[Coolshaymin]

Captain Guy stared the crocodile down in thought. There was no clear lie. Perhaps he could use this to his advantage. "Now hold on, we may not have what you need now. However, as you may know, Shy Guys are super inventive. We should have no problem making what you desire. What do you say to that?" After these words the locks disappeared and Vector's vision turned back to normal.

However, a mysterious voice appeared in his head. "I see there is a change in ownership of the Talisman. You probably do not know how to use me properly do you? Of course you don't. A simpleton such as yourself would never understand me to my greatest limits. However, I guess I can give you some simple advice," The voice began. "See those locks, those are Psychelockes, the more there are the deeper the secrets. If you want to get to this secret you will need to break the locks one by one by contradicting his lie, got it? I am sure a simple lifeform as yourself can understand that much. Now go ahead and use me, this is an okay secret to pry open. Try not to fail too badly though, mate," The trinket's voice advised before shutting up for now.

[Mr. Game & Watch]

The crocodile continued to listen as though nothing had happened, though it was like an itch in the back of his mind to just blurt out the obvious question of what was going on around here. Sure, he had a good assumption that it was the amulet’s doing, but there wasn’t a clear path of what he should be doing. A bit more instructions from the Yoshi would’ve been nice, you know something a bit more than a vague explanation of what it was said to do.

It mattered not though, in due time the area returned to normal and in addition to that a new voice popped into Vector’s head. Good, that’s exactly what he needed, another voice telling him what to do. It gave him a good sassing, though he had to say he hadn’t quite felt like a lesser creature in a long time. Given that it only took until now for the lie detector to kick in, Vector knew that something was up. Not that he had to figure that out, the locket seemed to spell that out for him fairly well.

‘Yes, we wouldn’t want to disappoint the bratty spirit that lives inside a shiny rock, now would we? Keep calm and keep quiet so I can focus. I can’t have both you and my music running at the same time.’ Vector ordered back. The nerve of these ancient artifacts these days.

As for the task at hand, there wasn’t much to go off of in terms of contradicting his lie. The crime scene didn’t have a ton of clues besides the weapon and the poison. Although, the weapon might be a good starting point.

“Well, you see I’m just a hired hand, I don’t exactly speak for K Rool, so I can’t quite cut deals with you. I was just sent here to gather information, but I can relay the message back to K Rool if you so please.” Vector wasn’t exactly certain how much longer this would be a viable guise considering that if he was to stay in character he wouldn’t be able to get as much information as he would like, so hopefully that assassin kept his word. “Although I do find it interesting that it is rumoured that the blade used for this murder was of your manufacture. It’s also quite convenient that the enemy it took down was one that would oppose you. K Rool’s gonna want a bit more proof than your word alone, otherwise he might suspect you’re just keeping secrets from him. I don’t know what he might do, but a desperate Kremling can be quite unpredictable in a time of crisis. While he may be on the losing side, he still has an impressive army.”

[Coolshaymin]

Captain Guy noted the crocodile questioning his weapon and it's connection to the murder. As much as he would hate to give info like that, the reptile had a point. Perhaps he could humor a bit more. "Hm, you don't say. Perhaps I can inform you a bit more," Captain Guy said. At this, the locks and black space reappeared but this time one of the locks broke and disappeared. "My weapon is indeed of a unique build and is quite traceable as a result. However, I am not the only one with this type of weapon. I can assure you the murder is not connected to me at all. If it was anybody, I think it would be that Shy Guy that plays ninja," Captain Guy answered.

"Ooooh! I can smell the lies a mile away! Not bad for your first locke, Simpleton. There is still more than that though, so hop to it, Simpleton! I could care less about your jams!" The bossy trinket commanded. It was really abusing the fact it knew Vector needed it right now.

[Mr. Game & Watch]

As the imaginary lock broke off of the Shy Guy commander, Vector grew a bit of a smirk. He was getting somewhere at last. This could be a big break in the case and he basically has the suspect in a corner. Well, that is until the man decided to unleash his guards on him and get him out forcibly. Even then though, there was still something to work off of and if anything it would give something as a counterargument for his case. Vector was hardly an expert on the whole lawyer business, he was always more so a detective, so he couldn’t exactly sit still in during a trial for long, but he’s seen enough courtroom dramas to get a slight grasp on it all.

He rolled his eyes at the comment from the locket once more and decided to drown it out wholly by cranking up his sick beats to 11. ‘Let me just crank up the volume for you then’ the crocodile thought in a snidely manner.

“Hrm, Shy Guy that plays ninja, eh? Sounds an awful lot like the last guy that King K Rool had me hunt down. I think he went by the name Assassin Guy, or something like that. Nah, K Rool said he had nothing. I trust his word on that one, I could hear his, well what K Rool calls ‘interrogation’, sounded more akin to torture to me. The lizard said he had to squeeze every word out of him until he knew for sure that he wasn’t lying. I suppose that’s how he earned the name K Rool. Either way, I don’t think the big croc is going to be buying any of that.” Vector interjected.

