Here we are guys, another chapter. But I seriously have to warn all my readers. If you don't like suspense, or are screamish, or anything like that, I advise you not to read this chapter. If you do, then just be aware that this is rated M for a reason. As it is, a few of you are probably going to hate me for writing this one anyway. Either way, please leave your thoughts in a review so I know what I need to tone down or add to.

Thanks.

P.S: Neros Urameshi: Request noted. However, read on to find out what will happen.

Tails waved goodbye to Cream's mother as he climbed back into the Tornado and started up the engine. In the back, Amy waved bye to Cream, who only responded with a slight raising of her hand.

Amy frowned. "You know Tails, I feel so bad for her, having to go through something like this as such a young age."

"I agree," he responded without looking back, "but at least she's with her mother now. I'm sure that in a few days, everything will be fine."

Tails pushed the throttle forward and let the plan roll down the dirt road in the village, gaining speed until it took off.

"I guess you're right," Amy said. "I just know Sonic will catch that killer and lock him up and throw away the key."

Tails nodded. "Yeah, I don't think it could really get any worse."

Amy stared off into space, her mind drifting into her own little world.

"I know Sonic is the best. He can do anything..."

In the cockpit, Tails' eye twitched in annoyance.

"Oh great," he said to himself, " Guess I spoke to soon."

As the Tornado soared into the distance, Amy began daydreaming about Sonic, starting an endless rant about her love for the speedy hedgehog.

Inside, Cream sat on a couch in the family room, still shaken up at the thought of what she saw earlier in the day. As Tails' plane flew off toward the horizon, Vanilla closed the door and made her way back to her daughter side.

"Don't worry honey," she said as she sat down and out an arm around Cream. "Nothing will happen to you."

Cream lowered her head. "But mom…they haven't caught the person yet…he could still be out there."

"Vanilla could sense Cream's anxiety. She hugged her shaken daughter in a loving gesture only a mother can do.

"Don't worry dear, everything's going to be okay. I promise."

Cream looked up at her mother and smiled slightly, trying to keep the rest of her fear inside.

As they sat, Cream let out a long yawn. Vanilla could sense that her daughter was worn out from all the excitement that had happened.

"You know what dear," she said, "I think you should go take a nap."

The little rabbit was suddenly wide-awake. "But mom, I'm not tired. I'm fine."

"Maybe so, but I think if anything, a quick nap will take your mind off what happened today."

Cream stared at her mother. She knew she was right, but it felt like something was telling her that sleeping would be a bad idea. She tried to protest, but before she could for any words, another yawn escaped.

"You see," Vanilla said, "You are tired."

She got up off the couch and took Cream by the hand. "Come on dear, you should sleep in your own bed."

The two walked out of the living room and down the hall to Cream's room. The little rabbit climbed into her little bed and under the covers. Vanilla reached down behind her daughters' head to adjust the pillow, so that she was more comfortable.

"There now. You just stay in here and take a nap for a while, and I'll wake you up when dinner's ready. That sound okay?"

Cream nodded slightly.

"Okay mom."

Vanilla smiled, than slowly backed out, closing the door behind her.

Inside, as cream glanced around at the brightly coloured room, full of all her favourite toys and stuffed animals, she felt more comfortable. She felt safe. She slowly closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

It was quite a while later when she finally woke up. By now, the sun had set and the light of a full moon shone in through the bedroom window.

Cream slowly sat up and stretched, letting out a yawn. She glanced around, noting the changes.

"My, how long did I sleep?"

She carefully climbed out of bed and opened the door.

"I wonder why mom didn't wake me up?"

As she walked down the hall to the living room, she noted that the house was very quiet. The only sounds she heard were the floorboards creaking slightly as she stepped on them. It was eerie.

She walked out into the living room to find it empty. There was no sign of anyone there at all.

"Mommy?" Cream called out.

No response. She turned and glanced at the clock on the wall. It read 6:00 PM.

"My, it got dark early today."

She looked in the direction of the kitchen. There was no sign of anything being used; the stove was off, there were no pots or pans out. Everything was quiet.

"I'll bet mom probably went out to get something good for dinner."

She looked around once more.

"She'll probably be back in no time."

The little rabbit walked over to the couch in front of the tiny television.

"I'll just wait right here till she gets back."

She picked up the remote off an end table and with both hands, pressed the "on" button. The screen slowly came to life, the picture slowly clearing up.

There was nothing but static.

She tried changing the channel…same thing.

"That's odd…I guess it's broken."

She sat there, perplexed for a minute or two. Then, a smile crossed her face and her expression brightened.

"I know. I'll bet my Cartoon channel is still working!"

