AN: Hello everyone! I'm back once again with another chapter. I want to thank the past reviewers on my last chapter, Soni rose Amelia the hedgehog, aliciatheowolf45, Rebecca, CrimsonLove16, Pirilaxa, and Tessa the hedgehog! I appreciate the reviews. I hope you all enjoy another installment of the story.
•~•
The next morning, Rouge, Amy, and the rest of the group worked diligently on setting up the booths, tents, tables, and stage for the big charity event. Shadow, Knuckles, Locke, Mighty, and Gadget worked on setting up the stage, while Amy, Manic, and Mephiles worked on setting up the tents. Other parent volunteers from the school meandered around, helping set up other booths or carry in food and other assortments. On the temporary stage, Shadow's group diligently worked away at hammering in the joints to the stage to make sure it was stable for tonight's big concert.
Rouge, in the meantime, stood with her checkboard in hand, checking off her lists of to-dos' as she observed the work performed around her. Her aqua eyes watched carefully as Amy and Mephiles worked on putting the poles into the ground for their third tent. "Yeah, that should do it, right there," she pointed.
Coming up from behind her, a beautiful black and white female skunk wearing jean shorts, and a pink and white plaid crop top approached her. The mysterious girl looked no older than twenty-eight but seemed a little apprehensive as she stood behind the bat. "…Hey, Rouge?"
The matriarch white bat turned around and eyed the girl standing before her. "Chloe?" Rouge beamed and outstretched her arms. "Nice to see you around again!" The two girls embraced, and Chloe smiled awkwardly. It had been some time since she had interacted with the bat.
"Likewise," she nodded.
The two parted from their hug and stared at each other. "So, is your son coming to the big charity event tonight?" the bat inquired.
"Of course," Chloe smiled. "Sebastian loves his school. He has a lot of school spirit, which is actually why I wanted to talk to you," she segued.
Rouge blinked on curiously. "Oh? Well, what about?"
"Sebastian really wants his dad to come and spend the evening with us at the concert and, well, look, you and I know what went down with my ex-husband, but Sebastian doesn't. Is there any way he can come here tonight?"
Rouge frowned hearing the predicament. "Shit, Chloe…I-I don't know. I don't think Mephiles would really-"
The skunk clasped her hands together and shot her a look of desperation. "—Please Rouge," she begged. "Sebastian doesn't know, and it breaks his heart that his dad can't come to anything in Mercia. No sports games, no school stuff, you know?"
She waved her hands in front of her. "—Alright, alright," Rouge cut off getting the point. Chloe had managed to pull at her heartstrings a bit. "I'll bring it up to Mephiles and the others, but I'm telling you right now. I can't promise anything," she made explicit.
Chloe smiled optimistically. "Thank you, Rouge. I appreciate it." With that said, Rouge watched as Chloe sauntered off to continue helping set up for tonight. Sighing, Rouge wandered back over to Mephiles' group as they finished putting the tarp on the tent poles.
Mephiles eyed the bat approaching him. "Everything going well for your fundraiser?"
"Of course," she answered confidently. "Mind if I have a private word with you?"
Mephiles eyed Amy and Manic who were just finishing. "You two, take five."
Amy and Manic nodded and walked off to allow the two some privacy. Once they were out of earshot, Rouge turned to face the president. "I was just talking to Chloe St. Croix and I was wondering what you'd think about letting Jeffery come to our event tonight?"
The dark hedgehog reached for a water bottle on the ground. "I'll think about it," Mephiles replied monotonously. "If you recall, Mighty went to jail because of that traitor. There's a reason he's excommunicated."
She groaned in frustration. Just by his tone, she could already tell that his 'I'll think about it' was just his bullshit answer for 'no.' "Chaos, this is not for Jeffrey, it's for his son, Sebastian," she pointed. Chloe stayed in Mercia after you stripped his patch, and she even divorced him," she reminded.
He finished taking a swig of the cold liquid. "She divorced him because he was fucking everything left, right, and center with a heartbeat." He wiped his mouth with the back of his arm. "The guy is a scumbag. The answer is no."
She placed a hand on his arm and batted her eyes at him. "Please, Mephiles. Just think about it for real."
He groaned in thought. "Fine, I'll put it up for a vote, but it's not going to pass," he shrugged.
She smiled triumphantly and blew him a kiss and sauntered off. "Thanks, Mephy!"
