AN: Hey guys, it's time for another update! Thank you, Tessa the Hedgehog, Aliciathewolf45, Destinyxo, Guest, and Grey-Chan Fallen for your reviews. I love to get feedback and hear speculation about where you guys think the story is going. I hope you enjoy this new chapter!

•~•

The next day, the club headed to the local carnival. It always came around this time of the year and was a big draw for the town. Many people went to enjoy the rides, the food, and the games. Others came to socialize with neighbors, friends, and newcomers. Some simply came to do business—and that was half the reason Mephiles and his crew had turned up. With still no warehouse to hold their merchandise, Mephiles hoped to use the carnival as a disguise to do some incognito business exchanges.

Rouge dragged Knuckles playfully towards an old-fashioned photo booth. The bat was excited as she forcefully dragged him inside the small box, and Knuckles grunted, still slightly sore from his previous injuries. "Aww, Rouge, do we have to?" He groaned in discontent.

"Yes, it'll be fun," she sang. "Besides, I wanna give you a hand job and get a pic," she cooed.

"…Rouge," Knuckles whispered, feeling his cheeks heat up. "Not with kids around!"

"Shh, it'll be quick!" She quickly shut the curtains to give them privacy as they played around with the functions inside.

In the background, Gadget carried a large brown teddy bear Knuckles had won for Rouge. He panted carrying the large stuffed animal.

In the meantime, Mighty and Amy wandered around the carnival together enjoying the sights of the active rides on display and games buzzing with various sounds. "It's been years since I've been to one of these things," Amy noted as she linked arms with the black and red armadillo. "Thanks for inviting me out here with you guys."

"Heck, no problem, Amy. We always make this an annual tradition."

"I can see why," she laughed. "That spinning ride was really fun and the corn on the cob was pretty tasty."

He smiled down at her. "Well, I'm glad you're having a fun time."

"You've been a great host," she smiled sweetly. "And you've been the kindest towards me out of everyone in the group."

"Well, I like everyone to feel included," he smiled while rubbing the back of his neck.

"—Hey, kids. Why don't you stop going all goo-goo for each other and step up and take a shot at me," a voice mocked near them.

The two glanced over and spotted an egg-shaped human male sitting on a plank of a dunk tank, waiting for a customer to attempt dunking him. He was in his mid-50s, dressed in a stereotypical clown outfit, complete with orange wig, white face, round-shaped spectacles, white gloves, a red nose, and a hideous multi-colored polka-dotted outfit.

Amy released her link from Mighty's arm as she watched him roll up one sleeve of his jacket. "Sure, I'll take a crack at it."

"Then maybe you can actually impress your lady friend," he noted passively.

Mighty and the carnie exchanged money and he handed the armadillo three balls to attempt to dunk the fat man for $5. "Dunk the clown and win a prize," the unamused carnie declared while gesturing to an assortment of stuffed animals behind the counter.

"I'm going to win you something, Amy. Just you watch," Mighty avowed.

Amy stifled a giggle at his decrement and stood back to get a good view of his attempt. Mighty tossed one of the baseballs up and down in his hand to get a good feel of the weight.

The clown looked at his wrist, pretending to look at the time. "Any day now, buddy!"

Amy cupped her hands around her mouth. "Go Mighty, you can do it!" She cheered on.

Furrowing his brows, Mighty raised his right arm back with the ball in hand and chucked at the metal target off to the side of the tank. It completely missed going right over the intended target.

"Hah, missed, loser!" The clown spat.

Mighty took the second ball and threw it but this time it grazed the top of the metal circle target but did not have enough force to trigger the dunk machine.

Amy grew anxious as she watched. He only had one ball left now. Would he be able to succeed? "You got this, Mighty!" She encouraged.

Exhaling, Mighty aimed for the target and threw the ball once more and it hit the target in the dead center, but for whatever reason, it did not dunk the clown-like promised. "What the hell?" Mighty swore in confusion and anger. "Is this rigged?"

The carnie stared at the armadillo without empathy. "I'm sorry, sir, you did not hit the target hard enough. You lost the game."

Mighty's fists clenched up at his sides in fury. "That's not fair, I did hit the target. It should have dunked the asshole."

"Nah-nah-nah-nah-nah," the fat clown mocked. "Looks like your biker gang isn't as big and tough as they say."

Mighty tried to lunge for the rude clown, but Amy's grabbed ahold of his arm, stopping him. "Mighty, it's not worth it. It's just a dumb game."

"Hey, girlie, just some advice," the clown continued. "Find a better guy. This one is too weak to knock my fat ass into the sink," he chortled. "And another thing-"

KER-PLUNK!

The two were stunned to watch the large, mocking clown completely immerse himself into the dunk tank. They glanced over to the right and spotted Shadow, who had jumped over the booth while the carnie was not looking and had the side of his fist, still pressed firmly against the metal target. The carnie turned around and glared at the ebony hedgehog. "Sir, I'm going to have to ask you to leave."

