Sonic the Hedgehog: Attorney of Law

by thedraconicwerewolf

Sonic is a defense attorney with a law degree fresh out of high school thanks to his advanced studies in the ways of the judicial system. He's now able to defend others from various allegations. Will his training be enough to help him prove his clients' innocence? And what will happen when a ghost of his past that made him walk the path of law comes around once again?

26. An Ironic Twist of Fate and Truth Pt 12

Hello everybody! Here's a new chapter to this story that I'm almost completely done with. I can't believe this is getting closer and closer to the end of everything. Yay! Initially, I had planned to make this particular chapter along with the next one into just one whole chapter, but then it would seem way too long and to the point where it felt like I'm just adding filler to an already complete chapter. And besides, the main subject in this chapter and that of the next one are different enough to warrant their own chapter. However, I do hope that this chapter will be exciting enough for you all who have been waiting ever so patiently for me to post a new update to this story.

Today in court is going to be the final showdown between rookie defense attorney and a thirty-year veteran prosecutor. Who's going to come out on top unscathed after all this? Or will either of them manage to get out of this unscathed at all? I guess only the end of this trial can provide us all with those answers. And by us, I include myself also since I really have no idea what's going to happen next. But yeah, that's the fun part for me in writing, I'm like you readers in that I'm not overly sure what's going to happen next yet are the actual writer providing the storyline in my particular story!

But yeah, this is going to be a long but interesting chapter, so I hope that you all enjoy it. And for those of you who just don't happen to like extremely long chapters because they feel like it's a hassle to read, then I hope I managed to change your minds somewhat. Trust me; I know how it feels to see a very long chapter and wanting to skip over parts. However, some stories on here are just that good that you have to read the whole chapter simply because you want to. I really hope that I've given most of you that feeling with this mystery story.

Well, I'll just go ahead and leave you all with the very long list of both evidence and profiles. Then again, a long evidence list and profiles list is meant to signify the increasing difficulty that Sonic and Tails are having what with having to keep track of so much evidence pertaining to the case. To be perfectly honest with you all, most of the cases on here have been taken by inspiration from cases from the Phoenix Wright games. I just gave them my own flair and twist to it. Anyway, please don't forget to leave a review before you move onto the next story that you want to read. I always read over them and take into consideration any praise or constructive criticism that you might have that you'd feel will help me with my overall writing. Until the next update to this or any of my other stories on this site everybody!

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Evidence:

Attorney's Badge: Sonic's badge proving that he's a genuine defense attorney. Ever since getting tied into a murder because of him losing it, he's since taken precautions to make sure that it stays secured within the inside of his gloves.

Shadow's Testimony: Testimony given by Shadow and memorized by Tails. The Prosecutor said that he was quite shocked upon hearing two gunshots coming from in front of his path followed by a splashing sound ten seconds later. He remembered picking up the gun with his bare hands before the witness's screams shook him out of his state of mind.

Ms. Mae's Autopsy Report: A report detailing how Ms. Mae died. She was killed between six-thirty and seven in the morning on 6/23. She was shot once in the chest, but the bullet merely caused her to faint. The real cause of death was from drowning after being thrown into the Mobius River. A horizontal bruise on her waist most likely from being pushed hard onto the harbor railing is proof of this.

Weather Report: A report on the weather on the day of the murder submitted by Detective Silver. It shows that it was a very foggy morning then with the fog at its densest between six and seven-thirty. Visibility was less than ten feet at the dock area without the aid of car headlights.

Pistol: The weapon that was recovered at the Mobius Dock. The ballistic markings on the bullet extracted from Ms. Mae's body matches to the gun. Signs show that it was fired twice. It also bears Shadow's fingerprints. However, Tails seems to think that this gun was used at the lighthouse rather than at the docks and was swapped out at some point with the Fake Murder Weapon.

Photograph: A picture that was taken by Amy Rose. While it does show the scene of the crime before the police arrived, it also seems to show another incident in the background just underneath the bright lighthouse light. It looks almost like the same exact scene that had unfolded and led to the death of Prosecutor Flora Mae. As such, it has brought about an investigation of the lighthouse in order to figure out some answers.

Blood: Blood found on the lighthouse balcony railing with the forensics report brought by Knuckles. It shows that the blood belonged to Ms. Mae and proving that she was at the lighthouse the moment she was murdered.

Fake Murder Weapon: An idea conjured up by Tails while exploring the lighthouse. After hearing Charmy's testimony, the thought of a fake weapon being in play is now a reality. A fake gun was found by the bee inside a clock and bears Shadow's fingerprints. Being that Shadow never entered the lighthouse before, this is proof that this was the gun seen at the docks the moment after the 'murder' witnessed by Amy Rose.

Max's Testimony: Testimony that has been memorized and recorded by Tails. According to Max, he was alone in the lighthouse on the morning of the murder. A phone call had interrupted his morning rituals, but he does not remember the contents of the call except that it was supposedly an older man speaking.

Bullet Casing: A casing found on the lighthouse balcony and brought by Knuckles from the forensics department. The ballistic markings on it matched exactly with the bullet that was extracted from Ms. Mae. It also proves that the gun found on the docks was actually used and moved from the lighthouse.

Doctor Reports: Paperwork found in the lighthouse living room and brought by Knuckles from the forensics department. They prove that Mr. Pryce visits the doctor every week for his condition. They also seem to indicate that he lives with a caretaker because of the fact that such complicated reports were sent to his house.

Letter: A piece of mail found in the lighthouse basement and brought by Knuckles from the forensics department. The contents seem to indicate that Mr. Pryce had some prior knowledge of the fake murder taking place on the Mobius Docks. While a handwriting analysis could not be done on the contents because of the lack of a reasonably suspicious person to compare it to, Mr. Pryce's fingerprints were found all over it.

Firecracker: The Red Paper found stuck on the side of the Mobius Docks and brought by Knuckles from the forensics department. Tests prove that it was once a Firecracker before it had exploded, and the black mark on it was from the explosion. The tape that is still on it has some burned fibers that belonged to a rope.

Picture: a photograph given to Sonic by Knuckles who had received it from Salemand Eres. It shows a picture of a white-furred lion with occasional blue spots on all fours like a wild animal and looking at the camera and smiling. Amazingly, his face looks almost child-like despite his rather strong-looking body. It's clear that he has the rare genetic disorder Feralisis Syndrome.

Fingerprints: Prints found in the lighthouse by Charmy Bee. They were on a cup shoved all the way towards the back of a kitchen cupboard as if in a haste with a cup of tea still in it. This proves that it was used recently. They belong to the victim in the case, Ms. Flora Mae, but Vector recognized the prints from the LK-9 Incident and realized they actually belonged to Ms. Lois Pryce. This proves that these two people are actually one.

LK-9 Case File: A case file summarizing all the information gathered by police and detectives at the height of the LK-9 Incident. A copy of the file was given to Sonic and Tails by Vector in hopes that it would help them obtain the answers they seek about the case. There are four sections in the case file that have yet to be reviewed by the two.

Vector's Account: Testimony recorded by Tails and detailing what Vector saw in the courthouse lounge on the day of Knuckles' acquittal. He said he saw Mephiles entering the lounge for the first time in his entire career and watching over Sonic's case. He then said the old prosecutor left the room after hearing Shadow exclaim that Ace be held in protective custody.

Notes: Notes taken by Tails depicting what he, Sonic, and Silver had discussed regarding possible connections with Sonic's cases and the LK-9 Incident. It's speculated that all the murderers in the previous cases were orchestrated by one mastermind who seems to be in some kind of smuggling ring. Without any concrete proof, however, this ends up to be nothing but conjecture at this point.

Profiles:

Sonic Hedgehog: He's a seventeen-year-old cobalt hedgehog currently assigned to defend Shadow from a grave murder charge. It seems that he was a victim of a kidnapping that revolves around the LK-9 Incident.

Miles Prower: A twelve-year-old two tailed fox who likes to go by his nickname "Tails" and is now working at the Robotnik Law Firm as their local detective. It seems that he was a victim of a kidnapping that revolves around the LK-9 Incident.

Knuckles Echidna: An eighteen-year-old red echidna who is a detective at the local Precinct and now assigned to the Shadow's case thanks to the efforts of Senior Detective Silver. It seems that he was a victim of a kidnapping that revolves around the LK-9 Incident.

Salemand Eres: A twenty-two-year-old ebon black cat who's looking for his missing brother. As revealed by Vector, he is a member of Interpol currently on an assigned mission in Mobius and using his current name as an alias. His real name is unknown to all except Vector. It is suspected that he might know something concerning the LK-9 Incident.

