Chapter Text
Truth Bullets: Eggman File, Platform Pillars, Cut Pillar, Eggman's Ride, Train cars, Seating Arrangement, Footprints on Pillar, Ride photographs, Knuckles Hat, Backdoor Exit, Power Outage, Fallen Rock, Missing Items.
Barry needed to untense their body. Slightly slumping over onto the railing, they nervously tapped their fingers against the edge of the podium's rim. Looking over to their right they saw Sonic, whose expression was that of a quiet rage, on their left was Jet who looked all too eager to start talking.
-
Eggman: Let's begin with a basic explanation of the citizen trial. So, your votes will determine the results. If you can figure out "whodunnit" then only they will receive punishment. But if you pick the wrong one... Then I'll punish everyone besides the blackened, and the one that deceived everyone else will go free!
Lanolin: I just want to remind everyone to not slack off this trial.
Lanolin: Because of Eggman's motive.
Sonic: Wha?
Shadow: The team motive, that means up to three people in here could be lying right now. It's eleven of us versus the three deceivers.
Amy: Maybe we should just keep an eye out for people on the same team agreeing with each other?
Tangle: Uhm, what were the teams again?
Whisper: Tangle and I were with Jewel, Sonic was with Tails and Knuckles, Amy was with Shadow and Rouge, Barry was with Sticks and Jet, Surge was with Kit and Lanolin.
Tangle: Good job on speaking up Whisper.
Whisper: Don’t patronize me.
Jewel: Let's not waste anymore time and start breaking down the facts of this case. Everyone please look at your Eggman File.
Tails: *Sniff…*
Amy: Tails?
Tails: Sorry I just-…Knuckles.
Rouge: Tails…
Tails: It was so sudden, he was standing right next to me, then the next moment he wasn’t.
Sonic: Don’t worry about saying anything Tails we understand.
Shadow: He can’t keep quiet the whole trial, unless he feels like joining Knuckles.
Sonic: Why you!
Tails: No wait. Sonic I want to- no- I *need* to participate in this. For Knuckles.
Rouge: Mhm, that Knucklehead wouldn’t want us standing around and crying.
Jet: Oh brother, there’s no need for all these theatrics, it's obvious what happened!
Jewel: Excuse me?
Jet: Why are we even doing this? Everyone saw what happened, it's obvious!
Kit: It's not obvious.
Jet: It was Sur-
Kit: Shut up!
Rouge: And we are coming out swinging!
Jet: It was Surge. Are you all being ignorant on purpose?
Surge: I HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH THIS.
Jet: You broke the ride, causing the whole thing to go unstable, which led to Knuckles falling to his death!
Surge: That wasn’t- my electricity didn’t cause that!
Jet: Oh yeah?
Barry: Wait Jet.
Jet: Get your hands off me!
Barry: Just listen! Let's talk it out for a bit, okay?
Jet: … But it's Surge.
Shadow: Will you shut your trap?
Jet: !
Sonic: We need to start discussing this seriously.
Amy: Right, Thank you for your concern Jet, but let's try and work this out more cooperatively?
Lanolin: All signs point to his death being an accident, but since we're in a trial is there really any other culprit besides Surge?
Jewel: Yes there is. There were several signs if you investigated properly.
Tails: Woah Jewel how amazing, such conviction, you’re giving me chills.
Tangle: I'm glad to hear from you Jewel, what is it you want to highlight?
Barry: Why do you keep congratulating people for just talking?
Jewel: Jets’ point, about Surge making the ride unstable, if we look at the evidence we can see why that doesn’t quite make sense.
> Non stop debate
Jets: What's so confusing? She broke the ride causing the ceiling to fall.
Jewel: Yes but Knuckles died on the platform to enter the ride, away from where Surge cut the power.
Tangle: Are you saying it's too far away?
Rouge: I think she’s implying the two events are unrelated.
Amy: But then why did the platform collapse?
Tails: It was fine when all of us climbed up the first time.
Tangle: It didn’t look like anywhere was unstable.
Barry: That’s wrong!
> Truth bullet: Cut Pillar
Barry: While I don’t know why we did not fall the two times we used the platforms, the pillar was in fact unstable.
Barry: Someone had cut into the bottom right pillar, perhaps with some sort of axe.
Kit: The rest of the pillars remained standing, the one that was cut gave way which caused Knuckle's tragic fall.
Tails: You’re right, it seems that pillar falling caused the in-between support beams to fail.
Surge: All of us walking on the damn thing over and over made it weaker.
Shadow: The only thing that's weak is your reasoning. There’s no proof that the pillar wasn’t already like that before we went on the ride, unless someone here inspected it?
Jet: Y-yeah! Maybe the reason it didn’t fall the first time was because the Surges freakout weakened it!
Jewel: That's not true, Barry and I climbed the ride yesterday. It was perfectly stable, or at least wasn’t going to collapse anytime soon.
Jet: So was it stable or not, cause if it was shaky in any way-
Jewel: Just let me think!
> Non stop debate.
Lanolin: Why didn’t the pillar fall when we climbed the first time?
Jet: You cannot prove it wasn’t shaky before, too much is up to chance.
Jewel: No t-there’s something…
Tangle: Maybe because it was too much weight?
Kit: I mean the creaking was pretty crazy this morning.
Surge: It was fine when we all came back down.
Whisper: What if someone gave it one last push?
Barry: I agree with that!
> Truth Bullet: Footprints on pillar.
Barry: The pillar that was cut into. On both ends was half a footprint. Really fresh ones, at that.
Rouge: Someone kicked it?