"Do not call me that," he growled lowly under his breath at her retreating figure.
•~•
After finishing work for the event, Shadow made a quick pit stop at the local gas station. He walked out with a new pack of cigarettes and walked around the corner to his parked bike but was startled to see an unannounced stranger eying his choice of vehicle. It was some male blue hedgehog, wearing a red leather jacket, and matching red leather pants. He was holding his own sophisticated helmet in his left arm with his back towards him. Shadow approached the spectator and cleared his throat behind him. "Can I help you?"
Zonic spun around to face Shadow and spotted him with a lit cigarette between his lips. "Oh, sorry man, I was just eying your bike," he gestured with a hand wave. "She's gorgeous," he complimented. "I especially like the rim modifications."
Shadow smirked, pleased by the compliment, and not aware of his true identity. "Thanks," he replied. "I did them myself," he gestured.
"How old is this girl?" Zonic continued, trying to keep up the conversation.
"Not too old, she's about two years," he replied before walking over and straddling his bike.
Zonic smiled at him before eying the motorcycle one last time. "Boy, what I'd give to ride one of those. Nice talkin' to you." He turned on his heel and walked off back towards his own Yamaha YZF-R1.
"Yeah…you too." Shadow watched the unnamed stranger mount his very own bike and take off out of the parking lot of the gas station. Shadow finished one last puff of his cigarette before extinguishing it on the blacktop. There was something oddly unsettling with his encounter with the blue hedgehog, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it.
•~•
Later that day back at the clubhouse, Mephiles held a meeting in order to get a vote on their St. Croix business. The group would decide whether or not they would allow ex-member Jeffrey St. Croix to spend time with his family at the fundraising event. Mephiles sat at the head seat, while the rest of the members sat on either side of the table.
"Alright," Mephiles began. "Rouge asked me earlier if there was any chance St. Croix could come to the big fundraiser event. What are your thoughts, gentlemen?" The group members began to make audible sounds at the idea. Scoffs and groans could be heard from either side of the table.
Knuckles shook his head. "Are you kidding me?"
"Absolutely not," Locke gawked.
"Isn't this already a done decision?" Shadow piped in, looking peeved at just the idea.
"Yo, the guys a scumbag," Manic added with a head shake.
Mephiles sighed deeply. "I know, I know, but I told Rouge I'd bring it up at today's meeting. However, his ex-old lady did take a big hit. She remained behind in Mercia, and still supports our club. According to Rouge, this is for her kid, not for that jackass."
Everyone eyed each other around the table waiting for someone to respond. Eventually, all eyes landed on Mighty who had been the least outspoken amongst the group. Mighty leaned forward in his seat to share his piece. "Let him come," he addressed calmly.
Manic shot a look of disbelief at his best friend beside him. "You serious, M?"
Mephiles wagged a finger in his direction. "This can't be about revenge," he reminded.
Mighty shook his head, disarming any concern for that. He put his hand up innocently. "It's not about that. The guy's got nothing right? No club, no girl, no friends, no real family. What's it gonna hurt?" he challenged. "It'll do some good for me to see that so I can appreciate what I have," he smiled.
"Anyone else disagree?" Mephiles questioned looking around a rather quiet room. Most people remained expressionless with not much to say.
"Yeah, me," Shadow admitted raising an arm. "I don't agree with this."
Mephiles looked around the quiet room once more before caving into their decision. With no more opposition, it was looking like Jeffrey would be able to attend. "Majority rules," he sighed. "The scumbag's allowed to show up." With that said, Mephiles banged his gavel on the table declaring it official. "Meeting adjourned."
Everyone rose from their seats and began to wander out of the room one by one. Mephiles walked by Manic and stopped him momentarily. "Manic, I want you to keep a sharp eye out for Jeffrey tomorrow. Keep him away from Mighty," he commanded quietly.
The pierced green hedgehog nodded. "Got it, boss man."
•~•
Later that afternoon, the festivities were in full effect. Parents and children walked around the school's open field that provided plenty of rooms for the booths and small tents. Rouge and another parent worked at the raffle booth, collecting money and dishing out raffle tickets. So far, things were going pretty smoothly. Families seemed to be enjoying picnicking with each other out on the fields, playing simple carnival games and spending time together. In the parking lot, a dashing looking male skunk pulled up on his motorcycle with a female companion on the back. The skunk parked his bike and took off his helmet along with the female straddling behind him.
