Act II: DESCENT
Chapter IX: Burning Pile
C.C.P.D. Main Precinct, Saturday 9:15 PM
Sonic stepped back, looking at the board that he had pinned note after note on Eclipse.
Tails brushed his chin, scowling slightly at the red lines drawn across the board.
"Makes sense – except for the fact that we still have no idea what his real name is," Tails stated, sipping his coffee.
"Eclipse is the only alias so far, we just have to put him in handcuffs to make any other judgements," Sonic added.
"How do you suppose we do that? Every attempt has failed so far."
Sonic sat back down, throwing his head back with a sigh as he stared at the ceiling for a moment.
"You think Nazo or Robotnik would know about him?"
Tails groaned, "You really wanna keep turning to them for help? Like they would really help us,"
Sonic shook his head, "If worse comes to worse we're gonna have no choice."
Tails closed his files, pulling another out. "Enough about all of that. I drew up some new designs for Shadow's car. You still want to fund it through Hedgehog Enterprises, right?"
Sonic whistled with a nod, rushing over to look. "I do, I do! And heyyy, look at this bad boy! Shadow and his posse are gonna be busting criminals in the mouth with this!"
Tails chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck. "I'm glad it looks good! I'm sure Shadow will like it a lot."
Sonic responded with a chuckle, patting Tails on the shoulder.
"I mean hey – not everyday do you see a tank of a car driving down the street. Shadow's gonna have no choice but to accept! Still shocked as to why you never became an engineer."
Tails shrugged, "I liked detective work more, what can I say? At least now that you're loaded and powerful, I can indulge in some engineer fantasies."
Before Sonic could respond, his phone rang. Scowling, he fished it from his pocket – accepting a call from Knuckles.
Putting it on speaker, he cleared his throat. "Knuckles, what's up!"
"I need you both down at Orchard and Eighth- apartment 25. Eclipse just called into 911, saying we'll find Ken Khan there."
Sonic shot a worried look at Tails, who darted from his seat.
"Gaia – alright. Give us a minute, we'll be right there."
Orchard and Eighth, Saturday 9:33 PM
Knuckles kicked open the door, his gun pointed.
The apartment was relatively emptied out, messy and grimy. On a table, two men sat with their heads down on the table's surface.
Their faces were covered in red and grey face paint – Eclipse's signature.
Amy scowled, walking up to the men and pressing her fingers to their necks and wrists.
No pulses. They were dead.
The lamp in the corner flickered slightly, as Sally led the D'Coolettes inside to survey the room.
"Yo, I don't understand. Ain't he say Ken Khan was supposed to be here?" Scourge questioned, scratching his head.
"Check the names."
The group turned around, seeing Shadow in the doorway as he led Sonic and Tails inside.
Knuckles sighed, stepping over to the men alongside Julie-su.
Knuckles approached the man on the left, looking at his nametag.
"First name Ken."
Julie-su looked at the nametag of the second man.
"Last name Khan."
"Ah, Ken Khan. First name Ken on the left, last name Khan on the right," Sonic said.
"This guy sure is clever," Cosmo said, pointing her flashlight around the room.
"Those two were corrupt cops," Shadow stated. "They worked on Ivo's payroll – which became Starline's payroll."
"Like Mephiles all over again," Sally said, wiping her brow with a sigh.
"I need ten minutes in this room before you all contaminate it," Shadow spoke up, fumbling on his belt.
Julie-su stepped forward, a mad scowl on her face. "Us contaminate it? It's because of you – and us for not arresting you that these men are dead!"
"Julie!" Knuckles exclaimed, hushing the pink echidna.
Shadow bit his lip, exchanging a glance with Sonic who shook his head with a smile.
Knuckles looked around the room, before nodding.
"Do what you have to do, Shadow."
Shadow nodded, walking over to the wall as he pulled out a small drill – drilling a hole into the wall.
In the wall was a bullet-hole, Shadow gruffly sighing as he began to drill the brick out.
"It's brick underneath. You wanna take ballistics off a shattered bullet?" Bunnie asked.
"No. Fingerprints," The black hedgehog replied, before pulling the brick out.
Sonic looked at Tails, dropping his voice to a whisper, "When he gets those fingerprints, he's going to want to use Hedgehog Enterprises tech to examine it. Get it ready for tomorrow."
Tails nodded softly, texting subtlety to his contacts in the science departments.
Knuckles bent down – examining the playing cards in the men's hands. He sighed, before Antoine pointed at the newspaper.
"Check that."
Knuckles nodded, pulling the newspaper as he read the front page.
As Shadow continued drilling, Knuckles spoke up.
"Whatever you're gonna do, do it fast. We found his next target."
