Morning. The sunlight drifted down in to the sewers as a spot of light through a man hole. Vector's shack was filled with the smell of cooking breakfast; Eggs, bacon, sausages, hash browns, waffles, pancakes – the whole lot! Vector was working up a pile of these delights at the stove.

Meanwhile, Charmy was sat watching TV – the news was on. "The rates of unemployment in some of the larger cities of the United Federation, has continued to skyrocket as the renowned scientist and inventor, Doctor Ivo Kintobor, has laid off his staff and shut down more of his facilities. The good Doctor has so far refused to comment on why."

"Vector, this stuff's great!" Charmy yelled over to him.

He lifted up one of his headphones and laughed. "Hey, No Problem Charmy! Y'know, you and Espio really outta try out my barbeque some time though. I mean, I don't wanna brag or nothing, but it's pretty out of site dawg!"

"Hey. I think some honey would be pretty good with these. Do you have any?" Charmy asked.

"Hmph. Didn't you hear? Well, I would've thought since you're a bee and all, that you of all folks should know about that honey shortage going on."

"Honey Shortage?!" Charmy nearly choked. "W-What are you talking about? I live at the Golden Hive Colony – honey making's never been better!"

"Hey, you're the expert." Vector waved his hands in the air to the topic. "There's just been some stuff going on recently on the shipments just not making it over to some cities in the world. Why aren't you at your hive now anyway?"

Charmy shuffled nervously. "Well I…uh…"

"And now it's Merriam Fox, with the weather." The television sounded, grabbing the attention of the pair.

Vector leapt onto the couch. Charmy's eyes widened with fear as the crocodile soared over him in front of the TV.

"Merriam Fox!" He howled. "Shush a sec Charmy – she's the only reason the news is worth watching!" Vector exclaimed; drooling as his love-struck gaze couldn't leave the screen.

Charmy sighed. "Girls are gross..." He commented.

Espio then came down the stairs – he seemed quite well rested and his injuries didn't seem to bother him anymore.

"Ohio Gosaimasu." Espio yawned, lugging his bag and sword down with him.

"Huh?!" Vector and Charmy collectively answered.

"Is that a place?" Charmy asked. "We can't go anywhere yet Espio, we haven't even finished breakfast!"

"No, no Charmy. It sounds Spagonian, maybe it's a type of food – breakfast maybe." Vector responded. "Hey Espio, if you had come down earlier, I probably could've made some for ya."

"Ohio Gosaimasu just means 'Good Morning' in Dragonese…" Espio sighed.

"Ohhh." The confused pair below replied.

"Maybe you should just speak English from now on…" Vector said, returning his sights to the beautiful red fox-woman showcasing the weather. "Help yourself man."

Espio then gathered up his desired meal and sat down alongside them. The weather report finished, and the headlines returned.

"Man, when I get that reward money – the first thing I'm gonna get is that TV that rewinds. Heck – I'm gonna get the TV with more than eight channels!" Vector exclaimed. "What a Fox that Merriam is, what I wouldn't do to meet her in person." He said, stroking his hand over his scales – trying to look 'smooth'.

"She is a fox…" Charmy commented.

"Here Charmy; you can change it to whatever..." Vector grumbled as he passed the remote to him.

"YIPPEE!" He cheered and switched over to some cartoons.

"Vector." Espio said.

Vector looked over.

"I've been meaning to ask…" Espio began. "What are all these newspaper articles about? They're everywhere…" He lifted one up saying 'Foolish Detective Captures Wrong Crook'.

Vector snatched it from his hands. "That's of no-one's business but mine." He snarled. "Just, don't touch my stuff…" He screwed up the paper and threw it behind.

"P-Please Vector, I did not mean to cause any off-"

"Forget about it. It's the past…"

Espio looked on at the screwed up piece of paper for a moment. He cleared his throat. "Well, perhaps it is time for us to move on?"

"What's your rush?"

"There's just a lot at stake here at the moment."

"And what's that?"

"Like the creatures…"

"Oh, those guys. Yeah, I've been wantin' to ask you now, about those things. What the heck are they, exactly?"

"They're beasts of great power that are summoned by my clan in order to capture criminals. We seldom use them because of their destructive power and instability."

"W-wait. So you're a criminal?!"

Charmy looked over now, seemingly concerned.

"I'm working for a criminal now?" Vector exclaimed in frustration. "Is this what my life has come to now?"