"Dad?" a voice said from nearby.
Jeffrey craned his neck only to spot his young son, Sebastian along with her ex-wife, Chloe staggering behind. "Hey kid," he grinned.
Chloe did not look pleased when she saw that Jeffrey was not alone. He had brought along his newest conquest, a young eighteen-year-old pink bunny with blonde hair. Just by looking at her appearance of high waisted jean shorts, and a high white crop top, she could only imagine what Jeffrey found interesting about the girl.
Jeffrey dismounted his bike and embraced his son, who was excited to see him. He patted him on the head. "How are you doing, kid? Keeping up your grades?"
"Yeah, mom helps me get my homework done. I'm about to make the honor roll!"
Jeffrey looked rather impressed by the good news and shot his ex-wife a smile. "Wow, keep it up, mom."
Sebastian looked over to the strange female bunny. He had never seen her before. "Dad, who is she?" he questioned curiously.
"Oh, her?" he gestured to the pink bunny waving in the background. She walked over and he slung an arm around her waist. "This is Hilda, my new friend," he introduced.
Chloe crossed her arms over her chest, not approving of his lie. He knew damn well Hilda was not just some 'friend.' Hilda on the other hand, played along with his lie. She outstretched her hand to Sebastian. "Hi, Sebastian. Your dad tells me all about you."
Sebastian shook her hand. "Nice to meet you, Ms. Hilda," he greeted.
Not being able to watch this charade any further, Chloe stormed over and grabbed Jeffrey by the arm, and moved him a few feet away to talk. "I can't believe you brought her," she whispered harshly. "I only did this so Sebastian could spend time with you," she said pointing a rough finger into his chest.
Jeffrey pried his arm out of his grasp. "Whoa, sweet cheeks, she's not going to kill the mood. I still plan to hang out with my little man today."
Chloe scoffed. "You just don't get it. This was a huge mistake…" Jeffrey watched as she walked back over and grabbed Sebastian's hand and led him off towards the entrance of the school. Sebastian looked baffled by the strange gesture and looked back at his father as he was led off. Jeffrey and Chloe watched as the two walked ahead by their parked bike.
Hilda looked over to her boyfriend. "What's her problem?" she whispered.
He gave her a pat on the bum. "She's just jealous baby, don't worry about her," Jeffrey advised.
Unbeknownst to them, most of Jeffrey's ex-crew just so happened to watch the display go down in the parking lot. They hadn't been able to hear much of the conversation, or read lips, but they were able to figure out what had gone done. Shadow and Knuckles shook their heads as they remained in their booth flipping hamburgers at the grill. They had a perfect view of the parking lot from their vantage. The echidna finished making one burger and wrapped it up in aluminum foil. "What an idiot," Knuckles groaned. "He thought it'd be smart to bring his new girl here? That wasn't a part of the deal."
The dark hedgehog finished flipping another burger on the grill. "Mephiles won't be happy to see it either," Shadow added.
Another person who had witnessed the scene was Manic himself. Standing behind one of the school buildings to take a quick smoke break. Manic extinguished his cigarette and approached the skunk with his new girl. Jeffrey spotted the lime green hedgehog making his way over and signaled his girl to give him a moment. "Hey, go on ahead and I'll catch up," he nudged.
Hilda nodded and gave him a quick peck on the lips. "Alright..."
Once she had walked off, the two males stopped in front of each other, staring at each other like an old western standoff. "Manic," Jeffrey acknowledged. "I wasn't planning on saying anything. I was just going to keep my mouth shut."
"Yeah? That's a good thing, but I'm tellin' yah right now," he stated sternly. "Stay the hell away from us."
Jeffrey watched as Manic began to turn away but then called after him. "Wait, Manic."
Manic turned to look at him. "I wanted to help the club out, I have another route for money that I think the club would like to hear," he alluded.
Grabbing him by the collar, Manic swiftly slammed Jeffrey up against the walls of the building, secluding them away from prying parents or children. "Is that why you're really here? To buy back your way into the club?"
He put up his hands showing no harm. "No, I want to share this info with you guys," he promised. "Honest."
Manic released his tight hold on him and backed up, not believing him. "Stay out of my sight," Manic warned.
