazing with fury as Mighty, and Tangle grabbed the duo – forcing them into handcuffs.
Outside the Chemical Lounge
The police force watched as the entire mob was led from the building.
Some resisted arrest, some smiled as they were walked, and some merely stared at the ground.
"See ya next fall!" Vector exclaimed, forcing one man into the back of one of the many cars littered across the lounge entrance.
Sonic shook Knuckles's hand – a smile on the hedgehog's face.
"Well, well! Let's hope this time they stay in there for good, huh?"
Knuckles sighed. "We both know how difficult that's going to be. We barely have anything to charge them with."
"I dunno…" Tails started with a smirk, "Seems like this might be the jackpot!"
Central City Courthouse, Wednesday 3:05 PM
And the jackpot it was.
Judge Nephthys the Vulture presided, flipping through the files.
Across from her was the prosecution side, a very calm, collected group of individuals. Their crowd was echoing this – waiting patiently for the plea.
The mob side, however…was unruly, disorganized and chaotic.
"Seven hundred counts of extortion." The vulture began.
"Eight hundred counts of racketeering."
"Two hundred and eighty counts of fraud."
"Eighty counts of conspiracy murder…"
As the vulture flipped the next page, her eyes landed on a card.
Turning the card over, it had Eclipse's writing all over it – before the vulture rolled her eyes and threw the card to the side.
"And five hundred counts of obstruction of justice. How do the defendants plead?"
The mob side began clamoring, large, disorganized shouting voices screaming towards the judge.
Starline and Zero smirked at each other – watching the mayhem unfold behind them.
Nephthys slammed her hammer down – pointing harshly at the defense.
"Order in the court!"
Khan smirked at Sonia, the monkey winking as he grabbed her hand.
Finally, they got them.
Shade's Office, Wednesday 4:56 PM
"Five hundred and twenty criminals all at once!" Shade exclaimed, reclining by her desk as she chuckled. The sprawling city behind her glimmered and shone, the echidna clutching her watch.
"How did you convince Nephthys to hear this out?" The mayor asked, cocking her head.
Khan stood with Knuckles and Amy, rocking back and forth on the balls of his feet.
"Well, she shares my enthusiasm. She is a judge, after all…" Khan answered.
"Even if you get enough convictions out of Nephthys, you're going to get some record high appeals. I couldn't be prouder of where this city is going, especially after what happened three years ago!" Shade exclaimed, smirking.
Khan sighed, shaking his head slightly. "I'm not sure if it will matter. The head guys will make bail, but the midlevel guys can't. They'll cut deals to avoid jailtime. Think of what you can do with the streets clean for a little over a year."
Shade stared at him for a while, her expression unreadable as she studied the monkey in front of her.
Amy cleared her throat. "Ms. Mayor, I don't think-"
"No. I need to speak to him for a moment. If you would."
Amy glanced at Knuckles, who nodded as he began leading Amy out.
"Oh, and tell the other chief, Rotor, to return my call please!" Shade exclaimed, the pair nodding as they exited the office.
Shade gestured for the chair, sighing. Khan nodded, taking his seat.
"The public likes you. That's probably the only reason all of this will fly. But that means it's on you."
Khan raised an eyebrow. "On me? How so?"
Shade smiled, standing up as she fixed her suit jacket. "They're all going to come after you now, and not just the Mob. Politicians, journalists, executives, cops. Anyone who's wallets are about to get affected by how many mobsters you just put away."
Khan sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. "I figured as much…"
"Well? Are you up for it? I hope so," Shade stated, smiling as she began walking towards the window.
"Because it's only going to get rougher from here. So? We need to do our best."
Suddenly, a body hung from a noose slammed into the window, causing Shade to yelp as she fell back, catching herself on her desk.
Khan rushed forward, looking at the body of a hedgehog…wearing –
Silver's costume?
The hedgehog had red and black facepaint on, and a card taped to his chest.
The monkey cursed; his eyes wide as his heart rate began to quicken.
Ground Zero
Knuckles watched as the paramedics lowered the body.
It wasn't Silver, clearly. It was someone dressed up as Silver. His face was covered in face paint, and the paramedics quickly confirmed he was dead.
A large crowd watched, many covering their mouths in fear.
Amy sighed, her face in her hands as Sally returned with the card.
"Will the real Silver please stand up?" Sally read from the card, before shoving it into her pocket.
"So…this guy was pretending to be Silver? What gives?" Bunnie asked, biting her fingers.
Antoine brought the noose to Knuckles, inspecting it. "There are some bloodstains on ze rope," The coyote spoke.
"Well, let's get some protection on Silver and Blaze just in case. Even if this might be a statement on vigilantes themselves, we can't be taking any chances," Knuckles said, staring ahead at the body as it was carted into the paramedic van.
Amy nodded, taking her phone out as she began to place a call.
Knuckles was dumbfounded at what he had just seen. They had dealt with psychotic killers before.
This one…sent a shiver down the echidna's spine.
Hedgehog Family Tower, Wednesday 5:34 PM
Sonic stepped into the large living room, as Tails flipped through files on the coffee table.
"Big fundraiser tomorrow, huh?" Tails said, smirking as Sonic set his glass on the side table.
