Sonic opens the door to the hotel room, Tails follows him inside not long after. Tails had just finished another successful presentation in which he showcased an AI program he had been working on, the crowd loves it so much the fox was carried off stage. Sonic was impressed by it as well, as the program solved complex math equations, wrote detailed stories, retold significant moments of Mobian history, and even baked a cake for Sonic and Tails to eat on stage. As marvelous and revolutionary it was however it wasn't the time to talk much about it, after all they had a funeral to attend.

Sonic puts on a black suit and straightens his tie, Tails comes out dressed like Sonic in a similar suit and tie. Tails looks over at Sonic who looks downtrodden, regretful almost.

"What's wrong...?"

Sonic sighs, "I just wish I could have gotten her some help or something. Now she's gone..."

"She tried to have me killed Sonic... At that moment she was beyond help. But that's just me" Tails responds as he ties his shoe laces.

"I respect your opinion" Sonic answers, he squeezes his gloved hand while fighting back tears, "I just wish it all turned out differently, maybe she'd still be alive, maybe-maybe if I hadn't lost my cool that night, I could have resolved this- "

"Yeah... Maybe she would" Tails responds, almost no emotion in his voice.

Vanilla drove Sonic and Tails to the chapel where Amy's funeral was to take place. When they get there familiar faces can be seen all around, their housemates, Amy's good friends, her childhood friends, a few unfamiliar faces and most importantly her family. The wooden casket is open, her still body laying there peacefully with a rose placed on her chest, a large reef of flowers with a picture of her smiling with Sonic and Blaze at the beach in the centre of said reef.

Rouge lays a bouquet of flowers in front of the ever growing memorial while Knuckles, who's holding her hand is doing the same.

"She was crazy, but she was still family" Knuckles says.

"Yeah... She was" Rouge adds, trying to fight back tears.

The two go and sit, behind them is Shadow and Silver who lay down their own bouquets as well.

"Even though you did something unforgivable, you were a good friend and I will always remember our time together" Silver says.

Shadow just lays down his bouquet of flowers and goes to sit down. Silver following behind him. Cream and Cheese arrived late, Cream with barely any emotion on her face lays down a rose.

Eventually after everyone lays down their flowers and pays their respects to pink hedgehog, it's Sonic and Tails turn to do so, Sonic walks up to the wooden box in front of him, regret fills his heart, as if a piece of him had been taken away.

Tails on the other hand, though he looked less remorseful, felt more joyful as Amy could have proved to be a serious problem when he confessed to Sonic. The fox looks down at her face, eyes as blank as the grey sky that day.

Sonic squeezes his fist and turns so he can go sit down, Tails following behind him.

"I just hope they catch her killer..." Sonic says.

"I hope so too" Tails responds, trying to comfort the shaking blue hedgehog.

Later that evening after Amy is buried in the cemetery, Ray spots Tails talking to her parents. The flying squirrel walks over to him and taps Tails on the shoulder, the fox turns around and beams a smile at Ray.

"Hey Ray! How've you been"

"Good-"

"How's the investigation force treating you and Mighty?"

"Well enough... Can I have a word?"

The fox has a feeling he's going to be questioned, he doesn't want to answer or talk to him, however he doesn't want to look suspicious so...

"Sure"

Ray leads Tails out of the house and to the beach. Ray stops walking and takes a moment to admire the view infront of him, Tails playing coy decides to start the conversation.

"So... Why did you ask me to come here?"

"Well, I am actively investigating Amy's death. So of course I have questions for you"

"Um alright..."

"Where were you when she died?"

"I was pinned down in the hotel room, I couldn't leave. If she saw me, I think she would have shot me" Tails responds.

"You believe she was after you?"

"Well, yeah. She thought I was trying to take Sonic from her. I like to joke around with Sonic like that, I don't know why she took it so seriously"

Ray nods his head, taking mental notes in his mind.

"Honestly, I'd never even really consider Sonic as a romantic partner, he's more like a brother to me than a boyfriend. I guess she just got jealous-"

"Right, now... Do you have any equipment that could mess around with CCTV cameras?"

"N-No, that's illegal why would I do that..."

"Are you sure? Because the cameras near the spot where Miss Rose was slaughtered had a very powerful encryption and there are very few who can crack such encryptions"

Tails lets out a nervous chuckle, "Oh come on Ray, do you seriously think I'm the one who killed Amy"

"All clues here lead me to believe so"

"Look, I was angry that she tried to kill me. But I'd never get back at her for revenge. Besides even if I could try, she would have shot me out of the sky"

"One of your drones was found on the building she fired the shots from"

"I was watching her, seeing what she was doing. She blew it out of the sky and it landed there, is there any more explanation needed? There's a hole in its side after all"

"Sure sure... But here's my most interesting find, there were no prints on her body, her killer cleaned up the crime scene and made it almost spotless and there were no signs of entry from the first floor of the structure. Which means I have reason to believe you're a suspect... Tails"

The fox is starting to grow bothered by Ray's interrogation but regardless he continues to play the innocent fox who was attacked while with his best friend act.