•~•
Over at the raffle booth, Rouge was busy collecting raffle tickets from oncoming customers. Heading over towards her on his break, Shadow walked behind the booth to speak with her for a moment. Rouge caught sight of Shadow hovering in the background and allowed her assistant parent to take over her duty. "Just give me a minute," she gestured before moving away to have a private conversation. Once facing the ebony hedgehog in the corner of the booth, she smiled up at him. "How's it going?"
Shadow shoved his hands into his pockets coolly. "So far so good."
Rouge looked over her shoulder and spotted Jeffrey in the middle of a competitive egg toss along with other dads and their children. She smiled at the sight and turned to face him. "Thanks again for voting to allow him to attend. I know it'll mean a lot to Chloe and Sebastian."
"I'm not the right person to thank," he noted making Rouge shoot him a funny look.
She placed her hands on her hips. "What do you mean?"
"I was the only one who opposed the vote," he explained. "Also, I don't think Chloe's going to appreciate this as much as you think. The douche brought his latest whore with him," he gestured discreetly with a thumb wave.
Rouge looked in the direction where he gestured, and spotted the pretty female bunny, cheering on Jeffrey in the background. "Oh, chaos…are you kidding me? Is someone looking after Mighty in all this?"
"Yeah, Manic's got that under control," he replied. "Speaking of which, let me get an update. Excuse me." Rouge nodded and watched him leave before heading back to her job. Shadow walked back towards the front of the school, but to his far left, spotted Amy walking in the opposite direction. He stopped momentarily to stare at her to see what she was up to.
Oblivious to Shadow's prying eyes, Amy wandered through the festival on her own break. She walked past booths smiling at the happy children whizzing past her. She inhaled the delicious mix of fried foods such as hamburgers, hotdogs, chili, and popcorn, but suddenly stopped when she caught sight of something. Her smile dropped and her eyes focused on someone several yards ahead of her. Shadow followed her line of sight and determined she was staring at the Mercia Police Department booth who were handing out beers and cooking chili. He watched in intrigue as Amy awkwardly backed up before turning around and keeping her head low as she retreated back in his direction.
Puzzled by her reaction, he looked back at the booth she had been staring at to determine what had seemed to spook her. He looked at the individuals standing behind the booth and noticed, Officer Silver, Detective Espio, intern Charmy, and finally…the unnamed blue hedgehog he had seen earlier at the gas station? His ruby eyes focused on the suave blue hedgehog in black sunglasses and a cheesy 'kiss the cook' apron. Why in the world was that guy working the booth?
Shadow made his way over to Detective Vector who was currently scarfing down a fried twinkie by another booth. He stopped in front of him, making the large alligator halt and chew his last bite. "Yuck," Shadow commented eying his snack. "Those things will kill you, you know."
Vector shrugged and swallowed his last bite. "Something's gotta do it eventually, Shadow," he grinned. "I don't think I mind the idea of death by deep-fried twinkles."
Shadow rolled his eyes before getting back on topic. "Vec, who's the blue hedgehog behind your booth's grill?" he gestured with a lowkey head nod.
Vector craned his neck over his shoulder to look at their police booth, spotting the identified stranger he spoke of. The blue hedgehog laughed as he dished up a fresh chili dog and handed it over to a customer not aware that he was being gossiped about. Vector turned his head back around to face the dark hedgehog. "Oh, that's our new best friend, Agent Zonic," Vector stated facetiously. "You know, the A.T.F agent."
Shadow crossed his arms over his chest, looking surprised by the reveal. "That guy is looking into our club?" he questioned in surprise. "I saw him earlier today at the gas station. The guy tried making small talk with me."
Vector shrugged. "Special training, don't you know?" he shot back sarcastically with a chuckle.
"Is he getting anything good from us?" Shadow inquired.
"Honestly, I'm not sure. He keeps his investigation reports VERY private. Does most of the work on his own and occasionally lets Silver assist. Sorry, I can't give you any more intel. Espio and I are trying our best to infiltrate."
Shadow scoffed. "Well, I'm sure we'll find out just how much dirt he has on us soon enough," he groaned. "Thanks for the update, Vec." He patted him on the shoulder and walked off in search of Mighty and Manic.
•~•
In the meantime, Mighty sat at a picnic bench and stared hard at the male skunk and his family in the distance. He felt a presence looming behind him and didn't bother to look. "I'm fine, Manic. Just take a seat and stop worrying about me."
The green hedgehog obliged and slid down beside him on the bench. "I was assigned this duty in case you had an incident. Be happy that I'm looking out for you, bro."