Shadow said no words and removed his hand from the target and glared at the carnival worker, baring his canines. The scuzzy human carnie gulped nervously and backed off, allowing Shadow to move past him. Shadow walked over to the dunk tank, where the fat human was in the middle of pulling himself out of the icy water. He reached in and grabbed the clown by the collar, yanking him up to the surface. The obese clown looked terrified as he stared back into his cold, red, eyes. "Don't mock our club or the members of it, or you may find yourself experiencing our brutality firsthand," he threatened quietly before allowing him to fall back under the water.

With that, Shadow began making his way towards the two. "That was wicked back there, Shadow," Mighty cracked with a grin.

Shadow walked past the two with a blank expression. "…I hate clowns," he droned with a sigh. As he walked away, he heard Amy giggling behind him. He craned his neck and watched as the pink hedgehog linked arms with Mighty and the two continued to enjoy their time together at the carnival. In a quick flash, he envisioned himself with a beautiful blonde hedgehog in a blue dress doing the same as Amy and Mighty several years ago at their first carnival date. It was a painful memory, and Shadow closed his eyes and exhaled before turning on his heel and walking off.

Meanwhile, in another part of the carnival, Mephiles and Locke sat at one of the booths near the food vendors with some fries and a beer. The two people-watched, while Mephiles waited to find his prey for an attack. Within twenty minutes, he spotted the people whom he was looking for. "There they are," Mephiles whispered. Grabbing some popcorn at one of the vendors, he spotted two white, upper-class humans, Sam and Veronica Murphy, and their thirteen-year-old daughter, Stacy Murphy. The family was quite wealthy and was known for investing and creating new infrastructure around town. Money was written all over them and he knew they'd be the perfect people to talk to about finding a new home for their weapons business.

"You really think this will work?" Locke questioned with skepticism.

"With some hard persuasion yes," Mephiles confirmed.

As the family walked nearby, Mephiles rose from his seat, dusting himself off. "Sam, good to see you," he announced.

The brown-haired human stopped along with his family next to the table with the motorcycle president. "Oh, nice to see you, too, Mephiles," he said, feigning a polite smile.

"Sam," Locke, waved in the background.

Sam looked around Mephiles spotting the elder echidna. "Oh, and Locke too? What a treat."

Veronica placed a hand on her daughter's shoulder who looked eager to leave the conversation. Mephiles glanced at the young blonde human girl and forced a pleasant smile. "My, my, how you've grown. The last time I saw you, you were only six," he reminisced.

Stacy smiled sheepishly at the Mobian biker, unsure of how to respond. She didn't quite know who he was but could determine that her father and he shared some sort of history together. "Wow, that's a long time. Sorry, I don't remember you much, mister…"

Mephiles laughed. "Don't be apologetic, my dear. I don't doubt you remembering me much."

"Well, it was nice seeing you, two," Veronica interjected, uncomfortably. "Now, if you'll excuse us. We need to get going."

"—But Mom, I wanted to go on the Spinner again," Stacy protested.

"We're out of tickets, dear. You know that," Sam replied.

Mephiles rummaged into his pants pocket and pulled out several tickets. "Will this do? I wasn't planning to use them, but it'll give you a couple more rides. Besides, they kicked me off that ride because I was screaming too loudly."

Stacy accepted the tickets graciously. "Thank you, sir." She rushed off, leaving her parents alone with the dangerous biker Mobian.

"You didn't have to do that, you know," Sam advised.

Mephiles shrugged innocently. "I didn't need them anyway."

"Well, thanks for that," he smiled. "I'm sure I'll see you around?"

"Actually," he segued. "I was hoping to talk to you about a project proposition," the dark hedgehog hinted.

Sam glanced at his wristwatch. "Oh, well, I'd love to talk about it, but perhaps some other time," Sam eluded with a wave.

Seeing they weren't in the mood to talk, Mephiles watched as Sam and his wife Veronica quickly ambled off to avoid any further type of discussion. "Very smooth, Mephiles," Locke chuckled in amusement.

His fist tightened up by his sides but then he relaxed. "We must be patient, remember that old man."

Manic walked up behind Mephiles munching on a large corn dog covered in mustard. He leaned over his shoulder, startling him momentarily. "Whoa, like what's their deal?" he asked, with a mouthful of food.

Mephiles' reptilian eyes turned from looking at Manic by his side to watching the human couple retreating further from his sight. "They probably don't want to be seen kahooting with a bunch of dangerous bikers," he assumed lowly. "No worries though, I'm sure we'll be in touch very soon."

A few moments later, Shadow walked over to the table where Manic, Locke, and his brother were seated. "Hey, I'm rounding up the group. I just got a call that a new shipment is on its way. It'll be at the compound in thirty minutes," he announced.

