A/N: I hope you didn't think you'd seen the last of me! This journey isn't over yet, and I can actually make you a promise: the rest of this story will be uploaded within the next couple months. So I hope you're ready for the ride. Enjoy! And keep up those guesses on who you think the killer really is...
Sonic couldn't stop glancing to his right. His heart—already pacing itself toward a heart attack—missed a beat every few seconds when he caught the movement beside him. And every time he looked and saw the red flash of Knuckles keeping pace with him.
His skin itched and burned. He couldn't remember how not to be alone, to trust anyone else. He felt his mind slipping, exhausted by his panic and paranoia and…
He couldn't breathe. His little brother kept materializing in his mind. Sometimes, he saw Tails flying his plane with a self-confident grin, or looking up at Sonic with eager eyes as he begged to please go on this mission just this time, it's only Eggman.
Other times, Sonic just saw his brother's wide, empty eyes staring up at nothing as his fur burned sunset orange through the saturation of blood.
Sonic ran past his limits. He hadn't known he had limits until now. Something stabbed into his side and through his chest and his lungs must have been filled halfway with water because there wasn't enough space for air within them. But Knuckles persisted beside him without the smallest shred of exhaustion.
Neither said a word. Neither of them had a word to say. Or, at least, Sonic didn't. His thoughts weren't coherent enough to string letters into words.
By the time they reached the southern edge of the Labyrinth District, the sun was a single line on the horizon. It sent Sonic's heart plummeting again. It seemed as though terrible things frequented the night.
Daybreak signaled he might already be too late.
They skidded to a stop before the ground dropped away into the sunken city. Sonic's shoes dug into mud, not dust, and he nearly tripped over the edge of the cliff. Knuckles's hand snapped out and yanked him back. Sonic glanced his way and met his eyes, but still neither of them broke the silence.
Only the tops of skyscrapers broke through the water's surface below. With the barest hint of light to reflect, the water bled the murky green color of sludge. It stunk of metal and mildew and dying fish.
Sonic had only been here once before when Eggman had transformed a small portion of the city into a base straight out of Sonic's nightmares. Badniks swarmed the place, and he'd had to tear through underwater tunnels with only brief stretches of oxygen. More than once, he thought he would never come up again.
How could anything be alive down there?
If this was any other place in the world, he'd jump straight in and dash through the city until he found his target But there was no way to "dash" in. You swam or you sank.
Did Amy leave him any sort of clue where to start? No, she'd just said the Labyrinth District. If she'd found the place, why didn't she say where? Sonic pulled out the paper from beneath his glove again, fingers trembling as he unfolded the letter. Actually, not just his fingers, but his hands, his arms, all of him.
And then a stiff breeze brushed by and yanked the paper from his hands.
"NO!" he shouted, grasping wildly for the paper as it drifted just above the drop-off.
Knuckles stepped forward to shove Sonic backward. Just as Sonic struggled upright once more, Knuckles jumped off the edge of the cliff. He threw both arms out in front of him, closing one fist around the letter as he did so, before gliding out a few feet, turning around, and landing safely back on solid ground. "A piece of paper isn't worth it, Sonic," Knuckles snapped, shoving the crumpled ball of some of Amy's last words into Sonic's hand. "She's not in there."
"I know!" Sonic insisted, struggling to find the edge of the paper so he could flatten it once more. "But there might be some clue I missed that could help us find Tails!"
The folds crumpled the letters together, and Sonic felt a jab at his heart to see so little of Amy left in the world diminished to even less. But nonetheless, he read the words once more, out loud. "'I think I may have found the killer's base. It's north of here in the Labyrinth District.'" Sonic shook his head at the submerged city. "But where, Amy?" he whispered.
"Remind me," Knuckles said suddenly, "could Amy swim?"
Sonic frowned. He'd been with Amy near water before. Never Lake in particular sprang to mind. But had she ever swam? Had she ever needed to? Sonic's frown deepened, as did the wrinkles in his forehead.
How could he not know?
"I don't think…it was really…her thing," he said haltingly. If it had been, surely Sonic would remember for sure if she could swim.
"So we've got to find somewhere here without water," Knuckles said firmly.
Sonic gritted his teeth, his eyes combing the scene before him. "The entire city's submerged! Where wouldn't there be water?" he demanded.
"I'm not psychic, Sonic!" Knuckles shouted back.
Time. There wasn't time. Every extra second they took was another second in which Tails could die. When Sonic blinked, he saw Tails's empty eyes again. "Okay, okay," he gasped, running his fingers through his quills. "So Amy can't—couldn't—fly. And if she didn't give any specifics, it's got to be obvious, right?"
