When Ten exited the dining car, he found himself in the saloon car, appropriately decorated like an Old West saloon. Judging by the empty glasses and bottles strewn about, it was obvious that at least some partygoers had drank and carried on with merriment. There was, however, one partygoer he was more interested in at the moment…
"There you are, Tails."
"Yep, here I am. I think Amy's already gone on ahead; it seems she's really excited."
(Judging by the enthusiasm she showed about Sonic being injured, I'm not surprised.) thought Ten.
"Did you need something from me?" asked Tails.
Ten stroked his chin. "We should solve this mystery as fast as possible. Sonic really seemed to be injured. He's still alive, but god knows how long that'll last."
Tails laughed. "Sonic doesn't go down so easily. He's on a train full of his friends, so nothing would actually happen to him. Besides, he's already been killed once, and we managed to bring him back from that. We're all just really committed to playing our parts for the mystery so Amy will be happy. You have nothing to worry about! I promise! Plus, Sonic likes to nap in a lot of strange spots. He'll be fine!"
"You have a lot of faith in him. The way you talk about him, I'd think you two were brothers."
Tails gave a thumbs-up. "Yeah, pretty much! Before I met Sonic, I was bullied because I have two tails, but he taught me to believe in myself! Life has never been better!"
"Regardless, we should tag along. I've heard of your immense intellect before, and you could be a great partner to me."
"Definitely! If I ever need a snack, you've got me! As I said, the best detectives have sidekicks, so I'm happy to have you! If you ever catch me looking glum, though, it's because…wait, where's my lore card…" Tails fumbled around in his coat pockets before pulling out his lore card. "…the last guy to work a case with me ditched our firm to join the evil Dr. Robotnik!"
Ten nodded. "Understandable. I've got some baggage of my own, so if you ever need to talk, I'm here."
Tails smiled. "Awww, thank you!"
"…ye varmints," said a familiar voice.
Tails and Ten turned around to see Knuckles behind them.
"What are y'all doin' in my saloon?" asked Knuckles.
(Wow, he has a terrible accent.) thought Ten.
Tails smacked the bottom of his fist against the palm of his other hand. "Knuckles, we're trying to figure out who murdered Sonic!"
"Ah can see that," said Knuckles. "Amy moseyed through an' told me all 'bout it." Knuckles coughed and switched to his normal accent. "Enough of that."
(Good.) thought Ten. (That was really grating. Must've been hell for him to keep that up for Amy, too.)
"We were wondering if you could tell us what you were up to before the murder," said Tails. "Anything to help us establish your alibi and…"
Knuckles crossed his arms. "Nope. I have nothin' to tell either of you. Leave me alone."
(I heard Knuckles was known for his nasty attitude.) thought Ten. (Still, why take out your anger on others?)
Tails stroked his chin. "I know better than to argue with Knuckles, so it seems we're on our own."
"Then let's figure out what he's up to while we were all separated," said Ten.
"Right, let's do it!"
Ten looked around the room before his eyes settled on a busted-up Super Monkey Ball arcade machine that Knuckles was leaning up against.
"Tails, look at this…" said Ten.
"Clearly, we won't be able to give that game a try," said Tails.
"Obviously, it didn't break when the train suddenly sped up. It looks more like someone hit this thing."
Tails and Ten gave knowing looks to Knuckles.
"What are you two lookin' at me for?" said Knuckles.
Ten proceeded to ignore Knuckles, but his eyes instead drifted to a Wanted poster with Omochao on it.
(Omochao?) thought Ten. (Our intel indicates that their record is spotless. Still, I'll keep them in mind.)
"Poor Omochao," thought Tails. "Hate to see them like this."
"What exactly did Omochao do?" asked Ten.
"Medical malpractice."
Ten nodded. "I see."
Ten then proceeded to look in the trash next to the bar.
"Sadly, that one's empty as well." Tails gave a look of resignation. "I'm starting to think your theory on something always being hidden in the trash is flawed."
"You never know. It's only a matter of time. Besides, didn't someone once say 'one man's trash is another man's treasure'?"
