Sonic the Hedgehog: Attorney of Law

by thedraconicwerewolf

Sonic is a defense attorney with a law degree fresh out of high school thanks to his advanced studies in the ways of the judicial system. He's now able to defend others from various allegations. Will his training be enough to help him prove his clients' innocence? And what will happen when a ghost of his past that made him walk the path of law comes around once again?

36. The LK-9 Case Turnabout Pt 9

Hello everybody! Let me start off by saying that I accidentally lied again in my last author's note. I said that this was going to be the last chapter in this story. Well, I figured that this was way too long to be just one chapter and can easily be cut into two. You might see why by the time you're done reading this.

But yeah, this author's note is going to be unusually short. I don't really have much to say this time around, and I'm not feeling too well at the moment. Believe me when I say it was an added challenge to get this chapter written as well as I can while drugged out on cold medication. Oh, the things I suffer through just to appease you avid readers...

But that's enough of my woes. Hope you enjoy this new chapter. Please don't forget to leave a review telling me what you think about the new chapter. Until the next update to this or any of my other stories on here! And have a happy Thanksgiving. But since this is a once in a lifetime moment in history, Happy Thanksgivukkah, a combo of thanksgiving and Hanukkah. This year, the two holidays are on the same day.

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Evidence:

Attorney's Badge: Sonic's badge proving that he's a genuine defense attorney. Ever since getting tied into a murder because of him losing it, he's since taken precautions to make sure that it stays secured within the inside of his gloves.

Pistol: The weapon that was recovered at the Mobius Docks. The ballistic markings on the bullet extracted from Ms. Mae's body matches the gun. Signs show that it was fired twice, the second happening during Shadow's case. It also bears Shadow's fingerprints. It also appears that it was also used in the LK-9 Incident as the weapon to have murdered Maria Robotnik.

Picture: A photograph given to Sonic by Knuckles who had initially received it from Salemand Eres. It shows a picture of a white-furred lion with occasional blue spots on all fours like a wild animal and smiling brightly at the camera. Amazingly, his entire demeanor appears almost child-like despite his rather strong and toned body. It's clear that he has the rare genetic disorder Feralisis Syndrome.

LK-9 Case File: A case file summarizing all the information gathered by police and detectives at the height of the LK-9 Incident. A copy of the file was given to Sonic and Tails by Vector in hopes that it would help them obtain the answers they seek about the case. Just before the trial began, it was discovered that both the paper and digital forms were destroyed. Vector's and Silver's official copies are the only two left to exist.

Vector's Account: Testimony recorded by Tails that detail what Vector saw in the courthouse lounge on the day of Knuckles' acquittal. He said he saw Mephiles entering the lounge for the first time in his entire career in order to watch over Sonic's case. He then said the old prosecutor left the room with cell phone in hand after hearing Shadow exclaim that Ace be held in protective custody.

Notes: Notes taken by Tails that depict what he, Sonic, and Silver had discussed regarding possible connections with Sonic's cases and the LK-9 Incident. It's speculated that all the murderers in the previous cases were orchestrated by a single mastermind. It also appears that this person is involved in the smuggling ring Interpol is investigating.

Case Summary File: A file found in the LK-9 Case File that summarizes the scene of the crime. The crime took place at the Mobius Dock's lighthouse that was then a business known as the "Prycey Seafood Company". It was owned by three people and had employed one person to work on cargo duty; two of the owners were Lois and Maxwell Pryce with only a lesser percentage of the business to their name. An unnamed third person had owned a majority of the business before it was forced closed upon being in the spotlight of a murder.

Witness List: A list of witnesses found in the LK-9 Case File. According to the list, there were four potential witnesses to the murder. Two of them were Max and Lois Pryce and have been recorded as supplying witness statements to the police. The third person was Salemand Eres who appears to have been working at the Prycey Seafood Company at the time, although Shadow states that he was merely working undercover then. A fourth person, the third owner of the business, was kept anonymous for some reason and had his wish to refuse to testify be granted.

Victims' Report: A report that supplies basic details of the victims of the LK-9 Incident. One of them was a senior detective by the name of Charles Hedgehog, Sonic's uncle. The second victim was a defense attorney called Maria Robotnik, Shadow's good friend and apparently a relative of Dr. Robotnik.

Charles' Autopsy Report: Charles was found dead with a single strike to the head with a blunt object. The bruises covering his body and on his fists show that he most likely struggled with his killer prior to dying. The murder weapon was the Ornamental Cane discovered to have been in Interpol custody for the past five years. The report makes no mention of any puncture wounds being found on the body.

Maria's Autopsy Report: Maria was found dead with a single gunshot wound to her head. The bullet was shot at a distance and went straight through her skull. The entry wound was from the back and exited the front. There were no signs of any struggle.

Bullet: The bullet that was found lodged in a wall after killing Maria Robotnik. It was proven five years ago through ballistic testing that it was fired from the Pistol that was used once again on Prosecutor Flora Mae. According to the trajectory report, it was fired from a position directly parallel to the hallway.

Diagram: Floor plans that show the interior of the lighthouse five years ago when it was still known as the "Prycey Seafood Company". Vector has written in a red sharpie on it the path Maria took upon entering the lighthouse. She first went to the bookshelf located on the other side of the foyer before making her way to the office. She then went back to the bookshelf where she was ultimately killed.

Statements: Statements made by Sonic and friends five years ago about their kidnapping ordeal. All four said the same thing and that they were blindfolded when they entered the lighthouse. They felt themselves going downstairs and were then left in a pitch black and windowless room. However, detectives failed to find said room. That and they were ultimately discovered on the lighthouse second floor, a fact that none of them were able to properly explain. As such, their statements were considered useless and shuffled away.

Leon's Statement: Testimony regarding the moments leading up to Leon's kidnapping. He entered the old Prycey Seafood Warehouse and went to the office in an attempt to collect more information with regards to either the smuggling ring or their person of interest. Before he could perform a thorough search, he was soon attacked and imprisoned in the office before the Chaotix Detective Agency found and rescued him. He mentioned that the room looked as though it had been rifled through when he came to.

Warehouse Keypad: A sophisticated password system for the door to the Prycey Seafood Warehouse. According to Salem, the security company in charge of the password is still supplying service to the building. However, the bi-annual password change is sent to only one person. It's suspected that Mephiles is the one with access to the new passwords.

Salem's Testimony: Testimony recorded during Salem's court appearance. He testified to working overtime at the warehouse from midnight until one. He made it clear that nobody left the lighthouse the moment he went out to take a look after hearing gunshots. All four employees, including himself, were scattered about the Prycey Seafood Business grounds when the police had arrived. Charles was still alive when he first approached him. He also mentioned that Maria and Charles had knowledge of the smuggling ring and believed through their last case's client that the company had ties to the ring.

Print Report: Documents the prints that were found in the warehouse office. One of them belonged to Leon and were made during his entrapment. The second set were made from gloved hands and couldn't be identified. However, the gloved prints only touched certain areas of the room and indicated that the perpetrator knew exactly where to look for what they wanted.

Warehouse Office Diagram: A blueprint of where everything in the office was. It also has markings on it which demonstrate where the gloved prints and blood were found. Two prints were found on the handles of a file cabinet situated behind the desk. Another set was found all over the wall-mount safe. There were no other gloved prints to be found. The blood was found in the center of the room where a clean spot devoid of dust was found.

