Hello everybody! No, this isn't one of those times where you think you're dreaming just because it's something that you haven't seen in a long time. This is me posting a new update just a couple of days after my last chapter has debuted. I just happened to have caught a lucky break today in that both of my afternoon classes were for some reason cancelled. That, in turn, gave me more than enough time to come up with this new chapter and post it for you all to read.

I'm telling you, this chapter was hard for me to construct. As I said in the past chapter, I had to completely reconstruct who it was that was going to die and who would be the real criminal. As such, everything that you see in this particular chapter is pure randomness that I somehow managed to make work for the sake of the mystery. Sorry if parts of it might sound a bit weak, but it was the best that I could do, especially since I accidentally created only a small amount of evidence to work with this time around.

Anyway, I hope that you all still find this chapter to be very enjoyable. And as I said before, I'll announce the other change that I made for this case. I was originally thinking of having this whole thing resolved in court like the other two cases. However, I figured that it was just going to be too complicated now that Sonic and Tails had a first hand look at the crime scene before an accused even had a chance to make themselves known to them. So, this case is going to be handled in a fashion much like the Miles Edgeworth game; it's all going to be resolved right at the scene. For those who remember, I did a scene akin to that sometime in the second case on the third part.

With that explanation, I hope that you all enjoy reading this chapter and the mysteries that it will impart onto your brains. Just think of it as my version of making brain exercises. Don't forget to leave a review after you're done reading!

Evidence:

Newspaper Article: A clipping talking about Ms. Kuro Rose, a woman running for the position of senator in her district. It talks about how she served her country in the military's Special Forces team before being forced out because of a battle injury rendering her incapable of conducting anything overly stressful or strenuous. She promises to try and reduce the crime rate in her represented district if elected.

Knife: A fruit knife that was found underneath the door of Silver's office. Dried blood is seen covering the entirety of the blade with flecks also on the wooden handle. Only Sonic's fingerprints are known to be on it at this point since he touched it earlier without gloved hands.

Attorney's Badge: Sonic lost it during the promotion party earlier that evening. It was found under Silver's desk completely covered in blood on both the front and back despite there being no significant traces of blood around that area. It is believed to have been kicked under there during the scuffle after being bloodied.

Silver's Shoe: A shoe that is covered in blood. Oddly enough, there is a small round spot underneath the sole that is unmarred by the crimson liquid. It is unclear on what caused this unnatural occurrence or why this is so.

White Fragment: A small white piece found underneath Silver's desk. It is smooth with rough and jagged edges, almost as if it were broken off of some kind of clay figure. It is unclear as to where it originally came from.

Profiles:

Sonic Hedgehog: A seventeen year old blue furred male hedgehog. He and Tails were the first to discover Kuro Rose and Silver in his office, one dead and the other unconscious. He's currently under suspicion for the murder of the running senator and the assault of the detective.

Miles Prower: Best known by his nickname Tails. He's a twelve-year-old orange furred fox with two tails. He and Sonic were the first to discover Kuro Rose and Silver in his office. He ran off to find help while the attorney stayed behind to see what he could do for the two victims.

Knuckles Echidna: He is an eighteen-year-old red furred echidna detective who works at the local precinct and is good friends with Sonic and Tails. He ran into the fox while on his way to visit Silver and followed him back to his office.

Silver Hedgehog: An eighteen year old senior detective who worked hard for his current position. He was found in his office severely beaten up with bruises all over him. It is currently unclear as to who it was that caused his extensive injuries.

Kuro Rose: A woman of Japanese decent who speaks very fluent English. She was a running candidate for her district's senatorial race and a former Special Forces member in the army. She was found stabbed to death in Silver's office. It is unclear as to who it was that murdered her.

Espio: He's a purple chameleon with a white horn on his forehead. He's skilled in Japanese ninja arts and has his own dojo for teaching others said techniques. He was the first to appear on the scene after Sonic and Tails discovered it. He is now using his powers as a freelance detective to accuse Sonic of murdering Kuro Rose and assaulting Silver.