Mephiles nodded. "Good, let's roll."

•~•

Later that evening, Veronica walked all up and down the carnival bellowing for her daughter. "Stacy!" She called out over the loud carnival music, and chatter amongst the crowds. The place was starting to get packed, with more teenagers and adults. She looked panicked as she continued her search for her missing daughter, growing hopeless.

Still at the carnival, Rouge and Knuckles walked hand in hand together. However, the two stopped in their tracks when the white bat noticed the distraught mother. "Mrs. Murphy, what's going on?"

Veronica looked over at the couple, feeling anxious. "It's my daughter. I've searched everywhere and I can't find her." Her eyes began to water at the worst thoughts.

"I'm sure she's here somewhere," Rouge assured. "Knuckles and I will help you find her."

Sam came running over and looked out of breath. He placed his hands on his bent knees as he caught his breath. "She's not on any of the rides. I've double-checked," he announced.

"Don't worry, sir. We'll find her. She couldn't have gone far," Knuckles pledged.

•~•

Speaking of the young human girl several yards outside of the carnival and behind the trailers where the carnies lived, was Stacy's body. With her panties around her ankles, and her dress practically torn to shreds, the young girl was hidden away behind some tall grass. She winced as she came to, with blood dripping down her forehead.

She was disoriented and had no idea where she was, but her eyes began to flutter open as she came to. "Mom…dad?" she croaked weakly.

•~•

The next day, the boys worked in the mechanic workshop just next to their house. It was a busy day of repairs. There were a couple of cars in for tune-ups, oil replacement, tire alignments, and battery replacements. The place was buzzing with activity. The whirring of drills and clanking of tools could be heard from the large garage.

While Mighty, Manic, Locke, and Knuckles worked diligently on their repair orders, Shadow and Mephiles discussed business outside of the shop. "With the new shipment that came in last night, we're in desperate need of a place to assemble the weapons," Mephiles started. "We only have about 60 hours before our buyer will want the goods."

"There's no chance we could just assemble here?" Shadow suggested.

"Absolutely not," Mephiles shot down. "We'll never make that mistake again. Think of all the others still behind bars because of that shit. We never mix business operations with home."

"Right…" Shadow crossed his arms over his chest. "So, you still don't have your eye set on any other location?

"Not yet…" he sighed.

Just then, a slick black BMW pulled into the compound and honked the horn at the two brothers. Shadow and Mephiles eyed the tinted windows of the vehicle growing curious at their new arrival. "Who's this then?" Shadow whispered as they kept their eyes locked on the vehicle.

The car slowly drove past them. "If I had to guess, I'd say, Sam Murphy," Mephiles surmised. "The expensive car is giving away the hint."

Shadow scoffed. "Just what the hell does he want?"

Mephiles and Shadow approached the car just as it parked in one of the parking spots.

•~•

Inside the mechanic shop, Sam sat down in the waiting room looking exhausted and devastated in appearance. He informed them of the tragic news regarding his young teen daughter. "She's still in shock," he started. "The guy knocked her in the jaw and then threw her down in the dirt and raped her. She just turned thirteen years old," he croaked, trying to hold back tears.

Shadow listened intently feeling empathetic for the guy. "What did the cops say?"

Sam scoffed in frustration. "They took down the report and are still out looking, but that's why I came here." He looked over to Mephiles with desperation and anger in his eyes. "I want you to find this guy and bring him to me first." He clasped his hands together. "I'll pay you anything you want…"

Mephiles eyed his younger brother for a moment, contemplating on how to respond. "What the hell do you think we are here, Sam?"

Sam lowered his clasped hands slowly. "Look, my family has been in Mercia a lot longer than your M.C. I know what type of business you get up to, but I chose to look the other way. I know who you guys really are."

Mephiles knelt down to the father's level. "I don't want your money," he began. "No one comes into town and gets away with doing this to a little girl. We'll find the sick bastard, but when I deliver him to you, I'm going to need to know that justice will be served."

Sam stuck out his left hand for him to shake. "You have yourself a deal." Shadow watched as Sam and his brother shook on the oral contract.

"Alright, so what do we know so far about this bastard?" Mephiles probed.

"My daughter isn't telling anything to the cops. She's saying she can't remember, but all I know is that she told me it was one of the carnies there, but she can't remember which one," he explained.

"How long before Sheriff Silver cracks through and gets the lead over us?" Shadow questioned.

Sam shrugged. "No clue, but it'll be sooner than later. I told her to hold off on giving him too much information because I want to settle this matter personally myself…"

•~•

Once striking up the deal, Mephiles rounded up the boys to inform them of their latest assignment. Some of them were up for retribution, while others were not as bothered. The group sat around in various parts of the mechanic shop as they held the quick meeting.

