Multiple suited men marched down a hallway. Each of them were in line toting briefcases. Two polished mahogany doors awaited them at the end of the hall. They passed many decadent furnishings along the way. Entering the room revealed a fox gentleman with orange fur waiting expectantly while sitting at a desk. He wore a plain white shirt and pale jeans lined with countless, glistening rhinestones.

Four briefcases were placed neatly in a square at the center of his desk. The fox peered at them with baggy, bloodshot eyes. A grin spread itself across his ungroomed face, revealing a row of menacing fangs. One of the briefcases opened; it was filled to the brim with souls. A few of them began to hover an inch or two over the surface of the desk, while a few remained seated in the briefcase. They emitted a healthy white glow with a tinge of blue. The tops of the souls flickered like a candle's flame.

"You boys did good," the fox pushed one briefcase back toward the group. "Your cut," He snatched one of the hovering souls and slurped it down, letting out a pleasured moan. "So good," The man shuttered and twitched as he started eating another.

One of the delivery boys opened their own case while another began to speak. "You've had quite a haul of souls lately, boss. How do you feel?"

"Never felt better. I can feel my power growing with each of these delicious, little…" The boss ate a soul out of the air without using his hands. "I could go to the gym right now, load up a bar with the heaviest crap they've got, and bench it no problem,"

"That's amazing," The henchmen seemed motivated by their boss's words. Each began to eat a soul from their allotted briefcase.

"Oh, it is," the boss grabbed another soul before getting up from his chair to look out the window. "Soon, everyone in the town will know the name Billy the Jeans," A loud slurp came, then the soul was gone. "If they don't already,"

Beyond the window that Billy was inspecting sat an innocuous rooftop. He failed to notice an impromptu stakeout team of one yellow fox and one red echidna.

The fox wore a green hoodie with shorts of a similar shade. He had white gloves and red shoes. Curly, white fur covered his muzzle. His most noteworthy trait was that he had not one, but two tails with a touch of white on their ends.

The echidna's clothes were worn, consisting of a black shirt cut open at the sides with the sleeves removed, and gray shorts. A few of the long locks of hair around his head were wrapped with white bandages. His hands were wrapped as well, aside from two spikes protruding from each of his hands around the knuckles.

"That confirms it!" The fox exclaimed. He was holding a gizmo with a radar dish pointed at Billy's office, listening through an earpiece. Minor chatter from the henchmen could be heard before he unplugged. He turned to the echidna who was lying down a few feet away, trying to nap. "Knuckles, it's him. He's the up and coming crime boss Billy the Jeans,"

Knuckles got up from the ground and stretched. "I could've told you that. Saw those jeans from a mile away,"

"You haven't even been watching," the fox muttered. He put the surveillance device into a little blue backpack and put it on. A surprised yelp escaped from his mouth as he was picked up suddenly.

"Let's go get 'em, Tails," Knuckles jumped onto the edge of the roof, eyeing the window to Billy's office.

"We should wait for a good opportunity. There's henchmen with him!" The fox protested.

"Enough waiting,"

Billy and co. were feasting when Tails and Knuckles burst through the window. Shards of glass filled the air before the echidna landed dramatically. Billy's henchmen exchanged looks of disbelief.

"All right boys, put 'em up," Knuckles placed Tails in a spot where there was slightly less glass on the ground. He began to glow, then turned into a gauntlet with two prominent spikes protruding from the knuckles. Tails put the gauntlet on and held up his arm to use the gauntlet as a shield instead of a weapon. He looked like he was going to be sick.

Billy rubbed his eyes incredulously, then blinked a few times. "Why is there an armed kid in my office?" He asked no one in particular. Fear came to his face alongside a realization. "You better not be here for child support!"

"B-Billy the Jeans, you're – Woah!" Tails was interrupted and pulled forward by his gauntlet. The metal fist smashed into one of the henchmen, sending him flying across the room. Another got taken out just as quick thanks to the element of surprise. Tails's other hand gripped tightly in an attempt to brace himself against gauntlet's inertia. The last two henchmen readied up to fight back. Their arms gained a metallic tinge and additional bulk as well.

