Chapter 45: The One Truth

E-S

"So ... I tried calling my dad first, and ... I ... I just want my mum back!"

"I ... I don't know what to say... Although, I promise you, I'll do what I can to help."

"Thanks, Sonic. That really means a lot."

...

I haven't forgotten the promise I made to Megan and I wasn't going to break it. To be honest, I had no idea who she and the Herd were at first, though I was appericative of them jumping in to stop Walter back in Room 303. But when we introduced each other at St. Jerome's Hospital, I knew that I was going to like my new friends.

I mean, c'mon! They were a really friendly bunch!

Although ... out of all the companions I had over the years, Megan was a little different. She'd be the first to jump in and save our lives whenever we ended up in trouble, occasionally crack a joke to cheer us up and was, most of all, a really nice kid to hang out with. I'm not saying that I see Elise and everyone else in a negative light, as I am on really good terms with them but ... Megan was beginning to mean a little more to me, just like Chip did when we travelled across the world to bring it back together seven years ago. After all that time, I still wore his bracelet to remember him. Chaos, it's even tucked under my left glove right now! Why didn't I show it to the former when I had the chance...?

Stop it, Sonic. You will get another chance, you just gotta do what you do best and get Megan and her parents out of danger before Walter does the unthinkable to them.

I was the first to get back to our safehouse, followed closely by Tails, Elise and the others. To our dismay, the entire place was completely deserted and we had no idea where our friends were being taken. Argh...! If only we got here a bit faster...!

"Great," Amy muttered worriedly, gripping her hammer tightly. "Does anyone have a idea on where everyone is?"

"Not yet, no." Elise answered, looking panicked but trying to stay strong. "I'm going to see if I can contact them, just give me a few seconds, okay?" She then switched on her communicator watch and held it up decently close to her mouth. "Megan? Ellie? Shira? It's Elise, can any of you hear me?"

We all waited to get a reply from our friends who were missing. Even though I remained calm, I was really worried about everyone. We knew that they could handle themselves well in a threatening situation, but ... I suddenly began to have a horrible feeling that things weren't going to end positively for Megan and her parents. I kept convincing myself and those with me that we were all going to make it out.

I mean, everyone deserves to live life to the fullest in the time they have! That was one of the many things I believed in. I felt really bad for Megan when I found out that she was forced to watch her first three friends die, failing to rescue them. With Manny, Ellie, Diego and the Herd's assistance, she saved me from suffering the same fate!

And I was going to do the same for her.

"Argh...!" Our deceased friend sighed, with annoyance and worry lacing her tone. "Nothing."

"Hey, why don't you let me try when we all get out of this place?" I suggested. "We may have a better chance at the bottom of the spiral staircase, so how about I contact Megan and the others?"

"Yeah, alright." Elise replied after a while, nodding to show that she understood. "That's a good idea."

After I entered the door's code, the nine of us found ourselves in a room with a really long staircase going down. Along the way, my friends and I had to fight off a couple of humming-birds but other than that, the trek was just fine. A single door with the halo of the sun stood at the bottom, waiting to be opened. Looking back on this, we had no idea what was about to occur once we entered the next room.

Dim lights flickered in the ceiling, revealing a large number of platforms sliding down the dull yellow walls. Struggling furiously to fight their way out were several wall-men, looking very similar to the ones we encountered back in the subway station. Only this time, they were huge!

Bring it on!

It was a good thing that Elise knew that there was a method we had to use to get the next door open. All we had to do was attack a wall-man that could cause damage to be inflicted on the others. Seemed simple enough! My friends and I separated into two groups and took on our opponents. Manny, Sid, Diego and Knuckles unfortunatley were having trouble with the ones on the right side, leading my friend/rival to yell in furstration as he delievered a number of blows to the wall-man he was focusing on.

"Agh...!" Knuckles growled in annoyance. "This guy won't go down!"

"Hey Knux, why don't you come over to our side!" I shouted as I performed a spin dash on the one I was facing. "I think the wall-man we're looking for is over here!"

It took us a while to find him, but when we did, I was the first to jump into action. I performed a series of homing attacks on our opponent whilst Amy and Elise delivered severe blows with their weapons. During the fight, I couldn't help but let our missing friends drift into my thoughts.

Even though we knew they could handle themselves, we didn't know what was happening to them right now. Megan could be trying to find Ellie, Shira and the others so that they could escape from the location Walter took them. Or maybe they were already out and searching for us.

Who knows? Hopefully, everyone's okay...

"He's almost down!" My little bro cried as he used his signature tails to attack the wall-man we were targeting. "Just keep fighting!" Diego yelled, as Shadow continued pumping bullets into our opponent. Soon, the door would open and we would be able to escape and save those we held close to our hearts from danger. After a while, the door's lock finally clicked and the wall-men fell into an endless slumber. One by one, we all exited the room to find ourselves at the last set of spiral stairs leading to the bottom. Thick dark fog surrounded us, sending chills running down our spines.

"I wonder what could be down there?" Elise pondered as we descended the staircase.

"There's only one way to find out." I replied, smiling brightly as the thought of adventure and getting close to saving our friends. "Let's go!"

Don't worry guys, we'll be with you soon...