Act I: CATACOMBS

Chapter XII: Hallelujah Money

"God raised him up, loosening the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it." – Acts 2:24

By nightfall, the paint had been wiped clean from the church walls. The message was there long enough for everyone to see it and read it, and the effect it made was still unknown.

Sonic knew the effect it had on him, however – where he thought Robotnik was nothing more than a rageful dictator, it turned out he was quite possibly far more sinister than that.

He knew Shadow orchestrated those messages, but what was confusing him was the bible verse. 2 Peter. He knew Shadow was on a mission against Robotnik, but was he on a mission against religion whatsoever?

The cross necklace came to mind – why was he wearing it, and what is the purpose of it to him?

The hedgehog couldn't will himself to go to the service tonight. Instead, he watched through the window. He pressed his ears against the glass, listening for Robotnik's rhetoric, his speech, and his teachings. If he was going to turn the town against Robotnik once and for all, he had to understand just what the preacher was preaching.

The church was dark that night, with the ominous glow of lanterns inside casting the congregation in an eerie light. Sonic squinted slightly, focusing his attention on Robotnik.

"We live in dark times, brothers, and sisters. Times where villains will paint falsehoods upon the house of the Lord – in order to sway us from the light! They wish to drown you in darkness! They are the ones who doom us to the fate of the Undertaker – and if we fall into their sin, we will be cast in the burning lake with them!"

Sonic rolled his eyes, beginning to examine the faces of the townsfolk. To his surprise, many of them seemed to be disillusioned with his speech. There were surely some who were still hanging on his every word, but the mood felt different.

"Now, the Undertaker has taken another man to death! A good man! Yet due to these sinful bastards, he was taken away! Punished for their sins when he himself sinned little! Who would like to be next?! Hm?!"

Sonic could hear ghostly whispers inside, the townsfolk all talking amongst each other in panic. Come on, don't become afraid now. Don't listen.

"Following the paths of lies and sin will lead you to hell! You are all broken! Imperfect souls! If you don't submit in servitude to the wrath of the Lord, you will all be broken down, pillaged, and stolen by the Undertaker! Darkness will corrupt your soul!"

Sonic groaned, shaking his head in frustration. They were falling into it once again. It infuriated him.

"So, will you submit? Will you bow down to his mighty works, or die a sinful, treacherous leech?!"

Sonic grumbled once again. He had to do something. Keep breaking them from his trance.

Suddenly, Sonic found his fist pounding on the window. The congregation whipped their heads to him, including Robotnik, who's eyes were full of fury.

Sonic spotted Amy, Tails, and the rest in the back, shooting him confused glances.

Sonic cleared his throat.

"Hey, who's Maria?"

With those words, the congregation all began murmuring once again. Robotnik scoffed, and soon the murmuring raised in volume – reaching to a clamor.

"How – how dare you! Were you the devil that painted those lies on this holy church?! Who do you think you are!?"

"Just a confused citizen, preacher man! Who is she? Come oooon, don't hide it now!"

The clamoring raised in volume more, and Robotnik stormed to the window.

"You watch that mouth of yours with your falsehoods!"

"Who is she, Robotnik?! Is it true? Did you kill a girl named Maria?! Come on, don't be shy! I ain't forget what I read!"

"You better watch your mouth! Boys, seize him now!" Robotnik commanded, turning to Bark, who was standing passively in the corner.

Sonic snickered, taunting him. "You can't hide forever! I'm sure everyone is interested to find out what happened to Mari-UH!"

Suddenly, Sonic was yanked from the window, finding himself being dragged hurriedly behind the church. He was dazed, seeing the figure dragging him across the back alleys and into the next streets over in town, turning to see who it was.

It was Shadow, stomping through the sand with his grip like iron on Sonic's wrist.

"Woah – hey! Hold on, Shadow! Wh – what the hell?!"

"Shut up."

Shadow let go of Sonic, flinging him across the street. Sonic caught himself, shaking his head to catch his senses.

"What the hell was tha-"

"Don't say her goddamn name."

Sonic stared at him with his mouth dropped in awe. "Why not? What is the whole deal-"

"Don't say her name. She's not a pawn for you to use."

Sonic scoffed, shaking his head in disbelief. "Maybe if I knew anything about this girl I 'woulda thought twice, but I don't!"

"And right now, it's going to stay that way."

"Why?! You had it written on the church, so why can't I know?!"

"Because you don't get too. My grievance involves Maria, not yours. You're nothin' but a drifter here – you aren't even close to educated on everything that's gone down."