Blood Analysis: A forensics report done on the blood found in the warehouse office. While it had appeared recently, a proper examination of it couldn't be done because the composition had been destroyed with bleach. The only known clean sample was taken from Leon's nails from when he wounded the perpetrator, but that alone isn't enough to prove who it belonged to due to lack of a proper culprit.

Written Statement: A letter that was written by the fourth witness five years ago at the start of the LK-9 Incident. A handwriting analysis has shown that Mephiles was the one who wrote it out.

Letter: A document found in the lighthouse basement instructing Max Pryce to murder Lois. The handwriting analysis shows that it couldn't have been Mephiles who written it out. In fact, the penmanship of the letters seem to be a mash of various writing styles and suggests the writer is well-versed in differing writing formats. The proof that it was written out by the same person is the fact that the structure of the E and S when put together are consistently the same throughout the letter.

Ornamental Cane: The weapon used to kill Charles Hedgehog five years ago. The blood found on the serpent head's teeth couldn't be properly analyzed due to the interference of an organic substance in the composition. Upon further examination of the organic substance, it was discovered to be a special type of poison obtained only through a rare breed of snake found in the forests of Mobotropolis. There is no known cure for the poison, and the one inflicted is forced into a lifetime of specialized antibiotics only accessible through prescription. Also, the poison leaves an everlasting scar from where it enters the body; a bald spot is also present on anthropomorphs with fur.

Five-Year-Old Photograph: A picture taken by Dr. Robotnik five years ago. The time stamp shows it was taken just ten minutes before the double murders occurred along with scribbles on the back saying it was taken in the Prycey Seafood Warehouse. It shows Mephiles in a dimply lit area leaning against a crate and talking on his cell phone while looking through an address book. It's believed that he might've been trying to organize a black market auction for the smuggling ring. On the ground next to him is a shiny object made obscure due to it's glint.

Profiles:

Sonic Hedgehog: He's a seventeen-year-old cobalt hedgehog who has taken upon himself to act as the defense for the LK-9 Incident. However, he knows next to nothing about the case and must learn as much as he can during the course of the trial. He wishes to try and solve the case despite the fact that expert investigators over the past five years have failed to do so.

Miles Prower: A twelve-year-old two tailed fox who likes to go by his nickname "Tails". Ever since proving himself to be an above average investigator during the precinct murder, he has been hired by Dr. Robotnik to be the law firm's local detective. He's now working alongside Sonic in an attempt to find answers that lie hidden within the LK-9 Incident.

Knuckles Echidna: An eighteen-year-old red echidna who is a detective at the local Precinct. Despite having nothing to add on the case, he's decided to watch the proceedings in the gallery. He delivered the LK-9 evidence to Vector after learning that someone had managed to destroy both the electronic and paper versions of the case file.

Salemand Eres: An Interpol Agent who has decided to reveal his true identity in court in order to be granted immunity from the charges of tampering with the scene of a crime and removal of evidence. He was working undercover in the Prycey Seafood Company at the time the double-murders happened. His real name is actually "Salem".

Shadow Hedgehog: An eighteen-year-old ebon furred hedgehog who became a prosecutor at sixteen. He has been cleared of murder thanks to Sonic and is now overlooking the case from the gallery to see what will surface during the trial regarding the LK-9 Incident. He's prepared to be pinned as a murderer due to his fingerprints being on the Pistol that killed Maria.

Silver Hedgehog: A nineteen-year-old silver furred hedgehog who is the country's youngest Senior Detective. He has taken it upon himself to testify to the courts as if he were one of the detectives from the initial investigation of the LK-9 Incident. Everything he knows about the case is through the many reports that have been documented over the past five years.

Mephiles: A sixty-five year old veteran prosecutor whose ruthlessness is well known both inside and out of the courtroom. He expects nothing but perfection in his work and condones from his opponents nothing short from a blatantly relevant question and an extremely well-based argument. Salem has pointed him out as being a person of interest for Interpol's smuggling ring; this has inadvertently turned him into a potential suspect for the LK-9 Incident.

Vector Crocodile: A twenty-three-year old local prosecutor who is friends with Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles as well as Shadow's coworker. He has decided to continue with his work as a freelance detective along with Charmy Bee despite the conviction of his friend and partner Espio that caused shadows about the integrity of his work that soon quickly dissipated. He has also taken it upon himself to oversee the LK-9 Incident as a prosecutor and help as much as he can to keep the trial going and uncover the truth behind it all.

Leukis Kruger: Salem's younger brother who's afflicted with the rare genetic disorder, Feralisis Syndrome. He also happens to be with Interpol. According to Salem, they were reunited after Leukis had managed to successfully shake off members of the smuggling ring who figured out his true identity and wanted him dead. His real name is "Leon".

Charles Hedgehog: Sonic's uncle with greyish blue fur who was once a resourceful and reliable senior detective down at the local precinct. Because of the events from five years ago, he became an unfortunate victim of what is now known as the LK-9 Incident. Was the key reason why Sonic decided to pursue a career as a defense attorney.

Maria Robotnik: Shadow's good friend with beautifully long blond hair who was once a defense attorney. She apparently has some relations to Dr. Robotnik. Because of the events from five years ago, she became an unfortunate victim of what is now known as the LK-9 Incident. Was the key reason why Shadow decided to pursue a career as a prosecutor.

Ace Sleuth: A former Senior Detective who was jailed for the murder of his fiancee. He was then sent to a secluded safe house courtesy of Shadow upon discovering he had some connections with the LK-9 Incident. However, some unknown person discovered where he was hiding and killed him. An anonymous note sent to the Precinct telling officers about the murder seems to have been written by the mysterious fourth witness.

Charmy Bee: A young and hyper eight-year-old kid who works with Vector at the Chaotix Detective Agency. Because of Espio's arrest, he is currently the only one employed in the business at the moment. He had worked together with Leon in order to search the abandoned warehouse and procure new evidence for both Sonic and Vector to use in the LK-9 Incident.

Dr. Ivo Robotnik: A fifty-three-year-old defense attorney of some renown who owns and runs the Robotnik Law Firm. He served as Salem's and Leon's contact in Mobius and is thus himself an agent of Interpol. He has gotten himself close to the smuggling ringleader in order to learn as much as he possibly could about their covert operations. Despite not knowing for sure, he seems to indicate in his letter his belief that Mephiles is the ringleader on top of being a high-interest suspect in the LK-9 Incident.

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Chapter 36: The LK-9 Case Turnabout Pt. 9

"Court will now reconvene!" the Judge announced once everybody had reentered the courtroom and settled into their respective places. "This will be the last time I will allow this trial to be heard today. It has gone on long enough, and I ask that any explanations that either side might have be adequately based with sufficient evidence. Otherwise, I will not hesitate to bring an immediate end to the proceedings. I trust that both the defense and prosecution have an understanding to these parameters?"

"Perfectly, Your Honor," Vector calmly replied with his arms loosely crossed. Sonic and Tails merely nodded their head in acknowledgement as they prepared themselves for the final leg of this long and difficult battle.