Mighty cupped his hands around the sides of his face. "Do you think he's happy?" he questioned.
Manic watched as Jeffrey missed catching the egg in the egg toss. The egg slid down his shoulder making a huge mess. He and his son broke out into laughs from the mishap. "Nah, he probably is miserable."
"I thought he'd be. After all, he was disowned by our club. I didn't think he had a lover anymore and he's distant from his family. Yet, here he seems so happy. So full of life…I thought I'd see him more miserable."
Manic cocked a brow. "Are you saying you're jealous, man?"
He lowered his arms and rested them on the picnic table. "I can't really explain it, but I'm feeling some sort of emotion right now…Like, he screwed me over so I figured karma would come into play soon enough to balance all this out."
"I feel you brother," Manic concurred.
The two watched as Jeffrey began to take his motorcycle jacket off. "Hey, babe, mind helping me?"
Hilda walked over and took off his jacket, and accidentally pulled up the back of his shirt revealing his large back tattoo that read, "Brothers of Chaos" with a large green chaos emerald covering most of his back. He still donned the notorious ink he was told to remove once being expelled. The two looked at each other in disbelief. "Oh, shit…" Manic mumbled under his breath.
Mighty rose from his seat, looking angered by the sight. "I'll handle this."
Manic, panicked, followed after the angered armadillo as he stormed over in Jeffrey's direction. "Whoa, man, wait a minute!"
Mighty followed after the skunk as he ducked into the boy's room to clean his egg covered hands. Mighty followed him inside and was pleased to see it was only the two of them there. Jeffrey looked up from washing his hands towards the entrance where Mighty stood defiantly. Rushing in behind him, Manic caught his breath as he panted. "Geez, you really power-walked your way over here, huh?"
"Hey, Mighty," Jeffrey waved uncomfortably before tossing the wet paper towel in the bin. "I've been doing what I've been told. I've been avoiding you all day, but, you know I wanted to talk about what happened between us…"
Mighty began to crack his knuckles. "Yeah, and you never did."
Manic placed a hand on his friend's right shoulder. "Don't do this, man."
Mighty shrugged away his touch. "Buzz off," he shot venomously. "This is all me."
Jeffrey put up his hand defensively. "Listen, let me explain now."
The armadillo brought up his right fist. "It's too late for listening." He swung a punch socking the skunk square in the jaw. Jeffrey was flung towards the bathroom floor. Manic went to intervene and grab Mighty, but the black and red armadillo did a kick backward landing a blow to Manic's chest and winding him temporarily. Manic stumbled backward crashing into one of the sinks. He grabbed his chest, wheezing from the assault.
Now with Manic out of the way, Mighty had Jeffrey all to himself.
•~•
A few minutes later, swinging open the bathroom door, Shadow was stunned to see both Mighty and Jeffrey casually cleaning up after their fight. Both Mighty and Jeffrey were standing at the sinks when Shadow entered. Mighty used paper towels to wipe up some blood oozing from his split lip, while Jeffrey splashed water onto his bruised and bloodied cheek. Manic leaned against the wall, acting calm through the whole scene.
Looking amongst the group, Shadow's eyebrows furrowed. "Just what the hell is going on here?"
"Nothing now," Mighty noted tossing the dirty towel into the garbage. "We just had a talk, that's all."
"I think he finally got all that pent-up anger out of his system," Manic added.
Shadow walked further into the bathroom. "Did anyone see this? We can't allow the public to witness this roughhousing."
"Nah, Manic watched the door while he danced," Jeffrey commented. "We're good now."
"I know you're good," Mighty commented. "You've got a nice piece of ass and you're hanging out with your family again," he listed in annoyance.
Jeffrey frowned. "Not really…I miss it. I miss it all actually." His eyes wandered to Shadow's motorcycle jacket. "When I had that jacket on, no one messed with me. I got respect—even from people I had never met before. It was amazing…"
Shadow huffed. "It's not our fault that you fucked up your chance. You are the only one to blame here."
"I know, but I was hoping I could get another chance. I have a good deal that I think you guys might be interested in. It scores some hard cash," he hinted.
"You really assume Mephiles would accept you back into the club?" Shadow challenged.
"Hey, the worst thing he could say is no. At least give me a shot, man," Jeffrey pointed.
"I'll entertain the thought, but until then, get back to your family. They're looking for you."