Tails kept giving Ten that look.
(Something will show up in the trash eventually.) thought Ten. (I'm sure of it.)
In the meantime, Tails took notice of a robotic arm that was wiping down the bar:
"The robotic arms here are really helpful."
Just then, one of the robotic arms ruffled Ten's head, causing him to spin around and instinctively reach for a gun:
"What did that thing just do?"
Tails' eyes widened. "It fixed your fur up a bit! That's incredible!"
(Interesting tech, if a bit intrusive.) thought Ten. (Still, it can't do a Constable's job.)
Ten looked around for a bit more.
"Tails, what can you tell me about these glasses?" Ten pointed to some drinking glasses on the bar.
Tails scratched his head. "So? It's just a few used glasses."
Ten pointed to one in particular. "Look at this one."
Tails stroked his chin. "And why are there three? Knuckles couldn't have been that thirsty…could he?"
"Maybe he wasn't, but somebody was. Look at the lipstick on this glass."
"You're right; Knuckles doesn't wear lipstick. But who…" Tails paused.
"If you're thinking of who I'm thinking of, then no doubt it was her. Better talk to Knuckles about this."
Tails and Ten went up to Knuckles, who clenched his ham fists.
"I thought I told you to leave me alone."
"We'll leave you be soon enough," said Ten. "First, we'd like to determine what you were doing during the time that the 'murder' took place."
Knuckles crossed his arms. "I already told you, buzz off. "You're not gettin' anything outta me."
Ten glared at Knuckles. "Are we? I've taken on guys at least twice as strong as you and won."
Tails smiled nervously as he tugged at Ten's arm. "Uh…Ben…we might wanna reconsider challenging Knuckles, heh heh."
"Tails is right. You don't scare me!"
"I'm not here to scare you with words," said Ten. "What happened here is patently obvious to me."
Knuckles dropped his jaw and began sweating. Ten continued:
"For one, the damage to that arcade machine looks suspicious."
Knuckles pointed his hand, palm-forward, at Ten. "The arcade machine? Ha! What makes you think I touched it?"
"You touched the arcade machine because it looks like it's been smashed to pieces. I've seen torn-up arcade cabinets before, and believe me, the train speeding up couldn't cause that kinda damage."
Knuckles crossed his arms. "And what evidence do you have of that?"
Tails gave a knowing look as he stared at Knuckles' ham fists, as did Ten, much to Rad Red's displeasure:
"What are you two starin' at my hands for?"
"We know you punched the arcade machine," said Ten.
"Why did you do it?" asked Tails.
"I needed a punching bag and I couldn't find one," replied Knuckles.
"So you destroyed property that doesn't belong to you?" said Ten.
"Yeah? So?"
"Ben, I believe repairing the machine will give us our answer," said Tails.
Ten crossed his arms. "And how are we gonna repair that? It's damaged beyond repair.
Tails smiled and gave a thumbs up. "Just watch me! Distract Knuckles while I fix it."
Knuckles crossed his arms. "Tails, he's right. You're not…"
Contrary to Knuckles' and Ten's expectations, Tails had the machine patched up using a repair kit he'd brought.
(That kid is some kind of gifted.) thought Ten.
Knuckles gasped. "No! Don't look at the high scores!"
"Why not?" Ten proceeded to look at the high score list. "Oh, I see."
Knuckles crossed his arms. "Do you?"
"Tails, look at the name at the top of the list."
Tails proceeded to do so and saw the name "VECTR". He gasped when he saw it.
"It's Vector! But he's supposed to be in the library car!"
Knuckles averted his gaze. "Um…"
"You were competing with Vector to see who could get the high score," said Ten. "You got frustrated because Vector beat you, so you destroyed the machine."
Knuckles growled and clenched his fists before punching the air in frustration.
(He's a hell of a fighter.) thought Ten.
"You're guessing!" exclaimed Knuckles. "Where's your proof? Where's your evidence? Vector's a common name! Prove that he was here…NOW!"
"What about those?" Ten pointed to the empty drinking glasses.