Lanolin: Just enough that when Knuckles climbed back up that was the final straw.
Jet: I didn’t see anyone kick that thing!
Amy: Neither did I, how did that get by us?
Rouge: We’re all panicking.
Jewel: Well Jet you see that? There was a clue.
Jet: oh good for you, you found a little clue? You checked off a little box?
Jewel: ….
Jet: So someone kicked it? That someone was still Surge.
Surge: Go jump off a cliff!
Jet: By the way Jewel, You didn’t even bring that evidence up, it seems like Barry is the one really carrying this conversation.
Barry: Hey it’s not like she isn’t trying.
Jet: Jewel how about you sit back instead of trying to have some sort of pretend authority over all of us.
Jewel: i-i'm not trying to.
Lanolin: As much as personally attacking Jewel makes for interesting conversation. Can we go back to talking about the murder.
Jewel: Y-yeah we haven’t even looked at the file yet. Instead of deliberating over the shakiness of pillars. Let's at least investigate that first.
Barry: I can agree to that.
Jet: You’re just trying to not look like an idiot.
Jewel: L-let's just get to it!
Amy: The Eggman File for Knuckles’ death, No information is really hidden in this one.
Tails: Time of death 9:58 am.
Sonic: Cause of death blunt force trauma caused by fall.
Rouge: His body has several lacerations and broken bones, the most major of injuries being impalement on a splint in the lower right of his abdomen.
Barry: There are no other notable injuries.
Jewel: …
Sticks: …
Tangle: …
Jet: Well bug eyes? What did you want to discuss?
Jewel: Well I-
Jet: Well i- uh- um, you stuttering moron! What do you think you’re even trying to do? Stretching out the most obvious case ever? Make the trial a boring slog till we reach the exact conclusion I’ve already said?
Sonic: Jet chill out.
Jet: Shut up spineless dork!
Sonic: What did you say to me?
Jet: You haven't added anything to this conversation, you barely helped with the investigation. You didn’t help with the last trial and you aren’t helping now. All you have is this uncomfortable look on your face like you don’t know what to do.
Amy: Lay off Sonic!
Tails: He's trying his best!
Jet: So this is the person I deemed my rival all that time ago? The cocky confident Sonic the Hedgehog, reduced to a mere side character.
Sonic: Hmph.
Jet: What's wrong hedgehog? Have you realized you’re out of your element?
Jewel: YOU ARE DERAILING. THE CONVERSATION. AGAIN.
Tangle: Jewel y-you’re breathing pretty heavy.
Jewel: S-sorry.
Eggman: I'm going to say this now, but there’s no physical fighting allowed during a trial in *any* circumstances, doing so will result in an automatic termination!
Sticks: This conversation has been very insightful I think.
Amy: Lets just uhhh, get back to talking about the case.
Tangle: If we want to keep talking about Knuckles… Why did he go back up the stairs?
Tails: I don’t know, he just walked off.
Sonic: …!
Surge: He just does whatever he wants!
> Non stop debate
Lanolin: Can we even figure out why he did such a thing?
Surge: Maybe he just didn’t want to hear Eggman yap!
Sonic: Knuckles isn’t an airhead, I'm sure he had a good reason!
Sticks: He was trying to sneak around, clearly enacting an undercover government plan.
Jet: Shut up Sticks!
Amy: Maybe he forgot something?
Tangle: Like what?
Amy: Uhm maybe. A trinket.
Whisper: He wasn’t carrying around anything.
Kit: Gasp! Wait I got it, he was looking for his hat!
>Truth Bullet: Knuckles Hat
Barry: I agree with that!
Barry: Kit you’re so right, and I can prove it so we don’t have to doubt your memory.
Kit: Really?
Barry: We found Knuckle's hat in the interior of the ride. He must've dropped it during the ride.
Tangle: Noooo, bro lost his hat!
Sonic: If he had just waited a bit we could’ve gone with him.
Tails: Y-yeah…
Sonic: Yeah.
Rouge: So it really seems like an unfortunate coincidence.
Barry: (Unfortunate yes, but we still have no idea if it *was* a coincidence)
Jewel: Now we know the why, but the how is still unclear.
Jet: Ugh.
Whisper: We should talk a bit more about the train ride.
Rouge: There was something that confused me about what happened after the power went out.
Kit: What do you mean, Rouge?
Rouge: How exactly did the ride break? It's just, even if she did hit the ceiling, all that realistically should have been up there is maybe some stage lights or gears. Or maybe even a light panel. But what I saw fall was more like…
Sticks: More like?
Rouge: A big rock!
Barry: Yes I remember that…
“Oh geez look at this, I could’ve broken my back if I landed on this ” Barry inspected the bolder right below where the ride broke. It dented the metal underneath it which was razor like gears that likely controlled the animatronics.
Barry: Now that I think about it, where did that rock even come from?
Jewel: It must have fallen from the ceiling.
Barry: Wasn’t there even some evidence of that being the case?
> Spot selection: Broken Rope.
Barry: Yeah, Yeah! Underneath the rock were pieces of rope.
Tails: Strange, so Eggman had a huge boulder suspended in the air?
Lanolin: Obviously not the killer must have put it there.
Tangle: What exactly is the deal with that boulder?
Jewel: To destroy the ride?
Kit: Where did it even come from?
Barry: There's only one place that rock could’ve come from.
> Selection: Restoration building.
Barry: It was the same color of the concrete used to make the building.
Tails: A boulder in that weird shape, did it come from the rubble of Sonic and Shadows fight?
Jet: So it's their fault.