Shadow Hedgehog: An eighteen-year-old ebon furred hedgehog who became a prosecutor at sixteen in a country that allowed bar exams at younger ages. He's currently the suspect in this case. It seems that he was a victim of a kidnapping that revolves around the LK-9 Incident.

Silver Hedgehog: A nineteen-year-old silver furred hedgehog who is the country's youngest Senior Detective. He has taken charge of the initial investigation. He seems to have made it his personal mission to solve the mysteries behind the LK-9 Incident that he was involved in during his time as an intern two years ago.

Flora Mae: The victim in this case who was a prosecutor at the local prosecutor's office. She was proven to have been at the lighthouse at the moment of her death. Because of her fingerprints found in the lighthouse, it has been proven that she is in actuality Ms. Lois Pryce, Max's sister who has been thought to have been killed in the LK-9 Incident.

Amy Rose: A sixteen-year-old pink furred hedgehog who attends Mobius High as a Junior and is a proud photographer of her school's newspaper. She heard the crime taking place while taking her daily summer morning walk and stumbled upon Shadow with a gun in his hands.

Maxwell Pryce: A forty-year-old man who seems to have a mental problem and trapped with a seven-year-old mind. Through excellent execution of evidence, Sonic and Tails have thrown doubt on the thought that he is actually mentally challenged and is just as capable as any other man his age.

Mephiles: A sixty-five year old veteran prosecutor whose ruthlessness is well known both inside and out of the courtroom. If not trying to leave a strong impression in all his cases, he expects nothing but obedience and cooperation from the officers and detectives overlooking the collection of evidence in the cases he's working on. He's known to get any officer or detective who dared to defy his direct orders in trouble with the Precinct.

Lois Pryce: The sister of Max Pryce who had died in the events that led up to the events of the lighthouse being used as a base for the start of the LK-9 Incident. She used to be business partners with her brother in a seafood business before it was bought out from their third partner and transformed into an shipping goods business.

Dr. Ivo Robotnik: The owner of the Robotnik Law Firm were both Sonic and Tails work at. Strangely enough, he is mentioned in the Letter that was discovered in the lighthouse basement by Silver regardless not being mentioned by name but through description.

Vector Crocodile: A twenty-three-year old local prosecutor who is friends with Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles as well as Shadow's coworker. He has decided to continue with his work as a freelance detective along with Charmy Bee despite the conviction of his friend and partner Espio that caused shadows about the integrity of his work that soon quickly dissipated.

Charmy Bee: a young eight-year-old bee who happens to be employed with the Chaotix Detective Agency. Apparently, he was sent to investigate the lighthouse by a third party who had employed the agency to do so. As such, he has arrived at the courthouse in order to testify about this matter at the very last minute.

Ace Sleuth: A former senior detective from the local Precinct who is now behind bars for having murdered his fiancée. Since his conviction, Shadow has had the man living at an undisclosed location and under witness protection because of the potential importance he might have in solving the LK-9 Case.

Leukis Kruger (luke-is crew-grr): Salemand's eighteen-year-old younger albino lion brother who has been afflicted with the rare genetic disorder Feralisis Syndrome. He is apparently a member of Interpol with his name simply a code name. According to Salemand, he has been missing for a few days. As accidentally revealed by Vector, his real name is actually Leon.

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Chapter 26: An Ironic Twist of Fate and Truth Pt. 12

"Well, today's the day where we'll find out whether or not Mr. Maxwell Pryce is the one to have killed Prosecutor Flora Mae," Shadow replied with a sigh as he sat on one of the court lobby chairs. He was currently sipping away at a cup of water while looking rather calm about everything. However, it was clear to Sonic and Tails that he was nervous about what was going to take place today. "Hmm, maybe you should start considering officially changing the name of the victim to Lois Pryce being that we've established the two women to be the same person. However you wish to pursue that matter, I suppose her brother can be the one and only true murderer if we want everybody to believe me to be innocent in this. I really hope you two didn't go wasting your entire night last night asking around about the LK-9 Incident. If that's the case, then I think I'm better off with self-representation. I don't want to be defended by an ill-prepared attorney on the last day of this trial."

"Stop worrying about that, Shadow," Sonic replied with a dismissive wave of his hand before crossing them. He made sure to not say anything about their constant digging into the five-year-old case and neglecting to study up on the current case at hand. "You may look calm but your rambling kind of gives it away that you're feeling nervous. I promise you that we have everything we need to get you acquitted today from this crime. All we really need is to hear Mr. Pryce's testimony once more as to why he can't possibly be the main suspect or at least some semblance of an alibi for that morning. I doubt that he'd be able to cook up a believable story what with how we put him in the middle of all this during yesterday's court proceedings. He probably didn't even think this far ahead!"

"Don't start getting cocky about all this, Sonic," Tails warned as he cast a stern gaze at his older brother. "Don't forget who you're dealing with on the prosecution's side. You may have made great progress through Mephiles's tough offensive front, but don't let that lead you to thinking he can't come up with another road block against you. We already saw how quick he was to adapt to the appearance of a surprise witness yesterday. And if Mr. Pryce really isn't the mentally challenged person he's been claiming to be, then he's done a good job for these five years acting like one. I wouldn't put it past him to have created a reasonably believable alibi in just one day's worth of time."

"Geez, you don't have to worry so much over this, Tails," the cobalt hedgehog simply replied as he gave the same dismissive wave to his little brother. Apparently, he felt that they were no longer in any kind of danger in regards to losing the case. "I'm sure that we have this case all figured out and in our favor despite Mephiles's terrible and borderline legal ruthlessness. I'd have to be a complete idiot of a defense attorney to manage to lose at this point even when against a prosecutor as ruthless as that crazy old man."

"I guess I better start saying my prayers then," the ebon hedgehog stated in a teasingly sarcastic tone. He then added with a smile, "You're starting to get cocky here, and everybody who knows you knows that you tend to do idiotic things when in cocky mode. Remember back in middle school when you thought you could jump over that big puddle of water in your track race? I don't think I've ever seen you so drenched in my entire life."

"…I think I'm actually going to take you up on your suggestion and have you commit to self-representation today," the attorney grumbled out with a pout upon being reminded about his cocky-induced idiotic behavior and a memory that he would clearly prefer to forget. He then said after quickly changing his attitude, "But yeah, we better make sure to keep our ears open for anything that might have some kind of connection to the LK-9 Incident. If we're going to want to bring it up before the statute of limitations runs out on us, then it can only be during today's proceedings that we can do so."

"Just keep in mind what Salemand told us last night," the two tailed fox reminded as he went over to a nearby water cooler and poured himself some water. "If we play our cards right and use the prosecution's moves to our advantage, we just might be able to hear what he has to say about that night we were all kidnapped. He's probably the only person left who can shed any kind of real light to that case."

"Ugh, don't even remind me about what that cat said last night," the defense attorney replied with a groan of annoyance reverberating from the back of this throat. "I still don't understand why he has to go and make everything so complicated."

Last Night

"What are you doing here, Salemand?" Sonic asked as his mind finally managed to get past the moment of surprise upon seeing the ebon cat standing by Vector's doorway with said crocodile standing behind him. "Aren't you supposed to be busy trying to figure out just where your brother's at?"

"I've decided to leave that job to the Chaotix Detective Agency for tonight," Salemand simply responded as he moved out of the doorway so that Vector could enter his office. "I've already pretty much exhausted all the leads I've obtained on my own thus far. Besides, Vector said he had something important he wanted me to come over and talk about. I believe he told me that there were two certain people in here who wanted to ask me some questions about a certain something. It wouldn't happen to be you and Tails, would it?"

"Vector, could you please tell me just who this person is?" Silver asked with a look of confusion on his face as the crocodile walked past him and behind the desk. "I don't think I remember seeing you hanging out with this guy before."

"He happens to be a good friend right now wrapped up in a matter too sensitive to just loosely talk about," the prosecutor merely stated as he immediately took an interest in a foreign file now resting on his desk courtesy of the detective. "Regardless of how much I trust you Silver, I'm afraid I can't really say much more than that."

"Salemand, do you mind if I speak directly with you on something important?" Tails suddenly asked without bothering with a greeting. "We're kind of short on time and don't really feel like beating around the bush tonight."

"My, it sounds like you've got something really important you want to get off your mind," the black cat replied with a sort of amusement in his tone as he shifted his attention towards the two tailed fox. "However, I have a sneaking suspicion that I already know just what it is you want to talk to me about."

"Then I suppose we can save some time here and just cut to the chase," the young fox simply responded. "Could you please tell us anything you know about the LK-9 Incident? I have reasonable suspicion to believe that it has something to do with your line of work. Am I wrong to assume that to be the truth?"