Dr. Ivo Robotnik: A fifty-three year old defense attorney of some renown. He owns his own law firm, albeit a small business version, and hired Sonic to be his understudy. He's usually too busy working on some kind of case to be seen in the office much. He allows Tails to hang out in the office regardless if he does any work in there or not. He's currently out of town on business and entrusted the upkeep of the office to Sonic and Tails.

Vector Crocodile: A twenty-year-old crocodile prosecutor. He loves the gold chain necklace that rests against his neck along with listening to music through his headset, including during his time in the courtroom. He can sometimes be a bit rash in making decisions and has a sort of stubborn side, but he always strives for the truth within the heart of any matter.

Charmy Bee: A hyper little bee who's attitude sometimes surpasses his eight-year-old body. He works alongside Prosecutor Vector as a sort of small rag-tag group of detectives that work apart from the local precinct detectives.

Chapter 9: Dangerous Twists and Turns Pt. 3

"…Alright, I've called the police, and they're on their way right now," Knuckles stated as he took the phone away from his ear and hung it up. He had managed to find the black contraption somewhere under the mountain of books earlier and succeeded in retrieving it without marring the crime scene. "It sucks that this Precinct building and the Police Department happen to be in separate parts of town. To be assigned in the lower division is like saying you don't belong in the actual police building where all the others work."

"How long will it take for them to get here in order to make the official arrest?" Espio asked as he kept his eye on Sonic the entire time while staying near the only exit to the office in case said person decided to make a run for it.

"Unfortunately, they said that they'll be here in about twenty minutes," the detective answered as he moved away from the desk and towards the corner that the cobalt hedgehog was currently standing in. Tails was leaning against the wall next to him with a worried expression on his face while his eyes unconsciously scanned the scene in front of him. "One of the senatorial candidates decided to host a late-night promotional party. Because of that, the streets are packed with cars and people and are causing a big traffic jam.

"Of course, I requested that they only sent one squad car of officers so as to not set off a panic here in the Precinct," he continued on with a sigh as he made his way to the door. "The last thing we need here is for the entire building to be in an uproar about there being a murder on a candidate for senator. Imagine the stink this would raise. It took a little string pulling, but I managed to get them to agree to keep it all under wraps until eight tomorrow morning."

"And why did you have them keep quiet about it until then?" Tails asked with a raised eyebrow at the odd action.

"Because Ms. Rose's secretary always checks up with her on her daily schedule at that time. I know because she told me once during her meeting with me. I also asked to keep it quiet until then so that we can hopefully get this whole thing cleared up before then."

"And what is there to be cleared up Knuckles?" the purple chameleon asked with a sort of light chuckle escaping from the back of his throat. "I've already told you that I saw Sonic here in this office with the body of a murdered woman and an assaulted detective in it. Nobody would act that calm with that kind of catastrophe around them unless they were the person responsible for it."

"That's a very funny line of logic that you managed to come up with Espio," Sonic said with an annoyed scoff of his breath as he crossed his arms in a defiant manner. "Did it ever occur to you that I was simply just investigating this place in hopes that I could find some answers as to who it was that did all this? If I were the one responsible for all this, which I'm not, then I wouldn't have been staying around waiting to be caught by somebody who just happened to be passing by."

"Sonic's right here; no criminal would be that stupid to stay around the very place where they had just committed murder," the two tailed fox agreed with his older brother. "And besides, he's not anywhere near capable of committing murder on anybody, much less on a woman that he hardly knew anything about."

"And that's also another reason why I asked for the police to keep a low profile about this until tomorrow morning," Knuckles added as he made it to the doorway and turned around to face the current occupants in the room. "Since they're are not here yet, this is still simply a citizen's arrest that you've made Espio. As such, we still have some time to clear up Sonic's name before you can go ahead and hand him over to the police with simply your eyewitness account on what you initially saw."

"And you're saying that there's actually something that can disprove what my eyes have saw? You've got to be kidding me here."

"He's not kidding Espio," Tails spoke up with a huff of his breath as he got off the wall and stood as tall as he could. "And I'm going to prove to you that Sonic couldn't have possibly have had anything to do with this murder."

