Chapter Twenty-Eight
Sonic and Shadow led Helen and their friends to the moonpool where they had left Ryn. The hedgehogs weren't too thrilled with it for a couple different reasons.Shadow didn't want Sonic going because he was supposed to be resting. But Sonic insisted he go, or Ryn wouldn't trust Helen to examine her. Sonic wasn't thrilled that the only way Shadow would let him go was if he'd let him carry him again, making it look very sus to their friends, well, besides Rouge. And neither one was happy with their friends tagging along, afraid that the female Siren would attack them, but their excuse was that they were worried about her wounds, and they wanted to pay their respects to the new Alpha.
Yeah, sure. As if that excuse covered the fact that they were just curious.
"Just right in this cave." Sonic said as he laid in Shadow's arms. He looked back to the group. "When we get inside, only Helen is allowed close to her. Everybody else, keep your distance."
"Is she dangerous?" Cream asked in a worried tone.
"... Yes, she is." He admitted. "But once she gets to know you and starts trusting you, she won't be as dangerous anymore."
"Maybe Cream and I should stay out here." Vanilla suggested, her motherly instincts kicking in.
Cream shook her head. "No mama. I wanna meet the mermaid. I'm not scared."
"Are you sure, Cream?"
"Yes, I'm sure. Right Cheese?"
"Chao Chao!" Cheese cried excitedly.
"Vanilla," Sonic beckoned her down to him. He whispered to her as to not frighten the little girl. "The moment you hear Ryn singing, grab Cream and get out as fast as you can. Do NOT listen to her song."
"Song?" Vanilla was a bit confused.
"A Siren's Song is incredibly dangerous. Once you hear it, it will drive you insane. It will be the only thing you think about, begging to hear it again until you drown yourself in the sea, just to hear that beautiful melody again."
This time, Vanilla got it as she nodded and stood back up.
Shadow couldn't help but think about what his blue friend had said.
Was that going to happen to him? He had heard Ryn singing, and so far, he already was wishing to hear it again.
He shook his head. No. He was the Ultimate Lifeform. He could avoid this fate. He could resist Ryn's song… he hoped.
The group entered the cave and traveled down a bit until they came up to the moonpool. There was no sign of Ryn.
"Where is she?" Amy asked.
"Dear Chaos I hope she didn't get out of the water." Sonic's eyes widened in worry.
"There's no fin besides yours laying around." Shadow frowned as he stared at the disintegrating fin that once belonged to the end of Sonic's merhog tail. "She must still be in the water."
"Let me see." Knuckles frowned as he went up to the moonpool.
"No! Knuckles, wait!" Sonic cried, but it was too late.
Suddenly, Run leaped up from the water, screeching and hissing as she tried to swipe her claws at the red echidna.
"Whoa!" Knuckles cried out as he quickly fell back and scooted away from the hostile Siren. "She's a feisty one!"
"She doesn't trust land dwellers." Sonic reminded him. "You must keep your distance if you don't wanna end up her prey."
Ryn hissed and turned her attention to Sonic. 'What is this? Why are these land walkers here? Haven't they caused enough trouble?!'
Sonic hissed back. 'Excuse me, in case you forgot they helped us escape yesterday! We would be stuck in a lab about to be dissected if it wasn't for them!'
Ryn hissed and turned away, unable to deny the fact that he was right.
'Besides, they're worried about you. And they want to pay their respects.'
Ryn smiled a bit and turned back. 'So they heard about my victory of becoming Alpha. Well, I suppose I can allow it this time.'
Sonic nodded and turned to his friends. "She says you can pay your respects. Just get on your knees and bow to her. You don't have to say anything, just bow."
"How can you tell what she's saying with all those hand gestures?" Knuckles was skeptical. "That's not even normal sign language."
"Yeah, why don't you just communicate vocally?" Amy asked.
"Because male and female Sirens don't have the same speech pattern. In fact, males don't really have a voice at all. The voice is given to the females for their songs. The only thing we have in common is our distress calls, hisses and squeaks, and screams. Our hand gestures, though it may not be normal sign language for you guys, it's normal for us. It's Siren sign language."
"We sure have a lot to learn about Sirens, Blue." Rouge shook her head. "If we want to understand you, we're gonna need to know everything."
Sonic blushed. "Well… maybe not everything."
Run hissed and smacked her tail against the water. 'I'm waiting.'
Sonic rolled his eyes and gestured to her. His friends nodded in understanding and turned to the Alpha. They got on their knees and bowed to her, showing their respect to her. Ryn smiled, feeling satisfied that even land dwellers were showing her respect for her new position in the colony.
"She's very pretty." Cream complimented when they stood back up. "But she does look really hurt."
"I'll say. You weren't kidding when you said it's a fight to the death." Vanilla nodded, looking at Sonic.
"Sirens can be very cruel, especially to their own kind." Sonic sighed. "But that's why I wanted Helen to come. With her being part mermaid herself, she'll know just what to do."
"Didn't you say that your colony have healers?" Shadow frowned down at the blue hedgehog. "Why don't they take care of her?"
"Because healer mermaids don't have the right skills and materials for these kinds of wounds." Helen frowned as she cautiously approached the female merhog.
Run hissed at her, warning her not to come too close. But then, as soon as she looked into her eyes, she knew that the old woman was one of them. She stopped hissing, hiding her teeth and looking a bit more friendly. Sonic hissed to get her attention again.
'Ryn, this is Helen. She's gonna help to heal you.'
'She's one of us.'
'Part of us. She can't change in the water like we can, but she knows what she's doing. You can trust her.'
'... Alright. Let's get this over with.'