"Then allow us to proceed on with the case at hand," the old man nodded with a pound of his gavel. "When we last left off, the defense had been cross-examining Prosecutor Mephiles who had been providing us with his testimony regarding his whereabouts during the night of the LK-9 Incident. Needless to say, they have been producing theories that have yet to be fully substantiated with evidence. Regardless, the prosecution saw some merit to their arguments and believed that a search of the old Prycey Seafood Company Warehouse was in order. Would I be right to assume that the fruits of your labor in that endeavor have arrived, prosecutor?"

"It was a little closer than I would've liked it, but the evidence arrived just a few minutes before we were to reconvene," the crocodile replied as he laid out all the evidence that Charmy had shown to Sonic and Tails earlier. "Of course, I had my detective agency checking the place for evidence long before I had made the request. And it's on that note that I will say I made the proper procedural actions and registered all evidence through the help of Interpol's forensics team before they ever set foot in this courtroom.

"During the investigation, there were a couple set of prints discovered to have been made recently in the warehouse office," he began explaining. "The room was quite dusty due to the lack of use, so it was easy to discern the recentness of them. The owner of one set of prints has been pinpointed and discovered to have belonged to Salem's younger brother and fellow Interpol Agent. However, it has already been proven that he was merely held captive in that room and was the reason why his prints were in there. That's why I insisted before this trial even began that the room be investigated by my agency.

"Now allow me to move on to the second set of prints," he continued on despite the gallery now talking amongst themselves. "They were made from a person who wore gloves and only appeared on choice areas of the room. This leads me to believe that whoever the owner of those prints was knew what they were looking for and where the most probable place for them to search would be. I happen to have a diagram of the warehouse office that illustrates where these suspicious prints were found."

As the prosecutor made mention of the Warehouse Office Diagram, he placed it on the overhead projector so that everyone could see it. The detailing on the diagram immediately caught the attention of most everyone in the room.

"My, I must say that this is rather concise and informative," the Judge admitted with hints of praise lacing his tone as he lightly banged his gavel in order to bring back some order. "Only a file cabinet and a safe were found to have been touched by the gloved prints. And since you said that Interpol Agent Salem's younger brother was held as a captive in that room, I can see why his prints aren't documented here. I suppose that's a matter best left with Interpol to pursue for the time being. However, I'm a bit more concerned about the markings of blood you put on this diagram. Were you able to have them properly analyzed and figure out just when they were left there?"

"Unfortunately, not even the best people working in Interpol forensics were able to find anything useful with it. While the blood had been initially wiped clean, it was done so with a chemical that ultimately destroyed its composition. We most likely suspect it to be bleach, and that caused the test results to be inconclusive. All we know from this is that the blood was spilled recently due to the fact that it was discovered on a suspiciously clean patch of floor. And while there is no evidence to support this, I believe it was made by the same person who created the unidentifiable prints.

"Of course, all this leads up to the original reasoning as to why I asked the court for a recess. As I'm sure you all remember, the defense made a claim that Prosecutor Mephiles was the only one with reasonable access to the old warehouse. At the same time, they have raised interest in wanting to delve into his call history from his old company cell phone. By the witness's own admission, the phone records were most likely held inside the warehouse office. And despite the heavy amount of investigating conducted in that room, such documents were nowhere to be found. I would suspect that the owner of the gloved prints is the one responsible for the disappearing documents."

"I figured that'd be the case," Sonic murmured as the gallery began talking once again. "Charmy and Leon never really made any mention of that when they met us, and I doubt either of them would just forget about it. I guess we'll never know whether or not he was telling the truth about when it was he got that call."

"Order in the court!" the Judge commanded while repeatedly pounding his gavel. "Mr. Sonic, I can't see how this revelation can possibly bode well for you. After all, it was you who posed interest in wanting to see these phone records and have it be the basis of your claim that Prosecutor Mephiles was in fact at the lighthouse that evening. Since this is the case, do you have any other evidence that can help you prove that the witness was at the lighthouse on the night in question?"

If you count me having a trump card that I can't use yet, then of course I do! the cobalt hedgehog mentally exclaimed as he thought back to the Five-Year-Old Photograph he had obtained earlier. He was in no position to really use the piece his boss had provided him, so he decided to approach things at a different angle. "I believe I do have something to that effect, Your Honor. However, I feel that it would be premature of me to present it now without first hearing more testimony from the witness himself. My reasoning for doing so is so that I can fully evaluate the supportiveness of my evidence."

"But what exactly would you want for him to testify about?" the old man asked. "I can't imagine what else you could ask from him that he hasn't already covered."

"Well, we would like to hear through his own words why he feels he couldn't possibly be the murderer," Tails quickly chimed in. "As far as I know, we've yet to hear his direct claims on this topic. All that's been mentioned is that he didn't go to the lighthouse, a claim that can't really stand on its own under normal circumstances were we allowed more time to investigate. But even with our lack of time, I suggest we hear about his claim of innocence in order to clear up any kind of misunderstandings we may have."

"…I suppose we don't have much of a choice in this delicate matter. Bailiff, please tell Prosecutor Mephiles that his presence is once more required in the courtroom."

"Geez, I don't know how many times we can keep on dodging bullets like this," Sonic groaned as the bailiff momentarily left the courtroom. "We need proof that Mephiles is the true culprit to keep this trial going, but he's the only one left who can provide us with any hint of the truth whether he likes it or not!"

"That means we're going to have to really pay attention and catch whatever lies that come out of him," Tails murmured as Mephiles followed the bailiff in. "And we're going to have to make sure that our attacks are better than good. There's only so much Vector can do on his end of things to help us keep this going."

"I hear from the bailiff that there's more you would like to ask of me?" the old hedgehog stated the moment he resituated himself at the witness stand. "I had thought that the need to hear from me would be rendered useless the moment you received the results of your investigation of the warehouse."

"Unfortunately, there are still a couple of minor details that we need to have cleared up," the Judge explained. "If you don't mind, could you please explain to us in detail why it is that you can't be the culprit behind the LK-9 Incident? Since we don't have time to conduct a thorough investigation into your claim, the defense has seen it fit to hear directly from you in order to clear up any remaining concerns."

"I suppose I shouldn't be surprised that they would try to pull something like that in order to get what they want out of this dead case. No matter; I'll be more than happy to indulge upon you all the reason why I'm not the murderer. After all, the answer as to why lies within the piece of evidence that had been presented as a new connection between this case and the one I had just concluded earlier."

"I would suppose that you're talking about the Pistol?" the cobalt hedgehog rhetorically asked as he knew he was not going to be getting any kind of answer. "What do you claim is on it that will clear you of these suspicions?"

"Don't tell me that you've already forgotten what's been proven to be on there," the old prosecutor chided with a wry smile. "Remember how there was the unexplainable phenomenon about one of the pieces of evidence presented in the last trial? It was through rather admittedly plausible scenarios that you said the Pistol had anything to do with this incident. Now it's my turn to present something else about it that's more than relevant."

"…Wait a minute!" the fox suddenly exclaimed as he realized where the witness was going with this. "You're not really going to say…!"

"I see you've finally caught on to my line of logic. I'll continue to proclaim that I have nothing to do with these murders. In turn, I'll hand you off the name of a more probable suspect as dictated by the evidence you have on hand. And for those of you who are still too dense to know what I mean, I'm officially petitioning the courts to charge Prosecutor Shadow Hedgehog with the murder of Maria Robotnik!"

