Memories of David The Echidna

Uh...NO? Not sure where you got that information. Pearl's adopted daughter is named Sandy The Echidna. Melody is someone entirely different.

Darn memory you've done it again! Oh well. So how many more chapters are there going to be? I'm guessing this is the last chapter due to the title.

You mean in the series or the fanfic?
Because I can't answer either just yet. But this fanfic is far from over.

I was referring to the fanfic. Wait it's not almost over but there so close to solving the mystery.

I took a good look around the back yard. It was a very beautiful garden; Two flower beds rested on either side of the sliding glass door. To my left was a rather large garden area growing vegetables. Somewhere near it was an apple tree. Of course, neither of them were showing any food yet. But judging by how healthy they looked, it was almost surprising. I figured that they must have bought all of them in the city recently. Well, all but the tree, of course. I couldn't imagine how they'd have hauled that thing over.
And to our right, was a little playground for their daughter. There were a couple of swings, a slide, a little sandbox and even a dollhouse, which surprised me. I never let my kids' toys stay outside like that. I guess considering how they had their yard set up, it was fine.
And directly in front of us was a white, round table with a parasol coming out the center. It was a rather pleasant day, so it was closed up. There were a few chairs around the table, just enough for all four of us. I don't know about the kids though. And a few feet away from the table was the source of that delicious smell. I actually noticed it first, but I took a moment to look around. Helen's husband was standing in front of the grill, barbecuing steak. I could feel my stomach rumble just by looking at the food.

"Honey, they're here!" Helen announced. The black echidna turned around to look at us. He had a rather carefree grin on his face.
"Heey!" He called out as we walked over.

"Hello, Trevor." Sarah greeted. "It's been a while."

"Sure has. Nice to see you again." He said. He looked over at me, still wearing that silly grin. "And you must be David, right?" He asked.

"Indeed. Pleasure to meet you." I replied, a bit more formally than I intended.

"Nice to meet you too. I've heard a lot about you." He said. "You're almost like a living legend back at the Blitz Pit, huh?"

"Wait, what?" I was both surprised and baffled. "So, where exactly have you been hearing about me, again?" At that moment, I noticed Sarah turning away and blushing at the corner of my eye.

"Well, my only source of information was your wife here, so I kinda took her word for it." He chuckled a little. "Judging by your reaction, I guess she over did it, huh?"

"I'm sorry, I guess it's just from my point of view." Sarah admitted.

I couldn't help but laugh a little. "Well I'm glad my reputation exceeds me. Even if it's just one person looking up to me." I patted her on the shoulder.

"Haha, Well if you keep it up, who knows? Maybe you really WILL become a living legend!" Trevor laughed, heartily.


Around this time, my two children were befriending Helen and Trevor's daughter.
Melody was cradling her chao in her arms. The baby chao was sound asleep. Pearl and Smash sat on either side of her, looking at it closely and curiously. "Wow..a real live chao.." She said, softly. "It's so cute."

"Yeah, I've only seen pictures up till now." Smash added. "What's his name?"

Melody smiled a little, "Her name is Harmony." She answered.

"O-oh, it's a girl?" Smash looked a bit embarrassed.

Melody nodded. She slowly stood up, and walked around to the side of the tree. There was a small, lavender cushion sitting against the trunk of the tree. She knelt down and laid Harmony on top of it, after adjusting it to a comfortable position. Pearl and Smash watched from beside her. "We should probably go somewhere else, so that we don't disturb her." Smash suggested. The two girls nodded, and Melody looked back at them.
"I..wanna show you around." She said, sweetly. "There's a lot to see, here."

"Okay!" Pearl exclaimed, excitedly.
"Sure. Lead the way." Smash said. Melody then walked away towards one of the few rooms on the first floor, with Smash and Pearl following behind.

The first room they walked into was the kitchen. It was rather spacious, lots of room to move around in. "This is our kitchen." She said. "Mama says we have to wait until later before we can have a snack."

"That's a shame." Smash commented. They then walked out of the kitchen, and into another room.
"Here's the Toy room." She stepped aside for them to see. The whole room looked almost like it was made out of Building blocks. Off in the corner was a table, next to a few toy boxes. There was a large carpet in the center of the floor, perfect to sit on and play. Off to the side of the toy boxes were some toys that couldn't fit in there, such as large stuffed animals and even toy streets for miniature cities.
"Wow..." Pearl looked around in amazement.
"Wish I could've grown up in here!" Smash said, both eyebrows raised. "So this is where you play all the time?"

Melody nodded. "Sometimes..I like to play outside and by the tree, too." She said.

"Why don't we play here right now?" Pearl suggested. "I can already think of dozens of fun games, just by looking at this place!"

Smash looked at Pearl, feeling the same, but remembered that they were on a tour at the moment. He glanced back at Melody. "If you want, that is."

Melody nodded slowly. "Okay." She said, giving them a big smile.


While the kids were playing inside, Helen and Sarah chatted at the table while I spoke with Trevor by the grill.
"So, exactly how long did it take you to build this place?" I asked.

"Whelp," Trevor rubbed his chin with his free hand. "We had some help a little bit in the later stages, so I'd say about 8 months at the longest.

"Wow. Where did you live in the meantime?"

"We were in an apartment up in Green Flower City. Nothing too fancy, really." He shrugged, and began to turn over some of the meat. "What about you? Where'd you guys live before you started your little career?"

"Well we started off in Emerald Town." I began. "That's where my son was born. We moved over to Station Square, and had a nice little apartment, where Pearl was born. But things didn't really work out there, so we came out here." I smiled a bit. "Though we didn't have to build up from scratch and dirt, like you we had to kinda wing it from here."

"And it all worked out, right?" That silly grin returned. "Heh. And soon enough we'll both have jobs in the city."

"Indeed we will. I wish you and Helen luck on setting up shop."

"Thanks, buddy. I'm sure we'll do just fine!"







Soon, Smash and Pearl arrived in Techno Hill Zone. There were only a couple of hours of daylight left, as they rode through the path between the hills. The hills were more like several small mountains emerging from the ground. "Somewhere in the south-western area..." Smash mumbled, slowing down a bit to look around. He had taken off his armor and changed into his regular clothes, leaving the armor back at their old house. "You see any houses around?"
"Not yet.." Pearl responded, squinting from the sunlight and the wind blowing past her face. "Maybe we should get to higher ground?"
"These hills are too steep to really drive up." Smash stated. "We'd have to either find one we can drive on or stop."
"Hmm..." Pearl looked around, she didn't see any safe slopes around. "Okay, let's try going on foot then." She said. Smash nodded, and parked at the base of a small cliff. He and his sister got off, and headed towards one of the rocky hills. "This shouldn't be too hard to climb." He said. The hill was wider than the rest they had seen so far. It was a steep slope, but it Smash didn't find any trouble getting a grip on it. He climbed up a few steps, and looked back down at Pearl. "Follow me." He said. He continued up the hill, just enough to give her some room to climb after.

At the top, the two found that they had a pretty clear view of the general area. With no hills blocking the way, they could feel how windy it really was. Smash and Pearl scanned the area, shielding their eyes from the sun. Smash soon noticed something off in the distance, and squinted his eyes towards it. With his free hand, he tapped Pearl on her shoulder. "Pearl, over there. I think that's it." He said. She walked up beside him as he pointed towards a small house on the top of a hill, some distance away.
"Looks like it." She said with a nod. "Let's go while it's still light out." She began to climb back down the hill, while Smash scanned the area once more before following behind.
The two sat back down on the motorcycle, at the base of the cliff. Smash had his eyes locked in the direction of the house. He started up the motor and drove off through the hills, focused on trying to find the specific hill the house rested on top of.

Soon, they stopped at the base of another cliff. Smash looked to the side, at another hill. He saw a walkway carved into the side of the hill, leading all the way up to the top. "This is probably it." He said. He got off, and looked up to the top of the hill. He couldn't see the house from where he was, but he was pretty sure it was up there. Pearl stood up next to him, looking in the same direction.
"I'm wondering if he'll even talk to us?" She asked.
Smash glanced at her at the corner of his eye. "He will. Trust me." He looked at the walkway in front of him. "What we should be worrying about now is if he even lives here." He said as he began to walk forward.
"Hehe, yeah, that's right." She laughed nervously. The two headed up the walkway, both feeling anxious about the information they were looking for.

At the top of the hill, there was a small, brick house in the center. The house was rather plain, and the yard was small. The dirt walkway had turned into a flat dirt path leading up to the front door.
The two stopped at the front door, and exchanged glances before Smash knocked a few times. At first, there was no answer. Waiting a bit, Smash thought he heard something move inside. There was still no answer, though. He knocked again, knowing that someone was in there. Soon, they both heard footsteps headed towards the door. It slowly creaked open, and a black and gray adult raccoon peered out at them. "Who are you? What do you want?" He asked.

"My name's Smash. I'm looking for a raccoon named Ben." Smash looked as the man opened the door all the way, appearing to be somewhat confused. "I was sent by Speeder."

The man looked surprised now, at the sound of Speeder's name. "Speeder...?" He asked. "That's a name I haven't heard in years..."

"So I take it that you're the man we're looking for?" Smash asked.

"Yes, it appears so." Ben said. "But what exactly is it that you want with me?"

"You have some information that I need, to put it bluntly. Some info that Speeder couldn't give me, and directed me to you."

"You were a cop in Green Flower City, right?" Pearl asked. "Do you remember the case about David and Sarah Corliss, and the one after it?"

Ben gritted his teeth at the sound of their names. He looked to be upset by them bringing up the old cases. "I'm sorry, but I can't help you." He said in a low growl. Before Smash had the chance to respond, Ben moved back behind the door and shoved it closed.
"Wait!" Smash exclaimed, quickly stopping the door with both hands before it closed. "I'm sorry sir, but this is something we HAVE to know about!" He pleaded.
"I want nothing more to do with those old police cases or the various city matters!" Ben declared from behind the door.
"You don't have to!" Smash yelled. "Because we're picking up where you left off!"
"What?" Ben loosened his grip on the door.
"We're reviving the investigation, just the two of us..." Smash stepped back from the door as Ben opened it back. "Because the victims were our own parents."

Ben fell silent. He stared at the two, somewhat shocked by their identity.
"Please, you gotta understand." Pearl pleaded. "We really need your help." Ben still remained silent. He closed his eyes for a moment, and took a deep breath.
"Alright...Come in." He finally said.
Smash and Pearl both let out a soft sigh of relief. "Thank you, sir." Smash said.


Ben led them inside the small living room of his house. He let them sit on his green couch, while he took a seat by the fireplace. It was a rather cozy place to live.
"Alright," Smash started, "I understand that this isn't a subject that you're comfortable with, so I'll make this quick. We've already learned much of what happened..." He began to explain what they had discovered during the past two days. "Now, we just need to confirm that this is all true. So to start, what can you tell us about the time you found our parents?"

Ben let out a heavy sigh. "Well for the most part, you're right. We were called out there by the victim's cell, I believe it was your father."

"What did he say?" Pearl asked.

"That's the thing; He didn't say anything." Ben folded his arms, while Smash and Pearl tried to understand. "However, what we DID hear was a gunshot, a few moments afterwards."

"W-what...?" Smash gasped.

"Yes. I could hear him talking to someone else, someone who wasn't us. Neither of them sounded happy. In fact, your father sounded like he was about to go into a flying rage just before we heard the gun go off. That's when we decided that we had to go down there. We realized that he didn't have time to actually call for help, and just dialed us so that we could hear for ourselves what was going on."

"A...gunshot..." Smash closed his eyes, trying to figure out who had shot him.

"And there's more." Ben eyed them, closely. "I'm sure you already know that there was no car accident at all, right?" The two nodded. "Well, this pretty much proves what actually killed them...or rather, what killed her."

"What?" Smash and Pearl both asked in unison.

"Sarah was shot and killed, that much I know." He said. "But David had a wound from a bullet in his side, missing anything fatal. But to compensate, apparently, he was brutally beaten all over."

"W-Wh-..." Smash was shocked. He felt his heart racing, and his arms quivering.

"But get this. Even after all of that, When we found him, That man was still alive."

A brief period of silence overcame the room. Neither of the two siblings could find any words to say.

"He died on his way to the hospital, unfortunately." Ben lowered his voice, seeing that they were still in shock. "We couldn't get him to tell us who had done this to him, either."

"...I-I see..." Smash said, finally. He paused for a few moments, remembering what else they needed to know. "And, you never found the murderer, did you?" He asked.

"Nope. Though I have a sneaking suspicion about that guy in the next case..." Ben mumbled the last part, trying to remember his name.

"Kaine." Smash answered for him. "He was the the man who was selling Power Armor at the Blitz Pit. Our father was working for him, until he suddenly quit. There was some kind of evil plot going on with him, and once word broke out everyone ganged up against him."

"Ah yes, that's right." Ben nodded. "We got there once things started to get outta hand. We kinda pursued him all the way to the local park, before he decided to turn around and fight. He caught a lot of us off guard, since we thought he was from the Blitz Pit and guns generally aren't allowed there."

"He'd retired, y'know." Smash reminded him. "I don't think he'd follow those rules anymore."

"News to me." Ben shrugged. "In anycase..." He suddenly stopped, and his lips curled into a frown. "...A lot of people on the force were taken down." He had a sudden change in tone, now sounding slightly more depressed. "The majority of them were the ones investigating David's case. Thinking of it now, it was probably his intention..."

"It just might have been..." Smash muttered, folding his arms. He began to think about how he would know who to shoot.

"..He soon ran out of ammo, and just threw the gun at us--at me, before he tried to use that armor of his." Ben shook his head.

"Ouch.." Pearl winced.

"Don't worry, it didn't hit me." Ben assured. "One of the fighters caught it in mid-air."

"I see." Smash leaned back in his seat. "And we all know what happened afterwards. Kaine's armor failed, and ended with him in a coma."

Ben nodded slowly. "Yes. There wasn't much else we could do about him at that point."

"Mmhm. Okay so, what about that guy with the autopsy?" He asked. "What the heck was going on with him?"

Ben shook his head. "That was a very suspicious situation, there." He said. "Firstly, The man we asked for the autopsy report, Henry the Dog, He went missing at the exact time he was supposed to present the report."

"The heck?" Smash scratched his head. "So..How does that work? Nobody in the whole station saw where he went? Not even the cameras?"

"That became a whole case of it's own; Someone went and sabotaged the cameras."

Smash's eyebrows shot up.
"You're kidding me!" Pearl exclaimed. "Was he kidnapped?"

"It's not out of the question." Ben answered. "If he was, whoever did it wasn't in it for ransom. We never found out anything about where he was taken, who did it, and why. All we know is that he vanished, just like that..."

"Scary..."

"And then there was the replacement." Ben rose his eyebrow as he spoke. "A green hedgehog, who when he was hired, looked like he knew almost nothing about how we rolled."

"So he was just some random dude you picked up off the street?" Smash asked, sarcastically.

"A "random dude" claiming to be able to take up his job, apparently." Ben rolled his eyes, "I don't know why they hired him, I definitely smelled something fishy."

"Just outta curiosity, What was he wearing before he got into a uniform?" Smash asked.

"Brown shirt, black baggy pants, blue shoes with these black studs on em.." Ben described. "That outfit struck me as completely unfitting for someone to hire as a replacement, all of a sudden."

Smash and Pearl exchanged glances, both looking shocked.

"What? You know something I don't?" Ben asked.

The two looked back at him, "Sorry, it's nothing. Anyway, what was that guy's name?" Smash asked.

"Jake Dunland, I think." Ben stroked his chin, "Was that his name..? Yeah, I think that was his name..." He muttered to himself.

"So this Jake guy was the one who put up the whole "Car Accident" report, huh?" Smash asked again.

"Indeed. Now I knew immediately that this was wrong." Ben gritted his teeth. "But then the whole deal with Kaine started up, and once we got back, Jake was long gone, too."

Smash sighed. "I think it's safe to say that he was a fraud and just hightailed it outta there first chance he got."

"Those were my thoughts, exactly." He said. "I was really angry about that."

"Can't really blame ya." Smash said. "Well...Actually, I think that's about all we need to know."

"Glad to hear it." Ben said. "Sorry for being rude, earlier. I hadn't realized who you two were.."

"It's okay." Pearl said, "But if you don't mind me asking, why didn't you want to talk to us? Does it have something to do with why you moved away from the city?"

Ben silently turned his head away, closing his eyes.

"..I-I'm sorry, forget I brought it up." Pearl stammered.

"Back when I was on the police force, I worked together with my little brother." He spoke. Both Smash and Pearl looked surprised, at first, but listened as he continued. "We were always on the same team; we were inseparable." His head lowered, and he hesitated to finish. "He was the first person Kaine shot in the park."