"You know it. Just wanna help things keep sailing smoothly."
"I think it'll be a great success," Tails replied, smiling as he closed the files and ushered them off to the side.
"Just never saw myself holding a fundraiser for the District Attorney. Times really are changing, huh?" Sonic said, taking his seat by Tails.
"Sour times to better times," Tails replied, smirking. "Just have to imagine all of us socializing with wealthy elite that are also probably in touch with the scum of the city's underbelly. Sounds like a greeeeat time…"
Sonic chuckled, rolling his eyes as he patted Tails on the shoulder. "I mean, hey! Either way – anything I can do to help him get this city back on track? Sounds good to me!"
As Tails was about to respond, the television caught his eye, his brow furrowing as he turned the television up.
"Hm?" Sonic whispered, his eye turning to the television as well – and what he saw caused a pang of shock to enter his heart.
He watched the camera filming a body – one that looked like Silver's – being lowered from the building.
"Is that…Silver?" Tails replied, a shake in his voice.
"It…" Sonic started, before seeing the head of the hedgehog.
"Isn't him…but it's someone dressing up like him?"
"Shouldn't' someone have called about this?" Tails asked, his gaze flickering to Sonic.
The hedgehog reached for his phone, seeing a flurry of missed calls as a sigh exited his mouth.
"They did. I missed it…"
"Wait, look!" Tails exclaimed, tapping Sonic on the shoulder.
He moved his gaze to the television, where Big began addressing the viewers.
"We now have a frightening video of what happened to this man – and what you are about to see…is disturbing."
The picture changed, showing the same man who was killed in Silver's costume tied to a chair in a warehouse.
Behind him were hacksaws, ropes, and other miscellaneous items hung from the walls.
"Tell them your name…" A drawl voice began.
The hedgehog shuddered; his eyes locked to the floor. "Axl."
The man laughed in a high-pitch, inching the camera closer.
"Ooh! Are you the real Silver? Are you him!?"
"N – No…"
"No?! No?! THEN WHY DO YOU DRESS UP LIKE HIM!?"
The voice laughed again, tearing the gauntlets from his wrists.
He began wiggling them around, his voice frenzied in laughter.
"Woo-hoo-hoo-hoo! Look at you! Silver the Hedgehog!"
The voice chuckled frantically again.
Sonic and Tails were standing now, their mouths dry and hung open.
The hedgehog felt his fists clenching, his foot tapping rapidly.
"He's a s – symbol, that we don't h – have to be af – fraid of scum like you!" The hedgehog exclaimed.
The voice raised into a mocking tone, beginning to grab his face with his gloved hand.
"Oh yeah? Oh, but you do Axl. You REALLY DO."
The hands grabbed his scalp, whipping the hedgehog's head around as the voice growled.
"Oh…yeah? Oh, ah sh, sh, sh, sh!" The voice spoke sporadically, rubbing his hand across his face before grabbing his quills again, raking his head back and forth.
"So…do you think!" The voice started, as he began lightly slapping the hedgehog's face, mocking his fear.
"You think – that Silverrrrr, and his wiiiife, and Shadow and his boys, have made Central City a better place?"
The hedgehog nodded frantically, as Sonic and Tails felt their hearts drop into their chests.
The camera stepped back, as the voice asked in a calm manner, "Look at me."
Axl didn't oblige. The cameraman's voice dropped to a low, loud, growl as he commanded to the man.
"LOOK AT ME."
As Axl shook, his gaze began to lift slightly to the cameraman. For the first time, his face was wrought with disgust, fear, and total anguish.
Finally, the camera turned around, showing Eclipse in all his insane, deranged glory.
"You see?! This is how CRAAAAZY these little vigilantes have made Central City! You want order? You want…real change? These vigilantes must then turn themselves in."
Sonic stepped closer to the television, his eyes wide in a terrified shock.
"Oh – and every day they don't? People will die. Starting tomorrow night."
Tomorrow night was the fundraiser.
Did Eclipse know that?
Just what was this sick fuck planning?
"The way of which this city has operated in the scuuuums – relying on silly little SUPERHEROES to do the hard work?! That ends now. I'm a man of my word."
Eclipse then began to laugh frantically, before the camera began flipping around as the man began to scream.
The video then ended.
As Big returned to the screen, Sonic sat down, his eyes still peeled onto the ground.
Tails began pacing, his hands clutching the back of his neck.
"What is he planning? What is going on – why is this happening again?!"
Sonic said nothing, opting to stare forward with a slight shake in his head. He felt his foot batter the ground rapidly.
After everything. After three years of getting this city back on its feet – yet another man has come from the shadows to tear it all down.
For what? What was he still not seeing after all this time?
Mephiles targeted the elite, Eclipse was targeting…the vigilantes?
Or was that truly who he was targeting? Is there something more to this?
"I don't – I don't know. I don't know…" Sonic stated, his voice a hushed whisper as he cupped his forehead.
Tails sat down with a thud, opening the files frantically as he began reading.
"There's got to be something in here. There – there has to be…"
Sonic said nothing, feeling his face heat up.
He was confused.
Scared.
Angry.
But most of all – he was not backing down.
Not to Eclipse, to the mob…
He was not backing down to anyone.
Not again.