Needless to say, the court was sent into another uproar upon hearing this proclamation! Both the defense and prosecution were stunned that Mephiles decided to make such claim; even the Judge was taken aback as he had actually had to bend down to pick up the gavel he dropped. All the while, the gallery talked loudly amongst themselves that it was hard to hear one's own voice above the chaos.

"…Order in the court!" the old man finally shouted, his gavel barely heard over the noise. "I want order in this courtroom now!"

"Objection!" Vector quickly exclaimed as the clamor died down. "I want an explanation about this, Prosecutor Mephiles! Just what exactly is your basis for suddenly bringing about this charge against Prosecutor Shadow?"

"Would I be right in assuming that you're asking for my testimony?" the old hedgehog coolly replied as though nothing major happened. "That's the only way I can ever see myself explaining all this to the court."

"Of course we want you to testify!" Sonic responded. "You think we're asking you this just because we're a bunch of idiotically curious cats? Tell us why you think Shadow was the one who killed Maria Robotnik and present us evidence that proves it."

"Don't think for a moment that I'm like you and randomly made this claim without having a single thing to back it up. Allow me to show you why it is that I'm considered by most to be an expert prosecutor."

Reason behind my Indictment

You can consider this to be my official indictment against Prosecutor Shadow for the charge of murder. The Pistol that was used to connect the previous case to this one is proof enough on the validity of my claim. In case you don't remember, the good prosecutor's fingerprints were found on the weapon. As the defense has already proven, there was no time that he could've touched it during the entirety of Prosecutor Flora Mae's murder. As such, the only time that he could've laid hands on it was five years ago when he was "kidnapped and imprisoned" at the lighthouse. That was when he used it to kill Ms. Robotnik in cold blood!

End Testimony

"…That…actually made a whole lot of sense," Sonic begrudgingly admitted with a frown large enough to be seen from across the world. "But even if what you're saying really happened, you still haven't taken Charles Hedgehog's murder into account! You can't go pegging Shadow as the murderer if you can't also prove that he was able to kill the detective. The gun only helps to supplement your claim about Ms. Robotnik's death!"

"It appears you've been running under the assumption the entire time that both these deaths were committed by the same person," Mephiles simply said without any hint of hesitation. "However, I don't believe you've yet to show how your convenient little idea is what happened. There's no evidence to prove this little fantasy of yours is the truth.

"Now take my explanation of things, for example," he continued on. "Everything that I've testified to has been backed by both the evidence and the irrefutable circumstances that surround them. With such wonderful explanations covered by practically infallible pieces of information, it's hard to construe my words to be anything but the truth. And it's with these words combined with your lack of proof that the murders were conducted by the same person that I say Prosecutor Shadow only murdered Ms. Robotnik."

"The witness is right about that," Vector replied, seemingly satisfied with the answer to the sudden accusation. "Since the time we started overseeing this case, we've been running on the assumption that the two murders were committed by one person. I don't believe that there ever was evidence that accounted for that fact, so Prosecutor Mephiles's words are rather hard for you to argue against. And with what he's already presented, it's seems to be within reason that Prosecutor Shadow was the one responsible for Maria's death."

"Don't tell me you're actually falling for all this crap, Vector!" the cobalt hedgehog exclaimed as he slammed his fists on the table. "Shadow's the last person who would ever want to kill anyone. I thought I already proved as much in my last trial!"

"Calm down, Sonic!" Tails reprimanded as he poked the other's shoulder. "Whether or not Vector believes this isn't important. You need to concentrate on how to prove to the court that Mephiles's explanation of things can't be the truth!"

"And how do you suggest I do that, Tails? His explanation about the Pistol along with when it was possible for Shadow to have touched it fits all too well!"

"It's true that we can't really refute too much without having to contradict everything we've worked to prove thus far," the fox admitted with a thoughtful sigh. "He's really doing everything he can to have our words work against us. Still, there is the part about the chance of there being two murderers at the scene that night. There's only enough information to properly indict Shadow for killing Maria; there's nothing against him with Charles. Therefore, we must find some way to prove that the murders were conducted by a single person. That's the only way we can get Shadow in the clear!"

"I suggest that the two of you stop chatting the time away and hurry up with the cross-examination," the crocodile cut in before clearing his throat. "If you really believe that the witness's accusations against Prosecutor Shadow are wrong, then you best get on with the questioning and prove his innocence. Under the current circumstances, I'm afraid that I'll be forced to press charges against him unless something new arises."

Begin Cross-Examination

"Then how about we start off asking some questions?" Sonic began upon catching onto Vector's discreet verbal push. "I think we're entitled to that much after the bombshell of an accusation we've been handed. Why are you suddenly so sure that Shadow was the one who murdered Ms. Robotnik?"

"Had you not been blinded by your want to indict me, I'm sure you would've understood where I was coming from," Mephiles said. "Instead, you seemed intent to willingly blind both the court and yourself from the truth that's been standing blatantly before you. Prosecutor Shadow could've only held the gun during the LK-9 Incident five years ago. As such, he's the only one who had the chance to kill Ms. Robotnik that night. All of the witnesses that night, myself included, had solid alibies."

"I can't say that your alibi is that solid, but I'll let that issue slide for now," Tails said as he crossed his arms. "Apart from everything you've already explained in your testimony, there's still one thing that isn't clear. If Shadow really is a murderer, then what reason would he have to want to kill her?"

"I hardly think that motive should be of any concern now," the old prosecutor merely replied with an amused huff. "I doubt we'd be able to properly investigate it at this point. It easily could've stemmed from some petty argument they had some time before that led up to it. I personally could care less about it. All that I've said have been backed by words proven by your own hand. If you really want to stand against me on this, then you best be prepared to contradict your own words."

"I think that's hardly necessary," Vector said before Sonic could reply. "Don't forget that some of the things you used to base your indictment on also came from me. If the defense truly wanted to go back on their own words, then they'd have to provide me with a convincing argument as to why I was wrong alongside with them. Until they can do that, I'm going to stand firm on my findings in the matter thus far."

"And I'll happily second that thought!" the cobalt hedgehog quickly agreed. "I'm ready to admit that the basis of your argument makes use of information that has been proven to be true by me. However, that doesn't automatically mean that your entire argument is the truth! You've yet to present any concrete evidence that can back up your claim!"

"Oh, but I've already provided you with the supporting evidence," the witness calmly countered. "The Pistol serves as such. Only Shadow's fingerprints were found on the weapon; not even Maxwell Pryce's prints were found from when he used it. I don't see any other reason why that would be except for the fact that he's the one responsible. Combine that with the fact that he was also at the lighthouse at that exact moment and we have a well-established window of opportunity."

"But he kidnapped and placed down in the lighthouse's basement!" the young fox argued. "Sonic, Detective Knuckles, and I can personally vouch for that since we were the other kidnap victims. None of us ever saw a person go through that door from the moment we were locked down there! And I can say with great certainty that one of us would've noticed the door opening as light would've immediately poured into that pitch-black room. Under those conditions, I can hardly see how he would've found the time to escape from the room, find a gun, and then use it to kill Ms. Robotnik!"

"It's true that those conditions are ideal for the creation of an irrefutable alibi. However, don't allow yourself to be swayed to obvious conclusions by seemingly obvious scenarios. Every single detail should be taken into account. For example, I seem to remember that all the kidnap victims mentioned having no recollection of ever being moved to the lighthouse's second floor where they were ultimately discovered."

