QAN: Hello everyone, apologises for not having updated sooner. College has been getting worse for me and I've been going through a lot of hard things lately, so I had to take some time off. I'm also struggling with ideas on how to end this story, considering we're very close to the end, so that's been difficult too. :( Anyways, thank you for the support so far and I'm really glad that you guys are enjoying the story. :)

Feel free to leave a review and hope y'all like Chapter 48! :)

Chapter 48: South Ashfield Heights

(Back with Team Sonic and the Sub Zero Heroes...)

M-M

Looking back on what happened earlier, I don't know what came over me...

Even though I did have a few moments like that before, I just ... lashed out because I was completely terrified about losing Ellie and Peaches in the same way I lost my first family...! I didn't mean what I said about Megan, honestly. I thought she was a good kid, but ... memories of my past and the events leading up to this point made me blame her for getting my family into trouble! But, I imagined that she didn't ask for this to happen... Megan was recovering from the injuries she recieved and the others were only looking after her! I knew I'd have to reveal what I said and apologise to our younger human friend if we saw her again...

I regretted blaming the young girl for this ordeal. But, I felt that she should know...

Soon after exiting the hole, we found ourselves in a long hallway that looked incredibly similar to Megan and Sonic's apartment complex, but with a few differences. The walls, floor and furniture were covered in blood and dirt, giving off a disturbing atmosphere. I couldn't blame my friends for being uncomfortable as I was too.

"Is everything alright?" Elise asked me with concern lacing her tone, snapping me back to reality. To tell the truth, I thought she'd give me the silent treatment for what I did! "Look, I ... I didn't mean what I said, honestly." I began to protest. "I'm just ... terrified that I'm going to lose my family to this madness..."

"I understand." The princess replied. "But, you're not the only one who's scared about the possibility of losing their loved ones. I, um, after I lost my parents ... I wasn't sure that I'd meet someone who would become a dear friend of mine."

"You met Sonic, didn't you?"

"Yes, yes, I did." Elise continued, remembering her first adventure with them. "Until I met Sonic, Tails and the others, I didn't have any friends whatsoever. Megan didn't, either. Not until we crossed paths with her."

I nodded sadly, letting my loving wife and daughter drift into my thoughts. "Right."

"We do have some good news, though," Our deceased friend revealed after a moment of silence. "Ellie, Peaches, Shira and the others. They escaped."

Oh... Thank goodness!

I could have collapsed to the floor, as I was so relieved! Everyone in my family were okay! I looked over at Sid and Diego, who were grinning with delight as they too felt the same way I did. "We told you we'd find them!" The former exclaimed happily. But then, our smiles faded as a realisation suddenly hit us.

One of our friends was still in danger...

"Guys, do any of you know where Megan and her parents are being held?" I asked, snapping myself back to reality and focusing on our current objective. "Yep, we do!" Sonic answered. "They're trapped in this prison underneath our area. There is a way in, but it's blocked off."

"So, how do we unblock it?" I wanted to know. If there was a method we could use to get in the prison, we would do it. "This guy, I think his name was Joseph, he said that we needed to go down to the superintendent's room and get this box. He hasn't mentioned anything else about it, though." Tails added, with concern lacing his tone.

At least, we know where to start...

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, wait a minute." Knuckles suddenly butted in, sending a confused glance in my direction. "Didn't the fat one say he wanted us to go our separate ways when we all escape from the otherworlds?"

"Knuckles..." Amy groaned, not wanting to have another argument. I honestly couldn't blame her, as our friends and I didn't like the idea of what happened minutes ago occuring a second time.

"First of all, I'm not fat! It's this fur that makes me look big!" I muttered in annoyance. I had to go through this four times, and it was really starting to get on my nerves. Sid, Ellie, Buck, Captain Gutt and now Knuckles had said it. Whilst I started to get used to hearing the word, it still drove me mad. "It's poofy!"

Hopefully, I won't have to go through that again...

"And secondly, I didn't mean that either." I continued, still feeling guilty about my outburst earlier. "If ... If we all happen to get separated after we escape, I'm happy to keep in touch."

After that, we began to explore the nightmare world. Whilst there was the threat of monsters lurking round, we learned some new things about the ordeal we were going through. The place we were in, happened to be South Ashfield Heights whch was near Megan and Sonic's apartment complex.