"…I had a feeling that's what this was going to be about," the red eyed cat simply replied with a small sigh after staying quiet for a few seconds. "You want to know if I happen to know anything regarding that case. Vector already told me that he told you and Sonic about my line of work since my good name was being put under reasonable scrutiny on the case you're working on. While I will say that I have nothing to do with your current case apart from having hired the Chaotix Detective Agency to search the lighthouse, don't delude yourself into thinking that it'll grant you a ticket to information that is otherwise confidential to you."

"And what the heck is that supposed to mean?" Sonic asked with an eyebrow raised in confusion along with a suspicious glare cast at the cat. "Are you or are you not going to tell us anything regarding that case from five years ago? I think Tails and I deserve any kind of information you have since we were directly involved with the case as kidnapping victims. That and our current case has led us back to the very place where we were held captive until the time we were discovered."

"Unfortunately, that's hardly any grounds for me to start divulging you with confidential information. While I do admit that you deserve to know whatever it is I know about that case, my line of work finds it necessary to keep it all under wraps. Under no circumstances should I speak about the case to anybody who's not affiliated with my line of work. If I were given a pardon by a higher-up or forced to divulge the information that's beyond their legal control, then that would be a different story."

"And do you think you can tell us just what exactly is this line of work you're involved with?" the silver furred hedgehog asked as he was clearly starting to have his suspicions on Salemand. "Do you happen to work with law enforcement or something? I find it hard to believe that you would know something about a case as sensitive as the LK-9 Incident unless you're either working with the law or one of the culprits who're responsible for that mess. Mind telling me which one of those choices it is?"

"How about I go ahead and keep you in the dark about that for a little while?" Salemand calmly answered which only furthered the detective's suspicions against him. "If you keep careful attention to the case Sonic's currently working on, then I'm sure you'll soon be able to figure out just exactly who I am. Of course, that all depends on how well Sonic and Tails perform tomorrow on the last day of the murder trial."

"What do you mean by that?" the cobalt hedgehog asked with his head cocked to the side in question. While he would usually become quite aggravated upon receiving such answers, he seemed unusually relaxed during the conversation.

"What I mean is that you might end up accidentally exploiting a loophole that was purposefully created by my employers for specific reasons," the ebon cat simply responded. "Since I'm currently within the jurisdiction that you work under, I have to abide by their rules. As such, you can pull out as much information as you want out of me provided you can give me a reasonable answer as to why I should answer you under the rules of your jurisdiction. That is what I meant from what I said earlier."

"Geez, you really like to make things complicated for us, don't you?" the attorney groaned out as he rolled his eyes at how hard it was to get the information he wanted from the cat. "How the heck are we supposed to make you bend to the will of our judicial system so that you'll be able to tell us whatever it is we want to know without fear of retribution from your higher-ups? That sounds pretty impossible."

"Think of it however you want to, but that's the only way you're going to make me open my mouth about the LK-9 Incident. Now that we have that out of the way, do you mind if I asked how the search for my little brother is going, Vector?"

Back to Present Moment

"Sonic," Tails called out to Sonic who was currently in a daydreaming state. He then continued on as he decided to add some light pokes, "Come on; snap out of it! It's almost time for court to start."

"Huh?" Sonic dumbly replied as he finally snapped out of his thoughts and noticed that Shadow was no longer sitting next to him. Instead, he was being escorted by the court bailiff into the courtroom. "Oh, s-sorry about that, Tails. Didn't know I was spacing out there. How long was I out for?"

"I'd say about a good couple of minutes," the two tailed fox explained as he walked over to the trash bin and threw away his empty cup. He then said as he headed towards the courtroom doors, "Shadow was trying to get your attention, but he decided to ignore you when he figured you weren't coming back to us anytime soon. Anyway, you better start getting your act together before you go into the courtroom. I'm sure Mephiles is going to jump on you the moment he sees you like you are now. That's really not what we want to have happen at this stage of the game where every one of our moves needs to count.

"And don't go forgetting about the Bag of Bricks that Silver delivered to us when he got here," he reminded as he stopped just short of going through the doors. "He said that it was discovered when the police first dragged the bottom of the river in search of Ms. Mae's body. Except for the burnt areas at the end of the rope that kept the bag tied shut and the bunch of common household bricks, forensics found nothing of notable interest from it. Still, he thought we might find some other use for it, so don't go forgetting to bring it in with you in case it does end up to be very important evidence. I'm sure he had to pull some strings to bring that to us, so don't throw away his efforts by leaving it out here."

"Thanks for giving me an ever so wonderful pep talk," the hedgehog grumbled out as he collected himself before throwing away his cup and following his brother into the courtroom. He continued to grumble to himself as he picked up the heavy beige bag that was resting next to him, "It's not like I need to remember what kind of man I'm going to be dealing with today. I swear; just dealing with him for one day is already more than enough for a lifetime! And it's not as though I'm not going to succeed in looking like an idiot what with me just deciding to drag in a random Bag of Bricks into court."

With more inaudible grumbles leaving his mouth, he finally made his way into the courtroom where most of the gallery were already seated and waiting for the Judge to come in. As usual, Mephiles was already situated on his side of the courtroom and looking more than prepared to handle whatever would be thrown at him. Either that or he was just putting up an offensive front, but the chances of that being the truth are astronomically low.

Apart from the frightening sight of the prosecutor, he also noticed two familiar faces sitting within the gallery, Senior Detective Silver Hedgehog and Prosecutor Vector Crocodile. Apparently, they managed to find some time off of their no doubt busy schedule in order to see the outcome of this case. Either that or they wanted to see if Sonic would really be able to bring about the LK-9 Incident in court today as he had been saying he would try to do last night. Either way, it was a comforting sight for him to see friends behind him and most likely rooting for his victory today.

However, he had little time to relish in the thought of his friends and allies watching his performance as the Judge decided to enter the courtroom at that time. Sonic had just barely managed to get to his rightful place before His Honor sat took a seat at his bench and began the day's court proceedings.

"Court is now in session!" the Judge announced as he banged at his gavel in order to obtain everybody's attention. "Today shall be the final day that the case against Shadow Hedgehog shall be heard, so I hope for the court's sake that both the defense and prosecution are ready to prove their respective claims."

"The defense is ready, Your Honor," Sonic announced in a confident tone as Tails nodded his head in agreement.

"The prosecution has been ready since the day this charade of a trial began," Mephiles simply said as he crossed his arms in his trademark defiant manner. "I still don't understand why the court has been so willing to entertain every single asinine assumption that comes flying out of the defense's and his assistant's mouths. Although I can probably garner a guess at that he's starting to become insane from the stress what with him deciding to bring in a rather heavy-looking bag filled with something mysterious.

"However, that's not what we're here to argue about," he continued on as he calmly ignored the very annoyed glare he received from the hedgehog for his comment. "Rather, I will show today that the defense's fruitless endeavors to earn their client an acquittal have been nothing but a hopeless dream!"

"Very well; then I suppose I better get this trial under way," the Judge responded with a nod of his head. "Yesterday, we suspended proceedings after hearing the defense announce the witness, Mr. Maxwell Pryce, as a person of interest in the murder of Prosecutor Flora Mae. However, they have also proven that the victim was in actuality the witness's sister, Ms. Lois Pryce, the woman who was believed to have been killed at the start of the LK-9 Incident almost five years ago!"

"Unfortunately for them, I don't see the importance on what exactly the identity of our victim is," the old prosecutor quickly countered. "After all, the fact still remains that we're left with a victim who has been unjustly killed. A name is quite meaningless; the end result of any given trial is the most important."

"I object, Your Honor!" the cobalt hedgehog immediately exclaimed as he felt this was an avenue worth pursuing. "It's a pretty big deal when we as defenders of the law chance upon the fact that the victim wasn't who she claimed to have been. It hints at the thought that she might've been in involved with something illegal before she was killed. Prosecutor Mephiles, you can't just go about deciding by yourself whether or not that's an unimportant fact without further looking into the matter!"

"Don't try to impress me with pretty words and meaningless drabble boy. While I do agree with you that the matter of the victim's name needs to be further looked into, it doesn't concern the current case at hand. The only question we need to answer now is who murdered her. Anything else is but a senseless distraction."

"I feel the same way, as well," the Judge agreed with Mephiles as he shook his head at Sonic. "Objection overruled. If you do feel that this has some importance Mr. Sonic, then I suggest that you delve into it on your own time."

"Jeez, not even five minutes into today's proceedings and you've already been shot down," Tails groaned out quietly as he gave off a light pout. His older brother chose to ignore the comment and simply concentrate on what was coming next.

"Now if neither the defense of prosecution has anything else of importance to say, I would like to begin today by calling in our witness from yesterday," His Honor stated as he paused for a second and glanced at both sides of the courtroom. "After all, the defense has pointed him out to be a person of interest. It'd only be fair if we heard straight from him whether or not he has an alibi for the time of the murder."