Jeffrey nodded and walked out of the bathroom, past Shadow and the others. Once alone, Mighty approached Shadow. "You can't be serious…"
"I'm not, it's never going to happen," Shadow added. "I'll let him get his hopes up only for them to be crushed."
Mighty's eyes brightened as he remembered another important detail. "Shit, Shadow, I nearly forgot! Jeffrey still has his ink. Both Manic and I saw it when he was playing in the egg toss."
Shadow looked perturbed by the news. "You're joking."
Both males shook their heads. "He's telling the truth, Shad," Manic noted. "I saw it myself."
Shadow stroked his chin in thought. An ex-member still harboring their ink? "Then perhaps, Mephiles would be interested in meeting with Jeffrey after all…"
•~•
Back outside the bathrooms at the festivities, Mephiles chowed down on some chicken wings as he sat at a lone booth. While enjoying his meal, he was suddenly ambushed by, Shadow, Manic, and Mighty. The group of bikers surrounded his table causing the dark hedgehog to look up at the three members. He watched as they made themselves comfortable. Two sat on either side of him and the other sat across from him. He swallowed the bite he chewed. "Can I help you?"
"Sorry to interrupt your meal, Mephiles, but there's something you need to know," Shadow began.
Mephiles droned at the thought. He could only imagine what the possibilities were. He dropped off a couple of cleaned off bones into his paper tray. "Now what?"
"It's Jeffrey," Shadow continued. "He's still got his club tattoo on his back."
Mephiles' brows furrowed at the information. "Does he now?"
"Yes," Shadow nodded. "And he wants to talk to you about some sort of money-making business. I told him you'd hear him out, but honestly, I think it'd be more investing to discuss the hidden ink he promised us he'd revoke."
"You're right," Mephiles concurred. "And I have a brilliant and devious idea," he smirked. "Tell the idiot that he can swing by our compound for drinks to pitch me this idea of his. We'll lull him into a false sense of security before we do operation blackout."
Manic made a wry face at the notion. "You mean—"
"Exactly," Mephiles confirmed. "Now, round up the boys and tell Rouge we'll have to cut short our charity hours. She'll understand." The other boys watched as Mephiles rose from his picnic table with his trash in hand and walked over to the nearest trash bin.
•~•
After realizing Zonic was attending the same festivities, Amy could no longer deal with his prolonging gaze on her from across the field. She felt like she was being violated even when she was so far away. Just knowing his eyes were on her made her skin crawl. Cautiously, Amy made her way over to Rouge's booth, holding her stomach as if she were going to throw up—which wasn't too far from the truth if she was honest. "Hey, Amy," Rouge smiled. "What's up?"
Her ears sagged. "…Actually, I'm not feeling very well."
Rouge shot the pink hedgehog a look of empathy. "Oh, do you need some Advil or maybe a tampon?" she whispered discreetly. "I have some in my purse," she motioned.
Amy shook her head frantically. "No, no, it's not that," she denied. "My stomach is just bugging me. I was wondering if you'd mind if I headed home early? It's just that—"
Rouge waved her hands in front of her, cutting her off. "Absolutely," she confirmed. "You've done your time here."
Amy smiled weakly, appreciating the fact she'd finally be able to escape the stalkerish gaze of her ex. "Great, thanks because I—"
"—Rouge," another voice cut in. The two females looked only to spot Shadow marching over in their direction. In the background, Mephiles, Mighty, Knuckles, Manic, and Gadget remained in wait.
The white bat sighed. "What now?"
"We're going to have to cut our time short here. We have business as usual," he alluded.
Rouge crossed her arms over her busty chest, looking quite peeved. "Just great, I'm about to lose half my staff now. You all know you have another two hours left. Can't it wait?"
Shadow stood beside Amy and his eyes narrowed to the left in the far distance where he spotted Jeffrey whispering something to his girl. "Not really."
Rouge followed his gaze and raised a brow. "Oh, that type of business, huh? Didn't we make an agreement to not interact or touch that individual?"
Shadow groaned, growing irritated by her lack of knowledge. "Look, this is club business, okay? Now, we gotta go." He began to turn on his heel.
"—Wait!" Shadow stopped and turned to look at her once again. "Fine, go, do whatever it is you have to do, but can you at least give Amy a ride home? She's not feeling well."
