Chapter Five
Sonic sat at Helen's dinner table, eating a plate of fresh fish that the woman had prepared for him. Thanks to her, he was properly dressed with his iconic gloves and shoes. She also had a spare pair of emerald green contacts that she had given him. With him properly disguised, he now could go back to the beach house, but he wanted to stay and visit his friend for a bit. After all, she had closed her shop downstairs from the apartment just for him.
"So besides going for a dip and visiting your parents gravesite, what are you doing here in Emerald Coast?" Helen asked him.
Sonic chewed a piece of ocean salmon and swallowed. "Well, it's uh… it's mating season tomorrow… and I'm of age to… impregnate a female."
"That's wonderful, Sonic. Your parents would be so proud."
"Maybe so, but I have a problem." Sonic sighed, lowering his ears. "I'm worried about my friends finding out."
"Why would they?"
"Because they're here too. They're staying at Vanilla's beach house over the week, and I promised Tails that I would join them."
"Oh dear, that is a problem."
"That's why I couldn't attack the intruder at my moonpool. It was Shadow that discovered it." Sonic groaned. "First of all, he'd immediately know it was me. And second of all, I'm not like other Sirens. I don't kill to protect my identity. Unlike Tia." He huffed and crossed his arms, remembering the stormy night when Tia had been caught in a fisherman's net and she had killed him to get away. It was hard to keep a straight face the next day when he heard about the "shark attack" on the news.
"Yes Sonic, I know you're not." Helen smiled. "None of the other Sirens are in love with Shadow."
Sonic hissed at her, his eyes widening and his pupils dilating. "Don't be ridiculous, Helen. I am not in love with that edgy jerklord."
"You always talk about him. What you two do. The names he calls you. Your hatred for him but at the same time your longing for his friendship. And most importantly, your fear about what would happen if he ever found out the truth about you. Not Tails. Not Amy. Shadow."
"It's because he's a total jerk! And I know that if he ever found out that I truly am a Faker he'd never let me live it down. Not to mention he'd more than likely would hand me straight over to GUN. He doesn't give a crap about me! GUN could dissect and torture and study me all they want and Shadow wouldn't bat an eye! GUN could go searching for the rest of my colony and wipe it out, and Shadow would most likely join them! He doesn't care!"
Sonic fell back against his seat, crossing his arms over his chest. Why did his face feel wet all of a sudden? He reached up to his cheek and wiped it away, looking at his fingers. Of course. He was crying.
He sucked in a shuddery breath and tried to wipe away his tears. Helen just sat there and watched, a small smile of a concerned and sympathetic grandmother on her face. "Is that how you really feel?"
Sonic sniffed and nodded. The old woman sighed and reached forward, taking his hands into hers. "Then tell me this… why does it hurt so much when it's the possibility of Shadow doing it?"
…
After Sonic had calmed down and finished his fish he said goodbye to Helen, thanking her for her hospitality, and went back to the beach house. He had only been gone for about an hour, but he figured it was time to get back to his friends and find out what they had planned to do for the week.
When he got back to the beach house, he was surprised to see that everyone was in the living room, surrounding the coffee table and seemingly looking at something.
"Hey guys."
"Sonic! Come check out what Shadow found!" Tails said excitedly.
Sonic tilted his head in curiosity and went over to them. Amy stepped aside to let him get a better view and he mentally gasped.
Shadow was in the center, and in his hands was his spear!
"W-Where did you get that?" Sonic asked, trying to remain calm.
"I found it in this cave, in a moonpool, not far from here." The ebony hedgehog answered. "It's handmade, but not from land materials, that's for sure." He started pointing out the different parts. "The arrowhead is made from a fossilized megalodon shark tooth, the pole is a stingray barb tail, and it's all held together by seaweed tied around it."
"Whoa, crafty." Knuckles whistled.
"And creative." Shadow complimented.
Sonic felt a bit of pride swelling up in his chest. He made that spear himself after his father taught him how. To hear Shadow call it creative was a big deal to him. Maybe he wasn't a complete jerk after all.
"You know what this reminds me of?" Amy said. "Mermaids!"
And just like that, Sonic's world came crashing down.
Oh no.
"Mermaids?" Shadow frowned in confusion.
"Yeah! These are the kind of weapons they build to help them hunt, kill, and defend their colony."
"That's ridiculous." Sonic quickly said. "I thought mermaids were peaceful creatures."
"Not all of them." Amy shook her head. "Especially Sirens. They're known to be cold-hearted killers."
Sonic felt his stomach twist as Amy said that. If that's how she saw her people he knew for a fact now that he can't ever let his friends know that he was a Siren. He would be branded a killer if they did. The thought of it hurt him, even though he himself already called them killers. But it just felt different when it came from the mouth of his friends.
"Well it doesn't matter," He shook his head. "Because mermaids don't exist."
"I wouldn't be too sure about that."
Sonic's eyes widened as Shadow said that. Was he actually going along with this. "Come on Shadow. You can't possibly believe such a fairytale."
"Look, all I know is that SOMETHING made this spear and hid it in the bottom of the moonpool. Not to mention as I was looking in the water I saw a large fish tail with a barbed stinger disappear in an underwater cave." He frowned and gave Sonic a suspicious glare. "And I found this stuff in the cave too."
That's when Shadow reached under the table and pulled out a bunch of stuff… Sonic's stuff. Sonic silently gulped when he saw it. He wasn't accusing Sonic, was he?
"Sonic that looks like your stuff." Tails frowned. "Those are your gloves and your shoes."
"I-I-It can't be though, because I'm still wearing my stuff." Sonic quickly said. "It would make no sense if it was mine."
"To be honest I was thinking it was your stuff." Shadow said. "I kept wondering where you were, why you would take your clothes off, why there, and…" He held up Sonic's contacts. "Why you're trying to hide the color of your eyes?"
Sonic gulped again. Was he still accusing him?
"And yet, here you are, fully clothed and with natural green eyes, so it can't be you."
Sonic mentally sighed in relief. He just dodged a bullet there.
Thank you Helen.
"But something IS out there." Shadow frowned. "And whatever it is we're gonna find it. Even if it takes more than a week."
… Oh shit.
