26. Decisions

Sonic — April 4, 2036, 10:16 A.M.

I dialed Sonia's number for the third time and waited for her to answer only to be redirected to her voicemail again. I was growing more and more paranoid that something was wrong.

I haven't been able to calm down since the ritual only a couple hours ago. Amy vowed to go after the people close to me, and I worried that our last encounter back there might have seriously exacerbated the situation. So far, I've called my mom and my uncle Chuck to see if they're alright, and thankfully nothing horrible appears to have happened to them. But Sonia, on the other hand, wasn't picking up her phone.

"Damn it, Sonia… Please answer and tell me you're okay." I dialed her number yet again and waited impatiently. I kept hearing that monotonous ringing on the other end and was about to hang up on my own after twenty seconds of listening to it for the fourth time.

Then finally her voice came up and groggily answered, "Hello?"

"Sonia! How are you doing?" I blurted. She was sniffling but didn't say anything. "Sonia, are you crying? Is this a bad time?"

"N-no,… I-I'm f-fine. What is it?" She spluttered.

"I can tell you're not fine. What's the matter?"

"It's nothing, S-Sonic! It's… it's… j-just don't worry about m-me."

"Don't be like that! If you need help, I'm always here for you."

"Please… I d-don't need…"

"Listen, if you won't tell me then I'm coming to you myself. Okay? Sonia?"

"...no. Please don't."

Sonia hung up. I feared the worst and thought, I gotta get to her right now.

I dashed out of my home and arrived at Sonia's place in no time. I saw her motorbike resting through the side window of her garage, so I knew she was home. I knocked on her front door and called, "Sonia, I'm here!"

She didn't respond so I let myself. "Sonia, where are you?" I walked through the house and found her upstairs in her bedroom. She was sitting on bed, looking down on the floor.

I spoke, "Sonia? You okay?"

Sonia turned to me, and I saw just how much of a wreck she was. She looked like she'd been crying for days. She uttered, "S-Sonic? Why did you—"

"Sonia, what's wrong? What happened to you?" I asked.

She looked away and tried to avoid eye contact. "I-It's… it's nothing…"

"It's clearly not nothing! Why are you crying?" I demanded.

"It's none of your business, Sonic!" She bleated.

"Stop being stubborn!" I grasped onto her. "You've been worrying me so much lately! So please… let me help you!"

Sonia stared and froze in pain, unable to speak. Then she defeatedly let out, "Alright… I'll tell you. It's… it's Molly."

I let go of her. "Okay. What's the matter with her?"

She looked down and tried to hold her tears back. "She… she's gone."

My own heart imploded in dread. "What?! What do you mean she's gone?!" I was preparing myself for the worst and thought, Did Amy get Molly?!

"She ran away," She clarified somberly.

Oh, that's what she meant. For a split second, I was a little relieved but quickly became on edge again upon realizing that Molly could still be in danger. "When did this happen?"

"A couple days ago… in the middle of the night. She took her bike and snuck out. I only found out yesterday morning." Sonia turned away. "I should've listened to you. I-it's all my fault…"

"Sonia?"

"If… if I hadn't lashed out on her so much the other day she… she wouldn't…"

"Sonia, we don't have to chew over what you did right now. Did you tell the police about this?"

She shook her head, "N-no…"

"Huh? Why not?! Why haven't you—"

"I'm scared, Sonic! I'm scared that… that Molly will be taken away from me if they find out what happened."

"That's self-centered! She could be in danger as we speak! Don't you want to find her?"

"Of course I do! I don't want to lose her!"

"Well, you clearly aren't taking this as seriously as you should! You can't expect her to come back while you waste time beating yourself up like this!"

Sonia tried to speak but tearfully collapsed into her own hands. "I-I… I just don't know what to do, Sonic," She quivered. "I l-love Molly more than anyone, but I feel… I know I don't deserve her, and she doesn't deserve me."

"Don't say things like that. You're her mother, and you have every right to be with her. But if you really do love her, you can't stay secretive about her disappearance. Someone else will eventually find out, anyway."

She looked back up. "I know. Still, even if I do find Molly, I'm afraid she'll only try to run away again. I don't want her to hate me even if she has a reason to do so."

"Molly wouldn't hold a grudge against you. She's a smart kid. She'll understand you're sorry as long as you realize what you did to her was wrong." I reassured her.