"What exactly are you getting at, Prosecutor Mephiles?" the Judge asked, his tone clearly reflecting his intrigue at the current line of thought.

"I think it fair to say that everyone in that basement was knocked out at some point. With my indictment now in play, it's my belief that Shadow used the cover of darkness to knock his fellow prisoners out cold. Once that was done, he unlocked the basement door using a spare key he had on him. Then he managed to locate the Pistol and lied in wait for the person unfortunate enough to pass him in an attempt to rescue the other three in the basement."

"You came up with that all from the unexplainable relocation from basement to second floor?" the crocodile asked with a raised eyebrow. "I would suppose then that you have the evidence to back that up?"

"I'll admit that the police found no such evidence on his person at the time. However, that only lends credence to the idea that he disposed of it before they had arrived. Allow me to explain what I believed to have happened.

"The spare key was found in the office desk," Mephiles began to explain. "I know this because I looked in there the day after the murder took place. It's obvious that the police never thought the room to be related to the crime since I was allowed access, so it then goes to say there was never a fingerprint analysis conducted on it. Still, he could've been working together with the kidnappers who then supplied him with the key before locking him away.

"And now we'll move onto the matter with the Pistol. It was found lying next to the woman's body. In order to clear up the matter regarding how his prints got on it, he came up with the excuse that he fought with his captor and managed to get ahold of the gun before it was taken away. It wouldn't be too hard of a story to believe considering the conditions leading up to both the prelude and aftermath of the imprisonment.

"Once he placed everything where they should've been and concocted a suitable excuse, he relocated the three unconscious kidnap victims from the basement to the second floor," he concluded with his arms crossed in a cocky manner. "I don't know why he did it, but the fact remains that it happened. All he had to do after all this was to knock himself out and pretend to be another kidnap victim in order to successfully create a rock solid alibi."

"So you're basically saying that you have nothing to substantiate the potential reality that is your claim," the old man concluded. "I will admit that everything you've mentioned seems very probable. However, it's rather hard to see it as a plausible truth when you have nothing to base it on apart from your own opinions."

"That may very well be the case, but that doesn't mean there isn't a possibility for it to be the truth," the old prosecutor objected. "I'm sure the defense would've raised an objection by now had they anything to go against me. And until that happens, my very sound opinion can't be properly debated as being incorrect."

"As a matter of fact, everything you've said does provide me with enough evidence to at least consider charging Prosecutor Shadow with Ms. Robotnik's murder," Vector admitted with a thoughtful hum. "Still, I'd rather hear of more concrete evidence on the matter before I'll really be comfortable with the thought. What's on hand right now doesn't allow me to think that such a claim would really stick under intense scrutiny."

"Speaking of concrete evidence, just how is it that you know about the kidnap victims being relocated to the second floor of the lighthouse?" Sonic asked the witness. "What you said is the truth, but do you mind amending your testimony a bit so that it reflects explain how you were able to come across this detail?"

"It seems like you're trying to grasp at straws with this question. No matter; I'll be more than happy to follow up on your request."

New Statement

Most of what I've mentioned came from the case file which I requested to be copied and faxed to me during the recess.

End New Statement

"So you're saying that you first learned about the details of this case during the recess?" Tails questioned while Sonic was deep in thought about what he could use in the new piece of testimony. "As such, you say you had no knowledge about the kidnapping until having looked through those documents. I know that I was a bit young to really understand things five years ago, but even I knew that this was a high-profile event. I find it hard to believe that you never knew of a single detail until now."

"You can believe in whatever it is you want," Mephiles merely replied with a nonchalant shrug. "It doesn't change the fact that I know nothing about that. I was never planning of being the prosecutor if it were to ever be brought to court. Why then would I bother learning about the new details that might've arisen during the course of the investigation? It was only when you decided to accuse me of being a murderer that I thought it to be in my best interest to take a look through those documents. After all, it'd probably be the best thing for me to see what I can use to defend myself against your already baseless claims."

"And yet you managed to find something in the files that you could use to in order to pin the blame on Prosecutor Shadow," Vector said before letting out an amused scoff. "That's quite coincidence that you found this information that could both serve as your defense as well as an indictment upon another. Then again, I suppose I shouldn't be too surprised about how this has turned out to be. After all, this is coming from you, someone who's considered by most in the law to be one of the greatest prosecutors of this century."

"How nice of you to be flattering me, Prosecutor Vector," the old hedgehog sarcastically quipped. "Aside from what you just said, the time I took during the recess to read through the file was the first time I ever laid eyes on its contents. I hope that will supply you with more than an adequate reason as to why I know as much as I do about this trial."

"Hmm, that does sound like a valid reason for his sudden acquisition of knowledge," the Judge stated as he seemed convinced by it all. "It's not too hard to request the files from here in the courthouse. All one would need to do is find a computer and ask to transfer the files over to you. I can't see how anything could possibly be wrong with this."

"It's nice to see that the Judge has decided to agree with me on this. I hope the defense understands what this means for them and their argument. My accusation has been well-based by the pieces of information that I've garnered from both recorded sources and what has already been proven in this trial by them. I can't see how they'll be able to refute the possibility that I've brought onto the table."

End Cross-Examination

"Then how about I show you exactly what is wrong with your version of things," Sonic suddenly said as he snapped out of his thought-induced stupor. "You say that you learned about the key details of the case when you looked through the case file during the recess. If I'm wrong about this, then correct me now."

"There's nothing to correct you on if you're just going to repeat what I said," Mephiles stoically replied, his eyes betraying the slight confusion he had about this statement. "It sounds like you're finally starting to see the futility in your efforts."

"Oh, I promise you that futility is the last thing I see in my efforts," the cobalt hedgehog chuckled as he brought out the manila folder that contained the LK-9 Case File. "This is the file I received that contained the details of the LK-9 Incident. If it weren't for this, then I wouldn't have been able to get as far in this trial as I have."

"Then you were smart enough to do your homework before doing your best to drag on the proceedings," the old hedgehog snidely said. "To be honest, I'm surprised that you knew the procedure in order to procure those documents in such a short amount of time."

"It's true that I only got these documents today, but I didn't have to go through any kind of official procedure to get them. These files are actually a copy that Detective Silver handed off to me before the trial began. He also made mention of something rather interesting. When he tried to make another copy for himself, he noticed that the computer wasn't able to register the file name. When he looked further into it, he realized that somebody managed to hack into the precinct computers and erase all traces of the file!"

"I-Is that true?!" the Judge exclaimed as the gallery began expressing their shock. He then asked after quieting the crowd with a few loud bangs of his gavel, "Purposefully destroying police records is a very grave offense! With where they're held and how tight the security on them is, I can only imagine that this was done by a person who works with the law. How in the world was this possible?!"

"I assure you that the precinct is currently looking into this matter," Vector assured the courts. "And I do agree with your sentiments that this could only have been an inside job. It also appears that the one responsible for hacking into the system took care to destroy the actual official file that was stored in the precinct records room. As of now, both the defense and I are the only ones with official copies."

"As much as this is a shock to us all, I fail to see how this revelation has anything to do with me," the witness said as he shifted his gaze towards the defense. It was almost as though he was silently goading them into making fools of themselves. "Do you mind elaborating on it a bit so that I can see what's going on in those scattered minds of yours? God only knows just how much you can really prove over this."

