Okay, it's time for me to put up my first fanfiction. This takes place in the games universe, sometime before Sonic Unleashed. So here it goes, but first:

Disclaimer: I don't own Sonic the Hedgehog, or anything like that. I wish but nope.

UPDATE (6/4/14): Chapter rewritten to strengthen the writing. Events remain the same.

Screeching sirens tore through the cool summer night at the investigator pulled up in front of the bank and parked just outside the ring of people. The sun lit up in a line on the horizon but the rest of the sky was an empty shade of black. The flashing lights of red and blue broke up the stillness. She sat in the car a moment to brace herself before opening her door. When she slammed her door behind her, it echoed through the street emptily despite the small crowd a few yards away.

For a crime scene, the crowd surrounding the bank held abnormally still. Few whispers passed among them as they held vigil. Instead, their eyes remained glued to the scene beyond the bank doors, a scene they couldn't see. The investigator shivered and pulled her suit jacket more tightly around herself. She shrugged her bag higher on her shoulder before stepping forward to push her way through the crowd. Most silently moved out of their way, eyes glancing back for only an instant before returning to the scene. She frowned and shivered again. Crimes were nothing new to Central City. Why were so many anxious?

At the front of the crowd, yellow tape between metal barriers held everyone back from the doors. Police officers stood there, eyes sweeping the crowd in case anyone got out of control. The investigator slipped out her badge from the inside pocket of her suit jacket and flashed it at the nearest officer. He glanced at it briefly with tired eyes before nodding once. She ducked under the tape and walked into the bank.

The walls of the bank silenced the outside noise, but the investigator felt the same anxiety pushing in around her like a flurry. Too many men and women with badges milled around the wide open room. But the small body laying in her own blood on the cold floor drew the investigator's eyes. Her blood seeped into her pale fur, staining it a deep burgundy. The investigator froze where she stood. The body, so young in life, was too small in death. The wideness of the floor looked as though it would open up and swallow her like a breath mint. After a moment, the investigator realized her hands shook at her sides. She balled her fingers into fists and averted her eyes. Her cropped hair brushed against her neck as she focused on her shoes rather than the room before her. The anxiety balling her stomach up unnerved her. She usually avoided emotional attachment to the victim of the crime. Such things kept her sane.

A thin officer in a navy uniform stood near the body, taking notes in a yellow steno pad. He faced away from the scene, as though he was as uncomfortable at the investigator at the sight of the victim. She rolled back her shoulders and stepped toward him. "So what's the deal?" she asked, her nonchalance failing with the rising shake of her voice.

The officer jumped and looked up from his paper. He sighed, letting his arms fall. "A shooting, and a violent one at that," he said. "And the witnesses won't tell us much of anything. We suspect all of this might have been a set-up."

"A set-up?" She drew her eyebrows together. "Make it look like it was sudden but instead it was planned," she whispered, more to herself than anyone. The idea made her heart ache. That someone so young would have someone plotting to kill her…the investigator tried to shake the thought from her head. "Was anyone else hit?" she asked before her mind could go back to the thought.

The officer crossed his arms across his chest and frowned. "Oddly no. And there were tons of bullets flying; you would have thought there'd at least be some injury to bystanders, but there's been none reported. We've already found five of the bullets, and we're pretty sure there's more."

Her eyes widened. She glanced again at the girl but regretted it instantly. Her heart beat too fast at the sight, which only felt wrong. Why should her heart beat so quickly when someone so much younger had no heartbeat at all? "Someone really wanted to kill her," she whispered. But then, she shrugged. "Or was just a horrible shot."

The officer nodded. The investigator looked back at him to see his eyes at the floor rather than on her face. "This was one of the more violent shootings we're had in a while," he admitted.

"What about suspects?"

The officer's shoulders fell. "Not a one. I couldn't even begin to guess. The shooter was to thin to be Dr. Robotnik based on one witness's report."

"Nor is the Doctor typically so violent," the investigator agreed. "He wouldn't cross that line. Especially not with her."

"Yeah," the officer said softly. "In addition, the shooter was also short. Incredibly short."

The investigator's breath caught in her throat. She jerked her head up to more fully look at the officer. "So you think it's an anthro then?"

But the officer just shrugged. "No idea, but at least it's a possibility. At least we've got somewhere to start."

"There's that," she whispered. The investigator's eyes fell on the victim again. Blood matted in her fur making it look grimy and unkempt. Her face looked…too calm, considering her violent end. But, as the investigator knew, all faces looked calm in death. "Did we…" The investigator cleared her throat, wondering where her professional distance gone. "…was a relation contacted."

"Yes."

"Is it…?" Her voice trailed off.

The officer sighed and nodded. "Yeah."

The investigator blew out slowly. Her muscles tightened at the thought of seeing that scene. Nothing like this had ever happened in their circle before, despite their tendency to become involved in danger. There really was no way to anticipate his reaction. "How soon until he gets here?" she asked eventually.

"Considering who he is, any moment now."

The investigator stepped back, rubbing her hand along the back of her neck. She wished she could escape this place. She wished she could go anywhere and not see them reunite in such devastating circumstances. But she knew it was too late.

At the door, she heard a male voice arguing with another. "They called me, now let me through!" the younger of the two shouted.

The investigator's stomach dropped. She wanted to say no, to not let him through, to save him. But instead, she called, "Let him through." Her voice echoed off the empty walls, sounding too loud.

She looked back and watched him walk through the open doors of the bank. His eyes usually reflected sunlight and danced with life, but now they reflected nothing, like tarnished jewelry. He dragged his feet and his arms hung at his sides like his entire body was too heavy to move. The investigator's heart ached to watch him. She stepped aside to give him a clear path to her. His eyes held to the small girl's body, however, not so much as glancing up at the investigator's movement. He dropped to his knees on the ground beside his friend. Her blood stained his fur. The sight made the investigator wince, but he seemed not to notice. He took her gloved hand and pressed it to his heart. Blood stained her white glove as well, making it almost a pink color in places. Pressed against his chest, it looked so wrong. His face turned down so that the investigator couldn't make out whether or not he was crying in the dimly lit bank. She doubted whether she had ever seen such a heavy sadness in any creature living or dead. No one deserved this.

But now…

Sonic the Hedgehog had lost Amy Rose.