What would Amy think is so obvious to Sonic that she wouldn't need to describe it?
And then, as he scanned the city, his eyes landed on one of the shorter buildings with only a few floors above water. On the roof stood a huge sheet of metal angled like a sign. And on it, written in red ink, were two words:
"I'M WAITING."
Sonic's vision wavered in front of his eyes, and he dropped to one knee to prevent himself from taking a dizzy dive off the cliff. "Sonic?" Knuckles barked.
"It really has been about—" Sonic cut off. His gloved hand tightened into a fist in the mud. "There," he said, nodding at the sign as he forced himself back to his feet. "How do we get down there?"
Together, they leaned over the edge. The stout building wasn't miles away from where they stood, but the water sucked in all light and between the pollution and the fact that the city literally existed in a pit, there was no way to tell how deep the water was.
"I can glide there," Knuckles said, "but I can't carry you."
Sonic's heel tapped the ground rapidly, the movement not so much intentional but born out of anxiety. "I can jump that far," he decided. "I just need to get a running start."
"You're kidding, right?" Knuckles snapped. "That's unbelievably dumb, even for you. I'm strong enough to handle this mess on my own; you know that. But if you miss, you drown."
"Then I better not miss." Sonic set his jaw, already taking steps backward to prep for his running start.
"Are you listening to me?" Knuckles stepped in front of Sonic, holding his arms out to his sides to block the cliff's edge. "I'm not some weakling. I can handle myself. Let me go take care of Tails. You're not risking your life like this!"
"And I'm not letting anyone else die while I'm alive to stop it," Sonic snarled.
A ring ejected from the device on his arm, and his fingers tightened around it. The golden energy burned through him. And Knuckles had the good sense to step out of the way before Sonic launched himself over the water.
The ring fueled the power of his launch, but now that he soared through the air, all was up to momentum and gravity. His stomach dropped out, and he could not keep his eyes on the destination in front of him. Not with the water beneath him. It drew his eyes and a new bout of dizziness battered him.
I will not let Tails die.
He forced himself to stiffen and angle for his goal. Staring at his fear would only draw him to it. No time for fear. Tails probably currently faced enough for the both of them.
And then gravity started dragging him down too hard, too soon.
He dropped toward the water, still inching toward the rooftop but not quickly enough. His eyes fell back on the water. They must have widened, but he didn't feel it. He couldn't think fast enough to scream. His fear was a million miles beyond that.
If I die, so will Tails.
Two arms wrapped around his torso from above. They slowed his plummet and dragged him more forward instead of down. "'Yeah, Knuckles, next time I'll listen to you instead of making stupid choices just to be a hero,'" Knuckles grunted sarcastically.
Despite what he said before about not being able to carry Sonic, Knuckles managed to keep a grip on Sonic as he glided through the air. The moment Knuckles reached the edge of the roof, he dropped Sonic before crashing himself.
Sonic stumbled to his feet and, after a beat, dashed over and offered his hand to Knuckles. Knuckles nodded once before accepting the gesture. "I need you Knuckles," Sonic admitted. "It's better not to do this alone."
"Good, cuz I'm not letting you," he replied.
At a glance, Sonic failed to see any way into the building from the roof. He approached the metal sign, with each step praying harder and harder that it was red paint on the sign, not blood. And when he slid behind the sign, he saw a gaping hole in the roof. "Here!" Sonic called, and Knuckles dashed to his side.
"Wait!" Knuckles said, grabbing Sonic's arm just as he went to jump.
Tension wired Sonic's muscles to breaking point. He felt a hundred ways he could easily snap. "We don't have time," he said.
But he fell silent and still when Knuckles pulled the green Chaos Emerald from his quills.
The Emerald from Amy.
"I grabbed it from evidence," Knuckles said simply. "You'll need it."
Knuckles held it out to Sonic, but instead of snatching it up, Sonic hesitated and a moment later pushed the Emerald away. "I can't."
Knuckles's eyes narrowed. "That might be the stupidest thing you've said so far."
"I can't, Knuckles, and you know why," Sonic insisted, his voice dropping. "The Chaos Emeralds are fueled by the heart. And you're right." Sonic stood there for a second just shaking his head before he finally said, "I'm just not sure my heart's good enough for me to use that."
Knuckles's shoulders fell, but he returned the Emerald to his quills. Sonic took a bracing breath, but it shuddered. It sounded like this was his first time diving headfirst into danger.
But if Tails died, it would likely be his last.
And together, Sonic and Knuckles dropped into the serial killer's den.