"All we know is it was one of the carnies and it happened around the time of 5 to 8 PM," Mephiles explained. "Sam wants us to find the prick before the authorities do so he can get a bit of justice in himself."

Manic groaned and put his arms behind the back of his head as he leaned back in his seat. "Man, do we really need to play vigilante here? We've got our own problems to deal with, don't we?"

"The girl was thirteen years old," Mighty stressed. "That's fucked up and you know it. If we let that slide around here, it could become a huge problem. People aren't raped in Mercia."

"Think about if this happened to your own kid," Locke pointed. "You'd be just as angry and want vengeance. We cannot allow this to go without retribution."

"He's right," Shadow concurred. "This town is ours and we have to show punishment to those who disobey. The police believe they run this place, but they're wrong."

Mephiles nodded. "I agree with my brother, but don't think we're doing this as a charitable act," he continued. "I plan to get some type of payment or reward out of this. I don't plan to walk away empty-handed," he smirked cunningly.

Knuckles crossed his arms over his chest. "Just what exactly do you have planned?"

"Let's leave that as a surprise, but no doubt, it'll benefit our club greatly," the president assured.

"Ahem," another voice chimed in. The group of males looked over to the doorway leading to the mechanic shop. Rouge was leaning partly through the door, looking urgent.

"Babe, what's up?" Knuckles questioned.

"I know this is a pretty important meeting I'm interrupting, but we've got the authorities on the premise and they're looking to talk to you."

"Shit," Mephiles cursed. "Perfect timing…"

•~•

The group of bikers dressed in their blue, mechanic jumpers, approached the group of cops in wait for them outside. Spotting the policemen, the group walked over to greet them. "What brings you to our compound, officer?" Mephiles greeted loudly.

The white hedgehog lifted up his aviators as he stared him down. "We're investigating a sexual assault case," Silver announced. "I have witnesses that claim you all were at the carnival yesterday and since I know some of you have major criminal records, I felt it'd be best if I'd start my investigation here."

"Really?" Manic announced in feigned shock.

"Yes, and I need to talk to all of your guys that were present at the carnival. Now, if they're not here, get them here now," he ordered sternly.

"Shouldn't Vector and Espio be here to take our accounts," Shadow questioned skeptically. "They're the department's leading detectives after all."

Silver glanced over to the dark hedgehog and marched towards him slowly. "I took on this case last night, therefore I'll be the one handling it. Is that a problem, Shadow?" Shadow did not reply and merely shook his head.

Mephiles eyed the police officer in amusement. "You really think one of us was responsible? We're not rapists," he declared adamantly.

Silver shrugged. "A lot of you have violent crimes on your rap sheet. I'm just following logic."

"Last week some officers were caught in a prostitution ring. Maybe we, like, should question you, man," Manic shot back dauntingly, getting up in his face.

Silver did not even flinch at the cigarette and weed smelling hedgehog's attempt at intimidation. "Excuse me?" Silver glared, with insult.

Mephiles bashed the top of Manic's head, causing him to cry out.

Manic cradled the top of his throbbing head and crumbled to his knees. "Ouch, man!"

"Don't mind him," Mephiles defended. "You were saying, officer?"

"My two officers, Larry and Frank, will be taking your statements and it could take hours," he forewarned. The two other hedgehogs in the back gave a curt nod in their direction.

"About that, sir, we're trying to run a business here. It's pretty busy today," Mephiles argued politely. "We'll get backed up on our repairs if we don't continue."

Silver had no sympathy for their business and continued to be stern. "We can take the statement here, the station, or wherever you want to do it," Silver suggested.

Seeing he was not going to be able to persuade him otherwise, he gave up. "Fine, we'll do it here," Mephiles groaned in defeat.

The other two officers led the group of bikers back towards the mechanic shop. Turning on his heel to leave, Silver stopped when he spotted an unfamiliar face. Taking out a box of recycling, was a young pink, female hedgehog. She was making her way down the steps of the house when he approached her.

"Excuse me, miss!" He called out.

Amy halted in her tracks as she spotted the officer jogging over to greet her. "Um, yes?" She asked nervously.

"I don't recall reading up on any other female other than Rouge the Bat living here. What's your name?"

She lowered the box full of recyclables onto the ground and dusted her hands off. "My name is Amy Rose," she introduced and extended her hand out for him to shake. "I only moved in a few days ago."

"Moved in?" he repeated, shaking her hand and eying her up and down. "Well, Ms. Rose, it's nice to meet you. I'm the new deputy, Silver. I'm also new to the area."

She smiled kindly and released her hold of his hand. "Nice to meet you, but how can I help you today, sir?"

He placed his hands in his pants pockets and leaned back on his left heel. "For starters, what tempted someone of your standard to live with a bunch of rough and dangerous bikers? You don't look like the type to associate themselves with a group like this."