"Humph, such strong talk from someone as young as you who doesn't know spit about the law. Alright, I'll go ahead and entertain you for a bit. Knuckles, do you mind staying behind for a bit and bearing witness to this little exchange?"

"I think I'm the only one around right now with the ability to do so," the echidna responded as he leaned against the doorway. I'm the only official detective around here who can listen to you guys talk about this crime and prove it to be admissible testimony should the need ever arise."

"Alright, then how about I start off by telling all of you why I believe that Sonic is the murderer here?"

Argument: Reason for Arrest

Sonic here is the only one who I believe had the chance to commit both the murder and assault that took place in here. I say that because he was the only one in the room when I happened to pass by at about a quarter before midnight. That and I caught him loitering around behind the desk area. If that doesn't show any signs that he's the murderer, then I don't know what does.

End Argument

"That's it?" Tails asked with raised eyebrows at an argument that could not even stand up to a proper cross-examination in court. "That's the worst kind of reasoning I've ever heard of in my life."

"Believe what you will, but I believe that you only asked for my account on what I thought in the moments when I first discovered this scene," Espio countered in a cool tone. "After all, we're talking about my basis for a citizen's arrest here, and that directly correlates to that little detail."

"Espio's right about that Tails," Knuckles agreed with the chameleon with a shrug of his shoulders. "You're just going to have to work with that for now. And don't forget that you're right now on a time limit here."

"Oh, what a way to put more pressure onto him Knuckles," Sonic argued with a sort of whining tone in his voice.

Begin Rebuttal

"Anyway, you say that Sonic was the only one who could've committed the murder and assault," Tails repeated as he scrunched up his eyebrows in thought and tried to find something to say in between short statements. "Do you mind explaining to me a bit more on why you went with that line of thought?"

"I already told you; he was the only one in the room at the time I passed by," Espio answered in annoyance at having to repeat myself. "I don't really think you could ask for a better reason than that considering the circumstances here."

"Yes, I remember you saying that," the two tailed fox admitted with a nod of his head. "However, even you have to admit that that alone doesn't really constitute a good basis for an arrest. What other reasons do you have for saying that he was the one to have committed this murder?"

"Well, I know that Silver was busy working overtime tonight since he was having a meeting with Ms. Rose," the chameleon began to explain. "This is the fifth floor where senior detectives work, and I just happened to be at the floor underneath us. You see, the floor below us happens to be where the prosecutors' offices are located. Vector's just so happens to be the one located right next to the stairwell. With the elevators out of order today, one would have to access the stairs if they wanted to move from floor to floor."

"I assume you're saying this because the prosecutor's office happens to have a good view of the stairwell," the fox stated more than asked.

"That's exactly right. Also, the door to the fourth floor stairwell is jammed and refuses to close without swinging back open. Knuckles here can attest to that, I'm sure."

"He's right about that door," Knuckles stated as he let out a little growl. "It's practically open all day long, and you could hear anybody climbing up or down those stairs provided that it's relatively quiet. Being that eleven is the time where everybody's already off when this happened, it was generally calm enough for him to have heard anybody in those stairs then."

"And it's with that backing that I claim to have saw nobody except you two climb up those stairs to this office," Espio finished off with a triumphant smile on his face. "In other words, only Sonic could've been the one to have committed this murder."

End Rebuttal

"I'm afraid that I'll have to disagree with you on that one Espio," Tails argued once the other had made that comment. "You say that Sonic was the only one able to commit this murder simply because you only heard us two climbing up those stairs."

"It's the only logic that stands to reason here," Espio responded with a shake of his head. "I guess your mind simply cannot comprehend it being that you're so young."

"I'm sorry, but your line of logic is way too flawed on so many different levels," the fox stated with a small smile on his face appearing. "There's still another person here that's capable of having murdered Ms. Rose here."

"And just who is it that you're suggesting had a chance to do so?" the chameleon asked, clearly not believing that the fox had any idea what he was saying.

"I'm talking about me of course," he responded without any hesitation, much to Sonic and Knuckles' surprise. "I don't mean to be inflicting self-incrimination; I'm merely pointing out the possibility of someone else having committed this crime."

