New chapter, everyone! Thank you for being so patient. I love to hear from all of you (and see your guesses about who the murderer is). So remember to review!

"SONIC!"

Tails's scream jolted Sonic from his sleep. He whipped his head around groggily, his eyes reorienting to the forest around him. The fire before him was nothing more than dying sparks. Darkness pressed in claustrophobically from all sides. But after a moment, even in the extreme darkness, Sonic's mind caught up, and he realized Tails was gone.

Sonic scrambled to his feet. "TAILS!" he shouted, spinning on the spot. Where from within the night had Tails's voice come from? Sonic's head snapped from each possible trail to the next. None showed any sign of a struggle; no tracks, no broken branches. "TAILS!"

"Sonic!" Tails screamed in reply, his voice sounding small and far away.

Sonic bolted off in the direction of Tails's voice. He sensed rather than saw the trees fly up in front of him. More than once he skimmed a tree trunk with his hand or a spine, sometimes the impact more a smack than a brush. The pain stung but little more. Sonic held his breath, but he didn't hear his body scream for air. One thought—and only one thought—possessed him. Tails. Please don't let Tails die.

He slammed full on into a tree and crashed to the ground after ricocheting off the trunk. But Sonic did little more than wince as he pushed himself back to his feet. His side stung, his head spun, but Sonic sped up. "C'mon you coward!" Sonic roared. "Come and take on a real challenge!"

He heard no reply; not even Tails called out anymore. Sonic was being outrun. Sonic tried to push his body harder, force his legs faster, but the thick tree cover made it impossible to move faster while still dodging trees. Wind rushed past his ears, making the night seem loud. His heart beat against his chest. His throat closed up, making it hard to breathe. "TAILS!" he screamed. His voice cracked.

He kept moving, though it felt more like swimming through molasses. His limbs felt impossibly heavy. He listened for movement other than his own and made out nothing. He knew if he slowed down he could hear quieter movement, but he refused to risk it. If he stopped running, he stood no chance of saving Tails.

It was Amy's killer; Sonic knew it. Who else would kidnap Tails? The only other viable option was Eggman, but he didn't move quickly or quietly enough to snatch up Tails without Sonic's notice until there was such distance between them.

Sonic wanted to scream again, but there wasn't enough air left in his lungs. A ring ejected from the device on his arm. He clutched it in his fist, and the gold glow streamed out from between his fingers. The air around him almost seemed to vibrate. He curled into a ball and launched himself forward. His spines tore through the bark of the trees that came across his path. He pushed toward where he'd last heard Tails scream. When the ring's power dissolved into nothing, he uncurled but continued sprinting without missing a beat. "Tails!" he cried. I have to be close enough. Nothing can move fast enough to outrun me.

Sonic heard no reply. His heart dropped into his stomach. HOW?

He missed a step and crashed to the ground, somersaulting in midair before slamming to a complete stop flat on his back. He gasped for air that seemed too thin. His body refused to move for a long time. He forgot how to move. He stared up at the wide tree branches above his head blocking out the night sky and the stars. His oxygen-starved brain drifted. He remembered the night Amy died and the night that followed. After finding Amy's fallen body, he ran away. It was what he did best, after all. Running, always running from something. He tried to escape the memory, running between the trees.

But he couldn't run fast enough. And now, it happened again. He couldn't run fast enough to escape, and now he could be outrun when in pursuit. His greatest weapon, but Amy's killer rendered it useless. And now…

Could Tails already be dead?

"WHAT DO YOU WANT?" Sonic screamed. His voice echoed back to him. Birds screeched as they escaped the treetops overhead. After a moment, Sonic realized he was muttering "no" over and over again and could not stop. He forced himself to his feet. Why Tails? Why not me? Why him over me?

Sonic pushed off a tree to get momentum to get himself running again. Each step he took wavered, as if his feet weren't sure the ground was solid. His lungs and throat burned. But he kept moving. He couldn't see straight, couldn't think straight. The same words repeated over and over again. Why not me? Why not me?

Why would the serial killer want Tails instead of me?

The thought stopped Sonic short. He actually froze mid-stride, letting his head use the oxygen instead of his feet. Serial killers chose their victims, Sonic knew that much. Amy's played with her and gave her clues before she died. He killed other young women, including Kora Neils and now…Tails. But Amy thought he killed because his victims knew who he was. Tails had known nothing until only hours ago, but he'd been on the hit list since before Amy died. Yet, Sonic knew as much about the killer as Amy had. And the killer had completely ignored him.

Sonic's skin flared hot. The killer had been right there—right there—and because Sonic slept, he missed his chance to end this before Tails got involved.

But why would the killer ignore Sonic? And why would he target two of the most important people in Sonic's life? Unless…

Unless he was trying to get Sonic's attention.

It's my fault, Sonic realized, suddenly unable to breathe.

Sonic didn't know why, but the murderer seemed to be killing to get his attention. He doubled over as if someone punched him in the gut. He reached out and clung to a tree for support. He'd followed Amy's letters as if her word was law. He assumed without question that Amy's investigation revealed all he needed to know about her killer. But she'd been mistaken. The killer didn't murder those who knew who he was. He killed to get Sonic's attention. When innocent young women didn't catch Sonic's attention, the killer moved on to Sonic's friends. Amy had paid the price of Sonic's inattention. And now, so might Tails.