"No – I've been framed. That's why I need to see an expert in forensics." Espio replied. "My own clan think I'm a criminal and sent those monsters on me."

"…well…then, it's a good thing the two of you found me then." Vector's frown turned into a smile and he started flexing his muscles. Those guys were literally nothin' to me. You don't have to worry about them anymore."

"No! You don't understand! They're the Necrodragons - every time they are defeated, they-" He stopped suddenly.

"…..What's up Espio?" Vector inquired.

"C-Close the curtains…Now!"

HHhhhiiisssss. SSSSSaaaaaarrrrrggggrrrrrhhhh.

Charmy zipped past them. He was going to shut the curtains himself.

Espio carefully peered through the curtains. He saw two pairs of red light streams coming from around the corner. He jolted back.

"What's happening now? Are they back?" Vector asked.

PIT. PAT. PIT. PAT. The creatures were moving closer and closer – they're footsteps matching in speed with the heroes' pounding hearts. PIT. PAT. PIT. PAT.

"Board the doors and windows!" Espio commanded.

Charmy was quick to find wood, nails and hammers.

"What're you talkin' about – I beat them before and easily too." Vector announced. He marched towards the front door.

Espio leapt in front of him. He spanned his arms out to stop him from leaving.

"No! You cannot. Every time they are defeated in battle, they return larger and stronger – they adapt to their enemies!"

SCRITCH. SCRATCH. They were at the sides of the house. Charmy gripped onto Espio's leg, quivering, as blinding red lights shone through the windows.

Vector laughed. "No way! Even if they did do that, it can't possibly be that much more – that's impossible." He lifted Espio out of the way. He walked to the door. "Just watch this." He grabbed the doorknob.

Charmy and Espio then screamed out "NOOOO!"

He opened the door. It creaked loudly. One creature stood immediately right there in the door way. It rivalled Vector in both height and muscle size. It stared him straight in the eyes.

Vector gave out a cocky laugh. "A big guy aren't ya." He smirked. It just stood there, flicking its forked tongue. "Alright then – put 'em up!" Vector roared as he dove on to, wrestling it to the floor.

Suddenly, the other came and grappled hold of Vector from behind. It chomped viciously onto his back.

"We have to do something Espio!" Charmy exclaimed. "He's just a lone alligator against two"

The Dragon Assassins piled on top of Vector. They continued to claw and bite him.

"…not…an…Alligatorrrr…" Vector muttered underneath the two creatures. He then roared out "…A…CROCODILE!" throwing them off of his back into the sewer water behind him.

Charmy and Espio were astonished by the show of great strength. Vector stomped over and grabbed hold Charmy.

"YOU!" He snarled as he shook the bee. "HOW MANY TIMES DO I HAVE TO TELL YA?! IT'S CROCODILE!"

"Vector!" Espio yelled out. "We have to get out of here! Do you know a way?"

"No way!" Vector exclaimed, brushing himself off. "There's no way I'm runnin' from a fight – I'm just getting started!"

"So are they!" Espio said, pulling on Vector's tail. "Just c'mon Vector! Think about the rest of us here!"

The creatures surfaced. They snarled and swam slowly over to the water's edge.

Vector growled in defeat. "Fine! Follow me, quickly!"

The trio ran back inside of the house. The necrodragons chased after them. One leapt into the doorway, nearly pulling the building out of the floor with its impact. It was stuck, for now.

They followed Vector into the basement. He took them to a very dark tunnel in his wall.

"Quick, Jump in! There's not much time!" Vector shouted. "It goes to the sewage treatment system – it'll lead to the outside!"

"Wait – they'll easily be able to follow us there!" Espio yelled out.

Charmy leapt down without question – yelling as he went down rapidly.

"I left them a 4th of July surprise – NOW GO!" He yelled as he pushed Espio in and jumped in himself.

As they slid down, screaming, a colourful firework explosion could be seen behind them. The Dragon Assassins wouldn't be bothering them for a while now.

When the trio finally got out of the sewers, they found themselves in a polluted lake. The water was black and there were pieces of trash etc. floating around. There were even signs of oil.

"Eww…gross…" Charmy said as he tried to fly out of the dark water.

The trio wiped themselves off and climbed out of the polluted pool.

"Well…we got away it seems…" Vector supposed.