Then, a new plan of action hatched in Vector’s mind and he began to stroke the underside of his jaw. “You’re a smart guy, and I like what you’re doing here, so you know if you can’t come up with a better lie, I’ll make one for you. Better yet, I get a bit of that poison. Maybe in the process of everything I can slip a bit of that stuff K Rool’s way and that’ll be one less gang competing against you. I’m not loyal to the guy or anything, I’m just in it for the paycheck. You know keep the lights on at my office. I got a meeting with him after this, maybe I get in contact with one of my top agents and while big green and I exchange notes a dart tipped with that poison of yours pricks King K Rool and the Gang Wars change from a three way to the other two knuckleheads butting each other. I still get paid, you lose a powerful enemy, what’s there to lose?” the crocodilian offered.

[Coolshaymin]

The detective has met Assassin Guy from the sounds of it... That was most interesting indeed. From the sounds of it he seems sure he was not behind the murder. Captain Guy knew better than to think Assassin Guy would be caught so easily though. He has tried so many times in the past, no way a lone gator could do it. Another lock broke at this comment.

The detective was not finished yet it would seem though. He offered to assassinate K. Rool in return for that poison. His interest was growing a bit more. Even if he had no connections, Captain Guy could make sure he does it. Then the Shy Guys could easily take their place fresh in the battle with only two enemies... There was one thing he had to make sure before he could trust him. Another lock breaks, leaving only one left.

"Your proposal intrigues me. If we can get some I may even give you some and pay you handsomely.... There is one little problem I would like to address though. I do not quite believe you of all people could capture Assassin Guy! I demand proof or there will be consequences for lying!" Captain Guy commanded.

At the command, Vector would feel a slight nudge at his foot. If he looked down he would see Assassin Guy's sword hidden in the treasure. It would seem Assassin Guy was in fact true to his word.

"Hey! Turn down that music, Simpleton! I want you to listen when I am being so kind to help one of your lesser kinds!" The Talisman demanded, though drowned out a bit by the music.

[Mr. Game & Watch]

Proof, hm, if only Vector had taken a picture of him fighting Assassin Guy to a standstill. Well, hardly a fight when the ninja was holding back, but it would still be a convincing enough scene to put Captain Guy at ease. In addition to that, he’ll probably need to head straight back to the Police HQ in order to get his information through. If Captain Guy does end up entrusting him with this task, he’ll no doubt have a couple of spies head on after him to see that he does the job right.

Just then, he felt a nudge by his foot. That amulet spirit better not have figured out how to move about in its gem body. Fortunately, this was not the case. Vector checked behind him and bent down as though he meant to do it and as luck would have it Assassin Guy was listening on somewhere and decided to lend a hand. He picked up the sword, thinking on how he’ll need to repay the ninja for his helpfulness. Being reported as dead or missing would probably help him out in terms of jobs, so he supposed that would be enough for him. If not, he could always lend him some of Espio’s overgrown shrunken.

Vector presented the blade to Captain Guy and dropped it like a mic after firing off some bars. He did so in a careful manner though so that he didn’t accidentally chip it or damage it. “Well, no. It wasn’t me alone. As I said, I run a business and my agents are the best of the best” he slightly winced at the fact he included Charmy as the best of the best, but he let it slip in order to keep his cover. “He was a tough sucker to put down, but I have ninjas of my own to counteract him. It’s a little tactic I like to call baiting.”

‘Let the music play! You won’t get away! ~♪’ he could only imagine that his inner voice has the same singing talents of his real voice, in which case the other voice was in for a treat.

[Coolshaymin]

Captain Guy nearly fell backwards in his own seat. He did have proof to back up his story afterall. Perhaps it may be best to spill some beans because this detective mercenary was clever. With this thought process, the final lock broke.

The amulet was far from celebrating however. "OH STAR SPIRIT! STOP THE SINGING! FOR THE LOVE OF THE STAR SPIRITS, MAKE IT STOP!" The amulet begged.

"I think it's about time I come clean. I may of been dishonest with you earlier about not hearing about Yoshi's death. It was a moment I was proud to hear. One of the people I hated most was finally gone for good. However... This also brought sadness for me. I wished I was the one to do it! If anybody had a right to end his life, it was me! My kind is just not capable of making complex potions like that though. Sure, we are inventive and proud of it, but alchemy was not our strongsuit by far. I am sorry I can not supply you with the potion but rest assured, I trust I can find someone that can. You can probably imagine why I would try to deceive you but that is not important. I can try to contact you if I find anything out about the potion... By the way... When you have the time... I have a small request. My prized cutlass was stolen sometime last night. I have no idea what fool would do it or how but it happened. I will reward you greatly if you can get it back though," Captain Guy offered after confessing.