Sonic: Ugh.
Amy: So did Surge’s lightning cause the rock to fall?
Surge: No!
Whisper: The electricity could have burned the rope.
Surge: No didn’t!
Shadow: Is “No” the only thing you are able to say?
Surge: Erm… no.
Shadow: Come up with an actual argument, saying the same thing over and over doesn’t mean anything, if you don’t want to be voted for, defend yourself.
Sonic: *sigh*
Surge: An argument…?
Surge: Wait eureka!
> Non Stop debate
Surge: I have an argument.
Sticks: Okay let’s hear it.
Surge: I couldn’t have been the reason the rock fell!
Whisper: Because…
Surge: Think about the timing.
Kit: Oh I see!
Surge: The rock fell, After the ride started moving again!
Barry: I agree with that.
> Truth Bullet: Power Outage
Barry: She's right when the rock fell when the ride was on.
Jewel: The ride wasn’t moving then, why was that?
Sage: You were nearly at the end.
Eggman: You rats ruined my grand finale!
Tails: Ruined… oh!
Barry: So the ride was coming to a standstill regardless.
Sonic: I got it! I finally have something Jet!
Jet: So why are you telling me? Get on with it.
Sonic: The rock must’ve been timed. The loser that did this must’ve known about the ride stopping at the end.
Kit: But who knew about the ride beforehand?
Rouge: Eggman has tended to be a bit transparent with details, and there was even a countdown to when we were going to get on. It’s possible that the culprit planned around it.
Tangle: Dang, and I thought we wouldn’t have to worry cause there were so many of us.
Shadow: So how exactly was the rock falling timed Sonic?
Sonic: It was uhhh.
Shadow: We literally just established that the rope looked cut, so how did they cut it?
Sonic: I don’t know, okay!
Barry: (How was the rock cut? That's a good question)
Tails: I think we have the right line of questioning, we just need to pull backtrack our thinking a bit.
Surge: Whatcha thinking pointdexter?
Tails: Uh, okay, rude, and I'm thinking we knew the rock came from the rubble Sonic and Shadow’s fight, but what other materials would’ve been needed?
Amy: The rope.
Tangle: Oh oh I know! Something to cut with!
Tails: So where did they get those? And what is that “something?”
Barry: (Two items. I think I can I know the answer)
> Logic Dive
Barry: (Where could someone get the rope?)
> Selection: The supply store.
Barry: (What else was missing from the supply store?)
>Selection: An Axe
Barry: (But wait if it was an axe, then…?)
Barry: I’ve got it!
Jewel: Let's go Barry!
Barry: The supply store was missing not only one of its Ropes… but also an axe.
Stick: Oh so the perp used an axe to cut the rope.
Barry: No, they didn’t. At least I don’t think so. Because they would need a setup for it to trigger on its own.
Surge: So?
Kit: No I get it, we would’ve found the axe during our investigation, there was no time to take it down.
Surge: Woah, Kit you’re pretty smart.
Barry: This actually solves a previous mystery, I think the axe was used to cut into the pillar.
Jet: Okay that wasn’t really a mystery that needed solving.
Barry: I think it did, because now it clarifies something from before.
> Selection: When the pillar was cut.
Barry: That pillar was destabilized only last night, Sonic, Tails, Amy, Knuckles and I were in the supply store yesterday, both the rope and the axe were still there.
Amy: Oh that's right! Those things weren’t missing.
Barry: Which means Jewel was right about the ride being stable before.
Jet: Urk!
Lanolin: Hmm that actually helps quite a bit. It means whoever, or whichever team, committed this, did it overnight.
Sticks: Why not during the day, the enemy will never expect it.
Lanolin: No, people were playing games in the park all day, It would be impossible to go unnoticed.
Tangle: So who was out at night?
Whisper: That’s not a good question to ask, the night is long, and people are lying for each other.
Tangle: Aw.
Lanolin: I'm going to say that this is a dead end topic.
Jet: Oh so now we can just suddenly decide things.
Shadow: We should instead talk about the culprit's knowledge of the ride.
Jet: Are you ignoring me?
Shadow: It’s been bothering me since you mentioned that the ride was supposed to be stopped.
Jet: You totally are!
Shadow: With how it was practically over the train, doesn’t that mean it was supposed to hit someone?
Tangle: Plot twist.
Tails: That does make sense?
Surge: What in the looney tunes?
Kit: A plan clearly made by a devil.
Shadow: Ugh. Now that I've said that, dammit! That so dumb!
Rouge: If that’s true that's uhm.
Shadow: Whoever did this is so [BLEEP] stupid.
Trial Intermission
-
> Eggman Theatre
Eggman is out in a field with the Mr. Tinker costume stretched over its oddly shaped body. Sage is in the background watering mechanical flowers with oil.
“Sometimes taking a breather is good for the soul.” Eggman sways as it talks. “I for one enjoy the great outdoors.” Eggman sighs. “The scent of freshly cut grass, the cold breeze, the annoying insects, the sound of screaming children, the glaring sun…” Eggman pauses. “Actually what the heck, I hate the outdoors!”
“I much prefer staying indoors and playing video games.” Sage provides her two cents.
“Yes, I especially love playing on my Sega Dreamcast which I have decked out with an Eggman vinyl wrap. Which is a very affordable 1999 rings!”
“Good job, Very smooth, very natural.”
“Hey kid i'm just trying to sell some merch to some suckers, don’t judge the hustle.”
-
Trial Back in Session All Rise
Tails: What, did you just get censored in real life?
Sage: Yes, let’s try to keep our language clean please.
