Sonic's sight blurred with tears that he couldn't seem to banish.

The room's air conditioning froze him with icy-cold air that smelled of lemon cleaning solution. Graying walls of peeling white paint towered over him in the small room. A dim florescent bulb hung down from the ceiling, shining down on a simple metal table. On one side of the table was an empty folding chair. On the other sat Sonic in a straight-backed metal chair, shiny-new and no doubt strong. Sonic's wrists were cuffed to the table in front of him and his ankles cuffed together beneath him.

He yanked his hands up hard in desperation, but the cuffs failed to give. He looked away, feeling angry tears now slipping down his face. Amy's final letter brushed against his hand, safe where it was hidden inside his glove, as a reminder of all he failed to do. To his right, a long mirror rested in the wall. Sonic knew it had to be a one-way window and could only wonder who was watching him.

Sonic struggled to figure out what was worse: that he was failing to accomplish Amy's last wish of protecting Tails or that he was being accused of actually killing Amy. And it seemed as though even his friends believed Sonic to be guilty. How could he be? There was no ounce of power inside his body that would even allow him to even think about killing someone he loved so much. He was even careful around Eggman so accidents would not occur. And the victim being Amy…there was just no way.

A thick metal door on the opposite side of the room opened with a hiss, revealing a middle-aged balding man. He uniform was stiff with starch and his shoes shone as brightly as the room's metal table. He stood tall, chin up, glaring down at Sonic with a disgusted expression. He stepped into the room, flanked by two armed guards. The door closed heavily behind the man as he took the seat across from Sonic. Sonic turned his head quickly to face the man and looked him dead in the eye. "I could NEVER kill Amy!" he shouted.

The man's eyes narrowed. He leaned across the table so as to bring his face closer to Sonic's. "Do you know who I am, hedgehog? I am the General; leader of G.U.N. Whatever I say may as well be law. I can throw you in the highest security prison without so much as a trial and not have my motives questioned. So be careful with what you say to me."

Sonic returned the glare. "I didn't kill Amy," he growled in a dangerous voice.

"That was not the question; there was no question. Do not answer me unless I first ask a question," the General warned. "The first question is this: where were you the night Amy was killed?"

Sonic blinked. That night blurred in his memory. All he could remember was seeing Amy's cold, blood-stained body. Then he remembered Amy's letter. Tails had been traveling with Sonic the day of Amy's murder. "Tails and I had been traveling to the mountains, and we got back to his workshop at twilight. I just went out for a run. I got the call about Amy just after getting home around eleven."

"Where were you running?"

Sonic shook his head. "All over; I don't remember."

"Well remember or you may just be convicted of the crime!" the General said, slamming his fist on the table. As Sonic's wrists were cuffed to the table, the force shook his body with tremors.

"I didn't kill her! I just…" Sonic tried to remember something from the run. "…I ran in Green Hill's valleys and stuff. I don't remember specifics."

The General took a deep breath, and Sonic braced himself for what could only be bad news. "Do you realize that a witness has come forward for this crime? No wonder no witness admitted anything; they were too worried of accusing their precious hero—"

"WHAT?" Sonic shouted. "How could someone have seen me there? I wasn't there! Talk to that witness again. That wasn't me!" Sonic's body shook. Who was this witness? Were they trying to frame him? Were they in league with the murderer?

"The witness has given us all we need already," the General snapped.

"What did they say?"

"I DID NOT ASK A QUESTION!" the General roared, suddenly on his feet as his chair clattered to the floor.

"I don't CARE, okay? The guy who killed Amy is still out there! He already killed Kora Neils and now Tails is next on his list!" His heart ached after shouting. He struggled to hold back the tears in his eyes.

"And how do you know that?"

"I—" But Sonic stopped himself. Telling the General about Amy's letters would mean having to hand them over. And there was a chance that not only would they fail to prove his innocence, but he would probably never see the letters again. "I found the hit list," Sonic lied. "All three names were on there."

"Do you have the hit list?" the General demanded.

"I burned it," Sonic continued smoothly. "I hoped that would slow the killer down."

The General let out a heavy sigh. "While I don't believe you, I will investigate your claims. This is too serious to take them lightly." He turned, stepping toward the door.

"WAIT!"

The General glanced over his shoulder. "You have yet to prove your innocence, hedgehog. You will remain here."

"Can I trade my one-phone-call thing for a request?" Sonic asked quickly.

Whether they found him innocent or guilty, Sonic had to save Tails from the murderer. He would have to protect Tails from within prison for the rest of his life if he was ultimately found guilty. But it didn't matter to him. Amy's last wish to save Tails's life was the most important thing to Sonic.

The General narrowed his eyes. "What request?"

"Tails. I don't care if you believe me or not, but Tails is next. And I can't help him from here." He held up his hands and the cuffs restraining him clanged against the metal of the table. "But Tails still needs to be protected. Can you just…do something? Make sure someone's with him all the time, keep him safe? Because I won't let Tails be next. I won't."

