Author's Note:

Hey everyone! This is the last chapter, before the final boss battle! Dun, dun, dun! In the next chapter, we'll be able to see Megan again and things are about to get epic in the story's finale! I actually can't believe we made it up this point! :)

Feel free to leave reviews and hope you all have a happy Christmas! :)

Chapter 52: Heart of Room 302

A view of the otherworld apartment lobby, travelling up into the lights...

Walter Sullivan, a smirk painting his bloodied face...

The red bleeding walls...

A massive and circular medieval-like machine, consisting of several long rings with sharp spikes criss crossing repeatedly and creating small waves in a lake of blood...

Me, wounded after my attack, wandering through the hallways of St. Jerome's Hospital...

A gigantic monster tied up with a large number of umbilical cords, roaring in pain...

Megan, heavily injured, running towards a bright light...

The dirty wooden floor...soon morphing into a view of the staircase we descended moments ago...

Growls beginning to fill the air...followed by a group of twin-victims and mannequins roaming the apartment...

...

One by one, my friends and I quickly exited the superintendent's room, knowing full well that time was slowly beginning to run out for Megan and her parents. A sonic boom burst out of me as I sprinted up the staircase at an incredibly fast pace. Chaos, I haven't run that fast in a while! I mean sure, I've done it a couples of times in my previous adventures but ... even I was surprised about how quick I was sprinting through the rooms and fighting enemies which were blocking our way, determined to keep us from getting our younger human friend out of danger and escaping from the otherworlds.

Maybe ... Maybe Megan did mean a lot to me, just like how Tails, Amy, Elise and the others do.

My little bro had noticed how fast I was going, as he got his signature tails working and began flying alongside me. He wasn't the only one who saw this, as Elise, Amy and Knuckles quickly caught up with me, knowing the reason why I was running faster than I normally would. Meanwhile, Manny and the Herd were gasping for breath as they struggled to catch up with us.

"Guys, wait!" Granny shouted, frantically. "Slow down!"

Whoa, whoa, whoa! Slow down?! ... I'm sorry, guys. Even though I'll happily wait for you all, we still need to rescue Megan from Sullivan!

Despite wanting to keep going, I stopped to let our pre-historic friends catch up. "Thank you," Granny muttered, glowering angrily at me. "Please slow down a bit, so we can keep up next time!"

I groaned in annoyance. "You're talking to the fastest thing alive here! I can't go slow!"

"Well, you have to!" The elderly female sloth yelled, raising her stick to attack me. But just before she did, Tails stepped in front of me and glared at Granny. "Stop! Listen, Sonic hates going slow and Megan needs us right now! We all only go this fast, whenever one of our friends is in danger!"

I gotta agree there, bro. At least, some members of the Herd understand.

"Tails is right," Sid added. "If we don't get into the prison soon, we're going to lose Megan. Granny, you don't want that to happen, do you?!"

"No!" The female sloth replied, allowing slight guilt to lace her tone as she gave me an apologetic look. "I'm sorry, I got a bit carried away there."

Throwing a thumbs-up in her direction, I flashed my trademark smile cheerfully. "Hey, don't worry about it! It's cool!"

Honestly, I wasn't really expecting that to happen. I was literally bracing myself for the older sloth to whack me in the head with her stick, before Tails and Sid thankfully stopped her. Even though she was a bit of annoyance sometimes, Granny was a kind and caring friend who was always willing to help us, whenever we got into trouble.

Heheh, kinda similar to how a couple of my old friends and allies occasionally were with me, I guess.

"Alright, let's go!" Manny shouted, walking ahead and gesturing for me to lead the way with him. "We'll be right behind you," Elise responded, catching up to us with my little bro, Amy, Knuckles and the Herd in tow.

As we all fought our way past the monsters, I couldn't help but ponder on what was going to occur soon. To tell the truth, I had a feeling that as soon as we found Megan, she would have already defeated Sullivan on her own. She was more than capable of taking opponents down herself as she and the Herd prevented me from becoming the next victim on our attacker's Round 4 list, thus saving my life!

Now, I was going to return the favour and save hers.

"Argh! I wish this bell would just shut up!" Knux groaned angrily, as he knocked a twin-victim out with a single punch to the head.

"You and me both!" Flynn replied, whacking a mannequin into the wall using his belly. "It will stop, soon!"

