Here it is, the final chapter of murder on the S.S. Aqua. I really can't say too much in this author's notes section since I don't want to spoil anything. What I will say is that if you feel a little confused by the end of this chapter, don't worry. I still have an epilogue in the works which clarifies a few things and adds a little more finality to the story.
A familiar smell. Familiar lighting. A familiar room and a familiar company. Although this time, the company had been reduced to a measly four. On one couch sat Tails, Amy and Sonic. Sonic still had the sawblade with him, resting on his lap. He had insisted on bringing it along. On the couch opposite to them sat Eggman. Eggman was a little tenser than before, as if he has just realized how dire the situation really was. Since no one else wanted to speak the first word, Eggman took it upon himself.
"As you all know, we've just found Knuckles dead in his room. His door was locked, making his death almost identical to Shadow, and therefore, also identically 'impossible'. With him gone, there are now four of us left. We must identify the cause of these death's immediately, lest that number drop to zero."
"Don't you mean one? I'm pretty sure the killer themselves will choose to stay alive if they win." Sonic said.
Eggman didn't respond. He knew that Sonic knew what he meant. That being that there might be something other than a murderer behind the deaths. And he knew Sonic wouldn't accept such an explanation. He most likely would've desperately latched on to it when all this first started, but it was too late for that now. When the silence became unbearable, Tails broke it.
"I think we should look at this case from a different angle. So far, we've assumed that the killer would have to get at least somewhat close to the victims to kill them. But with that assumption, Knuckles' and Shadow's death's become impossible. I think it'd be safe to assume that the killer is using some method that can be used over long distances and isn't inhibited by physical obstacles. And while I don't mean to be accusatory, that would also mean that Eggman's alibi becomes null and void."
"Hold on. You speak of "some method", but that's just speculation. You have to actually think of something more tangible if you want to go anywhere with this." Eggman said.
"Yes, you're right. I guess I'll have to come up with a theory, then. And I'm afraid I'll build it around you, Eggman. How about this: the culprit used a robot to kill his victims. In particular, a drone, one equipped with a needle with which it could inject its victims with a deadly poison. There wouldn't necessarily have to be only one drone; there could be multiple drones, allowing different murders to follow up each other in quick succession. These small drones could easily hide in any room. They might have some kind of robotic arm used to open closets and access other hiding places. This could explain both Shadow's and Knuckles' murders. The reason we haven't ever seen these drones is that most of the time, they're flying high above the ship. Only when it's time for their dark mission do they ascend towards the ship. These robots might be mostly autonomous, so the culprit wouldn't need any kind of control panel. And I'm afraid that you, Eggman, are the only one who could've pulled something like this off. And you definitely could have. You've created far more complex robots in the past, so something like this would be a piece of cake."
"What about the bleeding?" Eggman asked
"There are plenty of poisons that can cause internal bleeding. In particular, I'd suggest brodifacoum. This pesticide is known to cause severe internal bleeding. And being a scientist, you could've easily produced your own variant which cranks up the bleeding a notch."
"Yes, I could've done all that. But have you any evidence that I did?"
"Actually" Sonic murmured. "Actually, I found shards of glass in Knuckles' room. They were wet on the inside. One of the drones might've dropped a vial of the poison while inspecting the room of its next victim!"
As Sonic said this, his face wrinkled. Amy then noticed that Sonic looked a little strange. Those bloodshot eyes… where had she seen something like that before? And not only that, he was also shaking a little. His somewhat slurred speech didn't make him seem any healthier. As Amy was still confused, Sonic stood up, still murmuring to himself. He dragged the circular saw up with him, it hanging menacingly under his knees.
"Sonic… What are you doing?" Eggman said nervously.
"You… YOU KILLED MY FRIENDS!" Sonic released a maddened howl, and on que, he pressed the switch on the circular saw.
"Sonic wait! It's just a theory!" Amy tried to stop Sonic, but he was too far gone.
"I KNEW IT WAS YOU! IT'S ALWAYS YOU! WHY?! WHY MUST YOU TAKE EVERYTHING FROM ME?!"
Eggman tried to scuffle back, but he was stopped by the couch's back. Sonic came closer, step for step, the sawblade screeching with cruel delight.
"YOU'VE GONE TOO FAR THIS TIME! I'LL KILL YOU! I'LL FUCKING KILL YOU! I SHOULD'VE DONE THIS A LONG TIME AGO!"
"Sonic, stop!" Eggman made one last hopeless plea, before Sonic sunk the blade into Eggman's face.
"NOOO!" Eggman screamed viscerally, through a mouth that was currently being split in twain by the spinning blade.
