QAN: Hey guys, sorry for not having updated in quite some time. I'm now in college and I have a busier schedule, so updates may be less frequent. I also aplogise if this chapter appears rushed, as I feel like this one is weaker than the others. If I manage to get some time, I'll try and put some adjustments into it and make it better. :(

Thank you for the support so far, feel free to leave a review and hope y'all enjoy. :)

Chapter 44: Richard Braintree

M-E

(A few minutes later, South side of Building World...)

I'll admit, I was rather suprised to see Knuckles and Amy arrive in the otherworlds, even though I had a feeling that they were soon going to join us after we ran into Tails and Shadow back at Wish House Orphanage. The six of us did have to deal with a couple of monsters on our way to the safe house, but we managed to tell our two friends what we've been through; meeting Megan and the Herd, exploring different places, taking down Cynthia, Jasper and Andrew, everything that occured since Sonic got rescued back in his apartment and taken to St. Jerome's Hospital.

Even though the majority of us weren't there earlier, I think ... our adventure has brought us and our new friends closer, as if we were slowly becoming a family.

My relationship with Megan has strengthened quite a lot since we reunited. It was almost like ... we became more comfortable at the thought of seeing each other as siblings. She could come to me if something dampened her spirits and I could talk to her if I felt down. It felt nice looking after someone younger than myself, and ... I'm really glad that I got to know Sonic, Megan and their friends in the time I did.

Right now, a small group of us were on our way out to take down the next ghost. Ellie, Peaches, Shira and the others decided to stay behind in order to make sure that Megan recovered well, whilst Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Amy and Shadow came along to help. Manny, Sid and Diego also volunteered to assist us in what we planned to do. The sooner we all manage to finish our opponent off, the better.

"So, what's the plan here?" Sid asked as we scanned our surroundings.

"We find the ghost and make sure he doesn't cause any more trouble," Shadow responded, keeping a tight grip on his pistol whilst searching the area. Sonic and Tails stood beside me and Amy, preparing themselves for what was about to occur. Soon enough, our saint medallions began to hum, indicating that our opponent was nearby.

Here we go...

Standing on a platform that was a long way up from us, was Richard Braintree. Due to what Megan told me a while ago, this guy didn't like children and always got angry whenever he ran into them. As a ghost, he looked ... really disturbing. He had the numbers 19/21 written on his forehead, his outfit was singed and his skin was a dark grey colour. Judging from how he looked, the cause of his death was most likely electrocution. Even though we didn't like him, that ... was a shocking way for someone to die. My friends and I prepared ourselves for Richard to make the first move, and he did by doing something we literally didn't see coming.

"WHAT?! He just decided to fall off!" Sid yelled in a startled manner.

"Yeah, thanks for pointing that out sloth!" Knuckles sneered in reply.

I snuck a glance at Amy, watching as she took a tight hold of her Piko-Piko hammer and glaring at the ghost who hit the ground with a hard thud. Suprisenly, he didn't sustain any injuries and pulled himself up to his feet with little difficulty.

"Guys, get ready!" Manny called out, nervously.

If Megan was here, she would be the one to strike our opponent first. Aiming my revolver at Richard, I began firing bullets whilst Sonic curled himself up into a ball and performed several homing attacks on the ghost. I was glad that we found the next sword of obedience earlier, otherwise we would all be in great danger if the nine of us didn't.

Our opponent was rather different than the three ghosts we encountered so far; he walked instead of floating and had some ... strange abilities, I'll admit. He swung his rusty pipe again and again, faster and faster. He just didn't stop! Whenever Amy, Manny, Diego or Knuckles tried to fight him physically, the ghost would disappear and teleport to another side of the area. From that point on, we all knew this guy was going to be a lot harder to finish off.

"Chaos, he's even worse than Jasper!" Sonic yelled, referring to the fight back in the forest.

"We know that, faker! Just keep fighting!" Shadow snarled as he continued to fire bullets into the ghost.

Will you all please stop bickering?!

Suddenly, I felt a sharp sting build up in my cheeks as Richard teleported up to me and delievered a severe blow with his pipe, sending me falling to the ground with a startled yelp. "Argh!"