"Careful, they're blunt type weapons too," Tails observed. Knuckles responded by crashing directly into one of his opponents. Despite blocking, the defender was sent flying through the office doors. Wood splinters cascaded around, joining the glass shards on the carpet. Knuckles swung Tails' arm into a sideways chop, hitting the last henchmen's leg. He fell to the ground, then got launched into the ceiling by an uppercut. Chunks from the ceiling and the henchman to sully the carpet further.

"Not sure what they thought crummy partial transformations would do," Knuckles remarked.

"You're one of Robotnik's meter maids, aren't you?" Billy walked forward to face off against Tails and Knuckles.

"We're here under the authority of L-Lord Death to stop your heinous s-soul consumption," Tails uttered the words with difficulty. The queasiness in his stomach wasn't helping.

Billy swayed his arms and hips in a brief dance. He came up onto the toes of his Osiris shoes and held one arm forward with the other back to strike a strange pose. "You ain't takin' in Billy the Jeans, baby,"

"You're right. The only thing we're taking is your soul," Knuckles taunted.

"Tch, ah," Billy made little noises while dancing to an imaginary beat. He waltzed forward and launched a kick out at Tails. Tails blocked with the gauntlet, but the knockback caused him to take two steps backward. Billy spun on his heels.

"Hate to fight a kid, but you busted up my fancy office,"

"Punch 'em in his kidneys, Tails!" Knuckles encouraged.

Tails took a deep breath and threw out a few jabs with his gauntlet. Billy moved his pelvis from side to side with his arms in the air, bending into odd C-shapes to dodge.

"Can't touch this," Billy shook his legs rapidly as he strafed to protect his kidneys from any strikes.

A swift kick smacked Tails in the torso along with a follow up punch. Pain from the hits didn't stop Tails from blocking all the subsequent blows, but he was struggling to find an opportunity to counter.

"Ah, cha," Billy spun and threw out a wide kick at Tails. Instead of blocking, Tails decided to match the attack with one of his own. Knuckles' gauntlet form slammed into Billy's leg. A clang rang throughout the room. Billy took the momentum and spun in the opposite direction to fling Tails across the room with a successful kick.

"That didn't work?" Tails wondered aloud. He looked over to see that Billy's jeans were now torn, revealing a metal leg.

"I couldn't break through a partial transformation?" Knuckles's voice sounded frustrated.

"My jeans!" Billy shrieked, as if Tails had just assaulted a loved one. His baggy eyes became fueled with hatred. "You're dead!"

Billy moon walked menacingly toward Tails. The meister scrambled about the room, trying to distance himself from his attacker. Kicks swished through the air, crashing into the walls and destroying any furniture that got in the way.

"Get back in there, Tails!" Knuckles commanded.

Tails reached into his backpack and threw little metallic orbs onto the ground. Loud popping noises as well as white flashing lights burst from the orbs once they detonated. Billy recoiled a bit, raising an arm defensively. Tails yelled and dove in with a punch to seize on the distraction. Billy raised his leg, using the torn section to block while preserving the rest of his jeans. Tails' other hand brushed against the jeans.

"Hands off!" Billy's voice cracked. A fully powered kick shot straight into Tails. He managed to block with the gauntlet, but his stance wasn't ready for the sheer force of the impact. The pair flew across the room and out the other, previously unbroken window. Shards of glass joined the weapon and meister as they fell down into the streets.

Little beads of glass collided with the concrete of the alleyway, yet were not immediately joined by our fallen heroes. Tails was drifting downward slowly with his two tails spinning around to function as a propeller. His arms hung out in front of him in defeat, and he let out a sigh that had a hint of relief. Losing wasn't any fun, but Tails didn't have any reason to feel anxious over a fight that was already done.

