January, Friday 8th. 32XX

Westropolis City Courthouse, Westropolis

Early Morning

The pedestrian crossing that had bore witness to a hostile semi-truck the night before which is now overturned on one side have been cordoned-off by the W.C.P.D as a crime scene and a few G.U.N agents were present at it with the police officers doing their jobs investigating the gruesome crime scene. A few non-police personnels were helping to load the damaged semi via a crane onto a flatbed truck.

"...Director of the Mobius Mint?" Shadow was asking the inspector that's overseeing the scene.

"Aye. When we searched his pockets for ID, he has a card identifying his occupation plus his name." The brown-haired inspector nodded his head as he shows Shadow the deceased racoon's bagged up job card for him and his colleagues to see. "His suitcase contained paperwork and designs for purposed new mobium bills that we've been able to mostly retrieve when the case burst open in the impact."

"This guy got messed up bad..." Topaz said with a frown as she looked at the bodybag of the raccoon being hauled away on a stretcher after the crime scene photographers took the pictures and drew a chalkline on the ground around the body for reference.

"We think he was killed instantly from the collision and by the time emergency responders came to the scene, he was far gone from any hope of recovery."

"How's the driver now?" Shadow asks. Arms crossed and quietly assessing the scene.

"We have him in custody for questioning but he can't recall the incident and the last thing he could remember is that he suddenly had the thought of running someone over before his mind went blank from there til after the semi had tipped over." The inspector answered. "He doesn't have any prior record nor any known previous psychotic episodes and had even testified against a criminal in court once. Though, he did plea guilty to vehicular manslaughter of his own accord."

"He became another victim of the epidemic... Victims of the other cases shows similar patterns in their sudden psychotic breakdown episodes." Shadow surmises based on what he's hearing from the inspector.

"We think that might be the case. A witness said his eyes were rolled back and was drooling when they went to pull him out of the overturned vehicle. Similar to the victims of those other reported cases."

"Sounds like it." Rouge said, nodding in agreement. Being privy to the intel regarding the symptoms.

"Any idea where the late Director would have been coming from at the time?" Shadow pressed for more information.

"He would have been coming from the direction of the courthouse. Likely at the City Mayor Hall or at City Bank." The inspector told them, directing their gazes in the direction of the aforementioned buildings. "However, we're still investigating and retracing his last known steps before coming to this crossing. Checking if there's anything that could shed some new light on this but I doubt we'll find much on what he was up to unless we find someone who does."

"Still, whatever he was doing beforehand would help give us a fuller picture of what's going on even if they don't have anything to do with his cause of demise. It would give us something to go off on." Shadow held his chin inquisitively, glancing back at the chalk outline. "He wasn't killed for no reason. Somebody wanted him out of the picture and the culprits behind his death had to have some knowledge of where he was heading to in order to have that driver be used to run him over at the crossing. Too deliberate of an act to be done on a whim."

"I assume you'll all be looking into his background and the other people he would have been seeing last, correct?"

"It's what we're all here for." Shadow nodded. "This is a matter above what your department would be equipped to take on and handle given the nature of the cause."

"Exactly." Rouge added, hands on hips with a work mode face on. "Surely there is some skullduggery going on here and we're getting to the bottom of this."

"Since you're here for the mental stuff, you have the department's full assistance. Excuse me." The brown-haired man nodded in understanding. He then goes off to speak with one of his colleagues for their assessments of the scene.

"Someone had contact with the culprits to have him assassinated and chose the driver to carry out the assassination. Likely an organised effort." Shadow then turns around to Topaz and Rouge with Omega performing his own scans, seeing if he could detect anything that the organic eye can't pick up on. "What's your takes on this?"

"Whoever did this had a motive for offing him here." Topaz was checking her tactical handheld device. "Apparently, he was in the process of approving a new type of mobium bill that would've shortened the bill value line by quite a bit. He had the designs for the plates in his suitcase."

"And according to the paperwork retrieved, there's plans to change over the materials of the bills from cotton fiber and linen that's in current circulation to the new polymer design with new features incorporated into the graphic design. Making them substantially harder to counterfeit than the old cotton bills." Rouge interjects to support Topaz's points. "Enough to deal a major blow to our local counterfeit syndicates."