Amy looked surprised by the forward questioning. Was it that obvious that she looked out of place? "Oh, um, I don't know exactly what you're insinuating, sir. They've been nothing but lovely to me."

He scoffed slightly. Of course, some of them would treat her nicely, she was absolutely gorgeous and had a light sunshiny feel to her. She looked like the perfect girl a guy in this M.C would love to corrupt. She was like a challenge one would want to succeed. "I'm sure they are…What is it exactly that you do, anyway?"

"I'm a practicing nurse," she replied.

He raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Really? Do you work at any of the local hospitals?"

She shook her head. "Not yet, I'm working on putting in applications," she lied smoothly. She did not want Silver to know she already had an established job as a nurse for the club. That would just lead to more questions.

"Let me give you a word of advice, Ms. Rose." Amy's ears lowered as he leaned his head near her right ear. "Get the hell out of here as soon as you can. You do not want to associate yourself with these guys. They're incredibly dangerous and you don't want to be dragged down with them," he warned quietly.

She shot him a sheepishly uncomfortable grin as he pulled his head back. "Oh, thank you for warning me, officer, I appreciate it. As soon as I can gain my footing, I'll be gone in a flash," she lied again with a smile.

He reached into the pocket on the front of his shirt and whipped out a business card. "If you need any help with getting an in at the hospitals, just call me. I can always help you out."

Amy accepted the business card and looked down at it, seeing his info printed on the card. "Well, thank you again," she smiled awkwardly.

"Stay safe, Ms. Rose," he waved and walked off.

Amy watched his retreating figure before he got into his car and drove off. Amy slipped the card into her pants pocket and exhaled a sigh of relief.

"Great job back there, you held your own wonderfully," a voice said from behind her.

Amy gasped and spun around only to spot Rouge with her hand on her left hip. "Rouge," she placed a hand on her chest. "You scared me…"

She twitched her large bat ears. "Sorry, I couldn't help but eavesdrop. I was going to step in to help you out, but my ears overheard the whole thing. You handled the situation very well," she commended.

"Thanks," she smiled. "But I didn't expect him to interrogate me like that on the spot."

"He's not on our side. Knuckles told me we'll have to watch our backs as long as he's around."

Amy bent down to pick up the box of recyclables again. "Why was he here in the first place?"

"There was a rape on a minor that occurred last night at the carnival. He thinks one of our own had something to do with it."

Amy gasped at the disturbing news. "Oh, my goodness, that's terrible. None of the boys are guilty of it…are they?"

"—If you have to ask, why the hell would you be living with us?" another voice piped in passively. It was Shadow and he sauntered past Amy with a grimace.

Amy opened her mouth to counter him but came up short. Rouge placed a hand on Amy's shoulder. "Ignore that dickhead. To answer your question, it wasn't any of ours, but we're looking to figure out who did."

•~•

Later that day, at the hospital, Silver continued to get information on his case. He stood outside Stacy's hospital room with both Veronica and Sam as they retold their side of the story. "We went to get ice cream and we told her to meet us there. She never showed up."

"Right," Silver nodded. "Based on my information, the guy who was operating the ride said that he saw your daughter head for the pop-up arcade. Is there any reason why she'd go there? Perhaps to meet someone?" he questioned.

Mrs. Murphy shook her head, on the verge of tears again. "Please, we don't know anything else!" With that said, she stormed back into her daughter's room.

Silver patted Sam's shoulder reassuringly. "I'm going to find this guy, I promise."

Sam moved his hand to the side, not as certain on his promise. "You better…"

•~•

Back at the compound, Mephiles, Shadow, and Manic stood in one of the garages continuing to work on different cars and bikes, while Silver's two officers sat on the hood of their police cars and drank coffee. They had already interviewed three of them but were now stalling to complete the rest of the interviews.

Gadget walked past carrying two toolboxes in hand. "Hey, Rookie," he flagged down.

The young red wolf sauntered over to the president. "Yes sir?"

"Run some reports on those carnies and see if anything comes up. Any type of arrests or complaints," he ordered.

"Right away, sir," Gadget saluted before running off to complete the errand.

Under a popped hood, Shadow cranked a bolt as he kept his eagle eyes on the two cops. "I can't believe these assholes are taking another coffee break. They're taking forever to interview all of us. Just how are we supposed to do our own investigation?"

"Ey, guys, I've got it handled," Manic announced quietly to the group with a triumphant smirk. In his hand was a fresh coffee pot full of steaming brewed coffee. "Two double tranquilizer coffees, coming up!" he snickered lowly.

"Yo, I've got fresh coffee, boys!" Manic announced as he sauntered out with the coffee pot.

The two officers perked up at the sight of fresh coffee and held their paper cups out. "I appreciate it, bud," one of them proclaimed.