To be honest, I couldn't help but agree with them. If Megan was here with us, she'd probably feel the same way about the bell's constant ringing. Speaking of, it probably would be a positive idea if I tried contacting her on the communicator again! I mean..., we haven't heard from our younger friend in ages! I wasn't the only one who wanted to know if her injuries had healed completely and if she was okay. But at the same time, we all knew that we'd get to find out shortly which was good!

I assumed it wouldn't take us long to get up to the third floor, but due to the monsters that were roaming the areas, it took a lot longer than expected. Normally I'd be able to take on these monsters in a flash, but ... Sullivan's otherworlds were proving to be a very difficult challenge for us! Maybe, this was our attacker's way of preventing us from reaching Megan in time and stopping his ritual? We weren't going to let that stop us, but ... my friends and I had a gut feeling that the crazed serial killer wasn't going to give our friend and her parents up without a fight.

If he wants one, then bring it on!

"Hey guys, I think we're almost up there!" Manny shouted as he whacked a lying figure with his trunk, finishing it off with a stomp to the head. "Let's keep moving!"

Upon hearing Manny's words, I sprinted ahead of everyone and broke the sound barrier with a sonic boom. We were so close to saving Megan, and I wasn't going to let anything stand in our way! "There's our room!" Amy cried out, catching up with me. One by one, we burst through the door and slammed it shut, just after Buck and Flynn entered.

The otherworld's version of Room 302 had certainly seen better days. The walls, floor, kitchen and living room furniture were covered in rust and blood, top to bottom. What made things even more gross was that the air was completely heavy, due to the ceiling fan falling down ages ago. Despite the surroundings making us uncomfortable, there was only one other thing that caught our attention.

"Hey," Elise whispered, pointing towards the couch. "Look who's over there,"

I turned in the direction she pointed in, and my jaw literally dropped. "Oh, chaos..."

Sleeping on Room 302's couch, was a blonde pale woman in her thirties. Her hair flowed down her back, stopping at her waist and her outfit consisted of a long-sleeved white dress with matching heels. What startled us even more was the fact that the kid we encountered earlier was sitting beside her, sobbing and desperately shaking her. Whenever my friends and I tried to call out to him, he just kept begging the woman to wake up from her sleep, not addressing us whatsoever.

Okay, that's got to be Sullivan's mother, I know it is.

To tell the truth, we didn't know how she'd feel if she found about the murders. Probably disappointed and shocked. Back in Room 302 of the Past, Henry mentioned that he tried to convince Sullivan that his mother wouldn't be happy with him. But the serial killer didn't believe that, for one second! He was so convinced that his mother would be pleased about what he did to reunite with her! If I was Sullivan, I would have handled the process differently and not run off killing lots of people, just to find my mom!

Stepping into the back room of the apartment, my friends and I discovered multiple books revealing information about the 21 Sacraments which we read. There were also some weird objects placed on a table that presumably belonged to the cult Sullivan grew up with. "This is so freaky...!" Amy shuddered uncomfortably.

"You're right about that, Ames..." I replied, glancing over to see a medium-sized hole with a small piece of rusty metal attached to it. My eyes widened, as a realisation suddenly hit me. "Guys, look at this! That's got to be our way down to the prison!"

"Finally!" Buck grinned, as he and everyone else approached it. But then, the weasel's smile faded as he took the sight in. "Oh... I don't think it's large enough for us all to fit in. Judging by the hole's size, it looks like only one of us can go through."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! WHAT?!" I shouted with my eyes wide as saucers. I didn't want to leave my friends behind if the situation came to it, but ... Buck was right. Only one of us could fit in. And guess who that was going to be?! "No, I'm not leaving you all!"

"Hey don't worry, Sonic!" Tails exclaimed. "I think there should be another way somewhere! We'll simply use that route and meet you down in the prison soon!"

"Wait a minute," Manny interrupted with confusion lacing his tone. "Didn't Eileen say that this was the only way down?"

"Yes, she did." Shadow butted in. "But, she also said it's possible that there's another route we could take down. If we can't find it, we'll come back here and use this hole to get to the prison."

Hey, there could be another route somewhere... Hopefully, there is!

"And besides," Knux added, agreeing with my little bro. "You defeated Eggman and saved Elise on the Egg Carrier, nine years ago! If you can do that, then you can do the same thing with the crazy guy and the kid!"

"Tails and Knuckles are right," Amy put in, smiling at me. "You have rescued so many lives before! Which is why you should get down to the prison, save Megan and defeat that crazed killer! We all believe in you, Sonic!"

