Act I: CATACOMBS

Chapter VIII: Bad Religion

"But you have forsaken me and served other gods, so I will no longer save you.Go and cry out to the gods you have chosen. Let them save you when you are in trouble!" – Judges 10:13-14

Once the dust settled on the duel, Rouge had managed to pull Sonic back into the back room of the saloon, much to his chagrin. He had caused quite the scene, and he had managed to shake up the fabric of the town very quickly, with only one duel.

Sat down at the table, Sonic leaned back in the chair, staring face at the group as they wore scowls and glares at the quick-shot hedgehog.

Rouge, Knuckles, Tikal, Shade, Honey, Julie-su, Whisper, Tangle, Amy, Tails, and Cosmo.

All staring at Sonic.

"So, who exactly are you again?" Knuckles asked, earning a snarky chuckle from Sonic.

"Name's Sonic. I've been told you're, what, a mountain man?"

Knuckles nodded gruffly, removing the fur-headdress from his head, "I am now, yes."

Rouge sighed, shaking her head to interrupt the banter between the two. "Besides the point. It was not a great idea gettin' in a duel, especially since Espio and them are hot on your tail."

Sonic sighed, removing his hat. "Look, I'm just doin' what I was told!"

"And you were told, what, exactly?" Whisper remarked, causing Tails to step forward.

"He met with Blaze. She pointed him to getting that revolver."

Their heads whipped between Tails and Sonic. "Wait – you spoke to Blaze?" Honey asked, scratching her scalp.

Sonic nodded. "Yeah, she said I was – well, the key to saving the town! Well, no, she didn't say that exactly. Someone else did."

"Okay, and who is that someone else, hedgehog?" Shade spat, causing Sonic to stare at his hands for a moment, biting his lip.

"The Undertaker."

The air quickly grew tense and cold, a collective shudder running down the spines of the group.

"You…spoke to the Undertaker?" Tikal said, her voice trembling.

"Uh, correction – he 'sorta spoke to me. He caught me when I escaped from the cops. He told me I was the key to savin' them from 'wickedness' and 'evil'. His name is Mephiles, by the way. Short for Mephistopheles."

There was silence again, and Amy began picking the threads of her dress. "If he's the key, then maybe this duel was for a reason?"

"Right, I mean, The Underta – or Mephiles, I guess, wanted it to happen," Julie-su stated.

"The cross that Shadow wore – he's denounced faith since everything happened. Or, at least, that's what we thought he did," Tangle added.

"I think The Undertaker was trying to make a point to the town. Shadow is a man of actual good faith. Shadow isn't who Mephiles is actually after," Honey said.

Rouge crossed her arms, shaking her head. "Well, yeah, we already knew that. So, now the question is if it ain't Shadow, who is it?"

"Robotnik, obviously," Knuckles spat, picking the threads from his wool gloves.

Sonic sat up now, folding his hands on the table. "Alright, I need to know. What exactly is the deal with the preacher? Yeah, he seems like a big 'ol prick, but why is he so bad?"

Knuckles shook his head, before sitting down across the round table from Sonic. He sighed, pursing his lips before returning the gaze.

"Robotnik drove us out the first time the Undertaker was here. He said we were the reason he had come, since we didn't worship the Lord or whatever. Tikal, Shade, and I follow our own faith. It didn't align with Robotnik's vision, so the town drove us out. We decided, well, if we can't practice our faith in safety here, we'll do it in isolation."

"So…that's why you became mountain men?" Sonic asked.

"It is," Shade stepped in, "He almost did it to Julie-su, but she managed to save her own skin before that could happen."

"Sorry about not runnin' off with y'all, by the way," Julie-su spoke up, as Tikal placed her hand on her shoulder.

"It wasn't anyone's fault but his. We knew you couldn't just give up your stakes here."

Sonic put his hands up, "Okay, so – basically, Robotnik just gets rid of everyone who doesn't agree with his beliefs?"

"Pretty much," Tangle said, "That's always been his deal."

"So, what actually made the Undertaker leave last time?" Sonic asked.

The air went silent again, before Whisper cleared her throat to speak.

"He took a toll. I want to say…around 35 people died. He measured the corpses, took them, and left. He didn't come back. Not until now."

Sonic stared at the wolf, mouth agape as he began to process. He took 35 people, then left? What about Robotnik? How did Shadow fit in this? What was his vendetta against Robotnik?

"Wait, but, if he was after Robotnik then, why did he leave without taking him too?"

"Because no one rose. They all fell into his trap. They were too afraid, and the Undertaker just up and left. Now he's back, so I imagine he's here to finish where he left off last time," Honey said.

"Look, we don't know how he operates at all! He's just some shadowy figure who has seemingly supernatural abilities with zero moral compass. I'm guessing he's working some elaborate plan," Tails said.

"Well, maybe he's testing everyone? Maybe he's trying to see who won't conform to Robotnik and that's why he keeps returning. I'm guessing he'll keep returning until this entire town is purged," Tikal said.

"Right, but now he's identified the person who's supposed to break this cycle," Cosmo said, and all eyes went to Sonic.

The cobalt hedgehog sighed, fiddling with his revolver on his lap. He wasn't sure how to process what he was hearing. None of it made any sense. He had only heard of the virtues of Westopolis, not the dark conspiracy that kept holding the city hostage.

People were scared, that was evident enough. Robotnik was creating a space to manipulate people who were afraid so that they'd feel a false sense of safety. He doesn't care about the Undertaker, he only cares about control.

And until Sonic can break that control, Mephiles won't stay away. Like he said, he'd lay waste to the entire town, and that includes the people he was with in the saloon.