Sonic shook his head, removing his hat. "Look, Shadow. I know you've got some big, bad, gloomy aura goin' on, but I'm supposed to help save this town, and yet I don't know the first thing that goes on! You don't wanna tell me about Maria? Fine. But don't expect me to drop everythin' to help if I'm gonna be kept in the dark!"

Shadow stared at him, clenching his jaw tight. "I understand you don't think it's fair, but Maria is a personal mission. You and Silver can do all you would like to save this town, but as long as Maria gets justice – I don't care what else happens."

"How could you say that? You don't care about all these people?"

Shadow was silent.

"I mean – you wear a goddamn cross around your neck! I don't think you're as careless as you're pretendin' to be!"

Shadow seemed to be processing his words, thinking carefully about how to respond.

"I do care, but I've got nothin' else to give them right now. I only have somethin' to give for Maria – and that's getting her justice."

"We can get her justice," Sonic said, "But you can't do it alone. You know you can't!"

Shadow sighed, dusting his hat off. He stared at Sonic for a moment, a mixture of emotions in his gaze.

"You let me take Robotnik up on Maria. I have a job for you."

"A job for me?"

"You won't be doing it alone."

Sonic tilted his head, looking him up and down.

"Alright, so what is this job?"

Shadow chuckled.

"Follow me."

Shadow pushed open the door, leading Sonic inside. The hedgehog gazed around the dimly lit room, scowling.

When his eyes adjusted, he saw a troupe of birds, two hedgehogs, a fox, and a jackal.

Sonic tipped his hat, "Well, ain't this a party?"

Jet chuckled, licking his beak. "Well, if it ain't Sonic the Hedgehog. Heard a bit 'bout you!"

Sonic snorted, "Lemme guess, you're Jet – and y'all are the Babylon Rogues?"

"We are! Not those two!" Bean said, pointing at Scourge and Fiona. Scourge rolled his eyes, smoking off a cigar.

"I'm Scourge, and this is Fiona. 'Tis a pleasure, hedgie."

Fiona simply nodded.

Suddenly, the light blue hedgehog in the back lifted his head, shushing the group. Next to him was Zero, the jackal he had met at the duel.

"Glad y'all could make it tonight. Tomorrow is a big one," Nazo said, brushing his chin lightly.

"Sorry, who is that?" Sonic asked, removing his hat.

"This is Nazo. He and Zero are two of the most prominent bounty setters in the west," Shadow stated, taking his seat.

"Bounty, huh? Are we killing somebody?" Sonic asked, tapping his chin.

"No," Zero spoke up, before slamming a paper down, "You're robbing someone."

"Our favorite pastime!" Storm exclaimed, slamming his gut in excitement.

"So, who's our target?" Sonic asked.

"Starline, Robotnik's right hand man. He takes care of the church's finances, except this isn't hitting his money per se…" Nazo said, brushing his cyan quills with his fingers.

"Ugh – how many times do I gotta say we wanna get paid, Nazo?" Fiona spat, angrily glaring at the hedgehog.

Nazo merely chuckled. "You'll get paid for this, don't worry. Bounty for this job is set at 5-kay."

Fiona clicked her tongue, sitting back satisfied.

"Alright, so if we ain't hittin' his finances, what are we doing?" Wave asked, brushing her beak lightly.

Nazo smirked, before holding up a drawing. Sonic's eyes adjusted quickly, seeing it was a drawing of an amulet.

"A necklace?" Sonic asked.

"This ain't any normal necklace," Zero said, "This amulet is a prized possession of this town. It's said to drive away evil spirits from the town."

"So, why are we stealin' that?" Jet asked.

"Because Robotnik shouldn't have it in his possession," Shadow said, standing up and taking the drawing from Zero, "Knuckles should."

"Knuckles? Why Knuckles?" Sonic asked.

"Because Knuckles follows Gaia. This is a pendulum made by old prophets that were passed down to Knuckles. He was the spiritual protector of this town, keeping the amulet close and driving spirits away. Now, no one can say if there were any spirits here anyways, but that was his job here. Robotnik seized the amulet to make a spectacle out of it, weaponizing it to get Knuckles and the Echidnas booted from town," Shadow said.

"Alright, so, what exactly is the point of this?" Scourge asked.

Shadow cracked his neck. "Once we get the pendulum back, we will expose Starline for stealing it. This will cast him in a bad light, furthering people against him."