Knuckles gasped. "No…!"
Tails stroked his chin. "I thought it was suspicious that there was more than one glass sitting next to you!"
"So, while you were supposed to be participating in the murder mystery game, you and Vector enjoyed some drinks and played the arcade cabinet," said Ten.
Knuckles pulled his hat down over his eyes in an attempt to conceal that he was blushing. "It's…I'm…it's not like…it's not…I wasn't…look, don't tell Amy!"
"We won't…provided you're not the murderer, that is."
"You're right. Vector popped in at the top of the hour wanting to play Super Monkey Ball with me. We went back and forth trying to figure the game out, but when we did, we competed for the highest score. When he beat me, I…destroyed the machine to erase any proof of his score. I was trying to fix the arcade cabinet before you two came in, honest. I didn't wanna be caught. That's my story and alibi. I already told an abridged version of this to Amy."
(Wow, these friends have lots of pride issues.) thought Ten.
"That explains one of the used cups, and I have a feeling I know who's behind the one with the lipstick mark."
Knuckles crossed his arms. "Rouge was in here, too."
Tails dropped his jaw.
"It's inconsequential," said Knuckles. "Not worth mentioning. She searched around for something but failed, made fun of our game and left. Seriously, she's obnoxious."
"And yet you offered her a drink," said Ten.
"Listen, I don't know why she showed up, and I've told ya everything that happened before the train sped up. Are ya not satisfied? Won't ya relent?"
Tails nodded. "That makes sense to me. Thank you for answering so many of our que…"
"Actually, that's not everything…is it, Knuckles?" said Ten.
Tails gasped, while Knuckles averted his gaze. Ten pointed at the arcade machine.
"Take another look at the high scores," said Ten. "One of the names doesn't make sense."
"Let me see…"
Tails took a closer look at the high scores, with names like "TOAST", "APPLE", "BREAD", "BAGEL" and "CANDY". He gasped when he saw one name sandwiched between "BREAD" and "BAGEL": "ULTIM".
"You're right!" said Tails. "All the other names have a food theme but this one!" He stroked his chin. "But who here goes by 'ULTIM'…?" He snapped his fingers. "I've got it!"
"Who?" said Ten.
"Shadow the Hedgehog, the Ultimate Life Form."
(Should've seen that one.) thought Ten.
"Nothin' sneaks by you two, does it?" said Knuckles. "Vector and I were struggling with the game, but then Shadow dropped in. He taught us the game and was the first to get his name on the scoreboard. Vector and I then fought to beat his score. They're both very annoying."
Tails gave a look of resignation. "You all immediately had to compete, huh?"
"He gave me this before he left…" Knuckles produced a Yale key. "Shadow told me to lock the door and not open it for anyone. Then, he left. When Vector was leaving, I locked the door behind him. Saw no one else after lockin' the door. That's the honest truth."
"We believe you," said Ten. "Amy must've gotten through anyways with that special birthday key, though."
"Yeah, I think so…"
Tails stroked his chin. "Well, I have a lot of questions. What happened in the library to cause Vector to come here? Why is Shadow locking doors? And what was Rouge searching for?"
Knuckles clenched his fist. "I dunno, they didn't tell me, even when I asked with that cowboy accent! You're gonna have to find 'em and ask 'em yourselves."
"Then we'll do exactly that," said Ten. "Come on, Tails, let's go ask Vector."
"Fair enough," said Knuckles. "Let me unlock the door for you two." He unlocked the door to the library car. "Give whoever KO'd Sonic an earful for me, Tails and butler!"
"Thank you." Ten turned to Tails. "What do you make of this so far?"
"Well, at this point, all guesses play even as to who the murderer could be."
"Maybe so, but Shadow doesn't strike me right."
"He may not be the friendliest person in the world, but I don't think it's like him to attempt foul murder."
"Only one way to know for sure."
Tails and Ten headed to the library car, only slightly closer to solving the case, but nevertheless very determined to solve it.
Criticism is gold. Negativity and nitpicking are pyrite.
