CHAPTER 13: Research Complete

The phone rang in Amy's office as she read over Tails's job application form. She picked it up, wondering who knew this number. "Hello?" she said.

"Hello, I'm calling from Chaotix," said Vector's voice. "I need to talk to Espio."

"How'd you get this number?" Amy asked.

"I'm a detective, it's what I do," Vector said, amused. "Anyway, could you put Espio on the line?"

"Even better, I've got a speaker phone," Amy said. She hit the speaker button and hung up the receiver.

"Espio, you there?" Vector asked.

"You got anything?" Espio asked in reply.

"Yeah, get a load of this." Vector took a breath. "Eggman died without family around 2 years ago. Leukemia, supposedly. One of his robots was the executor for his will. According to this, he was cremated and his ashes stored in the underground storage area where his robots deactivated themselves in accordance with his will."

"Hm," Amy started, but Espio said something first.

"Anything else?" he asked.

"Yeah," Vector replied. "Check this out, it says someone stumbled upon the storage area and leveled it, robots, urn and all."

"Weird," Amy said. "Guess he really hated Eggman."

"Probably," Vector said. "Or he was ticked off when he couldn't find anything worth stealing."

"That sounds more like Rouge, if you ask me," Amy said. "She's a friend of mine, before you ask. Thing is, I don't think she'd go so far as to destroy the place..."

"Wait a second, something's missing here," Espio said. "Vector, why don't I hear Charmy?"

"I finally forced him to enroll at Station Square middle," Vector said in a satisfied tone.

"YES!" Espio shouted out. "But, wait a second... He didn't have any of my kunais, did he?"

"I counted them," Vector said. "There were fifteen in the case."

"Vector, I only took four."

"Oh, shit..."

"Excuse me!" Amy interrupted. "Can we get back on the subject at hand, please?"

"Oh, right," Vector said. "Any relevant questions so far?"

"Yeah," Amy said thoughtfully. "Search for any large robot or weapons manufacturers developing prototype weapons, armor, or things like that. The stuff on that robot was pretty new-looking. If any of them have a skull for a logo, LET US KNOW."

"Right," Vector said. "I'll do that now. Talk to you later." He hung up.

"Espio, did you give him this number?" Amy asked as she clicked off the speaker.

"No," Espio said simply.

"Father..." Shrouded in darkness, a figure in a chair sat, holding a brass urn in its hands. It had a look of fondness in its eyes as it looked over the sealed container. "I will finish your work. I swear it."

"Excuse me, Master..." Black voice drifted into the room as the robot kneeled on the floor behind the chair.

"What do you want Black?" said the figure's irritated voice.

"I only wished to inform you, Master, that our new CPUs for the prototypes are completed," Black said nervously. "We will be able to upload the new AI successfully now, but there are still a few bugs to be worked out. Also, we've completed... It..." Black's voice trailed off.

"Ha ha! Excellent!" said the figure's voice in a much more gleeful tone. "Soon, he will pay."

"Master, the boys and I have been wondering, if you want the blue hedgehog dead so desperately, why did you not order #34 to kill him in the park instead of the girl?" Black asked much more nervously.

"Simple, Black," the figure sneered, though Black couldn't see the look of pure hatred on his master's face. "I want the blue hedgehog to lose everything dear to him before his very eyes before I torture him to death. Even killing the wrong girl in the restaurant was part of the plan. Her death would bring him running and reunite him with the girl who owned the restaurant, then once they got close again, kill her. The same ploy will be used to reunite him with everyone he considers dear to him, then they will die before his eyes. When the time comes, I will reveal myself to him and kill him myself." The figure laughed loudly at this point. Black cowered in fear, but still had to smile.

"As usual, your genius amazes me, Master," he said. "I will return to R&D now to help with the prototypes." As before, Black backed out of the room. The figure in the shadows continued to laugh to itself.

Well, interesting chapter, wasn't it? Vector's shot down any idea that Eggman's family might be behind the whole thing, and now Black is reporting to his master that "it" is completed. What is "it?" Who is the figure in the chair? Why's he/she/it fondling an urn instead of a sinister-looking cat or something? Find out in chapters to come...