Pearl looked stunned. She was at a loss for words.
"I'm sorry we had to bring it up." Smash said, softly. "And thanks for understanding why." He stood up from the couch, and looked down at Pearl. "Come, it's time to go."
She nodded slowly, and stood up. Ben looked over at them. "What do you plan to do with this information, now that you have it?"

Smash paused for a moment. "I just want to uncover the truth. That's all." He answered. "Thanks for your time and cooperation. But we have to go now."

"Don't worry about it." Ben said. He stood up and walked with them to the door. "Take care."

"You too." Smash said. He and Pearl walked out the door. The sun was just setting above the horizon. By the time they would arrive home, it'd already be night.

"Oh, and one more thing you should know.." The two turned around, puzzled.

"One more thing? Did we miss something?" Smash asked.

"No. Not at all." Ben said, now cracking a smile. "Actually, I have a message for you." His gaze locked onto Pearl, who took a step back in surprise.

"What..? For me?" She asked in confusion. "But from who?"

Ben's smile faded, and he gave her a bit of a serious look. "From your father." He said. Pearl gasped softly, putting her hand to her mouth. "While we were in the ambulance, we couldn't get him to tell us who his attacker was. But during his last moments, he told us to tell you, his daughter, that he was sorry for not being able to make it to your birthday party. He was hoping that you would be able to forgive him."

Smash stared at him in shock. 'Even up to his last breath, he was still thinking of us..It's almost as if he didn't even care what happened to him, so long as we were-' His train of thought came to a screeching halt; he heard something that surprised him even more. He turned to look at his sister, "Pearl..."

A long stream of tears had begun to run down both cheeks. Her arms were quivering, and her eyes were stinging.
"I'm sure he had every intention of coming back to you." Ben reassured. "You can forgive him, right?"

She couldn't hold it in any longer; that last bit was heart wrenching to her. She completely broke down, crying. Almost instinctively, Smash put his arm around her in an attempt to comfort her.

Ben watched them for a couple of moments. "Perhaps I should leave you two alone, for now." He said. "Take care, and goodbye." He walked back inside of his house, and shut the door behind him.

Pearl buried her face into her brother's chest, unable to stop her tears from flowing while Smash embraced her. He hadn't seen his sister cry in years; he almost felt as if he could cry himself. "It's okay..just let it out, Sis." Smash cooed, softly stroking her hair to comfort her.
"D-Daddy..."


Smash and Pearl sat back down on the motorcycle, once more. Pearl wrapped her arms around his chest, and rested her head against his back. 'Left a message for Pearl...Who'd a thought it?' Smash shook his head, and started up the engine. "Let's go home." He said. He felt her nod slowly against his back. With one last look at Ben's house, they took off down the path.
They went straight for a little while, before doing a U-turn around the hill to their right. As they were turning, Smash noticed a large clearing past the hill. Off in the distance, he could make out what appeared to be an old, run-down house. It was nearly camouflage within the overgrown plants and trees around it. "Hm..." He slowed down to get a good look at it. "Hey Pearl..There's another house over there." He said. Pearl lifted her head up, her face now filled with curiosity.

"Huh? Where?" She asked. Smash pointed past the clearing, and she tried to see where exactly it was. It took a moment before she could make it out. "Ohh..I see it...It looks abandoned." She said.

"Yeah, I can't imagine anyone still lives there." Smash said. "So I guess Ben is still pretty much the only resident around these parts."

"Mmm..." Pearl nodded, still staring at the house. "Hey..Doesn't this area seem a little..familiar?"

"Uhh.." Smash looked around. He didn't really remember ever being in this part of Techno Hill before. "Not exactly..."

"Really? I'm getting this strange vibe from this place, I don't remember ever coming to this side of Techno Hill before, but I feel like I know this place..." She looked back at Smash. "Smash, can we..?"

Smash nodded before she could finish. "Of course." He said. "We'll come back tomorrow." He then continued to drive at a regular pace. Pearl took one last look at the house, before it left her sight.

Soon, the food was ready to be served. We called the kids outside to join us, and we all sat down together. There weren't enough chairs for all of us, so Helen laid down a picnic cloth for them to sit at while the rest of us used the table. The food was delicious. We had steak and hamburgers, a great meal to celebrate the completion of their house.
We talked some more over our lunch. I can't tell you all the different subjects we discussed.

"So do you think this warm weather will last?" Sarah asked.
"I dunno. It's kinda early to be having such nice weather like this." Trevor said. "Who knows? Might whip right around back to winter in the next week."
"Yeah, it tends to do that sometimes." I added. "Like an early preview of the coming season."
"Mm." Trevor nodded. "Okay, who's up for seconds?"

Almost immediately, everyone rose their hands. Of course, I was no exception. Neither was the asker himself. He simply laughed it off as he got up to serve us another plate-full of steak and burgers.
Though, as he went to serve the kids, I noticed Sarah holding her forehead, with her eyes closed. "Sarah, What's wrong?" I asked, getting worried.
She shook her head, and looked back at me with a fake smile. "It's nothing." She assured. "I just felt a little dizzy, that's all."
"Are you sure?" I asked again.
"Yes. It's nothing to worry about." She said again. Helen also looked troubled by it, but we decided not to press her further on it.

The reason we were worried over a small thing like that was because my wife was never a very healthy person. She had a poor immune system and was physically weaker than the average woman. She would get sick very often, so I'd have to look out for her in cases like this. She's been like this as long as I can remember. Being her close friend, I assume Helen knew about this as well.

Trevor sat back down with us, and we continued to eat. I kept an eye on Sarah throughout the rest of the meal. I'd noticed that she was slowing in her pace since we met up with Trevor back here, but I'd just assumed that she was tired from the long walk. Now I was afraid that she might have been coming down with something again.

"Say, next time we're in the city," Trevor started up, as we finished eating. "Why don't we drop in by the Blitz Pit and watch you fight?"
"That'd be nice." I agreed. "It's been a little while since I've taken Sarah and the kids there, too. We could all go."
"That sounds exciting!" Helen chimed. "I'd love to see one of your matches."

"Dad, are we going to the Blitz Pit?" My son asked from the ground, suddenly interested in our conversation.

"Not today, Smash." I answered. "Soon, maybe. We'll all go when we have the time."
His face was beaming with excitement. "Awesome! I haven't seen you fight in ages!"


"Thanks for the meal." I said as we all got up. "It was delicious."
"Hey no problem! Glad you liked it." Trevor laughed heartily. His laugh quickly died down when we noticed Sarah wavering as she stood from her chair. I immediately stood beside her to support her.
"Sarah, Are you alright!?" I exclaimed. The kids rushed over, startled and worried. "What's wrong!?"
"I-I'm sorry..I'm just feeling a little woozy.." She responded, faintly. She sounded like she was in a daze. "Please don't worry about it..I'm fine.."
I wasn't buying it this time. "I think we should get home now." I said, firmly.
"I can drive you guys back." Trevor offered. "Shouldn't take too long to get to your place."
"You sure? The path around here and there aren't really fit for driving, y'know.."
"I have my ways. How d'ya think I get to the city and back every other day?" He flashed a brief smirk of confidence before looking back at Sarah. "Besides, it's way too far to walk in her condition."
Sarah was holding her forehead again, seemingly in pain this time. I moved my hand beside hers, getting a feel for her temperature. "Mommy, are you alright?" Pearl asked, worriedly.
"She's burning up." I said.
"Mom..." Smash looked just as concerned as I was. This type of thing happened somewhat often, but she was usually at home when it did. Melody also looked worried about her, as did her chao.
"I'm alright..don't worry, children.." Sarah reassured. "I just need to rest.."

"Let's get you to the car." I placed my hands on both of her shoulders, carefully guiding her back into the house and out through the front, with everyone else following behind. The kids stopped behind us, once we were headed around to where Trevor's car was parked. It was near the side of a hill, I hadn't even noticed it before. He opened the back door for us, and I helped Sarah get inside before sitting down next to her. Normally I'd sit in the front, but I wanted to stay in the back with her. Pearl and Smash soon came up, and Pearl got in the back with us. "Smash, you can sit in the front."

"Really?" Smash looked surprised to see me in the back. He didn't wait for me to answer again, though, and hurried into the front seat. Trevor sat down behind the wheel and started up the engine. Looking out the window, I saw Helen, Melody and her chao, waving goodbye. Smash and Pearl waved back as we pulled out onto the grassy road. Barely half a minute passed before we stopped beside another hill. Part of the hill reached out in front of us, forming a big wall in our way. Trevor opened the window and reached his hand out to touch the dirt wall to the side. I heard something click, and to my surprise, the wall in front of us began to open up.
"Behold, my secret passageway!" Trevor exclaimed, proudly. Beyond the gate of dirt that opened up for us, was a dark tunnel that began to light up with several lamps hanging from the walls and ceiling. Needless to say, I was rather impressed. We drove right through it, as it seemed to lead underground.

We drove for about 15-20 minutes before we finally reached the end. When we finally saw the light of day again, we were just outside the city, near the main road. We ended up turning around to go back into Green Flower Zone, driving slowly and carefully over the small bridges, and eventually reaching our house. "We're here!" Trevor announced.
Everyone unloaded out of the car. Sarah and I were the last ones out, as I helped her get up. The kids hurried off and opened the door for us, while I began to take Sarah inside. "Anything else I can do for ya?" Trevor asked.
"No, that's alright." I said. "We can handle everything else from here."
He nodded. "I see. That's good. If you ever need anything, gimmie a call alright?"

Smash and Pearl took Sarah by her hands, and guided her inside while I turned to face him. "Trevor, I can't thank you enough. I don't know what I would have done without your help."

Trevor just smiled. This smile seemed much different from his usual grin. "Don't mention it, Dave. I hope she gets better soon."

"Me too. Thanks again."

Trevor then took his leave, heading back to Techno Hill. A wave of relief came over me as I turned to head back inside. With Sarah home, we'd be able to take care of her like we usually did. But that relief didn't last long; The moment I closed the door behind me, I heard the panicked cries of my kids. Pearl came running out of the hallway and towards the front door, leaping into my arms like she usually did when I came home. But this time, was far from joyous. "D-Daddy! Mommy fell down, and she won't wake up!!" She sobbed loudly.













The sun had gone down below the horizon, and the light of day was fading quickly. Smash and Pearl had just passed through the city limits. "What time is it?" Smash asked, unable to look at his watch.
Pearl looked at her own watch, instinctively tightening her grip on Smash's waist with her other arm. "It's 7:34." She answered.
"Hm. Still got some time left..." Smash muttered. "What do you say we stop by at the station and talk to Speeder before he gets off?"
Pearl nodded. "Sure. The sooner, the better."
"Great. Hang on, then. I'mma make this a quick trip." Smash hit the gas, driving up the straight road to the northern part of the city, as Pearl held on tightly.

In only a matter of moments, they arrived at the station. As Smash drove into the parking lot, he realized how ironic it was that he was speeding on his way to the police station. "Smash look," Pearl said as she got off. "Speedy's still here." She waved at the hedgehog that stood by the door. Smash got off and looked over.
"Huh. Think they were waiting for us?" He asked. Pearl shrugged. They walked over to greet him.

"Heya! What took ya so long?" Speedy was grinning, like he expected them to come. "So how'd it go?" He asked.

Smash shook his head. "I'd rather not repeat the story more than once, so let's get inside first." He said, as he walked inside with him. Speedy lead them both back towards the desk from before, and they all took a seat. Speeder had just walked over from the other side, and sat down.
"Ah, Welcome back." He said. "So..Did you learn anything?"

Smash nodded. "Yes sir, we learned quite a bit I'd say." He said. "I am now thoroughly convinced that Kaine was the one. Not a shred of doubt left on my mind."

"I see.." Speeder took his hat off, and rested it on the table again. "Tell me what happened."

Smash closed his eyes, and folded his arms. "Well..First, about the phone call. It came from Dad's cell, but he didn't answer. Instead, he was talking to someone else, sounding extremely angry, and then there was a gunshot."

Speeder's eyebrows shot up. "..Yes, that does ring a bell." He said. "So that confirms that the call was before it happened."

"Indeed. And also, Ben gave us a personal, oral autopsy report." Smash continued. "Our mother was killed by a bullet from a gun. But our father suffered the same wound in a different spot. Not just that, but he was brutally beaten all over..." He felt his fists tightening; the last part pained him to say it.

"My gosh..." Speedy looked somewhat horrified. Speeder gave a look of disturbance and sympathy.

"But even through all that, He didn't even die until he was in the ambulance on the way to the hospital." Smash reopened his eyes. "Unfortunately, they couldn't get him to tell them who did it, despite that he was apparently conscious at the time."

Once again, there was a moment of silence amongst them before Smash continued. "Then we have the deal with the autopsy." He started up again.

"Oh yeah, what was up with that?" Speedy asked.

"Apparently, the original guy on the job, Henry, He went missing at the exact time he was supposed to present the report.

"What the heck?" Speedy looked completely baffled.

"That's what I said! But not only that, someone sabotaged the cameras in the station. So that pretty much sealed the deal with Henry's disappearance."

Speeder frowned. "Yeah, I remember that now." He said. "We couldn't figure out who did it, but somehow I get the feeling that it was an inside job..."

"An inside job?" Pearl asked. "You mean, the person behind it was someone HERE?"

Speeder nodded. "Possibly. I mean, how else would they be able to sneak in so efficiently? In any case, we still didn't figure out who did it."

"What did you figure out?" Smash grumbled, annoyed by the incompetence of the police force. "Anyway, Disappearances aside, then came the replacement."

"Did you find out anything about this dude?" Speedy asked, anxiously.

"More than Ben had to offer." Smash said.
"Get this," Pearl started, "Not only did the guy look like some random person they hired off the street, in comparison to the rest of the force, but he was actually wearing the same outfit of the group of thugs from the Black Rose Orphanage."

Speedy slammed the desk with both of his hands, standing up so quickly that he knocked his chair over. "WHAT!?" He exclaimed at the top of his lungs. They soon noticed that everyone in the room stopped what they were doing to look and see what was going on.

"Shh! Don't make such a racket." Speeder warned. He looked around the room, and shook his head, letting them know that nothing was wrong.

"Sorry, Dad." Speedy said, fixing his chair and sitting back down. "But still. What?"

"It's true." Smash said. He then just remembered something, right before he continued speaking. "Speeder, Got any records on a guy named Jake Dunland?"
Speeder stood up, "I'll be back in a jiffy with results." He said. Placing his hat back on his head, he quickly left the table to look through the records.

"So..Was he really part of the Orphanage's little mafia?" Speedy asked.

"Dunno for sure, but if that's what he was wearing then it's highly possible." Smash said.

"Then for all we know, we could've taken that guy out without even knowing it." Pearl suggested. "I mean, you know how many of those guys we beat up before we shut down the whole operation?"

"Yeah. But considering the risk of the police getting after his hide, I don't think he'd wanna stick around here." Smash folded his arms behind his head and reclined in the chair.

"True..." Speedy scratched his chin. Before he could say anything else, Speeder came back and sat down.
"Well, I never woulda guessed it." Speeder said. "All this time we've been looking for him, and he's been right here all this time!"

"What do you mean?" Speedy and Smash asked, simultaneously.

"You should know, Speedy." His father smirked slightly at him. "After all, it was you and Violet who turned him in." He said. Speedy's eyes widened.

"We did?"
"Wait so, you mean Jake, our fraud and possible gangster, was arrested?" Smash asked.

"Yep." Speeder turned to him, still smirking. "Last year, when we were rounding up all the thugs around the orphanage and closing up the Elemental Rings factory, Jake tried to make a run for it again. But Speedy and his girlfriend gave him a walloping and a pair of handcuffs."

"Citizens Arrest!" Speedy declared, jokingly. "Hehe, yeah I remember that now. Gosh, I didn't think it'd be someone so important!"

"Not sure that's the right word to describe him, but whatever." Smash muttered. "In any case, By the time Kaine's case came up, Jake had ran off. I'm pretty sure he left back to the orphanage..." His eyes widened as he realized something. "Which means..Kaine had ties to that gang..."

"Holy cow. I didn't even think of it like that!" Speedy said. "Wait, hold up, how does this tie them both together?"

Smash tapped his finger against his forehead. "I've been feeling like there was a bigger connection here than what we originally had seen." He said. "Think of it like this: What if Kaine hired Jake to go and sabotage the autopsy?"

"What? But why would...?" Speedy's voice trailed off as he thought about it. "Wait..."

"If he did that, then he was probably the one who had the cameras out of commission, ultimately being behind the disappearance of Henry." He flashed Speedy a serious look. "By doing all of this, he could make sure that no one would be able to trace the murder back to him."