"Ray, I was stuck in a building being shot at with a rifle. There's no way it was me..."

The flying squirrel looks at Tails with unmoving eyes, it was as if Ray knew Tails was the culprit already, "If it wasn't you then, who was it..."

"I don't know!" Tails shouts, tearing up.

Ray grumbles as he watches Tails fall to his knees, "I don't know who killed her and I'm not the one who took her life! I'm just as upset about her death right now as anyone else! Leave me alone!"

The fox gets up and runs off back to the cemetery while sobbing, Ray sighs and looks back towards the ocean yet again, the sound of the waves hitting the sea as relaxing as it had always been. When Tails is far enough from Ray he stops the fake crying and looks back at Ray who's still looking at the sea shore, he wipes his eyes and goes emotionless again as he stares back at him from behind a tree.

"Annoying" He says to himself.

---

That evening, Amy's parents hosted a huge dinner party with all her favourite foods, everyone dined well while reminiscing about their time with her. While everyone was down in the dining room eating, Sonic was up in her room looking at a photograph of him and her together at the beach.

There's a knock on the door, Sonic looks over and sees Shadow standing there, paying him no mind Sonic looks back at the picture, still replaying the memories in his head.

"Are you going to sit there and brood all night" Shadow says.

"I just need some time Shadow... That's all"

"You've been taking a lot of that lately"

"Amy is dead. She's not coming back, and we have no idea who killed her. I just feel so... Angry, helpless, guilty"

"And what do you want to do about it"

"Look into it myself, what else can I do?"

Shadow sighs, he doesn't bother trying to stop Sonic, "Well since you're so insistent, Ray thinks Tails is the one who killed her"

"What?!" Sonic shouts as he stands up from the bed.

"Think about it Sonic, Tails has an IQ over 300, he could have been the one who deleted the security camera footage near the spot where Amy was found, he could clean up the crime scene, make it look like he was never there-"

"Shadow stop! There's no way it's Tails, we're talking about a guy who gets freaked out by gorey movies and hates blood, it can't be him"

"Sometimes what you see isn't always what it seems Sonic. For all we know he could be one of those sickos who actually take joy in killing people-" Shadow says.

"He got into a fight with Eggman just before he accidentally killed him, you should have seen how shaken up he was! He was crying for chaos sake-" Sonic protests.

"Like I said, he's smart. He probably knows how to hide his true intentions"

"This is ridiculous!"

"Is it really?"

"Yes!"

"During the burial ceremony and the reception, Tails had the chilliest look in his eye. He didn't cry once-"

"Neither did you!" Sonic shouts, pointing at the black hedgehog.

"Will you let me finish?!... As I was saying, he barely shed a tear, when I saw that look in his eyes a shiver ran down my spine. It's difficult to frighten me, but that look... It means trouble... Big trouble"

"Oh, Shadow come o-"

The blue hedgehog doesn't bother trying to finish his sentence. The seeds of doubt are now planted in his mind, but he doesn't want to suspect Tails just yet.

"Fine... I'll ask him about it. Doubt you're right though"

"Like I said, not everything is what it seems" Shadow says, then he turns around and goes back down to the dinner party.

Sonic groans and let's himself fall backwards onto the bed, "What is happening?"

---

After the dinner, Sonic and Tails returned to Cloudpuff City so Tails could continue presenting his creations at the show, Cream following behind them closely, things went back to being smooth for a while and they were... Until the night before the final night of the show.

"Why didn't you think to get us food earlier?" Tails asks, somewhat annoyed with his blue partner.

"It didn't cross my mind at the moment... Sorry pal..."

"Mmm, I haven't eaten since we got back from the funeral!" Tails grumbles.

"Hey, I'm not the one who decided to spend hours working on a project" Sonic responds, crossing his arms.

"You know how focused I get when it comes to this stuff! I couldn't take a break to eat!" Tails says back.

"Fine, I'll go get something. Stay here"

Sonic gets his shoes on, grabs a bag and his wallet and zooms to the door. Tails whimpers and looks back at him, "Sonic..."

The hedgehog turns around to see Tail's blushing face, "Don't take too long"

Sonic dashes over and hugs Tails, "I'll be back soon. Don't worry"

He salute's Tails and then runs out the door. Tails quickly runs to the window to see Sonic zooming down the street. It puts a smile on his face to see that he's been doing okay since Amy's demise... No matter what he does though, the one thing he figures he'll never stop celebrating is the fact that one of his biggest oppositions to him and Sonic finally being together is out of the way, and so soon too.

"It's all going so well... Maybe a little too well..."

