Chapter 21: Jet The Hawk

At Tails' house, Shadow, Tails, and Sonic came out of the Puzzle.

"That was...interesting," Tails said.

"Very," Sonic said. He looked at Shadow. "Your son's staying in the Puzzle, then?"

Shadow nodded. "For a while."

"Are you glad to know you have a son?"

"I think so."

The gold hedgehog smiled. "That's good. Do you remember much from your past?"

"Not really."

"Didn't Mephic help you remember some?"

"That's basically the only specifics I remember though. Everything else is vague."

"What do you remember?" Sonic asked him.

"That I was the Pharaoh. A little of what my kingdom was like. And what Mephic showed me."

"What did he show you?"

"Our life together with Mephiles. Parts of it, anyway," Shadow said.

"That's good," Sonic said. He stretched. "Well, I'm going to head back to my house."

"I'll see you later," Tails said.

Sonic put the Puzzle around his neck, then waved as he and Shadow left.

"This keeps getting more complicated," Sonic said.

"What do you mean?" Shadow asked.

"Just thinking out loud."

"I see."

As they were walking, an anthro hawk approached them. "Excuse me; do either of you know Sonic the Hedgehog?"

"That's me," Sonic said.

"I need to speak with you."

"What's your name?"

"Horus."

Shadow's eyes widened, and he bowed before the god. "I am humbled to be in your presence. What are you doing in the mortal realm?"

Jet smiled. "I told you; I must speak with you. But not out here." He walked away, and the two hedgehogs followed him. "I'd appreciate it if you would call me Jet, by the way," Jet said. "That's what I decided to go by this time."

"This time?" Sonic asked, confused. "Have you been on Earth before?"

Jet nodded. "Plenty of times. Not for... ninety years, but I used to come down here a lot."

"Have you always been in this form when you come down here?"

"No. I change it every few decades."

"Do you know my father?" Sonic asked.

Jet smiled. "Of course, Shu. Ra is the Creator of the world and its people. He was the one who sent me."

"Yeah. I guess that was a silly question." They reached Sonic's house and walked inside. Jet turned to look at them. "What did you want to talk about, Jet?" Sonic asked.

"Zorc is awakening."

"Who's Zorc?"

"Darkness itself."

"My father Atem told me about him," Shadow said. "He's an evil demon that created the Shadow Realm."

Jet nodded. "Exactly."

"What's the Shadow Realm?" Sonic asked.

"Exactly what it sounds like," Jet said. "It's a realm of shadows. Completely overrun by darkness and home to the worst creatures imaginable."

"Do you know how Shadow's Millennium Puzzle was made?"

"I'm afraid I don't."

"What can you tell us about Zorc? You said he's waking?"

"So Ra says. Zorc is very powerful."

"Can we stop his awakening?" Shadow asked.

"Possibly. If we're fast enough."

"How would we do that?"

Jet took a breath, then sighed. "I don't think we have enough time, to be entirely honest with you. We need to defeat him once he awakens."

"What can you tell us about my son and Mephiles?" Shadow asked the god.

"I could tell you about their powers."

"What are their powers?" Shadow asked the god.

"Mephiles has many powers. Mostly involving dark magic. Both of them are immortal. Mephic can possess objects."

"How's my family immortal? Have they always been?"

Jet shook his head. "I'd imagine Mephiles used some form of dark magic to achieve it."

"They're not evil, are they?" Shadow asked worriedly. "My son mentioned something about Mephiles wanting revenge on me."

"Evil is relative," Jet said.

"Shadow, I'm sure your son and ex aren't evil," Sonic told him. "Mephic loves you."

"What matters is what they are doing," Shadow said. "Not how much they love a person."

"Well, your son seemed nice. He warned us about Mephiles, so he can't be all bad. He's your son."

Shadow thought about it. What bothered him was how Mephic was even in the Puzzle. "Right." Shadow looked at Jet. "Do you know how Mephic was in the Puzzle?"