Without saying another word, the old man motioned for the bailiff to bring in Max so they could hear him testify once more today as the entire court waited in silence. It only lasted a couple of seconds before a familiar eager voice broke the silence.

"Oh, do you want my help on another mystery?" Max's easily recognizable eager voice echoed throughout the courtroom as he was escorted to the witness stand. "I guess I must be doing a really good job if you keep calling me in to help."

"Sounds like it's time for our epic face-off between us and the true murderer," Sonic murmured under his breath so that only his little brother could hear him. "We're definitely going to have an interesting day today. Let's see how well Max's alibi holds up when faced with the evidence we have for him!"

"Welcome back, Max," the Judge politely greeted the mentally ill man as he seemed to remember how the witness liked to be called by his first name. "I'm afraid we need your help again on the case we're working on. I hope you don't mind us asking you to answer a few more questions for us."

"Oh, I don't mind at all!" the witness eagerly replied with a smile so wide that it could potentially have lit a dark room. "I just love it when I'm involved with mysteries and all that. So what do you want to ask me?"

"For starters, how about you tell us why it is that you couldn't have been the one to have murdered…Ms. Mae," Mephiles replied after hesitating for a moment at the victim's name. Nobody could honestly blame him for that since the victim was confirmed to be acting as two different people. Either that or he really did have a heart and did not want to tell Max that his sister really was alive all this time before being killed. But what were the chances of an old hedgehog like him having a kind and caring soul…?

"Are you all saying that you think I killed her?" Max asked as he cocked his head to the side in confusion. "Why would you all think I would do something like that? I'm not a bully or anything like that."

"Well, you can blame the defense for leading us all to thinking that you might have killed the victim," His Honor replied as he shot a semi-harsh glare at Sonic who thought the action to have been completely unwarranted. "However, it is important for the court to know why you could not have been the one to have killed her. After all, we like to make sure that all our witnesses have nothing to do with the crime at hand."

"…I guess that makes sense. Okay, I'll tell everybody why I could not have been the one to have hurt the woman."

Max's Alibi

I was alone in my house all morning. The only time that someone ever talked to me was when someone called me. Nothing else caught my attention for the rest of the morning until I heard the police sirens!

End Witness Testimony

"Hmm, and you've delivered to us another short but succinct testimony," the Judge stated once the testimony was heard. "And it's almost the exact same thing as what was said yesterday. So you say that you were the only one in the lighthouse that entire morning. Do you have any way of telling us that what you said really is the truth?"

"I'm sorry, but there's no way to tell you all for sure that I was alone," Max admitted as he shrugged his shoulders in a carefree manner. "Like I said, I was alone all morning. There isn't anybody who could tell you what I just said."

"I suppose that was to be expected," His Honor responded with a small frown appearing on his lips. "And I highly doubt you have anything like a security camera hanging around your house since I'm sure it would've been discovered by either the detectives or the Chaotix Detective Agency. Still, I suppose there's always room for doubt. Very well; the witness is all yours, Mr. Sonic."

"Just please make sure you don't go about wasting our precious time with pointless questions," Mephiles warned in a half-hearted fashion as if he knew his warning was going to be thrown out the window. "However, I have a feeling that you're going to somehow manage to bore us to death with redundancies."

"I suppose it all depends on your definition of what's a waste of time and redundancy," Sonic responded with a challenging smile gracing his lips. "I find that asking questions is the only thing I can do when given a testimony such as this."

"I suggest that you don't start getting too cocky; you'll fall harder than you ever thought possible," the prosecutor said with a somewhat evil smirk gracing his face. "That and I just might accidentally step all over you while you're as flat as a pancake, although I must admit the thought hadn't crossed my mind more than a few times."

"What did you just say?!" the cobalt hedgehog growled as he angrily balled his hands into fists.

"Just ignore him and get on with the cross-examination, Sonic," Tails murmured under his breath as he sensed his older brother was about to do or say something stupid. He then added as he placed a calming hand on the other's arm, "We don't have a lot of time to waste if you're planning on trying to bring up the LK-9 Incident to this courtroom today. You're going to have to get this case over with as quickly as possible. Just ignore him and concentrate on getting Shadow acquitted of these charges."

"…So long as that old prosecutor keeps his loud mouth shut and doesn't make any more remarks like that," the cobalt hedgehog whispered back as he took a deep breath and regained his professional attitude. "I'm telling you; his rough attitude and overconfidence is going to be his undoing one of these days."

Begin Cross-Examination

"Max, what you've just told us has been pretty much the same thing that you testified to yesterday," Sonic started off by stating the obvious as his previous bout of anger held no hint of ever existing in his voice. "Even so, I would like to ask you this question. Are you certain that you were all alone in your lighthouse for the entire morning that day? It's very important that you're sure about this."

"I'm as sure as sure can be about that!" Max stated excitedly with an eager look on his face as he clapped his hands together. "Nobody ever once visited me that morning. That's usually how it is every day."

"If you want to find a contradiction, I suggest that you look elsewhere," Mephiles quickly cut in before either of the two had a chance to say more. "You have yet to show us any proof that he wasn't alone that morning."

"If that's how you want to play, then I can easily say that you don't have any proof that says otherwise," the cobalt hedgehog countered as he tried to keep up his line of attack. "In order to have been murdered, she'd need to have been with at least one other person at the time of her death. The only person we find who would fit that bill is Max."

"And where's your evidence that he's the one to have killed her?" the prosecutor asked with intrigue clear in his voice. "Regardless whether or not he was alone that morning, this is the true question that needs to be answered. Unless you're withholding something from the courts, I've never heard of such damning evidence. So indulge us; where is this evidence that proves what you're claiming is in fact the truth?"

"Well, we've already proven yesterday that Ms. Mae was killed at the lighthouse balcony because of her Blood being found on the railing along with a Bullet Casing on the balcony floor," Tails stated as he tried to answer the question posed to them. "And it has been proven through Ms. Mae's Autopsy Report that she was killed on that morning three days ago. By Max's own testimony, he's the only one who had both the time and means to have killed her since he was the only one in the lighthouse."

"While your reasoning is all well and good, you have yet to provide an answer to my original question," the old hedgehog simply bit back as he seemed less than impressed by what had just been said. "My original question was whether or not you had any evidence that showed that only Max could be the true murderer in this case. While admittedly impressive, all you've managed to do was provide an explanation that's only meant to persuade the court that your line of thought can be the only correct one. Do you have any concrete evidence that it was in fact our witness here who murdered the victim?"

Instead of answering the question, the two tailed fox simply stared back in silence as he could not come up with an answer. Rather than blatantly admitting that they did not have any evidence, he would rather try and act tough and say nothing so as to not admit to everybody that they had nothing. Even Sonic could tell what his little brother was doing and willingly kept his mouth shut. That and he honestly had nothing better to add would not make them sound even more like the idiots the prosecutor was no doubt trying to portray them as.

"Judging by their silence, I would guess that the defense doesn't have any evidence of that nature," the Judge responded as he shook his head at the lack of any suitable response. "As such, I must ask that they desist from their line of questioning and move on to whatever other questions they wish to ask the witness."

"Yes, Your Honor," the cobalt hedgehog said as he could not help but notice the terribly smug look on Mephiles's face. "Then let's go ahead and move onto the part where Max told us about having received a call on the morning of the murder. You've already explained to us yesterday that you left that part out of your testimony then because you thought it wasn't important. However, do you think you can tell us today just what it was you were talking about and to who you were talking to?"

"And how exactly are the details of his phone call going to help us figure out whether or not he is the true murderer in this case?" Mephiles asked as he raised one of his eyebrows a bit at the defense's question. "While I hardly believe a man like the witness here would be able to commit murder, his phone call couldn't possibly hold any kind of importance to what you're trying to prove."

"I must admit that I find little point in asking such a question," His Honor admitted with a nod of his head. "Is there any specific reason that pertains to this trial that you want to know the contents of Max's phone call that morning?"

"Well, he did lie to us yesterday about not having received any kind of outside contact that entire morning," the defense attorney explained. "It's because of that I feel that we deserve to know what was said during that call. Even if our witness here acts like a seven-year-old, I doubt that he would simply lie about something as harmlessly simple as that."

"…I suppose you do pose a somewhat plausible reason there," the old man said after giving it a bit of thought. "I still feel that this line of questioning doesn't hold much merit to the case, but I suppose previous actions from the witness's part deem it somewhat of a necessity. Max, do you mind telling us who you were talking to on the phone and what was discussed?" he asked as he directed his attention to the quiet but eager Max."

