Welcome to chapter 42 of FntS!
Shadow and Cassie's case finally reaches its climax in a way neither was expecting.
It all comes to a head and in true FntS fashion, so read and enjoy!
Shadow was behind the wheel of his Landrover with Cassie sitting next to him in the passenger seat. She'd been busy shuffling more files and calling various receptionists and lackeys trying to set up a meeting with the high judge McCrowly. Half an hour ago her hands had been busy typing on a computer or flicking through pages of information, now they busied themselves with the familiar checks of her handgun.
"You really think we're gonna run into trouble?" She asked, checking and loading a clip of ammunition.
"If what you surmised is true, than McCrowly could be one of these Assassins, and if that's the case, I want us ready for anything." He answered, having already checked his own handcannon before they set out and with his innate control over Chaos energy, Shadow was confident that they could handle anything thrown at them.
"But still, he's a High Judge. He's sat on some of the most highbrow cases of the last few years. Hell, if Dr. Robotnik had been captured than I'd bet anything McCrowly would've been the one to sentence him!" She holstered her weapon and looked sidelong at her partner, her smile faltering at his impassive expression before her mind caught up with what her mouth had said. "Oh God, I'm sorry Shadow. I didn't mean…"
"It's alright Cassie." He said solemnly as memories flashed. "Sometimes things don't go to plan. That's why we're going in as prepared as we can be."
"So walk in with a smile and a gun right?" Cassie asked with a broad grin, a grin which Shadow couldn't help but reflect.
"Exactly."
-0-
They pulled up just outside the High Court, a large white marble building situated near the centre of the city a short distance from Central Park. Its wide staircase leading up to a set of gloriously worked mahogany wooden doors flanked by large pillars carved simply but exotically.
Mobians in suits and carrying briefcases walked to and from the large doors, some standing by pillars chatting, others sitting on the stairs enjoying the sunshine. A few looked up as the pair of GUN Agents exited the large vehicle but most remained unconcerned by the new arrivals.
"I've been here a couple of times." Cassie noted conversationally. Shadow glanced at her as they began climbing the stairs. "Nothing very exciting, mostly as a note taker for GUN or to stand guard over a prisoner. But it's still rather impressive."
"I've never been here if I'm honest." Said Shadow, adding his own point of view. "Never really took an interest in what happened after the completion of a mission. Never really cared about what happened to those I had to capture."
"Oh yay! I've done something Shadow hasn't!" She cheered rather childishly. Shadow grinned at her antics but as soon as they reached the mahogany doors, changed his expression to his usual scowl. Cassie took on an expression of polite neutralism and together they pushed through the door, upsetting a trio of suited bureaucrats' in the process.
Inside the High Court was just as impressive as outside. The floor was polished dark wood arranged to make intricate patterns which ran the length and breath of the antechamber. A large staircase dominated the room with the second floor balcony running around the antechamber with corridors leading off in varying directions. Four corridors led off from the antechamber, with two on each side of the room.
"Not very defensible except from the second floor." Shadow scoffed under his breath.
"True, and anyway, look at that skylight." Cassie replied, indicating the large glass dome which made up the majority of the ceiling. "Get a squad deployed by chopper and whoever's on the second floor can kiss their asses' goodbye."
"So you know where we're going?" The ebony hedgehog asked. For a moment Cassie remained silent as they walked across the wooden floor, her boots and his skate-shoes making a true racket and drawing all sorts of disapproving looks.
"Sort of. If I remember correctly, we have to go up the stairs and take the first corridor on the left. That should lead us too a sort of reception where we can find Judge McCrowly's office from." Shadow nodded at her explanation and decided to simply follow her and look menacing.
They swiftly climbed the stone steps ignoring the glances that kept coming their way. The sight of a uniformed GUN Agent was uncommon enough in these halls, but the sight of the celebrated Agent Shadow made even the most straight faced lawyer stand and gawp.
They marched on in silence, their footsteps being softened by the worn red carpet underfoot. Wooden panelling ran the length of the corridor and the lights were a warm amber glow and the sound of the daily workings of law and order were softened to a mere murmur.
"Just through here I think." Cassie said leading the way through a set of doors and into a sprawling room divided into sections by low half walls and another office, obviously the office of the most important person there being the only other room with its own door. A few of the lawyers and barristers looked up from their desks and a couple stood and approached the Agents.