"What do I do?" Sonic whispered. The letters were the only guide he had. But they didn't mention where the killer might take Tails….

No.

No.

Sonic's knees buckled beneath him. His knees crashed to the ground among the roots and crunching leaves of the trees. He wrapped his arms around his stomach to hold himself together. Tails can't die, he thought. He's just a kid.

Amy's written words echoed through his head as if he had heard her say them out loud. "Tails is next. Tails is next. Saving Tails is the most important thing, and I know you know that.

"I think I may have found the killer's base."

Sonic's head shot up as he remembered the since-forgotten phrase in Amy's final letter. While begging that Sonic save Tails, that protecting Tails was the priority above catching the killer, she'd mentioned the killer's base. She mentioned she knew where it was.

Sonic scrambled to pull out the stack of letters. They scattered among the leaves, and it took Sonic a moment to recollect all of the folded up squares of paper. But he found the letter he looked for and read the line he recalled.

"On top of that, I think I may have found the killer's base. It's north of here in the Labyrinth District."

Sonic sucked in a breath. Labyrinth District. Just about the last place he wanted to visit again in his life. He avoided that place like the plague. Flooded after some shoddy craftsmanship, the Labyrinth District stood full of water resting still and polluted. Not to mention…water.

If anything, this only confirmed that the killer did what he did to attract Sonic's attention. He knew Sonic's weak points. He built his base in the one place Sonic would never stumble across. The only place he wanted to visit less was the bank where Amy died.

But if Tails could be there…if Sonic had so much as half a chance to end this, he had to take it. Even if it meant diving to the bottom of the ocean.

Sonic forced himself to his feet. Each struggled breath made him feel like he was underwater, despite the fact that he had yet to dive into the Labyrinth District. The world around him hung in silence. The light of the moon barely reached him through the stretched tree branches. It felt as though this place must be a dream. The world could not be at peace, not with the storm raging inside Sonic.

With no warning, a stiff arm shoved Sonic into the tree in front of him. His face crushed against the bark, and his skin tore. The air flew from his lungs. He stiffened his legs to remain upright and spun around to face his attacker. Knuckles stood there, his violet eyes on fire with rage. He shoved Sonic against the tree again, nearly choking him with his arm against Sonic's neck. "What did you do with Tails?" he growled.

Sonic choked for reasons other than Knuckles's arm at his throat. He had not the words to explain it out loud. The blood slid down his face and matted in his fur from where the bark had scratched him. "I'm going to save him," Sonic whispered.

"He's gone?" Knuckles said. His arm shook. "Where is he?"

Sonic gasped for air, not sure if it was Knuckles or the lump in his throat closing off his oxygen. "I think…he's in the Labyrinth District. That's what Amy's letter said."

"That's half a world away! How could you have left him there?" Knuckles demanded.

"I didn't! I—" With that, the rest of the air swept away from Sonic's lungs. "You still think I killed her," Sonic whispered.

"I don't know what to think!" Knuckles growled. Knuckles narrowed his eyes and for the first time in his life, Sonic saw tears pooling at the edge. "I trusted you, and then you held Tails hostage, and I wasn't sure if it was fake or real, and then Tails picked up the gun, and I just don't know!"

Sonic's eyes widened. It struck him now just how much Amy's killer had stolen from them. Not just the life of their friend, but all of their lives. Her murder had left lives torn to ribbons, all ties with one another shredded.

"Please…just…believe me," Sonic begged. "I'll show you her letter. I'll do whatever you want…whatever you need me to do. Just please…I can't waste time. He has Tails. I can't let him die!" By the end, he screamed. He couldn't see straight. The world swam in front of him. "Please, Knuckles. Please don't…please help me save him."

Every emotion crammed down deeper and deeper inside him over the last few weeks spilled over. His heart ached. It took all he had to stop himself from disintegrating among the scattered leaves.

Knuckles lowered his arms and took a step back. Sonic furiously wiped his forearm against his eyes to smear the tears away before they fell. As Sonic's arm fell away, Knuckles stepped toward him and before Sonic could blink, Knuckles pulled Sonic gruffly into a brief hug. Sonic stood there stiffly, unsure. Knuckles pulled back and nodded once. "I was right on one point: you're screwed up right now," Knuckles said. "Show me the letter."

Sonic scrambled to hand Knuckles the letter with less reluctance than ever before. All the walls he had built up crumbled around him. Knuckles skimmed through the words in Amy's letter. He held silent for a while, so long that Sonic wasn't certain that Knuckles wasn't reading it twice. Then Knuckles handed the letter back. "I still don't trust you," Knuckles said.

"You don't have to," Sonic agreed quickly.

"Fine, good." Knuckles watched as Sonic stuffed Amy's letter back inside his glove.

"I'm coming with you to the Labyrinth District," Knuckles continued eventually. "You're not leaving me behind this time. We're going to find Tails, end whatever this is, and then you are getting help. Understand?"

Sonic swallowed hard. A wave of heat rushed over him. He hated the sound of that. He hated even more that Knuckles was right. Either way, if Tails had any chance of surviving, they had to get moving now. Sonic nodded stiffly. "Okay."

"Besides," Knuckles added, "you can't swim. I'm the only chance you've got."

Sonic said nothing; he didn't have to. They both knew Knuckles was right. Sonic hated how much he needed his help. But Sonic had swallowed his pride a long time ago. He wondered if he had any left.