In the early hours of the morning, Shadow and company showed up to Hendrix's home to safely return the children. The moment the group of children got out of the car, they surrounded their reagent eager and elated to be back in their community. Hendrix was practically shoved over as the children tackled him in hugs for affection. Stumbling slightly, Hendrix laughed joyously at their arrival.

"All safe and sound," Shadow proclaimed proudly as he, Amy, Silver, Blaze, and Mighty stood before him.

"I can't thank you enough for what you've done," the male cat gleamed.

Shadow shoved his hands into his jacket pockets coolly. "Don't," he shrugged. "We just did what was right while we rescued Amy from that deplorable witch."

"I realize you are trying to remain modest, but you could have easily tossed these children's lives to the side in order to get what you thought was more important." His head bowed in shame in realization for his past judgment. "I suppose I was wrong about your family…"

"You weren't wrong about us," Shadow disagreed. "A year ago I wouldn't have even considered their lives and would have remained selfish." Shadow reached over and wrapped a gentle arm around Amy's waist, bringing her close. "But because of Amy and bringing a child into this world, my morals have shifted to something better," he smiled sincerely.

Hendrix smiled. "Which is why I'm going to honor you and your family for all the help you gave our community. As soon as I arrange something I'll get in touch," he promised with a smile.

•~•

An hour later, Shadow and Amy drove to Mystic Ruins to pick up Faith. The moment they arrived, Amy hopped out of the car and slammed the door, eager to be reunited with her baby. Sonic and Sally were already standing out in front of their cabin while they anticipated their arrival. Shadow got out of his car and rushed over to join them.

Sonic opened his arms, beckoning Amy for a hug. The two embraced for a short moment, happy to be reunited again. "Nice to see you back in your original body, Ames," Sonic noted.

"It's good to be back," Amy smiled.

Shadow jogged over, joining the other three. "How was she? She wasn't too much trouble, was she?" he inquired curiously.

Sally went to open her mouth, but Sonic was quick to interject before she could speak. "—She was perfect!" he exclaimed. "She didn't cause us any issues."

Amy cupped her hands together, pleased by the news. "That's wonderful to hear. Um, is she still asleep or is she awake?"

"Naaah, she's out cold," Sonic waved. "I already have her all ready to go in her car carrier," he replied as he opened his front door. Sonic wandered into his living room and picked up her car carrier with her still sound asleep inside. On his way back outside, he grabbed the diaper bag to take with him. "Here she is!" he said in a hushed voice.

Shadow took the carrier with Faith from Sonic while Amy took the diaper bag. "Thanks again for looking after her. I can't thank you enough," Amy smiled.

"It's all good, Ames. We'd love to have her again," he said while he gave her thumbs up.

"Well, the sun's nearly up. I'm sure you two are just as exhausted, so we'll let you get back to bed. See you around," Shadow waved. The couple walked off with their child before loading her into the car and driving off.

While Sonic and Sally watched their car drive off into the distance, Sally nudged Sonic in his side with her elbow and gave him a disapproving look. "Why didn't you say anything about what happened on the road?"

Sonic rubbed at his side. "Sal, they already have enough stuff on their plate. Besides, it's not like anything bad happened. We don't even know if Faith was responsible for that phenomenon. It was just a crazy theory."

Sally crossed her arms over her chest, not feeling as certain on their decision to keep this information from Amy and Shadow. "I don't know, it just seemed like something they should be aware of…"

•~•

After putting Faith in her own crib, Amy and Shadow got undressed to catch some sleep themselves. It had been a long night and the two were absolutely exhausted. Shadow waited in bed and watched as Amy finished getting ready before slipping into bed herself. Carefully, she scooted into bed beside him, snuggling in close, and allowing him to embrace her under the sheets. Shadow spooned her from behind, as the two of them got comfortable under the crisp sheets. Silence filled the room as the two laid together, but there was something that had been bothering Shadow and weighing on his conscious for a few hours now. He didn't know quite how to approach it, but he knew he needed to get Amy's forgiveness before he could move forward. "…Amy?"

"Hm?" he heard her hum.

"There's something you need to be aware of when you were temporarily gone," he started reluctantly. "I don't want you to be mad, but I'll understand if you feel that way."

Amy immediately shifted over to face him and he was met with her concerned jade eyes. "Shadow, you don't need to explain yourself," she urged softly, rubbing his shoulder.

Shadow blinked a few times, trying to comprehend if she was already aware of what had taken place between himself and Rosy. "You…you know?"