"I guess I can do that," Max replied with a shrug of his shoulders. "I mean, it isn't like I was talking about anything important."

New Statement

I don't know the person who called, but they said something was going to happen soon outside at the docks.

End New Statement

"Someone called and told you that something was going to happen later at the docks?" Sonic repeated as he raised his eyebrow at this new statement. Even the Judge seemed to have a bit of a hard time swallowing this particular statement as the truth. "I…must admit that sounds a lot more than just a little strange. Did the person only call to give that warning or did they give out some explicit details as to what was happening?"

"Uh, they only told me that something was going to happen soon," Max responded after taking a second to think about it. "I knew that he was telling the truth when I heard the police coming like twenty minutes later. If it helps you in any way, I think it was a man who was talking. I couldn't really tell since his voice sounded all weird and stuff. It was like he was a machine or something."

"That sounds a lot like somebody was using a vocal scrambler during the call," Tails suggested as he gave it some thought. "I suppose that would make sense since the person was admitting to a murder, or a murder-set-up in our case, that was about to happen just outside. But why would they go through the trouble to tell you about it?"

"I guess they just wanted to be nice and make sure I didn't go outside and get caught up in whatever was going to happen," the witness suggested in his child-like manner that suggested he had no idea as to the reason himself. "Or maybe they wanted to make sure I knew what that strange bag outside was going to be used for. That would make sense if you think about it like that, don't you think so?"

"Wait a minute; what's this bag you're talking about, Max?" Tails asked with eyebrows raised at the strange question. "I don't remember ever hearing the police finding any kind of bag of sorts at the scene of the crime when they checked. Sonic and I even checked the scene ourselves and the side of the docks and saw nothing like that."

"Oh, I guess then that I'm the only one who had a chance to see it," he replied with a smile and shrug of his shoulders. "I'm amazed nobody was able to see something like that. After I was done with my breakfast, I went up to the balcony for a little bit. That's when I saw the bag just hanging on the side of the docks. The person never told me where it was; I just happened to see it while on the balcony."

"You saw the bag all the way from your spot at the balcony?" the cobalt hedgehog asked in a combination of amazement and skepticism in his tone. "You sure have a pretty good set of eyes on you to have seen that."

"Yeah, I'm pretty proud about my eyesight. When I'd be at the family farm, I would help my grandpa spot small bugs and such that destroy his crops. He'd like to nickname me the Eagle because of that!"

"As fascinating as it is to hear about something like the witness's great sense of sight and his childhood, I fail to find how this all pertains with the case," Mephiles stated with an aggravated sigh and his arms seemingly crossed tighter than usual. "If I didn't know any better, I would say that you don't have any evidence that shows your claim of Max here being the murderer. At this point, you're merely just trying to waste our time while trying to come up with a nonexistent answer to your ridiculous supposition."

"The prosecution raises a very valid point that even I must wholeheartedly agree with," the Judge agreed as he cast a very harsh glare at the defense attorney. "Mr. Sonic, I'm truly starting to get annoyed with your pointless questions. It does not seem to be going anywhere nor is it producing any relevant and worthwhile information.

"We asked for this testimony because you had posed to the court a possibility of our witness being the actual murderer," he explained as his tone started to acquire a sort of harsh seriousness to it. "Since the time you've started the cross-examination, you have been pursuing statements made by the witness that have no correlation whatsoever to your claim from yesterday. I will ask you this question once and only once. Does what Max just testify to hold any importance to your claim that he is in fact the true murder in this case? I warn you that if you say yes and fail to provide any kind of reason, you will be harshly penalized by this court for obstruction of justice."

"Ob-obstruction of justice?!" Sonic dumbly repeated as he tried to digest the Judge's rather harsh response to the current cross-examination. He was, for lack of a better word, stunned at how grave things were turning out to be. "B-but questions are all I have, Your Honor! I can't be expected to simply answer the court's questions head-on if I can only enter the truth by travelling through back roads."

"Unfortunately for you, your so-called back roads seem to be leading us all even further from the truth," the old prosecutor responded in a tone that reflected a sort of sick happiness at what was happening. "Today just happens to be a clear attempt at your part on doing so. This is something that the Judge should have enacted the moment you started with your idiotic waste of times two days ago! Oh well, I suppose it's better late than never."

"S-Sonic, what are you going to do?" Tails asked in a low whisper as he was shocked at what was happening. "The Judge looks very serious about this. You're already in the very center of the theoretical tornado of fire. One wrong step in either direction and you're literally going to be burned out of the courtroom!"

"…That Mephiles purposefully kept quiet this whole time so that I would be walking right into his trap!" the cobalt hedgehog growled out as he glared daggers into said old hedgehog who simply countered back with a smug stare. "He's hardly made a single objection since the cross-examination started. He knew things were going to turn out this bad for me and kept quiet so I would fall right for his trap!"

"Trap or not, you better give the Judge an answer quickly!" the two tailed fox stated as he cast a quick glance at the Judge and saw him grow increasingly impatient. "I don't think he's going to wait for you much longer."

"You're not helping!" he spat out in a tone that sounded like anger but was really just desperation. Thankfully for him, his little brother clearly understood the easily misunderstood tone. "Just give me a couple of seconds to think…!"

"Mr. Sonic," His Honor said in a harsh warning tone. "If you don't provide an answer in the next few seconds, the court will consider your silence as an indication of you putting an end to your cross-examination."

"… … …The defense shall confidently stand by their actions and emphatically claim that the witness's previous statements hold great importance to the case!" Sonic finally decided to say as he banged at his desk for added good measure after silently debating with himself for a few more seconds. "It's with that said that I ask the court to add Max's previous statement to his official testimony!"

"…Foolish boy," Mephiles said with a disappointed yet amused growl reverberating from his throat. "I'd thought that you'd turn tail and run from this failure of a cross-examination with your dignity intact when given the chance. I suppose the only way to make you see the utter fruitlessness of your actions is by disgracing you out of this court!"

"I pray for your sake Mr. Sonic that you're not merely trying to pursue a pointless topic of interest," the Judge stated before pounding at his gavel. "The court recognizes the defense's request! Max, could you please add your previous statement to your testimony?"

"If you think it's important, than sure," Max agreed with a shrug of his shoulders, an action he had seemed content on performing often lately.

New Statement

I clearly saw a bag that morning hanging on the side of the docks from the lighthouse balcony.

End New Statement

"So you saw this bag that everybody else somehow managed to miss all the way from your balcony," Sonic repeated just to make sure he had heard correctly. "How easy would you say it was for you to have seen it from where you were?"

"Irrelevant!" Mephiles quickly objected with a pound of his fist on his desk. "Your Honor, I ask that you please remove Mr. Sonic from the courtroom for obstruction of justice! It's clear to us now that he merely seems content to waste what little time we have left for this case with trivial and redundant matters."

"Objection!" the cobalt hedgehog quickly bit back with such fierceness in his tone. He was not about to be beaten out of the court without at least putting up a last stand. "The Judge has already given me permission to allow the witness's last statement be made official to the court. It would only stand to reason that I'd be allowed to question this new statement before you even have a chance to deem it irrelevant!"

"Oh, that's such an objectionable statement; I could literally just cry over hearing it!" the old prosecutor countered back with a scoff and strong sarcasm dripping from his words. "So what if the Judge allowed your motion for Max's previous statement to be put into his official testimony? I don't ever remember hearing him say to you that you'll be allowed to question the witness after that. All he said was that you'll be held for obstruction of justice if it holds no clear meaning to the current issue!"

"And how do you expect me to do that if I'm not even allowed to question him on his new statement? Hearing the witness's statements is only receiving half of the story; the act of me asking them questions then provides the other half. What I've just asked the witness cannot be dismissed as irrelevant until he has answered my question in full!"

"That's enough!" the Judge immediately cut in between the ensuing argument with loud and repeated bangs of his gavel. "Both the prosecution and the defense shall desist with their argument! While I do find that the new statement the witness has made is hardly of any relevance, it would be premature of me to automatically disregard it without first hearing his explanation for making such a statement. As such, I'll allow the defense's question to be asked. However, I warn you that this will be your last question before I call an end to this tedious cross-examination. Is that understood?"

"…Thank you, Your Honor," Sonic thanked the old man as he nodded his head in understanding at the conditions laid out before him. Tails stood silently next to him with a happy smirk on his face while waiting for the moment when he might be needed to make a last-minute save. "Now then, let me get back to where I left off before the prosecution interrupted me. Max, how easy would you say it was for you to have seen this bag from your assumed position at your lighthouse balcony?"

"Oh, I'd say that it was more than easy that morning!" Max happily replied as if he were a child running rampant in a candy store. "There really wasn't anything going on that could've made it hard for me to see the bag."

