AN: Quick roll call so we know who is who. Tails. Sonic. Nicole. Espio. Charmy.Cosmo. There, see. It's not confusing at all.
Sweet dreams are made of this
Who am I to disagree
Travel the world and the seven seas
Everybody's looking for something
- Marilyn Manson, "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)"
The Bodies Exhibit
Tails slowly turned to him. "The bodies…so many of them."
"Calm down, Tails. What bodies?"
Tails reached up and pulled some of what looked like glue out of the fur on his arm and began running it between his fingers. "I found him…Oh, God, I found him!" He was becoming hysterical
Uh, Espio, you might want to see this.
But Espio already knew what he would see in the warehouse. One of them, at least. He went in, hoping that he piece together what had happened. As he was arriving, Sonic ran up the wall, across the roof, and plucked the last bundle from its suspension. He had placed the others in a row on the floor, and he placed this one at the end. Five in total. Espio looked over the bodies, but he failed to see a connection. There was Cosmo's father, the Seedrian, and then there were…other guys. Okay, all men, that was a start. What about the symbol that had led them here? Every other one had the address of the building it was painted on, but this one had broken that pattern. Multiple bodies, a cry for attention, theatricality: A serial killer. But what game was he playing? This empty room wasn't providing very many clues.
Hey, Espio, you might want to check in the office. Tails found an active computer in there.
"Thanks." He made his way over to the office area, up the stairs and into the manager's office. He sat down at the desk and moved the mouse. Finally, a computer he knew how to use. He opened up the file explorer. It only took him a few seconds to find what he was looking for: a folder named "Journal". What an amateur. Espio read through the entries, trying to get inside the killer's head. Outside, Sonic tried to bring Tails back to earth.
"Tails? Tails, look at me." The fox turned his glassy eyes on the hedgehog. "You can't lose it. You need to focus." No response. "Tails who did this?"
"What?" the fox managed to get out through a tightened throat.
"You heard me. Who did this?"
"I-I don't know-I don't know who did this. Who did this? Who did this? Who did this!?"
"Tails! Pull-"
"The computer! The computer in the office-"
Already on it. Looks like it's a tea party this time
"This time? What does that mean? Who did it?"
Serial killers are all about the game. In this case, the party. Looks like most of the characters are here: the king, the jester, the servant, the tramp, and the gentleman. All he's missing is…the princess-
"Wait, go back. The tramp? Of course, it would be his drinking that did him. Bastard."
If you don't mind, I'd like to get back to the part where a young girl in our city is in terrible danger.
Tails paused. Took a deep breath. "You're right. Who is she?"
Amy Rose, a girl from the Commons. Looks like he's been stalking her for a while. We should get over there as fast as we can.
"That's where I come in!" Sonic proclaimed triumphantly, striking a pose.
On second thought, I settle for not so fast.
The first night Tails had ever met Cosmo was one of the more forgetful ones of his life. It was at one of the many banquets that his father insisted on taking him to. They were like parties, only with a lot less familiarity, a lot more small talk, and a lot less fun. And suits, the clothing perfectly fashioned for doing absolutely nothing. With the amount of people that came to greet the Prowers, you'd think that there some kind of contest where one lucky soul who spoke to them would get a share of their wealth. Tails couldn't tell you just when that night became unforgettable. Perhaps it was when he noticed the Seedrian seated a few tables away, or the way he treated his daughter as the night wore on and the alcohol ran. Or maybe it was when he slipped to that table while her father was away for a drink and saw her eyes cry for help, or when he asked her to dance as her father made his way back to the table. He had never told her that part. He didn't want to dilute the feeling. Sadly, he'd been too slow to protect her from her father this time.
Hey, Cosmo. I…have some news about your father. I need to talk to you. I'll, uh, tell you more tonight…I love you.