(Hey guys! Sorry I didn't get to posting last week, like I said I would, but I'm posting now since I have free time. I'll probably be posting more chapters sooner because I have another story in the works that I can't wait to post! I think you'll all enjoy it. I want to finish this story first, so that's Priority 1. Anyway, here we go…)
I looked up at the voice and saw one of my closest friends, Sally Acorn, standing in the doorway, a clipboard and laptop at hand.
"Can I trust you enough to unlock the shackles?" She asked me, holding up a remote.
"You, of all people, should trust me," I said, slightly irritated.
She smirked and pressed a button on the remote. The electric band holding the cuffs together disappeared and the shackles fell from my ankles. I stood up and stretched, then followed her out of the cell and down the hall. She led me to a room just off the hallway. At first I thought it was another cell; it had the same door all the other cells had. But, when she opened the door, I saw how different it really was. Inside, a table sat with two chairs, one on either side. One chair was a normal desk chair. The other was made of stone and bolted to the ground, with metal bands on the armrests and near the base. It looked more like a chair used to torture someone. I drew back slightly. Sally noticed my expression and smiled a little.
"We won't do anything to you, I promise," she said.
"We?" I asked. Sally gestured to two guards standing nearby. Also, upon peering into the room, I saw cameras attached to the ceiling in the corners of the room. Someone would be watching us. I frowned.
"Go on in and have a seat," Sally said. Hesitantly, I went inside and sat in the stone chair. Almost immediately, the metal bands slid around my wrists and ankles, keeping me in the chair. Sally sat across from me and put her clipboard and laptop on the table. One guard closed the door and stood by it inside the room. The other stood outside the door as backup.
"I never knew how tight the security was here," I said, trying to keep my mind off the interrogation.
"You should," Sally said. "Your Uncle Chuck helped design it."
I nodded, thinking about it.
"So let's get started, shall we?" Sally said. I looked at her expectantly. "Do you know why you were arrested?"
"Everyone thinks I stole the Chaos Emerald?" It ended up sounding like a question.
"Yes, and for injuring numerous guards," Sally added.
"What?" I asked in disbelief, eyes widening.
"Yeah," Sally nodded. "Where were you—"
"When the brains were handed out?" I interrupted, smirking. She rolled her eyes.
"Where were you between 3 and 5 AM the day before yesterday?" She gave me a look when she completed the sentence.
"At Tails's," I replied curtly. "As soon as I returned from Robotropolis, I went to his house to stay the night."
Sally wrote down everything I said. After a minute she looked back up at me. "Do you recognize this footage?" She opened her laptop and typed on it for a minute, then turned the screen around to face me and pressed play.
The video showed nothing at first, just a room with pillars near the walls holding up the ceiling, a laser security system all around a glass dome containing a smaller glass dome that held a glowing red Emerald. A few seconds later, however, red lights started flashing on screen and alarms sounded, and explosions were heard. Then, a door slid open and smoke billowed out into the room. Through the smoke, a figure was seen jumping over the lasers and onto the platform the dome was on. The silhouette of the thief did look like me, unmistakably. Then, the thief backed up, and used my spin-dash to destroy the outer dome, and then he smashed the inner dome with his fist. More alarms sounded. As the smoke cleared, I clearly saw that he was the same shade of blue I was, and had the same red sneakers. When he turned around, Emerald in hand, a shadow fell over his face. But I thought I saw a glint of red in his eyes. A moment later, he put out his hand in the direction of the camera, and a blast of energy shot out of his palm and destroyed it, making the screen go fuzzy and then blank. I clenched my fists in anger.
After a minute of silence, Sally spoke up. "That same Emerald was found at your house last night."
I hesitated. "That wasn't me," I said through clenched teeth.
"Then what do you make of the Emerald, and the footage stacked against you?"
I took a deep breath, and then looked at her. "Either I watch too many crime shows, or I've seen enough robberies to know that this had many huge flaws. One, wouldn't you try and sneak in instead of blowing things up? And two, for Chaos's sakes, look for cameras!" I found I was tense, and attempted to relax.
Sally frowned. "What do you have to say about the Emerald?"
I shook my head. "I have no idea how that thing got to my house. The only way it would've gotten there is if someone put it there." Just then, I realized something. I looked up thoughtfully. "Come to think of it, that would explain why there was footage in the first place. He obviously knew the camera was there, so he wanted you to have a video. He wanted to frame me. It all fits!"
Sally screwed her mouth to the side in thought, writing down what I said. "There is a thin line between knowing too little to be innocent and knowing too much. I think you just about crossed that line."
"What?" I said, about to stand up abruptly, but the shackles cut into my wrists and I winced, and tried to relax again. "But I'm innocent! I'm just thinking out loud!"
"You may be, but the footage and evidence suggest otherwise."
I groaned in frustration. "Fine, you want proof? Ask Tails if I was at his house. Bring him in if you have to. You, of all people, should know I was on a mission the day before, and got captured. I told you I was going to Tails's. And you know I can't do Chaos Blast with one Emerald! He did Chaos Blast, just like Shadow. You trust me, you have to believe me!"
Sally glanced nervously at the cameras, then leaned over the table and whispered, "I do believe you, Sonic. It's the commander and everyone else who doesn't. Everyone's asking for justice, and almost everyone thinks it was you. But I know it's not. It's not like you." She smiled a little and sat back in her chair.
"Thank you," I said quietly, returning her smile.
Suddenly, her handheld device started ringing. "Sally Acorn speaking," she said, answering it. Through a burst of static, I heard a voice on the other end, but not well enough to make out words. As he spoke, Sally's smile faded, and she looked at me anxiously.
"And you didn't find out till now?" She said into the device. The man kept talking, and then she nodded. "Alright, then, I'll look into it." Then she hung up, folded her hands on the table and looked at me.
"What was that all about?" I asked.
"Apparently, a second Emerald was stolen at about 3 AM last night."
"I was sleeping then," I said, looking innocent, and then I murmured to myself, "or at least trying to."
"Hm…" Sally nodded, and then continued. "No one found out about it until a few minutes ago because all the guards were somehow knocked out and the alarms disabled. There was more footage." She began typing into her computer and turned it around to face me, pressing play.
The footage was similar, except the lasers disappeared, there were no alarms or smoke, and it clearly looked like me. But this time, after he smashed the case and got the Emerald, he looked directly at the camera, jumped up and spin-dashed into it, destroying it again.
"Hold it, go back a few frames!" I said, slightly excited. Sally did so, and paused it on when he looked at the camera. There, we got a clear shot of his face. It was his eyes that were most intriguing.
"Red," she said, slightly breathlessly.
I nodded. "Red eyes. I have green eyes. Do you believe me now?"
Sally hesitated, and then slowly nodded. "I-I guess I do." She cleared her throat. "Even so, we need further proof. So here's what we're gonna do. We're going to lock you up – "
"What? No! Please!" I begged. "It's boring in there!"
"Let me finish! We'll lock you up for a few days, and if the third Emerald is stolen, everyone'll know it wasn't you because you're here. We'll let you go and set up an attack plan for the thief. It'll at least convince everyone else you're innocent."
I frowned, and then nodded. "Sounds good." Then, I smiled to myself, thinking of what I'd do to the thief for framing me. Sweet, sweet revenge. "Let's do it to it!"
Sally smiled. "Alright then…" She held up a pair of handcuffs and swung them a few feet away from my face. "Sonic the Hedgehog, you're under arrest."
(So that's the end of Chapter 3! What did you all think? Please review, I'd really appreciate it! Stay tuned for the next chapter, coming soon! Adios to all you splendid readers!)
~SonicTheHedgehog-Nerd