"You really believe so?"

"Without a doubt. Sonia, you don't— you shouldn't do this alone. I'm seeking help to look for my own family, and you need to as well."

She sniffed, got up and hugged me tightly. I comforted her, "It's okay. We'll find Molly. We'll find everyone and live normally again."

"I-I really hope so," Sonia uttered. "But Sonic, if something happens to Molly while she's out there… I'll never forgive myself."

I added, "It's gonna be fine. She'll be safe and unharmed when we find her. It's gonna be fine."

Shadow — April 4, 2036, 7:58 P.M.

"There was no other sign of physical trauma on the body?" I took the preliminary autopsy report of Silver the Hedgehog from Inspector Land and read it over.

"That's correct, Shadow. The only wound the victim suffered was a single deep incision to the throat, according to the medical examiners." Land remarked. "In fact, there's no indication that a struggle even took place."

I finished reading it and set it aside on my desk. "This doesn't make any sense."

Land reminded, "It's possible this is not a homicide. The case is still fresh, and the full results of the autopsy won't come in until next month. We can't make any conclusions just yet."

"Of course. But as it stands, I still think it's a murder considering all the other unusual circumstances."

"There are admittedly a handful of oddities in this case. What about the little hedgehog girl the victim and his fiancé met at the time of the incident? Do you think she's relevant here?"

I shrugged and feigned ignorance. "Probably not. She's likely just some kid who snuck out of her home. Have we gotten any reports of missing kids lately?"

"Not that I'm aware of, no," Land shook his head. "Still, this girl likely witnessed the event and could give us a lead."

"Well, until she's found I wouldn't focus on her too much. We'll have to work with what we have for the time being."

Land frowned. "You sound pretty lackadaisical right now, Shadow."

"Just looking over our tasks and prioritizing them." I responded. "Anyway, I should get going now. Gotta deal with some personal stuff back home."

"Alright. I'll let you handle your own end of the investigation then. Have a good night."

I punched out and went home, bringing the case files with me. I went to the kitchen and found Tikal, who smiled modestly, "Welcome home, dear."

I gave her a kiss. "Glad to be back. Has Knuckles persuaded Molly yet?"

"No. I don't think he even tried this time. He told me he was going to talk to her again today, but I haven't heard anything."

I lightly sighed. "I can't say I'm surprised knowing him…"

"Don't say it like that. It's a lot tougher for him than you think since he still blames himself for having to leave her."

"That's exactly why he isn't taking this seriously enough. I'm not belittling him, but he needs to get past that guilt. Is he downstairs?"

"He is."

"I'm going to confront him."

After putting away the case files in my home office, I walked down to the basement and into the bedroom where I saw Knuckles sitting together with Molly on the edge of the bed showing her photos on his tablet. The two looked up at me with concerned faces.

"We need to talk, Knuckles." I told him.

"Oh, alright," He muttered dispiritedly. "I'll be back, Molly."

He shut the door behind him, and we stopped at the end of the stairs. There I questioned him, "What the hell do you think you're doing?"

"I know, I know. But Molly's adamant about staying here and not returning to Sonia. I don't know what else to tell her." Knuckles faltered.

"Seems clear to me that you were never really trying at all— as if you yourself want to keep her around."

"It's not that! She's just scared! You can't expect a little kid like her to understand the whole situation overnight while she's still under so much stress."

"That's not an excuse for you to push the problem aside like it isn't important anymore."

"I'm not pushing it aside!"

"You obviously are. Even Tikal thinks you've already given up."

"No, I…" He tried to argue back but retracted. "Shadow… what should I do then?"

I uncrossed my arms. "Look, I get it. You're afraid Molly's gonna hate you if you send her back home. But she'll eventually come to understand when she's older."

"So how should I approach her now?"

"Just be firm and upfront when you're speaking. Don't hesitate when she becomes upset, but don't sound too forceful or demanding either. Got it?"

Knuckles still looked undetermined. "I guess I do."
"Say it like you mean it," I demanded.

"Fine. I'll talk to her and get it done." He toughened up.

"Better." I pat his shoulder. "One more thing. After you're done, send her to me. I need a word with her myself."

"Um, sure."