[Mr. Game & Watch]

The Shy Guy seemed to ooze truth from his words this time around, which unfortunately meant that he wasn’t the killer. Time wasn’t exactly on Vector’s side, so this just meant that he had to go bark up another person’s tree to get the answers he needed, which only left him with one other prime suspect, the bully Yoshi. Vector’s gut said that there was no way that it would be him of all people, but there weren’t any options left to go on. Unless Hades stumbled upon something, but by this point he suspected Charmy would have more info than Hades and Charmy wasn’t even on this case.

The captain then spoke of a sword, which reminded him of the one that he looted off of that Store Clerk from across the street. It had gemstones from some Shy Guy mine, which Captain Guy was running and he did state that only generals used it. Then again, that must have been one gutsy salesman if he was selling Captain Guy’s sword right in front of his place of business. The crocodile scrounged around his boot for the item in question. He snatched the Ninja’s sword and placed it where the cutlass used to be and presented the gem encrusted sword to the Shy Guy.

“Hrm, this wouldn’t happen to be yours, would it? I hocked it off some guy not too far from your establishment. If yah want him, I think he’s still in trophy form over at his little sales hut.”

‘If it’ll make you quit yer yammering. Good job by the way, you detected him lying about the fact he didn’t know Yoshi was dead that helped the case out sooooooooo much’ the crocodile thought back sarcastically. ‘Now, are you gonna scram or am I stuck with you until the end of the case?’

[Coolshaymin]

Captain Guy stood up and examined the blade that Vector shown before shaking his body. "No, that is not my sword. The gems make it too fancy and not reliable. I am a powerful leader, not a cheap piece of junk. In fact, this sword is not even made of a good material. It is just some iron slapped into a blade shape and had gems embedded," Captain Guy stated.

A voice suddenly appeared behind Vector. "Mr. Kremling! There is a small electric rodent waiting for you at the entrance! He said he had something important to tell you!" One of the Zen Guys said.

"Well, I guess you better be heading back. You may escort him without the blindfold this time," Captain Guy said.

"Very well, come with us, Mr. Kremling," the Karate Based Shy Guy insisted to escort Vector back to the entrance of the labrynth like base.

"Hey! I do my job by letting you get stuff out of people that they are hiding from you. I do not know what it is. I will be quiet for now... BUT YOU WILL NEED ME LATER!" The voice replied.

[Mr. Game & Watch]

Well, Vector learned a very valuable lesson about trusting scumbags today. Luckily for him he didn’t spend any of his items or coins in trying to acquire the thing. It really put into question whether or not the blade would actually be worth anything. In the end, he’ll at least make a cheap buck or two if only for the gems within it, which he was debating on whether or not were real at this point. Oh well, the trail ended here, so it seemed like it was time to go.

On cue, the Zen Guy returned, saying that the Pichu detective was waiting outside. Or at least he was suspecting it to be the detective, he wasn’t sure what other electric rodents were in need of speaking with him. His next question was how the thing knew he was here, but being a master detective himself he could understand that he didn’t exactly leave a cluttered trail behind him, what with the trophified shopkeeper and trail of destruction he left in his wake. He needed to be more subtle about these things.

“Adios, I’ll keep an eye out for that sword of yours if I’m in need of a quick buck” The crocodile waved off Captain Guy. Considering that his operation was definitely not as threatening as he expected, Vector wouldn’t keep any tabs on these guys, but if he hears word of them getting their nose into something, he’ll know where to come knocking. He seemed like a smart guy, for the most part, so he’d probably know it be best to keep quiet.

The trip back was not too extirpating, while yes he wasn’t blindfolded and could see the rest of their operation, it wasn’t anything that entirely spoke to the creature as anything more than a mining facility. Frankly, Vector was curious of what kind of minerals were within Li, but it was only slight curiosity.

Oh yeah, that spirit thing was still stuck in his head wasn’t it? ‘Heh, you’re just a glorified lie detector with a mouth. All I really need you for is to smell some shenanigans and I can take care of the rest.’

The crocodile then paced outside of the Shy Guy lair to meet with his fellow detective.

[Coolshaymin]

Pichu waited patiently outside until he saw the Chaotix Detective Chief emerge from the Shy Guy mines. "I figured you might of been here. This is where Captain Guy lives and is the best place to track an assassin... Though I can see there seemed to be a bit of an incident... wait... Oh great, you let your partner split up didn't you? Well, this is probably not going to end well..." Pichu said in his nasally static like voice. "Anyway, I have a message for you. The trial is about to begin in a few minutes, you better hurry back to the Station... I won't bother telling your partner... I think it is better if he is a bit late, don't you agree... He will probably find out it's starting anyway though. I will probably be the first witness so I am going to go get my Testimony together. See you at the court," Pichu said before running off.

The trinket seemed to have shut up for now.