Hello everybody! Yes, it's been almost two months since the last time I updated this story. The reason for this is because a couple days after I finished the last chapter, I suddenly yet happily stumbled upon the Young Avengers universe when I saw a picture of Billy and Teddy together. Now I really like shonen-ai stories and pictures, and the person who drew them really made them look cute. And imagine my surprise when I discovered that they were actually a canonical couple! Yay!
As such, I've been writing a story starring those two and have a newfound love of the Young Avengers universe and the events that led up to the events. Yes, I've never watched or had anything to do with X-Men when I was little, and now I really regret not enjoying the series. That and I've never been a comic book kind of guy. Oh well, thank god for the graces of the internet to get me speedily acquainted with the Young Avengers world. That's how I got my information to make the story I'm currently writing on that universe.
But yeah, that's enough about that. This particular story here is about Sonic the Hedgehog. I promise you that this story is almost done. If everything goes as planned, this will all be over in, at the very least, two chapters. But yeah, this is now the case that most of you have all been waiting for, the LK-9 Incident!
Hope you enjoy this new chapter that has been a long time in the waiting. Please don't forget to leave a review before you move onto the next story that you want to read. They always provide me with motivation to continue giving you all new chapters and stories to read. Until the next update to this an any of my other stories everybody!
P.S.,
Please go and read my new story based on the Young Avengers titled, "Apocalypse: The Beginning of the End." It's my first time writing for that universe, and I would like some feedback on how you think the story is. A lot of people are reading it, but nobody's really giving me the feedback or letting me know whether they liked it or not. Thanks for taking the time if you do go to read it!
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.
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. It also appears that this also played some role in the LK-9 Incident.
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 kind of connection to the perpetrators of the LK-9 Incident. While a handwriting analysis is desirable, it's impossible to conduct because of a lack of comparison to a specific individual.
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.
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.
Profiles:
Sonic Hedgehog: He's a seventeen-year-old cobalt hedgehog currently assigned to defend Shadow from a grave murder charge. He has taken upon himself to bring up and try the LK-9 Incident on its last day of life.
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. He's now working alongside Sonic in an attempt to find answers that lie hidden within 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. He delivered the evidence from the LK-9 Incident to Vector after learning of someone destroying material linked to the case.
Salemand Eres: A twenty-six-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 has been cleared of murder and is now overlooking the case from the gallery to see what new details will surface during the trial.
Silver Hedgehog: A nineteen-year-old silver furred hedgehog who is the country's youngest Senior Detective. He has taken it upon himself to serve as one of the detectives from the initial investigation of the LK-9 Incident.
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. He has chosen not to oversee the LK-9 Case after losing to Sonic.
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. He has also taken it upon himself to oversee the LK-9 Incident as a prosecutor.
Leukis Kruger: 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.
Chapter 28: The LK-9 Case Turnabout Pt. 1
"Well, we've finally managed to clear you name from that mess," Sonic said with a sigh as he tried to relax on one of the courtroom lobby couches. "And we managed to connect this case the LK-9 Incident and convince the Judge to hear it. Now we just need to see what we can discover and how far we can go."
"Which probably wouldn't be very far considering that you probably don't know that much about it," Shadow deadpanned as he was leaning against the wall with his arms crossed. "Although I wouldn't be surprised if you next told me you spent most of yesterday trying to figure out as much as you could about the case."
"Then prepare to not be surprised," the cobalt hedgehog replied as Tails pulled out the LK-9 Case File the two had been carrying around since their visit to Vector's office last night. "This is a copy of the case file that Vector gave us when we met up with Vector last night. He figured we might need it after he gave us his view on it and figuring that we were going to try and bring it up today."
"Well, he must either be very confident in your abilities or you managed to delude him into thinking so," the ebon furred hedgehog stated sarcastically which earned him an annoyed look from the defense attorney. "However that ended up happening, this should mean you already have everything you need in order to properly pursue this incident. I really hope I'm right in assuming so."
"We learned as much as we could about it last night from Vector and Silver," Tails explained as he had in his hands the file that Vector handed to him last night. "I can't say that it'll be enough for us to get any answers, but it's definitely a start. However, we haven't had the chance to really look into this file yet. We'll probably know even more when we use this recess to study it.