Amy nodded reluctantly. "I was still trapped inside her and I saw everything." Right as the words left her mouth, Shadow's expression turned even guiltier and more embarrassed. He closed his eyes and turned his head in shame. Seeing him so upset pulled at her heartstrings even more. "Oh, Shadow, please don't feel ashamed for what took place. I know you did not want it to happen, so please…"

"—But it did," he cut off. "It takes two to tango and I willingly participated in it. I feel absolutely vile."

Amy reached out and placed a hand on the side of his face, turning it to look at her. He opened his eyes to look at her as he felt her touch. Her expression was soft and her eyes showed compassion. "Do not try to be a martyr in this situation. You were the victim in this, Shadow."

"Victim," he scoffed under his breath. Hating the taste of the word in his mouth. "That would make me weak," he said with contempt.

"I know what happened was not something you did to hurt me, Shadow. You may not want to appear weak at this moment, but I know that you truly feel sorry for what took place. Just know, that I still love you and I understand what you may be feeling right now. If you ever want to talk about it more, I'm always here to listen," she smiled sweetly.

He gave her a weak smile. "I don't deserve you, you know that, right?"

Amy leaned in closer and pecked him on the forehead. "No, you don't, but you earned me, just as I earned you," she winked.

Shadow encroached closer towards Amy's face, reached out, and cupped the side of it to pull her in for a kiss. Amy returned the kiss willingly, keeping it chaste as she embraced the moment.

•~•

The next evening, Mighty, Shadow, Amy, Faith, Silver, and Blaze joined Hendrix at his home as he honored them for rescuing their coven's youth. A large gathering sat outside the large estate, in front of a small stage. Amy sat in the front row, along with three reserved seats that were empty. In her lap, she held Faith who seemed to quite bubbly for the show. "—Hey, we're not too late, are we?" a familiar voice piped in from her right. She glanced over and spotted Sonic sneaking into the seat beside her, along with Sally and Caleb.

"Hey," She smiled at his appearance. "No, not at all. I think they're just about to start though!"

Sally settled into her seat. "This is really cool and so nice of them to be doing this for your family. Who'da thunk, huh?" she cracked.

Caleb leaned back in his own seat, getting comfortable for the event. "Not even I could've predicted this sight."

Amy hummed in thought by their comments. "I must admit; Shadow has really pulled things around. I just hope we can keep this trajectory going. I know he can do great things if he puts his mind to it."

Suddenly, the audience started to settle down their chatter when they spotted their leader walk on stage. Standing at his podium, Hendrix looked to his left where the four stood in wait to be honored by the noble witch. "Today we are here to give honorary recognition to four individuals who thrived in rescuing some of our talented youth. Now, not all of these four are a part of our community, but we will look to them as if they were in our faction."

Hendrix opened a small box set on top of the podium, which revealed four bright golden medals on a blue ribbon. "First, I would like to honor, Blaze the cat," he announced. Blaze walked up the steps and onto the stage, waving at the crowd as they applauded her. "She along with another I will honor used her magic to help rid the wicked and vengeful Rosy Rascal from tormenting our community and world."

Amy took a picture with her cellphone of her friend as she walked across the stage. Once Blaze got to the other end where Hendrix waited, he smiled and placed the medallion over her head. "Thank you," Blaze smiled.

"Of course," Hendrix nodded. He gestured for her to take a spot off to the side where she could stand and wait for the others to be honored. "Next, I would like to honor Silver the Hedgehog, one of the original vampires."

Silver walked up the steps to the stage, and walked across it, giving a small smile at the crowd clapping for him.

"He allowed himself to be used as an energy source to rid Rosy from this world and helped get the children safely transported back home."

Once Silver met the other end of the stage, he bowed his head, allowing Hendrix to place the medal around his neck. "Thank you, Hendrix."

In the audience, Amy took another quick picture of Silver receiving the award. She was determined to document every aspect of this event. She looked at the photo she had taken of the silver hedgehog, satisfied with the outcome of the picture.

Back onstage, Hendrix shook his hand and nodded in return. Once their exchange was done, Silver walked over and stood next to Blaze. The couple exchanged a smile towards each other before looking back out towards the crowd.

"Our next honoree happens to be a fellow witch, not from our coven exactly, but from a neighboring one. Please give a round of applause for Mighty the Armadillo!" Hendrix introduced.

The crowd erupted into a roar of applause as the red and black armadillo sauntered across the stage meekly, not used to the attention.

"Mighty used his calm nature under pressure to correctly make accurate decisions in the process of defeating Rosy Rascal. His strategy and talent in his craft are one of the reasons we have our children back today," Hendrix finished.

Mighty met Hendrix at his podium and stuck his hand out to shake. "You make me sound like a hero," he grinned sheepishly, still not used to the accolades.