"I suppose we should start looking up folks that ran counterfeiting operations and see what we come up with." Topaz conceded with a nod.

"Considering the nature of this assassination and the police off to work on retracing his last known movements for us, either the counterfeiters or someone with a vested interest in the counterfeit scene would stand to benefit from this incident." Shadow voices his take on the matter. "Once we come up with a list of our likely suspects, we'll run the list against the folks who would have been meeting him and having knowledge of the purposed design for the new bills. Furthermore, this could also help us find someone with a connection to the party responsible for the ongoing mental incidents."

"Of course." Topaz replied with a nod.

"Found anything yet Omega?" Shadow turns to E-123 Omega when he came back to them.

"My sensors has detected no anomalies or emissions in the area." Omega reported to them. "Not even a faint lingering trace in the air. If they have a method for carrying out their acts, they are of a kind my scans currently cannot pick up on."

"Hmph. These people are good at covering their own tracks..." Shadow held his frowning expression at the news. "However good they may be, they'll eventually be found out and captured in time. There's no such thing as the perfect crime."

"Especially with Team Dark on the case." Rouge added with confidence.

"They may evade justice for now but judgement will always come to collect it's due one way or another." Shadow closes his eyes in contemplative thought before snapping them open again. "I will make sure of it. Let's go take a look into that list of known counterfeit organisations and organisation suspected to have be involved in the counterfeit scene..."


Cyber City College Campus, Cyber City

Lunchtime

"...With Director G. Chalk's sudden and unexpected death last night, the Mobius Mint has told the press this morning that a new director will be appointed in time after tributes have been made for the late director..." A radio in the cafeteria plays the current radio news. "There's been no comment so far on when the funeral service will be due..."

"...If it's not someone having a mental shutdown, it's someone having an out of nowhere psychotic episode." Akira says to Doctor Omega, sitting at a table eating a pear he brought from the counter. "You know anything about it?"

"I'm afraid I know just as much as you do on the cases. If I knew better, we'd be off to stop whatever's causing them. Also, why the pear!?"

"Pears are good for you. Don't you know?"

"Doesn't mean I like the fruit and I can give you a myriad of reasons on why they're dreadful little things!"

"I got all day. You're supposed to be the genius here unless they were right about your grades—"

"That information is classified!"

"Yo." Fiona came over to sit by Akira, her tray having a burger, deep fried cheese curds and a cup of coffee. Wearing a blueish variant of her jumpsuit attire along with matching boots and looking more chipper today.

"Morning." Akira greeted the vixen. "About yesterday..."

"Not even a worry on my mind." Fiona assured him, waving dismissively. "It's all good here."

"A relaxing tour somehow spoiled by his presence..." Akira took another bite of his pear. "Seems like you've had run-ins with him before."

"He talks big but he knows not to fuck with me."

"Probably because you'd hit him in the mommy-daddy button."

"Well, more than just that..." Fiona responded vaguely.

"In any case, he's a pain in the ass."

"About that..." Fiona would ask, having questions of her own since yesterday. "What was that about anyway?"

"About me and Anton?"

"Yeah. Who is this other friend of yours' he mentioned?"

"Manic you mean? I know him and same goes for his friend Little John. Anton's not fond of either, especially Manic."

"I guess it's a good thing he knows not to mess with me... I wish I could say the same for you if I may be blunt."

"The first time I met him, he threatened to have the shit kicked out of me along with Manic and that was on the same day I confronted Migu about that rumour. Saying she came home in tears over things that I didn't even say and you know what I actually said to her. We were in Shōga—"

"Wait, she did what?" Fiona said in alarm. "That fuckin' bitch. Alright, I've stayed my hand long enough but now I am pissed. Listen, you leave dealing with her to me alright?"

"Here's the thing, Anton knows she's lying about all that. His problem are with me because of my ties to Manic and he's only using Migu's lie just as an excuse to get at me since I was with Manic that day." Akira clarifies. "We were both in his territory when I had the misfortune of meeting him and we both had to run like hell from his guys."

"Trust me when I say that I can deal with your Migu problem. I know people."

"I'd rather not have you get dragged into the mess with me... I'm the one who got myself into it and unlike me, you know fully what your future will be after college. A future her family could easily take away if given the justification to do so." Akira dissuaded her from the idea. "Besides, him seeing you being associated with me the other day will probably make him suspect you first in the future if anything happens to her."