Espio apologized "I'm sorry Vector. I know that your home must've held some deep-seeded memories…"

"Well, it's like what I told you before…it's all in the past. Besides, I'm buying my own mansion with that reward money!"

Espio couldn't help but smile.

"Speaking of past – you gonna tell me why it is they tried to kill us!" Vector snarled.

Espio looked nervously to the ground.

"Why are you here, instead of with your clan? What are they chasing you for?" Vector asked with suspicion.

Espio sighed. "I've…I've been framed…for the murder of my own Master…"

Both Charmy and Vector stood in shock.

Espio continued. "I was chased out of my home by my own people…and I've come here, to seek out aid in clearing my name."

"Gee…I'm…I'm sorry to hear that man…" Vector responded.

A long silence ensued. They all shuffled awkwardly around, just staring at the floor. Charmy kicked a can into the polluted pool.

"So…where to now?" Vector said.

Espio immediately picked his head up. "You'll help me? You won't turn me in?"

"Hey, we've had a deal remember?"

Espio smiled once again. "Thank you Vector."

"Count me in too!" Charmy yelled out.

"Oh, no no no Charmy – you should go back home." Vector commanded. Charmy just looked at him blankly as he spoke. "You've seen those monsters back there! This is dangerous!"

"Whatever man – you'd never be able to catch me to make me go back anyway."

Vector, drooping his arms down, sighed "Yeah…you're probably right…" He muttered, deciding instead just to ignore the annoying kid. "So what was your plan now?"

Espio pulled down his bag. "I got a DNA sample of who might be the killer."

Vector grabbed the vile and inspected its contents.

Espio explained. "It's definitely reptilian in origin, but I can't know who it is exactly - I need to get to a laboratory to get a scan of it."

"Labo-what?" Charmy exclaimed.

Espio ignored him. "Perhaps with a scan of the DNA, we can make a digital model of the culprit and then I can finally hunt him down."

Vector then sighed. "Well…it won't be easy."

"Why not? I thought there were 'hundreds' of Labs here." He looked towards Charmy.

"Well…it would've been fairly simple, if all of Kintobor's facilities hadn't shut down recently. There're still a few other non-Kintobor labs though…" He scratched his head. "AH! I know one, but we'll have to drive."

"Drive?!" The other two exclaimed.

The next thing they knew, they were at Vector's office building, sat in his van; a great green vehicle with three seats at the front and a large space in the back for cargo. Its swampy green exterior was accompanied by hot-rod flames at the bottom.

"Do you think Vector's a drag-racer?" Charmy asked.

Sighing with his head rested on his hand, Espio replied "Charmy, he just told us. He's a journalist at this building here."

"Oh. Well, he wouldn't be a very good racer anyway – he's taking forever!"

"He's just speaking with his boss Charmy, now be patient and stop with the-"

They saw Vector sprinting to the van at that moment, before he leapt in and stomped hard on the gas!

"What's going on?!" Espio said gripping hold of anything he could as the van rushed out of the parking lot.

"They wanted the van back." Vector said.

"Wait, it isn't yours? But didn't you paint it?"

"Of course not – it's a company vehicle. I just wanted her to look like the beauty she is inside." He said, nuzzling the steering wheel.

"They want it back because you painted it?"

"No, because I quit my job."

"You what?!" Espio let go of the dashboard in shock, before scrambling his hands back to anything solid.

"Why would I work there if I'm gonna be catchin' that reward money?" The van swerved into the three-way.

"Vector, I think you're putting a little too much emphasis in the reward money…what if I don't even make it there?"

"Then I've not done my job then have I? I'm not just your guide and chaperone, I'm your bodyguard dawg – so just sit back, relax and enjoy the ride."

The van went on to travel up to the blue roads higher up in the city.

"Hey Espio! It's those blue platforms." Charmy said.

Espio looked through the window. "What are these things exactly? And why are they blue?"

The van almost immediately picked up speed, pushing the trio deep into their seats.

"Nygh! I can never get used to that." Vector laughed. "Oh, these platforms are filled with some sort of blue energy thing. It carries anything walking or driving on it at a greater speed than they're moving – it's Kintobor tech."

"Awesome." Charmy cheered. "We'll be wherever we're going really fast!"

Espio began to feel quite nauseous – he decided that he did not like car journeys.

The city seemed to light up just as much in the day as it did at night. Vibrant colours were everywhere in the form of neon roads and building lights, neon signs and gigantic screens.