Rouge: Ahahaha!
Barry: Maybe the rock-
Barry: (No actually Shadow’s idea is the only thing that make sense)
Barry thought they heard something shake. As the ride kept going something fell from the ceiling and right in between Barry and Surges cars. The coaster collapsed and Barry found themselves falling off the side.
In the millisecond of panic from the sudden malfunction Barry was caught by Jewel. They both looked down to see dangerous machinery below the two of them, which caused Barry to panic mid air.
Barry: (Seesh, what a lucky break!)
Barry: (Wait.. If the rock was planned to fall, what was the mechanism?)
>Select: Seating Arrangement
Barry: Hey, can I take a look at those ride pictures again?
Eggman: Of course, once again take a look at high definition photography!
Barry: (I almost missed this!)
> Spot selection: The purple car.
Barry: Hey, Amy, Sticks, I nearly didn’t notice this, but inside your car, before the blackout, there was some sort of brown object, barely noticeable, after the blackout, it's gone.
Amy: Huh what is that?
Sticks: I don’t know.
Barry: What was right in front of you? You didn’t notice before getting in the car?
Sticks: Nope.
Amy: I was distracted, looking at Sonic~
Shadow: Don’t play dumb, What was that object?
Sticks: I'm not telling you my secrets. You’re an alien!
Shadow: How do you know that?
Sticks: I can smell it.
Amy: Seriously, not that I think about it, I guess it was like a piece of wood or something?
Stick: yeah, I thought it was supposed to be in there!
Jewel: We can’t clearly see what it is just from these photos.
Surge: This feels wayyy too important to leave alone.
Eggman: Well I guess I could help out just this one time!
Sonic: Eggman is joining in, so it *is* important.
Eggman: I mean, you guys already have a sort of photo, if everyone's memories are suddenly so fuzzy, I can just provide a better photographic experience.
Sage: Plus this trial has been running on for over 3000 words already.
Eggman: Sage, please enhance this photograph to a AI, 3D recreation of the environment!
Barry: (What the hell is this! A 3D model of us on the train?)
Sticks: Witchcraft!
Eggman: Now if you could just spin it around, for the audience to see!
Tangle: So it is just a piece of wood?
Whisper: A boomerang. A weapon.
Jet: Sticks. Is. Clearly. Holding it in her hand.
Shadow: Why did you lie about not knowing what it is?
Surge: Okay I get it, you’re the culprit. Hmph I kinda feel bad, because Eggman just totally screwed you over.
Stick: Woah hey let's not jump to any conclusions now! I lied because… having a boomerang is suspicious.
Jet: Completely suspicious!
Amy: I mean I guess it’s true, but why did you even have one?
Sticks: Why not? I have the right to defend myself.
Sticks: Not that I believe in the constitution or anything.
Jewel: What happened to your boomerang after you threw it?
Sticks: I dunno it fell or something.
Jewel: So you did throw it!
Sticks: Uh!
Kit: Looks like Jewel has fangs.
Sticks: No I didn’t throw it then! I throw a lot of boomerangs.
Jewel: Then where is the boomerang now?
Sticks: Right here!
Jewel: !
Surge: How do you guys get that hammerspace thing working?
Sticks: Yep! Never threw it.
Jewel: then… it's not the same boomerang! You have multiple.
Jet: That’s a huge what if!
Sticks: Nope this is my trusty and true boomerang, the one and only.
Tails: Where did you even get the boomerang?
Sticks: I have always had it, never leave home without it.
Barry: (She’s always had it?)
Barry: (No I won’t believe it because that boomerang seems too familiar.)
> Hangman's gambit.
Barry: (P, Peculiar how she suddenly had a weapon)
Barry: (I. Interesting how she has yet to use it this whole game)
Barry: (L, Lament I have to consider how this relates to Knuckles death)
Barry: (L, Languish over the idea that Sticks may be the culprit)
Barry: (A, Angle from which I can consider my deductions.)
Barry: (R, Revelation of what the truth of the matter is)
Barry: I’ve got it!
> Complete
Barry: I'm going to have to disagree with Sticks, because your boomerang has a coincidence I cannot ignore.
Sticks: Whatchu talkin’ bout Barry?
Barry: The color of your Boomerang, is the same color as the pillar that was weakened.
Sonic: Hey it is! Good eye Barry!
Sticks: So? The same type of wood was used.
Barry: That may be true, and I'm not saying you are the culprit because of this. I’m just pointing it out.
Rouge: Well actually, she just might be.
Sticks: Excuse me!?
Rouge: Well we have been debating on what happened with the train, but Knuckles died on the platform with the weakened pillar. It’s possible Sticks has nothing to do with the train, but was the one to weaken the pillar to make her boomerang.
Tangle: Oh Geez, what a blunder!
Amy: Oh no.
Barry: No slow down, considering fifteen of us walked on it just fine, i'm pretty certain the structural weakness only came from the ride mishap.
Jet: Such an assumption is way too weak to vote over!
Barry: (Still her having that boomerang is just too suspicious)
Sticks: Anyways, I never threw tha thing, I didn’t cut no pillar and I'm not the one who boned that knuckledragger.
Barry: You *never* threw it?
Sticks: Are your ears filled with stuffing?
Barry: So we just have to prove it then? That you threw it?
> Nonstop debate
Sticks: You can’t prove I threw anything!
Kit: I'm leaving this one up to Barry
Jewel: Evidence that she threw the boomerang…
Sticks: There is none!
Amy: What would that even look like?
Jet: We are about to talk in circles over this.