Speedy and Pearl stared at him with wide eyes. Speeder stared him down with a serious look of his own. "The more I think about it, the more I realize how big of a possibility that is."

"Indeed." Smash said. "And while I'm at it, don't you think it's strangely inconvenient that the only officers Kaine shot were the ones on our parents case?"

"Y-yeah, it is.." Pearl agreed, feeling somewhat disturbed by how suddenly they began to connect all the dots.

"What if that was all a part of his plan, too?" Smash suggested. "While he picked off all the people on our team, Jake was preparing to get the replacement officers lost with that autopsy, so they'd just pass the whole thing off as a car accident and move on."

"Kaine knew more than he was letting off." Speeder said. "He had to have known the layout of the station to be able to direct someone to sabotage it. He knew the people on the case. He knew the exact times we did things..." He shook his head. "But there's a problem with that one theory, Smash." He noted. Smash rose an eyebrow, questioningly. "Kaine was already a wanted man by the time he began that shootout. He didn't want to be traced because he didn't want the police onto him, correct? At this point, I don't think that'd really matter."

Smash leaned back in his chair. "Yes, that's true." He said. "But still, feel like I'm onto something there."

"Mmm." Speeder nodded. "Well, everything else seems just about spot on."

"Does this mean that we've finally solved the whole mystery?" Speedy asked.

Smash folded his arms. "Well...We still have no idea what the crap they did to Henry." He said. "At this point I'm willing to bet that they just killed him off."

"Not out of the question." Speeder said. "Though you'd think we'd have found his body by now."

"Maybe they took him out of town?" Pearl suggested. "Or...they could have dumped him into the ocean. If it's the Black Rose, That's nothing new."

"Yeah. That would explain why nobody's found him." Smash said. "Other than that...Aside from having definite proof, I think we're actually finally done."

"WHOO!" Speedy cheered, pumping his fist into the air. Once again, everyone in the room stared at them--rather, at him this time. He slunk back into his chair, embarrassed.

"Well, Lemme be the first to congratulate ya." Speeder said. "I'm sure this has put a lot of stress behind you."

"I suppose.." Smash said, frowning. "However, I'm not quite satisfied yet." He stood up from the desk. "Speeder, which cell is Jake being held in?" He asked.

"Huh? Oh uh..Cell B3, I think." Speeder replied, scratching his head. "Why?"

"I think I'm going to pay him a little visit.."



Around five minutes later, Smash and Pearl were being lead down the corridors of the prison by a security guard. Soon, they stopped next to one of the cells, and the guard walked up to the bars. "Hey, Jake. You've got visitors." He said. Smash walked over and looked inside, as the guard stepped aside. "I'll be back in a few moments."
Smash nodded, and the guard left down the hall where they arrived. Inside the cell, the green hedgehog sat on the cold, stone floor, wearing the same clothes in Ben's description. He knew immediately that they were right, he was definitely one of the old thugs. Jake lazily looked over at him, and simply rose an eyebrow.
"So who the heck are you?" He asked.

"I don't think that should matter to you." Smash said. "But if you must know, my name is Smash. I've got some questions for you."

"Yeah? Whaddya want?"

Smash shifted his weight to the side, as Pearl walked up next to him. "I heard a bit of a nasty rumor, that you sabotaged the investigation on the death of David and Sarah Corliss." Jake's eyebrows shot up, though his generally bored expression didn't change much. "I just wanted to hear it from the suspect."

"Pfft. Why would I do that?" Jake scoffed. "And how?"

"Oh I dunno." Smash shrugged. "I was hoping you could tell me. Maybe you were in it for the money? Or maybe you were offered something a little more..special?"

"What are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about the reason you did it. But then again, I probably couldn't care less why."

"How do you even know I did it in the first place?" Jake folded his arms. "Besides, I was hired as a replacement to help the investigation, not sabotage it."

"Yes," Smash smirked slightly, "that's what you wanted them to think. It was the perfect cover." He folded his arms. "If you're still denying it, Let me explain in full detail. Your real job was to put the investigation to rest before it could ever get close to finishing. So when the time that autopsy was supposed to be handed out came, You kidnapped Henry the Dog, the man in charge of handing it out. To ensure your escape, you sabotaged the security system, stole the autopsy, and enabled a fail-proof escape route. After getting rid of them, You went and got yourself hired as a replacement. You probably had some strings pulled in the background to get you that job, because no one in their right mind would ever hire a random dude off the street like that. You then used this chance to make a faulty autopsy, leading them all down on the wrong path. And when people began to get suspicious, a shootout occurred at a very convenient time for you. You used that as your cover to run away from it all, and get off scot free. Meanwhile, your boss ended up getting hospitalized, so you never did get your payment. Since then, you worked with the Black Rose Orphanage's gang, until the day they fell."

Jake gave him a blank stare. He appeared to be at a loss for words. He soon smirked, and began to chuckle. "Well, not bad. I should have expected it, coming from you, Smash the Echidna." He said. "One question though."

Smash rose an eyebrow at him. "What?"

"You say my "Real Job" was to sabotage the investigation. So who was the one who hired me?" Jake asked, almost as if he were quizzing him.

"Like I said, he's currently in the hospital." Smash answered, simply. "A man who no doubt promised you one of the only valuable things he could offer, since he wasn't willing to actually pay anyone any large sums of cash." He gave him a sharp look. "Kaine Abbanc, the creator of Power Armor."

"There is no one else who would have gone through the trouble of stopping that investigation." Pearl added. "He was the only one who would have suffered if that case was solved."

"Hmph, I guess you've done your homework." He kicked his legs out and stretched. "So what? Is that all you wanted here? To tell me something we both already know?"

Smash shook his head. "Remember, I said I had questions to ask you." He gripped the bars of the cell tightly. "What did you do to Henry and that autopsy?"

Jake folded his arms and gave a sly smirk. "Gimmie one good reason why I should tell you."

Smash opened his mouth to speak, but then realized that he had none. At least, none reasonable enough to settle for a common thug, who was imprisoned at that. Jake's smirk formed into an obnoxious grin, one that really grated on his nerves.

"Heheh, c'mon. I'd have expected at least one good reason from you." Jake taunted. Smash felt his grip on the bars tighten.

"Y'know, I could easily kill you right here and now." He growled, frustratedly.

"Hehah, I'd love to see you try." Jake laughed and scoffed, "Too bad I've already tried all the tricks in the book; those bars'll hold anything back."

"I don't need tricks to get by these." He said, flatly. "Now tell me, What have you done to them?"

"Ah, don't feel like tellin'." Jake folded his arms behind his head and crossed his legs.

"Do you WANT me to pound you to the grave?" Smash asked through gritted teeth.

"Eh, go ahead. They'll probably put me on death row, anyway." He said with a shrug.

Smash let go of the bars, looking somewhat discouraged. "How can you say that so calmly?"
Pearl stepped forward, "Is there anything you'd want in return for the information?" She asked. "What could you possibly want from us?"

Jake glanced over at Pearl, looking her up and down before responding. "Hm.." The sly smirk quickly reappeared on his face. "How 'bout a date?"

Both Pearl and Smash gave a look of shocked disgust. "W-What!?" Pearl exclaimed, taking a step back.

"Of course, that also means that you'd have to bust me outta here first, but you're welcome to stay and chat if ya want. Gets lonely in here, y'know?" He winked at her, still smirking.

"You've GOTTA be kidding me." Smash clenched the bars tightly again. "Even if she did agree to it, I would be Dead before I let some scruffy ex-gangster punk anywhere near my sister!"

"Like you'd need to worry about that!" Pearl exclaimed. "I'd sooner kiss a dead monkey!"

"Ouch, man. That was cold." Jake said, scratching his head. "Well those are my terms. Take em or leave em." He rose an eyebrow at Smash, wiggling it tauntingly. "Which is more important t'ya, big gu-Huh?" His smug expression completely vanished when he saw Smash and Pearl leaving. "Where ya going?"

"To go kiss a dead monkey." Pearl answered, sarcastically.
"To go die somewhere before the mental images traumatize me." Smash added, rolling his eyes.

"Yeah, you go do that!" Jake yelled back. "Your loss!"


Smash and Pearl walked back inside the station's main room. Pearl shifted her eyes, awkwardly. "Just so you know, I'm not kissing any monkeys." She muttered to Smash. "Or live ones, for that matter."
"Duh. I'd be rather concerned if you were." Smash rolled his eyes again. He then noticed that Speedy came walking back up to them.

"Hey guys, My dad's waiting for you." He said. "Said he found something interesting that you ought to know."

Smash and Pearl exchanged glances, wondering what it could possibly be. They followed him over to a desktop computer, where Speeder sat in an office chair.
"Ah, there you are." Speeder said.

"Yeah. You said you had something to tell us?" Smash asked.

"Yes. About that.." Speeder turned and looked back at the computer. "Outta curiosity, I went and looked over the records of reported incidents on that day..April 5th, I mean." Smash and Pearl rose both eyebrows as they looked over his shoulder at the screen. "Look here." He pointed his index finger towards a certain line with an address and summary on it. He clicked on it and brought the whole report onscreen. "Take a look."

Smash leaned forward, and began to read the report aloud. "...3:30 PM, April 5th. A massive traffic accident occurred right across the street from the Sunflower Elementary School, located in the northern district of Green Flower City. There were many injured people, but only two casualties. Two echidnas, one male and one female, confirmed to be the parents of one of the many children at the school, ready to bring her home. The Black Rose Orphanage took in the girl before we could get the names, but we have confirmed that they lived far out in Techno Hill Zone..." Smash felt a strange feeling in his chest. "We will have more on this report shortly..." He slowly looked up from the computer as he finished.

"There actually WAS a car accident on that day." Speeder said. "It looks like our guy might have just copied off of an already existing autopsy, or something..."

"Gee, it's kinda disturbing.." Speedy said. "I mean, I know what the Orphanage was up to and all, but they snagged her before they could get any names? It's almost like they were waiting for that chance or something..."

"Smash..." Pearl noticed the distant look on his face, and immediately knew what he was thinking. "Do you think...that maybe they could have lived in that old house we saw on the way back?" Speedy and his father looked at him, curiously.

"It's possible..." He answered, softly. His eyes were glazed over as he held the side of his head, seemingly staring into space. "After all, no one else really lives down there..."

"Smash? Are..you alright?" Speedy asked.

Smash nodded, and stood up straight. "Yeah, I'm fine." He said. "I just feel..almost like I was on the verge of remembering something."

"I see..." Speedy scratched his head. "Was there something familiar about it?"

Smash didn't answer. He stared down towards the desk, silently. 'What was that..that faint memory?' He wondered. 'I only saw it for a split-second before I lost it again. It felt so nostalgic...yet kind of sad...But why now?' He looked over at Speeder. "I'm sorry, but we have to go for now."

"Huh? Already?" Speedy asked, surprised.

"Come on over to my place for dinner, later." Smash said. "We still need to celebrate the closing of this case."

Speeder smirked a bit. "Sure thing. We'll be there."

Smash smiled briefly, but then looked over at Pearl, somewhat solemnly. "Pearl. Would you mind, if instead of waiting until tomorrow, we go and check out that house right now?"
Pearl looked up at him, somewhat surprised. "Oh, well...Sure." She said.
"Thanks." He looked on over at the two hedgehogs, "We might be a little late in coming home, so I'll call you when I get back." He said.

"Where are you going?" Speedy asked.

"Though we solved the case," Smash turned around, his back facing them. "There's still one more thing I want to look into..." He began to head for the door. "See you later."
Pearl hurried to catch up, and waved goodbye at the two.


Outside, it had gotten completely dark out. The full moon illuminated the area, along with the street lights. The streets had quieted down as Smash and Pearl headed towards their ride. Smash sat down on the bike again, and got ready to start the motor. "Hey..." He said quietly, as Pearl sat down behind him.
"Hm?"
"Sorry for dragging you around all day long like this." Smash said. "I know you're probably tired from running around the city and out all day."
Pearl simply smiled, and patted his shoulder. "Hey, don't worry about it. I'm just as involved in this as you are. I'd follow you around whether I wanted to or not." She said. Her smile soon faded. "So...Does that place seem familiar to you now?" She asked
Smash nodded slightly. "A little..." He let out a heavy sigh. "To be honest, it's not the place in particular that seems familiar. I feel like something happened there..something really important, one way or another. It's been bothering me ever since I read that report."
"Well...Maybe we'll learn something when we get there?" Pearl patted his shoulder again. "Let's find out."
Smash nodded, and started up the motor. "Right.."

He pulled out of the parking lot, and as they were leaving, they noticed Speeder and Speedy walking out the building. They waved before heading to Speeder's car, and the two siblings headed back down the road.

Bonus! Two chapters in a row! Sorry about the lateness of it, though. I should have started on Chapter 10 by now.

----------------------------------------


Sarah stayed in bed for the rest of the day. She passed out on her way to our room, and didn't wake up until nearly midnight. I called a doctor to come and check her condition, but he didn't arrive until the next day.
The doctor claimed that she had come down with the flu. She did have many symptoms of it, but I'd never heard of anyone feeling dizzy or even fainting from a simple flu. He said that she'd recover within the next week or so, like most incidents.

I took the rest of the week off from the Blitz Pit to care for her. I did all the chores and cooking around the house while she stayed in bed. Smash and Pearl helped out considerably, helping me make her breakfast in bed and such.

As time went by, we saw no change in her condition. It stayed the same for five whole days. On the sixth day, I decided to call the doctor again. This time, a different doctor came. He diagnosed her with some kind of strange, rare illness I'd never even heard of before. He said that it would be rather difficult for her to overcome it, but there was a cure. The medicine she needed, however, was almost just as rare as the condition itself. I struggled to pronounce it before he told me how much it'd cost for him to get it to her. "12,000 Rings!?" I exclaimed in disbelief.
"Yes. It's a product only produced in Morlinia, which is overseas." The doctor explained. "I can pay 4,000 for you, but you'll have to deal with the other 8,000 left."
"B-But I don't have that kind of money!" I stammered, "What am I supposed to do!?"
He shook his head. "I'm sorry, Mr. Corliss. This is all I can do for you." The doctor began to walk out the door, holding his medical supplies in hand. "The offer's up anytime. Whenever you can pay for it, I'll order it immediately."

My heart sunk lower than a rock in a pond. I didn't know what to do. I didn't even have half the amount I needed. How could I accumulate such a large sum of money in so little time?
"Dad?" I turned to look at Smash entering the room. "So what did the doctor say...?"
I looked down, unsure of what to tell him. "...We're in for some tough times, son." I said, bleakly. "Your mother won't be recovering as easily as we thought. And the medicine to help that is way out of our price range."
"...I..I see..." Smash looked rather distressed. "So..what do we do...?"
"I think the only thing we really can do, is just stay with her and help her pull through." I said. The two of us shared a moment of silence, both worried about the future. "..Where's your sister?"
Smash looked up, frowning. "She's back there looking for a toy she lost last week or so." He answered. "I think it was the one from Grandma."
"I see..Well, I'm going to try and get back to working tomorrow." I walked over and put my hand on his shoulder "I'm going to take on extra hours, so for the time I'm gone, you're the man of the house. Okay?"
Smash looked up at me, serious and determined. "Alright, Dad. I'll call you if something happens, too."
"That's my boy.." I turned to look at the clock hanging on the wall. "Come now, it's time to start dinner."


The days went by, and Sarah's condition worsened. She began to frequently lose consciousness at random, and was running up a terrible fever.
Just like we'd imagined the week before, the weather had a sudden whiplash back into it's wintery atmosphere. It began snowing hard, almost as if it were never warm before at all. Trekking through the snow to get to the Blitz Pit was becoming more and more difficult.
I found myself fighting far more mercilessly in the coming matches. Some of the fighters even noted how I was "Speed running" the battles. But even then, I wasn't getting enough pay. At that rate, it would be months before I rack up enough cash to pay for the medicine.
Desperate for another way, I consulted Kaine about it. I'd been working with him during the end of the days after fighting, but even that wasn't enough.