"He must have used his power to send his soul into the object, possessing it," the god told him.

The Pharaoh frowned. "So... He can come out of it, though?"

"I am not sure," Jet said. "When someone sends part of his soul into objects, the part of the soul they send is stuck there."

"Part of his soul?" Sonic asked. "I thought you said he sent his whole soul."

"He can leave," Jet said. "But he can stay in there however long he wants."

"That's a relief."

"How is he able to become an anthro hedgehog?" Sonic asked the hawk.

"More magic, I'd assume."

"Can he shapeshift into anything else?"

"I don't think so."

Sonic and Shadow mulled this information over.

"When we first saw Mephiles, he had something called the Pyramid of Light around his neck. Do you know what that is? It looked like an inverted version of my Puzzle," Shadow asked.

"The Pyramid of Light..." Jet paused, "houses Anubis."

"Houses Anubis?" Shadow asked, shocked. "What do you mean?"

"I mean Anubis is within the Pyramid of Light. He has been for centuries."

"How can that be? Isn't he guardian of the Duat as the god of death?"

"Gods can be in more than one place at once."

"What caused him to go into the Pyramid?" Sonic asked.

"He wanted to." Jet shrugged. "I didn't ask."

"Is the inside anything like my Millennium Puzzle?" Shadow asked.

"I've never been inside."

"Since Mephiles is wearing it and there's a spirit inside, couldn't Anubis possess him? I've heard that some items allow them the person and spirit to switch places at will."

"Anubis could, if he desired to. Without the Pyramid of Light."

"Can you do that with your Puzzle, Shads?" Sonic asked.

"I don't think so?"

"You can," Jet told him.

"That's cool, I guess."

"Maybe we can switch sometime, Shadow," Sonic said, grinning. "It would be fun."

"Perhaps."

"Was there anything else you wanted to tell us, Jet?" Sonic asked the hawk.

Jet shook his head. "I would be happy to stay and assist you."

"Thanks. We could use the help."

"Do you have any sort of plan?"

Not yet," Sonic said, shaking his head.

"I will be happy to help you decide on one."

"How long are you going to be here on Earth?"

"As long as you need me to be."

"You're welcome to stay as long as you want, Jet," Shadow told the hawk.

"Thank you."

"What do you usually do when you're on Earth?"

"Whatever I feel like doing."Jet smiled. "I've never had anything specific in mind when I came down here."

"Sounds like fun," Sonic said. "Have you ever interacted with the people?"

"Of course. It'd be difficult not to."

His stomach growled, and Sonic chuckled. "Hungry?"

"It seems so. I forgot mortal bodies need fed."

"You're mortal in this form?"

"I'm not mortal, but the body is. Makes things more interesting."

Sonic blinked, confused. "What do you mean? If the current form you're in is mortal, shouldn't that make you mortal?"

"My soul isn't mortal, so I'm not no matter what the state of my body is. This body can die, but I can't."

"Makes sense. Is it the same with me, since I'm a god in mortal form?"

"Most likely."

Sonic smiled. "Do you want anything to eat?"

"Please."

Jet followed Sonic into the kitchen.

"Have you ever had chili dogs?" Sonic asked him.

"Can't say I have."

"Well, now's your chance to have some. They're my favorite food."

"I'll give them a try."

Sonic smiled and pulled out some hot dogs and chili. Jet watched in interest as Sonic made himself some chili dogs.

"Do you want any, Jet?"

"I'd like to try one."

Sonic smiled and handed him a chili dog. The anthro bird took a bite.

"It's not bad," he said.

Jet finished the chili dog. He yawned, suddenly feeling tired. "Do you kind if I get some rest here, or should I find some other place?"

"You can sleep here," Sonic said.

"You have my thanks."

The anthro hawk walked out of the room and lay down on the couch. Before long, he was asleep, and snoring.