Werewolf99: Thanks, I'm really glad that you're enjoying this so far! I know this may sound early, but what's your opinion on my OC, Megan? I think she's alright, but still... Alright then, I'll see what I can do...

Chapter 10: Brutal Attack

(Meanwhile in South Ashfield...)

M-S

The last couple of days have been a blur. I didn't tell anyone about what happened when I first moved in that apartment, since they wouldn't believe me. Strange events began occurring, starting with this hole appearing in my storeroom.

Weird, I know.

So I go in, and I find myself in Soleanna. I haven't been there since the Flames of Disater came into play, even so, it was pretty nice to be back. No major changes, no new buildings, it was exactly the same kingdom I visited all those years ago. And the citizens were in a happy mood, focusing on their daily lives. Truth be told, I was looking forward to seeing Elise again, because firstly Amy wasn't there to keep me away from all of the girls in my surroundings and secondly, it felt great to be in a place where I know someone who would assist me if I was ever in trouble.

And now here I am back in South Ashfield, with Amy on what she thinks is a 'date'. She never outright told me what she thought, but I knew from the way my friend was looking at me; excited and happy.

Well, who can blame her?

"So, how are you feeling Sonic?" Amy asked, cheerfully.

"I'm alright, just hoping that today's going to turn out better." I replied, giving her a friendly grin as I did so.

Hearing this, my pink friend's green eyes brightened up. "Oh, I'm sure it will be just fine!"

I couldn't help, but smile at this. "Thanks Amy,"

We continued walking down the street, turning round a left corner and found ourselves entering a large park area with a small fountain in the very centre. A large group of kids (looking about sixteen or seventeen years old) were lounging around on the massive bench placed near the fountain. To be honest, I felt a little nervous going near them. Just recently, I've been getting hurtful e-mails and messages from teenagers who threw insults at me and begged me to change back into the 'Sonic' they knew.

One even went as far to send a really, really hurtful message: "Where's my beloved cute little buddy gone. I don't want him to change, ever."

Well kid, people change. It's all a part of life; we grow up, we change.

Taking a deep breath, I followed Amy as we made our entrance. She became aware of my concerns and stayed close to me, making sure that I was alright. Normally I wouldn't be nervous, but this time, this situation was a little different. "Okay..."

As we made our way towards another bench a few metres in the distance, I was startled by a number of male voices shouting in triumph.

"There he is!"

"Get him!"

"Amy's here too; let's get her as well!"

Four seventeen to eighteen year old boys began to approach us in a threatening manner, some cracking their knuckles and others sneering with menacing glares.

Oh no...

I jumped in front of my pink friend, stretching both my arms out in order to protect her. Amy also got her Piko-Piko hammer out and prepared herself for what was about to come. "Sonic!"

"It's okay Amy, we're gonna get out of this..." I reassured her, getting myself ready for the fight that I knew was going to happen. "What do you want, lads?"

The leader; a furious and frightening eighteen year old stepped forward, glaring at me full of hatred. "We want you and your series to go down; not to be mentioned again."

Great, just great.

Despite the growing anger I felt boiling in my veins, I managed to remain calm. "Lads, I understand your opinion but the thing is, sometimes we just gotta get used to new things that come into our lives. It can be a good thing."

And they're going to beat me up in 3, 2, 1...

"Forget you!" The leader screamed right in my face. "Go back to Green Hill and stay there!"

Just before I was about to leave with Amy, I felt a hand grab me roughly by the shoulder and turn me round, with such powerful force. A hard fist connected with my black nose, erupting a loud crack and sending severe pain throbbing intensely. I screamed and placed both my gloved hands against it, trying to prevent the incoming scarlet blood from pouring out.

Amy apparently saw this, as she let out her battle cry and lunged towards the leader, swinging her hammer and delivering a brutal blow. The kid yelled in pain and collapsed to the ground, groaning. "Don't you dare hurt my Sonic again!"

That sent all of them running; even the leader who was supposed to be tough and menacing. As a matter of fact, he still was. After they disappeared from our view, Amy offered me a hand up and I gladly accepted it. "Are you alright?"

"Y-Yeah. I'm fine Amy, don't worry..." I replied. Even though, I actually wasn't. "Are you?"

Well, the kids certainly didn't make my day.