"So..you're asking me for 6,000 rings?" Kaine asked, raising an eyebrow at me. "You know I can't just hand out that kinda money on a whim, right?"
"I know it sounds crazy, but hear me out." I pleaded. "My wife's really sick, and the doctor's prescribed this super rare medicine overseas. I'm only asking for half the amount it really costs. There's no way I can pay that on my own."
Kaine thought for a bit. "Hmm...I might be able to.." My eyes lit up, as did my hopes. "But, only if you're willing to work it off."
"Work it off?" I asked, feeling less excited.
"What you're asking of me is going to deal a huge blow to my budget." He said. "I can't pay all the money at once, it's gonna cause some problems for me too. So it's only fair that I get something in return."
"Alright alright, what do you want me to do this time?"
Kaine paused to think about it, again. "Instead of just simply testing the armor for me, I'll be having you make it. And I'll be needing you to get the supplies and tools needed to do so. It'll be a full-time job, stacked onto your old job of course."
I bit my lip, thinking about how long I'd be out at work. Considering the fact that he's adding another job onto my old one, plus the fact that I still have the Blitz Pit to attend to, and I'd have to walk back every time because I didn't have a car...I'd pretty much only have a couple hours to be at home.
"I...I'll have to think about that.." I answered, uneasily. "I'm not sure if I'm really capable of taking that on, yet."
"Your call. Lemme know when you've decided." Kaine turned around to leave back to his business, while I stood in deep thought.
Things seemed to be getting worse every time.

A little bit later, I headed to the front desk of the Blitz Pit. I saw the manager there, talking with the lady over a cup of coffee. I assumed that they were both taking a break. They both looked up at me as I stopped in front of them. "'Afternoon, Corliss." The manager greeted.
"Good afternoon. Are there any new matches for me?" I asked. The lady looked through some papers on the desk, before shaking her head.
"Sorry, nothing new." She said. "Would you like to issue a challenge, though?"
The manager sipped his coffee, noticing that I was somewhat hesitant to respond. "..Yes. I will issue a challenge."
"Who would you like to fight, Mr. Corliss?"
"Everyone."
The manager spit his coffee all over the side of the desk, and looked at me like I was holding him at gunpoint. "Say what?"
"I want to fight every fighter in the pit." I declared. "One by one, I'll knock each and every one of them down. I want my challenge issued to everyone immediately."
The lady looked shocked, but nodded obediently. "Yes, sir. I will notify everyone immediately."
"Whoa whoa whoa, Hold up a second!" The manager butted in. "What in the blazes has gotten into you, David!? Are you crazy!?"

I gave him a stern glare, "Maybe I am. But that doesn't matter. This battle is not for my sake..."
















The moon was high up in the sky, as Smash and Pearl drove through the narrow roads of Techno Hill. The full moon and Smash's headlight were the only sources of light in the whole area.
Both of their minds were wandering as they traveled forward. "Hey, Smash?" Pearl sat up straight, holding onto his shoulders.
"Yeah?" Smash answered, leaning his head back to listen, but never letting his eyes off the path.
"I'm wondering...That girl who was taken to the orphanage." She looked up at the starry sky. "Do you think she's out of there, by now?"
Smash rose an eyebrow at the question. "Huh. Well, considering how long it was..I'd guess so."
"Hm...It's been seven years..." She said, more to herself than to him. "I wonder..how was life for her after that? Did she go through the same kind of pain we did when our parents died?"
"It was probably worse.." Smash said, as he slowed down. "Considering where she had to go, I can't imagine that she had any good times there. Not to mention that she was probably all alone; the reports didn't mention anything about another child."
Pearl's eyelids gradually closed, "How sad..." She whispered.

They soon pulled over and parked in the grass. They stopped in the same spot where they had first seen the old house. "The grass is too high over there, so we'll have to walk." Smash said, stepping off the bike. He looked over towards the house. It was still rather far to really make out, but it looked pretty badly damaged. "Kinda spooky seeing it at night." He commented. "Let's go."
Pearl nodded, and the two walked out towards the house.

As they got closer, they could see that the house was in terrible shape. Many windows had been broken, there were holes in the walls and the roof, the paint had peeled off of everything, and plants had grown wild all over the sides of the house. Smash began to look rather disturbed with it's condition. Pearl suddenly stopped somewhere near it. Smash looked over at her, "What's wrong?"
"I just stepped on something hard.." She said. She shuffled around through the tall grass around her as Smash stepped closer to see what was there. She soon uncovered a round slab of concrete, embedded into the ground. "Oh..I guess it was one of the steps towards the house." She said. Smash sighed, somewhat relieved.
"Good. We-" He froze suddenly, alerted to the sound of rustling in grass nearby. He clenched his fists as his eyes darted to the location of the sound. Pearl gasped softly, and turned around to see what was there. They could see the grass moving, several feet away from them. Something was coming towards them. They could soon make out a portion of a figure walking through a higher section of the grass, nearby. "Who's there?" Smash demanded. The figure stopped in it's tracks. "Show yourself."

Slowly, the figure began to move towards them again. After coming out of the higher parts of the grass, the figure revealed to be a blue, female echidna. She looked as if she had been caught stealing. "Oh my...I didn't realize anyone was out here.." She said, meekly. "What are you doing way out here..? Are you lost, perhaps?"
Smash softened up, but still felt the need to be on the defensive. "Well, no. Not really." He said. "We came out here because," He turned to look at the house, "We'd seen this house earlier today and were curious about it. We didn't have time to check it out then, so we ended up coming now." He explained.
"Yeah, that's pretty much it." Pearl said, nodding her head.
"I see..." The echidna answered. "...It's been a while since anyone's ever really been up here."
Smash looked over at her. "What about you? What are you doing out here all by yourself at this hour?"
"Did you come to check it out too?" Pearl asked, curiously.

The girl shook her head. "Why, no..Actually, this house is.." She looked up at it. "This is where I live."

"What." Smash said without thinking.
"Wait...you live here?" Pearl looked at her in shock, and then back at the house. "How...?"
"It may not look very good, but it's home.." The girl walked ahead of the two. "If you still want to, you're welcome to come inside." She said. She walked up to the front door, and carefully opened it. The door creaked and cracked, but still managed to hold up. Smash and Pearl exchanged glances, not sure what to think. They knew, however, that they couldn't leave now that they knew that much. The two walked in after her, after noticing that she was holding the door open for them.

"Thanks.." Smash said as they walked inside. He looked around, and was startled by the interior layout. The first thing he and Pearl noticed was a giant tree smack in the middle of the living room, surrounded by a patch of grass. The floor appeared to have been built around it. There was a large tear in the ceiling directly above the tree. The tree itself looked like it had suffered some damage itself, but it was still healthy for the most part. The rest of the room looked as if she had tried to clean up a lot of debris, as many pieces of rubble and trash were huddled against the sides of the walls. The floors were seemingly deteriorating, and slowly breaking apart. There was a couch, but it looked badly burnt and had several rips and tears in it. The walls were nearly falling apart, from what they could only imagine to be fire damage. "I'm going to hold off my question about the tree, but how do you live like this?" Smash asked with concern.

"I have to." She answered, somewhat plainly. "After all," She began to walk forward, "It's my home. Where else can I go?" She turned around, and put on a fake smile. "Would you like some tea?" She offered.

"Sorry, I think I'll pass.." Smash refused, turning his head away.

"Y-yes please, if it's not too much trouble.." Pearl said, still in shock over the condition of the house. "W-would you like any help in the kitchen?" She offered back.

"That's alright." She shook her head, "You two can relax, I'll be right back with some fresh tea."

"Thank you." Pearl then looked over at Smash, as the girl walked into the kitchen. "Smash..."
Smash wasn't really sure what to say. He was very upset; How could anyone live in a house like this? He walked over to the couch, and sat down with Pearl.
"Do you think she...might be that same girl?" She asked.
"Could be.." Smash said. "But that's far from what I'm worried about right now." He looked on over towards the kitchen, and caught a glimpse of the girl moving about, preparing their tea. "How can she be so calm about this? I don't understand how anyone could live in a place like this, it's awful." He looked back towards the tree. "And then there's this giant tree in the middle of the house, what the heck is up with this? Not to mention I'm getting a very familiar vibe from this pla-" He stopped himself and thought about what he was just saying. "Familiar...vibe..." He looked around the room, as Pearl gave a puzzled look. "This place...it IS familiar..."
Pearl's eyes widened, and she began to look around too. "I knew this whole area was familiar...But how? Have we ever been here before?"
"Not that I can remember..." Smash folded his arms. "But I really feel like I know this place.." He closed his eyes, trying to think hard about where he could have seen it before.

"Here you go." The girl handed a small, steaming teacup to Pearl. The cup was old, but still clean.
"Thank you." Pearl took the cup carefully, smiling at the girl.
"I made enough for you too, just in case you change your mind." She said to Smash.
"Thanks." Smash looked up at her. She suddenly gave a look of surprise, holding her hand to her mouth.
"Oh my, I'm sorry. I haven't had guests in so long, I forgot to ask for your names through my excitement." She said.

"Oh, that's alright." Pearl said. "My name's Pearl."
"And I'm Smash." He unfolded his arms, "What's your name?"
"Smash...Pearl..." She whispered softly to herself. Smash furrowed his eyebrows, wondering what she was saying. She closed her eyes, as if she were trying to remember something herself. "My name...I'm Melody.."

As she spoke, an image flashed in Smash's mind for a split-second, too quickly for him to make out. His eyes widened in surprise. 'Melody...?' He thought. 'When she said that, it sparked another memory...'
Pearl also looked somewhat surprised, but then shrugged it off. "Well, it's nice to meet you, Melody." She said, before taking a sip of her tea.
Smash stood up. "Melody," He looked directly at her, "Do you mind if I take a look around? I want to see exactly how badly this place is damaged."
"Oh?" Melody rose both eyebrows, but then smiled. "Yes, you're welcome to look wherever you want." She said.
He nodded, "Thanks." and walked away from the two.

Pearl watched as Smash left, wondering about how familiar everything was. It was almost like a deja vu all over again. "So..are you two related?" Melody asked, sitting down next to her..
"Yeah..Smash is my big brother." She answered.
"I see..." Melody looked down, frowning. "Are you two..happy together?"
Pearl looked back at her. "Of course. Why wouldn't we be?"
She stared down at her lap. "That's good..I was just wondering." She said.
"What about you? Don't you have any family you can look up to?" Pearl asked.
She shook her head. "No..."
Pearl's eyebrows shot up. "No? No one at all? What about your mom and dad?" She shook her head again. "Your grandparents?" She shook her head once more. "Uncles or aunts?"
"I don't have any.." Melody admitted, sadly.
Pearl's eyes widened, "So then...you're really all alone...?" She asked, softly.
Melody nodded. "I have no one to turn to..and nowhere else to live. This is all I have."
Pearl looked away, "I-I'm sorry.." She whispered, softly.

The house was in such a state of disrepair, Smash wasn't sure if it could even be fixed. But the more he looked at it, the more he felt like he knew this place. Before he left the living room, he noticed that he could see right up to the roof; there was no attic. There was a second floor that he could see from where he stood; it was just a couple of staircases leading to a small walkway with a few rooms and hallways on either sides of the house. The more familiar it began to seem, he began to feel distressed.
He walked into another room, and looked around. The paint on the walls were peeling off in a rather horrifying manner. 'I can't imagine that she'd want to stay in here very long.' He thought. He stepped further inside, examining the area. The carpet that lay in the center of the room, was torn and charred. At the end of the room was a desk, but part of the wall collapsed on top of it, leaving only half of it sticking out. There were several objects scattered across the room, most of them too burnt up to really determine what they were. He noticed that there was a chest that had tipped over and gotten crushed by the debris, which appeared to have kept the burnt objects. He walked over to it, and bent down to pick one of them up. Looking closely at it, and brushing off the dust and dirt, it appeared to be a toy of some sort.
"A toy..?" He looked around at the others scattered about the room. 'Were all of these toys..?' He wondered. He dropped it and stood up, and walked back out the room.


"If you don't mind me asking...how did you end up like this?" Pearl asked, staring into her teacup. Melody looked over at her, frowning.
"Well...My mom and dad.." She started to say, but paused when she saw Smash walk out of the room. He glanced over at the two, and kept going. He noticed that at the back of the living room, there was a sliding glass door leading to the back yard. He decided to head over there next, while Melody looked back at Pearl. "They came to pick me up after school one day..and got into a big car accident..."
Pearl's eyes widened. "A car accident...?" She gasped, softly.
"Yes.." Her eyes were glazed over with sadness. "I remember it so clearly..I was standing on the side-walk, watching them come.."
"...Were you by chance, taken in by the Black rose Orphanage, then?" Pearl asked.
Melody nodded slowly. "Yes..." Her gaze slowly drifted down towards the floor. "..I hated that place...I was all alone there, with nobody to look up to. I was too broken up to try to make any friends..I spent most of my early days crying in the corner away from the other kids.." She closed her eyes, "There's no place I'd rather not go, ever again..."
"Melody..." Pearl felt guilty now, for bringing up a painful subject.


Smash stepped outside into the back yard. The grass was still high, but it was surprisingly lower back there than the rest of the property. There was a round table in front of him, surprisingly still in fair condition compared to the rest of the house. It had a few small cracks in it, and the paint was wearing off, but it was still usable. As Smash walked over to look at it, he noticed a few fallen chairs next to it. Two of them were broken, but one was still able to stand. He set it upright, and sat down in it.
Smash looked up at the starry sky, and let out a heavy sigh.
'I feel like I know this spot too...' He thought. 'It's all becoming clearer now. I've been here before. But when...?' He closed his eyes, 'But I don't remember ever being in ruins like these. Which means..something happened here between then and now...' He looked on over towards the house. "What happened to this place...?"

Smash stood up, still looking at the house. He noticed a parasol leaning against the wall. Surprisingly, it looked fairly new. He began to walk back towards the door, to continue examining the insides.


Pearl placed her hand on Melody's shoulder. "I'm sorry. You don't have to tell me any more if you don't want to.."
Melody stayed silent for a few moments. She put her hand on Pearl's, "...It's okay..I'm fine.." She said, softly. "I've just been holding all of this in for so long..I haven't had anyone to talk to since that day, seven years ago..."
"Seven years ago..." Pearl whispered to herself. 'So that's it..She really is that same girl we saw in the records...' She thought.
Smash walked back inside, and was about to walk past them when he noticed how saddened they look. "What's wrong...?" He asked, worriedly.
Melody looked up at him, "Oh..It's nothing." She said. "We were just talking about the past..."
Pearl nodded, "Yeah. How's the house looking?" She asked, trying to change the subject.
Smash shook his head. "Worse than I thought. I'm not really sure what I can do to help this place."
Melody's eyebrows shot up. "You wanted to repair the house..?"
Smash looked off to the side. "Well, that's what I had in mind. But now I'm not so sure if I can really do that."
She shook her head, "It's alright..Thank you, Smash."
Smash closed his eyes and nodded. "If you don't mind, there's more I want to look into." He glanced back at her. "At least, I want to see if your room is in better shape than the others."
"My room..?" She glanced towards a door on the second floor, to their right. "..It's up there." She said, pointing to it. Smash looked, and nodded again.
"Thanks." He walked over towards the stairs and looked up to the top. They looked somewhat weak, but they were still standing. He carefully walked up the staircase and headed to Melody's room.

"..Your brother is kind.." Pearl looked over at Melody, raising both eyebrows. "He seems somewhat distant and unsocial, but..I can tell he's just worried.."
"Yeah..The fact that you're living here like this doesn't sit too well with him." Pearl said. "He's not just worried, I think it made him sad."
Melody looked down. "I'm sorry..." She said, softly. Pearl smiled slightly, and rubbed her shoulder.
"Hey, it's not your fault. Don't worry about it." She said, trying to comfort her. Melody just sighed softly in response.
"You know..you're lucky." Melody said. "I've..always wanted an older brother...."
Pearl's eyes widened, "Really?"
"Yeah..." Melody looked up, staring through the large hole in the ceiling, at the stars in the sky. "A brother I could look up to whenever I needed help..someone who I could talk to when I was lonely...and who would tell me that everything would be alright, when I was sad..." She closed her eyes. "For the past years, that's all I've ever wanted...Just someone to be there with me..."


Smash opened the door to her room, and looked around. He was surprised when he saw that the room was in fairly good condition, compared to the rest of the house. 'I guess it's only natural..she's gotta keep her place livable..' He thought as he walked in. He noticed a few holes in the wall, and her window was broken as well. The curtain was drifting gently from the breeze. He looked over towards her bed. It was an old fashioned kind, made of pure wood. He walked over, and sat on it to test how it held up. 'It seems fine, actually..'
He stood up, and noticed a candle next to her night table. There was something else at the back of the small table, though, that caught his eye. He walked over and picked it up. It was an old, battered doll. It looked like Melody had been trying to take good care of it, as he could see many stitches and a couple of patches all over it. He scrunched his eyebrows at it, staring at it intently. It resembled a white, female echidna, with long hair made out of yarn. 'This doll...It looks...It looks so much like...' His eyes suddenly widened with shock. "I-It can't be...!"