"Now let's see what's in here," he quickly continued on as he opened the file and began perusing its contents. "We have three files in here, but I'll start with the first one. It's a basic Case Summary file. It says that a crime had taken place near the lighthouse on Mobius Docks. At that time, it was a sea faring business called 'Prycey Seafood' that specialized in the production and sale of high-end seafood. It was owned by three people, although two of them had lower ownership than the third. It doesn't say who they were, but I'm sure we can safely assume that Lois and Max were the two mentioned here. Upon being spotlighted in this murder, it had since gone out of business and into the lighthouse we know today.
"In terms of the murder, there were two people found dead within the lighthouse's vicinity. One was outside at the front doors of the lighthouse and appeared to have been in a scuffle before dying. Another was found dead inside, but there were no signs of any struggle having taken place. It then says to refer to the autopsy report of both victims for more information."
"Too bad we don't have access to that," Sonic said with a shrug of his shoulders. "But I'm kind of more concerned as to who this third owner was. If this was the scene of a murder, then wouldn't it go to say that there should have been three people who would've piqued the police's interest?"
"Well, that's where the Witness List comes in," Tails explained as he set down the Case Summary and picked up the next file. "According to this, there were four people who were considered by the police to be of relative interest. As suspected, two of them were Lois and Maxwell Pryce. I would guess that this was done before Lois was 'dead' since it doesn't say anything here about her dying. The third person who claimed to be a worker working overtime that night was…S-Salemand Eres?!"
"What?!" the cobalt hedgehog exclaimed as he immediately got up and peered over his little brother's shoulder. "How is that possible? Does this mean that he was somehow involved in that incident and is now using his position in order to keep himself protected?"
"You two are talking about Salemand Eres who's an Interpol agent, are you?" Shadow suddenly asked which earned him shocked looks from the other two. "Don't look so surprised. Don't you know that I'm regarded as one of the greatest prosecutors in the Prosecutor's Office? Granted that I'm on the rather low end of the scale, but it's allowed me to become acquainted with the occasional Interpol agent every now and then. Salemand just so happens to be one of them.
"However, I highly doubt that he would use his position to protect himself were he really the true culprit," he continued on. "After all, he told me during one of our information trade-offs that he had been investigating that Prycey Seafood business since before the incident occurred. He wouldn't get into detail with me about it since we were only working together for the sake of the LK-9 Incident."
"…And you're saying that he most likely wouldn't openly share information that could potentially fatally damage him later on down the line," the defense attorney finished off after taking a deep breath. "I suppose you could be right about that. I mean, I'm sure the people at Interpol would've noticed something fishy if he really were the murderer."
"Well, let's just hope that really is the truth of it," Tails added as he furrowed his eyebrows in thought. "Anyway, there was one more person I didn't get to yet. Let me see where they are… Huh, that's strange," he stated as his eyebrows furrowed even more. "According to this, the fourth person, the overall owner of the business, refused to be questioned by police. They didn't even get a name! They only labeled him as 'the fourth witness'.
"However, they chose not to pressure him further simply because he had an alibi that was made official by witnesses. This might explain why the person's anonymous since they pretty much hold no importance to the case. Before all that, however, it says they did manage to hold the person long enough that they felt compelled to write out their testimony to detectives. It then says to refer to the Witness's Account for more information."
"And they just let the person go like that," Sonic groaned out as if he were hearing bad news. "I mean, an alibi is good and all, but couldn't they at least have questioned them a bit more before letting the matter go? With how it says they put little resistance to his stubbornness, I can't help but feel this might have been someone the police knew in that they actually agreed to keep them anonymous."
"Well, there's no way for us to know now," the two tailed fox said with a sigh before putting down the file and picking up the last one marked as the Victims' Report. "And here's the last file talking about the victims in the case. The first one talks about the person found outside of the lighthouse. He was forty-years-old and went by the name of…Charles Hedgehog." He saw Sonic wince a bit at the mention of the name. "That was…Sonic's uncle. He was a senior detective who was working on a smuggling case at the time. Apparently, he got into a fight with somebody prior to his death.