But he still didn't understand. If Mephiles wanted to get rid of wicked people, why would everyone have to die? Was Robotnik right about his whole spiel of "One bad apple poisons the entire bunch?".

Did Mephiles think that just because many people here were wicked, everyone was?

"I don't know what exactly I'm supposed to do. Blaze said I had to free the town with this gun and a pure heart. I ain't even know where to start."

Amy cocked her head, "Well, you exposed a piece of Shadow to the town. That seemed to shake things up a bit."

Sonic bit his lip. "I need to talk to Shadow. I gotta understand what his deal is. Then maybe I'll know more."

Rouge sighed, crossing her arms. "Well, then we better wait until he gets back. That explosion was definitely him. I'm guessin' we'll find out what happened soon enough."

"You're joking me!"

Robotnik pounded his fist on the desk, earning an eye roll from the mayor, Vector the Crocodile. Vector toyed with his necklace, glaring at the preacher.

"Sorry to say it, pal, but that's what happened."

Espio stepped forward, removing his hat. "It seems the 'perps took about fifty thousand from the churches vault. It was an attack on you."

Starline scoffed, removing the cigar from his mouth. "And who exactly is stupid enough to take from us?"

"Not sure," Mighty said, "Could be anyone."

"Anybody you know of that's got a vendetta?" Sally asked, earning a loud scoff from Robotnik.

"Gee, let's think! Shadow and Knuckles roll back into town and then I get robbed! Doesn't take a bright bulb in the closet to realize that!"

Clutch nodded, "Ye-up. Think y'all better go find those two and lock 'em up."

"Now, hang on now!" Vector said, putting his hands up, "We can't go arrestin' anyone without evidence!"

"You don't need evidence, you see it clear as day, do 'ya not!" Nack spat, a cigarette hanging from his lip.

"Shadow is no longer an outlaw, and Knuckles hasn't broken any laws by comin' around here," Rotor said, earning a nod from Bunnie.

"Rotor's right, 'suga. As far as we know right now, they haven't committed any crimes."

Robotnik rolled his eye, turning his fiery gaze to Vector. "I have singlehandedly saved your stupid town, and this is how you repay me?! I thought you were a good, God-fearin' man, Vector!"

Vector wiped his forehead, "Now, hold on, let's not get ahead of ourselves!"

Antoine interrupted, "Might I add that since the Undertaker is here you haven't really saved anything?"

Nack began to approach, a cold glare in his eye. "You watch your mouth if you don't wan-"

Suddenly, the large hand of Bark the Polar Bear grabbed his scuff, yanking him back. Nack shot Bark a steel-eye, yet the bear remained stoic as ever.

Robotnik shook his head again, squeezing his fists tightly on the mayor's desk. "So, what happens now that we're fifty thousand short?! Huh?"

Vector shrugged. "Well, you know the drill. If you can't pay the rent to Khan and Relic, they're 'gonna foreclose the church."

Robotnik growled, "You will not let that happen, do 'ya hear me?!"

Vector put his hands up, chuckling. "Hey, my hands are tied! We'll find the 'perps, but if you can't make timely payments that church ain't gonna be able to stay open! That's the way of the economy, pal!"

"The church is the only thing standing between this town and the Undertaker," Starline spat.

"I 'dunno, seems that Sonic managed to shake things up a bit," Mighty said, a slight whistle under his breath.

Robotnik whipped his gaze to the armadillo. "That 'Sonic' 'fella is yet another one of those sinnin' bastards who dooms all of us! If you think he's gonna change anything about our predicament, you are sorely mistaken. It is said in the book of Job, that-"

"Alright! Don't go thumpin' your Bible at me!" Vector said, "That really ain't the point of this conversation. The point is that the way this world works is, 'ya don't pay rent, 'ya don't get to stay."

Robotnik bent over the desk, shooting daggers from his eyes into the crocodile. "If you and that Monkey Khan even touch a hair on that church, you will feel the wrath. Closin' down the Lord's house? You are a blasphemous shit, Vector."

"Well, the Bible does say 'Thou shalt not swear'…" Nicole whispered, sharing an amused glance with Sally.

"Look, if Shadow rolls back around, he'll get brought in for questioning about the robbery. I don't wanna close the case on him, since he did try and kill you, but he also wasn't at the site of the robbery," Espio said.

"Oh, I'm sure he got some of his buddies to do it for him," Starline spat.

"And if any of them roll around we'll take them in too. Just 'cause the money's gone doesn't mean the robbers won't be brought to justice, Father," Rotor said.

"You better hope they do, because if not, the Undertaker will have all of our heads!" Robotnik shouted, before turning on his heel. He beckoned his hand, as his lackeys followed him from the office.

Espio turned to Vector, before putting his hat on. "We found this at the site."

Reaching in his bag, he placed a green feather, sliding it across the desk with his pointer finger. Vector examined it, before realization dawned his face.

"Jet? The Rogues did it?"

"Seems that way," Sally said.

Vector placed his hand on his temple, shooting his gaze back towards the police. "So, why did you decide to keep that a secret?"

Nicole shrugged. "Maybe because we don't really think it's pertinent."

"Why wouldn't it be pertinent?"

"Because there's a reason they're doing it, and a good one. If their goal is to get the church shut down, they might be doin' us a favor," Mighty said.

Vector leaned back in his chair, before the sounds of hooves hitting the ground outside caught his attention. He turned around, prompting the officers to gather around his desk and share his gaze.

Staring at them was the Undertaker, smiling atop his donkey. Mephiles gave a small wave, before visibly chuckling as he rode off.

Vector tucked his tongue inside his cheek before a smile dawned his face.

"Alright, I see your point here. 'Guess we better pray Shadow and them know what they're doing."