"Waah! I can't find it anywhere!" A little girl cried out, in the foggy memories lurking in the back of his mind.
"What is it, Pearl? What're you looking for?" He heard his own voice ask, sounding much younger.
Young Pearl sniffled, wiping away her tears. "It's my dolly, the one Grandma gave to me!" She whimpered. "I know I had it a little while ago, but I don't remember when!"
"Calm down, Sis. I'll help you look for it." The image of his sister faded away shortly after he comforted her.

"Y'know, I don't think we're going to find it here." He said, apparently after searching for a while. "The last time I saw it was when we were playing with Melody."
"B-but..I was almost sure I had it here, too..." Pearl whimpered again. "It's gotta be around here somewhere.."
"Well..If you say so. But I'm not so sure now.."


"Melody..." That name echoed throughout his mind. Everything was becoming clear to him.


"See this? This is my favorite doll!" Pearl held up the doll for the young girl to see.
"Wow...It looks like your Mom.." She said.
"It IS my Mommy! Grandma made it just for me, and she made it look just like her!"
"Really? Your Grandma's a toymaker, too..?"

"Sorry we have to leave so soon," Smash said to the young girl. "But we gotta make sure our Mom gets home quickly." He, Pearl and the little girl stood outside of a car, near a large house.
"Will you be back..?" She asked, quietly.
"Of course!" Pearl exclaimed.
"I dunno when, but we'll definitely come back here one day. That's a promise." He said. "So until then..Take care, Melody."


"Melody...."


Smash gasped as he snapped back into reality in a cold sweat. He stumbled backwards and clutched his chest, panting heavily. His heart was beating like a bass drum. He stared down at the doll, the one that resembled his mother. "This is...Pearl's doll...She lost it here..." He looked out towards the door, his eyes still wide from shock. "W-which means...Melody..."


"Pearl, can I ask you something..?" Melody looked over at her, somewhat nervously.
"Yes? What is it?"
"Well...I was wondering..Does this place seem familiar to you?" She asked.
"Familiar?" Pearl's eyebrows rose. Melody looked away, quickly.
"I-I'm sorry, that was a strange question." She stammered.
"No, actually..That's why we came.." Pearl answered. Melody's eyes widened as she looked back.
"What..? So you mean..."
"I can't shake off the feeling that I've been here sometime before." Pearl said. "But..I don't remember when or why..."

"Pearl." The two girls looked up and saw Smash standing near the couch. He had a very serious look on his face.
"S-Smash? What's wrong?" Pearl stood up, alarmed. Melody did, too.
"I think you both should have a look at this." He said. He held up the white echidna doll for them to see. Pearl stared at it for a few moments, but Melody literally froze with shock.
"I...I don't...believe it..." She stammered silently to herself. Pearl took the doll into her hands, still staring at it.
"Wait...Wait a minute..." Her eyes widened in shock, and she slowly looked up at Smash. "Smash, is this...is this really...?"
Smash nodded. "This is the doll that Grandma made for you, the one she made to look just like Mom." He said. "The one that we left behind, when she got sick."

Melody stared at them both. "Then you're...You're really them..." She said. Smash looked over at her. "When you said your names were Smash and Pearl..I had a feeling...but I...I didn't.." Her stammering voice trailed off.
Smash opened his mouth to speak, but he stopped when he heard something that caught his attention. He looked back at Pearl in front of him, and saw a long stream of tears running down her cheeks. Her tears were dripping down onto the doll in her hands. "I-I can't believe it..."
"Pearl..." Smash watched as she began to sob, as the memories of their childhood played through his mind. Looking over at the current condition of the house, he felt more than just distressed, now. He felt horrible. Suddenly, Pearl whirled around to face Melody, and gave her a big hug. "Melody, I'm so sorry..! I..I'm so sorry..." She sobbed. "H-How could I have forgotten you all? W-What's WRONG with me!?"
Melody closed her eyes, and returned the hug. "Please..don't apologize..." She whimpered. "I-I'm sure..there was a reason..." She was trying to fight back her own tears as she spoke. Smash walked up beside them, and placed his hand on her shoulder.
"Melody.." She opened her eyes and looked at him. "...I swear, I will make it up to you somehow." He said, softly. "From now on, we won't ever leave you behind like that again." He then embraced them both, making it a group hug. "I'm so sorry.."
Melody's eyes began to water up. "P-Please..I..." She suddenly burst into tears, unable to hold it in any longer. Smash closed his eyes, holding them close.
"It's okay..." He cooed softly. "I'm sorry..."


"I knew...I knew I would see you again, someday." Melody said. The three had all sat down on the couch again, with a fresh batch of tea. "I knew that if I kept that doll safe, then you would come back.." She looked up at the two, smiling sincerely.
"Well it took us a while, but you were right." Smash said.
"After a while, I was beginning think I'd never see you again.." She looked down. "Last year, I found your house.."
Smash and Pearl's eyes widened. "You did?"
"Yes...During the summer...But when I looked, no one was there." She looked down, "I kept coming back every day, but I had no luck. I knew it was your house because..I went inside to look for you."
"During the summer..." Smash and Pearl exchanged glances.
"I kept coming every day for a whole week, but nobody ever came home. That's when I was afraid that you had gone somewhere far away, and really weren't going to come back."
Smash looked down, "Sorry about that." He said. "Y'see, You're partially right; We did end up moving away." Melody looked up at him. "We live in the city now. But Pearl still goes to stay at our old house often. It's just around that time there was a lot going on in the city.."
"Yeah. After the city was attacked by Dr. Eggman, we ended up having to help a friend of ours with an issue." Pearl continued. "I wasn't able to go back to the old house until Autumn."
"I see..." Melody said, softly. "But..you've come back now. That's all that matters to me, now.."
Pearl smiled warmly at her. "Yep. And now we can go to our old house together, too."
Smash looked at her, "Melody...How did your house end up like this? What on earth happened here?"

Melody's smile quickly vanished. She looked down, then towards the tree in the center of the house. "..My parents, were in a car accident.." She said. Smash gasped abruptly. "A really horrible accident...right in front of my school. That was the last time I ever saw them.."
Pearl looked down, already knowing this part of the story. Smash glanced at Pearl, soon realizing what was wrong earlier.
"I was taken in to the Black Rose Orphanage, and stayed there for a few years.." She looked up at the sky through the ceiling. "One day, I snuck out of the orphanage, and left to go and find my home. After several hours of wandering around outside the city, I finally managed to make it back. I got in just as a storm hit the area....and I finally met up with the only family I had left.."
"The only family..." Pearl looked back at Smash.
"Harmony.." Smash said. "Your chao...She was left behind for all those years..."
Melody nodded. "Yes..I wanted to find her, and try to start over together. I never wanted to go back to that orphanage again. They separated us..."
"Tch." Smash looked irritated. "They couldn't care less about what they did." Melody looked back at him in surprise. "That's why we spent the rest of that summer trying to shut them down."
Melody's eyes widened. "You mean...the Black Rose Orphanage is closed..?"
"Let's just say they started over from scratch, after someone else took charge." He said. "It's not even called Black Rose anymore. So let's not worry about that anymore, it's a better place now."
Melody smiled a little. "I'm glad..." She said. She looked back over towards the tree, "But..." Her smile faded again. "Our reunion didn't last long."
"Huh..?" Smash looked back at her. 'Wait, Where IS Harmony, anyway..?'
"When I tried to cook for the two of us..the storm got really bad." She said. "I burned the food, and then the power went out. I started to panic, and then the stove caught on fire...I rushed to the sink to try to get some water, but I couldn't see well enough to put it out. The fire spread faster than I could handle, and I ran away to the living room with Harmony."
"Oh my..." Pearl gasped softly.
"Then, seemingly out of nowhere, a man came inside. He saw what was going on, and took me out the house. He brought me back to the orphanage, and told me to never run away like that again." She closed her eyes. "And he left Harmony inside the burning house."
Smash was stunned. "What...?" He felt shocked, but also angered as well. "Didn't he see her with you!? Why would he leave a chao inside a burning building!?"
"I don't know..." Melody said. Smash's face softened up, and he looked down. "I had to stay at the orphanage until I was old enough to leave. I immediately came back here, hoping to find Harmony again..and that's when I had found out how devastated this place was.."
"Did you ever find her?" Pearl asked, worriedly.
Melody didn't answer immediately. She stood up from the couch. "Follow me..and I'll show you the answer." She said. The two stood up, puzzled, as Melody began to walk around to the back of the large tree.

They quickly caught up to her, and saw her standing in front of a slab of stone wedged in the ground in front of the tree. She knelt down, and sat in front of it, running her hand across the side of it. "Look here.." She said. Smash and Pearl knelt down beside her, and noticed something carved into the front of it. Looking closely, they saw that it was a drawing of a chao, and a little girl echidna. They both were standing together, holding hands and singing. There were words below it. "Together we sing, My Final Melody, in perfect Harmony..." Smash read aloud. His eyes widened as he looked over at her. "This is..."
"This is all that I found.." Melody said, softly. "Harmony passed away while I was gone..and she left this here for me...as a farewell gift."
Smash and Pearl both felt their hearts skip a beat. They couldn't find any words to say. Instead, Smash closed his eyes, and placed his hand to his chest. "...She was a nice chao, and a good friend." He said, quietly. "We'll miss her.."


The trio stood near the front door, a little while later. "I'm sorry for keeping you out for so long." Melody said. "I'm sure you have to get home pretty soon.."

Smash shook his head. "Don't you worry about that." He said. "It was worth it."
"Yeah. Who would have thought that we'd run into an old friend out here?" Pearl added.

Melody giggled slightly. "I'm glad I got to see you again." She said.
Smash smiled, and looked on over towards the door. 'Yeah, we should really be going home, right now...' He thought. 'But...There's no way..Absolutely no way...' He looked back at Melody. "I want you to come with us." He said.
"Eh?" Melody was taken by surprise. "You...want me to go with you..?"
"Of course." Smash smiled kindly at her. "After all that, do you really think we'd just leave you out here alone in this place?"
"Well no, but..." Melody looked back at the tree in the center of the house. "I just...this is just where I've lived for so long.."
Smash put his hand on her shoulder. "Trust me, You'll be able to come back soon. But for now, it's in no condition for you to live in. We'll come back in the morning to get your stuff, okay?"
Melody stared at the tree for a few more moments, before looking back at him. "Okay.."

Smash patted her shoulder, and lead the two of them outside. They all gave one last look at the house before trekking through the grass back to Smash's motorcycle.
"Okay, let's-" Smash stopped once they reached it. "Uhh...umm...how are we gonna do this, now..?" He scratched the side of his face, realizing that his motorcycle only seats two people.
"Hey, it was your idea." Pearl nudged him. "You gotta figure out a way to get us all home."
Smash stroked his chin. "Well...I've gotta drive..and you.." He muttered to himself, as he walked around the bike. "Let's see..hmm..." He sat down on the front seat. "Maybe..Maybe Melody can sit on one of our laps?" He suggested.
Pearl's eyebrows shot up. "Huh? Uhh..." She looked at Melody. "You sure there's enough room? I mean, if it works then okay, but..how would we hold on?"
Smash sighed. "Well, I guess if she sat on your lap then it'd be hard for you to hang on..but if she sat on mine, I could probably manage." He looked at Melody. "You okay with that?" He asked.
"Mmhm." She nodded. "As long as I don't get in your way..."
"Ah, I'll be fine." Smash said. "Come on over and we'll see." Melody walked over to his side, and sat down in his lap. She shuffled around a bit, trying to get comfortable. Smash put his hands on the handlebars. "I'll probably have to drive slower than usual, but I'll manage." He looked back at Pearl, who was raising an eyebrow at them. "Don't look at me like that. C'mon. Let's go home."
Pearl nodded and sat down on the back. Smash started up the motor, which startled Melody at first, and began to drive down the moonlit path.

Well, after two months of inactivity due to writers block, I'm finally working on this again.

May or may not have said this before, (too lazy to look at previous posts, since I'm posting this from the first page) but I want to go back and revise the previous chapters up until now before starting on the next one. I've already finished with the Prologue and Chapter 1, so it should explain a little more about David's arc.

EDIT: Okay, I've finished updating each chapter. There aren't too many changes in the later chapters, but the earlier ones (especially the first one) have been touched up a bit. There probably aren't too many changes since I already went over them once before, and fixed up the majority of the mistakes.

So now I can start on Chapter 10. Yay.

Apologies for the long wait. I had trouble figuring out how to go about David's section. At least I've gotten a head start on the next chapter.


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I stood in wait in the center of the main ring, arms folded and eyes closed. The arena was empty; not even an audience was present. Yet, today was a rather busy day at the Blitz Pit, so it took no longer than 10 minutes for everyone to receive my request. Soon enough, a young man stepped up into the ring. A pale brown tiger, with messy hair and clawed gauntlets securely equipped on his hands. "David the Echidna, I presume?" He asked. "I've heard much about you. You've had a bit of a winning streak for the past week or so."

"So I have." I answered, simply. "Have you accepted my challenge?"

"Sure I have." He sharpened his clawed gauntlets, flashing a somewhat amused grin. "Can't say the same for everyone else, though."

"What?" This had me concerned now. "What do you mean? They didn't accept it?"
The tiger shrugged slightly. "Can't say for sure! Last I heard, they were gathered in the lounge talkin' about it. They all seemed pretty hesitant though!"

"Hmm.." At the very least, I had gotten their attention. But them gathering and discussing my challenge in a group was unusual. Then again, so was challenging the entire Blitz Pit to a duel. Still, it made me feel a bit uneasy.

"But hey, ya got one guy who jumped at the call." The tiger pointed a thumb towards his chest. "The name's Razor Claw. And if it's a challenge you want, I'm all you need."

"Glad to hear it. But I'm not in it for the challenge."
Razor raised an eyebrow at me, but before he could ask anything, the referee climbed up onto the ring. The referee also served as the announcer, as well. "Well it looks like you're already about to fight! But nobody's even here yet--"
"That's fine." I said. "I can fight without an audience, as long as it's official."
The referee looked rather surprised. "I-Is that so..?" He glanced over at Razor, who looked somewhat confused. The tiger just shrugged it off, though, and got into a battle stance.

"Y'know, I don't really care either." Razor stated. "Let's just do this!"
The ref looked back and forth between us. "Alright then. Keep it clean, boys." He held up a hand above his head. "Ready...?" With a wave of his hand, as if he were using a flag at a race, he exclaimed, "Begin!"

Without hesitation, Razor came rushing out towards me. "This is gonna be FUN!" He yelled at the top of his lungs. I held my ground as he approached, and he made his first move. He thrust his fist toward my face, as if to impale me with his claws. I batted his arm away from me, and found myself doing it again with his other arm. He kept on swinging at me, wild and ruthlessly. I could only stay on the defensive and keep his attacks at bay.
Then, an opening appeared through his barrage. He was about to swing both arms at me in a scissor like motion. Immediately, I ducked down under the attack, and delivered a sweep kick to his legs. He fell backwards, yet somehow managed to flip into a hand stand. Before he could finish recovering, I twisted my body as far as it would allow to turn around and follow up with a straight punch to his back.

Razor fell over onto his front-side, and crawled back to his feet. "Heheh, Pretty good!" He complimented. It seemed like he was really enjoying this. As I stood back up, he then came charging at me again. "Let's see how you do against this!" He lunged at me, and began spinning his entire body around like a Frisbee. It was a technique unlike any I'd ever seen before. Startled, I sprung off to the side and rolled out of the way. I could practically feel him chopping through the air like a helicopter. As he passed me, he kept on going until he reached the edge of the ring. I thought for sure he was going to get a ring out, but he suddenly thrust his fist downward and stabbed the floor with his claws. He spun around and slung himself back towards me like a boomerang. He was going twice as fast this time; I would have gotten hit if I tried to dodge roll again. With little time left, I ducked down to let him pass over my head. That was a bad mistake, as he managed to let down his arms low enough to grab me. In the next instant, I felt myself being pulled up into the air and spinning around with him. The whole ring whirled around like a tornado surrounding me, and soon everything became one big blur; Everything but Razor and myself, that is.

I had no idea what he was planning to do with me, but I couldn't keep this up. I was getting severely dizzy from this. Trying what he did, I managed to thrust my legs downward and plant them firmly on the ground. With my arms, I managed to grab him by the elbows and yank him out of his little whirlwind. We completely toppled over right there, but I managed to make it into a kneeling position in front of him. Still holding onto his elbows, I hurled him over my head and sent him tumbling forward.

I had to take a moment to recover my senses, while he laid on his back trying to figure out what the heck just happened.