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! FINALLY! AFTER ALL THESE YEAR! YEEESS!" Sonic cackled with delight as the blade tore Eggman's skin, revealing the naked veins and arteries underneath. The blade mercilessly kept going, tearing through those veins and arteries, blood spewing out of the later, splashing onto Sonic. The blade cut through raw, naked flesh, creating a disgusting, wet sound. Then, the Blade reached Eggman's skull. The bone construct cracked, and shards of bone were launched into the room. Finally, Sonic reached the gray matter Eggman was so proud of. The cruel iron made its way through, wet gray blobs spraying against Sonic. Finally, the blade's resistance disappeared. Sonic had split Eggman's entire head, creating a somewhat messy and jagged intersection.
Amy tried to scream, but only empty air escaped her lips. Tails just stared in amazement.
"Sonic… Holy shit." He said.
"He's dead now. We're safe." Sonic said, a big smile on his bloodstained face.
"No. I don't think we are." Tails said.
"Huh?"
"Sonic, you might've just helped me figure it out. So thank you. Although I would've preferred something less violent."
"What?"
"Sonic, do you feel at all strange?"
"Um… Now that you mention it… I feel a little light headed. And a bit unsure."
"Unsure?"
"Yes unsure of everything. I don't really know how else to describe it."
"Okay. And Sonic, do you perhaps hear anything you shouldn't? I'll be quiet for a bit, and then I want you to listen as carefully as possible."
Sonic did so. After a while, he spoke.
"Tails, you're right. I do hear… things. I hear these whispers and all these shuffling and creaking sounds. What… What's going on?!"
"Sonic, I didn't hear anything of the sort. And I'm sure it's the same for Amy."
"What?! Then… Am I going mad?! What's happening to me Tails?!"
"Sonic, the truth is… You have a hallucinogenic in your bloodstream."
"A what?!"
"And you're not the only one. Everyone who fell victim to the murderer had the same thing happen to them."
"The murderer? You say that as if it wasn't Eggman!"
"That's because he isn't. I'm afraid the man you just killed is entirely innocent."
"How could you say that?! Going by that line of logic, one of the three of us is the murderer! You and Amy are the people I trust most in the world. I know neither of you would ever do such a thing."
"No, none of us are murderers. But I'll get to that later. Do either of you remember what Silver was like when we questioned him? He seemed a little strange, didn't he? And the same could be said for Shadow when we met him. Why was Shadow, the most mature of us all, so terrified? And going even further back, when we were in the library after finding out about how the ship's ai captain had been removed, Vector, Cream and Shadow all said they weren't feeling well and left for their rooms. And who were the three people that got killed after that?"
"Vector. Then Cream. And then… Shadow." Sonic said.
"The three of them already had a hallucinogenic injected into their bloodstream. And not just that, they also carried a poison I mentioned earlier, brodifacoum, or something similar to it, within them. But there's more. All of them were afraid of a certain something. Each other. The killer combined a situation where we were bound to suspect the people closest to us with a hallucinogenic to isolate us from each other. When the hallucinogenic was at its peak right before their death, they might even have had vivid hallucinations of being killed by the people closest to them or the people they most suspected. The same thing happened to Blaze. The reason she suddenly ran of like that should be obvious now. I might even be able to pinpoint the type of hallucinogenic the culprit used. I think they used a type of deliriant on the victims. A deliriant is different from psychedelics like LSD or dissociatives like ketamine. They are known to cause a lack of self-control and confusion. And among deliriants, the culprit could have used a tropane alkaloid, or an artificial version of one."
Amy and Sonic could barely process what they had just heard. It was so bizarre, yet it explained so much.
"But then… How did that even get into their bloodstream? When did the killer even have the time? Was it the drones like you mentioned earlier?" Amy asked.
"No, drones weren't involved. Like I said, Eggman is innocent, and no one but him could have used robotics to do the deed. Honestly, I already feel embarrassed for suggesting something so ridiculous. Although the truth is almost just as strange."
"Then how? How did the culprit get those 'tropanes alkaloid' things into their bloodstreams?"
"It's a little strange, but bear with me. The culprit used a dart gun. All they'd have to do is coat the darts in the concoction of tropane alkaloid and brodifacoum and make them very small so we wouldn't notice them Then all they'd have to do is hide and fire the darts at their unsuspecting prey."
"A dart gun? Wouldn't we notice something like that?"
"Not if they made the darts no more than a centimeter long and a millimeter wide, more like a needle than a dart. Such a needle would fall out of the victim's skin mere seconds after piercing it, simply due to the victim moving around, so we wouldn't find them on the body itself. The needless used, the murder weapons we haven't been able to find until now, are all lying in different places on the ship. Of course we weren't able to find something that small."
