The five hedgehogs made it there in record time. Sonic was carrying Amy bridal-style, and Silver was holding onto Shadow with his powers. Once they arrived, they all stopped abruptly, gazing at the courthouse in awe.

There were crowds of people congesting the entrance, more than any of them had ever seen. And from what they could see, the inside of the courthouse was completely packed, and people were swarming the walls.

"Sweet Mobius!" Silver exclaimed, lowering himself to the ground. "I've never seen so many people!"

Sonic set Amy down. "I have to take my place. The trial's starting in two minutes."

Amy gently kissed him on the cheek. "You got this."

Sonic smiled down at her and sped off, flipping his hood on as he was doing so.

Shadow turned to face Silver, crossing his arms. "If Eggman really is sentenced to death, you know what we have to do."

Silver nodded in assent.

Amy looked confused. "What?"

Silver turned to her. "We know how dangerous that guy is. If Sonic has to carry out the deed, we both need to be there just in case Eggman tries anything. I'd bet my psychokinesis that he would."

She at first looked worried, and then relaxed a bit. "You two are just being dramatic! Eggman wouldn't try to do anything…would he?"

Shadow sighed. "If our hunch is right, this is the guy who tried to kill us all. So yes, he would definitely try something to save his own life…even if it means ending Sonic once and for all."

It wasn't as hard as it should have been to find seats in the crowded courthouse. All they had to do was have Silver flash his powers warningly and Shadow crack his knuckles, and the poor people quickly scurried away.

Amy stared at them reproachfully. "That wasn't necessary!"

Silver winked at her despite the serious situation. "Yes, it was." And then he sobered. "I want to hear as much as I can."

Shadow peered at the front of the room, and then nudged Silver. "Look at that."

Silver craned his neck. The designated family space had never looked so full before. There were about ninety people, and none of them were Eggman's relatives.

"Holy cow!" Silver said. "I've never seen it so full."

Amy narrowed his eyes. "I have a hunch that Eggman is here for other reasons besides poisoning Sonic."

The bang of the gavel instantly silenced everyone. Judge Harry stepped up to the podium, and Sonic took his place on the side of the room, his red eyes shining slightly.

"Bring in the accused," Harry ordered.

The back doors opened and the same guards from Minus's trial marched in, dragging quite a familiar looking figure…"

"Dang!" Silver exclaimed, eyes wide. "I've never seen him look worse."

He did have a point. Eggman's usual glasses were cracked and nearly unrecognizable. His beard was in desperate need of a shave, but his head was as bald as ever. His clothes were ripped and tattered in various places.

Shadow narrowed his eyes and silently watched them go by.

For a second, it seemed like Eggman locked eyes with him and Silver, but they couldn't confirm for sure, since it was so quick. But they didn't miss the surprise that flashed across his face when he looked in their direction.

The guards deposited him at the table reserved for the accused, but they didn't go just yet. They stood on either side of him, holding his arms lightly as though trying to prevent him from running.

Eggman glared at them, and then lifted his head to meet Judge Harry's eyes.

"Ivo Robotnik," Harry said, anger clear in his voice. Surprising. He rarely showed emotion so as to remain unbiased. He also wasn't following regular protocol. "You have been accused of first-degree murder on a total of seventy-nine accounts."

"Holy crap!" Silver exclaimed a little too loudly.

"Shh!" Both Amy and Shadow hissed, but they were also looking furious.

"Bring forward the evidence," Judge Harry ordered.

Another security guard deposited a rather fat file on the podium and retreated. Harry nodded at him and picked it up, opening it.

What was inside was so horrible that he couldn't even bear to look at it. He closed it and set it aside. "I will not ask for witnesses. Us Mobians have been subjected to your evil plots for way too long, and it's time you were brought to justice for those and for murdering all those innocent people."

He then addressed the house. "I know this is not the professional way to handle this. But if you saw what I just saw with the unmistakable proof right there…" He inhaled deeply, and then regained control. "Ivo Robotnik, I hereby sentence you to death on account of the murders and the attempted manslaughters. This will be carried out by our courthouse's executioner."

Eggman turned his head to look at Sonic's silhouetted figure, and comprehension dawned in his eyes.

Harry stood up, glaring at Eggman. "You already had your last meal, and you have no family here to tell you goodbye. Your execution will be carried out immediately." He banged his gavel. "I hereby close this case!"

As usual, the courthouse stood up, chattering excitedly. There were even words of relief coming from the crowd.

As usual, Harry turned to Sonic. "Which one, son?"

Sonic turned to meet his brothers' eyes, and then looked back at Harry. "Both, sir."

Harry nodded, not surprised. "The guards will bring him to the room as soon as possible. Are you sure you can do this, Sonic?"

Sonic's eyes flashed. "Definitely. I'm looking forward to this."

About ten minutes had passed. Silver and Shadow were both leaning against the wall, but Sonic was standing in the middle of the room, motionless.

Silver laid a hand on his shoulder. "Are you okay?"

Sonic nodded, and the hand was removed.

The door was unlocked, and the guards shoved Eggman in. Sonic nodded at them. The guards nodded back and stepped out, locking the door behind them and retreating as quickly as they could.

Sonic removed his hood and stepped directly in front of Eggman, gazing down at him. A snarl was slowly beginning in his throat. Silver and Shadow pushed themselves away from the wall and came to stand a little behind him.

Eggman chuckled. "Should've known it would be you three who would finish me off. So, how'd you like my little present?"