Manic topped off both of their cups, smiling as he poured. "Careful now, it's hot."

Shadow and Mephiles watched from the garage as the two of them took a few sips. Feeling that the side effects would come on soon, Mephiles ambled over casually. "So, any chance that I'm going to do my interview soon?"

Before either could answer, the two officers wobbled on their feet before collapsing. Manic was quick to catch one, while Mephiles caught the other. "Finally!" Mephiles exclaimed. "Shadow, help us get them inside. We'll have the girls deal with them while we go on the hunt."

•~•

Inside the house, Amy was in her office working on schoolwork when both Shadow and Mephiles barged in carrying the two unconscious officers. Hearing the door slam open, she jumped when she watched them plop one down on the examination table and seated the other in a waiting chair against the wall. Amy looked surprised by the sudden arrival. "Um, what's going on here?" she questioned, rising from her seat.

"Don't worry about it, Ms. Rose, just watch the officers for us, will you? Make sure they don't have any allergic reactions to those tranquilizers we put in their coffee," Mephiles quickly explained as he exited the room.

"Tranquillizers?" Amy repeated in astonishment. "How much did you administer to them?"

"Not sure," Shadow answered with an indifferent shrug. "Manic is the one that gave it to them."

He began to walk out, but Amy grabbed Shadow by the arm. "Wait a second, for all I know he could have overdosed them. I need to know how much they were given and what type!"

Shadow shooed away her hand grasping his mechanic sleeve and shot her a glare. "That's not my job, princess. I'm not your errand boy. You can figure it out yourself by asking the pothead."

Amy stared at his retreating figure in utter disgust. He was beyond rude to her for no reason. "Asshole…"

•~•

After discarding the officer's unconscious bodies with their fellow nurse, Shadow, Locke, Mephiles, Knuckles, and Mighty headed for the carnival to pick up more clues on who was responsible for the rape. The gang of bikers hustled into the closed carnival and headed for the trailers out back where they'd find the carnies that operated the event.

A small bald-headed human male in a green shirt and matching pants approached the group of bikers as they neared their mobile homes. "Can I help you, gentlemen?"

Shadow whipped out a current photo of Stacy and held it out for the human male to see along with his employees lingering in the background. "Any of you see this girl last night?"

A few them took a glance at the photo and scoffed, staying quiet for the most part.

The human leader crossed his arms over his chest and sighed. "I already talked to the police and gave them my account along with several others. We don't have to talk to you."

Knuckles stomped over and grabbed the human by the collar and lifted him up with ease. "Oh yeah? What's your name, little fella?" The other group of male carnies looked on before acting.

The bald human's eyes bugged out at his strength. "It's S-Snively…" he stammered.

Snively's boys began to slowly encroach towards the bikers, showing off their knives or side pieces they whipped out from behind their backs. Mephiles, Shadow, Locke, Manic, and Mighty flashed their own weapons, holstered to their hips, of assorted handguns.

"If that's how you wish to play, so be it," Mephiles challenged calmly.

Snively held out a hand to excuse his men's intentions. The group of humans stopped and refrained from taking action. Knuckles lowered the small human back to his feet and shoved him back, causing him to stumble. "Well, Snively, you're going to tell us exactly what you told Officer Friendly, or we're going to have to handle this our way. So how about you make it easier on yourself…"

"Why do you think it was us?" he questioned.

"Because that type of shit doesn't happen around here, which clearly points to an outsider," Knuckles scoffed.

Mighty placed his hands on his hips as he took a good look at the out of shape, and rather scummy looking carnie humans. "And you guys sure do fit the description…"

Snively huffed under his breath. "Fine, I'll tell you what I told the cop. All my guys were here chaining up rides or powering them down. A few of my guys saw her at their rides or booths, but none of them had any type of further interacting with the girl."

"Mind if we have a look around?" Locke inquired.

"Do whatever you have to. You won't find anything," Snively shrugged.

•~•

Back at home, after tending to the unconscious officers, Amy left her office. Feeling her pocket vibrate, she whipped out her phone to look at the caller I.D. The phone number didn't look familiar as she scrunched her face in confusion, but regardless, she answered it hesitantly. "…Hello?"

"I'm not sick or anything, but boy is it hard to get ahold of a good nurse," an oh-too familiar male voice said on the other end.

Feeling her stomach drop at the sound of the voice, Amy did not reply and immediately hung up the phone and clutched it to her chest. It was like hearing a ghost of her past.

"—You okay?" a voice asked her from behind.

Amy spun around only to see both Shadow and Mighty standing directly behind her, having seen her entire reaction play out. Composing herself, Amy feigned a smile and waved it off. "Oh, yeah, absolutely. I hate telemarketers," she dismissed coolly.