"Ha, and you're saying that my line of logic is badly flawed!" the freelance detective exclaimed with a laugh that reflected humor at the explanation. "You're actually putting your own self on the line for the sake of protecting your friend. While I do commend the fact that you have the courage to do so, I'm afraid that you're bringing in some false information here. You see, you're much too small and inexperienced to possibly cause such bodily damage to Silver. Because of that, there's no way you could've murdered Ms. Rose because he would've stopped you before you had the chance to do so. Therefore, that only leaves Sonic as the main suspect. And while I do admit that you ran to find help, you could've only done so because of the scuffle that ensued right before you."

"Alright, so you managed to prove your point on why you initially thought that Sonic was the perpetrator here," Knuckles concluded as he crossed his arms and thought about what he had just heard during the exchange. "However, you've been at this scene for quite a while now. As Tails had said earlier, the reason that you've presented to us for arresting him sounded too weak to really be a reliable source of testimony. As such, I'm sure that there must've been something you saw here that compelled you to keep true to your original thoughts. Do you mind sharing to us what they were?"

"He probably saw nothing being that he's acting so one-sighted about all this," Sonic spat out as he hated being in this situation where he was basically helpless and had to rely on his little brother to get him out of it.

"Oh, I wouldn't be too sure about that if I were you," Espio stated cockily with a waggle of his finger. "If it's my account on what I've seen here so far that you want in regards to my decision on arresting him, then I'll indulge you all. All you have to do is ask and I will gladly comply."

"Then hurry up and give us the second part of your explanation," Tails requested with a hint of impatience in his voice. "You're not doing a very good job convincing me that you're right with your shaky reasoning right now."

"Then allow me to remake the foundation surrounding my reasoning and strengthen it to become more stable and believable," the chameleon answered as he prepared to supply the second part of his reason for making his citizen's arrest. "Not even you should be able to come up with a reasonable counterargument after this."

We'll just see about that now Espio, the orange furred fox thought to himself as he kept a straight face and crossed his arms in defiance. From what I've learned in seeing Sonic in action, I know that even the most hardened of statements can be broken down and simplified. Yours should be no exception to that rule.

Argument: Conditions of the Murder

I've been here at this scene for about fifteen minutes now, and that has been more than enough time for me to view the things around here. Ms. Rose was clearly murdered due to something piercing her right through her chest and most likely into her heart. That's the only explanation to the vast amount of blood pooled around her body. And the only thing resembling something sharp around here with blood all over it is the Knife. Because of this, I conclude that Sonic stabbed her to death while fending off or managing to render Silver unconscious.

End Argument

"Anybody could see that she was stabbed with the Knife here," Sonic stated with a hint of sarcasm in his words. "You'd have to be completely blind or insanely ignorant to not see the damn thing lying on the ground here and the stab wound on her chest! That's a completely stupid reason to go about with arresting me."

"And yet I'm not talking about whether or not the things I just described would be easily seen by your everyday average person," Espio countered as he shot a glaring look at the cobalt hedgehog that quickly shut him up. "I'm merely stating the things that I feel help support my initial reasoning in keeping you detained here until the police arrive. I'm only trying to put proven relevance to my actions."

"And I'm here to pick away at your reasons and prove them to be false grounds on accusing Sonic," Tails boldly proclaimed as he ran through the previous statements in his head in an attempt to find anything amiss. "So how about we go ahead and get this over with while we still have time?"

"I suggest that you best hurry up with this Tails," Knuckles warned as he looked at the clock on the wall. "The police should be here in about a few more minutes provided that they managed to maneuver through that big crowd in the streets. Once they get here, I'll be forced to hand Sonic over to the police if you can't cast reasonable doubt on Espio's reasons for making a citizen's arrest."

"And stop putting more pressure on me and threatening me with the inevitable arrival of the police Knuckles," the two tailed fox answered back with a small groan escaping his lips from the pressure that was being placed on his shoulders. "You're not really helping to make this any easier, you know that?"