She pressed the buttons in the number pad, trying to get channel 66. However, she over pressed on accident, and ended up on channel 666. Unlike the other channels, this one was somehow functional.

Cream scratched her head in confusion at what was on the screen.

"That's odd. It's showing…my cartoon. But we never got this channel before."

On the screen was the classic scene of the hunter chasing the rabbit. The more Cream watched, the more at ease she seemed to become.

"Oh well, might as well enjoy it."

She sat back and smiled as the cartoon continued on. The hunter, a short man in a brown and red hunting outfit wielding a shotgun with a comically oversized barrel, chased after a tall, grey and white rabbit. Cream laughed as he fired a shot, and missed, as always.

"You'll have to do better than that doc," the rabbit quipped, making Cream giggle.

"I'll get you you screwy rabbit!" replied the hunter in his trademark voice.

Cream laughed a little harder.

"Silly hunter, no you won't!"

As Cream laughed, the characters on the screen continued running. Suddenly, they ran into a dark section of forest that seemed to come out of nowhere.

"That's weird," Cream said, "They've never been to that zone before."

On the screen, the rabbit and hunter continued running, the forest getting darker and darker until it was nearly impossible to see what was going on. Of course, in classic cartoon fashion, you could still the se the characters eyes standing out through the darkness.

The rabbit himself kept going, not stopping for several seconds. Then he just came to an abrupt halt.

Cream sat there, still a little confused on what was going on. The rabbit on TV shifted his eyes in all directions, his tone confused.

"Where'd Nature boy go?"

Cream laughed again, entertained by the rabbit's wise cracking. She couldn't sense the fact that he was apparently actually confused.

Suddenly, a shot rang out on TV. Cream's happy attitude instantly changed and she jumped in surprise. She was totally silent as she watched a tree above the rabbit burst into flames, illuminating the characters frightened face, his eyes wide with fear. As Cream watched, she to started to feel a pinch of fear creeping over her.

Out of the dim red light, the hunter walked slowly toward the rabbit, his face still hidden in shadows. As he walked, fire began to spread out from his feet, slowly making a blazing circle around himself and the rabbit

"Got ya now, bunny," he said, cackling and brandishing his shotgun.

Cream jumped off the couch and ran to the TV, her eyes glued to the screen.

"Run Mr. Rabbit, do something!"

On TV the Hunter continued to walk forward toward the rabbit, who continued to back away until he was blocked by the wall of fire.

"You can't use your little attitude to get you out of this one, can you?"

With that, the hunter held up his gun in one hand and fired a shell into the rabbit's leg, practically blowing it off. Animated blood spurted everywhere.

Cream screamed and jumped back from the TV in shock. The Hunter leaned down and pointed his gun right in the rabbit's face.

"I've been chasing your furry but for too long."

He cocked the gun and put one finger on the trigger.

"Time to kiss your ass goodbye, once and for all."

Time seemed to slow down. The scene kept flashing back and forth from the hunter to the horrified rabbit. As the hunter pulled the trigger, one final shot of the rabbits face filed the screen. But it wasn't the character cream was used to seeing. It had changed; it was cream's mother.

"Mother?" Cream said in shock.

Then, with a bang, the screen went black. Cream crawled back to the TV and placed her hands on the dark screen, as if trying to reach inside.

"Mother?" confused and frightened.

After a few seconds, the screen suddenly flickered back to life. At first, the picture was nothing but static, but slowly, the picture cleared to reveal a large house.

It was still in cartoon form, but it was detailed; windows on both of it's two floors were boarded up, roof tiles were missing, and the front lawn was unkempt, covered in dead, brown grass. The scene around it was total darkness.

Cream slowly stood up and backed away from the TV, still scared.

"W…What's going on?"

She continued to stare at the house on TV. Her heart seemed to stop when the blood-red front door slowly began to swing open, revealing the darkness inside. And out of that darkness came a sound that would make anyone crap their pants, especially a young child.

Out of the door came the ear-shattering screech of metal against metal.

Cream was to scared to move. She shut her eyes tightly, her eight-year-old mind thinking that it would get these horrific images out of her head.

When she opened them again, she gasped at what she saw. She was no longer in her living room, but was standing in what appeared to be an old, run down neighbourhood.

She looked around at the old houses, all just as run down as the one she saw on TV.

Confused and scared out of her wits, she glanced down the street and saw a road sign. She stared up at it, squinting to try and make out the faded white letters. It took a few seconds, but she could finally read what was spelled out:

"Elm Street."

Cream's eyes widened. This was really starting to get to her.

"Is this real or…or am I just imagining it?"

She pinched her arm, and yelped at the pain.

"I know now." She shuddered at the thought of it.