Mighty tilted his head but shrugged eventually, accepting the answer before walking off. However, Shadow stared at Amy for a long moment before shoving his hands in his pockets and sauntering away. Amy felt unnerved by his longing judgmental stare. Perhaps he didn't believe her lie as well as Mighty did. "So, uh, how long have you guys been back?" she transitioned before following after them down the hall.

"Just a few minutes," Mighty answered.

"Did you find out who is responsible?" she questioned.

"Nope. Hit a dead end. We've got nothin'," Mighty exhaled.

"Ah, there you are," Gadget smiled. He joined the group carrying a few printed out papers. "I did those reports you asked for. Here's what I found." He handed the papers over to Mephiles.

Mephiles allowed his eyes to scan the report and spotted the words "molestation" under the mugshot of one of the carnies working the carnival. "Well, I'll be damned…"

Shadow looked intrigued to find out what he had read. "Who is it?"

He held up the report showing the picture of the carnie. "Some Egg-shaped human, with a handle-bar mustache. Ring any bells?" Shadow, Amy, and Mighty all exchanged looks as realization sunk in.

•~•

Later that night at the carnival, the carnies were just finishing closing down the rides when they heard the revs of motorcycles roaring up in the distance. Snively squinted as he saw the Brothers of Chaos entering their area on their bikes. "What in the hell?"

Mephiles and his squad of members parked their bikes before dismounting them and making a beeline straight for Snively and his crew.

The small, bald-headed human marched towards Mephiles defiantly as the leader stormed towards him with his gang behind him. "What in the hell are you doing back here again?"

"Turns out you lied straight to our faces earlier today," Mephiles announced.

Snively blinked in befuddlement, as the rest of the human carnies came up from behind him ready to defend their boss. "I don't understand, what are you talking about? We didn't lie!"

Shadow crossed his arms over his chest as she stood by his brother's side. "Then why are you hiding a fugitive?"

"Who?" Snively questioned, still acting confused.

"The egg-shaped man," Mighty clarified.

Snively's face turned white. "…I-Ivo?" he stammered.

Mephiles' eyes glinted. "Ah, so the perverse human has a name, yes?"

"He's under our protection. You can't touch him!" Snively's men formed a tight line behind Snively and were ready to fight to protect one of their own.

"We can do whatever the hell we want." Mephiles reared his right hand back before striking a blow to Snively's face. The small man flew backward from the powerful strike. Within seconds, Mephiles' crew burst into action fighting the carnival workers. The group tackled one another, throwing powerful punches, kicks, and blows. It was like a riot as the group used their own hands to strike pain and punishment to the sleazy carnie workers.

After a couple of minutes of the brawl, Mephiles gave one last kick to Snively's side before dusting off his bloodied hands. He placed his fingers to his mouth and gave off a sharp whistle, drawing in Mighty and Manic's attention. "You two find the rapist!" he ordered.

Mighty dropped the unconscious worker he had been fighting before running off with Manic. In the meantime, Mephiles looked over to both Knuckles, Locke, and Shadow who were still busy getting in the last licks of their fight. Shadow straddled a larger human and repeatedly punch the man in the face, spilling blood left and right. Knuckles in the meantime threw his human carnie onto the hood of a truck, making its alarm go off.

"We got him!" Mighty shouted. Seeing they had completed their mission, Mephiles rushed over and pried his brother off of his victim. "Come, let's go, brother. We're done here."

•~•

About twenty minutes later, Silver arrived back to the carnival but was startled to find their camp in ruins, and most of the workers injured. It looked like they had just been in a recent throw down. Walking amongst the group, Silver approached Snively who held an icepack to his bruised left eye. "What happened here?"

Snively gulped nervously. "Nothing officer…"

Silver looked back to the two new officers he had with him. He lifted up a piece of paper with a sketch drawn of Ivo Robotnik, the man who had raped the girl. He had finally managed to get Stacy to remember her assailant and was ready to make an arrest. "Find this man," he ordered to the two officers. The other policemen walked in different directions through the camp to find their suspect.

In the meantime, Silver whipped out his radio and radioed into the two officers he stationed at the mechanic shop. "Come in officers. I repeat, come in over."

After a few moments, static came in over his end. "This is Officer Frank, over."

"Are the brothers still stationed at the shop, over?" Silver questioned.

There was a long pause before hearing a response. "Uhh, about that... We kind of lost track of them, sir, over."

Silver's eyes widened. "What the hell do you mean you lost sight of them? You've been watching them all day along with interviewing, over!?"

"We lost track of time, sir. Both of us just woke up from a pretty heavy nap, over."

Silver lowered his walkie away from his mouth, getting a sinking feeling that they were already two steps ahead of him. "God damn it," he mumbled. It was all making sense now. It was clear the club was trying to take justice into their own hands.