---

Sonic picks up a bag full of chillidogs and cheese dogs for him and Tails to eat, he waves goodbye to the cashier and is about to open up the taps so he can get back to Tails at the hotel when he hears the sound of a girl crying, the blue hedgehog looks around until he sees a small figure wearing a black hoodie crouching by the corner. He sets the bag of food down and slowly walks over to the girl who's still wailing audibly.

"Hey there, are you lost?" Sonic asks.

"I can't find my mommy..." The girls sobs.

"It's okay! I'll help you find your mother. Do you know where she went?"

"I saw her go that way?" The girl says pointing towards the darker end of the alleyway.

Sonic looks up, he sees nothing but pitch black just as he's about to answer the little girl though...

Shik!

Metal piercing flesh, nerves firing, insides burning. Sonic gasps and looks down, there's a knife in his chest, the girl had just stabbed him, a stream of blood flows down his mouth as he stumbles backwards and falls over, the shock consuming his body instantly taking over. The girl yanks the knife out of his gut and examines it carefully.

As Sonic lays there, bleeding, shivering and still trying to process what's happening, the girl rolls her hood back... It's Cream and she's got the calm smile of a psychopath.

"C-Cream... Why...?" Sonic wheezes.

"One reason Sonic... Tails..."

"Ngh... What about him"

"You love him... Don't you?"

Sonic gasps some more trying to not let the pain in his chest wear down on him, "
...So what if I love him?"

Cream scoffs and plunges the blade in his left leg, Sonic screams loudly. Cream covers his mouth quickly and glares at him with aggression in her eyes, then she pulls the blade out.

"You're love for Tails is impure, false, nothing but a dream. I'm going to be Tail's wife Sonic, I'm going to be the one to love him, bear his children, live with him every single day, feed him take care of hi-"

"Gah... How naïve are you?... Tails is into guys. He's, nggh, not gonna date you Cream. He doesn't like you like that"

"Stop lying to me!" The rabbit screams.

She brings her foot down hard on Sonic's leg and he groans in pain some more out of anger, she releases her foot from his leg and paces around the injured hedgehog. Sonic reaches into his bag and weakly manages to push a button on a device in the bag.

"I'm not lying to you Cream... He said it to me himself, he has no interest in you" Sonic says through wheezing.

"You-You've ruined him!"

"What are you talking about... That's just the way he feels"

"Enough!"

"Cream, please... Think about this. Doesn't any part of this seem wrong? Agh! Listen let's just talk this out... It doesn't have to end violently" Sonic says through strained grunts.

"There is no talking it out Sonic... You love him, I love him... That's where the problem lies. You see, I've loved Tails longer then you, I've made the effort to be by his side for the longest time help him out of tough spots, let him try my food, give him advice. I just want a future where me and Tails can be happy, together... Forever. And I'm not going to let some narcissististical blue juvenile ruin that for me"

"What are you talking about, you said it yourself Tails loves me! Even if he didn't love me do you honestly think he's going to want to date you after you come in trying to kill me?! He won't see you as wife material, he'll see you as a crazed delusional psychopath! Not the sweet girl everyone thinks you are!"

The rabbit's head drops down, she's so angry and emotional she's shaking, her hands ball into angry fists, she raises the knife high in the air but before she can bring it down a hand grabs her arm. Her heart freezes when she realises what's happening, she turns around... Standing there squeezing her arm tightly, with a clear display of anger and frustration on his face is Tails. Cream, now knows the gravity of her situation and it's weighing down on her like a truck.

"Bitch"

The fox shoves Cream towards a pile of trash, she yelps loudly when Tails initially pushes her. The fox runs over to Sonic to see how he's doing and it's not looking good, when the rabbit stabbed Sonic in the stomach she punctured a vital organs in his body.

"T-Tails... There you are-" Sonic says looking up at the fox who's tearing up.

"You're gonna be okay, just hold my hand"

Tails squeezes Sonic's shaking hand as he frantically reaches around in his bag until he finds a small silver flashlight like object. He turns it on and a red laser shoots out and scans Sonic, brilliant red light moving up and down around his body. Tails twists a knob and the laser turns blue

"H-How bad i-is it..."

"She punctured your left lung... Don't worry my nanites can save you!" Tails says, squeezing Sonic's hand tighter, "They have too..."

He starts by shining the blue light on Sonic chest wound, the hedgehog grunts in pain as the microscopic robots regenerate his skin and tissue at an amazing rate, repairing his punctured lung and flushing out any blood in his chest cavity, when Tails sees the nanites making decent progress he shines the blue laser on his leg, Sonic shouts as the little robots also fix up his leg too.

"Gah... It's easier to breathe" Sonic says, he moans and looks up at Tails who's smiling warmly at him.