"I'm alright, I'm just worried about you Sonic." My pink friend said, her voice slightly cracked with emotion as soon as she finished her sentence. That made my heart ache. I gingerly wrapped my arm around her shoulder in an attempt to calm her down, feeling bad myself. "Hey, I'm still going to be around, even if something happens. That way, you'll know if I happen to be nearby."

She smiled at this, and eventually managed to compose herself. "Okay..."

We both then began walking out of the park, on our way back to the apartments. I would occasionally strike up a conversation and Amy would reply positively, but she still was worried. It wasn't long until a thought that will forever be on my mind struck me. "So you think there's a kid out there that likes me for who I am?"

"I don't know, maybe. Why?" Amy asked.

"Hm, I was just wondering if someone out there doesn't hate me, and doesn't want me to change back to who I used to be." I said, taking my thoughts in.

My pink friend then brightened up again, just the Amy I always liked to see. "I'm sure there's a kid out there who likes you."

I couldn't help but let a genuine smile appear. "Yeah... That would be pretty cool..."

Hopefully, he or she's out there somewhere... I gotta find them...

(Back in Switchback Cove...)

S-M

I have only just spent a few hours in Switchback Cove and so far, everyone seems really nice and friendly. Sure, they were frightened at first, but I told the animals that I meant no harm. I spent a couple of minutes with Peaches, Louis, Ethan and the girls, and we seem to get along really well. They asked me some questions about my interests, I told them, but I decided to leave Sonic out. Due to a...personal reason.

Heh, this place isn't so bad...

"Hey guys, I think Buck and Flynn might be back soon." Sid said, in his usual happy and smiley mood. I was honestly suprised when I heard their names because ... the Herd haven't seen them since the third and fourth Ice Age movies. Maybe Flynn decided to back out off Gutt's pirate gang like Shira did, and apologised to the Herd for siding with the pirates? Who knows?

Anyways...

Hearing Sid's words, Crash and Eddie both cheered in excitement and high-fived each other. "YES!"

I understood why they were so pleased; Buck was like...a well respected and almost brotherly idol to them. Similar to how I felt about Sonic, despite the fact I haven't met him yet. Every so often, I would dream about what scenarios would take place if I managed to bump into him personally; I knew first and foremost that I would be shy and quiet, but as I would begin to spend more time with my idol, I would slowly start to open up. Like I said before, I really wanted to find someone who I could release my emotions and form an attachment with.

Maybe...there is someone who could be out there... Who knows?

"For once, I agree with you guys. He's a cool weasel." Diego said, grinning with amusement.

"I'm with you on that." I chimed in, earning two thumbs-ups from the possums and a smirk from the male smilodon.

Just then, Granny, Peaches and Louis came into the clearing. The elderly female sloth instantly marched up to Sid and began shouting in his face for him to feed her a ripe-red apple. "Sid! Can you chew this thing for me?!"

"You have your shark teeth, Granny! Where did you last see them?!" The sloth replied, with annoyance lacing his tone.

There was a moment of silence before the answer came. And believe me when I say, I almost cracked up laughing. "I can't remember when I last saw them so you have to find them before Precious eats them!"

"Argh...! Granny, please don't put that image in my head!" Peaches groaned, glancing at me and rolling her eyes slightly. I shook my head and grinned, almost feeling sorry for them. Even though Granny seemed a little annoying at times, we knew that she was a kind and caring sloth who was willing to help others.

And that was good enough for me.

I was getting along with the animals REALLY well. My day honestly couldn't get any better. Just as we were about to enjoy the day further, a loud and terrified scream echoed all across the hills, sending cold chills down my spine.

We all got up and started to investigate, but a group of monsters, about ten of them suddenly entered the area at a slow pace. They looked so similar to the ones I encountered back in Crisis City! How the hell did they end up here?! Static began erupting from a radio that mysteriously appeared at my feet, somehow indicating the monsters' presence. I quickly picked it up, stored it into my backpack and grabbed my hunting rifle. "Guys, you all better run! It's not safe!"

Peaches, Louis, Sid, Granny and the teenagers sprinted, but Diego remained. "Kid, you can't take them on your own, I'm going to help you!"

I hesitated for a moment as the smilodon was right. It was true that if I took the monsters on myself, it would be a losing battle. But at the same time, I didn't want Diego or anyone else in the Herd to end up suffering the same fate as ... ugh, it hurts to say her name, but ... it was the truth. "I-I-okay..." I stammered worriedly, nodding to show that I appreciated Diego's assistance whilst keeping a tight grip on my rifle. "Yeah... A-A-Alright..."