•~•

Meanwhile, several miles away in a secluded area outdoors, Mephiles and his gang held Ivo Robotnik bound, gagged, and ready for delivery as promised to Mr. Murphy. A slick black car drove down the isolated road and came to a stop. The door opened and Sam strolled towards the group of bikers, looking on at his daughter's attacker in disbelief. This was the person who had ruined his daughter's life.

Mighty and Manic kept Ivo restrained as they held him in place on his knees. The fat man was bound and gagged as he watched the father stand before him with glaring vexation.

"As promised—one rapist," Mephiles announced.

Sam glared at the pathetic fat man. "So, you're the one who did this to my daughter, huh?"

Ivo shook his head back and forth frantically, desperate to defend himself. He mumbled through the gag, trying to communicate with the father to no avail.

"Do you want to hear anything from the sick bastard," Shadow questioned, gesturing to Ivo's gag.

"No," he replied. "I just want to hurt him, real bad."

"I have any idea on that," Mephiles piped in. Everyone watched as Mephiles rummaged into his jacket pocket with his gloved hands and whipped out a pocketknife. "I think we need to make sure the fat bastard doesn't do this to any other poor girl," he suggested sinisterly.

Sam took the knife from his hand and eyed the sharp blade in thought. In the meantime, Ivo began to thrash in the two's grasp, even more, realizing where this was heading. He moaned and mumbled a "No" through his gag, but everyone continued to ignore his cries. Somehow, he managed to get the gag out of his mouth. "Please, please I-I didn't do it. I swear!"

Sam the blade and he looked down at the weapon in his hand. "Do it, Sam," the president goaded. "Go on, give him what he deserves."

Mighty and Manic tightened their grip on the heavy-set human as he thrashed about. "Oh, Chaos no, please!" he bellowed.

Sam held out the weapon and began to shake. Could he really go through with this? Ivo sobbed profusely as he stared at the weapon. Finally caving in, Sam dropped the knife and stormed off. "I can't do it!"

Mephiles watched the father walk back towards his vehicle. "What do you want us to do with him?"

Sam opened up his car door. "Just rough him up and bit and then send him the authorities' way. He deserves to rot in jail for the rest of his life." With that said, he got inside his car, closed the door, and drove off.

Once his car was out of sight, Mephiles walked over and picked up the discarded blade left in the dirt. He made sure to pick up with his gloved hands. He then eyed Ivo sinisterly. Shadow raised a brow curiously. "What are you doing, brother?"

"Making sure we have proper insurance. Now, hold the bastard still. Once I'm done with him, we'll bury him in an unmarked grave. Time for a little snip-snip."

"That's wicked gnarly, man," Manic noted with a shudder.

Mighty, on the other hand, looked quite repulsed. "Vile…"

Grimacing at the thought, Shadow walked over and undid the man's pants and let them drop to his ankles. Ivo squirmed as Mephiles went in with the blade to inflict major harm to the perverted human.

•~•

Later that night, in Tech City, a handsome blue hedgehog in his late 20s, wearing business attire, sat in an office looking at a manila folder full of paperwork. He held it like a book flipping through page by page until he stopped on a photo of the subject. It was a picture of Amy Rose. The file was full of any type of paid bills, rent, change of address, phone calls, and records and such from the past eight months. A knock on his door drove his attention away from studying the file cautiously. He closed it quickly before any other eyes could look at it.

A young fox in his early twenties opened the door. "Here's all that stuff you requested on the city Mercia, Agent Zonic," he smiled while handing over one manila colored file. Zonic opened the new one and flipped through it. "What'd you find out, Miles?"

"The only thing that came up as flagged was some sort of motorcycle club with a criminal record called Brothers of Chaos. There have been no charges for five years; however, past offenses have been smuggling and gun dealing."

Zonic nodded politely as he absorbed the knowledge. "Thanks, Miles."

"Of course, sir," he nodded back before departing from the room. Once he was gone, Zonic began to flip through the folder. He looked at a few criminal records of the M.C. The first one he spotted was of someone by the name of Mephiles. He looked at the creepy older hedgehog in a mugshot and scoffed and continued to go through the files. Next, he came across Shadow the Hedgehog's mugshot. He was related to his older brother Mephiles. He continued to read up on Mighty Armadillo, Knuckles Echidna, and Manic Hedgehog. All of them had spent some time away in either jail or prison for various charges. Zonic looked over at Amy's open file and spotted the last time a phone tap had occurred which was earlier this morning located in Mercia, Mobius. It was only a brief twenty-second call, but it was long enough to locate her whereabouts.

Zonic closed the file and opened up the first folder of Amy Rose and stared at her picture longingly before reaching for the call button on his phone. He pressed down on it and it buzzed. Eventually, Miles' voice came over the system. "What do you need, sir?"

"Get me a train ticket to Mercia for tomorrow morning," he ordered.

"Right away, sir."