"Get us back up there, Tails! We'll get him this time!" Knuckles barked.

Tails ignored his weapon, opting to run back to the streets. After reaching what seemed like a safe distance, he stopped. The two had ended up at the docks. It was quiet and they were alone, save a few rowboats that rhythmically tapped against the wooden walkways.

"What are you giving up so easily for?" Knuckles shifted out of his weapon form and frowned at Tails.

"Our attacks didn't seem to have any effect,"

"You gotta put some oomph behind it," Knuckles threw a few jabs out into the air to demonstrate.

"I think the real issue is the souls he's been eating," Tails placed a hand on his chin as he thought. "His organization is composed mostly of people who are weapons. We know he has a lot of henchmen bringing him souls and consuming some themselves. He makes his money by renting out different weapons to unregistered meisters. He uses that money to grow his army and sell to more clients. If he was able to take hits from your gauntlet form that easily, it's safe to say he's absorbed a lot of souls,"

Knuckles nodded. "He did look pretty messed up. Did you get a look at his soul?"

"We started fighting his henchmen before I got a chance," Tails avoided blaming Knuckles directly. "He was plainly eating pure souls and he was showing obvious signs of corruption. Next time we see him, I'll take a closer look. If he seems too powerful, we need to call for backup,"

"What do you mean next time? He's probably long gone by now,"

"I put a tracker on his jeans," Tails held up his surveillance gadget with a grin. "I had one that'll stay hidden amongst all those rhinestones,"

"Tails, you're a genius!"

The two sat on the edge of the docks. They hunched over the device with their legs dangling over the water.

"It captures audio too," Tails flipped a switch to turn on the speakers. Incessant chatter could be heard, but nothing important was going on yet. After a few minutes of listening, it seemed like Billy was gathering his henchmen for a meeting. Eventually a slamming of doors came through the speakers, and the meeting had begun.

"All right. As most of you know, I scuffled with some of the DWMA's hall monitors just a few minutes ago. Before any of you get all scared now that the big time's coming after us, I beat 'em no problem,"

Tails and Knuckles shifted uncomfortably before Billy continued.

"I'm amped right now fellas. Hee, ah chah!" Billy clapped loudly. The rustling of fabric through the speakers seemed to suggest he was dancing. "Got some intel today on a special hit I've been planning for a while. Just ate a power up meal and I'm feeling ready boys!" The henchmen in the meeting murmured a bit. "All right, all right here's the plan. They say if you eat a bunch of souls, then top off with a witch's soul you'll get real strong. That's how Robotnik's freaks become death scythes, anyway."

Tails and Knuckles exchanged knowing glances.

"Problem is, witches are hard to find. Even harder to kill. Ooh, wah. Just so happens that I know where to find a witch. To make things even better…." Billy talked in a hushed tone that the audio bug didn't pick up well. The henchmen grew excited over whatever he had just said. "We're bringing everyone for this one. Straight to the top, baby!"

"This is bad," Tails stood up looking worried. "We need to get back to DWMA for backup,"

"Backup will take way too long to get here. We're hours away from headquarters," Knuckles grunted in frustration, thinking for a moment. "We have to go back,"

"We can't even take on Billy alone. His whole crew is with him now!"

"Not to fight, to follow them. Knuckles grinned maliciously. "We follow them, wait for fighting to start, then take out whoever's left while they're weakened."

"No way," Tails crossed his arms and turned away.

"Think about it for a sec. If the witch wins we'll at least have a witch's location to report back and we don't have to fight. But if Billy wins, all that magical power mixed into his corrupted soul...," His expression turned serious.

"He wouldn't become a death scythe. He'd become a kishin," Tails completed the thought then let out a defeated breath. His stomach sank, making him feel ill again.

"We're only a few minutes away, and there's only one chance to stop Billy from becoming a kishin," Knuckles took off running without Tails.

"Wait up, I've got the coordinates," Tails ran after Knuckles despite the fear welling up inside.