"Can I help?" Asked a red furred vixen in a uniform which Cassie thought completely inappropriate for office work. Shadow folded his arms across his chest and scowled, immediately unnerving the pair of suited Mobians and causing the others to quickly turn back to their work.
"Agent Rahna and Agent Shadow of GUN. We're here to speak with High Judge McCrowly." Cassie's tone of voice made it distinctly clear that the Agents would not take kindly to having to wait.
"I-I'm afraid Mr. McCrowly is in a meeting with Mr. Acklesfield at the moment." The other barrister, a short beaked pigeon who was already quailing under Shadow's relentless glare. The two hedgehogs glanced at each other at the mention of Acklesfield, both swiftly coming to the same conclusion.
Shadow unceremoniously barged past the two suited anthro followed by Cassie, whose hand went straight to her holster and produced her handgun. This immediately caused a ripple of panic to surge through the room as all others either dove under their desks or fled down the hallway.
Shadow leaned against the wall on one side of the door with Cassie taking up position opposite. The blinds had been pulled down and they couldn't hear any sounds coming from behind the closed door. Shadow reached into his quills and pulled out his own, more powerful handcannon and signalled that he'd break down the door in three, two, one.
His boot connected hard with the wooden door, blasting it off its hinges and sending a shower of splinters into the room beyond. Cassie spun through the now open door and dropped to one knee, levelling her pistol as she did so, with Shadow taking position just above her.
The sight that met them was something they weren't expecting. High Judge McCrowly, who they both recognised from his GUN profile, was slumped in his chair with his throat sliced open and a knife buried to the hilt in his chest, thick blood which once had run in torrents was now slowly oozing down his once immaculate black suit. Just behind him stood the so called Mr. Acklesfield with his back to the two Agents, staring out the window to the world beyond.
"Move and die, Acklesfield!" Shadow growled.
Despite the noise of their entrance, and the obvious threat on his life, the lavender hedgehog simply turned his head slightly to regard them much like one would do at the arrival of new clients. He sighed and turned back to the window.
"Just days ago I knew my place." He said solemnly. Cassie walked slowly into the office, edging towards the deceased High Judge while Shadow covered her from the doorway. "It's amazing how quickly the world can be turned upside-down."
By this time Cassie had reached the High Judge's chair and looked down at the Raven, noticing his left sleeve had been rolled up and three cuts which sliced vertically over a talon tattoo. The significance suddenly dawned on her.
"This isn't another Assassins dance is it?" The hedgehog named Acklesfield smiled.
"No, merely a personal quest to… cull the corrupt from the brotherhood." Shadow took a few paces into the office, his weapon still trained on the hedgehogs back.
"Care to explain?" He demanded as Cassie stepped back to his side.
"It seems the judge was another of these assassins." She said bringing her own weapon back up.
"Not just another assassin, but the Talon Grand Master of this territory." Acklesfield stated openly.
"So he was your boss then." Cassie surmised. "Everyone has dreams of killing their boss every now and again but this is not going to look good on your résumé."
Shadow glanced disapprovingly at Cassie who shrugged her shoulders. Neither could see the smirk of humour that flickered across the assassins' features.
"Surely killing your Talon Grand Master isn't helping this matter of corruption." Said the ebony hedgehog.
"True, but to find a cure, one must find the heart of the problem, and either fix it, or cut it out." Cassie was amazed at how calm and collected Mr. Acklesfield was. Here he was, found standing over the body of one of the most prominent men in the city, with two armed Agents prepared to shoot him without a moment's hesitation, and it was like he was simply standing in line for a newspaper.
"You keep going on about corruption, what corruption are you talking about?" Shadow demanded. Cassie, happy to let her partner take on the roll of interrogator began analysing the assassin in greater detail, taking note of a slow drip of blood which fell from his left arm.
"Shadow." She whispered, indicating her find with a quick flick of her gun barrel.
"The order of the Talon is based on the code. A code of honour which dates back more than three thousand years. We strike in silence, without fear or hesitation, and fade away as swiftly as we come. If one of the brotherhood falls, then his body and worldly belongings are burnt and his ashes scattered to the four winds. Telak, the one who was contracted to assassinate Sonic the hedgehog was, as you know, slain by a second assassin brotherhood, the Shadowbane. That was the first indication of corruption, in that Telak was hired for this attempt by Dr. Robotnik, a man who we knew would cause the world unprecedented harm should his obstacles be removed."