Begin Rebuttal

"Has it really been fifteen minutes since this whole thing started?" Tails asked, clearly not believing that time had flown by so quickly without him noticing. Then again, he did not look at the clock when he first came in here, so he did not have any idea how much time had really passed. "It's felt a lot longer than that. How can you be so sure that it's only been that long since you first came here?"

"Well, if you take into account that Knuckles got here a couple of minutes after me and then took a little while to call the police under the thought of examining the scene, then fifteen minutes seems more than right," Espio explained as he stole a quick glance at the clock in order to solidify his claim. "Unlike you, I had a clear enough mind to go ahead and check the clock for the sake of documentation. I'm more than certain that I've been here for about fifteen minutes since a quarter before midnight, and it's right now a couple past."

"Okay, so we managed to determine how long Espio's been here," Sonic stated with a sigh of annoyance as his shoulders slumped down a bit. "How's that going to help me get out of this mess Tails?"

"I-I was just…testing him to see if he was being truthful and competent," the orange furred fox answered with a sort of sheepish smile and shy laugh that showed he had clearly asked the wrong question. He then continued on as he rubbed at the back of his neck, "Anyway, let's go ahead and move onto the next question. Why do you say that the Knife was the thing that ended up killing Ms. Rose?"

"Like I said earlier, that's the only thing in this room that even resembles anything like a plausible murder weapon," the purple chameleon answered as he shifted his gaze to the object still lying on the floor. "That and the entire thing is basically covered in blood. While there hasn't been a formal investigation here, I think that it's safe to conclude that it could only belong to the senatorial candidate. After all, there hasn't been any sign of open wounds on Silver's body, and she's the only one covered in a reasonable amount of blood that would be suspected from a murder victim."

"And how is the fact that the Knife is covered in blood would be able to help you confirm that Sonic was the one who committed murder and assault?" Knuckles asked in an attempt to get some more clarification on the situation. "I don't think that you've put much elaboration on that part yet."

"Well, if you take just one look at him, you should be able to figure out the answer for yourself. He hasn't had the chance to change his appearance ever since I caught him in the act, so it should be easy to explain."

Additional Statement

What kind of person in their right mind would come up here with a pair of gloves on their hands? It's almost as if he came here all prepared for anything that might've occurred, including murder.

End Additional Statement

"I only have my gloves on here because I was busy investigating this office for any clues before you decided to suddenly appear out from nowhere!" the cobalt hedgehog countered as he crossed his arms in an attempt to look both offensive and defensive with his position. "That's the only reason why I have them on."

"That's what you say, but only a proper investigation can fully determine whether or not what you say is the truth," the freelance detective fired back. "For the sake of right now though, this is why I feel that you're the one responsible for this. While you were fending off against Silver's attacks, you took the Knife off from the desk and stabbed Ms. Rose with it. And you were prepared by having your gloves on you the entire time for the sake of not leaving any of your fingerprints behind."

"So you're saying that your recollection of what you saw when you first arrived in conjunction with both his appearance and the way the scene is currently that you arrested Sonic," the echidna concluded as he listened carefully to Espio's explanation. "I don't like to admit this, but that does sound like a pretty reasonable basis for a citizen's arrest when you put the two together."

End Rebuttal

"It may be reasonable, but I don't think that it's the right assumption," Tails responded as he finally spotted a clear opening in Espio's argument and decided to go with it. "Let me just repeat what you said here. You said that Sonic was prepared for murder simply because he had his gloves on for the entire time you've been here. As such, you let that be the basis on saying he had it on during the entire time he was in here."

"That is what I was alluding to when I made that statement," Espio admitted with a nod of his head. "I don't know what you're talking about here, but I don't see any flaws in what I told you."

"I suppose that's only natural since I know something about the time before you arrived here that you don't," the two tailed fox admitted as he remembered the moments when he and Sonic first discovered the scene in the office. "How about I give you my account on what happened when Sonic and I first got here?"

"It sounds like a fair suggestion," Knuckles said with a nod of his head. "After all, you were with him when you discovered this mess. So what is it that you have to say about it?"

"Well, I'm afraid that I can't really say much since my mind was in too much shock at what I was seeing. However," he quickly added when he saw the chameleon give off a scoff of disbelief, "I do remember the things I saw before we opened the door."