Tails: Maybe the boomerang hit a wall?
Surge: Or she lied and this is a different boomerang.
Sticks: I didn’t lie, there’s only one boomerang!
Sticks: You have nothing, no fingerprints, no video and nothing in the photos!
Barry: No that’s wrong!
> Truth Bullet: Ride photos.
Barry: Actually there is evidence. In this portion right here.
Sticks: What where!?
>Spot Selection
Barry: This animatronics leg, it's almost missable, but look. It’s the shape of your boomerang.
Jet: Are you a fool!?
> Rebuttal Showdown.
Jet: Are you being serious right now Barry?
Barry: Jet I wasn’t done talking.
Jet: Are you seriously pointing out an animatronics leg?
Barry: Yes its impor-
Jet: First you’re comparing colors, and now itty bitty details in photos graphs?
Barry: It’s not small let me-
Jet: Are you dumb?
Barry: No?
Jet: Just because it looks like it if you really squint doesn’t mean it is.
Barry: Jet let me-
Jet: If it's really her boomerang what’s it doing all the way over there?
Barry: IT'S RETURNING TO HER HAND!
> Break
Jet: It’s what?
Barry: It’s returning to her hand Jet. Boomerangs come back.
Sonic: Yeah bird brain!
Jet: Who even asked you?
Barry: So Sticks? Is this not your boomerang
Sticks: Like get said, it's a coincidence.
Lanolin: Two in a row is very suspicious though.
Sticks: And why exactly would I be throwing my boomerang?
Barry: (Why did Sticks throw her boomerang?)
> Selection: To cut the rope.
Barry: You threw it to cut the rope.
Jewel: Genius.
Sticks: Did not.
Shadow: Here you fools go again with no real defense. Just “I didn’t, no, It’s not me.” Shut up!
Amy: But I was sitting in the same car as her, why didn’t I see her throw the boomerang?
Sonic: Well that’s easy Ames, there was a blackout!
Surge: Oops.
Whisper: So we’ve found our culprit?
Barry: It's the only thing that makes sense.
Sticks: Barry, why are you blaming me?
Barry: Huh?
Sticks: I'm just disappointed my teammate has an argument that doesn’t make sense.
Barry: How so?
Sticks: So much of this is up to chance. If I did throw the boomerang, what if it didn’t break the rope?
Barry: Well.
Sticks: Next, we are all still assuming the ride itself destabilized because of the rock, when we all know it's because of poor quality control due to lack of funding for construction safety agencies.
Sticks: I think the person who killed Knuckles was Tails.
Tails: HUH?
Sonic: Hey excuse me?
Shadow: Wait let her explain.
Sticks: Tails went to the supply room with Sonic, where he first noticed the axe. That night he went and cut into the pillar to weaken it. Then during the ride he knocked off Knuckle's hat, he didn’t know about whoever created that stupid trap, but rather it was a happy accident. When everyone rushed off the ride, he made sure he kicked the pillar as the final weakening, so when Knuckles would eventually go back, the platform would collapse.
Barry: Er.
Tails:...What?
Jewel: T-that makes no sense.
Jet: No, I think that’s actually pretty clever.
Jewel: ARGH!
Tails: I would never do any of that! I wouldn’t kill Knuckles so cruelly, that’s not my character.
Sticks: Who even knows what your character is, no one suspected Espio to be a cool blooded killah.
Surge: Well actually, thinking about it, Tails and his friends did get to spend a lot of time in the park. It’s possible that he had a lot of time to figure out that this was the best plan.
Kit: But can we really ignore the rock system? Stick's idea proposes Tails didn’t have anything to do with it.
Sticks: i’ve been thinking this the whole time, but a flimsy rope like that, the rock was putting a lot of strain on it. Maybe it was frayed, just so that while the ride was running it would eventually be fine.
Jet: Tails is pretty smart, I'm sure if he had knowledge of the ride he could calculate the timing.
Sticks: So yeah he set up all the rock insanity to help with the destabilization.
Jewel: Are we seriously taking this as a viable line of thinking?
Sticks: If we are talking about unignorable coincidences, how did Knuckles hat come off? Are we just chalking that up to an accident?
Sonic: No it wasn’t an accident.
Sticks: Oh really?
Sonic: A bit ago, Tails told a white lie.
Tails: Sonic!
Sonic: We sat behind Knuckles, he and Lanolin were in the green car, we were in the blue area. We were messing around, and while on the ride, Tails accidentally knocked off Knuckles’ hat.
Sticks: Well well well
Sonic: I would’ve thought nothing of it, but earlier you lied, you said you didn’t know why Knuckles went back.
Tails: I-I didn’t, well I meant to say-
Jet: So it is Tails! Gotcha you creep.
Barry: Tails is that true?
Tails: It is.
Sonic: But even so, the culprit still isn’t my buddy.
Tails: Sonic.
Sonic: I know him better than anyone, he’d never do such a thing. Plus we already said, they set this up at night, he was in the room all night with me.
Tails: That's right!
Amy: But you guys did get up before the morning announcement…
Sticks: Tails did it in the morning.
Sonic: No, we were playing games the entire time, he didn’t do anything.
Tangle: Aren’t you two on the same team? How do we know you aren’t lying?
Sonic: I just called him out on a lie.
Tangle: Making yourself look more credible.
Shadow: I highly doubt the hedgehog was awake all night either, The fox could’ve slipped out anytime.
Kit: He was quite the heavy sleeper, snored like a jet engine.
Sonic: Stop suspecting Tails!
Jet: Psst, Barry.