"And Sonic is one of those obstacles." Shadow stated confidently.
"Indeed." Acklesfield continued like Shadow's interruption had done him a favour. "The code was put into place to protect the balance of power, should Telak have succeeded in his mission then the code would have been broken, questioning why such a contract was accepted in the first place."
"That's all well and good, but why did you launch a full scaled assault on GUN headquarters!" Shadow barked, his trigger finger itching.
"The second indication of corruption within the Talon. My cabal was given information which we were told would be sufficient to retrieve Telak without confrontation, information provided by the Talon Grand Master himself. As you are no doubt aware our information was… false. Something that could have been corrected in a single day of observation. As it expired, we were forced to, improvise."
"Improvise! Six GUN personal were hospitalised with one still in critical condition!" Cassie glanced at her partner, worried that he would shoot the assassin if he didn't regain control of his anger.
"And two of my brother assassins died. If only Menaer had perished in the same manner of Otenn then we wouldn't have had to resort to…" Acklesfield went silent for a moment. "Under the name of Andria Metha'as and my own monomer, the Talon Master of my cabal and the district… we visited Menaer to, silence him. Again, the Grand Master could have used his position to free Menaer but instead we were ordered to… I never questioned my orders, it was not my place. But seeing my friend and brother sat their and knowing full well that this would be the last time I would see him alive was almost too much to bear."
"I began seeking answers, never finding them and rewarded only with frustration and resentment. Therefore, I took a step back. I began to observe what was happening, how the brotherhood was working and I realised, what's happened to the code? It had been bastardised by those who I believed knew it best! Those who I looked up too! And the code states very clearly what is to be done too those who break the code."
"So you went on your own killing spree! Spreading panic and confusion wherever you went!"
"Shadow!" Cassie hissed and the ebony hedgehog took another step back and a deep breath to centre himself once more. Acklesfield went silent for what felt like hours, but was in fact merely seconds.
"Yes. I went in search of those who'd been privy to this knowledge, and when I confronted them, they attacked. I became apparent that if the brotherhood were to survive, then this corruption needed to be removed, no matter how deep it went." Acklesfield finally turned to face them, his eyes were tired, his top shirt buttons undone and tie hanging loosely around his neck. He held his left arm gingerly against his stomach and a small calibre pistol in his right hand. Immediately Shadow and Cassie readjusted their aim.
"Drop the gun Acklesfield!" Shadow warned. The assassin smiled, almost warmly and spread his arms wide, revealing that his left wrist and the tattoo upon it had been sliced through in the same manner as the High Judge's.
"With the Grand Master and most of the Talon Masters now dead the brotherhood is in upheaval. It will be reformed and return to the days of the code, but only after the infighting has died down."
"How can you be sure that your actions have wiped out this corruption, if you're not around to oversee the transition?" Cassie asked.
"It will be many years before the Talon rise again; I can only hope that by my actions, the order will adhere once more to the code. What I have done to cure the order has sealed my fate. For the striking down of Talon Masters and the Grand Master himself is enough to warrant my own death. Better to perish now, by my own hand than wander the streets waiting for a knife or a bullet to herald my passing. Farewell Agents of GUN, you will not hear from me again." In a slow deliberate movement he placed the barrel of his weapon under his chin, smiled, closed his eyes and squeezed the trigger.
"Wait!" Cassie cried a moment too late. The gunshot echoed loudly in the confined space. The Agents stared breathless at where Acklesfield had been standing. Screams echoed from outside the office and the assassins' blood which had splattered the window and the walls slowly trickled down under the force of gravity.
Slowly, Shadow and Cassie lowered their weapons. Shadow walked slowly around the desk and looked down at the hedgehog assassin while Cassie reached for her phone to call in a GUN investigation team.
Despite the noise of screams and the unmistakable sound of sirens in the distance, the two Agents barely registered it, like the death of Acklesfield had dulled their senses. Shadow felt a hand on his shoulder and he looked at Cassie.
"I didn't think it would end like this." He said quietly, looking back down at the body slumped against the window.
"Come on." She said comfortingly. "Another team's on its way, let them take over from here."
Silently they both left the office, neither wanting to believe what had happened, but neither willing to deny it. What was true though, was that what had happened had shaken them both to the core.