"Hey. We're gonna be fine, trust me," The smilodon replied in a reassuring tone, having noticed how nervous I was. He then stood beside me and the fight was on. Our opponents were a mixture; mannequins, lying figures, closers and sniffer dogs. The former's appearance consisted of a human torso clad in a pale skin-like leotard and a pair of feminine legs, with two more resting on top of the torso and standing upright. They also lacked feet. The lying figures...I didn't want to go into too much detail about them, but I will say that their entire bodies appeared to be trapped in a flesh-like straight jacket with feminine legs. The closers were the tallest out of the lot with thick arms and a brown mini-skirt. Its' face appeared to resemble a pair of lips and two sharp blades were hidden inside its' arms. And finally, the sniffer dogs. The only things I will say about them is that their dirty fur were coloured in a sickly green and a pale purple, revealing that the ones with the latter were female. They also had extremely long red tongues and sharp black claws, with the females' being sharper.

Argh! Just looking at them made me want to throw up! My new friends were disgusted by them too!

But we weren't going to let that stop us. Two of the sniffer dogs circled Diego, growling which prompted the latter to snarl back as he stood in front of me protectively. Suddenly, they all roared and tackled each other, battling it out. A lying figure then took a few steps forward and began spraying a sample of harmful yellow acid towards me. I yelped and dodged the acid, firing one bullet into the monster which killed it instantly.

You got this, Megan. You got this!

I then gunned down another sniffer dog who leapt at me, roaring with thunderous rage. A mannequin saw this as it sprinted towards me and connected its' fist with my jaw, sending a small amount of pain throbbing in my skull. I groaned as I smacked my attacker with my rifle, sending it tumbling to the ground with me finishing it off with a stomp to the head. Two closers then made the next move, only just managing to hit me in my torso and sending me falling down, yelping in pain. Just as they were about to finish me off, I shot them twice one by one, killing them instantly.

"That's right, you go girl!" Both Peaches and Sid cheered, pumping their trunk/fist in the air.

I quickly sent a small smile in my new friends' directions and sprinted towards the right to get a better aim. "Okay..."

Firing at three lying figures, I killed them and there was a small number of monsters left, plus the static on the radio was gradually starting to fade.

Bingo!

Four sniffer dogs began advancing towards me, growling in a threatening manner. Even though I felt scared, I just aimed my rifle and fired, just before one of them lunged towards me and scratched my face with it's sharp claws. I screamed in pain, which prompted Diego to finish off his two opponents and tackle the other one to the ground, digging his fangs into its' throat and shaking it in a furious way until it fell lifeless. He then dropped the corpse to the snowy ground and gave me a look of concern, having seen what happened seconds ago. "Are you okay, Megan?!"

I nodded quickly, desperatley attempting to recover from the shock. "Y-Yeah... Yeah, sort of!"

All that was left was a closer, sniffer dog and mannequin. Working together, both Diego and I managed to take them out and soon, the static faded completely. Absolute silence and bliss. Gasping for breath, I allowed my fingers to brush the face injury I recieved and once I pulled my hand away, it was covered in blood.

Man, I guess my body loves getting injuries, doesn't it?! Well, I don't!

Frantically kneeling down, I took off my backpack and searched inside for a first-aid kit. Thankfully, I managed to find one and I instantly got to work on healing my face wound, making sure that it wouldn't get infected. Just then, Manny, Ellie and Shira ran into the clearing, followed by a familiar weasel and elephant seal. "Is everyone alright?!"

"Yup!" Peaches said, coming out the hiding place with Sid, Granny, Louis and the teenagers in tow. As they told everyone else about the attack, Shira couldn't help but notice the state I was in. Walking over, she gave me a small nudge with her head to get my attention. "Hey, what happened to your face?!" The female smilodon asked, worriedly. "Are you alright?!"

"One of the damn sniffer dogs that attacked us got me," I responded, still working on healing my injury. "O-Other than that, I'm fine, thanks. It's ... It's not too big, don't worry..."

After placing the first-aid kit back in my backpack, I managed to pull myself together and turn round to face my new friends. A sudden realisation hit me. If I told them about my quest, then maybe they'd be in to help.

"Hey guys," I began. "I, um, ... T-There's...something I need to tell you."

Alright, let's how this goes...