Shadow examined the brick, before turning around as all eyes landed on the paper.
"He put it on tomorrow's paper…" Antoine said softly.
The front page was an obituary for Shade the Echidna, the city's mayor – which deemed her a "public servant."
"Wait but…she's not dead?" Fiona said.
"Not yet," Tails finished.
A paragraph was boxed in, reading –
"Shade the Echidna, aged 30, was shot and killed today by the criminal mastermind known as Eclipse the Darkling. The echidna was found with internal bleeding due to being shot by a high-powered rifle."
Scratchy writing in black marker spelled out "HA HA HA."
While Shade's face had Eclipse's face paint drawn onto it.
"Gaia…" Cosmo said.
"He got ahold of tomorrow's paper to put out a death threat? How is this guy able to get all of this done?" Sally asked pointedly.
"I will examine the prints. Monday is the funeral for Rotor and Nephthys. I promise to have the results by then," Shadow said, before turning on his heel and leaving through the door.
Knuckles grabbed the paper, sighing. "On Monday, that funeral needs to be locked down. We cannot have any interruptions – and the mayor needs to have full protection. Understood?"
The force nodded, but Sonic found himself staring at the face paint on the man.
Walking towards it, he bit hard on his lip.
If he could stop this, he would. The only issue is whether or not he would be fast enough.
Eclipse was unpredictable, even if his "plan" seemed so easy to follow.
He was afraid or what would happen next – but not afraid enough to lie over.
Unknown Location, Sunday 1:20 PM
Shadow stood with Silver and Blaze, the trio examining the bullet.
"What is our first order of business?" Shadow asked, before Silver skipped off to a mounted gun – as four bricks were positioned in front of it.
"Fire the bullets into these four bricks. Then, we examine the fragments. This should give us our leads."
Shadow nodded, grabbing the clip, and placing it into the gun. Blaze passed out three pairs of headphones, putting them on as Shadow tapped on the keyboard, as the gun began to whir to life.
The gun shot the first brick, before it moved across the railing – firing a bullet into each brick.
"Could have made it a tad quieter," Blaze said.
"Nah – I don't think it was nearly loud enough!" Silver exclaimed with a chuckle, taking off his headphones.
"How much money has Sonic funded into all of this exactly, Shadow?" Blaze asked, as Shadow returned with the bricks.
"You do not even want to know," Shadow responded, before placing the brick into a scanner.
Pressing some buttons, the scanner whirred to life – as the computer began to read down the data from the computer.
Soon, the fragments appeared – as Shadow began to inspect closer for fingerprints.
"There they are…" Silver said.
"But I don't believe we have the right mind to look at this stuff," Blaze added, crossing her arms tightly over her chest.
Shadow sighed, scratching his quills. "I'll need to send these over to Tails at Hedgehog Enterprises. He will be able to get a read on this."
Silver cocked his head slightly. "You sound…unsure of that."
Shadow sat down before a weapons-table, his eye moving up as Jet and the Rogues walked in the door.
"Howdy!" Jet exclaimed, thudding Storm on the back as the albatross belched.
"Dude! Watch where you're swinging!"
Wave rolled her eyes. "See what I'm dealing with?"
Silver laughed, as Blaze approached Shadow carefully. "He is right…you do sound unsure."
"I do not wish to drag Sonic and Tails further into this. They have both been great helps to giving us the correct equipment – but not if it puts their jobs, and reputations on the line."
Silver slumped against the table. "How would they be risking their reputations, exactly?"
"Julie-su said that these people are dying because of me. Because of us. Eclipse will only stop if us vigilantes are put away. The city will turn against us."
Blaze nodded solemnly, putting a hand on his shoulder.
"The vigilante life does not mean everyone will be thankful for the sacrifices you make. There will always be skeptics, critics, and most importantly…ones who try and rid of you."
Silver nodded at his wife's explanation, offering Shadow a small smile. "You can only do what you think is right. You already have what it takes. You defend, you bring justice – and you don't kill your enemies. You let them have a chance to live and choose a different path. That's honorable! But, like Blaze said, sometimes people come around to test that."
Shadow stared at them carefully, thudding his fingers on the table softly.
"Bark told me some men just want to burn everything to the ground – for no reason other then the thrill. Is Eclipse that man?"
Blaze shrugged, latching onto Silver's hand. "He is, or he isn't. Point is – we do not stand down and allow him to destroy who and what he pleases. They may turn against us – but we do not have to turn against them."
Shadow clutched the table tightly, nodding as his eyes once again met theirs.
"Then once we receive what Tails can find from this – we will end his path once and for all."