"And what do you say you saw before you two decided to open the door?" the chameleon asked with a shake of his head in disbelief as he decided to go along with the fox's idea. "I can't wait to hear what you have to say about that."

"Well, I remember that the Knife that's being considered the murder weapon in this case was found underneath the doorway when the office door was closed," he responded as he thought back to the moments just before their unfortunate discovery. "Sonic then went ahead and picked it up without any second thoughts when I brought it to his attention. And before any of you say anything, Sonic wasn't wearing any gloves at the time, so his fingerprints should be on the handle as clear as day!"

"Oh yeah, I'd completely forgotten about that!" Sonic exclaimed as he remembered performing the action his little brother had brought up. "I took my gloves off earlier while we were riding in a cab because I was searching for something that I lost. I didn't put them back on until after we got here and saw all this."

"H-his fingerprints are on the weapon? I don't believe it for a minute!" the freelance detective exclaimed in surprise. "You're just trying to make something up so that you can get your friend here off the hook. While commendable, it's an act that's punishable by the law for providing false testimony."

"You can say anything you want about this, but I know for a fact he touched that thing with his bare hands! And if you still don't believe me, then we'll just go ahead and wait until the police arrive and conduct their official investigation.

"And until that time comes," Tails continued on as he saw Espio's previously confident attitude falter a bit, "let me continue on with my counterargument. If you're going to keep on saying that Sonic was the one who committed the murder and wore gloves to cover up his tracks, why then would there be fingerprints on the very thing he used as a weapon? It just doesn't any sense no matter how you look at it."

"And so what if his fingerprints are on that Knife?" the chameleon argued back with a slight growl to his words as he tried to keep his line of reasoning alive and intact. "He probably just suffered from a small moment of criminal stupidity. That still doesn't change the fact that he's most likely the person who murdered Ms. Rose."

"I'm sorry, but that sounds like something straight out of a fairy tale. He couldn't have possibly been the one who murdered her."

"And why do you say that Tails?" Knuckles asked, his face already showing that he knew the answer but wanting the other to answer to see if he was just trying to bluff his way out of this. "What proof do you have that says he isn't capable of such a feat?"

"Sonic, do you think you can help me out here and pull out that Newspaper Clipping you have in your glove?" the fox requested as he shifted his gaze to his older brother with a slight twinkle in his eyes. "I think that should be more than enough to show that Espio's got the wrong guy and that you're innocent."

"If you think you need it, then go ahead and take it," the cobalt hedgehog complied as he dug into his glove and pulled out the piece of folded paper. "It was starting to give my wrist a bad itch anyway." The fox then walked towards him and took it before unfolding it and paraphrasing what was written on it.

"This Newspaper Clipping explains a bit about Ms. Rose's past. Namely, it talks about her time in the military as a member of the army's Special Forces team. She was known within there as one of the best knife wielders and fighters in the entire force. It even goes so far to say that she was the best of the best in that accord."

"I-it really says that?" Espio asked as he snatched the paper out of his hands and began skimming through it. "I hope that you're not trying to pull my leg here and waste my time with simple nonsense."

"I've read that particular article this afternoon Espio," the echidna responded as he was clearly backing the young fox's claim. "I can spare you some reading time and tell you that what he just said is on that Newspaper Clipping."

"I'm sure you already know what I'm going to say next," the young fox responded with a triumphant smile on his face as he saw the chameleon's cocky attitude crumble before him. "Because Ms. Rose is such an expert in knife combat, it would be close to impossible for Sonic to have killed her with the Knife short of drugging her to sleep first. And even that would be an impossible feat with Silver in the room. Since him murdering the woman is impossible, it should also stand true that him assaulting the detective is just as equally improbable!"

"W-well, perhaps there were two people in this room at the time all this took place!" he continued to argue, clearly not wanting to admit that he was wrong anytime soon. "That should help explain your little string of impossibilities."

