AN: Merry Christmas, Happy Hannukah, and Happy Holidays everyone! I'm back at it again, with another chapter that I hope you'll all enjoy! Once again, I gotta thank my reviewers: CrimsonDestroyer, MissMJS, risingzero1984, aliciathewolf45, and Janttun3n! It's always nice to see those that leave me feedback on my stories. Love it!
•~•
Back at the house, Blaze and Silver gathered around the dining room table, waiting to start the spell. Silver sat on one side of the table, idly watching the hourglass, while Blaze sat on the other side doing the same. Breaking them from their silence, Silver's phone started buzzing in his coat pocket. He pulled it out and saw the caller I.D read: Shadow. Answering the call, he laid it down on the table and put it on speaker. "Hello?"
"I dropped Amy off near the cemetery with Mephiles about ten minutes ago. I'm taking my position as we speak, but are you two prepared?" he asked on the other end.
"We're all ready to go, Shadow," Blaze confirmed.
"Excellent, keep me posted via text if there are any complications." With that said, the ebony hedgehog hung up his phone call, leaving the two to wait for their part.
Then as if on cue, the hourglass magically tipped, turning upside and began to allow the sand to descend. Right then, Blaze knew that Gala-Na must have started her spell to swap Amy's body. "It's working," Blaze smiled.
•~•
At that same time, back at the cemetery, Amy stood outside in the graveyard, while Mighty and Gala-Na stood at an altar, setting up lit candles around them. Various items such as a bowl of blood, and some braided herbs laid out on their surface table.
Amy stood on the floor below in the center of a chalk-drawn spell circle. She gulped nervously, feeling the pressure start to build. Suddenly, Gala-Na laid a white oak stake on their surface, making Amy begin to wonder what she had in store for the magical item. "Wait a second, where did you get that?"
"Oh, this?" Gala-Na smiled innocently, holding up the stake. "I've had it with me since I returned to the living. I brought one back with me from the other side," she explained.
"What do you plan to do with it?" Amy questioned.
"As my sons come to their senses and take my offer, I will destroy their vampire bodies with this, freeing the world of their evil."
Amy's eyes widened as she saw the severity of the plan. "Wait, destroy their bodies? But that means that any vampire that is in their sire line will be killed in the process, completely wiping out generations of vampires."
Mephiles nodded. "Which is exactly what we want."
Gala-Na clasped her hands together. "Having brought this evil into the world, then having subjected my own children to it, I think this is the best option to redeem it."
"No, please, you can't do this. My ex-boyfriend happens to be half vampire and was sired by Shadow. Even Faith is part vampire and comes from Shadow's lineage. You can't let them die!" Amy screamed. "Please, stop the spell!"
Gala-Na strutted down the steps of the altar, chuckling in amusement. "The spell is already done, Amy. I prepared it to be locked in the moment I turned over the hourglass."
"What happened to helping Faith craft her skill in witchcraft?" she countered. "I thought you said Faith was no longer a threat?"
"I lied, I've seen glimpses of the future and as long as she lives, this world is doomed if she continues to exist. Her power can systematically destroy mankind if it falls into the wrong hands," Gala-Na proclaimed. "It will happen unless I put an end to this family."
Amy shook her head, suddenly growing very frightened by the notion. "No, please you can't do this. She's just a baby."
Gala-Na stopped just in front of the spell circle. "Do not fret, your beautiful soul will live on in the body of another. Mephiles has chosen well for you—a beautiful, strong girl, who I think you'll find yourself quite happy with. You and Shadow can produce another child, a mortal child free of threats and enemies."
Amy tried to move out of the circle but found that she was trapped within its boundaries from an unseen force that prevented her from leaving. "What's happening? Why can't I get out?"
"The spell circle keeps you contained for the duration of the spell. No one can leave or enter it until it's complete," Mighty answered with a sinister grin.
Amy's eyes began to tear up, realizing her plan had gone awry. "No, wait, I don't want to do this anymore."
"—Mother!" another voice shouted.
All eyes looked back, only to see Shadow standing on top of one of the mausoleums looking down at them. He leaped down, landing firmly on his feet below before striding towards the group. "Stop the spell," he demanded. "You and your traitorous son cannot go through with this."