Barry: huh why are you whispering?
Jet: Do you have some evidence or something, let's catch this two tailed freak c’mon do your thing!
Barry: Do my thing?
Barry: (I have to prove Tails is the culprit? Or I have to prove he isn’t the culprit?)
Tails: *sniff* I would never- I didn’t do anything.
Jewel: Barry you have something to prove it isn’t Tails right?
Barry: (Why is everyone asking me?)
Sonic: Barry is the only one here that knows what is going on, so just let him talk and sort this mystery out.
Barry: (I'm the only one?)
Shadow: Hurry up and tell us Quokka, is it Tails or Sticks?
Tails: B-barry, y-you know I didn’t do anything right *sob*
Sticks: Dude we’re on the same team, we stick together right? Don’t let him puppy dog you into the wrong decision!
Barry: I, I um.
Surge: Barry!
Rouge: Barry.
Amy: Barry hey!
Barry: …
Tangle: What’s up with their face?
Barry: …
Sonic: Hey dude you alright?
Barry: …
Whisper: They’ve gone non verbal.
Barry: …
Lanolin: I'm taking over now.
Jewel: Lanny, you’re taking over?
Lanolin: Don’t call me that, and yes I am.
Lanolin: Let's consider both versions of events.
Lanolin: If Sticks was the culprit, that means she is the one who took the axe and rope, she made her boomerang with the wood of the pillar, then threw said boomerang to break the rope causing the rock to fall.
Sticks: Uh huh
Lanolin: If it was Tails, He took the axe and rope, then purposefully targeted Knuckles, by knocking off his hat. He cut the rope just enough so that when the train was on the ride, the rock would eventually fall.
Jet: Yeah.
Lanolin: This means with both of these, two different parts of the plan were unintentional. The rock is irrelevant in Tail’s plan, and the pillar is irrelevant in Stick's plan.
Rouge: I'm following.
Lanolin: For Stick's plan, who was the target? If we can answer that, I think whichever one plan makes more logical sense is the answer.
Barry: …
> Logic Dive
Barry: (When was the rock supposed to fall?)
> When the ride stopped.
Barry: (Why would the ride stop?)
>Because it was at the end
Barry: (Why was the ride actually stopped)
> Surge cut the power
Barry: (When was the ride stopped?)
> A little early.
Barry: (I’ve got it)
Barry: It was me. The target was supposed to be me.
Jewel: Woah hey.
Barry: It's the only thing that makes sense, the rock would've been right over the yellow car.
Jewel: So what. That’s a coincidence, we could’ve sat in any car?
Barry: Yes, but the ride was slowing down, so if someone was trying to time it, it's not that hard.
Jewel: Okay? What makes you so sure it was supposed to hit you?
Barry: If it was meant to hit the front, the rock would have fallen before Surge turned off the power. If it was meant to hit the back it would’ve fallen later.
Lanolin: Well I’ll accept your reasoning. So Sticks’ target was Barry.
Sticks: Now hold it! Why would I target my own team?
Lanolin: I don’t know, why is anyone doing any of this right now? You probably just picked someone that was easy to kill. You assumed that Tails wanted to kill his team member, so it’s not a leap that you would be doing the same thing.
Jet: Sticks is way stronger than Barry, she wouldn’t have to kill him in such a complex way.
Lanolin: And you. Stop defending her, it's annoying and suspicious.
Jet: Gulp.
Shadow: This is entertaining to watch.
Lanolin: So now that we are more clear on both suspects. What we need is to prove who actually was there. I'm opening it up to the floor, to prove that either Sticks or Tails went to the ride. That's the only way to solve this.
> Non-stop debate.
Tails: p-prove it?
Sticks: I can prove it! Let's go back and take fingerprints!
Kit: We are wearing gloves.
Jet: There’s no way to prove it or else we would’ve solved this an hour ago.
Sonic: Did Sticks leave anything behind?
Amy: I didn’t see anything.
Shadow: Perhaps we don’t have to prove if the culprit was there.
Rouge: finish your thought sweetie.
Shadow: Instead, there’s evidence someone else was there.
Barry: I agree with that!
> Spot Selection: Fallen Rock.
Barry: A blink and you’d miss it clue.
Jewel: Ooh here they go.
Barry: Evidence, that someone else besides the culprit was there.
Sonic: Just say it already, the suspense is killing me.
Barry: Underneath the rock, caught in the gears of the machinery, is a green feather.
Kit: Buh bam!
Jet: What are you saying Barry.
Barry: I'm saying that you helped Sticks.
Sonic: I see, that's why you were trying so hard to blame everyone else. You thought you could use the team perk.
Rouge: Thou doth protest too much.
Barry: Because of this, while she did make a good argument Sti-
Sticks: You’re like a dang cockroach
Barry: Cockroach
Sticks: If you had just. If you had just died!
> Bullet Time Action.
Sticks: YOU THINK YOU KNOW SOMEONE
Sticks: You think you can trust them.
Sticks: But trust is a weapon.
Sticks: I thought I was paranoid.
Sticks: I thought I was imagining things.
Sticks: But then I saw you tear up yet ANOTHER note.
Sticks: Why are you here Barry?
Sticks: No room for you.
Sticks: Missing an Alibi the first time
Sticks: no podium for you in the trial room.
Sticks: You make our numbers uneven.
Sticks: And now you are trying to get me killed!
Sticks: I'm so much stronger than you.
Sticks: I can kill you in your sleep.
Sticks: How could I have killed Knuckles?
Sticks: How did I know he would go looking for his hat?