-0-
Some hours later Cassie was sitting in Shadow's chair putting the finishing touches on her final report, having decided that to continue pursuing their investigation would be a waste of time and resources which could be used elsewhere. They had both returned shortly after the GUN investigation team had arrived to take over, Shadow had disappeared to the shooting range and she'd buried herself in work. Neither had spoken on the drive back to command, and although the hedgehog who had called himself Acklesfield had told them more information than either of them had expected they had no desire to talk about it. At least not yet.
Cassie sighed as she saved and closed down her report. Stretching she looked up just as the door opened and Shadow entered.
"Coffee?" Cassie smiled and stood, accepting the small cardboard cup held out by her partner.
"Thanks." Both sipped from their beverages, relishing in the aftertaste of ground instant coffee. A moment of silence wafted between them, the adrenaline of the day having left both of them exhausted. "Fancy going for a drink?"
Shadow was silent for a while, sipping at his coffee again.
"Sure." He grabbed her jacket from the back of the door and flipped it onto his shoulder. "Come on."
Cassie switched off the lights as they left, and left the door to swing slowly closed.
"Emeralds Rest?" She asked slipping her free arm through his.
"Yeah. Sounds good."
Although they had seen something terrible that day, they had both seen worse and knew it was part of the job. They couldn't afford to be dragged down by every bad thing that happened, they had to square their shoulders and carry on. Shadow looked across at the woman on his arm.
"Hey Cassie." Her eyes met his. "I think I know who I am now. I'm Shadow the Hedgehog. I am who I am."
"And don't you forget it." She rested her head gently to his shoulder and together they would never have to be afraid of the shadows.
-0-
Dozens of miles away, several small shuttles of sleek design and advanced technology swooped low over the waters. They kept in close formation as they skirted the waves and remained on radio silence throughout the forced exodus.
Onboard the lead ship, Imperator Pir'oth Ix sat seething in his chair looking over the command deck with barely contained rage. Grand Master Karagok had retired to his private chambers with orders not to be disturbed, and with Procurator Lien-Da in emergency medical care under Doctor Zachary and the ever illusive Doctor Finticus having disappeared somewhere, the Imperator had little to do except watch as the Nocturne piloted them onwards.
"Pilot! Any signs of a secluded landing zone yet?" The albino Imperator bellowed.
"Not yet Sir." Came the answer. "Although scans are picking up some strange interference from some whe-"
Ahead of the swift craft the water surged and chopped as it was displaced by something huge rising from under the waves. The first thing to emerge was a tall and expansive command tower, complete with a thick glass viewing bridge. As the Nocturne craft scattered, more and more of this massive construct emerged from the watery depths until a truly awe inspiring airship rose to hover just above the waves.
"Imperator! The unknown vessel is attempting visual contact!" Cried the panicking pilot.
"Inform the Grand Master! On screen!" Moments later a small screen lowered from a compartment in the ceiling and hung just before the Imperator's chair, just as Grand Master Karagok strode in, clearly roused by the impromptu evasive manoeuvres. The blank screen was quickly replaced with the image of a round faced human with dark glasses and a large ginger moustache.
"Who are you!" Grand Master Karagok demanded, to which the human grin maniacally.
"I am Doctor Ivo Robotnik. And I have a proposition for you, my friend." Imperator Ix swiftly relinquished his chair for the Grand Master and retreated to stand behind him as Karagok sat down heavily, his eyes hooded with malice.
"Why should I listen to anything you have to say, friend?" The emphasis placed upon the word 'friend' was such as to destroy any thought of sincerity. The human's grin grew wider.
"Because what I have to offer will not only win you back your island, but together, we will take control of the world!"
And so ends FntS, and I want to thank everyone who's joined me on this mad little canter around the written word. Prepare for a list:
Mnicknack, Koollolly, Sum 141, dark leader omega, kharmachaos, OddSakura, Outis aka nobody, Banhammer44, flora222, Silhouette the Daemon-Wolf, Michaela the Hedgehog, TooGingerForAName, Stonefaced610, zebsolo, Darth Litarius, SeriaTheGoldenDragon, cba to log in, Storm337, Chaotixs11 and everyone else who read, enjoyed but remained anonymous.
But don't worry, just because Fear not the Shadows has come to an end, doesn't mean that the gang'll fade away! I've already got a sequal in the works and a seperate FntS story following Sonic and Amy to come. And don't forget the journey of one echidna Daemon hunter, got big plans for him.
All that said, I will be posting up a short epilogue sometime next week just to round things up.
But for now, from me Corrupt TE it's thank you, and fairwell.