"If you really don't want me involved, then I'll stay out of it out of respect for you." Fiona nodded reluctantly.

"Thank you." Akira replied in appreciation to Fiona not trying to force herself into the situation. "Right now, it's a problem me and Manic will have to deal with ourselves. I do appreciate the thought. You don't need to go through that hassle for a stranger like me."

"Well, I got stuff of my own to deal with to be honest..." Fiona admitted. She then got a text on her phone which she quickly checked and paled when she saw it.

"Fuck... I gotta make a call. I'll be right back." She said. Quickly hurrying to a corner to make a call on her phone.

He'd be curious as to what that text was for her and caught a glimpse of it when she pulled it out to check it due to where he was seated. However since she told him that she won't insert herself into his matter with Anton, he wasn't going to insert himself into her problems either out of curtesy with him mentally telling Omega to dismiss the text since he doesn't need to know.

The sight of former policewoman Jean with needles cluttered around her feet from yesterday still permeated his thoughts and he's got his own questions about Manic. What exactly happened in Manic's past that brought him to where he is now and how come it's only him plus Little John these days, it's something he'd like to know for answers.

However, he'll let Manic come around himself and tell him the whole story. After a little bit, Fiona soon returned. "Sorry about that. Just a slight personal emergency. I'll prolly take care of it after classes today."

"If it's an emergency, then don't let me be the one stopping you." Akira nodded in understanding. "I've got business with Manic and them to care of take myself too after afternoon rolls in."

"I understand. You do you my friend."

'My friend? Eh. Feeling less alone after coming to this city of vice and sin... A hell I personally picked to live in...' Akira finishes his pear. "Still have the rest of the classes to go through before I can head over to the other side to meet them at Rockwell's. You probably know of it yourself."

"Oh yeah, I've heard of that place. Good milkshakes and cream sodas there I hear."

"I've been to it once or twice since hearing about it."

"Hope you have fun with this Manic person there."

"More fun than spending another moment longer with Anton and at least he's doing something for his side of the city. I don't know the full extent of Anton's influence here but certain he ain't doing shit to help it and knowing that he's got a mansion here, probably leeching off from it along with Manic's life too. A guy he's obsessed with to near-pathological levels..." Akira wonders what horrors the rest of Anton's Palace has in-store for his little band of infiltrators. "Hopefully, we won't have to run into him today and have the fun spoiled that way."

"Here's hoping to that."

"Yep. How about you, still having frat boys trying to ask you out and how are you handling the rumour mill today?"

"Doing good day by day. Pretty much most people know not to fuck with me but there are times when someone will approach me about it."

"Do they really have nothing better to do tha—"

"I handle them Akira. I remind them who they're talking to and they back off."

"But there's always a meat head who pushes his luck and missing the hint."

"And I deal with them." Fiona responded darkly.

"Uh... Yeah." Akira slowly nodded to that. Fiona went silent for a little bit.

"...If you were given the power to make a difference on society like Sonic and them has, what would you do?" The wolf would ask her that poignant question.

"That's a good question..." Fiona took a moment to think it over. "I guess I'd start by trying to help people that society won't help."

"By giving them the help they need, you make the ultimate difference for them. Would you base your goal on that of helping others like you would as a doctor or one rooted in giving justice to the suffering and pointing a light at those who practice injustice?"

"I would want to like go into places where there's a war or a country oppressed by a despot and treat people that aren't able to access medical services. Treat civilians caught in the crossfire of active combat. Maybe treat injured survivors at natural disaster sites and help with the relief efforts."

"In essence, being the modern day Brigid."

"Yep." Fiona replied with certainty. "And I'm gonna study my ass off to get to that point. I'm gonna get my diploma, I'm gonna get my medical license and start helping people. Heal the world."

Fiona's own statement reminded Akira of why he chose to break free from the shackles of his own acedia and quit ignoring a world in need of help. In a way, the vixen he's only known for a few days has indirectly helped him to find his own self again when he had lost sight of himself because of a great tragedy in his life.

"To heal the whole world, you start with helping one. What you choose to do as a healer makes all the difference than what a scroll of certificate can properly express." The wolf said in earnest. "When Prometheus gave man the gift of fire to help them survive the dreary winters and the creatures well-advantaged, he did so of his own choosing. Not because of what his peers in Mount Olympus wanted it so which were none."