"You claimed to have receive a copy of those files for the first time during the recess," Tails recapped as he countered with his own glare. "Sonic gave you the chance to amend your testimony, but you chose to stick with that story. However, we've proven it to be a lie since the original files were reported to be destroyed before this trial ever began! Under these conditions, it's impossible for you to have seen even a single page of that file as the only copies left were in my and Prosecutor Vector's possession!"

"…Humph, I see where it is you're thinking about now. It sounds like you both managed to come up with a rather valid argument against me over such a trivial matter. I must admit, I'm impressed that you were able to pull off such an impressive objection with information that even I had no knowledge of before this."

"Mr. Sonic, can you please explain what it is your assistant is trying to get at?" the old man asked. "If the file had already been destroyed before we began this trial, then how did Prosecutor Mephiles gain knowledge about certain details if he's already admitted to having no prior knowledge about it all?"

"…The only conclusion I can come up with is that he lied about how he really came to know of this information," Sonic responded after giving it some thought. "During the latter portions of the cross-examination, he stayed adamant with the idea that he obtained a copy of the LK-9 Case File and studied up on the information in it. While that has now been proven to be false, I do believe him when he says he never bothered to read up on the case during the five years it's been in existence."

"If you believe him on that, then just what is it are you trying to conclude?" the crocodile asked with an intrigued eyebrow raised. "I can't see what you can argue with if you've already acknowledged that half of your contradiction can't be disputed."

"If Prosecutor Mephiles never really had a look through the documents, then there's only one opportunity where he could've known of such sensitive information," the cobalt hedgehog simply explained. "This would if he were at the lighthouse when the murders were taking place. As such, I'm going to use this to revamp my previous accusation and proclaim once more that he really was at the scene of the crime along with the other three witnesses!"

"Are you truly still trying to place me at the lighthouse during the time of the murders?" Mephiles asked as though he was not being incriminated once again. "I thought we've already gotten past that. You're really adamant to pin this on me rather than go along with my very sound explanation against Prosecutor Shadow. If you're going to continue on with this, then where's your proof that I was even at the lighthouse that night? The last time you were trying to prove it, you convinced the Judge to call a recess in order to search the abandoned warehouse for phone records that weren't even there! Now you're trying to twist my own words into a form that best suits your needs."

"Then how do you explain your knowledge of what happened with the kidnap victims?" the fox continued on with the argument. "Unless you were able to study up on the documents prior to today, there's no way you could've been as descriptive as you were while formulating your explanation behind your indictment. The only way for this to be possible is that you were present at the lighthouse that night!"

"…I think it best that you provide the court with an explanation to this inconsistency," the Judge suggested after a moment of silence enveloped the room. "As of now, I'm inclined to agree with the defense that you had to have been at the lighthouse in order to be so detailed about certain information. How exactly did you know of the conditions regarding the kidnap victims if you never once were able to look through the LK-9 Case File? I suggest you explain yourself if you don't want to be officially placed under the spotlight."

"…I suppose I don't have much of a choice on the matter," the old hedgehog sighed in annoyance. "After all, it wouldn't be good for me as a prosecutor to have my good name be sullied by the likes of a rookie attorney who can't even provide proof of his claims. I just hope that this will finally satisfy their unjustifiably suspicious minds."

"With you being the one who's giving us testimony, I really doubt that's going to happen anytime soon," the defense attorney grumbled. His little brother simply pinched the bridge of his nose in response to the statement.

How I Knew About the Kidnapping

I wasn't lying when I said I spent the recess skimming through details from the LK-9 Case File. During that time, I remembered having been handed a report detailing the kidnapping when I went to give detectives my Written Statement. The one who spoke with me was trying to use it to pressure me into giving information, but he failed miserably in that regard. Needless to say, I was given a copy of the kidnapping report five years ago. I've kept it with me since then and only decided during the recess to have an actual careful look through it. I won't argue whether or not I told a half-truth; it can't be said under these conditions that I outright lied about seeing a report that had originated from the main file.

End Testimony

"You seem to have a rather convenient excuse for everything that doesn't go your way," Sonic stated with a skeptically raised eyebrow. "In fact, you've now told us a different story about how you knew about the kidnapping details! It's kind of hard for us to view this as the truth after what you pulled on us."

"I'll admit that this is different from my previous claim of having directly read from the files today, but I never thought that someone would go so far as to destroy it," Mephiles replied with a mere shrug. "That's quite an extreme stunt for anyone to consider pulling off. Had I known about that, then I would've settled for simply producing the evidence that shows how I really came to know of the kidnapping details."

"Would I be right in assuming that is a part of the LK-9 Case File that talks about the conditions surrounding the kidnap victims?" Vector asked as the witness took out a piece of paper from his gloves and handed it to the bailiff. It was then placed on the projector for the entire courtroom to see. "This would serve to save you from your own contradiction if it's the real deal. You sure did come prepared for this trial, didn't you?"

"I only started preparing during the previous recess seeing as how I was forcibly being put under the spotlight," the old hedgehog explained. "I just never thought that the defense would choose to use my knowledge of the crime as a way to place me at the lighthouse that night. I hope this will serve to satisfy them and show that I knew of this information in a form other than being directly at the scene."

"But is that really the truth?" the cobalt hedgehog murmured so that only Tails could hear him. "Ever since we started accusing you, you've been trying everything you can to get out of it. All your arguments are admittedly sound, but they have to be a bunch of lies if you're really the true culprit behind this. And if that's true, then you would have the most to gain by destroying all traces of the LK-9 Incident!"

"But you have no proof of that except for the fact that the case file is missing," Tails calmly reminded. "I don't know if we'll ever find anything to connect this to Mephiles, but all we can do is hope something pops up later on down the line. Right now, we need to concentrate on deconstructing his testimony and see if there's anything we can use. The main sticking point is about how he knew of the sensitive details about the kidnapping."

"But he has direct proof of having been handed a copy of the document from the files five years ago. The writing looks exactly the same as the one we have. I can't really make a good argument with that in the way. In fact, I don't think I have anything on me that can even remotely help me out with this!"

"I was actually kind of hoping you weren't also going to admit that," the fox groaned before noticing the people in the courtroom staring at them impatiently. "We've been dealt worse hands before. We just need to go with this one and see how it works out. We better be quick about it before everybody starts going jumping on us for wasting time."

"I hope you two are merely conversing about your next course of action and not what you'll be doing once this is all over," the crocodile spoke after loudly clearing his throat. "Are you or are you not going to proceed with your cross-examination? Truth be told, I don't see any merit in conducting it as the witness's testimony sounds more than reasonable despite the fact that we had to uncover a lie to get to it."

"…Not all testimonies are as infallible as they first appear, Prosecutor Vector," Sonic replied after taking a moment to gather his thoughts. "I've proven this to be true time and again during my previous three cases. Even the smallest of inconsistencies can open the path to a new line of questioning we might otherwise not have known to pursue. That's what happened in the previous testimony, and I intend to prove the same thing with this one!"

"Be careful not to get too high on that horse of yours or you'll risk snapping your neck when you fall," Mephiles said with a light chuckle. "Inconsistencies come and go as they please and vary in accordance to the situation they're called upon. Only the direct meaning of it can constitute how useful it may be, and I can assure you that your last inconsistency was nothing more than a pebble on the road."