Gala-Na smirked as she crossed her arms over her chest smugly. "I'm afraid that's impossible, Shadow."
"Anything is possible," he countered. "Let her go and take me instead!" he bargained.
Amy shook her head; feeling tears run down her face. "Shadow, don't!"
Gala-Na chuckled at his mercy. "If only you'd taken my offer when I first asked. You'll have to wait your turn now."
Amy glanced over towards the altar, seeing that it would only be a matter of seconds before all the sand had gone out. She looked back over to Shadow, seeing that his chance to strike was slipping away. "Shadow, you have to do it now." Gala-Na and Mighty exchanged looks, uncertain on what their conversation was about.
Shadow looked conflicted as he stared at her. "But what about-"
"—Do it now!" she screamed.
Obeying her commands, Shadow used his vampire agility and stabbed his mother in the side of the neck with a knife. Mighty watched in slow motion, as his Mother looked paralyzed with the knife plunged into the side of her neck. It had all happened so fast, that Mighty felt he hadn't been able to react in time. "Noo!" he bellowed.
Gala-Na dropped dead and Shadow backed away from the crime just as the spell began to kick into action. In the meantime, Mighty rushed over to his mother's side, trying to stop the bleeding, while Amy froze in place and shut her eyes tight. The spell circle she was encased in, turned bright green and slowly began to shrink in on itself towards her.
•~•
Back at home, Blaze kept her hands lifted in front of her as she kept her eyes closed and concentrated on blocking the spell from taking place. Silver stood on the other side of the table, anxiously watching her work her magic. She chanted in her ancient tongue dialect, using all her energy to work her powers. The flames of the candles started to get brighter with the more she chanted, making Silver start to grow apprehensive.
•~•
At the cemetery, Shadow rushed over to Amy and tried to break though the circle to grab her, but was violently thrown backward by the spell's power, making him collide into one of the building's walls nearby. He grunted from impact before landing face first onto the floor. Gathering his bearings, he lifted himself slightly only to see Amy staring at him with tears streaking down her face. She gave him a weak smile for his efforts. "I'll be okay, Shadow."
Shadow stared back at her, feeling completely helpless as the spell circle encased itself around her body. "No!"
•~•
At the house, Silver's concern grew when he noticed their hourglass begin to shake and rattle on the table surface. Feeling something climatic was about to occur, he quickly intervened and shoved Blaze to the floor, shielding her just in time as the hourglass combusted in a magnificent display. Glass and sand flew in all directions and the candles extinguished around them in unison.
Once the noise had settled, Silver lifted himself from on top of her. "Blaze, are you okay?"
"I think so," she mumbled.
He glanced down at her. "Did it work?"
Blaze sat upright and rubbed the side of her head, feeling shaken from the unexpected occurrence. "I-I have no idea."
•~•
At the graveyard, the circle finally dissipated and Amy's eyes closed and she collapsed to the floor, completely unconscious. Seeing her collapse, Shadow quickly got to his feet and rushed over to her body sprawled out on the ground. He lifted her into his arms. "Rose, Rose?" he spoke, trying to wake her, but she stayed unresponsive.
In the background, Mighty cackled in content, making Shadow glare in his direction. The black and red armadillo stopped in front of them. "You may have killed our mother, but she'll be back in another body. Sadly, Amy's gone now," he jeered.
Shadow lowered Amy back onto the floor as he stood to face his brother. "You think you've won, but you have a large surprise ahead of you. Too bad…you know me, I hate to spoil surprises," he said before he zipped over and punched him the face, knocking him unconscious.
•~•
Later, Shadow brought Amy's body back to the house and lowered it onto the sofa in the living room. "Shadow, what happened?" Blaze said as she rushed into the living room. Silver followed closely behind, eager to see how their plan had gone.
Shadow stared down at Amy, feeling like a complete failure. "I couldn't stop the spell in time."
There was silence as everyone mulled over the moment until Silver piped up. "At least tell me that our mother is dead," Silver pleaded, hoping to hear some good news.
Shadow glanced away. "She is for now."
•~•
A bit later, in a cold and dark cellar, Gala-Na started to stir from unconsciousness. She groggily, moaned as she moved her arms, but when she opened her eyes, Shadow stood at the bottom of the staircase. "Hello, Mother."