"The next victim on the list is a twenty-two-year-old woman by the name of Maria Robotnik," Tails continued on as he this time saw Shadow's face falter a bit at the name. "She was a defense attorney working with Charles on the smuggling case. …Apparently, she's also related in some way to Dr. Robotnik. Anyway, it says that she was found in the basement dead with no signs of a struggle. With both reports, it says to refer to their respective autopsy reports for further details."
"…I can't believe it's been five years already," Sonic murmured so softly it was nearly inaudible. "Uncle Chuck only went there when he heard that we had been kidnapped. The cops never did tell me how he died, but I can take a good guess now."
"I still can't believe Maria was actually crazy enough to follow Chuck along," Shadow added as he tightly crossed his arms against his chest. "Then again, I'm not too surprised since she kind of had an impulsive side to her when it came to being protective. She was the one who got me interested in law when I attended her optional classes in general law. Hell, she was the only adult I really trusted enough to say much of anything to."
"Grieving for them isn't going to do you guys much good now." a familiarly deep voice agreed as it cut through their conversation. "All you can do now is keep moving forward and hope you can find some closure during this next trial."
They all turned their attention towards the entrance of the courtroom lobby and saw Vector leaning against the wall with his arms crossed. Silver came in a second later and made a beeline for one of the couches. Knuckles also came in with a bag in his hands.
"What are you doing here, Vector?" Shadow bluntly asked as he was the first to regain his composure from both his mellow moment and the crocodile's surprise entrance. "I didn't think it was standard procedure for the prosecution to be visiting the defense in the courtroom when they're opponents in an upcoming case."
"The paperwork that will formalize my role as prosecutor in this is still being worked on," Vector simply explained. "I'm not yet breaking any unspoken code of conduct between us attorneys. And besides, there was something important I had to talk to you guys that just couldn't wait."
"Well, what is it?" the ebon hedgehog quickly asked. It was as though he was trying to make sure that they did not waste any time with unimportant questions that Sonic and Tails no doubt would have been asking. "I would assume that it has something to do with the LK-9 Incident."
"Well, I just got a call from my secretary a few minutes ago. I had requested that she send me a copy of the LK-9 Case File. Long story short, she called back saying that the files, both paper and electronic form, were missing."
"What?!" Sonic exclaimed as he immediately got to his feet. Both Shadow and Tails were as shocked as he was but managed to keep their outward display of it from showing. "Are you sure? I thought the Prosecutor's Office and the Precinct kept good care of their case records!"
"Trust me; this isn't something that normally happens," Silver explained as he shook his head in disappointment. "If it's not a murder, then it's somebody hacking into our systems and erasing precious data."
"Why do you say somebody hacked into the system?" Tails asked as he raised an eyebrow in confusion. "Couldn't it have been easily accessed by anybody working in either building?"
"That may be true, but not everybody has the passcode that'll allow them to freely alter the data whenever necessary," the senior detective replied. "Only those who have a highly authoritative position in either department can make those kinds of changes. Unfortunately for us, there are quite a few people with that kind of a position, so it's quite impossible as of now for us to pinpoint exactly who the person responsible was. Put on top the fact that they covered their tracks pretty well in what could only be described as spy fashion and we've got a case on our hands that's impossible to solve."
"…In other words, there's no way for us to confront whoever's the one responsible," the cobalt hedgehog concluded as he let out a growl of frustration. "Well, so much for trying to go after the guy and make him or her hand over the paper copies."
"Fortunately for us, there are still two printed copies ever to have been made on those files," Vector added in a fashion that made it sound more like an afterthought. "Tails happens to be holding onto one of them. Silver here has the other copy that was thankfully resting in his locked desk in his locked office which was kept under careful guard by his secretary. They're both printed by permission of a higher-up, so they're as good as the official version. I instructed my secretary, however, to keep quiet about the theft of the files until after this case is over. That means only us six, not including her, knows about this."
"But what if somebody tries to take a look at the files after hearing what's going on today?" Shadow asked with slight concern in his tone despite his stoic demeanor. "They'll no doubt figure out that the files are missing?"
"Fortunately, I instructed my secretary to stall for time and have her put her printing status on those files in queue status," the crocodile explained with an impish smile. "Don't forget that only one person at a time can print out these cold case files. So long as there's somebody at the front of the line, other people can't access it."