"The nanites are coated with an anesthetic, while they fix you up you should rest. I'll stay here until the police arrive"

"Mmh, you do that-"

Sonic's eyes finally close, he's out, resting well as his wounds are slowly fixed up by the nanites. Tails hugs Sonic tightly and gives him a light kiss on the cheek, a few seconds passes out, he stands up straight. Cream sits up from the pile of rubbish bags and looks up at Tails with genuine fear, the foxes head snaps around.

"Tails... Please..."

"The moment you hurt Sonic, was the moment when you hurt me. If you cared so much about me, you would have respected that I don't love you... I never will"

The rabbit gasps, tears flowing down her eyes.

"And then-" Tails brandishes a laser blaster from his bag, "-You have the audacity to attack him, take advantage of him, kill him just so you can get your way. Well I have news for you-"

Creams scurries to her feet and puts her hands up, "You failed..."

Tails raises the weapon at her, ice cold blue eyes staring at fearful and pleading brown ones, it almost makes Tails not want to carry out with what he was about to do...

"Tails! Wai-"

With a squeeze of the trigger, a flash of light, the sound of weak gasps fill the air as Cream looks down at her chest, there's a steaming hole in her chest, she looks at Tails with her pale eyes.

"Why-" She wheezes.

The fox is grinning at her with malevolent satisfaction on his face, the rabbit collapses to the cold wet concrete wheezing for air, her chest feels like it's burning, turning to ashes.

"You've opened my eyes Cream, I can't thank you enough"

Tails picks Sonic up and carries him back to the hotel, lifting him high in the air above the somewhat soothing lights of Cloudpuff City. Tails lands on the balcony of their hotel room and opens the door so he can take the groaning blue hedgehog to his bed, Tails neatly tucks him in and checks the nanites progress on his phone.

"88%... Good..."

The fox has one more thing too worry about however, the rabbit with a significantly large hole in her chest. When Tails returns to the alleyway, the police are there and Cream is being rushed into an ambulance, the fox sighs and decides to leave so he can watch Sonic. He may not have been able to finish Cream off, but at least the crazed rabbit was out of the picture.

As Tails is walking back to the hotel, he gets a phone call from Vanilla when he picks up he can hear how frantic she sounds.

"Tails! Tails! Cream was attacked!"

"Whoa! Vanilla slow down! What do you mean she was attacked?"

The fox could hear the hysterical rabbit sobbing on the other end of the phone as she walks to the hospital.

"How bad is she?"

"They're saying she's in a coma! Please Tails come to the hospital! There has to be something you can do!"

"Sonic got attacked earlier while he was out... I have to make sure his condition doesn't get worse. I'm sorry Vanilla but my hands are tied right now. I hope she pulls through though"

"It's okay Tails. Just make sure Sonic's okay" Vanilla says, trying to hide her frustration and grief.

"I gotta go, talk to you soon" Tails says, then he hangs up. His phone chimes which indicates the nanites had finished fixing Sonic up.

He rushes back to the hotel to see Sonic groaning as he sits up on the bed. Tails grabs him and squeezes him ever so tightly.

"I'm okay pal..."

"I know, but what if I got there too late?... What if I couldn't-"

"It's okay Tails, really it is..." Sonic says, putting his hand on his head and giving him a layed back smile.

He lets go of Sonic and takes a moment to calm himself down, considering Sonic and him faced two of these situations with people trying to kill them Tails no longer felt comfortable staying in Cloudpuff City. Now he wanted to return back to their home in the Emerald Hill Zone where they would be safer.

"I think we should go home Sonic..."

Sonic's surprised by what Tails is saying, "Whoa whoa, what about the convention-"

"We've been attacked twice, and you could have died" Tails says.

"Tails come on buddy, don't let stuff like this scare you"

"I'm not scared, I just--- Don't want you to get hurt again"

"I don't want you to get hurt either. But I came here to see you win and show everyone how awesome you are! Besides, I know you have one more cool Inventions to show off!"

Tails thinks for a moment, he was worried about Sonic still but at the same time Sonic didn't want this to scare him or make him leave the convention, after a few seconds the fox decides... He's going to stay.

"Fine... I'll stay" Tails says.

"Great!" Sonic says, pleased with his decision.

Tails lets out an exhausted sigh and leaves the room. Sonic lays back down on the bed still marveled by how fast the nanites repaired his stab wounds. The blue hedgehog takes off his gloves and turns the light off, just as he's about to pull the cover over himself so he could rest, Tails comes in squeezing his fists, face as pink as bubble gum.

"I'm gonna sleep with you... J-Just incase" Tails says looking away from Sonic almost immediately.

"Um... Okay" Sonic says, addled by the fox's behaviour.

Tails climbs in and pulls the blanket in, giving Sonic as much space as he can on the bed. Sonic sighs and looks back at him for a moment before sighing and closing his eyes.

"I won't let anything happen to you..." Tails whispers to himself.