Sonic's breath flew out of him in pants as he stared intently at the General, practically daring him to deny Sonic's request. The man's eyebrows drew together as he blinked in response. His jaw dropped slightly, and Sonic could see the vulnerability in his expression. The man quickly closed his mouth and averted his eyes, letting out a grunt. "We'll see," he muttered simply. And with that, he left the room, the two armed soldiers following in his wake.

As the door closed, Sonic closed his eyes and let out a slow breath. What did the General mean, 'We'll see'? That wasn't enough. Sonic gritted his teeth behind closed lips, fury burning in his chest. Now what was he going to do?

-(-)-

Tails shivered nervously, unable to take his eyes away from the interrogation room. Watching Sonic…what had his friend become? Sonic's blue fur stuck out in all different directions and dried mud stuck in patches everywhere. His arms and legs were covered in scraps as though he had gone to war against the trees. Dark circles rung the bottom of his eyes. And his eyes themselves…there was a tiredness in them only a great amount of aging could bring, like Sonic had seen too much of the world. Yet, behind it all was anger and passion and desperation.

Tails couldn't even recognize Sonic anymore.

But it was Sonic's voice that changed everything. At first, Tails felt chills running down his spine as Sonic growled at the General. But then…he sounded confused and scared. And then…he just sounded like Sonic. He talked about adventures and running, normal things. He got angry because the General wouldn't take the fact that Sonic's friends were in danger seriously.

Tails honestly didn't know what to think anymore. This was his best friend, wasn't it? He laughed and went on adventures and relaxed. He fought Eggman time and time again with a cocky smile on his face. He would die for his friends.

He would…die….for his friends.

Tails took in a shuddering breath. A hand fell on his shoulder, and he looked up to see Rouge standing beside him. "We'll see what happens," she said.

Tails struggled to nod. What would happen to Sonic? All of Tails prayed for his innocence and so much of Tails's common sense told him how Sonic could never hurt his friends.

But…

Still, something nagged at him. The witness had seen a flash of blue moving so quickly that the only person it could be was Sonic. And Sonic looked so wild and lost sitting in the interrogation room, like a monster. He hadn't asked anyone for their help, but had simply run off on some crazy adventure, abandoning all his friends that were still dealing with the loss of Amy.

Something was missing. Something was…off. But Tails just couldn't figure it out.

If Sonic was telling the truth, Tails was in danger of being the next one killed. He recalled Amy's body, red blood staining pink fur where the bullets had sliced through her. Tails heart beat faster and faster. He didn't want that to happen to him. It was hard enough to think about how much pain Amy must have been in but to actually feel that pain…

The General left the interrogation room and walked over to Tails, Rouge, and Knuckles where they stood at the one-way window. "What do you think?" Rouge asked.

The General sighed heavily and shook his head. "I don't know what to think. Everything I see points to Sonic as the murderer, but…" The man paused as though trying to think of the right words. "…what will that cost the world? Sonic is a great hero, but if he truly murdered Amy Rose…all we know about heroes would be questioned." He shook his head again and looked at Tails. "Either way, I will honor his one request. Tails, I do not wish you to leave this building without an escort. I don't care who it is. Agent Rouge, Knuckles, anyone. Just make sure you are never alone, understood?"

"Yeah," Tails agreed softly.

"Meanwhile, I will investigate Sonic's claims, perhaps interrogate out witness once again." He sighed. "We can only hope that the facts don't match up." The General turned and walked away, not standing quite so tall as usual.

"It seems no one wants it to be Sonic," Rouge said. "If it was, then what does that mean?"

"What does anything mean? What do our lives mean?" Tails said. "He's our friend; we've fought with him and been with him forever and…" Tails took in a shaky breath. "…and he's my brother. We'll lose more than Sonic. Everything we know will be wrong."

"Was what he said true, Tails?" Knuckles asked suddenly. "Were you in the mountains the day Amy was killed?"

Tails nodded. "I remember I'd been asking him to go somewhere with me, and he promised that we'd go to the mountains whenever I wanted. I decided that was the day to go. Afterward, Sonic was just gonna go hang around my workshop, but I had work to do that I wanted to be alone for. So I had him go."

"Hm…" Rouge mumbled.

"I mean, I don't know what he did after," Tails said. "He might have gone running, but…I don't know. But he wasn't the same, next time I saw him. He was acting strange, but normal at first. He acted casual, and we took the Tornado up so I could show him my upgrades. When we were in the air, though, he got really sick, but he said it wasn't the Tornado's fault. I thought that maybe he was just out of it because of Amy."

"But it could have also been that he felt sick because he killed Amy," Rouge pointed out. "The guilt could do it."

"Can someone just tell me if he's innocent or guilty?" Knuckles exclaimed impatiently.

Tails looked down at the floor. How could both versions of the story be plausible? "I guess we don't know," he whispered.

It's nice to get back into this story. Before you worry, I do intend on finishing it. If you're looking for something of mine that I update on a more frequent basis, I would like to recommend my story Metarex Rule. In the meantime, please review and I'll update again soon. Ciao for now!