"And how will that be done?" Jet asked.

"Through framing," Nazo said, "The police will confirm the reports of Starline having stolen the amulet, and this will dwindle Robotnik's entourage. With Starline in jail, the finances will be even shottier after the initial bank robbery, and that will help get the church closed."

"The police? They're in on this?" Sonic asked.

"They are," Shadow said, "Espio and Vector wish to get rid of him as much as we do."

"Knuckles is joining you all on this job," Zero said, "It is his amulet after all."

"As will Rouge," Shadow said, "She's an expert on finding lost items."

Sonic sighed, huffing a cloud of smoke from his cigarette. "So, when are we doin' this thing?"

"Tomorrow night," Nazo said, folding his hands together, "You'll meet here, and then hitch a coach to one of their properties on the outer skirts of town. Knuckles and Rouge will be there waiting, and you all will lead the charge. Some of you will need to stay watch outside. Make it fast and quiet, find the amulet, and get the hell 'outta there. Deliver it to the police, and have Tails inspect it to make sure there's no damage. The police will then use it to indict Starline, at which point it will be promptly returned to Knuckles. Then, I suppose he and Blaze can make sure its spiritual properties are intact. Understand?"

Jet whistled, kicking his feet up. "Seems simple enough. It's what we do best anyways!"

"One question," Sonic said, earning the eyes of everyone in the room. It made him feel judged for a moment, but he clicked his tongue and carried on regardless, "The townsfolk…are they aware of this amulet? If they are, how'd Robotnik weaponize it?"

"He said it brought the Undertaker," Shadow said, "When he was here the first time, he was able to use that to get rid of Knuckles. When Mephiles stayed, he shifted his focus to Silver and I. There always had to be a scapegoat. When the townsfolk see they stole it, it will show them to be the hypocrites they are."

Sonic shrugged. Seemed simple enough.

Things were starting to fall into place for Sonic. He was putting the pieces of the puzzle together in his head one by one. He was beginning to understand, albeit he was still incredibly confused about the history of the town.

"Well boys! Seems like a good time!" Jet cackled. Sonic shot a look at Nazo, who nodded at him.

The blue hedgehog sighed, cracking his fingers.

Sounded exciting.

"So, you want me to inspect the amulet when you get it back?" Tails asked.

"Yes. Would that be alright?" Shadow asked. Tails swallowed, staring at Shadow, Sonic, Amy, and the police as they stood in this shop.

"Uh – y – yes?"

"Good."

Espio sighed, placing his hat on the tabletop. "Sorry to drag you into this. This will help in the long run; I assure you of that."

Amy smiled, squeezing Tails' hand. "It'll be a'ight Tails. It's gonna help!"

Tails sighed, ruffling his hair. Sonic turned to face the police, kicking his feet up. "So, what? This mean I ain't an outlaw?"

"Not 'round here, you ain't," Mighty said, "Roll in somewhere else, they may not be as kind."

"As long as you don't break the law when this mess ends, I 'spose things are fine," Sally said, winking at the hedgehog.

Sonic chuckled, "As you do, princess."

Antoine placed his revolver in his belt, looking at Shadow. "How quick can you make the job tomorrow night?"

"Quick. Count on it."

"Do you need any other help?" Amy asked, standing up, "I can be there!"

Shadow squinted, looking at the police. They seemed uncertain, casting suspicious glances towards her.

"You sure about that, Amy?" Rotor asked.

"Of course! I – just wanna help in any way I can!"

"I think you can help by stayin' safe. We don't want your parents knockin' on our station sayin' you're missing," Nicole said.

"Oh, come on now! I ain't a little girl anymore!"

Sonic chuckled. "Yeah, come on now! Surely Amy can join in!"

Shadow thought for a moment, staring at the pink hedgehog. "You can stay with Rouge and help her find the amulet. I trust you."

Amy smirked. "Then you can count on me!"

"As long as you make the delivery quick. We can't make this look any more suspicious than it already is," Espio stated.

"You got it, sheriff. We'll make it quick!" Sonic exclaimed, shooting him a thumbs up.

"Well, good luck tomorrow y'all! We're countin' on ya!" Bunnie said, winking at the four.

Sonic smirked, turning back to Tails. His smile seemed to soften Tails slightly, the fox nodding at him.

Why Shadow wanted him on this job, he wasn't sure. But if it was one step closer to freeing Westopolis?

He would make sure he did the best he could.

Because he wanted this place back to the way it was.

He wanted to call this place home.