Hendrix shook the young male's hand. "Don't doubt yourself, you are a hero," he assured. With that said, Hendrix placed the medal around Mighty's neck. Mighty looked out to the crowd one last time and then joined Blaze and Silver.

"Finally, I would like to honor our final guest. Someone who I never thought I'd come to giving any sort of praise or recognition too. This individual has always had a bad reputation in our community, but last night, he proved that you can't always judge a book by its cover. Please put your hands together for Shadow the Hedgehog!"

The audience clapped as Shadow made his way onstage. Remaining unfazed, Shadow walked across the stage with confidence before stopping at the side of Hendrix's podium. "Nice introduction," he smirked.

Hendrix placed the medallion around the dark hedgehog's neck. "You need a good one for the likes of you," he smirked back. Shadow nodded and then walked over and joined the other three on stage.

Once again, Amy snapped another photo of her handsome boyfriend on stage. She blushed as she caught him catching her in the act of taking the photo. She knew Shadow didn't care to be photographed, but she could see he'd let it slide just for this one time.

Back onstage, Hendrix gestured to the four standing on stage together. "These four stopped a dangerous criminal from our community and bravely saved our youth from evil. Because of their courage and cadence, we shall make them honorary members of our coven, even if they are not of witch heritage." He turned to face his guests. "You are one of us now. Your friends are our friends, and your enemies are our enemies," he made explicit.

•~•

After the ceremony, Shadow, Amy, and Mighty swung downtown together to finally finish off the last end of their deal. Mighty parked his car on a street corner and stepped out of his vehicle. He looked over across the street, where he spotted Shadow and Amy getting out of their own vehicle. The couple walked across the street joining Mighty. "Are you ready?" Shadow asked.

Mighty gave a simple head nod and looked up at the building they prepared to enter: Station Square Asylum. He had pledged he would get Aurora out of this place, and finally, it was happening. "It's about time. Let's go." With that said, the three entered the building together to get Aurora released.

•~•

Twenty minutes later, four people walked out the front doors of the mental institute. Mighty guided a shaken and still rather weak Aurora down the stairs while Shadow and Amy followed closely behind. Now outside, Mighty, Aurora, Amy, and Shadow gathered by the street parking where their vehicles were parked. Realizing they'd have to part ways with their new friend, Shadow turned to look at the young the armadillo. "I suppose this is where it ends…"

Mighty rubbed the back of his neck. "I never thought there'd be a point in my life where I'd be working with an Original vampire. To be honest, it wasn't as bad as I'd imagined. You guys know how to excite a normally dull day," he laughed light-heartedly.

"We don't often have mundane days," Shadow shrugged. "Instead, we have many enemies, all who wish to take us down once and for all."

"Well, you guys have kept your promise just as you said you would. If you ever need a hand with something, don't hesitate to pick up the phone," he offered.

"The same goes for you," Shadow replied.

Aurora reached out and shook Shadow's hand. "Once again, thank you for helping Mighty release me from this dreadful place and put an end to that murderous witch."

Shadow smiled pleasantly at the echidna girl. "Thank you for having my girlfriend's back while you two were in there," he thanked.

Mighty wrapped an arm around Aurora, guiding her towards his parked car. "See you around, Shadow—you too, Amy!"

Amy waved at the two as they walked down the sidewalk together. "Goodbye!" she smiled. Once they got into the car together and drove off, Amy looked up to her boyfriend. "Do you think we'll see them again?" she inquired curiously.

He took her hand in his, entwining his fingers with hers. "Of course," he replied. "You can never have too many allies," he alluded.

•~•

Mighty's car pulled up to an old decrepit looking house and parked out front. Aurora squinted as she looked through the windshield, trying to determine their location. "Um, any reason why we made a pit stop here?"

Mighty pulled the keys out of the ignition and stepped out of the vehicle. "I just have to tie up some loose ends," he replied. Mighty reached for the handle to his door and opened it. "It shouldn't take too long, you can stay in the car if you like."

Aurora shot him an incredulous look by his offer. "No way!" She grabbed the handle to her car door and opened it, stepping out.

Following his lead, Aurora followed the armadillo into the abandoned home, taking notice of the creepy atmosphere of the building. The two walked down some creaky stairs to the basement.

Watching her friend lead them down to the dark basement started to set an uneasy feeling in her belly. "So, what exactly are you here for?" she inquired again.

Mighty stopped at the bottom of the steps with her hovering just behind him. "You'll see." His eyes glanced into the darkness. "Come out," he called.