The route we had to take in order to get in the superintendent's room was very difficult, long staircases and hallways. We even got ambushed a couple of times by the man in the coat, who we later found out was Walter Sullivan! After learning about his past, I honestly didn't know what to say...

I felt sympathy for him, due to his past. But at the same time, I felt anger due to his murders and what he put us through.

We then realised that Walter and Megan both had something in common; they wanted to save their mothers. But only one of them was going to get that chance. The former got brainwashed by this cult into believing that he had to kill 21 innocent people in order to reunite with his mother. But once he entered the room she was in, he couldn't wake her up. Thus, he had to kill 7 more victims to accomplish that goal...

Sonic, Megan and her parents were the only ones left...

The latter however, was a lot different. She had done everything in her power to keep us all alive and we were going to return the favour. After finding her in the carousel back in Lakeside Amusement Park, I felt sympathy for Megan after learning that her first three friends died in front of her. I knew she wasn't going to let the same thing happen to Sonic and her parents, so we decided to help in any way we could. Right now, that little girl was in danger and she was so close to finding her family. I can't believe I'm about to say this, but ... she's beginning to remind me of Pinky.

"You okay over there, buddy?" Diego's concerned voice snapped me back to reality.

"Yeah..." I answered, as we explored the hallways. "I'm just ... thinking about someone we met years ago."

"Pinky?" Sid asked, having heard my sentence and grinning as he remembered the infant. I nodded to confirm that he was right, and the sloth's grin widened. "I wonder how old Pinky is now?"

"Well, considering he was a baby when we returned him, I'd say ... probably about the same age as Megan." Diego answered, allowing a small smile to crease his cheeks as memories of Pinky's first walk began to flash in our heads.

After looking around the third floor for a little longer, we decided to go down to the second floor and see if we could find any useful suppiles. A group of sniffer dogs were patrolling the hallway, which sent our spirits tumbling down. But thankfully, we managed to get rid off them. Meanwhile, I couldn't help but let Ellie, Peaches and the others drift into my thoughts. I was so relieved that they managed to escape but at the same time, I didn't know if they were in a different otherworld or in the same one we were...

But no matter how long it takes, I will find them!

"They gotta be somewhere around here! Where are they?!" A somewhat familar voice echoed, sending sparks of excitement and relief flooding through us.

"Hey, we'll find them soon! I know we will." Another voice, one Diego knew very well shouted, leading the latter to send a huge grin in my direction. One by one, the voices got louder and everyone else in our group wondered around the farthest corner of the hallway, taking in their surroundings just like we were.

"Guys, don't worry! Once we find Manny and the others, we're going back for Megan and we're going to get her and her parents out of the prison." Ellie reassured them as they walked.

"But what if we arrive too late, and find out that they've been killed?!" Crash cried, grabbing Eddie in fright. "The last time we saw Megan was when the man started beating her up for helping us escape!"

Oh no...

"I'm worried about her too, Crash." Ellie said, allowing concern to surge through her. "We've all seen Megan take down those monsters to save our lives, so she can handle herself. But like I said before, we're still going back for her."

As soon as they turned in our direction and locked their eyes with ours, Sid, Diego and I began sprinting towards them, screaming their names with absolute joy.

"Ellie!" "Peaches!" "Shira!" "Granny!"

"Manny!" "Dad!" "Diego!" "Sidney!"

When we all embraced ... it almost felt like a huge weight was taken off our shoulders. Everyone in the Herd were reunited and safe. Nothing threatening would happen to those we loved anymore. We were all together again! Sonic, Elise, Tails, Knuckles, Amy and Shadow watched us, smiling with relief surging through them. But we soon snapped back to reality when the former stepped forward with a concerned frown. "Hey guys, I hate to interrupt, I really do. But, we still have to save our friend and her parents who are trapped underneath us right now."

"We're sorry we couldn't find the kid." Buck said, feeling concern for Megan's well-being. "We did look, but ... we couldn't find her."

"It's fine, don't worry." Amy replied. "Though, we did manage to find a route into the prison, so we'll be there soon."

Hopefully... Kid, just hang on for a while. We're on our way to get you out...