"The reason he's doing this is so to prevent a scene that might put an end to the proceeding," Knuckles explained after having been silent since the moment he entered. "From what I've heard back at the Precinct, you barely managed to get the LK-9 Incident brought up. If it comes to the Judge's attention that the actual case files are missing, he might suspect that the two files in play are fakes. That's more than enough to put an end to the proceedings."
"…Boy, you sure know how to think fast on your feet," the two tailed fox said accompanied with a low whistle. "So the files in our hands are the only ones left that exist of the LK-9 Incident. This certainly proves that somebody's desperate enough to make sure that the case doesn't get brought up. But who the hell would be that desperate?"
"On the bright side, we at least still have the evidence on our side," Silver happily added with a smile as he nodded towards where Knuckles was still standing. "That's why Knuckles is here. After discovering the problem with the files, Vector and I immediately arranged for the evidence to be moved to our possession before they were also taken away. Thankfully, he got to them in time and arrived here without incident."
"However, don't think for a moment that I'm going to give you guys the evidence," Vector added as his smile faltered somewhat. "Supposedly, only the prosecution is privy to the evidence of a cold case. Defense attorneys are unfortunately not allowed to handle it."
"Then how the hell are we supposed to be able to hold our end of the fight?" Sonic asked in an exasperated fashion. "All I have on me that I think has anything to do with the LK-9 Incident are the Pistol, the Letter, a Picture that Salemand gave us, and some Notes made by Tails summarizing our discussion with Silver last night. And just for desperateness' sake, I threw in Vector's Account of what he saw during my case involving Ace Sleuth despite it having nothing to do with all this. That's hardly enough to put up a good fight!"
"Actually, we believe that you do have one key piece of evidence that Knuckles said he couldn't find in the evidence room," the senior detective answered in response to the stressed rant. "He couldn't find the gun that was used in the murder, but you've already explained earlier that the Pistol in your previous case was most likely connected to this incident. This means that it was stolen from the Precinct for the sake of the last trial and thus adds more credibility to these two cases being linked."
"And don't think for a moment that I'm just going to leave you out to dry in the courtroom," the crocodile added. "You will get to see the evidence; you'll just have to wait for the right time when I can present it. Either that or you'll have to supply me with an opening. However, I'm sure you'll know that you'll run the risk of having whatever question you're on being put to a stop like that. Sorry in advance if that happens."
"In other words, you two are going to have to work together without accidentally derailing each other beyond recovery," Shadow surmised as he sighed at how the case was going to go down. "Very rarely have I ever heard of the prosecution and defense cooperating on a case; I've never heard of it being done like this. This shall prove to be a very interesting court proceeding. I do hope for both your sakes that you don't make it seem like it was all staged between you two. That's a good way to have the case thrown out and to get you both in serious trouble for backdoor cahoots."
"And how can that happen when there isn't even a defendant's life at stake?" Tails rhetorically asked. "I doubt things could end up being construed as corruption when the key motive for such a thing isn't even present."
"…Actually, there's a chance that there might actually be someone who can be seen as the potential perpetrator," the ebon hedgehog slowly replied as his face turned somewhat grim. "With the information already made present to the court at the end of the last case, the weapon connecting that case to the LK-9 Incident has my fingerprints on it. Even if for technicalities' sake, it might be enough to warrant me as a person of interest. And being that all parties involved with this case know me on a personal level, it could easily be seen as favoritism if you play your cards wrong.
"Now I'm not saying that I'm the one to have fired that gun five years ago!" he quickly retorted upon seeing Sonic about to make some kind of outburst. "All I'm saying is that it might end up that one of you will have to use me as a scapegoat if you wish to proceed further with the case. I'm willing to put my neck on the line again if it means we can get one step closer to unraveling the mysteries of this incident."
"But that's insane!" Sonic exclaimed as he could not hold back anymore. "I'm not going to indict someone who I know to be innocent just for the sake of getting answers. I'm not that desperate."
"Like it or not, it might end up coming to that if the evidence starts to point in my direction," Shadow said as his face remained stoic as ever. "I wouldn't be surprised if the Pistol was already casting a cloud of suspicion over me with the Judge and gallery. If it gets any bigger, then either you or Vector will be forced to name me as a suspect unless you want to be in trouble with the courts.