Aurora gripped onto Mighty's left arm, feeling anxious at the unknown emerging from the void of darkness. "Mighty, whose down here?"

A female figure emerged from the darkness, stepping into the one bit light coming in through the cracks in the ceiling. Aurora looked confused when she saw it was another echidna like herself, except much older in age and appearance.

Gala-Na stared back at Mighty, looking annoyed to be disturbed. "I did not expect to see you here again. Did you succeed in taking down that witch?"

"Yes," he answered. "I was able to take Rosy Rascal down once and for all. I also managed to get Amy back in her proper body."

Aurora looked confused by the conversation taking place between the two. Just who exactly was this person?

Gala-Na nodded, taking in the information. "I see, very good. Is that all you came here to tell me?"

"No." Mighty stepped to the side and gestured to Aurora cowering behind him. "Do you recognize this girl?"

Gala-Na looked over to the pink echidna, peeking over the male's shoulder. "Of course I do. Hello, Aurora, happy to be back in control of your body again?" she smirked.

Aurora gasped, suddenly piecing together the information. "—Wait a second! This is this…Ivy?" she stammered.

Mighty nodded, confirming her suspicions. "Yes, this is the one who inhabited your body for a period of time, Aurora."

Gala-Na placed her arms over her chest. "I'm not sure what you hoped to accomplish by bringing the poor girl here. Can't you see she's a nervous wreck?"

Mighty stepped closer towards her. "I wanted her to take a look at you one last time before I kill you," he explained calmly.

Gala-Na blanched at the thought and opened her mouth to rebuke until someone else cut her off. "What now?"

He lifted out his right arm in her direction. "Now, it's time for you to perish."

"I knew you were a snake the moment I saw you," Gala-Na snapped. "I was right to warn Shadow about you!"

He brought his arm up and made a tight fist. Gala-Na crumpled to her knees and screamed in agony as he sent a mind attack to her brain. Her whole body cried out in pain by the affliction. "GAHH!"

"I'm not someone Shadow needs to worry about, it's you…"

She weakly got to her feet, already weak enough from being starved. "Are you sure you want to go through with this?"

"How could I not," Mighty shouted back, insulted at the question. His brows knitted together in anger. "Because of you, I lost months of my life as your detestable son used my body to conspire. Both I and Aurora can never get that time back!"

Gala-Na looked back at the young female, taken aback by one important detail he seemed to be missing in this story. "Aurora, darling, did you not tell-"

"—I don't think you should try to plead for your life," she quickly cut off. "You are a crafty one after all."

Gala-Na scoffed by Aurora's elusiveness on her question. Her brows furrowed in her direction. "Foolish little girl…" she tsked.

"Don't talk down to her," Mighty reprimanded. His hand formed a tight fist causing her body to be rendered immobile. "Your time is numbered."

Gala-Na watched as Mighty approached her. "You think getting rid of me is going to make you feel better? Shadow will kill you if he finds out you were the one to kill me," she threatened.

"Why does he even have you down here? Clearly, you're no use to him, and according to my observations, he doesn't particularly like you either."

Still remaining frozen, Gala-Na sighed. "It's his form of punishment. He wants me to suffer here as a vampire, starving to death as I atone for my sins," she explained.

"Well, that's where Shadow and I differ. You're too dangerous to have to lurk in the Shadows down here." His hand reached out and touched her forehead.

Gala-Na tried to pull back from his touch, but because of his immobilizing spell, she was unable to move away. "What are you doing? Don't touch me!"

Suddenly, she felt a strong vacuum-like suction in her entire body. A green glow appeared around Mighty's hand absorbing some sort of energy. Aurora watched from the steps as Mighty ruthlessly drained her life force from her body. Gala-Na cried out as she felt herself begin to wither away to nothing. Her body slowly started to deteriorate, changing her fur from her vibrant color to an ashy grey. Mighty's expression stayed hardened, not fazing in the least as he sucked up every last drop. "I refuse to let you ruin someone else's life."

Once he had completely drained her life force, he released his spell keeping her restrained. Her deceased, grey body, crumbled to the floor. Now dead for good, Mighty turned on his heel and headed for the stairs where Aurora waited for him.

He reached out and grabbed her hand, leading her up the stairs and out of the basement. Aurora took one last look at Ivy's dead body, the elder witch had almost exposed her secret, but she'd find the right time to tell Mighty the truth.

•~•

AN: Well, ladies and gentlemen, that's the end of this story arc. The next chapter there will be a major time jump. So for all of those that are interested in seeing an older Faith, you'll be very excited for the next story arc of this series. Expect another update in the next few days. Oh, and remember to leave me a review!