"...That's pretty deep there..." Fiona blinks in surprise at his analogy.

"Is it wrong though?"

"It's not. In a way, it's very right."

"When one takes a look at history objectively along with it's countless tales, they come away with important lessons from the nature of morality to the concept of free will and more that still applies to the now." Said Akira, making a point to her. "You choosing to be a doctor is from your own experience and yours' alone."

"Exactly. I wanna be like... I dunno..." She thought a moment. "... I want be like Saint Clarabel. The rabbit that was a nun who became a nurse during the Great War and would basically treat anyone that was hurting; even if they were on the other team. It made people raise their eyebrows at first but with the work she did, she managed to bring peace to so many battles. Not to mention there was all her work with the natural disaster relief."

"Reality can be cruel as you've told me once but people like her reminds us that it's not all there is to it. Your dream is to give hope as she did and you want to do it in a way that can be done in reality and still true to the idea regardless. She must have known what she was doing then and did what's right. We're always letting our skepticisms make us overlook the little things and only focus on the bigger picture."

"Pretty much. When the eruption of Inferno Peak in Hill Top Zone on West Side Island ravaged the town surrounding the mountain; she was there treating people for smoke inhalation, second to third degree burns and injuries sustained from falling rubble. She even helped a local church finish their Sunday mass amidst all the destruction... After the eruption stopped of course. She also teamed up with a local cantina to make meals for families that lost their homes."

"And those people's lives were affected by her kindness in the process. You aim to do the same when you graduate."

"I might not join a nunnery but I'll definitely go from place to place."

"Hope you make it some day."

"I hope so too… I really hope so…"

"Well, well... The red wolf and the vixen sitting next to each other..." Like her big brother, Migu came in like an unwanted disease with a sneering smiling face just begging to be wiped off. "And one of you you say you both aren't totally an item together."

"...Morning Veruca." Akira replied, knowing it's one of those days with her. "What do you want now?"

"Was just feeling curious when I spotted the pair of you together here in the cafeteria."

"Well, you ever hear of the phrase 'curiosity killed the cat' by any chance?" Fiona remarked to her.

"If that was even true, they'd be like dodos now. Dead and extinct."

"Well, Migu… If you don't back the fuck off, you'll be extinct too."

"Very bad bedside manners for someone studying hard to be a doctor." Migu retorted with a tut.

"You're not being a decent mobian being either with that attitude you've got going on." Akira said to her. "How about you try learning to be one sometime?"

"I don't have to take cheek from a four-eyed mutt that's friends with no-good street hoodlums."

"At least they're decent people compared to your big brother..." The wolf fired back, crossing his arms. "Besides, I don't even see a guy with you unless he's silent and invisible. I might have you figured wrong after all..."

"My big brother is more of a man than you'll be. I can have any man I want if I so desire and that's a fact!"

"Does that include him as well?" Akira came back at her with that one. Migu visibly grinding her teeth at that remark.

"...With a mouth like that, it's no wonder brother thinks you're someone who thinks he's hot shit. I bet you wouldn't last a minute in a fight with him."

"I could care less on what he thinks about me and what I said to him yesterday still stands."

"Whatever. You're all bark and no bite..." Migu rolls her eyes before walking off. "Nothing more than a pup pretending to be the big bad wolf..."

"Thought she'd never leave..." Akira rubs his brow.

"Like I said. Total Mega-Bitch." Fiona added.

"That's an insult to all female dogs everywhere by comparing her to them."

"She makes most high school preppy valley girls look like chaste nuns."

"That's for sure."

"I just wanna give her dad a pat on the back and tell him it's going to be okay even though we both know damn well it's not."

"He any better than his five children?"

"Hardly but for completely different reasons. Primary reason is because he's a total loser that haven't been able to keep a single job for more than a few months until he recently got the job as Fumfer's head chef."

"Must have fallen upwards that day." Akira shook his head. "A loser father with out of control children."

"Poor bastard…" Fiona said, shaking her head.

"Poor anyone living with them for neighbours..." The two would continue chatting til it was time for them to get back to class...