Suddenly, a voice sounded from somewhere nearby. I was faint, almost like a whistle in the wind. And it made the poor rabbit shiver just the same. For the voice was calling her name.

"Cream…Cream…"

She slowly turned around, afraid of who or what she might see.

Her eyes widened at the sight. In front of her, was the house that the TV had shown her. I looked even more dark and menacing now that it was real and not in a cartoon on her TV screen.

The little rabbit was scared, but her confused mind wouldn't allow her to back away. Instead, she walked toward the open front door, as if something was drawing her into the house.

She slowly walked up the three steps to the small porch at the front of the house. She stopped and stared into the darkness in front of her. At this point, she was shaking with fright. She noticed the house numbers above the doorframe; 1428.

She looked back inside. Slowly, timidly she stepped in to the void before her.

Inside the house, things were a bit clearer, but not much. Cream could see a hallway, a set of stairs, and an entrance on either side of her leading to different rooms. What she could also see was just how bad this place was. Huge holes pocketed the walls, rot filled almost every corner of the room, and to Creams surprise and disgust, a hideous odour filled the air.

Despite all this, she slowly continued inside.

The strange voice called out to her again.

"Cream…"

Cream drew back in fear, her eyes darting in every direction.

"H…hello?" she asked, timidly.

"Is anyone there?"

She took another step, and was almost literally scared to death as the door slammed shut behind her. She jolted around to see her only exit blocked.

Now afraid to move even an inch, Cream felt trapped. He didn't know what to, or how she would get out of this.

The voice called out to her again. Cream shuddered at the sound of it. But something was different. This time, it sounded more familiar. Like someone she knew.

She slowly turned back around and saw a figure standing before her. She couldn't really tell who it was, whoever it was matched someone in Cream's mind.

The figure slowly stepped into the light and Cream's eyes widened in shock.

"M…mother?"

The figure before her nodded. It was indeed cream's mother, perfectly fine and unharmed. Cream's fright seemed to lift away and she ran up and embraced her mother.

"Oh Mom, I so glad that you're alright!"

Vanilla returned the embrace with a warm smile.

"There, there sweetie, it's okay"

Cream looked up into her mother's eyes, tears welling up in her own.

"Mother, this place is horrible. I just want to leave…"

The young rabbit began to sob uncontrollably.

"I…just…want…to go…home!"

She buried her face in her mother's arms and cried aloud. Vanilla patted her head gently.

"It'll all be okay soon dear, don't worry."

Vanilla solely turned around, looking down the hallway beside the staircase. A door under the stairs slowly began to open. Vanilla seemed to smirk a little before turning back to her daughter with a seemingly genuine look of concern and sincerity.

"Sweetie, I think I know a way out."

Cream looked up at her mother again, this time with a bit of confusion in her expression.

"Huh?"

"Don't worry. Just follow me and it'll be fine."

Vanilla began walking off toward the door. Cream, her eyes now red and bloodshot from crying, glanced off toward the door to which they were headed. An eerie red glow emanated from the open doorway.

"Mommy," cream asked, her fright beginning to return, "Are you sure you're going the right way?"

"Just follow me and it'll be alright," Vanilla repeated. "Just close your eyes."

The fear died back down and Cream smiled slightly. She wiped her eyes with her free hand and sniffed away the rest of her tears. Then she shut her eyes tightly, hoping that when she opened them again, she would bee safe in her own house; in her own room.

When the two finally walked through the door, Cream felt a huge blast of hear hit her.

"Mommy, it's so hot in here."

Vanilla didn't respond. She just kept leading Cream through the room, until they stopped suddenly. Cream, here eyes still shut; felt that something didn't seem right.

"Mommy, why did we stop?"

There was no reply. A gust of hot air suddenly swept the room. Suddenly, Cream no longer felt her mothers hand.

"Mommy?"

she quickly opened her eyes, but she didn't see her mother.

She gasped, eyes wide in shock at her new surroundings. All around her, steaming pipes, rusted steel catwalk, and huge boilers lined the walls and high ceilings. The little rabbits hear began to beat fast and every bit of fear she felt before suddenly crept back into her head.

She looked around in the direction she had come; there was no sign of the door. Or of any exit for that matter.

She heard footsteps on the catwalk behind her. She felt the presence of someone standing over her. Timidly, she turned around to see the outline of a man standing in the shadows in front of her.

It took her mind a second or two to register whom the figure was, and when she did, she jumped backwards in shock. The figure standing before her was the hunter from her cartoon. He in fact was a cartoon himself. An out of place animated figure in a real world setting.

Cream started to back away, but her shoe caught on the grate in the catwalk and she fell backwards, landing on her rear end. The Hunter slowly began to step forward..