"But then wouldn't that mean that you actually saw what was taking place at the same time?" the two tailed fox asked as he cocked his head in confusion. "I think it'd be pretty hard to miss something like that taking place."

"Sorry, I went back inside after a couple of minutes," the witness explained with a childishly apologetic look on his face. "I did see the defendant walking along the docks but nothing more than that."

"Are you happy now, Mr. Sonic?" Mephiles asked with a smirk of amusement gracing his lips. It was almost as if he were inwardly prematurely celebrating his victory before it was even officially announced. "You got to ask your ever pointless question and have received an equally pointless answer. How does it feel to have personally dug your own grave in this trial and fall face-first into it? Your Honor; I ask that you please now throw the defense out of the courtroom and hold him for obstruction of justice! It's clear that he has had nothing to go on since the moment he walked in."

"I did warn you, Mr. Sonic," the Judge stated as he looked at the cobalt hedgehog in disappointment. "I'm afraid I'll have to call an end to your cross-examination and throw you out of the courtroom for obstruction of justice."

End Cross-Examination

"Before you go and throw me out, may I be allowed to say just one more thing?" Sonic asked in a remarkably calm voice despite being told his cross-examination was over along with being thrown out.

"I don't see why not," Mephiles responded with an amused shrug of his shoulders. "After all, this might be the last time you'll ever get a chance to set foot into a court of law as a defense attorney. Why not go out with a memorable bang?"

"What is it that you want to say, Mr. Sonic?" the Judge asked as he seemed content to grant the doomed attorney the chance to say whatever was on his mind.

"…The statement the witness just provided to us contains a very blatant contradiction!" the cobalt hedgehog exclaimed loudly and suddenly. This caused the entire courtroom to talk amongst themselves both in surprise and the meaning of his words.

"Oh, isn't this just rich?" the old prosecutor simply replied as a wry smile made its way onto his face. "That's an amusing spew of last words you've given us. Now you'll really be known for being disgraced out of the courtroom while still trying to put up a hopeless fight. But just for the sake of my own amusement, do you mind telling us just what it is that contradicts Max's previous statement?"

"I'll be more than happy to," the defense attorney responded with a wide smirk on his face accompanied with a firm nod of his head. "Max here has just testified to having seen this so-called bag from his balcony without any form of visual obstruction whatsoever. This is where the contradiction in his story lies."

"What contradiction?" His Honor asked as he finally managed to bring order to the courtroom. Even he was quite taken aback by Sonic's sudden exclamation. "I fail to see what you're talking about, Mr. Sonic."

"That's because you've forgotten the conditions that were present on the morning of the murder, Your Honor," Tails spoke up as he understood his brother's line of thinking and quickly took out both the Weather Report and Ms. Mae's Autopsy Report from their compilation of evidence. "On the first day of this trial, this Weather Report was submitted to the court by Senior Detective Silver under the guise to help supplement the weather conditions of the morning of the murder. According to this, the fog became quite thick at six and didn't begin to dissipate until around seven-thirty."

"And where exactly are you going with this forecast from the past?" Mephiles asked with a roll of his eyes. "I'm guessing you're going to compare it with the autopsy report, although I find little point in doing so."

"That's because you're not looking at the two hard enough," the two tailed fox countered with a smirk approaching his face. "According to this autopsy report, our victim was killed around six-thirty and seven. That would mean that the murder occurred when the morning fog was at its densest. The Weather Report even added a note that it'd have been impossible to see more than ten feet without the aid of a concentrated beam of light like car headlights. If both of these reports are the truth, then the possibilities of Max's last statement being the truth are nonexistent! Therefore, it's impossible that the witness could see the supposed bag hanging on the side of the docks with the clarity he has claimed!"

Upon hearing this, the gallery once again began talking amongst themselves over the newly discovered contradiction. All of them were no doubt confused as to what the defense's claim meant to the overall progression of the case. That was understandable since the claim was made right after Sonic and Tails were being portrayed by both Judge and prosecutor to be just a couple of bumbling idiots in today's proceedings.

"If this is your attempt to confuse the courts and bring things back into your favor, then I must say you're making a good start," the old prosecutor responded calmly as he seemed unfazed by the unearthed contradiction. "All I can say to your efforts is this; so what? I hardly find the importance of discovering that Max here couldn't have in fact seen the supposed bag from his vantage point. What could it possibly prove apart from the fact that you're desperately trying to make something big out of something so insignificantly small?"

"It can prove quite a few of things provided you know what you're looking for," Sonic explained as the Judge managed to bring order back to the court once more. "The question we're all probably asking ourselves right now is what reasons would Max have to lie about something as simple as this? Under the current conditions, we'd naturally assume that he has absolutely no good reason for doing so."

"Under the current conditions?" His Honor repeated with a questioning eyebrow raised in confusion. "I'm afraid you've lost me once again, Mr. Sonic. Do you mind elaborating to the court a bit what exactly is going on in that mind of yours? I doubt that I need to remind you the consequences of providing the court an insignificant explanation, an escort out of this courtroom by my bailiff due to obstruction of justice."

"What we should really be asking ourselves is why the witness went and lied about something so seemingly unimportant and hardly damaging to the structure of his alibi," the cobalt hedgehog explained after nodding his head in recognition at the Judge's warning. "We already know for a fact that the phone call he received from this mysterious person that morning supposedly hinted to him about a strange bag being used at the murder set-up. However, Max himself had testified that the man never once told him the exact location of this bag. We also proved that it was impossible for him to have seen it from where he was standing because of the thick fog that morning!"

"And why would it be impossible?" the prosecutor asked with his arms crossed in a defiant manner. "Don't forget that our witness here was on the lighthouse balcony with the light shining brightly behind him. With such a bright light, it would easily cut through the fog and grant him a lot more visual space. That should dissolve your contradiction down to the meaningless drabble it is!"

"Unfortunately for you, a lighthouse light isn't the type of light that's constructed to be concentrated in one direction," Tails calmly countered back with a disagreeable shake of his head. "Unlike a car's headlights which are constructed to shine their beams of light in one sole direction, a lighthouse's light is solely meant to warn oncoming ships that they are near land. Except for being insanely bright, the light is in a room constructed so that the advantages of such a bright light are used to its fullest. As such, the fog would still have impeded Max's ability to have seen the bag on the docks for the light could not possibly have extended his line of vision to such great lengths!"

"…Okay, I concede that your explanation of the lighthouse light may be a plausible truth. However, that's still not going to help with your argument. Do you even have any evidence as to where this supposed bag was positioned on the docks? If the bag was situated rather close to the lighthouse, then it wouldn't be too much of a stretch to say he managed to still see it through the dense fog. I'm sure that the light would at least provide to some degree a few yards of vision from the lighthouse itself."

"Prosecutor Mephiles brings up a good point," the Judge agreed with a nod of his head. "Unless the defense can prove where exactly this bag that Max saw was positioned on the docks, there's no way we can safely say that he couldn't have seen it. Does the defense have anything that proves the exact location of this bag?"

"…I don't have any definitive evidence on me at this time, but I do have something that should help supplement my claims as to where this bag was positioned both before and during the time of the murder and murder set-up," Sonic replied as he took a couple of seconds to think about what in his collection of evidence could help him. "I would like to draw the court's attention to this red paper that was found dangling on the side of the docks just a couple of feet from where Shadow was arrested."

"And how exactly is an insignificant piece of street trash going to help supplement your terribly trashy theory?" Mephiles asked as he looked at the small piece of paper that the defense attorney had in his hand and scoffed at it. "That looks like something you could easily find at your local supply store."

"…I apologize; I should've introduced this piece of evidence as a Firecracker instead," the cobalt hedgehog stated as he hardly sounded sorry about it. It was more as though he was trying to give the prosecutor a taste of his own vague legal medicine. "The black markings on this that have resulted from the explosion is proof of that since there are traces of firecracker powder. Attached to this remnant of a Firecracker is a piece of tape that happens to have some fibers of a rope that have been burned. It's no doubt this happened when the Firecracker went off. This also proves that something was hanging on the side of the docks and held up by tape. This proves that the bag Max had mentioned was quite a long way away from the lighthouse and thus was impossible for him to see through the fog.

"And if you want more convincing, just take a look at the Photograph from witness Amy Rose!" the two tailed fox quickly added as he took note of the prosecutor looking ready to raise another contradiction. He then said as he pulled out said piece of evidence, "You can clearly see that the lighthouse is nonexistent in the background save for the bright ball of light shining through the fog. The Photograph itself is my proof as to how far the lighthouse was in relations to where the Firecracker was found!"