"Funny, that directly contradicts with what you told us earlier," Sonic countered as he clearly remembered the original argument the other made that landed him where he was at right now. "You said that you knew without a doubt that it could've only been me that was a main suspect here. You even managed to prove that Tails couldn't possibly have done it as a way to back up your claim! Changing your mind on this key detail means that you're changing your entire outlook and ultimately your stance on this scene!"

"And that means you can't possibly keep him under citizen's arrest now that your original line of logic has just been shadowed by my argument!" Tails stated happily as he saw the freelance detective recoil a bit in shock. "It no longer follows with your reasoning that he's the only main suspect."

"I'm sorry Espio, but they're both right on this," the detective responded with a small hint of relief in his words. "I've been listening carefully to your exchange the entire time, and I feel more than comfortable in saying that your decision to hold Sonic in this room is completely unfounded. And based on what has been proven, I cannot allow you to hand him over to the police at this time once they arrive."

"B-but that can't be right! If he wasn't the one who killed the senatorial candidate and assaulted the senior detective, then who's the real perpetrator?"

"That's what we're going to find out once the police arrive and conduct their formal investigation of this place," the cobalt hedgehog said as he walked away from the corner he was literally placed in and towards his friends. "And that's when we're going to be getting some clear answers as to what happened here."

"Ha, to be proven wrong and made a fool of at the same time…!" Espio growled out in frustration as balled one of his hands into a fist and struck his open palm with a very audible smack. It was very clear that he did not like to be proven wrong, especially since he placed so much effort into his argument in order to make it work with the crime scene.

For the next couple of moments, everybody was relatively quiet with nothing to say or add to the exchange that had since ended. Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles were standing next to each other in a sort of protective and victorious stance; the chameleon still stood where he was all alone and stewing in his own frustrations. Even his facial expression reflected the shock he had at making the wrong assumption. It was clear that he took his job as a detective for the Chaotix Agency real seriously and was not going to take being wrong very lightly.

"…Fine, so you managed to prove that my assumptions weren't as well-based as I originally thought they were," the chameleon finally admitted with a huff of his breath and his arms crossed in a defiant manner. "However, there still hasn't been any concrete proof saying that Sonic had no direct connections with the crime. As such, I still consider him to be a person of interest in this case."

"At least it's better than having you go down my throat and accusing me as a murderer," the attorney admitted with a shrug of his shoulders as he saw the freelance detective make his way through them and out the door. "It's nice to know that we've finally found some common ground on this to agree on."

"Regardless, I'll be staying here in the Precinct in case the police decide that they want to have my statement about this," he said as he ignored the other's remark and stopped for a brief moment with his back still towards them. "If they ask for me, tell them that I'll be hanging out in the cafeteria on the first floor taking a coffee break."

And without saying anything else, he quickly walked down the hallway towards the stairs without once looking back. The trio simply stood by the doorway outside in the hallway and stared at his quickly retreating figure until he descended down the stairs.

"Boy, that was some good arguments you presented against him Tails," Knuckles stated with pride clearly reflecting off of his words at what he had just saw. "You don't necessarily have the poise that Sonic has when he's in the courtroom, but you might actually make a good detective one of these days with those interrogation skills of yours."

"Eh heh, thanks Knuckles," Tails thanked the echidna, his cheeks gaining a bit of red in them from embarrassment at the compliment. "I just did what I had to do to try and get him out of this trouble. That and I couldn't shake the feeling that there was something kind of off with Espio's reasons for making a citizen's arrest."

"Well, the important thing is that you caught it and ultimately managed to exploit it to our advantage," Sonic stated happily as he threw his left elbow behind him in a sort of victory motion. He then added with ever the smallest of frowns, "It's too bad that I'm still considered a person of interest in his book, but it's better than being called a full out murderer by him. At least it gives me some wiggle room to work with here."

"I'm guessing that means you're going to go out of your way to try and solve this on your own," the echidna stated more than asked as he crossed his arms in thought and cast serious glances at the two.

"We consider Silver to be our friend just like you do," the two tailed fox said with a nod of his head. "We're not just going to sit back and do nothing while the police go on their investigation. And besides, you said you managed to have them keep it under wraps until eight in the morning, so wouldn't a couple more pairs of eyes be helpful to the cause?"