"But who could've done something like that? After we found Espio's body, we all went to the library together, and it was there that Vector, Cream and Shadow said they felt sick. No one had the opportunity to shoot at them like you suggest!"
"Yes, that's true. None of us had the opportunity. None of us are murderers."
"Then who?!" Amy asked angrily.
"Charmy Bee."
"What?!" Amy and Sonic yelled in unison.
"All this time, we've just assumed that there were no more people than those we could see. But that was a bizarre assumption. Wouldn't it make sense for the killer to hide from us, make us believe they weren't even there at all? And that's exactly what Charmy did. Before the ship took off, he sent Vector and Espio a message saying that was sick and wouldn't be coming. But in reality, he waited for us to descend down into the ship and then snuck unto it. First, he hid in the captain's quarters. There he found the ai captain, which he took away by cutting the wires and then threw overboard. He waited for us to go to bed, and then he knocked on Espio's door. He told Espio that it was him and that he'd decided to come after all. He asked Espio to come with him to the living room. But Espio got suspicious and attacked Charmy. Since Espio got so close, it'd be hard for Charmy to use his dart gun with accuracy. Luckily, he had gone by the storage room just for a situation like this. He used the wrench he had taken from there to clobber Espio. Morning come, we find Espio's body and gather in the living room. When all of us got there, all Charmy had to do is stand beside the doorway, take three quick shots at Vector, who was still raging and completely distracted, Cream, who was comforting Vector, and Shadow, who was absorbed in inspecting Espio's body. We gather in the library, Vector Cream and Shadow start feeling sick, and then we disperse. After that, Vector, Cream and Shadow die from the poison. Shadow wrote Cream's name on his wall as a dying message, for he believed Cream to be the murderer due to the effects of the deliriant. Before Shadow dies, Silver chases after him for a bit, grabbing him by his arm at the top of the stairway leading down to floor B2. What he didn't know was that at the bottom of this stairway, Charmy lied in waiting, and fired a needle at the unsuspecting Silver. Charmy could have hid in any of the bedrooms after that, although he didn't hide in Shadow's bedroom, because why take such a risk? Later, Silver gets falsely accused and, once again under the effects of the deliriant, gets so scared that he decides to run away. But not before incapacitating Blaze by launching her against a bookcase. While all of us are looking for Silver, Charmy leaves the bedroom he was hiding in, heads for the library and fires a needle at the dazed Blaze. When I went back for a bit to check on her, it was probably already too late. When Blaze runs away this time, all of us are separated. He decided this was the perfect time to take another victim. He hid in Knuckles' room, but something went wrong. While coating his needless, he dropped a vial of the concoction. He hastily swept the shards under the bed and left the room in a hurry. He had good luck, for he left after me and Amy searched the bedrooms but before Sonic and Eggman did, so no one spotted him. Charmy then finds Knuckles and shoots him in the back. Then you, Sonic, find the shards. But you forgot that glass can be very sharp and without noticing, you wounded yourself, letting a little bit of the concoction enter your bloodstream. That night, Knuckles dies, but you survive because the amount of concoction in your bloodstream is far smaller since you only accidentally cut yourself on one of the shards. But the deliriant Charmy used is very potent, because eventually you lose control and kill Eggman. And now, we're here.
Sonic and Amy couldn't say anything. Except for one thing, once again in unison.
"What now?"
"Now? Well, Sonic, we have to get you to a doctor as fast as possible. And I believe that might be possible. Because there was one thing Charmy did that could work in our favour. I believe that he removed the ship's computer while the ship was still only a few kilometres from the harbor. How would he be able to get back himself otherwise? So if I really push myself, I should be able to fly both of you off of the ship and back to society."
"What about Charmy?" Sonic asked.
"He might try to chase us. Put personally, I think he won't. He might've already flown back to land himself. Maybe we'll find out why he did all this when we get back, maybe we won't.
And so, this tale comes to an end. Tails flew Sonic and Amy off the ship. But tragedy struck again. Sonic sadly died before they could get treatment for him. When the police inspected Charmy's appartement, they found his corpse, covered in blood like his victims' had been. Charmy had injected himself with his own concoction. Maybe it was out of guilt, maybe it was an accident, no one knows for sure. On Charmy's desk, the police found a pile of forged wills, all supposedly belonging to the passengers of the S.S. Aqua and attributed to Charmy, stating that all their belongings would now belong to him. The police also found out that Charmy had build up a huge debt with gambling. The media feverishly covered the case at first, but the buzz eventually died down. All that was left afterwards were a fox and a pink hedgehog, with nothing but emptiness and regrets.
THE END
…Or is it?