She shifted on the floor, feeling quite dizzy and disoriented. "What happened to me?" she asked weakly.
His red eyes remained hardened on her. "I ask my questions first, then you get your answers," he snapped. "Now, where is Amy?"
Gala-Na rubbed the back of her neck, feeling sore. "She's more than likely in her new body. The one that Mephiles chose for her," she answered.
"And how exactly am I suppose to find her?"
"She'll come to you once she wakes in her new body," she answered.
Shadow pondered over her given answer, before giving in. "I see…" His hand reached into a food cooler by his feet and he pulled something out before tossing it in her direction.
Hearing a plop to her left, her eyes looked from her son down to the item he had tossed to her. She gasped as she stared at a blood bag lying before her. Feeling an ominous tone arise, her eyes narrowed at him suspiciously. "What have you done?"
He smirked wickedly. "I've done what every good son does, mother. I've followed the example of my parents. You taught me exactly how I should treat you." Gala-Na sat upright, placing a hand on her chest, feeling the dried blood from when Shadow had stabbed her in the neck. She felt her fingers twitch uncontrollably and felt panic set in. Shadow chuckled lowly, knowing exactly what was occurring to her in that moment. "You must be feeling a little twitchy right about now. That's what happens when you're in transition."
She glared at him in disbelief. "No, that's not possible," she growled.
He leaned one of his arms coolly on the staircase railing. "Oh, but it is. You see, you may have thought you were one step ahead of us, but the truth is, Amy was two steps ahead of you," he pointed.
Gala-Na stared down at the floor, trying to recall when she had unknowingly ingested vampire blood. She thought back hard to her interactions with Amy until a certain memory came across. Her eyes widened in realization. "She put it in my wine…"
Shadow nodded. "That's correct, you died with vampire blood in your system. It's a delicious irony because as you know, you cannot be both a witch and a vampire. Unless you happened to be a freak like Mephiles, who was gifted with both vampirism and witchcraft."
Gala-Na's mouth gaped before she began to hyperventilate. "No, no…"
"Don't fret, Mother, now you get a taste of what it's like," Shadow laughed in delight. "Oh, and don't think you can run off to find Mephiles. I had Blaze put a trap spell in the basement you'll now be residing in. He has no idea that I took you away to that old abandoned and burnt down house we visited a few days ago," he chuckled darkly.
"What am I suppose to do then?" she growled.
"Now you can decide to either be the thing you hate the most or be dead." Shadow began to turn to head upstairs but stopped just short to look back at her over his shoulder. "Your choice, which is more than you ever gave us."
Feeling her eyes well up with tears, Gala-Na sobbed as she reached out and clutched for the blood bag, debating over her choice.
•~•
Later that night, in the depths of the city, a male nurse walked down the street before entering a building that read: Station Square Mental Institute. Inside the facility, the echoes of cries and muffled screams penetrated through the main hall. Both male and female nurses flocked down different halls—some checking in on their patients, while others made sure the patients were securely locked in for the night. Unfortunately, in one of those locked rooms was a young pink hedgehog very similar looking in appearance to Amy Rose.
The unknown female, laid on her back in bed, completely unresponsive, until she inhaled a sudden gasp of air, rising upright as if she had just been reborn. Jolted by her sudden awakening, the pink hedgehog panted as she took in her unfamiliar surroundings. Once she had caught her breath, she swept her legs off the side of her bed and began to wander around her small room, trying to determine her whereabouts. She stared at the sink, toilet sectioned off with a mere curtain, as well as a faux mirror that gave off somewhat of a reflection. As she encroached closer towards her reflection, her expression turned to confusion by what she saw. The reflection she stared back at was of someone she did not at all recognize at all.
Feeling her mouth gape at the sight, she touched at her face and her quills, in disbelief with what she was really seeing. It was strange that the girl she was staring back at looked similar to her, but instead of sporting her shorter shoulder length quills, she now adorned three large jagged quills indistinguishable to Sonic's. Her fur was still pink and her eyes were also still green, but who the hell was this person? Growing panicked, she rushed to the door and jiggled the handle but found it to be locked. She banged on her door profusely, now that he was starting to feel claustrophobic. "Excuse me! Someone, anyone, please let me out!" she hollered.