A moment of silence passed through. The referee stared at us, wondering when we were going to stand back up. After a few more moments, we all heard a voice nearby. "Hey, Hold it!" The ref turned around, I stood up, and Razor sat up with an even more baffled expression on his face. The manager was standing right there at the edge of the ring, and a whole pack of people were standing behind him.

"Oh, Manager! Is something wrong?" The ref asked him, somewhat worriedly.

"Kinda." He said. "Depends on how you look at it." His gaze turned to me. "I don't think you fully grasp what you've gotten yourself into, have you?"

"Whatever it is, I'll deal with it." I responded firmly. I recognized the people behind him as many of the fighters here.

"You sure? Well, I've got some good news, and I've got some bad news." He said. "Good news is, all the fighters accepted your challenge."
I felt slightly relieved, knowing that. But I had a feeling I knew what the bad news was.
"The bad news is, we all realized how long it would take for you to duel each one. So they all agreed to fight you at once."
"A-At once..!?" That wasn't quite what I was expecting.
"Yep. It's you versus the world, Dave." He stated, glumly. All the fighters began to walk up onto the ring, spreading out away from him. "Last chance to call it off. You sure you wanna do this?"

I thought for a moment. It was foolish to try and take every fighter on at once. I knew I couldn't win this. Yet, when I thought about Sarah...I found the strength to willingly accept this practical suicide mission. "What will I get if I win?"

"Bahaha! You really think there's a chance that you'll win?" One of the fighters blurted out.

"Er...as unlikely as victory may be," The manager rubbed his chin. "I gotta say that this type of thing is probably bigger than winning a world tournament. It's the type of thing that'd go down in history as the greatest battle in all of the Blitz Pit."

"Whoa..." Another fighter whistled at the sound of that.
Knowing that the prize was definitely more than enough to help Sarah, I knew that I had to do this. "Then, I'll do it."
"Hey man, you're crazy." A random fighter told me bluntly from the side-lines. "The money ain't worth this kinda beating."
"Yeah, there are like, what, 24 of us here on the ring right now?" Someone else added. "We'll maim you!"
"Why are you doing this anyway?" The referee asked, worriedly. Razor stood up from behind me, now giving me a serious look.

"You say it's not for the challenge, but is it really worth the money? Or the fame?" He asked me.

I simply shook my head. "If I told you the real reason I'm doing this, then I'm afraid that this battle will have little meaning." I declared. A lot of people looked somewhat surprised. "Now, are you ready to fight?"
The manager gave me one last worried glance before stepping off the ring. The referee arranged my opponents to cover one side of the ring, while I stood on the other. An audience had begun to form while we were talking, and now the stands were filling up. "Alright, in this match we have David The Echidna, our current leading fighter with a winning streak of 10 battles in a row!" The crowd cheered slightly, but I could hear the confused murmurs of the people wondering about everyone else on the other side. "This is a special match, requested by David himself. On the other corner, we have...Every single fighter in the Blitz Pit!" The whole crowd gasped in shock. "This is an endurance battle; David will be rewarded depending on how long he lasts and how many fighters he can take out before he collapses! If he somehow manages to win this...I don't even know!"

So those were the rules this time. At least I can lose and know that it wasn't in vain. But I still couldn't risk a prize lower than the top. I couldn't afford to lose this at all. I braced myself, getting into a battle stance and analyzed each of the fighters. Deep down I knew I couldn't win. But I didn't have a choice; I had to.
"Everyone ready?" The referee found it hard to tell with all the people bunched up on one side.

"Begin!!"

















By the time the trio reached the city, it was already 9:00. Smash drove down the near empty streets, as Melody glanced around at all the lights illuminating the city. "This place is bright, even at night..."
"Never been to the city at night?" Smash asked, curiously raising an eyebrow.
"No, I always tried to be home by then.."
Pearl looked over his shoulder. "So, have you been up here often then?"
Melody nodded. "Whenever I could afford it, I would just go as far as the nearest store, and then go home." She said.
"That's a pretty long walk." Smash noted.

Soon, they pulled into Smash's driveway. They immediately noticed another car parked in there. "Looks like we're pretty late." Smash said in amusement.
"I'm sorry..." Melody's head hung low in guilt.
"Hey hey, don't worry about it." Smash let her off his lap, before getting off the bike himself. "I knew we'd be late before we even ran into you."
Pearl stood up from her seat and stretched. "Well, I'm just glad we're back. I'm hungry!"
Smash felt his stomach growl. Now that he thought about it, they hadn't really eaten anything since they left their old home; and that was just a snack, rather than an actual meal. "Well, I just hope dinner's all prepared."
Melody gave him a questioning look, but didn't say anything as she followed the two to the front door.

Smash opened the door and stepped inside first. "We're home!" He called out.
The first person he saw was Speedy, sitting on his couch. "Well it's about time!" He exclaimed, jokingly. "We held off dinner just for you to get back!"
Smash laughed as he stepped aside for the other two to come in. "I told you we'd be late." He said. Speedy's eyebrows rose at the sight of Melody.
"Who's that?" He asked. Melody shyly looked away.

"Welcome home, dear." Luna walked into the room, followed by Speeder and one other girl. "I heard that you've finally solved the mystery."
Smash walked over and gave her a quick peck on the cheek. "Yeah, it's finally over." He said. "I'll tell you all about it after dinner."
Pearl looked over at the other girl beside Luna, and smiled. "Hey, Shada! I didn't expect to see you here tonight."
Shada, Luna's sister and their sister-in-law, simply grinned back. "Yeah, Luna invited me over for dinner. She said it was a bit of a special occasion. Though Sam said he had better things to do."
"Psh. Figures." Smash scoffed. "Well anyway, glad ya came. Anyway, before anything else," Smash stepped aside, and gestured his hand towards Melody. "Everyone, this is Melody; The first real friend Pearl and I ever made."
Melody looked over at all the people, hesitantly. "H-..Hello, everyone."

Luna smiled and shook her hand. "My name is Luna. I'm Smash's wife. It's very nice to meet you, Melody." She said. Melody looked rather shocked, but tried to hide it behind a smile. "This is my sister, Shada."
"Hiya." Shada waved cheerfully.
"And I'm Speedy!" Speedy stood up from the couch, pointing his thumb at his chest. "And that's my dad right there." Speeder tipped his hat off to her.

"It's..very nice to meet all of you." She responded. She bowed her head, "Thank you for welcoming me into your home."
Pearl giggled lightly. "Hey, no need to be so formal. We're all family and friends, here." She said. Melody rose back up, looking embarrassed.
"Due to some complications, which I'll go into detail about after dinner," Smash spoke up, "Melody will be staying here for a while. I hope that's okay with you."
Luna nodded. "It's completely fine. She can stay as long as she wants."
"Th-..Thank you, Miss Luna." Melody stammered lightly.
"You can just call me Luna. I don't mind." She said. "Alright, I'll go and finish up dinner. Feel free to relax in the livingroom." With that, Luna walked back into the kitchen.
Smash looked around at everyone. "Well, if you'll excuse me..." He then headed into the kitchen after her.
Shada started to walk out of the room as well. "I'll be right back."

"Well, this seems like it'll be a fun party!" Pearl said, excitedly.
"This isn't even everyone," Speedy said. "We actually went ahead and invited Gizmo and Violet, too."
"Really? Cool!" Pearl grinned, "I hope we have enough food for everyone!"
Shada then walked back into the room. "I'm back." She said. "And guess who else is?"
Holding her hand, was a small, five year old echidna with sandy orange hair. When she saw Pearl, she quickly broke away from Shada and ran towards the chair she was sitting on. "Mommy!" She cried out happily.
Pearl got up from the chair and knelt down with her arms spread out. "Sandy! Welcome back, sweety!" She gave the child a great big hug.

"Mommy..?" Melody stared at the two, practically stunned.
"Yeah, Sandy's her adoptive daughter." Speedy whispered back. "It's a long story."
"I..I see..."

"How was your vacation with Auntie Shada?" Pearl asked.
"It was fun!" Sandy chimed happily. "I can swim now!"
"You can?" Pearl faked being shocked. "Woow..!"
Shada laughed. "Yeah, I gave her swimming lessons at the beach." She said. "She's a fast learner."
Melody watched on as the three talked and laughed together. There was a strange feeling in her chest, something about them felt weird to her, yet pleasant at the same time. Sandy soon noticed her, and began to look curious. "Mommy, who's that?" Sandy asked.
"This is Mommy's friend." Pearl answered, smiling at Melody. "Go on, say hi."
Sandy walked slowly over to her, and looked up at her face. "Hi..I'm Sandy. What's your name?"
Melody scooted off the couch, and knelt in front of her. "Melody..I'm Melody." She answered, softly. "It's nice to meet you, Sandy."
"Hehe." Sandy held her hands behind her back and smiled sweetly. Melody couldn't help but smile at the child's innocence.
This was the first time she had ever met anyone so much younger than she was. Something about Sandy reminded her of herself when she was a child. But, dwelling on those thoughts stirred up the memories of her early life at the orphanage. Her smile quickly faded when the thought of Sandy ending up at the Black Rose Orphanage came to mind. Without really thinking, she found herself gently embracing the child, and not wanting to let go. Sandy was somewhat surprised, but she willingly returned the hug. 'I hope this child will have a happier life..and stay with her family.'


"So Smash, This girl was your first friend you say?" Luna inquired, as she began to reheat the food.
Smash leaned back on the counter, resting his arms on top of it. "Yeah.."
"How come you never introduced me to her until now?"
Smash looked away, unsure of how to respond.
"I mean, I got to know all your other friends, but if she was the first then-...Smash?" She looked back at him. "What's wrong?"
"...It's nothing." He said, quietly.
Luna frowned and walked over to him. "Are you sure? You look upset. Did I say something wrong?"
Smash shook his head. "No, you didn't do anything." He said. "I just..." He looked down and sighed heavily. "You know, I'm glad that we've finally put all this to rest and all, but digging up this old case really didn't have a very good impact on me, in a way."
Luna wasn't quite sure she understood, but she listened anyway.
"I mean..It's been seven years. Seven years and I didn't do anything about Mom and Dad's case until now. I left it up to the police, this whole time, and never thought that something might have happened over there. And with the whole family waiting on me to update them on the situation, such a stupid move on my part is unlike me." He sighed again. "I'm ashamed to admit it, but I honestly forgot about the case.."
Luna put her hand on his shoulder. "It couldn't be helped. You had many other things to deal with since then. When you're suddenly living alone at a young age, It's best to just deal with what you can, and concentrate on what's going on around you, and leave the more complicated things to the police like you just did. If they failed, then they failed. It's not your fault."
Smash fell silent again, for a few more moments.
"...Tell me..does that justify completely forgetting everything about your first and only friend at the time, for seven whole years straight?"
Luna released his shoulder and took a step back in shock. Smash clenched his fist, leaning off of the counter.
"After all this time, I've been too focused on caring for Pearl and myself, and soon all the others around me, that I completely forgot everything about Melody..And she's been through far worse than I have. Not only did her parents die on the same day that mine did, but the Black Rose Orphanage got her before anyone could even do anything about it...And what's worse, she was there when they died. She saw them with her own eyes, getting smashed up in a freak traffic accident." He closed his eyes, practically envisioning the scene.
"She doesn't have any siblings, so she was all alone in the orphanage...so she tried to run away back home to at least stay with her chao; the only family she had left. But with a combination of a hurricane and a house-fire, and the orphanage tracking her down back to there, she couldn't even stay with her own chao." He gritted his teeth, "They left it in the burning house, and took her back to the orphanage. When she was finally released, she went to live back there all alone, in the house that was practically falling apart. Her chao was already dead..the house that her family built by hand, doesn't even look like it can be fixed anymore...yet she's been there ever since." His voice slowly began breaking up. "If I had known about any of this sooner, I would have stopped those guys from taking her again..I'd have kept her from staying in that house for so long..I'd..I..If only I remembered in the first place...!"

Right when he felt his eyes stinging, Smash felt Luna's arms wrap around him. "Smash...It's alright..." She cooed softly. "You've done all that you could. You push yourself too hard to try and care for everyone. I'm sure if Melody knew all that you've done, she would be happy."
Nearly brought to tears, Smash slowly turned to her, and returned the hug. "Th...thank you.."



"Alright everyone." Smash spoke up at the dinner table. Everyone had sat down to eat, including Gizmo and Violet, who had been invited by Speedy. "Tonight's a special night. It's the night that we finally put a certain case to rest after a long, long time." All eyes were on him; the people who didn't know were all staring curiously, while the others were smiling in accomplishment. "The case, of my parents' death."
Melody's eyes went wide from shock. Out of everyone, she was the only one who didn't know they had died.
"My mother and father passed away seven years ago. Leaving the case up to the police was our original intention, however we never heard back from them. So, yesterday, I took matters into my own hands. Soon some of you guys pitched in. I'd like to give special thanks to Pearl, Speedy and Speeder, Luna, and finally, Gizmo."
"Me? What'd I do?" Gizmo asked, scratching his head.
"You fixed up my dad's armor." Smash reminded him. "In the process, You also gave me a very vital clue in solving this case."
"I did?" His eyebrows rose in surprise. Kitty nudged his head, grinning slightly. "Well, heh..You're welcome." He chuckled sheepishly.