Silver gritted his teeth. "You nearly killed us!"

"Um, that was the point, kid."

"OH I OUGHTA–"

Shadow grabbed Silver's arms to keep him from rushing at the evil man. "Silv. Chill."

Eggman cackled. "I was sure surprised to see that you could stand up to the most powerful being on the planet! And I was so sure that my blood technique would kill Sonic. I was quite surprised to see him…"

He straightened up, locking eyes with Sonic. "I have a proposition for you."

Sonic growled and crouched down into a hunting position. "Not interested, Eggface."

"Wait!" Eggman pleaded. "You might like this one!"

"Humor him," Shadow smirked. "I'm curious as to what he'll try to do to save his own meaningless existence."

Eggman ignored him. "Here's the deal. You let me go free–"

"Absolutely not!" Silver exclaimed, but Sonic cast him a look. The youngest brother fell silent.

"As I was saying before I was rudely interrupted…you let me go free, and I help you. I will help you explore your vampire powers and even develop a device that will stop you from having to rely on blood!"

Interest sparked in Sonic's eyes. "You can do that?"

"Oh, yes!" Eggman smirked. "All you have to do is set me free! Whaddya say?"

Shadow and Silver both looked at Sonic in horror.

The interest quickly faded away. "I'm not stupid. You killed so many people and we were nearly part of that list." Sonic crouched down again. "Not interested."

Eggman narrowed his eyes. "You shouldn't have said that. I'll have to…change the terms."

He caught everyone by surprise and whipped out a dart gun from his back pocket. Quick as a flash, he pointed it at Shadow and fired.

Sonic watched in shock, his body refusing to move.

At the very last possible second, Silver shoved Shadow away and stood with his arms spread, taking the dart to the stomach.

For a few silent seconds, Silver just stood there, shaking. Then, as though he received a blow to the head, he crumpled to the floor, convulsing.

Shadow stared at him in shock, and then dropped to the floor beside his brother, attempting to minimize the thrashing and grab his attention. "Silv! Silv! SILVER! CAN YOU HEAR ME?!"

Sonic's body finally responded. In a few seconds, he had tackled Eggman to the floor and held him down. "What did you do to him?! You better have a freaking cure, or I'll make sure your death is slow and painful!"

Eggman cackled. "I will only give you the cure if you let me go free! Tick tock! You've only got a few minutes left before he dies!"

Shadow spun around, eyes wild. "Sonic! He's getting worse!"

Sonic stared at Silver, shocked to see that all of his veins were visible. They were like black streaks running all over his body.

Eggman laughed like a madman. "My dart targets the Black Arms blood and extracts it in just minutes, restoring the person to the shape they were in before they received it. In this case, your little brother will have that stab wound again and be killed!" The laughter continued.

He was telling the truth. A faint scar was starting to materialize and get clearer by the second.

Sonic turned to look at Eggman again while Silver was still whimpering and Shadow was still trying to rouse him. "So, what's it gonna be, Sonic the Hedgehog? You let me go, or your brother dies."

"Neither. You die."

Eggman's eyes widened as he got Sonic's point. He only had time to release one scream before his neck snapped and he fell limply to the ground. The evil madman was finally dead.

Sonic rushed to Silver and knelt beside Shadow. The white hedgehog's wound was now leaking blood.

Shadow turned to Sonic again, and the blue hedgehog was taken aback. The last time he had seen his older brother this desperate was when Silver had gotten stabbed and nearly died. In a last minute reaction, Shadow had transferred some of his own blood into Silver, effectively saving his life. But, it doesn't seem like it would be a help now.

And then, an idea clicked in Sonic's head. "I know what to do!"

Shadow looked confused, and then relieved. "Whatever it is, do it quick!"

"On one condition."

"What?"

Sonic nodded somberly. "If you see me losing control, knock me out!"

"Wha–"

Sonic grabbed Silver's wrist and sank his teeth in. Slowly, he began to drink.

When the poison flooded his mouth, he nearly gagged. However, he told himself to keep going. He started going faster.

He could faintly hear Shadow's gasp. "It's working! The wound is closing, and his veins aren't as visible anymore!"

A few more seconds had passed before Sonic could finally taste clean blood. With great difficulty, he detached himself from Silver and straightened, blood crusting his muzzle. Both Eggman's and Silver's.

It had certainly worked. Silver had stopped convulsing and he lay still on the floor. He was breathing evenly in and out, and his stab wound was gone. However, one wound wasn't.

Shadow held up Silver's arm and stared at the bite marks. "He won't turn into a vampire, right?
Sonic shook his head. "I made sure not to get any venom in him. And that scar should fade away after a while."

Shadow smiled. "You saved his life. I think that completely makes up for trying to kill us."

Sonic smiled back. "I'm finally glad that I saved a life and not ended it."

Shadow nodded towards Eggman's body. "You gonna drain that?"

Sonic wrinkled his nose. "Absolutely not. It will be disgusting, I just know it."

Shadow laughed and lifted up Silver's limp form. The white hedgehog twitched for a second and then relaxed in his brother's arms.

"I'll take him to my place. It's empty and he will be able to get plenty of rest."

"What about the orphans?"

"Can Amy take care of them?"

"Sure," Sonic replied. "I'll let her know."

Shadow sighed and turned around to stare at Eggman's body. "It's finally over, isn't it?"

Sonic put an arm around his older brother's shoulders and gently held the hand of his younger brother. "I certainly hope so…"

To be continued…

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