"Then I guess we should be looking for a boulder instead. Either way, I'm going to find that inconsistency in your 'perfect' testimony. Then I'm going to use it to prove that Shadow is not the murderer and that you were in fact at the lighthouse that night!"

Begin Cross-Examination

"Allow me to clarify one thing," Tails began while Sonic began skimming through the evidence for anything they could use. "You said that you spent the recess going through details mentioned in the LK-9 Case File. You then presented to the court a copy of the kidnapping report that was in the file. Are you telling us that you were studying up on this single sheet of paper for the entire hour that we were taking a break?"

"It was the only piece of paper I could use to learn about the kidnapping," Mephiles admitted. "I've already admitted that I didn't look through the actual file itself."

"But then why did you lie about it in the first place?" the fox pressed. "There's no reason for you to have done that. People usually lie when they're trying to hide something that would incriminate them. However, I can't see a single thing that this truth has that could possibly cause you any kind of legal harm."

"As I've said before, I hate being forced to go through trivial matters," the old hedgehog replied as he let out a sigh. "Apart from the fact that the files were destroyed before today's proceedings ever began, how does this change anything? I'll admit that I probably stretched the truth a bit in saying that I looked through the physical file. However, I was definitely telling the real truth in regards to having seen the report that documented the kidnapping."

"Which is how you then combined the details that you felt pertained from your last trial to this one," Vector concluded before there was any more rebuttal. "With the copy of the report that you've shown us, I find it quite hard for the defense to really refute anything. It's in our nature to lie every now and again; that doesn't mean that each one of them has something that it's trying to hide."

"It may be in our nature, but there's always some underlying reason for one to lie," Sonic countered once he was done skimming though the evidence. "But I'll leave that alone for now. There isn't anything in the evidence that would suggest a reason behind his lie. Instead, allow me to get into some things that we need to have clarified.

"Prosecutor Mephiles, do you think you can tell us a little more about the detective you claimed to have given you the kidnapping report? I didn't think that it was standard procedure for them to be presenting rather sensitive case documents to those who aren't considered to be witnesses to a case."

"If you intend for me to speak ill of the dead, then I suggest you lower your expectations a few pegs. It doesn't matter what I say about the late detective; you can't bring him in and have him clarify my words."

"It was never my intent to summon the detective," the cobalt hedgehog simply replied. "I just want to know what happened while you were there giving your Written Statement. I don't think that's too much to ask from you."

"…I suppose it wouldn't hurt to tell you what transpired between the two of us. It isn't as though its insignificance would serve you much help apart from appeasing your ever annoying curiosity. All that transpired between us was him ultimately trying to intimidate me into giving him more information about the case. Apparently, he failed to get the memo that I was merely there to testify about having never been at the lighthouse at that time. Then again, I'm sure the detectives on the case were all stumped as to what actually happened. They must've been really desperate to get their hands on even the smallest of clues."

"Can you tell us what the conversation between you was? You're still a bit vague as to how exactly you were intimidated."

"And how is this supposed to be important, Mr. Sonic?" the crocodile quickly asked as he fiddled with his gold chain in amusement. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say that you're just trying to stall for time. If you don't have anything, then just come outright and admit it. Don't string us along for a ride that only leads straight off the edge of a cliff!"

"In case you haven't noticed, Prosecutor Mephiles doesn't strike me as the kind of person who would so easily be intimidated by another much less a detective. In fact, I'd believe it if he were the one to have intimidated the detective. I doubt many people would ever dare to try and intimidate the witness, so I think it's important that we understand the reasoning behind this strange occurrence."

"But I never said that I gave in to the intimidation," Mephiles quickly replied. "Being intimidated and giving into it are completely different matters. I never went so far as to give any indication that he was going in the right direction with his claims."

"And yet you're too well-respected by many people who work with the law that they would never dare to go against you," Tails smoothly countered. "Unless the detective you were giving your testimony to was some kind of big-name hotshot, I doubt he'd have good reason for intimidating you unless he felt merit to do so."

"…I think it would be faster for all of us if we simply entertained the defense's request," the Judge sighed while pinching the bridge of his nose. "I can see they're not going to be letting go of this issue anytime soon. But if I'm to be perfectly honest, I am somewhat curious as to how exactly you were being intimidated five years ago. Do you mind adding that information to your official testimony?"

"Oh, this should prove to be interesting," Vector grumbled before crossing his arms. "I never thought that Your Honor would ever actually condone additional testimony based off of nothing but hearsay. Then again, we are talking about the rookie extraordinaire here. Let's see what you could possibly pull off with this."

"I'll bet you a hundred-to-one that it's just another one of their infamous bluffs," the witness scoffed as a wry smile approached his lips. "Still, it's best that I talk about it since the Judge himself expressed interest with the matter."

New Statement

He claimed to have evidence that tied me to the murders and would persecute me to the full extent of the law unless I cooperated.

End New Statement

"In other words, you're saying that the detective was proposing to you a plea deal of sorts," the Judge surmised as he appeared thoughtful about this new information. "In exchange for providing you with some level of leeway, you would hand him any information you had in regards to the murders."

"Unfortunately for him, I knew absolutely nothing about the investigation that would've been of any help," Mephiles sighed while shrugging his shoulders. "It was clearly the man's desperate attempts at trying to garner more information for an already hopeless cause. In the end, his threats were revealed to be the empty vessels they were. He got nothing from me except for the Written Statement that I had originally came to deliver."

"Do you think you can tell us exactly what the claim the detective was making?" Tails asked. "I would assume that whatever way he tried to coerce you would've had to fallen within standard interrogation procedures.

"He said that the police had a picture that showed me being in the vicinity of the Prycey Seafood Company earlier that evening before the murders occurred," the old prosecutor recalled. "Being the prosecutor that I am, I immediately asked that he show me this so-called picture. The sad excuse he came up with was that it wasn't proper protocol to be showing evidence to their witnesses. I, however, knew the truth that you can show the person you're accusing evidence if it has bearing to what you're accusing them with. He quieted down when I brought it up and never brought about his faceless threat again."

"Were they really that desperate that they would lie about what they had against their witnesses?" Vector asked in fascination. "I'll admit that they really wanted to figure out who killed their fellow detective and an attorney, but that's taking it too far! Why didn't you file a complaint against the officer for that?"

"Don't think for a moment that the thought never crossed my mind," the old hedgehog quickly countered with little hesitation. "I had every right to have his job stripped from him because of that. Fortunately for him, I had more pressing matters to attend to as they required my full attention. Don't forget that I was also the owner of the Prycey Seafood Company, the business that served as the backdrop for this incident. Imagine all the things I had to do just to keep the business from being flooded with negativity because of it."

"And since the detective has already passed, I can't see what we're able to do with this information," the old man softly replied out of respect before turning his attention towards the defense. "Mr. Sonic, I haven't seen or heard a single thing in this testimony that suggests to me that Prosecutor Mephiles is lying. In fact, it seems to only supplement his previous testimony and clear up what little inconsistencies there were. I'm failing to see just what it is you want to accomplish with this."

"I dare say that they're merely trying to bluff their way through this case. I've heard things about their performance in other cases. The one thing that always seems to be the same is that they bluff their way through most things in hopes that they can find their answer. I honestly find it amazing how they haven't crashed and burned yet."