Barry: Because…
Barry: You sat behind him!
>BREAK
Jewel: That's right, she could’ve totally seen Tails knock Knuckles’ hat off.
Sticks: Augh!
Amy: I should’ve been paying attention better.
Barry: With that I think I'm satisfied with the mysteries of this trial.
> Case Recap
Barry: The case started at an unknown time. The culprit likely approached Eggman and Sage, asking about the details of the ride.
Barry: Last night the culprit left their room. They met up with Jet and headed to the storage room.
Barry: They took a rope and an axe. Then headed to the rubble of Sonic and Shadows' fight.
Barry: They took the rock all the way to the ride entering through the backdoor.
Barry: When inside they suspended the rock over the ending of the ride.
Barry: The culprit then took the axe and cut into the wooden pillar at the entrance as it was the nearest wooden object. Using the wood they fashioned a boomerang.
Barry: The next day we all got on the ride. The culprit witnessed Knuckle's hat falling off. As the ride was nearing its end, Surge freaks out and cuts the power.
Barry: This was actually a lucky break, as the darkness allowed them to more easily cut the boomerang.
Barry: But the rock missed its target. So the culprit had to pivot.
Barry: I’ll take a page out of your idea Sticks. The culprit knew Knuckles would eventually go back. So they kicked the pillar to weaken it one last time.
Barry: So when Knuckles climbed back up the final time. The ride collapsed on top of him.
Barry: The person behind such a ridiculous plan, is you Sticks the Badger!
> End Recap
Sticks: Bububububu.
Rouge: She's foaming at the mouth.
Amy: Rabies?
Stick: Grrr ruff ruff ruff!
Surge: She's barking now
Sticks: Ey shanka broka mama, ey shanka broka mama.
Barry: Are you laying a curse on me?
Sage: Father, I think it’s an adequate time to vote.
Eggman: Wow she is a little weird isn’t she?
Sage: Yes, but is there anyone in this group who isn’t a bit strange?
Eggman: Let’s just move on to voting time, before I have to call animal control!
>Voting time!
Sticks- 13
Barry- 1
Eggman: All done? Then I call this trial to a close!
> CITIZEN TRIAL ADJOURNED
-
“The votes are in, and the blackened is…” Eggman held his arms out for a dramatic pause. “Sticks the Badger! You all voted correctly!” Eggman cheered with happiness. “It looks like you rodents are on a roll!” He and Sage clapped in celebration as confetti sprayed from the ceiling.
“It’s finally over sheesh.” Sonic jumped off the stand, then ran around in quick circles. “Finally I needed to stretch my legs.” He stood in place and leaned to his left and right.
“Ahem.” Amy cleared her throat, in reaction Sonic stood still realizing he needed to read the room better.
Barry’s heart was racing. If it really was Sticks, it means his team is responsible for the crime. The quokka didn’t know how the team perk worked. ‘Were they all dead? Was it just Sticks?’ Barry felt like their head was spinning at the revelation of the killer, even though they were the one to reveal it.
Rouge had her arms folded. “So if my understanding is correct, Sticks and Jet worked to take advantage of the motive, but I guess they must’ve thought Barry wouldn’t play along so they made them their target.”
“How cruel.” Tangle gritted her teeth.
“It’s not cruel, Barry was an agent!” Sticks pulls at her pigtails. “You were there, you saw them tear that paper up.
Barry’s heart skipped a beat. Sticks had seen that?
“I did, but was it really worth killing someone over?” Rouge taps her foot.
“Maybe not just one, but they’ve hidden a note before! That beetle girl gave one to them” Sticks pulls out a crumpled note. “Barry's whole existence is suspicious. They didn’t even get a moment the first time.”
Shadow snatches the note out of Sticks’ hand reading over it. He gives Barry the side eye after doing so. Barry realized it must've been the first note Sticks had taken, as they failed to discard that one.
“Sticks why.” Tails frowned. “I don’t understand.”
“I just explained it.”
“But your plan failed, you shouldn’t have tried again, you were given a chance to back out! Or even before then talked it out with Barry *You killed Knuckles for no reason!*” Tails couldn’t stop the tears from falling. “For no reason.” Tails sobs, wiping the tears running down his cheek. Sonic and Amy surround him in comfort.
Sticks had no response for Tails, instead her eyes dropped in an expression of regret. The moment was fleeting as she put on a conceited face and turned her head away from Tails. The group stood in relative silence for a few moments, no one seeming to have any words to say. Inside Barry's chest filled existential dread in what was to come.
“S-so am I getting the boot too? It was just Sticks who threw that boomerang.” Jet looked white as a sheet.
“Oh no.” Jewel came to the same realization as Jet. She looked over at Barry with a nervous expression.
“Mmm nah.” Eggman said casually. “Only Sticks is the blackened, my motive was only in regards to freedom.”
“So then that traitorous bear thing ain’t even going down with me?” She asks rhetorically.
Jet sighed at the answer, Barry felt their body relax slightly, but was still unable to meet the gaze of their teammates. Sticks stomped forward towards Eggman, she moved quickly catching it off guard. She lifted her foot and kicked it into its side cracking the shell. Sticks backflipped away from the toppled over Eggman, who went stone faced from the shock.
“OW!!!” Eggman yelled.
Sticks grabbed her boomerang and threw it directly towards Eggman. It was caught in the air and promptly destroyed by Sage, the AI looking fairly unamused.
“Violence against Eggman is prohibited.” She repeated the rule.
“You're gonna kill me anyways, I'm not letting the man get me without a fight!” Sticks bared her teeth.