He eyed her for a moment, still wondering what her strange behavior was connected to. "…Yeah, sure. Come on, doctor." Amy quickly hurried after him, staying close by his side as she followed his powered pace.
Rouge watched the two retreat. "And make sure Mighty, Manic, and Gadget are back in time for their performance!" she shouted as a reminder.
At that same time, Zonic had been watching the group from the distance. He watched as Amy hurried off with the group of bikers. Amy glanced at Mighty's face as he handed her a spare helmet to ride back with him. "What happened to your face?" she questioned with concern.
He smiled sheepishly. "Heh, it's a long story…"
•~•
Once arriving back at the compound, Amy released her grip around Mighty's waist. She took off her helmet Mighty had supplied her and handed it back to him. "Thanks for taking me home."
Mighty dismounted his bike. "Was it something you ate?" he questioned.
Amy shrugged, even though she knew perfectly well why she was feeling ill. "I'm not sure, but I'm going to go to bed. If you need me let me know."
He nodded, watching her head inside. "Alright, let me know if you need anything, too, Ames."
She stopped momentarily to look back at him. "And you're sure your face doesn't need tending to?"
He waved her off. "Nah, I'm fine. It's just a little scratch here and there."
She nodded and sighed. "Very well."
Mighty watched as Amy walked back into the house. In the background, the other boys led the oblivious Jeffrey to meet his maker. They led him into the house, in a jovial attitude and headed straight downstairs to their bar. Downstairs at their bar, the group of boys sat together throwing back a couple of beers. The group laughed as they reminisced about old times together.
Sitting at the far end of the bar, Mephiles glared down the table at the traitorous skunk. He was satisfied at the group lowering Jeffrey's guard, but truly he wanted to get down to business. Seeing his former president's grim expression, Jeffrey lifted up his arm raising his beer bottle. "Aye, Pres, why the long face?"
Mephiles' reptilian eyes gazed back at him. "I'm not fond of your presence in our home. You said you had an offer. So, prove to me why I should forgive you."
"Oh, that's right," Jeffrey remembered. He lowered his beer bottle down and the rest of the boys went quiet to hear him out. "One of my boys got in a new shipment of dope. It's around fifty pounds of it. If we can move it then we're guaranteed-"
"—Stop right there," Mephiles interjected. "That's quite enough."
Jeffrey blinked a few times at his cut off. "But I-"
"Mercia has always been a drug-free town. I do not tolerate that type of business and we'll have no interaction in this operation," he made explicit.
Manic patted the downtrodden skunk. "Sorry, bud, but you know what might cheer yah up?"
He lifted his head with a frown. "What?"
"Seeing the classic Mustang we just got in. It's got new modifications and everything, but still has that classic interior," Manic explained. "It's in the garage right now."
Jeffrey looked intrigued. "Really? Whose is it?"
"Some old guy, he's a collector," Manic added. "Come on, let's go see it."
Mighty, Shadow, Knuckles, Locke, and Gadget all signaled each other with their eyes that the next stage of the plan was about to occur. They watched as both Manic and Jeffrey hopped off their bar stools and made their way to the garage. Knuckles grabbed a bottle of vodka and followed behind the group. Things were about to get ugly.
•~•
Once in the garage, Jeffrey was first to enter the facility. His eyes looked around but noticed no alleged Mustang as Manic had mentioned. "So, where is it?" His countenance dropped when he noticed Shadow closing and locking the door behind him. It was soon evident that he was brought here for a more sinister reason. The atmosphere in the room suddenly shifted. "Hey…what's going on, guys?"
"Take off your shirt," Mephiles ordered sternly.
Jeffrey smiled for a moment before chuckling uncomfortably. "Why would I do that?"
With his arms tucked behind his back, the dark hedgehog president took another few steps forward and kept his eyes locked on him. "I'm not going to keep repeating myself. Now, take off your shirt…"
Seeing Jeffrey was not going to oblige, Knuckles and Locke came up from behind him and detained him by the arms. Jeffrey thrashed in their grasp, but they managed to rip off his t-shirt revealing his bare upper half. The two forced Jeffrey to turn around baring his bareback and revealing their tribal club tattoo. The others stared in awe at the familiar ink—a green chaos emerald in the mouth of a skull and crossbones with the words Brothers of Chaos around it.
"Did we not have a deal that you'd remove that ink?" Mephiles reminded sternly.