"It's true that they love to employ bluffs when things start to look bleak," the crocodile admitted without bothering to mask his statement from sounding like a comment. "However, they always make sure that what they say has some relevancy with the evidence they have on hand. I've seen it myself before, and I can say for sure that their bluffs are as close to extreme legal moves they would ever pull. Still, even I must agree with the Judge in that there doesn't seem to be anything worth bluffing over."

End Cross-Examination

"Then I suggest you listen carefully so you'll know where I'm going with this," Sonic responded as his trademark cocky smile appeared. Prosecutor Mephiles, I think it safe to say that you probably had a hard time trying to keep the company afloat what with the murders spreading around bad publicity. Yet despite all of that hard work, you were bought out by a third person after having been put through bankruptcy. Sounds like nothing more than an unfortunate fail in something you put so much work into."

"I hope your goal isn't to merely insult the integrity of the work I put into that place," Mephiles accused with a harsh glare. "You don't know the first thing about running a business, so I can't see where you get at talking to me like that."

"Oh, I'm merely setting up the backdrop for what I'm about to say next," the cobalt hedgehog said as he suddenly started smirking. "After all, it's clear to me now just how much effort you put into making it look like you were just a witness in these tragic events. And yet even after bringing us this far, you manage to trip yourself up at the end."

"…I'm afraid you're starting to confuse me," the old prosecutor calmly replied despite the moment of hesitation in his voice. "Just how exactly did I 'trip myself up' as you so nicely put it? Everything I've made mention to is either backed by the evidence or statements that can't be proven but are more likely than not to be the truth."

"That's only because you're basing your words on the evidence that you have knowledge of. However, I happen to have in my possession more evidence that have been handed to me thanks in part by the efforts of Interpol during the recess. They felt it prudent to hand me their findings from that particular day five years ago."

"And what exactly is the new evidence that you claim can conjure up whatever kind of contradiction you're trying to raise?" Vector asked, his voice clearly intrigued with what he just heard. "I'd love to know what you're going to use to prove whatever kind of inconsistency you claim to have unearthed."

"Then let's hope that this will show you exactly what I discovered within this testimony! All you have to do is take a good look at the Five-Year-Old Photograph that was handed to me earlier to see what I'm talking about."

Without wasting any more time, Sonic took out the photo Dr. Robotnik handed off and placed it on the projector. Once it was up, everyone in the courtroom let out an audible sound of confusion as to what the meaning of the picture was. Even Mephiles clearly looked confused, although he seemed so for a reason different than those in the gallery.

"What exactly is this photograph about?" the Judge asked as he seemed to be the only one not surprised and more intrigued. "All I see here is the witness in some kind of building making a call while looking through a book of sorts."

"On the back of this photo are some words written by an Interpol Agent other than Salem or Leon," Tails began explaining. "For obvious reasons, we won't be revealing their names so as to keep them from being targeted. Regardless, it's been documented clearly that this was taken five years ago inside the Prycey on business grounds and within walking distance of the crime scene, this proves that Prosecutor Mephiles has been lying to us this entire time!"

Upon hearing this, the entire courtroom went in an uproar! All of them were clearly shocked at this revelation and what it meant. Even the Judge was beyond shocked yet was still able to bang at his gavel in an attempt to regain order. Vector was clearly taken aback by this contradiction; he actually tugged at his chain so hard that it snapped and fell onto the table along with his headphones. Even the witness was unusually fidgety about the entire situation as he stood on the witness stand waiting for whatever was to come at him next.

"ORDER IN THE COURT!!!" the Judge practically bellowed in order to be heard. The tone was loud enough to immediately immerse the entire courtroom in total silence. "Prosecutor Mephiles, you will tell us what the meaning of this is!"

"…What is it you want me to say?" the old hedgehog merely asked as he tried to brush it off. Unfortunately, his body language was saying something else as he tightly crossed his arms and covertly avoided eye contact with the Judge. "The defense has yet to fully explain what it is they mean to do by presenting this relatively unknown piece of evidence."

"Then allow us to make this photo less unknown!" the fox simply responded. "You said in your last statement that the detective you gave your Written Statement to threatened to expose your involvement with the murders. Now the defense isn't about to claim whether or not what he said was the truth; we have no evidence to prove that. However, what this has uncovered for us is that you were, in fact, within the vicinity of the Prycey Seafood Company on the night of the crime. The timestamp proves that much!"

"Now the question we should be asking is why you have been lying about not being at the scene of the crime," Sonic continued on. "At the same time, we should also be thinking about why you were hiding in the warehouse and making a call. In all, this photo brings up a slew of contradictions that the defense demands to be answered!"

"…You do realize that you've delved far from what the truth of the matter is, do you? I understand how a rookie such as you would be so desperate to protect one you consider to be your friend. However, there's no denying the guilt Prosecutor Shadow has with the role he played in this heinous crime. You can't go about ignoring it."

"I never said that we were going ignore your accusation," the cobalt hedgehog corrected. "In fact, what we're planning on pursuing is going to both knock down your accusation and back up our original indictment that you are the true murderer!"

"Oh, I'd love to see you try. You've put up quite the fight thus far. Let's see how far this new piece of evidence can really take you. You may have proven that I've lied about where I was that night, but that's all you've done. If you really want to pin the murders on me, then you're going to have to do better than that!"

"I can't believe evidence like that actually existed for these past five years!" Vector growled as he picked up the pieces of his chain necklace. "Whoever gave it to you two must've thought that you could do some good with it. But still, I never thought that you would actually be able to get this far armed with the little bit of knowledge you started off with."

"I can barely believe it myself," Tails murmured as he took a deep breath. "The fact that we got this far with so little is really amazing. But now that we've finally placed Mephiles at the scene of the crime, it's time that we really pull out all the stops!"

"This is definitely going to be one rough ride from here on out," the cobalt hedgehog nodded in agreement. "Now that we're at the heart of the matter, the true battle is only just beginning. That crooked old prosecutor is running out of places to hide, and I'm going to expose them all until there's nothing left but the shell of a man who's nothing more than a heartless murderer!"

---

Well, that's it for this chapter. The reason why I decided to separate this into two parts is because it was already a journey and a half to be able to place Mephiles at the scene of the crime! I still don't know how I managed to pull that off. To be perfectly honest, I dug myself into a really deep hole that I'm now having trouble getting out of. I still have no idea if I'll be able to successfully convict Mephiles of the murders. The next chapter is definitely going to be an interesting one for me to write.

And I promise you all that the next chapter is going to be the moment when the LK-9 Incident is going to be put to rest one way or the other. Let's just hope that my brain doesn't explode and force me to write out a bad ending. Honestly, I already have a bad ending planned out in case it gets to that. Of course, I'm not going to tell you what it is or if I'm going to use it. It's just up there in case push comes to shove. Seriously, this entire story was thought up off the top of my head with little to no planning ahead. It's amazing how far I came with this considering when I first started that it was only a test run of a mystery story.

But yeah, that's enough of my ranting. I need to rest now and recover from my cold. Don't forget to leave a review telling me what you thought of this new chapter. Until the next update to this or any of my other stories everybody! Happy Thanksgiving, Happy Hanukkah, and Happy Thanksgivukkah!