Eggman bounced back up with no issue, its cracked eggshell magically repairing itself. “So that’s how it's going to be? And here I was going to give you a parting gift of your memories back.” Eggman shook its head.
Sticks eased out of her fighting pose. “M-my memories?” She retensed instantly. “I don’t want them! I won’t let you implant false thoughts into my brain. I know who I am, I'm not missing anything.”
“Sticks, I don’t think he’s lying.” Amy tries to speak. But the badger girl jumps forward towards Eggman.
Sticks is caught in a holographic beam by Sage, rendered unable to move. The robot suspends her in the air, the badger screaming through clenched teeth at being unable to move.
“Since when can she do that?” Sonic whispers.
“Stand at attention!” Sages ray shifts and contorts forcing Sticks to stand upright with her hands to her sides. Barry found themselves a bit disturbed at how Stick's autonomy was suddenly ripped from her. “Father, I have restrained the badger, please go ahead.”
“Since she doesn’t want the memories I'll skip over that bit!” Eggman rubs the crack on its shell.
“ Let’s give it everything we got!” Eggman revealed its sharp teeth. “It’s punishment time!”
> It’s time for Sticks’ punishment.
The badger hangs suspended in midair, frozen over a dusty field. To her left, wire fences stretch endlessly; to her right, the looming silhouette of a military base stands against the night sky. The darkness makes it impossible to see the horizon.
Without warning, she plummets face-first into the dirt. Groaning, she pushes herself up—only to find a massive sign towering over her.
‘WELCOME TO AREA 51.’
STICKS THE BADGER’S PUNISHMENT: DEEP STATE SECRETS.
A helicopter’s searchlight blasts into her face. The rumble of approaching military vehicles surrounds her. A tank locks its barrel onto her.
It fires.
She reacts in an instant, leaping back just before the shell obliterates the ground where she stood. More explosions erupt around her, but she twists and dodges through the chaos with wild agility. Landing in a crouch, she stumbles briefly before taking off into the desert.
The military gives chase. But she’s faster.
Darting between vehicles, she maneuvers them into crashing into one another—tanks firing at their own allies, trucks skidding out of control. A smirk spreads across her face as her pursuers fail spectacularly.
Then—another searchlight. This one glows an eerie green.
Before she can react, her body is lifted off the ground. An invisible force drags her upward into the waiting maw of a UFO.
Inside, shadowy creatures with gleaming eyes seize her arms. They strap her to a cold metal table before she can struggle free. A wheeled cart clatters into view, lined with strange instruments.
She thrashes. The restraints hold.
One of the creatures reaches for a scalpel—then hesitates. Instead, its claw drifts toward a much larger sawblade.
Another alien looms over her, uncapping a thick black marker. It methodically traces dotted lines across her shoulders, hips, stomach, and neck.
The badger's heart hammers against her ribs. The saw roars to life, deafening in the small chamber. It lowers—closer, closer.
It cuts.
It cuts again.
Flesh and bone tear. A spray of pink blood splashes across the scene, obscuring the horrors beyond.
When the carnage is over, the two aliens sigh and peel off their masks.
Eggman and Sage stare down at their handiwork.
Where Sticks once lay, a Motobug remains—its metallic shell gleaming under the UFO’s dim light.
Outside, the ship hovers motionless in the night sky. Slowly, it turns, revealing the unmistakable shape of Eggman’s grinning face built into its design.
-
This time Barry had closed their eyes. They had tried to close their ears but Eggman raised the sound system to a degree that every sickening sound could be heard no matter what. The silence between the ground was heavier than it had ever been before. They peeked their eyes open when all the sounds stopped, looking around to see the darkened faces of the quokka’s friends.
Speaking of their ‘friends’ Barry was suddenly pushed by Jet, whose face was red with rage.
“You idiot! You stupid jerk, you moronic imbecile.” Jet screams at him. “WHY, WHEN YOU REALIZED IT WAS STICKS WHY DIDN’T YOU JUST TAKE THE PERK.” Jet jumps in place.
“Cause Barry isn’t selfish like you!” Sonic pushes Jet off of Barry. “They wouldn’t throw all of our lives away to escape, no one here would.” Sonic leans in slightly. “No one but you.”
Jet shook with rage. He scoffed at Sonic's words, then turned to walk past Barry and towards the elevator. “Knuckles died because of you, Sticks died because of you, and if I die, it’s your fault.” Jet whispers into their ears before stomping off into the elevator, leaving by himself.
“How could he say such a horrible thing? That creep!” Amy is filled with rage.
“What is this note?” Shadow grabs Barry roughly by the shoulder. The quokka doesn’t say anything at all. “What is it! What are you hiding?”
“This is the first time I'm hearing of any notes.” Eggman looked unhappy.
“Barry, what's going on, what was Sticks talking about?” Amy asks.
“Knuckles, Sticks…” Tails is sobbing again.
“Shadow give Barry some space.” Jewel's voice shook.
“Barry, are you actually betraying us?” Tangle asks.
The group circles around the quokka, they feel suffocated. Barry screams, scratching Shadow in the face. The hedgehog lets go of them as a reaction which gives the quokka the opening to run off towards the elevator which had returned after Jet left. They punch the buttons to get the door to shut, Shadow attempting to dash towards them but is tackled by Sonic. What felt like an act of mercy, the doors closed before anyone else could get on.
As the elevator rose upwards Barry fell to their knees. They stared up at the ceiling whilst dry heaving.
‘What am I supposed to do now?’
END OF CHAPTER 2
CITIZENS REMAINING: 13