"Hmm, I must say that I'm quite impressed with the defense's reckless yet informative pursuit for the truth," the Judge stated as he thought about what had transpired in the past few minutes. "When they had first pointed out the discrepancy in the level of vision, I must admit I was skeptical as to whether they were really onto something. However, I now see that this contradiction really does present some level of doubt in the witness's testimony. Max, do you have anything to say about this?"

"What can I say about all this?" Max quickly stated simply with a questioning shrug of his shoulders. He had stayed quiet for the whole exchange between defense and prosecution as if he were just going to let them take care of the argument that he had ultimately caused. And strangely enough, he seemed content to be quiet rather than say anything as suggested by his unusually less-than-enthusiastic response to the Judge. "To be honest, both of the attorneys here have been saying a lot of different things. I'm kind of having a hard time understanding what's really going on."

"You're not the only one with that feeling," the old prosecutor agreed with a growl and roll of his eyes. "Despite this confusion, let me address to the court another problem that the defense has failed to prove. They have yet to provide any evidence that this bag that Max said he saw even exists! For all we know, the defense has been leading us on a wild goose chase with an admittedly crucial detail that's nonexistent! If they can't show us that this bag existed at the time of the crime, then their precious contradiction can't possibly stand. After all, the crux of their argument revolves around it."

"Y-you want proof that the bag existed at that exact moment?" Sonic asked in a slightly dumbfounded fashion upon seeing his momentum quickly being forced to a halt. "Well, the witness's own words should be proof enough that it existed at the docks when my client was being framed for this murder. I mean, he was pretty insistent that he saw it! You can't ask for more concrete proof than that!"

"That may be true, but it's ultimately your responsibility to prove to this court that what he said is the truth," the other simply countered as he shook his head in sarcastic disappointment. "After all, you were the one to have brought up this contradiction if only as a result from the argument about his field of vision. That was what brought you to the topic currently at hand. As such, it ultimately lies to you to show us all whether or not your contradiction is well-founded by proving to us that this bag existed!"

All the cobalt hedgehog could say in response was inaudible stutters as he tried to recover from this curveball that was suddenly thrown in his direction. Clearly, he was not expecting for something like this to happen and was struggling to come up with a quick but suitable save from the now precarious situation.

"Well, does the defense have anything that proves that Max indeed saw a bag on the docks on the morning of the murder?" the Judge asked as he turned the court's focus to the defense. "I do find it hard to believe that Max was the only one to have seen this bag while the entire police force failed to do so when they swept the area for evidence. With only the witness's words on the matter, you'll need supporting evidence to support both his claim and your overall contradiction. Do you have something of that nature in your possession to present at this point in time?"

"Um, could I have a moment to consult with my assistant here?" the defense attorney asked before turning towards Tails without waiting for a confirmation. He then said in quiet yet panicky whisper, "Tails, what am I going to do here?! I know I don't have anything like that on me now!"

"I don't know what to say here," Tails admitted as he shook his head. "I hate to say it, but I think we're officially in a corner we can't get out of this time. I didn't think that Mephiles would come up with something like this to stop us in our tracks. We don't have anything in our evidence that can prove something like this."

"… …Wait a minute; maybe we do have something like that! What about the piece of evidence that Silver gave us when he first arrived here today? Do you think that can prove Max really saw the bag?"

"…You know, that just might work!" the two tailed fox responded as a hopeful smile came to his lips. "I mean, we'd probably need to get it looked into further, but it just might work well enough to convince the Judge. And I think we already have the evidence needed to put up with any kind of cross-referencing the prosecutor might want."

"Are you quite done with your consulting?" His Honor asked as annoyance was clear in his tone. "If so, then can you please provide the court with an answer as to whether or not you have evidence concerning the bag?"

"I believe I might just have the concrete evidence we're all looking for," Sonic replied with confidence in his voice despite inwardly feeling nervous about the whole thing. He then said as he picked up the Bag of Bricks and set it on his desk, "Before court started today, Senior Detective Silver Hedgehog offered us this beige bag under the guise that it might be evidence in our current case. I believe that he might've been right on that accord."

"Hey, that's the Bag of Bricks I saw!" Max stated excitedly with a wide smile upon seeing that his claim was now proven to be true. "That's what I saw hanging on the side of the docks that day!"

"…I'm guessing the court doesn't need any more confirmation that the bag in question does in fact exist," the cobalt hedgehog responded cockily as the gallery began to quietly chatter amongst themselves. He then said as if to further rub the fact into Mephiles's nose, "But if the prosecution would still like to have more concrete proof, then I suggest we have the rope and burn marks compared with the Firecracker. I'm sure that the burn marks and rope fibers would match quite well. All this together should adequately prove that there was a bag hanging on the side of the docks at the time of Shadow's framing! And I'm pretty sure it's easy to explain how this bag ended up disappearing what with the Firecracker ultimately going off at some point and making the rope burn and snap into the river."

"…So you've proven that Max's claims to be true and that your contradiction holds some semblance of reasonability within it," Mephiles begrudgingly admitted as he let out an angry growl. It was clear to him that he was losing his stance and not very happy with the fact. "I have only one thing to say about that. All you've proven was that Max managed to somehow see the bag despite the weather conditions of that morning. How exactly is that supposed to help you with your overall claim that he is in fact the true murderer?! You've strayed terribly from our main objective in today's proceedings."

"I object to that!" the defense attorney calmly objected without much effort. "What I've just proven does show that Max was in fact the murderer! It's actually thanks to his previous statement that I now have all the information I need.

"If you all remember from just a couple of minutes ago, Max had just said something that nobody in this entire court save me, Tails, and Silver should know," he explained as he finally felt he had enough evidence and information to formally make his indictment. "He said that this beige bag was a Bag of Bricks. Your Honor, did I at any time introduce this piece of evidence as such during today's court proceedings?"

"I-I don't believe you ever did," the Judge responded after giving it a second of thought. "But wait a minute; how could the witness possibly know what's in the bag if you've never once told us what's in there?"

"Well, let me first start off by saying that Max is indeed correct in saying that this is a Bag of Bricks," Tails confirmed as he untied the bag and pulled out a couple of red rectangular bricks. "This proves that while knowing the existence of the bag and its general location on the day of the murder, he also knew what the contents were. He has already testified quite clearly that he knew where the bag was, yet he failed to tell us that he knew all along what was in here despite having more than enough of an opportunity to tell us. I can only think of one reason that would explain why he knew the contents of the bag; he was the one to have set it up on the docks in preparation for framing Shadow in the murder of Prosecutor Flora Mae! Only the murderer would know about what was in this bag, so it'd only stand to reason that Mr. Maxwell Pryce is the one to have murdered the woman!"

Once again, the gallery went in an uproar at the accusation. While taking a lot of effort, the Judge somehow managed to quell the chaos after banging his gavel and shouting at the top of his lungs for order for the next few minutes.

"…I see that you've managed to cause quite the commotion yet again," Mephiles stated as he tightly crossed his arms, seemingly unfazed by the renewed accusation and the uncalled outburst from the gallery. "And to think that you actually managed to pull this off with just a simple Bag of Bricks that you claim can be cross-referenced to with the Firecracker. However, I must say that just using this bag as the basis for your indictment is rather thin. Do you happen to have anything else with you that can further supplement your veil thin claim?"

"Oh, I'm sure we've got plenty to go along with our claim," Sonic simply responded with a cocky smile. "As the defensive team have just stated, only the murderer would know that there was a bag just hanging on the side of the docks on the morning of the murder and set-up against my client. We've proven that it'd have been highly improbable for Max to have seen the bag from his position at the lighthouse balcony even with such a bright light shining behind him. Combine that with the fact that this bag is a shade of white and it makes it remotely impossible to be correctly identified in such a foggy day like the morning of the murder. Put this all with the fact that he somehow happened to know the contents of this bag before I've even fully explained it to the court and we have our witness now being a prime suspect!

"Of course, the prosecutor already said that he wants to hear more evidence that further supplements my claims that our witness could be the only one to have murdered the victim," he continued on as he quickly shut the prosecutor up upon noticing him about to make a retort. "If they want proof that everything I've been claiming is in fact the truth, then I'll be more than happy to serve everything all at once to him until he can't handle it anymore! And I'm quite sure these next couple pieces of evidence will no doubt be enough to prove to the court that only Max could be the true murderer.

"Naturally, I'm speaking in regards to the murder weapon and the controversy that has arisen about it from yesterday's proceedings. Long before we even started with this trial, it had been adequately proven by forensics that it was this Pistol currently in our possession that killed Prosecutor Flora Mae, otherwise known as Lois Pryce. However, while said to have been first discovered on the docks, it was never used once at the scene first discovered by witness Amy Rose. Rather, the weapon she saw the defendant holding in his hands was nothing but a Fake Murder Weapon."