"It's so different to the village…" Espio mumbled to himself.

"So…what have you got so far on your master's death?" Vector asked.

"They found his body with my sword plunged into him. I don't know who did it yet – not even a slight idea, but whoever it was must have some sort of disliking of me..."

"You ever thought about suicide?"

"What?"

"You should never rule out the case of a suicide."

"There is no way that my master took his own life. There was no reason for him to. It is of a very high level of dishonour. And he used my sword – why would he frame me?"

"I know. I was testing your reasoning. If you're gonna be a detective, the first thing you have to do is think like one."

Charmy waved his hand in the air. "Ooh ooh ooh!" He exclaimed. "Can we get some donuts then? Detectives always eat donuts!"

Vector rubbed his snout in irritation "No Charmy, that's what the cops do…" Vector looked out of the side window to the street road below. "Gee, it's a good thing we took the blue-roads – just look at all that traffic." He continued back to his previous conversation with Espio "Oh yeah, so what I was saying was that you gotta think like 'em. You have to ask the five 'W's."

"Five?" Espio enquired.

"Yes; Who, What, When, Why and Wow."

"Wow?"

"I know! It's great isn't it!" Vector laughed hysterically. Charmy soon joined in when he realised the joke.

Espio continued to sit in his seat blankly. "I think you mean 'how', Vector."

Vector calmed his laughter, wiping a tear from his eye "I know what I said. I mean 'Wow', as in 'Wow – that's how he did it?'"

Espio just shook his head and rolled his eyes. "Even if that last one made sense, I fail to see how this 'Five' 'W's thing of yours would help."

"Oh, here's our exit." Vector said, pulling the van into the road that returned to street level. "It's all part of my 'Crime Pentagon'." He continued.

"Crime Pentagon?"

"Yeah. Take away any of the five 'W's from my equation and the suspect probably isn't guilty…Eighty percent of the time. Who - are they connected to the victim in any way? If not, they probably had nothing to do with 'em. What - some things just aren't a certain guy's style to do something in a certain way. When - the classic 'Where were you a three-thirty Sunday Night' thing. The same can also go for where too and if the 'Wow' doesn't make sense, then neither should the idea of that suspect being the actual criminal."

Espio just stared blankly at him.

"Well, I think it makes sense." Charmy smiled.

"Of course you would…" Espio replied.

"Aw, quit sweatin' about it Espio." Vector said. "We're here now anyways."

Vector pulled the van up to an area of the city that appeared a little run-down. There were many closed down businesses around here; probably due to competition of the stuff within the inner city.
There were still some nice-looking apartments, cafes and Delis though. They just weren't comparable to the great, crystal-shaped skyscrapers that they had just passed. Those buildings were built and owned by Dr Ivo Kintobor, but he was mysteriously laying off his staff recently; leaving the citizens of Metropolis wondering what he was planning.

"Well, here we are." Vector exclaimed as he stepped out of the van.

"Wow. It's no-where near as shiny as those other buildings." Charmy stated.

"Yeah. This is what the place looked like before Kintobor gave his technology to the city. I guess at this rate, the city may turn back to this."

Charmy looked up at him. "Are you sure you're only twenty-one?"

Vector growled at him. "Charmy I told you before…"

"Hmm. I guess that still sounds pretty old." He smirked.

"You've not even met the puberty fairy yet! You don't know anything!"

Charmy laughed at him as Espio stumbled dizzily over. The journey had knocked more out of him than he though, but he still managed to keep a hold of his breakfast.

Vector turned over to him. "Hey Espio! This is the place."

Espio shook his head to clear himself. "Here?" He replied.

Compared to the other buildings of the same area, this one was still quite an impressive structure.

"Hey Vector, this building still looks good." Charmy said.

"This building's owned by Kintobor as well, although it's probably only a matter of time before this place is closed down too." They started walking over to the facility.

"He's even closing down his health facilities? Why?" Espio enquired.

"No-one knows. He's closing everything down – laying everyone off."

"Is he going bankrupt?"

"That's the thing; from what I've seen in the papers, the sales for Kintobor Industries is at its highest and seems to be going up. Some think that he's about to make a huge announcement for some new technology he's invented or something. Only time will tell I suppose." They stepped into the building.