"And if it does end up getting that far, then I believe you and Tails will be able to bail me out. The two of you together can always come up with the answer when you put your minds to it. And if you two were able to both survive and escape Mephiles' ruthless courtroom antics, then I'm sure this shouldn't be too much of a problem."
"…Do you really have that much confidence in my abilities?" the cobalt hedgehog hesitantly asked. "It isn't like you to be talking like this. You're usually all stoic and acting like you can take care of everything yourself."
"Don't get used to it," the ebon furred hedgehog replied with a snort before stealing a glance at the clock on the wall. "Better yet, you guys should start getting ready for the trail. The recess is almost over. I doubt the bailiff would think that you and the prosecution are merely trying to catch up on old times."
"Yeah, I kind of figured I was starting to overstay my welcome a bit," Vector stated as he took a look at his wristwatch before tightly gripping his headset. "Well, I'll go ahead and prepare for our showdown in the courtroom. Here's to hoping we can get further into this case than the attorneys and detectives before us could."
"And I'll be going along with him," Knuckles replied as he motioned by Silver to follow. "I'm technically not supposed to be in here right now, so I'll take my leave and see you all later."
"Good luck out there," Silver replied as he was the last to leave the lounge. "You and Vector might be working together, but don't let that take your guard down. He'll help you, but he'll also have his competitive flare-ups every now and then. Be careful of those when he gets like that."
"…He's not serious, is he?" Sonic asked Shadow as a nervous chuckle escaped his throat. "Vector isn't going to get all competitive with me on this, is he?"
"He likes to get into friendly competitions every now and then," Shadow admitted with a ghost of a smile on his lips. "But don't let that lead you to believe he won't help you. Out of everybody in the Prosecutor's Office, I find him to be most reliable to go to whenever you need help. And I know that extends to collaboration in cases like this."
"Court is about to begin, Mr. Sonic," the bailiff suddenly came in and announced. "If you would please make your way to the courtroom now."
"Here we go," Tails sighed out as he looked at his brother. "Time to go on what'll probably be the wildest ride of our lives yet."
With an annoyed glance at the two tailed fox, the cobalt hedgehog followed the bailiff out to the courtroom with the other following closely behind. Shadow followed suit a couple of seconds later and headed towards the courtroom gallery in order to see the case unfurl and see how things will turn out.
New Evidence:
Case Summary File: A file found in the LK-9 Case File that summarizes the scene of the crime. The crime took place that the Mobius Dock's lighthouse that was then a business called "Prycey Seafood". It was owned by three people; two of them were Lois and Maxwell Pryce who owned a lesser percentage of the business. An unnamed third person had owned a majority of the business before it closed upon being a spotlight of a murder.
Witness List: A list of witness found in the LK-9 Case File. According to the list, there were four potential witnesses to the murder. Two of them were Max and Lois Pryce and have been recorded as supplying witness statements to the police. The third person was Salemand Eres who appears to have been working at the Prycey Seafood at the time, although Shadow states that he was merely working undercover then. A fourth person, the third owner of the business, was kept anonymous for some reason and had his wish to refuse to testify be granted.
Victims' Report: A report that supplies basic details of the victims of the LK-9 case. One of them was a senior detective by the name of Charles Hedgehog, Sonic's uncle. The second victim was a defense attorney called Maria Robotnik, Shadow's good friend and apparently a relative of Dr. Robotnik.
Updated Evidence:
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. The original and digital versions were destroyed by someone; Vector's and Silver's official copies are the only two left to exist.
New Profiles:
Charles Hedgehog: Sonic's uncle with greyish blue fur who was once a resourceful and reliable senior detective down at the local precinct. Because of the events from five years ago, he became an unfortunate victim of what is now known as the LK-9 Incident.
Maria Robotnik: Shadow's good friend with beautifully long blond hair who was once a defense attorney. She apparently has some relations to Dr. Robotnik. Because of the events from five years ago, she became an unfortunate victim of what is now known as the LK-9 Incident.
Well, I hope that you all enjoyed this new chapter that has been like a couple of weeks in the making. And I'm going to keep this bottom portion of the author's notes short since it's like 1:30 in the morning where I am. I'm tired. So until the next update to this or any of my other stories everybody!