"I believe that's what you were trying to argue yesterday when it was first brought to our attention," Mephiles responded with a sigh as if the explanation he was listening to was boring and tiring. "However, I hardly see what point this has to your overall indictment of our witness here. If it's within your mental capacity, do you think you can elaborate more on just why this Fake Murder Weapon that was first discovered by an annoying bee who testified yesterday is of such importance to your very flimsy argument?"

"Before I go and answer your question, let me explain a couple of key points in the Pistol," the cobalt hedgehog replied as he purposefully held off on answering the prosecutor's question because he was not ready to do so yet. That and he really wanted to annoy the heck out of him while he had the chance. "While it's true that it has Shadow's fingerprints on it, he had never once laid hands on the weapon. As stated just a few seconds ago, there was no murder taking place at the docks where this case first started; rather, it's been proven that the murder actually took place at the lighthouse where our current witness currently resides! The defendant was clearly not at the lighthouse at any point of that day, so it's therefore impossible for him to fit the description of murderer by this point alone. Max here has even testified so himself when he was insistent in saying he was alone that whole morning!

"Now that we're through explaining that, let me bring us back to the regards of the Fake Murder Weapon," Tails decided to step in seeing that his brother was starting to get a bit tired from the long explanation. "It was found by Charmy Bee, a witness we heard from yesterday who's employed by the Chaotix Detective Agency. Upon being requested to search the lighthouse and doing so after our investigation of the building, he said he found this imitation that looks a lot like the Pistol hidden behind a clock. When the detective agency had it analyzed by forensics, they discovered that it also had Shadow's fingerprints on it. If Shadow had never once entered the lighthouse as it has already been proven, then how is it that this Fake Murder Weapon has his fingerprints? The only conclusion we can come up with is that at some point between the transferring of evidence from crime scene to the forensics department, there was an exchange between the two. It's impossible for the exchange to have happened before then because Ms. Rose stayed at the scene from the moment she contacted police until the moment they arrived. There's no way such a swap could've taken place with her ever shocked yet watchful gaze keeping careful watch over the crime scene that was staged to frame my client. In other words, someone assigned to this case swapped evidence in order to successfully frame Shadow for this crime!"

"Now that we've proven that the defendant is just a victim of a framing scheme in this case, let me go ahead and formally indict the witness of murdering his sister with damning evidence that goes in conjunction with everything we've just discussed," Sonic decided to take over as the two had finally proven Shadow's innocence and was now moving on to confronting the real murderer. "The Fake Murder Weapon was first at the docks when this all unfolded. It was then witnessed by Amy Rose as proven by her Photograph. However, at some point during the transferring of evidence from crime scene to forensics department, the Fake Murder Weapon was swapped out with the Pistol that we now have in our possession. Apart from the fact that we don't know who exactly the one to have performed the swap was; we've already discussed that the Fake Murder Weapon was ultimately discovered inside the lighthouse. That would mean that Max was the one responsible for swapping and thus forging a murder weapon since he's the only one with access to the hiding place in the clock in his house!

"And with all this in mind, only Mr. Maxwell Pryce could've been the one to murder his sister. It's already proven that the Pistol was used at the lighthouse balcony; the Blood found on the railing along with the Bullet Casing on the balcony floor proves this. Once the deed was done, all he had to do was simply wait for his accomplice to come by and bring the Fake Murder Weapon over. Of course, that could only be possible when the police had already arrived and started to collect evidence. I've no doubt that it'd have been very easy to make such a quick swap what with the relative closeness between the lighthouse and the portion of the docks where the murder was first discovered. And once the Pistol had been swapped out and labeled as the actual gun recovered from the docks, all Max had to do then was just place the Fake Murder Weapon in the clock where it'd forever be out of sight. However, I can say with relative confidence that he never felt the lighthouse would ever be suspected as the actual scene of the crime what with such telltale evidence like Ms. Mae's Blood and the Bullet Casing just out in the open like that.

"With everything said and done, the only person who could possibly fit the bill as the murderer of Prosecutor Flora Mae, otherwise known as Lois Pryce, was her very own brother, Mr. Maxwell Pryce!" the cobalt hedgehog exclaimed once he was done explaining everything to the best of his ability. "He was the only one with the capability to have murdered her on that lighthouse balcony that very morning. He was the only one to have had the chance to swap out the Fake Murder Weapon with the Pistol with the help of an accomplice whose identity is currently unknown to us. And finally, he's the only one who could've known what the contents of this beige bag were before having once heard at any time during today's proceedings just what exactly was in here. All this is something that only the murderer could've performed, and all of these actions only point to Mr. Pryce as the lone suspect. What do you have to say about all that, Mr. Maxwell Pryce?"

"Objection!" Mephiles suddenly decided to object. "While your long explanation is by no small feat commendable, you still failed to prove one thing. Legally, the witness here has been deemed mentally challenged and trapped with a seven-year-old mind. If he's mentally a seven-year-old, then how could he possibly orchestrate such a complicated plan for murder? For a man of his caliber, it's feasibly impossible even with the help of a supposed accomplice! You've never proven that he isn't in fact mentally competent, and that's the only thing keeping you from your fantasy of portraying this witness as a murderer!"

"That's enough, Prosecutor," a voice suddenly interrupted the old prosecutor. "I doubt it really matters at this point whether or not I'm mentally challenged what with everything the defense has already proven."

"Wh-who said that?!" the Judge asked as he did not recognize the new voice. "This is a court of law, and I will not condone any uncalled for outburst from any besides the defense or prosecution! Who just spoke out without permission?

"Maxwell Pryce, that's who," the person responded, this time having everybody's attention turn towards the witness. However, instead of the poor mentally challenged man in front of them, the witness was now standing tall with nothing but a pure serious look on his face that clearly did not hold a shred of childishness it had held before. "Like I said, the defense has already proven quite well my involvement in this murder. I don't see now why it should matter whether or not I'm mentally incompetent."

"…I believe we're seeing for the first time the real Mr. Maxwell Pryce," the defense attorney announced to the court calmly despite inwardly taken aback by this sudden change in the man's demeanor. "This is who he really is, a reasonably healthy man who has just been discovered as the murderer of his sister Lois Pryce."

---

New Evidence:

Bag of Bricks: A slightly dirtied beige bag filled with red rectangular bricks. It was found at the bottom of the river when the police were looking for Flora Mae's body. Despite being disregarded as trash, Detective Silver decided to deliver it to Sonic and Tails under the guise that it might help them with the case. Strangely enough, the top is tied off with rope that has black marks at the frayed end as if it had been burned.

Updated Profile:

Maxwell Pryce: A forty-year-old man who has pretended to be a mentally challenged man for five years. Upon being confronted with mountains of evidence pointing him out to be his sister's killer, he has forsaken his facade and is now seemingly willing to admit to the murder.

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Well, let me all tell you one thing. That was the shortest testimony that I've ever written for this story. And no, Max's first testimony was only three sentences long without any additional statements. This one was three sentences long. And ironically enough, this very short testimony was host to the longest cross-examination that I've ever written. This one was five pages long! Wow!

But yeah, that's enough with that bit of information I'm sure none of you guys are very interested in. Let's just move on by saying that we're finally able to see Max's true colors. Apparently, he feels like that everything Sonic and Tails have proved is more than enough to convict him regardless whether or not he continues on with his mentally challenged act. At he's a lot more cooperative than Sonic's other murder suspects and admits without so much of a fight, right? Oh wait, I had you all stuck on a cliffhanger of sorts as to what's going to happen next, right? Let's see if things really are as easy to win as it seems for the gang right now.

Believe me when I say that the way the story's going right now is a far cry from what I originally had in mind. In a version of this part of the case that I came up with like four months ago, Leukis Kruger was supposed to have already been found and meant to testify against Max and get him convicted. As you can see, he still has yet to be found. However, he still holds an important role which shall be introduced in probably the next chapter. Also, Salemand was supposed to hold a more important meaning to this case, but like his little brother, his important role has been slightly changed. And finally, there will be one character, who if you have been paying attention has not had a lot of story time, who will have everything about him revealed. I repeat; everything I've just said was not planned ahead. They were all changed drastically from the original script I had made in my head over four months ago! Boy; isn't it amazing how four months can change so much in terms of a story?

But yeah, I'll leave you all alone now from my rant and let you move onto the next story you want to read. Just please don't forget to leave a review before you move onto something else. And just as a final parting word, I purposefully introduced the Bag of Bricks at a seemingly random moment so that it would not be so easy to forget when it needed to be presented as evidence. I find that it's hard to forget something when it's randomly thrown at you rather than actually being part of the story where it tends to be less memorable. Until the next update to this or any of my other stories everybody!