Soucie Street, Geno City

Afternoon

Manic was waiting for Akira to arrive first since he wanted to go check on Jean before they went into the Palace. Johnny and Cortez would be the first to meet Manic over by Rockwell's.

"He here?" Cortez asks Manic.

"He will be I imagine. I was gonna check on a friend of mine before we went in."

He patted a bag he had on him that had some food, fresh water and even a pillow inside it. "I was gonna bring her some more stuff since I brought her some blankets and food yesterday."

"Why not go check on her now?" Johnny questioned.

"Figure I could at least check on her to see if she's alright, drop the provisions off and then head back here to wait on him."

"We'll wait here." Cortez said to Manic. "You go and see her."

Manic nodded, heading to the alley where Jean would no doubt be sitting around in to go check on the ex-cop. Akira arrived a minute or two after Manic had headed off.

"Manic here?" He asks the pair.

"He's gone to see a friend." Johnny told him. "Should be back soon."

"I'll go see how his friend's doing today." Akira says to the two. "Then we can go do our infiltration together."

"Understood." Cortez nodded. The red wolf went to go check on Jean today.

When Akira got there, he'd happen upon Manic scolding Jean. The latter of whom seemed to very stoned, likely under the effects of heroin.

"...We talked about this!" Manic said to her, holding up a freshly-used needle in his gloved hand. "You can't be using these drugs!"

"I'm sorry..." She murmured, her eyes nearly as red as Akira's fur.

"Look, I'm telling this for your own good. If you keep using this stuff you might get sent to the sanitorium or worse, you could die of an overdose."

"Where's your dealer at?" Akira made his presence known to the two.

"He's... Long gone... Probably back at his home by now..."

"Of course he'd be gone... Same guy from last time?"

Jean nodded sadly. "I had no money, so I paid him with a blowie..."

"Jean, you didn't... Jean, you're better than this!"

"He came so hard on me and insistent..." The ex-cop murmured with a very stoned expression. Manic sighed, looking down.

"You can't keep doing this. One of these days you're gonna get very hurt..."

"Did he threaten you into doing it?" Akira asks her. Jean shook her head.

"He offered it as a form of payment..."

"That's not payment. That might be how he phrases it but you, an ex-officer should know that is certainly not the case."

"But I needed the drugs... I needed them... I need them to forget..."

"It is easy to want to forget some memories and I sometimes want to do the same myself but memories are memories for a reason." Akira shook his head. "But those drugs are just a temporary fix and all they do is leave behind negative side effects. You promised Manic you'd stopped taking them and yet here you are going back on them. Tell me something; what keeps you going after losing everything to Krouch?"

Jean looked over at Akira, silent a moment. "...Nothing... I have nothing... I lost everything... I have no surviving family... I have no job... No home... No friends to talk to much except for Manic... I have nothing to live for nor do I have anything left to lose... Except my freedom..."

She reached into her cardboard box shelter and got out a newspaper depicting an old article about the Knothole Freedom Fighters liberating a village from Robotnik. "They... They are what keeps me going... I want to be them... As long as I have freedom, then... I..."

"What about Krouch? He ruined your life and you ended up serving prison time for what his cronies did. You always knew the charges against Manic were bullshit and you probably don't believe the official verdict on the death of Manic's father either."

"I don't... I never did... I... I had those files that I gathered... The ones I was using to put together a case against him... He took them when I got ousted... I don't know where he put them... I don't even know if they're even still around today..."

"Manic told me he's known for making damning evidence like yours' disappear."

"Then... My investigating was for nothing..."

"Unless you've got backups of them hidden somewhere we don't know of. We'll might be able to continue where you left off." Akira turns to Manic. "Come on. Let's go and give Little John a call. She needs it."

The two bid Jean a good day after Manic rang Little John to come bring her over to the hideout under the pretence of giving her some soup; deciding it's time to make the call for her after seeing the needles as they head back over to Rockwell's where Johnny and Cortez were waiting for them.

"You two ready for this?" Johnny asks.

"If your underwear's tight, we don't wanna know." Cortez added lightheartedly.

"We got the supplies and protection we need for this." Akira gestured to Manic's bag. "How about you two?"

"Brought our own bag along with our stuff in it." Johnny replied, showing them his dojo-duffel bag slung over his shoulder.

"Then let's go to Gazebo Street and begin the infiltration..."

To Be Continued...