"So, it took the police seven years, but you guys solved the case in only two days?" Violet asked, scratching her head. "How's that work?"
"What were the police even doing in that time?" Shada folded her arms, looking annoyed. Speeder cleared his throat.
"I'll tell ya." Smash said, simply. Everyone listened closely as he began.
"Alright, here's how it all began." He started. "Yesterday down at the Blitz Pit, I was talking with the guys as we took our break. World Tournament's just finished and all, so things were just calming down. The subject drifted off to the older fighters of the Blitz Pit. Now for those of you who didn't know, my dad was a fighter there back in the day." He flashed the group a serious look. "Had any of you heard that he was in a car accident?"
"W-What..?" Violet looked surprised. "Car accident?"
"News to me!" Shada said, equally surprised.
"Yeah." Gizmo added. "But it's more surprising to me that you didn't hear about it before, Smash."
Smash nodded. "My thoughts exactly. Of course, when I heard that, I was pretty shaken up about it. But I pulled myself together and went to talk to the manager about it. He said that the rumors of the car accident were from a long time ago. But even then I should have heard about it. That's one part of the mystery I haven't solved; How and where did that rumor come from, and why was I the only one who didn't hear about it?" The others gave him a curious look, before he continued.
"Anyway, I then went into the locker room to check out my dad's stuff, and I found a weird suit of armor in his locker. I went home to drop off all his stuff, and then brought it to let Gizmo examine it. I headed back home again to think things over, and soon went to see Speeder. I wanted to find out what the heck was going on with the police at the time." He rose an eyebrow at the group. "And guess what? Speeder's first case, was this very case that we finally closed."
"Seriously!?" Gizmo exclaimed. Kitty shot Speeder a look of shock.
Violet scratched her head. "Wait..If Mr. Speeder was on the case, then shouldn't he have..?"
Smash nodded and continued. "Now, Speeder didn't get many opportunities at the scene of the crime, but what he did know was that things got very confusing with the autopsy. First off, the man giving out the autopsy report? Gone."
"Gone?" Shada asked. "Gone where?"
"Just..Gone." Smash said. "Vanished without a trace, at the exact time he was supposed to hand it out."
"T-That's scary..." Melody shivered.
"So they got a different guy to do it. Apparently they hired a newbie, called Jake Dunland." Smash continued. "His autopsy stated that they were struck with a large and blunt object, and died almost instantly. Fits the rumor quite nicely, don't it?"
Gizmo nodded. "Yeah..I can't imagine what else it could be other than an automobile of some sort."
"Well, there's one slip-up he made." Smash wagged his finger. "The scene of the crime, was in Green Flower Zone, just a ways away from the city limits, and during the evening. Can anyone tell me what's wrong with this?"
"Uhh.." Shada bit her lip, rather unfamiliar with the area. Violet scratched her head, trying to think.
"Wait, down there past my house?" Gizmo asked, raising both eyebrows. "There shouldn't be any traffic out there."
"Exactly. It's just a dirt road past your house, and it ends once it gets into the zone. The area really isn't laid out for vehicles, so you'd have to be moving pretty slowly to get over stuff like bridges and the narrow turns. And that's just to get to my house, mind you. Ever wonder why my dad never had a car?"
"But, if the car was moving slow, then how did it kill...?" Gizmo's voice trailed off.
"There's no way a slow moving car could possibly kill my parents. Much less my dad." Smash declared. "If they were speeding, then they would have wrecked in the river for sure. No one's that pro a driver."
Violet rubbed her temple. "Then that means...?"
"It means that something about the autopsy was seriously off." Gizmo stated. "They weren't really killed in Green Flower Zone, were they?"
Smash shook his head. "They were."
"What?"
"Think about it from a different view." Smash stroked his chin. "Obviously the cops woulda told Jake where the whole thing took place, but it's easy to get things wrong when you were never there in the first place.."
Gizmo tapped his forehead. "Then...if it wasn't the area, then it must have..." His eyes lit up. "Wait a second...It couldn't have been an accident. That wouldn't make sense. But if it was intentional, they'd have wrecked like you said..it'd be easier to just come with a regular weapon..."
"Then that means there was no car, was there?" Violet finished for him.
"Precisely." Smash leaned back in his chair. "Also worth noting, the police got there not long after they were killed. There was no time for the killer to drive all the way up into an open area, turn around, head back past the crime scene, get to the city, and then make a break for freedom." He added. "The police didn't find a car, either. That further proves that there weren't any vehicles out there."
"But wait, the police station is way up in the opposite direction." Violet pointed out. "They'd have to drive through the whole city to get there, wouldn't they? How'd they make it so fast?"
"Not to mention that if no traffic goes on down there, no police would either." Gizmo added. "They wouldn't know if something was going on down there unless-" He paused, realizing where he was going with this. "...Unless someone told them.."
"Yeah, someone told them." Smash confirmed. "During the crime."
"Whoa what?" Shada looked surprised. "Was someone else there or did one of your parents...?"
Smash nodded. "It was my dad. He called the station, and just let them hear what was going on." He said. "The police didn't quite know what was going on, but decided they had to track the signal and hurry down there when they heard a gunshot."
"Gunshot..?" The three of them said in unison.
Smash nodded slowly. "Yep. Gunshot. There goes our murder weapon, shooting that car theory out the window." He remarked. "But get this, the gun only killed one of them."
"Only one?" Violet asked. "Does that mean that the other was killed some other way?"
"Technically it kinda did them both in, but my dad actually survived his bullet." Smash stated. "Probably would have, if the culprit didn't decide to finish the job with his bare hands. He was apparently beaten down rather brutally."
"Oh my..." Luna gasped softly, holding her hand to her mouth. Melody looked away with a pained expression.
"But even after all of that, My dad didn't even die till he was halfway to the hospital." Smash said.
Violet's eyes widened slightly "Wow..What a trooper."
"Kudos to him." Shada added. "It takes a lot more than guts to survive so long after all that."
"Something's bothering me though." Gizmo said. "Who did it? Who's the murderer?"
"And what happened with the investigation?" Violet added.
"I'mma start with the latter question." Smash said. "It'll answer both in time."
The group nodded, and listened closely.
"The police were beginning to be lead astray by the faulty autopsy, but everything came to a screeching halt the next day." He continued. "A new case came up, involving people at the Blitz Pit. A man named Kain Abbanc was charged with "swindling and/or deceiving" the minor league fighters of the Blitz Pit into buying his armor, so that he could use the funds to create a weapon to "terrorize the public"."
"His..Armor?" Gizmo looked worried.
"The fighters at the Blitz Pit were all riled up, and chased him out. The police got involved, and both groups charged off to Hedgehog Park. The police thought that Kaine was one of the fighters there, which he actually used to be, and thus weren't expecting him to suddenly whip out a gun on them. He opened fire, aiming for all the police officers, and threw the gun at them when he was out of ammo. He caught many of them off guard, and it cost a lot of them their lives."
"Whoa..." Violet didn't know what else to say.
"Aren't police supposed to be ready for that type of thing though?" Gizmo asked.
"I guess some of them got careless 'cause of how big their group was against one guy." Smash shrugged and shook his head. "Goes to show that you can never be too careful." He looked back at them. "Anyway, he tried to pull off one last stunt. He tried to activate the armor that he was wearing; one of his own creations, that powered up the user with a Life Ring..."
Gizmo's pupils shrunk from shock. "Y-you can't mean..."
"But it backfired. The chest-plate completely blew up and knocked him into a tree. He was unconscious, and has been in a coma ever since."
"So..he basically took himself out?" Shada asked.
"Yep." Smash nodded.
"So..that's why you told me to check that armor twice.." Gizmo said, slowly. "You knew about the exploding armor and didn't want to end up like him."
"Exactly. I didn't know what the heck happened out there, but I didn't want it happening again" Smash said. "And though he took himself out, he took many of the officers with him. Leaving the only survivors on our case being Speeder and a now retired cop. Because only one of them had any real idea what was going on in the case, and his brother had just been killed on the scene, they had to drop the case for good. I guess you could say it was a draw."
There was a moment of silence. No one had anything to say.
"Also, by the time they got back to the station, Jake Dunland was gone."
"Wait, what?" Violet blurted out.
"Yeah, He bailed." Smash said. "I guess now's a good time to mention who he really was. Jake was secretly a part of the Black Rose Orphanage's gang."
"W-Wh-.." Violet, Gizmo and Kitty all stammered, but Shada and Melody didn't quite understand. Luna's eyebrows shot up in surprise and soon furrowed into a glare, though she stayed silent.
"Yep. In fact, Jake's main purpose was to throw the investigation off the rails. First, he kidnapped Henry, the original autopsy guy, and caused a power outage in the station to ensure his escape route. Then, he probably took the poor guy and tossed him out into the ocean, much like their gang tried to do to us a few times before."
"How horrible.." Luna grimaced. "I'm so glad you guys put a stop to their actions."
"Yeah. Then after that, he went and got himself hired to do the autopsy, and then gave em the fake. He MUST have had some strings pulled in the background to get all that done. I mean, he had to have known the layout of the area to do that kidnapping, and he most likely had someone get him hired. We think it was an inside job, but we haven't found that much out yet. Either way, once Kaine's case came up, Jake took that chance to high tail it outta there."
"That jerk." Violet grumbled. "Was he ever caught?"
Smash grinned. "Funny you should ask that, when you were the one who put him behind bars."
"What." Violet blinked a couple of times. "I did?"
"Yep, you and Speedy, right before the Elemental Rings Factory closed down."
"Yeah, that one thug trying to run away, and we got him together. Remember?" Speedy said.
"Oh yeah!" Violet remembered. "Well that makes me feel better!"
Gizmo looked up at Smash, worriedly. "Why did your dad have the same type of armor as that man?" He asked. "Did he buy it from him?"
"Even I don't know for sure what happened." Smash shrugged. "But, I know he must have gotten it easily, because he actually used to work for him. Before the secret got out, of course."
Gizmo looked surprised. "Whoa, really?"
"Yeah. He worked for em, helped em sell the stuff." He answered. "Somehow, my dad figured out his secret, and he's the one who told everyone about it. Pretty sure he might have had plans on leading the riot, but he died the next day."
"That's probably when Kaine found out." Shada thought aloud. Her head perked up, realizing what she just said.
Smash smirked lightly. "I see you've already figured out where I'm going with this."
"You mean, Kaine was the one who did it?" Violet asked, raising both eyebrows.
"No doubt about it." Smash said. "He used to be a fighter at the Blitz pit so he could raise his funds, but he suffered from a bad injury and retired early. So he decided to make Power Armor to sell to the fighters. Dad figured out what he was truly planning, and put a stop to that, too. And getting the police on his hide would have kept him from safely making anymore money. So he decided to take him out before the police learned of what he was planning. Mom was just a witness who needed to be erased, to him. So he shot her first on their confrontation. He then shot my dad, but he missed any vital points. So he decided to use his bare hands to finish the job. All the while, the police were on their way. Once he heard the sirens, he ran off to hide from the police. He probably took a roundabout way to get back into the city. He then hired a person from the orphanage to go and sabotage the investigation. Jake Dunland gladly took that job, when he was offered a suit of his own power armor. So that's just what he did. The next day, word of my dad's death got out, and the Blitz Pit was in an uproar. It wasn't long before they decided to rampage after Kaine. And we all know what happened after that."

"So..that's the story, huh..?" Shada asked.
"Yep." Smash nodded. "That's it. That's how our parents died, and yet, justice was inadvertently served."
"I'm still wondering though." Gizmo spoke up. "If the whole deal with Jake was an inside job, wouldn't that mean that there's a mole in the police force?"
"I've already started an investigation on that in secret." Speeder announced. "Nothing's come up yet, but I won't rest till I get results."
"Okay. But two: How did that rumor of the car accident get out?"
"Uhh..." Smash scratched his head. "I don't even know."
"And one last thing.." Gizmo folded his arms. "Why did Kaine's armor blow up on him?"
"I dunno..Faulty equipment?" Smash shrugged.
"Surely he'd have tested it before he decided to use it."
Smash's eyebrows shot up. "Actually, that's a good point there. He'd definitely have tested to make sure his thing was working well enough to use, as it was still a work in progress I'd think. Unless that armor wasn't his "ultimate weapon" he was building. But that would make even less sense as to why it'd explode."
"Plus, Life Rings aren't explosive at all." Gizmo stated. "If he was using the same methods as before, then his armor shouldn't have exploded even if it was faulty."

"Do you think...maybe it was sabotaged?" Luna asked. Everyone looked over at her, somewhat surprised by the theory.
"Sabotaged?" Smash repeated.
"I mean, if what Gizmo says is true, then I can't think of any other reason for it to explode."
Speedy looked puzzled. "But who would sabotage-.."
"Dad..." Smash looked down at the table. "Only he could have done it.."
"He was the only one who could have known where it was." Pearl added. "Then that means..Dad was the one who really took him out."
Silence filled the room once more. Things turned out to be different than they imagined.



Soon, everyone was preparing to go home. "Hey thanks for having me over, Smash." Gizmo said, holding a sleeping Kitty in his arms.
"Yeah, Dinner was great." Violet added.
"Hey no problem." Smash said. "Thanks for coming."
"But now that you've solved this case, what're you going to do now?" Gizmo asked.
"Well, we're not completely outta trouble yet." Smash said. "There's still the mole suspicion in the police department, but let's leave that to Speeder for now."
"Guess that's for the best." Violet said. "I'll talk to my dad about that, too. He should be able to help him."
Smash nodded. "But as for me? I don't really know just yet." He said. "I'm gonna be out for the rest of tomorrow though, probably. I promised that I'd help a guy down at the Blitz with a favor, and I also need to go and help Melody move out of her old house."
"Oh yeah, what exactly is going on with Melody, anyway?" Speedy asked.
Smash glanced off to the side. "That's not exactly a story I'd like to go repeating." He said. "Anyway, I've still got some stuff to do. After that, well, we'll see what happens."
"Well if you need a car, I could ask my dad to drive you guys." Gizmo offered. "He's got off from work tomorrow.
Smash smiled. "Thanks, that'd be great."
"No problem."
Speeder then walked up to them. "Y'all ready?"
Gizmo began to turn to the door. "Well, I guess we'd better be going. Speeder's gonna drive us home."
"Alright. Take care everyone." Smash said.
"You too, Smash." Speeder tipped his hat off to him. "G'night, everyone."
"See ya later, Smash!" Speedy waved as he walked out. Violet waved to everyone and followed behind, with Gizmo and Speeder.
"Well, I should be going too." Shada said, heading out the door. "Thanks for dinner, Sis."
"Anytime, Shada." Luna said. "Good night, and tell mother I said hello."
"I will. 'Night, everyone!" Shada waved before heading out.

After everyone left, the house felt a lot quieter. "Whelp, that's that." Smash said. "Man, what a day. I'm seriously beat."
"You're telling me!" Pearl laughed. "I feel like I could just flop down anywhere and pass out."
Smash looked over at Melody. "Well, before we do that, let's get Melody a place to sleep."
Melody was nodding off on the couch, and awoke at the sound of her name. "Hm?"
"C'mon, Melody. The couch is no good for sleeping on!" Pearl took her hand. "Let's go up to my room. I've got some pajamas for you, too."
"Oh..okay." Melody sleepily followed after her, as the two walked upstairs. Smash watched them go, with his fists on his hips.
Luna walked over beside him. "Are you still upset?" She asked.
"A little." He said. "But I have a little idea..of how to make up for this mess I left her in."

Okay so, I know it's been almost an entire year since the last update. I had a lot of trouble thinking how to do David's part. After 10 months, I managed to get it all done in one day. It's a lot of pressure when you're supposed to be writing the best battle in Blitz Pit history. :I


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The old manager was probably right; I didn't fully grasp just what I had gotten myself into. I was fighting the entire Blitz Pit all at once. No man has ever been crazy, foolish, or desperate enough to try and challenge the entire pit. I kept asking myself if I really wanted to do this. I was nervous, but I didn't hesitate to go through with it. And that lead me to where I am now: Standing before at least 23 men. The bell rang, and they all came charging at me. Battle cries filling the air, fists and weapons waving about, it was like they were going to war.

I braced myself and stood my ground. As they approached, I analyzed each one of my opponents in the front-lines. From left to right, I could see a couple of new guys I didn't recognize; One was a gruff looking dog, the other was a slim and taller fox who looked like he'd be better off doing office work than fighting here. Next over was Razor, one who I had experience fighting with just now. Then my eyes found themselves staring up at a large, round, fluffy brown bear with a circular patch of white fur on his front. We all knew him as Paul, and he was a rather easy-going fellow, which directly contrasts the equally large, muscular black bear next to him. He had a thick patch of white fur over his brawny chest. His title was The Berserker, and he was far from a nice guy. This guy was a hard hitter, and never showed mercy. Then I see a short little cat with a stick, and he was coming in fast. I then realized that he was wearing some of Kaine's Power Armor, and it was activated. The next person over had some armor too, but it wasn't power armor. It was shiny and flashy, but it didn't have any special properties as far as I knew. It belonged to The Shining Knight, a fan favorite around here. He uses a sword, so I would have to be very careful around him.

All the rest were in the back, probably waiting for their turn. They were gonna come in waves. By the time I finished my analysis of the first wave, the little cat had just reached me. His wooden stick came swinging in from the left, headed for my face. I swiftly batted it away with one arm, and sent my knee into his chest. He staggered backwards, trying to regain his footing. As I thought, he was rather light. If he weren't wearing that armor, I might have knocked him down completely. By then, Razor and the dog caught up. Razor slashed at my chest a couple of times. I managed to dodge the first one, but the second I caught by the wrist. I yanked him to the side to block the oncoming attack from the dog. He was quickly brought down from the dog's spin kick, but not without scratching my arm first. I then threw a few quick jabs at the dog's chest before turning to drop kick the cat, who was trying to get back in the action.

The fox and the Shining Knight soon arrived in attacking range. The fox stood aside and let the Shining Knight make the first move out of the two. The knight swung his sword at my arm, probably aiming to disable it. I quickly backed off before taking any damage--and bumped right into Razor, who was now back on his feet. He grabbed me from behind, trapping my shoulders in his arms and holding me in place as the Shining Knight approached. As he rose his sword to strike, I lifted my feet into the air and jammed them into his gut. He staggered back, clutching his stomach as he cried out in pain. The other three fighters began to approach. I had to act fast. I kicked my legs back and hit Razor's shins. I could hear him wincing in pain, right before I threw my whole weight on him. He doubled over and fell on his back, with me on top of him. His arms flopped down, releasing me from his grip. I leaped back to my feet and faced the three. I wanted to take them out as quickly as possible, because Paul and the Berserker had already made it to the battle. And the Berserker wasn't a very patient man.

They began to surround me, leaving only my back open. The dog was in front, while the fox and cat were on my sides. The cat lunged at me, attempting to slam his stick down hard against my skull. I turned and caught the stick with both hands, leaving the cat suspended in air. I spun around and slammed them both against the dog, who promptly fell over and began snarling at the cat on top of him. I then whirled around and gave the fox a swift kick to the side, and followed up with a rapid chain of kicks with the same leg before sending him off with the other. He collapsed to the ground, tumbling a few feet away, and I didn't have to deal with him again. He was out cold.

The next thing I know, the Berserker is trying to squash me with his gigantic fists. Reacting solely on instinct, I back-flipped away from the massive hands, leaving them to crush the ground where I once stood. Paul jogged up to me and threw a few quick jabs. I blocked and parried each one, throwing in my own where I could. In a short match of jabs, we were evenly matched. Neither of us landed a blow. We were ultimately interrupted by The Berserker throwing a wild punch in my direction. I turned and put my guard up, and immediately saw a flash of red and yellow with stars flying up like a fountain. I blinked, and realized that I was flat on the ground, 3 feet away from the bears with my arms--which hurt like heck--still up in defense. I jumped back to my feet, and saw him stomping back toward me. I knew better than to block a punch from THAT man. I didn't have time to dodge though, which probably meant that I should begin rethinking my strategy.