Jeffrey bowed his head. "Look, I-I was going to do it so many times, but I caved. This tat gets me respect, it instills fear into others. I couldn't go through with it," he admitted sadly.
"You do realize what's going to take place tonight, don't you?" Mephiles segued.
Jeffrey shook his head as he continued to be restrained. Panic began to set in as he knew what was coming. "No, please. I beg of you!"
"Knife or fire?" Shadow questioned, holding up a hunter's knife or blow torch in either hand for him to see.
Jeffrey eyed his two options and realized he'd not be able to escape even if he wanted to. He heaved a sigh. "…Fine," he said in defeat. "I'm not going to run." Locke and Knuckles released their hold on him for now. He crossed his arms over his chest and looked down at the floor as he came to his conclusion. "Fire…" he answered in a mumble.
Locke walked over and bent down to pick up the bottle of Grey Goose he had set down temporarily. "Here, you'll need this, lad," he offered.
Jeffrey accepted the bottle and began to chug it. In the meantime, Shadow brought down some chains dangling from the ceiling. Jeffrey lifted his arms after drinking half the bottle and handed it back to Locke. As he swallowed, he prayed the alcohol would hit him soon to numb the oncoming pain.
Shadow took the chains and wrapped them around both of Jeffrey's arm, keeping him immobilized. "You're going to want to hold onto these."
Jeffrey gulped and watched as Knuckles came up from behind him and poured the rest of the vodka down his back to sterilize the area they'd be working on. Shadow started up the blow torch and then turned to look at three of the boys, "Manic, Mighty, Gadget, don't you have a performance to do?"
Mighty gasped realizing their time was running short to get back in time. "Crap, shit, Rouge is going to kill us if we're not back in time."
"Go," Shadow instructed. "We've got it from here." Obliging, the three-headed for the doors and raced out in hopes of getting back to the school in time for their big gig. Once they were gone, Shadow placed his focus back on Jeffrey who was anxiously awaiting his punishment.
With his eyes shut tight and clenching his teeth in anticipation, he shook slightly. "Just do it already."
Holding out the ignited flame, Shadow brought the flame down onto Jeffrey's exposed flesh slowly burning away the tattoo. Jeffrey howled in pain as his skin melted away from his slow strokes. Mephiles and Knuckles, and Locke stood in the background watching in awe and disgust. Knuckles didn't know how much longer he could stomach the sight. He turned his head, feeling something bubbling in his stomach. The stench of burning flesh was revolting.
On the other hand, Mephiles seemed unfazed the least. In fact, it almost looked like he was enjoying watching the ex-member suffer.
Jeffrey's wails of pain grew to its peak before he abruptly stopped screaming. Knuckles kept a hand over his nose to conceal the stench from reaching his nose but seemed concerned by his sudden lack of vocals. "What happened? Is he dead?"
Shadow continued to do strokes of flames down his back, nearing the end. "No, he just finally passed out is all." Once getting to the final stroke, Shadow turned off the flame and placed the device on the floor, safely away from the scene.
"Knuckles, Locke, undo his chains and get him the hell out of here," Mephiles ordered looking down at his injured body in disgust.
Knuckles grimaced at the sight of blood and melted flesh mixed in a gruesome puddle underneath the unconscious skunk. "Erm, yes sir."
Locke walked around, coming to the front of Jeffrey. He shook his head in pity. "Poor lad…"
•~•
Meanwhile, at Mercia Middle School, Mighty and the others managed to get back in time for the show. The three boys rocked on stage, with Manic on drums, Gadget on bass, and Mighty leading the vocals while playing guitar, the reception seemed to be relatively good. They had a large crowd bouncing around their stage jamming out to their upbeat rock music. Rouge watched from the sidelines but was interrupted by Chloe tapping her on the shoulder. "Hey, have you seen Jeffrey anywhere?"
Rouge grimaced, knowing the news she'd have to tell her. "Chloe, let's talk somewhere where we can both hear," she shouted over the loud concert music." Rouge placed a hand on the skunk's back and led her out of the crowd to inform her of the whereabouts of her ex-husband.
Out of earshot of others, Rouge crossed her arms over her chest and kept a solemn look. "You need to head to the nearest hospital, Chloe."
Her heart sank by her vague words. "Jesus, what happened to him?"
She shrugged solemnly. "I really don't know," she admitted. "I just got the text from the boys a few minutes ago, head over there now."
•~•