"Go get him, Sonic." Elise said in a supporting tone, nodding to show that she believed in me. "And please bring Megan and her parents back safely."

Upon hearing my friends' words of encouragement, my spirits began lifting up again! "I will do, I promise! I'll see you guys soon!"

Manny, Ellie, Peaches and the Herd also gave me encouraging words, which brightened my spirits even further. Looking back at my friends one last time, I took a deep breath and jumped into the hole without hesitation. We were a step closer to saving Megan and we weren't going to give up until we found her! I'm coming, kiddo... Just do what you can to keep Sullivan busy, until I get there!

I promise that my team and I will be with you, after we escape!

...

I was more than ready to face whatever obstacles Sullivan decided to throw in to stop me from saving Megan and her parents! I knew he wasn't going to give up his goal without a fight and if the task of finishing him landed on me ... I had a feeling that I'd have to do it. I'd try to convince him to stop his rampage and move on, but if he decided not to listen ... then it would be game over for him. I honestly didn't know what to think. I felt bad for him due to his past but at the same time, I felt angry due to the murders he committed. All of those people dead, just to reunite with his mother and wake her up?!

The whole thing sounded really strange to me...

It didn't take long for me to descend in the prison, this time not landing with my face stuck in the ground. After pulling myself up to my feet, I took in my surroundings. The area I landed in was a dark narrow hallway with a small number of lights flickering every so often, allowing me to get a glimpse at multiple jail cells placed in both sides of the location. The walls and floor were painted in a dirty brown, nearly matching three dead bodies of two sniffer dogs and a twin victim lying on the latter.

Yeesh, this place is just as bad as the water prison!

"Okay," I said, steeling myself together as I began walking down the hallway. "Megan's gotta be around here somewhere,"

As I made my way down, I peeked in the cells to see if my younger human friend was trapped in any of them. Unfortunately she was nowhere to be seen, which allowed a series of questions to enter my head. Is she locked up somewhere else in this place? Or did she already manage to escape? I had a feeling that it was going to be the latter, as I knew Megan could hold her own really well.

But still ... I hope she's okay.

As I exited the hallway and walked down about two more, the prison became more and more creepy. The number of dead monsters increased a little and even though I was able to enter a few unlocked cells to search for some supplies to help, I still didn't have any luck in figuring out where the brunette teen was. Just keep looking Sonic, you'll find Megan soon! I was suddenly snapped back to reality for a moment when I entered the next room, where a loud growl of a monster from far away suddenly greeted my ears.

"Ah, chaos," I muttered under my breath, preparing myself for any sudden attacks as I took in my surroundings. This area was much larger than the hallways I went through earlier, which was a relief. Instead of the dirty-brown colour, the walls and floor were painted in a bright white. A long staircase descended down into the abyss and looking straight into the distance, I could make out three TV screens irrupting static and flashing images every so often.

"Oh," I said aloud, with hope beginning to surge through me. "Maybe those TV screens might be able to reveal something?"

You won't know unless you go find out, Sonic!

"Hang in there, kiddo..." I murmured as I ran down the staircase, allowing an excited grin to crease my cheeks at the thought of getting closer to saving Megan. Once I reached the bottom, I found myself in an area with multiple paths branching straight, left and right. Dry blood stains dotted the walls and the number of corpses had increased even further. I swear, it was almost like a maze down here! "Gah!" I groaned with annoyance. "Which way do I go?!"

Unfortunately before I could decide, a pair of heavy footsteps suddenly began echoing from my right and a twin-victim monster emerged from the hallway. Allowing a grin to paint my face, I jumped out from my hiding place and performed two homing attacks on it which resulted in it collapsing to the floor. A growl of anger escaped its' mouth as it struggled to pull itself up to its' feet but it didn't succeed, as I finished it off with a stomp to the head. Quite a surprise to see me down here, eh buddy? I'll bet it was!

Afterwards, I began racking my brains on finding the quickest route to the TV screens. They had to give me some answers on Megan's whereabouts and if they didn't, I'd be back to square one. I was still gonna keep trying, though. But hopefully Tails, Amy and the others have made it down here, I wonder if I'll see them or Eileen from Room 302 of the Past soon... Clutching the small box I found back in the superintendent's room tightly, a sonic boom burst out of me as I sprinted off in the direction the twin-victim came from, ready for any surprises planned for me.

Sullivan, you better be prepared for a fight because my friends and I are not leaving without Megan and her family!