Hedgehog Enterprises, Sunday 4:15 PM
Tails was studying a book closely, his desk in the Enterprises tower situated many stories above the bleak city beneath him.
Tails had joined Sonic when he decided to take over Hedgehog Enterprises. As well as being detectives, Tails served Sonic as he became the city's most powerful business yet again.
Using his scientific expertise, and his general expansive knowledge – Tails had helped Sonic bring this company back in the three years of cleanup.
Footsteps tore Tails from his book, looking up to see Ray, a yellow flying squirrel.
Ray walked in, taking a seat at his desk as he pulled out some files.
Ray was Mighty's adopted brother, who worked as an accountant for Hedgehog Enterprises. A former SWAT agent, he turned away from the life of crime-fighting to pursue a milder, and better paying job.
"Hi, Ray! What can I do for you?"
Ray seemed nervous, shuffling his feet as he locked eyes with Tails.
"Sonic had me run the numbers for the Charical holdings deal again. I…found some irregularities."
Tails nodded. "Well – their CEO is in our custody."
"Not – not their numbers. On your numbers."
Tails tilted his head slightly, as Ray took a deep breath.
"The applied sciences division of Hedgehog Enterprises vanished overnight. I went down to the archives and pulled some old files."
Ray raised an eyebrow, before pulling out the first designs of Shadow's large, tank-like car.
"Did you recognize your baby pancaking cars on the streets? Your baby that Shadow, wanted vigilante, now drives?"
Tails stared at the draft, before turning his gaze back to Ray.
"Now, the entire R&D department is burning through cash – and they're claiming it's related to…sending equipment to the army? I mean – hey! You're sending equipment to an army alright! Just not the military, no. A vigilante army."
Ray shifted again, donning a more confident face.
"I can only guess what you're building for Shadow now. What is it, a rocket ship, maybe? I want – 10 million dollars a year for the rest of my life."
Tails chuckled slightly. Blackmail? Really? Against the friends of his older brother?
This squirrel had sure gotten brave. Tails always knew this city had all the means in the world to corrupt a once standup guy.
The fox leaned over the desk, scowling at Ray.
"Let me get this straight. You think that your client, who is one of the wealthiest, most powerful, and one of the city's heroes – is spending his time letting a vigilante run around and beat criminals to a pulp with his bare hands? Do you even know Sonic? Do you truly think he'd let that happen? And furthermore, knowing how elite he is, your plan is to blackmail him?"
Ray's confidence dipped – his face now impassive.
Tails shrugged, smirking. "Good luck."
Ray bit his lip hard, shaking his head as he placed the drafts on the desk.
"You – keep that."
The squirrel left, as Tails shook his head.
Hedgehog Enterprises Warehouse, Sunday 8:04 PM
Tails had the display in front of him, tapping away as Sonic, Shadow, Rouge, Silver, and Blaze stood around him.
On the computer were the fragments – analyzing them took only a few minutes.
The data was still rolling in, and Tails tapped his foot in anticipation.
The first scan came forward.
"Alrighty, science boy. What's this?" Rouge asked.
"This is the original scan."
"Okay, so what next?" Silver asked.
"Wait for it…"
The computer's image changed – reengineering the scan.
"This is the scan reengineered."
The fragments began to form a bullet, as the bullet on the computer turned – a thumbprint appeared.
"There's the thumbprint he left when he pushed the round through." Shadow said, earning a holler from Sonic.
"Hoo-boy! One step closer!"
Tails smiled, "I'll send over a copy. Then you can examine it."
Sonic turned to the vigilantes, brushing under his nose. "See? You know Tails and I always got your back!"
Rouge chuckled, thudding his shoulder. "Oh, please. You just enjoy the chase, don't cha?"
Tails turned around, tilting his head at Sonic. "Wait – Sonic. Did you reassign R&D?"
Sonic nodded. "I did – equipment for the army. Government contract."
"I…didn't think we had government contracts?"
Sonic chuckled, flickering his gaze at the vigilantes. "Well…we do now."
Shadow seemed to understand Sonic's cryptic words, shooting a glance at the trio behind him.
Tails nodded, "Fair enough…"
"So, Tails. When will the thumbprints analysis be ready?" Blaze asked, cutting the conversation back to the fingerprints.
"Once the copy is sent, you'll be able to begin analysis. I'd say tomorrow morning at the earliest."
"Tomorrow morning is the funeral. Do we have time?" Silver asked.
Tails sighed, brushing his suit jacket down. "You'll have to move quickly. Hopefully, we can save one more elite politician from being gunned down."
Sonic patted Shadow on the shoulder, grinning. "Don't you worry, Tails…"
The hedgehog looked around at the group, before turning his gaze back to Tails.
"We got this."