"P…please, don't shot me."

The hunter chuckled.

"Shoot you?"

He raised his gun.

"Now why would I do that?" he asked, sarcasm in his puny sounding voice.

"No, guns…they get the job done to quickly."

He tossed it aside and cream watched as it plummeted over the catwalk and down into the seemingly endless void of the boiler room, the clanking sound as it his other objects echoing loudly, slowly getting fainter.

The hunter slowly continued to walk forward, Cream slowly crawling backward. As each part of the hunter stepped into the light, his figure morphed, as if he were redrawing his appearance. His baggy brown pants darkened and became black slacks, his thick hunting coat and shirt dissolved into a dirty, torn red and green striped sweater, and his goof, oversized hunting hat morphed into a dirty brown fedora. His face remained mostly hidden by the shadows, but it was clear that his skin was horribly burned. His figure itself also wnet from looking like a cartoon, to looking horribly, horribly real.

"You," he said, his voice rapidly changing from the puny, comical voice of the hunter into a deep, hoarse, demonic tone,

"You're the kind I like to take my time on."

Cream couldn't believe what she was seeing. She quickly shut her eyes, again, expecting all of it to just go away. But when she opened them again, the cartoon figure was still standing before her.

"And eight years old, too," he said with a smirk. "That's a nice ripe age."

He slowly brought his right hand into the light and as he did, a leather glove materialized, with copper finger pieces riveted in place, long, silver blades an all four of his fingers. Cream's breath caught in her throat at the sight of it.

"Yeah, I think I'm gonna enjoy this." The man said with a hideous grin.

"You're…" the little rabbit stammered, "You're a cartoon. You can't hurt me."

The man reared his head back and let out a long, hideous laugh before turning back to his would be victim.

"Kid, whoever said cartoons ain't bad for ya…"

His figure slowly began to change again. He flexed his bladed, their tips gleaming in the light.

"...Had no clue what they were talking about."

He took a step forward, all at once his comical cartoon look faded way, and he stood before Cream as a real, hideous being.

The little rabbit shook her head in disbelief. She continued to crawl backwards, the man slowly walking forward.

"Who…who are you?" Cream said, on the verge of tears.

"Just think of me as your uncle…"

He lifted his head, the light casting an eerie glow on his burned face. His dark eyes burned with a furious rage.

"Your uncle Freddy"

Cream continued to move, her eyes beginning to overflow with tears. Freddy slowly raised his bladed hand into the air, spreading the blades apart, ready to strike.

"Please," she pleaded, "No…"

"Cream," Freddy's voice echoed, as if he were calling her.

"No." the rabbit pleaded, weeping now.

"Cream," Freddy echoed again.

"No…No!"

Freddy's voice started spinning around in her head, taunting her.

Cream…Cream…Cream…"

She didn't notice that the voice had started to soften, as if it were fading. The little rabbit looked up at the blades raised above her. She screamed at the top of her little lungs.

"NO!"

The glove slashed downward, and cream let out an ear splitting screech.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Cream!"

The little rabbit suddenly shot up in bed as her mother yelled her name. She was breathing heavy, and sweating enough to make Niagara Falls look like a leaky faucet.

She looked around her surrounding, her heart still racing, her mind still full of fear. At the sight of her mother, her first reaction was to get away as fast as possible.

"Get away, get away!" she screamed. She managed to kick her way to the other side of the bed, where promptly fell to the floor. Vanilla rushed to her daughters aide and knelt down by her side.

"Sweetie, sweetie calm down! Mommy's here!"

She tried to reach for her daughter, who shook her head in refusal.

"No, Go away!"

Vanilla grasped Cream's shoulders and held her steady. The little rabbit began to calm down a little.

"Cream, listen. You were having a nightmare. That's all."

Cream slowly opened her eyes, which were still full of tears.

"It's okay now," Vanilla said, "you're safe and no one's gonna hurt you."

Cream locked eyed with her mother.

"Mommy?"

Vanilla smiled comfortingly.

"Yes dear, Mommy's here."

Cream stared into her mother's eyes. Time seemed to stand still for a minute as she tried to grasp what was going on. Then all at once, she broke down into her mother's arms, sensing the truly genuine love and care only a mother can give. Cream sobbed in her mothers arms.

"Their, their, dear. It's okay."

The two then embraced each other in a tight hug, vanilla patting her daughter's back comfortingly.

It was at that point that vanilla noticed something that sort of alarmed her. She quickly pulled away and stared down.

"Sweetie, what did you do to your arm?"

Cream, confused at first, glanced down at her right arm. When she saw it, she two became alarmed and her eyes widened. There, visible and bleeding, were four horizontal slash marks.