"Tails' right here Knux," the cobalt hedgehog agreed as he placed a friendly hand on his little brother's shoulder. "I'm not going to stand by like an idiot and do nothing while the person who assaulted my friend is running free. I might just be a regular run-of-the-mill defense attorney, but I do have some investigative skills on me. After all, I did manage to find a couple of things in here before Espio decided to get at me."

"Hey, don't go on as if I was going to say anything against you two helping us out here with the investigation," the detective said with a smile. "Of course I'll let you guys stay and help. I'll have to convince the police of that once they get here, but that shouldn't be too much of a problem. If Vector's willing to help us out on this, then you should have free reign to search this office."

"And what's Vector got to do with the two of us being able to search this place with the officers' permission?" the attorney asked with raised eyebrows upon mention of the prosecutor. "And is he even still here in the Precinct at this hour?"

"He said that he had to work late tonight on a report for a case he and I managed to close yesterday. Knowing him, he wants to get that thing done as soon as possible so he could forget about it. He's probably still in his office all unaware of what's going on here. I better hurry and get to him. I need him here at the scene before the police so it'll be more convincing for them to believe that he was already here investigating the scene. You two just stay here and wait for me to come back with him. If you hear the police coming up before us though, get away from here before you're dragged into another murder accusation fiasco."

And with that warning said, Knuckles quickly ran down the hallway in search of Vector with hopes that he could beat the police that would be arriving at any given moment now. Both Sonic and Tails complied with the detective's orders and waited patiently by the office with their ears open for any signs of the police coming up. As such, they both stayed rather quiet and listened intently for any signs of movement from the stairwell. At the same time, they both did not want to talk much about anything since this was their moment to take a breather after such a crazy twenty or so past minutes. This was their moment to relax, and they were going to take it since they knew that they were most likely going to have a long night ahead of them. They were definitely going to need all the rest and energy that they could get.

Updated Profiles:

Sonic Hedgehog: A seventeen year old blue furred male hedgehog. He and Tails were the first to discover Kuro Rose and Silver in his office, one dead and the other unconscious. He was considered to be the prime suspect by Espio, but has since been downgraded to person of interest with the help of his little brother.

Miles Prower: Best known by his nickname Tails. He's a twelve-year-old orange furred fox with two tails. He and Sonic were the first to discover Kuro Rose and Silver in his office. He helped his older brother escape grave suspicion under Espio's eyes.

Knuckles Echidna: He is an eighteen-year-old red furred echidna detective who works at the local precinct and is good friends with Sonic and Tails. He paid attention to the exchange between Tails and Espio regarding Sonic's innocence and sides with the two's side of events. He plans to take over the initial investigation.

Espio: He's a purple chameleon with a white horn on his forehead. He's skilled in Japanese ninja arts and has his own dojo for teaching others said techniques. He was the first to appear on the scene after Sonic and Tails discovered it and considers himself to be an eyewitness to the whole ordeal.

Well, that's it for this chapter everybody. I hope you like how I am formatting this story's version of a courtroom scene.

For those of you wondering why I'm having Tails take over with the "arguments" and "rebuttals", there's a reason behind it. I feel that this kind of interrogation is not limited to that of cross-examinations in an actual courtroom setting. As such, I felt that it fit Tails to do this being that he does have a logical side that can perform this task yet can't really conjoin it with actual courtroom rules due to his lack of courtroom studies.

Sonic, on the other hand, has practiced law hence his current job as an attorney. As such, he knows the ins and outs of how courtroom proceedings work. However, that kind of limits him on what he feels he can and can't ask because his mind is stuck on a courtroom's version of asking with a judge mediating it and counterarguments from the prosecution side. Basically, I'm playing on the thought that both are stuck on what they know and were taught and have a hard time adjusting to the other's style, hence Tails doing out-of-courtroom interrogations and Sonic only doing actual courtroom scenes.

Anyway, that was just my way of explaining to you all to the best that I can why I formatted the characters this way. I hope you all find it interesting. Until the next update everybody! And don't forget to leave a review before you leave!