Knuckles went back into his bedroom while I stood just outside the doorway and listened. "Molly… we need to talk again," Knuckles breathed, hardening his voice.

"I'm still not going back, Dad." Molly whined.

"It doesn't matter if you don't want to. You can't stay here and that's final."

"Dad!"

"I mean it. I'd like you to stay, too, but that's not a choice either of us can make."

"I know it's because of Uncle Shadow! Why does he want me out so much?"

"Your Uncle Shadow is only concerned about you like I am. He knows what's right and doesn't want any of us to get in trouble for keeping you in secret."

"But why take me back to Mom? She wouldn't want me back anyway."

"I'm sure that isn't true. She probably realizes what she did to you was wrong and is worrying about you right now."

"How would you or I know?"

"Because she's your mother. That's all there is to it. Why else would she have taken care of you all these years?"

I glimpsed inside the room. Knuckles appeared to be keeping his poise, and I was confident that he could handle this on his own.

"Everything is gonna be alright, Molly. We're only doing what's best for you," He continued.

"Mom won't hit me again?" Molly uttered feebly.

"I promise you she won't." He wrapped his arm around her shoulder. "And if you're still worried, remember that your Uncle Shadow's a policeman. He'll make sure of it. Okay?"

She leaned closer to him. "Okay, Dad."

Knuckles kissed her forehead. "Good. You're a tough girl, Molly. I know you can handle it."

"But I don't have to go now, right? Can I stay here just for one more night?"

"Go ask your Uncle. He's going to bring you home."

Molly nodded and came up to me. "Uncle Shadow?"

"Yes, you can stay for tonight. I need to discuss something important with you anyway." I told her, and she hugged me tightly.

"Thank you so much!" She bubbled. "So what is it that you want to tell me?"

"Let's go somewhere else to talk. It's going to be a sensitive conversation that only you and I should be in."

We headed upstairs to my office. Molly sat in the reading chair while I got on my swivel office chair.

"Molly, did you meet any people on your way here?" I asked.

"Um, yes," She answered, turning rather solemn.

"Do you remember who they were? What did they look like?"

"They were a white hedgehog, a purple cat, and a pink hedgehog girl. I think the white hedgehog's name was Silver and the cat's was Blaze or something like that. Silver and Blaze were adults, but the other girl looked like she was twelve or thirteen."

I took out a pen and notebook. "I see. Can you describe the pink hedgehog more?"

"She was scary-looking, like a zombie!" She elaborated. "She was all pale and beat up, had dirty fur and skin, and wore a tattered red dress. But her eyes were really bright and green— they were kinda pretty, actually."

"Okay. Did you talk or interact with any of them?"

"Silver and Blaze tried to take me home at first and then to the police when I wouldn't tell them where I lived. Then the other girl viciously attacked Silver and tried to kill me, too!"

I furrowed my brow. So it is a murder, then.

I continued to ask, "Can you tell me how she attacked him? I mean, you don't have to if you don't feel comfortable, but it would be of much help."

"Um, I'm really not sure how she did it. Silver's throat was cut somehow, but it happened so suddenly." Molly faltered. "The girl claimed she was the one who did it even though she wasn't near us at the time."

"Why did she go after you two?"

"I don't really know. She said she was going after me because I was 'mattered to someone else' or something like that. She went after Silver because he got in her way."

Mattered to whom? Sonia? No, she must have been referring to Sonic in particular since she sought Cream as well. I thought. This is too bizarre. Not only does this girl match Amy Rose's description, but she's also going after those who were associated with her. This can't be a mere coincidence.

"Uncle Shadow? How much longer are we gonna talk about this?" Molly fidgeted.

"Just one more question and we're done," I said. "Did the girl look familiar to you in any way?"

"No, she didn't."

"She didn't remind you of anyone you know?"
"No."

I put my pen down. "Alright, that's enough. Thanks for your help."

"I hope you catch her soon, Uncle Shadow," She said.

"Of course. I won't allow any crime to go unsolved," I assured. "Oh, and one last thing: we're leaving tomorrow morning at eight. Alright?"

"Um-hum!" Molly hopped off her seat and left my office.

Meanwhile, I opened the case files for the death of Silver and the attempted murder of Cream and reviewed their contents over again, comparing it with what I had just written. There still wasn't much to go off with what I had so far, but I knew I was onto something now.