But before I could deal with him, Razor came back for more. He dashed towards me and began swinging his arms wildly, and seemingly aimlessly. But his attack was way too fast for me to guard, and with those claws, it could get messy. No, I wasn't gonna chance this one. I fled from the attack before it caught me, and went for Paul. Of course, with The Berserker in the way, there was no way I was going to reach him.




























Once again as the sun was rising above the horizon, Smash was outside with his morning training. With his case solved, he felt incredibly relieved. Yet, like yesterday, he still felt anxiously violent. He pushed his exercises harder than he usually did, forcing himself to go beyond his limits. It almost felt like a punishment to him. One that he probably deserved...
Luna had woken up early as well. She stood by the kitchen window, watching her husband train. It was beginning to worry her, how much he seemed to be overworking himself. She knew it had to have been because of last night.

"After all this time, I've been too focused on caring for Pearl and myself, and soon all the others around me, that I completely forgot everything about Melody...And she's been through far worse than I have."
His words echoed in her mind. She let out a soft sigh, hoping that this wasn't what he meant when he said that he would make up for it.
"Good morning." Luna turned around to see Pearl and Melody walk into the kitchen, both wide awake.
"Oh, Good morning you two." Luna greeted back, putting on a fake smile. "Did you sleep well?"
"Yep! Is Smash out there training again?" Pearl asked.
"Yes, He is.." Luna turned to look back at the window.
"Thought so. I could hear him from upstairs." Pearl looked over at Melody. "C'mon, let's go watch."
Melody nodded, and followed her to the back door.

Smash's whole body was drenched with sweat. He had started working out earlier than usual, beginning while it was still dark out. He was on the ground, doing push-ups with one hand. His arms were beginning to feel like jelly, and his legs were struggling to support his weight. And though he was feeling light-headed, his eyes were completely focused, and his face showed determination. He kept going, with no intentions of stopping.
Melody stared in amazement. She had never actually seen anyone work out before. But what really got to her was the fact that he looked close to passing out, yet could still keep going.
Pearl on the other-hand, began to look worried. She could hear his deep breaths, and from the condition he was in, it wasn't easy to tell if he ever even took a break. "Don't work yourself to death, bro!" She called out.
Smash didn't really respond, though he briefly glanced at the two while moving off to another exercise. A couple of moments later, he began honing his fighting skills. Relentlessly punching and kicking at the air, to them it looked like he was fighting several invisible enemies whom surrounded him.
Melody looked intrigued by the whole thing. "Is your brother strong?" She asked.
"Oh yeah. He's the strongest guy I know." Pearl answered, grinning slightly. "He's a terrific fighter; Taught me everything I know."
She looked over at Pearl, surprised. "You can fight, too?"
"Yep!" She said "Not nearly as good as Smash, but he gives me a lot of praise so I think I'm pretty good at it. We've beaten all kinds of powerful enemies together."
"Wow..I never thought you guys would grow up to be so strong." Melody looked back at Smash, and gasped softly. He had stopped, and fallen down to his hands and knees, panting heavily. "S-Smash..?"
Pearl's grin faded into a look of worry. "Hey, Smash? Are you okay?" She called out. Suddenly, Luna appeared behind them, and walked ahead of them.
"Don't worry, he'll be fine." She assured. She headed over to help.

'U-Ugh...I can't..take much more of this..' Smash thought over his gasps for breath. 'Is this really all I've got? This really it? C'mon, I can do better than that..' Suddenly, he felt a pair of hands on his shoulders. He looked up, and saw Luna kneeling by him.
"Shh..That's enough, Honey." She cooed. Her hands began to glow softly, as she pulled him into a gentle hug. "You've trained the best you could and that's all that matters. Now, just relax and let me do the rest.." Her whole arms began to glow, and Smash gradually felt the energy being restored within him. Once his breathing returned to normal, he leaned over and returned the hug.
"Luna..."
"I know you're still upset, Smash..." She pulled back, looking into his eyes. "But don't force yourself to suffer from something you couldn't help."
Smash's eyes drifted away from hers. He didn't say anything in response.
"I'm sure Melody appreciates everything you've done for her. So...Just keep going as you've always have."
"I plan to." Smash quietly replied. "I'm sorry for making you worry. I'm still upset, yeah...but nothing's changed." He stood up, offering a hand to pull her up with him.

"It looks like he's fine now." Pearl said to Melody. "Geez, what was that about? Why did he go and work himself to the ground like that?" She frowned, placing her hands on her hips.
Melody simply stared at the two. She was surprised to see how Smash was all better in only a matter of moments. 'Did Luna...heal him?' She wondered.
Smash and Luna began heading back towards them. "Well!" Smash spoke up, with a total change of attitude. "We've got a big day ahead of us. Whaddya say we go inside and have some breakfast?"
"Sounds good to me." Pearl agreed. Melody just nodded in response, as the four began to head back inside.

After the group had their fill of a hearty breakfast, Smash began to get ready to leave. "Alright so, I've gotta meet someone down at the Blitz Pit." He explained to everyone. "Promised to help a guy with a favor."
"Oh, you mean Silver, right?" Pearl asked, remembering the other day. "I'll come with you then."
"Nope. You're staying right here." Smash declared. "Gizmo's dad is probably on his way right now. You should go with him and help Melody get her things."
Pearl tilted her head a bit. "What about you, then? I thought you promised to go too."
Smash shrugged lightly as he kicked his foot down into his boot. "Well I made two promises for the same date. I'll just have to improvise." He reckoned. "Don't worry, I'll definitely be there."
"We'll be waiting, then." Melody said.
Smash finished his preparations, and began to head into the garage. "Be seein' you, then." He waved as he walked through the door.


On the road, Smash thought back to the day he met Silver in the hallway of the arena.
"I too, have been on an "investigation" here." The voice of that man rung throughout his mind. "Ever since he went missing, I did all that I could to find out what had happened to him. I could only imagine that something had happened here.."
"...Lost his brother, huh..?" Smash mumbled to himself. "I wonder what happened, myself. Maybe there really is a connection somewhere..."

It wasn't long before he arrived at the Blitz Pit. He hastily parked as close to the building as possible, and walked quickly inside. It was pretty empty today, and a whole lot cleaner. He saw a notice on the front desk, informing that they will be getting back tomorrow. 'Breaktime's almost over, eh?' Smash carried on past the desk, and looked around for Silver. 'Wonder if he's here today?' He thought as he entered the hallway. 'Well, I might as well get the key first. I could probably look around myself if nothing else.'
He soon stopped in front of the manager's door, and gave it a good knocking. To his surprise, the door began to swing open by itself. Apparently the door wasn't even closed. Smash could see the manager sorting through some files by the corner of the room before he noticed him. "Door's open. C'mon in." He called out. Smash promptly walked inside, giving a brief wave as he did. "Been seeing a lot of you, lately." The manager commented with a raised eyebrow before closing up the file cabinet. He walked around to the desk and sat down. "What can I do for ya?"
Smash cleared his throat. "Well, I was wondering if I could get that storage key from you again."
"Oh really? This about that 'investigation' again?" He inquired.
"Uh--Yeah, you could say that." Smash said hastily. It was in that moment when something regarding the investigation suddenly came to mind. A curious question that had been on his mind for a while: Exactly how did his father discover Kaine's secret plot? He never could figure that out. Perhaps another investigation here really was required?
The manager noticed the distant look on his face, and scratched his head. "What's on your mind?"
Smash shook his head, remembering what he was actually here for. "Oh, it's nothing." He muttered. "Hey actually, do you know where Kaine made all his armor?" He asked suddenly.
"Where Kaine made his armor?" The hedgehog's eyebrows bounced in surprise. "Well, As far as I know he was using an old locker room that we'd stopped using back then. We actually started back to using that place since nowadays we've got more people comin' through these parts."
"Okay. Where is it?" Smash asked again.
"Locker D. It's further down the hall, past the storage room." He explained. "We don't have his armor's 'n stuff in there anymore, if that's what you're thinking."
Smash shrugged. "Can't help to look. Can I have that key, too? I'mma try to make this as quick as possible, 'cause I kinda need to be somewhere later."
The manager opened up the desk drawer and tossed the two keys to him. "Alright, but bring em back yourself this time. That guard you sent the other day went up and lost the darned thing. Spent half the day looking for it."
Smash rolled his eyes with a groan. "Yes sir." He said, before turning around to leave. 'Geez, it was a simple task. How did he screw that up?' He wondered, irritatedly. "See you later."

Just after walking out the door, he turned around--and stopped right in front of the silver cat he was here for. He lurched backward, letting out a startled yelp. His reaction caused Silver to jump, himself. The two stared at eachother for a few moments before straightening up. "Geez, man! You nearly scared the wits outta me." Smash dusted himself off. "This place is so empty, I was beginning to think the manager was the only dude here."
"Ah, sorry." Silver sheepishly ran his fingers through his hair. "I was in the restroom."
"Right..." Smash scratched the side of his head. "So anyway, I've got the storage key."
Silver's face lit up. "You did?" He asked, excitedly. Smash nodded, lifting his hand to show it to him. "I can't thank you enough, Smash."
"Don't mention it." Smash walked past him, heading towards the storage room. Once they reached the door, Smash handed the key to him. "Alright listen, There's something else here I wanna check out, so I'll leave this with you." He explained. "Don't lose it, or I'll be in big trouble."
"I understand." Silver nodded, and took the key.
"I'm serious, do NOT lose that key." Smash urged with emphasis.
Silver gave a nervous smile and nodded. "Don't worry, I won't return without it." He reassured. "Thank you." With that, he turned around and inserted the key into the door, while Smash headed further down the hall.


Smash opened the door to the locker room and peeked inside. It was completely clear of any people or any dirt. They obviously just finished cleaning it not long ago, as the first thing he noticed was the powerful smell of the cleansers mixed with some air freshener. With a shrug, he walked inside. 'Alright then. Time to see what I can find out...' He began his inspection on the room, examining every nook and cranny he could find. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. He checked the lockers, and found most of them to be locked--as they should. He tried checking behind them, but couldn't really move them.

After circling the room about three times, he slumped down on a bench. "It still doesn't make sense..." He muttered, 'If Kaine's armor was sabotaged by Dad, then Dad knew that he was plotting something evil. But if the armor was just sitting here along with all the others, what made him choose that specific one in particular? And if this particular piece of armor was to be Kaine's secret weapon, why would he keep it and even work on it in plain sight? That's just asking for trouble. And in turn, how would Dad have sabotaged it without him knowing, if it were clearly in plain sight?'
Smash shook his head, and rubbed his temple. 'I'm probably over-thinking this. I'm beginning to feel like my logic is failing me. Maybe I should just head back and catch up with Pearl and Melody.' He thought as he stood up. 'Besides, even if I did find something, what would I do?' He took one last glance around the room, and then started out the door.

Smash walked on past the storage room. He took a peek in there and found Silver still roaming around, and decided to leave him alone for a bit longer. He left the main hallway and entered the lobby. Shuffling around in his pocket, he took out some loose change and headed to the soda machine. He already knew what he wanted, and didn't waste time browsing the selection before pushing the button. After a couple of rattling sounds from inside, an emerald green soda can rolled out into the bottom section of the vendor. Just as he retrieved it, he heard a door opening and closing in the distance. He could only imagine that Silver was done. He hastily walked into the hallway to find the cat standing by the door.

"Hey. How'd it go?" He asked him. Silver turned around, holding a small box.
"Unfortunately, I couldn't find any clues to his whereabouts." Silver huffed in disappointment. "I did manage to retrieve some of his things, though." He reached out and handed Smash the storage key. "Thanks. I really appreciate this."
Smash took the key with a nod. "Don't mention it. So what'll you do now?"
Silver's gaze shifted to the side. "..I'm not sure. I won't stop my search, but I'm running out of places to look. Without any leads, I'll just be aimlessly wandering the country."
Smash shook his head. "Keep searching; You'll find him someday. I'll keep an ear out in case I catch on to a clue."
Silver managed to smile a little. "Thanks again, Smash." He then headed out towards the exit, carrying the box under his left arm. "Until next time."
"Later." Smash waved goodbye. The key in his hand soon reminded him of the mini-rant the manager could have gone on about losing the storage key. 'Guess I'd better hurry and get it back in one piece.'


After returning the storage key along with the locker room's key, Smash left the building and hurried through the parking lot. He had his cell to his ear, waiting for someone to pick up on the other end. "Hello?" He began to hear the voice of his wife on the line. "Yeah, yeah. Did Pearl and Melody leave yet?" He asked. "Really? Geez, I must be late, then. Alright, thanks. I gotta run. I'll see you later today." He quickly hung up as he found his motorcycle. He boarded the bike, started the motor, and hastily pulled out onto the road.
'She says they left only a minute after I did! Somehow I completely missed Gizmo's dad on the way here.' He made a couple of turns onto the main road. 'Well they'll probably need me to lift some of the heavier things, so...' His thoughts trailed off there.



After about a half an hour of driving, Smash finally made it to Techno Hill zone. He took whatever chance he could get to hit the gas and break the average speed limits. It wasn't long before Melody's dilapidated house came into sight. A bronze colored car was parked just before the grass grew out of hand. The trunk was wide open, and had a few boxes in it. He swerved off the path and towards her yard. As he slowed to a stop, he noticed a path had been cut out through the tall grass, leading to the front door. "Huh. I guess that was necessary." He muttered to himself, as he parked next to Terrence's car. He dismounted and hurried down the mowed walkway to the house.

"Oh! Smash is here!" Pearl called out from the opened front door. She was holding a small box of clothes in her arms.
"Yo!" Smash greeted with a wave. "Sorry I'm late. What've we got?"
"Well," Pearl started, walking out the doorway, "We've got clothes, a couple of old toys and some various knickknacks, a stack of books, and a dresser."
"A dresser?" Smash's eyebrows shot up. "Where're we putting that?"
"I've got a spot saved in my room." She explained. "You might wanna help Giz' dad with that, though. It's a bit heavy." She then continued her way to the car's trunk.
"Right..." Smash scratched the side of his head, shrugged, and walked inside.

The house felt much different in the daylight. The sun shone right through the open roof, and he had a clear view of everything. It also seemed a little bit cleaner somehow; perhaps they straightened up a little before he arrived.
"Smash, you made it!" A voice from above called. He looked up and over towards the stairs, and saw Melody standing at the top. "And not a moment too soon."
"Yo!" Smash called out with a wave. "Sorry 'bout the wait. I hear we've got some heavy duty lifting up there?"
"Yes. Mr. Terrence is moving my dresser right now." She explained. "It's a little too heavy for me to move..."
Smash soon joined her up on the second floor. "I'll handle it." He said. He started off towards Melody's room, only to stop short when he saw a big dresser sliding out of the doorway. "O-oh."
Terrence appeared behind it, stepping outside the room. "So you're here, now."
"Yeah. Hello, sir." Smash greeted. He gripped the top of the dresser and tilted it toward him. On the other side, the man crouched down and lifted it from the bottom, and they soon had the dresser sideways. "Alright, let's get this over with quickly. I'm nervous about being up here with something heavy."
Terrence nodded. "Watch your step."

Fortunately, they were able to carry the dresser safely to the car's trunk. "Well, that's the last of it." Terrence announced. "Are we ready to move on?"
Smash and Pearl wanted to say yes, but technically it was Melody's decision. They look to her for their answer, and found her gazing solemnly at the old house. "...Melody?" Pearl called.
"Yes...I'm ready." She turned around and walked to the car. "Let's go."
The two exchanged glances with each other, before Pearl followed after. "Alright then, guys." Smash went and sat on his cycle. "I'll lead the way back."
"Sure. I'm not too familiar with this area anyway." Terrence admitted as he got into the car seat. They both started their engines, and started down the path.
Suddenly, Smash stopped in front of a moss-covered wall. "Hey wait a minute..." He began rubbing his forehead; he felt like he was about to remember something.
"What's the problem, Smash?" They called out from the car.
"There's something...Something's here. I remember like a..." His voice trailed off and on as he was more focused on his thoughts than actually replying. He eventually leaned over to his left side, and reached for the wall beside him. He felt around the wall, soon dismounting to inspect the entire thing. He then felt something beneath the moss that covered it, and pressed it hard.

The ground began to rumble slightly, startling everyone. The wall in front of the vehicles began to rise up slowly. "This is it. I remember this area..."
Terrence adjusted his glasses. "What in the blazes is...this?"
Pearl simply stared in amazement, as the memories came flooding back to her. "This was the secret tunnel my father made." Melody explained. "He used it as a shortcut to come back and forth from the city."
Smash looked back at the others, gesturing them to follow before riding off inside. The cat stared for a moment as lights began flipping on inside the tunnel. "Well I'll be..." He then hit the gas and followed after.