The building was both a large clinic and a DNA tests laboratory – maximising efficiency with blood tests from patients as well as providing easy access to police forces for murder cases and such. It seemed busy today – almost panic stricken.

"What now?" Charmy buzzed.

"Now I get us an appointment. You guys just wait here." Vector said before walking over to the front desk. Espio and Charmy turned to the waiting area.

"Wanna read a magazine?" Charmy turned to Espio.

They waited for over an hour before Vector finally returned. With him was a young woman; she had white skin with long, black hair and wore a snow white lab-coat.

"Hey guys." Vector greeted them. "This is a good friend of mine; she's going to help us out."

"Hello" She spoke, reaching out to shake their hands. "I am Dr Heart."

Charmy giggled. "HAHA! You're a doctor and your name's Heart!"

Vector and Espio both slapped their hands on their faces in embarrassment, but Dr Heart just smiled. "I can't tell you how many times I've heard that. As friends of Vector's, you may call me Moira if you prefer. But it's nice to see a smile, we don't see too many of those nowadays, except when Vector visits."

"Yeah, how you guys holdin' up over here now, by the way." Vector asked.

Moira sighed. "We're alright for now. I think Dr Kintobor has delayed the closure of this facility because it's one of the few that are desperately needed. I mean, we need the hospitals – whether you're an Overlander or not. But that hasn't stopped him before, we could get the call at any time now."

"What will you do?"

"I don't know. Perhaps I'll move to Empire City, there's some good hospitals I can work at there." She said sadly, but quickly perked up again. "But enough of that, let's get started!" She led them to the laboratory on the second floor.

"WOW!" Charmy exclaimed. "It's Awesome!"

Moira smiled at the enthusiasm of the young bee. They walked through the lab; all around them they could see numerous other scientists working on their own projects – most not even glancing up at the newcomers, despite them not being Overlanders. The lab itself was incredibly clean which enhanced the shine of the white floors, walls and ceilings. Even the machinery and computers were white in colour.

"What goes on in here Dr Heart?" Espio asked her.

"This lab is responsible for blood tests, autopsies and medicine research. Because of this, I ask that you guys stay as close to me as possible – there's some things that are highly confidential and other things…well…you just wouldn't want to see…"

They walked over to a desk with a large computer.

"Ah! The computer room!" Vector exclaimed.

"Here's my desk." Moira said. "I'm sorry, could you remind me what it was you required again?"

Espio reached into his bag and pulled out the cup holding the sample he collected from the dojo. "I need a DNA scan of this. I need to know who this belongs to."

"Er…Espio?" Vector nudged him. "I hate to burst your bubble, but I just realised something – do you think your clan's DNA is within the DNA bank of the world?"

"Huh?"

"Y'See, there's a global bank where several Mobians' DNA samples are held. That way, if there's been a crime or the cops are trying to identify a messed up body, they can match the two samples to find their guy."

"So, what are you saying?"

"Has your clan sent in samples of their DNA? If not…then you may never find the guy."

Espio cringed and dropped to his knees, knocking his head repeatedly on the tiled floor. "How the heck didn't I see that!" He said.

"Umm, actually…" Moira pointed out, Espio ceased his self-punishment and looked up. "It would've been impossible to find him, five years ago, but with thanks to Kintobor Industries we have new software that might just help."

"Wha-? Really?" Espio stood back up; a glimmer of hope lit his eyes.

"Huh? Where'd they announce this one? What does it do?" Vector asked.

"It was never announced." She replied. "Dr Kintobor had it only released to the Autopsy labs so far. It was still sort of in testing phase, so it wasn't formally announced." She turned to Espio. "I'll take the sample that you've supplied to us and have it scanned here." She took it to a large machine and carefully placed the sample in a vile on a conveyor belt. "The machine will take in all the information from this DNA and replicate the entire organism and all its features on the screen of the computer – it was inspired by the idea of cloning."

Vector was impressed. "Dang dawg! For real?!"

"See for yourself."

They all closely gathered around the computer, watching as a 3D model appeared on the screen.

"Hey! It's a Chameleon!" Charmy said.

"The machine will go on to replicate every detail in this person – even their skin and eye colour."

They were about to find out. Espio was about to find out who did it. Sweat trickled down from his head. The screen started to show a taller crest. Who could it be?

The process was almost done. Moira began to announce the DNA result "The DNA scan reveals that the owner of this sample, and the likely culprit to your mystery, is..."