Amy saw what occured and swung her hammer towards our opponent, forcing him to stumble back and scream in pain once my friend's weapon connected with his jaw. She then ran over to me and extended a hand in an attempt to help me up. "Elise! You okay?!"

"Yeah, I'm fine!" I repiled, grabbing her hand and reloading my revolver. "We have bigger problems, though!"

As minutes turned into hours, Richard was slowly losing his energy and becoming weaker. Whilst my friends and I continued fighting him, Megan suddenly drifted into my thoughts. I hoped that nothing was going to happen to her and the others, but ... I had a horrible feeling that they were in trouble. My head suddenly started throbbing in pain, leading me to realise what was coming. Soon, my surroundings went completely white as I was blinded by a vision once again.

...

A fight had broke out back at the safehouse. The man in the coat and nearly ten victim ghosts surrounded Ellie, Shira, Granny and Buck as they attempted to defend themselves against their opponents. Every one of our friends were focused on one thing; getting Megan, Peaches and Louis to safety. The three younger ones were cornered by the man and they knew that there was no way they were going to get out. Our injured human friend raised her knife and stood in front of her two friends protectively, shaking with fear.

"Well, well. We meet again, child." The man said in an oddly calm manner. "This time, you're not going to escape like how you did in the water prison. Besides, your parents are waiting for you..."

"YOU LEAVE MY DAUGHTER AND HER FRIENDS ALONE!" Ellie cried out, struggling to reach the two humans and pre-historic animals.

They better not get kidnapped... They better not...

"We'll never go anywhere with you!" Megan and Peaches both shouted as they furiously began defending themselves against the man who attempted to attack them. I wanted to snap out of my vision, I wanted to warn Sonic, Tails and the others, I wanted to go back to our hideout and I wanted to save our young friends from danger!

But, I couldn't... Because if we went back now ... we'd be too late...

My vision began fading away, just as the man blocked a blow from Megan, wrapped an arm around her neck and forced her to violently choke for air as she slowly fell unconscious. She wasn't the only one who was getting kidnapped...

Ellie, Peaches, Shira and the others were too...

...

"He's almost down!"

I snapped back to reality, grimacing in pain as intense worry began to overwhelm me. Megan tried so hard to escape from the man's trap, but failed. Sonic, Tails, Amy and the others were still fighting Richard and whilst I helped them, my desperation to save the brunette teen was increasing at a high pace.

"Damn it!" Shadow muttered in annoyance as he ran out of bullets. Noticing this, I threw a set of pistol ammo I discovered earlier towards the black and red hedgehog. He nodded to show his appreciation as we all continued to fight our opponent. Truth be told, I was slightly amazed that Richard could take more than five blows and still go strong. Cynthia, Jasper and Andrew were weaker, but the battle we were going through now told me that the next two ghosts were also going to be a lot stronger.

I didn't like that at all...

Soon after what seemed like nearly an hour, Richard finally collasped with a scream of pain, indicating that he lost the energy he had. Shadow instantly walked up and pinned the sword into him, preventing the ghost from pulling himself back up to his feet. Relieved that it was over, I began jogging in the safehouse's direction with only one thing on my mind. "Elise! Wait! What's wrong?!"

I looked at Sonic and Diego with concern overwhelming me. "Okay..., okay, listen. I had this vision and I saw everyone get kidnapped by the man and several victim ghosts.."

Hearing this, Amy gasped worriedly whilst my blue friend and Manny looked at each other, knowing that their loved ones were currently in great danger. "And ... I think the man captured everyone to lead us into a trap..."

"Whatever this guy's got planned for us, it's not gonna end well," Knuckles muttered as he cast a worried look in Tails' direction. "Let's go."

Nodding to show that we understood, my friends and I all ran back to the safehouse. Sonic, Manny and Diego overtook us, with the former performing a boost to pick up the pace. I could tell that he and Tails were just as worried as I was, having spent a long period of time bonding with Megan throughout our journey...

We're coming guys, just hang on...